Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard was a human Starfleet officer, born in 2305. In 2333 he took command of the USS Stargazer following the death of his captain, and was subsequently promoted to captain. He commanded the Stargazer for 22 years, until she was lost in an attack by unknown aliens, later learned to be Ferengi. In 2364, Picard was assigned command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in the years 2364-2371, and then the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) begining in the year 2372.

Early Life
Jean-Luc Picard, the son of Maurice Picard and Yvette Gessard Picard, was born in LaBarre, France, on Earth on 13th July 2305. From an early age Jean-Luc and his elder brother Robert Picard fought constantly, but shared friends Louis and Claude. (TNG episode: "Conundrum"; and TNG novel: Perchance to Dream).

Jean-Luc's interest in history and archaeology began in 2313, when he was forced to escape to a small parish church to escape the bullying and torment of his brother. He was so captivated by the church that he wanted to know everything about the building. (TNG novel: Guises of the Mind).

Starfleet Academy
At the age of 17 in 2322, Jean-Luc applied to enter Starfleet Academy, but failed the entrance exam, due in part to his problem with mathematics. However, the following year, he is admitted into the Academy. In his first year, Jean-Luc was supervised by Cadet First Lieutenant Ivan Gruzinov, and began taking extra maths tuition at Cal Tech in Old Pasadena with Adrienne Tillstrom. Picard also makes good friends with Marta Batanides and Cortin Zweller, and some adversaries, including Morgan Korsmo. (TNG episodes: "Coming of Age" and "Tapestry"; TNG novels: Nightshade, Grounded, and Vendetta).

At one point during his Academy career Picard, along with Zweller, risked possible expulsion and imprisonment for bringing the comatose Batanides to the blackmarket Genetics laboratory on the world Yrskatdon, when the only known cure for Batanides Fetal Imcompatability Syndrome was a banned genetic resequencing procedure. (Marvel comic, Starfleet Academy #11 Judgement and TNG novel: Section 31, Book 2: Rogue'').

In 2324, Jean-Luc won the 41st Starfleet Academy Marathon against a number of competitors including the favourites, and became the first freshmen to win the marathon. (TNG episode: "The Best of Both Worlds" and SCE novel: The Belly of the Beast).

Jean-Luc graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2327 and he and his friends Marta and Cortin make their way to Starbase Earhart to await their first assignments. While on the base, Picard and his friends get into a fight with three Nausicaans after a dom-jot game. During the fight, Picard was stabbed through the heart and nearly dies, fortunately he was at a starbase so was easily treated and fitted with an artificial heart. After a few weeks of recovery, Ensign Picard was assigned to the USS Antares with his former supervisor Ivan Gruzinov. (TNG episode: "Tapestry"; and novel: Blaze of Glory).

The Stargazer
In 2328, Picard was granted a leave of absence from the Antares to run an elite, long-distance race on a barren planet in the Elyrion system. During his time on the planet he befriended a young Zartani named Nuadra Demmix, and also gained experience with the Ubarrek. (STA novel: Oblivion).

Picard returned to Starfleet in early 2329 and was assigned to the USS Stargazer (NCC-2893) under the command of Captain Anton Manning, where was promoted to lieutenant and assigned as conn officer. Later that year, Picard attended the wedding of Ambassador Spock and Commander Saavik, of the USS Armstrong. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Heart).

The Nuyyad Encounter
In 2333, the Stargazer, now under the command of Captain Daithan Ruhalter was ordered to investigate the threat of a Nuyyad attack from beyond the galactic barrier. After crossing the barrier, the Stargazer was attacked and crippled by the Nuyyad, and left Captain Ruhlater dead, and first officer Commander Stephen Leach in a coma. Picard, now a lieutenant commander and second officer assumed command, and got the Stargazer to safety at Magnia colony.

While undergoing repairs at the colony, the Stargazers crew mutinied, but Picard managed to quell the mutiny and appoints Lt. Gilaad Ben Zoma as first officer and Lt. Vigo as tactical officer.

With the mutiny solved, Picard had the Stargazer refitted with enhanced Kelvan weaponry and defended the Magnians from a Nuyyad attack and destroyed one of their weapons depots, before returning to Federation space.

Following the successful completion of the mission, Admiral Mehdi promoted Picard to captain and placed him in permanent command of the Stargazer. (TNG novel: The Valiant).

First Tests of Command
Following the Nuyyad encounter, Stargazer proceeded to Starbase 32, where Picard and Ben Zoma attended a meeting of Starfleet captains and admirals. Admiral Arlen McAteer ordered Picard to find and apprehend the pirate White Wolf that had been haunting the Beta Barritus system.

The Stargazer succeeded in traversing the systems, magnetic vortex belt while tracking White Wolf, but instead encounters the Constellation class USS Cochise. Captain Greenbriar of the Cochise informed Picard that White Wolf was actually the famed exobiologist Emil Carridine, who was protecting a Prime Directive world. Picard decided not to apprehend Carridine, but returned to Starbase 32 with White Wolf's cargo, which angered Admiral McAteer. (STA novel: Gauntlet).

Over the next few months, tensions between Picard and McAteer, continued to mount. Following his failure to apprehend White Wolf, McAteer ordered the Stargazer to survey the Egreggedor system, but Picard diverted the ship to Gnala at the request of chief engineer Phigus Simenon, so that he can procreate. (STA novel: Progenitor).

Picard first met the El-Aurian woman named Guinan while on an undercover assignment in the planet Oblivion. (Star Trek: Stargazer novel, Oblivion)

McAteer eventually held a competency hearing for Picard a few months later, but he failed to strip Picard of command, and he remained in command of the Stargazer. (STA novel: Maker).

In 2344, the Stargazer underwent several weeks of upgrades at the Utopia Planetia shipyards on Mars. It was during this time that Picard first made the aquaitance of Beverly Howard, the fiancee of his good friend and shipmate, Jack Crusher.

Soon after, the Stargazer rescued Ambassador Spock, who was undergoing pon farr, from the Romulans, with the help of Subcommander Ruanek. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Heart).

The Gorn
In 2345, while enroute to Alpha Pensura, the Stargazer received a priority message from a Gorn ship, requesting that the starship divert to Vontalimar IV. Arriving at the planet, Captain Picard met with the Gorn leader, Keeyah, who declared war on the Federation, because of their expansion in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

Not wanting to drag the Federation into a war with the Gorn, Picard challenged Keeyah to talk and negotiate through their differences instead. Picard's challenge was successful and war was averted, for now. (TNG novel: Requiem).

The Final Voyages of Stargazer
In 2349, Gilaad Ben Zoma was promoted to captain and was assigned to the USS Lexington, and was replaced as first officer by Lt. Jack Crusher. (TNG novelization: Encounter at Farpoint and novel: Reunion).

In 2354, the Stargazer was dispatched to the planet Xenex to talk with the Xenexians to stop the bloodshed against the Danteri, who are seeking Federation membership. Picard and Jack Crusher meet with a 19-year old warlord named M'k'n'zy of Calhoun. Picard was very impressed with M'k'n'zy, and he encouraged him to enter Starfleet Academy. (NF novel: House of Cards).

Shortly after the assignment to Xenex, the Stargazer was the first Federation starship to encounter the Nensi phenomenon, a ball of energy and matter thought to have its origin in a special catagory of supernova. The encounter caused multiple systems failures and began an overload in the ships starboard warp field generator.

In order to save the ship, Picard reluctantly ordered Jack Crusher and chief of security, Peter "Pug" Joseph to sever the starboard Nacelle from the ship with laser rifles before it could explode.

When communications went dead, Picard went out to investigate. He found his two officers apparently rendered unconscious after successfully detatching the nacelle. Unfortunately, he only had time to bring back one officer to the ship before the nacelle exploded. He chose Joseph, who was closer.

Picard later traveled to Earth to personally deliver Jack Crusher's body to Jack's widow, Beverly and his son, Wesley. (TNG novel: Reunion).

In 2355, while exploring the Maxia Zeta system, the Stargazer was approached by an unidentified vessel (later revealed to be Ferengi). The vessel attacked the Stargazer causing severe damage, and the Stargazer was only saved when Picard performed the Picard Maneuver which destroyed the Ferengi vessel. The Stargazer was so badly damaged, that the crew abandoned the ship and left it for dead. (TNG episode: "The Battle" and novel: Reunion).

The Interim Years
Following the loss of the Stargazer, Picard faced a court-martial hearing by JAG officer Phillipa Louvois, but was found innocent of any negligence, and as reward for his actions at the Battle of Maxia, Picard was awarded the Grankite Order of Tactic on Stardate 38946.2. (TNG episode: "The Measure of a Man" and novelization: Star Trek: Generations).

Following the courtmartial hearings, Picard begun guest lecturing at Starfleet Academy, as well as transfering between numerous assignments. (TNG novel: Gateways, Book 3: Doors Into Chaos).

(Details from the short story, Darkness from the anthology [[Tales From the Captain's Table are forthcoming)


 * (More from "The Interim Years" will be revealed with the release of an as-yet unscheduled novel in The Lost Era series, edited by Marco Palmieri.'')

2364
Picard assumed command of the USS Enterprise-D on stardate 41124.0 in 2364, on the order of Fleet Admiral Norah Satie. Also assigned to the Enterprise as Chief medical officer was Jack Crusher's widow, Beverly Crusher. (TNG novelization: All Good Things...).

Picard and the Enterprise crews first encounter with the omnipotent being, Q was on their first adventure to Farpoint Station in 2364. Q came aboard the bridge of the Enterprise and demanded that the starship returned to Earth immediately, and accused humans of being a dangerously, savage race.

Picard stated that humanity had changed, and that Q should test them to see whether this was so, Q agreed and allowed them to continue on to Farpoint on Deneb IV. The crew discovered that the inhabitants of Deneb, the Bandi, captured an alien being that can change shape, and used it to morph into a starbase. Picard passed the test and proved that humanity was no longer dangerous, but Q insisted that humanity's trial has not ended. (TNG novelization: Encounter at Farpoint).

In mid 2364, the Enterprise was ordered to meet with a Ferengi vessel in the Xendi Sabu system, on arrival in the system, Picard begun to experience intermittent headaches, which Doctor Beverly Crusher could not explain. After a wait the Enterprise was greeted by DaiMon Bok, who presented the Stargazer as a gift to Picard. Bok claimed to have found the starship adrift. As Picard begins to experience more serious headaches, it was discovered that he was actually being controlled by Bok to relive the Battle of Maxia, as it was Bok's son that commanded the unidentified vessel. As a result, Picard was restored to normal and Bok was arrested and sent to Rog Prison. (TNG episode: "The Battle").

The Enterprise was present when the Romulans returned to the galactic stage in 2364, after a 53 year absence since the Tomed Incident. (TNG episode: "The Neutral Zone").

2365
In early 2365, the Enterprise was ordered to chair negotiations between the Klingons and the Kreel, after the Kreel had taken over an uninhabited planet with a stash of advanced weaponry, and had begun attacking Klingon ships. The situation was very intense, as relations between the two adversaries was never good, but Picard and the Klingon ambassador manage to resolve the situation, when the weaponry backfired on the Kreel and killed them all. (TNG novel: Strike Zone).

In early 2365, the Enterprise was summoned to the planet Raimon to attend the death ceremony of the Primarch, and old friend of Picard's. After the ceremony, the Primarch was murdered, and Picard was found near the body, so he was arrested and accused of the murder, by the new Primarch, the former's son. A trial by combat was the only trial on the planet, but Picard was forbidden to fight by Commander William T. Riker, who took his captain's place. The murderer was later revealed to be the new Primarch, just before Riker was nearly killed. (TNG comics: Return to Raimon and Murder, Most Foul).

When the USS Yamato (NCC-71807), under the command of Captain Donald Varley was destroyed by an Iconian computer virus in 2365, Picard and the Enterprise raced to find Iconia to stop the virus threatening his own ship, and as it turns out, a Romulan Warbird that had been stalking them. (TNG episode: "Contagion").

Picard and the Enterprise first encountered the Borg in System J25 of the Delta Quadrant in 2365 after a tense argument with Q. The Enterprise barely survived the encounter, and it was only with Q's help that the starship returned to the Alpha Quadrant. (TNG episode: "Q Who?").

2366
The Enterprise was assigned to transport Ambassador Sarek to Legara IV, to conclude his negotiations with the Legarans which have taken nearly 100 years to complete. During the voyage it was discovered that Sarek had Bendii Syndrome, and that his emotions was starting to control him. Picard volunteered to mind meld with Sarek, so that he can act as an emotional anchor for the Vulcan as he concluded talks, which were successful, but Picard was mentally affected. (TNG episode: "Sarek" and novelization: Unification).

The Borg launched an attack on Earth in late 2366, and managed to kidnap and assimilate Picard, to act as a liaison between the Borg and humanity, and was designated as Locutus. Using Picard's knowledge of Starfleet procedures, Locutus led the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 which resulted in the loss of 11,000 lives and 39 starships.

The Borg were only stopped when the Enterprise, under the temporary command of William T. Riker captured Locutus and, with the help of Data, managed to access Locutus's link to the Collective and destroy the Borg Cube. Picard was freed, but while the physical scars healed, the mental scares still persist. (TNG episodes: "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Family"; and novelization: Star Trek: First Contact).

2367
In early 2367, the former surviving crew of the Stargazer gathered aboard the Enterprise to travel with Captain Morgen to Daa'V, so he can be coronated as the new ruler. During the voyage, attempts to murder Morgen and Ben Zoma occured, and after some serious investigation, it was revealed to be Carter Greyhorse, because of his love of Gerda Asmund. (TNG novel: Reunion).

2371
After the destruction of the Enterprise-D at the world of Veridian III, there was a brief hearing at Starfleet Command in which Picard was cleared of any negligence or wrongdoing. It was anounced that there would be another starship Enterprise built, and it was assumed that command of the ship would be given to Picard. (TNG novel, Imzadi II)

Regaining Command
The Enterprise-E was launched in early 2372, but Picard wasn't offered the command as expected. Instead, command of the Enterprise-E went to Captain Morgan Bateson. Picard was ordered to go into Cardassian space and confront Gul Madred and negotiate for the release of Federation prisoners.

Enroute to Cardassia Prime, Picard relieved some adventures of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), under the command of James T. Kirk, which persuaded Picard that negotiation was useless, and he began planning to kidnap Madred and demand the prisoners release. His move was successful and all Federation prisoners were released.

Picard and the prisoners were later successful in regaining control of the Enterprise after it was captured by the Klingon renegade Kozara, who attempted to use the ship to invade Cardassia. Following the Enterprises recapture, Morgan Bateson turned the ship over to Picard's command. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line).

Old Loyalties
In late 2372, Picard was reunited with Marta Batanides and Cortin Zweller, when the Enterprise wwas ordered to Chiaros IV to find the missing USS Slayton and complete its mission to get the Chiarosians to join the Federation, instead of the Romulans.

Enroute to Chiaros, the Enterprise rendezvoused with the USS Thunderchild and took aboard Admiral Batanides and Ambassador Aubin Tabor. Upon reaching Chiaros, Ambassador Tabor, was killed in the first diplomatic meeting, but Captain Picard learned that the first diplomatic team from the Slayton, led by Commander Zweller, had been taken prisoner by Chiarosian rebels.

The Enterprise crew managed to rescue the prisoners and learned that the Slayton was destroyed after discovering a cloaked Romulan experimental facility that was studying a subspace singularity near Chiaros IV. Picard managed to discover that Zweller was an agent of rogue intelligence agency Section 31. Picard discovered that Zweller's true mission on Chiaros was to make sure that the planet joined the Romulan Star Empire, and in return he was to recieve a list of all Tal Shiar agents operating in the Federation.

Picard allowed Zweller to complete his mission and Chiaros joined the Romulans. However, Picard, Data and Lt. Sean Hawk managed to sneak aboard the secret Romulan facility in a stolen scout ship and destroy the base.

Picard felt betrayed by Zweller and handed him over to the USS Tian An Men to face charges, but those charges were cleared by Admiral Connaught Rossa, which drew strong protest from Picard, but he was powerless to do anything. (TNG novel: Section 31, Book 2: Rogue).

Making First Contact
In early 2373, the Borg returned to the Alpha Quadrant to try and once again assimilate Earth. A single cube was dispatched, and Starfleet began mounting a defense force in the Typhon Sector.

Although, the Enterprise-E was the most advanced ship in the fleet and should be in any battle, Admiral Hayes and Starfleet Command has some concerns over Captain Picard and his past encounters with the Borg, and assigned the Enterprise to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone, in case the Romulans took advantage of the situation.

After hearing the the Borg had broke through the first line of defense at Typhon, and were on their way to Earth, Picard ordered the Enterprise to return to Earth. On arrival, Picard assumes command of the remaining Starfleet forces and manages to destroy the cube.

However, just before the cube is destroyed, a small Borg Sphere is ejected and creates a temporal distortion that allows travel to the past. The Enterprise manages to follow, and are soon in orbit of Earth in April 2063, just days before Zefram Cochrane's warp flight and first contact with the Vulcans.

The Enterprise manages to destroy the Borg Sphere while it was firing at a missile silo in Montana. However, the Borg were not killed, because the Borg Queen and many drones managed to beam aboard the Enterprise while its shields were down.

The Enterprise crew learn that the Borg were trying to stop Cochrane's flight and assimilate Earth in the 21st century. While Commanders Riker and La Forge remain behind on Earth to help Cochrane repair the Phoenix, Picard beam aboard the Enterprise to stop the Borg from assimilating the ship.

On board the Enterprise, Picard became obsessed with defeating the Borg, and was compared to Captain Ahab, by Lily Sloane, Cochrane's partner. Realising that he was sacrificing everything, he ordered his crew to abandon ship, but remained behind to rescue Data from the clutches of the Queen.

With Riker and La Forge's help, Cochrane's warp flight is successful and Picard and Data manage to defeat the Borg and kill the Queen. Picard and crew discreetly remain on Earth, to observe first contact, and then return to the 24th century. (TNG novelization: Star Trek: First Contact).

During the Dominion War

 * Details from Behind Enemy Lines, Tunnel Through the Stars plus The Q Continuum trilogy''.

Insurrection

 * Details from Star Trek: Insurrection.

The Return of the Borg

 * Details from Star Trek: Armada and Star Trek: Armada II.

The Genesis Wave

 * Details from The Genesis Wave trilogy.

The Fall and Rise of Jean-Luc Picard

 * Details from A Time to... mini-series.

New Beginnings

 * Details from Star Trek: Nemesis and Death in Winter.

In 2379, while visiting Starfleet Academy, he observed Alexander Munro training Korban in combat operations. Disagreeing with Professor Stemmons, Captain Picard liked the idea of a Hazard Team, and asked Munro to arrange a list of personnel to transfer to Enterprise to create a Hazard Team. (game: "Star Trek: Elite Force II")


 * Picards adventures onboard the Enterprise-E continue in the forthcoming novels in 2007: Resistance by J.M. Dillard, Q&A by Keith R. A. DeCandido, and an as-yet un-named novel dealing with the Borg by Peter David.