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"Get it done."
– Edward Jellico, 2369 ("Chain Of Command, Part I")

Admiral Edward Jellico was a 24th century Starfleet officer who formerly served as the commanding officer of the Federation starships USS Cairo and USS Enterprise-D during the late 2360s. His authorization code as of stardate 46361 was "Jellico-alpha-three-one."

Starfleet career[]

Starfleet Academy[]

Jellico attended Starfleet Academy and later told Captain Picard and Commander William T. Riker that wearing a dress uniform reminded him of his first days at the Academy. (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part I")

Early career[]

Jellico began his career as a shuttle pilot on the Jovian Run in the Sol system.

By the mid-2360s, Jellico held the rank of captain and had established a family for himself, having fathered at least one child, a son. In 2367, Jellico was instrumental in establishing the armistice between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union. By 2369, he was assigned to the USS Cairo as its commanding officer. (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part I")

Captain of the Enterprise-D[]

Command transfer

Picard turns command over to Jellico

In 2369, Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev gave Jellico command of the USS Enterprise-D. Jellico's experience in dealing with the Cardassians was thought to be invaluable, given the developing potential for conflict between the two powers. The Enterprise-D's previous commanding officer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, was assigned to an undercover mission on Celtris III.

As captain of the Enterprise-D, Jellico was a very stern and authoritarian officer, with a micro-management leadership style. For example, he was coldly dismissive of Counselor Troi's recommendations for a readjustment period. He abruptly made several changes to the operations of the Enterprise-D. He preferred a certain formality on the bridge, insisting that Deanna Troi wear a standard uniform and that his presence be announced whenever he entered. In contrast to the strict standards that he expected on the bridge, he revealed a more personal side by often referring to his crew by their first names, putting up pictures drawn by his son in the Enterprise-D's ready room. However, he ordered the removal of Livingston the fish.

Negotiations

Jellico on the bridge with Riker and a more formally dressed Troi

Though his manner of command was connected with high efficiency, Jellico ran into numerous confrontations with Enterprise-D's first officer, Commander William T. Riker. The initial problems between them stemmed from Jellico's desire to see the Enterprise-D run on a four shift rotation when it had previously run on three. The change was difficult to implement, but Jellico refused to accept Riker's excuses for not having made the change. The friction between the two came to a head after a major disagreement on how to deal with Picard's abduction by the Cardassians on Celtris III culminated in Riker's open insubordination. Jellico relieved Riker and installed Lieutenant Commander Data as his new XO.

In an attempt to gain an upper hand against the Cardassians, Jellico intended to plant mines on the Cardassian ships hiding in the McAllister C-5 Nebula. Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge was willing to take on the mission but recommended to Jellico that the most skilled pilot on board the Enterprise-D was Riker. After a frank conversation in which both officers outlined what they felt were the flaws of the other, Riker accepted the mission, but only after he coaxed the captain into asking. Riker admitted that he saw Jellico as someone who was closed-minded and arrogant and who wound his crew up too tight, leaving them unable to perform their jobs well.

With the anti-matter mines in place, Jellico contacted the Cardassian fleet and demonstrated his ability to destroy it at will. From his position of strength, he demanded that the Cardassian fleet eject their primary phaser coils, withdraw to the nearest Cardassian starbase, and immediately release Picard, who was being held prisoner by the Cardassians. The Cardassians complied completely.

After Picard's release and subsequent reassignment to the Enterprise-D as CO, Jellico returned to command the Cairo. While leaving the bridge, his final words to the Enterprise-D crew were "It's been an honor serving with you." (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part I", "Chain Of Command, Part II")

Later career[]

By the 2380s, Jellico was well-known for his seemingly tyrannical command style. Ensign Beckett Mariner described him as a person that was constantly "hovering" over the officers he commanded. On one occasion in 2380, when she learned that the USS Cerritos was going to be under the temporary command of a different commanding officer, Mariner was worried that whoever it was would be a "Jellico-type". (LD: "Much Ado About Boimler")

Jellico was eventually promoted to admiral, and in 2381, banned the Zebulon Sisters from performing on active-duty starships. (LD: "Grounded")

In 2384, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway contacted Jellico, who was then assigned to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth, to request clearance to take the USS Dauntless into the Romulan Neutral Zone to retrieve the USS Protostar before the Romulans could steal its technology. While Jellico knew that the Romulans could be untrustworthy, he also knew that the Federation was finally working towards peace with them and denied Janeway's request. Janeway then tried to explain the risks of an unknown weapon aboard the Protostar falling into Romulan hands, which Jellico was aware of, but he was also aware that Janeway's emotions for finding Captain Chakotay were clouding her judgment. He again denied her request and ordered her to destroy the Protostar should the Romulans seize it. (PRO: "Masquerade")

Later, Jellico was shocked to learn from Janeway's first officer Commander Tysess that Janeway had been placed on medical leave since she seemed perfectly fine when she informed him about the unknown weapon on the Protostar. He was even more dismayed to learn that Tysess had chased the ship into the heart of Federation space or what Jellico called their “front doorstep.” When Jellico asked if they had a plan to deal with the Protostar, Ensign Asencia spoke up and said that the Protostar refused to answer their hails, so they’d commanded it to lower shields so that it could be boarded. Jellico approved the plan, insisting that a team needed to be put on that ship. (PRO: "Supernova, Part 1")

Personal life[]

Jellico had a young son born sometime during the 2360s. In 2369, he gave his father a drawing of what was presumed to be an elephant. (TNG: "Chain Of Command, Part I")


Key dates[]

  • 2369: Temporarily assigned as commanding officer of the USS Enterprise-D.
  • Between 2369 and 2380s: Promoted to Admiral

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

Jellico was played by actor Ronny Cox.

While never explicitly stated, "In the Pale Moonlight" suggests that Jellico may have been succeeded as captain of the Cairo by Leslie Wong.

According to dialogue cut from "Chain of Command, Part I", Jellico attended Starfleet Academy with future USS Victory captain Zimbata; they played together on the Academy's rugby team. Jellico recalled that Zimbata was awful at the game, but that Jellico himself was worse.

At one point, Ronald D. Moore considered making Jellico the Enterprise-D captain in the alternate timeline seen in "Tapestry", rather than Thomas Halloway. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (2nd ed., p. 236))

Apocrypha[]

In the Star Trek: New Frontier novel series, written by Peter David and published by Pocket Books, Jellico later goes on to become an admiral, initially assigned to Starbase Deep Space 5 and later working in Starfleet Command. He also appears in the novels A Time to Heal by David Mack, Triangle: Imzadi II and Before Dishonor by Peter David.

In an alternate reality featured in the novel Q&A, Jellico served as the captain of the USS Enterprise-E prior to 2380, by which time he had been succeeded by Wesley Crusher.

In another alternate reality featured in the novel Headlong Flight, Jellico was commanding the Cairo in 2367 when he was considered for command of the Enterprise-D after the death of Captain Picard at the hands of the Borg. When Captain Riker was ultimately allowed to stay on as the flagship's captain, Jellico was promoted to rear admiral. Riker had heard rumors that Jellico's promotion was something of a consolation prize for not getting the Enterprise, but nobody official would admit that.

The video game Star Trek: Starship Creator establishes that Jellico was born in Houston, Texas on Earth in the year 2311 and entered Starfleet Academy at age 18 where he graduated in 2333 in the 85th percentile. By the end of the year, Jellico was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and assigned to the USS Memphis as a junior conn officer. By 2344, Jellico was still serving aboard the Memphis but had risen to the rank of full lieutenant. That year, the Memphis suffered heavy damage as a result of an attack by Cardassian forces. During the battle, the tactical officer was killed, and Lieutenant Jellico assumed her position, successfully devising a strategy to defeat the Cardassians. In 2349, Jellico took a year out of space service to attend tactical training on Earth. Following the completion of his training in 2350, Jellico was promoted to lieutenant commander and was assigned to the Cairo as tactical officer. In early 2354, Jellico was promoted to commander and assigned as first officer aboard the Cairo when the former first officer was killed during an away mission in which he was ambushed by Cardassians. After some time aboard the Cairo, Jellico took a position at Starfleet Academy as the dean of students. By 2357, Jellico was once again serving aboard the Cairo as first officer. In that year, Captain Ashford was killed during a Cardassian attack, and Jellico was promoted to captain for his "efficient, demanding style of command". However, Jellico still had time to consider creating a family, and in 2359, he married a Human woman named Deborah, and two years later, their son, Franklin Paul Jellico was born. In 2367, Captain Jellico was called into aid the negotiators to end the Federation-Cardassian War, because of his vast experiences with the Cardassians. In 2371, Jelico was place in command of Deep Space 5. It also states that his interests include swimming, spelunking and racquetball.

In the video game Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Harbinger, Jellico's negotiations with the Cardassians allowed him to work with Ambassador Karrig of the Federation Diplomatic Corps.

The video game Star Trek: Resurgence makes note of the fact that Jellico got his start as a shuttle pilot to encourage a character whose career was just beginning.

External links[]

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