Thadiun Okona

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Thadiun Okona was a male native of the Omega Sagitta system who lived during the late 24th century. He was the of a small Class 9 interplanetary cargo carrier, the Erstwhile.
Described by Deanna Troi as a "rogue", he was a confident person with a quick wit. He often charmed women who were attracted to his mischievous manner.
He had romantic affairs with B.G. Robinson and Diana Giddings while aboard the .
He was a close friend of Benzan and his family. Because of this, in 2365 Benzan asked him to transport a family jewel, the Jewel of Thesia, to Yanar, the woman he had been seeing and intended to marry. He agreed and went to Atlec to deliver it in his ship. Instead, his ship broke down, and accepted help from the Enterprise-D which happened to be close by. He boarded the Enterprise to observe repairs, however, unbeknownst to him, both Benzan's father, Kushell, and Yanar's father, Debin, were after him, believing he had stolen the jewel and impregnated his daughter, respectively. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, aware that releasing Okona to either one of them could cause a war, beamed the parties aboard the Enterprise-D to discuss the matter. Okona declared he would hand himself over to Debin rather than be treated as a thief. Instead, Benzan decided to reveal the truth, exonerating him. (; )
At some point between 2365 and 2380, Okona appeared to have lost his left eye under unknown circumstances and began wearing a strapless eyepatch over it. (; )
By 2381, Okona was hired as a DJ and worked at the Command Conference afterparty on Starbase 25 that year. Following the arrival of Captain Carol Freeman, who was denied entry to the party by the bouncer, she saw Captain John Anderson at the top of the stairs and attempted to get his attention. Anderson, who ignored Freeman, instead focused his attention on Okona, greeting him. Upon learning he was the DJ, she exclaimed, "What? He's not even Starfleet! This is outrageous!" ()
Okona had operated close to the Romulan Neutral Zone, during which he had several run-ins with the Xindi.
In 2384, Okona smuggled a load of illegal Ferengi thought makers to Denaxi Depot, for which he was arrested by the Xindi-Reptilian authorities as soon as he landed. Okona managed to slip away and hide inside a cargo trolley, which was later taken by the crew of the to flee from Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway and her away team. During the pursuit, Okona emerged and helped the Protostar crew reach their ship and leave the planet. He then suggested that they evade the by entering the Neutral Zone, remodulating their shields to avoid detection by the Romulans. ()
With the Protostar in need of repairs, Okona took the crew to Noble Isle spaceport where they visited his former client Dr. Jago. Jago, a geneticist, had hired Okona to deliver a shipment of gelatinous putrescine to her, but he came to her empty-handed as his cargo of contraband had been confiscated by the Xindi-Reptilian authorities at Denaxi Depot. Jago accepted as recompense the presence of his companion: Dal R'El. Later, when a Romulan Tal Shiar squad arrived to seize the Protostar, Okona ran off and escaped at the first opportunity. ()
In 2401, Thadiun Okona was identified as a known associate of the Ferengi Sneed in his Starfleet Criminal Record. () His file was also among the data collected by Commander Ro Laren pertaining to the Changeling infiltration of Starfleet, which she passed to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard shortly before her death. ()
== Alternate realities and timelines ==
In an alternate reality encountered by Chakotay, Dal R'El, Rok-Tahk, Jankom Pog, Gwyndala, Murf, and Maj'el, the crew of the Protostar failed to stop the living construct and the Federation was destroyed. The group encountered Okona raiding the 's sickbay for supplies. Okona claimed that he had just left the Protostar crew behind on Noble Isle to get help, but he would've split earlier had he known how dangerous they all were. Okona explained how the living construct had destroyed the Federation and Chakotay was the only Starfleet officer he'd come across, Voyager having been left for scrap. Okona continued raiding the ship for parts and attempted to get the crew to give up their vintage uniforms. Although Okona didn't really understand the crew's reality hopping, he agreed to beam them directly to the bridge to put a stop to it. Okona warned them that while the transporter should still work, he'd sold a few parts to the Andorians before wishing them luck and beaming the group out. However, while they landed on the right level in the mirror universe, it wasn't on the bridge and Maj'el got left behind. ()
== Appendices ==
=== Appearances ===
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=== Background information ===
Okona was played by Billy Campbell, and originally credited as William O. Campbell.
For the character, the script described: "He has the look of a hero, the twinkle in the steely blue eyes softening the rugged handsomeness of the man." His "heroic visage" further described that "He is dressed in a loose-fitting, open-necked blouse, wide belt and casual looking pants, his look is in opposition to the well-tailored Enterprise crewmembers. His sidearms are also less sophisticated and are tucked into his waistband."
Okona is one of several non-regular characters to lend his name to the title of an episode. The other characters thus honored are Charles Evans, Miri, Elaan, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, Ari bn Bem, Q, Ro Laren, Sarek, Melora Pazlar, Shakaar Edon, Morn, Doctor Chaotica, Ma'Bor Jetrel, Tuvix, Rajiin, Su'Kal, Ephraim, Dot, Edward Larkin, Kayshon, and Badgey.
=== Apocrypha ===
In the Myriad Universes story, "The Embrace of Cold Architects", in a universe where Picard is killed when the Enterprise destroys the invading Borg cube with its deflector dish weapon, Captain Riker recruited Thadiun Okona to take over hosting duties in Ten Forward after Guinan elected to leave the Enterprise.
Prior to Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Picard, the TNG novel Collateral Damage featured Okona in a primary role where it was revealed at some point, he became an agent of Starfleet Intelligence. In the year 2386, Agent Okona worked as a field operative under Lieutenant Commander Sam Lavelle, formerly of the Enterprise-D, and Lieutenant Naomi Wildman. During an assignment to stop Nausicaan militants who had acquired a Husnock superweapon, Okona was captured by the crew of the and did not reveal his work with Starfleet Intelligence. After acting captain Commander Worf found a diplomatic solution with the Nausicaan leader Kinogar, Enterprise-E security chief Lieutenant Aneta Šmrhová engaged in a tryst with Agent Okona.
Okona's mirror universe counterpart appeared in the second issue of the comic Star Trek: The Mirror War, where he was a thief who went by the nickname "The Obnoxious Okona" and carried out a heist on Tyraeus II. There, he stole some dilithium and other valuables from Terran Imperial Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the ISS Enterprise-D. Okona left a note for Picard and his crew. Unfortunately, Picard and his crew caught up with Okona at his cache in the Chandler Asteroid Belt. He was sealed in his storehouse as Commander William T. Riker destroyed his shuttle.
=== External links ===
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