James T. Kirk

Actor: James Cawley
Nicknames: Jim
Rank: Captain
Position: Starship Command

Current Assignment: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Previous Assignments: USS Republic (NCC-1371), USS Farragut (NCC-1647)

Kirk's ancestors pioneered the American frontier, and his Midwest roots tied him closely to American history, a lifelong interest. He had an older brother, George Samuel Kirk, although "Sam" and his wife Aurelan died at Deneva in 2267; their one son and Kirk's nephew Peter survived them. As a child of 13, Kirk witnessed the massacre of 4,000 people during a famine by the governor of Tarsus IV, nicknamed Kodos the Executioner.

A romantic at heart, Kirk never formed a lasting, romantic relationship due to his devotion to career ... especially during his captaincy of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Kirk entered Starfleet Academy, and soon earned the rare privilege of assignment starship duty as a first-year cadet with the brevet rank of ensign while aboard the USS Republic (NCC-1371). There Kirk was close friends with Benjamin Finney, for whose murder Kirk was later tried, but was tormented by an upperclassman, Finnegan. As an older cadet he served as an instructor, where Gary Mitchell was one of his students and later his best friend, saving his life on Dimorus. His heroes included Abraham Lincoln and Captain Garth, whose missions were required reading in class, as were the works of Dr. Roger Korby. Kirk had the distinction of being the only cadet ever to beat the "no-win" Kobayashi Maru scenario; he had secretly reprogrammed the simulation computer, making it possible to win and earning himself a commendation for original thinking.

After graduation, Kirk's first assignment was the USS Farragut (NCC-1647) as a newly-promoted lieutenant, a tour distinguished by his command of a survey mission to Tyree's planet Neural in 2254 and his guilt-plagued discovery of the creature dubbed a "cloud vampire" which led to the deaths of his captain and 200 shipmates. He later realized that there was nothing he could have done to save them. Kirk once contracted and recovered from Vegan choriomeningitis, but still carries microorganisms of it in his blood.

Kirk's historically rapid rise to a captaincy and command of a loyal and respectful 430-member crew are reflected in the awards and commendations he had garnered by 2267, including the Palm Leaf of the Axanar Peace Mission, the Grankite Order of Tactics, a Class of Excellence award, the Prantares Ribbon of Commendation, First and Second Class, the Medal of Honor, a Silver Palm with Cluster, the Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry, the Karagite Order of Heroism and several Awards of Valor.