Cole Grafton

=Personal Details=
Coleton Alexander Grafton is the oldest of two siblings, born to a fishing family out of Juneau, Alaska. Cole spent his winters in school and his summers on one of the family's fishing boats. The entirety of his childhood was spent in the woods and mountains of Alaska learning to hunt, fish, hike, and survive if need be. Cole had good grades in school, did well with the fishing fleet, but discovered his true passion in flying. When he was fourteen, he joined the Civil AeroSpace Patrol (C.A.P.) where he learned to fly for the first time and learned aeriel search-and-rescue. When he was sixteen, his parents surprised him with enrollment in the Northern Lights Flight School where he found that he had an aptitude for bush flying at extreme low levels, something that would help the family business out in getting supplies out to the fishing fleet in short order.
Not having any kind of connections in order to enter into Starfleet Academy, Cole did the next best thing; he enlisted in the Starfleet Border Patrol upon graduating from High School. His experience in the C.A.P. allowed him to enlist as an E-3 and accelerate his training greatly. After Basic, he went straight into Advanced Training where he also entered into Officer Candidate School to study to be an Anti-Starship Warfare Officer (ASWO) for Bombardiers. Upon graduating AT/OCS, he was assgined by SBP to the Typhon-class Carrier, USS Goddard, which was assigned to patrol and guard along the Klingon Border. Cole would fly many sorties against the Klingons in cold war operations and eventually earn the callsign of "Double Tap" for his tenancy to hit his targets twice to ensure that he completed his bombing/torpedo missions.
Cole would spend the next three years completing his Officer Candidacy on the Goddard before rotating back to Earth when he turned 24 in order to finalize his Officer's training at the Academy. During this time, something happened in his hometown of Juneau that he and his family will only refer to as 'The Incident'. This is something in his past that Cole outright refuses to talk about. The only thing that is known that his 21 year old girlfriend/high shcool sweetheart, a Junior at the University of Alaska studying Marine Biology, passed away under unusual circumstances. Regional Police records remain sealed to this day and anyone connected with the event all refuse to talk. Despite the loss of his girlfriend, Cole still managed to complete his Academy Training.
Then it was a rotation back to the USS Goddard for another tour, but this time as a full fledged pilot. Cole would spend another three years on the Goddard before disaster finally struck. The cold war between the Federation and the Empire heated up in 2387 and the Goddard was caught in a pitched battle. The Goddard was severly damaged to the point of nearly being destroyed while Cole and his ASWO were shot down while on a mission in Klingon Space over the planet D'Korin and captured. (See Battle of D'Korin)
As a Klingon Prisoner of War, Cole learned a whole new meaning of the terms 'pain' and 'suffering'. He was tortured relentlessly along with other members of Starfleet and Starfleet Border Patrol that were captured along with him. Cole endured hardship, heartache, and hours of pain, while he was interrogated endlessly. He watched good men and women die from various causes ranging from straight up executions to simple prisoner neglect. Any stubbron or rebellious streak that Cole used to have died in the P.O.W. camp that he was held at.
Salvation finally came in mid 2387 when a Starfleet rescue operation liberated the Klingon P.O.W. camp. The closest starship to render assistance to the extraction team was the new Trailblazer Class USS Miranda. After medical treatment and debriefing aboard the Miranda, Captain Elaithin liked what he saw in Cole and offered him a field commission in Starfleet as the new commander of his Rebel Squadron.
=Personality Profile=
As is typical of many pilots, Cole is good and he knows it. He is secure in his confidence and this has led him to attend TOP GUN on Earth both as a Pilot and as a Bombardier/ASWO many times. He has yet to win the coveted trophy, but he's come close. He thinks that Fighter Pilots are flashy pretty boys and that Starship Pilots are just lazy as he believes that anyone half awake can pilot a starship. This mindset, coupled with this somewhat cocky attitude, has led to more than one visit to the Captain's Mast and more verbal and written reprimands on his record than he cares to think of. He'd always get into just enough trouble to warrant attention, but not enough that it ever warranted a Court Martial. Life in the Klingon P.O.W. camp was a sobering experience and it further diminished Cole's cocksure attitude, but it's still there some of it there.
However, Cole is humbled by the fact that he was born of the working class and he has had to work his ass off in order to get to where he is today. He has a great respect for the Enlisted ranks as he used to be one. So he always has a great working relationship with the NCOs under his command. He can often be found on the flight decks working hand-in-hand with the Enlisted in order to get the birds of his squadron working again and firmly believes in cross training his pilots in maintaining the ships that they fly into battle.
Off duty, he's a bit of a loner when not with his squadmates. He's one of the 'strong, slient types' that people usually see in the back of the bar, observing the crowd. Has been known to be a bit of the Ladies' Man as he's every eloquent and sophisticated, thanks to upbringing. He's been taught to treat women with the uptmost respect even if at times he seems very flirty with women of all humanoid species.
Doesn't talk too much about his time as a 'guest' of the Klingons while on D'Korin. Nor does he ever talk about anything regarding "The Incident".
=Special Notes=
*Lives by the Bombardier Motto: "Fighter Pilots make movies. Bomber Pilots make history!"
*As part of his flight gear, he always carries a basic multitool with him just in case he ever needs to make field repairs on his ship.
*Callsign: "Double Tap"
Physical Health:
Blood Type O+. Has a couple of scars on his back where tissue damage from neural lashers were too deep to be completely erased by dermal regenerators. Other than that, he is at peak physical health.
Mental Health:
As Cole is unwilling to open up about his time as a P.O.W. or what happened in Alaska in 2384, it is difficult to ascertain exactly how deep his psychological trauma goes. But on the surface, he is calm, cool, and collected. Only time will tell when Cole will decide to tell his story beyond the basic facts of what happened to him in the past.
Cole has exibited remarkable mental capacity, especially during his capture. Upon review of the survellence tapes and the computer records liberated from the P.O.W. Camp during the rescue attempt, it shows that Cole never once divuldged any information to the Klingons beyond the requisite name, rank and service number despite overwhelming torture and interrogation. Genotyping done on the USS Miranda suggests that Cole might be 1/8th to 1/16th Vulcan.
Upon debriefing, Cole has admitted to sleeping with and having a mind-meld with a fellow female Vulcan captive, but refuses to go into details beyond that. The only thing that he has said about the subject is that she was not going through Ponn Farr.
=Service Record=
*2381 - 2384 - USS Goddard (Typhon Class Carrier), Anti-Starship Warfare Officer , Warrant Officer (W3-W4)
*2384 - 2384 - Starfleet Academy
*2384 - 2386 - USS Goddard (Typhon Class Carrier), Bomber Pilot, Ensign (O1)
*2386 - 2387 - USS Goddard, Bomber Pilot, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) (O2)
*2387 - 2387 - D'Korin Klingon Prisoner of War
*2387 – Bomber Pilot, USS Miranda (Trailblazer Class Battleship), Lieutenant (O3)
===Starfleet Decorations===
*2377 - Expert Marksman
*2379 - Starfleet Border Patrol Basic Training
*2381 - Starfleet Border Patrol Advanced Training
*2384 - Starfleet Academy Graduation
*2384 - Pilot's Flight Cross
*2385 - Klingon Campaign Ribbon
*2386 - Distinguished Pilot's Cross
*2387 - Ace Ribbon (Five Kills)
*2387 - Purple Heart
*2387 - Prisoner of War Ribbon
*2387 - Silver Star
===Reprimands===
*2381 - Conduct Unbecoming, Captain's Mast. Shore Leave Suspended.
*2383 - Conduct Unbecoming, Captain's Mast. Suspension of Pay, 3 Day Lockup.
*2384 - Conduct Unbecoming, Cadet Review Board. 3 Day Lockup.
*2385 - Conduct Unbecoming, Captain's Mast. Grounded for a Week.
*2386 - Conduct Unbecoming, Captain's Mast. Grounded for a Week.
*Various minor reprimands throughout his career for unruly behavior.
=Miscellaneous Information=
===Family===
*Mother: Sophia Davis, Age 55
*Father: Nathan Grafton, Age 55
*Siblings: Lucianna Marie Grafton, Age 24
*Other Relationship(s):
** Kylee Stapleton. d2384
*Plus many members in extended family.
===Education===
*2367 - 2377 - Grade School, Egan High School
*2375 - 2377 - Flight School, Northern Lights Flight Academy
*2377 - 2378 - Year One, SBP Basic Training, Crewman (E-3) (Advanced Enlistment due to Civil AeroSpace Patrol service)
*2377 - 2379 - Year Two, SBP Basic Training, Crewman (E-3)
*2379 - 2381 - Year One, SBP Advanced Training OCS, Warrant Officer (W1)
*2380 - 2381 - Year Two, SBP Advanced Training OCS, Warrant Officer (W2)
===Personal Interests===
Flying, Boating, Hiking, Camping, Fishing, Hunting/Shooting, Swimming, Cold Weather Survival, Orienteering, Mechanics, Reading, Theatre, Martial Arts.
===Linguistic Proficiency===
Naturally Fluent in English, Russian, and Klingon.
===The "Alternate" Universe===
In the 'real' timeline (USS Galaxy: TNG), Cole Grafton had high enough marks to go straight to the academy and into the Starfighter Corps without having to to a Tour of Duty in the Border Patrol or go through OCS. He gained fame there becoming a fighter/bomber ace in the Triad War serving with distinction on the USS Miranda-B before transferring to the USS Minerva. He wound up meeting Zoe Rodgers at TOP GUN where the two maintained a long-distance relationship until Zoe could get transferred to the Miranda-B. Once there, the two become close and eventually married and had two childeren. At the close of the War, Cole was tapped for one last Tour of Duty due to his exceptional skill while Zoe left the Starfighter Corps to return home to Earth to raise their kids.
Further divergences in the two realities include the infamous 'Incident' never occuring in which Cole's high school sweetheart was never killed in Juneau. Kaylee continues on in college at UAA along with her best friend, Lucianna Grafton, yet her and Cole have drifted apart but remain good friends to this day.
Cole Grafton also maintains a perfect flight record, having never been shot down.
=Uniforms=
		
Category:Starfleet Personnel
Category:USS Miranda (NCC-77000) Personnel
Category:Starfighter Personnel
Category:Lieutenants
Category:Humans
Category:Player Characters
Category:Fighter Pilots