Mark Piper

See Piper for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.

Mark Piper
Full name:	Doctor Mark Piper
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Height:	5'10"
Weight:	159 lbs.
Eye color:	Brown
Hair color:	Brown/Grey
Born:	2191
Died:	2271
Affiliation:	Federation Starfleet, retired 2265
Family
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse(s):	Unnamed spouse
Children:	Five unnamed children
Career
Previous Assignment:	Chief Medical Officer, USS Enterprise
Final Assignment:	Chief Medical Officer, Starfleet Academy
Rank:	Commander (retired)
Insignia:

Mark Piper (also known as Paul Piper) was a respected Starfleet doctor for many years.

History

Piper was born in New England, North America on Earth, in 2191. As a child he took a keen interest in medicine and treating people, and eventually entered medical school in the 2210s. As well as spending his early life building a successful Starfleet career as a doctor, he also spent time raising a family. By 2265, Piper would have five children and fifteen grandchildren. (TOS novels: Traitor Winds, My Brother's Keeper: Constitution, and Captain's Peril)

In 2264, Piper came aboard the USS Enterprise as chief medical officer to replace Dr. Leonard McCoy, who had begun an extended leave of absence. Although Piper was about to retire at this point, he decided to postpone his retirement. (TOS novel: Strangers from the Sky)

During his one-year tenure aboard the Enterprise, the ship was assigned to divert deadly x-ray radiation that was being emitted from a rogue pulsar, and threatened to destroy the environment of the planet Mestiko. Despite a valiant attempt, the Enterprise's attempt failed and the environment was destroyed. Although there were many survivors from the disaster, who had escaped to underground bunkers, millions died and Piper was forced to watch. He admitted that after nearly 60 years as a doctor, he could not stand any more death and destruction, which hastened his decision to retire. (TOS - Mere Anarchy eBook: Things Fall Apart)

Following the Enterprise's mission to Delta Vega, Piper finally requested retirement, and Captain Kirk accepted. (TOS - My Brother's Keeper novel: Constitution)

During his long Starfleet career, Piper acquired many gifts and rewards from those that he had helped and treated. He was presented with a carving of a Baliba'an fertility goddess by some Oritixx traders after he treated them after their ship exploded; he was also awarded with a latinum honor medallion by the Hiinkans of Cerebus Prime, after he discovered a cure for the Hiinkan Plague. In the following years, the Hiinkan's would also name at least three medical centers in his honor. (TOS - My Brother's Keeper novel: Constitution)

By 2270, Piper was performing research at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. Piper was murdered there in December 2271 by Jim Leong, in an attempt to implicate Pavel Chekov, and spark an interstellar war with the Klingons and Romulans. (TOS novel: Traitor Winds)

External link

• Mark Piper article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.