Shelly Marsden

Shelly Marsden was the Chief Engineer of the USS Anomaly.

Marsden was the only child of Harold and Ann Marsden, two xeno-archaeologists who specialized in ancient alien technology. When she was a toddler, the Marsdens were working at a dig site on Pyadall when they were attacked by Whurakan raiders. They were saved by a ship commanded by Reginald Bain, a fact that Marsden never shared with her future captain (Primary Sources [BG]). After a few such incidents, her parents decided it would be safer for her to live on Earth, so she went to live with her great-grandparents in Eastern Ohio. She saw her parents whenever they got back to Earth, which was actually quite often. Marsden's great-grandmother had been a Starfleet Engineer, so she showed Marsden a lot while she was growing up. Her great-grandfather was used a hoverchair due to a transwarp racer accident, so Marsden learned to helped her great-grandmother with chair maintenance and eventually most other things around the house. In her teen years, she attended the Federation Magnet High School, where she became friends with Natalia Kasyov. Marsden's great-grandmother was friends with a couple of Starfleet admirals, who sponsored Marsden's application to Starfleet Academy.

After the Academy, Marsden worked in Starfleet Special Projects, where she developed the anti-singularity drive. This drive combined elements of Federation and Romulan technologies to achieve incredible speeds. She was unable to stabilize the system, though, until she took the unorthodox step of funneling the drive energies through a piece of space debris that was discovered by the USS Secondprize over a century earlier. This debris was actually part of an advanced culture's starship and served as the housing for the sphere-encased brains they used to regulate their engine systems. Marsden's use of housing attracted Cabral, who phased through the hull of the Hermes-7 prototype containing the housing and took over control of the ship, taking Marsden and Hector Arroyo along for the ride. Once Captain Reginald Bain was able to intercept the Hermes-7 and befriend Cabral. Cabral elected to remain aboard the ship, which was renamed the USS Anomaly. Bain was made Captain and Marsden ordered to serve as his Chief Engineer. (If I Only Had a Brain [BG])

Marsden was upset that Bain took command of the Anomaly away from her (and also that he changed the name to the Anomaly), so she attempted to get a transfer rather than serve as Bain’s chief engineer. Admiral Kristen Larkin denied the request and threatened to bill Marsden for all of the destroyed prototypes if she resigned from Starfleet. (One Track Mind [BG])

After the Anomaly was damaged in the Andromeda Galaxy, Marsden signed up for a credit account at Gyjik's Galaxy Gateway and used it to get parts for repairs, narrowly avoiding being killed by a particularly angry clerk droid in the process. (Yes, We Do Indeed Have Something To Declare! [BG]) After making repairs and getting the Anomaly moving again, she pretended to be Bain's wife as the pair went to look at renting a condominium while really trying to determine the locations of Kasyov and Lieutenant Commander Tovar, who had been taken by the Associates. (Domestic Tranquility [BG])

When the Anomaly and its crew were taken into protective care by the Nabusari, an older race that considered Bain too young to be running a starship and quite irresponsible to have taken a bunch of children out into space, Marsden led a small group in escaping the day care facility that all of the crew except Bain were taken to. She was able to establish contact with Bain and later pretended to be him to pass a pilot's exam in order to get the Anomaly back. (Respect Your Elders [BG])

Upon returning to Earth from Andromeda, Marsden helped Arroyo investigate the disappearance of his fiancee, Janie, who used to work with them in Starfleet R&D. Arroyo revealed to her that he and Janie were only pretending to be engaged in order to get Arroyo's parents off his back about his dating life and marriage prospects. In return, Janie had gotten a recommendation from Senator Arroyo that allowed her to get her position with Admiral Okawa's office in Starfleet Sciences. Arroyo and Marsden took the USS Navigator to investigate and discovered that Okawa and Janie had been captured by the Serellan artist Veraxe', who was working on a massive unauthorized space painting. They were briefly captured as well, but Arroyo was able to escape Veraxe', destroying multiple robots in the process, then free Marsden, Janie, and Okawa. They fled Veraxe's ship only to find that he had completed the painting, which was absolutely gorgeous. They decided not to destroy it. (The Ties That Bind [BG])

After learning that the several bits of debris survived the destruction of the Hermes 5 prototype ship two years earlier, Marsden was sent to Carsullis to retrieve it before it could affect the development of the planet's pre-industrial population. She discovered that the ship's backup computer core had also survived and that the Carsullans were now worshipping as The Oracle. Additionally, Cole Anfibon was on Carsullis looking to get the core and sell it to a group interested in replicating the anti-singularity drive. Marsden took Anfibon into custody, but, after a banter-filled dinner, let him go as long as he left the planet. He didn't leave. Instead, he gathered up all of the explosives Marsden had placed around the Oracle's shrine with the intention of blowing the structure up and beaming out the core. Before she could actually arrest him for interfering in her mission, Marsden and Anfibon were beamed up along with the computer core to a Breen ship commander by Thot-Phul. The Anomaly arrived soon after this. While Phul and Commander Prosak exchanged demands and threats, Marsden and Anfibon were able to set off their explosives, severely damaging the DRAAT, and escape. Lieutenant Commander Tovar finished the Breen ship off with a torpedo volley and beamed the Hermes 5 computer core back to the Anomaly. Phul and his crew abandoned ship before the DRAAT exploded. Captain Reginald Bain decided to let Anfibon go, since he helped Marsden escape the Breen, and returned him to his ship. Before he left the Anomaly, Anfibon told Marsden that he hoped to see her again and commed her later that same day, beginning a long distance relationship between the two. (Scrap Metal Of The Gods [BG])

A couple years after the Anomaly's return from Andromeda, Gyjik's Galaxy Gateway sent Marsden a final notice about the large debt she and the crew racked up in the Andromeda Galaxy, then after getting no response (the message bounced off of the Great Barrier surrounding the Milky Way), turned her over to Associates Acquisitions to collect what she owed. The Associates ship traveled to the Milky Way looking for the Anomaly. With no way to pay them back, Marsden beamed over to their ship with Lieutenant Commander Tovar to work off her debt. The Anomaly crew realized that the Associates shuttle they brought back from Andromeda might be worth enough to pay off what Marsden owed, so they got it from Earth and, thanks to Cole Anfibon preventing the Associates from leaving the galaxy by crashing a microshuttle into their engines, were able to catch up to the Associates and give them the shuttle plus some engine repairs to satisfy Gyjik's debt. Back on the Anomaly, Marsden and Anfibon were actually able to spend a night together in person. (Past Due [BG])

Anifbon was actually a clone of Bain that Dr. Lenik created and sent to get close to Marsden as part of a plan to get revenge on Bain for destroying her research. While Anfibon was aboard the Anomaly, FOBBER set off an explosive on Dulcolax Three in the Federation/Romulan Neutral Zone containing transmetaquantaprotophasic radiation. The Anomaly and a Romulan warhawk were both sent to investigate the source of the illegal weapon. Anfibon attempted to murder Marsden before transporting himself and Bain to Gridloo and Pridloo's freighter. The Anomaly crew realized what was happening and de-escalated the situation with the Romulans before then chasing down the Pakleds' freighter and rescuing Bain. Marsden, despite her injuries, confronted Anfibon, who attempted to convince her that he really did love her and that he was forced by Lenik to do what he had done. Really, Anifbon was just trying to get close enough to stab Marsden again. Marsden stunned him before he could strike. He and Lenik were killed when the Pakleds' freighter exploded. (Good Fences Make Good Neighbors - Part One, Good Fences Make Good Neighbors - Part Two [BG])

During the Lucinda incident, Marsden and Tovar acknowledged their attraction to each other and ended up engaging in a heavy makeout session in the Anomaly's Jefferies tubes. Tovar, however, was dating Lieutenant Jamie Torgerson and did not want to end that relationship. Marsden knew that he was trying to do the right thing. Marsden also lost her friend Hector Arroyo during this, when he gave up his physical form and merged with Lucinda. Marsden couldn't understand why Arroyo had never told her about Lucinda. (Bold Faced Lies [BG])

While were representing Starfleet at a high school career night, Prosak caught Tovar by surprise with a kiss and told him that she would be a better match for him than Torgerson. Tovar pulled her aside to talk about the kiss, but they were overheard by Marsden. This revelation resulted in a argument between the three of them right in the middle of the gym holding the career night. Both Prosak and Marsden stormed away from Tovar, with Marsden telling him to stay away from her until he figured out what he wanted. While the verbal pummeling was not fun for Tovar, it did get a lot of students interested in checking out the Starfleet table. (The Future Of Starfleet [BG])

Much to Marsden's horror, rumors of what happened between her and Tovar started spreading around the Anomaly. She eventually found out that Ensign Yonk was responsible, but she was not able to get him to remove the posts about it that he put on the shipwide messaging system before Torgerson read them. (Rumor Control [BG])

Realizing that Tovar was in love with Marsden, Torgerson broke things off with Tovar. Tovar raced to find Marsden to tell her that he loved her. She was receptive until she found out that Torgerson broke up with him rather than Tovar having the guts to do it himself. She stormed off saying that Tovar didn't deserve her. Crushed, he went to see Prosak to talk. Having had a rough day of her own, Prosak jumped him and pulled him into her quarters, kissing him and pulling at his clothes. Tovar responded in kind, and the two fell onto her sofa together. (Once More, With Feelings [BG])

After sleeping with Prosak, Tovar went to talk to Marsden, something Kasyov told him specifically not to do, which led to an argument in which he revealed that he had sex with Prosak. Marsden was furious with him, telling him that they would never be together or even friends. With hostilities starting with the Vulcan Alliance, Tovar took the opportunity to escape his troubles on the Anomaly by volunteering to serve as a tactical officer on the Romulan Warhawk Shakalak. Marsden came to see him in the transporter room before he left and told him that he was an idiot for leaving. She also said to look her up when he returned to the Anomaly. (Strategic Retreat [BG])

While on a mission to tap into the Romulan sensor network so Starfleet could monitor Vulcan ship movements, Marsden and Prosak cleared the air about Tovar, with Prosak telling Marsden that their encounter was strictly recreational and that she had no desire for a relationship with him. (Uncomfortably Close [BG])

Marsden joined the away team to stop the Vulcans were were attempting to retrieve the Kolch'ak Device from the Kantelov Annex on Earth to see if it could be used to control Romulans. She saw Tovar again at the Annex, but they had to deal with the Vulcans first, which they did. Once the danger was past, Tovar and Marsden decided to have dinner together and talk through everything. (Scratching The Surface [BG])

Tovar and Marsden's dinner was interrupted, but they later found themselves working together closely in a Jefferies tube which escalated quickly to kissing to sex. (In One Door, Out The Other [BG]) Marsden was injured in a collapsed Jefferies tube during the battle against the combined Vulcan and Romulan fleets, but Cabral was able to free her. After a short stay in sickbay, she was reunited with Tovar, who had returned from a mission to Vulcan. Their dinner date resulted in a trip to the bedroom before the even got around to eating. (Live Long And Conquer [BG])

Marsden joined Tovar and Prosak in an attempt to rescue Captain Bain, who was to be put on trial by the Breen. The trial was about to move into the torture phase when Prosak, Tovar, and Marsden were able to locate Bain and beam him aboard the Allegra. Before they could return to the Anomaly, though, they were all incapacitated by the James T. Kirk Hologram. Marsden regained consciousness along with Tovar and Prosak inside a cargo container that Holo-Kirk ejected into space. They were soon picked up by Gridloo and Pridloo, who hoped the stray cargo container held something valuable. They commandeered the Pakleds' ship, and, with Rosalyn Bain's help, caught up to the Allegra before Bain ran out of oxygen. Marsden learned about Rosalyn's Section 31 affiliation at this time. (Trial And Error, The Bain Supremacy [BG])

When the USS Anomaly accidentally ended up in the pocket universe created to hide the Multek Enclave, Bain tasked Marsden with shutting down the pocket universe generators and returning the Multek Enclave to normal space. Marsden was successful, but then Bain learned that the Multeks had hidden the Enclave in the first place to prevent their worlds from being taken over by the Dillon Consortium. Bain did everything he could to set things right and took on an entire Consortium acquisition fleet while Marsden repaired the pocket universe generator. She realized that she would have to stay inside the Enclave to activate the generators, separating her from Tovar forever. Tovar's mother Tanta revealed to Marsden that she'd designed the system in the first place and told Marsden to get back to Tovar and to tell him to be happy. Marsden returned to the Anomaly, and, after the Multeks were safe, married Tovar on Waystation Prime. (Right Where We Left It, Welcome To The Hotel California, Contractual Obligations [BG])

After her parents discovered the Pliggeri homeworld, Marsden and the Anomaly were sent to assess the situation. While there, she introduced Harold and Ann to Tovar, Bain and Rosalyn. The Marsdens showed the Anomaly team their discovery, but Cabral activated a long-dormant computer system, which latched onto him and Kasyov and also set in motion a series of events that ended in the destruction of the planet. Before that happened, Marsden was able to free Kasyov and Cabral in time for the Anomaly to beam them all up to the ship. She said farewell to her parents, who moved on to other worlds to explore while they reviewed the scans they took of the Pliggeri planet before it was obliterated. (Primary Sources [BG])

Marsden was targeted by the Dillon Consortium, which intended to brainwash her into helping them reverse engineer the anti-singularity drive and build their own. She was part of Bain's team that was trapped by the Consortium at the Days of Fryer Past restaurant, but the Anomaly officers were able to turn the tables on their captors and take Consortium CEO Tori Burke into custody. Afterwards, Marsden learned that Bain and Tovar had suspected a trap all along, and that Bain had specifically ordered Tovar not to warn her about it. While she was upset briefly, Marsden understood that it was part of their jobs and one of the things that made their professional and personal connections messy. (Welcome to the Party [BG])

After the Anomaly faced a fleet of Breen ships with anti-singularity drives and returned to Earth for an extended refit, Cabral and Kasyov asked for Marsden and Bain's help to get to the new Pliggeri homeworld, so that Cabral could take Chindela and Gathering Point there. They hatched plan in which Marsden automated a lot of the ship's systems under the guise of a refit, and then, when things were ready, Cabral and Kasyov stole the Anomaly and took it to find the Pliggeri. Tovar may also have suspected Marsden's involvement, but he never pushed the question with her. Marsden opted to remain on Earth and Marsden rejoined Starfleet Research & Development while Tovar joined the Tactics Division at Starfleet Headquarters. They had a son, Jarrett Bain, who, after graduating from Starfleet Academy, served on the USS Holloway under his grandfather, Reginald Bain. (Going, Going, Gone... [BG])

Marsden plays golf in her holopod to relax. Despite 15 years of playing, she is terrible and spends a lot of the game yelling.