Strange New Worlds has introduced a number of new characters in the lore of Star Trek
as well as building upon existing characters and adding to their tales.
One of these is the First Captain of the USS Enterprise, Robert April who by the time of
2259 has risen to the rank of Admiral in Starfleet.
So Ric here and just who is Robert April?
Robert April was born in the late 22nd century, 2195 and according to books, was born in Coventry,
England and his middle name was Timothy.
His early Starfleet career followed the common path of him being assigned to different vessels
which included Einstein and Miranda class vessels but he began to take an interest in
starship construction.
He then transfers to Logistics and becomes a part of the team that is designing the Constitution
class by 2229.
By 2242, he had been put in charge of Starfleet’s constitution project at the San Francisco
Fleetyards and headed up the team that built the first vessels of that class, including
the Enterprise itself.
Interestingly enough, the books also list Johnathan Archer’s death date at 2245, soon
after the launch of the Enterprise NCC-1701, a ceremony at which he was present at the
age of 133, suggesting he would have met Captain April.
In that year, April took command of the Enterprise as its first captain and he picked his senior
staff, which included Commander Christopher Pike as the first officer and Sarah April,
Robert’s wife and the Chief Medical Officer.
There are also book mentions of George Kirk Senior serving aboard the vessel for a time,
but it is likely he eventually transferred away to another posting.
One of the biggest events that he was present for in the captain’s chair was massacre
of Tarsus 4, an event that saw the governor Kodos execute 4000 colonists in order to extend
the limited stores of food that had been destroyed by a fungal growth until help arrived.
One of the surviving people of that event was a young James Kirk and the Enterprise
was the relief vessel that remained in orbit.
Kodos fled fearing the repercussions of his crime and other notable characters that arrived
at Tarsus included the crew of the USS Narbonne, Commander Georgiou and Lieutenant Commander
Gabriel Lorca.
In all, Robert April spent 5 years in command of the Enterprise, from its launch until 2250,
completing its first of several 5 year missions and became among the most decorated captains.
He eventually took a promotion to Admiral and transferred command of the Enterprise,
along with a promotion to Christopher Pike, leaving the ship in the hands of its (to-be)
longest serving captain.
He seems to have maintained a particularly close tie to the Enterprise, even from his
desk and considered Pike close friend handling the ship’s assignments, which has a kind
of sense to it if he was one of those originally involved in the Constitution program overall,
he knows the capabilities of that line the best.
This takes us to 2259 and his first appearance in live action in Strange New Worlds, but
he has technically appeared on screen before this.
In the Animated Series set in the year 2270, the Enterprise under Captain Kirk has to escort
Commodore Robert April and his wife to his retirement on Babel.
During this mission, the crew encounter a de-aging effect that rejuvenates the 75 year
old man and he considers staying on in Starfleet.
By this time, he has also been serving as Starfleet’s Ambassador-At-Large, travelling
around where needed to engage in diplomatic duties, but why he was reduced in rank to
commodore from admiral is something we have yet to see.
You have probably also noticed that Adrian Holmes looks nothing like the animated series
counterpart, which was voiced by James Doohan and vaguely modelled on Roddenberry who stood
in for the role in early Trek work.
Which is alright, I like the notion that the first captain of one of the most famous sci-fi
ships is a man of colour.
I have only seen the animated episode featuring April once and only read one book in which
he appears, so already I have seen more of Holmes in the role and he is Robert April
to me.
I am curious to know what his command style was like with Pike as his XO as each captain
so far seems to have their own flair and unique way of command and I would like to know his.
It does however raise a question concerning the canonicity of the animated series, because
the new Trek shows have drawn heavily from other sources, such as the 70s cartoon and
even seemingly canonised it, mentioning it in line with the other shows.
But they have also drawn a lot from memory beta content such as the books and early concept
material and so on, adapting that to find a new place in the continuity of the show.
So what does that mean for the animated series, is it relegated back into that zone of just
inspiration?
I doubt it is going to bother anyone outside of lore nerds like me who like to have everything
categorised and personally, I do not really like the animated show anyway so I’m happy
to see it remain as referenced content only, like books and the games.
But overall, that is Robert April!
Like other characters, there are alternate universe versions of him, including a Kelvin
universe depiction but they are the non-canon stories of separate universes, so that’s
getting even further from the character we are seeing on screen.
I’ve been Ric, thank you for watching this quick look into the character of April, the
first captain of the Enterprise and one of the minds behind its very existence.
Thanks again, and goodbye!