“Number One, you have the helm.” The fact that Captain Picard speaks those words on a regular basis in Star Trek: The Next Generation shouldn’t undermine the importance of the chain of command. Within the world of Star Trek, the first officer isn’t just the person who supports the captain and takes over when needed. The first officer must connect the captain and the crew, making sure that the former’s orders get carried out and that the latter’s concerns are heard. As such, the first officer must act like something of an audience surrogate, allowing the captain to be an ideal. In short, the first officer (or executive officer or XO, depending on which term you prefer) is one of the most complicated parts on Star Trek. But that complexity also means that the first officer is usually one of the best characters in any Trek series, making these eight the best of the best. 8. Commander Chakotay (Voyager) No character suffered from Voyager‘s slow evolution more than Chakotay. Not only does the series largely disregard the plot development that would have given him good stories, the conflict between the Starfleet personnel and Maquis rebels aboard the ship, but he’s also pushed to the background when Seven of Nine joins the cast. Worse yet are the behind the scenes problems that hobbled the character, including a non-Native scam artist that Voyager producers hired to serve as Native American consultant. Too many Chakotay stories involved pan flute and the bones of his ancestors, making him more of a cartoon than a representation of any real people. It’s easy to understand why Chakotay actor Robert Beltran would completely check out from his job from season three onward. Just look at the wonderful job Beltran does when Chakotay returns for a great arc in Prodigy. 7. Commander Jack Ransom (Lower Decks) Lower Decks may have started out as a parody of classic Star Trek, but by the time it finished its five seasons, its leads had moved from types to fully-developed characters in their own rights. All except Jack Ransom, voiced by Jerry O’Connell. Ransom began the show as an exaggeration of Riker’s sexy, masculine XO and that’s how he ended the series, as demonstrated by the phrase he adopts as Captain: “Engage the Core.” Okay, that’s not entirely true. Over the series’ lifetime, Ransom revealed himself to be a good leader and teacher, because of, and not in spite of, his gym bro attitude. And yet, Ransom’s best moments rarely go beyond punchline. He never gets the full development of his forerunner Riker, and thus has to land near the bottom of this list. 6. Commander Saru (Discovery) Discovery was a messy series, and that lack of clear direction reflected in its command structure. Several people were Commanding Officers at one time or another in Discovery, including Michael Burnham herself. Yet, the most prominent of them is Saru, one of the best characters in the uneven show, brought to life through fantastic special effects work and the always amazing physical acting of the legendary Doug Jones. Saru is a Kelpien, a new race designed for Discovery, and the first of his kind to join Starfleet. In particular, the Kelpiens stayed away from exploration due to their timid nature, a biological instinct that warned them of encroaching danger. Of course, that meant Saru’s warnings went off constantly especially around Burnham. Yet, he stayed loyal to the mission, a decision that felt believable thanks to Jones’ warm screen presence. 5. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Strange New Worlds) A role created by none other Majel Barrett in the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage,” Commander Una Chin-Riley is the original Number One. When Rebecca Romijn took over the part in season two of Discovery, she followed Barrett’s lead to reveal more of Number One’s bravery, competency, and even her sense of humor. Chin-Riley can handle anything Strange New Worlds throws at her, whether it’s battling rabid Gorn or singing a duet with La’an. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! That said, the short seasons of Strange New Worlds, which still hasn’t produced as many episodes of a single pre-Discovery season, means that we haven’t had the same look at Number One as we have othered on this list. Still she’s taken full advantage of the chances she’s been given, as seen in the season two standout episode “Ad Astra Per Aspera.” Revealed to be an Illyrian, a race that uses augments despite Federation on the practice, Number One must defend her position in Starfleet. And defend it she does, capturing in a single speech the sense of bravery and aspiration that makes Star Trek so great. 4. Sub-Commander T’Pol (Enterprise) No one on this list has it easy, but no first officer quite faced the same challenges as T’Pol, the Vulcan first officer assigned to aid/stall humanity’s first steps into deep space aboard the Enterprise NX-01. Even beyond the fact that she had to serve under Captain Archer, a man whose mix of belligerence and incompetence set a model that Starfleet Admirals would follow for generations, T’Pol also had to deal with a duplicitous Vulcan high command. That no-win situation only made T’Pol stand out more. Jolene Blalock perfectly embodied a true believer Vulcan who slowly gets won over by the humans. Her ability to convey the frustration of her position without expressing emotions makes Blaylock one of the best Vulcan performances in Trek history. That’s especially true in Enterprise‘s much stronger third and fourth seasons, in which T’Pol’s friendship with the crew becomes the foundation of the Federation. 3. Major Kira Nerys (Deep Space Nine) Voyager‘s fumbling of Chakotay is made all the more frustrating by the fact that its predecessor nailed a similar dynamic. Major Kira Nerys of the Bajoran resistance came to Federation Starbase Deep Space Nine after spending her adult life waging war against Cardassian occupiers. Now, she not only has to transition to peace time, but must also work with Starfleet, which prioritizes peace with the Cardassians over full reparations to the Bajorans. Rather than run from the conflict, Deep Space Nine embraced it and rested it largely on the soldiers of Kira, played fantastically by Nana Visitor. As early as season one’s excellent “Duet,” Kira revealed herself as not just an incredibly competent commanding officer to work with Sisko, but also a full person with complicated feelings. Kira’s ability to fight through those feelings, to do her job and do it well, makes her one of Trek‘s best first officers and one of the best characters in the entire franchise. 2. Commander Spock (TOS) Were it not for Spock, you would not be reading this article because Star Trek would have died as a weird but interesting sci-fi show from the ’60s and never become the massive ongoing story it is today. Where William Shatner embodied the show’s sense of adventure and where DeForest Kelley embodied the show’s old-timey Western roots, Leonard Nimoy was truly alien as Spock. Through Spock, the series perfectly combined its sci-fi tropes and its ambitions to tell philosophical stories. Moreover, Spock set the standard for Star Trek first officers. He had his own role on the ship and, with it, his own often great stories (“Spock’s Brain” isn’t that bad). But when he clashed with the captain, he provided a necessary counter to his human leader, providing valuable insight to help Kirk realize his full potential. It’s no wonder that Spock became the breakout character of the series and that he and Kirk’s relationship inspired a whole genre of fan fiction. 1. Commander William Riker (The Next Generation) Need evidence of Will Riker’s greatness? First, watch Jonathan Frakes perform the Riker maneuver. Then, watch his forerunner Will Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Sure, the character gained more of an adventurous side during the transition from Decker to Riker, changing from wet-blanket to Kirk surrogate. But where Decker felt cold and ineffective even in his romance scenes with Ilia, Riker felt competent and kind, even away from Troi. It’s that warm competence that makes Riker the ideal Star Trek first officer. At a moment’s notice, Riker could take the helm and even fire torpedos at his compromised captain. But he could also flash a big goofy grin while playing cards with the rest of bridge crew and show compassion for a struggling ensign. Even before he explained himself to Jellico in “Chain of Command,” we already understood why Riker didn’t want to graduate to captain. He was happy in the space between solitary leader and member of the crew community, a job he performed at the highest level of excellence.