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'''Slishdakk "Slish" Ssa'Rukk''' was a Gorn officer who served aboard the [[USS Kodiak]], [[USS Isannah]] and [[USS Steadfast]].  He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander before he requested extended leave from Starfleet returning to Gorn, citing familial problems.  He has not been heard from since 2379.

==Official Starfleet Biography==
Slishdakk was born on Gorn IV, just one more fruit of the labors of his terraforming parents, who immediately set out for a new assignment on the barren frontier world of Gorn IV, where they have been ever since. Slishdakk and his elder brothers were very close, and fought and played in the wild and sometimes violent colony, which was ruled by Lord Governor Sha'Zakk, a governor under the Colonial Autarch, who along with the Homeworld Autarch rules the Gorn Alliance. Slishdakk made his coming-of-age pilgrimage to S'sagarnon with his brothers (2364.07.01) for the bi-annual Autarch's festival, and Slishdakk saved his elder rother Ssravaakk from a giant Ssu'Voss (three-headed leapord), slew it, and won the title of Grand Superior for that year. For this act he was personally decorated by the S'sagarnon Autarch (Ssla'Gassk IV), and presented with a Ssaz'ta (traditional bladed ocatagonal shield) and Sskatra (collapsable boltcaster). 

A parting of ways for the brothers came when Ssravaakk saved the life of a visiting member of the Governor's household from an accidental death (2366.04.23). As reward, Ssravaakk was made a retainer of the House of Sha'Zakk, and saw little of his blue-collar family in later years. Slishdakk's sister Ssavatu married (2368.08.04), and then there was a great stir in the family when his elder sister Ssilatra announced her intention to break her betrothal arrangement and continue studying her passion of geology at the Science Academy on Earth(2368.10.30). Ssilatra's willfulness drove a wedge between her and the family, but secretly Slishdakk admired her drive and her departure from what had become humdrum routine in the colony. The last straw for Slishdakk came when his younger brother Sslu'Shakk found his calling as a professional Ss'Avakk fighter (a kind of professional athelete), in 2370.01.03. 

Slishdakk envied his brother, and made up his mind to follow his own dream -to explore the universe as an officer of starfleet. If his sister's career had upset the family, Slishdakk's capsized it. He was confronted by his elder brother, now a Captain of Retainers, and the pride of his father. It was the opinion of both his father and elder brother that to join Starfleet was to forego his heritage and his honor. His elder brother offered to fenagle a low level position in the Governor's Guard for Slishdakk, but he refused, thus estranging himself from his brother and father. He found moral support in his mother though, and from his successful younger brother and Geologist sister. He enrolled in Starfleet, the only Gorn in his class. 

Majoring in Operations, he struggled through his technical classes, but excelled in his Security minor. His instructors suggested many times that he switch his Majors, but all Slishdakk could think of was the taunts of his brother,who assured him he would be given some brutish job the warm-bloods found `fitting' for him -an animal-like member of a barbarian race. Slishdakk underwent Marine training, but stopped halfway through to seize and opening in the Command program. Again, his 
marks were not exemplary, but he showed perseverance and graduated in the upper half of his class

==Service Record==

*2372.06.01 -Enters Starfleet Academy at age of 20, only Gorn in class. 
*2376.12.19 - Graduates, upper 66% standing. Major in Operations, minor in Security. Specialties in Small Unit and Space Tactics, Diplomacy. 
*Recieves Marine Training. 
*2376.12.21 -Cadet Cruise, USS CRAZY HORSE. 
*2377.05.21 -Graduates Command School, 9th out of class of 12. 
*2377.07.04 -Sim Training on Starbase 118, assigned as Security Officer, [[USS Kodiak]]. 
*Mission:2378.08.10 - Away Mission to [[Kismet]]. Encountered and neutralized a then unknown lifeform, later named a `Slishdakk' in his honor. 
*2378.12.02- Promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade, Reassigned as Chief Tactical Officer. 
*Mission 2379.02.01: Web Nebula/Dyson Sphere. 
*2379.03.01: Promoted to full Lieutenant. 
*Mission: 2379.05.15: Hell's Gate Triumph. 
*2379.07.03: Awarded the Nebula Bar. 
*2379.0726: Mission to Antidean Colonies. During this mission Lt. Ssa'Rukk was obliged to euthanize Lt. [[Stark, James David|James David Stark]], Chief Helmsman and Wing Commander, after he was infected by a T'Lithian intruder. 
*2379.0810 - Following the crippling of [[USS Kodiak]], Ssa'Rukk transfered to [[USS Isannah]] as First Officer. 
*2379.0819 - Decorated by the Imperial and Colonial Autarchs of the Gorn Confederacy for his achievements in the interests of intergalactic relations between the Confederacy and the United Federation of Planets. 
*2379.0824 - Following disciplinary action for jeapordizing interspecies relations and the safety of a subordinate officer, Ssa'Rukk was demoted to Lieutenant and assigned as Chief Of Security, [[USS Steadfast]]. 
*2379.0826 - Diplomatic mission to [[Zamkon II]]. 
*2379.1002 - Promoted to Lt. Commander, reinstated as First Officer, [[USS Steadfast]]. 
*2379.1008 - Mission to Gamma Quadrant, investigating Breen activity.

==Psychological Profile==
===Personality===
Slishdakk is painfully aware that his appearance tends to prejudice aliens against him. He resents the notion that Gorn are brutes, and tends to go out of his way to educated others on the virtues of his culture and heritage. His estrangement from his brother and father add to this flaw, and he harbors a certain fear that the arguments of his family against his enlistment will prove true. He is fascinated by other cultures however, and while not in the least averse to conflict, he does not seek it out with every breath either, and tends to look down upon those who do. His sheer size occasionally puts him at odds with standard Starfleet issue equipment, and this frustrates him greatly. Possessing of a high stamina and pain threshold, he also tends to overestimate the physical boundries of non-Gorn beings. His heartfelt desire is to one day be in a position of command. Because of his Gorn upbringing, it has been noticed that he has a marked tendency to mistrust Klingons, Orions, and most practitioners of telepathy. 

===Outside interests===
Slishdakk is a practiced Ss'Avakk wrestler, the philosophy of which is to overpower one's opponent through sheer force and intimidation. It also stresses grappling and submission holds. Slishdakk is also an amateur sculptor, most interested in depicting the physical form in some manner of exertion. While in the Academy on Earth, he picked up a fondness for certain [[Terran]] masters, including DaVinci and Michaelangelo. He decorates his quarters with statues of Ss'Avakk fighters (as well as certain earth-pieces he collected), one modelled after a promotional poster of his famous brother. He also has a few oddly shaped and composed minerals (gifts from his sister), and displays his Ssaz'ta and Sskatra in a place of honor. On dress occassions he wears a traditional mantle of resplendent Ssu'Voss hide (the animal he himself slew). Recently he has begun to foster an interest in the American Old West of Earth, having been introduced to dramatic films about the period by members of the Kodiak crew.

==Recent Notes==
Slishdakk Ssa'Rukk has recently (stardate 2381.0714) been encountered by the [[USS Triumphant]]. He is Captain of the [[Mess'Treth]], a Gorn cruiser.

[[Category:Retired Characters]]
[[Category:Gorn]]
[[Category:Starfleet personnel]]