Gregory Farley

Gregory was born on Mars (Sol IV) in 2360. His father, Lewis Farley was an independent bulk miner who scrounged the asteroid belt for readily available ore, which he then sold. Gregory lived with his mother and siblings, receiving a good basic education in the process. He showed an early aptitude for math and often watched his father plot course plans to target asteroids. When he was 12, Gregory began learning to fly his family’s small ore hauler. He particularly liked stressing the aging craft to its limits with non-recommended maneuvers. These often resulted in mechanical breakdowns but Gregory generally was able to fix what he broke. When he was seventeen, Gregory crashed the ore hauler into an asteroid, effectively ending his family business. Wracked with guilt and unable to secure a piloting position due to his record, Gregory applied to Starfleet as a last resort. His parents, while certainly angry with him, were proud when he was accepted and the rift between father and son was mended. He reported to Starfleet Academy in 2378.

Gregory’s time at the academy was fairly prosaic. He knew from the beginning that he wanted to fly the massive starships he saw orbiting Mars and Earth. He majored in flight control and minored in com ops. His progress reports often praised Cadet Farley’s natural instincts and leadership but also mentioned his reckless streak. That recklessness was on full display during one of his flight simulation exams when, piloting an Ambassador Class starship, he managed to invert the ship and twist it on its axis in attempt to avoid a Romulan torpedo spread. The maneuver worked but in the process the impulse engines failed, leaving the vessel immobile and subsequently was destroyed.
Despite the disaster, Gregory was praised for his unconventional flying and then reprimanded for failing to communicate his intentions with the cadet-captain. Gregory continued after graduation to Command School and again performed well but also received two reprimands. During his time at Command School, Gregory’s father died in a mining accident, something he would blame himself for the rest of his life. His mother moved the rest of his family from Mars to Earth, and Gregory was able to visit them and help mentor his siblings.

Upon graduation from Command School, Gregory was posted to the USS Orion as an Assistant Helmsman. He loved being onboard the ship and was well liked by his crewmates. For most of his time on the Orion, Ensign Farley served as a relief helmsman or manned the second shift. It was dull work for him and he developed a reputation as a daring pilot, sometimes as praise and other times as a reprimand. His daring flying caught up to him in 2381 when, as the acting helmsman, he managed to collide with another starship while attempting a risky docking maneuver at Starbase 22. The Captain of the Orion was embarrassed and conducted a court martial on grounds of negligence. The verdict came back as not guilty but Ensign Farley was summarily transferred to the aging USS Griffin and most of his friends and family assumed he would resign from the service.

The Griffin had a reputation as one of the worst ships in the fleet. Most of the crew had been reassigned there due to incidents similar to Gregory’s and even the Captain had faced a court martial. She was often referred to as the “prison ship” of the fleet and her missions were uniformly boring. Gregory did consider resigning. But he loved to fly and while the Griffin was a big step down from the Orion, it was certainly grander than flying an ore sled on Mars.
In 2382, after a year and a half on the “prison ship”, Gregory had a chance to shine. While transporting a group of low level Andorian diplomats, a spacial anomaly formed during warp transit. All efforts to eliminate the anomaly failed and only Gregory’s superhuman flying got the Griffin out intact. It turned out that one of the low level diplomats was the daughter of a senior diplomat and once he heard of the pilot’s efforts, arranged to have Gregory receive Andor’s Silver Shard, a medal that was rarely given to non-Andorans. This unusual honor changed Gregory’s life. He delved into the history of the Andoran race and came to see similarities between his recklessness and their violent streaks. He read Andoran philosophers and started using meditation techniques. He also discovered a love of Andoran ale. He also, grudgingly, was promoted to Lieutenant JG in recognition for saving the lives of everyone on the Griffin.
For the next 3 years, Gregory remade himself as a Starfleet officer. He worked harder and encouraged those around him to do the same. By the time he was reassigned to the USS Sydney, the Griffin was a much improved ship.

The Sydney was the ship where Gregory would flourish. While still a helmsman, he was the immediate backup to the chief helmsman and had much more interaction with the ship’s Captain, Elizabeth Reston. Captain Reston had requested Gregory by name and took it upon herself to mentor him. He learned much later that Captain Reston herself had had a rough early career and liked to help those she referred to as “misfits”. Under her calm mentorship, Gregory proved his piloting skills time and again and was promoted to Lieutenant at the conclusion of the Sydney’s tour. Gregory was extremely distressed to be leaving the place he had called home for seven years but knew he needed to expand his experiences.

Born 2360
Starfleet Academy 2378-2381 Major Flight Control, Minor Com Ops / Command School
2381 USS Orion NCC-50955 (Ambassador Class) – Assistant Helmsman Ensign
2381-2384 USS Griffin NCC-42365 (Excelsior Class) Assistant Helmsman- Promoted to Lt. jg 2346
2384-2388- USS Sydney NCC-55571 (Centaur Class) Helmsman- Promoted to Lt. 2357