Jackson Lan'e Mitchell was born on the planet Delta IV in 2346, the child of Lady Inanya, a Deltan noblewoman of House Astari, and Carson Mitchell, a Starfleet cultural anthropologist (now Vice Admiral and head of Xenoanthropology at Starfleet Academy). Jackson spent his early years being raised among the Deltan nobility before his father received an assignment on Earth and the family relocated. He then spent the remainder of his youth in Arizona in the North American region on Earth, his mother taking an ambassadorial position in order to relocate with them. There the young Jackson became fascinated with the historical Wild West period of the 19th Century, something that loomed large in the heritage of his father's family. It was almost a foregone conclusion that Jackson would enlist in Starfleet, and in 2364 he applied to and was accepted into Starfleet Academy.
Jackson enrolled in the Command track at the Academy, though did briefly flirt with transferring to the Science track. In early 2367, during Jackson's third year at the Academy, the Sol Sector was under threat from an advancing Borg Cube. Desperate to assemble as large a fleet as possible to intercept the Cube, Starfleet pulled many third and fourth year Cadets, including Jackson, to help crew several completed and near-completed starships then under construction at Utopia Planitia and other Sol Sector shipyards. Jackson found himself assigned to the hastily-commissioned Nebula-class USS Melbourne (NCC-62043) as a provisional Ensign and participated in the Battle of Wolf 359 on Stardate 44002.3. The Melbourne was destroyed during the battle, with Jackson being one of the few aboard to make it to an escape pod and survive the disaster.
After recovering from injuries sustained at Wolf 359, Jackson returned to his studies and graduated from the Academy with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade in 2368. Jackson was assigned to the new Akira-class USS Thermopylae (NCC-63107) and by 2370 had been promoted to full Lieutenant. In 2372, shortly after the withdrawal of the Klingon Empire from the Khitomer Accords, the Thermopylae engaged a trio of Klingon Birds-of-Prey that were harassing a convoy of Federation freighters. Hostilities escalated and the Captain, First Officer and many other senior officers were killed when a Klingon torpedo scored a direct hit on the Main Bridge. Serving as backup Conn officer from the Emergency Bridge, Jackson took command of the Thermopylae and was able to keep the Klingons occupied long enough for reinforcements to arrive and drive the aggressors away.
Jackson received a promotion to Lieutenant Commander following the incident and was soon assigned to the Intrepid-class USS Pioneer (NCC-74672). (There was a rumor that the assignment was the result of someone at Starfleet Command panicking after the incident on the Thermopylae and, wanting to avoid a situation where the son of a prominent fleet officer and Deltan noble was placed in danger again, had Jackson assigned to a starship performing a deep space exploration mission in the Beta Quadrant, far from the brewing war in the Alpha Quadrant). In 2375, the Pioneer made First Contact with a pair of previously unknown warp-capable species that were engaged in a conflict with each other that had stretched over several decades. Jackson was leading an Away Team that had been taken hostage by one of the combatants and, with the Pioneer in danger of being caught in the crossfire, he was able to intercede and negotiate a ceasefire between the two warring groups.
In 2376 Jackson was promoted to Commander and assigned as First Officer on the Luna-class USS Seyann (NCC-80203). As the vessel is named for a moon of Delta IV, there were some who suspected that Jackson had received the assignment due to his family connections. Captain David Kealoha, the CO of the Seyann, was an older veteran on one of his last tours and took Jackson under his wing. In 2377 the Seyann received a new Chief of Security, Lt. Cmdr. Partav Aedon, and he and Jackson became friends. In 2380, Jackson was offered command of the newly-commissioned Parliament-class USS Melbourne and he accepted, receiving a promotion to Captain and inviting Partav to join him as his First Officer.
Capt. Mitchell gave a speech to the crew of the USS Melbourne when he took command, which has come to be known as The Melbourne Rules.
Partav Aedon is the son of a Bajoran woman, Pella Naran, and an unidentified Cardassian officer of the forces occupying Bajor at the time. The pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault, and when the child was born Pella dropped him off at the Telas Kyril Resettlement Center. With no information on the father, the Center assigned the child a Cardassian family name of Partav and a Bajoran given name of Aedon (as per Bajoran tradition, Aedon places his family name first). At Telas Kyril the Cardassian/Bajoran children were treated unequally to the "pure" Bajoran children. They were given poorer accommodations and clothing that was ill fitting, inappropriate for the weather, or worn to the point of falling apart. In addition, food was frequently scarce, especially compared to the wholly Bajoran children. Finally, the head social worker for the orphanage, Benil Dren, felt it was her responsibility to re-educate the children by "killing" the Cardassian in them.
Growing up at the Telas Resettlement Centre, Aedon tried not to hate the Bajorans like Benil Dren. He knew the atrocities the Cardassians had committed and felt the Bajorans had a right to be angry. Yet he also knew that they were just children and had done nothing wrong, but simply being born seemed to be enough in the minds of some Bajorans. Aedon knew the right thing to do would be to tell someone what was going on, to get help, but there was no one to tell. No government officials ever seemed to visit, so Aedon did the next best thing and tried to protect the other Cardassian/Bajoran children from the worst of the staff and Bajoran children who attempted to bully them. Aedon would keep a little of each of his meals to hide and share later; and when he could, he scavenged for more food for himself and the other children. He also protected anyone being bullied, and was frequently disciplined when those bullies were pure Bajorans.
A year after the end of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, Starfleet officers from Deep Space 9 arrived at the Resettlement Center to check on the conditions there. Despite veiled threats from Benil Dren, Aedon recognized that this was the opportunity he had been waiting for and during a private interview with Dr. Julian Bashir, one of the Starfleet Officers, he told everything that had been happening at the Center. Within the hour many more Starfleet officers arrived at the resettlement center alongside serveral Bajoran officials and by the end of the day most of the staff had been arrested and the children relocated to a new facility and provided with proper care. Inspired by the encounter, Aedon maintained a correspondence with Dr. Bashir and he expressed a desire to join Starfleet. When Aedon turned 18 the following year and was no longer a ward of the state, Dr. Bashir arranged a meeting between the young man and Commander Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space 9. While intimidated by Sisko, who the Bajorans recognized as the Emissary of the Prophets, Aedon made his case and Cmdr. Sisko agreed to sponsor his application to Starfleet Academy.
Aedon entered the Academy in the Operations track, specializing in Security and Flight Operations, and the first couple of years went fairly well for him. While the first Federation-Cardassian conflict had lasted 19 years, Starfleet Academy and by extension the academics who taught there as well as most other cadets tended to be open-minded. In his second year, Aedon met and befriended another cadet who had been sponsored by Capt. Sisko, the Ferengi Nog. Things changed for Aedon in 2373 when Cardassia joined the Dominion and, while Aedon maintained a close circle of friends including Nog, certain professors and cadets began to act with suspicion regarding Aedon and the overall atmosphere changed.
With the Dominion War now underway, Starfleet started sending some upper year Cadets out on field assignments to help shore up the ranks. While Nog was assigned to Deep Space 9 as an Ensign, Aedon found himself posted to the Nova-class starship USS Aphelion (NCC-72387) as a junior Security officer. Aedon continued his studies remotely and in 2375 he officially graduated, remaining aboard the Aphelion as his first assignment. A short time later the Aphelion, and Aedon in particular, was given a special assignment by Starfleet Intelligence. Aedon was cosmetically altered to conceal his Bajoran traits and disguised as a Cardassian officer before secretly piloting a shuttle to a jungle world that was the site of a Dominion base. There Aedon had to rendezvous with and extract a member of the Cardassian Resistance who was smuggling vital information. Aedon arrived just in time to rescue the operative from a Jem'hadar patrol and escape back to the Aphelion with her. The mission earned Aedon a commendation and a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade, as well as a new assignment to the security team aboard the Intrepid-class USS Dauntless (NCC-74675).
Aedon's time on the Dauntless was hard. Three senior officers, the Captain, First Officer, and the Chief of Security, were against having a Cardassian on their ship and, unable to dismiss Aedon outright, they conspired to make his time on the ship as difficult as possible to coerce the young officer into requesting a transfer himself. Aedon stood his ground and meticulously documented every incident, waiting as he had in his youth for the right opportunity. In early 2377, the Dauntless was destroyed by a subspace anomaly and Aedon was among the survivors that made it to a nearby Class M world in escape pods. He was integral to the survival of those in the same pod as himself, and helped find other pods and gather the survivors together. When rescue arrived six weeks later, Aedon's actions were commended and he was promoted to Lieutenant. The investigation into the loss of the Dauntless eventually reviewed Aedon's logs of the senior officers' behavior and there were repercussions, despite all three of them having perished in the loss of the vessel. Aedon was promoted again to Lieutenant Commander and was assigned to Luna class USS Seyann (NCC-80203) as Chief of Security. Aedon befriended the ship's First Officer, Commander Jack Mitchell, and when Mitchell took command of the Parliament-class USS Melbourne in 2380 he invited Aedon to join him as his First Officer.
Ahn'Kress was born and raised in the city of R'Nath (Ur-nath) on the K'Bara Peninsula located in the western end of the T'vani continent on the Caitian homeworld. While not the planetary capital of Cait, R'Nath is its largest city and, located close to the equator on the shore of the Great Ocean, the city is a great cultural center and the primary spaceport for the planet. The presence of the United Federation of Planets Embassy, embassies for several Federation member worlds and non-aligned Alpha Quadrant governments, and a Starfleet Starbase in and around R'Nath meant that Ahn'Kress was exposed to a myriad of cultures and viewpoints throughout her childhood. Even this was not enough to sate the young Caitian's curiosity and Ahn'Kress applied to Starfleet Academy hoping to take her desire to learn and explore to the stars.
Ahn'Kress entered Starfleet Academy in 2362, initially enrolled in the Command track before switching to Operations in her second year. After graduating in 2366, Ahn'Kress served on the Ambassador-class USS Exeter (NCC-26531) as a junior technician, earning a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 2368. Promoted to full Lieutenant in 2370, Ahn'Kress returned to Starfleet Academy as an instructor teaching introductory classes in Sensor Maintenance. In 2373, several months into the Third Federation-Klingon War that was instigated by the Klingon invasion of Cardassia and them withdrawing from the Khitomer Accords, Lt. Ahn'Kress developed an innovative new sensor operations process that, when used during combat operations, helped detect Klingon vessels that were maneuvering under cloak. Lt. Ahn'Kress was then assigned to the Galaxy-class USS Venture (NCC-71854) where, during the final year of the Dominion War, the Venture came under attack by the Breen and was disabled by their energy dampening weapon. The Venture would have been destroyed but Lt. Ahn'Kress was able to implement an emergency bypass to restore enough power for the Venture to raise shields and escape the battle.
Ahn'Kress was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned to the Nebula-class USS Lexington (NCC-30405) in 2376. The Lexington was assigned to the rebuilding efforts in the wake of the Dominion War, shoring up planetary communication and defense systems on existing Federation worlds and colonies and equipping many of the new worlds that had joined the Federation as a result of the UFP's efforts to recruit allies during the war and in the aftermath. Under Lt. Cmdr. Ahn'Kress' guidance many of the engineering teams set records for upgrading the systems and were noted for finding unique solutions to many of the problems encountered. Following her tour on the Lexington, Ahn'Kress transferred to the newly-commissioned Parliament-class USS Melbourne in 2380 to serve as the ship's Operations Officer.
Mera Tir, formerly Norel, grew up in the rural settlement of Pardesh at the foot of the Korchub Mountains on the Dorabi subcontinent of the planet Trill. Her family controlled a moderately-sized farm which grew, among other crops, some of those used to provide nutrients for the planet's Symbionts. When not working on the farm Mera would explore the mountains, hills and forests near Pardesh. Trill's wilderness can be perilous, so Mera's forays helped her hone her survival skills. Eager to explore beyond her planet, Mera applied to and was accepted into Starfleet Academy in 2370.
Mera enrolled in the Operations track at the Academy, focusing on Security. She graduated with honors in 2374, achieving a rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. On a dare, Mera applied to be an Initiate with the Trill Symbiosis Commission and was surprised when she scored high on the aptitude tests. Mera's first assignment was to be as a Security Officer on the Cheyenne-class USS Lysander (NCC-73415), however the Lysander was destroyed in one of the battles of the Dominion War before Mera could report on board for duty. While waiting for a new assignment, Mera decided to take a short vacation to the planet Betazed and while she was there the Dominion invaded and occupied that world.
Mera evaded capture and for the duration of the occupation she helped organize resistance cells and conduct guerilla operations against the Jem'Hadar forces occupying Betazed. When Betazed was liberated a year later, Mera received a promotion to full Lieutenant and returned to Trill. There she completed her Initiate training and to her surprise was selected as a host. Mera was Joined at the end of 2375, just over a month after the end of the Dominion War, becoming the seventh host for the Tir Symbiont. In early 2376 Mera Tir, as she was now known, was assigned to the Saber-class USS Garneau (NCC-62598), which was tasked with patrol and escort duties in the former Demilitarized Zone and other regions near Cardassian space.
In 2379, while still serving on the USS Garneau, Mera was part of a team assigned to escort a Federation ambassador to Deep Space 9 when the shuttlecraft they were aboard was attacked by Tzenkethi raiders. Though it was risky, Mera took the conn of the shuttle and piloted it into the Badlands. Despite the danger, Mera was able to navigate the plasma storms of the region, evading the raiders and successfully delivering the ambassador to Deep Space 9. The effort earned Mera a special commendation and the thanks of the ambassador. When Mera's tour on the Garneau ended in 2380 she felt the urge to explore, much as she had during her youth. Her Starfleet career to this point had kept her in a tiny corner of the Alpha Quadrant, so she sought a new assignment that would take her to farther frontiers. Her actions the year before earned her a quick promotion to Lieutenant Commander and her choice of assignments, from which Mera selected the post of Chief of Security on the newly-commissioned Parliament-class USS Melbourne.
Loto was born in 2350 on the Fafnir colony, known to the locals as Drake's Folly, one of the first second generation children of the colony. Fafnir is a Class N world, with a dense toxic atmosphere and intense heat. Terraforming has been underway since the colony was founded in 2328, but was still decades away from transforming the planet to Class M. Loto grew up in the main colony site, dug into the peak of the Dragon's Tooth mountain. The mountain is also the main mining site on the planet and as a teenager Loto began working in the mines alongside many of his family and friends.
When he was 17, Loto was badly injured in a mining accident that also claimed the lives of two other miners. Though he survived, Loto's right arm had to be amputated and the lack of sophisticated medical technology at the colony meant that he had to make due with a crude prosthetic limb as a replacement. Unable to work in the mines as he once did, Loto began learning about the terraforming technology and life support systems of the colony. This led to Loto enrolling in a long-distance subspace remote learning program offered by the Daystrom Institute through its Annex on Galor IV. The program resulted in Loto taking a greater interest in science and technology and he dove into his studies.
In late 2371 a group of Tyran engineers joined the Fafnir colony, bringing with them a small number of Exocomps, small robots built by the Tyrans that had recently been recognized as being sentient. The Tyrans and Exocomps had come to help with the construction of the colony's space elevator and Loto soon befriended them. His interactions with the Exocomps turned his attention and focus of study to artificial sentience. With the Dominion War raging Starfleet was engaged in a recruitment drive to bring in more personnel, so a Starfleet Science Officer who had been one of Loto's instructors in the Daystrom Institute learning program put the young man's name forward and in late 2373 Loto found himself headed for Earth.
Loto spent the next two years in an accelerated program at Starfleet Academy, but by the time he graduated near the end of 2375 the War had ended. Unsure of what to do with the now Ensign Loto Stuart, Starfleet seconded him to the Daystrom Institute's main campus in Okinawa as a junior researcher. In 2376, Starfleet re-established contact with the USS Voyager, which had been lost in the Delta Quadrant. Stories about Voyager's Emergency Medical Hologram exceeding it's programming rekindled Loto's interest in artificial sentience and he requested a transfer to the Jupiter Station research facility to work with the EMH's creator, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. Though initially rejected, Loto was persistent and eventually received the transfer in 2377 and began studying holographic technology. With the surprise return of Voyager a few months later, Loto was able to get a first-hand look at the 29th Century mobile emitter used by Voyager's EMH. Inspired by this, Loto worked diligently to develop his own version of the mobile emitter using the available technology of the late 24th Century. Loto was successful in developing his prototype, but went even further and developed a neural interface for the emitter. With himself as a test subject, Loto used the prototype emitter to generate a holographic prosthetic arm for himself, using the neural interface to both control and receive feedback from the new limb.
Receiving a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 2378, Loto and his "new" arm were assigned to the Intrepid-class USS Paladin (NCC-74616), a science vessel on a research and exploration mission in the Beta Quadrant. In 2379 the Paladin was investigating an ancient mega-structure orbiting a star when a beam of some kind struck the ship and appeared to disintegrate several dozen of the crew. The Paladin's Captain was preparing to retaliate against the perceived attack, but Lt. JG Stuart realized what had actually happened and was able to stop the counterattack. Loto had been analyzing unusual signals from the megastructure and discovered it was a form of Matrioshka Brain, a planet-size super-computer. He deciphered that the computer contained millions of neural signatures representing the minds of sentient beings, including those of the "disintegrated" Paladin crewmembers. It was learned that the race that built the construct tens of thousands of years earlier had uploaded their consciousnesses to it and now lived in a perpetual simulation, one that the missing Paladin crew were now part of. Loto was able to set up a connection to the simulation allowing the Captain and other senior officers to interact with it and its inhabitants via the Paladin's holodeck. Loto received a commendation and a promotion for his efforts on the mission and leveraged this to request a new assignment. Hoping for something that might get him a little closer to his home, in 2380 Loto was able to get a transfer to the Parliament-class USS Melbourne, which was about to start a deep space exploration mission in the Alpha Quadrant.