Post by Razgriz on Aug 24, 2016 21:21:35 GMT
Name: Natalia Shepard
Species: Human
Ethnicity: Central-Eastern European (Bulgaria)
Age: 43
Date of Birth: 19 July, 2373
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black
Height: 1.8m (5'8”)
Weight: 68 kg (150 lbs)
Religious Affiliation: Raised Muslim, none currently
Relationship Status: None
Place of Birth: Tsarevo, Bulgaria, Earth
Family:
Alexandrei Rusev (Father, 64)
Svetlana Rusev (Mother, 61)
Radomir Rusev (Brother, 45)
Samuil Rusev (Brother, 38)
Ana Rusev (Sister, 25)
First Impressions
Stunning is a term often used to describe Natalia. Tall and curvy with a natural grace, shimmering raven hair and dazzling green eyes, she is known for turning heads in many a room.
She walks with confidence and speaks with a clear, husky voice that commands a certain amount of attention from almost everyone
Personality
Growing up on the shores of the Black Sea and then aboard her father's trade vessel traveling the stars has allowed Natalia to develop a boisterous, blue-collar attitude. She is much more at home on the dusty space stations of the frontiers of space than in the sterile ready rooms of Starfleet. She is passionate and energetic, facing challenges with a smile and a growl she has sometimes been thought to have Klingon blood in her, a remark she accepts as a compliment.
Skills and Interests
Natalia is a warrior. She describes herself as such and her service record supports this. She possesses a sharp tactical mind and a healthy dose of street smarts and intuition that has helped her to succeed in combat scenarios. She shows a keen knowledge of people and seems to know how to fit the right people to the right jobs. Her confidence has been demonstrably infectious and it allows her to be a great leader.
Natalia enjoys many varied hobbies; her time among the blue-collar workers on the fringes of civilization has given her an appreciation for social pastimes like pool, darts, dancing and drinking. Though she holds no formal degrees, she considers herself a “Combat Anthropologist” being well versed in the martial traditions and strategies of almost a dozen different cultures. She is an accomplished martial artist in her own right, holding more than three finalist and one championship trophy in the Andorian Featherweight Mixed Martial Arts Tournament and was on the Academy's championship Parisses Squares team during her junior and senior years.
She admits a guilty pleasure of enjoying late-20th Century Terran light novels known colloquially as “Bodice Rippers” for their evocative cover imagery, having inherited a considerable library from her mother that apparently has been in the family for centuries.
Background
Youth (2373-2390)
Natalia was born in a medical facility in Tsarev Bulgaria on the shores of the Black Sea, her father is a well respected trader and commodities merchant who founded his small capital business soon after Natalia was born. Establishing his trade routes and contacts forced her father to spend a lot of time in space so eventually he acquired a modest sized freighter and converted some of it's hold into living space for his growing family. By the age of 9 Natalia and her siblings were old hands in plying the space-ways, meeting interesting and dangerous people and seeing a side of the galaxy most didn't get to
Much of Natalia's education was informal, learning as she went along, she took an interest in martial pursuits at a young age, training with her father and brothers in the ancient arts of Sambo, Wrestling and Savate. She learned the basics of star-ship operations in a hands-on environment but never showed any great aptitude or passion for the sciences or engineering, preferring instead to help her father devise methods and strategies for keeping her family safe in the not-always secure life of a space trader. Life aboard a star-ship generated a closeness with her family that persists to this day
For much of her young life Natalia was enamored with the tales she heard about Kathryn Janeway, the Starfleet Captain who sailed the uncharted Delta Quadrant. The stories that she heard and read about the woman always inspired her and so when she turned 17 she applied to Starfleet Academy. With her lack in formal education Natalia crammed as she had never crammed in her life to take the entrance exam, however she failed because her technical scores were too low. Seeing how important it was to her, Natalia's father returned her to Earth and placed her in the Academy Preparatory Program, though her technical scores were still not the best, she showed her instructors and other staff her drive and adaptability and was allowed entry to the Academy.
Early Career (2394-2498)
Natalia found following in the footsteps of her hero Admiral Janeway was more difficult than she thought. Having no plan in the Academy other than “Be like Janeway”, Natalia signed up for as many scientific and research based classes as she could handle, however science was nowhere near her wheelhouse and she struggled with anything beyond the intermediate disciplines. Her first 2 years were spent in an academic and personal rut as she struggled to maintain even a B grade average and all too often was found relieving the stress of her situation by getting drunk, getting into fights, getting into the bunks of her classmates or all three in one night.
In the middle of her Sophomore year Natalia was facing academic suspension from the Academy, her family came to visit and her parents expressed their great disappointment in her. Her father asked her why she was trying so hard to be a scientist, when at heart she was a warrior, a scrappy Bulgarian fighter like her ancestors. Not wanting to let her family down, realizing she would not be able to follow the same career path as Admiral Janeway, Natalia turned herself around.
She refocused her efforts on dong what she was best at, she switched from Science Command to Tactical, changed her classes and just managed to save her Academy career. She spent her remaining years maintaining a steady GPA and attendance record. She still got in the odd bar fight, and was the subject of more than a few more disciplinary reviews for gross fraternization but her obvious tactical and leadership acumen managed to see her though, skidding just past graduation with a B average
Natalia's lack of distinguished credentials during her Academy years could have resulted in her receiving a series of lackluster postings primarily on star-bases and brief tours on patrol ships, however one captain looked past her record and saw something he wanted. Natalia was as surprised as anyone when she received orders to report to Deep Space Nine and receive her posting aboard the USS Intrepid D, a prototype Destroyer assigned to the Alpha Quadrant as a pirate hunter under the command of Captain Randolph Jones.
The Warrior Princess (2498-2403)
Natalia boarded the Intrepid as a Junior Helmsman, but would leave a legend in her own right.
Hunting Pirates, True Way Rebels and Terran Invaders in the Alpha Quadrant gave Natalia ample opportunities to display her combat skills and acumen. She performed some of the most daring multi-vector combat maneuvers in fights with smaller and more maneuverable enemy vessels including the now-infamous Smŭrt Tsvyat or “Death Blossom”. She was promoted to Chief Tactical after the unfortunate capture and death of the Intrepid's previous officer, she took to the position with relish earning many commendations for bravery on away missions and ground combat actions. As well aboard the Intrepid Natalia met her husband John Shepard. The two enjoyed a whirlwind courtship and were married aboard the Intrepid by Capt. Jones. John was a sensible and quiet sort, Natalia felt herself attracted to his calm confidence while John enjoyed the fire and obstinate passion displayed by the “Warrior Princess” as she had come to be known aboard the ship.
Just Do It (2403-2405)
Natalia was happy aboard the Intrepid, she had the trust and admiration of her Captain and fellow officers, she had her husband and the ability to go out and “put boots to asses” every once in a while. She was living her dream job. However, her husband John did not enjoy being stationed on a combat vessel and desired only to have a quiet tour aboard a research vessel. Though they argued about it Natalia eventually gave in and John accepted a transfer to a Science vessel USS Nike and Natalia was allow to take over as chief of security on the ship.
Natalia knew she wouldn't see as much action aboard the Nike as she did the Intrepid, she did not anticipate seeing no action at all. After a year aboard she was tearing her hair out, spending more time attending martial arts tournaments and tactical symposiums, her frustration coupled with John's intractability when it came to finding a more exciting posting resulted in the two realizing that they were too incompatible; Natalia needed action and John would have none of it if she could manage.
The two were divorced about a year and a half after boarding the Nike, Natalia continued to perform her duties as security chief until she found another posting.
Fortunately for her, the Klingon attack on the Hiromi Cluster gave her the opportunity and when another Captain was impressed by Natalia's combat ability and service record, she jumped at the chance and accepted the position as XO aboard the USS Sparta, leaving John and the Nike behind she hasn't spoken to him since.
This is (the) Sparta! (2405-2409)
The USS Sparta and its grizzled crew of wily combat veterans was exactly what Natalia needed after the disappointment of the Nike.
An advanced heavy warship the Sparta found itself on the front lines of some of the heaviest fighting in the Klingon-Federation War and Natalia again impressed with her ability to not only think like a Klingon, but to think like a Klingon thinking outside of the box. She also seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to cloaked warships more often then not ordering a sudden evasive maneuver before a ship de-cloaked and fired. Her CO, Captain Tavus Chevin often commented in his logs how “Interesting that a human can so easily think like her opponent, she has displayed a deep knowledge of the tactics of several species, Klingon, Breen, Romulan, even Andorian...I am fascinated by this woman who sits next to me in battle”
It is suspected that Natalia and Captain Chevin shared a romantic relationship during her tour aboard the Sparta, if they did it was kept very private.
Defending Federation outposts, defeating Klingon attackers. It all reinvigorated Natalia to an incredible degree and she earned the respect and admiration of her crew and the accolades of the admiralty, so after 4 years aboard the Sparta following the Borg attack on Vega IX, Natalia was offered her first command a prototype attack ship named USS Kestrel.
Seeing this as a great opportunity she accepted and tearfully departed the Sparta, she carries a model of the Sparta in her ready room to this day.
The Flight of the Kestrel (2409-2416)
Taking her first full command, aboard a bonafide tactical warship was Natalia's dream come true. While many of her crew were new and untested, they were considered some of the best for their positions and over the course of 5 years, with the conflicts and turmoil the Federation has faced they have proven themselves against every challenge given.
The Kestrel played a vital role in defeating the Breen and securing the Preserver site, Natalia's tactics proved instrumental during the battle against the Lost Dominion fleet and the retaking of Deep Space Nine. Working alongside her hold CO Captain Jones, Natalia and her crew fought valiantly during the Undine Invasion of ESD, but it was during the following Vaadwaur and Iconian conflicts that Natalia and the Kestrel received their greatest accolades and respect, with Natalia's command of the Kestrel and her use of tactics and the unwavering loyalty she earned from a battle hardened crew giving her the moniker of “Czarina”.
During the final battle of the Iconian War, with an Iconian dreadnought taking aim at the flagships entering the temporal rift, Natalia and the Kestrel made a suicide run to divert it's fire, ramming it full speed and setting off every weapons battery, though she ordered to abandon ship she and her bridge crew stayed behind to ensure the gambit worked. They beamed off to a nearby ship just in time to see the Kestrel explode into the Iconian ship shattering it in a blossom of antimatter fire. She an her officers suffered serious injury, but were able to buy the ships a few more seconds to enter the rift and ultimately end the war with the Iconians.
First Class Ship of the Line (Current)
After recovering from wounds suffered during the Iconian War, Natalia took the time to relax and travelled to Risa where she happened upon Captain Chevin and the spent most of their vacation together. With the new peace between the Klingons and the Federation she worried there would be no place for her anymore, this fear was dispelled when she received her new orders...and new ship
The USS Century, designed and built primarily during the war with Iconia as a means to try to fight back, it is equipped with the latest designs in Starfleet for combat operations, it also supports much reverse-engineered Solinae technology and following the resolition of the Iconian Conflict it has more than a few Iconian parts, most notable they use of a Obelisk Swarmer Replicator which allows the ship to keep a wing of the devices.
Given her leadership and combat ability Natalia has been given command of this brand new ship, called the First Class Ship of the Line for the Alpha Quadrant. Taking her senior officers from the Kestrel Natalia now embarks on a new adventure, defending Starfleet interests against Breen Raiders, Nausicaan Pirates and True Way Separatists and showing the Alpha Quadrant the power of the Federation
The perfect job for the woman who has come to be known in certain command circles as “The Czarina”
Major Awards and Ribbons
Golden Starburst (Iconian)
Distinguished Service Cross (Repeat Cluster)
Starfleet Silver Star
Grankite Order of Tactics (Class of 2410)
Service Record
Ensign – Junior Helmsan, USS Intrepid
Lieutenant – Chief Tactical Officer, USS Intrepid
Lieutenant Commander – Chief Security Officer, USS Nike
Commander- First Officer, USS Sparta
Captain-USS Kestrel
Captain-USS Century