Willard Decker

Commander Willard Decker was the first officer of the Enterprise in 2273. He was originally its captain, but was demoted to the rank of commander after James T. Kirk assumed command of the vessel when a mysterious cloud of unknown origin was approaching Earth. Decker had a romantic relationship with the Deltan navigator Lieutenant Ilia, and that romance continued even after she was turned into an android by V'Ger. After the true nature of V'Ger was discovered, Decker volunteered himself to merge with the living machine so that it could attain a higher purpose, and was absorbed along with the Ilia android.