View source for Marcus O'Connell

{{Character
|Department=Command
|Last name=O'Connell
|First name=Marcus
|Image=[[File:Oconnell.jpg|225px]]
|Homeworld=Earth
|Species=Human
|Gender=Male
|Birth=2346
|Age=41
|Height=6' 0"
|Weight=175 lbs.
|Hair=Black
|Eyes=Blue
|Affiliation=[[Starfleet]]
|Posting=
|Rank=[[Captain]]
|Played By=[[User:Blackbriar|Blackbriar]]
}}


==Physical Appearance==
Tall, slender and athletic, Marcus ensures that he keeps fit due to the unknown dangers in every [[Starfleet]] member’s job. His motto: be prepared physically and mentally for anything that you might encounter.

==General Personality Overview==
Marcus has had many life-changing experiences during his time in [[Starfleet]]. However, he tends to keep his wits about him and has been able to keep himself in check at all times resulting in the professional, quick-thinking strategist that he is today. He does, however, have a temper that can flare up on occasion. 

==Strengths & Weaknesses==
''Strengths:'' Natural command ability; loyalty to [[Starfleet]] and his crew mates; excellent [[Intelligence]] ability.

''Weaknesses:'' Sometimes has been too soft on his subordinates, not doling out appropriate punishments for their mistakes.

==Ambitions==
More than anything Marcus would like to find the woman he lost many years ago. He would also like to make the rank of [[Commodore]] before he retires from [[Starfleet]]. 

==Hobbies & Interests==
Marcus enjoys many diverse hobbies such as:
<br><br>
Running - "Regular" routine is 10 miles a day<br><br>
Fencing - A hobby he picked up while working in [[Intelligence]] <br><br>
Kempo Karate - Began studying at age 14. A former instructor, now he just keeps his current certification intact. <br><br>
Yoga - Something his sister Savannah got him into for relaxation.<br><br>
Boxing/Weight Training - Began learning boxing at age 10 from his father, a professional middleweight boxer. <br><br>
Painting - Usually oils <br><br>
Reading - Especially books on strategy, past military conflicts, military leaders, westerns and new technology. <br><br>
Writing - Has written many short stories and two novel-sized stories. Most are westerns or action/adventure, but his two novels were fictional accounts of a [[Starfleet]] officer working in [[Intelligence|intelligence]]. He took some heat from [[Starfleet Command]] regarding these books as they thought they may have been too close to his life, but Marcus proved, without a doubt, that any and all references that may have been real were changed "to protect the innocent". <br><br>
Cooking - He has been cooking since he was 21 years old, but he just started taking culinary classes within the last 2 years. 

==Spoken Languages==
[[Federation]] Standard, [[Vulcan]], a smattering of [[Klingon]]


==Family==
*'''Father:''' Richard O'Connell, deceased
*'''Mother:''' Marianne (Haversham) O'Connell, deceased


==History==
Born in Ireland on [[Earth]], Marcus was the second of six children born to Richard and Marianne O'Connell. Richard was an athlete, a professional boxer, and had given up a civilian police job to pursue it. Marianne never liked the idea but supported her husband in whatever he did. She was a holographic technician until the death of her parents left her with a hearty inheritance (land, property, businesses, etc.). The inheritance allowed Richard to continue with his boxing dream and Marianne to stay at home and become a mother. 
<br><br>
In July of 2346, Marcus Shaunnessy O'Connell was born. He, along with his older brother, Robert, and his two younger brothers, Derek and William, were the spitting image of their father and seemed to want to get into everything that he was doing. Richard knew only one thing: boxing. So each boy, once they had grown to a certain age, began their training as a boxer. Marcus and Robert were totally wrapped up in the athleticism of it all and made a point of working much harder at getting their bodies physically fit than their younger brothers. The two also became quite adept at boxing and won several competitions in their age brackets. 
<br><br>
When Marcus was 15, the family was faced with a personal catastrophe. Richard was taking on one of his toughest opponents in the ring and found that he was much tougher than he had expected. The bout ended when Richard fell to the mat...never to wake up. This caused substantial turmoil in the family. Richard was the cornerstone of the family and made sure that his sons and daughters got what they needed physically, mentally and spiritually. His death changed the whole family's life.
<br><br>
After the death of his father, Marcus was having trouble keeping his grades up in school. He had given up the idea of boxing, probably from a fear of what happened to his father happening to him and the fact that it reminded him of his father. While walking home from school one day he saw a formation of [[Starfleet]] training shuttles flying overhead and they caught his eye. He inquired about [[Starfleet]] from his mother, who had worked for them when she was repairing holographic computers, and from what she told him it sounded like something he could do with is life. His mother, however, had her doubts. Especially since his grades were slipping drastically. She gave him the name of someone that could help give him more information on [[Starfleet]]--[[Captain]] Brandon McGuire, a former instructor at [[Starfleet Academy]] and now Deputy Director of the security forces in [[Earth]]'s [[Starfleet]] postings. Marcus, now 16, made it a point to talk to this man.
<br><br>
[[Captain]] McGuire lived and worked in San Francisco and it only took a short trip for Marcus to find him. McGuire remembered Marcus from when he was a baby and liked to tell him about his parents back in that time, which made Marcus happy as he thought of his father still alive. When McGuire looked at Marcus' grades, he frowned and told him that if he wanted even the slightest chance of getting into the [[Starfleet Academy|Academy]], he had better make damn sure that his grades went through the roof for his last few years of school. Marcus did exactly what McGuire told him to do. He had 1 1/2 years of high school left and he had his nose in the books the whole time. Upon his graduation from high school he was contacted by [[Captain]] McGuire who offered to sponsor Marcus at the [[Starfleet Academy|Academy]].
<br><br>
Marcus was accepted in 2363 and began studying feverishly to make his mother, and [[Captain]] McGuire, proud. Soon afterwards, he needed help with one of his studies, operations. He found help in a new friend, [[Cadet]] Sydney Lassiter. She offered to help him with his studies and before long, the two of them became more than friends. It was apparent to the both of them that they were soul mates. The fact that they were inseparable throughout the rest of their time at the [[Starfleet Academy|Academy]], even taking each other to see their parents, only reinforced to them both that they should be together forever. But that dream was crushed when they graduated from the [[Starfleet Academy|Academy]].
<br><br>
In 2367, Marcus got his first assignment. It was a security posting on the USS America. The problem came when he found out that Sydney wasn't posted there as well. [[Starfleet]] saw fit to have her posted to the Netiran Colony as a [[JAG]] officer. The colony was on the edge of the [[Beta Quadrant]] and Marcus would be halfway across the [[Alpha Quadrant]]. They swore to each other that they would keep in constant contact, and they did...for a while. After almost two years, it became apparent that the two would not be able to keep their promise to each other and finally lost contact altogether.
<br><br>
He stayed four years on the America as a [[Security/Tactical Officer]] until he reached the rank of [[Lieutenant]] in 2371. He was transferred to Starbase 11 where he worked as the Deputy Chief of Security. During his time on SB11 he tried diligently to get into contact with Sydney but her duties in [[Intelligence]] had kept her away from normal contact. He kept working towards becoming a good officer in the meantime and made quite a name for himself on the station and with a few of the higher ups. He had been promoted in position to [[Chief of Security]] on the base within two years and then in rank to [[Lt. Commander]] in 2375. It was then that he decided on a specialty change to [[Intelligence]].
<br><br>
By late 2375 he had completed the additional training required for his new position and was immediately placed undercover to infiltrate a crime syndicate wreaking havoc in the Borelli Sector. In less than a year, and in what Marcus referred to as ‘blind luck’ he literally walked into the right place at the right time to get the needed nail in the proverbial coffin. He had gotten the dirt on the leader of the syndicate and was able to cut the head off of the snake. Of course, this received rave reviews from his superiors but instead of letting him keep doing something in which he had proven proficient, they pulled him from the field and put him behind a desk. He was adamant that this move would not break his stride. 
<br><br>
By 2383 he had moved to an outer office of [[Starfleet Intelligence]] as a planning analyst and working with people in ranks much higher than his. He was able to make several friends and seemed to enjoy the work—and was good at it, but he just felt as if he was missing something…something besides his beloved Sydney. [[Commodore]] Kelley Haught pulled him to the side one day and struck a chord with her words: “Isn’t it about time you got your own command? You’ll never get to flag rank without having been in a command position at some point in your career, Marcus.” And she was right. Those two sentences made it very clear to him what he needed to do. 
<br><br>
In February of 2386 he threw his hat into the ring to be selected for a command position. He had taken the bridge officer’s exam, had been in charge of several personnel and had even been commended on his natural leadership ability. With all of those things behind him, he thought he might actually be a good candidate for a command position—hell, even commanding a garbage scow at first was fine with him as long as he knew he could move up. So, he waited…
<br><br>
His patience finally won out and his hard work did not go unnoticed.  In May of 2386 he was promoted to Commander and given command of the [[USS Berkeley]], a [[Nebula class]] starship, assigned to the [[Fourth Fleet]]'s [[Task Force 38]].  Due to his experiences throughout his career, and possibly due to the connections he made while posted at [[Starfleet Command]], he was also named [[Task Force 38]]'s [[Task Force Chief of Staff|Chief of Staff]].  He began his shared duties as a ship CO and [[Task Force Chief of Staff]] with some trepidation, but performed admirably for someone thrust into his position.  His ship, the [[USS Berkeley|Berkeley]] had been returned to service and a new crew assigned of the best and brightest.  It wasn't long before tragedy struck, however.  Their first mission ended on a very low note--the death of the [[USS Berkeley|Berkeley's]] [[Executive Officer]], [[Lieutenant Commander]] Terence Johansen.  
<br><br>
The mission was a seemingly easy one: locate the source of an intermittent and weak emergency beacon coming from a planet deemed uninhabited by [[Starfleet]], designated as T987-Alpha.  Upon further investigation the away team located a cavern with eight stasis pods containing what appeared to be [[Starfleet]] personnel from the 22nd century and a mock-up of what appeared to be a [[Starfleet]] outpost complete with faked consoles and instruments.  The cavern soon began to collapse and the stasis pods were failing.  As two pods had already failed, the away team managed to get the remaining six pods up to the surface, but not before [[Lieutenant Commander]] Johansen was seemingly crushed ensuring the safety of the [[Chief of Security]], then [[Lieutenant Junior Grade|Lieutenant (JG)]] [[Quentin Harrison]] as he was unable to move due to both legs being crushed.
<br><br>
Despite the outcome of his first mission as [[Commanding Officer]] of a vessel, Marcus was soon promoted to [[Captain]] by then [[Rear Admiral]] [[S'iraa]], [[Task Force Commanding Officer|Task Force 38's Commanding Officer]].  And due to the current TFXO's transfer, Marcus was also dubbed [[Task Force Executive Officer|TF38's Executive Officer]].  This came as a bittersweet surprise because of the timing of his XO's recent death but he vowed to take the added responsibility seriously and to work as hard as he could performing both duties as diligently as possible.

==Service History==
2363 – [[Starfleet Academy]]; major in [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security / Tactical]], minor in [[Intelligence]]<br><br>
2364 – [[Starfleet Academy]]; major in [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security / Tactical]], minor in [[Intelligence]]<br><br>
2365 – [[Starfleet Academy]]; major in [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security / Tactical]], minor in [[Intelligence]]<br><br>
2366 – [[Starfleet Academy]]; major in [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security / Tactical]], minor in [[Intelligence]]<br><br>
4 / 2367 – [[Ensign]], USS America, [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security Officer]]<br><br>
2369 – [[Lieutenant Junior Grade|Lieutenant (JG)]], USS America, [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security Officer]]<br><br>
7 / 2371 – [[Lieutenant]], USS America, [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security Officer]]<br><br>
10 / 2371 – [[Lieutenant]], Deep Space 11, [[Security/Tactical_Department|Security Officer]]<br><br>
2373 – [[Lieutenant]], Deep Space 11, [[Chief Security Officer]]<br><br>
2 / 2375 – [[Lieutenant Commander]], Deep Space 11, [[Chief Security Officer]]<br><br>
5 / 2375 – [[Lieutenant Commander]], Undercover assignment, [[Intelligence|Infiltration Specialist]]<br><br>
1 / 2376 – [[Lieutenant Commander]], Dormier Station, [[Intelligence]] Analyst<br><br>
4 / 2383 – [[Lieutenant Commander]], Starfleet [[Intelligence]], Planning Analyst<br><br>
2/2386 – [[Commander]], [[USS Berkeley]], [[Commanding Officer]]<br><br>
12/2386 - [[Captain]], [[USS Berkeley]], [[Commanding Officer]]<br><br>


[[Category:Character]]