Southern Comfort

PLAYER INFO.
✖ Handle: Claire
✖ Contact: slanndalous, ebonlucifer @aim
✖ Are You Over 16: Y
✖ Other Characters Played in Consignment: N/A

CHARACTER INFO.
✖ Character Name: McCoy, Leonard Horatio
✖ Canon: Star Trek AOS | Right before beginning the five-year mission at the end of the second movie
✖ Character Appearance: http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/14300000/Leonard-McCoy-karl-urban-as-leonard-mccoy-14300714-675-900.jpg
✖ Character Age: 32
✖ Pick A Number: 721; 934

✖ Canon Setting: The reboot of the original Star Trek series is based in an alternate reality during the twenty-third century within our universe. Much of earth's history in Star Trek has remained unchanged (at least until the early 1970s); however, the most divergent and monumental change is the discovery that there is intelligent, extraterrestrial life outside Earth. In 2063, a peaceful, highly-intelligent species called Vulcans make contact with Earth, and with it re-shape the very social fabric of humanity. Poverty was eradicated, and government migrates to something of a socialist state where currency was no longer necessary.

In time, Humans make contact with other alien species, forming alliances that eventually create the basis of an intergalactic government body known as the United Federation of Planets. It is the most powerful and important faction within the Star Trek series outside a few hostile alien empires (discussed below). Within the Federation is a branch known as Starfleet. Based in galactic exploration, Starfleet trains any citizens of the Federation for exploratory missions in space. This branch of Federation is the focal point of the Star Trek series.

By 2233 the original timeline schisms into an alternative reality when a Romulan mining ship and its crew (led by a Romulan named Nero) inadvertently travel back in time through a black hole and destroy the USS Kelvin assigned to inspect the strange space-time anomaly.

Much of McCoy's history remains the same until his third year at the Starfleet Academy. Then in 2258, the Federation is requested to send support to the planet Vulcan due to unusual seismic activity. The result is the destruction of several Federation starships and the total destruction of the Vulcan planet by Nero. Because of a shortage of graduate officers on standby, the majority of Starfleet's cadets are requested to crew the Constitution-class starships waiting at spacedock. This, of course, includes Leonard McCoy who is assigned to the USS Enterprise as a senior medical officer. Jim, however, is grounded on the Academy campus for academic misconduct, and McCoy takes it upon himself to jump through Starfleet regulation loopholes to bring him onboard and indirectly place him on the road to his destined position as Captain of the USS Enterprise.

In the wake of the battle between Nero's advanced mining ship and the Federation, McCoy is promoted to the position of Chief Medical Officer when his successor is killed during the crisis. He remains CMO throughout the remainder of the story.

His last impact on the series comes when he finds a means to synthesize a cocktail from super human blood in order to cure death. That's kind of an important turning point in medical history, even if no one knows about it.

FACTIONS/SPECIES

United Federation of Planets: Located in San Fransisco, the Federation is a government body consisting of more than a hundred alien planets and species. Together they create a symbiosis of technological advancement, resources, defense, etc. that is offered to any alien planet (of a certain technological evolution) willing to join the Federation. One of its most important philosophies is not to change the nature of social development by interfering with less technologically-evolved species. It is up to a species to naturally develop spaceflight and warp capabilities before the Federation will make first contact. This is to ensure that all negotiations and relationships between the Federation and other planets are of equality and not from an abuse of power. This philosophy is called the Prime Directive, and it is the most important rule of the Federation, especially Starfleet. Officers are to uphold the Prime Directive in any first contact or exploratory mission. This includes the disuse of any technologically advanced equipment within the presence of less advanced species. It is to be upheld even above the threat of death to ensure evolution is natural and unadulterated. This is something all officers are tasked with, and that includes McCoy.

Starfleet: A branch of the Federation, Starfleet is used to expand its exploration of the galaxy, to defend in times of crises and war, and offer diplomatic support to alien species. These exploration missions take various forms (first contact with alien species, reconnaissance, scientific experimentation, data gathering, etc.). The main characters of the series are a part of Starfleet.

Klingon Empire: The Klingons are a species of alien with a very proud, war-like culture. They absorb planets and species into their empire through fear, violence, and manipulation. Because their ideology is in stark contrast to the peaceful ideology of the Federation, they are bitter enemies during the twenty-third century. They have a dark complexion with a very distinctive brow ridge.

Romulan Empire: Distant relatives of the peaceful, emotionally-suppressive Vulcan species, Romulans have retained much of the war-like culture of their ancestors. Like Vulcans, they have pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. They are well-known for their development of a cloaking device, rendering their ships invisible. The renegade Nero and his crew were of the Romulan species.

Vulcans: One of the founding species of the Federation, the Vulcans helped Earth to advance into a more modern and intergalactic era. They are most notable for their pointed ears and slanting eyebrows. They are a highly-intelligent race who adheres to Surakian philosophies which teach the control of emotions so they do not control the individual. One of the main characters, Spock, is of Vulcan descent.

TECHNOLOGY

Constitution-class Starships: These are the most commonly depicted and popular starships of the Federation in Star Trek. They can accommodate upwards of four hundred crew members for long periods of time, making them very self-sufficient in the distant depths of space. They are powered by a matter-antimatter reactor and a fourth-dimensional mineral called dilithium (VERY EXCITING STUFF, LET ME TELL YA!).

The most well-known constitution-class starship is the USS Enterprise, which the main cast of Star Trek crew. Doctor McCoy is the Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Enterprise, responsible for the physical and mental well-being of the 400+ crew members aboard the starship. Although he has very little command authority within the scope of the Starfleet hierarchy, he does have the power to relieve the Captain if he deems him or her mentally or physically unsound.

Warp Drive: Using the matter-antimatter reactor, certain starships can travel faster than the speed of light at successive warp levels.

Tricorder: A hand-held device that can record audio/video and analyze data from its environment (ex. airborn, physiology, flora, fauna, etc.).

Communicator: A hand-held device very similar in make and function of a flip cell phone. It allows officers to communicate with each other and the starship.

Phaser: Is it...? You guessed it! A hand-held firearm (about the size of a glock?) that shoots a particle beam with can stun, kill, or heat inanimate objects.

Transporters: Teleportation pods that can beam animate and inanimate objects from one place to another. Matter is broken down, transported, and then reshaped at its destination. Doctor McCoy does not like being transported :/ No sir.

Hyposprays: Similar to the newly invented jet injectors in real life, hyposprays took the place of archaic hypodermic needles in Star Trek. Using air compression to inject the liquid, it allows medical professionals to use it successfully on multiple patients without worrying about blood contamination and thus blood-borne illnesses.

✖ Character History: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Leonard_McCoy_(alternate_reality)

✖ Character Personality: Leonard McCoy can be described as the heart of the Enterprise. Whereas Spock is controlled and logical, McCoy is passionate and emotional. A friend to Jim Kirk and Chief Medical Officer of the USS Enterprise, he makes it a point to conjecture whenever he can to support or challenge Kirk and play devil's advocate to Spock. This leads to some heated and colorful debates between the three of them; though, each has a role that tempers the others.

For his part, the doctor's humanly compassion comes from that of a medical physician with a southern disposition. He projects the thoughts and feelings of humanity (aka the general audience), lathered in all their emotional, passionate, hypocritical, and morally ambiguous glory. As he shows in the Reboot movies, his friendship and loyalty overshadow Starfleet protocols when he decides to bring Kirk aboard the Enterprise despite his academic suspension. He feels it is wrong to leave his friend behind despite the rules and regulations. McCoy stands beside Kirk as newfound Captain despite his inexperience and unorthodox plans to thwart Nero because his confidence and loyalty in the man override the total asshattery of the situation. Again, he disagrees with Kirk’s decision to set Sulu in the position of acting Captain with little leverage to threaten Khan. It is not an emotionally comfortable decision to make, and thus it leaves McCoy arguing whether it is truly a morally right decision, not simply a logical one. As these examples show, emotion, instinct, and human morality are what drive McCoy to make his decisions or question those of others.

The emotional spectrum is a necessary part of his job as a healer and a useful identifier for physical or mental deficiencies. Because of this, he sees the strength and importance of emotion. As a psychologist, he uses the emotions of others to assess their physical and mental well-being on a daily basis, whether he is on the clock or not. This can be seen several times in the movies when McCoy regularly trails after Kirk with some medical instrument, even when the Captain is resistant to the CMO's advances.

Just as Spock draws power from logic, McCoy draws power from the evocation of emotion and feeling. It is what provokes much of the antagonism between them. This is best portrayed when McCoy speaks his mind after Spock strands Kirk on Delta Vega after Kirk's outburst on the bridge. While he concedes to the reasoning behind Spock's decision, what irritates McCoy is the fact that while it may have been the logical decision, he didn't feel that it was the right one. Displaying his feelings regularly, he seems to expect it from others because it is a normal and healthy function of the body. Because Spock does not express his emotions, and thus what he is thinking, it causes distrust and suspicion in McCoy. Spock quickly dissects his argument and explains the ignorance in his opinion: his expression of emotion would serve no purpose to the aforementioned situation and would thus be illogical.

While it is true that because McCoy often speaks his mind based on intuition or impulse, he does not always take into consideration the big picture (as shown in the example above), this does not make him optimistic or naïve. His disposition generally appears as grouchy, stubborn, and malcontent. If he isn’t arguing with Spock or keeping Kirk in line with sass, then something is wrong. But these characteristics aren’t the exclusive property of the commanding officers. He shows an initial lack of confidence in Chevok when he adds his input to a tactical plan and claims to be only seventeen. This does not prove that he disagrees on a regular basis with those in their specialized fields, but he certainly doesn’t believe anything too good to be true. Much of his snark likely comes from his life experiences and his profession. Already at 32, he has been married and divorced before enrolling into Starfleet. That shit would make anyone jaded.

And, as a doctor, he has a very intimate relationship with life and death. He has seen what horrors the human race is capable of, has seen pain, suffering, fear, weakness. Yet despite these debilitating traumas, he understands his responsibilities as a doctor, some of which need to be decided without emotion. In a crisis, he must coolly organize those who need the most immediate help against those who must wait. Sometimes it means that there will be sacrifices, and those casualties are McCoy’s responsibility and his decision to make. While not shown in detail, the attack on the Enterprise during their mission to assist Vulcan left the former CMO dead and several officers critically wounded. Taking responsibility for the well-being of his fellow officers, he assumed the position as Chief Medical Officer and no doubt had to make the same difficult choices. These examples show that, while he wears his heart on his sleeve, he is still realistic. Although his bedside manner is called in to question many a time, he is a very compassionate man under all that gruff southern sass. He enjoys his career and responsibility as a doctor and treats all of his patients equally.

✖ Character Powers: He's woefully Hooman, so no crazy super cool powers, but he has the power of medicine!

Obviously he has a Doctorate in Medicine, but canon doesn't specify in what areas he specializes; however, based on TOS and Reboot shenanigans, I'd say Human Physiology (obviously, since most of Star Fleet is human), Comparative Physiology (emphasizing common alien species like Vulcan, Andorian, etc.), Pharmacology (since he's always pulling some new antidote or drug out of his ass to save the day), and general Psychology (Again, since he's claimed to be responsible for the physical and mental health of the officers on the Enterprise).

He obviously has some combat skills as well, since I am sure they are classes at Starfleet. Nothing excessive outside the realm of basic hand-to-hand, self-defense, survival training, and marksmanship, though.

CHARACTER SAMPLES.
✖ First Person POV: Chat Roulette

✖ Third Person POV: "Keep 'em comin'," he ordered when he sat his fourth shot of bourbon over to the side of the counter. The woman--he thought she was a woman anyway. Sexes between Saurian were so damn confusing from the outside--gave him a questionable look.

"You sure?" she garbled in Standard.

"I'm eighteen hours away from never settin' foot on solid ground--" Normal solid ground anyway. "--in another five goddamn years. This is my last hurrah for awhile..." and he couldn't even share his misery with his best friend who was probably sleeping on the ship illegally just to get a "feel" for her. Christ. He was not joining that little slumber party. McCoy was not staying on that damn ship one more night than he absolutely had to.

Shrugging, the bartender poured three more fingers and slid it over to the doctor. He took it in his large hand, but didn't have time to put it back when another Terran came to sit beside him. The young man, rather average and unmemorable seemed much too happy for the current circumstance; it made him scowl that much harder.

"Bad day?" he asked once he saw that scowl, as if McCoy had somehow invited him into a conversation. Great.

"More like a foreseeable future. I'll spendin' it in a tincan surrounded by the unendin' vacuum of space, explorin' planets, facin' death and destruction on every one of 'em no doubt. And don't get me started on the diseases we haven't even encountered yet! Who knows how they'll react to a brand new Terran host!" It was probably a lot more than the kid bargained for in a bar buddy, but he hadn't fled yet. What a fool.

"Sounds heavy," he said and McCoy wasn't sure whether the guy was truly sympathizing or simply adding comforting noise to the void once the good doctor was done invading it.

"It is heavy." Much too heavy for a country doctor. "You know how many planets are out there?"

"Too many?" The kid hazarded with an innocent face. It made McCoy pause before he spoke up again.

"Right, exactly... Too damn many. Too many mistakes or pitfalls. Too many unknowns..." And he would always be at the head of that unknown to make sure it was safe for everyone, to be the bad guy when Jim felt the pull of ambition. Those five years were going to be so, so long.

"Kinda makes you wish there weren't so many, huh?"

It was an odd comment, but he supposed it wasn't entirely untrue, especially five shots in. "Yeah, well, it'd sure save us a lotta time," he agreed, finally tipping back his glass.

"Sounds like it... Well, I'll drink to your good luck then. Maybe it'll work out." Amiably, the young man held up a glass before downing its contents. McCoy simply chuffed and finished his bourbon off, hoping this journey wouldn't be more of a disaster than he already knew it would be.

CHARACTER ITEMS.
✖ Pick a Team: BLUE!!
✖ Mission Freebie: A tricorder
✖ Personal Item or Weapon: Medipouch (includes 2x skin grafting laser, 6x laser scalpels, 1x spray applicator, 1x surgical scissors, 1x medical scanner, 1x hypospray, 3x interchangeable hypospray vials [six different compounds can be housed in one hypospray vial, which generally includes: cordrazine, masiform D, tri-ox compound, dylovene, sterilite, melanex]) (This is an official item outlined in Star Trek reference manuals, I swear!)

✖ Character Inventory:

Science officer uniform (blue tunic, black undershirt, black slacks, black boots)
Starfleet Academy ring
Communicator
Tricorder
Medkit