Ensign Zalia sh'Wryn

Character Information

Gender		Female
Species		Andorian
Age		24

Physical Appearance

Height		5'9''
Weight		140 lbs
Hair Color		White
Eye Color		Purple
Physical Description		Zalia has a thin, wiry frame, a product of rigorous physical regimen growing up, and maintained for duty standards in Starfleet. She is always in motion, rarely remaining still save when at her duty station, where all of her excess energy is poured into the helm, the starship or shuttle an extension of herself. So she claims. Like many in her species, her skin is a pale blue, and her hair is snow white, fine and straight save for where it parts for her antennae. She is stronger than she appears and sports a few scars from duels with the ushaan-tor, having served a year in the Andorian planetary defense forces before joining Starfleet. On duty, her uniform is always to standard, with only the occasional slip of a loosened collar or partially unzipped jacket. Off duty, she prefers loose-fitting clothing and experiments with the clothing of a number of species. Her hair is usually loose and free around her, and is kept at shoulder length.

Family

Spouse		Single
Children		None
Father		Leiman (charan) ; Nal (thavan)
Mother		Marit (shreya); Jhele (zhavey)
Brother(s)		Efihrim
Sister(s)		None

Personality & Traits

General Overview		Zalia grew up the dutiful child until the pressure proved too much for her. She struggles with issues of personal and national identity, and vacillates between embracing the culture and needs of her people and rebelling against those expectations. Never one to sit still, she lets her curiosity and her whims take her wherever they might, often leading to unexpected friendships (and rivalries), as well as unfortunate consequences. Her interests are wide and varied, though she can be a bit capricious, singing along to hours of Klingon opera (eh?) and then turning around and taking a vow of silence (less successful). While she occasionally feels twinges of regret, Zalia simply prefers to live in the here and now, to answer to her whims and gut feelings. She's never been in a relationship that lasted more than a few months, either being too much for her significant others or getting bored or annoyed and breaking up with them. If nothing else, she wears her heart on her sleeve. Zalia has what she considers far too much empathy, is full of compassion and goodwill, but also just as easily quick to anger and sadness (her sadness often looks like anger). She once tried living like a Vulcan before declaring it impossible, and now believes all Vulcans live a lie and likes to provoke emotional reactions out of them. While she's not above questioning orders, the one impulsive decision she did make to join Starfleet panned out. Once past the initial rebellious nature of leaving the Andorian Guard, she realized Starfleet's mission resonated with her and came to respect it in a profound way. For that reason alone, she is a responsible officer, always prompt and on time, and carrying out her duties with focus and dedication. She has not yet faced the challenge of a truly bad order, and sometimes wonders what she'll do if that ever comes to pass.
Ambitions		Her main ambition, which she hasn't wavered from since the Academy, is someday becoming a Starship Captain. Her own behavior is likely to impede that goal, but as a young officer she has a lot of evolving to do yet. She continues to be eager to learn about new species, cultures and curious mysteries that the galaxy holds. She still feels a niggling sense of duty to her people, but has put that on the backburner for now.
Hobbies & Interests		One of Zalia's biggest passions is flying, and so she made that her career choice. She has an exceptionally strong grasp of spacial awareness and enjoys being behind the controls of a shuttlecraft, a fighter ship, and at the helm of a starship. While her species have an innate talent for energy fields, that translates to her being able to detect slight flutters and irregularities in the ship's handling. She even claims that when she flies, the ship is an extension of her own body. It's a poetic sentiment, and she considers flying an art more than a science. She's quite good at 3d chess and other logic games, at least when dealing with the average opponent. Her chaotic and impulsive moves make her very difficult to predict and she keeps it that way. Her hobbies and interests are constantly changing (see General Overview) but she has had a persistent love of poetry, alien literature, and trashy novels. Her favorite program is a Tellarite daytime drama that she keeps up with religiously. It's unclear to others whether she's being serious or treating it ironically. She is a consistent participant of sports and gaming, competitive and a bit of a braggart but surprisingly almost never a sore loser. Zalia is by necessity a social butterfly.

Personal History		Zalia was born and grew up on Andoria, and had a childhood structured by parents who wanted to instill the importance of her culture. Being born into a species that is experiencing a sever population decline, with the threat of fading away due to fertility complications, can have a profound effect, and for her it was no different. With the weight of her world on her shoulders, and the expectations of her family to ensure prosperity, Zalia applied herself as hard as she could. Things didn't always come easy for her, and her curiosity always led her down paths, landing her in trouble or causing dissatisfaction. Zalia eventually learned to hide her resentment well enough, but she couldn't hide her enthusiasm for the worlds of the Federation or the idea of so many other worlds that were far different from her own. Her fascination with other cultures was perceived to be a problem, and she was forced to try and hide it too. There were lessons to be taught, and rituals to practice. Marriages to arrange and babies to produce. As was expected of her, she committed to her studies, and upon finishing her base education, joined the Andorian Guard, where she was found to excel in her aptitude for spaceflight and helm duties. Her service there gave her more of a glimpse of the worlds beyond Andoria, and before long, as a dreaded arranged marriage drew closer, Zalia snapped. She tendered her resignation and commissioned a shuttle to Earth the same night, before her family could find out. Within the next month, she'd applied to Starfleet Academy, and committed to working hard. Her performance was less than ideal, but her efforts did not go unnoticed. While she excelled in the physical components of her training, and took well to history and xeno studies, her math and engineering talents were not so strong. With help, and far too many hours of study, she met the standards and graduated on track. As an ensign, she was assigned to shuttle duties for Starbase One, and as soon as she was able, put in for a transfer. Zalia wanted to see new worlds. She was an explorer. Now, with a little over a year under her belt, she finds herself serving aboard an actual starship... and it. Is. Beautiful.
Service Record		Andorian Guard, Enlisted - 1 Year Service Starfleet Academy, Cadet - 4 Years Starbase One, Ensign - 1 Year Service USS Pandora, Ensign - Current Assignment