Sitar

Early Life and Education

Childhood on Vulcan (2305—2323)

Starfleet Academy (2323—2327)

Early Starfleet Service

From the late 2320s through the early 2350s, Sitar served aboard three different starships across a total of five extended-duration missions in an era when most Starfleet vessels were routinely assigned to traditional five-year missions. During this period, Sitar gained experience as a navigator, helm officer, science officer, and first officer, which would lay the essential groundwork for her later career as both a Starfleet Academy instructor and as a starship captain herself.

Junior Officer (2327—2337)

Following her graduation from Starfleet Academy as an ensign, Sitar was posted as a junior navigator aboard the Oberth-class starship Bonestell, an Oberth-class surveyor as part of a multi-species crew assigned to a five-year charting expedition in the Beta Quadrant. While she would have undeniably preferred a larger and more important vessel for her first assignment, the posting provided her with valuable experience on the bridge of a starship. Two years of exceptional performance led her to promotion to lieutenant junior grade during a mid-cruise crew rotation, as well as a move to the role of senior navigator. Her time aboard the Bonestell was the first time in her life that she wasn’t around other Vulcans, and she found it somewhat difficult to be perceived as a representative for all Vulcans by her shipmates, given that she was often seen in quite the opposite way during her upbringing. During this assignment, the Bonestell was able to survey several systems close to Klingon space that had been previously designated too hazardous for science vessels until the durability of the Khitomer Accords was proven.

In 2332, the Bonestell returned to spacedock at the conclusion of her successful mission. With a glowing recommendation from her captain, Sitar was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and offered her choice of a number of postings, and, desiring to increase the breadth of her experience as a bridge officer, Sitar opted to join the crew of the Constellation-class cruiser Gettysburg as the ship’s helm officer. The move from the science to operations division was seamless, though Sitar observed a change in perception amongst her peers—expecting more cavalier behavior from her—despite the skillsets between the two roles being quite similar. As second officer, Sitar by regulation accompanied every away team, and her education in both science and engineering made her an asset on several important missions, most notably being able to manage a critical fault in the weather grid of Penthara IV long enough for a dedicated engineering team to fabricate a new component for the array.

Science Officer (2337—2342)

During crew rotations between her first and second five-year missions aboard Gettysburg, Sitar was promoted to lieutenant commander and was considered to lead both the science and engineering departments aboard the ship. In the end, her captain preferred to keep her on the bridge and selected her as his science officer. Sitar considered requesting the other role, as she wasn’t keen to appear in any way to be fulfilling a Vulcan stereotype, she did feel that this was more where her own interests laid and accepted the commission. By the late 2330s, the equipment aboard the Gettysburg for scientific missions was already considered second-rate, but Sitar developed several innovative analysis algorithms that increased the apparent speed of the ship’s sensor scans without needing additional processing power from her already over-taxed main computer.

First Officer (2342—2353)

After ten years aboard the Gettysburg, Sitar was promoted to commander in 2342. While she intended to take several months of leave to recenter herself on Vulcan, she was immediately posted to the Vulcan-crewed USS Surak as first officer following the death of the previous first officer in the last year of that ship’s mission. Sitar found it jarring on two counts, joining an existing crew that had already been together for many years, as well as leaving a multi-species environment to serve on a much larger starship that was almost entirely crewed by Vulcans. While she’d never been considered anything other than calculating and responsible by her prior captains, she was practically a maverick compared to the captain of the Surak. After some initial friction, however, the two officers realized that their differences in worldview complemented one another—indeed, Sitar’s humanity added a depth of perspective to the Surak that was often lost with single-species crews. During her first tour of duty on the Surak, Sitar experienced her first pon farr and returned to Vulcan for a brief period to be married to her betrothed, Set of Vulcan, in 2345. Her first child, Marir, was born the following year and was initially raised by her husband and in-laws on Vulcan.

Given her status as one of the Federation’s largest and best-armed capital ships, the Surak spent the majority of Sitar’s second tour of duty assigned to the Cardassian front during the opening years of the Federation-Cardassian War. Here, Sitar had her first real experiences with ship-to-ship combat, other than occasional skirmishes with raiders or pirates during her earlier career. Combat was the first aspect of her Starfleet career that she developed a distaste for, though she recognized its importance to Starfleet’s defensive mission. As first officer, Sitar was also asked to lead a number of ground operations, which ranged from evacuating colonies to eliminating Cardassian positions before they could become a threat to the Federation. She was decorated several times for her personal courage and the effectiveness of her leadership. Indeed, she was even offered command of the Surak in 2353, but she declined in favor of an assignment off of the front lines, so that she could see to her young family.

First Academy Interlude

While pregnant with her second child, Sitar joined the faculty of Starfleet Academy in mid-2353, an assignment she held for over a decade.

Starfleet Academy—San Francisco (2353—2356)

Sitar and her husband, Set, moved to San Francisco in mid-2353 so that both of them could take up teaching positions at Starfleet Academy. They were joined on Earth by Set’s parents, who were able to help in the upbringing of Sitar and Set’s children—now up to two by the end of that same year. Sitar taught multiple courses across general leadership, flight control, and science during three years she held a professorship there. Sitar enjoyed teaching, particularly because she found the experiences of parenting and teaching to be related but note quite similar activities, and so learning more about one helped her excel in the other.

Starfleet Academy—Mellstoxx III (2356—2365)

With the opening of a new satellite campus on the Betazoid colony Mellstoxx III in 2356, Sitar and Set were selected to join its first cohort of faculty, prompting the move of their entire extended family to the tranquil world in time for the start of classes in 2356. There, Sitar was one of the first instructors in the command program, where she taught both cadets and junior officers the ropes of piloting and commanding a starship. Sitar and Set’s third and fourth children were born during this period in 2357 and 2363. While she continued to find the work rewarding, Sitar began to feel restless at a stationary posting, especially knowing that Starfleet’s newest vessels were now capable of reasonably supporting families with children aboard.

Captaincy

For over twenty years, Sitar served as the captain of four different Federation starships through some of the most significant upheavals of the 24th century.

USS T’Kumbra (2365—2370)

Sitar was once again offered a command in 2365, which she accepted. A Vulcan-crewed vessel, the T’Kumbra was a brand-new Nebula-class exploratory cruiser that had sufficient facilities for her to bring her husband and children with her. Set served in the ship’s botany department as a civilian specialist while also participating in the curriculum and instruction of the ship’s secondary school. Sitar’s command style mirrored her personality as a first officer, as her own first officer was more reserved and traditionally Vulcan than she was, which served as a good counter-balance for her bolder, more aggressive style. During her stint in command, the T’Kumbra was assigned to surveys in the Alpha Quadrant, and so she was too far away to be caught up in the Battle of Wolf 359, though she was diverted to duties closer to Deep Space 9 and the Bajoran wormhole.

USS Bonchune (2370—2379)

In 2370, Sitar was selected to be the first captain of the starship Bonchune, newly launched from Utopia Planitia. During this transition, Sitar and Set agreed that the climate of the Alpha and Beta quadrants was becoming increasingly hostile, and so it was logical for their family to return planetside. Set and the children moved back to Mellstoxx III as Sitar took command of the Bonchune. Sitar commanded the Bonchune throughout the Federation-Klingon War and Dominion War. In 2374, the Bonchune was heavily damaged by the starship Prometheus while hijacked by Romulan operatives.

Following the Dominion War, the Bonchune remained close to the core of Federation space, serving largely in a defensive role. She was present in the Sol system in 2378 when Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant through a Borg subspace tunnel.

USS Yi Sun-Sin (2379—2382)

In 2379, Sitar’s experience in bringing the Bonchune into service led her to be selected to command one of the new Ross-class explorers, the USS Yi Sun-Sin. The first year of this command stint was an extended shakedown cruise, but the ship was quickly pressed into Admiral Jean-Luc Picard’s rescue armada in 2381, bringing her large secondary craft facilities to help in the evacuation of Romulus. Sitar had never really given Vulcan-Romulan Reunification much thought before, but it was during this work that she realized how much sympathy she had for the Romulans—largely Vulcan in physiology but without detachment from their emotions, which she saw in herself. As early as mid-2381, she was considered for promotion to flag rank, but she declined—her best service to Starfleet was on a starship.

USS Hamilton (2382—2387)

Her reputation now secure as an adept first captain, Sitar requested the command of the new Parliament-class ship Hamilton in 2382. While considered a significant step down from an explorer, the Hamilton would be kept closer to home, which would allow Sitar to see her children more often. The Hamilton was also responsible for a significant number of projects to create settlement areas and deliver important goods to continue the support of the Romulan evacuation. In 2387, Starfleet’s lack of response to the destruction of Romulus prompted her to request a position back on Mellstoxx III; while she was frustrated with Starfleet’s inaction, she wasn’t yet ready to give the service up completely.

Second Academy Interlude

For the decade between 2387 and 2397, Sitar returned to Mellstoxx III as a Starfleet Academy instructor.

Starfleet Academy—Mellstoxx III

In 2387, Sitar rejoined the Mellstoxx III campus of Starfleet Academy as an instructor. As before, she taught various command and flight control courses. She appreciated being able to be “home” with her family again, in particular since it allowed her to witness the birth of her first grandchild in 2389.

Avalon Fleet Yards

During the late 2390s, Sitar served the Fourth Fleet at Avalon Fleet Yards, where she supervised the flight testing of numerous new vessels. This service has returned her to command, following her posting to the starship Pallas.

Test Pilot (2397—2400)

As the 2390s began to come to a close, Starfleet was in the midst of testing several new starship classes. Many of these vessels were under development at Avalon Fleet Yards, which operated under the auspices of the Fourth Fleet just like the Mellstoxx III Academy. Sitar was asked for a list of names she considered to be potential test pilots, given her experience as both a flight instructor and herself commanding newly launched starships—she put her own name at the top of this list. Fourth Fleet Command, amused at her boldness, offered her a promotion to rear admiral and the command of the experimental operations group at Avalon, but Sitar declined, as she knew that promotion would keep her away from the bridge of a ship for the rest of her career. She was able to persuade her superiors to allow her to make a lateral transfer and joined Avalon as Senior Test Pilot in 2397.

There, Sitar participated in the testing of dozens of new starships on their first turn around the block before commissioning, as well as a number of small craft. Being part of a shipyard’s staff was a brand new experience for her, something that Sitar valued greatly, given that she’d been in service with the Fleet for all of her adult life and was running short on new experiences.

Space Trials for USS Pallas (2400-2401)

As part of her role as a test pilot, Sitar was the helmswoman and only crewmember for the initial engine tests of the starship Pallas. She was assigned to handle that ship’s full space trials and the final stages of her construction, which lasted for nearly a year from mid-2400 through mid-2401. Thanks to her presence, the Pallas was saved from damage during the disaster that was Frontier Day 2401. It was also during that battle spread across so many sites around the Federation that Starfleet’s dearth of experienced captains was made clear.

Return to Command

In mid-2401, Sitar assumed command of the starship Pallas, a return to the center seat after nearly fifteen years on the sidelines.

USS Pallas (2401 to Present)

Having assumed command of the starship Pallas on Stardate 2401.7, Sitar was assigned to Fleet Captain Michael Lancaster’s command as part of Arcturus Squadron, along with a crew derived mainly of lower and middle decks officers from the starships Arcturus and Antares.