Story

Profile Overview

Craigen Flemen

Lumerian Male

Character Information

Rank & Address

Commander Flemen

Assignment

Chief Diplomatic Officer
Staff Judge Advocate
USS Odyssey

Born

Craigen Flemen

27th June 2369

Kessik IV

Summary

Craigen Flemen is a Starfleet Officer and currently serves on the Federation starship, USS Odyssey NCC-80000, as its Chief Diplomatic Officer and Contact Specialist. He previously served in the deputy role before being promoted in mid-2399. At the end of 2399, he was made acting captain of the ship when a majority of the crew were captured by an alien ark. For his outstanding leadership, he was allowed to maintain his field promotion to lieutenant commander while also undertaking the command training program.

Appearance

Flemen works out often when he is not on duty due to his interests in a range of sports, especially Velocity. He is known to always be on the holodeck training if he isn’t busy with his work. Though tall with a slightly muscular frame, his most handsome feature is his blue eyes, complimented by his dimples that help him when he needs to go on the charm offensive with those he is in the middle of talks with.

  • Height: 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
  • Weight: 165 lbs
  • Hair: Light Blonde
  • Eyes: Blue

Personality

Flemen was not as always as confident in most situations but this has changed over the year. He is a compassionate soul and is known for his tendency to care for others. He normally tries to think things through and his intentions always stem from a place of goodness.

Strengths & Weaknesses

A very knowledgeable diplomatic officer, he is driven and determined to climb through the command ladder. His experiences in dealing with a range of alien species has helped him hone his skill of knowing how to interact and deal with a range of people. He is know for his charming personality, something he has been caught using during negotiations to get his point across. There is a likably quality in Flemen that most who encounter him agree upon.  He never gives up, whether it is on the job or throughout life in general, and always supports his friends and colleagues.

He wears his heart on his sleeve and cares very deeply about those around him.

Ambition

Flemen wishes to command his own ship one day and eventually leave Starfleet to join the Federation Diplomatic Corps.

History

Political Information

  • Affiliation: Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Family

  • Mother: Lifa Flemen
  • Father: Ramid Flemen
  • Brother:  Jaicub Flemen

Biography

Early Life

Born on Kessik IV, Craigen enjoyed a very stable childhood on one of the many thriving Federation worlds. His parents lived a very simple life, his mother a civilian shuttle pilot and his father an attorney. Craigen was only four when his youngest brother was born and over the next decade the two were typical brothers. Both of them would wind one another up, while always having each other’s back while at school. Being the only Lumerians in their schools, they did not mind the attention they got from their almost human classes. 

When Craigen was fifteen, his parents took him to the homeworld to meet family members he had never met before and for him and his brother to see where their people were from. Understanding more about his culture, Craigen became more fascinated in understanding how he could use his empathic powers to help others. Encouraging him to consider his options, by the time the family returned to Kessik, Craigen had made his mind up that he wanted to join Starfleet. 

Starfleet Career

Starfleet Academy

Completing the Starfleet Academy entrance exam in 2387 was a challenge for Craigen, but he did it by the skin of his teeth. Though he had the aptitude and physical ability, it was the academic side that wasn’t his strongest element. For this, he knew he had to work harder to prove he was worthy of being at the academy not to his professors but to himself.  

Attending the satellite campus on Mellstoxx III, Craigen found his time on the Betazoid colony one that opened his mind and helped him develop his empathic abilities further. Working hard to prove his place in Starfleet, Craigen ended up having a successful but highly stressful first year. When it came to him choosing the areas he would specialise in, he decided to take interstellar relations with xeno/sociology and rhetoric studies. He was interested in taking the route of eventually becoming a diplomatic specialist. Though he became notorious for his late-night studies, Craigen participated in other extra-curricular activities including being a member of the teams for velocity as well as the decathlon team. In his second year he entered the Academy’s marathon and came third. 

Though he got on with his classmates, he didn’t truly make any long lasting friendships except for his roommate, Tam Grex. Tam was a good influence on Craigen with his work ethic and ensuring that he had a balanced approach to life at the academy. A keen pilot, Tam would assist Craigen with his studies on starship operations while Craigen would repay the help by helping Tam pass the physical elements of their training. Being Betazoid, Tam would also help Craigen with developing his empathic abilities. When they had time off from the academy, Tam invited Craigen to stay with his family at their home on Mallstoxx as it was too far for him to return home to Kessik. 

The two would go on to serve on Bravo Squadron, the elite unit assigned to the Mellstoxx campus. Craigen enjoyed his time with the squadron, finding that he eventually became a natural while on a starship. This was particularly true when they would undergo their training on the USS Exeter, the training ship assigned to the campus. 

By the end of his fourth year, Craigen surprised himself by coming top in his class for his studies. One of his professors, Captain Rio Canção, encouraged him in his last year to undertake his studies in advanced starship operations. Even though it would delay him from graduating with the rest of his class by several months, she insisted that one day he would appreciate it and said she saw his raw potential to one day become a captain. At the end of his studies he eventually graduated and was assigned to the USS Pytheas.

USS Pytheas (NCC-76554)

Life on the Ross-class starship USS Pytheas brought a range of experiences for Craigen. As the ship was mainly found on the Federation-Romulan border, Craigen was involved in the ship’s multiple missions in dealing with refugees that attempted to flee into Federation space. Fortunate enough to have Tam assigned to the ship as well, meant that Craigen had at least one familiar face he knew. The two would often spend their time off-duty together, either on the holodeck or hanging out in Ten Forward. 

During one particular mission, Craigen was on a runabout being piloted by Tam. Their team, led by the ship’s first officer, had been assigned the job of saving a group of Romulan refugees who were attempting to reach the colony on Vashti. After eventually finding the group, who were on board a cramped Romulan shuttle that was slowly losing life-support, the Pytheas team were able to render aid. Initially, the Romulans refused the help from Starfleet, but Craigen was able to talk to them and convince them to accept their help. Before rendezvousing with the Pytheas, the runabout was attacked by Orion pirates who were planning to kidnap the Starfleet crew and the Romulan refugees to sell as slaves. The runabout was boarded and during an almost hand-to-hand battle with the pirates, the Starfleet crew were victorious. The only people left alive though were Craigen, Tam and the ship’s chief medical officer (who was severely injured herself). Working together, Craigen and Tam assisted their superior and secured the runabout. Being able to destroy the Orion craft that had attacked them, the resulting blast from the enemy ship heavily damaged the Romulan refugee ship. Finding a way to extend their own life support system, Craigen beamed the refugees onto their ship before they returned to the Pytheas. For their courage and bravery in the face of opposition, as well as their actions in saving the refugees, both men were given commendations in their fikes.

Feeling that he needed to do more with his career, beyond just diplomatic efforts, Craigen applied to join the ship’s hazard team. Craigen wasn’t happy that he hadn’t been able to initially do more in repelling those that boarded the runabout, besides fire a phaser. Undertaking intense training for several weeks, he eventually gained a spot on the ship’s beta team.

Hazard team training was not the only extra development that Craigen undertook. Another mission found him following in his captain’s interest in archaeology. Deciding to take it further he applied to Starfleet Academy to undertake a degree in this area. Approved for long-distance learning, Craigen would undertake his studies in between his shifts. Three years of studying had him eventually complete his degree in exo-archaeology, with his dissertation focused on ancient civilisations.

Four years of excellent service, not only in his role in the diplomatic department but also with the hazard team, resulted in Craigen being promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade. At this point, he was offered the position of beta team leader, which he accepted. The ship’s various missions in the Beta Quadrant were filled with new challenges that extended Craigen’s abilities and skills. 

In 2395, Craigen returned to Mellstoxx III to undertake the Advanced Tactical Training course, as recommended by his captain. His captain believed that the training would broaden his horizon further and give him an extra edge as he developed in his role as a capable diplomatic officer. His captain was correct and Craigen completed the course. While there he was approached by an instructor and advised to undertake the contact specialist training too. By undertaking this, he would know more about supporting his command crew in dealing with diplomatic missions, especially ones that were first contacts. 

Eventually, in 2396, Craigen had to make the decision whether he returned to the Pytheas or expand his experience further by going to another ship. Encouraged by his former captain to look elsewhere, as he couldn’t provide Craigen with a more senior role that his training should entitle him to, Craigen began searching for another job. Reviewing several positions, he eventually decided he wanted to apply for the deputy spot on the USS Odyssey as its assistant chief diplomatic officer and contact specialist. Though he could apply to others that had more senior roles, he had wanted to join the ship as it had an excellent reputation of being one of the finest in Starfleet. 

USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)

Joining the Odyssey in late 2396, Craigen would spend the next four years working under Commander Max Duncan, his superior who would go on to become quite the mentor for him. In 2398, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and by this time was almost running the diplomatic department on the ship. Though it was one of the smallest departments, as the ship was involved in a range of missions that involved the crew making first contact with new civilisations or dealing with neighbours of the Federation (mainly the Romulans), Craigen found himself constantly busy. On a mission, where the captain required support in dealing with a political asylum request, made Craigen found himself enjoying recapping Federation law. Once again, Craigen put his efforts while off duty into his studies with Starfleet Legal Academy. Though he had a number of qualifications and degrees in other similar areas, for the next four years he would be working on his law degree.  As someone who enjoyed a challenge, Craigen also took on some extra responsibility by undertaking the bridge officer’s test so that he could work on the bridge at least once a week during the ship’s delta shift. 

During mid-2399, Craigen found himself extremely busy working with the Uxali when the ship was assigned to the Delta Quadrant. For its first mission in the distance quadrant, the Odyssey rendered aid to the Uxali by helping them transport the entire race off their damaged homeworld to another more suitable planet. For his work in ensuring there were no furthermore diplomatic incidents between the Federation and the Uxali, he was commended for his idea in the Uxali actually signing a compact with the Federation that would state they were open to exploring further peaceful relations which would later lead to further agreements between the two governments. His superior, Commander Duncan was impressed with the initiative and between the two of them wrote a proposed understanding that would allow Federation delegates to meet with Uxali representatives at a later stage to formalise the treaty. What was created was a pledge that ensured further peace talks and also included elements of trade and providing aid where and when required. The pledge was signed by the Uxali leadership and by Captain McCallister on behalf of the Federation. 

Almost two months after this mission, Craigen was promoted to chief diplomatic officer and contact specialist due to Commander Duncan’s surprised elevation to First Officer. Flemen was made Acting Captain of the Odyssey by Rear Admiral Bennet at the end of 2399 when a majority of the crew were abducted by an alien ark vessel. He also received a field promotion to lieutenant commander and was responsible for maintaining the ship and the crew that had been left behind (along with a number of the children). During his three-month stint as acting captain, he became close to Captain McCallister’s son, Alfie, who became his acting yeoman and operations officer. When their rescue effort was a success, Flemen returned to his previous position and was allowed to retain his new promotion on the basis that he joined the command training program. Pleased to be given the opportunity to further expand his skills, he started the course immediately upon the ship’s return to the Alpha Quadrant while trying to also complete his law degree. 

Service Record

Date Position Posting Rank
2387 - 2388 First Year Cadet Starfleet Academy - Mellstoxx III Campus
Cadet Freshman Grade
2388 - 2389 Second Year Cadet Starfleet Academy - Mellstoxx III Campus
Cadet Sophomore Grade
2389 - 2390 Third Year Cadet Starfleet Academy - Mellstoxx III Campus
Cadet Junior Grade
2390 - 2391 Fourth Year Cadet Starfleet Academy - Mellstoxx III Campus
Cadet Senior Grade
2391 - 2395 Diplomatic Support Officer USS Pytheas (NCC-71098)
Ensign
2395 - 2396 Diplomatic Support Officer & Hazard Team β Leader USS Pytheas (NCC-71098)
Lieutenant Junior Grade
2396 - 2398 Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer & Contact Specialist USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
Lieutenant Junior Grade
2398 - 2399 Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer & Contact Specialist USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
Lieutenant
2399 Chief Diplomatic Officer & Contact Specialist USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
Lieutenant
2399 - 2400 Acting Commanding Officer USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
Lieutenant Commander
2400 - 2401 Chief Diplomatic Officer & Contact Specialist USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
Lieutenant Commander
2401 - Present Chief Diplomatic Officer & Staff Judge Advocate USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
Commander