| Roshanara Rahman is the chief engineer aboard the USS Mercury. She previously served aboard the starships Shanghai, Tempest, and Pioneer.
Born on Moselina IV, a busy trade stop located near Krios Prime, the Kriosian homeworld, Roshanara's birth parents gave her up for adoption, and a human couple took her in, named her, and raised her back on Earth in the city of Lahore. Often mistaken for a Trill due to her Kriosian spots, she joined Starfleet because of her interest in starship engineering, an interest that has not come without a cost as she was gravely injured early in her career from a major accident that required lengthy rehabilitation.
Stats & Service Record
- Full Name: Roshanara Rahman
- Species: Kriosian
- Date of Birth: 235612.15
- Place of Birth: Moselina IV
- Hometown: Lahore, Earth
- Gender: Female
Education
Starfleet Career
- Commissioned: 2378
- Training Facility: Starfleet Academy, Beta Ursae Minor II, 2374-2378
Starfleet Service Record
| Insignia
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Rank
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Dates
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Posting
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Assignment
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Ensign
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2378 - 2380
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Starfleet Academy, Beta Ursae Minor II
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Master of Engineering Program
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| 2380 - 2382
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USS Shanghai
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Engineer Officer
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Lieutenant JG
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2382 - 2383
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USS Tempest
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| 2383 - 2387
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Leave of Absence; Daystrom Institute of Technology
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Doctoral Program in Engineering sponsored by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers
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Lieutenant
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2387 - 2388
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USS Pioneer
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R&D Engineer
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| 2388 - 2389
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Assistant Chief Engineer
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Lt. Commander
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238909.16 - Present
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USS Mercury
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Chief Engineer
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- Joint Meritorious Unit Award, 2389
- Klingon Invasion Ribbon, 2389
- Gold Lifesaving Ribbon, 2389
- The Legion of Merit, 2389
- The Neelix Award, 2389
- The Sarpeidon Award, 2389
Appearance
- Height: 161 cm (5'3")
- Weight: 56 kilos (123 lbs)
- Hair Color: Black
- Eye Color: Green
- Skin Tone: Brown
- Handedness: Right
- Distinguishing Marks:
- Species-Specific: She displays the typical Kriosian spot pattern, which runs from her temples to the back of her neck and down to a point about midway along her spine. This pattern looks similar to and is often mistaken as that of the Trill; however, Kriosian spots are typically more subtle in their contrast to the overall skin tone and do not continue down across the front of the chest and along the lower limbs.
- Scars/Physical Trauma: Roshanara was seriously injured in 2383 from a major accident that occurred aboard the USS Tempest. She required lengthy rehabilitation at Medical Starbase 253, and her Kriosian physiology was not as responsive to standard dermal regeneration treatment. She has a set of scars on the left side of her face that run across her cheekbone. Her left arm was so badly damaged from exposure to plasma coolant that the medical team initially feared they would need to replace it with a prosthetic. They were ultimately able to salvage the limb and restore function through the use of myoelectric implants to supplement destroyed nerve and muscle tissue. Her fourth and fifth fingers on her left hand were amputated and replaced with mechanical substitutes. With the loss of muscle mass, her left upper limb is noticeably thinner than her right, appearing as if there is minimal flesh over the bones with extensive scarring remaining all along her left hand, arm, and shoulder. She normally keeps these areas covered, with only the scars and mechanical fingers of her left hand remaining as hints of the past trauma.
Tone/Voice
Often assumed to be shy, Roshanara actually enjoys meeting people but prefers to wait until there is something meaningful to say rather than engage in small talk. Once she does get to know someone better, she tends to play off of the other person in conversation, creating relaxed banter in some cases to more restrained exchanges in others. Her sense of humor is decidedly dry.
In addition to her technical prowess, she also is quite good at reading faces and working with others, which has helped her in her professional development and when she has had to lead project teams.
Personal Life
Lifestyle
- Quarters: Deck 17, a bit remote for a senior staff member, but it conveniently places her just two decks below Main Engineering on the USS Mercury.
- Clothing: When not in uniform, she prefers casual, modest dress and can often be found roaming the corridors in a comfy salwar kameez or sari.
- Dietary Restrictions: She tries to follow halal guidelines when possible. For instance, she does not drink alcohol or consume pork/targ meat.
- Coffee: with cinnamon and cardamom
- Hobbies/Interests: reading, writing, playing pranks on people
- In her off hours, Roshanara particularly enjoys reading fiction to escape both reality and technical journals. She also is an avid writer herself and has maintained a personal journal since childhood.
Family
- Spouse: None
- Children: None
- Parents
- Birth Parents: Unknown
- Adoptive Father: Issam Rahman (born 2317)
- Adoptive Mother: Najwa Rahman (born 2320)
Friends, Significant Others, and Notable Colleagues
Beta Ursae Minor II
- Javed Dogar: A human civilian.
- Dogar: "This isn't real life! Don't you get it?"
- Rahman: "What are you talking about?"
- Dogar: "I mean this! You and me, talking through a screen. It's like having a relationship through a window."
- Rahman: "We knew it was going to be hard-"
- Dogar: "No, *you* knew it was going to be this way. And I... I was foolish for going along with it instead of having us move on with our lives as we should have."
- -2382
- Roshanara met Javed in 2380 as she was finishing her master's degree at the Starfleet Academy annex on Beta Ursae Minor II. The two began dating and decided to continue the relationship after Roshanara was assigned to the Shanghai. The long-distance relationship lasted for another two years, with the couple reuniting three to four times a year when the Shanghai returned to the sector. At their final reunion, they spent an intimate holiday on Casperia Prime, where they grew closer to one another. A few months later when they were to meet again, Roshanara was excited to tell Javed of her recent promotion to lieutenant junior grade and an offer to sign aboard the Tempest, a more advanced ship that offered further career opportunities for her. Truthfully, though, she was seriously considering remaining on the Shanghai as she was now eligible to bring family aboard with her promotion, and she hoped that Javed would consider moving their relationship towards those steps.
- Yet while Javed indeed had grown closer to Roshanara, he reacted very differently to this newfound intimacy. He had always missed her, but now, he felt that the physical separation was finally too great for him. He was frustrated with dates over subspace and socializing with other couples without his own companion. The future he saw of being separated from her for an unknown number of years further down the line frightened him, and he broke off their relationship in a letter. Shortly thereafter, Roshanara accepted the offer from the Tempest.
USS Tempest and USS Pioneer
- Faryul treated Roshanara after there was a major accident aboard the Tempest in 2383.
- Reez: A Denobulan engineering petty officer.
- Reez was severely injured during the same accident aboard the Tempest. Blinded by plasma coolant, his life was saved by Roshanara after they had both been left to die by their department chief, Lieutenant Commander Montanez.
- Montanez: The chief engineer of the Tempest.
- During the accident, Montanez was forced to eject the warp core, effectively subjecting Reez and Roshanara, who were trapped within the isolated core compartment, to painful, horrific deaths once the actively feeding plasma coolant system ruptured. Fortunately, Roshanara's quick thinking protected the two engineers from the subsequent flood of plasma coolant. After the accident, Montanez received a commendation for his decisive action that saved the lives of over 300 people aboard the Tempest, with no casualties incurred among his engineering crew. He last spoke to Roshanara one month after the accident during her long-term recovery at Medical Starbase 253.
- Lidia Ivanova: A human security officer who later served as chief of security of the Pioneer.
- Roshanara met Lidia after the security officer came aboard the Pioneer. Despite their differences in personality, with Lidia being more extroverted (and somewhat crass), the two discovered that their behaviors and attitudes complemented each other, and they became close friends.
- Roshanara knew of Dr. Sampi and was seen by him a few times, but beyond what Lidia would tell her about him (and his crush on Lidia at the time), the engineer and physician maintained only an amicable, professional relationship.
USS Mercury
- Rahman: "You have to be one of the most stubborn people I've met. What's that they say about doctors making the worst patients?"
- Del Vedova: "Only thing worse is engineers."
- -SD 238910.29
- Some people admire doctors while others abhor them. Roshanara doesn't fall into either group, but after her time spent with many doctors during her long recovery, she has grown wary of their intentions, especially those who seem overtly "caring." In contrast, Dr. Del Vedova, or "Del" as she calls him, surprised her by both his morbid sense of humor and his blunt bedside manner. Still, he seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about her beyond what was in her medical file, and with those first seeds of trust planted, Roshanara felt comfortable opening up to him, and the two developed a natural dynamic.
- Having both been assigned to the Mercury at the same time, Roshanara and Danielle met while waiting for the ship's arrival to StarBase 118. Seldom seen without her trademark smile, Danielle shares Roshanara's propensity to tinker with anything that has a circuit, and for Danielle particularly, anything that can fly. The junior engineering officer is assigned to shuttlebay ops, in charge of maintaining the Mercury's complement of auxiliary craft. Though she's been through her share of precarious situations while previously aboard the USS Independence-A and USS Tiger-A, Danielle still can be a little unsure of herself at times. Roshanara hopes to build the young woman's confidence, even if that means pushing her to the plate a little more forcefully than just a nudge.
- Confident, persistent, and shameless, Chaun finished his previous assignment aboard a ship with a nearly all-Vulcan crew and was looking forward to serving aboard the Mercury and particularly with the female members of the crew. He eavesdropped on Roshanara and Danielle Vistain's conversation at StarBase 118 and introduced himself to his new shipmates but was unsuccessful at getting them to spend some time with him in a holosuite adventure. Still, he's not one to give up that easily, much to Roshanara's annoyance.
- Rawden's made a good impression on Roshanara, although she hopes he can remember to stop calling her "sir" eventually. With his "can do" spirit and eagerness to be helpful, the young man reminds her of what she was like a decade or so ago, which only makes her more determined to ensure he doesn't have to learn about the dangers of being a Starfleet engineer and officer the hard way as she did.
- Isaac Bale: An intense Betazoid intelligence officer.
- Bale first made himself known to Roshanara when he programed the ship's computer to perform a series of legally—if not morally—questionable actions to help him deal with a couple of assassins that were traveling aboard the Mercury. However, he was also the first person to respond to her call for help immediately after the bombing in main engineering on SD 238910.22, and although she isn't quite sure what to make of him, he seems like a man with a sense of duty, albeit a duty he defines for himself.
Other Colleagues
- Thomas: "Commander, I have the report you asked for."
- Rahman: "Good. Add it to the official maintenance request."
- Thomas: "It is....extensive. But it's nothing that can't be taken care of while docked."
- Rahman: "Indeed."
- Thomas: "Commander, I'd like to make sure things are in order down here before we hand over..."
- Rahman: "You don't trust the station personnel to take care of the Mercury with the same dedication that we do?"
- Thomas: "Well...no..I mean. Just to make sure they are on track-"
- She laughed, interrupting him.
- Rahman: "Well, I certainly don't. But I need to stay here and wrap up the final report. I'm still waiting for Petty Officer Garry to return with the final inventory. I imagine the captain will be calling shore leave soon, but if you'd like to put in some overtime, go aboard the starbase and meet with their engineering head. I suspect if we ingratiate ourselves with them a bit, the repairs might happen a little more quickly... and with a little more care."
- Thomas: "Understood Sir."
- Rahman: "And when you do get a hold of them, lieutenant, it'd probably be best not to imply you doubt their conviction... to their faces at least."
- -SD 238911.23
- Thomas served as part of Roshanara's staff when she first arrived on the Mercury on SD 238909. After the deaths of assistant chief engineer Graham MacNeil and other senior engineers in a horrific bombing on her first day as chief, she relied on then-Ensign Thomas to help rebuild the department in the aftermath of the devastation. A workaholic with a tendency to worry about the little things, Thomas soon discovered that his new chief appreciated his attention to detail and wouldn't turn down his offer to put in extra hours, even during shore leave. Before the Mercury was to depart on her next mission in December 2389, Roshanara was informed by Thomas that he had been reassigned suddenly to the newly-commissioned USS Vigilant. While she was sad to see him go so soon, she had no doubt he'd soon make a name for himself as an excellent chief engineer.
- A veteran of the fleet, Breeman worked with Roshanara and Thomas in late 2389 while the Mercury was docked for repairs at StarBase 118 to find a solution to the Efili "problem" that had been the source of a cascade of computer glitches aboard the ship. Efili was actually a sentient AI, and with Breeman's experience with such rogue programs, the engineers successfully transferred the AI to a contained environment for further joint study.
Early Life and Starfleet Career
 First Year Cadet R. Rahman, 2374 Roshanara Rahman was born on SD 235612.15 on Moselina IV, a busy trade stop located near Krios Prime, the Kriosian homeworld. Her birth parents gave their newborn up for adoption. A human couple, Issam and Najwa Rahman, took in the child as their own (and only) daughter. The Rahmans were told that because the child would not receive the typical Kriosian diet in her adoptive home, they were to give her daily medication to supplement her development (medication which she continues to take to this day). Indeed, despite the efforts of her parents, Roshanara's adult height of 161 cm (5'3") is notably less than that of the typically tall Kriosians.
The new family returned to Earth, and Roshanara was raised in the city of Lahore. Growing up, she knew she was different from the locals, but because Kriosians shared many physical similarities with humans, she did not feel ostracized on her adopted homeworld. As a child, she did tend to wear her hair in such a way as to cover her spots, yet even if they were noticed, most people often mistook the quiet but friendly young girl as a member of the more familiar Trill species.
Displaying the Knack
Roshanara was a gifted student in her primary and secondary education. In particular, one of her teachers noted, she "displayed extreme intuition about all things mechanical." This intuition more than once did get her into trouble as she was a bit of a mischievous child. Although neither of her adopted parents were in Starfleet or had a family history in the service, Roshanara chose to attend Starfleet Academy for the chance to work with the latest developments in starship engineering.
Rather than remain on Earth, she went off-world and completed her undergraduate education at the academy's Beta Ursae Minor II campus. After graduating in 2378, she stayed for an additional two years to earn her master's degree in engineering. She then served on two vessels, the Shanghai and the Tempest, as an engineering officer.
Change of Plans
Aboard the Tempest, Roshanara was severely injured in a major accident in 2383. Due to the extent of her injuries, she took a leave of absence from active starship duty. While still recovering, she completed the Daystrom Institute of Technology's doctoral program in engineering from 2383-2387 on a sponsorship from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
Upon earning her doctorate, she was assigned to the Pioneer as a research and development engineer in 2387. A year later she was assigned as the ship's assistant chief engineer.
USS Mercury
On SD 238909.16, Roshanara was promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned to the Mercury as chief engineer. She became acquainted with one of the ship's medical officers, Niccolò del Vedova, through her medical check-in, and introduced herself informally to her engineering staff the night before her first official day as chief of the department.
Soon after the Mercury left StarBase 118, though, Roshanara's engineering skills were called into service after the ship began suffering minor computer glitches that eventually threatened to interfere with the ship's vital mission transporting Councilor Prianna of the Cardassian Union's Detapa Council. While looking into the manner, Roshanara, science officer Ian West, and engineer Rick Rawden became trapped in the ship's primary computer core control room. There, they discovered that the glitches were being caused by some kind of artificial intelligence that referred to itself as Efili and took the form of a Mercury crewman as its holographic avatar.
- Noteworthy SIMs
- "The Art of Conversation" - SD 238909.16 (While waiting at StarBase 118 for the Mercury to arrive, Roshanara meets two of her new shipmates.)
- "Making The Call" - SD 238909.25 (After some prodding by Dr. Del Vedova, Roshanara reveals what happened six years ago aboard the Tempest.)
- "Life Signs" - SD 238910.14 (Roshanara notices something peculiar on her tricorder.)
Hell of a First Day
The crew did not have too much time to investigate further as the ship was rocked by several explosives the following morning after the ship's captain Aron Kells and several senior officers had been seemingly kidnapped by the Klingons. Among the most heavily damaged areas was main engineering, where 16 engineers perished, including Graham MacNeil, the assistant chief engineer. Had Roshanara not remained on the upper level when the explosives went off, it is likely she too would have died.
Working with Alexander Richards and (surprisingly) Dr. Del Vedova, Roshanara and her engineering crew were able to restore some of the ship's systems, and the Mercury limped back to StarBase 118 once Captain Kells and the others were retrieved.
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