Father: Duncan FlotenDECEASED
Mother: Elizabeth Floten DECEASED
Brother: Duncan Floten Jr ALIVE
Sister: Hanna Floten ALIVE

Born in 2340 to a controlling humanities professor and a passive home-maker, Zeth was the second of four children in the Floten family. Though-out his youth, the future Starfleet ship commander would be instructed in the evils of expansion into space when, according to his father, the depths of humanity were not yet completely mapped. Duncan Floten Junior, Zeth’s older brother, and Cassandra Floten, his youngest sister, adopted their father’s propaganda. The two middle children, however, secretly resented their father’s single-minded toward one goal for humanity. For many years both brother and sister, Zeth and Hanna, tried to find another course though their mother.

Elizabeth Floten had been well educated before marrying her husband, and was even in line to lead an archeology expedition to a distant sector. She had since served in her home, tending the needs of her mate and children. Both her eldest and youngest shrugged the then stoic woman off as a something more like furniture in their home. She became a sanctuary for a new view to her remaining children, however, countering her husband’s lectures on human responsibility. Through her guidance, Zeth became convinced that he wished to explore the universe, and to defy his obnoxious father’s beloved beliefs that humans were not ready for space.

During the week of his seventeenth birthday, while Professor Floten was away at Dublin Univesity, where he taught, a representative from Starfleet Academy arrived at the Floten Manor. Captain Loyst, of the USS Griffin, currently in Earth orbit for resupply, met with Zeth to discuss his potential in Starfleet. After nearly three hours of discussion and tea, the esteemed Starfleet captain felt he could support the young man’s application to the Academy. Without his father ever knowing, Floten applied to the institute of Starfleet.

Though his youngest sister would leak the secret of Zeth’s plans for higher education weeks before the cadet could sneak off to the Academy, he would arrive after a long argument with his father, who was caught by utter surprise by the betrayal. He had never known that his wife had been encouraging his children to mutiny against him and his ideals. Thus, when his son left for Starfleet, he was caught by utter surprise. The entire event caused enough shock to allow Floten a swift escape.

When he first arrived in the Academy, Floten hoped to study science, mostly to further spite his father. Aptitude tests suggested that the rather inexperienced youth would be better suited to operations, however. Floten had not developed a passion for anything other than serving in the fleet, however, so this suggestion for his future was more than acceptable. Through his four years in the academy, the last two were spent with a fellow operations cadet named Tenchie Ta’van. They competed with grades, trying to beat each other out of valedictorian. By the time they graduated, however, neither was close. Floten left the academy thirty-ninth in his class, while his friend was not far behind.

They were both assigned to the USS Griffin, a surprise and pleasure for the newly promoted Ensign Floten. The ship of the then Commodore Loyst was a shining chance for both twenty-two year old humans to show the fleet that they were ready to serve. The Griffin was a Nebula class starship, with a great need for operations officers. Much of the operations staff had been killed in an ambush the ship had fallen into weeks before, and only the chief operations officer remained. Floten, who had been rated higher in the academy, was made the acting assistant chief until a more permanent officer could be found.

The Griffin launched not long after Ta’van and Floten settled into their shared quarters. They continued their competition from the Academy while on the Griffin, constantly trying to out-do each other in every way. Both signed up for more duty hours than nearly any other junior officer on the ship, with the exception of the Vulcan officers. Both men served with such distinction, they were simultaneously promoted to lieutenant (JG) and given new positions, however this would split them up.

By the time that Floten was ready to take command as the Chief Operations Officer on the Griffin, the current officer holding this position was ready to retire. Equally, several new operations officers had been assigned to the ship, though most were ensigns. Thus, Ta’van was no longer needed on the ship, and was transferred off the nebula class cruiser to take over on a distant starship. Floten was granted the post he had eyed since his arrival, though it was a bitter sweat moment when he was named the new Chief Operations Officer. From that day forth, a vessel that had once seemed to be a comfortable home became a cold prison.

The officer was forced to move out of the quarters he and Ta’van had shared for over two years. His new rooms were larger, and more comfortable by most standards, but no decoration was ever placed, no memento ever unpacked. He lost the will to continue a personal life in Starfleet for many months, believing that anyone who he befriended would end up being transferred out anyway. The ship’s consular tried to help him, but the will was no longer there for Floten to even try. He continued to serve an excellent officer, and thus Commodore Loyst kept the depressed officer around, hoping he would recover. After three more years, and a promotion to Lieutenant, a terrible reality clutched the rest of the ship, and fleet.

The Dominion War began, and it lead to hard times on the Griffin. Through several operations, the ship survived with lighter damage than what most of the fleet endured. Floten was injured twice during his war experiences, as the nebula fought against hostile forces. The ship was part of many operations, and by the end, Floten was recognized as an impressive and dependable officer during stressful times. He would gain the interest of many commanders in need of a first officer.

Floten did begin to socialize again. At first, most people believed he was interacting out of loneliness. This was not quite true, as a new bartender had been brought aboard, Elena Lea. The woman was from Mars, but she enticed the Operations officer to no end. Within months, people realized that the two had begun secretly dating after the open flirting became unbearable. They were engaged and married in what became a legendary romance on the ship. The Floten wedding was even visited by Zeth’s mother and his siblings. This was the first time he had seen his family since leaving for the Academy. It turned out that both his eldest brother and youngest sister had become teachers, while Hanna was training to become an archeologist like her mother.

Married life was a new experience for Zeth and Elena, however their time on the Griffin was limited. By that time, Floten had been the second officer for nearly a year, and Commodore Loyst wanted to see his officer advance in rank and position. After a long discussion, but Floten and Loyst (with much input from Mrs Floten), the long-time operations officer was sent to Starbase 345 as the new executive officer. There, he thought he could begin raising a family.

Upon arriving on the starbase, he found a place much different than his previous assignment. Though Zeth was made a Lieutenant Commander upon arriving, the commanding officer on 345 was a former starship captain that had lost his command, and much prestige. This man, Commander Balsh, was a hard man to know. The man actually served as the primary terror of the crew, despite the post-war world forces that threatened the Fleet constantly. Zeth befriended much of the crew during this time, becoming a friend to them. His socialization did little to help Balsh accept him however. Floten was finally transferred off the station after only two years as the first officer. He was being given a chance to command.

His first command, the USS Orion, was an Ambassador class assigned to exploration duties in deep space. It was a dream command for Zeth, who took the opportunity to see parts of the Galaxy he had never experienced before. He stayed with the Orion until a few months after his fortieth birth day. By then, he could no longer serve on the ship. After his third year commanding, his marriage was already heavily strained. Soon Elena would divorce the Captain and move to Earth. Zeth, heart broken over the collapse of his marriage, became considerably quieter in the following years. His crew noticed the captain becoming secluded and more ponderous. This was a stark contrast to the flamboyant character he presented when first taking command of the Orion.

After leaving the Orion, which had been a premier explorer for the Federation through-out Floten’s tenure as her commander, Zeth took a year off. As he had not actually taken an extended leave for some time, he was permitted a chance to catch his breath and try to recover from several hard times. He settled on Risa for nearly a week before leaving. He had been to reclusive to enjoy the planet. Instead, he chose to return to Ireland. Instead of visiting his family, Zeth stayed in Dublin where he tried to contact old friends. By the time he was recalled by Starfleet, he had been informed of his father’s death. It turned out that his mother had also passed on only a few years prior.

Starfleet now wanted Captain Floten to take part in a new program to travel outside of the galaxy. Though the program was technically in its final phase, it would be five years before completion (the construction of the USS Serenity). He was told to train his command staff and prepare for a journey of a lifetime.