Nali Tali
Name Nali Tali
Position Boatswain
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Deltan | |
| Age | 33 | |
| Known Aliases | Cue, Lady Tremaine |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 171 cm (5 ft 7 in) | |
| Weight | 52 kg (114 lb) | |
| Hair Color | Bald - complete and far-reaching hairlessness except for eyelashes and brown eyebrows | |
| Eye Color | Grey/Green (trick of the light, they don’t actually change) | |
| Physical Description | Nali has a thin body frame, large bust, full lips and walks with a mincing, bouncing gait; almost a prance. She appears to be defined more by docility than durability, but she’s a capable member of the crew and can sling cargo (via 24th century pallet jacks) when needed. There’s nothing particularly racy or tempting about utilitarian attire. Functional pockets and sensible hemlines may have elicited cheeps, peeps and squeaks of joy from the 21st century’s lady’s changing rooms, but below decks on the late 24th century’s cargo vessel, it was matter-of-course clothing. There were no uniforms, but function trumped form, so the appeal must flow from the one whom it clad. Off duty, she wears raiment of finely spun silk and soft taffeta. She prefers tunics of the style her mother designed; short chiffon of pale pinks and lavenders and blues; gossamer in all the places UFP virtues would allow while more dense and opaque in those more demure stretches. But she also wears more traditional, chaste Deltan outfits that are comparable to human attire. She's rarely seen without her species’ signature headdress, a simple circlet with dangling pearl along the forehead. | |
| Distinguishing Marks or Features | Tattoo down her left shoulder blade with an inscription that translates as: “May your enemies run far away from you. If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always. Your beauty will be that of your own. Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides.” |
Family & Acquaintances
| Spouse | Jenzen Inar & Zavis Zurn - both male and doctors (Deceased) - (traditional marriage is not practiced on Delta IV) | |
| Children | 3 daughters (Keme, Naiya, Luria) (all Deceased) |
|
| Father | Arkos - Engineer (Deceased) | |
| Mother | Neta - Designer of feminine fashion (Deceased) | |
| Siblings | 10 (she is #8) (all Deceased) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | There’s a lot of grumbling behind Nali’s back about her being a whip driver and pushing the deckhands hard, but most of that was just friendly banter. At least it had better be friendly banter or by the Briney Blue gods of old, Nali was going to have their aggregate asses. Deep breaths - in and out - that’s better. Nali may have been possessed of a capricious temper these days, but she was not always this way. She used to consider herself a people person; very outgoing and preferring the company of others. But she is now stuck in a bad place in her head, haunted after the deaths of her entire family in a shuttle disaster. In general, Deltans view lying as worse than an insult; an unforgivable injustice, and are thus incredibly honest, to a fault. Not Nali. She lacks the unwavering honesty, the care and concern for the significance of racial purity. In some ways, Nali is a rare, terrible Deltan. There are many Deltan values that she simply does not uphold. We’re talking about deep seated behavioural characteristics so prevalent among her species that they are believed by most to be somehow part of the Deltan genome. |
|
| Strengths & Weaknesses | + Extremely Organized with attention to detail + Encouraging, convincing nature that helps ensure she’ll get some compliance from others. She has a way with words and an uncanny ability to motivate others. + Pain reduction abilities that manifest during tactile contact. This ability is purely psychological and does nothing to heal the underlying injuries. + Marginally empathic among species with two-lobed brain - no physical contact required, just close proximity - Telepathic ONLY during physical intimacy and this is a bad thing. Deltan telepathy is only compatible among other Deltans; it’s destructive to any other species. Doing the nasty with a Deltan is said to result in insanity. Talk about mind blowing sex! - Regulated Chastity - because of the risks to ‘less sexually mature’ species, Deltans serving in Starfleet are prohibited from engaging in physical love making upon enlistment and are forced to swear an Oath of Celibacy which Starfleet Medical continually monitors. Nali is not Starfleet and never was, but even within the Federation it is customary for Deltans to abstain from acts of physical intimacy as there are genuine safety concerns to consider. Nali does not, strictly speaking, adhere to this policy 100% of the time. Shhhh don’t tell anyone or the authorities will begin connecting the dots across the quadrant and following the trail of batshit crazy men and women like breadcrumbs - straight back to her cervix. - Deltan's have the most potent pheromones known to Federation scientists and these pheromones are continuously emitted with a broad enough spectrum to affect most humanoid species. Although an unconscious process, this can influence, charm or seduce individuals or groups at large. It can also be dangerous, manifesting in others as addiction, obsession, stalking, kidnapping, murder-suicide, or other breaches of ethics. To curtail the effects of this natural state of appeal and avoid issues with the crew, Nali undergoes ‘frequent’ treatments to suppress and cover-up her pheromones. It’s a simple procedure, but she finds this means of management to be shameful and humiliating. - Autophobia - over the millennia, the combination of semi-isolation caused by the Deltan pheromonal effects on younger species, as well as developed social norms, have cursed the Deltans with a unique and sometimes overpowering condition similar to Terran autophobia. Deltans fear isolation and will seek out any form of company to abate this syndrome. In most cases, the syndrome is manageable as long as the subject is not left alone. However, in some cases the syndrome is quite severe, happening when the subject is away from any Deltan contact for more than a week. Typically, the syndrome begins as a deep feeling of melancholy which progresses to depression. This depression lasts for some time and then, if social contact is not regained the final stages of the syndrome begin. These final stages consist of hysteria and suicidal urges, which rapidly degenerate into catatonia and finally death. - She is a conflicted individual, straying far from her people's core values. She's not exactly a criminal, but everyone onboard this ship is harboring some guilt. |
|
| Ambitions | She had ambitions aplenty when she was a wife and mother, but now that she is neither, she has lost most of her longing for success. She does her job well and takes pride in her work because that’s part of the job, but she never wanted to be a Boatswain; didn’t even know such a profession existed until three years ago. She has no intention of being one forever, but has shown no desire to apply herself elsewhere so she continues on in the position. | |
| Quirks & Flaws | She has a flirtatious nature and a strong sexual presence even without physical contact. Many people instinctively perceive her as naked, despite the fact she is wearing clothing on and off duty. This is likely due in part to the nakedness of her head, but could also be explained by pheromones and subconscious telepathy. Her pheromone treatments are administered with insufficient frequency and have been dialed down to the lowest possible dosage - and then some. This may or may not be Nali's secret to eliciting cooperation below decks. (Hint: it totally is!) It's no coincidence that the heightened occurrences of randy behavior among the crew syncs up perfectly with this Deltan's flow of affection and monthly…cycle. Her arms tend to gesticulate from the elbows as if they were tucked and soft-pinned to her side. Her voice is high and clear with an exotic accent. There’s a hint of archaic or romanticized expressions in her Standard Federation English because of the source material she used when learning the language. Self-taught, much of it is colored by phrases and vocabulary that may be found in aging fictional writing, but is not often heard in the spoken language. |
|
| Passions | As a mother she learned to put her children first; to make sure their needs were met even when her own may not. It’s similar on board the Fawkes; with her working long shifts to help others secure time for themselves. But this crew is not her family. Her family was obliterated in an attack at the hands of the Orion Syndicate. In one day she lost her three children, two ‘husbands’, three sets of parents and all ten of her siblings. The Deltan race lives on, but her heart died that day. The flare and excitement just isn’t there anymore, but she keeps pretending. She puts on a convincing show, but inside she’s very melancholic. |
Background
| Personal History | Nali was born on Delta IV, an advanced cosmopolitan world comprised primarily of island nations who had put aside their differences long ago and now embraced a global sense of wellbeing and togetherness. The Deltan people, having a polygamous mating culture, often sustain large families, both immediate and extended. Nali had such a family and divided her time between the planet and the colonies of it’s two moons; Seyann and Cinera. She spent a great deal of that time around the offworld visitors who were restricted to those sequestered moons and she cultivated an affinity for the various species that she encountered. She began picking up bits and pieces of Federation Standard, though it was a steep learning curve and her progress in that regard was slow. On the stations she showed a proclivity for logistics; running messages and organizing favors for barter among the offworlders. She didn’t do it for profit or gain - that was a Ferenge motivation - she just had a natural desire to see pieces of a puzzle put together in a favorable manner. She enjoyed meeting the new people, getting help to those who needed it and it was great fun. Much of life is about fun and games when you’re young, but she could not remain young forever. As she came of age, her overwhelming Deltan pheromones began to emanate and imperilled those foreign visitors. Being surrounded by just one pubescent Deltan was problematic on it’s own, but these events tended to trigger the ‘budding’ of nearby Deltan teens as well. Offworlders weren’t allowed on the planet’s surface for this very reason as they would be inundated by the passion inducing pheromones of the entire local population. She was faced with a choice to begin pheromone treatments or return to the planet’s surface, discontinuing close quarter fraternization with alien species. She was reluctant to curtail her species’ natural sexuality and was in fact eager to embrace it so she decided to suspend her alien fellowships and withdrew to the planet. That time in her life was spent welcoming and cherishing the advances of many glorious men and women of various ages. She learned much about the joys and pleasures of life, and her parents condoned these exhaustive lessons and antics for a while, but all too soon Nali found her freetime curtailed and was busied with the learning of the ins and outs of her mother’s business which involved the design, manufacture and distribution of merchandise in a Deltan fashion line; primarily clothing, but some jewelry as well. Adorning the Deltans it was perfectly acceptable attire, as they were a sexually mature species who had long ago embraced their sexual nature rather than confine it to specific moments, but to outsiders it was deemed provocative apparel. But Nali was blossoming and not content to remain ‘hidden away’ as she called it and was struck by wanderlust and a yearning to meet others. Her time among the populations up on the orbital stations had instilled in her a lingering interest in the unshaved nature of mankind and their hirsute galactic neighbors. Nali still found Deltans to be beautiful, but bald was not the only charm she sought out. There were species out there with actual fur and the appeal was not lost on her. And as she would be hard pressed to find much in the way of hair on Delta IV’s surface, she began looking abroad. She was sharp of mind with a keen intellect and persistent drive to help others so it came as a bit of a shock to her parents (and if they were honest, a disappointment) when Nali auditioned for a spot with the Feresa Ferals as their traveling promoter. At the time she did not know what the job would entail, but she hinged her audition feed on the viewer primed juxtaposition of the Caitian’s full body fur and massive size against her slight frame and hairlessness. Let us just say that the Feresa Ferals’ hiring manager was unimpressed. Fortunately, a scout for a rival team saw the audition Nali submitted and passed it along. She was soon employed as a booster/promoter for the galaxy’s best Zero-G Football team, the Risian Stormriders. The job was not what she expected it to be, but it was not unenjoyable. In many ways she was a glorified cheerleader, ramping up crowds and enticing partiality towards the team. The fact that she was an attractive female was not lost on anyone within the organization and they found ways to afford her the opportunity to flaunt it. For Nali it was all great fun, but these sorts of jobs were best viewed as stepping stones to bigger and better things. Her next big step was a massive failure. She studied up, honed her skills and applied for Starfleet Academy. She received poor marks in each subject tested and her application was denied. She committed to another year with the Risian Stormriders, but began prepping, this time in ernest, to take the entrance exam again. A year later she sat the exams and did much better, passing all categories, but following her psych evaluation, was denied entry a second time into Starfleet Academy. Nali underwent additional sensitivity training and enrolled in a six week Preparatory Program and upon completion - was summarily and enduringly declined membership to the Academy. As it turned out, the United Federation of Planets and especially their military branch, placed a high value on the sanctity of the renowned Oath of Celibacy. And each of Nali’s psych evaluations indicated a reluctance to absolute adherence to said pledge. So she’d refused to take the Oath all together. For this and other reasons that are personal and tragic, she is not on good terms with Starfleet. She went on to work very closely with the Federation - you could say FOR the Federation - when the Risian representative to the UFP ‘rescued’ her from cheer squad and started her in an intern position. She did well for herself and acquired organizational skills that she’d come to rely upon in later positions as well. Unfortunately, those positions would follow the death of her family. Those were dark times for Nali and in many ways she’s still trapped in the despair she came into at the loss of her family and a ravaged bloodline. Nali Tali was never a spy, prisoner or career criminal so there are no redactions to her resume or life’s history. She doesn’t talk a lot about certain things, but if anyone cared to do the work they could probably track her every single action down to the moment over the course of her life. Some events were more relevant than others and some had enduring consequences where others were just drifting days. |
|
| Service Record | Nali is a civilian and has always been. Let’s look at her employment record instead. 2380 : Application to Starfleet Academy is denied 2380 - 2382 : Promoter/Booster for Risian Stormriders’ Zero-G Football team 2382 - 2386 : Intern to Briya Valriya, a UFP Councilwoman and the Risian Representative 2386 - 2388 : 2nd Aide to Briya Valriya, a UFP Councilwoman and the Risian Representative 2388 - 2392 : CEO (or Deltan equivalent) of ‘Sea Gem & I’ clothing line 2392 - 2395 : Deckhand, S.S. Entropy 2395 - Now : Boatswain, S.S. Fawkes |