Assistant Chief Medical Officer, USS Merlin NCC-84401
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Assistant Chief Medical Officer
Age: 74
Race: Romulan
Height: 169.1
Weight: 49.20lbs
DOB: March 18, 2317
Place of Birth: Capital City, Romulus
Family: Alidar Jaral (father), Donatra Jaral (mother), Centurion Lovok Jaral (brother)
Languages: Standard, Romulan, Vulcan
Hobbies: Exobiology, development paediatrics, pathology, Kal-toh, inter-species mating rituals, Suus Mahna, Vulcan customs and culture.
Education:
2324-31: University of Medicine, Romulus
2339-43: Imperial Navy College, Romulus
2364-68: Starfleet Academy, Earth
Service Record:
2331-39: Physician, Rihannsu General Hospital, Romulus
2343-47: Medical Officer, Antecenturion, Warbird Talon�dvon
2347-51: Medical Officer, Subcenturion, Warbird Talon�dvon
2351-55: Medical Officer, Centurion, Warbird Talon�dvon
2368-72: Medical Officer, Ensign, USS Everest
2372-76: Medical Officer, Lieutenant-JG, USS Everest
2376-80: Asst. Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant, USS Everest
2380-Pres: Asst. Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant, USS Merlin
Born in 2306, Elara was the first child of Alidar and Donatra Jaral. Being only civilians in the middle-class echelon of Rihannsu society, they were fortunate enough to live in Romulus� capital city where Elara�s entire primary and secondary education were paid for by the Patriot Sponsor Program. Under the conditions of the program, Elara�s entire education would be paid for and, in return, she would serve a compulsory ten years in the Imperial Navy before her 45th birthday. Unfortunately for Elara she wasn�t made aware of this condition until, in 2324 at the age of 18, she began her first semester at the University of Medicine.
In 2331, Elara graduated with a doctorate degree in medicine, minoring in paediatric surgery. What should have been a joyous graduation ceremony was, for Elara, an opportunity to quietly flee the capital city in avoidance of the Imperial Navy recruitment officer that had visited her each semester and had ordered her to report to him immediately after graduation. Making her way to a smaller city 200 kilometres south of the capital, she procured false identity papers and got a position at the local Rihannsu General Hospital. Unfortunately, in avoiding conscription into the military, she brought great dishonour to her family.
Remaining at the hospital for the next eight years, Elara gained great experience in the field of paediatrics and it wasn�t until 2339 that she actually became homesick for her estranged family. Aware of the risks involved with returning to the capital city, she nonetheless did so and was shocked to find that her father had been imprisoned by the Tal�Shiar as punishment for her actions. According to Rihannsu law, since he was the one who had signed his daughter up for the Patriot Sponsor Program, he was liable for punishment if the conditions of that program were not met in full.
Pressured by her mother and younger brother, Elara turned herself into the police and her father was released from prison. Having avoided conscription, her honour and reputation was now in question and she was taken to the Imperial Navy College by a Military Police escort. Shortly after she was visited by a Tal�Shiar representative who made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that if she did not complete the full four years at the college and did not serve her compulsory ten years in payment for her education, her family would suffer the ultimate consequence: death.
Life at the Navy College was made difficult after news of Elara�s attempted conscription avoidance was made public amongst the study population. The other cadets, disgusted by her �pacifist� attitude and secretly jealous of her doctorate education, would consistently torment her with beatings in the commissary. The college�s instructors, also disdainful of Elara�s actions, turned a blind-eye to the other cadets physical abuse of her and even made her life extra difficult by being especially critical of her in physical and written examinations. By her third year she was so disheartened that she even considered quitting.
Fortunately for her family, she made it through the forth year and graduated in 2343. Without so much as an hour to say goodbye to her family, she was quickly transported off the planet and assigned to duty onboard the D�Deridex Warbird Talon�dvon. Serving at the rank of Antecenturion, she was one physician in a small group of six and found the task of maintaining the crew�s health incredibly tiring. With a crew compliment of 600 Romulan warriors, she was statistically responsible for one-hundred crewmembers whom were constantly making her life difficult by demanding physical therapy sessions after daily combat training.
In 2347 she was promoted to the rank of Subcenturion. Another four years saw her promoted to the rank of Centurion but, not surprisingly, she hadn�t achieved a position any greater than Medical Officer. Eight years of service in the Imperial Navy and not once had her position changed, despite the occasional openings available to the position of Asst. Chief Medical Officer and Chief Medical Officer. Her lack of a senior position onboard the D�Deridex Warbird could easily be accounted to the Captain�s complete disdain for her past. Apparently her attempt to avoid military service had been included in her permanent personnel record.
In mid 2355, Elara realized that she had been serving in the Imperial Navy for twelve years and her compulsory ten-year service had been satisfied. Resigning her commission she returned to Romulus and visited her family, only to find out that her younger brother had enlisted in the Navy College himself. Now a civilian, she began working at a local medical clinic during which time she was introduced into the Reunification Underground by one of her patients. While she wasn�t particularly bothered by the conception of unification with Vulcan, she found their non-Warrior attitude similar to her own and enjoyed the company.
Life continued as normal for Elara for the next year, her medical practice flourishing and her social life completely immersed in the Reunification Underground. All of her friends were now students of Vulcan philosophy and, despite the fact that she didn�t care much for the �dictates of logic� herself, she nonetheless attended the secret meetings since she enjoyed spending time with others who detested violence and refused the warrior way of life. Unfortunately for her, she became too trusting of the others in the underground and unwillingly made herself open to betrayal.
In January of 2356, Elara and two other underground members were betrayed to the Tal�Shiar by a double-agent. Arrested and publicly humiliated, she was branded a traitor to the Romulan Star Empire and disowned by her family. Taken to a Tal�Shiar internment facility for political prisons, she was subjected to neural-stimulation torture on a daily basis. The torture involved getting her addicted to neural stimulation over a period of weeks, after which the prison warden would withhold her daily �fixes� and she would suffer withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunate for Elara, this went on for the next five years.
It wasn�t until early 2361, after five years of torture and imprisonment, that Elara was freed. While onboard a scout-vessel that was due to take her to another prison facility on the outskirt of Romulan space, the other prisoners rioted and took control of the vessel. Before nearby Romulan warbirds could respond to the situation, the prisoners had taken the scout through the Neutral Zone and had entered Federation territory. Setting course for the nearest starbase, the prisoners pleaded for asylum and was granted it after several months of debate by the Federation High Council.
Hence, in mid 2361, Elara and several other former prisoners were admitted into a Federation psychiatric hospital where they were treated for neural-stimulation torture. The sixth month treatment was a difficult process for all involved, and eventually it was realized by her doctors that even a gradual withdrawal from neural-stimulation would not ease her pain. Hence it was decided that for Elara to lead a normal life she would require a permanent neural interface that would satisfy her involuntary addiction. After a short surgical procedure, such an interface was embedded into the base of her neck.
In January 2362 she was released from the psychiatric hospital and offered free passage to any Federation world of her choice. Feeling somewhat of an outcast amongst Humans, Trills and Betazoids, Elara chose Vulcan and was transported there on a Starfleet cargo vessel. Upon arriving on Vulcan she made contact with a group of V�tosh ka�tur (�Vulcans without logic�). These individuals are outcasts whom disagree with how Surak�s teachings are interpreted. They believe that he wanted Vulcan�s to master their emotions and integrate them into their lives, not reject them.
Since the V�tosh ka�tur experience emotions �albeit with great control over them� they were similar in behaviour to Romulan�s (but less aggressive) and Elara quickly made new friends. By the end of her first year on Vulcan, Elara was employed in a local paediatrics medical clinic and was fortunate enough to be given free lodging in the house of one of her V�tosh ka�tur friends. By her second year on Vulcan she had been witness to the very culture that she had heard about in the Romulan unification underground and was gaining a healthy respect for the Vulcan way-of-life: peace and calm understanding.
Wanting to learn more about the Vulcan philosophy, Elara began exploring their culture and became a keen student of the Vulcan nerve pinch and the defensive martial art �Suus Mahna�. She even went as far to participate in the Kal Rekk (a traditional Vulcan holiday of atonement, solitude and silence), and the Kahswan (a Vulcan ritual in which she was taken to the desert and forced to survive alone for ten days). In the mid months of 2384 she enlisted the help of a Vulcan Master to guide her through the Kolinahr, a ritual that purges all remaining emotions from an individual to attain the ideal of pure logic.
While the Kolinahr is a cornerstone of Vulcan beliefs that all young Vulcans go through successfully in their life, Elara�s Romulan physiology was enough to make the process excruciatingly difficult for her. Six months after initiating the Kolinahr her Vulcan Master came to the conclusion that while she would never be able to completely suppress her emotions, she would now be able to control them with slight-of-hand ease. Satisfied with what she had achieved under the guidance of her Vulcan Master, and now able to suppress the emotional pain of her tortured life in Romulan prison, Elara decided to apply for Federation citizenship so that she could join Starfleet and work with the latest in medical technology.
Fortunately for her, Elara�s application for Federation citizenship was sponsored by her Vulcan Master whom was confident that her loyalties would not change over time. After intense psychological and background screening, she passed the Federation history exam and was granted citizenship. Now a full fledged Federation citizen, she applied to and was accepted into the Starfleet Academy on Earth. Catching the earliest transport from Vulcan to Earth, she arrived in San Francisco in January of 2364 where she majored in medical and minored in operations. After four years at the academy, she graduated in 2368.
Like all ensigns fresh from the academy, Elara was quickly assigned to a starship. In her case it was the USS Everest, a Galaxy-class starship that was tasked with patrolling the Neutral Zone and Klingon/Federation border. Starting off as a Medical Officer, Elara quickly adapted to life as a Starfleet officer and found that if she didn�t announce her Romulan heritage, many other officers would presume that she was Vulcan and treat her accordingly. In fact, aside from her superior officers, very few people were made aware and even those who were felt that she was more Vulcan than Romulan
In 2372 she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant junior-grade, and again in 2376 to the rank of full Lieutenant. Her latter promotion, however, also came with an advancement in position and she was made the Everest�s assistant Chief Medical Officer. After twelve years of service in Starfleet without incident, she was transferred to the USS Merlin where she became its assistant Chief Medical Officer.
Despite her typically Romulan appearance, Elara is far from being a typical Romulan in terms of behaviour and personality. She lacks the smug superiority complex that many of her people have, and she detests violence regardless of the justification for it. Like many doctors she is a pacifist, having taken an oath to protect life, and will only fight in self-defence. In fact, having mastered the Vulcan nerve pinch and become reasonably skilled at the defensive Vulcan martial art �Suus Mahna�, there are several ways in which Elara can disarm an opponent without necessarily killing him or her.
Another difference between Elara and her Romulan predecessors is her ability to control her emotions. Having completed the ritual of Kolinahr but not having the Vulcan physiology to completely suppress her emotions, Elara is able to do so only on a short-term basis. Providing that she completes the daily meditation to assist in the suppression of her emotions, she will spend the rest of the day entirely without feeling. If, however, she misses a meditation session, she will be subject to the normal Romulan emotions until she is able to complete the next session.
While Elara prefers to live in an emotionless state in order to retain professionalism and avoid the pains of her tortured past, she does admit that there are occasions where emotions come in handy. Hence, on such occasions, she willingly misses her meditation session. Even When experiencing emotion, Elara is not your typical Romulan. Kind and warm-hearted, she is compassionate about her work and has quite a wicked sense of humour. She adores children (which is why she got into paediatrics) and, if she doesn�t undergo the meditation for a few days, has even been described as adventurous and promiscuous.
Unfortunately, due to her interrogation at the hands of the Tal�Shiar, Elara lives with the pains of being a neural torture victim and requires weekly dosages of triptocederine. She now has a permanent neural interface located on her back below the base of her neck which was implanted by Starfleet Medical. When Elara suffers from the frequent reoccurring side-effects of the neural-stimulation torture, the interface triggers an increase in endorphins which stimulates the pleasure centres of her brain, therefore easing the pain. As a side effect, physical torture is now useless against her and she has a greater threshold against pain.
