Hikaru Sulu

Hikaru Sulu was a legendary Starfleet officer, best remembered for his assignments to the USS Enterprise as helmsman and commanding the USS Excelsior in the 23rd and 24th centuries.

Early life
Hikaru Sulu was born in San Francisco on April 20th, 2237 to Hosato and Yoshiko Sulu. Sulu became fascinated by space and the stars at an early age, beginning when he took a tour on Enterprise (NX-01), the first warp capable Starfleet vessel. Sulu decided to enter Starfleet Academy in 2255, against the wishes of his parents, who felt Sulu would be better served working at the family's restaurant in Berkeley. Sulu refused and entered his application to Starfleet. He was accepted and began his classes the following September. Sulu had a difficult time adjusting to the ridgid schedule and workload of Starfleet Academy classes, but soon gained confidence after attending a seminiar on piloting a starship. Sulu graduated from the Academy in 2260 and was assigned to Starbase 27 as a physicist.

Starfleet career
Sulu arrived on Starbase 47 with the rank of Ensign. He stayed at this post for four and a half years, until he accepted a request to become a senior physicist on the USS Enterprise in 2265. Sulu officially joined the ship a month later. He was on board the ship when it entered the galatic barrier and Enterprise helm officer Gary Mitchell was transformed into a God-like being and became evil and cruel. Fortunately, the Enterprise's commanding officer, Captain James T. Kirk was able to defeat Mitchell and the Enterprise continued on. Six months into Sulu's assignment on the Enterprise, Kirk, looking for a replacement helmsman, asked Sulu of he would be interested in filling the position. Sulu jumped at the chance and was promoted to Lieutenant. He was officially made helmsman in 2266.

Assignment on the Enterprise
Sulu's first few months as helmsman saw him pliot the ship when it made first contact with the First Fedration and Balok, when the Enterprise nearly entered the atmosphere of Psi 2000 and when the Romulans crossed the Neutral Zone and attacked Federation starbases. Sulu later was captured along with Captain Kirk by the childlike, but powerful being Trelane in 2267. Commander Spock was able to locate them and they were able to return to Enterprise. Sulu spent five years on the Enterprise, until its five year mission concluded and Captain Kirk ordered Sulu to take the Enterprise back to Earth.

The Enterprise underwent a major refit in 2270. By late 2272, the refit was complete and the ship was ready for launch. Sulu had spent his shore leave visiting his parents on Earth. He returned to the ship when it was quickly called out to address the V'Ger threat. The strange cloud had destroyed three Klingon vessels and the space station Epsilon XI. After defeating V'Ger, the Enterprise was called out for another five year mission, with Sulu at the helm. After the new five year mission was nearing completion, Sulu decided to accept a promotion to Commander and begin teaching at Starfleet Academy. He left the Enterprise in 2275 and was replaced by Lieutenant Commander Alexander DeSalle. In 2278, the Enterprise returned to Earth. Starfleet, seeing the age of the Enterprise, decided to make it a training vessel for Cadets. In 2284, Sulu was asked to help train the Cadets on piloting the ship. Beginning in 2285, Sulu, along with original Enterprise officers, Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy, Commander Uhura, Commander Scott and now Admiral Kirk, were to train the Cadets. However, the Enterprise was attacked by Khan Noonien Singh, who wanted revenge from Kirk for marooning him on Ceti Alpha V. The Enterprise was heavily damaged, but Sulu was able to maneuver the ship into a good firing position and Khan had to retreat.

The Enterprise finally faced Khan in the Mutara Nebula, where Sulu skillfully moved the ship near Khan's ship, the Reliant. The Reliant was destroyed and Sulu warped the Enterprise away. However, Captain Spock died saving the ship. Sulu attended his funeral in the Enterprise's torpedo bay. Sulu later partcipated in Spock's rebirth by illegally stealing the Enterprise from spacedock and helped to retrieve his body, along with the Enterprise crew. This act did not come without a price, as the Enterprise was destroyed by Admiral Kirk. Sulu, along with the Enterprise crew returned to Earth in a stolen Klingon Bird of Prey to face the consequences of their actions. During the voyage home, Earth was attacked by a strange probe looking for the extinct Humpback whales. Kirk ordered the ship time travel to the year 1986 to get them. The mission was a success. Sulu was later cleared off all charges and was assigned to the newly commissioned USS Enterprise-A as helmsman, once again. After serving on the Enterprise-A for four years, Sulu was promoted to Captain and given command of the USS Excelsior in 2290.

Commanding USS Excelsior
Sulu's mission as Captain was to catalog gaseous anomalies in the Beta Quadrant. Three years into the mission, the Excelsior was violently hit by a shockwave, resulting from the destruction of the Klingon moon, Praxis. The Excelsior sent a message to Starfleet about the catastrophe. Starfleet began drafting a peace treaty with the Klingons. When Klingon chancellor Gorkon was assassinated by members of the Enterprise-A crew, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy were sent to Rura Penthe, a Klingon prison. Sulu was determined to free Kirk and McCoy, but the Excelsior was intercepted by Kang. Sulu was forced to retreat. The Excelsior later came to the rescue of the Enterprise and helped destroy a Klingon Bird of Prey which had the capability to fire while cloaked. Sulu later said goodbye to his former crewmates and continued on commanding the Excelsior for numerous years.

In 2344, Sulu, a Captain at age 107, was still commanding the Excelsior. The ship was patrolling the Federation colonies near the Cardassian border. While beaming down to Solosos IV, Sulu came across a young fifteen year old boy named Chakotay. He and Chakotay talked about Starfleet and space exploration for a few hours. Sulu saw something in the boy he had in himself when he was Chakotay's age. He decided to help Chakotay enter Starfleet Academy with his sponsorship. Chakotay gratefully agreed. In 2351, Sulu retired from Starfleet after serving for ninety-six years.

Later life and death
Sulu settled down with his wife and moved to Tokyo in 2355. Sulu spent his later years tending to his garden and caring for his wife, Yamata who had contracted Sakuro's disease. She died in 2369. Sulu later passed away in 2372 from natural causes. Starfleet Command organized a massive funeral for Sulu. Many famous Starfleet officers attended, including Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Grady Howard and his daughter, Captain Demora Sulu.