Bravo Fleet
Summary
Marcus Beardsly has a fresh, fourth pip on his collar and his first command to go with it. The new captain of the USS Truckee hasn’t been onboard long enough for the captain’s chair to conform to his behind yet, but he’s eager to do Starfleet and his family proud.
Appearance
Marcus Beardsly is an imposing figure, standing 6″4″ in height, with a solid frame he earned from a lifetime of exercise. He has the typical Trill “spots” running down the sides of his body. His hair turned white at the young age of 20-a family trait-and he keeps it slicked back. When he put on the fourth collar pip, he decided to grow out a pure white beard, and apparently nobody has informed him of the irony yet. Marcus has light blue eyes that are sometimes covered by reading glasses, as he is too stubborn to undergo simple eye surgery to correct them.
Personality
Marcus Beardsly is a quiet man. He prefers to remain as professional as possible in the workplace, though once comfortable with his crew, he has been known to sneak in some dry wit here and there. Within his small group of close friends, he becomes more relaxed, and is quick to laugh. His career has been driven by his life-long goal of “making a difference,” though he still isn’t quite sure he knows what form that will take. Starfleet was an obvious choice for him, as Marcus wasn’t sure what he could contribute on Earth. He never had a love for politics, so going where no man had gone before with Starfleet seemed like the best path towards his goals. He hadn’t had any aspirations towards command initially; he’d been quite happy as a chief engineer, but when his captain asked him to step up as XO after a surprise attack claimed the life of his prior commander, he hadn’t hesitated.
History
Born on Trill, Marcus was raised on Earth by his adoptive parents after his birth parents were killed during the Dominion war. In order to honor their memory, he redoubled his efforts to be selected for joining, and only returned to Trill when finally chosen for that honor. It took him a doctorate and a few patents under his belt to get there.
Marcus attended the Academy from 2378-2382. He found he fit in well there. Every student was driven and ambitious, with great plans to change the universe. Marcus assumed he’d be the big brain behind the next leap in warp technology… Just like every other aspiring engineer in his class.
After the Academy, Ensign Beardsly went straight on to graduate school at the Daystrom Institute for warp theory. Starfleet made sure all its engineers could work their way around an engine room, but Beardsly wanted to specialize. There he got a chance to meet Dr. Leah Brahms, one of his early heroes.
Ironically, Beardsly didn’t make it to his first ship until he was a lieutenant commander. His first two postings were on starbases, lasting 8 years. Onboard the USS Ulysses, he served first as chief engineer, and then as XO. His second 8 years in Starfleet were all spent aboard the Ulysses, during which he truly mastered his understanding of that vessel.
Beardsly transitioned from chief engineer to XO when the former commander died suddenly, in a freak chain of events. The Ulysses had been at warp, making her way to the next sector to catalogue a rogue comet, when the ship passed too close to a pocket of dark matter. The warp core destabilized and shut down, dropping the Ulysses out of warp in a tailspin. To compound the matter, the Ulysses happened to appear out of nowhere to two Onion pirate vessels. Thinking they were under attack, the fired on the defenseless Ulysses. Beardsly is credited with saving the ship and its crew via a dangerous cold start of the reactor, but unfortunately, the initial assault had taking his XO’s life. Beardsly’s captain asked him to step up, so he did so reluctantly.
Service Record
| Date | Position | Posting | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2401 - Present | CO | USS Truckee |
 Captain |
| 2395 - 2400 | XO | USS Ulysses |
 Commander |
| 2392 - 2395 | Chief Engineer | USS Ulysses |
 Lieutenant Commander |
| 2388 - 2392 | Engineer | Deep Space 23 |
 Lieutenant |
| 2386 - 2388 | Junior Engineer | Starbase 1 |
 Lieutenant Junior Grade |
| 2384 - 2386 | Junior Engineer | Starbase 1 |
 Ensign |