Lieutenant JG Nia Saral

Character Information

PNPC By		(Constantine)
Gender		Female
Species		Human/Cardassian
Age		27

Physical Appearance

Height		5'10"
Weight		140 Ibs
Hair Color		Black
Eye Color		Grey with a pale violet undertone
Physical Description		Nia is tall, lean and striking. Her grey hued skin has a light scale-like texture, most prominent at the temples and neck ridges, but less pronounced than a full Cardassian's. Her black hair is thick and long, typically worn pinned up in a twist or braid, and her grey/violet eyes often seem unreadable. She has high cheekbones and sharp features that are softened slightly by human genetics. There’s an alert stillness to her demeanour, like someone always assessing or braced.

Family

Spouse		None
Children		None
Father		Gul Renak (Cardassian, status unknown)
Mother		Lera Saral (human, deceased)
Other Family		Unknown maternal cousins (estranged). Unknown Cardassian relatives (estranged).

Personality & Traits

General Overview		Nia is quiet, serious and composed under pressure. She’s not outwardly warm, but she’s not cold either...just observant, unflinching and methodical. She believes in maintaining control, analysis before action and diffusing tension before it ignites. Raised in a place where violence was common and loyalty was treacherous, Nia learned quickly how to survive by reading people, staying calm and avoiding unnecessary conflict. She doesn’t shy away from danger and conflict, but she will always try and find a better way first. Her belief in de-escalation isn’t born from naivety, but from experience, having seen what aggression and vengeance can cost. However, while she believes in giving people who have been backed into a corner the chance to make the right choice, she won’t hesitate to act if they don’t. She has a complicated relationship with her heritage and doesn't idolise either side of her parentage, more than aware of the weaknesses on both sides.
Strengths & Weaknesses		Strengths: + Specialist in tactical response, crisis triage and non-lethal neutralisation. + Is a capable pilot and driver of many kinds of vehicles. + Highly disciplined and emotionally stoic on duty. + Strong instinct for reading people and anticipating escalation. + Keeps a cool head under fire and is highly analytical and tactical in nature. + Deeply loyal once trust is earned. Weaknesses: - Has no interest in the sciences and barely passed minimum Academy requirements. - Struggles with personal vulnerability and expressing needs. - Can seem curt or severe to others. - Can be insecure about belonging, especially around fully human or Cardassian peers. - Trauma related sleep disturbances and hypervigilance.
Ambitions		She’d like to train others in crisis intervention and advocate for more nuanced response teams within Starfleet security (that don’t assume problems can be solved at phaser-point).
Hobbies & Interests		Martial arts; Cardassian brush calligraphy; reading and researching histories of colonialism and occupation; enjoys reading old literature with a cup of strong tea; climbing; solving logic problems and Cardassian puzzle boxes; collects security and emergency emblems, patches and field badges from allied forces. Languages Spoken: Federation Standard, Cardassian, a little Bajoran (understood more than spoken)

Personal History		Nia was born in 2370 on Talan’s Reach, a once human Federation colony that fell into the Cardassian controlled side of the DMZ. Under the terms of the Federation-Cardassian treaty, the colony was ceded and Cardassian military moved in shortly after to gain control of the mining operations on the planet. Nia’s mother, Lera Saral, had been a human teacher on Talan’s Reach, and her father, Gul Renak, was part of the initial occupying Cardassian force. While Nia never knew the nature of her parents’ coupling, she knew they were not in a relationship. She remembers moments of care and quiet dignity from her father on a personal level, but also that he was a dominating taskmaster that was viewed with scorn by the colonists. Likewise, she remembers her mother watching her like she was something alien or disturbing, but also doing her best to protect her wherever possible. Her early life was fractured. The Federation called the colony a sacrifice for peace. The Cardassians called it acquisition. The settlers called it betrayal. Violence flared often on both sides; from Maquis sympathisers to Cardassian reprisals. Nia grew up with friends and family who vanished into resistance cells and a mother who tried to shield her, but couldn’t always succeed. After the Dominion War, little changed on Talan’s Reach. As a colony that had been officially and willingly ceded in the official treaty, Cardassia retained control of it…and with Cardassia’s desperate need of resources to rebuild after the war, they only demanded more from the enforced mining labour. When Nia was a teenager, her mother died during a retaliatory raid. Nia was sent to a Cardassian orphanage for a time before she was given passage out of the DMZ through backchannels…it was strongly suspected her escape was aided by her father, although it was never proven. Eventually, she reached Federation space and after spending her remaining time as a minor in a Federation orphanage, she applied to Starfleet Academy. She was different from the other applicants, tougher and mentally older in many ways, and didn’t quite fit in...but she was smart, resilient, determined and committed, and showed aptitude in security and emergency response. She never spoke much about her past, and she wasn’t asked to. Joining Starfleet Academy was as much an escape as it was a calling. Nia struggled at first with the structure, burdened by the weight of others’ assumptions and prejudices. Some saw her Cardassian features and expected ruthlessness, others saw her restraint and mistook it for weakness. But it was under pressure at the Academy that she began to refine her principles. She specialised in security and field response, quickly distinguishing herself as someone who could remain calm in high-stakes situations and de-escalate tensions with surprising finesse. A quiet, intense presence in the room, she was respected by instructors for her control and depth of thought, even if she rarely let people close. Following graduation, Nia requested assignments that took her into disputed territories or underserved outposts, where conflict simmered and security officers needed more than a phaser. She earned a reputation for fast, tactical thinking, but also for doing her research; learning local politics, understanding motives and using knowledge over violence where possible. After years of quietly effective service, she was recruited into the Emergency Services Unit, a specialised detachment trained to handle high risk breaches, crisis containment, search and rescue, and live operations where discretion and precision were paramount. Though she rarely spoke about her childhood, her empathy for civilians in contested spaces made her an unexpectedly compassionate presence in the field. Her team learned to trust her instincts; she had a natural ability to read a room and the people in it. Now stationed aboard the USS Artemis, Nia finds herself walking the line between law enforcement and protector. She knows from experience how quickly people can judge, and how difficult it can be for them to understand.
Service Record		2388-2392: Starfleet Academy, Security and Hazard Training, special focus in Tactical Rescue & Containment 2392-2393: USS Aura, Security Officer, Ensign 2393-2395: USS Wellington, Security & Hazard Team Officer, Ensign 2395-2397: USS S’Erna, Emergency Services Unit Officer, Ensign 2397-Present: USS Artemis, Emergency Services Unit Officer, Lt. JG Medical History: Physically healthy, though her hybrid biology has required tailored monitoring (particularly skin and circulatory system). Cleared for duty, though psych records note history of chronic stress and traumatic childhood events. Recommended mental health check-ins (accepted without resistance, though not often forthcoming in sessions). Noted sensitivity to extreme cold due to Cardassian genetic traits.