Editing Kes (Star Trek) (section)

==Appearances==
===Background and introduction===
Introduced in ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''{{'}}s pilot episode "[[Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)|Caretaker]]", Kes is an Ocampa—a [[Telepathy|telepathic]] alien species with latent psychic abilities and a lifespan of nine years.{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=238}}{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=333}} She was born and raised on the Ocampa home world in an underground city,{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=237}} which was constructed by an alien known as the Caretaker after he inadvertently destroyed the planet's atmosphere.{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=333}} The Ocampa have grown dependent on his care.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=10}} The Caretaker realizes he is dying and abducts beings from across the galaxy, including the [[Starfleet]] crew of the starship [[USS Voyager (Star Trek)|USS ''Voyager'']]. He does this to find a compatible mate to produce an offspring who would continue caring for the Ocampa.{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=66}}

Kes dreams of exploring the galaxy and finds a way out of the city, but is captured and tortured by the [[Kazon]].{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=237}} She is rescued by her Talaxian boyfriend [[Neelix]] who is assisted by ''Voyager'' captain [[Kathryn Janeway]] and her crew.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=158}} When the Kazon attack and attempt to steal the Caretaker's technology, Janeway orders the destruction of his vessel. Stranded in the [[Delta Quadrant]], she agrees to have Kes and Neelix remain on ''Voyager''.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=10}}

===On ''Star Trek: Voyager''===
Aboard ''Voyager'', Kes starts an [[aeroponics]] garden to provide produce to the crew.{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=4}} While working as a [[medical assistant]] for [[The Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)|the Doctor]], an [[artificial intelligence]] projected as a [[Holography|hologram]], she encourages him to develop his social skills and the crew to recognize him as more than a machine.{{sfn|Robinson|Wright|2020|p=99}} The [[Vidiians]] harvest Neelix's lungs in "[[Phage (Star Trek: Voyager)|Phage]]", and Kes donates one of her own to him.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=17{{endash}}18}} In "[[Elogium (Star Trek: Voyager)|Elogium]]", emanations from space-dwelling lifeforms cause Kes to prematurely enter a [[Fertility|fertile]] period.{{#tag:ref|Ocampa go through a fertile period between the ages of four and five;{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=132}} Kes is one year old in "[[Elogium (Star Trek: Voyager)|Elogium]]".{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=132}}{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=236}}|group=note}} An Ocampa goes through this process only once and it is her only time to have a child. After discussions, Neelix agrees to be a father, but Kes decides against having a child. When ''Voyager'' moves away from the aliens, the Doctor determines Kes had a false alarm and would be able to conceive in the future.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=50{{endash}}52}} Neelix grows more paranoid regarding ''Voyager''{{'}}s helmsman [[Tom Paris]] and his interest in Kes, such as in "[[Twisted (Star Trek: Voyager)|Twisted]]"; the two resolve this tension in "[[Parturition (Star Trek: Voyager)|Parturition]]" during an away mission.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=158}}{{sfn|Gross|Altman|1996|p=157}}

When ''Voyager'' discovers an Ocampa colony in "[[Cold Fire (Star Trek: Voyager)|Cold Fire]]", its leader Tanis teaches Kes [[psychokinesis]]. Prior to this, Security Chief [[Tuvok]] had been training Kes.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=77{{endash}}78}} She uses her abilities in earlier episodes, including having visions of a planet's destruction in "[[Time and Again (Star Trek: Voyager)|Time and Again]]" and showing an [[eidetic memory]] in "[[Eye of the Needle (Star Trek: Voyager)|Eye of the Needle]]".{{sfn|Okuda|Okuda|Mirek|1999|p=238}} Unable to control her psychokinesis abilities, she destroys the aeroponics garden and nearly kills Tuvok by boiling his blood.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=77{{endash}}78}}{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=81}} The crew discovers that Tanis is working with the Caretaker's mate, Suspiria, to destroy ''Voyager'', but Kes subdues him with her powers.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=77{{endash}}78}} In "[[Warlord (Star Trek: Voyager)|Warlord]]", Tiernan, a former dictator of the planet Illari, [[Spirit possession|possesses]] Kes and uses her abilities to stage a coup on the new leader.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=144{{endash}}145}} Under his influence, Kes breaks up with Neelix.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=159}}{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=170}} Although ''Voyager'' frees Kes from Tieran's control and kills him, the experience traumatizes her.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=144{{endash}}145}}

In "[[Darkling (Star Trek: Voyager)|Darkling]]", Kes is attracted to Zahir, a member of an alien species of explorers, and considers temporarily joining his journey. The Doctor injures Zahir and kidnaps Kes after developing an evil [[alter ego]] while grafting new personalities into his program. After the Doctor is returned to normal, Kes decides to remain on ''Voyager''.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=168{{endash}}169}} Throughout "[[Before and After (Star Trek: Voyager)|Before and After]]", Kes lives short periods of her life in reverse order, from her death to her conception, as part of an [[alternative timeline]].{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=172{{endash}}174}} During "[[Scorpion (Star Trek: Voyager)|Scorpion]]", Kes becomes telepathically connected with [[Species 8472]], who are at war with the [[Borg]].{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|pp=192{{endash}}195}}

Kes's powers advance at an exponential rate in "[[The Gift (Star Trek: Voyager)|The Gift]]" to the point that she can no longer stay aboard ''Voyager'', as they threaten to destroy the ship. Leaving on a [[Shuttlecraft (Star Trek)|shuttlecraft]], she hurls ''Voyager'' and its crew safely beyond Borg space, roughly 10,000 light-years closer to Earth, before turning into living energy.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=195}}{{sfn|DeCandido|2020d}} In "[[Fury (Star Trek: Voyager)|Fury]]", Kes is unable to control her evolving mental abilities, and she fears that she would not be accepted by other Ocampa.{{sfn|Robinson|Wright|2020|p=101}} She blames these changes on Janeway for allowing her to join ''Voyager''.{{sfn|Robinson|Wright|2020|p=101}}{{sfn|DeCandido|2021a}} Breaking into ''Voyager'', she travels back in time to negotiate with the Vidiians to take her younger self back to the Ocampa home world. The younger Kes makes a hologram to remind her future self about her love for the crew. This message encourages the older Kes to return to Ocampa.{{sfn|DeCandido|2021a}}

===Other appearances===
In 1995, [[Pocket Books]] began publishing [[List of Star Trek: Voyager novels|''Star Trek: Voyager'' novels]] set during the show's run and after its [[Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager)|series finale]].{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Overture: ''Star Trek'' Fiction: Then and Now"}}{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 7: ''Star Trek: Voyager'': Numbered Novels"}}{{#tag:ref|[[List of Star Trek novels|''Star Trek'' novels]] are not considered [[Star Trek canon|canon]], and information from them can be contradicted and superseded by the [[List of Star Trek television series|''Star Trek'' shows]] and [[List of Star Trek films|films]].{{sfn|Ward|2012}} [[David Alan Mack]], a longtime writer of ''Star Trek'' books, said that the [[tie-in]]s were not considered canon and must be consistent with canonical materials.{{sfn|Britt|2021}}|group=note}} Kes appears in the 1995 [[novelization]] of "Caretaker" by [[L. A. Graf]] and the 1996 book for "[[Flashback (Star Trek: Voyager)|Flashback]]" by [[Diane Carey]].{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 10: Novelizations"}} [[Nathan Archer]] began writing the 1995 book ''Ragnorak'', before the pilot episode aired and said that his interpretation of Kes, based on the series bible, was radically different from her depiction in the show. In [[Greg Cox (writer)|Greg Cox]]'s 1997 novel, ''The Black Shore'', Kes has horrific visions after the crew takes [[shore leave]] on a seemingly idyllic planet. Cox included scenes between Kes and Chief Engineer [[B'Elanna Torres]] after reading an interview in which actor [[Roxann Dawson]], who portrays Torres, talked about how the characters rarely interacted. ''Marooned'', published in the same year, focuses on Kes being kidnapped by a [[space pirate]]; the author [[Christie Golden]] said that she wanted to explore how Kes would appear to an alien with a lifespan of thousands of years.{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 7: ''Star Trek: Voyager'': Numbered Novels"}}

Kes appears in stories published after ''Voyager'' ended.{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 8: ''Star Trek: Voyager'': Unnumbered Novels"}} She goes back in time to help create an Ocampa and Nacene hybrid in the ''String Theory'' trilogy (2005–2006) by Jeffrey Lang, [[Kirsten Beyer]], and Heather Jarman.{{sfn|DeCandido|2021a}}{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 8: ''Star Trek: Voyager'': Unnumbered Novels"}}{{#tag:ref|The Nacene are a species of aliens that include the Caretaker and Suspiria, who are shown in "[[Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)|Caretaker]]" and "[[Cold Fire (Star Trek: Voyager)|Cold Fire]]", respectively.{{sfn|Ruditis|2003|p=78}}|group=note}} The book describes the Kes from "Fury" as the "manifestation of her dark side" made as a byproduct of this time travel.{{sfn|DeCandido|2021a}} Jarman used ''Evolution'' to explore questions she had with ''Voyager'', such as how Neelix felt about Kes after her departure and what the Ocampa home world looked like in the past.{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 8: ''Star Trek: Voyager'': Unnumbered Novels"}} In Beyer's 2012 book, ''The Eternal Tide'', Kes helps to resurrect a dead Janeway.{{sfn|DeCandido|2021a}}

Kes is also depicted in short stories,{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 13: Anthologies}} like Penny A. Proctor's "Restoration" from the 2002 anthology [[Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (short story collection)|''Star Trek: Strange New Worlds V'']] in which she revives Ocampa's ecosystem.{{sfn|DeCandido|2021a}}{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 13: Anthologies}} She is included in three stories from the 2005 collection ''Distant Shores''. In Kim Sheard's "Winds of Change", Kes struggles with aggression after "Warlord" and asks Torres for advice. Sheard developed the concept after being told the anthology would focus on unusual character combinations. "Closure" is about Neelix seeing Kes after being caught in a [[cave-in]] with former Borg drone [[Seven of Nine]]. The author [[James Swallow]] was inspired by how [[Ethan Phillips]], who plays Neelix, wanted closure for his character's relationship with Kes. In "Brief Candle", Neelix talks about one of his memories with Kes; the writer [[Christopher L. Bennett]] said she was one of his favorite ''Voyager'' characters.{{sfn|Ayers|2006|loc=Information cited to the following chapter: "Section 13: Anthologies}}