Michael Ayala

For other uses, see Ayala.

Michael Ayala was a Maquis who served as Chakotay's right-hand man aboard the Val Jean and on USS Voyager (NCC 74656) as a provisional security officer with the rank of Lieutenant j.g. He would later return with Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant in 2378. (VOY: "Caretaker", "Endgame").

Biography

Ayala was born on 2344 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Earth as the second of five children. His father was an Aerospace Engineer working at a Federation Warp Engine laboratory. When he was eleven his family moved to Bogota, Colombia, following his father's advancement in the field.

Ayala graduated from Simon Bolivar Escuela Secondaria in 2362 before going to the Trade School of the Americas in Colon, Panama graduating as a habitat construction specialist. (Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Realm)

Delta Quadrant stranding

In 2371, Ayala was one of Chakotay's crew aboard the Val Jean. When Gul Evek's ship, the Vetar, attacked the Maquis vessel in the Badlands, he attempted to make repairs to the bridge. After the Val Jean was transported to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array, Ayala was brought aboard the array for testing by the Caretaker. He was returned to the Val Jean unharmed. He later boarded Voyager along with Chakotay and Tuvok at Captain Kathryn Janeway's invitation. When it was revealed that Tuvok was a spy for the Federation, Ayala attempted to attack him, but was held back by Chakotay. He was issued a compression phaser rifle and beamed to the array with an away team to scout for Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres with Tuvok, but was soon returned to Voyager by the Caretaker. The Val Jean was later destroyed after it rammed a Kazon carrier vessel, and the Maquis were forced to join Voyager's crew for the journey home. (VOY: "Caretaker").

Aboard Voyager

Ayala was awarded the rank of lieutenant junior grade, initially in the engineering and operations divisions, but eventually in security. (VOY: "Faces", "The 37's") He would also serve as a relief tactical officer and accompanied many an away team as a security officer.

During The Away Mission From Hell, Ayala would be a key player during Voyager's many battles with the Heartless, leading several security teams that countered the Heartless' attempts to overrun Voyager. He would take over as tactical officer, temporarily, when Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was incapacitated during one of the many attacks by the Heartless. (Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Realm)

By 2378, shortly before Voyager returned to Earth, Ayala had switched to the command division, and was assigned to the conn. (VOY: "Renaissance Man")

Personal life

Family

In 2363 he would meet Susanna Rojas, a nursing student in Medellin, while on a weekend outing with several friends. He was nearly run over by a city tram while being mesmerized by her beauty (he once stated she had all the seductiveness of an Orion slave girl). He would court her for almost a year and a half before asking her to marry him. By all accounts her father threw one of the most lavish weddings in Medellin.

In 2365 he would take a job constructing a colony near the Cardassian DMZ, called New Medellin. In 2366, his first son Jose Ayala would be born, the first child to be born in the New Medellin colony. In 2368 he would have a second son Martin Bolivar Ayala. When the Cardassians were given the colony of New Medellin, Ayala sent them back to Brazil to live with his family there. (Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Realm)

By 2372 Ayala was grief-stricken because he was forced to leave his sons in the Alpha Quadrant. As part of his morale officer duties, Neelix often counseled Ayala. (VOY: "Initiations")

Friends

In 2371 Ayala would first meet Henry Kano, a Search and Rescue operative assigned to Voyager as part of the Chakotay mission and another provisional member of Voyager's security force. By 2376 Ayala and Kano were the best of friends and both men frequently would enjoy Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training sessions in the gym or on the holodeck. Both men would frequently be surfing on the holodeck as well. Ayala was often a confidant for Henry's growing feelings for fellow Voyager crewman Celes Tal.

By 2376 he would acknowledge that he had 'chemistry' with Lieutenant Susan Nicoletti but would not act on it to stay faithful to his wife. The attraction was reciprocated by Nicoletti but because of respect for Ayala's married state neither of them would pursue the other. (Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Realm)

Hobbies

Ayala held a red belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, training with descendants of the Gracie Barra line since the age of ten. He was a two time South American title holder as a young man. He was also a fan of mixed martial arts. Like many practitioners of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Ayala was also an ardent surfer, preferring the fish and shortboard variants of the Earth surfboard. (Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Realm)

External links

• Ayala article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
• Ayala article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
• Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Realm