Donna McKellen

This is OOC information.
Information detailed here is for OOC uses only.

Donna

Full name	Donna McKellen
Date of Birth	17 September 2500
Birthplace	Osiris
Parents	Deceased
Siblings	None
Spouse	Karn Dalton (2528-2537, divorce)
Children	Marie Caitlin Dalton, b. Dec 2530 (age 13) Louis Orion Dalton, b. Jan 2533 (age 11)
Gender	Female
Height and Weight	1.54m (5' 0.5") / 48kg (106 lbs)
Status	Active

Donna started out as an engineer, working on various ships until she found a home on the Guan-Yin. After establishing herself there and rising through the ranks, she reluctantly took over as captain just before her twenty-fifth birthday. She led the crew for four and a half years, then stepped away from the ship for a while. She is now exploring new career territory: as a nurse and a mother.

Donna's Story

Records show that Donna McKellen was born on Osiris, to parents who ran a moderately successful business together. They were middle class, especially by Core standards, but did well enough. The family moved back and forth several times between Osiris and Beaumonde, where they had a few factories, and Donna went through public education on both worlds (through high school level). She also received training and worked at the factory's machine shop, repairing hover-lifts and other equipment.

Her parents died when she was seventeen, and some time after this she began working on one of the company's cargo liners as an assistant engineer. Both Donna and the company foundered however, the latter eventually closing down entirely. Donna drifted from one job to another, her life falling further off track until she was finally forced to pull herself together and turn things around.

Donna was hired on the Guan-Yin as an engineer in late September of 2522. A month later, the Guan-Yin crew began the process of trading in their ship for a Trans-U model vessel that was rechristened the Guan-Yin II. Donna and the other engineers began several months of work refurbishing and restoring every system to full working order.

By Christmas, Donna was dating Robert Forge, an Alliance liaison and security hand on board the ship. He left the crew in January to join another ship, and they tried to keep things going long distance for a while, but finally broke up three months later.

In February 2524, following the disappearance of Jansen Vincent from the crew, Donna was promoted to XO. In the summer and fall of 2524, Donna learned to fly first the LRS Tereshkova and then the Guan-Yin herself, from Eyvindr. She then left the ship for the first half of 2525 to take some business courses, wanting to better fulfill her responsibilities as XO and help out with running the ship.

Donna returned to the ship at the end of July to find Xian gone from the ship, Olivia and Eyvindr announcing that they would retire, and then soon after Cennaire leaving the crew to settle elsewhere. Having each of these friends move on from the crew affected Donna deeply. It also meant that the ownership and captaincy of the ship passed into her hands, at the end of August. She at first struggled with this, not sure she could manage to fill the position, but started to grow into it and build her confidence as the ship went through a long hiring and rebuilding period. It took several months, but the ship was eventually fully staffed and once again traveling the Verse doing good works.

In May of 2526, Donna began dating Karn Dalton, one of the Goddess's new engineers. She was also shot in the neck that same month, during an attempt (which was thankfully successful) to recover Shepherd McManus from a group of thugs who had kidnapped him. A month later, Scrubs was gifted to the ship by Damian Carmichael. The kitten moved into the captain's cabin with Donna and Karn, who looked after him on behalf of the ship.

In July, the Guan-Yin was on Hera for the Midsummer Festival when the "Blight of Hera" broke out. The ship's crew was heavily involved in responding to the situation, and this is the point at which Donna truly began to see herself as a leader.

At the start of 2527, Donna expanded the business setup for the Guan-Yin Corporation, passing ownership of the ship and all of the equipment on board to the corporate entity. A month later, the crew was celebrating Valentines Day on Ezra when several bombs went off at a masquerade ball, and once again the crew provided medical aid. That summer, the crew had some interesting adventures on Three Hills. However, most of the ship's work under Donna's leadership was ordinary, honest medical care provided throughout the Rim and Border worlds, with occasional cargo runs into the Core to pay for crew salaries and the ship's upkeep (for more about the ship's adventures, see the Guan-Yin history page).

On 26 April 2528, Donna and Karn were married in a small civil ceremony on Greenleaf. The ceremony was held at a riverside spot that is a favorite of the Guan-Yin crew, conducted by Zachary MacAbrams and attended by the crew and close friends. By fall, she had determined that she wanted to train properly as a nurse so that she could offer better help as the ship served its medical mission. She began a long distance program with Osiris City MedAcad, focused on emergency nursing.

The first half of 2529 was a difficult period for the ship, and for Donna. Several crew members left and the ship had to close its doors to patients for a while, until finally they hired new crew. Donna's health began to suffer, especially after Dr. Anise Seymour disappeared under dire circumstances in August. By the end of the year, Donna and Karn took an extended leave from the ship to tend to her health and that of their relationship. After much soul-searching, Donna determined that she needed to step down as captain... the stresses of the job were taking too heavy a toll, and they wanted to be able to start a family. When they returned, it was to announce that she was stepping down from command and leaving the ship.

Donna and Karn bought a house in Accendo City on Paquin. Donna began a nursing residency at the city's General Hospital and Karn took a job at a ship repair yard. They had barely settled into their new life when a daughter, Marie Caitlin Dalton, was born in December 2530. As soon as Donna's residency was complete, the family returned to the Guan-Yin for a while, under the leadership of Cody Martin. Donna was quite happy to explore her new role on board as a nurse. After about six months, she and Karn returned to their home on Paquin. Their son, Louis Orion Dalton, was born there in January 2533.

Following a number of troubles, Donna and Karn separated in 2536 and divorced the following year. In 2539, she moved with the children to New Melbourne, taking a job at New Melbourne City Center Hospital.

In late 2541, she received a wave from her old friend Shepherd McManus, requesting help on Aberdeen. This event brought her back to the crew of the Guan-Yin once again, and they worked together to stop a highly virulent outbreak. Unfortunately, the disease claimed the shepherd's life. Before he died, he asked Donna to locate and check on his son, Jude. Donna decided to stay with the Guan-Yin, and convinced Jude to sign on with the crew as well. She has made clear to captain Fiona Allister that she has no designs on returning to a leadership position.

At the start of 2543, Donna met Arcangelo ("Archie") Maldini, an oncologist who was researching a cure to a specific form of myeloma at a private clinic on Londinium. His employer had become unreasonably demanding (expecting to sell the cancer cure for a thousand credits a pill), and Maldini fled... connecting with the Guan-Yin and receiving their help in getting 13-year-old patient Adriana ("Nina") out of the clinic, along with his research, and going into hiding on board the ship. He spent almost an entire year working on completing his cure, with Donna personally assisting in much of that process. They worked with several patients from Ariel and New Melbourne, plus Nina, and were able to complete a viable cure. Donna and Archie began dating during this time. Marie and Nina became quite close as well. After Nina went into remission, Archie came to an agreement which allows his former employer to sell the treatment in the Core while the Guan-Yin can sell or distribute it as they choose on the Rim and most Border worlds. With all of that safely behind them, Archie decided to stay aboard the Guan-Yin. He has stepped back from oncology and started brushing up on his general medical knowledge, so that he can help out properly on board.

Bits and Bobs

• Donna is one of the Guan-Yin's "Aunties", counting among her "nieces and nephews" the children of Olivia and Eyvindr (Gawain and Freyja), Cennaire (Jass and Joss), Anissa and James (Shawn and Samantha), Erin and Odell (Erica and Ella), Erin's adopted sister Jane, and Blake's daughter Aurora, among others.
• She has a tattoo of the Chinese character Jia just above her right shoulder blade.
• She used to wear glasses whenever she was off-ship, but no longer wears them.
• In her younger days, she frequently dyed her hair and changed around its style.
• She drinks tea by choice, coffee only when she really, really needs it. She does not drink alcohol.
• While she ran the Guan-Yin - and again since her return - she is often mistakenly addressed as a doctor.

Donna in her younger days.	Her favorite mug when she was captain, a gift from Stephen McManus.	<OOC> Donna staples.	Her new favorite mug.
	Marie Caitlin Dalton at age 11	Louis Orion Dalton at age 9