Lieutenant Yasmin Cortez
Name Yasmin Reya Cortez
Position Chief Operations Officer
Rank Lieutenant
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 36 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'2 | |
| Weight | 122 lbs | |
| Hair Color | Black | |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown | |
| Physical Description | Yas is an athletic woman with a little mystery hidden behind those dark eyes. There subtlety is down to the hispanic touch to her skin which adds to that allure of mystery. She may stand small in terms of height, but is physically fit from a devotion to exercise. Yas likes to keep well toned and takes a lot of pride in her appearance. She definitely punches above her weight and someone that shouldn’t be taken at height value. The black hair that drops over her shoulders is a trait which brings out her facial features nicely and so Yas spends time mixing up her style depending on her mood. Yas may look serious with how neat she keeps her appearance, but she is playful and a scrapper. It is probably best not to underestimate Yas as she can be an enigma to unlock. In uniform, Yas can look the part but does tend to like putting her own touch to show that flair of personality. It is again with the subtlety rather than something brash. Yas generally prefers to be out of uniform because that is where she can flex her creative attire. Function is important to Yas, as is expression, so she tends to merge those into her own creations. |
Family
| Father | Prof. Theodore Darwin Cortez | |
| Mother | Natasha Julianne Cortez | |
| Brother(s) | Dr. Edgar Oscar Cortez, Starfleet Medical | |
| Other Family | Grandfather: Hector Shayne Cortez, deceased Grandmother: Nataly Beatrice Cortez, deceased |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Yas is a bit of a tomboy in that she likes to play in the boys club. She is a short woman, but she has never let that be a sign of weakness and has made fools out of those in the past who have. Yas will accept challenges and make challenges as opportunities to prove her worth to any doubters, and sometimes to herself. There are times when insecurity appears. Whether on duty or not, Yas tends to be herself and while respectful, she at times forgets to clean her rough edges in that she can be opinionated and in people’s face. She has a fiery personality that enjoys competition and at times she doesn’t adapt between on and off duty. The biggest challenge in Yas’s life is obviously herself and so she prides herself on her appearance as one, but also on her progression. Standing still is not an option for Yas because then it means she is lost. Yas never wants to be lost as it fills her with dread that if that happened she would become obsolete or forgotten. It is her nightmare and her drive. Yas is also an athlete at heart and so she trains, plays, and fight hard. She tends to act first and deal with the fallout later, rather than wait. Her patience is not good, probably her greatest weakness because she doesn’t want to stand still and wait for something. Yas will push herself hard, and if someone challenges her level of activity, she’ll compete to stay top. |
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| Ambitions | Exploration and adventure, find love. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Martial Arts, Languages, Old Earth Stories, Rock Climbing, Cave Diving, Running. |
| Personal History | Born in California, Earth, Yasmin Reya Cortez was the second child to Theodore and Natasha Cortez, younger sister to Edgar. Her father Theo was an established professor with distinction in psychology, and her mother a civilian botanist that tended gardens at Starfleet Academy. Yas frequently spent time travelling with her mother on botany expeditions so had a childhood filled with exploration and adventure. Yas obviously saw a lot offworld during her childhood so pretty quickly became accustomed to never staying in once place for too long. She however had the rare opportunity to experience the universe from a very young age which left an impression that subsequently created her drive for education. Her mother Nat provided those experiences, and her father had the enviable task of education - he was a professor after all. While Yas had the drive to learn, she began to exhibit those rebellious tendencies of adolescence; typically lack of patience as she wanted to climb the highest mountains, or dive into the deepest cave. Her father Theo was in old earth tongue; a bookworm and so coupling her never sit still attitude with his established book smart approach, didn’t wash well. It wasn’t until Edgar, her oldest brother started to make achievements in his own career and life that spurred Yas to take a more pragmatic stance. She generally played hard with her brother as a child, that competitiveness that siblings have, but now into her young adulthood and Edgar now making his mark in medicine, that relit the fire in Yas. She wanted to beat her brother; not because his goals weren’t worthy, but because she wanted the glory. Having committed to her education, Yas made immediate improvements in her schooling both public and also through her father’s private tutoring. She took on extra extracurricular activities to really mail home the fact that she was doing more than anyone to reach her goals - especially her brother Edgar. Yas started martial arts and that is where she fell in love with the concept of physical activity and keeping herself in excellent form. She even had a go at music with some compositions, and that sort of triggered her next step, that pathway. The Academy. Edgar, her brother kept going on and on about how amazing Starfleet was, and when that was combined in Yas’s head with the fact her mother spent much of her time at this point tending the vast gardens, she wanted to join. It was literally the best decision made in her life, but at this time she didn’t know that. Starfleet Academy was a haven for people like Yas who wanted to have adventures, to learn, and to eventually have the galaxy open up to them should they successfully graduate from being cadets. Yas again found competition in her midst as she competed vigorously in all of her classes to be top, to win martial art contests, and to ace tests of all sorts. Her stubborn nature to succeed and perhaps always be the best, to be right always took hold and it was true, she did rub some of her fellow cadets the wrong way, maybe even an instructor or two. Happily, her instructors endured her personality traits and she took graduate the academy with top marks, not a surprise since she had hit the academy floor running and never stopped. Her parents were proud of that day because it meant their careful crafting had worked, even if at times she was a pain in the neck. Equally, her brother found it a testament to Starfleet that they had the patience to let Yas through to the end. Yas to this day thinks Edgar said this just to push buttons and sort of say; ‘I did it first.’ As a fresh crewman with Ensign rank, Yasmin joined the USS Toronto as Communications Officer. It had shone through during her years at the academy that languages came very easy to Yas. She believed it was down to all the travelling done as a child, and also her early fondness for music compositions. For the next three years aboard the Toronto, Yas learned so much about herself in particular. She grew up from a cadet trying to fill big boots, to distinguish herself as an excellent prospect. The only downside was being written up on report for fighting in the mess. To this day Yas will maintain she was provoked but admits maybe her actions were wrong. Due to that black mark as such on her record, Yas had to spend another year at Ensign rank but this time aboard the USS Pacific. Again, she served as Communications Officer and spent much of the time involved in first contact scenarios and helping fledgling warp cultures. There were no fights which obviously showed that the write up from the Toronto had paid off and she had used it as a wake up call. To that end, when leaving for her next assignment, Yas was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade with all the privileges that go with. Over the next two years, Yas served aboard the USS Trafalgar and spend time in more primary positions in Communications. She was no longer a novice, and had an established list of languages spoken, and a service history which backed it up. So she eventually made it to Chief Communications Officer which made Yas proud. It was however a pretty ordinary service apart from that as they explored space and met some new cultures. That kind of sparked Yas to want more and so she started working on understanding the Communications Systems from an operational standpoint - yes she could talk with countless cultures and learn their languages through their syntax and all, but she wanted more. Yas didn’t want to just an excellent linguist. That she felt had been done. Luckily, only two years down the line, Yas was promoted to full Lieutenant and had a request from Starfleet Academy to come and teach linguistics. She could have remained aboard the USS Trafalgar, a ship she liked and had friends on, but she chose to take the instructor opportunity because it would allow her more time to explore her own path which was now ship operations. So while teaching was a big part of her assignment, and she threw herself into it, Yas also hit the books as her father would say and worked doubly hard on her next step. Yas helped plant the seeds of linguists for the next generation or two but most importantly she had managed to successfully transverse herself to become qualified in ship operations. No longer would she be just the ear to the Captain during first contact missions. No, instead she had more to offer. When the USS Apollo was looking for an Operations officer, Yas requested the assignment and was granted it, still as a Lieutenant but happily. She was now about to start the next leg of her journey with more to offer Starfleet than ever before and that was exciting. For nearly three years, the USS Apollo had become her home and it was there that she honed her craft in ship operations and really made progress forward. She could still offer the linguistic touch when the Captain requested it of her, but no longer was she the ‘one trick pony’ as her brother said in his communiques. Given that she set to her task with the same ferocity as when she was fresh from her academy days, Yas made impressions. That trait of being stubborn maybe got her into the occasional bout of discipline question marks, but she never stopped pushing herself to be the best. It was like she was competing against herself to be everything she could be. When the USS Apollo was put on for mandatory refit and most of the crew took personal leave, Yas returned to teach at the academy. She held a very junior position this time as she only had three years of ship operations under her belt, but she offered that practical experience to the cadets which sometimes you just don’t get. She did relax a little during these few months because it had been pretty much non-stop adventures and learning since day one at the academy and now, well, she was in a good place. In 2388, Yas was assigned to the USS Pandora. She had a proven track record in communications and operations, so both traits seemed an advantage to this ship. Yas wanted to continue exploring, learning because she knew there was still so much to see, to experience. USS Pandora seemed to be a suitable match. |
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| Service Record | 2370 to 2375 - Starfleet Academy 2376 - USS Toronto, Ensign 2379 - USS Pacific, Ensign 2380 - USS Trafalgar, Lieutenant JG 2382 - Starfleet Academy Linguist Instructor, Lieutenant 2384 - USS Apollo, Lieutenant 2387 - Starfleet Academy Operations Instructor, Lieutenant 2388 - USS Pandora, Lieutenant |