Nissia

## Appearance

Nissia stands at roughly five feet and nine inches when in full uniform. Being a member of the Diplomacy department, she dons the typical colors of white and gray though opts to wear the coated variant of the outfit rather than the standard issue version. She wears her jet black hair down to her shoulders, and it along with her facial ridges frames her rather pale humanoid face. Her irises bear an earthy brown color, and her eyes themselves are cast off in deep thought most of the time.

## Personality

Nissia has a very neutral personality, and acts only once she’s formulated a full understanding of any issue at hand. She can easily blend in with those around her, formulating her thoughts and conversation topics in order with whatever crowd she’s currently mingling with. Despite her seamless ability to ally her demeanor and, in some aspects her personality, with those around her, Nissia does still have interests of her own that she pursues more privately. Among these are her trivial appreciations for alien cultures, histories, and written works. Before making contact with another species, she loves researching and invoking their culture in order to make the negotiation process much smoother. Her inherent charisma and apprehension are in direct contrast to her impulsive nature when it becomes apparent she is at a disadvantage. She has a rather immense ego that demands her to be in control, and when she has lost that control in any manner it can lead to some impulse decision making which could be either an unexpected Hail Mary or a definite mistake.

### Ambitions

Nissia strives to make a name for herself on Deep Space 9, hoping to live up to past station commanders such as Captain Benjamin Sisko. She wants the station to grow to be a stronger cultural mixing pot than it already is.

### Morals

Nissia staunchly avoids combat where she can. She has a strong opinion of what is right and wrong, and most of these beliefs align with those of Starfleet. In any case of oppression, particularly slavery, she finds it hard not to intervene even when such intervention would be in direct violation of the Prime Directive.

## History

Both of Nissia’s parents were Denobulan doctors serving in Starfleet aboard a medical vessel called the USS Beagle in homage to the SS Beagle, with her mother having been the senior Medical Officer. Each had other spouses to tend to, although due to their distance from Denobula they spent long periods of time with just each other. Nissia was conceived aboard the Beagle, and every year her parents were given a few weeks' shore leave to introduce her to Denobulan society so that Denobulan customs were not lost on her. While on Denobula, she was educated about the culture of her society’s homeworld. Aboard the Beagle, she was schooled with the other children up to middle school years, whereupon it was decided that she’d finish her education through high school on Denobula. This transition happened when she was around the age of fourteen. Nissia married her first husband directly after graduating from high school.

She went straight into Starfleet Academy when she was eighteen years of age and pursued a career in the Diplomacy department despite both of her parents trying to persuade her to join Sciences. This was most likely because of her interest in researching the adventures of missions of other Starfleet captains and ships, particularly those of the various editions of the Enterprise. Diplomacy, she figured, was a much better suit for her than anything in the medical field. Later on during her freshman year at Starfleet Academy, the USS Beagle was called to serve in the battle of Wolf 359. The Beagle, along with the many ships it was tasked with aiding, was destroyed in the ensuing confrontation with the Borg. This left deep scars on Nissia’s psyche, and since she heard that news she’s vowed to avoid combat encounters at all cost. She is not so naive as to think that combat is entirely avoidable throughout the entire life of a Starfleet commander, however, and does her best to prepare herself for anything coming her way. She continued her education at the academy normally, pursuing many majors in history and diplomacy. She minored in all available law courses in order to get a better understanding of the legal parameters surrounding negotiation.

Despite being enraptured by her studies, she made it a hobby to socialize with others at the academy. This social life only came about in her second, third, and fourth year at the academy, for she and many of her classmates were still recovering from the loss at Wolf 359. Families across the Federation had lost loved ones there, and those affected weren’t keen to open up right away. When she did, however, Nissia found comfort in socializing with the many different types of people attending the academy. Ingratiating herself in their lives and becoming close to them allowed her mind to take its attention away from the loss of her parents. After graduating from Starfleet Academy with flying colors (despite a rocky first year), she was assigned to the USS Armstrong. Aboard the Armstrong she was an Ensign in the Diplomacy department, and over the course of four years saw many tense diplomatic missions that were resolved by the crew of the ship, most of which dealt with the emerging want for peace between the Cardiassians and the Federation. She kept a personal log of these events in order to review them, further learning nuances of diplomacy in the field that could rarely be exemplified in the classroom.

The Captain of the Armstrong was a human man by the name of Obadiah Scott. Captain Scott (or ‘Great Scott’ to those who knew him) was a theatrical man who delighted in having an audience. He was always looking for younger minds to enter the field of diplomacy, as he more than most recognized they were the ones to come up with the revolutionary ideas and accords that would influence generations to come. His first officer was a J’naii who identified as male named Silus. Commander Silus was of an oppressed minority on the J’naii homeworld, and he escaped as a young boy aboard a Starfleet vessel that was stopping by. After extended education in Federation territory he was admitted into Starfleet Academy and, due to his wish for acceptance and peace across the galaxy, pursued a career in Diplomacy. As an Ensign, Nissia was occasionally assigned on away teams to oversee and moderate diplomatic meetings between warring alien races. She usually took this time to study the parties at odds, focused her research on the core of their issues with each other. This combined with her basic knowledge in law and anthropology gave her a more keen understanding of any perhaps tense situation, which made her a key asset to the team. She would often report her findings to the next appropriate figure in the chain of command (typically a LTJG or the leader of the away team in question) so that the team could have a better understanding of what caused these issues and how to resolve them in a peaceful and effective manner.

The crew of the Armstrong, being a diplomatic vessel, was composed of many different alien races. Unique perspectives from all across the galaxy were welcomed and even encouraged aboard the Armstrong. This meant that life aboard the ship was never dull for Nissia, who had a particular penchant for alien cultures. She spent her free time interacting with the many different people that called the Armstrong their home. In many ways, the Armstrong for Nissia served as a continuation of her education. Instead of learning about alien species and their rituals in an academy auditorium, she learned about them firsthand aboard the ship of any diplomat’s dreams. To Nissia, the art of socialization was treated almost like a study. Word choice, infliction, and tone were always factors she paid close attention to at an almost scientific level. She spent her shore leaves on planets that were new to her, only rarely returning to Denobula for nostalgia’s sake.

Due to her repeated resourcefulness in diplomatic matters, Nissia was given the position of Lieutenant Junior Grade. She was granted this promotion on a mission regarding a Bajoran insurrectionist group that wanted to aid the Klingons in their fight with Cardassia. This could have been misconstrued as the Federation assisting the Klingon in their unprovoked attack against Cardassia, and therefore was a matter that needed to be dealt with before it got out of hand. Nissia got to work doing her typical routine, researching both the Bajoran conflict with the Cardassians as well as the Klingons. It was her information that helped convince these Bajroans that these seemingly overaggressive Klingons were not an ally they wanted to risk separating from the Federation for. Because of her key role here, she was given her promotion to LTJG.

Not too long after her promotion, the Armstrong became enraptured in the year-long Federation-Klingon War. The USS Armstrong and the USS Drake were ambushed by a klingon warship. A few crewmen of the Armstrong, including Nissia, were temporarily taken prisoner aboard the Klingon vessel during the battle. The group of prisoners, consisting of about eleven crew men, didn’t go as quietly as had been intended. Noticing that the Klingon ship had suffered severe damage and casualties as well, the prisoners decided to take their shot at fighting off the Klingons escorting them. Two of the four Klingons were injured in the ensuing combat. One of the prisoners was killed, and others suffered some potentially serious wounds (Nissia in particular had a fractured shoulder and a leg injury resulting in a limp). After it was clear the battle was going to be a loss, one of the prisoners took the opportunity to bolt away. He managed to hide in the ventilation system, and due to the Klingon ship’s on board sensors having been damaged in the battle they were unable to detect him. The Klingon guards discussed killing the remaining prisoners, but were given orders to refrain due to them being a quintessential bargaining chip. The Drake, Armstrong, and Klingon ship were all heavily damaged and so negotiation channels were opened between them.

The crews of the Federation ships would continue communication with the Klingon ship as the two parties were at a stand still, and while they were still in talks Nissia managed to distract a few of the Klingon guards with her knowledge of Klingon Opera while the escaped prisoner that had so far eluded the Klingon soldiers via the ventilation system got the jump on the guards and freed the others. The Armstrong was then, with the help of the freed prisoners, able to subdue the Klingons aboard the ship. Three of the prisoners taken aboard the vessel had died in the ensuing combat, and the impromptu team was in no position to hold the ship for long. They were successfully beamed back aboard the Armstrong, however there was no time to take the Klingon vessel back into Federation space to incarcerate the crew as readings indicated that Klingon reinforcements were on the way. With that, the Drake and the Armstrong limped back to Federation space.

Nissia was lucky to count herself among the living when the two ships arrived, beaten and broken, at Deep Space 9. This was where Nissia first heard of Captain Sisko, and since then she has had a deep admiration for the man. One of her favorite parts of the station was the different cultures that mingled together aboard it, and during her stay here she enjoyed the various facilities of the Promenade extensively. The Armstrong was eventually repaired and sent back out, although the memories of her brief stay on DS9 stuck with Nissia throughout the rest of her time aboard the Armstrong. For the next eight years aboard the Armstrong, she rose through the ranks to the position of Lieutenant Commander and achieved the position of Second Officer aboard the Armstrong.

Climbing through the ranks as she did was a natural progression of her earlier work. It took three years to become a Lieutenant. With every challenge that came to her and the team she was assigned to, she managed to avoid furthering hostilities between opposing parties and keep all involved safe. More important than anything, she realized, was that both of the parties at odds with each other needed to feel comfortable before any proper negotiation could begin. Most of the time, for obvious reasons, this was difficult. Both sides always wanted certain circumstances that would upset the other, and therefore a tenuous balance had to be maintained. Nissia maintained this balance by talking both parties into a compromise, a situation in which each side had to give a little to get a lot. This method worked for her on numerous occasions, and earned her the somewhat consistent nickname of ‘The Compromiser’. Her promotion to Lieutenant came after the Armstrong’s role in reducing Orion piracy.

The effects of Orion pheromones on Denobulans were well known by the time these negotiations came into place, and therefore Nissia was required to keep her distance during these missions. Despite this, she continued her research into the Orion people’s history and dug up many facts that proved useful to the crew. Orion had a deep and rich culture that expanded far beyond the pirates and slave traders that the race had become over the centuries. A prospective return to this greatness was a key negotiating point with the captains of many Orion ships, and oftentimes Nissia was called upon to dig up certain pivotal facts. Most of these captains were talked out of piracy due to this and a rising realization that more and more Orion vessels were being captured and incarcerated in Federation space. This convinced many Orion pirates to turn a new leaf. Although Orions were never completely inducted into the Federation, the negotiations that brought about the almost total end to piracy among their people was noteworthy enough to grant Nissia her promotion, as for three years she’d been almost wholly committing herself to the decline of Orion piracy.

Three years later, the date 2378, saw the position of Lieutenant Commander as well as the title of Second Officer of the USS Armstrong bestowed on Nissia. This was brought on by the key role she played in smoothing over tensions with the Pakled people. The Pakleds, by 2378, almost had the power to rival most federation starships. Many of the confrontations that the Federation had with the Pakleds in the past got off on the wrong foot, and so the USS Arcadia was called upon to reach out an olive branch to the Pakled people. Nissia brought up the idea of offering education to the Pakleds so that they could ascertain a better understanding of how space travel works, and they would no longer have to steal technology from other races. This offer was extended only to ships encountered by the Armstrong. The choice allowed the crew of said vessel in question to decide if they’d like to become members of Starfleet rather than the Pakled navy and, in order to not contaminate Pakled culture and therefore defy the Prime Directive, live in Federation space. Due to more Pakled ships slowly agreeing to learn what Starfleet and the Federation had to offer, talks about officially inducting the Pakled homeworld into the Federation began to take place. The Pakleds have not officially become part of the Federation, but the door is now open. This talking point proved to be effective in convincing many Pakled ships to give up their devious ways, and it is what pushed Nissia over the edge for the Lt. CMDR promotion.

Nissia played an important part in many missions, one of particular note being in the year of 2380 when she had to temporarily take over the position of First Officer when the Armstrong’s standard XO was taken hostage by a dissident Ferengi ship. These Ferengi, uncontent by the peace that most of their people had begrudgingly accepted with the Federation, were in the business of kidnapping and torturing Starfleet officers. They were a wanted band of pirates, claiming themselves to be proud patriots of the Ferengi people (this caused some amount of damage to the Ferengi name for those who encountered these pirates). The XO of the Armstrong was abducted after the Ferengi got the jump on the Federation vessel. The Ferengi away team had been aiming for the Captain, though settled for the First Officer after two of their members had been stunned by the crew aboard the Armstrong.

Luckily for the Armstrong, most of the damage done to the vessel was actually off target. The Ferengi meant to render the Armstrong immobile for some amount of time, but due to happenstance most of their attacks had missed. The Captain of the Armstrong sent out a distress call to nearby ships and began tracking the pirates. Nissia discussed a plan with her Captain on the way to the planet that these pirates were using as a hideout, a plan in which she would appeal to the ego of their foes. She would stage a fabricated mutiny against the Captain and inform the Ferengi that the crew, along with the First Officer, had been planning to overthrow the Captain of the Armstrong for a long time. Nissia said that so long as they could meet in person to trade the Captain, the man the Ferengi had truly wanted, for the First Officer, she would be willing to call off the reinforcements that were only an hour away. The Ferengi agreed, and during the proposed transaction she, the Captain, and the rest of the away team managed to subdue the Ferengi with the element of surprise. The prisoners were brought to the Armstrong’s holding cells and transferred over to a ship more suitable for carrying them to the nearest starbase so that they could face justice.

Sometime in 2381 she applied for a transition to Deep Space 9 and was approved. Over the four years she’s spent here she served directly under the station’s Commander. She is, however, a natural candidate for the next station Commander due to her previous service as Second Officer aboard a Starfleet vessel, and her brief experience in the shoes of a Commander that went over smoothly. It would coincide nicely with the next promotion she is due to receive as well, being that of Commander. In her time aboard Deep Space 9 she has settled disagreements and regular dust ups between various merchants in the Promenade, as well as having aided in the defense of DS9 against any threats it might have faced in the intervening years.

As an opening in the Promenade permitted, Nissia helped set up a Phylosian florist on Deep Space 9. The Phylosians were still considered an underrepresented race in the Federation, so adding an establishment that featured them to one of the prominent Federation space stations was considered a relatively progressive move. This was one of the more subtle cases in which she’s helped the Deep Space 9 community.

A year into her tenyur on DS9, Nissia helped resolve a matter between two restaurant owners who accused each other of poaching business from the other and spreading lies about their service. The owners of each store were a Bajoran and a Klingon respectively, and were both naturally protective about their business. Nissia was forced to step in when this dispute devolved into combat on one particularly rowdy night. After assessing that no one had been injured in the fight, Nissia commanded an investigation to be launched into the situation. She presented evidence to both owners that neither had been performing illicit business practices, and managed to convince them to cease hostilities. This was to the benefit of everyone in the Promenade that had been caught in the crossfire.

## 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

* DIPL200: Hostile Species
* DIPL250: Non-Traditional Situations
* ADMIN200: Starfleet Starships
* ADMIN210: Starfleet Bases and Outposts
* ADMIN300: Deployment
* LAW150: Non-Federation
* ANTH101: General Anthropology
* HIST110: Pop Culture
* HIST120: The Reawakening: Surak All Over Again
* HIST130: Klingon Opera
* HIST160: Earth’s Eugenics Wars
* HIST200: Starfleet History
* HIST210: The Five-Year Mission
* HIST220: The Romulan Mystique
* HIST240: The Cardassian Border War
* ANTH115: Theories of Cultural and Social Anthropologies
* ANTH102: General Archeology
* ANTH201: Advanced Anthropology & Archeology

### Minors

* LAW200: Federation, Constitutional
* LAW210: Federation, Administrative
* LAW220: Federation, Contracts
* LAW240: Federation, Criminal
* LAW250: Federation, Interplanetary
* PSY302: Hostilities

## Trivia

* Nissia has a fondness foreign foods, particularly Vulcan gespar and mocha.

* Nissia is wed to no less than four Denobulan husbands, none of which currently accompany her on her station.

* She keeps a well stocked personal study in her quarters stocked with ancient texts from many different cultures that she has accrued.

### Likes

* Peaceful resolution
* Conversation
* Interaction with foreign societies.

### Dislikes

* Oppression in any form
* Aggressive resolution
* Combat.