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Erica Ortegas

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Lieutenant Erica Ortegas was a female Human Starfleet operations division officer who lived during the mid-23rd century.

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How did Erica Ortegas' upbringing in Barranquilla influence her career? toggle section
Erica Ortegas, born in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 23, 2233, was influenced by her early admiration for pilot Travis Mayweather, whose name was on her middle school's gym. This admiration fueled her ambition to excel as a pilot at Starfleet Academy.
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Who is Erica Ortegas' sibling mentioned in Star Trek? toggle section
Erica Ortegas has one sibling named Fabola Ortegas.
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What is Erica Ortegas' connection to the Enterprise NX-01? toggle section
Erica Ortegas has no direct link to the Enterprise NX-01. She attended a school with a gym named after Travis Mayweather, a pilot from the NX-01, and was a fan of his.
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Early life[]

Ortegas personnel file

Erica Ortegas' personnel file

Ortegas was born in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, on Earth, on May 23rd, 2233. She had at least two siblings, Fabola and Beto. (SNW: "Among the Lotus Eaters", "Wedding Bell Blues")

Ortegas' personnel file shown in "Among the Lotus Eaters" lists only Fabola as her sibling and does not mention Beto, who was introduced the following season. It also mentions the names of her parents, starting with letters "M" and "F", but the names are not fully legible on screen.

She attended a middle school with a gym named for legendary pilot Travis Mayweather of the Enterprise NX-01, and considered herself a fan of his. (SNW: "Those Old Scientists")

Starfleet career[]

Starfleet Academy[]

During her time at Starfleet Academy, Ortegas would brag that she was going to be the best pilot ever to graduate the academy, a sentiment that would come to be heard by Captain Christopher Pike. She would also invent her own maneuvers, like "evasive pattern Ortegas Gamma Three". (SNW: "Children of the Comet")

Early postings and assignments[]

Sometime after graduating from the Academy, Ortegas would go on to serve aboard the USS Palenque. For Starfleet Remembrance Day in 2259, she wore a pin memorializing the crewmates she had lost from this ship. (SNW: "Memento Mori")

During the Klingon War, Ortegas served with distinction on the front. She was stationed near the Prospero system. At some point, Ortegas encountered a Klingon tactic where they would mask their ships behind bursts of EM radiation. (SNW: "Those Old Scientists", "Under the Cloak of War", "Shuttle to Kenfori")

Service aboard the USS Enterprise[]

By 2259, Ortegas was serving as the alpha shift pilot aboard the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. Ortegas' quarters were located on Deck 6, Section G, Room 629. (SNW: "Among the Lotus Eaters")

Ortegas also took command of the Enterprise when Pike, Una, Spock, and La'An were not on the bridge. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds") As the Enterprise's most skilled pilot, Ortegas was not often deployed on away missions. (SNW: "Among the Lotus Eaters")

Ortegas' deft piloting skills were called upon when Enterprise was attacked by the Shepherds, their vessel proving to be far more powerful and well-armed. Ortegas was able to evade incoming fire, and maneuver the ship between the Shepherds and M'hanit, an ancient asteroid that they considered sacred and would not risk harm to. (SNW: "All Those Who Wander")

When Enterprise was ambushed by the Gorn near Finibus III, Ortegas was required to take the Enterprise into the atmosphere of a brown dwarf which was itself orbiting a black hole. Ortegas would later execute a dangerous high-speed maneuver around the black hole that allowed the Enterprise to escape, using gravitational redshift and an ejected atmospheric processor to trick the Gorn into thinking they had perished in the attempt. (SNW: "Memento Mori")

She was close friends with Christine Chapel, and would accompany her during shore leave on Starbase 1. (SNW: "Spock Amok")

In "Spock Amok", Ortegas mentions having accompanied Chapel on past romantic dates, including witnessing an "entertaining" incident when Chapel dated an unidentified woman, an event that apparently concluded with Chapel having to escape phaser fire. As SNW: "Strange New Worlds" establishes Chapel as being a new crewmember of the Enterprise, unless the events discussed take place in an unchronicled period during the Season 1 timeframe, it suggests Ortegas and Chapel were friends before Chapel joined the Enterprise.

When an alien consciousness from the Jonisian Nebula brought the fairy tale The Kingdom of Elysian to life on the Enterprise, Ortegas was used for the character of Sir Adya. Ortegas didn't remember the events after the ship was returned to normal. (SNW: "The Elysian Kingdom")

Ortegas was a willing participant in acting Captain Spock's plan to steal the Enterprise from Starbase 1 to answer a distress call from La'An Noonien Singh, which warned of an anti-Federation threat on Cajitar IV. (SNW: "The Broken Circle")

Along with the rest of the crew, Ortegas lost her memories during a survey mission to Rigel VII. However, Ortegas was able to learn her name and role with the help of the main computer, and used her instinctive piloting ability to navigate the Enterprise to safety through a dangerous asteroid field. (SNW: "Among the Lotus Eaters")

Ortegas finally got her wish to join a landing party by piloting a disguised shuttle through a debris field to evade a Gorn attack ship over Parnassus Beta. In order to trick the Gorn into believing them to be space debris, Ortegas waited until the freefalling shuttle had descended to within 1500 meters of the planet's surface before restarting the shuttle's engines, a maneuver she had completed many times during the Klingon War. Ortegas was amused by Captain Pike's discomfort, as he had once been a test pilot himself. (SNW: "Hegemony")

Ortegas was amongst the Starfleet personnel captured by the Gorn and beamed to a Gorn destroyer. Half of Ortegas' right hand was dissolved by a Gorn pod before she was freed by La'An. During the escape that followed, Ortegas was severely wounded by a Gorn before La'An killed it. Despite her injuries, Ortegas managed to fly a stolen Gorn hunter ship out of the destroyer where the Enterprise beamed the team out and used the transport codes that they had stolen to rescue the surviving colonists. Afterwards, Ortegas' condition was described as being critical, but stable. (SNW: "Hegemony", "Hegemony, Part II")

Over the next three months, Ortegas recovered from her injuries and reunited with her brother Beto shortly before Federation Day. However, Ortegas displayed a more withdrawn attitude and signs of PTSD from her ordeal, hallucinating a snarling Gorn behind her after quietly leaving the celebrations. (SNW: "Wedding Bell Blues")

Ortegas became increasingly reckless and insubordinate in her duties, openly arguing with Una Chin-Riley over a plan that endangered the entire ship in order to rescue Pike and M'Benga from Kenfori. In order to force Una's hand, Ortegas purposefully drew the attention of the Klingons, forcing Una to go with Ortegas' plan. Afterwards, Una reprimanded Ortegas for her actions which had been ultimately unnecessary as Pike and M'Benga had been about to make their escape in a Klingon raider when the Enterprise rescued them. In defense of her actions, Ortegas suggested that, based on her own captivity, she was afraid of what might happen to the two in the six hours that the Enterprise would've been forced to wait with Una's plan. As punishment, Una took Ortegas off of the duty roster for two weeks during which time she would have to undergo chain of command training and Una made it clear that such an event could never happen again. (SNW: "Shuttle to Kenfori")

By the time that the Enterprise was sent to investigate a neutron star, Ortegas had returned to duty and Una reassured Pike that she trusted Ortegas when he questioned her fitness. Ortegas managed to fly the ship clear of a gamma ray burst with limited power to the engines. (SNW: "A Space Adventure Hour")

Legacy[]

Bradward Boimler considered her to be a "war hero". (SNW: "Those Old Scientists")

Relationships[]

Ortegas warned Christine Chapel once not to get in the middle of a Vulcan relationship because they would force her to fight them with a lirpa – and she had the scars to prove it. (SNW: "Spock Amok")

Alternate timelines[]

Neutral Zone incursion[]

Erica Ortegas, alternate 2266

Lt. Cmdr Erica Ortegas during the Neutral Zone Incursion in an alternate 2266.

In an alternate timeline version of the 2266 Romulan Neutral Zone Incursion experienced by Captain Pike, Ortegas remained the chief pilot of the Enterprise and was promoted to Lt. Commander. She was notable in this timeline for her anti-Romulan sentiments, and her vocal willingness to hunt down and destroy the Bird of Prey responsible for destroying several Neutral Zone outposts. (SNW: "A Quality of Mercy")

UEF Enterprise[]

Erica Ortegas, alternate 2259

Lt. Erica Ortegas aboard the UEF Enterprise in alternate 2259.

In an alternate timeline created where Khan Noonien Singh was killed by the Romulan Sera and United Earth was at war with the Romulan Star Empire, Ortegas joined the United Earth Fleet and by 2259 was assigned to the navigation console aboard the UEF Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. (SNW: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow")

Key dates[]

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

Lt. Erica Ortegas was played by Melissa Navia. [1]

Ortegas was named for the navigator José Ortegas, one of the original characters named in the original Star Trek is... pitch. [2]

The Navigator. José Ortegas, born in South America, is tall, handsome, about twenty-five and brilliant, but still in the process of maturing. He is full of both humor and Latin temperament. He fights a perpetual and highly personal battle with his instruments and calculators, suspecting that space, and probably God, too, are engaged in a giant conspiracy to make his professional and personal life as difficult and uncomfortable as possible. José is painfully aware of the historical repute of Latins as lovers – and is in danger of failing this challenge on a cosmic scale.

This character later morphed into that of José Tyler, who appeared the original Star Trek pilot, "The Cage", played by Peter Duryea. Tyler has not appeared since his debut.

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