Khalid El Sayed

Captain Khalid El Sayed is the commanding officer of the USS Memphis. An officer of vast experience, El Sayed cut his teeth on missions of exploration just as Starfleet began its increasing militarisation post-Wolf 359. Even service on the front lines during the Dominion War did not stop him from being a critic of such a cultural shift, and upon the Federation’s downturn after the Attack on Mars, he left starship assignments behind him, declaring himself a scientist, not a patrolman. El Sayed spent some years drifting between teaching at Starfleet Academy and scholarship at the Daystrom Institute, and only returned to front-line service after Starfleet’s return to its foundational principles in 2399. El Sayed captained a surveyor for two years, his superiors wanting to see him with more shipboard experience before trusting him with a more serious assignment, despite his expertise in cosmology. After Frontier Day and its devastating impact on the ranks of Starfleet, however, his experience suddenly dwarfed that of most officers, and El Sayed was given command of the USS Memphis, a Sutherland-class starship.

El Sayed is still heavily influenced by his years in lecture halls and laboratories. He runs the Memphis like a floating research institution, emphasising scientific study over formal structures and discipline. As a leader, he swings between the kindly mentor trying to draw the best out of his crew, and a head researcher setting exacting standards. This makes him particularly supportive of young officers, especially those rapidly advanced by Frontier Day, but demanding and intractable to more seasoned crewmembers, which keeps many of the powerful egos of such an intellectual collective at bay. He encourages competition at every turn, which can sometimes stir great success, and sometimes academic backbiting.