Captain Vanora Steele (Pallas)
Name Vanora Samsoe Steele (Pallas)
Position Special Guest
Rank Captain
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Elasian-Human | |
| Age | 35 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 176cm (5'9”) | |
| Weight | 56kg (123 lbs) | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Light Brown | |
| Physical Description | Vanora has dark skin, hair, and eyes, inherited from her Elasian mother. Her high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes are also inherited from her Elasian mother. As with all Elasian women, Vanora’s tear ducts produce a psychotropic biochemical that works by dermal absorption. For this reason, she is usually found with a smile on her face, a conscious effort to both keep herself happy and also to reassure fellow crewmembers that she is not a threat. She maintains high levels of physical fitness. In the Elasian tradition, Vanora openly wears blades as part of her attire. |
Family
| Spouse | Tang Stele | |
| Father | Bedwyr Samsoe, Xenoanthropologist, Elas | |
| Mother | Livia of Augusta, Chief of the Augusta, Elas | |
| Brother(s) | Neil Samsoe, Xenobotanist, Elas Ajax of Augusta, Knight of Augusta, Elas Llwch Samsoe, Staff Sergeant, SFMC |
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| Sister(s) | Helen of Augusta, Heir to the Chief of the Augusta, Elas Peridot Augusta Samsoe, DO, LT, CMO, USS |
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| Other Family | Various Human relatives; other members of the Augusta tribe on Elas |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Although Vanora is usually observed to be smiling, she is at her core a very serious soul. Partially raised in a militaristic society, she is very much focused on being perceived as strong and can be aggressive in her approach. Her youthful experiences also have made her somewhat of an adrenaline junkie, and she thrives on action. Vanora views her role as a Starfleet officer as helping those around her maximize their strength, and in so doing, making the crew and ship a more formidable adversary. She is extremely inquisitive. | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | Vanora was a civilian merchant starship captain, and in that role, she became a jack-of-all-trades. She has some level of experience as an engineer, pilot, and logistical manager. She is a practitioner of Elasian martial arts and kung fu. Vanora can be rash, preferring action to contemplation. She has also been known to be hot-headed, and despite her cheery expression, comes across as impatient or abrupt in her interactions with both patients and other crew. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and grief related to the loss of her husband. She is easily insulted and exhibits defensiveness when proven wrong. |
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| Ambitions | Vanora was a starship captain before joining Starfleet, and her ultimate ambition was to be a starship captain again. She enjoys exciting and stressful assignments, and prefers ships and assignments that put her in the heart of the action. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | High adrenaline sports (e.g., space diving, free solo rock climbing, snowboarding), kung fu, tea cultivation and art, piloting. |
| Personal History | Vanora was born on the planet Elas (Tellun System), home of the Elasians, a Federation Member species in the Alpha Quadrant. Her mother, Livia, the chief of a large tribe, the Augusta, wooed and won the heart of Vanora's father, Bedwyr Samsoe, a civilian xenoanthropologist embedded on Elas to study the species cultural practices after more than a century of the union between the Elasians and their neighboring Troyians. Livia and Bedwyr had six children, three sons and three daughters. Vanora is the second daughter and third of the six Augusta Samsoe children. In spite of Federation membership and a heavy Starfleet presence in the Tellun System due to the proximity to the Klingon Empire border and large dilithium deposits, the Elasians have maintained their semi-feudal, warrior mentality over the last hundred plus years. This was the culture in which the Augusta Samsoe children grew up, one that promoted martial skill, aggressiveness, and shows of strength. Other than the eldest son, Neil, who followed in his father’s footsteps, the rest of the children were undoubtedly molded by a culture full of duels, jousting, and tournaments of warriors, eventually becoming warriors or knights errant of one sort or another. Bedwyr saw pride and ambition in his first two daughters, and though he did his best to provide all of his children with as complete a Federation education as he could on a world where such cerebral pursuits were undervalued, not all of them took to learning with the enthusiasm of his youngest daughter, Peridot, and her oldest brother, Neil. For Vanora, information was another tool, a weapon as any other with which a smart warrior could use to outwit opponents and with which a smart clan could use to outlast others. But she was not studious, nor did she have any interest in an academic career. She longed for excitement from an early age. Even before she was a teenager, she was running wild, breaking wild steeds and stealing small spacecraft for joyrides. Vanora ran off and joined a merchant fleet when she was a teenager, after her sixteenth birthday. It was the quickest path to adventuring off in the stars. Her no-nonsense, assertive attitude got the attention of the various merchant captains that she worked for, and she quickly was given more responsibility, until she was finally the captain of her own civilian merchant ship, the SS Lady of the Lake. It was on the SS Lady of the Lake that she met her husband, Tang Stele, a charming and handsome mercenary who served as her muscle. They fell in love hard and quick, and eloped within months of meeting each other. It was Tang who introduced her to kung fu, a fighting style that melded well with the philosophies of Elasian martial arts. Together, they traveled the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The honeymoon period did not last long, however. Barely a year into their marriage, the SS Lady of the Lake was attacked by Ferengi marauders, and the ship was nearly destroyed. To Vanora's dismay, her husband vanished during the conflict. His body was never found, and he was presumed dead. Vanora and her crew survived only by the intervention of a Starfleet vessel, the USS Bouzid. Her ship rendered unnavigable, Vanora stowed away on the Bouzid and entered a period of grieving. Soon after she took refuge on the Bouzid, the ship was attacked by a rogue Romulan Warbird, and the Chief Operations Officer was killed. Vanora jumped in, and with her experience as a civilian captain was able to help the Assistant Ops Officer keep the ship in one piece during the conflict. The captain of the USS Bouzid was impressed, and gave Vanora a field commission as an Ensign. With no time or desire to go through the Academy, Vanora instead completed the intensive four month Starfleet Officer Candidate School, and upon graduation was awarded her official commission. The Bouzid's captain promoted Vanora to Lieutenant Junior Grade following her completion of OCS. In 2390, Vanora transferred to the USS Gladiator as Chief Operations Officer. In 2393, Vanora transferred to Starfleet Intelligence. |
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| Service Record | 2387: Granted field commission as Ensign, USS Bouzid 2388: Completed Starfleet Officer Candidate School, received official commission as Ensign. 2389: Promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade, Operations Officer, USS Bouzid. 2390: Transferred to USS Gladiator, Chief Operations Officer. 2393: Transferred to Starfleet Intelligence. |