Astra Tanan

Astra was born on a small isolated Trill colony on the outer rim of the federation as the only child to Sara and Ezra Tanan. Her mother worked as a teacher while her father was personal assistant to one of the colonies prominent figures.

Although her colony was a member of the federation, they were still rather isolated in the way they operated, a majority of the entertainment was created on the colony and shows from outside the colony were far and few between.

It was apparent from an extremely young age that Astra was an extremely curious child so much so that within her first year of school her teachers had brought up her habit of asking several questions throughout the day regardless of whether it was on the topic she was learning or not. Astra also always liked to watch as other federation ships came into orbit to visit the colony wondering what it would be like to travel to other planets, this wonder was quickly dismissed by her parents as unnecessary as they like many other inhabitants viewed the idea as silly, Astra once questioned this logic considering they were in fact part of the United Federation of Planets, her father had simply said that being part of The UFP was a strategic choice for the betterment of the colony which afforded them the safety of a united front and a political position within while still making their own choices for the colony and all who live there.

As a teenager Astra’s curiosity soon led to rebellion, she found the restrictions suffocating, her dad unknowingly aiding in this frustration whenever he came home talking about different visitors from a multitude of federation planets, the most interesting ones always being those who came from Starfleet. At 16 Astra first snuck out in the middle of the night heading into the main parts of the city she resided in, in an effort to try and meet or at least see the latest visitors on planet. Based on the knowledge of her dad’s work she was able to figure out what part of the city guests would typically stay. It was here she would meet Doctor Vincent Blake, a medical officer for Starfleet whose ship was stationed here for a month due to a Diplomatic meeting. Astra who had been very lost in this part of the city due to having never been there nearly got in trouble with on planet officers when he stepped in saying she was an acquaintance of his, helping him out during his stay.

After explaining why, she was in this part of the city to begin with, he softened up to her and invited her to come back for the month with the promise of answering her questions about the federation and Starfleet, he seemed understanding of her situations and restrictions and wanted to as he put it ‘enrich the next generations minds’. Astra took him up on this offer and nearly every night for the next month she would sneak out for a couple of hours after her parents went to bed, asking him as many questions as she could, during this time he also taught her about his line of work and the kinds of medical situations he had been in. He didn’t shield her from the bad moments either making sure she understood that things can and have gone wrong. On their final meeting he told her that while he didn’t know if they would ever meet again, that Starfleet would be lucky to have such a curious and bright spirit join them.

This interaction inspired Astra in her studies at school specifically in science, while not a bad student by any means the change in attitude was very noticeable and her grades improvement was so apparent that she was able to end up skipping a grade much to her parent's delight. This delight of course only lasted until Astra was 17 when her acceptance letter from Starfleet came, in truth Astra wasn’t actually expecting to get in first time and hadn’t initially prepared for the confrontation she expected to come. It was a shock to Astra however when her father knocked on the door of her room, to talk to her she was shocked to learn that not only did he know about Astra sneaking out a year ago now but he also suspected that she would end up wanting to apply to Starfleet.

Astra mind went blank in that moment and she was fully prepared for the fight that she thought would undoubtedly ensue, except it didn’t. Her father at first was silent, Astra remembered that silence being the longest 5 minuets of her life until her father broke it with a sigh, he sat down beside her and said that while he can’t say he’s ok with her decision he also wouldn’t interfere with it, he did however ask for a compromise, he would talk to her mother and allow her to go, as long as she applied to the initiate program when she was old enough. Astra wasn’t sure at first how to feel about the initiate program, especially considering those who become initiates are not meant to continue communication with their birth families, but she also knew the importance this held in her culture and the chances of her being selected were small when you consider how many trill apply. Astra made the decision quickly, knowing that Starfleet is where she belonged.

And so, a few months later Astra found herself at the Space port, packed and ready to begin her new life. Her parents were both there to say goodbye and wish her well on her way but she could tell there was still some tension, they may have accepted her going but that did not dismiss the lingering feelings of disappointment and in her mother's case sadness that her only child was leaving their home world. Astra gave them the tightest hug she had in years before heading on board the civilian ship ready to set off to Starfleet.