Lieutenant Mark Cross
Name Mark Peter Cross
Position Engineering Officer
Rank Lieutenant
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 24 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 6'1" | |
| Weight | 210lbs | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Blue | |
| Physical Description | As Noted by a Fellow Crew Member “You can always spot Lieutenant Cross in Engineering, even when half the department’s crawling around the EPS grid. He’s the one with the messy light-brown hair that refuses to stay in regulation, no matter how many times he runs a hand through it. Honestly, I’m not convinced he isn’t secretly proud of it , that tousled ‘I’ve been in the jefferies tubes for six hours’ look seems to work for him. He’s about six feet, lean, built like someone who'd lift a warp coil, rather than run a diagnostic, but he moves like a ninja. Sometimes you don’t realise he’s right next to you until he starts talking. His eyes are that odd blue-green shade that looks calm most of the time but switches to laser-focused intensity the second something beeps wrong. You’ll be joking with him one moment, and the next he’s already halfway across the room because he heard a systems fluctuation you barely registered. There’s this tiny scar through his right eyebrow. He claims it was a ‘workshop mishap,’ but every time someone asks for the story he changes a detail, which makes me think the real version is either extremely embarrassing or extremely heroic. Knowing him, it’s probably the first. He’s got a friendly smile, kind of understated, and he uses it sparingly. It's not because he’s cold, but because he’s always thinking. When he does smile properly, you can tell he means it. The kind of expression that makes junior officers stop panicking during an alert. If you’re looking for him off duty, check the lounge. He’s usually wearing something practical, rolled sleeves, soft shirts, occasionally a trace of grease he didn’t notice he tracked in. Still looks good, somehow. Infuriating, really. In short? Mark Cross looks exactly like the kind of engineer you want between you and a warp core breach: calm, steady, a little scruffy, and surprisingly hard to rattle. And the funny thing is, even if he wasn’t wearing a uniform, you’d still believe he belonged on a starship.” |
Family
| Spouse | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Keith Cross (Captain, deceased) | |
| Mother | Kate Cross (Doctor, retired) | |
| Brother(s) | None | |
| Sister(s) | None | |
| Other Family | None of note. |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | He enjoys mentoring, but dislikes leadership politics. He prefers officers who listen over those who make assumptions. His engineering style is precise, analytical, and calm under extreme pressure — a trait admired by junior staff and occasionally frustrating to more improvisational senior engineers. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | + Analytical, prefers clear data before making decisions + Diplomatic, rarely raises his voice, even in crises + Empathic, influenced heavily by his mother’s medical background + Conflict-averse, but firm on technical safety + Loyal, particularly to his engineering team - Dislikes leadership politics. He prefers officers who listen over those who make assumptions. - Can be overly cautious - Tends to over-work himself during crisis situations - Internalisation, can be known to absorb team stress. |
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| Ambitions | • Advancement within Engineering: Mark aspires to become an Assistant Chief Engineer, not out of a desire for authority, but to contribute more meaningfully to starship operations. He wants to be the person others rely on during major system crises, someone who can safeguard both crew and ship through sound engineering judgement. • Mastery of Propulsion Theory: His fascination with warp-field geometry pushes him toward deeper expertise in propulsion systems. He is particularly driven to explore efficiency improvements for high-stress warp operations. Privately, he hopes one day to contribute to a major propulsion breakthrough, even a small one. • Building a Crew-Centred Leadership Style: Growing up with a commanding officer for a father and a doctor for a mother, Mark values leadership grounded in empathy and competence. Over time, he hopes to develop into the type of senior officer who protects his team, listens first, and leads by example rather than command. • Personal Growth Beyond Engineering: Mark’s aspirations aren’t limited to his uniform. He wants to cultivate a well-rounded life, one where his duty to Starfleet coexists with personal fulfilment, deeper friendships, and meaningful connections outside the engine room. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | • Learning Guitar • Cooking • Sports — Pretty Much All of Them • Engineering Projects for Fun • Socialising |
| Personal History | Early Life (2370–2388) Mark Cross was born on Earth to Lieutenant Commander Keith Cross, then a senior warp systems specialist, and Dr Kate Cross, a Starfleet medical officer specialising in trauma and emergency response. With both parents in Starfleet, Mark spent his early years alternating between Starfleet housing on Earth and temporary quarters aboard starships or stations when his parents were deployed. From childhood he showed a fascination with technology, and not just how machines worked but why they failed. Keith encouraged this curiosity with engineering puzzles, early access to Starfleet technical manuals, and supervised time in engineering labs. Kate, ever cautious, balanced this with an emphasis on empathy, responsibility, and the consequences of technical decisions on living beings. From a young age, Mark showed himself to be an avid problem-solver. Starfleet Academy (2388–2392) Mark entered the Academy determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. He received the Sutori Award for Applied Diagnostics, as well as the Silver Delta for leadership in crisis scenarios. For the most part, he quietly went about his work, but occasionally clashed with instructors who prioritised speed over accuracy. One of his instructors described Mark as: “Not the loudest voice in the room, but the one people look to when something actually breaks.” USS Lovelace (2392–2394) Upon graduation, Mark was assigned to the USS Lovelace, an Obena-class heavy explorer. During a deep-space survey, the Lovelace suffered a cascade failure triggered by a spatial anomaly. Mark identified a hidden overload cycle forming between secondary EPS junctions—a discovery that prevented a full power collapse and earned him a commendation. Starbase 214 (2394–2396) Promoted after two years, Mark was transferred to Starbase 214, a strategic facility near the Federation border. His notable contributions include designing a redundancy matrix that improved station-wide power stability by 14%. Assisted in disaster response after a freighter collision in Docking Arm C; he coordinated emergency forcefield projectors while medical teams (including his mother, temporarily assigned) worked on the injured. |
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| Service Record | 2388–2392- Starfleet Academy - Engineering Track 2391 - USS Hathaway (Cadet Cruise) - Engineering Cadet 2392 - Starfleet Academy Graduation 2392–2394 - USS Lovelace - Engineer 2394 - Promotion to Lieutenant (JG) 2394–2396 Starbase 214 - Propulsion Specialist 2396–Present - USS Athena - Engineer |