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Captain Ethan Mitchell

Ethan Mitchell is a human from Colorado. His father was an Air Force pilot, which kept him both away from home much of the time and under a great deal of stress. Ethan chose to also follow a life of public service, but not wanting to be a soldier, he chose a more political path as a career diplomat. Circumstance led him to act first as a cultural observer, then advisor, then political liaison aboard different starfaring vessels. This indirectly led him into a career as a command officer. 

Ethan was serving as the first officer aboard the <SHIP NAME HERE>. During a tense confrontation between Andorians and Vulcans on P’jem, he convinced [[Tharra th’Dani]] to confront the Andorian commanding officer over their plan to eradicate a Vulcan monastery. While Tharra faced off with his superior in ritual combat, which gave a sufficient delay to evacuate the Vulcans, an accident in <SHIP NAME HERE>’s cargo bay caused a hull breach, requiring an evacuation of a portion of the vessel. Ethan attempted to rescue as many from the fire and eventual depressurization before the bulkhead doors sealed. In attempting to pull Ensign McMurtry through a rapidly closing pressure door, his arm became pinned and had to be amputated. In all, nine crewmembers were lost with dozens more injured, including Ethan.

He was given a commendation by Starfleet for his heroism, but feels that it was both empty and given to the wrong person. Ethan rejected a vat-grown replacement arm in favor of an obvious electromechanical prosthetic, believing that his personal, physical loss should not be so easily erased when nine others lost far more. He still suffers from minor PTSD from the incident for which he regularly seeks counseling from Doctor [[Garret Porter]]. 

If anything, the conflict reinforced his commitment to diplomacy and cooperation, with martial methods being a choice of last resort. His nomination for the position of Captain of the Constitution was one fraught with political argument, with some superiors wishing for a candidate with more military or combat experience with others preferring his cautious resolve for exploration and diplomacy.

He insisted on having Tharra th’Dani serve aboard the Constitution with him, as he feels an obligation to the Andorian but also because he believes his devotion and zeal to security are an excellent complement to his somewhat lacking skills in those areas. He also insisted that Dr. Porter be assigned to his ship, on the official grounds that he needed proper care for his arm and unofficially that he views the doctor as a friend.