Star Trek: Every Captain Ranked Worst To Best (2023)

Dal definitely deserves to be shouted out as the captain of the unofficial Protostar crew, though it shouldn't come as a surprise that he's not high on this list.

Dal is still learning, and he's made a lot of mistakes. He took the Protostar into the Romulan Neutral Zone to escape from the Dauntless, which endangered everyone onboard, but it was a creative way to prevent the Dauntless from being infected by the Living Construct aboard the Protostar. Dal has shown a sincere desire to grow. The Protostar's holograms taught him the importance of the prime directive and other Starfleet rules, which helped steer him in the right direction.

By destroying the Protostar, Dal was able to keep the Living Construct from infecting any other vessels, and all criminal charges for stealing the ship were dropped. Dal and the others (aside from Gwyn) were then allowed to serve under Janeway as warrant officers-in-training, a step towards them eventually being able to join Starfleet officially.

Although he didn't serve as a captain officially, Dal had to fight for his command more than many of the others on this list.