The find was amazing...remenants of a Preserver settlement, millions of years old. Only fragments of the settlement still existed, but one such artefact was a piece of a Preserver computer core. Detailed analysis revealed it was primarily composed of bioneural technology The Halkans allowed the Enterprise to beam the artefact to their sickbay for forensic analysis.

When Dr. Crusher examined the piece of core, she activated the biological components of the fragment. The artefact immediately attempted to interface with the Enterprise computer, taking complete control. Once it had control of the computer, the artefact started to perform a download of all the information contained within the core fragment. Not sure of what to do, Captain Picard reluctantly ordered the Preserver core destroyed before it could complete its task. With computer control passed back to the Enterprise crew, it was discovered that the core had created an independent file.

When the file was opened, it was downloaded into the holographic matrix of the newly installed Mark IV EMH, which once complete was activated and ASHER appeared. This hologram was totally independent, coherent and completely aware of his surroundings. However, he had no memory of his origins and the EMH program was totally erased. Further analysis revealed that the core had not yet loaded its full interface into ASHER, explaining his lack of memory.

ASHER was transferred to Jupiter station, where he became the subject of Dr. Herman Zimmerman. After a year, ASHER was given more independence when he was 'given' access to a prototype mobile emitter, which was based on the mobile emitter brought back by the USS Voyager.

However his new found independence made ASHER realise that there was so much to see and he appealed to a hearing to be seen as a sentient being and not a holographic program. At the hearing on Jupiter station, Commander Data of the Enterprise-E defended ASHER as a sentient lifeform and after much deliberation Starfleet granted ASHER the rights of a sentient, independent being. Before ASHER left to start his new life, Zimmermann presented him with a new more compact mobile emitter, which resembled a Starfleet comm badge.

However, after gaining his independence, ASHER found that his curiosity to know about the universe seemed to drive him, to explore and find. Two months later, ASHER enrolled at Starfleet Academy. He graduated with honours in Tactical Operations, minoring in Experimental Holography and Quantum Alternate Universe Theorem.

For a short time, ASHER served as an officer for Project Sign, Starfleet's operational branch dealing with the Mirror Universe (ironically, first discovered by Kirk and his crew on a mission to Halkan). His speciality was First Contact Tactical Operations.

ASHER had recently requested transfer from Sign to some sort of ship assignment, his need to explore still active. When long-range sensors detected readings from a mirror universe coming from a wormhole, ASHER took an experimental vessel, the USS Interphase to investigate.

The Interphase was pulled into the wormhole and arrived in the Andromeda-Cirrus galaxy, close to the USS Leviathan-A. Unsure whether he had passed into a mirror universe, ASHER shutdown until he could be be sure.

Ironically, the Chief Science Officer had been present when ASHER was first brought to Jupiter station. Lieutenant Commander Barker actually argued against ASHER at the hearing, seeing ASHER as a potential threat to the Federation. Before this, ASHER and Barker had formed a very close working relationship.

Having reaquanted themselves, ASHER and Barker managed to discover that the black hole the Leviathan had just escaped was infact an inter-dimensional wormhole. With the assistance of Ensign ASHER, the Leviathan managed to travel through the wormhole and return to the Alpha quadrant.

However, whilst in the wormhole, the Leviathan was in a collision with another vessel pulled from a mirror universe into our own. Both vessels suffered extreme damage and ASHER has since been working to find this mirror vessel.

Personality

ASHER might be one of the most advanced holograms in Starfleet, but it seems he still has trouble getting past the emotional template of the EMH his program assimilated. His emotional programming is near non-existent, creating an almost Vulcan like persona. Occasionally small smiles or frowns will be seen, but ASHER is predominantly cool and professional.

His focus is laser fine - once given an order, he seems to focus on it to the exclusion of all else. This can make him appear brisk and cold at times, when it is simply an unnerving principle to follow orders. ASHER does however wish to be able to interact and spends his offtime in normally less than successful social experiments with his crew.

A very advanced hologram, ASHER appears human, with few exceptions. He is unable to adjust his visual matrix, because of the complex way in which the Preserver code was integrated with the EMH matrix. This has left ASHER with unusually pale skin and scarlet eyes that have no pupils. ASHER also reacts badly to blacklights and concentrated magnetic fields. He flickers slightly and turns blue.

Special Ability

ASHER possesses a variant on the schematics of the mobile emitter given to Starfleet when Voyager's EMH was transmitted to Starfleet command. Smaller and shaped like a comm badge, the emitter allows him to interface with nearly any computer familiar to his programming - Starfleet, Klingon, and even Romulan to a degree.

To a limited degree, ASHER can operate consoles within a five foot radius of himself, though he usually uses his own hands to make others more comfortable around him.

Hobbies

Social interactions, as well as a preoccupation with studies and theories about the Mirror Universe.