Takami Keigo

Second officer and Chief Operations officer of the U.S.S. Odysseus.

First introduced to the Odysseus as a group of Nausiciaan slavers attempting to kidnap him came aboard looking for an escape craft. (DS9 Nausiciaan Incident)

## Appearance

172cm (5'7¾"), Slim and narrow build. His head is topped with a mess of feathery ash blond hair swept back in unkempt arcs with some tuffs sticking up above his scalp. A thick set of eyebrows sit above his gold/brown eyes. His most obvious visual characteristic is the pair of large red wings he keeps folded behind his back, with a wingspan of approximately 5.5 metres when fully extended. The large bright red wings are covered in feathers that gradually lengthen the further down they go.

His uniform is often very creased as he wears the engineering variant with the longer sleeves and makes no attempt to fix his attire. Keigo has also adapted his uniform to have pockets to store useful items and quite often his hands while casually walking between assignments. His laid back appearance, both in how he acts and dresses is present in nearly all situations, including emergencies where while he may act with haste, he’ll still almost always have his signature calm expression on his face.

## Personality

Most people's first impression of Kiego is that of a relaxed, carefree, jovial person. He often appears unmotivated and unambitious to those with a more professional mindset. This usually puts many off, even more so that despite all of that, he is quite capable at doing his job. Many see it as him acting cocky and boastful, getting annoyed when he simply replies “sorry” and doesn’t take their harsh opinions to heart. While this leaves him quite submissive during confrontations, he has been known to tease from time to time and even get competitive.

It is however clear for those who know him best that under this laid-back attitude, lies someone with intelligence and constant vigilance. This may appear as an off hand comment or his work results. But it’s clear behind his calm, composed façade is someone focused on his surroundings, at constant alert. His eyes darting to even the smallest of movements and noticing every needless detail, it is very obvious he is not as laid back as his attitude would suggest.

## Trivia

* Keigo’s wings allow him to fly on most M-Class worlds.
* He was raised on Starfleet ships and so has never really known civilian life past the age of 5.
* His name was given to him by his researcher adoptive parents due to him refusing to reveal his birth name.
* He often wears a yellow / orange visor to protect his eyes from excessive UV light around the ship and planetside. Without it, he can get a headache and even go blind!
* Like all Tori, Keigo is hyper sensitive to pain.

### Likes

* Bird Based foods
* High vantage points
* Helping others
* Windy weather

### Dislikes

* Spicy food
* Contact sports
* Formalities
* Hot environments

### Fears

* Dark places
* Small spaces
* Orions and Nausiciaans

### Ambitions

To help Starfleet protect others until the day where Starfleet has nothing to do but its peaceful missions.

### Morals

Keigo will follow the orders of superior officers without hesitation, though with a bit of cynicism on his mind at times. If he feels like those orders damage more than they help, he will attempt to adapt things within the confines of his mission.

## Starfleet Courses

Due to his upbringing in Starfleet, he gained work experience before entering, only requiring to complete the tests in the academy for a number of courses.
While mostly unspecialised, he excels in the areas of ship repair and ship piloting

### Core Courses

* ADMIN101: Star Fleet Operations
* ADMIN110: Chain of Command and General Protocol
* DIPL101: General
* ENG221: LCARS Programming 1
* ENG231: Computer Memory and Personnel Interfaces
* ENG232: Replicators, Transporters, and Holodecks
* ENG233: Sensors, Communications, and Helm Systems
* HIST101: Birth of the Federation
* LANG101: Federation Standard
* LANG110: Major Species (Elementary) - Cadet's Choice
* LAW101: Federation, General
* MATH101: Concepts
* MED101: First Aid and Field Medicine
* PHYS101: Concepts
* PILOT101: Runabouts and Shuttles
* SURV101: Starship Emergencies
* SURV110: Environmental Suits and Zero-G Training
* TAC101: Combat, Unarmed
* TAC110: Combat, Small Weapons
* BIO101: Concepts
* XEN101: General

* ASTRG101: Navigation of Starships, Sublight
* ASTRG102: Navigation of Starships, Warp Speed
* ASTRO200: Advanced Astrophysics
* TAC260: Combat, Minor Starships
* PHYS400: Warp Theory
* ENG101: General Electronics
* ENG111: Intermediate Electronics 1
* ENG112: Intermediate Electronics 2
* ENG201: Impulse Systems
* ENG202: Introduction to Warp Systems
* ENG203: Advanced Warp Systems
* ENG332: Life Support Systems
* ENG430: Medical Systems and Equipment
* ENG431: Shield Systems
* ENG432: Weapons Systems
* ENG433: Security Systems
* ENG331: Operations and Command Functions
* ENGR 101: Intro to LCARS Programming
* ENGR 102: Beginner Electronics
* ENGR 112: Intermediate Electronics
* ENGR 202: General Sensor, Communication, and Helm Interfaces
* MATH 101: Calculus
* MATH 202: Intermediate Calculus

## History

### Early life on Hoku

Keigo was born in the Torrisian homeworld of Hoku on the 28th of December, 2349. His parents, like most able bodied people of the Tori, had a primary job hunters and protectors due the dangerous megafauna often assailing any territory under Torrisain control. This left Keigo to learn to be quite independent from an early age.
When not on hunting duty, his father helped with construction and his mother was a black smith. Despite being very busy, his parents would make as much time as possible for Keigo, being in no way absent from his life. He spent his days helping his mother with her work which he never questioned or complained about. Helping her find tools and move items, anything his small body could be helpful with while keeping safe.
A change in this life happened a couple months after his 5th birthday, when his wings growth finally synced with the size of his body, allowing him to learn to fly. It’s tradition that the parents of the child help them learn and this usually involves flying up with them, allowing them to have feeling for it before letting them loose. This process, while dangerous, is tradition and they can of course catch them if they don’t get the first time. Most Tori usually don't need to learn much during this training as flying is instinct for their race as a necessity.
After this day out with his parents where he finally learnt to fly, he was overjoyed. That night after a family feast to celebrate the occasion, Keigo was looking out of his window at the stars, some of them wandering the sky. He wanted to feel the wind on his wings again, and for the first time in his life, he disregarded his parents' warnings. They told him earlier that day never to fly without supervision and definitely not at night. High on the day’s past events, he stepped on his windows edge before taking flight into the night sky. They surely won’t find out this one time.
While he was gliding through the air over his town, mesmerised by all the lights both above and below, he heard a weird noise in both ears as his vision went a bright green.

### Slavers

When the greenlight faded, Keigo heard a loud bang and opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. His head hurt like he had just flown into something really hard. When he sat up he didn’t recognise anything and the ceiling was emitting a bright blue glow that hurt his eyes slightly. Through this haze and just as he was about to burst into tears from the pain, he was shocked into silence by the sight of a large man with greenish skin and no wings. They were speaking to themselves, saying something about only being able to “transport a couple from the planet”. Keigo’s heart was racing as he looked around and saw a number of other Tori, their clothes showing that they were from different nations to him. Who are these people? How did I get here? How can I understand what they are saying? All these questions raced through the quickly panicking child’s mind. Despite his relative maturity, this situation was simply too overwhelming.
He needs to get out of here, back to his parents, they were right! It’s not safe! Despite the high amount of pain he was in, Keigo attempted to fly to what he thought was a doorway. As he launched himself across the room the door opened to reveal a person who looked like a beast, weird fangs protruding from their face. This stopped him in his tracks, forcing him to land unceremoniously in front of this beast looking humanoid.
As he was about to find another escape route, the beast-man in front of him pointed a strange looking item at Keigo’s chest.
“Nice try brat”
There was a flash, a bright light and a lot of pain then everything went black…

Over the next 7 months, all Keigo knew was darkness. Blind folded, wings bound and the cries of his fellow Torrisians slowly dissipating they were taken… one after the other. All Keigo could think about was that this wouldn’t have happened if he had been more cautious, more careful. The child's brain constantly ran over fictional realities where he had stayed inside that night. Maybe if he had, he would be with his parents right now. Who are these things, why are they doing this… Where is everyone going? The fear and anxiety getting to him… consuming his every waking hour but surprisingly, despite all his guilt and terror, he didn’t give in. That didn’t stop it from taking its toll however.

Starfleet observes Hoku for the very reason to stop Keigo’s situation. Slavers had long had a thirst for their species, not only for them alive but for what they can extract from their remains. Many people would crave a slave with eternal youth, less than moral manufacturers clamber for even one of their feathers which are almost indestructible. Even their skeletons are of high value for ‘private collectors’ due to their similarity with angelic figures. This along with Hoku's relatively close positioning to Orion syndicate space only made it all the more vulnerable. Starfleet had set up a permanent presence above the pre-warp world in the hopes of stemming the tide of predators that descended, but they failed. Despite having a sensor grid and multiple ships in orbit, a slaver craft was able to warp in and out dangerously close to the planet in a beam and run operation. By the time Starfleet had tracked down the craft, the Torrisians onboard were already sold or dead. Their deaths either through abuse or stress, as is the case in most instances of Torrisian enslavement. This was however until the security team searched one of the last holding cells.

There they found a young child, not even 6 years of age, cowering in the corner. Their body thinned from malnutrition. A tattered blindfold secured around their head, probably to protect their eyes from UV damage caused by the ship's lights. Their wings may have been bound at some point but they had long since lost so many of their feathers from stress… that the bonds simply fell off... The officers could tell by wing position that the child was attempting to cover themselves but to no avail. The near featherless limbs quivering at every sound the team made and because of muscle spasms as they were slowly eaten away for nutrients.
This small child was Keigo.

Keigo didn’t know who entered, had they finally come in with food or was it another beating. He couldn’t remember the last time they had given him something to eat. He flinched as the footsteps got closer, trying to make himself smaller and preparing the impact. Instead of the boot he was expecting, a hand gently touched his shoulder. Who is that! Keigo Violently retreated away, hitting his opposite shoulder against the wall in his attempt to get away from the invading hand. He winced, a sting of pain shooting up his shoulder blade, only reminding him of the near constant excruciating ache he has been experiencing. Keigo yelped at the pain without realising, he could tell by the loss of heat that the person had backed off quickly from his actions.

“It’s alright kiddo, we’re here to help…” An unfamiliar voice said softly, in an oddly soothing tone. Keigo didn’t trust them, this was another trick! Despite the child’s mind full of those types of thoughts. He didn’t flinch as he felt heat approaching again. This time 2 arms carefully and tentatively started to curl around him in an embrace. At any sign of discomfort they retreated slightly before continuing until Keigo was being gently hugged by the stranger. All he could think about was how it’s been so long since he had felt this, he had almost forgotten… how warm… it felt…
Keigo's consciousness started to fade from exhaustion, collapsing into the Starfleet officers arms, his body looking tiny as he was carefully but quickly picked up. The Starfleet officer tapping his combadge. “Two to beam directly to sickbay.” Their voice was full of worry but Keigo could no longer hear it clearly, lost in an enveloping warmth, everything went black.

### Recovery

When Keigo woke up, the first thing he noticed was the pain was gone, the second thing was that he was no longer wearing his blindfold. He cautiously opened his eyes and to his surprise, there wasn’t blinded by blue light. The room was dim and contained many beds, glowing shiny pictures were on the walls. He looked down at this body to see it encased in an incredibly soft blanket, was this a dream?

Over the next couple days, the crew of his rescue ship, the U.S.S. Tranquillity (Miranda class), attempted to gain the trust of the boy in their care. While they had some success at first, it was all dashed when their uptight Captain mentioned the prime directive and how Keigo will never be able to go home. This destroyed all the hope he had built up since his rescue, leaving him remaining silent and uncooperative for the rest of their journey. The destination was Betazed, the Starfleet facilities there specialised in cases of PTSD and other mental trauma.
After 8 months of silence, with even betazoid members of staff left perplexed as to how to break this child’s shell. He would just do as they asked, while having a blank facial expression, his mind too much of a jumble to read accurately. One day however, one of the more experienced Betazoid doctors was talking to Keigo, absentmindedly asking him if he wanted to do something. As if surfacing from a murky black abyss, the Betazoid was able to finally get response from the child. Keigo quietly said. with a monotone voice, that he wants to fly.

His wings having grown most of their feathers back since his stint in captivity, of course the nurses were not going to say no after finally getting him to talk. They took him to a quiet park in their complex which had a no fly zone to not disturb the patients. It was used for meditation and other quiet activities. This was also the perfect place for his first flight since the incident. As if no time had passed, the boy spread his wings and launched himself into the air, his red feathers radiant in the bright Betazoid sun. His eyes are protected by a pair of UV blocking glasses from the lab.
After that day, Keigo got more and more responsive to the doctors and researchers. Finally being able to be discharged, a Starfleet Japanese researcher couple that was visiting, the Takami’s, volunteered to adopt him. They were forced to give him a new name as he always refused to give his own, while the Betazoids were able to find it out, they kept it confidential, understanding the child's somewhat mature reasoning. He was never going home, so why use the name got from there.
His new foster parents gave him the name of Keigo and he accepted it without complaint.

### Growing up with the fleet

The Takami’s never stayed in one place for too long, switching from ship to ship, assignment to assignment with no sign of a break. Over the years, Keigo got used to living on starships and started to interact with their crews. He was often taught new things by crew members in their free time, from repairing ship components to flying shuttles. By the time he was 15, he was experienced in many fields, having continued to learn from people and helping out the crews he stayed with. His adoptive parents would always pull in favours to have Keigo serve on the crews of the ship they were on, saying that the experience would be useful when he joins Starfleet. The crews he encountered echoing similar statements about how he was going to be a great Starfleet officer one day.
For others, this would be suffocating and upsetting, having your future decided by the people around you. But for Keigo, this is all he had known since leaving his world, he just followed orders and helped people the best he could. Never once questioning how his life was being channelled and how his adoptive parents were being a little too controlling.

### Academy Life

After reaching the age of 16, he took the Starfleet entrance exam at his parents request and passed with flying colours, leaving them for the academy soon after. His relaxed nature made him both popular by some and hated by others. His classmates were the ones that first coined his nickname, Hawks. While he was the best at flying space/aircraft, his large amount of experience in engineering ended up with him going down that route instead. His parents told him that he could still pilot as an engineer and they would have more freedom in career choices. Keigo didn’t mind as it would allow him something active to do instead of sitting at helm all day.

He breezed through the academy using his real life experience from growing up on federations starships. This of course, caused him to be even more hated by those struggling with their studies but he understood why so never held it against them. The only teacher that he got on the bad side of was his piloting instructor, it angered him to no end that Keigo was becoming an engineer despite his innate talent piloting a ship. His race is well suited for the 3d manoeuvres and the fast reaction times required when piloting a spacecraft, especially in combat. But in the end, he yielded, accepting that he was going to have to give up on having Keigo change his mind, his parents told him to go engineering after all.

### Post Graduation

After he graduated Starfleet academy at the age of 22 with the rank of Ensign and was given his first assignment aboard the U.S.S. Odysseus, taking a transport to DS9 to join her crew.