Star Trek: How EVERY Captain Became Captain

13. Captain Jonathan Archer

As the first Captain in the NX test program, Archer had a lot of history weighing on his shoulders. The Earth-Vulcan alliance was looking to Enterprise as the test run on Human Space Exploration.

Archer was selected based on a varied career, both in academics and practice. He had entered flight school at a very young age, as he had been able to seek advice from his father, who passed away when Jonathan was twelve. His father had been one of the minds behind the Warp Five Engine.

A young Archer met Zefram Cochrane, further inspiring him to continue with his dream of space flight. Eager to get into space, before Starfleet was chartered, he considered serving aboard a cargo ship, though decided against it.

With the rank of Commander, he enrolled in the NX program and became rivals with A.G. Robinson. Robinson beat him to becoming the first pilot in the NX Alpha, a test ship with engines designed by Archer's father. A flaw led to the ship's destruction, though Robinson survived. He returned to Earth and he and Archer came to blows over that flaw, which Archer didn't want to believe.

However, the pair (along with Trip Tucker) worked to improve the engine quality on the NX-Beta, which Archer piloted this time. They solve the issue with the engine, receiving a reprimand for their efforts. Almost directly as a result of this, Admiral Maxwell Forrest gave Archer the captaincy of the NX-01 Enterprise.