½ Bajoran, ½ Human

Male

36

6'1"

170 lbs.

Hazel (right); Optical Implant (left)

Brown

Starbase 327

19 February 2346

Fencing, Music, Literature, Weapons Collecting, Billiards

English, Spanish, Welsh, Rihannsu, Latin, Greek, Bajoran, Klingonese

Father: Lieutenant Commander José Domingo Holmes (2319-2375)
Mother: Ro Nerys (2317-2361)
Brothers: none
Sisters: none
Spouse: none
Sons: none
Daughters: none

Born just prior to the Cardassian War to a Starfleet engineer and a Bajoran refugee, Juan Holmes grew up on Earth and has a human name. As a child, he was known for taking apart engines and equipment, just to see what made them operate. He was actively interested in languages and now speaks five Earth tongues as well as Bajoran, Rihannsu, and Klingon.

At the age of fifteen, he returned to Bajor and joined the Resistance, where he remained for over three years repairing and constructing items for the Gunara Resistance Cell. Though the cell was very active, he himself never once fired his weapon, usually remaining outside the actual combat operations in order to perform the group's maintenance activities. After a Cardassian raid destroyed his resistance cell's base-of-operations (and most of the cell) in 2365, Holmes and some of the surviving members fled to Dreon. Planning to return to Bajor, Holmes instead found himself hired by Damon Greyheart of the independent freighter Auriga after repairing the ship when the previous mechanic failed.

Holmes spent the next two years aboard the Auriga as ship's mechanic, befriending Greyheart, along with crewmembers Elaithin Jii and James Mitchell, both of whom were fellow Bajorans, and long-term passenger Frank Therrien, who, unbeknownst to the crew for most of the time Holmes was there, was actually an active member of Starfleet Intelligence. He was known by the crew of the Auriga as consistently optimistic and cheerful, though very few of his current Starfleet companions believe a word of that. It was during this period that Holmes learned how to fight and how to pilot, though he initially met with little success at either.

In 2367, after Rae Weber was forcibly removed from the ship by agents of the mysterious organization known as 'Section 31', Therrien left the crew, and Elaithin and Mitchell both decided to enroll at Starfleet Academy. Holmes didn't wish to remain behind, and so he followed the two, though he really had no idea what he was going to do in Starfleet. Originally an engineering major, he got his first taste of Starfleet's regulatory society at the Academy, and quit the engineering program in disgust after only a semester. Unsure of what to do then, he chose flight control on a whim, and then ended up laterally transferring into the fighter track. Discovering a natural talent for piloting small craft, he tended to amaze his instructors with his knowledge of the actual mechanics of his craft, which was not normal for most fighter pilots. A much less stringent and regulatory discipline that engineering, Holmes enjoyed fighter piloting, and graduated in 2370.

Graduating as an excellent fighter pilot, Holmes was given the rank of Pilot (Ensign) and assigned to the 21^st Phoenix Squadron of the Federation Provisional Starfighter Forces, a newly organized division of Starfleet, separating the fighters from the individual starships and bringing them under a unified command structure. For four years Holmes served with this unit, fighting in only three actions - two of them during the brief Klingon War - prior to the outbreak of the Dominion War, but distinguishing himself in all.

Upon the commencement of the war, the 21^st was initially stationed on the starship Majestic, and was present for several early actions of the Sixth Fleet. During the squadron's assignment to the Majestic, Holmes befriended the chief flight control officer and second officer of the ship, Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Emerson-Davies.

War losses led to Holmes' rapid promotion, and within a few months, he found himself promoted to Flying Officer and given command of the third flight of the 21^st. A month later, he was given temporary assignment as a Flight Leader with the 42^nd Dark Angels, a special operations squadron. It was here that he met a promising young officer, Pilot Ares Khoma. The 42^nd, commanded by Squadron Leader Al'Akalion, was operating under the auspices of Starfleet Intelligence, and was commanded by a Lieutenant Rochefort to infiltrate Cardassian space and destroy a suspected Jem'Hadar cloning facility.

Unbeknownst to the members of the 42^nd, Rochefort knew the facility did not exist, and instead was using the 42^nd as bait to distract the Dominion from Starfleet Intelligence's actual goal of sending the cruiser Nottingham to gather intelligence on Ketrecel White production. A faction of Starfleet Intelligence, led by a Rear Admiral Richelieu and acting against orders, was hoping to steal Ketrecel production equipment and figure out a method to modify the drug for Starfleet use, providing Intelligence personnel with the drug's stimulating and strengthening properties, but without the addiction.

However, the Dominion saw through the ruse and destroyed the Nottingham before it ever crossed the border. Rochefort's planned feint was a failure, as well, as the Dominion had sufficient forces in the area to cover both attacks. Thus, when the 42^nd reached the alleged cloning facility, there was a vastly superior force awaiting them, and only Holmes, Khoma, and Flying Officer Selok managed to escape from the trap.

During his absence, his spot in the 21^st had been temporarily filled by another pilot, and so Holmes found himself assigned as acting Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer on the Majestic, serving beside Lieutenant Commander Emerson-Davies, under the command of Captain Nelis Saler. The two officers became close, and Emerson-Davies soon asked Holmes to be the best man at his upcoming wedding, to which the younger officer immediately agreed.

Returning to the 21^st after three pilots were lost in a fleet holding action, Holmes arranged to have Khoma and Selok, the other survivors of the 42^nd, transferred in to fill the open slots. Within a week, the Majestic and the 21^st were participating in Operation: Return, the action to retake Deep Space Nine. Assigned to Vice Admiral deMercereau's 74th Battle Group, the Majestic and her sister ship ShirKahr were assigned to flanking positions for the Defiant. Both ships were soon hit, and the ShirKahr was completely destroyed.

The Majestic, severely damaged, was abandoned. Only thirty-nine members of her crew survived, including her captain. Neither Emerson-Davies nor his fiancé were among them. During the court-martial of Captain Saler afterwards, Holmes was one of many to come to the conclusion that the Trill captain was responsible for the vessel's loss, and, therefore, for Emerson-Davies' death. At his friend's funeral, Holmes met Emerson-Davies' father, Command Master Chief Ambrose Emerson of the Ticonderoga. This would be the first of many meetings between the young Holmes and the experienced Emerson.

Reassigned to the Ninth Fleet, the 21^st took part in several major actions of the war, including the initial assault on AR-558 and both battles at Chin'Toka. Promoted to Lieutenant, Holmes was present for the final assault on Cardassia, in which his flight was instrumental in preventing the I.K.S. Tok'bor from being destroyed in a Dominion flanking maneuver. Finishing the war with twenty-eight confirmed kills, Holmes decided to transfer out of fighters when the Provisional Starfighter Corps was disbanded at the end of the war, on the assumption that it wouldn't be needed any longer.

As alleged peace settled over the Federation, Holmes was accepted to the Federation Defensive Task Force Academy at Hyperion and trained as a starship helmsman, the first helmsman to graduate from the Hyperion campus shortly after its founding, during the temporary command of the FDTF by Admiral Michael Nick. He was posted aboard the Excelsior-class U.S.S. Aztec, which was soon replaced with an Akira-class ship, but in the midst of his first FDTF mission, he was forced to take an extended leave-of-absence due to the still-unexplained murder of his father, and he returned to the FDTF two months later and joined the crew of the U.S.S. Knight.

His first mission with the FDTF was a regrettable incident involving a young Starfleet officer who had been paid to infect the crew of the U.S.S. Knight with a strain of the Rigellian Plague. Unfortunately, the cure can only be found on Holberg 917-G, and the government of that planet is not on very friendly terms with the Federation, their economy having collapsed after the Plague was wiped out in 2339. In his starfighter, the Starfire, a newly commissioned craft of the short-lived Stingray-class Interceptors, Holmes went down to the planet and, after a brief air-battle with four fighters (one of which he destroyed), Holmes retrieved the ryetalyn antidote and returned to the ship. When then-Chief Medical Officer Jordan Levi discovered the crew member who had infected the crew in the first place, she was attacked by him, and Holmes was forced to shoot the traitor.

During the FDTF battle to repel Section 31 from Deep Space Nine, Holmes led the three fighter squadrons of the U.S.S. Knight, Stingray, Inferno, and Maco, better known as Gieger's Tigers. He and his thirty-six fighters were instrumental in defending the unshielded FDTF fleet after Section 31's use of the FDTF prefix codes, and his squadrons were responsible for the destruction of four Section 31 vessels. Near the end of the battle, the Starfire was destroyed, and he ejected. As he was too close to a passing FDTF vessel, his ejection seat (or, more specifically, his suit helmet) collided, and Holmes suffered severe injuries, specifically seven broken and two cracked ribs, a broken left leg, puncturing of both the coronary artery and left lung, a ruptured spleen, massive burns, a serious concussion, and a lost left eye, which has been replaced by an optical implant. He was off duty for three weeks, despite estimates of up to three months. His recovery was facilitated by the very capable hand of Knight Executive Officer Commander Jordan Levi.

After the destruction of the Knight while stopping the "Pinball" (a large spherical pseudo-asteroidal object) from crashing into the planet Beria during an attempted first contact, Holmes served temporarily as XO to the Knight's crew while Captain Corrigan recovered, then took short-term command for the last couple of days of the crew's journey back to Valhalla aboard the U.S.S. Renegade, due to the injury of Commander Levi.

When they returned to Valhalla, Holmes received authorization from FDTF Commanding Officer Paul Slusser to form the FDTF Starfighter Force, made up of helm and operations officers and overseeing all the fighters in the fleet. Though the SFF offices were aboard Valhalla, Lieutenant Holmes still remained aboard the Knight. Also assigned to the Starfighter Force as Chief-of-Operations was Knight operations officer Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Ares Khoma, who had served in Holmes' squadron during the Dominion War, and Knight Chief Engineer Lieutenant Jakob Durden as Senior Crew Chief.

After their return to Valhalla, the crew remained essentially inactive, awaiting Captain Corrigan's court-martial for the Knight's destruction, during which time they received a new chief science officer, Commander Mistie Cuen. Holmes remained in command of the crew when they where given a new ship, the U.S.S. Knight, NCC-60572-A, which remained in dock pending their Captain's return. During this time, Commander Levi disappeared, and Holmes turned command over to Knight Security/Tactical officer Lieutenant Gavyn Hughes, at which point Holmes and U.S.S. DeRuyter Captain Jan Vogels both departed for parts unknown, returning aboard Admiral Slusser's U.S.S. Patriot with Commander Levi.

After Admiral Slusser dropped all charges against Captain Corrigan, the Knight-A was launched, and headed to Starbase 257. There, an Admiral named Richelieu arrested Captain Corrigan, and took him to an undisclosed location. When Commander Levi called a staff meeting, only Commander Cuen was present, and she found a message from Holmes stating that he and Lieutenants Khoma, Durden, and Hughes had learned through one of Hughes' intelligence contacts of Admiral Richelieu's identity as Section 31, and had gone to follow him. During the Captain's rescue, the Knight was briefly boarded by Section 31 troops, but they were repelled by the Knight's Marine detachment. Also during these engagements, a Section 31 operative known as Commander Rochefort was killed by Lieutenant Khoma, as he was the man who had betrayed Holmes and Khoma's Dark Angels Squadron during the war. The Knight then returned to Valhalla so that newly-promoted Lieutenant Commander Durden could assume his new post with the FDTF JAG.

Shortly thereafter, a mission was undertaken under the direct command of Captain Mayleq of the U.S.S. Malachi. This mission included elements of the FDTF, Starfleet, and the Romulan, Klingon, and Ferengi fleets. Holmes took the Tiger's and the elite Raven squadron, and took command of all FDTF fighters in the mission. The commander of the Romulan fighters was Holmes' former war-companion SubCommander N'Vel. The fleet was assaulting a Dominion shipyard deep in Breen space. After fierce fighting, the shipyard's primary base was destroyed by the sacrifice of Captain Mayleq, who piloted the Malachi in a solo kamikaze flight, and was believed dead for several months, until it was discovered that he had been taken prisoner by Romulan forces.

Upon his return to Valhalla, Holmes was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and within a week was commanding the assault force that landed first on the Hyperion moon after it was taken over by the Nesh'Ra. Included with his team were Lieutenant Khoma, Lieutenants Commander Th'or and Durden piloting the Delta II-class AWACS Flyer Phoenix, Vice Admiral Neo James Saige of FDTF Security commanding a small ground force, Doctor Nautica Vega to set up the FDTF advance field hospital, and Captain Scott Walters and his Firebird Squadron. After using the Bajoran freighter Dahkur to glide through the power-draining barrier that the Nesh'Ra had surrounded Hyperion with, Holmes and his team hit four different power stations, opening holes in the barrier to allow the FDTF to beam down ground forces in waves, while his Executive Officer, Commander K'mtor, led the rest of the starfighter squadrons through the first breach. Holmes' team then returned to the FDTF camps outside the Academy campus. There he took command of the whole Starfighter Force and, as the FDTF ground forces began their assault on Hyperion City, he led his squadrons to destroy the remaining seven power generators on the moon, thus destroying the barrier. During these attacks, the Phoenix was shot down by Nesh'Ra fighters, and Lieutenant Commander Th'or was taken prisoner, though he later escaped with valuable information for the FDTF. The lead ship of Jester Squadron, piloted by Ensign Roger Becker, was also lost, but Ensign Becker was retrieved by the AWACS Nautilus and escorted back to the Academy Campus by Commander Matt Reinke's Sidewinder Squadron. After the destruction of the final power station and the collapse of the barrier, Holmes' four squadrons - Sidewinder, Firebird, Thunder, and Jester - found themselves being pursued by a far superior Nesh'Ra force of captured Peregrine-class fighters. They met over Hyperion City - joined by now-Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Becker aboard a repaired Stingray-class fighter - just as FDTF ground forces began to retake the city. Holmes' squadrons found themselves having difficulty holding on, but the timely arrival of reinforcements from Valhalla (in the form of the Knight's three squadrons from the Tigers, along with Raven, Revolver, and Viper Squadrons) allowed him to destroy all remaining Nesh'Ra air support.

After the retaking of Hyperion, Holmes transferred off of the Knight to take a permanent position aboard Valhalla solely to command the Starfighter Force. He was subsequently promoted to full Commander. Transferred along with him were Lieutenant Ares Khoma, SFF Chief-of-Operations, and Lieutenant Commander Jakob Durden, SFF Senior Crew Chief.

After his transfer to the station, Commander Holmes requested that the decommissioned Miranda-class starship U.S.S. Majestic be turned over to his command, at which point it was sent to Embassy Fleet Yards and received an extensive overhaul, being recommissioned as the prototype for the Chamberlain-class special operations carrier, the U.S.S. Chamberlain, NCC-43370. Commander Holmes took command of the Chamberlain on February 19th, 2377. Included among its many modifications were a new bridge module, a better warp core, newer weaponry, and a greatly expanded shuttlebay, capable of supporting up to 36 starfighters.

After the Chamberlain was finally launched on 13 March 2377, Holmes ordered a series of several training exercises for his inexperienced crew, under the direction of Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Ares Khoma and Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Jakob Durden. Within a week, the Chamberlain returned to Valhalla to rendezvous with an eight ship task force under the command of FDTF Chief-of-Operations Vice Admiral Trevok, to combat a team of renegade Romulans experimenting with Omega particles. The task force consisted of the Chamberlain, and the FDTF starships U.S.S. Tempest, U.S.S. Knight, U.S.S. Condor, U.S.S. Independence, U.S.S. Aztec, U.S.S. Eclipse, and U.S.S. Empire, and fifteen squadrons of starfighters. After a great deal of damage to all ships involved, and assistance from ships of the Klingon Empire (causing an interstellar incident between the Klingons and Romulans), the renegades were defeated.

Commander Holmes was then reassigned to Utopia Planetia to assist in the further construction of new-build vessels based on the Chamberlain-prototype. Given the brevet rank of Captain upon his arrival at the yards, Holmes' successful field test of the newly-constructed U.S.S. Vincent, NCC-61091, second starship of the Chamberlain-class, earned him the full grade of Captain at the age of twenty-seven, one of the youngest officers ever to attain that rank.

After a further six months serving as a field adviser to Utopia Planetia's engineers, Holmes received an appointment to the staff of Admiral Ross, Starfleet Chief-of-Operations, as senior tactical adviser. However, after only two months serving at Headquarters, Captain Holmes requested a transfer. Duty on Earth meant that Starfleet Command had a fair amount of over-sight on him, and due to this, the politics of the area involved far more regulation against the activities of officers, hindering their abilities to perform their duties. He was transferred to Seventh Fleet Command at Starbase 375, where he spent two months awaiting orders before being returned to command of the Chamberlain, newly assigned to patrol duties at the station.

Five months later, Admiral Ross succeeded in securing Holmes a promotion to Fleet Captain, and command of the Starfleet Fighter Defense Force, a special defense squadron of the Seventh Fleet, based at Starbase Elysium.

Upon arrival at Elysium, Holmes turned command of the Chamberlain over to newly-promoted Captain Michael Cabbot, and was transferred to command of the Akira-class starship Icarus. Immediately afterwards, Holmes was introduced to the confrontational commander of the Starbase, Commodore John Powell. Dismayed by the apparent lack of support from his base-of-operations, Holmes found himself in charge of a group of under-manned, under-supplied ships in bad repair. The Chamberlain herself had yet to be fully repaired from actions against the Breen a month previously, and her newly-constructed sister ship, the U.S.S. Vincent, had been launched before adequate testing had been performed on all of her systems.

The remaining six ships of the FDF were small, old, and ill-maintained. They were the Antwerp-class Light Couriers Durendal and Roland, and the Raider-class Light Escorts Jaffa, Antioch, Tyre, and Dorylaeum, all commanded by officers under the rank of captain.

Aside from the Icarus, Holmes discovered only one other vessel in full operating condition - the small, experimental runabout Lillith, assigned to Lieutenant Entar Phalynx, the FDF's new senior intelligence operative.

Only days after Holmes' receiving command of the Icarus, several of Starbase Elysium's perimeter defense outposts were destroyed by a small Breen raiding squadron, passing through Federation space on their way to attack targets within the Cardassian Union. Holmes was ordered to take the FDF and pursue the Breen. Knowing that his unit lacked the necessary firepower to combat such a threat, he sent Lieutenant Phalynx ahead aboard the Lillith to search for any weaknesses.

After a preliminary skirmish with trailing elements of the Breen task group, Holmes' unit reinforced a small group of Cardassian cruisers under the command of Gul Latok. Together, the two groups succeeded in defeating the Breen force. At the same time, Lieutenant Phalynx discovered evidence that the Breen were cloning their own Jem'Hadar soldiers and building ships, and which point he went into a deep cover mission for several weeks at Captain Holmes' orders.

Shortly after Holmes' return to Elysium, several more of the FDF's senior personnel began to arrive. Commander Ares Khoma was transferred in as the Icarus' new executive officer, and Lieutenant Commander Gavyn Hughes was assigned as ship's chief tactical/security officer. Several other personnel were transferred in who Holmes did not know, as well. Petty Officer First Class James Munroe was assigned by Seventh Fleet Command to be Holmes' Aide-de-Camp, and Chief Petty Officer Ambrose Emerson was assigned as the Icarus' ship's quartermaster.

Holmes also ordered the promotions of Lieutenant Commander Tom Knight, First Fighter Group commander, and Lieutenant Cameron Morris, Second Fighter Group commander, to Commander and Lieutenant Commander, respectively. Knight was assigned command of the Icarus' fighter wing, with Morris as his executive officer. Lieutenant Phalynx was also promoted to Commander and placed in charge of of the FDF's intelligence detachment, though he didn't find out immediately, due to his deep-cover status.

After waiting for a week of inaction, receiving badly-needed personnel (but few supplies), Holmes received orders from Starfleet command; he was to send Commander Knight and the Chamberlain to patrol the Ferengi border and protect Ferengi merchant shipping from piracy, while he was to take the Icarus and - in the company of Gul Latok aboard the warship Damar and Klingon General Kohteth aboard the attack cruiser Du'Qov - go to Cardassia Prime to open negotiations with the Cardassian Detapa Provisional Council for better relations between the Federation-Klingon Alliance and the post-Dominion War government of the Cardassian Union.

Shortly after arrival at Cardassia Prime, separatist terrorists within the Cardassian Union bombed the primary marketplace of the capital city. As a gesture of good-will, Holmes assigned Starfleet personnel to assist in the rescue operations and subsequent investigations. During these investigations, he was introduced to the head of Cardassian internal security, Viria Gul Jarol, who had run a Bajoran labor camp during the occupation. Holmes promptly ordered the termination of the conference, on the grounds that the Federation would have nothing to do with a government that would employ war criminals.

Starfleet Command demoted Holmes for these actions, restoring him to the rank of Captain, and disbanding his squadron. The Icarus, with Holmes commanding, was reassigned to the defensive perimeter of Starbase 521, under command of Captain Annabelle Hotchkiss.

It was here that Holmes was essentially exiled for three months, until a Breen attack on the station caused what could only be termed a break-down in the chain-of-command. Hotchkiss, though technically his superior officer, was a career administrator, and the only other vessel available for the station's defense was the small and antiquated Oberth-class U.S.S. McCullough. Thus it was Holmes who took command of the one-sided battle.

Outmaneuvering the Breen force (through mostly luck), Holmes managed to allow time for the evacuation of the Starbase, before ordering its destruction. With a cost of fewer than one-hundred Starfleet personnel, he had saved a crew of just under five-thousand.

Starfleet Command was outraged at the loss of the Starbase, and relieved Holmes of his command to convene a general court-martial for incompetence. He was arrested at Starbase 481 and transported back to Earth aboard the U.S.S. Titan, his own ship accompanying.

Command did not, however, count on the level of loyalty that Holmes had carefully curried with his crew. The crew of the Icarus refused to serve until he was reinstated as their Captain, and Starfleet Command prepared to relieve the entire crew of duty.

It was then that one of Holmes' former commander, William Ross, then-Starfleet Chief-of-Operations, stepped forward and intervened, using his influence to get the charges dropped, with the assistance of several members of Starbase 521's former crew, as well as Captain Riker of the Titan. Captain Holmes and the Icarus were reassigned to service with the Twelfth Fleet, and headed for the former Romulan Neutral Zone to assist in exploratory efforts resulting from the new Federation-Romulan Alliance.

Immediately upon arrival, the Icarus was ordered to rendezvous with a task force that included the Titan, the battlecruiser Relentless, the heavy carrier Arizona, the Santayanna, the Atlantis, the K'Hotan, and the starship Miranda, along with several other federation starships and several Romulan warbirds and cruisers. Recent attacks on the Federation-Romulan border by the Reman Ascendancy had resulted in the losses of two Federation outposts, and the deaths of several hundred personnel.

The task force reached the Galvanis system to discover that the Reman forces had somehow managed to build a Dominion shipyard, and were constructing the large Scimitar-class Warbirds at an alarming rate. The thirty-ship Federation-Romulan task force found itself facing twenty fully-operation Scimitars. After Captain Eliathin Jii of the Miranda attempted and failed to convince the Reman Viceroy to agree to a ceasefire, the Reman force attacked. After a prolonged battle resulting in the disabling of much of the Reman force, the destruction of the Reman shipyard, and the destruction of the Santayanna and two Romulan vessels, the Reman units were forced into the ceasefire.

Negotiations led to the resettlement of many of the Reman people to the Galvanis system, and the Icarus escorted the Miranda back to Earth. There Holmes took this opportunity to take two months accumulated shore leave.

Towards the end of his leave (after hosting a reunion at a back alley San Francisco bar that included himself, Marine Captain Joral Anton, Master Chief Ambrose Emerson, Renaldo Ponticelli, Hadrian Accardo, Corporal Vassili Durgonov, Jakobis Durdanis, Lieutenant Commander Gavyn Hughes, Lieutenant Rhiannon Llewelyn, Commander Ares Khoma, Fleet Admiral William Ross, Lieutenant Commander Selok, Captain Michael Cabbot, Captain Tirria Dakins, and a few others), Holmes returned to the Icarus at its dock at Starbase One to prepare to relaunch the ship.

On October 1st, 2379, the Federation was struck by the single worst terrorist attack ever to befall the great power. In a matter of a couple of hours, Starbase One was destroyed, the Vulcan Science Academy was bombed, a plague sprung up on Alpha Centauri, and several other attacks were performed on Federation Worlds. On the capitalist planet Xanthe, the Stock Exchange was destroyed at precisely the same moment as the other attacks.

The Icarus had left Spacedock only moments before the bomb-rigged starship Washington detonated within, destroying the largest construct the Federation had ever created. The Icarus was merely twelve-hundred meters from the installation. Through pure luck, Holmes had seen the flash of the explosion and managed to hit the Red Alert button on instinct. The Icarus had its shields up when the shockwave hit, but the damage was still severe. Ninety-two percent of the ships crew were casualties, and the ship was incapable of moving under its own power.

Still in the middle of the debris field, Holmes ordered his crew to begin the search for survivors amongst the wreckage, refusing to accept help from other starships until he was sure that his ship could last no longer without aid. Throughout these hours, Holmes continued to work steadily, despite massive blood-loss, and a compound fracture in three places upon his right arm. It wasn't until the arrival of the Sovereign-class starship Argo, under the command of one of Holmes' former subordinates, Captain Tirria Dakins, that he finally passed out from blood loss and exhaustion, and spent the next five weeks recovering at Starfleet Medical in San Francisco.

The Icarus, meanwhile, was deemed to be far too badly damaged to salvage for active service, and was decommissioned to be donated to the Starfleet Museum. The newest Midway-class ship, the U.S.S. Hiryu, was renamed and launched as the U.S.S. Icarus, NCC-68954-A. Holmes was given command of the new vessel, again assigned to Fleet Admiral Irene deMercereau's Twelfth Fleet.

Commander Khoma remained in his position as executive officer, despite the offer of his own command (ironically enough, the Chamberlain), and several of Holmes' other former companions came onboard. Lieutenant Commanders Hughes and Durden rejoined Starfleet at Holmes request, though, due to his somewhat checkered service record, Durden's rank is officially listed as "provisional". Durden, as always, was assigned as the ship's steadfast chief engineer, and Hughes took on the dual role of chief tactical officer and second officer. The ever ebullient Lieutenant Knight - newly graduated from Starfleet Command School - was assigned as the ship's strategic operations officer, and a young lieutenant by the name of Tzi Chao was assigned as chief tactical analyst. Also on the new ship's roster were Doctor Lieutenant (junior grade) Erika Wagner (the attending physician during Holmes' recovery from his 1st October injuries), Tactical Ensign Quinn Anna deTherrien (niece of U.S.S. Relentless captain Francis deTherrien), Chief Warrant Officer Jaglom Yrarnac (Inspector General), and SubCommander N'Vel, the Romulan Liaison officer.

Due to Holmes' intervention, the Icarus has several very unique properties. The most impressive modification is the addition of a secondary warp core forward of the primary. This core can provide emergency propulsion up to warp five in the event of damage to or loss of the primary core, and, when used in tandem with the main core, can provide a more stable field and brief emergency speed bursts nearing the speeds of subspace radio. Additionally, the Icarus has twenty automated type-IV phaser turrets at various point along the outer hull, and sixteen automated micro-torpedo tubes mounted on eight turrets. These computer-controlled systems can be used as point defense and anti-starfighter close-in weapons-system (CIWS) defense, freeing up the primary weapons for the more important tasks of capital ship combat.

In addition to the standard "captain's yacht" type of vehicle, docked on the ventral saucer, there are two other recessed dock points to port and starboard for heavily-modified variants of the Intrepid-class style "aeroshuttles". These vehicles have been specially designed to serve as escorts for the yacht. Also, the eight Sphinx M1A workpods have their own independent dock-points on the aft portion of deck sixteen, near the main engineering deck.

Within the ship, main engineering has been vastly increased in size, comparable to the massive decks of the large Pathfinder- and Hyperion-class explorers. A three-deck high Galaxy-class style stellar cartography lab has been added, and an astrometrics lab, similar to the one pioneered on the U.S.S. Voyager, has been added in a most unusual place; indicating the major importance these labs have taken on front-line Starfleet vessels, Captain Holmes and Lieutenant Commander Durden insisted on installing one on deck one, just aft and a little starboard of the main bridge. The observation lounge, meanwhile, has been moved forward of the bridge. This lounge is mostly used by the senior staff as an off-duty or on-duty break area, as Captain Holmes prefers to hold briefings for his uncommonly large senior staff in the astrometrics lab.

The bridge itself is quite a bit larger than is usual, incorporating not only the typical duty stations, but a flight deck control console, a spare tactical station, a larger engineering station, and an independent communications station, among others. There is also an aft alcove that contains a situation table. Aft and to port of the bridge is a small lounge for the ship's two most senior officers, Captain Holmes and Commander Khoma. Both of their offices are located off of this lounge.

Like most vessels of her class, the Icarus is capable of supporting a full group of starfighters. Embarked onboard are the three squadrons of the 93^rd Starfighter Group from the 1^st Fighter Wing stationed at the newly-commissioned Starbase Atlantis. These squadrons include FS-71 Chimera, RS-13 Shadow, and FI-106 Gladiator. The fighter group is under the command of Commander Norax Taldren (a former member of Holmes' flight in the 21^st).

Because the new Icarus is considered the forefront mission test ship of the Twelfth Fleet, she is staffed with far more specialties than one would expect to see on a vessel of comparable size. There are twelve departments - Command, Flight Control, Tactical, Security, Engineering, Operations, Science, Medical, Counseling, Intelligence, the ship's Marine company, and the ship's Starfighter group - along with numerous divisions. The ship has also been assigned an envoy-grade diplomatic liaison, a Starfleet Inspector General, a Strategic Operations officer, a fully-certified member of the Starfleet Judge Advocate General's Corps, diplomatic representatives of the Klingon, Romulan, and Ferengi governments, a tactical analyst, an independent communications division, an engineering research specialist from Starfleet R&D, a six-member intelligence team, and a company of the Federation Marine Corps. This makes the Icarus one of the single most capable starships in the Federation.

One week after the Icarus-A's commissioning ceremony, Holmes took the new ship's captain's yacht, the Iliad, to Bajor, along with Doctor Wagner. Commander Khoma and the rest of the crew remained behind to prepare the Icarus for launch.

Present for the induction of his homeworld into the Federation, Holmes did not get to take the Icarus out of dock for the first time, though the ship headed immediately for Bajor to pick him up. The vessel then headed through the wormhole in response to a distress call from a small Bajoran exploratory cruiser.

After assisting in the repairs of the Bajoran ship, the Icarus remained in the Gamma Quadrant for several weeks, heading first to the planet Arkadia, a long-lost human colony discovered by the USS Miranda, then to the Founder Homeworld to smooth over diplomatic tensions caused by the actions of Starfleet Rear Admiral Steven Ramsey. Afterwards, the ship spent several weeks cataloging stellar phenomena

Returning to the Alpha Quadrant, the Icarus was ordered by Twelfth Fleet command to assist a Romulan fleet in retaking a Romulan member world embroiled in a bloody civil war, in the interest of helping reinforce the Titan Accords. Upon arrival at Norkania, Captain Holmes discovered that the Romulan governor was a steadfast believer in the old guard, and that troops under his guidance had committed acts of genocide, murdering hundreds of thousands of Norkanians, all in the name of "workforce purification."

Despite orders from Starfleet Command to remain merely an observer, Holmes offered assistance to Admiral Sela of the Romulan Third Fleet, and, with the help of Commander Donatra of the warbird Valdore, succeeded in arresting the Romulan governor and restoring a stable government on Norkania.

Redezvousing with the Twelfth Fleet afterwards, the Icarus participated in a fleetwide "training exercise" near the Breen border. While the starships Miranda and Galaxy are in Breen space for diplomatic talks, the Twelfth Fleet was on standby should the talks prove to be a ruse by the Breen.

Federation suspicions were confirmed when the sitting Breen government was overthrown by one Thot Gor, who then took on the title "Aval" (Protector) and launched an attack on the two Federation starships, aided by his allies, the T'Kith'kin - thought to have been destroyed years before - and the Hydrans, who had been absent from galactic politics for over a century.

The Twelfth Fleet headed into Breen space in barely enough time to save the two vessels (indeed, the Miranda had already lost one of it's three hulls, and the Galaxy had lost her third nacelle), and the enemy forces were defeated at the Battle of Havras. During the battle, Major Norax Taldren, commander of the Icarus' starfighter group, discovered the ejection seat of Major Joral Anton, executive officer of Miranda's Rogue Squadron, and former subordinate of Holmes. Major Joral is rescued and brought into the Icarus' sickbay for treatment.

Escorting the two ships back to Starbase 212, Captain Holmes was among one of ten Starfleet captains to hold an unofficial meeting after the battle. In the wake of the Federation Council's decision to classify events that occurred at Havras in order to avoid a civilian panic within the Federation, Captain Eliathin Jii of the Miranda, Captain Darren M'Kantu of the Galaxy, Captain Frank Therrien of the Relentless, Captain Rianastarra'cessk of the Arizona, Captain Eva Paige of the Atlantis, Captain Seamus Murdock of the Anduril, Captain Rebecca Weber of the Texas, Captain Stanley Prescott of the Tornado, Captain Jim Westmoreland of Starbase 212, and Holmes decided that, in order to defend the Federation, certain actions had to be taken in secret by members of Starfleet. The number of Captains involved has since grown, and they share a network of information about the Breen, the T'Kith'kin, the Hydrans, and the newly-discovered fourth member of that alliance, the Yanek.

A week later, the Icarus was searching for a missing vessel near Gamma Hydra, when they received a distress call from a Romulan vessel. Heading to the ship's aid after the battle had ended, Holmes realized that the attackers were Hydran, though the Romulans did not yet know this. He therefore had SubCommander N'Vel set up a secret meeting with a member of the Romulan Command, and he departed for this meeting without Starfleet's knowledge.

One within Rihannsu space, the Icarus rendezvoused with Commander Aru S'Trailu's IRV D'Cervea, aboard which was Rihannsu 4^th Galae commander Mandukar tr'Hwaehrai - who was, coincidentally, also the Director of Rihannsu Naval Intelligence. He immediately provided them - along with the Starfleet Intelligence Liaison to the RNI, Captain T'Alik Preston - with still-classified information on the Battle of Havras, as well as all information which the unofficial Captain's Council (now euphemistically dubbed "The Round Table") had on the Hydran Sovereignty, T'Kith'kin Hive, Yanek Imperium, and Breen Confederacy. In return, they provided him with a cloaking device similar to the unit installed aboard the starships Galaxy and Relentless - though without Starfleet's knowledge - as well as twenty Rihannsu Naval and Intelligence personnel - also without the knowledge of Starfleet.

Over the course of the next couple of months, Captain Holmes made similar personnel arrangements with the fleets of both the Cardassian Democratic Republic and the Klingon Empire, as well as arranging to unofficially receive personnel from the Federation Border Patrol, Federation Investigative Service, both the space and land forces of the Olympian Confederation, several civilian specialists, and journalists from five major Federation news services.

Shortly after Holmes and Commander Khoma were quizzed about various encounters with the notorious 'Section 31' by the Intelligence Liaison for the 12^th Fleet, now-Lieutenant Commander Nelis Saler, the Icarus picked up a Federation news feed by one Vera Donahue, using stolen sensor records from the starship Arizona exposing the Havras cover-up. Shortly thereafter, Holmes received a message from the enigmatic 'Cheshire' that was three words long: "Stack the deck."

Immediately ordering the Icarus to set course for Earth, Holmes called a meeting of his senior staff, and told them of certain activities. Section 31 was a real organization, and they were planning to assassinate several members of the Federation government and upper echelons of Starfleet in order to take over the Federation. The crew of the starship Miranda was preparing to stop them, but certain assistance was needed, in the form of the starships Arizona, Texas, Theseus, and Icarus herself, as well as several other contacts that had been called in by 'Cheshire' and the agent known as 'Handler', whose identity Holmes now revealed to his senior staff - Captain Elaithin Jii of the Miranda.

Holmes, Jii, and 'Cheshire' were all members of the secret organization known as 'Section 13' (or 'Wonderland'), created solely to expose Section 31. The Icarus was heading to Earth to help.

While in transit, Holmes reviewed the reports sent to him by Captain Elaithin, and found a reference that he had not been expecting. When Jii and himself had been on the Auriga, there was a young woman there, 'Rae' Weber, who had been a Section 31 experiment. Eventually, the Section managed to get her back, but she was now working as a double-agent for 'Wonderland', though she didn't seem to have any memory of who she really was.

Upon arrival in the Sol System, Holmes discovered that Captain Greyheart and the Auriga had gotten involved, and were now in custody at Starbase One. At the same time, he received another message from 'Cheshire', indicating that the Section 31 vessel Black Sovereign was preparing to intercept and destroy the Miranda. In a matter of two hours, he infiltrated Starbase One with a small team, rescued Greyheart and his crew, helped them reclaim the Auriga, and returned to the Icarus in time to rendezvous with the Miranda.

The ensuing battle was one again hard on the Icarus and her crew. The Black Sovereign being a far superior vessel to the Icarus, her sister ship Theseus, the Hyperion-class Arizona, or the Miranda, the battle was a difficult one that led to the loss of Theseus and the disabling of Arizona. Icarus herself was disabled when a Section 31 agent onboard, Lieutenant Doctor Erika Wagner, sabotaged the primary impulse thrust in the middle of a strategic turn. Torpedoes from the Black Sovereign caught the Icarus' starboard nacelle, sheering it clear and removing the vessel from the battle. The Black Sovereign was destroyed by the timely arrival of Rebecca Weber (another former member of the Auriga crew) and the U.S.S. Texas, and a Section 31 boarding party on the Icarus was completely wiped out by the ship's unofficial contingent of Klingon warriors.

The crew had once again suffered enormous casualties of ninety-seven dead and over two-hundred wounded. Holmes himself had received fairly extensive wounds when the nacelle was destroyed, casualties among the engineering staff were extensive, and the ship's starfighter group had suffered a nearly sixty percent loss.

Welcomed back to Earth as heroes, many members of the Icarus senior staff were offered a variety of promotions, as were those of Miranda, Arizona, and Texas. Few took these offers, however, and none among the crew of the Icarus. Meanwhile, the vessel was faced with the threat of decomissioning from her damage, and Holmes and Durden enlisted the aid of newly-promoted Fleet Captain Elaithin Jii, Miranda chief engineer Jerri Wolfson, head of Starfleet Research & Development Admiral Ares Thrace, and chief of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers Fleet Captain Montgomery Scott to help them prevent the mothballing of the Icarus. Instead the vessel was assigned a drydock at the newly-reconstructed Starbase One and refit.

In the meantime, Captains Holmes and Elaithin, along with 'Cheshire' - revealed to be Fleet Admiral Victor Murdock, long believed deceased - confronted Starfleet Commander-in-Chief William Ross about his ties to Section 31, which, thanks to the actions of Wonderland, had all but collapsed. Forced to resign in disgrace, Ross retired quietly. At this juncture, Federation President Nan Bacco appointed Murdock as Starfleet CinC.

Holmes was the Federation Defensive Task Force's first recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also received the Purple Heart thrice - once for his injuries at Deep Space Nine in 2376, again for his injuries on October 1st, 2379, and a third time for wounds received in the battle against the Section 31 vessel Black Sovereign. His actions on this day also earned him the Federation Medallion. He is also the first ever recipient of the SFFC Rogue Cross.

Holmes is a private man, with few people he is willing to call "friends". Most, if not all, of those are colleagues, people he has served with or commanded over the years. He is closest to Ares Khoma, who has served with him since the Dominion War, in fighters or on ships, and Starfleet engineer Jakob Durden, who has been his loyal chief engineer aboard almost every vessel Holmes has commanded. He also has a curious relationship with a Romulan subcommander, another fighter pilot named N'Vel, who gave Holmes a Romulan Atrel-class Interceptor, and once saved the life of one of Holmes' subordinates, a young Bajoran Marine by the name of Joral Anton. He also stays in close contact with several former colleagues and subordinates, among them Joral Anton (now an SFFC Group Leader), Ambrose Emerson (Command Master Chief of the 12^th Fleet), Elaithin Jii (Captain of the U.S.S. Miranda), and James Mitchell (Miranda chief science officer). Outside of that, he is close to few people, even among former crewmates and subordinates.

His office is a window into his personality, and is not something one typically sees onboard a starship. The standard Starfleet desk has been replaced by a very beat-up wooden one, behind which sits an early-twentieth century banker's-style chair. To the right of the door is an old standing hat rack, upon which hangs a dark gray fedora and a beige trenchcoat. In one corner is a display of two Akira-class starships bearing the registries NCC-60572 and NCC-68954. The base of both models have the letters "RIP" crudely carved into them, apparently by a knife of some sort. The opposing wall has several reliefs of fighters used throughout the known galaxy, including Bajoran sub-impulse raiders, a Romulan Atrel, and Federation designs that include the Peregrine, Valkyrie, and Viper. A large Bajoran religious banner hangs on one wall, next to which is the flag of the old Earth country of Wales. The terminal atop the desk is the standard Starfleet type, and the two visitors chairs are as well, in stark contrast to the desk they face.

In his office also sits an old bookshelf with nearly a thousand volumes of literature in print form, all old, and mostly human in origin. A second collection of equal size and variety resides in his quarters. He has been heard to speak on the benefit of knowledge, regardless of how trivial or mundane, and maintains that there is no substitute for the printed word.

His quarters are even more abnormal. When guests enter the main room, they are confronted with a very non-standard decór. In the center of the room sits a large marble statue dressed in the likeness of Hermes, but with a very squared jaw and a vaguely Starfleet uniform of an engineer. At the base of the statue is chiseled the name "Durdanis". The statue is of the current chief engineer of the Icarus, Lieutenant Commander Durden, and resided Durden's office on Starbase Valhalla when he was working for Starfleet JAG. No one is really sure how or why Holmes acquired it.

Several large 16th- and 17th-century European tapestries and oil paintings hang along the walls of the main room, and large red curtains are hung so that they can be drawn across the viewports. The carpet is a very royal-looking red, and the furniture is entirely dark mahogany. Large candelabras are placed around the room, and are usually the only visible light sources. In the far corner, a large stone fountain sits, small plants surrounding it. Over all three doors in the room, a pair of rapiers is crossed. The first door is the one that guests enter by. The other two, to the right and left, lead to other parts of Holmes' quarters.

To the right is Holmes' private area; namely, his sleeping chambers and washroom. The standard-issue Starfleet bed has been replaced with a large mahogany four-poster, flanked by two matching bedside tables. In one corner of the room sits Holmes' reading chair - a reproduction of an 16th-century French throne. There is another door on the other side of the room, leading to Holmes' washroom - which, paradoxically, looks exactly as it should. He has not changed or decorated it in any way. It is purely functional and immaculately clean.

Through the door on the left side of the main room is something rarely seen on a Federation starship, and never in someone's quarters - a kitchen. It is a very well-equipped and well-stocked kitchen, and Holmes' is often in here cooking large, complex meals, even though he almost always eats alone.

His weapons collection includes a Jem'Hadar blade given by a friend during the war (and which Holmes decided not to inquire as to the origins of), a Klingon Bat'leth and mek'leth, several rapiers, a 1952 Colt Police Special .38 snubnose revolver, an 1864 LeMat Revolver, a 2250 Starfleet Laser, a 2290 Starfleet Phaser, a Starfleet prototype TR-116 projectile rifle, a 16th-century Scottish Claymore, and numerous others, many of which have actually been of use, particularly the mek'leth and his personal broadsword Gwaihir. These weapons reside in his office aboard the Icarus. It is his policy to keep himself practiced in several forms of armed and unarmed combat, as well as tirelessly studying tactics, strategy, and logistics. He is an expert swordsman and is highly skilled in several Klingon, Andorian, Bajoran, and human martial arts. His theories on stellar defense have been published, and are required reading in some upper-division tactics courses at Starfleet Academy, the Andorian War College, and the Zakdorn Collegium of Strategic Studies.

A veritable "Renaissance Man", he has also tried his hand at various musical forms, and has a keen artistic eye. It is this latter that has manifested itself most noticeably, as he has designed all of his own uniforms and had them made by some of the best tailors in the quadrant. Though often accused of vanity, he ignores such criticism as ill-informed. In his eyes, it is really more of a tactical choice, useful in all situations. His dress uniform is readily noticeable in a crowd (a fact that has drawn the ire of several noticeably self-important Admirals), as it is red and black, rather than the regulation white. His duty uniform has a gold ribbing around the jacket's collar, and all of his uniforms have captain's sleeve stripes reminiscent of those on uniforms issued between 2266 and 2278, in addition to the regulation rank pips on his collar.

Holmes is known for the rarity of his praise. He is more likely to point out the errors of his subordinates than to laud their successes, though the former is never done in malice, and is meant as a learning experience. Those who please him earn his unwavering loyalty, and those who fail to meet his expectations find themselves transferred quickly. He is renowned for his memory, and he never fails to remember the names of his entire crew, past and present. His personnel are unwaveringly loyal to him, a fact exhibited when the entire crew of the Icarus mutinied against Starfleet Command in 2379 to protest Holmes' court-martial. It is often said that Irene deMercereau is the only Admiral in Starfleet willing to have Holmes under her command. Indeed, he has made a gift to her of a custom-tailored uniform, similarly flamboyant as his own.

Holmes' psychological profiles show him to be clever, devious, ambitious, loyal, confidant, trustworthy, and highly observant. Strangely enough, it seems that he has never shown a genuine interest in romantic liaisons. He appears to have a single-mindedness about his career, and his ambition and sense of duty seem to have over-taken all other thoughts.

Holmes has an optical implant in place of his left eye. The original eye was lost when he was severely injured in combat while retaking Deep Space Nine from forces under Section 31. When his fighter was destroyed, Holmes was forced to eject, and his ejection seat collided with a passing Starfleet vessel, breaking several ribs, rupturing a kidney, puncturing a lung, breaking his left leg and arm, and destroying his left eye.

On October 1st, 2379, Holmes' command, the Icarus, was within twelve-hundred meters of Starbase One upon its destruction. In the resulting shockwave, Holmes received a severe concussion and a compound fracture to three place upon his right arm. He continued working, and eventually passed out from blood-loss and physical exhaustion.

Captain Holmes was once again injured when his vessel was severly damaged by the rogue starship Black Sovereign. Holmes recieved a severe cut to the head and a laceration of the left kidney.

Juan Holmes is disturbing to behold at first. Half-human and half-Bajoran, he somehow looks incomplete, as if he is of neither race. He usually wears a dress uniform, rather than a standard duty uniform, and this uniform is always custom tailored; opposite his comm-badge is pinned a set of pilot's wings custom-made by one of the finest craftsmen in the quadrant. He wears the traditional Bajoran earring to be contrary, rather than to respect the Bajoran religion. When he is armed, he carries the pulse pistol typically issued to Starfleet Marines, citing its greater versatility. In addition, like many other officers who served in the Dominion War, he always makes sure to have at least one close-combat weapon at hand. In his case it is a Nepalese weapon called a khukri, a large forward curved Ghurka knife. He is quite skilled in the use of this weapon, and has blended the traditional combat form with that of Klingon mekh'leth technique.

He has spent most of his life fighting wars, but wants nothing more than to explore in peace; regrettably, Starfleet seems to think his talents lie more in the military realm. His first diplomatic effort was a failure, and Command was reluctant to assign him another until sending him to Arkedia, a mission that had pretty much been completed by Eliathin Jii before Holmes even arrived. After that, however, he was sent to the Founder Homeworld to smooth out relations with them after the actions of Admiral Ramsey nearly caused a second Dominion War, and he was fairly successful at that. Starfleet Command now seems more receptive to the idea of giving Holmes such missions.

Holmes looks far older than his actual age of 36. He carries himself with dignity, and his pomp is unmatched by Starfleet's officer corps. The dark hazel coloring of his right eye makes even more-conspicuous the deep blue of the optical implant where his left one had once resided. Between them, his hawk-like nose shows his half-Bajoran heritage. However, despite the immaculate cut of his uniform, his hair is notoriously frazzled.