Talia Kaji

USS Columbia
Talia Kaji
Position	Counselor
Rank	Lt. Commander
Species	Rodulan
Gender	Female
DOB	229811.24
Age	103
Birthplace
Medical Record * Academy Transcript Awards & Service Ribbons B-Plot Award Silver Palm Xalor Clan Xifilis Award Graphic Worldbuilding Winner Medical Science Ribbon Explorer's Ribbon Joint Meritorious Unit Award First Contact Ribbon Starfleet Academy Graduate Ribbon Gateway Ribbon Prometheus Ribbon 1-year Member Prisoner of War Ribbon

Lieutenant Talia Kaji is a Rodulan officer posted to the USS Columbia. She is currently serving as Counselor.

Personal Statistics

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Stats

• Full Name: Talia Christine Kaji
• Current Rank: Lieutenant
• Current Position: Counseling
• Current Station: USS Victory
• Date of birth: 229811.24
• Place of Birth: Dovet City, Idanni Continent, Rodul
• Age: 93 Terran Years
• Species: Rodulan (Idanii sub-racial class)
• Telepathic Status: T4, E4, NR
• Gender: Female

Appearance

• Height: 5' 6" (1.65m)
• Weight: 145 lbs (72.6kg)
• Hair Color: Black, with brown highlights. Naturally very curly, but sometimes she straightens it.
• Length of Hair: Long, about 8 inches past her shoulders.
• Eyes: Black on black, quite frightening to some people.
• Skin: Light coffee brown.
• Build: Slim, but with curves.
• Face: Round, with small eyes and a wide smile.
• Mouth: Usually smiling.
• Arms: Slim and graceful.
• Legs: Slightly thicker than the rest of her.
• Notable marks: Scar on the lower right of her abdomen.
• Carriage: Loose and bouncy.
• Poses: Easy and comfortable. Kaji hates sitting upright, so she usually curls her legs under her or props them up on something. When standing she usually finds something to lean against. She likes to sit on the floor at home.
• Voice: Kaji has a very low, rich voice. Her tone is often sarcastic or teasing.
• Appearance: While her size and build are quite average, Kaji sticks out in a crowd. Her intense personality comes across in her manner and tone. She is rarely formal; her uniform is often askew, or the sleeves are rolled up. As counselor she wears civilian clothes rather than a standard uniform.
• Off Duty Appearance: Comfortable, simple clothes. She prefers bright colors that set off her dark skin.
• Shoes: Simple slip on shoes or soft boots.
• Handedness: Right.

Home Life

Family

• Children: Ben Kaji, Benjamin Kaji (Adult version of Benjiro Kaji, brought from an alternate future)
• Mother: Adriana Kaji (biological, born 2132), and Bo Kaji (step-mother, born 2165)
  • Adriana and Bo Kaji are "Bonded" partners. When they decided to have children, they used anonymous sperm donors to have children and alternated carrying the child. Biologically, Jessa is Talia's half sister, and Tass is her step-brother.
• Father: Anonymous Sperm Donor
• Siblings:
  • Jessa Kaji (born 2285), sister
  • Tass Kaji (born 2291), brother
• Cousin: Akeelah D'Sena

Manner and Home Life

Kaji Quarters on the Victory

Kaji is a very lighthearted woman. She enjoys games, children and pranks. Casual and friendly with everyone, she occasionally gets in trouble by being too informal, especially with higher-ranking officers. She has a terrible tendency to poke her nose into other people's business.

On the USS Columbia, Kaji lives in Senior Officer's Quarters on Deck 9 with her son Ben. Their living space is very cluttered and vividly decorated. Kaji loves bold colors and prints, so the spaces are crowded with artwork, throw pillows, and children's toys. Ben is quite messy, and the apartment is often a tornado of sticky fingerprints and crumbs. Kaji has brought a lot of art from her home on Rodul where it is an important part of the culture. They also have a Holographic Nanny who lives with them to care for Ben anytime Kaji has to work late. Her name is Mrs Fluffy.

Kaji likes to be comfortable. When she is in uniform, her sleeves are often rolled up to her elbows to make work easier. She often gets a uniform slightly bigger than her size to make movement easier. Her off-duty wardrobe is mostly loose, brightly colored sweaters and tunic shirts over thin trousers. She likes to leave her hair loose, though she will pull it back for serious medical work.

Her on-duty shoes are always sensible, orthopedic slip-on shoes. Years of working in a trauma unit have trained her to wear shoes that help her stay on her feet for days. She rarely wears shoes in her quarters, but will wear her everyday shoes when she goes out.

Early Life

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The Kaji Family (right to left)
Bo, Tass, Talia, Jessa, Adriana

Childhood

Raised by two mothers on a small farm on Rodul, Talia Kaji had few ambitions other than moving to the city. At the age of 20, she enrolled in medical school to become a doctor. She graduated with slightly above-average marks and some honors.

Rodulan Career

From ages 25-60 Talia worked as a doctor in a local practice. She was trained as a general practitioner, treating all manner of basic conditions. She focused on obstetrics in particular. In general, she very much enjoyed being a simple country doctor, but she began to dream of adventure. The Idanii region of Rodul hosted a very severe and reserved culture. Kaji's enthusiasm and thirst for excitement began to affect her relationships. Talia finally decided to move and search for a more meaningful life in the city.

Talia found a job at a large hospital in Rodul's capital city of Tikan, where she started working in the emergency room. The pace of her new life was overwhelming at first, but she adjusted and began to enjoy the thrill of trauma work. Her experience in general medicine helped her with the various illnesses and injuries present in emergency care, but she found the trauma work more interesting. She loved the work, and kept the position for the next thirty years. She also began studying, working towards a surgery position.

Personal Relationships

Talia and Ben on the Beach at Duronis

Kaji had very few relationships while she was living in Idanii. She lived near her moms and siblings, and her friends were all fellow doctors and nurses. After moving to Tikan, she fell into similar patterns at first. Her moms began pushing her towards fining a companion and making more friends. So Talia began to socialize. She spent a lot of time in her fifties dating, but found the men (and one or two women) boring and ordinary. Deciding to focus on non-romantic relationships, Kaji focused on helping her friends and becoming overly involved in their various issues. She developed a bad habit of being too curious and tying to fix things.

At age 86, she met Ensign Kyo Maeda, assigned to the UFoP Embassy. He had taken down an intruder in the Rodul Embassy and been badly wounded, ending up on her operating table. He smiled at her, and she was hooked. Kyo was a very quiet man, with a subtle-but-wicked sense of humor. They talked a lot while he was in recovery, and after he was discharged, he asked her out on a date. He made a point to visit her every time he came to the hospital for physical therapy.

Their relationship was strong from the beginning. Talia's enthusiasm and Kyo's stoic strength complemented each other well. He was a very simple and honest man, so her telepathy didn't bother him very much, and he adjusted rather quickly. Talia's greatest struggle was the difference in their species, particularly their different life-spans.As Kyo and Talia's relationship grew more serious, they began to discuss a more permanent commitment. Kyo was interested in the Rodulan bond-pairing. Though he couldn't sense Talia's thoughts, they believed the commitment of sharing and creating a thought, a dream, was the most intense vow they could imagine.

Before their move, Talia found out she was pregnant. It wasn't planned, but she and Kyo were thrilled. Rodulans very much discourage unplanned pregnancies, and the Kaji Family tried to force Talia to return home so her older family could raise the child. Kaji and Maeda decided to leave Rodul to make a new life on their own. Talia joined Starfleet to give her the freedom she desired, and Kyo requested a transfer to a new ship. The process took about a year, and meanwhile, they welcomed a newborn Benjiro Maeda Kaji into their family.

Benjiro Maeda Kaji was born on Stardate 238706.11.

As Maeda was in Starfleet already, they were able to get him stationed at the Starfleet Academy affiliated campus on Aldebaran, where Kaji took her courses. Ensign Maeda was promoted to LtJg and transferred to the Duranis II Embassy about a six months before she graduated. Kaji kept Ben with her, and Maeda went ahead to the Embassy.

Nearing graduation, Kaji requested assignment to the Embassy. Once it was approved, she sent Ben to live with Maeda while she finished exams. Talia was sent to Starbase 118 for finals and graduation.

Starfleet Career

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USS Columbia
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Starfleet Records & Assessments

• Full Article: StarFleet Records
• Official Documentation: Medical Record

Academy

Taila Kaji attended the Starfleet Academy affiliated campus on Aldebaran. Already having so much experience in the medical field, she was able to test out of many classes and finished the academy in two and a half years, focusing on Starfleet regulations and alien physiology. Nearing graduation, Kaji requested assignment to the Duronis II Embassy. She was sent to Starbase 118 for finals and graduation, and her first posting was as a Medical officer on the USS Thunder-A, attached to the Duranis II Embassy.

Duronis II Embassy

Kaji's time on the Embassy and it's support ship was professionally successful, but personally tumultuous. She arrived near the end of the Bluegil invasion and aided the medical staff. During the recovery time, she quickly proved her worth by organizing the remaining medical staff. Talia made friends quickly on the Embassy, primarily with the Gorn First Officer, Commander Nugra. The two had some disputes over medical treatment, but grew to accept each other.

In the middle of her first full mission, Kaji was forced to take leave after suffering an ectopic pregnancy. The rupture and surgery left her unable to have any more children. Kaji recovered slowly from the injury, returning to work as soon as she could manage. Her hard work saw her promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and assigned the position of Chief Medical Officer, lacking any higher-ranking medical officers. The new responsibilities helped her bounce back emotionally from the trauma, though her partner, Maeda, did not recover so quickly.

Kaji's telepathic powers gradually became harder and harder to control. Debilitating headaches soon began to interfere with her job performance. Added to the trouble was the stress of a swiftly collapsing personal relationship with Maeda Kyo. When her telepathic abilities made her unable to work, Kaji approached Commander Nugra to help her get into a meditation and psionic training course on Vulcan. He arranged for her leave and she soon left, though not before having a serious fight with Kyo.

USS Victory

Kaji in Sickbay.

Kaji was on Vulcan for training when the USS Victory launched, but Commander Nugra pushed her transfer through. She soon left the monastery and joined the ship to act as the Chief Medical officer.

Mission: As The Future Burns

Just after the Victory launched, the ship encountered an alternate future version of the ship. Among the crew was an adult Ben Kaji. The alternate Ben had lost Talia at a young age and it had shaped his life. It was difficult emotionally for both Ben and Talia, but they were able to work together to complete the mission. After the ship reached Duronis II, he was whisked off by Starfleet Intelligence for debriefing.

After the first mission on the Victory, Commander Nugra decided her skills would be better suited to counseling, and assigned her to be Ship's Counselor and promoted her to Lieutenant. Kaji was excited for the opportunity to work with the crew in new ways.

Mission: Choices

Kaji joined the diplomatic party in a first contact mission with the Sunak. There she met the dual-minded Miizar species. A near brush with death when the party was attacked by Strox invaders left Talia with some trauma issues. The Strox also boarded the Victory, making her wonder if it was safe to keep Ben aboard with her.

After the mission was completed, Kaji asked Iria, Nugra's daughter and the Victory's schoolteacher, to come live with her and Ben. This gave Kaji a constant caretaker and bodyguard for Ben whenever she couldn't be with him.

Capture by Sicarius

The crew of the Victory headed to Duronis II to celebrate Nugra's promotion to Captain. While they were there, Kaji ran into her ex, Maeda, who was with another woman. Nervous about going alone to an event he'd be attending, Kaji asked Nugra if she could come as his date. He agreed and she headed to her room to prepare.

Lying in wait was the Sicarian Agent Que. Talia was captured and shuttled off to a prison on a remote planet while Que, a Changeling took her face and her life. While Que went on to join the Victory in its next several missions, Kaji had her memory wiped. The prison she was kept in was used as an experimental research station by Sicarius and their Tholian partners. She was put through several trials and procedures designed to test her mental boundaries.

She stumbled upon a fellow prisoner and former crewmate Shiarrael Ei-Ihhliae. Shiarrael was running an undercover investigation of Sicarus for the Romulan Republic. Shiarrael helped Kaji and several other prisoners (including a Starfleet Marine, Major Kagran). Kaji had to use her telepathy to mentally incapacitate many of the guards. It made her call the ethics of her powers into question.

After the escape and a two-week voyage in a cramped Starfleet shuttle, the prisoners made it back to Starbase 118, where Kaji was able to get back to the Victory and her family.

Mission: The Spider's Web

Struggling with a lot of post-traumatic stress, Kaji rejoined the Victory's crew just in time for a new mission. Along with Major Kagran, a fellow Sicarian prisoner, Ayiana Sevo and several other Victorians, Kaji investigated a derelict Starfleet ship, The Arrow, in Tholian space.

USS Columbia

Shortly after the investigation into the Arrow, Captain Nugra decided to give up his command and the Victory crew was divided among the rest of the fleet. Kaji and Nugra were both assigned to the USS Columbia, a larger Nebula Class ship.

Emotional Upheaval

While her first mission aboard, Kaji felt pretty useless, she was able to learn a lot about herself and her emotional state. She realized she needed to take a break and get some counseling herself. A short duty tour on a research project was a great way for her to escape for a couple of months to try and figure some things out. One issue she found herself dealing with was her growing feelings towards her former Captain, Nugra.

Notable Relationships

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Name	Relationship	Rank	Description
Nugra	Friend	Commander	Nugra and Kaji met while assigned to the Duronis II Embassy. They had several personality clashes, but Kaji became fascinated by the severe Gorn. They forged a tenuous friendship. He requested for her to be assigned to his ship, the USS Victory as Chief Medical Officer, but later decided her natural skills would be more suitable to Ship's Counselor.
Iria	Friend, Roomate and Nanny	Civilian	Kaji met Captain Nugra's daughter Iria when she came aboard the Victory. Iria was assigned as the ship's schoolteacher, so she and Kaji met frequently as the Rodulan picked up and dropped off Ben. Iria protected Ben during a couple of boarding raids on the Victory, and Kaji asked her to come be Ben's personal nanny/teacher/bodyguard. Kaji also proposed that Iria come live with them so they could all take care of each other. They all moved into a three-bedroom officer's quarters apartment on Deck 5.
Akeelah D'Sena	Cousin	Lt. Commander	Akeelah and Kaji met on Rodul during a family funeral for their mutual grandfather. They had never met growing up as their ages were quite different, and they were surprised to find that both were in Starfleet.
Ayiana Sevo	Friend	Lieutenant	Talia and [[Sevo, Ayiana|Ayiana Sevo met while serving together aboard the USS Victory. When Sevo was stuck in a coma after a traumatic experience, Talia entered her mind and helped her find her way back. This created a mental bond between the two of them. They have a tendency to carry each other's emotions strongly when in each other's presence. They can also sense when the other is near.
Shiarrael Ei-Ihhliae	Friend	Tribune	While they had met briefly on the Embassy, Shiarrael and Kaji didn't develop a friendship until their mutual experience at a Sicarian Prison. Their teamwork in escaping and making it back to Starbase 118 cemented a solid friendship between the two women. They continued to serve together both on the USS Victory and the USS Columbia.

Ribbons & Awards

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For award descriptions, see: Awards and Service Ribbons

AWARDS Date Award Ribbon Name Description and/or original Award 2013 Joint Meritorious Unit Award 239010.14 - Service together with the USS Vigilant. 2013 Gateway Ribbon 239010.14 - Defense of Duronis from Blugill Invasion. 2013 Medical Science Ribbon 239010.14 - Assisting in the discovery of the cure against Bluegill Infestation. 2014 Explorer's Ribbon 239108.13 - Discovery of the Paksos System. 2015 Explorer's Ribbon 239201.25 - Exploration of the Orthica's Bane Nebula. 2015 First Contact Ribbon 239201.25 - Participated in the first contact mission with the Sunak species 2014 The B Plot Award 239112.16 - Talia won the B-plot for her excellent portrayal of her family life. 2014 The Silver Palm 239112.16 - Her continued effort to create a lovable character that just makes us smile is a great achievement. 2015 Xalor Clan Xifilis Award 239201.01 - Her dedication through the emotional stress of pregnancy and postpartum is why she has earned this award. 2015 1-year Member 239201.01 - For one year of service to Starbase 118.

Chronological History

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• 229811.24 Talia Christine Kaji born
• 232605.10 Graduated Medical School
• 238404.19 Met Kyo Maeda
• 238706.11 Benjiro Kaji born
• 238612.01 Enrolled in Starfleet
• 239008.18 Joined the Crew of the Thunder-A
• 239101.03 Promoted to Chief Medical Officer
• 239105.01 Attended Psionic Training Course on Vulcan
• 239106.01 Transferred to the USS Victory
• 239110.01 Became Ship's Counselor
• 239207.15 Transferred to the USS Columbia

Career Overview

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Career Overview Insignia Rank Dates Posting Assignment Ensign 239008.18 - 239101.03 USS Thunder-A / Duronis II Embassy Medical Officer Lieutenant JG 239101.03 - 239106.01 Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant JG 239106.01 - 239111.04 USS Victory Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant 239111.04 - 239208.01 Chief Counselor Lt. Commander 239208.01 - Present USS Columbia Counselor

Photo Album

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Uniform Picture	Talia in Counselor Garb and Glasses	Home Life
	Prisoner of Sicarius Scourge of Romulus	Kaji and Nugra in Dress Uniforms

Columbia Crew

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NPC Listing   ·   USS Columbia Crew Manifest   ·   Crew History Commanding Ofc. Theo Whittaker Executive Ofc. Pholin Duyzer Asst. Chief Ops Jona ch'Ranni Asst. Chief Tactical James Colquhoun Security Ofc. Artinus Serinus Security Ofc. Kano Risha Engineering Ofc. Ryan Horn Chief Medical Ofc. Anath G'Renn Counselor Karen Stendhal Edit This Nav