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30 Jun 2024 @ 4:01pm

Admiral Zavareh Sepandiyar

Name Zavareh Sepandiyar

Position Fleet Commanding Officer

Second Position Commanding Officer

Rank Admiral


Character Information

Gender Male
Species Human
Age 70

Physical Appearance

Height 59"
Weight 175lbs
Hair Color Gray
Eye Color Brown
Physical Description Zavareh is not a strong physical presence by any standards, human or otherwise. It is a misleading trait as he is hardier than anyone would expect, which has ultimately given rise to his own unique reputation.

Not vain by any stretch of the imagination. Considers the natural progression of the aging process, and the healing of scars to be a historical record of who he is. He believes strongly that we are no one if we cannot look back at our own experiences, mistakes and successes and hold true to our own selves. To do otherwise is weakness.

Strong baritone voice, thick with a Persian accent and raspy. There is legitimate damage to his vocal chords that could be repaired, but like the scars on his body, Zavareh prefers it to remain as it as - a reminder.

Family

Spouse Saman (Deceased)
Children Arsalon, (29) Cyrus (20), Roham (19), Jamshid (17), Arash (17)
Father Kavah
Mother Pouri
Brother(s) Like any Persian family, the list can be endless...

Personality & Traits

General Overview Zavareh has been in Starfleet for longer than most and been through even more. While he may have started young and on the fast track to being something of a prodigy, that was all derailed quickly by the circumstances of his service. The same circumstances that shaped his personality, his view of the universe and the way in which he leads.

He has had the unfortunate luck to have been involved with almost every hostile species in the Alpha Quadrant and beyond. Since day one among the Fleet, Zavareh has found himself hip deep in the deepest and darkest conflicts Starfleet has engaged in. Klingon's, Romulan's, Kzinti, Breen, Cardassian's and of course, the Borg. The result is a man who is not only experienced beyond the measure of any three others, but a man that is known in the darkest circles. It's not a statistic he's proud of its nearly driven him from the service more than once.

The Klingon's would love to get their hands on him to pass judgement for his perceived crimes. The Romulan's have taken a different stand. Within what remains of the Star Empire, he and the entire crew of the USS Iowa, Intrepid Class, have a standing 'kill' order on their heads. A kill order that has, to date, claimed the lives of eight of the thirteen crew that survived the incident. Zavareh bears an ugly scar along the entire right side of his chest from the Romulan's last attempt to carry out that order that resulted in deaths six, seven and eight and very nearly made him number nine.

Between the Breen, the Cardassian's and even the Bajoran's, Zavareh is a wanted man yet he has never directly caused any harm to any party. He is not a war-monger, nor a trouble maker, he has simply had the good fortune (or misfortune) of being involved in more conflicts than he cares to remember - most of which have culminated in his own infamy.

He is the personification of the statement: 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions'
Strengths & Weaknesses Zavareh is a survivor. It is his single greatest strength - bar none. The rest is simply details.

Strengths:

- Analytical thinking. Very adept at dissecting a situation and working out the viable and non-viable outcomes quickly.
- Priority management. He has been trained and has had years of practicing weighing which task is priority and which isn't.
- Acceptance of reality. Some might call it emotional detachment, but Zavareh is able to accept the reality of situation (even if it is life and death) and still make a rational decision. Emotional detachment would imply that he didn't care of the outcome, which is not the case. He is just capable of accepting that death may be one of the viable outcomes of the situation and making his decision regardless.

Weaknesses:

- Piloting. He studied Operations with a minor in Engineering but has less than zero piloting abilities. Starship, shuttle or rowboat, he is the last person you want flying.
- Emotional expression. While he is capable of feeling and understanding emotions internally and externally, he is not capable of expressing them well. Even the simplest of emotions like gratitude seem forced when they come from him, even though he may genuinely mean it. He would move heaven and earth, even risk death and dismemberment traversing Klingon space for his children, but he could not even attempt to tell them that he 'loved' them. It's simply not in his character.
Ambitions Zavareh knows better than to have any dreams, as life always takes such ideas and grinds them into dust. He is just happy to continue to enjoy the work he does, and he will continue to do it until he is killed or is incapable of doing it. Klingon's will regularly adopt kittens before he retires to a quiet seaside villa for the last of his golden years.
Hobbies & Interests Fly Fishing. Chess. Earth Literature and Galactic History.

Personal History Zavareh was born as the only child to a couple who's only ambition in life was to continue to live off the reputation of their own parent's and enjoy the life of enhanced luxury that came along with that. While Earth of the early 24th century was already a utopian paradise, for those on the right side of things, that utopia was even more so. As the son and daughter of a prominent diplomat and a Federation Council member, respectively, there was very little in the world that they wanted for. In fact, the choice to have a son was not a function of wanting to start a family and share that joy in their lives with another, but to simply 'possess' that experience. They actually wanted little to do with raising a child and in turn immediately turned their only son's attention to the small army of caregivers and educators at their disposal.

As would be expected from a child who's parents were not interested in nurturing and who gave his educational progress away to others, he began to quickly excel. But he not only excelled, he passed the mark in nearly every aptitude available. From languages to sciences, Zavareh was the proverbial savant and was driven to push himself further with the hopes that his parents would finally see how well he was doing and offer some measure of praise or reinforcement that he was a good child and a good student. But that praise never came. Ever.

As a boy, he spent countless hours in quiet study in a desperate attempt to get some attention for himself from his parents and in turn surpassed all of his peers in every aspect of his education. He was accelerated several grade levels as he progressed in his education, ultimately graduating three years earlier than he should have. By now, Zavareh had come to the realization that his parents were never going to express anything more than a fleeting interest in him; that they viewed him as a possession or an accessory that they needed to polish and take off the shelf to show their friends only when it suited them. Aside from having taught him to speak their native Farsi, they really had nothing to do with his upbringing. What he did know was that they intended to continue to polish him for their presentation to others and expected that he would further his early education at any one of the more prestigious Universities on Earth; though they had their short list. His graduation party was the first time Zavareh truly realized his parents intentions for him, and so he made the one decision he knew that they would hate; the one decision he knew would seal a rift between them that would be difficult to seal.

He went out of their reach. He went where they could no longer show him off.

It wasn't hard for a boy of his intelligence to garner attention, even in the utopian world that the Federation had ushered in on Earth. And when Zavareh directed that attention towards Starfleet, they moved heaven, Earth and a few scattered constellations to make sure that he tested and gained entry to the Academy. He may have only been fifteen, but they wanted him more than any other institution on the planet did and it showed in their zeal to admit him. Zavareh could have cared less about their interests. He only cared that it was the one place his parents influence, wealth and connections could not touch him. Here he was what he wanted to be and no longer a shiny object for his parents to show off to their friends. He was his own man now.

Despite the strong suggestions by Starfleet that Zavareh study Engineering or one of the applicable sciences that fed into weapons technology, he chose Operations. He enjoyed the structured line of reasoning that a good Operations Officer needed, and it suited his natural ability to see the outcome from the current situation, which allowed him to read power needs and adjustments faster than his peers. His professor's blamed it on his genius level intellect, but Zavareh was finding that without the drive to impress his parents that had been there every day of his life before, that he was nothing more than an above average cadet. He was no genius - just young, driven and very fortunate. Still, he was on the fast track and despite having no need to impress anyone, found himself continuing to prove himself to be one in a million. It was that track that culminated with his acceptance for a cadet cruise aboard the USS Cairo - an Excelsior-class starship. Zavareh and a trio of fellow cadets were assigned to the Cairo and came aboard the ship on Jupiter Station before its departure on a routine Science patrol along the Federation-Klingon borders. The patrol would turn out to be anything but routine and would be the last mission for the Cairo, her Captain and the majority of her crew.

A prominent Klingon House (House of Mag'sokth) who had accumulated a mass of wealth and delusions of grandeur, had it in mind that they could single-handedly retake several worlds that their government had handed over to the Federation. Their plan was one of quiet action, and the Cairo just happened to be in the right place at the right time. She may have been a well-equipped and crewed Excelsior-class vessel, but against twelve Klingon Warbirds, manned by angry Klingon's convinced that the Federation was their enemy - they were no match. It would be later taught in the Academy history and Battle maneuvers courses about how the Captain of the Cairo was able to do more damage than seemed logically possible considering the odds through a series of complicated battle maneuvers. Those same courses would mention how the Captain sacrificed the ship in a daring maneuver to give the escape pods the ability to launch and have some success of landing on a nearby planetoid. The Klingon's destroyed the escape pods before they could land, but that did not make the maneuver any less brilliant.

In truth, the Klingon's thought that they had destroyed all evidence of the Cairo, including their log buoy. All the pods, debris and other evidence had either been vaporized or collected - all except one thing. A single escape pod. It contained the bodies of three of the ships Senior Staff: the First Officer, the Chief Engineer and Chief Science Officer along with one Starfleet Cadet who was on the utter edge of life. One Zavareh Sepandiyar. It would be his memory of the engagement, along with the readings from the pods instruments that would implicate the Klingon's and House Mag'sokth in the Cairo's destruction. It also earned the first bounty on his head by the eldest son of House Mag'sokth who's father was now serving a life sentence for the crimes Zavareh bore witness to. The price was his weight in latinum, dead. Twice his weight in latinum, alive.

Zavareh returned to the Academy earlier than he had planned to now that the ship he had been assigned to had been destroyed. To try and put the incident behind him, he jumped headlong into his studies and added a minor to his Starfleet Academy degree to go along with his focus in Operations. Using the extra time he had now, he added a minor in Engineer as he felt the two went hand in hand to a large degree. While no where near his strong suit, it added a layer of understanding that actually made his Operations coursework a bit easier.

With the incident on the Cairo hanging over his head like a dark rain cloud, Zavareh joined the Fleet with the rest of that year's graduating class, accepting a staff Operations position on the USS Bonhomme Richard. It was a staff position on a well-established vessel that expected and had been subject to little conflict since its launch. Zavareh was convinced that the posting would give him a chance to find a quiet existence in the Fleet and try to put the atrocity of the Cairo behind him. Fate, on the other hand, had a different plan.

A detailed account of his service record would list the various ships that Zavareh has served on, few of which still exist to this day. None of that is a function of his own tactical prowess or even his aggressive tendencies, they are just a function of his own misfortune at always finding himself in the thick of conflict. Klingon's, Romulan's, Cardassian's, the Dominion, the Borg, Breen, Kzinti and even the Bajoran's to name a few. He has served well in the Fleet to date and while he is no legendary Officer in the scope of Captain's like Picard, Kirk, Archer or Janeway he is still well respected and highly decorated as a result of a varied and extensive career. Perhaps in time he will reach a higher status as a Captain and Flag Officer, but for now he is just another Officer making his way in the universe, doing the same thing he has always done and is so good at.

Surviving.
Service Record Civilian:

w-blank.png2319 - Born in the Eastern Mediterranean, aboard the SS Crete - a private yacht.
w-blank.png2334 - Finishes his secondary education three years early (15).

Starfleet Academy:

r-c1.png2334 - Begins at Starfleet Academy. Focus - Operations
r-c3.png2336 - Accepts a Cadet Cruise aboard the USS Cairo
r-c3.png2336 - Destruction of USS Cairo with all hands (less one cadet)
r-c4.png2337 - Adds a minor in Engineering
r-c4.png2338 - Graduates Starfleet Academy.

Active Duty:

y-o1.png2338 - Transferred to USS Bonhomme Richard - Operations Officer
y-o1.png2342 - USS Bonhomme Richard attacked in the Badlands en route to a diplomatic conference with Cardassian leadership in regards the Bajoran occupation. Left without power and with minimal life support for thirty-four hours before a Cardassian vessel happened upon them. Of the ships entire company of 700, 225 survived.
y-o1.png2343 - After detailed debriefing and mandatory R&R, transferred to the USS John C. Stennis - Operations Officer
y-o2.png2345 - Promoted to Lieutenant JG after passing his promotion boards.
y-o2.png2347 - Marries Saman Hazanpour
y-o2.png2357 - USS John C. Stennis, USS Potemkin and USS Montgomery engage secret Kzinti fleet formed at the edge of the Briar Patch, in violation of the Treaty of Sirius. USS Montgomery was destroyed, USS John C. Stennis was badly damaged (Captain, First Officer and CMO killed) and the USS Potemkin relatively unscathed. By virtue of rank and being a part of the Bridge staff, Zavareh was elevated to acting Second Officer during the engagement after the CO and XO were killed.
y-o3.png2362 - Promoted to Lieutenant - Transferred to USS Bellerophon - Operations Officer.
y-o3.png2362 - Birth of his first son, Arsalon.
y-o3.png2367 - Battle of Wolf 359. Bellerophon along with 39 other ships were destroyed in the battle with a Borg cube commanded by Locutus of Borg. Spent 4 days adrift in an escape pod with five others awaiting rescue. Three died of their injuries while waiting.
y-o3.png2367 - Transferred to Starfleet Academy as an Operations Liaison to allow time to recuperate and recover after 359.
y-o3.png2367 - Rejoined the Fleet after six months on Earth. Transferred to the USS Hammurabi.
y-o3.png2367 - USS Hammurabi escorts a diplomatic attaché to Kronos. Zavareh is part of the away team and is captured by the House Mag'sokth and his incarceration is forced through the Klingon High Command at the expense of much latinum on the part of Mag'sokth. He is sentenced to five years hard labor at Rura Penthe. The High Command then expels the Hammurabi as well as the Diplomatic attaché they brought with them.
y-o3.png2369 - Zavareh's sentence is increased to life after he is found guilty of killing a fellow inmate - a Cardassian known formerly as Gul Thraz. When news reaches Cardassia, they put a price on Zavareh's head. Despite his explanations, the Klingon's refuse to believe that Thraz took his own life and instead insist that he killed him for not sharing his meager rations.
y-o3.png2369 - A Cardassian operative team raids Rura Penthe and liberates dozens of Cardassian's held there. They were originally coming to liberate Gul Thraz, but by the time they get the news it is too late to change the plans. In retribution for his murder, they take Zavareh as a prisoner.
y-o3.png2369 - Taken to Terok Nor to await further orders from the Cardassian Central Command on where to take him.
y-o3.png2369 - Three months into his tenure at Terok Nor, a Bajoran militia sleeper cell attempts to sabotage the station. Zavareh stops their attack (to save the lives of the innocent civilians who would be killed if they succeeded) but as a result, the militia team is captured and killed by the Cardassian's. When word reaches the Bajoran's, they brand Zavareh an enemy of the state and put a price on his head. When he finds out, he just laughs and tells them to 'get in line'.
y-o3.png2369 - Presumed killed when Terok Nor was abandoned by the Cardassian's.
y-o3.png2369 - Zavareh and five non-Bajoran captives of Terok Nor who survived the withdrawal escape on an old Bajoran mining vessel. They escape to the nearest Federation affiliated world - Trill.
y-o3.png2370 - USS Hammurabi arrives at Trill, almost three years to the date after he was taken on the away mission to Kronos.
y-o4.png2370 - Promoted to Lieutenant Commander and given the post of Assistant Chief of Operations aboard the Hammurabi.
y-o4.png2371 - Birth of second son, Cyrus.
y-o4.png2372 - Birth of third son, Roham.
y-o4.png2373 - Transferred to the USS Paris - Chief Operations Officer
y-o4.png2373 - USS Paris destroyed in Dominion retaliation strike for Torros III.
y-o4.png2373 - Zavareh sends Saman and his children to Sol sector for duration of the war.
y-o4.png2373 - Transferred to the USS Triton - Prometheus class - Chief Operations Officer.
y-o4.png2374 - Destruction of the USS Triton at Chin'toka.
y-o4.png2374 - Transferred to the USS Grissom - Chief Operations Officer
y-o4.png2374 - Birth of fourth/fifth son (twins), Jamshid and Arash.
y-o5.png2375 - Promoted to Commander - Chief Operations Officer/Second Officer
y-o5.png2375 - USS Grissom destroyed at the Battle of Ricktor Prime. Only six crewmen survived.
y-o5.png2375 - Transferred to the USS Galapagos - Chief of Operations. Two months later, the Galapagos is crippled in the Invasion of Septimus III.
y-o5.png2375 - Transferred to the USS California - Executive Officer.
y-o5.png2375 - USS California destroyed in the Second Battle of Chin'toka.
y-o5.png2375 - Transferred to USS Iowa - Intrepid Class. Refuses posting as First Officer after his perceived failures on the California (for which he received Fleet commendations) and takes the posting of Chief Operations Officer.
y-o5.png2375 - Battle of Cardassia. Iowa takes heavy damage but survives the engagement.
y-o6.png2376 - Finally acquiesces to requests to take the posting of Executive Officer of the Iowa, which is now the Flagship of Admiral (4 Stars) Wallace Tranayan. Promoted to Captain.
y-o6.png2379 - USS Iowa moves into Romulan space on order from Starfleet Command, despite breaking the RNZ treaty. Zavareh sends his children to SB11 to wait for his return. Admiral Tranayan is to rendezvous with a Fleet of Romulan defectors and see them safely across the RNZ to join the Federation Fleet waiting for them. The mission turns into a fiasco that results in the defectors turning on the Federation and on the Romulan's. The Defectors and the Romulan's blame the Federation (who disavows any knowledge of the mission, as was planned) and when the Federation disavows the Iowa the Romulan's proceed to destroy them. Thirteen crewmen survive and report to the Federation and Romulan command about the details of the incident, incriminating the Romulan's for their part in an attack on the Klingon's that further deteriorates relations between the two species. The Romulan senate puts a standing 'kill' order on all thirteen survivors, payable in gold-pressed latinum upon delivery of their heads. Of the thirteen, only eight of those Officers are still alive - the others have fallen victim to the Romulan's bounty.
y-a1.png2380 - Promoted to Commodore - Transferred to Fleet Command: Tactical Operations.
y-a1.png2385 - Death of Wife, Saman.
r-a2.png2386 - Promoted to Rear Admiral - 9th Fleet Commanding Officer, based on Jupiter Station.
r-a2.png2388 - Transferred to USS Alexander, Commanding Officer - 377th Exploration Group.
r-a3.png2390 - Promoted to Vice Admiral.
r-a4.png2393 - Promoted to Admiral, 9th 'Obsidian' Fleet, Joint Fleet Command