Lieutenant Colonel Sosuke Ishihara

Name Sosuke Ishihara

Position Former SB400 Crew member

Rank Lieutenant Colonel


Stats

  • 7 Mission Posts

Last Post

Fri Sep 30th, 2011 @ 6:51pm

Character Information

Gender Male
Species Human
Age 34

Physical Appearance

Height 5' 10"
Weight 170 lbs
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Dark Brown

Family


Personality & Traits

Strengths & Weaknesses Sosuke always had the kind of reflexes and general quickness it takes to be one of the top fighter pilots in Starfleet. His explosive speed and good hand-eye coordination, along with years of study in the fields of Human, Andorian, and Klingon martial arts -- including weapons training -- make him an excellent melee combatant as well as an excellent fighter and shuttle pilot. Due to his android limb and shoulder joint, Sosuke is afforded superhuman strength in a single arm that he can use to strategic effect during close combat. He thinks on his feet well, adapts quickly, and thinks several steps ahead at all times.

That said, Sosuke is also proud to the point of arrogance, cocky as any fighter pilot, and sometimes rather harsh with "fleeties". (Regular Starfleet officers and enlisted personnel, or non-marines.) His android limb requires bi-monthly maintenance in both sickbay and engineering to keep both biological and positronic parts working at optimum efficiency. He'd also prejudice against the races that he fought against in the Dominion War, despite Starfleet's usual policy of tolerance at all costs.
Hobbies & Interests Holodeck Programs - WWII Pacific Theatre Dogfighting Simulation (Plays a Japanese fighter pilot.), Japanese Kendo Combat and Training Simulation, "Seven Samurai" and "Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman" Holo-Novels, 1920's Baseball Simulation, Japanese Cherry Blossom Garden Relaxation Program

Food and Drink: Sticks mostly to Japanese and Mexican cuisine, along with the occasional Klingon dish. (He thinks Romulan and Vulcan dishes are too bland.) He has a fondness for any kind of alcohol he can drink straight, especially bourbon and sake, but hates Vodka drinks and never touches Romulan Ale or fruity drinks like Andorian Sunrises. Has developed an unusual taste for synthehol beer, but prefers the real, non-replicated stuff if he can get it.
Languages English, Japanese, Romulan, Vulcan, and a smattering of Klingon (mostly curses)

Personal History Sosuke was raised by a fairly traditional family in rural Japan who got by with only the bare essentials of technology. They taught their son the old ways of honor, of the sword, and of personal responsibility rarely seen in the twenty-fourth century. Of course he wasn't a backwards yokel. He knew how to use a replicator, how a warp drive functioned, what happened to you when you were transported. His mother made sure he knew all of these things, but his father made sure he could get by without them. Nonetheless, Sosuke was enraptured by the stars in a way that made his parents nervous.

Their fears would only come true when Sosuke grew up and announced his intention to go to Starfleet Academy's Marine Flight School. He thanked his parents for their invaluable lessons on the Earth, but he wanted to learn more about the universe outside of Japan and his home planet. Sosuke put his natural aptitude toward piloting and general enthusiasm forward, graduating at a reasonable percentile in his class, but retaining the flight school's competition kendo, judo, and mixed martial arts trophies all four years running.

It was unfortunate that Sosuke's graduation into the Marines in 2373 coincided with the outbreak of the Dominion War. He and his classmates had been following the news coverage, of course, but few saw it coming. Sosuke, a fresh and inexperienced second lieutenant, was shipped out right into the thick of the fighting. His first assignment was the USS Merrimack, commanded by Captain Harold Wade. The captain had a knack for always being one step ahead of the enemy and pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat. Sosuke learned more in a year on that ship than his first three semesters at the academy. It was a good thing, too, since his next position as a flight leader aboard the USS Coleman, an Akira Class ship, would prove to be the hardest time of his life.

The Coleman's captain, Roger Gates, was a good man, but barely more than a cadet himself. He had taken command of the vessel when her previous CO had been killed in action. His inexperience was refreshing at times, but ultimately led to the worst fighting Sosuke had encountered yet. He'd seen boarding actions before, but when the Jem Hadar overwhelmed them and started cutting through the hull it began a deck by deck battle for survival. In a panic, Lieutenant Commander Gates had activated the self-destruct sequence and proceeded to sit frozen in his command chair until the Jem Hadar killed him. Unable to reverse the self-destruct, Sosuke and a few other young ensigns and crewmen fought their way to the shuttle bay and escaped just as the Coleman's warp core overloaded, taking the attacking Jem Hadar with them. Gates was considered by all except those who had been there a hero. Sosuke and the small group of survivors left out of the hundreds of people embarked on that ship knew better. He'd be reminded of it every day of his life.

Just before they made it to the shuttle, a Jem Hadar's weapon lanced out and struck Sosuke's right arm from his body at the shoulder. He'd gone into shock while the others dragged him aboard the shuttle with them, and only half-conscious when the light from the warp core explosion nearly took the small support craft with it. The next few days were a blur of faces and the ceilings of different sick bays, but ultimately Sosuke pulled through. The doctors at the starbase he'd eventually been transferred to were working on an experimental limb-replacement procedure that they felt Sosuke would be an ideal test subject for. If the procedure was successful, he'd walk away with a new arm they said would be even better than the original. The only difference between the new arm and the old one would be that it wasn't flesh and blood. They'd adapted Dr. Soong's positronic android research into a more modest undertaking. Using Dr. Soong's technology, they were able to graft the circuitry onto a wounded soldier's existing nervous system. Sosuke could control the new arm just as he did his remaining one. After much soul-searching, Sosuke gave them the go ahead and the procedure was a brilliant success.

Sosuke returned to Earth for a time to get used to his new limb and to recover in both body and mind from his traumatic experience. He stayed with his parents, who were a bit wary of his new reliance upon technology, but ultimately took the new development in stride with their usual grace. Sosuke knew peace for a time, but could not shake what had happened upon the Coleman and Gates' mental breakdown when everyone needed him out of his mind. Starfleet needed officers who had survived the worst fighting of the Dominion War, those that didn't break under the pressure that could lead and lead well those counting on them for guidance. Sosuke knew that they wouldn't let him fly again after losing an arm, so he applied for transfer to security on a starship or starbase that needed good people. It wasn't long before his request was put through, in no small part due to the urging of the scientists who had given him his replacement arm. They wanted to see how their little experiment would proceed.

Sosuke was assigned to Starbase 400 as the Assistant Chief of Security. While he kept applying to get his flight status reinstated he was assigned to one of the base's support ships for a mission to the Krazzle border. He piloted a runabout to rescue a number of prisoners from a Krazzle ship, including Admiral Bremer, who had been thought dead. After flying the runabout like a fighter back to the Intrepid, the Admiral made sure that Sosuke got his transfer back into the Marine Corps. Much to his surprise, he was given a two rank promotion to Major and made Wing Commander of the newly reorganized 181st Tactical Fighter Wing at Starbase 400.