Tobias Duncan-Court

Political Information

• Affiliation: Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Family

• Mother: Winston Court, M.D. – Chief of Neurosurgery, Ottawa General Hospital, Earth
• Father: Alexandra Court-Baines, PhD. – Professor of Sociology, University of Ontario, Earth
• Husband: Max Court-Duncan, Starfleet Commander of the USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
• Son: Jordan ‘Jorgeh’ Luke Duncan-Court, Starfleet Cadet of the USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
• Son: William ‘Wylem’ Nathan Winston Duncan-Court
• Godson: Theodore McCallister-Reyas
• Godson: Alfie McCallister-Reyas, Starfleet Cadet of the USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
• Godson: Henri McCallister-Reyas

Early Life

Born in Ottawa on Earth, Tobias Court was the only child of Alexandra and Winston Court. Both doted on him from birth, and there was always a plan for his life’s direction. His father was his surgeon, his mother was a sociologist, and both wanted him to enter academia. As a small child, he was sent to the best private schools and was afforded little time for recreation, though he did pick up fencing and chess during High School.

With high grades through secondary school, his mother secured him a place at the University of Ontario, hoping that he would major in science. Instead, he chose to study literature, much to the chagrin of both parents. Even though his life was still under many constraints by his parents, he found the college experience immensely entertaining because he had the chance to study what he wanted.

Starfleet Career

Starfleet Enlisted Training Command

Upon enlistment, Tobias was sent to the Starfleet Enlisted Training Command facility on Mars, which suited him fine. In his early training, he was somewhat unprepared for the amount of physical exertion expected during basic training. As an only child who was used to having his own room, he found sharing a barracks space with thirty-nine others to be a cause for pause, but he managed his way through six months of basic training.

He selected Clerical and Administrative Services as his specialisation. He underwent a further six months of training, learning the proper form to put reports in, the etiquette of various Federation member worlds, and how best to ensure the smooth running of the minutiae of a Starfleet command structure.

Starfleet Command

Upon promotion to Crewman, he was sent to Starfleet Command, where he worked as a Junior Administrative Assistant on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Starfleet Communications, where he saw to the needs of visiting dignitaries, helped arrange conferences and briefings, and further learned the ropes of Starfleet service. After a year, he was promoted to Yeoman Third Class, in which capacity he served as the Admiral’s receptionist primarily. He enjoyed this job because it allowed him a lot of free time to read and write while also interacting with a wide variety of beings.

USS Triton (NCC-80106)

As he worked longer and longer at Starfleet Command, he began to desire the opportunity to experience what he most wanted when joining the fleet – service on a vessel of exploration. His consistent service record of reliable service made him a good candidate for such service, and his transfer request was granted in the form of an assignment to the newly refitted USS Triton as the Yeoman to Captain James McCallister. Court worked exceptionally well with Captain McCallister, and the two would share a weekly session in the ship’s gym in a fencing session.

In mid-2386, the captain taught Tobias how to play velocity, and they added this to their interests, which they shared weekly. Court had been noted by many as being able to anticipate the captain’s needs exceptionally quickly. While on Triton, Tobias began to date the ship’s Gamma Shift Operations Officer, Ensign Lukiz Smith. Being part of Lukiz’s group of friends brought the enlisted man out further. T’Rani, the gamma shift’s flight control officer, started to give Tobias flying lessons on the holodeck. She noted he was a natural in his first attempt. When he wasn’t on duty or hanging out with Lukiz, Tobias volunteered to undertake training within the security division.

By the end of the year, the captain had been impressed with his yeoman’s eagerness to better himself. To recognise this, he promoted Court to Petty Officer First Class and recommended that he consider taking his enlistment training service further. He gave Court a year to work towards becoming a Chief Petty Officer. Court had accepted the challenge with confidence. Around the same time, the ship was ordered to rescue a Federation colony and space station from being attacked. However, their efforts resulted in the Triton coming under fire instead and inflected with heavy damage and mass causalities. Court ended up taking the helm of the Triton during mid-battle, while McCallister was forced to take a position at the tactical station because those at those stations were injured. Between the two of them, they were able to avoid the ship being lost and won the day. The captain awarded him with a commendation in his permanent record for his valour in flying the ship mid-battle.

While the Triton was taken to the Beta Antares Shipyards for significant repairs, the entire crew was re-assigned elsewhere. Captain McCallister offered Tobias a position on the new USS Odyssey. Not only would he be his yeoman, but he would also take up the Chief of the Boat position. Overwhelmed by McCallister’s encouragement and vote of confidence, Court felt he could not turn the man down. He agreed. Sadly, though, Tobias’ relationship with Lukiz ended. During the battle to save the Federation colony, Lukiz underwent emergency surgery to become host to a Trill symbiont. This joining changed Lukiz; he needed to work out who he was. He felt it was best they called it a day to avoid heartache for Tobias. Distraught by it all, Tobias finally accepted Lukiz’s position and watched as he left to return home to Trill.

USS Odyssey (NX/NCC-80000)

Returning to Earth before the launch of the new Odyssey, Tobias was able to see his family and share his experiences with them. Eventually, he joined the new ship a few days before it left the San Francisco Shipyards.

The new, bigger ship was challenging for him, but he rose to the occasion as McCallister had predicted. By mid-2387, McCallister requested that Tobias become the godfather to his recently born triplet sons. Not needing time to think about it, Tobias agreed to look out for his new godsons: Theodore, Alfie and Henri. Automatically, he became ‘Uncle Tobi’, and the three boys adored him.

The following year, Odyssey lost McCallister when he left to take command of the USS Avenger for a year. Court remained on the Odyssey, assisting Commander Zack Hawkins (the first officer) in running the ship in the captain’s absence. During this time, the ship was given quite a few easy and mundane orders within the confines of the Federation space. As a result, the crew morale started to dip. Court took on the role of morale officer and, working with others, began organising weekly events on the ship for people to attend, from movie nights to musical performances to velocity tournaments, and celebrated various festivals from across the Federation’s multi-cultural backgrounds. He ended 2388 by dressing up as Father Christmas for the children on the ship.

The captain returned and was impressed at how well Court had kept the crew’s morale up during a difficult period. In 2391, after Commander Hawkins’ departure, after making Cambil his first officer, the captain promoted Court to Senior Chief Petty Officer. It was around this time also that Lukiz returned to the fold, no longer the same man since his joining. Court and he decided that, for now, they would remain as friends. Something that Tobias preferred as he had already started to see others.

By 2399, Tobias was known as the ‘power behind the throne’ among the enlisted crewmembers due to his close relationships with the ship’s three most senior officers: Captain McCallister, Commander Cambil and Commander Reyas. Court would often babysit his godsons and started to take an interest in history and archaeology, thanks to Commander Reyas sharing her field of expertise with him. The two would often talk about various periods of time from different cultures over coffee. If he were sharing a meal with McCallister and Reyas, he would have a game of Bajoran Springball with Cambil.

Responsible for managing and organising many promotion ceremonies on the ship, Tobias organised something special when several senior staff members were promoted simultaneously. Borrowing a copy of the holoprogram used by others in the fleet, Tobias recreated a nineteenth-century galleon (also named Odyssey) so the senior staff could celebrate the promotions of T’Rani, Lenjir and Jen. By this time, Court had established himself as an integral part of the senior staff, assisting the captain and first officer in coordinating efforts across every department. He had also struck a good friendship with Commander Hunsen and Counsellor Duncan, regularly having meals with them in the ship’s Auditorium. 

When the ship was involved in the Archanis Campaign, Court treated Captain McCallister after being knocked unconscious during the first battle against the Hunters of D’Ghor. Commander Duncan assumed temporary command of Odyssey, with Court assisting him with every moment after that. Court and Jen repelled Klingon invaders while attempting to rescue his godsons, who were trapped in their classrooms after the Klingon attack. 

In mid-2399, the ship was in the Delta Quadrant, where Court and the rest of the crew assisted in relocating the Uxali civilisation. This was followed by several weeks of exploration of the Gradin Belt. During this time, Captain McCallister (who was undertaking a classified mission for Starfleet) ordered Tobias to assume command of the ship using the Emergency Command Hologram if Commander Cambil refused to carry out the orders he had left her. McCallister feared that their rescue attempts for him would result in the loss of the ship and left Court with the authority to assume command and control of the ship’s computer if he so deemed it. Thankfully, Court did not need to use his temporary clearance codes as McCallister returned from his undercover mission safely. Shortly after this, Court was instrumental in helping Commander Duncan transition from chief counsellor to first officer. His established relationship with McCallister assisted Duncan in understanding how the captain liked to manage the ship. The two worked exceptionally closely in these early weeks. 

Odyssey began exploring the Delta Hedalos Sector, a region of space in the Gradin Belt that Starfleet had not mapped before. While exploring the Burbridge Cluster, the ship found an almost perfect M-class world named Outrè. While survey teams examined the planet, crew members were allowed to visit the planet for recreation and shore leave purposes. Court went with McCallister, Duncan and McCallister’s sons to camp on one of the beaches of the tropical islands they had surveyed. When artefacts of a buried civilisation were found on the shore, they took the captain’s yacht deep underwater. Court was the first to uncover a gold obelisk with the T’Kon Empire cress. This discovery began a new mission for the ship as it joined with every other ship in Starfleet to deal with the T’Kon crisis that was taking place on a galactic level. 

Months later, Court entered into a romantic relationship with Duncan. Initially, their relationship was purely lustful until they decided they wanted to take things further and began properly dating in secrecy. Eventually, their relationship was discovered by others, and as a result, they decided to make Captain McCallister aware of it. 

Their relationship took another level when the ship encountered an alien ark vessel, and most of the crew were kidnapped. Forced to live on the alien ark (known as the Quirennal) and care for the children that it had kept in cryo stasis for a long time, Court and Duncan’s relationship became full public knowledge when the holographic AI that controlled the ship announced it everyone else. Based on the ship’s former captain, the AI had Duncan and Court take care of the captain’s teenage sons. Over the next three months, Duncan and Court’s relationship developed so much that they became a family unit with the two boys, Jorgeh and Wylem. When a rescue attempt was made by the Odyssey (with help from the USS League), it was revealed that Jorgeh and Wylem were the only survivors on the Quirennal and that every other child that Captan Jyster (the AI hologram that had kidnapped them) had created from the ship’s impressive technology. Jorgeh and Wylem ended up joining the Odyssey, and upon their return, Duncan and Court agreed to move in with one another and their sons. While escaping from the Quirennal, the ship returned to the Alpha Quadrant through unmapped underspace corridors. The entire crew were granted R&R on Mellstoxx, where Court and Duncan took both boys camping. They knew their recovery from the trauma endured while on the Quirennal would take time. Their request for the boys to seek asylum in the Federation was approved, and both Court and Duncan began proceedings to legally adopt both of them, allowing Jorgeh and Wylem to become Federation citizens.    

At the start of the 25th century, the ship rescued those trapped in the Paulson Nebula while many ion storms passed. When this happened, the Odyssey was hit by a chronokinetic surge, which created several timeframes on the ship. Once the ship was free, Court and every other crew member involved in the various time-travelling incidents to restore the ship were debriefed by the Department of Temporal Investigations. Furthermore, they were required by the Temporal Prime Directive to keep what happened to them a secret to avoid any further temporal paradoxes from occurring. 

By mid-2400, Court was promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer. His new rank reflected the range of hard work, dedication and numerous training he had undertaken. The captain’s faith in him as a trustworthy member of his crew was further reinforced when the ship was sent into the Velorum Sector after the collapse of the remains of the Romulan Star Empire. Sent to help the Romulan colony of Vorash, Court played a crucial role in regaining support and trust with Grand DaiMon Deliaros, a Ferengi businesswoman helping the Vorash colonists. His intimate knowledge of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition was used to gain Deliaros’ support and trust. 

Months later, Court asked Duncan to marry him. The two agreed and were prepared to get married sooner rather than later, as they wanted to enjoy the rest of their lives together. While in the middle of their wedding preparations, Duncan and Court had to deal with Hazari bounty hunters who wanted to kill both Jorgeh and Wylem as the last apparent remnants of the Ryslanti civilisation. With the crew’s help, they were able to deceive the Hazari by making both boys appear Human. Furthermore, Doctor Slyvexs manipulated their DNA temporarily to appear as if they were the children of both Duncan and Court. The computer records were also changed to reflect this, including changing their names to Jordan and William. Once the Hazari threat was dealt with, Duncan and Court married on the Odyssey and had their sons as their best men. 

By the start of 2401, the Odyssey expanded its exploration efforts with the arrival of the three other ships to join it. While in the Kataba Expanse, the ship developed strong ties with the Benthans. During an away mission to an abandoned Hirogen communication relay, an internal defence mechanism made Duncan and others unconscious. While Odyssey was dealing with another matter, a passing Kobali trader believed the entire away team was dead and attempted to take them back to his homeworld to turn them into Kobali. Thankfully, with the help of the Benthans, Duncan and the others were rescued by Court and others from the Kobali. 

When the entire squadron was ordered back to the Alpha Quadrant, Court, like everyone else, was dismayed at Starfleet’s decision to pull them away from their exploration efforts. The need to have the Odyssey and others back for the upcoming 250th anniversary of Frontier Day seemed trivial to them all. During the Frontier Day celebrations and the unforeseen uprise of the unholy alliance between the remains of the Borg Queen and rogue Changeling Infiltrators, Court was on the bridge of the Odyssey as he witnessed his son, Jordan, become a drone. Though he didn’t want to harm Jordan, Court subdued him with a phaser stun blast and assisted everyone else in surviving the assault. After the disaster, they survived, and the court decided to finalise his officer training. Due to the loss of so many experienced officers, combined with his own experience, Starfleet granted him the commission of lieutenant commander before completing the advanced bridge officer’s exam. Once this was done, McCallister promoted him to commander and made him Chief Administrative Officer of the Odyssey Squadron and Senior Officer of the Watch on the Odyssey.

By late 2401, and with further staff changes in the Odyssey Squadron, Court was made the training officer for the cadets assigned to them. His husband was now captain of the Odyssey, and the two were now the power couple of the flagship.