Summary
Recently promoted to the rank of Captain and assigned to the newly retrofitted USS Sausalito as its commanding officer, Prasi Mruuras has achieved their kittenhood dream of flying their own Federation starship. They were previously assigned to a series of other California-class ships, primarily as a helmsman, but after an incident aboard the USS Eureka during which they effectively saved both ship and crew from destruction, they were recommended to Command Staff School. Pragmatic, caustic, and nonplussed much of the time, the Caitian captain has a secret soft and squishy side that only those close to them (or who witness them drinking catnip tea) know about. Their crew don’t always see it, but they know; most of them followed Mruuras from the USS Sunset City to the Sausalito rather than work under a different commanding officer.
Appearance
Standing at around 5’2″/ 157.48cm, Mruuras is a little short for a Caitian female, although they present as whatever gender they’re feeling at the moment. Their coat is a tawny orange with patches of dark grey tabby-like stripes and white, almost like a calico cat, and short and sleek, well taken care of. Deep green feline eyes, large and luminous, grace their face, slanted up at the tips and usually giving one a direct look whether it’s out of curiosity or annoyance or some other reason. They have feline fangs, long whiskers on their muzzle, large pointed cat ears, and a mouth that’s usually set in a rather nonplussed expression. They’re rather nonplussed about a lot of things, actually…
Mruuras’s most notable feature, however, is the reddish-orange mane that adorns their head, extending nearly past their shoulders in a cloud of fluff. Full and luxuriant, it surrounds their face and hangs down their back; a few strands are woven into thin tails adorned with beads. Don’t touch them, they’re a tribal thing.
Built like a typical Cait, Mruuras is lean and lithe with digitigrade legs and sharp retractable claws at the tips of their fingers and toes. If they’re in a hurry to get somewhere, they will drop to all fours to run at greater speed. A long fluffy calico tail completes the picture, accommodated for in the cut of their uniforms. They will often play with the tip of their tail while thinking or when vaguely unhappy about something. They wear their uniform nearly all the time, since as Captain they’re on duty all the time. Typically Mruuras will wear the pants and tunic duty look regardless of their mood; it’s very rare to see them in a skirt. Their mane tends to mostly conceal the rank pips on their collar, though they will groom their fur so that the pips are visible when it’s appropriate to “pretend to be the Captain.”
Personality
If you don’t know Captain Mruuras, at first interaction with them you’ll be convinced you’ve done something wrong and are about to be jettisoned out the nearest airlock. Don’t question them on it, though, especially if you’re a delicate flower who reacts badly to acerbic comebacks. Mruuras’s public personality is as caustic as battery acid, and as such they can grate and intimidate even in normal conversation. Sometimes they’ll do it intentionally, too, just to bust your chops, once they realize you’re intimidated by them.
Amongst those they trust, though, Mruuras can be downright nice when they want to be. They adore their crew and would move the stars for them, regardless of what they may have done or what manner of trouble they’re in.
Methodical and systematic when problem-solving, Mruuras is quite capable of analyzing a situation from all angles and providing the most logical solution they can come up with. They’re also blessed with good common sense; their natural brusqueness and overall flat demeanor just makes them express it poorly. They are very hard to read, as their usual facial expression is nonplussed. Combine that with the typical resting pissed-off face that a lot of Caitians wear as a matter of course or their non-acerbic flat affect, and it’s very difficult to know what they’re really thinking or feeling.
Mruuras loves to sleep, big surprise, and gets cross and grumpy when they haven’t slept enough (an offering of chai from the Anchor Out will go far to placate them).
Positives: methodical, analytical, sensible, curious, highly intelligent, loyal to Starfleet and their crew
Negatives: solitary, difficult to read, caustic, overly independent and aloof, vicious and blunt when angry
History
Early Life (2366 – 2385)
Prasi Mruuras was born and raised on Cait in the city of Shzerensohr to a former Starfleet officer and a M’Yengh shipyard supervisor. A curious, imaginative kitten, they grew up with a love of the stars, a love of flying, and a love of duty. They learned how to fly at an early age thanks to their mother, who had access to all kinds of small-enough-for-a-kitten ships due to her job at the shipyard, and who taught young Prasi everything she knew about flying. She also told Prasi stories of Starfleet; as the kitten grew, they knew they wanted nothing more out of life than to pilot a Federation starship. By the time Prasi was of age to apply to Starfleet Academy, they were already a skilled pilot, running errands for their parents and friends all over Shzerensohr and the surrounding grasslands and jungles.
Starfleet Academy (2385 – 2389)
Mruuras applied to Starfleet Academy at age 19 and was accepted on their first attempt. The trip to the Academy was almost as exciting to them as getting accepted was! They were assigned to Operations training, with their desire to be a starship helmsman; naturally adept at helm, they aced the training and the tests, especially those involving actual piloting, and after four years graduated from Starfleet Academy as a Midshipman – and a pilot! Their first duty assignment was as a helmsman aboard the USS Eureka, a general utility California-class vessel.
USS Eureka (2391 – 2395)
The Eureka was usually sent on missions to transport personnel or cargo. Mruuras, technically still in training, found it slightly boring – but they were flying a starship! The only real excitement came in 2395, after they had been promoted to Ensign, when they not only led the bridge crew after the senior bridge staff were killed or wounded during a Klingon terrorist attack on the ships in the small fleet detachment, but “threaded the needle,” evasively piloting the Eureka through the ships engaged in an active skirmish, saving both the ship and crew. They received a commendation for it, and a promotion to Lieutenant. While the Eureka survived intact, though, it needed extensive repairs, so the ship was temporarily decommissioned and the crew assigned elsewhere. On recommendation from the captain, Mruuras decided they wanted to go to Command School at the Academy on Mellstoxx III. On completion of their studies and promotion to Lt Commander, they were assigned as a deck officer aboard the USS Berkeley.
USS Berkeley (2396 – 2398)
Primarily serving on the Berkeley, another multi-use California-class ship, in their customary role as chief helmsman, Mruuras’s two-year tour of duty was mostly uneventful. Which was fine with them; it gave them time to relax a little and touch base with her family back on Cait. They were a little disheartened to learn first-hand of the devastation done during the Dominion incursion of the Deneb Sector, but were pleased to learn that their parents were all right, if angry and rebuilding. They also spent their downtime considering the direction they wanted their Starfleet career to go. Ultimately, though, this was decided for them when the warp engines suffered a catastrophic failure and they had to limp back to the nearest starbase for repairs on impulse engines alone. The repairs were such that the crew were transferred to other vessels.
USS Sunset City (2399 – 2403)
Mruuras was reassigned to the USS Sunset City, another California-class outfitted for research and exploration within easy range of Starbase 21. (They were beginning to think they were fated to end up on nothing but California-class ships for the rest of their career – not that they minded so much, they just knew the class very well by this point.) Their time aboard the Sunset City was probably the happiest they had been since they graduated from the Academy. The commanding officer, Captain Ari Bousaid, ran a fairly tight, orderly ship (despite the best efforts of his crew); he trusted his crew to do their job rather than micromanaging them. Mruuras’s leadership style owes a lot to what they observed under Capt Bousaid’s command. When an opening came available in 2400 for an executive officer, the Caitian was the only logical choice. They were recommended for promotion to Commander, and shone as XO.
USS Sausalito (2403 -)
Three years later, Mruuras was given the greatest reward they could have asked for: under Capt Bousaid’s recommendations, along with sign-off from the rest of the crew, they were promoted to Captain and offered command of their own ship. Mruuras, thrilled beyond words, accepted, thus achieving their kittenhood dream of piloting a Federation starship of their own. The starship they were given command of was the USS Sausalito, yet another California-class ship which was in drydock at Deep Space 47 being retrofit for its new role as a research and exploration support vessel. They accepted the transfer to Task Force 47 with enthusiasm, and look forward to working with others on research and discovery missions at the edge of Federation space.
Service Record
| Date | Position | Posting | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2403 - Present | Commanding Officer | USS Sausalito |
 Captain |
| 2399 - 2402 | Executive Officer | USS Sunset City |
 Commander |
| 2396 - 2398 | Deck Officer/Helmsman | USS Berkeley |
 Lieutenant Commander |
| 2394 - 2395 | Command School Student | Starfleet Academy -- Mellstoxx III |
Lieutenant Commander |
| 2391 - 2394 | Helmsman | USS Eureka |
 Lieutenant |
| 2385 - 2389 | Starfleet Cadet | Starfleet Academy |
 Cadet Senior Grade |