Valerie Callahan

Valerie Callahan - Fleet Uniform

Captain

## Starfleet Academy & Early Career

* Spent a lot of time around Boothby
* Had her Kobayashi Maru simulation delayed when her interest in being joined was voiced, in order to increase the difficulty in the event she "was being coached". This led to newer technologies being programmed in, technologies which Valerie was able to exploit. After helping address the issues, she was permitted a second test.
* Graduated Valedictorian of her class.
* Assigned to the *Emerald Isles* after graduation.

### Training

* Advanced Starship Security Tactics
* Advanced Ground & Ship Weaponry
* Aikido
* Fencing (rapier)
* Longsword
* Bat'leth
* Skilled in Martial Arts
* Skilled in longsword, rapier, and Bat'leth Combat
* Skilled with several ground weapons, including assault, siege and explosive weapons

### Awards & Commendations (Starfleet Academy)

* Valedictorian (Starfleet Academy, class of 2410)
* Honors in Astrophysics
* Premier Distinction in Command & Control
* Honors in Exolinguistics
* Premier Distinction in Advanced Theoretical Physics
* Premier Distinction in Energy Theory
* Premier Distinction in Temporal Mechanics, with citation

## Service Record

* Assigned Ensign of the USS Emerald Isles. Quickly promoted to Lieutenant for bravery and valour above and beyond the call of duty.
	+ 17 successful high-risk away missions.
* Transferred and promoted to Lieutenant Commander of the USS Egypt, Security Division.
	+ 23 successful high-risk away missions
	+ Night shift bridge rotation
* Transferred to JTFB, posted as Chief Tactical Officer on the USS Brazzaville

### Notable JTFB Service

* Commanding Officer of the USS Nessus during the Breen Engagement (temporary assignment). Resumed duties on the Brazzaville.
* Part of the away team led by Admiral Dvorak that was taken captive (and returned with no fatalities) during the *Into the Black* missions.
	+ Subsequently led the team's escape from the secret facility and helped commandeer (and temporarily command) the *ISS Boudica*, turning the asset over to JTFB before being debriefed.
* Transferred to MACO division (becoming Starfleet's first Joined Trill MACO); posted to the USS Aegis/Olympus Station as head of MACO Team 1 (JTFB) and Chief Tactical Officer (USS Aegis).
* Led the team that rescued Admiral Amiga (which was a 'dead-or-alive' mission).
* Led the team that rescued Tal Shiar defectors aboard the Ravon.
* Led the team that captured Tolvyar Vex.
* Spearheaded the MACO team deployed to capture/kill John Jackson Miller and destroy his base in the Maxia system. Presumed KIA, promoted posthumously to Commodore.
* Decimated a joint Terran/Starfleet black ops facility classified as "Project Mercury" during her "resurrection" and rescue. Demoted for destruction of Starfleet property.
* Promoted to Captain; ordered to take command of the USS Boudicca (captured from Project Mercury)
* Severely damaged the ISS Menaleus during the Battle of Vauthil Station, allowing for its eventual destruction.

## Personal Life

Born 67530.22 (November 28th, 2389) to a doctor and a scientist, Valerie Ishan spent most of her life with a dream: to be Joined and serve in Starfleet. Following the death of her father and the disappearance of her mother, she applied to and graduated from Starfleet Academy. During her Academy training, Valerie also applied to the Symbiosis Commission to be Joined, knowing the process normally took years.

Taken under the wing of the "Callahan" symbiont host Jalei during her trials, she was eventually selected as an emergency successor to the Jalei host...shortly after Jalei was critically injured during an incident with an old Cardassian minefield. Despite the concerns of the Commission that the symbiont had already spent a great deal of time in Starfleet, Valerie was allowed to remain as host.

After some initial trouble adjusting to the Joining, Valerie graduated valedictorian of her class at Starfleet, earning a posting on the *USS Emerald Isles*. After accepting a promotion to the *USS Egypt*, she grew to realize that even pursuing her dream of the Captain's Chair would mean nothing if she couldn't actually make a difference where she was. And the current Starfleet...didn't feel as effective as it used to. So, after hearing about Joint Task Force Bellerophon from a friend of a friend, she applied for a transfer. She wasn't about to waste another ten years of this life pushing papers and playing politics....

### Death and Augmentation

On Stardate 99378, Cain Carter assaulted the Maxia base during the JTFB attempt to capture Miller. Valerie barely managed to evacuate her team before being disarmed of her rifles by Shego. With no escape option left, Valerie engaged Cain alongside Miller in hand-to-hand combat long enough to pass the point of safe return, in the hopes of catching Cain in the blast. Already weakened from piloting the Spore Drive of the Viribus Unitis, a fatal mistake let Cain quickly get the upper hand and leave Val critically wounded. She was unable to make it to the beam-out point before the base exploded, and no ship reported being able to rescue her. The AFS Yangrel was dispatched to survey the wreckage, recovering proof of 15 KIA's--including Val's own damaged combadge. For her heroic death in the line of duty, she was posthumously promoted to the rank of Commodore and awarded the Medal of Honor.

However, the Viribus Unitis's jump back to her home space had an unintended side effect.

An injured Val was pulled from the Mycelial Network into the reaction chamber. After being passed off to the Prime and Terran Von Papen's, Val was secretly put through testing (and torture) at a black R&D site code-named "Project Mercury" operated by Terran and Starfleet personnel. There, she was the only surviving test subject of spore augmentation. As a pilot, she was paired with an advanced version of a newly manufactured Icarus-class ship, the USS Boudicca. During one of its test flights, she managed to remain lucid enough to alter its jump parameters enough to encode the location of the Project Icarus site within its energy signature.

An intel team deployed from JTFB managed to secure intel incriminating the Von Papens in Val's augmentation--as well as secure the Commodore herself. After commandeering the USS Boudicca and destroying the docked Spore ships, the black ops group jumped back to Olympus, with Val managing to make the jump **into** the station's docking facilities.

### Trial and Command

Rightfully fearing Starfleet corruption, Admiral Possible convened a trial at an Alliance court, where the fate of everyone provably involved in Project Mercury could face judgement--and where Valerie's fate as an illegally-modified Trill could be more fairly judged.

After much deliberation, the surviving Von Papen (Prime) was sentenced to life in prison. Captain Bellatrix Glover was given a reprimand for her indirect role in the events. Admiral Kapoor--though as guilty as Von Papen--had no charges filed against him, as there was not enough proof to get anything to stick...for now. The Spore Drive was deemed too dangerous to continue production on, but the Chimaera threat allowed for Emergency Sanctions to be enacted, granting the two remaining in-service Drives to be used and kept on their respective ships: The Viribis Unitis, and the Boudicca, the latter of which was assigned to JTFB MACO division. Valerie was allowed to retain her Starfleet commission though was demoted back to Commander for surviving the battle and for destroying a Starfleet facility.

Her rapid recovery and subsequent mission successes (including preventing the kidnapping of her friend Hana Stoppable), earned her a promotion to the rank of Captain, with her being made CO of the Boudicca in addition to her usual duties as leader of TG Delta Group 1.

### Augmented Abilities

In addition to her augmentation of Tardigrade DNA and P.Stellviatori spores, Valerie is outfitted with a pair of arm implants that allow her to interface with the Spore Drive system of any equipped ship. This allows her to control the ship mentally (to an extent) and to utilize the drive to make pinpoint or rapid jumps. Her DNA augments also give her resistance to energy weapons and the ability to consume spores to aid in regeneration, while her mental connection to the Mycelial Network occasionally give her premonitions or glimpses into alternate realities...or, in the worst case, headaches from any nearby spore-related technology.

As a side effect of her alteration, her eyes (and open wounds) glow blue in the presence of spores, making identification easy.

Off the official record, she is also capable of self-sustained teleports utilizing ambient spores, and has used this to facilitate several rescues and missions. At time of augmentation, she was capable of carrying up to two passengers comfortably up to 10 km, though she has since been able to significantly stretch both the distance and passenger limits with practice and by altering the method of spore usage.

## Relationships

* Thy'rek Kaan (spouse, former CO)
* Markus Brookfield (close friend)
* Serok Thaelus (close friend)
* Arisa Val'ina (Student and part-time charge, earning her the title of both teacher *[Ernraenen]* and "aunt")
* Samus Aran (close friend, ex-girlfriend, Academy class of 2410)
* Kimberly Ann Possible (close friend)
* Hana Stoppable (friend, younger sister figure, Academy class of 2410)
* Kana Valoris (friend, Academy class of 2410)
* Shirayuki Wistaria (friend, primary care physician)
* Shelly Piper (friend, MACO subordinate)
* Julia Amiga (friend)

## Hosts - Khal'han "Callahan" symbiont

### Valerie (female, current host)

* Born 2389 to a doctor (father) and a scientist (mother)
	+ Her father was posted to a Trill colony in Klingon space in 2405, where he was killed by an Undine infiltrator. Valerie and her mother were separated when the Klingons threw Federation citizens out of their colonies. While Valerie was rescued by a Federation ship, her mother was never found. She was given sanctuary on Earth and applied to be Joined and enlist in Starfleet...after she'd had time to grieve.
* Graduated Starfleet Academy, class of 2410 (valedictorian)
* Joined late in the year 2410 (Age 20, the youngest joining of the Callahan Symbiont)
* Unimpressed with the slower pace of growth and rigidity of Starfleet's general system than they had previously shown through history, she applied for a transfer to JTFB, feeling she could do more good there.

### Jalei (male)

* Host from 2367-2410 (43 years)
* Career: Federation Diplomatic Corps
	+ Cause of death: Injuries sustained during a diplomatic mission, following an incident with an old Cardassian minefield leftover from the Dominion War.
* Nurtured an interest in diplomacy during his Initiate studies, worrying that things were going too far too fast in Starfleet and many other societies, drawing a lot of inspiration from some of the great Ambassadors of the Federation. Joining only renewed his passion for peace and prosperity between cultures.
* Volunteered for diplomatic postings during the Cardassian Conflict (approved), the Klingon-Federation Conflict (rejected), the Dominion War (approved), and the Iconian Conflict (approved, but never made it there).

### Trevan (male)

* Host from 2315-2367 (52 years)
* Career: Starfleet Engineer
	+ Cause of death: Medical complications sustained during the Battle of Wolf 359
* Originally wanted to be a member of the Symbiosis Commission, but decided Starfleet had better engineering studies. In 2310 (at the age of 20), Trevan applied to and was accepted by Starfleet Academy, graduating in the class of 2314.
* Posted to the USS Tripoli, and was part of the team that found and reassembled Data.
* Had a fiancee aboard the Enterprise C, who died at the Narendra III outpost in 2344. Took a month's leave to grieve, then asked for a transfer to focus on his career.
* Served aboard the USS Bellerophon as Chief Engineer at the Battle of Wolf 359 (2367). Survived the battle, died later due to complications.

### Khovan (male)

* Host from 2275-2315 (40 years)
* Career: Starfleet Command
	+ Cause of death: Transfer of symbiont
* Went through initiation under Audrid Dax...and passed
* Witnessed the retiring of the USS Enterprise and the Enterprise-A
* Served on one of the ships disabled by the alien probe in 2286; all hands survived under Khovan's crisis management, earning him his promotion to Commander.
	+ He was given the option of serving under Sulu, but he felt obligated to decline the offer given Syrinia's past history.
* Was quickly promoted to Captain after a skirmish with the Klingons and was assigned to patrol the borders between their space in the years before the peace treaty.
* In the year 2315, Khovan was diagnosed with severe transporter psychosis. The Symbiosis Commission felt the potential for further damage to the symbiont was too high, and so the Callahan symbiont was given to a new host, terminating Khovan's life in the process.

### Syrinia (female)

* Host from 2211-2275 (64 years)
* Career: Starfleet Scientist
	+ Cause of death: Natural causes.
* One of the first Trill to visit Earth
* Started the "Callahan" name after being friends with (and becoming somewhat adopted by) an Irishman.
* Studied old cultures and archaeology, taught for a time as a guest lecturer at Starfleet Academy, where she taught notable officers Spock and Sulu.
	+ As a hobby, she enjoyed watching starship construction and launches, though she hated flying due to the subtle imperfections in the 'current' ship tech (vibrating deck plates, vertigo as the inertial dampers kick in). Witnessed the launch of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), as well as several other ships.

### Breeding period & Re-evaluation

* Duration: 2191-2211 (20 years)
* Following the death of Diana Khal'han, the Symbiosis Commission opted to remove the symbiont as an option for Joining, pending a thorough evaluation and psychological review.
	+ Initially, the symbiont's previous hosts were seen as a balancing force and concern was raised that they were judging the symbiont too early. However, some rather influential voices were able to push to keep the Khal'han symbiont open only for breeding while a review was considered.
* Space travel and contact with other races led the Commission to reconsider the established practices of 'weeding out' some undesirable traits (like Diana's not-so-conservative views on intimacy).
	+ While being unwilling to concede that Diana's views were correct, the Symbiosis Commission did admit that her views were "not exactly wrong" and that no irreparable harm had been done to the Symbiont. At the close of the re-evaluation period, the Khal'han symbiont was once again placed as an option for Joining.

### Diana (female)

* Host 2122-2191 (69 years)
	+ Cause of death: Natural causes.
* Dancer, 'entertainer'

### Ziara (female)

* Host 2052-2122 (70 years).
	+ Cause of death: Natural causes.
* Artist, Inventor

## Counterparts

### Valerie Ishan (Mirror Universe)

As the Mirror Universe symbionts are dead, Val's Mirror Universe counterpart has no symbiont and thus kept her maiden name. Unlike Valerie Callahan's flirtatious nature (and distaste of the fashion nightmare that are pants), her alternate universe counterpart has no such quirks. Mirror Valerie has a hatred of anything too feminine or too friendly, advertises a single emotion (rage), and has an even shorter fuse than Val. About the only easily observable thing the two share (besides a DNA profile) is the motto: "There is no kill like overkill."

Upon the defection of Mirror Kapoor to JTFB forces (and the scattering of Mirror Amiga's alliance), Mirror Val assumed the post of Captain of the ISS Triangulum, with the goal of hunting down and killing her traitorous *former* CO. A temporal duplicate aided JTFB forces in the rescue of Hana Stoppable and the final fight against Cain, but the copy was killed during the battle. The original "Mirror Valerie" still remains unaffiliated and at large.

### Moira Callahan (29th Century/future)

Moira Callahan joined SFDTI after showing an aptitude and passion for temporal mechanics (much like her 7th host, Valerie). She climbed through the ranks, ultimately ending up as the 1st officer of the USS Einstein under Captain Columbus Pike. During the incident with the testing of the spore drive on the ISS Boudicca, Moira helped to unlock the Boudicca's systems so the ship and its crew could continue their mission to restore the timeline. Moira is the fifteenth host of the Callahan symbiont.

### Valerie Khal'han (Kelvin Timeline)

Following an incident involving the USS Brazzaville and a Tholian attack, the Kelvin-based battleship USS Silesia crossed over into the Prime universe to render aid, captained by Valerie's Kelvin counterpart, Captain Khal'han. Thought the two are similar in height and build, Captain Khal'han is more serious and practical than Prime Val. She has a formidable military record and bears many scars of past battles, not taking the time to get them removed. Her right arm is also a cybernetic prosthesis featuring a high-powered self-contained phaser emitter.