- This character is a member of the Howard-Crusher family.
- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Jack R. Crusher (mirror).
Jack Crusher was a Human man, a Starfleet officer in the mid-24th century.
Biography[]
Early life and career[]
Crusher's father spent little time at home when Jack was a child. As he grew older, Jack understood his father had never wanted a family. This influenced Jack's feelings later in life when he had a son of his own. (TNG novel: Losing the Peace)
In Starfleet, Crusher was best friends with Jean-Luc Picard, his commanding officer aboard the USS Stargazer. (TNG episode: "Conspiracy")
Jack Crusher was introduced to Beverly Howard by their mutual friend, Walker Keel. (TNG episode: "Conspiracy") They were married in 2348, after Crusher presented her with a book entitled How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage. (TNG episode: "Family")
They were wed in San Francisco, in a ceremony attended by Picard, Keel, Leo Blais and Marielle Kumaretanga, amongst others. (TNG novel: Death in Winter)
Later that year, they became the parents of Wesley Crusher. (TNG episode: "Coming of Age")
Aboard the USS Stargazer[]
In 2345, Crusher served as science officer aboard the Stargazer. In that year, the Gorn contacted the Stargazer in order initiate diplomatic communication with the Federation. (TNG novel: Requiem)
During his time on the Stargazer, Crusher was more of a 'people person' than Picard, making it easy for people to become friendly with him where Picard found it easier to earn respect before friendship. This resulted in him learning more personal details about his crewmates before the captain, to the extent that Jack Crusher was the only person aware that Lieutenant Gerda Asmund and Doctor Carter Greyhorse were in a relationship. (TNG novel: Reunion)
In 2353, Lieutenant Commander Crusher visited the planet Xenex along with Captain Picard, to arrange talks between the Xenexians and the Danteri government. (NF novel: House of Cards)
Death[]
Later that year, the Stargazer encountered an unknown anomaly later termed a Nensi phenomenon, which crippled the ship and caused a dangerous energy build-up in the starboard warp nacelle. Crusher and Lieutenant Peter Joseph both volunteered to go outside the ship to detach the nacelle with phaser rifles. In the course of this operation, Crusher was caught in an explosion, though was successful in cutting the nacelle free. Joseph, who had panicked and left Crusher alone, feigned unconsciousness when he saw Picard on his way to retrieve his men, and allowed himself to be "rescued" while Crusher perished. Joseph later claimed both men had been overcome by the energy cycling in the nacelle. (TNG novel: Reunion)
- The novelization of TNG pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" establishes that Crusher was made the Stargazer's first officer in 2349, and died three months later during an away mission where the natives had turned violently against the visitors. This is contradicted by information later established in the TV series, as well as the Star Trek: Stargazer stories and others.
Legacy[]
During the first part of her Starfleet career Crusher's classmate Estrella Miyakawa witnessed Jean-Luc Picard, Jack Crusher, and Walker Keel moving in tandem together through the academy and into the service. She and many others assumed that the three of them would rise to command their own ships before returning to Starfleet Academy to pass on their knowledge to the next generation of Starfleet cadets. When reaching out to her friend and fellow classmate Jean-Luc Picard for help in 2368 she reflected on how differently fate had turned out than she assumed it would - with Picard being the only one of the three still alive and both Keel and Crusher being long deceased. (TNG novel: The Devil's Heart)
When some of the Stargazer crew came to the Enterprise-D as part of a ritual to acknowledge the now-Captain Morgen as he ascended to the throne of his planet, Joseph, who had spent the last two decades dealing with his guilt and self-loathing over his perceived role in Crusher's death, was eventually convinced by Guinan to tell the truth to Jack's widow Beverly. Initially shocked at the news, Bethany eventually forgave Joseph, musing that her husband wouldn't want his friend to keep blaming himself for a mistake. When Greyhorse attempted to kill some of his former shipmates to 'avenge' Gerda's death, recordings of Jack's logs helped Beverly find the crucial evidence that Greyhorse was the culprit. (TNG novel: Reunion)
Alternate realities[]
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In one reality, Wesley died climbing a tree when he was four, with the result that Jack took different assignments to escape the pain of his son's death and his increasingly-failing marriage, avoiding the mission that led to his death but eventually being assigned to the Stargazer during its final mission, taking charge of the crisis before Picard could do so. As a result, Picard was demoted in rank to Commander while Jack receives command of the USS Enterprise-D, although he requests that Picard be made his first officer.
When Trelane appeared, possessing infinite power after acquiring access to the Heart of the Storm, and sought to collapse three alternate timelines together for the fun of it, he drove Jack insane by revealing that this version of Jack was the only still-living version of Jack Crusher in any universe. Trelane suggested that Wesley's death came about instead of his own to "ensure" that Picard and Beverly Crusher ended up together.
Driven increasingly insane as he witnessed alternate worlds where he was dead and his son still lived, along with the mental disruptions caused by Trelane's actions, this Jack Crusher accidentally killed his ex-wife during a struggle with Picard from another reality when he throws her head-first into a medlab table. Beverly's last words were to tell Jack that she never stopped loving him. Jack then shot himself in the head with a phaser. In the aftermath, of the crisis, Picard resumed command and requested the recently-rescued Will Riker as his first officer, concluding that these two damaged officers could help each other cope with what has happened in their lives. (TNG novel: Q-Squared)
Service record[]
| location | assignment | dates | rank or rate | assignment insignia | rank insignia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS Stargazer | science officer | 2340s-2350s | lieutenant junior grade |  |
|
| 2350s | lieutenant | 
| |||
| second officer/science officer | until 2354 | lieutenant commander | 
|
Appendices[]
Connections[]
External link[]
- Jack R. Crusher article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Jack R. Crusher article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki.