Name: s'Alka Rhu (pronounced s-Alka Rh-oo; properly addressed as "s'Alka", as in "Lieutenant s'Alka")
Actress: Diora Baird
Race: Tempean Orion
Sex: Female
Age: 26
Planet: Tempe (Orion colony, Federation-friendly) in the Khoosin system (http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Tempe)
Rank: Lieutenant
Division: Command
Position: Helmsman
Callsign/Nickname: "Mermaid", "Fish"

High Concept: Swashbuckling Orion helmswoman from Tempe.
Trouble: What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger.
Aspect #1: I can pilot any ship and sail any sea, by the stars and in the stars.
Aspect #2: I'm born to the sea, with the webbed fingers to prove it. I like to get wet.
Aspect #3: Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.

Approaches: Wits +3, Security +2, Command +2, Medical +1, Engineering +1, Science +0

Stunt: Because I am an Orion woman, I get a +2 when I use Command to create advantages when dealing with a male face-to-face.

Description:
s'Alka is lithe-bodied and long-limbed with wide swimmer's shoulders, and has a wiry strength under her soft padded curves. She has strong hands with partially webbed fingers and webbed toes. She has a beautiful face, with a wide smile, knowing green eyes, and long red hair frazzled and bleached by salt and sun, usually hanging loose around her neck and ears. Her smooth skin is a deep, tanned ocean green.

A jagged scar twists around her left hand, and a large and savage set of bite marks covers her right leg, forming a helix from mid-calf to mid-thigh. Several black-ink tattoos adorn her body. On her upper left arm is an intricate design of lines and curves that seem to form a maze, and resembles a stylised three-sided fish. There is another of an anchor on her right forearm. On her right shoulder is a Starfleet insignia for the Command Division. She may have more tattoos, in more private places.

Her uniform is the gold of the Command Division; sometimes the pants and sometimes the skirt. She's not afraid to show her scars and tattoos. Off-duty, she'll usually wear some warm, furry, all-covering clothes, but shore-leave could see her in a bikini or fishing gear. She often wears a necklace with a sharp, jagged fang as a pendant.

Known Personal History:
Born: February 21st, 2234
2246: Sold into apprentice-slavery as a fisher.
2251: Lost at sea. Listed as deceased in Tempean clan records.
2253: Rescued Starfleet Lt. Domenic McLaren after his escape pod crashed on Tempe following a skirmish with Klingons; McLaren reports they survived storms, vikings, cultists of an octopus-headed deity, and a fishing expedition together. Liaison in first contact between Tempe and the Federation and the opening of trade relations.
2253: Arrested as a stowaway on Starbase 27. Worked as proprietress of s'Alka's "Fresh" Fish, served as Tempean ambassador.

Service History:
2254: Enlisted as shuttle pilot. Served at Starbase 27.
2255: Enrolled in Starfleet Academy, Command Division.
2255–2258: Top ranked in Starship Piloting and First Contact Scenarios. Won medals in Starfleet Academy sports in swimming and diving. Member of cadet squad Team Upsilon, Orion Cadets Association, Academy swim team.
2258: Nero incident. Emergency commission and called to duty on the USS Enterprise. Ferried crew to the starship. Field assignment to Science. Submitted valuable tactical data against the Narada. Later transferred off after submitting complaints about Kirk's mutiny, cheating, rapid promotion, and sexual harassment.
2258–2260: USS Endeavour, Shuttle Pilot and Assistant Helmswoman.
2259: Participated in survey of planet Argo of UFC 78856, and discovery and first contact with the Aquan people.
2260: Helmswoman, USS Vigilant

History:

s'Alka Rhu was born to a lower-middle class family on the Orion colony world of Tempe, a sleepy
backwater — literally. Tempe was a water world, and the colonists' whole lives revolved around
the cold sea, in fishing, sailing, mineral extraction from the oceans, anything to survive.
s'Alka had a fairly safe and contented childhood, with a loving mother and a younger brother,
though her father was a stern workaholic who insisted his eldest child should help him in his
trade as a hoverboat mechanic, even if she was a female. There was little love between the two,
and s'Alka had no interest in hoverboats. She dreamed of a life in the stars overhead, but no
Tempean ever left the waters except the wealthy traders.

Finally, aged 13, her father sold her to an old fisherman instead. This was no abuse, but
standard Orion custom, and he'd had her longer than most before he needed to recoup his losses.
As a slave-apprentice growing into a teenager, s'Alka learned to fish and sail, to dive for
pearls and shellfish, to read the weather, and prepare the catches. She found friends and young
love among her fellow sailors and fishers. Then one day a terrible storm blew up, and a wave
knocked s'Alka overboard. She drifted through the seas for ages, lost between sea and sky. A
tri-shark attacked her, biting her leg, and she stabbed it in the eye. She held on to its
floating corpse for a while. Later she washed up on shore, drowned, scarred, and dead.

The Orions sadly pronounced her dead to all their meagre medical skill. But an alien doctor with
the offworld traders arrived and resuscitated her. Then he left, without her. s'Alka was alive
and healthy, but to her superstitious people, she was a dead girl still, who'd come back from the
Dark Place. She would always be apart from them now. She was granted her own small fishing boat
and allowed to continued her work, alone. She found it a peaceful if lonely life, where she could
do much as she pleased. She fished and swam and read what books she could find that discussed
other worlds; listened to music (always popular on Tempe); and that was about it. Once, an
accident with a fishhook cut open her hand, and she stitched it up herself. Thus she grew into a
young woman, alone between the endless blue sea and sky.

Her quiet life was suddenly broken when a fiery escape pod fell from the sky and splashed into
the sea. She drove her boat over, swam down and rescued the emergency supplies, as well as the
alien occupant. She resuscitated him, and stitched up his wound with fishing line. Over some
weeks at sea, Dominic McMaren recovered and s'Alka finished her expedition, not about to return
empty-handed, even if she had netted herself a human man unknown to the backwater Tempeans. They
talked a lot; they didn't have a language in common, but lonely s'Alka just enjoyed the
opportunity to talk to anyone about anything, and they steadily learned eachother's language. She
also sang at Dom. She learned he had survived a battle with Klingons, and got some hint of
Starfleet and the Federation and all the worlds beyond Tempe. They also had adventure, as they
fought off Orion sea-pirates, were driven off course by a storm, and landed on a forbidden island
inhabited by an insane cultists of an eldritch octopus-headed space-god inhabited a city of weird
geometry. They wanted a virgin sacrifice, but s'Alka heroically rescued her man, in two ways.
They escaped the island together and rammed the monster with the boat.

Finally, s'Alka brought her prize catch of an alien back to the colony elders, and was greatly
rewarded for it, enough to buy her freedom, be reaccepted into her clan, and more. Meanwhile, Dom
was afraid of being sold into slavery. Instead, they tried to sell him a fish. He wisely bought
it, and this marked first contact between the Federation and Tempe, with s'Alka serving as
liasion. Messages were sent, Federation traders came to buy Tempean fish and music, there was
talk of Federation settlers and technology, and Dominic left.

But s'Alka had grown intrigued by his talk of starships and planets, and was hooked on adventure.
She bought her freedom and stowed away on a trade ship. She had the misfortune to hide in a
chilled crate of fish and get locked in. Arriving at Starbase 27, dockworkers cracked open her
crate and were surprised to find a shivering Orion woman stinking of fish. The 'mermaid' or
'fish', as she was called, was allowed to go. s'Alka lived on Starbase 27 a while, learning what
she needed and selling Tempean fish from a small shop, before enlisting in Starfleet as a shuttle
pilot. She was fascinated by space and thought of it as pretty much like sailing the sea. Her
skill demonstrated and enjoying Starfleet, she soon enrolled in the Academy.

She was near the end of her studies when the Narada attacked Vulcan, and she found herself
shuttling crew to the Enterprise. She didn't get the helm position there; ironically,
having a worse pilot saved their lives. s'Alka was hurriedly reassigned to Science to maintain
computers, and submitted tactical data to aid in combat against the "kraken". Kirk later mistook
her for Gaila, apparently having not seen either of their faces. As they celebrated their victory
over Nemo, Kirk apologised and s'Alka was drunk enough that she took him back to her quarters.
But when he called her Gaila again, she kicked him out, sans pants, and transferred off as
soon as she found he was going to be captain and not Spock.

After formally graduating, s'Alka was posted to her first ship, the USS Endeavour. s'Alka
was instrumental in making first contact with the Aquans of Argo, and slew a sur-snake to
retrieve its vital venom. But helm positions were few, so s'Alka was later transferred to the USS
Vigilant and a full bridge position.

Skills:
In addition to the standard Starfleet skill set, s'Alka is skilled in the following areas:
* Piloting: Qualified shuttle pilot, helmsman, and captain for small water-going vessels.
* Navigator: Can navigate by the stars while on a planet's surface or in space.
* Marine: Excellent swimmer and diver, capable of deep-sea diving, rescue, and aquatic
operations. Can hold her breath for long periods.
* Combat: Skilled knife fighter.
* Business: Capable trader, able to buy and sell, haggle, and navigate a market place.

Hobbies:
s'Alka enjoys:
* Music: Can sing and play an instrument. She will usually sing or hum through most activities,
and finds it a good way to keep time or a beat.
* Fishing: Likes to fish, by rod or spear, when shore-leave on a planet allows it. Sometimes
she'll even practice in a dry cargo bay.
* Surfing: s'Alka learned to surf while on Earth.

Racial traits:
* High-gravity adaptations give s'Alka good strength, balance, and muscle support. As an Orion
woman, she's highly dexterous and agile, has good hand–eye coordination and spatial awareness.
* Her webbed fingers and toes are unique to Tempeans and have only minor benefit.
* Pheromones: A narcotic pheromone, prolonged exposure increases adrenaline, inducing aggression
and delusion in most males, makes them suggestible to s'Alka's influence. Various other effects
on other species and sexes. On a lesser degree, it makes her emotions contagious, generally
pleasant to be around, but a problem if she's afraid or angry. These effects tend to be cancelled
by regular pherozene doses.

Personality:
s'Alka is a survivor, first and foremost. Her survival, death, and shunning as a teen have left
their marks on her, physically and emotionally, though generally positively. She's confident,
cool-headed, easy-going, good humoured, and rarely too concerned about anything. Independent,
she's happy to do her own thing, and doesn't care what others might think of her. She's not
particularly talkative, but nor is she shy, and she likes to be around people and socialise. She
enjoys a party and can drink and swear like a sailor. Having a poorer upbringing has made her
fond of the finer things in life. Although caring of those in her charge, she can be savage with
her foes. She isn't afraid to stand up for herself or her people, no matter how big her foe, and
is quietly vengeful of an offence.

On duty, she is professional, by-the-book, and safety conscious. She knows full well that messing
up at sea or in space can get you hurt or killed. She runs a tight ship, or at least her own
small corner of it. She's loyal first and foremost to her captain. However, her ability to
command and lead others is still lacking.

Although inherently Orion, a Tempean is far from the traditional Orion stereotype, and s'Alka
isn't above claiming to be simply Tempean, an obscure people, among those who don't like Orions
or think they know what to expect from them. Otherwise, people are often surprised that s'Alka is
not what they might expect from an Orion woman. For one, s'Alka is not an Orion slave-girl.
Tempean women don't dance, because there's no space on a boat; instead, s'Alka sings and plays
instruments and can even deliver insults in rhyme. Her voice is just as enchanting as the famous
dance of the Orion slave girl. Rather than piercings, they have tattoos; s'Alka has several, all
with meaning. They have no organised crime, bar some actual water-borne piracy. Instead, s'Alka
channels that devious urge into puzzles and paradoxical problems, and telling the classic tall
tales of the fisher. She's reticent about her culture, but proud of it.

She's a country girl from a backwater world, and naive to the finer points of interstellar
society and to dealing with aliens. However, she's good at first contacts, having experienced
both sides of such a meeting between worlds. She loves being in space, seeing it as a greater
form of sea travel and a mystical experience: she sails through the heavens, along song-lines
between the stars. She joined Starfleet to see the big universe beyond her small world. Still,
she has salt water in her veins, and loves to get her feet wet on a planet now and then.

She has a healthy sex-life, with none of the issues or special skills of the slave girl: only
flirty when appropriate, straight but open-minded, not submissive or domineering, but ready to
lead in romance. She had her first experience as a teenager, with a fellow slave-apprentice,
though he left her when she died. She had a few partners on other islands, and in the Academy
when she discovered the popularity of the Orion woman, but no long-term relationships. She
carries a torch for Dominic McMaren, the officer she rescued and a few years older, though isn't
interested in settling down. She's still the lonely fisherwoman at heart.