Command Master Chief Tāne HaiRoa
Name Tāne HaiRoa
Position Command Master Chief
Rank Command Master Chief
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human / Maori | |
| Age | 48 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'8 | |
| Weight | 165 | |
| Hair Color | Black | |
| Eye Color | Brown | |
| Physical Description | The most obvious feature of HaiRoa is his traditional Tā moko facial tattoos. The Mataora on his face and forehead represent his whakapapa ancestry, the moko around his mouth and nose accentuate the lines of the face to emphasize the expressions and the koru on his forehead, a stylized unfurling silver fern, represents the unfolding of his life path. He has several other moko on his arms, chest and legs. HaiRoa stands five feet eight inches tall, broad shouldered and stocky, brown eyes and close cropped black hair, peppered with grey. |
Family
| Spouse | Lilly - Deceased | |
| Children | A Son - Kauri - Deceased | |
| Father | Deceased | |
| Mother | Deceased | |
| Other Family | Various aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives back on New Zealand |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | A proud member of the Maori race he is deeply rooted in his Polynesian culture and beliefs. Somewhat stern and taciturn on duty, he prides himself on personal discipline and professionalism. Yet, also a man of contrasts, off duty he is relaxed, friendly, easy going and loyal to his friends. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | A veteran non-com with some thirty years of experience. Exhibits and expects the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and duty. More than willing to speak truth to power when his opinion is requested by senior staff. Little tolerance for slovenliness, ineptitude and poor performance he is nonetheless fiercely protective of the enlisted personnel within the unit to which he is assigned. Takes his role as senior enlisted leader and advisor seriously. Able to quote sections of Starfleet Rules and Regulations from memory. Has an exceptionally extensive vocabulary of swearwords. Still quietly grieving the loss of his wife and son six months ago |
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| Hobbies & Interests | Māori and Polynesian culture Ocean canoe racing Rugby Fishing Traditional Haka dancing |
| Personal History | Early life Born in the small coastal town of Te Araroa, on the north-eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. His parents died in a boating accident when he was only five, leaving him to be raised by his paternal grandparents. It was from his Grandfather that he learned his love and appreciation of his Maori and Polynesian heritage and culture. A retired Marine Engineer, the old man entertained his grandson with stories of sailing and how their ancestors had been the first to set out on the great Pacific Ocean, crossing vast distances from island chain to island chain in dugout canoes and rafts. He taught him the myths and legends of their Gods, beliefs, customs and traditions. The pair built their own dugout-outrigger canoe, chopping down the tree and hollowing out the trunk by hand in the traditional manner. They took it out to sea in nearby Hicks Bay. Out on the ocean his Grandfather taught Tane seamanship, how to navigate by the stars and currents, how to fish with spear and line. His grandfather instilled independence, self-reliance, self-discipline and hardiness . By the time he was fourteen, Tane was an accomplished ocean-canoer and a regular winner in races, some lasting twenty four hours or more. He was tough and resilient, open to challenges, with a desire to succeed. The Old Man also trained the youngster to use traditional Maori weapons. He quickly became skilled in the short paddle shaped Patu clubs, both wood and stone versions and in the longer Taiaha, a quarter staff style pole. He also began his Tā moko facial tattoos, beginning with the lines around his nose and mouth and learned Unfortunately, his formal education played back seat to his growing knowledge of culture, custom and seamanship. His attendance at school was not the best and he spent much of his time in class staring out of the window at the sea, his grades suffered accordingly The highlight of his sixteenth year was a week-long canoe trip they took to the volcano on Whakaraai Island, a place linked to many Maori legends. Tane had been considering following in his grandfather’s footsteps, working aboard a marine vessel, but on their last night of the voyage the old man pointed skywards. It was a crystal-clear night, the sky filled with stars. “Those are the stars that guided our ancestors” His Grandfather told him “With their help, our people crossed the oceans. Yet you have the chance to travel further, to cross the greatest ocean of all, to sail to those very lights in the sky” The words inspired the young man and he set his heart on traveling into space. On their return home his Grandfather arranged for an interview with a Starfleet recruiter. Tane quickly found out that low grades and poor school attendance would not cut it in Starfleet. Tane was sold and completed his last two years of schooling with a fresh dedication and commitment. Taking extra classes to tackling the recommended list of subjects provided by the recruiter, his studies drastically improved, he reached and exceeded the required grades. During this time, he completed his facial tattoos, adding the Mataora, the stylized silver-fern, to his face and forehead, as well as several others to his arms, legs and chest. In 2366, three days after graduation he shipped out to the Enlisted Academy. Before he left his grandfather presented him with a family heirloom, a rare and valuable greenstone Mere Pounamu. It was a family heirloom and had been passed down across the generations, like many ancient Mere’s it had been given a name, this one was called Awha Storm Starfleet Training After the first few weeks of basic training the recruits were given the option to choose a specialism. With his Maori martial training Tane selected Security and Tactical. He studied hard, regularly scoring in the top five percent of his class. Instructors noted his dedication, self-discipline and leadership qualities. A keen Rigby player, short, stocky, fast and tenacious HaiRoa made the team on his first try out and played Scrum-Half for throughout his training. Has played Rugby ever since, on assignments where there is no team he has started one. Starfleet Career Two years later, in 2368, he graduated third in his class and shipped out on his training voyage as a security Crewman Apprentice aboard the Miranda Class USS Levant. Three months after that, as a fully-fledged Crewman, he joined the Security division of the Ambassador Class USS Cortina In 2373 he had been promoted to Tactical Petty Officer III on the Cheyenne Class USS Wind River, when the Dominion War broke out. The ship was involved in some of the initial skirmishes with the Dominion, HaiRoa gaining a reputation for accuracy with both phasers and torpedoes. The Wind River survived several bitter encounters until, in 2374, she was jumped by a flotilla of JemHad’ar warships. Narrowly escaping, the ship managed to limp away but was badly damaged and would spend the rest of the war undergoing repairs. A promotion to Petty Officer II and a new ship followed, with HaiRoa joining the Tactical Division of the Excelsior Class USS Repulse. Again, his ship was in combat, at the leading edge of the Federation’s defense, then when the tide turned, at the vanguard of the counter assault to finally drive the Dominion out of Federation space. HaiRoa’s professionalism and leadership stood out, senior personnel and officers came to rely on the young NCO With war over HaiRoa moved on to the Security Division of Starbase 11, rising to Petty Officer 1 and leading one of the dock patrol teams. His qualities were recognized and at an annual performance review he was encouraged to transfer into Operations, to open up more experience and career paths to this promising NCO. In 2377 stint back at the Enlisted Academy saw him retrained into Operations followed by a Chief Petty Officer promotion and an assignment to the New Orleans Class USS Rutledge. Gaining experience and knowledge he steadily advanced, serving as Boatswain and Quartermaster. Selected as suitable to move into a senior Non-Commissioned Officer roles he returned to the Academy for Administration and Personnel training. He returned to the fleet as Master Chief Petty Officer, Chief of the Boat aboard the Galaxy Class USS Challenger. Four years later, in 2391 he was selected for Starfleet Academy as a Drill Instructor and Assistant Operations Instructor for Officer recruits, spending two years there. At the end of his term he was interviewed by a Selection Board of command level senior officers for promotion to Command Master Chief. HaiRoa was one of the few NCO's to be granted that grade and completed a three month CMC training course before being assigned to Starbase 23. Personal life HaiRoa had an active social life, several short and long term girlfriends over the years, but focused on his career he never really considered settling down. In 2381, aboard the USS Scorpio, he met the woman who would become the love of his life, his wife and mother to his son. Lilly Ngata, a Fijian Structural Engineer. They shared a common Polynesian heritage, love of history and culture and were pretty much an instant couple. After six months he proposed, and they were married two weeks later. Both remained focused on their work and it was not until 2387, when they were both aboard the Galaxy Class, USS Challenger, a ship designed for family life, that they started they own family with the birth of their son Kauri. Four years later they were able to take transfers to Earth based assignments and spent every weekend and vacation in New Zealand or Fiji, introducing your Kaui to his heritage and relatives. In 2393 they were back in space at Starbase 23, a planetary base in a mountainous region. They began to take part in winter sports, something they had never experienced before, skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. Tragedy struck in 2396, the family had planned a weekend skiing, but at the last moment HaiRoa had to work, Lilly and kauri went alone. The next morning they were caught in an avalanche while skiing. By the time rescuers were able to locate them it was too late and both had perished. The loss of his wife and son was a devastating blow to HaiRoa. He took them both home to New Zealand for traditional Maori funerals to ensure their spirits would rest in their own lands. He took an extended three-month absence to grieve. Returning to Starbase 23 he welcomed a request from Obsidian Command to transfer over as Command Master Chief. |
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| Service Record | Regular Service: 2366 – 2368 Crewman Recruit: Starfleet Enlisted Academy 2368 – 2368 Crewman Apprentice: Security Division - Training Voyage: Miranda Class USS Levant 2368 – 2370 Crewman: Security Division - Ambassador Class USS Cortina Dominion War Service: 2373 – 2373 Petty Officer 3rd Class: Security Division - Cheyenne Class USS Wind River 2373 – 2375 Petty Officer 2rd Class: Security Division - Excelsior Class USS Repulse Regular Service 2375 – 2377 Petty Officer 2nd Class: Security Division Starbase 11 Petty Officer 1st Class: Security Dock Patrol Starbase 11 2377 – 2377 Petty Officer 1st Class: Operations Training - Starfleet Enlisted Academy 2377 – 2379 Chief Petty Office: Operations Division - New Orleans Class USS Rutledge 2379 – 2381 Chief Petty Officer: Boatswain's Mate - Nebula Class USS Monitor 2381 – 2384 Senior Chief Petty Officer: Boatswain - Sovereign Class USS Scorpio 2384 – 2387 Senior Chief Petty Officer: QuarterMaster - Intrepid Class USS Tensing Norgay 2387 – 2391 Master Chief Petty Officer: Chief of the Boat - Galaxy Class USS Challenger 2391 – 2393 Master Chief Petty Officer: Drill Instructor & Assistant Operations Instructor - Starfleet Academy Interview and Selection Board for promotion to Command Master Chief CMC Training and assignment. 2393 – 2396 Command Master Chief: Starbase Twenty Three 2396 – Command Master Chief: Obsidian Command |