In this environment, John had an exiting, but poor childhood. He was a child of terran parents, but his father died when he was very young. His mother remarried an Andorian, but he wasn't much of a father to Johnathan. He spent more time in prisons and bars than with his family. In fact, the Andorian foster father resides in jail at this time still.

Following in many of his foster father's footsteps, Johnathan lived on the streets for most of his childhood and adolescence. He very rarely visited school, but instead learned many skills outdoors. By the time he was ten, he was an expert pickpocket, and at the age of fifteen, he was skilled burglar. A month in prison at that time for a minor offense gave him a good sense of calculating risks, and Johnathan then decided he was not cut out for the big criminal work, and had better stay on petty theft, or get an honest job.

The path to an honest job was a hard one in New Detroit, and Johnathan therefore continued to make a living for himself and his sister, by handling all sorts of semi-legal to petty criminal jobs. His criminal career was cut short though, with the coming of the Talarians. The Federation and the Talarians fought a brief war in the New Detroit sector, and with no chance of escaping the battle fields in time, Johnathan enlisted in the colonial militia force.

The war was brief, but violent, and Johnathan lived through some intense battles, and lost many of his friends. The war ended eventually, though, and since John had survived with a reasonably presentable service record, he was able to land a legal job with a local transport company. Resenting the fact that he would fall back in terms of income, John took the job anyway, realizing it was time to grab the opportunity at a better life for himself and his sister.

In the years John worked for Multec, he managed to get an educational course while he was at it. He graduated for a commercial piloting course, and at that time he was the proudest man alive. His sister managed to get a legal job as well, as she had reached the age of eighteen, and from that time on John was no longer obliged to take care of her. Seizing an opportunity at a better job, they parted their ways, an Johnathan started to work for a Ferengi merchant as a bulk transport pilot.

For many years, John was in the service of the Ferengi Daimon Telgar, and apparently he mixed well with the Ferengi. Initially, John worked as a pilot, but later as he developed a knack for technicalities, he was assigned to Telgars personal ship as an engineer. Learning the ropes quickly on the job, John worked himself up to the highest position any Terran had ever had in the Ferengi Alliance, that of senior engineer.

In the year 2367, John and a few others, went into business for themselves, buying a ship for themselves, with which they involved themselves in many lucrative transactions. At the end of his private career on the ISS Clarissawas, John was once again involved in semi-legal activities, as he occasionally made supply runs for the Maquis, as well had his hands in some low key smuggling activities.

One day, while making a supply rendezvous with a Maquis vessel, the Clarissa and the Maquis vessel were ambushed by Cardassian forces. Johnathan and several others were rescued by Federation starship Challenger. Evading charges, Johnathan eventually volunteered to enlist on the starship after it had taken casualties in its engineering crew. After a crash course in Starfleet protocols and such, Johnathan was accepted in, and to his own surprise, became a Starfleet engineer.

The decision to join Starfleet appeared a rash one at first, though. Johnathan proved to be a difficult person to handle in the Starfleet environment. In his first few years, he was close to being discharged several times. But when the Dominion war broke out, John proved he was able to perform well under pressure, and eventually Starfleet and Johnathan learned accept each other with their flaws. In the year 2376, a crew rotation between starships got Johnathan transferred to the USS Galaxy, where much of his adjustment would have to made anew.

Despite his difficult ways, Johnathan is a good man deep down, although he will make any attempt to deny this. He is a caring person, especially to his sister, but also to his friends. But since he is also stubborn and proud, he will often refuse someone's call for a helping hand, and then help out anyway.

Off-duty, Johnathan is someone who makes an art of relaxation. He is a man who can drink a lot, and he rarely understands people who don't drink. He enjoys the simple pleasures of life: music, good women, booze, narcotics, the humm of a machine that works. He cares little for holographic relaxation, as he considers it all fake anyway.

Johnathan has never been able to adapt fully to the concept that Federation citizens do not live to accumulate wealth. This was not the case on New Detroit, and it has never been the case for Johnathan. He will never let a profitable opportunity pass, therefore.