The talented GM Scott Macek writes, “I am attaching PDFs of the character sheet, cheat sheet with background, and an image for Commander Richard Fleming of the USS Triumph.” Here is a premade character you may want to incorporate into your game.
Talents, Traits and Values
Traits:
Commanding Officer: The commanding officer may spend a point of Determination to grant any other character they can communicate with one point of Determination; this does not have to be linked to a Virtue.
Human: Humans are adaptable and resilient, and their resolve and ambition often allow them to resist great hardship and triumph despite great adversity. However, Humans can also be reckless and stubborn, irrational and unpredictable.
Talents:
Advisor (Command Talent, Requirement: Command 2+)
Whenever you assist another character using your Command Discipline, the character being assisted may re-roll one d20.
Bold: Command (Requirement: None)
Whenever you attempt a Task with the Command Discipline and you buy one or more d20s by adding to Threat you may re-roll a single d20.
Push The Limits (Conn Talent, Requirements: Conn: 4+)
When you attempt a Conn Task that has increased in Difficulty due to environmental conditions or damage to the engines, reduce the Difficulty by 1, to a minimum of 1.
Spirit of Discovery (Requirements: Human or Gamemaster’s permission)
You have the drive, spirit, and courage to voyage into the unknown. You may spend one Determination to add three points to the group Momentum pool. The normal conditions for spending Determination still apply.
Values:
Always On The Move: Rick does not like to stay still for any length of time. This is true for Rick personally because he isn’t doing enough. It also translates to his style of command and piloting because his ship is too easy a target to stay in one place.
Calculated Risks Breed Success: Rick has learned that an educated gamble can lead to unexpected positive outcomes.
Family First: Rick believes that his first responsibility is to his family whether it is his flesh and blood or “merely” his crew.
From Mars To The Stars: Rick believes that he is just another example of Mars producing great contributions to Starfleet. From ships built, repaired, and launched from Utopia Planitia Shipyards to sentient beings born, raised, and educated on the surface of the red planet if it comes from Mars and goes to Starfleet it is the best there is.
Life and Career Highlights
Richard “Rick” Fleming was born to parents Michael and Sarah Fleming in a hospital in Viking
City on Mars. The city was named after the Viking probes which were the first manmade objects to successfully land on Mars. Viking City was part of a colony on the surface and was used as a recreational and support facility for officers stationed upon the orbital Utopia Planitia Spaceyard.
Rick grew up with his parents being able to, for the most part, take turns interacting with him and his younger sister, Amanda Fleming when off duty. This made Richard feel particularly lucky because he knew how likely it was that either of his parents could be transferred to a starship at any time which could end up going on missions that would last years with only subspace communications to keep in touch.
Such an event occurred when Rick turned 14 in 2358. Rick’s father, Michael Fleming, had been
reassigned as Chief Engineer aboard the USS Pegasus (NCC-53847) which was on a top-secret mission. While on that mission the Pegasus was lost and the then-Captain-Pressman stated under oath that it was a warp core breach caused by poor maintenance that caused the destruction of the ship. With several of the surviving officers backing him up and no proof to work with Starfleet begrudgingly concluded their hearings, took Pressman at his word, and although promising to perform a more thorough investigation none were to ever take place.
For over a decade Rick was told that his father had made a mistake and caused the loss of a starship and almost all of her crew. Rick and his mother refused to believe it but Sarah Fleming resigned from Starfleet after a distinguished career in the Security department to concentrate on raising her children.
Richard’s mother and father had always instilled in their children a belief that Starfleet is a
worthwhile organization and an honorable career path. That diminished somewhat after the loss of Richard’s father but his mother fully supported his decision to enroll in Star Fleet Academy at the age of 16 in 2360. With assistance from his parents’ teachings, Richard passed his entrance examination on the first try. His time at the Academy was difficult because every time he made even the slightest error he would be reminded of the mistakes his father had been accused of making and the cost of those mistakes.
Unlike his parents, Richard was very interested in becoming the captain of a starship. It was his
plan to become an officer of such repute that it would return the name “Fleming” back to its place of honor. Richard started as many command officers do: as a Conn Officer. Richard enjoyed flying starships. Their power and grace astounded him. Richard also discovered that he had some natural leadership ability during various points in his training at the Academy.
It was during Richard’s Kobayashi Maru test that he started to make a name for himself. With
the reemergence of the Romulans the test had been rewritten to be set on the Romulan Neutral Zone with Warbirds as the threat vessels and the cadets’ vessel was the Excelsior class USS Exeter.
Richard ordered the Exeter into the Romulan Neutral Zone in hopes of rescuing the disabled freighter only to be surrounded by a fleet of Romulan Warbirds. The Romulans refused to respond to hails and opened fire. With much of the ship disabled, Richard ordered an emergency saucer separation and set the self-destruct on the engineering hull of the Exeter.
When the helmsman “died” after the navigation console exploded, Richard jumped into the seat and took direct control of the saucer. With exceptional skill, Richard piloted the saucer section between a warp nacelle and the hull of one of the Romulan Warbirds and into the open cavity between the warp engines. The remaining Romulan Warbirds had difficulty firing on the saucer without shooting their sister vessel and moved in closer to improve their aim. The Romulan Warbird that was acting as cover for the saucer section attempted to shake it loose but Richard kept with her. Richard ordered phasers fired on any Warbirds approaching from the outside in hopes of holding the Romulans at bay and managed to keep them in the area until the warp core of the Exeter detonated. This ended the simulation as all of the Warbirds (and the Exeter’s saucer section) were destroyed by the antimatter explosion.
It was not considered a win but it was conceded by the staff administering the test as a draw because if the Romulans wanted to declare war over the Exeter’s crossing of the Neutral Zone they would have to admit that they lost seven Warbirds in battle with one Excelsior class ship and that would not help their morale one bit. It was the best command performance in the Kobayashi Maru scenario in a decade that didn’t involve using James T. Kirk’s trick of reprogramming the simulation.
After six years at the Academy, including a stint at Command School, Richard graduated with a
commission of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in 2366. Richard received his first assignment: the USS Sitak (NCC-32591) as Chief Conn Officer. The Sitak was of the Miranda class and performed a lot of standard planetary surveys with little action.
Still, Richard kept himself busy and during those few times where the ship was in some danger, his piloting was often the decisive factor in the ship coming through unscathed. It was on the Sitak that he met and for a short time dated Ensign Laura Stanton, one of Sitak’s security officers. They cut their potential relationship short as Richard was reassigned to the USS Valley Forge (NCC-43305) in 2368.
It was aboard the Valley Forge that Richard began to get a lot more to do. Several skirmishes with pirates and a Cardassian Galor class cruiser led to a greater volume of experience helming a starship in combat. The Valley Forge’s captain, Captain Sis’shinell (Andorian) was very willing to go over the after-action reports with Richard and explain his tactical decisions. In 2370, because of Richard’s work at the helm and his insights and evaluations of tactics, Captain Sis’shinell promoted Richard to Lieutenant Commander and recommended him for a first officer opening aboard the USS Triumph (NCC69735) one of the brand new Saber class vessels commissioned by Star Fleet.
It was also in this year that the truth behind the loss of the USS Pegasus was revealed, proving
that not only had Richard’s father not caused the loss of the ship, but his father had led the mutiny in concert with the first officer to stop (now Vice Admiral) Pressman from breaking the Treaty of Algeron by creating an operational cloaking device.
Richard’s mother was overjoyed for both faith in Michael Fleming being restored and Richard’s promotion. Richard and his mother received two unexpected letters of apology as a result. One was from Professor Chapman at Starfleet Academy who was extremely hard on Richard because of the accusations against his father’s ability. The second was from Commander William T. Riker of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) for his part in the cover-up.
It was after these letters that Sarah Fleming requested to be reinstated in Starfleet and shift her career track to command to follow her son’s footsteps.
The Triumph was first assigned to hunt down members of the burgeoning Maquis. After several engagements, Richard had proven himself to Captain Shishar Evran (Andorian) as a valuable, if inexperienced first officer. During one fateful encounter with the Maquis, Richard was on his way to the bridge from his quarters when the bridge exploded from a direct hit. This killed everyone there at the time, including Captain Evran and the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Thelarn Grone (Tellarite).
With the bridge destroyed Richard went to Auxiliary Control to take command of the ship with whichever crewpersons he could find and forced the Maquis into retreat. Too damaged to pursue, Richard ordered the Triumph to the nearest Starbase for more comprehensive repairs. Richard’s actions saved a brand-new ship of the line and its remaining crew. Captain Evran’s evaluations of Richard’s performance as first officer filed prior to the captain’s death were exemplary.
As a result, Richard was given another promotion to full Commander as well as command of the Triumph. Richard is currently awaiting the Triumph’s repairs to be completed and to be provided information on the Triumph’s new assignment.
It was while waiting that Richard was informed that Starfleet Intelligence had confirmed that Lieutenant Commander Thelarn Grone had survived the attack on the Triumph. Not only that, but the reporting agents determined that the attack was intended as a cover for Grone to join the Maquis as one of their leaders. Richard is furious at this and would love a chance to bring Grone to justice however Star Fleet is not presently interested in Richard’s desire to do so and the Triumph is likely to be reassigned far, far away…
Names To Remember:
- Lt. Commander Michael Fleming (Father, Deceased)
- Lt. Commander Sarah Fleming (Mother, Active Duty Starfleet Command Officer)
- Lieutenant J.G. Amanda Fleming (Younger Sister, Active Duty Starfleet Operations Officer)
- Captain Sorok (1st Commanding Officer, Vulcan, Captain of the USS Sitak)
- Lieutenant J.G. Laura Stanton (Former love interest, Active Duty Starfleet Security Officer)
- Captain Sis’shinell (2nd Commanding Officer, Andorian, Mentor, Captain of the USS Valley Forge)
- Captain Shishar Evran (3rd Commanding Officer, Andorian, Former Captain of the USS Triumph, Deceased)
- Lt. Commander Thelarn Grone (Tellarite, Former Chief Engineer of the USS Triumph, Joined Maquis)