Neelix

Neelix was a primarily Talaxian (also one-eighth Mylean) hybrid who lived in the 24th century. He joined the when it was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array in 2371. While Voyager made a seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant, he served as the ship's chef, morale officer, trade negotiator, "ambassador to the Delta Quadrant" and navigator, in addition to forming close personal friendships with many crew members and becoming a valuable member of the stranded Starfleet crew. Commander Chakotay, who was in charge of personnel on the ship, called him "Without a doubt ... the most versatile member of our crew". ()
==Early life==
Neelix grew up with his parents, his sisters, and his brothers on Rinax, a moon of the Talaxian homeworld, with the most temperate climate in the entire Talaxian system. Behind their house was a large forest, in which he and his sisters would go exploring every day. His favorite sister was always Alixia. () He lived near the Rinax marshlands, where the summers were the hottest in the sector. ()
When he was young, a huge plasma cloud passed through the Talaxian system, and blocked the sun for weeks. ()
For two years, Neelix worked with an orbital tether team on Rinax. He didn't actually serve on one, but worked heavily with scale models. ()
For a number of years, the Haakonians were at war with the Talaxians. At some point, the Talaxian government called on Neelix to serve, but he went to Talax to avoid military service (and anyone refusing to serve during wartime was given a death penalty) because he felt the war was wrong. While he was on Talax in 2356, the Haakonians unleashed the metreon cascade on Rinax whereby in the blink of an eye Rinax was enveloped by a deadly cloud. The moon that once had the most temperate climate in the entire system was turned into one endless, frigid night, killing more than three hundred thousand, including his family. The day after the cascade, Talax surrendered to the Haakonian Order. ()
After the death of his family and the destruction of his homeworld and what was left under alien rule, Neelix left the system to move on with his life. He served on a mining colony for a while and worked for two years as an engineer's assistant aboard a Trabalian freighter where he became well-versed in warp theory. ()
Neelix also spent six years aboard a Talaxian garbage scow, a duty that familiarized him with waste management. While Neelix was aboard, the scow once ran into a theta radiation field that disabled the ship's propulsion. He and the other crew members of the scow had no choice but to remain where they were and were barely alive when they were rescued. ()
Neelix also worked as a trader. ()
== Life as a merchant==
Eventually, Neelix would become a merchant and buy his own cargo ship, the Baxial. When he first laid eyes on it, he thought she was ugly, but eventually couldn't imagine life without her. ()
At some point, Neelix befriended fellow Talaxian Wixiban. Although the two had a run-in with Ubean authorities, Neelix was able to escape thanks to Wixiban, who was unfortunately caught and forced to serve a brutal prison sentence. ()
Neelix also befriended a Talaxian man named Laxeth, and while the two may have conducted some illegitimate business at one time, Laxeth had cleaned up by 2372 and was working as a communications master for a Talaxian convoy. ()
At some point, Neelix sold plaxan sensors to the Kazon-Ogla. ()
During his life before Voyager, Neelix also became acquainted with a Kazon-Pommar named Tersa at a Kazon settlement on Sobras. Although Neelix had a "misunderstanding" at a local bar, Tersa would later owe him some "rather large" favors. ()
===Caretaker and USS Voyager===
At some point, Neelix discovered a debris field near the and claimed it for himself. When he was discovered there in 2371 by the crew of the Starfleet vessel Voyager, Neelix told them that he didn't mind their presence there, as long as they didn't take "his" debris. The Starfleet crew were searching for several missing officers, who Neelix suspected may have been transported by the to a city beneath the surface of the Ocampa homeworld. Neelix offered to serve as the crew's guide and took them to the Ocampa homeworld, which was controlled by a Kazon sect led by Jabin. Water being incredibly scarce in the region, Neelix proposed to trade water from Voyager for the release of an Ocampan prisoner named Kes, who could lead the crew to the underground city. Even though the Kazon refused to trade, the crew members were able to escape with Kes, who was actually Neelix's lover. After rescuing the crewmen who were indeed underground, both Neelix and Kes joined Voyagers crew and Neelix was assigned his position as a guide to the Delta Quadrant, since the region was largely unexplored by Starfleet. ()
==Life aboard Voyager==
===The first year===
Aboard Voyager, Neelix served as a chef, "Special Consultant for the Delta Quadrant", and occasionally as a self-appointed "chief morale officer". Captain Kathryn Janeway gave Neelix the unofficial title of "ambassador" when he proved to have a flair for diplomacy. ()
Neelix could be considered a "renaissance man" for his many duties and qualities.
On one of his first official away missions, in which he prepared for a week studying dilithium geophysics, Neelix's lungs were removed by a Vidiian weapon. There was no way to replicate new lungs for Neelix since Talaxian lungs were too complex to be replicated, because they were attached to his upper spinal column, so The Doctor was forced to replace Neelix's lungs with holographic replicas. The flaw in this plan was that Neelix would not be able to move, and would thus be forced to stay confined in an isotropic restraint until real replacement lungs were available. When the Vidiians who stole Neelix's lungs were found, they were able to devise a way for The Doctor to transplant one of Kes' lungs into Neelix. The procedure was a success. ()
When Commander Chakotay was comatose, he influenced Neelix to use his medicine wheel in order to plot a safe course for Voyager out of a nebula in which aliens wished to steal the crew's neural energy. ()
Later that year, Neelix met Ma'Bor Jetrel, the Haakonian scientist who had developed the weapon used to destroy the majority of Neelix's people, including his family. Jetrel informed Neelix that when he had evacuated people from his planet, he had been exposed to the biological weapon and might be dying from metremia. Jetrel claimed that he wanted to help cure Neelix and try to make amends. Jetrel's presence resurrected painful memories for Neelix – not only the horrors of Rinax' destruction, but his shame over dodging the Talaxian draft. Neelix hated Jetrel and questioned him about his ethics and motivations. He told Jetrel about watching Palaxia die and his hope that Jetrel would have to live with his agonizing guilt for a very long time. However, when he discovered Jetrel's experiments in sickbay, Jetrel revealed his true purpose: to try and bring back the victims of the Metreon cascade. Neelix's supposed metrimia had never existed. It was Jetrel who had the disease. His attempt to reconstruct the dead in the Metreon cloud around Rinax ultimately failed and he died of his illness not long after. However, his genuine remorse and efforts to undo his crime earned Neelix's forgiveness. ()
Neelix almost became a father in 2371. Kes was affected by alien creatures that caused her to become fertile which happens just once in an Ocampa's lifetime, and if she was going to have a baby it needed to be then. Neelix was discomfited by the idea, having never given serious thought to fatherhood, but after talking through the matter with Kes and Tuvok he felt that he might like to be a parent. After the aliens were driven away, Kes decided not to have a baby, and The Doctor stated that this may have been a false alarm brought on by the aliens. Later that year, during a surprise birthday Neelix was giving for Kes, Voyager was disrupted by a spatial anomaly that seemed to change the structure of the ship. Neelix tried to find the bridge but was unsuccessful. ()
===The second year (2372)===
Neelix also became jealous of Tom Paris, who he accused of trying to take Kes away from him. He and Paris got into a fight in the mess hall. Later, they were stranded on a hostile planet. They had to work together to save themselves. After being rescued, they returned to Voyager as friends. ()
During the second year, Voyager continued its tumultuous journey through Kazon territory. Additionally, Paris decided to leave the ship after a period of malcontent and friction with Janeway and Chakotay. During this time, Neelix had started a daily broadcast, "A Briefing with Neelix", designed to boost morale by highlighting the good things happening on Voyager. Paris' departure upset Neelix greatly and he dedicated part of his next broadcast to defending him. Following the advice of Harry Kim, Neelix began using the program to practice some real journalism and soon found evidence that Paris has been in contact with the Kazon-Nistrim. Janeway hurried to correct him in a closed-door briefing with Tuvok and Chakotay, informing him that Paris' misbehavior was part of an investigation into the suspected espionage. Neelix continued his investigation and discovered that Michael Jonas, one of the former Maquis, was passing information to Seska. Jonas attacked Neelix and was killed when he fell into a plasma fire. Neelix stopped Jonas' sabotage and later interviewed Paris, allowing him to set the record straight for the rest of the crew. ()
Also in that year, a bizarre occurrence took place. While on an away mission, Tuvok and Neelix were fused into a new being due to a transporter accident with a symbiotic plant. The combined person called himself "Tuvix" and began an independent life. With the skills and personality of both individuals, he became a valuable member of the crew over a period of two weeks, but Tuvok and Neelix's close friends were still upset. The Doctor figured out a way to restore Tuvok and Neelix, but Tuvix refused to consent to the procedure because he enjoyed his existence. In the end, Janeway forced him to undergo the procedure. ()
===The third year (2373)===
The year 2373 brought many adventures to Neelix. When Voyager discovered a planet that two Ferengi, who arrived through an unstable wormhole, were exploiting, Neelix, in disguise as the Grand Proxy, tried to stop them. The plot failed and he was almost burned at the stake with the Ferengi before Voyager beamed them out. Neelix and Kes, while visiting a Nechisti shrine, were struck by an energy bolt that rendered Kes comatose. Janeway, after performing Nechisti rituals, was able to save her. ()
When Tieran, a despot ruler of Ilari, transferred his mind into Kes, Neelix helped save her when he attached a synaptic stimulator on her neck that drove Tieran from her mind. The incident also resulted in the end of their romantic relationship. Later, Neelix helped resolve a diplomatic snafu with the Tak Tak, a species that communicated with elaborate displays of body language, when Janeway accidentally offended them by putting her hands on her hips. He tried to help Janeway fight off the giant mutated viruses that had infected Voyager but was soon infected himself. He was cured with the rest of the crew when The Doctor developed an antigen. ()
Neelix became worried that he would be dismissed from the crew when Voyager reached the Nekrit Expanse, the boundary of the space he was familiar with. He frantically tried to find a new occupation for himself, from engineering to security. When the ship stopped at a supply depot, Neelix encountered his old friend and partner-in-crime Wixiban. Wixiban claimed that he had also gone straight and asked for Neelix's help in a trade deal. Neelix agreed so that he could get a map of the Expanse as well as to repay Wixiban for going to prison in his place. However, Wixiban was actually dealing in drugs and the deal went bad when the goods were stolen and one of the criminals killed. The rest of the gang demanded more contraband in exchange for Neelix and Wixiban's lives. Neelix argued with Wixiban over digging themselves even deeper, and the situation was further complicated when Chakotay and Paris were arrested for the criminal's murder. Neelix told Janeway and the head of the station about the crime and made a deal to trap the criminals in exchange for dropping the charges. The plan succeeded, mostly, though Neelix was injured. He offered to leave the ship in disgrace, but Janeway angrily replied that he was part of the family and punished him with two weeks of hard labor instead, an outcome Neelix was quite pleased with. ()
Neelix's next adventure brought him into conflict with Tuvok. Tuvok found Neelix annoying, and Neelix felt that Tuvok was condescending. Together, they went on a mission to discover why the planet Nezu was being bombarded with asteroids and to rescue a group of scientists. Their shuttle crashed on the planet. They found out from one of the scientists that the bombardment had been created by an enemy of the Nezu and that there was a traitor among them. Neelix not only rescued Tuvok, but discovered who the traitor was. He fixed the carriage that was tethered to an orbital space station so they could escape. After this, Tuvok had a new-found respect for Neelix. ()
===The fourth year (2374)===
While visiting the Mari, Neelix became interested in a Mari woman named Talli. He intended to ask her out and wore an overpowering cologne made of musk. Talli was killed a few days later by a woman infected with violent thoughts. Neelix was very upset and asked Tuvok to bring justice to her killer. ()
In 2374, Neelix was killed in a shuttle accident. Seven of Nine brought him back to life by using her nanoprobes. Although his life was saved, Neelix began to question his very existence and his religious beliefs. When a Talaxian dies, they believe they go to the afterlife in the Great Forest. There they are reunited with their relatives and guided to the afterlife. Neelix experienced none of this. He had a vision quest under the guidance of Chakotay, and met his sister Alixia, who told him the afterlife is a lie and his life is worthless. When he had awakened, he decided to kill himself. Chakotay talked him out of it, explaining that visions can mean many things and that his friends on Voyager needed him. ()
He participated in the battle against the Hirogen when the Voyager crew was being used for a training game in the Hirogen holodeck hunts on Voyager. He first was a resistance fighter who was killed by the Nazi Hirogen. Later, as a Klingon, he rallied the holographic Klingon army to attack the Hirogen. ()
===The fifth year (2375)===
During 2375, Neelix underwent security training, overseen by Tuvok. ()
===Last year on Voyager (2377-2378)===
In his last year on Voyager, he helped find The Doctor, who had been kidnapped and sold by an alien named Gar. He put spices in Gar's food that were incompatible with his physiology, and told him only The Doctor could cure him. This persuaded Gar to give them the location of The Doctor. Neelix, however, had only given him an upset stomach. ()
He took pity on prisoners that were aboard a prison transport that was damaged in space. The prisoners were housed in a cargo bay made into a prison on Voyager. One of the prisoners, Joleg, told Neelix he was sentenced to die just because he was in the vicinity of a murder and that his race was discriminated against by the Nyrians whose prison ship he was on. But Joleg was only manipulating Neelix. When the time was right, he tried to escape and tried to kill the guards. ()
Neelix helped free most of the crew from the workforce. They had been captured and brainwashed into believing that they were willing to work for the Quarren. ()
Neelix was part of an away team that was held captive by a race whose world was contaminated by an old Earth probe. During the captivity, he helped Paris deliver and save a newborn's life. After he was rescued, he asked Janeway to help the people. Voyager was able to help stop the radiation poisoning and the planet began to regenerate itself. ()
===Leaving Voyager===
In 2378, Voyager discovered a group of Talaxians living inside an asteroid located in the Delta Quadrant. Neelix helped them defend themselves against a group of miners that wanted them to leave the ore-rich asteroid. It was also at this time that Captain Janeway offered him a chance to serve as Starfleet's permanent ambassador in the Delta Quadrant. He accepted the position and soon left the starship to live with the other Talaxians inside the asteroid. Neelix stayed with Dexa, a widow, and her son, . He kept the combadge he was issued as a souvenir of his time on Voyager. ()
However, Neelix also continued to keep in contact with the crew of Voyager. Following his departure, he suggested to Seven of Nine that a picnic might be a suitable option for her third date with Commander Chakotay. Later, Neelix also played a game of kadis-kot with her. During the game, Seven of Nine thanked Neelix for his earlier suggestion. The Talaxian informed Seven of Nine that he was considering making a marriage proposal to Dexa. Their game came to an abrupt end when Seven detected large levels of neutrino emissions on long range sensors and Seven told Neelix that she would contact him at the usual time during the following day. ()
===Kazon ===
Neelix's knowledge of the Kazon proved invaluable during Voyagers deals with the various Kazon sects.
He took part in contacting Kazon sects and set in motion the plan to form alliances with them. He would also meet Mabus, the leader of the Trabe, who had ruled the Kazon before they rebelled. Voyager would form an alliance with them, which persuaded the Kazon to attend the proposed peace conference. Neelix, alerted by one of his contacts, informed Janeway that the conference might be sabotaged.
After the failure of the peace conference, Neelix helped discover who on Voyager was betraying them to Maje Culluh. It was discovered that it was crewman Michael Jonas. Neelix found him in engineering trying to sabotage the engines, stopped him, and in the ensuing fight, Jonas was killed.
When Voyager was captured by Culluh and the crew was stranded on a primitive planet, Neelix helped them survive until they were able to retake the ship. ()
=== First contacts===
He did some adult babysitting when he was in charge of showing Tomin, a Kadi ambassador, around Voyager. Tomin became a handful as he got drunk and made a pass at Seven. ()
Neelix was part of the away team that tried to shut down a Malon ship whose engines were going to explode and release deadly radiation. ()
In 2376, after returning from an away mission, Tuvok was attacked by an invisible alien and suffered brain damage. Neelix helped nurse him back to health. ()
He was the first one to become suspicious of the Vaadwaur, a race that Voyager had awakened from stasis. He remembered that their race was a hostile and aggressive one. ()
Later he returned from another away mission with visions of a massacre he participated in. These images were implanted in him from a memorial left behind by the race that had some of its members killed. His memories were that he could not protect the children and they were massacred. He, along with some other crew members, were captured by a Borg ship that was commanded by Borg children. Eventually Voyager rescued him. The children were taken aboard Voyager since they had been severed from the hive. These same children were entertained by him when Voyager encountered an electric being and was transporting it back to its home in a nebula. He did this so they would not be scared. ()
==Personal interests==
Because of his varied career, Neelix developed a variety of personal interests that he continued to express on Voyager.
===Cooking===
Neelix was an enthusiastic cook and ran the ship's mess hall. He was fond of experimenting and often tried to adapt crew members' recipes with the limited ingredients available in the Delta Quadrant, although they often complained about the results. Early on, Tom Paris remarked that Neelix's cooking was "always interesting" and the glutinous "Even better than coffee substitute" Neelix developed from native plants strongly motivated Janeway to seek new sources of energy for the ship so that she could use the replicator guilt-free. () However, he was able to successfully cook a blood pie for B'Elanna. () He enjoyed finding new ingredients to work with, which usually took the form of produce rather than meat. ()
===Engineering===
Neelix served as an engineering assistant and tried to learn more about the field to be more useful to the crew. He was able to defeat a group of criminals with a canister of leaking warp plasma. (). He also knew how to transport protomatter, a valuable energy resource, although the mission went awry and resulted in his temporary death and subsequent crisis of faith ().
===Culture===
As part of his self-appointed duties as morale officer, Neelix familiarized himself with the various traditions and cultures of crew members. (). He also enjoyed Talaxian holidays and established an annual celebration of Prixin aboard the ship, asking Tuvok to read the traditional salutation one year. ()
==Personal relationships==
===Family===
Neelix's family consisted of a father, a mother several siblings, cousin(s), and a great-grandmother. Much of his family was killed in the Talaxian's war with the Haakonians and their metreon cascade. ()
Neelix's cooking expertise was, in part, thanks to family tradition, where several examples of these family recipes were shared while serving aboard Voyager. His recipe for chadre'kab had been in his family for generations. () His Talaxian spice stew served over leola rice pilaf, was described as "an old family recipe," as it was for his taga cake. () His grandmother was known for her soup recipe that was "guaranteed to cure even the most stubborn flu." ()
====Alixia====
Alixia was Neelix's favorite sister. She and Neelix were very close, and often explored such places as the forest behind their house, the Caves of Touth and the Dunes of Talmouth. They also hunted arctic spiders together. She was killed on Rinax during the Haakonian War. ()
When he was struck by an energy blast and killed, only to be saved by Seven's nanoprobes, he questioned his belief in the afterlife. During a vision quest, Alixia told him that the afterlife was a lie – a place made-up because Talaxians feared death. This vision was probably just an expression of his anxiety over his beliefs. ()
===Friendships===
==== Kathryn Janeway====
Neelix considered Kathryn Janeway a good friend and mentor of sorts. Neelix proved to be a valuable asset to the captain in terms of his knowledge of local cultures and customs. Additionally, Neelix proved a strong resource for information on local politics and locations where supplies could be obtained. Neelix also served as a diplomatic contact for Voyager and served as the official ambassador for the crew, helping to negotiate trade agreements and build relationships where necessary. He also advised the captain on tactical decisions in some instances. Neelix also counseled the captain when she needed a fresh perspective. 
====Tom Paris====
While Tom Paris and Neelix originally got along only because they each knew that the other had come from a somewhat "less than legal" background, Neelix came to believe that Tom was a rival for Kes' affections after seeing Tom and Kes being friendly with each other. Tom did worry about his attraction to Kes and resolved not to act on his feelings, but Neelix was still jealous and suspicious of him. He started a food fight with Tom, but the two men resolved their differences when they were forced to rely on each other to survive and protect an alien infant on an away mission. () When Paris seemingly left Voyager for a Talaxian convoy, as part of a sting operation to flush out a mole, Neelix was disappointed, believing that Paris had found a home onboard Voyager. In a broadcast of his A Briefing with Neelix program, he praised Paris as someone who had proved himself from the beginning, stating that he was busy judging Paris even though he had been giving his best each day. He continued that he would miss Paris's friendship and that he would leave an empty space when he left. ()
In 2376, they were together on the looking for dilithium, when they came across two "clerics". It later turned out that they had been con artists, and Paris and Neelix consoled each other, feeling that they'd lost their touch. ()
====Tuvok====
Tuvok met Neelix when he was sent to the transporter room to bring him aboard for the first time in mid-2371. When correcting Neelix's assumption that the "Federations" were a single culture, Tuvok described himself as "Vulcan", and for the next seven years, Neelix often referred to him as "Mr. Vulcan". ()
Neelix often tried to get Tuvok to show emotion, especially happiness, in spite of Tuvok's Vulcan nature. Tuvok found this tiresome and unbeknownst to Neelix, used a simulation of Neelix's behavior to test if he was losing his emotional control after a mindmeld with the homicidal Lon Suder; the simulation ended with Tuvok killing the Talaxian. ()
Around stardate 49655.2, Tuvok and Neelix were temporarily merged into one lifeform by a transporter malfunction. This lifeform named himself "Tuvix". Tuvix lived aboard Voyager for a few weeks, before The Doctor managed to find a way to reverse the malfunction. ()
Neelix always admired Tuvok and was constantly seeking his approval. During Kes' premature elogium, Neelix asked Tuvok about being a parent; Tuvok's insights helped Neelix to accept the idea that he and Kes might have a child. () He gained Tuvok's respect during the incident on the Nezu homeworld. () During one celebration of Prixin, Neelix had Tuvok recite the traditional salutation. Tuvok agreed, although he did abridge it somewhat. () During the Year of Hell, Neelix joined Tuvok's security team, although this development was undone when the destruction of the Krenim temporal weapon ship reset the timeline. ()
Neelix helped Tuvok recover his memory when he was attacked by mysterious aliens called the Ba'neth. This strengthened their friendship. ()
Tuvok encouraged Neelix to assist a Talaxian settlement in defending their home against miners, and reunite with his people. As a going away gift, Tuvok danced a brief step to the delight of Neelix. ()
====Naomi====
Neelix became very fond of Naomi Wildman, his goddaughter. He tucked her into bed every night and told her stories about the Great Forest. He cared for her while her mother was on away missions and chased away "monsters" so she could sleep. When a shuttlecraft her mother was on crashed, he took care of her and tried to reassure her that her mother would be all right. He took her to the holodeck to get her mind off her mother's plight. He decided that he would become her adoptive father should her mother not return from the mission. ()
==== Seven of Nine ====
Neelix was polite to Seven of Nine and became one of her better friends. He assisted her in learning the basics of Human behavior, such as eating. Seven recognized that he was valuable to the crew for a number of reasons and used Borg nanoprobes to revive him when he died in an accident. () Because of his talent for assisting in emotional and relationship issues, Seven consulted him for dating tips and ideas when she started her relationship with Chakotay.
===Romance===
====Kes====
Neelix and the Ocampan named Kes had a romantic relationship before and during their early years aboard Voyager. Neelix met her while she was being held captive by the Kazon-Ogla. The two fell in love, and Neelix rescued her with the aid of the Voyager crew and the two asked to stay on the ship. () Neelix was extremely resistant to the suggestion that Kes donate one of her lungs after his were stolen by Vidiians, but he eventually agreed. ()
When Kes went through a premature elogium, she and Neelix were caught off-guard. Kes told Neelix that they needed to decide now if they wanted to have a child due to the nature of Ocampan physiology. Neelix was concerned about possible danger to Kes and whether or not Ocampan and Talaxian physiology was even compatible. There was also the daunting prospect of becoming a father, something Neelix had never considered before. His indecision and reluctance upset Kes, who had always assumed she would have a child someday. After thinking it over and talking with Tuvok, Neelix decided he could become a father and was disappointed when Kes decided not to conceive after having doubts of her own. However, because the Elogium was a false one, Kes and Neelix looked forward to the prospect of becoming parents later on. ()
Neelix was very jealous of Kes' relationship with Tom Paris, which caused tension between the two of them. Kes was upset that Neelix didn't trust her, although Neelix said that it was Paris he distrusted. Her friendly behavior with Paris made Neelix jealous to the point of starting a fight with him, to Kes' displeasure. ()
In 2373, Neelix and Kes ended their romance after her possession by Tieran. While possessed by him, she broke up with Neelix, telling him that she'd like to spend some time apart from him. ()
After the end of their romantic relationship, Neelix and Kes remained friends.
Kes' telepathic powers eventually progressed to the point that she could not stay on Voyager. Her transformation and changing cellular flux was causing malfunctions on the ship. He would see her again in 2376 when an aged Kes returned to seek vengeance on Voyager. She believed that she was kidnapped by Voyager, and she wanted to capture her past self by betraying Voyager to the Vidiians. Her anger was defused by seeing how happy she was on Voyager. After a brief reunion with Neelix, she returned to her people. ()
==== Talli====
When Voyager visited the Mari homeworld in 2374, Neelix became attracted to a grocer named Talli. At first he was awkward because it had been some time since he'd dated anyone and wore too much cologne (according to Paris) and Talli, as a telepath, read his desire to have her tug his whiskers. Talli was amicable to the idea. Any development of their relationship was cut short when Talli was stabbed to death by a woman under the influence of violent thoughts, to Neelix's sorrow. ()
====Ch'Rega====
In 2377 Neelix was briefly involved with Ch'Rega, a Klingon woman who served under Kohlar and whom Neelix described as "a fine specimen of Klingon womanhood". Ch'Rega was transported onto Voyager and initially pursued Harry Kim. When Neelix found Kim hiding from her, he decided to take her off of Kim's hands. He staged an elaborate scene in her presence in which he threw Kim against a bulkhead for supposedly taking more than two servings of gagh. The Klingon quickly transferred her affections to the Talaxian. Tuvok, who was sharing his quarters with Neelix at the time, later discovered that Neelix and Ch'rega's liaison had left the room in a shamble. Ch'Rega and the other Klingons from her ship settled on a new planet soon after. ()
====Dexa====
Dexa was a Talaxian woman who, along with five hundred other Talaxians, took refuge on an asteroid that they turned into their home. She had a son named , and was widowed. Neelix, who coincidentally shared his name with , was nursed back to health after he crashed on the asteroid in a shuttle. He helped her and the other Talaxians defend themselves against a group of miners who attempted to drive them off the asteroid. Neelix, having fallen in love with Dexa, elected to stay behind with her while Voyager continued towards Earth. () A few weeks later, Neelix told Seven of Nine he was thinking of asking Dexa to marry him. ()
==Alternate Neelixes==
===Holograms===
Neelix was holographically duplicated on a number of occasions:
*Recreations of crew members from Voyager and the Jupiter Station Holoprogramming Center were seen by The Doctor during a holographic malfunction in 2371. This simulation, or daydream, included Neelix fighting a Kazon with a frying pan. ()
*Tuvok created a holoprogram in 2372 to deal with violent feelings he absorbed during a mind meld with Lon Suder. This program was nothing more than a holographic copy of Neelix that would annoy Tuvok until he killed him. ()
*The entire crew of Voyager was recreated by Tuvok from his Insurrection Alpha program, including Neelix. ()
*In 2374 Chakotay created a holographic simulation of a shuttle accident where Neelix was struck by an energy discharge and died. ()
*The Kyrian Museum of Heritage in the 31st century used the program The Voyager Encounter to detail their encounter with the , as an aid to a history lesson. In the heavily-flawed version of events Neelix was Voyager's Ops officer. ()
*In 2374, The Doctor created a program to help Seven of Nine improve her social skills. ()
*In 2378, Seven recreated the crew of Voyager to perfect her social skills, including Neelix. ()
* Ensign Harry Kim and Seven of Nine projected The Doctor's daydreams into the holodeck aboard Voyager in order to better understand what was malfunctioning. In this daydream, Neelix attended The Doctor's award ceremony. ()
*Pathfinder Project engineer (and former crew member) Reginald Barclay created a holoprogram with the Voyager crew including Neelix. At his home, Barclay had, as a pet, a real white cat named "". ()
== Chronology==
;2355: Loses his family on Rinax after all of the moon's inhabitants are killed by the metreon cascade. ()
;2370: Meets and falls in love with Kes. The two are separated in some incident involving the Kazon-Ogla.
;2371: Assists the USS Voyager in finding several lost crewmen, and is reunited with his lover, Kes. The two of them ask to remain on Voyager. ()
;2372: Samantha Wildman asks Neelix to be godfather of her daughter, Naomi.
;2374: Neelix dies in an accident aboard a shuttle, but is brought back using Borg nanoprobe technology. He seriously reconsiders his religion, and his views of the afterlife. He almost attempts suicide, but is stopped by Chakotay with the help of Naomi and Samantha Wildman. ()
;2378: Decides to stay on the Talaxian colony with Dexa and Brax, leaves Voyager, and is named "Federation Ambassador to the Delta Quadrant". ()
==Memorable quotes==
"I wonder what a Vulcan nightmare would be like."
"Alone, exiled on a planet, where the only form of communication is laughter."
: - Neelix poking fun at Tuvok's "Vulcan dreams" ()
==Appendices==
===Appearances===
* Every episode except: 
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===Background information===
Neelix was played by Star Trek veteran actor Ethan Phillips.
Neelix was one of the last characters to be developed for . The guide aspect of Neelix was developed from Kes initially being referred to with the description, "She might function as a scout/gang expert," at a point when the Kazon were commonly referred to as being gangs. By the end of September 1993, Neelix was present in the series' first draft writers' bible, albeit named "Felux". His job description was referred to therein as "Gofer/Guide". (A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager, pp. 189 & 208) According to VOY Season 2 DVD's text commentary for , another early production name for Neelix was "Felox".
In the first draft script of , Neelix was described as "a short, plump, unkempt being." The script went on to say, "He has adopted an air of cultivated elegance and charm that is at odds with his seedy appearance." This description was changed so that, in the final draft of the "Caretaker" script, he was described thus; "Neelix is, frankly, unattractive but in a teddy bear sort of way. He takes great pride in his appearance but what can anyone do who hasn't seen water in two weeks... from our point of view, he might seem rather, well, dirty. He has adopted an air of cultivated elegance and charm rather like the concierge at a one-star hotel. (The key to Neelix is to understand that there is not a more noble heart in the universe... he is a survivor who will scavenger and wheel and deal but he wouldn't harm a fly and has a core sense of honor. He is extremely lovable. His purpose in life will become to make himself useful in any way he can to us. His reward for proving himself a valuable mate is a lifestyle he never dreamed about.)"
Of Neelix's introduction in "Caretaker", author David A. McIntee wrote, "Neelix was essentially planned as an attempt to repeat the tongue-in-cheek success of Quark, but sadly the former trader-turned-chef doesn't have that effect." He listed the character as one of the low points of the episode. (, pp. 3 & 12)
=== Apocrypha===
Neelix (again voiced by Ethan Phillips) appears in Delta Rising, the second expansion to Star Trek Online. He maintains his title of Ambassador between the Federation and the Delta Quadrant, and has become the de-facto leader of the Talaxian asteroid colony he and Dexa live in. The player, joined by now-Admiral Tuvok, arrives at Neelix's colony and offer to help them find a "New Talax", with Tuvok remarking that the recent experience with aiding the Romulans in a similar search would prove invaluable. Later on, Neelix helps broker an agreement between the Delta Alliance (the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic) and the Hazari to counter the threat of the Vaadwaur.
Neelix's mirror universe appears in the novella The Mirror-Scaled Serpent and the novel Rise Like Lions.
===External links===
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