NIKA SAEDRIN
HUMAN FEMALE
AGE 26 HEIGHT 175 CM WEIGHT 68 KG PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION A somewhat paradoxical woman, Nika appears athletic, attractive and undeniably in her prime, yet one can’t help but wonder how much more so she would be if she capitalized on any of those things. In stark contrast, a vapid demeanor, sloth-like alacrity and laissez-faire attitude toward personal grooming make her seem beyond lazy and carefree. It should go without saying that she is a woman who often sets conflicted first impressions. Impressions aside, most of Nika's physical features are not that noteworthy. She has an asymmetric pixie mop of very blond hair that she styles herself, and blue eyes that only stand out in direct light. |
Her fashion sense is tragically limited, consisting mainly of utility jumpsuits that barely fit her. Cosmetics and color matching might as well be lost arts that she will never master except under the most expert tutelage, and even then she will still more than likely try to look like a panda bear.
If Nika seems ambivalent about anything concerning her appearance, it would have to be the unfortunate centerpiece of her image: a metallic identification band secured around her neck. A constant reminder of her time in “civil service,” Nika would like to one day have the collar safely removed, but for the time being she is stuck with it. Nika does her best to hide it with scarves and such, if only to avoid having to tell the same sad story over and over again.
PERSONALITY
Even though she doesn’t usually seem it, Nika is a very sociable woman. Though far from an expert communicator, she enjoys interaction and spending time around other people. She tries hard to make friends, but in truth she often has a difficult time understanding what the concept of friendship is, and how it is maintained. Despite her friendly attitude Nika sometimes comes across as clingy, and exhibits some unstable, obsessive-compulsive behaviors that drive people away. It’s not hard for the observant and insightful to see that she is a very lonely and confused woman, one who has no idea what she wants from other people. Those who know the full truth would realize that in light of everything she’s gone through, Nika has a relatively good grip on things, considering how dangerous an individual she could be.
If Nika seems ambivalent about anything concerning her appearance, it would have to be the unfortunate centerpiece of her image: a metallic identification band secured around her neck. A constant reminder of her time in “civil service,” Nika would like to one day have the collar safely removed, but for the time being she is stuck with it. Nika does her best to hide it with scarves and such, if only to avoid having to tell the same sad story over and over again.
PERSONALITY
Even though she doesn’t usually seem it, Nika is a very sociable woman. Though far from an expert communicator, she enjoys interaction and spending time around other people. She tries hard to make friends, but in truth she often has a difficult time understanding what the concept of friendship is, and how it is maintained. Despite her friendly attitude Nika sometimes comes across as clingy, and exhibits some unstable, obsessive-compulsive behaviors that drive people away. It’s not hard for the observant and insightful to see that she is a very lonely and confused woman, one who has no idea what she wants from other people. Those who know the full truth would realize that in light of everything she’s gone through, Nika has a relatively good grip on things, considering how dangerous an individual she could be.
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Schooled in the methods of warfare from an early age, most of Nika’s strengths follow a decidedly martial theme. She’s proficient with a variety of weapons and can hold her own in close-quarters fighting, but where Nika really shines is small unit tactics; she was trained to lead soldiers into combat and she’s done so more than a few times in the past. Despite this strength, one of Nika’s greatest weakness is perhaps her new found reluctance to utilize her training. More than that, she also goes to lengths to hide its presence, going so far to appear lazy and undisciplined. She would more than likely step up to defend herself and her friends, but Nika will never again fight simply because someone has given her orders to. Nika’s raw intelligence could be considered above average, but her conservative and propagandized education has left her with a fairly glaring level of ignorance in many subjects of learning, especially those in social spheres. |
Since her exile from her home world this has hindered her in her search for a future career, and the best Nika has been able to manage has been obtaining various operating licenses for equipment in commercial and industrial sectors. Her most recent efforts have gone toward piloting and navigation, but Nika has a ways to go before she can hope to pass a licensing exam.
AMBITIONS
In the past Nika used to be very ambitious, and saw merit in having both long-term goals and a plan to achieve them. Now, that is no longer the case. The career she once had is no longer one she wishes to pursue, and she is hesitant to commit her efforts toward organizations or ideas in general, fearing the motives of those in positions of power. Compounding her lack of motivation and systemic paranoia is an underdeveloped sense of individuality, which is critical to achieving goals independently. Nika lives her life day-to-day, seeking nothing beyond the basic necessities, a few friendships, and just enough simple work to keep herself occupied.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Nika’s hobbies tend to be basic aspects of life that most people take for granted: good food, casual conversation, and expressing herself in a manner of her own choosing. The time she spends pestering the people around her about anything and nothing in particular is often the highlight of her day. As far as interests go, Nika strives to keep herself razor sharp. She exercises regularly to maintain a high level of fitness, and is adept at improvising ways to facilitate this is almost any setting. She also goes to great lengths to educate herself on whatever daily issues or topics she doesn’t understand. Nika seems to hide both of these activities, not wanting to admit just how strong she is, or how deep her ignorance goes.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Nika Saedrin originates from Auturn (est. pop. 1.2 million), first settled during a human colonial expansion from the Karantine non-member system in the first decade of the 24th century. By local orbital standards she is a full year older than her actual genetic age. Like many on her homeworld, she came from human settler stock hailing from Central Europe and North America. Officially classified by the Federation as a rogue colony and generally regarded as a pariah state, Auturn regressed from relatively modern political standards into a military-backed totalitarian regime, enforcing a form of hardline socialism on the populace in order to create a tightly-controlled utopian society. It has not had any formal interstellar relations whatsoever for the past fifty years.
Nika grew up as a ward of the state, having been raised in a government-run orphanage from her earliest memories. All she was ever told about her parents was that they had been selected for civil service — a politically-correct way of describing the state-sponsored slave labor force comprised of those who didn’t adhere to their prescribed roles in society. Nika’s background was hardly uncommon; in fact, it was common enough on Auturn that not having parents was a normal thing.
Life on Auturn in general was quite severe. Even children in family units were taught strict discipline, and to focus on their educational studies more than anything else. Socialism was ingrained in almost every facet of life and there was no escaping it. Political indoctrination was as much a part of the learning process as grasping core subjects such as reading, math, and science. Children were taught to accept and embrace society’s plan for them, otherwise they would end up in civil service, forced to attend to the lowest, most menial tasks, and denied many of the creature comforts afforded to law-abiding citizens. The constant threat of slavery, or worse, was usually an effective motivational tool.
For those like Nika, life under state care was even more structured. She was tested, bent to the will of society, and set upon her path even before reaching adolescence. She was sent to a military academy at the age of nine, and there Nika was taught how to engage and neutralize enemies of the state using whatever tools were on hand. Without the protection of the mighty Federation, Auturn was often preyed upon by marauding off-world factions of every stripe, and she was taught to feel little but hate for them all. Nika was also taught that one day even the Federation itself might come knocking, to invade, or destroy them outright as revenge for escaping their rule. It was her job to be prepared for that day as well.
Upon reaching adulthood Nika was assigned her job—infantry officer in Auturn's meager armed forces. She was no Spartan warrior from the days of Terran legend, but that was certainly not from a lack of effort or spirit on her part. Military leaders were not chosen primarily for physical prowess or tactical brilliance, but for their perceived loyalty to the state and devotion to its cause. In the beginning she quickly proved all of the above in a number of skirmishes against both alien pirates, and local insurgency groups. Within her first year with the military Nika was also married—another assignment, of course—to another young officer, a man named Coryn Sarat. The only connection the two ever shared was their ambition to rise through the ranks, and in that regard they saw each other more as competition, then as partners.
Nika was widowed within a year, as her husband was foolhardy and met his end goaded into bladed combat with Klingon warriors. She’d been on assignment at the time, sent to a remote continent to deal with a group of Orion miners who’d been plundering Auturn’s mineral resources. After being informed of her husband’s death she was promptly remarried, this time to someone much different. Perhaps the state had taken notice of the lack of cohesion in her first marriage, and decided that the root causes of that were both biological and occupational. Or maybe they just married her off to the nearest single adult that could be found. Whatever the case, her next spouse was a medical officer, a woman named Riaza Aresu. Nika’s second marriage was just as, if not more awkward than her first.
The campaign against the Orion miners proved to be costly, and after several failed attempts to defeat them Nika was promoted and placed in overall command — a significant position in a military that only numbered a few thousand. Eventually the campaign against the Orions having met a successful conclusion, she seemed poised to enjoy a moment of peace, but unfortunately that was not to be the case. While Nika was known to be very loyal to the establishment, her new spouse did not appear to hold similar sentiments. Riaza had grown disillusioned with the number of casualties, and the government’s treatment towards its wounded. She made some disparaging remarks to several of her colleagues and sparked the ire of the government.
Arrested and convicted of subversive acts against the government, Riaza was sentenced to prison, along with Nika, who was tried as an accessory to the same crime; the paranoid ruling elite cut no corners when it came to quashing any signs of anti-establishment sentiments. After the mandatory divorce proceeding following her conviction, Nika never saw Riava again.
Classified as a dangerous individual due to her military training, Nika spent the next fifteen months in solitary confinement, until her release. The conditions were understandably very unpleasant, and during that time her indoctrination started to fray (along with some of her sanity, no doubt). The frayed edges of indoctrination only unraveled further once Nika was sent from prison straight into civil service, where she spent the next three years of her life on a chain gang, making uniforms for other civil servants, along with a few other industrial tasks. By the time she finally found a way out of the system very little of her loyalties and old ways of thinking remained.
Nika’s eventual escape from Auturn’s grip was not due to any actions on her part, but to simple chance. Every year the civil service administrators held a lottery, selecting a hundred of its workers at random. Those selected were offered three choices: reintegration into society, the status quo, or exile from the planet. The chances of getting selected were so low that most of those chosen were too institutionalized to opt for anything but the status quo, having existed in a state of de facto slavery for years. Nika, having spent only three years in the system, chose exile without a second’s thought.
Promptly shuttled off-world and sent out of the system by whatever means possible, Nika was subsidized passage aboard a Karantine trade vessel and within a few months made her way into Federation space. Given what she now felt about her people’s teachings, she figured finding the people she was taught to hate for most of her life was her best bet toward starting a better life. By the time she reached Regulon III, many sectors away from Auturn, she had spent the better part of a year trying to acclimate to the ways of a much larger and heterogeneous galactic culture, with mixed success.
AMBITIONS
In the past Nika used to be very ambitious, and saw merit in having both long-term goals and a plan to achieve them. Now, that is no longer the case. The career she once had is no longer one she wishes to pursue, and she is hesitant to commit her efforts toward organizations or ideas in general, fearing the motives of those in positions of power. Compounding her lack of motivation and systemic paranoia is an underdeveloped sense of individuality, which is critical to achieving goals independently. Nika lives her life day-to-day, seeking nothing beyond the basic necessities, a few friendships, and just enough simple work to keep herself occupied.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Nika’s hobbies tend to be basic aspects of life that most people take for granted: good food, casual conversation, and expressing herself in a manner of her own choosing. The time she spends pestering the people around her about anything and nothing in particular is often the highlight of her day. As far as interests go, Nika strives to keep herself razor sharp. She exercises regularly to maintain a high level of fitness, and is adept at improvising ways to facilitate this is almost any setting. She also goes to great lengths to educate herself on whatever daily issues or topics she doesn’t understand. Nika seems to hide both of these activities, not wanting to admit just how strong she is, or how deep her ignorance goes.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Nika Saedrin originates from Auturn (est. pop. 1.2 million), first settled during a human colonial expansion from the Karantine non-member system in the first decade of the 24th century. By local orbital standards she is a full year older than her actual genetic age. Like many on her homeworld, she came from human settler stock hailing from Central Europe and North America. Officially classified by the Federation as a rogue colony and generally regarded as a pariah state, Auturn regressed from relatively modern political standards into a military-backed totalitarian regime, enforcing a form of hardline socialism on the populace in order to create a tightly-controlled utopian society. It has not had any formal interstellar relations whatsoever for the past fifty years.
Nika grew up as a ward of the state, having been raised in a government-run orphanage from her earliest memories. All she was ever told about her parents was that they had been selected for civil service — a politically-correct way of describing the state-sponsored slave labor force comprised of those who didn’t adhere to their prescribed roles in society. Nika’s background was hardly uncommon; in fact, it was common enough on Auturn that not having parents was a normal thing.
Life on Auturn in general was quite severe. Even children in family units were taught strict discipline, and to focus on their educational studies more than anything else. Socialism was ingrained in almost every facet of life and there was no escaping it. Political indoctrination was as much a part of the learning process as grasping core subjects such as reading, math, and science. Children were taught to accept and embrace society’s plan for them, otherwise they would end up in civil service, forced to attend to the lowest, most menial tasks, and denied many of the creature comforts afforded to law-abiding citizens. The constant threat of slavery, or worse, was usually an effective motivational tool.
For those like Nika, life under state care was even more structured. She was tested, bent to the will of society, and set upon her path even before reaching adolescence. She was sent to a military academy at the age of nine, and there Nika was taught how to engage and neutralize enemies of the state using whatever tools were on hand. Without the protection of the mighty Federation, Auturn was often preyed upon by marauding off-world factions of every stripe, and she was taught to feel little but hate for them all. Nika was also taught that one day even the Federation itself might come knocking, to invade, or destroy them outright as revenge for escaping their rule. It was her job to be prepared for that day as well.
Upon reaching adulthood Nika was assigned her job—infantry officer in Auturn's meager armed forces. She was no Spartan warrior from the days of Terran legend, but that was certainly not from a lack of effort or spirit on her part. Military leaders were not chosen primarily for physical prowess or tactical brilliance, but for their perceived loyalty to the state and devotion to its cause. In the beginning she quickly proved all of the above in a number of skirmishes against both alien pirates, and local insurgency groups. Within her first year with the military Nika was also married—another assignment, of course—to another young officer, a man named Coryn Sarat. The only connection the two ever shared was their ambition to rise through the ranks, and in that regard they saw each other more as competition, then as partners.
Nika was widowed within a year, as her husband was foolhardy and met his end goaded into bladed combat with Klingon warriors. She’d been on assignment at the time, sent to a remote continent to deal with a group of Orion miners who’d been plundering Auturn’s mineral resources. After being informed of her husband’s death she was promptly remarried, this time to someone much different. Perhaps the state had taken notice of the lack of cohesion in her first marriage, and decided that the root causes of that were both biological and occupational. Or maybe they just married her off to the nearest single adult that could be found. Whatever the case, her next spouse was a medical officer, a woman named Riaza Aresu. Nika’s second marriage was just as, if not more awkward than her first.
The campaign against the Orion miners proved to be costly, and after several failed attempts to defeat them Nika was promoted and placed in overall command — a significant position in a military that only numbered a few thousand. Eventually the campaign against the Orions having met a successful conclusion, she seemed poised to enjoy a moment of peace, but unfortunately that was not to be the case. While Nika was known to be very loyal to the establishment, her new spouse did not appear to hold similar sentiments. Riaza had grown disillusioned with the number of casualties, and the government’s treatment towards its wounded. She made some disparaging remarks to several of her colleagues and sparked the ire of the government.
Arrested and convicted of subversive acts against the government, Riaza was sentenced to prison, along with Nika, who was tried as an accessory to the same crime; the paranoid ruling elite cut no corners when it came to quashing any signs of anti-establishment sentiments. After the mandatory divorce proceeding following her conviction, Nika never saw Riava again.
Classified as a dangerous individual due to her military training, Nika spent the next fifteen months in solitary confinement, until her release. The conditions were understandably very unpleasant, and during that time her indoctrination started to fray (along with some of her sanity, no doubt). The frayed edges of indoctrination only unraveled further once Nika was sent from prison straight into civil service, where she spent the next three years of her life on a chain gang, making uniforms for other civil servants, along with a few other industrial tasks. By the time she finally found a way out of the system very little of her loyalties and old ways of thinking remained.
Nika’s eventual escape from Auturn’s grip was not due to any actions on her part, but to simple chance. Every year the civil service administrators held a lottery, selecting a hundred of its workers at random. Those selected were offered three choices: reintegration into society, the status quo, or exile from the planet. The chances of getting selected were so low that most of those chosen were too institutionalized to opt for anything but the status quo, having existed in a state of de facto slavery for years. Nika, having spent only three years in the system, chose exile without a second’s thought.
Promptly shuttled off-world and sent out of the system by whatever means possible, Nika was subsidized passage aboard a Karantine trade vessel and within a few months made her way into Federation space. Given what she now felt about her people’s teachings, she figured finding the people she was taught to hate for most of her life was her best bet toward starting a better life. By the time she reached Regulon III, many sectors away from Auturn, she had spent the better part of a year trying to acclimate to the ways of a much larger and heterogeneous galactic culture, with mixed success.