Eline Liebenberg

Eline Liebenberg was born on October 11, 2257 to Francisco and Sarah Liebenberg, both professors of history at a local university. Her childhood was idyllic, and her parents instilled in her a keen sense of justice and fairness. Earth was paradise, but there were  moments when that assumption was challenged. As she grew up, she started leaning towards learning about the United Earth  government, and how it worked. When she was in high school (or rather, the equivalent), she participated in oratory and debate, learning how to use words to form an argument. She thought she wanted to go into United Earth government and so she prepared with those skills. One day when she was 15,  while cleaning her home, she found a trunk. Unsure of what she was going to find, she took the trunk to her mother and father, and asked what was in the trunk. In response, her father opened the trunk to reveal a Starfleet uniform (DSC). Her father told her that up until a few years ago, he had served in Starfleet, until an incident during the Klingon-Federation war angered him and so he resigned from Starfleet and came back home to Earth to work as a history professor. He stored away all of the items that reminded him of that part of his life, and tried to forget about it. Once Eline started asking more questions, he regaled her with the stories of his past service. This sparked something in Eline.

After hearing about Starfleet from her father, she decided to begin looking into Starfleet and a career therein. She spoke to several of her father’s friends and others about joining Starfleet, whether she should enlist or apply to Starfleet Academy; most everyone she spoke to gently guided her away from enlistment and on toward the academy. Once she was 18, she applied to Starfleet Academy in San Francisco; a stressful, rigorous examination, but well worth it when she was accepted. She started attending the San Francisco campus which she would be at for two years before being sent to Mars Colony for her junior and senior year. She opted to go for the lengthy bridge-qualified program and law studies, which meant that she would spend 8 years at Starfleet Academy instead of the requisite four years. Once she graduated, she opted to continue her studies as a commissioned officer, following the track for the Judge Advocate General (JAG) division. She studied Federation law and the Starfleet Code of Uniform Justice for two years on Vulcan, then was sent for student practices to Andoria. After her four years were done, she was commissioned as a Lieutenant, with the added distinction of being a fully qualified attorney.

She was first assigned to the JAG offices at Starfleet Headquarters, assisting in the cases that were handed down by the Admiralty. After being assigned to headquarters, she helped in a few cases where species rights abuses were committed by Starfleet officers. There, she became a polished officer, and a formidable attorney. After a few years on Earth, she was sent to K-7 as a full Staff Judge-Advocate. There she was to provide assistance to the Starfleet officers in securing the Klingon-Federation border, as it was the front-line between the Klingons and Federation. She often would advise Captains on the rights and orders that Starfleet Command and the Federation government (President and Council) had issued to try and keep the peace. After three years at K-7, she was recalled to Earth and given a year’s leave on Earth; she stayed with family and began to court one of her friends from her time at Starfleet Command Headquarters. They knew it would be a long distance relationship most of the time, but she would always visit her when she could.

After Eline’s year-long leave, she was assigned as the shipboard SJA for the USS Cairo as it ventured off into deep space; it was her first deep space assignment onboard a starship, and in addition to her bridge duties, she had to handle all legal hearings as the senior-most SJA onboard. She did have four Ensigns that she was in charge of, and they were all capable officers, if a bit inexperienced. She taught them a lot, and in the process, discovered that she had a knack for teaching. Though most of the Cairo’s mission was routine, there were several court-martials that she presided over (officers doing dumb things) and gained a reputation for being fair but strict with her interpretation of law. She was merciful, but still applied the law in such a way that no one could say that she was soft. After the Cairo’s deep space assignment ended and the ship docked at Starbase 110; she discovered that she had new orders awaiting at Starfleet Headquarters. After a day’s journey from Starbase 110 to Earth, she was notified that she would be assigned as the new Executive officer of the USS Achilles, an Ambassador class starship that had just been commissioned. She also would be promoted to Lieutenant Commander.