Lieutenant Commander Mariana Vaz
Name Mariana Joana Vaz
Position Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 32 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5’5” | |
| Weight | 120 LBS | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Brown | |
| Physical Description | Jo is physically fit and shapely with an athletic build. That plus her beauty typically draws extra attention to her. Jo has light caramel skin that's smooth and without blemish aside from the series of freckles that populate her chest just under the collar bone. She has long brown hair and eyes of the same color. When on duty, she usually wears her hair pinned up in a messy bun. When Jo speaks, she does so with a Brazilian accent. |
Family
| Spouse | Orson Moss (Divorced) | |
| Father | Senator Afonso Vaz, Brazil | |
| Mother | Laura Vaz | |
| Sister(s) | Carolina Vaz-Santiago |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Jo is a natural charmer and a people person. Though she can be downright intense at times, she is typically likable and kind. She is deeply personable, as is typical of Brazilian culture, and she typically greets people with much feeling. She meets people well, isn’t afraid of social interaction, and doesn’t shy away from conflict. She also has a strong ability to command and gets results from those who work for her. She has a general “my way or the highway” attitude and is quick to challenge others, especially when her authority is questioned. She isn’t afraid to use her looks, her charm, or her brains to get what she wants. | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | +Reliable +Passionate +Altruistic +Charismatic -Overly Idealistic -Condescending -Intense -Overly Empathetic |
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| Ambitions | Jo wants a chance to make a difference and to help make the Federation a stronger and healthier entity. Right now, she perceives her best place to do that is as one of the rank and file, but one day she anticipates sitting in the a captain’s chair of her own. Underneath her privacy, she is strikingly ambitious and she has no doubts about how impactful she could be. She also has a secret but strong desire to find a new romance. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Occasionally, she enjoys a movie to spark her imagination and to relax, but she spends much of her private time in socializing or in self-improvement. Jo also loves sporting and exercise and can be quite the party animal when she gets the chance. |
| Personal History | Mariana Joana Vaz was born in Rio de Janero, Brazil to Afonso and Laura Vaz, a promising young politician and a daughter of a business mogul turned "dutiful" housewife. She was the oldest of two girls, beloved by their father and doted upon with uncomfortable intensity by their mother. Infidelity was a regular part of her parents' marriage, a fact that had been largely shielded from the girls for much of their childhood. Of course, they couldn't stay ignorant forever. Since her father's first campaign, Jo was forced into adorable dresses and had her pictures taken to present the image of the "perfect family". As she got older, she realized the truth was far more complex, something she pretended she was unaware of for as long as she could stomach. Every time she would put on some shorts and go play in the mud with the local boys, however, her mother would tell her to get inside, get cleaned up, and play with dolls or make girlfriends. Try as she might, she was never half as interested in dolls as she was with boys and mud. Over time, however, she developed a rebellious streak that turned her from the pursuits which her parents set aside for her and toward the opposite: working with her hands, fighting, and using dirty words. Her favorite class was gym and she would often go back for additional exercise and sport by herself after school. When her father was elected to the senate, her family moved to Brazilia, a transition that was difficult on her since she had so many friends, and was therefore forced to leave much behind. As she entered high school, her mother switched from discouraging her from more social experiences to actually forcing her into extracurriculars with other teenagers, hoping to direct her daughter’s social energy toward more positive outlets. She joined the volleyball and soccer teams and soon found a profound love for them. On the side, however, she met a boy who worked on old shuttles in a family shop. She spent time with him helping to make repairs. A dedicated athlete to a fault, Jo spent much of her time filling her practicing, training, and lifting weights, but continued to maintain an active social life. She was growing and she started to come into her own and began a new study: people. She became a master of manipulation when it cames to boys as she perfected the “queen bee” role. She did so less out of a desire to get what she wanted than to understand the people around her. Her knowledge of people and her developing body made her very popular in school. Her athleticism also won her many national awards. After graduation, her athleticism and a love for mechanics lead her into Starfleet Academy. A family friend agreed to sponsor her application, which was readily accepted, and she left home for San Francisco. Her time at the academy was trying and difficult, but extremely fun. She finally found a place where rolling around in the mud was required. She had tenacity and spirit and rarely failed to be the life of the party or to push others hard during simulations. She did have difficulty on the academic side, however, passing her classes by the skin of her teeth. Her attitude caught the attention of an older man named Orson Moss, a young entrepreneur who'd inherited his father's weapons manufacturing business early. He was only 24, but ran one of the largest weapon producers in the Federation. They met after his guest lecture to the Engineering Academy and were instantly taken with one another. He liked her so much that he asked her to accompany him as his date to the formal fundraising dinner he was hosting at the academy. She was only 19 and a second year at the academy when they started dating. They were completely in love with one another, so much so that she considered leaving the academy to be with him. It only took one word of encouragement from her mother before she changed her mind. That was exactly what her mother had done years and years before. She remembered how miserable the woman had been and was determined to avoid being like her. It wasn't long, however, before she and Orson were engaged to be married. During her 3rd year at the academy, Jo worked the Academy's Fitness Center as a trainer and administrative assistant. She was praised for her hard work and known as a force to be reckoned with; it was known that Jo either scared or charmed everyone into getting into shape. She enjoyed her work at the academy so much that she decided to continue after she earned her commission when offered the role of Gym General Manager and Deputy Director of Academy Fitness. Shortly after her graduation, she married Orson in a lavish ceremony in Brazil. They moved in together and began to build a life. They suspected to be able to learn and grow together, but it was soon revealed that Jo would be expected to move on to a more advanced marine assignment soon. They lived together for nearly two years before she got a formal letter transferring her to Starfleet Intelligence. Orson begged her not to go and, when she insisted that she had to, became extremely angry. She left without saying another word to him on the first transport she could find. This section is Classified Criminal weapons activity in the Orion Syndicate had become an increasing issue. Lieutenant, Junior Grade Vaz was assigned as an adviser to Starfleet Intelligence because of her personal knowledge of weapons sales. Little did she know that she would soon be expected to go undercover as an operative in the Syndicate. She received several weeks of training from former syndicate operatives and orion slave girls so that she would be prepared for almost anything. They dyed her hair a dirty blonde, altered her appearance, gave her a different name and backstory, and released her on an extremely deadly mission. Her new name was Narra San and she was impersonating a little-known weapons trader who had long gone missing. She established a few contacts and soon became a business partner with one of the most infamous bosses in the syndicate, Ral Romal. She earned his trust and even resorted to killing and stealing in order to establish her value. Not long after their meeting, she seduced him and became his mistress. After a year and a half, she delivered her research to Starfleet Intelligence and was pulled out. Nearly a hundred arrests resulted from her testimony. They restored her back to her original appearance, but she would never be the same again on the inside. Jo returned to Earth a very different woman than she'd left. She was damaged and had done terrible things in order to succeed in her mission. It was her hope that things with her husband may have smoothed over after her long absence, but she returned home to meet the woman who claimed to be Orson's girlfriend. After Jo pounced on the poor woman, she had to be hospitalized. Orson returned home in the middle of the rather one-sided fight and pulled Jo off of his girlfriend. After an unfortunate conversation with the police, Orson told Jo how sorry he was for having cheated on her while she was away and that he had been very lonely. She insisted that her life had been a unique kind of hell while she was gone and that she had been lonely as well. She never told him all that she had to do on her mission, but instead accepted his apologies and went to bed. Within six months, she received her next assignment and left again for the USS Paris. Lieutenant Vaz took up her role as part of the engineering department on the Constitution Class ship assigned to the border with Klingon space. This was her first conventional assignment and her first placement in an engineering department; though she was placed in charge of Engineering during Gamma shift, she honestly felt a bit unprepared. It took her a few weeks to get re-associated with mechanics and typical Starfleet life. The Paris was patrolling the Klingon border where there were many fights and near-fights. She, of course, had nothing to do with the day to day missions, but instead kept the systems running and the Engineers on time for duty shifts. After 3 years, she was promoted to Assistant Chief Engineer. Two years later, Jo was reassigned to serve as Assistant Chief Engineer on Obsidian Command, a much larger installation and a much larger department. |
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| Service Record | STARFLEET ACADEMY -Accepted to Academy +Promoted to Cadet, 4th Class - 18 +Promoted to Cadet, 3rd Class - 19 Engineering and Operations Major - Maintenance Concentration Security Minor +Promoted to Cadet, 2nd Class -20 -Worked in Academy Fitness Center as a Trainer and Administrative Assistant +Promoted to Cadet, 1st Class - 21 - Senior tour aboard training installation as Chief Engineer -Graduated from Starfleet Academy +Promoted to Ensign - 22 ACTIVE DUTY STARFLEET ACADEMY -Assigned as Gym General Manager and Deputy Director of Academy Fitness +Promoted to Lieutenant, JG - 23 SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT, STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE *Classified Service* - 25 USS PARIS +Promoted to Lieutenant - 27 -Assigned as Engineering Officer -Assigned as Assistant Chief Engineer - 30 OBSIDIAN COMMAND -Assigned as Chief Engineer - 32 |