Zaria Al-Zafiri

Draft image of character

Princess Zaria Al-Zafiri is a unique individual, as she is both a high-ranking member of the Faerani royal family and a Starfleet officer. She comes from a long line of distinguished diplomats and politicians, and was expected to follow in their footsteps. However, Zaria always felt a sense of adventure and yearned to explore the stars.

Against her family's wishes, she applied to Starfleet Academy and was accepted. Her determination and hard work paid off, and she quickly rose through the ranks. Despite her privileged upbringing, Zaria is humble and down-to-earth, and has a strong sense of duty and loyalty to her crew and the Federation.

Zaria's unique abilities as a Faerani allow her to sense the emotions of those around her, and she has a natural ability to diffuse tense situations. However, she also has a stubborn streak, and can be fiercely protective of her crew and her ship. Overall, Zaria is a capable and charismatic leader, who brings a new perspective to Starfleet's ranks.

## History

### Early life

Zaria Al-Zafiri was born on the home planet of the Faeran Republic, known as "Faeran" in Federation Standard, in 2381 to Queen Alia and King Maruwd. Although she was born to the Queen and King of Faeran, her brother Prince Kramil was expected to take the throne as he was the older child. (*VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

Being in the public's eye at such a young age made Al-Zafiri more reserved than most people, nevertheless she was known to be the more rebellious member of the Royal Family of Faeran. This rebellious nature of Al-Zafiri's later transformed into a passion for adventure and seeking out new challenges. (*VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

### Starfleet Academy

While it was always expected that Al-Zafiri would become a diplomat or a politician as the nearly all of her family had, she had something else in mind. Against her family's wishes, Al-Zafiri applied to Starfleet Academy in 2395. While typically a non-federation member would be have to have a recommendation of a current Starfleet officer, her status as a member of the royal family bypassed the requirement and she began to study political science and intergalactic relations, taking her upbringing to use. (*VNG — Academy* novel: *Cadet Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

Al-Zafiri had a difficult first year at the academy as she was still finding her ground as a Starfleet cadet as well as a Princess of a foreign state with her professors typically using the title of "princess" when referring to her. Ultimately, Al-Zafiri made the request that they simply call her "Zaria" or "Ms. Al-Zafiri," a policy which would transfer into her career later on. Al-Zafiri also joined the Starfleet Academy Volleyball team which enabled her to make more friends. (*VNG — Academy* novel: *Cadet Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

Al-Zafiri graduated in 2399 with honors in both political science and intergalactic relations. (*VNG — Academy* novel: *Cadet Zaria Al-Zafiri*; *VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

### Early Career

Due to the fact she was a princess of Faeran, Al-Zafiri was promoted to lieutenant almost immediately after graduating from Starfleet Academy and was assigned to Starfleet Command's Foreign Liaison Program. (*VNG* novel: *Foreign Liaison Program*)

In 2405, the Foreign Liaison Program was terminated as a result of the Federation-Klingon War. She promoted to Lieutenant Commander and was assigned to Earth Spacedock as a logistics officer for the war. While it was quite unusual for Starfleet officers to stay at the rank of lieutenant for six years, this was done at Al-Zafiri's request as she believed she should have climbed the ranks of ensign and lieutenant, junior grade. (*VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

### Mid career

Al-Zafiri quickly made a name for herself, both among Starfleet brass and foreign dignitaries as a person who will hear both sides of an argument before reaching a decision, and although her position a logistics officer caused her to be looked unfavorably by the unit leaders who were battling for resources, but nevertheless most of them would usually acknowledge that she made the correct decision. Additionally, she took on the role of a mediator for disputes and was key in safeguarding lives impacted by the war. (*VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

In 2409, the Undine, otherwise known as species 8472, attacked and damaged a significant portion of Earth Spacedock. While Al-Zafiri didn't die in the incident, she was left with several injuries, both physical and mental, that required her to go to Starfleet Medical on Earth to recover. It was then decided that the safest place for her to be was on Earth itself, at least for the time being and she was assigned as the Adjutant to the head of Starfleet Tactical on Earth. (*VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*; *STO* - *Solonae Dyson Sphere* mission: "Surface Tension")

### USS Vanguard

In 2415, Al-Zafiri requested a field assignment and specifically requested the USS *Vanguard*. Upon careful consideration, Starfleet Command granted the request. She was granted a promotion to commander and assigned as the first officer aboard the ship. (*VNG* novel: *Story of Zaria Al-Zafiri*)

She was in the transporter room to welcome Captain Alejandro Rodriguez aboard the USS *Vanguard*, when he asked that she address him by first name rather than rank as he believed that a princess "outranked" a captain. She accepted on the condition he did the same. (*VNG* episode: "The Maiden Voyage")

## Personal life

### Hobbies

Al-Zafiri has a lot of hobbies as her upbringing had the intention of making her a rounded individual. Although she had some hobbies that were common on Faeran, she also had terran hobbies such as volleyball, surfing, chess, and playing the piano.

### Personality

Zaria's unique abilities as a Faerani allow her to sense the emotions of those around her, and she has a natural ability to diffuse tense situations. However, she also has a stubborn streak, and can be fiercely protective of her crew and her ship. Overall, Zaria is a capable and charismatic leader, who brings a new perspective to Starfleet's ranks.