James Farrell

James Farrell was a Starfleet officer. He graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2356. In 2370 he was assigned as the commanding officer of the USS Repulse (NCC-71359). Farrell is the central character in the series Star Trek: The Nomad Frontier.

Early Life
Born as the youngest of two children to Francis and Karen Farrell in Kickapoo, Kansas in 2335, James Farrell always longed to leave the barren prairies and travel to the stars. Unlike most children on Earth, Farrell was raised in a religious family, as his parents were devout Roman Catholics. Although he would become lapsed later on in his life, the parochial upbringing of his youth would be a great influence on his later life.

Although he was a bright student, as a younger man he was more interested in sports than in academics. His dream to enter Starfleet would force him to buckle down, however, and after graduating from high school, he was accepted into Starfleet Academy in 2353, at the age of 17.

Starfleet Academy
Although he was admitted to the Academy, he never quite lived up to the academic burden placed upon him while he was there. Rather than focus on his studies, Farrell was more of a jock and a partier. His only major claim to fame while there was during his tenure as the quarterback of the Academy football team in his junior and senior years. When he graduated in 2356, he did so in the botton ten percent of his class, and was marked by most of his classmates and instructors as destined for mediocrity. His shining moment came in his senior year, when he led his team to a come from behind victory over the heavily favored University of Alpha Centauri in the 2356 Lunar Bowl.

Early Career
Following his graduation, for reasons that remain unclear to him, he was selected to join the SEALs, Starfleet's elite special forces unit. For the first time since he had enlisted, his jocularity became an asset rather than a detriment. Despite the grueling training, he made it through, and was assigned to SEAL Team Two in 2357. During the following years, he would serve along the Cardassian Front during the Federation-Cardassian War. Although he was considered to be overly gung-ho at first, he would develop into one of the finest young officers in the SEALs. His career with the Teams lasted until 2363 when he was wounded during a skirmish with the Cardassians. Following his injury, which made him unfit for combat duty, he undertook the Advanced Tactical Training Program and was assigned to the USS Yorktown (NCC-42944) as chief tactical officer.

USS Yorktown
His service aboard the USS Yorktown (NCC-42944) would take him back to the Cardassian Front, although the conflict had cooled immensely by the time he returned in 2365. Aboard the ship, he had the opportunity to serve under Captain Walter Stone, widely considered to be among the best starship commanders in the fleet. In 2366, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. His service aboard the Yorktown was abruptly terminated when the ship was one of thirty-nine Federation starships destroyed by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359.

USS Courageous
Shortly after the Battle of Wolf 359, Farrell was reunited with Captain Stone, this time as his first officer aboard the Captain's new command, USS Courageous (NCC-26431). He served there with distinction, receiving a promotion to Commander in 2368. Two years later, in 2370 he was promoted to Captain and given command of the USS Repulse (NCC-71359).

USS Repulse
Farrell is a relatively young commander, and his lack of knowledge in many of the more technical and scientific fields causes him to rely heavily on his senior staff in those areas. He is considered to be a laid back commander, and he places more emphasis on ability than on protocol. With the exception of his chief engineer, he prefers to keep the rest of his crew at arms length.