Malko Ijoula

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Malko Ijoula is the operations manager aboard U.S.S. Kismet. He is a 27 year old male joined Trill from Dugnuna—one of the old Trill colony worlds. His original name, before joining, was Malko Peerjen. He Joined Starfleet on the advice of his secondary school mathematics teacher, a former Starfleet NCO, largely to get away from his abusive parents and start a new life somewhere else. The day he left for Starfleet Academy was the first time he left his hometown.

Although he had a clear aptitude for mathematics and physics, he was held back by his shyness, low self-esteem, and inability to trust people. He struggled with non-science subjects at Starfleet Academy and only barely made it through to graduation, earning a commission in the sciences division.

His first assignment was as a science officer on the U.S.S. Erikson: a small Norway Class ship specializing in disaster relief. He kept his head down and kept to himself, making few friends and earning lackluster performance ratings. He probably would have gone on to a forgettable career. But everything changed one day, almost a year after he graduated, when the Erikson responded to a distress call from the starship USS Opal Sea. The Opal Sea suffered an unexplained explosion in the drive section. It was a burning wreck by the time the Erikson arrived. There were very few survivors. One of them was a Trill symbiont found barely clinging to life inside the lifeless body of a female Trill engineering officer: Lieutenant Commander Brexen Ijoula.

Malko was the only compatible unjoined Trill aboard the Erikson. The symbiont was implanted into him. From that day forward, he would be Malko Ijoula and life would never be the same. It was a difficult joining and one that Malko, who was never an initiate, had no training or preparation for. Nevertheless, it seems to have done the young officer some good. His personality changed significantly. His previously lackluster service record became a distinguished one in a short period of time, leading to a promotion and a new assignment: USS Kismet.

### Story hooks for this character:

- Malko has a dark secret. He has been using the symbiont to overwrite parts of his own personality, grafting aspects of Brexen’s persona onto himself in an effort to purge his own weakness. This goes against everything the Trill Symbiosis Institute teaches about how a joined Trill should function. So far, Malko has made every effort to keep this hidden from everyone, but what would the Symbiosis Institute do if they were to find out? And what if Brexen, or whatever is left of her, has her own agenda?

Lieutenant Commander Brexen Ijoula, circa 2375

- Brexen Ijoula worked on highly classified engineering projects for Section 31 during and after the Dominion War. She was working on one such project when she was killed in the act of sabotage that destroyed the USS Opal Sea. Who killed Brexen and why? Will Malko be the next target?

## The Lives of the Ijoula Symbiont

Lieutenant Commander Brexen Ijoula (Female, formerly Brexen Traal) was a decorated starfleet engineer. Her personnel record is heavily redacted, suggestive of a clandestine operations background. She was was everything Malko wanted to be: charismatic, daring, a star cadet, highly gifted, highly driven, at home with herself—the kind of young Trill who gets a symbiont though the normal darwinian application process; not by accident.

Kesri Ijoula (Female, formerly Kesri Lanand) was a pioneering writer of erotic holonovels under a variety of pseudonyms (the most famous of which is T’Pen of Vulcan). Her work is known for often incorporating rich, complex characters, engaging plots, and highbrow philosophical concepts—all of which provided useful plausible deniability for people who would otherwise be too embarrassed to be seen playing holo-smut. She was also known for a tendency to be tactless: saying exactly what was on her mind even when it was inappropriate or rude.

Commodore Laazid "Laaz" Ijoula (Male, formerly Laazid Ruvan) was born to a wealthy and influential family on Dugnuna. He would go on to became one of the most prominent Starfleet JAG officers of the 23rd century. He earned the nickname “Captain Laaz” at Starfleet Academy where he was both a Cadet Captain and captain of the acclaimed Nova Squadron precision flight team; It stuck. His career began as a junior flight control officer on the Constitution Class U.S.S. Enterprise—he was part of its original plankowner crew under Captain Robert April—before family pressure to marry socialite Azala Dimeex on the Trill homeworld led him to transfer into the Judge Advocate General corps. He retired from Starfleet at the rank of commodore and later accepted an appointment as a judge on the Trill constitutional court.

Alessire Ijoula (Male, formerly Alessire Barrias) was a noted cat burglar and escape artist on the Trill homeworld in the 22nd century.