Commander Noam Canterbury
Name Noam K. Canterbury
Position Executive Officer
Rank Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human (Izarian) | |
| Age | 40 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 6'1" | |
| Hair Color | Light Brown | |
| Eye Color | Hazel | |
| Physical Description | Standing a tad over six feet in height, Noam Canterbury can be seen as an imposing figure with his regimented posture, and judgmental scowl etched on his chiseled face. His hawkish looks and mannerisms may not be the most inviting appearance, but his extroverted personality compensates for it. Commander Canterbury has light brown hair that has been thinning over the years but has managed to keep himself from entirely balding. To some, he is attractive, and to an extent, his narcissism protects him from feeling vulnerable about the situation. He is very sentinel-like, ever vigilant. |
Family
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Limitless with sometimes abrasive confidence (arguably arrogance) paired with an alluring charisma, Commander Noam Canterbury is a polished individual, a cosmopolitan of sorts. The Commander has traversed the farthest reaches of known stars, but no amount of time appealing to his explorer’s heart will quell his insatious thirst for new experiences and obtainable knowledge. In his younger years, Commander Canterbury would have been a nightmarish headache for anyone to deal with: a man that was strong, handsome, and all too self-aware of it. He was both all too perfect for command and yet all too distant from achieving it. He did not have the humility for it for the longest time, but he has become seasoned with experience after experience that took him down a few pegs and his Icarusness had met the sun enough times to finally forge a man of wisdom, compassion, and fortitude; however, he is still adorned with his youthful drive to chase the stars and stay in hot pursuit of all the white whales. Decision making is often needed as a command level officer. Though Commander Canterbury is not the most level-headed of individuals (known for a tumultuous temper at times), he knows himself well enough to not go into any situation without listening to all ideas, perspectives, and opinions. As First Officer, he has to be openminded and approachable: to present said ideas and options to the Captain whether he agrees with them or not, though he does not shy for providing constructive criticism when he strongly disagrees with someone or something being considered. Ultimately, however, he holds a high respect for the chain-of-command and therefore, whichever route his Captain decides to take, Commander Canterbury will see it through. |
| Personal History | Commander Canterbury was born in the capital city of New Seattle on Epsilon Boötis III, the Izarian colony settled centuries ago by Humans from Earth. Being Izarian meant living mostly nestled within the gorges and inside the many cavernous dwellings from the now geo-inactive planet. Still, anyone familiar with Izar knows the Izarians are a proud people, stewards of Federation ideology and perseverance. Life on the planet can be a tempest of meteorological hazards, but Izarians prefer to rough it without too much technological interference; They have state of the art seismic monitoring technology and weather dampeners for worse case scenarios, but they ordinarily let mother nature run its course. Canterbury had as normal and typical of a childhood as any Human child on Earth could have had though when you are Izarian, you don't settle for being good, you strive to improve. In many ways the Izarians never lost their frontiersman-like attitudes nor caviler philosophies. They give it their all in whatever they decide to do, still maintaining that colonist-like outlook. The Commander's father was a retired Starfleet Marine who turned his Civilian Izarian life to one of a Solicitor. His mother, however, was more if an artisan and visionary. From her, Commander Canterbury got his love of music and art. His father though always insisted on discipline and athleticism. The Canterbury family had a long prestigious history of serving in Starfleet, and Earth's military. Commander Canterbury was a kicker for his high school football team, appeasing his father. He sought refuge from sports in music, taking up the violin in his spare time. It was something that his mother appreciated, and his father did not fuss with so long as the violin never too priority over football commitments. History was his best subject in high school, but the arts and sciences held their own unique appeal at various points. He was particularly fond of sculpting when it came to artwork whereas certain areas of Biology – Zoology more specifically was alluring. In his early teenage years, he bonded more with his paternal grandfather who taught him everything he needed to know about skeet shooting, croquet, and their family’s British roots of fox hunting. Canterbury’s long history of Starfleet service may have been to his benefit when applying to Starfleet Academy, but he does not make it a habit to dwell too long on that likelihood. He took the entrance examinations and his general performance warranted acceptance by the Academy’s Department of Admissions. He made an early declaration of a tactical discipline but ensured that his selected courses would ease him into the command track down the road, sooner rather than later: command and leadership classes paired well with his studies of Federation law and ethics. While a cadet at the academy, Noam Canterbury threw himself at academics. Sports took a backseat for once in his life, but that did not prevent him from taking up anbo-jyutsu. The young Canterbury was becoming a man due in part to what he was learning at Starfleet Academy, but the academy could only provide so much. He was still egotistical by the end of his academy years, pompous and abrasive: a confrontational individual with a bit of a superiority complex. He was selected during the last few months of his senior year to partake in a cadet training cruise aboard one of the Academy’s training vessels, the USS Brunswick, an aging Miranda class starship under the assigned command of one of the Academy’s sternest Science Instructors: Commander Pola, former First Officer of the USS T’Kumbra. Several months with Commander Pola was stressing. She pushed the cadets hard, broke a few of them in the process, but not Noam. Instead, she forced him to confront his negative traits. Overall, she was a steppingstone on the path to becoming a better officer. His first assignment fresh out of the academy in 2376 was aboard the USS Circassia, a Steamrunner class starship assigned to the Alpha Quadrant operating along the Cardassian border and the fringes of the badlands. Ensign Canterbury was with the starship Circassia from 2376 to 2379 as a junior tactical officer. Promoted to Lieutenant junior grade in his last few months aboard the Circassia, this readied him for transfer. In 2379 Lieutenant jg Canterbury joined the crew of the USS Monterey under the command of Captain Peter Harkins, a seasoned engineer turned command officer who was also incredibly regimented, exactly the sort of Commanding Officer that the young lieutenant Canterbury needed to sort himself out, and the Monterey’s Executive Officer was no breeze either. The Monterey was an older California class starship. Canterbury was Assistant Chief Tactical Officer from 2379 to 2384 during which time Noam Canterbury earned the Starfleet Medal of Commendation for an incident where the Monterey had been boarded by raiders, and the Star Cross for distinguished service on a mission to Evora, placing himself at risk to save several Evoran children and their teacher during a series of tremors. When the post of Security Chief became available aboard the Monterey in 2385, Captain Harkins had expectations that Noam would put himself forward for it. These expectations were presumptuous, however, and the Captain of the Monterey was taken aback when the freshly promoted Lieutenant Canterbury instead presented Captain Harkins with a request to transfer. Begrudgingly granted by Captain Harkins, Lieutenant Canterbury disembarked from the Monterey and took a brief posting at Starfleet Academy as part of the San Francisco campus security detail. This was, however, so that the lieutenant could enroll in classes on diplomacy, first contact protocol, and take some refreshers on command. By 2387 Lieutenant Canterbury had taken a departmental transfer to the command division and was reassigned to Starfleet’s Inspector General Office. Canterbury would work for the Inspector General Office for the next several years climbing up the ladder on becoming one of the most trusted and to some ‘feared’ inspectors operating out of the office and eventually earning his third pip in the process. In 2392 while working aboard the USS Capitoline on a routine inspection of the starship’s personnel, the Capitoline’s First Officer and Second Officer were gravely injured. With limited options at her disposal to continue carrying out the Capitoline’s mission at the time, Captain Holverson requested that Lieutenant Commander Canterbury step in as Acting First Officer. Getting a taste of that level of command and adventure, kickstarted something in Lieutenant Commander Canterbury. He left the Inspector General Office in the months that followed, returned to starship duty with an assignment as Chief Tactical Officer & Second Officer aboard a Sabre class starship, the USS Kwan. He remained with the Kwan for the next couple of years, passing his Bridge Commander’s certification exam. He would go one to his first assignment as First Officer; the USS Albright. |