Ronald Tracey

Ronald Tracey was a 23rd century Starfleet captain, the commanding officer of the Constitution-class starship, USS Exeter.

In 2268, Captain Tracey led an Exeter landing party to the surface of planet Omega IV were they inadvertently contracted the Omega IV virus, and passed it along to the rest of their crew. Tracey remained on the surface while his crew died painfully in orbit. He had found that the atmosphere provided him immunity to the virus. In violation of the Prime Directive, Tracey struck a bargain with members of the planet's Kohm faction, and participated in their ongoing war against the Yangs.

The USS Enterprise eventually discovered the Exeter and beamed aboard. Captain James T. Kirk along with the rest of the boarding party were immediately exposed to the virus and beamed down to the relative safety of the planet's surface where they discovered Tracey. The Yangs matched Tracey and Kirk in combat to the death and only the intervention of an Enterprise rescue party permitted Kirk to spare Tracey's life and place the once-respected starship captain under arrest. (TOS episode: "The Omega Glory")

Later that year, Kirk thought of Tracey, among others, when he contemplated leaders who failed their crews despite their good intentions. (Star Trek: Section 31 novel: Cloak)