Anatole Lazarus

Early Life

Anatole Lazarus was born to Hieronymus Lazarus and Coralie de Mars, who had settled as farmers in Aix-en-Provence in southern France. Along with his younger brother Pierre he was possessed of a childhood dream to see the stars which matured into a mutual pact to join Starfleet as soon as they were able. Anatole won entrance into the Academy at the age of seventeen in 2332, his brother four years later at the more common age of eighteen.

Early Starfleet Career

Lazarus’s early career was remarkably undistinguished for that of a future Federation Admiral. He gained entry into Starfleet Academy at the age of seventeen where he specialised as a Security and Tactical Officer, following failure in the pilot’s exam and rejection from the Science Officer training programme due to inadequate mathematical abilities. Nevertheless he succeeded in his eventual field and graduated in the lower third of his class having shown some ability in athletics.

Initially assigned as a Security Officer aboard the Excelsior class USS Fearless, Lazarus made Lieutenant (junior grade) within four years and was later assigned to Chief of Security aboard the newly launched USS Valdemar, a prestigious Ambassador class vessel. He was to serve aboard the Valdemar for some ten years, rising to the position of Second Officer before promotion and transfer to the Consellation Class USS Victory, as its Executive Officer. Lazarus’s service aboard both vessels involved considerable combat experience in the Cardassian and Tzenkethi wars.

During a strategic regrouping on the Cardassian border, Lazarus was assigned to the temporary command of the USS Lakota, a battle-damaged Excelsior class which had lost half of her crew. Lazarus retained the command for a further nine years and saw both her and her crew through the Cardassian Wars intact. It was this experience of a combat role, in connection with his length of service that won Lazarus his first truly prestigious appointment, the command of the newly launched Galaxy class USS Fairfax in 2366. Under Lazarus the Fairfax undertook a number of deep space exploratory missions and served in the Federation-Klingon wars of 2367 and 2372-3. Lazarus gained a reputation as an able battlefield commander, however the conflict which was yet to come.

The Dominion War and its aftermath

During the Dominion War, the Fairfax was assigned to the Seventh Fleet and was one of a number of vessels who served consistently on the front lines during the war. The seminal event, and greatest tragedy, Lazarus’s life occurred following the battle of the Tyra system in 2374 during which the Fairfax was severely damaged and boarded by Jem’Hadar. In the ensuing chaos Lazarus was abducted and replaced by a Changeling. The Fairfax herself endured and remained under the command of the imposter Captain until the Battle of Cardassia, whereupon the imposter was caught attempting to affect a warpcore breach and neutralised by the Fairfax crew.

Lazarus himself was held captive and interrogated aboard a Dominion vessel, Cardassia Prime and later transferred to Dominion Internment Camp 377, a dilithium mining facility on a planetoid in the Orias system ran jointly between the Cardassians and Jem’Hadar. Lazarus remained imprisoned, alongside a number of other alliance personnel, including a significant number of Klingons and endured the trials of forced labour and the brutality of the guards and other inmates. He suffered repeated physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a number of Klingon prisoners. He, and his fellow prisoners, were to remain incarcerated until the liberation of the Orias system at the end of the Dominion War in 2375.

Following his release Lazarus remained nominally in command of the Fairfax, however as a result of extreme battle damage she was laid up in dry dock for almost thirteen months, undergoing a full refit. During this time Lazarus recuperated from his ordeal on Earth. This was a difficult time for Lazarus. Diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder he struggled to rebuild his relationship with his Betazoid partner Andinoni Khal. Their relationship remains somewhat distant and cool, although they do maintain a residence together on Earth. He found his brother Pierre, a fellow Starfleet Captain, had perished along with his ship and crew during the Second Battle of Chin’toka a year earlier.

Post-Dominion War Years

The Anatole Lazarus that emerged from the Dominion War was changed. Whereas he had once been a man of action and both passionate and creative in his own way he was now cold, distant and moved only by the great themes of his life. Formerly cosmopolitan and adventurous in his views and tastes, Lazarus’s world-view had shifted. His views drifted to the far right wing of Federation politics and he began to advocate maintaining the militarised Starfleet and centralised government of the war years in order to ensure that the Federation was better prepared for future wars with the other Alpha Quadrant powers that he believes are inevitable.

Upon the completion of the Fairfax’s refit, Lazarus was reassigned to an administrative post of minor importance within Starfleet Command with lighter duties than those of a Starship commander. Initially he struggled with the change of routine, however over time he adapted and set about mastering Starfleet politics. As one of a number of Command Adjutants responsible for Starfleet policy Lazarus made several alliances within the upper Admiralty who shared his reactionary views and desire to maintain a war-footing within the fleet. Slowly he built a network. Two years later his politicking brought him advancement to the rank of Commodore and position of Assistant Chief of Operations. In this position he sat on a number of influential committees including the Advanced Starship Design and Commissioning Committee, the Fleet Strategic Review and the Starfleet Academy Board of Governors.

By 2381 Lazarus’s talents as an administrator and his views, which remained fashionable within some circles of Starfleet Command won him a lateral transfer to an Assistant Directorship of Starfleet Intelligence. There he was one of a high-level team that controlled the information flow from Starfleet Intelligence to Starfleet Command and the UFP’s civilian government. Although a relatively junior role, Lazarus developed his network further and by 2383 it stretched through both Starfleet and the UFP’s civilian government. Such was his influence that by 2383 he was able to manoeuvre himself into a front line command post in command of Task Force 65 which at that time was responsible for the UFP/Klingon border territories.

Lazarus’s second tour of duty in the field was, however, short-lived. As Task Force Commander he pursued a more assertive policy with increased patrols and orders to challenge any vessel encountered crossing the border at will. This policy was controversial at best and became inflammatory following a number of inconclusive border incidents. Within the year his position had become untenable. Protected by his extensive network and war hero reputation, Starfleet Command had little choice but to attempt to constrain Lazarus through appointment to a position of prestige and little power that he would be unable to refuse. Therefore he was recalled to Earth to serve as Academy Commandant.

As Commandant, Lazarus pursued a series of gradual and quiet reforms to officer and NCO training placing a greater emphasis on the more militaristic areas of Starfleet service. He is seeking to produce a generation of Starfleet officers who are prepared to fight for the Federation’s survival in the twenty fifth century. He has continued to pursue these policy goals in his successive appointments as Executive Officer of Fourth Fleet and a member of its Command Council.

Personal Life

Anatole Lazarus married Andinoni Khal, a male Betazoid Science Officer in 2341 with whom he had served aboard the Fearless. They married on Betazed in a traditional ceremony. Khal transferred alongside Lazarus to the Valdemar later that year. At first they had a remarkably close marriage. They served together aboard the Victory, Lakota and eventually the Fairfax in 2366. Khal, by then Lazarus’s Chief Science Officer, sacrificed a number of promotion opportunities in order to remain with his partner. In 2372 Khal accepted a transfer to a research position at Starfleet Science at Anatole’s insistence, prior to the Fairfax’s engagement in the second Klingon War. They were not to see one another until Lazarus’s return from Dominion internment in 2375.

The marriage remains intact, although it has grown distant and difficult as a result of four years apart and Anatole’s personality shift and post traumatic stress disorder. Andioni has proven a loyal companion, refusing more than one offer of divorce and has responded to Anatole’s ordeal at the hands of the Dominion with compassion