Captain Niun Standing Bear
Name Niun Standing Bear
Position Executive Officer
Rank Captain
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Mri (of Kulath) | |
| Age | 45 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'10" | |
| Weight | 160 (BMI Around 17) | |
| Hair Color | Blonde/Long | |
| Eye Color | Dark Blue/Almost Black | |
| Physical Description | Lean and well-muscled with a runner’s physique. Standing Bear has naturally tanned skin, pointed ears, and long blonde hair. He tends to be serious, a by-product of what he’s been through, and yet, the Azhadi have always believed in living in the moment. Having fun wherever they are; when that happens, he has a ready laugh and a transformative smile. He wears two necklaces - one given to him by the family that took him in and the other, a Je’tai (award for service given by the I’mai). He carries with him at all times the dagger he made during his trials and has been granted permission by Starfleet to keep the dagger with him. He has a runic tattoo above his heart that was given to him after he completed his trials and became Azhadi. Physiology > Not telepathic. They know when they are being read and can make themselves resistant to that intrusion – it’s part physiology but also part of their rigorous and extensive training. Has formidable shields when he uses them. > Superior metabolism > Very fast reflexes, superior hearing and sense of smell > Evolved to survive in harsh desert conditions (susceptible to cold) > Eidetic memory, learns quickly, but can be ordered to forget what he knows by the individual he has accepted as his leader |
Family
| Spouse | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Unknown | |
| Mother | Unknown | |
| Brother(s) | Unknown | |
| Sister(s) | Unknown | |
| Other Family | Jackson Standing Bear and his family |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Niun was forced, by treachery, to abandon a life he had prepared for nearly every day of his life. He had expected, as all Azhadi did, to die young, in battle, in service to the mother of the tribe, their I'mai. Now, at the age of 45, he's lived five years longer than any other Azhadi and that's ... unsettling. On Kulath, he lived an honorable life, one he loved. The betrayal of the I'mai, orchestrated by the Mo'aku, is a deep wound, one that is healing but the pain of it, well, that overtakes him at times. His healing began when he met Jackson Standing Bear, in the long days and nights after his attempted suicide. He sees the Federation goals as honorable though it was hard for him to commit because he expected the level of devotion and commitment required by him as an Azhadi. That's something his instructors worked on with him during his first year at the Academy. The notion that unquestioning obedience was never expected of a Starfleet officer was new to him. Revolutionary. He's intelligent and quick to learn, has a gift for languages. He's got a strong moral code and a great deal of determination. Giving up is just not in his nature. He's honest to a fault and protective by nature but at the same time, retains the Azhadi gift of living in the moment. Laughter comes easily to him and he'll take a moment to have fun -- he learned soccer and played on the hanger deck at night, during long shifts when nothing was going on. Participated in ship-wide events like the yearly games. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | Strengths: > Good with languages (speaks Federation Standard, High and Low Kulathi, and Cheyene. He is learning Vulcan. > Extremely good reflexes (much faster than human-norms) > Highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat > Difficult subject for a telepath to read; has formidable shields/knows when he’s being read > Diplomatic and controlled. Not the kind of person you can pull a reaction out of/he chooses his response > Extremely loyal. Never goes back on his word. Weaknesses: > Had to learn to read and write (something that was forbidden to him as an Azhadi). It took him a bit of time to accept that it was no longer forbidden and to wrestle with, what felt to him, the idea of betrayal of his oaths as an Azhadi. > Still struggles with the differences between his life as an Azhadi and his life as a Starfleet officer > Trust issues. Having been betrayed by his I’mai, the mother of his people, the one he was willing to die for, has left him with some trust issues. It’s not that he doesn’t trust, it’s that he wrestles more with the decision to trust. |
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| Ambitions | He doesn’t have any - it wasn’t something permitted to the Azhadi and while he’s Starfleet now, there’s a part of him that will always be Azhadi. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | > Extreme Running > Camping (without equipment) > Swimming/Diving > Reading - Non-Fiction/History |
| Personal History | 2343: Born on Kulath, into the Kel’ein tribe Among the nomadic tribes on Kulath, there were three castes – warrior (Azhadi), priest (Mo’Aku), and caregiver (Amrazi) – under the leadership of a female taken from one of the castes whom they called their I’Mai (mother). When two tribes met, the warrior leader of each tribe would fight on behalf of the tribe. The I’Mai of the losing tribe would commit suicide and her children, her people, were absorbed. Warriors devoted themselves in service to the tribe, often accepting jobs off world that took generations to accomplish. Fierce and relentless, no Azhadi expected to make it to old age – they owned nothing and carried nothing except the sword and dagger they made themselves during their trials. Children were not identified genealogically; instead all children belonged to the tribe as a whole and were raised by the Amrazi. They lived and died in service to the tribe, at the will of their leader, the I’mai, and so it had been for millenia. Until the treacherous Mo’Aku found a way to communicate and devised a plan. When it was over, the tribes were united under one I’Mai and it was there, on the plains of Ashok, at the well of tears, that the I’Mai ordered all the Azhadi to leave Kulath and never return. One by one, starting with their leader, the Azhadi approached the I’Mai and dropped their swords at her feet, an unspoken promise that they would return one day. 2363: Ejected from the Kulathi Homeworld. Wandered for five years. Those were dark times. Sent by ships in different directions, the Azhadi lost touch with each other and with themselves. Many committed suicide. Some settled in barren places to live out the remainder of their lives. Some tried to rebuild, to move forward. Niun remembers little of those days. Forbidden the warrior path for which he had trained, Niun wandered in the empty places of many worlds while he thought long on what his life might be. It was, to his reckoning, the first time that he had been given a choice and he did not want to squander this chance. When he reached Federation space, he began to hear about Starfleet and turned his feet toward Earth. He was hired as a deckhand on an ancient freighter; when it was attacked by pirates, he broke his word and fought back. Badly wounded, he ended up on Earth where one of the crew members took him to his home. 2368: Tried to commit suicide. He had only ever been a warrior. To save the freighter crew, Niun broke the I'Mai's command and that was an unforgivable sin. The first chance he got, he slipped away intending to end his life. He was found and nursed back to health, never alone. Not even for a minute. And always there was someone there talking to him - about the people, about betrayal, about learning to forgive oneself. Jackson Standing Bear became a friend, a brother to him and through those long nights and talks, Niun’s path changed. It wasn’t easy breaking through the training he had received and shouldn’t have worked except that Niun understood on some level that the Azhadi had been betrayed by the I’Mai. He owed her no allegiance. That understanding set his feet on a new and better path. He became an honorary member of the tribe and accepted a new name to go along with his new life. 2368-2370: Time Among the Cheyenne He spent two years among the Cheyenne, learning their language, their culture, their ways, and making peace with himself. At the end of that time, he took Jackson’s family name and is considered by Jackson and his family to be part of the tribe. |
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| Service Record | 2370-2374: Starfleet Academy, Command Major, Helm/Navigation Minor 2374-2378: USS Faraday, Helm Officer. Promoted to Third Officer/Gamma Shift (Bridge) 2378-2382: USS Crazy Horse, Chief of Flight Control. Promoted to Second Officer. 2382-2382: Starfleet Academy, Additional Command Training 2382-2388: USS Bretagne, First Officer until the ship was taken out of service 2388 - Now: First Officer, USS Guinevere |