Captain Samantha Curry

Fairly average and somewhat toned in build though Sam is a little taller than the average woman from Earth. Some might describe her frame as rectangular or somewhat blunt. In general Sam is about looking professional- she wears the uniform or dressed down versions of it. Off-duty her comfort clothes are sweat pants and hoodies. She likes muted tones to her clothing choices. Her hair she keeps utilitarian these days and she only wears minimal makeup. As she's approaching forty and has lived life under a dozen different suns, she is developing character lines near her mouth, something she pays no mind to.

Her eyes are quite dark and expressive, suggesting that she has been hardened by life but is still kind. She has a pensive air on duty, but not without a nuance of sly humor.

Command Style

Most would find Sam to be hardened by experience but kind, the typical "warm demander" found in scholarly and educational backgrounds. She's well aware of the authority she wields but Sam prefers soft power and trust toward her fellow officers. She's disciplined but the feel of her Bridge is not strict or formal- it feels collaborative, but with some hierarchy. She leads with warmth and humor- occasionally witticism and sarcasm.

Sam is curious-minded, an explorer and a learner. She has a strong ethical line to her decisions and leans "by the book" more than "by the spirit" or "by the seat of her pants". Only when the book isn't written yet or vague does she shift. But she is sway-able by logical, pragmatic arguments. In a crunch, she seeks options from the experts around her, and she will make and own the final call.

Off-Duty

In person, Sam develops a further warmth and a relaxed ease. It seems that Sam feels like she needs to compartmentalize her private life and professional life at least some. She is loyal to her people, can be personally empathetic and she is more apt to display her own vulnerabilities and self-criticisms. She's not competitive, she has a... melancholy... about how her life has gone thus far. She has regrets. She is ambiverted, splitting her time between time socially and rewarding herself with "me time." Sam enjoys hosting small intimate get-togethers with friends centered around food and music and talking. But her idea of relaxation is to be in nature- hiking, spelunking and drawing its beauty.

Warm Demander: Sam does not believe in throwing around her weight and rank. She realizes she must lead and make the "big decisions" but her style is trusting her people and their professionalism. She sets expectations for her people including being up to date on the facts, asking questions, keeping ego out of the conversation, showing initiative and being thorough.

Honesty:Sam keeps things ethical and above board. She doesn't do duplicity and she hates sneaking around, clandestine nonsense. She was raised with very strong ethics and a moral compass and this was the top of the tier. When things go wrong, she owns up. She may justify it but she will report it.

Curiosity Sam is has a restlessness that searches for new things to learn about. One week, it might be intricacies of an alien language, and the next, she might lose herself in videos about Andorian cuisine. When inspiration strikes, Sam is likely to go all in on this new interest.

Open-Minded: Sam is driven by curiosity and an intense desire to learn. As she learns, she might shift her perspective – even in matters of politics, religion, and philosophy. She can be receptive to new ideas, as long as those ideas are something that she connects with on an intellectual level.

Analytical:Sam tends to nalyze everything she comes across. This gives her a knack for spotting unexpected patterns and connections.

Overthinking: Sam's mind is ceaseless, toiling away even when they’re not consciously thinking. While her rapid-fire thoughts can be beneficial at times, they can also cause her to overthink and fall prey to analysis paralysis. When this occurs, Sam can struggle to reach a decision or take action because she's too caught up in considering every possible outcome or angle.

Disconnected: Sam can get lost in her own thoughts even when they’re with other people. After finally resurfacing with something to say,she may find that the conversation has moved on without her.

Dissatisfaction: Sam can’t help but imagine how things could be better than they already are. People like her are constantly on the lookout for problems to solve, topics to learn, and new ways to approach things. Taken too far, this mindset can become overwhelming. One of Sam's failing is she has a tendency for trying to reinvent the wheel.

Impatient: Sam takes pride in her knowledge and in sharing her ideas. When it comes to explaining her rationale, however, she's not always patient. If her conversation partner either can't or won't try to follow along or seem sufficiently interested, Sam may give up with a dismissive “never mind.” In particular she does this with authoritarian types.

Suspicious of Authoritarianism:

In some nebulous way, Sam has to justify this- all of "this-" to herself, her detractors, her family. Somehow validating these choices and this "second life stage" after the estrangement with her husband. Is this too much of a sacrifice? Will she be sucked in to being the pawn of the military and the militarization of Starfleet, at war? She wants to believe she can fight that or at least find a middle way that preserves Starfleet. She wants to help build the nascent and sometimes fractious relationships between all of the Coalition members.

She has to live with the regrets of aging parents who wanted to be grandparents, both of whom are very strict and pretty authoritarian types. They didn't much support her life as an archaeologist and they feel joining Starfleet as a command-track was equally dubious.

Command Officer Training: Prior to transferring to the command track aboard the Tyson as XO (2151-52)

Bridge Certification Training: Prior to serving as the Bridge Science Officer and Department Head (2149)

Basic Shuttlepod Piloting Certification: (2148)

Basic Phase Pistol Certification for non-Armory Officers: (2144, 2148, 2152, 2156)

Basic MACO Phase Pistol Certification: (2154, 2156)

Zero-G Suit and Mobility Training: (2143)

Advanced Hostile Environmental Survival Training: (2144)

Basic Hostile Environment Survival Training: (2143)

Basic Aikido: (2142-Present)

Basic Krav Maga Martial Defense Training: (2135-2138)

Doctor Rafael Chicote, PhD, Archaeologist: (Age 48). Rafael was the charming and intellectual lead archaeologist ten years her senior. Samantha found in him, at the time, a kindred spirit. They both had a passion for field work and science. For Rafael it was uncovering his roots. They fell in love as Samantha was finishing her Bachelor's and began her Master's. They married in 2140. But then commitments and distance began to wear them down. The Xindi crisis was a nail in the coffin as their opinions of Starfleet and Earth's role in space became a divisive issue for them. Sam started to get restless. She wanted to be out there, crawling around archaeological sites offworld and Rafael had no interest. earth wasn't ready for this. He saw Starfleet as just another form of military and they were just bringing more problems to an already fragile world. Samantha joined Starfleet in her restlessness and the distance that her missions put on them estranged them. They are separated but have never actually divorced.

Brigadier General Robert Curry, MACO (Ret.): (Age 70). Sam and Robert can be neatly described as estranged. Robert is a career military man who chafes at the mere concept of Starfleet's existence: irresponsible and poorly disciplined civilians playing at being a military, who have now gotten Earth in to its first post-First Contact war. And Starfleet thinks its should be running the show with the military in support. A lot of Sam's tendencies to arms-length the military are based on her Father. He was a controlling man, often authoritarian in his parenting, but equally often absent.

Its not that Robert doesn't love his children. But he had a clear vision of what they'd be. While Alex avoided Robert's ire but avoiding home, Sam and he butted heads since she was a teenager. Its been a steady and slow descent since. Robert used to try to pull strings to get Samantha inroads in to the MACOs but she turned them down each time in favor of her own vision.

Rosalind Mitchell-Curry, Circuit Court Justice, Southwest Sector: (Age 71). Rosalind is a tough woman with a strong penchant for order, law, debate and accountability. She remembers the stories her grandfather told her when he was highway patrol who tried to cross jurisdictions to apprehend criminals during the Post-Atomic Horror, the time before Cochrane. It was a horrible time, chaotic, cruel. He told his grandchildren stories of how Green's "Optimists" would rove through the countryside like vigilantes, detraining and erasing "undesirables" and there was little he could do. The life that came after for Rosalind was so much better. It had to be preserved by the rule of law. We had to be better. We use facts.

For Sam, the latter two stood out most.

Alexander Curry, Colonist on Alpha V: (Age 42). Samantha feels compelled to point out, in times with consternation with her parents, that they literally drove Alex away to start a new life on a distant world. It's somewhat true... but a petty jab nonetheless. Alex did become a colonist to escape the shadow of his parents. But he is more like their parents than Samantha. He is similar to Rosalind that he likes structure and rules and believe discipline is what makes a colony thrive. Alex has two children under age twelve; Samantha has seen them twice.

Travis Fletcher, Writer: "Friendzoned" Fletcher is one of Sam's childhood friends. He's hit his "midlife crisis" early and has left Earth for Mars to become a writer. And while he's always had talent in writing, Travis struggles with the discipline it takes to sit down and write. He's hoping moving to Mars inspires him.

Dr. Gretchen Marcus, PhD Cultural Anthropology:

Priest Cornelius Howe, Holy See's Commission on Interstellar Faith: As much a scientist as a priest, Cornelius has studied cultures and alien faith structures from a sociological perspective for almost forty years. Samantha knew him when she was a college student- as a priest and one of her professors. Sam, an avowed agnostic, found the priest's affable curiosity and sharply scientific mind appealing.

Terrence Wapi Chee: Friend, mentor and sort-of surrogate father figure, "Grandpa Fox" is Navajo, a storyteller and an archaeologist at a small college in southwest Colorado. Sam has known him since she was fifteen as he was among the more welcoming presences on the reservation when Sam dated his son. His son, Graham, died with his wife in the Xindi attack on Earth.