Captain Rylan Gray
Name Rylan Gray
Position Commanding Officer
Rank Captain
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human/Betazoid | |
| Age | 40 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 6'0" | |
| Weight | 183 lbs | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Dark Gray | |
| Physical Description | Athletic build, on the lean side, with thick, brown hair that's wavy enough to seem just this side of messy and is stacked in the back so that in length, it always falls within regulations. He has penetrating dark gray eyes that betray an active intelligence. Physiology > Telepathic with a strong set of shields (owing to years lived in boarding schools among non-telepaths) > Weakly empathic |
Family
| Spouse | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Aedan Gray | |
| Mother | Adira Zhaan, Sixth House | |
| Brother(s) | None | |
| Sister(s) | None | |
| Other Family | Margaret ("Mags") Gray Hayley Gray |
Personality & Traits
| Personality Overview | On an emotional level, Rylan came to adulthood expecting to be discounted having grown up with a father who couldn't bring himself to love the child who 'killed' his first wife and later, by a culture who saw him as less because he was male. He understood the need to prove himself, having done so over and over in his life, and covers the awkwardness he sometimes feels, especially in familial settings, with civility and manners, something he places a high value on. He believes in equality and is diplomatic by nature though he can be unforgiving when he's betrayed. Rylan believes that whatever happened to him in his childhood does not have to dictate his future. He choose his own path. So, while he has developed an emotional reserve and is uncomfortable with profusive gestures by people he doesn't know well, he is generally optimistic. He's comfortable in crowds and not at all shy. He has a questioning/investigative mindset and a natural tendency to look beneath the surface. While he is generally difficult to fool, especially on the job, he is vulnerable on the rare occasions when he puts his feelings ahead of his intellect. |
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| Ambitions | Back at the Academy, Rylan couldn't imagine the trajectory of his Starfleet career other than a chance to leave Earth behind. In a sense, that hasn't changed. He still wants to see what's out there. Being in Starfleet, he finds himself in the unique position to help and that satisfies him. When asked what Rylan wants to do next, his answer is generally the same -- 'why would I not want to do this?' | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | Strengths: + Self-reliant, Independent, Strong-willed + Analytical/Good at thinking several moves ahead + Fair-minded/Egalitarian/Highly ethical Weaknesses: - Redheads - Can be unforgiving when he's betrayed - May ignore what he knows to be true, instead putting his feelings for someone first |
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| Hobbies & Interests | + Reading - history especially + Has an discriminating palate and is an excellent cook but rarely has the time to indulge + Rowing, swimming, horseback riding, and working out when he can + Loves the theater and experiencing cultural events on other worlds + Astronomy |
Medical History
| Known Allergies | Spider bites | |
| Preexisting Medical Conditions | None |
| Personal History | Born 2329 to Aeden Dar and Adira Zhaan, Sixth House Aeden Gray and Adira, a Betazoid, had a marriage that suited them both, fueled by compatibility and shared interests. Aeden was a mathematician and engineer while Aidra was a scientist and both were working on classified research into a new propulsion technology. While theirs was not a marriage built on passion, it satisfied them both. They lived in London and worked for Starfleet as civilian contractors. They made plans to return to live on Betazed and there, raise children. Unknown to either of them, information had been leaked by one of their technicians and the project became a target for an undisclosed group that wanted to steal the prototype. While Aeden was away for the day at a conference, Adira put in her last day of work in the lab before going on maternity leave. She was nearly full-term when the group hit the lab and too slow to get to safety when the bomb went off. Her decision to put her child's life before her own meant that Aeden, after rushing to the hospital, discovered that Adira was dead and that he had a son. Aeden, finding it difficult to separate the child from the act that killed his life partner, abandoned plans to travel to Betazed and instead sought help in raising his son. He had thought of returning to Cambridge, where he was born, but pressure from the project director led to his decision to remain in London and continue his work at least in the short term. Within two years of Adira's death, Aeden met and married Margaret Gray; for her comfort, he agreed to remain in London. Unlike his first, arranged marriage, Aeden loved Mags with a passion he'd never experienced before. At her encouragement, he left the research project and joined her at Imperial College where he taught mathematics. It became clear fairly early on that young Rylan was something of an inconvenience. To resolve the issue and restore peace in his home, Aeden invited his older sister, Hayley to live with them and serve as nanny and housekeeper while she worked on her book. She agreed and lived there permanently until her death while Rylan was away at school. 2333-: Attended Thomas's Battersea, London, England At the age of four, Rylan was enrolled at Thomas's Battersea in London which was a relief to everyone including Rylan. At Battersea, neurodiversity was celebrated, social responsibility was encouraged, and Rylan, for the first time in his life received the emotional and social support he needed to thrive. A team of chefs working to produce a varied and exciting menu, including dishes like chicken and chorizo jambalya or pepper crusted salmon with garlic chickpeas and an emphasis on cuisines from many Federation worlds, ignited in him an interest in good food. Along with his studies, he took ballet class and practiced fencing. 2342-2346: Attended Tonbrook School, Kent England At the age of thirteen, Rylan enrolled at Tonbridge School in Kent. He was placed in Parkside, one of the six houses for full board students, where he shared a dorm with three other boys for the first year (and then had a single study bedroom for the remainder of his time there). Parkside became home. He joined the rowing team, attended plays and concerts with the other sixty-four boys in his house, and developed an interest in debating. Summer holidays and long weekends, when he had to return to his father's house, left him feeling awkward and ill-at-ease. Going back to school nearly always came as a relief to everyone. He made friends easily at Tonbridge and among them, was Charles Mitz. They were friendly competitors on the house rowing teams, considered to be evenly matched, but, where Rylan excelled, was in their chess matches. His father, who seemed to hold him responsible for his mother's death, was as distant as ever and so, Rylan, more often than not, made arrangements to travel home with friends on long weekends and dread the summer holiday when he had no choice but to go to his own home and endure two months with his father and his father's wife, Mags. To underline the distance from his father, he chose to take his mother's last name, Zhaan. 2342: Onset of Telepathy As with most Betazoids, his gifts began to emerge at the onset of puberty. Tonbridge who counted Vulcans and Betazoids among its students, set him up with a counselor who worked with Rylan; the hardest part was learning how to block out the intrusive emotions and thoughts of non-telepaths and it would be three months before he mastered that ability. By the time he was eighteen, he had a formidable set of shields but little else. 2346: Trip to the Home World In his last year at Tonbrook, Rylan was invited by his family on Betazed for a visit. Other than what he'd studied about Betazed, he knew very little. He went, because he wanted to see where his mother had grown up and to learn something of her from her family. Because Betazed is a semi-matriarchal society, Rylan learned quickly that being Adira's son, rather than her daughter, made him less in the family's eyes; having grown up with the knowledge that he was at best a duty and at worst an inconvenience, this proved to be no great surprise. However beautiful the world, and it was beautiful, it could never be home. Still, he profited from the experience and spent two months learning to master his empathic abilities and his somewhat limited telepathic abilities. While there, he used that time to consider his options and decide where he wanted to go next. Starfleet Academy At the age of eighteen, Rylan entered Starfleet Academy. Having spent years at Tonbrook, where he spent the majority of his time away from home, Rylan had less problems adjusting to the routine of their days than some of his counterparts. First years who had never lived away from home, who had always had the love and support of their families, who had never shared so much as a bathroom, found the early days to be something of an enormous shock. Being part Betazoid, he faced several challenges fashioned by his instructors to test his personal beliefs (as opposed to those held by the majority on Betazed). In his personal life, Rylan gravitated toward the more serious-minded among his classmates. Early testing revealed him to be a strong candidate for command; as a result, those studies were added in addition to his coursework in helm, navigation and ship's operations. He joined a study group and made friends with another classmate in the same year, Charles Stanley Mitz. The two were friends of a sort, often rivals in the inter-house rowing competitions, who had a shared interest in cooking of all things. On home visits, the two worked in the Mitz Family Restaurant -- Charles as dishwasher and Rylan serving customers. After hours, Rylan got cooking lessons from Mitz Sr. On Board the Bretagne After spending the majority of his life as a student, of one sort or another, his position on the USS Bretagne came as something of a cultural shock. For the first time in his life, there were no study requirements, no tests looming and no structure to this time other than the requirements of his position. He found that while he didn't miss exams, he did miss learning. He let his inquisitive mind loose and was happier for it. Being 'yet-another-ensign' as his "X" was want to say, Rylan felt as though he'd found his path. The Bretagne was largely tasked with exploration and owing to the First Officer's dislike of transporters, he was often tasked with flying the shuttle on away teams. On Board the Ark Royal Rylan joined the crew of the Ark Royal, an aging Centaur Class vessel, as Executive Officer under Captain Josiah Walsh. The step up from Second Officer required some adjustment but under Walsh's tutelage, he grew to respect Walsh as a capable officer. For thirteen years, Rylan served as Executive Officer for the ship. He participated in numerous away teams and over time, showed himself to be a resourceful leader, loyal to his crew and his captain, and capable of both diplomacy and action as needed. Walsh, who had a relaxed command style, enjoyed political discussions over a game of chess and while Rylan didn't always agree with the man's opinions, he did enjoy the debates. They weren't friends exactly but they weren't strangers either. Rylan respected his captain and settled into the role. In a sense, he felt as though he'd finally found a home that mattered to him. And then came Wolf 359. Badly damaged, with minimal life support, the Ark Royal escaped the carnage. And yet, in the aftermath of the battle, things changed substantially. Walsh took the loss personally. The relaxed command style disappeared; he became he became stricter, less tolerant. Rylan, loyal to his captain and his ship, hoped that Walsh would come through it. Hoped they all would and then, early in 2369, Rylan came awake to the sound of an explosion. The ship shook violently and the red alert klaxons were sounding. He had barely made it to the Bridge when the captain ordered evacuation of the ship and before he knew it, Rylan was floating in an escape pod and the ship he loved was little more than pieces. The captain and several key department heads died in the explosion. The USS Thunderbird Promoted to captain and assigned command of one of the first five Akira class vessels constructed at Utopia Planitia. Assigned a patrol route along the Cardassian border. |
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| Service Record | 2346-2350: Starfleet Academy, Helm/Navigation and Command 2350-2353: USS Bretagne, Helm Officer 2353-2355: USS Bretagne, Promoted to Assistant Chief of Flight Operations 2355-2357: USS Bretagne, Promoted to Chief of Flight Operations and Second Officer 2357-2369: USS Ark Royal, First Officer 2369-Now : USS Thunderbird, Commanding Officer |