Commander Geoffrey Giles
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Geoffrey Giles serves as the Chief Diplomatic Officer in the Gateway Sector, assigned to Federation Outpost 112.


Name: Geoffrey Giles
Department: Diplomat

Race: Human
Place of Birth: Sandown, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Home Planet: Earth

Age: 40
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 181 lbs
Hair length: Short, partially bald
Hair-color: Brown
Eye color: Brown
Complexion: Caucasian
Physical Description: Geoff is a quintessential, stereotypical British gentleman. Tall, lanky, perhaps a bit awkward in his appearance… knobby kneed and long in the face. His ears might be considered a touch too big for his head. "Jeep fenders" they're affectionately called. His skin is white - not tan, more the color of paper paste. Clearly the man needs more sun. His hairline is receding, with bald patches extending left and right of a neatly combed-over tuft. Narrower shoulders seem to taper from his long neck. And his physique is unremarkable - neither obese nor bony… just average.

The man can usually be found in civilian clothing - and rarely the trendy variety. In keeping with his upbringing on the Isle of Wight, he prefers to dress in more authentic and traditional attire - much of it handmade by artisans on Earth. Suits, vests, trousers, and a proper bowler hat, are a common - if anachronistic - mode of dress for this gent. He says it keeps the adversaries guessing when they see something they don't expect.

Rank: Special Envoy
Major Area of Study: Diplomacy/Political Science
Minor Area of Study: Military Science


History

Mr. Giles, son of Dr. Howard Giles, III, a professor in the Department of Political Science at Oxford, and Barbara Anne Lutesse-Giles, a noted writer originally from Sussex. Geoff was raised on the Isle in a restored Victorian-era home a few yards from the beach in Sandown. As a child, he relished in the stability and the formality of life on the Isle of Wight - a locale known for it's throwback historical architecture, slower pace of life, and a doggedly stubborn adherence to tradition.

Upon his graduation from college, Giles entered the Diplomatic Corps in Geneva. His first assignment was as an aide to the Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. It became apparent to Geoff's superiors that he had a knack for navigating the moody and turbulent world of the Klingon military. With a youthful Churchill-esque swagger, he could handle a brawling Klingon with a combination of forceful nature and gentlemanly demeanor. After a few years, Geoff was moved to handling dispute resolution with the Cardassian Madrasad. Geoff won't admit it, but he finds himself comfortable with the propriety of the Cardassians, even though he regards them as, "the ultimate proof of Genesis" - that the snake's forked tongue charmed the naive woman into original sin. May the truly naive beware.

After that, working from Geneva, Geoff found himself writing treaty and contract documents for various cultures - mostly involving joint ventures between Starfleet and other military forces. The minutia of the work didn't bother Geoff, in fact he found it comforting. Then came his posting to Bajor. The Bajoran Defense Minister did not take kindly to Geoff, and the feeling was mutual. The personality conflict, compounded by his first post on foreign soil in nearly 12 years, the straining marriage to his wife Abigail, and the absence of his children, made keeping his composure difficult. The normally proper gentleman fell subject to occasional emotional outbursts, shouting down an adversary rather than negotiating with his usual, calm demeanor. Things became much worse when his wife filed formally for divorce in late 2385, his mother passed away and his father's health deteriorated. The man's mental health and his career were both teetering on the edge.

Giles took leave from his post and returned to Earth to deal with his family affairs. While there, he met with an old friend… a former mentor in his early days at Geneva: Dr. Michael Gould. Michael, the newly appointed Undersecretary for Cardassian Affairs had been following his protege's career with increasing concern. Gould sought out the young man in Canada and invited him to tea, whereupon he advised Geoff to, "Consider a simpler, quieter position", and to take a chance to recover what remained of his "dignity". Gould was monitoring the tense situation between the Sindareen and the Cardassians. He'd been a part of the team sent to initially investigate the deaths of the Federation civilians on Nervala II. "It's a simple mission in a simple location, Geoffrey. Get out there, do as you're told, keep your nose clean, push for peace, take your boys, and start over. Your slate is clean." Begrudgingly, Giles accepted the transfer. The alternative, he asserts, would not have been as pleasant.

Timeline

2346 Born in Sandown, Isle of Wight, UK

2364 Enters Oxford University

2368 Graduation from Oxford with honors in Political Science and Military Science
Joins the Federation Diplomatic Corps, works as a consular aide on Earth.

2370 Assigned as a personal aide to the Federation Ambassador to the Klingon High Council
Served with distinction through numerous ambassadorial changes, through the reconciliation post Civil War and through the tenure of the Dominion War.

2375 First son born - Nigel, at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Assignment to Earth, Geneva
Aide to the Special Liason Office - Madrasad Affairs Bureau established following the Dominion War.

2376 Second son born - William, at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

2378 Posting in Geneva re-upped
Assigned duties as an attache in the consular services office
Writing treaties and contracts involving Starfleet activities and disputes.

2382 Assignment to FDS offices on Bajor Advanced to rank of Envoy and given the title of BDF Liason to FedGov and Starfleet.

2385-86 Sons come to Bajor to live with Geoff
Served with divorce proceedings - status pending, status of children's custody determined by Federation AG after weeklong expedited proceedings on Earth

2386 Assignment to Outpost 112 as Chief Diplomatic Officer, along with his sons.


Notes of Interest

Hobbies: Painting. Golf. Tending to his garden. Cooking, on occasion. Reading a good book. Outdoorsy stuff when the mood strikes him.
Personal Traits: Loyal, Thorough - occasionally to excess, Measured and Patient - though recent events have strained that at times. Proper. Polite. Particularly Respectful of the Military.

Family: During a diplomatic mission to settle a dispute near the Klingon border, the young ambassador's aide encountered a starfleet officer named Abigail Bronson, tactical officer aboard the cruiser Kirkegaard. The pair maintained a long-distance relationship for about 6 years, eventually choosing to marry in a lavish ceremony on Earth. The couple settled down to raise a family. Abby took a position as a reserve Lt Commander on Earth. They settled outside Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (near Abigail's hometown of Vancouver) and had two children: Nigel and William. On Nigel's 8th birthday, Abby was recalled to active status and posted as the XO on the USS Valkyrie, which began a tour on the Cardassian border. A month later, Geoff was posted to Bajor as the liason to the Bajoran Defense Force. The distance has taken a toll on the family - the boys stayed with their grandparents on Earth for the better part of the last 4 years. Geoff and Abby tried to maintain their marriage - taking her infrequent shore leaves, the only time available, for catching up. It has proven insufficient. Abby was "offered" a command of her own, and desipte Geoff's efforts to get her to retire, she cannot give up her duty or the shipmates who have been more her companion than her own husband has been. With the rebuilding of the fleet post war, her services were demonstrably needed. Additionally, the grandparents' ailing health has made it impossible for them to care for the children. Nigel, now 12, and William, 9, were sent to live with Geoffrey on Bajor. And a week after their arrival, the boys were told by their father that he was being assigned to Outpost 112 for duty. Abigail protested wildly with Starfleet and FedGov about the sense of placing her sons into a potential war zone, but to no avail - her own posting on a combat support vessel in an adjacent sector was no better an environment… and at least on a starbase the boys would have a stable daily routine. So goes the logic of the Federation arbiter assigned to the case.