Talia Al-Ibrahim

Personnel File
Name:	Talia Al-Ibrahim
Rank:	Ensign
Position:	Fighter Pilot
Callsign:	Shadow
Species:	Human
Age:	27
Gender:	Female
Orientation:	Bisexual
Birthplace:	Ramallah, Earth 2354
Height:	5ft 4in / 1.63m
Weight:	124lbs / 56kg
Hair:	Dark Brown
Eye color:	Brown
Played by:	Anita Herbert
Writer:	Dumedion
Interests
Bodybuilding Nutrition Flying History Mythology
Education
2369-2373: San Francisco International High School 2373-2376: Starfleet Academy 2378-2379: Tactical CONN Training
Service Record
2376-2377: Cadet Cruise, Junior Helmsman, USS Degrasse-Tyson 2377-2378: Ensign, Pilot Trainee, TACCONN Training Center Omega 2378-2380: Ensign, Fighter Pilot, USS Diamondback 2381-Present: Ensign, Fighter Pilot, USS Theurgy
Decorations
N/A

Ensign Talia Al-Ibrahim was a fighter pilot reassigned from the USS Diamondback to the Theurgy prior to the Infested betrayal of Starfleet Command. She was nearly killed during the initial ambush at Earth Space Dock and placed into stasis indefinitely, awaiting critical treatment, while the events surrounding the Theurgy unfolded. Upon her revival and consequent discovery of the Infested threat, she chose to stand and fight against the parasites that compromised Starfleet Command in the end of the 24^th century.

Biography

Early Life

Talia came from humble beginnings. She was born in her family home in Ramallah, March 18, 2354; the youngest daughter of six children. Her father Waleed was a logistical supervisor for the local farms, while her mother Miriam taught at the local primary school. They wished to limit their children’s exposure and dependence on technology, seeking to preserve the old ways of life. Her parents were loving but totalitarian, their time at home limited by the nature of their professions. Talia learned the value of hard work and self-reliance at a very young age, raised primarily by her older sisters. Of all her siblings, she grew closest to Anahi who was 14 at the time of Talia’s birth. Anahi would dress Talia like a doll and dote on her, praising her innocent childhood beauty. Her early childhood was a time of happiness and contentment, surrounded by family who loved and cared for her.

Everything changed on August 7, 2361, when a massive earthquake assaulted the Arabian Peninsula - killing thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands. Talia’s mother and beloved sister Anahi were among the casualties. Talia and her remaining siblings were buried under the rubble of their family home for eight hours before they were rescued by her father, who dug them out by hand. Following this tragedy, with the area devastated, the family lived as refugees for six months before relocating to San Francisco to live with her Uncle Omul. She was seven years old.

The following period proved difficult for the young girl: adjusting to the new culture and pace of life in North America, combined with the emotional toll of losing their home and loved ones, Talia’s once solid familiar bonds grew strained. Her father fell into a bitter, resentful state – traumatized by loss and grief. Her older siblings managed to pacify him by adhering to his strict values, honoring the man he was if not the volatile tyrant he had become. Her uncle Omul, who worked as an administrator for Starfleet Academy, proved highly influential to young Talia. She grew defiant of her father's 'obsolete' values; secretly encouraged by her uncle, she embraced her newfound curiosities about the culture and technology around her. Coping with the horrific memories of the quake, she learned to repress her trauma by devoting herself in her studies. As the years passed and her siblings left for their own pursuits, her father’s mental health continued to deteriorate as she grew into her teens.

Her father and uncle would often argue over the changes taking place in Talia as her cultural exposure and education to western society drove her beyond his ability to control. Despite the fact that Talia was an excellent student and dutiful to her father’s wishes, he demanded she return with him to Ramallah, against her wishes. She refused. Infuriated by her defiance, her father disowned her; he and her remaining siblings left her, cursing her for betraying her mother’s memory. This abandonment would scar her deeply, for in her mind, she was left with no recourse but to accept responsibility for the alienation of her family - this would in turn reinforce her belief that she could never rely on anyone but herself. She would remain with her uncle, determined to live her own life.

Ever more independent, she shouldered the emotional pain of losing her family as she struggled through her high school years. She discovered athletics, a powerful outlet for the hurt and rage inside her, while her uncle encouraged her continued education by offering to sponsor her candidacy into the college of her choice. While the prospect of getting out on her own to explore the world excited her, she secretly feared losing the only remaining relative that showed her an iota of affection. Omul had to constantly remind her that life was long, and a journey to be savored; she needn't spend it drowning in studies and single-minded determination. He expressed concern that she was pushing herself too hard - too fast. She was only a child, and he encouraged her to find something that she would enjoy doing other than work. Everyone needs to play once and awhile, habibti. Find a way to have some fun in life.

Talia took this advice to heart, but not quite the way her uncle intended: she developed an enthusiasm for weightlifting in high school. The dedication and self-discipline inherent in the lifestyle coupled with the cathartic release of pain and anger inside her quickly proved intoxicating. The summer of her junior year, she entered and placed 4th in her first competition; female bikini category. However, her zealous dedication to her studies and physical training proved detrimental to her social development. With little time or inclination to let people close to her, she had extremely few friends, and avoided any intimate contact altogether. This caused her to develop a substantial chip on her shoulder; she grew to believe people avoided her because she was driven, and looked down on her being a “loner”, a belief that would cause more harm down the road.

She graduated San Francisco International High with the class of 2373, and against the advice of her uncle (who was well aware of the casualties mounting from the War with the Dominion) decided to enter Starfleet, intent on continuing her education along scientific inquires. Her interests in ancient cultures - particularly mythology and religion - called her to the stars. She wanted to know and discover how other societies had developed and changed, fascinated by the context of societal development from brute savages to galactic empires.

Starfleet Academy

Talia was present during the Breen Assault of Earth in late 2375, marking their entry into the Dominion War. During the attack she was commended for her contribution in evacuations and first aid treatment while under duress, as one of the few who managed to evade injury. While physically unhurt, she would later learn that her uncle did not survive the collapse of the main administrative complex on the far side of the Golden Gate Bridge. If the rest of her family knew of the attack, they sent no word - she had not heard from them for years. The loss of her uncle, who had tried his best to care for her, was a devastating wound.

This tragedy would severely injure her mentally, awakening a deep-seated hatred for the Dominion and a driving need for vengeance. Upon returning to the Academy (after a period of leave to handle her uncle’s funeral and affairs) she requested to alter her course studies and majors towards more tactical endeavors. She set aside her pursuits of cultural studies and historical research and unleashed her single-minded determinism towards ensuring no one would threaten Earth again. Despite her grief, and the advice of her councilors, she committed to her new path in life with zeal.

However, this life altering event forced her to reevaluate her outlook on life in general, as she faced her own mortality and came to terms with it. Several of her peers had suffered as she did, and bonded with her through tragedy. For the first time in her life, Talia let people in, and grew to cherish the relationships (platonic and intimate) of several of her fellow Cadets. She discovered newfound knowledge of herself and the way she viewed people - however awkward her lack of experience made it - and developed a deep appreciation for honesty and candor. She was still intent on vengeance, but she learned to blow off steam when she could. While far from promiscuous, Talia learned to enjoy intimate contact with those she felt safe with, a huge step in her personal development.

Cadet Cruise, USS Degrasse-Tyson

Talia’s year aboard the Prometheus-class Degrasse-Tyson proved to be challenging and exhilarating; as one of the most tactically designed ships in the fleet, the Tyson was her dream assignment. She took to her duties with her typical zeal, obsessed with absorbing as much experience as she could. The Multi-Vector Attack Mode fascinated her, and she trained heavily within the Tactical department to master its capabilities. Her truest calling came from navigation, as she proved to be a natural helmsman during combat simulations. Given that, and her predilection towards competition, Talia pushed herself even harder to stand out as a firm candidate for advanced Tactical CONN training – a daunting task, but a challenge that she committed to.

TAC CONN Training Center

Talia’s elation at being accepted into the Omega Training Center quickly tempered into dogged refusal to fail when the reality of the staggering pace and difficulty of earning her wings grew apparent. She was unprepared for the sheer amount of tactical knowledge necessary to master the various craft being thrown at her; not to mention the technical aspects of inspection and operation. While her performance in the simulator met the minimum passing requirement for entry and her academic achievements were noteworthy, her ability to fly and fight with others was woefully poor. She had never faced the possibility of not succeeding – the very idea was anathema to her – yet she was on the verge of being washed out.

Distraught, she prepared to voluntarily quit, when one of her instructors pulled her aside. He spoke to her issues, with perfect clarity: “Your problem isn’t flying, Ensign. You know how to fly. Your problem is trusting that other people know how to fly too, and more to the point – trusting those people to look out for you. No one flies alone. Up there, we work together, or we die. You know why your about to wash out? ‘Cause you think this is all on you. It’s not. It never will be.”

Talia chose to reassess her chances, having taken the criticism to heart. She redoubled her efforts to integrate fully with her training squadron, learning to lean on others strengths and bolster weakness that she could see. She spent more time with them off duty, more time with them in the simulators; she pushed them to succeed and found herself motivated by them in turn. In the end, she learned one of the greatest truths of her life – there is no I in team. While that revelation lessoned her individualistic mindset towards her own goals of perfection and success, it strengthened her performance and appreciation of her peers. In the end, she earned her wings, and made some friends along the way.

Coridan Prime Incident, USS Diamondback, Viper Squadron

While initially deployed to support the hopeful prospects of peace with the Romulan Star Empire following the death of Shinzon at the Battle of the Bassen Rift, the Diamondback was re-tasked mid mission to the Coridan system in response to a planetary distress call. Coridan Prime was under assault by a flotilla of privateers, backed by the Orion Syndicate. The Syndicate leaders, whom had entrenched themselves in an armed bulk-freighter upon the planet's surface, were intent on raiding the dilithium mines protected by transport inhibitors. Wary of hostilities (the Dominion had conducted similar raids, resulting in massive casualties) the Coridanites had evacuated what civilians they could and awaited Federation reinforcement.

Upon arrival to the system and after the failure of peaceful negotiations, the Vipers were deployed to neutralize the freighter's armaments and provide air support for a strike team of security forces to subdue the crew. The strike team deployed via an Argo-class shuttle - escorted by two Valkyries - while the rest of the squadron gained space superiority against the rest of the flotilla. Two flight teams volunteered for the escort mission: Talia and her RIO, WO2 Morrow - and her wingman, Ens. Vayne and RIO WO Deveraux. This was Talia's first official combat sortie, and while an unequivocal success, she did not earn any kills. She did, however, earn her callsign - as her wingman strafed the freighter, Talia stuck to her escort "like a damn shadow". The name stuck, and she flew over 100 total sorties with the Vipers in her two year tour aboard the Diamondback - earning a reputation for cold, calculated flying with strict adherence to procedure. Despite her awkwardness in social settings, she grew into her own with the Vipers, earning their trust and respect as a highly dependable - if predictable - pilot.

Ambush at Earth Space Dock, USS Theurgy

En route to Earth Space Dock aboard the Diamondback, Talia learned of her impending transfer to the newly christened prototype and (much to her excitement) her compliment of the new mk. III Valkyries. While she lamented the loss of her RIO and friend, WO "Mumbles" Morrow, she had been itching to fly the new fighters since their roll-out to active status in the fleet. This would force her return to student status, and give her a new challenge to prove herself against her peers - her competitive nature roared to life at the prospect. She buried herself in technical manuals during the voyage from the Beta Quadrant, and cut her teeth in the simulators as much as she could. "Mumbles" commented several times that she would burn herself out before she ever got to touch a mk. III, but she persisted. She needed every edge she could get.

What should have been a simple transfer of personnel turned into a confusing and chaotic ordeal. She had only just boarded the Theurgy via transporter when the ship went to battle-stations. Unfamiliarity with the ship, coupled with the confusion of events beyond her purview at the time - mainly the fact that the entire ship and crew were being ordered to surrender or be fired upon - forced her to find her own answers. She raced for pilot country as her training took over; duty first - answers later.

Chaos reigned everywhere she looked; she gathered some information as she went from other crewmen: something about parasites taking over Starfleet, some kind of far-reaching conspiracy involving the admiralty, possibly even the President. It didn't matter to her just then - she needed to find her SCO, gear up, and get in a fighter where she belonged. The ship quaked around her as she ran down a corridor, taking fire. She couldn't understand what the hell was going on.

Making her way into the Fighter Assault Bay while the Theurgy was under heavy fire by multiple vessels, she watched as the Diamondback herself joined the pursuit through the open bay doors. Her old ship fired a salvo of quantum torpedoes into the Theurgy's aft. The resulting detonations, in combination with the rest of the fire sustained from the ships in Earth's orbit, crippled the power to the launch bay force-fields for less than a second. Buffeted by the venting pressure, Talia felt her body cartwheeled into the air. She pinwheeled into a loitering Valkyrie, bones crunching under the impact. Peppered with shrapnel and clinging to life from the concussion, unable to move, her last sight was the flight deck around her on fire.

At the time of her internment into stasis, her medical records stated the following injuries: skull fracture with traumatic brain injury; cervical spinal cord injury (complete C-5); multiple lacerations/puncture wounds to back, legs, arms; third/second degree burns to head/torso; critical tension-pneumothorax; as well as fourteen individual broken bones. The TBI and spinal cord repair ultimately necessitated her internment in stasis, given the circumstances at the time. As the Theurgy ran the gauntlet out of the Alpha Quadrant, and all the battles since, Talia has slept, unaware of the precarious reality around her - until now.

Personality Profile

From the tragedies of her past, Talia grew up very serious and determined to prove that she could make her own way in life. Her ambition and dedication to her goals made her a self-induced pariah, until she learned there was a more balanced way to go about life. On duty, in her element, she was a confident, cool customer; professional and tactful with peers, superiors, and enlisted alike. She went out of her way to deal with people as candidly and quickly as possible, as she found ‘small-talk’ awkward and an inefficient expense of everyone’s time. She could be blunt without truly meaning to, especially to people who didn’t know her well, which was almost everyone in the galaxy. Once out of her shell however, she was an honest, caring person who would be loyal to a fault to those who earned her trust. Off duty, she was never the type to engage in meaningless intimate encounters or allow herself to over-indulge in any recreational aspect. She found comfort and pleasure in meaningful pursuits, in herself or others. She had always been overly self-critical; her obsessive tendencies toward her body image often caused her grief by limiting her time for socializing.

Physical Profile

Despite her petite frame, Talia was remarkably toned and lean due to her obsessive regimen of weightlifting and strict nutritional rules. When not on duty she was often seen in the gym, or in the mess, as her dietary plans allowed. Her overly-long hair has caused her issues with some of her superiors in the past, particularly her flight instructors, as it reached well past the middle of her back. She usually wore this braided, or bound up in a knot, when prudent. She was rarely seen not in uniform, excepting the gym, due to her unease of attention; that did not stop her from ‘dressing-down’ on occasion, favoring sun-dresses or simple tops with leggings. She was never one to overly prepare her appearance with cosmetics; she often obsessed over the shape of her eyebrows however. She had no tattoos, only a small navel piercing from her “experimental” days at the Academy.

Appearances

Director's Cut

• 2379 USS Diamondback - Baptism by Fire

Season 02 - Interregnum 01-02

• Day 02 [2130hrs Memories and Machines]
• Day 03 [1000hrs Specter and Shade]
• Day 04 [0200hrs The Crush of Weights]
• Day 04 [0745hrs Welcome to Valhalla]
• Day 04 [1500hrs First Impressions] ongoing
• Day 05 [1113hrs Sulphurous Signal] ongoing
• Day 06 [1700hrs The Dance]: ongoing
• Day 09 [1830hrs Perspective]:
• Day 12 [1800hrs Crackin' Bottles]:
• Day 15 [1727hrs An Rousing Experience of Klingon Culinary Confusion] ongoing