When Star Trek: Voyager first aired in 1996, it was standing on the shoulders of giants in the Star Trek universe. Captain Kathryn Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) first on-screen mission sent her after a group of Maquis rebels, whose cause was first established in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The beginning of Voyager served to connect a new show to the Star Trek classics that came before, but more than just storylines started on other Star Trek shows before shining on Voyager.