Sonya Gomez

"Whatever is out here, we're going to be the first humans to see it. And I want to be a part of that. I want to understand it."

- Sonya Gomez, 2365

Sonya Guadalupe Gomez is a female Human in the late 24th century, born circa 2343 to José Esteban and Guadalupe Gomez.


 * Gomez's middle name was established in SCE eBook: Identity Crisis.

Early life
Gomez was the younger sister of Belinda Gomez. As a small child, she could not pronounce her sister's name, instead calling her "Bee". In turn, Belinda called Sonya "Ess," and these nicknames stuck into their adulthood.

Sonya was a focused and strongly determined child, as illustrated in an incident when she was about ten: Sonya said she would help her mother build a sculpting studio in the attic of their Vieques, Puerto Rico home, and every day after school she would go straight to it. This was in contrast to Belinda's more relaxed approach to life, which led to their mother's frequent use of the phrase, "Why can't you be more like Sonya?" 

When Sonya was five, she and Belinda were in a rowboat off of Sun Bay Beach. In a fit of anger, Belinda pushed Sonya out of the boat into the water, even though the younger girl did not know how to swim. Belinda eventually dived in and helped her back out of the water, and Sonya, unaware at the time that she had been pushed, believed her sister had saved her after she had accidentally fallen overboard. Belinda's subsequent treatment as a hero caused Sonya to resent her, and the frequent question, "Why can't you be more like your sister?" 

Years later, Belinda would admit admiration for Sonya's quick and capable decision-making abilities, and for her tendency to stick to what she decided on. 

Starfleet
As an early teenager, she said "I'm going to join Starfleet!" and once she made up her mind she signed up and studied for every placement exam until she was in. In her third year, her 4th year friend Lian T'su was approved and sent to the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). Sonya immediately announced to everyone that she would make the posting to the Enterprise. 

While at the Academy, one of her instructors was Xin Ra-Havreii. 

USS Enterprise-D
She graduated Starfleet Academy in 2365, and her first assignment was indeed aboard the Enterprise. She started out on the night shift, but quickly came to the attention of Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge and was promoted to alpha shift. 

Within her first couple of days on alpha, she made a horrifying first impression on her CO, when she spilled hot chocolate all over Captain Picard. 

Gomez struck up friendships with several fellow officers, in particular Kieran Duffy and Wesley Crusher. After an attack on engineering by Roga Danar, Gomez realized that she had strong feelings for Duffy, and invited him on a date to the arboretum. 

The two continued a romantic relationship for over a year. In 2368 after a quantum filament disabled the Enterprise, Gomez was promoted to full lieutenant and assigned to the USS Oberth. At that time, she broke off the relationship. 

By 2375, Lieutenant Commander Gomez was chief engineer of the USS Sentinel (Akira class). Hers was the only ship to survive a mission to sabotage a Dominion outpost during the Dominion War, and she saved her crew by altering the warp fields to appear as a Cardassian freighter. 

First officer
In 2376 (stardate 53122.9), Gomez, now a commander, was assigned as first officer and to lead the Starfleet Corps of Engineers team aboard the USS da Vinci, where she was reunited with Kieran Duffy. 

They renewed their romantic relationship, and Duffy shortly after proposed marriage. Gomez hesitated in giving her answer, and before she could, Duffy was killed while trying to rescue the ship from the atmosphere of a gas giant. 

Duffy's death was devastating for Gomez, and she suffered several months of emotional turmoil. In December of 2376, she apparently went insane and took over Recreational Station Hidalgo. In reality, she was held captive there while a complex artificial intelligence program stole her identity. 

However, Gomez's work ethic was never in question. She has proven to be an excellent leader of the SCE team on the da Vinci, earning the trust of Captain David Gold, even with some rough patches relating to Duffy's death, for which Gomez initially blamed Gold, and to an awkward command situation Gomez was forced into by Ambassador Gabriel Marshall at Rhaax. .

She also has had some friction with Duffy's egotistical replacement Lt. Commander Mor glasch Tev, who mistook her indecision shortly after Duffy's death (and Tev's reporting for duty) as lack of command ability and a signal for him to take a more active role. His subsequent insubordination led the usually easygoing Gomez to put a formal reprimand on his record, delaying his chances of being promoted to full commander. 

Commanding officer
In mid 2380, following Captain Gold's retirement from Starfleet, Gomez was promoted to captain and given command of the da Vinci, making her the only engineering section officer to command a starship. Gomez and the da Vinci were instrumental in saving the planet Troyius from attack during the Borg Invasion of 2381, by making the planet disappear from sensors. 

By 2383, Gomez remained in command of the da Vinci and briefly assisted the USS Challenger (NCC-71099) in its investigation of the trans-slipsteam wakes. After the ship concluded its mission, she and Mor glasch Tev attended Montgomery Scott's memorial service aboard the the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E). 

Personal life
After mourning the death of Duffy for a significant period, Gomez made several attempts to move on and to pursue new romantic relationships, with limited success. At one point, while discussing with Fabian Stevens her frustration over her inability to move on with her romantic life, Gomez kissed Stevens. This breach caused an uneasy strain in their friendship for several weeks to follow. 

Following this kiss, however, Gomez resolved to fully open herself to a possible relationship with freighter captain Wayne "Pappy" Omthon, with whom she had missed several planned rendezvouses. Unfortunately, when she contacted Omthon to inform him of her new resolve, she discovered him in the company of an Orion woman. 

Gomez dated several others as well after Galvan VI, including Tobias Shelt, technician Brilson Lodine, and archeologist Paul Cunningham. 

Alternate versions
In an alternate universe accessed by an interdimensional Androssi device, Gomez served as chief engineer of the USS Gettysburg (alternate universe) under Captain David Gold. In late 2376, she accepted a marriage proposal from Kieran Duffy, who had survived in this universe.