Captain (later Admiral) Jean-Luc Picard has had one of the most illustrious careers of any Starfleet officer. Most notably, he was given the command of the Federation flagship, the Enterprise-D, and led it through battles, diplomatic missions, and first-contact scenarios across seven seasons of The Next Generation.
But Picard didn’t just get the command overnight. He earned it through decades of dedicated service.
In 2327, Ensign Picard graduated from Starfleet Academy top of his class. He later recalled that as a young man, he was “green as hell. And oh, so cocky.” This arrogance led to a bar fight against a bunch of Nausicaans, where he was stabbed through the heart and barely survived the subsequent emergency operation to save his life.
After serving on a few ships, Picard, now a Lieutenant, was assigned helmsman on board the U.S.S. Stargazer and in 2333 he assumed command of the vessel when the captain was killed on the bridge. For his brave and decisive actions, Picard was awarded a field promotion to the rank of Captain and proceeded to command the Stargazer for twenty-two years.
Command of the Stargazer
During this time, the Stargazer was heavily involved in first-contact missions and violent wars with Cardassia. During one incident, the ship was facing off against a Cardassian vessel. Taking a risk, Picard lowered his shields as a gesture of goodwill only to be attacked. The Stargazer and its crew only just managed to get away with their lives.
In 2355, Picard’s long run as Captain of the vessel ended abruptly. In a fight with an unknown vessel, the Stargazer was crippled and about to be annihilated. Thinking fast, Picard came up with a brilliant solution. He would engage his warp drive, almost ramming the enemy ship, before opening fire at point-blank range. For a moment the Stargazer would appear to be in two places at once. Incredibly, this last gamble born out of sheer desperation worked, and the unknown vessel was destroyed. But Picard’s ship had suffered too much damage and had to be abandoned, the surviving crew escaping in pods.
But the so-called Battle of Maxia would come back to haunt Picard in the future. The unknown vessel was in fact a Ferengi ship, and left one powerful Ferengi commander out for Picard’s blood.
Forever afterward called The Picard Maneuver, the practice of warping up to an enemy vessel and firing everything would be seen more than once in Star Trek.