Lithop Howard

- Name: Lithop Howard

- Appearance: sea green eyes, strawberry blonde armpit length wavy hair usually tied in a loose ponytail, pale skin with freckles, a prosthetic lower left leg, 5’8

- Department: science

- Special Position: Astrophysicist

- Academy Courses: Astrophysics, Advanced subspace geometry, Quantum Chemistry,

- Backstory: Lithop doesn’t not know her birth parents, she was found wrapped in a blanket in an alley by Kathrine and Julie Howard, wives who happened to be in that city. They took her in but soon realized that her left foot was deformed and would need to be amputated. By some stroke of luck Julie’s brother Brian was a prosthesis and her moms decided that it would be the best course of action for lithop to receive a prosthetic and decide later in life whether or not she wanted a natural replacement. She never did choose a natural replacement and is perfectly happy with her prosthetic (shown below). Soon the family moved to Alaska for work. Because where she lived was rather isolated the school near her was far away and not very good. Instead she participated in an online homeschooling program which she eventually graduated from. While at school she was quick to make friends and talked to them often over calls, this is where she learned most of her social interaction although she would improve on it throughout the years. When Lithop was 16 her uncle came to visit the family for a few months. He was there because Lithop was getting older and he wanted her to know how to fix and even improve her prosthetic. Lithop grew up in the cold and darkness for her entire life but she felt oddly comforted by it. He mothers also installed in her a great love of space and the stars. Space seemed to call to her feeling exciting but also familiar. She became fascinated by Starfleet in her teen years after hearing about it in school from a teacher, who’s spouse was an officer. Of course although she looked into other options she always came back to Starfleet, feeling like they had the best opportunities for her. When she was 18 she applied for starfleet academy and while she found the entry process difficult, was accepted into the academy the same year. While at the academy she found a great interest in space’s anomalies and went into science. Having always liked puzzles and the unknown she focused her studies in astrophysics related topics. She made friends with a few of her classmates, most notably her roommate Sammie, who she had a short romance with. Although the relationship did not last they continued to be good friends and still keep in touch despite different postings. She almost took a class in stellar cartography before her roommate reminded her how hopeless she was with directions and took (class) instead. She did well at the academy although her grades were nothing to write home about. She graduated at 22 and the Phoenix is her first posting.

- Personality: Despite growing up around very few people her age, Lithop is surprisingly social and friendly. Still she can tend to ramble or jump from topic to topic with little to no break. She is hardworking, curious, and spunky. She enjoys spending time with people but she hangs out by herself to recharge, usually staring out a window. One odd trait of Lithop is that she does not have a normal eating schedule, e.g. skipping breakfast, eating lunch around 2pm and dinner around 10pm. She picked this habit up in her later academy years when she was busy with classes and studying for tests.