Liam Dahlgren

Early Life

Liam Dahlgren was born in Stockholm in 2348, the son of two career members of the Federation Diplomatic Corps, Oscar and Astrid. As his parents ascended to the higher echelons of their career path, they were often posted to different worlds from one another, while Dahlgren was left on Earth with his grandparents. He often spent a few months of the year during school holidays with them, though, and by the time he was in secondary school, he’d visited 16 Federation planets. While he enjoyed the visits, he was fascinated by the starships he was transported on, especially when a Starfleet vessel was tasked with the mission. During the early 2360s, he was often assigned a protective detail, and he began to bond with the officers assigned to guard him on his trips, which made him seriously consider joining Starfleet.

Dahlgren was always above-average in height and signed himself up for every sport available. He was popular and charismatic, but not exactly a serious student. With his parents blessing, he enrolled in the Starfleet Academy Preparatory Program, and it was a very rude awakening to the rigors of Starfleet service. He nearly washed out his first year, but he pushed himself as hard into his studies as he did into his athletics, earning his graduation with distinction and a place at Starfleet Academy in 2367.

Education & Early Career

Starfleet Academy

Liam Dahlregn entered Starfleet Academy in the same year that over 11,000 lives were lost at the hands of the Borg at Wolf 359. His entire class of cadets knew that they may one day also be called upon to defend the Federation, and this culture influenced Dahlgren’s decision to study astronautics—he wanted to be at the helm of a starship if that threat ever came back.

USS Dauntless

Dahlgren’s first posting out of Starfleet Academy was aboard the Galaxy-class explorer Dauntless, where he served from 2371 to 2376 as a flight control officer with increasing amounts of responsibility across that five-year assignment. Joining just before the Dominion War, Dahlgren had a scant few years to experience service aboard a Starfleet vessel in times of peace before being thrust into combat. Ambitious and talented, he received a promotion to lieutenant junior grade in just a year and became the youngest senior staff member on the Dauntless. By the end of the war, he was a full lieutenant.

USS Avenger

The year after the war, Dahlgren was promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned as the first officer aboard the Defiant-class starship Avenger under Commander Aubrey Seagraves. He found working under Seagraves to be much more difficult than his prior commanders, as she had zero tolerance for “equine excrement,” as she put it. This was positive for Dahlgren’s career growth, though, as he was forced to defend his decisions on logic on facts, rather than simply falling back on his charisma.

USS Achilles

Dahlgren joined the crew of the prototype destroyer Achilles in 2378, which was significantly larger than Avenger but had similar cramped quarters and an emphasis on tactical power. Throughout his tenure here, Achilles was assigned to patrol the Cardassian border. Dahlgren was one of the last ones off the ship when Achilles and the rest of her class were placed into mothballs, in recognition of a newly-peaceful galaxy.

Starship Captain

USS Athena

Continuing his service on advanced tactically-oriented vessels, Dahlgren was promoted to captain and granted command of the starship Athena, one of the first twelve Prometheus-class heavy escorts to be constructed. Tasked with a five-year mission, Dahlgren commanded Athena on a series of deep space threat assessment assignments past Romulan space to assess the spread of threats identified by Voyager, including the Borg, Hirogen, and Kazon, though it made contact with none of these species in its long-range patrols.

USS Ramilles

Dahlgren assumed command of the Sovereign-class exploratory cruiser Ramilles in 2385. Still a rarity in the fleet, this large and powerful ship was a significant step up in prestige for him. Ramilles had the distinction of serving as the flagship for the Ninth Fleet for much of Dahlgren’s tenure in command. Dahlgren retained command after his promotion to fleet captain, with the added responsibility of Commander, Task Group 910. He again kept personal command of the vessel as a commodore and Commander, Task Force 91.

Flag Officer

Ninth Fleet

As a rear admiral, Dahlgren assumed command of Starbase 27 in 2394. Along with this appointment, he was simultaneously Commander of the Archanis Sector and Commander, Task Force 27. This appointment to a border station came with significant challenges, due in no small part to the aging nature of the Spacedock I-class station itself. Dahlgren was noted for conducting numerous joint exercises with the Klingons, however, which solidified his reputation as someone who was able to get things done politically.

Following just two years on the border, Dahlgren was promoted to vice admiral and became Director of Ninth Fleet Operations, where he was responsible for all field deployments, command assignments, and general operational decision-making on behalf of the fleet admiral.

Fourth Fleet

Dahlgren, still a vice admiral, was selected as the Deputy Fourth Fleet Commander in 2399, and was promoted the next year to admiral.