Elisha Macomb

Personality

A true consequence of his upbringing, Elisha is a quiet, unassuming man. He can be somewhat introverted, and slow to make friends, but is a very loyal person, with a great drive to see his duty done. He has come to value absolute answers, and verifiable facts far more than opinions or guesses, after unlearning the poor habits foisted upon him during his formative years. Because of his relative lack of experience as a young man, he can seem to be quite naïve and even innocent, with an idealistic streak, and a good healthy dose of self-consciousness to boot. In all, he’s a little bit goofy, a lot endearing, and has a seemingly effortless bedside manner that puts his patients at ease.

Appearance

Of an average height and weight for an athletic male Human, Elisha stands at 175 centimeters, weighs in at 68 kilos, and has a creamy olive-toned complexion. He keeps his wavy, dark brown hair cut somewhere between short and medium lengths and styled professionally. He does tend to prefer wearing a short scruffy beard, as well, though never anything that would fall afoul of fleet regs. He has large, expressive brown eyes, and an easy smile that goes well with his bedside manner. He has no real distinguishing marks, no tattoos, and wears no jewelry. When not on duty he does somewhat favor wearing comfortable clothing, such as jeans, and due to his cold nature can almost always be found wearing his favorite pink hoodie.

Early History (2370-2384)

Elisha was born on March 17, 2370, on the colony planet of Bethlehem. While this placed him in early childhood during the Dominion War, he would not learn of this until much later in life. His parents were also born on Bethlehem, as was his sister Sarah. He was raised, as his parents had been before him, under the heavily restrictive rules of a specific sect of Christianity. Bethlehem, after all, had been founded as a colony where those who saw the continued move towards secularism as a great failing of the Human race and wanted nothing to do with it.

Growing up in this sort of environment was stifling, in many ways, especially as Elisha grew older and began to experience the world around him and started to ask questions that his parent’s faith found troubling. When he was twelve and they discovered that he was attracted to boys it became even worse. He was restricted from doing many of the things he truly enjoyed, and they even removed him from the community school, hoping that if his mother took over the teaching, she could find a way to straighten him out.

His sister, Sarah, having grown up under the same draconian rules had rebelled at eighteen and taken a job at the local spaceport, renouncing the family religion, and disappearing from their lives. Unbeknownst to their parents, however, she did find ways to keep in touch with Elisha. This turned out to be incredibly fortuitous, as when Elisha was fourteen both of his parents became infected with an illness the colony had never seen before. Since advanced technology was banned outside of the single spaceport they were left to the ministrations of a local healer, who favored herbal remedies, and prayer over actual medical science. Two months later they both passed away.

Sarah swooped in to rescue Elisha, and they took what little they had and booked passage off Bethlehem, and back to Earth where they planned to begin to build a new life. It was during their travel towards Earth that the pair learned about the Dominion War as anything other than shadowy rumors. They saw the evidence of it in multiple places as they moved through Federation space and were horrified and saddened at what they saw.

Arrival and Life on Earth (2384 -2388)

On Earth, they were able to find a new home, where they could both feel secure, and begin to find who they truly were inside. Sarah took work as a shuttle pilot, and then eventually enrolled in the STSA on Luna so that she would be able to work with Starfleet and earn a better life for them both. During this time, she also enrolled Elisha in remedial classes, and with his dedication, and willingness to learn was able to get him caught up to where he should be within a year a half.

His education, while heavily influenced by their parent’s religion, had been lacking, but not completely devoid of things he needed to learn, and he was able to build on his meager knowledge base quickly, and efficiently. His favorite subject was science, and as he grew older, and was able to take classes in things that interested him he discovered a passion for medical science most particularly.

By the time he was sixteen, and fully enrolled in high school Elisha knew that he wanted to be a doctor. Many of the things he had seen on his journey to Earth, and the things he’d learned since then in school, coupled with the fact that he’d had to sit by and watch his parents succumb to what he now knew to be a completely treatable illness, were huge influences on this decision. He also knew that, like his sister, he wanted to do something that would allow him to explore more than just one world. He began taking preparatory classes to get him ready for the entrance exam for Starfleet, and, two years later, when he graduated from high school, he found himself more than ready to do just that.

Starfleet Academy (2388-2396)

Elisha entered Starfleet Academy in August of 2388, enrolling in the Science track with an emphasis on life sciences. It was during this time that the true failures of his upbringing came to the fore. Not only was he completely unprepared for the high-level science and math classes, but the inundation of people from other cultures was completely overwhelming. Within the first two months, he was having panic attacks and was quite far behind in his coursework. Thankfully one of his instructors noticed his trouble for what it was and intervened by getting a counselor involved. Working with that counselor was the only thing that saved him from washing out, and was one of the things he was, and still is, most thankful for in his life.

After his first year, where he was trained in basic starship operations and general education, he launched into what would become a far more advanced dive into his chosen field, with more and more of his education focusing on the medical fields for the following three years. After his fourth year, he was given an option to either continue his education in a mobile setting, working directly on a starship or in a more clinical setting at the medical facilities on various worlds. He chose a two-year term at the Starfleet Medical facilities on Betazed, where he could explore far more diverse medical cases than what he was experiencing on Earth where most cases focused on humans.

USS Maryland (2396-2399)

Upon conclusion of his assignment to Starfleet Medical Betazed, Elisha chose to finish his final two years in the field. He was granted the rank of Ensign and assigned to the USS Maryland, under the direct tutelage of chief medical officer Marjorie Grimes. The ship was on regular border patrol with the Cardassian Union and would be a great place for him to see the grittier aspects of life as a Starfleet medical officer. Raids were still commonplace, and there were talks of the Federation Council revoking all trade agreements.

He went into this assignment communicating that his goal was to achieve the same position as her as quickly as possible. She took that challenge willingly, and after the two years were up, she offered him the position of her assistant to give him the advance he needed to truly launch his career to that next, final step.

His time there was very well spent, learning beyond the basic medical responsibilities towards the crew to prepare him for the hurdles of departmental command. He learned the intricacies of scheduling, interpersonal relations, conflict resolution, and the various ways the top medical officers on a ship act in rather surprising ways with the command crew, giving advice, providing much-needed updates, and even accompanying them on away teams when a medical presence was likely, or known to be required.

USS Aquarius (2399-Current)

Upon completion of the five years spent aboard the Maryland Elisha found himself up for an opportune promotion. Having already increased in rank to Lieutenant, while aboard the USS Maryland, he was available for a posting aboard the USS Aquarius who was lacking a chief medical officer. With a letter of recommendation from Commander Grimes, he applied to the pool of candidates and was cautiously hopeful. When word came back a week later that his application had been forwarded to the ship’s commanding officer for review, he was elated, and three days later when he was told he’d been chosen he was floored.

It was a two-week trip for the Maryland to meet up with the Aquarius, and that time was bittersweet. He’d made some amazing friends along the way on the Maryland, and he owed much of his professional success to his being under the wing of a woman as wonderful as Marjorie Grimes. On his final night aboard the ship, they threw him a huge party in the ship’s lounge, showing that he was not the only one who considered the parting to be bittersweet.