Data ☄️⚙️🪐

Data is an android created by the Caitian cyberneticist Noonien Soong and his wife Juliana. His home planet is Omicron Theta, where he grew up in a colony of Caitians and humans until it was attacked by the Crystalline Entity. He had been deactivated to upload donated memory engrams from colonists when he attack occured. He was discovered and reactivated by the USS Tripoli, prompting him to enroll in Starfleet Academy. He retained no memories of his young life. His entrance to the academy was only contested by Dr. Bruce Maddox, on the grounds that he was not a sentient being -- Maddox later became a supporter of Data's autonomy and the rights of his cybernetic kin. He graduated with the class of 2345 with honors in exobiology and probability mechanics. He excelled in school, but had trouble socially. He served about starships as an ensign for three years, lieutenant for twelve years, and lieutenant commander for the remainder of his career. He was placed on the Enterprise in 2364. He is the second officer (third most senior officer, behind Captain Picard and Commander Riker) and regularly takes night watch on the bridge since he doesn't need to sleep.

Data did not make any friends throughout his career in the Academy or in any of his postings until he was assigned to the Enterprise. His first friend was Geordi La Forge, who joined the crew at the same time. Geordi had taken an interest in cybernetics in the Academy, and Data had been featured in journals and textbooks on the subject. He was of course interested in how he functioned, but never viewed him as a "machine" by any means. They became close as they served together on the bridge for a year, before Geordi was promoted and assigned Chief Engineer. Geordi is the single most knowledgeable person when it comes to Soong-type androids (barring Soong himself and Juliana) and always aids Data with diagnostics, repairs, and experiments.