LAST EDITED ON May-21-12 AT 06:01 AM (EDT)
 
My first character and crew (who, in the finest tradition of both Trek and EPU, may be just a tiny bit of an author avatar *cough*) is, alas, really not that interesting. (With the possible exception of OPS Lt. Sarat, who places in the top percentile for telepathic sensitivity for Vulcans, and who wears gloves on duty to avoid accidental psychic and/or psychometric contact. A note in his file actually forbids him from coming within 20 light years of the Galactic Barrier, which his captain jokingly refers to as "the restraining order".)

So instead, here's Captain Sanara Lucel Draz, third host of the Draz symbiont, who is technically not from this current timeline (long story still mostly classified by DTI) and the... colorful crew of U.S.S. Europa (NCC-80104), a Luna-class science vessel.

(The musical theme just kind of happened as I was working on hobbies and interests, and I ran with it.)

The lady herself, just starting to show her age - if you look closely, she's got a few wrinkles (she's about Janeway's age). Enlisting in Starfleet was going to be her fall-back if she didn't get chosen to be Joined, but the symbiont thought that was an excellent idea. Her primary field is astrophysics. (Draz's previous hosts were a marine biologist and a geologist.)

Commander BULLSAE (Saurian male)
Chief Engineer, First Officer
Efficient. Stable. Reliable. One of Sanara's closest friends and confidantes (in this reality). Doesn't inflate his estimates, but still gets the job done on time or sooner. Never loses his temper, never panics. Speaks in short, clipped sentences (like a certain Salarian). Has an excellent singing voice, rarely heard.

With regard to his common nickname, "Bullseye": "Too much trouble to correct. Besides, it means 'on target', 'precise'. I like that."

Commander KAHAD (Tellarite male)
Chief Medical Officer
Stubborn, confrontational, habitually argumentative. Has no patience for people who wind up in his sickbay because they were stupid. Constantly butting heads with the captain (over mission priorities) and Lorix (who he considers a witch doctor and a quack). Cares more than he lets on. Kahad loves opera and reading medical journals (mostly to pick apart the articles).

Lt. Commander T'MAAL (Vulcan female)
Chief Science Officer
Soft-spoken and diplomatic, deferring to other scientists in their areas of expertise, but coolly uncompromising when she believes that someone is being unreasonable. She sees her job as that of a coordinator, determining what resources are necessary for the current problem or research goal and making sure that those under her are able to do their work efficiently and harmoniously. Her primary field is sociology, though she has a general knowledge of many others. She plays the violin.

LORIX (Reman male)
Doctor
Formerly held the rank of centurion, equivalent to Lt. Commander. Weary of a long life of hardship, servitude and fighting (first for, than against, the Romulan Empire), he has joined the crew to learn Starfleet ways and teach what he can before he finally passes on. He is an expert in natural and traditional remedies and in the powers of the mind (healing and otherwise), some of which even 25th century medicine has yet to fully understand. At the same time, he's quite willing to use modern drugs if they're available and the best tool for the job. Lorix has set up a small zoo in his corner of sickbay, much to Kahad's displeasure, and has also taken over a portion of the airponics bay. He is very guarded about his past; it is known that he had a family at some point, and that they are no longer alive. He has sometimes been found listening to achingly sad classical music from various cultures.

Lt. MICHAELA LI WEN (Human female)
Tactical Officer
"Lieutenant Mike", as she is almost universally known (if not as "Sir"), is her parents' only daughter and grew up just as rough-and-tumble as her three brothers. She's a cunning and dirty fighter who can outsmart, outfight and outdrink opponents twice her size. Wen has high standards and pushes herself harder than anyone. She plays parrises squares and other contact sports and enjoys 20th century "rock and roll" music.

Lt. CARLENE SPAULDING (Human female)
Operations Officer
Spaulding is something of an enigma to her fellow officers. Stern and efficient in the performance of her duty, she rarely mixes with the rest of the crew when not at it, taking her meals in her quarters rather than the common mess and avoiding social functions. This pattern goes back to the Academy; details about her life before that are hard to come by. Speculation among the crew, though officially discouraged, is rampant. She has been cleared of being an Undine infiltrator, submitting to the tests without objection or comment save for an arch "may I go now?" at the conclusion. Her tastes in music, or even if she has any, are unknown.

(No, even I don't know what her deal is. She's probably not an android or a Changeling. Maybe she's another Temporal Cold War agent. Or just a naturally private person.)

Lt. (jg) HERMAN CALVIN KESSINGER (Human male)
Security
Mike's deputy is a slab of beef with a blonde buzzcut, the sort of man who looks like he wrestles Klingons and Nausicaans for fun (and does, on the holodeck). Though he towers over his superior, he obeys her orders without question, and is her go-to man in confrontations where she needs someone large backing her up. He's a brawler, with not much finesse but enough cunning to know when he should back off or go for a leg sweep. He played drums at the Academy, but gave it up when graduation broke up the band.

Ens. TEB DONLUN (Betazoid male)
Flight Controller
Not many Betazoids follow the Tactical track at the Academy, but Donlun is an excellent pilot whose uncanny knack for anticipating his captain's orders (and sometimes his opponent's) is at least partly due to his telepathic abilities. He's modest about these gifts and quiet and soft-spoken in general, encouraging others to talk while he simply enjoys the atmosphere and camaraderie. Like other Betazoids, he can be counted on to be completely honest. He plays the clarinet.

PIRPOWU (Hylasan male)
Observer
The Hylasa are native to fluidic space, where they live in harmony with the cosmozoans known as "Gekli". After Europa's incursion into fluidic space, Pirpowu joined the crew to see new horizons and to seek Federation assistance for his people against the Undine, their common enemy. Still finds living on a constructed starship strange and greatly misses the songs of the Gekli, but is willing to make such sacrifices for his people and new friends.