Amanda Ashby
From Star Trek: Theurgy Wiki
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| Name: | Amanda Ashby | ||
| Rank: | Lieutenant Junior Grade | ||
| Position: | Counselor / Morale Officer | ||
| Species: | Human | ||
| Age: | 30 | ||
| Gender: | Female | ||
| Orientation: | Heteroflexible | ||
| Birthplace: | Bellerose Terrace, Mars | ||
| Height: | 5ft 9in / 1.75m | ||
| Weight: | 143lbs / 65kg | ||
| Hair: | Blonde | ||
| Eye color: | Blue | ||
| Played by: | Gemma Atkinson | ||
| Writer: | Nesota Kynnovan | ||
| Interests | |||
| -Reading
-Hockey -Swimming -Slapstick Comedy -Piano Music -Sour Candy | |||
| Education | |||
| 2354 – 2361: Everton Elementary School, Bellerose Terrace (Mars)
2361 – 2364: Sterling Lower High School, Bellerose Terrace 2364 – 2368: Sterling Upper High School, Bellerose Terrace 2368 – 2374: Hillcrest University, Upper Stafford (Mars) 2375 – 2377: Starfleet Academy, Cape Valencia (Mars) 2377 – 2379: Starfleet Medical Academy, San Francisco (Earth) | |||
| Service Record | |||
| 2379 – 2381 Ensign, Counsellor, USS Aurora
2381: Lieutenant Junior Grade, Counsellor, USS Aurora 2381 – Present: Lieutenant Junior Grade, Counsellor, USS Theurgy | |||
| Decorations | |||
Dr. Amanda Ashby, M.D. was a Lieutenant Junior Grade and the resident Counselor aboard the Starfleet Nova-class starship USS Aurora. A graduate of the prestigious Hillcrest Medical University, she served in the Dominion War as a civilian wartime volunteer before joining Starfleet; working as a physician in the refugee camp on Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon. During this period she would develop an interest in mental healthcare, considering it to be one of the few specialisations where modern technology couldn’t quite replace the human factor.
Following the Dominion War Amanda joined Starfleet, hoping to do her part in healing a Galaxy torn by years of fighting on an unprecedented scale. Known as a dedicated and kind-hearted Starfleet Officer not afraid to take the initiative, she was also known to be notoriously curious.
As the sister of Lieutenant Ethan Ashby, one of the original Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officers of the USS Theurgy’s Diplomatic Corps, it was Amanda’s curiosity and her almost equally notorious persistence that drove her to find the truth about her brother’s betrayal of everything Starfleet had sworn to defend. After ignoring direct orders not to get involved, Amanda had to make her escape from Starfleet Security with the help of an alias used by Admiral Anderson. With nowhere else to go, she sought out the USS Theurgy and ultimately assisted in their fight against a whole new threat.
Biography
Early Life: 2350 - 2368
Amanda Ashby was born on September 23, 2350 in the Martian city of Bellerose Terrace. As the youngest child and only daughter of two civilians, with her father Michael employed as a general practitioner at the Mayfield Memorial Hospital, the same hospital where Amanda was born on that windy September morning, and her mother Vanessa working for the United Federation of Planets as a policy maker for colonial wildlife affairs, the young Amanda’s early childhood was happy and generally unremarkable. In fact, barring the loss of family dog Cooper in late 2358, the most impactful event of Amanda’s childhood might very well be the one time when she got stuck climbing a tree during a family vacation on the coast of France; her six-year older brother Ethan climbed up after her in an attempt to help, but subsequently fell down and ended up breaking his arm.
There is little that really stands out in Amanda’s early education either. She attended Everton Elementary School in Bellerose Terrace for her early childhood- and elementary education, where teachers would comment that Amanda was “remarkably curious and eager to learn”, and passed the final year with relatively good grades for a child her age. In the years that followed, Amanda was a student at the local Sterling High School; first attending the Lower High School from 2361 until 2364, before naturally moving on to the more preparatory Upper High School. It would be during the four years in Sterling Upper High School, when Amanda was required to choose a direction in which to take her further studies, that she began to express an interest to study modern medicine and follow in her father’s footsteps. The nearest educational institution that offered a medical degree, the prestigious Hillcrest University in the city of Upper Stafford, adhered to strict standards though. Because of her good grades, backed by the endorsements of some of Sterling High School’s tutors, Amanda qualified to take the difficult entrance exam and managed to pass; securing her enrolment into Hillcrest University following her graduation from Sterling High School in 2368.
Hillcrest University: 2368 - 2374
Following her graduation from Sterling High School, Amanda prepared herself to attend the medical faculty at Hillcrest University. Given the distance between Bellerose Terrace and Upper Stafford however, it wasn’t realistically doable to travel between the two cities on a daily basis and a new opportunity presented itself; Amanda was given the option to move into a residence hall on the University campus. Even though Amanda was initially somewhat reluctant to move away from Bellerose Terrace, uncomfortable with the prospect of leaving everything and everyone she’d ever known for such a prolonged period of time, she would eventually agree after a little urging from her parents. Albeit with the promise that she would come home every weekend.
It was a promise that wouldn’t even make it past the first welcoming weekend on Hillcrest campus. While Amanda wasn’t one of the more notorious party animals and never even attempted to join a sorority, instead preferring the relative quiet and solitude of her own shared dormitory, she was introduced to an entirely new way of living now she no longer had to abide to the rules of her parents. The freedom she now experienced came as a very pleasant surprise, and after that first welcoming weekend full of introductions and parties hosted by the various sororities, Amanda knew she would enjoy her time at Hillcrest far too much to go home every time.
And indeed, just two years into her studies Amanda met a Vulcan named Krat. Relatively young for a Vulcan, which nevertheless meant he was still her senior by twenty years, Krat worked as a Ranger in one of the Federation Wildlife Sanctuaries and attended the advanced veterinarian faculty of Hillcrest University. The two met at a party of the Tau Mu Phi Theta fraternity, where Amanda happened to literally bump into him, and the two of them ended up in conversation. Although Amanda initially considered Krat to be just another boring Vulcan she soon discovered, much to her pleasant surprise, that Krat possessed a refreshing dry sense of humour for a Vulcan; in fact, his logic only seemed to accentuate his well-timed comments in a way that captivated Amanda. Having exchanged contact information, the two would go out several more times as their mutually budding interest slowly developed into something more.
While Michael Ashby, Amanda’s loving- and slightly overprotective father, initially wasn’t overly happy to find out that his only daughter was dating a man of his own age, which made for a fairly awkward weekend when Amanda decided that it was time for Krat to meet her parents, Amanda’s mother Vanessa was much quicker to accept Krat into their family. Given how their fields of employment roughly connected, they immediately found common ground to talk about and it wasn’t long before Krat and his sense of humour (or the Vulcan equivalent of humour) also completely won over Vanessa. As with many things, once Vanessa became convinced that Krat really wasn’t too bad, Michael eventually managed to accept that Vulcans simply had a much longer lifespan and that the concept of age worked differently; even though that first weekend started out a little bit on the rocky side, Amanda and Krat would go back to Hillcrest University on amicable terms with Amanda’s parents.
The visit to Vulcan a couple of months later went roughly similar and, where Amanda’s father had initially been reluctant to accept the idea of his daughter dating a Vulcan, Krat’s mother T’Kol held similar reservations about her son dating a Human. Amanda soon found out that Krat most certainly hadn’t inherited his sense of humour from his mother, and to make matters worse they found themselves on Vulcan over the holidays for the better part of two weeks. While Krat’s father Straal was a little more receptive, Amanda had a hard time to get T’Kol to accept her and neither Krat nor his father really made an attempt to sway the other woman. Eventually, after she’d tried to win the woman’s favour for days, Amanda gave up and instead focused her attention on Krat; coming to terms with the fact that T’Kol wouldn’t accept her and instead trying to make their little vacation on Vulcan as enjoyable as possible. That way, it would also be over as soon as possible. Much to Amanda’s surprise however, especially after she’d given up, T’Kol would suddenly speak out her approval on the very same day that they were scheduled to return to Mars. According to the Vulcan woman it had initially been illogical to see how Amanda tried to win her favour, given how the Martian was in a relationship with Krat and not with her, but after she observed that Amanda instead began to focus on Krat and how the two of them enjoyed themselves during their stay on Vulcan, T’Kol saw that her son was enjoying Amanda’s presence. And to a mother, that was all she needed to see. In the end, Amanda and Krat would depart Vulcan on good terms with Krat’s parents as well, or at least the Vulcan equivalent of that.
The remainder of Amanda’s studies at Hillcrest University were relatively uneventful. Even though Krat graduated from Hillcrest University in 2372, two years before Amanda would, they would still visit each other whenever the opportunity presented itself; despite the long distance between them, their relationship only grew deeper over the years. In fact, the two of them already began to discuss what life would look like after Amanda would graduate and, if the Dominion War hadn’t broken out in 2373, either Krat would have requested transfer to a Sanctuary closer to Mars or Amanda would have applied for a job closer to Vulcan.
Wartime Volunteer: 2374 - 2375
By the time Amanda graduated from Hillcrest University in 2374, as the salutatorian of her class, the Dominion War was raging on though and the Federation Alliance found itself perilously close to defeat; having lost Deep Space 9 only the year before and now even fighting hostile forces approaching the Vulcan border and Bolian territory. The threat of impending invasion by the Dominion caused a steady influx of refugees, all of whom seeking the relative safety of Earth, and in an attempt to provide the best possible care under the circumstances the United Federation of Planets constructed several temporary refugee camps on suitable planets throughout the Sol System. Amongst these refugees were Krat’s parents, Straal and T’Kol. Neither of them initially wanted to leave Vulcan but, after eventually being persuaded by both Krat and Amanda that it would be very dangerous to be planet side when Vulcan would fall to the Dominion, they would join the steady stream of refugees that made their way to the Sol System.
Partly by the experience of her ‘parents-in-law’, whom ended up in a refugee camp on Titan where the quality of life was not exactly ideal due to a combination of overwhelmed staff and a struggling supply chain, and partly because of the extensive recruitment campaign by the United Federation of Planets, Amanda would sign up to become a civilian wartime volunteer only very shortly after graduating from Hillcrest University. She wanted to do her part to make life a little easier on the refugees, and she ended up as part of the medical staff in a refugee camp on Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter. One of the first things Amanda did was request a transfer for her parents-in-law to be moved out of the refugee camps; cutting some bureaucratic red tape by reasoning with her overworked superior that their transfer would free up two much-needed places in the refugee camp. It was because of these actions that Straal and T’Kol were able to leave the refugee camp on Titan with due haste and instead move to Bellerose Terrace on Mars, where they would sit out the remainder of the war with Amanda’s parents.
Following the transfer of her parents-in-law, Amanda would soon discover that their statement about life in the refugee camps wasn’t exactly exaggerated. Many of the refugees that came in had tried to make their escape to the Sol System in whatever was headed in that general direction; most often cramped ships with little supplies and even less available space. As a result, many of the refugees were sick and underfed, and more often than not refugee ships ended up having to fight their way to safety and just barely managed to limp their way to the Sol System with severe casualties. Especially during her first months as a wartime volunteer, when the Federation Alliance was still on the brink of defeat, Amanda would spend the majority of her time providing medical care to incoming refugees whom arrived at the Ganymede refugee camp.
After the Federation Alliance recaptured Deep Space 9 and the war entered a lull, and especially during the final months of the war, this would start to change. With much better supplies, given how the logistical support slowly began to grow more accustomed to the refugee situation, along with a decreasing influx of refugees, Amanda found herself with much more free time as her workload decreased accordingly; without incoming ships full of wounded new refugees and the stressful medical triage they brought with them, the medical staff of the Ganymede refugee camp now found themselves mostly tending to the medical needs of the existing population. It was a refreshing pause after her initial months at the refugee camp but, while their workload decreased accordingly, Amanda began to notice that there was one specific branch of their medical team which didn’t get a similar breather.
The psychiatrists and other mental healthcare professionals.
Even though the influx of new refugees had decreased dramatically, the mental healthcare professionals were still dealing with a lot of refugees who were suffering from various stress disorders or other mental injuries. Due to her characteristic curiosity, Amanda would either try to accompany these co-workers or observe them from a distance whenever the situation allowed, and witnessing their specific branch of healthcare began to intrigue Amanda to no end. There was one psychiatrist in particular, an elderly Saurian named Gotk, who managed to accurately summarize the exact reason why Amanda was so captivated by mental healthcare by stating that, despite all modern technology the United Federation of Planets had at their disposal, there were just some things that couldn’t be corrected with a fancy shining light.
Those words remained in Amanda’s mind for the duration of the Dominion War and, as the months dragged on and the Federation Alliance began to close in on Cardassia Prime, Amanda would only become more intrigued with medical healthcare. To her, it represented a specific specialisation where technology couldn’t be entirely used as a substitute for the ‘Human factor’.
Following the cessation of hostilities after the signing of the Treaty of Bajor in 2375, many of the refugee camps were closed down as their population were slowly being repatriated to their worlds. The Ganymede refugee camp was similarly downsized and, following Amanda’s dismissal as a wartime volunteer, she returned to Bellerose Terrace where she reunited with Krat and their respective families. In the two months that followed, both Amanda and Krat took a very long and relaxing vacation; like Amanda, the Vulcan Ranger had also been through a rough time during the Dominion War as he, along with other Rangers throughout the Alpha- and Beta Quadrant, did his best to keep defending the endangered wildlife that no one really seemed to prioritize anymore during the fighting. It was during this vacation that Amanda broke the news of her decision to Krat, letting him know that the fighting still wasn’t over and that she wanted to sign up for Starfleet Academy, hoping to become a psychiatrist herself and do her part in healing a galaxy still reeling from the effects of a devastating war. Like Amanda had hoped, Krat simply supported her decision with a characteristic witty comment that she loved him for and, after also breaking the news to her family, Amanda signed on for Starfleet Academy; in doing so joining her older brother Ethan in becoming the second Ashby to sign up for Starfleet service.
Starfleet Academy: 2375 - 2379
Signing up for Starfleet in late 2375, the fresh Cadet First Year Amanda Ashby was assigned to the Martian campus of Starfleet Academy located at Cape Valencia. While she’d always attempted to maintain a healthy physical condition over the years, trying to sneak in a little exercise whenever the opportunity presented itself, and even though she regarded herself as relatively intelligent, Amanda nevertheless struggled in her first year at Starfleet Academy. The combination of cramped barracks, which she and many other female Cadets of her Year had to share with a very friendly but nevertheless very loudly snoring Saurian, along with difficult classes and much more intensive physical conditioning than anything she’d ever endured, painted a very sharp contrast to Amanda’s previous life at the prestigious Hillcrest University. While one of the most noticeable and toughest differences were the much stricter disciplinary regime which Amanda was now subject to, which meant less parties and much more protocol, there were also some positive differences; one of those being a very strong esprit-de-corps between many of the First Year Cadets, as they all experienced similar difficulties and tried to support each other as good as possible.
In late 2376, as a Cadet Second Year, Amanda was briefly assigned to Starbase 39 as part of her field training. While she had absolutely dreaded the strict discipline of Cape Valencia over the previous year, it was during the months at that Starbase along the Romulan Neutral Zone where Amanda began to appreciate Starfleet Academy a whole lot more; while it was strict, Cape Valencia effectively served the purpose of preparing her for the harsh realities of fleet duty in a place where mistakes could come at a high cost. Regardless, Amanda’s assignment at Starbase 39 was relatively uneventful, yet educational in terms of standard operating procedure.
After Amanda became a Cadet Third Year in late 2377, she was reassigned to the medical wing of Starfleet Academy in San Francisco. While she had obtained her doctorate in medicine three years earlier, following her graduation from Hillcrest University in 2374, Amanda was still required to follow the exact same courses as the other aspiring Counsellors. Even though it initially annoyed Amanda, she was quick to understand that Starfleet simply required the same standards from everyone and, after a while, she began to realize that this also had a major advantage; she managed to pass the mandatory medical training without having to put in much effort, and this allowed Amanda much additional time to focus on her psychiatric coursework.
It was this advantage that allowed Amanda to graduate from Starfleet Academy in 2379 amongst the top of her class, scoring some of the highest marks that could be afforded to an Academy Cadet.
USS Aurora: 2379 - 2381
Following her graduation from Starfleet Academy, the newly-promoted Ensign Amanda Ashby was assigned to the Nova-class starship USS Aurora. It was a small ship with a crew complement of only 15 officers and 85 enlisted personnel, which meant that there usually wasn’t enough work to keep Amanda, as the ship’s Counsellor, fully occupied on a daily basis. Given how she was integrated into the USS Aurora’s equally small Medical Department however, and in no small part due to her previous medical experience, Amanda wouldn’t just work as Counsellor and Morale Officer, but often also assisted with mostly minor tasks in Sickbay whenever her help was required.
In early 2381, Amanda’s hard work paid off in a rather unexpected way. While she’d only been aboard the USS Aurora for a little under two years, the initiative she displayed in keeping herself busy aboard the small starship, both as Morale Officer and as a helping hand in Sickbay aside from her main duties as Counsellor, earned her a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade.
USS Theurgy: 2381 - Current
Shortly after Amanda’s promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade, the USS Aurora returned to the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards for regular maintenance. During this maintenance, which was scheduled to last for the better part of three months, most of the non-essential crew were temporarily reassigned to planetary postings or sent on shore leave; in Amanda’s case, she was allowed two weeks of shore leave before being relocated to the Counseling Department of Starbase 24.
During her shore leave, Amanda initially made a stop at Bellerose Terrace on Mars to visit her parents. She hadn’t seen them for months at that point and, although she had agreed to meet with Krat the next day in order to take a well-deserved vacation to the beautiful beaches of Risa, she nevertheless wanted to give herself a day to catch up with her parents first. It was at that point when she first heard the news about the USS Theurgy, the ship where her brother Ethan was stationed as an Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer, and how the prototype Theurgy-class had apparently gone rogue.
The idea that her brother would betray the United Federation of Planets and everything Starfleet had sworn to defend wasn’t something Amanda was willing to accept though, and it was a topic of conversation that very much dominated her vacation to Risa. Krat was supportive of her though and suggested that Ethan might’ve had a good reason for turning against the Federation; prompting Amanda to look into it a little bit more once she’d arrive at Starbase 24. And indeed, so she would...
Following her arrival at the Starbase after her vacation, one of the first things Lieutenant Junior Grade Amanda Ashby did was accessing whatever information regarding the USS Theurgy that was within her security clearance. It wasn’t much but, in combination with the questions Amanda started asking regarding the renegade ship, she managed to rather quickly draw the attention of Starfleet Security. Through her direct superiors they relayed the message that the USS Theurgy-incident was a highly sensitive matter, and rather bluntly ordered Amanda to leave the issue alone and not poke her nose into matters that didn’t concern her. Always too curious for her own good, especially now it concerned her own brother, Amanda chose to disregard that order; she chose to keep pursuing the matter, but much more discreetly now.
It wouldn’t last long. While Amanda attempted to be discreet about accessing information about the USS Theurgy and anything related to the ship’s last mission, her previous inquiries already earned her the attention of Starfleet Security; the kind of attention that far outmatched the discretion of an overly curious Counselor. In fact, if it hadn’t been for a mysterious benefactor whose audio transmission suddenly interrupted her illegal activities, someone whom she’d only got to know as ‘King’ and who warned her to drop everything and run, Amanda would have been arrested by Starfleet Security as they were already coming down on her. Even though Amanda was initially reluctant, she left her office just moments before armed Security officers beamed in and would escape with Starfleet Security almost literally hot on her heels.
Knowing that Starfleet Security would arrest her on sight and with nowhere else to go, Amanda knew there was only one place she could go if she wanted to find out what really happened to the USS Theurgy that warranted her brother’s betrayal. She had to follow King’s instructions and seek out the renegade ship; boarding the IKS Kajunpak't and never looking back.
Personality Profile
Amanda Ashby was a friendly and kind-hearted optimist; a rather outgoing and gregarious person who liked to make the most of things and who could generally be relied upon to have a creative idea at hand for almost everyone and everything. She genuinely tried to make people feel at ease and deeply valued the trust others would place into her, both as a Counselor and as the friend she attempted to be, but while she was a cheerful Starfleet Officer with a rather collected demeanour it could also be relatively easy to perceive Amanda’s enthusiasm and seemingly never-ending optimism as incredibly annoying at times.
Maybe the best word to describe Amanda would have been ‘curious’; even as a young girl, she was driven by a desire to know the finer details of why things worked the way they did and, when it came to people, why they would act in certain ways. Later in life, after her curiosity was moulded by lifestyle experience and professional training, it made her a rather outstanding psychiatrist though and while it was easy to consider her a little bit too curious for her own good, or even as annoyingly persistent, Amanda was simply a very loyal person who was willing to be notoriously stubborn in order to live up to the trust placed into her capable hands.
Physical Profile
Standing at 5'9", Amanda was a relatively tall woman, at least for a Human, with a slender, albeit curvaceous build to match. She attempted to maintain a good physical condition and, even though this was sometimes hampered by both a lack of available time to fully commit to this goal and her love of sour candy, Amanda generally managed to stay in shape through the two outlets she used to deal with her own emotions; swimming and hockey.
While she tries to avoid it as much as possible, Amanda can sometimes be seen wearing the glasses which she keeps in one of her pockets; safely encased in a small black leather case with her initials imprinted upon it. Being slightly far-sighted, she begrudgingly has little choice but to wear her glasses whenever she’s very tired and either working in a dark environment, required to read something at a distance, or asked to pilot a shuttlecraft or other vehicle that requires her to look far ahead.
Appearances
Episode 1: Advent of War
- A Most Furtive Transfer - Day 2 | 2130hrs Amanda arrives aboard the USS Theurgy and joins its crew.
