Jean-Luc Picard


 * For information on the Mirror Universe Picard, see Jean-Luc Picard (mirror).

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. Picard was assigned command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) from the year 2364, until the vessel's destruction in 2371. Picard assumed command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) beginning 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"; TNG comic: "The Gift" 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
Picard first applied for admittance into Starfleet Academy at the age of 17 in 2322. He failed the entrance exam, due in part to his problem with mathematics. However, the following year he passed the exam, and was admitted into the Academy as a cadet.

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 made good friends with Cadets Marta Batanides and Cortin Zweller, and some adversaries, including Cadet 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 black-market genetics laboratory on the world Yrskatdon, after discovering that the only known cure for Batanides' Fetal Incompatibility Syndrome was a banned genetic resequencing procedure. (Marvel comic, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #11 Judgement; S31 novel: Rogue'').

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

After graduating from Starfleet Academy in 2327, Ensign Picard and his friends, Batanides and Zweller, awaited their first assignments at Starbase Earhart. While on the base, Picard was stabbed through the heart and nearly killed after brawling with three Nausicaans after a game of dom-jot. Picard received an artificial heart at the Stabase's medical center.

Early Career
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).

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 Ubarrak. (STA novel: Oblivion).

The Stargazer
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, uncomfortable with such an inexperienced commander, mutinied. Picard managed to quell the mutiny and appointed Lt. Gilaad Ben Zoma as first officer and Lt. Vigo as tactical officer.

With the mutiny resolved, 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 (2333)
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 known as the White Wolf, who had been haunting the Beta Barritus system.

The Stargazer succeeded in traversing the systems, magnetic vortex belt while tracking White Wolf, but instead encountered 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. Defying orders, Picard diverted the ship to Gnala at the request of his chief engineer, Phigus Simenon. The reptilian Simenon needed to return home so that he could participate in the traditional competition amongst males of his people that allowed the winner to be the one who fertilized the next generation of his clan's eggs. (STA novel: Progenitor).

Picard first met the El-Aurian woman named Guinan while on an undercover assignment in the orbital city Oblivion. In the years that followed, Picard and Guinan would form a friendship that Guinan once described as, "Beyond friendship, beyond family". (STA novel: Oblivion)

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

After the competency hearing, Admiral Mehndi assigned the Stargazer to a long-term mission of exploration in uncharted regions of space. (STA novel: Maker).

A Seasoned Captain
In the early 2340s the Stargazer returned to Earth for an extensive overhaul and refitting. While nominally still in command, Picard was given a temporary assingment in Paris, where he met and courted the future Jenice Manheim. On 9 April 2342, the day before the Stargazer was due to depart spacedock, he arranged to meet her at the Café des Artistes, but in the end he never showed up.

In 2343, Picard first met Lieutenant Elias Vaughn of Starfleet Intelligence. The two would meet several times over the coming years, including a coup on the planet Darnak VII.

In late 2343, Picard was forced to order the Stargazer to retreat after an intense battle with a vessel from the newly aggressive Cardassian Union.(TLE novel: The Art of the Impossible, comic: Divided We Fall)

In early 2344, the Stargazer underwent several weeks of repairs and upgrades following the Cardassian battle at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards 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 and had escaped from the Romulans with the help of a Romulan defector, Subcommander Ruanek. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Heart).

In 2345, while enroute to Alpha Pensura, the Stargazer received a priority message from a Gorn ship. The Gorn requested 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 the time being. (TNG novel: Requiem).

In 2345 or 2346, Picard became romantically involved with Miranda Vigo. It apparently was not an exclusive relationship (at least on her part), and after they parted ways she bore a son, Jason, for whom Picard was not the only possible father. However, Picard was completely unaware of this development.

In 2348, Picard attended the wedding of Jack and Beverly Crusher in San Francisco. It was here that a Romulan spy named Manathas gathered the genetic material from Picard that was eventually used to grow the Picard-clone, Shinzon. (TNG novel: Death in Winter)

In 2350, the Stargazer was ordered to the Debennius system after a series of terrorist attacks threatened to destabilize the region.

The Stagazers response to the attacks resulted in the death of Thallonian terrorist, Mendan Thul, son of General Gerrid Thul, who vowed revenge against Picard. (TNG Novel, Double Helix, book six: The First Virtue)

The Final Voyages of Stargazer
Soon after the encounter with Thul, 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 in an attempt to stop further bloodshed against the Danteri, who were seeking Federation membership. Picard and Jack Crusher met 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 one officer back 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 their 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 crew was only saved when Picard performed what became known as the Picard Maneuver, which destroyed the Ferengi vessel. The Stargazer was so badly damaged that the crew was forced to abandon the ship and leave 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. Picard and Louvois were romantically linked at the time, but that did not stop her from ruthlessly prosecuting her case. The grueling hearing found Picard innocent of any negligence, but his realtionship with Louvois was ended. As a result of his actions at the Battle of Maxia, Picard was awarded the Grankite Order of Tactic on Stardate 38946.2.

Following the courtmartial hearings, Picard, who was feeling at ends following the destruction of the Stargazer, began to wonder if starship command was really for him. He decided to visit his former second officer Elizabeth Wu on the Hydra IV colony. Wu had left the Stargazer in 2336, but Picard had kept in touch with her over the years, and desired the perspective of someone who had been in Starfleet, but left it behind.

Picard's craft crash landed on an uncharted and unexplored planet. There, he encountered a group of Rhitori, whose ancestors owed their freedom to the Stargazer responding to their distress call over 20 years prior. The incident made Picard realize all the good that he had done, and could continue to do, as a starship captain. Picard decided to remain in Starfleet. (short story, Darkness from the anthology, Tales From The Captain's Table)

Soon after, Picard began guest lecturing at Starfleet Academy, as well as transfering between numerous assignments. (TNG novel: Gateways, Book 3: Doors Into Chaos).


 * More from "The Interim Years" will be revealed in the new Lost Era novel; The Buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett in 2007.

2364
Picard was ferried from Starbase 52 and 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 novel: Reunion, TNG novelization: All Good Things..., and TNG episode: "The Drumhead").

Soon after taking command of the Enterprise-D, Picard and crew had their first encounter with omnipotent being known as Q. Q accused Picard and the humanity he represented as being unworthy of further access to the stars and put Picard and members of his crew on trial. Picard challenged Q to allow his crew to be tested as a barometer of humanitys progress. After Picard solved the mystery of Farpoint Station, Q agreed to let the Enterprise, and by extension, humanity itself continue its explorations. Q warned them, however, that the trial wasn't over. (TNG novelization: Encounter at Farpoint).

In mid 2364, the Enterprise met with a Ferengi vessel in the Xendi Sabu system commanded by one DaiMon Bok. Bok presented the long-lost Stargazer as a gift to Picard. Bok claimed to have found the starship adrift. Bok was actually the father of the Ferengi DaiMan defeated by Picard at Maxia-Zeta all those years prior, and his 'gift' was actually part of an elaborate plan of revenge. Bok was arrested by his own crew for engaging in such an unprofitable venture as revenge. (TNG episode: "The Battle"). The Enterprise was present when the Romulans returned to the galactic stage in late 2364, after a 53 year absence, since the Tomed Incident of 2311. (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 designated DQN-1196 that contained a stash of advanced weaponry, and had begun attacking Klingon ships. The situation was very intense, as relations between the two adversaries were never good, but Picard and the Klingon Ambassador, The Honorable Kobry, managed to keep the situation on an even keel for the most part.

In the end, the weapons, and thus the point of contention, vanished when the weapons creators, the advanced race known as the  Cognocenti, finished their tests on the species involved in the affair and moved on. (TNG novel: Strike Zone).

Soon after, the Enterprise was summoned to the planet Raimon to attend the death ceremony of the planets Primarch, and old friend of Picard's. When the Primarch was murdered, Picard was accused of the crime. Commander William T. Riker fought in Picard's place in the societies traditional trial by combat, and was nearly killed himself before the identity of the true killer, the Primarch's son, was revealed. (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 and stop the virus from destroying his own ship, and as it turned out, a cloaked 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 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, in order to conclude his negotiations with the Legarans, which took nearly 100 years to complete. During the voyage it was discovered that Sarek had contracted Bendii Syndrome, and that his emotions were starting to control him. Picard volunteered to mind meld with Sarek, so that he could act as an emotional anchor for the Vulcan as he concluded the talks, which were successful. (TNG episode: "Sarek" and novelization: Unification).

The Borg kidnapped and assimilated Picard in late 2366. The Borg intended the Picard-drone, designated as Locutus, to act as a liaison between the Borg and humanity. 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 stopped when Picard's first officer, William T. Riker, captured Locutus and managed to use Locutus' link to the collective against the Borg. (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, the hereditary leader of the planet Daa'V, to his coronation ceremony. During the voyage, attempts were made on the lives of both Morgen and Captain Ben Zoma. Evidence was planted implicating Idun Asmund as the killer, and she was confined. Enterprise Chief of security Worf investigated further, and discovered that the would-be killer was actually Dr. Carter Greyhorse. Greyhorse had grown despondant since the death of his lover, Idun's twin sister Gerda Asmund. Greyhorse was seeking revenge on those he believed to be responsible for Gerda's death. (TNG novel: Reunion).

Later that year, the Borg launched a renewed assault on the Federation, sending several ships into the Alpha Quadrant. The Borg were defeated by the woman known as Delcara, who had comandeered an ancient Doomsday machine built by a long-forgotten race. Delcara used the weapon visciously in her personal vendetta against the Borg. In the end, Delcara proved to be as big of a threat as the Borg. Delcara vanished, never to return, after attempting to use her vessel to break the Warp 10 barrier. (TNG novel: Vendetta).

2370
In late 2370, the Enterprise was sent to the Gorn homeworld to attend a peace summit with the Gorn. Enroute, the Enterprise encountered a long-abandoned alien station. When the starship approached, the station's systems became active and transported Captain Picard back in time to Cestus III in 2267, four days before it was attacked by the Gorn.

On arrival at the outpost, Picard gave the false name of Dixon Hill to the commander of the outpost, Commodore Travers. In his time on the base, Picard was successful in preventing the base's reactor from exploding and witnessed first hand the brutal attack made on the outpost by the Gorn. Picard was eventually recovered from the past by the same transporter technology that sent him there. Following Picard's return to the 24th century, the Enterprise continued on to the Gorn homeworld. (TNG novel: Requiem).

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 relived some adventures of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), under the command of James T. Kirk on the vessels holodeck. Kirk's adventures persuaded Picard that negotiation would be useless. Picard began to plan to kidnap Madred and demand the prisoners release. His move was successful and all Federation prisoners were released into Picard's custody.

Picard and the prisoners were later successful in regaining control of the Enterprise after the ship had been 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 early 2373, Picard was reunited with Marta Batanides and Cortin Zweller, when the Enterprise was ordered to Chiaros IV to find the missing USS Slayton. The Enterprise was tasked to complete the Slaytons mission to convince the Chiarosians to join the Federation instead of the Romulan Star Empire.

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. Afterward, 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 had been destroyed after discovering a cloaked Romulan experimental facility that was studying a subspace singularity near Chiaros IV. The singularity was a huge potential supply of energy to whoever controled it.

Picard soon discovered that Zweller was an agent of rogue intelligence agency Section 31, and that Zweller's true mission on Chiaros was to make sure that the planet joined the Romulan Star Empire. In return from the Romulans, Zweller was to recieve a list of all Tal Shiar currently 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 and the singularity it was studying, depriving the Romulans of their prize.

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. Picard strongly protested, but he was powerless to do anything. Afterward, Batanides swore that she would do everything in her power to bring down Section 31. (S31 novel: Rogue).

Making First Contact
In early 2373, the Borg returned to the Alpha Quadrant and attacked Earth with a single cube. Picard, taking command of the Federation's fleet, destroyed the Borg cube, but not before it sent a small vessel into the past to change Earth's history by preventing Zefram Cochranes first warp flight in 2063.

Picard and the Enterprise followed the Borg to 2063 where Commanders Riker and Geordi La Forge assisted Cochrane with his historic flight.

On the Enterprise, Picard confronted the Borg Queen, and fought off a Borg attempt to assimilate the ship and crew. After being assured that the timeline had been saved, The Enterprise returned to the 24th Century.(TNG novelization: Star Trek: First Contact).

After the Enterprises returned to 2373, she was docked at McKinley Station, and the crew was quarantined, scanned, and decomtaminated for any possible Borg infections. While the Enterprise orbited Earth, Captain Picard and Lt. Commander Ranul Keru took a shuttlecraft to Bradbury City on Mars to return to personal effects of Lt. Sean Hawk, who was killed in the battle with the Borg, to his parents. (S31 novel: Rogue).

The Collapse of the Thallonian Empire
In late 2373, the Thallonian Empire in Sector 221-G collapsed and thousands of refugees were yearning to escape. The Enterprise was one of the first ships on the scene and was responsible for transporting refugees to Deep Space 5.

On arrival at DS5, a meeting was held aboard the Enterprise, between Admirals Alynna Nechayev and Edward Jellico, Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Thallonian prince Si Cwan, and Danteri Ambassador Ryjaan. The meeting was to discuss the future of Thallonian space, to which all parties had different ideas. Captain Picard and Admiral Nechayev's suggestion was that a single Federation starship be assigned to the region, and with some negotiation, the plan was implemented.

At Picards suggestion, command of the ship in question, the USS Excalibur, was given to former Starfleet captain, Mackenzie Calhoun, whose rank was re-activated. (NF novel: House of Cards).

Behind Enemy Lines
In early 2374, the Enterprise saw extensive action along the front-line in the Dominion War. After extensive battles with Jem'Hadar forces, the Enterprise received a distress call from the Ambassador class, USS Aurora. They proceed to the scene and engaged several Cardassian vessels, which they dispatched, but not in time to save the Aurora. During the battle, the Bajoran vessel Orb of Peace, containing Maquis refugees, including Ro Laren*, arrived and aided in the battle.

Picard had the Maquis beamed aboard and Ro informed him that the Dominion was using slave labor in Sector 283 to construct an artificial wormhole. Completion of the project would allow the Dominion access to the Alpha Quadrant without needing to use the Bajoran Wormhole. Picard agreed that they should investigate, and they left in the Orb of Peace donning Bajoran disguises. Meanwhile, Commander Riker took the Enterprise to be repaired at Starbase 209, and left Lt. Commander Data behind in the shuttlecraft Cook to monitor the captain's process.

After dodging several patrols, the Orb of Peace made it to the OK Corral station in the Badlands. In the Badlands, the crew liberated slaves from the Cardassian tanker Tag Garwal. The slaves were mining corzanium from a black hole for the Dominion, for the construction of the wormhole. Among the survivors are former Enterprise-D personnel, Sam Lavelle and Taurik. (TNG novel: Behind Enemy Lines).

As they proceed to Sector 283, the progress of the Orb of Peace was impeded by a Changeling who had taken the form of Taurik. Data managed to rescue the Orb of Peace and destroy the artificial wormhole by using the shuttle's escape pod as a meteroid. The crew was later rescued by the Enterprise and proceeded to Deep Space 9, which has recently been liberated by Captain Benjamin Sisko and a large task force. (TNG novel: Tunnel Through the Stars).


 * (*Discrepancy note: Certain elements of the above story, mostly pertaining to the relationship between Ro and Picard, are in contradiction with later stories told in the post-finale Deep Space 9 fiction. Some have speculated that these tales actually take place in the Shatnerverse continuity, as the Dominion's attempt at building an artificial wormhole is mentioned in the Shatner book, Spectre.)

The Return of Q
In mid 2374, the Enterprise arrived at Betazed and took aboard Professor Lem Faal and his family. The Enterprise was assigned to transport Faal to the edge of the galaxy, so that Faal could conduct experiments based on his life-long research to break through the galactic barrier using a specially designed wormhole probe.

Just before the test was about to be implemented, Q arrived on the Enterprise, along with his mate and child, Q2. He immediately vanished with Picard and took him through time to view his own personal history, and view its relevance to the current situation. Meanwhile, the Enterprise came under attack by the Calamarain, a species that had a grudge against Q. (TNG novel: Q-Space).

When Picard and Q return to the Enterprise, Professor Faal (under the control of 0, another omnipotent being), launched the wormhole torpedo into the barrier and allowed 0 to return to the galaxy. 0 immediately hunted down Q, but Q was able to unite with the Calamarain and defeat 0. (TNG novel: Q-Strike).

The Gorn Crisis


In late 2374, Starfleet Command dispatched Captain Picard and the Enterprise to the Gorn Hegemony, to gain their support in the Dominion War. On arrival at the Gorn homeworld, the Enterprise crew discovered that the Black Crest faction had staged a coup and overthrew the government.

The Black Crest aimed to expand Gorn territory and launched several attacks on Federation outposts. Thankfully, Commander Riker and a Klingon task force were defending the outposts, and the attack was repelled. Meanwhile, Picard remained behind on the Gorn homeworld to try and solve the situation. (TNG graphic novel: The Gorn Crisis).

The Battle of Betazed
In early 2375, the Enterprise was fighting Dominion forces deep inside Federation territory following the invasion of Betazed in late 2374. The Enterprise had suffered damage following the Battle of Rigel, but managed to dock at Starbase 113 for repairs.

A few weeks later, while docked at the starbase, Commander Elias Vaughn boarded the Enterprise on a top-priority assignment. Vaughn told Picard that the Enterprise was to lead a small Starfleet task force, comprising the USS Defiant (NX-74205) and three Saber class vessels, the USS Tulwar, USS Katana, and USS Scimitar, to attack the Dominion station, Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed. While Vaughn was to lead a small team to the prison facility on Darona to free the murderer, Hunt Tevren, whose skills were needed by the Betazed resistance.

The attack on the station proved a success, and the Enterprise managed to rescue a large number of Betazoid slaves before the station self-destructed. However, the Katana was lost in the battle.

Vaughn's team was also partially successful, they managed to find Tevren, but he later died in battle with Jem'Hadar soldiers. Fortunately, before he died he taught some of his telepathic secrets to Commander Troi. Using the information gleaned from Troi, the most powerful members of the Betazed Resistance used their telepathic powers to empathically overload the minds of the Jem'Hadar occupation forces. Betazed was liberated, however, 1200 Betazoids telepaths died from the strain of the attack. (TNG novel: The Battle of Betazed).

Insurrection
In mid 2375, the Enterprise proceeded into the Briar Patch to the planet Ba'ku, after Commander Data had appeared to have malfunctioned and sabotaged a joint Starfleet-Son'a duckblind mission on the surface. Eventually Picard and the Enterprise crew learned that Ba'ku's metaphasic rings were like a fountain of youth, and Admiral Matthew Dougherty and the Son'a leader, Ru'afo were determined to have the planet. Picard and the crew staged an insurrection and stopped the 600 Ba'ku from being transplanted from the planet, and discovered that the Son'a are actually Ba'ku. (TNG novelization: Star Trek: Insurrection).

Mission to Gemworld
In late 2375, the Enterprise was due to conduct a low-gravity survey of planet Primus IV, when they were summoned to Gemworld, homeplanet of Lieutenant Melora Pazlar, who was temporatily assigned to the Enterprise. Upon arriving on Gemworld, Captain Picard and the crew discovered that a dimensional rift was streaming dark matter onto the planet and destabilizing the artificial planet's support program.

Picard and the crew needed to obtain the crystal key shards from all of the races on Gemworld that were required to power down the planet's protective shell, and allow the Enterprise to power the forcefields. The Alpusta seized control of the Enterprise and attempted to use its phaser banks to destroy the rift. The plan is thwarted, and the situation is resolved when Counselor Troi managed to contact an entity in the rift and convinced it to close the rift. (TNG novels: Gemworld, Books 1 and 2).

The Dead Zones
In early 2376, while attempting to rescue a Federation cargo hauler that had become stranded in the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Enterprise was the first of many ships across the galaxy to encounter a warp dead zone. Captain Picard soon learned that the dead zones were affecting the entire galaxy, and took aboard Ambassador Spock and the infamous Romulan mass-murderer, T'sart.

Spock believed that T'sart held vital information about the phenomena. However, T'sart was poisoned by a Klingon governor named, Kalor before he could talk. However, Picard suspected that they needed to travel into Romulan space, so he sent Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, and Data in the runabout Kaku into Romulan territory to obtain a sample of barantium from a Romulan station, to mask the Enterprise ' s warp trail. However, Commander Folan of the IRW Makluan anticipated the action and rigged the station to explode.

Ambassador Spock managed to convince Commander Folan of the threat of the dead zones and he allowed the Enterprise to travel to the Caltiskan system. Upon reaching Caltiskan, the Enterprise (along with several other Enterprise's from around the multi-verse) penetrated the alien sphere that was responsible for the dead zones and shut the sphere down. (TNG novels: Maximum Warp).

The Avatar Crisis
Following the Dead Zone crisis, the Enterprise was assigned to patrol near the Badlands in response to rumored Breen activity. Travelling aboard the Enterprise was Commander Elias Vaughn. After three weeks of the patrol, the Enterprise discovered a lost Cardassian freighter, the Kamal. Commander Vaughn led an away team to the freigher and discovered one of the lost Bajoran Orbs of the Prophets, the Orb of Memory, whose mind-affecting properties affected the entire away team. After recovering the Orb, Picard ordered a course set to starbase Deep Space 9 in the Bajoran sector, to return the Orb to the Bajoran people.

The Enterprise arrived at the station in the aftermath of a Jem'Hadar assault, and a planned Federation Alliance assault on the Dominion. Picard and Vaughn assisted station personel in stopping a Jem'Hadar assault on the stations fusion core. After the crisis was averted, Vaughn chose to stay behing on DS9 and fill the vacant post of stations first officer. (DS9 novels: Avatar, Books 1 and 2).

The Gateway Crisis
In early 2376, beings claiming to be the ancient Iconians opened up their entire network of Gateways, amd began offering the technology to the highest bidder.

Captain Picard, given his prior experience with Iconian technology, was summoned back to Earth and conferred with Starfleet Command over the matter. Admiral William Ross temporarily re-assigned Picard to command the Saber-class USS Marco Polo on a mission to unite the Alpha Quadrant powers against the "Iconians".

Picard and Deanna Troi managed to assemble a fleet of seventeen vessels from various races to confront the "Iconians". During the confrontation, Picard discovered that, as suspected, these aliens were not the Iconians at all, but rather a race known as the Petraw. Picard discovered that, although the Petraw figured out how to activate the Gateways network, they did not know how to shut it down.

In an act of desperation, Picard stepped through a gateway aboard the Petraw ship in an attempt to make contact with the real Iconians. Upon meeting the real Iconians, Picard learned that they employed a non-intervention policy similar to the Prime Directive, and would not intervene in the matter. They did, however, send Picard to a world where the systems Master Resonator was located, which would close down the Gateway system. On the world, Picard managed to obtain all of the resonator keys and was returned to the bridge of the Enterprise.

The various keys were sent to different ships, and the ships were sent to specific gateways. The simultainious use of the keys at the various gateway locations shut down the system, ending the threat. (TNG novel: Doors Into Chaos and short story: "The Other Side", Gateways: What Lay Beyond).

The Return of the Borg
In mid 2376, the Enterprise was leading a colonization effort in the Barissa Sector, when they received a distress call from the USS Premonition. Upon arriving at the Premonition ' s coordinates, they found her under attack by two Borg Spheres. After destroying the Spheres, the Premonition's captain, Thaddeus Denning, informed Picard that he was from a future where the Borg had assimilated the Alpha Quadrant and that the attack was about to begin, starting with Starbase 610.

Upon arriving at the starbase, the Enterprise found that the base had been attacked. With Picard's assistance, the station was able to get its defenses back onlin,e and stop the Borg from assimilating the base. However, the crisis was far from over, with rumours that the Borg were also attacking the Klingons, and had forged an uneasy truce with Romulan Commander Sela, who had allegedly established control of an Omega Particle.

Problems grew worse for Picard and Starfleet when they learned that Ambassador Spock, who was to negotiate a truce between the Klingons and Romulans so they could help repel the invasion, had been assimilated en route. Picard was charged with defending Earth from the invasion, which he discovered was led by Locutus, after the Borg assimilated a clone of Picard.

The Borg were successful in assimilating Earth, but the Enterprise travelled back in time via the Premonition ' s temporal systems. The Enterprise managed to stop the assimilation of Spock and help him forge an alliance with the Klingons and Romulans, and with their help stopped the Borg assimilating Earth.

Following this, Picard led a joint Federation/Klingon/Romulan task force into the Delta Quadrant and destroyed Unimatrix 01 by destablilizing the Omega particle. (TNG computer game: Star Trek: Armada).

The Genesis Wave
In early 2377, Starfleet lost contact with many worlds in Sector 4368, including Outpost Seran-T-1 and the planet Haken in the Hivernia system. The Enterprise was dispatched to the area to investigate and found that worlds that had once been inhabited, but are now lifeless terraformed worlds. The Enterprise discovered the Genesis Wave moving away from the worlds and set out to investigate.

After the destruction of the Pellean Principality, Dr. Leah Brahms was rescued by the Enterprise. She was the only survivor from Seran-T-1, because she was testing an experimental phase-shifting suit. Realizing that the suit could be the answer to surviving the wave, the suit is replicated on mass and tested at the waves next target, Persephone V. The test proved successful, and after the reformation of Sarona VIII, the wave was plotted as heading toward Earth and the Romulan Star Empire.

After rendezvousing with Admiral Nechayev and the USS Sovereign (NCC-73811), the decision was made to make a stand on the Bolian colony world, Myrmidon. Starfleet constructed shelters on the planet to protect the population and used interphase generators from the Romulans to protect them. (TNG novel: The Genesis Wave, Book 1).

A tenuous Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance was created and managed to assemble 40,000 vessels to form a "Ring of Fire" around the wave and dissipate it.

It was discovered that the wave had been activated by a species of Moss Creatures who were to use the transformed worlds as their new homeworlds. (TNG novel: The Genesis Wave, Book 2).

Aftermath
After repairs to Enterprise were completed at Starbase 302, the Enterprise was one of many starships assigned to clean-up operations. Soon after, a portable version of the Genesis Device fell into the hands of a zealous Bajoran Vedek named Yorka, who believed it to be "The Orb of Life", one of the Bajoran Orbs of the Prophets. The Enterprise caught up with Yorka and confiscated the device on the planet Solosos III. (TNG novel: The Genesis Wave book three)

The Enterprise was then sent to the planet Aluwna, a planet transformed by the Genesis Wave that managed to save its population in a series of Transporter satellites. Once there, they assisted a group of Klingons that included Ambassador Worf and his son, Alexander Rozhenko, and humans that included Dr. Leah Brahms take on the dangers of the transformed world and restore its population from the satillites. (TNG novel: Genesis Force)

Strange Bedfellows
In mid 2377 (Stardate 54522.2), the Borg once again returned to menace the Alpha Quadrant. The Enterprise and a small task force was sent to investigate a reported Borg presence in the Regula Badlands along the Romulan Neutral Zone. On arrival, they discovered a large Borg presence.

Shortly after, the Enterprise rushed to Starbase 176 after receiving a distress call stating that the Borg had attacked. The Enterprise arrived in time to restore the base and its defences into for the second Borg wave. This time, the Borg attacked the base with assimilated Starfleet vessels. The Borg were stopped and the assimilated vessels were retaken, including the Nebula-class USS Douglass.

Using information gathered from the Douglass ' sensor logs, Starfleet began to gather forces along the Neutral Zone as a staging ground for an attack into the Delta Quadrant, with the Enterprise leading the way. The invasion was a success as the Borg were caught unawares and their plans defeated.

As the Enterprise led the fleet back towards the Alpha Quadrant, the Borg mounted a counterstrike. Species 8472 arrived in the middle of the battle, and began attacking the Borg. Most ships managed to escape back home, but Species 8472 destroyed the Transwarp Portal and stranded the Enterprise in the Delta Quadrant. Picard was forced to form an alliance with the Borg Queen to stop the Species 8472 in exchange for getting the Enterprise home. As a result, a massive Federation-Borg task force entered Fluidic Space and defeated Species 8472. Following the battle, the Enterprise and the other surving Federation ships, were returned to the Alpha Quadrant.

(game: Star Trek: Armada II).

Incident at Rashanar
In May 2378, the Enterprise, along with the USS Juno, was assigned to patrol against pirates and scavengers at the site of the Battle of Rashanar, one of the deadliest conflicts of the Dominion War. From the start the mission, things went wrong for Picard and the Enterprise. First, the Captain's Yacht, the Calypso, was stolen by the Androssi, and then the Enterprise had to deal with the strange anomalies in the region.

Acting solely on the word of his second officer, Data, Picard ordered an attack on what appeared to be the Ontailian heavy cruiser Vuxhal. In response to the attack, the Ontailians destroyed the Juno with all hands.

Upon returning to Earth, Picards competence as captain was called into question. Picard was relieved, and Riker assumed command. Picard was eventually allowed to return to the Enterprise under the supervision of Counselor Colleen Cabot, but only in the role of observer.

On Admiral Nechayev's orders the Enterprise returned to Rashanar and discovered that the "Onataillian" ship that they had destroyed was actually an shapeshifting creature. With some help from fledgling Traveler, Wesley Crusher, the Enterprise vanquished the creature. Picard re-assumed command of the Enterprise. However, in order to save face with the Ontaillian government and preserve their Federation membership, "official" blame still fell on the shoulders of Picard. (TNG ATT novels: A Time to Be Born and A Time to Die).

The Dokaalan
Now in poor favor with Starfleet Command, Picard was ordered by Admiral Nechayev to investigate a 200 year old distress signal sent by the Dokaalan. Starfleet fully expected the race to be long doomed, as the Dokalaan homeworld was breaking apart at the time of the signal. However, it was felt that the current political atmosphere of the Federation would benefit if the "tainted" Captain Picard were far away.

Upon arriving at the Dokaaalan system, Picard was astonished to find that a portion of the Dokaalan people had managed to save themselves in a series of asteroid outposts. Picard offered the service of the Federation to assist in their efforts to terraform another planet in the system to their needs, and uncovered a plot by the Satarrans to steal that world from them. (TNG: ATT novel: A Time to Sow,  A Time to Harvest)

The Bader and Dorset
The Enterprise was then ordered to the distant planet of Delta Sigma IV, a world co-inhabited by the Bader and the Dorset, two races that had traditionally been adversaries.

When it was discovered that a Starfleet-created medication was restoring the aggressive natures of the two races, cancelling the calming effect of the planets atmosphere, Picard, Riker, and Riker's father Kyle Riker struggled to find a workable solution. (TNG: A Time to... novel: A Time to Love, A Time to Hate'')

Tezwa
When Kinchawn, the ruler of a minor world named Tezwa threatened war with the Klingon Empire, Picard and the Enterprise were sent in to mediate. Kinchawn, however, was not interested in mediation. He attacked the Klingon fleet with an advanced nadion pulse cannons, which killed over 6,000 warriors.

The weapons were of Federation origin, and Picard was ordered to take the planet out from under the nose of the Klingons, and destroy the weapons. To this end, Picard contacted Ambassador Worf, his former chief of security. Worf obtained the command codes for the Klingon fleet and provided them to Picard, which enabled him to defeat the Klingon fleet without ever firing a shot. (TNG: ATT novel: A Time to Kill)

After the removal of Kinchawn, who managed to escape custody, the Enterprise remained at Tezwa acting as peacekeepers in the unstable region. an action made more difficult by the insurgency started by Kinchawn and his loyalists.

Picard and his crew eventually managed to trace the origins of the nadion pulse cannons all of the way to the office of Koll Azernal, Chief of Staff to Federation President, Min Zife. Picard, and those of his crew who knew the truth, agreed to maintain their silence on the matter, as if it were to be discovered that 6,000 Klingons had died due to orders of the Federation President, war with the Klingon Empire would have been inevitable. Soon after, Zife resigned from office, and disappeared from public view. (TNG: A Time to... novel: A Time to Heal)

Redemption
A year after the Rashanar incident, the Enterprise, and Picard in particular were forced to endure a grueling inspection from Starfleet Command. The inspection team included Captain Wai-Lin Go, doctor Toby Russel and Betazoid Sabin Genestra, all of whom which had some sort of personal grudge against Picard or his crew. The legendary Montgomery Scott, fearing that Starfleet was putting together a "stacked deck", volunteered for the last spot on the inspection team. The Enterprise and crew passed the inspection with flying colors, and were returned to grace with Starfleet Command.

Soon after, The Enterprise was assigned to help the Klingon Empire find their missing Emperor, who had replaced himself with a hologram, and found a secluded world on which he could pass his days painting landscapes. (TNG: ATT novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace)

Shinzon
In late 2379, Captain Picard and the Enterprise was diverted to Romulus by Admiral Kathryn Janeway. Picard's mission was to greet the new Romulan Praetor, Shinzon of Remus. After a tense first meeting, it was discovered that Shinzon was a clone of Picard, and was part of an attempt to infiltrate the Federation. It was revealed that Shinzon needed Picard's DNA to stop himself from dying, and continue his mission to destroy Earth with his thalaron weapon aboard the Scimitar.

The Enterprise promptly left Romulus to warn Starfleet, but was pursued by the Scimitar, which cornered the starship near the Bassen Rift. The Reman vessel soon overcame the Enterprise, but assistance from Commander Donatra and the IRW Valdore, led to Shinzon's defeat, but also resulted in the loss of Data. (TNG movie: "Star Trek: Nemesis").

New Beginnings
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).

A few weeks after the Shinzon encounter, Picard was sent on a mission to the Romulan planet, Kevratas. Picard was joined by two former crewmates from the Stargazer, Pug Joseph and Dr. Greyhorse. Their mission was to bring hope to the dreary, plague-ravaged planet. However, their unofficial mission was to track down Dr. Crusher who was also sent to the planet as part of her work for Starfleet Medical, before being presumed killed.

Upon hearing of Beverly's presumed death, Picard finally realized how much Beverly meant to him. Upon her rescue, Picard finally told Beverly how he felt about her. After many years of denying their feelings for the other, Picard and Beverly Crusher began a romantic relationship.(TNG novel: Death in Winter).


 * 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.