Alessia Garcia (KIA)

Personnel File
Name:	Alessia García
Rank:	Lieutenant Junior Grade
Position:	Flight Leader, White Wolves Squadron
Callsign:	Angel
Species:	Human
Age:	29
Gender:	Female
Orientation:	Unknown
Birthplace:	Barcelona, Spain, Earth
Height:	5'5"
Weight:	132 lbs.
Hair:	Black
Eye color:	Brown
Played by:	Michelle Rodríguez
Writer:	Formerly 1) Dam025 2) Even Angels Cry 3) Triton
Interests
Piloting Socializing Fitness Weightlifting 20th/21st Century Earth Music Rock/mountain climbing Snowboarding Wingsuit Flying Hand-to-hand Combat (Capoeira, Kickboxing, Alien Martial Arts) Collecting Miniature Starships Racing Surfing/Swimming Visiting Planets in Holodeck Soccer
Education
2369-2373: Starfleet Academy, CONN as a major with Security/Tactical as minors 2375-2377: Tactical CONN Academy. Selected for the Valkyrie program, later Valravn.
Service Record
2373-2375: Rank of Ensign aboard the USS Hornet, deployment of Peregrine-class fighters & Hopper Transports 2376-2378: Assigned aboard the Assigned aboard the USS Hiroshima as a fighter pilot, piloting Peregrine Fighters. 2378-2380: Assigned aboard USS Kusanagi as a fighter pilot, piloting Valkyrie Fighters. Promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. 2380-2381: Chosen to test-pilot a new class of fighters in a classified project called the Valravn Project, based at Luna Shipyards 2381-Present: Valravn Project commissioned to the USS Orcus, became a Flight Leader in the White Wolves Squadron.
Decorations
Unit Citation Commendation for Bravery Purple Heart

Alessia Garcia was a Fighter Pilot on the USS Orcus. After the Battle of Starbase 84, where she defected to the Theurgy, Garcia aided in the opposition against the parasites that compromised Starfleet Command in the end of the 24^th century.

Biography

Early life

Alessia García was born in November 2351, to Alberto García, a Starfleet fighter pilot stationed at Starbase 34 and Anna Marie García, a security officer aboard the nebula-class starship USS Roanoke. Her parents dated for many years despite the long-distance situation that they often found themselves in. They first met when the Roanoke was docked at Starbase 34 for routine re-supply and their friendship grew from there until they eventually got married. When Anna Marie became pregnant shortly thereafter, the pair was overjoyed at the prospect of a family, but they were also concerned. Anna Marie was allowed to transfer temporarily to Starbase 34. It was there that the newlywed couple had their first child, a son named Jonas.

The family remained at Starbase 34 for another six years before they made the decision to move back to Earth and take teaching jobs. Once their decision was approved by Starfleet, the family made the long trip home to Earth and picked Barcelona, Spain as their new permanent residence. By the time Jonas was eight years old Anna Marie announced that she was pregnant once more, and this time they were expecting a daughter. They named her Alessia.

Alessia started getting into trouble at a young age, but it wasn't intentional. She carried the stigma of being a Starfleet Brat, and even though the most of her classmates thought that was cool, there were a few who hated her for it. Thankfully, her older brother Jonas walked her to and from school every day which helped keep the bullies away, but she had no one to protect her during classes. But Alessia was tough. Her parents had raised her to be strong and to stand up for herself, so it was easy for her to play the 'tough Starfleet girl' card when she needed to. Whether it was a belssing or a curse, that attitude stuck with her and ended up being her number one defense mechanism. When things got rough, Alessia would switch to fighter mode, and that always led to trouble.

The one thing Alessia never had to worry about was her brother Jonas. He was always there for her, sometimes to bail her out of sticky situations, other times just to have her back. He was 8 when Alessia was born, and she was 12 when he graduated high school and made his parents proud by following in their footsteps. He entered Starfleet Academy, the following semester and Alessia had never felt so alone. Her rock had left, so she did the only thing she knew: she made herself tough. The last words Jonas spoke to her before shipping off to the Academy were words of advice, and when Alessia feels down or like she's lost her way, she reflects on them: "Always follow your heart, no matter where it takes you, even if you are unsure about the path. Your heart will never lead you astray."

Starfleet Academy

When she graduated from secondary school, Alessia applied and successfully joined Starfleet Academy like her brother before her. The first year was a little tough adapting to a new environment, but her coursework was good. Alessia did struggle with some technical and medical things, holding her back a little. She did well in her physicality tests though and above all else, Alessia knew that this was where she wanted to be. She wanted to follow in her father's and brother's footsteps and she was determined to become a pilot. She decided that she would take CONN as a major with Security/Tactical as her minor.

In 2370, during her second year at the Academy, tragedy struck. While Alessia was completing her second Semester, she got word from her brother Jonas. He had been offered a promotion and was transferred to the USS Odyssey earlier that year. Some years earlier, he while out on Deployment in the Bajor sector, he had married a Bajoran woman and had started a family. In his last message, he described the Bajorans as a race of Angels, and that he considered it his duty to help them establish their first colony in the Gamma Quadrant, an accomplishment to their resilience and renewed hope. It was to be a peaceful mission after tense months along the Federation-Cardassian border. In his last message, Jonas was describing the Wormhole and the flights to and from it.

Alessia had heard about the battle on the news feeds, but she refused to believe Jonas' squadron was involved until her parents called to tell her. The moment she heard her mother's labored breathing, she knew. The hardest part was remembering their last shared moments: the hug and words of advice when he was dropped off at the Academy, the shared joy when the family dropped him off at the shipyard for his first assignment as a Cadet, the words spoken between them on their video call just hours before he died.

"It's like we're Angels, Alessia. That's the only way I can describe the feeling. You'll know it too, soon enough. And don't worry, I'll have the war won before you even-" And then the sirens blared and he signed off. "Well, looks like I'm off to dance with the Angels, Chica. Speak again soon." Those were the last words he'd said to her, the last words he'd ever say to her. The USS Odyssey was destroyed with all hands aboard within hours of that transmission. Jonas, her rock, her fortress, her best friend, her brother, was added to a list that day. To them, he was just a name among countless others; an honorable death in a time of war and sorrow. But to her, he was everything.

The funeral was bigger than she expected. Many people, most of which she didn't know, came out to support the fallen soldier and show their solidarity for Alessia's family. Jonas' commendations and awards from his brief service were given to his Bajoran wife and his young daughter, and the entire family received condolences on their loss. It was a black day of mourning for Alessia, and one that she burried deep within her memories.

After Jonas' death, Alessia figured she may as well fill the hole with schoolwork. It was the only thing she did for the remainder of the semester, and she threw herself into it full-throttle. She ended the semester with straight A's in every course and top marks from her flight training instructors, but with a severe lack of friends and no closer to feeling whole again.

So, in an effort to find a way to stop hurting, Alessia spent her 21st year making new friends while she studied CONN over Mars; the kind of friends one would find at a bar or a club who party all night and don't stop for days. Sadly, her parents were still learning how to cope with their own grief, so aside from commenting that they didn't like her friends, they didn't do anything about it. And when Alessia returned to Earth, even though her new friends didn't follow her, the new party attitude did. Drinking had never been a problem before, but that was because Alessia didn't ever drink much. She needed her fast reflexes and quick thinking in case things went sour fast, and she always thought that adding alcohol would muddle her head. But Party Alessia was all about drinking. It was innocent enough at first, just a few drinks on the weekends. But a few drinks on the weekends turned into a few drinks every day of the weekend, which became a few drinks every day. As the semester continued, it got worse until she was drinking from the moment she woke up until the moment she went to bed.

Alessia was known to be a tough tomboy around campus and over Mars, but the alcohol made her mean. She began picking fights with classmates at random and purposely trying to harm those around her. Her drunkenness also resulted in her worst semester at the Academy when she returned from Mars. While outside, the Utopia Planitia shipyards were rushing new ships into production in response to the destruction of the USS Odyssey. Halfway through the semester, she was flunking everything, but her teachers saw her behavior for what it was: a cry for help. Several of her teachers banded together with her roommate and staged an intervention where Alessia was given a choice: She would get free tutoring from the professors to raise her grades enough so that she would pass the semester if she agreed to see a counselor regularly for the entirety of the following semester and stop drinking (AA was offered to her as an option, or a 12-step program if it wasn't enough), OR she could continue down her spiraling path of self harm and addiction while she flunked out of the Academy.

Ultimately it all it boiled down to was Alessia Garcia's refusal to disappoint Jonas, even though he was dead. He had been so proud when she got into the Academy and he'd been there for her every step of the way, her entire life. Jonas had promised to take her on a celebratory flight once she graduated, so she had to finish what she started. Annoyed and out of options, Alessia agreed to clean up her act, see a counselor, and accept the good graces of her professors. The sessions were arduous at first, but her therapist was patient and eventually Alessia opened up about her life, her dreams, her regrets and her fears. She explained that she was the most upset with the prospect of not graduating in time to get out there and get revenge for her brother's death. So instead of dwelling on her rage, she channeled it into weight-lifting and capoeira training. By the time the semester ended, Alessia had pulled her grades up from the F's that they were to C's for a while and back to A's.

Alessia poured all her efforts into becoming physically stronger and intellectually smarter than her peers in hopes of qualifying for a posting on a frontline starship, but it wasn't until her final year that she made the cut. When her name was announced at Graduation, she had a lot of help along the way, but she had finally graduated. Her whole family, including her sister-in-law and niece, came to the Graduation and the celebration afterwards. It was a joyous occasion that was only marred by one sad thought: Jonas wasn't there. At that moment, a pair of jets flew overhead, leaving wispy smoke trails in their wakes and Alessia had to laugh to choke back her tears. Yes he was, in spirit, and he was so proud of her. She adopted her eventual callsign, Angel then and there.

Active Service

The Dominion War

Alessia's first assignment came in the wake of the USS Hornet, a retrofit Galaxy-class carrier that saw extensive use during the Dominion War. Sister Ship of the famed USS Enterprise-D, the Hornet was built around the same time as the USS Odyssey, and Alessia took serving aboard her Brother's ship class as a blessing in disguise. She'd met and befriended the Captain Zaarin ch'Zhan, XO Saeed Al'Fadil, And Chief Tactical Officer, Leon Marquez, himself also a former pilot from a generation before. Marquez had studied the First contact engagement with the Jem'Hadar, based on scans from the surviving vessels of the engagement and with his fellow officers worked night and day forming countermeasure maneuvers and attack patterns to counter Jem'Hadar kamikaze tactics. The Hornet was assigned to the Fifth Fleet, which was to see duty on the front lines among Andorian and Vulcan space.

It was aboard the USS Hornet where Alessia seemed to have finally found the atmosphere to begin to foster trust and friendship among her fellow crewmates and was somewhat surprised when she befriended the ship's CTO, and even fell into a romantic relationship with him, which barely outlived the war.

In addition to Operation Return, The USS Hornet saw combat in most engagements of the war as one of the Fifth Fleet's Galaxy-Wing squadrons, but like many allied ships spent most of the early months of the war either retreating or supporting evacuations and rescues of vulnerable planets. Alessia saw ground combat as a Hopper transport pilot when the Dominion employed transport inhibitor fields to prevent Starfleet or the Klingon Empire from landing troops or rescuing personnel.

Alessia had been shot down on one occasion with a team of Starfleet Security officers and the ship's CTO during one particularly bloody battle, HT-997. The Hornet and its Galaxy Wing eventually landed reinforcements, but Garcia, her shipmates and her Commander remained until the Hornet could spare an airstrike or phaser bombardment that would cut off the Jem'Hadar advantage of overwhelming numbers and transporter inhibitors. Alessia and her unit were commended for this action, grateful and proud that her training and discipline had saved her life and those of her crew, with or without her phaser, of which she was now a crack shot with.

While even a Klingon General had even called the defense of HT-997 a 'modern Thermopylae', the USS Hornet had lost a large fraction of its crew and all but a few escort frigates which were towed back to Starbase 375. Morale was very low, but Alessia kept to her virtues and resisted the temptation to fall to alcoholism, despite the many benefits of synthehol. However, one instance almost broke that rule: when the Romulans declared war on the Dominion, it was the first major morale boost since the hard-fought battle to retake Deep Space Nine, which steadily shifted the balance of power in the quadrant. In retrospect, HT-997, or 'Tranquility Valley' as it came to be known, was a decoy, a feint for the Dominion's real goal, Betazed.

Elements of the Fifth fleet were hastily summoned in Starfleet's bid to Liberate Betazed, but the arrival of the Romulans joining the war and the offer of a joint-military task force seemed to offer a unique perspective to go on the offensive, and through this opportunity, Alessia was finally given the chance to live the dream she'd wanted: her first fighter as a pilot (She had been a Co-pilot during Operation Return), which she immaculately took care of for the duration of the war. Once again, Alessia's old competitive habits followed her, and she took a particularly efficient and effective method of flying sorties against the Dominion and their allies on skirmishes and combat engagements, countering their own swarm tactics and ambushes. When the Romulan Empire joined the war as an ally of the Federation, Alessia flew alongside the Empire's own finest fighter pilots and learned how to fly alongside them. In combat, Alessia was always passionate in a dogfight but patient and clear-headed. She would bide her time and hit when least expected to the fullest effect her fighter could deliver.

By the final battle of the war, Alessia had racked up enough kills to be considered a multiple ace, but Alessia took only a squadron-glory outlook of the notches under her belt. No number of confirmed Jem'Hadar, Cardassian or later on, Breen kills would bring Jonas back, and once this war was over, she was going to live his dream for her family and was going to consider a family for herself when she was done. All of this thus far had been "Ad Astra per Aspera" the long road to the stars.

After the war, Alessia spent two weeks on much-needed shore leave back home in Spain with her new friends, crewmates and family, even making plans for her future in an era of hard-fought, well-earned peace before hearing of the stunning news learning that Admiral Ross had decided to break apart the crew of the USS Hornet, and that virtually all of her friends and people she cared about were to be reassigned to exploration in the spirit of post-war peace with Romulus. Despite the invitation, that wasn't Alessia's path. She returned to Starfleet Academy where she was invited to join the Valkyrie program.

Post-War Education and Service

Valkyrie

Alessia's first post-war assignment came in 2376, in the form of the USS Hiroshima, an aging Ambassador-class Carrier that also saw service during the Dominion War. Considering she was selected to be part of the fighter project to pilot the new generation of Valkyrie warp fighters, it was surprising when she found out that her first bird would be a Peregrine-fighter instead. This disappointed her to no end, especially considering it was this was the same class of fighter that she flew during the war, but her impressive record had impressed her instructors. For her simulated Dogfight, she held her own against the newer generation of fighter.

Her tour on the ship did not bring up anything out of the ordinary. The vessel was mostly patrolling near the Cardassian borders, which meant Alessia spent most of her time on patrol's and dealing with raiders. During her short time on the USS Hiroshima, the young Spanish woman came to trust and respect the aging fighter, understanding how the small craft was pivotal to the war. To her, they weren't as modern as a Valkyrie but they were robust and reliable fighters. After spending a year aboard, news came from Starfleet that the USS Hiroshima was slated for decommissioning and for many of the pilots and crew, it meant reassignment to a new posting.

For Alessia, the new posting came in the form of an Akira-class warship, the USS Kusanagi. The 'Akira'-class ship was renowned for its performance as a frontline warship and as a carrier for fleet operations and Alessia was excited at the prospect of serving on such as vessel. Especially after seeing that she would be piloting one of the Mark II Valkyries. The USS Kusanagi was tasked with operating within and around areas of interest along the Cardassian border, in areas where tensions and attacks were more common than what she had previously seen. But as it always happens, the action along the border that the Kusanagi patrolled eventually quieted and Alessia was left to deal only with patrols, raider attacks, escort duties and responding to attacks by the occasional "True Way" Cardassian extremist group. It appeared that not everyone liked the outcome at the battle of Cardassia.

The Garcia Maneuver

In the early part of 2380, the Kusanagi received a distress call from a Federation freighter that was under attack. However, it was not clear who was attacking the vessel in question. With no time to lose, the beleaguered vessel set an intercept course for the Kusanagi. As it turned out, that was the right idea. The captain of the Kusanagi took his own precautions and ordered his Valkyrie's to launch. But just as the Kusanagi dropped out of warp and the Valk's were launching, Cardassian's appeared! Their warships had been hiding and waiting for the right moment to launch their ambush attack. The Valkyrie fighters left the bay and found themselves effectively in a war-zone. The scattered shots of the Cardassian ships weren't overly damaging to the Valkyrie's but they had the effect of messing with the fighter's sensors and dampeners. Alessia was now stuck with manual targeting and she was flying much slower than she should have been. With all the Valkyrie's being affected, it was only a matter of time before the Cardassian warship behind this ambush caught up to the escaping freighter.

During the fight, Alessia came up with a crazy idea to break through the Cardassian line and make a run to protect the freighter. She had read about a particular maneuver and while she'd only ever done it in holo-practice, she figured it was her best shot. She flew towards the Cardassian ships, diving between them and using their momentum to propel her own fighter forward. At the apex of her borrowed velocity, Alessia activated her wrap drive and torpedoed forward. In the next moment, she dropped out of warp with her weapons locked onto the warship and her fighter strategically positioned in two places, one near the bow or the freighter and one near the stern. Everyone on the battlefield saw two fighters in that instant, and the resulting confusion turned the tide of the firefight.

Alessia then used that confusion to her advantage and closed the gap between her Valkyrie and the Cardassian warship. She knew that on that freighter was someone's mom or dad or sister or brother and she refused to let them die. She used every trick she knew, and even a few she didn't, to get within the shields of the warship. It had the weapons advantage, but she had the speed advantage. Even so, she had to destroy their weapons array or it would be "lights out" for her, that freighter, and likely the rest of the Valkyries too! She must have emptied her entire arsenal against the warship, when she finally hit their weapons array. It wasn't destroyed, but it was now heavily damaged, enough so that the warship broke off it's attack and began to retreat. The remaining Cardassian vessels also began retreating and Alessia was convinced for a brief moment that it was all due to her efforts! In the following seconds, however, her sensors alterted her to the presence of another Federation ship, the Defiant-class vessel USS Chester.

Due to her valiant and selfless efforts in the fight, Alessia was commended for her actions and promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. During the latter part of 2380, and possibly due to her commendations and skill with both the Peregrine Fighter and the Valkyrie Mk II, Alessia was assigned to Luna Shipyards to partake in the Valravn Project: a highly-classified, secret fighter project. Although not overly keen on leaving her Kusanagi family, including wingmates from the Hornet, the Spanish woman took to the project with an open mind. This was yet a new toy she could play with, test and operate, and if it was anything like the Valkyrie, she would love it.

The USS Theurgy

When the news came that the USS Theurgy had defected, it sunk her heart and made her think of what could possibly make a whole ship and crew do such an act. Then orders came to Luna Shipyards that the twenty prototype Valravn fighters were needed to be put into field duty since the Theurgy's Mk III Valkyries were better than what the rest of Task Force Archeron had in terms of superiority fighters. So, the White Wolves Squadron ceased to be test pilots and were instead commissioned to the USS Orcus, which was supposed to join Task Force Archeron and hunt down the Theurgy.

In late February of 2381, the USS Orcus found the Task Force adrift, orbiting Theta Eridani IV without means of communication or propulsion. They had been affected by a computer virus, and it was only with the help of the USS Orcus "clean" software that the entire task force could exit orbit and take up the hunt again. Task Force Archeron immediately set a course towards Starbase 84 - meaning to intercept the Theurgy. During the battle, Alessia and her squadmates had defected when they learned the truth about the Parasite takeover of Starfleet Command. Alessia swore to protect and uphold the Federation from all threats, foreign and within and joined Theurgy and its squadron to continue to achieve this goal, knowing full well she would be branded a criminal for this.

Personality profile

Alessia is an exceedingly spirited woman. She is also quite resourceful when in the cockpit because of her ability to think both outside the box and on her feet. She can be boisterous and definitely enjoys a good party with good music, but she abstains from drinking alcohol because of her history with it at the Academy. Alessia is outgoing, approachable and loves the freedom of the pilot's life. Her brother was a major factor in her career choice, following her family’s tradition of being pilots within Starfleet.

She's been told that she's as stubborn as a Tellarite and sometimes she allows her emotions to get the better of her. Spending time in the Fifth Fleet with a tight knit crew with Andorian influence has reinforced her feisty and competitive spirit of camaraderie. When she is feeling passionate about something, be it angry-passion or happy-passion, she expresses herself in 'Spanglish'. Quite the vicious thing when pushed too far, Alessia has always been known to being a tough cookie. She is a strong-willed and independent woman who doesn't easily stray from the values, goals or beliefs that she sets her mind to. She has made her fair share of mistakes and is no stranger to to vice, but she believes that everyone deserves a second chance. She can be foolish and irrational, she's just better at jumping feet first into ridiculous situations than most. She blames her Spanish heritage for this.

A brave and selfless woman at heart, Alessia is unafraid to jump into action- willing to do whatever it took to get the job done or keep those she felt a bond with safe. Even if it meant she put her own life on the line. She is a major risk-taker and has substituted the buzz of alcohol with the rush of adrenaline. Alessia trains hard and is in the gym nearly every day. Some days it's only mild cardio, other days it's weight-lifting or flexibility exercises. She has a programmed capoeira instructor on the holodeck that she visits regularly, and when she feels the need for a rush, she has saved programs for martial arts, rock-climbing, snowboarding, surfing and wing-suit flying.

She tries to eat healthy in order to maintain her active lifestyle. She loves grilled tacos, especially beef, chicken, fish, or shrimp, sometimes the occasional gyro or burrito. She's never been a fan of root vegetables or leafy greens, but she acknowledges their nutritional value when she must. She tries not to eat sweets, but she'll never say no to a mango or a churro. When she has downtime and it's early enough in the day, she video calls her sister-in-law to chat up her niece, Nylah, or her parents to catch them up on what she's been doing.

Physical Profile

Alessia has an impressive athletic body from her weightlifting and capoeira regiment in the Academy and whenever deployed. Her active lifestyle continues in the gym and holodeck of the starships she's been assigned to and she has added a variety of extreme sports to her list of favorite activities, and is always eager to try new ways of extreme sports, especially if martial arts or racing are involved.

She stands at 5'5" and weighs 132 lbs. Her body has excellent muscle tone and her strength is evident in places like her arms and legs, where her musculature is well-defined. She never wanted to be a body-builder though, and so she exercises for endurance, not for brute strength. She has lovely Spanish curves to go with her fit body. Her hair is shoulder-length, thick, black and wavy, worn either regulation loose or in a ponytail when in combat. off-duty, She wears it pulled back and let down, depending on how lazy she feels. She has easy-to-get-lost-into chocolaty brown eyes and caramel-colored skin.