RACHEL DIANE SUTHERLAND
STARBASE 114
(LES GREENLEAF)
Biography: Detailed
No direct relationship to Captain Tobias Sutherland of the Avenger. They may be distant cousins through the Scottish Sutherland Clan.
Born in 2340 on July 10, on board the Science Vessel Van Allan. Parents are alive. She has an older brother Leslie, an older sister Sara and two younger brothers Jason and Richard.
Rachel applied for and was accepted to Starfleet Academy in 2358. In 2362 she graduated 44th in her class with Honors in Engineering. Sutherland had impressed her instructors with her engineering diagnostic problem solving skills. She was granted an Internship at the Academy and entered the Advanced Engineering Studies Program. In 2363 Rachel graduated from the Advanced Engineering Studies Program, with the Title of Engineering Systems Diagnostic Specialist -Senior Grade and a promotion to Ensign.
With her engineering talents needed, Rachel was quickly assigned to one posting after another in rapid succession. Never remaining long in one place. Most postings were of short duration, most averaged two months, many were less even down to one week. Her postings were only long enough to solve some specific engineering problem then she would be reassigned. Fleet Command considered her talents too valuable to allow anyone ship or station to claim her.
This has resulted in her having few friends or even many close acquaintances. To some of her commanding officers the rapid sequence of reassignments has not looked good on her record. This has also led to the slowness of promotions.
Rachel had studied martial arts for as long as she could remember. She had entered the Academy with the rank of2nd Degree Black Belt. She still enjoys the Martial Arts such that she practices almost daily. Currently she has the equivalent of a 5th Degree Black Belt in Karate. She also studies other styles. She enjoys bladed weapons and unarmed combat and will join in on practice sessions with the ship's security department. With her skill level she has usually ended up teaching classes at most of her postings. Finding an instructor for herself has been difficult at times.
Between Martial Arts and continuing her engineering studies she has very little free time.
Rachel has registered very high on all Starfleet
ESP tests and has been known to use her telepathic and precognitive abilities.
Her telepathic skills are finely tuned and she has good control.
Due mostly to the Vulcan teacher she had on the Van Allan. Her precognitive
skills are random at best but do have a high degree of accuracy.
Rachel has admitted that at times her skills seem to be gaining both inn
strength and in scope. Her ESP abilities appear to assist her in
solving some of the complex engineering problems she has worked on.
She has at times been called upon to use her skills in the service of the
Federation. She is a registered
Telepath with Fleet Security and has been
granted a high security clearance: Class 1 Zeta clearance.
Her next assignment was the USS Quintillis, where she served for 2 years. While aboard the Quintillis, she was on an away team to assist in the rescue of survivors of a crashed Klingon Civilian Shuttle. She was there to attempt to repair the craft and try to get flight worthy. They were attacked by a Gorn raiding party and she was injured in the hand to hand fighting. The situation was desperate and she continued to fight along side the Klingons. One of the surviving Klingons had been impressed with her fighting skills. Her records have his statement. "She fought with the fierceness of a Klingon and the cunningness of a Romulan. A very worthy adversary. I was honored to have her fight at my side." He further honored her by giving her a gift of a master crafted bat'leth It hangs in her quarters. Rachel is learning to use it. Awarded Bronze Star.
While still assigned to the USS Quintillis Rachel was again injured. During an attack on the ship she was assisting in the repair of a warp drive plasma conduit. During one hit the ship shock heavily and Rachel lost her balance and fell off the scaffolding and down the warp core. Three decks down she bounced off the main warp core reaction chamber and careened onto the deck at main engineering. That kept her from falling the other 9 decks to the bottom of the warp core. Severely injured she remained unconscious for three days. Two weeks later she was released from sickbay. It took time but she has healed and has resumed full duty status.
On a personal level she has custody of two
children. Thomas and Karen Jensen, ages 17 and 15. She gained
custody in 2378,when they were 9 and 7, after the accidental deaths of
their parents at the Deep Space Observation Array 12, where she was the
Commander. With this came a sudden need to normalize her life.
It was about this time that she started to have more choices in her assignments.
There was a good crew at the Array and the Commander did very little actual
commanding. She usually spent several hours a day in research and
in long
distance discussions with other engineers
scattered about the Federation. Sutherland reviewed her options and
the current openings and soon to open postings. Of late she was now
being requested to serve rather than told where to go. She made several
calls, collected favors owed and twisted an arm or two. She got a six month
posting to the USS Osceola as Second Assistant Engineer and a then a transfer
to Starbase 101 as Assistant Commander of the Repair facilities.
It was a hectic six months on the Osceola with Tom and Karen going to school
days and her working a third shift. The Starbase was a stable three
year assignment. It was hard adjusting. But Rachel no longer
thought only of herself, all plans included Tom and Karen. She was
no longer alone, she had a family.
Karen and Tom had started taking Karate lessons while on DSOA 12. They still were and they were doing well. Once, months later, while on shore leave at an outpost the Osceola was delivering supplies to. The three of them had taken a wrong turn while visiting an open air market. They were accosted by a local hooligan at knife point. While Rachel considered either taking the knife or breaking the arm that held the knife. Karen had reacted first with a swift kick to the groin and Tom had spun and landed a spinning reverse hook kick to the face as the attacker bent over in pain. As the man lay sprawled on the ground, doubled over in pain, with his face badly damaged, Karen had looked down at him and declared, "If you get up my mother will hit you!" The man stayed, Tom was wearing heavy hiking boots. It was then that Karen looked at Rachel and then to Tom and back to Rachel. "I called you Mom." Rachel smiled. Tears in her eyes. "I know, Karen. I know." She gave them both hugs as she urged them back to the main street. They were a family.
She is uncomfortable at parties as she does not easily make friends. Prefers Vulcans as company with their tight control of their emotions. With her demotion and assignment to the Deep Space 13 facility, Rachel has realized that she wishes to do more with her career than remain just a problem solver. And alone. She has made it known to command that the she will consider her studies and work in weapons but wishes for a long term assignment that includes family. She wants to put down some roots.
She has long black hair which is streaked with silver, dark blue eyes. She is 44 years old and is 1.82 meters (5'11") tall She is single and has not been involved in any long term relationship with anyone. The few short term relationships she has been in have usually ended badly. Her free time is devoted to Tom and Karen. Karate while a family activity has slipped to a distant third place.
TIMELINE AND ASSIGNMENTS
2340-07 Born, July 10 on the Science Vessel Van Allan
2358-09 Accepted Starfleet Academy,
2362-08 Graduated Starfleet Academy, 44th in class
2362-09 Entered Starfleet Academy's Advanced Engineering Studies Program
2363-08 Graduated Starfleet Academy's Advanced Engineering Studies Program, With the Title of Engineering Systems Diagnostic Specialist - Senior Grade
2363-08 Assigned Utopia Planetia Fleetyards, Mars Worked on the design of a new class of starship galaxy class. Primary focus was the on board self monitoring sub-system for the gravity generators. It was her idea to combine the inertia damper sub-systems with the artificial gravity sub-system. Her design is standard on all galaxy class star ships.
2364-01 Assigned USS Sarek, assist in a Transporter problem.
2264-01 Assigned USS Monitor, sensor refit
2264-03 Assigned USS Franklin, sensor refit
2364-05 Assigned USS Hope II, medical systems refit, computer refit
2364-08 Assigned USS Cygnus, computer upgrade
2364-10 Assigned USS Fearless, transporter refit
2364-12 Assigned Deep Space 6, repair and upgrade 4 runabouts
2365-02 Assigned
Deep Space 6, over sees repair of USS Marshall NCC 77700 computer systems
- damaged in ion storm.
2365-05 Promoted Lieutenant (j.g.)
2365-07 Assigned USS Ranger, inertia dampers retro-fit
2365-09 Assigned USS Star Field, computer malfunctioning.
2365-09 Assigned Deep Space 6, repair and upgrade other 4 runabouts
2365-11 Assigned USS Nobel, reprogram engineering computer
2365-12 Assigned Star Base 88, One week shore leave
2365-12 Assigned Star Base 88, computer repair & reprogram
2365-12 Assigned USS John Wayne, transporter refit
2366-02 Assigned USS Slovak, Vulcan Science Vessel
2366-03 Assigned Science Station 55, install secondary main computer.
2366-04 Assigned Star Base 102, Assist in emergency repairs of the station after a freighter collided with the side of one of the docking bays.
2366-04 Assigned USS London, assist in full turbo car system upgrade
2366-06 Injured during Karate Tournament - broke right knee.
2366-07 Assigned Star Base 102, assist with main reactor core system upgrade
2366 07 Assigned USS Fearless, fine tune main sensor array
2366-07 Promoted USS Fearless, Lieutenant
2366-08 Assigned USS Quintillis, Engineering 2nd Assistant Chief
2366-08 Injured during away team. Awarded Bronze Star
2366-10 Earns 3rd Degree Black Belt
2366-11 Injured while on duty
2366-11 Promoted USS Quintillis, Lieutenant
2368-02 Entered Starfleet Academy's Engineering Propulsion Program
2369-08 Graduated Starfleet Academy's Engineering Propulsion Program
2369-09 Assigned Utopia Planetia Fleetyards, Mars
2370-01 Promoted Lt. Commander
2370-02 Entered Starfleet Academy's Weapons Systems Program
2370-09 Graduated Starfleet Academy's Weapons Systems Program
2370-11 Assigned Starbase 1, Weapons Design - Started initial design of the Pulsed Phaser System
2371-04 Starbase 1, Weapons Design, Conceives the idea of anew weapon's system. - FAN - Focused Anti-Neutrino Weapon. Computer simulations indicate this to be a powerful new weapon. With enough power supplied this may be the lead towards an entire new weapons system. According to the computer simulations the FAN Weapon works against the Borg sub-space field generators. Working weapon estimated 3 - 4 years. Receives Doctorate Degree - Thesis on High Energy Focused Plasma Theory. Receives Starfleet Commendation for her work.
2372-06 Earns 4th Degree Black Belt.
2374-01 Starbase 1, Weapons Design, small working model of the FAN Weapon constructed and tested. Model FAN Weapon was destroyed during the test. Initial results prior to accident, prove theory. Weapon proved more destructive and focused than current phaser systems. Accident report concluded that the weapon's primary energy chamber fractured due to internal pressures not confined due to over heating and failure of the chamber's magnetic confinement field. Ship board systems still 2 - 3 years away.
2374-03 Promoted - Commander Assigned Deep Space Observatiion Array 12 - Commander -Crew 37 - Scientific Staff 100
2376-06 DS Array 12 - On board power conduit ruptures and kills 6.Rachel is given custody of 2 children.
2378-03 Assigned USS Osceola, 2nd Chief Engineering Officer.
2379-09 Assigned Starbase 101, Command of Starbase 101 Repair Facilities.
2382-11 Earns 5th Degree Black Belt.
2383-04 Accepts assignment to the USS Potemkin--NCC 8253 as the Chief Engineering Officer,
2383-05 Assigned USS Monitor, replacing retiring Chief Engineering Officer.
2383-06 Disobeys
the direct order of the captain when ordered to design a new weapons system.
Demoted to rank of Ensign by the captain of
the Monitor.
2383-06 Court-Martial Hearing - demotion made permanent.
2383-06 Assignment to USS Potemkin is withdrawn after her demotion to the rank of Ensign.
2383-06 Assigned to DS-13 as an Ensign in Engineering.
44 years of age