| Brô'c'ĥn | ||
| Species | Gorn | |
| Place of Birth | Gorn | |
| Base Of Operations | Oura Leontos University (Deneb IV) | |
| Gender | Male | |
| Hair | None | |
| Occupation | Academic (formerly Chief Science Officer, U.S.S. Enterprise-F) | |
| Rank | None (formerly Lieutenant, Starfleet) | |
| First Appearance | Episode S00E01 | |
| Spotlights | Episode S01E07, Episode S02E03, Episode S03E04, Episode S04E02 | |
Doctor Brô'c'ĥn is a Gorn and was chief Science Officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise. A lifelong pacifist, he defected to The Federation when he discovered that his Government was planning on developing and using weapons of mass destruction banned by galactic treaty.
Life Before Defection[]
Brô'c'ĥn showed an interest in science, especially biology, from a young age, and he eventually rose to become an eminent xenobiologist, with a particular interest in Humans. He mated young and the resulting eggs went into statis to be born fifty years later on his own Hatching Day. The relationship didn't last, although the breakup was amicable. Brô'c'ĥn fully expected to be around to help raise not only his own hatchlings, but those of the entire metropolis, at that time.
Brô'c'ĥn's biological interest in aliens led to an interest in their philosophy as well, and he formed a fascination with the Federation in particular, and their philosophy of peaceful co-existence. This influenced his own thinking, and although he was always happy to take part in the common martial sports, he regarded them purely as sports, and became an advocate of pacifism, or at least, non-aggression (which he regarded as the best that he could hope for, given Gorn's long occupation by the Klingon empire).
He was co-opted on to several government committees over the years, and it was through one of these that he heard rumours that development was taking place on red matter-based weapons - something expressly forbidden by interstellar law. Digging into these rumours, he eventually discovered that they were true, and when he started to become vocal about his opposition, he was fired from his governmental role and pressure was placed on his University to sack him as well, pressure that they eventually succumbed to.
After some very long and arduous introspection, Brô'c'ĥn screwed up his courage, gathered together all the evidence he had regarding the red matter and went to a conference on Andoria, at which he claimed political asylum and placed his material in front of Starfleet. Through his actions, pressure was brought to bear on the Gorn government, the weapons programme was exposed and shut down. However, his government declared Brô'c'ĥn an exile, stripped him of citizenship and his right to ever return to Gorn space and enforced a complete isolation. Wounded by this, Brô'c'ĥn accepted the Federation's offer of citizenship, and applied, and was accepted, to join Starfleet Academy.
Association with Section 31[]
Whilst at Starfleet Academy, Brô'c'ĥn was recruited as a passive asset for Section 31 by XXX Skinner, although he didn't know it at the time. He had been asked to be watchful for subversive activity within the Academy, looking out for elements that "may be a threat to the ideals of the Federation". He had very little contact with Skinner after that, until several years later when he was made chief science officer aboard the new Enterprise-F. Incidents there, particularly the Moriarty incident during which he had unwittingly allowed the holographic criminal aboard the ship and compromised the holographic AI, Mr Einstein.
After this, Brô'c'ĥn became disenchanted with Section 31, feeling they were no better than the secret services of his own world, and related everything to Captain Satlek, including his own association with the organisation. This led to some bad blood with some of his crewmates for some time, particularly security officer Anderson and chief medical officer K'Ratak.
Resignation from Starfleet[]
Although he enjoyed serving in Starfleet, Brô'c'ĥn did become more disenchanted with the organisation over time, feeling its military purpose clashing with its scientific remit. He hoped that his posting to the explorer ship Enterprise would resolve this, but even here he found himself forced into military roles that he was uncomfortable with. Also, following an emergency medical visit to the Gorn homeworld Brô'c'ĥn discovered that politics had moved on in the twenty or so years since he had left, and that he had become a political icon for a new generation wanting to end military rule. Any involvement with this organisation would conflict with his Starfleet duties, and although initially reluctant, he found himself getting involved, despite his attempts to stay on the Enterprise.
Also factors in strengthening his resolve were the appointment of a new chief security officer, whose more military approach and endless drills as well as investigations by Starfleet bureaucracy into the running of the ship. Eventually, Brô'c'ĥn applied for and was granted a research and teaching post at Oura Leontos University on Deneb IV.