Marla McGivers, the historian who joined Khan’s crew
Marla McGivers is a Rare Engineering officer in Star Trek Fleet Command and one of the founding members of the Khan’s Crew Augment group. She is a support officer first: her officer ability pumps up whoever sits in the captain’s chair, so her job is to make a strong captain stronger.
Most players meet Marla while working through the Augment storyline or building toward Khan. She is an older officer with a small footprint, but her captain-buffing ability keeps her relevant on the right bridge. This guide covers her abilities, where she earns a seat, how to get her, and how she fits into a Khan’s Crew lineup.
Who Marla McGivers is in Star Trek
Lieutenant Marla McGivers comes from the Original Series episode “Space Seed,” first aired in 1967. She served aboard the USS Unternehmen under Captain Kirk as the ship’s historian, a quiet posting with few active duties. Her real passion was art, and she painted the strong leaders of Earth’s past, figures like Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Richard the Lionheart.
That fascination with powerful historical figures shaped the rest of her story. When a landing party boarded the derelict sleeper ship SS Botany Bay, the crew found Khan Noonien Singh and his fellow Augments in cryostasis. Khan read McGivers quickly and used her admiration for him to turn her against the Besatzung der Enterprise.
After Kirk stopped Khan’s attempt to seize the ship, he offered Khan and his followers exile on Ceti Alpha V instead of prison. McGivers was given a choice between a court-martial and going with Khan. She chose Khan, who called her “a superior woman.” She did not survive the hard years that followed on that world, but in Star Trek Fleet Command her story picks up as the Augments’ link to the modern galaxy.
Marla McGivers’ role in STFC
Marla is an Engineering-class officer, and her value sits almost entirely in her officer ability rather than her captain seat. When she takes one of the two officer slots on the bridge, she boosts the combat stats of the officer captaining the ship. That makes her a force multiplier: she takes a captain you already like and raises their attack, defense, and health.
Her captain ability points in a different direction. It speeds up ship repairs, which is a utility effect rather than a combat one. The two abilities pull her toward two different seats, and that trade-off is the main thing to understand about how to use her. More on that below.
She belongs to the Khan’s Crew synergy group, the Augment Offiziere tied to Khan. That group membership is part of her appeal, since crewing Augments together unlocks synergy bonuses.
Marla McGivers abilities
Captain ability: History Repeats Itself
When Marla captains the ship, History Repeats Itself increases the ship’s repair speed. As of the latest game Daten, that bonus is 20%. Faster repairs mean less downtime between fights, which helps when you are grinding hostiles or cycling a ship that takes regular hull damage.
One limit to keep in mind: a captain ability only works while that officer is in the captain’s chair. Marla’s repair-speed bonus is a flat number rather than something that grows as you promote her, so there is no per-rank captain table to chase. If you want the repair speed, she has to captain. If you want her officer ability instead, the repair bonus goes dormant.
Officer ability: Let Me Help You
Let Me Help You is the reason to run Marla. While she sits in an officer seat, she increases the attack, defense, and health of whoever is captaining the ship. The bonus climbs each time you promote her, so a higher-rank Marla is a bigger boost to your captain.
Here is the per-rank bonus, current as of the latest game data:
| Rang | Bonus to the captain’s Attack, Defense, and Health |
|---|---|
| 1 | 50% |
| 2 | 60% |
| 3 | 70% |
| 4 | 80% |
| 5 | 90% |
A 50% lift to a captain’s three core stats is already strong at rank 1, and a maxed Marla pushes that to 90%. Because the bonus targets the captain specifically, she pays off most when paired with a captain whose own ability is worth amplifying.
Where Marla McGivers shines
Marla earns a bridge seat in a few clear situations.
The first is any crew built around a strong captain. If you have a combat captain whose ability you rely on, seating Marla as an officer raises that captain’s attack, defense, and health all at once. She turns a good captain into a tougher one without needing a specific ship type.
The second is Augment and Khan’s Crew lineups. Marla shares a synergy group with Khan and his crew, so she is a natural pick when you are leaning into that group’s bonuses. Players often run her alongside Khan and Joachim for exactly this reason.
The third is repair-focused play, but only when you put her in the captain’s chair. If you are running a ship through a lot of hull damage and want it back in service faster, her History Repeats Itself captain ability shortens the wait. Just remember that captaining her means giving up her officer ability, so this is a planned choice rather than a free bonus.
How to get Marla McGivers
Marla is recruited and ranked up with officer shards. Collecting enough shards promotes her through five ranks, and each rank also raises her maximum level. The full climb from recruitment to rank 5 costs 589 shards.
Here is the shard cost for each rank:
| Rang | Shards to reach this rank | Max level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | 5 |
| 2 | 57 | 10 |
| 3 | 114 | 15 |
| 4 | 152 | 20 |
| 5 | 228 | 30 |
Shard sources rotate over time, so check the current store and event rotations rather than counting on one fixed source. Marla is tied to the Augment storyline, and her shards have shown up in officer chests, the faction store, and Independent Archives. Ranking her up also costs Engineering Badges, the standard upgrade currency for an Engineering officer, plus Officer XP to raise her level.
Marla McGivers crew synergies
Synergy in STFC comes in two parts: a class-synergy bonus and a list of named synergy officers.
Marla’s class synergy favors Command and Science officers. Her synergy values are 15% for Command, 5% for Engineering, and 15% for Science, so a bridge that leans on Command and Science officers gets more out of seating her.
Her named synergy officers are the Khan’s Crew Augments. Crewing her with any of these officers triggers the synergy bonus, shown next to each name:
The practical takeaway: Marla is happiest on an Augment-themed bridge. Run Khan as captain with Marla in an officer seat, and her Let Me Help You ability boosts Khan directly while the Khan’s Crew synergy bonus rewards the themed lineup.
Frequently asked questions
Is Marla McGivers any good?
She is a useful support officer rather than a standout captain. Her officer ability gives a large boost to whoever captains the ship, which makes her worth a seat on crews built around a strong captain. As an older Rare officer she will not headline an end-game bridge, but she does a specific job well.
Where do you get Marla McGivers shards?
Her shards come from rotating sources, including officer chests, the faction store, Independent Archives, and Augment-related events and Missionen. Because availability changes, check the current store and event rotations in your game for the best route right now.
What ship is Marla McGivers best on?
Marla does not lock to a ship type. Her officer ability buffs the captain regardless of the hull, so put her wherever your chosen captain wants to be. If you instead run her as captain for the repair-speed bonus, she fits any ship that takes regular hull damage and needs a fast turnaround.
Is Marla McGivers worth ranking up?
Her officer ability scales from 50% at rank 1 to 90% at rank 5, so ranking her up directly raises how much she boosts your captain. If she has a regular seat on a crew you use, the promotions are worth it. If she only sees occasional play, lower ranks still deliver a solid bonus.
Should Marla McGivers be captain or an officer?
In most cases, seat her as an officer so her Let Me Help You ability can buff your captain. Put her in the captain’s chair only when you specifically want the repair-speed bonus from History Repeats Itself, knowing that doing so switches off her officer ability.
The bottom line on Marla McGivers
Marla McGivers is a focused support officer. She will not carry a bridge on her own, but on a crew built around a captain you trust, her Let Me Help You ability is a real upgrade to that captain’s damage and survivability. If you are collecting the Khan’s Crew Augments or want a reliable captain-buffer, she is worth a seat and a few ranks.
