Zachariah Cobb

Authored by Sharon Miller

Character Biography

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

Personal History

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 Good Hope
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 Good Hope 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

A vagrant, an outlaw, a hellion - just some of the things Zachariah Cobb has been mistaken for at a distance. On the surface, his long dark hair and beard, coupled with a barely-regulation uniform of open tunic and faded black t-shirts, suggests a rather rebellious character. Something that his love of good alcohol and sleeping in jefferies tubes does little to counter.
But closer inspection reveals a surprising level of physical fitness. Cobb’s tall, wide frame is toned and muscular, an impressive upper body strength compensating for a slight roundness of the belly. His left leg is strong, his right impaired by an old battle injury that he stubbornly refuses to have healed.
Only in those piercing, cerulean blue eyes can the true character of the man be glimpsed. And they present a visage as bleak and as barren as a Siberian winter.

Personality

It has oft been suggested, and not only by his ex-wife, that the dictionary definition of a ‘misanthropist’ should carry with it an image of Zachariah Cobb. A solitary childhood bred an interest in mathematics and engineering and an aversion to almost everything else; his student years at Starfleet Academy cementing this with the marriage of academic genius to social incapacitation. But battle has no tolerance for the lonely and the meek and and eventually Cobb was forced to bond with his fellow officers, to make connections and form friendships, for survival. And for a time, Zachariah Cobb revelled in the comforting sensation of belonging. He thrilled at this newfound ability to converse so easily with others, to laugh so heartily and with such abandon, to love so passionately and from the depths of his very soul. But when the war saw fit to slaughter these bonds, the agony of his loss almost destroyed him.
So now Cobb lingers in the no man’s land between company and solitude, more at ease when interacting with machines than with men. But on rare occasions, when the alcohol is in generous supply, he can sometimes be coaxed into laughing and conversing with others, just like the Zachariah of old.

Strengths & Weaknesses
A brilliant engineer, Zachariah Cobb is truly in his element with a hyperspanner in his hand and a jefferies tube at his feet. On the engineering deck he is bold, confident, energised…like a man with something to live for. Cobb cares deeply for the men and women on his crew and would do anything to help them. Although remuneration in the form of a bottle is always much appreciated.
But behind the scenes this Jekyll becomes Hyde, the thrill of the engineering deck dissolving into a loneliness and apathy that only alcohol can ease.

Hobbies & Interests
Engineering. Working on engineering projects. Reading about engineering projects. Thinking about engineering projects. And drinking.

Family

• Spouse: Anastasia - Divorced
• Children: Gregory (Son) - Estranged
• Father: Amory Cobb - Deceased
• Mother: Elizabeth Cobb (nee. Windacre) - Deceased

Timeline

Important Posts

Cobb and Prim Zar: https://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/782966
Cobb arrives at the Leviathan: https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf1/leviathan/posts/88218/