James T. Kirk
James Tiberius Kirk was born aboard the Einstein class U.S.S. Kelvin NCC-0514,[1] to Lieutenant Commander George Kirk and Lieutenant Winona Kirk.[2] Named for both his maternal grandfather, James Davis,[1] and his paternal grandfather, Tiberius Kirk.[2] Kirk was raised with his brother in Iowa,[3] though he also accompanied his parents to other planets, such as Tarsus IV, where he was one of only nine eyewitnesses to survive the massacre of half the colony's population by Governor Kodos the Executioner in 2247, and he would never forget what he saw.[4]
Kirk entered Starfleet Academy in 2250, at the age of 17, with the help of a man named Mallory. He was a brilliant and dedicated cadet, though some people, including an upperclassman named Finnegan, thought he was too serious and bookish.[5] Kirk was particularly impressed by one of his instructors, a history professor named John Gill, whom he considered one of the kindest and gentlest men he had ever met.[6] Kirk proved himself to be more than just an academic when he was the first cadet to beat the Kobayashi Maru scenario, a test designed to confront aspiring starship captains with a no-win situation. Refusing to accept that there was such a thing, Kirk broke into the Academy’s computer and reprogrammed the scenario so that he could achieve all his goals. Far from being criticized for his behavior, he was commended for original thinking.[7]
Assigned to the U.S.S. Republic NCC-1371 for his cadet cruise in 2254, Kirk befriended one of his instructors, Lieutenant Ben Finney. The two were close enough that Finney named his daughter Jamie in his honor, but that friendship didn't prevent Kirk from doing his duty. One day, Kirk relieved Finney on watch and discovered that he had left a circuit to the ship’s atomic matter piles open, seriously endangering the ship and the lives of everyone aboard. Kirk closed the circuit and logged the incident. As a result, Finney was reprimanded and moved to the bottom of the promotions list. He failed to accept responsibility for the incident and blamed Kirk, resulting in more than a decade of enmity from the older man.[8] While assigned to the Republic, Kirk was part of a mission to the planet Axanar, where one of his heroes, Captain Kelvar Garth, had won a famous victory. Kirk was awarded the Palm Leaf of Axanar for his part in the Republic's mission.[9]
After his tour on the Republic ended, Kirk returned to the Academy, where he became a student tutor. The class he taught earned quite a reputation among other cadets, who knew that in Kirk’s class it was "think or sink." Kirk became friends with one of his students, Gary Mitchell, whom Kirk would later request on his first command.[10] Kirk left a lasting impression on many of his other contemporaries, including R.M. Merrick, who was expelled after failing a psychosimulator test. Years later, Merrick still remembered Kirk as an example of all that was best about Starfleet officers.[11] During his time at Starfleet Academy, Kirk had at least three serious relationships: one with a blonde lab technician,[10] one with Janice Lester, which lasted a year,[12] and one with a beautiful young woman named Ruth.[5]
Upon his graduation in 2254, Kirk was promoted to Lieutenant, and his first posting was the U.S.S. Farragut NCC-1647 under Captain Garrovick.[13] The young Lieutenant Kirk first experienced command when he led a planetary survey party; during this mission he befriended the leader of the local hill people, a man called Tyree.[14] Kirk was serving aboard the Farragut during the Klingon War, and his experiences would cause him to develop an intense dislike for the Klingons. He was horrified by the way the Klingons maintained "order" on occupied planets, by organizing them into vast labor camps, taking and killing hostages and confining the people's leaders. He became convinced that the Klingons were a brutal people who could not be trusted.[15]
In 2257, Kirk was involved in a serious incident that left him deeply troubled for many years. Near Tycho IV, the Farragut encountered a mysterious and dangerous gaseous entity. Kirk hesitated for a brief moment before firing the ship’s phasers and, when the creature attacked, a third of the crew, including Captain Garrovick, were killed. Although Starfleet found nothing wrong with his actions, Kirk blamed himself for the disaster.[13] Twenty-four hours later, on Stardate 3131.3, the ship, now under the command of First Officer Chenowyth, had been stabilized when it was attacked by a swarm of carnivorous, insectile creatures, which bored into the hull of the disabled ship. Kirk and a Vulcan passenger, T'Cel, ensured that the ship was able to safely complete an emergency saucer separation before initiating the self-destruct sequence on the engineering hull, eliminating the threat. Kirk and T'Cel evacuated in an escape pod before the ship was destroyed, and made their way to one of the newly-constructed Watchtower class outposts, Watchtower 13, along the nearby Romulan Neutral Zone. Kirk was wounded, and a Romulan vessel was approaching to investigate the explosion. T'Cel placed Kirk into a stasis tube to prevent his capture by the Romulans, whom she said she had fooled into believing that she was the only person aboard the outpost. When Kirk was recovered, it appeared that T'Cel had died in the escape pod, leading the Romulans away from the outpost.[16]
Kirk was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and first officer aboard the U.S.S. Eagle NCC-956 under Captain Botwin[17][18] in 2258, and at this point was reunited with Carol Marcus,[17] the "blonde lab technician" that Gary Mitchell had "pointed in [his] direction" during their time at the Academy.[10] Their rekindled relationship ended a year later in 2259, and unbeknownst to Kirk at the time, Marcus was pregnant with their son, David Marcus.[17] When Kirk did finally learn about his son, Marcus asked him not to become involved in their child's upbringing, and Kirk respected her wishes.[7] Later that year, Kirk became involved with Janet Wallace, an endocrinologist, but their differing career goals pulled them apart.[19] During this period, he was also involved with Areel Shaw, an impressive young lawyer with the Judge Advocate General's office. The two parted on good terms but didn't see one another for several years.[8] In fact, it seems that Kirk’s dedication to his career made it almost impossible for him to form lasting relationships. Kirk served as the Eagle's first officer until his promotion to Captain in 2263 and his assignment as commanding officer of the Hermes class U.S.S. Sacagawea NCC-598.[18] At his request, his old friend Gary itchell was assigned to the Sacagawea.[10] During his tenure as captain of the Sacagawea, he encountered a Klingon captain named Koloth for the first time.[18]
In 2265,[20] on Stardate 1278.4, Kirk assumed command of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 from Captain Christopher Pike,[21] becoming the third commanding officer of that vessel,[22] and began what would become an historic Five Year Mission.[10] Kirk excelled as a captain, and his exploits became requred reading at the Academy.[20] Kirk had a relaxed command style and enjoyed a close relationship with his crew. Although Kirk and Finney had never reconciled their differences, Kirk did not object when Finney was assigned to his ship as records officer.[8]
Kirk was on very good personal terms with many of his officers, who respected and admired him. Occasionally, these relationships verged on romance—Kirk evidently became close with Doctor Helen Noel at a science lab Christmas party—but on the whole he felt it was inappropriate to become romantically involved with another member of his crew.[23] Although Kirk didn’t establish any lasting romances, he did form some of the most important friendships of his life while he was aboard the Enterprise. His first officer, the half-Vulcan Spock, and the ship’s Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Leonard McCoy, became his lifelong friends.[7]
Tactically, Kirk was one of the finest officers who ever served in Starfleet, and he consistently proved himself the equal of many adversaries. Kirk’s many exploits included the discovery of replicable means of time travel,[24][25] several important conflicts with the Klingon[15] and Romulan Empires[26] (including a mission where he stole a Romulan cloaking device),[27] the first successful journey across the galactic barrier,[28] and an incident involving the Mirror Universe.[29]
Ben Finney (TOS 14)
Kirk and his crew also repelled several attempts to invade Federation space. In 2268, the Enterprise encountered an automated weapon that had destroyed several planets and crippled the U.S.S. Constellation NCC-1017. Kirk finally managed to defeat the weapon by setting the Constellation to self-destruct and flying it inside the planet-destroying device.[30] In the same year, Kirk and his crew defeated a massive spaceborne "amoeba" cosmozoan that had destroyed the U.S.S. Intrepid NCC-1631 and threatened Federation space.[31] Kirk also convinced the Kelvans to stop their intergalactic invasion plans.[28] Despite all his achievements, in 2266 Kirk stood trial in a court-martial when he was accused of the murder of Ben Finney. During the trial, it emerged that Finney, who was still obsessed with Kirk, had faked his own death, and Kirk was exonerated.[8]
Kirk endured other hard times during his command. In 2265, he was forced to kill Gary Mitchell when his friend gained extremely potent psionic powers after passing through the Galactic Barrier, becoming a serious danger to the rest of the crew and the Federation at large.[10] In 2267, the Enterprise visited Deneva, where Kirk’s older brother, George Samuel Kirk Jr., was working as a research biologist. When the planet was attacked by a race of neural parasites, Sam (as Kirk called him) and his wife Aurelan were killed, and their son Peter barely survived.[32] Fortunately, Sam’s two other sons[33] were not on the planet at the time.[32]
| 2250-2254 | Starfleet Academy |
| 2254 | Cadet Cruise, U.S.S. Republic NCC-1371 (Constitution class) |
| 2254-2257 | U.S.S. Farragut NCC-1647 (Constitution class) |
| 2258-2263 | First Officer, U.S.S. Eagle NCC-956 (Constitution class) |
| 2263-2265 | Captain, U.S.S. Sacagawea NCC-598 (Hermes class) |
| 2265-2270 | Captain, U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (Constitution class) |
| 2270-2273 | Chief of Starfleet Operations |
| 2273-2278 | Captain, U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (Constitution class) |
| 2279-2280 | Retired |
| 2281-2285 | Commandant, Starfleet Academy |
| 2285 | Captain, U.S.S. Excelsior NX-2000 (Excelsior class) |
| 2286-2293 | Captain, U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A (Constitution class) |
| 2293-2294 | Retired; Presumed dead during commissioning ceremonies aboard U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B (Excelsior class) |
| 2371 | Recovered from Nexus; Died at Veridian III) |
Notes and References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Goodman, David A. Federation: The First 150 Years. Titan Books, October 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Abrams, J.J. & Damon Lindelof (Producers). Star Trek. Directed by J.J. Abrams. Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. Paramount Pictures. 8 May 2009.
- ↑ Bannett, Harve (Producer). Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Directed by Leonard Nimoy. Story by Leonard Nimoy and Harve Bennett. Screenplay by Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett & Nicholas Meyer. Paramount Pictures. 26 November 1986.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Miri." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 8 (Production 12). Directed by Vincent McEveety. Written by Adrian Spies. Desilu Productions, 27 October 1966.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Shore Leave." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 15 (Production 17). Directed by Robert Sparr. Written by Theodore Sturgeon. Desilu Productions, 29 December 1966.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Patterns of Force." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 23. Directed by Vincent McEveety. Written by John Meredyth Lucas. Desilu Productions, 16 February 1968.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Salin, Robert (Producer). Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Story by Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards. Screenplay by Nicholas Meyer (Uncredited). Paramount Pictures. 4 June 1982.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Galileo Seven." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 16 (Production 14). Directed by Robert Gist. Story by Oliver Crawford Teleplay by Oliver Crawford & S. Bar-David. Desilu Productions, 5 January 1967.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer) and Freiberger, Fred (Producer). "Whom Gods Destroy." Star Trek, Season 3, Episode 16. Directed by Herb Wallerstein. Story by Jerry Sohl & Lee Erwin. Teleplay by Lee Erwin. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 3 January 1969.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Cage". Star Trek, season 0, episode 0 (Production number 01). Directed by Robert Butler. Written by Gene Roddenberry. Released 1986. Desilu Productions. 1965.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Bread and Circuses." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 14. Directed by Ralph Senensky. Written by Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon. Desilu Productions, 15 March 1968.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer/Story) and Freiberger, Fred (Producer). "Turnabout Intruder." Star Trek, Season 3, Episode 24. Directed by Herb Wallerstein. Teleplay by Arthur Singer. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 3 June 1969.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Obsession." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 18. Directed by Ralph Senensky. Written by Art Wallace. Desilu Productions, 15 December 1967.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer/Teleplay). "A Private Little War." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 16. Directed by Marc Daniels. Story by Jud Crucis. Desilu Productions, 2 February 1968.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Errand of Mercy." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 26 (Production 27). Directed by John Newland. Written by Gene L. Coon. Desilu Productions, 23 March 1967.
- ↑ Claremont, Christopher S. (Writer). "Debt of Honor." Star Trek. Art by Adam T. Hughes & Karl C. Story. Colors by Tom J. McCraw. Lettering by Robert M. Pinaha. Edited by Robert Greenberger. DC Comics, 1992.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Weinstein, Howard (Writers). "Star-Crossed, Part 1: No-Win Scenario." Star Trek, volume 2, issue 73. Pencils by Rachel Ketchum. Inks by Mark Heike. Colors by Ray Murtaugh. Lettering by Bob Pinaha. Edited by Margaret Clark. DC Comics, July 1995.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Bennett, Christopher L. (Author). The Captain's Oath. Star Trek. Novel. Gallery Books. May 2019.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Deadly Years." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 11. Directed by Joseph Pevney. Written by David P. Harmon. Desilu Productions, 8 December 1967.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Berman, Rick & Biller, Kenneth (Executive Producers). "Q2." Star Trek: Voyager, Season 7, Episode 19. Directed by LeVar Burton. Story by Kenneth Biller. Teleplay by Robert Doherty. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 11 April 2001.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Court Martial." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 20 (Production 15). Directed by Marc Daniels. Story by Don M. Mankiewicz. Teleplay by Don M. Mankiewicz and Steven W. Carabatsos (Teleplay). Desilu Productions, 2 February 1967.
- ↑ Scheimer, Lou & Norm Prescott (Producers). "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth". Star Trek: The Animated Series, season 2, episode 5 (Production number 21). Directed by Bill Reed. Written by Russell Bates & David Wise. Filmation Associates. 5 October 1974.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". Star Trek, season 1, episode 7 (Production number 10). Directed by James Goldstone. Written by Robert Bloch. Desilu Productions. 20 October 1966.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Man Trap". Star Trek, season 1, episode 1 (Production number 06). Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by George Clayton Johnson. Desilu Productions. 8 September 1966.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Tomorrow is Yesterday." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 19 (Production 21). Directed by Michael O'Herlihy. Written by D.C. Fontana. Desilu Productions, 26 January 1967.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Charlie X". Star Trek, season 1, episode 2 (Production number 08). Directed by Lawrence Dobkin. Story by Gene Roddenberry. Teleplay by D.C. Fontana. Desilu Productions. 15 September 1966.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer) and Freiberger, Fred (Producer). "The Enterprise Incident." Star Trek, Season 3, Episode 4. Directed by John Meredyth Lucas. Written by D.C. Fontana. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 27 September 1968.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "By Any Other Name." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 21. Directed by Marc Daniels. Story by Jerome Bixby Teleplay by Jerome Bixby & D.C. Fontana. Desilu Productions, 23 February 1968.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Mirror, Mirror." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 10. Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jerome Bixby. Desilu Productions, 6 October 1967.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Doomsday Machine." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 6. Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Norman Spinrad. Desilu Productions, 20 October 1967.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Immunity Syndrome." Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 19. Directed by Joseph Pevney. Written by Robert Sabaroff. Desilu Productions, 19 January 1968.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Operation -- Annihilate!." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 29 (Production 29). Directed by Herschel Daugherty. Written by Steven W. Carabatsos. Desilu Productions, 13 April 1967.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Balance of Terror". Star Trek, season 1, episode 14 (Production number 09). Directed by Vincent McEveety. Written by Paul Schneider. Desilu Productions. 15 December 1966.
