Catena

## Appearance

Catena are 1.5 meters tall and weigh 68.2 kilograms. They have a single row of quills beginning at the crown of the head and following the spine to the tip of their tail. Their eyes are a bright green with vertical pupils. Like most Minado, their scales change color depending on which consciousness is present. Raneki has reddish brown scales,  Lita deep purple, Polin desaturated pink, Karika vibrant red, Nabela forest green, and Parika deep black. Their teeth are sharp and wide.

## Personality

### Raneki

Raneki is by far the most extroverted Catena, which is an impressive statement for any Minado. They’re loud, friendly, and boisterous. Prone to start conversations unprompted with total strangers, sing at seemingly no provocation, and get excited over the most mundane things. They are, in many ways, the sterotypical Minado. Raneki is just loving life and happy to be here!

### Lita

If you were to describe Lita in one word, it would be Done. They’re a relative introvert, relying on a dry, sarcastic sense of humor when in social situations. And generally, they prefer not to be in social situations, letting someone else take control when faced with them. They’re  by far the most logical Catena, and prefer to use their time in control to work on engineering side projects.

### Polin

One notable thing about Polin is her gender. She’s embraced the idea of a female identity, and revels in all things pretty and cute. Which is a bit of a contrast to her behavior. To Polin, every situation is a challenge, and a challenge she intends to win. Conversations become arguments, cooperative tasks rarely stay that way if Polin is involved. Combat is where Polin particularly excels. She has more of a mind for it than most Minado, seeming to relish the opportunity. Notably, Polin doesn’t communicate verbally, but instead through a sign language.

### Karika

Karika and Lita have a lot in common. Mostly in that they’re both pretty Done. Karika, however, is less tired and more amused by everything they’re done with. They love cracking wise at any situation they can, especially serious ones. Despite this, they’re the most serious Catena, best able to maintain the sort of military stoicism expected of a Starfleet officer. More often than not, a superior officer will find themselves interacting with Karika.

### Nabela

Nabela is a stark contrast to Polin, despite her also adopting a feminine identity. Where Polin wrapped herself in a human stereotypical idea of a woman, Nabela is satisfied with the feminine pronouns and the occasional dress. Where Polin is a fighter, Nabela is peaceful to the point of pacifism. Polin sees life as a competition, Nabela believes its a cooperative undertaking. Polin finds a way to be loud despite never speaking, Nabela is quiet and soft spoken. Most arguments among the Catena stem from Nabela and Polin butting heads.

### Parika

You always know where you stand with Parika, because they’ll tell you in no uncertain terms. And, chances are, that is them not trusting you. Parika is the most sceptical Catena, and they’ve butted heads with Raneki more than a few times over this. Nabela is trying to help them with their lack of tact, but little progress has been made on that front.

## History

Like many Minado, Catena grew up with a large family in one of the city-states. Specifically, a coastal city-state named Lekaneth. Their family was loving and kind, always trying to support Catena. Despite this, childhood was difficult for them. Catena had an abnormal amount of internal conflict. Polin and Nebela were almost constantly arguing, Parika and Raneki butted heads more often than not, and Lita hated how outgoing the others were. This conflict was not lost on their family, but they didn’t have the tools to help Catena. Minadoan society still held a stigma on external arbitration, and most ‘help’ was simply their family urging them to work it out. Childhood for them was, in essence, a conflict ridden struggle.

They weren’t able to resolve the issue in any meaningful way until adulthood. Nebela, exhausted by the constant conflict, sought professional help. A non-Minadoan psychologist was able to help settle these conflicts, and provide Catena with tools to prevent and deal with future conflicts. It took two years of work, and Catena occasionally has to speak with a councilor even now, but they are far happier and more comfortable with each other than they had been as adolescents.

Catena knew they wanted to join Star Fleet, that was one thing they agreed on. Of course, they all had their own reasons for wanting to join, which almost caused another conflict breakdown. Raneki wanted to meet new people, Lita wanted to be an engineer, Polin wanted the challenge, Karika wanted adventure, Nabela wanted to help people, and Parika just wanted to get away from home. Security ended up being the compromise.  Adventure, social opportunities, protecting people, plenty of challenges, and far away from Damitao. A minor in engineering was a compromise, as Lita was adamant. Nabela wanted to minor in medicine, but relented for Lita’s sake.

They did quite well at Star Fleet Academy. They were hardly valedictorian, but by playing to their unique strengths they were able to achieve impressive marks. There are few marks on their record from Polin, but her trouble making was never enough to get them in serious trouble.

It was Lita’s idea to volunteer for the Arcadia. They believed that their unique psychology could give them an edge should shipboard combat with the Borg be needed. “We’re like a phaser with a rotating modulation,” they reasoned, “The Borg would be slower to adapt to us if we worked together.”

Whether there’s any truth behind that belief remains to be seen.

## Starfleet Courses

### 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

### Majors

* ARM101: Introduction to Weapons
* ARM110: Hand Phasers, Phaser Rifles and Artillery
* ARM120: Knives and other Small Weapons
* ARM130: Non-traditional Weapons
* LAW200: Federation, Constitutional
* TAC200: Combat, Martial Arts, Anbo-Jytsu and Federation Standard
* TAC210: Combat, Marksmanship
* TAC220: Small Units
* TAC301: Strategy of Battle 1
* SURV150: Land-based Survival in Desert, Ocean, Jungle, and Moderate conditions.
* SURV200: Captivity
* TAC230: Large Units
* TAC300: Leadership
* TAC302: Strategy of Battle 2
* DIPL200: Hostile Species
* PSY101: Terran, General
* PSY102: Non-Terran, Major Species
* PSY302: Hostilities

### Minors

* ENG101: General Electronics
* ENG111: Intermediate Electronics 1
* ENG112: Intermediate Electronics 2
* ENG121: Colossal Failures in Engineering
* ENG332: Life Support Systems
* ENG433: Security Systems

## Trivia

* Raneki: They’re trying to learn to play the bass guitar
* Lita: They’re the reason Catena has minored in engineering
* Polin: She can talk, she just doesn’t want to.
* Karika: They’ve only eaten once. They didn’t like it.
* Nabela: The plants in Catena quarters are hers.
* Parika: They like kids

### Likes

* Raneki: People! Music!
* Lita: Puzzles, fruit, work
* Polin: Competition, fighting, sweets
* Karika: People that can keep up with her, excitement
* Nabela: Cooking, gardening, helping people
* Parika: Exercise, challenges

### Dislikes

* Raneki: The quiet, loneliness, being bored
* Lita: Excitement, being idle, soup
* Polin: Boredom, spicy food, consequences
* Karika: Food, boring people
* Nabela: Conflict, loneliness, being trapped
* Parika: being idle, being trapped, being emotionally vulnerable

### Morals

* Raneki: A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet
* Lita: Every problem has a solution, it's just a matter of finding it.
* Polin: No matter what, win.
* Karika: Everyone has a right to exist, a right to be free.
* Nabela: There is never an excuse to hurt another person.
* Parika: You and your family come first.

### Ambitions

The overall ambition of Catena is to find a family aboard a starship, and to protect and nurture that family. This is one thing they all agree on.

### Character Development

* **Raneki:** By far the most socially skilled. Raneki is the one you want at a party or get together. They’re friendly and sympathetic, making them generally easy to get along with. They can, however, be a little distractible and far too trusting.

* **Lita:** Lita is a problem solver. If something is broken, they’ll work out how to fix it. If something needs doing, Lita will find a way to get it done. They’re the one with the plan. Unfortunately, they’re also the one most likely to get overwhelmed. Lita has trouble focusing on more than one thing, and too many problems at once can force them to give control to someone more flexible.

* **Polin:** As previously stated, Polin is a fighter. If things get physical, you’ll find yourself facing her pink scales. Her competitive nature also makes her a force in sports and games. However, it can also make her a pain to deal with. She doesn’t seem to realize that not everything has to be a competition. And, if you ask Nabela, she enjoys fighting a bit too much…

* **Karika:** Karika is adaptable more than anything else. They can take rapidly changing situations with little to no problems. Usually, when Lita retreats Karika is the one to step up and see their plan to completion. They’re also the most serious Catena, despite their fondness of snark. Unfortunately, they’re not the most sympathetic ear in the galaxy. They have no troubles socializing, but if things get serious they struggle. Usually, this is when Raneki steps in.

* **Nabela:** Nabela’s greatest strength is her kindness. She believes in the goodness in all beings and strives to foster that. She’ll help anyone that asks, often offering before they even have the chance to ask. She’s also a solid cook. She is, notably, a staunch pacifist. Which isn’t exactly the best trait in a tactical officer. You’ll rarely find her on duty because of this.

* **Parika:** Physically, Parika is very deliberate. More than any other Catena, they’re in total control of their movements. Among other things, this allows them to be quite stealthy if they put they’re mind to it. And, while they’re not as proficient as Polin, Parika is no slouch in a fight. The two will often work in conjunction in combat, at least when Polin hasn’t taken it as a personal challenge. Socially, however, Parika is a bull in a china closet. They’re incredibly adept at putting their foot in their mouth, and very slow to apologize.