Star Trek: Picard boldly suggests Cristóbal Rios is Starfleet's best ace pilot - is there any merit to that claim? Played by Santiago Cabrera, Cristóbal Rios has enjoyed a colorful history of space exploration, beginning his career in Starfleet and rising to the rank of executive officer aboard the USS Ibn Majid. Rios departed the Federation's finest after a clandestine directive ordered the Ibn Majid's captain to assassinate two synth guests the ship had welcomed aboard. Wracked by trauma and guilt, Rios went freelance aboard his own personal vessel, La Sirena, but by the time Star Trek: Picard season 2 begins, he's rejoined Starfleet and been bumped up to captain of the reborn Stargazer.

And it's in Star Trek: Picard season 2 that Cristóbal Rios also stakes his claim as Starfleet's greatest ever pilot. Transported to the 21st century, Rios begins telling a kind local doctor called Teresa about his fondest childhood memory (with the futuristic parts censored out, of course). Rios remembers his mother working at Starfleet academy, and his 8-year-old self sneaking aboard a training simulator. The young Rios' joyride attracted the attention of nearby admirals and captains... because he'd just scored the best results of any cadet in history.

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Rios can't utter futuristic terms in front of 21st century Teresa, so there's a small leap of logic in assuming the "academy" Rios' mother worked for was actually Starfleet. Having made that leap, however, the simulator incident would've taken place somewhere around 2370, meaning 8-year-old Rios beat scores from the Star Trek: DiscoveryOriginal SeriesNext Generation, and Voyager/DS9 eras. In theory, that would make Cristóbal Rios a piloting prodigy, and the best ace Star Trek has ever seen. Does this claim hold water in Star Trek mythology?

Captain Rios on the Stargazer in Star Trek: Picard Season 2

Rios' main rivals would probably be Hikaru Sulu, Will Riker, Tom Paris, and Keyla Detmer. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Geordi LaForge describes Riker as the best pilot of that era, but very little of his flying antics are actually shown until the famous joystick in Star Trek: Insurrection. Compare that to Sulu slingshotting both the Enterprise and a Klingon Bird of Prey during his time, and you might give the edge to George Takei's character. Detmer is a curious case, since her piloting career begins pre-Kirk, but some of her most impressive stunts come in the 32nd century, way ahead any other Star Trek series. Tom Paris of Star Trek: Voyager is one of few main characters whose piloting skills are embedded into their character. Not only does Captain Janeway recruit him especially for that reason, but an infamously unsociable Seven of Nine compliments Paris' flying ability, tacitly anointing him among the best Starfleet pilots Star Trek has introduced - certainly the most accomplished and visible.

Across Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2, Rios pulls a couple of impressive maneuvers in La Sirena. None absolutely scream "best pilot in Starfleet history," but his dogfight against Narek is pretty slick. Comparing Star Trek pilots is notoriously difficult due to the sheer size of most Starfleet vessels - like asking Formula 1 drivers to prove their skills in a double-decker bus. Having said that, we've glimpsed enough of Rios' nifty piloting to gather he's at least an elite flyer, while that cigar-chomping, "how dare you damage my beautiful ship" persona aligns neatly with the stereotypical sci-fi depiction of a crack pilot. Finally, Rios' simulator story means his 8-year-old self topped a cadet scoreboard that almost certainly would've included Tom Paris and Will Riker - two of the finest Starfleet pilots Star Trek has introduced.

Given the limited details available, Star Trek: Picard's overt suggestion that Rios is the best flyer Starfleet has known could feasibly be true - even if he hasn't backed that up with irrefutable examples of his greatness quite yet. Maybe Star Trek: Picard is playing up Rios' importance to Starfleet history because of his starring role in a recently announced prequel book. Star Trek: Rogue Elements will take place shortly after Rios abandons Starfleet to become a mercenary on La Sirena. By reframing him as one of the greatest pilots in Starfleet history, Star Trek: Picard turns Rios into something of a Han Solo figure, which will likely drum up interest in his pre-TV literary adventures.

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Star Trek: Picard continues Thursdays on Paramount+.