Lieutenant Nathan Cole

Name Nathan Elias Cole

Position Chief Armory Officer

Rank Lieutenant


Stats

  • 5 Mission Posts
  • 1 Personal Logs

Last Post

Sun Nov 2nd, 2025 @ 3:31pm

Character Information

Gender Male
Species Human
Age 30
Date of Birth May 14, 2126

Physical Appearance

Height 170 cm
Weight 73 kg
Hair Dark brown, thick, usually kept short and neat. Sometimes flops a little forward when he’s off duty.
Eye Color Brown
Physical Description Nathan Cole is of modest height with a compact, athletic build that speaks more to agility than raw strength. His youthful, boyish features and warm brown eyes make him approachable and easy to trust, while his dark brown hair, kept neatly trimmed for duty, has a tendency to fall slightly forward when he’s relaxed. Though he looks younger than his years, there’s a steady confidence in the way he carries himself. A faint scar along his left eyebrow hints at a more adventurous past, adding a touch of character to his otherwise wholesome appearance. Overall, Nathan gives the impression of someone earnest and dependable, a “short king” whose presence is quietly reassuring rather than imposing.

Personality Profile

General Overview Nathan Cole is an earnest and approachable officer whose warmth and optimism set him apart in a service increasingly shaped by conflict. Though youthful in appearance, he carries himself with quiet confidence and a deep sense of duty. Nathan views his role as Chief Armory Officer not as a pursuit of violence, but as the responsibility to protect his ship and its crew so that exploration can continue. He is steady under pressure, approachable off-duty, and known for grounding those around him with his calm presence.
Strengths Nathan excels in team-oriented situations, building trust quickly with both peers and subordinates. His tactical instincts are sharp, and he has a knack for finding practical, creative solutions under fire. A strong communicator, he can de-escalate tense situations and keep morale high even in stressful conditions. His dedication to preparation means his department is always ready for the unexpected.
Weaknesses Nathan’s trusting nature can make him too quick to see the good in others, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation. His youthful appearance sometimes causes others to underestimate him, which frustrates him more than he admits. He is reluctant to adopt a ruthless mindset, struggling with the harsher realities of combat and the possibility that diplomacy may not always be an option. In moments of self-doubt, he questions whether his idealism will hold up in wartime.
Hobbies & Interests Nathan has a love of singing that comes from his mother, who often filled their home with music when he was young. He isn’t a professional by any means, but he has a warm voice and enjoys singing recreationally — whether that’s joining in with karaoke, humming while on duty, or lending his voice at crew gatherings. He also enjoys running, both for fitness and as a way to clear his mind, and has a quiet appreciation for early human history and the spirit of exploration that inspired him to join Starfleet.
Goals Nathan strives to live up to the ideals of Starfleet, protecting his crew and ensuring the Challenger’s mission of exploration endures even in dangerous times. He hopes to prove that weapons are tools of defense, not aggression, and that humanity can remain true to its better nature even in the face of conflict. Though he doesn’t aspire to command a starship or climb high in the ranks, his long-term goal is to become the kind of officer who is remembered for keeping people safe and enabling others to succeed. For Nathan, the measure of success isn’t the stripes on his uniform, but the lives that return home because he was there to stand guard.

Languages

Native Language English
Fluencies UESPA Linguacode
Familiarity Vulcan, Andorian

Certifications

Academic Degrees Bachelor of Science in Tactical Systems & Armory Operations
Starfleet Certifications Starfleet Basic Training Certification (2144)
Completed during first year at Training Command; covers EVA, zero-gravity maneuvering, first aid, survival training, and basic sidearm qualification.

Phaser & Phase Pistol Proficiency (2145)
Certified expert marksman with phase pistols, phase rifles, and shipboard phaser systems.

Starship Armory Systems Certification (2146)
Trained and certified in maintenance, calibration, and operation of shipboard tactical systems, including phase cannons, spatial torpedoes, and polarized hull plating coordination.

Small Arms Instructor Certification (2147)
Qualified to train crew in sidearm use and boarding defense drills.

Advanced Tactical Operations (2147)
Specialized training in starship combat simulations, tactical coordination, and multi-crew weapons systems.

Security Procedures Certification (2148)
Certified in shipboard security protocols, intruder defense, and detainment procedures.

Zero-G Combat & Boarding Defense (2149)
Certification in small-unit tactics for boarding parties and counter-boarding operations.

Coalition Joint Tactical Familiarization (2155)
Completed training exercises integrating Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite tactical doctrines as part of Coalition of Planets interoperability efforts.

Family

Current Partner(s) None
Children None
Parent(s) Father: Daniel Cole (b. 2094) – Civil engineer in Portland, Oregon. Worked on infrastructure projects after the Xindi attack to help rebuild devastated cities. Pragmatic, supportive, quietly proud of his son.

Mother: Marisol Vega-Cole (b. 2098) – Teacher, originally from New Mexico. Deeply values community and culture, instilled a love of music and languages in Nathan. Grounded him in empathy.
Sibling(s) Rebecca “Becca” Cole (b. 2122) – Married with kids, stayed Earthside. Runs a community clinic. Nathan looks up to her sense of responsibility; she’s proud but always worries about him going off-world.

Aaron Cole (b. 2130) – Works in orbital ship construction. Brash, risk-taker, sometimes envious of Nathan’s career.

Unrelated Ties

Friendships Ensign Kira Mendoza – A fellow Academy classmate and close friend, now serving as a science officer aboard the Intrepid-class Horizon. They bonded over late-night karaoke and study sessions, and they still exchange subspace messages. She teases him about being “the wholesome one” but trusts his judgment completely.

Petty Officer Alexei Romanov – Armory division mate from his first assignment on a warp-capable surveyor. More rough-and-tumble, Alexei respected Nathan’s calm under pressure even if he teased him for being “too wholesome.”
Mentors Captain Joanna Reed – Commanding officer of Nathan’s first posting. She valued his input despite his youth and gave him his first commendation for holding the line during a boarding attempt. She’s one of the reasons he believes a good leader listens to their junior officers.

Commander Elias Harker – Nathan’s Academy weapons instructor. A tough, old-school officer who survived the Xindi crisis. Harker was hard on Nathan for his idealism, but respected his tactical instincts. Nathan carries many of Harker’s lessons with him, even when they clash with his gentler philosophy.
Enemies Lieutenant Malcolm Keene – A rival from the Academy. Where Nathan was warm and team-oriented, Keene was ambitious and competitive. Keene constantly undermined him, accusing him of lacking “killer instinct.” Now serving on another NX project ship.

Personal History

Homeworld Earth
Pre-Academy Life Nathan Elias Cole was born on May 14, 2126, in Portland, Oregon. The Cole family was close-knit and community-oriented, with his father Daniel working as an engineer and his mother Marisol teaching school. Nathan grew up in a lively home with an older sister, Rebecca, and a younger brother, Aaron. His mother often sang around the house, filling it with warmth, and Nathan inherited her love of music. Singing became his quiet passion, one he indulged at school talent shows and later with friends.

Nathan wasn’t the top of his class, but he was steady, dependable, and always the one people trusted when things got difficult. He excelled at endurance running and team sports, not because of natural talent but because of discipline and sheer determination. By the time he was finishing secondary school, Starfleet was recruiting aggressively as Earth pushed deeper into space. Inspired by stories of exploration and the idea of service, Nathan applied to Starfleet Academy at age 18 in 2144.
Academy Life San Francisco was overwhelming at first. Nathan had never left Oregon before, and suddenly he was surrounded by cadets from across Earth, all competing fiercely to prove themselves. At 18, he was earnest, hopeful, and maybe a little naïve — qualities that stood out in a class full of brash and ambitious cadets. His instructors quickly realized he wasn’t the loudest or the flashiest, but when crisis drills pushed groups to their limits, Nathan’s calm voice and steady presence pulled teams back together.

His chosen track was Armory & Tactical Systems, a demanding program that combined weapons training, shipboard defense procedures, and tactical analysis. Nathan wasn’t the best shot in his class, nor the most innovative engineer, but he had a gift for coordinating people under pressure. Commander Elias Harker, his weapons instructor and a veteran of the early NX test flights, rode Nathan hard. He called him “too soft,” insisting Starfleet needed warriors, not dreamers. But over four years, Nathan slowly earned Harker’s respect by showing that protecting others was every bit as valuable as scoring kills on the training range.

It wasn’t all work. In his second year, Nathan became close friends with Kira Mendoza, a science cadet with a sharp tongue and a knack for pulling him into mischief. Karaoke nights in the San Francisco cadet lounges became their tradition, Nathan’s warm voice often coaxed into service after a little teasing. By his third year, he also entered into his first serious relationship — with Ethan Zhao, an engineering cadet from Vancouver. Ethan was quiet and analytical, the opposite of Nathan’s open warmth, but the balance worked. They studied together, leaned on each other during long stretches of exams, and even dared to talk about what might happen after graduation.

By 2148, Nathan graduated in the upper third of his class, commissioned as an Ensign. His final evaluations described him as “steady, empathetic, and reliable — the kind of officer who inspires confidence under fire.” He left San Francisco with lifelong friendships, a deepened sense of duty, and a bittersweet understanding that Starfleet careers and long-distance love rarely mixed easily. When he and Ethan received very different postings, they tried to hold on via subspace, but the strain eventually unraveled their romance.

Service Record

Cabin Assignment E Deck
Authorization Code 5634-Alpha-Tango
Service Number ES-O-5634-T48A
Service Record Nathan Cole graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2148, commissioned as an Ensign and posted to the USS Pioneer. At just 22, he was one of the youngest officers in the armory division, serving under a demanding but fair lieutenant who taught him the rhythms of life aboard a starship. Nathan’s calm presence and knack for rallying his team in drills earned him early recognition, even if some still saw him as the “kid with the boyish face.”

In his second year aboard Pioneer, he faced his first real crisis: a boarding attempt by hostile raiders testing Earth’s fledgling defenses. Nathan coordinated damage control teams and oversaw the defense of the armory deck, actions that earned him his first commendation for bravery. He was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 2151, and reassigned as assistant armory officer aboard the surveyor USS Clarke, where he gained valuable experience managing weapons on long-duration missions beyond Earth’s patrol routes.

Throughout these early postings, Nathan worked to maintain his relationship with Ethan Zhao, his Academy sweetheart. At first, they filled long subspace messages with stories of shipboard life, missed each other fiercely, and promised the distance wouldn’t break them. But as the months stretched into years, the calls grew less frequent, their voices more strained. By the time the Xindi weapon struck Earth in 2153, Nathan was serving aboard Clarke and pouring everything into duty. The tragedy consumed him, and though Ethan tried to be supportive from afar, they both felt the growing distance. There was no dramatic farewell, no angry words — just a slow quieting of messages until one day, Nathan realized it had been months since he’d heard Ethan’s voice.

Promoted to full Lieutenant in 2154, Nathan transferred to the USS Horizon as armory division lead. His steady leadership and reliability earned him the trust of both his peers and superiors, and when Starfleet Command began staffing the newest NX-class ships, his name was put forward. At just 30 years old, he was selected as Chief Armory Officer of the NX-03 Challenger, a role that both humbled and challenged him.

Though his career has advanced steadily, Nathan has never lost the wholesome, approachable demeanor that marked him at the Academy. He still sings when coaxed, sometimes leading impromptu karaoke nights for his crewmates, carrying a little of his mother’s warmth into the cold halls of space. While he no longer tries to hold onto long-distance love, he remains open-hearted — cautious, but quietly hopeful that one day he might find someone who shares the journey beside him.