Olen Rhinehart

Olen Rhinehart
Name:	Olen Rhinehart
Rank:	http://www.startrekfreedom.com/images/pips1/tealltjg.jpg Lieutenant (JG)
Awards:	http://www.startrekfreedom.com/images/rib20.gif http://www.startrekfreedom.com/images/char_awards/rib04.gif
Gender:	Male
Species:	Human
Age:	26
Position:	Chief Counsellor
Ship:	USS Champlain (NCC 2170-C)
Status:	Active

Olen Rhinehart is chief counsellor aboard the USS Champlain under the command of Captain Susan Rivers. He is a quiet and retiring man, much given to contemplation and reflection rather than action. His lifelong passion has been the study of philosophy, and by virtue of that, the acquisition of surer and more certain knowledge - not only of himself, but of the world around him. He also takes a keen interest in theology, which often seems anachronistic in these most humanist and secular of times. Although maintaining no particular religious faith himself, Rhinehart believes that the religious texts, and the ideas of theological scholars - thinkers such as St Thomas Aquinas, Subramuniyaswami and Nagarjuna - have much left to teach us yet.

USS Champlain

Rhinehart's first assignment was as a counsellor aboard the 52nd Fleet's newest vessel, the USS Champlain, a modified Galaxy Class explorer. The ship's overall mission was to explore the largely unknown Beta Quadrant of the galaxy, in support of the 52nd Fleet's ongoing war against Admiral Doenitz. He made rendezvous with the vessel on Stardate 2407.02.24, ahead of its official launch. Its first mission was to investigate the Federation colony Ivor Prime, which was believed to have been the target of a Borg attack some 30 years previously. It was to be assessed for suitability to house refugees from the conflict with Doenitz.

Deep Space 5

En route to Ivor Prime, the Champlain was diverted to the Doenitz-loyal space station Deep Space 5, in order to capture it for Admiral LoDona and the 52nd Fleet. Following a successful infiltration, Rhinehart was able to convince the station commander, one Captain U'gaeth, to relinquish command and surrender with virtually no loss of life on either side.

As a result of his actions on this mission, Rhinehart received a promotion to Ensign (SG), and was awarded a Captain's Commendation.

Ivor Prime

Following the liberation of Deep Space 5, the Champlain's mission began in earnest - tasked with investigating the colony world of Ivor Prime as a potential home for refugees of the civil war. The planet's status had been unknown since contact was lost in the wake of a Borg attack in 2373, some 30 years ago. Wolfe and his crew feared the worst, but upon transporting to the surface, found the colony queerly deserted and undamaged. It was soon discovered that the colonists had been transported by one Dr Laura Schell, a senior theoretical physicist, to an incorporeal dimension in order to evade the Borg's impending attack. After Captain Wolfe was accidentally transported to the same void, the crew were able to return him, along with a number of the colonists, and left the colony in the hands of a reconstruction task force following in the Champlain's wake.

Rhinehart was left with some serious concerns over crew cohesion and communication efficiency following this mission, a trying experience for all concerned.

The Hephaestus Principle

A week after the Champlain left Ivor Prime, the crew were once more assembled on the bridge. An unexpected warp vessel had been discovered deep in uncharted space, and adding to the mystery, it exhibited a Federation warp signature. Wolfe explained that the chances of a coincidence were vanishingly small, which led Rhinehart to wonder if the vessel might be the Wyvern, the nebula class ship that seemed to be dogging them around the galaxy. Failing that, the infinitesimally tiny chance of coincidence all but ruled out the possibility that the vessel could be anything other than Starfleet, but Wolfe was insistent that the crew should prepare for first contact, a plan that seemed, on first impressions, to fly in the face of available evidence.

Rhinehart risked reproach by questioning the captain's reasoning publically, but was left dissatisfied by the exchange, and increasingly concerned over what he saw as the CO's abstracted state of mind and his mercurial command style. It seemed to Rhinehart that Wolfe had been subtly different since his return from the Ivor Prime void, and he worried deeply over what to do about it. In the meantime, the Champlain set course for the nearby planet of Irlix, assumed to be the source of the mysterious warp-capable vessel.

A day later, it appeared that perhaps Rhinehart had been correct in his concerns about the captain. Caught off guard by the Irlixians firing upon them, the Champlain was blind-sided by the USS Wyvern as she retreated, and was attacked mercilessly. But Wolfe seemed stricken with paralysis, almost catatonia. It cost him, and the ship, his life. A photon torpedo strike near the bridge left the command chair a devastated wreck, the explosion of which burned Rhinehart badly and hurled him bodily into the wall. For him, the mission was over.

Beyond Vengeance/Crossroads

While the Champlain battled the Wyvern, Rhinehart battled for his life. Fast action on the part of CPO Nathan Fuller and his team bridged the gap between life and death for the counsellor and brought him back from the brink. In sickbay, tended by Doctor Henna-star and Nurse Telstra, he was revived a mere matter of hours after his incapacitation, the worst of his physical wounds on the mend. Mentally though, it was another story. His concussion had triggered a traumatic retrograde amnesia that seemed oddly selective. Rhinehart could recall nothing of his identity, and nothing of the other crew members, yet retained his training and professional insights. This led him to conclude that his loss of recall had been, at least in part, psychological in nature. He concluded that he had dissociated, but without anything further to go on, was left floundering in a stranger's skin.

Do Not Go Gentle

As the fleet prepared to merge and move on sector 001, Rhinehart eased back into his work uncertainly. Now chief of department, he had a small staff under his command and an enormous job to complete. As well as providing the standard crew evaluation required by the new captain, Rhinehart was tasked to conduct in-depth research into the confidential psychological files of Doenitz-loyal command staff, seeking information that could be exploited tactically. Initially perturbed at the ethical implications, he nevertheless agreed to the captain's request in light of the extraordinary attrition they were likely to face, and any possibility, no matter how slender, that it might be ameliorated.

The task occupied much of his department's time over the next three trying months. At the same time the crew was drilled relentlessly in preparation for their next mission: to act as the speartip for Task Force 19. It was a mission that would cause great ambivalence and dread in the amnesiac counsellor, not a warrior by any means. As the ship neared its destination, meanwhile, the existence of a certain black-market video clip came to his attention via his assistant Dorga Cha'Nooras, and thus to the attention of the captain. The contents of the video proved to be the key that unlocked the morass of his suppressed memories, bringing them back to his consciousness in a deluge he could not decipher or decode. He began mind-melding therapy sessions with Lt. Dorga which helped him to reclaim the incoherent memories as his own.

Hobbies

Rhinehart is more interested in intellectual pursuits than physical. He is a quick study, and keenly interested in all branches of knowledge, although his specialities are philosophy, theology and psychology. He enjoys writing - although his relationship with his keyboard is sometimes fractious - and is currently working on a secret literary project where he unburdens some of the angst he often feels towards himself. He is a connoiseur of tea, and spends inordinate amounts of time grooming his beard, of which he is justifiably proud. In fact, he has often considered writing a monogram on the psychological and philosophical implications of beard-growing. Coincidentally, he avoids social gatherings if at all possible.

As of this writing, he is still settling uneasily into shipboard life, taking longer than most to feel comfortable. Being socially awkward, he feels he has not capitalised on opportunities to form friendships, something he plans to address in the immediate future. However, he has grown particularly close with the Champlain's Ops chief, Lieutenant Brianna Frazier - although their relationship has had a rocky beginning, to say the least.

Awards

Received the Captain's Commendation for his part in the liberation of Deep Space 5, 2407.03.05.

Received the Ribbon of Sacrifice for injuries sustained during battle with the USS Wyvern, 2407.03.13/14