Temperance Harding

Temperance Anna Harding
Basic information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Assignment
Rank	Commander
Affiliation	Federation Starfleet
Template:Character

Commander Temperance Harding is the current Commanding Officer of the USS Endurance, assigned in 2394.

General Information

Physical Description	Vital Statistics	Family
A physically fit individual, Temperance has always kept herself in shape – a requirement of her flight status. Sharp, piercing hazel eyes hint at the warrior instinct behind them. A network of hairline scars criss-cross around her left eye-socket. Her brunette hair is often pulled back into a pony-tail.	Birth: 2357 Age: 37 Heighr: 5' 9" Weight: 140lbs Hair Colour: Brunette Eye Colour: Hazel	Father: Dr. Gregorie Harding Mother: VADM Elise Harding Brother: LT Sebastian Harding (deceased)

Personality & Traits

General Personality	Strengths & Weaknesses	Ambitions	Hobbies & Interests
A combat pilot by training, Temperance thrives on adrenaline, and high-octane situations. She is calmer and more collected when things are going wrong around her. It has sometimes been commented on that Temperance will get antsy, and on edge if things haven’t fallen apart for a while.	A keen tactical mind, Temperance has the ability to analyse any combat situation in moments, and propose a response. She has sharp reflexes, and a quick mind. Her knowledge of the sciences though, are extremely limited, with the only exception being the physics of space combat.	Once, Temperance’s ambition had been to be the best fighter pilot Starfleet had. That dream ended, however. Now, she longs to see the birds fly, even if she can never be the one doing the flying.	In her off-hours, Temperance enjoys games of chess against her crew-mates, horse riding, and cooking.

Personal History

Early Life

Born as one half of fraternal twins, Temperance had always known competition in her life. While their parents did not pick, or choose favourites, the two siblings would always bicker, fight, and struggle to be the first, the best, or the most.

It was this competitive spirit that set forth their desires to aspire to great heights. The direction of those heights was indeed moulded by their mother, a Starfleet Officer. It was the stories of her mother’s adventures, and the respect that those around her showed that led the two children into wanting to join Starfleet.

With the singular goal in mind, both the twins attacked their education with a fever. Their mother, who at this point was a Captain, in command of an Akira-class wasn’t at home much, so the parenting was left to their father, Dr. Gregorie Harding, who was a civilian medical doctor in a local clinic.

Despite this, Temperance remained focused on her goal, sometimes forgoing extraneous elements of growing up, such as an extensive friend group. Nevertheless, Temperance stuck to her wants, and made it through her schooling, with the qualifications, and some clout from her mother to gain entry into Starfleet Academy.

Starfleet Academy

The twins diverged in their interests at the Academy. Sebastian leaned towards Tactical Operations, while Temperance took to her initial foray into flight training like a duck to water. In her later years at the Academy, she was able to join a Cadet Squadron, relishing the freedom, the thrill, and the sheer fun that piloting a craft could bring.

When the time came for Graduation, both she and Sebastian had fought, and clawed their way into the top few percent of the class. Neither one able to get the coveted top spot, but both still happy with their successes. Both were thrilled to have their mother back, who was taking a desk job at Starfleet Command as a Rear Admiral, Lower Half.

The reunion, though, was a brief one, as assignment orders came in for the newly commissioned Ensigns. Temperance was being assigned to the USS Invincible, as a brand new Fighter Pilot. Sebastian was assigned to the USS Endeavour as a member of its Tactical and Security department.

USS Invincible

Temperance now set herself to settling into her new home, and finding her place among the ship’s crew at large, and the Air Wing specifically. Doubly so was the strange sensation of not having her brother so close. Throughout their lives they had been close, and now they were on different ships, with different crews. It took time for the young woman to adapt.

Adapt, however, is what Temperance did. Following the advice of her Element leader, Temperance did what she always does: threw herself into the work. With time, she became a valued of the Strike Cats, earning her call sign “Panther”. Within 2 years, she had earned herself a promotion, and was now the senior of a two-plane element, herself with a fresh Ensign. Within another couple of years, she had made full Lieutenant, and stepped into a vacant Flight Leader post within the Wing.

The rest of her time aboard the Invincible was the most fun she had ever had. A full five years as Flight Leader, she got to watch the pilots under her form into a unit to be proud of. It could not last forever though, and with no room to move up in the Strike Cats, a transfer was an ultimate necessity. When the time came for her addition half-pip, and a Squadron command billet, Temperance was sad to leave, but knew she was leaving behind a damned fine group of pilots.

USS Illustrious

The Transfer onto the USS Illustrious would prove to be a turbulent time for not only Temperance, but the family as a whole. Her mother, now a Rear Admiral, sent word of an incident involving the USS Nelson. Sebastian Harding, who had been the chief of the ship’s tactical and security department at the time, had been killed. The news came as a hard blow to Temperance, who was trying to settle into a new ship, a new position, and the responsibility of a larger command as it was.

Despite this, Temperance set herself to doing her best at her new role. The life in Starfleet was dangerous. They had accepted that, even if they hadn’t fully grasped what that meant. There wouldn’t be a day she would not think of her brother, but Temperance let it drive her to be the best, to not let that happen to anyone else.

It was a drive that would come to a sudden, and spectacular stop. Barely two years into her new assignment, just when she was starting to feel her groove, Temperance suffered a catastrophic accident. A faulty fuel cell ruptured while on a Combat Air Patrol. The rupture quickly led to a cascading system’s overload in her fighter. Ejecting may have saved her life, but Temperance was also subjected to a point-blank blast from a warp-core detonation.

While the shielding of the ejection system was able to protect her from the force of the blast-wave, such close proximity to the incandescent brilliance of matter and anti-matter annihilating seared her retinas, to the point her vision was drastically affected.

Starfleet Command

Medical attention aboard the USS Illustrious, and at Starfleet Medical was able to heal almost all of the physical damage, though her perfect vision was never to return. With the loss of her natural vision went her flight status. Combat fighter pilots were among the most strenuous of requirements, and perfect natural eye-sight was among them.

The few weeks it took to heal gave Temperance a chance to reflect on her career. Her mother, now a Vice Admiral and in command of a Numbered Fleet, was able to pull some strings. To save Temperance from a dead-end reassignment. It was recommended that her leadership skills within her Squadron could be put to wider use on a Starship. It was an option that Temperance disliked the least, so went with a Command Training course.

The course, lasting 18 gruelling months tightened the leadership skills she already had, broadened her knowledge of Starship Operations, and with her successful completion of the course, Temperance officially had her occupational specialisation code changed from Flight Ops to Command. While she would always keep her flight jacket, emblazoned with her call-sign, Temperance was destined for a red tunic.

USS Ark Royal

Before she could be fully vetted for a Command slot, Temperance was required to complete a shake-down cruise. First being assigned as First Officer aboard the USS Ark Royal, a Steamrunner-class supply cruiser. The cruise was set as a shake-down for both the ship, and Temperance to settle into her new role.

After a year, Temperance was granted her shot at the centre seat, while a senior officer, Captain Markov, was onboard should a disaster come up that Temperance was unable to handle. The two years that Temperance spent as Commanding Officer were more fun than she was expecting them to be. Different strides to her time as a Squadron Commander, but still something she enjoyed.

When the Shake-down cruise had completed a full three years in total, Temperance received her transfer orders. She was in the running for full Commander, and was being moved to Pegasus Fleet, to over-see the refit, and re-supply of a Nebula-class explorer, the USS Endurance. In addition, the vessel would be undergoing a Pod exchange, taking on a Flight Deck, and a compliment of Aircraft, enough for a Squadron. The mini-carrier would act as a broad-range support and response vessel, with Temperance as her Commanding Officer.

USS Endurance

TBA

Service Record

Service History

Year	Placement	Rank	Assignment
2375-2376	Starfleet Academy		Officer Candidate (Academy Flight School)
2376-2377	Starfleet Academy		Officer Candidate (Academy Flight School)
2377-2378	Starfleet Academy		Officer Candidate (Academy Flight School)
2378-2379	Starfleet Academy		Officer Candidate (Academy Flight School)
2379	CVW-89 – “Strike Cats” – USS Invincible		Junior Element Pilot
2381	CVW-89 – “Strike Cats” – USS Invincible		Senior Element Pilot
2383	CVW-89 – “Strike Cats” – USS Invincible		Flight Leader
2388	CVW-63 – “Shadow Hunters” – USS Illustrious		Squadron Commander
2390	Starfleet Command		Starfleet Basic Command Training Course
2391	USS Ark Royal		Executive Officer
2392	USS Ark Royal		Acting Commanding Officer, Command Training Cruise
2394	USS Endurance		Commanding Officer

Preceded by: Dmitri Markov	Commanding Officer, USS Ark Royal 2392 – 2394	Succeeded by: Dmitri Markov
Preceded by: –	Commanding Officer, USS Endurance 2394 – Present	Succeeded by: Incumbent