Tisan Koba

Upbringing on Bajor (2370–2388)

Tisan Koba was born on Bajor a year after the end of the Cardassian Occupation and just a few years before the Dominion War. This was a time of great change for Bajor, as the discovery of the Bajoran Wormhole transformed a once-sleepy backwater into a major player on the galactic stage. His parents were both former members of the Bajoran Resistance who became members of the Bajoran Militia. While Bajor was still recovering from her wounds during his infancy, Tisan benefited greatly from Federation aid as a child in terms of his healthcare and education, which led him to become extremely loyal to the Federation, and, by extension, Starfleet. Encouraged by his parents, Tisan applied to join Starfleet Academy as soon as he was eligible, and he became one of many young Bajorans who came of age after the Dominion War to become a member of Starfleet.

Starfleet Academy (2388–2392)

Tisan matriculated into the Mellstoxx III campus of Starfleet Academy in 2388. Given his parents’ military backgrounds, he was somewhat less interested in the scientific aspects of his academy studies compared to most cadets, and he initially intended to study small group tactics in preparation to be a security officer. After a year on that track, he participated in a basic training tour in Tanzania, where he got the opportunity to fly gliders off of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was there that he found that flying was really where his heart was at. Shifting to the astronautics course of study meant that he had to grapple with astrophysics, however, a sequence he passed not through natural ability or even interest but through sheer willpower and hard work. Preternaturally disciplined and introspective, Tisan was by no means a social butterfly during his term at the academy, but he made several close friends in his cohort. By the time of his graduation, Tisan was in the top ten percent of his class and on track to be posted directly to a starship, rather than having to pay his dues on a starbase first.

USS Barcelona (2392–2396)

Starting nearly a decade of service on small vessels, Tisan’s first posting out of Starfleet Academy was to the New Orleans-class frigate Barcelona, by then an aging relic of the Cardassian Wars. As an ensign, he spent two years as a flight control officer, often crewing the helm on the bridge during beta shift or gamma shift watches, or piloting shuttles. Barcelona was assigned to patrol missions up and down the former Romulan Neutral Zone just on the edge of space controlled by the Fenris Rangers. During that time, the frigate was engaged in multiple small skirmishes with remnant Romulan forces and Orion pirates, giving Tisan an above-average exposure to combat early on in his career. For exemplary service, Tisan was promoted to chief flight control officer and lieutenant junior grade in 2394, a role he held for a further two years.

Scout First Officer (2396–2401)

In 2396, Tisan was selected for promotion to lieutenant and was assigned as first officer aboard the Saber-class scout Spartan, a small vessel with a crew of less than 100. Being second in command of a scrappy, cramped vessel was still a massive step up from being a mere department head. Already someone who was prone to keeping to himself, the move to the command track at just 26 years old led Tisan to consciously distance himself from the rest of the crew to maintain professional separation and to try to escape speculation that his youth would leave him unsuited to the role. Tisan’s command style was decisive, demanding, and aloof, a role he crafted for himself to play “bad cop” for a commanding officer who was more genial. His experience with small unit tactics at the academy led him to be a capable away team leader as well, even though his primary training was at the helm.

After three years on Spartan, Tisan was promoted to lieutenant commander and became first officer aboard Ptolemy, an advanced Rhode Island-class scout in 2399. Tisan continued to hone his reputation as an able senior officer, though he began to feel that his career was being limited by continued service on smaller starships.

USS Arcturus (2401–Present)

Tisan requested a transfer to an Odyssey-class starship in the months after Frontier Day 2401, knowing that the staffing shortages created by that crisis were an unmissable opportunity to gain experience on one of Starfleet’s largest vessels, even knowing that he’d likely take a step down in authority. He was selected personally by Fleet Captain Michael Lancaster to join the crew of Arcturus as senior officer of the watch, overseeing the ship’s flight control, security, and tactical departments with a corresponding increase in rank to commander.