Revision as of 10:21, 27 May 2013

"When the galaxy says, Give up, hope whispers, Try it one more time"

- Nikola Edwards,

Character Information

Name: Nikola Emily Edwards

Rank: Commander

Position: Commanding Officer

Post: [[USS Endeavour

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Age: 42

Physical Appearance

Height: 172 cm

Weight: 57 kg

Eye Colour: Hazel

Hair Colour: Dark Chestnut Brown

Description:

To the casual observer on first appearance Nikola appears to be a quiet and thoughtful individual with an unassuming presence. Standing at a height of 172cm (5’ 7”) Nikola tips the scales at a tick under 58kgs (127 lbs) which should be noted is slightly below average for a human female of her height. Nikola is nevertheless a picture of good health and maintains an active lifestyle with daily runs and the odd aerobic session. Thanks to her extensive cross county background Nikola has excellent endurance and power in her legs, but she does lack a lot of upper body strength.

Like her Mother and both of her Sisters Nikola’s most striking feature is her dark chestnut brown hair that she likes to keeps at shoulder length. While it is not always apparent her hair is naturally wavy, but it only becomes noticeable when she allows her hair to grow out long. Nikola is very fussy when it comes to her hair, she likes to keep it neat and presentable at all times and it is very rare for her to have a bad hair day. She prefers to wear her hair down and loose around her shoulders, but she will often pull her hair up into a short ponytail at some point during the day. Because of this Nikola always wears a small elastic hair band on her left wrist that is normally hidden under the cuff of her uniform.

Nikola is blessed with many of the more common traits of her English heritage and upbringing that includes a rich and vibrant accent. She inherited most of her looks from her mother, but she does have her father’s nose and his hazel eyes. She has a deep thoughtful gaze and a captivating smile that can light up her face.

Personality & Traits

General Overview:

Ashley is hard working and carries herself with a high sense of professionalism when she is on duty, but she also knows how to let her hair down and have fun. She tries not to take things to seriously as evidenced by her a quirky sense of humour, made up mostly of self deprecating jokes that she makes at her own expense. She is never short on material for her jokes as she can be quite clumsy at times. Despite this Ashley is very self assured and confident, this was not always the case as she lacked confidence in her youth but her time in Starfleet and motherhood has changed that for the better. One of the quirks that Ashley has developed since becoming a Mother is her use of parentese (baby talk) which she has a tendency to accidently drop into normal every day conversation.

Strengths & Weaknesses:

Ashley’s greatest strength is by far her family. While a constant source of strength and inspiration for her Ashley’s family is also her greatest weakness. Her concern for her family’s safety in particular that of her young son Brian, will often cause her to worry and lose concentration, especially during alert situations.

Ambitions:

Despite her ambitious nature Nikola had never pictured that she would one day wind up serving in Starfleet. The seemingly endless days of her childhood were often spent dreaming of lofty goals like becoming a princess similar to the ones found in the old Earth fairy tales that her Grandparents use to read to her. To much more simple and achievable dreams of becoming a school teacher like her own favourite primary school teacher Miss Ellis. Like most childhood dreams these were all fleeting and would quickly morph into whatever new fascination had managed to snare her imagination.

By the time of her thirteenth birthday, she had started to set her sights on one day following her father into political spectrum. Her ever increasing interest, awareness and knowledge in all things political made a career involving politics appear to be a natural progression for her, this was not only apparent to Nikola but to her parents as well. Political studies in secondary school continued to shape and hold Nikola’s attention until the start of her senior year when a Starfleet recruiter caught her ear.

Hobbies & Interests:

Nikola is an active woman with a strong love for cross country running. She first started running when she was in primary school and it quickly became a major foundation in her day to day routine. Since giving birth to Imogen Nikola rarely has enough free time to devote to her cross country training and her overall level of fitness has fallen away as a consequence of this. She still tries to go for a run a couple of times a week, but her work often gets in the way of this. Nikola’s other main passion lies in the field of politics and government, a trait that she no doubt picked up from her father who is heavily involved in local government back at home. She is a political scientist by trade and she enjoys keeping up-to-date on political matters from across the Federation.

Nikola is a bit of history buff with a particular love for both Early Federation and Earth history. It is not uncommon to find her reading some sort of historical text from either of these two periods of history. She is also a massive fan of English literature and often enjoys revisiting the works of her favourite writers including such famous as Shakespeare, Dickens, Hardy and Jane Austen. At the insistence of her parents Nikola was taught at a young age to play the piano by her Grandmother. Despite hating it as a child, Nikola has developed a fondness for it and enjoys playing the occasional tune. She has been putting serious thought into getting a piano of her own as she would love to one day teach it to her own daughter.

Languages:

Federation Standard, French, Latin and two different dialects of Vulcan.

Family

Father: William Edwards

Mother: Abigale Edwards

Brothers: Robert Edwards (45) - Senior Editor of the Luna Standard. James Edwards (38) Policy Advisor for the Federation Council

Sisters: Dr. Megan Lewis (35) - Paediatrician St Ann's Community Medical Centre. Chelsea Edwards - Artist (28)

Spouse:

Children: Imogen Edwards (7) - Born on the April 2, 2380

History

Childhood & Early Life

Nikola Emily Edwards was born on Earth during the first month of autumn in the year 2344 in the quiet English country town of Alford Lincolnshire. She was the second eldest of five children born to parents Abigale and William Edwards. Both of her parents were actively involved in the local community. Her father William worked for the Alford Town Council in the planning division and her mother Abigale was the assistant curator at the historic Alford Manor House. Her parents owned a nice spacious home on the outskirts of the small township and Nikola and her five siblings grew up surrounded by lush green countryside and gentle rolling hills.

Some of Nikola’s earliest and fondest memories involved the countryside. She and her older brother Robert would spend countless hours exploring and playing together in the hills and grassy fields around their house. The duo soon evolved into a trio when they were joined by their younger brother James. Out of the three of them Nikola was the most adventurous and was often the leader of their many treks and the ringmaster behind their play sessions. Much to their mother’s dismay the three of them would often come home after a long day outside covered from head to toe in dirt and mud. The dirt and mud would often find its way into the kitchen, which would always lead to the three of them being banished to the back step as their poor mother cleaned the floors. On occasion they would be joined on the steps by another culprit their father with his own muddy boots. As her brothers grew up they became more involved in playing sports like football and cricket during their free time which often left Nikola to her own devices. Her boredom was usually short lived as her mother would often rope her into helping out with the housework and with looking after her baby sister Madison. When she was able to escape the clutches of her mother Nikola spent her time outside where she took up running. She started out by running laps around the edge of her family’s property, but as her endurance started to increase so did her range. It wasn’t long before she started running around the nearby countryside. Her running became so serious to her that she would often count down the days leading up to her School’s yearly athletic and cross country carnivals.

When the weather was bad and not suited to her athletic pursuits Nikola would turn her attention to the shelves upon shelves of old books that her parents owned. Her fascination in reading had developed in her at a really young age. Both her parents and grandparents would read to her all time. From fairy-tails to more grown up material, Nikola had a hunger for it all and she started to read on her own as she soon as she was able to comprehend written words. Her favourite story to this very day was the tale Bilbo Baggins in a book called ‘The Hobbit,’ that was written by J. R. R. Tolkien. She was eight years old when she first heard of Bilbo’s adventure as it was read to her by her Grandmother over the course of several wet and miserable spring days.

Around the time of Nikola’s eleventh birthday, her father nominated and ran as a candidate for an open position on the Alford Town Council. The subsequent election was Nikola’s first real introduction to the world of politics. At the time she only had a vague idea on what was going on, but she saw the passion that it brought out of her father which was something that she really admired. The entire family pitched in and helped out during the campaign and her Father was successfully elected by a narrow margin after a tightly fought campaign. Following her Father’s victory, Nikola asked him she could come and watch the council during one of its sessions. William wasn’t very keen on the idea. But Nikola wouldn’t be denied as she bugged and pestered him about for weeks until he finally relented. She attended her first council session with her Grandfather who was a regular attendee. The Council session did not quite meet Nikola’s lofty expectations, but it still managed to catch her fascination and her imagination. From that point on Nikola started to regularly attend a number of council meetings with her Grandfather. It didn’t take long for her parents to catch on the fact that Nikola had developed a real interest in the workings of local government and of politics in general. Together they decided to encourage and actively support their daughter’s interest in the field. As a present for her thirteenth birthday her Father and Grandfather took her on a whirlwind trip. The three of them visited the UK Parliament in Westminster, the United Earth Parliament and finally the Federation Council chambers in San Francisco. The visit to the Federation Council was Nikola’s personal highlight as they were able to observe the Council in session from the public gallery.

Starfleet Academy

Ashley had intended to remain at Chicago University to obtain her masters degree, but she learned through a Starfleet Recruiter that she could do her masters degree through Starfleet Academy. Up until point in time Ashley had never really considered a career for herself in Starfleet, but she was well aware of the career potential that Starfleet would offer her as an Officer and as a Linguist. After doing a great deal of thinking and weighing up her options Ashley decided to set her sights on Starfleet and enrolled in Starfleet Academy. During her four years at the Academy Ashley successfully obtained her masters degree in Linguistics and took a number of specific language related courses. She also undertook a number of minor science courses that included Botany and Xenobiology. Ashley graduated from the Academy in 2376, finishing in the top 25 of her class. She was promoted to the rank of Ensign and was nominated for a ship based assignment.

Starfleet Career

Assignment #1 – USS Agincourt NCC-70088

Ensign Edwards serving on the Agincourt - 2366

Fresh from the Academy Ensign Nikola Edwards was assigned to the new Norway Class starship Agincourt as a junior science officer in the ship’s Anthropology department. The Agincourt was assigned to the Beta Quadrant where it performed extensive follow up work to successful first contact missions. As the ship’s resident political affairs expert it was Nikola’s job to study and catalogue the various governing bodies of the planets that the Agincourt visited. While not everyone’s cup of tea, Nikola totally adored her work and found it to be both a highly rewarding and challenging experience. She was constantly being introduced to new ideas and ways of thinking that on occasion would challenge her own well held perceptions. She also enjoyed the opportunity that her position presented her with to rub shoulders and interact with numerous planetary delegates and to liaise with renowned experts in her field like the famed Dr. Aiden Connors from Mars and Dr. Kireon Gren from Bajor.

Nikola had more than enough work to occupy herself with but she was not content with limiting herself to just her chosen field. She was always looking for ways to further build upon her knowledge base and was to keen to find more ways to become further involved in the department. To this end she would often volunteer her free time to assist with the other projects that the Agincourt’s Science Department were working on. Her growing interest in the day to day operations of the department didn’t go unnoticed for too long as she quickly caught the attention of the Agincourt’s Chief Science Officer, a Vulcan Lieutenant Commander named Tovol.

Seeing potential in the young Ensign to move beyond her field Tovol took Edwards under his wing. Under Tovol’s watchful eye and tutelage Nikola was instructed in the administration and day to day operations of the Agincourt’s large Science Department. Tovol proved to be an extraordinarily tough taskmaster. He constantly tried to challenge Edwards and push her to her limits, but Nikola with her eagerness to learn and her drive to succeed would rise to meet his every challenge. With Tovol’s backing Nikola sat and passed the Starfleet Bridge Officer’s Test. She served her first shift on the Agincourt’s bridge during the graveyard shift on the day of her six month anniversary since joining the ship. By the end of her first full year on the Agincourt Nikola had firmly established herself as an integral part of the Agincourt’s Science Team. So rapid was her rise on the Agincourt that Nikola had taken everyone around her by complete surprise, including Tovol. In recognition for her work and despite her relative lack of experience Nikola was named as the new head of the Agincourt’s Anthropology Department and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. The promotion made her the third most senior science officer of the Agincourt and she was considered by many in the department to be the go to person after Tovol.

Tovol continued to instruct and guide Edwards’ development where he could, but it was quickly becoming clear to him that he had little left to teach her. In his opinion Edwards was ready to take on more responsibility and move into an Assistant Chief position. Unfortunately o such position was open on the Agincourt which left Tovol with little recourse but to recommend Edwards for a new posting in the fleet. After talking the matter over with Tovol Nikola with some reluctance nominated herself for a transfer. With glowing recommendations from Tovol and the Agincourt’s Captain it wasn’t long before Nikola was scooped up by another starship.

Assignment #2 – USS Commonwealth NCC-66191

Nikola transfer was approved in early 2367 and she was named the as the new Assistant Chief Science Officer on the venerable USS Commonwealth. She finished her tour on the Agincourt on stardate 44096.9 (5th of February, 2367) and transferred to Starbase 211 where the Commonwealth was undergoing a resupply. Built in the early 2340’s the Commonwealth was an Ambassador Class Starship that despite its age was still at the forefront of Starfleet Operations. The much larger Commonwealth was a major step up for Nikola in every sense, the ship’s science department alone was over three times larger than the one she had left behind on the Agincourt. It took Edwards a couple of weeks to settle into her new role and the responsibility that came with it. As always Nikola was quick to rise to the challenge and she made an immediate positive impression with her new superior Lieutenant Michelle Armstrong.

The Commonwealth had an outstanding and experienced crew, but the ship was on the cusp of a generational change though nobody at the time knew it. Included amongst them was a tight knit and talented group of junior officers. Several of the ship’s assistant chief’s would meet weekly for a games night and it didn’t take Edwards long to be welcomed into the small group. Over the course of the next several months Nikola struck up what would become lifelong friendships with members of the group including the vessel’s Andorian Assistant Chief Security Officer Ny’len Thomm, Harriet Perry who was the Commonwealth’s Assistant Chief Medical Officer and the Commonwealth’s Assistant Chief Engineer Christopher Stevens. Out of the small group Nikola was the first to make it to the Commonwealth’s senior staff when she was named as the new Chief Science Officer following Lieutenant Armstrong’s reassignment to the USS Endurance in 2368. Her new position came with a promotion to the rank of full Lieutenant. Over the course of the next several months the rest of her friends would go on to join her as members of the Commonwealth’s senior staff.

In 2369 Nikola was badly injured after the shuttlecraft she was on crashed on an inhospitable M- Class world in the uncharted Konossos system. It was Edward’s first ever command mission and it was suppose to be nothing more than a simple week long astrological survey mission of a class 3 nebula. The shuttlecraft was badly damaged after coming into contact with a small subspace eddy. With a number of systems offline including communications and with life support failing Nikola ordered the damaged craft to proceed to the nearest habitable planet, where it ended up crashing. The small crew survived the crash and despite being badly injured Nikola managed to keep the crew focused on getting rescued and she assisted Lieutenant Stevens in repairing the shuttle’s communication systems. The shuttlecraft crew were stranded on the surface for well over a week before they were rescued by the Commonwealth. While she was stranded on the planet, Nikola became a lot closer to Lieutenant Stevens and in the weeks following the crash their relationship would turn romantic. For her actions during and after the crash Nikola was awarded a personal commendation by her Commanding Officer Captain Norman Makepeace.

In 2370 the Commonwealth conducted a six month exploration mission of the largely unexplored Beta Minor Star Cluster. The mission was bread and butter to the Commonwealth’s large Science Department and Nikola spent many a long hour working alongside her staff to coax every single ounce of information out of the ship’s sensors that they could. During the six month cruise the Commonwealth made several notable discoveries but there was nothing more remarkable and satisfying then the two successful first contact missions that the Commonwealth performed. Edwards’ previous experience on the Agincourt came in handy during these missions and Nikola played a large part in both missions. She was also responsible for the laying down most of the ground work for the many follow up missions that Starfleet would do following the Commonwealth’s initial visit.

In September of the same year following the successful completion of the Commonwealth’s six month mission, Nikola become engaged to Christopher Stevens who she had been dating for well over year. Stevens popped the big question to her during a humorous and totally disastrous date in one of the Commonwealth’s recently upgraded holodecks. Despite a torrential amount of water and gale force winds Nikola found the whole situation to be oddly romantic and she naturally said “Yes,” to his proposal. Marriage had never been on Nikola’s radar as she had been utterly focused on her career and still was. Yet she loved Christopher with all her heart and couldn’t picture a future without him as part of her life. The happy couple almost immediately started to make arrangements for their upcoming wedding in 2371.

2371 was a wonderful and standout year for Nikola in many ways. Her rapid rise through the ranks and Starfleet career ladder continued when she was rewarded for her outstanding work during the year before when she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Her promotion came with added responsibility as a month later she was also named as the Commonwealth’s new Second Officer by Captain Makepeace. With her confidence soaring Nikola took to her new role with her usual eagerness, and quickly adapted to her found responsibilities. Not forgetting her political background and training, Nikola also published a popular and critically acclaimed research paper based on her observations of two new political institutions that the Commonwealth had encountered in the Beta Minor Cluster. It was in July of that year that Nikola and Christopher were married during a small private ceremony on the Commonwealth by Captain Makepeace. Nikola took on her husband’s last name of Stevens and quietly settled into married life. The rest of the year was spent in matrimonial bliss, but there were challenges ahead for the young couple.

In 2372 as the Alpha Quadrant started to mobilise and begin the inevitable march towards war Nikola was approached out of the blue by Captain Jamie McAllister. McAllister who was a long time friend of Captain Makepeace was in search of a new First Officer. He had heard a glowing report and an unofficial recommendation on Stevens from Makepeace during one of their weekly chats. He was so impressed by what he had heard that he immediately sort Nikola out and presented her with an offer to join him on the Aurora and become his new First Officer. Nikola was taken by complete surprise by the Captain’s offer. Never in her own wildest dreams did she even imagine the possibility of herself serving in such a position as she was still only 27 years old.

Normally she would have jumped at the opportunity that was being presented to her on a silver platter. For the first time in her career however she hesitated. It had been her dream since entering Starfleet to climb the ranks and one day become a starship captain, but she now had other priorities in her life to think about. In her five years on the Commonwealth Nikola had made a home for herself, got married and was seriously starting to consider a future for herself and Christopher that involved children. After weighing up her options Nikola planned to turn down McAllister’s offer and remain on the Commonwealth. She was eventually talked out of the idea by Christopher who was well aware of his wife’s desire to chase after her dream. He reassured that they could make their marriage work despite the distance and together they made vague plans for him to join her on Aurora as soon as a suitable position became available. Feeling much more comfortable about the future Nikola contacted Captain McAllister and finally accepted his offer.

Assignment #3 – USS Aurora NCC-48892

With some reluctance Nikola packed up the life that she had built for herself on the Commonwealth. After saying goodbye to her husband and friends, she transferred to her new posting on the Aurora. The USS Aurora was an Excelsior Class that had recently undergone a major refit in response to the rising threat of the Dominion. Stevens had some initial difficulties in settling into her new role on the Aurora and to “Find her command voice,” as Captain McAllister put it. Much like the Commonwealth the Aurora’s crew were a tight knit community and it took her some time to find her place and to feel comfortable as a leader to her new crew. Despite the difficulties Nikola wasn’t the sort of person to take a backward step, she continued to work away at it relentlessly and soon found her old groove that had served her so well in the past.

Later that year the Aurora was one of several starships under the command of Admiral Hastur that was dispatched to reinforce Deep Space 9 following the Klingon invasion of the Cardassian Union. After the Klingon attack on the station the Aurora was ordered to conduct an extended patrol along the Federation Border near the Badlands. It was at this point that everything started to change on the Aurora, with the growing threat of a possible war Captain McAllister started to prepare his crew for that very possibility. Weekly tactical drills and combat simulations became the norm for Nikola and the rest of the Aurora’s crew. McAllister also started to work more closely with Nikola, he involved her in his weekly tactical briefings with Starfleet Command and he actively sort out her opinion on almost every decision that he made. Nikola was well aware of what her Captain was preparing her for. On her own initiative she started to read up and study on Klingon tactics and previous engagements, as she wanted to be ready for whatever could happen. Following the conclusion of its patrol the Aurora was quietly reassigned by Starfleet Command to the Federation Klingon Border.

In late 2372 with tensions continuing to build between the Federation and Klingon Empire the Aurora was sent into the Azure Nebula along the Federation Klingon Border to conduct what Starfleet was calling a “Scientific survey on gaseous anomalies.” The real reason behind the Aurora’s deployment was to place the ship in a position to monitor any Klingon activity in the nebula and to respond to any Klingon incursions. On stardate 49962.4 the Klingon Chancellor Gowron issued a ultimatum to the Federation to withdraw from the Archanis sector. The Federation refused to cede to the Klingon’s demand and Starfleet forces across the Federation were placed on a footing for war. At the time of the Klingon’s ultimatum Nikola found herself in command of the Aurora as Captain McAllister was in attendance at a multi-species trade conference on Betazed where he was the keynote speaker. As Starfleet redeployed the bulk of its forces to be in a position to respond to any attack on Archanis Stevens and the Aurora was ordered to maintain their mission in the nebula in case the Klingons moved to attack elsewhere. All that Nikola and the Aurora’s crew could do was to sit tight and wait to see what would happen.

The Klingons were true to their word and launched a massive assault on Federation space as soon as the deadline expired. Despite the advance warning the Federation forces were caught completely unprepared for such a large scale engagement along what had been until recently a safe and secure border. The attacking Klingon forces avoided the Azure Nebula which allowed the Aurora to remain undetected and unharmed. Nikola who was still in command waited anxiously for new orders to arrive from Starfleet. Those orders never came and the Aurora was forgotten by Starfleet Command who was busy scrambling to stop the Klingon advance. With the crew growing restless, Nikola made the bold decision to go against her standing orders and to launch a daring raid on the Klingons.

Stevens’ knew that her plan was risky, but she sensed an opportunity that she simple couldn’t ignore. With the Klingon fleet engaged in Federation space Nikola believed that the Klingon border systems would be undefended and unprepared for any form of counterattack. Using the nebula to hide the ship from any remaining Klingon patrols, Stevens snuck the Aurora across the border and launched a surprise raid on the Klingon orbital outpost in the Mo’vot System. Nikola’s assumption proved to be correct as the Aurora managed to catch the Klingons completely off guard. In a brazen assault that barely lasted ten minutes the Aurora managed to destroy a key subspace communication relay and a deep space scanner, the Aurora also managed to damage two Klingon drydock facilities before withdrawing back into the relative safety of the nebula. With reinforcements on the way Nikola ordered the Aurora to high tail it back to Federation space at maximum warp.

Nikola’s bold raid on the outpost earned her a great deal of respect from the Klingons, but it nearly earned her a formal hearing from Starfleet Command. Her actions were backed by both her Commanding Officer and by Rear Admiral Jonathan James who was one of the Admiral’s in charge of coordinating Starfleet’s response to the Klingon invasion. After reviewing the matter in more detail not only did Starfleet Command find Nikola’s tactical thinking to be sound but they rewarded her for her actions by awarding her with several commendations including the Legion of Honour and the Star Cross. Following the review Admiral James transferred his flag to the Aurora and the ship returned to the front lines as his personal flagship. Nikola spent the rest of the war working closely with both the Admiral and Captain McAllister.

In 2373 the second ceasefire came into force between the Federation and Klingon Empire. Nikola took the opportunity to take some leave from the Aurora and spent several wonderful weeks reunited with her husband on Earth. Following her much needed vacation Nikola returned to duty on the Aurora, but her days on the Excelsior Class Starship were quickly drawing to an end.

Assignment #4 – Starbase 244

Nikola’s actions during the war with the Klingons had caught the attention and had impressed many of the higher ups at Starfleet Command. None more so than the freshly promoted Vice Admiral Jonathan James who had observed Nikola’s acute awareness of tactics and strategy up close during his time on the Aurora. He was also admired her natural self confidence, her ability to think outside the box and her tenacity. These were all qualities that he valued and it led him to selecting Stevens to serve with him on Starbase 244 as his new adjutant. It was a transfer that Nikola hadn’t been expecting and she was honoured to be selected for such a position. Her transfer also came with added good news, as the Admiral had managed to secure a senior engineering position on the base for her husband who up until then had still been serving as Chief Engineer on the USS Commonwealth.

Nikola was presented with little time to settle in to her new position, as later that year the Dominion successfully crossed through the Bajoran Wormhole and annexed the Cardassion Union. For the second time in two years Nikola found herself on the threshold of another war and it was the war that everyone feared. As the Alpha Quadrant drifted towards war Vice Admiral James was named as the new Commander of the Federation’s Eighth Fleet and Starbase 244 became the centre of the fleet’s operations. Nikola soon found herself up to her ears in work as the fleet was readied for war.

The early days of the Dominion War were relatively quiet for the Eighth Fleet, but that was never going to last. In 2374 as the unrelenting Dominon war machine pushed deeper and deeper into Allied held territory the Eighth Fleet found itself being more involved in the fighting. Nikola actively helped to coordinates the movements of the fleet, her days and nights were often spent studying the latest causality and status reports as they came in from across the fleet. She was intimately involved in the decision making process for the fleet with Admiral James often seeking her opinion on fleet matters and movements. She quickly became one of his most trusted advisors. They would work closely together of the next few months as tried to gain any upper hand over the Dominion that they could, but their successes were few and far between.

Assignment #5 – USS Avenger NCC-75063

As 2374 continued to drag on the Dominon continued their almost unstoppable advance. With Starfleet starting to suffer from a severe manpower shortage Admiral James reassigned Nikola with orders to assume command of the USS Avenger, a brand new Sabre Class starship. It was her first command. She had achieved the lofty goal that she had first set herself back at the Academy, but she didn’t feel much joy or satisfaction with it. The war was going very bad, it was the reason behind her sudden rise to command and she knew it. The Federation and the Klingons had their backs against the wall and they were all staring at the real possibility of being defeated.

The first few weeks of Nikola’s command were quiet and uneventful as the Avenger operated out of and around Starbase 244 on a brief shakedown cruise. The brief interlude gave Nikola some much needed time to settle into life and responsibilities that came with the brief with the big chair. Following the brief shakedown cruise the Avenger was assigned to a newly created small joint Federation and Klingon Task Group within the Eighth Fleet. The Task Group was put together to perform highly coordinated ambushes and hit and run attacks on the vast Dominion lines. Over the course of the next three months the Avenger participated in several daringsuccessful ambushes and a number of brief skirmishes against the Dominion destroying a number of Dominion and Cardassian starships. Despite their successes Nikola knew that it was only matter of time until their luck changed or ran out completely.

Her luck and that of the Avenger and its crew ultimately ran out in the weeks following the successful retaking of Deep Space 9. The Avenger was on a patrol mission at the time when it fell into an ambush of its own. With the warp drive offline an injured Nikola ordered the Avenger into a nearby nebula with the vain hopes of shaking their attacks. The Avenger fought a defiant running battle with it’s attackers as it headed deeper into the nebula, but the Avenger was unable to reach the necessary depth before it was disabled. With a great deal of reluctance Nikola gave the order to abandon ship and the surviving crewmembers made for the Avenger’s escape pods. Several of the Avenger’s escape pods managed to avoid capture by disappearing into denser pockets of the nebula, but a small handful of pods including the one that held Stevens were picked up by a Cardassian destroyer.

Prisoner of War - Septimus III

Nikola received treatment for her injuries onboard the Cardassian ship before being confined along with the rest of her crew who were captured for processing. The crew were to be transferred to the nearest Dominion controlled POW camp, but upon confirmation of her identity Nikola was singled out and separated from the rest of her crew. Her previous position as Admiral James’ adjutant and her close relationship with the Admiral made her a perfect subject to undergo interrogation. She was transferred to another Cardassian ship and was then transported to a small Cardassian Interrogation facility on Septimus III where she was turned over to a Cardassian interrogator named Gul Kilren.

Kilren was a particularly nasty individual even by Cardassian standards. He was a master manipulator and a brutally cold and efficient torturer who took great pleasure and satisfaction from his work. At this point Nikola’s life became a living hell as Kilren went about extracting information from her whichever way he could. Under Kilren’s supervision Nikola was subject to large amounts of physical, psychological and emotion abuse. She was constantly fed misinformation and was allowed little to no respite at all. Nikola did her best to resist her tormentor and for a time she was successful, but over time the Cardassian’s brutal methods won out and he broke her. She told him everything that he had wanted to know, she answered his every question and even told him more then he wanted. She was that desperate for it all to end, for her torment to be over but it never was.

Nikola remained in her personal dark hell for what seemed like an eternity. She was finally rescued along with several prisoners by the Klingons in 2375 during their bloody invasion of Septimus III. Gul Kilren was killed during the fighting along with every other member of the Cardassian Eleventh Order. Nikola received some initial treatment while onboard a Klingon Starship before she was transferred to Starbase 375 where she received additional treatment and underwent a gentle debrief with several Starfleet Counselors. The debriefing went nowhere as Nikola was in no condition to answer any questions. A decision was quickly reached to send Nikola home to be with her family and to start immediately on her rehabilitation.

Extended Leave of Absence

She returned to Earth and was quickly reunited with her husband, her parents and with the rest of her family. Nikola was completely unrecognisable to those who loved her, the bright and confident young woman that they all known before was gone and had been replaced by a timid and broken soul. Her entire family quickly rallied around her, including her husband Christopher who put his career on hold to remain on Earth at her side. They moved back to England to be closer to her family who together as a united team would help Nikola get started down the long and what would prove to be a difficult road to recovery.

It took her a long time but Nikola eventually started to get her life back on track. She continued to battle and struggle with her PTSD, but it had reached the point where it was no longer able to control or to define her life. She attended a victory celebration on Earth with her family to celebrate the end of the Dominon War and started the process of re-establishing contact with her friends in Starfleet who had survived the war. Despite her continued improvement, it was becoming increasingly apparent to Nikola that the time she had spent on Septimus III had forever changed her and she knew deep down that she was never going to be the same person again. It was a bitter pill for Nikola to swallow.

It was around the same time that Nikola started to put some serious thought towards her future. A possible return to Starfleet had been the absolute last thing on my mind during her lengthy recovery. The time was starting to draw near where she would have to make a decision on whether or not she would return to Starfleet. It was a decision without an easy answer as Nikola was legitimately torn on what path to take. On several occasions during her recovery she had been close to handing in her commission, but she could never quite go through with it. There was still some fight left in her and Nikola was not prepared to just throw away her commission. Starfleet had been a major part of her life for well over a decade and she didn’t intend on walking away from it without first trying to resurrect her career.

Assignment #6 – Starfleet Academy - Earth

Her road to recovery was long but by 2377 Nikola finally put in her request to return to active duty with the fleet. A full two years since has passed since her internment on Septimus III. In that time Nikola had fought and successfully overcome many of the inner demons that had been haunting her. She finally felt that she well enough and ready to make her return to the fleet. Starfleet didn’t share her opinion. To prove her mental fitness Nikola underwent a number of psychological evaluations at Starfleet Medical. Despite some notable concerns from her assessors Nikola was cleared to return duty on the provision that she continue to attend weekly counselling sessions. It was a provision that Nikola was happy to accept as she was still attending weekly sessions with Eldan and she was more than happy to continue doing so.

The reputation that she had earned herself during the Klingon and Dominion Wars was still intact and while Starfleet had its doubts about Nikola’s ability their doubts were not shared by the Captains in the fleet. Nikola had her pick of open positions from across the fleet, including an offer to serve on the USS Sovereign as First Officer to the veteran Captain J.G. Bates. She took the time to consider her options including the XO position on the Sovereign which was a dream opportunity for her but in the end she chose to pass on all of the positions. Her husband had recently taken up a position at the San Francisco Fleet Yards and Nikola wanted an assignment that would keep her close to him and the rest of her family/support network.

Having ruled out a ship based assignment Nikola set her sights on finding a position with one of Starfleet’s many Earth based facilities. Through an old friend she learned of and applied for a position with Starfleet Academy as an instructor teaching first year courses in Political Science. Nikola had never thought of a future for herself as a teacher before, but she nevertheless found the work to be rewarding and she soon fell in love with love with it. The position allowed her to reconnect with her passion for Political Science and more importantly it provided her with the perfect work-life balance which was something that she absolutely needed at that point in her life.

Her return to work had added a much needed level of order and structure to her life and filled her days with purpose. While she made great leaps and bounds at work Nikola was struggling with her personal life at home. Her marriage to Christopher was on the rocks, since her rescue from Septimus III she had struggled to reconnect with him on both a physical and emotion level. He had been terrific in supporting her during her recovery, but over time they simply started to drift apart from each other. They made an effort to repair their marriage but the divide between them had become too great and they both knew it. They agreed to separate in June 2379 and were divorced later that year bringing their nine year marriage to official end. Their divorce was amicable but it was not without its complications as Nikola was pregnant at the time with their child.

The revelation of her pregnancy left Nikola feeling surprised, venerable and alone. Before the Dominion War she had seen a future for herself and Christopher that was full of children, but now it was the last thing on her mind. With her ongoing problems Nikola didn’t know if she was capable of being a parent and that thought alone scared her. Despite their looming divorce Christopher had promised to be there for her and their child. Nikola knew without a doubt that she could count on him but at the same time she realised that despite Christopher’s best efforts she would end up doing a lot of this on her own. Throughout her pregnancy Nikola was wrought with nerves, she battled with her emotions and her deep held fears of not being cut out for parenthood. All of that changed on the 2nd of April in 2380 when she held her new born daughter in her arms for the very first time.

The arrival of her daughter not only radically changed Nikola’s life, but it also changed her as a person in ways that she had never thought possible. Virtually overnight the small bundle of joy that was Imogen became the centre of Nikola’s world. All of the doubts and fears that had haunted her during her pregnancy quietly disappeared, to be replaced by an iron-willed commitment to her daughter. She vowed to herself and to Imogen that she would always be there for her and that she would try to be the best mother that she could possibly be. Nikola took some time off from her work at the Academy to adjust to her new life and most importantly to spend valuable time with her daughter. All of this would prove to be a challenge for her, but it was a challenge that Nikola would gladly rise to meet head on.

Assignment #7 - Starfleet Headquarters - Earth

After spending six months on leave with Imogen Nikola was due to return to her teaching position at the Academy. It was during her last week at home that she was approached out of the blue by her old boss Vice Admiral Jonathon James. The Admiral had recently been promoted to a senior position with Starfleet Operations and he wanted Nikola to come and work with him again as his adjutant at Starfleet Headquarters. Nikola jumped at the Admiral’s generous offer and happily accepted the position without a second thought.

For several weeks she had quietly been considering the idea of getting away from her position with the Academy. She was content, even happy with her teaching position, but it was simple and mostly repetitive work. Deep down she knew that she wanted to do something that would challenge her again and Admiral James’s offer provided her with that opportunity. Working alongside the Admiral again would also breathe some much needed flexibility into Nikola’s life. This was vitally important to her as Imogen was and always would be her first and only priority.

She returned briefly to the Academy to see out the rest of the academic year before she transferred across the road to join Admiral James at Starfleet Headquarters. Nikola had no trouble settling back into her old role as James’ Adjutant. She quickly became his key advisor as the two officers quickly fell back into their old groove that had served them so well during their time on Starbase 244. The work itself was not as demanding as it had been during the early days of the Dominion War. It still managed to keep Nikola busy and provided her with the much needed challenge that she had been craving.

Nikola continued to serve as Admiral James’ Adjutant until 2384. By that time she had more than outgrown the position and was taking on more and more responsibility outside of her official role. In recognition for her excellent work and ongoing service Nikola was offered command of the USS Discovery. To the surprise of many at Starfleet Command she passed up on the opportunity. After what happened to her and the Avenger Nikola felt that she was no longer comfortable or cut out enough to command a starship. She also didn’t want to take Imogen who was now four years old away from everything that she knew including her home, her family and her friends.

Her decision to remain on Earth allowed Admiral James to instead promote Nikola to a more senior position within Starfleet Operations. She remained under James’ direct command but assumed the role of Senior Strategic Fleet Deployment Coordinator in the Fleet Operations Centre at Starfleet HQ. (more to come)

USS Pacifica NCC-72545 (2383 - Current Assignment)

Service Record

Nikola Edwards: Difference between revisions