Veryl Lan

Name: Veryl Lan

Species: Bajoran

Gender: Male

Age: Mid thirties

Rank: Lieutenant

Position: Security Chief

Physical Description: Dark hair. Brown eyes. Bajoran nose ridges. He stays in shape as a necessity of his position.

Bio:


Veryl Lan was born to Bajoran parents during the early years of the Cardassian Occupation. His parents were scholars before the totalitarian takeover, and had been fortunate enough to flee the rapidly declining planet when it became increasingly clear that there was no end to the horrific crisis in sight.

Veryl has a complicated relationship with having been brought up away from the Bajoran homeworld. In his youth, he put great focus on living up to an idealistic vision of what he felt it meant to be Bajoran. This aspiration eventually led him to return home to lend his help to resistance efforts to free slave laborers. He was especially invested in the rescue of the most vulnerable to Cardassian abuse, such as women and children. He worked tirelessly to relocate freed people safely off-world. It was these efforts to help rescue the enslaved from the devastated planet of Bajor that eventually brought him into contact with Starfleet. When Bajor achieved independence six years previous to our story’s opening, Veryl set off on a new life in Starfleet in search for a new purpose.

Recently, Veryl had transferred to Station 66 after he’d been given the technically unofficial advice to take some time to reorient himself at an out of the way post, following a confrontation with a superior officer.  When the position of security chief was suddenly vacated aboard a docked border cutter, Admiral Vincent offered him the position. Veryl jumped at the chance. The opportunity to prevent injustice in border space was far more appealing than rousing drunks off the promenade on the space station.

Veryl wants to be of service to others, and hopes he’s in the right place to do so. He has no great love of violence, but is more than willing to employ it when it becomes necessary in order to protect the weaker and more vulnerable. Beyond his commitment to doing right, Veryl’s less sure of what he believes and where he belongs than he’s ever been. His experience seeing the aftermath of the horrific crimes committed against his people has left his faith in the Bajoran religion shaken.

Despite his joy at his people’s freedom from the brutality of Cardassian imperialism, Veryl finds himself worried about the long term independence of Bajor. Every year his home planet goes without joining the Federation, the greater his concern that the future of independent Bajor could be in jeopardy. He worries in particular that cultural and religious traditionalism could hamper the development of  a justice based Bajoran society, especially after the controversy of the attempted revival of their ancient caste system.

As is Bajoran linguistic custom, Veryl is his surname, and Lan is his given name. Among Bajorans, he’d be formally known as Veryl, and more intimately known as Lan. However, given his long term experience living away from Bajor, he’s well used to those unfamiliar with his people’s customs conceptualizing him as “Veryl” in casual contexts.