Carson (Ensign)
Carson was a Human female who served as a Starfleet officer during the late-24th century.

History
In 2372, Carson held the rank of ensign and served aboard the  during trade discussions with the Karemma. When the mission started she handed over the result of the last weapons drill to Worf and got orders to bring the response time down by at least fifteen percent. Before the weapons drill was finished she noticed two starships enter Defiants sensor range and identified them as Jem'Hadar. 

After Defiant went into red alert, she took the helm position when Jadzia Dax needed to increase sensor range from another workstation. While Defiant was in pursuit of the Jem'Hadar ships in the atmosphere of a gas giant, she steered the ship up to within ten kilometers from them. When Defiant was attacked by the Jem'Hadar she had to report to Captain Benjamin Sisko that impulse power was offline and Defiant was losing altitude. Although she tried to use the thrusters to compensate, they did not regain altitude.

When Carson reported that hull pressure was increasing above nine million GSC, she was ordered to take Defiant to a higher altitude. While she performed this maneuver they were attacked by the Jem'Hadar and lost main power. Carson had to report to Captain Sisko that Boyce and  died during the attack and gave Kira Nerys a medkit so she could look after Sisko, who took a nasty hit.

When a medic was needed Carson tried to get one, but the communication system was down. When she tried a door it would not open, but with the help of Worf she managed to force it open and left the bridge. Carson managed to get the medic to the bridge where she watched him helping Sisko.

Carson made it safely back to Deep Space 9, where she resumed her duties. ()

Appendices

Background information
Carson was played by Sara Mornell in her only Star Trek appearance. 

The character's name was not mentioned on-screen but comes from the script for , which simply describes her as, "a young Female Ensign."

Apocrypha

Carson appears as a selectable crewmember in Star Trek: Starship Creator which gives her first name as "Sarita". Her biography goes on to reveal that she was born in 2349 in Cape Town in the African Confederation to parents Helga and Isaac, which would make her 23-years old at the time of her appearance in "Starship Down"; she also had two sisters, Rebecca and Tamara. According to the game, she was a member of Nova Squadron during her time at Starfleet Academy, graduating in 2371 in the 91st percentile. Her first assignment was as conn officer on the  before transferring to Deep Space 9 in 2372 to serve in the station's operations center and as a bridge officer on the . Her biography states she then went on to serve with distinction during the Dominion War. She lists parrises squares and equestrianism among her interests. 

Carson also appears in the Star Trek Customizable Card Game which also gives her name as "Sarita", that she was a member of Nova Squadron and a talented navigator.

In the Star Trek: Prometheus  Fire with Fire, Carson holds the rank of lieutenant commander and serves as ops officer on the  . The Prometheus novels also give the character fhe first name Sarita.

External links

de:Carson
Humans
Starfleet command personnel
Deep Space 9 personnel