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==Biography==
==Biography==
The exact date of Cross’ birth is unknown, as the [[Cardassian]] records of that particular experiment did not survive the liberation of the prison camp he was born in by the [[Federation]] in 2366.
Cross was the last of a dozen “experiments” resulting from the efforts of the Cardassian science team at a prison labor camp. The experiments were cleared by the Cardassian government with the goal to create a more efficient labor force or, better yet, a pliable and effective undercover operative. Cardassian were well known for their brainwashing techniques and believed it possible to thoroughly indoctrinate the resulting experiment into a zeal for doing the bidding of their Cardassian handlers. Though the camp was predominantly populated by Bajorans, there were non-Bajoran races to pull from, and not all the genetic samples were taken from present prisoners, as the scientists drew from races not present through stolen genetic samples, and then relying on Bajoran females to carry the “experiment” to term. Cross was the only Vulcan-Bajoran hybrid but counted among his “siblings,” a Betazoid-Bajoran, Klingon-Bajoran, Risian-Bajoran, Trill-Bajoran, Arbazan-Bajoran, Orion-Bajoran, Barzan-Bajoran, Eforsian-Bajorian, Haliian-Bajoran, Hekaran-Bajoran, and Zelonite-Bajoran.  


==== Origins ====
They granted none of these experiments the comfort of a mother’s touch, however, for as soon as they were born the scientists removed them from their carriers and raised them within a controlled facility. Each experiment was assigned a number instead of a name, with Cross’s designation being VB23490916, for Vulcan mixed with Bajoran, and the year, month, and day of his birth. For short, most of the scientists referred to him as Cross 961, Cross being short for crossbreed. These hybrids all carried physical and physiological characteristics of both races, with Cross inheriting the Bajoran nasal and reproductive organ ridges, and the pointed ears, copper-based circulatory system, and increased strength from the Vulcan side. It was discovered, as Cross reached puberty, that he had also inherited a predisposition towards dwelling on the metaphysical, with an insatiable curiosity, and an acute perception of situations and people that set him more than a few steps ahead of most of his siblings when they were put through intelligence tests—the Cardassian scientists were left to wonder which side he inherited which trait from and never came to a resolute agreement. He did not, however, develop the telepathic abilities inherent to Vulcans, and for this, the Cardassian scientists were keenly disappointed. They did run Cross through a series of tests involving drugs, neural stimulants, and other more invasive procedures to try and trigger any latent telepathy. However, after many months of testing without results, the Cardassians gave up the line of testing and instead focused on honing Cross’s other traits.
Cross was born as the result of a [[Cardassian]] “experiment.” The [[Cardassian]] science team at the prison camp decided to take a Vulcan male prisoner undergoing Pon Farr and place him in a locked observation chamber with a [[Bajoran]] female prisoner, and so observe the effects of the Pon Farr on the Vulcan. The result, suffice it to say, were the assault and impregnation of the [[Bajoran]] woman in question.


The [[Cardassian]] science and medical teams closely observed the resulting pregnancy, the culmination of which was the birth of prisoner A17338961, a [[Vulcan]]/[[Bajoran]] mixed race male infant with a hybrid biology of the two races. A17338961, who the [[Cardassian]]s referred to as “961” of “Cross” (Short for Cross-breed) had physical characteristics of both his [[Bajoran]] and [[Vulcan]] parentage, namely the nasal ridges of the [[Bajoran]]s and the pointed ears of the [[Vulcan]]s. He inherited the copper-based circulatory system of his [[Vulcan]] father, as well as the strength, intelligence and emotional instability inherent to [[Vulcan]]s, but showed no signs of the telepathic abilities inherent to [[Vulcans]].
Cross and his siblings were never coddled or led to believe they were loved, though they never exactly tortured either. They were treated as what they were, experiments, and were consistently tested, challenged, prodded, and observed with no hint of privacy in the scientific efforts to discover their traits and to hone these traits for either a labor force or an operative force. Some of his elder “siblings” responded well to the Cardassian brainwashing and trait challenges and, once they were deemed ready by the scientists, these “siblings” were transferred into the care of the Obsidian Order. A few of his “siblings” did not respond well and were either euthanized or forced into the labor work details. By the time Cross was twenty, the only sibling who remained with him among the scientists was his “sister” the Barzan-Bajoran, BaB23490916. BaB, as she was called by Cross, had been born only a few hours before him and much out of the neglect of the scientists to prevent it, Cross and BaB formed a true bond of kinship with one another.  


A17338961 was “raised” in the [[Cardassian]] medical lab attached to the prison camp, never having met either of his biological parents, who were presumably returned to the labor force of the camp following his conception and birth, respectively. No records of his parents or their fate survived the camp’s liberation.  
The only other individual whom Cross could consider as “kind” to either him or BaB was one of the Cardassian lab guards. This guard only came on shift at night after the scientists retired to their sleeping quarters, sneaking ''kanar'' in with him in a hidden flask. After making his first official round to keep up appearance’s sake, the guard would proceed to get drunk. It was a few months into his posting at the lab that, while drunk, the guard released Cross and Bab from their sealed quarters. Neither of them had known what to expect on that first night. When nothing happened except some drunken rough-handling and the forced recitation of raunchy Cardassian phrases, which the guard found absolutely hilarious to hear Cross and BaB say before he passed out, Cross and BaB sat in a confused state near his snoring body until near morning. When they heard the sound of the scientists preparing to enter the lab, they quickly woke the guard before going back into their quarters.  


During his time in the medical facility the [[Cardassian]]s treated him with a mix of scientific fascination and the kind of “kindness” one would show a pet one does not particularly care for. [[Cardassian]] scientists regularly performed tests on him, which would often be abusive, invasive and bordering on tortuous. Afterwards he would be given medical care and fed well, more for the ensured continuation of the experiments rather than out of any sense of caring. The scientists also taught him to speak, read and write in [[Cardassian]], and continually administered intelligence tests throughout his time at the camp.
Perhaps it was out of gratitude for making sure he hadn’t been caught, or perhaps he had a soft spot for the hybrids, for whatever unknown reason the guard created a routine from that night forward. After his first round, he would get buzzed, release Cross and Bab, then after teaching Cross and BaB a number of impolite songs, phrases, or stories in his inebriated state, would pass out. This gave BaB and Cross the opportunity to not only try the syrupy liquid which rendered their “friend” so riotous but also to run around the lab without restrictions. Ever after his liberation, Cross would continue to drink ''kanar'' as, during this brief period of almost joy in his youth, he’d come to enjoy the taste of the drink and associated it with some of his only fond memories of the camp.


A17338961 spent much of his life in the prison camp locked in a secure wing of the camp’s medical facility. When not actively being experimented on by the [[Cardassian]]s, he was usually locked in a storage room, but sometimes was allowed to move about in the secured wing of the lab. During such times, A17338961 took great care to avoid the [[Cardassian]] scientists as, on the occasions he caught their notice, a new series of “tests” would usually follow.  
Of course, the drink also brought with it bitter memories as well. For it was this very same guard who’d been killed protecting Cross and BaB in the prisoner uprising that coincided with the Federation offensive that led to the camp’s liberation. He’d only been doing his duty, holding off the prisoners seeking to invade the lab and destroy anything the scientists had dabbled with, and Cross believed that the man may have also truly desired to protect himself and BaB from the prisoners, not knowing if their “liberators” would accept them as sentient entities or destroy them as mere experiments. Neither Cross nor BaB had known what sort of reception they would have either, raised as they were in a completely secure lab facility with only a bare concept of what life was like outside in the camp. Thus, it was entirely understandable that BaB, after having witnessed the death of the only other person to have shown her some semblance of kindness outside of Cross, would pick up the Cardassian’s weapon and return fire upon the attacking prisoners. She would not let these attackers kill her brother the way they’d killed her friend. By the time Starfleet officers pushed their way through the throng of prisoners into the lab, BaB lay dead upon the corpse of the Cardassian guard, and Cross was unconscious next to her after having been hit in the head by one of the prisoner’s when he’d tried to retrieve BaB’s fallen weapon.  


At one point while A17338961 was still fairly young, he found a large rodent-like creature loose in the lab. A17338961 caught the rodent and snuck it back to his storage room, where he kept the rodent for company. The rodent, slightly larger than an Earth rat, never tried to bite or scratch A17338961, making it the kindest creature A17338961 had encountered. He kept the rodent for several months, giving it small portions of his own food, until the Cardassians discovered his “pet”. The [[Cardassian]] scientists laughed at their prisoner’s “fitting” choice of companion, then proceeded to kill the rodent and forced A17338961 to eat it raw, laughing at him all the while. A17338961 forever had an aversion to eating meat after the incident.
In studying the Cardassian scientist’s notes, Starfleet was able to note which of Cross’s “siblings” has successfully entered the Obsidian Order and quickly alerted the governments of those races that could prove victim to infiltration. Aside from the bump on his head and a whole of conflicted emotions, Cross was found to be in good health by the medical officers who examined him post-liberation. He dropped the “961” designation after observing how the Starfleet medical officer, Lt. Duncan MacDonald, in charge of his rehabilitation, referred to himself.
Yet leery of Bajorans so soon after his “liberation,” Cross accompanied MacDonald to a Starfleet research facility in Scotland. It was here where he met a Vulcan medical officer, K’Shem, who assisted Cross in developing greater emotional stability and control. After living so many years without emotional suppression, Cross was uninterested in purging them entirely, or living with them as repressed the average Vulcan. So, while he learned vital meditation techniques, he rejected K’Shem’s offers for anything further, including her offer to trace his Vulcan DNA to any living relations. He had likewise rejected MacDonald’s similar offer to discover any living Bajoran relations. Cross understood his identity as the result of an experiment and not someone’s child and did not believe it necessary to create mental or emotional confusion for either side of his heritage in tracking them down.


Once A17338961 reached adolescence the [[Cardassian]]s, having found his lack of [[Vulcan]] telepathic development disappointing, began to run A17338961 through a series of tests involving psychotropic and hallucinogenic drugs, as well as neural stimulants, to try and awaken any latent telepathy. After many months of testing without results, the [[Cardassian]]s gave up the line of testing.
It was through MacDonald’s and K’Shem’s consistent investment of time and consideration, as well as the mediation and “salvation” found through the Starfleet officers who’d rescued him from potential death at the hands of the prisoners, that Cross chose to pursue a career in Starfleet. Once his rehabilitation program concluded in 2371, Cross entered Starfleet Academy. He excelled in his studies yet initially struggled with the group dynamics and social life that accompany enrollment. It took nearly all three years of his time at the Academy for Cross to find his stride in group gatherings. He graduated in the top 15% of his class in 2374 and received as a graduation gift from MacDonald two surgical steel earrings to wear in his right ear in honor to his Bajoran heritage and from K’Shem he received an IDIC medallion to pay homage to his Vulcan ancestry. To present, these items are Cross’ most prized possessions and are the only items he ever made effort to retrieve and save when having to transfer or beat a hasty retreat.  


==== Small Acts of Kindness ====
His first posting was aboard the ''USS Hood'' in 2374 where he served as a junior security officer and his first taste of action was in taking part in Operation Return, which ended with the Dominion forces recapturing Deep Space 9. He was aboard the ''Hood'' when it took part in the First Battle of Chin’toka. He continued to serve with distinction aboard this vessel until he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and transferred to the ''USS Harbinger'' in 2376. Serving under Captain Declan Vasser in the tactical department as an armory officer, Cross was in charge of the maintenance, issue, and storage of the ship’s small arms stores. Though this posting was his first served during a time of peace, that did not stop Cross from becoming an expert with small arms.  
During all the years A17338961 spent in the camps, one of the only Cardassians who was ever kind to him was the night guard who was assigned to the medical lab. That particular Cardassian, who’s name A17338961 never learned, treated the mongrel with a sort of kind disregard. The guard was a drunk, and would sneak kanar into the lab for his night shifts.


The guard would then proceed to get blind drunk and pass out, affording A17338961 the opportunity to drink whatever was left of the vile, syrup-like liquid. The guard would never complain about A17338961 drinking the remains of his kanar, as the test subject would wake him up before shift change to prevent him from being found passed out while on duty. This “arrangement” continued on over the years, with the alcoholic guard remaining the only Cardassian who treated A17338961 with anything resembling kindness. Over time, A17338961 even came to enjoy the taste of the thick alcoholic beverage. Even after his liberation he continued to drink it, though that particular preference often brought disgusted comments from those around him.
It was also during this posting that, for the first time in his career, Cross felt at ease enough with himself and the posting to relax his guard enough to form friendships. With MacDonald and K’Shem, he’d felt respect and almost paternal affection, and with BaB it had likewise been different as that bond had been strong enough to denote blood ties. At the Academy, Cross had been so preoccupied with his studies that he’d come across as cold and transactional in his relationships, and that tendency had not worn off during his wartime posting on the ''Hood''.  
The first friend he made on the Harbinger, over a shared appreciation for good scotch, was the bartender Rory Callahan. He also developed a warm friendship with the ship’s counselor, Lieutenant Hayden O’Connor. And it was through their incessant teasing, good-natured needling, comradery, and compassion, that Cross formed a genuine interest in forming friendships despite the emotional risks involved. It was also through Callahan and O’Connor that Cross discovered he had a sense of humor, or so they proclaimed he did, as well as a subtle—and therefore dangerous as O’Connor described—sense of mischief.  


A17338961 never knew what became of the guard, the Cardassian having been transferred to another post two months before the camp was liberated. Despite never knowing his name, the Vulcan/Bajoran hybrid still thought of the man from time to time.
In 2377, Cross was injured during an evacuation mission. Sent to evacuate a Federation colony near the Klingon neutral zone, the ''Harbinger'' escort group to the beam-out site came under fire from Klingon forces from two rogue Klingon ships, remnants of the 2376 coup against Chancellor Martok who were attempting to destabilize Klingon relations with the Federation. Though injured, Cross continued the escort mission and led a team back to extract another group of colonists held hostage by the Klingons. He was injured again in the ensuing firefight and succumbed to the blood loss only after successfully getting the second group rescued and back to the extraction site. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer, T’Panu, was the main force behind his recovery and though Cross had struggled to form a friendship with the Vulcan prior to this incident, he was able to do so soon after, with their connection remaining until her transfer later that year. For his actions on the evacuation mission, Cross received the Starfleet Medal of Commendation and was promoted to Lieutenant and was reassigned to the bridge as a tactical officer.  


==== Liberation & Rehabilitation ====
A new transfer to the ''Harbinger'' in 2378 brought a new, and necessary, challenge to Cross. Lieutenant Aisha S’Iti, the Chief CONN Officer, was the first Cardassian he’d had to work with since his liberation, and seeing her every day on the bridge brought tumultuous emotions ranging from rage to bitterness to irrational fear to grief. One lesson Cross had taken from K’Shem that he completely agreed with, though not through the same method as K’Shem had suggested, was that of not allowing emotions to control him. Therefore, while Cross never made an effort to befriend the Cardassian woman, he learned to be cordial with her, able to do this only after he used his meditation time as a place to mentally “confront” her and himself in connection to his emotions.  
When the [[Federation]] launched their offensive to liberate the camp, the prisoners staged an uprising against the [[Cardassian]]s who, fighting both the [[Federation]] outside the camp and the prisoners inside, took to a scorched earth policy and began to evacuate the camp while simultaneously destroying many camp instillations. In the pandemonium of the evacuations, A17338961 managed to get free, attacking and killing the [[Cardassian]] Chief Science Officer and, armed with the [[Cardassian]]’s sidearm, several more science officers. (These actions have resulted in A17338961 being listed as a war criminal by the [[Cardassian]] Union.)


At the time of the [[Federation]] liberation of the camp, prisoner A17338961 was estimated to be approximately 17 years of age. During debriefing and medical examinations conducted by [[Starfleet]] following the camp’s liberation, A17338961 was found to have had numerous exploratory surgeries and medical tests performed on him, as well as showing evidence of being subjected to torture. Despite this, he was in relatively good health when compared with the general camp population.
A second transfer in 2378 also brought an unexpected challenge to Cross, and which also played havoc with his emotions though for entirely different reasons. The Trill doctor, Amelya Duv, was his first foray into the realm of romance and for two years following her transfer to the Harbinger Cross struggled with his physiological response and his communication abilities whenever he was near her. Though encouraged by Callahan and O’Connor to confess his feelings for the Doctor, he never did. Though, after a severe injury rendered him delirious and drifting in and out of consciousness he affectionately stroked her cheek, it was entirely possible that she’d guessed the nature of his feelings towards her.  


Lacking any proper name and having been called “961” or “Cross-breed” his whole life, A17338961 opted to adopt Cross as his name following his liberation. Following his debriefing Cross was taken in by [[Starfleet]] medical officer Lt. Duncan MacDonald who, having discovered Cross had no parents or known family, took pity on him and began his rehabilitation.
Cross was never given the chance to explain his actions to her, or to ask her opinion on the concept, as soon after his recovery Cross accepted a posting aboard the ''USS Endeavour'' as Chief tactical officer serving under Captain Amasov and the Endeavour's First Officer, Commander Ducote. He quickly adapted to his new responsibilities and also, far more rapidly than when he’d first arrived on the ''Harbinger'', Cross made friends among the crew, specifically Kai Akoni, the ship's new Chief security officer who had also just transferred aboard. His time aboard the ''Endeavour'' came to an abrupt end when they came under attack from a Borg Cube near the Azure Nebula. Though they provided a valiant fight against the Borg, upon Captain Amasov’s orders, Cross and the remaining crew alive abandoned ship. Cross ended up in an escape pod along with Ensign Laurel Okhala, Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran, Lieutenant J.G. Shar, Ensign Egon Julbi, and Lieutenant R’Rori. After several days adrift in the escape pod, they group was picked up by the ''Versant'', and became prisoners of an alien race called the Savi.


Cross returned to Earth with Lt. MacDonald, who was being transferred to a [[Starfleet]] research facility in Scotland, and applied himself to his rehabilitation and re-education with great fervor and desire for knowledge. One of MacDonald’s colleagues, a [[Vulcan]] [[Starfleet]] officer names K’Shem, assisted in Cross’ assimilation into normal life, helping Cross learn how to stabilize his emotions. Having been without such guidance for so long, Cross was able to stabilize and manage his emotions through nightly meditations taught to him by K’Shem, but was unwilling to try and suppress them completely.
For a second time in his life, Cross became an experiment as the Savi subjected him and other  ''Endeavour'' survivors, and abducted members of the ''USS Theurgy'', to “correctional” experimentation. These corrections rendered Cross a full-blooded Vulcan, removing all Bajoran traits, as well as removing his thus far developed emotional control as a hybrid. After his corrections were completed, Cross joined other “corrected” survivors in a holding cell. It was here where he lost control for the first time as a pure-blood and assaulted his former subordinate, Gideon Drake. He would have killed Drake had the Savi not transported the man to another holding cell. Cross was forced into isolation after this, during which time he sought to regain his emotional control before he was abruptly transported to a holographic holding pen along with the rest of the abductees.  


[[Cardassian]] being the only language he knew, and wanting to throw off ties to the [[Cardassian]]s, he began to learn to speak, read and write in Federation Standard. Progress in this undertaking was slow, and it would be well into his career in [[Starfleet]] before he became proficient enough in Federation Standard to no longer require the use of a universal translator.
The Savi would have been better off not to have told the prisoners their reason for holding them in this pen, to be held until their memories could be wiped and they could be released. Once the prisoners learned of this, they rebelled. Working together they staged a prison riot and broke free with the help of Blue Tiran, who had previously escaped being recycled and had been at large in the ship. Tiran, who had enlisted the help of one of their Savi captors, Echtand, found a haven for them in one of the ''Versant''’s abandoned maintenance bays. Echtand, having faked the recycling of the entire group of abductees, transported them to the maintenance bay where he then provided them with food and infiltration suits to mask their bio-signs.


With the help of MacDonald and K’Shem, Cross underwent extensive rehabilitation and an accelerated study program from 2366 to 2371 to aide him in achieving his goal of joining [[Starfleet]]. His desire to serve stemmed from his gratitude to [[Starfleet]] for his liberation.
The maintenance bay, though safe for the time being, was far from comfortable and did not allow privacy or space for any of the survivors. The ''Endeavour''’s former Chief Engineer, exhausted from the days spent crawling through the ''Versant'' without food or water, quickly fell asleep on Cross once all was settled. Feeling awkward at the Human’s proximity, a new experience for Cross regardless of race, yet not having the heart to wake her, Cross let her sleep, eventually falling asleep as well. During the night Cross woke and managed to extricate himself from Tiran, heading off to find a place of relative solitude in the bay to meditate. His peace and meditation was brief, however, as he was disturbed by Khorin Douglas. The interruption resulted in his second altercation while aboard the ''Versant'', yet after the fight had subsided, the two sat together realizing the fight had burned off the anger they had both been feeling, Cross from his new Vulcan blood, Khorin from his Klingon.


==== Early Years in [[Starfleet]] ====
Echtand reappeared in their hidden lives when he assigned groups of survivors different objectives. Cross was assigned the objective to retrieve Thea, the ''USS Theurgy''’s A.I., as well as Albert, Lt. Tiran’s cybernetic owl. Both of these were kept in the machine labs. The heist proved tricky as Echtand demanded that only the Savi Scions be killed and that no Antecedents be harmed. Despite these restraining parameters, Cross’ team managed to fight their way into the first of the machine labs to free the now upgraded Albert. In the next lab, they found Thea, as well as a Scion. During the fighting Lin Kae was killed and Cross was injured while shoving Blue out of the way of Savi fire. The shot which had been meant for her took his left arm off partway between the wrist and elbow. Cross staunched the blood flow by heating a bulkhead with his phaser fire and shoving his mangled and bleeding arm against the hot metal, though the damage left him less able to fight effectively.
Cross enrolled in [[Starfleet Academy]] in 2371, and threw himself into his studies. He found the adjustment to Academy life difficult at first, due to the group and social dynamics rather than the discipline and routine of Starfleet. Over the three years he spent at the Academy, Cross became slightly less awkward around his fellow cadets, and learned to open up and even trust some of them.


Cross graduated from [[Starfleet Academy]] with distinction in 2374, being awarded the [[Starfleet Academy]] Top 15% of Class Ribbon. Lt. MacDonald and K’Shem both attended his graduation. As a graduation gift, each gave him a small surgical steel hoop earring to wear in his right ear in honor of his [[Bajoran]] heritage. They told him they had opted for simple hoop earrings rather than the traditional [[Bajoran]] earring because of his not following [[Bajoran]] customs. These two earrings are Cross’ most prized possessions.
After freeing Thea, they were beamed to the bridge of the ''Versant'' along with the other assault teams and proceeded to take control of the Savi Dreadnought’s bridge. With Captain Ives in command, they set course to rendezvous with the ''USS Theurgy'', arriving to find the ''Theurgy'' engaged in battle with the Borg. With Cross having taken up position at the ''Versant''’s tactical console, they engaged the Borg, coordinating their efforts with the ''Theurgy'', ''USS Cayuga'' and multiple Klingon vessels. Cross unleashed the ''Versant''’s devastating arsenal and, alongside the other ships and an impressive run by the ''Theurgy''’s Lone Wolves through the heart of the Cube, the Borg were destroyed. The abductees were beamed aboard the ''Theurgy'' and made their escape, fleeing through and destroying the Apertures to prevent additional Borg forces from utilizing the gateways.


Cross began his post-Academy career with [[Starfleet]] in 2374 as an Ensign aboard the ''[[USS Hood]]'', serving as a junior security officer. Cross adapted quickly to life aboard a starship, but once again found it difficult to assimilate with the crew. He didn’t get much time to acclimate to his new surroundings however, as almost immediately after transferring to the ''Hood'' it was sent to take part in Operation Return. His first taste of action aboard the ''[[USS Hood]]'' ended with [[Deep Space 9]] being recaptured from [[Dominion]] forces.
Once aboard the ''USS Theurgy'', Cross found himself on a strange ship surrounded by only a handful of survivors from the ''Endeavour'' among a crew of new faces. A meeting with Captain Ives, Commander Ducote, and Doctor Tyre informed him of the threat posed by the parasites which had infiltrated both Starfleet Command and the Federation, and Cross agreed to stay aboard the ''Theurgy''. Having taken the Bridge Officer’s Test, Cross was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and assigned the position of Chief Tactical Officer.
 
In late 2374 the ''[[USS Hood|Hood]]'' took part in the offensive into [[Cardassian]] space with the [http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/First_Battle_of_Chin%27toka First Battle of Chin’toka]. Cross lost several friends during the offensive, which did nothing but deepen his feelings of animosity towards [[Cardassian]]s.
 
==== [[USS Harbinger]] ====
Following his service on the ''[[USS Hood]]'', Cross was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and transferred to the ''[[USS Harbinger]]'' in 2376, serving under Captain [[Declan Vasser]]. His served in the tactical department as armoury officer, in charge of the maintenance, issue and storage of the ship’s small arms stores. During this time Lt.(J.G.) Cross proved extremely diligent in his duties and showed great proficiency with small arms. In a sense, the ''[[USS Harbinger|Harbinger]]'' was also a fresh start for Cross. With the war over, Cross was able to experience life aboard a [[Starfleet]] vessel during peacetime. He was initially reluctant to try and become too friendly with the other officers on the ''[[USS Harbinger|Harbinger]]'', as the loss of friends during the war had left him with a fear of losing those he cared for. Over time, however, he got to know his crewmates. The first real friend he made aboard the ''[[USS Harbinger|Harbinger]]'' was the bartender, [[Rory Callahan]]. Having spent his years on Earth in Scotland, he had come to enjoy the occasional scotch. He took great pleasure in irking Callahan by ordering “Whisky. The good kind, not that Irish piss!”. He developed a friendship with the ship’s Counselor, Lt. [[Hayden O'Connor]], who also helped him to finally master English, allowing him to stop speaking [[Cardassian]] and relying on the universal translator.
 
In late 2376 Lt.(J.G.) Cross was made a member of the ''[[USS Harbinger]]''’s away team and boarding party, and proved himself capable during away missions involving both rescue & recovery missions and tactical boarding missions. Cross was injured on his first away mission while conducting a rescue mission aboard a critically damaged research vessel. While he and the ''[[USS Harbinger|Harbinger]]''’s First Officer were attempting to free a trapped member of the vessel’s crew, the bulkhead above them began to buckle. Cross shoved the First Officer clear of the falling debris, getting trapped and pinned beneath the debris himself.
 
In early 2377 Cross was involved in an evacuation mission of a [[Federation]] colony near the Klingon neutral zone during an attack on the settlement by two rogue [[Klingon]] ships, remnants of the 2376 coup against Chancellor Martok who were attempting to destabilize [[Klingon]] relations with the [[Federation]]. While on the ground escorting evacuees to the designated beam-out site the group came under fire from [[Klingon]] forces. Lt.(J.G.) Cross was injured when he was hit by [[Klingon]] fire after throwing himself in front of a wounded colonist. Despite his injuries, he escorted his group of colonists to the beam-out site and, seeing them safely away, took a team back to extract a group of colonists trapped by the [[Klingon]]s. Cross was hit again in the ensuing firefight, and passed out from his injuries after escorting the second group back to the extraction site. His injuries were severe, and it was only through the efforts of Deputy Chief Medical Officer [[T’Panu]] that he survived. Cross had previously never felt comfortable around the [[Vulcan]] medical officer, but the events led to a friendship forming between the two until her transfer off the ship later that year. For his actions during the evacuations Lieutenant Junior Grade Cross was awarded the Starfleet Medal of Commendation, and was promoted to Lieutenant. Following his recovery, Lt. Cross was reassigned from the armoury to the bridge as a tactical officer.
 
Cross ran into some difficulty in 2378, when two female officers transferred to the ''[[USS Harbinger]]''. The first was Lieutenant [[Aisha S’Iti]], the ship’s new Chief CONN Officer. Whenever his shifts on the bridge coincided with the [[Cardassian]]’s, Cross would have to meditate twice as long after his shift, the mere sight of a [[Cardassian]] being enough to fill him with anger. The second was [[Dr. Amelya Rez|Doctor Duv]]. Cross had little to no experience with romance and, having found himself extremely attracted to the Doctor, found himself shy and unable to talk to her.
 
The next two years aboard the ''[[USS Harbinger]]'' were punctuated with stolen glances and, when actually face-to-face with [[Dr. Amelya Rez|Dr. Duv]], stumbled words and sweaty palms. He never did manage to tell her how he felt, although there was an incident that probably alerted her to the fact. During a run-in with a Rogue vessel carrying out acts of piracy, Lt. Cross’ tactical station overloaded. Cross was badly injured in the ensuing explosion and taken to sick bay, delirious and drifting in and out of consciousness. While on a bed in sick bay [[Dr. Amelya Rez|Dr. Duv]] came to treat his wounds and, in his delirium, Cross reached a burned hand up and gently stroked her cheek before succumbing to unconsciousness. Cross only vaguely remembers the incident, and never mustered the courage to ask her about it.
 
==== [[USS Endeavour]] ====
In October of 2380 Cross accepted a posting aboard the ''[[USS Endeavour]]'' as Chief tactical officer, serving under Captain Amasov and the Endeavour's First Officer, [[Ranaan Ducote|Commander Ducote]]. His new responsibilities seemed daunting as he entered his new role, but Cross eventually came to enjoy his posting. He quickly found friends among the crew, specifically [[Kai Akoni]], the ship's new Chief security officer who had also just transferred aboard.
 
When the [[USS Endeavour]] came under attack from a Borg Cube near the Azure Nebula, Cross took part in the attempt to fight them off. The efforts of the bridge crew proved fruitless, however, and upon Captain Amasov’s orders, Lieutenant Cross abandoned ship. Cross ended up in an escape pod along with Ensign Laurel Okhala, Lieutenant Commander [[Blue Tiran]], Lieutenant J.G. Shar, Ensign Egon Julbi, and Lieutenant R’Rori. After several days adrift in the escape pod, they group was picked up by the Versant, and became prisoners of an alien race called the Savi.
 
====Prisoner of the [[Savi]]====
After being brought aboard the Versant, Cross and the other survivors of the Endeavour’s destruction, as well as members abducted from the USS Theurgy, were subjected to experiments and genetic modifications, which the Savi referred to as “correction”. This correction resulted in Cross being modified to a pure-blooded Vulcan, after which he was placed in a holding cell along with the other survivors of the [[USS Endeavour]] who had received corrections while await the next stage or the Savi’s process, which would involve their memories being wiped. Cross, who had already struggled with his emotions, found the increased emotional intensity of his new Vulcan biology overwhelming. Losing control, he ended up assaulting his former subordinate, [[Gideon Drake]], and would have killed the man had the Savi now transported the man to another holding cell.
 
Following a brief period in isolation, Cross was transported to a holographic holding pen along with the rest of the abductees, to be held until their memories could be wiped and they could be released. The Savi’s plan did not work out that way however, as the abductees staged a revolt. Having worked together and staged what amounted to a prison riot, the abductees managed to break free of their holding pen with the help of [[Blue Tiran]], who had previously escaped being recycled and had been at large in the ship. Tiran, who had enlisted the help of one of their Savi captors, Echtand, had found a safe haven for them in one of the Versant’s abandoned Maintenance Bay. Echtand, having faked the recycling of the entire group of abductees, transported them to the Maintenance Bays, providing them with food and infiltration suits to mask their bio-signs, to recover before fulfilling their end of the bargain Blue had struck with him.
 
While in the Maintenance Bay, Cross found himself sitting next to another [[USS Endeavour]] survivor, [[Blue Tiran]]. The Endeavour’s former Chief Engineer, exhausted from the days spent crawling through the Versant without food or water, fell asleep on Cross. Feeling awkward at the Human’s proximity yet not having the heart to wake her, Cross let her sleep, eventually falling asleep leaning against her as well. During the night Cross woke and managed to extricate himself from Tiran, heading off to find a place of relative solitude in the bay to meditate. His peace and meditation was brief, however, as he was disturbed by Khorin Douglas, the two exchanging words which quickly descended into a brawl, their second while aboard the Versant. After the fight had subsided, the two sat together for some time, the fight having burned off the anger they had both been feeling, Cross from his new Vulcan blood, Khorin from his Klingon.
 
Cross eventually returned to where Tiran slept, sitting next to her and finding himself in much the same position as before as the engineer snuggled back into her place, leaving Cross unable to move without waking her. The next morning found the two waking to a sense of embarrassment, though It proved to be the beginnings of a bond growing between the two lost souls.
 
Having eaten in the early hours and split into groups, each group assigned an objective by Echtand, Cross found himself transported to the Versant’s Machine Intelligence Labs to recover Thea, the USS Theurgy’s A.I., as well as Albert, Lt. Tiran’s cybernetic owl. The assault on the Machine Labs involved some heavy fighting, much of which proved tricky while adhering to Echtand’s demand that only the Savi Scions be killed, and that no Antecedents be harmed. The stun settings remained their only option, the kill settings on their weapons having been locked unless they were within proximity of a Scion. Despite the circumstances, the team managed to fight their way into the first of the Machine Labs to free the now upgraded Albert. In the next lab, they found Thea, as well as a Scion. During the fighting Lin Kae was killed, and Cross himself was injured while shoving Blue out of the way of Savi fire, the shot which had been meant for her taking his left arm off partway between the wrist and elbow. Cross managed to staunch the blood flow by heating a bulkhead with his phaser fire and shoving his mangled and bleeding arm against the hot metal, though the damage left him less able to fight effectively.
 
==== The [[Battle of the Apertures]]====
After freeing Thea, they were beamed to the bridge of the Versant along with the other assault teams, proceeding to take control of the Savi Dreadnought’s bridge. With Captian Ives in command of the Savi Dreadnought, they set course to rendezvous with the USS Theurgy, arriving to find the Theurgy engaged in battle with the Borg. With Cross having taken up position at the Versant’s tactical console, they engaged the Borg, coordinating their efforts with the Theurgy, USS Cayuga and multiple Klingon vessels. Cross unleashed the Versant’s devastating arsenal and, alongside the other ships and an impressive run by the Theurgy’s Lone Wolves through the heart of the Cube, the Borg were destroyed. The abductees were beamed aboard the Theurgy and made their escape, fleeing through and destroying the Apertures to prevent additional Borg forces from utilizing the gateways.
 
====[[USS Theurgy]]====
Once aboard the USS Theurgy, and having escaped through the Aperture to safety, Cross found himself on a strange ship which he had been told had turned traitor, surrounded by only a handful of survivors form the Endeavour among a crew of new faces. A meeting with Captain Ives, Commander Ducote, and Doctor Tyre informed him of the threat posed by the parasites which had infiltrated both Starfleet Command and the Federation, and Cross agreed to stay aboard the Theurgy. Having taken the Bridge Officer’s Test, Cross was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and assigned the position of Chief Tactical Officer aboard the USS Theurgy.
 
The evening of his promotion found Cross in sickbay to have his physical appearance restored to his former hybrid state, though he opted to retain his full Vulcan biology. The procedure, while successful, became rather uncomfortable following an… incident… with the Savi android V-Nine.


==Personality Profile==
==Personality Profile==

Revision as of 15:50, 2 August 2021

Cross-03.png
Personnel FileR-o4.png
Name:Cross
Rank:Lieutenant Commander
Position:Chief Tactical Officer
Species:Vulcan (Formerly Vulcan/Bajoran)
Age:30s
Gender:Male
Orientation:  Heterosexual
Birthplace:Cardassian Prison Camp
Height:6ft 1in / 1.85m
Weight:185lbs / 84kg
Hair:Shaven
Eye color:Pale Blue
Played by:Mark Strong
Writer:Formerly Fife
Interests
Music

Reading

Cooking

Gardening

Surfing

Holonovels
Education
2366-2371: Post-Internment Rehabilitation & Accelerated Education
2371-2374: Starfleet Academy
Service Record
2374-2376: Ensign, Junior Security Officer, USS Hood

2376-2377: Lieutenant Junior Grade, Security Armory Officer, USS Harbinger

2377-2380: Lieutenant, Tactical Officer, USS Harbinger

2380-2381: Lieutenant, Chief Tactical Officer, USS Endeavour

2381-2381: Prisoner, the Versant

2381-Pres: Lieutenant Commander, Chief Tactical Officer, USS Theurgy
Decorations
2374: Starfleet Academy Top 15% of Class Ribbon

2375: Dominion War Victory Medal

2377: Starfleet Medal of Commendation


Cross-01.png

Lieutenant Commander Cross served aboard the USS Endeavour as Chief Tactical Officer under Captain Amasov. During an attack by the Borg in 2381, Lt. Cross abandoned ship aboard an escape pod and, following the destruction of the Endeavour and several weeks adrift, was subsequently picked up with many other surviving crew by a Savi Precept ship named the Versant. As of March 2381, Cross served on the USS Theurgy, aiding in the opposition against the parasites that compromised Starfleet Command in the end of the 24th century.


Biography

Cross was the last of a dozen “experiments” resulting from the efforts of the Cardassian science team at a prison labor camp. The experiments were cleared by the Cardassian government with the goal to create a more efficient labor force or, better yet, a pliable and effective undercover operative. Cardassian were well known for their brainwashing techniques and believed it possible to thoroughly indoctrinate the resulting experiment into a zeal for doing the bidding of their Cardassian handlers. Though the camp was predominantly populated by Bajorans, there were non-Bajoran races to pull from, and not all the genetic samples were taken from present prisoners, as the scientists drew from races not present through stolen genetic samples, and then relying on Bajoran females to carry the “experiment” to term. Cross was the only Vulcan-Bajoran hybrid but counted among his “siblings,” a Betazoid-Bajoran, Klingon-Bajoran, Risian-Bajoran, Trill-Bajoran, Arbazan-Bajoran, Orion-Bajoran, Barzan-Bajoran, Eforsian-Bajorian, Haliian-Bajoran, Hekaran-Bajoran, and Zelonite-Bajoran.

They granted none of these experiments the comfort of a mother’s touch, however, for as soon as they were born the scientists removed them from their carriers and raised them within a controlled facility. Each experiment was assigned a number instead of a name, with Cross’s designation being VB23490916, for Vulcan mixed with Bajoran, and the year, month, and day of his birth. For short, most of the scientists referred to him as Cross 961, Cross being short for crossbreed. These hybrids all carried physical and physiological characteristics of both races, with Cross inheriting the Bajoran nasal and reproductive organ ridges, and the pointed ears, copper-based circulatory system, and increased strength from the Vulcan side. It was discovered, as Cross reached puberty, that he had also inherited a predisposition towards dwelling on the metaphysical, with an insatiable curiosity, and an acute perception of situations and people that set him more than a few steps ahead of most of his siblings when they were put through intelligence tests—the Cardassian scientists were left to wonder which side he inherited which trait from and never came to a resolute agreement. He did not, however, develop the telepathic abilities inherent to Vulcans, and for this, the Cardassian scientists were keenly disappointed. They did run Cross through a series of tests involving drugs, neural stimulants, and other more invasive procedures to try and trigger any latent telepathy. However, after many months of testing without results, the Cardassians gave up the line of testing and instead focused on honing Cross’s other traits.

Cross and his siblings were never coddled or led to believe they were loved, though they never exactly tortured either. They were treated as what they were, experiments, and were consistently tested, challenged, prodded, and observed with no hint of privacy in the scientific efforts to discover their traits and to hone these traits for either a labor force or an operative force. Some of his elder “siblings” responded well to the Cardassian brainwashing and trait challenges and, once they were deemed ready by the scientists, these “siblings” were transferred into the care of the Obsidian Order. A few of his “siblings” did not respond well and were either euthanized or forced into the labor work details. By the time Cross was twenty, the only sibling who remained with him among the scientists was his “sister” the Barzan-Bajoran, BaB23490916. BaB, as she was called by Cross, had been born only a few hours before him and much out of the neglect of the scientists to prevent it, Cross and BaB formed a true bond of kinship with one another.

The only other individual whom Cross could consider as “kind” to either him or BaB was one of the Cardassian lab guards. This guard only came on shift at night after the scientists retired to their sleeping quarters, sneaking kanar in with him in a hidden flask. After making his first official round to keep up appearance’s sake, the guard would proceed to get drunk. It was a few months into his posting at the lab that, while drunk, the guard released Cross and Bab from their sealed quarters. Neither of them had known what to expect on that first night. When nothing happened except some drunken rough-handling and the forced recitation of raunchy Cardassian phrases, which the guard found absolutely hilarious to hear Cross and BaB say before he passed out, Cross and BaB sat in a confused state near his snoring body until near morning. When they heard the sound of the scientists preparing to enter the lab, they quickly woke the guard before going back into their quarters.

Perhaps it was out of gratitude for making sure he hadn’t been caught, or perhaps he had a soft spot for the hybrids, for whatever unknown reason the guard created a routine from that night forward. After his first round, he would get buzzed, release Cross and Bab, then after teaching Cross and BaB a number of impolite songs, phrases, or stories in his inebriated state, would pass out. This gave BaB and Cross the opportunity to not only try the syrupy liquid which rendered their “friend” so riotous but also to run around the lab without restrictions. Ever after his liberation, Cross would continue to drink kanar as, during this brief period of almost joy in his youth, he’d come to enjoy the taste of the drink and associated it with some of his only fond memories of the camp.

Of course, the drink also brought with it bitter memories as well. For it was this very same guard who’d been killed protecting Cross and BaB in the prisoner uprising that coincided with the Federation offensive that led to the camp’s liberation. He’d only been doing his duty, holding off the prisoners seeking to invade the lab and destroy anything the scientists had dabbled with, and Cross believed that the man may have also truly desired to protect himself and BaB from the prisoners, not knowing if their “liberators” would accept them as sentient entities or destroy them as mere experiments. Neither Cross nor BaB had known what sort of reception they would have either, raised as they were in a completely secure lab facility with only a bare concept of what life was like outside in the camp. Thus, it was entirely understandable that BaB, after having witnessed the death of the only other person to have shown her some semblance of kindness outside of Cross, would pick up the Cardassian’s weapon and return fire upon the attacking prisoners. She would not let these attackers kill her brother the way they’d killed her friend. By the time Starfleet officers pushed their way through the throng of prisoners into the lab, BaB lay dead upon the corpse of the Cardassian guard, and Cross was unconscious next to her after having been hit in the head by one of the prisoner’s when he’d tried to retrieve BaB’s fallen weapon.

In studying the Cardassian scientist’s notes, Starfleet was able to note which of Cross’s “siblings” has successfully entered the Obsidian Order and quickly alerted the governments of those races that could prove victim to infiltration. Aside from the bump on his head and a whole of conflicted emotions, Cross was found to be in good health by the medical officers who examined him post-liberation. He dropped the “961” designation after observing how the Starfleet medical officer, Lt. Duncan MacDonald, in charge of his rehabilitation, referred to himself.

Yet leery of Bajorans so soon after his “liberation,” Cross accompanied MacDonald to a Starfleet research facility in Scotland. It was here where he met a Vulcan medical officer, K’Shem, who assisted Cross in developing greater emotional stability and control. After living so many years without emotional suppression, Cross was uninterested in purging them entirely, or living with them as repressed the average Vulcan. So, while he learned vital meditation techniques, he rejected K’Shem’s offers for anything further, including her offer to trace his Vulcan DNA to any living relations. He had likewise rejected MacDonald’s similar offer to discover any living Bajoran relations. Cross understood his identity as the result of an experiment and not someone’s child and did not believe it necessary to create mental or emotional confusion for either side of his heritage in tracking them down.

It was through MacDonald’s and K’Shem’s consistent investment of time and consideration, as well as the mediation and “salvation” found through the Starfleet officers who’d rescued him from potential death at the hands of the prisoners, that Cross chose to pursue a career in Starfleet. Once his rehabilitation program concluded in 2371, Cross entered Starfleet Academy. He excelled in his studies yet initially struggled with the group dynamics and social life that accompany enrollment. It took nearly all three years of his time at the Academy for Cross to find his stride in group gatherings. He graduated in the top 15% of his class in 2374 and received as a graduation gift from MacDonald two surgical steel earrings to wear in his right ear in honor to his Bajoran heritage and from K’Shem he received an IDIC medallion to pay homage to his Vulcan ancestry. To present, these items are Cross’ most prized possessions and are the only items he ever made effort to retrieve and save when having to transfer or beat a hasty retreat.

His first posting was aboard the USS Hood in 2374 where he served as a junior security officer and his first taste of action was in taking part in Operation Return, which ended with the Dominion forces recapturing Deep Space 9. He was aboard the Hood when it took part in the First Battle of Chin’toka. He continued to serve with distinction aboard this vessel until he was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and transferred to the USS Harbinger in 2376. Serving under Captain Declan Vasser in the tactical department as an armory officer, Cross was in charge of the maintenance, issue, and storage of the ship’s small arms stores. Though this posting was his first served during a time of peace, that did not stop Cross from becoming an expert with small arms.

It was also during this posting that, for the first time in his career, Cross felt at ease enough with himself and the posting to relax his guard enough to form friendships. With MacDonald and K’Shem, he’d felt respect and almost paternal affection, and with BaB it had likewise been different as that bond had been strong enough to denote blood ties. At the Academy, Cross had been so preoccupied with his studies that he’d come across as cold and transactional in his relationships, and that tendency had not worn off during his wartime posting on the Hood. The first friend he made on the Harbinger, over a shared appreciation for good scotch, was the bartender Rory Callahan. He also developed a warm friendship with the ship’s counselor, Lieutenant Hayden O’Connor. And it was through their incessant teasing, good-natured needling, comradery, and compassion, that Cross formed a genuine interest in forming friendships despite the emotional risks involved. It was also through Callahan and O’Connor that Cross discovered he had a sense of humor, or so they proclaimed he did, as well as a subtle—and therefore dangerous as O’Connor described—sense of mischief.

In 2377, Cross was injured during an evacuation mission. Sent to evacuate a Federation colony near the Klingon neutral zone, the Harbinger escort group to the beam-out site came under fire from Klingon forces from two rogue Klingon ships, remnants of the 2376 coup against Chancellor Martok who were attempting to destabilize Klingon relations with the Federation. Though injured, Cross continued the escort mission and led a team back to extract another group of colonists held hostage by the Klingons. He was injured again in the ensuing firefight and succumbed to the blood loss only after successfully getting the second group rescued and back to the extraction site. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer, T’Panu, was the main force behind his recovery and though Cross had struggled to form a friendship with the Vulcan prior to this incident, he was able to do so soon after, with their connection remaining until her transfer later that year. For his actions on the evacuation mission, Cross received the Starfleet Medal of Commendation and was promoted to Lieutenant and was reassigned to the bridge as a tactical officer.

A new transfer to the Harbinger in 2378 brought a new, and necessary, challenge to Cross. Lieutenant Aisha S’Iti, the Chief CONN Officer, was the first Cardassian he’d had to work with since his liberation, and seeing her every day on the bridge brought tumultuous emotions ranging from rage to bitterness to irrational fear to grief. One lesson Cross had taken from K’Shem that he completely agreed with, though not through the same method as K’Shem had suggested, was that of not allowing emotions to control him. Therefore, while Cross never made an effort to befriend the Cardassian woman, he learned to be cordial with her, able to do this only after he used his meditation time as a place to mentally “confront” her and himself in connection to his emotions.

A second transfer in 2378 also brought an unexpected challenge to Cross, and which also played havoc with his emotions though for entirely different reasons. The Trill doctor, Amelya Duv, was his first foray into the realm of romance and for two years following her transfer to the Harbinger Cross struggled with his physiological response and his communication abilities whenever he was near her. Though encouraged by Callahan and O’Connor to confess his feelings for the Doctor, he never did. Though, after a severe injury rendered him delirious and drifting in and out of consciousness he affectionately stroked her cheek, it was entirely possible that she’d guessed the nature of his feelings towards her.

Cross was never given the chance to explain his actions to her, or to ask her opinion on the concept, as soon after his recovery Cross accepted a posting aboard the USS Endeavour as Chief tactical officer serving under Captain Amasov and the Endeavour's First Officer, Commander Ducote. He quickly adapted to his new responsibilities and also, far more rapidly than when he’d first arrived on the Harbinger, Cross made friends among the crew, specifically Kai Akoni, the ship's new Chief security officer who had also just transferred aboard. His time aboard the Endeavour came to an abrupt end when they came under attack from a Borg Cube near the Azure Nebula. Though they provided a valiant fight against the Borg, upon Captain Amasov’s orders, Cross and the remaining crew alive abandoned ship. Cross ended up in an escape pod along with Ensign Laurel Okhala, Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran, Lieutenant J.G. Shar, Ensign Egon Julbi, and Lieutenant R’Rori. After several days adrift in the escape pod, they group was picked up by the Versant, and became prisoners of an alien race called the Savi.

For a second time in his life, Cross became an experiment as the Savi subjected him and other Endeavour survivors, and abducted members of the USS Theurgy, to “correctional” experimentation. These corrections rendered Cross a full-blooded Vulcan, removing all Bajoran traits, as well as removing his thus far developed emotional control as a hybrid. After his corrections were completed, Cross joined other “corrected” survivors in a holding cell. It was here where he lost control for the first time as a pure-blood and assaulted his former subordinate, Gideon Drake. He would have killed Drake had the Savi not transported the man to another holding cell. Cross was forced into isolation after this, during which time he sought to regain his emotional control before he was abruptly transported to a holographic holding pen along with the rest of the abductees.

The Savi would have been better off not to have told the prisoners their reason for holding them in this pen, to be held until their memories could be wiped and they could be released. Once the prisoners learned of this, they rebelled. Working together they staged a prison riot and broke free with the help of Blue Tiran, who had previously escaped being recycled and had been at large in the ship. Tiran, who had enlisted the help of one of their Savi captors, Echtand, found a haven for them in one of the Versant’s abandoned maintenance bays. Echtand, having faked the recycling of the entire group of abductees, transported them to the maintenance bay where he then provided them with food and infiltration suits to mask their bio-signs.

The maintenance bay, though safe for the time being, was far from comfortable and did not allow privacy or space for any of the survivors. The Endeavour’s former Chief Engineer, exhausted from the days spent crawling through the Versant without food or water, quickly fell asleep on Cross once all was settled. Feeling awkward at the Human’s proximity, a new experience for Cross regardless of race, yet not having the heart to wake her, Cross let her sleep, eventually falling asleep as well. During the night Cross woke and managed to extricate himself from Tiran, heading off to find a place of relative solitude in the bay to meditate. His peace and meditation was brief, however, as he was disturbed by Khorin Douglas. The interruption resulted in his second altercation while aboard the Versant, yet after the fight had subsided, the two sat together realizing the fight had burned off the anger they had both been feeling, Cross from his new Vulcan blood, Khorin from his Klingon.

Echtand reappeared in their hidden lives when he assigned groups of survivors different objectives. Cross was assigned the objective to retrieve Thea, the USS Theurgy’s A.I., as well as Albert, Lt. Tiran’s cybernetic owl. Both of these were kept in the machine labs. The heist proved tricky as Echtand demanded that only the Savi Scions be killed and that no Antecedents be harmed. Despite these restraining parameters, Cross’ team managed to fight their way into the first of the machine labs to free the now upgraded Albert. In the next lab, they found Thea, as well as a Scion. During the fighting Lin Kae was killed and Cross was injured while shoving Blue out of the way of Savi fire. The shot which had been meant for her took his left arm off partway between the wrist and elbow. Cross staunched the blood flow by heating a bulkhead with his phaser fire and shoving his mangled and bleeding arm against the hot metal, though the damage left him less able to fight effectively.

After freeing Thea, they were beamed to the bridge of the Versant along with the other assault teams and proceeded to take control of the Savi Dreadnought’s bridge. With Captain Ives in command, they set course to rendezvous with the USS Theurgy, arriving to find the Theurgy engaged in battle with the Borg. With Cross having taken up position at the Versant’s tactical console, they engaged the Borg, coordinating their efforts with the Theurgy, USS Cayuga and multiple Klingon vessels. Cross unleashed the Versant’s devastating arsenal and, alongside the other ships and an impressive run by the Theurgy’s Lone Wolves through the heart of the Cube, the Borg were destroyed. The abductees were beamed aboard the Theurgy and made their escape, fleeing through and destroying the Apertures to prevent additional Borg forces from utilizing the gateways.

Once aboard the USS Theurgy, Cross found himself on a strange ship surrounded by only a handful of survivors from the Endeavour among a crew of new faces. A meeting with Captain Ives, Commander Ducote, and Doctor Tyre informed him of the threat posed by the parasites which had infiltrated both Starfleet Command and the Federation, and Cross agreed to stay aboard the Theurgy. Having taken the Bridge Officer’s Test, Cross was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and assigned the position of Chief Tactical Officer.

Personality Profile

Cross-02.png

Cross’ upbringing in a Cardassian prison camp was anything but a happy childhood, and had left him emotionally closed off for the most part. His post-internment rehabilitation, as well as the time spent with Lt. MacDonald and K’Shem, helped him learn to function in society, to regulate his emotions, and to deal with the anger that had been a problem throughout his life. Trust, however, did not come so easily to Cross.

Since being liberated by Starfleet, Cross had felt a deep desire to serve in Starfleet and to be the embodiment of the hope and good that he saw in the Starfleet officers that day.

Cross had never been able to forgive the Cardassians for the treatment he received at their hands. He also had not had positive dealings with the Vulcans (Aside from K’Shem) who tended to view him in a negative light due to his lack of emotional mastery and his young years by Vulcan standards.

Cross had no sense of belonging among Bajorans or Vulcans, and did not follow the customs of either species. He tended to feel more at home among humans, as he spent the years immediately following his liberation among them on Earth.

Cross had a strong sense of loyalty, arising from the debt he felt he owed to Starfleet for his freedom. Once his loyalty was earned, he would stand by you until the end. That being said, his respect was hard to earn. His harsh life in the prison camp had left him feeling that most people play the victim without cause, and he tended to view such behavior harshly.

Cross also had a kind streak in him, and genuinely cared for others. He also had a strict sense of right and wrong. He would fight tooth and nail, using whatever means, and would gladly have put himself in harms way to protect his friends, comrades, and the innocent.

Cross’ physical manner tended to display a somewhat defensive nature. Cross often held himself rigidly, his arms crossed, giving off the impression of being closed off. He had a habit of not blinking enough, or blinking with his Vulcan second eyelids, giving the impression that he was boring into people with his stare.

Cross had difficulty making friends, and had trouble with intimate relationships due to a reluctance to “let people in”.

Cross’ interests were few, as he had spent the first half of his life without the luxury of hobbies. He enjoyed music (mostly Classical, Opera and Reggae from Earth’s 20th century), Cooking (He ate little, strictly vegetarian, but enjoyed experiencing different flavors.) and gardening (growing something beautiful was a great pleasure for him after experiencing so much cruelty and death in the prison camps.).

Physical Profile

Cross was a humanoid male whose appearance was a blending of his Bajoran and Vulcan parentage. He had pale skin, piercing pale blue eyes, and kept his head and face shaven. He stood 6’1” tall, and was lean and muscular. Cross wore two plain steel hoop earrings in his right earlobe, gifts from the two men who aided him in his rehabilitation and education. These earrings were treasured gifts, which Cross never removed.

From what could be understood of his genetic makeup by Starfleet medical, he was expected to have the longevity on par with his Vulcan heritage, but had developed mentally and physically more quickly, most likely due to his Bajoran genetics.

Appearances

S01E05 Courage is Fear: Part One

Chapter Two


S01E05 Courage is Fear: Part Two

Prologue

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Epilogue


Aldea Prime Anthology


S02E01: Advent of War

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 06


Director's Cut

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