Zachariah Cobb

Authored by Sharon Miller

Character Biography

Zachariah Cobb is descended from a long line of seafaring, and then later starfaring, adventurers.

Childhood

Born in 2347 in the small, coastal town of Nantucket, Zachariah Cobb’s formative years were ones of unrelenting solitude. His father, a Federation starship Captain, took to spending increasingly lengthy periods away from home, his mother in turn becoming consumed by grief for a marriage that held no hope for resurrection.
In those lonely days, Cobb sought solace in books and reading, the young boy eagerly devouring anything he could find on the subject of warp and interstellar travel. He saw in his father’s actions his own escape route from this miserable, earthbound life, a ticket to excitement and adventure amongst the stars.
In his studies, Zachariah applied himself with an almost desperate passion, excelling in engineering and mathematics and easily winning himself a place at Starfleet Academy. But while the young man had developed a deep understanding of the inner workings of machines, the same could not be said for the intricacies of the human race and he found sparse companionship amongst his fellow students.

USS Pequod

Graduating at the top of his class, Cobb was assigned to the USS Pequod under Captain Mapple. There he quickly settled into life onboard a starship, the familiarity of the same faces even allowing him to instigate a handful of tentative friendships. By the year 2370, Zachariah had worked his way up to Assistant Engineering Chief, had gathered to him a small group of friends and had even begun to explore the terrifying world of romantic relationships. But an unfamiliar name, carried on the winds, saw fit to destroy everything he had built. Dominion.

Starbase Leviathan

As the first whispers of conflict reached the ears of the Federation, they began to strengthen their most important strongholds and Cobb found himself being redeployed to the Starbase Leviathan as its new Chief Engineer. Alone once again, Zachariah discovered in the station’s commander the father that biology had sought to deny him. Captain Stubb became a powerful mentor to the young Cobb and, when the Dominion threat eventually descended into hostilities in 2373, the pair of them fought alongside each other as brothers.
By the second battle of Chin’toka, Cobb had been awarded command of the USS Albatross and valiantly charged into the heart of the conflict with his eager crew. But there had been no warning of the Breen and the Albatross found itself completely disabled, Zachariah calling for evacuation too late to save more than a handful of the men and women onboard.

Return to Nantucket

Zachariah struggled to come to terms with his defeat at Chin’toka and developed an unhealthy obsession with the Breen and their weapons. Too unstable to return to the front lines and incapable of focusing on the station’s engineering needs, Captain Stubb had no choice but to dismiss Cobb on medical grounds and send him back to the prison of his home planet.
Touching down in San Francisco, he found himself declared a hero and a madman in the same breath, the Federation obligated to save his career by all means at their disposal. This took the form of mandatory medical treatment followed by a lengthy program of psychological evaluation. He endured it for as long as he could summon strength, but within a month had retreated back to Nantucket and taken possession of his now-vacant childhood home.
With nothing to occupy his days, Cobb allowed his obsession with the Breen to consume him, spending hours locked in his study devising his method of revenge. Sustenance was taken at the local pub where he eventually met and married a young local girl, Anastasia. A year later she had borne him a son. Two years and she had fled with her child from the monster that Zachariah Cobb had become.

Captain Roebuck

In late 2380, a fellow survivor of the USS Albatross was given his own command of the Pequod, Cobb’s first ship. Captain Roebuck credited Cobb with saving his life and, when a chance conversation revealed that the man was now suffering the ignominy of a medical retirement, Roebuck pledged to do whatever it took to bring him back into active duty.

Appearance

Portrait

At 50 years of age, Zachariah is still physically fit, tall and muscular, although he carries himself in a more tired and weary fashion now than he once did, his shoulders often stooped, his head down. He wears his dark, coarse hair to just below his shoulders and matches it with a long, thick beard of the same colour. His piercing blue eyes reflect the pain he has experienced in his life, but still, every now and again, they can be seen to sparkle as they once did when something interests or fascinates him.
His right leg still suffers from the injuries he received in battle and he walks with a slight limp that he refuses to seek any medical assistance for.

Timeline