STARFLEET PERSONNEL FILE -- Picard, Jean-Luc

 Rank: Captain
 Current assignment: Commander, U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701/E Full
 Name: Jean-Luc Picard
 Date of birth: July 13, 2305
 Place of birth: Labarre, France, Earth
 Parents: Maurice and Yvette Picard
 Education: Starfleet Academy, 2323-27
 Marital status: Single
 Children: None
 Quarters: Formerly, Enterprise: Deck 9, Room 3601
 Office: Enterprise: Deck 1 Ready Room, adjoining Main Bridge

 Starfleet Career Summary

 2333 -- Assigned as commander and first officer on USS Stargazer, later
 promoted to captain after death of his superior in battle

 2355 -- Forced to abandon Stargazer after encounter with then-unknown
 Ferengi, with few casualties

 2356 -- Cleared of negligence in Stargazer loss by routine inquiry

 2363 -- Chosen to command relatively new Galaxy class U.S.S. Enterprise

 2364 -- Offered but turned down promotion to admiral as commandant of
 Starfleet Academy

 2366-7 -- Declared missing in action during Borg invasion, later rescued from
 assimilation and returned to Enterprise command

 2369 -- Assigned to covert raid and captured by Cardassians on Celtris III, later
 returned to Enterprise command

 2371 -- Lost Enterprise at Veridian III while opposing El-Aurian scientist Tolian
 Soran

 2372 -- Chosen to command relatively new Sovereign class U.S.S. Enterprise,
 SD 49827.5

 2373 -- Deflected Borg invasion of Earth; risked further contamination to restore
 Borg temporal sabotage of human first contact

 Psychological Profile: Report of Ship's Counselor Deanna Troi Updated
 from Starfleet File Reports

 An accomplished diplomat and tactician, Picard managed to surpass a 22-year
 career as first officer and later captain of the U.S.S. Stargazer with an even
 more impressive record as captain of the fleet's former flagship U.S.S.
 Enterprise. In the latter role he not only witnessed the major turning points of
 recent galactic history but played a major role in them as well, from surviving as
 the only human abductee of the Borg invasion in 2366, to becoming the chief
 contact point with the Q Continuum, to serving as arbiter choosing the current
 ruler of the Klingon Empire and exposing the Romulans as backers of his chief
 rivals, later helping a pacifist underground movement to gain a toehold there.

 Owing to a single-minded drive since childhood for a Starfleet career, Picard
 has "never been a family man" and was long uncomfortable with the
 Galaxy-class starship's civilian family contingent; the orphaned son of Lt. Marla
 Aster again raised this concern, although his unease with children has
 dissipated since being stranded with three youths during a shipboard quantum
 filament crisis. His initial reaction to family is also reflected in the friction with
 his father and, later, his older brother over leaving the family business, a winery.
 However, when asked about having children of his own Picard once replied that
 "wishing for a thing does not make it so." The issue of lineage and his lack of
 offspring caused a sustained yet brief period of depression upon the sudden
 accidental deaths in 2371 of Robert and his nephew Rene, his only other family
 members. His outlook was also affected by the chance to experience a
 traditional family through an encounter in the Nexus in 2371, as recounted
 later, and after having relived 40 years of a Kataanan native's life three years
 earlier; in the latter case the decades of experience compressed into 30
 minutes from a Kataanan archival probe was overwhelming.

 Lingering throughout Picard's life is a series of unsuccessful romantic
 relationships, stemming in part from his introspective nature as a career officer
 and his self-professed desire to avoid long-term commitments. Significant adult
 romances have included Jenice Manheim in 2342, Capt. Phillipe Louvois in
 2356, rogue archeologist Vash in 2366-68, and Lt. Cmdr. Nella Darren in 2369.
 In addition, he also had barely acknowledged feelings for Ens. Marty Batanides
 following their Starfleet graduation; the Kriosian metamorph Kamala; and the
 widow of his best friend Lt. Cmdr. Jack Crusher, Beverly - a Starfleet doctor,
 longtime friend and his chief medical officer on the Enterprise.

 Aside from these feelings regarding children, family and women, Picard was
 even aloof with those he considered his close friends. Nevertheless, he has
 shown a willingness to stake his career for them - as when defending the
 inherent sentient's rights of first Data and then his daughter Lal against
 Starfleet confiscation, then acting as Worf's cha'dich before the Klingon High
 Council and stepping in on behalf of Crewman Simon Tarses during Adm.
 Satie's virtual witchhunt. Also, a Q-induced encounter in 2370 with a possible
 future timeline seems to have diffused this separation from friends somewhat.
 While he has had no more encounters with his best Academy mates, both of
 Picard's closest friends from his early career, Jack Crusher and Walker Keel,
 were killed in the line of duty.

 Part of Picard's private nature includes a difficulty in confronting deep personal
 issues, which then tend to become suppressed. Philosophically, he sees life
 and death as more than two choices of eternal or momentary existence; in fact,
 he believes there is another concept yet beyond human understanding. Genetic
 engineering with its pre-determination disturbs him, saying it robs humanity of
 the unknown factor that makes life worth living. Having to be patient in the
 presence of mounting problems, even if it is unavoidable or even the best path
 to take, is unsettling to him; nevertheless, he has shown a clear skill in
 knowing when to solicit opinions and when to act decisively. His Enterprise
 operations officer, Data, once estimated only a 17% chance that Picard would
 be so indecisive in a crisis as to call Starfleet for instructions.

 Though he often heatedly defends a strict interpretation of the Prime Directive,
 he has broken it numerous times when he felt it was warranted. For example,
 during his Enterprise career he allowed an Edo female to confront her "god"
 from space and brought a pre-spaceflight Mintakan leader aboard so as to undo
 the damage done by cultural contamination. (He later offered his life to a
 distressed Mintakan's arrow to prove he was no immortal himself.) He also
 chafes at the Starfleet directive banning captains from most away-team
 missions in uncertain or hostile situations.

 Picard had few friends as a youngster and self-admittedly "skipped his
 childhood," due to his early, single-minded drive to be in Starfleet. Though shy,
 he took piano lessons only to please his mother; he hated public performance
 and soon quit - a move he now regrets. He did build airships in bottles when
 young, and like his nephew years later he wrote a ribbon-winning report on
 starships; reading of the ancient Bajorans in the fifth grade might have been
 another influence on his lifelong passion for archeology. Later he was school
 president, valedictorian and a star athlete.

 Picard failed his first try on the Academy entrance exams but only required one
 more to pass. As a student athlete, he became the only freshman ever to win
 the Academy marathon - the event at Danula II marked the beginning of his
 friendship with Admiral Hanson - and he once out-wrestled a Ligonian in 14
 seconds with a reverse body lift for a pin. He graduated at or near the top of his
 Academy class, even though he once failed an Academy class over a woman
 he refers to only as "A.F.," the initials he carved into gardener Boothby's prize
 campus elm tree; he was called at least once to the Academy superintendent's
 office, and he credits Boothby for helping him through an ordeal that saved his
 graduation. His lack of self-discipline as a young officer nearly led to his death
 in a near-fatal stabbing at Starbase Earhart in 2328 while awaiting
 post-graduation assignments. Picard went on as a lieutenant to meet
 Ambassador Sarek at the wedding of his son Spock.

 Another mentor of those years was archeology professor Richard Galen, whose
 fatherly approach was a trait sorely missed by the son estranged from his true
 father. In fact, it was not until after his abduction during the Borg crisis that
 Picard ventured home, the first time in 20 years, and began to heal the rift with
 his brother Robert, who had been jealous of his high-achieving younger brother
 whom he viewed as getting away with spurning family traditions and
 responsibilities.

 In an early highlight of his illustrious and fondly recalled years aboard the
 U.S.S. Stargazer, First Officer Picard took command of the bridge upon his
 captain's death and saved the ship, leading to his permanent promotion to
 captain. His command has abruptly halted in 2355 when the vessel was
 abandoned with relatively little loss of life during an encounter that, years later,
 was realized to be the first UFP-Ferengi contact; casualties would have been
 much higher had he not devised a deceptive warp-speed jump maneuver that
 today is still studied and bears his name. Even so, he endured a standard
 inquiry a year later but was cleared of all negligence.

 It was only a year before the Stargazer's loss, in 2354, that Jack Crusher was
 killed on an away team, and he had returned the body to his widow at Starbase
 32. That same year he visited Chalna; earlier, the Stargazer had barely eluded
 ambush while on an unsuccessful truce mission during the Cardassian border
 wars.

 Picard assumed captaincy of the NCC-1701/D on SD 41124, having
 hand-picked much of his senior staff - such as two young officers who
 impressed him enough upon first meeting to win a place in the senior staff:
 Geordi LaForge once piloted his inspection tour shuttle and stayed up all night
 to refit an engine part he'd made a passing comment on, and he witnessed
 Tasha Yar risk her life to save colonists amid a Carnelian mine field. Finally, he
 had picked Riker from among simple resumes as his first officer and promoted
 him to commander sight unseen, impressed by his record of independence. His
 command presence and ethics persevered even through the Satarran memory
 wipe - despite orders, he would not fire on unarmed people.

 Within months of his Enterprise captaincy he was offered admiral's rank and
 the job of commandant of Starfleet Academy by Admiral Quinn but turned it
 down to retain his flagship. He also commanded the 23-ship blockade fleet to
 deter Romulan interference along the Klingon border during the empire's civil
 war of 2367-68, and undertook a covert raid in 2369 with two Enterprise officers
 on Celtris III to investigate a reported Cardassian metagenic weapons base,
 later found to be a hoax.

 Following the loss of the Enterprise at Veridian III, Picard won command of the
 ship's next namesake, one of the new Sovereign class, in 2172 on SD 49827.5.
 While Lt. Cmdr. Worf chose to be the exception, Picard's entire senior staff and
 many junior officers made the transfer with their captain. That continuity proves
 fortuitous: less than a year later, Picard was ordered away from repelling a
 second Borg attack for fear of giving unwitting aid to the enemy, but after
 reconsidering he led a deflection of the main assault. From there, a risky
 time-travel gambit paid off to correct temporal sabotage involving human first
 contact.

 Other mission performance highlights of his years on the Enterprises included
 his second meeting with Sarek, where at great personal risk he agreed to a
 mind-meld to save the Legaran conference in 2366 with the ailing ambassador;
 the legendary Vulcan had taken an interest in his career, calling it
 "satisfactory," but Picard was still awed by the UFP legend. They met again
 briefly as Sarek lay dying two years later as Picard was en route to another
 reunion with Spock, leading an underground pro-unification movement with
 Vulcan on Romulus.

 Picard has also participated in first-contact encounters with the Borg, Ferengi,
 Edo, Aldeans, Tamarians, Jarada, Malcoria III, Douwd, Mintaka III, Paxans,
 Cytherians, the Ux-Mal, and Devidians, among others, and served as a
 negotiator and diplomat on missions including Acamar III, Rutia IV, Angosia III,
 Bajor, Talarians, Turkana IV, Pentaurus V, Ventax II, Kaelon II, Lenaria,
 Gemaris V-Dachlyd, and Krios-Valt Minor.

 Picard keeps a healthy outlook on life with a wide variety of interests and
 recreational pursuits, including his near-professional pursuit of archeology,
 having studied the Iconian culture since his cadet days and addressed the
 Federation Archeological Council as keynote speaker on his oft-studied Tagus
 III ruins in 2367. He enjoys Terran literature in its written rather than holo-visual
 display, especially detective fiction such as Dixon Hill, and Shakespearean
 drama; oddly enough, while he enjoys role-playing the former in holo-programs,
 he avoids acting or any other performance art himself despite an interest in
 classical music and attending the shipboard concerts and plays on the
 Enterprise. Even so, he overcame his childhood dislike and began playing a
 Kataanan flute following his encounter with that culture.

 Picard's interests go well beyond archeology and literature, however. The
 subject of planetary motion and physics is another; he kept up with the Atlantis
 Project on Earth through journals; and is fascinated to be the first to discover
 the spacefaring life form, communicate with the Crystalline Entity, and reveal
 an ancient Promellian battle cruiser. He has studied semantics and keeps his
 Latin fresh, but has no interest in politics, dance, small animals, or the
 Enterprise senior staff's poker game until his 2370 encounter with Q and an
 alternate future timeline.

 Medical history: Report of Cmdr. Beverly Crusher, M.D., Enterprise CMO

 Picard enjoys excellent health, thanks to a regimen carried over from his days
 as an athlete. He still finds time for fencing, racquetball and equine sports,
 usually by Holodeck, but he does show a tendency for overwork, avoids formal
 vacations, and has reported bouts of insomnia. His aversion to annual
 physicals must also be noted and dealt with.

 Owing to a fatal stabbing through the heart in a brawl as a newly-graduated
 ensign in 2328, a cardiac device later found to be defective was implanted to
 save his life. The unit required replacement when it malfunctioned in 2365,
 overseen at Starbase 212 by then-CMO Dr. Katherine Pulaski. Four years later
 in a near-fatal Lenarian attack using compressed tetryon weaponry, it was
 damaged and replaced. He suffered head trauma to the right temple area in the
 same incident that led to Jack Crusher's death in 2355, and has sustained
 numerous injuries on occasion, none with long-lasting physical damage.

 He was formerly declared dead by Adm. Hanson as a casualty of war after his
 assimilation by the Borg; the ruling was rescinded six days later, after he
 fought through the imposed Borg mind of Locutus and got back to his own
 identity following his recapture. Along with his physical recovery, the invasive
 incident took an enormous emotional toll and required several weeks of
 counseling. Picard followed a similar though less lengthy recuperation following
 his capture and torture by Cardassians in 2369.

 Counselor's update: Report of Cmdr. Deanna Troi, 2373

 Less than a year on our new ship and I find myself returning to the events of
 2366-67 regarding our captain: the once-quelled ghosts of his Locutus
 experience and his former commands have returned. It has taken this second
 Borg experience to remind him of the existence of a "Borg queen" who pursued
 him then, and his reaction to the bureaucratic Starfleet reaction on his
 involvement is an issue I am positive will be resolved by the caption's unusually
 strong self-ego. However, in dealing with reports by officers who were present, I
 have decided to focus future efforts on the subject's lingering anger toward his
 one-time captors in future, if any, Borg encounters.

 This episode has also revealed a second and as-yet unexamined factor in the
 captain's command decision-making process to be considered in future crises:
 his command history itself. Certainly Picard has compiled an illustrious career
 and laudable accomplishments in both diplomacy and tactics, but the fact
 remains that he abandoned his first command -- a decision cleared by
 court-martial review -- and lost his second. While his quick accession to a new
 command betrayed any concern at Starfleet about his emotional fitness to lead
 a starship, it did play a factor in delaying his eventual decision surrounding the
 aborted abandonment and self-destruct of the new vessel to stop the Borg
 temporal invasion. In this case, thanks to the interference of a strong-willed
 contemporary associate of Zefram Cochrane, Picard was persuaded that
 self-destruct was his only option, then thankfully found other options that saved
 his vessel -- including his unusually strong bond with longtime second officer
 Data.