Montaine Buchanan

Captain Montaine Buchanan was commanding officer of Deep Space 3 in the mid-24th century. (Star Trek: Outpost)

Starfleet career
After graduation Buchanan was assigned to the planet Kalimor. While there, he fell in love with Emily Alkon, daughter of the Colony Governor. Buchanan loved to walk, a habit he developed prior to Kalimor. He would time various routes in the areas where he lived and worked to maximize the time he had available.

In 2339, Kalimor was invaded by the Mahr. They Mahr proceeded to kill off the colonists through starvation, slave labour, torture, and eventually medical experimentation. Buchanan assumed command of the survivors following the death of senior Starfleet officer at the colony. His management of their meagre resources was vital to keeping as many of the prisoners alive as possible. Many died nevertheless, including his Vulcan friend Sakor. The Mahr exposed Buchanan to a deadly pathogen that initially caused hallucinations and delirium. Dr Arban Breetal saved Buchanan by smuggling out a small amount of antidote. While he was incapacitated, Emily Alkon was similarly infected; without any remaining antidote, she died two days before Starfleet liberated the camp. The Mahr vanished into the Miragosa Nebula. ("Shades of The Past")

Buchanan never quite recovered psychologically from his experiences on Kalimor. He was awarded a medal for his actions but he did not believe he deserved it.

His next assignment was as logistics officer of Starbase 43, which he held for thirteen years, nine with the rank of lieutenant commander and four more as commander.

Buchanan was promoted to captain and assigned to Deep Space 3 in 2351. A driven, heavy-handed martinet, Buchanan's management style was to maximize short-term gains and minimize use of resources, going so far as to power down sections of the station and cannibalise it for parts rather than requisition new supplies. Buchanan was known to take walks all over the station; the crew believed this was one way he could keep an eye on them.

By 2364 he had won an award for Most Efficient Station three years running. Captain Buchanan had expressed interest in a position in Admiral Halliburton's Logistics office at Starfleet HQ, but had been passed over multiple times for promotion to the rank of admiral. He was involved in a serious turbolift accident resulting in him inhaling a significant amount of anti-grav coolant. While unconscious he suffered an unexplained out-of-body experience in which he learned that Avery Tovar-Smith's sister had symptoms matching the Mahr pathogen, which he was later able to confirm was true. While recovering, he was relieved of command of the station. ("Shadow of Times Future", "The Needs of the Few") Since regaining consciousness, Captain Buchanan had been desperate,even obsessed with returning to duty, partially a manifestation from loss of control, partially due to his paranoia regarding his First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gregory Torkelson. His obsession drove him to acts of recklessness, such as sneaking out of sick bay for a surrepticious visit to the holodeck. Buchanan's attempts to prove his readiness to return to duty only prolonged his recovery, as well as earning the ire of his only friend on the station Chief Medical Officer Dr Arban Breetal.

With his subordinates
Buchanan is not popular, and morale was low amongst his crew. Some of the less than complimentary nicknames given to him include "Bucky", and "Captain Blue Cannon". Despite his many personal shortcomings, Captain Buchanan had substantial command presence. In the words of Medtech Kell, "Whether you liked him or loathed him, you knew it when he entered the room." He in turn considered the majority of the crew on the station as "spoiled children that cry about what they don't have, and don't know the meaning of genuine hardship" and consistently treated them with varying degrees of contempt and disdain. Buchanan's ambition to succeed was exceeded only by lack of loyalty to the station or its crew.

With his peers
While Captain Buchanan concedes to having officers of equal rank, he denies having peers. He dismissed Captain Tyrellian as inferior and substandard. Despite Lieutenant Renova Exler being a fully qualified command officer, and was temporarily in Command of the Chimera following the disappearance of Sayzar Tyrellian, he does not believe she is ready to be her captain. In his first meeting with LCDR Torkelson following his arrival he dressed him down. (" What could be so Bad?", "Shades of the Present")

With his superiors
Though he believed himself a logistical genius in the eyes of Starfleet Command, he was, in fact, the butt of jokes and slurs by the Admiralty because of his incomplete understanding of proper station operation. The reason behind his long tenure in command of Deep Space 3 was unknown, though it was speculated Starfleet wanted to shut the station down and replace it with an automated listening station and the captain was there to quietly expedite the process. Though he was the senior officer onboard, he rarely accepted responsibility for any failures or shortcomings, preferring to blame subordinates.

Dr Arban Breetal
A fellow survivor of the Mahr occupation of planet Kalimor and Buchanan's sole personal friend on the station. Arban Breetal went along with Captain Buchanan's austerity program, "Seeing no harm in it". The consequences were made painfully obvious when the Remmington arrived with the damaged Betazoid shuttle in tow. Were it not for the assistance of the Remmington's medical staff, Deep Space 3's medical staff might have been overwhelmed. Captain Buchanan sees sick bay as "Nothing more than an excuse to get out of work."

Greg Torkelson
The Captain appears to have a distrust, bordering on paranoia regarding his Executive Officer Gregory Torkelson. While he considers him "an undisciplined young slacker with delusions of adequacy," he was convinced that Torkelson was trying to undermine his authority, and steal his command out from under him. Buchanan's fears were intensified when he discovered that morale, as well as efficiency on the station had increased under the temporary command of Greg Torkelson. ("The Tell-tale Ferengi")

Yeoman Avery Tovar-Smith
As Captain Buchanan's administrative assistant, Yeoman Tovar-Smith bore the brunt of Captain Buchanan's bad moods and abusive behavior. Despite this, Buchanan did consider Tovar-Smith "might have what it takes" ("Shades of the Future")

The one time Tovar-Smith stood up to him was shortly after Buchanan's return to consciousness following his turbolift accident. There was a misunderstanding when Tovar-Smith walked in while Dr Breetal and Buchanan were discussing Kalimor, and Tovar-Smith confused Emily Alkon with his sister, Emily May Tovar-Smith. ("One Step Forward, Two Steps Back")

After the three straightened out the confusion, they discovered a possible link between the pathogen that killed Emily Alkon, and the syndrome that was killing Tovar-Smith's sister. At Buchanan's prompting, Dr Breetal contacted the physicians at Ravenstone Memorial Hospital on Earth, where Tovar-Smith's sister was being treated. As a result, the chances of her recovery had increased slightly. Buchanan also solicited a favor from Admiral Thomas to transport Tovar-Smith back to Earth to be with her sister and mother onboard his flagship, the USS Joseph Kittinger. ("The Needs of the Few")

Chronology

 * 2339 Promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned to Starbase 43
 * 2348 Promoted to commander
 * 2351 Promoted to Captain and assigned to Deep Space 3
 * 2355 Recieved Award from Starfleet Command for most improved efficiency
 * 2364 Turbolift accident

Memorable quotes
"No more, no less."

"Efficiency is what keeps us alive, Arban. It's what keeps Deep Space Three from being shut down and scrapped. It's what kept us alive on Kalimor."

"Everyone, Arban? Everyone? The people on this station are spoiled children who cry about what they don't have, but don't understand the real meaning of genuine hardship."

''"The arrogance of some officers is not to be believed." ''

Background information
Montaine Buchanan is played by Edward Gore in all his appearances in Star Trek: Outpost.