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Ethan Hamish Arden was the chief engineer of the USS Cantabrian (NCC-24705) between 2372 and 2373 and the USS Cantabrian (NCC-24705-A) from 2374 until 2375.

History[]

Pre-Starfleet history[]

Ethan Arden was born in 2331 to Michael and Bianca Arden in Melbourne, Australia on Earth.

Ethan Arden came from a long line of Starfleet and civilian engineers, and the disappearance of his grandmother, Starfleet engineer Katharine Eichelbaum, further drove his desire to follow in family tradition. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "The Eagle")

Starfleet Academy[]

Ethan Arden attended Starfleet Academy from 2350 until he graduated in 2353.

While at the Academy, he met and started a relationship with Elizabeth Singh which lasted until he graduated in 2353.

Starfleet history[]

Arden served with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. His first assignment with the Corps in 2364 was aboard the USS McKinnon, where he was reunited with a married Liz Singh, the McKinnon's chief engineer. The two considered rekindling their relationship, but both decided against it. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Perfect Girl")

It remains unclear if Arden spent 8 years at Utopia Planitia or was assigned to another installation or vessel for a period in-between.

One of his last assignments at Utopia Planitia was the refit of the USS Cantabrian. Here, he met and befriended fellow Corps Engineer, Antonio Fernandes. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Catalyst, Part One")

During this time, he and the now-widowed Liz Singh reignited their relationship. In 2371, he broke off the relationship again. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Catalyst, Part One")

Aboard the Starship Cantabrian[]

2372[]

In 2372, Ethan Arden accepted Captain Noah Wrightson's invitation to become chief engineer of the USS Cantabrian. Arden's commanding officer, Kwong Ju'an, was supposedly not very thrilled to lose both Arden and Antonio Fernandes to Wrightson. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Catalyst, Part One")

At Starbase Expanse 7, he oversaw temporary repairs made to the Cantabrian before that ship's hasty departure to investigate claims of Federation survivors of the Myhr'an planet killer being held at a Myhr'an internment camp. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Two Hit, One Stone")

Arden fought his personal demons after encountering his grandmother's derelict ship, the USS Eagle later that year. His attempts to save the Eagle were in vain when his grandmother's template (a holographic representation of her with her memories) set the ship on a collision course with a Renai'i ship. Despite Arden triggering a download of his grandmother's program to the Cantabrian, he found the file was corrupted, and his grandmother's memory engrams could not be reintegrated into her holographic matrix. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "The Eagle")

When Milami Thall transferred to the Cantabrian after the Myhr'an attack on Canaileus Prime, Arden was so impressed with her skills, he requested her as an assistant chief engineer. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Oh, What a Lovely War")

After the Myhr'an kidnapped Captain Wrightson, first officer Singh, Benjamin Caldwell and Daniel Radke from the Cantabrian late in the same year, Arden served as temporary commanding officer until Fernandes recovered. This was a stressful time as Arden was in charge of getting the ship back up into some semblance of working order and in command of the entire vessel. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Deceptions")

2373[]

Months into 2373, Ethan Arden was still in charge of the Cantabrian's repairs at Deep Space 4. He took Wrightson for a tour of the changes aboard the ship, which included, at his suggestion, subtle changes to the bridge to reduce damage and injury to crew members. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Repercussions") Still at Deep Space 4, Arden bumped into his former Academy buddy, who, unbeknownst to him, was a member of a Maquis cell on a mission to sabotage the station. After a cat-and-mouse game, Arden talked sense back into him, and together they stopped the station's destruction. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "The Betrayed")

The apparent loss of Elizabeth Singh in a runabout accident hit Arden especially hard, but, upon her return to the home reality, the words he wanted to say would not come freely, so he kept them to himself. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Stranger Than Fiction") This would come back to haunt him when he realized Singh was dating trader Mikali Galea and came to him for his blessing, which he gave. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Bitter Sweet")

He encouraged Tony Fernandes to date Beth Karami when Fernandes asked his advice, feeling Tony had been out of "the game" too long. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Whispering Into My Years of Pain") This later led Arden to feel guilt when Karami and the USS Aotearoa crew were transported in time and space, never to return. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Best Served Cold", "I Who Have Nothing")

Arden's sister Sonya took a temporary assignment aboard the Cantabrian to facilitate changes to the ship to allow Kaartali holographic technology to be used aboard the ship in a trial. During this time, their attention shifted to resurrecting their grandmother's hologram: a move that ultimately failed. The two did patch their differences during the time and grew closer as a result. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Hold On")

Both Singh and Arden acted as intermediaries between the Kaartali contingent on board and Starfleet Command after Noah Wrightson's disappearance later in the year. He supported Singh in her decision to remain behind for the standard search period, paying off when Wrightson and his away team's vessel reappeared. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "The Fire In Which We Burn")

While in a mad dash to stop Samantha Delaney and her Dark Starship from attacking Earth, he and his engineering team held the Cantabrian together as long as possible, but the strain on the ship was too great. He and Singh remained aboard the saucer section with the survivors as Wrightson led away teams to seize Delaney and her cohorts. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "By All Means Necessary")

Excerpt from Corps leader report[]

Profile by Commander Kwong Ju'an. Stardate 49447.8.

Lieutenant Commander Ethan Arden comes from a long line of both Starfleet and civilian engineers, so some people claim engineering courses through Ethan's veins. The disappearance of his grandmother -- a Starfleet engineer herself -- and her ship 30 years ago only encouraged Ethan to follow in her footsteps.

Ethan and Lieutenant Commander Antonio Fernandes worked together on the refit of the USS Cantabrian and immediately struck up a friendship. The two solved many problems together, and whilst Fernandes tends to be more of a thinker, Ethan seems as strong in his theoretical knowledge as he is in his practical expertise.

While the Corps will miss Commander Arden, we wish him all the best as chief engineer aboard the USS Cantabrian.

Personal relationships[]

Family[]

Friendships[]

Antonio Fernandes[]

Ethan Arden met Antonio Fernandes in 2369 when the two worked for the Starfleet Corps of Engineers at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, upgrading the USS Cantabrian (NCC-24705). (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Catalyst, Part One")

The two often played games such as rugby league and football (soccer) together, as well as spend time "hanging around" when both off duty.

Arden urged Fernandes to start dating again in 2373 when Beth Karami showed interest in him. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Whispering Into My Years of Pain") He later felt guilt about this when Karami and the USS Aotearoa disappeared later that year. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Best Served Cold", "I Who Have Nothing")

Relationships[]

Elizabeth Singh[]

Ethan Arden met Elizabeth Singh at Starfleet Academy around 2351 and had an "up-and-down" relationship. Despite this, the two were deeply in love and remained together until 2353, when Arden graduated from the Academy and cooled the relationship.

Arden temporarily served aboard the USS McKinnon during its shakedown cruise in 2364, where Liz Singh served as chief engineer. The two seriously considered rekindling their relationship, but with Singh being married and with two young children, and Arden leaving the ship after a few days, they decided against it. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Perfect Girl")

In 2369, being a widow for 2 years, Liz Singh found herself close to Ethan Arden again. With him being stationed at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and her teaching at the Academy, they often spent as much time together as they could. Again, their relationship was "up-and-down", and, in 2371, Arden broke off the relationship again.

In 2372, the two met again aboard the USS Cantabrian (NCC-24705). While the initial meeting was tense, subsequent meetings allowed their professionalism to hide their true feelings. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Catalyst, Part One")

The more they served together, the easier and more comfortable their friendship became. After discovering his grandmother's assignment, the USS Eagle, derelict in space and unsuccessfully transferring her hologram to the Cantabrian, Ethan Arden was devastated, but Singh remained a true and loyal friend, sitting patiently and listening. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "The Eagle") Arden, in turn, repaid the favor when he came armed with bottles of wine to Singh's annual ceremony to remember her children's birthday, and, when Singh believed one of the Borg drones on the Devil's Cube was her daughter and wanted to go back to investigate, Arden supported this. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Devil's Cube")

Singh's disappearance in 2373 affected Arden, and he felt guilty about all the things he wished he'd said to her. When she returned alive and well, he was going to tell her his feelings, but she came to him, asking for his blessing on her relationship with Mikali Galea. Arden kept his feelings unknown and gave his blessing. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "Stranger Than Fiction", "Bitter Sweet")

After they discovered Galea's duplicity, Arden was unsure how to approach the subject. (Star Trek: The Cantabrian Expeditions: "For Queen and Country")

Memorable quotes[]

"Calm down? That thing is being a right little tart!"
--Arden about a non-cooperating flight recorder in "Catalyst, Part One"
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