Lieutenant Inara Ziro
Name Inara Ziro
Position Chief Engineering Officer
Rank Lieutenant
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Sigma Iotian | |
| Age | 29 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'7 | |
| Weight | 143 | |
| Hair Color | Brunette | |
| Eye Color | Variable - Typically a vivid green or a dull slate gray |
Family
| Spouse/Significant Other | Sh'rythok Tetho "Teth" - Girlfriend (Andorian Imperial Guard) | |
| Father | Morix (Southside Historian, retired) | |
| Mother | Ulma |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | In 2168, the remote planet Sigma Iotia was visited by one of the Federation's earliest exploratory vessels: The USS Horizon (NCC-173). This visit, predating Starfleet's formal adoption of the Prime Directive, changed the course of this civilization irrevocably. Iotians are a highly imitative species, able to adapt and extrapolate on the customs and mannerisms of other cultures with unmatched ease. A single book left behind by the Horizon crew led to generations of rule by crime families modeled after 1920's Chicago. An attempt by Starfleet to correct this damage a century later backfired when the crew of the USS Enterprise left behind a communicator from which the Iotians were able to extrapolate the basis for warp travel in only a few short years. Though the days of Iotian gangsters are long over, this culture represents one of Starfleet's greatest failures. Though they were eager entrants to the wider galaxy, Iotians have learned to protect themselves from the undue influence of alien cultures who might take advantage of their nature. Sigma Iotia eventually became a member world of the UFP under special dispensation. They maintain their own exploratory and diplomatic fleet, albeit on a severe budget, but do not allow visitors to their own homeworld, even from other Federation worlds without express permission of the Iotian government. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | The struggle of all Iotians who travel off-world is to maintain a sense of self despite a strong imitative instinct. Because of this, and their own history, Starfleet admits very few Iotians. This ability can also be an asset, allowing Inara to easily adapt to social situations. Her ability to walk that line is what allowed her to barely make it into Starfleet Academy. Other Strengths: Strategic mind, cool under pressure, empathic Other Weaknesses: Uncertain she deserves to be Starfleet, doesn't know who she is as an individual, afraid of being left behind |
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| Ambitions | She wants to prove to the Federation that Sigma Iotia deserves its place as a member world. Wants to be the first Iotian to earn a command in Starfleet. To do that, she must break through the preconceptions against her people. Wants to see as much of the galaxy as she can in her lifetime. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | Was introduced to music composition and poetry at the academy. She discovered that nonliteral depictions of emotion and experience allow her to connect to the stories of other beings without being pulled in. She's still an amateur, but she hopes that someday she can be good enough to share her adventures with her people. |
| Personal History | Born in 2368 - 200 AH in the Iotian Calendar 2385 - At 17, Inara forwarded her application to Starfleet Academy. Unbeknownst to her, the Iotian government had intercepted her transmission and pressured Starfleet to reject it. 2386 - After multiple failed attempts to appeal her rejected application to Starfleet Academy, Inara used her mother's connections to smuggle herself off-world. She spent three weeks staying with a contact on Galor IV and was able to easily enlist. 2387 - Inara's work ethic and story earned the respect of Commodore Devik of Starbase 6 who encouraged her to re-apply to the Academy with his sponsorship. 2391 - A senior in Starfleet Academy, Inara spent three months on rotation at the Glaisher Array, a spaceborne outpost in the Alpha Eridani system in disrepair. There, she met Elliot Caldwell, a junior Security Officer with whom she became fast friends. 2391 - Inara was assigned as an Engineering Officer to the USS Intrepid. She spent three years on board, but grew weary of how little she'd seen of the galaxy from inside the reactor room. 2393 - After promoting to Lieutenant Junior Grade and being transferred to the USS Blackfish, she found herself serving aboard the same ship as Elliot, now a Chief Tactical Officer. With his encouragement and tutelage, she decided to switch tracks to Security. 2396 - Then the senior-most Tactical officer behind Elliot, Inara was called to the bridge during a disastrous battle. She found Elliot dead at his station, and had to take his place. - Thanks to some quick thinking, she was able to save the ship and escape the battle, however, she suffered radiation poisoning during the attack which almost killed her. Because of her government's secrecy, it took days for the ship's Doctor to get access to their medical database, which was itself archaic and largely unusable. As a consequence, she suffered permanent damage to her visual processing center which affects her natural social adaptive abilities. 2396 - After six months of therapy, she was admitted back into Starfleet and offered a position as Chief Tactical Officer of the USS Moonstone, but she turned down the position. She was instead given a provisional role as Assistant Chief Tactical Officer aboard the Horizon instead, a position shared with Lieutenant Rolek'klaz. The two officers worked well together, but ultimately, Inara believed her colleague was better suited to the position and she switched tracks again back to Engineering. 2397 - With the endorsement of her retiring predecessor, Inara was given the title of Chief Engineer of the Horizon. |
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| Service Record | 2385: SFA Applicant - rejected 2386: Enlisted Crewman - Transporter Technician - Starbase 6 2387-2391: SFA Student 2391-2393: Engineering Officer - USS Intrepid 2393-2396: Tactical Officer - USS Blackfish 2396 (A three-week period): Acting Chief Tactical Officer - USS Blackfish (Ship decommissioned) 2396: Assistant Chief Tactical Officer - USS Horizon 2396: Engineering Officer - USS Horizon 2397-present: Chief Engineering Officer - USS Horizon |