Captain Jean-Luc Picard
picard2.jpg

Name: Jean-Luc Picard
Rank: Captain
Position: Commanding Officer USS Enterprise(NCC-1701-D)
Age: 74 (appears 59)

Starfleet History
2323: Enters Starfleet Academy
2327: Graduates Starfleet Academy
2328: Assigned to USS Reliant
pre 2333: Promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned to USS Stargazer as Chief Helm Officer and Second Officer
2333: Promoted to Captain and named Commanding Officer
2355: Takes LOA
2360: Returns to Starfleet
2364: Reassigned to USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

Personal History
Jean-Luc Picard was born in La Barre, France on Earth to Maurice and Yvette Picard on July 13, 2305. He and his elder brother, Robert, spent their childhood tending to their family vineyards with their father. Concerned about the preservation of their familial values, Maurice and his wife educated their sons in the ancient traditions, avoiding, in particular, any superfluous technologies. As a young boy, Jean-Luc watched his grandfather "deteriorate from a powerful, intelligent figure to a frail wisp of a man, who could barely make his own way home." As a child, Jean-Luc took piano lessons but eventually gave it up because he dreaded performing in front of an audience. In his later life, he would regret doing so because his playing used to please his mother. Young Jean-Luc dreamed of adventure and exploration. He was fond of starships, of which he liked to build models. Moreover, he was captivated by the Phoenix, the first Human warp-capable starship, which he admired several times at the Smithsonian Institution. Like his nephew René, Jean-Luc wrote a ribbon-winning report on starships. Although Maurice intended his sons to work at the vineyards, it was obvious that since very early Jean-Luc knew he wanted to join Starfleet, something that his father would never condone, up until his death. Jean-Luc would later remember that he devoted his childhood for that end, which was like skipping that age altogether. His brother would later note that Jean-Luc always sought higher standards, such as becoming president of his school and later a valedictorian and even an athletic champion. Robert was also jealous seeing Picard being the favored son and getting away after his mischiefs. Sometimes Robert had to bully his younger brother.

Jean-Luc caused "quite a stir" by leaving his family's generational vineyard and applying to Starfleet Academy. Although he failed to gain entry on his first attempt, Picard succeeded in his second attempt in 2323. He subsequently became one of the most outstanding cadets in his class. Picard's career at the Academy was difficult, at best – years later, Picard credited Academy groundskeeper Boothby with helping him develop a mature attitude. Among Picard's friends at the Academy were Donald Varley, Cortan Zweller, Marta Batanides, and an acquaintance called "A.F.", whom he blamed for his failed semester of Organic Chemistry and whose initials Picard carved into Boothby's prized elm. At the Academy, Picard developed an interest in archaeology. His professor, Richard Galen, encouraged him to continue in this field, but Picard ultimately refused his offer of becoming an archaeologist. He would nevertheless keep his interest in the subject, and became to be considered quite knowledgeable in the field. Picard also excelled in sports. He won the Starfleet Academy marathon in April 2323 on Danula II, becoming the first freshman to win the race. During a wrestling match, Picard caught a Ligonian with a reverse body lift and pinned him down in the first fourteen seconds. During his sophomore year, Picard was assigned to training on Morikin VII where he had his first encounter with Nausicaans, who had an outpost on a nearby asteroid.

Shortly upon graduation in 2327, Picard's promising career nearly ended abruptly during a layover at Starbase Earhart. During a bar brawl over a rigged game of dom-jot, he was stabbed through the heart by a Nausicaan, and had to undergo emergency surgery to replace his heart. He laughed after looking down to see the knife protruding from his chest. This event helped him realize how fragile life could be, and thus made him more willing to take risks and make his mark in the universe, which he only realized when Q proposed him to change this event in 2369. As an ensign, Picard was posted to the USS Reliant, where he served with Lieutenant Nakamura. As a junior officer, Picard was the closest of friends with Walker Keel, and also became friends with Jack Crusher and his fiancée, Beverly Howard. In 2328, Picard was granted a special shore leave to run an elite, long-distance race on a barren planet in the Elyrion system. Unfortunately, he did not finish in the top five. However, during his time on the planet he befriended a young Zartani named Nuadra Demmix, and also gained experience with the Ubarrak. Picard demonstrated command abilities early in his career, in particular, when he led an away team on Milika III to save an ambassador. This incident would later be mentioned by Q as one of the crucial events forming Picard's personality. As a young lieutenant, Picard attended the wedding of Sarek's son, where he briefly met Sarek and Spock for the first and only time before the 2360s.

In 2333, Picard was a lieutenant commander, and second officer of the USS Stargazer under the command of Captain Daithan Ruhalter. The Stargazer 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, which left Captain Ruhlater dead, and first officer Commander Stephen Leach in a coma. Picard assumed command and got the Stargazer to safety at Magnia colony. While undergoing repairs at the colony, the Stargazer's crew, uncomfortable with such an inexperienced commander, mutinied. Picard managed to quell the mutiny and appointed Lieutenant Gilaad Ben Zoma as first officer and Lieutenant 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. 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. 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. 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". 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.

In 2342, Picard dated a young woman named Jenice at the Café des Artistes in Paris. However, he became afraid of a possible future relationship and posted Jenice, who later married Paul Manheim. 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 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. During the Cardassian wars, the Stargazer was involved in a truce offering by the Federation. After making contact with a Cardassian warship, Picard lowered the ship's shields as a gesture of good will, but the Cardassian commander ignored the gesture and disabled the Stargazer's weapons and impulse engines. The Stargazer managed to regroup and flee. 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. In 2355, the Stargazer was seriously damaged in a battle with an unknown enemy vessel, later discovered to be a Ferengi ship. Picard managed to destroy the enemy vessel using the Stargazer's warp engines in a unique tactical maneuver (later named the "Picard Maneuver"), but was forced to abandon the Stargazer. His actions during the battle were called into question by Starfleet prosecutor Phillipa Louvois, but he was exonerated by the inquiry board and was later awarded the Grankite Order of Tactics (Class of Excellence) for the development of the Picard Maneuver.

Following the court-martial 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. T he 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. Soon after, Picard began guest lecturing at Starfleet Academy, as well as transferring between numerous assignments. Picard also enrolled as a Ph.D. student in archaeology at the University of Alpha Centauri in 2355. Three years into this program, he was teaching an introductory class in archaeology when Guinan paid him a visit, and questioned whether he really wanted to avoid going back to commanding a starship. During his time at the University of Alpha Centauri Picard assembled a group of archeologists who wanted discovered some survivors of the ancient race of Manraloth. Picard fell in love with the first survivor they were able to rescue from a time stasis field. Not remembering her past, she accepted the name "Ariel." Picard and Ariel spent many months together putting together a team of Starfleet specialists who would eventually search for other Manraloth. Knowing that he could achieve their goal only with the help of Starfleet, Picard rejoined the fleet and was given command of the Miranda-class USS Portia. For this mission he recruited Lieutenant Data as his science officer. After they found other survivors, Picard realized that Ariel (who in the meanwhile regained her memory, and remembered her true name: Giriaenn) had tricked him by using his feelings for her. The Manraloth planned to destroy the Federation in order to save the galaxy. It took Picard three years to hunt them down, but in 2363, he lead a fleet of seven starships to prevent the Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne from accessing the Manraloth archive. The fleet, which was made up of the USS Cybele, USS Thelian, USS Tecumseh, USS Malinche, USS Victory, USS Puttkamer and the USS Nautilus, assembled in the Mirfak system before travelling at high warp to the Kirisha system where they engaged the Carnelian warships. The Manraloth realised that their plans were wrong and evolved into the next stage of being. Soon after that Picard accepted to take command of the USS Enterprise-D.

Picard hand-picked most of his senior staff, such as two young officers who impressed him enough upon first meeting. Geordi La Forge once piloted Picard's inspection tour shuttle and stayed up all night to refit an engine part Picard had made a passing comment on, and Picard witnessed Natasha Yar risk her life to save colonists amid a Carnelian minefield. He had also picked his best friend Jack Crusher as his first officer. Commanding the Enterprise on her first mission, Picard made first contact with a member of the Q Continuum – Q. Picard and his senior officers had to stand trial for Humanity's immaturity. To prove their worthiness as a species, Picard had to solve the "mystery of Farpoint Station." The crew of the Enterprise discovered that the inhabitants of Deneb IV, the Bandi, had captured a space-dwelling being to serve their own purpose. The Enterprise helped to free the creature, and Q, somewhat disappointed by the crew's success, retreated, though he hinted that it would not be their final encounter. During the test of Kozinski's "modifications" to the engines the Enterprise ended up travelling to a different quantum reality and into the year 2380.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License