Surda

Authored by Leonora V

Character Biography

Name: Surda
Rank: Lieutenant
Occupation: Chief of Security
Race: Orion

Physical Description
Surda has the dark green skin characteristic of all Orions. Although somewhat unusual in the overall population, she has the same red curly hair that most Orion Mythological Figures share. Her eyes are dark brown, although she often wears blue contacts on missions where she wants to draw attention. She has many scars, a consequence of years of service. Surda wears her hair in a fishtail braid while in uniform, pinning it up into a bun when she’s actively on duty. As such, Surda with her hair down is a rare sight, and a fairly distracting one.

History
Unable to support multiple children, Surda’s birth family sold her to an auctioneer, intending for her to be raised as a household servant. Instead, she was raised on a ship called the Heaven in the Seasc syndicate. At 13, she stowed away on a string of ships until she finally reached Vulcan. Upon arrival, she was detained by Federation authorities. She was held for almost a year until she cut a deal with Starfleet Command: She would serve as their spy for ten years, at which point her situation would be re-evaluated. Ten years later, she had the option of choosing a founding Federation planet to live on for the rest of her life or continuing to serve in Starfleet until she was medically retired. She opted for Starfleet.

Surda, like most Orions, has shed dozens of names and identities over the years. She’s used to changing personality, pronouns, and history whenever it’s convenient. She still falls into old identities whenever it’s required, but she likes being Surda.

Languages
Surda can speak seven dialects of Orion, Klingon, Vulcan, and Federation Standard.

Personality
Surda keeps her cards close to her chest, a habit both from being raised on a Pirate ship and from her ten years as a Starfleet spy. She’s very good at deception, so good that people don’t even notice that they haven’t learned anything substantial about her. She’s also extremely loyal, but she’s not afraid to pretend to change sides if she thinks it’ll keep people safe. She adopts other languages and cultures quickly and had trouble deciding who she was going to be when she first joined Starfleet.

Surda is fairly informal, allowing anyone to call her by her name alone, but she’s also comfortable being addressed as sir, ma’am, chief, or jmisc (pronounced ymisc, teacher in Orion). She considers her rank clumsy, and too long in an emergency.

The link below details Orion culture I’ve been drawing on.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t2FEk07fIeKJV_S5NHaGitmbaYPUrupeLITrGcGuY3A/edit?usp=sharing