Powell, Dick
PRC 
|
STAR FLEET PERSONNEL COMMAND FILE |
|---|
| RETIRED[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard S. “Dick” Powell | |||
 | |||
| Career Occupation | |||
| Position: | Chief Engineer | ||
| Assignment: | USS Sheridan, DD-4086 | ||
| Rank: | Lieutenant | 
| |
| Biographical Attributes | |||
| Species: | 1/2 Human, 1/2 Vulcan | ||
| Gender: | Male | ||
| Height: | 163 cm (5 ft. 4 in.) | Weight: | 88.5 kg (195 lb.) |
| Eye Color: | Dark blue-violet | ||
| Hair Color: | Dark Chestnut Brown | ||
| Hairstyle: | Short, Parted to the right | ||
| Physique: | Stout, well-toned muscles (but not particularly muscular) | ||
| Complexion: | Pale; frequently with light tan | ||
| Facial Hair: | Currently none. Occasionally he grows a beard along his jaw-line, and often has a handlebar moustache. | ||
| Voice: | A low baritone: rough but soothing in speech, very soft in song. Able to imitate many accents in English, including British, French, Boston, and Italian, primarily | ||
| Affiliation: | United Federation of Planets | ||
| Birthplace: | Nouveau Valois, Planet on Federation-Romulan Border, with largely human (French) population. Currently under Romulan Control | ||
| Born: | 15905.07 | Age: | 64 |
| Familial Relationships | |||
| Father: | Fredéric Xavier Dubois (Human, French) | ||
| Mother: | T’Grel Dubois (Vulcan) | ||
| Status of Parents: | Deceased | ||
| Siblings: | Marie Dubois-Lachatillier (fem) – likely deceased, 4 years older | ||
| Marital Status: | Single | ||
| Children: | None | ||
Contents
Personal History
== ==
Childhood and Early Adulthood on Nouveau Valois
Born Jean-Baptiste Vuilliame Dubois, his parents were killed protecting him and his sister during a Romulan invasion when he was about 5. His sister and he were taken in by the bishop of a local monastery, were they were taught the Catholic values their father had begun to teach them, as well as giving them a very good formal education, which also included traditional arts of the French, including fencing (as per mandates made in his father’s will). Jean-Baptiste gained some prominence in local politics when he bravely (or perhaps stupidly) led an attack on the landing site used by the Romulans during an invasion when he was about 18. During this period, his sister (with whom Jean was very close), married and had a son, Didier Lachatillier. Jean continued to gain political and military fame due to his continued success in fending off the somewhat frequent Romulan invasions. The Romulans learned of his importance, and during a lull in the war, sent a party to ‘negotiate’ with the planetary government, with the real intentions of capturing important political figures, including Dubois. Failing this, because Jean-Baptiste was elsewhere, and the size of the guard defending the political figures, they did manage to take Jean’s nephew, Didier, with the intent of using him to blackmail Jean. His sister Marie insisted that he not fall for the trap, and instead flee and change his name. Begrudgingly, Jean did as such, leaving his sister (she refused to come along, hoping to get her son, 12, back).
Flight to Earth
Before leaving, Jean conferred with the officials of the local government, who backed his sister’s plan, and helped him to change his name to Richard S. Powell, so as to help hide him from the Romulan government for his flight. By a very roundabout way, ‘Dick’ (now 30), fled to earth, arriving in France, and crossing the channel to England, then Ireland. After a bout of heavy drinking, Dick met an Irish policeman, Seamus McMillan, and the two talked for some time, over more liquor and a few smokes. During another round of drinks, a car-bomb set by a capable Romulan sleeper agent (who was not captured) exploded across the street. McMillan, a policeman, immediately responded, with Dick following close behind, his memories of days in the Militia revived. This event sealed the two’s friendship. When McMillan enlisted in the Marines, Dick considered joining him, but instead worked on his hobbies in woodworking and music, although with little success.
When Powell learned of his friend’s death, though not the why and wherefore, he entered a deep depression, ceasing all his work, and driving him from his comfortable lifestyle to ashes. When it was over, he managed to get enough money to purchase a small sailboat, which he sailed halfway around the world, eventually ending at a small island micro nation called the Caution Empire.
Anarchism and the Caution Empire
In this somewhat Anti-federation nation, which believed the federation was too all-powerful, and minus the “Pax Federation” in much of the galaxy, was not beneficial to any race. Powell, while there, spent time teaching and tutoring at schools in the ‘Empire’, many of which were understaffed, while learning some of the values of the nation. He discovered that he largely agreed with them, although he thought that the peace far outweighed the disadvantages. He was placed in command of a Sail training vessel used by the Empire to train its youth in other skills beyond the textbook. The CENS Obsidian, an historical model of the racing galleons of the 16th and 17th centuries, was his ship, and Powell sailed her around the world, multiple times before applying to Star Fleet. Somewhat surprised by his admission, especially at his age of 50, Dick sailed the Obsidian into San Francisco Harbor, where a new captain took his place after nearly a decade of command.
Academy
While in the academy, Powell was known for his esoteric nature: he smoked a pipe, spent most of his free time carving miniatures -- often replicas of campus buildings, drank heavily and frequently, and never shied from a dispute with his peers, despite his otherwise quiet nature.
During his time there, he generally avoided the use of computers, instead preferring paper and pencil, with a slide rule or occasionally a pocket calculator for computation. He excelled in his mechanical classes --design classes and basic engineering training -- and passed most technical courses, as he improved his familiarity with the computers of the Federation, with some extensive computer work for personal research capping his final year.
USS Gettysburg BC/CA -- 1863
First Mission: The Trill Ambassador/Defense of Earth
After the academy, Richard was assigned to the USS Gettysburg, under the command of Kenneth Fitchel. He quickly rose from Midshipman to Ensign in the engineering department, under the oversight of Dando Jax, the acting Chief Engineer. On his first mission, the Getty encountered a disabled Trill vessel, which Dick and Jax investigated, looking to find the cause of its state, drifting in space.
All of their research into the vessel indicated sabotage, and the presence of a Trill the Captain apparently knew -- a previous host of the Dega symbiont, currently on the Getty -- meant Fitchel was inclined to corroborate the engineers' beleifs. Before they could complete their investigation though, the Getty was called back to Earth to defend it from an invasion by the Krynar -- an invasion which never materialized. This was a confusing storyline; Earth was destroyed, and then Time-Travel voodoo magic happened and it wasn’t, as I recall
Second Mission: Attacking the Inquisition
Immediately after, without time for shore-leave, the Gettysburg was out once again, travelling through thewarp gates constructed to link across the Galaxy, this time with a rude return present for the Krynar. Dick, with the Chief Science Officer Phoenix Carter, were sent in the Thunderbird (an auxiliary vessel for the Getty) to assist an away team, lead by Theo Caldecott, which had invaded a Krynar-controlled mining facility, after shields had been raised to prevent them from being beamed out. Following, the Gettysburg was then a member of the battlegroup responsible for destroying the Krynar Homeworld. Powell received a Star Fleet Commendation Medal and Star Fleet Achievement Medal for his actions in the Krynar War, and was promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade, following these actions.
Third Mission: The Vices of Men
The Gettysburg's crew received some well-earned shore-leave following their last two missions, with a large change in crew assignments and influx of new crewmembers. Most importantly, this mission began with a bang: one of the new crewmembers, a Klingon medical officer named Tregok, was shot in the arm by Commander Santiago with the captain's own handgun, following a drunken brawl between him and a tactial officer during the promotions ceremonies. Also at this ceremony, Powell was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer, allowing the long-time acting CEO, Jax, to retire.
Because of his actions during the promotion ceremony, Santiago was moved under Powell’s command as an "Engineering Specialist", doing grunt work to wash away his sins. When the Captain addressed his DHs, he told them that the mission assigned them was to find and capture Paul Vice, intergalactic criminal, most notorious for his involvement with the Terran Isolationists, and also a personal adversary of both the Fleet Commander, Admiral Dan Wueste, and Captain Fitchel himself.
Just after the Getty left Star Base Alpha, everything on the ship behaved strangely: starting with a leak from a science experiment which almost destroyed the ship, a series of issues with the Auxiliary Computer, all scanners and sensors, and even the replicators plagued the journey. With errors in the replicators, a number of crew members, including the Chief Medical Officer Lt(JG) Jonathan Sorenson, were poisoned, leading to Dick and Gio spending many sleepless nights with the other engineers, working on this most important, and many other, issues the ship was having. One of the few systems without errors seemed to be the navigation systems.
En route to Vice’s last know location, the Getty encountered a wormhole, with a stolen Federation Ship, the USS Helsinki nearby. A small team was sent to investigate the wormhole in the Thunderbird, but Dick, the new Chief of Security, Santiago, and some junior officers, including Tregok, were sent to investigate the Helsinki. They were transported (fortunately in one piece) to the bridge, and while everything seemed normal on the abandoned party ship, radiation levels spiked when the Turbolift doors were opened – Tregok decided to ignore the incomplete warning on the console and kicked in the door. Powell and Santiago had to work fast; even in the EVA suits, the radiation exposure was dangerously high, and prevented the Getty from getting a transporter lock on any of the members of the away team.
While radiation reached tolerable levels after the duo resealed the turbolift, Gio left the crew, hoping to prevent a warp core explosion. The rest of the away team was transported off of the vessel by a crew on the Thunderbird. Santiago happened across a stasis pod as he descended the ship, and the Getty was able to lock onto it and remove it, although they were unable to save the former FO. The stasis pod contained Vice, well and alive. He was brought back to Earth to stand trial, while the crew, Dick especially, mourned the loss of their friend.
USS Pegasus CL -- 2500
Mission 1: Ghosts of the Gryphon/The Peace Treaty
Powell was Reassigned to the USS Pegasus immediately after the Getty returned from it’s third mission. The Pegasus was escorting ambassador Sanor, a vulcan, to facilitate peace talks between the Bralen and the Rondel, two warring groups in the Bralen system, near the Romulan neutral zone.
En route, the Pegasus chanced upon a long-lost ship: the USS Gryphon. 50 years prior, the Gryphon had been lost with its crew, for mysterious and unknown reasons, and the Pegasus now had its chance to find some answers. Powell was selected for the boarding party. As soon as the boarding party reached the ship, strange energy pulses revealed ghosts of the former crew, and scans indicated presence of anyons, chronitons, and tachyons up until very recently. The Ten-forward section of the Gryphon looked as if the crew had just left: food was still on plates---albeit decayed a little. Tokat had to leave the away team, to meet again with the ambassador, when he, unbeknownst to the away team, suffered a major Vulcan illness, incapacitating him on the Pegasus.
The ghosts appeared and disappeared as the crew went about their search of the ship. Just as the crew of the Pegasus began to split up into groups, the Captain, Tokat, fell ill and returned to the Pegasus. Powell, with the FO, Gregg, and two other officers, went to the Engineering Decks to find evidence for the disappearance of the vessel. As they entered the engineering decks, the ghosts appeared once more, and disappeared again. While Gregg investigated the Chief Engineer’s office, to see if there were any useful logs or other evidence for the crew’s rapid departure, Powell checked the bussard collectors, to see where the ship had been: they were full of chronitons, tachyons, and anyons.
The crew on the bridge of the Gryphon hailed them to say they saw an anomaly, one which resembled that of the ship’s logs, and that they needed to move themselves or move the Gryphon to avoid it. Powell attempted to start the warp core. The first time, it just puttered and nothing happened, because of particles preventing warp reactions from occurring. He flushed the Bussard collectors’ contents through the core and tried again, just as Crystillin arrived to attempt a theory of his. The warp core reached a harmonic state with the electronics around it, and caused all of engineering to be lit on fire. The crew evacuated, and Powell, out of instinct, found environmental controls and siphoned all of the air out of main engineering.
Powell was gaining the ire of Gregg by this point: neither was happy with the other. The entire crew suddenly experienced dreams, brought on by the rift which was still growing outside of the ship, corrupted from their own memories. Dick was brought back to his meeting McMillian for the first time, however it was corrupted to lead to McMillian's death, and very near to that for Powell. Once he fought through the illusion, Powell found himself to be on the bridge, among other officers waking up. The officers evacuated to the auxiliary shuttle bay, where they intended to steal a shuttle to evacuate, because the Pegasus had moved out of transporter range.
After escaping the vessel, destroying it before it could be lost to the rift for use as bait, the Pegasus continued to the peace talks. Powell was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer, after being well admonished by Gregg, acting as captain. However, Fleet command did not wish it to be so: Powell learned of the war splitting the Federation, and was immediately transferred back to SBA and the First Fleet to join the crew of the Sheridan.
Personality Profile
Academy Major(s): Antimatter Power and Reactor Engineering / Acoustics
Academy Minor(s): Astrophysics / Star-ship Design
Hobbies and Pastimes: woodworking; Dick greatly enjoys working with his hands (hence engineering)
Short-Term Goals: Learn the fate of his nephew / find out exactly what happened to Seamus / Exact revenge on the Romulans
Long-Term Goals: Earn his own command / Re-take his ‘Home’ planet
Personality: Moderately anarchist. Seems stuck in wrong century
Sense of Humor: Very dry, intelligent humour (at least when sober; he once knew an Irishman)
Phobias: Large, open rooms (esp. with vaulted ceilings)
Likes: Old French Wines / Tea (Earl Grey or English Breakfast) / Pipe tobacco
Dislikes: Coffee / Irish potato / pocket calculators
Pet Peeves or Gripes: Over-use of comm.-badges
Bad Habits or Vices: Smoking
Achievements: Started own businesses
Disappointments: limited success as a musician, vocalist and luthier / failing to defend Nouveau Valois from the Romulans
Illnesses: handful of childhood illnesses
Strengths: working with hands; carving and building things esp.
Weaknesses: Computer technology; although it is more a state of not being intuitively familiar with computers: a problem that can be overcome. He also has a preference towards pen-and-paper.
Fears: Losing another close friend
Prejudices: Dislikes Hermaphrodites, due to his Catholic education
Off Duty Clothing Tastes: Formal Off-Duty: 19th Century tailcoat or morning coat (as appropriate), with waistcoat and cravat.
Informal: Jeans, Leather ‘Cowboy’ boots, large belt-buckle, flannel shirt.
Distinguishing Features: Bi-focal glasses / Multiple Scars from the attempted Romulan invasions
Pets: (Grey tabby) – Leon (7 years). With him on ship.
Friends: N/A All deceased
Personal Paradigm Shifts
Most Painful Experience: Death of Seamus McMillan
Best Time: Times at Sea, when he was accountable primarily to himself, the skipper
Most Crucial Experience: Battles with the Romulans
Role Model: John Paul Jones, ‘Father of the American Navy’, and an extremely successful early Naval officer in American history.
Career History
| Service Medals Awarded | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Description | Qty. |
 |
Star Fleet Academy Graduate Ribbon | 1 |
 |
Star Fleet Achievement Medal | 2 |
 |
Star Fleet Commendation Medal | 1 |
| Campaign Medals Awarded | ||
| Image | Description | Qty. |
 |
Krynar War Campaign Medal | 1 |
| Achievement Medals Awarded | ||
| Image | Description | Qty. |
 |
Role Player of the Month | 3 |
