Lieutenant Commander Saul Eco
Name Saul Eco
Position Chief Engineer
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 45 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5' 10" | |
| Weight | 200lbs-ish | |
| Hair Color | Dark Brown | |
| Eye Color | Green | |
| Physical Description | Broad-shouldered and well-muscled, Eco keeps himself trim and fit for his age. With a close-cropped beard, dark hair and deep green eyes he could be considered handsome, and has used this to his advantage from time to time. |
Family
| Father | David | |
| Mother | Lillian | |
| Brother(s) | Eric, Neil, Timothy | |
| Sister(s) | Esme, Lilly | |
| Other Family | Various Aunts and Uncles |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | A large man, Eco prefers to keep a low profile, and is mostly quiet. He speaks little to strangers and tries to remain inconspicuous. With closer friends and acquaintances he is more loquacious and frequently joins in with activities. |
|
| Strengths & Weaknesses | Eco has a broad knowledge of Engineering systems having been a tinkerer all his life, and taking advantage of Marine Corps and Starfleet training. Trim and reinforced with Marine training Eco can hold his own in combat under most circumstances. His social skills could be considered poor due to his reticence to engage strangers in conversation leading some to believe he is arrogant and distant. A personal philosophy close to Daoism also leads him to become passive in some circumstances as he awaits situations to resolve themselves - a trait deemed as uncertainty and a lack of decision-making skills. |
|
| Ambitions | To rise through the ranks of Starfleet before retiring to a nice farm somewhere quiet. |
|
| Hobbies & Interests | Tinkering with gadgets and machine parts is a favourite pastime, as well as building little contraptions that adorn his quarter's desk. He is fond of meditation to calm his mind and focus, as well as performing tai-chi in a quiet corner, whether his quarters or a cargo bay. Hiking and reading are also favoured distractions. |
|
| Languages | English, rudimentary Klingon |
| Personal History | Born in 2344 on Alpha Centauri, Eco was the eldest child of teachers David and Lillian. Living in a small village, there were wide expanses of farmland around, and an idyllic childhood was virtually guaranteed. From a young age, Eco was encouraged to read widely and solve puzzles by his mother and father, English and maths teachers respectively. With a stream of younger siblings being born, he did not want for company. With all the noise and clamour around such a busy house, Eco instinctively retreated within himself at a young age, becoming a quiet and thoughtful lad who would often wait and see how a situation would play out before making a decision. As he grew into his teens, Eco became restless, rejecting the seemingly aimless life that was in store for him in his home village. He yearned to see the galaxy, and planned accordingly. With excellent grades, he was easily accepted into the Marine Boot Camp Program in 2362. After four years hard training - including a stint at the Armed Forces Military College in Alpha Centauri City, he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the Marine Support Division. His knowledge of mechanics was good when he entered the Program, but by the time he exited were superb. He spent most of his twenties gallivanting around the galaxy fixing Marine machinery as he went, often under dangerous battlefield conditions. During this period he adopted a signature trait of always having a Nicaraguan cigar in his mouth - often unlit. It gave him comfort, and was a reassuring prop. As his twenties drew to a close, Eco's thoughts turned to retiring from the Marine Corps and setting up shop on a quiet planet in Federation space, far from any action. There he would open a machine shop and settle down to a quiet life. The Dominion War, however put paid to that notion. In 2373 he volunteered for front-line action, being part of the fighting from the very beginning. The War was a trying period for the man. Not for him was the constant back and forth of some fronts. He spent a total of six months in a drenched foxhole on a backwater planet. A stalemate for a worthless world that claimed more of his friends than he would care to count. To this day sounds similar to artillery fire are apt to upset him. It was a long hard slog of a war, with little rest to be had. When they did manage to snatch it during a mustering on a planet behind the lines, Montab Turkana XII, Eco stumbled across a Daoist shrine and its attendant. Listening to a talk she was giving to an audience present, Eco was struck at this similarities in his personality and the philosophy she espoused. Intrigued, he waited until she had finished before rolling up and purchasing all the books he could. They would make for interesting further study. As the War, and his reading, progressed, colleagues noted a growing difference in the man. He seemed more relaxed somehow, more confident. A few promotions were awarded to him, allowing him command over his own platoon, as it became apparent he was calm under fire and had an instinctive understanding of whatever terrain was about him. Eco himself was too much of a sceptic to attribute much of the change to his adoption of Daoist philosophy, but did concede that meditation and the practising of Tai Chi calmed and centred him, making him a more effective person all round. The end of the War found him liberating Cardassia from the Dominion. In those weeks he saw horrors that he never thought possible. Piles of corpses, men, women and children were everywhere. The smell of rot was heavy in the air. Even with his new-found philosophy it was a bitter pill to swallow and accept anyone was capable of this brutality. As his assignment on Cardassia drew to a close, Eco opted to leave the Marines, but not the service of the Federation. Duty forced him to concede that she would need all hands on deck to recover from the War. His only option in his mind was to transfer to Starfleet. They gladly accepted him with his proven war record. It was a small matter of entering the Academy and pursuing an accelerated course - two years instead of four, and a cadet cruise - before being accepted as an Engineering Officer on the USS Beagle. From his earliest days in Starfleet, Eco instinctively chose assignments aboard ships of exploration and diplomacy, sure in his calculations that these would be the last, and he would be the last of their crew, to be called into situations of combat. He served faithfully, quietly and effectively for over a decade a decade, hopping from assignment, never looking for promotions, but being in the right place at the right time for them. As 2388 dawned, it became clear to him that a change of pace was needed once more, and he opted to transfer to the USS Aurora. Life on the Aurora was certainly what he needed. The ship was new, and compact, requiring little in the line of emergency maintenance to keep her afloat. Nevertheless after two years of routine exploration, he began itching for something more, and put in a transfer. |
|
| Service Record | ((If it's all right with you, I'll fill this in later - I'm not entirely sure where he served and for how long yet. And if I'm accepted, the rank I have will be a good guide as to how to space his promotions here.)) |