James Anderson

Character Information

Gender		Male
Species		Human
Date of Birth		28 October 2370

Physical Appearance

Height		5'9"
Weight		155 lbs
Hair Color		Brown
Eye Color		Blue
Physical Description

Family

Spouse
Children
Father		Mark Anderson
Mother		Jennifer Sanderson (deceased)
Brother(s)
Sister(s)
Other Family		Simon Anderson (Paternal Uncle)

Personality & Traits

General Overview
Strengths & Weaknesses		James is a dedicated learner, always putting his best effort forward in the things that interest him. He is very creative and well mannered in the company of others, often giving the illusion that he is mature beyond his years. While articulate and thoughtful, James has been known to "put all his eggs in one basket". Sometimes he hangs too much on one thing, only to find that he needs to average out the load.
Ambitions		Encouraged by his father to consider plans for the future, James has taken an interest in Starfleet Academy. It is his hope to be accepted in the near future. Distant thoughts may be on a captaincy, but for the present, James just wants to become a Starfleet officer. To him, it's not a matter of doing what is expected or following in the footsteps of others, but doing what he feels is best for him.
Hobbies & Interests		Reading, by far, can be singled out as James' favorite pastime. When he doesn't have his nose buried in a book or perusing a PADD, he enjoys spending time on the holodeck. Some of his favorite programs are those depicting natural sites on Earth. It is his dream to one day move beyond the holodeck and visit them in person. Recently, James has discovered a taste for music, both vocal and instrumental.
Languages

Personal History		James Anderson was born aboard the deep-space vessel USS Roanoke in late 2370 to Ensign Jennifer Sanderson. Though she would not admit it at the time, the boy was the son of Mark Anderson, with whom she had been in a relationship. At the last minute, she had backed out and requested deep space assignment. Growing up, James never learned about his father. Every time he would ask about the subject, his mother would abruptly find something else to discuss. Eventually, he gave up asking and forgot about the whole notion. James spent much of his time aboard the Roanoke with the small group of other children. There were enough of them that the ship had a specific school teacher aboard, especially given the duration of their mission. While the crew was cataloguing numerous phenomena, James played with the other children. In 2372, the Roanoke encountered an ion storm that knocked out main power for twelve hours. Trapped in the classroom, James and the other children were understandably frightened. James took the initiative and pulled out one of the architectural puzzles. One by one, the other children joined him and, by the time the power was restored, the classroom had been turned into a small town. Shortly after the breakout of the Dominion War, the Roanoke was ambushed by Dominion Attack vessels. She sustained moderate damage and was able to fend off the attack with the assistance of the USS Hiawatha, which arrived on the scene. The attack showed how dangerous life could be aboard the Roanoke during the war, but it did not convince Jennifer to send her son away. Life for James continued with the same general routine for the next two years, apart from the sudden upheaval that came with battles and ambushes. Being only three years old when the war started, James didn’t much seem to mind all that much. In the final days of the Dominion War, his mother suffered severe injury from an ambush that forced her to resign from Starfleet. She had been assisting the engineering team in repairing the navigational deflector and was working in deflector control when the ambush began. The attack caused deflector control to be flooded with ionized gas and plasma. Of the three people working there, Jennifer was the only survivor. She knew that she could never continue in Starfleet in her condition, and so she returned to Earth with James. James was at the age where he was starting to understand more about the world around him and he realized that his mother was not well. As the days moved into weeks and the weeks into months, he could tell that she was getting sicker. Trips to Starfleet Medical had become a regular occurrence. The injury was worse than initially suspected, and her condition continued to deteriorate. Finally, she broke down and told James about his father and where to find him. James was utterly shocked. He was eleven years old at this point and he could not understand the mix of emotions he was feeling: surprise at learning of his father, anger that he hadn’t been there, anger at his mother for keeping it a secret, wonder at where his father had been, and sadness at knowing that the end was near. Then, shortly afterwards, she died. James was shuttled off to her parents, who were not pleased with having a child dumped on their doorstep. They did not approve of their daughter’s decision to abandon the marriage and James seemed to be a reminder of their disappointment. Eventually, he could stand it no longer and he ran away. Eventually, he managed to track down and find Simon Anderson, his father’s brother…his uncle. Simon was just as surprised to see James on his front porch, but unlike previous experience, Simon welcomed the boy into his home and listened patiently as the boy explained his story. Knowing that the Houston, where Mark was serving as first officer, would be docking at DS9 within the week, Simon helped James book passage on a transport to DS9. As the boy left, Simon decided not to warn his brother. The effect of meeting his lost son would be an important one. Father, Mark AndersonBlindsided by the sudden revelation, Mark took the boy in. It took some time, but he began to grow accustomed to having another person living with him. He could see a little of the boy’s mother in him, which reopened the pain of her departure. His love for the boy was the final assurance that James was indeed his son. Mark made a promise to himself, never to let the boy go. If he let James slip by, he might not ever forgive himself. James continued to live aboard the Houston with his father until 2386. It was during this time that James began to form a close bond with his father, as well as excel at his studies. While there was no school aboard the Houston, due to its size, James received tutoring from various individuals aboard ship in all the basic courses. He even had time to enjoy such extracurricular activities such as piloting lessons on the holodeck. By the time his father was transferred to the USS Eagle, James knew that he wanted to go into Starfleet. He wasn’t sure if he’d rather be a pilot, like his father, or be a diplomat…or maybe something else entirely. Most importantly, he felt very self-conscious about the decision. He tried to never let on that his sole interest was in attending Starfleet Academy, lest his father think the decision too impulsive or merely a desire to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Service Record