Tamara Johansen

"...that made it war, and that's what we do."

- Tamara Johansen

First Lieutenant Tamara Johansen, also known as "T.J.", is a United States Air Force field medic in the Stargate Program, and has some off world experience. With paramedic level training, she is able to triage serious injury. In 2009, she became trapped on board the Ancient starship Destiny along with 80 other people after an attack on Icarus Base. She had an affair with her commanding officer, Everett Young, before the evacuation to Destiny, and later found out that she was pregnant with his child. Several months later, she would be accidentaly shot during the Lucian Alliance incursion.

Before Destiny
"Two weeks ago you told me that this was the best experience of your life. Something must have happened."

- Camile Wray

Tamara Johansen was born sometime in 1983 and came from a modest background. She has both surviving parents, and a sister. Her father worked as a tailor; he actually taught her how to do stitches, after he stitched himself in an injury. He had since retired. Johansen used to go camping with her father in the Olympic Peninsular. She is also an aunt to both her sister's children, and is quite fond of them.

At some point, she trained to become an officer in the United States Air Force, and became assigned to the Stargate Program, where by 2009, she would be assigned to Icarus Base, working under Simms, the lead medic at the base. She once noted that she saw at least one gunshot suicide. She had an affair with her commanding officer, Colonel Everett Young, a married man. The two would later conceive a child. After some time, she decided to end it, and to avoid any further complications, decided to leave the Air Force after her scholarship to a Seattle University was approved. This raised suspicions by the base's IOA representative Camile Wray.

Arrival on Destiny
One night, the base was under attack by the Lucian Alliance. The attack fatally injured Simms, despite her attempts to save him. After they evacuated to the other end of the nine chevron address, she and around 80 others arrived on Destiny, and cut off from Earth. Since Simms died, the responsibilities of becoming the lead field medic fell to her hands. Immediately, she tended to Young after he arrived unconscious, and later to Alan Armstrong after he collapsed from internal bleeding, which accelerated from the warfarin from his heart medication. While a team was sent to a desert planet to find lime to repair the ship's life support, she looked after Young, who at the time was occupied by Colonel Telford. He put Young's body through more physical stress, forcing her to sedate him until Young returned to his own body.

A day after repairing the life support, Young officially reinstated her as a medic. She tended to Nicholas Rush after he collapsed from a nervous breakdown, caused by a caffeine withdrawal, when the ship's power reserves failed. After a while, the ship was sent to an unalterable course to a Star, Young chose her and Matthew Scott as the two people in charge of another 15 on Destiny's last remaining Ancient shuttle and live on another planet. After the shuttle left, T.J considered those stuck on Destiny lucky, as they faced the prospect of spending the rest of their lives on a desolate planet. When it was revealed that Destiny went to the star to refuel, the shuttle returned in relatively one piece, as were the occupants.

After more time passed, Scott and Young went to an ice planet to replenish their water supply after half of their reserves mysteriously disappeared by what would later turn out to be the dust bug swarm Scott inadvertently brought back from the desert planet. Young appointed T.J in charge of the Destiny Expedition during his absence. Despite this, she still looked to Rush and others for guidance. She discovered about the dust bugs and planned to rid of them after they took more water and severely wounded Corporal Gorman. She successfully lured them to a water barrel and sent them to "Hoth". However, despite her best efforts of saving Gorman, he later succumbed to his injuries.

When an IOA delegation enacted a plan in an attempt to return the Expedition home, Sergeant Riley was seriously injured whilst attempting to fix a leaking pipe that ignited. T.J. attended to his injuries, though due to the severity, he was "touch and go"; Riley would eventually recover.

Weeks later, Young wanted her to perform psychiatric evaluations on the crew to determine their mental states. After questioning a few reluctant volunteers, news of this spread, and the others attempted to avoid being questioned by her about how they are coping. Those that attended the evaluations either said something calmly or angrily as shown by Jeremy Franklin and Lisa Park.

After Sergeant Spencer was found dead, T.J. determined when he died. Until then, she didn't know about Spencer's addiction to sleeping pills, and believed she would have helped him should she have known about it. She also believed his death to be the result of a suicide, even though the gun wasn't found. When a trial was made in order to determine Young's guilt or innocence after the weapon was found in his quarters, T.J. still believed the death was a suicide, but pointed out that with the lack of forensics equipment, they can't prove it. Ultimately, Spencers death was ruled as suicide after finding the Kino footage with his suicide note. Later, she attended to Franklin after he sat on the early repository of knowledge; he was left in a catatonic state.

Alien encounter and mutiny
Following the incident where Young abandoned Rush on a planet (though Young lied that he was trapped in a rock slide), she offered to talk to Young about it, but he refused. After Young used the communication stones, only to be sent to an alien ship, T.J. believed this was in his imagination; the tale was revealed to have actually happened. The aliens were alerted to Destiny's location and started an alien attack. After it subsided, T.J. tended to the wounded. She later talked with Robert Caine, who earlier heard that Vanessa James had a crush on him, and wondered if he would pursue a relationship her; he didn't want one, but reserved the right to change his mind.

Unknown to her, after the initial attack, and the return of Rush, several civilians were planning to overthrow Young. When the mutiny initiated, T.J. was in the hydroponics lab checking for any plants with medicinal purposes; the lab was part of the civilian side after Rush locked both civilians and military is separate parts of the ship. After learning of the mutiny, she and Dunning, who was also in the wrong place at the wrong time, were disarmed and sent to a makeshift brig. After some time, the aliens returned and started attacking again. After Young's people took back the ship, and learning of a tracking implant in Rush's chest, T.J. aided Doctor Brightman in removing it; Destiny later jumped into FTL out of sight of the aliens again.

Because the mutiny was about the civilians wanting to take some power and be recognized, Young ordered his people, including T.J. to make an effort reconciling with them.

Pregnancy
When Destiny dropped out of FTL to an uncharted star system, T.J. began to display symptoms such as light headedness, vomiting and exhaustion, with many people voicing their concerns that she was becoming ill. T.J. joined a team as a part of a reconnaissance mission to check out the only planet in the system. After declaring it safe, and knowing Destiny would take a month until it would enter FTL again, T.J. was one of many who volunteered to stay on the planet during the four weeks. Chloe Armstrong was the first person who found out about her condition. By the time Destiny was in range again, she was 15 weeks pregnant. She wanted to stay on the planet rather than going back to Destiny, believing that her baby would have a better life on the planet than going back to the ship. However, under Young's orders, who was not aware of her condition, she was forced to return to Destiny. Many others also wanted to stay behind with her including Lt. Scott who vowed to stay and protect her after she told him she was pregnant with Colonel Young's child.

When Rush willingly sat on the repository of knowledge in order to learn the master code and control Destiny, T.J. was assigned to look over his vitals and report to Young about the change in his condition. Rush would eventually exit the programme before his life was at too much risk.

When she was almost 22 weeks along, Scott, Chloe and Greer were left behind on a planet. T.J. attempted to tell Young about the pregnancy, but they were interrupted by Rush bringing them the bad news. She was successfull in her second attempt when she blurted it out. She assured Young that he was the father, and told him that she planned to keep it. Young said he would never suggest that she end the pregnancy and promised to work out a way to make things work between them. At that point, Young, Scott, Chloe and Park were the only ones aware of the paternity of the baby.

By the time Destiny left the galaxy, T.J. became visibly pregnant, and no longer worn her usual uniform because of it. When one of the ship's FTL engines explode, causing Destiny to shake violently, injuring several people, her fellow officers and civilians became concerned with her, but she insisted she was fine. Later, following the return of Eli, Chloe and Scott, Destiny was able to dial to a planet back in the galaxy, T.J. requested to check out the planet, since she wanted to leave Destiny anytime she can, also claiming "maternal instinct", should the ship be stranded forever. However, she had to stay on board when it is discovered the aliens have been using the planet to track Destiny again; the ship was was repaired and jumped into FTL before the aliens could take control of the ship.

Sometime after Destiny arrived at the new galaxy, some members started exhibiting hallucinations, including Scott, James and Dunning. Eventually, T.J. discovered a tick-like bug embedded on their scalps after their previous off-world mission. Using the Squiggler venom, she was able to remove the bugs safely from those who were infected with it.

The crew held a baby shower for her sometime after that. She was given a baby-sized USAF shirt sewn by Chloe and a toy truck built out of scrap by Hunter Riley. After the shower, she was despressed at the notion of her child not having a normal life aboard Destiny, but Chloe assured her that many on the crew would be there to help her.

Lucian Alliance incursion
After receiving credible information from Telford concerning an impending attack from the Lucian Alliance, Young ordered the military personnel to prepare. T.J. was ordered to stay in the infirmary to tend to any wounded during the battle. While she tended to Telford, who was in Rush's body, the Lucian Alliance strike team arrived from an Icarus-like planet, along with Rush, who was in Telford's body. When the Lucian Alliance, with Rush, boarded the Destiny, Rush and Telford returned to their own bodies due to the Stargate travel. Rush, against T.J.'s wishes, left her to find Young. While Johansen gave chase, she was captured by several Lucian Alliance soldiers and brought to the Gate room as a hostage. Kiva, the commander, was prepared to execute her, when Telford reasoned to keep her alive, citing her usefulness a medic. Kiva wanted to see if this was true, by sending her to her Lieutenant, Varro, who was wounded during the attack.

T.J. was able to stabilize him, and later tended to the other wounded, including Riley. When Kiva herself was shot by Telford, she was forced to treat her. Upon hearing all military personnel will be gathered together by Dannic, T.J. refused to treat Kiva further. Then, an Airman struggled with one of the Alliance soldier's weapon, during the fight, T.J. was shot in the abdomen and collapsed, unconscious.

Carmen Johansen
When she "awoke", T.J. found herself in a wooden cabin on the Eden, her baby safe in a bassinet next to her bed. She was greeted by Caine, who explained to her that the cabins suddenly appeared, a gift from the Obelisk builders to survive the winter. The aliens had transported T.J. and her baby to safety and mended her wound, and though he doesn't understand how, Caine is aware of everything that is happening on Destiny. When two other former Expedition members (Dana and Peter), arrived to see the baby, Caine and T.J. went for a walk. Caine showed her a phenomenon in the sky, similar in appearance to a nebula or the Northern Lights. Caine thanked T.J. for going back to the ship so the others could stay on the planet. He explained that this is why the aliens chose to bring her baby to the planet, however T.J. has made her choice; while the baby can stay, T.J. must return to the ship. Distraught, she ran back to the cabin to find her baby.

In the cabin, T.J., in honor of her mother, named her baby Carmen. Caine reassured her that the baby will always be taken care of, and explained to her why no one would believe her story: A different series of events has occurred aboard Destiny. From the perspective of everyone else, T.J. has been unconscious since her injury. Doctors brought to the ship from Earth via the stones were able to save Tamara's life, but were unable to save the baby.

Caine tells T.J. it is up to her to decide whether the baby remaining on the planet is a "blessing or a curse". He said goodbye, and T.J. awoke aboard Destiny. Wray told T.J. that her baby had died. Sometime later, when the ship had arrived at its intended destination, T.J. walked to the observation deck and saw the same spacial phenomenon she had witnessed on the planet Eden. The revelation that the Destiny can interfere with its crew's unconscious minds makes these events of further dubious authenticity.

Shortly after the invasion, she was part of a team that was sent to an unnamed planet in the Ancient shuttle to replenish the food and water supply. During reentry the shuttle lost power and crashed on the planet. After Scott and the rest of the team unburied the Stargate, she returned to Destiny.

Alternate Timelines

 * In an alternate timeline, she was part of an expedition to a jungle planet to gather fruit and its seeds to grow more food. However, some of the other members, including Dale Volker and Chloe Armstrong, started collapsing from an illness that was, at the time, unknown. That night, the team were ambushed by Squigglers. She was able to survive the first night, but despite their best efforts to defend their position the following night, she was violently killed by one of the creatures.
 * From another alternate timeline that was itself altered from the first, she stayed on board Destiny, where she worked out that the illness was not caused by the planet, but from the water they brought back from Hoth. She exhausted the ship's entire supply of antibiotics. After viewing the Kino footage, she determine the venom from the creatures served the key to curing them. However, four people, including Volker, Chloe, Vanessa James and Jeremy Franklin died; she found their deaths too much to bear.

Behind the scenes
Tamara Johansen originally had the surname of Jon and was of Asian descent, but her surname was changed to Johansen and her race was changed to Caucasian before she appeared in any episodes of Stargate Universe. Her first name would suggest a Slavic origin, whilst the -sen ending suggest Nordic descent, since -sen-surnames are very common in Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Norway. Johansen would mean 'Son of Johan (John)'.