For International Women’s Day, you just KNOW I’m going to write a post about Captain Kathryn Janeway. Honestly. Janeway kicks ass and leaves a footprint. She will do anything for her crew. She will fight for them and with them and drag them beyond themselves and what they think they can do on their own. Of all the captains, I truly believe that Kathryn Janeway gave the most of herself to her crew. As much as I love Jean-Luc Picard, or Will RIker, or even James fucking TIberius Kirk, I really don’t think any of them could have gotten their crew home under the same circumstances. Not even close, or at least not with their sanity as intact as it was. Janeway was more than their captain. She was their mother, their big sister, best friend, and most demanding mentor in the universe all rolled into one. Janeway is, hands down, my favorite captain. Love ya, Jean-Luc, but Kathryn Janeway rocks.

Kate Mulgrew herself is also badass. Whether it is giving life to a beloved Star Trek character, giving ALL the sass to a Russian inmate-mafia-smuggler-cook-ruler of the world in Orange is the New Black, to putting the full strength of her voice to an audiobook recording, Mulgrew seems to live her life to the fullest. She is a great supporter of Alzheimer’s research and has helped to raise millions of dollars to fund various charities and research devoted to curing the disease.

Favorite Janeway quotes or scenes:

• As long as you’re alive, there’s hope. “Hope and Fear”
• One voice can be stronger than a thousand voices. “The Gift.”
• I realize that I’ve been hard on you at times. But it was never out of anger…or regret that I brought you on board. I’m your captain. That means I can’t always be your friend. “Hope and Fear.”
• Keep a docking bay open for us. “Pathfinder.”
• There’s coffee in that nebula. “The Cloud.” The real reason Janeway was so determined to get everyone home. The Delta Quadrant coffee blows.

Other female captains I’m drawing attention to today:

• Silva LaForge (TNG, “Imaginary Friend,” “Hero Worship,” “Interface”). LaForge captained the Hera. She was often stationed on outposts near the Romulan Neutral Zone, according to Geordi. Silva LaForge was lost and missing in action, along with the rest of the crew of the Hera. Despite extensive searches, no trace of the ship was found and no one ever discovered what became of them.
• Captain Rachel Garrett (TNG, “Yesterday’s Enterprise”). Garrett captained the Enterprise-C. She and her crew got stuck in a time loop – those pesky things are always causing trouble – and came out of it in the 24th century. But she chose to go back, even knowing her ship would be destroyed, because in doing so, she went to the aid of a Klingon ship in distress and averted a disastrous war between the Klingons and Federation. Timeline restored! She also took Tasha Yar with her, who was on the wrong ship.
• Erika Hernandez (ENT, multiple eps). Hernandez captained the Columbia NX-02. She helped rescue Dr Phlox from Klingon space while he was there helping to cure a virus.