Decker was to be the Captain of the USS Enterprise after it completed a major refit after Kirk's five year mission. He was forced to cede command to Admiral Kirk and accept a temporary rank reduction to Commander for the duration of the V'Ger crisis, something he was deeply unhappy with. Decker had a romantic involvement with Lieutenant Ilia, and when she was absorbed by V'Ger he chose to merge with the machine entity so as to be with her again. Decker was officially listed as missing by Kirk. [1]
