Thomas Winfield

Early Years (2376 – 2393)

Thomas Bertrand Winfield was born to Jacob and Reggie Winfield through a surrogate mother on Starbase 23 where Jacob served as a Starfleet Operations Officer and Reggie as a Creole chef cooking authentic New Orleans dishes out in deep space. The food style had enjoyed a brief resurgence thanks to profiles on Captain Sisko following the Dominion War, and the importance food had played in his family. Reggie had even thought to call his restaurant Ben’s Place, but had been talked out of it and instead named it after himself.

The family was stable and loving as the two father’s brought up Thomas in an artificial gravity environment. They had plans on retiring and moving to a colony to give Thomas a different kind of life, but he seemed happy enough growing up on the station and watching the comings and goings of ships all day when not in school.

At first he did poorly in school, preferring to stay by the large windows on the observation deck and watch starships. When it was made clear to him however that only people who passed, or even excelled in school got to join Starfleet Thomas stopped skipping class, and threw his whole being into learning. He was bright and now he was hard working, which shot him to the top of his class.

As much as he loved his fathers and the Starbase he felt he had a calling, he was going to be a pilot. He was going to fly starships.

The Academy Years (2393 – 2398)

With an aunt that he had never met living on Earth, Thomas set out to secure his admission into Starfleet Academy. His father’s both warned him how hard it was to apply, and to get in, but he left even before the formal graduation at high school and moved in with his aunt. He had already applied at the Academy, and did not even think it was possible that he not get in. There was a minor issue with the registration, and for a week it looked like he was going to have to wait a year, but his test scores on the flight simulation were high enough for Starfleet to make an exception and he was allowed to join.

Living with his aunt outside of London, Thomas commuted in by transporter daily. He also helped work in his aunt’s shop between classes, selling knit products to help repay her for taking him in. He was a good, but not excellent student. Having gained entrance into the Academy his focus shifted slightly to female cadets. He’s had not time for girls growing up, he had a destiny, but he became increasingly distracted by the opposite sex, until a he crashed during a simulated ‘mile run’ shuttle mission and simulated killing his crew.

Realizing that making it to Starfleet Academy was not the entire battle he buckled down, improved his grades but still managed to flirt nearly as much. However he was always sure to do the lesson first, and focus on the woman second.

So to speak.

By his final year Thomas was one of the top pilots on the simulators, and an exceptional student. He graduated with honors.

Starfleet (2398 -)

The newly minted Ensign Thomas Winfield was assigned to a Ross Class deep space vessel the USS Roosevelt where he served with distinction. On one mission his piloting was able to save the First Officer and an away team when an engine on a shuttle failed and he was forced to make an emergency landing which was more of a controlled crash. His career may have stuck there because he was well liked, but then came Fleet Day.

Winfield was one of the infected and turned into a Borg drone. As with others he was obviously never charged for anything he did, but he had seriously injured the Captain who insisted that he be transferred off the Roosevelt rather than remain as a reminder of what had happened.

Starfleet with larger fish to fry, gave in and transferred him to the California Class ship the USS Anaheim. Given that this seemed like a step down a promotion was simultaneously granted and it was made to seem like an elevation rather than a punishment. Given the relative inexperience of the Anaheim’s crew he was also elevated to Assistant Flight Control Officer.