He applied and was accepted to the Academy when he was 16 and became a Plebe when he was 17. His life as a midshipman was perpetual boredom, the course work he found easy and class standings meant nothing to him. As a result of this his grades were average. He found two interest to fill the void he felt while studying: the cello and poetry. He tried out for and was accepted to the junior symphony in his junior year. His poetry won him acclaim though only his mother knew who had truly written the work; Byron had used a pseudonym to get his work published.

Assigned to the USS Hickman which was departing on a four year tour to study the outer regions of Federation Space the young Cadet was saddened to learn that he would miss his own graduation. Instead, after a year aboard the Hickman he was commissioned by Starfleet in a Ceremony overseen by Commander of the ship. As they charted new systems in the true spirit of Starfleet Byron began dating a fellow crewmember. He and Lt. (j.g.) Persephone Free were married after they had dated for two years aboard the Hickman. The ship already underway toward Earth reveled in the couple's nuptials. After returning the Hickman to the shipyards in the Sol System those crewmembers who would not be staying on departed for reassignment. Starfleet command, expecting the influx of personnel, had orders waiting for the crew, including the newlyweds. Persephone was ordered to the USS Sovereign which was getting ready to start shake down; Byron was assigned to the USS Maryland. When he arrived he discovered that the ship was bound for the Gamma quadrant on another tour of exploration.

Assigned to Engineering aboard the Maryland, Byron worked hard helping maintain the vessel. He enjoyed his work but missed his wife and was counting the days before they would see each other again. He relished the letters he received from her and sent many to her in return.

Byron awoke one morning to the sound of a klaxon and the Captain ordering the crew to abandon ship. Boarding an escape pod with six other crewmen they sealed the door and Byron triggered the launch sequence. Nothing happened; the pod didn't launch, nor did any of the other pods in the whole string. Byron thought for sure he would die when the ship exploded yet all he felt was the jarring impact as the ship struck the planet's surface. The survivors were only those who had entered the pods on the starboard side of the ship, for some reason none had launched.

The hostile planet provided many ways for the crew to die and many did so. Curious as to why Jem'Hadar reinforcements never came to wipe them out Byron set out with his friend Ben Talltree to survey the planet and hopefully discover an area of the planet which didn't have acid spraying plants or carnivorous trees. They were quickly caught by freelance miners operating from a hidden camp that had noticed humanoid life signs in the wilderness. Soon Ben and Byron were joined by the rest of the survivors at the work camp. Slaves, criminals, prisoners of war and anyone else who could fill the ranks of the ore miners populated the camp. Lightly guarded and under the rule of Armaciam, the vicious taskmaster, the crew toiled to dig up, move and process ore used for ship building.

By his reckoning sometime during 2376 Byron began to notice that shipments and pick ups of replacement prisoners, guards and of the precious ore were growing less and less frequent. He and the rest of the camp soon monitored the shipments more and more often. A guard actually died and was not replaced. The only food in the camp was what was grown in the small hot houses that had been set up the year before. This and many other things alerted the whole camp that something was wrong with their masters and their time to act was at hand.

A plan was hatched, and the survivors quickly seized control of the ship. Lieutenant Commander Richard Carr, the former chief of Science aboard Maryland, assumed command. For the next year and a half, the Marylanders survived by selling the cargo to finance supplies and repairs. As they traveled down the Y-axis toward the wormhole and home they were attacked by raiders who had learned that transports were now easy prey. In the ensuing battle many of the Maryland survivors were killed, including their fearless leader Lt. Cmdr Carr. Those few who were alive when the Sulu arrived were gratefully rescued.