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30 Jan 2024 @ 7:07pm
Lieutenant JG Zara Ghemora
Name Zara Ghemora
Position Deputy Security Officer
Rank Lieutenant JG
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Cardassian | |
| Age | 30 | |
| Date of Birth | 2361 [Stardate 38382.05] | |
| Place of Birth | Lakarian City, Cardassia Prime |
Character Type
| Category | Primary Character (PC) |
Starfleet ID
| Rank Class | Junior Officer | |
| Security Clearance | Level 5 | |
| Duty Watch | Team 2 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5' 8" | |
| Weight | 145 | |
| Hair Color | Black | |
| Eye Color | Blue-Green | |
| Physical Description | Considered quite pale for a Cardassian, Ghemora is slightly taller and leaner than an average Cardassian woman but makes up for it with a lithe, muscular build that causes her to be deceptively strong. Among both Cardassians, but especially Non-Cardassians that can look past her reptilian-like ridges, she is actually considered to have a quite attractive, angular face. Her traditional jet-black hair is usually kept either tied or braided in a single, thick braid down her back when in uniform. When not, much like usual Cardassian women, she will spend the time to shape her hair into tall, elaborate styles and utilize various cosmetics, including accentuating the dip of the skin between her forehead ridges with a light blue colorization indicative of her 'unbetrothed' status, the highlight her natural beauty. Normally, she only dons minimal makeup, seeing no purpose for it while serving. She is renowned for her piercing blue-green eyes; a fairly uncommon color among Cardassians. Ghemora's gaze has been referred to as 'being able to stare into one's very soul' while it displays a sense of intelligence that can be unnerving to the uninitiated. | |
| Portrait |  |
Family
| Father | Gul Bilal Ghemora (Deceased) | |
| Mother | Fairuz Ghemora (Status Unknown/Assumed Deceased) | |
| Brother(s) | Glinn Khalil Ghemora (Deceased) | |
| Sister(s) | Adalet Ghemora (Chief of Staff to Cardassian Politician) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | While generally mum when it comes to her own past prior to Starfleet, Ghemora only speaks of her Cardassian heritage in the most general of senses, as if remarking on them as a whole instead of her experience as one of them. This aspect tends to cause the woman to come off as mysterious or elusive to some. Having been raised Cardassian, she has a strong bond to the ideals of family, loyalty, and duty; all of which have transferred from her former people to those she serves aside in Starfleet. While she holds no loathing for the people of her birth, only for those who had sought advancement through the suffering of others, Ghemora has come to accept that she would never truly be recognized by her people ever again. It is only her occasional arrogance, displayed in moments of intellectual conversation and debate, that highlights the fact that one can never remove the Cardassian from the woman, despite her being removed from Cardassia. Having had to learn how to survive alone and cope with the horrors she bore witness to from a young age, Ghemora has a strong sense of will and is unlikely to back down in moments where she feels the need to stand her ground. When she has concerns, she will voice them. While sometimes misidentified as stubbornness, the woman's purpose is always in the achievement of the best possible outcome of a situation, especially when lives are on the line. Seen negatively by some, when the threat level rises during a mission or situation, Ghemora tends to treat all as equals; as a team all working towards the same goal until success is found or the threat has ended. Otherwise, the Cardassian tends to be quite soft-spoken, preferring to watch and listen. Seeking to never be the center of attention, Ghemora will bolster others into such positions to take the focus off of her unless such attention is needed to achieve her immediate goal. This, along with the generally casual body language that causes her to be often overlooked, has a tendency to inadvertently sneak up on people, causing many a peer to nearly leap out of their shin when they finally take notice of her. |
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| Strengths | Ghemora's biggest strength is her drive. Whether that be to achieve a goal, be awarded a commendation or accolade, or even just to survive, the Cardassian has been an unstoppable force when it comes to gaining the ends that she seeks. Due to her previous Cardassian schooling in addition to her Starfleet training, she's a more than competent Security officer and a reasonably skilled tactician. While not physically imposing, the woman compensated through dedicated practice in both marksmanship and knowledge-based martial arts. Her aptitude for observation and study results in her being very detail-oriented, making her naturally adept at investigative and analytical work. While it isn't surprising that the Cardassian has the capability to be exceptionally deceptive, her knowledge and expertise with certain types of technology certainly are. Even though she serves in the Security Department, Ghemora could have easily found a place in the Sciences had she looked better in blue than gold. |
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| Weaknesses | Seen as a definite weakness when it comes to a Security officer, Ghemora has no passion for violence and will seek to only use such confrontation when all other avenues have been exhausted. She believes there is always a diplomatic, intelligent, or subtle approach that can be utilized to overcome an obstacle or situation before aggressive actions need to be taken. Unless faced with no other option, Ghemora will seek to disable or submit an enemy before resorting to truly damaging or deadly methods. Having witnessed so much suffering prior, she never wishes to bring such upon another. Given previous exploitation of such, Ghemora has personal issues with easily putting her full trust in others. This has caused her some interpersonal issues, leaving her seemingly distant, though she secretly is always searching for genuine connection and camaraderie. Being Cardassian, she's become accustomed to the occasional negativity and suspicions directed her way, but does not blame others for their distrust as a result of her species' prior duplicity and failings. She seeks to separate herself from such discrimination by showing exemplary loyalty and expertise to her duties within Starfleet. |
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| Ambitions | Ghemora's ambitions are clear to any who have either trained or been in command of the Cardassian. The officer wants nothing more than to serve, but more specifically to serve within Starfleet Intelligence. While very few know of her mother nor her history, those that do would find it odd the daughter would seek such a similar line of work. Ghemora knows she doesn't see her purpose nor the preferable methods as the same, though. While there are situations where such actions are necessary, the officer believes that the gathering and analysis of intelligence is the path toward legitimate security. Her ambition comes from a place of knowing just how vital such a department and role plays in the continued safety of the galaxy and the people she finds herself a part of. While there is no question about her dedication to Starfleet and the Federation, it's also clear the woman seems to be always trying to prove she's greater than either she or others believe her capable. Ghemora aspires to be recognized for the excellence of her work and obtain the accolades and opportunities that come with the results of such recognition. While she knows gaining respect is important, no amount of respect can replace the tangible results of progress, especially when it comes to actual lives. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | Beyond her work, Ghemora has a strong artistic streak in her. She was taught young how to craft numerous Cardassian cuisines but has gone on to study the cuisines of various other cultures, and makes sure to cook to the tastes of any guests she entertains. Ghemora is also a mediocre visual artist, and can often be found doodling or sketching. Charcoals on heavy parchment-style paper are her favorite medium, with a particular focus on portraits and realism, but she still has a way to go before she would be willing to display her art to others. Having been taught prior but not finding a passion for martial arts until her time at Starfleet Academy, Ghemora prefers such sparring and training over other orthodox methods of staying physically fit. She can often be found on the mats or in a holo-dojo as opposed to the gym or running laps with her fellow officers. | |
| Vernacular | Despite being a native Cardassian well into her teens, Ghemora spent the last decade perfecting her usage of Federation Standard to the point of washing it clean of any noticeable accent. Though her conversational skills with the language are quite close to natural, there are still moments and phrases where it becomes clear there is a level of translation going on in her head. This tendency, and her prior experience learning the language, causes the woman to be rather verbose at times, to the point of over-explanation in the hope of not being misunderstood. While coming off rather 'even' or 'flat' in most professional conversations, the Cardassian does get more animated in casual settings. Her largest fault comes from her seeming incapability to keep from audibly commenting on an ongoing situation, despite never doing so at a volume louder than a mumble. | |
| Orientation | Pansexual | |
| Language(s) Spoken | Cardassian, Modern Bajoran, Federation Standard, Limited Dominionese & Romulan (Majority Dialect) |
| Personal History | Zara Ghemora's birth and childhood were all years of conflict for the planet of Cardassia and the Union. Barely knowing her father, a Glinn in Central Command at the time, she was the youngest of her parents' three children. Her eldest brother had already enlisted in the Union military while her sister had already been sequestered off in one of the Cardassian Academies that taught and trained the next generation of Union leaders. Being left with her mother, it wasn't until several years after her Father's and Brother's deaths in service to the Union, leaving them as barely faint memories in her mind, that she realized all of the horrible things she was forced to bear witness to as a young child. Zara's mother was an operative of the Obsidian Order and was left to drag her young daughter with her on her various 'missions', raising the girl with the example that duplicity, deception, and sadism were acceptable. While this wasn't completely abnormal in the Cardassian society of the time, it wasn't until she was sent off to one of the militaristic academies herself that she learned in comparison to her peers that her childhood had been almost drastically different from their own. Understandably, Zara became secretive about her past and duplicitous when pushed to speak on it. In her mind, it was better to lie than to reveal what she'd witnessed, if only in reinforcement of her loyalty to her family. She was only fourteen when Cardassia Prime was thrust into darkness and destruction. While she'd been trained and taught to be of future service to the Union, with its collapse, Zara was forced to learn how to survive in a decimated world where for several weeks and months, she couldn't go anywhere without seeing the corpses of her fellow Cardassians. The majority of the planet had descended into a lawless and brutal place, requiring those who wished to survive to become scavengers, thieves, and brutes. While seeking not to rely on violence as a weapon, Zara developed the same qualities she'd seen in her mother; how to lie, cheat, deceive, and swindle your way to getting what you wanted or needed. Zara had become quite adept at these skills during the two, long years that followed, aligning herself with numerous others and various groups to ensure she could keep herself from starvation and could find a safe place to rest at night. But these solutions would never be permanent, especially for one as young and trusting as she. Eventually, Zara was taken advantage of and was betrayed by a fellow Cardassian she considered a friend into being the scapegoat for a crime that went beyond the usual thefts and scams she took part in. Even in those times, 'Guilt' was the presumption even before any kind of formal trial, and with a government slowly rebuilding, the young woman knew her chances of survival were slim. When the first opportunity presented itself, Zara risked her life to escape her captors. She didn't stop running and hiding until she was able to stow away on a departing aid vessel, fleeing from a homeland she'd always felt was home, but had become something she no longer recognized. Arriving on Deep Space Nine, it didn't take long before she was discovered and taken into custody. Her only saving grace was another Cardassian dissident who took pity on the teenager and advised her to apply for refugee status with the Federation. There was certainly some resistance at first, especially given the limited records and lies that were given by those in Cardassia at the time. Trust was not something a post-Dominion War Federation was willing to easily give, and Zara's family lineage didn't do her any favors. For nearly two years, she was moved between various refugee camps and holding facilities, being subjected to more interviews and interrogations than even a Cardassian could keep count of. Given her willingness to be completely transparent, the validity of what she told, and the age of the young woman, Zara was eventually granted official refugee status and conditional citizenship within the Federation. With her conditional citizenship, Ghemora immigrated and sought permanent residency on the United Earth. Her first couple of years were filled primarily with working whatever jobs she could obtain while attending schooling to assimilate into a society that was largely alien to her. It took the Cardassian two years to become fully fluent in the language and learn enough to pass the test and requirements for her to accomplish naturalization and become an official citizen of United Earth. While many didn't see her as one of them, there was no doubt that Ghemora had done what was required to be able to claim from then on that she was 'Of Earth'. Seeing both the Federation and Starfleet as those that had gifted her a future that wasn't filled with strife and sheer survival, Ghemora worked hard, between on-job training and contemporary schooling, to get the necessary qualifications to finally apply to Starfleet Academy, albeit a few years older than her many of her peers. With the cutoff being so high, the Cardassian was not granted initial acceptance but did score high enough to earn a place in the upcoming Starfleet Academy Preparatory Program. While there were a number of areas that came easily to her, especially given her rearing on Cardassia, there were others that weren't, forcing Ghemora to work twice as hard just to achieve the same grades as most of her fellow students. By the end, the woman had done enough to ensure her entry into Starfleet Academy, which she hadn't realized had become so important to her until she read the official acceptance message over a dozen times. |
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| Starfleet History | At first, Ghemora was a rather unfocused student. While her basic Fleet classes and training came easily to her, it took her almost into her second semester before she finally settled on a Career Track, albeit not a common one. Luckily, the transfer from Operations to Security/Tactical was less taxing than others, but that wasn't her ultimate goal. Starfleet Intelligence was a select club that only selected a very small percentage of applicants based on not only their chosen disciplines but overall aptitude for the skills of the trade. SEC/TAC was the easiest path toward many of the expected and sought requirements, but so was expanding beyond the standard to fulfill duties that fell outside of the usual divisional duties. Criminology was a rather common discipline amongst those seeking careers in Security, but she expanded upon that by seeking a dual major in Sociology as well. While Ghemora could have probably graduated with a single degree and been commissioned in three years plus her mandatory Cadet Starship Rotation, the woman knew that, whether because of what she was or where she came from, she would need to do be; be more, and leave no doubt that she was a worthy candidate. After shining in the Tactical Officer role during her Cadet Rotation aboard the USS Norfolk, the Cardassian extended her Academy time by an extra two years, never taking any time off that she didn't have to. In just over a decade since her escape from Cardassia and leaving all she knew behind, Ghemora had not only become a Federation Citizen and Commissioned Officer within Starfleet, she'd graduated with a Master of Science in both Criminology and Sociology with notable additional achievements in the fields of Forensic Psychology and Forensic Science/Criminalistics. While she came out of the Academy as certainly one of the most accredited Cardassians ever, her degrees certainly put her ahead of a majority of other Operations and Security graduates. It was for this reason that Ghemora was so disappointed when she wasn't immediately recruited to SFI right after graduation. Instead, the Ensign found her initial posting to be that of a tiny, Defiant-class patrol destroyer, the USS Alaska. Primarily assigned to watch over Federation outposts, the Alaska didn't see a lot of action. Any time there was a potential incident, the sheer sight of the warship was enough to cause most to stand down or retreat. Lacking anything in the way of recreation or comfort, most of Ghemora's time was spent training or being volunteered for extra duties. The thing that set her apart in her Chief's eyes was how she never once leveled a complaint and was always one to ask additional questions, seemingly never sated with the information she already had. Within a year she'd already come to be the choice junior officer to command during the least desired shifts, with her Chief being confident the Cardassian could handle whatever situations arose. Two positives came from her year and a half on the Alaska. The first was her befriending the junior Intelligence Officer stationed aboard, and eventually picking his brain on what it would take for her to be noticed by the division. While some officers were selected right out of the Academy, it was made clear to her that, more often than not, SFI would poach promising, young Security officers to join their ranks, giving the Cardassian hope that she'd not already missed her chance. The second positive was how her Chief had been so impressed with her that, as soon as the first time it was even vaguely mentioned given her desire and enthusiasm, he sought a dual recommendation with the Alaska's CO to send Ghemora to attend the Advanced Tactical Training Course. While she would argue that she deserved a higher ranking than she got in the Course, Ghemora had taken the ATTC more seriously than any previous assignment, graduating in the top three of her class: one in which there had been a nearly seventy percent dropout rate. The Cardassian believed she would have been 'Second' or 'First' had she been leading her team, but she'd not been afforded the opportunity to. While she was pleased to achieve such an accolade, as well as the early promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade, it didn't prove to be the 'golden ticket' she thought it would be. Following her graduation, Ghemora was assigned to Starfleet Security Headquarters as an Analyst. While it wasn't the job she wanted, at least she could see how it was a step in the right direction, even if it did leave her usually surrounded by those who had commanded ships during the Dominion War. Though Ghemora wasn't bothered that her assignment to HQ ended up being a short one, she was quite disappointed with the path her career would take as a result of Starfleet's 'needs' being more pressing than the Cardassian's desires. Between her numerous qualifications and her experience on smaller ships with smaller departments, the woman was assigned to the USS Galileo as the Deputy Security Officer. While technically a promotion in role and responsibility, taking a posting aboard a scientific survey vessel was known for being considered boring to most SEC/TAC officers. While she did have a background in a range of non-traditional sciences, 'Planetary Survey' certainly didn't sound like it was going to offer many opportunities to challenge the woman or allow Ghemora to shine in a way that would have SIF take notice of the junior officer. |
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| Medical History | During her initial Refugee Application Examination, it was determined that Ghemora had no lingering injuries or disabilities but showed symptoms/scars of previous physical abuse and psychological trauma as a result of involuntary confinement. She presented mild symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and heightened Anxiety, but not outside what was to be expected within Cardassian Prime refugees. Continued monitoring showed a lessening of these psychological symptoms in the following weeks and months. Ghemora also has numerous scars across her body; a result of undertreated previous injuries, but nothing more than superficial. By all other metrics, the young woman fell within the expected metrics of an average Cardassian female of her age, albeit with temporary signs of long-term malnourishment. Following her immigration to Earth and during her time prior to her Commission in Starfleet, Ghemora was seen several times for superficial injuries that are suspected to have occurred as a result of physical altercations. While she always refused to speak of how she came to have such injuries, the evidence and severity of defensive wounds coupled with the lack of others coming in with corresponding injuries suggested Ghemora had been a victim of violence, but been unwilling to identify the perpetrators. This led to the Cardassian developing subtle yet complex scar tissue in the ridges around her eyes and on her nose, causing them to bleed more easily than usual from trauma. Besides some mild injuries as a result of accidents during training, Ghemora has no lingering injuries or limitations. Medical has suspected that the Cardassian has replicated dermal regenerators and other minor medical equipment to privately treat small injuries given the overall accumulation of minor scars and lack of medical reporting despite previous reports of such minor injuries by peers and superiors. |
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| Service Record | 2378-2380: Processed as a Refugee gaining Conditional Federation Citizenship 2380-2382: Immigrated to and Became a Naturalized Citizen of Earth 2383: Completed Starfleet Academy Preparatory Program 2383-2389: Cadet, Starfleet Academy, Security/Tactical Officer Track 2387: Cadet Starship Rotation, USS Norfolk (Nova-Class) 2389: Graduated from Starfleet Academy with Dual Degrees in Criminology and Sociology, with secondary accolades in Forensic Psychology and Forensic Science/Criminalistics 2389-2391: Ensign, SEC/TAC Officer, USS Alaska (Defiant-class) 2391: Graduated Third in her Class in the Advanced Tactical Training Course 2391-2392: Lieutenant JG, SEC-INT Analyst, Starfleet Headquarters 2392-Present: Lieutenant JG, DSEC, USS Galileo (Nova-class) |
Character Progression System
| CPS Option | DISABLED |
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