Una

For the mirror universe counterpart, see Number One (mirror).


Una
Una in 2259
Full name:	Una
Nickname(s):	Una, Eure- Robbins, Lefler, Leigh Hudec, Number One
Species:	Illyrian
Gender:	Female
Eye color:	blue
Hair color:	black
Homeworld:	Illyria
Born:	23rd century
Affiliation:	Federation, Starfleet
Family
Sibling(s):	Hudek, Leighton
Career
Occupation:	Starfleet officer
Serial number:	SR-323C-950-PFGH
Previous Assignment:	First officer, USS Enterprise
Assignment:	commanding officer, USS Yorktown
Rank:	Admiral, Commander
Insignia:
Una in 2254

Una (also known as Una Chin-Riley, or simply Una) is a Illyrian female who lives in the 23rd century and services the Federation, Starfleet as first officer on board the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Una Number One was born on the planet Illyria in the early 23rd century. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Glory)

During her formative years, Number One was raised in the Illyrian colonies alongside her brothers, Hudek and Leighton. With her given Illyrian birthname considered to be all but impossible for outsiders to pronounce, she adopted the name "Una" (signifying the concept of "one") at least as far back as her Starfleet Academy days, always having been first in her class regarding academics, athletics, intellect, and accomplishments, subsequently being dubbed "Number One" as a variation on this by her classmates. (TOS novel: The Children of Kings, TOS - Legacies novel: Captain to Captain)

In the late 2230s, Number One studied at the Illyrian Cultural Academy in order to be invested as a citizen of Illyria. Following her graduation as first in her class in 2240, she was awarded a plaque recognizing her achievement, at a ceremony which was attended by her brothers. (TOS novel: The Children of Kings)

Starfleet career[]

Starfleet Academy[]

By 2245, Robbins had entered Starfleet Academy and had specialized in engineering. In this year, Robbins and a large group of cadets were assigned to the newly-built Constitution-class starship, NX-0002, which would become the famous USS Enterprise, for her shakedown cruise, under the command of Admiral Charles Rasmussen. For the duration of the cruise, Robbins was assigned to engineering, under the direction of Lieutenant Cho. (EV - Crew comic: "Shakedown")

USS Fortune[]

In the mid-to-late 2240s, Robbins, with the rank of ensign, served aboard the USS Fortune in the engineering department. During an attack by an unknown alien vessel, she was instrumental in saving 27 of the crew from the ship's destruction while in orbit of Tau Alpha III. (EV - Crew comic: "The Bottle")

USS Ventura[]

By 2248, Robbins had been promoted in rank to lieutenant, junior grade and was serving aboard the USS Ventura. Following a mission to Beta Eridani III, she accepted a transfer to the Enterprise and a promotion to lieutenant. (EV - Crew comic: "Ghosts")

USS Enterprise[]

Almost as soon as she arrived on the Enterprise, Robbins came to Captain Robert April's attention and earned herself a position as part of a landing party, led by Lieutenant Commander Christopher Pike, to planet Alpha Tau IV. (EV - Crew comic: "The Ends of Eternity")

In October 2249, a routine followup survey expedition to the Libros star system by the Enterprise discovered an extradimensional incursion by a hostile alien species (the Jatohr) who had enslaved the indigenous population of planet Libros III (called "Usilde" in the native tongue). A disastrous landing party expedition commanded by Una resulted in the entire party (except for Robbins/Una) being sent into a parallel universe with little hope of rescue, although the Ptaen incursion was repulsed and the sluglike aliens likewise exiled back to their native reality. However, a piece of technology known as the Transfer Key was recovered by Captain April, and Una resolved to eventually rescue her comrades, despite potentially taking decades to do so. (TOS - Legacies novel: Captain to Captain)

By 2250, Robbins was the Enterprise's helmsman, and part of the senior staff. She had served aboard the Enterprise for three years, refusing every promotion that was offered to her. (EV - Crew comic: "Shadows of the Past")

USS Yorktown[]

In 2250, she was posted to the USS Yorktown as executive officer, under Christopher Pike, who called her "Number One" as a sort of joke; it being an old term for executive officer. (TOS episode: "The Cage")

She transferred with him to the USS Enterprise in 2251, even though she had hoped for command of a science vessel or medical frigate. (EV comic: "Flesh of My Flesh")

According to Vulcan's Glory, the two had served together for four years as of 2254. The short story "Chaotic Response" suggests that she did not become first officer until sometime after 2252, before which time she was called "Number Five".

Further service aboard the Enterprise[]

Number One, 2254 — Una prior to the Talos incident

In 2254, following an attack by a mysterious alien race, the Ngultor, Number One led a landing party to rescue Captain Pike from Ngultor captivity. (EV comic: "Flesh of My Flesh")

On the Enterprise's next mission, in the Marrat Nebula, Number One led another landing party, this time to investigate a loss in communications at Starfleet's Project Pharos. Shortly after beaming down, the party came under attack from Klingons, Number One used the transporters to beam in behind the Klingon attackers and neutralize them before rescuing a team of Starfleet engineers the Klingons had been holding captive. On the Enterprise's next mission, in the Marrat Nebula, Number One led another landing party, this time to investigate a loss in communications at Starfleet's Project Pharos. Shortly after beaming down, the party came under attack from Klingons, Number One used the transporters to beam in behind the Klingon attackers and neutralize them before rescuing a team of Starfleet engineers the Klingons had been holding captive. (EV comic: "The Fires of Pharos")

Following a disastrous visit to Rigel VII, Number One and the Enterprise found themselves visiting the mysterious planet Talos IV where Captain Pike was taken captive by the native Talosians. Determined to rescue the Captain, Number One once again led a rescue party. Unfortunately the Talosians were able to manipulate the Enterprise's transporters delivering only Number One and Yeoman Colt into the Talosian habitat. The entire party later escaped.

Very shortly following the Talos IV incident, the Enterprise was sent to a rift that opened every 33 years into the Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy. The starship received brand-new, highly-advanced computer voice modules, with her own voice-patterns subsequently imprinted upon the Enterprise's computer, which lead to her voice being used in future years. (TOS novel: The Rift)

The Enterprise was then recalled back to Earth for a debrief and crew restock. While passing by Jupiter, Pike confided in Number One regarding his doubts about remaining a captain before a Halogian ship was detected, firing a beam of intense heat into Jupiter. Leaving Number One to engage them ship-to-ship, Pike led an away team aboard the alien craft, successfully sabotaging its systems and destroying it. (TOS comic: "Captain's Log: Pike")

Not long after, Pike left Number One in command of the Enterprise while he led a landing party to Darien 224. She was forced to take the starship into battle when they were attacked by the USS Cortez, which had been commandeered by a group of hostile Vulcans. The Enterprise stopped at Deep Space Station K-12 to receive repairs following the incident, and Number One was left in charge again when Pike left for Earth after hearing his father was ill. However, it soon became apparent that the message had been faked; unfortunately, the message was too degraded to track it to its point of origin. Fortunately, someone sent a screened untraceable message to the Enterprise informing them of Pike's location, and Number One was able to take the Enterprise to rescue him from his Klingon adversaries who had set the trap. (EV comics: "Cloak and Dagger", "The Flat, Gold Forever")

In 2255, the Enterprise crew became stricken with Rigelian fever, with Captain Pike ordering the starship to Cypria III, location of the rare substance ryetalyn, the only known curative. However, en route, the ship intervened in a pursuit involving the adopted Cyprian daughter of a Klingon general, which threatened to bring down a sizeable military response against both the Enterprise and Cypria III. Planetside, Number One was forced into action to rescue her landing party from a hostile population riled up by opportunistic politicians against them, resulting in a diplomatic incident. However, Number One succeeded in saving her crewmembers and returning to the Enterprise, and both the Rigelian fever and the Klingon situation were soon resolved. (TOS novel: Child of Two Worlds)

She was offered command of the USS Nelson in 2255, but turned it down, preferring to remain under Pike on the Enterprise. (EV comic: "Futures, Part One")

In 2256, war broke out between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. The Enterprise however was so far from the front lines that were ordered to remain on their exploration mission, being kept in reserve as a last ditch weapon. The Enterprise finally returned in 2257, once the war had ended. While on the return trip, the Enterprise detected seven red bursts but attempting to scan one led to the holographic communications system inflicting a catastrophic systems failure on the ship, crippling it. To continue the mission, Pike was transferred to the USS Discovery while Number One oversaw Enterprise's repairs. (DIS episode: "Brother")

While repairs progressed, Number One called in a number of favour to ascertain the cause of Spock's disappearance from Starbase 5, transporting onto Discovery to personally deliver the information to Pike. While aboard, she informed her captain that Chief Engineer Louvier had found the holographic communicators to be the root cause of the system failures with Pike ordering their removal. (DIS episode: "An Obol for Charon")

In her travels, the Discovery had come across an alien lifeform known only as "the Sphere" which had imparted onto the ship the sum total of its knowledge. This knowledge however attracted the attention of the rogue A.I. Control who sent the entirety of the Section 31 fleet after Discovery to claim the data. Unable to delete the date, Pike was forced to destroy Discovery, calling in Number One to bring the Enterprise as an evacuation ship. (DIS episode: "Through the Valley of Shadows")

While Discovery was successfully evacuated, the Sphere had taken control of the ship's systems, cancelling the self destruct and raising the shields to protect itself from the Enterprise's weapons. At a staff meeting, it was determined that the only way to keep the Sphere data from control was to take Discovery to the future. When a fifth red signal was detected at Xahea, Number One warped the Enterprise to the planet. When they arrived, only minutes before Section 31, Pike reassumed command of the Enterprise.

During the course of the battle, an undetonated photon torpedo lodged itself in the Enterprise's saucer section. With the repair drones unable to remove the torpedo, Number One joined Admiral Cornwell in trying to disable it only to find its secondary detonation systems had already activated, Pike forcing her to swap places with him. When Pike returned, he ordered Number One to pilot the Enterprise between the Discovery and the Section 31 drones, allowing the Crossfield-class ship to travel into the wormhole to the future. With Control gone, the drones shut down, leaving the Enterprise to limp back home.

Back on Earth, all involved agreed to testify that Discovery had been destroyed, Spock convincing the admiralty to cover up the ship's existence completely. In 2258, 124 days after the battle, the Enterprise returned on its exploration mission, setting a course for a new moon found orbiting Edrin II. (DIS episode: "Such Sweet Sorrow")

In 2264, Pike was promoted fleet captain with Number One agreed to remain behind and continue as first officer under James T. Kirk. Days before the change-of-command ceremony, however, Number One had an accident in the ship's cargo hold, where a cargo container fell onto her and crushed both her legs. Though she received prompt medical treatment from Dr. Phillip Boyce, but her long recovery meant that she couldn't serve as Kirk's first officer, the post being given to Spock. (TOS comic: "All Those Years Ago...")

Following her recovery, Number One received a command of her own. (TOS novel: Enterprise: The First Adventure)

Commanding the Yorktown[]

By a different account, Number One still serving as Captain Pike's executive officer in the autumn of 2263, but was taking shore leave when the Agni conducted a series of incursions into Federation space, during which the Enterprise intervened during her absence, resulting in a significant loss of Starfleet personnel and starships. She would then be given command of the USS Yorktown either late in the year 2263 or by the fall of 2264. (TOS novel: The Captain's Oath)

In 2267, following the return of Captain Kirk and his crew from the Mirror universe, Robbins/Una finally discovered the means to reactivate the Transfer Key device (from the ill-fated Usildar mission of 2249) and rescue her former Enterprise crewmates from a hellish alternate universe.

TOS Number One — Number One with Captain Kirk and Spock on planet Usilde, in 2267

However, this was attempted by Una stealing the Key from Kirk's quarters under the pretense of a friendly ship-visit — Number One fleeing the starship aboard a high-speed courier vessel; the Enterprise pursuing her back to the Librosian star system, now claimed by the Klingon Empire. Planetside, Robbins/Una escaped from hostile native clutches, only to be saved by Kirk and Spock when attempting to enter the abandoned Jatohr citadel there. With Klingons closing in, Number One used the Transfer Key to enter the home dimension of the Jatohr in an attempt to bring her missing crewmates home; Kirk and Spock barely escaping back to the Enterprise in the nick of time. (TOS - Legacies novel: Captain to Captain)

Upon arriving in the alternate universe, Una journeyed across a massive, burning desert where she ultimately encountered her stranded crewmates from decades earlier. However, in order to attempt an escape from the dimension, an expedition to the Jatohr capital city was necessary to prevent the slug-like aliens from interdicting the Enterprise's extraction-efforts in two months' time, and this resulted in the capture and interrogation of Una, Tim Shimizu, and Lieutenant Commander Raul Martinez by the Jatohr leadership. (TOS - Legacies novel: Best Defense)

At some point after these events, Number One was eventually promoted to the rank of commodore, and resumed command of the USS Yorktown, when, in 2270, she was sent by Starfleet Command to the Romulan Neutral Zone using a cloaking device, under orders to engage the Romulans. While in the Neutral Zone, her ship had power trouble with the cloaking device, and came under attack from Captain Koloth's ship. During the engagement, Number One and the Yorktown successfully disabled the enemy vessel.

The Yorktown was then confronted by a Romulan Warbird. Luckily, she was able to escape by using a plasma field. However, the Yorktown came under fire from a Klingon-Romulan fleet under Romulan Praetor Gaius and Capt. Koloth. Number One, along with members of her bridge crew and Koloth and his bridge crew, were beamed aboard Gaius' ship. On board the Keras, Number One and one of her officers were brutally interrogated by the praetor for information on Captain James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise. She was then transported aboard the USS Constitution, of which she then took command. She encountered the Organian Ayelborne, who forced the Romulans to abide by the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty. (TOS comic: "Romulans: Schism")

In Greg Cox' TOS Legacies novel Captain to Captain, Number One/Una is already in command of the USS Yorktown, which clashes slightly with the implication in John Byrne's various comics that she took command of the starship only after her promotion to the flag rank of commodore. Possibly she held command of the Yorktown up through 2267, only to temporarily lose it after her expedition to the Jatohr universe, followed by her regaining command in 2270. It is actually mentioned in the Cox novel that her promotion to commodore was seemingly imminent, possibly delayed for some years due to her seeming insubordination in that storyline.

Number One was promoted to admiral in the 2270s, and continued to command the USS Yorktown. (TOS comic: "Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor")

Relationships[]

In 2254, her father died; she was consoled by Spock.

She harbored fantasies for Pike for some time, and these were exposed to him by the Talosians in 2254. (TOS comic: "The Cage")

Normally, however, Number One was strictly logical, masking her emotions. One area of obsession for her was computers. In 2254, she assisted Lieutenant Spock in installing upgrades to the computer that made it voice-interactive. Her voice was used as a base pattern, something which later carried over to all Starfleet computers well into the late 24th century. (TOS novel: The Rift)

Alternate timelines[]

In an alternate timeline, Number One died tragically in 2254, injured so badly she could not even beg to be put out of her pain. (Star Trek: Myriad Universes novel: A Less Perfect Union)

In another alternate timeline created when Yeoman J. Mia Colt was sent forward in time from 2254 to 2293 after her tricorder scans released the tachyon energy contained in an Algolian artifact known as a Keepsake, Number One had become captain of the USS Excelsior by 2293. Spock succeeded her as first officer of the Enterprise, continuing to serve in that position aboard the USS Enterprise-A. In 2293, the Excelsior was ordered to prevent the Enterprise-A from entering the Klingon Neutral Zone. However, when she made contact with Pike and learned that he intended to bring Colt to Algol II in Klingon space so that she could return to her own time through the Well of Tomorrows, she allowed him to proceed to the planet. (EV comics: "Future Tense", "Futures", "Now and Then")

In an alternate timeline where Pike was able to avoid his crippling fate, he asked La'an Noonien-Singh about Una after being transported to 2266 from 2259. La'an told him that Una wasn't allowed to have contact with anyone. Spock later revealed that in this timeline, Una had been locked up in a Federation prison colony for nearly seven years for her illegal modifications. (SNW episode: "A Quality of Mercy")

Personal history[]

Starfleet service record[]

location	assignment	dates	rank or rate
Starfleet Academy	Student	2240-45	Cadet
USS Martin Luther King Jr.		2240s	Ensign
USS Fortune	Engineering department	2240s	Ensign
USS Ventura		2248	lieutenant, junior grade
USS Enterprise	Helmsman	2248-50	Lieutenant
USS Yorktown	XO	2250-51	Lieutenant
USS Enterprise	XO	2251-2259	Lieutenant commander
USS Archer	CO	2259
USS Enterprise	XO	2259-64
USS Yorktown	CO	2265-	Admiral

Background information[]

This character was portrayed by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry and by Rebecca Romijn.

In an interview with TrekCore, the co-writer of "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2" and Star Trek: Discovery third season co-showrunner Michelle Paradise confirmed that Christopher Pike called Number One "Una" in that episode. This is one of the many names used for this character in non-canon material. Subtitles on Netflix spelled it as Noona, while the CBSAA captions say that he merely said "and, uh..." while transitioning to a question directed at Admiral Cornwell. The Star Trek: Short Treks episode "Q&A" confirmed that Number One's name is "Una," but indicated that she preferred to be addressed as "Number One".

It was rare that an officer with the rank of lieutenant served as the first officer of a starship. The likely reason for this was that, when Gene Roddenberry first created Star Trek, the first rank structure he employed was based on the system used in the 18th and 19th century British navy, in which a ship's second in command was generally a first lieutenant in the sense of the most senior lieutenant, rather than 20th century naval ranks we have come to associate with Starfleet. In the character's subsequent appearances in Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Short Treks, she holds the rank of lieutenant commander.

In the original version of the series outline Star Trek is... (as reprinted in The Making of Star Trek, pp. 22-30), Number One was initially described as "a glacierlike, efficient female who serves as ship's Executive Officer." (The Making of Star Trek, p. 24) A more detailed description of the character from exactly the same document stated;

The Executive Officer
Never referred to as anything but "Number One", this officer is female. Almost mysteriously female, in fact – slim and dark in a Nile Valley way, age uncertain, one of those women who will always look the same between years twenty and fifty. An extraordinarily efficient officer, "Number One" enjoys playing it expressionless, cool – is probably Robert April's superior in detailed knowledge of the equipment, departments, and personnel aboard the vessel. When Captain April leaves the craft, "Number One" moves up to Acting Captain. (The Making of Star Trek, p. 29)

In the scripts of "The Cage", Number One was described as "Female, slim and dark in a Nile Valley way, age uncertain, one of those women who will always look the same between the ages of twenty and fifty [....] Almost glacier-like in her imperturbability and precision. From time to time we'll wonder just how much female exists under that icy facade." She was also scripted to be slightly more wary of J.M. Colt than she is in the final version of the episode, such as being initially reluctant about allowing her to join a landing party assigned to rescue the captain.

Number One was dropped from the series as NBC executives did not respond well to her character. Reactions to her in the screen test of "The Cage" were also poor (by the women more negatively than the men, according to Gene Roddenberry). Her highly logical, steel-trap mind was given to the character of Spock in TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and maintained there onward.

Although Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was credited as Majel Barrett in the unaired "The Cage", she was credited as "M. Leigh Hudec" – Barrett's birth name – in the aired two-part episode "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II", because the production team was endeavoring to hide from NBC the fact that the actress, not to be signed for either the second pilot or the regular show as had been demanded by the network, had actually returned to Star Trek: The Original Series as the recurring Nurse Christine Chapel by Gene Roddenberry's doing. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, 1997, pp. 223-224; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One, 1st ed, pp. 25-27) An unintended ironic twist in Star Trek history was that when Roddenberry surreptitiously brought the natural brunette Barrett back on the Original Series, he had her also disguised as a blonde to mislead the NBC network executives, who adamantly did not want her back on the show, whereas the natural blonde Romijn had to have her hair dyed to have her appear as the brunette Number One in Discovery.