Lieutenant Commander Ayanja Tusalo
Name Ayanja Tusalo
Position Chief Science Officer
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Betazoid | |
| Age | 43 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5′ 6″ | |
| Weight | 134lbs | |
| Hair Color | Black | |
| Eye Color | Black | |
| Physical Description | Standing a little over five and a half feet, Aya may not look like much but she'll surprise you. Aya is fit, living an active lifestyle and nearly fifteen years in security has given Aya good habits and lots to show for it. What she lacks in height she certainly makes up for in muscle. You wouldn't expect it from a Science Officer but even if she's no longer in the field and into the lab she hasn't given up her routines. Aya is a Betazoid and thus ages very gracefully thanks to her people’s long lifetimes and healthy living. Changing her hairstyle frequently, she's in a phase of colors and short crops. She prefers it since it gives her a more mature look for her relatively young age compared to her human colleagues. Without it, she looks 10 years younger. Aya likes relaxed clothing off-duty: jeans, a tank top, a jacket, or even a T-shirt and canvas pants. She isn't one for dresses or skirts much, but she'll go for them when it's warm. Around her quarters, which she prefers to keep a bit warmer, she’ll opt for more traditional and lighter clothing than she would in public. One constant is her wedding band; while a human tradition, she wears it for her wife. |
Family
| Spouse | Javiylah MacArthur | |
| Father | Rhaedan Tusalo | |
| Mother | Isalora Tusalo | |
| Sister(s) | Doctor Teálati Tusalo Starfleet Medical Betazed Lurina Tusalo Painter |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Aya is a dedicated Starfleet Officer. A career spent in service to the Federation through good times and bad has challenged her ideals but shaped her into the officer she is today. Coming into a new stage of her life and Career pretty much all at once, Aya is both excited about what's next and slightly terrified. Recently married, she is flying high and trying to find the bright side of things again. Her experience during Frontier Day, and almost losing her now-wife, has been weighing on her through their honeymoon and into their return to service. Aya was insistent that they not be apart from each other when returning to the fleet. Despite it all, Aya tries to keep her youthful exuberance intact. She strives to be as bright and welcoming, outgoing and happy. Ayanja is often described by her friends as gregarious, sometimes overly so; although by Betazoid standards she’s about average. Always eager to meet someone new, Ayanja prefers to be around others than be alone. If you need to find her off duty, pick the place with the most people and the most energy then head for the center of it. Even in her living situation, she prefers to have someone else there; after her first assignment when she was promoted and due new quarters Ayanja requested to remain with her roommate. Ayanja has a strong desire to help and protect people. As the oldest daughter of her family and a daughter of the thirteenth house, she was raised to protect and watch out for others. Not only is it her duty and a family legacy but she sees and feels that it’s a calling; one she intends to uphold. Ayanja knows that she should always strive for a peaceful resolution and that the best way to solve a problem is to talk her way out of a situation rather than use force. However, once that point is reached Ayanja is willing to act, confident in her ability and her training. These kinds of situations are the few in which she has little issue using her empathic and telepathic powers. Ayanja has learned that when it comes to life or death the privacy rules of her people are inconvenient, to say the least. When she’s been forced into these situations she often feels guilty after the fact, but knows she did the right thing; knowing the importance of coming home at the end of the day. Still Ayanja; like other Betazoids gladly follows the strict privacy rules of her people, never delving into another mind or emotional state unless necessary and welcomed. Like other Betazoids Ayanja needs to have a place to retreat to when her mental shields become overwhelmed by those around her. Aya has found that doing something with her hands is best. Cooking and painting are her favorite ways to center herself, there’s just something about there being just her, the canvas and her imagination that just calms her. She rarely gets to this point anymore and both have just become something of a hobby, but it does happen from time to time. |
|
| Strengths & Weaknesses | Strengths Ayanja is a compassionate woman, who tries to do her best by those around her. To this end, she has well-developed interpersonal skills, although she can be a little intense for people not accustomed to Betazoids. While she’s gotten better at controlling her exuberance, in this way her control is less than ironclad. She has a sharp mind for her work and is very dedicated. She is also quick-witted and has tested well in high-stress scenarios; although this hasn’t been largely tested in actual field conditions. Because of her training as a Security Officer, Ayanja is a great shot, not the best in her class mind you but she’s far above average. She is also in excellent physical condition and trained in several forms of self-defense. Ayanja has strong mental control over her empathic and telepathic powers. Like all Betazoids she has been trained all her life how to use her abilities appropriately. Over the years though, her emotional and physical connections have become much stronger. She has developed a partner bond with her Wife Javi. They can feel each other's thoughts, and emotions, and with some concentration even sensations can be transferred across their bond. Aya has wondered since she was little what it would be like to find her Imzadi, now that she’s found Javi, she couldn’t be happier. Fluent in several languages, Ayanja likes to show off these skills when possible. Weaknesses Ayanja has some pretty strong beliefs about her duty and what Starfleet should be doing and tends to defend any position of hers…vigorously. She has been known to dig in her heels a bit. Aya is still learning what it means to be a Scientist. While she’s done the job for many years, she has to remind herself she’s not in Security any longer. Her high-energy social attitude can be off-putting to many people and she has spent twenty years trying to find more of a balance. Although she has a high tolerance for crowds Ayanja does have her limits. Usually as she gets closer and closer her professional filter starts to slip. When pushed to her limit she can get very snappy almost to the point of not acting like her usual welcoming self. In extreme cases where someone is incapable of taking a hint, she’s lashed out. |
|
| Ambitions | Aya is reevaluating her life at the moment. Originally thinking her switch from Security to Sciences was following a true calling. Now taking the next step in her personal life Aya has begun to question what her future will be like. Does she continue her career, or does she look toward returning home? Aya could very well see herself becoming a Starship Captain one day, sitting in that center chair. While most of her family is in the public service fields, very few end up joining Starfleet. And of those who have left home to join up, most don’t end up having long careers. On one hand, Ayanja has enjoyed her time in Starfleet and wants to see where that leads. Although there is a part of her that would love to return to Betazed see what that life has in store for her. Her main ambition is to be a good wife and partner to Javi. She understands that they both have their duties and careers, but in the end she wants her marriage to flourish as much as her career has. She wants it to be exciting, and fulfilling to make it something that will take her and Javi to unseen places. |
|
| Hobbies & Interests | Aya’s hobbies generally either help her blow off steam from a tough day or help her center herself and her mental shields. When she’s looking to blow off some steam she prefers to be active, spending hours working out or sparring with her teammates. Over the years she’s taken a liking to various weapon forms, especially those from Earth. When she’s trying to relax Aya likes to paint or work clay, anything with her hands where she’s building something. The physical act of creating somehow helps her build back up her mental shielding. FOOD, Aya loves food, trying food, making food, and looking at food. It’s delicious and she enjoys it in all its forms. She’s not the best cook that’s for sure, but certainly does give it her all. Whenever possible she’ll try to get to know the chef on an assignment just to see if she can learn something. |
| Personal History | Early Life Born in Medara City on Betazed Aya is the eldest of three, and heir to the seat of the Thirteenth House of Betazed. Her mother is of high station in the Thirteenth House while her father is of middle station in the Second house. Because of the very Hierarchical structure of Betazoid high society her father “joined” the Thirteenth house when they were married. However, he still remained a fixture within the Second House. Ayanja and her siblings always felt that because of the differing ideals of the two houses they were being pulled in opposite directions by her parents. She could easily see the merits of both philosophies. Being the eldest of three children, Aya got used to looking out for them when she was growing up. As the First Daughter of the ruling family of the Thirteenth house and thus the heir she had the best education that could be provided and opportunities to travel and experience things even more than normal in such a post-scarcity society. All in all, she and her siblings had happy childhoods, but Aya always felt somewhat unfulfilled. Sure she did well in her studies and showed an inquisitive view of the universe. But despite all that she was constantly wanting more than to follow in her mother’s footsteps. When the Dominion War started it seemed so very far away that it almost didn't seem real. Things continued on like normal for her family as if people weren't fighting to keep them safe. During a family vacation to Casperia Prime for some reason, they ended up staying longer than they originally intended. Aya didn't know why just that everyone was worried, her mother and her aunts were working a lot more and she had to take care of her younger siblings. It wasn't until after Betazed was liberated that they returned and Aya found out what happened. This brought the reality of the war home in some rather stark contrast. Seeing all the destruction, all those killed, many of her friends… missing or worse. Aya felt very guilty afterward, she had been blissfully safe and secure on Casperia while her friends and many of her family were under the Dominion's thumb. This helped influence her decision to shirk following the family's footsteps and apply for a Pre-Starfleet program with an interest in Security. Her parents weren’t all that enthusiastic about her choice, but Aya couldn’t be convinced. She had been raised to protect her family, her siblings, her parents, and her planet, and this was how she was going to do it. Accepted into the class of 2380, Aya found herself celebrating relatively alone. Her parents wouldn’t take part, their opinion of Starfleet since the war taking a sour turn, and her sister Lurina did not want to upset their mother. When she left for the Academy on Earth, only Teálati saw her off, promising that one day she was going to follow in Aya’s footsteps. Giving her a much-needed boost Aya left for Earth, starting her adventure. Aya performed well at the Academy, her inquisitive skills and excellent fitness serving her well on the Security Track. Dipping her toes into other fields she found botany and xeno-zoology quite intriguing and the various disciplines that came with it gave her a sense of calm. But they were also a distraction. Starfleet needed people focused, they needed those who were in roles like hers to focus on that and so she shut the door on that interest and carried on. Graduating from the Academy with high enough marks she was able to attend Starfleet’s Criminal Investigations Collage. With Aya’s record it wasn’t hard for her to secure a shipboard posting as her first assignment; Assigned to the Security Division she joined the USS Challenger. Quick to try to prove herself among all the veteran officers aboard, Aya pushed herself hard. She spent all her time, too much time really, training. Hours spent on the range, in holodeck simulations, familiarizing herself with the ship, she barely had time to get to know her fellow Beta Shifters. But it did pay off, she got herself noticed by the Ship’s Chief of Security Lieutenant Hawkins. He took her under his wing, teaching her what he knew, and molding her into an effective and at times deadly Security Officer. Her time aboard Challenger was full of growth, both professionally and personally. Professionally as her skills developed so did her focus and ability to investigate. Aya also showed a special skill for VIP protection details, not only good at her job but also good at interacting with her principal and the public. Personally, she began to make friends, some good, others bad, and one or two missteps later she was starting to understand what it was really like to live outside of Betazed. Her first big real mistake came when she faced death for the first time. She got involved with Hawk, what started as a death-defying passion became an affair, one which she continued for far too long. But in the end, it helped her grow, try new things and eventually mature enough to break things off before either of them did something stupid. Even after she remained aboard Challenger becoming a Security Team Leader and one of Hawk’s most dependable officers. But she couldn’t remain aboard forever, she soon transferred to the USS Venture as one of the ship’s Assistant Chief’s of Security. It was here that Aya started making a real name for herself as a leader. Taking charge of Security Forces during Venture’s mission to Ruhoka, Aya kept the situation from spiraling out of control and without civilian casualties. This was also the first time she met her future wife, then Chief Warrant Officer Javiylah McArthur. At the time, however, it was more akin to a crush mixed with a fair amount of lust. Aya hadn’t met someone like her, a strong and confident, woman at the top of her game, and knew it. Not that her interest was returned, but her friendship was even if it was a bit reluctant at first. In time though, Aya started to get to know the woman behind the attraction. Her interests deepened, something the young Betazoid hadn’t felt before. It took her time to understand and come to terms with it, Betas having quite the broad ideas of monogamy. In time she accepted what she felt and shared those feelings only to be turned down again. Admittedly doing so while helping Javi through a forced Medical leave after a mountain sort of collapsed on her might not have been the best idea. She took it about as well as she could. Aya remained professional but personally she didn’t do well. It was hard, she balanced things out by being a bit more free in her attentions for a while after that. Despite her more personal turmoil, Aya did still progress professionally. Despite this and their new assignments, Javi to Starbase 371 and Aya taking over Security on the Venture she found that she couldn’t and didn’t want to remove Javi from her life. Aya only stayed on Venture another year, quickly being selected for the Chief of Security position aboard the USS Odyssey. It was quite an honor to be selected, as Security Chief on Starfleet’s newest class of heavy cruisers. It was also a bit awkward as she was reunited with Hawk. So soon after leaving things with Javi, Aya had a bit of a time coming to terms with all of this. Even in her turmoil, she reached out to the Chief looking for some advice. It took some time to hear it, more often than not Aya was reaching out with some update on her life, subtly and sometimes not so subtly asking for help. It was speaking to Javi that made Aya realize she needed a change in her life. Joining Starfleet had been her calling, but joining Security had not. She did that because she needed to protect people, she needed to deal with being useless to her family and friends during the war. But it wasn’t what she wanted to do. It didn’t matter if she was good at it, each day was getting harder and harder, less and less fulfilling. It took a lot of soul-searching and more than a few late-night long-distance calls to make her understand that she needed to do something for herself. Aya had always been curious, she liked unraveling mysteries, she just needed a different type of mystery. Applying and being accepted to the Rankanta Campus of Starfleet’s Science College, Aya began her year-long course in Science Officer training. Specializing in General Sciences with a minor in Xeno-Botany and Astrological Certifications, Aya did surprisingly well. She took to the courses, all the electives she took while back at the Academy giving her an edge she didn’t expect. She was able to complete the program and be assigned to Deep Space Nine as a Science Officer while finishing her advanced courses on Bajor. Truly falling in love with the planet she thought she wouldn't leave for a very long time. She made friends, found a vacation spot she really enjoyed, and even a woman, Ishan Teya who she very much fell for, eventually moving in together. But the Fleet would always come first. Aya was a career woman, and when she received the offer to join the crew of the soon-to-be-launched USS Venture - B, Admiral Perin her former CO was trying to assemble as many of the old crew as she could; Aya couldn't pass it up. Tyea couldn’t leave Bajor, she didn’t want to be the traveling companion of a Starfleet Officer, even one she loved. So they went their separate ways, Aya feeling unlucky in love once more but proud of the adult decisions she made. This didn’t stop her from wallowing a bit or calling Javi for more advice, but she had plenty to distract her. It was also her first taste at leading the Division, being assigned the Assistant Chief Science Officer. Aya was a bit shocked, she’d expected to be in general sciences, or running the Botany Department at best. Aya might have been a Chief before but it took her time to be able to do so in sciences. It was so different from Security. But she found the challenge invigorating, it was new and fresh and she felt like she was coming into her own. In 2396, just as she was getting her sea legs under her, Javi came back into her life. Assigned as the Venture’s Chief Operations Officer, feels she had put aside for nearly a decade came rushing back. It was one thing to stay in contact, to ask for advice, but having here there hit differently. Doing her best to keep things professional, it was still easy to have Javi back in her life. Both of them had changed, they were on different footing now. It felt good, it felt natural and it also scared the crap out of her. For over a year, the two danced around each other. It wasn’t until they were assigned to a special mission that went awry together that she had to face these feelings. Just as they had nearly many years before, Javi was injured and forced to go on Medical Leave. Stubborn as she always had been, only Aya was able to convince her to go. This same situation brought up too many feelings and memories and Aya had to confront it. Working herself up, ready to be rejected again and needing to sit down and figure everything out she was taken completely by surprise when Javi returned her feelings. So taken by surprise she almost messed everything up. It took some time to figure out what they were, but it was quickly apparent that it was far more than a fling. As their relationship deepened, so did Aya’s confidence in her abilities. Having someone there who could support her and keep her focused. This paid off when she was promoted to Chief Science Officer of the Venture. They were happy, finally happy, the years passed so quickly and slowly all at once. It truly seemed as if their honeymoon period never ended. Making up for lost time it wasn't long before they were engaged. Of course, Starfleet had to get in the way. Javi was needed at Utopia Planitia as it entered its final months of refit and repair before coming online. Aya was proud, but she didn’t want Javi to go, she wasn’t ready to part this time. Pushing herself she made sure they stayed connected, even during what was supposed to be a temporary time apart. It took some doing but Aya was able to make it work, in time she settled into a rhythm for what a multi-lightyear long-distance relationship meant. She also adopted a Maine Coon she named Meowron. Instead of focusing too much on her relationship woes, Aya refocused on her work. Her hard work had paid off she'd been offered the position of the newly Commissioned USS Sagan, the first of her class. A Science Vessel created using lessons learned from Borg technology integrated with Starfleet systems. Aya was ecstatic to say the least, the opportunity to serve on a truly 25th-century vessel at the turn of the century. Launching herself fully into the role, Aya couldn't wait for Javi to join her. Now that her assignment to Utopia Planitia was over she had one more duty before they could be reunited. With the 250th anniversary of Frontier Day just around the corner, Javi had been pulled in to serve as Chief of Operations aboard Sol Station. Then the Borg attempted their takeover of Starfleet Aya was aboard the Sagan, she was able to escape the bridge with the First Officer and a few others. While they weren't able to retake the ship they were able to subdue a majority of their younger crew. By the time they were safe all Aya could do was watch as her ship fired on Sol Station, on Javi; When the station fell, she thought she lost her. Relief when they were reunited didn’t begin to describe how she felt. She couldn’t imagine them being apart. Nor could she imagine waiting any longer, as soon as the Fleet could spare them they whisked away to Casperia Prime, all their wedding plans out the window as they made the time about themselves. Coming back Aya expected they’d return to the Sagan, but Starfleet had other ideas. The Sagan was heavily damaged in the battle and most of the crew was being reassigned. Aya and Javi as surviving senior officers who hadn’t needed to be upjumped were assigned to the Valiant and Project EDEN. |
|
| Service Record | 2376-2380 Cadet Starfleet Academy 2380 - 2380 Ensign Starfleet Criminal Investigations College 2380-2382 Ensign USS Challenger Security Officer 2382-2385 Lieutenant Junior Grade USS Challenger Security Team Leader 2385-2389 Lieutenant Junior Grade USS Venture Assistant Chief Security Officer 2389-2390 Lieutenant USS Venture Chief Security Officer 2390 - 2392 Lieutenant USS Odyssey Chief Security Officer 2392-2393 Lieutenant Starfleet Academy Sciences College - Rakantha Campus 2393 - 2395 Lieutenant Deep Space Nine Science Officer 2395 - 2398 Lieutenant Commander USS Venture - B Assistant Chief Science Officer 2398 - 2400 Lieutenant Commander USS Venture - B Chief Science Officer 2400 - 2401 Lieutenant Commander USS Sagan Chief Science Officer |