Galen
Galen does not disclose much about himself, so his previous life before he settled on Oed V is largely a mystery. There are a few strands of personal information that he has divulged, or that can be easily verified from Federation records, or open Cardassian Military files.
Galen is a Cardassian, and was born on Cardassia Prime, in the city of Lakat which makes his ethnic origin Lakatian. He has jet black hair and a grey skin tone. His parents were Kelvar and Vinyl. His father was a political aide to Legate Hydril; his Mother was Housekeeper to Legate Hydril. Both worked at the Cardassian Embassy on Devonas II were Galen spent his early childhood, and he still thinks of it as his real home. Kelvar was 47 and Vinyl was 42 when they had Galen and they are now dead. They died during the terrible times of the Dominion occupation of Cardassia Prime. Galen was not there and does not know the exact circumstances of their deaths.
Galen has an older brother, Illya, who he has not seen for 20 years. Illya was more academic than Galen. Illya is 11 years older than Galen. The age gap and lack of any shared interests has meant that they have never been very close. Galen has no idea where his brother is now or his occupation.
If asked for his surname, or if called "Mr. Galen", Galen replies that it is "just Galen". Galen has a fear of men in biosuits since bio-weapon terrorists attacked Legate Hydril when he was a child living at the embassy. His other dislikes are Romulans, Federation Revenue Inspectors, and Federation Security Officers who snoop on conversations. Galen also dislikes being called by the derogatory terms "Cardie" and "Spoonhead".
Like all Cardassians, Galen can be poisoned with Cobalt deselenide. Galen has a photographic memory, and a high pain threshold. He once said that he was skilled in the arts of torture, including branding. It was not clear if he was joking or bragging about this. Among his other skills and talents he includes gambling, tailoring, communications, gunnery, bribery, forgery, blade combat, gun combat, electronics, streetwise, brawling, and admin.
Galen was educated at a primary school on Devonas II then sent to a boarding school on Cardassia Prime. It was there that he developed his entrepreneurial spirit. At school Galen would buy sweets in bulk and then sell them individually to make a profit. He would also sell forged passes and letters. From this he learnt about printing, inks and dyes, and began to produce T shirts with slogans which he sold much more profitably, and quite legally.
Later Galen majored in Design and Technology at the University of Lakat. He took options in Hairdressing, Perfumery, Chiropody, Tailoring, Dressmaking, and Hospitality. There was a political underground among the students at the University during the time Galen was studying. Galen was an active member.
His first job after college was as a fashion designer creating clothing and accessory designs. He was popular and talented and did well. There was once a time when he would show fashion collections at Lakat twice yearly, with at least 35 separate outfits in each show. Now he is happy just being an anonymous artisan and does not miss the long hours.
To remain on Cardassia Galen enlisted into the 2 years of compulsory Military service as required under Cardassian law at that time. He joined the Second Order (B'hava'el/Bajor) as a Gunner. He is an excellent shot. He was also the Flight First Aider. He was later promoted to a Glinn on a Galor class warship before he left the service. He left as soon as it was possible.
Galen is very familiar with Bajor and its environs from his time in the Second Order. At some point Galen has also visited Ferengar. Before Oed V, Galen’s last abode was Devonas II. Devonas II has several large sand and gravel deserts dividing its centres of populations and Galen is familiar with journeys across them. Cardassia's reddish sun produces less light but more heat than the Devonas star. For this reason, Galen does not have the strong dislike for cold temperatures and the preference for high humidity as is common among many Cardassians, though he prefers a more humid environment.
Galen has a deep regret of many of the things that he was forced to do as a military officer, although he is always vague about specific instances. In the past, the Cardassians were a peaceful and spiritual people. But because their planet was resource poor, starvation and disease ran rampant, and millions of citizens perished. The military rose to power, new territories and technology were acquired by violence, but at a cost of millions more lives. Galen blames the military government for much of the present problems Cardassian faces. He supports the present Civilian government.
Galen is a widower. His wife, Zikal, died of undiagnosed Forrester-Trent Syndrome. This disease is a rare degenerative genetic neural disorder. The disease caused tremor on hands and also caused severe seizures, leading to paralysis and death. He married soon after leaving the military. Zikal had been one of his fashion models and is also from Lakat. She was tall, long-legged, and lean. They were only married for 3 years. They had no children which is another deep regret of Galen.
On Oed V, Galen works as a Tailoring, Dry cleaning and Haberdashery shop owner. He is also the part owner of Gint's Gambling. Gint's Gambling Emporium is owned by Gint and Galen. It has Roulette and Dhabo tables, Vole racing, Card games slot machines and other games of chance. The lighting at the bar is rather too bright; it may have been bought by Gint at a knockdown price.
The entire bar and casino staff were hired on Oed V by Galen and Gint. The Manager is a Bajoran called Susan, the Barman is known as Rick, and the Piano Player is known as Sam. This is a reference to the ancient Earth movie ‘Casablanca’ and the bar at the Gambling Emporium has a theme along those lines. While Gint invested the largest share of capital, Galen has much of the experience and has been running the casinos and bars alone.
Gint has since been arrested by the Ferengi Commerce Authority (FCA) on Ferengar and has not returned to Oed V leaving Galen in charge. Galen does not know what the FCA has against Gint, but it is a result of some past business dealings and he is unlikely to return. Under those circumstances Galen would like the complete ownership of the facility to be passed over to him. For this reason Galen decided that he required the services of a lawyer with knowledge and experience in Ferengi corporate law. The bar and casino have yet to return a profit. He has know been converted to the idea that removing the FCA official might be more convenient, and has entered into a shady deal with a hitman which he has begun to regret.
Cardassians have a weakness for the sport of Vole racing in which bets are placed on the races between types of Cardassian rodent. The first race took place in Lakat on Cardassia Prime in 1916. It now holds the annual bloodstock sale and hosts several celebrated races including the 1000 and 2000 Latinum Bars.
Galen enjoys Gambling and Cardassian Vole Racing. He began to gambling when he was in the armed services. When he was stationed in the B'hava'el sector with the Second Order he used to visit a Ferengi Casino when he was off duty.
He has been able to enjoy these more by obtaining a part share in Gint’s Gambling Emporium. He part owns ten racing voles, along with Dr Rhyssa Lehardt who performs their Veterinary checkups. Each Vole is numbered with a tattoo: #1 Speed Queen #2 Lady Nimble #3 Rapid Star #4 Fast Prince #5 King Furious #6 Baron Boost #7 Princess Lithe #8 Headlong Diva #9 Mistress Zoom #10 Madame Quick. Before the Gambling Emporium was built, he kept them at the rear of his haberdashery. During one of Oed V’s many disasters King Furious and Madame Quick have escaped and never returned.
When Galen left the military he began to gamble to excess. After his wife died it got out of hand. Galen owed a large number of credits in gambling debts to Gul Yasir. On one occasion he wagered Gul Yasir that he could not build a Starship in a single day. Having wagered a large sum of Latinum that he could build a Starship in a day, Yasir is said to have won the bet by having sections of a vessel prefabricated and teams of Bajorans working through the night to fit her out. The vessel became aptly known as Moonlight Ship.
For a long period Galen reported intelligence to Yasir in exchange for releasing this debt. Galen was a visitor on Oed V for some time before he opened his first Haberdashery there. One reason that he came to Oed V was to escape the debt collectors, another was uncover Starfleet Intelligence on the Vren and the Old City Site which still remains classified. He once took a scheduled ‘City Tours’ trip out to the Oed V underground cave system with the intention of visiting the Old City Site. Another of Oed V’s frequent disasters meant that he never arrived there.
Yasir told Galen that he could pay off his debt by reporting on ships arriving and events that he heard of at Oed V. Galen used to have a secret room in the basement of his old haberdashery which contained the communications and recording equipment. This was never discovered and the new shop has no such basement.
Even though Galen spied for Gul Yasir the interest payments on his debts still rose, until at one point Yasir tried to blackmail him. Galen finally called his bluff and Yasir backed off. The gambling debt has now been rescinded though at some point Yasir may still come to enact some further revenge. Galen never did uncover any information on either the Vren or on the Old City Site. He really isn’t a very good spy, though he is a rather good tailor, and a somewhat reasonable businessman.
Galen enjoys Cardassian liquorice called Lacris. He sometimes drinks a cocktail of Kanar with Lacris. It is dark black in colour. Kanar is a traditional Cardassian beverage; an alcoholic drink with an acquired taste. On it’s own it ranges from a light brown liquid to a thick brown syrup. It is difficult to acquire non-replicated Kanar outside of the Cardassian Empire, but Galen has ordered a huge stock for the bar much to Rick’s disgust.
Larish Pie is another Cardassian foodstuff enjoyed by Galen. It is one of the few Cardassian dishes eaten by Bajorans. Yamok Sauce is a Cardassian condiment, which although extremely popular amongst Cardassians, it is disliked by nearly every other race. It is used in many Cardassian recipes. A favourite morning beverage of Galen is hot fish juice.
Ragova Eggs and Tasva eggs are other Cardassian delicacies enjoyed by Galen; the ova of Cardassian fowl. Tasva eggs can be given as gifts. Like most Cardassian food, they are an acquired taste. They can be boiled. They can also be eaten raw but this requires a certain amount of courage not to mention a strong stomach as they have been known to be show movement.