Lieutenant Xanth
Name Xanth
Position Chief Flight Control Officer
Rank Lieutenant
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | El-Aurian | |
| Age | 54 | |
| Languages | Federation Standard, El-Aurian, Vulcan |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 6'1" (1.85 m) | |
| Weight | 170 lbs (77.1 kg) | |
| Hair Color | Dark Brown | |
| Eye Color | Hazel | |
| Physical Description | Standing rather tall, but trim in build and light in weight, Xanth is still obviously in the early decades of his youth. While slim, he has good muscle definition, with strong arms and legs, a washboard stomach and neatly turned calves. His face is smooth and rarely needs a shave, though his hair and brows are dark and thick. Hazel eyes seem to be quite curious about everything around him, and in them there is more wisdom than one might expect from someone considered to be so young by his own people. Xanth's nose is tapered and slightly long, his ears prominent but not too large, and along with his strong jaw and fit body he might be considered to be quite handsome by some. He presents himself neatly, though never over done, and while his uniforms are typically clean and pressed he is not too obsessive with it. Out of uniform, Xanth tends to wear light shades of tan, blue, and red and seems to prefer shorts over pants, t-shirts or tank tops over long sleeved tunics. His movements are quite smooth and graceful despite his height. Xanth's accent and vernacular is heavily influenced by his place of birth and upbringing, sounding like an Englishman though he may use the occasional term in his people's language here and there. |
Family
| Spouse | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Lysir, 349; Botanist; London, England, Earth | |
| Mother | Gaiven, 431; Historian; London, England, Earth | |
| Brother(s) | Jareln, 196; Transport Captain; SS Reynolds | |
| Sister(s) | Otelva, 157; Diplomatic Attache; Federation Embassy, Cardassia Prime | |
| Other Family | Xanth's family had many members, but the majority are presumed either dead or assimilated during the Borg invasion of El-Aurian over a century ago, or perhaps scattered somewhere across the galaxy. |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | In many ways, Xanth ebodies a revival of El-Aurian culture that has been re-established in the Alpha Quadrant. He is a patient man, intensely curious about the universe around him but content to let it reveal itself at it's own pace. After all, with centuries ahead of him to explore, learn, and grow, there seems little reason to rush things. Xanth finds it better, for himself at least, to appreciate the wonder, beauty, and sometimes even the horror that is out there, waiting to be discovered. Along with patience comes acceptance, to be fine with allowing things to be as they are rather than seeking to change them. This affords him an appreciation of the mysteries of the universe and other life forms that stays true to the Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations, a way of thinking that he fully embraces. Xanth, like many of his people, can often come across as wise and mysterious. He is aware of much, but keeps the majority of his thoughts to himself. As a Listener, he hears far more than just the words that people use, can see into the heart of a matter, and sympathize with a wide range of outlooks. Part of being a good Listener though is knowing when to actually say something in return, to offer which insights he may have, and knowing how to much to actually say. To speak is to take action, to share knowledge is to spread it, and Xanth tries to be careful of this so is often quiet. This isn't to say that he isn't friendly or warm, as he certainly is, but with his long lifespan he is wary of growing close to others. On the rare occasion he might become flirtatious, it seems to always be directed at members of the same sex; though he can appreciate the beauty of a female, Xanth would prefer to seek companionship with another male. As a Starfleet Officer, Xanth tries to represent the ideals of the Federation at all times while still staying true to his heritage. Violence, he feels, is the final choice when all other options have been exhausted. Yet he is not so naive to believe that there are not threats out there, like the Borg, that may not be swayed by diplomacy or compassion. As such, Xanth does understand that he may be called upon to defend himself or others, and has honed his skills to do so precisely, swiftly, and with as minimal force as needed. His almost laid-back style has raised eyebrows amongst his peers and commanding officers in the past, an almost zen-like quality during stressful situations - even in the midst of battle - and can sometimes make others wonder just how seriously he takes things. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | +Empathic- Though conversation certainly helps, it is not needed for Xanth to pick up the emotional states and intentions of many different species. +Patient- Knowing that eventually all things will change, Xanth isn't one to become overwhelmed or stressed. +Precision- Whether it is piloting a massive vessel, handling a maneuverable shuttle, or wielding a phaser during training or combat, Xanth shows an uncanny accuracy and high hand-eye coordination that is at once both smooth and effective. +Space-Time Awareness- A trait that sometimes crops up amongst the ancient El-Aurian race, Xanth possess an undefined sensitivity to the natural state of the space-time continuum. Disruptions in this can be detected even when he himself is effected by them. +Tolerance- Xanth accepts other people and cultures on their own terms, rather than seeking to judge them based on his own sense of morality. -Drug Intolerance- As his people's evolution took place on the other side of the galaxy, Xanth is often unable to take the same kinds of medications as others native to the Federation without adverse effects. This could potentially cause complications for himself and those doctors who treat him. Xanth is also what humans term a 'light-weight' when it comes to alcohol or other mind altering substances, needing very little to become inebriated. -Empathic Feedback- Xanth's people are well-known as Listeners, but many of them have had centuries more to learn to control their abilities. As Xanth grows personally closer to others, he can find himself emulating their emotions, desires, and even dreams and as such keeps himself aloof from others at times. -Indecisive- When thinking on the level of centuries, Xanth is comparatively indecisive compared to shorter lived races as it pertains to making important life decisions. Changes in career or creed come slowly, and knowing that he will outlive those around him also makes Xanth very slow about making friends, enemies, or lovers. -Pacifist- Though Xanth is physically capable of defending himself and others, he tries never to take a life through either action or inaction unless there is no other choice, even if this might cause further risks. -Trusting- Xanth tends to give everyone the benefit of second chances, and sometimes more even when he has been harmed or wronged repeatedly. |
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| Ambitions | Ambition is a term that better suits the races whose lives are lived out like the life-span of a candle, or so Xanth might believe. He does have desires, from seeing if he might explore the entire galaxy in his life time, furthering his education and understanding of the universe, and meeting new cultures. Xanth also someday hopes he might experience romantic love, but seems in no hurry to get there, and has yet to have a relationship of this sort. He is content to accept advancement in his career as it comes, but just like in other areas of his life, never seeks to rush things. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Artist- Xanth has a love of form and beauty, especially as represented by different kinds of life, and expresses this through his art and music. He is a painter, pianist, and sculptor. Modest examples of his work can be found in his quarters, but he is more often to make a work of art to give or share with another. His music is a more personal activity, rarely shared with another these days though some might have heard him during his music career in the past. It is highly expressive of the deep emotional insight he has about existence, sometimes melancholy, often poignant, and people often find some way to connect to the feelings it evokes. Both his physical art and his music take on traditional El-Aurian forms, a rarity in the Alpha Quadrant. Botany- For many years before he entered Starfleet, Xanth studied and practiced this science with his father on Earth. He is knowledgeable on a wide variety of plant life found throughout the Quadrant, and has the scientist background to assist in studying newly discovered botanical lifeforms. It is quite common to find specimens of plants and flowers in his quarters that he either finds beautiful, interesting, or is currently experimenting and testing. Marksmanship- Perhaps surprising for the peaceful young man, Xanth is actually a highly qualified marksman with hand-held phaser weaponry. As he prefers to end violent confrontation as quickly as possible, he has honed this talent to allow him to strike quickly and precisely. While he is not proud or ever boastful of this skill, Xanth has already reached level 14 in the Starfleet training simulations and continues to improve. Piloting- Though it is his profession now, there was a time when Xanth had treated this as a hobby, though one he pursued with great enthusiasm. Flying has always been his most cherished activity, affording him a freedom of movement and grace that is unobtainable relying on just two legs. Xanth loves the rush of piloting a large vessel that masses several million tons every bit as much as he enjoys flying smaller craft. Over the years, he has qualified to fly atmospheric craft, shuttles, and transports while a civilian, and fighters, runabouts, frigates, destroyers, carriers, and cruisers during his time in Starfleet. Yoga- The highly-focused movements and controlled breathing fit well with Xanth's philosophies and outlook, and is an effective way to stay in shape. If possible, Xanth attempts to spend at least an hour at the start of each day with meditation and yoga. With variable gravity and resistances made possible in the holodeck, Xanth has turned his routines into strength and cardio routines as well, making the stretches and poses good for building and maintaining muscle density, stamina, and as a way to keep himself trim. |
| Personal History | Born on Earth, in the city of London, in 2337, Xanth is the first child of his family born and raised in the Alpha Quadrant. His parents and siblings were amongst those El-Aurian survivors that trickled into the Federation towards the end of the last century after their homeworld in the Delta Quadrant had been assimilated by the Borg. Finding the Federation a welcome and egalitarian place, the family settled down to rebuild their lives and preserve some of their culture. Xanth was born of this desire to see their people make a new beginning. A bright and enthusiastic child, for many years Xanth seemed to emulate humanity more than he did the El-Aurians in the small community that had built for themselves in England. At first, patience didn't come easy to the young boy, and he seemed as hasty and as volatile as any of the other human and alien children he grew up with. Eventually, as his peers aged faster and left him behind in childhood, Xanth began to understand the differences between himself and other species. This realization was at times a terrible one, causing depression and an anxiety of the soul, knowing he would outlive all these people around him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to not care about others, his own natural compassion causing this even more than his developing empathic abilities. The feeling lasted into his adolescent years, until he finally left home in a desperate attempt to find some resolution to this conflict within him. At the age of 20, in 2357, Xanth left Earth for a time, and spent the next three years travelling through the Federation in his quest to find some belief, philosophy, or way of life that could help him reconcile his difficulties. In reality, he had run away, leaving behind worried parents for their child was in human terms barely considered to be a teenager. On Vulcan, he embraced the philosophy of IDIC, so similar to his own El-Aurian beliefs that it seemed completely natural, but their suppression of emotion seemed to him to be too detached and uncaring. On many other worlds Xanth encountered religions and spirituality, that while perhaps beautiful and comforting for some, he found lacking true substance and a basis in the reality he appreciated. The warrior ways of life like those of the Andorians or the Klingons were just as unappealing, as Xanth wanted to cherish life, to not lose life, and not kill things himself. Spending time on ships, stations, outposts, colonies, and major worlds, he did however begin to develop a rough idea of how he could face life on life's terms. It was during this time that the young man had his first taste of piloting. Given the opportunity to take the helm of a transport vessel on a long sublight route in-system, Xanth had at last found something that calmed the turmoil and depression that had haunted him. There was such a feeling of both power and freedom, even in piloting the slow and old transport, and Xanth knew he had come across something important. It wasn't long before, as he continued his journeys across the Federation, he found himself learning to handle other transport ships, shuttles, and even atmospheric craft. Xanth's natural talent helped him earn his way as he went from sector to sector, though he began to slowly want to set a course back to home. In 2360, Xanth returned to Earth and his family, and the reunion was a happy one and understanding, rather than judgemental. With the encouragement of his parents, Xanth began to express his thoughts and ideas about the nature of existence through art and music. He attended the Federation Institute of Art in Paris for four years, combining the style of art learned from what little El-Aurian survivors had been able to bring with them with his own style. Xanth's paintings and sculptures were often of life, of people or animals, of plants or other and stranger forms, often looking like they too were searching or reaching for something, some kind of meaning. Though his art received positive reviews, it did not gain as much popularity outside the small El-Aurian community on Earth as his music later would. By the age of 29, still considered an adolescent by his people, he took up playing the piano. Though El-Auria had no analogous instrument to the piano, it was well-suited to expressing a wide range of melody and emotional impact. Xanth's music, both the traditional and the original songs he played, soon grew to have a certain measure of popularity that spread beyond his community and eventually beyond Earth as well. Recordings of his work were eventually to be found as far away as Bajor and Pacifica, Trill and Romulus. Xanth, not one for fame or the spotlight, eventually withdrew from the increased attention and began to seek again some other path to life. In the year 2370, at last considered to be entering the earliest years of adulthood, Xanth returned to school to study botany like his father. Xanth left Earth for four years to attend the Vulcan Science Academy, one of the best schools in his field. As soon as he had completed his education there however, Xanth returned home to Earth yet again and worked side by side with his father. Together they experimented with different plants to be used in far-flung colony worlds. From high-yield grains, new and colourful flowers that provided not just beauty but also useful compounds for medicine, to trees that could help terraform the surrounding soil, and many other kinds of plants, it was a way for Xanth to not just cherish but help create life, some of which that might help a culture endure even longer than his own lifespan might be. Xanth continued to pursue music and art during these years, and had never stopped flying, but as his siblings at last moved off from Earth to find their own careers out amongst the stars, Xanth began to feel again the wanderlust of his childhood. Rather than being driven by pain and fear, this time he felt the pull to explore and experience more than just his life on Earth had to offer. With his parent's support for the idea, Xanth applied to Starfleet Academy in 2380. |
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| Service Record | 2381-2385: Cadet, Starfleet Academy, Earth Xanth's natural love of learning served him well as he entered the Academy, though at times he found it a little hard to adjust to the more military lifestyle that Starfleet offered compared to his upbringing. Self-defence and phaser training were at first a difficult challenge until a Vulcan instructor gave him the belief that he maintains to this day: quick and precise application of violence can be used with minimal loss of life, when all other options have been exhausted. He did well in his academic classes, especially those about warp theory, history, alien philosophies, and other sciences, but it was his piloting skills that were most recognized by his instructors. Xanth entered into flight school as soon as he was able, serving at first on one of the Academy Squadrons as a wingman and eventually working his way up to the Squadron Leader position. He graduated after four years, was given a commission as an ensign, and departed for his first posting at Utopia Planitia. 2385-2388: Ensign, Flight Control Officer, Utopia Planitia, Mars Xanth's first assignment was as one of a number of pilots who assisted the engineers of the Federation's famous shipyards with design and testing of new ideas in propulsion and ship configuration. These were exciting years for him, even if it wasn't what he had expected in joining Starfleet, and Xanth learned to appreciate the wide range of experience it gave him. After four years of exemplary conduct, Xanth earned a promotion, qualifications in piloting most major Starfleet ship classes, and a new posting. 2388-2391: Lieutenant (jg), Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Abraham NCC-94969 With his posting to the Abraham, Xanth was given the opportunity to put what he had learned at the shipyards to more direct use, and took on the additional responsibilities of the ACFCO position. An Akira-Class vessel, the Abraham afforded him the opportunity to pilot a number of different fighters and shuttles that Xanth had never flown before as well as the ship itself. He went on a number of away missions when his botanist background would prove to be of use in assisting the colony worlds that the Abraham patrolled. It was during these years that Xanth also engaged in his first real-life combat, primarily against Romulans in the aftermath and chaos that followed the destruction caused by the Hobus Supernova. Though he disliked the battles, fought in both space and on the ground, that they found themselves in Xanth nevertheless proved himself in a number of confrontations. It was one such battle that earned him the promotion to full lieutenant, but he did not seek to remain in this tumultuous area for long. Seeking a new opportunity to explore, and hopefully finding a place less filled with conflict, Xanth gained the approval of his commanding officers to submit his application for transfer to another vessel. 2391-Present: Lieutenant, Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Achilles NCC-181450 Though it had seemed like a long-shot to him, one of the postings Xanth applied for was the CFCO position on the Achilles. With her historic mission of deep space exploration, the competition for the job amongst pilots in the fleet was high, and there were many with more years of service in the fleet who had applied as well. It came as a huge surprise to Xanth when he received transfer orders to join Commodore Da`nal's ship and to meet the Achilles at Deep Space Nine. Xanth packed his belongings and headed off for the start of a new chapter of his life, wondering how it might be that he had been given this opportunity. Perhaps it was his scientific background, or his long life span, both of which would come to be quite useful during a mission of such extraordinary length, but a spotless record and a broad variety of piloting qualifications likely had much to do with it as well. |