James Preston McCallister

Political Information

• Affiliation: Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Family

• Mother: Francesca McCallister
• Father: Jack McCallister
• Brother: Conrad McCallister, Starfleet Captain (retired)
• Brother: Horatio McCallister, Starfleet Captain of the USS Constitution (NCC-91700)
• Wife: Karyn Reyas, Starfleet Captain of the USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
• Son: Theodore McCallister-Reyas
• Son: Alfie McCallister-Reyas, Starfleet Cadet on the USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
• Son: Henri McCallister-Reyas
• Sister-in-law: Laura McCallister, Starfleet Captain (retired) – married to Conrad.

Biography

Early Life

James Preston McCallister was born in Cape May, New Jersey, United States of America, on Earth to Francesca and Jack McCallister on November 22nd, 2351. Ultimately becoming the middle child of three boys, James grew up in his family’s run hotel (The Red Lion) and shared his brothers’ taste for adventure among the stars. This was to the displeasure of their parents, who taught their boys to enjoy the simple things in life with little or less technology to help them. Being the middle son, James sometimes resented his other two brothers due to the more attention they received from their parents.

When his older brother, Conrad, left home to attend Starfleet Academy, his parents were quite upset. Francesca and Jack were against their sons joining Starfleet, hoping they would remain closer to home and avoid the service entirely. However, Conrad’s departure allowed James to come closer to his younger brother Horatio. The two would often be seen around town together, sharing their interests with friends. This included many sports they enjoyed doing together, including soccer, tennis, basketball and swimming. He and his brothers also went camping often when they were old enough not to have their parents supervising them.

James excelled in mathematics, computer science and physics during his secondary school education. Without his parents’ knowledge, he attended several after-school clubs that included engineering aspects. He became president of his school’s student body and followed in his brother’s footsteps when he graduated as valedictorian. Ending his schooling on a high was an impressive achievement for James, especially after he took second place at the state swimming championship tournaments. 

Once again, when he decided to follow in Conrad’s footsteps and planned to join Starfleet Academy, James’ parents were not happy. Further tension among his parents occurred, and James would eventually leave home, never reconciling with them for many years.

Starfleet Career

Starfleet Academy

Entering Starfleet Academy was a dream come true for James. The constant academic challenges piqued his interest, and his time among many individuals built further confidence in him. At the Academy, James became curious about systems engineering, cybernetics and holography. His instructors encouraged him to pursue other areas of interest, particularly his history and archaeology professor, Rio Canção. The El-Aurian teacher took a shine to James and encouraged him to pursue this field of study as an alternative to the engineering areas he wanted to specialise in. She felt he could go far and even nominated him to go forward to attend command courses.

He entered the annual Academy Marathon during his sophomore year and finished in first place. However, he was still keen on sports, and a year later, he became the academy’s soccer team captain. Though enjoying both sides of academy life, James made friends with many of his fellow cadets. He never became serious with anyone romantically, but he didn’t regret this, as he enjoyed his time.  

James graduated from the academy as valedictorian of his class. He majored in systems engineering and minored in combined holography and cybernetics. His first posting was on board the brand-new Intrepid-class vessel USS Audacious (NCC-74709). This was down to the intervention of Professor Canção, an old friend of the Audacious skipper. She highly recommended him for the job.

USS Audacious (NCC-74709)

Serving as an ensign on the Audacious as its chief operations officer gave James the grounding he needed to develop as an officer. He would rise through the ranks due to his excellent dedication to service. Impressing his commanding officer, Captain Brooke Fontana-Adelaide, he made his stamp on the brand-new ship in his first year.

The Audacious would go on to serve heavily during the Dominion War. Before the outbreak of fighting, James had learnt that his brother, Horatio, had gone AWOL shortly after his graduation from Starfleet and had joined the Maquis. The crushing news of his brother’s betrayal of the Federation greatly upset James. His parents blamed Starfleet for filling their youngest son’s head with so much. For some time, this caused further friction between James and his parents. The flip side to the news was that James became much closer to Conrad over their heartbreak of Horatio abandoning something they all wanted to do.

A few months later, the Audacious was sent to investigate a hidden Maquis base in the Bajoran Badlands, where they came across the cell of which Horatio had been a member. James found his younger brother and even stunned him, preventing him from escaping. James had the regrettable duty of informing the rest of his family about Horatio’s fate. The Audacious took the Maquis to a prison on Betazed, where James said a final goodbye to his brother after feeling humiliated and betrayed for Horatio’s treason. Seeing the hurt and embarrassment of the young officer, Captain Adelaide took James under her wing in an almost motherly fashion. 

During the war, James began a romantic relationship with the ship’s stellar cartographer, Ensign Harriet Riley. The two became close and eventually moved in with each other after Riley’s quarters were damaged. However, when the Audacious was part of the sizeable allied fleet that invaded Cardassia in 2375, enemy fire hit Stellar Cartography badly, resulting in an EPS conduit exploding and killing Harriet. After hearing the news of her death, James withdrew into himself for a little while until a pep talk from Captain Adelaide made him come out of himself again to live his life as much as Harriet would want him to.

As the Audacious joined multiple fleet engagements, the ship endured many losses, including several in the senior staff. With the shortage of experienced officers, Captain Adelaide decided to use the crew she had and handed out several battlefield promotions to fill empty spots to ensure the ship ran efficiently as she deemed fit. Despite their losses, the Audacious crew remained firm in their convictions, and by the end of the war, they were all commended for their valiant service to the Federation. Noted for his continuous professionalism and impressive service to his fellow crewmates, Adelaide made James a full lieutenant and her second officer at the war’s end.

Ironically, even though the Audacious endured heavily during the war, her demise would occur during a mission to help with post-war relief efforts while in orbit of Betazed. The antimatter containment pods had become unstable due to a computer malfunction. James and the Audacious chief engineer, Lieutenant Lyndsy Dawson, attempted to save the ship; however, several safety protocols were non-responsive. As such, Captain Adelaide had to order her crew to abandon the ship. In the same escape pod with his captain and its chief engineer, the three officers watched sadly as the Audacious exploded and burned up in the atmosphere of Betazed.

Soon after, a general enquiry found that none of the crew was to blame for the loss of the Audacious. Her loss was blamed on a computer glitch caused by several critical bio-neural gel packs becoming infected and failing. After the ship’s destruction, James took four months of leave and spent it on Risa. He ignored every message from his parents asking him to come home to visit them. He wanted to escape from everything.

USS Portsmouth (NCC-63749)

Captain Adelaide was adamant she wanted to keep her former crew together when Starfleet offered her command of a new ship at the end of 2376. She was handed over control of the Akira-class starship, USS Portsmouth (NCC-63749). Adelaide had James assigned to the Portsmouth when Starfleet granted her wish to have everyone return to her command. 

Ultimately, the Portsmouth was allocated to peacekeeper duties within the Federation and to carry on with post-war relief efforts. By 2379, the Portsmouth was assigned to the Beta Quadrant to bolster defence along the border with the Romulan Star Empire; this was shortly after the Shinzon coup d’etat. The Portsmouth was the lead ship in a squadron that patrolled the border and ensured that Federation assets remained supported during this period.  

During a stop-off at Starbase 611 at the end of 2380, the Portsmouth had to help defend it against an attack by Pakled vessels. As the Portsmouth was one of only two Starfleet heavy cruisers docked, the Pakeld attack force constantly hounded them, causing severe damage to the ship. James devised a tactic to reduce the number of enemy ships left to deal with. He was able to get enough power to the ship’s tractors to throw one ship against another. Unfortunately, the resulting explosion injured the Portsmouth. With most of its fighter wing still engaging the remaining Pakeld ships, the Portsmouth was left to take on two smaller vessels. After a fierce battle, the Portsmouth was able to destroy one and incapacitate the other before they, too, were disabled. As the crew abandoned the ship via the escape pods, Captain Adelaide, McCallister and a couple of others remained on board to implement a plan. The Portsmouth took the last enemy ship with it as the auto-destruct system detonated. Once again, Captain Adelaide had to watch with McCallister the loss of another vessel from the confines of an escape pod. Starfleet later awarded James with the Medal of Commendation for his ingenious idea of using the tractor beam in such a creative way.

USS Trinity (NCC-80421)

At the start of 2381, James was assigned the task of being the chief operations officer on board the newly built Obena-class USS Trinity (NCC-80421). Once again, he served under Captain Adelaide as the second officer.

James had developed an extremely close relationship with his captain, whom he looked to as a close mentor and a role model in developing as an officer and a leader. After the launch of the Trinity at the Proxima Maintenance Yards, the ship was assigned to exploration duties within the Alpha Quadrant. The ship was assigned to a two-year deep space exploration mission near the Black Cluster within the Deneb Sector. James developed more than he had previously done on this assignment because he was doing what he joined up to do: explore the stars and live the adventure in the genuinely unknown. As part of the Trinity’s crew, he met many new species and explored several new systems. James also became close to the ship’s chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander Lyndsy Dawson. This eventually led to them beginning a romantic relationship. Before returning to the Federation border, James asked Lyndsy to marry him. However, she said no and turned him down, citing she wasn’t ready to settle down. A month later, the two broke off their relationship and remained friends.

When Starfleet agreed to assist with the relocation effort of Romulan citizens, the Trinity was assigned to the Romulan Neutral Zone. Unfortunately, during their work along the border, the crew discovered that a criminal organisation, known as the Beta Cartel, was on the rise and bent on causing problems for the Federation and Romulans. As a result, the Trinity was assigned to a large task force led by Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan (based at Deep Space 19) to secure the border and prepare for Romulan refugees. Unfortunately, the Trinity was heavily damaged during an engagement against three Beta Cartel ships. Several systems exploded on the bridge. One of them killed the first officer and injured Captain Adelaide. In an attempt to save his captain, James applied the limited first aid knowledge he knew while medical teams were called for. Adelaide knew she wouldn’t survive the trip to sickbay, and after hearing her first officer had died, she transferred the command codes to James and gave him command of the Trinity. Dying in James’s arms, she told him to save the ship, whatever the cost. He led the ship in destroying two enemy ships and capturing the third. For his heroic actions, Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan gave James a field promotion to the rank of captain and gave him complete command of the Trinity. The Trinity went on to help finish off what elements remained of the Beta Cartel by the end of the year. 

Once the mission had ended, McCallister had to lead his crew in the funerals of Captain Adelaide and Commander Morgan Cole (Trinity’s former executive officer). It was a tough time for the crew to adjust to the changes in the command structure. Surprised that Starfleet hadn’t assigned a new captain to the Trinity, James appreciated the confidence in him to carry on in his new position. He discovered that Adelaide had submitted him for a promotion before her death and, with it, a recommendation for him to be considered for his own command. 

Deciding to follow what he had learnt from Adelaide, McCallister chose within the ship’s senior staff who would be his first officer. Eventually, he picked on the ship’s Betazoid counsellor and diplomatic officer, Romen Corbin. It took them, along with the rest of the senior staff, some time to help the crew adapt to the new changes, but eventually, morale returned to the way Captain Adelaide and Commander Cole would have wanted. The Trinity remained one of the many ships assigned to the border to assist with the Romulan relocation efforts for a few more years.

At the end of 2384, the ship was sent to map out possible sites to set up provisional settlements for the Romulans beyond the Typhon Expanse. During the mission, the crew came across high concentrations of neutrinos and gravimetric readings within a class nine nebula. Even though long-range scans had indicated that the region was only filled with gaseous formations, Captain McCallister felt the unusual readings deserved to be investigated in case a wormhole was present, especially as all the clues pointed to the possibility. The Trinity flew in and was sucked into a subspace corridor shortly after dropping to impulse. As the crew quickly worked to find out where they were, they passed through a circular metallic structure. Straight away, the crew realised where they were as the sensors registered the structure as Borg in origin. It was a heavily damaged Borg transwarp conduit manifold. Not willing to take any chances, Captain McCallister armed the Trinity’s torpedoes and destroyed the manifold. Eventually, the transwarp conduit collided around them, and the Trinity was shoved back into normal space. The ship’s re-entry caused heavy damage ship-wide to the point the ship’s structural integrity field collapsed from all the stress.

After a few minutes of trying to save the ship at all costs, McCallister knew there wasn’t much else they could do until they landed the ship. He ordered for the warp core to be dumped, and once they discovered they were in the Takara sector, a planet was found. The ship changed course to land. The planet was an icy Class L, and the crew were now out of options. The Trinity’s hull began to buckle, and McCallister knew they had to act fast before the ship was lost entirely. Regrettably, the Trinity crash-landed on the ice planet without having the time to launch any escape pods. Once the ship was down, the crew attempted to repair the systems they could to keep them alive while they awaited rescue. It took Starfleet two weeks to find them. After the entire crew were safely on the rescue ships, they began to salvage what was left of the Trinity. The whole clean-up operation took another three days. Yet, all that was left on the Trinity were the damaged systems that weren’t salvageable. On orders from Starfleet Command, Captain McCallister activated the ship’s auto-destruct sequence and watched from orbit as his ship destroyed herself to prevent others from attempting to take what was left of her. Unfortunately, the destruction caused the remaining parts to break under the glacier the ship had landed on, and ultimately, what was left sunk to the bottom of the planet’s deep, cold ocean bed.

Starfleet Academy

As soon as the inquest into the loss of the Trinity had been completed and no charges were made against the captain and his crew, McCallister was offered several jobs. Still, he decided to go for a position at Starfleet Academy. He was approached by his former mentor, Professor Rio Canção, who was eager to have him as a member of her faculty. Convincing the Academy Commandant that he would be an asset, Canção saw that McCallister was temporarily given a special guest lecturer status. James took small classes in command, tactical, diplomacy and starship operations. Almost repeating what Canção did for him many years ago, he became a mentor to many cadets. He enjoyed tutoring so many and sharing his own experiences.

While at the Academy, he went through final training to become a fully qualified First Contact specialist. This was an area he felt he needed to improve on. James also became close friends with fellow lecturer Karyn Reyas. The two eventually moved in together after dating for some time. Even though he enjoyed his teaching job, Karyn convinced James he was better suited to be on the bridge of a starship instead of behind a lecturer’s podium or grading papers. As a result, James requested to be put back on active starship duty when the spring semester ended. Even though it appeared he would need to wait for an opportunity; he continued to work hard at the academy.

When the Synth Attack on Mars took place, James was informed by Starfleet Command that he should prepare to be reassigned when a position came up to take command of a starship. Losing many officers and ships was a blow to Starfleet and the Federation. James waited patiently.

During the last part of the academic year, he developed a good working relationship with a fellow instructor, Cambil Bexa. The Bajoran woman was in a similar teaching position to him, mentoring a small unit of cadets and leading them in various subjects. In addition, Karyn and James would often join Bexa and her husband, Naprem, for meals at their home in San Francisco.  

Eventually, James was ordered to Starfleet Command Headquarters to receive his new orders. He would be given command of the Luna-class starship, USS Triton. Before he departed from the academy, though, Professor Canção gave him a verbal cold splash of water and told him to realise that life was more than serving in Starfleet. Having a similar conversation with Bexa, James knew what he wanted to do next with his relationship with Karyn. On their four-month anniversary, he asked her to marry him. Saying yes to his proposal, the two got married in a quiet wedding on Earth before they left for the Triton.

USS Triton (NCC-80106)

James was given command of the Luna-class starship USS Triton. She had been sitting at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards for twelve months, receiving extensive upgrades, particularly on her warp drive and computer core. Before the Attack on Mars, she had been moved to McKinley Station for her final upgrades and system checks. Starfleet had someone else in mind to command the Triton, but that person died during the Synth Attack. As a result, Starfleet ordered James to oversee the last of the refits and select his new crew. The last of the updates would take up to two months, giving the new captain plenty of time to choose his crew. Deciding he wanted a diverse crew, similar to the other Luna-class ships that were in service, James found himself handpicking everyone to serve on his ship. 

With only two weeks before its upgrades were complete, Triton was rushed out of drydock by Starfleet when McCallister was ordered to head up a relief force to Deep Space 19 in the Alcor Sector in anticipation of the collapse of the Amorgia star. After arriving in the sector, the sun collapsed, and millions of Federation citizens were evacuated due to their planets being affected by the star’s collapse. James was tasked with dealing with a crisis with a nearby colony, Hayde’nk, that had taken hostile action against refugee ships and Starfleet forces. The Federation Council wanted the threat to Federation interests removed immediately and to know precisely why the Hayde’nk colonists took drastic measures against an ally. While trying to get to know his new crew and ship, James had to help a deposed governor deal with possibly losing the rest of his family whilst attempting to open diplomatic channels with the rogue leaders on Hayde’nk. Eventually, James discovered that a dissident movement had manipulated military and political leaders against each other. His crew also found that a Ferengi DaiMon supported this rebel group with weapons and other supplies. This DaiMon (after surrendering to the Triton) disclosed that the Hayde’nk dissidents had captured their crew. They were being held hostage in return for aid being provided; they would release them. In an attempt to prevent an all-out war with the Ferengi Alliance and in hopes of restoring peace in the sector to help with the collapse of the Amorgia sun, James mediated a peace settlement between the Hayde’nk rogue leaders and civilian elected officials. The dissident movement interrupted the talks, where its leader decided to reveal himself but was killed by another dissident. Ultimately, James got all sides to compromise and restore peace and order to the Hayde’nk colony. James went on to report to the Ferengi government what had happened and how the Hayde’nk rebels had forced the Ferengi to provide their needed aid. No repercussions came from the Ferengi government over the situation. James and the rest of the Triton’s crew were commended for their efforts and successes in finding a peaceful endgame to the crisis. During everything, though, James led the Triton and other Starfleet ships in engaging rebel ships when they attacked Federation ships. James was noted for his tactical thinking in preventing the loss of life on both sides in hopes of a peaceful resolution.

James was dealing with getting to know his new crew throughout this first mission, which wasn’t as easy as it should have been. Lieutenant Commander Lyndsy Dawson, the Triton’s new Chief Engineer, had been James’ ex-girlfriend, and they both had ended their relationship on a sour note. However, both Lyndsy and James tried hard to put their past behind them to work together, especially to have Triton ready to be launched to help in the Alcor sector. During the mission, both appeared to be able to return to an amicable relationship, especially as Karyn was also on board and was made Triton’s third officer above Lyndsy. 

When a massive snowstorm threatened the Bajoran colony on Olbari II, McCallister volunteered for Triton to help evacuate the colony. Once the ship arrived in the Olbari system, it quickly responded to the emergency relief efforts that were underway. Captain McCallister led an away team to meet with the colony’s governor to discuss the evacuation procedure. Between McCallister’s crew and the colony’s government agencies, the civilians of Olbari II were slowly evacuated to temporary shelters on Olbari III. During the mission, James and Karyn took his yacht to visit scientists in the Arctic regions of Olbari II. They had been studying the rapid changes happening to the planet, and when they explained there was nothing they could do to stop it, the captain insisted on their evacuation from their research base. Even after receiving multiple protests from the lead scientist, James successfully got the team off Olbari II. In return for their cooperation, he allowed them to monitor the climate changes from the Triton. 

During the mission, the ship was joined by other Starfleet ships to help speed up the evacuation process. James took command of the relief efforts; however, their hard work hit a brick wall when they discovered the colonists were becoming infected by a virus that had laid dormant in the deep arctic ice. With the climate changing and many parts of the polar regions’ ice plates melting, the virus had entered the colony’s water systems and infected those who drank it. James had the difficult choice of suspending the evacuation process and placing a quarantine around the planet. The relief effort became a blockade, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the planet while the medical personnel worked hard to find a cure. As time progressed and casualties began to pile up, James was confronted by a Bajoran Militia relief force sent from Bajor to bring its citizens home. The Bajoran ships attempted to bypass the Starfleet blockade, believing McCallister wouldn’t give the order to fire. However, the Starfleet ships were ready based on a plan devised by Captain McCallister. They set up a probe network that blocked all transporter signals around the planet. The Bajoran crafts would be unable to land due to the extreme weather, making it difficult to do so safely. The loss of lives on both sides was not acceptable. McCallister found an adversary in the Bajoran task group’s commanding officer, Colonel Lin Kelsi. Colonel Lin was bent on rescuing her people under the orders of Governor Marstar Petrisha. Luckily, a cure was found before more conflict erupted between McCallister and Lin’s ships. Together, they could work to evacuate and cure the last of the colonists.

Triton remained in the Olbari system and the Alcor sector for several more months. James led several missions within this time frame, ranging from simple search and rescue to dealing with political matters. James and the Triton crew were invited to return to the Hayde’nk to witness the governor elections. At the same time, James strengthened the Federation’s relationship with the Hayde’nk colonists by undertaking several public engagements. Starfleet and the Federation Council commended his efforts in making inroads to resolve the conflict.

Eventually, Triton was ordered to Farpoint Station under the pretext of gaining its new mission orders to begin its deep space exploration mission of the Alpha Quadrant. James was informed that the ship’s mission would be joint with the USS Odyssey. The mission was led by Fleet Admiral Luke Duncan, the man responsible for making James a captain. While en route, James and Karyn were told the good news that Karyn was pregnant and was expecting triplets. Overjoyed with becoming a father, James and Karyn began to prepare themselves for parenthood.

Finally, after almost two weeks of travelling to the far edges of the Deneb sector, the ships arrived at their destination to find a distress call emitting from a nearby independent system along; however, they were not alone. Along with them was a group of sixteen Breen warships. The Breen mercenaries had wanted to take the system for the Breen Confederacy. The Breen task force was able to overwhelm the colony’s defence network, but at a cost. Triton detected a debris field that belonged to at least fifteen other Breen ships. The remaining Breen ships could not send in troops to occupy the colony as they would be outnumbered; instead, they planned to hold the system until help arrived from the Confederacy.

With Fleet Admiral Duncan, McCallister hatched a plan to send a small covert away team down to the colony to contact its militia and government to determine the situation and if they could retake the system. Unfortunately, the runabout was detected by the Breen and within a matter of moments, James’ life was flipped upside down when Triton received heavy damage during the fight with the Breen to save the runabout. It resulted in the loss of several members of the crew and a number of them being injured. This included the death of his first officer, and his security chief was placed into a coma to recover from a series of traumatic injuries. Not willing to lose to the Breen, James developed a plan to use the ship’s already damaged warp core in a manoeuvre to defend the ship. The core was ejected, and enough power was routed to fire a tricobalt device at it. The shockwave from the breaching core caused significant damage to the Breen ships, including the destruction of several of them. Sadly, Triton was severely disabled, so James ordered his crew to abandon the ship and take refuge on the colony. Eventually, a heavily damaged Odyssey, with the aid of three Klingon ships and a repaired nadion-pulse cannon on the colony, was able to drive the remaining Breen forces out of the systems and back to the Breen Confederacy. James was forced to deal with losing his first officer, chief engineer, and several other crewmembers for the first time since taking command of Triton. This was a difficult point in his career as he had never lost so many individuals under his command, particularly those on his senior staff. James had decided to promote several of his crew members to those roles that needed to be filled. Meanwhile, Triton docked with the only remaining orbiting drydock the colonists had and received repairs while the crew helped with relief efforts on the colony.

Once Triton was fully repaired, the ship began its exploratory mission beyond the Deneb Sector. In three months, James led the ship in making first contact with four new warp-capable species. They always left these races hoping to develop further relations with them. James enjoyed Triton’s opportunity to explore unknown spaces; the ship had mapped eleven systems when they returned to port. During their return home, James was able to avert a disaster with the Breen again, this time involving a pre-warp society. Together with a good friend of his, Captain Rio Canção, James was able to stop the Breen from gaining their hands on a Borg transwarp coil. This mission itself was classified; however, it caused some tension between James and the rest of his senior staff as he could not share information about the coil and why Triton was involved in such a highly secretive mission.

By the end of the year, the crew of the Triton discovered Iconian technology. With help from the Odyssey, the Triton attempted to recover it, but an Iconian Probe disabled both ships with a computer virus. McCallister overloaded the Triton’s primary computer processor to stop the virus from destroying the ship. Still, his actions caused heavy damage, which resulted in the ship being completely disabled. Sadly, the Odyssey was lost, and its crew were forced to abandon the ship before its warp core detonated. Both crews were recovered, and a Starfleet relief force towed the Triton home. 

USS Odyssey (NX-80000)

While the Triton was taken to the Beta Antares Shipyards for significant repairs, the entire crew were reassigned elsewhere. On his return to Earth, McCallister was informed that he would be given command of a brand-new ship. Fleet Admiral Duncan had a massive hand in this because he saw how well McCallister performed during their mission with the Breen. James was given the prototype USS Odyssey (NX-80000), Odyssey­-class. This experimental type of ship was one of the biggest explorers Starfleet had built. Moreover, Starfleet Command gave him full authority to crew the vessel with whoever he wanted. Pulling in many favours, he recalled the entire former crew of the Triton and those who had survived the destruction of the previous ship named Odyssey.

At the start of 2387, the ship was launched from the San Francisco Shipyards from Earth orbit. The crew was fortunate enough to have retired Fleet Admiral Duncan and Captain McCragg (who had recently retired) on board. Both men had commanded the two previous ships named Odyssey and were special guests during the launch ceremony. McCallister’s first mission was to test his new ship and take the retired admiral home to Kovar. Joining McCallister’s crew would be Admiral Duncan’s son, Max, who would be one of the ship’s counsellors. 

Several months later, James became a father to three healthy boys. Karyn and he named them Theodore, Alfie and Henri. Raising a young family on a ship that allowed for civilians was a bonus, and he soon found fatherhood to be more of a challenge than being a Starfleet captain.

After a successful shakedown cruise, the Odyssey was kept within the confines of Federation space. This was partially due to the destruction of Romulus and Starfleet, who were still recovering from the synth attack on Mars. Becoming restless at the lack of work Starfleet gave the Odyssey, James became quite disheartened for a while. On a few occasions, he would challenge some admirals back on Earth for their approaches to keeping so many ships within the confines of Federation territory. Eventually, the Odyssey was assigned back to the former Romulan Neutral Zone to assist with the Romulan refugee crisis. With his experience from the Trinity helping him, James and his crew were able to help many. 

In 2388, Starfleet decided to reassign James temporarily. He left the Odyssey in the capable hands of his first officer until he returned.

USS Avenger (NCC-74206)

Starfleet wanted him to work closely with Starfleet Intelligence in observing and monitoring the Cardassians; however, he could not do it from the bridge of the Odyssey and its smaller support craft, the Aquarius had recently crash-landed on a moon during an away mission. So instead, they gave him command of the USS Avenger (NCC-74206), a Defiant-class ship. A smaller, stealthier ship was needed for this mission and one that could throw a punch if required. On loan from the Klingon Empire was a cloak; in return, Starfleet Intelligence would share James’ work with them on the status of the Union. James could select his entire crew, but Starfleet would not let him take his wife with him, fearing it would cloud his judgement (even though there was no evidence this had happened on the Triton or Odyssey).

Leading a mixed team of officers from the Odyssey, James started a year-long patrol near the border. Even though his mission took him away from his family, he was sure to prove to Starfleet that this reassignment would not change his opinion on matters. Although James knew that this move was a way of keeping him quiet, he wasn’t the only captain in the fleet who was not happy with how things were going.

By the end of 2389, his mission ended, and the entire Avenger crew returned to the Odyssey, while the Avenger herself was sent off to Devron Fleet Yards for a major overhaul and refit.

USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)

For the next decade, James remained in command of the Odyssey. Starfleet eventually gave him several exploration assignments within Federation territory in the Beta Quadrant. Finally, in 2395, after years of social, economic and political decline within the Romulan factions, Starfleet assigned the Odyssey back to the former site of the Neutral Zone. Their mission was simple: support Federation interests along the border and fly the flag for Starfleet. The mission remit was sparse and broad, so McCallister decided to base Odyssey out of Deep Space 19. With help from the station, they assisted those worlds that had not succumbed to civil unrest and aided those who became refugees.

Before the end of the century, James had become a well-decorated and awarded Starfleet captain and a well-grounded family man. Also, he was fortunate that only a few of his crew left him for new assignments, while many others were keen to join the reputable ship. 

In 2399, he became known for his direct dealings with the Fenris Rangers. However, many in the organisation felt that McCallister was Starfleet’s poster boy for their lack of involvement in supporting what was happening in the neutral zone. As such, in 2399, he made the bold move to rescue two Fenris Ranger ships from being attacked by rogue Romulan vessels. He hoped this action would change some views, but his efforts were brushed aside. 

Shortly after this, James Preston received news from Deep Space 19 that Fleet Admiral Duncan had passed away in his sleep. At the time, the Odyssey had been on patrol. He ordered the ship to turn around and to return home at once. One week later, a memorial ceremony was held on board DS-19 for the former flag officer, and his body was laid to rest on Kovar Prime. McCallister was asked to make remarks on the man who had put him in the centre chair and whom he had succeeded in carrying on the legacy of the Odyssey.

After the funeral, McCallister would lead his ship in undertaking its first exploration mission in almost eight years. He was ordered to take the ship back to the Hellian Expanse, an area he had once taken his first command through. Starfleet ordered the Odyssey to update its records by remapping the area. The mission was successful, thanks to the ship’s impressive science and exploration capabilities. At the end of it, they detected a distress call from the USS Holt. The Holt was James’ former first officer’s ship, and soon they discovered what remained of the Inquiry-class ship. After investigating the events that led to the ship’s destruction, the crew found that a natural soliton wave had pushed the Holt across the quadrant at excessive speeds and could not survive. The elements of the Hellian Expanse were able to stop the soliton wave in its path, depositing what was left of the Holt into normal space. Sadly, none of the crew survived, and McCallister led his crew to a memorial for their former first officer and fallen comrades.

Later in the year, the ship was ordered to head to Guardian Station (Starbase 90) to use the Barzan Wormhole to enter the Delta Quadrant. Starfleet had decided to send the Odyssey to the Delta Quadrant to begin a deep space exploration mission. Excited at undertaking such a mission, James was eager to start this mission. First, however, he and Karyn considered whether they wanted to take their sons to the Delta Quadrant. After discussing it at length, they agreed they felt it was the right thing to do.

En route, though, the ship’s mission was postponed as it was reassigned to the Archanis sector. Starfleet Command had decided to assign elements of the fourth fleet to the Federation-Klingon border after the House of D’Ghor, a rogue element from the Empire, was attacking Federation assets. Known as the Hunters of D’Ghor, these Klingons did not follow customary Klingon honour or customs; their raids were ruthless and vicious (even for Klingons). Sent to assist the Andorian colony on Haydorian, the Odyssey was dispatched to begin assembling the Archanis Array. This large sensor array would help in detecting ships along the border. Unfortunately, the ship was attacked after entering the Haydorian system, and James was seriously injured. The Hunters of D’Ghor refused to surrender and rammed their final ship into the Odyssey. James was not the only one wounded; Karyn and many others were also hurt. Spending several days recovering meant that James and Karyn’s sons were looked after by their godfather (James’ yeoman and chief of the boat) and other crew members. When he was fit to return to limited duty, James resumed command of the ship with the aid of his third officer, Commander Max Duncan. With Max’s help, they assisted the Fourth Fleet in removing the D’Ghor threat from the area and secured the Haydorian system. Eventually, the array was successfully assembled and used. 

Finally, after victory was declared in Archanis, Odyssey resumed its course to the Barzan wormhole to begin its mission in the Delta Quadrant.  

In the Delta Quadrant, McCallister was responsible for restoring better relations with the Uxali. This race had been contaminated by antimatter radiation after Friendship One (from Earth) had crashed and landed on their planet. He convinced their leadership to relocate to a safer world to let their race prosper.

Shortly after their first mission, which had lasted over a month, McCallister had to deal with the Omega Directive. Taking on a solo mission, McCallister ended up destroying many omega molecules, which the Kraylor had wanted to use as an energy source for their weapons. With indirect help from his crew, who did not know a thing about the directive, he was able to remove the threat, the Kraylor’s research, and convince them that the ship had nothing to do with what happened in omega’s destruction. However, his duplicity and actions did not go well with his first officer, and the two argued significantly for the first time in over a decade. Once the mission was classed a success, Cambil resigned from Starfleet. The loss of Bexa as his right-hand woman created a big void for him to fill. Knowing that Starfleet would never agree to him making his wife, Karyn, his first officer, McCallister picked his third officer instead: Commander Max Duncan.

Odyssey began exploring the Delta Hedalos Sector, a region of space in the Gradin Belt that Starfleet had not mapped before. While exploring an area called the Burbridge Cluster, the ship found an almost perfect M-class world that they named Outrè. While survey teams examined the planet, crew members were allowed to visit the planet for recreation and shore leave purposes. McCallister took his sons, along with Duncan and Court, to camp on one of the beaches of the tropical islands they had surveyed. When artefacts of a buried civilisation were found on the shore, they took his yacht deep underwater. While underwater, they uncovered a gold obelisk with the T’Kon Empire cress. This discovery began a new mission for the ship as it joined with every other ship in Starfleet to deal with the T’Kon crisis that was taking place on a galactic level. Though the mission lasted some time, the crew would transverse through a region of space filled with anomalies designed to slow them down. On the edge of this region, they rescued Professor Shu’varn, a Pendari scientist who had been researching the area and the Tkon for over eight years. Several days into the region, they finally reached the centre to find a Tkon outpost guarded by a Tkon sentry known as Portal 117. They discovered Portal 117 was dying and hoped the Federation ship could help. Unfortunately, unable to restore its systems in time, the away team McCallister had sent witnessed Portal 117’s death, and the outpost’s systems started to fail further. In a bold attempt, Shu’varn volunteered to take over the guardianship of the outpost. Though the away team was injured when he did this, his actions and self-sacrifice ensured the outpost remained a secret to the rest of the galaxy, and he could use the outpost’s powers to return the Odyssey to normal space.

Almost a month later, the ship had resumed its exploration of the far edges of the Gradin Belt. McCallister took on a survey mission in a shuttle with his son, Alfie. While studying a large cluster of sirillium gas pockets, they detected a vast alien ark vessel in a nearby class seventeen nebula. After calling in help from the Odyssey, the crew began to analyse and explore the ark, which they initially believed to be abandoned. During this mission, McCallister made Alfie an acting ensign to determine whether or not he truly wanted to join Starfleet (something he had shared with his father privately during their time on the shuttle). When the crew soon found that the ark was not empty but instead filled with stasis chambers crammed with children, McCallister began to open a dialogue with the ship’s sophisticated AI system. The AI system used the brainwaves of its former captain and created an isomorphic projection of her.

Sharing that the ship was named Quirennal and she was Captain Jyster, the AI system requested that McCallister and the rest of the adult population of the Odyssey save the children and become their carers. McCallister was prepared to negotiate to help the young people trapped in their stasis chambers, but Jyster felt forced to take drastic action. Using advanced translocator technology, Jyster beamed almost every adult off from the Odyssey and ordered McCallister to accept her conditions. He negotiated with the Jyster isomorph to return some of the adults, those with younger children, to the Odyssey while he agreed for the rest to remain on the Quirennal. Fearing that Jyster had advanced weapons that could destroy the Odyssey, McCallister was not prepared to discover the ark’s capabilities. His decision was not popular among his crew, especially with his wife. For the next two months, those trapped on the Quirennal were forced to care for the young people.

Using sophisticated forms of particle synthesisers,  Jyster created an environment that could house the Odyssey’s adult population and her youngsters. McCallister was given the role of ‘principal’ of the school that was created. He would use his time to teach the teenagers. Others in his crew were made parents overnight, depending on what Jyster had determined about their parenting abilities. While trapped on the Quirennal, McCallister had his first massive argument with his wife. Karyn had felt he had purposefully abandoned their three sons and the Odyssey, placing them in danger. She found it hard to speak to him; however, during the two months they were trapped, they worked with the crew to form a secret plan to escape from the ship. Their last day on the ark was eventful when the Odyssey arrived with the help of his younger brother’s (Horatio) ship, the League. When attempting to flee, McCallister’s crew had taken control of the translocator device and tried to beam off the children they had been caring for. When it was discovered that there were only two life signs, further light was revealed on their situation.

Discovering that the AI isomorph of Captain Jyster had killed everyone else on the ship to save the sons of the original Jyster while they were in stasis. Using other isomorphs, Jyster had wanted the sons of her organic counterpart to grow up on the ship with others who would care for them and ensure their identity remained. Instead, her sons had grown to despise the AI and were keen to help the Odyssey escape. Fleeing from the ark, the Odyssey and League used underspace corridors to get away, but in a last bold attempt, Jyster attempted to take back the Odyssey crew before the ark exploded. The resulting shockwave somehow caused the underspace corridor to throw the ship thousands of light years into the Beta Quadrant near Romulan territory. With everyone safely back on board, the ship was rescued and towed back to Starbase Bravo for repairs. Starfleet had many questions for McCallister and its crew about what had happened while in the Delta Quadrant. They relieved everyone and ordered the crew to take some needed R&R. McCallister, just like everyone else, was sent for counselling and debriefing.

While at the Mellstoxx system, a massive ion storm hit the nearby Paulson Nebula. Every ship was called upon to assist with evacuation and render help to those who were in danger. Ordered back to the ship, the crew headed into the nebula to assist. Helping many convoys while repairing subspace rifts, the Odyssey was heading out to assist Commander Reyas. After arguing with her husband, Reyas had taken a small crew on board the Telemachus, the ship’s Aquarius-class escort, to save a group of scientists in underground caves (one of them was her mother). However, the Odyssey was hit by a chronokinetic surge by a subspace rift, and the entire ship was shattered into hundreds of different timeframes. McCallister and Lieutenant Commander Jen were pulled into one timeframe in the future. They met Vice Admiral Max Duncan, Captain Tomaz, Commander Alfie McCallister-Reyas and Commander Jorgeh. Though they were breaking the temporal prime directive by being in the future timeline, the two officers soon discovered they had to assist the future counterparts in restoring the ship back to their timeframe. By doing this, they would save the ship and avoid so many deaths. Though successful in restoring the ship, McCallister saw a glimpse into the lives of his crew, especially Alfie. He wasn’t too happy with what he saw, but on the other hand, he realised he couldn’t change the future too much. After the ship returned to the proper timeline, a moment before the surge hit it, McCallister found out that his wife had sacrificed herself in helping to restore the vessel by collapsing the surge from within the rift that created it. Karyn was listed as missing in action. After a thorough investigation, the possibility of her entering an alternate future timeline was likely due to the large amounts of tachyons and chronitons consistent with a temporal vortex. There was some hope she survived, somewhere or some time.

It wasn’t how McCallister envisioned him and his family starting the 25th century. Still, with help from his close friends and colleagues, he was able to adjust to his new life as a Starfleet widow and a single father to three very distraught teenagers. Along with every other crew member involved in the various time-travelling incidents to restore the ship, McCallister was debriefed by the Department of Temporal Investigations. Furthermore, they were required by the Temporal Prime Directive to keep what happened to them a secret to avoid any further temporal paradoxes from occurring. But McCallister was part of the planning that would prepare those who would need to know about what may happen in the future to ensure that the paradox of the ship was restored from the surge.

Once again, the Odyssey was repaired at Starbase Bravo. Before long, the ship was sent into the Velorum Sector to deal with another crisis. After the collapse of the remains of the Romulan Star Empire, the Federation was requested by the provisional government to aid in rebuilding efforts. Sent to help the Romulan colony of Vorash, McCallister and his crew uncovered a Tal Shiar plot to destroy the colony. McCallister and the ship had helped establish the settlement over a decade ago, so they had a familiar knowledge of its inhabitants. Nevertheless, McCallister was successful in restoring control of the colony and removing the Tal Shiar threat from it while at the same time opening a dialogue between its leaders with the Romulan Republic. For his efforts in preventing the colony’s destruction, he was thanked by its colonists.

After that, the Odyssey returned to the Delta Quadrant to resume its exploration mission in the Gradin Belt. Odyssey returned, and James was ordered to begin a goodwill tour of the area, developing better relationships with the local powers. Starfleet was keen to establish strong ties with many races to ensure that when further exploration missions of the area took place, Starfleet was in a strong position. Accordingly, James opened up trade talks with the government on Quarra, resolved a dispute with the Lokirrim (after a slight altercation), assisted the Qomar Planetary Alliance in developing their cultural habits with music, met with representatives from the Benkaran and Nygean species and found a way to prevent a religious war from breaking out among the Pendarians. The latter was averted after the ship rescued its diplomatic officer from being used as the new Pendarian messiah.

Furthermore, the ship hosted a state dinner for the Kadi Supreme Abbott. Eventually, the crew would rescue Brenari refugees and discover a hidden world where the Brenari are hiding far from the Devore. While in orbit and providing aid, James opens diplomatic talks and eventually develops a strong relationship with its leader, Chief Mayor Adale. During this mission, the ship was pulled into the crisis that hit the Gradin Belt in late 2400, the sudden arrival of Blood Dilithium. This version of the crimson fragments caused havoc among the crew, further hampered by the appearance of a Devore squadron of warships and a baby telepathic pitcher plant. Those telepathic crew members rose against McCallister in a mutiny influenced by the dilithium crystals and the infant space-dwelling bioplasmic organism. McCallister locked heads with his chief engineer, who had taken Henri and Theo hostage. However, with help from the rest of his crew, they resolved the situation and took back control of the ship. In addition, they saved over forty-seven thousand Brenari from being taken to Devore detention camps. After returning to the Brenari refugee colony, James took his relationship with Adale to the next level. At the same time, the ship remained in orbit, providing aid in building further shelters and structures with the Brenari.

At the end of 2400, Vice Admiral Zack Marshall-Bennet, Director of Fourth Fleet Operations, promoted James to fleet captain and ordered him to take command of a new expeditionary squadron. They were to go further into the Delta Quadrant and explore more of what Voyager had left behind over twenty-five years ago. In its first mission, the Odyssey Squadron discovered the debris field belonging to a disabled Borg Tactical Cube in an uninhabited star system. There, among the broken ship, they found a settlement led by former drones. After liberating the drones from the control of the sub-collective consciousness they had created to survive, McCallister agreed to let the drones join the squadron until they returned home. One of them, a former Starfleet chief engineer, would join the Odyssey’s crew, which McCallister authorised and supported. 

By the start of 2401, McCallister’s efforts in exploring the Delta Quadrant gained much attention from those at Starfleet Command Headquarters. Consequently, they wanted the Odyssey Squadron to go further into the Delta Quadrant. McCallister led the ships into the Swallow Nebula region to reestablish contact with those species that Voyager had met and determine the status of the Borg while there. Starting in the Kotaba Expanse, McCallister successfully strengthened ties with the Benthans. Both sides engaged in exchanging scientific ideas and sharing cultural differences. McCallister signed a provisional commerce deal with the Benthans, including a minor mutual defence agreement, while the squadron was close to their territory and realm of influence. Unexpectedly, Starfleet recalled the entire squadron to the Alpha Quadrant in anticipation of the upcoming Frontier Day celebrations. McCallister was frustrated with this decision, but after returning home, he would find himself and his squadron engaging with an old enemy.

The Odyssey Squadron found itself defending a region well known to McCallister, the Deneb Sector after the Dominion’s Lost Fleet attacked it. McCallister led a successful campaign to protect the colony in the Divinum System. While there, he and his crew discovered that the Dominion had tested a modified biogenic weapon. Thankfully, McCallister’s chief medical officer was able to locate a cure for it, but McCallister’s crew discovered that the Dominion had used its impressive sophisticated transporter technology against the colonists. They kidnapped all one billion Federation citizens into transporter suspension and were planning to transfer their patterns to a labour camp. McCallister took chase after the Dominion ships that had them and, with help from others in the squadron, were able to rescue them all. However, his victory came at a price as his dear lifelong friend, Captain Rio Canção, gave her life to save the colonists. After securing the Divinum System, McCallister led the Odyssey and other Federation ships in defending Farpoint Station from a massive Dominion fleet attack.

With the Deneb Sector saved from the Lost Fleet, the Odyssey Squadron headed home to Earth to participate in Frontier Day. Being the prototype of Starfleet’s largest class, the Odyssey was required to participate in the festivities. However, those festivities turned sour when an attempt by the remanents of the Borg Collective and a conspiracy led by disgruntled Changelings was discovered; the Odyssey was one of many Starfleet ships finding itself on the frontlines of this incident. McCallister was forced to confront his son, Alife, who the Borg virus had taken over along with many other younger officers. Leading those who were unaffected, McCallister stunned those on his crew who had been partially assimilated and attempted to retake the ship. Sadly, their efforts were prevented as the massacre took place around them, and the Borg controlled the Odyssey. In a bold bid to stop what was happening, McCallister set the ship’s auto-destruct and ordered his crew to abandon the ship while he remained behind to ensure the Odyssey’s sacrifice was for something. Many of his senior staff refused to leave, and instead, they stood together, watching helplessly as the Borg controlled the fleet. The Odyssey was heavily damaged when the USS Titan was able to access its command access codes and disable its shields. Several torpedoes hit the ship’s primary computer command processors, turning off the auto-destruct. Not willing to let the ship continue its barrage against Earth, McCallister, with his first officer and other senior officers, attempts to reach engineering to overload the ship’s warp cores. They didn’t make it in time, just as the former command crew of the USS Enterprise-D stopped the Borg Queen’s signal and rescued everyone. The Odyssey was crippled and left hanging in space. With the massacre now over, McCallister and those who remained behind helped those who had been partially assimilated to get to the remaining auxiliary craft and abandon ship. Carrying his son, McCallister took one look around his bridge, fearing that this was the last time he would see his ship.

After being stuck in an escape with his son for a few days, McCallister was eventually rescued, and after being taken to Starfleet Medical to receive treatment, he was told some good news from his brother, Horatio. It would appear the Changeling conspiracy had grown deep for some time, and they had replaced a couple of members of McCallister’s senior staff, including his wife. Karyn had been found locked away with other Starfleet officers in a bunker underground on Earth. Finding his wife alive was one of the happiest days of his life, and McCallister took extended leave to recover from what had happened so that he and his family could reconnect.

By mid-2401, the Odyssey had been fixed, and the entire squadron had returned to the Delta Quadrant. McCallister led efforts to rekindle where they had left off with the Benthans and undertook negotiations for them to create a joint communication platform that both sides could use to remain in contact with Starfleet assets in the Gradin Belt and beyond. The project had to go on hold when the Odyssey detected a borg-homing signal from a nearby nebula. McCallister was not keen to deal with the Borg again; however, after they discovered the remains of the unfinished Borg Transwarp Hub, McCallister worked with his crew to prepare a plan to destroy it. Once again, they liberated more drones and were successful with the Hub’s destruction; alongside this, McCallister prevented it from falling into the hands of the Malon. Starfleet commended McCallister and his crew for preventing such a vital piece of Borg technology from returning to Borg control or under the influence of the Malon.

Shortly thereafter, the Odyssey visited the Entharan colony in the Gerina system. While there the crew defended one of the Entharan’s civilian research outposts from the Hirogen. As part of their repayment, Korvain, one of the Entharan business owners, wanted to provide the ship with an overhaul of its tactical systems. McCallister did decline the offer and this led to Korvain being insulted. Korvain continued to insist on providing the overhaul and ended up sabotaging the Odyssey. McCallister decided to end their visit to the Entharan colony. While attempting to flee from the Gerina system, Korvain attacked the Odyssey in a bold bid to take the ship. After a fierce battle, the ship was able to escape and hide from Korvain until the Themis was able to provide further support.

Later on in the year, the Odyssey returned to the Beta Quadrant after the opening of underspace corridors across the galaxy. The ship led its squadron to Deep Space 19, where McCallister was surprisingly promoted to commodore. He was ordered to deal with a larger squadron (four ships were added) and he handed command of the Odyssey over to his first officer, Max Duncan.