Ensign Kivo Dak

Nothing about Kivo stands out from the crowd on a first glance. He is more slender than average and about average height for many humanoids, perhaps due to the malnutrition in his early life. Being from the Bajoran species is uncommon in the Federation, but not unheard of.

He is, perhaps, kind of pretty to some, or just rather awkwardly made to others. He is lanky with a comparatively short torso compared to his leg length. His most distinguishing features are an aquiline nose, a prominent jawline and sharp chin. His mouth is too wide and is often curled or pursed with a pensive air.

With Starfleet’s current dress code, Kivo doesn’t wear his D’jarra on his ear, a fairly standard earring made of copper and bronze. He is shy about his right ear- though he has had it partially reconstructed, it is evident that Kivo’s right ear and part of the back of his neck and shoulder blade suffered burn damage in his younger days.

Dak, when barechested, can be seen to have a slight concave depression in the lower part of his sternum on the center-left side. Not an injury, he was born with this feature, known medically as pectus excavatum.

Dak is the product of a modest and spiritual culture who have endured horrific trauma. He is not shy so much as introverted, guarded and self-reliant. He is used to closing off his thoughts, feelings and motivations to survive. It is immediately evident to people who talk to Dak for a length of time that he has defenses and barriers up- and those barriers revolve around sarcasm and a proactive social directness. But he also uses a quirky sense of humor to protect himself (by shocking or disarming others).

Dak is a wishful agnostic. But his rationality, logic and need to control emotions gets in the way of his faith. Prayer is a daily ritual for him (his sect believes in prayer at dusk) and he has a small altar and rug in his shared quarters. And he finds monasteries and places of faith very comforting even if he struggles to explain why. He has never had an Orb experience.

Dak is a person with a strongly developed ability of compartmentalizing his life, his emotions… though he struggles with his opinions. That is the brashness of youth and the trauma he’s endured. Dak is not like most pilots: he lacks the cocky swagger, the daredevil tendencies or the adrenaline addiction.

Dak used to think he had joined Starfleet to hone his skills and make a difference in the wider quadrant. He’s never craved a command of his own. He wants to see the good side of the galaxy. And now as he’s being assigned near the Cardassian border, a part of him enjoys the notion that he’s helping check Cardassian ambitions.

But in truth what Dak really wants is to go home. He wants to join the Bajoran Militia and help keep his people safe. He knows the logic is to learn everything he can, and that for now Bajor’s security and recovery path aligns with the Federation. And he’s mostly OK with that. They seem to be good people and he judges them individually.

Strengths

MULTILINGUAL: Speaks Cardassian and Bajoran; improving Federation Linguacode and some Markalian
RATIONAL: Dak makes decisions with the weight of evidence, skill and knowledge. His gut might guide him towards a solution in the absence of much, but he’ll seek information first.
INDEPENDENT: Dak doesn’t believe in conformity for conformity’s sake. He has to restrain his personality to follow Starfleet's regulations, but he will definitely “interpret” and “stretch” regulations when needed to do the “right thing.”
DETERMINED: Dak sets goals and will complete them. He does not give up easily.
CURIOUS: But also skeptical. Dak is open to new information and new ideas, but he will weigh how much attention they merit. He is generally a curious and creative person, one of his few emotional outlets.

Weaknesses

AGNOSTIC PAGH: He wants to believe there is something bigger than him, and the Prophets do exist as a proven fact. But how much they have touched him and guided him, he questions. He has many questions- and some unvoiced angst. He struggles with being guided, and being “useless”, and listening rather than exerting logic, rationale and training.
TRAUMA: Dak has been subjected to confinement, searching, verbal and psychological abuse and has been personally injured by the Cardassian occupation. He has moved from refugee camp to refugee camp and lived with the constant threat of starvation, injury, death or the same for those he cares for.
GUILT: Dak feels guilt for joining Starfleet rather than joining the Bajoran Resistance. Had he known that the Cardassians would leave his world, he might have joined the Bajoran Militia. But he also believes that his move to join the Federation and Starfleet was good for him. He hopes and fears it hasn’t divided him from his people. But he did so because at the time it was a logical choice.
COMBATIVE: People like Dak don’t like to blindly follow anyone with understanding what is going on and why. He is especially so with bureaucrats and figures who prefer authority to allowing professional skill and collaboration.
SOCIALLY CLUELESS: When in “fact mode” Dak can be dismissive of emotions. And even in his social life he prefers facts over guesses. He doesn’t mean to hurt people’s feelings but they are not the first thing he thinks about. He prefers actions and words.
CRITICAL: When emotions are ruling too many decisions, Dak gets frustrated and will lash out at the lack of thinking and evidence. He can become increasingly vocally critical of people who are operating only on gut feelings.

MODEL BUILDING: Lightships and other early Bajoran craft.
PILOTING: Certified in shuttlecraft, work bees, atmospheric craft.
OCEAN, SAIL AND SEAFOOD: Used to live near the sea and his moments of peace and happiness revolve around that.
DRAWING: Life drawing and still life mostly.
SWIMMING: Feels connected to the water and its good exercise.
PRANKING: Little pranks on friends, usually subtle and small that might take days or weeks to notice.
MUSIC: Dak never thought he had much of an ear for singing or making music, but he does enjoy it. His musical tastes would best be described as, “grungy,” “heavy” and “deep” but also, “layered” and “hypnotic.”
FAVORITE FOODS: Groat Cakes or Kava Rolls with Soursap, Spice-brined Hazpha, Jumja Stout, Rakantha Bitters

2358 (STARDATE 35584.38): Suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to the ear, neck, trapezius and scapula on the right side. Due to scarcity of medical aid, the wound was not treated with dermal and tissue regeneration. Left with scars; treatment and reconstruction began in 2365 (Stardate 42669.32) but remains incomplete.

CHILDHOOD MALNUTRITION: Due to the Cardassian Occupation and life in the refugee camps, Kivo’s development was impacted by lack of necessary vitamins, minerals and proteins. These deficiencies have largely been corrected by recent medical care. Susceptibility to some harsh environmental conditions or unusual viral infections cannot be discounted. Weekly iron supplements and bone fortifiers are recommended.

PECTUS EXCAVATUM: Patient has a notable sinking of the sternum and rib cage in the lower center-left quadrant. Effects are largely cosmetic. Minimal impact on lung inflation and due to the placement of the Bajoran heart, cardiac functions are not impaired.

Birthplace

Born into a family from the Va’telo caste, Dak has followed his D’jarra by coincidence more than intent. He was born in a coastal town in Rakantha Province- Port Lapri- and his family have ancestrally been sailors (and later, pilots).

Early Life in Rakantha

Bombing of the Rakantha Coast

Well before the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor and poisoned Rakantha Province’s farmland, a series of Resistance bombings along the ports of Rakantha led to a harsh response by the Cardassian occupying force. In 2358, when Dak was just eleven, the 6th Order bombed Port Lapri and several of the outlying communities. Dak was injured, and the family was already in shock and loss from Joaho’s execution. They fled the area and hid in the hills.

A group in their refugee circle had made contact with the Bajoran Resistance in the area which were using a monastery nearby. They ferried many of the survivors away and gave some medical treatment where they could.

Injuries and Fleeing Bajor

In the bombing of Port Lapri, Dak was burned across the neck, shoulder blade and ear on the right side. The wound only had rudimentary treatment to prevent infection and hope it would heal. He began growing his hair longer to cover the scars. It was difficult to pin his D’jarra to his scarred ear and so he took to wearing it around his neck or else on his left ear.

Danvor II

Danvor II was a dry, desolate world just across the Cardassian Union's border near The Badlands. Already the location of Bajoran refugees, the Kivo family were stowed away here and found an already overcrowded and under-resourced camp. Crime was common and the Bajoran Resistance- including the infamous Kohn Ma- used it as a safehouse and a base to recruit into their causes. In return they promised protection. It was a promise they had little ability to keep, however. Kivo Beran decided to move on as quickly as they could and her choice was somewhat prophetic- a year and a half later, the Cardassian 4th Order bombed the settlement and claimed it was an "accident" and a "tragedy," mistaking it for a pirate encampment.

Belidok IV

A dreary swampy world in the future DMZ’s rimward sectors, uncomfortably close to Markalian territory. The Belidok Refugee Colony was frequently used by the Markalians for smuggling, extortion and fencing of stolen goods to the locals. Some Markalian smugglers would pressgang young Bajora into service aboard their ships. The colony paid protection money to the Markalians against the Breen- a threat that seems without merit now.

A series of solar flares, which had before then helped hide the colony, prompted the refugees to flee the system and they resettled nearby in a system known as Finnec.

Finnec III

The third moon in orbit of a ringed gas giant, Finnec. The moon had subterranean ruins the refugees used as shelter. The ruins were long-abandoned by dissident Xindi Reptilians, probably founded sometime after most of the Xindi made peace with Earth. They stayed there for a few years until a Cardassian task force moved in and started seizing merchant vessels. They boarded nonaligned freighters and took into custody any Bajorans they found.

Starfleet

Early Academy Years

Epsilon Squadron

Fourth Year