One of the characters I play in my bi-weekly Star Trek Adventures game is a young cadet named Vea Buchanan. In her second year, she is studying in the Operations Division at Starfleet Academy training to be a Security Officer with a focus on tactical and combat. This character is interesting to me because she was never interested in Starfleet at all until her mother confessed to her, when she was 14 and going through adolescence, that her father was a Vulcan. No one in particular but a Vulcan just the same. Thinking she was full human all her life and her mother putting stories in her head that her father was a deadbeat and took off, when she was the one who ran away. Vea’s mother had quickly moved to Mars from Earth when she found out she was pregnant, out of wedlock, no less. She was sure that would have outraged any Vulcan family, but something this important should have been shared with her daughter – the only family she had left. Vea could only speculate – was the Vulcan a curiosity during a casual relationship until it got too serious? If she had never started forming cuspidated ears and lack of empathy throughout her younger years, would her mother had even mentioned anything at all? Vea always had a love for the universe and what better way to explore it than in the Federation. Feeling the need to get away from her mother for what she believed was her betrayal, Starfleet provided a way out and a way to discover; she just had to get through the rigorous program once she chose her major.
She had an agricultural upbringing. Her mother left their homeland of Earth to colonize on Mars where Vea was born. Growing up with a single mother, she was told to look after their plot of land and animals at a very young age. When requested to look after the younger children, she never saw it as babysitting but more like protecting the weak. Bullies to Vea were also weak minded and could only be dealt one way, opting to use her strength which developed from puberty, to beat them down instead. One person tried to convince her of other ways of defence, and that was a good friend Shamara Durant. When she died defending the farm from an interstellar attack six months before her application was accepted into the academy program, whatever emotions she learned from her dear friend were buried from the loss and she had to be given the opportunity to fight back.
Standing 5’9” tall, 180lbs, she was muscular for her early twenties and always sought to be physically fit. Having to work in the fields demanded her physique to be healthy and strong. Her first year at Starfleet consisted of all the mandatory courses, with her interest leaning towards Security, Engineering and Science but her choice focused in the Operations Division within Security. She kept mainly to herself, deciding to concentrate on her studies and personal athletic and strength performance.
Vea didn’t care about her family origins until her second year, after the holodeck simulations, where her teammates went on about Vulcan abilities that left her annoyed and thinking about her heritage. Out of frustration, Vea felt the need to understand her Vulcan side and sought counsel.
Vea is in her second year at the Starfleet Academy at the San Francisco campus as a young officer cadet. After learning all she could about hand to hand combat, she wanted to advance her melee skill and requested to be transferred to a Martial Arts class run by a Vulcan instructor. Vea tries to keep to herself and concentrates on her studies, from time to time taking a moment to visit the main lounge to converse with her colleagues. Most of the time she is ready for failures and unpredictability, and is working towards being the best at her craft. Unfortunately, she finds herself getting heated when it comes to battle – be it hand to hand or phaser weapons. During her studies, she is studying the following: Major: Security Systems and Ship Lockdown Procedures; Minor: Shipboard Tactical Systems and Interrogation; Weapon Skill: Hand to Hand combat switched to Martial Arts in second year & Phaser Mechanics and what she deems is her personal interest is the galaxy and all that it holds. Interests such as music, cooking or reading fairy tales was just a distraction to my character. She would rather concentrate on what was real around her, something she could fathom and understand.
Since my late twenties, I have found comfort in playing tabletop/online gaming where you can become other characters and see where your imagination takes you. It was very helpful during these times and is always a form of entertainment.
The Comic Cafe 
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