Jhael Onika

Jhael Zhyron Onika was a male Saurian who lived during the 24th and 25th centuries. He served in Starfleet as chief engineer of the and held the rank of ensign until his death in 2409.
Jhael possessed a very keen intellect which made his engine room an efficient one.
His life was cut tragically short in 2409 by an explosion in the Leviathans section during a battle with several Nausicaan vessels. He saved the ship in the process, however, by successfully erecting a force field to protect the Leviathans warp core.
== Personality ==
Jhael had a very adept mind, allowing him to easily recite various stats for the USS Leviathan entirely from memory, while on the shuttlecraft Zeus, which was in-bound for the Leviathan.
=== Traits ===
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Jhael Onika was born on 20 June 2386 on .
=== Starfleet Academy ===
Jhael graduated on stardate 82513.9 with the Class of 2408 and attended the Starfleet Academy graduation ceremony in San Francisco.
=== Service on the USS Leviathan ===
Shortly upon graduating in 2408, he was assigned to the , along with fellow cadets Jason Fredricks, Ernie Hauser, Hannah Freeman and Vance L'eher. He served as an until 2409, when the Leviathans current chief engineer was killed by a Klingon boarding party from the . After fighting off the boarders, he told Jason that the engine room was "well looked after."
==== As chief engineer ====
With the Leviathan under the command of newly-promoted Lieutenant Fredricks, Onika was placed in the position of chief engineer. Having responded to a distress call from the freighter , Fredricks led an over to assist, with Onika joining them at the last minute, insisting that they may need an engineer on the team. He sealed several plasma leaks on the Azura, but was unable to prevent their from breaching, causing the Azuras captain, Danna Brott, to stay behind so Fredricks' team and Brott's crew could escape. While the away team was still on the Azura, an overloaded on the Leviathan, leaving the ship dead in the water, and without a chief engineer. Luckily, Operations Officer Charlie Morgan was successful in repairing the damage in Onika's absence, and transported them back just before the Azuras core breached.
Later in 2409, the communications officer, Hannah Freeman, began to show interest in joining the engineering crew. Onika was initially puzzled by her idea to join, and perhaps even slightly opposed to it, but soon he came to accept her as a valuable member of the team. After asking her several technical questions and being moderately impressed by her proficiency, he put her to work doing various tasks in , including having her assist him with integrating into the Leviathans s. The decalithium was successfully integrated into the engines, and the Leviathan used the speed boost given by the decalithium to help them enter the Paulson Nebula.
During a diplomatic mission to Regulus IV, it came to Onika's attention that several malfunctions had occurred across the ship, mostly minor. He assigned Freeman, along with fellow engineers Leo Anderson and Phil Schrader to solve the issue. Freeman, Anderson and Schrader were able to determine that the ship's s had been sabotaged, to which Onika promptly informed Ernie Hauser, who had been left in command while Lieutenant Fredricks and his away team were down on Regulus IV. Main power soon failed, confirming Freeman and her team's conclusion that a saboteur was infecting the gel packs. Sensing a growing danger, Hauser ordered Onika to lockout the ship's command functions, in case the saboteur attempted to gain control of the ship. Onika then locked the so only he could access it from engineering, using his personal access code.
Onika and his engineering staff began troubleshooting a way to disinfect the gel packs, initially to no avail. Freeman then suggested heating the gel packs, essentially giving them a fever. Onika felt the idea was sound, and commended Freeman for thinking of it. The "treatment" worked, and soon, the gel packs returned to normal. Schrader then successfully restored main power, and Onika informed the transporter room that they could begin beaming up Fredricks' away team. After it was revealed that Thom Leiden was the saboteur, the senior staff had a private meeting in the . Freeman wondered how, as a security officer, Lædon had known enough about biological systems to infect the gel packs. Onika told her that he didn't, and that was why Lædon hadn't been able to take control of the main computer by the time they discovered the sabotage. He then told all present that "War changes people... and not for the better."
==== Legacy and death ====
On stardate 83245.3, while the Leviathan was under the command of Commander Jarek Davis, following Jason's unofficial resignation, the Leviathan tracked the Ferengi vessel into a nebula in the Celes system. The Nandis captain had stolen a shipment of from Starbase 114, and was intending on selling it to Nausicaan pirates. The Nausicaans had several vessels stationed in the nebula, likely to protect their investment. Davis then ordered the Leviathan to open fire, without hailing the Nausicaans first. The Leviathan took severe damage during the ensuing conflict, causing hull breaches on Decks 5 and 6, and killing six people in engineering, including Onika, who had stayed at his post to erect an emergency force field around the warp core, saving the ship.
Phil Schrader was quickly chosen as Onika's replacement by Commander Davis, as Schrader had the most experience with the ship's systems. The stress of his new-found position quickly led him to be indecisive and blame himself for Onika's death. Schrader's condition quickly worsened, and he began to have nightmares about the moments leading up to Onika's death. He blamed himself for not being quicker to save Onika, who had stayed in engineering to erect a force field to protect the warp core, while everyone else evacuated. Schrader would have stayed as well, but Will Darrow dragged him out of the room. As soon as the force field was activated, Onika fled the room, but an explosion from one of the walls sent debris flying at him, killing him almost instantly. Schrader, not realizing this, climbed back into the room, attempting to save Onika. He reached him and managed to pull him out, breaking his ankle in the process. Onika had already been lost, however.
The Levaithans bartender, Crusoe, tried to convince Schrader that it was not his fault that Onika was lost, and told him he could honor Onika's sacrifice by taking up his fallen comrade's position. Schrader, however, continued to blame himself, recording his guilt in his final personal log, and eventually committing suicide in his own quarters.
== Appendices ==
=== Background and trivia ===
*Jhael did not originally appear in the first two chapters of , making his debut appearance . He was later added to the first chapter's rewrite, .
*Jhael did not initially appear during the Starfleet Academy graduation ceremony in "The Price of Liberty". He was added during a later revision.
*No information has been revealed about Jhael's early life or family. His birthdate was given by , though it has never been mentioned in the story.
*Jhael is the only character so far to have a trait rated at 11/10 (intelligence).
*His name is pronounced as jh-HELL ZHI-ron oh-NEE-kah.
=== Appearances ===
=== Notes and references ===
=== Navigation ===
Category:Saurians