Lieutenant Ella-Evangeline Brownstone…

Character History

Ella attended state schools before applying for Starfleet Academy, where she followed basic training programmes and then specialised in Communications and Sensor Technology. Ultimately, this led her to the Operations chain.

Career As a communications officer, Ella began her career aboard USS Cavalry. Her shared quarters were a constant source of chagrin to the young officer whose roommate, Navdeep, expressed through her lack of care in maintenance of the living space a desire for relaxed living to which Ella could never truly relate. She responded by ensuring that her work as a communications officer stood up to that of more experienced officers, and by setting up an outreach programme for the few children aboard the ship, to help them see the benefits of a career in Starfleet. Although noted by the department head, there were few prospects for her advancement aboard the vessel; the near-destruction of Cavalry shortly thereafter also forced her transfer.

After a short period of recovery from the serious dermal injuries she suffered, she was reassigned to the Starfleet Communications Centre on Earth. At the Centre, Ella found kindred spirits in some of the staff whose research was inherently structured and procedural and she flourished, leading a small team working on hypersubspace technology previously used in establishing galactic communication with USS Voyager. Her biggest achievement was the development of a specially refocussed emitter for the Midas Array which offered greater power efficiency for almost the same range of transmission.

This assignment ended when a need for a temporary chief engineer for USS Orion arose; Ella applied for the role in the hope of developing her skills as a leader and was accepted for the six-month assignment. The placement broadened her skills beyond theoretical research but revealed a weakness in Ella’s numerous attempts to complete too much of the work herself, leading to conflicts with, in particular, her departmental second.

At the termination of her tenure aboard Orion, Ella’s performance was of sufficient quality to afford her an assignment as a permanent department head, which after several weeks came in the form of transfer orders for USS Hiroshima’s vacant lead position in Engineering.

Personality

Upon visiting Ella’s quarters, it is immediately obvious that she values organisation and order. Everything has its place and Ella won’t accept things deviating from this. Her work reflects this and she expects (for example) reports to be completed by her staff in precisely the way she would expect. By extension, Ella doesn’t personally enjoy change, even if it is something she can manage, such as being assigned a new team member.

She is dedicated to her work and ensures that all tasks are executed with due diligence, even if this means giving up some of her own time to finish a project. As a new department manager, she is still learning to avoid micromanagement and occasionally has to be told to take a break.

Off duty, Ella’s visitors can expect to receive a warm welcome and be offered something to drink or eat when they arrive at her quarters. They’ll find her comfortable in most social settings. Like her cousin, Ella enjoys dancing, although more as a means of unwinding than as a professional art.

Appearance

Ella’s blonde hair falls to just above the small of her back and, reflecting her desire for personal order, is kept tied back at all times. She rarely allows it to hang loosely behind her, although she will permit herself a hair decoration when she is off duty. Her big eyes are blue and her physique is fairly athletic, owing to her interests in swimming and running. Notable scars are present on Ella’s right forearm and her back from the disaster aboard USS Cavalry; although a survivor of the devastating accident that almost destroyed the ship, it remains embedded within her skin.

Languages spoken

Ella has no talent for foreign languages and speaks only Federation Standard English. For this reason, she is grateful for her familiarity with the Universal Translator and its underlying technologies.

Family

Ella’s parents are Starfleet officers based at Starfleet Academy. She has a brother, Ted, whose interest in science has taken him to a posting aboard USS Bellerophon, exploring and charting phenomena at the edge of the Federation’s border in the Alpha Quadrant. Ella is a cousin of the Lindsay family and particularly relates to Delta through their shared interest in dancing.