Lieutenant T'Niam
Name T'Niam
Position Counselor
Rank Lieutenant
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Vulcan | |
| Age | 62 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'10"/178cm | |
| Weight | 150 lbs/68 kg | |
| Hair Color | Dark brown | |
| Eye Color | Dark brown | |
| Physical Description | T’Niam is quite average by Vulcan standards - tall and slender with exquisitely straight posture. She holds herself with precision; shoulders square, head held high, hands often clasped behind her back with her clothes in impeccable order and boots polished to a high shine. T’Niam wears her thick dark hair quite long, in contrast to the short styles so often favoured by the females of her species. She habitually wears it tied back away from her face to ensure it does not impede her in any way. T’Niam prefers simple methods such as ponytails and buns to contain it, as it is illogical to spend time on her hair that could be used for other tasks. Her facial features are sufficiently symmetrical, and as far as she is concerned there is nothing else of note to be said on the matter. |
Family
| Spouse | Larraq (deceased) | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Khalek | |
| Mother | T'Viri | |
| Brother(s) | Salamek Nival |
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| Sister(s) | None | |
| Other Family | Karvak and T’Naya (paternal foreparents) Saleth and V’Lin (maternal foreparents) T’Sun (maternal aunt) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Among her people, T’Niam is considered to be a little… odd. She is tranquil rather than stoic with an air of deep-seated calm instead of being coldly remote. As such, she comes across as very approachable, and gives anyone who engages her in conversation her full attention and focus. She is a mindful creature, taking in everything around her in fascinated detail. She is intensely curious and utilises all her senses and considerable Vulcan mental acumen to catalogue and analyse everything around her. As such, T’Niam is remarkably tactile - not with people, of course, there are practicalities and privacy for a touch-telepath to consider - but with the world around her in general. It is illogical, after all, to refrain from gathering all forms of available data. By Vulcan standards, she is quite gentle, which has gained her no small amount of disapproval on her homeworld, though she makes up for it in resilience. T’Niam embraces logic as a way of life, it is a part of her that she cannot and will not compromise. She also resonates deeply with the concept of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. She acknowledges that in terms of emotion and relationships, Vulcans are a minority in their pursuit of logic. T’Niam strives to develop a greater understanding of other races. She is fascinated by the psychology of emotion on an academic level. T’Niam does not agree with perpetuating the stereotype that Vulcans are without emotion, and often emphasises the difference between absence and control. Her humour is a subtle thing, small witticisms that may or may not be obvious, but has been painted as a failing by many members of her family. She is not a blank slate by any means, often communicating through microexpressions and understated body language, though it does take practice and familiarity to recognise them. The loss of her husband has taught her that the balance between logic and emotion is a fragile one, and that it is a thin line to be both toed and respected. To her way of thinking, Vulcans have a great deal to offer in the field of counselling due to their lifelong experience in analysing and mastering emotion, and she has been known to teach Vulcan techniques when they can be of use. Her non-judgemental, no-nonsense style of dealing with her patients has its admirers and detractors. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | T’Niam is naturally diplomatic, given to trying to see perspectives other than her own. This also assists in her work as a counselor while maintaining her objectivity. She is extremely observant, particularly in regards to humanoid behaviour, and has no compunctions about stepping in when she deems her expertise will be beneficial. She is a lateral thinker, often approaching problems from a different angle than what is obvious. She appreciates and encourages creativity, admiring the thought patterns behind it, and is very good at working as part of a team. Her manner tends to be very straightforward, but whether that’s a good thing depends on the company she’s keeping. She is a very strong telepath, which enabled her to become a healer, and the mental contact with damaged minds has developed a high level of resilience. T’Niam’s predilection for living in the moment does come at the cost of thinking ahead. She is less adept at calculating probabilities, not through lack of ability but lack of affinity for the practice. She is more likely to look at a problem in terms of immediate resolution rather than long-term success, and tends to reflect at a later time when forward planning is required. She is also a workaholic. She gets easily caught up in what she’s doing, particularly when it’s related to her patients, and can find herself spending a lot of her personal time on a task she should have put down six hours ago. This aspect of self-discipline is rather lacking. Her fascination with emotions sometimes makes her more susceptible to their influence, and it forces her to be wary of her reactions. T’Niam is not a strong combatant, finding the necessity of combat distasteful, despite the fact that logically it is sometimes unavoidable. |
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| Ambitions | T’Niam is deeply interested in completing additional qualifications in xenopsychiatry as an adjunct to her xenopsychology expertise. However, she wants to consolidate her knowledge and gain practical experience in xenopsychology and counseling before she pursues this as it would also require her to complete an MD through Starfleet. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | T’Niam is very interested in dance as an expression of cultural mores and societal progression, and studies the various forms she encounters assiduously. She is attempting to learn the Human style of dance known as classical ballet, as the level of technicality lends itself well to a Vulcan’s preference for precision. She began taking lessons during her time at Starfleet Academy, but has yet to make any significant progress due to time constraints (though if pressed, she will admit her tendency to work long hours is primarily at fault). She is also very interested in food, having discovered the various applications of ‘comfort food’ for many species, and she makes a study of the health benefits of the cuisine in question. |
| Personal History | T’Niam was born in 2327 in Raal, a coastal province located on the Voroth Sea on the planet Vulcan. Her family was not of any particular note, working on their ancestral hydroponics farm, and they lived a very simple life. She attended a Vulcan Learning Center to begin her education, and excelled in the biological sciences. Like many Vulcan children, T’Niam was bonded at the age of seven to a fellow Vulcan, a boy considered compatible named Larraq. As they grew, T’Niam displayed aptitudes for medical fields rather than the purely mathematical disciplines and developed a lifelong fascination in the dichotomy of logic and emotion. She decided she wished to become a healer, one who mends both body and mind, and set her mind to the task. As psychological trauma in a Vulcan can have serious physical consequences as a result of their conscious control of autonomic systems, Vulcan healers do not simply specialise in the psychological aspects of treatment. They also require in-depth knowledge regarding physiology, and as such the first half of a mind-healer’s training encompasses the Vulcan equivalent of a medical degree. T’Niam completed her physician training at the Vulcan Medical Institute, and then moved on to complete the psychological and telepathic side of her training. It took a decade of study to become qualified in that alone, bringing her specialist training to a total of 15 years. She found great fulfilment in her work, though it was harrowing to be in the minds of traumatised Vulcans. T’Niam was formally bonded to Larraq in 2366, at the age of 39, when he entered pon farr. They had always gotten along very well, and considered their pairing to be eminently logical and gratifying. They considered having children early, but ultimately decided it would be more logical to allow both of them to become truly established in their fields. Larraq was a botanist, and T’Niam found the tranquility of his profession to be soothing. Considering how difficult her work often was and the toll that it took on T’Niam, the peace offered by Larraq and his plants was of great benefit to her. Sadly it was not to last. In 2370 Larraq was diagnosed with a rare early-onset form of Bendii Syndrome, which was much more aggressive than the standard variant of the disease. After this discovery, T’Niam was deeply dismayed when it was suggested by the physicians - logically - that it would be unwise to have children with Larraq due to his compromised genetics as their lifespan would be dramatically reduced. Two years later, T’Niam took a leave of absence from her career to care for Larraq, who deteriorated rapidly and ultimately died in their home in 2374. Afterwards, she remained with her family to regain her equilibrium mentally and emotionally, as the strain of keeping Larraq functioning and finally caring for him in body as well as mind had worn her down. After this period, T’Niam decided she did not wish to remain on Vulcan. She no longer felt entirely comfortable on her homeworld without Larraq and did not feel ready or sufficiently able to cope with the prospect of telepathic patients, so she sought another way to be of assistance. |
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| Starfleet History | After passing the rigorous entry exams, T’Niam enrolled in Starfleet Academy in 2376, and completed the four-year course in three years, graduating in 2379, when she graduated with the rank of Ensign. Being thrown into a melting pot of races and cultures was deeply stimulating for T’Niam, and she developed a fondness for her new career and surroundings very quickly. It was the fresh start she had needed to truly begin to move forward. She completed an internship/residency in xenopsychology aboard the medical ship USS Leonard McCoy, which she completed in 2382. At that point she was assigned to the USS Shran as a counselor. Six years later, T’Niam applied for the position of counselor aboard the USS Palatine. The Palatine’s mission appealed to T’Niam, and she believed that on a mission of its nature her skills would be both necessary and generally beneficial. The opportunity to study the cultures and psychology of new races was one she could not pass up. Her sojourn aboard the Palatine was destined to be short-lived, as just over a year later she was reassigned to Canopus Station as a counselor. |
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| Service Record | 2376 - 2379 - Starfleet Medical Academy - San Francisco, Earth 2379 - 2382 - Psychology Residency - USS Leonard McCoy 2382 - 2388 - Counselor - USS Shran 2388 - 2389 - Counselor - USS Palatine 2389 - present - Counselor, Canopus Station Qualifications: Vulcan Healing specialty (Doctorate of Medicine/Psychology equivalent) Doctorate of Xenopsychology (Starfleet Medical Academy) |