Vorik was a Vulcan engineer in Starfleet who served aboard the USS Voyager while it was lost in the Delta Quadrant.
Early life
When Vorik was young, he spent several summers exploring the Osana caverns on Vulcan, which included some particularly advanced rock climbing. Like most Vulcans, as a child, Vorik had a young Vulcan girl chosen to be his future wife when the two came of age. (VOY: "Blood Fever")
Life on Voyager
In 2371, he was serving aboard the USS Voyager on its mission to locate a Maquis ship when a coherent tetryon beam scanned the Voyager and brought it to the Delta Quadrant. Shortly thereafter, the Caretaker's array beamed the entire crew of the Voyager aboard for testing. He was returned to Voyager unharmed. (VOY: "Caretaker")
In 2373, he assisted B'Elanna Torres with maintenance on the plasma injectors during the ship's visit to the Nekrit Expanse. He also adjusted the control interface on Neelix's food replicators and was present in engineering when Neelix came down to steal some warp plasma. (VOY: "Fair Trade")
Later that year, Vorik surprised Torres by reserving a table for two at Neelix's luau with a view of the lakeside. Torres had mentioned in a conversation five days previously that she enjoyed the view. Later, he worked with Torres and Harry Kim troubleshooting the ship's mysterious engine problems. (VOY: "Alter Ego")
Ensign Vorik in plak tow
Vorik experienced his first pon farr on stardate 50537. Believing his intended bride would have declared him lost and lacking another Vulcan mate, he declared koon-ut so'lik, the desire to become one's mate, with Torres. After a brief physical contact was made between them, Vorik accidentally initiated the Vulcan telepathic mating bond, which caused Torres to suffer the same neurochemical imbalance that Vulcans undergo. Vorik's pon farr was ended when he and Torres fought in the ritual kal-if-fee. (VOY: "Blood Fever")
In 2374, Vorik participated in Voyager's failed attempt to open a transwarp conduit. He controlled the temporary tachyon matrix that was set up in the main deflector and subsequently, when tachyons began to flood the warp core, tried unsuccessfully to stop the leak. (VOY: "Day of Honor")
When the Voyager was forced to land on a demon class planet, Vorik and Torres tried to keep the life support systems online. Vorik advised Torres that they shouldn't "lose their cool" - a phrase he learned from Tom Paris. Torres stated there was "hope for him yet". (VOY: "Demon")
In 2375, Vorik was also a member of the development team that designed and built the Delta Flyer shuttlecraft. He was initially assigned to be on the trial-run team, but Torres insisted on replacing him. (VOY: "Extreme Risk")
Later that year, Vorik, along with crewmates Tuvok and Jarot, was suspended in a transporter loop to avoid detection from Devore inspections who were seeking out telepaths. (VOY: "Counterpoint")
In early 2378, he assisted Torres in repairing a damaged power conduit in main engineering. Later, when The Doctor was impersonating Lieutenant Torres, he asked Vorik where they kept the spare gel packs. Vorik was confused about why she wouldn't know this, but reminded her that they were in locker gamma-5. She acted surprised not to remember, but then looked lost. Vorik reminded her that locker gamma-5 was "on the upper level", to which she responded angrily, claiming that she knew where they were. Vorik hadn't realized at the time that "Torres" was actually The Doctor in disguise.
Later, when The Doctor impersonated Chakotay and told Torres to evacuate engineering, Vorik led the engineering crew out while Torres tried to stay behind, unaware that there was no actual breach imminent. (VOY: "Renaissance Man")
Appendices
Appearances
- VOY:
- "Fair Trade"
- "Alter Ego"
- "Blood Fever"
- "Day of Honor"
- "Demon"
- "Extreme Risk"
- "Counterpoint"
- "Renaissance Man"
Background information
Vorik was played by actor Alexander Enberg, who had previously played the similarly-named Vulcan Ensign Taurik in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lower Decks". Producer Jeri Taylor (who happens to be Enberg's mother) once suggested that Taurik and Vorik were twin brothers.
Apocrypha
In the Voyager relaunch book series, Vorik was promoted to lieutenant and currently serves under Captain Chakotay as chief engineer of the Voyager. He also appeared in the novel Pathways, volunteering to be the first to undergo a risky transport through a transporter made from scavenged parts.
Vorik made a brief appearance in the video game Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force while the playable character was in engineering. If you press the interact button while next to him, he'll say something along the lines of "I'm busy", but Torres ordered him to do something after a near warp core breach. He was also seen in the mess hall. He was voiced by original actor Alexander Enberg, who was already providing the voices of several other characters. He also was seen playing chess with Hazard Team member Elizabeth Laird later in the game, and was also seen in the expansion. In the expansion, he could be found again at the warp core.
External link
- Vorik at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works