#really tempted to rewatchs easons 1-3 of voyager just for kes again

[wcrlds]

I never should have gone to the surface. I’m too curious. I’m told it’s my worst failing.

Oh, she’s so… she’s so beautiful. Kes. I think one day she’ll see the sun.

Kes is an occapam. A series native to the delta quadrant, known for their strong telepathic abilities and short lifespan. Most occampans never see the sun, much less the stars, their planet was for centuries controlled by an alien. He gave them everything — food, energy, entertainment. It wasn’t enough for her. She was… curious, and everyone could see it. When she was born, her mother said: she is going to see the sun one day.

And she did. For the first time in centuries, an occampan left their underground home and reached the surface.The sun was glorious, more than she could have ever dreamed of. There, she met a man named Neelix. Kind, funny, he promised her he would take her to see the stars. But the Occampans weren’t the only people living on that planet. Another race, jealous of their prosperity and access to water, took her so she would show them the way to her city. She refused.

Eventually, she was rescued by the Starship Voyager, and there, among the aliens and the stars, she found her home.

If there’s one thing that this experience has taught me, Captain, it’s that there’s no time like the present.

occampan biology

body temperature: 16C (that’s why you often see Kes wearing several layers of clothes, tights under her dresses, boots to keep her feet warm);

lifespan: average of 24 years (they become adults at 5 and a half years old.)  The occampa, due to their short lifespan, have increased mental capacity, learning things very quickly so they can contribute to their society. Despite their rapid lifespan, they age very slowly for most of their life. Only during the last year of their life they quickly age up - a process known as the Morilogium);

eating habits: they are vegans and they require less food than the average human;

physiology: their average height is 5′2″;

sleeping habits: they only require three hours of sleep per night;

senses: similar to humans;

skin: it has a grainier quality than humans, not as soft;

powers: eidetic memory and general telepathic powers;

character sheet

She has a dazzling, ethereal beauty, waifish and fragile. But Kes is not frail: there is a dignity to her bearing, an alertness in her look, that suggests a being of powerful intelligence.

name: kes;

nicknames: sweeting (by neelix);

age: 5 + (roughly 20 human years);

weight: 47 kilos

height: 160cm

body build: slim, elfin, delicate

eye color: green

hair color: brown;

skin tone: brown;

predominant features: occampan ears, large eyes, slightly far apart;

hair style: kept in dreadlocks, usually styled in buns or large braids;

voice: low, husky, softly-spoken;

good personality traits: joyous, attentive, bright, assertive,

bad personality traits: secretive, abrasive, worried

mood character is most often in: “It’s a joy to pretend to be this extraordinary creature, so open and everything so new. No sort of cynicism or precociousness or pretentiousness or sarcasm” - jennifer lien.

It bothers you that I’m making friends of my own. You always have to involve yourself somehow.

neelix and kes: neelix saved her, and for that she will forever be grateful. i don’t acknowledge they had a romantic relationship, i see it as a more of a familial relationship – neelix as sort of an older brother figure who feels responsible for kes and her safety. he is still controlling, possessive; he sees kes eternally as a child, but there is no romantic undertone to it.

Look at me, Captain. I’m the same Kes you’ve always known. I haven’t lost my judgment. I’m not under some alien influence. I believe something crucial is happening to me and I want to see it through.

kes, janeway and tuvok: kes sees janeway and tuvok as parental figures, especially tuvok. he became her mentor, her friend, the person she can turn to when her mind becomes a hurricane she can’t control. he is usually the person who can bring her out of her head. his guidance is extremely important because when it comes to important matters, he doesn’t show where he thinks she should go, he allows her to make a choice. to put it simply, kes worships janeway. she sees her as something larger than life, she is the manifestation of the wonderful ship they are in, she is stronger than a planet but willing to change and adapt when given new information. kes wants to emulate her. she is also the person she feels most comfortable to speaking about personal matters.

Just let me stay for a little while. I haven’t seen you much over the past few days. I miss you.

kes and the doctor: she was the first person to see him as something other than a machine, a thing whose only purpose is to serve the voyager crew.  he was also the first person to see her as something beyond neelix’s companion. the sickbay was the safest place in the ship for her, just the two of them, discovering themselves in this strange new world. she adores him. they never have awkward lulls, conversation flows easily between them.

I don’t know what happened. I looked at the hypospray and it just came to me.

powers: oh, voyager, you really had to find the weirdest way to write kes out, huh. so, here is my whole spin on the whole thing. instead of her powers being something the writers can bring up from time to time for a plot line, I have that Kes is steadily working with them in the background. She takes a small break after she hurts Tuvok, but he is the first one to say that suppressing them will only lead to a more dangerous situation later. mastering her powers is essential to avoid a repeat of the incident.

teleknesis: the first one she masters, she is very proficient with it. most objects up to 100 kilos she can move without breaking a sweat, it takes more of an effort the heavier the thing is, but up to half a ton, she can usually do it. above that, it requires too much of her.

increased life span: as we saw in the other occampan group, using their powers, mastering them, increases their lifespan. Kes will live probably until she is 32, gaining 8 more years due to her increased control and contant use of her powers.

telepathy: its a work in progress, always. she struggles a lot in creating steady connections, slipping into other people’s minds, or overwhelming the other side with her emotions. she can reach the minds of people far away from her, up to one kilometer.

manipulation of subatomic particles:  she can create fire, increase the speed in which atoms are moving, making plants grow more quickly, and she can also reverse the process, making things freeze. metal turns to water, water to ice.

teleportation:  she can move herself, and objects (such as voyager) to par off places. it is not something she usually does, especially with objects, as it drains her. she can, however, teleport herself across short distances without much of a problem.

time travel + more complicated skills: the depth of her powers is never fully explored, she feels in her chest that she can do more, and she certainly wants to explore it, but she can see the fear in other people’s eyes when she uses her powers, it scares them so it’s never something that becomes a part of her life.