Alexander Brodie
“The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.” - Oscar Wilde
| Lieutenant Commander Alexander W. Brodie, Psy.D., Ph.D | ||
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Counselor - USS Chin'toka (NCC-97187) |
OVERVIEW
HISTORY
Pre-Starfleet History
Alexander William Brodie was born in Stirling, Earth, to Lorna and Stuart Brodie along with his twin sister, Iona.
They had an uneventful upbringing although their father worked away a lot on projects off-world. This relative normalcy was shattered in 2358 when their father was killed in an industrial accident – leaving Lorna alone to bring up her two eleven-year-old children. They continued to attend school and Lorna tried to ease her burden by ensuring the children attended various clubs and out of school activities – which is where Alex began studying fencing. Their mother, however, never truly recovered from her husband’s death and, following an acute psychological collapse, she took her own life in 2360. Alex and Iona remained in Scotland, staying with their uncle Malcolm on a farmstead at Port Menteith on the banks of the Lake of Menteith.
The quieter rural life in a small, quiet community helped him and his sister comes to terms with their loss but, as he approached the age of eighteen, he knew he had to go out and try and find his own way. He’s always enjoyed languages and felt he wanted to study those in more detail. Eventually, however, he did not want to be too far from his sister so he opted for a course closer to home that combined linguistics with psychology. He found that an aptitude for psychology during his studies and decided to take it further by electing to complete a research masters in non-verbal communication in association with a research institute based on Mars.
It was during these studies that he found work at some of the gambling establishments in the local area. This gave him both a source of income and, more importantly, an arena in which he was able to employ his observational skills and psychological training to watch for patterns in betting behavior to ensure no-one was cheating the system and quickly became a 'pit boss'. This experience not only gave him an area to hone his observational skills but it also allowed him to refine his own craft with regards to gambling and manipulating games of chance or, more typically, their participants.
Following submission of his research thesis he joined the Elysium institute on Mars and it was while working here as a senior research associate that he met his future wife, Rosanna Savinkova, who was a junior agent with Federation Security at the time. The couple were married and, in 2376, Ros gave birth to a daughter – Danica. Alex, meanwhile, had been working with a medical relief unit providing support to Cardassian refugees following the end of the Dominion War and felt he wanted to try and make a change to help people in need. Research work was grant dependent and, when his expired, he moved into training as a clinical psychologist. He studied at Cerberus Plains Teaching hospital where he continued to work following completion of his training.
In 2387, Alex and Ros decided to return to Earth with Dani and they relocated to Anchorage, Alaska. Alex accepted a role of Forensic Clinical Psychologist which, in addition to working with more traditional patients, also saw him working more closely with more troubled individuals as well as developing a closer working relationship with FEDSec. In this role, which was highlighted to him by his wife, he was part of their rehabilitation/assessment program providing not only psychological care but also fitness assessments, conducting interviews, constructing profiling and providing on-site assistance to field operations in terms of negotiation strategies and victimology.
It was approximately one year later that Rosanna took a promotion to join the FEDSec. Marshals service. Her new role often saw her either working extended periods away from home protecting individuals or pursuing criminals who were attempting to evade justice. These absences, as well as the increasingly high stress nature of his own work, began to put a strain on their relationship which deteriorated over the following few years leading to them living apart.
In the winter of 2390 matters came to a head with what became termed the ‘Black Mirror Killings’. Alex was involved in the pursuit and eventual capture of Inchyra Rixx, a dangerous telepath responsible for multiple deaths. This case, and the hunt for Rixx became consuming for Alex and, while successful, it took a tremendous toll on his relationship with both Ros and their daughter. This ultimately cemented the break-up of their marriage and, following their separation, he resolved to review his life and how it led him down the path that it had. Fearing that he had spent too long focusing on the darker side of the mind he decided he wanted to go back to helping people in a wider setting and dedicating his time to supporting others in a more positive way.
Having reviewed his options he felt that the best way to approach this would be explore studies in counseling psychology - to try and mitigate issues before they became too insurmountable. There were plenty of opportunities for studies off-world, such as Betazed, but he wanted to remain on Earth in an effort to try and repair his relationship with his daughter. His best chance of accomplishing that was through Starfleet and he filled for an application as a post-doctoral researcher with at their campus in San Francisco.
Starfleet Academy
Alex, already being an established psychologist, had a slightly different training route through Starfleet Medical.
He was able to follow a post-doctoral research route while studying a Ph.D. in counselling psychology combined with psychopharmacology. He had, over his professional career to date, seen the benefits of medical interventions and while not strictly within his area of expertise he felt that a better understanding of these would allow him to manage more acute situations. It would also allow him to better support more medically minded professionals when it came to directing patient care and treatment plans.
In addition to his post-doctoral studies, he also took an interest in xenotheology; specifically as regards to how faith might become a support mechanism for those who were experiencing psychological distress. It was through his studies that he can to discover more of Romulan culture due to the significant amount of refugees that had been created by the Hobus Supernova and Starfleet's efforts to support them. Alex also worked as a teaching assistant at the academy giving support to undergraduate students and other officer cadets.
Following the submission of his final thesis his was granted a commission as an ensign in Starfleet. Based on his experience with Romulan refugees, together with an understanding of their language and culture, he was assigned as a counsellor to the Federation Embassy on Duronis II to support both the Federation personnel their and also their mission.
Federation Embassy: Duronis II
Upon completion of his post-graduate studies and graduation from the academy, Brodie was assigned as a counsellor to the Federation Embassy on Duronis II under the command of Rear Admiral Toni Turner.
Fortuna
- Stardate: 239507.15 - 239509.26
- Personal Mission Report
Freshly arrived at the Federation Embassy on Duronis II during a period of shore-leave for the existing crew Alex was suprised to be promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) due to his past service to Starfleet at the academy. His first mission saw the crew deployed to P995, a planet where the Fortuna III mining facility and Hercules orbital processing plant were located and operated by the Nova Corporation.
Upon arrival it was apparent that a Klingon vessel, the IKS K'Tal, was already on station and Alex was assigned to investigate the K'Tal together with Major Hannibal Parker as the ship was unresponsive to hails. Upon investigation of all facilities it became clear that the Hercules, Fortuna III and K'Tal crews had become compromised by what was suspected to be a viral contagion that had caused them to become extremely aggressive and cannibalistic. Following a period of quarantine aboard the Thor, Alex and Major Parker returned to the K’Tal to attempt to gain entry to the sophisticated medical center aboard the vessel and encountered Sa'na - a long-term photonic entity and science officer of the KDF.
The Hercules, now in a decaying orbit due to damage sustained fighting the mutated crew, crashed to the planetary surface - destroying the Fortuna III facility - with the loss of all hands. Upon completion of his mssion, Alex was promoted again to full Lieutenant.
Out Of Place
- Stardate: 239511.16 - 239601.27
- Personal Mission Report
Mission began following an apparent terrorist attack on the Duronis II Embassy facility. All senior staff were ordered to report to the USS Thor (NCC-82607) for briefing by Lieutenant Commander T'Lea and Major Hannibal Parker. Rear Admiral Turner was not present due to an unspecified assignment The briefing advised that Starfleet had been conduction orbital studies of a Class M world and had recently discovered a pre-warp species known as the Egrot. Initial scans also revealed evidence of structures that required advanced industrial applications at odds with the current technology level of the Egrot society. Ensign Ghant Xerix advised that a personal vessel under his ownership, the Celestial, was equipped with systems that would facilitate its use as a duck-blind and on-surface base of operations to observe the Egrot.
The Egrot appear to have a two-tier class system – Low-Dwellers and High-Dwellers and Alex took the lead as one of the High Dwellers to make contact with the Egrot and integrate a group into their society. It transpired that the Egrot were subject to attack by creatures known as Shadow Eaters which subsequently attacked the camp. Upon analysis of one of these creatures is was discovered the creature was found to have a mixture of Egrot and Zalkonian DNA. It was hypothesized that these creatures may be genetically altered Zalkonians that had partially, or subsequently, undergone The Change – an alteration to a state of non-corporeal existence. Further analysis was not possible, however, due to a sudden and apparently non-natural rainstorm. Once the event had passed, Doctor Boris Hendon advised that the rain had, though an unknown mechanism, had removed the radiation from the atmosphere and from the creatures in the vicinity.
Satisfied that the contamination to the Egrot home world had been halted, the Celestial returned to the USS Thor.
The Glass Android
- Stardate: 239602.14 - 239604.30
- Personal Mission Report
Mission began following an order from Rear Admiral Toni Turner for senior staff to report to their appropriate duty positions aboard the USS Thor (NCC-82607), USS Thunder (NCC 70605-A) and Duronis II Embassy Facility. It was revealed that a rogue Android had escaped from a Federation research station specializing in artificial intelligence. The escapee had been created using illicit Borg technology to circumvent issues during construction.
The android was intercepted following a battle that damaged and destroyed several ships in the region, the Android’s shuttle was also damaged in the blast and crashed on the surface of Til’ahn; in the region of the Talisen Forrest. Senior staff regrouped at the Embassy Facility and search teams were assigned by Admiral Turner. Brodie advised that Starfleet personnel were operating in non-Federation space and care would be required. The teams separated and made their way to the region of the crash site. Alex was part of team 'A' who were forced to seek shelter shortly after landing and before a full sweep of the region could be performed. Signal booster units were installed to be able to act as a sensor and communications base for all ground teams.
Once contact had been made with the rogue android an altercation resulted in sustaining significant damage. It was observed, however, that the Android was not as damaged as first thought. Brodie was requested to approach the Android, along with Commander Pandorn to attempt to reason with the being. Unfortunately, the Android made a successful attempt to destroy itself, leaping from the tree and causing terminal damage to the positronic neural net.
The remains of the android was passed to Starfleet Security and the crew returned to Embassy.
Red Star Rising
- Stardate: 239605.29 - 239609.11
- Personal Mission Report
A Federation registered starliner, the Red Star, disappeared while on a cruise between Bajor and Risa; this coincided with the incident that occurred at Fortuna III/Hercules Station. It was suspected that the vessel was seized by Tal Shiar forces to provide access to the Quantum Slip Stream Drive (QSSD) technology on-board as well as provide fresh victims for further genetic experimentation. The USS Thor and the USS Thunder to destroy the bio-weapons facility on Jorok Three, rescue the prisoners aboard the Red Star – now located on Thendara Two. The Red Star was also to be destroyed to ensure the Romulans no longer had access to the QSSD system aboard the vessel. All personnel were to evacuate to Federation space upon successful completion of the mission.
Following entry to Romulan space contact was made initially with a the Romulan Star Empire. Alex assumed the identity of a Romulan Tal Shiar officer – Major Vashall – an officer tasked with recovering restricted Federation technology. This confirmed Romulan involvement in the bio-weapon production.
The Thor reached an orbital pattern over Thendara Two and transferred assault teams to the surface and aboard Red Star and were able to successfully rescue the prisoners aboard the Red Star and destroy the QSSD. Infected individuals were brought aboard the Thor and treated using a retro-active vaccine that had been synthesized en-route.
Alex was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and Chief Counselor for his actions during this mission.
The Til'ahn Gambit
- Stardate: 239701.21 - 239703.30
- Personal Mission Report
Following an aborted diplomatic assignment to bring a party from the Romulan Republic to visit with the Prime Minister of Til’ahn it was deemed a prudent move to use the planned ‘sight-seeing’ tour of the planet to give orientation to fresh transfers to the Embassy. Alex was acting in a diplomatic capacity following the temporary leave of absence taken by Ambassador Brell. During the initial stages of the tour the flight group came under fire from and unknown aggressor and one of the shuttles was forced to crash land in the Talisen Forrest. Doctor Addison Mackenzie was taken prisoner while remaining personnel evacuated casualties back to the Embassy compound to regroup.
During the briefing it was advised that a Romulan Warbird had also been recorded on the edge of sensor range deep within Romulan space. During the assault it was recorded to have moved at maximum speed towards a previously uncharted system within the Typhon Expanse. Long-range sensor readings of this system revealed that the system contained a deposit of proto-matter. Alex was appointed as temporary Executive Officer aboard the Thunder during this time.
The Thunder progressed to the expanse to pursue the IRW Tahndak and, on arrival both vessels came under threat from an unknown force. This was further complicated by an apparent DNA mutation noted I the bio-gel packs found within the ships computer systems. Following a return on the proto-matter, and a cessation of hostilities with the Romulans, the USS Thunder returned to the Embassy under warp power only.
USS Thor (NCC-82607)
In the first half of 2397 Alex, together with the entirety of the Embassy senior staff, were transferred to the USS Thor on a full-time basis. The Thor, now under the command of Fleet Admiral Aron Kells was was reassigned as a fully independent vessel to the Menthar Corridor.
The Lost Colony
- Stardate: 239704.19 - 239706.06
- Personal Mission Report
On arrival in the Ysdyen Nebula the Thor was to determine the fate of the Vel Maijan colony. The colony on was established in 2159, and contact was reported as lost in 2164. Further investigation at the time revealed the entire solar system containing the colony had disappeared from known space. Federation monitoring stations had, however, picked up a feint but definitive distress call being sent from the colony requesting aid from the Federation. Senior staff were split on En-route to the nebula the senior staff were split into teams to address separate aspects for mission preparation.
Upon arrival in the vicinity of Vel Maijan two away teams were dispatched to the surface to investigate both the site of the original colony and the network of tunnels noted below the surface. Alex remained aboard the USS Thor, acting as commanding officer. Communication with away team one revealed high levels of radiation on the planet’s surface and this correlated with a subsequently observed weakened magnetosphere. In addition, remains were discovered that indicated whatever event had befallen the planet had occurred rapidly. Communications with team two were unable to be established, likely as a result of the growing atmospheric disturbances, depth and mineral formations withing the tunnel/cavern system.
Team two were further isolated by failures of transport beacons and transponders on the surface. Upon the return of team one it was determined that to recover the colonists and evacuate the away team, it would be necessary to re-establish the transporter link to the surface to the tunnels. Chroniton particles were continuing to build and consideration was given to what may be producing them and how they may be disrupted or terminate to buy more time for the colony. During this operation it became apparent via a security alert that a member of an indigenous species, subsequently to become known as ‘Azcou’, had been transported aboard the ship. It was believed with was via an accidental activation of the transporter relay return sequence. The creature, known as Orh’am, came aboard the USS Thor on deck three and travelled through the ship to the hangar bay on deck seven where he was contained by security forces.
All colonists and members of the ‘am’ Azcou colony were evacuated via transporter to the USS Thor and the vessel cleared the area of effect of the chroniton particles before the system shifted a second time.
Hammerfall
- Stardate: 239707.03 - 239708.14
- Personal Mission Report
Following a period of shoreleave in orbit or Ferenginar, Fleet Captain Aron Kells departed abord the USS Tharsis to further investigate a rare sighting of a Gormagander pod. The USS Thor as the vessel conducted a test flight to perform diagnostics on the quantum slipstream drive (QSD). Upon engagement of the QSD system, however, the Thor was impacted by an unknown object which was able to bypass the vessel’s shields and struck amidships causing significant damage to the hull and internal systems.
As part of the response to this situation Alex was assigned to the role of acting First Officer and tasked with helping to coordinate the response to this incident. Initial reports revealed that the mine was, essentially, a piece of subspace. In addition to this a Laudean member of the crew was able to confirm this using their Fielding ability.
Following this Acting Captain Teller formed a new strategy to attempt to remove the mine from the Thor – this would take the form of a three-phase approach that would involve destabilising the link the device had to subspace, find a way to neutralise the mine and, more vitally to continue to maintain the security of the QSD. Brodie was asked to coordinate the first aspect of these strategies. Preparation of the bulkheads and forcefields to allow a controlled hull-breach were in place and a series of probes emitting a synthetic QSD drive signature were placed into a ship synchronous orbit. These features, combined with the destabilisation frequencies, allowed a controlled release of the device from the vessel as the ship exited quantum space.
While the Thor was now safe and free of the alien mine the damage to the vessel together with the isolated nature of the ship beyond the furthest reaches of the Federation the regretful decision was made to abandon ship. The preparations were made for this eventuality but it was not required due to the timely intervention of a taskforce led by Fleet Captain Kells. This taskforce towed the Thor back to Federation space where it was placed in dock at Deep Space Nine, in the orbit of Bajor, awaiting repairs. The final fate of the mine remains unknown.
Stick of Butter, Dozen Eggs & A Liter of Moba Juice
- Stardate: 239709.20 - 239711.27
- Personal Mission Report
The Cost Of Forever
- Stardate: 239801.05 - 239803.01
The Fallen Sword
- Stardate: 239804.14 - 239806.10
The Mugato and the Bunnicorn
- Stardate: 239807.14 - 239808.31
Leviathan
- Stardate: 239810.26 - 239901.12
Ragnarok
- Stardate: 239902.18 - 239905.20
USS Oumuamua (NCC-81226)
Forest for the Trees
- Stardate: 239906.26 - 239909.06
Missing In Action
- Stardate: 239910.29 - 240001.09
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NPC Listing · USS Oumuamua Crew Manifest · Crew History
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