Necessity James
| USS Knightsbridge |
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| Necessity James LC - 150 - 386 |
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“You're a weird one, ain't ya?”
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Lieutenant Commander Necessity Alice James, a Human female, is a 38 year old PNPC, currently serving as an operations officer aboard the USS Knightsbridge. She is the Prime Universe version of Charlotte Farnsworth.
Personal Information
| Vital Statistics |
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Physical Attributes
- Build: Lean, powerful but not overly muscular. Looks, at a glance, to be able to handle herself in a physical confrontation better than many of her race and gender but not especially menacing overall.
- Face: Not overly attractive, nor unattractive. Hardly ever wears any kind of cosmetics, even when off duty. Usually wears either a dour expression or a mischievous smirk instead. Looks young for her age.
- Eyes: Keen, piercing, observant. Ice blue in color due to Retinax allergy.
- Carriage: Very brisk walking pace, even when not pressured to be somewhere. Almost always tense when on duty, in the 'alert, coiled spring ready to go' sense. For all that she slouches when off-duty, she has immaculate posture standing or sitting at a duty station.
- Taste in Clothing (when off duty): Practical and hard-wearing. Combat pants and a vest top, usually. Often pink and/or black in colour.
- Shoes: Often combat boots when she can get away with it. If entirely impractical for the situation, a hearty pair of sneakers.
- Voice: Gruff (for a Terran female), fairly hoarse and raspy.
- Speech: East London accent (similar to cockney, but doesn't use rhyming slang). Often uses obscure or antiquated military phrases (such as 'five-by-five' to indicate she's understood something). Often refers to people as "love" or "darlin'" with no discrimination in species, gender or even rank, but these should not be taken as terms of endearment.
- Overall Physical Ability: Slightly more agile, sure-footed and athletic than your average Terran female of her age as a result of her childhood 'upbringing' which generally revolved around stealing things and running away from trouble. Otherwise, nondescript.
Mental Attributes
- Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
- Handedness: Predominantly left-handed, though she instinctively leads with her right. For example, she would attempt to catch an object thrown at her without warning or shield her eyes from a sudden bright light with her right hand, but would draw and shoot a phaser or type on a console keyboard with her left. She's not truly ambidextrous (she's a much better darts player with her left than her right, and can't play the guitar right-handed, for instance), Counsellors believe that her reflex right-handedness is a betrayal by her body of an early decision she took to intentionally train her left hand, possibly as an adolescent form of 'rebellion' (statistically, the large majority of humans are right-handed).
- Mannerisms: Nessa rarely laughs aloud, instead she'll normally just grin widely, and wink at the person she finds funny. This is not because she has no sense of humour, but to Nessa the grin is a form of communication in and of itself, and she has a variety for different circumstances.
- Religion/Spiritual Devotion: None as yet. Nessa's mind is not necessarily closed to this kind of thinking, but she needs something tactile and physical to believe in. She refuses to believe in spiritual, incorporeal beings that she cannot prove exist, and finds people who do foolish but is never one to bring the subject up.
- Hobbies and Pastimes: Her favourite is the old Earth bar game of darts, at which she's quite proficient. Nessa enjoys a variety of sports and fitness activities and is generally considered an active, "sporty" person, though she prefers individual competition (or at least sports that rely on individual skill, such as darts, pool and wrestling, even if they are played as part of a team) to team competitions where individual skill is less important (such as netball or soccer). While she has no ambitions to be the 'best' at any given sport or task, Nessa hates losing and is extremely hard on herself when it happens (though is outwardly a sporting opponent and rarely comes across as a 'sore loser').
- Likes: Freedom of expression, movement and thought (she admires Betazoids and other telepathic species, for the extra dimension they have in which to do this); science (she finds new discoveries 'cool' and interesting, but is in no way academically interested in studying them); she's possibly one of the few officers to prefer replicated meals (she likes the practicality of the replicator vs. the unnecessary mess of home made (even if she's not the one making it) - whether she prefers the actual taste of the food is another matter); fighting, under organised, sanctioned conditions - she's unlikely to start a random brawl in a bar without good reason (but unfortunately very likely to get stuck in if one occurs).
- Dislikes: Restriction (of movement, thought or expression); confinement; judgemental people; overly 'goody-goody' or annoyingly helpful people, especially when on duty; mess or chaos where there isn't supposed to be mess or chaos (Nessa certainly believes there is a place for chaos, such as a tavern, but that place is definitely not her quarters, office or the bridge of a starship); "Bloody Romulans" - she is entirely distrusting of, and prejudiced against, any Romulan.
- Ambitions and Goals: To make every day better than the one before it, and to end each day distanced further from her past. She has no particular career ambitions, but views Starfleet as like a big family which has adopted her and almost certainly saved her life; she cannot imagine leaving.
- Achievements in Life: Surviving her teenage years, joining Starfleet Academy (she almost considers this more of an achievement than graduating), graduating from Starfleet Academy.
- Disappointments in Life: Basically her entire childhood. Also her transfer from the Apollo; 'Chief of Logistics' sounded so cool at the time...
- Temperament: Might seem dour and angsty to some on the outside, but she's learning to be more optimistic and positive. Not especially quick to anger these days (thanks largely to her time at the Academy), but she's known to lash out venomously if you manage it.
- Mental problems (complexes and phobias): Mild OCD related to personal and professional possessions, mild paranoia concerning her worth and place in the universe. Has a complex pertaining to relationships (she's working on it when it comes to friendships, but it's easier to get close to a prisoner in isolation than to Nessa on a romantic level). Has a form of synaesthesia due to past drug-related experiments in her youth, usually only 'kicking in' whilst daydreaming or asleep. See below for details. Acquired an acute claustrophobia when alone in a room, due to her traumatic false-incarceration in a Federation prison in 2389. Furthermore she has developed a near-phobic level of alcohol and narcotics; having left that life behind her, she is constantly terrified that one shot of Nausicaan vodka will send her straight back to her old addicted self, and therefore avoids it with extra fervour. She's ok with people around her drinking, as long as they don't try to pressure her into it, but drugs are a different matter.
- Quarters: Regimental organisation (or regi-*mental*, as her former room-mate calls it). She has scant few decorative possessions, and is obsessive-compulsive about the position and order in which those few are kept. This is at odds with her generally lackadaisical demeanour off-duty, and is often a source of amusement for people who get to know her.
- Favorite Room: Anywhere that features a lively atmosphere with lots of people. The hustle and bustle of cantinas, bars and crowded markets make her feel at ease. She doesn't actually enjoy socialising all that much, other than with established acquaintances, but gets anxious when alone for extended periods. As with most aspects of Nessa's personality, she is paradoxically most comfortable when alone in a crowded room.
Medical History
| Medical History |
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Civilian Medical History Synaesthesia
Starfleet Medical History USS Victory
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Personal History
Nessa was born in London, Earth. She was an unhappy child, despite her parents' best efforts, and was constantly causing trouble. In her teenage years, running away from home became a game. To begin with she had self-justified reasons for doing so, but after a while it became a case of seeing how long she could go without being forced to go back. Eventually, aged 15, she left for good, living rough on the streets for a number of years and becoming involved in the seedy underworld of London, joining one of the criminal gangs that the Federation would rather you didn't know existed.
By the age of 20, Nessa had become disillusioned with life as underworld scum, and began looking for a way out. It didn't prove as easy as she imagined, but one chance encounter with a Starfleet Recruitment Officer led to her seizing what she saw as her way out, and she enrolled in Starfleet aged 22. At Starfleet Academy, things got even worse for her. As one of the oldest and also least educated cadets in her year (and especially in her class), she was often ridiculed and sneered at by some of the other cadets, which naturally led to a series of violent encounters, where she easily prevailed. This almost led to her expulsion from the Academy, however her Diplomacy tutor - Ardus Brey, a Bolian - took pity on her. With the help of Brey and the steward at her halls of residence, Nessa scraped through her training, where she majored in Security, with a minor in Comm/Ops and - at the behest of Ardus Brey - some extracurricular training from the Starfleet Marines program (mostly the discipline modules).
| Photo Gallery | |
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Photo from Nessa's Graduation Ball, a rare chance to see her 'made up'. |
Now-CPO James, back on duty on the Starbase following her sabbatical. |
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Nessa James. |
Nessa's date with Nate Wilmer. |
Relationships
Notable Relationships
Necessity is a naturally guarded, defensive person and goes to great lengths to build barriers between her true feelings and emotions, and that of other people.
| Family History |
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Nb: Nessa has no contact with any of her family. Information is provided here for completeness only. While she may recognise them, Nessa would not know where these people are, or (especially in Jon's case) what they're doing now. |
Therefore she very rarely 'connects' with others beyond a basic acquaintance. She has very few people she would refer to as a 'friend' in the true sense, and has certainly never loved anyone in a romantic fashion. The following are the closest she has so far come.
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Euan Llewellyn: Nessa's childhood best friend, who often looked after her (though she'll claim they looked after each other) on the streets during the tough times she faced in her pre-pubescent years. It's Euan who is responsible for her short haircut, which she keeps short in memory of him despite hating it at the time. They lost contact after she left for Starfleet Academy. He was due to travel with her but went missing the night before; leaving him behind was one of the many regrets Nessa has from that period. |
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Arlie: A father-figure from Nessa's childhood, Arlie - surname unknown - was a kind, warm, but highly dangerous individual who looked after a group of six or seven orphans and runaways, of which Nessa and Euan were two. "Looked after" is a dubious term, as the kids were often involved in his narcotics smuggling operations, but he put food on their table and clothes on their backs. It's not known what happened to him when she left, but presumably he's still there, guarding his remaining flock. |
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Kali Nicholotti: Despite only serving under her for a relatively short period, Nessa and Kali seemed to 'click', in a way that made Necessity much more comfortable (genuinely comfortable, as opposed to the facade of lackadaisical comfort and flippantry that she usually displays to everyone) in Kali's presence, and there seemed to be a sense of reciprocation from the CO. Sadly, upon Nessa's return to active duty she was posted to the USS Apollo. Following Kali's recent death, Nessa has dealt with the difficult issue by completely ignoring it, claiming that Kali is simply missing, and will turn up one day. |
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Colt Daniels: Probably the closest thing Necessity had to a 'friend' during her first stint in Ops, and even then not very close. The pair hit it off rather well when working together aboard the Victory, and Colt became one of a select few people to call her "Nessa" to her face and not get punched. That probably counts for something. Like all of her other relationships however, this one has been put on ice due to Nessa's various reassignments. |
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Nate Wilmer: Until Nate, Nessa had never encountered some one willing to sacrifice his career just to make sure his friends were alright. Nate spent many days with Nessa in scientific quarantine and got to know her. They found out they had a lot in common including common interests in sports, aesthetics, and music. She finds him to be a kind, caring man, and she is considering lowering her self-inflicted barriers to include him as her first real friend. The two dated for 9 months, but eventually parted as best friends. |
Professional History
Starfleet Service Record
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Mission History
Starbase 118 Ops/USS Victory
238902-05: A routine survey mission goes awry, as an energy wave wipes out systems on all ships and installations in the sector (and, briefly, Necessity herself). Coupled with a virus attack and the imminent arrival of a payload of projectiles more than capable of wiping out the Victory and even the Starbase itself, Necessity helped the crew uncover the Reikara treachery while the engineers got to work on blasting the warheads out of the sky, repairing the damage to the ship and station and saving the day.
238906: After the USS Calgary is towed to Ops by the USS Avicenna, having discovered the stricken vessel in a nebula during a survey mission, the Ops crew begin to discover that all may not be as it seems. The only two surviving crew members have contrasting opinions on the nature of what happened to them (once Dr Elian Deron managed to communicate telepathically with the seemingly mute Ensign Freo). Meanwhile, horrifying scenes await the Ops crew once aboard the vessel, but are they real or just imagined? Not long after the arrival of the USS Calgary, while most of the senior Operations crew are busy either exploring the Calgary or tending to the situation in Sickbay, which is rapidly filling up with mysteriously comatose crewmen, Necessity is arrested and detained by Starfleet Security.
Incarceration
238906-239001: Necessity spent 6 months in a Federation prison accused of smuggling and human trafficking, and was only released in 239001 when the actual smuggler was seized on a cargo ship having surgically altered her appearance to resemble Necessity. Nessa was returned to Starbase 118, and re-assigned to the USS Apollo.
USS Apollo
239001-239002:
USS Teyrnon
219002.18-219011.30: Assigned as Chief of Logistics on the trading vessel Teyrnon, which - as she found out to her dismay - basically made her a cargo bay supervisor. She had fun with the crew 'belowdecks' however, and ended up enjoying the role quite a bit, until an overbearing command officer needed to be taken down a peg or two, and Nessa decided she'd be the one to do it.
Court Martial
239012.01-23912.20: Court martialled for the assault on a superior officer, she was stripped of her rank and reassigned to the Darwin as an ensign. The court martial ruled that as the incident was partially self defence and after the assertion from her crewmates that she was acting on behalf of the entire crew, she would be spared ejection from the fleet on this occasion. The offending XO, Lieutenant Commander Adamson was demoted to Lieutenant as a result, for provoking her and failing to display the standards of discipline expected of a senior officer.
USS Darwin-A
239101.16-239103:
Starbase 118 Ops
239103-239204-15:
USS Apollo-A
239204.15-239205.28: was transferred to this vessel due to severe lacking numbers in operations department. Was part of transfer crew to USS Constitution-B.
USS Constitution-B
239205.28-239307.21: Served aboard in the Operations department under Lt. Cmdr. Nate Wilmer
USS Knightsbridge
239307.21 - current: Earns promotion to Chief of Operations department under Captain Christopher Wilmer.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Synaesthesia |
| "Although it doesn't affect her day-to-day life in many ways, and is not considered a handicap, Necessity is afflicted with a mental condition known as synaesthesia. This was picked up due to experimental drug use in her teenage years, and will likely be with her for life. In Necessity's case, this only seems to 'kick in' during moments of subconciousness (i.e., when asleep, daydreaming, etc). In layman's terms, during these episodes she perceives people and overt emotions as colour, and touch and sensation as taste. Tests show she has no true empathic ability, but if someone is yelling and shouting, they're obviously angry. If they're crying, they're sad. It is this that she picks up on. Another possibility is that, since these episodes only occur when she is daydreaming or sleeping, she already 'knows' who everyone is, and her brain can assign them a colour based on that knowledge.
Exact examples of synaesthesia are personal to each person. Some vivid, recurring examples given by Necessity herself are:
As mentioned, Necessity perceives materials and sensations as tastes. Pain, for example, tastes "tingly, electricky". If she is bleeding, it tastes of iron. Joy or extreme happiness "tastes like birthday cake", whereas the comfort of her bunk at the end of a long day "tastes marshmallowey. Proper cooked marshmallows, not the stuff the replicators give you in pots". Curiously, sound and taste seem unaffected by this. Necessity often describes vividly the music from her 'episodes', and once described the confusion she felt whilst eating a jacket potato straight out of the oven - "it was like an electrified potato, y'know? No, I s'pose you don't, you're not in the habit of eating electricity. Or potatoes straight out of the oven. I wouldn't recommend either, by the way". It is often difficult to remain professional during sessions with Necessity, as I often find myself close to bursting into laughter at her descriptions of events. It is important to realise however that this is a serious psychological issue and requires further study. Necessity seems able to retain a good deal of knowledge of 'episodes' she has. Similar, perhaps, to the way other humans can often remember a good deal about a dream they have had the previous night. This makes her ideal for further study. I have often considered the possibility of artificially inducing an 'episode' whilst Necessity is awake and concious, to see whether the synaesthesia will take hold in it's current form. Will she, for example, perceive me as a green or yellow block? Perhaps it is the notion of her perceiving me as a red, or worse, grey block that is stopping me from chasing this possibility. Also, I have no idea what effect these episodes have on her mental state, and would not wish to visit any trauma, stress or panic upon her unduly whilst she is awake and lucid." |
| - Counsellor Lisa Hyatt, Starfleet Academy. 228710.13 |
References
The following SIMs have been selected to represent various aspects of Necessity's personality and important events in her life and Starfleet career.
The Importance Of Being Necessity {238905.18} - Delving into her childhood and a little about why she is the way she is.
Misty Watercolour Memories {238901.25} - In which she explores her synaesthesia-dreams.