Kestra Perim-Vel

Summary
Despite her youth and her talents, Kestra’s life has not been an easy one. Trauma came to her at a young age and while she would argue that it did not scar her as it would most, but rather galvanized her and gave her direction, she does not necessarily realize that becoming galvanized is, itself, a scar.

Driven by a need to protect others, Kestra has dedicated herself to this cause knowing that she can not allow herself to be caught helpless ever again. Even when her hair is down, her guard is up and while others might see her as someone who does not know how to cut loose and truly enjoy themselves, Kestra would argue that while it ]is possible to enjoy oneself and have a good time, doing so in a way that leaves one in a position to be helpless and powerless is both dangerous and irresponsible.

History
Born on Rigel III to a Betazoid mother and a Trill father, both of whom were civilians, Kestra was not one to dream about joining starfleet and going off to explore strange new worlds. Far from it. As a child, young Kestra was blessed with a vivid imagination and curiosity but the concept of space travel did not capture her imagination. Neither she nor her family were naive to universe around them, nor were they luddites by any sense of the word, but they were content to live and remain on Rigel III, and only occasionally travel to other worlds as vacation or if circumstances required.

In that regard she had a fairly normal childhood, attending elementary and then middle school, making friends, having a social life as was appropriate for her age and the like. She was content to remain a civilian and make a life for herself on Rigel.

That all changed during the summer of 2371. Kestra and her friend, Tess were out enjoying the summer day. While walking home that night from a nearby beach they were attacked. Tess, older by a year told Kestra to run and hide, an instruction she followed. However, Tess was grabbed before she herself could get away. She struggled and tried to fight her attacker, but ultimately she could not break free and was murdered…all while Kestra cowered and hid.

For as traumatic as the senseless murder would have been for any fifteen year old, it had an even more startling impact on Kestra as she realize she could have just as easily been the victim. Subsequent investigation by the Rigelion authorities revealed their attacker was a low level operative of the Orion Syndicate which was suspected to have had a base of operations somewhere on Rigel X. Unfortunately the local authorities were unable or unwilling to pursue the investigation further. Leaving Kestra feeling even more helpless than she had before.

With that on her mind, Kestra made a vow to herself, a vow not of revenge but of preparedness. Never again would she allow herself to be caught off guard, to never be defenseless, to never be helpless again.

And so she trained. She took up self defense, the martial arts, and began training. Against her parents wishes, she learned how to properly wield with a Kitana and received training in how to properly wield the weapon. Her drive in this matter bordered on obsession, going so far as to acquire a small, portable transporter buffer in which she could store the pattern of her Kitana and, with the touch of a button would materialize the weapon within arms reach in the matter of seconds. She took to carrying the buffer wherever she went and eventually wore it as a small belt attachment thus ensuring she would never be unarmed again. This dedication frightened her parents at first, but as she continued to train and develop, to focus and to find her own strength, they relented and eventually came to support her efforts.

But protecting herself was not enough for Kestra. Whether because of a need for atonement or the recognition of a greater good, Kestra found herself driven to protect others. At first she thought that serving on the Rigelliean police force was the answer for her, but when a Starfleet recruiter showed up at her high school, she knew there was a better place for her. Her grades were strong enough to graduate high school early, her test scores were strong enough for early entrance and with her parents consent, 17 year old Kestra Perim left Rigel III for Starfleet Academy

Intake at the Academy proved to be a bit more of a challenge than she had expected as the Academy did not permit cadets to carry weapons. That did not deter her and she sought an exemption. It took several meetings with one of the Academy’s psychology professors. However in the end the Vulcan was willing to see the logic of Kestra’s now psychological need for a physical object of protection and recommended the exception be granted. In her recommendation, the professor argued that while such a need might be ‘illogical’, it would stand to reason that logically the need would diminish with formal academy training.

It came as no surprise to the young cadet that she went into security. While she was encouraged to cross train as a tactical officer, the tactical officer role felt too passive for her. She was not nor would she be content to stand by and watch passively while others did the dirty work. No. She knew that if she was supposed to be a protector of others, then she needed to be one of the boots on the ground and in the thick of it.

In truth, the Counselor was correct and by the time she graduated, Kestra felt no inherent need for it, but continued to do so anyways at it had long since settled into routine for her, it had become as much a part of her as her hand, and she had adapted some of the fighting styles she had learned to accommodate the option. As she had never gotten into trouble for improper usage of the weapon, either the Academy nor Starfleet felt any need to revoke the exception that had been granted.

06/2378 - 01/2379: U.S.S. Enterprise
Kestra was one of the few lucky enough to be posted to the U.S.S. Enterprise directly out of the academy. She would later find out that it was her cousin, then Ensign Kell Perim, who put in a recommendation for her that put her on the radar. Despite the obvious nepotism, Kestra was offered a position within the ship’s security department, a posting she eagerly accepted. However, with the exception of getting to spend time with her family aboard ship, her time aboard the Enterprise was not a happy one.

During her tenure aboard, the Enterprise was involved in several scandals starting with it’s assignment to the Rashanar Sector. What followed was more than a year of frustration, tension, and politics that ultimately left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Kestra’s cousin resigned Starfleet all together, the Enterprise senior staff chose to split up, and the career of all aboard the Enterprise was tarnished to some degree or another simply for their association with the ship during that time.

Still, Kestra served with distinction, receiving high marks on her crew evaluations and while she was not promoted during her time aboard ship, she did find herself earning more responsibility during her time aboard, eventually becoming a watch commander reporting to the assistant chief of security. Given the circumstances, her lack of formal promotion worked to her advantage in that her junior ranking insulated her from having to shoulder any measure of responsibility for the actions of the senior officers during her time aboard. However, she was not able to transfer off the Enterprise before it's mission to Romulus and ended up staying aboard until after the Battle of Bassen Rift.

01/2379 - 09/2379: U.S.S. Archer
In the aftermath of the Battle of Bassen Rift, the Enterprise was severely damaged. The remaining ships of Task Force Omega eventually met up with the crippled ship and brought her in to port. Due to damage sustained, Kestra long with most of the Enterprise crew was evacuated to other ships within the task force. Kestra evacuated to the Archer. While there, she made the acquaintance of the ship’s security staff and requested a transfer to the Archer’s crew. While serving as a duty officer, the department leadership took her under their wing and gave her opportunity to stand out and be seen, possibly in order to allow her to ‘redeem’ herself from the tarnish that serving aboard the Enterprise had been.

While on an away mission to the one of the colonies along the Cardassian Border, her away team, led by Commander Zayne Voight, the Archer’s Executive Officer found itself ambushed. As a part Betazoid, Kestra sensed the minds of the ambushers just moments before the attack. In a moment of flight or fight, Kestra tackled Commander Voight to the ground an instant before a disruptor blast would have hit him in the heart. The away team was able to fend off the attack long enough to beam back to the Archer and regroup. Kestra was, however, injured in that fight and while she recuperated, she received a commendation for her actions.

09/2379 - 10/2379: U.S.S. Essex
Word came to Kestra through commander Voight that that Starfleet was intending to re-form Task Force 11. The Commander had a friend on board the Essex and knew the ship was looking for a new assistant chief of security. At his suggestion and recommendation, Kestra applied for the posting and won the appointment aboard U.S.S. Essex. Eager to learn and grow in her career, she reported aboard and assumed her duties.

During the Task Force’s travels to the Shackelton Expanse, however, word came from within the fleet, that the U.S.S. Lammergeier was looking to replace an underperforming security officer. As a result, a swap was arranged. Before she could transfer, though, an accident occurred aboard the Essex. While no significant damage was done to the ship, one of the ship’s crew, a joined Trill, was killed. As the task force was deep in Romulan space and traveling at constant warp, Admiral Silva would not authorize a communiqué to a source outside task force to request a ship to meet them, nor would he authorize any ship to drop out of warp even long to transport compatible candidates over to the Essex from other ships within the fleet. To that end, the crew was forced to look for candidates on the crew. As the only Trill (even in part) on board the ship, she was asked, and agreed to the procedure to be joined. She was not entirely comfortable with the idea, especially since senior medical staff would not authorize the procedure on a partial trill. However, Kestra understood there was no other option if the symbiont was to be saved and conspired with the surgeon to under go symbiosis regardless.

In the aftermath of the incident, an official reprimand (along with her rebuttal) was noted in her record for her action in violation of medical orders. Although she did not suffer any additional formal sanctions for her actions, news of the incident spread fast aboard ship, and the reactions of her fellow crew, made her life aboard the Essex more uncomfortable than she would have liked. To that end, following her recovery, Kestra put in for a transfer.

10/2379 - Present: U.S.S. Lammergeier
Once, the task force arrived at Starbase 179 Kestra made a lateral move into the Assistant Chief Security Role there.

Appearance
A young woman with an atheltic build, Kestra’s body does not necessarily stand out in any particular way. Her curves, while present, tend to be softer and more natural, requiring some extra effort to fully accentuate them. Her dark brown hair falls to her shoulders and is by nature, slightly curly, though she often styles it differently. Her most distinguishing feature is the combination of her black Betazoid eyes and the trademark spots of a Trill, though the latter are slightly less pronounced than a pure Trill.

When out of uniform, Kestra does not typically go for flashy, preferring instead to project a more refined image and allow those subtleties to come out. She prefer a more practical look that takes some thought and is put together rather than a look that gives the impression of just putting on any old thing. She feels this encourages those around her to show interest in her for more than just how much skin she’s showing in any given moment

Motivation
Kestra’s motivation for sighing on to the Task force is twofold. First and foremost she looks at it as a way to polish off any tarnish that might exist from her time on the Enterprise. This is not a mindset she relishes as she believes that serving aboard the flaghship ought be a sign of success and prestige, not a moment of embarrassment. However, she is not naive to politics, and felt that if she could get ‘out of the way’ for a while while things settled down back home, then she could eventually return and be able to show some pride in her tenure aboard ship. With that, plus the potential opportunities within the task force, the combination might be enough of a career move that she could potentially write her own ticket on her next assignment.

The second reason, is far more personal and far more obvious. With this expedition back to the expanse, and back into the unknown, there is a high potential for danger for all involved. Kestra feels that not only is this where she is best suited to be, but that she has a heightened resonsibility to serve and protect as many as she can on this dangerous assignment.

Past Hosts
The Vel Symbiont has had four hosts prior to Kestra. Notes on those hosts are forthcoming

Miscellaneous

 * Kestra's quarters are located on Deck 2, compartment S-201. Her current roommate is  Ansen Valyr (As of Episode 01)


 * (OOC): The events described aboard the Enterprise in Kestra's service history coincide with the novel series "A Time To...".  This 9 book series is the lead up to Star Trek: Nemesis and depicts the chain of events that ultimately that lead some of the crew to decide to leave the Enterprise.  Riker finally accepts a command, Troi marries him and intends to go with him to the Titan and Beverly Crusher leaves the ship to serve at Starfleet medical.   These departures took place, of course AFTER nemesis, but were also already in the works prior to the movie as Riker's command was alluded to many times.

Prelude

 * October 14, 2379 | 23:24 hrs. | Mortem Vel Interventu - An explosion aboard the Essex changes Kestra's life forever.
 * October 27, 2379 | 17:00 hrs. | The Great Unknown - Kestra attends the gathering, and hears an unispriing speech from Admiral Silva.
 * October 27, 2379 | 17:30 hrs | Mexican Margarita Mayhem - Kestra, Syv, Iolani, and Ansen take in some Mexican food, drinks, and girl talk.

Episode 01

 * October 30, 2379 | 18:00 hrs. | The Uncharted Frontier - Kestra attends a banquet aboard the USS Lammergeier.