And why
Chewingbacca. His laser sword was the best and he had nice eyes.
First, I love characters that are regularly puzzled by human beings / being human:
Spock
Data
Odo
The Doctor
Seven of Nine
Saru
Second, I love strong female characters:
Katherine Pulaski
Kira Nerys
Kathryn Janeway!!!
SNW Uhura
SNW Chapel
Third, I love queer characters:
Guinan
Garak
Jadzia Dax
Adira and Gray
I might have forgotten an awfull lot of equally amiable characters, which doesn’t mean that I don’t love them.
It’s a basic ass answer but Sisko. Star Trek has tried moral compromise a lot by now, but Sisko remains the only one where it really hit for me. Later Trek, where it’s more common, just doesn’t have the same level of professionalism or idealism for it to feel meaningful.
It’s a tie between Mariner and Burnham.
In a world of “humanoid/android/AI/chair/lawnmower explores what it means to be human” it was very refreshing to see “human raised as not-human explores what it means to be human.”
Garak