Taeva Sh'reyan

Pre-Starfleet (2376-2393)

Taeva Sh’reyan was born beneath the shimmering ice of Andoria in the subterranean city of Laikan. Located in the northern hemisphere, Laikan is the ancestral home of Taeva’s keth (translated to “clan”). Laikan is a large city of interconnected tunnels combining living quarters, ceremonial halls, educational centers, and shared communal habitats, lit by soft bioluminescent panels. Kethni, the Andorain societal clan structure, holds significant value in an Andorian’s upbringing. Collectively, the keth shares responsibility for raising and providing guardianship to newborn Andorians. This arrangement reflects Andoria’s deep communal traditions and ensures that every Andorian has a mentor to guide them in the pillars of Andorian society: discipline, knowledge, artistry, and spiritual guidance.

Taeva had her first years spent devoted to acclamation and adaptation to Andoria’s extreme climate. While in the nursery, Taeva stayed warm wrapped in thermal fabrics. By the age of two, Taeva learned to consciously orient her sensitive antennae which contributed to her development of environmental awareness and social interaction. Taeva’s formal schooling began around the age of seven. As a student, she learned about Andorian history, galactic law, federation ideals, and basic combat drills (inherited from a long history of planetary inter-clan conflicts). Taeva also participated in low-gravity activities in the permafrost caverns beneath Laikan, sharpening her reflexes, balance, and spatial awareness. Taeva enjoyed playing the traditional Andorian ice-instruments which resonated through the tunnels of the community, blending music and artistry with the spirit of Andoria.

Taeva, like many young Andorians, trained in the Ushaan, a code-of-honor ritual duel to the death utilizing the ushaan-tor, an Andorian ice-miners tool. Taeva became proficient in wielding the ushaan-tor among her keth peers, much to the praise of her guardians. Taeva continued training and marking her independence within the keth by venturing to the surface of Andoria to conduct survival training as a graduation and simultaneously acting as a coming-of-age ritual. Taeva learned how to navigate snowstorms, ice-fissures, and limited visibility, relying on her previous training on antennae-based navigation and sensitivity to the vibrations of the ice. This symbolic test of courage and skill reaffirmed Taeva’a readiness to serve the keth and, by extension, Andoria itself. As a reward for completion of primary training, Taeva’s guardians presented her with an ushaan-tor engraved with the symbols of her keth and a Zabathu (an Andorian riding-animal), which she named Aenara.

Taeva attended the Laikan Military Academy where she studied Advanced Interstellar Combat alongside Starfleet students participating in the extension course provided by the Department of Foreign Studies. This integration is how Taeva became interested in pursuing a career in Starfleet. Taeva was fascinated by the Officer’s professionality and ability to adhere to a strict structure while also flourishing in casual interpersonal relationships. Starfleet seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Taeva to explore how to weave the strict Andorian way of life and the expanding of her casual emotions that would otherwise be seen as a weakness among her keth. Taeva developed a close relationship with Ensign Ellyn Anders who assisted in helping her explore a more colloquial interpretation of existence. Apon completing her diploma, Taeva applied for Starfleet Academy, hoping to follow in Ensign Anders’ footsteps and continue to mellow her jaded edges.

Starfleet Academy (2394-2398)

Taeva was accepted into the Starfleet Academy on Mellstoxx-III. She was sponsored by her keth due to her high aptitude in tactical reasoning, phaser marksmanship, and low-gravity combat while her scores in areas such as engineering and warp theory were lower. Taeva was torn between Security and Tactical education paths but ultimately chose the latter where she hoped to distinguish herself in small-unit operations, shipboard security protocols, and starship combat.

During her Freshman-Year, Taeva focused on the fundamentals of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. Federation law, galactic diplomacy, starship systems overview, and survival training were heavily emphasized. Taeva scored in the top percent of her classmates in the phaser range proficiency examinations but struggled with interstellar political theory. Eventually, she would improve her scores overall with the tutoring assistance from fellow Cadets.

Throughout her Sophomore-Year, Taeva would finalize her track into the Tactical Department. Concurrently to Taeva’s time at Starfleet Academy, it was discovered that Cardassian trading ships transporting resources between the United Federation of Planets and Cardassia to the Detapa Council were being attacked by the Cardassian Central Command. This would influence the Advanced Starship Combat Simulations, focusing on Galor-Class and Keldon-Class simulated multi-ship combat exercises. Taeva would also train in Starship Security Protocol Design, participating in holodeck exercises in counter-boarding operations.

In her Junior-Year, Taeva would participate in four Cadet Training Cruises aboard the USS Exeter (NCC-1672), a Constitution-Class Heavy Cruiser. She would also begin her leadership labs in between the three-week cruise duration. These exercises included simulated away-team missions, where Taeva acted as the away-team leader, and balancing diplomacy and tactical readiness.

Taeva would be tested in the infamous Kobayashi Maru simulation during her Senior-Year. Taeva chose to attempt a rescue of the USS Kobayashi Maru (ECS-1022), a federation class-III neutronic fuel carrier, within marked Klingon territory. While attempting to save the crew, Taeva’s simulated ship was attacked by Klingon warbirds. While managing to destroy one warbird and cripple another, her team was ultimately destroyed. Her instructors praised her for her tactical awareness of the situation once the combat began and reassured her that she may face impossible decisions reflecting the simulated scenario throughout the course of her career. Taeva graduated Starfleet Academy with the Class of 2398 and received her first duty posting shortly after celebrations waned.

USS Exeter (NCC-1672) (2397)

Taeva participated in several training cruises aboard the USS Exeter (NCC-1672), the Constitution-Class starship assigned to Starfleet Academy at Mellstoxx-III. She would be assigned the Tactical Officer duty-station and was evaluated in several simulated combat scenarios. The USS Exeter did not venture far from Mellstoxx-III and security patrol around the system was increased due to the frequency of Cardassian and Klingon attacks on Starfleet and Federation personnel and their allies.

USS Neith (NCC-36350) (2399-2401)

Upon graduation, now Ensign Taeva Sh’reyan, was assigned to the USS Neith (NCC-36350), an Akira-Class Heavy Cruiser. As tactical officer, Ensign Sh’reyan participated in patrols along the Federation/Romulan border, engaging in several skirmishes against Romulan T’Liss-Class Bird-of Prey.

In 2401, the USS Neith was a part of the Starfleet armada which reinforced the USS Stargazer (NCC-82893) confronting a massive singularity that had emerged from a spatial anomaly. The USS Neith continued operations at yellow alert, holding position alongside its Federation allies. Ensign Sh’reyan was beginning her tactical analysis when a fleetwide broadcast was transmitted by the captain of the USS Stargazer to engage shields. Red alert was ordered by the USS Neith’s Captain, and Ensign Sh’reyan locked phasers on the singularity, readying for combat with the unknown entity. Shortly after weapons were readied, Ensign Sh’reyan and the rest of the bridge crew began losing access to all command functions at their stations and the USS Neith’s command codes became corrupted by a signal emanating from the USS Stargazer. After a tense standoff with what became identified as a Borg, Ensign Sh’reyan’s tactical sensors detected a massive spike in neutrino emissions focused on the center of the quadrant. The USS Neith was then ordered by Fleet Command to relinquish control to the Borg entity. The fleet, including the USS Neith was warped in a grid formation to the location of the neutrino anomaly. After exiting warp, the USS Neith’s shields were harmonized with the fleet and Borg ship, creating an interconnected web of shields which blocked an ejected energy mass. As quickly as the event began, it ended, and the USS Neith returned to Earth Spacedock for repairs and diagnostic reports.

Later that same year, the USS Neith would participate in the Frontier Day celebration and fleet formation exercises. Ensign Sh’reyan was on the bridge when Fleet Admiral Elizabeth Shelby gave her Frontier Day Speech. Seemingly cut off without warning, all communications were terminated between the USS Neith and the rest of the fleet. A piercing signal rang throughout the bridge, causing a painful pulse through Ensign Sh’reyan’s antennae, and then…silence. Ensign Sh’reyan’s remembers her command staff ordering her to comply with stated directives, but all that was left in her mind was a collective resistance against her own consciousness. “We are the Borg.” she stated, cold and efficient. Turning to face her crew, along with other younger members, another otherworldly command took over, “Eliminate all unassimilated.” Ensign Sh’reyan and other assimilated members of the bridge crew drew their phasers and began exchanging phaser bolts across the bridge at her comrades. Ensign Sh’reyan remembers vividly each moment, although not her own. The blood of her fellow officers shining off of the bridge’s consoles, the panicked transmission of a helpless Fleet Admiral, and the pleading of a Captain who was executed in front of her. Taeva reassumed her position at the tactical station while another assimilated crew member sat in the captain’s chair and stated, “Collective, we have the Neith.” The fleet took position in front of Earth Spacedock and the order “Fire.” repeated in Taeva’s mind. She complied, unwillingly, shedding a tear as she watched the phasers of the ship slam against the shields of the station. The last thing Taeva remembers is receiving several phaser stun bolts to the back from an unassimilated strike team retaking the bridge of the USS Neith.

Taeva awoke in a Starfleet medical station, recovering from the neural interference and physical trauma her body had experienced. The event left a lasting mark on Taeva’s mental fortitude, leaving her to deal with possible unresolved trauma from assimilation. Only time will tell if Lieutenant Junior Grade Taeva can move past the stress, or if she will succumb to the tragedy. Due to the casualties experienced due to the Frontier Day, Taeva was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and reassigned, hoping a fresh posting will steer Taeva back on her intended pathway.

USS Pioneer (NCC-74657) (2402-Present)

[ TO BE CONTINUED…]