Commander Neydani Edeen

Character Information

Gender		Female
Species		Bajoran
Age		33
Birthdate		July 18th, 2360
Birthplace		Lonar Province - Bajor

Physical Appearance

Height		5'3
Weight		120lbs
Hair Color		Dark Blonde
Eye Color		Brown
Physical Description		Edeen has long very dark brown almost black hair that she often keeps up in either a bun or tail of some sort, although occasionally she will wear it down on slow days. Edeen generally wears very little makeup except on a few special occasions and even then there is no guarantee. Edeen has always been an active woman, playing springball all the time as a child. Edeen will also spend a couple of hours a day in the gym, giving her a very toned physique. Edeen’s on duty wardrobe is largely based on practicality more than anything else. Most days this means her uniform. Off duty she’ll mix it up a bit with various kinds of blouses and pants combinations were her main items of clothing, along with tights, sweaters and the occasional dress or even rarer skirt. One constant item in her wardrobe is an old dark brown leather jacket she’s had since she was at the academy. As a sign of her faith and pride in her heritage, Edeen is never seen without her earring on her right ear. After her time on earth Edeen has also taken to wearing something on her left ear as well.

Family

Spouse		None
Children		None
Father		Neydani Jol Kava Root & Moba Fruit Farmer
Mother		Neydani Falah Kava Root & Moba Fruit Farmer
Brother(s)		Neydani Haron - Killed 2357 Neydani Rukel - Artist Hindla Cavan - Musician - In-law
Sister(s)		Neydani Velia - Lieutenant Commander Starfleet Neydani Jala - Artist Hindla Ren - Restaurant Owner
Other Family		Captain Makayla Perin - (Future Sister-in-law)

Personality & Traits

General Overview		Driven and determined, Edeen has always gone for what she’s wanted. While Edeen is generally a friendly person, when first meeting someone she is often quite reserved, not rude or cold, just not completely open. She will take time getting to know someone before she will really let them in. Once she does though, Edeen is a very different person; loud, witty and welcoming. Like most Bajorans, Eddie has opinions on everything from politics to the best kind of Raktajino, positions she will defend passionately. Edeen has a strong moral code in addition to firmly believing in the oaths she took as a Starfleet Officer. Sometimes adhering to these oaths has been inconvenient but she follows them with a clear conscience. Edeen wasn’t exactly raised in a very spiritual environment; but for most of her life she was the most devout member of her family. While she doesn’t get as much of chance to pray or meditate as she used to and she hasn’t been to a temple in years, Edeen still believes as strongly as when she was a child. Edeen is fiercely protective of her friends and especially family (bio or not); if someone were to threaten them or put them in danger, the oaths she took would probably go right out the airlock. Edeen doesn’t like bullies. She’s dealt with them all her life; first the Cardassians, then the Circle, the Dominion. Edeen has no patience for them. Edeen has very high expectations of her staff. In her professional life, as in her personal life, Edeen doesn’t suffer fools. If one of her people isn’t up to the job, she will give them a chance and work with them to improve; if they are unable or unwilling to put in the time, she has no problem with having them reassigned. This has in the past put people off, but for Edeen average just isn’t good enough. That being said she isn’t a stickler for procedure either. As an Engineer she learned early on that sometimes to get the job done you had to improvise and ‘go with the flow’. She has taken that mindset on into other parts of her career often preferring to keep things loser.
Strengths & Weaknesses		Strengths • Knows how to motivate her staff • Qualified Pilot Starship/Shuttle • Quick-witted and can think fast on her feet • Very competitive • Smart, ambitious Weaknesses • Can be a bit of a worrier when it comes to her people. • Sometimes too competitive • Aggressive • Has a tendency to dig her heels in when she’s passionate about something.
Ambitions		Edeen always wanted to adventure and explore, maybe design a starship or two. But now that she’s had a taste of command, Edeen is starting to think a change of career is in order.
Hobbies & Interests		Edeen is an avid fan of Spring Ball; she’s played the game ever since she was a little girl. Edeen loves the physicality of it and the need to think on your feet, constantly reacting to your opponents’ moves. She considers it superior to other similar sports like human racquetball. She does, however, have an appreciation for Parrises squares and while at the Academy tried her hand at rugby. Going along with her active lifestyle, Edeen actually enjoys spending time at the gym; she likes to get lost in a workout where she can clear her mind and just be. Like most of her family Edeen is a huge baseball fan, supporting her home team the Rakantha Iron Wings. Edeen loves old stories about sailing ships; something about the freedom provided and the parallels to starships that intrigues her. When on Earth she often took opportunities to go sailing, on everything from modern sailboats to old sailing ships from the 1700s. Well practiced in different martial arts. Her older sister Velia insisted Edeen and her other siblings learn to defend themselves in case the Cardassians came for them. At the time Edeen had thought it a bit extreme but during the war, when the Arcadia was boarded she was glad for the lessons.

Personal History		Early Life Edeen was born on Bajor in the 38th year of the occupation, in Rakantha Provence; at the time she was the youngest of three children. Like all Bajorans at the time Edeen had a rough time growing up; there was never enough food or medical supplies or in some winters even blankets. Still her family persevered, many becoming involved with the resistance over the years. Growing up Edeen always looked up to her older siblings, especially her sister Velia; they were like superheroes. Haron was the first of the children to join the local resistance group, her parents were not pleased. When their children were born the elder Neydani’s gave up the fighter’s life to raise their children. They still believed in opposing the Cardassians, but not through the same means. Still, they respected their son’s decision to fight. Velia wanted to join too, but they wouldn’t let her. Soon after the twins Rukel and Ren were born. It was hard feeding so many living as they did; moving from refugee and resistance camps all the time. So they saved and were eventually able to buy a plot of land from a family friend. Working the land was difficult but her parents seemed to take to it. For Edeen and Velia it was quite the adjustment. They had been so used to living on the move, suddenly having a permanent home to come back to was quite strange. Even more so was going into the nearest town to sell their Kava and get new supplies. It was strangely domestic, but also hazardous. They had to be constantly on the look out for Cardassians; more than once they were stopped and questioned along the roads and even when they got to town. Getting through what eventually became a routine questioning was often very simple. They had all their paperwork in order and hiding weapons or explosives or even people was impossible in a cart full of Kava. What got to Edeen was the stares she and Velia would get from some of the soldiers. The ones who looked down on them or were disgusted at their presence were easy enough to deal with; you simply ignored them. It was the ones with well lust in their eyes you had to be careful of. The sisters quickly learned which soldiers in their area to watch out for, who was ‘safe’ to be around and how to dress not to be noticed. They were lucky that neither of them were brought in for ‘questioning’ despite one or two close calls. For a time things were looking up for the family. The farm was doing well, the Cardassians rarely bothered them and the resistance seemed to be making headway against the invaders. It didn’t last; one night a runner from the resistance arrived at their farm in the middle of the night. Haron had been gravely wounded in a Cardassian attack and they weren’t sure he would survive. In the dead of night the family slipped out and made the trek up to the resistance camp. By the time they arrived and were able to see him Edeen was a wreck. Death and loss were common to all Bajorans by now, but so far they had gotten through unscathed. Velia comforted her for a while, their parents wouldn’t let her go out and join the group retaliating so she stayed. Velia was a rock, she’d always been so strong, so sure of herself spending the last few years helping out at the resistance clinic had only made her stronger. Edeen needed that strength now more than ever. They stayed until he passed, peacefully. Edeen remembered falling asleep in Velia’s arms but when she woke up her older sister was gone. She’d snuck out to join the scouts hitting the Cardassians. Edeen had wanted to be angry at Lia and was right up to the moment she came back triumphant, then all she could feel was relief. In the aftermath of Haron’s death Edeen turned to religion. None of her family were particularly religious; they believed in the Prophets but they never worshiped. Edeen found comfort in the teachings; the idea that, despite the adversity, things would eventually work out. While many of the family thought she was being a bit foolish, none said so and even supported her. When Velia became more involved in the Resistance, Edeen took over at the clinic. The first few months were pretty horrifying; phaser burns, knife wounds, shrapnel; you name it she helped treat it. Whether she eventually got used to the carnage or not was hard to say, at most she probably just accepted it and moved on. Once again things started to get back to normal at least for a time. The mid 2360s it was clear that the Cardassisans were starting to lose their hold on Bajor. The resistance was making more headway every day, even when Velia’s scout party was ambushed, they didn’t lose momentum. But Lia did and Edeen felt so powerless. Velia had lost someone close to her, Laran Anjar, and Edeen didn’t know how to make things better. So she simply carried on doing her best to support her sibling. But nothing seemed to quite be enough. When she learned that Velia would be leaving to join Starfleet, Edeen was once again a mess. At first she didn’t understand, thinking it had somehow been her fault because she hadn’t found a way to make her feel better. And even though Velia made it clear to Edeen that wasn’t the case, the younger Bajoran still felt awful. That pity and sadness quickly turned to anger as her departure date closed. She was angry at the Cardassians for killing Heron and Anjar, she blamed Starfleet for wanting to recruit Bajorans, she blamed her parents for letting Velia go and finally she blamed Velia herself for abandoning her just like Heron did. She hated the rest for quite some time, but she just couldn’t stay angry at her sister. Despite their relationship remaining strong, Edeen was still in a bad way when she left. It would have been so easy for her to wallow in self-pity, but simply put she didn’t have the time. As the eldest she had quite a bit more responsibility. She had to help out more around the farm and watch after her younger siblings especially her sisters Ren and newborn Jala. Really, despite all her new responsibilities, Edeen truly didn’t get back on track until they started getting letters from Velia. 2369 -When the Cardassians pulled out, Edeen celebrated like everyone else -Was a bit of an adjustment, not having to worry about a Cardassian Soldier taking an interest in her walking down the street. -Happy when Velia came back but sad Starfleet didn’t work out -Father joins Provisional Government as Rakantha’s agricultural minister -Got to meet Li Nalas when he visited the Chamber of Ministers When the Cardassians finally pulled out Edeen celebrated; finally after eighty years of occupation the Cardassians were gone. To call the period after they left an adjustment didn’t do it service. You could walk the streets at night, go to the market, play in the fields without attracting attention of Cardassian soldiers. The police on the streets were there to help and protect you, and Bajorans in government positions weren’t collaborators. It was a strange and wonderful time. One thing Edeen had to get used to was the idea that she could pick her future. She wasn’t restricted to being a Kava farmer or a resistance fighter and she didn’t quite know what to make of that. Another big change for the family was her father’s new job, because of how successful the farm had been, his ties to the resistance and status as a community leader he was made the Agricultural Minister for the Rakantha Provence. Now he was taking trips into the city almost daily and spending time at the Chamber of Ministers in Ashalla. That was all great, but the best part was Velia came home. Apparently things hadn’t worked out on Earth, something about idiot Federation types and jerkass Bolians. Velia never really elaborated and it wasn’t all that important to Edeen; her sister was home and while she was sad things hadn’t worked out for her, it was Starfleet’s loss and the families gain. Velia joined the Militia and actually ended up being assigned to their province. It didn’t last long however, Velia quickly became fed up with the buracracy and corruption she saw nt eh provisional government. In a little over a year Velia was gone again and Edeen sank back into a rut for a while. It wasn’t uuntil it became clear that Velia wasn’t coming back Edeen finally started to come ack out of her shell. The sporadic letter they received from all over the Cardassian DMZ gi from Velia helped too. 2370 -During the Circle crisis Edeen met Kejan for the first time -Walking to her father’s office after school Edeen saw a crowd of kids, even recognizing a few from school -Curious she went over to check things out, saw a mob of kids watching a few beat up another boy -Not liking bullies and knowing it’s what Velia would have done, Edeen intervened -Fighting off the boys she didn’t realize she was helping a half Cardassian -Surprised by Kejan’s appearance is either rude or runs off, offending the boy -feeling guilty, comes back and tries to apologize, at first Kejan wouldn’t accept but Edeen wouldn’t give up -Came back every day for a week, until he would speak to her. -He laid into her shouting about how much of a hypocrite she was, Edeen argued back -Still she came to see his point of view and after admitting it, she proposed they start over -Kejan while hesitant at first became one of her best friends -Neydani’s sheltered him when the pro-Circle forces clashed with the government As 2370 rolled around the honeymoon period was over Velia had been gone for about a month and troubles were starting to come to Bajor. All the good will that had built up since the Cardassians left was quickly being used up. Old grudges ere becoming more pronounced, and ambitious men and women were taking over the government. For the Neydani’s however things were pretty good. Her father had a good position with the Provisional Government, their farm was doing well and Edeen was having a chance to get a real education. One of the most amazing things was meeting Li Nalas after he was rescued from the Cardassians. She like so many other Bajorans had grown up hearing stories of the man, and meeting him was just…beyond what she could have expected. She was riding so high after the meeting she wasn’t paying attention to the growning negative climate around the planet. For her Bajor was peaceful and prosperous more so than it had ever been in her lifetime. When this perception was shattered, it was sudden and violent. 2371 -Father left the Chamber of Ministers when Kai Winn elected First Minister -Didn’t agree with her solution for Rakantha farming problems -For a very short time, Edeen considered becoming a Vedek and spend a couple of months at the Shikina Monastery (Monastery of the Kai) in Ashalla -While the time she spent there was enlightening, Edeen quickly found that life wasn’t for her. It wasn’t even that she had other interests, it was the politics. She never would have guessed that she would be exposed to more backhanded talk and underhanded deals in a monastery than she was at her father’s office. 2372 -Starts thinking about joining Starfleet -Didn’t believe Akorem Laan was the Emissary -Couldn’t understand his insistence that the Prophets would want them to move backward to again embrace the D'jarra’s -Would have been part of the Ke'lora caste -Seeing how many people would blindly follow Akorem cements her decision to leave home and join Starfleet. -One of a half dozen Bajorans who got a personal recommendation from Captain Sisko for admittance to the Academy -Edeen still has a copy of the letter since it came from the Emissary himself. Starfleet Academy - Joined Starfleet to continue what Velia had started -Loved being at the Academy, excelled in operations and flight control courses. Also enjoyed engineering work. -Surprised to find a Bajoran meditation garden on the grounds, spent a lot of time there -Missed her friends and family -Some instructors assumed she was the same as her sister, that she wouldn’t last long -End of second year assigned to the Arcadia an Akira class starship for her cadet cruise USS Arcadia -When the war broke out Arcadia was stuck in the thick of things, assigned to protect the USS Lexington during the Torros III raid. -Taking heavy damage Edeen and the other cadets had to step up and fill the holes in the crew roster -Because of the losses Starfleet was taking, Edeen and many other Cadets were given field commissions -Edeen served as Arcadia’s Operations Officer -During patrol, Arcadia is jumped by a wing of Cardassian fighters; hard fight Arcadia is eventually disabled and boarded. -Crew had to fight off Cardassians until reinforcements could come to their rescue -Although the ship and crew had been through a lot, Arcadia was rushed back into service -Fighting in several more battles of the war Arcadia was in it up until the very end. -After Cardassia and the Dominion’s surrender, Arcadia was assigned to the Allied Reconstruction Forces Allied Reconstruction Forces -Hard to get used to seeing the Cardassians so defeated -Even when they were forced off Bajor, they never seemed too downtrodden -She thought it would make her feel good; some kind of poetic justice. But it actually didn’t, there was no vindication she just ended up feeling sorry for them -Her being a Bajoran was more of a hurdle for the Cardassians they were trying to help. Normally a very proud people, they just couldn’t seem to get over getting help from her. -Still she stayed on the planet for two years before getting a reassignment Deep Space Nine -Assigned at the same time as her older sister. Velia had come back only about a year earlier; they had visited a couple of times but because of their assignments they hadn’t been able to do much more. -It was strange for both of them, having to get to know the other all over again. -Eventually found a good rhythm, Velia appreciating Edeen trying to carry on for her. -Briefly assigned to the new Ashalla Rehabilitation Center. - Starfleet Academy -Inspired by her sister going to school and earning her degrees, Edeen decided to return to the Academy and complete what she started. -Because of her experience over the last six years, Edeen ended up at the Engineering Specialty college rather than the basic Academy -Interesting being back on Earth, looked so different than it did when she was a Cadet -While at the College she was also assigned as a junior staff officer at the regular Academy -Was interesting the dynamics between Cadets who’d been at the Academy through the war and those veteran former enlisted IKS Gho’be -Wanted to go back to DS9, but instead was offered a spot in the interspecies officer exchange program on a 6 month tour -Edeen was surprised to be assigned to a Klingon ship -She wasn’t a warrior and had rarely even met a few Klingons let alone served with any. -The closest she got was a cursory understanding of the language -Still she took it as a challenge and accepted -At first wished she hadn’t, no one took her seriously at just a little over 5’6” on average she didn’t even come up to the shorter warrior’s shoulders -One in particular B’raka enjoyed giving her a hard time, he didn’t seem vindictive and wasn’t cruel it was just clear that like the rest of the crew, she had yet to earn their respect. -At first she just tried to get through it, hoping that eventually she’d prove her worth, but even though she was good at her job that wasn’t enough for the Klingons -So at the urging of K’Tor her Ops second on one rather rambunctious day Edeen confronted B’raka -While he was laughing with his friends she got a chair, stood on it so they were on more equal footing and she head butted him -Edeen may have ended up slightly concussed, and nearly fallen off the chair but she knocked B’raka down, she challenged him a way another warrior would, respecting the culture -After that Edeen quickly became accepted by the crew, often eating lunch with B’raka, K’Tor and Modak -Ended up staying an extra 6 months, she never really embraced the warrior culture like other exchange officers did. -Edeen actually enjoyed just spending time with the Klingons, there was just so much more to them than honor and battle; they were fun and spiritual too. -She still keeps in touch USS Challenger -Hoped that after the exchange program being such a success, she’d finally get back to DS9 or at least something closer to home. -Instead she was assigned to the USS Challenger -Was strange being on a ship so large -At one point in 2386 was assigned to babysit a group of annoying Diplomats -Didn’t exactly go well but not exactly bad either -Got her noticed by the Captain and XO as someone who could get the job done, promoted to Chief Strategic Operations Officer
Service Record		2373-2374 Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth Cadet 2374-2375 USS Arcadia NCC 63875, Akira Class Field Studies Cadet, Midshipman 2375-2376 USS Arcadia NCC 63875, Akira Class Operations Officer, Ensign 2376-2377 USS Arcadia NCC 63875, Akira Class & Headquarters Allied Reconstruction Forces - Cardassia Operations Officer, Ensign 2377-2378 USS Arcadia NCC 63875, Akira Class & Headquarters Allied Reconstruction Forces - Cardassia Assistant Operations Officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade 2378-2380 Deep Space Nine, Nor Class & Ashalla Rehabilitation Center, Bajor Assistant Operations/Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade 2380-2382 Starfleet Academy Engineering College San Francisco, Earth Lieutenant Junior Grade 2382-2383 IKS Gho'be' Operations Officer, Lieutenant 2383-2384 USS Challenger, Galaxy Class Chief Operations Officer, Lieutenant 2384-2388 USS Challenger, Galaxy Class Chief Strategic Operations Officer, Lieutenant