Ensign David Kipling
Name David Elias Kipling
Position Damage Control Specialist
Rank Ensign
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 28 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 1.6 m | |
| Weight | 90 kg | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Hazel | |
| Physical Description | David is shorter than most humans, a trait that saw him excel at Greco-Roman wrestling, but carries himself well. He has several minor facial scars stemming from a childhood in rural Idaho and several tattoos (which are not visible in uniform). He has a slight limp, favoring his right leg, that developed as a result of a training accident. |
Family
| Spouse | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Matthew Donald Kipling | |
| Mother | Elizabeth Renee (Powell) Kipling | |
| Brother(s) | Mark, Keith and Travis (all older than David) | |
| Sister(s) | Ellen (younger) and Fujiko (older; adopted) | |
| Other Family | Various cousins, aunts and uncles |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | David has always been calm under pressure, whether he's on the wrestling mat or on the deck of a ship working to keep her together. He is one of those rare individuals that thrive on chaos. He is also very methodical, a by-product of his vocation, in how he approaches problems. This works well for him when he’s keeping a warp core from overreacting but not so great in dealing with his crewmates. | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | S - methodical problem solving, hardware and its implementation/ W: people and spontaneity | |
| Ambitions | to be a Chief Engineer one day | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Greco-Roman wrestling, hunting, and fishing, new tools |
| Personal History | David was born on 26 May 2128 and grew up on a farm in Hailey, ID, which is situated at the southern edge of the Sawtooth National Forest. David hunted, fished, and wrestled as a kid and into his high school years. He was always into astronomy; an interest his parents indulged more than his other hobbies. He showed mechanical aptitude and a high school teacher encouraged him to test for Starfleet's Academy. David did and was accepted into the Academy, a family first. After graduating from the Academy, David was commissioned as an Ensign and assigned to Jupiter Station. He learned the ins and outs of his trade there under the tutelage of an older, more experienced if unorthodox Denobulan officer named Aurrex. While at Jupiter Station, David volunteered for Damage Control Specialist training. At first, David struggled with the philosophy behind Damage Control. He wanted too much to save the ship *and* the people; triage seemed too brutal a concept for him. But then one of his instructors, who recognized David’s talents for what they were, forced a test on David to illustrate the concept. “To save the people, you have to save the ship,” were the only instructions David was given. The brutality of watching (simulated) crewmates die pushed David to work harder than ever before to save the (simulated) ship. The test worked and David never forgot the lesson. David then returned to Jupiter Station as a Damage Control Specialist. He threw himself into his work but never got the same satisfaction as he he did during DAMCON training. He watched with rapt facination as the plight of the Enterprise was relayed across the station and throughout Starfleet. He realized that, in a moment of clarity, he wanted to serve aboard a ship…that was the missing piece. Working as a team on a station was fine and all, but working as a team on one of the NX vessels…that was what he wanted. So, David volunteered for service aboard the Atlantis. He was accepted as a Damage Control Specialist and he finally admitted to himself that he’d found his place in the universe. He learned her corridors and bulkheads with purpose and zeal. He worked tirelessly to make sure he could save his ship in order to save his crew. During Atlantis’s encounter with the creature that called itself John Smith, David was one of the crew members affected by the creature’s attacks. He was placed into suspended animation to preserve him until he could be fully treated. His good nature and enthusiasm were sorely missed when the Atlantis became lost. David was saddened, upon his treatment and awakening, to learn that so many of his shipmates had been lost with the alternative Atlantis (his Atlantis, he would say). But he rededicated himself to protecting this Atlantis and her crew and doing everything he can to help with the blending of the two crews. |
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| Service Record | Attended Academy (including hazardous environment training on Titan) 2149 Assigned to Jupiter Station as Engineer 2150 Volunteered for DAMCON Specialist training 2152 Reassigned to Jupiter Station as DAMCON Specialist 2153 Volunteered for Duty in NX program; assigned to USS Atlantis as DAMCON Specialist |