From standard year 2302 until 2355, what is now known as the Xenonian Republic was ruled by an Emperor. The resistance movement that began almost immediately coalesced into a powerful fighting force, and finally overthrew the emperor, and reestablished the Republic on which the Xenon League had been founded. In 2360, the Federation set up official Embassies in every major system within the new Republic. Douglas Michaels was sent to Man'de'har.

After two years, Michaels married a local attache' officer named Lema Tre'gata. Three years later they had a son, Douglas Michael Tre'gata.

Douglas had the priveleged upbringing of a Federation Diplomat, though his father made certain that his privelege did not go to his head. One of the first lessons he taught his son was that humility was a great virtue. It is better, he said, to take the lower seat and be asked to take a higher seat, than to take the high seat, and be asked to move down when someone more honorable arrived. If you humble yourself, then you retain honor. If you seek to honor yourself, then being humbled by another can be humiliating. Douglas was humbled many times during his childhood by his father.

One notable incident happened when the younger Douglas was twelve years old. He stole his father's private yacht, intending on impressing a young girl. After he picked her up from the moon of Lisdar, they began dodging the local system police by heading into an asteroid belt. While dodging and ducking at high speeds, Douglas nearly crashed right into a particularly large specimen, only being saved by a border cutter with a tractor beam.

He wasn't allowed to leave the compound for a month, and the girl never spoke to him again.

Douglas did learn his lessons, though, and at the age of fifteen, the age of majority for a Man'de'har, Douglas entered the Xenonian High Guard Academy, where he majored in Diplomatic Arts and Intelligence gathering. He was consistently in the top ten percent of his class. After graduation he was accepted to the High Guard Intelligence School, where he developed a series of contacts throughout the Xenon Republic, and even in the Klingon Empire and Romulan territories. He even went so far as to gather information in certain Federation worlds near the Republic. By this time, the Republic, of which Man'de'har was a member, had joined the Federation. As a Midshipman, he was posted on Grachit Station in the Lidron system, where he attained the rank of Ensign. He spent several weeks training, and being genetically altered, for an undercover mission, and was sent into the Luhonan Syndicate as a low level weapon smuggler. He attained an audience with two high-level bosses, and was able to bring enough evidence against them to shut down a significant portion of the Syndicate's operations in the Lidron and Indiri systems.

Because of this, the Syndicate put a price on his head. Noone really knew what he looked like thanks to the reversal of the genetic alterations, but his real name was leaked by a medical technician captured and tortured by the Syndicate. The High Guard asked a favor from Starfleet, and Douglas became the first High Guard Intelligence officer to be granted status as an exchange officer. (When the High Guard partially absorbed into Starfleet, the Intelligence Agencies did not.)

Douglas was posted to the USS Galaxy, as the Federation was ending war, and beginning a new era of exploration. What was an intelligence officer to do......

Douglas is the son of a high-ranking diplomat, and so was brought up in wealth and privilege. His urbane manner comes from years of training; he learned very well the meaning of humility at his father's house. Instead of resenting his father for the harsh lessons in life, rather he is quite grateful that his childhood was disciplined and structured. Douglas has an easy manner about him, but there is always the feeling that he is holding something back. As a diplomat's son, he learned always to tell just enough truth to get by, and never blatantly lie. It is the lie mixed with truth that gets the most takers.

Douglas is an acceptable pilot, but by no means great. He is a gifted analyst, and often sees problems four or five steps ahead. Though this is sometimes a boon, if he gets stuck on the wrong track, it generally takes him a while to backtrack. Engineering is also a hobby, though he really only finds it useful in practical situations, like breaking a locking encryption, reversing the polarity in a warp engine, or turning simple items like tricorders into weapons.

Douglas is lonely, though he hides it within his work. Work takes the place of long-term confidences and relationships, and he does not make friends easily. Acquaintances and material contacts he has aplenty, but a real friend or confidant would only be a liability. Douglas was uncertain if he could bear making the tough decision were a real relationship to conflict with his duty. So he made none.

He does spend off duty hours with others, if only to make it appear that he enjoyed their company. It wouldn't do to make people think he was anti-social, though he most definitely is. Besides, being friendly around drunk people got you all kinds of information....

Man'de'har look just like humans, though their skin is generally a more golden complexion. Douglas is only half-Man'de'har, and half human, so his look is more of a typical caucasion European living near the equator of Earth.

His manners are impeccable, and he often has an arrogant air about him, though this is more show than anything real. His father broke the arrogance out of him quite early in his teen years, but he plays the part of spoiled diplomat's son quite well.

Douglas rarely drinks, because he likes to have his wits about him. Synthehol is as strong a drink as he usually takes, because the effects can be thrown off almost immediately