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Tue Oct 1st, 2024 @ 12:16am
Captain Temperance Harding
Name Temperance Anna Harding
Position Commanding Officer
Rank Captain
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 45 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5' 9" | |
| Weight | 140lbs | |
| Hair Color | Brunette | |
| Eye Color | Hazel | |
| Physical Description | A physically fit individual, Temperance has always kept herself in shape – a requirement of her flight status. Sharp, piercing hazel eyes hint at the warrior instinct behind them. A network of hairline scars criss-cross around her left eye-socket. Her brunette hair is often pulled back into a pony-tail. |
Family
| Spouse | ||
| Children | ||
| Father | Dr. Gregorie Harding | |
| Mother | VADM Elise Harding | |
| Brother(s) | LT Sebastian Harding (deceased) | |
| Sister(s) | ||
| Other Family |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | A combat pilot by training, Temperance thrives on adrenaline, and high-octane situations. She is calmer and more collected when things are going wrong around her. It has sometimes been commented on that Temperance will get antsy, and on edge if things haven’t fallen apart for a while. | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | A keen tactical mind, Temperance has the ability to analyse any combat situation in moments, and propose a response. She has sharp reflexes, and a quick mind. Her knowledge of the sciences though, are extremely limited, with the only exception being the physics of space combat. | |
| Ambitions | Once, Temperance’s ambition had been to be the best fighter pilot Starfleet had. That dream ended, however. Now, she longs to see the birds fly, even if she can never be the one doing the flying. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | In her off-hours, Temperance enjoys games of chess against her crew-mates, horse riding, and cooking. |
| Personal History | Born as one half of fraternal twins, Temperance had always known competition in her life. While their parents did not pick, or choose favourites, the two siblings would always bicker, fight, and struggle to be the first, the best, or the most. It was this competitive spirit that set forth their desires to aspire to great heights. The direction of those heights was indeed moulded by their mother, a Starfleet Officer. It was the stories of her mother’s adventures, and the respect that those around her showed that led the two children into wanting to join Starfleet. With the singular goal in mind, both the twins attacked their education with a fever. Their mother, who at this point was a Captain, in command of an Akira-class wasn’t at home much, so the parenting was left to their father, Dr. Gregorie Harding, who was a civilian medical doctor in a local clinic. Despite this, Temperance remained focused on her goal, sometimes forgoing extraneous elements of growing up, such as an extensive friend group. Nevertheless, Temperance stuck to her wants, and made it through her schooling, with the qualifications, and some clout from her mother to gain entry into Starfleet Academy. The twins diverged in their interests at the Academy. Sebastian leaned towards Tactical Operations, while Temperance took to her initial foray into flight training like a duck to water. In her later years at the Academy, she was able to join a Cadet Squadron, relishing the freedom, the thrill, and the sheer fun that piloting a craft could bring. When the time came for Graduation, both she and Sebastian had fought, and clawed their way into the top few percent of the class. Neither one able to get the coveted top spot, but both still happy with their successes. Both were thrilled to have their mother back, who was taking a desk job at Starfleet Command as a Rear Admiral, Lower Half. The reunion, though, was a brief one, as assignment orders came in for the newly commissioned Ensigns. Temperance was being assigned to the USS Invincible, as a brand new Fighter Pilot. Sebastian was assigned to the USS Nelson as a member of its Tactical and Security department. Temperance now set herself to settling into her new home, and finding her place among the ship’s crew at large, and the Air Wing specifically. Doubly so was the strange sensation of not having her brother so close. Throughout their lives they had been close, and now they were on different ships, with different crews. It took time for the young woman to adapt. Adapt, however, is what Temperance did. Following the advice of her Element leader, Temperance did what she always does: threw herself into the work. With time, she became a valued member of the Strike Cats, earning her call sign “Panther”. Within 2 years, she had earned herself a promotion, and was now the senior of a two-plane element, herself with a fresh Ensign. Within another couple of years, she had made full Lieutenant, and stepped into a vacant Flight Leader post within the Wing. The rest of her time aboard the Invincible was the most fun she had ever had. A full four years as Flight Leader, she got to watch the pilots under her form into a unit to be proud of. It could not last forever though, and with no room to move up in the Strike Cats, a transfer was an ultimate necessity. When the time came for her additional half-pip, and a Squadron command billet, Temperance was sad to leave, but knew she was leaving behind a damned fine group of pilots. The Transfer onto the USS Illustrious would prove to be a turbulent time for not only Temperance, but the family as a whole. Her mother, now a Rear Admiral, sent word of an incident involving the USS Nelson. Sebastian Harding, who had been the chief of the ship’s tactical and security department at the time, had been killed. The news came as a hard blow to Temperance, who was trying to settle into a new ship, a new position, and the responsibility of a larger command as it was. Despite this, Temperance set herself to doing her best at her new role. Life in Starfleet was dangerous. They had accepted that, even if they hadn’t fully grasped what that meant. There wouldn’t be a day she would not think of her brother, but Temperance let it drive her to be the best, to not let that happen to anyone else. It was a drive that would come to a sudden, and spectacular stop. While Harding had enjoyed four years in her new assignment, just when she was comfortable, at ease, and happy, Temperance suffered a catastrophic accident. A faulty fuel cell ruptured while on a Combat Air Patrol. The rupture quickly led to a cascading system’s overload in her fighter. Ejecting may have saved her life, but Temperance was also subjected to a point-blank blast from a warp-core detonation. While the shielding of the ejection system was able to protect her from the force of the blast-wave, such close proximity to the incandescent brilliance of matter and anti-matter annihilating seared her retinas, to the point her vision was drastically affected. Medical attention aboard the USS Illustrious, and at Starfleet Medical was able to heal almost all of the physical damage, though her perfect vision was never to return. With the loss of her natural vision went her flight status. Combat fighter pilots were among the most strenuous of requirements, and perfect natural eye-sight was among them. The few weeks it took to heal gave Temperance a chance to reflect on her career. Her mother, now a Vice Admiral and in command of a Numbered Fleet, was able to pull some strings. To save Temperance from a dead-end reassignment. It was recommended that her leadership skills within her Squadron could be put to wider use on a Starship. It was an option that Temperance disliked the least, so went with a Command Training course. The course, lasting four grueling years, tightened the leadership skills she already had, broadened her knowledge of Starship Operations, and with her successful completion of the course, Temperance officially had her occupational specialisation code changed from Flight Ops to Command. While she would always keep her flight jacket, emblazoned with her call-sign, Temperance was destined for a red tunic. With the completion of the Command Training course, Temperance Harding was cleared for service as an Executive Officer aboard a starship. The one she got was the USS Ark Royal, under the command of Captain Dmitri Markov. For the first few years, Harding learned to enjoy her new assignment. She settled in well, and the crew accepted her as one of them. By the end of her second year as XO, Harding’s promotion to full Commander came in. The early 2390s saw Harding’s seasoning as a command grade officer. She was comfortable, and competent in her role. She knew herself, and her abilities. The Ark Royal was home, and she was happy. For a time. Pirate activity had been slowly ticking upwards, and Starfleet was responding to more and more attacks on civilian freighters. The Ark Royal rescinded to one such attack, engaging the pirate frigate while it’s shuttle craft effected the evacuation of the heavily damaged freighter. One shuttle, with 13 souls on board was fired on by the frigate while it was in the process of undocking. With shields disabled, the lightly armoured ship was destroyed in the barrage, taking the freighter with it. The incident left the crew shaken. Especially the XO. Harding blamed herself, for not having anticipated the attack on the shuttle. It came as a surprise, therefore, when she learned that Dmirtri Markov had, in fact, recommended her for a command of her own. Starfleet may have been in the process of discontinuing the Lexington-class carriers, but the Nebula-class, with it’s Flight Deck pod attachment was more than enough to pick up the slack. As such, the USS Endurance, with Carrier Air Wing CVW-79 was in need of a Captain. While Harding would retain the rank of Commander for the time being, she would hold the most coveted of titles in all of Starfleet. The launch of the Endurance, and its first year’s worth of assignments proved to be a resounding success. In 2395, Temperance Harding was formally promoted to the rank of Captain, and holds the position of Commanding Officer to this day. |
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| Service Record |  Starfleet Combat Pilot Starfleet Academy 2369: Enrolled in Starfleet Academy 2369-2370: Freshman Year 2370-2371: Sophomore Year 2371-2372: Junior Year 2372-2373: Senior Year 2373: Graduated from Starfleet Academy CVW-89 – “Strike Cats” – USS Invincible 2373: Ensign, junior element pilot 2375: Promoted to Lieutenant JG 2375: Lieutenant JG, senior element pilot 2377: Promoted to Lieutenant 2377: Lieutenant, Flight Leader CVW-63 – “Shadow Hunters” – USS Illustrious 2381: Transferred, Promoted to Lt Commander 2381: Lt. Commander, Squadron Commander Starfleet Command 2385: Transferred due to accident, medically unfit for Active Flight Status 2385: Starfleet Command Training 2389: MOS Changed from Flight Officer to Command Officer USS Ark Royal 2389: Transferred, Executive Officer 2389: Executive Officer 2391: Promoted to Commander USS Endurance 2394: Transferred to oversee Re-fit, and loading of CVW-79 2394: Commanding Officer 2395: Promoted to Captain |