Vehsxa

Overview here

## Appearance

Vehsxa has long white hair like any other Narkan and bright orange, glowing eyes along with tribal tattoos going down her arms and legs, indicating her allegiance to the tribe of Gra’ksi and the clan of Manvlas. She stands at a steady 176cm and weighs around 48kg. Her claws are average length - around 1cm - but she generally hides them by wearing gloves. She generally has her hair wrapped around her hairpin or has it flowing/floating freely when she’s in her quarters. She almost exclusively wears short-sleeved clothing in order to keep herself as mobile as possible. When on-duty she wears a short-sleeved version of the normal uniform in order to make herself more comfortable, though if she must do so, she’ll wear long sleeves.

## Personality

Vahsxa remains calm through most situations thanks to her youth back on Narkan Prime (where almost everything tried to kill her). Generally speaking she’s rather polite to others, trying to help out where she can. When endangered however, she won’t hesitate to act in order to protect others and herself. She also remains rather shy about some things, mainly the texture of her skin, split jaw and claws.

Having realized that not everyone is comfortable with the sight of her eating, due to her split jaw and nature of swallowing her food whole, she eats alone in her quarters. For smaller snacks however, she’s willing to go outside because she doesn’t need to split her jaw for eating those.

Vehsxa also uses her hair quite often to pick up PADDs, hand items or to operate some systems. Because it’s her “fifth limb” she relies on it more than she sometimes realizes; when she sleeps, when she works, even when she’s walking about. Most of the time she doesn’t even realize she’s using her hair to hand a PADD opposed to her hand. It’s a weird quirk, but it doesn’t cause any issues.

## Trivia

Vehsxa has been used to living on Narkan Prime, a rather dangerous planet. That’s why she is rather cautious by nature. Unlike most others of her species, she’d rather talk first than go straight to fighting. Her bow skills are quite advanced, and her spear skills are above average compared to a human. She speaks in a rather calm and collected tone and rarely uses contractions.

### Likes

* Nature
* Companions
* To roam the jungle
* Hunting
* Using her senses to the fullest

### Dislikes

* Most forms of disrespect
* The killing of beings that do not deserve to die.
* Disagreements
* Limited movement

### Ambitions

She wants to become the first Narkan to reach a high-ranking position in Starfleet and make her ancestors proud. She may be a diplomat, but she has ambitions to be much, much more. She wants to learn most cultures within the Federation, and become a respected and knowledgeable diplomat.

### Morals

* Nature goes before nurture.
* Instincts are there to listen to.
* Those who die leave behind a legacy, cherish it and share it.
* Those who attack either do so to defend themselves or someone else, or they are upset.

### 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

## History

*Note: All ages before she joined Starfleet are in Narkan years. The sudden age jump from 21 to 48 is because of this.*

Vehsxa was born in the year of 2356 in the midst of the jungles of Narkan Prime, daughter of a crafter, her mother, and a hunter, her father. Being born in the tribe of Gra’ksi meant that she was, by default, a follower of “The Word.” This is because this tribe is one of few on the planet that has dedicated itself fully to the following of this belief. All tribal members of this tribe were raised with the moral “Words are told before the arrows are fired,” after all. This means that Vehsxa was one of the few people that didn’t want to fight others of her race and instead wished to talk to them to resolve conflict.

Being a Narkan meant only one thing in this world; to move, survive and to learn. And after only 6 months she was already on her own two feet, running alongside her tribal members in the search of food and resources. On her journey she discovered new curiosities, new sensations and new beings. Some good, some bad. Her mother and father guided her accordingly, teaching her how to make an arrow, where to find water and how to honour her ancestors. All these things were crucial if she wanted to survive in order to see the moon once more.

Under guidance of her parents, she learned all about the weather, creatures and dangers that lurked in the dark; what lights to trust and which ones to avoid, how to sleep in the day without being caught by some bird that sees her as a tasty meal. She learned these things rather quickly, sometimes the easy way, but sometimes the hard way. An example of this is from when she was only three years old. When she was running through the nights, she tripped thanks to a branch she didn’t see and fell down to the surface. When she finally reached the bottom, she was pretty dazzled and needed to come to her senses for a few seconds. In that time however, she came in contact with a serpent-like creature. A highly hostile one at that. This being, who was hungry as always, attacked the young Narkan. Vehsxa barely managed to escape from the serpent, but that day she learned a valuable lesson: do not stay still for long.

When she reached the age of five, her parents started to teach her basic combat lessons. Vital for her survival because there was a threat that a clan war might happen soon. This war, between the clan of Manvlas and the clan of Gredja, indeed happened only shortly after her training started. The tactics their tribe used made sure that the children stayed safe whilst the adults went to fight their opponents. This tactic was to send the children, along with a handful of guardians, to the village of Harel for safety. A tactic a lot of different tribes seemed to utilize as well.

During her time in Harel, she got introduced to a lot of different tribes and their ways. Some similar to her own, some vastly different. She learned quite a lot of new things here, talking to fellow children and listening to the tales of other tribes that have journeyed elsewhere. The high seas, where fish the size of trees lived. The far mountains, where Golden Soarers could be spotted as far as the eye could see. The caves of Kotves, where the clinging of metal could be heard constantly. These tales that she listened to are to this day her inspiration to discover new things and to tell her own family about these discoveries.

She also learned how to use her hair in different scenarios; during a hunt, when wielding a spear and when running across the branches. To be able to have full control over your hair is most useful on Narkan Prime, for it can mean the difference between life and death. She trained with fellow children of her age, learning how to fold it, bend it, twist it and hang off of it. In the time that she was in Harel she only learned the basics, however. Mastering your hair was difficult, but not impossible. So she’d train for the years to come in order to get used to the oddity that was her own hair.

She stayed in Harel until the end of the clan war, which was two years after her initial arrival. During this time she learned how to craft different items, from braces to simple pouches. And with guidance from her mother, she eventually learned how to do this without the tools that Harel had at its exposal. She was now seven years old, and thus old enough to take part in smaller gathering quests. This meant that she was able to learn new things about how to pick certain berries, where most of the fruit hung, how to climb a tree as fast as possible and how to avoid the gazes of lurking predators.

At the age of eight, Vehsxa was now being taught more lessons regarding combat and as to how to use her hair in her daily life. Her father had given her a sharpened stick to train her in basic spear combat, and even allowed her on hunts for small beings such as birds or smaller mammals. This way she’d gain knowledge on how to kill these beasts and what tools to use to finish the job properly. Most importantly, she was finally able to control her hair to such a degree that she was now able to catch smaller prey with it without much issue.

When she reached the age of ten years old, she got lessons in archery. At this point in time only the basics were to be taught to her, for she was allowed to make her own bow at age fifteen. Until she reached that age, all archery lessons were limited. In this time her tribe also travelled towards one of the few basins across the globe in order to benefit from the yearly gathering of fish. This journey took several months to make due to the longer days thanks to the summer season. When they reached it however, the fish were scattered all over the basin, and her tribe made quick work of gathering all they saw. Vehsxa helped as well, gathering as much fish as possible and holding it within the strands of her hair. This huge amount of food made sure that her tribe didn’t need to hunt for the coming few weeks. A luxury for the Narkan people.

Thanks to the “downtime” that was now available, Vehsxa finally had time to train with her spear some more. She trained night in and night out, trying to better herself each day. Even though she didn’t need to hunt, she still did so alongside her father. Her father always said to keep her skills sharp, and that was precisely what she was intending on doing. In the few weeks that came, and the constant training she received, she became quite competent with the spear. Though not competent enough if she was to ever take part in the “The Calling” ritual; a goal every young Narkan wishes to reach one day. When the weeks of relaxation were over, the tribe continued its journey south, towards the forge of Kotves.

After the tribe finally reached the forge, which was on the other side of the globe, Vehsxa was finally old enough to be taken on hunts that were significantly bigger; she had reached the age of twelve and was now considered a competent fighter. She went with her own jet, searching for prey and hunting it down in order to feed the rest of the tribe. Now that they were in Kotves however, the tribe was finally able to gain new equipment and weapons. One of these weapons was a spear that Vehsxa received as a gift from the inhabitants of Kotves because she had reached the age of twelve. A common handling from the people of Kotves.

When she reached the age of fifteen, she was finally able to partake in the ritual named “The Sinking.” In this ritual she needed to gather enough silk from a Seaspider in order to make the string of her bow. She had received enough training in the years before the ritual regarding swimming and archery, but this was the first time that she was actually going to dive to significant depths. When they finally reached the beach, Vehsxa was quite nervous, though with some help from her family she calmed down enough to step into the water and swim into the depths that were the ocean. Spear in her hair and a knife in her hand, she dived down.

She kept diving down, holding her breath as long as she could. When she finally reached the bottom of the sea - at a depth of 50 metres - she was met with a whole new world. Glowing fish, coral, seaweeds. But she wasn’t here for sightseeing. She had a goal, and that goal she intended to reach. She swam across the bottom of the for quite some time, trying to find a Seaspider’s den. She was there for a full forty minutes before she finally found it. She pulled her knife and cut off enough silk before swimming back up to the surface and breathing in the fresh air. She had done it. She finally had everything she needed to make a bow. A monumental moment in her life, and one she still cherishes to this day.

After giving the silk to her aunt, the new crafter seeing her mother had died during a gathering hunt, she went off to find wood to make her new bow. After she had found the piece of wood she was looking for, she started to carve. For nights on end she carved; when on the run, when climbing the trees, even on a hunt. Finally, after weeks, she finally finished her bow. The string got strung between the two limbs of the bow and her first proper archery lesson could finally begin.
During the coming few years, nothing significantly of note happened. Her father had died of old age and she had continued her training as an archer. She had taken up the position of hunter, leading her own jet of similarly aged people on hunts. She was having a grand old time, running through the jungle with her friends and family. But now, as she approached the age of twenty, the real challenge began. The challenge that is “The Calling.” This ritual had three stages to it, all three of which involved the hunt of a creature. The order in which you did these didn’t matter, but it was still one of the more dangerous rituals to do; the air, the sea and the land had to be conquered in order to complete this ritual and claim your prize. And when the time finally arrived, when she finally reached the age of twenty, she set off.

She decided to start with the Shadowborne, the bird. To slay this beast she started by trekking north, to the mountains. A journey of a few days when taking the shortest route through the valleys. When she reached the mountains, she initiated the Gaining of Wings. It took her a few tries to finally tame a Golden Soarer. She even almost lost one of her fingers in the process. But eventually she had tamed one of the birds and set off due east, towards the densest parts of the jungle, and evidently also where the Shadowbornes lived. After reaching this location, she commanded the Golden Soarer to sit on her shoulders in order to allow her to glide through the air, above the trees. This would give her an advantage over the Shadowborne, because it was, oddly enough, much more dangerous on land.

When she finally spotted one of the dark birds, she fired her arrows at it. She missed time and time again, but after a few shots, she finally managed to hit the bird behind its head and take it down. She quickly dived down to the corpse in order to claim its beak before scavengers would take the corpse away. With her knife, she cut off the beak and ran off. This time back south, towards the sea. She didn’t have any use for the Golden Soarer anymore, so she set it free, continuing her journey alone once more.

When she arrived at the sea, she quickly made a few arrows before going down into the depths of the shallows - which was still 30 metres down - and started the hunt for a Glowtooth. Finding one didn’t take long, and killing it took even shorter. With one simple shot straight through the fish’s snout, she had killed it. She cut off one of its major teeth and swam back to shore. She now had two out of three items, and was nearly done with the ritual. It had been two weeks since she sat off from her tribe and the loneliness became all too present, but she was determined to finish her quest. She couldn’t give up now, not when she was so close. “For her ancestors!” With these thoughts in mind, Vehsxa continued her hunt for the Deathglare, heading west towards the thinner forests.

When she finally arrived at the forests, she slowly made her way forward, taking up cover wherever she could. This place was open after all, she was exposed to anyone and anything. After spending a few days in the forest, she finally found what she had been looking for; a Deathglare. This reptile was fierce, and she had to be careful because she didn’t have a spear with her. Her best chance was to hide in the nearby shrubbery and fire an arrow in the beast’s eye. A very difficult task, but not impossible. She calmed her breathing and aimed her bow. She waited for the perfect opportunity before releasing her arrow.
The arrow whistled through the air, but missed its mark. It didn’t hit the Deathglare in the eye, like she wanted it to, but it hit the beast right behind the ear. Now aggravated and aware of Vehsxa’s presence, the Deathglare attacked. It stampeded towards the Narkan as it roared; it was out to kill the young woman. Vehsxa was only barely able to jump to the side and into the trees, staying in there for a moment to catch her breath. Right now it was either kill or be killed, so she tried to do what her tribe had taught her all these years ago. Something her ancestors used to do all the time when they didn’t have weapons; she was going to choke it.

She jumped down onto the beast and latched on with her claws, biting down into the beast's neck to hang on. When she finally situated herself, the Deathglare tried to get the Narkan off with all its might, jumping, running and roaring all it could. Vehsxa, as scared as one could be at this moment, decided to act. She directed her hair into the throat of the beast and nostrils, filling them up to the fullest in order to prevent any air from entering its lungs. And now all she had to do was hang on and wait for the beast to suffocate. More than thirty minutes passed until the beast finally fell down and stopped moving. It had died. Vehsxa didn’t come unscaved from the battle. She had cuts all over her arms and legs, and her jaws were as sore as they could be. But she didn’t have time to stand still and catch her breath. She pulled her hair out of the Deathglare and cleaned it against the grass as she cut off one of the reptile’s crests and put it in her pouch. She had done it. She had finished “The Calling.” Now to get back home to her tribe.

When she finally made it back to her tribe, four weeks had passed. Her wounds had healed during her one week journey back to her tribe, but she did keep a few scars because of them. When she found the crafter of her tribe, she handed the three items and a few days later she received her hairpin. To this day she wears it with pride, for it shows that she had overcome her most difficult challenge yet. However, having beaten this challenge, she was curious as to what other challenges were out there. And not necessarily here on Narkan Prime, but out there, amongst the stars.

Then finally her decision was made at age 21, she was going to Earth, to Starfleet. She had heard so many tales from the elders within her tribe; who they are, what they do, and what they uncover. She was so interested in fact, that she almost instantly went to Blarak to request a ship and go to Earth. The people of Blarak agreed and gave her a vessel of her own, teaching her how to operate it and within a week's time she was ready to go. Before she left, she was given a Kotves bow, one she wasn’t supposed to receive until her 30th birthday. However, the reasoning of her tribe was that she may not be on Narkan Prime when she reaches the age of thirty, so they gave it to her beforehand. Alongside this bow, she was also given a pair of moonshades in order to see within the light that covered planet Earth and to not go blind while doing so.

*Note: Ages are now in Earth years. This changes her age from 21 to 48.*

When she arrived on Earth at age 48, she needed some time to adjust for obvious reasons. She wasn’t used to being awake during the day, and neither was she used to the shorter days. But the most awful thing of all was the new language she needed to learn; Federation standard. It took her some time to get used to these changes, but she eventually got somewhat used to it.

She stayed on Earth for a total of four years before she even considered taking the entry exam. This was due to a few reasons. Firstly, she knew almost nothing about modern technology, and even something as simple as a PADD and replicator baffled her. Secondly, she knew nothing of the language that all these people used. Words like “He,” “She” and “It” were like hieroglyphics to her. And lastly, she needed to get used to the fact that sleep was done during the night and not during the day.

So in these four years she took classes, and a lot of them at that. She took residence on the other side of the globe in order to be able to sleep during the day, that way she would be well rested and wake up during dusk. This made sure that she was in top condition when taking her classes. She got taught how to speak and write in Federation Standard and how the basic technology worked around here. Even more so, she got taught the basics of what she needed to know for the entrance exam. She was more than motivated to finish these pre-studies, and that made her an admirable student. Though the reason why she always paid so much attention in class was because she was used to the idea that these kinds of lessons could mean the difference between life and death. Of course, that was not the case here, but that didn’t stop her from believing that it did.

Finally, after those four years of pure education, she took the entrance exam for Starfleet Academy and she was let in. After all these years, she could finally follow her dreams and explore new worlds. Maybe she would find one similar to her own one day, but that was for after the academy. For now she had to focus on the present, and that meant even more studies for another four years. This didn’t stop her though. She was going to get through this. She may not be able to honour her ancestors via a hunt, but she was certain to honour them by completing the academy.

During her time at the academy, she had a rather difficult time settling in. Her fellow students were different, and sometimes not for the better. Some Humans were disgusted by the way she ate her food, some Betazoids told her that she’s “Too primal for Starfleet” as shown by her emotions - similar to that of a primal being at certain points. This is because the main thoughts in her head were mostly instinctive; eat, fight, run. Those thoughts and emotions made it seem as if she was a primal being. So overall, she wasn’t having that fun a time. There was a light in the darkness however; there were some people that she actually considered as friends, and vice versa. She spent quite some time with these friends, but at the same time she got rather aware of her eating habits and her behaviour. This feeling has died down some over time, but in the start of her career it was very present.

At the academy she eventually chose the department of Command and picked the diplomacy track. This was because it fit with her prior education back on Narkan Prime, the education that taught her the ways of “The Word.” She always preferred to solve conflicts verbally opposed to with her fists. So diplomacy it was.
When she finally graduated from the academy at age 56 she went on her first commission on the USS Nimitz. This commission was relatively normal for her compared to what she was used to back on Narkan Prime. There were fights, a lot of them too, but she managed to stand her own against the attackers. Even through all this chaos she managed to do her duties, making new friends along the way and even resolving some conflicts by words opposed to using a phaser. As the years passed by, she grew more comfortable on the ship. She was less worried about who she was and more about how she could make her superiors and ancestors proud. Most notably, her skills regarding speaking Federation Standard were improving greatly, as she was now able to speak it without a major accent.

She also managed to get night duties opposed to duties in the day so that she could work more comfortably within her environment. Of course, when duty called throughout the day, she wouldn’t hesitate to get out of her little pod, but being able to work when everything was dark ended up being a game changer for her. She was much more efficient and less fatigued compared to working in the day. Though the lower levels of oxygen still posed an issue sometimes. This is why she has been prescribed regular oxygen boosters in order to keep her cells oxygenated and to make sure she doesn’t fall pass out from a lack of the compound.

After three years on board the USS Nimitz, she went back to Earth in order to freshen up on some studies. Nothing of note happened in these few months, but afterwards she heard of a new position on a much larger vessel; the USS Mercy. Of course this piqued her interest, for it was a vessel that was bound to find new things. So she applied for a position on this ship, and surely enough a spot was provided. Now she was an Ensign on the USS Odysseus, part of the Command division and motivated to do her new colleagues proud!