Holly Hunter as Captain Ake in Star Trek Starfleet Academy
Over the past six decades of Star Trek, we've seen a vast number of Starfleet captains commanding ships on the Federation's behalf. There is, however, a direct line of main character captains that runs from 1963 right through to 2026.
It started with William Shatner's James T. Kirk on the Enterprise, who was succeeded by Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Avery Brooks took command of Deep Space Nine , then Kate Mulgrew was Star Trek's first main female captain, playing Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager. The next would be Scott Bakula's Archer in Enterprise, set earlier than any previous Star Trek TV series. In the streaming era, the Discovery had a revolving door of captains before lead character Michael Burnham finally landed the top job. Green would be followed by Dawnn Lewis as Captain Freeman of the Cerritos in Lower Decks, and Anson Mount as the Enterprise's Captain Pike in Strange New Worlds. The ninth entrant in that lineage comes via Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: Holly Hunter's Nahla Ake, captain of the Athena and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Despite having a string of esteemed predecessors, Ake is making Star Trek history in a key way. Nahla Ake Is The First Main Character Captain Who Isn't Fully Human In Star Trek Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham, Freeman, and Pike all had something in common: they were 100% human. The closest thing to an alien among that group would be Burnham, who was raised as a member of Spock's family on Vulcan, but her biology was still entirely human. Starfleet Academy's Captain Ake breaks that trend by being human and Lanthanite. A relatively new species in Star Trek canon, little is known of the Lanthanites, other than their strong resemblance to humans and presence on Earth for thousands of years. Where Lanthanites originated from isn't yet clear. We've seen plenty of non-human officers occupy the captain's chair previously, but never as the main character - that central lineage from Kirk to Pike. The effect in practice isn't as significant as it would be if Captain Ake was a Vulcan or a Betazoid, but her biology does impact her captaincy. With Lanthanites known for their long lives, Ake is over 400 years old when Starfleet Academy begins, immediately making her far more experienced than her peers. At the same time, Ake has a far greater appreciation for the fleeting lives of humans and other Federation species, not entirely dissimilar from the EMH Doctor, who has existed for 800-odd years. Naturally, this also makes Ake the oldest of Star Trek's main captains - and likely the oldest captain in Starfleet history. What About Star Trek: Prodigy? Star Trek: Prodigy may put a slight dent in Nahla Ake's claim to being the first main Star Trek captain with alien heritage. For much of the animated series, Dal - an engineered hybrid of many different species - led the crew of the Protostar. Dal was, however, merely commandeering a Starfleet vessel, and cannot be considered captain in any official capacity. Subscribe for deeper Star Trek captain lineage insights Join the newsletter for expanded Star Trek analysis—deeper context on captain lineages, character backgrounds, and canon implications that builds on this topic and helps you connect developments across the franchise. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. After the Protostar crew made contact with the Federation and joined Starfleet, the recruits were placed into a pilot program that involved flying the USS Prodigy under Janeway's supervision. During this time, Ensign Gwyndala, a Vau N'Akat, was chosen as the ship's acting captain. There are, however, two significant caveats here. Firstly, Gwyn only became acting captain at the very end of Star Trek: Prodigy, so she's never a main character while occupying that role. More importantly, Gwyn is still officially an ensign, with her command duties part of an elaborate training course for the Prodigy gang. That leaves the path clear for Nahla Ake to seize the honor of being Star Trek's first main captain who is also part-alien. 25 8.7/10 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Drama Science Fiction Fantasy Release Date January 15, 2026 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau Directors Alex Kurtzman Writers Gaia Violo, Gene Roddenberry Cast See All
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