Commander Narayn Ballard
Name Narayn Ballard
Position First Officer
Rank Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 42 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 6' 0" | |
| Weight | 169lbs. | |
| Hair Color | Brown | |
| Eye Color | Grey | |
| Physical Description | Ballard enjoys the regulation of a Starfleet uniform after years spent operating in clothes little better than rags. He wears his uniform with pride and is always perfectly turned out, even when off-duty. |
Family
| Father | Unknown | |
| Mother | Commander Jacqueline Ballard M.D. (Executive Officer, Buchanan Medical Station) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Narayn has shown an exceptional capacity for growth despite a less than sterling beginning to his Starfleet career. He is more open than many Intelligence Officers currently serving in Starfleet which largely comes from his previous status as an NCO. He lacks the distaste for authority of many commissioned officers and often finds himself in the confidence of his superiors who see him as less of a threat to their position. He was more of an analyst than an action-hero intelligence officer and enjoyed taking on the role of mission advisor and analyst giving him the opportunity to have a finger in every pie. As a result of a life led mostly in secret he can often be sarcastic and defensive, depending on the situation. This is something he has carried forward into his command roles. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | Strengths: • Quick & analytical. • Rapid computer-usage. • Ability to multi-task. • An in-depth knowledge of underworld affairs. • Basic training in many other departments including Tactical & Engineering make him a perfect candidate for away missions. Weaknesses: • Often makes jokes to cover up apprehension. • Often takes criticism to heart. • Can come across as cold on occasion. |
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| Ambitions | Narayn has few ambitions other than to gain and retain the trust of his crewmates. He does have a desire to move up the chain of command, having held a temporary Executive role aboard the USS Endeavour and worked as Executive Officer aboard the USS Knox, it is now his intention to make the best of his new posting aboard Starbase 332. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | • Football (Soccer) • Holodeck Programming • Ancient Motorsport • Music • Shuttle piloting • Bar-room lizard (ing) |
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| Languages | Federation Standard, Romulan, Klingon, Ferengi, Orion Trade, Vinarian Syndicate, Bolian (Basic) |
| Personal History | Born : Baran (India), Earth. Narayn was born to Jacqueline Ballard on 1st April, 2349. His father is unknown but he has always suspected that his mother gave him the name of his father. After spending just a few years at the Kelvin Research Facility in Glasgow, Jacqueline Ballard departed Earth with her son as Chief Medical Officer on a scientific study mission which involved travelling through many different nebulaeic clusters. During this time the young Narayn began to study engineering and at the tender age of twelve was allowed to assist the Yukon's engineer with basic ship-wide repairs. The vessel was attacked in 2353 by the Orion Syndicate who planned to sell the research carried out by the scientists to the Cardassians who were looking into methods of masking their vessels from Federation scanners. As was standard for the Orion Syndicate at the time, they kidnapped the children on the vessel to be sold into slavery and left the adults to die. The USS Yukon was rescued three days later having lost all but three of its original crew. The ship's engineer, Ebbe Rudestam, one of the scientists and Narayn's mother. Narayn was sold to a Ferengi family who used him both as a servant and a decoy makeweight in several financial transactions over the next three years. He learned much of his ability for deception from their less than honourable dealings and eventually began assisting them in their nefarious dealings. At age 17 he was allowed to leave the service of the family after negotiating his passage off Irtok. At 18 Narayn considered returning to the embrace of the Federation and Starfleet but felt as though he would likely not fit in after his time in the Ferengi Alliance. He bartered passage to Andoria where he enlisted in their engineering academy, advancing rapidly and emerging with a Masters in Applied Warp Mechanics. Narayn was approached during his celebrations of his new degree by a group who claimed to represent the Vinarian Syndicate, a rival of the Orions who had taken him from his mother as a child. They offered him significant emotional and financial incentives if he would join their crew as Chief Engineer. He agreed. Little was heard of Ballard until 2365 when he was involved in a raid on a Federation Outpost in the Duraciss System. As a test of his resolve he was sent to the surface to steal the blueprints of a new Terraforming technology that the Federation were testing on Duraciss VI. He managed to do this by stunning the inhabitants of the colony as he could not physically bring himself to kill them. Despite this, he joined the ranks of Starfleet Security's most wanted. In 2369 the Morality was captured in a sting operation which involved a Starfleet task force of the USS Pacific & USS Galaxy. Ballard was picked out of the group and taken to serve 60 years inprisonment in an internment camp in the Bajor Sector. After four years in prison, Ballard was approached by an operative from Starfleet Intelligence and offered the opportunity to work for them undercover with the Vinarian Syndicate. It took two years to convince Ballard that he should work against his former comrades when the Intelligence officers managed to find evidence that the Vinarian Syndicate had developed links with the Orions while he had been working with them. Ballard's second stint of time with the Vinarians was mainly concerned with transmitting packets of information back to Starfleet Intelligence and evading capture. It was decided that after three years that the Vinarian Syndicate were less of a threat than had been thought and Narayn was transferred back to Starfleet Intelligence as an analyst. He eventually made Chief Intelligence Officer aboard the USS Hyperion before deciding that he'd served too long in Galactic North and applying for a posting aboard the USS Endeavour. Upon arrival aboard the Endeavour, he quickly found himself in the Captain's confidence and, following the death of Commander Edroski at the pincers of an insectoid alien race, was advanced to Acting Executive Officer due to his experience and unique skillset. His transition to Executive Officer was not without its issues. He struggled to command the respect of certain crewmembers, flabberghasted by his sudden elevation to such a position and frequently butted heads with the Assistant Chief of Operations, Zam Stott. Ballard quickly proved himself adept as a First Officer but kept his oar in with Intelligence during his time as the Endeavour's right hand man. Upon the discovery of Deep Space 19 it was decided that Ballard would be reassigned from the Endeavour in order to complete his studies and achieve a non-provisional, fully commissioned rank. He returned to Starbase 332 in 2388 in the hope of completing his assignments in their Academy adjunct but quickly found himself farmed out to the Nova-class USS Knox, ostensibly assigned to examine nebulae and clusters in the vicinity of the Talos Star Group. In reality, the Knox was an adapted vessel for Starfleet Intelligence, working to monitor the activities of the Ferengi outpost in the Mira system. Starfleet Intelligence suspected that the Ferengi's interest in profit and their loose ties to central government on Ferenginar meant that they would be regularly dealing with Starfleet's enemies. Ballard's experience with the Vinarian Syndicate would prove invaluable in thwarting a significant arms deal in mid-2389 when a group of Ferengi traders attempted to move a shipment of quantum explosives through Mira to a shell corporation acting on behalf of the Sojourners. The Corporation's legitimate front as a mining organisation was quickly exposed by Ballard's previous knowledge of the arms trade among pirates. He was yet again left in purgatory as he was promoted to Commander (Provisional) and assigned to the Knox as Executive Officer. By 2390 the Knox's cover was blown and Starfleet's resources in Galactic South were reassigned following the Sojourner attack on Starbase 332. Ballard was temporarily seconded to Starfleet Intelligence on Cestus III but yearned to throw himself back into the frontier. Having been given dispensation to carry his provisional rank forward into a permanent field commision, he applied for a transfer to the 'front line'. |
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| Service Record | 2353 - Kidnapped from USS Yukon 2356 - Left services of Ferengi family on Irtok. 2360 - Graduated Engineering Academy & joined crew of Vinarian Syndicate vessel Morality. 2365 - Was involved in a raid on a Federation colony in the Duraciss System. 2369 - Captured and arrested by the Federation and sentenced to 60 years behind bars. 2373 - Was approached by Starfleet Intelligence and given the opportunity to go undercover with the Vinarian Syndicate. 2375 - Finally agreed to go undercover. 2378 - Was transferred back to Starfleet Intelligence as an analyst. 2379 - Transferred aboard USS Hyperion as Intelligence Analyst. Was present as part of Battle Group Omega. 2381 - Was promoted to Assistant Chief of Intelligence aboard the Hyperion. 2384 - Promoted once again to Chief Intelligence Officer as part of the first entirely Non-Commissioned Intelligence departments in Starfleet. 2386 - Applied for transfer aboard USS Endeavour, operating in Galactic South 2387 - Advanced to Acting First Officer with rank of Lieutenant Commander (Provisional) 2388 - Pulled from active duty upon Endeavour's discovery of Deep Space 19 and ordered to return to Starbase 332 to complete commission assignments. 2388 - Assigned to USS Knox before the opportunity to complete commission assignments came up, leaving him marooned as a Provisional Officer and in limbo between commissioned and non-commissioned status. 2390 - Temporarily seconded to Starfleet Intelligence on Cestus III in the wake of the Sojourner attack on Starbase 332. Was able to find the time to work toward his full field commission. 2391 - Applied for a transfer to Starbase 332 to work in Intelligence and Strategic Ops but was assigned as First Officer following an internal staff reshuffle which saw First Officer Jordan Gunning become Chief of Station Security. |