Character Profile - Briar Elin
Briar Elin
Trill Female
Place of Origin: Trillius Prime
Physical Description
Weight: 130 lbs
Height: 5′ 5″
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Personality Profile
Besides her extensive training in the Sciences, Briar is also a level 4 certified pilot and is decently versed in inter-planetary policy. She is, however, not exactly strong, though she has had basic hand-to-hand combat training and has average skills with a phaser. Briar can work well under stress and is a very stable individual mentally. Briar works hard but also enjoys a good day out.
Similar to her tendencies since grade school, her natural response in situations she is unsure of or uncomfortable in is to tend to be quiet and just observe what goes on around her.
Early years Biography
As a child, Briar grew up in a mountain home, built by her father, Gordan Elin, a professor in economics and a Department Head at a prestigious university. He designed and built the home himself and raised his 5 children with his wife, Melina. Every year the family made a trip out to spend a two week vacation on the seaside. Even as her brothers and sisters left home, they always returned for the seaside gatherings with their young families.
Although their father has passed away, all of the Elin children stay in close touch with their mother and with one another. Briar has always been accustomed to being the baby of the family. No matter what career or recognition she makes for herself, her siblings will always treat her as the littlest of their number, and while it’s annoying, in a way she is comforted by this.
Briar excelled in her class work, though she never liked the competitive nature of the Trill school systems. In high school she funneled her distaste of competitive education into tutoring other students. She particularly loved nature and began in depth personal exploration of Botany and Xenobiology. What most intrigued her was the broad variety of living things throughout the known galaxy, and yet the similar structures found in the natural environments of so many distant systems. By her senior year she had compiled a great deal of samples and journals filled with thoughts, observations, and postulations. None of her ideas were ever new, terribly thought provoking, or ingenious, but simply the musings of someone with a passion for the study.
Briar continued on to university on Trill, where she completed a doctorate in Medicine. She enjoyed the years away from home, living in her own apartment and visiting with friends and family. During breaks she often traveled to various humanitarian efforts or internships and her studies kept her very occupied.
History
Upon completing her medical schooling, she was recruited into Starfleet, to help staff a medical unit aboard the USS Revelry to aid in a minor war between the Federation and a former member world, Selelvia. She began with the field commissioned rank of Ensign. With the immediacy of need, quickly she improved her surgical skills under the direction offered by the senior Doctors already on staff. Most days brought challenges physically, intellectually, emotionally, ethically and even spiritually. But she knew she was where she was needed most and she drew strength from that knowledge.
After the Selevian War she decided to stay on and was given some indoctrination training, as well as training in counseling, then was assigned to the USS Cantell as a medical officer and counselor USS Cantell. During her time on the Cantell, Briar was promoted to Lt and served as Second Executive Officer in combination with her role as the Chief Counselor. An unusual incident with an alien vessel caused Briar to unintentionally bond with the organically based ship and when removed from her symbiosis, Briar’s mind was left with a flood of information.
Briar was transferred to the USS Hiroshima as Chief Counselor, and following another unexpected series of events, she was promoted to Lt Commander and named Executive Officer to Captain Tallik Imkhatt. Briar’s sudden change of direction from medical to command left her uncertain. She never had the aim, drive, or desire to be in a position of leadership, despite having some of the qualities that would allow her to be successful in such a role, although she hoped to adjust and grow into it. The joining with the living ship was at the same time leaving her with unusual thoughts and feelings and physical manifestations such as headaches and fainting. At first, (before her transfer to the Hiroshima) the Cantell CMO’s evaluation found nothing and insisted she continue with her duties. She manifested strange injuries and grew concerned about the bio ship, Rehtiak Tanassu Ibjimo , which she also refers to as the Elder. Captain Imkhatt rerouted the Hiroshima to help the Elder to heal and fend off Borg attackers (the damage from which had caused the manifestation of injury to Commander Elin)
After serving as first officer about 18 months, Commander Elin was reassigned to a medical emergency on a team to address an outbreak of a mutagenic virus on Borli IV. She served on the research team for about six months to contain the pathogen and treat the victims of the plague. It is believed to have been manufactured, but that aspect of the mystery has since been taken up by SF Intel.
All the while, Briar suffered from effects of the alien ship joining. She had enough medical experience to produce evidence of her condition for herself and contacted Starfleet Medical directly. Shortly after, she was given orders to report in to a major Starbase where further tests and examinations were performed. It was discovered that she did indeed have a wealth of new knowledge, and what seemed like a regular input of new information when she slept, but no easily accessible connections to it. To gain access to this information and to benefit from a more intentional connection with the alien vessel, (the Elder) and the inhabitants, in such a way to prevent further sympathetic physical expressions of damage and injury, it would be necessary to build those connections. The only way to do so would be through making associations and connecting new experiences to trigger connections to the memories.
For a decade she traveled on special assignments in deep space for Starfleet (passing between different ships and staying on various alien worlds) documenting her experiences and memories and reporting back what she learned to Starfleet. Just as she had once enjoyed exploration and inquiry, making journals and records in her youth, this expanded and became central to her career and her life experience.
After ten years abroad, Briar wanted to continue to travel, but she also missed a sense of home. She requested to return to the USS Hiroshima.
Additional Information: During her tour on USS Cantell, LCDR Elin experienced an inexplicable encounter with an alien biological space craft. Little is known about the vessel, or its symbiotic inhabitants, as the time that USS Cantell was in contact with the vessel was cut short by events. At the time, she was confused and disoriented.
Excerpt from Medical Record, LT Benjamin Bradford, M.D. …I see no medical evidence of any chronic symptoms from LTJG Elin’s interaction with the alien life form. It is my medical opinion that the young lady is attempting to give the impression of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, when, in fact, there is no medical basis for her assertion. I must, therefore, return her to full duty status and dismiss all of the patient’s assertions that there is still more to investigate…
( The unknown alien vessel, Rehtiak Tanassu Ibjimo. Translated, this means: Annointed Safekeeper [of our] Blessed Pilgrimage.)
Addendum: The alien vessel was later encountered by USS Hiroshima, confirming a telepathic bond between Briar Elin and the vessel, Rehtiak Tanassu Ibjimo (Annointed Safekeeper [of our] Blessed Pilgrimage). Although the mechanism of this joining is not fully understood, the biochemical changes are nearly indistinguishable from a Trill-symbiont joining. Side effects are unknown, as well, but include the inability for Miss Elin to join with a symbiont.
Education: Ornan North High, City of Ornan, Trillius Prime: Entered Fall 2364 – Graduated Spring 2368.
Callerman College, Township of Joren, Trillius Prime. Pre-Med: Entered Fall 2368 – Graduated Spring 2372
Kormack University, City of Yava, Trillius Prime. Entered in Fall 2372. Doctorate in Medicine Completed in Spring 2376
Starfleet Service: Joined Starfleet in 2377, given field commissioned rank of Ens.
Ens, Medical Officer, USS Revelry 2377-2379
Lt jg, Chief Counselor, USS Cantell 2379
Lt, 2XO/Chief Counselor, USS Cantell 2379-80
LCDR, XO USS Hiroshima 2381-2383
LCDR, Special Assignments 2384-2393
LCDR, Operations, USS Hiroshima 2394-present
OOC- Date of Service: writer rejoined the Hiroshima on 8 March 2018, having served on the ship previously from 15 July 2004 to 20 August 2008.