Hieronimus Smith (KIA)

From Star Trek: Theurgy Wiki

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Name:Hieronimus Alcibiades Thaddeus Smith
Rank:Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position:Science Officer
Species:Human
Age:32
Gender:Male
Orientation:  Heterosexual
Birthplace:Wainwright, Alberta, Canada, Earth
Height:5ft 9in / 1.75m
Weight:120lbs / 55kg
Hair:Black
Eye color:Green
Played by:Paolo Costanzo
Writer:Deceased
Interests
Astrophysics
Quantum Dynamics
Comparative Evolution
Coffee
Paradoxes
Education
2363-2367: Bachelors of Astrophysics, University of Alberta
2367-2371: Starfleet Academy, Bachelors in Quantum Dynamics
2371-2375: Post-Graduate Studies, Daystrom Institute
Service Record
2367-2371: Cadet, Starfleet Academy
2371-2375: Ensign, Post-Graduate studies, Daystrom Institute
2375-2378: Ensign, Quantum Astrophysics, USS Degrasse-Tyson
2378-2381: Lieutenant JG, Quantum Astrophysics, USS Bellerophon
2381-Present: Lieutenant JG, Quantum Astrophysics, USS Theurgy
Decorations
2371: Cochrane Medal of Excellence in Quantum Dynamics
2375: Cochrane Medal of Honour in Astrophysics

Before his death, Hieronimus Smith was a Science Officer on the USS Bellerophon who, after rescue by the USS Theurgy, aided in the fight against the parasites that compromised Starfleet Command in the late 24th century.

Biography

Peter and Joan Smith lived thoroughly unremarkable and mundane lives. They were the penultimate 'grey folk' who never stood out in any way; even at work they tended to fade into the background and were practically forgotten about. But when they discovered they had conceived a child, they vowed any child of theirs would go places, and be noticed. And when they discovered they had a son, they decided to make sure he would be noticed from the start and rather than bestow upon them a name as mundane as any they or their parents bore, they gave him the mixed blessing of naming him Hieronimus Alcibiades Thaddeus.

From a young age, Hieronimus was pushed hard to learn to walk, to learn language skills, to master the use of a bathroom. And when he reached the age of four, he was enrolled in an advanced kindergarten class. It was a good thing he was considered to have well above average intelligence, for without his quick mind he would have faced incredible difficulties in this more complex program, and before long, his public schooling began.

He completed the normal six years of primary schooling in only four his parents insisting he work through holidays and study breaks to advance as quickly as possible, and when he complete secondary school at the age of fourteen (having of course taken a number of advanced, extra credits), he was able to enroll in his local university in the field of Astrophysics. Upon graduation at the age of eighteen, his parents did not stop pushing him, and it was towards Starfleet Academy that he was driven, and they would not take no for an answer.

As it would happen, he was quickly accepted on the basis of his academic achievements and over the years of his training, he took to another bachelor's degree with glee. And while he did not much care for the leadership and spacemanship training he was forced to receive, he took to his studies with gusto and armed with a degree in Quantum Dynamics, he was granted the Cochrane Medal of Excellence for a breakthrough discovery in the interaction of neutrinos and the Higgs boson along with his commission.

Right from Starfleet Academy, he went to the Daystrom Institute where he began his post-graduate studies where he combined both his fields of study and expanded upon them, and when he left the institute, it was with a doctorate and the Cochrane Medal of Honour in Astrophysics, for his research on the effects of neutron stars on particles travelling through subspace.

From there, he began his spacegoing career, starting with a tour on the USS Degrasse-Tyson which was involved in the study of creating artificial wormholes, and a few years later, he found himself reassigned to the USS Bellerophon. Initially, she was assigned to deep space patrols, where there may be a chance to run across uncharted phenomena, but just after his transfer orders back to the Daystrom Institute reached him, he found those orders cancelled as the ship was sent to Task Force Archeron to hunt down the USS Theurgy.

While he was content to be left to his own devices more often than not, there was something that felt off to him about this particular mission. There simply was very little call for his particular set of skills, save perhaps for helping looking at the take from long-range sensors when trying to find out likely star systems where the Theurgy may been hiding. But, with generally very little work, he was free to dedicate himself to his next dissertation. However, his studies were completely interrupted above the atmosphere of Theta Eridani IV, where the Theurgy was finally cornered, only for everything to go dark. During the time in the dark and, Hieronimus was forced to devote his time and energy on other things, and that when he applied himself to the problem at hand. The Admiral's explanation made no sense, because there had been no additional transmission from Theurgy; the speed at which the Bellerophon's computers had gone down spoke of a catastrophic internal malfunction, and a look at the logs made it clear that as each ship went down, the timing was consistent with their distance from the flagship. And if Captain Ives was such a bloodthirsty monster, why had systems like warp core containment, the deflector and life support remained functional? That was a problem that, even with all of his intellect, Hieronimus could not solve with the available data.

Personality Profile

Hieronimus Alcibiades Thaddeus Smith was never much of a social creature. From his earliest childhood, he had been driven hard to focus on his studies and has never been given much of a chance to be a child. As such, he is extremely awkward in social situations, if not to say socially inept. He has great difficulty in reading body language and the subtexts in conversations, and he is practically blind to social cues.

His early upbringing was hardly the most healthy one, and he never really developed any interests past the academia that was constantly hurled at him, but he did look a little past his own field of studies, and considers paradoxes to be a most fascinating concept. And being surrounded by people with a tendency to pore over obscure data entirely too long, he developed a very strong interest in coffee, and has developed quite the palate with regards to the precious nectar as well as becoming a very adept barista for that matter.

But, when outside his comfort zone, he is introverted and will very rarely be the one to initiate conversation. And even then, if he feels the least bit uncomfortable, he will attempt to leave it as quickly as possible, or move on to a subject he can comprehend. Also, having been steeped in academia his whole life, he has a hard time relating to people who do not have a similar background and tends to be impatient when he is required to explain things in layman's terms.

Physical Profile

Hieronimus looks every inch the scientist and academic. He is downright scrawny, and only visits fitness facilities enough to maintain the minimum to pass Starfleet's regular testing. He most often looks pale, with circles around his eyes as he tends to forsake sleep for the benefit of science, and has been known to skip meals, keeping himself going with coffee and the odd shot of stimulants rather than resort to the far healthier and more sustainable ways of maintaining a degree of effort.

He often foregoes a shave, and such things as keeping his hair tamed and properly groomed, finding such practices to be a waste of his precious waking hours.

Special Notes

He was never in anything resembling a serious relationship, and did not lose his virginity until he was in his graduate studies at the Daystrom Institute, and that relationship did not last long. He has had a few flings with other grad students over the years, and has had a friends with benefits on the Degrasse-Tyson and Bellerophon, but nothing committed, and viewed sex more as a way to release tension and stress than anything else.

And something he learned to treasure early in his days at Starfleet Academy was the affectionate nickname of Hats he had been given, and it has followed him since. In fact, he tends to introduce himself as such to most people to spare them having to juggle his unfortunate given name.