Federation Diplomat Briya Valriya
Name Briya Valriya
Position Chief Diplomatic Officer
Rank Federation Diplomat
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Risian | |
| Age | 50 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 191cm (6 feet 3 inches) | |
| Weight | 62 kg (137 pounds) | |
| Hair Color | Black - Length & Style varies | |
| Eye Color | Black | |
| Physical Description | She has mostly benign symptoms of Coreopsis Syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder similar to Earth’s Marfan Syndrome that affects connective tissue - the fibers that support and anchor organs and other structures in the body. She’s had corrective and preventive procedures involving her eyes, aorta and spine, but the symptoms of long arms, legs, fingers and toes leave her with the reed-thin build of a gangly child. As a Risian, Briya’s youth fades more slowly, making the counting of her years difficult by visual inspection alone; now at the age of 50, she still looks to be in her early 30’s. She speaks with a rich, lyrical voice and her dark pupils and shoulder length black hair lend a professional presence. She often wears a pair of horn-rimmed glasses designed for augmented optical feedback of relevant names, faces, current events, itinerary, etc. (Think of it as a HUD limited specifically to matters of statecraft within her security clearance - the 24th century equivalent of a Blackberry) She strives to wear the proper ensemble for whatever she is doing at the time, but as she is nearly always ‘on the clock’, her wardrobe chiefly consists of finely tailored suits and occasionally flashy get ups when she is engaged with VIP constituents. |
Family
| Father | Jareth Valdern - RSX Criterion’s 2nd Officer // Engineer | |
| Mother | Seriyah Valriya - RSX Criterion’s Director of Hospitality |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | She enjoys the comfort, familiarity and civility that comes with Federation membership. Deep in her heart and worn upon her sleeve, Briya is a pacifist and will go to (almost) any lengths to avoid physical conflict. Being nonviolent, disinterested in exploration and not particularly gifted at the hard sciences, she chose a career aligned with the Federation’s comprehensive goal of peace, but not within the ranks of Starfleet itself. | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | Over the years Briya has worked as a translator among civilians, crew, adversaries and respectable agencies. Some mistook this to mean she or others of the profession were masters of languages, but truthfully she was only fluent in five languages when it began: Risian, Federation Standard, Andorian, Vulcan and Romulan. She now understands many others, particularly in written form. However, her real penchant for languages came from her ability to sort through the Universal translator’s background processes to garner the basic rules and syntax of the target language. It was a timesaving method, but not cheating. This was not an advanced computer skill, just a willingness to do the tedious work of scrubbing through code and knowing what to look for. By focusing on the rules that could be applied from languages she already knew, and ignoring portions flagged by the UT as obscure or ambiguous; she was able to more quickly grasp the lexicon. Briya is an extremely patient woman. Her symptoms of Coreopsis Syndrome are a mixed bag. Briya is exceptionally tall and lean with long limbs, but she is also susceptible to complications with her heart and degenerative vision. Her joint laxity or hypermobility present certain advantages or opportunities, but she’s also more likely to suffer from dislocated joints and recurrent sprains. Instead of hitting the gym she heads to physiotherapy. |
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| Ambitions | Councilmember for the UFP | |
| Hobbies & Interests | She loves to learn and is always reading. She’s a helpless sap for Andorian Opera. She finds the dialect, expressions and corresponding Dance of the Antennae to be both romantic and glamorous. One of the few physical activities she enjoys is fencing. With her long arms and legs and overall height, she may have an unfair advantage. The Risian Hedony (the planetary government of Risa) took particular pride in identifying Valriya as a model Masseuse. This was a high honor when one considered that their entire culture regulated the implementation of pleasure - kneading and rubbing of one’s body parts was elevated to a national leisure activity. It could well be argued that such allusions are unquantifiable and subjective at best, but a comprehensive file on Briya Valriya should at least reference the claims made by others that she is a paragon of charm & emotional inveiglement; allegedly possessed of exceptional allure. The Federation comprises many bipedal humanoid races and physical appearance is not particularly seminal, but it is generally agreed that members of the Risian Diplomatic envoy are inviting and agreeable to the eye, not that Starfleet or the United Federation of Planets has any use for such marks in Valriya’s official dossier. |
| Personal History | Briya Valriya was born on board the RSX Criterion, a Risian Luxury Cruiser running the 90 lightyear circuit between the Sol System and Risa. True to the Pleasure Planet’s reputation, congenial children were nurtured into hospitable citizens. From a young age Briya showed herself to be a natural organizer of people and words, and frequently found herself enamored by the stories her mother shared of her work on the Criterion. It sounded like her mother was having the most fun imaginable; orchestrating one huge endless party where everyone delighted in the unequalled time of their lives. It was not long before Briya took an active role in the activities of the ship. At first she folded towels, carried out errands and ran deliveries for crew and guests alike. She was groomed and preened by her mother and began taking on a more substantial role among the staff and crew. As she came into her own, Briya adopted many of her mother’s mannerisms - being articulate, genteel and negotiatory. She also undertook courses in linguistics, finding the various languages the guests spoke to be almost as fascinating as the guests themselves. She discovered that knowledge of the language helped with understanding the individual and making the effort to speak their native tongue helped build rapport with difficult guests. When her mother retired early - as Risians are wont to do - Briya officially took over as the Criterion’s Hospitality Director. In many ways she’d already been handling much of the work, often called on to mediate arguments between guests or staff and crew. As time went on and she grew into the title, she embraced both her natural and learned talents. She became versed in public relations, communications, and applied linguistics. There were a few accredited degrees involved, but she did it for the joy of learning and becoming better at her job. She came to appreciate the complexities of getting that many people to work together at their level best. Four years passed and not only had Briya been living on board the Criterion more or less since birth, she’d also been employed solely by the Criterion in an entertainment capacity. During that time she’d been presented with numerous offers for work elsewhere, often by guests aboard the luxury cruiser who were quite adamant and generous in their proposals. After exploring some of those overtures, she chose to pursue a life dedicated to something perhaps more meaningful than hospitality. She took up residence on Earth in Paris, France and progressed towards a career with the Federation Diplomatic Corps, a division of the Federation Department of the Exterior responsible for diplomacy within the Federation, maintaining inter-state relations, and negotiating treaties with foreign states. The day-to-day life of a Federation diplomat has far less potential for excitement than that of a Starfleet explorer; especially when said tenderfoot is accustomed to the pleasures and indulgence availed, even to the crew, of a luxury cruiser. However, Briya was not disillusioned by those early years and stuck it out. She did her work and took on additional learning and volunteered for as many duties and practices as she could. Rank within the diplomatic corp is governed by different measures than elsewhere, but it did not take long for Briya to capture the attention of Emelyse Amaerie, the Risian Representative and Federation councilmember. The two became friendly, and while there was nothing untoward or inappropriate between them, both knew that their companionship played at least some part in fast-tracking Briya’s advancement, as is always the case between charismatic people - two Risians no less. The councilmember took Briya on as her personal aide and became her mentor in various layers including and beyond the work. With an advancement in diplomatic status to that of Consul (Briya was 38 years old), she had sufficient experience and was deemed ready for her first independent posting, though she would not be dispatched to her assignment directly or with any haste. On route to Andoria - where she was to be stationed - there was made plenty of time for a lazy visit to Risa, on which she had not set foot in over 14 years. Paris, France was a remarkable city, especially by night, and Earth had plenty of dazzling beach resorts, but nothing could compare to the artificially maintained and beautified beaches of Risa. On her second day home Briya was sunbathing on the alabaster sands wearing only a smile when the Minister of Cheer (yes it was a real title) arrived with a tall young woman in tow and a reporter from the Federation News Service there to capture it all in the name of journalism. In a ceremony both solemn and jubilant in a way only the Risians can pull off, her government bestowed upon her the title of Cultural Attaché. She was not the sole possessor of such a title and it was technically a military position. One should note; the Risian people maintained no military vessels nor patrolled their space. There was no standing army on Risa nor were weapons allowed on the planet’s surface. It was a ceremonial position and required nothing of her; mandated no additional duties beyond those she was already performing. Briya was surprised again right there on the waterfront when Haylay Bralay, the young woman who’d accompanied the Minister, was appointed by the government as Valriya’s aide-de-camp. With her first act of assistance, Haylay proved to be up to the task. Those viewing the FNS feed remotely from the comfort of their own screens would note that assistance involved joining the diplomat for a quick series of vid-captures, but those present witnessed Haylay disrobe and offer the clothes from off her own back to cover Briya’s naturism. And those with inquiring minds would certainly find footage of the two unveiled Risians somewhere on the cortex. Briya and Haylay would come to form a close bond over the next decade, and indeed the two were entirely complementary in both function and image. — I’m still working on writing out the rest of Briya’s history, but the bullet points are indicated in her Service Record. — |
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| Service Record | 2340 :: Born and grew up on board Luxury vessel (crew) Education :: Linguistics & Communications 2364 :: RSX Criterion Hospitality Director Education :: Public Relations, Communications, Applied Linguistics (Correspondence Courses) 2368 :: Took up residence on Earth Education :: Xenolinguistics and Intergalactic Comparative Politics 2371 :: Translation Specialist for Federation Department of the Exterior (Federation Diplomatic Corps) Education :: Economics & Interstellar Law 2373 :: Diplomat’s Aide to Councilmember Emelyse Amaerie Education :: Interspecies Ethics & Organizational Psychology 2375 :: Diplomat in delegation of Councilmember Emelyse Amaerie 2378 :: Consul with the Federation Diplomatic Corp - stationed on Andoria Haylay Bralay appointed as her aide 2381 :: Dispatched to New Samarkand of the Alpha Centauri Concordium following riots and influx of refugees 2383 :: First Contact Specialist :: USS Gestalt 2384 :: Diplomatic Officer & First Contact Specialist :: USS Gestalt Education :: Engineering Courses (hands on from Asst. Chief Engineer David Kovich) 2386 :: Asst Chief Diplomatic Officer :: USS Gestalt Education (Ongoing) :: Elementary Temporal Mechanics & Quantum Chemistry 2389 :: USS Gestalt decommissioned pending mothball or refit 2389 :: Extended Shore Leave to visit her parents on Risa 2390 :: Chief Diplomatic Officer :: USS Pandora |