Dal R'El

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This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Prodigy, and thus may contain spoilers.

"You're a survivor. Help us survive."

Dal R'El was a male Human augment hybrid who lived during the late 24th century.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Dal was created as a Human Augment hybrid by the protégés of geneticist Dr. Arik Soong through artificial hybrid speciation. While his baseline was Human, Dal's Human DNA was blended with the most recessive genetic traits of 26 other species, including Vulcan and proto-Organian. (PRO: "Masquerade", "Mindwalk")

Dal was raised on board the Damsel by DaiMon Nandi, a marauder and con artist. He slept under the ship's engine in a hammock that consisted of cloth with its two ends tied to piping. Nandi taught Dal to steal and the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, but nothing about the Federation. He also had known about dabo through Nandi's playing of the game (although at one point she claimed to be done with it). (PRO: "First Con-tact")

Dal believed that Nandi thought of him as a son, but at some point, Nandi sold Dal as a slave to The Diviner as one of The Unwanted, who mined chimerium at the Tars Lamora prison colony. Dal was left believing that he had been kidnapped, while Nandi, in turn, purchased the robot Pik-Pox with the resulting profit, a partner who Nandi thought was more adept at stealing. (PRO: "First Con-tact")

USS Protostar[]

While mining chimerium, Dal recorded the timing of mining machines in the hope that he could use it to escape one day. In 2383, he tried to escape after Zero sabotaged the mine and his security anklet lost power. His attempt to leave on a ship ultimately failed. He was then tasked by Gwyndala to find Zero, and should he fail, he would be punished.

Dal went looking for Zero in the Northwest Crevasse. While working with Rok-Tahk there, he escaped aboard the recently discovered Federation starship USS Protostar. With the starship's universal translator, Dal quickly befriended Zero, Rok-Tahk, Jankom Pog, and Murf, who tried to escape the mine and fend off Drednok and The Diviner's Watchers. Just before the Protostar took off, the group captured Gwyn. (PRO: "Lost and Found")

Dal appointed himself captain of the Protostar to the dismay of his crewmates. After struggling to lead the crew, he learned an important lesson by testing his skills with the Kobayashi Maru scenario on the holodeck. After repeated failures, the holographic representation of Spock helped him realize that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and a good captain listens to his crew. (PRO: "Kobayashi")

Dal was reunited with Nandi after she sent a false distress call claiming that her ship systems have been compromised with orphans ill with the Phage. When they first met, Nandi lied to Dal that she had lost him and spent years searching for him. Dal regarded Nandi as a friend until he was told the truth behind his enslavement on Tars Lamora: she had sold him. (PRO: "First Con-tact")

Dal R'El in uniform — Dal wearing a Starfleet uniform

When the Protostar eventually reached Federation territory and docked with subspace relay station CR-721, Dal was surprised to find that Starfleet had records of his species, even though he himself knew nothing about his own race or origins. Unfortunately, the station was destroyed when Lt. Barniss Frex attempted to download information from the Protostar. (PRO: "Asylum") Soon after, Gwyn remembered that her father told her about a deadly weapon aboard the Protostar-called the Living construct which, when hooked up to Starfleet systems, would destroy Starfleet from within. Though they were able to locate the weapon, it was discovered that it couldn't be disabled or removed. (PRO: "Let Sleeping Borg Lie")

Later, while at Noble Isle in the Romulan Neutral Zone, Dr. Jago, a geneticist, was mesmerized by Dal who she described him as a "beautiful specimen". A scan revealed that he was a Human hybrid, composed of the recessive DNA of 26 alien species. However, Dr. Jago's admiration ended when she discovered that Dal was created by the protégés of Arik Soong. Calling him the product of "sloppy work", Dr. Jago offered to "fix" Dal by implanting an epigenetic dermal device which would activate his dormant genes. Though the crew assured Dal that he didn't need fixing, he secretly had Jago perform the procedure. Unfortunately, it resulted in all of his dormant genes being activated at once, with disastrous results. Afterwards, Rok and Zero were able to remove the implant before his genetic changes could become permanent. (PRO: "Masquerade")

Dal as Janeway — Dal inside Janeway's body

In the meantime, the Protostar was being chased by the USS Dauntless under the command of Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway, who considered them criminals who'd stolen a Starfleet vessel and destroyed a relay station. Desperate to find a way to explain their situation, Zero theorized that Dal, who possessed Organian genes might be able to telepathically contact Admiral Janeway. The attempt resulted in a mind swap between the Admiral and Dal. Though Dal attempted to impersonate the Admiral and diffuse the situation regarding the Protostar, he was in over his head and his erratic behavior only managed to get the Admiral declared medically unfit and sent to sickbay. Luckily, he escaped sickbay with help from the Diviner who explained that the was repaying Admiral Janeway's kindness in saving his life. Ultimately, Dal and the admiral were able to switch back bodies, however, Dal's actions on the Dauntless led to the admiral being taken immediately to the brig before she could explain the situation. (PRO: "Mindwalk")

Thanks to the living construct, the Protostar crew no longer had control of the ship, which was headed for the heart of Federation space, where it was met by an armada of Starfleet vessels. When Starfleet vessels began attacking one another, thanks to the living construct, Dal decided that the only solution was to destroy the Protostar. When Jankom stated that that would destroy everything in this solar system, Rok countered that it wouldn't if the set the ship to explode as it was going into proto-drive. Unfortunately, since the self-destruct was off-line, the core would need to be detonated manually. Dal volunteered to go down with the ship. but Holo-Janeway declared that she should be the one to stay behind.

As Dal and the others escaped on a bare-bones, makeshift shuttle that Rok created using the vehicle replicator, the Protostar destroyed itself in mid-jump, disabling the living construct.

One month later, Dal and the others finally made it to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth. The group found themselves in front of a Starfleet tribunal where they faced various criminal charges, such as stealing a Federation starship. Admiral Janeway argued in their behalf that the kids did everything in an effort to warn Starfleet. Thanks to the Admiral's impassioned speech, all criminal charges were dropped and although they weren't allowed immediate entrance into Starfleet Academy as they hoped, the crew, with the exception of Gwyn who'd decided to go to Solum to try to unite her people, would be permitted to serve under the admiral as warrant officers-in-training. (PRO: "Supernova, Part 2")

USS Voyager-A[]

Six months later, Dal and the others were attending a Starfleet Academy prep school, but unlike the others, Dal had trouble fitting in and finding his place. Finally, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway called the former Protostar crew to join her aboard the USS Voyager-A where, much to Dal's frustration, he was forced to do more studying rather than anything exciting. (PRO: "Into the Breach, Part I")

Now focused on getting into Starfleet Academy, Dal's friends were initially uninterested in his antics or his theories that Janeway was up to something. However, Zero quickly discovered that Dal was right, leading to the discovery of the Infinity. After Dal revealed that they knew of its existence, Janeway revealed that their true mission was to rescue Chakotay from the future once he launched the Protostar back in time to Tars Lamora, but the mission was in danger of being scrapped. The Protostar crew agreed to keep it a secret, but after Nova Squadron found out, a scuffle ensued, accidentally resulting in the premature launch of the Infinity into the wormhole with Dal, Rok-Tahk, Jankom Pog, Zero and Maj'el onboard. (PRO: "Into the Breach, Part I", "Into the Breach, Part II")

The Infinity crashed on Solum 52 years into the future, but hours before Chakotay was due to launch the ship. Captured by the Vau N'Akat, Dal and his friends realized that they were a part of a temporal causality loop and had actually always been involved in launching the ship into the past for their past selves to find it. The group helped Chakotay and Adreek-Hu escape with Dal impressing the captain so much that he suggested Dal joining Starfleet if he ever made it to the Alpha Quadrant. However, while creating a distraction, Dal lost his disruptor which gave Chakotay and Adreek the chance to board the ship and escape with it through the wormhole, altering history as the Protostar never reached Tars Lamora. (PRO: "Who Saves the Saviors")

As a result of history being altered, Gwyn started phasing in and out of existence. Discovering her predicament from a mysterious message, Dal and the others rebuilt the Infinity into a timeship and traveled back to the present day Solum to rescue Gwyn. On Voyager, The Doctor was able to stabilize Gwyn's condition temporarily using a temporal stabilizer. (PRO: "Temporal Mechanics 101")

Through Murf, the same mysterious entity reached out to Dal and his friends again and was assumed to be Chakotay. Dal and the others stole the Infinity as it was in the process of being destroyed, and set course for the coordinates that the entity had sent to them. Although Dal tried to resume his role as captain from the Protostar, the others rejected his authority as they were now all cadets. (PRO: "Observer's Paradox", "Imposter Syndrome", "The Fast and the Curious")

A shortcut through an abandoned Borg transwarp conduit led to the Infinity being taken to a Kazon training facility where Dal's competitiveness got the better of him during a deadly race. Zero ultimately destroyed the rogue AI responsible for terrorizing ships passing through the conduit, but at the cost of damaging their containment suit beyond repair. (PRO: "The Fast and the Curious")

The crew detoured to a colony of non-corporeal lifeforms on Ovidia IV when they offered to help Zero, granting them a corporeal body. During the crew's time on the planet, they participated in the Feast of Senses and the Running of the Nazamon, resulting in Dal and Zero nearly getting eaten by the nazamon. (PRO: "Is There in Beauty No Truth?")

The crew discovered a hidden planet with a time ziggurat at the coordinates where they were greeted by Wesley Crusher who revealed that the loss of the Protostar had created a temporal paradox that threatened to destroy the prime universe and unleashed the Loom upon it. Wesley revealed that by remaining together at all times, Dal and his friends were destined to keep the galaxy from endless suffering in the single good future that Wesley foresaw. Dal and Wesley briefly clashed when Dal chose to rescue Maj'el despite risking the Loom finding them. The unexpected intervention of Voyager gave Wesley time to complete his calculations using a machine built with the Orb of Time and modified Boreth time crystals to determine where Dal and his friends, now joined by Maj'el, needed to go next. With Janeway's reluctant consent, the group traveled through a gateway opened by Wesley. However, Dal was shaken because he looked into the data stream of Wesley's device and saw his own future which involved Dal telling Gwyn that he had made a mistake and that the captain's chair never belonged to him. (PRO: "The Devourer of All Things, Part I", "The Devourer of All Things, Part II")

On Ysida, the crew found the Protostar and Chakotay who had been marooned for ten years after ejecting the ship's antimatter and proto-core. Chakotay only reluctantly let the kids in during a storm at the urging of Hologram Janeway who explained that Chakotay had been broken by the loss of his entire crew, Adreek having vanished while testing a theory on how to repower the ship after Chakotay refused to help him out of fear of the damage that the living construct would cause to the Federation. Dal and Chakotay, who both saw themselves as the ship's captain, clashed several times as the kids tried without much success to restore Chakotay's spirit. Dal vanished during an ion maelstrom, leading the captain to leap into action to rescue him. While dodging the planet's eels, Dal found Adreek's body and the antimatter that the Aurelian had died gathering for the Protostar. With the kids' assurances that the Federation was aware of the danger of the living construct and could handle it, Chakotay finally agreed to fix the ship and leave. (PRO: "Last Flight of the Protostar, Part I")

The crew rebuilt the starship into a sailing ship, needing to reach the eye of the storm on the other side of Ysida's vapor ocean in order to gather deuterium gas for the warp core. Still struggling with the future he had seen for himself, Dal's attempts to assert his leadership led to some trouble before Dal finally opened up to Chakotay about his struggles with finding his place. In turn, Chakotay offered Dal some advice based on his own journey of self-discovery which had led to Chakotay finding his place as the first officer of the USS Voyager. During the operation to gather the gas, Chakotay fell overboard, and Dal heroically risked his own life to rescue him. Adreek's plan proved to be successful, restoring the ship's impulse engines and warp drive, allowing the Protostar to leave Ysida. However, Voyager was 3,000 light years away, meaning that the crew would need to build a new proto-core before they could rendezvous. (PRO: "Last Flight of the Protostar, Part II")

The crew, with Dal settling into the role of Chakotay's acting first officer, visited a Class M planet to collect bosonite for the proto-core, facing mutated tribbles. Although Zero suffered permanent damage to their deteriorating physical body, the mission was successful and the crew created a new proto-core for the ship. (PRO: "A Tribble Called Quest")

Subsequently, the Protostar successfully proto-warped to Voyager's position, but the jump tore the already weakened fabric of the universe, creating an interphasic rift that splintered Voyager into a number of alternate realities. Traversing the other realities, including the mirror universe, the crew sealed the rift and finally arrived on the correct Voyager where Janeway and Chakotay were finally reunited. (PRO: "Cracked Mirror")

On Voyager, Dal was invited by Maj'el to train with Nova Squadron despite Zeph and Grom's doubts while Admiral Edward Jellico ordered both ships to return to Earth where Dal and the others would be reevaluated and the Department of Temporal Investigations would handle returning the Protostar to the past. However, Ilthuran -- the present day version of the Diviner -- contacted Voyager with the warning that Asencia had taken control of Solum and was preparing for war with the Federation using mysterious temporal weaponry before Asencia sent the Rev-1 to destroy Voyager and the Protostar. With Grom being injured in an explosion, Dal took her place in Nova Squadron, his unorthodox tactics proving to be more successful against the Rev-1 drones than Maj'el and Zeph's more by-the-book maneuvers which the drones were able to anticipate. After Zero redirected the Incursor to target Maj'el's flyer, Dal and Nova Squadron used the Boothby Supernova to destroy the Rev-1 with its own weapon, although the cost was Zero's corporeal body, forcing them to don a new and improved containment suit built by Jankom. (PRO: "Ascension, Part I", "Ascension, Part II")

Voyager and the Protostar were sent to Solum to stop Asencia from launching a war against the Federation with her new weaponry, a war that the Federation might well lose. As the Protostar crew were not Starfleet personnel and thus were neither bound by the Prime Directive nor likely to spark a war with their interference, they were sent to Solum to find the source of Asencia's temporal weaponry with Maj'el resigning from Nova Squadron in order to be able to join the mission. With the help of the younger version of Asencia, the crew discovered that the captured Wesley was the source of the weaponry while Ilthuran, now the leader of the Uprising, had been captured and was set to be executed. Despite Dal's doubts Gwyn split the team to rescue both of them, only to have Wesley reveal that Ilthuran was never supposed to be rescued and that by doing so, they had altered the course of events that Wesley had predicted. Asencia captured the crew, Ilthuran, and Wesley, leaving her with everything that she needed to win. At Gwyn's signal, Dal used a site-to-site transporter to beam Wesley and Ilthuran to Voyager, removing them from Asencia's clutches. (PRO: "Brink")

Ascencia brought the Protostar crew to an arena to execute them by feeding them to the Loom. However, Janeway, Chakotay, The Doctor, and Wesley launched a daring rescue mission for Dal and his friends. As Solum descended into the civil war that the Diviner had been trying to prevent with his mission, Janeway agreed to help save the planet from Asencia. (PRO: "Touch of Grey")

With Asencia poised to launch an attack on every major Federation base across three quadrants, Voyager and the Protostar launched an attack, holding off the Vau N'Akat fleet as Dal, Jankom, Murf, Gwyn and Ilthuran beamed to the planet to use Asecnia's temporal technology to open a wormhole to send the Protostar back to Tars Lamora. While Murf, Gwyn and Ilthuran took on Asencia and her forces, Dal and Jankom operated the technology with Dal making a treacherous climb to reattach a loose cable. Although Dal had to be saved from falling to his death by Murf, he successfully connected the cable in time, opening the wormhole and closing the rifts that Asencia had opened, destroying her fleet. With Asencia defeated by Gwyn with the help of the Vau N'Akat, everyone prepared to send the Protostar back in time, only to have the Loom swarm out of the wormhole. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part I")

Running out of time, Voyager escorted the Protostar into the wormhole, allowing it to safely pass through. During the journey, Wesley revealed to Dal that the important future that he had predicted for Dal and his friends was yet to come for them rather than it being them saving the prime universe from the temporal paradox. Before beaming to Voyager, Dal left a combadge on the bridge's floor for his and Rok's younger selves to find it and Chakotay had The Doctor copy Hologram Janeway to an EMH backup module so that her program could be saved this time. The Protostar was successfully sent back in time to Tars Lamora, repairing the broken timeline and saving the universe from destruction. Afterwards, Voyager landed on Solum to make peaceful first contact with the Vau N'Akat, leaving the Federation and the Vau N'Akat facing a brighter future together. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II")

USS Prodigy[]

After returning to Earth, Dal and his friends were finally allowed to attend Starfleet Academy, only to have the Attack on Mars change everything. The Federation ceased exploration in favor of focusing on planetary defense and all classes were cancelled until further notice. However, Janeway, Chakotay and The Doctor unveiled the USS Prodigy, the new Protostar-class ship, to Dal, Rok, Jankom, Murf, Gwyn, Zero and Maj'el. While the ship had been scheduled for decommissioning due to the change in policy, Janeway had gotten it turned into a training ship in a pilot program under her command. Janeway gave the cadets field commissions to the rank of ensign and the Prodigy with Hologram Janeway serving as both their training advisor and the ship's Emergency Command Hologram. Recalling Chakotay's earlier advice to him, Dal decided to serve as acting first officer instead of acting captain, supporting Gwyn's leadership of the crew instead of leading them himself. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II")

Physiology[]

Dal hands Gwyn pen — The tail-like appendage being used to handle a tool

When first encountered by the Denobulan Lieutenant Barniss Frex, he described Dal R'El as a "colorful fella", before he attempted to guess his species, beginning with Sakari, but correcting himself and settling on Talaxian – neither of which were correct – before being scanned. While Dal himself did not know his species or origins, he indicated that he had been told many times what he might be, and "If I had a credit for every time someone thought they could tell me...", but was interrupted to be told that Starfleet indeed had a record of his species on file, but of it, divulged only that he was to report directly to them. (PRO: "Asylum") This was most likely due to Dal being an Augment, something that had been banned in the Federation following the Eugenics Wars. (PRO: "Masquerade", "Mindwalk")

Dal was humanoid in terms of physiology and apparent strength, but differed in coloration as well as having large spots present on much of the body. One noteworthy feature was a prehensile skull ganglia located at the back of the head, just below where the hairline ended. (PRO: "A Moral Star, Part 1") When overwhelmed with heightened emotions, such as when Dal met Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway for the first time, his cranial tail twitched uncontrollably. (PRO: "Crossroads")

Dal genetic makeup — Dr. Jago unveiling the twenty-six species part of Dal's genetic makeup

During their stop at Noble Isle in the Romulan Neutral Zone, Dr. Jago described him as a "beautiful specimen", before noting his "interesting mandibula [..] unique coloration, [and] skull ganglia." Later, upon learning of his origins, she ultimately opined that he was a product of "sloppy work", and told him that it was a "miracle you can talk". (PRO: "Masquerade")

A DNA analysis revealed that Dal was the product of genetic manipulation by the protégés of Arik Soong. Dal was a hybrid of many species, using Human as a base, mixed with twenty-six different species, of which Dr. Jago only mentioned Vulcan and proto-Organian. Later, Dal mutated under the effects of an implant that activated dormant genes, also showing psychic abilities, increased agility, production of a bluish viscous substance, and physical traits of a Klingon, Vulcan, Tellarite, and Andorian. (PRO: "Masquerade")

Other species whose symbols were displayed on Jago's screen after Dal's DNA analysis included Bajoran, Breen, Cardassian, Ferengi, Gorn, Hirogen, Kazon, Krenim, Orion, Reman, Risian, Romulan, Son'a, Species 8472, Suliban, Tholian, Vidiian, and Xindi. However, according to Aaron Waltke, "The DNA profiles on her consoles were samples in her database she was checking Dal’s DNA against — you’ll notice she only called out a few in the episode as possible matches." [1]

As a result of his hybrid physiology, Dal has dormant telepathic abilities caused by one or more of his genetic sources, including Dal's proto-Organian DNA. When Dr. Jago's implant activated his dormant genes, Dal was able to read the minds of those around him, although his telepathy was deactivated once again when the implant was removed. Under the guidance of Zero, a Medusan, Dal attempted to use his telepathy to communicate with Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway, but a phaser blast from the USS Dauntless striking in the middle of the attempt and Dal's Organian DNA resulted in the two switching bodies instead. Janeway was later able to reverse the switch by shooting Dal in her own body with a phaser blast after they were prevented from physically touching. (PRO: "Masquerade", "Mindwalk")

Dal appeared to possibly be more durable than a regular human being. A close encounter with a dangerous energy discharge only resulted in Dal losing his grip and falling rather than being harmed. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part I")

Members of Nova Squadron

2368: Joshua Albert • Wesley Crusher • Jean Hajar • Nick Locarno (leader) • Beckett Mariner (unofficial junior member) • Sito Jaxa

2384: Dal R'El (temporary) • A Bolian • Grom • Maj'el • Zeph

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

Dal is voiced by Brett Gray.

According to his official Nickelodeon description:

Dal, 17, is an orphan who quickly becomes Captain (by his own declaration) of the U.S.S. Protostar. His past is shrouded in mystery, and Dal has always searched for a place to belong. A charming, occasionally selfish jokester, Dal distrusts authority and marches to the beat of his own drum. Above all, he holds on to the most important thing: hope. [2]

External links[]

Dal R'El at StarTrek.com
Dal R'El at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works