Lieutenant Commander Garai Fenia
Name Garai Fenia PhD
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Bajoran | |
| Age | 36 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 170cm | |
| Weight | 72kg | |
| Hair Color | dark brown | |
| Eye Color | blue | |
| Physical Description | Fenia stands on the average side for a bajoran woman in terms of height for a bajoran woman. Her build is athletic, with some muscle definition, more focus on agility and speed rather than strength. Her nose is graced by a set of horizontal ridges, typical for a member of the bajoran race. Her hair is long and rather wild looking if not tamed or straightened, her face framed by side swept bangs. She usually keeps her hair braided or on a long pony tail when on duty, usually with a small braid or two through it. When off duty she wears practical clothing, easy to move in, though it’s always elegant and with a unique sense of style. Even her hair is done so, always in a braid or braided. |
Family
| Father | Garai Ferys - deceased | |
| Mother | Garai Cheyla - artist, Ronara Prime | |
| Brother(s) | Garai Faran - Executive Officer, USS Solzhenytzin |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | The way she acts, moves and speaks, one would brand Fenia as a typical bajoran. Passionate, stubborn, argumentative with a big heart and desire to protect those dearest to her while fighting the bad guy. She will speak her mind, often without preamble and restraint though she’s been seemingly lucky so far that she hadn’t gotten into too much trouble for it. Garai is despite that a hard worker and a loyal officer if she believes in the cause and the orders. If she does not, she will make attempts to rectify the situation and will stand her ground to the point of being thrown in the brig if needed. As a crime scene investigation specialist, she has a love for hands on research, clue collection and profiling. She does not hide her dislike of Cardassians, so she will begrudgingly work with one. The Jem’Hadar and Vorta are also on her dislike list though not nearly viciously so as the Cardassians. As a person, when one gets used to her blunt outer shell, one gets to know the caring individual underneath who is a loyal friend, one who will not sugarcoat the truth, but also one who will help you deal with the bad stuff as best she can, without mollycoddling. Fenia is a very calculated woman underneath the displayed temper and passion. She had learned from early on to only let a few people in, people who would see past the truth of her heritage. With many bajorans living on Ronara, word got out quickly that her real parents were known cardassian collaborators. As such, young Fenia, despite bearing another family name now, suffered bullying from her bajoran peers. It took intervention from the Federation liaison officers to make the abuse stop. She often speaks with her hands and arm gestures as well as with words. INFORMATION CLASSIFIED: (authorization: Commander Neema Khalfani, Internal Affairs) Real name: Ajani Semra (believed to be the daughter of Ajani Resh and Ajani Tysel - known Cardassian collaborators). Born in the Tozhat province of bajor in April of 2352, left at the Tozhat Resettlement Center Orphanage six months later. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | Strengths: A good leader when she wants to be, practical and to the point, leading by example. When she notices potential in someone she will attempt to nurture it. While she is proficient in astrophysics, her strengths and specializations lie in forensic science, chemistry and biology. She is also well versed in the social sciences as well as history, sociology/xeno-sociology and sociobiology. Fenia also has passing knowledge of microkinetics. A balanced personality, despite her temperament, she is able to keep a cool head under pressure. In fact, her head is cooler under pressure than when not. Weaknesses: : Her intense dislike of Cardassians and Dominion species can lead to diplomatic issues if not handled properly. Has trouble letting people in and trusting them due to childhood trauma. Whilst she has a great sense of style, she has no sense or appreciation for art, again, not a person to take on a diplomatic mission. Her passionate, stubborn temperament can be as much of a detriment as it is a boon, though more often than not it gets her into trouble. Claustrophobic - containable if for a short period of time, extended periods exacerbate the condition. Hates public speaking. Will do so if absolutely necessary, but her discomfort is often seen despite her best efforts to hide it, so it’s never as successful as intended, despite her delivered content and the expertise in the same. |
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| Ambitions | Fenia wants to one day work at the Daystrom Institute and Memory Alpha. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | Cooking, experimenting with food is a rather big passion of hers. She also likes to read and keep in shape, especially polishing up her endurance and hand to hand combat skills. As such she is a practictioner of sar'jeno, a bajoran martial art. Fenia also has a very good voice and can carry a tune. Languages: Active: Bajoran, Cardassian, Valerian, Federation Standard, Vulcan Passive: Dominionese, Klingon, Ferengi, Kobliad Accent: British (Queen’s English) |
| Personal History | Adopted from the Tozhat Resettlement Center Orphanage in 2352 at six months old by Garai Ferys and Cheyla who had just had a young son not a few months prior. As Cheyla worked at the Orphanage herself, she had the opportunity to know and love the little girl with crystal blue eyes and dark skin. Deciding they couldn't be parted from her, Ferys and Cheyla adopted the young girl, giving her their family name and naming her Fenia. Along with their young son Faran, the two decided to leave Bajor for safer pastures, rather than be part of the bitter struggle of their people. They knew of Fenia's true descent and knew the girl would suffer greatly if her true lineage was ever revealed. If they survived the dreaded Occupation that is. This cemented their decision to uproot and seek their home elsewhere. Her parents arrived to Ronara Prime as refugees several months later seeking asylum. Asylum was granted quickly, as it was for most refugee families in the day and age. The family settled on Ronara easily, quickly finding a home and employment. Over the years, more and more families came over. Inevitably, some of those families carried knowledge of those who worked against the people. Some even knew of Fenia’s true family. Angry parents transferred anger to kids, kids transferred anger to other kids, such as Fenia. Growing up in such an environment was not easy, as jadedness rarely gave way to reason and understanding that a toddler was not guilty of the action of their parents. Unfortunately it took action from local Federation liaison personnel to stop the bullying. Having met several officers during interviews, cemented young Fenia’s decision on what to do with her future. She wanted off the planet, to be accepted, to contribute and not be seen as a child of people who betrayed the bajorans. She would travel the stars, she would do good, wash the shame of the name she no longer carried. With her parents and brother’s help, she entered orientation programmes to help her decide which fields she wanted to study. Fenia showed aptitude on several scientific fields more than any other type of field, such as engineering or technical sciences. What interested her most however were the research and investigation sciences, particularly scene investigation, whether it be crime scene or accident investigation. Along with a talent in astrophysics, she knew opportunities were abound for her in the United Federation of Planets, particularly within Starfleet itself. So, she focused on her studies and maintaining the few friends that she had. In school she encountered Federation liaison personnel again, as they gave lectures on the Federation and Starfleet service as well as offering sponsorships for entry into Starfleet via contests. Fenia’s resolve was strengthened and it showed in her aptitude scores which soared, compared to other classes, such as music, engineering or economics. When she was old enough, Fenia applied for the Sponsorship contest which was still held on the ever changing Ronara. While her scores were impressive, her lack of assertiveness and confidence was what got her turned away the first time. Rather her fear of public speaking. It was something that became instilled in her from the very young age, due to constant bullying. She was given a piece of advice, however. ‘Show us you mean it,’ one of the Commanders had said. So Fenia took a year and worked on herself, in the psychological sense more than a physical sense, working with a local psychologist, Doctor Lysander Teresi, to figure out what it was that held her back from her desired goal. With time, her confidence and assertiveness improved and she found herself able to speak in front of audiences, still with some degree of anxiety and discomfort but not nearly as paralyzing as before. The following year when the contest came around again, Fenia reapplied. The testers noted her marked improvement and accepted her application. It was the Commander who advised her, Commander Gregory Hallam, that sponsored her entry to Starfleet Academy. It was at the Academy that Fenia struggled most. Not because she was being bullied again, but because she was in an entirely different world. One of vast technological, cultural and historical variety. In that world not many cared who her genetic family was, in that world scores, performance and teamwork as well as social, societal and technological awareness was what people cared about. Fenia struggled with it, having been too used to doing things alone, on her own power without much assistance from others, much less friends. It was with the help of the fellow scientist, a bolian man named Van Pelixx that Fenia powered through her struggles and become one of the brighter rising stars of forensic investigation. Her astrophysics scores were excellent as well, but it was not where her desires lay. Towards the end of her fourth year, her dreams of a CSI career were put on hold, with the emergence of the Dominion War. A lot of the students had looked to her for guidance, thinking she’d had experience with the Occupation. Unfortunately, she could only shrug and admit that she was just as concerned as they were. She’d received an offer of internship at graduation, with the Crime Scene Investigation teams with Starfleet Security. Sorely tempted, Fenia decided to freeze the offer until the War was over, stating that she needed to do her part to repay the Federation for the kindness offered in accepting her application. Of course, Starfleet Security gave the standard answer - we’ll see what we have when you come back. So Fenia went to war along with the rest of her generation. Her first posting was on the USS Sun Yat-sen, as a stellar cartographer. Her biology and chemistry skills were not needed in the War. Her knowledge of stars and phenomena however could be more useful, or so was the thought back in the day. Fenia toughened up in the following year of hardship for the Federation. Hunkering down and focusing on the job, she learned to fight, she learned to lead and assert herself. When lives were on the line, there was no room for self doubt and anxiety. She took up martial arts, one of her home world in particular, sar’jeno, mixed with suus mahna, the vulcan defensive art. Her small weapons combat skills also improved to a point, during boarding drills, though she was lucky that in those years she’d never had to experience ground combat or boarding action. Starship combat however, she became as versed in as anyone, especially after the devastating Battle of Tyra, which the Sun Yat-sen barely hobbled out of intact. The rest of the war was spent at the Vulcan front, until the final push in 2375 and the Federation/Klingon/Romulan advance on Cardassia and the subsequent devastating battle. Noone had escaped the War unscathed, there were only varying degrees of trauma. As the War ended and the Federation began relief efforts and the peace keeping mission on the devastated Cardassia, Fenia decided to re-apply for internship at Federation Security and pursue the CSI career. She needed a break from the horrors, from star ships and the memories that didn’t stop coming. Luckily, she was accepted into a year’s training programme, now at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. She found herself breezing through it, finishing in the top percentile of that year’s class. Garai was then offered secondment and a place on one of the Accident Investigations teams as a forensic scientist, with specialty in biology and chemistry. In the following years spent there, Fenia found herself again and her desire to learn, explore and do good returned, the trauma of the war tempered but never forgotten. Her work took her all over the Federation territory, giving her perspective into both Starfleet and civilian living post war. While she loved her work with Accident Investigations, having learned and experienced so much, Fenia knew her true love were the ships. Now confident that she was ready to return to the place that had given her much trauma years before, Fenia applied for a transfer to Starship service in 2382. Now a Lieutenant, with considerable experience under her belt, Garai was quickly assigned to the USS Chesterfield, a Nebula class starship with a scientific mission on their table. Exactly what Fenia had wanted. She quickly rose through the ranks on the Chesterfield, earning the position of Chief Science Officer within two years and a promotion to Lieutenant Commander in four. With the new promotion came new service as well. This time to the USS Kensington, an Intrepid class vessel, assigned to the Beta Quadrant. It was the Kensington that would end up being her favorite ship service to date. The Intrepid mostly performed her scientific/support mission, which suited the now much more relaxed Fenia well, allowing her to chart new nebulas and perform research on artefacts found on Baradas III, belonging to the ancient Debrune, etc. Other times, she was called to aid other ships, especially those traversing the Raeyan Transit Corridor, a small area of newly Federation space spanning between the romulan and klingon territories. One such ship, that the Kensington often crossed paths with was the USS Venture. In the first instance, the Kensington was recalled to Starbase 47 Sierra to pick up Lieutenant Sinara and ferry her and several replacement crewmembers. Before the Kensington could return to her mission however, she was called to aid the Venture again, this time by waiting to jump in for support, as the Venture suspected possible retaliation by the Romulan military for the Ruhoka incident in which a Starfleet Officer murdered a high ranking official of the Ruhokan government. Things got even hairier when the officer turned out to be a Starfleet Intelligence Officer. It was a this point that a Romulan Star Navy vessel did indeed appear, and the Venture put out a call for the Kensington to stay alert at the edge of the system and come to the Venture’s aid if necessary. The two ships ended up engaging the romulan ship, the IRW Masfarik who ended up surrendering in the end, on a prompt from the Masfarik’s CO, Commander Khiy N’Vek, who had gone down to parlay with Lieutenant Commander Khalana t’Lehu of the USS Venture and the colony Governor. Experiencing ship to ship combat again shook Fenia a little, but not in the way she would have expected it to. She’d liked it too much, it was like putting on an old, comfortable leather jacket, rather than bringing back trauma from the war. After helping settle things at Ruhoka, the Kensington’s Captain, a vulcan female named T’Sora promoted Commander Perin to Captain, and Lieutenant Commander t’Lehu to Commander, respectively. Fenia was on the Bridge for the ceremony and found herself amused at just how awkward both women seemend during the ceremony, the romulan XO more so than the trill. She could sympathize though, till a few years ago, she had been almost as uncofortable in public events like these. Following departure from Ruhoka, the Kensington continued her mission, which was to bring relief effort to a different Romulan colony that had also been ceded to the Federation by the Treaty of Nelvanna. It was during that, luckily uneventful time, that Fenia’s old friend, now a Commander, Van Pelixx contacted her. He had been assigned to Starfleet Academy as Instructor and asked if she wanted to do guest lectures during some of his classes. Immediately she’d said no. It would involve public speaking, which was an immediate no for her. Pelixx however knew his old friend, and kept trying. Finally the offer she couldn’t really refuse was made. She would do long range holographic lectures, lasting half an hour at most and they would be interactive ones and she could terminate them at any point. Garai knew he had more or less guilted her into it, considering how much he had helped her during the Academy days. So she agreed. Lessons continued periodically, increasing when the Kensington reached Faltan Station, a Federation outpost in the RTC. However, more changes loomed on the horizon for Fenia. Namely a transfer. A transfer to Memory Theta, or Star Fleet R&D as is stated on her record as her 'official posting'. Theta was always a distant whisper in specific circles which Fenia never paid too much attention to. Until now that is. With her specialities being sought after, Fenia accepted the new challenge, though after a good deal of thought. Her work would be classified and she couldn't talk about it with anyone outside of Theta, and not even everyone on the inside. But she would get to see and do stuff many scientists would kill for. Plus, she was bajoran and she didn't back down from a challenge. |
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| Service Record | 2369-2373 - Starfleet Academy, Science Training 2373-2375 - USS Sun Yat-Sen, Stellar Cartographer, Assistant Chief Science Officer 2375-2376 - Starfleet Security - Crime Scene And Accident Investigation Training Programme 2376-2382 - Starfleet Security - Accident Investigation team 3 2382-2384 - USS Chesterfield, Assistant Chief Science Officer 2384-2386 - USS Chesterfield, Chief Science Officer 2386-2389 - USS Kensington, Chief Science Officer 2389-pres. - Memory Theta, Forensic Science Specialist |