Lieutenant Commander Derek Tournneau

Character Information

Gender		Male
Species		Human; French/African descent
Birth Date		September 24, 2351 (SD 28730.3)

Physical Appearance

Height		5'10"
Weight		170 lbs
Eye Color		Brown
Physical Description		Average height, wiry build. Not particularly muscular, but surprisingly strong for his weight and appearance. Light brown skin tone, smooth-shaven head.

Family

Spouse		Capt. Anaya Srivastava (Merchant Marine) (KIA, age 50)
Children		none
Father		Andres Tournneau (age 80)
Mother		Rachel Tournneau (nee Larson) (age 82)
Brother(s)		John Tournneau (age 26)
Sister(s)		Adelaide Tournneau (age 30)
Other Family		Girlfriend - Lt. Viradia Beladd (PNPC) - Asst. Chief Engineer, USS Malinche-A

Background

Childhood/Background		Derek was born on Earth, in Seattle, Washington. He was raised by his parents, Andres and Rachel. Derek was the first of three children in his family. He grew up with all the benefits of living in the center of the Federation - relative peace and safety, even in times of growing galactic conflict. Andres was a marine biologist, employed to manage the weather control stations of the upper Northwest. Although a Vancouver native, he spent much of his young life as a field researcher for the Federation Science Council, examining several aquatic worlds. While attending a symposium on Rigel (the Rigellians being an aquatic species), he encountered a young freighter pilot named Rachel Davis. Rachel was a spacer, born on her parents’ Antares-class freighter Impetus. She was always good at scrounging, tinkering, and making seemingly disparate parts work together. Such skills were a necessity in deep space while operating independently. She quickly advanced through the various roles on her parents’ ship, eventually becoming the ship’s pilot at age 30. It was then that she met Andres, on a routine delivery mission to Rigel. The two became fast friends, and eventually came to be in a relationship. After several years of spending light-years apart, with the odd fleeting rendezvous when schedules aligned, the two decided to restructure their careers and settled on Earth. Andres was able to transfer to the weather control system, and Rachel managed her small trade fleet. She also operated a machine shop, repairing components for merchant vessels. The two were married shortly after arriving on Earth. Derek grew up under the tutelage of both of his parents, and enjoyed an enriched childhood in Seattle. While he excelled at the sciences, he inherited his mother’s predilection for tinkering with odd and ancient bits of technology. While his life as a child and teenager might be considered by some to be unremarkable, he was able to learn and apply his parent’s knowledge, as well as that of the Federation educational system. Before his senior year of secondary school, he earned an internship at the San Francisco Shipyards in orbit of Earth.
Academy History		During his time at the Academy, Derek’s scholarship would have been nearly flawless, if not for his over-exuberant social life and a certain cockiness, borne of his first-hand technical expertise. Despite these shortcomings, Derek remained near the top of his class and (sometimes begrudgingly) earned the respect of his peers and professors. Derek showed great natural ability in his warp theory and mathematics classes, but war broke out with the Dominion at the tail end of his time at the Academy. Knowing that he would be thrust into the fray upon graduation, Derek decided to make the best of the situation. He applied for and gained acceptance into the Advanced Tactical School at the Academy his senior year. Although weapons systems and physical combat were not what he had in mind when joining Starfleet, he knew that wearing the uniform carried that risk. In combat school, he was able to use his technical experience, theoretical knowledge, and creativity to outsmart both the simulators and his peers. He quickly rose to the upper 5% of his class there, and was granted an Ensign’s commission as the Ordinance Specialist of the Miranda-class USS Tian An Men upon graduation.
Career History		Immediately upon graduation, Derek joined the USS Tian An Men as its replacement Ordinance Specialist. The Tian An Men was on patrol duty of the Cardassian border, following the Dominion annexation. On December 6, 2373 (SD 50929.4), the Tian An Men was declared missing in action, presumed destroyed. Several days previous, the ship had been attacked by a Jem’Hadar fighter. The fighter caught the Tian An Men off guard, killing several of the crew in the initial volley, including the Tactical Officer. Ens. Tournneau assumed the role of his downed comrade and assisted the bridge crew in defeating their foe. The vessel, badly damaged and unable to communicate, limped back to port. In the aftermath of the attack, Derek was given a field promotion to Lt. JG, which was formalized once the ship returned to Federation space for repairs. He also stayed in the position of Tactical Officer for another year. As the war continued, in 2374, Mr. Tournneau earned a promotion to full Lieutenant, along with the post of Chief of Security. Later that year, the USS Tian An Men participated in the First Battle of Chin’toka, where it assisted the USS Hood, USS Defiant, and USS Nautilus in destroying a moon that contained the power generators for the Cardassian weapons platforms. Mr. Tournneau continued to serve on the Tian An Men until the end of the war. Once the war ended, Derek felt restless with his career as a tactical officer. He had helped to defend the Federation, but he had done so by personally destroying countless ships and their crew. Finding no satisfaction in his job anymore, he decided to resign his commission at the end of the tour, and return to his family on Earth. By the end of 2376, the fledgling, aging merchant fleet that belonged to his mother had flourished into a moderately successful trading company. The glut of shipping contracts brought on by the war was mostly to thank for this turn of profits. His mother, Rachel, now had charge of 2 Deneva-class transports, as well as 4 Antares-class refits. From the end of 2376 to January 2385, Derek would assume the role of Chief Engineer aboard his fleet’s flagship, the Deneva-class Impetuous. Derek found his time aboard the Impetuous rewarding. Although it wasn’t as fast-paced as life on a Federation ship, he found this change of pace to be exactly what he needed to get away from the memories of war. Along the way, he found companionship in the ship’s Captain, Anaya Srivastava. An older woman, 41 to Derek’s 26, she possessed a quiet confidence that most women his age could never display. Eventually, the two sealed their relationship by marrying each other in 2380 on the shores of the Pacific back home in Seattle. Over the next five years, everything continued as it had done over the previous four. Business continued to increase, thanks to the reparation and rebuilding efforts with Cardassia and the border colonies. However, this all came to a sudden and horrific stop in January 2385, when the Impetuous was set upon by an outlaw Ferengi vessel. The bandits had staked out some of the less-traveled trade routes, and caught the Impetuous hauling a full load of valuable dilithium ore. While the ship attempted to escape, the fully-laden vessel was not capable of outrunning or outgunning its foe. The bandits fired what they believed to be merely a disabling shot into the Impetuous’s warp nacelle. Unfortunately, this shot fully ruptured the nacelle, sending a plasma cascade back through to the ship’s warp core. Mr. Tournneau did everything he could to prevent the core from scrambling, but it was unavoidable. Although most of the crew perished, Derek’s actions did allow the engineering crew and a few others on board to escape. Tragically, Derek’s wife and Captain, Anaya, was among the lost. Once Derek returned to Federation space, he took some time to decompress with his family on Earth. He realized that even though he tried to leave conflict behind him, it would still follow him throughout the galaxy. After much soul-searching, he decided to ask for his Starfleet commission to be resumed. In February 2386, Derek Tournneau was reinstated as a Lieutenant in Starfleet. He spent some time completing remedial training, and applied for and was accepted into the graduate program in Warp Geometry at the Academy. He also used the opportunity to be back at the Academy to get back into shape mentally and physically. Upon completion of his degree program, Lt. Tournneau was given the post of Warp Systems Officer aboard the USS Oberon, a Luna-class long-range starship. By using new methods in warp field calculation, Derek was able to increase the efficiency and maximum safe speed of the Oberon. When a vacancy availed itself, having demonstrated competency along with his gallant service record, Mr. Tournneau was promoted to the rank of Lt. Cdr. and the position of Asst. Chief Engineer aboard the Oberon for the remainder of its three-year mission. Once the Oberon returned to the Alpha Quadrant, Derek was given the option of staying on with the Oberon for another tour, or to go on to become the Chief Engineer aboard the newly refit USS Malinche-A, a Prometheus-class tactical cruiser. While the move would mean a promotion and a chance to be chief of one of Starfleet’s most advanced vessels, it would also mean a return to full combat duty. Although he had proven to be good at it in the past, he had to do some more soul-searching until he determined that the only way to move through life was forward – he accepted the position.
Service Record		2369-2372 – Cadet, Starfleet Academy (Engineering Track) 2372-2373 – Cadet, Advanced Tactical School 2373 – Ens., USS Tian An Men, Ordinance Specialist 2373-2374 – Lt., JG, USS Tian An Men, Tactical Officer 2374-2376 – Lt., USS Tian An Men, Chief of Security 2376 – Resigned commission 2376-2385 – Deneva-class Freighter Impetuous, Chief Engineer 2380 – Marriage registered, Capt. Srivastava, Impetuous 2385 – Freighter Impetuous destroyed in skirmish with Ferengi pirates while hauling dilithium ore. Nearly all hands lost; 12 survivors. 2386 – Starfleet commission resumed 2386-2389 – Lt., Starfleet Academy, Graduate Program (Warp Geometry) 2389-2390 – Lt., USS Oberon, Warp Systems Officer 2390-2391 – Lt. Cdr., USS Oberon, Asst. Chief Engineer 2391 – Lt. Cdr, USS Malinche-A, Chief Engineer

Personality & Traits

Personality		Derek’s personality can be described as being irreverently witty. Despite the negative experiences that he’s suffered, he always tries to keep things light, although those same experiences have certainly dampened his sense of humor as compared to his Academy days. Even though his lack of decorum can sometimes drive his superior officers crazy, his ability to produce under pressure make him an undisputed master of his craft.
Hobbies & Interests		Derek enjoys listening to music. While not much of a practitioner himself, he has a very eclectic collection that he cycles through regularly. He also enjoys keeping active and fit. From time to time, you may find him on the holodeck, thoroughly engrossed in a murder-mystery program.

OOC Info