Alenis Meru

[Alenis Meru]

Name:  Alenis Meru
Rank:  Captain
Position:  Commanding Officer, Starbase Unity
Species:  Bajoran
Gender:  Female
Date of Birth:  May 1, 2332 (age 39)
Place of Birth:  Bajor

Description:

Alenis is of average height, with an athletic build.  She has dark hair, which is usually kept at about shoulder length.

She wears traditional Bajoran earrings, more to represent her connection to Bajor than any spiritual connection to the prophets.  Being estranged from Bajor for her entire adult life until now meant that she had never delved deeply into the Bajoran religion.  However, she still respects the role that the religion played in sustaining the Bajoran people through the occupation.

Alenis is very confident and headstrong, and not known to conceal her opinions.  This meant that she had at times been difficult to get along with, however Captain Rixx had respected her for her sound judgement and willingness to passionately argue for her point of view – sometimes even getting the better of their Tellarite Tactical Officer.  She runs a tight ship, and is known to be somewhat demanding of the officers under her.

Her hobbies include playing the belaklavion, a traditional Bajoran musical instrument known to be difficult to master.  She is a skiled chess player, although she has gotten somewhat rusty, not having anyone to play against on the Helsinki.

Biography:

Alenis Meru is a child of the occupation, being born during the brutal Cardassian occupation of Bajor.  Her childhood was rough, as it was for most Bajorans under the occupation – the first years of her life she suffered from malnourishment and physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the Cardassians.

In 2347, when she was 11 years old, she escaped with her mother and sought refuge in Federation space, eventually settling on Earth.  Her father was left behind, and Alenis had never found out what happened to him.

The Federation-Cardassian war was still raging in the 2350s, and still seething with anger at the ongoing occupation of Bajor and at the Cardassian Union in general, she joined Starfleet at the earliest opportunity.  Enrolling into the academy right after high school, she went into the Security/Tactical stream, focusing on starship combat tactics.   She excelled at the Academy, graduating with honours.

After graduating, Alenis was assigned to the USS Korea, where she served for seven years.  Her skills and personal confidence helped her rise through the ranks relatively quickly, becoming Assistant Chief Tactical Officer by the end of her service on the Korea.  The Korea was assigned to various tasks around the quadrant, including combat with the Cardassians during the Federation-Cardassian war.

Her next assignment was as Chief Tactical Officer of the USS Yamaguchi.  Here, she served for three years before the ship was sent to fight the Borg at Wolf 359.  The Yamaguchi was disabled and destroyed in the opening salvoes of the battle.  Less than a third of the crew was able to escape, and after the battle she met with shipboard counselors for PTSD and Survivor’s Guilt, as she was the highest ranking officer who was able to make it off the ship.  However, this did not stop her from being assigned to the USS ShiKahr as first officer.

After Wolf 359, Alenis served as first officer of the USS ShiKahr under the Bolian Captain Rixx for several years.  She had gotten along well with Rixx; the captain valued her sound judgement and willingness to speak her mind, even if it meant questioning his orders.  They had developed a very close friendship until she left to command her own ship, the USS Helsinki.  However, her time on the Helsinki was cut short when, only a few months into her command, she was suddenly transferred and assigned to command Starbase Unity, which is nearing completion in the Pelek system.

Service History:

2350-2354:  Starfleet Academy
2354-2357:  Energy Weapons Officer, USS Korea (Excelsior Class)
2357-2359:  Tactical Officer, USS Korea
2359-2363:  Assistant Chief Tactical Officer, USS Korea
2363-2367:  Chief Tactical Officer, USS Yamaguchi* (Ambassador Class)
2367-2370:  First Officer, USS ShiKahr (Constellation Class)
2370-2371:  Captain, USS Helsinki (Miranda Class)

Avatar:  Ruthie Henshall