Karyn Reyas

Political Information

• • • Affiliation: Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Family

• • • Mother: Najra Reyas, Civilian
    • Father: Henri Reyas, Civilian (deceased)
    • Brother: Nyll Reyas, Civilian (deceased)
    • Husband: James Preston McCallister, Starfleet Captain of the USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)
    • Son: Theodore McCallister-Reyas
    • Son: Alfie McCallister-Reyas
    • Son: Henri McCallister-Reyas
    • Brother-in-law: Conrad McCallister, Starfleet Captain (retired)
    • Brother-in-law: Horatio McCallister, Starfleet Captain of the USS League (NCC-74652)

Biography

Early Life

Born aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) in 2293, Reyas became the youngest survivor of the devastating Borg attack on the El-Aurian people which left them scattered throughout the galaxy.

Having lost her husband and son, her mother Najra had boarded the SS Lakal in the hope of beginning a new life on Earth with her unborn child. Fate, however, was destined to intervene and the SS Lakal was struck by the Nexus energy ribbon and ultimately destroyed. Many, however, were saved by the arrival of the USS Enterprise-B and the sacrifice of one James T. Kirk allowed many of the refugees to be beamed to safety – including Najra. Less than two days later, she had given birth to a healthy baby girl.

Earth became an adopted homeworld to many of the El-Aurian survivors, including Reyas and her mother. There she flourished under the watchful guidance of her mother, who encouraged her to take her own path whilst ensuring she did not forget her people or their history. All of the stories fuelled a desire to explore and to learn which was complemented by an inherent curiosity. Though she shared some of her mother’s natural gift for the arts, from an early age she was drawn towards the sciences and archaeology.

With an apparently limitless energy and enthusiasm, the young El-Aurian devoted herself to learn all that she could – earning doctorates and the recognition of her peers as an expert in many subjects. She then surprised many of her peers when she announced that she intended to join Starfleet.

Early Career

In 2364, Reyas was accepted into Starfleet Academy. During her four years as a cadet she specialised in the sciences and came to the attention of many of her lecturers. She was fortunate to remain on Earth for the full four years. Reyas turned down an offer to join an elite cadet squad, stating she didn’t come to the Academy to be involved in such a program. 

One of her lecturers, Captain Simon Leighton, went on to command the USS Orion (NCC-26521). He was so impressed by his then student that he used what influence he had to ensure Reyas was assigned to his ship when she graduated.

USS Orion (NCC-26521)

True to the founding principles of Starfleet, the Ambassador-class USS Orion was primarily a ship of exploration and research. With a crew which was composed mostly of scientists, they were not prepared when war broke out in 2373. Ill equipped to be actively involved in battle, the Orion was called into duty to act as a support vessel and render aid within the Federation’s core territories. During this time, Reyas’ career advanced as she gained more senior positions within the ship’s science department due to several members being re-assigned elsewhere in the fleet. She reached the position of Chief Science Officer by mid-2374. Along with her new assignment, Reyas also received a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant junior grade.

Just one day before the Treaty of Bajor was signed, whilst preparing to return to Earth where the ship was scheduled to undergo a refit and overhaul, the Orion picked up a distress call from a transport ship. They immediately altered course in order to render aid, however, the distress call was not all it appeared to be. It was a last-ditch effort by a Dominion ship to inflict some damage to the Federation. The ship barely survived and, having suffered heavy casualties, limped home to the nearest starbase.

The Orion was deemed to be beyond repair, and the crew was given new assignments.

Outpost 42

After a brief period of R&R, Reyas was ordered to Outpost 42, a research & development facility. Whilst there, Reyas once again established herself as an expert in her field and quickly earned a promotion to the rank of full lieutenant. After almost seven years, she requested an extended leave of absence to join an archaeology expedition organised by her mother. Albeit reluctantly, the request was granted.

Starfleet Academy

In early 2384, Reyas returned to duty and was offered a position as guest lecturer at Starfleet Academy. Whilst there, she met fellow lecturer James Preston McCallister in 2386. The two quickly became close friends and within a matter of weeks had moved in together. Though they were happy together, Reyas knew that he belonged on the bridge of a starship and encouraged him to return to what he was clearly born to do. She was delighted when he followed her advice but was unprepared when this led to a surprise marriage proposal and a request to join his senior staff.

USS Triton (NCC-80106)

After their wedding on Earth, Reyas joined James on the Luna-class starship USS Triton and was made his chief science officer and third officer. Starfleet wasn’t too pleased with James’ decision but after discussing it with Command, he was able to convince them that Reyas had a wealth of experience to offer as a command officer and the Triton was foremost a ship of science and exploration before a ship of defence.

Their time together on the Triton only went on to cement their marriage. Reyas was instrumental in giving the ship a great reputation for the impressive list of discoveries it made. She proved to Starfleet that her and James made an excellent team, both professionally and personally. Sadly their time on the Triton would be short lived as by the end of 2386, the ship was heavily damaged during a rescue mission.

USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)

When Starfleet had decided to hand command of the brand new Odyssey-class prototype to James, it was no surprise that Reyas would be coming with him. In fact, James had made the case for Starfleet to move a majority of the crew of the Triton to the USS Odyssey. 

Reyas would take on the role of chief science officer and third officer. Reyas enjoyed all aspects of the brand new Odyssey­-class, especially as the ship’s science departments had a range of new experimental technologies to use. During the shakedown cruise, the Odyssey’s science department was reported as working well above expectations. This was attributed to Reyas’ leadership and management of the department. 

Later on in the year, Reyas fell pregnant with triplets. It was a happy occasion for the couple and Reyas finally felt it was time to take a break from her career and enjoy the delights of early motherhood. Wanting to honour her father and brother’s memories, she named one of the triplets after them.  Raising her three sons meant that Reyas took her maternity leave for almost a year and left the science department to be run by her deputy, Lieutenant Abbej. The Boslic woman kept Reyas in the loop and on her return to work the transition was extremely smooth. 

By the end of 2388, she was promoted to the rank of commander after she successfully completed the advanced bridge officer’s exam. This had been something she had been putting off for some time but was eager to complete when she was able to. 

Sadly for Karyn and James, he was re-assigned temporarily to the USS Avenger. Reyas remained with their sons on the Odyssey. While he was not around, Reyas was assisted by many on the ship in raising the three babies, particularly Tobias Court, the captain’s yeoman who would visit her every day and would take the three boys out in their hover pram to give Karyn some time to herself.

Thankfully, James’ assignment only lasted a year and he returned to the Odyssey by the start of 2389. With their family back together, they enjoyed every moment that family life brought them. 

In 2391, James’ first officer (Zachary Hawkins) was made a captain and given his own command. Hawkins’ departure left a gap in the command structure, and as a result, James decided to promote internally. This led to him making Reyas second officer. A position she rightly deserved. 

Becoming close with James’ new first officer, Cambil Bexa, helped with a smooth running of the ship. Eventually the Cambil family and McCallister-Reyas family became a close-knit group with both parents becoming close friends as well as the children. Often the two families could be found enjoying one another’s company in a range of social activities. 

When Odyssey was involved in dealing with the Romulan Neutral Zone in 2395, Reyas’ job as chief science officer was instrumental when the ship was mapping out the former buffer. Four years later, Reyas was offered by Starfleet Command to return to the USS Triton as its new captain. Flattered by the proposition, she turned it down as she did not want to move her entire family and be away from James. She decided not to share this news with him as she knew how he’d react. Instead she remained on the ship, enjoying the life she had built.

In 2399, while responding to a distress call from a Federation colony in the Archanis Sector, the Odyssey was attacked by rogue Klingon ships. During the battle, Reyas was severely injured and almost died from her wounds. Nevertheless, Doctor Slyvexs was instrumental in treating her and ended up having to operate on Reyas’ spine. It had been crushed when a fallen bulkhead on the bridge had landed on Reyas during the conflict. Reyas was relieved of duty for several weeks to recover and undertake physiotherapy to ensure there were no long-lasting effects on her ability to walk and move around independently. For two weeks she had to wear an exo-skeleton suit to help with her treatment. 

Later on in the year, Reyas had fully recovered and was ready for the ship’s new mission into the Delta Quadrant. The prospect of exploring a brand new frontier excited her and James, both felt they needed to be cautious at first of the dangers that came with such a deep space assignment especially for the boys. However after considering all factors, both agreed they wanted to proceed with the mission. 

Once again, Reyas’s expertise was called upon during the ship’s opening weeks of exploring the distant region of space. She supported her husband’s attempts in restoring relations with the Uxali by mapping out their new homeworld and aiding them when they resettled. Furthermore, she supported his efforts during a classified solo-mission, though she was not happy with her husband leaving the ship without any proper backup, besides a holographic crew, she accepted that there were matters she could not be aware of.

When Commander Cambil, Odyssey’s first officer, decided to resign from Starfleet and leave the ship, Reyas knew instantly that her husband’s desire of having her as his first officer would never be achieved. Consequently, she told him that he had to pick someone else for the role. When he chose Counsellor Max Duncan, she was highly supportive and insisted that she and Max got on to avoid the crew feeling worried there was a lack of leadership in the chain of command. As Duncan was already open about that, the two of them started this new dynamic on a good footing that only brought positives to the senior staff. One good example of this was shown when the ship was surveying a planet that was once inhabited by an ancient alien civilisation that had been cared for by the Tkon Empire. Between Karyn and Max they work tirelessly together to coordinate the ship’s efforts in exploring this planet to discover its mysteries and work out the answers to them. Their hard work paid off when they found an old star chart that led the ship to a Tkon outpost.

The completion of their mission at the Tkon Outpost was followed by several months of further deep space exploration of the border between the the Delta and Beta Quadrants. Reyas enjoyed the quiet time they had due to the fact they did not encounter many warp capable races. This time gave her an opportunity to write a paper about their findings off the Tkon and eventually her scientific curiosity came to life when the ship encountered the Quirennal, a huge ark-like vessel that belonged to a species known as the Ryslanti. A majority of the adult members of the crew found themselves kidnapped by the holographic caretaker of the ship, who planned to use them to care for the children who had been placed into stasis chambers. As the ship had advanced technology and could either destroy the Odyssey or kill everyone instantly, Captain McCallister was forced to agree to terms that separated him and Reyas from their sons and the Odyssey for over two months. Reyas objected to her husband’s decision and this resulted in their time on the Quirennal placing a strain on their marriage. Eventually they attempted to resolve their differences to place a plan of escape into motion. However the entire incident changed their marriage.

After escaping and returning to the Alpha Quadrant, Reyas (like her crewmates) were relieved of duty while they undertook extensive assessments to determine the impact of their imprisonment on the Quirennal. However during the middle of this she received a call from her mother, asking for help while she led an expeditionary team on a planet under threat from the ion storms inflicted the Paulson Nebula. With some persuasion, Reyas was able to be placed on the active duty roster and she took the Odyssey‘s support craft (the Telemachus) to render assistance to her mother and her team.