| “ | The line must be drawn here! This far! No farther! | „ |
| ~ Jean-Luc Picard's most famous line |
Jean-Luc Picard is the captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from 2363 to 2371 followed by the Enterprise NCC-1701-E in 2372 onward in the science-fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the movies based on the television series.
History
Picard was born in France, on Earth in the year 2305. He was the son of Maurice and Yvette Picard, and the younger brother of Robert Picard.
Like most officers of the Federation Captain Jean-Luc Picard is sworn to uphold certain laws while still actively going "where no man has gone before" - unlike Kirk, Picard prefered to deploy diplomacy when dealing with threats and didn't engage in conflict unless absolutely necessary: both extremely moral yet logical at the same time Picard had a very different personality from Kirk but remains a fan favorite regardless, in some ways the difference of personality was part of Picard's charm as a protagonist.
However like Kirk before him, Picard appeared to be very attentive to the needs of his crew and as such was likely a popular leader even within his setting, Picard of course was also a leader who knew how to install disciple and although a caring individual who prefered peaceful resolutions to problems he was fully capable of using his gifted intelligence to formulate quick and effective means of disabling threats and engaging hostile enemies on relatively even ground.
Sarek
Escorting the 202 year old Ambassador Sarek to his conference with the Legarans it became obvious that Sarek's emotional control was starting to fail. Picard offered to let Sarek mind-meld with him, which gave Sarek the emotional control to conclude the treaty with the Legarans. Picard faced the full brunt of Vulcan emotion during this time, but came away carrying a piece of Sarek's memories and experiences with him.
The Best of Both Worlds, Part I-II
Towards the end in 2367 Picard was captured by the Borg and was unwillingly transformed into Locutus - a spokesperson for the Borg to the various peoples of the Federation. The Borg were able to rip information from Picard's mind and forced Picard as Locutus to direct the Borg ship at the Battle of Wolf 359 - which was a devastating loss for the Federation with over 35 starships destroyed and approximately 11,000 people dead. Picard was rescued by his crew and he was able to help them destroy the Borg ship by having Data shut down the ship via his link to the Borg, which caused a power overload that destroyed the cube. The implants were removed and Picard returned to duty a short time later.
Family
The assault by the Borg would have a lasting impact on Picard, who felt much guilt over the deaths of so many Federation citizens that the Borg had caused using information ripped from his mind. He would tearfully admit as such to his brother Robert, who told him he had to learn how to live with what happened.
Unification
In 2368 Picard and Data went to Romulus to determine why Spock had gone there. Picard also had to deliver the sad news that Sarek had died. Once on Romulus Picard was able to confront Spock, who informed Picard that he was working with an underground movement to bring about a peaceful reunification between the Vulcan and Romulan peoples. Picard, Data, and Spock were able to defeat a plot by the Empire to invade the planet Vulcan. Spock decided to remain on Romulus and continue working with the underground's survivors to bring about a reformation of the Empire. Picard gave his friend Spock the opportunity to touch what Sarek had shared with him via mind meld.