• Benjamin Ataarsuaq Suersaq PhD

Lieutenant Benjamin Suersaq

Name Benjamin Ataarsuaq Suersaq PhD

Position Chief Science Officer

Rank Lieutenant


Core Statistics

Gender Male
Species Human
Date of Birth July 3, 2120
Marital Status Single
Affiliation United Earth

Height 5'10"
Weight 175
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Brown

Pre-Starfleet Benny was born in 2120 in Kuuk, the capitol and largest city of Greenland. Benny was actually somewhat of a "surprise" child, because his mother Kuuna had been told in 2092 when she and Enok married that she was infertile. Benny's mother was 45 years old when she discovered that she was pregnant with her only child, which put her in a high risk category. The pregnancy was nonetheless successful and the family moved to a larger home on the outskirts of Kuuk when Benny was two.

Like many of the local families, the Suersaqs were closely tied to Greenland's commercial fishing industry. Benny's father worked as a marine biologist with a local company that specialized in sustainable and environmentally friendly seafood. Although she did not hold a degree, Benny's mother would often work at the docks or on the boats to supplement the family's modest income. At the age of five Benny saw his first Narwhal, and he has been fascinated by them (and just about any other species of whale) ever since.

Benny began to show a more serious interest in science when he was around ten years old. He asked his parents a multitude of questions on a daily basis about whales and other creatures of the sea, most of which his parents were unable to answer. They referred him to their local library, but soon even that was insufficient and they began taking him on trips to the University of Greenland. It was at the University library that he also began to learn about creatures from other worlds, which fascinated him to end. By the time Benny was twelve he was checking out a half dozen books every few weeks on alien animals and creatures. The reading that he was doing caused Benny's grades in biology and life sciences to skyrocket, and he was soon enrolled in his school's Gifted and Talented Program.

In secondary school, Benny had excellent grades and was very popular with his classmates. He was voted "Most Likely to Change the World" by his graduating class in 2136, partially because he was graduating nearly two full years ahead of schedule. Following Secondary School, Benny enrolled in the Exobiology course of study at Case Western Reserve University. At University, Benny was treated to a comprehensive and broad program of study that covered many of the fundamental areas of the physical sciences. Benny graduated with a degree in Exobiology in 2139, then received a Master of Science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2141. After taking a year off, Benny returned to Case Western Reserve and competed his Doctorate in 2144. Upon completion of the PhD program, Benny elected to go into the field where he would have the most practical application: Starfleet.
Starfleet Career Upon completing the Sciences curriculum at Starfleet Training Command in 2148, Benny was commissioned as an Ensign. His first posting was aboard the Republic (NV-02) as a relief Science Officer. Finding the Starfleet computers very easy to work with, Benny soon distinguished himself as something of an expert on the Intrepid-class computer systems. He was able to rewrite some of the programming hardware to alleviate some problematic glitches on the Republic. After only a year on the job, Benny was named Assistant Chief Science Officer. Benny continued to serve on the Republic until 2151.

With the advent of the NX class starship, Starfleet began to seriously rethink its sciences division. Since he had a good deal of practical experience, Benny was promoted and transferred to Starfleet Command in 2151 as a Sciences consultant. While working at Starfleet Command, Benny earned a reputation as a person that was willing to fight bureaucracy to preserve the Fleet's exploratory goals. It was rumored that Benny was on the short list to be the Chief Science Officer of the Challenger (NX-03), but that was never confirmed and somebody else was eventually chosen. Benny once again threw his hat into the ring for the CSO post on the Discovery, and he was eventually selected for that position in 2155.
Service Record Civilian -- 2120-2144
First Year Cadet -- 2144-2145
Second Year Cadet -- 2145-2146
Third Year Cadet -- 2146-2147
Fourth Year Cadet -- 2147-2148
(Ensign) Science Officer -- Republic NV-02 -- 2148-2149
(Ensign) Assistant Chief Science Officer -- Republic NV-02 -- 2149-2151
(Lieutenant) Scientific Consultant -- Starfleet Command -- 2151-2155
Chief Science Officer -- Discovery NX-04 --2155

Family Being an only child -- and a late life "surprise" child at that -- has made Benny very close to his parents. He keeps a log of his daily activities and thoughts and transmits it to his parents periodically so they know he thinks of them often. Benny has comparatively few other relatives that he stays in close contact with; both sets of grandparents are deceased, and most of his aunts uncles and cousins were well-established in their own lives by the time Benny was even born. He still maintains relations with them and contacts them regularly nonetheless.
Romance Benny has unfortunately been very unlucky in the romance department. He has dated both men and women, but he has found that he prefers the company of men much more. He has had a few relationships, if you could even call them that. Benny has had the misfortune of attracting serial cheaters and liars. He nonetheless tries to stay optimistic.
Friendships Benny sees everybody as as potential friend, and tries very hard to maintain good working relationships with everyone.

Physical Description Benny has an appearance generally typical of Kalaallisut (native Greenlander) heritage. His hair, typically worn very short, is jet black and very thick. His skin tone is on the lighter side for his ethnicity, more of a copper color than brown. His eyes are a very deep brown, so dark that the black iris is indistinguishable.
General Personality Benny is a warm and friendly individual, eager to engage in conversation with just about anybody. His culture is full of interesting stories and anecdotes, and he is more than happy to share them with any member of any species. Benny is a very demonstrative person and very physically affectionate -- he believes that there is no bad mood that a good hug cannot cure. He comes from a small community that is very closely-knit; thus, he treats all of his fellow crew like family.
Strengths & Weaknesses Because of his jovial nature and his tendency to "go with the flow" conversationally, people often underestimate Benny. His mind is very sharp and highly analytical when it needs to be. Benny enjoys research thoroughly, but he does prefer that projects have a foreseeable practical application. Like many scientists, Benny has a stubborn streak and he really does not like to be proven wrong.
Ambitions Benny would like to command a Science expedition someday far away from Earth. For now, he is content with his position in the Sciences Division.
Hobbies & Interests Ever since he was a youngster Benny has been fascinated with whales, Narwhals in particular. He has studied their biology extensively and could probably write a book on their mating behaviors. Benny also enjoys games of chance such as Poker, and strategy games such as checkers and chess. Benny loves to cook, even though he is spectacularly awful.

Family

Father Enok Suersaq
Mother Kuuna Suersaq