Making vast technological advancements over thousands of years, human civilizations achieved
spaceflight in 1961, leading to a new age of exploration.
Yet violence and division still ravaged the nations of the world, with a Eugenics war
erupting near the end of the 20th century, a third world war fought with nuclear weapons
between 2026 and 2053, and the post atomic horror, which included the purging of thousands
affected by radiation.
Though hundreds of millions were killed and much of their infrastructure lost, human knowledge
survived, allowing the scientist Doctor Zefram Cochrane to invent warp technology and test
it with his vessel the Phoenix in 2063.
Detecting the use of a warp drive, humanity was soon visited by the Vulcan Species from
a relatively nearby system, who recognized the achievement as the last necessary step
to initiate First Contact.
Although quite different from Humans in many ways, physically Vulcans appeared similar,
likely having evolved from a common ancestor who spread their dna across the galaxy.
First contact and friendship with the Vulcans, led to an age of rapid technological development
for humans who at last put aside their differences to eliminate hunger and poverty throughout
the world.
In 2103, humans colonized Mars, and by 2150, the nations of the world were unified into
a single government.
The following year, they launched the Enterprise Nx-01 to explore deep space and make first
contact with alien life, eventually forming friendships which led to talks about a coalition
of planets in 2155 and the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161.
Though most of the great powers that emerged in this region of space, were led by a single
species that accrued power by destroying or subjugating their neighbours, member worlds
of the Federation joined voluntarily and remained semi-autonomous while also electing representatives
to speak in the central government.
Though they encouraged the idea of multiculturalism, all were required to operate within the confines
of the Federation Charter, their constitution based on the enlightened principals of equality,
liberty and peaceful coexistence.
The protection and freedom offered by the Federation appealed to many and the 24th century
there were over 150 member worlds.
Unfortunately, not all species shared their values or trusted their intentions, and so
to defend themselves against aggressors, Starfleet devoted themselves to military and scientific
research, and aided by Starfleet intelligence which gathered information about neighbours
and enemies, they allowed the Federation to become one of the most advanced powers in
the region.
However the efforts of their intelligence services were not always enough, and so they
sometimes relied on Section 31, a rogue espionage agency who officially did not exist, and so
were able to work outside the confines of the law.
Though the Federation encountered many other powers throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants,
for many years the Romulan Star Empire, Klingon Empire and Cardassian Union represented the
greatest potential threats to their borders.
The initial alliance which formed the core of the Federation, between Earth, Vulcan,
Andoria and Tellar rose in response to the aggression of the Romulan Star Empire, who
in turn acted from fear of the burgeoning friendship between those species.
Eventually, this conflict led to the Earth-Romulan war of 2156 to 2160, ending in victory for
the coalition forces and the establishment of the Neutral Zone border.
Defeated, the Romulans retreated into their borders and stayed in isolation for nearly
a century until resurfacing in 2266 to engage the Federation in small skirmishes along the
border, establishing a state of cold war.
In addition to the Romulans, the Federation fought a number of wars with the Klingon Empire
until at last making peace with the Khitomer Accord of 2293, forming an alliance which
made them the greatest superpowers in the region, resulting in decades of relative peace.
Though enemies abound in the Beta quadrant, the Alpha quadrant was no different, as the
Federation shared a border with the Cardassian Union, who launched a sneak attack on Setlik
III in 2347, initiating a war that lasted 20 years until at last ending with the Armistice
of 2367, and a formal treaty in 2370, creating a demilitarized border.
After the pioneering journey of the original Enterprise crew in the 2150s, another ship
of the same name earned an even more famous reputation, when James T Kirk led a 5 year
journey into deep space, initiating numerous first contacts and laying the groundwork for
future expansion.
With the destruction of the Enterprise in 2285, the Enterprise A was built, and over
the years was followed by B and C, until the Enterprise D became the flagship of the Federation
under the command of Captain Jean Luc Picard.
Joining the ranks of Archer and Kirk, Picard became one of the greatest leaders in all
of Starfleet history, earning fame as an explorer, ambassador, diplomat, and courageous warrior
when necessary.
A man of principle and deep moral conviction, who championed Federation laws like the Prime
Directive, but wasn’t afraid to violate them when absolutely necessary.
Able to trace back his lineage to the time of Charlamagne, Jean Luc was born in La Barre
France to Maurice and Yvette Picard.
Raised on an old family vineyard, he was taught to work hard and keep tradition.
Yet while his brother Robert accepted that life, Jean Luc was curious and rebellious,
disobeying his father to join Starfleet.
Though he struggled at the Academy, he was mentored by the groundkeeper Boothby, and
started to excel in his studies, gaining a passion for archaeology, and in athletic activities,
winning a prestigious marathon.
After graduating in 2327, Picard was temporarily stationed at Starbase Earhart, where he was
stabbed in the heart by a Nausican during a bar fight.
Saved by emergency surgery, Picard was then posted on the USS Reliant followed by a number
of transfers until ended up on the USS Stargazer, where he befriended Jack and Beverly Crusher.
During a critical situation in which the captain was killed, Picard took command and led them
to safety, resulting in a promotion and eventually becoming Captain of the Stargazer.
After a distinguished career, Picard was given command of Federation flagship USS Enterprise
D, embarking on a path which gained him true fame throughout the quadrant.
In time he grew closest with the members of his senior staff, including his first officer
William Riker, the Android Data, the empathic councillor Deanna Troi, the ship doctor and
an old friend Beverly Crusher, the tactical officer and first Klingon to join Starfleet,
Worf and Geordi Laforge who started as helmsman to become chief engineer of the ship.
However Picard shared a special friendship with the bartender Guinan, a long lived El
Aurian who, thanks to time travel, he’d known throughout 2 different centuries, and
in whom he had absolute confidence.
Among the many exceptional events to occur while Picard was Captain of the Enterprise,
he became a favourite test subject and to some extent friend of Q, a being from the
Q continuum, able to manipulate energy, matter, time and space.
An immortal species, by the 24th century most Q were lazy and apathetic, but one of them
was rebellious and chose to interact with humanity, having meaningful and enormously
consequential conversations with Jean Luc Picard, not only forcing the captain to defend
the very existence of his species, but also warning them of larger threats looming beyond
their space.
In 2366, a year after Q first introduced them to the Borg Collective, a Borg cube captured
Picard and assimilated him, creating the drone Locutus of Borg.
Wanting his knowledge as an important Starfleet captain, they wanted him to facilitate the
assimilation of the Federation.
Engaging in the battle of Wolf 359, a single Borg cube annihilated the defending fleet,
destroying 39 out of 40 ships.
Though the Enterprise, under Commander Riker was able to stop the Borg Cube and rescue
Picard, those events haunted the Captain for the rest of his life, with some in Starfleet
blaming him for the actions of Locutus.
In 2368, they again ran into the Borg, but this time a single drone, able to restore
enough of his individuality to impress the Captain and form a genuine friendship with
Geordi Laforge.
And so when the Borg returned for him and threatened to destroy the enterprise, Hugh
willingly surrendered to save the lives of the crew.
Yet when Hugh was linked with the other drones, his sense of individuality spread and caused
a rebellion within the ship, creating a new faction of rogue Borg.
In this same year, Picard was targeted by an alien space probe which put him to sleep
for25 minutes, during which time he lived the rest of his life in a dream state, taking
the place of a man married to the woman Eline on the planet Kataan.
Unaware how he arrived, Picard spent years trying to return to his old life, before giving
up and settling down to raise a family.
During this lifetime, he learned to play the Ressikan flute and studied astronomy, yet
when he reached the end of his days, the entire thing was revealed to be the memories of others,
and he awoke on board the Enterprise.
In 2371, the famous Enterprise D was destroyed on Veridian III, during a mission in which
Picard met James Kirk in the Nexus dimension, working together to save the Veridian system
from destruction.
Picard and most of his senior staff then transferred to the Enterprise E, aboard which they fought
in the battle of Sector 001, when a borg cube invaded their space.
Launching a smaller Sphere through a temporal vortex, Picard and the crew followed to arrive
on Earth in the 21st century, becoming an integral part of Federation history by helping
Zefran Cochrane test his warp drive.
Picard continued to serve as Captain of the Enterprise during the chaos of the 2370s,
when war broke out across the quadrant, between Cardassians, Klingons and the Federation,
only to serve as a precursor to the Dominion War which saw a Gamma Quadrant superpower
invade and nearly conquer the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.
In 2375, Picard helped the Baku against the hostile Sona and in doing so uncovered a plot
within the Federation to help the aggressors, in order to harvest Metaphasic radiation from
the rings around their planet.
When the starship Voyager returned home after an unexpected 7 year journey through the Delta
Quadrant, Picard was among the many who celebrated their success, and in the ensuing years came
to know some of the crew, like 7 of 9, who like Hugh was a drone in the Borg collective
until saved by a Starfleet captain and their crew.
But unlike Hugh, 7 of 9 had more time to safely restore her humanity while retaining exceptional
strength, agility and intelligence.
Throughout his life and career, Jean Luc Picard proved himself a man of exceptional qualities,
so much so that the Romulan Star Empire, for a time, worked on a project to clone the famous
captain and infiltrate the Federation.
The plan was abandoned, but not before the birth of Shinzon, their attempt at a clone,
who was instead sent to the planet Remus as slave labor.
There he developed affection for the native Remans who like him were enslaved, and so
after gaining fame and notoriety during his service in the Dominion war, organized a coup
in 2379, killing almost the entire Romulan leadership to take control of the government.
Once in command, he launched a genocidal attack against the Federation, only to be stopped
by the Enterprise E and Captain Picard at the Battle in the Bassen Rift, which saw the
death of Shinzon, and the android Data who sacrificed himself to destroy the ship headed
for Federation space.
After the death of so many within the Romulan government, they struggled to re-establish
stability, and matters only grew worse in 2387, when Ambassador Spock was sent to stop
a supernova from destroying Romulus but failed, resulting in the destruction of their homeworld.
After finally accepting the promotion to Admiral, he started to serve in a larger role as the
Federation responded to new threats like the Synth attack on the Utopia Planitia ship yards
of Mars, until at last retiring from Starfleet and returning home to his family Vineyard.