Streenlan

Childhood and Early Life
All things considered Streelan had a good life growing up on the western coast of the continent of In’tar on Kaminar. Living in the local town of Rytan and born to a schoolteacher father and physician mother, he seemed to have a pretty good start in life. His father would teach him the basics of what he needed to know in life  when he could while his mother took care of his health and well-being the best she could and kept him well fed. It was almost the dream combination of parents in anyone’s eyes. His childhood was spent largely buried in books and reading (his father’s efforts) all manner of works, including those from Earth, Andor, Tellar and beyond that still. He discovered early on into childhood (unsurprisingly) that he found books easier to understand than people; at least with books they had a plotline you could follow.

Growing up, he unfortunately found himself being not exactly the best treated among his peers - never mind the mildness common to most Kelpien children, poor Streelan was additionally a shut-in that preferred to sit alone and read or study whatever he pleased over go outside and socialize with the other schoolchildren. This sadly meant that he did not have very many friends, which he didn’t quite mind, frankly. All he needed to do was focus on his studies. Knowing this his parents attempted to assist him in socializing by enrolling him in various after-school activities, none of which he was good at - or quite helped with his awkwardness or shut-in tendencies.

While things certainly seemed peaceful on Kaminar, surface level at least, they really weren't. While by and large most Kelpiens were supportive of the new Kelpien-Ba'ul Alliance, there still remained a portion of society who opposed the idea, believing that the alliance went against the natural order of predator and prey. For many years they remained a small yet vocal group, opposing the governing body of the planet and its decisions, largely not too obtrusive…

...too bad that the night on which they staged their biggest upset of the past few years, was the night poor Streelan's life would take a sharp downturn. He never quite forgot the date: August 19th, 2369. It would've been the perfect birthday night for him and his parents. All three were having dinner in a newly opened restaurant in the heart of In’tar, in the outdoors seating area… until screams rent the air. Coming down the road were dissident group members armed with antiproton firearms, indiscriminately firing upon innocent civilians. Streelan and his parents abandoned their meal and ran with the crowd, hoping to escape and be lost in the crowd. Then there was a heart-wrenching whirr and dull clunk on the paved road, and a small metal object rolled across the tiles. A plasma grenade. He felt his father push him forward, telling him to run as fast as he could. So he did… even as he heard the grenade go off. He couldn't stop to procees it, though; lest he be caught. So he ran… and ran… and ran… until he reached the family home, where he hid in his bedroom, locking the door to that as well. And he waited.

The minutes stretched into hours. All he could do was huddle, stay quiet and hope that somehow he would not be found. Eventually, nine hours passed. Scared, tired but unable to sleep and hungry, still he waited… until he heard a knock on his room door. Not good. With shaky hands he seized the largest, heaviest book he owned, held it aloft and answered the door…

Thankfully, fortune was smiling on him that morning. It was a Kelpien law enforcement officer. Perhap thinking that the boy could handle it, the officer put the news to him plainly: his parents were dead. They'd been killed in the plasma gren-

All went black.

Upon his next awakening he saw the bright lights of a hospital lamp shining in his face. He'd fainted, both from exhaustion and shock. He sat up, disoriented and dizzy… and almost wished he hadn't. The ward was full of patients, all in some measure badly hurt, many dying by the looks of things. The news hit hard, though. Though he hadn't heard all of it, the message was clear: his parents were dead. That was all that mattered right now.

He was discharged that night, being uninjured save shock and possibly trauma, and allowed to go home. Looking at a photograph of his parents that night as he made himself dinner (thanks to his mother for teaching him), he made a decision. He knew what to do in life now; he wanted to make sure that no more children needed to cry because their mother or father would not come home ever again. That started with one’s own efforts to prevent that.

He saw the means to do so in the stars - with Starfleet as a tactical officer.

He was sent to live by his next nearest of kin, being his maternal aunt. As soon as schools had reopened following the attack, he threw himself into his studies, finishing the equivalent of high school and graduating to a remarkable standard. His circumstances did not go unnoticed throughout, though; with his studies now came regular counselling sessions in order to help him cope with the loss.

Getting into the Academy was the next step - and he sought a recommendation from the Starfleet recruitment centre in the city centre. The commandant of the facility was somewhat skeptical at first; she felt that this now slightly traumatized, skittish and withdrawn boy wasn’t quite Starfleet material. Streelan proved her wrong. He passed the physical, academic and psychological assessments required as well as the Academy entrance examination some days later following a tremendous effort put into his studies for said test. Only then was she glad to give him her stamp of approval so to speak - with a smile and a message of good luck, too.

From there, Starfleet Academy and Earth were his next destinations, following a tearful parting with his aunt and what remained of his family.

Academy Years
Suffice to say that he was a little overwhelmed by the size of the campus upon first seeing it, or the sheer variety of his fellow cadets. Everything was so big and so shiny to him, having come from the equivalent of a Kelpien suburb. This time he did make some effort to try and connect with others during the course of his studies; after all he couldn’t stay an island, as his human friends sometimes said. This being said the process was difficult and long, and lasted throughout his tenure of study. When he did interact with others, however, they found him to be surprisingly pleasant to speak with and knowledgeable if a bit (sorry, very) nerdy, if a little too formal-sounding. The counselling sessions continued too, well into his early years of service.

Otherwise he was an excellent student, once again without too many friends but the few he did have he kept close and dear to him, a practice he continues to keep to this day. It was during the course of his studies that he heard of the stereotype that Kelpiens that had not gone through vahar’ai were meek and mild, and tended to be pushovers, in being terrified of anything and everything. That he did not like - and he made damn sure that no one had the opportunity to laugh at him for it. He knew of many Kelpiens who remained steadfastly courageous and passionate despite never having gone through that significant change and he wanted to prove that he could be one of them.

As such in addition to his training and studies he took up sporting. Track and field, basketball, even high jump - it wasn’t too common for him to spend his time training for all three for hours on the holodeck. Aside from such endeavors he even spent some time as a student journalist.

Early Service Years
Upon graduation he was assigned to the Steamrunner-class USS Hemsworth, spending the majority of his career there. His time aboard was once again peppered with counselling sessions, continuing for about two years into his tenure. Otherwise his interactions with his crewmates stayed largely pleasant. It was during this time that he discovered his dislike of papaya - and took up chess as a hobby. In fact, he entered the shipboard chess competition during shore leave and nearly won… beaten by a Vulcan.

Recent Years
On his final year, however, he found that he wanted a change of pace - and that the Hemsworth was a bit too small for his liking. So he placed a transfer request to the newly built U.S.S. Providence in the hopes of making a better life for himself.