Captain James Newkirk   

Character Information
Name		James Stuart Newkirk
Rank		Captain
Position		Commanding Officer
Gender		Male
Species		Human
Age		52
Physical Appearance
Height		5’ 9”
Weight		178 lbs.
Eye Color		Green
Hair Color		Black with some greying
Physical Description		Newkirk has straight black hair that has a hint of grey. His most noticeable feature is his thick mustache. He has a slight limp on occassion thanks to a Romulan attack on his ship.

Personality & Traits
General Overview
Strengths & Weaknesses
James has had difficulty in the past controlling his anger. He can blow up over the smallest thing while remaining calm under intense stress. In his climb through the ranks he has learned to curb his anger.
Ambitions
James' biggest ambition has been to command an exploration. Its looking like that is becoming more impossible with each year passing.
Hobbies & Interests
Newkirk plays the clarinet with an emphasis on swing music. He has formed his own band the Swing Cats. He also enjoys recreational programs which recreate baseball and American football games.
Languages		Standard
Family
Father		Norman Stuart Newkirk Jr. (deceased)
Mother		Gladys (Robertson) Newkirk (deceased)
Brother(s)		Norman III
Sister(s)		Sada, Jane
Spouse		none
Children		none
Other Family

James was born in 2230 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the youngest child of 2nd generation Scottish immigrants. He lived in a house along with his two sisters and his brother in neighboring Marion. James had trouble socializing at an early age and often wished he was Vulcan so he would not have to deal with frustrating emotions. He was often teased by classmates and found solace in his younger friends. From this time period James� personality became such that he remained totally calm in tense situations, but would sometimes blow up over the smallest thing.

James grew up with an interest in mapping, astronomy, music and the ancient art of baseball. He studied clarinet and became quite accomplished as a swing musician. His interest in astronomy led him to Starfleet Academy where he specialized as a helmsman. Coming out of the Academy he had visions of exploring space as the youngest captain in Starfleet history. Some things just aren�t meant to be.

At the time when Newkirk graduated from the Academy in 2252, the cold war with the Klingons was heating up. Starfleet brought many older designs out of retirement to supplement their frontline vessels. Instead of being assigned to a newer Saladin or Larson class ship, he was assigned to the USS Kornbluth, an aging Marshall Class Destroyer that was constructed nearly 75 years before and had been brought out of mothballs. The ship was assigned escort duty on a milk run between Cygni 61 and Cait. Five years of dull dry routine had James questioning his decision to come to Starfleet. While others in his class had been promoted to Lieutenant Senior Grade, he remained an Ensign. His occasional outburst of temper did not endear him to his crewmates or command staff. After five years his CO considered washing him out but instead promoted him to Lt. Junior Grade so that he could continue his career.

In 2257, near the end of what was called the Four Years War, a series of violent border skirmishes between the Federation and the Klingons, he was assigned to the USS Alexandria, a Baton Rouge Class Cruiser which had been hastily refit with newly developed phasers and photons in order to complete an important mission to cut off Klingons retreating from Axanar before they could regroup. It was on this ship that Newkirk began his relationship with then Commander Bentley, the CO of the Alexandria. During the ensuing battle, the Federation forces had encircled the Klingons. One of the Klingon D5 Cruisers tried to slip past the Alexandria. Bentley realized if they escaped, it could form a corridor for the others to follow. Bentley ordered Newkirk to bring them directly in the enemy flight path. This surprised Newkirk as he learned in the Academy that Klingons liked head on assaults because it brought all their weapons to bear. As the two ships closed on each other, Bentley ordered Newkirk to stay his course. Somehow Newkirk knew when the Klingons were going to fire and performed a combat role that forced the Klingons to miss while keeping the Alexandria�s weapons to bear. Bentley ordered Newkirk to fire, which at this close range cut the Klingon ship in half.

Newkirk would always remember the conversation he had with his commander afterwards.

"You really pulled my chestnuts out of the fire," Bentley admitted. "Sometimes I have more balls than brains. How did you know the Klingons would fire when they did?"

"I don�t know. It just seemed obvious," Newkirk responded.

"Son, you have a natural flair for starship combat. Its something you just can�t teach."

Newkirk received a commendation for his actions. In 2258 he followed Bentley to the USS Miles, a Loknar Class Frigate which had them stationed near Orion and Klingon space. The tour resulted in lots of action between pirates and renegade Klingons trying to make a name for themselves. They often found themselves in situations in which they had to protect Orion ships which had fled from Klingon space or to assist Klingon ships which had fallen into traps laid by the pirates. All the while they had to be careful not to fall prey themselves. In 2260 Newkirk received a promotion to Lt. Senior Grade. This was followed by another promotion in 2262 to Lt. Commander and a posting as Bentley�s Executive Officer.

In 2263 Bentley took command of Saladin Class destroyer USS Marshall and Newkirk was again along for the ride. Saladins, like the Larson Class Destroyers, were famous for needing to trade off maneuverability for firepower due to its lack of power. Newkirk worked out a system to get up to maximum speed and then coast, which freed up power for weaponry and shielding. It was tough on the engines and did not allow much in the way of combat maneuvers once power to the drive was cut. With practice he was overcome problems with varying speeds. More practice with maneuvering thrusters perfected the technique. This was still difficult on the engines, but made them a less likely target to hit. The maneuver became standard procedure on Larson and Saladin Class destroyers. Newkirk received another commendation for inventing this maneuver.

In 2264 Commander Newkirk heard that all 13 of the original Constitution Class Starships would be launched on five-year missions in what to date was the most ambitious exploration project in the history of the Federation. Newkirk desperately wanted to be on one of those ships and submitted to each of the commanders to be their exec. They each in turn told him he did not have enough exploration experience.

In 2266 commander Newkirk was given his first command, USS Rome, a Loknar Class Frigate that was sent to hot spots across the Federation including the Gorn, Romulans, Tholians, Klingons, Orions and Romulans. While it was special for being his first command, it was still not the exploration vessel he wanted. Newkirk had seen almost every port in known space, but he longed to discover something new, to see who nobody else had seen, to face the unknown. Newkirk was blind to the fact he had seen more than most would ever get a chance to.

A promotion to Captain followed in 2269. In 2271 he was assigned to the USS Repulse, a Miranda Class Cruiser. His dream of this being an exploration mission was dashed when he came aboard and saw that science labs were being replaced by weapons control, tactical and scanning facilities. The ship had been assigned to the 15th Fast Response Unit under Commodore Bentley. After 24 years in uniform, Newkirk had yet to fulfill his need to be an explorer. Newkirk took his concerns to Bentley, who reminded him that he was lucky to have seen all the places he had, lucky to be serving the Federation, and lucky he wasn�t some career paper pusher. Of course Bentley added a few colorful phrases to make his point. Newkirk was tired, tired of picket duty, of escorting freighters and tired of shadowing enemy vessels across the border in some galactic game of cat and mouse. He decided to take an extended leave for six months. He found he missed the comradery, the excitement, the service. He was back on duty within two months on the Repulse.

In 2275 Newkirk was seriously injured when Repulse struck a gravitic mine that was guarding a pirate den. Desite a leg being crushed when part of the ceiling fell on him, Newkirk was able to lead the ship out of the trap that had been set by the Romulans. Rather than get mechanical replacements for his leg, he chose to go through a series of painful operations followed by months of physical therapy. Commodore Bentley added him to his staff on the Military Plans Division so that Newkirk would not be put on the inactive list.

In 2278 Captain Newkirk accepted command of Halsey Class Destroyer USS Gandalf. He was eager to get back aboard after his long layoff. That novelty faded during that nervous tour along the Romulan Neutral Zone, wondering when the next rogue ship would cross to probe the Federation defenses. He spent most of that tour playing it safe, pulling back to avoid a confrontation, calling in reinforcements when put in a difficult situation. The Romulans must have noticed this pattern. In 2280 a Romulan ship feinted as though it were going to cross the zone. Newkirk knew this was part of the game, to push the other side into mistakes, to fall just short of an action that could precipitate war. With Romulans it could never be assumed they would stop short of causing a war. He fell back and called for reinforcement. Before help could arrive another ship was already on its way to raid a small border colony. James knew that his timidity had allowed the Romulans to succeed in their ploy. He endeavored to never let it happen again.

In late 2281 the Gandalf was recalled for refit. Newkirk again considered retirement when it became clear an exploration command would not be available to him. He mulled retirement while his ship was being upgraded. In 2282 Commodore Bentley requested he go to Starbase 15 to talk with him. Newkirk received orders to take command of USS Beowulf, a newly built Halsey Class Destroyer. He was angry with Bentley for assuming too much, but was told that if he took the job, that in three years he would do what he could to get an exploration vessel for him. Bentley also told him of the opportunity in the Triangle that could open up. At that point Newkirk really wanted to rip into Bentley. The area wasn't called No Man's Land for nothing.

 

Starfleet Academy 2248-2252
USS Kornbluth 2252-2257 promotion to Lt. Junior Grade
USS Alexandria 2257 promotion to Lieutenant
USS Miles 2258-2262 promotion to Lt. Commander and XO
USS Marshall 2263-2265 XO Promotion to Commander
USS Rome 2266-2270 CO Promotion to Captain
USS Repulse 2271-2275
Starfleet Command Military Plans Division 2275-2278
USS Gandalf 2278-2281 CO