Rye-jae Maddox

**Rye-Jae Maddox** was a noted Starfleet officer who served in the mid-24th century. He served as commanding officer of the USS Chalice (NCC-7736) and later the USS Tempest (NCC-10535).

## Biography

### Early Life

Maddox was born on Andoria to a human father and Andorian mother, the product of an affair between his father and an Andorian military officer. He was raised by his biological father and his adoptive human mother, a Starfleet science officer. Physically, he took more towards his human side and so remained unaware of his Andorian heritage until adolescence, when his father revealed it to him. His father ultimately had his antenna surgically removed during infancy, making him nearly indistinguishable from other humans, aside from a slight blueish tinge to his skin tone.

At first, the revelation of his conception and his father's infidelity deeply shocked and angered him, creating a rift between him and his father. But it eventually served to reaffirm and deepen his relationship with his adoptive mother, the only one he had ever known. And over time, he and his father managed to rebuild a cordial relationship, largely at the encouragement of his mother.

### Starfleet Academy

Maddox entered the Academy in 2310 and, despite early struggles academically, graduated with honors and graduated as a commissioned officer in 2314.

### Early Career

Maddox climbed through the ranks quickly. He was promoted to second officer of the USS Coronado in 2319 and then selected as first officer by Captain Simon Katanga of the USS Bantu Wind (NCC-5456) in 2225.

During his first year as executive officer, the Bantu Wind was ordered to oversee the evacuation of a small scientific colony from an unstable dwarf planet in the Larentian system. A team was beamed down to the surface to assist the scientists when a Priority One distress call was received from the Andorian medical transport ship, Illshaan. Captain Katanga decided to delay the Bantu Wind's response until his crew and the scientists were safely aboard. Maddox suggested that the colony and evacuation crew would be able to survive on the surface long enough for the Bantu Wind to respond to the distress call and return to the dwarf planet. Katanga countered that their first priority was to their own crew. Maddox offered no further objection, which he later regretted. By the time they completed the science team's evacuation and reached the Illshaan, the transport had lost more than 300 patients and crew.

### USS Chalice

In 2331, Maddox was promoted to captain and given command of the USS Chalice, a Mercy-class medical ship.

In 2334, following an away mission on an uncharted planet, members of the crew began suffering headaches, an inability to focus, insomnia, and waking nightmares. The ship's medical officer deduced that the team was being affected by quantum beings that fed off specific frequencies of the away team's brainwaves. In effect, these beings only existed when the team thought of them. The doctor devised a solution that would cure the crew by inducing a comatose state, but would be fatal to the quantum-beings (dubbed "Figments" by the medical officer) in the process. After some debate, Maddox ordered his crew to search for other options. Eventually, the science, engineering, and medical teams worked together to modify a medical tricorder to use an experimental AI software package that would scan, replicate, creatively modify, and continuously broadcast simulated brainwaves at the frequencies the Figments needed to survive.

### USS Tempest

In 2339, Maddox was given command of the USS Tempest, an Ambassador-class explorer starship previously commanded by Captain Koa Duwal, following Duwal's retirement and a lengthy refit for the Tempest.