The Evolution of the Talaxian Emblem
by Jörg Hillebrand, Bernd Schneider and Brad Wilder
Talaxian Sets Without EmblemsTalaxian Standard EmblemAdditional Talaxian Logo
Although one of the main characters of the series was Talaxian, it should take until the very end of Star Trek: Voyager for a definitive version of the Talaxian logo to show up. A preliminary version was visible already at the end of the second season or at the beginning of the third season. It served as an inspiration for the final logo. The second edition of the Star Trek Encyclopedia included the logos of the Kazon and the Vidiians but not yet one of the Talaxians. This indicates that the latter was not yet decided on, although the episodes showing the preliminary version had already aired well before the book was going into print.
As late as in the Star Trek Star Charts we can see the Talaxian logo in its apparent final version (but slightly modified). It consists of a white, four-pointed star, inside which there is a red S-shaped letter. Behind the star a black bar is located. Everything is placed in an oval with the left half gray and the right half brown. Slightly modified, this very logo could only be seen in "Homestead".
Talaxian Sets Without Emblems
Caretaker
In the pilot episode we see Neelix's ship from the inside, but no Talaxian characters or symbols whatsoever.
Investigations
In this episode, a set consisting of Talaxian consoles can be seen for the first time. This set will appear again unchanged in two later episodes. Here, we can see the Talaxian Laxeth on the bridge of a Talaxian ship in front of a wall with consoles. The symbols on the consoles will be visible much better in "The Chute".
Basics II
The same console wall appears in "Basics II" behind the Talaxian Paxim, who is also on a Talaxian ship.
Endgame
Neelix, who now lives in the Talaxian mining colony, is seen on a screen in the Voyager series finale. But there are no Talaxian consoles or symbols in the background.
Talaxian Standard Emblem
The Chute
This episode gives us the best impression of the Talaxian consoles because the camera is directly on the set (on Neelix's ship, the Baxial), and the consoles are not only visible somewhere in the background on a screen. So Talaxian characters are clearly visible for the first time. On the upper right console there is a preliminary version of the Talaxian logo. It consists of a yellow four-pointed star with a green symbol in the middle, which is somewhat edgier than the later S-shaped letter and also mirrored. The symbol is more like a question mark here. When the Talaxian mining colony was created in "Homestead" many years later, a Talaxian logo was needed, for which the symbol from "The Chute" was clearly used as the basis.
Homestead
In this episode there are two variations of the Talaxian logo. The first one, which is very similar to the final logo as depicted in the Star Trek Star Charts, appears as a sticker on support columns and on the Talaxian shield generators, which we can see being carried in one scene. In both cases the white star with the red "S" can be clearly seen. The black middle bar is also visible both times. On the column sticker, we can also make out the gray left half of the logo, while on the shield generator, the right brown area can be seen. It is noticeable that the three colored vertical areas behind the white star all reach to the edge of the oval. On the Star Charts variant, the black area stops in front of the edge. In addition, the bottom of the logo is angular, and only rounded on the top.
Another variant of the logo shows up on different consoles and as stickers on small cases. These bear a clear resemblance to the logo from "The Chute" and the previous two episodes. This logo consists only of the white four-pointed star with the question mark-shaped letter on it. It is yellow inside and blue on the outside. The letter is rounded, as on the logo in the Star Charts and not as jagged and pointed as in "The Chute". The orientation of the symbol, however, is as in "The Chute" (like a question mark and not like an "S").
We also see the bridge of Neelix's ship in "Homestead". The consoles and displays are not the same as in "The Chute". However, efforts were made to reproduce the set from the previous episodes. On the upper left console, we can see the display variant of the Talaxian logo as it was introduced for this episode. However, the letter in the center of the star is very dark here.
Summary
The following image summarizes the varieties of the Talaxian emblem, which appeared in just two episodes of the series.
Additional Talaxian logo
Looking closely at the Talaxian consoles and stickers in all episodes, we can notice another common symbol that could also act as a Talaxian logo (it shows up just as frequently as the "official" emblem). We can see it on the left upper display of the Baxial Bridge in "The Chute" and less clearly on the same consoles in the previous two episodes. It is also visible on several screens in "Homestead" and as stickers on various consoles, freight containers and cabinets. This logo appears in many color variants and is sometimes rotated by 90 or 180 degrees.
The following collage summarizes the varieties of the alternative Talaxian logo.
