Jal Culluh was the First Maje of the Kazon-Nistrim sect in the years 2371 to 2373. He attempted to obtain advanced technology from the USS Voyager during its voyage through Kazon space during this time.
A priceless opportunity
A respected figure, Culluh's grandfather was First Maje of the Nistrim. However, the sect's power of those days was gone due to Culluh's poor leadership, which had seen the Nistrim's strength and numbers squander away. (VOY: "Maneuvers")
Nevertheless, he remained ambitious and seized upon the opportunity to gain Starfleet technology when the USS Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. He was first encountered by Voyager in 2371, when Captain Kathryn Janeway allowed him aboard her ship to visit an ailing Kazon whom Voyager had previously rescued. The Kazon in question was in fact part of a failed Nistrim attempt to copy Voyager's replicator technology and later killed by Culluh. The information and material necessary for this experiment had come from Seska, a Cardassian operative posing as a Bajoran member of the Voyager crew who got very dissatisfied with Cpt. Janeway's leadership. Culluh embraced her covert assistance, but when her deception was discovered, she was forced to escape from Voyager aboard Culluh's ship. (VOY: "State of Flux")
Culluh allowed Seska to stay aboard, despite Kazon men's chauvinistic attitude towards women, and took her as his consort. Culluh was stern with her in public, but privately allowed her to advise him to a degree of manipulation and plan tactics in an attempt to capture Voyager. He sought to use Voyager as the catalyst to bring all of the Kazon sects together, and personally become the most powerful Kazon in the quadrant. In 2372, Culluh executed a daring raid on Voyager that was conceived by Seska and thereby successfully obtained a transporter module. Culluh and Seska used the newly gained transporter ability to coerce First Maje Haron of the powerful Kazon-Relora to a meeting. As Haron patronized the Nistrim and wanted to claim the technology for himself, Culluh and Seska killed him by beaming him and his bodyguard into space. Meanwhile, Cmdr. Chakotay of Voyager, who considered Seska's betrayal a personal responsibility, had intercepted Culluh's ship with a shuttlecraft but was unable to retrieve the transporter module and instead was taken prisoner. In order to initiate a subsequent meeting with First Majes Loran, Surat, and Valek or the Kazon-Hobii, Mostral, and Oglamar, respectively, Culluh now claimed to have obtained Voyager's command codes from Chakotay. This proved to be but a ruse, however, and as Voyager intercepted, all the First Majes were beamed aboard and held captive until Chakotay and the transporter module would be returned, thereby severely souring Culluh's reputation with the other Majes. (VOY: "Maneuvers")
Continuing his quest
Although Seska had earlier impregnated herself with DNA she had taken from Chakotay, she told Culluh it was his child - a circumstance she also exploited to protect herself against Culluh's growing impatience. When Cpt. Janeway proposed an alliance between Voyager and the Nistrim some months after their last encounter, he refused to have the terms dictated to him by a woman, and ended the discussions abruptly. He did, however, agree to attend a meeting on Sobras between representatives of Voyager, the leaders of other Kazon sects, and the Trabe, who had enslaved the Kazon in the past. Seska convinced him that this could be the first step to destroying the Trabe and eventually capturing Voyager, especially since the Nistrim just gained an informant among Voyager's crew. The meeting was ended prematurely, however, when the Trabe unsuccessfully attempted to kill the gathered Kazon Majes. (VOY: "Alliances")
Seska gave birth to her son in late 2372 and now exploited her previous claim that the child was Chakotay's by luring in Voyager under a guise of mistreatment by Culluh. The ploy worked, Voyager was captured, and the crew, save for The Doctor, Lon Suder and Tom Paris was stranded on Hanon IV, Culluh exulting in his triumph and challenging the crew to survive without the technology they had kept from him. Now, much to Seska's surprise, the Doctor discovered that her child is indeed Culluh's, and not Chakotay's son. The Doctor and Lon Suder also managed to restore control over the ship and Seska was killed during Paris' divert attack on Voyager with the help of Talaxian ships. Out of options as Talaxians begin to board the ship, Culluh is overcome with grief and takes his son with him as he and his troops abandon Voyager for unknown whereabouts. (VOY: "Basics, Part I", "Basics, Part II")
Appearances
- VOY:
External link
- Culluh at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works