Commodore Paula Chapman-Stark, Commanding Officer
Species
Human
Gender
Female
Age
36 (biological) 39 (official)
Hair
Blond
Height
1m70 (5' 7")
Skin Tone
Caucasian
Healthy and vigorous
Description
3 dark beauty spots on her right forearm defining a delta
Family
Husband
Aloysius Stark, CAG and Third Officer
Children Anna and Michael
Chapman Stark
Father Gary Chapman, Starfleet engineer
(Commander)
Mother
Magdalena, Avant Guarde Artist, Museum curator
Sister Eloise Chapman, Art Historian
Special Notice
Personal Profile
Traits, Quirks
Often stands with one or both hands behind her back, very straight and rolling on the sole of her feet as if about to spring. If thinking or reading, is generally rubbing her earlobe or resting her chin on her hand. Has an interesting habit of tossing PADDs around with excellent aim.
Interests
Trampolining, swimming, aerobatics. (She doesn't consider flight training a hobby at all.) Works on and off on a holoprogram reproducing early spacecraft and space rockets. A sucker for all Voyager material.
Ambitions
She has no greater ambitions at the moment than being where she is, thriving to excel and make a difference. Her role models is Admiral Kathryn Janeway.
Likes
A good dive or trampoline session when she can make the time, new experiences, hot spices and tequila.
Dislikes
People replaying the Dominion War over a cup of tea, who were not in the thick of it.
Strengths
Hard-headed
but capable of reassessing herself and falling back on her feet. A high-powered
individual capable of logging more hours of work and training any day
than is commonly known.
Her swift reactions got her and others out of trouble more than once.
Limitations
Owing to a fast track career, she has had to develop a self assurance that relies more on quick wit than she is comfortable with. On a personal level, she is still working out how to be a commanding officer and still open up to people.
Skills
An unconfirmed and little mentioned 'sixth sense' ability may have manifested
itself a couple times when the ship faced a disruption of the spacetime
continuum.
As is expected from her, she can stand her own in a fight and keeps
up with her weapon training and flight practice. She remains a proficiency-rated
fighter pilot to this day.
Languages
Federation Standard - English - French
Personal History
Childhood and adolescence
Paula's parents are an avant guarde artist (Magdalena) and a Starfleet Engineer (Gary). They separated when Paula was 7. Magdalena returned to her native Jersey, on Earth but work soon brought her to travel extensively. Turning 11, Paula refused to follow her and her sister, preferring to stay with family in wait for her father's shoreleaves.
While Eloise sided with her mother, Paula sided with her father. His pride and guilt paid for atmospheric then space flight licenses. At 17, Paula was part of a junior competition team and lived for the rush of extreme sports. Studies came second.
Paula apprenticed herself in a civilian shipyard. Soon, competition and work clashed and she lost her place. Her ensuing bout of temper led her to fly her first senior competition beyond her high-tech craft's tolerance levels. She won - and the craft all but disintegrated after the finish buoy. She ejected at the last possible moment.
2367-2371: Starfleet Academy
Paula's father took an extended leave while she recovered from serious plasma burns. In the wake of the Wolf 359 disaster, Paula accepted her 'punishment' and spent the next year in a Prep school to join Starfleet, with Operations as her minor and Navigation as her major.
Paula's beginnings at the Academy were a rough ride. Several teachers sided with her Flight instructor in thinking she needed to be broken before she could be molded into an officer. The new Paula proved herself well enough to become a Cadet's flight coach in 2369, one year after the Kolvoord Starbust incident. In spite of this climate, her Flight instructor recruited her among the new elite squadron with the argument that a lesson learnt was meant to serve.
Paula took her final exams with uneven results. In Sciences and Diplomacy she only reached the minimum allowing her to seat the session again. This repeat semester freed of all constraints but working on her weak points counts among her best times at the Academy.
USS Silverstone (Akira)
The Badlands
USS Artemis (Galaxy)
Dominion War
USS Lehmann (Olympus)
Ops - 2nd officer - Post war syndrom
A diagnosis of post war syndrom led to a reassignment as mere Operations officer only weeks after her transfer. Given a choice to go home or comply, Paula accepted the new position.
Paula spent a few months reconsidering her choices and set out to prove herself once more, applying for command courses. A promotion to Lieutenant Commander came with a position of Chief Ops.
At
the end of 2377, she became the ship's Second Officer, regularly assigned
to the away teams in charge of preparing and wrapping the ship's interventions.
2379-
2385
USS Swiftsure (Ambassador)
XO - CO
Finally,
in 2379, Paula transferred to the USS Swiftsure as First Officer. After
these 8 years chaotically rich with experiences good and bad, she felt
confident that her flight plan could only lead to a command of her own.
And right she was.
Following a particularly difficult Search & Rescue Mission where Commodore
Wayne assumed the function of Squadron CO and Paula that of Acting CO
on the Swiftsure, Cdre Wayne decided to step down. One more wartime promotion
saw Paula become Commanding Officer of the USS Swiftsure.
In December 2383, after the USS Swiftsure was whirled into the Outer Perseus arm, Paula married Major Aloysius Stark, then the ship's Marine DC. She was promoted to Commodore mid-2384. In January 2385 their children Anna and Michael Chapman Stark were born.
2385
USS Poseidon - Carrier Group One - CO
In May 2385, Paula was reassigned as CO of the USS Poseidon and the whole Carrier Group One (USS Shran and USS Tethys), thus becoming the seniormost Flag officer for the Outer Perseus Operation.
Education
Standard
Federation school education
Junior atmospheric flight club (licensed)
Aerobatics club
Junior space flight competition (Earth, Lunar and Martian orbitals - twice
co-winner in team figure flying)
Senior space flight competition (extra orbital, once winner of the Earth-Moon-Earth
race)
Medical Profile
.
Paula (Chapman) Stark keeps herself well above fitness requirements with
a weekly routine.
. Severe plasma burns sustained at 17 have led to heavy reconstruction.
This is still visible on scanner (non resorbed subdermal scar tissue,
traces of old lesions) and may warrant some additional surgery in her
later years as well as some caution in case of trauma surgery.
. Follow up examinations regarding exposure to time travel have been unconclusive
although the subject reported some incidents such as brief sensory overload
and occasional recursive visions linked to the event.
. Non significant alterations of sections Y2A and B2U can be observed
by comparative analysis of her brain map. Her ability to perform under
stress, coordination and reflexes are unaffected. Episodic watch of reported
symtoms is scheduled on a quarterly basis.
. The full battery of command personnel testing for physiological, intellectual
and psychological aptitudes have been renewed with passing scores. Captain
Paula (Chapman) Stark is therefore considered fit for command duty.
- Lt Cdr Martin Paulsen, C.M.O
Psychological Profile
Paula
Chapman's life was marked by a collection of difficult, sometimes traumatic
episodes that were as many metaphoric deaths, giving way to as many rebirths
as she kept reinventing herself. The core markers of her psychological
being however were never lost: Paula Chapman is forever a pilot, instinctive
and self-reliant, if maturity has brought her the knowledge that she is
better for having a home, friends and family to call her own.
The general result is a definite skill for fast situational assessments
and rapid response time which, put together with her hard-working personality,
have made her the ideal candidate at every stage of her career. Apart
from the typical difficulties of this personality type with interpersonal
skills, Paula Chapman's commitment to the ship and her duties have brought
her the loyalty of her staff and crew.
I
hereby vouch for Paula Chapman's ability to make sound command decisions.
- Commander Alejandro Mateo, Ship's Counsellor
Service Record
2371
Graduates from Starfleet Academy as Ensign. Assigned to the USS Silverstone (Akira class) as Flight officer.
2372
Promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. Transferred to Navigation.
Promoted to Captain and made Commanding Officer of USS Swiftsure on stardate 59803.6
2380-82
The USS Swiftsure is reported missing with all hands early in 2380. The ship reappeared early in 2383 in orbit of Earth after a temporal jump of 3 years. **Details classified**
