An alien vessel arrives at Earth, landing in the region of the prehistoric Greeks.  Aboard are several members of an alien race, energy based, who are inhabiting physical bodies.  It is a type of symbiotic relationship.  These aliens, who call themselves the Forlingas, set out to explore their surroundings.  They are an advance scouting party, and they find that the Earth is a pleasant world, suitable for colonization.  Several volunteers return to the ship and launch again, some years later, so that their findings might be reported to their ruling class, who are known only as the Lords.  The remaining aliens will eventually find Human hosts, and will set about to live in peace, awaiting the coming of the Lords.

The Forlingas, long living as Humans and among Humans, have grown restless.  The Lords have not yet come, and many among them have come to believe that they will not come.  A split finally occurs among them, and two groups are formed.  The Enu wish to continue living in peace, hoping that the Lords will come.  But if they do not, then they will be happy to live throughout the ages, moving from host to host, watching the Humans evolve.  The second group is the Ank, who have come to believe that the Lords will not come, and that it is their duty to rule over the Earth in their stead.  A battle ensues, and the Ank are driven into the wilds, their hosts killed.  Most will eventually find new hosts, though some will simply despair and allow their essences to fade away.  But the leader of the Ank, named Hefu, swears revenge on the Enu, and most specifically on the leader of the Enu, named Enkei.

The Lords arrive on Earth.  They inhabit the area that will be Greece, and in time they come to be seen as gods by the prehistoric Greek people, a belief that the Lords themselves foster, and enjoy.  This will act as the basis for the development of the classical Greek pantheon.  The Enu, having waited for so long, happily serve the Lords.

The Human religions based upon the Lords has begun to shift, and more recognizable roots of the classical Greek pantheon are becoming apparent.  The Lords, seeing themselves as becoming unnecessary, begin to leave Earth, with the Enu accompanying them.  But on the eve of his leaving, Hefu strikes and kills the family of Enkei, and Enkei himself loses his host.  Yet he manages to do the same to Hefu, and they are both left behind.  The two Forlingas will spend millennia hunting each other across the face of the world.

After plundering several worlds in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants during the past several years, a race (possibly from the Gamma Quadrant) known by the Klingons as the Hur'q stops at Earth.  They plunder very little, but they do harvest fuel from Earth's oceans in a layover lasting several months.  During their stay Hefu becomes aware of them and infiltrates their camp by taking over one Hur'q and using it as a host.  By the time the small armada leaves, Hefu is ready and attempts to escape in his pilfered ship.  The Hur'q, however, shoot down the vessel and leave it, probably assuming the pilot to be a traitor.  Although the ship is severely damaged and the host body dead, Hefu rejoices and, after procuring a new Human host, hides the vessel.  He bides his time, waiting for the technological level of the Humans to reach the point where it will become feasible to repair the ship.

By arrangement, Hefu and Enkei meet in Marseilles, France, at Sandrine's Bar.  Hefu begs for a truce, claiming to be weary of the millennia old vendetta.  Enkei, truly weary of it all, agrees, and the two depart under an uneasy truce. 

Learning, through various rumor mills, that a man named Henry Starling likely has a salvaged, crashed alien vessel, Hefu raids the labs holding it.  He comes away with materials that will allow him to repair the hidden Hur'q ship, albeit at a very slow pace.

Hefu completes repairs to his stolen vessel, and as he leaves he fires on Enkei's home, once again killing the Enu's family, and forcing him to find a new host.  Enkei swears a final revenge, even as Hefu leaves Earth.

Martin Samuel Keats is born.  His father, Jonathon, is a major United States diplomat to the Middle East

The Eugenics Wars erupt.  Jonathon Keats is quickly assigned to the Middle East in an attempt to stabilize the region.  Because it is such a long term assignment, he moves over with both his wife and son.

The Eugenics Wars come to an end as the few remaining upstart nations are defeated by an international coalition.  But even as a handful of supermen, lead by Khan Noonian Singh, escape in a captured DY-100 sleeper ship, meant to serve as a cryogenic storage ship for terminally ill people, an attack on the coalition in the Middle East is launched as cover.  Although these forces are defeated, a biological assault at the end of the battle infects several hundred people.  Among the infected is Martin Keats.  Realizing that there is no known cure to the terminal infection, Jonathon Keats lobbies hard to have his son placed aboard one of the last DY-100 vessels, where he might remain until a cure is found.  This successful campaign is heavily publicized, and because of this Enkei learns of it.  He decides to inhabit Martin's body and to leave Earth.  It will be a long chase, but this represents his best chance to chase after Hefu.  However, the combination of the illness and the cryogenic process leaves Enkei barely in control of the near-dead body.  At the end of the year, the ship is launched into a solar orbit.

Able to rouse himself once in a great while, Enkei/Martin has long since disabled all ship-to-shore connections, leaving those on Earth to believe that the ship had been lost.  On this date, he is awakened by an automatic alarm that he had programmed some time before.  The ship has detected an energy signature that Enkei recognizes as belonging to a subspace ellipse.  Maneuvering the ship, he manages to ride the subspace wake of the ellipse, even as it consumes the Ares IV Mars exploration craft.  After only a few days the ship drops out of the wake, near the outskirts of the Alpha Virginis (Vega) System.  Enkei attempts to start a signal that might attract attention, but after so long awake the strain has proven too much.  He barely manages to get back into the cryo-chamber before he falls into a deep unconsciousness.  Even in a state of suspended animation, Martin's mind has regained control of his body.  Enkei will remain an unconscious "feeling" and nothing more.

Earth has its First Contact with the Vulcans after Zephram Cochrane tests his warp ship, the Phoenix, at warp speed.

The United Federation of Planets is formed, with Earth being one of the principle founding members, along with the Vulcans.

Martin's DY-100 sleeper ship is discovered by a civilian ice mining ship in the Vega System.  The ship had performed a low speed impact onto a Kuiper object, and had come to rest partially within a crevice.  Although the signal, long ago set by Enkei, had activated, it had since fallen to a low power level, and was unable to penetrate the rock and ice of the Kuiper object.  Upon salvage, the mining ship crew discovers Martin's body, as well as three other survivors.  Twelve other corpses are also recovered.  The survivors are immediately transferred to a nearby Starfleet vessel, where they are cured of their various illnesses.  Enkei, however, remains a subconscious influence, and Martin is himself.  He is taken to Earth, where he is subjected to a brief stardom.  But preferring solitude, he is granted his family's ancestral land in the mountains of Montana (the land had been assimilated back into a virginal forest range), where he lives under the care of his new personal doctor, the Vulcan T'ress.  The two will eventually develop a close friendship.  Martin is 16 years old.

Following T'ress' suggestion, and with her sponsorship, Martin applies to and is accepted into Starfleet Academy.  His first few months prove to be a sore challenge, however, high-lighted by a fist fight with a one year senior cadet, named Chakotay.  The fight earns both men  a disciplinary report, as well as work time under the stern supervision of the groundskeeper, Boothby.  During the fight, one of Boothby's prize flower beds was completely trampled.

Martin is assigned to the Excelsior-class USS Giza for his cadet cruise.  During this year long assignment, he will cycle between the security and helm departments.  He becomes something of a celebrity among the crew, both because of his past, and because of his introduction to 20th Century food items into the replicator memory.

The USS Giza, where Martin served his year-long cadet cruise.

At the age of 23, Martin Keats graduates the Academy with the rank of ensign.  After a brief stay at Jupiter Station, he transfers to the Ambassador-class USS Havre de Grace.  He is placed within the security department.  But Martin quickly becomes discontent, and his temper is soon one of his defining characteristics.  But he is also well known for his dedication to his job, and distinguishes himself on numerous occasions.

The USS Havre de Grace

At his yearly review, Martin earns a promotion to Lieutenant JG, and is the new Assistant Chief of Security.

While the Havre de Grace is transporting two major and rival Co-operatives from Andor to Pacifica, a deadly fight for political position breaks out among the members.  Caught in the middle is ensign Julia Marks, a close friend of Martin's.  She is killed by a member of one Co-operative when she attempts to interfere.  Martin, upon arriving in time to see this, severely beats the offending Andorian while his ward, a Human child named John Parrish, watches.  While the Andorians consider Martin to have been within his rights, and indeed are surprised that he didn't kill the Andorian, Martin's superiors take a somewhat dimmer view.  He receives a reprimand on his record, and is transferred out of security and to a helm position.  However, viewing his position on the Havre de Grace as "spoiled", he soon requests a transfer.  The only available position is for the helm of the Oberth-class USS O'Reilly.  Once there he is promoted to full Lieutenant, but that is off-set but a most unremarkable scientific tour.  He makes few friends here and considers the assignment his career low, although he does begin to acquire a secret interest in the planetary sciences.

Relief comes to Martin in the form of an offer to become the second officer on the New Orleans-class Adamant.  He immediately accepts, and is promoted to Lieutenant Commander.  The ship, however, remains under construction in the Utopia Planitia Yards, and Martin finds himself largely in charge of overseeing the ship's building.  He excels at command, much to his surprise, and he begins to lose some of the psychological weight that he has carried for the past several years.

The USS Adamant

After many technical problems that have plagued the development of the New Orleans-class vessels, the Adamant is finally launched from space dock.  In recognition of his outstanding work, Captain Liam Rhys promotes Martin to full Commander and the First Officer of the vessel.  However, after a year of distinguished service, the Adamant is sent to Wolf 359 to take part in the Borg defensive.  This encounter awakens Enkei to a point, for the Borg are known to him.  But Martin remains in control.  In the end, the ship is destroyed, along with over half of the crew compliment.  Martin and a handful of others escape in life pods.  Enkei falls back into his dormant state, but the Borg will haunt him for some time to come.

For most of the year, Martin has remained on leave at his home in Montana.  Claiming it is by pure coincidence, T'ress also spends time there, and is able to keep a watch on him.  More than once she aids him with his nightmares concerning the Borg, and through three mind melds she begins to sense Enkei, although as of yet she cannot understand what she is sensing.  Starfleet eventually offers Martin the position of First Officer on the Nebula-class USS Gilgamesh.  Martin accepts, but not without some pushing by T'ress.

The USS Gilgamesh

The Borg Incident at Sector 001 takes place.  Although the Gilgamesh does not participate, news of the encounter brings back haunting memories to Martin.  However, distraction is provided by the outbreak of the Dominion War.  Martin throws himself into the conflict completely, calling up his earlier days of poor temper and complete dedication.

During the last major battle of the Dominion War, the Gilgamesh is severely damaged, and the Captain is killed.  Martin takes command and manages to disable a Dominion warship before it can destroy both the Gilgamesh and a Klingon warbird.  In the process the Gilgamesh is even further damaged, and begins to drift.  The Jem'hadar attempt to board and take the ship, but a combined force of Klingons and Humans hold them back until Cardassians arrive and enter into the fray.  Finally, Martin leads a final assault on board the Dominion vessel, and the enemy is defeated.

The USS Gilgamesh at the last major battle of the Dominion war.

At the age of 43, Martin is promoted to Captain and given command of the Akira-class USS Endymion.  Refit after the War, the Endymion will be assigned to various diplomatic and exploration duties.  However, the ship will also be used to extinguish "brush fires" when needed, and to show the Federation flag in parts of space that have weakened during the War.  Among the crew assigned is one young John Parrish, as well as T'ress, as the Chief Medical Officer -- purely by coincidence, according to her.

The USS Endymion, Martin's first command.