Ian Peters

Ian Peters was a human officer that served in Starfleet in the 2150s and 2160s. He served on the starship Poseidon for five years before eventually becoming its Commanding Officer. (Star Trek: Poseidon - The Birth of the Federation)

Different beginnings

Peters is one of the youngest Captains ever to have served in Starfleet. However, he began his career as a scientist and wanted nothing more than to learn about all alien cultures so that he could better understand the Universe around him.

Before entering Starfleet, Ian attended Cambridge University where he achieved his PhD in Xeno-Anthropology and History in only two years. Upon receiving his Doctorate, Ian Peters enrolled in Starfleet Academy so that he could join Starfleet in its ever-growing quest for knowledge.

Poseidon (NX-07)

Assigned to Poseidon shortly after the start of the Earth-Romulan War, Ian quickly rose up from the minor position of ship's Historian and entered the Command track. His photographic memory and seemingly endless supply of historic military encounters made him an excellent choice for the ship's Strategic Officer.

During the course of his first mission half of the command crew was killed during confrontations with Orion pirates and Romulan warships. During one of the battles, Ian was severely injured and to this day has a large scar that runs down the left side of his face. It serves as a reminder that every decision comes with high costs. Only a few months after coming aboard, Ian was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned as ship's Chief Science Officer.

Ongoing war

As the war continued Ian displayed numerous acts of strategic ingenuity which helped Poseidon and its crew succeed in many key engagements. During this time Ian changed from a young, naive scientist into a confident military officer. In 2160, the ship's Executive Officer, Kori Barnes, was promoted to Captain and given his own command. Lieutenant Peters was promoted to Commander and was posted as Poseidon's new Exec.

Taking command

In 2161, with the War resolved and the formation of a new Alliance on the near horizon, Starfleet began promoting some of its most experienced officers to act as advisors to the new council. Poseidon's Commanding Officer, Captain Kyle Weymark, was promoted to the rank of Commodore and reassigned to Starfleet Headquarters. Upon receiving his promotion, Commodore Weymark's first act was to promote his former XO to the rank of Captain and give him command of his old ship, now fully refitted for its new mission.

With the founding of the Coalition of Planets, Starfleet has once again turned to exploring the stars. A new generation of Captains had been chosen to lead this quest, who had been equally versed in military tactics and scientific research. Poseidon was at the front lines of this new journey, and Ian was proud to be a part of it.

Profile

While his slight appearance was deceiving, Ian was in fact a brilliant tactician with strong leadership abilities. The war, however, hardened Ian considerably and as a result Ian was not tolerant of mistakes committed by those under his command. He could be friendly and casual one moment and then his behavior could shift to the austerity of a hardened military officer. This could be jarring to his crew but it kept them on their toes.

Additionally, Ian was aware that Poseidon was the first Coalition Starship that was run by a multi-special crew and that as a result of this, numerous conflicts could have arisen. While Ian accepted this as inevitable, he held no sympathy for racial prejudice and would see to it personally that any member of his crew was reprimanded for such misconduct.

He saw his crew as a team that needed to learn to work together so that their mission would succeed. Everyone who served under Peters also knew that he would willingly sacrifice himself to save any member of his crew. He was proud of his ship, and even though the NX class, by the time he received command, was no longer the "poster child" for Starfleet with the new Daedalus-class ships on the drawing board, Ian was still determined to maintain Poseidon's reputation as one of the finest ships in the fleet.