Samwell Bollwyn

Biography

Early Life

Born on Ventax II, eleven years after the Ardra arbitration that eventually led to his world joining the Federation, Samwell grew up hearing of the heroism of the Starfleet captain that saved his world, Jean Luc Picard. Fascinated with the entire notion of space exploration and what lay beyond his world, Samwell (like so many of his generation) wanted to know more.

He was fortunate to grow up in a small rural town outside Ventax II’s capital. Samwell’s parents, who owned a ranch, provided so much for him, his two sisters and two older brothers. The farm was a family-owned business, and it had been his parents’ wishes to see their children work on it and eventually take it further. However, they knew that Samwell was different. He was usually the outsider compared to his siblings. He wasn’t a troublemaker at school; he worked extremely hard in his studies. Eventually, when he was old enough, he shared with his parents that he wanted to join Starfleet; they knew they couldn’t stop him.

Determined to pass the entrance exam, Samwell worked hard day and night to ensure his grades were the best, that he was physically fit (he helped out a lot on his parents’ ranch), and that his references were excellent. When he received the communication, which approved his admission to Starfleet, he couldn’t believe his eyes. His whole family threw a party to celebrate.

Starfleet Career

Starfleet Academy

Leaving his homeworld for the first time and by himself, Samwell was accepted by Starfleet Academy to the Mellstox Campus. Being on an alien world for the first time, initially, he was pretty nervous and found his few days daunting.  Nevertheless, he soon developed his confidence after his first month there. He did well in all of his classes and training. While at the Academy, he made some good friends, found a few love interests, and eventually chose his career path. He liked the idea of science, and though he did exceptionally well in his agriculture classes (due to his family background), xenoanthropology and xenoarchaeology took his interest. Samwell surprised himself at how well he enjoyed these fields of study. Learning about different cultures and the history of ancient civilisations allowed him to expand his understanding of the universe.

In his last year at the Academy, Samwell caught his girlfriend, Tammy Walker, cheating on him with one of their instructors the night before one of his final exams. Him and Tammy had been together for almost a year, and he couldn’t believe her betrayal. As they shared a dorm, he went to one of his other friends and asked if he could crash around his. Wanting to forget Tammy, him and his friend, a Deltan named Lucquas, went out drinking. The following day, Samwell had to undertake his exam while hungover and regretting how drunk he got. To add fuel to the fire, he also woke up in bed with his friend to get back at Tammy, and what made it worse was Lucquas telling Samwell that he had broken his oath of celibacy, which was a big thing for Deltans. It made Samwell’s end to the Academy very messy. He and Lucquas remained close, and their bond was tough to break, but over time, they were able to move on, especially after they graduated and were assigned to different postings.

USS Columbia  (NCC-76991)

In 2400, Samwell was assigned as a science officer on board the Galaxy-class starship, USS Columbia. To be on a ship of the same class as the Enterprise-D was something of a personal achievement for Samwell. He worked across the entire science department and had a bunk in the Lower Decks hallway.