Daniel Shetley  was  born  in  San Francisco,  California,  on earth  in 2335.  Shetley's mother was a professor of engineering  at Starfleet Academy  while his father served as executive officer aboard  the U.S.S. Kyushu. Shetley spent a great deal of his childhood studying starship designs and building models. Following his parents, Daniel entered Starfleet Academy  in 2351.  While  in  the  academy, Daniel  met Cadet Gary Quick and the two became friends. During his second year, Shetley set a speed record for the  Jovian run, a shuttle route from Jupiter to Saturn, by using the banned Titan's Turn maneuver. Shetley was reprimanded but soon after set a new record after  cadet quick beat  Shetley's previous time.  Both were grounded for the remainder of their time at Starfleet Academy.

Shetley  graduated second  in his class with a  degree in engineering from Starfleet Academy in 2355, and  was  assigned  to the excelsior class  U.S.S. Livingston. During his time aboard  the  Livingston, Shetley was promoted to chief engineer and achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. Shetley served aboard the Livingston  throughout the Cardassian war until the starship fell prey to a Cardassian trap in 2364.

Daniel Shetley returned to earth and entered Starfleet's advanced tactical training program based on the  recommendation of his  former  captain, Alexander Pierce.  After graduating first in his class, Shetley taught for a short time  at Starfleet academy until he was assigned  to  the nebula  class U.S.S. Phoenix  in 2366 as its Operations Manager.

Shetley's father,  now captain of the U.S.S. Kyushu, was killed  when the Kyushu was destroyed  by the Borg  at the  battle of Wolf 359  in 2367.  That  same  year, Shetley's mother retired  from her teaching position at Starfleet Academy.

Shetley was promoted to commander in 2369 and appointed the Executive Officer of the
U.S.S. Farragut. He served in that capacity until 2372 when he was given  command  of the  defiant  class  U.S.S. Justice. Together with the Justice,  Shetley was  assigned to the newly reformed Seventh Federation Starfleet  and was reunited with his old commanding officer Alexander Pierce in 2374.