James T. Kirk (Vanguard)

James Tiberius Kirk is most probably the most famous Starfleet officer and starship captain that the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet has ever produced.

As of 2385, he had accepted an assignment as Commanding Officer of the Tactical Assault Cruiser USS Rogue and concurrent Flag Officer-in-Command of Task Force Rogue, attached to the Vanguard Fleet and to Starfleet's Vanguard Command.

Childhood
Kirk was born in 2233 in Riverside, Iowa on Earth. He was the youngest son of George Samuel Kirk, Sr. and Winona Kirk.

In 2238, when Kirk was 5-year-old, his family visited the Starfleet War Memorial in San Francisco on Federation Day. Later that same year, James decided he wanted to go into space. This happened while he sat in his father's arms watching the stars.

Throughout his early years, Kirk's father was rarely at home as he was assigned to Starbase 2 as Chief of Security, but by 2246, the family had moved from Earth to the Federation colony Tarsus IV. In that year, a food crisis was starving the colony of 8,000 people. Kodos, the governor of Tarsus IV, tried to save a portion of his colony by killing the 4,000 colonists who he had deemed least able to survive. He was a member of a secret group called the Symmetrists. This organization had used the colony as a test site for the Virogen plague, which had started the food crisis. Kodos was unaware of the imminent arrival of relief ships led by Ambassador Sarek, the leader of the Symmetrists, who had come too late to save the colonists from Kodos. The thirteen-year-old Jim Kirk was one of only nine eyewitnesses to the massacre.

Starfleet Academy
By 2250, Kirk, aged 17, had returned to Earth, ready to begin his Starfleet training. He was sponsored for entry by Captain Robert April and Admirals R. Mallory and La Forge. Because of the important backing he received, Kirk felt pressured to achieve excellent grades in his first year at the Academy, out of fear that he would let down those who had sponsored him. As a result, he earned the reputation of being a hard-nosed cadet who was slightly reviled by his fellow cadets.

In his plebe year, Kirk was a participant in the successful peace mission to the planet Axanar. They had persuaded the Axanarri to sign a peace treaty with the Federation and change the shape of the Federation-Klingon border. For his participation, Kirk was awarded the Palm Leaf of Axanar Peace Mission.

In his sophomore year, Kirk had earned enough respect from his tutors that he was assigned to teach a Federation History class to first-year cadets. One of the students in his class was Gary Mitchell; despite some animosity between the two, they became great friends.

In the early 2250s, Kirk served as an Ensign, along with his friend Lt. Ben Finney, aboard the USS Republic.

The USS Farragut
In 2254, Kirk, who by then was carrying the rank of Ensign, moved into the Starfleet Academy Command School. During this post-graduate command training, Kirk confronted the Kobayashi Maru scenario, a simulation used to evaluate a student's reactions to a "no-win" battle and rescue situation. Kirk refused to accept his first two defeats. Before his third attempt, Kirk secretly reprogrammed the simulation computer, consequently becoming the only cadet in Academy history to beat the "no-win" scenario, and earning a commendation for original thinking.

Also in 2254, Kirk was commissioned as an officer in the Federation Starfleet with the serial number SC937-0176CEC. He was assigned to the USS Farragut, under the command of Captain Garrovick.

For the first six months of his tour, Kirk was assigned to manage ship's stores in the cargo bay. By the end of the year, Kirk had earned the respect and trust of Captain Garrovick, and escorted the captain on his first survey mission to the planet Neural, where he made friends with a local hill-man named Tyree. His subsequent report described a primitive but promising culture, and Starfleet endorsed his recommended policy of non-interference.

In 2255, Kirk was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and was assigned bridge duty at the weapons console as a Tactical Officer. When the Farragut was ambushed by six pirate ships from Epsilon Canaris III, Kirk's knee was badly injured. Despite the intense pain, he stayed at his post and the Farragut successfully repelled the pirates, and he was awarded the Decoration of Valor.

Two weeks after the battle, the Farragut put in at Starbase 7 so that Kirk could receive treatment for his injuries. He spent seven months undergoing treatment under the care of Dr. Leonard McCoy. Kirk and McCoy became great friends, and several times, the two officers visited McCoy's home on Centaurus and met McCoy's daughter.

In early 2257, the Farragut was performing a survey of planet Tycho IV when they were attacked by the dikironium cloud creature. The attack left 200 crewmen dead, including Captain Garrovick. Despite blaming himself for the deaths, Kirk assumed command of the Farragut and headed for Starbase 16.

When the Farragut reached Starbase 16, Kirk took some leave and visited Centaurus. He formed a business named Starstuck Inc., and purchased a valley on the planet, which he renamed Garrovick Valley, after his dead captain. He also had a cabin built there, which would serve as a nice retreat.

The USS Constitution
Kirk was assigned as Second Officer aboard the USS Constitution, following the damage to the Farragut and leave on Centaurus, under the command of Captain Augenthaler. His old friend, Gary Mitchell, was also serving aboard the Constitution as Navigator.

In late 2257, on a mission to Sordinia IV, Kirk was forced to assume command of the Constitution when the Commanding Officer and First Officer were stranded on the planet following an attack by N'shaii satellites. Still fighting with grief, Kirk managed to overcome this and rallied the Constitution 's crew to overcome the N'shaii threat. A few months later, Dr. Leonard McCoy came aboard the Constitution as assistant CMO.

Journeyman
Kirk's Starfleet service through the late 2250s and early 2260s saw a rapid rise through the ranks.

In mid-2258, Kirk took the post of Second Officer aboard the USS Tresher under the command of Captain Wilhelm Schang. A few months later, Kirk transferred to the USS Aeolus, again to serve as Second Officer.

In 2259, Kirk was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was assigned as First Officer aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard. A few months later, he transferred yet again to the USS Alexander to serve also as first officer. Kirk was forced to assume command of the Alexander when his captain was killed battling the Klingons.

Following the Alexander, Kirk was assigned to the planet Shad in late 2259, and given command of an advisory detail attached to King Stevvin, in response to a Klingon attempt to conquer the planet.

In 2260, Kirk was promoted to the rank of full Commander and was transferred to the USS Eagle as ship's First Officer. Also serving aboard the Eagle was Carol Marcus, a former girlfriend, and the two resumed their relationship. Two months later, she left the Eagle, stating that Starfleet was too restricting for her, but secretly she was pregnant.

In 2261, Kirk was recalled to Earth from the Eagle, along with Gary Mitchell. When Kirk visited Carol, he discovered that he had a young son, David. He wanted to stay with Carol and David, but was soon offered command of the USS Oxford. Kirk accepted the offer and asked Carol to marry him, but she refused and demanded that he stay out of her and David's lives.

By 2263, Commander Kirk was in command of the USS Lydia Sutherland, with Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell serving as First Officer. In late 2263, the Lydia Sutherland was assigned a contact mission to the planet Ghioghe. The result was a disaster, as several members of Kirk's landing party were killed and his ship was destroyed. It was thanks to the efforts of Mitchell that the two escaped via escape pod. The two officers were badly injured, and had to undergo regen therapy at the Starfleet Teaching Hospital under the care of Dr. McCoy. While at the hospital, Kirk briefly rekindled his romance with Carol, but the romance ended when he was offered command of the Enterprise.

The USS Enterprise, first five years
At 31 years of age in 2264, Kirk was promoted to the rank of Captain. Not only the youngest captain in the fleet's history at that time, Admiral Kimitake Noguchi appointed Kirk to command one of the twelve starships, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). He succeeded Captain Christoper Pike in the position.

Kirk's first choice for First Officer, Gary Mitchell, was refused in favor of the Enterprise's Science Officer, Lieutenant Commander Spock. After a rather boring first three months, Kirk began to build friendships with Spock and Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott, who had served under Pike and were initially dismissive of Kirk.

Following a major refit in mid-2265, the Enterprise began a five-year mission of exploration under Kirk's command. It was this historic five-year mission from 2265 to 2270 that made him a legend in space exploration.

In 2267, the Enterprise encountered the sleeper ship SS Botany Bay, the ship used by Khan Noonien Singh and his Augments to escape Earth following the Eugenics Wars. Following their revival, Khan and his followers tried to take the Enterprise, but were stopped by Kirk. Following the incident, Kirk left Khan and his followers on the planet Ceti Alpha V, a primitive world that Khan hoped to tame.

In 2270, Kirk foiled the attempted military coup of the Federation by Vice Admiral Vaughan Rittenhouse. What became known as the "Rittenhouse scandal" and its aftermath created a public loss of faith in Starfleet Command and many holes in the power structure of the Admiralty. Respected Admiral Heihachiro Nogura came out of retirement to help restore the public's trust in Starfleet and, upon the end of Kirk's historic five-year mission, sought to promote Kirk to the Admiralty, believing that Kirk's name would help restore the Admiralty's lost luster.

The Admiralty
Kirk initially resisted the plan of Admiral Nogura and even threatened to resign, but eventually took a position that Nogura described as a "Diplomatic Troubleshooter" working with Vice Admiral Lori Ciana. He was subsequently promoted to the old rank of Commodore. Admiral Kirk recommended Willard Decker to replace him as captain of the Enterprise while the ship underwent an extensive refit at the San Francisco Fleet Yards.

In the time that followed, Kirk was assigned Special Diplomatic Division, headed by Vice Admiral Lori Ciana. She had successfully lobbied for Kirk to join her department so that he could teach her all of the diplomatic tricks and traits he perfected during the five years he commanded the Enterprise. While Kirk didn't want to be tied to the Admiralty, Ciana was able to persuade him by promising to do everything possible for Kirk to command the Enterprise again when the refit was completed.

In 2270, Kirk requested that Kevin Riley be promoted to lieutenant commander and serve as his aide at Starfleet Headquarters. Despite some concern from Admiral Heihachiro Nogura, he relented and Riley accepted.

Shortly thereafter, Kirk was promoted again to the rank of Rear Admiral and the posting as Chief of Starfleet Operations at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco for the following two and a half years.

V'Ger
In 2273, Earth was threatened by the approaching entity V'Ger, an energy cloud assimilating information from (and destroying) objects in its path. The only starship positioned to intercept it was the Enterprise, her refit nearly complete but still awaiting trial runs. After convincing Admiral Nogura that he was the best man to meet the threat, Kirk rushed the Enterprise into service, assuming the rank of captain for the duration of the mission. Willard Decker regarded Kirk's command as an insult and a mistake, and pointed to his recent desk service and unfamiliarity with the ship's new systems, but the younger man fulfilled his duty as first officer.

The entity proved to be the 20th century NASA space probe Voyager VI, having amassed great power and self-awareness in its travels. Kirk granted Decker's wish to merge with the V'Ger entity through the simulacrum of his lover Ilia, thereby uniting V'Ger's mechanical nature with its human origins. The union resulted in the birth of a radically new, and benign, life-form.

Second five-year mission
Admiral Kirk kept his flag on the Enterprise, commanding her through the 2270s.

In 2275, Kirk was directed by Starfleet Command to lead a task force consisting of Enterprise, the USS Intrepid, the USS Constellation and the USS Inaieu to the border of the Romulan Neutral Zone. While on patrol, the Enterprise was contacted by Bloodwing, a Romulan vessel with which Kirk and his crew had skirmished in the past. Bloodwing's commander, Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu, beamed aboard the Enterprise and revealed that the Romulans were carrying out a horrific research project at Levaeri V: The brain tissue of living Vulcans was being harvested to enable Romulans to gain enhanced versions of Vulcan telepathic abilities. Ael proposed towing Enterprise back into Romulan space to make it appear that she had defeated and captured Kirk's vessel, thus allowing them to travel to Levaeri V and destroy the project. Kirk objected, but had no choice but to go along when the Intrepid disappeared, its all-Vulcan crew captured by the Romulans in furtherance of the research project. Kirk and Ael, along with their respective crews, ultimately succeeded in rescuing the crew of the Intrepid and terminating the Levaeri V project, despite an attempt by Ael's son Tafv to seize the Enterprise in revenge for his cousin Charvanek, the Romulan commander Kirk and Spock had previously deceived.

Kirk briefly retired from Starfleet in 2281 to pursue a number of personal goals and affairs.

Return to Starfleet Command
Kirk returned to Starfleet in 2284 and took a position in the admiralty, supervising command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy among his duties. The lack of a center seat gnawed at him, until he began to express discontent in his latest posting. Occasionally, he would partake of a training cruise aboard the Enterprise, which was now captained by Spock.

Khan Noonien Singh
It was on one of these training voyages that Kirk had his second encounter with Khan Noonien Singh, who had escaped from Ceti Alpha V (which had been turned into a barren waste following the destruction of its sister world Ceti Alpha VI) and commandeered the USS Reliant in his quest for revenge upon Kirk. Khan had hoped to use the stolen Genesis device, created by Carol and David Marcus, and use it in his plans of galactic conquest. Despite Kirk's (somewhat half hearted) protests, Spock insisted on deferring his command to Admiral Kirk, quipping that as a Vulcan "he had no ego to bruise" (in a possible reference to Captain Decker's less than favorable response at passing command to Kirk). Kirk managed to stop Khan, but at a great price: Spock sacrificed his life to save the Enterprise when Khan detonated the device.

Kirk's return to Earth in 2285 was solemn. The loss of Spock affected Kirk deeply, and McCoy began to show signs of mental illness. The Enterprise returned to Earth to repair its battle damage when Kirk learned from Starfleet Admiral Harry Morrow that the Enterprise was to be decommissioned.

Ambassador Sarek approached Kirk, leading to the discovery of Spock's katra surviving in McCoy. Kirk had hoped to take the ship back to the Genesis Planet, but Morrow forbade him to go. Kirk's senior officers rallied to him, conspiring to rescue McCoy and steal the Enterprise from Earth Spacedock in order to recover Spock's body from the Genesis planet and to bring it, and his katra, to Vulcan.

When the Enterprise arrived at Genesis, they discovered that a Klingon Bird-of-Prey had destroyed the attendant science vessel, the USS Grissom, and that the Klingons, led by a commander named Kruge, were holding Kirk's son David Marcus, Saavik, and Spock (who had been miraculously regenerated by the unique nature of the Genesis Planet) hostage.

Kirk managed to keep Genesis out of the hands of the Klingons, but at the price of the Enterprise herself, and the life of his son. Kirk returned Spock and McCoy to Vulcan in Kruge's Bird of Prey, where the fal-tor-pan ritual was performed to restore both Spock and McCoy.

Return to Earth
After three months on Vulcan, Kirk and his crew departed (aboard the Bird-of-Prey re-named HMS Bounty) for Earth, to face their charges of violating nine Starfleet General orders and regulations. They were joined by Spock, who was determined to testify on Kirk's behalf.

During the voyage, a mysterious probe besieged Earth and communicated only in Whale song. After receiving a planetary distress call from Federation President Hiram Roth and determining the probe's objective, Kirk used the slingshot effect to take the Bounty back in time to 1986 San Francisco. With the help of cetacean biologist Dr. Gillian Taylor, Kirk successfully obtained the humpback whales George and Gracie and returned with them to 2286. By providing the whales that could answer the probe's query, Kirk redeemed Humanity's extinction of a sentient species, and saved Earth from an environmental catastrophe.

The USS Enterprise-A
Following the whale probe incident, the Federation President declared to Kirk, "we are forever in your debt". In light of their recent heroics, all charges facing his crew were dismissed, but one remained against Admiral Kirk: disobeying the orders of a superior officer. Kirk's 'punishment' was a permanent reduction in rank to captain and a return to the duty that had served the Federation so well, starship command. In his honor, a starship was re-christened as the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), and assigned to Kirk in 2286. He commanded the Enterprise-A for the next seven years.

The Great Barrier
After a brief shakedown cruise, the Enterprise-A returned to Earth following her shakedown cruise so that Montgomery Scott could track down the numerous bugs that popped up, proving that the vessel wasn't quite up to par. Kirk tok a shore leave in Yosemite National Park with Spock and McCoy to pass the time. The respite was interrupted when the call about an emergency on Nimbus III (aka "The Planet of Galactic Peace") came in. The ruling council, consisting of a human, a Klingon, and a Romulan, had been kidnapped by a Vulcan named Sybok - Spock's half-brother. Sybok had raised a small force to take over the planet Nimbus III and captured the Federation, Klingon and Romulan representatives. Kirk and the Enterprise-A responded. Sybok employed a mysterious mental power on most of the Enterprise-A's crew, who joined him in his quest to meet "God", by taking the starship through the Great Barrier to the legendary planet Sha Ka Ree, hoping to release The One, whom Sybok believed to be a god-like being. The entity they encountered proved to be a malevolent force, imprisoned and looking for release. Sybok joined the entity in combat. The One killed Sybok, and was about to do the same to Kirk when Kirk was rescued by Spock and General Korrd of the Klingon Defense Force.

Last mission on the Enterprise
Kirk continued in command of the Enterprise-A until the culmination of his career in 2293, when he announced his retirement. The last mission of Kirk's command was when the Enterprise-A was assigned to escort the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon to Earth for a peace conference. Kirk opposed the peace initiative covertly negotiated by Spock, and especially resented that he was chosen to be the Federation's olive branch.

The mission went disastrously wrong when a cabal of Federation and Klingon officials instigated an attack on IKS Kronos. A cloaked Bird-of-Prey, commanded by the renegade General Chang, attacked Gorkon's ship, killing the Chancellor. The group had made it appear that the attack seemed to have come from the Enterprise-A. Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy were tried by the Klingons for the Chancellor's assassination and sentenced to life imprisonment at the penal colony of Rura Penthe. In violation of orders and treaties, Spock took the Enterprise-A into Klingon space, eluded detection and rescued Kirk and McCoy. Soon afterwards, at the Khitomer conference, Kirk defeated General Chang and saved Klingon Chancellor Azetbur and the Federation president from assassination and uncovered a conspiracy between Chang, Starfleet Admiral Lance Cartwright, and Romulan Ambassador Nanclus to maintain the current state of hostility by assassinating the leaders suing for peace. Following this discovery, Kirk was exonerated in the eyes of the Klingons, and a new era began between the two powers the historic Khitomer Conference continued.

After a final joy-ride on the heading "second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning", the Enterprise-A was decommissioned, and Kirk retired permanently from Starfleet.

The Nexus and Death
Shortly after retirement, Kirk joined his friends Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov as the honored guests of Captain John Harriman on the maiden voyage of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B). The event, featuring a media frenzy surrounding Kirk, was little more than a ceremonial cruise, as the Enterprise-B was not yet fully crewed or equipped for regular duty. Soon after departure, the ship received a distress signal from two Whorfin class ships transporting El Aurian refugees, trapped in an energy distortion called the Nexus.

With the advice of Kirk, and the help of Scotty and Chekov, the rescue mission was a partial success, but the Enterprise-B succumbed to the Nexus' gravimetric field. Declining Harriman's offer to take command, Kirk volunteered to modify the ship's deflector relays and successfully enabled the ship's escape, but not before a burst of energy from the Nexus breached the secondary hull. Kirk was lost, and presumed dead.

Kirk spent 78 years in this alternate plane of existence, until he met and was persuaded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in 2371 to return to Veridian III in the "real" universe and stop Tolian Soran from sacrificing 230 million lives in order for him to re-enter the Nexus. During the final battle, Kirk was able to retrieve and activate a cloaking control device from a damaged construction span, enabling Picard to sabotage Soran's plans. However, the span collapsed, causing Kirk to fall to his death. Captain Picard buried Kirk in a simple stone cairn on a Veridian III mountain top, echoing the burial of his friend, Gary Mitchell, 106 years before.

Resurrection
One month after the events on Veridian III in 2371, Starfleet Intelligence extracted Ambassador Spock from Romulus to serve as part of an honor guard transporting Kirk's body back to Earth. However, the USS Farragut was ambushed in orbit and Kirk's remains were beamed aboard the Romulan warbird by Commander, the granddaughter of , the first Romulan commander that Kirk had fought.

Seeking to restore her family's honor through vengeance, and her dissident group allied themselves with the Borg and, using a combination of Borg nanotechnology and a Guardian of Forever-like "ark", they captured Kirk's brainwaves (or katra) at the moment of his death, and revived him in the present. Salatrel and her former consort, now, brainwashed Kirk into hunting down Jean-Luc Picard, the only human the Collective viewed as a threat.

Searching for Picard, Kirk assaulted Worf on Qo'noS, and Data and Geordi La Forge on, but subconsciously resisted the directives to kill them. He was eventually captured on Deep Space 9. Admiral and Dr. Julian Bashir were able to remove the Borg implant controlling Kirk's mind, but the nanites in his system were still killing him as they rewrote his DNA.

Kirk was cured of the brainwashing through a group Vulcan mind meld with Spock and Picard, and they learned that each of them held a piece to the mystery surrounding the Borg. Aboard the starship  (temporarily rechristened the Enterprise), using a transwarp engine recovered from, Kirk and the others traveled to the Borg homeworld in the Delta Quadrant, the same planet that V'Ger had encountered centuries earlier.

During a battle between the Enterprise and a Borg-Romulan fleet, Kirk and Picard beamed down to the Central Node on the planet's surface, in an effort to destroy the Collective. They discovered a way to destroy the Central Node, but there would be no delay in the self-destruct and the one who threw the switch would die. Kirk punched Picard and had him beamed aboard the Enterprise. He activated the self-destruction, and the Central Node was obliterated, severing the links between the branches of the Collective. Once again, Captain James T. Kirk was mourned as a hero, though Spock did not believe him to have died.

Unknown to the Delta Quadrant mission team, Kirk was scooped up by a "transwarp transporter beam", and found himself on a world near the galactic core where the Borg deposited their "refuse." The planet was populated by ex-Borg members of the Hugh Clan, who purged Kirk of the Borg nanoprobes that were killing him. Kirk would live among them for the next two years before finding an intact Borg scout ship and heading for the Alpha Quadrant.

Kirk would later save the planet Chal from disaster; after doing so, he remained on Chal, where he settled down with a woman named, whom he lived with. Several years later, Kirk returned to Earth at Teilani's request to decide what it was he wanted from life. On Earth, events conspired against Kirk once again, and he was captured by operatives from the Mirror Universe under the orders of the mirror Spock. Once Kirk came into play, so did the Emperor Tiberius, Kirk's own counterpart who kidnapped Kirk in order for him to reveal the location of the First Federation base.

By the end of Kirk's adventure, he was reinstated as a Captain in Starfleet. He married and became a father when Teilani gave birth to a son named Joseph. Shortly thereafter, Kirk became a widower when Teilani sacrificed herself for the good of the people around her. Kirk's adventures would continue with his son Joseph in tow.

In 2380, Kirk assumed command of the starship SS Belle Reve, a small, state-of-the-art Starfleet starship with a warp core and heavy armaments, spartan crew quarters, and a bridge with three forward viewscreens, disguised to look like a commercial freighter for use in covert missions, which the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet can not be openly associated with. Formerly called the Calypso, the ship underwent a refit to make it more comfortable for its crew.

Vanguard Command
In 2385, James T. Kirk was personally asked and convinced by Fleet Admiral Maximus Hunter to be part of the leadership of Vanguard Command. He was subsequently step promoted to his old flag rank of Rear Admiral (upper grade) and placed in command of the Tactical Assault Cruiser USS Rogue, as well as Task Force Rogue. His specific mission was to serve as the Special Envoy-at-Large of both the Federation Diplomatic Corps and Starfleet within the area of responsibility of Vanguard Command.

Legacy
Aside from his numerous achievements, Kirk was notorious for his numerous encounters with women. Though it was never officially declared, he had a child with Janice Lester, which was one of the reasons they broke up, since she hated being a woman. The child was a female named Adrian, who became the leader of the Noridani, a race of amazon-like aliens.

Officially, he did have a child with Dr. Carol Marcus, but he was killed in 2285.

Sometime after their encounter in 2268, queen Deela of the humanoid Scalosians bore a child. He was considered, by their dying race, to be their "only hope for self-preservation".

Aside from freeing the gladiatorial-thralls of Triskellion, Kirk also had an encounter with Shahna, who later had twins.

All of these (with the possible exception of David Marcus and Adrian Lester, who were both full human) were physically superior to normal humans: they were stronger, faster, more intelligent and lived twice as long as humans of the 24th century usually did. In addition, the aging process was also retarded somewhat, making them age very slowly.