Captain Erin Ishikawa
Name Erin Ishikawa
Position MACO Commanding Officer
Rank Captain
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human (Martian) | |
| Age | 35 |
Physical Appearance
| Physical Description | While not as tall or as large or as intimidating as many of her male counterparts, Erin has quite the physical presence. Lean yet solid, muscled yet feminine Erin works every day to keep herself in excellent physical condition. She takes pride in her strength and isn't afraid to show it off, both in practice or how she wears her uniform. Erin has shoulder length dark hair which she usually keeps it in a bun or braid. Her eyes are dark brown and in certain light can appear almost black. Like all soldiers, Erin has her fair share of scars: two notable and rather nasty looking ones to her left side she picked up on Berengaria, one just below her ribs and the other along her shoulder blade. On or off duty Erin is rarely seen out of uniform. Her civilian wardrobe is rather limited to a few shore leave outfits. Otherwise she's in workout gear. Regardless of the situation Erin always has her mother’s academy graduation ring with her. Often wearing it on her right ring finger, when necessary, however, she will loop it onto her dog tags. Erin has many tattoos; arms, legs, shoulders back. Its hard to find a part of her that doesn't have at least a small but meaningful piece of art. |
Family
| Next Of Kin | Father General Akira Ishikawa - Mars Colonial Militia (Ret) Mother Colonel Josefina el-Sahar - Mars Colonial Militia Sisters Dr. Riyuko Ishikawa Isabella Ishikawa |
Personality & Traits
| Personal History | Early Life and Career Erin Alejandra el-Sahar de Ishikawa was born on June 10, 2121 in Utopia Colony on Mars; her parents Samuel and Raisa Ishay were Military Officers in the Colonial Militia. With her parents constantly working, Erin had to learn to be self-reliant from a young age. She had a habit of sneaking off after school and exploring the base rather than spending time in the daycare waiting for one of her parents to get off duty. Early on, her parents tried to break her of this habit but they quickly found their efforts were in vain. She only stopped being able to explore when her younger siblings were born. From that day Erin had to change; at eight years old she had to become the responsible big sister. Until her mid-teens Erin would resent her parents for this. As she got older Erin found she was slowly slipping into the daily routine of watching her siblings. It was strange; at first she hated not being able to do what she wanted, when she wanted. But little by little she found that the routine was actually comforting and having to work her schedule around that challenging but enjoyable. By the time she was sixteen it was all second nature. And quite beneficial; her grades improved, she began to excel at sports and she was able to understand her parents better. The day Erin signed her enlistment papers was of little surprise to anyone who had seen her change over the last few years. It was a surprise, however, who she signed up with; United Earth’s Military with the intent of joining their Military Assault Command. Growing up in her home, United Earth was not a friend, grandparents and several aunts and uncles had been killed during the (Brief) War of Independence. And while there had been friendly relations between Mars and Earth for her entire life, it was still a sore spot for the family. Despite the somewhat ruffled feathers left at home, Erin wasn’t dissuaded and in a month she was catching a transport Earthside. Of all the things she experienced in the first few weeks of recruit training, getting used to simply being on Earth was the hardest. Before she joined up, the longest she had ever been on-planet was a few hours on a school trip. No domes, no recycled air, green foliage everywhere and the animal life was so abundant, it was quite a change. With the intensity of training ramping up every day, Erin had to quickly learn how to fast track these feelings. Not the easiest thing to do in the world but necessary. Erin excelled at recruit training, once her Drill Sergeant knocked some sense into her. At first she was hot headed, eager but unruly. It took quite a reality check to get her on the right path to actually proving herself as a good MACO candidate. Erin knew she couldn’t fail, she couldn’t become just a another trooper in the UEM. She would excel in training, she would pass selection, and she would become a MACO. So she applied herself, she stopped thinking about her family history, and the legacy and what all that was supposed to represent and focused. It wasn’t long after for Erin to start emerging as a natural leader and clear MACO candidate in theri training class. When graduation came around she was surprised to see her parents there. After the way she had left things with the rest of the family, Erin hadn’t expect to see any of them for a while. It was a somewhat bittersweet reunion, however, as neither of her parents had come around enough to approve of her joining an UE force. Her only saving grace in this ongoing family argument was that even on Mars the MACOs are respected; that and her other siblings decided the military wasn’t for them. This gave her just a bit more cover as she was the only one carrying on the family legacy. Thankfully, Erin didn’t have much time to dwell on her family issues, however, shipping out to Infantry Training a few days later and then a five month rotation of Jupiter Station. Finishing her first round of training in late 2141, Erin was finally given her first assignment. Eager to leave the Sol system Erin was glad when she was assigned to the colonial garrison on Deneva Colony. At first she was excited, expecting it to be a real frontier experience. In some ways she was right; Deneva was isolated from the UE powerbase, the people there mostly governed themselves very much like they did on Mars. Deneva was a comfortable if somewhat boring first assignment, but it gave her time get extra bits of training and qualifications done while still getting field experience. Erin served on Deneva for another two years before being accepted to the Embassy Security Training School on Earth. Leaving Deneva was hard on Erin, after spending nearly two and a half years on the colony, she had a grown close to many of the colonists and those in her unit. This was part of Military life and she had to learn how to accept that. Earth Embassy on Denobula. Finally having her chance to leave Earth-controlled space Erin couldn't have been more eager to experience something so alien, she signed up the next day. While Earth didn’t have formal relations to many alien cultures, the UE had been trying to establish as many embassy posts on the homeworlds and major colonies of her allies as they could. Figuring she would get assigned to one of the smaller embassies, Erin was shocked when she was assigned to the Embassy on Denobula. The Denobulans were an interesting people, looking and acting very similar to humans but with a few stark differences. It took her some time to get used to being only one of a few thousand humans on a whole planet of “Aliens”. But as she got to observe and even get to know some of the Denobulan people, she stopped noticing them as all that different. Despite these and Earth’s generally good relations, from time to time things did get a bit strained. It never got to the point where Erin figured that they would actually need to defend the Embassy from attack but her Garrison Commander felt differently. He constantly ran drills for not only defending but for retaking the Embassy in the event they were attacked. While she didn’t agree the threat was as critical as he thought, Erin understood the commander's reasoning. There was a lot of valuable intel in the embassy and if anything were to go wrong it could have been a major blow to Earth. Thankfully, as the years went on and relations became more solid, there was never a need to put their drills into practice. Advanced Infantry Training After finishing her tour as an Embassy Guard Erin returned to Earth to attend Advanced Infantry Training at the Special Warfare school in Vancouver; taking courses in Squad Leadership and demolitions. Erin did very well in the course, squad leadership had been emphasized early in training and over her career more than once she had been forced to make a decision in the field. Of the two though Erin enjoyed the demolitions more. Not only was learning the skills important but the instructors went out of their way to make it an enjoyable experience. After all, who didn't enjoy having time to blow things up. Before reporting to her next assignment, Erin stopped off on Mars to visit her Family. It was strange to see how much things had changed since she had last been home. Utopia had grown quite a bit; the colony’s borders extended at least another kilometer in each direction if not more. On some small parts of the planet there were areas that had been successfully terraformed enough to not need the dome. Although only test cases for full scale terraforming, it showed immense progress had been made. One thing that hadn’t changed was the level of ‘national’ pride for Mars. People were proud to be Martian rather than Terran and while most didn’t harbor any ill will, it wasn’t hard to see that the UE wasn’t exactly a welcome presence there. Her parents strongly shared this view point, still not approving of her joining the “MACOs of all things.” Not wanting to waste her short leave arguing, Erin mostly spent time with her siblings who luckily didn’t hold the same anti-UE attitudes. 1st Expeditionary Leaving Mars again was hard for Erin but it was worth it to get to her next assignment; the MACO 1st Expeditionary Division, one of the new combat-focused units in the MACOs. A combination of MACO forces and more conventional United Earth Military Detachments, the 1st were those assigned to Earth’s deep space and patrol Vessels It was by far the proudest day of her career. Assignment to the First had been a turning point for Erin; as her assignments up to now had all been security within Earth for friendly territory. The most combat she had seen had been small scale pirate raids and boarding actions that usually ended quickly and ended without a shot. Erin had just been getting used to this new mindset when Kazinti pirates attacked Jupiter Station. As part of the force retaking the station, she got her first taste of real fighting. While she physically came out of the battle unscathed, her attitude did not. Growing up she had always ‘romanticized’ and ‘glorified’ combat but after experiencing it firsthand she just couldn't see it in those terms. This experience, however, didn’t change her mind about the MACOs or their mission as a whole. Or even her eagerness for Combat, she has enjoyed the fight. She enjoyed the adrenaline, the danger… most of all she was good at it. Erin had always heard you never knew how you'd react until it happened. Erin was calm, collected; the moment, the battle felt so natural. After the attack on Jupiter, both Starfleet and the MACOs were very interested in finding the remaining Kazinti Pirates and eliminating their threat. Several vessels were assigned MACO units and tasked with patrolling out from the Sol System in an attempt to locate the pirate bases. Erin’s unit was assigned to the Sarajevo. 2146 was a time of firsts for Erin, having been assigned to the First and now a starship. Having never been on a ship for more than a couple of weeks, it took some time for Erin to get her ‘space legs’. Another adjustment she had to make was always being on a ship; while there was something to always being amongst the stars, she missed having sky overhead. Over the next several years, the First raided several pirate bases in neighboring systems. Erin had to give the Starfleet crew credit; despite her initially low opinion of the science focused organization, many of the crew were not only professional but competent in combat. Eventually the Janus Pirate Campaigns (later the first Kazinti War) came to a head in 2149 on a raid on a major pirate outpost. While successful, the battle saw the Sarajevo severely damaged and the remaining crew and MACOs reassigned to the Bainbridge. Officer Candidate School After the Janus Campaign, Erin and the First finished their tour aboard the Bainbridge and returned to Earth. Instead of applying to another school Erin was given orders to report to Sandhurst for Officer Training. Her CO had made the recommendation and her record couldn't be argued. The MACOs were once again a growing force and they needed strong, competent and most of all experienced people to lead. Erin had really no interest, despite her parents background she had spent so many years in the ranks she was genuinely worried she wouldn't fit in. But in the end Erin wasn't one to back away from a challenge or disobey orders. While the rest of her unit went on leave she packed a bag. The training was tough, her instructors made sure of it. They knew her record and a bit of her reputation and they were going to be sure she didn't try and skate by on it. No, everything that was thrown at them, whoever else was involved, everything her comrades had to do, she had to do better. More than once the instructors got the better of her, pushed her buttons, got under her skin and showed her the difference between being an NCO and being an Officer. It was grueling, it was tiresome, and it was rewarding. At the end she had grown, still the slightly unruly Sergeant at heart but understanding more the new role she had to play. 1st Expeditionary When the Xindi attacked Earth, Erin immediately applied for a transfer back to space service. She had no intention to be ‘sitting pretty’ while they were being attacked. Erin had hoped to be on the team assigned to Enterprise but instead she rejoined the First and her unit was diverted to the Florida blast zone. Refugee camps had been set up everywhere and local authorities were getting overwhelmed. The idea was that the MACO presence would help restore order and take some of the pressure off of local services. Taking longer than expected for things to settle down, the MACOs had to gain the trust of those displaced before they could make any traction. Eventually though things calmed down and they were able to help provide security, staff hospitals organize numerous search and rescue operations. Finishing out the year in Florida, they were returned to the Bainbridge in Mid-January 2154. Missing out on the fight was a blow to Erin, she had wanted to test herself to do her part. It took a long time for her to realize that she was doing her part even if she wasn't in the fight. With the Xindi crisis Erin thought things might start returning to normal but as the rampant anti-alien sentiment grew and grew on Earth she found herself retuning to her security roots. Except this time she was protecting the Alien Embassies from her own people. Her time with the First never really slowed down. Not long after the end of the Xindi Conflict, the Earth Embassy on Vulcan was bombed and then there was the second Kazinti Pirate Raids. The First got around, they gained experience, and Erin, an appreciation for working side by side with their new Alien Allies. Romulan War When the Romulan war started Militaries from across the planet and it’s colonies folded their forces into Starfleet and the MACOs to fight the Romulans. Needing a new class of ship than the aging NY’s to not only participate in space combat but transport large numbers of ground troops the DD class was modified for front line service. With the Bainbridge being retired, Erin's unit was assigned to the newly commissioned Suribachi. Despite their eagerness to get in the fight and do their part Erin’s unit didn’t see any ground action against the Romulans until 2156. Early in the war the Romulans had taken Berengaria VII destroying Starbase 1, the Discovery and giving them a beachhead in Coalition territory. Needless to say they could not be allowed to remain on the planet. The Suribachi along with her sister vessels and several other Coalition Vessels were tasked with retaking Berengaria VII. While the Starfleet crews engaged the Romulans in orbit the MACO’s attempted to land on the planet by dropship; many of which were destroyed before they could clear the upper atmosphere. The remaining MACOs had to fight a bloody slog through burnt out forests and muddy hills before being able to push the Romulans off the colony. The fighting was about as brutal as Erin had ever experienced. After many long hours the small MACO and Coalition force was able to push the Romulans off of Berengaria. Having been wounded during the battle Erin was evacuated to the Andorian Cruiser Docana for recovery. Erin gained a real appreciation of the forces from the Coalition; not just from fighting beside Andorians and Vulcans for the first time but seeing how they took care of each other’s wounded. The next couple of weeks spent in Recovery and Rehab couldn’t have been over soon enough for Erin. As much as she had come to enjoy the company of Andorians she hated the idea of sitting around the Docana’s sickbay any longer. It was bad enough her unit was out there and she wasn’t, but seeing the aftermath of the battle was definitely an experience she wasn’t eager to repeat. Before she could ship out back to the Suribachi she was visited by a Colonel. He was recruiting MACOs for a special assignment one that might help them win the war. |
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| Service Record | 2138 - 2139 Recruit Training Depot Vancouver 2140 - 2142 Deneva Colony - 21 Colonial Security Company 2142 - 2142 Embassy Guard School 2142 - 2146 Embassy Guard Detachment Denobula 2146 - 2146 Advanced Infantry Training 2146 - 2150 1st Expeditionary Force *46-49 Janus Pirate Campaigns’ 2150 - 2150 Officer Candidate School Sandhurst 2150 - 2156 1st Expeditionary Force - various postings 2156 -2156 Battle of Berengaria VII 2156 - Present UESN Nike |