Ensign Pennington was arrested for vandalizing the interior of the Student Center on Saturn Station. She was sentenced to six months of maintaining the Student Center - starting with removing the crude caricatures of her professors from the walls.

Lieutenant JG Pennington was officially listed AWOL after the Battle of the Lhoranth Asteroid Field in 2380. Over one year later, she was recovered by Commander Cassius Henderson, Executive Officer of the USS Galaxy , rescued from a Hydran prison ship - the Ascendence of Fate. Pennington was formally reprimanded and allowed to return to duty at her own request.

Rima's childhood was fairly isolated; her brother was generally closeted up, and her father wasn't exactly the most caring of parents. Her mother died when she was three, the victim of a raid on her private shuttle by stellar bandits. She quickly learned to entertain herself, as a result. This generally involved cooking, reading, or meditating. Because her father was always on mysterious 'business trips', climbing the corporate ladder, she had to learn to take care of herself at an early age. By the tender age of six, she was putting herself to bed.

Rima didn't make for a very wonderful teenager, though. Most people tried at all costs to avoid her, due to her vocally antisocial nature. Her father, who had expected his wife to raise the girl, became increasingly frustrated and distant - eventually sending her to a boarding school. Rima, despite all expectations, actually began to come into her own at school, and developed an interest in the culinary arts. She began to open up to people, and even maintained a few friends. However, the plans of her father were to decide her fate.

Upon his graduation from Starfleet Academy, her brother Gabriel simply disappeared. When she heard about it, she wasn't surprised - Starfleet had been chosen for Gabe as a political move by her father, whose ambition to run for the Federation Council required a familial tie to the military/exploratory arm of the Federation. Her relationship with her brother had been strained since his entrance to the Academy, as he envied her freedom. The freedom that her brother perceived, however, was not absolute. James Pennington quickly decided that she would have to take his place in the fleet, telling her only hours before her graduation from boarding school. Rima, who had already been accepted at the best cooking school in France, was heartbroken.

Despite her reluctance, James enrolled her in the Tokyo branch of Starfleet Academy. Rima responded by becoming a juvenile delinquent (or reasonable facsimile thereof), hoping in vain that she could spite her father and return to the life that she wanted. She was involved in too many incidents to count (most of them attempts to get expelled), of which the most memorable would be her dumping red paint on her graduating class. Unfortunately for Rima, her mind was just valuable enough that she was reprimanded severely on a number of occasions, but never expelled. Finally, she found her place in the fleet, something that let her utilize her frustration with society's bonds. Tactics came to her naturally; it didn't involve too much effort and played to her strengths.

Her father arranged for her to be offered an appointment to the Advanced Tactical School on Saturn Station. It wasn't the most prestigious of the AT Schools, but even as the newly appointed CEO of Gardien Defense Industries, Inc., he couldn't afford a bigger bribe. Though academically successful, she continued her reign of juvenile terror at ATS and was shuffled off to a maintenance ship upon graduation, where she could do the least damage, and perhaps mature.

Her time on the USS Rondelle was punctuated with more of the same, however: many, many minor reprimands and, again, unfortunately for Rima, many fights with her father, who she finally stopped speaking to in 2378. She somehow managed to acquit herself well, mostly, and her commanding officer took an interest in her. In 2379, Rima simultaneously punched and then saved the life of the ship's Chief Flight Controller, after being shot defending the ship from scavengers, for which she received a purple heart. The award only served to frustrate her further. She was recommended for promotion and was transferred to the USS Galaxy in a quiet daze.

When she arrived on the Galaxy, she was very surprised to discover that she'd been assigned as the Assistant Chief Tactical Officer. Apparently the officer she'd rescued on the Rondelle was the nephew of rising star Admiral Irene deMercereau - who had read her file and determined that she needed guidance. Rima was even more surprised when the ship's Chief Tactical Officer, Cassius Henderson, decided to make it his personal mission to 'save' her and help her become comfortable in Starfleet. She resisted with every fiber of her being, continually frustrating the young man.

In time, Rima and Cassius developed a strange friendship, though Cass never stopped trying to change her, and she never stopped ignoring his efforts. Together they experienced the alternate timeline in which the Galaxy was destroyed after a protracted battle against other Starfleet ships under the command of Admiral Hoth over Quentin. When the dust had settled, Rima found that she had developed feelings for Cassius that she had never felt for anyone - attraction. The strange, inconvenient emotions terrified her, and when Cass disappeared on a classified mission, she took the opportunity to go AWOL - running away from Starfleet, from her father, and from her feelings.

Rima contacted her former Academy roommate, a fighter pilot named Pikarr Ekrayn, and with her constructed the identity of Pikarr Rowyn, a baker in Ekrayn's home town of Ilnarin. She lived as Rowyn for almost a year before a Hydran prison ship raided Bajor for the express purpose of capturing her. While the Hydran ship fled toward the Federation/Hydran border, Rima was tortured by the Hydran commander, who wanted the details of a classified report she'd read during her time on the Galaxy. Rima fought back more out of instinct and spite than out of a desire to protect the secrets of Starfleet. Cassius Henderson, who was attempting to locate her before Starfleet Security, caught up to the Hydrans before they could take her across the border, and rescued her and several other prisoners.

Returning to the USS Galaxy was bittersweet. Captain M'Kantu allowed Commander Henderson (who had been made Executive Officer shortly after her dissappearance) to offer her the option to retain her job or take the minimum term in a Starfleet Stockade a leave the service. Though the second option seemed more attractive, it was complicated by the fact that she had seen classified documents and would have to undergo selective mindwipes. Rima, who also didn't want to leave her only friend, decided to remain in Starfleet, indicating a desire to return to work.

After a few months of conscious effort, she began to take pride in her work - though she still took the path of least resistance in her day to day life. Unfortunately, Cass wasn't as content as she was, and he delivered her an ultimatum. The dynamic of their relationship had to change, whether it was her facing her feelings for him or him seeing other people. In the end, she decided to make the easy decision and remove herself from his life.

She quickly discovered that she wasn't as pleased with her own decision as she had hoped. The truth was that she did care about him, and that she wanted to be with him. However, by then he had started a decidedly more successful relationship with another woman - one of her superiors in tactical. Frustrated, she threw herself into her work, forcing herself to clean up her life - mostly in an attempt to distract herself from what she saw as a rejection. After moving in with her friend and co-worker, Chase Remur, and regaining her bridge shift, she found that she was beginning to enjoy life among the stars.

In July 2382, the Galaxy was invaded by a group of noncorporeal alien beings known as the Dithparu - beings who thrived on chaos and telepathic energy. While most of the crew of the ship was either possessed by or in the thrall of the Dithparu, Rima snuck through the jeffries tubes of the ship, gathering a dozen isolated members of the crew into a forcefield protected safe zone in her quarters - at great risk to herself.

In the four months of recovery that followed, Rima took up meditation again. There was a lot on her often confused mind. Cassius was still seeing 'Miss Perfect' Janx. Her father had just realized his life goal of becoming the Earth Councilor on the Federation Council - not that she'd voted for him, of course. After much soul searching, she decided that she had made her peace with Starfleet.

Now if only she could make her peace with Cassius.

Rima's still not really the most sociable person. Her childhood was spent alone, and thus she never really developed social skills. The events of the last few years have forced her to grow in that respect, but she's still very far form being perfect. Or even average. On occasion, she can be charming; it's not a usual thing. Essentially, she's sarcastic, cynical, and a loner.

She does, however, have a few saving graces. She's loyal to a fault, once she's gotten used to someone, and she is capable of much more than she claims. Buried beneath her antisocial, often flippant exterior, is a young woman who cares deeply for those close to her. Surprising even herself, she's almost completely lost her sense of apathy, even going so far as to pay attention to politics and ideals - things that she believed were unimportant.

Insecurity does still dictate many of Rima's actions, and she's unsure of what to do about Cassius Henderson. She doesn't particularly care about being known as a home wrecker - but she knows that Ekoma Janx has made Cassius happier than he's ever been. As much as she'd like to be with him - to take back all the things she said - she isn't sure if ruining his happiness first is worth it. Even by her usually selfish standards.

Family:
Father: Councilor James Pennington (61), Federation Council Member (Earth)
Mother: Josephine Corday (dec. 2356), Actress
Brother: Ensign Gabriel Pennington (33), Starfleet AWOL

Although she may not seem particularly interesting, Rima has one unplumbed depth: she's an extremely good baker. Her childhood years also gave her this skill; nonstop cooking tends to hone your cooking skills. Apart from that, she has few interests apart from reading and, well, spending too much time thinking about things that really don't matter.

Her life continues to be devoid of family. Her brother is still missing after deserting from Starfleet years ago. She still hasn't forgiven her father for making her join Starfleet, though she's come to life the fleet itself. During the Federation Council elections of 2382, she voted against him - not because of who he was, but because she disagrees with his hawkish policies. She very much suspects that those policies are designed to make him even richer - through his ties to Gardien Defense Industries.

Rima owns a cat named Lysander Pennington, to whom she is allergic. He is a constant source of embarrasment in her life, though he has often been her only companion.