Ascending to the Center Seat: First Officers on the Rise

With in ' "," the U.S.S. Cerritos became the latest in a long line of Starfleet vessels whose first officers ascended to the center seat. Although these Number Ones acted heroically when they ranked second-in-command, they went on to achieve even more accolades as captains of their own vessels.

As we page through Starfleet history and honor these notable Number Ones, keep in mind one important caveat. With apologies to former first officers, including the esteemed likes of Christopher Pike and Cristóbal Rios, we will be focusing on officers whose executive officer exploits have been seen on-screen.

George Kirk (Kelvin Timeline)

Serving under aboard the U.S.S. Kelvin in , George Kirk quickly found himself facing a field promotion when his commanding officer departed the ship to face . Nero's execution of Robau made Kirk's captaincy permanent, leading the young officer to begin fulfilling his late predecessor's final request by evacuating the ship.

Sadly, battle damage left the Kelvin's autopilot unable to function, so Kirk valiantly stayed behind to pilot the ship and cover his crew's escape. George Kirk died after setting the Kelvin on a collision course with the Narada, but his sacrifice saved the lives of his wife, newborn son, and 800 other crew members. Kirk's heroics were so profound that later generations, including Christopher Pike, wrote dissertations on his deeds.

James T. Kirk (Kelvin Timeline)

While we've witnessed James T. Kirk shadowing Una Chin-Riley while preparing to become the U.S.S. Farragut's Number One in , his Kelvin Timeline counterpart endured an even more rapid rise to the captain's chair. In an eerie parallel to his father George's fate, James was made first officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise as Captain Pike exited for his own encounter with Nero.

Later, once acting-captain Spock acknowledged he had been emotionally compromised and relinquished his command, James found himself leading the Enterprise on a mission to defend Earth and rescue Pike. James T. Kirk's actions cemented his status as the Enterprise's new captain. While there were bumps along the way, including a temporary demotion, Captain Kirk nevertheless guided the Enterprise through its five-year mission… until the vessel was destroyed by Krall's drone ships near Altamid in .

Spock

Following a long and storied career as Captain Kirk's executive officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, Spock began a tour of duty as the starship's new captain prior to the events of . Spock oversaw training exercises for the Enterprise's young cadets, but he willingly ceded control to Admiral Kirk when the vessel was ordered to investigate a disturbance at Regula I.

Although Kirk heralded the Enterprise through the threat of a resurgent , Captain Spock spearheaded repair efforts while Kirk's landing party explored the Genesis cave. It was during this time that Spock and Kirk outwitted Khan's "superior intellect" by exchanging coded messages which fooled their genetically-engineered opponent into believing the Enterprise had fled.

Benjamin Sisko

As the first officer of the U.S.S. Saratoga, Benjamin Sisko survived his ship's destruction at the . Assigned to command Deep Space 9, Sisko found renewed purpose when he discovered the Bajoran wormhole to the distant Gamma Quadrant. Though still only a commander, Sisko's position saw him lead the station, its complement of runabouts, and the U.S.S. Defiant on key missions involving the Cardassians, Maquis, and Dominion.

Sisko's distinguished service earned him a well-deserved promotion to captain in 's "." His maiden voyage as a captain placed Sisko in the unenviable predicament of dealing with a Changeling infiltrator aboard the Defiant. Of course, Captain Sisko performed as admirably as ever throughout the harrowing ordeal, managing to thwart a Dominion plot to instigate a conflict between the Federation and the Tzenkethi.

Kira Nerys

While we've focused on Starfleet Number Ones up to this point, the unique circumstances surrounding Kira Nerys' tenure on Deep Space 9 warrants her inclusion here. A member of the Bajoran militia, Kira worked closely with Starfleet as Benjamin Sisko's second-in-command for seven years. When Sisko traveled to Earth in the wake of Jadzia Dax's death, Kira was placed in charge of the station on a temporary basis. Once Sisko returned, Colonel Kira resumed her usual duties until she received a Starfleet commission as part of a covert operation to assist the Cardassian resistance.

Shortly thereafter, Sisko embarked on an unexpected stay in the Celestial Temple, creating yet another vacancy at the top of Deep Space 9's command structure. Kira took over the position, and while she did not obtain the rank of captain at the time, her transition from being the station's first officer to its commanding officer merited her addition to our catalog of exemplary ascents.

Chakotay

A seven-year detour to the Delta Quadrant necessitated that Chakotay and his Maquis cohorts be merged into Captain Kathryn Janeway's Starfleet crew, with Chakotay stepping up to replace U.S.S. Voyager's recently deceased first officer. Janeway and Chakotay forged a strong working relationship as their ship traversed the vast distance that separated them from their homeworld, and the resulting bond prevailed even upon their eventual arrival at Earth in 's "."

As the commanding officer of the experimental U.S.S. Protostar, Captain Chakotay held the ironic distinction of fronting Starfleet's return to the Delta Quadrant. This fortuitous mission set in motion a temporally-charged series of events that would have lasting repercussions for the Federation, the Vau N'Akat people, and — as seen in 's "Last Flight of the Protostar, Part I" — Chakotay himself.

William T. Riker

Much like Spock before him, William T. Riker was perhaps best-known for his duties as the the Enterprise's Number One, serving under Captain Jean-Luc Picard on both the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and U.S.S. Enterprise-E.

Having passed up his own commands on previous occasions, Riker finally accepted a promotion and set off on new adventures at the conclusion of . Riker's first task as captain of the U.S.S. Titan revolved around heading up a diplomatic task force scheduled to meet with the Romulans in the Neutral Zone. Captain Riker's relationship with the Titan came full circle in , when a run-in with 's rogue Changelings incapacitated the refit U.S.S. Titan-A's Captain Liam Shaw and left Riker as the starship's acting captain once more.

Seven of Nine

The preexisting tension between and Seven of Nine (or, as Shaw preferred, Commander Annika Hansen) intensified upon Jean-Luc Picard and William T. Riker's arrival aboard the U.S.S. Titan-A in Star Trek: Picard's "," with Seven's insubordinate allegiance to the elder officers provoking Shaw's ever-growing ire.

Despite their discord, Captain Shaw and Seven gradually displayed a grudging respect for one another as the Titan-A endeavored to solve the mystery of Vadic and the 's insidious plot against the Federation. Fatally wounded during the course of those events, Shaw had actually recorded a recommendation that Seven be awarded a promotion in advance of Picard and Riker's visit. With the joint Changeling-Borg threat neutralized and the Titan-A recommissioned as the U.S.S. Enterprise-G, Captain Seven assumed the ship's center seat, having chosen Commander Raffi Musiker as her Number One and enlisted a bridge crew which included Sidney La Forge and Jack Crusher.

Saru

As prestigious as Starfleet's first officer postings were, Commander Saru found himself with the unappealing honor of being Captain Gabriel Lorca's Number One in 's "Context is for Kings." Unbeknownst to Saru and the U.S.S. Discovery crew, Lorca's Mirror Universe origins served to further the difficulties they experienced during the Klingon War.

Even after Lorca's demise, Discovery's tribulations continued as Control fought to extinguish all sentient life. Discovery's 930-year jump into a dire future finally afforded Saru with the opportunity to captain the ship on his own, a role in which he thrived. Presented with a hostile and unfamiliar galaxy, Captain Saru's earliest days were defined by his ability to unite his subordinates and triumphantly track down the remnants of Starfleet and the Federation for a much-anticipated reunion in "."

Michael Burnham

Commander Michael Burnham's mutinous behavior at the dawn of the Klingon War derailed her path to the captaincy, but the former first officer of the U.S.S. Shenzhou gained a second chance at command aboard the 32nd Century-era U.S.S. Discovery-A. Selected by Captain Saru as his new Number One, Burnham succumbed to her independent ways in order to rescue Cleveland "Book" Booker in Discovery's "." The fallout from her disobedience was severe, but Burnham once again rose to the occasion when the Emerald Chain captured the Discovery-A and breached the field concealing Federation Headquarters. Burnham's actions supplied Admiral Charles Vance with a fresh perspective on her skillset, convincing him to appoint her to succeed Saru as the Discovery-A's new commanding officer.

As the Federation dealt with the looming danger posed by the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA), Captain Burnham conducted a variety of missions, including the humanitarian expedition to evacuate an Akaali asteroid colony imperiled by the DMA in "."