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.
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.
