Barbara Brinson

History

Brinson was the former girlfriend of Ensigns Jet Manhaver and Brad Boimler. (LD: "Cupid's Errant Arrow")

In 2380, Brinson was part of the crew of the USS Vancouver during a mission to blow up an unstable moon around the planet Mixtus III. During this mission, in which the Vancouver was assisted by the USS Cerritos, Brinson met her boyfriend, Ensign Brad Boimler, who served on the Cerritos.

In 2381, Brinson was still serving aboard the Vancouver when Badgey uploaded himself into the Federation's subspace relays, and spread his presence throughout their entire computer and communications systems. (LD: "A Few Badgeys More")

Doubts and wild speculation

Upon the arrival of Ensign Boimler, Lieutenant Brinson gave him a warm welcome and showed him around the USS Vancouver. During this tour, both were accompanied by Ensign Beckett Mariner who had so far doubted the existence of Brinson. Furthermore, Lieutenant Brinson met her old friend Lieutenant Jet Manhaver, who assisted during this mission to recalibrate the whole containment field around Mixtus III, as the local population was against the destruction of the moon.

Still in disbelief about Lieutenant Brinson's relationship with Boimler, Mariner believed Brinson to be an alien which wanted to seduce Ensign Boimler for a plethora of reasons: "I think she's a secret alien who's gonna eat you or a Romulan spy or a salt succubus or an android or a changeling or one of those sexy people in rompers that just murders you for going on the grass!" Mariner warned Boimler over the alleged danger Brinson posed to him.

Worried that Brinson would cheat on him with Manhaver, Boimler decided to interrupt a mission briefing held by Brinson, which left her slightly uncomfortable. During this meeting, Ensign Mariner used a tricorder to rule out whether or not Brinson was an android, when she played a tone which would have interrupted her positronic brain.

In a further attempt to impress Brinson, Boimler ordered the computer to analyze "the coolest people in the history of Earth" and replicate him an outfit. With his new outfit and a change of personality to a "cooler" type, Boimler entered the mess hall only to be questioned by Brinson upon the order of a large beer while still on duty. In the meantime Ensign Mariner worked up a theory on which kind of alien species Brinson actually was, even going so far as cutting off a lock of her hair to get into the possession of a biological sample.

While trying to fixate a pipe in a shuttle together with Manhaver, Boimler misinterpreted a conversation between the two and accused his girlfriend of cheating on him, which turned out not to be true. Being creeped out by Boimler for the entire day, Brinson decided to have a serious talk with him, with it, Boimler opened up about thinking he was not good enough for her and that she should be together with a guy like Manhaver. After assuring Ensign Boimler that nothing happened between her and Manhaver, Brinson offered him to start the day over, which he gladly accepted, only to be interrupted by Mariner who tries to warn Ensign Boimler about an alleged tail, hidden in the pants of Brinson. Trying to prove this, Ensign Mariner rips of Lieutenant Brinson's trousers only to discover a normal Human physique. The subsequent argument between Brinson and Mariner was cut short however by a transmission, requiring Brinson to report to orbital station Gamma for manual activation to which she invites her boyfriend to come with her.

After finding a piece of exoskeletal husk belonging to a parasite, Mariner thought that Brinson has been infected with the creature and runs after the couple to warn Boimler. With Brinson and Boimler already being on orbital station Gamma, Ensign Mariner decides to space walk to the station after her request for an emergency transfer was denied.

Upon entering the station, Mariner was greeted by a naked Boimler who was expecting Brinson. Mariner still tried to convince Boimler of the alleged danger posed by Brinson when she showed him the parasite husk to which he reacted to indifferently. During the argument, Boimler was knocked unconscious by a turbulence of the station upon approaching critical altitude. Brinson entered the room and immediately reacted hostilely towards Mariner, thinking that Mariner was an alien parasite leading to a fist fight between the two. During some small talk whilst fighting, Mariner vowed that Boimler would detect Brinson's disguise eventually, the same way he found out he was actually peeing in the sinks of an alien species and not their toilets, to which Brinson replied that she thought that this incident that had happened to a friend of his. This anecdote led to a similar one by Brinson, and the end of the hostilities between her and Mariner.

After the conflict being resolved, both decided to sit down and tell each other further stories about Boimler. With both now agreeing that neither of them was a parasite, Brinson allowed Mariner to scan her, revealing in fact that she is fully Human. Disturbingly however, the scan also revealed that there was in fact a parasite on board the station.

After further investigation, it was discovered that Boimler had been infected by a parasite, which was then shortly removed from him. An analysis determined that the parasite which had infected Boimler reproduced by emitting pheromones that made the host irresistible to potential partners, which explained Brinson's interest. Due to the discovery of this new species of parasite, Brinson no longer had time to spend with Boimler, which led to the couple's breakup.

Having bonded with Mariner while Boimler was knocked out, Brinson asked Mariner if she would be present at the M'tari tournament next month to which Mariner replied she would. (LD: "Cupid's Errant Arrow")