Ensign Collin O'Connor
Name Collin Cyril O'Connor
Position Communications Specialist
Second Position Encryption/Decryption Specialist
Rank Ensign
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 25 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'10" | |
| Weight | 185 lbs | |
| Hair Color | ginger | |
| Eye Color | green | |
| Physical Description | charming Irishman with dimples in his cheeks and a nice Irish accent for the 24th century. Physically fit and active, he has a scar on his stomach from a cliff diving accident when he celebrated graduating from high school. |
Family
| Spouse | n/a | |
| Children | n/a | |
| Father | Connor Cyrus O'Connor (deceased) | |
| Mother | Catherine Mallory O'Connor | |
| Brother(s) | Carter O'Connor (deceased) | |
| Sister(s) | Clara O'Connor (deceased) | |
| Other Family | Evan McGreggor (Uncle on Mother's side but not a blood uncle) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Birthplace: Galway, Ireland – Earth Academy Major: Xenolinguistics, Signal Decryption Minor: Cultural Semiotics & Subspace Resonance Theory Personality Traits: Inquisitive and endlessly fascinated with languages—spoken, gestured, written, or vibrated. Witty and observant, often cracking dry jokes, especially when translating cryptic alien phrases. Possesses a quiet resilience, having grown up with a hearing-impaired sibling, which deepened his sensitivity to non-verbal communication and empathy for misunderstood voices. Loves old Earth radio dramas and often listens to 20th-century broadcasts to sharpen his linguistic ear and vocal inflection analysis. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | Strengths Exceptional Linguistic Intuition O'Connor has a near-eidetic memory for language structures and an uncanny ability to spot patterns in unknown tongues. He doesn’t just decode messages—he feels them. This makes him a valuable first-contact asset and a standout in situations requiring fast translation or nuance interpretation. Empathic Listener Raised with a hearing-impaired sibling, Collin learned early on how to pick up on tone, body language, and subtext. This has honed his ability to detect underlying emotional currents even in unfamiliar cultures or tense negotiations. Creative Tech Adaptation He’s not an engineer by training, but he has a knack for repurposing communication hardware in unexpected ways. Known for building or modifying devices on the fly to match exotic signal forms—light-based, pheromone, harmonic, etc. Cultural Curiosity He deeply respects and immerses himself in other cultures, even when others might find them strange or difficult. His enthusiasm builds bridges and puts alien envoys at ease, often diffusing potential miscommunication before it escalates. Musical Ear His experience with music and tonal languages gives him heightened sensitivity to rhythm, cadence, and inflection—especially helpful when encountering non-standard communication forms like song-speech, chirp-code, or subspace harmonic pulses. Weaknesses Emotionally Invested O'Connor forms deep empathetic connections with others—including species or AIs others might consider "non-persons." This can cloud his objectivity, especially when he believes a culture is being disrespected or overlooked. Overextends Himself Tends to take on too much in a mission, trying to do the job of both translator and diplomat, sometimes skipping meals, rest, or safety checks in the process. This has led to physical burnout and at least one injury from neural feedback while using an unshielded signal harmonizer. Technically Insecure While creative, his engineering fundamentals aren’t as strong as he’d like. He sometimes rushes modifications without fully understanding their long-term effects. Has caused minor system feedbacks during experiments with subspace filters or retrofitted comm arrays. Not Great With Rank Formalities He’s casual, curious, and sometimes forgets to call senior officers “sir.” Not out of disrespect—just gets wrapped up in his work. Vulcan and Andorian officers often find this undisciplined or grating, especially during tense bridge moments. Struggles with Non-Communicative Cultures When encountering species that refuse or reject communication, he can become frustrated or anxious, interpreting it as a personal failure or breach of principle. |
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| Ambitions | He longs to be the one to discover a new language or means of communication that has yet to be discovered. He longs for a lass to one day call his wife and raise a brood of younglings. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Builds custom universal translator subroutines in his downtime Collects glyph stones and signal relics from dead civilizations Plays the concertina and sings in Gaelic when off duty |
History
| Personal History | The only surviving member of his family to attend Starfleet Academy. He is an agile and active young Irishman and enjoys the outdoors. He was a rugby player in high school. For his high school graduation celebration he and his buddies decided to go cliff diving and he ended up getting a large gash in his stomach that he asked to let heal on its own knowing it would leave a scar. He wanted that as a reminder of his previous life and to serve as a message to watch himself in the future. He is a mama's boy and is always making sure she is provided for and enjoying the best life she can even while his sailing in the heavens. |
Service Record
| Service Record | Starfleet Academy Highlights (Age 18–24) Created a multi-species creole translation matrix that helped resolve an interspecies prank war between Andorian and Tellarite cadets. Led a capstone simulation exercise translating a distress signal from a pre-warp society that used chemical-based communication. Studied under Lt. Commander Uhlaran, a Betazoid expert in empathic vocal harmonics. Service Log: First Year as Ensign (Age 24) ✦ Assignment: U.S.S. Argus A newly upgraded Intrepid-class ship assigned to exploration, first contact, and courier assignments along the Talarian Drift. Service Entry: Stardate 8624.1 Role: Junior Communications Officer under Lt. T’Raas (Vulcan) First Year Log Highlights Mission 1: "The Silence of Jolaris VII" Successfully established click-pattern translation protocols with a subterranean silicon-based species who had never used audible sound. Noted for adapting communicator tech with micro-sonar pings in under 6 hours. Commended by Captain Velar for "exceptional initiative under uncertain linguistic threat parameters." Mission 2: "Signal Ghosts" Tracked and decrypted decades-old subspace echoes suspected to be from missing U.S.S. Alcyone—proved to be a reflected time-locked message. Demonstrated proficiency in signal layering theory, assisting Science and Ops with temporal alignment calibration. Logged an emotional personal reflection: “To speak with a voice from before I was born… humbling.” Mission 3: "Prism Contact" Participated in first contact with the Color-Thought Collective, a species that used light spectra and electromagnetic pulses for communication. Developed a color-emotive lexicon based on pulse cadence and UV hue ratios. Suffered brief overload of optic nerves from continuous translation without filters, requiring 48-hour medbay recovery—but insisted on finishing lexicon first. Promoted to Lead Comm Liaison for the duration of the mission. Performance Review (End of Year 1)(age 25) Lt. T’Raas: “While emotionally expressive and occasionally given to inefficient sentiment, Ensign O’Connor demonstrates a rare ability: he listens—not merely to what is spoken, but to what is meant. A valuable trait in the unpredictable frontier.” Captain Velar: “Keep an eye on this one. I suspect his name will be attached to a First Contact Protocol revision someday.” |