Physical Appearance: Captain Lawrence is tall and slender, with an
athletic build that she maintains by strenuous workouts. She wears her thick,
black hair shoulder length. Her brilliant aqua-blue eyes are clear and piercing.
When angry at a subordinate, her eyes alone can flay the guilty. Her hands are
delicate and slim, with a surprising strength.
Personality: T.E. has never forgotten her security training on Venus.
She demands that her subordinates know "the book" from cover to cover.
They had also better know when to throw "the book" away. She may
forgive a failure, but she will never forget one. A junior officer once
described his experience with Captain Lawrence following a mistake on his part
as "being dissected by startling blue eyes and pounded into hamburger meat
by a soft voice." She has never outgrown her love for animals and will
often "turn a blind eye" to a pet living aboard her ship.
An acquaintance in later years described her method of captaining as one in
which she looked upon her crew as her family. Her style engendered a feeling of
trust. Her judgment was seldom questioned.
Other Pertinent Data: Her favorite drink is hot chocolate. When T. E.
is feeling especially evil a large helping of whipped cream will top her cup.
She likes to visit the Observation Deck before retiring. It helps her to unwind
from the day’s duties.
History: In 2270 TANYA Elizabeth was born to Sean and Enid Lawrence.
They resided in the city of New California, a city evolved from one of the
original Terraforming settlements. Dr. William Slater had introduced animals
into the lush vegetation that had replaced the dreariness of the Venusian
landscape. Dr. Sean Lawrence, who traced his lineage back to Dr. Slater, was
also concerned about the animal population of Venus. He was one of the foremost
veterinarians on the continent. T.E. as she was usually called in those days,
often was required to assist in the care of her father’s charges, especially
the younger ones. Over time she developed a caring attitude toward animals, one
that continues to this day. As T.E. was Sean and Enid’s only child, one that
had arrived late in their lives, she was groomed from an early age to take over
the business a responsibility that she was not completely convinced was her
destiny. Being the lone child of a stern (though loving) taskmaster, T.E. had
little chance to protest her father’s decision. She willingly went through the
long training period required by her father. At twelve she was qualified in most
administrative jobs, by age fourteen, she could have been a full partner.
It was at this time in her life that her horizons were expanding. She became
more aware of other happenings in New California and the outer world. She
learned that applications were being accepted for the Venusian Grenadiers: a
minimum age requirement was sixteen. That immediately became a short-term goal.
When she turned sixteen, she vowed to be one of them!
The freighters and an occasional starship calling at New California’s
spaceport caught her eye, especially the starships. The crews relaxing on shore
leave became her targets. Though it was difficult because of her introverted
nature, the skinny kid with the jet-black hair and aqua blue eyes would approach
the Starfleeters at every opportunity. Questions would follow questions. What
did they do? Where had they been? Where were they trained? Where were they
going? How could she join? Who should she contact? Though she told no one, she
knew that one day she would captain one of those ships!
The next two years were the busiest years of her young life. The day after
her sixteenth birthday she joined the Venusian Grenadiers. Their training
requirements were strenuous. She excelled in some subjects, those that required
dexterity. She easily became the phaser marksman of the force as well as easily
placing in the top ten in hand-to-hand combat. One of her contemporaries called
her "a lean, mean fighting machine", noting that her movements were
"more cat like than human". The "Force" training would be
considered full time for the average person, but for T.E., it was but one of
several interests. She also continued her veterinary duties as well as
preparation for the Academy entrance exams.
A tragedy occurred shortly before her eighteenth birthday that cemented her
destiny. The Venusian Grenadiers had been away from home on survival training in
the northern hemisphere - near the ice cap. The terrible news greeted the force
shuttlecraft as it neared the city. A mysterious explosion obliterated the
southern third of New California. Both her parents were killed in the blast, as
were most of the animals in the hospital compound. At eighteen, she found
herself alone but far from being destitute. Her parent’s estate provided her
every want.
While the Training Academy was tough, she still had time (made time, that is)
to study for the entrance examinations for Starfleet Academy. She took them,
passed them and, based partially on the glowing recommendation from General Ian
Tennille, the Commandant of the Venusian Grenadiers, and was accepted.
Surprisingly, Starfleet Academy put her into the Security, a departure from
the Academy’s usual method of ignoring past experience. It wasn’t what T. E.
wanted. Every semester, she would meet with the Academy counselors and lobby for
a change to Command track. It didn’t happen. After graduation, Ensign Lawrence
was sent to the light cruiser USS JETSOR (NCC–1425) as a Security Officer.
Although she was an exemplary Security Officer and was rapidly promoted to LTJG,
her heart wasn’t really in it. Every moment of her off-duty time was spent
talking and studying with the Command officers on the ship. Her transfer to USS
HANNIBAL (NCC–512) as the Chief of Security (she had again been promoted, this
time to Lieutenant) put a dent in her study time. It wasn’t long before she
had the Security Department running like a clock and was able to get back to her
books.
It wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. If it hadn’t been for a
fellow officer, Lieutenant Eric Kristiansen, she wouldn’t have made it. His
tutoring in every subject got her through Command School, barely. Her first ship
out of Command School was another destroyer, the USS GERANIMO (NCC–535) where
she served as the Assistant Operations Officer. After that, she was the
Operations Officer on USS XIA (NCC–1435), a light cruiser; the First Officer
on USS CONFEDERATION (NCC–2143B), a dreadnought; and USS YOUNG (NCC–1965), a
through-deck cruiser, where she served as Commanding Officer.
It wasn’t long before she was given command of USS EXCALIBUR (NCC-2005).
After a very successful tour aboard the EXCELSIOR-class Heavy Cruiser, T. E.
went to Third Fleet Headquarters to serve on Admiral Daniel Evans’ staff.
When the Commanding Officer of USS PHOENIX was killed during a mission,
Captain T. E. Lawrence was given her third assignment as a Commanding Officer.