Sandra Little

Sandra Little is the pilot for the Darwin.

Early life
Sandra grew up in a small college town on the western continent of New Oregon. The town was relatively far from major urban areas and outdoor activities took up a large portion of her free time. Her mother was a history professor and her father was a medical doctor at the small local hospital. Her father's position afforded him a great deal of free time and he doted on his only daughter, taking her on frequent hiking expeditions in the woods that surrounded their town. Sadly, he and Sandra's mother were killed in a car crash shortly before Sandra's fourteenth birthday.

Military Career
Sandra Little began her career with the New Oregon Navy at a young age. As an orphan she was granted early admission to the New Oregon Naval Academy at the age of fourteen. Standard aptitude tests gave her a wide variety of career choices but her high neural response quotient made her an ideal pilot candidate.

Sandra was made part of a pilot/navigator team almost immediately, and paired with Navigator trainee James Clantel.

Unlike many of her fellow pilots, Sandra maintained a strong interest in academic pursuits throughout her training, excelling at subjects like history and political science. Many of her academic instructors encouraged her to pursue other avenues of study but Sandra loved flying and never considered changing course.

Sandra and James graduated the academy together at age eighteen and were assigned to a starship flight crew as junior members. Their primary duties included two shifts a week on the bridge, and additional pilot duties as needed. This assignment lasted approximately three years until they were promoted.

Following their promotion, Sandra and James were assigned to the Saint John, a frigate patrolling the outer reaches of the New Oregon sector. This was the first time Sandra crossed paths with Benjamin Stinel since she was assigned as his replacement after he was called home following the death of his parents and sister. She did not meet him in person until several years later.

Assignment to the Colorado
Sandra and James were abruptly reassigned shortly after the start of the New Oregon Civil War, along with a small handful of personnel from the Saint John and the survivors of the Sokie. The Saint John transported the group to Nash Station in orbit of a moon of Galiese. Sandra was somewhat familiar with the station since the Saint John had made regular supply runs to the station, including the trip where the station was shut down permanently after only three years in service. That final trip was also the first time she met Ben Stinel, albeit briefly, when he accompanied the Saint John back to New Oregon before the war.

They spent two years aboard the Colorado before the ship was suddenly destroyed in an apparent attack by a suicide bomber sent by Joslynne ZyThyrn. James was killed in the resulting explosion, but Sandra had accompanied the away team to the Minnow and survived until the Minnow was rescued eight years later.

Relationship with Benjamin Stinel
Sandra had been aware of a mutual attraction with Ben Stinel for most of her time on the Colorado, but decided that Ben was not going to act on it because of his role as her commanding officer. She resolved to do the same and did her best to put it out of her mind. James was aware of her feelings and once suggested to her that because the Colorado was not a typical military vessel there would probably not be anything wrong with acting on them.

It wasn't until a year after the destruction of the Colorado, however, that either she or Ben chose to act on their feelings. There were few responsibilities aboard the Minnow for anyone, other than day to day maintenance of the ship, and Ben stopped seeing himself as the captain. His relaxed attitude opened him up to seeing Sandra as what she was, a friend and an attractive woman, not a subordinate. The close confines of the tiny ship allowed them to spend a great deal of time together and their relationship blossomed, although they both felt the need to keep it private from the other survivors. Later they would learn they hadn't done a very good job.

Sandra and Ben reside at his old cabin on the island not far from the B'n'G.

The Darwin
Sandra encouraged Ben to get back into space after they finally returned home. She took the initiative and found a small ship in the Company's inventory that she thought he would take an interest in. The Darwin was small enough for the two of them to handle alone, although they typically brought at least Jarrid Pallin and Chaz Billith along with them on most trips.

The Darwin uses the Mech Bay Bar'n'Grill as her primary hanger, given the proximity of the structure to Ben and Sandra's cabin. This allows the pair of them to make work runs on a regular basis but to continue to maintain a residence planet side.