List of Minor Recurring Characters in Star Trek: Voyager - Lon Suder

Lon Suder, played by Brad Dourif, is an engineer on Voyager.

Suder is a sociopathic Betazoid mercenary who, unlike most Betazoids, is disconnected from his own, and others', emotions. Many of the Maquis had been uncomfortable serving with Suder, who seemed to enjoy killing rather than having joined to further the Maquis cause. Suder later admits that this is exactly why he joined the Maquis: he likes to kill, and the Maquis provided a sufficient outlet for his rage.

While on Voyager, however, Suder cannot find an adequate release for his violent tendencies, and by the episode "Meld" he kills fellow crewman Frank Darwin in a murderous fury. Lieutenant Tuvok, refusing to accept Suder's explanation that he killed Darwin for no reason, mind melds with Suder in an attempt to discover the truth and to bestow upon the troubled crewman some of his own Vulcan self-discipline. However, the meld affects Tuvok, transmitting Suder's sociopathy to the Vulcan. Tuvok, mentally ill, ultimately tries to kill Suder, who does not fight back as he is prepared to die. Tuvok, partly helped by Suder's warnings that the violence will become his entire life, resists the temptation. The Doctor says this is a sign Tuvok is healing from his madness. Suder is sentenced to life imprisonment in his quarters until he can be rehabilitated. Over time, he finds that he has a natural talent for plant biology, and requests to help Voyager to both gain trust and become a part of the crew again.

When the Kazon and Cardassian spy Seska takes over Voyager in "Basics" and strands the crew on a desolate planet, only Suder and the ship's doctor are left on board. Struggling with his newfound inner peace and conscience, Suder is forced to revisit his violent ways in order to rescue his crewmates. He aids the Doctor in wresting control of the ship from the Kazon, at one point becoming nearly catatonic after being forced to kill. In a final, selfless act of sabotage, Suder kills a group of Kazon in the Engineering room and sabotaged Voyager's backup phaser couplings just after he is fatally shot by a Kazon soldier. Because of his actions, Paris and some Talaxian comrades were able to retake Voyager. Tuvok later offers a Vulcan blessing over Suder's body that death might bring Suder the peace he could not find in life.

External links

• Lon Suder at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)