Lt. Commander K'Tan, Chief Operations Officer

[wraith1701]

Lt. Commander K'Tan, House Of Gal

Personal Information

Born: 2356

Place Of Birth: Klingon colony world Aviskie.  This colony was a popular port of leave for Klingon crews returning from raids into Romulan space during the late 2200's.


Rank: Lt. Commander

Position: Second Officer of the USS Arabella

Gender: Male

Species Of Origin: Human

Hair: K'Tan wears his hair in the style of his adopted people- a shaggy, shoulder-length mane of ebon locks.  It is worn tied back in a pony tail while in uniform; a nod to Starfleet regulations.  His neatly-trimmed black goatee strikes some as being a bit sinister in appearance.

Eyes: Brown

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 275lbs

Skin Tone: Copper-Brown

Mental Powers: None

Body: Athletic build

Face : K'Tan's face is a reflection of his rough upbringing: an angry, dark-red scar runs down the left side of his face, bisecting his left eyebrow and continuing down his left cheek to end at the jawline. Neatly trimmed goatee.

Marital Status: single

Family-

Mother: (adoptive) Kamala, House of Gal
Father: (adoptive) T'Nag, House of Gal
Siblings: Brother (adoptive) KoraQ', House of Gal

History

2356- born

2359- Klingon colony world Aviskie, located in disputed space near the Klingon/Romulan border, is caught in the crossfire of a Romulan "exercise". During the ground-phase of the attack, two human diplomats attached to the fledgling Federation embassy are killed while fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Klingon defenders.  

Impressed by the courage shown by the human couple, a Klingon guardsman named T'nag feels honor bound to care for their infant son.  The child is adopted into T'nag's household, and named K'Tan.

2369- At the age of 13, K'Tan successfully completes the Rites of Ascension, declaring his intention to follow the warrior's path.

2373- K'Tan enters the Klingon Defense force.

2375- With his older brother's sponsorship, K'Tan is permitted  to apply for officer training at Ty'Gokor. The application process almost kills him.

2377- K'Tan is promoted to Lieutenant on the IKS Bortas, a Vor'cha-class attack cruiser.

2379- After a traumatic incident involving his lover K'Lara, K'Tan looses faith in his prospects within the Empire.  He leaves the Klingon Defense Force and is accepted into Starfleet Academy.

2381- Due to his experience in the Klingon Defense Force, K'Tan manages to test out of most introductory Academy coursework, and graduates. His first posting is as Lt. on the USS Excalibur.

2382- Lt. (JG) K'Tan is transferred from the Excalibur to the USS Ranger.

After nearly coming to blows with the XO of the Ranger, Lt. K'Tan is transfered to the USS Tiberius.

Habits

As a human raised among klingons, he is driven by a burning obsession to hone his martial prowes; both physical and mental.  Much of his spare time is devoted to training with traditional klingon edged weapons and to the practice of myriad hand-to-hand combat styles.  K'Tan also has a keen interest in military history and combat tactics; he has a growing collection of texts by and about some of the most famous military leaders in history.

Quarters: His living space is dominated by a small collection of antique human and klingon edged weapons, supplemented with a growing collection of military history texts.  He also has a few miniature replicas of some of the more famous ships in starfleet history.

Likes: Milititary history, weapons training, strong-willed women, raktajino and the Bajoran dish hasperat.

Dislikes: Overly verbose people, timidity, bureaucracy, and gagh.  

Ambitions and Goals: To earn his own command.

Temperament: Brusque, short-tempered and aggressive.  K'Tan has been criticized in the past for his lack of patience with those who fail to live up to his expectations. When faced with new or threatening situations, his first instinct is often to adopt  a combative stance.

Hobbies:  Reading, physical training, and building miniature replicas of historic starfleet vessels.

Character Background

K'Tan's upbringing was rough-- his adoptive family refused to do him the dishonor of shielding him from the trials and tribulations common to any Klingon youth.  The comparative fragility of his human physiology led to more than a few injuries as he was growing up, many of them life-threatening.  His obvious physical differences often led to him being dismissed by his peers as "jeghpu'wI"(a term reserved for non-Klingon subjects of the empire)- a status greater than slave, but less than citizen. He constantly trained, pushing himself to the limits in an attempt to keep up with his more robust Klingon peers, but eventually came to the realization that he would have to supplement his strength with his wits in order to survive.

His efforts eventually led to him being generally accepted by his immediate circle.  However, he often found himself being challenged by some of the more conservative Klingons who questioned the presence of a human living among them.  More often than not, his tenacity and quick thinking resulted in him earning the respect of his detractors.

After reaching the age of ascension, it seemed that his lifelong dream of entering the Klingon defense force would come to pass.  Impressed by his grasp of tactical planning, and by his not only having survived, but having thrived in the Klingon culture, his mentors offered him postings as conn or tactical officer on a number of different ships.  But while his professional life was improving, his personal life was soon torn to shreds.

A romance with a young Klingon woman from one of the more influential Great Houses ended in tragedy, and shattered any illusions he had of being fully accepted by his adoptive society.

Disillusioned, he left the empire and made his way to the federation to explore his human roots.  Eventually, he was accepted into Starfleet Academy, and graduated with the rank of Lieutenant.

K'Tan's early service record was marked by the recurrence of entries regarding "an overly-aggressive nature", "borderline insubordinate behavior", and "an inability to work well with others".  These black marks threatened to put his career in serious jeopardy.  Several members of the admiralty, however, feel convinced that the conflicts are the result of a culturally based communication barrier, and that an officer with his "unique insight into the culture of the Klingon empire" could be an asset to the fleet.  Because of this, rather than being booted out of Starfleet, he has found himself being repeatedly transfered to different postings.   He has served on several different starships since graduating, including serving as relief Tactical Officer and Security Officer on the Defiant-class U.S.S. Ranger.  His career nearly ended after almost coming to blows with the executive officer of the Ranger.

In a last-ditch effort to salvage his career, Starfleet administrators arranged his transfer to a rather unique vessel- the Akira class U.S.S. Tiberious.  Their reasoning was two-fold:  First and foremost, the Tiberious was home to one of the most highly regarded Counselors in the fleet- Chief Counselor Margon.  Secondly, it was believed that a ship whose crew was made up of such an unusually large number of telepaths might minimize the likelihood of
misunderstandings stemming from his Klingon upbringing, and help him to complete his transition to federation life.

After serving with distinction as Chief Tactical Officer of the Tiberius, and later, the Arabella, K'Tan was promoted to 2nd Officer and Chief of Operations.

[wraith1701]

Stardate 2379, San Francisco, Earth


The cacophonous song of waterfoul rang out into the clear blue sky.  The midday sun glared proudly, its light unimpeded by the snow-white wisps of clouds stretching out to the horizon.  In the distance, turquoise waves exploaded into foam-flecked spray as they crashed against the shoreline.

The liquid crash of the distant surf played a curious counterbeat to the bird's cries.  Both elements of nature's song were nearly drowned out by the shouts and laughter of the students dotting the lawn and paths surrounding the Administrative complex. Like rose petals scattered on a green canvas, many of the crimson-uniformed cadets sat in small clusters, enjoying their midday meal as they chatted and joked under the warm sun.  Others students darted to and fro; those heading towards class with a quick, determined gait, and those heading from class strolling at a decidedly more relaxed, leisurely pace.

Near the steps leading to one of the many buildings of the campus, an eclectic group of friends sat chatting merrily. The lone human in the group lay stretched out, his back propped comfortably against a gnarled tree. A burly Orion munched quietly on an apple, eyes intently focused on the last two members of the group-- a blond Trill woman and a young Ferengi.  Sitting on the blanket between them was a porcelain bowl. Within the bowl lay a writhing mass of tube-grubs, their segments gleaming wetly in the noon sun.

The Ferengi clapped his hands in glee. "I can't believe you finally tried them!"

The trill pursed her lips together tightly, her normally fair complexion taking on a greenish hue as she struggled frantically to fight down her gorge.  "I can't believe it either," she finally managed.

A few feet away, the familiar whine of a transporter beam was quickly followed by the luminous swirl of matter materialization.  The incandescent stream of energy slowly dimmed as it cohered, finally resolving into a tall, dark-skinned human male.  The man stood there a moment, staring stoically at the image on a 2-D photo-card.  His unruly mane of jet-black hair looked out of place amid the clean-cut academy students, but not nearly as out of place as the Klingon armor and leathers adorning his muscular frame.

The Orion apple-eater gestured towards the newcomer, and murmured to his companions.  "I thought Halloween was in October."

The newcomer's head whipped around, his eyes narrowing as his mouth turned down in a scowl.  "I heard that," he said.  The man's hand drifted to the knife sheathed on his thigh, and his knuckles whitened as he gripped its handle.  "Do you have any more witty comments?"

Seeking to diffuse the situation, the Trill woman quickly rose.  "Don't mind my friend, his mouth sometimes gets ahead of his brain.  Can I help you?" 

"I'm looking for the admissions office," the man replied.

The woman gestured to the building behind her.  "You've come to the right place," she said.  Her eyes darted to the photo image in the man's other hand.  "What do you have there?" she asked.

The man reluctantly turned the image to the Trill, who stepped closer to take a look at the photo. On the screen, the proud image of a young Klingon woman seemed to glare defiantly back....

"Her name was K'Lara," the man said, the hint of a sad smile forming.  "I keep her image to ensure that I never forget my old life.  Tell me, have you ever seen a woman more beautiful?"

At that moment, the Trill felt her unsavory lunch renew its attempt to escape her stomach.  Her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes widened in horror as she struggled to force it back down.

Unfortunately, her struggles proved to be futile.

The woman doubled over, and with a mighty retch, heaved her stomach's contents onto the newcomer's gleaming boots.

The man froze in shock; his head reeling from the perceived display of blatant disgust and disrespect.

Not the reaction I expected, he thought.

The woman's companions erupted with laughter as she whirled and sprinted off.  His senses reeling, the newcomer quietly turned in the opposite direction and headed towards the Admissions office. 

As his face burned in outrage, a single thought repeated over and over in his head- That Trill is the most rude, disrespectful woman I have ever met!

[wraith1701]

Stardate 2379, San Francisco, Earth.  Starfleet Academy-

K'Tan tried not to fidget as he waited outside the Commandant's office. The silence of the waiting area was broken only by the relentless ticking of the antique clock mounted on the wall...

'Like the countdown on a time-bomb,' he mused grimly.  

The warrior in him longed for the confrontation to hurry up and occur; regardless of the outcome, it would at least be an action, and much more preferable to the mind-numbing waiting.

A smaller, secret part of him was terrified.

This meeting could mean the end of his career in Starfleet before it even had the chance to begin.  

'Maybe he's forgotten about me, and has already left for the day,' his inner coward mused.

His woolgathering was abruptly cut short by the bang of the Commandant's officer door as it swung open, slamming against the door-jamb.

Heart hammering, K'Tan snapped to attention as his wiry, iron-haired nemesis appeared in the doorway. His flinty eyes narrowed in anger, the Commandant pointed a stiff finger at K'Tan, then reversed it in a terse 'come here' gesture.

K'Tan took a deep, fortifying breath, then followed the man into his office.  "Commandant Jellico, please allow me to explain*"

"SHUT UP and Sit Down," Jellico barked.

As K'Tan slumped into a nearby chair, the Commandant paced back and forth behind his desk, his shoulders tense and quivering with barely controlled anger.  "This will NOT be a discussion.  I'm going to simply tell you how it is, and you are going to listen.  And you are going to obey. Or you will be sent packing, with nothing but my bootprint on your behind as a memento of your little visit to the Academy."

Jellico slammed his fist onto the desk, causing his coffee mug to rattle.  "Dammit K'Tan; this is NOT the Klingon Empire! We do NOT resolve disagreements with violence!"

The Commandant slowly shook his head.  "Four broken ribs, a shattered kneecap, a severely sprained spinal cord, and a punctured ventricle... good God, man; cadet Narvesh nearly died! Hell; if he didn't have two hearts, he probably WOULD have died!"

The Commandant settled into his chair, and let out a sigh of frustration.  "I'll be honest with you: I don't want you here.  The fact that Narvesh refuses to name you as the one responsible for his injuries is the only reason you aren't in the stockade right now."  

Jellico leaned forward aggressively.  "There may have been no witnesses, but I KNOW, K'Tan.  I've heard about all of the arguments and pranks, and  I know you decided to take matters into your own hands.  I might not be able to prove it, but I KNOW."

The Commandant stood up from his desk.  "This non-professional behavior ends now.  I'm ordering you to take two sessions a week with one of our cultural adjustment specialists.  Starfleet isn't about to bend to accommodate your notions of acceptable behavior.  You need to figure out how to fit in, or you are gone. Now get out."

Clamping down on his growing sense of outrage, K'Tan gave a silent, curt nod of acknowledgement, then rose to leave.  As K'Tan's retreating footsteps faded away, Jellico turned to his comm panel and thumbed it on.  "It's handled, Admiral," he said.  "Come hell or high water, I'm going to see to it that we make an officer out of this guy.  To tell you the truth though, I honestly don't think he's worth the effort.  He's got a lot of Klingon baggage to work through, and I'm still concerned that someone is going to get killed before this is over."

"I understand your concerns," came through the comm panel. "But K'Tan represents an opportunity we can't afford to pass up. Despite the verbage of the Khitomer Accords, there still exists a rift between the Federation and the Empire.  There are those who believe that someone like him can help us to eventually bridge that gap."

Jellico gave a grudging nod.  

"Understood.  Jellico out."

 

[wraith1701]

joint post by Jen & wraith1701-



Stardate 2379.11, San Francisco, Earth.  Starfleet Academy-




Ryla stood at a distance mustering the courage to approach the man who, a few days before, had looked more like a Klingon than a human. In fact, she was surprised that she recognized him at all, now that his hair was groomed and his face was clean shaven. The Trill glanced about the quad, to make sure no one was watching, then began the difficult march toward K'Tan.

She paused again just a few feet away, and watched him as he sat alone on a bench outside the Science Hall. Twisting a lock of flaxen hair that rested on her shoulders, she thought to herself, 'You know, he's not that bad looking.' The med student sighed as she recalled their introduction. 'Woofing one's cookies all over a newcomer's boots does not a good impression make.' She was horrified by her reaction to Galdar's lunch... and the subsequent result.

After a moment, Ryla took a deep breath and reluctantly continued toward the terse looking student. Truth be told, she was a little nervous at the prospect of addressing him after her embarrassing display. She had only been joined a short time and was still getting use to certain aspects of her merger with Drett. Apparently unexpected queasiness was yet another side-effect. Nervousness however, had become a rarity after acquiring the symbiont. It was this fact that made her apology all the more difficult to deliver.

She closed her eyes and muttered a few words of encouragement to herself before stepping up to the human and clearing her throat. "Excuse me, cadet." The gaze he turned on her was intimidating and quickly caused her anxious smile to dissolve.  The statement she rehearsed slipped her mind, forcing her to come up with a new contrition on the fly.  "I... wanted to apologize for my episode." A nervous chuckle followed as she stumbled over the words, "My Ferengi friend invited me to try tube grubs. I didn't expect them to make me ill. This is a poor excuse, I know,  but I'm newly joined and there are some facets of this union that I'm still adjusting to. I'm very sorry and incredibly embarrassed. I hope you can forgive me."

K'Tan's eyes narrowed as he regarded the Trill.  "I see. Tube grubs.  Your explanation sounds plausible, but I find it odd that you chose to empty your stomach after viewing the picture of my... friend."

Recalling the incident, K'Tan couldn't help but tighten his jaw in anger.  "In fact, it almost seemed as though your reaction was a comment on her looks.  Such an insult isn't easily forgotten, or forgiven."

As the words left his mouth, K'Tan felt a faint stirring of regret; in answering without thinking the situation out, he was in effect calling the young woman a liar- an insult at least as grievous as the one she may have been paying his beloved K'Lara.

The woman's apologetic demeanor seemed to melt away, banished by the sudden flash of anger in her eyes.  As he watched her transformation, K'Tan was startled to find himself suddenly, inexplicably drawn to her.  'Hmm.  It seems this little one has some fire in her,' he thought.

Feeling himself slipping into unfamiliar territory, K'Tan made a conscious effort to stamp out the unwelcome stirring. 'This is unacceptable,' he thought.  'I dishonor K'Lara's memory by even daring to entertain such thoughts. '

The diminutive Trill hoped that the look she was displaying appeared more threatening than it likely was. K'Tan's inference caused Ryla's heart to kick with greater intensity—resulting in a wave of heat that colored her fair completion. She was more furious than she had ever been before...why?   "That was not my intention, I assure you." Despite her effort to dull their tone, the words she spoke held a hard edge.

He was unmoved and for some reason she was still standing there. "What do I have to do to make amends, Mr. K'Tan? Spill my blood in some rite of honor? I've already spilled my guts and apparently that was too much for you."

K'Tan's heart hammered and he felt his face flush, but he couldn't determine whether it was caused by the anger he felt towards the woman, or from the unwanted attraction he felt towards her.  His jaw tightened, and his fists clenched in frustration at the conflicting emotions the Trill was drawing out of him.  'Better stick to anger,' he thought to himself.

His resolve and his stance firming, K'Tan felt as though he was once more on familiar ground.  "Apology accepted," he said through clenched teeth, his angry scowl calling into question the veracity of his statement.  He then abruptly turned his back on the Trill, paused to take a calming breath, and rapidly stormed off.  He paused only long enough to throw one parting shot over his shoulder.

"Do not pester me any further."

Ryla was surprised at the volume of her reply and the insane chuckle that accompanied it- "Don't you worry ABOUT THAT! I'm staying as far away from you as possible!"