Tailor, Gregory
From Obsidian Fleet Database
Born in the Chirachauha hills of the southern part of Arizona, Gregory was born to Kim and Nancy Tailor on May 25th, 2334. They were a quiet family, not very rich but Kim always made enough to provide for his family. Gregory grew up with two brothers and two sisters, both older than him, and attended a small, one-room school, one of the few left that actually taught using books and paper instead of computers. The school provided access to all the technological gadgets the 24th century made available, but the school district voted to have the children taught by conventional means. Many thought this was the reason why the school remained so small, 18 children from kindergarten through eighth grade, but others believed this was one of the many redeeming qualities of the school.
As Gregory grew into his adolescent years, he never chased girls like the other boys. He was content to have them as friends and read his books and raise the animals that his parents allowed him to have on their small five-acre farm. He had always wanted to have horses, but was content to raise goats, cats and dogs. At one point, Gregory had a nice collection of 11 goats, 12 cats, and eight dogs (mostly puppies from a fresh litter). He particularly liked the Nubian goats as compared to the Skunks, Pot-bellied, Alpine, and various other breeds. Their long ears could reaching down to the tips of their nose was the trademark that Gregory liked about the Nubians.
Gregory also grew a small garden in the back yard consisting of corn, lettuce, onions, and a few kitchen herbs. He enjoyed gardening and for the first couple of years he preferred the vegetables, later expanding his likes to include flower beds of Mums, daisies, four-o'clocks, and 'flags'.
The small town Gregory was in didn’t provide much opportunity for young men to develop or grow, and as Gregory became a man he realized that he would have to move on and find his destiny elsewhere. His prospects were extremely limited due to the fact that Gregory and all of his siblings had been home schooled through their high school years, and record keeping was not a particular strength of his family. With nothing to show for his work in high school few places would consider him for a job. Although Gregory had heard of the potential for achievement a person could attain in Starfleet, he never really considered that course of action seriously until the summer he was 19. He was driving to college, working a graveyard job to pay for it, but barely had money to scrape by. He loved to learn, and the lure of the education Starfleet could provide was just too much for him to resist. His two years in college helped him gain acceptance to Starfleet Academy.
When he first joined Starfleet he was afraid of going to far from home. He had never been off of Earth, and even through he was 23 much of Earth was still unexplored by him. Unfortunately for Gregory, Starfleet's plans sent him to the USS Dust Devil as an assistant to their Computer Systems Engineer, Lieutenant Thompson. During the six years he served under Lieutenant Thompson he acquired an appreciation for the way computers worked. He soon had an impressive collection of micro-circuitry, micro-chips, and nanomachines.
While on board the Dust Devil Gregory received his first promotion to lieutnant junior grade. His mentor, Lieutenant Thompson, was transferred and Gregory was assigned as the new engineer in charge of the Computer Systems. He served in this capacity for three years before taking a year leave back on Earth. While he visited friends and family on Earth, Gregory sent his service record to the captain of the USS Apache in hopes of being given the chance to take the next step in his career as their assistant chief of engineering. It was a big responsibility, but Gregory felt he was up to it. Two months before his leave was over Gregory received orders to the Apache. Soon he packed his bags and rendezvous with the Apache near the Romulan RNZ outposts.
Gregory love for plants and animals often brought him to the hydroponics bay and the holodecks. He would often create his own programs to recreate the open fields and rocky mountain terrains of his home in southern Arizona. Gregory loved his posting on the Apache, and in the winter of '66 was promoted to lieutenant by Captain Simon Joseph. His new responsibilities as chief engineering officer were more than welcome to Gregory. Late in the spring of '69 the Apache was destroyed in a mild skirmish with the Gorn Confederation. The reason for the skirmish was later determined to be a miscommunication on both sides, although little consolation to the crew of the Apache.
Gregory spent the summer of '69 at Star Base 23 while awaiting a new assignment. After his years spent on board the Dust Devil and Apache, Gregory felt that he was ready for an second officer position, however, after turning down four consecutive offers for chief engineer, Gregory was about to reconsider. Turning down another offer would force him into an early retirement, a prospect Gregory wasn't relishing. That was when Commander Tallish from the USS Karen contacted the star base. Their ship had been heavily damaged in a battle with the Cardassians and the captain and first officer had been killed. Tallish, previously the executive officer, was given a field commission to captain. In a sweeping move Tallish promoted the science officer, Lieutenant Commander Rachael, to commander and make her the executive officer, and then accepted Gregory as the new second officer/chief engineer in the rank of lieutenant commander.
Gregory served with the crew of the Karen for three years on the front lines before transferring to the Franklin. In the fall of '75 Gregory was once again sifting through the offers from ship captains, but after much consideration he decided to take a short break from the front lines and accepted a position at the Academy as a professor of science. His three-year tour at the Academy expired in the spring of '79, and Gregory was shipped to Deep Space 5 to await orders. After a short layover there, Gregory was offered a position to serve with his long time friend, Tomasso Gamini, on board the USS Odyssey which he quickly accepted.
The four years Gregory spend as executive officer of the Odyssey, however educational, proved to be uneventful in light of the end of the Dominion War. And in the Spring of '84, Gregory, now a seasoned officer beyond that of most rear admirals, received his first command -- the USS Courageous NCC-74290. Most of the Courageous' mission records are still classified to this day. On March 14, 2386, during the Courageous' eighth mission under the command of Gregory Tailor, the Courageous was forced to crash land on the seas of Epsilon Hydra after a surprise attack by a rouge reporter being backed by the Tal Shiar. One crew member was killed in the attack, and the Courageous was burried nearly 8,000 meters below the ocean's surface. After the event, Starfleet reassigned Tailor to command Langley Station and command of the Courageous was given to its first officer, Commander James Whittier.
[edit] Personality
Gregory Ben Tailor is a mild mannered man that prefers a quiet, peaceful life. His mild manner belies his competitive nature which he usually suppresses...except were his own career hangs in the balance. He can become extremely violent and destructive when angered, his anger often clouding his judgment. However, Gregory's mild and peaceful nature makes it extremely rare and extremely difficult for anyone to provoke him to anger. Gregory always has the best interest of the crew under his command in the front of his mind. He prefers to be called by his middle name, Ben, by his friends and close co-workers.
