Tristan Marshall


 * For the alternate reality counterpart see Tristan Marshall (alternate reality).

Tristan Carlisle Marshall was a celebrated Starfleet officer and diplomat who served during the latter half of the 24th century and the early 25th century. The highlights of his career were centered around assignments as commanding officer of the Federation starships: USS Camelot, USS Templar, and USS Templar-A. In these roles, Marshall not only witnessed the major turning points of recent galactic history, but played a key role in them also he made first contact with 20 alien species (including the hostile Ultari Empire), was a key fighter in the Second Eugenics War, and also discovered the legendary Spear of Destiny, the Spear the pierced the side of Jesus Christ. Marshall was killed during the Eugenics Invasion of Earth in single combat with rogue starfleet captain Arthur Rosslyn.

Childhood and Early Starfleet Career
Tristan was born to Carlisle and Pamela Marshall aboard the Starfleet ship the USS Endeavor in the year 2358. He spent his most of his childhood and early adolescence aboard the ship. While on a diplomatic mission a battle ensued when renegade Klingons attacked the Endeavor. The ship escaped but not without sustaining heavy damage and costing Samuel and Pamela their lives. After the attack, Tristan returned to Earth and was taken in by his father's good friend and his godfather Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Picard was supportive at a time when very few were and eventually became a father of sorts to Tristan (though he never forgot his parents). The two often played chess which taught Tristan strategy and how to use an opponent's weaknesses against them. But Picard also taught Tristan to be trusting and compassionate. Although he never admitted it to anyone and only spoke of it in his journal, he always wanted revenge on the Klingons who killed his parents. When Tristan joined Starfleet Academy he quickly excelled to the top of his class. All of his instructors said it was only a mater of time until he would become captain of his own ship. While there, Tristan met and befriended Fredrick Drake. He also met Hannah Monteray. During their time at Starfleet Academy, they struck up a romantic relationship. After they graduated, Tristan and Fredrick served as ensigns aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E. Tristan was involved in the Ba'Ku insurrection and the battle against Praetor Shinzon. Following his promotion to Lieutenant JG Tristan was transferred onto the USS Camelot, under the command of Captain Peter Taggert.

Xindi-Suliban Alliance War
In 2385, the Xindi-Suliban Alliance threatened the safety of the Federation. At the behest of Typhuss James Kira, Marshall - just recently made captain of the USS Templar (NCC-573912) - sent his untested crew into battle against the Alliance. They proved themselves to be a worthy crew, and Typhuss later commented that "the crew of Tristan Marshall would follow him to the death." Typhuss and Tristan eventually became good friends.

The Hobus crisis
In 2387, the USS Templar (NCC-573912) and the USS Intrepid (NCC-724656-A) were sent across the now defunct Romulan Neutral Zone to search for any Romulans who may have survived the explosion of the Hobus star. He met with mixed sentiments from the survivors. Some of them wanted to leave their homeland and reunite with their Vulcan cousins, others blamed the Federation for the loss of their beloved homeworld and some simply wanted to live out the last years of their existence in peace, away from the interference of the Federation.

While during this rescue mission, Captain Marshall discovered the last survivors of the Reman race. All of them had perished in the explosion, save for this group of pirates, who were a branch of Shinzon's coalition. They pledged their loyalty to Marshall and gave him information for their lives... That information was the indentity of the Klingon house whose members had killed his parents: the House of Tanas.

Though he did not immediately pursue this link, he kept it inside himself, secretly waiting for the opportunity to be sent into Klingon space. Unfortunately, his old friend and mentor foresaw this (since he himself had endured the same thing when assimilated by the Borg) and petitioned that he be allowed to continue his search throughout Romulan space and be kept away from Klingon Imperial space by any means necessary. Tristan felt betrayed by Picard and the two drifted away. This estrangement would last for several months.

Later General Worf lead a task force to stop Nero's quest for vengeance following the destruction of Romulus. The Templar and Intrepid also joined the battle against the Narada. The task force was quickly overwhelmed and the Narada fired it's advanced weaponry and crippled the USS Intrepid (NCC-724656-A) with a single volley. Nero demanded that Worf deliver himself as a captive. Worf agreeed,but used the surrender as cover to lead an EVA mission onto Nero's vessel. The Klingons meet with initial success,while Worf made his way to the command center to find Nero. Worf rejected Nero's attempts to persuade him,and is impaled by the vessel's Borg-enhanced mechanisms. Alive but only tenuously, Worf was beamed to the Enterprise as part of a ploy to lower the Starfleet vessel's shields, and was immediately transported to sickbay. Worf was still recovering from the wounds received onboard the Narada. The Intrepid and the Templar were sent to escort Spock, who had launched the Jellyfish to try and stop the Hobus supernova doing any further damage. Tristan was determined to make sure that his mission was a success. Nero, enraged by the loss of his homeworld, opened fire on the Jellyfish. The Templar and the Intrepid fired their weapons at the Narada to keep Spock from being hit. Both ships sustained heavy damage, but managed to survive. Spock's red matter created a black hole, Nero voiced his fury at Spock's having saved Vulcan, at what Nero considered to be Romulus's escape. But before Nero could take his revenge any further the Narada was sucked into the black hole. As the Narada disappeared Nero promised he would have his revenge. Then the Intrepid finds no sign of the supernova, the Jellyfish, or the Narada. Unfortunately, Spock was not found by the USS Templar or the USS Intrepid-A. They realized that Spock knew he wouldn't escape and that Spock sacrificed himself to save the galaxy.

The First Year
While still in Romulan space, he came across a destroyed pirate ship, and there he made first contact with the Ultari race and met Kyara. An Ultari battleship attacked the Templar and demanded that they surrender Kyara. They revealed that Kyara was a fugitive of the Ultari Empire and had been sentanced to death. The Two ships battled. The Ultiari agreed to a ceasefire on the condition that Kyara never enter Ultairian space again. Without a home, Kyara was welcomed on the Templar and eventually became science officer. A year later, while still patrolling the Neutral Zone, Typhuss James Halliwell met up with Marshall again, asking him for help. Apparently Typhuss had discovered a way to return to an alternate mirror universe Typhuss had visited some five years before and he wanted Marshall's ship and crew to help him in returning there to help the Maquis get freedom from the Terran Empire.

Later G'nort, a Klingon Starfleet officer was transfered from the Gladius to the Templar. Tristan tried to surpress his distrust. When they discoverd a small uncharted planet, Tristan and G'nort beamed down. They were attacked by angry natives and Tristan lost his weapon. G'Nort was able to defeat the natives and the two beamed back to the ship. Having his life saved by a Klingon caused him to have a change of heart and his distrust lifted. G'Nort and Tristan eventually became good friends.

Battle with Tanas
A few months later, three Starfleet ships were destroyed with no explanation. The Templar was sent to investigate. They were attacked by several Klingon warbirds headed by a stolen Romulan Valdore-class ship, captained by Tanas himself. Tanas was the leader of a group of Klingon vessels acting independently from the Klingon Empire: he believed that the alliance with the Federation had weakened the once proud warrior-people and wanted to destroy it. The ships engaged in battle. Consumed with rage, Tristan held nothing back in the fight.

Heavily damaged, the Templar was forced to retreat. Tristan stormed off into his quarters to blow off steam. Kyara came to visit him and he confided in her, revealing what Tanas had done to his family. She told him exactly the same thing that Picard did, that if he acted in revenge he would lose himself to darkness. Later, Tristan returned to the bridge and continued the pursuit and later discovered a Vulcan science vessel dead in the water. Tristan ordered an away team to beam aboard the ship a search for survivors. The Vulcan who survived revealed that Tanas had attacked them and that he was heading for the Federation colony-planet Munu-Ceso.

Determined to get there before Tanas and warn the colony, Tristan told his crew to prepare for battle and head for Munu-Ceso at maximum warp. They managed to get there before Tanas, having just enough time to warn the colonists. Tristan told the colonists that those who could fight, should stay and help and those that couldn't should board the Templar and evacuate the planet. Tristan also sent a message to Starfleet Command asking for help in evacuating the colonists and battling Tanas.

Before the battle began G'Nort pulled the captain aside and requested to stay out of the fight, for he would feel dishonored if he fired on his own people. As G'nort's friend Tristan agreed but as his commanding officer he warned that G'nort would never be allowed on a Starfleet ship again. G'Nort returned to his quarters as the battle began. While Fredrick and the majority of the crew beamed down to the planet to combat the Klingons, Tristan and a handful of crewmen stayed aboard to try to battle Tanas' flagship. The two ships were both heavily damaged but neither side surrendered. Eventually, the Templar gained the upper hand and was able to cripple their weapons. Tanas hailed the Templar and challenged Tristan to beam onto the ship to negotiate a peace. While Tristan suspected that this was probably a trap, he agreed.

As he was about to enter the transporter room, Tristan was surprised to see G'Nort running towards him. G'Nort asked Tristan if he could accompany him aboard Tanas' ship. His knowledge of Klingon customs would be useful in negotiating a peace. Tristan asked why he wanted to accompany him and G'Nort said he would also be dishonored if he did not help his comrades in a time of need. The two beamed onto Tanas' flagship. When they reached the bridge, Tanas ordered his guards to leave. Tanas told Tristan that he was foolish to be so trusting and aimed a disruptor at him. G'Nort jumped in front of Tristan. With G'Nort's dying breath he told Tristan that it was a honor to serve aboard his ship. Tristan replied that G'Nort was one of the best officers he had ever met. As G'Nort died, Tristan confronted Tanas. Tanas taunted Tristan, saying that G'Nort was a traitor and a coward. Enraged, Tristan knocked the disruptor from Tanas's hand and the two began to grapple.

Tristan soon gained the upper hand and grabbed the disruptor. But he couldn't bring himself to fire. He realized that Picard and Kyara were right, that he would become just as much of a monster as Tanas if he killed in revenge. He declared that Tanas was under arrest for crimes against the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The two returned to the Templar.

A few days later, Tristan held a memorial service for G'Nort. During his speech Tristan stated that although G'Nort hadn't been aboard the Templar for long that he had made a major impact in Tristan's life. Afterwards, Jean-Luc Picard entered Tristan's room and stated that he was proud of Tristan for not acting out of anger and doing what was right. Tristan apologized about the things he had said to him and their friendship was restored. They then enjoyed a drink together telling tales of their exploits.

Discovery on Ceti Alpha 5
Shortly after their battle with Tanas, the Templar received a distress call from a Federation colony in the Pachat system. They were being attacked by pirates that had been pillaging local systems. The Templar rushed to their aid but were sadly too late to stop the destruction of the colony. Enraged, Tristan ordered the ship to pursue. When they finally caught up with the pirates above Ceti Alpha 5, a battle ensued. Both ships were severely damaged and Tristan proposed a ceasefire. The Pirates agreed only if they took a shuttlecraft instead of being beamed aboard. Tristan, Visas, Fredrick and Kyara all boarded a shuttle. But they were betrayed by the pirates and shot down. They managed to survive by making a close crash landing.

They tried to reach the ship and get beamed out of there, but a terrible storm was causing the transporter to malfunction. They also couldn't send a shuttlecraft. Forced to seek shelter, they decided to hide in the remains of the Botany Bay; the ship of the late genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh. There, they happened upon a shocking find; a lost journal that had once belonged to Khan himself. While they waited for the storm to let up, the four people decided to read the journal.

In its entries, Khan mentioned a group of mutineers - fellow Augments who deserted him upon the supernova of Ceti Alpha 6 which made CA5 uninhabitable - whom he wished would die for their betrayal in leaving the planet. Tristan feared that, even though this entry was over one hundred years old, the Augments might have survived, or, the worse-case-scenario, become integrated into society and had already spread their Augmented DNA into a new generation of "supermen".

Further reading detailed Khan's attempts at restarting the genetic Augmenting in order to create an army that would, upon completion, conquer the galaxy. However, with the destruction of Ceti Alpha 6, survival became paramount and this was apparently abandoned. Visas suggested that they report this book to Starfleet command because if the book fell into the wrong hands it would be disastrous. Tristan agreed. The pirates lead by captain Jabat Lewol, beamed down to the planet to search to see if Tristan and the others survived. They came to the Botany Bay and saw the team. When Jabat realized what was in the book he tried to force them to give him the book so he could sell it on the black market. Jabat tried to wrestle the book from Tristan's arms. The two grappled and the away team battled Jabat's men. Tristan and his team managed to escape when Fredrick noticed an escape hatch. The team dashed inside. The door lead to a network of catacombs deep beneath the planet.

Tragedy
Tristan's second year aboard the Templar began with tragedy. Hannah Monteray was killed while trying to save the ship by a strange parasite. Visas then revealed that she was expecting his child, who had died along with her. This sent Tristan into a deep depression that lasted for months. He even had suicidal thoughts. Through all this time, Kyara was there for him as his confidant. As their friendship grew, he began to realize that he was falling in love with her. He suppressed the feelings because he was afraid to love again, lest he lose Kyara too.

The Ultari Superweapon
The USS Templar responded to a distress call from the USS Titan. They were going to the aid of a Federation colony. It turned out to be a trap and a massive Ultari battleship the likes of which had never been seen before attacked them. The Titan was dead in the water. Tristan ordered the Templar to head there at maximum warp.

They managed to rescue the Titan in the nick of time. Surprisingly, they found no traces of an Ultari ship on the scanners. The survivors of the Titan crew were beamed aboard the Templar. Tristan ordered that the Titan be towed to the nearest starbase.

Search for the Spear of Destiny
In 2406, Marshall became a temporary outlaw of the Federation for associating with Edward Shield. The reason for this was that the latter had discovered clues on Earth about a legendary weapon that could grant invincibility. Shield feared that the Federation would destroy it, since it was living proof to the existence of Christ, and asked Marshall if he would accompany him on a quest to find it. Marshall accepted.

The first place they went was a remote planet on the edge of the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. Shield said that he had been led here by a tablet which he had found on Earth during his first visit to it in the 25th century. They found a temple on that planet, dating back to the 1st century AD. The tablet matched the architecture in that temple, which proved that they had come to the right place. The temple had been made by a group of aliens who had visited Earth in the year 0031 AD and had witnessed (without interfering) the Crucifixion. Upon returning to this, their homeworld, they brought with them the spear that had pierced Christ. This became an object of worship, which the aliens imbued with their own natural energies.

Over time, the spear became so imbued with the collective energies of the many aliens that it became a weapon of invincibility. Wars were fought over its possession, during which their planet was decimated. The last living of the aliens, fearing what would happen if any race would ever find it, chose that it would be best that no one ever possess the weapon. To prove that he acted out of wisdom and not out of selfishness, he made records of his story in tablets of stone that were sent to Earth. Over the years, they were lost or destroyed, until the one that Edward Shield found remained - which even that was scarcely helpful.

After this, they continued reading the hieroglyphs on the temple until they discovered a passage that gave direct mention to the current location of the spear. Soon the Ultari Empire learned of the weapon and seeking a way to destroy the Federation soon began searching for it themselves. Seeing the Empire as a greater threat than the Federation, Tristan suggested a temporary alliance with Jean Luc Picard in order to find the spear before the Empire did (another reason was that he wanted to hook up with Fredrick Drake, who was touring the Enterprise at the time). Though Shield was extremely distrustful of Picard, he followed through.

With the help of the "superior" USS Enterprise-E and USS Templar, they found the planet where the Spear rested and beamed down onto it. Picard then had Shield arrested and detained aboard the Templar while he ordered Tristan to destroy everything, the Spear and its shrine. Tristan said that it would be wrong to destroy these ancient artifacts. Picard told him that this is the last bit of evidence: he had destroyed the temple on the planet of the aliens, leaving only this shrine and the Spear and the last real proof of the existence of Christ. Fredrick said that Christianity is the worst enemy humankind has ever faced, and that he, as a citizen of humanity and a loyal son of the Federation will defy Christianity, for the common good, even if it meant he had to spit in the face of Christ himself.

Tristan didn't believe what he was hearing. He was having a crisis of faith. He didn't even know if he really believed in Christ. Picard and Fredrick continued to try to convince him to destroy the spear. They remind him of all the terrible things caused by Christianity like the Crusades and The Holocaust. But before he could do anything, Picard received a message on his communicator. The crewman told Picard that they were under attack but the message was cut off. They hear the sound of somebody beaming in and turn and see Shield with a group of Ultaris. Shield, who had been excommunicated and marked for death by the Federation, chose to ally with the Ultari to protect the spear from destruction. The Ultaris demanded that they surrender the spear or die. Tristan refused. A fight ensued. While Picard and Fredrick were locked in battle with the Ultaris, Tristan managed to fight his way to the shrine and he grabbed the spear. Once he touched it, he saw visions of carnage and death caused by the spear. He realized that the weapon was once good but had been polluted and tainted by all the bloodshed caused by it. He made his mind up and destroyed the spear so it could never be used for evil again.

Shield attacked Tristan. The two grappled, Tristan broke Shield's knee and he fell off a cliff. Tristan grabbed Shield's hand and pulled him up. The Ultari are defeated and Shield goes to prison willingly (though he is rescued a few days later). Picard told Tristan that he's proud of the personal sacrifice he made for the good of the Federation, but then asked why he destroyed the spear after searching for it so much. Tristan said that he doesn't believe that Christianity itself is evil but the people who persecute and murder in the name of it are. Tristan and Fredrick return to the Templar.

Later Adventures
Tristan soon "encountered" Shield again (though not face-to-face) when he was asked to apprehend him after his escape from prison. The USS Enterprise-C was reported to be heading towards the Ultari Neutral Zone. The Federation believed that Shield was going to rejoin the Ultari. In truth, he just wanted to get out of Federation Space for the time being. Tristan was hesitant to pursue Shield due to their history together but had no choice but to accept the mission. The Templar caught up to the Enterprise-C near the Tengaras system. The two ships battled briefly, but neither ship sustained much damage. They were interrupted by the arrival of an Ultari vessel. Outmaned and outgunned, Tristan called a truce where the two ships worked together to defeat the ship. After the battle, Tristan decided to let the Enterprise-C go much to Fredrick Drake's disapproval. Tristan stated that there were much more pressing threats to worry about than the New Insurrectionists.

The Second Eugenics War
The Second Eugenics War began when Arthur Rosslyn found the plans for Khan's Augment army on Ceti Alpha 5 and began using them to create an army of his own. This further helped to tighten the case surrounding his expulsion, since creating genetically augmented people was against Federation law. Shortly thereafter, the refugee Augments who had escaped Ceti Alpha 5 in the 23rd century began attacking outlying Federation colonies. They began taking key sectors of space as their own. Several battles were fought between the Templar and these Augments.

During the war, Tristan briefly left command of the Templar to go on espionage missions. On one such mission, he managed to infiltrate Rosslyn's forces. Disguised as one of the supermen, he gave Starfleet Intelligence onto Rosslyn's actions. He witnessed Rosslyn approach Lianna Young and his old friend Edward Shield and offer them the chance to join him in his battle against the Federation. They accepted Afterwards, Tristan took Young down to deck 4 of the USS Yorktown-A and revealed himself. He told her about Rosslyn's plans. He planned to kill everyone in the Federation innocent or guilty. Edward and Lianna reluctantly agreed to join forces with Tristan to stop Rosslyn. They managed to stop Rosslyn and escape. Their friendship repaired, Tristan and Edward eagerly awaited the day they would find themselves on the same side once again.

During the second year of the war, the Romulans and Remans joined the fight; siding with the Federation and the Augments respectively. Although some of his crew were nervous about having Romulans aboard the ship, they were allowed to join the crew and together they helped win the Battle of Ontasia 7. This key victory gave them a strong foothold in Augment space. A handful of the crew to make sure that this base stayed intact.

Seeing the need for as many captains as possible, Fredrick was promoted to captain of his own vessel the USS Ragnarok. Tristan was saddened by the prospect of seeing his best friend leave but knew it was necessary. The Ragnarok was sent to help refugees of the war get to safety. The Templar's next mission was to free a space station that was being held up by Remans. The battle didn't start off well. The Cardassians had been expecting them and had laid a trap, knowing that the Templar was one of the flagships in the war. But the Templar managed to fight it out and free the station. Sadly, the battle cost Kyle Lennox his life. Eventually Tristan and the crew of the Templar returned to Ceti Alpha 5 to apprehend Rosslyn, who had set up his base of operations there. During the ensuing battle, the crew was able to beat back the Augments. But, Rosslyn escaped. Unwilling to let him escape justice once again, Tristan pursued him. Tristan caught up with Rosslyn and the two fought hand to hand. The base caught fire with Tristan and Rosslyn unable to escape. They continued to fight as the building came down on top of them. A bunch of debris landed on Arthur. Being a good sport, Tristan attempted to rescue Rosslyn and save his life. Rosslyn spat in Tristan's face and told him that he would rather burn in hell that accept help from him. Saddened, Tristan beamed back up to the Templar. Believing Rosslyn to be dead, they left the system.

Universal Harmony
After Arthur's apparent death, a new leader was chosen for the Augments. He was simply known as Caine. Tristan first encountered Caine while he was escorting a Vulcan ambassador to a summit taking place a few days later.

Federation Return to Starfleet and Death
After the war, Tristan retired from Starfleet to live out the rest of his life with his wife (who was expecting a child). When he officially announced his retirement, he made a grand speech before Starfleet Command, the Federation Council and billions of others across the Federation, admonishing them that the Ultari would one day return to take their vengeance upon humanity and that the Federation should be ready for that return. He then retired and became an author. He would eventually publish a controversial biography of Edward Shield. But his message was forgotten as the years went on and no Ultari invasion occurred. By 2422, the Ultari were no longer believed to be in existence any more. It was during that time that the Ultari came once again into prominence. After their crippling defeat at the hands of the Federation, the Ultari of the 25th century contacted those of the 34th century - from Kyara's time - and began planning a joint invasion of the Federation. It was successful and the Ultari even took control of the Federation and its president. This would seem incongruous with their otherwise "scorched earth" policy against humans, but they decided that the best way to destroy all of the humans, and their Federation allies, would be to conquer them all first and then systematically eliminate them. Starfleet Command called Tristan Marshall out of retirement to battle the enemy he alone had defeated in years past. Kyara, though she had to go up against her own people (her own family in fact, for her father was commanding the 34th century Ultari fleet), volunteered to aid him in any way she could. Before the battle, Kyara went into labor. She gave birth to a baby boy who she and Tristan named Clayton. The invasion was halted after Tristan sacrificed himself to destroy the main Ultari capital ship on February 18th, thereby severing all communication between the ships and allowing for the invasion to be ended.

Partial Resurrection
After being believed defeated for 25 years, the Ultari Empire reemerged and began a new assault against the Federation. Tristan's son Clayton was sent to quell the attacks but is relatively new at fighting them. So, using his own DNA and DNA he got of his father's old uniform attempted to clone his father. However, the clone had a defect and though he looked like Tristan Marshall and had all his own memories, his behavior was NOT the same. He became his OWN person, rather than just a clone of Tristan, and became a thorn in Clayton's side for a long while. He allied with the Ulatri and tried to conquer the galaxy.

Legacy
Tristan's brave heroism made him one of the most famous and respected captains in Starfleet history. Upon his death they erected a statue to him at Starfleet Academy. Tristan's son Clayton became just as famous as his father as the captain of the USS Claudius.

Personality and Physical Description
Marshall is a clever and very resourceful man. He is also known to be an opportunist, using any weaknesses in his enemies to his advantage. But he is also an honorable and compassionate man. He is also very trusting of his officers, a fact that has saved and hurt him in the past. He believes in goodness of others. But for a very long time he has a terrible distrust of Klingons. He eventually learned to trust Klingons through his friend G'Nort. He has a great love of history and literature. Some of the works he has collected include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. He is lean and muscular. Marshall is 6'2". He has brown eyes and hair. He has worn a goatee on occasion. He is considered a master swordsman particularly with a Katana, Rapier and Longsword. While Tristan doesn't believe that it's the perfect Utopian society others believe it is, Tristan believes that for the most part the Federation and what it stands for is good.

Jean-Luc Picard
When Tristan's parents were killed by the renegade Klingon Tanas, Tristan was taken in by Jean-Luc Picard. Since then Picard has been one of Tristan's closet friends and mentor. He was always available to give advice to Tristan, asked for or not. When Tristan learned the identity of the Klingon who killed his parents, Picard petitioned to keep Tristan away from Klingon space. This lead to an estrangement between them. After Tanas was brought to justice, the two reconciled. Even with all of the arguments and conflicts, Tristan and Picard remain very good friends.

Fredrick Drake
Fredrick is Tristan's closest friend and confident. They always go to each other for advice. Their friendship started at Starfleet Academy. Despite this, Tristan does not approve of Fredrick's general distrust towards other species.

Kolyat
Kolyat and Tristan are friends.

Edward Shield
Edward and Tristan have a complex relationship. While Tristan does not agree with Shield's views on the Federation, he believes that Shield has the right to express his opinions. Tristan admires Shield for having the courage to not go along with the crowd even at his own expense. Tristan even admits that he could never do that. They have also joined forces on several occasions for the greater good of all.

James T. Kirk
Tristan has always looked to James T. Kirk as a role model for joining Starfleet. When the two worked together during the Ultari superweapon crisis, he stated that Tristan was much like himself at Tristan's age. But he also warned that he lacked experience and that he made hasty decisions that could jeopardize his crew. When Tristan proved himself a good and wise leader in battle Kirk told him that he was proud of Tristan and that he would make a fine captain.

Typhuss James Kira
In 2385, the Xindi-Suliban Alliance threatened the safety of the Federation. At the behest of Typhuss James Kira, Marshall - just recently made captain of the USS Templar (NX-573912) - sent his untested crew into the battle of Kaleb Four against the Alliance. They proved themselves to be a worthy crew, and Typhuss later commented that "the crew of Tristan Marshall would follow him to the death." After the battle Tristan and Typhuss eventually became good friends. Two years later in 2387 Tristan and Typhuss protected Spock's ship the Jellyfish from the Romulan mining ship Narada command by Nero.

Kyara
When the Templar rescued Kyara and she first laid eyes on Tristan she fell instantly in love with him. During her first year aboard the Templar she kept her feelings to herself.

Hannah Monteray
Tristan had been romantically involved with Hannah Monteray from their days at Starfleet Academy to her death in 2403.