Ayala

Ayala was a Maquis who served as Chakotay's right-hand man aboard the raider Val Jean. When he became stranded in the Delta Quadrant aboard the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, he joined its crew as a security officer. He returned to the Alpha Quadrant with Voyager in 2378. 

Stranded in the Delta Quadrant
In 2371, Ayala was one of Chakotay's crew aboard the Val Jean. When Gul Evek's ship, the Vetar, attacked the Maquis vessel in the Badlands, he attempted to make repairs to the bridge. After the Val Jean was transported to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array, Ayala was brought aboard the array for testing by the Caretaker. He was returned to the Val Jean unharmed. He later boarded Voyager along with Chakotay and Tuvok at Captain Kathryn Janeway's invitation. When it was revealed that Tuvok was a spy for the Federation, Ayala attempted to attack him, but was held back by Chakotay. He was issued a compression phaser rifle and beamed to the array with an away team to scout for Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres with Tuvok, but was soon returned to Voyager by the Caretaker. The Val Jean was later destroyed after it rammed a Kazon carrier vessel, and the Maquis were forced to join Voyager's crew for the journey home. 

Ayala was transported aboard Voyager with B'Elanna Torres and at least two other Maquis crew. In an alternate timeline created several years later by a spatial rift, he was trapped in the transporter room with the Maquis. Chakotay, who originated from the time period where Voyager encountered the rift, injected Torres and Ayala with a chroniton-infused serum which allowed them to move between the time periods, to retake main engineering from Seska. This alternate timeline was later erased when a chroniton field brought Voyager back into temporal sync. 

The bridge
Ayala was awarded the rank of lieutenant junior grade, initially in the engineering and operations divisions, but eventually in security. He was generally assigned to the bridge as a relief tactical officer. He also served as operations officer at various points in 2371 and 2372. Ayala was left in command of the bridge when the ship was affected by a distortion ring being. 

In 2375, while Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was missing with an away team aboard the Delta Flyer, Lieutenant Ayala served as acting tactical officer. With the crew at continuous work to find the away team, Captain Janeway asked him to contact the Beta team on the surface, as they had not reported in for an hour. At the same time, Neelix also offered the bridge crew some coffee, of which Ayala accepted a cup. 

By 2378, shortly before Voyager returned to Earth, Ayala had switched to the command division, and was assigned to the conn. 

Security detail
Ayala took part in several away team missions as a security guard. He was occasionally assigned to guard prisoners in the brig, such as Lon Suder, Seven of Nine,  Dala,  and Gar. Ayala also escorted guests aboard Voyager to sensitive areas such as the bridge or the briefing room. 

Other activities
Tuvix, an individual created after a transporter accident fused Tuvok and Neelix together, tried to gather support from Voyager bridge crew, including Ayala, after Captain Janeway decided to restore Tuvok and Neelix. His pleading went unanswered. 

Along with the rest of the Voyager crew, Ayala was stranded on Hanon IV when the Kazon took control of the ship in 2372. He was initially part of Chakotay's team, searching for food and water. Along with Lieutenant Torres, Ayala created a diversion to lure the Hanon IV natives away from the cave in which several Voyager crew members were trapped. 

Ayala was one of several Voyager crewmen who had participated in Lieutenant Tuvok's holo-program Insurrection Alpha, at one point mentioning the program to Ensign Harry Kim. 

He was one of the excited bridge crew hoping to receive a message from home when Voyager used an ancient Hirogen relay network to communicate with the Alpha Quadrant in 2374. Ayala was on the bridge when the Pathfinder Project established real-time communication with Voyager in 2376, and he attended the party in the mess hall following the historic event. 

Ayala worked at the Mission Ops I station on the bridge when Voyager returned to Earth in 2378. 

Loss of identity
In 2376, when the Tarakis memorial began transmitting telepathic memories to Voyager, Ayala was one of the crew members stricken by visions caused by the memorial. 

In 2377, he was attacked by Tuvok, who was under the mental control of a Bajoran vedek named Teero Anaydis. Tuvok mind-melded with Ayala and other Maquis, inciting them to mutiny and overthrow Captain Janeway. He once again served as Chakotay's right-hand man, and guarded him in the captain's ready room. He was present when Chakotay tested Tuvok's loyalty by ordering Tuvok to fire a phaser at Captain Janeway. Ayala was returned to normal along with the rest of the Maquis once Tuvok recovered. 

Later that year, his identity was reassigned to that of a laborer working for the Quarren when nearly the entire Voyager crew was abducted by Dr. Kadan. He worked at the same power plant as Seven of Nine, Janeway, Torres, and Tuvok. Ayala's personnel file at the plant was one of many Voyager crew files accessed by Tuvok, whose memory was still partially intact. 

Medical record
The Q known as Quinn temporarily caused all male crew members of Voyager to disappear when he encountered the ship in 2372, including Ayala. 

Tuvok, having lost his emotional control after a mind-meld with Lon Suder, knocked Ayala unconscious in order to get to Suder. 

Ayala was in the mess hall when a macrovirus was released aboard Voyager in mid-2373, and was one of the first crew members to succumb to infection. 

Seven of Nine stunned Ayala during her escape from Voyager in early 2374, after she was drawn to the wreckage of the USS Raven. 

Ayala guarded the Species 8472 individual stranded on Voyager, but was shot by the Alpha-Hirogen when he broke free of sickbay to pursue the creature. 

In an alternate timeline created after Voyager'' crash-landed on a planet after using a quantum slipstream drive, Ayala was killed with most of the crew. In 2390, his frozen body was found by Harry Kim in a Jefferies tube, shortly before the timeline was erased and Voyager's destruction averted.''

In an alternate timeline, when Kes returned to seek revenge against the Voyager'' crew in 2376, Ayala and a security team was sent to intercept her, and he was injured by her telekinetic abilities. This timeline was changed when Janeway had these sections evacuated.''

Personal life
A jealous Neelix worried that Kes was romantically interested in Ayala, along with many other Voyager crew members. 

Ayala was grief-stricken because he was forced to leave his sons in the Alpha Quadrant. As part of his morale officer duties, Neelix often counseled Ayala. 

Ayala was among the group at Kurt Bendera's funeral in 2372 and was part of the honor guard during Ares IV astronaut John Kelly's funeral in 2376. 

Ayala was at Ensign Ahni Jetal's surprise birthday party in 2373. 

He also attended the holodeck luau planned by Neelix later that year. Harry Kim learned about the Insurrection Alpha holodeck program from Ayala. Ayala participated in several of Tom Paris's holosimulations, including Fair Haven, and was one of the crew members who was involved in a barroom fight instigated by one of the holographic characters. Ayala was also present during a screening of Attack of the Lobster People at a simulation of the Palace Theater. 

Ayala participated in Neelix's celebration of the 315th anniversary of First Contact, and was amused by Neelix's dancing. He later bade Neelix farewell outside the shuttlebay with the rest of the Voyager crew. 

Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline, Ayala had survived the twenty-three year trip in the Delta Quadrant and returned to Earth in 2394, after which he continued to serve in Starfleet. In 2404, at the ten-year reunion party of the Voyager-crew in Admiral Janeway's apartment, he caught up with old friends with his female guest, and chatted with now Captain Harry Kim. 

Miscellaneous information
Ayala's quarters on Voyager were on Deck 7. 

Several holographic representations of Ayala were created. In Tuvok's Insurrection Alpha program, Ayala was ordered to take the helm after the Maquis were successful in commandeering Voyager. If the participant in the simulation decided to help the Starfleet crew, Ayala apprehended the participant and brought them to the brig. Ayala was seen in the mess hall in the program created by The Doctor in order to improve Seven of Nine's social skills. In Maquis garb, he was part of Reginald Barclay's holographic simulation of Voyager, programmed to act as one of Barclay's good friends. 

In the 28th century simulation of Voyager at the Kyrian Museum of Heritage, Ayala was present on the bridge. 

Memorable Quotes
"Yeah."

"Ensign Ayala to the bridge."

Kathryn Janeway: "Go ahead, ensign."

"You'd better come down to the brig, ma'am."

"Stop where you are!"

"There's some kind of pulse being directed at our transceiver array. It's coming from the Delta Flyer."

Harry Kim: "Hail them."

"No response."

Chronology

 * prior to 2371 : Fathers two sons, joins the Maquis under Chakotay's command.
 * 2371 : Presumed killed when the Val Jean is lost in the Badlands; actually joins the crew of the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant with the provisional Starfleet rank of lieutenant junior grade.
 * 2374 : Word of Voyager's survival reaches the Alpha Quadrant.
 * 2377 : Helps Chakotay commandeer Voyager as part of Teero Anaydis's mind control plot.
 * Memory is erased and identity reassigned by rogue Quarren, later rescued.


 * 2378 : Transfers to command division.
 * Returns to Earth with Voyager.

Appearances

 * (Season One)
 * (Season Two)
 * (Season Three)
 * (Season Four)
 * (Season Five)
 * (Season Six)
 * (Season Seven)
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 * (Season Seven)
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 * (Season Six)
 * (Season Seven)
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 * (Season Six)
 * (Season Seven)
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 * (Season Four)
 * (Season Five)
 * (Season Six)
 * (Season Seven)
 * (Season Four)
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 * (Season Seven)
 * (Season Four)
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 * (Season Six)
 * (Season Seven)
 * (Season Four)
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 * (Season Six)
 * (Season Seven)
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 * (Season Seven)
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Background information
Ayala was played by Tarik Ergin, a regular extra for all seven years of Star Trek: Voyager. However, he was never specifically credited for playing Ayala. Instead, he was only credited as "Security Guard" in and "Tactical N.D." in – even though he worked at the conn in the latter episode. He only spoke in the episodes, , , and.

The task of definitively establishing Tarik as Ayala is an act of some research. Ergin was directly addressed as Ayala in at least three episodes,, , and. In the first two instances, Ergin clearly responds to a command prefaced by the name "Ayala". In the last, Tuvix calls out to Ayala by name, looking in the direction of mission ops, where only Ergin has been established to be at the time. Furthermore, in, he has a short conversation with Janeway over the intercom system in which he self-identifies as Ayala. This instance is less clear, however, as Ergin is never actually seen during the conversation, only before and after it.

He worked in main engineering in but was moved to the bridge by. He appeared in numerous episodes, usually standing at the master systems display or mission ops stations at the back of the bridge. He generally replaced Tuvok at tactical whenever he left the bridge, and also replaced Kim at the ops station during the first two seasons.

Ayala was also seen often in the mess hall and the corridors. He was called ensign in, but lieutenant once again in. Ayala's first name was never revealed.

Apocrypha
In the novel Evolution, set in 2375, Captain Janeway is on the verge of death and Chakotay is in command; with Kim and Paris presumed dead, Chakotay assigns Ayala as chief operations officer.

External link


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