Avandar Lok: Difference between revisions
From Star Trek: Theurgy Wiki
(Added an APPEARANCES section at the bottom of the page.) |
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The war finally ramped up again in what would turn out to be its final months, including the Liberation of Betazed, though it would take several weeks for Lok to learn that his parents were unharmed. Despite several setbacks due to the arrival of the <nowiki>Breen</nowiki>, <nowiki>Starfleet</nowiki> and the allied fleets were able to poise for a major attack to capture Cardassia and perhaps put an end to the war. However, ''Kirishima'' would see little direct action, functioning as a carrier for the campaign; she never saw her enemy directly but instead launched fighter missions in the days leading up to and during the large battles around Cardassia Prime. The only major event was the arrival of several <nowiki>Cardassian</nowiki> warships from another sector, having defected to the Damar Rebellion in the wake of <nowiki>Dominion</nowiki> atrocities. When the battle ended in victory and Cardassia was forced to surrender, Lok was among the away teams sent to board the <nowiki>Cardassian</nowiki> vessels to first accept their formal surrender and then to repair them enough to reach a <nowiki>Federation</nowiki> starbase for processing. | The war finally ramped up again in what would turn out to be its final months, including the Liberation of Betazed, though it would take several weeks for Lok to learn that his parents were unharmed. Despite several setbacks due to the arrival of the <nowiki>Breen</nowiki>, <nowiki>Starfleet</nowiki> and the allied fleets were able to poise for a major attack to capture Cardassia and perhaps put an end to the war. However, ''Kirishima'' would see little direct action, functioning as a carrier for the campaign; she never saw her enemy directly but instead launched fighter missions in the days leading up to and during the large battles around Cardassia Prime. The only major event was the arrival of several <nowiki>Cardassian</nowiki> warships from another sector, having defected to the Damar Rebellion in the wake of <nowiki>Dominion</nowiki> atrocities. When the battle ended in victory and Cardassia was forced to surrender, Lok was among the away teams sent to board the <nowiki>Cardassian</nowiki> vessels to first accept their formal surrender and then to repair them enough to reach a <nowiki>Federation</nowiki> starbase for processing. | ||
==== | ====POST-WAR <nowiki>STARFLEET</nowiki> CAREER (2375-2380)==== | ||
The war had been hard on Lok, like many others, though he didn’t see much direct combat himself, what little he did see would stick with him for a long time, just like the horrors seen after Wolf 359. He was promoted once again, to Petty Officer 1st Class and presented with the <nowiki>Dominion War</nowiki> Service Medal, which he hid away like his other decorations, not feeling particularly proud to have taken part in what he gradually came to realize was a senseless war. But peace would not last long for Lok, with plans to return home for a few months, was greeted by the terrible news that his father had been tortured and murdered by a radical element of the group known as the Enlightened Mind Movement. The EMM had surged in prominence once again following the liberation of Betazed and the chaos that accompanied it. In short they believed that non-telepathic species were inferior and that the <nowiki>Federation</nowiki> was exploiting Betazed and her people’s superior abilities. T’Karo, a non-telepathic <nowiki>Caitian</nowiki> and semi-public figure due to his art showings, was a prime target for the radical group, his body having been dumped on the steps of the <nowiki>Federation</nowiki> embassy as a warning. So as to not endanger Lok, Dorzanna opted to have the funeral on Cait. | The war had been hard on Lok, like many others, though he didn’t see much direct combat himself, what little he did see would stick with him for a long time, just like the horrors seen after Wolf 359. He was promoted once again, to Petty Officer 1st Class and presented with the <nowiki>Dominion War</nowiki> Service Medal, which he hid away like his other decorations, not feeling particularly proud to have taken part in what he gradually came to realize was a senseless war. But peace would not last long for Lok, with plans to return home for a few months, was greeted by the terrible news that his father had been tortured and murdered by a radical element of the group known as the Enlightened Mind Movement. The EMM had surged in prominence once again following the liberation of Betazed and the chaos that accompanied it. In short they believed that non-telepathic species were inferior and that the <nowiki>Federation</nowiki> was exploiting Betazed and her people’s superior abilities. T’Karo, a non-telepathic <nowiki>Caitian</nowiki> and semi-public figure due to his art showings, was a prime target for the radical group, his body having been dumped on the steps of the <nowiki>Federation</nowiki> embassy as a warning. So as to not endanger Lok, Dorzanna opted to have the funeral on Cait. | ||
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The mission came to a rather dramatic end in 2379, not due to enemy action, some galactic phenomena, or attempted mating via space whale, but through simple mechanical failure. Owing to the ship’s rush wartime construction, a flaw in one of the <nowiki>warp</nowiki> nacelles caused a complete failure in that nacelle’s <nowiki>warp</nowiki> engine. Lacking the resources and facilities to repair it forced the ''Perseus'' to turn around and limp at severely reduced <nowiki>warp</nowiki> for a year back to the nearest starbase. From there she was towed to Earth where it was found she would need another six months to be considered fully repaired and spaceworthy, this prompted <nowiki>Starfleet</nowiki> to siphon off a large part of the crew to other vessels. | The mission came to a rather dramatic end in 2379, not due to enemy action, some galactic phenomena, or attempted mating via space whale, but through simple mechanical failure. Owing to the ship’s rush wartime construction, a flaw in one of the <nowiki>warp</nowiki> nacelles caused a complete failure in that nacelle’s <nowiki>warp</nowiki> engine. Lacking the resources and facilities to repair it forced the ''Perseus'' to turn around and limp at severely reduced <nowiki>warp</nowiki> for a year back to the nearest starbase. From there she was towed to Earth where it was found she would need another six months to be considered fully repaired and spaceworthy, this prompted <nowiki>Starfleet</nowiki> to siphon off a large part of the crew to other vessels. | ||
====CURRENT <nowiki>STARFLEET</nowiki> CAREER (2380-Present)==== | |||
Lok was among this group sent off though it proved to be a positive step in his career, at least so he thought. Receiving a promotion to Chief Petty Officer he was transferred to the ''<nowiki>USS Theurgy</nowiki>'', the first of her class and the largest ship in the fleet, to assume the position of Head of Fighter Propulsion for the ship’s ample fighter bay. Within the day of his arrival, having barely a chance to get acquainted with any of his shipmates, the crew of the ''Theurgy'' were suddenly branded as traitors. Initially skeptical and confused, having as far as was concerned done nothing wrong to warrant the title of traitor, Lok quickly came to trust the judgment of his fellow NCO, [[Sten Covington|Chief Covington]], who himself trusted what the senior officers were saying. | Lok was among this group sent off though it proved to be a positive step in his career, at least so he thought. Receiving a promotion to Chief Petty Officer he was transferred to the ''<nowiki>USS Theurgy</nowiki>'', the first of her class and the largest ship in the fleet, to assume the position of Head of Fighter Propulsion for the ship’s ample fighter bay. Within the day of his arrival, having barely a chance to get acquainted with any of his shipmates, the crew of the ''Theurgy'' were suddenly branded as traitors. Initially skeptical and confused, having as far as was concerned done nothing wrong to warrant the title of traitor, Lok quickly came to trust the judgment of his fellow NCO, [[Sten Covington|Chief Covington]], who himself trusted what the senior officers were saying. | ||
Revision as of 19:25, 6 February 2024
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Name: | Avandar Lok | ||
Rank: | Chief Petty Officer | ||
Position: | Head of Fighter Propulsion & Asst. COD | ||
Species: | Kzinti | ||
Age: | 34 | ||
Gender: | Male | ||
Orientation: | Homosexual | ||
Birthplace: | An unknown ship | ||
Height: | 7ft 3in / 2.21m | ||
Weight: | 368lbs / 167kg | ||
Hair: | Brown fur with black stripes | ||
Eye color: | Yellow | ||
Played by: | N/A | ||
Writer: | joshs1000 | ||
Interests | |||
Tinkering
Drawing Swimming Lifting Weights Astronomy Cooking Hovercar Racing Drunk Singing/Karaoke Partying Play Fighting | |||
Education | |||
2351-2365: Lenthara Academy of Primary Education
2365-2366: Starfleet Boot Camp (Camp Jezero, Mars) 2366-2366: Operations Advanced Training Course (Starfleet Academy NCO School) | |||
Service Record | |||
2366-2369: CM2, Maintenance Specialist, USS Bellevue NCC-62092
2369-2370: CM2, Maintenance Specialist, USS Ryuku NCC-65235 2370-2373: CM1, Maintenance Specialist, USS Ryuku NCC-65235 2373-2374: PO3. Shuttle Propulsion Mechanic, USS Helios NCC-72440 (Ship Destroyed) 2374-2376: PO2, Fighter Propulsion Mechanic, USS Kirishima NCC-77861 2376-2380: PO1, Lead Fighter Propulsion Mechanic, USS Perseus NCC-77990 2380-2381: CPO, Head of Fighter Propulsion, USS Theurgy NX-79854 2381-Present: CPO, Head of Fighter Propulsion, USS Theurgy NX-79854 | |||
Decorations | |||
2374: Starfleet Purple Heart
2374: Christopher Pike Medal of Valor 2376: Dominion War Service Medal |
Avandar Lok, usually going by just Lok, was a Kzinti raised on Betazed. He served in Starfleet as a mechanic and fighter bay specialist on a variety of ships and even took part in the Dominion War. Shortly after being transferred to the USS Theurgy in 2380 he sided with the crew against an infestation of parasites that had taken over Starfleet Command, but during the escape from Earth was badly wounded and placed in stasis. Once healed, he returned to duty in Theurgy’s fighter bay.
Biography
CHILDHOOD (2346-2356)
Practically nothing was known about the Kzinti child when he was left on the doorstep of an orphanage on a backwater colony on the border of the Federation. Even the child’s species was not initially known to the orphanage administrators, lacking any sort of medical scanning equipment they believed the feline was in fact a Caitian. Even if the child had been a Caitian the colony lacked the needed medicines and more importantly nutrients found in a mother’s milk. Worried for the child’s health the orphanage administrators had the child transported via fast ship to Cait. Once on the Caitian homeworld it quickly became apparent to the medical professionals that the child was in fact Kzinti. Given the temporary name of Kit (what Kzinti call their offspring) he was placed in the T’Sila Valley Orphanage under the care of its administrator, R’Ret. While there Kit underwent several medical tests to determine possibly where he was from exactly on the Kzinti homeworld and possibly find his parents. This search quickly came up short, the only environmental data recovered from the scans showed that Kit was most likely born on and lived his entire life aboard a ship. The medical data did at least determine that his date of birth was on July 10, 2346 at approximately 16:00 and that he was extremely healthy. Ultimately though Administrator R’Ret refused to entertain the possibility of returning Kit to the Kzinti; whether out of fear for the ultimate fate of the child in the notoriously violent culture of the Kzinti or simply due to prejudice against a, as some Caitians see it, an inferior feline species, it cannot be certain.
When Kit was a year old a Betazoid socialite Drozanna Lok and her husband, a eccentric Caitian painter named T’Karo, came to visit the orphanage. The two had been unable to have a child due to medical complications inherent in interspecies mating that never allowed a pregnancy for Drozanna to properly take. While originally wanting to adopt a Caitian child to please her husband, Drozanna, and T’Karo, quickly found themselves infatuated by Kit and requested to adopt him. During the adoption process the two were made abundantly aware of certain natural Kzinti tendencies, namely aggression, but also high strength even at a young age, and the fact that by the time he was a teenager, Kit would be physically larger than his parents in both sheer height and mass. This did not dissuade Drozanna or T’Karo, believing that nurture would win out over nature. Once the adoption process was complete the happy parents gave their Kzinti child a true name, Avandar, due to his eyes reminding his mother of one of Betazed’s moons.
The family lived in the seaside resort town of Lenthara where Avandar would spend much of his childhood and adolescence, with the odd trip to Cait to visit some of his father’s family. He doesn’t remember much from those days except getting to follow his father up and down the beach when the man wanted to paint a landscape or his mother teaching him some Betazoid nursery rhymes. When he was five years old, Avandar, already physically larger and stronger than other children his age, began school and, for obvious reasons, didn’t quite fit in well. Though there was not outright bullying, probably not the wisest course of action if the victim has literal sharp teeth, but more so a general shunning due to fear or just simply for how strange Avandar was. It was also around this time that he started to develop his empathic abilities, something his mother quickly picked up on and helped him learn to properly control. Later she would help him hone his empathic abilities far beyond that of an average Kzinti, who tended to avoid using their empathic abilities.
ADOLESCENCE (2356-2365)
By his teenage years, Avandar became fully integrated into Betazoid society and most in his small town had grown to accept him. He also started developing more of his personal interests and hobbies, helping his mother work on her classic hovercars or look at the stars through a telescope with his father. As he hit puberty was finding ways to get into mischief and act out like most teenagers do. On more than one occasion he skipped school to sneak down to the beach to go swimming or the replimat to get some food, however considering he was the only 1.9 meter felinoid running around he often got caught and would be punished accordingly when he got home. But his shenanigans ranged further than just skipping school. When he was fifteen, Avandar stole one of his mother’s vintage hovercars from the garage in order to race some classmates along the beach. He ended up not getting very far, instead wrecking the vehicle into a fountain and closed cafe. Another time he stole a bottle of Romulan Ale from his father’s stash and snuck it to his friends; while he ended up fairing just fine his friends got really sick.
While most of the time Avandar’s hijinx were harmless and consistent with a typical teenager, his aggression and temper, heightened due to puberty, did lead to one unfortunate incident. Though he had become accepted by his peers, owing in part to his empathic abilities that gave them a bit of common ground to work from, a few outright disliked him, no doubt influenced by their xenophobic parents. One in particular, Baro Sepa, a couple years older than Avandar, even went as far as to start bullying him, believing, mistakenly as it turned out, that the adopted Kzinti would not do anything about it. Frequently these attacks were on Avandar’s looks but also were not limited to even attacking his sexuality, he had only recently come out as being gay to his parents, friends, and schoolmates.
The straw that broke the camel’s back came in the form of Baro, after school, insulted Avandar’s mother and father, calling his father a bareilly sentient house cat and this his mother “should go fuck an Earth cow since she liked to throw her legs up for filthy animals”. Although he claimed to not really remember what happened, the other kids gathered around watched Avandar tackle Baro to the ground with a roar and repeatedly punch him in the face until he was pulled off by some teachers. Baro suffered a minor concussion as well as a broken jaw, broken nose, broken eye socket, and the loss of a few teeth. Years later Avandar admitted to a counselor that he not only remembered the fight but that during it he thought of using his teeth to rip Baro’s throat out and that had the teacher not pulled him off the other boy would be dead.
After the fight, Avandar was taken out of school for the rest of the year and made to see a counselor. Feeling immense shame for what he had done, he attempted to make amends with Baro and to some extent succeeded, though the two would never speak again once Avandar left home for Starfleet.
His last couple years of school went without incident, but all those prior events soon caught up with him and his career prospects. He had wanted to go to Starfleet Academy as soon as he finished school and become an engineer, but it was made quite clear to him by the Academy liaison that with his juvenile record and poor grades it was unlikely that he would be accepted even if he passed the entrance exam. Instead it was suggested that if he truly wished to pursue a career in Starfleet that he should enlist. While it wasn’t as glamorous and there was a bit less freedom, he would eventually, through experience, gain a lot of the privileges and important assignments that also go to officers. Drozanna and T’Karo were quite happy to hear their son was going into Starfleet, though they of course would worry as any parent would.
EARLY STARFLEET CAREER (2365-2373)
After completing school, Avandar took a few months to spend time with his family, figuring he would most likely not see them for quite a while then caught a transport to the Sol System to attend Boot Camp. His training was at Camp Jezero in the Jezero Crater on Mars where he found that he quickly excelled at a lot of aspects of Starfleet life, particularly in the physical fitness area. While it was originally expected that Avandar would become some big security brute it was found that he had the ability to fix things and was sent down the engineering and operations tracks for his training, doing well enough that he was selected to attend the NCO School at Starfleet Academy for Advanced Operations Training. Having completed all his training by late 2366, having managed to jump to the rank of Crewman 2nd Class, Avandar was assigned to his first ship, the Freedom Class USS Bellevue.
Life aboard Bellevue was not as adventurous as some of the larger vessels, neither were the missions. Transporting mid level bureaucrats and diplomats tended to be the orders of the day along with supply runs to inner colonies and starbases. For an officer this might not have been considered an auspicious assignment but Lok, as he preferred to go by now, was more than happy to spend his day tinkering with all manner of equipment then spend his off hours looking out at the stars.
Things would take a sudden turn when in January of 2367 the Borg, a hostile force encountered by the USS Enterprise over a year before, invaded the Federation with the goal of attacking and assimilating Earth. Admiral Hanson called for every ship within several sectors to rendezvous with his taskforce and intercept the Borg in the Wolf 359 system. The Bellevue was among those ships called to action, but due to an earlier failure in one of her plasma injectors the ship could not maintain her maximum warp speed. After making a series of dangerous high speed warp jumps the ship arrived at Wolf 359, having monitored an engagement between Hanson and the Borg, only to find nothing but wreckage. The Enterprise had only left the area about an hour earlier but with nothing in the way to stop the Borg from reaching Earth she had to depart without looking for survivors. With her engines taxed well beyond their current capability it was decided to stay behind and conduct rescue operations, beginning first with the mostly intact USS Ahwahnee.
Lok accompanied the away mission to board the vessel, though no life signs were detected there was still atmosphere in most sections of the ship and it was hoped that perhaps they had shielded their lifesigns to evade detection. What was found however quickly dissuaded this notion of survivors. A large majority of the crew were dead but many more were not accounted for but none of the shuttles or escape pods had been launched, the most likely explanation being that the crew had been beamed away by the Borg and assimilated. This was confirmed when Lok and the Bellevue’s chief engineer extracted the data recorder that clearly showed Borg transport signatures not long after the ship lost main power.
The mission aboard the Ahwahnee had a particular effect on Lok, having never seen a dead body before, let alone so many in such mangled states. The images would haunt him for many years as would hearing the chaos that was the battle through the bridge voice recording and the gut wrenching knowledge that all those voices he heard were now Borg drones stripped of what made them them and violated.
Rescue operations would continue over the next few days, the Borg having been defeated by Enterprise over Earth. Not much was found other than a few crew trapped in sealed compartments and a couple of disabled escape pods around the fringes of the wreckage. Once the rescue operation was terminated the Bellevue returned to Earth for repairs then continued on with its regular missions. Lok would remain stationed on the ship for another two years without incident, being transferred to the New Orleans class USS Ryuku in 2369.
Life aboard Ryuku was a bit different to that aboard the Bellevue, for one thing the ship actually explored and conducted scientific missions rather than putted around Federation core space. However, much of Lok’s work didn’t change, not that he complained all that much, but his ability to keep the shuttles running smoothly was noticed by the ship’s Operations Officer and he was promptly promoted to the rank of Crewman 1st Class. The next several years on board the Ryuku went by without much incident, the ship was stationed far away from the brewing tensions with the Cardassians, and later the Dominion, much of its scientific work involved studying proto-solar systems. The most major event that occurred was when the ship initiated first contact with an amphibious species known as the Argolans.
In early 2373, Lok was promoted once again, this time to the rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class and transferred to the Galaxy class USS Helios. His adept abilities at repairing and maintaining shuttles, particularly their propulsion systems, landed him the position as specialist, now spending much of his time working in the shuttle bay. Something he of course was more than happy to do considering it gave him expansive views of space when the doors were open. Helios herself was preparing for a deep space mission that would last around seven to possibly ten years to explore towards the outer rim of the galaxy. But this mission was canceled due to another Borg invasion, though this time Lok’s ship was too far away to assist but remained on standby until the invasion was defeated. Even though the invasion was stopped, the Dominion started making moves with the possibility of an escalation to full scale war imminent, meaning the Helios’s mission was put on hold indefinitely so that she could be used as a military asset.
She and Lok wouldn’t have to wait for long, only a few months later did hostilities commence after Starfleet, to prevent further Dominion incursions, mined the Bajoran Wormhole and in response the the Dominion, which now included the Cardassian Union, attacked Deep Space 9 and captured it. The great powers of the quadrant descended into full scale war the likes of which had not been seen.
THE DOMINION WAR (2373-2375)
Helios spent the first few months of the war as part of the strategic reserve, intended to be utilized for the eventual recapture of Deep Space 9, with her only engagement in those rather tense months being a short but sharp skirmish with a single Jem’Hadar frigate that managed to escape. Lok spent much of this time working with his team of mechanics to keep the ship’s large collection of shuttles in service as well as study up on the planned installation of fighters, expanding the main shuttle bay for their additional facilities.
Finally, Lok’s first taste of real action came in the form of Operation Return. The Helios was assigned to one of the Galaxy Wings, meant to provide directed fire support against large enemy ships as well as support breakthroughs. The battle initially opened very slowly with hit and run attacks until eventually the Dominion opened a hole in their lines as a trap for the Federation ships. The trap, though recognized, nearly succeeded and the battle quickly turned into an all out brawl at close range. Even the Helios was caught up in this action, maneuvering into the fray to support her escorts and consort cruisers that were taking a beating in an attempt to break through. Helios and her consorts were quickly overwhelmed, having been cut off from the bulk of the fleet. Her shields soon failed and what was later determined to be an overload to her primary phaser array, due to damage to several key plasma regulators, disintegrated the bow of the ship. Luckily the warp core was able to scram in time, preventing total destruction via a containment breach.
Lok, in a section of the ship still habitable just ahead of the main shuttle bay, luckily also still habitable, awoke to find himself in what had once been a pristine corridor, its walls having buckled from the force of the blast translating back through the ship’s structure. Wounded from a large piece of shrapnel in his left shoulder, Lok found one of his mechanics badly wounded and carried her to safety, along the way finding several more fellow crew members which he guided to the main shuttle bay where a few shuttles were still intact. Concerned that more people might be trapped he grabbed a respirator and returned to the mangled bowels of the ship. He did this several times, returning with both wounded and unwounded crew including the ship’s First Officer who had left the bridge right before the explosion to assist in engineering. Eventually fire and smoke as well as blood loss prevented Lok from returning to find more people, collapsing onto the floor of the final escape shuttle and losing consciousness.
The battle did end in a great, if costly, victory for the Federation and her last minute Klingon allies, but the Helios was a total loss, only two hundred eighty-nine out of a crew of a thousand was able to escape. Lok was credited with saving well over three dozen trapped people and after his recovery was awarded the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor for, as the citation read, “at great personal risk to himself, saved the lives of his fellow crew in accordance with the highest traditions of Starfleet”. He also received a Starfleet Purple Heart for his wound. However, Lok did not see what he had done as being anything noteworthy, he was just doing his job in his mind. He would rarely speak about what he had done or that he had received a medal after the event.
But the war would not wait and Lok was still needed as things ground to a stalemate near the end of 2374. His heroics, intentioned or otherwise, did land him his next promotion to Petty Officer 2nd Class and a transfer to the far more capable Sovereign class USS Kirishima. With the war in full swing, the need for fighters grew immensely and Lok found himself maintaining their top of the line propulsion systems. But 2374 would not end quietly as news spread of the fall of Betazed in a surprise Dominion attack. Lok was concerned about his parents’ but took solace in the fact that they did not live in one of the major cities and thus might have had enough time to go into hiding. He even considered asking Starfleet to allow him to covertly return home and aid in any resistance that no doubt had fomented there, but in the end thought better of it since he wasn’t exactly much of a fighter, well a trained fighter that is.
The final year of the war seemed endless, months of stalemate and trading blows but nothing like the grand fleet battles seen near the beginning. Kirishima found herself on patrol frequently near Bajoran space to screen against another attack on Deep Space Nine, this meant frequent clashes with Jem’Hadar and Cardassian patrol craft. The ship with her escorts and fighters was able to easily fend off these enemy attacks and even inflict damage of her own but any attempt to perhaps probe the space around Cardassia itself was usually met with a large task force of Dominion ships speeding their way, forcing a retreat to friendly territory.
The war finally ramped up again in what would turn out to be its final months, including the Liberation of Betazed, though it would take several weeks for Lok to learn that his parents were unharmed. Despite several setbacks due to the arrival of the Breen, Starfleet and the allied fleets were able to poise for a major attack to capture Cardassia and perhaps put an end to the war. However, Kirishima would see little direct action, functioning as a carrier for the campaign; she never saw her enemy directly but instead launched fighter missions in the days leading up to and during the large battles around Cardassia Prime. The only major event was the arrival of several Cardassian warships from another sector, having defected to the Damar Rebellion in the wake of Dominion atrocities. When the battle ended in victory and Cardassia was forced to surrender, Lok was among the away teams sent to board the Cardassian vessels to first accept their formal surrender and then to repair them enough to reach a Federation starbase for processing.
POST-WAR STARFLEET CAREER (2375-2380)
The war had been hard on Lok, like many others, though he didn’t see much direct combat himself, what little he did see would stick with him for a long time, just like the horrors seen after Wolf 359. He was promoted once again, to Petty Officer 1st Class and presented with the Dominion War Service Medal, which he hid away like his other decorations, not feeling particularly proud to have taken part in what he gradually came to realize was a senseless war. But peace would not last long for Lok, with plans to return home for a few months, was greeted by the terrible news that his father had been tortured and murdered by a radical element of the group known as the Enlightened Mind Movement. The EMM had surged in prominence once again following the liberation of Betazed and the chaos that accompanied it. In short they believed that non-telepathic species were inferior and that the Federation was exploiting Betazed and her people’s superior abilities. T’Karo, a non-telepathic Caitian and semi-public figure due to his art showings, was a prime target for the radical group, his body having been dumped on the steps of the Federation embassy as a warning. So as to not endanger Lok, Dorzanna opted to have the funeral on Cait.
Once the funeral was done, Lok, wanting to get away from pain by diving into his work, returned to duty, but Drozanna would not be intimidated by the EMM. Utilizing her connections she was able to bring political pressure to bear on the security and intelligence forces to help crack down on the EMM. Even the near daily threats did not deter her, telling a concerned Lok, “the Dominion have already done enough damage, I won’t let the EMM destroy what’s left”.
In early 2376, Lok was transferred to the recently built Sovereign Class USS Perseus now with a more official position as Lead Fighter Propulsion Mechanic, essentially a team lead over a group of mechanics for his shift. Perseus, as had the Hornet several years earlier, was sent on a multi year long mission of exploration, this time towards the galactic core with its primary goal to study the inner workings of the core, as well as distant observations of the large black holes at its center. With the new fighters aboard ship, the war having shown the versatility and usefulness of fighters as a weapon and means of defense, Lok was kept pretty busy. It also helped that the squadron commander was a war veteran and insisted on conducting patrols and training exercises as much as possible. With the fighter warp capability they could also be fitted to range far afield of the ship to find possible civilizations or other curiosities of a scientific nature.
The mission came to a rather dramatic end in 2379, not due to enemy action, some galactic phenomena, or attempted mating via space whale, but through simple mechanical failure. Owing to the ship’s rush wartime construction, a flaw in one of the warp nacelles caused a complete failure in that nacelle’s warp engine. Lacking the resources and facilities to repair it forced the Perseus to turn around and limp at severely reduced warp for a year back to the nearest starbase. From there she was towed to Earth where it was found she would need another six months to be considered fully repaired and spaceworthy, this prompted Starfleet to siphon off a large part of the crew to other vessels.
CURRENT STARFLEET CAREER (2380-Present)
Lok was among this group sent off though it proved to be a positive step in his career, at least so he thought. Receiving a promotion to Chief Petty Officer he was transferred to the USS Theurgy, the first of her class and the largest ship in the fleet, to assume the position of Head of Fighter Propulsion for the ship’s ample fighter bay. Within the day of his arrival, having barely a chance to get acquainted with any of his shipmates, the crew of the Theurgy were suddenly branded as traitors. Initially skeptical and confused, having as far as was concerned done nothing wrong to warrant the title of traitor, Lok quickly came to trust the judgment of his fellow NCO, Chief Covington, who himself trusted what the senior officers were saying.
During the escape from Earth, Lok was badly wounded when the bulkhead in the compartment he was in was destroyed. The atmosphere immediately was blown out of the large hole along with everything that was inside including several crew, Lok struck his head on a beam, severely fracturing his skull, but was saved at the last moment by the emergency forcefield. His head injury turned out to be too severe for the ship’s facilities to properly fix, requiring a fully equipped hospital at another planet or starbase, so he was placed into cryogenic stasis until this could be done. However, the Savi Android V-Nine, a more recent arrival to the ship, was able to devise a treatment utilizing Theurgy’s available sickbay equipment to heal Lok’s wounds and revive him.
Personality Profile
Lok at a glance comes across as quite imposing and intimidating due to his size, leading one to the conclusion he was just a gruff bruiser with a temper. While they would be right about his temper he was far from a bruiser, rather he was actually quite personable and down to earth, one of the guys as he liked to think, almost always with a small smile on his face. He is welcoming and warm to people he knows but often shy and quiet around people he doesn’t, as well as being shy around those he is very attracted to. For those he cares about, including some of his subordinates, though never viewing them as such (always calling them his team), he will always be there for them when they need it and protect them from harm.
Starfleet was Lok’s life, he couldn’t imagine life outside the organization, even if he may have certain reservations about some things Starfleet and the Federation has done in the past, particularly the Dominion War. While very laid back with how he conducted himself: joking around with his shipmates, ribbing officers, and finding every possible way to not wear his uniform; Lok prided himself on his work and when the time called for it he would be a model of discipline and professionalism. He could also be called an enlisted man’s man, preferring to mingle with his fellow NCOs rather than the officers, valuing the experience of a four year crewman over that of a fresh faced ensign. However, he typically found the fighter jocks, all officers, to be easy to get along with, though it was in the best interest of a pilot to treat their mechanics with some respect.
One area, however, that Lok struggled with was his temper, a natural result of his inherent Kzinti aggression. While he normally, kept it in check from years of practice it could come out quickly and violently when he was under stress, though much of the time it came across as him just being some grumpy NCO; but the possibility still existed that he could be pushed far enough to badly hurt and maybe even kill someone. This frightened Lok greatly and came to define a lot of who he was as a person, who he wanted to be versus what his biology said he should be. This stretched to the point that he refused to learn anything about Kzinti culture, beyond its violent tendencies, not wanting to adhere to another culture just because of what he looked like. While he only ever had one truly violent outburst, Lok’s aggression came out in the form of his temper, which tended to range from mild annoyance to completely pissed off and throwing tools at spacecraft that refused to cooperate.
To help occupy his mind and keep himself calm, Lok would frequently tinker with machines, beyond what was required for his job, having all manner of little devices to play with or fix, including an antique clock powered by a fusion cell. His parents were also a big influence on his hobbies, from his mother he picked up a love of vintage hovercars and the joy of fixing as well as racing them; from his father he learned how to draw, sketching whatever came to mind. Lok was also an avid amateur astronomer, while he didn’t have lots of technical knowledge, he mostly did it to look at beautiful phenomena in space. Due to his fully carnivorous diet, Lok liked to cook, with particular fondness for Earth steak recipes but he also knew plenty of protein dishes from several different cultures. If he ever had a particularly stressful day, but not stressful enough to drink himself silly, he would go swimming or lift weights in the gym, both were also how he kept in shape.
Lok loved to drink and party when off duty, perhaps drinking a little too much some would say. Often this would be accompanied by him singing, rather poorly, particularly with his odd accent, but he would on occasion setup karaoke nights for the enlisted crew to join in. Things could get out of hand, Lok could get rather amped up at parties and liked to “play” fight to calm down. He was a bit of a romantic at heart, though did not like the whole dramatic big romantic gestures, instead preferring something more thoughtful for those he is interested in. Also due to his large size and somewhat unique anatomy, Lok liked to defer to his partners when it came to intimacy, wanting to make sure that they were comfortable, especially if they had not been with a species like him before.
Physical Profile
Lok was considered a prime specimen of Kzinti physiology, standing at 2.2 meters (7 ft 3 in) tall and weighing 167 kilograms (368 lbs), body rippling in powerful muscle, his hands and feet possessed of razor sharp claws, long sharp teeth protruding from his mouth giving him quite a fearsome appearance. However he also possessed a set of yellow eyes that reflected a kindness and gentleness but can instantly turn to bright piercing intensity and while those teeth were certainly sharp the small smile he always wore was not. His fur was soft and well groomed, a lighter brown than the average Kzinti with tiger-like stripes all over; the fur around his head forms a sort of mane that he keeps cut short and stylized. His tail was a meter long and semi prehensile, typically idly swaying about when Lok is in a neutral mood, and also adorned in stripes along its length.
Other than his stripes, Lok possessed no other markings except a few scars, most small and hidden by his fur, however there is one large one on his left shoulder from a wound he suffered in the Dominion War.
Even though he was not raised by the Kzinti, Lok also has a dislike for clothing, finding it rather constricting to his movements and simply he just doesn’t like how it crushes his fur, he especially does not like wearing his Starfleet uniform but will when required or ordered. Most of the time when on duty he wore his mechanic’s yellow coveralls with a t-shirt and loose boxers underneath for a bit of required modesty (if he could get away with being nude under his coveralls he would). Off duty he typically wore just a pair of cargo pants and a belt but for nicer occasions could sometimes be counted on to wear a tank top.
Due to his digitigrade feet he didn’t wear shoes except on duty but that was more a pair of protective fireproof socks with extra grip on the bottom.
Special Notes
- His quarters were on Deck 13, Vector 2 - NCO’s Quarters
- Avandar was an empath and could sense people’s emotions within a few meters of him.
- He was strictly a carnivore.
Appearances
Arranged in chronological order.
Season 2
Episode 2: Cosmic Imperative
Prologue
- Day 1 - 1030hrs - The World I Know and the World I Don't - Woke up from Stasis.
Chapter 2
- Day 1 - 1259hrs DIS Engage - Assisted in repairing the QSD.