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Hikaru Sulu. (George Takei). Legendary
Starfleet officer who was helmsman on the original
U.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Captain James Kirk.
Hikaru Sulu would later become the captain of his own ship, the
U.S.S. Excelsior.
Hikaru Sulu was born in
San Francisco on Earth in
2237. As a boy, Hikaru read hard-boiled detective fiction from
the 1950's and he began learning all he could about the ancient
firearms that featured so prominently in those tales. By
adulthood he had a collection of rare specimens and was a
recognized expert on the subject of small arms. This knowledge
came in handy on occassion. ("Shore Leave" [TOS], "Slaver
Weapon" [TAS]). In high school, Hikaru suffered an injury to
his back, which he recovered from completely. Upon discharge
from the hospital, his physician suggested that he take up
fencing to regain his posture and to strengthen his overall
physique. While reluctant at first, Hikaru later found that he
liked the excellent aerobic workout that fencing afforded and
the swordplay pleasantly reminded him of some of his favorite
characters out of Earth history, namely the French Musketeers
and the Japanese Samurai. Sulu later became Starfleet Academy
fencing team captain, and won the championship four years
running. He would continue to use fencing for exercise and as an
outlet for his frustrations for the rest of his life. Sulu also
took up running for exercise as it was not always possible to
arrange for a fencing partner, especially when word got out
about how good he was.
Sulu grew up in the
teaming metropolis of San
Francisco, and throughout his life he considered himself a
city slicker. He felt much more
comfortable in an urban setting than in the country. Sulu was
an avid botanist and spent much of his off hours tending to his
rare and delicate plants which he had collected from all
over Federation space.
Sulu entered Starfleet academy in 2255 majoring in
physics. His choice of major was in no small way due to his
father being a physicist. Hikaru had a good relationship with
his father, and usually acceded to his wishes.
Hikaru graduated with honors in 2259. After a number of assignments
to smaller Starfleet vessels, in 2264,
Lieutenant Junior Grade Sulu was assigned to the U.S.S.
Enterprise as the vessel's staff physicist. He excelled in the
position but quickly learned that the real excitement took
place on the bridge. In 2266, Lieutenant Sulu requested and
received a transfer from Sciences to Command section and gladly
put on the gold shirt as the Enterprise's Helm Officer. On most
starships of that time, the Helm Officer and the
Tactical/Weapons Officer were two different individuals, but
Sulu's love of weapons raised in him a desire to assume the
position of Tactical/Weapons Officer in addition to his helmsman
duties. Captain Kirk never regretted giving both of those vital
jobs to Hikaru Sulu. Years later when the Enterprise returned
from its five-year mission, Sulu would be revered as a legend
for his cool efficiency, quick thinking and professionalism as
the Helm/Weapons officer of that great starship.
During his
time as the ship's helmsman, Sulu met young Ensign Pavel Chekov
in 2267. He and Sulu hit it off well even though it was Chekov
that Kirk subsequently took under his wing instead of Sulu.
But Sulu held no grudges, especially since it was not Chekov's
fault. The two became life-long friends.
The five-year mission
of the Enterprise under Captain
James Kirk was quite eventful for Sulu and the rest of the
crew. In 2266, on stardate 1704.2, Sulu came under the effects
of the Psi 2000 virus, during which time he fancied himself a
reincarnation of D'Artagnan, emperilling other crewmembers
with a fencing foil.
In 2267, for the first time in his
career, Hikaru Sulu traveled back in time to visit Earth's
past. On stardate 3113.2 the U.S.S. Enterprise was accidently
sent into the
past by a near collision with a blackhole, and the ship was
detected as an unidentified flying object in Earth's
atmosphere. Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Sulu beamed down to
retrieve Air Force photographic evidence of the Enterprise.
("Tomorrow Is Yesterday" [TOS]). On stardate 3156.2, Sulu was
temporarily absorbed by the Body of Landru followers. In this
brainwashed state, Sulu had no memory of his life in Starfleet.
("Return of the Archons" [TOS]). On stardate 3417.3, Sulu and
the rest of the Enterprise's crew was
overcome by the effects of the spores on Omicron Ceti III. Sulu
deigned to leave Starfleet and live on the planet. ("This Side
of Paradise" [TOS]). A hostile parallel universe is discovered in
late 2267
in which Sulu was the head of security aboard the Imperial
Starship Enterprise in an evil Terran Empire. ("Mirror, Mirror"
[TOS]).
Sulu and the crew of
the U.S.S. Enterprise
encountered Klingon Commander Kang in 2268. Sulu as captain of the
Excelsior, later encountered Kang in the Azure Nebula in
2293.
In 2269, on stardate 1254.4,
the crew of the
Enterprise learned that they had magical powers while near the
galactic center. While there, Sulu conjured up a beautiful woman
out of thin air. ("The Magicks of Megas-Tu").
On stardate 5577.3, while in
a miniaturized state, Sulu broke his leg from a fall on the
bridge. The crew of the Enterprise had been reduced in size by
spiroid epsilon waves emanating from a planet that was the
location of the Terratin colony. ("The Terratin Incident").
Later on stardate 4187.3, Sulu, Spock and Uhura, took part in a
mission to transport a Slaver stassis box to starbase 25. After
all three were abducted by the Kzinti crew of the
Traitor's Claw, Sulu was instrumental in ascertaining that the
slaver device found within the stassis box was in fact the
weapon of an espionage agent. ("The Slaver Weapon").
In 2270, Sulu, McCoy and
Uhura became trapped in the
holographic recreation room when the ship's computer began
exhibiting aberrant behavior following the ship's passage
through an energy cloud. ("The Practical Joker"). Later that
year on stardate 6770.3 the Enterprise entered an
anti-matter universe. The crew of the ship experienced
accelerated reverse aging and Sulu was reduced to infancy.
After the starship returned to normal space, Sulu and the crew
were returned to their normal ages by use of the ship's
transporters. ("The Counter-Clock Incident").
Upon returning to
Earth in late 2370, the Enterprise entered spacedock for an
extended refit. At this time Sulu recieved a promotion to
Lieutenant Commander. It was soon after their arrival home,
while Sulu and Chekov were on vacation, that Sulu met Susan
Ling. She was the fiercely independant and beautiful firebrand
that would become the mother of his daughter, Demora. Susan Ling
entered his life as a mystery woman, which is what she
remained. Unknown to Sulu, while she was off world Susan Ling bore him
a daughter in 2371. That same year the Enterprise left
spacedock and embarked on a second five-year mission under the
command of now Admiral James T. Kirk. Ever the explorer,
Lieutenant Commander Sulu signed on and was again at the ship's helm.
After a voyage every bit
as exciting as the first, the
legendary starship returned to Earth in 2276. In 2278, Sulu was
offered the assignment as first officer of the Soyuz-class
U.S.S. Bozeman (NCC-1941) under the command of Captain Morgan
Bateson, which he gladly accepted. Shortly before he was to
report for duty, however, Sulu learned that he had a daughter
and that Susan Ling, the child's mother, had died of Sakuro's
disease. Sulu made the decision to turn down the posting on the
Bozeman and stay on Earth to raise his daughter. He had
always wanted a family, but as often happens with men of
action, they seldom get around to starting a family. Sulu was
lucky, he would have the great fortune of knowing what it was
like to have a child. A joy which cannot be explained to
persons without children. Hikaru took a teaching position at
the Starfleet Academy in San Francisco and adopted seven year
old Demora Ling as his legal daughter. Demora was very much her
mother's daughter, growing up to be a very forthright and
intelligent young lady. Sulu's good friend, Chekov, played an
important part in the upbringing of Demora, filling in for him
whenever he was called off planet. Chekov was such a family
friend that in a very real sense, Demora may not have had a
mother, but she did have two fathers. Also stationed in San
Francisco, was former Enterprise crewmember and friend of
Hikaru, Janice Rand. She kept in touch with all members of the
original Enterprise crew, and helped Sulu on a number of
occassions when the upbringing of his daughter required a
woman's touch. Sulu did not push his daughter when it came to
career choices. In 2281, at her insistance, Hikaru took
twelve-year-old Demora to Starfleet Academy where she met
Admiral Kirk. So affected was she that after the visit Demora
was bound and determined to enter Starfleet.
Hikaru, as part of his Academy
teaching duties, again
served aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, this time under the
command of Captain Spock. During a cadet training cruise in
2285, the ship became embroiled in a conflict between Admiral
James Kirk and former 20th-century tyrant Kahn Noonian Singh.
The Enterprise was officially retired after being damaged in the
encounter. Later that year, Kirk rounded up most of the original
Enterprise senior staff to steal the ship out of mothballs and
go on a mission to restore Spock's katra to his body which was
alive and well on the Genesis planet. The mission was
successful but the original Enterprise was ultimately destroyed.
In 2286, on stardate 8390,
an alien space probe of
unknown origin came to Earth in order to communicate with
humpback whales, which unfortunately had become extinct by that
time. The probe wrought great environmental havoc on the planet.
Admiral James Kirk and his
shipmates traveled back in time to 1986 to bring two humpback
whales to 2286. The alien probe communicated with the whales and
then left the Earth in peace.
During his visit to Earth in 1986, Sulu met his
great-great-great-great-grandfather when he was a seven-year-old
living in San Francisco. ("STAR TREK IV: The Voyage Home") In
gratitude for his saving of the Earth, Starfleet gave Kirk command
of a second Consitution-class Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-A).
In 2287, Sybok, Spock's
half brother, commandeered the
U.S.S. Enterprise-A. He did this with the help of several
members of the crew, including Commander Sulu, who had been
profoundly influenced by Sybok. ("STAR TREK V: The Final Frontier").
In 2290 Demora Sulu
entered the Academy. That same
year, Hikaru Sulu was promoted to the rank of captain and was
offered the command of the Starship Excelsior (NCC-2000). The
ship then embarked on a three-year mission to chart gaseous anomolies
in the Beta Quadrant. Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand was
assigned as the ship's Communications Officer at Hikaru Sulu's
request. (STAR TREK VI: The Undiscovered Country).
In 2293, upon successful
completion of their mission
in the Beta Quadrant, the crew of the Excelsior encountered a
subspace shock wave resulting from the accidental destruction
of the Klingons' chief energy-producing moon, Praxis. Captain
Sulu communicated with the Klingons and offered them
assistance. This offer was refused. A short while later Klingon
Chancellor Gorkon was assassinated and Captain James Kirk and
Dr. Leonard McCoy were accused of the crime and were taken to the
Klingon Homeworld to be tried. (STAR TREK VI: The Undiscovered
Country). Against Starfleet orders, Captain Sulu decided to
mount a rescue of Kirk and McCoy. Junior science officer Ensign
Tuvok confronted Captain Sulu about the breach of orders but to
no avail. To conceal the Excelsior's approach to Qo'noS, Sulu
ordered the Excelsior through the Azure Nebula, and it was
there that he encountered a Klingon Battle Cruiser commanded by
Captain Kang. In the ensuing battle, junior science officer
Dmitri Valtane was fatally injured. To evade Kang, Sulu ordered
that the volatile sirillium gas in the nebula be ignited. After
escaping the Klingons, Captain Sulu reconsidered the situation
and aborted the rescue mission. Captain Sulu never entered the
incident into his official log. ("Flashback" [VGR]).
Captain Sulu and
the Excelsior later played a key role
in the Khitomer Peace Conference of 2293 by assisting the
U.S.S. Enterprise-A in its battle with General Chang's
prototype Bird-of-Prey and by preventing the assassination of
Klingon Chancellor Azetbur. (STAR TREK VI: The Undiscovered
Country).
Later that year,
the Excelsior-class U.S.S.
Enterprise-B was commissioned under the command of Captain
John Harriman. Shortly afterwards, Ensign Demora Sulu graduated
from the Academy and was assigned to the Enterprise-B as
helmsman. (STAR TREK: Generations).
Due to Hikaru Sulu's illustrious career,
a holographic portrait of him was hung in Starfleet Headquarters.
In 2350, while he was patrolling the Cardassian border, Captain Hikaru Sulu
met a young man named Chakotay, who lived on a colony in the area. After
some discussions, Sulu recommended him for Starfleet Academy. ("Tattoo" [VGR]).
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