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| T'Ral | |
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Gender: |
Female |
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Species: |
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Homeworld: |
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Birth: |
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Affiliation: |
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| Career | |
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Posting: |
USS Franklin (2373-2367) |
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Rank: |
Ensign (2373) |
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Status: |
Active (2376) |
| Family | |
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Marital Status: |
Single, formerly engaged (2359–2376) |
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Spouse(s): |
Tovik (ex-fiancé) |
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Other Relatives: |
Seris (mother) |
T'Ral was a Vulcan Starfleet officer active from the 2370s onward.
History[]
Early life[]
T'Ral was born in 2352 in the province of Gol on Vulcan. She lived with her parents Seris and Varik in an isolated house they had built on a desert plain prone to brutal windstorms. Her father, Varik, was a teacher who conducted distance learning classes in their home for Vulcan students who lived in other far-flung settlements or off-planet. Seris was an eremologist and seismologist and had a laboratory in the rear of the house for her research. At the age of seven, as is traditional in Vulcan culture, she was betrothed to another child.
Though her parents knew the family of Tovik, her fiancé, the two saw little of each other until their adolescence, still well ahead of the fulfillment of their vows, when they were encouraged to get to know each other. Unfortunately, they did not get along and stopped speaking to each other some time before T'Ral's admission to Starfleet Academy. Despite this, their engagement would not be formally broken until 2376.
After several years at home, T'Ral spent much of her childhood in boarding schools in Shi'Kahr and elsewhere. As she neared the end of her secondary education, T'Ral began planning for her future. Like her mother, she had an aptitude for the sciences and decided early on to pursue research as a career. Still, she sought to experience life outside Vulcan and applied to Starfleet Academy with an eye for a position on a science vessel engaged in deep space exploration. She was soon accepted and prepared herself to join the class of 2373.
Starfleet Academy[]
T'Ral entered Starfleet Academy in 2369 as a prospective science officer. A very driven student, even among her high-achieving Academy classmates, she devoted herself to her classes and related activities and set her sights on valedictorian early on. In addition to her academic studies, T'Ral participated in the annual Academy marathon on two occasions, practiced various alien martial arts, and played occasional games of football (soccer) with a group of fellow cadets. Though mindful that her classmates were her future colleagues, T'Ral felt inept at interacting socially, and only partially due to the differences of her species. She also struggled with a rather unseemly competitive streak; it remained mostly in check until her senior year.
At the beginning of her fourth year in 2372, the race of the top of the class of 2373 began to intensify. The most likely prospects, T'Ral among them, were emerging and many were tense as they struggled to better their chances. As the term wore on, the candidates became even clearer and still T'Ral found herself with favorable chances. Another frontrunner was a nineteen-year-old Bajoran cadet named Lijaro Nabam. Somewhat of a prodigy, he had entered the Academy at age fifteen alongside T'Ral and their classmates. As they had different professional interests, they had shared few classes, but occasionally crossed paths prior to their senior year. T'Ral and Lijaro were closely matched, and with each successive encounter hostilities increased. The feud continued on until the end of the academic year when Lijaro narrowly bested her and became valedictorian. T'Ral earned the position of salutatorian, which might have been satisfactory to a younger self, but was not enough any longer. The two were no longer on speaking terms by commencement, and neither could bring themselves to congratulate the other. They parted ways following the ceremony and would not see each other again for three years.
USS Franklin[]
Following graduation, Ensign T'Ral was assigned to the Intrepid-class USS Franklin as Assistant Chief Science Officer. However, it wasn't long before the tensions between the Federation and the Dominion intensified and full-blown hostilities began.
Nearly as quickly as their mission had begun, T'Ral and the Franklin were forced to abandon their previously almost purely scientific activities and join with the rest of Starfleet to work to defend the Federation. The Franklin served on the front lines in several battles and managed to survive the war, although not without casualties and significant damage.
USS Pioneer[]
Like many ships that underwent repairs and refits following the end of the war, there were significant personnel changes aboard the Franklin. Several crewmembers, including T'Ral, were reassigned. In early 2376, she received orders to join the USS Pioneer as their new Chief Science Officer. The Pioneer had recently faced their own round of crew shake-ups, and another new assignment, arriving shortly before T'Ral, was her former nemesis Lijaro.