Elias Burke

USS Gorkon
Elias Joshua Burke
Position	Engineer
Rank	Ensign
Species	Human
Gender	Male
DOB	237001.18
Age	31
Birthplace	Olympianus, Mars

Ensign Elias Joshua Burke, commonly known as Eli, is currently serving as a low-level engineer aboard the USS Gorkon in the Tyrellian sector. He graduated the StarFleet Academy on Earth in the spring of 2393, toured aboard the USS Centris-A for his required one year of field training, and was posted to the Gorkon in the fall of 2394 under the command of Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds.

Appearance

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• Height: 1.83m
• Weight: 86.2kg
• Hair: Dark Brown
• Eyes: Hazel

Personal Background and Early Career History

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Eli was born at a Utopia Planetia medical facility on the northern slopes of Olympus Mons, in Olypianus City on Mars. He was born on star date 237001.18 to Joshua and Elizabeth Burke, Joshua was an employee of the Utopia Planetia shipyard in orbit above Mars. Joshua and Elizabeth had been unable to conceive children and as a last attempt the couple resorted to a new, experimental procedure to induce conception of which Elias was a product. The couple were devout Christians and considered the birth of Elias to be an answer to their prayers for a child, thus they name him Eli (Hebrew: Eliyahu, Jehovah is God).

Elizabeth was a passionate astrophysicist and worked aboard an orbital observatory above Deimos. For the first three years of his life Eli lived there with his mother while his father, Joshua, worked at the UP shipyards, but at age 4 Eli and his mother moved to the personnel level at the UP shipyard's hab-facility so that Eli could begin attending school there.

Eli excelled in all of his classes and at a young age it became obvious the boy had a passion for learning, the school was soon not enough for him. At age 12 Eli began working with his father after school on small projects for Joshua's deck manager; at age 14 Eli was working right along side his father and his father's fellow engineers as a veritable equal with dreams of one day becoming an engineer in StarFleet. At age 17 Eli enrolled at Columbia Mons' Ares University with a specialization in aerospace engineering.

Ares University opened Eli's claustrophobic mindset, raised almost entirely in the cramped quarters of Utopia Planetia space stations, and broadened his once very close horizons. He fell in love for the first time and made friends he thought he never would, particularly with a Ferengi philosophy major named Nebb. His friendship with Nebb revealed whole new philosophical worlds to Eli and soon his already unstable Christianity, inherited from his parents, began to crumble. When confronted by the great wealth of evil in the universe and its seemingly inherent meaninglessness - particularly the evils of the 2388 martian quakes responsible for the deaths of thousands across Mars and the heavy civilian casualties of the Dominion War and its make subsidiary conflicts - Eli revoked his Christianity and declared himself an evangelical atheist. His parents were devastated. They pleaded with their son to reconsider and to speak with academic Christian apologists on Earth, but Eli would not listen.

In the spring of 2389 Eli graduated from Ares University with plans of joining Utopia Planetia as an assistant supervisor in their core of engineers. However, when his three-year girlfriend broke up with him two weeks after graduation Eli had a shift in priorities. Intent on leaving Mars behind Eli looked back to his dream of joining StarFleet and signed up to attend the Academy in San Fransisco on Earth. He was accepted and departed Mars aboard his own personal interplanetary shuttle.

Before leaving Eli had a particularly violent fight with his father over his atheism, one in a series of many violent fights. Aboard the shuttle enroute to Earth Eli had time to think. In a final confrontation with his Christianity Eli prayed for the first time in almost a year, "God, if you are real then prove yourself to me," thinking that this a was sure-fire way to disprove God's existence. If God were real He would prove himself and if He were not then He would not. Much to Eli's dismay, God proved himself. In a freak accident a golf-ball sized, high-speed asteroid blasted a baseball-sized hole in Eli's forward bulkhead. Eli was able to make his way to the rear compartment and seal it, but to this day Eli will attest that he heard in his mind the clear words: "Ask and ye shall receive, O ye of little faith." The asteroid upon impact had shattered and punctured Eli's abdomen, if he did not receive help quickly he would bleed out and the communications array was in the now vacuum-sealed forward compartment. Miraculously an Andorian freighter received his ship's automated distress call, arrived in time, and tractored him into low earth orbit where Eli was able to receive medical attention.

Now on Earth and enrolled in the Academy, Eli was distracted by his fight with his Christianity. Had it really been God? Two weeks after the accident Eli attended a church service, the first time in almost a year, at the First Baptist Church of San Fransisco. Before entering he prayed again, "God, you've shown me your wrath, now I need confirmation of your love."

God answered Eli's prayer. Seemingly by coincidence the pastor's message came out of Matthew 14 - when the apostle Peter walks on water to Jesus, loses sight, fails and falls, cries out to Christ for help, and Jesus rescues him - in which is found these words after Jesus rescues Peter: “O ye of little faith, why did you doubt?” It was all the confirmation Eli needed. He dedicated his life and his service in StarFleet to Christ then and there.

While at StarFleet Academy Eli served at San Fransisco's First Baptist and studied under Tellarite apologist Aishish at Hebron Seminary. In the spring of 2393 he graduated StarFleet Academy and was posted to the USS Centris-A in the Serellan sector as an engineer in training under Commander Brell. His most notable mission of service aboard the Centris was the assistance of the Bajoran medical mercy ship Shabtai.

After his one year training tour was completed Elias was promoted to the rank of ensign and assigned to the sovereign-class starship USS Gorkon where he currently serves as an engineer under the command of Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds.

Service History

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Education & Training:

Elias Burke served as a cadet at StarFleet Academy in San Fransisco on Earth from 238909.01 to 239304.18. There he majored in aerospace engineering and theoretical astrophysics. Upon graduation Cadet Burke was posted to the nova-class vessel USS Centris-A for his one-year, mandatory field training where he served primarily in the Serellan sector under the Bolian Commander Brell as an engineer in training. The Cadet's most notable mission of service aboard the Centris as engineer in training was the assistance of the Bajoran medical mercy ship Shabtai. Cadet Burke served under Commander Brell aboard the Centris-A from 239304.30 to 239409.20.

USS Gorkon (NCC-82293):

On 239409.21, at the end of his one-year, mandatory field training, Cadet Elias Burke was promoted to the rank of ensign and assigned to the sovereign-class vessel USS Gorkon on 239409.26 where he currently serves as an engineer under the command of Rear Admiral Quinn Reynolds.

Service History
Insignia	Rank	Dates	Posting	Assignment
	Cadet First Class	239304.18 - 239409.26	USS Centris-A	Engineer in Training
	Ensign	239409.26 - present	USS Gorkon	Engineer

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