#captain trasa

[uss-arinol-datacore]

Out of curiosity, what inspired you to choose a Bolian for the captain of your ship? I don’t see very many Bolian ocs, let alone captains, so I find it to be a very interesting choice! :]

Hi, thanks for the question! :]

Captain Trasa's been rotating in my brain for a while, so I don't exactly remember where all of my inspirations for her originate, but here's a basic list:

1. Bolians look cool! The ultimate origin of Trasa was my old Star Trek Online captain, and of the default federation races the Bolians just stood out to me- so, on a whim, I picked them to play, and now here we are!

2. The character of Mott, the bolian barber from TNG. While ultimately just a joke about a bald, nosy barber, the character of Mott has appealed to me to a while because if you examine his character literally, he's actually kind of profound! The citizens of the federation are motivated not by money, but by a drive for self-improvement, personal fulfillment and self-discovery. Mott finds his fulfillment as a barber, fulfilling a need for others that he doesn't have! Mott is a very direct product of federation ideals and multiculturalism, and the idea of scaling that up to the level of a starship captain really appeals to me.

3. The Bolians are one of the background star trek species that show up often, but unlike the Andorians or more recently the Barzan they haven't really had a time to shine- but Beta canon has given us a lot of interesting incidental details that work like perfect prompts to explore!

4. The position of a starfleet captain is depicted as creating serious, wise characters often somewhat distant from their crew, despite usually caring for them a great deal. Seeing how this reacts with the often jovial, easygoing bolian culture could be really interesting; essentially exploring the same themes as the TNG episode 'peak performance', which explores Riker's command style.

[uss-arinol-datacore]

I'm curious about Captain Trasa's religion. What ideals/lifestyle does The Queen promote? And how does that affect leadership?

So Orezian belief is one of many things I'm still workshopping, but here's some of my key ideas right now;

1) being a major religion, there are many interpretations and sects of Orezian faith- much like many irl religions or the bajoran faith in the prophets. Different stories have different levels of importance to different people and groups, and many interpretations can be drawn.

2) As stated, Trasa is not the most devout Orezian. She's absolutely *culturally* Orezian, and attends the occasional Address, but its impact on her day to day decision making is pretty subtle, much like how many westerners have a heaven and hell, demon Vs angel on the shoulders cultural framing. She couldn't quote the Orezian codices from the top of her head, but definitely thinks whoever designed those dirt-trapping shoulder ridges on starfleet uniforms deserves some time in the divine donjon.

With that said, the following are some basic ideas;

1. The Queen represents/is Bolarus' star, her husbands- the Kings- its four moons. She is also thus associated with heat, especially fire, and travel.

2. Orezian faith has major themes around leadership, and how a good leader acts- however, these stories are somewhat contradictory. Some stories absolutely support what we would call the 'divine right of kings', that leadership is both divine in nature and divinely bestowed, and that decisive action by such people is virtuous. Other stories tell of even The Queen seeking outside wisdom in grave matters, even going on dangerous voyages to acquire divine knowledge in order to rule fairly.

3. Some general virtues and ideals promoted by Orezian faith include; Piety, justice, kindness and respect to strangers- particularly travellers and refugees- love, polyandry in particular, the family as a product of love, and the careful balance between supporting and suppressing loved ones, as represented in divine ideal by the orbits of the celestial bodies.

[uss-arinol-datacore]

Character Profile: Captain Trasa

Name & Rank: Captain Yafe Trasa, Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Arinol

Name Format: Given Name, Surname

Species: Bolian

Gender & Pronouns: Woman, she/her

Age: 36 years- Born 21st September 2348.

Body structure: Mammalian Humanoid

Skin Tone: Teal

Eye Colour: Hazel

Hair Colour: N/A

Height: 4’8”

Distinguishing Features: Very slight, “gymnastic” frame, no facial markings.

Born: Arinol City, Bolarus

Language(s): Arin-Rasaran

Favourite food & drink: Fermented oil-gelled eelshark, rasran-style bolian tonic water

Personal Interests: Rasaran Dance, Gymnastics, Classical earth naval holonovels

Religion or Spirituality: Trasa is an Orezian, a popular bolian faith that describes a primordial monarchy that created and personifies the universe. The Queen is the most important deity in this religion. Trasa is not as devout as some, but does attend occasional Addresses (Orezian services) and owns a set of Orezian Regalia (sacred clothing).

Skills and Training: A dedicated career woman who trained in the command path and an impressive array of additional classes at starfleet academy, focusing primarily on diplomacy and conflict resolution. Her first posting was as an administrative officer on the USS Indefatigable, where she was commended for excellent away team supply management. She then served as chief of operations on starbase 246, and finally as first officer of the USS Québec before being offered her own command in 2384.

Biography: The daughter of a retired starfleet science officer and a traditional dancer, she grew up on tales of heroes both real and fantastical. While always admiring her father’s profession, she chose to follow her mother and apply to starfleet in order to see the galaxy and help others, having developed a disdain for Bolarus’ participation in the galactic economy- despite, as a federation member, having no reliance upon material wealth. She sees this as needlessly exploitative of those who rely on finance to live, and is a bank of bolarus abolitionist.

During her tenure at the academy, she was considered likeable enough, fulfilling many bolian stereotypes as talkative and personable, yet made few true friends due to her focus on her studies and dislike of parties; she finds such gatherings rather pointless, having too many people to form a proper connection with anyone- and besides, like most bolians, alcohol is far more toxic to her than it is to humans.

While she is best categorised as an introvert, it is more accurate to say that she values true friendship far above relations of convenience, and only makes friends with those she actively chooses to.

Captain Trasa’s command style is based in trust of her crew and their skill. Much like in her work as an administrative officer, she sees her role as that of a facilitator, making sure her command staff have what they need before they need it, and to decide what takes priority whenever this is not possible. However, as a new captain with a largely more experienced crew, Trasa is finding it difficult to use her authority properly.

Relationships & Sexuality: She is pansexual and polyamorous, the latter of which is common in southern kisaran and many other bolian cultures, and maintains a long-distance relationship with her academy sweetheart, a human man named Jack Balfour. While certainly enjoying physical relations, Trasa values companionship and her personal definition of physical attractiveness over sex- a very good thing for Jack and her other non-bolian lovers, given the danger presented by her biochemistry.