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Thu Sep 13th, 2018 @ 2:19am

Lieutenant JG Zork

Name Zork

Position Lead Flight Control Specialist

Rank Lieutenant JG


Character Information

Gender Male
Species Ferengi
Age 22

Physical Appearance

Height 5'11
Weight 157lbs
Hair Color NA
Eye Color Brown
Physical Description Upon meeting Zork, most are immediately astounded at how tall he is. Zork is undeniably a very large Ferengi male, standing at 5’11 and just short of 160lbs. He is broad, lean, and almost palpably young with smooth coppertone skin and a firm brow ridge leading into two intricate, perky, and large ears comparable in size to small soup plates. Two deep brown eyes are separated by a moderately large and wrinkled nose. Deceptively lithe for his weight, his uniforms require attention from a tailor in order to not appear somewhat baggy; time is the only way to tell if he will ever “fill out” a standard issue uniform, and if so how considering his species is often prone to a body type more suited for a sedentary lifestyle.

Family

Spouse NA
Children none
Father Blott
Mother Itzka
Sister(s) Vilka - 24
Verren - 25

Personality & Traits

General Overview Often chastised by his parents for being too soft spoken, too mild mannered, and too interested in scholarly pursuits (as opposed to strictly economics and profit), Zork was content to follow a strong, assertive lead as a teenager. This came to bother him during his transition into adulthood, and he has challenged himself over the past few years to overcome and improve his own confidence. The positive results of this growth has been significant in his personal life - joining Starfleet and retaining his innate Ferengihood while doing so - however as a recently graduated officer he has a high level of respect for rank and positions superior to his own. This admiration of the uniform makes Zork prone to not question methods, plans, or solutions laid forth by more senior officers, even if he has what he would consider a better idea. While this alows him to remain teachable, it can sometimes border on subservient. He is aware of this characteristic, which is burdensome more often than acceptable in his opinion.
Socially, the young man floats between the friendly but reserved sort and the serious but pleasant. Zork is fond of games, especially games that blend skill and chance, and following current events concerning the Alpha and Beta quadrants. Equal parts fascinated by and skeptical of others, it’s easy to tell when his “wheels are turning” by distraction or while forming his thoughts relevant to what’s going on around him. Zork is aware his background (particularly his social standing in Ferenginar society and various official and “unfounded and unofficial” exploits at the Academy) is interesting to others who are aware of it.
Strengths & Weaknesses - Inexperienced within Starfleet
- below average marksman
- Ferengi

+ Endlessly clever
+ Gifted small craft pilot
+ Ferengi
Ambitions Like most junior officers, Zork envisions himself one day commanding a starship of his own. To that end, he has more immediate goals of learning more specialized skills related to warp-drive theory and particle physics, as well as being accepted to undertake Advanced Tactical Training.
Hobbies & Interests Three-dimensional chess
Current events, specifically surrounding Starfleet operations and Federation politics within the Alpha and Beta Quadrants
Entreprenuerial opportunities

Personal History In early 2367, Blott and Itzka welcomed their first son and youngest child into the world on Ferenginar. Zork has very few memories of his early childhood, however his upbringing was quite exceptional considering his father’s business acumen and his mother’s adherence to traditional Ferengi life. Blott’s fortune was largely inherited from generations of mining ventures and direct exploitation of agricultural workers, and this fortune rapidly increased in the late 2360’s due to the official diplomatic relationship established between the Ferengi Alliance and the Federation. With the rediscovery of the Bajoran Wormhole, Blott was among the first intrepid would-be robber-barrons to uproot his family to seek out further riches in the unexplored quadrant. This venture was not suitably profitable in Blott’s estimation, and as such he returned to the Alpha Quadrant in 2371 to focus on raising his son as a proper and upright Ferengi learning the family business.

This led the family to Ajilon Prime, where Blott found a colony of “suckers playing our family’s game,” and quickly bought controlling stakes in several small operations. Zork’s memories begin during the two years his family spent on Ajilon - learning the Rules of Acquisition, being eased into his role as the inevitable heir to his father’s businesses (by way of being told to bang smaller rocks with larger ones until they split open), and otherwise bonding with his mother and sisters. Each Rule stuck almost as soon as he was introduced to it, his learning curve reduced due to watching his father’s practical application of them in his dealings with the other colonists. Zork, though young, was made to understand that Ferengi were culturally and morally superior to all other species, and Blott was quick to instill in his son that their family - specifically Zork and himself - were superior to other Ferengi in that their family had dug themselves out from near ruin over the last three generations. Everyone in the galaxy had a place, and Zork and Blott were meant to be at the top.

Then the Klingons arrived.

The well-to-do family was helpless in the face of such overwhelming violence, whether to stop the bombing of their mines or the razing of their fields. The images burned into his mind of his father’s terror, his mother’s utter hopelessness, the wails of his sisters at each ground shaking explosion are among the most vivid flashes of his young cognizant memory. One particular moment stands as Zork’s most visceral recollection from his youth: a lone Starfleet officer fending off half a dozen Klingon warriors while the colonists boarded their escape shuttle. Young Zork was inconsolable due to his incomprehension at such selflessness, and his young voice somehow boomed through the shuttle, “Why did he do that?! Why would he do that?! Why did he do that?!” in spite of his father’s demands for silence, his mother’s comforting affections, and his sisters’ bullying threats. The family subsequently escaped to Deep Space 9, where a Ferengi transport was contracted to return them to Ferenginar post haste.

Blott returned to a mercantile vessel in the role of DaiMon, his family in tow, shortly after getting his business affairs in order after Ajilon. War came and war went. Zork watched his father rip off, scam, and otherwise flim-flam naive colonists, avaricious bureaucrats, arrogant Starfleet officers, as well as every and anyone in between. The family would settle planetside for a year or two, return to space for a year, drop anchor at a space station, go back into space with Blott reinvesting in the position of DaiMon, and so on and so forth. Throughout this time Zork held his tutors (the best money could buy), as well as the teachings of his mother (about their culture) and father (about business), in high regard. He was attentive, he was curious, he was obedient, and he was communicative, especially with his teachers (even after a tutor’s contract expired). For quite some time, it seemed as though Zork would follow his father’s lead in the mining and agricultural realm - exploiting the poor, the naive, and the unintelligent - even though the adolescent was mild mannered and prone to being “soft” during negotiations with such disaffected strangers. As Zork got older, he came to realize how well travelled he had been, the singularness of experiencing the horrors of war at such a young age and the terrible aftermath (and opportunity) of that war. He had also been taught by some of the best and brightest minds in the Alpha Quadrant about subjects as varied as xenoanthropology and macroeconomics, and had watched his father accrue glories and treasures that only the top DaiMons would ever see. Zork came to consider himself as a precious commodity to not only his father and family, but to the larger whole.

While the purpose of his schooling and of the constant travel was so that he could follow his father’s footsteps, the ghost of the Starfleet Officer from Ajilon continued to haunt his memories. There was no memory of his father that elicited such admiration, so Zork, upon his Attainment Day, “threw it all away” by deciding he was going to invest his small sum of money into joining Starfleet with the purpose of commanding a ship superior to that of his father. A loud and vicious argument ensued, culminating with Blott disowning his son in a fit of rage, “A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all!”

Zork accepted defiantly, “Not all profit is latinum!” and set out on his journey.

Using his former tutors’ contacts within Starfleet Academia to ensure his application would be reviewed, and citing the one way transport itinerary and banking records to prove that he’d spent literally everything he had to get to Earth and pursue a Starfleet career, Zork was sponsored into the Academy by two mid-level intelligence officers that interviewed him regarding his father’s influence both on Zork and on several far flung Federation colonies (Ajilon topping the list). Without the intelligence officers’ sponsorship, Zork’s career would have been dead on arrival.

His previous educational and travel experiences were invaluable during his four years in San Francisco, during which he demonstrated a knack for resource and personnel management during various command and operations simulations. The diligence behind his studies of various advanced physics, communications systems, astrogation and navigation methods, as well as his completion of seemingly irrelevant courses focused on the development and interaction of other species, image it quickly evident to Zork’s instructors that the young man was aiming for a higher mark than a simple flight control or operations officer. Due to his innate intelligence and desire to impress both peers and superiors, he was consistently challenged to grow the breadth of his knowledge and volunteer for various extracurricular clubs and events.

By the time of his final year, Zork had earned a reputation as not only one of the most resourceful and inventive flight control officers amongst Red Squadron, but also as a natural athlete (years of slaving in fields and mines and cargo holds for his father had had unexpected benefits), a competent three-dimensional chess player, and - almost above all else on a personal level - a hustler the likes of which would have made any Ferengi proud. Zork successfully ran friendly card tournaments, planned athletic celebrations, and even set up a tiny “speak easy” off-campus for cadets looking to experiment with less than savory vices. Zork's enterprises was only discovered once, and he escaped with informal discipline after convincing the security personnel he was only “looking for a friend who wasn’t even there.”

At the end of his academic training, Zork invited his father to his graduation by way of promising recompense for all of Blott’s investment into him. Blott accepted the invitation (as well as all the bars of latinum Zork had accrued over his for years of “business”) and made tentative peace with his son. Shortly thereafter Zork was stationed as the conn officer aboard the Aubagne, a Danube-class runabout acting as a ferry between Utopia Planitia and Starfleet HQ, where for six months he made said run dozens of times each week. During his last week aboard the Aubagne, Ensign Zork came face to face with one of the intelligence officers that had originally sponsored him into the academy. Commander Lapzik Ghein immediately recognized the Ferengi, and intently asked all about his experience in the Academy and how he felt about his current assignment. In the midst of a pleasant conversation between a senior and junior officer, the Ferengi was asked to show the Commander what the academy had taught him about flying. Though hesitant at first, Zork quickly took the commander up on his request - low passes over the surface of the moon, barrel-rolling into the atmosphere, a number of upsetting atmospheric maneuvers more suited for a fighter than a runabout in order to evade several vessels sent to investigate and escort the reckless shuttle, and subsequently coming in “hot” for a mock combat landing. Starfleet flight control was less than pleased, though Ghein seemed to have some sort of pull that allowed Zork to avoid court-martial, being grounded, or otherwise facing any formal discipline.

Several days after this incident, Ensign Zork received a startling message. Commander Ghein had been returning to San Francisco for a promotion to Captain within Fleet Intelligence Support Activities, and made clear he had taken that opportunity to put in a good word for the young pilot within Starfleet Intelligence. The offer that had been developed and now extended was simple: there was a joint venture, vague as to between whom, that Ensign Zork's "official qualifications and 'alleged' exploits" seemed well suited to. If he were to accept a dual position within this venture as a flight control and operations officer (primary role subject to mission needs) reporting to Starfleet Intelligence instead of Starfleet proper, he would not only receive “what could be [his] only opportunity to leave Sol-duty,” but would also be rewarded for “mak[ing] the right choice” with a second pip. Zork, recognizing the position he had been thrust into, very quickly accepted.
Service Record 2388 - 2389: Ensign (O-1); Flight Control Officer - USS Aubagne; Danube-class Runabout, NCC-2132-B

2389: promotion, LtJG (O-2); Lead Flight Control Specialist, Operations Officer - Memory Theta; Starfleet Intelligence