[REFERENCE: THE CREW]

Author’s Note: Here’s a brief on each of the important characters aboard the Endurance. Much of this information may get reiterated or fleshed-out in the course of the story itself, but for now this touches upon the most important history of each character.

The Endurance is an older ship in Starfleet’s armada. Hull laid down in 2257, the ship began it’s life as a trouble-shooting vessel deployed along the Klingon border. It served well in this role until battle fatigue saw it need to be dry-docked in 2269 in order to bolster large sections of the hull. The Endurance then served along the Romulan Neutral Zone for nearly a decade before being re-tasked to frontier colony relief in the Federation interior. By 2285, with the Constitution class being decommissioned throughout Starfleet, the Endurance was refitted one last time, this time to improve it’s sensors and facilitate its mission as a multirole explorer throughout the Alpha Quadrant.

The Endurance is a storied and long-serving ship, but it’s an aging design that’s rare to see still employed in Starfleet these days. Being captain of one is a rather dubious honor—even for a young and eager captain—as these mothballed designs are more frequently given to captains approaching retirement rather than young up-and-comers. Still, for a captain with very specific ambitions, it’s enough.

COMMANDER OLYMPIA CHIRIN

EXECUTIVE OFFICER

As your XO, Olympia is in charge of the Endurance when you’re not on the bridge. She also commands away teams and manages the ship’s damage control in combat. She’s a serious no-nonsense officer who graduated in the top quarter of her class at the Academy, and since then she’s quickly risen through the ranks fast enough to attain the rank of Commander at a young age. Comments in her file suggest there’s a story there. In any case, she’s intent on getting a command of her own despite serving under a rather notorious captain like you. She’s not especially happy to be assigned to the Endurance.

PETTY OFFICER THIRD CLASS ISOBEL BROGAN

YEOMAN

The ship’s Yeoman, Isobel is your personal assistant. This normally means managing your schedule and mundane duties, keeping the captain’s log, and researching cultural concerns for diplomatic missions. She’s a space-born Betazoid with a peculiar eagerness that is unmistakable, alongside the Betazoid tendency to say whatever pops into her head—or yours. This quality means that despite good Academy scores her time at Wolf’s Watch, her last assignment, was marked with unfavorable reviews.

ENSIGN ALISON TEMPLE

HELMSMAN

A qualified graduate straight out of the Academy, Ensign Temple is the Endurance’s Helmsman, in charge of flight operations and navigation for the ship. She’s sprightly and not afraid of speaking up, which might seem almost insubordinate to some officers. As an Academy-fresh Ensign sitting Helmsman of an active starship, even one as dated as the Endurance, is an unexpected boon for her. And she’s sure to let that go to her head.

LIEUTENANT TARA VELLETH

CHIEF TACTICAL OFFICER

An Andorian born on the icy frontier colony of Eriya, Tara Velleth learned at a young age how to survive in harsh conditions. She joined Starfleet at a young age, serving as enlisted crew on a Federation base on Eriya. Quickly moving beyond the enlisted ranks with determination and a ruthless tactical mind, Tara made up for her poor academic performance and eventually made it through Starfleet Academy in the middle of her class. She’s since progressed through the ranks slowly, with the occasional reprimand and disciplinary action for conduct unbecoming and various minor acts of insubordination. While she’s a good tactical officer, it looks like she’ll require a firm hand.

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER T’LI

CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER

T’li was born to Vulcan scientists studying Orion dimorphism on the Orion homeworld. T’li grew up with a deep understanding and appreciation for the Orions’ vibrant lifestyles, as well as a slightly divergent view on the Vulcan practice of Kolinahr. She moved towards a more circumspect and martial approach to Vulcan logic, based mainly on her early encounters with the chaotic nature of Orion individuality and passion. She did, however, pick up an appreciation for the arts from her Orion-bound upbringing. T’li joined Starfleet and dove into the security and command-oriented demands of being a junior officer in Starfleet. Graduating 93rd percentile in her class at the Academy, T’li showed great promise that her commanding officers routinely praised throughout her career. But abrupt transfer requests away from each of her duty postings has generated an opinion in Starfleet command that she hasn’t found a satisfactory position yet.

LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE TISHA ENGELS

CHIEF ENGINEER

Tisha Engels grew up on an isolated Federation colony to a relatively well-off merchant family on Ywenia in the Beta Quadrant. Learning tricks of the trade, however, appealed to her less than learning how to service the machines her family was using to ship their merchandise—Tisha picked up a knack for tinkering and repairing small sub-orbital vehicles. When she was old enough to join Starfleet, she joined as an enlisted technician, eager to get off-world and get her hands dirty despite her lack of science and advanced tech background. She progressed, albeit slowly, and eventually from the rank of Chief Petty Officer received a grant to go to the Academy itself. Her performance was strictly average, and going into assignment on the Endurance she was marked down as a junior officer in Engineering—only an Ensign. But thanks to a last minute dismissal of the previous Chief Engineer, you were able to get a promotion filed for Tisha to lieutenant junior grade, the minimum required for the critical position.

LIEUTENANT ELISE MCKENNAH

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Born on Mars, in one of its older trade hubs, Elise McKennah has been a part of the Starfleet dream since she was a child. With both her parents serving in Starfleet before retiring to Mars, there was never much doubt as to what career she’d choose when she got old enough. With a knack for xenobiology and a great read on people, McKennah finished in the top six percent of her Academy class and continued to serve with distinction in medical positions throughout the core of the Federation, working in the Anchorage critical care unit where Starfleet officers in need of advanced, delicate, and cutting edge medical treatment are often sent. McKennah did well there, but it isolated her from the adventure and exploration she longed to see. After a while, she put in a request to get transferred to a starship in the hopes of being able to help people closer to their homes.

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER RILLI NAN

CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER

Rilli Nan, one of the enigmatic Trill just starting to enter the United Federation of Planets, grew up on a frontier agrarian colony. She was actually born the century before the Trill joined the Federation, but as a joined Trill she’s had the advantage of long life seeing her through to be able to join Starfleet when the opportunity arose. She’s got a pragmatic and even-handed approach to the sciences, with a coy affability that seemed to let her evade all sorts of petty squabbles as a cadet, despite being nearly 80 years older than most of her peers. She did well and found herself looking at a string of choice assignments on prestigious starships. Recently, she’s been progressing towards command in the hopes of captaining her own science and research vessel, which has made her impatient with this new lackluster deployment and the relatively inexperienced command crew.

ENSIGN LEHNA

SHIP’S COUNSELOR

The Endurance’s Counselor, is a bright and confident Orion girl named Lehna of Dornsgard, Phyla. Raised rough in a traveling raider fleet on the edge of Federation space, Lehna would eventually seek asylum on a Federation outpost to escape being sold by her family-ship’s captain. Not long after, she joined Starfleet and applied herself towards study as a ship’s counselor. She showed a natural aptitude for some aspects of the career, but the technical aspects still elude her. Not that she lets that hold her back, as her first posting as a junior counselor with the Ulysses Merchant Corps has been universally lauded and enabled her to seek a posting aboard a proper Starfleet ship.