Post by Elizabeth Conté on Mar 6, 2020 22:53:02 GMT -7
Name: Elizabeth Maria Gilbey Conté
Serial Number: FL-792-8413 DJK
Rank: Lieutenant
Species: Miran (Only)
Place of Birth: London, Earth Two
Birthdate: April 30, 1953
Height: 5' 2" / 157 cm
Weight: 97 lbs / 44 kg
Written By: Jordan
Education:
Service Record:
History
Born to Sierra and Keldon Gilbey on what would eventually become known as Earth Two (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Earth_Two), Elizabeth was born and raised, for the most part, in her planet's counterpart to London. She attended school like a normal girl, and had many friends and enjoyed play. Her parents were very proactive in her childhood, and Elizabeth was given a strict regiment of activities. After school she was instructed in music, particularly the violin, which she grew to enjoy for a time. Then a tutor would cover the assignments she had been given in school that day, and after that was finished, would proceed to instruct her further. Sometimes her tutor would cover lessons that her school would eventually get to, and Elizabeth would become bored at school, for she knew more than even what the teacher was sharing.
On the weekends, if she had been well behaved that week, her parents would let her have some free time or, if she was lucky, would let her accompany them to various events. Her father was a regional executive in an international corporation, which afforded the Gilbeys attendance at high class parties, openings and private parties at theatres and museums and the sort. Generally, quite a comfortable life. Their house reflected their money, and the couple's good tastes. The ability to accompany her parents was something that Elizabeth took to greatly, and she lauded about her experiences in school or to her playmates. She was a popular girl in her class because of it, and Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed that status.
When she was nine, her father received a promotion at work, to become a full executive at the companies headquarters...in America. Elizabeth was so excited, until she learned that she would have to move and change schools. She argued with her parents and cried, but nothing could change the move. Yet on the day of the move, she was excited to be able to fly in an airplane, something she had heard her father talk about, but never had been on one. The move went smoothly, and soon Elizabeth was attending her new school, and the Gilbeys were back in their high flung life, just in a different location.
School took an unexpected turn for Elizabeth. Where in London she had been popular in school due to her connections, her American schoolmates shirked her braggart tendencies and mocked her accent. When she became bored in school, it was suggested that she was dumb instead. That was, until her peers discovered that she knew more than the teacher in some lessons, and she then became the teacher's pet. It was a miserable existence for Elizabeth, who had enjoyed her status and popularity at her old school. She pleaded with her parents to return, or to send her to private school, as she'd heard from some other children who attended similar events as her parents. Her parents refused, insisting that they wanted her to be raised as a 'normal' girl. In time, they promised her, her troubles would pass.
After a year, however, Elizabeth saw no sign of change. She had few friends, and was still considered an outsider at school. The rejection by her peers had only made her more resilient, her stories became exaggerated and wild, her attitude more resolved, and her nose held higher. None of her efforts did anything to placate her peers, rather, the opposite occurred. The friends she once had became more distanced, and when they would congregate with others at playtime or lunch, Elizabeth could hear them laughing about her.
It was around this time that the news reports began to trickle in. A strange disease began to appear (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Life_prolongation_project), far from her city at first, and then it spread. Soon the news reporters were informing their audiences that there was an epidemic, and the entire world was at risk. The Gilbeys stopped going to parties, and restricted themselves to home, school and work for the most part. When the blue blotches started appearing on teachers at school and they began to act out of the ordinary, Elizabeth's parents pulled her out. Then one day, the blue blotches began appearing on her parents as well. She was terrified as her parents began to turn crazy, as they suddenly aged well beyond their years, as they no longer behaved like humans. With no one to turn to, Elizabeth hid in a closet in the house for days while her parents raved and screamed, and finally succumbed to the disease.
When Elizabeth was sure that she was safe, she left her hiding place. She found her parents in the bathroom, or what was left of it, and quickly shut the door. She hurriedly collected what she wanted, some clothes, food and a few other things, and packed them into a bag, and then left the house. She didn't look back as she ran away, far away from that terrible horror. On the streets, Elizabeth encountered other grownups in similar states, in the throes of death. And even teenagers, just a few years older than she, beginning to look ill and act strange.
She found her schoolmates at the school, they had taken it over as a fortress of sorts. Most of the children were older, like Elizabeth herself, but some had brought their younger siblings. The noticeable lack of younger children told the painfully obvious, that the younger children were too young to understand that their parents were dead and wouldn't survive on their own. Elizabeth soon settled into the school, but her status as an outsider was still well known. When some of the classrooms were turned into bedrooms for large numbers of children, Elizabeth found none of them willing to allow her in, barring the group of youngest children. Rejected, she converted an entire room of her own into a sleeping area.
Months passed, years passed. Eventually more rooms were needed for storage or miscellaneous activities, and Elizabeth was kicked out of her classroom-turned-bedroom. Her final roost became the library, a last refuge for her, and the one room that few of the other children ever frequented. She found comfort in all the books and the rows of shelves provided the satisfying illusion of a smaller enclosure at night.
As the years and decades passed, the status quo remained. Elizabeth retained her accent, her attitude, her stories, and her nose held high above all others. Her status as an outcast survived similarly, she was rarely invited for foolies, and was often taunted by other children. Of all her qualities, only her nose changed status, as she buried it into books to occupy her time.
As the year 2266 (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Miri_(episode)) came and passed for the children, Federation response teams began landing on the planet, establishing facilities and contacting groups of children. For those who had not yet been touched by them, like Elizabeth's group, foolies and life continued as normal. It was during that time that Elizabeth was invited to play foolies with the other children, a rare occurrence, and a chance that she jumped at. The game used a simple cloth ball, made from scraps of clothing found and discarded over the years. At one point in the game, it rolled outside of the bounds, close to Elizabeth and another player. They both approached the ball, but Elizabeth reached it first. As she bent down to pick it up, her sleeve rose, exposing a small, bluish blotch on her arm. The other child quickly froze, but soon called over the rest of the children. They examined the blotch, and found similar ones on her other arm and legs.
The children were merciless, and began taunting Elizabeth. "Lizzie Lizard," they called her. "Go away, grup," they told her. Grup, grown up, the Only's word for the most despicable thing they could imagine, since the progression of the disease had strictly affected their world's grown ups. After a few days, she could stand no more. Grabbing a few items of worth to her, Elizabeth fled the school building, running deep into the city for protection. She tried to scavenge for food, but there was little to be found. Her stomach grumbled at her as the days wore on, and the blue blotches began to spread. Whether from hunger or advance of the disease, or both, Elizabeth found herself slipping from lucidity, and sometimes from consciousness. When she would awaken, she would be in an entirely different area, and once she found herself nearly naked, with her clothes in shreds nearby. Over a week after the children had expelled her, Elizabeth succumbed to her delirium, and her world went dark.
She woke up a week later in a stark white facility, something the Federation response teams had built themselves upon arriving. Her body was mostly covered in bandages were the blue blotches, the sores, were healing. She was terrified to find herself attended by grups, fully grown grups in a mix of white and blue outfits, all without the blue sores characteristic to grups. But what most terrified her is that she looked different. As she grew to accept the presence of the unaffected grups, and came to know them as doctors and nurses, they were able to explain. Her group of children were found by a search team, and when one of them mentioned Elizabeth, the search team turned their focus to finding her, in hopes of saving her.
It seemed that in the advanced stages of the disease, the affected victim aged several years within a matter of hours. By the time the search party had found her, secured her in their facility and administered the vaccine, it was too late to reverse any of the affects. Most of the doctors estimated that she had aged a few years, three or so at the most. A more detailed scan revealed that her body was an approximate age of 13.5472 years, according to a human female average. The reality was, Elizabeth was no longer a child, she was a teenager. In the eyes of the children, she was no better than a grup.
Reluctantly, Elizabeth agreed to rejoin her group of children. Suddenly, the social awkwardness she had felt became physical awkwardness. She towered above those she had once considered friendly, and the shape of her body and chest were a new target for attacks from others. Rejected once more by her companions of three centuries, Elizabeth tried to find the group of children she had gone to school with in London. However, once she was recognized, appearing some five years older than when she had left, the majority of children in her old school group rejected her as well. A few remained loyal, but even those few could not make up for centuries of abuse and torment, and two failures of acceptance in the present. She was a freak, an oddball, an outcast.
Elizabeth took up residence at one of the Federation facilities, and soon sank into depression. Only one of her so-called friends visited her during this time, and Elizabeth all but turned her away. She met with many counselors, but none could get through. Her existence looked very bleak indeed.
That was, until the Federation decided to set up a school for those Onlies, the children of the world they now called Earth Two. The Institute, as it was called, provided the means for Elizabeth to rise from her depression. She jumped at the opportunity to be in a school setting again, and as it progressed, she found herself even ignoring the awkwardness and being a social outcast. It still hurt, but after three centuries of abuse, the high she found in school and learning gave her enough to enjoy herself.
By sometime after the turn of the 24th century, some Onlies were offered the chance to be adopted by families from the Federation. When a couple came searching for an older girl, the administrators of the Institute approached Elizabeth. She agreed to meet with the couple, and upon meeting them, thought they were all a match made in heaven. Andrew Conté was a well-respected scientist, a physicist. His bride, Wilhelmina Conté, came from a family of Starfleet brass and Federation politicians, giving her, even if not monetary, wealth and access to power if needed. The lifestyle the two led were so much like her parents, that Elizabeth immediately desired to leave with them. The paperwork was attended to and signed, and Elizabeth was taken aside by another counselor and asked if she truly wanted to become a part of the Conté family. The girl agreed fervently, and so the adoption was finalized. Elizabeth Maria Gilbey became Elizabeth Maria Gilbey Conté.
Elizabeth quickly settled into the lavish and luxurious lifestyle of the Contés. Her schooling accounted for, twice now, she was freed from those responsibilities. And without a gaggle of younger schoolchildren to deal with, she quickly fell into her own crowd. Like her biological parents, her adoptive parents attended social events often enough to, as Wilhelmina put it, "Remind them who we are and that we aren't dead yet." There, Elizabeth met daughters and friends of other astute figures, some close to her age, and she quickly befriended them. She found her niche in gossip and regaling stories of her life before the disease on Earth Two, and her life with the Contés. And while she was not the most popular of the group, or the leader, she felt comfortable in what she needed, acceptance.
The Contés gave Elizabeth almost everything she wanted. From clothes to jewelry, books to art, and toys and gadgets galore, Elizabeth was surrounded by luxury that soon surpassed what her birth parents had provided for her. The Contés were unlike the typical Federation citizens, they still adhered to an older view of material wealth, a lifestyle which Elizabeth slid comfortably into.
As the decades passed, and as those around her aged, though she did not, Elizabeth returned to her high-classed attitude, her snobbish arrogance, and her attitude. The cluster of friends of similar status grew ever older, and new eventually replaced the old. The cycle continued for years, decades, never seeming to end. There were times when Elizabeth was more accepted, others when she was almost repugnant. Yet there were always future years to look towards, and different friends, which came eventually.
And eventually, her adoptive parents grew older. While most in their inner circles knew of Elizabeth's species, her history and why she never aged, new inductees into their class were surprised by her. It became more awkward to introduce Elizabeth as their daughter without some sort of explanation. The Contés grew tired of spending their evenings sharing their daughter's life story with others. Elizabeth felt her parents excluding her more and more, and indeed her accompaniment to their events slowed down. Soon she was attending an event just a few times a month. It wasn't until one of her friends pointed it out that she realized what was happening.
Elizabeth never said anything to her adoptive parents, but continue to let them believe that they were fooling her. Finally, one night, she showed up to an event her parents had not asked her to attend, conspiring with her friends to make it happen. She surprised them and confronted their actions. Hostility raged in the Conté household for weeks, until another event superseded it. On November 14, 2382, Andrew Conté passed away in his sleep. Elizabeth reached out to her adoptive mother for comfort as the family grieved, only to be pushed away. She approached her group of friends, and found compassion, for a time. Eventually, as Wilhelmina stopped attending events and Elizabeth, naturally, stopped as well, her friends began to detach themselves. They didn't want to be associated with someone who had fallen from favor.
Outcast by her mother and ostracized by her friends, Elizabeth turned books. They had given her such comfort during her years on Earth Two, but now they felt lifeless to her. Holoprograms had a torturous effect, even if the program featured a gala in her honor, they were only a hollow echo of what she could no longer experience in the flesh. She fell into a depression, only worsened by her adoptive mother's snide comments on her state of being and lack of purpose. Yet, in its sinister manner, the renewed attention pushed her onward, giving her a purpose to maintain the depressive lack of purpose. A new group of friends, discovered by their mutual exile from the events her adoptive parents once frequented, drove Elizabeth deeper into a cycle of depression, temporary escape, verbal abuse, and depression once more.
This limbo persisted for several years, until her adoptive mother took ill. Elizabeth pretended not to notice, suffering her verbal tirades and spats that now included fits of coughing. It was only upon the arrival of Wilhelmina's brother, Edward "Ted" Behringer, that someone took charge of the household's health. With the full weight of his career as a Starfleet Admiral, Edward ensured that his sister had the care she needed. He also cracked down on Elizabeth's escapes to her rough crowd of friends, setting up a routine visit for her to see a mental health professional instead.
Despite his best efforts, Wilhelmina passed away in 2387, leaving Elizabeth floundering once again. Uncle Edward took her in, but he quickly found his nurturing style couldn't meet the needs of the wayward girl. He discussed having her spend time with the experts at the Miran Institute once more, but before he could act on the plan, Elizabeth ran away with her poorly-chosen friends. It took a while before Uncle Edward could locate her, and Elizabeth did not go to the Miran Institute willingly. Eventually, she came to understand her Uncle's intentions and bore him no ill will, but her path to recovery was long and hard.
It took until the mid-2390s for Elizabeth to see herself in a redeeming light once more. She didn't thrive as she once did, but at least she existed outside of the limbo she had spent the last decade commiserating in. At the advice of her counselor, Elizabeth turned to an unusual place to find a renewed sense of purpose, Starfleet. There, she hoped, Elizabeth could find a path that would have made her adoptive mother proud, or at least shut her up. As soon as he heard her plans, Uncle Edward was overjoyed and helped ensure her acceptance in the Academy.
She struggled with the coursework and her grades wavered, she was not the best student at Starfleet Academy. It was difficult to adjust to the social constructs of the Academy; they were worlds apart from the dinners and galas she had enjoyed in her life of privilege or the years she had spent in misery. Yet through the years of study, Elizabeth discovered a direction, a passion that excited her. She found herself majoring in Security, and with it, a renewed tenacity in graduating and becoming a Starfleet Officer.
During her junior year at the academy, Elizabeth was approached by a member of Starfleet Headquarters' staff. He recognized her determination, and of her own merit, recommended her for a training cruise, placement aboard a starship or base instead of completing her final Academy Year. While the cruise could extend her schooling beyond the year she had left, it often gave the participants a fast track to promotion. Elizabeth accepted, and was stationed onboard the USS Discovery as a Security Trainee.
Her tenure aboard the USS Discovery was a middling success, and Elizabeth entered the fleet as an Ensign with few accolades for promotion. Her records after that period were less than exemplary, Elizabeth struggled to meet some of her early superiors' expectations. Yet Elizabeth still managed to prove her worth to several captains over the years, particularly during her previous assignment aboard the USS Northumberland. The CO was taken with her, doting on her in ways that reminded Elizabeth of her Uncle Edward, and pushed for her promotion and professional growth.
When a position opened up aboard the USS New Jersey as Chief of Security, Elizabeth was encouraged enough to transfer and make a new start on her career here.
General Personality
Elizabeth's personality is a double-edged sword. Her upbringing instilled in her proper values of high society, while the centuries of survival tested her mettle and hardened her emotions. Throwing in premature teenage hormones and mood swings into the mix has created something of a polarized mix of behaviours. Not unlike Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in one moment Elizabeth can be professional, polite, respectful and poised, the epitome of the blended 20th and 25th century lady, and in the next she can be a vicious cynic, a sardonically sarcastic snotty conceited prig of a brat.
Strengths
Elizabeth has a high sense of identity; she knows who she is and what she is. She will not stand to conform or change to anybody elses' standards, though she will pretend to. She is intelligent, and self-aware of her intelligence, even to the point of flouting it indirectly.
Weaknesses
Elizabeth has the need to be the focus of attention, and accepted. She will do almost anything to get the attention turned to her, and in turn, she hopes, be accepted. Her ultimate goal is to regain her adoptive mother's acceptance, and gaining the acceptance of others can be viewed as stepping stones or practice. Subconsciously, however, she wishes to maintain the status quo, she is used to being an outcast. She may unknowingly sabotage her attempts for acceptance to maintain her status.
Her standards for interactions are high, if she suspects that someone is not worth her time or is beneath her, she will play off her arrogance and act like a true brat to get rid of the person. She refuses to tolerate those she does not deem worthy.
Serial Number: FL-792-8413 DJK
Rank: Lieutenant
Species: Miran (Only)
Place of Birth: London, Earth Two
Birthdate: April 30, 1953
Height: 5' 2" / 157 cm
Weight: 97 lbs / 44 kg
Written By: Jordan
Education:
| circa 1960s | Primary Education on Earth Two |
| 2298-2329 | Primary and secondary education at Miran Institute |
| 2300s | Private tutoring under the Contés |
| 2395-2396 | Cadet (Freshman Year) |
| 2386-2397 | Cadet (Sophomore Year) |
| 2387-2398 | Cadet (Junior Year) |
| 2398-2401 | Cadet (Senior Year) |
Service Record:
| 2398-2401 | CDT4 | USS Discovery | Cadet Cruise |
| 2401-2402 | ENS | USS Columbia | Security Officer |
| 2402-2405 | ENS | USS Yorktown | Security Officer |
| 2405-2406 | LTJG | USS Yorktown | Security Investigations Officer |
| 2406-2408 | LTJG | USS Northumberland | Assistant Chief of Security |
| 2408-2409 | LT | USS Northumberland | Assistant Chief of Security |
| 2409-PRES | LT | USS New Jersey | Chief of Security |
History
Born to Sierra and Keldon Gilbey on what would eventually become known as Earth Two (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Earth_Two), Elizabeth was born and raised, for the most part, in her planet's counterpart to London. She attended school like a normal girl, and had many friends and enjoyed play. Her parents were very proactive in her childhood, and Elizabeth was given a strict regiment of activities. After school she was instructed in music, particularly the violin, which she grew to enjoy for a time. Then a tutor would cover the assignments she had been given in school that day, and after that was finished, would proceed to instruct her further. Sometimes her tutor would cover lessons that her school would eventually get to, and Elizabeth would become bored at school, for she knew more than even what the teacher was sharing.
On the weekends, if she had been well behaved that week, her parents would let her have some free time or, if she was lucky, would let her accompany them to various events. Her father was a regional executive in an international corporation, which afforded the Gilbeys attendance at high class parties, openings and private parties at theatres and museums and the sort. Generally, quite a comfortable life. Their house reflected their money, and the couple's good tastes. The ability to accompany her parents was something that Elizabeth took to greatly, and she lauded about her experiences in school or to her playmates. She was a popular girl in her class because of it, and Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed that status.
When she was nine, her father received a promotion at work, to become a full executive at the companies headquarters...in America. Elizabeth was so excited, until she learned that she would have to move and change schools. She argued with her parents and cried, but nothing could change the move. Yet on the day of the move, she was excited to be able to fly in an airplane, something she had heard her father talk about, but never had been on one. The move went smoothly, and soon Elizabeth was attending her new school, and the Gilbeys were back in their high flung life, just in a different location.
School took an unexpected turn for Elizabeth. Where in London she had been popular in school due to her connections, her American schoolmates shirked her braggart tendencies and mocked her accent. When she became bored in school, it was suggested that she was dumb instead. That was, until her peers discovered that she knew more than the teacher in some lessons, and she then became the teacher's pet. It was a miserable existence for Elizabeth, who had enjoyed her status and popularity at her old school. She pleaded with her parents to return, or to send her to private school, as she'd heard from some other children who attended similar events as her parents. Her parents refused, insisting that they wanted her to be raised as a 'normal' girl. In time, they promised her, her troubles would pass.
After a year, however, Elizabeth saw no sign of change. She had few friends, and was still considered an outsider at school. The rejection by her peers had only made her more resilient, her stories became exaggerated and wild, her attitude more resolved, and her nose held higher. None of her efforts did anything to placate her peers, rather, the opposite occurred. The friends she once had became more distanced, and when they would congregate with others at playtime or lunch, Elizabeth could hear them laughing about her.
It was around this time that the news reports began to trickle in. A strange disease began to appear (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Life_prolongation_project), far from her city at first, and then it spread. Soon the news reporters were informing their audiences that there was an epidemic, and the entire world was at risk. The Gilbeys stopped going to parties, and restricted themselves to home, school and work for the most part. When the blue blotches started appearing on teachers at school and they began to act out of the ordinary, Elizabeth's parents pulled her out. Then one day, the blue blotches began appearing on her parents as well. She was terrified as her parents began to turn crazy, as they suddenly aged well beyond their years, as they no longer behaved like humans. With no one to turn to, Elizabeth hid in a closet in the house for days while her parents raved and screamed, and finally succumbed to the disease.
When Elizabeth was sure that she was safe, she left her hiding place. She found her parents in the bathroom, or what was left of it, and quickly shut the door. She hurriedly collected what she wanted, some clothes, food and a few other things, and packed them into a bag, and then left the house. She didn't look back as she ran away, far away from that terrible horror. On the streets, Elizabeth encountered other grownups in similar states, in the throes of death. And even teenagers, just a few years older than she, beginning to look ill and act strange.
She found her schoolmates at the school, they had taken it over as a fortress of sorts. Most of the children were older, like Elizabeth herself, but some had brought their younger siblings. The noticeable lack of younger children told the painfully obvious, that the younger children were too young to understand that their parents were dead and wouldn't survive on their own. Elizabeth soon settled into the school, but her status as an outsider was still well known. When some of the classrooms were turned into bedrooms for large numbers of children, Elizabeth found none of them willing to allow her in, barring the group of youngest children. Rejected, she converted an entire room of her own into a sleeping area.
Months passed, years passed. Eventually more rooms were needed for storage or miscellaneous activities, and Elizabeth was kicked out of her classroom-turned-bedroom. Her final roost became the library, a last refuge for her, and the one room that few of the other children ever frequented. She found comfort in all the books and the rows of shelves provided the satisfying illusion of a smaller enclosure at night.
As the years and decades passed, the status quo remained. Elizabeth retained her accent, her attitude, her stories, and her nose held high above all others. Her status as an outcast survived similarly, she was rarely invited for foolies, and was often taunted by other children. Of all her qualities, only her nose changed status, as she buried it into books to occupy her time.
As the year 2266 (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Miri_(episode)) came and passed for the children, Federation response teams began landing on the planet, establishing facilities and contacting groups of children. For those who had not yet been touched by them, like Elizabeth's group, foolies and life continued as normal. It was during that time that Elizabeth was invited to play foolies with the other children, a rare occurrence, and a chance that she jumped at. The game used a simple cloth ball, made from scraps of clothing found and discarded over the years. At one point in the game, it rolled outside of the bounds, close to Elizabeth and another player. They both approached the ball, but Elizabeth reached it first. As she bent down to pick it up, her sleeve rose, exposing a small, bluish blotch on her arm. The other child quickly froze, but soon called over the rest of the children. They examined the blotch, and found similar ones on her other arm and legs.
The children were merciless, and began taunting Elizabeth. "Lizzie Lizard," they called her. "Go away, grup," they told her. Grup, grown up, the Only's word for the most despicable thing they could imagine, since the progression of the disease had strictly affected their world's grown ups. After a few days, she could stand no more. Grabbing a few items of worth to her, Elizabeth fled the school building, running deep into the city for protection. She tried to scavenge for food, but there was little to be found. Her stomach grumbled at her as the days wore on, and the blue blotches began to spread. Whether from hunger or advance of the disease, or both, Elizabeth found herself slipping from lucidity, and sometimes from consciousness. When she would awaken, she would be in an entirely different area, and once she found herself nearly naked, with her clothes in shreds nearby. Over a week after the children had expelled her, Elizabeth succumbed to her delirium, and her world went dark.
She woke up a week later in a stark white facility, something the Federation response teams had built themselves upon arriving. Her body was mostly covered in bandages were the blue blotches, the sores, were healing. She was terrified to find herself attended by grups, fully grown grups in a mix of white and blue outfits, all without the blue sores characteristic to grups. But what most terrified her is that she looked different. As she grew to accept the presence of the unaffected grups, and came to know them as doctors and nurses, they were able to explain. Her group of children were found by a search team, and when one of them mentioned Elizabeth, the search team turned their focus to finding her, in hopes of saving her.
It seemed that in the advanced stages of the disease, the affected victim aged several years within a matter of hours. By the time the search party had found her, secured her in their facility and administered the vaccine, it was too late to reverse any of the affects. Most of the doctors estimated that she had aged a few years, three or so at the most. A more detailed scan revealed that her body was an approximate age of 13.5472 years, according to a human female average. The reality was, Elizabeth was no longer a child, she was a teenager. In the eyes of the children, she was no better than a grup.
Reluctantly, Elizabeth agreed to rejoin her group of children. Suddenly, the social awkwardness she had felt became physical awkwardness. She towered above those she had once considered friendly, and the shape of her body and chest were a new target for attacks from others. Rejected once more by her companions of three centuries, Elizabeth tried to find the group of children she had gone to school with in London. However, once she was recognized, appearing some five years older than when she had left, the majority of children in her old school group rejected her as well. A few remained loyal, but even those few could not make up for centuries of abuse and torment, and two failures of acceptance in the present. She was a freak, an oddball, an outcast.
Elizabeth took up residence at one of the Federation facilities, and soon sank into depression. Only one of her so-called friends visited her during this time, and Elizabeth all but turned her away. She met with many counselors, but none could get through. Her existence looked very bleak indeed.
That was, until the Federation decided to set up a school for those Onlies, the children of the world they now called Earth Two. The Institute, as it was called, provided the means for Elizabeth to rise from her depression. She jumped at the opportunity to be in a school setting again, and as it progressed, she found herself even ignoring the awkwardness and being a social outcast. It still hurt, but after three centuries of abuse, the high she found in school and learning gave her enough to enjoy herself.
By sometime after the turn of the 24th century, some Onlies were offered the chance to be adopted by families from the Federation. When a couple came searching for an older girl, the administrators of the Institute approached Elizabeth. She agreed to meet with the couple, and upon meeting them, thought they were all a match made in heaven. Andrew Conté was a well-respected scientist, a physicist. His bride, Wilhelmina Conté, came from a family of Starfleet brass and Federation politicians, giving her, even if not monetary, wealth and access to power if needed. The lifestyle the two led were so much like her parents, that Elizabeth immediately desired to leave with them. The paperwork was attended to and signed, and Elizabeth was taken aside by another counselor and asked if she truly wanted to become a part of the Conté family. The girl agreed fervently, and so the adoption was finalized. Elizabeth Maria Gilbey became Elizabeth Maria Gilbey Conté.
Elizabeth quickly settled into the lavish and luxurious lifestyle of the Contés. Her schooling accounted for, twice now, she was freed from those responsibilities. And without a gaggle of younger schoolchildren to deal with, she quickly fell into her own crowd. Like her biological parents, her adoptive parents attended social events often enough to, as Wilhelmina put it, "Remind them who we are and that we aren't dead yet." There, Elizabeth met daughters and friends of other astute figures, some close to her age, and she quickly befriended them. She found her niche in gossip and regaling stories of her life before the disease on Earth Two, and her life with the Contés. And while she was not the most popular of the group, or the leader, she felt comfortable in what she needed, acceptance.
The Contés gave Elizabeth almost everything she wanted. From clothes to jewelry, books to art, and toys and gadgets galore, Elizabeth was surrounded by luxury that soon surpassed what her birth parents had provided for her. The Contés were unlike the typical Federation citizens, they still adhered to an older view of material wealth, a lifestyle which Elizabeth slid comfortably into.
As the decades passed, and as those around her aged, though she did not, Elizabeth returned to her high-classed attitude, her snobbish arrogance, and her attitude. The cluster of friends of similar status grew ever older, and new eventually replaced the old. The cycle continued for years, decades, never seeming to end. There were times when Elizabeth was more accepted, others when she was almost repugnant. Yet there were always future years to look towards, and different friends, which came eventually.
And eventually, her adoptive parents grew older. While most in their inner circles knew of Elizabeth's species, her history and why she never aged, new inductees into their class were surprised by her. It became more awkward to introduce Elizabeth as their daughter without some sort of explanation. The Contés grew tired of spending their evenings sharing their daughter's life story with others. Elizabeth felt her parents excluding her more and more, and indeed her accompaniment to their events slowed down. Soon she was attending an event just a few times a month. It wasn't until one of her friends pointed it out that she realized what was happening.
Elizabeth never said anything to her adoptive parents, but continue to let them believe that they were fooling her. Finally, one night, she showed up to an event her parents had not asked her to attend, conspiring with her friends to make it happen. She surprised them and confronted their actions. Hostility raged in the Conté household for weeks, until another event superseded it. On November 14, 2382, Andrew Conté passed away in his sleep. Elizabeth reached out to her adoptive mother for comfort as the family grieved, only to be pushed away. She approached her group of friends, and found compassion, for a time. Eventually, as Wilhelmina stopped attending events and Elizabeth, naturally, stopped as well, her friends began to detach themselves. They didn't want to be associated with someone who had fallen from favor.
Outcast by her mother and ostracized by her friends, Elizabeth turned books. They had given her such comfort during her years on Earth Two, but now they felt lifeless to her. Holoprograms had a torturous effect, even if the program featured a gala in her honor, they were only a hollow echo of what she could no longer experience in the flesh. She fell into a depression, only worsened by her adoptive mother's snide comments on her state of being and lack of purpose. Yet, in its sinister manner, the renewed attention pushed her onward, giving her a purpose to maintain the depressive lack of purpose. A new group of friends, discovered by their mutual exile from the events her adoptive parents once frequented, drove Elizabeth deeper into a cycle of depression, temporary escape, verbal abuse, and depression once more.
This limbo persisted for several years, until her adoptive mother took ill. Elizabeth pretended not to notice, suffering her verbal tirades and spats that now included fits of coughing. It was only upon the arrival of Wilhelmina's brother, Edward "Ted" Behringer, that someone took charge of the household's health. With the full weight of his career as a Starfleet Admiral, Edward ensured that his sister had the care she needed. He also cracked down on Elizabeth's escapes to her rough crowd of friends, setting up a routine visit for her to see a mental health professional instead.
Despite his best efforts, Wilhelmina passed away in 2387, leaving Elizabeth floundering once again. Uncle Edward took her in, but he quickly found his nurturing style couldn't meet the needs of the wayward girl. He discussed having her spend time with the experts at the Miran Institute once more, but before he could act on the plan, Elizabeth ran away with her poorly-chosen friends. It took a while before Uncle Edward could locate her, and Elizabeth did not go to the Miran Institute willingly. Eventually, she came to understand her Uncle's intentions and bore him no ill will, but her path to recovery was long and hard.
It took until the mid-2390s for Elizabeth to see herself in a redeeming light once more. She didn't thrive as she once did, but at least she existed outside of the limbo she had spent the last decade commiserating in. At the advice of her counselor, Elizabeth turned to an unusual place to find a renewed sense of purpose, Starfleet. There, she hoped, Elizabeth could find a path that would have made her adoptive mother proud, or at least shut her up. As soon as he heard her plans, Uncle Edward was overjoyed and helped ensure her acceptance in the Academy.
She struggled with the coursework and her grades wavered, she was not the best student at Starfleet Academy. It was difficult to adjust to the social constructs of the Academy; they were worlds apart from the dinners and galas she had enjoyed in her life of privilege or the years she had spent in misery. Yet through the years of study, Elizabeth discovered a direction, a passion that excited her. She found herself majoring in Security, and with it, a renewed tenacity in graduating and becoming a Starfleet Officer.
During her junior year at the academy, Elizabeth was approached by a member of Starfleet Headquarters' staff. He recognized her determination, and of her own merit, recommended her for a training cruise, placement aboard a starship or base instead of completing her final Academy Year. While the cruise could extend her schooling beyond the year she had left, it often gave the participants a fast track to promotion. Elizabeth accepted, and was stationed onboard the USS Discovery as a Security Trainee.
Her tenure aboard the USS Discovery was a middling success, and Elizabeth entered the fleet as an Ensign with few accolades for promotion. Her records after that period were less than exemplary, Elizabeth struggled to meet some of her early superiors' expectations. Yet Elizabeth still managed to prove her worth to several captains over the years, particularly during her previous assignment aboard the USS Northumberland. The CO was taken with her, doting on her in ways that reminded Elizabeth of her Uncle Edward, and pushed for her promotion and professional growth.
When a position opened up aboard the USS New Jersey as Chief of Security, Elizabeth was encouraged enough to transfer and make a new start on her career here.
General Personality
Elizabeth's personality is a double-edged sword. Her upbringing instilled in her proper values of high society, while the centuries of survival tested her mettle and hardened her emotions. Throwing in premature teenage hormones and mood swings into the mix has created something of a polarized mix of behaviours. Not unlike Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in one moment Elizabeth can be professional, polite, respectful and poised, the epitome of the blended 20th and 25th century lady, and in the next she can be a vicious cynic, a sardonically sarcastic snotty conceited prig of a brat.
Strengths
Elizabeth has a high sense of identity; she knows who she is and what she is. She will not stand to conform or change to anybody elses' standards, though she will pretend to. She is intelligent, and self-aware of her intelligence, even to the point of flouting it indirectly.
Weaknesses
Elizabeth has the need to be the focus of attention, and accepted. She will do almost anything to get the attention turned to her, and in turn, she hopes, be accepted. Her ultimate goal is to regain her adoptive mother's acceptance, and gaining the acceptance of others can be viewed as stepping stones or practice. Subconsciously, however, she wishes to maintain the status quo, she is used to being an outcast. She may unknowingly sabotage her attempts for acceptance to maintain her status.
Her standards for interactions are high, if she suspects that someone is not worth her time or is beneath her, she will play off her arrogance and act like a true brat to get rid of the person. She refuses to tolerate those she does not deem worthy.
but I wont bring Nicole back unless Donnsy brings Ron back as CMO
