Lieutenant Winnifred "Freddie" Zhang
Name Winnifred "Freddie" Zhang
Position Chief Engineering Officer
Rank Lieutenant
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 31 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'1" / 1.55m | |
| Weight | 119lbs / 54kg | |
| Hair Color | Black | |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown | |
| Physical Description | A woman of Eastern Asian descent, Freddie is somewhat short and most would consider her 'petite' but she just calls it being 'short and thicc' though she's really quite average. Having the traditional dark and somewhat rounded features as a result of her genetics, she's never been a woman who draws much attention unless she's trying to. She does, however, tend to draw attention to herself as a result of her sometimes flamboyant nature and, especially, when she's allowed to stray from the 'professional' look expected of her. Preferring the 'Engineer's Utility Vest' and uniform pants over the usually expected uniform for female officers, Freddie can and will make herself presentable when it's needed, but she sees no reason to get her fancy, red uniform dirty if she doesn't need to. For her, it's usually about Function over Form when on duty or on-call. Off-duty, however, Freddie tends to either lean into a very relaxed version of her New York fashion or, when she wants to, can and will 'glam' herself up. Freddie does have several tattoos, each with unique meaning to her younger, more impulsive years. They celebrate her Home, her Heritage, and her Artistic Expression. While not normally seen when in uniform, the only one that tends to peek out at times is the stylized 'NY' on her right wrist. Above it on the inside of her bicep is a trumpet from her 'Jazz Days'. On her left shoulder, she has a Tiger; the zodiac of her birth. |
Family
| Father | Ronny Zhang (Senior Operations Manager, Mercurion Inova Inc.) | |
| Mother | Michelle Chu (Marriage and Family Counselor) | |
| Brother(s) | Dr. Nicholas Zhang Ph.D. (Engineer at Ceries Industries) | |
| Other Family | "Nai Nai" Zhang (Paternal Grandmother) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Freddie is a product of the hardships of her life and childhood as a result of the weight of lofty expectations and her tendency to rebel against them at times. While she is an ingenious and crafty engineer, her leadership style might leave more structured COs with room for complaints. She's a skilled motivator, but too lenient an authoritarian. She doesn't see a point to yell or punish, but celebrates her peers' and subordinates' accomplishments with the excitement of an overly proud parent. It is just as easy for her to submit to authority as it is for her to rebel against it when she believes them wrong. Freddie can have almost extreme confidence in situations where she's comfortable but also lose herself in anxiety when truly challenged, whether that be expressed loudly or silently. She's a woman who is often looking for the joke in tough situations, but will also remark with sarcasm when appropriate or not. With an odd sense of humor, she's not always easily understood by her peers, but she does seek their approval. Overall, Freddie tends to be able to find the calm, smooth coolness she needs in most situations, though sometimes only after exploding in some vibrant display of emotion first. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | + Inventive Engineer: While Freddie does have a great deal of experience in traditional engineering, her biggest strength in her duties is her ability to improvise and get creative to discover the source of a problem or devise a solution to one. While not one to rely on orthodox methods, she has become good at keeping ships held together with little more than glue, tape, and feigned optimism. + Chilled-Out Chief: Freddie, despite her position and rank, is often well-liked and potentially respected by her subordinates and junior officers thanks wholly to her almost laissez-faire attitude to command. If she sees someone struggling, she'll quickly step in to help guide and teach them an easier, less stressful path toward success than they might have been able to see. Though she keeps her department always on the up and up, it's only because she's gotten very good at 'covering down' when it's required to make up for the allowances she so willingly gives out. + Fast & Furious: Freddie is a surprisingly good Shuttle Pilot, but ONLY when it comes to shuttlecrafts. While she was never able to transfer the skills over to anything larger, the engineer does eventually come to be known for her unique 'style' of piloting, which usually results in elevated heart rates, nausea, and a single instance of 'needing new pants' in her passengers. While she's always managed to bring everyone in safely and has a spotless record in regards to collisions, she tends to not be any officer's first pick. - Non-Combatant: Freddie has the distinction of being the current Starfleet Record Holder for the longest streak of lowest Security/Phaser Qualification scores without losing her commission. Despite occasionally having her mouth write checks her ass can't cash, she is not someone who is ever expected to prevail in a violent confrontation. When faced with such personally directed violence, Freddie tends to freeze up, which tends to make her Security's problem when such situations arise. - Offensive to Vulcans: No one is entirely sure how, but Freddie has the unique ability to accidentally offend Vulcans at any opportunity. While she has overwhelming respect for the people, the human just somehow always says the wrong thing, though never in such a way as rising to the level of discrimination. Much like herself, most humans don't detect an issue with her manner or choice of speech until after she's already offended the Vulcan(s) in question. Freddie has been trying for years to correct this problem, but can't seem to keep it from happening. - Overwhelmed by 'The Chair': Though Freddie has proven to have the skills and aptitudes to be an excellent Chief Engineer, any time she's been put in Command of an entire starship, her anxiety causes her to second guess every decision; often making the wrong choices or giving the wrong orders for the situation. It seems the very idea of being responsible for so many people; so many lives overwhelms her. Thankfully, Freddie has no ambitions about becoming a Captain. That's not a job she ever wants to have. |
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| Ambitions | Freddie's assignment as Chief Engineering Officer of an entire starship was the first of her Starfleet goals to accomplish once she'd earned her commission. Now, she looks to serve honorably and with expert excellence, perhaps rising to the level of role model, Montgomery Scott. While she strives to maybe one day help develop the next big breakthrough in Aerospace Engineering, Freddie knows it's a long road to do that, though that doesn't stop her from repeatedly attempting to leave her mark on history. Once she accomplishes that, Freddie could see herself becoming part of Starfleet Engineering Corps, or maybe even SCE Command Liason one day. If nothing else, she wouldn't mind having her name on a building at her Alma Mater. "The Freddie Zhang Hall" sounds pretty good to her. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | ● Aerospace Design ● Jazz Music - Trumpeter ● "Clubbing" in NYC-Style Nightspots ● "Cocktails & Cigars" in Jazz Lounges ● Chinese Astrology ● Shuttle Racing |
| Personal History | Born in King's County, New York, Winnifred "Freddie" Zhang has always maintained that she was a true "New Yorker". Having spent much of her teenage years crossing over the East River at any opportunity, Freddie grew up within the Culture of the larger city and was known to be quite the navigator of the maze-like metropolitan area. She does wish that she had gotten more time to spend in the city, but she did not have the type of mother who would allow such, especially when her older brother Nick was ensuring he was the perfect child in every way. Freddie couldn't begin to describe all the things she heard about second-hand because of the countless hours she was forced to study, but one wouldn't want to get her started about it either. By the time she was fourteen, her brother had already been accepted early into a post-graduate program at Caltech, exponentially increasing her mother's pressure on her to succeed. While her father was a rising manager in a technology firm, he was not a man who would question his wife, the accredited Marriage and Family Counselor. Freddie was less impressed with her mother's 'published works' than her mother liked to rave about and certainly questioned if her mother ever considered following her own, published advice. Though she was the Salutatorian of her large graduating class, not even getting early acceptance to MIT's School of Engineering seemed to be adequate enough to earn her mother's approval. Freddie had been accepted to numerous universities but chose the school solely in defiance of her brother and the life-long silent sibling rivalry the two have had. While her father was always celebrating his children for every accomplishment, the girl had grown incredibly tight with her "Nai Nai" after she'd come to live with her family during her formative teenage years. Even with 23rd-century technology, Nai Nai was the only one who could summon Freddie back to NYC without the MIT student making up some excuse. Spending almost the entirety of her six years in the Greater Boston area, the woman obtained both a Bachelor's and Master's of Science, with honors, from MIT SoE before fully returning home. Freddie had wanted to spend some time evaluating her options, but her mother's interjection by setting her up interviews in both Freddie's brother's and father's companies led the woman to choose the most extreme option instead: Starfleet. Using it as an escape, Freddie didn't need to attend Starfleet Academy but did so in place of OCS only to spend the time truly coming to understand the choice she'd made.., and gain a Master's of Engineering as almost an afterthought. Fulfilling her training requirements, Freddie found herself serving as an Engineer's Mate on the USS Castor, earning praise from her Chief, before being officially commissioned as a Starfleet Ensign. Having done so not only locked her into her future but withheld her mother's ability to boast about both of her children to her friends. Freddie was quite surprised by how much she enjoyed being in Starfleet, both with the exciting work as well as the lasting friendships she made. Serving aboard the massive USS Speedwell, the Engineering Officer was one of so many 'Lower Deckers' that she enjoyed the freedom it provided in exchange for the bottom-rung nature of her assigned duties. While she wasn't anywhere near perfect as far as her decorum, her expertise couldn't be denied as she quickly stood out from the crowd and earned her Lieutenant-ship after only a little over two years. Even though there were plenty of tears at the end of her three-year tour aboard the Speedwell, being transferred to the USS Renown and the Exploration Tour it was due to take on cemented in Freddie's mind just how serious her chosen career was. No one in her family had ever been further from home than her, and none could ever claim to rise to the challenge of such as she would. In just a year, her Chief had not only promoted her past her 'Junior Grade' status but made her his Assistant Chief, forcing the woman into a very uncertain situation that he was sure Freddie would eventually rise and become competent in. While she learned a great deal from her Chief on the Renown, just as Freddie started to feel like she was on solid footing as an Assistant Chief, easily handling the responsibilities placed upon her, she was surprised by both her Chief and Starfleet when she received unexpected orders to report another Miranda-Class, the USS Montana. While she had great doubt in her competency, especially upon learning she would be "Acting Chief" aboard the vessel given its need, her Chief seemed much more confident in Freddie than she was. Not even really having the chance for proper farewells to the group of new friends she'd made, the Lieutenant was shipped off to join her new ship and new crew with little in the way of expectations or warnings about what new challenges she would face as Chief, herself. Arriving to the familiar Class of ship just with a different name and an unfamiliar crew, Freddie knew she had to put everything she knew and had learned into showing she was the right Officer for the Job, regardless of her relative inexperience and anxieties. |
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| Service Record | ● 2280-2286: Student, MIT SoE, Awarded B.S & M.S. in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering ● 2286-2287: Midshipman, Starfleet Academy, Awarded M.Eng. in Aerospace Engineering ● 2287-2288: Midshipman First Class, Engineer's Mate, USS Castor (Constitution-class) ● 2288-2290: Ensign, Engineering Officer, USS Speedwell (Constellation-class) ● 2290-2291: Lieutenant JG, Engineering Officer, USS Speedwell (Constellation-class) ● 2291-2292: Lieutenant JG, Engineering Officer, USS Renown (Reliant-class) ● 2292-2293: Lieutenant, Assistant Chief Engineering Officer, USS Renown (Reliant-class) ● 2293-Present: Lieutenant, Chief Engineering Officer, USS Montana |