Jonathan Archer



Jonathan Beckett Archer (October 9, 2112 - July 5, 2245) was a Human male, and one of the most historically significant figures of the 22nd century. Archer commanded the starship Enterprise (NX-01), where his captaincy earned him the description by 23rd century history John Gill as the "greatest explorer of the 22nd century". His career in Starfleet and later in a variety of other positions also allowed him a prominent position in political history; as a keen diplomat and one of the founding fathers of the United Federation of Planets.

The son of famed warp specialist Henry Archer, Jonathan was appointed captain of Enterprise, Starfleet's first Warp 5 starship, in 2151; his leadership aboard Enterprise helped establish United Earth as a legitimate interstellar power and pave the way for a whole-scale revolution in Alpha Quadrant politics, leading to the establishment of the Coalition of Planets and later the United Federation of Planets. During his Starfleet career Archer rose to the rank of Admiral and position of Chief of Staff, before retiring from Starfleet to take on a string of political positions; Federation Ambassador to Andoria, a Federation Councillor, and as one of the Federation's earliest Presidents.

Early life
Jonathan Archer, the son of Henry and Sally Archer, was born in Upstate New York in 2112.

When Jonathan could not get sleep during his childhood, his mother would often recite The Song of the Wandering Aengus. He did not learn that it was a poem by W. B. Yeats until he was much older.

From an early age, Jonathan had an interest in space flight and technology, such as the model starship that he built with his father when he was nine in 2121.

His paternal great-grandfather, Nathan Archer, was a captain in the United Nations Peace Directorate who served in North Africa during the Eugenics Wars (1992-1996).

Early Starfleet career
In the 2130s, Archer attended Earth Starfleet Flight School based in San Francisco; he was accepted into Starfleet and the NX program in 2132. During his time there, he had a relationship with Margaret Mullin. The day before graduating from Flight School in 2136, the 24-year-old Archer proposed to Mullin outside of her apartment on Westgate Avenue, but she turned him down, stating that she did not want to become a "Starfleet widow." By 2143, Archer was a Commander working on the NX Program, the legacy of his now-deceased father's work. There he met A.G. Robinson and Charles Tucker III, both of whom became close friends. The first prototype, the NX-Alpha, with a mission to break the Warp 2 barrier, was destroyed during flight. Robinson, piloting the flight, became the first person to eject in an escape pod while at warp. On the suggestion by Vulcan advisors that the engine design required further simulation and bench-testing, the NX Program was canceled after this incident. Convinced the design was already sound, the cancellation did not stop Archer and Robinson, with assistance from Tucker, from making an unauthorized test flight using the NX-Beta prototype. They successfully launched the Beta and used the ship to reach a speed of Warp 2.5. With this obvious success, the program was reconsidered and subsequently reinstated by Starfleet Command; however, as a result of their actions, Archer and Robinson were grounded for three months, pending an inquiry.

Captain of Enterprise
By 2151 Archer was a Starfleet Captain and was poised to take command of the Enterprise NX-01, the first ship to utilize his father's warp five engine design. Archer persuaded his superiors to bring the launch of the Enterprise forward three weeks when a Klingon, Klaang, crash landed on Earth; Archer wished to return the injured Klingon home to Qo'noS. The mission resulted in Archer and the Enterprise becoming entangled in the Temporal Cold War, as Klaang had been shot down by the Suliban Cabal when he was trying to deliver evidence that the Suliban were manipulating the Klingons into Civil War. Archer successfully outmaneuvered the Suliban and delivered Klaang to Qo'noS, averting the civil war. With the Enterprise already out into space Starfleet granted Archer permission to commence the ship's mission of exploration.

The first Class M planet discovered by Archer on the Enterprise's mission was in the 61 Ursae Majoris. While a toxic pollen in the atmosphere caused problems for the initial landing party from the Enterprise a cure was later discovered and the planet, named Archer IV in Jonathan's honor, was colonized.

The Xindi
On March 22, 2153, a prototype Xindi weapon appeared in Earth orbit, cutting a swath from Florida to Venezuela, killing seven million people. Enterprise was recalled and outfitted with new weapons. With a tip-off from the Suliban and their temporal benefactor Archer then took the Enterprise into the mysterious Delphic Expanse to find the Xindi and stop them launching an even more powerful weapon which threatened to destroy Earth and Humanity.

In the Expanse the crew discovered that the Xindi had been manipulated into attacking Earth by the Sphere Builders, a faction from a possible future timeline who were attempting to alter their history so that Humanity was wiped out and unable to found the Federation; which had been responsible for repelling a Sphere Builder invasion in their version of the 26th century.

Archer and his crew successfully destroyed the Sphere Builder artifacts responsible for the Expanse's existence, convince the majority of the Xindi Council that Earth posed no threat, and managed to destroy the Xindi superweapon before it could destroy Earth.

The Romulan War
During the Earth-Romulan War, Archer led a task force to liberate Berengaria VII from the Romulan Star Empire. On July 22, 2156, Archer went to the Klingon Empire to ask them to aid United Earth against the Romulans.

In May of 2159, Archer and Enterprise saved a Vulcan scientist named T'Uerell from the Romulans. After this, there were a series of missions that Archer was assigned to, and came to learn that T'Uerell was behind many disasters in the Alpha Quadrant, including infecting planets with toxins, destroying a Starfleet facility with crewmembers on board, and attempting to use toxins to annihilate Earth. This plan was thwarted by Archer and his task force. T'Uerell went into hiding and was not heard from until the late 23rd century, where she was intercepted by James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise

Post-war career
Shortly after the war, in 2161, Archer returned to Earth where the Enterprise was to be decommissioned, and where he was to give a speech and serve as one of the signatories of the document, which gave birth to the United Federation of Planets.

Over the course of his career Archer earned many commendations, including the Medal of Valor, with clusters, the Star Cross, the Preantares Ribbon of Commendation, and the Federation Citation of Honor. For his service in the Romulan War he was promoted to the rank of Admiral, and by 2168, he had become Starfleet Chief of Staff.

In 2164 he was appointed an honorary member of the Andorian Imperial Guard by General Shran. On January 1, 2169, Archer retired from Starfleet, continuing his work as a diplomat by taking on the position of Federation Ambassador to Andoria.

He served as Ambassador until 2175, when he was elected to the position of Federation Councillor from United Earth. He ascended to the presidency in 2185, serving two terms.

According to one biography, Archer "died at his home in upstate New York in the year 2245, exactly one day after attending the christening ceremony of the first Federation starship Enterprise, NCC-1701"''.

Legacy
John Gill described Archer as the "greatest explorer of the 22nd century". A century later Elias Vaughn considered Archer to be one of Earth's most eminent explorers alongside the likes of Leif Eriksson, Ferdinand Magellan, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Neil Armstrong.

As of the mid-23rd century Archer was the only Human to have two planets named in his honor: Archer's Planet in the Gamma Trianguli sector, and Archer IV in 61 Ursae Majoris.

Archer's Comet and the Federation starship USS Archer were also named for him.

A building at Starfleet Academy's Command Staff College was named after Jonathan Archer.

The State University of New York system was renamed Archer University in his honor as one of New York State's most famous natives. There were many campuses in municipalities throughout the state, including Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Cortland upstate, and Stony Brook on Long Island.

Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline, while in the Delphic Expanse in 2153, Archer sustained injuries which crippled his brain's ability to form new long-term memories, leaving him unable to recall more than the last few hours (and the whole of his life up to the point of injury). In this condition, he was unable to continue in command. The Enterprise was unable to stop the Xindi plot against Earth in time, the planet was destroyed and the Xindi exterminated every human colony they could locate. Archer, under the care of T'Pol, was one of the survivors who relocated to a secret colony on Ceti Alpha V.

In another alternate timeline in which John Frederick Paxton destroyed Starfleet Command and ended the talks for the Coalition of Planets in 2155, Archer continued to work toward creating a political alliance between Vulcan, Andoria, Tellar] and other worlds, with the belief Earth would eventually join as well. His actions were opposed by the Isolationist Party, who had him recalled to Earth after they took control of the Parliament in 2161 and put before a court martial. He performed the marriage between Trip and T'Pol, and himself married Erika Hernandez prior to 2199. He died at some point after 2244.