Biography of LIEUTENANT AREX

Introduction. The following biography is the exact text of a biography of Arex available from Lincoln Enterprises Catalog number 5 in 1974. I do not consider this material canon since none of this information was mentioned during any aired episode. However, since literally no background information on Arex was revealed in the Animated STAR TREK series, I am including this information as semi-canon. Some credibility is lent to this material due to the fact that Gene Roddenberry's wife, Majel Barrett, was in charge of Lincoln Enterprises. The original author of this biography is unknown. SEE ALSO: Biography of Lieutenant M'Ress.

LIEUTENANT AREX comes from the planet Edos. His appearance is at first startling...for Arex is tripodal, having three legs, three arms, and three fingers on each hand. His uniforms are specially tailored for him, and he is a rather strange sight in motion. As might be expected, he is not at all clumsy. His reflexes are quick, and he can move with great speed when necessary. In an emergency, he can operate the complex helm-navigation console by himself. Arex's complexion is reddish. One soon becomes used to the homliness of his bony face and begins to see the compassion and sadness in his eyes. Arex is a thoughtful being, given to long silences. There are times when he retreats to the solitude of his quarters to deliberate...or perhaps to worship the many gods of Edos. One never knows, for Arex never speaks of these moments of isolaton. Unlike M'Ress, Arex has been in Starfleet for many years. He is known as the best navigator in the Fleet. Before he entered the service as a technician, he spent ten years in the merchant space fleet. Arex's people are long lived, and Arex knew from the very beginning that he wished to spend his long life in space. While Arex is an officer, and a good one, he is not a product of the Starfleet Academy. He worked his way up through the ranks, becoming an officer via a "field commission" during a battle involving the Klingons and the small cruiser aboard which he was then serving. All the officers were killed in the fray, and Arex took command to effect a temporary retreat and then a return action which took the Klingon ship by surprise and allowed Arex to disable her and bring her in to face Federation charges. It is not fair to say Arex has never been to Starfleet Academy. He spent two years there some time ago... as a space navigation instructor. One of his high scoring students was a young Russian named Pavel Chekov. Arex's home planet, Edos, is not a member of the Federation. Rather, it remains in loose alliance with the Federation, coming under its agreements for trade, science, and aid in an emergency. Edos lies in the Triangulum constellation, on the rim of the galaxy. It is a jumping off point for science teams studying the great energy barrier beyond the rim. It is also a peaceful planet which has never been involved in a war. The technology is as advanced as Earth's; the architectural style of its cities is strictly functional rather than esthetically pleasing. The society has no class levels. All beings on Edos are equal. Arex has no brothers or sisters. In fact, it is highly unusual for there to be more than one child per family. The population must be kept down due to the longer life factor. As a result, all children are precious, and families are close. Ancestral records are kept in great detail, dating back for centuries. Arex's line can be traced for three thousand years. Aboard ship, Arex often keeps to himself. However, when the mood is right, he can be pursuaded to play a flute-like instrument called a sessica. (It is native to his planet.) While the music may be lively or romantic or plaintive, all of it relates to story-songs which tell the history of his race or his family. Arex also can be pursuaded...at very rare moments...to display a special proficiency in sleight-of-hand, a trick he picked up while in the merchant space service. With three hands, sleight-of-hand becomes very interesting indeed! While Arex appears to be a quiet, efficient, junior officer, Captain Kirk knows the Lieutenant is entitled to wear three decorations for bravery and has a Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Valor. Arex himself would never mention them.