Clara Knecht

Childhood

Clara Knecht was born in a town in Germany called Seligenstadt, and from a young age found herself tinkering with just about anything she could get her hands on. She found great joy in learning how things work, and eventually began assisting her father in working on a small personal shuttlecraft he owned.

The older she got, the more skilled she became – as a young teenager it wasn’t uncommon to find her disassembling household items to learn how they worked first-hand, and within a couple years she was regularly able to get them working again after tearing them to pieces.

Academy Life

As soon as she was able, Clara applied for Starfleet Academy, and was accepted into their engineering program. While she didn’t spend her entire Academy career at the top of her class, this was often because of her difficulties in describing and explaining elements of her work – she always excelled in practical matters.

USS Dreadnought

At the end of her schooling, Knecht was assigned to serve as a junior officer aboard the USS Dreadnought, where she spent her time as Ensign serving on an engineering team under Captain T’Vrell and her Executive Officer, Commander Suzanne Garcia. Garcia, having spent most of her career in Engineering, would regularly unwind by spending time with the ship’s engineering teams, and so eventually befriended Knecht, due to Knecht’s personable attitude and their similar backgrounds.

When the Chief Engineering Officer position became available at Roosevelt Station, Garcia encouraged the then-Lieutenant to apply, citing it as an excellent opportunity to advance her career. Knecht did so, and Garcia submitted a recommendation as a senior officer, securing Knecht’s advancement to the Chief Engineer of Roosevelt Station.