Captain Alvin Ficker

One-time Starfleet Academy classmate of Captain Andy Baxter, Ficker was notorious (in Baxter's mind) for rigging the Starfleet navigation test. He had adjusted the navigational computer on Baxter's fighter to send him spinning off through an asteroid field, and cost the captain third place. That failure followed Baxter throughout his carreer, and Ficker, meanwhile, went on to become captain of the USS Trafalgar. The two did not meet again until 2375, when Ficker challenged Baxter to a bet on who was the better commander. The bet caused both the Trafalgar and Explorer to wind up in a pocket of null space, and in escaping, Baxter uncovered the truth that Ficker really DID rig his fighter, and that Ficker was also quite mad (Friendly Wagers [VEX]). Ficker went on to the Tantalus V looney colony, and after nearly two years of intensive therapy, he returned to duty in 2377. That year he was given command of the USS Explorer, temporarily, when she became a cruise ship ("The Morning After" [VEX]). When Starshine troops stormed the Explorer, Ficker made a quick retreat, stealing the USS Escort and kneeing Baxter in the crotch ("All Hands on Deck!" [VEX]). The Escort was found crashed on a far-flung world, and the inhabitants of that world made Ficker their human pet. Baxter and Peterman, part of the search party for the Escort, found Ficker and helped him escape. Safely back aboard the Explorer, Baxter didn't allow Ficker to leave before ordering J'hana to return the favor and knee him in the crotch ("Back on Track" [VEX]). Later that year, Ficker founded a racy talk show, and had J'hana and Tilleran, with the rest of the crew, as his first guests. After taunting Baxter mercilessly and embarrassing the entire crew with false video footage, Ficker sent the crew off in disgrace, but not before being once again kneed in the crotch, this time by Baxter ("Talk is Cheap" [VEX]). In an alternatee universe, one in which the Aerostar never went to the Delta Quadrant, Ficker became full commander of the Explorer, and was as much of a jerk as ever ("The Best Times We Never Had" [VEX]).