Commander John Reynolds

Name John Devon Reynolds

Position Executive Officer

Rank Commander


Stats

  • 17 Mission Posts

Last Post

18 Mar 2024 @ 4:35am

Character Information

Gender Male
Species Human
Age 38
Birthplace China, Earth

Physical Appearance

Height 6” 1’
Weight 188 lbs.
Hair Color Dark Brown, graying
Eye Color Hazel
Physical Description John doesn’t “work out.” But he does keep a regular exercise holo-program. One of his past crewmates asked if he could join him for his exercises during the early stages of his career. John grinned and allowed him to come. His buddy was surprised to see it was a training simulation for hand-to-hand combat. John had replaced the Klingons with Jem’Hadar. He doesn’t use this exercise program as often as he did when he was younger. And it’s dialed down quite a bit, too. He keeps an average haircut, though somewhat longer on top with a feathering quality. John also sports a tattoo that has been the topic of a couple of conversations. On his right arm above the elbow and near his shoulder, is the Chinese symbol (character) píng jìng, which means tranquility. John has a slight visual distinguishing mark, a thin one inch vertical scar running through the middle of the left eyebrow.

Personality & Traits

General Overview John Reynolds has many layers, as do most people. Overall, he is a little rough around the edges. He typically remains cool under pressure and has a rather archaic and dry sense of humor. Sometimes a few people even find it funny. Sometimes. He is also very protective of those with whom he serves. He feels it's his responsibility is to keep them safe. This drive has created a dauntless resolve. Or stubbornness, depending on how you look at it. That said, he is a man with a strong sense of nobility and wouldn’t hesitate to fight those who threatened him or any of those he serves with. He has been jokingly told that he was born too late, that he would better fit the ‘cowboy’ days of Starfleet.
Strengths & Weaknesses Strengths: He knows how to lead without micromanaging and how to trust his crew. One of John’s strengths, according to himself, is his straightforward honesty. He doesn’t mind expressing his thoughts.
Weakness: John is stubborn. Some fear that his self-confidence and immovability will one day result in harm to himself or his fellow crew members.

Ambitions John has always had dreams and goals of discovering something new out there. He is, in heart and soul, an explorer. This comes from growing up in a scientist’s home. He listened as his father told of new discoveries and the impacts they would have. He knows there are still discoveries to be made in space and desires to be the one to find them. His ultimate goal in life is to make first contact with a new species.
Hobbies & Interests John is an avid history buff; particularly ancient Earth history. He likes to study explorers like Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Captain James Cook. He also likes to read. He has a fairly large collection of electronic books stored on a couple of PADDs. It is no surprise to those that know him that his favorite genre is ancient Earth westerns and the lawmen of that era. He also enjoys a brisk walk on a cool, early, February morning along the Thames River. It’s one of his private holodeck programs. The cool, crisp air clears his head for the day’s activities and the morning mist refreshes him. John also has a rather unique interest. He likes to sip on a good whiskey and has a small, old bar that he takes with from transfer to transfer. That, and the two old leather chairs and leather couch he keeps in his quarters make for interesting conversation topics. Along with the decanter set he was given as a going away present. John considers himself an ‘old soul.’
Languages Spoken Federation Standard, Mandarin Chinese, Vulcan

Personal History The sirens blared as the medical vehicles careened down the road toward the hospital. It was 0237 and Camille Reynolds was in pain. Thirty-seven hours later, 9lb., 8oz. John Devon Reynolds was lying, swaddled in warm blankets, by his mother’s side. With dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, he was the talk of the ward.

John’s dad, Kristoff Reynolds, was a professor in the Astrophysics Department at one of the universities in Bejing. When he went to work the next day, he was welcomed by a German Chocolate cake in the lounge and a banner drooping over the replicator. He had to chuckle. Astrophysicists could tell you about the chemical reaction that takes place when a star goes nova, but they couldn’t hang a banner to save their lives.

John’s youth was marked by dinner table discussions of spatial anomalies, family field trips to the planetariums, and a younger brother and sister. Sebastian and Charlotte, the fraternal twins, were born when John was six. The Reynolds clan was a close-knit family. Even with dad’s long commute to the University, he still made time to spend with his children and wife. Hence the family field trips to the planetariums. Over the next nine years, the University started giving Kristoff more responsibility. At first, it seemed okay. But the more he accepted the more they put on his plate. Days turned into nights as Kristoff found himself getting home later and later. It put his family on edge as he began to get tense from the day’s activities. The day came when the administration offered him the chairmanship of the Astrophysics Department. His family was suffering at the expense of his job and Kristoff would have no more of that. He turned it down and resigned, leaving the university to work for Starfleet Science’s Beijing facility. They were more flexible and understanding than the University had been.

When John applied to Starfleet Academy, he was two years older than the other freshmen. He didn’t go into Starfleet at the regular age of eighteen. But rather was twenty years old when he applied as a Security-Tactical major. Overall, John’s experience at Starfleet Academy was mediocre. His worst subject was science, despite his upbringing, and his best was starship tactics. He had slightly less than the average amount of friends and slightly more than the average amount of enemies.

John’s freshman year at Starfleet Academy was an interesting one to say the least. He got in a fight with another cadet over a girl and lost the girl after he won the fight. He accidentally set part of the science lab on fire with a failed, exploding experiment. And he took a ride in one of Nova Squad’s simulators after he hacked the security lockout on the classroom door. He laughed as he witnessed instructors and senior cadets attempt to shave off his rough edges and polish him into a spit-and-shine Starfleet officer. And no one was going to try and fit him into a mold. He was noted as being slightly rebellious with a severe stubborn streak. As a matter of fact, John had several distasteful remarks in his file for that year.

At the beginning of the summer break, John’s parents had a long talk with him. They had received letters and calls from the Academy regarding their son’s behavior. Kristoff told him that if he didn’t straighten up the next semester, he would personally come and pull him out. “Starfleet is not the place for your antics,” Kristoff told John. And John took it to heart. He was determined to change.

The rest of John’s time at the Academy was mostly standard. He still had his fair share of difficulties, all of his science classes for one. He ended up getting a tutor, one Cadet Misty Hiett. According to John, Misty was quite the looker. And according to most of the junior class, John was fortunate to be so dumb in science. Misty looked to be about five feet, four inches and around 115 pounds. She had long, dark hair that she let hang down around her bright blue eyes. She had fair skin, a well toned body, and a brain built for science. And she was John’s science tutor. He asked her out many times and she kept rejecting him. Finally, during the week before graduation, Misty agreed to go out with him. They both had a great time and Misty wished that she had said yes a long time ago.

John’s first assignment was at Starbase 375 as a Security Officer. It was here that he got the tattoo of Chinese characters on his upper arm. It was also here that he ran into his old Science tutor Misty Hiett. The two picked up right where they left off and just clicked. About six months later, John popped the question and this time Misty immediately said yes. After a brief ceremony, John and Misty moved into a family quarters.

Near the end of his tenure there, John was seriously injured during an incident on the station. A Bolian freighter that was carrying supplies for some of the merchants on the station had just docked and John was going over the cargo manifest. Something caught his eye as strange, yet he didn’t say anything about it. He just memorized the shipping number and ordered the cargo unloaded into Bay 5 for sorting. John went back to Bay 5 a few hours later to inspect the shipment and walked in on a smuggling deal that had just gone south.

For the next forty-five minutes, he lay on the floor, a beaten, bloody, broken, and nearly unconscious mess. A Chief Petty Officer doing rounds stopped in Bay 5 and spotted John’s legs sticking out from behind a shipping container. He called for an emergency transport to Sickbay and for security to report to the Bay. After a surgical suite, ICU, a recovery room, an incident report, and a statement, John was given three weeks off to recuperate and then restricted duties upon his return. It was after this that John began to develop a more cavalier, cowboy attitude and his personality evolved. As a side note, the smugglers were never caught. They had managed to make it off of the Starbase.

Misty didn’t like what the attack did to her husband, physically or emotionally. This new cavalier attitude towards his job, and life in general, caused some tension between the two of them. Yes, she helped take care of him during the three weeks off. Yes, she calmed him when he had nightmares of the event. And yes, she helped him through it afterwards. But in her eyes, he wasn’t the same man she’d married a mere two and a half years ago. John’s viewpoint was that she just couldn’t take him being in Security and putting his life on the line. They would argue for weeks about the change in John. Misty would say that he was different due to the physical and emotional trauma. John would say that he was the same man at his core, but a better Starfleet officer. Then John got orders. Misty refused to go and told him to go ahead and be married to his career. John gave up, accepted the orders, and the two divorced right before he left. It was after this, that John took an interest in social drinking with whiskey as his go-to.

John was next assigned to the Federation Embassy on Trill as VIP Security Detail. It was a rather cushy assignment, but it didn’t do anything to help his view of diplomats. As a matter of fact, it may have done more to add to his dislike of them. First off, several of the Ambassadors and many of their Aides and Attachés were highly demanding. Instead of using their own staff, they regularly expected the security personnel to be their errand boys. John was among many who put in for an interdepartmental transfer.

There was one bright spot in the whole assignment, though. John started getting to know the Trill Ambassador’s daughter and she, in turn, started getting close to him. Close, to the point that they began seeing one another on a regular basis. But when the Trill Ambassador found out that John was dating his oldest daughter, the diplomat put things in motion to get him off of Trill. The Ambassador didn’t care for the influence that John’s cowboy attitude was having on his daughter. John was hurriedly transferred off Trill and to the USS Archimedes for three years as Assistant Sec-Tac Chief. After the Archie, John found himself as the Sec-Tac Chief and eventually the Executive Officer on the USS Infinity. The Infinity was dispatched as part of the rescue efforts in the aftermath of the Battle of Deep Space 11. Commander Reynolds was assigned to the combined Starfleet Security forces on the station. He was later transferred to the USS Black Hawk in the Gamma Quadrant as Executive Officer.

Medical History: John’s medical history is for the most part, standard for a Security Officer. He’s had his bumps and bruises but the worst was when he was assigned to Starbase 375. The attack resulted in two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, multiple bruises, internal hemorrhaging, a broken jaw, and a concussion. After multiple surgeries and several weeks off to recuperate, John was deemed fit to return to service.
Service Record Starfleet Academy – 4 years
Starbase 375, Security Officer – 3 years
Federation Embassy on Trill, VIP Security Detail – 2 years
USS Archimedes, Assistant Security/Tactical Chief – 3 years
USS Infinity, Sec/Tac Chief, Executive Officer – 6 years
USS Black Hawk, Executive Officer


Immediate Family

Significant Other Ex-wife, Misty
Children None

Extended Family

Father Kristoff Reynolds
Mother Camille Reynolds
Brother(s) Sebastian
Sister(s) Charlotte
Other Family Paternal – Aunt Astrid and Uncle Roald Reynolds = cousins Nadia, Minka, Blake
Maternal – Aunt Leytha and Uncle Bartholomew Grantham = cousins Ian, Julian, Carson; Aunt Darla and Uncle Eli Lowell = cousins Arya, Lamont

Relationship Detail

Relationships None

Duty Information

Personal Authorization Reynolds-Papa-5-Charlie-3-5-3-Andromeda