Shaxs

Lieutenant Shaxs was a male Bajoran Starfleet officer who lived during the late 24th century. (LD: "Second Contact")

Early life[]

Shaxs was a member of the Bajoran Resistance during the Occupation of Bajor. His time in the Resistance was traumatic and all-consuming, such as that even years later any mention of Bajor would send him flying into a violent rage. During his time in the resistance, Shaxs saved and was saved numerous times by Shakaar resistance cell member Kira Nerys. The two became friends during their escapades. (LD: "wej Duj", "Hear All, Trust Nothing")

Starfleet career[]

Shaxs served as the security chief aboard the USS Cerritos.

During a second contact mission to the Galardonian home world, Commander Jack Ransom was bitten by a flying insect, and unknowingly brought a rage virus onto the ship. Ransom eventually infected a significant number of the crew, and in the resulting fight on the Cerritos, Shaxs fought many of the infected crew. When the battle was nearing defeat, he recommended detonating the warp core to Captain Carol Freeman, but his suggestion was denied. Dr. T'Ana instead found a potential cure for the virus within some oral slime that coated Ensign Brad Boimler, and when Freeman gave the order to protect the slime, Shaxs carried Boimler all the way to sickbay. (LD: "Second Contact")

When Ensign Sam Rutherford expressed an interest in pursuing an alternate career aboard the Cerritos, he was tested by Shaxs in Combat Simulation Smorgasborg, a simulation which involved a new security recruit facing multiple Borg drones. Shaxs threw new recruits in this simulation to show them how to cope with defeat, but Rutherford astounded Shaxs by single-handily defeating each drone with the help of his cybernetic implant. Shaxs called Rutherford a natural born warrior and welcomed him into security. However, shortly after this, Rutherford requested a transfer back to engineering. Shaxs was more than happy to let him go, saying that it was good to be true to oneself. (LD: "Envoys")

During a mission to Gelrak V, after an away mission did not go well due to a misinterpreted gesture, the Gelrakians launched an attack against the Cerritos. With the lack of buffer time, the crew was overworked and not completing their daily tasks properly, which resulted in the ship's functionality decreasing. Shaxs was unable to raise the ship's shields, and the Gelrakians successfully boarded the Cerritos during their attack. Shaxs helped defend the bridge throughout the attack. Once the attack was successfully thwarted, Shaxs led another away mission to the planet, wherein proper contact was established, and there were no further problems. (LD: "Temporal Edict")

Shaxs assisted in the controlled implosion of a moon orbiting Mixtus III, and temporarily worked aboard the USS Vancouver during this mission. (LD: "Cupid's Errant Arrow")

During a confrontation with a group of Drookmani, he advised aggressive action against the scavengers which were trying to claim Starfleet salvage for their own. He noted their claim of salvage as being ludicrous in nature, and was seemingly annoyed at Freeman's lack of action, as she favored "a more diplomatic approach." He begged her to let him fire on their warp core and was visibly dismayed when Freeman didn't give him permission. When Freeman finally believed she'd exhausted all her options, she finally gave Shaxs permission to fire, but she'd given the order too late since the damage the Drookmani had inflicted by this point had disabled the weapons on the ship. The Drookmani were defeated when a corrupted isolinear core tore into the ship and destroyed the ship from within. Shaxs was so happy with this victory that he gave Dr. T'Ana a kiss. (LD: "Terminal Provocations")

Shaxs took part in a covert mission to rescue Imperium Magistrate Clar from the Romulans. On Stardate 57791.1, he, Lieutenant Commander Andy Billups, and Rutherford broke into a Vulcan museum to steal a 23rd century Romulan Bird-of-Prey. While they were successful, the mission was full of small problems, since Rutherford's actions were generally not his own, as his implant initiated multiple updates, causing him blackouts, and losing control of his motor functions. In the end, the rescue of Clar was a success, and Clar attempted to have Shaxs and the rest of the bridge crew honored at a party, but due to the nature of the mission being unknown to the ensigns that Clar called forward to testify, the party didn't go far, and ended after only twenty-two minutes. (LD: "Veritas")

When the Cerritos received a partial distress call from the USS Solvang, her crew investigated the call, only to find the ship completely destroyed. The Cerritos was then immediately attacked by a Pakled Clumpship and crippled. Shaxs once more participated in fighting off several Pakled intruders. Rutherford came up with a computer virus that would disable the Pakled's computer, and Shaxs escorted Rutherford to the repair bay, where he blasted his way into the ship with the phasers of the shuttlecraft Sequoia. Shaxs was successful in fighting off multiple Pakled guards, protecting Rutherford, as he uploaded the virus to the computer, but a complication from Rutherford's holographic creation, Badgey, resulted in the upload slowing to a crawl, and halting the initiation of a self-destruct of the Pakled Clumpship.

Shaxs ripped the cybernetic implant off of Rutherford as it continued to upload the virus, which severely wounded Rutherford, but kept the upload going. He placed the unconscious Rutherford in the shuttlecraft, and pushed it out into space, saving Rutherford's life. Shaxs continued to fight the Pakleds until the ship exploded, killing him, along with everyone else on board. (LD: "No Small Parts")

The loss of Shaxs was felt deep in the crew of the Cerritos. His sacrifice was honored by the crew at his memorial, in which Freeman said they'd never forget what he did. Freeman later admitted that she had no idea how she would ever replace him. Dr. T'Ana had also hoped to start a romantic relationship with Shaxs before his sacrifice. (LD: "No Small Parts")

Resurrection[]

Shortly after his death, Shaxs was resurrected through a harrowing process that involved "dark truths about scientific depravity" and the black mountain. He resumed his duties aboard the Cerritos, though he remained heavily affected by the experience and suffered from flashbacks. While the chief of security position had since been assumed by Kayshon, Shaxs resumed his role as chief of security alongside Kayshon, though he was his superior. (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris")

A photo of Shaxs later appeared on the conspiracy board at the truther's recruitment booth on Tulgana IV in 2381. (LD: "Reflections")

During the battle with the Texas-class starships, Shax finally got to fulfill his lifelong dream of ejecting the warp core, the detonation of which destroyed the USS Dallas and the USS Corpus Christi. (LD: "The Stars At Night")

Personality[]

Shaxs was known to be very aggressive and was prone to favoring highly combative strategies in any tactical situation. He did not seem to fear any repercussions for what this action would have. He was rough around the edges with the crew as well, and not above making threats with anyone who displeased him. When he complained that barstools hurt his back, Billups simply told him that he wasn't sitting on them right, which made Shaxs say that he'd killed better men for less (or at least threatened to kill better men for about the same). (LD: "Moist Vessel")

Despite this, he was still very protective and supportive of the Cerritos crew. He believed it was good to stay true to one's self in Starfleet and was a willing participant in many activities in which the senior staff took part, such as poker, and racquetball. Shaxs also possessed incredible strength, as he was able to run while carrying a person with one arm. (LD: "Second Contact", "Envoys", "Moist Vessel", "No Small Parts", "We'll Always Have Tom Paris")

Shaxs was evidently at least a nominal follower of the Bajoran religion, as he wore a Bajoran earring and referenced the Prophets when astounded by Rutherford's performance in his combat simulation. Additionally, a realistic holodeck simulation of Shaxs, programmed with information from his personal logs, threatened his enemies with encountering the Pah-wraiths in hell. (LD: "Envoys", "Crisis Point")

Personal relationships[]

T'Ana[]

Shaxs and T'Ana held romantic feelings for one another and were very flirtatious with one another on more than one occasion. In 2380, when the ship was almost destroyed by Drookmani scavengers, only to be destroyed themselves by a corrupt isolinear core, Shaxs was overjoyed, and gave T'Ana a kiss on the bridge that they both enjoyed. T'Ana hoped to officially start a relationship with him that year, however, Shaxs was killed when he sacrificed his life to save Rutherford, halting these plans. (LD: "Terminal Provocations", "No Small Parts")

Upon Shaxs' resurrection, the two rekindled their feelings with one another, and when Shaxs was poisoned by a mugato, T'Ana treated his wound, and told him in a suggestive manner that she would be checking in on him in his quarters to "heal him all night long"; a suggestion he smiled at. (LD: "Mugato, Gumato")

During Shari yn Yem's drills in which the senior and junior officers exchanged duties, Shaxs and T'Ana were seen sharing a bunk in a residential hallway. (LD: "I, Excretus")

The two often engaged in thrilling, and sometimes even dangerous activities on the holodeck prior to sexual relations. In one instance, both engaged in a black/white movie style bank robbery simulation wherein they said "they would make the customers watch" In the same instance, Shaxs held concerns that T'Ana didn't always take his feelings or dreams into consideration. However, when he expressed this concern to her, she told him a secret of how she lost her tail; a secret she'd refused to tell anyone before, offering reassurance. (LD: "Room for Growth")

Samanthan Rutherford[]

Shaxs also had developed an affection for Ensign Sam Rutherford, whom he called "Baby Bear". When Rutherford temporarily sought to transfer into Security, he astounded Shaxs when he managed to defeat numerous holographic Borg drones in a simulation that was simply meant to help security recruits cope with defeat. While Rutherford ultimately transferred back to Engineering, Shaxs' respect for the young Ensign remained intact. (LD: "Envoys", "Veritas")

When the Cerritos was attacked by the Pakleds in 2380, Rutherford came up with a computer virus that would disable the Pakled ship. As the virus needed to be manually input into the Pakled's systems, Shaxs personally escorted Rutherford to the hangar, and flew him there. The plan did not go over smoothly however, as Rutherford's program, Badgey, instead initiated a self-destruct of the Pakled Clumpship. Without any other options, Shaxs ripped Rutherford's implant from his head, put the unconscious Rutherford onto the shuttlecraft and pushed it into space, saving Rutherford's life, while giving his own in the resulting explosion. (LD: "No Small Parts")

Shaxs' death weighed heavily on Rutherford, and when Shaxs returned to the Cerritos, Rutherford was astonished by his reappearance. While he tried not to pay any attention to the fact that there was no explanation for his sudden return as Mariner and Boimler advised him to not question it, Rutherford ultimately was unable to forget about it, and approached Shaxs about the matter. He told him that he felt guilty that Shaxs had to give up his life to save his own, and that if he knew how he survived, he wouldn't feel as guilty. Shaxs was reluctant to tell him about it but told him not to feel guilty for what happened, saying that saving Rutherford was his duty. He also told Rutherford that the only reason they didn't tell him was because those that come back only wanted to spare others from the very dark and disturbing details that most would find unsettling. Rutherford was not bothered by this, and when he insisted, Shaxs told Rutherford in detail how he had returned from death, though as he continued, Rutherford was seemingly more and more distraught with each revealed detail. (LD: "We'll Always Have Tom Paris").

Bradward Boimler[]

Shaxs and Boimler befriended one another in 2381, when Boimler took on a challenge from D'Vana Tendi to try new things. Boimler was tackled by Shaxs in a springball tournament, and Shaxs was impressed by Boimler's prolonged scream. He invited Boimler to participate in his Bajoran dirge choir, and Boimler's soprano performance moved Shaxs to tears. Shaxs told Boimler then that he could ask Shaxs for any favors moving forward. (LD: "The Least Dangerous Game")

Later that year, Shaxs came to Boimler to ask if he could help fix his phaser, but got offended when he saw Boimler in the middle of an impersonation of him. Boimler would try to apologize numerous times, but Shaxs would not listen. Later on, when the Cerritos was fleeing the rogue USS Aledo, USS Dallas, and USS Corpus Christi, Shaxs recommended ejecting the warp core, but other bridge officers talked over his idea, drowning him out. Boimler stood up for Shaxs, forcing everyone to listen to his idea. While Captain Freeman was initially hesitant, she quickly saw the brilliance of Shaxs' idea, and ordered Shaxs to personally eject the warp core. Later on, Shaxs forgave Boimler, and told him that because of Boimler, he finally could live out one of his greatest dreams. He accepted to be Boimler's "bridge-buddy", and welcomed Boimler into his "bear pack." (LD: "The Stars At Night")

Kira Nerys[]

Shaxs and Kira served together in the Bajoran Resistance and became good friends. During their time there, the two would save one another on multiple occasions from various prison transports and ambushes. When the two were reunited on Deep Space 9 in 2381, Kira recalled him saving her life during a raid on the Haru outposts and said that she still owed him for it. This sparked a friendly, albeit fierce argument between the two over who was indebted to who for saving one another. Later on, when the Karemma they were negotiating with ordered the "Alpha Contingency", Shaxs would save Kira from an attack, and when the situation was resolved, she playfully jabbed to him that she now actually did owe him one; a jab that annoyed him greatly. (LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing")

Memorable quotes[]

"You think I had time for anything other than resisting?! Fighting fascism is a full-time job!"

- Shaxs, when Bradward Boimler asks if he learned how to make pottery on Bajor (LD: "wej Duj")

"Tacky Cardassian fascist eyesore."

- Shaxs, when viewing Deep Space 9 (LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing")

"I've dreamed of this for so long. Eject."

- Shaxs, fulfilling his dream of ejecting the Cerritos' warp core (LD: "The Stars At Night")

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

Shaxs was voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

During early stages of development, his name was Xax. In early concept art by Miranda Dressler, he was not a Bajoran, but a purple-skinned alien. [1]

Apocrypha[]

Shaxs was featured in IDW Publishing's Lower Decks' miniseries and in the second arc of the 2022 Star Trek series. In the 7th issue of the ongoing series, Shaxs was a lieutenant junior grade on temporary reassignment from the Cerritos as Starfleet's special investigator of Bajoran antiquities and artifacts. He joined the crew of the USS Theseus to replace Ambassador Worf as the ship's interim tactical officer.

The comic issue Star Trek: Day of Blood #1 gives Shaxs' full name as Shaxs Drazon.

External links[]

• Shaxs at StarTrek.com
• Shaxs Drazon at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works