Melody Leigh Haverstaad

Melody Haverstaad is a Senior Chief Petty Officer and Chief of the Tactical Interactive Holographic System aboard the USS Boudicca

Melody Haverstaad in Dress Uniform

Authors Note

Melody is one of those fun lovin' gals I created along my standard lines… meaning she's a bitch who is not to be messed with :-P

I originally created her as a short-term NPC, just someone to explain the Tactical Interactive Holographic System to the security crew of the newly launched Boudicca. Of course, like most of my short-term NPC's, I fell in love with her attitude and kept playing her.

She is an on-again, off-again love interest to Trevan West, and she's my basic fall-back character on Boudicca when things are quiet and I want to post Lower Decks. She takes a hell of a beating, but hey, she's still cute! She is also one of the few characters I have where there are no forward plans, I have no grand design for her, she just floats where fate happens to take her…

And for a rarity, I can’t think of many authors notes I’ll have to type during her history. Huzzah!

History

Pre-Starfleet Life

Melody was not quite your standard girl from Earth, she ended up seeing more of the universe then most as both her parents were Civilian Consultants to Starfleet for Astrophysics, and often attended symposiums on Federation Worlds to help train Starfleet Science Officers in their field. They almost always took their daughter along, and that traveling more-or-less convinced a young Melody Haverstaad that she was destined to join the fleet. She found her parents occupation… stuffy.

She didn’t exactly throw herself into preparation for it, her desire to see the Stars didn’t become over-whelming or an obsession until she was a late teenager. She spent her childhood being home-schooled from her parents, and engaging in tom-boyish persuits that would get her in quite a bit a trouble a number of times.

Melody was always a physical child; she spent lots of her free time running, climbing, biking, swimming, or any number of other physical activities. She did not lack for brains in any manner, but she usually chose not to apply herself to what her parents believed was her full potential. She would later admit to them, while on a brief leave after she had graduated Starfleet Crewman School, that she had taken average-to-high marks only to annoy them. As she said it, “I didn’t want to be stuffed into a lab all day, thanks much.”

She finished school at age 17, 3 months before her 18th birthday. Her parents begged her to attend University when the next Semester started up again, but she deferred and instead signed up with Starfleet the day after her 18th birthday.

Crewman School

Melody Haverstaad after Graduation

Melody entered Crewman School with an energy she hadn’t put into anything for years. The School itself is only six months long, with another 2 – 16 months depending on necessary job-skill training. A far cry from the 4+ years she would have had to spend in the Academy to become an officer.

Her time there was spent studying and raising hell, not necessarily in that order, and she was brought up on disciplinary action no less then three times, though for nothing more serious then breaking curfew, usually to jog beyond the campus limits in San Francisco.

She joined just before a scuffle with the Cardassians, which colored her view after the six months of boot camp, for she chose Starship/Starbase Security as her vocation. Security Training was another six months of high-intensity skill-training, most of it physical, and she excelled in it all. She was rated as a Master-Phaser by the end of her year at school, and she was further rated for Starship & Ground Combat with standard Tactical Forces. Her wanderlust set upon her after this year’s worth of training and she bypassed the extra Ambassadorial Guard training her marks qualified her for, though she would later qualify during her stint on the USS Destiny at her Senior-Chief’s urging. Upon finishing her schooling, she was immediately transferred as a full Crewman to the USS Marlboro, which had put into Utopia Planitia for a standard 10 year refit and was nearly ready for redeployment.

Serving Onboard USS Marlboro

Melody, typically full of herself, joined the crew of the USS Marlboro thinking the universe was hers to be had. She didn’t expect, however, that her years worth of education and how she flew by her classes would leave her nearly unprepared for the way things were onboard ship. She once made mention of how she excelled in everything at Crew School to her Senior Squad NCO, and she never forgot his reaction. He simply smiled and said “That’s fine lass, now here’s the fleet.”

If Melody was still a hellion or loose cannon after graduation and her first few months on the Marlboro, it was the Alvarian VIII incident which cured her of it. It was her first introduction into real combat, this time against the forces of the Dominion. The Dominion and the Federation were constantly bickering about territories just their side of the Wormhole; often-times that bickering became the equivalent of a turf-war, which thankfully never blew up into a full-blown war. The Marlboro had been assigned to Alvarian VIII and her tactical forces deployed ground-side to protect a colony there when several Jem Hadar squads came against the colony for no reason given. The Tactical forces were not surprised, but casualties tended to be heavy. Only quick thinking and quick orders saved the colony from being flanked and destroyed, and it was then that Melody learned her no-nonsense approach to her job. She continued to be fun-hearted off duty, but on duty, she became the paragon of seriousness.

The Marlboro would come against the Jem Hadar and other Dominion forces four other times during her seven years on board, three times more in ground combat. She was decorated for valor twice and with a wounded lion twice for being injured in combat. It was usually after these bouts of combat that she would be promoted, and she rose as high as Petty Officer First Class while with the Marlboro.

During her last year on the Marlboro, the Cardassian/Federation war was sparked and the entire fleet moved into combat. Melody, as a senior Petty Officer, was often-times found in charge of ground Tactical units during close combat, or to take enemy bases. Several of the battles were bloody, but none so much as the Battle of Chin'Toka where the Cardassians had built a fortified forward base. Twenty thousand troops, including a Petty Officer Haverstaad, hit the dirt in that battle while hundreds of starships battled it out for Space Supremacy. After thirty hours, Starfleet commanded both the skies and the base, but at the expensive of nearly half the troops and nearly 90 starships, including her own USS Marlboro.

Authors Note: No, this is not the Dominion War from DS9, that war never happened in Freedom’s timeline. But Chin’toka is a major system in the area, so why not?

Melody found herself in command of a nominal platoon, a Tactical command usually reserved for a Starfleet Officer above the rank of Lieutenant. She hadn’t had a choice in the matter, however, almost every officer above the rank of Ensign had been killed, and the three that were left from her division of forces had become gibbering wrecks during the fire-fight. She had forcibly taken command when they had proved unable.

She was transferred to the USS Destiny, one of the ships which had escaped major damage in the battle above, and beamed there directly with what was left of the Marlboro’s Tactical forces.

Serving Onboard USS Destiny

Melody’s time aboard the Destiny was short, a mere two years, but it was never dull as they spent most of those two years in active combat against the Cardassians during the Cardassian War. There were battles innumerable, though she sat most of them out in anti-boarding parties. Only once was the Destiny forcibly boarded, and they managed to take down the Cardassians within twenty-minutes.

There were a further eighteen ground battles during this time, she managed to survive all but one unscathed, and that one wound wasn’t serious in the slightest, just a burn from a disruptor blast to her armor.

Approximately a year after she was transferred to the Destiny, she took the necessary tests and schooling to become an Ambassadorial Guard, at the behest of the Destiny’s Senior Chief Petty Officer, Roland McDowel. She passed with flying colors at her final exam on Starbase 23, which was the center of Federation Forces in the war. And with her passing, she was invited to take the test to become a Chief Petty Officer. After one week of study, she took that test and also passed with flying colors, again on Starbase 23. She was welcomed back to the Destiny with a wild party that heralded her new rank, and it was the Commanding Officer of the Destiny, Captain Bartow, who placed the new pip on her neck. Before this, it had always been her Squad CO.

The War ended when Starfleet bombarded the world of Cardassia, which caused the Cardassians surrendered, a little over a year after she had transferred. The Destiny was put on border patrol; she was a Galaxy Class vessel and a hard-prize to take if the Cardassians decided they wanted revenge.

However, it wasn’t the Cardassians that struck during the lull, but the Dominion. A two week war was launched as Starfleet Forces were pulling back to regroup and rebuild, and it would have been longer had the Admiral stationed at Starbase 23 hadn’t thrown every available ship through the worm-hole while they were still available. The Dominion quickly called for an armistice which was immediately accepted by the Federation. Melody saw combat twice with the Dominion, both times from the bridge, where she had been tasked to learn standard Tactical/Security bridge duty as part of her new duties as a Chief Petty Officer. New realms of possibilities were opened for her, she had thought that she would live and die as a Tactical Ground-pounder.

When the Destiny was ordered to withdraw for repairs and upgrades, Melody and a good 200 other crewmen were reassigned to other ships staying on the front. Melody herself was reassigned to the USS Black Jack, a Sovereign Class vessel.

Serving Onboard USS Black Jack

Her two and a half years on the Black Jack were the most peaceful she had ever experienced during her 10 years in the fleet. The Black Jack was quickly reassigned off the Border and into deep space for exploratory missions, leaving her little time to ply her trade except in its most basic terms.

She was most often called upon to put together and head the Ambassadorial Guard whenever a new diplomat or government official from another world came on-board, but there were no incidents during these times.

The single biggest event to happen during her tour of the Black Jack was a Borg Incursion in 2403. Melody, along with every Marine and Tactical/Security force on the ship were mobilized and were forced to fight off several waves of Borg as they beamed onto the Black Jack and several dozen other combative ships before the Cube could be destroyed. Melody watched in horror as many of her crew-mates, some of which had been with her as far back as their tours on the Marlboro, be turned. She was forced to kill several before they could be fully assimilated.

The Black Jack sustained little damage beyond internal damage from fire-fights and only a 2 week refit was needed at Starbase 23. During this two week overhaul, however, she took and passed all the appropriate tests to become a Senior Chief Petty Officer. Passing the tests was a pre-requisite, but that didn’t automatically convey the rank. She was promoted to SCPO three months later for no apparent rhyme or reason.

With this promotion, Melody had come almost as close to the top as she could get. There was only one more natural rank she could attain, that of Master Chief Petty Officer, before she hit a ‘glass ceiling’. The only two ranks above Master Chief were as much positions as ranks, that of Master Chief Petty Officer of (Whatever Fleet she was in) or Master Chief Petty Officer of Starfleet. At any one time, there were only as many Master Chief’s of the Fleet as there were fleets. Her own Master Chief of the Fleet was Master Chief Petty Officer of the 49th Fleet Don Johnson, and he’d been in that position for no less then seven years. And at any one time, there was only one Master Chief of Starfleet, which was always picked from one of the Master Chiefs of the Fleet.

There were thousands of Master Chiefs in the Fleet, and Tens of Thousands of Senior Chiefs. Less then 100 at a time ever got to serve in the much vaunted positions just one more level above her head. It was easier to become an Admiral then it was to become a Master Chief of a Fleet, and easier to become President of the Federation then to become Master Chief of Starfleet… at least Presidents had a term-of-office, some Master Chiefs of Starfleet had served for 30 years in the past. What was worse, a Master Chief from any department could qualify for the positions, it didn’t matter if the candidate were Security, Engineering, Medical, Operations, or other. It was mandatory that candidates be fully trained in at least two different departments before they were ever considered for the position/rank.

Melody would require more training, and more experience, if she ever hoped for one of these positions. And her prayers were answered not long later when her orders came through to report to Earth, for training in experimental Tactical Technology. She packed her bags and boarded a high-speed transport back to Starbase 23, which was nearly 2 months away, so she could catch a transport back to Earth.

Serving on Earth

Melody had been called to Earth, along with 5 dozen others of all ranks and positions within Tactical and Engineering, to study and learn the newest in Tactical Technology that had come out of Utopia Planitia, that of a Tactical Interactive Interface that would (and did) make targeting and combat easier.

The initial class spent one year on Earth, taking various engineering and tactical courses that would not only prepare them for using and teaching the device to others, but to install and repair all aspects of the device at need. Melody, being a Security/Tactical Senior Chief, spent less time learning Combat basics and more time learning Teaching Techniques and studying at Engineering. It was the single hardest bit of schooling in her life, as she’d never taken more then what was offered to beginners during Crewman School. She found that teaching was natural to her, though she had to curb her crewman’s tongue, which was quick to curse when things went wrong.

She spent that year catching up with friends and family on Earth as well, as she had all nights and most weekends off while on detached duty.

Melody walked away from earth after a year more rested, and now ready to take on new and challenging duties. She was quickly assigned to the fringe again, where the USS Boudicca waited in refit at Starbase Geneva.

Melody during darker times

Serving Onboard USS Boudicca

After her transfer, Melody immediately began overseeing the refit of the USS Boudicca in terms of the Tactical Holographic Systems. She expected to have a full year, but her time was cut short with Admiral Robert LoDona’s pullout of Starfleet. The refit was rushed, though thankfully her systems were nearly completed by the time the Captain Caladryll Sevant was assigned as her new Commanding Officer and the Boudicca was given a launch date.

As in any war, she quickly set up a rapport with various members of both the Security Department, and now Engineering… in which she was a regular visitor when the Tactical Holographic Systems needed tweaking. She was quickly assigned command of a regular squad when her time was not needed by the THIS, and she took to training that squad with a vigor she had carried from her time at Crewman School. It was a good thing too, because their first mission after shakedown ended up with a forced invasion when the psi-ders swarmed over the ship looking for fresh bodies to feed on.

Melody and her team found themselves caught in Engineering, where several pitched battles were fought. She was cut apart several times by their sharp tentacles, and was given a concussion and several burns and broken bones when a plasma conduit was destroyed due to phaser fire. She had to be dragged into a secure area of Engineering and given emergency aid, but even so, it was a close call and she nearly died from the experience. It was partially thanks to Chief Engineer Trevan West, whom she had taken something of a liking to, that she survived the episode.

Not long later, Melody found herself on an Away Team that was to scout and secure sensitive materials from a pre-contact Civilization. The Prime Directive usually would have prohibited this, but this planet was doomed to be destroyed, the Boudicca had traveled back far in time. In order to walk around freely, the Away Team had to dress in similar cloths to what the natives wore, and Melody found herself wearing the equivalent of a business suit. She still has that suit to this day, she thought she looked ‘sharp’ in it.

That mission ended up in a bank robbery, because the greatest concentration of the metal they needed to travel forward in time could be found in native coined money. That robbery almost ended up as a disaster, several crewman and officers were killed when military forces stormed the bank/depository and Melody was injured several times. First with a broken cheek-bone and rib during their first pullout to a lower level when she had to jump down the stairs (which then collapsed as she rolled) due to grenades being thrown at her, and then with more broken bones, ruptured ear-drums and a serious concussion when she covered their pullout a second time to the lowest level and a series of concussion grenades launched her down yet another set of stairs.

They were beamed out not long later, though she lost consciousness after she landed and had to be pulled out by Chief Science Officer Maddie Monroe.

She recovered from that mission and was looking forward to a relaxing time when the Boudicca was ordered to stand-to for two weeks to gather supplies on a tropical planet, while the Second Task Force assembled. She did manage to steal a bit of time with Trevan West, including a couple steamy hours well away from any people, but the vacation was quickly ended when they were cut off from the Boudicca and their ground party came under attack and several of their crew members were abducted.

Melody was made part of the assault team that retrieved the crew members, this time (thankfully) without an injury larger then a bug-bite, and has since spent the last weeks hammering her crew and mentally preparing for what could be their final push into Federation Space.

... and from here, the mission continues!

Biographical Information & Other

Name: Melody Leigh Haverstaad

Rank: Senior Chief Petty Officer

Sex: Female

Race: Human

Age: 32

Eye Colour: Blue

Hair Colour: Blonde

Height: 6'2

Weight: 130 lbs

Blood Colour: Red

Skin Colour: White

Physical Description:

Melody is a fairly tall, well built woman with sweeping blonde hair that is always tied back and out of her way. She is criss-crossed with scars from a career in Security, but she considers each one well-earned.

Medical History:

Melody has a myriad of scars and other problems from years in active combat. Otherwise, no problems

Skills:

Small and large arms skills, Master Phaser, basic strategy and tactics at the squad-level. Training as an Ambassadorial Guard.

Hobbies:

Melody spends her free-time in the gym or holodeck, usually, though she can often be found in Ten forward. It wasn’t until she became a high-ranking Non-com that she received regular rights to the holodeck, and she is still tickled at being able to use it often, rather then on strict rationing as usually presented to crewman.

General Notes:

Because she didn't spend four years in the Academy, she is the same age as most Lieutenants and Lieutenant Commanders, though her relative rank within the enlisted ranks is very high. She has at least four years more in the fleet then most officers her age.

Being a Senior Chief, with years of successful combat behind her, makes her a storehouse of information for fresh officers. And though she is 'enlisted', a non-com, it's only the foolish officer that doesn't respect her opinion.

Awards Given:

Awarded Combat Action Ribbon, Awarded Ribbon Of Sacrifice with Clusters, Awarded Squadron Commanders Commendation

Melody Haverstaad is played by J Trout