Qiana Kazadi

Childhood (2362-2380)

Qiana Kazadi was born on New Alexandria, Memory Alpha on September 12th, 2362. Her father, Alain, was a computer technician, and mother, Gloria, was a data archivist. She was the younger of two children. Her older brother, Antonne, was only a year older. Like her family, many of the other inhabitants of Memory Alpha worked for the Federation government. The community was relatively small, but incredibly tight-knit. Completely made up from various species, Qiana was exposed to many cultures from a young age. When she reached the age of 5, she started school at the New Alexandrian Academy, which was a highly-regarded school.

The NAA had an emphasis on xenoanthropology and history. By the time she reached her 5th year of schooling, Qiana was well-versed in many cultures of Federation members. Around this time, the Dominion War officially started. Memory Alpha was located in the Alpha Centauri block near Tellar Prime. The following year, Betazed was invaded and occupied by the Dominion. Many Betazoids fled to nearby planets, including Memory Alpha, as refugees. The Kazadi household opened their home to a Betazoid family, the Tys’s, to stay until the war was resolved. During this time, Qiana became close with a son in the family, named Roran.

The threat of Jem’Hadar attacks grew as they even attacked San Fransisco. For the first time, Memory Alpha received planetary defenses from Starfleet. Though, it was a relatively small force, they raised a sense of security among the inhabitants and refugees alike. Fortunately, the tides of war switched, and by the end of 2375, the Dominion War ended. The Tys family soon departed to return to their home. Qiana maintained communication with Roran throughout the remainder of her time on Memory Alpha.

When Qiana turned 15, she started working as a data clerk in the library system. Her primary responsibilities was just data transfers and basic referencing, but she enjoyed the working lifestyle. With the entire Federation database at her fingertips, she still wanted to experience the lives of people across the galaxy, and provide help in the many broken communities. After finishing her secondary education and pushes from Roran, she joined Starfleet.

Starfleet Academy (2380-2384)

Starfleet was still rebuilding after the war had ended, but had a large flux of new cadets. Qiana and Roran were two of them. Qiana took up the Operations track, while Roran went for Security. By the end of her first year, the two entered a romantic relationship. Qiana found a balance between her studies and her relationship, and even declared her major as Systems Administration, while maintaining a minor in Xenolinguistics. With her degree, she had quite a diverse set of courses. While many were command-type courses for managing crewmembers, she was also trained in engineering repair and programming.

In her junior year, Qiana took up the opportunity to become a duty-cadet aboard the USS Intrepid. As a cadet, she studied under the Communications System Specialist, Lieutenant JG Harold Stoddard. The Intrepid’s primary mission was to provide relief in the Alpha Quadrant to anyone in need, but specifically the demilitarized zone. She helped reset colonies computer systems and communication manifolds. Her senior year, she returned to San Fransisco to complete her studies. During this time, she and Roran became engaged just before their graduation in 2384.

Starfleet Career

The fiances were transferred to the USS Pathfinder. Their four-year mission was exploration of the “southern” regions of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. As an ensign, Qiana was the communications specialist aboard the ship. The operations chief, Commander Gorak, was drawn to her optimistic attitude and abilities. He took Qiana under his wing as a mentor, teaching her certain aspects of ship systems “that they wouldn’t show you at Starfleet.” Naturally, the two became good friends, and he was even willing to perform the wedding ceremonies for them (in true Betazoid style).

Due to them still being on their four-year mission, they didn’t have their honeymoon until they found a suitable uninhabited planet. The captain allowed them to take a few days leave while they surveyed the system. To the couple’s discovery, the planet was laden with ancient alien technology. Their honeymoon was cut short so the Pathfinder could start excavation and examining the pieces. The technology was too far gone to salvage, but was kept onboard through the rest of the mission.

A few months later, Qiana found out she was pregnant. After the synth attacks on Mars, the four-year mission was cut short. Starfleet decided to pull back the Pathfinder to get refit for a new mission. While on leave in Betazed, Qiana gave birth in 2385 to her son, Hyron. They were able to stay there for 8 more months before they returned to the Pathfinder. With changes in staffing, Qiana was offered the position of Assistant Chief of Operations, but she refused for the time-being while Hyron was still in infancy. She did, however, get promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade while serving as the Communications Specialist.

The Pathfinder set out again, but as a reconnaissance mission instead of exploration. Qiana’s work became more integral to the ship’s primary mission. They worked on the border of Romulan space leading up to the inevitable destruction of their star. Much of the communications were classified, and Qiana was one of the few who had permission to transmit it to Starfleet Command.

By 2391, Hyron was old enough to start school, and Qiana took up the Assistant Chief position. Her role became less about data transmission, and more about managing crew. The ship’s mission also changed a bit, now doing recon along Klingon territory. Besides learning Klingon, Qiana found the job grating on her passion and reasons for joining Starfleet.

Gorak was eventually given the captain’s chair of the USS Antares, and he asked Qiana and Roran to transfer. They accepted, and they became Chief Operations Officer and Executive Officer respectively. The Antares was sent to the Alpha Quadrant to encourage stabilization, but Gorak managed to get quite a bit of diplomacy and exploration done as well.

In 2397, the Antares was tasked with negotiating with an estranged Tzenkethi colony. However, the meeting went sour, causing the deaths of Gorak and Roran. Devastated, Qiana took personal leave to help both her and Hyron recover. The two underwent consistent counseling. They moved to New Alexandria after an extended visit to Betazed. Although Memory Alpha was a safe place and being near family helped through the grieving, both Qiana and Hyron desired a place back among the stars. To help maintain some semblance of order, she decided to request a transfer to Starbase 38 as the Chief Communications Officer.