Tekanan

Pre-Starfleet Background
(Translation Note- Saurian names do not translate into Human languages easily, due to their clicks and chirps that constitute their language; Saurians interacting with alien species often choose a “second” name to interact with species whose vocal chords are closer to the majority of Federation species.)

Tekanan was born at the Saurian Central Hospital in the planets’ capital, as an only child. His father was a librarian, working for the library in the Center for Scientific Development. His mother served in Starfleet, the captain of a patrol ship, the U.S.S. Soval. In his youth, Tekanan took an interest in computers; by the age of 10, he was already able to dismantle and reassemble a PADD.

His mother died when he was very young. She was always absent- it was safer for him to live with his father on their homeworld than on a ship, but her loss still left a hole in his life. The story he was told at the time was that her ship had gone missing; When he was old enough, he would learn that it was lost in battle to Orion pirates.

His father withdrew after that, burying himself in his work, spending less and less time with his son. They weren’t close prior to her death, but his absence left him feeling even lonelier. He was unable to form social connections with his peers as a child; This led to a very lonely childhood for Tekanan, the lingering effects of which still hamper his personal and professional life.

Around the age of 14, Tekanan had received a serious injury after a shuttle accident. The shuttle had lost control while landing, and resulted in a broken leg and fractures in several of his secondary ribs. Even after he had recovered, he still felt chronic pain in his chest and left leg.

The combination of his untreated emotional issues and chronic pain led him to drug abuse. He began using narcotics to numb his physical pain and distract himself his mental state. He seemed happier, like "his old self" again- which is why no one around him seemed to notice. This drug, whose name roughly translates to the English word "Sunshine", boosted his mood and numbed his ability to feel pain; All he had to do was slip the small dissolvable patch under one of his scales and let it do its job. However, the narcotic also hindered his motor functions and critical thinking while in effect.

He pursued a career in Starfleet in honor of his mother, first applying at the age of 16. Like many young applicants, he failed his first time around. His second application a year later succeeded, and he left for Earth to attend Starfleet Academy. At the Academy, he signed up for the Sciences track, placing his focus into Computer Science and Astrometrics. However, he took up minor studies in Chemistry and Biology.

Starfleet Background
His first posting was to the U.S.S. Hubble, a small Nova-Class assigned to study an emerging nebula at the edge of Federation space. For the next 10 months, he compiled and organized data, and serving as a lab assistant to the more experienced members of the crew.

Lieutenant Tekanan was then assigned to the U.S.S. Daybreak, a science vessel focused on survey missions throughout the Beta Quadrant. The Daybreak had developed a new experimental probe, designed to withstand temperatures extreme enough to enter lower-temperature stars for a short period of time and transfer data from inside the star itself. However, this is when Tekanan’s struggles with addiction came to a head. His assignment was to configure the shield modifications to make the probe last as long as possible within the core of the star without falling apart due to the immense pressure and heat. Emboldened by getting away with it for so long, he decided to become intoxicated while on duty. This resulted in inaccurate calculations, and so the probe fell apart mere minutes upon its entry within the star.

The events that followed were like a blur- he’d been demoted to Ensign, reassigned to a nowhere relay station, forced to undergo a 3 week rehabilitation program- but the end result left Tekanan feeling like he had to start entirely over.

And he did. Starting over at an extremely out of the way relay station manned by a 10 person crew helped him readjust. Over the next year, he worked hard to get back on track and attempt to overcome some of his burdens. While he still had the urge to fall back into bad habits occasionally, he’d become a functioning Starfleet Officer again. He received praise from his superior officer for being a timely and efficient worker, and had earned a transfer to the U.S.S. Lexington and Outpost Phoenix.

Psychological Profiles
[AUDIO LOG: CMDR RODRIGUEZ, U.S.S. DAYBREAK, STARDATE 201704.10]

"Prior to, well, the incident, Tekanan showed no signs of trouble. He was quiet, kept to himself… I suppose that was the problem. He’d only come in for counseling once, during a general check-up of the entire crew. During the session, he seemed to just want to get it over with. Looking back, that should’ve been a red flag- but at the time, it didn’t occur to me. He was very avoidant when it came to discussions of his childhood- there’s most likely some unresolved issues there. Although, he seems to be very avoidant of anything that makes him uncomfortable, which is to say, quite a few things. Tekanan’s very… skittish, to say the least. Scared easily. He seems perfectly content to lock himself inside the computer lab and carry out his duties. If another counselor is reading or listening to this log, I’d personally recommend trying to figure out the source of his self-isolating tendencies, and see if you can get him to open up about his childhood."

[AUDIO LOG: LT CMDR R’RANN, STARBASE 107, STARDATE 201718.45]

"I looked back over Tekanan’s psych record while trying to determine where our sessions should lead. Commander Rodriguez’s log was a good starting point- But first and foremost I have to address his drug addiction. That’s why he’s been assigned to me in the first place. However, I’m sure it will lead me back to the points that the previous counselor mentioned. He is supposed to call me over subspace from his posting at Relay Station J-23 biweekly at 1400 hours. I will be making a second audio log shortly."

[AUDIO LOG: CMDR TAK, STARFLEET MEDICAL, STARDATE 201805.49]

"I’ve gotta say, I’m surprised at the progress he’s made these past few months. After taking over from Counselor R’Rann- who should be coming out of physical rehabilitation soon- I wasn’t entirely sure the guy would get his act together. But my patented Tellarite Argument Therapy seemed to do wonders for the kid! I got a good sense of his childhood, and from what I can gather, he’s got a severe case of… let me see here… Chilled Egg Syndrome? I get why they called it that, but why couldn’t the Saurians just called it “Childhood Emotional Neglect” like the rest of us instead of coming up with a stupid name for it- I’m getting off track again. As I was saying, the Ensign’s got a big old case of “Chilled Egg Syndrome”, and that’s the main source of his issues. Now that I’ve got an initial diagnosis, I’m going to shift from Tellarite Argument Therapy to Cognitive Behavioral techniques, maybe crack that egg a bit..."