Gretchen Benteen

Gretchen Maria Benteen was a Federation Starfleet officer on active duty in the 24th century. (: "Nearly a Valediction")

She was born to Waldemar Benteen, a Starfleet officer, and Dr. Maria (née Jaeger) Benteen, a professor in diplomatic psychology at the University of Makropyrios, in 2279. While born on Earth, in Thionville/Deidenhofer, Europe, Gretchen was raised in cislunar space -- some years at L-5 Colony Two, some at New Berlin on Luna.

Gretchen's father Waldemar was chief navigator on USS Iblis when it was destroyed during a classified mission in 2289. (: Operation Blackjack) Gretchen was then ten years old, and her youngest sibling, Jacob, was barely a year old.

Dr. Benteen took a two-year sabbatical to care for her children alone, and to mourn the death of her husband.

At the age of 18, Gretchen Benteen graduated from the New Berlin Gymnasium and entered Starfleet Academy, where she graduated 5th out of 800 in 2301. Her initial posting was to USS Accord as a navigation specialist with the rank of ensign. Accord's mission profile kept it largely within the Triangle during a period of Federation expansion into those sectors.

In 2306, Benteen was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and transferred to USS Arcturus, where she served for three years.

Benteen was promoted to full lieutenant while on Arcturus in 2308. An unrevealed incident prompted her to request transfer off the ship the following year. In 2309, she was transferred to USS Avenger as beta-shift navigations officer.

During the ship's refurbishment in 2310, Avenger was in the Sol system. Benteen took the opportunity to explore her home world, though she hadn't spent much time there as a child. ("Nearly a Valediction")