Nathan 'Newt' Tarrington

Nathan was born on Torrassa in 2372, a Federation colony situated near the Romulan Neutral Zone. His father is a successful farmer and a direct descendant from the first colonists on the planet. On Torrassa his family is considered prominent and well-connected. His mother is a Romulan who as a university student on Romulus became a deeply enthusiastic supporter and activist for Spock’s reunification movement. In 2369 in order to satisfy an impetuous curiousity to experience life on Vulcan herself, she left her home planet Inxtis by arranging passage on a freighter bound for Federation space independently and secretly. She was disguised as a Vulcan V’tosh ka’tur and hid in ‘plain sight’ on Torrassa temporarily with the intent to obtain sufficient funds continue her journey to Vulcan.

Nathan grew up learning both Vulcan and Romulan customs and language, thinking the latter to be a mere colloquial variant of Vulcan root dialect. He never left Torrassa and visits from Starfleet were extremely rare, therefore he never actually saw a Vulcan and was therefore unaware of his mother’s true species until news of the imminent Hobus supernova and the Federation’s humanitarian relief mission. At age 11 Nathan finally got an opportunity to meet his mother’s people when the first Romulan refugees from Sithu arrived on the Dignity in 2383 during the early stages of the politically controversial Picard-led mass evacuation of Romulans. Initially he was fascinated with the similarity in appearance but the difference in attitudes. He began to learn more in depth about the enmity between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire. He was also astonished, intrigued and often struggled to grasp the Romulan penchant for secrecy and deception. This eventually opened an emotional wound which challenged the relationship between him and his mother, especially with her decision to pose as a Vulcan for so many years. The intense political debate that surrounded the relief effort between both factions versus the reality of seeing how people who were forced to leave their home world had to deal with mass relocation and to rebuild their lives from scratch was becoming quite disturbing for him, adding to his confusion and inability to understand why the welfare of people’s lives couldn’t simply overrule politics. Torrassa like other border and outer colonies was not a high priority of political concern to the Federation Council and therefore its inhabitants were accustomed to being relegated to an after-thought and held a more liberal view toward the Romulans than core Federation worlds. In the years following the first Romulan arrivals, although there were many challenging scenarios, overall he found the process of acceptance, compassion and building cordial, respectful relations with the new Romulan neighbours relatively easy.

In an effort to understand fully the enormity of the Romulan diaspora, at age 15 Nathan’s parents suggested that he went on a trip to Earth and Mars with his uncle aboard one of his freighters. Nathan got the opportunity to visit a few prominent locations on Earth which included a guided day-tour of the Daystrom Institute and two days in San Francisco where he saw the public protests and opposing views on the Romulan relief effort; however they did not visit Starfleet at all although uniformed personnel were often seen. He and his uncle then went to UPY. His uncle’s friend was a senior civilian engineer who worked on the starship construction facilities which at the time utilised the Daystrom A500 synths in order to meet the urgent demand for a highly accelerated construction rate of starships for the Federation relief effort to the Romulans. It was here where Nathan became totally enamoured with the feat of engineering utilised to accomplish this unprecedented herculean task with the ultimate objective to offer aid to a long-time enemy that faced the inevitable horror of losing their home world, millions of lives and the lasting effect on their identity; this effort had to be the true meaning behind the Federation and Starfleet as explained by Geordie La Forge who he met briefly on the tour. He saw Starfleet and civilian engineers working together and from their awe inspiring accounts of how they faced and dealt with the challenge, this ignited his desire to pursue a career as an engineer, he wanted to return to work at UPY in particular because according to La Forge the material demands of relief effort would be ongoing for at least another decade. He also wanted to make his contribution here because this noble endeavour truly resonated with him on a personal level. He and his uncle were fortunate to leave the facility the day before the Massacre that decimated UPY.

In the aftermath of the Mars Massacare, the abortion of the Romulan relief mission and the ban on all synthetic research by the Federation, Nathan still held the desire to be an engineer and worked on his uncle’s freighters for two years before applying to and passing the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy. In addition to the experience of living with newly relocated Romulans, the two years not only gave him a head start on starship systems but it also opened his wider education to tolerance and acceptance other species and cultures as well as to develop the intuitive agility required to assess and successfully avoid or deal with interpersonal conflict.

Although he wasn’t a distinguished student, he was none however adequately prepared for life at the Academy and upon graduation he was commissioned as an Ensign. In 2394 Nathan was assigned to USS Sutherland as a Junior Assistant Engineer. In 2396 he was promoted to Lieutenant JG and assigned to the USS Vesta, a far more modern Explorer design. He found the time aboard the Vesta more challenging and rewarding as he became more conversant with the more advanced technology and systems. During these first five years of service he experienced combat only three times; they were against pirates therefore the engagements were extremely short with no damage incurred to either the Sutherland or the Vesta.

Now a Senior Assistant Engineer and ‘in zone’ for promotion to Lieutenant, Nathan eagerly awaits his next assignment.