Tomaz

Political Information

• Affiliation: Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Family

• Mother: Avitra, Barzan Ambassador
• Father: Tamfis, Barzan government official
• Adopted Son: S’Tem (Romulan)

Biography

Early Life

Born in the capital city of Barzan II, Tomaz’s early life was filled with not spending much time with either of his parents due to their governmental work. Instead, he was raised by numerous childminders until he was old enough to attend a boarding school. He decided to work extremely hard to get the grades to apply to join Starfleet. A visiting Starfleet captain to the school caught Tomaz’s attention, and the young man went out of his way to impress the captain with his eidetic memory and athletic prowess. With his exceptional gifts, Tomaz was supported to apply to Starfleet Academy. This move was supported by his parents, who saw it as a political move to show how good their family was in the eyes of the public. Eager to leave Barzan behind, Tomaz underwent surgery to have his breathing apparatus augmented.

Starfleet Career

Starfleet Academy

Adjusting to life at Starfleet Academy didn’t take Tomaz long as he was used to the independent lifestyle from home. He completed the Starfleet Academy Preparatory Program with flying colours, and after six intense weeks, he took the entrance exam. His efforts paid off when he was allowed to start at Starfleet Academy at the start of the academic year. In his first and second years, he enjoyed all of his classes and found it challenging to pick a specialist area. Due to his high grades, he was invited to join Red Squad as his professors and instructors believed he had leadership skills that needed further development. As such, he was sent to the Mellstoxx III orbital campus, where he spent some time on the USS Exeter, the campus’ training vessel. Enjoying his time on Mellstoxx, Tomaz finished his last years specialising in astronautical tactics and history.

Starbase 185

Assigned to the strategic operations department on Starbase 185 in 2394,  Tomaz learnt a lot when the station acted in a critical role of supporting Starfleet in keeping the remains of the Romulan Star Empire in check. On many occasions, he was given command of a small team that would take a runabout to patrol the border and assist those who needed help. The humanitarian crisis grew, and Tomaz found it challenging to remain objective in not helping those who needed it. 

During a mission where he had to return to base or answer the distress call of a Fenris Ranger ship, he decided on the latter. His team saved the crew who were transporting refugees out of the area. For their actions, his commanding officer commended the team for saving lives. Two years later, he was promoted to assistant chief strategic operations officer with the rank of lieutenant junior grade.

His superior officer decided to give Tomaz his own team, which would regularly patrol the border and gain valuable intelligence and insight on what was happening within the destabilised Romulan Star Empire. Commanding an Arrow-class runabout for several weeks at a time gave Tomaz the confidence to build his leadership skills. His team would visit regular worlds and provide some aid when they could. This time allowed Tomaz to build a good network of contacts to gain vital intelligence for Starfleet.

Furthermore, Tomaz took further training to expand his skills. Opting to pick one area he felt he needed work on, he undertook First Contact Training. At the end of it, he could take on the role of being a contact specialist. 

USS Ma Huan (NCC-86508)

Assigned to the USS Ma Huan, an Inquiry-class starship, in the dual role of being its new chief strategic operations officer and contact specialist, Tomaz excelled in his new post. The ship had been on patrol along the border of the Cardassian Union. On many occasions, it would support Federation colonists and shipping that pirates and raiders attacked. Thanks to Tomaz’s efforts in analysing a range of of intercepted communications against sensor readings and intelligence reports, the Ma Huan was able to determine the location of three bases operated by the mercenaries. With swift action, the ship was able to take all three out and arrest several dozen culprits who were responsible for leading the attacks.

Starbase 38

Wanting a more significant challenge, he was offered a promotion and the position of chief strategic operations officer on Starbase 38 in mid-2399. Happy to showcase his work on his homeworld, Tomaz accepted the offer and returned home. However, he soon found his politically-orientated parents keener on using his positions for their gain, so when Starfleet ordered elements of the Fourth Fleet into the Delta Quadrant, he requested to transfer off the station. He had only been there for two months and felt he couldn’t remain anymore.

USS Odyssey (NCC-80000)

Joining the Odyssey before it entered the Barzan wormhole, Captain McCallister agreed to the transfer and could see Tomaz’s potential to be a key asset in his ship’s success while in the Delta Quadrant. McCallister’s hope for Tomaz became true very early on. He aided in the successful diplomatic efforts with the Uxali and was instrumental in assisting his captain when he had to undertake a solo mission against the Kraylor. 

Tomaz’s ability to develop tactics became something that Captain McCallister quickly depended on during the rest of 2399, when the ship was engaged in a range of missions across the Gradin Belt of the Delta Quadrant. The ship’s senior staff also noted his eagerness to develop his command abilities; as such, he was left in command of the vessel while others undertook a range of surveys when the crew discovered an unusual planet they named Outré. 

In his early days, he developed a strong working relationship with the ship’s new diplomatic officer, Craigen Flemen. The two became quite the pair when dealing with new species or an alien race with some sort of gripe against the Federation. Again, they were depended on to give expert advice during such missions. The two became fast friends and would spend their off-duty time together. 

When an alien ark’s AI captured most of the adults on Odyssey, Tomaz was forced to accept the captain’s decision to remain where they were for now. Powerless to do anything as the ship had highly advanced technology, the crew were forced to become the carers of the children and young people locked away in stasis on the ark. The AI had selected Tomaz to look after a young boy called Jeddie. Tomaz had never considered becoming a father, but after spending only a few days with the toddler, Tomaz became absolutely devoted. Over the course of two months, Tomaz was transformed by his new ‘job’ and loved every moment. However, he had not forgotten his duty as a Starfleet Officer and was instrumental in helping the captain develop an escape plan. Eventually, they were rescued, but tragedy would strike Tomaz hard during this attempt. His time as a father was sadly ripped from him, as it was for many others when the Odyssey rescued him and the others from the alien ark. It was discovered during this attempt that the alien children were only advanced holograms. He mourned the loss of Jeddie and found it challenging to come to terms with accepting that Jeddie was not ‘real’. 

Upon their return to the Federation, the entire crew undertook therapy to help with the trauma sustained by their imprisonment on the alien ark. Tomaz became depressed during this time, and his only outlet was his work. Spending time with Starfleet counsellors helped, as did being with his friends. He became closer to Lieutenant Samris and Lieutenant Commander T’Rani, who had endured a similar fate. The three of them shared their thoughts and feelings around the loss of the children they had been forced to care for. In time he came out of his depression.

When a temporal anomaly split the ship into various timeframes, it was discovered that a future version of Tomaz would rise to become the Odyssey’s first officer and later captain. During their experimental plan to restore the ship to its original timeline, Tomaz also revealed he had married and became quite the mentor to others on the ship. When the temporal paradox was resolved, Tomaz from the present was briefed about what may happen and was placed under oath not to reveal what he knew by the Department of Temporal Investigations. Knowing that he may rise to become captain someday gave Tomaz a new sense of hope. He joined the command training program with Flemen and eventually rose to lieutenant commander. 

By mid-2400, the ship was sent to the Velorum Sector when the Romulan Star Empire collapsed. Sent to help the Romulan colony of Vorash, the crew of the Odyssey aided the settlement with relief efforts. As part of one of the initial away teams, Tomaz assisted with repairs of the colony’s orphanage. While there, one of the children, a young boy named S’Tem, became besotted with Tomaz. S’Tem’s carers had shared that he had never shown such emotions or attachment with anyone else before. After the crew had prevented a Tal Shiar plot from destroying the colony, Tomaz was asked by one of the members of the Qowat Milat if he would take S’Tem in and care for him. After discussing it with Counsellor Horin and his friends, Tomaz agreed, and he became a father overnight. 

When the ship returned to the Delta Quadrant, Tomaz’s tactical planning and strategy development was tested when the Hazari attempted to kidnap and kill two members of its crew. Creating a range of tactics and coordinating them with his fellow officers, Tomaz was able to give Captain McCallister a fighting chance to defend the ship effectively. Furthermore, his plans ensured the threat did not cause further damage to any other Federation assets in the region.