Alia Garen

Summary
Alia Garen is an unjoined Trill, currently serving as the Chief of Security aboard the USS Lammergeier in Task Force 11. She is a Starfleet brat through and through, her parents both having been Senior Officers aboard the ship where she’d been born. She was raised on Trill, having always desired to someday be joined with a symbiote, and later to follow in the footsteps of her parents and apply to Starfleet.

While unfortunate circumstances transpired to prevent her from being chosen to join with a symbiont, she still managed to achieve the second of her lofty lifegoals, becoming a Starfleet Officer in 2370, and she’s never looked back. She has more than proven herself to be an excellent Security Officer, having served with distinction aboard two starships during conflict, displaying her personal prowess as a fearsome combatant, and dutiful leader of combatants. Always determined to overcome the odds when stacked against her, she fought tirelessly for nearly three-years to return to active duty after having sustained life-altering injuries in the final battle of the Dominion War, earning personal recognition from Captain Palmer, and a second chance at continuing her career.

Grateful to Palmer for this opportunity, she intends to conduct the Security detail aboard the Lammergeier with dignity, efficiency, and thoroughness, regardless of who she might upset in the process.

2348 - 2352: Born aboard a Starship
Born aboard the Ambassador-class USS Independence, Alia Garen’s parents were both members of the Senior Staff, her father the Chief of Science, and her mother the Chief of Security. A commonality for Starfleet ships of the time, Alia spent the first four years of her life aboard the Independence as it continued to explore the far reaches of Federation space, though in 2352 when the ship was attacked by Cardassian Warships during a heightened state of affairs, her parents decided it best to raise their daughter some place safer. Still, to this day, whenever Alia dreams, she often finds herself roaming the corridors of the Independence, a reminder of the impact that the ship had on her during the first formative years of her life, and impossible to ever really forget.

2352 - 2366: Life on Trill
Following the incident with the Cardassians, Alia’s parents ended their service within Starfleet that they might raise their daughter in the relative peace and safety of their home world. Settling down in the city of Leran Manev, Alia attended a local adolescent school where it quickly became apparent that she was a step or two ahead of her peers with regard to her physicality and mental awareness. Very soon she’d developed a taste for competition, wanting to achieve, and standout among her peers. Athletics, Academics, it didn’t matter what it was, Alia wanted to be the best, often putting herself at odds with other children who were similarly inclined to achieve. Frequently, she would wind up in fights, refusing to accept defeat even when her nose had already been thoroughly bloodied, and the prospects of winning slim to none. All of this and more, eventually led her down the path of applying with the Symbiosis Commission, her desire to carry a symbiont very clear.

Unfortunately, during the later stages of testing her for compatibility, it became apparent that Alia’s genetic makeup contained a number of uncommon irregularities effectively negating the prospect of her carrying a symbiont. Despite her having excelled at every turn of her life thus far, she’d considered herself a failure in this regard, something which deeply affected her, sending her into a downward spiral of depression that would last for years. Confounding matters, around the same time Alia’s sister, Talisa, was born, divvying up the pool of attention her parents could provide, with a heavy favor leant toward her infant sibling. As a result, Alia continued to rebel against authority; her attitude and schooling suffering greatly to the point of her expulsion from standard education facilities, landing her in a program specifically intended for troublesome/problem adolescents.

Thankfully, this decision to move Alia into a program where she could receive the counseling and corrective guidance necessary had had a very real effect on her, and though her dream of earning acceptance into Starfleet as part of the early admittance program had passed her by, she would still apply and be accepted upon reaching the age of eighteen.

2366 - 2370: Starfleet Academy
At the Academy, Alia’s exemplary standing as a student would return, though she would continue to at times be a challenge to authority figures, earning her the reputation as a rabble-rouser. However, unlike in the previous aspects of her life, at the Academy, it wasn’t always a bad thing to be forward with objections, or counter-arguments, in fact it could be seen as sign of leadership potential and capability. This was true of Alia, who quickly stood out among her peers and earned recognition from the Dean of Security. In order to capitalize on this potential, the Dean challenged Alia to take lead of a Phaser-tag Team, which made her the only first-year cadet to be given such a distinction during her years at the Academy. Alia would respond by leading her team, the Red Dragons, to finish second in the over standings, only losing in the 2367 All-Academy Tournament to the eventual Champions. For her part, Alia would be named the MVP of the 2366-67 Phaser-tag season, an award she would earn every consecutive year thereafter. The Red Dragons would also go on to win the Championship each of the three-years she’d remain the team’s Captain, and upon her graduation, she would be added to the All-Academy Hall of Fame for her achievements in the sport.

2370 - 2371: USS Cutlass NCC-62320
Commissioned an Ensign, Alia Garen was assigned to the newly-launched Mk.II Saber-class, USS Cutlass under the Command of Captain Roland Friese. As part of a small Federation Research Taskforce assembled to explore and catalogue an area of space known as the Kridnar cluster near the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Cutlass would provide support and defense from potential incursion from the Star Empire. By early 2371 however, it would become apparent that the true threat of the Nebula lay not within the Romulans, but rather remnants of the former Chodak Empire, an ancient civilization that had disappeared from record some 4,000 years earlier. In what would later become known as the ‘The Unity’ incident, the Chodak would spready throughout Romulan Space in search of a Galactic superweapon they had once mastered in the ancient past, their key to restoring the prominence of their Empire. Simultaneously, the Romulan Empire in desperation would similarly search for this device, incidentally, igniting hostilities with the Federation, and leading to a de facto state of war between the Empire and the Federation.

The Cutlass would stand strong in opposition of the Romulan incursion, and for the most part successfully defend Federation research outposts from being attack, but as the short conflict went on, it and other Starfleet starships found themselves increasingly outmatched by the growing number of hostile ships in the region. This would all culminate for Alia, when the Cutlass and her support group were ambushed by a wing of Romulan warships in orbit of Horst III. Of her support group, and the Romulan wing, only the Cutlass would survive in-tact, though the damage wrought was severe enough that the ship was left disabled and adrift. Besieged by stranded and desperate Romulan survivors, the corridors of the Cutlass became a battleground in which dominance of the Cutlass would be decided, Alia leading the security team in wake of the death of her Chief of Security. The fight would last for three days, though in the end, the crew of the Cutlass had prevailed, and subdued the Romulan intruders.

Eventually, peace would return to the Kridnar cluster and between the Federation and Romulan Empire, as the Chodak superweapon was discovered by, and once more disappeared from the 24th-Century by Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. Recovery of the Cutlass and her crew would come a few-days later, with the wreck being declared a total loss.

2371 - 2375: USS Shelby NCC-61591
Following a short stint of rest and recovery at Starbase-12, Alia’s actions aboard the Cutlass were recognized by her superiors, and after being decorated for her stalwart defense of the ship with the Starfleet Citation of Chekov, she was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and assigned to the Mk.I Saber-class, USS Shelby.

Aboard the Shelby, Alia would serve as an assistant to the Chief of Security, not yet technically a member of the Senior-Staff, but in many ways treated as such by her immediate superior, and the Captain of the ship. Later in 2372, when the Chief proper would accept a promotion and subsequent reassignment, Alia was named Chief of Security and remain so during the rest of her stay aboard. A role she would once more serve with distinction in, as in 2373, during the period of brief hostilities between the Federation and Klingon Empire, the Shelby would see numerous combative altercations with Klingon forces. Though the true test of her resolve and leadership as a Chief of Security would come near the end of 2374 with the outbreak of the Dominion War. And while the Shelby would see the conflict through to the end, it would sustain heavy damage during the battle of Cardassia Prime, wherein Alia herself was severely injured while helping to evacuate injured personnel from Main Engineering. Caught in the blast of an exploding EPS conduit and sprayed with deadly fragments, she was fortunate to live, though not without sustaining nerve damage near the base of her neck, rendering her paralyzed from there on down.

2375 - 2378: Extended Medical Leave
Returned to Earth following the end of the war, Alia was sent to the McCoy Institute of Advanced Starfleet Medicine to begin the long-road to recovery. The damage to the central nerve cluster within her spine was severe, though it wasn’t entirely beyond repair. For a six-month period, Alia would undergo nearly a dozen surgeries on her neck in order to mend the injury and return sensation to the rest of her body. When it had, the dullness with which she could feel was as intense as the sluggishness of her fine motor skills. It would be yet another six-months of regular physical rehab before she could stand on her own and walk just a few meters. From that point, Alia went to live with her parents on Trill in order to continue her rehabilitation. And though her family had effectively considered her retired from Starfleet, Alia remained adamant in her resolve that she would someday return to active duty.

2378 - 2379: USS Lammergeier NCC-61815
After three-years of hard rehabilitation, Alia requested a conditioning certification from Starfleet Medical which would allow her the chance to resume her career. Given her various decorations from time served, she was granted the right to apply, and passed with flying colors. However, having been out of Starfleet for just over three-years, had left her as something of an undesirable hire for many Captains, and weeks would go by before she would be chosen for a posting. In this case, taking up the Chief of Security role for the USS Lammergeier, replacing the previous Chief who had accepted another posting elsewhere. Her new Captain, known for granting people a second chance, would earn her respect and trust, and together they would develop a rather snarky bond of friendship wherein attitude was a shared regularity between them.

Appearance
Of moderate height, Alia Garen prides herself in maintaining peak physical conditioning, a result of her competitive nature, and also the strenuous rehabilitation she’d had to go through in order to return to active duty within Starfleet. She bears the telltale features of her species, a pattern of spots running down from the crest of her brow, the side of her face, along the periphery of her neck, and onward down beyond. Given her position as the Chief of Security, she prefers to keep her blonde hair of moderate length, generally swept back behind her head where it is almost always tied into a ponytail. Outwardly, she is often considered cold, or unfriendly given the mannerisms displayed by her facial features, and or body language, though when not on duty she can be warmer and at times more pleasant to be around, at least toward those she wishes to be.

Motivation
Competitive down to her very core, Alia has striven throughout her life to not only succeed, but to be the best, and despite all of the difficulties that she’s been forced to face, she has almost always persevered. Her family history of having served in Starfleet is a tradition she holds most dear and has inspired her to continue onward with her career, even when it seemed likely to have been ended. She is grateful to Captain Palmer for having granted her a second chance at serving aboard a ship and is committed to repaying him by being the very best Chief of Security he’s ever had under his stead. As such, she has taken the task of leading the Security Department aboard the Lammergeier with absolute efficiency, demanding nothing but the best from her subordinates, and unwilling to compromise in the fulfillment of their duty.

Episode 01

 * Day 01 | 0000 hrs. | Thread Title with Character 01, Character 02, Character 03