Acting captain

The title of acting captain was bestowed upon a starship crew member placed in temporary command in the event the normal commanding officer was incapacitated or otherwise unavailable. The line of succession normally started with the first officer and continued to the second officer, and on down until somebody was fit to command.

In an alternate 2371, Lieutenant Veronica Stadi was made acting captain of the USS Voyager (NCC-74656) after Captain Kathryn Janeway was killed during the transit to the Delta Quadrant.

In 2407 Lieutenant (JG) Kanril Eleya advanced to acting captain of the USS Kagoshima after most of the ship's senior staff were killed by a hit to the bridge and the chief engineer Lieutenant otherwise incapacitated.