Makal Kora
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| Makal S. Kora | ||||||||
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Makal Kora is the former Chief Engineer of the USS Victory, former First Officer of the USS Columbia, & former Chief Science Officer of the USS Resolution. Currently he is serving as Starbase 118's Chief of Operations.
Physical Description
A half Human/Bajoran hybrid, possessing a ridged nasal bridge that his human heritage has reduced the depth and detail, making it smoother than most Bajorans. At just over six feet tall, and weighing nearly two hundred pounds, Makal is a solidly built man. He carries himself with the confidence of a Starfleet officer with nearly a decade of combined service to the Federation. He routinely shaves his head, preferring the low maintenance of smooth skin.
Starfleet Record
Promotions & Posts
Career Overview
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Service Timeline
- 237203.04: Meets Dr. Leah Brahms at University of Heidelberg; accepts invitation to study under her at the Daystrom Institute.
- 237408.01: Joins Starfleet Academy at San Francisco, Age 18; starting masters in Engineering, and a Minor in Starship Operations/Computer Programming.
- 237712.22: Begins officer's training, from Admiral Ritcher, receiving his best marks ever.
- 237901.04: Transfers to the Tokyo Campus for advanced Engineering Classes.
- 237906.03: Graduates after 6th Year in Starfleet, passing the PREX simulation on Starbase 118. Promoted to Ensign.
- 237906.06: Assigned to USS Victory as Assistant Chief Engineering Officer.
- 237906.06-237906.24: Mission- Encounter on Ferenginar.
- 237906.26-237907.30: Mission- Return to the Lithron system.
- 237908.03-237909.28: Mission- Attack on the Yithra Base.
- 237909.10: Dr. Parker successfully equips Makal with a VISOR. Due to a injury sustained during the mission on Yithra.
- 237909.14: Received TOSMA II award.
- 237910.12: Makal is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.
- 237910.08-237911.18: Mission- Investigation on Atlanta V
- 237910.16- Promoted to Chief Engineering Officer.
- 237911.24-238002.23: Mission- The True Ones (Planet Germer)
- 238002.22-238003.07: Active Duty for brief service on board the USS Independence.
- 238003.23: Returns to USS Victory, promoted to full Lieutenant.
- 238004.03-238006.30: Mission- Classified
- 238007.01: Recived subspace contact from the Bajoran Kai.
- 238007.01-238007.08: Training Simulation on USS Victory.
- 238007.09-238008.05: Shore Leave on Deep Space Seven
- 238008.05-238010.31: Mission- Peace Mission in Cardassian Space.
- 238011.02: Conducts a memorial service for the crew of the USS Nokia.
- 238011.18: Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and transferred to the position of HCO.
- 238011.21-238012.02: Shore leave on Starbase 118.
- 238011.27: Promoted to Mission Specialist.
- 238012.05-238003.20: Mission- Search for the USS Vespa.
- 238102.21: Due to a classified event still under investigation during the SAR mission for the USS Vespa, Makal no longer wears a VISOR.
- 238012.22: Receives the Phoenix Award, and the Sheathed Sword.
- 238103.25: Transferred to the USS Columbia as Executive Officer under Commander Mal Avatar.
- 238103.27-238106.11: Maiden Voyage - USS Columbia.
- 238106.14: Re-assigned to a diplomatic attaché position on Bajor including several months of personal leave. Scheduled to retire or return to service on 238112.14
- 238107.12: After less than a month of service on Bajor, given leave to return to the USS Columbia for her mission in the Badlands.
- 238108.01: An altercation with Captain Avatar during the USS Columbia's mission, Makal was demoted to Lieutenant, removed from duty, and returned to Earth.
- 238108.02: Resigns from Starfleet.
- 238110.03: Arrested for assault, institutionalized by Starfleet Medical.
- 238206.01: Cleared for civilian life by Starfleet Medical.
- 238206.15: Returns to the Daystrom Institute as a civilian scientist; working on Transwarp research in the Theoretical Propulsion Group under Dr. Brahms.
- 238401.03: Receives Doctorate in Subspace Physics.
- 238605.09: Makal receives a communication from Starfleet command offering a return to active duty. After two days of consideration, Makal accepts and leaves the Daystrom Institute.
- 238605.18: 2nd Cadet cruise under Captain Sidney Riley.
- 238605.22: Graduates Cadet cruise, returned to active duty.
- 238605.26: Assigned as Chief Science Officer with the rank of Lieutenant on board the USS Resolution.
- 238605.28: Mission to Lavon (Duronis II), "Act of Mercy", "Broken Promises"
- 238607.12: Awarded the Motor Skills and Perception Calculations Commendation & Act of Mercy Unit Leader Citation
- 238609.01: Accepts an invitation to work at the Daystrom Institute. Applies for a leave of absence with Starfleet.
- 238807.29: Re-activates Starfleet commission with the assistance of Fleet Admiral Wolf.
- 238808.01: Start of 3rd Cadet Cruise for officer reorientation.
- 238808.06: Graduates 3rd Cadet Cruise - re-commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant.
- 238808.08: Posted to Starbase 118 Operations as Assistant Chief Engineering Officer.
- 238809.13: Requests posting of Chief of Operations/HCO for Starbase 118.
- 238810.03: Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Biography
Notable Personal Relationships
- Lt. Commander Kali Nicholotti: Serious romantic interest form his service on board the USS Resolution. Current executive officer for Starbase 118 Ops.
- Captain Andrus Jaxx: Friend & executive officer from service onboard the USS Resolution. Current commanding officer for Starbase 118 Ops.
- Fleet Captain Idril Mar: Student during one of Makal's tenures conducting final training simulations for Academy Graduates. Close friendship maintained, especially during Makal's brief service onboard the USS Independence.
- Captain Mal Avatar: Mentor, friend, and commanding officer from both the USS Victory, & USS Columbia.
- Rear Admiral Jessa Anassasi: Mentor from Starfleet Academy, former commanding officer of the USS Independence.
- Lt. Commander Alana Devar: Close friend from Starfleet Academy. Maintained friendship despite her being posted to the USS Independence.
- Sarrin Fox: Romantic interest from Starfleet Academy, briefly stayed with Makal onboard the USS Victory, later posted to the USS Columbia.
Family History
- Mother: Rosemary Kora, Human
- Father: Tibe Kora, Bajoran
- Siblings: (none)
- Spouse: (none)
- Children: (none)
Early Childhood
Makal Solis Kora was born on Earth to a human mother on stardate 235606.21. His father, one of the first Bajorans accepted into Starfleet abandoned his home on earth before graduating, and joined the Marquis resistance on Bajor; a decision that would make Makal resent his father for the rest of his life. As a young child, his mother would take him to Starbase 01, or the Smithsonian to see the dry-docked ships, and would often encourage him to "reach for his dreams". An engineer herself, Makal’s childhood education was supplemented by her advanced home courses in mathematics and the sciences.
Acting out and getting into trouble at both home and school at an early age. The young man did not socialize well, and was seen as a bully by classmates. His Primary education was filled with fights, and disciplinary problems that would continue to plague the young man into his adolescence.
Teenage Years
He spent most of his early teenage years in a drug induced haze, and failed to graduate from his home town High School. After only one year of attendance, he claimed he found school "boring" and dropped out of his classes; earning a GED at the age of 14.
Initially attracted to the party life-stile that seemed to gravitate around colleges, Makal left his home and traveled to various college campuses around the world, skipping from party destination to party destination. He would engage philosophy students in drunken rants, often ending up in the losing sides of fist fights; usually he managed to disappear before his actions caught up to him.
Eventually his childhood interest in starships and faster than light travel returned to the young man. Obsessed with the history and the technology behind faster than light travel, he applied the same energy that had previously been directed toward aimless rebellion toward study. Studying historical sites and using libraries on his own time, he rounded out his own primary education. He began sneaking into advanced classes at the age of 16.
Content to be a vagabond scholar, as he called himself, Makal managed to attend dozens of courses throughout the years by acting as if he belonged, and keeping quiet. Finally, while attending a lecture in 2373 by Doctor Leah Brahms at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, he broke his pattern of silent observation and engaged her in a debate about warp field geometry in front of the entire lecture hall.
Dr. Brahms, despite thoroughly defeating Makal in the debate, was nonetheless impressed with the young man's observations. At the conclusion of the lecture, she approached him and inquired as to his educational history. Shocked to learn that he was not actually a student, and had in-fact been self taught, she invited him to apprentice under her at the Theoretical Propulsion Group at the Daystrom Institute; which she had been directing since 2367 after contributing to the Galaxy Project.
Jumping at the chance, Makal spent two years working as a lab assistant for Doctor Brahms. The work proved to be sufficiently challenging, and he began to treat the Jupiter station like the home he had rejected so long ago.
In 2374, both as his own decision and at Dr. Brahms’ encouragement, Makal decided that it was time to formalize his education, and seek an adventure beyond working as a lab technician. With the recommendation of his mentor, he took the Starfleet entrance exam and was subsequently accepted into the Academy.
Starfleet Academy
At the Academy, Makal sadly reverted to his wild ways. Ironically developing a taste for the Cardassian liquor Kanar, the young man found himself brought up on discipline charges more than once. Developing friendships with Makra Horne, and Alana Devar, Makal managed to drag the two into trouble more than once.
Finally, after a series of disciplinary incidents that cumilated with he Cadet’s streaking the induction ceremony for Cadets in 2376, Makal was given an ultimatum by Admiral Stephen Richter - shape up or be kicked out of the Academy... immediately.
He took the message to heart - after a six month period of perfect behavior, Admiral Richter brought Makal under his wing and sponsored the young man for officer's training in 2377. Makal excelled under his new mentor, and with his new found sense of discipline, earned his highest marks ever. Finally transferring to the Tokyo campus in 2379, Makal graduated with honors (20th in his class); majoring in Engineering: Advanced Warp Systems, with a minor in Operations: Tactics: Combat, Introduction to Starship Combat.
USS Victory
His first assignment was to the USS Victory, then under the command of Captain J. Hurne. Unfortunately, within the first two months on board, Makal was critically injured and subsequently tortured by a changling infiltrator posing as the Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Parker, in sickbay. The results of these events left him blind - his optical nerves damaged beyond the point of replacement, and requiring the real Doctor Parker to install the implants necessary for a VISOR. Despite the painful adjustment time required to take in the new sensory inputs, Makal continued to serve with distinction, and was promoted to Chief Engineer after only four months on board.
The event brought a new chapter to Makal's life. He explored spirituality during this recuperative phase. Feeling a kinship to his Bajoran heritage that he had never felt before, Makal spent his personal time reading the teachings of the Prophets. Soon after, he was shocked to by communications from Bajor with information regarding his missing father.
During one of the USS Victory’s missions in Cardassian space, Makal was re-united with his undercover father, and convinced the elder Kora to return to his mother on Earth. Subsequently, his studies on Bajoran culture and religion and his actions in Cardassian space led to Makal's induction as a Vedek.
He continued to serve as the USS Victory’s Chief Engineering Officer until 2380, when he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and placed in charge of ship operations. Given his quick rise in rank, it became apparent to Makal that both Captain Hurne and Commander Mal Avatar were grooming him for a command position. After just one mission as HCO on the Victory, a private meeting with both men confirmed his suspicions as Makal was subsequently re-assigned to act as the Victory’s Mission Specialist.
During a SAR mission in 2381 Makal was exposed to an unknown alien device. The device not only created a duplicate Makal, but restored Makal's eyesight completely. The specifics of this event are still classified; however it is known that Makal’s duplicate died during the destruction of the USS Vespa, giving his life in order to help what crew he could escape.
The events of the mission in 2381 saw another change in Makal. He both became even more religious, causing conflicts with his duty in Starfleet. Despite these changes, Commander Avatar pushed for Makal’s promotion.
USS Columbia
Taking his Commander's test in the same year, Makal transferred to the USS Columbia under the command of Captain Avatar. Unfortunately, Makal's transformation distracted him too much from his duties, and he requested a diplomatic position on Bajor.
Unable to adjust to life on Bajor, and outside of Starfleet, Makal returned to the USS Columbia. Receiving a warm welcome on his return. Makal none the less got into a subsequent altercation with his friend, Captain Avatar. The result of this altercation saw Makal demoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and being placed on an extended leave of Absence.
Starfleet Medical
Makal found himself unsure on how to proceed. His experiences in Starfleet had shaken the man to his core. He returned to Earth and reunited with his now full family. For the first time in his life he had both his mother and father present. However, not all was happy with the now united Kora family, and Makal's emotional state was erratic at best. After only two months with his family, Makal found himself in an altercation with his father. Renouncing his faith and role as a Vedek, the younger Kora ended up physically assaulting his father during an argument - hospitalizing the elder man for over a week.
Starfleet intervened then at the request of Captains Avatar, Hurne, and Parker. Makal would spend the next eight months institutionalized. Working with counselors, Makal eventually managed to come to terms with his experiences in Starfleet; the trauma of losing and subsequently regaining his vision, and the loss of the USS Vespa...and Makal’s resentment towards his father. Immediately after his release, Makal sent a formal apology to his parents, and left the planet.
Return to the Daystrom Institute
Following his exodus, Makal returned to the Daystrom Institute. During the next four years Makal would earn a Doctorate in Subspace Physics in 2384, and would once again found himself as a research assistant under Dr. Brahms; working in Transwarp conduit studies. The years treated him well, and the now calmer officer found himself at ease at what he considered his second home. Spurred on by his own experiences as a Vedek, Makal started his own research project in 2384 analyzing wormhole composition, structure, and their effects on the space-time continum.
Despite the occasional tryst, Makal would spend most of his time focused on his research. As a result, his personal relationship with members of Starfleet, and his own family withered. Mostly alone save for his dog, yet content with his research, Makal would occasionally find himself longing for adventure beyond research and simulations.
On stardate 238605.07 Makal received communications from Starfleet requesting his return to active duty. After only a few days of contemplation, seeing that his life had become one of stagnant routine, Makal realized just how much he missed his career in Starfleet. He accepted the invitation. Taking his research and Scottish terrier Agrippa with him; he bid goodbye to his friends and staff at Daystrom and returned to Starbase 118.
USS Resolution
His old acquaintances are either retired or in commands of their own. After taking a couple of refresher courses in the Academy, he was quickly put into the final training simulation with a crew of other bright and talented Cadets. Quickly befriending Doctor Eliaan Deron and Kali Nicholotti, when he was offered the choice between the USS Challenger and the smaller USS Resolution, Makal decided to follow his friends... and presue the chance of being posted on one of the most advanced scientific vessels in Starfleet.
In the following weeks, Makal was chosen to lead an away team down to the surface of Lavon (Duronis III). His team was ordered to investigate the newly warp capable Zalinian ships for historical and cultural preservation. A marine officer assigned to the Away team disobeyed direct orders, setting his phaser to kill and taking out five members of the Zalinian security force. Lieutenant Kora was ultimately cleared of responsability,
Makal was barely able to salvage the diplomatic situation before two Hirogen hunters attacked both his, and Lieutenant Commander Jaxx's away teams. Both parties suffered heavy injuries, but 2nd Lieutenant Kali Nicholotti was injured, taking a knife to the chest in order to save the Resolution's first officer. In the time after the mission, Makal and Kali began a close personal relationship during her recovery. The seasoned man was able to use his own experiences to assist with this.
For his efforts, and command ability displayed during the mission, Lieutenant Kora was awarded both the Motor Skills and Perception Commendation & Act of Mercy Unit Leader Citation.
Despite the commendations received during the mission on Duronis II, Makal found himself questioning Starfleet as an orginization. The addition of Marines on a Nova-class vessel, in addition to the events of that mission caused the Lieutenant to question whether or not this was the same Starfleet he had joined as a youth.
Unable to find solace with the crew of the Resolution, Makal accepted an offer return to the Daystrom Institute to assist with their research into transwarp corridors. The news of his departure came as a shock to both Captain Turner, and Starfleet Command. Despite a communication sent from Admiral Rocar, and personal requests on the part of Lieutenant Nicholotti, Makal's remained steadfast in his decision to leave Starfleet.
Prodigal Son Returns
After another two years of focusing on research, Doctor Brahm’s retirement from the Daystrom Institute spurred him into a critical decision: did he move up to become the head of the research team on Jupiter Station, or take a different path?
Makal reached out to a long-time friend... someone that he had in fact had the privlage to review during her Cadet Cruise: Admiral Idril Mar. If Starfleet had changed during his years of service, Admiral Mar had pointed out, then Makal should work to better Starfleet - not run away from his duty like he had. After several weeks of deliberation, Makal decided to once again re-activate his commission.
Once again embracing his childhood dreams of serving on a starship, Makal was quickly placed in an Academy final exam - a requirement of Starfleet for any officer who had been on leave for longer than six months. Older, calmer, and excited at the prospect of once again maintaining a starship, the daily problem solving, and challenges associated with such a role, he has thrown himself whole hearted into his career. Only time will tell where this new endeavor will take him.
Awards
Award History
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Character Data
- Previous Ships Served On: USS Victory, USS Columbia, USS Resolution
- Awards Received:
- TOSMA 2
- Sheathed Sword, The
- Phoenix Award (ENG)
- Groups:
- On Leave
- Rank Upgrades
- Ensign: 237906.06
- Lieutenant JG: 237910.12
- Lieutenant: 238003.23, 238103.01, 238605.26, 238808.06
- Lt. Commander: 238011.18
- Commander:
- Captain:
- Fleet Captain:
- Commodore:
- Rear Admiral:
- Vice Admiral:
- Admiral:
- Fleet Admiral: