Atherton was a male Human in Starfleet in the late 23rd century. As of 2296, he held the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and served as chief engineer of the USS Intrepid II under Captain Spock. Atherton spoke with a pronounced British accent which, taken together with his dedicated care of his engines, earned him numerous comparisons to Montgomery Scott from Spock and Commander Nyota Uhura. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Forge)

Intrepid personnel
Intrepid (Intrepid-class prototype)	C. Ramirez • M. Reed (alternate timeline)	Intrepid (NX-07, NX-class)	J. Lambert
USS Intrepid (NCC-1631, Constitution-class)	Garth • Spiak	USS Intrepid II (Constitution-class)	Setek • Sehlk • Si'jsk • Sobek • Suvuk • T'Kiha • T'Leiar • T'Noy
USS Intrepid II (Oberth-class)	Atherton • Clayton • Diver • Duchamps • L. McCoy • F. Mercier • Richards • Spock • N. Uhura
USS Intrepid (NCC-38907, Excelsior-class)	D. Dieghan • S. Rozhenko • J. Tavares • Tobias	USS Intrepid (NCC-74600, Intrepid-class prototype)	W. Emick • J. Hayek • D. Kaplan • T. Riley • V. Stadi