Star Trek: 10 Characters That Faked Their Way Into Starfleet
7. Simon Tarses
The warp core dilithium chamber hatch explosion was caused by "simple neutron fatigue," for Pike's sake, so let's all just take a chill pill, although preferably not one via Klingon spy J'Dan's modified hyposyringe! Or, or, we could continue on until practically half the ship's compliment has basically been accused of treason? Yeah, let's go with that option! And how convenient that Alexander was 'on Earth' with his grandparents at the time!
We don't know if poor Simon Tarses was drummed out of Starfleet after retired Admiral Norah Satie's paranoid inquisition in The Drumhead. Captain Picard did report that "his [Tarses'] career now stands in ruins." We certainly hope he got to stay, as he didn't do much wrong aside from having a Romulan grandfather on his Dad's side. What gets Tarses on this list is the fact that he covered up his Romulan heritage on his application to Starfleet Academy's training programme for enlisted personnel. Lying like that is never a wise move, but given what happened eventually, can you blame him?
Tarses does get a happier career continuation in beta canon. In several of the novels, he has gone from medical technician to Doctor, and even CMO in the Star Trek: Destiny series. Tarses actor Spencer Garrett also played another kind of fake Starfleet officer in the form of a holographic lieutenant, who, in the Star Trek: Voyager two-parter Flesh and Blood, escaped the Hirogen simulations with Iden and his photonic flock.