Elizabeth Hayden

Pre-Starfleet Life (2332—2350)

Born in Upstate New York, Elizabeth Hayden had an early fascination with nature, especially the vast forests near her family’s home in the Adirondack Mountains, where she spent many long days sketching the flora and fauna that thrived there. As the only child to a former Starfleet officer, George, and a conservation scientist, Alexandra, she was homeschooled all the way up through her high school years, which led her to be both socially reserved and academically inquisitive. The Hayden family often went camping, and she learned survival skills including hunting and fishing from an early age.

As a teenager, Hayden developed an interest in horticulture, learning how to grow and cross-breed roses as part of her scientific studies. This led to her to start to think about a career as a botanist, working with nature as her mother did, but she was also fascinated by her father’s stories of the time he’d spent on starships exploring the galaxy. With her excellent academic performance, though, her teachers reminded her that it was possible to sate both curiosities: she could become a scientist in Starfleet. While she found the physical rigors of the Starfleet Academy Preparatory Program daunting, she persevered thanks to the support of her parents.

Early Starfleet Career (2350—2367)

Starfleet Academy (2350—2354)

Hayden matriculated into Starfleet Academy in the fall of 2350, pursuing a degree in xenobotany.

USS Malinche (2354—2357)

Hayden’s first posting out of the academy was aboard the Excelsior-class heavy cruiser Malinche in the botany section of the life sciences department.

USS Galaxy (2357—2367)

As a full lieutenant, Hayden joined the crew of the newly-launched USS Galaxy in 2357 heading the life sciences department.

Senior Officer (2367—2383)

USS Magellan (2367—2376)

In 2367, Hayden earned a promotion to the rank of commander and a posting to the Galaxy‘s sister ship, Magellan, as chief science officer.

USS Surak (2376—2382)

Hayden’s first command was the Ambassador-class heavy cruiser Surak.

Seasoned Captain (2382—2393)

Following her meritorious service during and after the Dominion War, Hayden was considered to be one of the rising stars among her generation of captains—those officers who cut their teeth during the Borg and Dominion conflicts and who now finally had the chance to realize Starfleet’s core mission of exploration, diplomacy, and peace. During the 2380s and 2390s, Hayden commanded two explorers: the Antares and the Opportunity, on long and successful voyages of discovery.

USS Antares (2382—2390)

Following six years aboard the Surak, Hayden took command of the Intrepid-class light explorer Antares in 2382. Though a much smaller vessel, it was a definite step up for Hayden in terms of both prestige and the ability to get back to the types of mission that had excited her about joining Starfleet in the first place: exploration.

USS Opportunity (2390—2399)

In 2390 after 14 years spent in the center seat, Hayden was promoted to the rank of fleet captain and tapped to command the brand-new USS Opportunity, an Obena-class explorer.

Field Commander (2393—2401)

A fleet captain since 2390, Hayden was first assigned the command of more than one starship in 2393. For the rest of the decade, she received increasingly senior field commands but maintained her permanent command of a starship until her promotion to rear admiral in 2399.

Opportunity Squadron (2393—2399)

In 2393, additional assets were placed under Hayden’s command as Opportunity Squadron was formally constituted.

Arcturus Squadron (2399—2401)

In 2397, Hayden was selected as the eventual captain of the starship Arcturus and her expedition to the Delta Quadrant. As a condition of accepting the assignment to Arcturus Squadron, Hayden insisted on retaining command of her own ship. She transferred off of the Opportunity in late 2398 just in time to formally take command of the Arcturus in early 2399, with now-Captain Michael Lancaster again as her first officer.

Along with the starship Apollo, Arcturus traveled through the Barzan Wormhole in January 2399 as one of the first ships to explore the Nacene Reach following Voyager‘s initial trip to the Delta Quadrant. Hayden oversaw a successful second contact mission with the now-fractured Ocampan nation.

Task Force 9 (2399)

In early 2399, the Arcturus was recalled to Starbase 38 for repositioning from the Nacene Reach to head up an expedition to Swallow Nebula, deeper in the Delta Quadrant. However, this was not to be. The Arcturus returned through the Barzan Wormhole during the Breen Attack of 2399, with the Seleya already in flames and the station’s support vessel destroyed. Before the Arcturus could intervene, Vice Admiral Knox rammed his flagship into the attacking Breen dreadnought, slicing it in two and saving the station, but still leaving several dozen fighters in the theater. With Admiral Belvedere focused on the station itself, Hayden assumed command of the mobile assets, including the sixty or so runabouts from both her own ship and the starbase and the Arcturus‘s own support ship to secure the star system. She retained command of the defensive garrison which received reinforcements from other sectors over the following days, still intending to prepare for her mission to the Swallow Nebula, once the situation was resolved and a permanent field commander was selected.

However, following Vice Admiral Knox’s funeral, Hayden was promoted to Rear Admiral and was placed in charge not only of the garrison over Barzan II but an entire mobile task force assigned along the Breen and Kzinti borders, with the goal of securing the coreward section of the Federation’s Alpha Quadrant territory against further destructive raids. While she had spent her entire career as an explorer, it was felt that her tactical acumen and her diplomatic talent were needed back home, rather than in the Delta Quadrant. She accepted the promotion reluctantly as her friend, Knox, had done, but was ready to lead from the front to bring stability to the region. She kept her flag aboard the Arcturus but made her former XO, Captain Michael Lancaster, her Flag Captain rather than a mere First Officer.

Fourth Fleet Operations (2399—2401)

Following her tenure in Task Force 9, Arcturus Squadron was placed directly under Fourth Fleet Operations. Hayden continued to command this squadron through 2399 and 2400, overseeing the Arcturus and the Apollo through several campaigns.

Senior Flag Officer (2401—Present)

In early 2400, Hayden nominally continued to command her squadron during a teaching stint at Starfleet Academy, which lasted for the majority of the year. After her success in that role, Admiral Hayden became the commandant of the Fourth Fleet Academy in January 2401. Following the Lost Fleet Crisis and the events of Frontier Day 2401, Hayden was assigned as the interim commander of Task Force 17. Following this assignment, she assumed command of Olympia Station, a new facility on the extreme edge of Federation space in the Alpha Quadrant.