Leonard James Akaar

Leonard James Akaar (born 2267) was a Capellan male and one of the most influential admirals in the Federation Starfleet in the late 24th century.

Early life
Akaar was the hereditary leader, or teer, of the Ten Tribes of Capella. Akaar was born in 2267 and was named after Starfleet officers Leonard McCoy and James T. Kirk, who saved his life and the life of his mother Eleen after his father's assassination. 

When Akaar was five, a coup on Capella IV staged by a man named Keel forced the young ruler into exile in the United Federation of Planets. 

In 2287, Akaar testified at the so-called "trial" of James T. Kirk on Kirk's behalf when both the Klingon Empire and the Salla of the Nasgul demanded Kirk's head for perceived offenses. 

Starfleet
He served on the USS Excelsior (NCC-2000), first as a junior security officer with the rank of Ensign under Lawrence Styles and later under Hikaru Sulu, who was partially responsible for getting the hot-tempered youth admitted into Starfleet Academy, as chief of security. He was onboard the Excelsior during a difficult assignment dealing with the Tholian Assembly and the Neyel in 2298. 

In the year 2349, Akaar was given command of the USS Wyoming (NCC-43730), where he had previously served as first officer, following the sudden death of the previous captain, Karl Broadnax.

Soon after his promotion, Akaar and Ensign Tuvok (with whom Akaar had served with on the Excelsior forty years prior) were stranded on a barren rock known as Planetoid 437.

After nearly two weeks, Akaar decided that the best way to preserve their supplies so that at least one of them would survive was to commit suicide through an ancient Capellan ritual called the w'lash'nogot. Tuvok refused to let his captain die, and saved his life. Akaar saw this disruption of the ancient ritual as a betrayal by his old friend, and the two did not speak as friends again until the year 2380. 

Admiral Akaar
By the year 2364, Akaar had been promoted to Admiral. Akaar was one of the Admirals who sentenced Ensign Ro Laren to the stockade on Jaros II following the disastrous incident on Garon II. 

By May of 2376, Akaar had been promoted to Fleet Admiral. He spent some time aboard Deep Space 9 that year to observe Bajor's handling of Europani refugees after the Gateways Crisis, and as part of a diplomatic effort working out the final details of Bajor's admittance into the United Federation of Planets. Akaar was a signatory at Bajor's admittance ceremony on September 29, 2376. 

In late 2379, Akaar and Admiral William Ross assigned the USS Titan, under the command of Captain William T. Riker, to lead a diplomatic and humanitarian convoy bound for Romulus, in response to Praetor Tal'Aura's request for a dialogue to be opened between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire following the coup which was staged by, and caused the death of, Reman Praetor Shinzon. 

Akaar accompanied Titan on her mission which resulted in a deal being brokered by Captain Riker and Ambassador Spock between the Klingon Empire, the Remans and the Romulan Star Empire. "L.J." was onboard when the vessel was inadvertently transported to the Small Magellanic Cloud. It was then that Akaar was reunited with Tuvok.

During the evacuation of the Neyel people from the expansion of the proto-galaxy known to the Titan's crew as the "Red King," Akaar finally realized that Tuvok's action all those years ago was not in defiance of Akaar, but out of respect for him. Akaar apologized to Tuvok for the way he had treated him and for all of the years of friendship lost between them. 

In 2380, Admiral Akaar had been appointed as Starfleet liaison to the Federation President and, as such, briefed Nanietta Bacco several times on various matters. Among the issues discussed with President Bacco was the state of the agreement brokered by Captain Riker and Spock, a shipload of Reman refugees who sought sanctuary in the Federation, and a Tzenkethi noble who defied his government to get medical treatment for his son in the Federation. 

During the Borg Invasion of 2381, Akaar briefed the President several times on the status of the fleet's actions; after he reported the loss of three starbases on the tri-border between the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans, the President inquired what Starfleet was doing to prepare for the next attack. He reported that the Enterprise was following a lead to the Azure Nebula, and reported that should the Borg overcome the defenses at Regulus, the core worlds would be completely vulnerable. 

As the invasion pushed deeper into allied territory, Akaar continued making regular reports at the Palais de la Concorde, something that President Bacco began to dislike due to the usually negative news. After reporting attacks on Yridia, Hyralan, and Celes, Akaar continued on to list the likely next targets - Regulus, Deneva, and Qo'noS all within five hours, and major internal worlds by the next morning. Akaar estimated that within ten days, the entire Federation would collapse, and all major powers in the local space would be defeated within a month. Esperanza Piñiero insisted they evacuate those worlds, but Akaar pointed out they no longer had the resources to move tens of billions of people in a matter of hours. President Bacco asked for an estimate of the total number of deaths up until this point, and Akaar stated that including non-Federation worlds, the losses were close to thirty billion. The sole point of good news was that contact had been reestablished with the Enterprise and Aventine; Akaar agreed to pass along a message that Captain Picard was granted the authority to do whatever it took to stop the Borg by the office of the President. Hours later, when the Borg were closing in on Qo'noS, Admiral Edward Jellico diverted the USS Tempest (Sovereign class) and its battle group to support, but Akaar could not guarantee they would arrive in time to make a difference.

It was not long afterwards that Admirals Akaar and Marta Batanides reported that the Borg had adapted to the transphasic torpedo, leaving Starfleet without a defense against the invading forces. Scant hours afterward, Akaar and Batanides reported the surprising development that the Borg had ceased their assaults momentarily, allowing the fleets at Vulcan, Andor, Coridan III, Beta Rigel and Qo'noS to be defeated, only to shortly reverse the news to indicate that all remaining attack fleets had resumed their previous courses, including the group heading for Earth. They later made their midnight briefing to the President, where she commented that Akaar always managed to look well rested and crisp; Akaar suggested it was good genes. Akaar reported the Romulan warbird loyal to Imperial Romulan State Empress Donatra sacrificed itself to halt the attack at Ardana; Bacco suggested they send an immediate expression of gratitude. Akaar also repeated rumors of a credible but not entirely corroborated report that Troyius was spared by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers vessel USS da Vinci which made it disappear. The Borg were an hour and a half from Earth at this point; Akaar stated that there was no way Starfleet could halt their advance, and so Bacco had him order them to break off and disperse to not waste the lives and ships, redeploying to protect evacuation vessels.

Akaar returned to brief Bacco in the Monet Room as the Borg entered the Sol system, reporting as they passed Jupiter. Even as their enemy approached, President Bacco spent time considering the painting hanging in the room - Bridge over a Pool of Water Lilies. Seven of Nine thought it obvious - the muted palette and soft details helping as a point of focus when attempting to concentrate. Akaar, however, having served under Min Zife knew exactly why it was there - Zife had loved the painting and wanted it displayed in this room as a reminder to himself and others that at stake was art, history, beauty, and their legacy if they should ever fail; their job might be to decide how to fight their enemies, but the painting served as a reminder so that no one would forget why they fought. The attacking Borg fleet split into two smaller groups - one for Earth and one for Mars. However, before the assault could begin, all Borg vessels they were tracking halted, and then reversed course back to the Azure Nebula. Akaar and the others remained to watch the situation monitors, and received word from the nebula that the Borg had been neutralized. Captain Picard later confirmed the all clear signal, something that he relayed through Akaar would be fully explained in his report, assuring it was a long story. 

After Fleet Admiral Edward Jellico's resignation following the Borg Invasion, Fleet Admiral Akaar was appointed Commanding Officer, Starfleet Command. He attempted to promote Picard to Admiral in recognition of Picard's unorthodox position in Starfleet's command structure-able to defy orders and still receive the best possible outcome-but Picard refused the offer, citing the advice James T. Kirk gave him during their brief meeting in the Nexus. This prompted Akaar to conclude that Starfleet needed another captain who was like Kirk more than it needed another admiral, at that time. 

In 2381, several days after the end of the Borg invasion, Benjamin Sisko met with Akaar and requested that he return to active service. Akaar thought about promoting Sisko to Admiral, but Sisko requested the command of a starship. Several months later, Akaar and President Bacco sent Sisko to meet Donatra on Achernar Prime. 

In 2409, Admiral Akaar visited the planet Aenas in an attempt to convince the Aenasians to form diplomatic ties with the Federation rather than the Klingon Empire. The Aenasians were a primitive culture descended from an advanced, spacefaring race. When a Starfleet ship arrived to help, the Aenasians ruled that whichever species stops the "demon of the sky"- an asteroid on collision course with the planet - would be granted a trade agreement. The Starfleet ship stopped the asteroid, and shortly thereafter Akaar was taken back to a starbase aboard the USS Chekov. 

At some point prior to 2385 Akaar married. Aside from the Federation President one of the few people who had the privilege of shouting at the Admiral was his wife. 

Alternate realities
When Elias Vaughn underwent his second orb experience, he took on the persona of Eli Underwood, a patient in the same insane asylum as Benny Russell. Another man in the asylum was Leo, Akaar's representation in that reality, who, to account for Akaar's Capellan physiology, was perceived as a giant in the 1950s human world. 

Background
On the covers of novels, Akaar is depicted with the likeness of the actor who played his father in TOS, Ben Gage.

In Capellan names and words, a double vowel often denotes a division between syllables. For example, "Teer" has two syllables and is pronounced as "TEE-ur", not one syllable like the English words "tear" or "tier".

Appearances

 * 2267
 * 2287
 * 2290
 * 2298
 * 2300
 * 2376
 * 2379
 * 2380
 * 2381
 * 2382
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2379
 * 2380
 * 2381
 * 2382
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2380
 * 2381
 * 2382
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2382
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2382
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2382
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2383
 * 2385
 * 2385
 * 2385
 * 2385