Aja Kalron

Ensign Aja Kalron is a Exochemist and Exobiologist on the USS Odyssey.

## Life on Sol

Aja was born to the family of Ambassador Duk Karnol, the Cardassian envoy to the Federation government on Sol. For the first eight years of her life she grew up as the only child in the family, meeting important Federation officials through her father at the various banquets and whatnot that they were invited to, her father always bringing up the Cardassian traditions that meals should be as much about discussion as they are eating, he talked a lot with the Starfleet Officers and on occasion, Aja herself had some interesting conversations with a young Captain Alexandra Beauregard, she was five when she first met the Captain, and the conversations she had with him, although only about her basic understanding of science, were impressive considering Aja’s age and left a mark on Alexandra. A lot of the Starfleet Brass tended to ignore her at these banquets and events, Aja was only a child that attended due to the nature of the Cardassian family, but Alexandra seemed to care enough to have an intelligent conversation with the young Cardassian girl, and this left an imprint of what a Starfleet Officer should be like on Aja. Compassionate, caring, observant and intelligent. Traits that Aja would strive towards during her remaining years on Sol, excelling above her classmates when it specifically came to the sciences.

Chemistry and biology being her primary area of interest but she had far above-average grades in physics and mathematics and despite her lacking knowledge in the social sciences of history and politics, her father’s long military and political career both before and after the Cardassian Union turned to a democratic system provided her interesting commentary about those aspects during her childhood. However, her family’s stay on Sol would not be able to last forever due to the nature of her father’s occupation, and because of this her father, and thus Aja herself, were recalled to Cardassia so he could fit a different government position. But her time on Sol left Aja with a good impression of the Federation, and Starfleet.

## Life on Cardassia

Back on Cardassia, with the more liberal government systems in place, Aja had access to a much more diverse education compared to that of her father. Still in place were the systems of strengthening the Cardassian mind and making a student proud of their nation, but instilling modern values regarding relations with other species. Aja took no interest in this, however, instead focusing on her scientific career and what she could do to benefit the known galaxy in that regard. Her time in Cardassian schooling was mostly spent isolated from others, she had no desire to make too many friends, but she had a small and loyal group that was quite diverse, a charismaniac, a mathematics nerd, herself as the science nerd and one who fits the role of a joker. Dukat, Nata, and Verden in order of their listed roles.

They were a loyal friend group and she enjoyed their company despite the differences that they had. It was Dukat that taught her how to give vigorous and entertaining speeches, Nata helped her pass mathematics in the dedicated course outside of the formulas used in scientific courses and Verden helped keep her entertained throughout her years as a student in Cardassia. From ages 8-18, the group of friends were closer than anyone else on Cardassia, inseparable and strong together, embracing the stereotypes of Cardassians as predator-animals in a group but cautious on their own. These values were only reinforced at home with her father who still believed in the traditions he learned about under the authoritarian regime of the Union before the Dominion War. This development has affected her perception of the world, her political views are pragmatic if it means that she will be able to continue research pertaining to a topic, she will pursue that. And this cutthroat way of dealing with these issues was something instilled in her still, even after the fall of the overtly nationalistic Union government, the effects still last.

By the end of her secondary education on Cardassia, Aja was on route to becoming one of the greatest scientists that could’ve been on Cardassia, having written many theses in her final year of schooling that expanded upon ideas of chemistry and she had done many experiments regarding biology. However, near the end of her final year of schooling, she was given the wonder of her father hosting a group of Starfleet Officers from an envoy ship, and the lead of that ship was non-other than the now Admiral Alexandra Beauregard. Aja was surprised to see her at first and was even more surprised during the official dinner that she was invited by the Admiral to talk once again. Apparently, some of her theses had made their way to the desk of the Admiral and she was impressed, and so was her Chief Science Officer who Aja also had the opportunity to talk to during the dinner. Aja brought up her desire to join Starfleet that she had all those years ago on Sol and Alexandra brought up that due to the various writings and research that Aja had done, she’d sponsor Aja’s position into Starfleet Academy. Initially, the Cardassian girl was unsure, this was a big deal, she didn’t want to be rude and say no, but it was simply an opportunity that was too big to refuse. The Cardassian Defense Force was too militaristic for her still, and civilian life still relied much on earning profit through discoveries. After careful consideration, and begging her father to allow it. She departed with Alexandra by her graduation.

## Life at the Academy

Passing the entrance exam as the best out of the four competitors for the ability to be a cadet at the Academy on Sol, Aja was excited to begin her years at Starfleet Academy. Studying in the sciences, she focused on biological and chemical studies during her time at the academy. Her first year consisted of beginning her biological and chemical courses, it was exciting although different from how she learned through the Cardassian system. This knowledge would be applied to uses in Starfleet, working aboard a ship to protect and discover the future. This idea of a cause higher than her research was something new, she'd never discussed the philosophy behind what she did, just the processing of getting stuff done.

It was interesting to hear and it changed her outlook to not be nearly as cutthroat as she had been educated previously, changing it from working alone for her own desire to explore the unknown to working together to explore the unknown for the greatness of all sentient beings. During the rest of her first year, other than being one of the best in her science classes and average in most others, Aja made herself some new friends, using some of the tips from her old friend Dukat, her weird blend of quiet nerdiness yet confident speaking got her into the friend group of two others. A human named Martha and a Vulcan named Adenkar, both were good friends, Adenkar devoted to his studies and completely logical while Martha was bold and outgoing, one may use the old Earth term of calling her a "free-spirit" as Adenkar once pointed out to Aja. Adenkar helped Aja not completely fail her courses that she had little motivation for and Martha kept Aja from ever feeling too sad, even if she missed home.

During her second year at the academy, Aja focused more on her scientific courses, specifically taking Xenobiology and Biochemistry during her second year, it was likely the year that she would describe as the most boring when it came to activities outside of her normal classes. Outside of the normal excelling through her classes, there was little she found herself doing other than studying and being with her friends. But by the end of the year, another person had joined the friend group, a Bajoran woman by the name of Lar Niki. It was no surprise that there was some hate between them, her father constantly made jokes about the Bajoran religion, their culture, their appearance, and that unfortunately rubbed off on Aja. Just as disappointingly, Niki was brought up similarly to perceiving Cardassians. This hate proved intense for one another until they were forced to acknowledge the horrible things they thought and said to each other rather than tearing the group apart through an intervention by Martha and Adenkar. She accepted her father’s way of indoctrinating her about the Bajorans was inaccurate, and so did Niki. They moved on from each other and became good friends through the remaining years of the academy.

In the third year of her time at the Academy, Aja expanded her knowledge of the sciences, this year focusing on Botany and Exochemistry. Most of the challenges this year came from things outside of the academy. She got the unfortunate news that her father was severely ill, this negatively affected her mental state throughout the term of her courses. Her grades took a significant decline during the first portion of the year. Through whatever means be it scientific advancement or the ludicrous concept of luck, her father pulled through by the end of the first term of her classes, she did not feel emotionally weighed down and the experience, dealing with a lot more bottled up emotions had her talking more with her friends. She looked at Adenkar much differently, surprised he could suppress his emotions, and both Martha and Niki helped her vent out emotions that normally she would keep private and to herself. By the end of the year, she had gotten her average to be much more in line with the courses from her previous year.

## Extracurriculars and Graduation

Her fourth and final year of Academy life was exciting and eventful. Graduation was looming the entire year, she was excited to be assigned to a ship, to officially be an Officer in the organization that she adored so much after learning so much about it and being at the Academy for four years. Going through her final year, running various biological and chemical experiments, writing her professional-level theses, all of the options excited her, being on a starship in service for the first time would be amazing, she was so happy to finally be graduating, even if it would mean she likely won’t see her Academy friends that often, it was exciting to hear and know about what it would be like on a ship. Throughout the year she had what could be described by the human term of “butterflies in her stomach” but there were many passions she discovered during this final year at the academy. Aja finally felt like she could relax while keeping good marks in her classes, so she took an interest in acting of all things, she had the voice for it and the memory for the lines but often tended to lack confidence, especially on her own. Which is how she managed to convince Adenkar to join the extracurricular acting course with her. She enjoyed it quite a lot and it has become a secondary passion for her.

Aja also took a try at sports, parrises squares were something she did not like, finding it too intense and violent for her tastes. She found similar results for boxing and wrestling. Aja knew she would not be a good runner and so did not even try to attempt the Starfleet Academy marathon or any of the preparation for it. But she did take interest in a more elegant sport, she joined the European Swordsmanship club. Due to the nature of the sport, the fact it didn't require that much agility and required a good amount of knowledge made it a sport that she enjoyed during her last year of Academy life. But eventually, all things must come to an end and Aja's years at the Academy were behind her after she graduated and was assigned to the USS Odyssey.

## Appearance

Aja has medium-length, dark brown hair that falls just below her shoulders. Her eyes are dark reddish-brown and are upturned in their shape. She does not wear any makeup to accentuate features such as the eyes, forehead or scales. Her skin is greyish-green in colour and has no wrinkles, making her come off as still being full of youth. She wears the normal scientific officer’s uniform with no cultural adjustments to it. Aja is 179cm tall, her body is naturally mesomorphic and she is built strongly for someone who spends not much time working out.

## Personality

Aja is generally kind, although whenever she is alone amongst those she does not know, she usually just sits back and analyzes everyone, acting very cautious about the people around her and who may approach her. However, when she is with friends or family or those she trusts, Aja is much more confident, she talks much more often and tries to lead her own conversations while doing so. She will also have a smile on her face when she is lost in her work or a good book and doesn’t like to be disturbed when this happens.

Her positive traits would have to be her confidence amongst others and confidence in herself when performing tasks that she enjoys. It is because of this that she is willing to experiment with her scientific methods and doesn’t like always following the book. Aja is confident and wants to explore space, and she is happy to be a part of any away team provided the mission is scientific in some way.

Aja’s negative traits primarily lie in how she acts when she is not around others. She will not openly try to talk to new people, she’s quick to judge by appearance and style rather than personality. She’s also very suspicious and cautious of those around her that she does not trust, this isn’t seen as much towards Starfleet Officers, but that’s because she knows they have been through the Academy and have that sort of connection to her. To non-Starfleet personnel, however, she is not the most diplomatic or amiable to talk.

## Psych Evaluation

Aja has all of her mental faculties in check and does not show any disabilities to have formed. She’d accurately be described as sane.

## Other Information

Likes:

* **Swordsmanship** - Practicing it during her time at the Academy, Aja has fallen in love with the sport due to the fact it is one of the sports she finds easy to perform. And although she needs a specially made outfit to fit her form so that she's comfortable, that's not much of a hassle when she has access to a proper transporter.
* **Acting** - Again, something she picked up during the Academy like her love for swordsmanship, she finds it a good way to hone her confidence and speaking skills outside of the traditional Cardassian act of debating through the time of a meal, discussing philosophy, even if through the lens of a Shakespearean drama, is something that will forever entertain her.
* **Cardassian Cuisine** - Despite what others may say of yamok sauce and sem'hal stew, Aja grew up on Cardassian food and enjoys it more than anything else, although she will not deny that her taste buds are tantalized by the prospect of certain other foods.
* **Philosophy** - Typical of a well-educated Cardassian, Aja enjoys all manners of philosophy. Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Surak, Sun Tzu and Kahless are all philosophers she has read up on and there are even more outside of those listed. She enjoys the discussion of topics over her morning breakfast with whoever will share that with her.
* **Sociability** - When she finds a good person to enjoy her time with who can hold up a good discussion at that, Aja tends to be quite social with them. She’ll talk a lot, hold a good conversation, learn more about the person. Making herself seem nice is something she likes to do once she has established to herself she finds a person to be nice. It’s because of this she’s so close to the few friends she does have.

Dislikes:

* **Eating Alone** - Aja finds that eating alone, without friends or family or anyone to talk to is quite dull and boring. She can barely sustain eating alone lest she is working on a project, and even then she has her own internal discussions talking to whatever project she is working on to occupy her time. She won't eat alone unless she can not help it.
* **By-the-Book Orders** - She’s a big proponent of innovation, if you can find a new way to do something, you should, that’s your job as a scientist is to figure out new paths. So she doesn’t like doing things exactly by the book unless she knows it will make something explode.
* **Unjust Prejudice** - Being the daughter of what the Bajoran Government once labelled a minor war criminal and being told from a young age how to perceive people, Aja doesn’t like age-old stereotypes and judgements of people because of what another person has been told. After she realized Bajorans aren’t that bad from her time at the Academy, she has been trying to change her personality but she will often judge people at first sight.
* **Social Studies** - Aja finds that the studies of history outside of learning more about a scientific purpose to be boring and she doesn’t like studying that much. Archaeology is only interesting if she can dig up the fossil of a creature long-dead and examine it in the lab, learning of how it acted and how it hunted or was hunted.