Robert April Robert April was a prominent 23rd century Starfleet officer who was perhaps most famous for his stint as the first captain of the . ( ) He was considered to be one of the most decorated captains in Starfleet history as of the mid - 23rd century . ( ) Early life . April was born in 2195 , joined Starfleet and later married his chief medical officer Sarah . ( ) Starfleet career . During the 2240s , April oversaw the construction of components for a starship at the San Francisco Naval Yards . That vessel eventually became the USS " Enterprise " , which April later commanded from 2245 to 2250 ; his wife Sarah served as his chief medical officer . ( ) Later career . Following the end of his five - year mission in 2250 , April was promoted to commodore and became a respected Federation ambassador - at - large . ( ) By 2256 , April was considered one of Starfleet ' s most decorated captains , listed among other legends such as Jonathan Archer , Matt Decker , Philippa Georgiou , and Christopher Pike . ( ) Over a dozen years later , in 2270 , April was forced to retire from Starfleet . Exceptional circumstances made Starfleet consider his appeal to have his mandatory retirement rescinded . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " No matter where I ' ve traveled in the galaxy , Jim , this bridge is more like home than anywhere else . " " " " Yes , commodore , I know the feeling . " " " " To me , she was always like my child . I was there in the San Francisco Navy Yards when her unit components were built . " " " " Captain Kirk , the Capellan flower . " " " " I ' m sure Captain Kirk has other problems besides your flower , dear . " " " " You don ' t understand . Before we entered this universe , it was about to die , and - and now it ' s in full bloom again . " " " " How is that possible ? " " " " It ' s as if it were growing younger again . I - I can almost feel it while I - I ' m holding it . " " " " In her universe , a nova is a dead star which comes to life . And when the explosions of a nova in her universe and one in our universe occur together , it ' s possible to travel between the two universes . " " " " Then we must return the same way , through the two novas . " " " " What a blessing to be able to live one ' s life over again , if the life you ' ve led has left you unfulfilled . No , Sarah , I don ' t want to live it all over again ; I couldn ' t improve one bit on what we ' ve had together . " " Appendices . Background information . The name " Robert April " originates from the first " " pitch , as the name of the lead character ( " Robert M . April " ) . On StarTrek . com and in the , his name is listed as " Robert T . April " . Prior to this , the name " Robert April " was used by Gene Roddenberry for a prison chaplain in two episodes of . The name for the featured " Enterprise " captain was later changed to " Christopher Pike " for and then to " James T . Kirk " for later episodes . The uses a photo of Gene Roddenberry in an early - style uniform to illustrate its entry on April , as does the for its entry on 2245 . When " The Counter - Clock Incident " writer Fred Bronson first heard about the prequel premise of , he mistakenly assumed , much to his excitement , that April would be prominently featured in the upcoming series . He was later disappointed to discover this was not the case . Added ENT Co - Executive Producer Chris Black , " " I was not the uber - fan that would have said , ' Wait , it should have been Robert April . " " ( " " , p . 646 ) Unused material for Jonathan Archer ' s bio , featured in , stated that Archer passed away one day following the christening of the USS " Enterprise " ( NCC - 1701 ) , in 2245 . If canon ical , it would suggest that April and Archer knew each other . Roberto Orci once revealed he had considered a rogue April as a villain in . Apocrypha . In the books " " and " Best Destiny " , both written by Diane Carey , it was stated that Captain April was born in Coventry , UK . In addition , it was stated that James Kirk ' s father , George Kirk , was the first officer of the " Enterprise " during April ' s captaincy . In developing April for " Final Frontier " , having only the " Animated Series " episode as a basis , Carey decided to give him " " a warm , funny , visionary personality , and made him a gentle and wise counterpoint to the very volatile and action - oriented George Kirk . [ . . . The ] idea is that somehow James Kirk is the composite of the better qualities of both April and George Kirk , the visionary wisdom with the proactive reactionary hero . " " ( ) In the book " Crisis on Vulcan " , written by Brad and Barbara Strickland , Christopher Pike is April ' s first officer . In the " " comic series , April made several appearances and was often referenced . The first issue , " Flesh of My Flesh " , established that April commanded a USS " Tiberius " for three five - year missions prior to commanding the " Enterprise " on his fourth five - year mission and that J . M . Colt and José Tyler served under April on the " Tiberius " . In the same comic , April walked Christopher Pike to the " Enterprise " in spacedock , and in another scene , set two years later , it was shown that it was due to April ' s recommendation that Pike recruited Spock to the " Enterprise " crew . The fourth issue , " Nor Iron Bars a Cage " , stated that April , then a commodore at Starfleet Command , personally reassigned J . M . Colt to the " Enterprise " to take up her position as yeoman . In the final story in the " Early Voyages " series , presented in the comics " " and " Thanatos " , April , then an admiral , returned to the " Enterprise " to temporarily take command while Captain Pike conducted an undercover mission . April displayed questionable conduct in the story , but the tale was never concluded , as the series was canceled . The alternate reality version of appears in the IDW comic mini - series " " . In the new timeline , he was captain of a previous , which existed subsequent to , but prior to the launched in 2258 . While surveying Phaedus IV in 2239 , he was declared killed in action , when in reality , he deliberately went against the Prime Directive to assist the planet ' s inhabitants in an ongoing rebellion until he was discovered by Captain and twenty years later . Additionally , April recalled he had been captain " going on 10 years " in 2239 , suggesting his prime reality counterpart would have also achieved the rank of captain in or around 2229 , as this occurred before the creation of the alternate reality . April later reappeared in the twentieth issue of IDW ' s " " comic series , in which Captain Kirk visited April to let him know that his plan to start a war with the Klingon Empire had failed . " " depicts April as the principal designer of the , having grown dissatisfied with current Starfleet vessels ' lack of self - sufficiency . The tie - in novel " Drastic Measures " shows April in the year 2246 aiding the colony of Tarsus IV in the aftermath of Kodos the Executioner ' s infamous massacre . He is described as having an English accent and already married to his chief medical officer Sarah .