Corella Banfield

Political Information

• Affiliation:
  • Starfleet, United Federation of Planets
  • Klingon Defence Force, Klingon Empire

Family

• Mother: Lynkarisa, daughter of Lilrel (House of Lorkoth), Klingon Ambassador (retired)
• Father:  Caleb Banfield, Starfleet Captain (retired)
• Husband: Carter Westerham, Starfleet Commander, Chief Engineer, USS Triton (NCC-80106)
• Sons: 
  • Brook Westerham-Banfield, Starfleet Cadet
  • Logan Westerham-Banfield
• Daughter:
  • Athena Westerham-Banfield,  Starfleet Cadet
• Mother-in-law: Sarah Westerham, Federation governor (dead)
• Father-in-law: Adrian Westerham, Starfleet Admiral (retired)

Biography

Early Life

Born on the Klingon world of Khitomer in 2346, Corella’s parents were not officially together. Both were involved in regular peace talks during this period when there was not much progression between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Her father was a Starfleet captain, and her mother was one of the Klingon diplomats; the two of them appeared to enjoy one another’s company during the many social events after formal discussions. Her mother had raised her on Khitomer for most of her childhood until she became a teenager and soon realised after a sporting accident that she was not fully Klingon. A doctor had treated her and had let it slip that he was detecting human DNA. It took a year or so for her to truly understand her mother’s intentions and why she had kept it from her. Eventually, Corella’s mother helped her track down her father. Meeting her father helped the young teenager understand who she was. After discovering she held dual citizenship in both the Empire and Federation (thanks to the fact the alliance treaty was now signed) when she turned 16, she sought permission from her mother to be able to live with her father. Agreeing to the move, Corella moved in with her father, who commanded one of the starbases along the Klingon-Federation border.

Two years of being with her father helped her build a strong relationship with him. Her Klingon temper was fierce, which got in the way of them starting their relationship on the right foot. Her anger was more directed towards her mothers for not sharing with her about her father. With help from her father’s trusted XO, a Vulcan, she could control her emotions, which helped her build a good relationship with her father. The two would spend a lot of time together, which resulted in him showing her his world, especially his love and passion for the sciences. This interest influenced Corella a lot. She started to enjoy school more, and thanks to many of her father’s staff providing extra tuition, she finished her schooling with good grades, which allowed her to join Starfleet. Her mother visited the station as part of a liaison project in 2367. Initially, she was not pleased about her daughter’s wishes to join Starfleet, so instead, she made a deal with Corella. She gave her the blessing she wanted to join Starfleet in return if she considered later serving in the Klingon Defence Force. Corella agreed and soon left her home to attend Starfleet Academy on Earth. Before she left, though, she witnessed her parents reconcile their relationship; she finally felt like she had a complete family.

Starfleet Career

Starfleet Academy

Though she was one of the first Human-Klingon hybrids to attend Starfleet, Corella could keep her temper in check, which surprised many of her professors and instructors. This control was thanks to her father’s first officer, Vulcan, who taught her many Vulcan meditations when she moved in with him. Corella would start her day out doing them. As such, she could focus on her studies and follow in her father’s footsteps in the sciences. Her four-year course saw her take a double specialism in quantum mechanics and astrophysics. She graduated in 2371 and was posted back to her father’s station.

Starbase 212

Her father had pulled in several favours for Corella to be posted to his starbase, and she ended up serving under one of the finest science officers, Lieutenant Commander Andrahl. The Bolian woman had been like a mentor to Corella when she was a teenager, and automatically, when she returned to the station, Andrahl took Corella under her wing. Though Andrahl’s specialism was in other fields of science, she was highly knowledgeable. Corella spent the next four years enjoying her assignment and rose to lieutenant junior grade, eventually leading a sub-department on the station (stellar cartography) for almost a year.

During this time, Corella witnessed her parents finally getting married. It was a great day for her, and the station celebrated their wedding.

USS Merrimac (NCC-61827)

In 2374, war was declared against the Dominion, and at the time, Starfleet conducted a considerable review of personnel to ensure enough people were in the right places to help with the war effort. When the USS Merrimac was pulled from its duties from the Archanis Sector, it stopped at Starbase 212 for a brief overhaul before being sent to the frontlines to join the Ninth Fleet. Starfleet decided to assign several members of Starbase 212 to join the Merrimac; Corella was one of them. Her mother, proud her daughter would be off fighting in glorious battles, gave her the mek’leth her mother gave her. She went on to hand to her the baldric she had worn when she had served in the Klingon Defence Force. It was a reminder of Corella’s promise to join the KDF at some point. On the other hand, her father was not too happy but understood why she was needed. Her talents in the sciences would help the Merrimac. Fortunately for her, Andrahl would be going along with her and joining Merrimac as its new chief science officer and second officer. Andrahl had made Corella her new department deputy.

The Merrimac‘s first battle was to assist in Operation: Return – the battle to retake Deep Space Nine. During it, the ship was boarded by Jem’Hadar, and this was the first time she had been involved in hand-to-hand combat. Using her mother’s mek’leth, she was able to save Andrahl from being stabbed in the back while on the bridge. Corella was recognised for her bravery after the battle.

For the rest of the war, the Merrimac was assigned to a range of missions that tested Corella in various experiences. By mid-2375, Andrahl had been made the first officer (after the promotion of theirs to another ship). As such, Corella was made chief science officer. The responsibility of running a whole department was one she was ready for; however, her staff was pretty small compared to the norm expected of a Nebula-class starship. Nevertheless, she continued to excel in this new role. When the war ended, she requested to return to Starbase 212 to see her parents. Her father had decided to retire, and she wanted to celebrate this with him.

Taking a runabout with Andrahl, who was joining her, on their way back, their runabout encountered a temporal anomaly that threw them back almost a decade in time. On their re-entry into normal space, the runabout’s warp core became unstable. They sent a distress call on Starfleet frequencies and abandoned the ship using EVA suits. Unable to return to their timeframe, they were eventually picked up by the USS Berlin (NCC-14232). The Excelsior-class ship turned both women over to the Department of Temporal Investigations.

Department of Temporal Investigations

Forced to accept they couldn’t return to their own time, Corella and Andrahl had to be debriefed and investigated by the Department of Temporal Investigations to validate who they were. Once this was complete, they were told they had to avoid changing the timeline. With everything they knew about the Dominion War and other conflicts, both women agreed to go into some sort of seclusion. Not willing to sit around and do nothing for ten years, Corella joined the DTI and trained to become a field agent to assist those in a similar predicament to herself. Though her duties were light, she also found the time to complete her master’s degree in history and eventually a doctorate in xeno-archaeology and xeno-anthropology. Watching events of the Dominion War unfold, Corella found it hard to sit by and do nothing, so in 2374, with permission from the DTI, she volunteered to join the Klingon Defence Force. Though DTI could adjust her records, she was given a battlefield promotion in the KDF after she was placed on detached duty from Starfleet, with the rank of lieutenant.

IKS Vor’nak

Her time on the Vor’nak was brief; she served on the ship for two years. Fortunately for her, she could carry on her duties as a science officer, and she enjoyed spending time with her fellow Klingons. Their countless battles invoked her inner warrior, and she continued to feel that her time with the crew was a breath of fresh air. When the war ended, she requested to transfer back to Starfleet to complete the journey she had started almost ten years ago.

Starbase 212

Returning home, her parents were surprised to see that she had aged, but after she could briefly share with them what had happened, she decided she wanted to remain at the station for a lot longer than initially planned. Thankfully, the station needed a new chief science officer, so with his last authority, her father appointed Corella to the position. She remained in this role for the next four years, enjoying the ability to lead a range of teams to undertake numerous scientific endeavours.

Her mother was incredibly proud of her work in joining the KDF and attempted to persuade Corella to join her staff and become the Klingon liaison to the station. Her mother was planning to retire and needed to appoint a successor. Tempted by the offer, Corella filled in temporarily until the Empire could nominate someone else permanently. By 2382, she held this role for three years.

USS Oberon (NCC-80103)

Feeling the need to leave Starbase 212, especially after her parents had both retired and were now living on Khitomer, Corella was approached again by Andrahl to join her on a new ship: the Luna-class vessel USS Oberon. Andrahl would be serving as the first officer, and the ship needed an experienced chief science officer as it would start exploring regions in the Alpha Quadrant that had been difficult to visit during the Dominion War. Agreeing to the idea, she packed her belongings and left Starbase 212.

Corella served the Oberon for three incredible years as it explored parts of the Alpha Quadrant, previously unexplored on the other side of Cardassian space. Making first contact with three new species and exploring a vast amount of space made Corella feel alive again. She enjoyed working with such a diverse crew from many planets across the Federation. She met Carter Westerham (the ship’s chief engineer) during this time. The two got on well like a house on fire, and within two years of being together, they got engaged. Wanting to undertake an almost official Klingon wedding ceremony, the two were married by the end of 2385, just as the ship returned to Federation space.

When the Oberon returned to Earth in 2385 for a computer upgrade at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Corella and Carter departed beforehand to take their honeymoon on Risa. While en route to the pleasure planet, they received a call from their commanding officer, Captain Zack Marshall-Bennet. Bennet informed them that they were the only surviving members of the crew after the rogue Synth attack had taken place on Mars. Eventually, they did arrive on Risa. The attack on Mars spoilt their honeymoon, and Corella couldn’t handle the fact she had lost Andrahl, her good friend and mentor.

USS Westminster (NCC-70499)

Captain Bennet had requested that Carter and Corella join him on the Westminster, the ship he had taken temporary command of to help rescue those after the attack on Mars. Both of them agreed as they felt it was one way of honouring their fallen comrades, plus they both liked Bennet a lot. Being on a Parliament-class ship, Corella had the chance to expand her scientific knowledge further during her tenure on the Westminster DTI recalled her to assist with several temporal anomalies as well as a few displaced officers. Eventually, she and Carter decided they wanted to start their own family. In 2393, Captain Bennet was offered to take command of a newer ship. He offered Corella and Carter to join him, but they declined because she was pregnant. Instead, they decided to take an extended leave of absence and made a home for themselves on Mellstoxx III.

Starfleet Academy – Mellstoxx Campus 

Not wanting to lose either of them, Starfleet offered Corella and Carter the chance to teach at the Starfleet Academy campus on the Betazoid colony. Both of them would only work part-time as they prepared for the arrival of twins. When Corella went into labour, she was in the middle of a lecture, and thanks to several helpful cadets, she got to the medical facilities in time to give birth to Brook and Athena. Honouring her fallen friend, she gave her daughter the middle name of Andrahl. As Corella’s children got older, she discovered that their ageing process was slightly increased due to her trip through the temporal anomaly. Returning to the DTI, she was able to use their resources to slow both Brook and Athena’s speed of development. By 2395, both of them were teenagers when the process was slowed down, even though they were only three years of age. In the same year, she discovered she was pregnant again, and before her next son was born, she underwent a procedure to ensure he didn’t go through a similar thing to his older siblings. Unlike her mother, who had hidden her heritage, Corella was open with Brook and Athena about what was happening to them. Carter and she got through the difficult process with their children together as a family. Deciding to remain at Starfleet Academy, Corella enjoyed her teaching, and eventually, Carter retired.

In 2398, after her second son (Logan) was settled, she decided to continue her career and took the advanced bridge officer’s exam. This resulted in her gaining a promotion to commander. Starfleet was eager to offer the command of her own science research vessel, but she turned them down. Instead, she remained on Mellstoxx III, teaching at the campus.

USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)

After the USS Odyssey had undergone a temporal paradox, Banfield was assigned to the ship to debrief its crew and to determine what damage may have been sustained to the timeline. After her investigation, she concluded that what the ship had endured had not caused any impact on the timeline; instead, she recommended that specific crew and the ship be prepared for the future timeframes that the captain and its operations officer encountered. By doing this, they would avoid any further paradoxes. Reluctant to agree with this, the Department of Temporal Investigations was concerned about the Temporal Prime Directive being maintained. Captain McCallister offered for Banfield to join his crew to assist with this and bring some further strength to his senior staff. She would join as Chief Science Officer and Second Officer. Along with these duties, she would be pivotal in overseeing the ship and its crew’s preparation for the possible alternate future that awaited them. Her assignment ruffled some feathers with some of the crew, and her years of experience in the sciences and her time while teaching proved to be valuable.

While on the Odyssey, she gained the trust, respect, and admiration of Fleet Captain James McCallister and became one of his loyal advisers. Eventually, she and Max Duncan (first officer) developed a strong bond, and the three officers found themselves sharing social events, bringing their families together, too. In mid-2401, she was made Captain of Science, with Odyssey now leading a squadron of deep space exploration in the Delta Quadrant. Though she didn’t like the idea of having a fourth pip, she reluctantly agreed to it after pressure from McCallister and Duncan. 

USS Triton (NCC-80106)

After returning to the Beta Quadrant and attending a meeting at Deep Space 19 regarding the opening of underspace corridors across the galaxy, Banfield was made the commanding officer of the USS Triton by newly promoted Commodore McCallister. He told her he needed her to step up and take over the Triton. Though she had always been against the idea of having her own starship, something changed in her mind, and she agreed to it.