Taelon

Starbase 118 Ops
Taelon
Position	Science Officer
Rank	Ensign
Species	El-Aurian
Gender	Male
DOB	235803.05
Age	43
Birthplace	Cestus III
Writer ID	O239303T10
Awards & Service Ribbons Starfleet Academy Graduate Ribbon

Ensign Taelon is an El-Aurian currently serving as a science officer aboard Starbase 118 Ops & her support ship, the USS Albion. He is a recent graduate of the Academy, with Starbase 118 being his first posting. He specializes in Exotechnology, with a focus in robotics and cybernetics.

	Appearance

Taelon's tattoo as of 'The Show Must Go On'.

Taelon is extremely tall, the first thing most notice about him - he stands at 6’8, and with not being fully grown yet, there’s the possibility he might grow even taller. His features are generally equine, with an elegantly tapered nose and sharp features. His lips are full and his eyes are large and bright blue, his skin tanned. A line of freckles traces over his nose and cheeks. His build is slim but muscular, the general build of a runner or swimmer.

He looks young, despite his age - because, for his species, he is. Taelon is technically not fully grown, currently in his late adolescent phase and on the cusp of full adulthood. It shows in his slightly more childlike features and mannerisms.

He doesn’t dress well, and usually wears his uniform even when off duty. While his personal clothing is generally passable, most of it is tattered and old, and he’s yet to get around to buying new ones. He wears plenty of jewelry, most noticeably his nose bridge piercings.

Taelon also bears a tattoo on his forearm. It started simply when he joined the Academy; he’s enhanced it since joining the Starbase, as is traditional for his culture.

Mannerisms

Taelon’s anxious nature is betrayed by his body - he fidgets and rarely sits still, constantly twisting his fingers together, swinging his legs, or tugging at his sleeves. He chews his lip often enough to have sores on the inside of it.

He tends to bug his eyes out when surprised - and given how large his eyes are, this tends to make him look a bit like a surprised deer. When nervous he develops a bit of a stutter.

Taelon most notably tries constantly to make himself seem smaller, holding his arms close to his body and slumping his shoulders. He rarely stands fully straight, and tends to try to stand behind other people, especially when nervous.

	Personality

On the positive side, Taelon is intelligent, dedicated to his work, and very adaptable - he’s a mutable sort who tends to mold himself to fit whomever he happens to be with. He’s eager to learn new things and tell others about them, and has a core of considerable energy that he pours into his work and personal life. He has a good (if somewhat dark) sense of humor and a warm regard for the universe as a whole.

He cares deeply for others, often putting them and their needs far, far ahead of his own. He finds it hard to leave issues unresolved, and places great importance on the happiness of others. He does tend to think the best of people and is very open and agreeable.

To others, he tends to come across as shy, inexperienced, and a bit unsure of himself, but nothing more than that.

The reality - and the negative side - is that Taelon has a nearly cripplingly low sense of self-esteem. He views himself as only as good as his contributions are; he assumes, at a core level, that he needs to provide something useful before he’ll get the time of day. He has a deep need to be around others, but struggles to form meaningful relationships due to a mix of anxiety and not understanding what others expect of him.

He assumes the worst of himself and of his social interactions. He sees even minor mistakes as disasters and struggles to overcome them, and in a new situation like his recent deployment tends to assume even the slightest failure will ruin any chance he has of being thought well of. Even assuring words don’t help, as he tends to see his fears as fact - any assurance is just others being polite and not wanting to put him on the spot, but they must all think he’s useless. He doesn’t recognise his anxieties as something treatable, but rather as a personal flaw he should hide. Being naive and more or less desperate for affection, he’s quite easily manipulated - quick to trust and cling to anyone who appears to notice he exists and quick to rationalise away nearly any action they take. He might even take such actions as a lesson about how the universe works.

Somewhere under his layers of self-defeating depression is a warm, caring person who wants to make the galaxy a better place. Taelon has the capability to be brave and self-sufficient, but hasn’t had the courage to learn that about himself yet.

	Relationships: Familial

Taelon's family is a complex matter for him; he left his mother's compound only recently, and their relationship is still strained. His other relatives are distant and busy, and are largely and unknown to him. While he had a longing to be closer to his family, so far all those he's met tend to diminish him in one way or another. Nowadays he generally tries to avoid all of them except his father.

Azera Mother A scientist living on Cestus III in a self-imposed exile. While technically the head of their family and clan, she keeps to herself and her obsessions. Raised by her largely in isolation, his mother is a woman who puts her work above everything and everyone else - and while she worked hard to ensure he learned as much as possible under her care, that fact drove a wedge between them that him leaving didn't mend.

Jakarn Father A popular holonovelist and producer who contrasts his mother considerably by being friendly, gregarious and a bit overwhelming. Taelon only got to know him recently and didn't meet him til Taelon was in his teens. Taelon's relationship with his father is on much better terms, albiet still distant due to his father's busy lifestyle. His generally energetic personality and regular checkups have ensured the two maintain a frequent correspondence.

Ishani Kasun Half-Sister & Crewmate A security and crisis officer also assigned to Starbase 118 and one of Taelon's many half-siblings. Taelon's only just found out about her - and technically only just met her. Time will tell what the two make of each other, given the slightly strange dynamics at play.

	Relationships: Professional

Sal Taybrim Commanding Officer The Starbase's commander is a bit of an enigma to Taelon and is far more friendly than he expected. Taelon admires the man but is unable to get a read on what the man expects from him, which makes the young El-Aurian more than a bit nervous in his presence.

Kaitlyn Falcon Chief Helm Officer & Crewmate The CHO has made quite an impression on Taelon; one might not imagine that seeing her bludgeoning targs with a steel pipe would be the best first impression in Starfleet, but Taelon has come to see her as relentlessly competent and someone he's quite comfortable following around. And hiding behind when they're getting shot at, but in a good way.

Theo Whittaker XO & Crewmate After the events of 'The Show Must Go On', Taelon admires Whittaker implicitly, albeit from a bit of a distance - after watching the man volunteer for torture to save the team, get repeatedly shot and beaten and still manage to lead the team to rescue, it's hard not to be loyal to the XO.

Antero Flynn Chief Flight Officer & Crewmate Serving alongside Flynn for his first major mission with the Starbase, Taelon finds him in the same category as Sal - admirable, competent, and just casual enough to make the border between commander and subordinate fuzzy. That said, the man throws amazing beach parties.

	History

Taelon's Home on Cestus III (Exterior).

Taelon's Home on Cestus III (Interior).

Life on Cestus III [2358 - 2388]

Taelon was born in 2358 on the colony of Cestus III. Born into a strict Eccia bloodline, the environment he grew up in was a mired one - the once strict culture his family had come from shattered by the fall of El-Auria, they all dealt with the new world in different ways. For his mother, her choice was isolation and obsessive study and research. For his father, it was travel and writing.

Taelon grew up isolated with his mother; he didn’t meet his father, Jakarn, until he was 14 years old. While he received his basic education at the school in the relatively nearby colony, his mother taught him the majority of the skills he knows now, and as he grew up he assisted her in her research.

The area of Cestus they lived in was remote and unpopulated - a barren, arid red desert. His mother had perched her home on the edge and side of a steep canyon, carefully hidden from the outside world. When she’d first arrived, the Gorn had just destroyed the first Federation colony and raiding parties still crawled the planet. By the time Taelon was born, the biggest concern was some of the nastier wildlife. His mother kept the perimeter turrets online regardless.

Azera was often away for long periods of time, leaving the boy to tend the home by himself. These periods of true isolation were when Taelon picked up his tendency towards self-reliance...as well as his hobby of learning bizarre little skills.

Left to his own ends, he discovered and became enamored of Starfleet, taking their messages and philosophy thoroughly to heart. His mother didn’t think much of them, nor did she support his desire to join them.

While their relationship had always been somewhat tense, as Taelon grew into his early 20s, he and his mother began to struggle to see eye to eye. Deprived of the regular social outlet of school and still frequently left behind, they spent the next decade arguing with increasing intensity, until in 2388 an argument turned violent.

Taelon left that night, taking what few personal possessions he had and trading some of them for a lift off-planet. He spent two months travelling to Earth, hopping from ship to ship to get there.

Academy Life [2388 - 2393]

Taelon managed to take the entry exam to Starfleet Academy after arriving on Earth, and while he didn’t pass with flying colors, he was admitted to the facility in San Francisco. He enrolled as a student of the Arts & Sciences division, studying cybernetics, nanotech and robotics - the same skills learned under his mother’s 30-year tutelage.

Still thrown off by his departure from the only home he’d ever known, and overwhelmed by the sheer number of people, he struggled to adjust and make friends. In the end he spent most of the years there working by himself, wrapped up intensely in projects and research.

He graduated from the Academy in 2393 with several accolades in his classwork, which he’s proud of. While most might not consider his time at the Academy ideal, he thinks of it fondly and often misses it, especially when things on the Starbase aren’t going well.

Starbase 118 OPs [2393 - ]

After graduation and his cadet cruise, Taelon was assigned to the Operations of Starbase 118. It wasn’t the sort of assignment he expected to get, and the crew isn’t what he’d expected either - what with the Gorn, a gaggle of Risians, and the sheer flood of Betazoids.

He’s still working on settling in, a month or so later. Since arriving he’s found himself tangled up in a holodeck malfunction that involved musical numbers (no, the Academy did not train him on the proper procedure for those), the discovery of hidden decks and a slavery ring, and most recently been part of a crew kidnapped while escorting the famous diva Lady Shadonna, where members of the team were shot, burnt, tortured, electrocuted, hit with shrapnel, and repeatedly cornered and out gunned in fire fights. In short, it’s been a busy last few months.

So far Starfleet hasn’t been like what he’d imagined as a kid. But that’s beens the case with most things in the last 5 years.

	StarFleet Academy Record

Starfleet Academy Division of Arts & Sciences

Major: Exotechnology (Computer Sciences)
Specializations: Robotics, Cybernetics, and Nanotechnology
Minor: Xenolinguistics
Completed Coursework and was Certified in the Following Languages:
Vulcan, Klingonese, and Borg Alphanumeric Code.

Accolades and Extra-Curriculars

Received accolades for his coursework in Cybernetics, Nanotechnology and Borg Alphanumeric Code.
Taelon’s overall academic performance was typical. Notably, he failed and had to retake some courses, including his Klingon linguistic courses and Stellar Cartography. His performance in his robotics and exotech courses gained him note for being capable of adapting and working with little-known technology and computer systems.

	Service Record

Service History
Insignia	Rank	Dates	Posting	Assignment
	Cadet First Class	239303.15	Graduated Starfleet Academy	Science Cadet
	Ensign	239303.15 - Present	Starbase 118 Ops/USS Albion	Science Officer

	Awards & Service Ribbons

For award descriptions, see: Awards and Service Ribbons

Awards and Service Ribbons
Award Name Date/Assignment Citation Lifesaving Ribbon 2393 Starbase 118 Ops Aided in the rescue of slaves during Once More, With Feeling Innovation Ribbon 2393 Starbase 118 Ops Awarded for modifying sensors to track suspects during Once More, With Feeling Service Ribbon Name Date/Assignment Citation Starfleet Academy Graduate Ribbon 2393 Starfleet Academy Graduated from Starfleet Academy.

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