Star Trek: The First Captain Of The Enterprise You Never Knew About
3. April Arrives
Robert April's first and, to date, only on-screen appearances comes in an episode of The Animated Series. The episode is called The Counter Clock Incident, and it is an excellent parable about the older generation being every bit, if not more, useful than the younger one. Here, April very much resembles an older version of Captain Kirk. He is a Commodore in rank, while also having served as the Federation's Ambassador-at-large for the previous twenty years.
April is nearing 75 years of age, the mandatory retirement age in Starfleet. Though he feels that he has more to give, he has somewhat accepted the situation. He and his wife, Sarah April, both served aboard the Enterprise during her maiden voyage - he as captain, she as Chief Medical Officer.
A chance encounter with a starship from another dimension pulls the Enterprise into a pocket of space where time moves backward, aging the crew in reverse. This means that the standard crew are all hurtling toward childhood, while the Aprils are able to take command of the situation.
Commodore April takes charge of the Enterprise one last time as he ensures that it is piloted out of this region of space, and Sarah April is able to restore the crew to their normal ages. Though the couple are faced with the opportunity to remain young, they accept that they have lived a lifetime together and don't want any of that to change. They return to their normal age and retire in peace.