Zack Brannigan

Childhood

Born Zackari Th’Zaathk, Zach was a healthy Thaan Andorian, to a full quartet family of Starfleet Officers. His parents wanted to keep him on Andoria to be raised in tradition, but the only way to do so would be for each parent to cycle formal leave, separating three of the four parents at a time. To that end, they decided to stay together and raise him the best they could, and at the age of 1, whisked him away to the stars to continue to serve in Starfleet.

For 7 years, he lived in bliss with his entire family, and a multicultural starship to guide him. However, in 2381, his Charan and Thavan (Fathers) were killed in the initial attack on Douglas Station. He was left to be raised by his Zhavey and Shreya (Mothers), who considered resignation, but due to being greatly supported by the crew, which even young Zackari saw as family, they could not bring themselves to leave. The captain of the vessel made accommodations so that neither parent could be assigned away at the same time, so Zachary always had someone with him.

This proved to be futile, as in 2387, following the destruction of the Hobus System, his Zhaevy was killed by rioters on a Romulan refugee colony, and not a few hours later, his Shreya was killed by an exploding EPS conduit, following an attack on their ship by raiders that had been extorting the very refugees. Zackari was orphaned. Unable to contact any living next of kin, Zack was adopted by his school teacher, Bethany Brannigan, who was a close personal friend to his Zhavey and Shreya. He also adopted the last name Brannigan to honor her service to him and his family.

Starfleet Academy

Zack grew up an apparently well-adjusted kid, despite losing his family, and his adopted mother assisted him in his application process to Starfleet Academy. But this is where he began a downward spiral. Zack never wanted to disappoint his family or his ‘crew’, so he never showed his insecurities. Being ‘alone’ for the first time in Starfleet Academy, he became a highly reckless individual. High Impact Sports, Hand to Hand Combat, Showboating, and flirting with any/everything that breathed were only the start of his downward spiral, leading to his near suspension from the Academy in his sophomore year.

Thankfully, with the intervention of Ms. Bethany, as well as a fellow cadet he looked closely after, Zack was able to turn his life and attitude around, connecting with his lost heritage, and proving he was worthy of the same uniform as his parents before him. He majored in Advanced Astrophysical Navigation, Combat Strategy, and Small Unit Tactics. Zack managed to graduate in the 75^th percentile of class 2395.

Starfleet Service

Zack quickly took flight, excelling as a Pilot and Flight Control Officer in small attack wing operations against Raiders and Pirates while serving in the Cardassian Operation Theater. He quickly rose to the Flight Wing commander of his squadron and fought bravely against the Breen over Barzan II, marking his promotion to full Lieutenant. His assignments began to drastically change, pulling him more away from the frontlines, and taking a more commanding approach as Flight Deck Officer, and then Tactical Officer aboard various postings, which he often rebelled against and flew out on missions anyway.

During Frontier Day, while on probation for yet another unauthorized flight, Zack was assigned as transport officer, shuttling dignitaries too and from Earth to Probert Station. When the station came under attack by the assimilated fleet, Zack was able to hijack several transport shuttles and utilized them to make multiple rescue runs, getting civilian and command personnel to safety back to Earth, using the station as cover, and performing micro-warp jumps using the planet’s gravitational pull to get to and from the station safely. His grit and heroism earned him a promotion to Lieutenant Commander by an on-site Admiral.