Sydney Satterwhite
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Sydney Satterwhite was a Human Starfleet officer serving in the late 24th century. She was the sixth protégé of Captain Sutek and the latest to achieve captaincy of a starship, the USS Adirondack, in 2371.
Personnel File
- Serial number: SS-226-871
- Active rank: Captain
- Most recent assignment: Commanding officer of the USS Adirondack
- Previous assignments:
- Senior flight controller, USS Pennsylvania (2360-2364)
- First officer, USS Pennsylvania (2364-2367)
- First officer, USS Toledo (2367-2371)
- Commanding officer, USS Adirondack (2371-)
Early Life
Sydney Shelby Satterwhite was born on December 2, 2331, the third child and first daughter of Cornelius and Mavis Satterwhite of Charleston, South Carolina, Earth. Her identical twin sister, Savannah Sharon, followed three minutes later. The alliteration in the twins' names was their mother's idea. Another sister followed nearly two years later, Natasha Lily.
Before Sydney's tenth birthday, the family moved to a farm in the countryside. The children loved the wide open spaces, even though this was a working farm and they were expected to do their part. In this environment, Sydney found a love of growing things and cooking, reinforced by her grandmother Selena Hetterford, an accomplished master gardener and cook. She also picked up interest in spinning stories and tall tales, a tradition carried from her African and African-American ancestors and fired into life by stories about her great-great-uncle, Hollister Satterwhite.
After a few months on the farm, tragedy struck. Natasha, whom the family called "Neesee", died from a fall as she was climbing a tree in the backyard. From this, Sydney developed a great fear of anyone leaving her and spent nearly every waking moment with Savannah. They were in such close proximity that one "couldn't see a crack of daylight between them". As a teenager, Savannah expressed a desire to attend Starfleet Academy and become a physician. Sydney wasn't sure what she wanted to do at first. Her final decision to follow her sister was as much to be with her as it was to compete with their cousin Regina Broadhurst, who by that time had already spent several years at the Academy and whose father was a Starfleet officer.
Ancestry
Sydney's earliest known ancestors were African slaves brought to the New World in the late 18th century. Eventually, the extended family was split across Georgia and South Carolina. The direct ancestors were bought by a less-than-well-to-do plantation family, the Satterwhites, who lived down the coast from Charleston. After the end of the American Civil War and emancipation, most of the former slaves stayed on and eventually sharecropped the land. Once the Great Migration to the northern United States began at the turn of the century, the rest left to find work. The white Satterwhites died off and what was left of the plantation was abandoned. In the 1980s, when people started coming back to the South, the descendants of the slaves returned and bought the land, restoring the plantation and turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, the Marsh Rose Inn, named after the rose symbol that had been painted on the original buildings. Since then, the rose has been a symbol of the family. Other relatives came back, settling in Florence and coastal South Carolina, and in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia.
Starfleet Academy & Early Career
The Satterwhite twins entered Starfleet Academy in 2349 at the age of 18. Sydney had a strong interest in ships and began training as a pilot. Her love of cooking earned her the nickname of "Skillet", along with her use of a frying pan to attack fellow cadet Ed Hennessy after a practical joke. ("House Rule #3") She and her sister remained fairly close in proximity until they graduated in 2353. Sydney finished seventeenth in her class.
Ensign Satterwhite on the Minerva. |
Satterwhite's first posting was to the USS Minerva, first under Captain Terrance Harper and, later, Captain Barbara Spillane. Despite being third relief helmsman, she spent considerable time piloting the Ambassador-class vessel. Her performance drew the attention of noted Starfleet captain Sutek, and in 2356 she was reassigned to his vessel, the USS Pennsylvania. ("Into the Inferno")
USS Pennsylvania
Captain Sutek
Ensign Satterwhite's first meeting with Sutek was thick with trepidation and fear. She waited in a wardroom, along with other young officers who came on board with her around the same time. Sutek arrived and said nothing for about a minute. He walked between the double row of youngsters at taut attention, letting his aura permeate the room. He barely looked at them, but he stopped in front of Sydney. She got a good look at his stern Vulcan profile before he turned his head and looked at her. She tried not to flinch under his unreadable but direct gaze. Then he turned away and addressed the group. A standard welcome, then he dismissed them, all except Sydney.
He asked her why she was wearing Operations yellow instead of Command red, since she would be one of the Pennsylvania's helmsmen/flight controllers. She said she was primarily working in Ops for her last three months on the Minerva. Sutek ordered her to get the right uniform before reporting for duty on her first shift. He also asked about her experience with larger vessels (even though he had committed her service record to memory). She didn't lie about her experience; she'd flown Excelsiors in simulation and only once on an actual training cruise, although she had piloted the Ambassador-class Minerva, a bigger ship than the Pennsylvania.
Sutek seemed satisfied with her answer, but then he addressed the many thoughts on her mind at the time:
It would be safe to assume that some individuals warned you about me before your arrival here. The terms that have frequently been used are 'difficult', 'unyielding', 'taskmaster', and 'slave driver.' Subtracting the emotional component of those statements, they are, for the most part, fairly accurate. I do not demand of my officers that which I do not demand of myself, and I will brook no negligence, inattention to detail, laziness, or excuses.
Satterwhite never forgot those words and tried her best to live up to Sutek's high standards.
Satterwhite vs. "The Dragon Lady"
Having been brought in as relief at helm, Ensign Satterwhite came face-to-face with the infamous "Dragon Lady". The Pennsylvania was a difficult-to-handle ship, seemingly with a mind of her own and a will to do things her way. She had left a long list of broken helmsmen in her wake. Sydney struggled mightily and in frustration requested that she be reassigned to Engineering. Sutek refused.
More fighting with the ship drove her to research the Pennsylvania's repair history. Despite every complaint filed, nothing mechanically wrong was ever found. Further ruminating brought her to an epiphany. She asked Sutek "Why do we treat the Pennsylvania as if something is wrong with her?" "Why, indeed," the captain answered. Disciplining her thoughts and reactions to the ship's idiosyncrasies, Satterwhite accepted the ship for what she was, working with the Pennsylvania's inherent capabilities.
Sutek's Protégé
Lt. Commander Satterwhite in 2367. |
Impressed with Satterwhite's performance, Sutek took to mentoring the young lieutenant beginning in 2360. Many believed he was grooming her to succeed him. The supposition was further reinforced when she was promoted to lieutenant commander four years later and named first officer. However, in 2367 she was reassigned to another vessel, ending eleven years of service on board the Pennsylvania.
USS Toledo
Satterwhite was assigned as first officer aboard the USS Toledo under Captain Galena Mishenko. This posting allowed her to "file off the rough edges" as a future starship commander. Sutek had (gently) discouraged her from relying too greatly on her intuitive nature, but Mishenko knew it was necessary in order for Sydney to develop her "captain's instinct".
The Vesper Disaster
In 2369 Commander Satterwhite was left in command of the Toledo while Captain Mishenko attended a conference. She was called to render aid to another ship, USS Vesper, commanded by Captain Jack Rudolph. A warp core breach was imminent, but the ejection system had malfunctioned and the core was still in position in Engineering. Most of the personnel had evacuated in escape pods, so the Toledo collected those and beamed other crew off the ship. The bridge crew and some engineering personnel were still on board, believing they could eject the core in time. Satterwhite vehemently told Captain Rudolph they didn't have as much time as they thought and stayed in the area as long as she could. Gripped by a feeling of imminent disaster, she took the Toledo to warp. When she returned, nothing was left of the Vesper but half the saucer section. ("Dealing With It")
Starfleet Command grilled Satterwhite over the incident, demanding how she knew the Vesper crew did not have time to eject the warp core. She could not elaborate and only said, "I just knew". She was cleared of any negligence and received a commendation for her rescue of 212 of the 258 crew members.
Captain of the Adirondack
After the retirement of the Toledo in 2371, Satterwhite awaited new orders at Armaden Station. Three days later, Command informed her of her promotion to captain and her new assignment as commanding officer of the Intrepid-class starship USS Adirondack. ("Stand and Wait", "Send-Off")
Relationships
Family
Sydney was very close to her immediately family, especially to her twin. Even after Sydney grew up, her mother—and many other members of the family—still called her "Shelly Belle", and her father called her "Baby Girl". ("Send-Off") She mourned deeply for her younger sister Natasha, a pain that lasted long into her adulthood.
The Hetterfords
Sydney maintained a close relationship with both sets of grandparents. Though she was often adversarial with her Hetterford relations, she adored her paternal grandmother Selena Hetterford, whom the family called "Big Momma". Genuine animosity was saved for two Hetterford cousins, Geneva Slayton, a consummate chatterbox; and Floyd Conway, a smarmy operator who often lined up against the Satterwhites in otherwise friendly competitions.
The Broadhursts
The Broadhurst family was related to the Satterwhites by marriage. Sydney's aunt married Wallace Broadhurst III. He had risen to the rank of vice admiral by the time Satterwhite was assigned to the Adirondack. A deep emnity existed between Sydney and Broadhurst's daughter Regina, exacerbated when Sydney discovered her posting to the same ship. In their childhood, Regina constantly rubbed her Broadhurst pedigree in the Satterwhite twins' faces and crowed about following her father's path into Starfleet. The irony was that it was Sydney who reached the level of command, while Regina discovered she had little aptitude for it.
Sutek
Satterwhite has the greatest respect for her former commanding officer and was grateful for what she learned during her sometimes hard years aboard the Pennsylvania. Within a few weeks of arriving, she had nightmares about Sutek and became unusually sensitive to his presence. To face her fears, she followed the captain on his walks around the ship on gamma shift, seeing how close she could get before she lost her nerve. Sutek soon caught on and asked her to accompany him. The nightmares eventually went away, and the walks later became a part of their daily routine.
They kept in touch with each other after Sydney left the Pennsylvania, mainly with messages and the rare face-to-face conversation. She knew Sutek kept up with her career; he knew about her promotion to captain before Command informed her of it.
Riley Crawford
Satterwhite served with Riley Crawford on the Toledo for two years, becoming close friends. Sydney often called her "Trill", though Riley often light-heartedly corrected her with "half Trill". Spot jokes were common; Sydney's favorites were "keep your spots on" and "you got your spots on backwards", for when Riley said something outrageous.