Played By: Roxann Dawson
The B'Elanna Torres forced from a Maquis ship onto the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 in 2371 is a thin-skinned woman who hears criticism in friendly comments, doesn't trust anyone who likes her, doesn't respect anyone unless they've proven themselves to her, and has a bad temper that's often expressed in physical violence. As a half-human, half-Klingon who respects neither culture, Torres is warring with everyone, including herself. However, since she's also a brilliant engineer, honest and loyal, she's an asset to any starship.
Torres becomes Voyager's chief engineer soon after the Maquis and Starfleet crews are forced to integrate. It's a job she wants and keeps, with much effort and a lot of help from Captain Janeway.
In 2372 Torres receives the chance to confront her Klingon side, the cause of her personality problems, when Vidiian medical research splits her into a full human and a full Klingon version of herself. For the first time she understands that something positive comes from her Klingon heritage. This insight, however, brings no peace of mind.
In 2373 when Vorik declares his interest in mating, one of the advantages to the coupling, he believes, is his ability to teach her mental discipline. Instead, she becomes affected by his Pon Farr experience and reveals her attraction to Tom Paris, something she preferred to keep secret. As late as 2375 Torres still loses her Klingon temper and, in one incident, breaks the Doctor's holo-camera. After this event she is ordered into meditation training with Tuvok.
Torres secretly reads Klingon romance novels, but admitting to Tom Paris that she loves him is terrifying. Only when she is seconds from death on the Klingon Day of Honor in 2374 does Torres finally admit her feelings. After they are saved, the romance begins. Expressing some feelings opens the floodgates to Torres' darker emotions as well. She finds herself taking terrible risks in the holodeck, until learning to accept help from others. Then, in 2376, Torres believes she must save her mother from Klingon Hell and, in so doing, gains some acceptance about her Klingon self.
In 2377, B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris marry and, to their joint surprise, she soon discovers she is pregnant with a baby girl. Her own childhood torments fresh in her mind, Torres is frantic to manipulate the DNA of the fetus so that it will be entirely human. With Paris's love and understanding, Torres is able to accept the child and herself, as is.
