Summary
Doctor Teela serves as senior medical specialist aboard the IKS Bortasqu’. She directs the medical department of one of the Klingon Defense Force’s largest vessels. The Orion contractor provides the command team with advice on medical matters, biology and crew health concerns. She is both a physician and scientist. Her duties range from treating injuries suffered during combat to studying unfamiliar pathogens.
Her broad mission extends beyond the health of the Bortasqu’s own crew. Teela maintains the medical department as a resource that supports other KDF vessels and planetary populations during emergencies. She prepares medical teams to deploy during outbreaks, natural disasters, attacks and other crises. The Bortasqu’ carries enough personnel and supplies to provide a considerable amount of medical support when another Klingon vessel would be overwhelmed.
The Bortasqu’ maintains a relatively modest Sickbay compared to a Starfleet vessel of similar size. Klingon expectations in regards to medicine are different. Its crew rarely seeks treatment for minor injuries.
The immense size of the vessel gives Teela options during a serious emergency. Cargo spaces can be cleared and converted into temporary wards. Additional medical supplies can be replicated or transported into those areas while her personnel establish surgical, triage and recovery stations. Teela maintains contingency plans for operations of all types. She internally doubts that the Bortasqu’ will ever be required to use them given the nature of the Klingon Defense Force.
Appearance
Teela possesses a vivid olive-green complexion with smooth skin and few visible blemishes. A rectangular face narrows only slightly into a square jawline. Strong, high cheekbones rise across either side of features marked by a slightly pronounced chin.
Her nose is relatively small and pointed with fleshy nostrils around its base. A prominent philtral groove runs from the center beneath her nose. It sits above a pair of wide, full lips cast into a natural downward turn. Their subtle bronze coloration stands out against the green around them.
Large eyes dominate the upper half of Teela’s face. Brilliant ocean-colored irises contain several layers of color. Dark blue forms the outer ring. Turquoise filaments spread inward to meet a sandy ring that surrounds each pupil.
Long, elegant eyebrows are carefully manicured above them. Teela frequently uses her eyes as much as her voice during conversation. Her gaze can remain fixed upon someone long enough to become challenging. A slight lowering of her eyelids can turn that same stare into something much more suggestive.
Dark, straight emerald hair falls around her scalp. Long bangs are swept right to create additional volume as it joins the rest of her mane. Most of her hair’s length is gathered into a long ponytail that runs down to her lower back. She leaves sections loose around either side of her face. Narrow tassels fall from those sections onto her shoulders.
Teela stands at only 5’3”. Her proportions make the height less noticeable until she’s next to someone much taller. A long torso meets short, curvy legs. Her petite frame remains athletic and flexible.
She moves with graceful confidence. Her hips roll gently with each step while her shoulders remain relaxed. There is something deliberately alluring about the motion. Teela knows people watch her walk and sees little reason to discourage them.
She stands closer to people when she wants their attention. She maintains eye contact longer when she challenges them. A smile, tilt of her head or slight movement can become another method of persuasion. None of these gestures necessarily indicate romantic interest. Teela simply understands the effect she can have on other people. She considers ignoring any advantage in life as wasteful.
Personality
Teela is blunt, charming and highly opportunistic. She can move from medical terminology to flirtatious teasing without changing her voice. She dislikes wasting time with unnecessary politeness. Sometimes the doctor tells patients exactly what she thinks of their condition. Klingons often appreciate this candor.
She was born on Mu Rigel VIII, commonly known as Botchok. The Orion world maintained a tense relationship with the Klingons around it. The two peoples always managed to coexist in relative peace. Teela grew up with Klingons as a familiar presence. Their customs sometimes seemed excessive to her, but they were never entirely alien.
That background helps her aboard the Bortasqu’. She understands Klingon pride well enough to work around it.
A wounded warrior might insist that an injury was insignificant while blood ran down his armor. Teela would not likely argue about whether he was strong enough to endure it. She would tell him that treatment gives him another opportunity to fight stronger.
She often reminds patients that it is not always a good day to die.
Teela genuinely cares about the people under her treatment. Klingon resilience means many injuries require less intervention than they would among other species. She still refuses to confuse that strength with invulnerability. She will sedate an uncooperative warrior, confine someone to Sickbay or directly challenge an officer who attempts to return to duty before an injury has healed.
Teela does not believe service in the KDF requires her to abandon the habits of her people. Relationships, favors and influence all have value. She pays attention to who needs something and who possesses something another person wants.
Charm is one of her favorite tools.
Teela frequently uses flirtation to make people more receptive to her ideas. She enjoys the exchange even when she feels no attraction to the person involved. A lingering gaze or suggestive comment can turn an argument into a considerably more pleasant negotiation.
Her willingness to experiment with Orion pheromones takes this further. Teela has tested several blends on limited occasions to study how subtle changes affect social responses. She views pheromone chemistry as both a medical subject and an interesting method of persuasion.
She has little interest in living according to the restrictions Orions often face while living within cultures like that of the Federation. The KDF gives her room to remain true to herself. Klingons understand appetite, ambition and personal strength just as she learned on Botchok.
Her greatest personal weakness involves another appetite. Teela loves to drink.
Bloodwine became a favorite after she spent more time around Klingons. Orion liquors remain equally tempting, especially the stronger varieties she associates with home. Drinking allows her to escape the discipline required by medicine. It’s an escape from the constant responsibility of caring for thousands of warriors.
She sometimes drinks more than she intends.
Teela has attempted to replace some of her alcohol with synthahol. The effort has met mixed results. She understands every medical argument that supports the change because she has made those arguments to patients herself. Understanding them does not make genuine bloodwine taste any less appealing.
She keeps alcohol away from her scheduled duty periods. That boundary is firm.
Unscheduled emergencies are more complicated.
A late medical call after an evening of drinking represents a risk she knowingly takes. The possibility bothers her enough that she has normally tries to moderate herself. She still has never tried to fully eliminate the habit.
Away from drinking, Teela enjoys social environments. She likes crowded dining halls, loud conversations and places where she can meet people she doesn’t already know. She can be playful with Klingons who tolerate it and openly flirtatious with those who return her attention.
Her charm should not be mistaken for softness.
Teela can stare down a warrior much larger than herself when someone’s life is at risk. The glare behind her ocean-colored eyes hardens. The playful movement disappears from her posture. Her words become short and direct.
Medicine becomes the one area where she refuses to negotiate.
The Bortasqu’ carries thousands of warriors who have been taught that an honorable death should represent the culmination of a Klingon life.
Teela makes it her responsibility to make sure they do not reach that end unnecessarily.