Biographical File
FEDERATION BIOGRAPHICAL DATABASE FILE: Martine, Angela H.
**Includes updates through SD 2258.42; updated addenda pending
Rank: Ensign
Last recorded assignment: Tactical Officer, USS Enterprise
Full Name: Angela Hope Martine
Birth Date: April 8, 2234
Species/gender: human female
Home Region: San Francisco, CA, United States, Earth
Family:
Father: Commodore Andrew Martine
Mother: Helen Victor (Civilian)
Parents unmarried & no known siblings
Education: Starfleet Academy
Marital status: Single
Starfleet Career Summary:
No previous assignments
Background
Angela is the only child of Andrew Martine and Helen Victor. Helen was an alcoholic, a fact that Andrew kept hidden from family, friends, and colleagues for fear it would somehow tarnish his career. However, he did not trust Helen to be left alone with Angela, and requested a teaching position at the Academy so he could keep close watch on the child. Most days she could be found either in his office or accompanying him to lectures, must to the amusement of his students. It is suspected that Helen was suffering from untreated postpartum depression.
When Angela was three, her mother left them in the middle of the night. Helen left them a note that could be best described as a less than coherent apology for her inability to handle being a mother. Though they expected her to return, she never did. Two years after Helen disappeared, the family received a copy of court orders that terminated all of Helen's parental rights to Angela. Helen has not been heard from since, but is presumed to be alive. Angela has always been emotionally conflicted about her mother. She is often torn between being angry at Helen and anger at herself, feeling that she must be inherently flawed in some way if even her own mother couldn't love her.
Andrew stopped talking about Helen after her rights were terminated, and went to great lengths to effectively erase any remaining traces of her. He destroyed all her photos and all belongings she had left behind. When that wasn't enough to satisfy him, Andrew sold their home and they moved in with his father. As a result of Andrew's extreme efforts , Angela knows very little about Helen in general, and though she's curious (and increasingly so as she gets older), she's afraid to ask.
Her father took an assignment at Starbase 6 shortly after her seventh birthday, and Angela was allowed to accompany him. Spending much of her childhood surrounded almost exclusively by Starfleet personnel and their families instilled a great respect for the organization in her. It was around this time that she first announced that she would one day be a Starfleet officer, just like her father.
In her teen years, she began focusing on making herself the best possible candidate for Starfleet that she could be. It was decided that returning to Earth would be the best choice for her future, and they returned to San Francisco just in time for her to start high school. With her father as her guide, she carefully selected extracurriculars and school courses that would create a strong application. In addition to her school life, she played springball, ran 25 miles a week, and read anything she could get her hands on.
In what was perhaps the biggest shock of her life, Angela was denied acceptance the Academy on her first application. She was absolutely crushed, and floundered for a while, unable to really process her own failure. After two months of feeling sorry for herself, she devoted the next year of her life to perfecting her resume. Her second application was accepted (much to the relief of both Angela and her family).
At the Academy, Angela was frustrated to find that although she had sailed to the top of her high school class with ease, her fellow cadets were equally intelligent, passionate, and driven. The frustration only pushed her to try harder, and she excelled in several subjects, including Statistical Mechanics and Deep Space Physics.
During her fourth year, many of her fellow cadets were deployed to defend the Federation against Nero. Angela, however, remained grounded with a case of Tarkalean Flu. She was disappointed to see her fourth-year companions off on their first real mission, but later realized that it was perhaps a lucky thing to have been grounded.
Personality
Angela is outgoing and extremely sociable. Due in part to her upbringing she often befriends men more easily than women, though she generally warms up to everyone eventually. Her friends know her to be flirtatious, and especially so after a few drinks. She is loud and often acts before thinking.
She can be terribly stubborn, and is often unwilling to just let go of an argument until all parties have reached an understanding (and preferably are in agreement with her). Her competitiveness and need for success only aggravate this. Especially after failing to be accepted in to Starfleet, she is deeply driven to prove to herself and everyone else how much she truly deserves to be an officer.
Though she is friendly, Angela is slow to open up to people on an emotional level. She would rather listen to and comfort others than talk about her own feelings. In general, she enjoys talking about herself and her past, but Helen is a topic that she does not like to talk about. Angela becomes extremely defensive over her childhood and her strong feelings of abandonment.