Bartholomew Thomas

Admiral Bartholomew Thomas was Commanding Officer of Task Force 51 as well as Sector Commander of the area of space that included Deep Space Three in the mid-24th century. (Star Trek: Outpost)

Lieutenant Commander Gregory Torkelson
Initially, all Admiral Thomas was looking for was a "model officer' to babysit his nephew, soon to be graduating from Starfleet Academy. "The idiot son of my idiot brother. During his search he came across Lieutenant Gregory Torkelson. In Torkelson he saw an officer that, though not a rising star, he was a hard worker, intelligent, and able to quote the regs, chapter and verse. After making his decision, it was a simple matter to promote him to Lieutenant Commander, post him to Deep Space Three and the Chimera, and await the arrival of his nephew. To insure his cooperation, he arranged for his Task Force to visit DS3, so he could meet his nephew's future mentor.

At the reception at DS3 following his arrival, he pulled Torkelson aside to explain what he expected of him. "You have ambitions, but you lack the sense of urgency that makes some people go out there and grab for it. You're willing to toil your way slowly up the ladder. All Randy's gusto ever got him were false starts up the wrong paths. And as far as friends, well, let's just say that not letting other people get close is preferable to getting close to the wrong people. So once I identified you as the right person, it was a just a matter of moving you this backwater of space to await the arrival of my nephew hopefully, he won't become the failure he was expected to be."

Insulted, ourtraged, and betrayed, Torlkelson promised the Admiral that if if sent his nephew to Chimera, he would would not hold his uncle against him. Despite Thomas' veiled threats, Torkelson stood his ground. Later, Thomas realized, that were he in Torkelson's place, he would not have stood for what he did, either. After (illegally) going over Torkelson's communications records he determined that Torkelson was closest to a junior Science Officer while he was aboard the Remmington, A LT Karen Denali. He decided on making a 'peace offering'. After reviewing Denali's service record, he had her reassigned to Torkelson's ship.

The animosity between the two officers began to thaw, over time. As Thomas got the chance to see Torkelson in action, he came to realize that there was more to the Commander than he initially thought. Chimera's battles with the Solar Winds, his leadership following Captain Buchanan's turbolift. He finally recognized Torkelson's true leadership potential.

Admiral Andra Voychellis
At some point in the past, "Barty" and "Andra" were in a relationship. Though it ended some time ago, the two of them remained close friends. (Star Trek: Outpost - The Needs of the Few)

Memorable Quotes
"Commander, you might want to think about whether you want to have an Admiral looking over your shoulder to help where he can, or bury you where no one is going to look!"

"Commander, I do appreciate the position you are in at the moment, and I do appreciate your attempting to protect my nephew. That is, after all, what I have assigned you to do. But isolating him from everything out here that might be dangerous isn't really what I had in mind. He has to get some real experience if he's ever going to amount to anything."

"Transferring my nephew is not the limit to what I can do, Commander! Nor is it the first thing that would come to mind!"

"I'm not accustomed to making deals to get what I want, Commander. . . ."

"You've made the conscious choice to calmly and very publicly put yourself in what could be considered harm's way. Just to reassure your crew that the turbolifts are safe. Leaders are usually depicted as the person out in front making speeches and rallying opinion. Times like this, however, benefit from a more quiet leadership. You are displaying just that kind of leadership, Commander."

Background
Bartholomew Thomas is played by Rob Watson in all his appearances in Star Trek: Outpost.