ORIGINS: Sohte

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LT Sohte- Chief Security Officer, USS Hood

Lieutenant (O-3)


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LT(sg) Sohte SEC USS HOOD NCC-1703 Played by: Alan M Rogers (masterofwords@sbcglobal.net)
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I. Personal Data
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Full Name: Sohte Surname: none Given Name: Sohte Nickname: none Current Rank: Lieutenant, Senior Grade (o-3) Current Billet: Chief of Securit, USS HOOD NCC-1703 Species: Vulcan Gender/Sex: Male Age: 68 (Earth-standard) DOB: January 13, 2190 POB: Unknown Parents: Unknown Siblings: Unknown Spouse: None Children: None A. Physical Description
HT: 6'4" (1.93 meters) WT: 220 lbs (99.8 kilo) EY: Green HR: Brown SK: Tan Blood Type: T- Religion: Vulcan mystic Citizenship: Vulcan Languages: Vulcan (several dialects, including many old dialects), Andorian, English, Latin (and several other ancient tongues used for religious studies), Orion and a smattering of others.
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II. Educational Background
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A. Academic Institutions Attended
-- Star Fleet Academy: Officer's Training School (Xenolinguistics) -- Vulcan Academy of Sciences - Bachelor of Arts: Religious Studies - Bachelor of Arts: Xenolinguistics - Master of Arts: Vulcan history and language - Doctorate of Arts: Vulcan history and language VULCAN TRAINING: -> INDUCTION Visual Mathematics, Basic Calculation, Neurological organization. Identity Meld. -> LEVEL I Preliminary telepathic communication and etiquette. Clan History, Vulcan History, Vulcan Anthropology, Calculus, Quantum Physics. Introduction to the teachings of Surak. Initial meditation training. -> LEVEL II Suppression of cortical stimulae in dominant hemisphere. Vulcan cultural history. Study of Vuclan Rites of Passage. Begin study of martial forms. -> Level III Pressure points of mind melding. Memory accuracy. Internal time-counting. Introduction to logic and reason. First meditations on Cthia. Principles of Analysis. Concreteness of thought. Physical deportment. Second circle martial forms. [Kahs-wan] -> TAL T'LEE First meditations on a'tha assisted by an Adept of Syran Clan Council. Control of subdominant cortis. Third-Fifth Circle martial forms. -> DWEMISH NI-AN Identity isolation. Brain control with number systems and equations. Fifth and Sixth Martial Forms. Introduction of weapons. -> ENOK-KAL FI LAR Process of definition. Concepts of givens. Study of 'THE RUNES OF T'VISH'. Logic paradigms, behavioral modification and Isolation of Katra. Second-tier martial forms. Nerve pinch. Neuropressure. -> SELE'AN T'LEE Subdominant brain organization, advanced philosophy and logic, muscle coordination and control of will. Five steps belief disciplines, reality awareness, and sensory acuteness. READINGS: 'LOGIC AND DEFINITION' by Lyras; 'ESSAYS OF DISCIPLINE' by Surak; 'THE INTERIOR' by Tal Luxur of Romulus; 'EQUATIONS' by Scorus; 'ANALYSIS OF PSUEDOXY' by T'verne; 'PURPOSE AS PRIME MOTIVATOR', 'SYSTEMS OF LOGIC', 'PASSION'S MASTERY: THE FORGE OF VULCAN' by Surak. Mastery of martial forms. Test of Tal'Shaya. -> NORN LA-HAL Superior control. Meditations on arie'mnu and cthia. Advanced neurological organization and subdivision. Advanced mind meld techniques. Advanced reading and meditations on mystagogues Surak, Scorus, Lyras, T'enre, T'vis, Prisv, T'Pau, T'Pol and Seltar. -> VELINAHR State of most adult Vulcans. -> AKKINAHR Mastery;. B. Service Schools Attended
-- Star Fleet Space Warfare Officers School C. Qualifications (MOS/MOCs)
-- MOC: Security -- MOC: Communications D. Star Fleet Academy Record
Honors: Xenolinguistics Academic Major: Xenolinguistics Professional Major: Security and Investigation Class Rank: 3rd Reprimands: "Cadet Sohte took an emergency (and unauthorized) leave of absence for three weeks during his second year for undisclosed medical reasons. Prior to this, Cadet Sohte was involved in three separate incidents with two cadets and his unarmed combat instructor. Cadet Sohte has been unwilling to discuss the nature of this, only citing 'personal and medical reasons.' As he has apologized to all involved and served punishment duty and at the urging of his teachers, Cadet Sohte will be allowed to continue as a Starfleet cadet." Commendations: "Cadet Sohte has been a great help as a teacher and tutor in armed and unarmed combat, helping less skilled and hesitant students train up to much higher levels of proficiency. If a Vulcan could be described as a 'people person', Cadet Sohte is that. He is quite willing to socialize and to help bridge cultural gaps." -- CDR Dr. Devaraja Karan Athletics: Academy Unarmed Combat Team, Academy Archery Team, Academy Riflery Squad Activities: Taught a meditation class and taught Vulcan martial arts classes
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III. Biographical Notes
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A. Chronology (tabular form)
0-36: Was given to the Masters of Seleya because of his high psi-score. Grew up in the monastery there as a priest. Underwent Ta'loth and Kahs-wan. Betrothed to T'lana. Attended the Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts. Entered Vulcan Academy Sciences. 36-39: Served as priest at Seleya; training for Mastery. Served as an instructor at the Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts. Taught meditation and other skills to Vulcan youth. Achieved Akkinahr. Attended Vulcan Academy of Sciences. 40-46: Attended Vulcan Academy of Sciences. Achieved Mastery. (Not the youngest Master ever, but one of the top 200.) Visited Earth as part of a cultural exchange. Underwent Koon-ut-Kali-fi. 46-54: Served as a Master of Seleya and instructor in Vulcan history and languages at the Vulcan Academy of Sciences. 55-64: Left Vulcan. Travelled as something of a cosmic vagabond. Spent two years as a Federation customs agent. 65-68 Attended Starfleet Academy (accelerated program) 68-Present: Active duty in Starfleet. B. Background Summary
Vulcan culture frowned on mind-melding and the use of their innate psionic gifts until the re-discovery of the Kir'Shara in 2154. During that era, only the religious and mystical sects on Vulcan could practice psionic crafts without stigma (though, not without suspicion and fear). It became tradition to give any child with unusually high psi to one of these sects at birth. Sohte was such a child. When he was born, the doctors tested him as having a psi-rating in the top .001 percentile. His parents opted to have him given to the monastery at Seleya. Raised among the priests, Sohte was given a thorough education in Vulcan culture, history, logic and ethics and was trained extensively in psionic technique (as is necessary for any Vulcan with high psi.) He showed a particular aptitude for some of the more difficult elements of Surak's teachings, such as IDIC and Arie'mnu, or 'Passion's Mastery.' His academics were above average, but was a prodigal student of language. His teachers supposed this was because his psi-training began even before he could talk, giving him a stronger grasp on the 'word to concept' translation. Sohte's psionic skills were very advanced for a Vulcan; he had a very limited range empathy, though he had to be standing close to someone for several minutes before he could get 'read' on them. His touch telepathy was almost instantaneous and his mind-melding skills were very advanced. Sohte was an indifferent student of the 'hard' sciences arts and of music, though he excelled at animal husbandry, survival and martial training. Often considered to be 'restless and impulsive' by his teachers, they assigned him many extra hours of physical activity to burn off his excess energy. When allowed the choice, Sohte focused on the martial disciplines, often seeking out other teachers to instruct him in styles and forms he had yet to master. Despite the Masters' misgivings about his interest in martial arts, they allowed him to attend the Vulcan Academy of Defensive Arts and to continue his training, being unwilling to refute his logic that there was no logic in not allowing him such study. Such arts were about focus and discipline, as much as any of the other training he recieved. He spent many hours in the desert, travelling between Seleya and Gol (the location of the Vulcan Institude of Defensive Arts); this was a traditional pilgrimage for the Akkinahru, the warrior-psions of Vulcans ancient past. Sohte became known as a keen observer and a practical philosopher. He was able to apply Surak's teachings to daily life and often found applications his teachers had not considered. He often made observations on what many considered trivial things, but would later use his trivia to cement a point or make an observation. He completed the rites of tal'oth and Kahs wan with distinction, allowing him the status of 'adult' in Vulcan society. He was then able to chart the course of his own training to a much greater extent. Sohte chose to puruse Akkinahr - the warrior's path. Most Vulcans sought Velinhar, or the mastery of emotion and ascendance of logic over desire and a very few chose to seek Mastery by becoming Kolinahru. Sohte chose a different path: though less traditional, under Surak's teaching, Akkinahr was still mastery and allowed for logic and control to triumph over emotion. However, where Kolinahr focused on expelling emotion, Akkinahr focused on understanding, controlling and directing mastered emotion and finding a path of service. When he came of age, Sohte entered the Vulcan Academy of Sciences to study mysticism and religion in a more academic sense and split his time between the temple and the Academy. He began teaching classes at the Vulcan Academy of Defensive Arts and taught meditation to Vulcan children who visited the temple while studying for his Mastery and completing his Academic studies. He also served as one of the few priests practicing the traditions of Akkinahr. He studied many of the more ancient and esoteric psionic disciplines, including some mind-healing, and psychometric techniques ('reading' the psionic impressions left on an object) and became skilled in the transfer of katra as well as psycho-metabolism - using psionics to control his body's functions, such as suppression of pain and other physical sensation, slowing his heart rate, expelling poisons and the like. During this time of intensive study and service, Sohte noticed his own growing dissatisfaction with Vulcan society and culture. He felt the insular nature, epidemic arrogance and lack of interest in new ideas and experiences to be in direct conflict with Surak's teachings of IDIC. When he began to speak out with these ideas, he was asked to no longer teach children. He was approached by the Vosh'ka'tur who sought to recruit him, but he found them to be undisciplined and dangerous and refused to associate with them. One of the Vosh'ka'tur - a woman who was a priestess of the ancient (pre-Surak) goddess T'vet, sought Sohte as a mate, but his interest in T'risi was academic only. Sohte began to try to understand his own people better, gaining the right to study the Kir'Shara directly. He interviewd and mind-melded with the High Priest holding the katra of Surak and began his upper-level academic studies of Vulcan language, history and culture. He achieved Akkinahr at a relatively young age, but was by far not the youngest to achieve Mastery and took a Master's duties at Seleya. The Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts had started to allow non-humans to attend. One such, an Andorian named Tarus, told Sohte he needed to get out off Vulcan and see the cosmos and suggested he visit Earth as part of a cultural exchange. Sohte spent a year on Earth with such a program, visiting with the Dalai Lama and studying human martial arts from human martial arts masters. Tarus was part of the program - he and Sohte became friends, though Tarus often joked Sohte only became his friend because he knew it would bother the more conservative Masters. T'risi was also part this exchange, and went out of her way to flirt, annoy and provoke Sohte, but she proved unsuccessful. Upon his return to Vulcan, he experienced his first Pon Farr. T'lana Challenged, not wishing to be married to a Master, much less a controversial one. Her chosen champion was a middle-aged Vulcan scientist who specialized in artificial intelligence programming named Sedren. He was no match for Sohte and was killed during Kali-fi. Sohte released T'lana from their bond. Though legal and allowed and not widely known, killing Sedren was a black mark against him. Though he was a sitting Master, his voice was given little heed in councils, though he had become a respected instructor of history and language at the Vulcan Academy and one of the chief instructors at the Vulcan Institue of Defensive Arts, having mastered many of the forms taught there. He recieved word that Tarus had been killed in inter-clan fighting on Andor about the same time his teaching appointment at the Academy was up. Now considered something of a controversial figure often at odds with the conservative and traditional elements of Vulcan society, Sohte retired to Seleya to continue his service as a Master. Very soon thereafter, the Akkinahru who had instructed him passed away of old age (223 years old), leaving Sohte as the last of the Akkinahru. Sohte quickly discovered himself becoming more and more isolated from his people, spending more and more time at remote shrines and walking the desert for weeks at a time. He had become what he most disliked about his people. It was not unusual for Sohte to just up and leave for long periods of time. None of the Masters or Acolytes thought anything of it when Sohte left Seleya without a word, dressed for travel, taking almost nothing with him. His absence was not remarked upon until almost two years after he had left. Sohte walked to the nearest public transit station, where he went to Vulcan Space Central in ShiKahr. Sohte got a berth on a cargo frieghter as a last- minute replacement. He spent the last 11 years travelling around space as something of a cosmic vagabond aboard various ships, including several ships he now knows were smugglers. He served as the security chief for an exclusive cruise ship and as the supercargo for several massive freighters. He would often find himself planetside for a few months, where he worked as a police officer and in various other law enforcement positions, including one stint in Federation customs. He told no one of his past as a Vulcan Master, though he continued his linguistic and cultural studies with every species he met as well as continuing to practice, study and collect martial arts skills. He recieved a modicum of training in engineering, navigation, helm and medicine, but was thoroughly trained in forensic investigation during his time in law enforcement. Sohte also developed an interest in cooking due to bad experiences with food aboard ships, and often found himself in the role of ship's cook. Although Sohte did experience pon farr during this trip, he has never spoken of it. His experiences travelling re-shaped him from a contemplative mystic to a man who believes strongly in action. He now feels it is action and experience that Surak wanted his people to seek, not perfection and academic knowledge. He is friendly and outgoing and tends to get along with everyone and tends to avoid snap judgements. He sees himself as an eternal student and is very interested in contuing to travel and explore, finding there is more in knowledge, wisdom and skills to learn than he can do in the short 200 years allotted to a Vulcan. One ship Sohte found himself on was a specialized transport, ferrying live animals from Earth to colonies. He met a human named Esteban Morales, the foreman of the A-Zone ranch on Earth. The A-Zone specialized in exotic horses and special breeds. Sohte was invited by Esteban to work at the A-Zone on Earth for a season or two. Sohte accepted, deciding Earth was as good a place as any to stop at for awhile. He was on Earth when he got word of Vulcan's destruction and when he heard Starfleet had mustered the entire available fleet to fight for his world, he was stunned. Vulcan, which had shunned humans, treated them as second-class citizens and continued to think itself superior had been defended by the very people it had scorned for so long. The act of sacrifice re-awoke in him his desire to serve and made him ashamed of the cynicism that drove him to leave Vulcan in the first place. Sohte applied for a place in Starfleet. The Vulcan interim government opposed his application and asked that he not be allowed to join Starfleet. Starfleet was asked to send him, with all due haste, to the Vulcan colony where he could take his place helping re-build. The pressure on Starfleet was great enough that a hearing was held. Sohte defended himself, citing every sentient being's right to self- determination. The Vulcans countered with an axiom: "The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few, or the one." The Vulcan government wanted Sohte to help restore the priesthood and the mystic traditions and teach the next generation. Starfleet decided in Sohte's favor and he was admitted to Starfleet Academy in late 2258. Sohte applied himself to the Academy with what his teachers would call 'passion.' Sohte called it 'dedication.' He tested out of as much of the purely Academic material as he could, focusing, instead, on the military training. His previous experiences in law enforcement and his (relative) indifference to the hard sciences led him to pursue security training, though he also qualified for communications. During his second year at the Academy, Sohte took three weeks of emergency leave, citing personal and medical reasons to deal with pon farr - though he chose to respect the privacy taboo and did not speak of it to his fellow cadets or his instructors and superiors. (Sohte, himself, is not ashamed of pon farr, but knows other Vulcans are, and respected their privacy by not revealing this secret.) He even requested intevention by the Vulcan consulate, who, surprisingly, agreed. Sohte has never spoken of what happened during those three weeks. Sohte was a member of the Academy's unarmed combat team, the archery team and the marksmanship team and placed very highly in almost every competition. He made friends easily at the Academy (as he had during his vagabond phase) and was well-liked and well-respected by his classmates. He got a reputation for being an excellent listener, giving good advice, and being someone that could be counted on to keep secrets, not judge, and help out when he could. He freely answered questions about Vulcan, and often taught meditation and martial arts classes in his free time. Sohte continued his interest in cooking and often cooked for large(ish) groups of students during study meetings, finals prep and other occasions. He provided his services as a tutor - and had to find a tutor to pass Astrophysics. He graduated in 2261, 3rd in his class. His training cruise was aboard the USS COPERNICUS NCC 623 and was uneventful. Due to his extensive interstellar experience, Sohte was given the rank of Lieutenant and assigned to the USS HOOD NCC 1703 as the Chief of Security.
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IV. Official Star Fleet Record
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A. Promotion History:
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2257.213: Entered 1st Year, Starfleet Academy 2258.214: Entered 2nd Year, Starfleet Academy 2259.213: Entered 3rd Year, Starfleet Academy 2260.213: Entered 4th Year, Starfleet Academy
2260.115: Promoted to Ensign (O-1) B. Service History
2257.213: Entered 1st Year, Starfleet Academy 2258.214: Entered 2nd Year, Starfleet Academy 2259.213: Entered 3rd Year, Starfleet Academy 2260.213: Entered 4th Year, Starfleet Academy
2261.115: Graduated from Starfleet Academy; assigned to cadet cruise aboard USS GALILEO NCC-0594. 2261.213: Finished Cadet Cruiser, commissioned as Ensign (O-1); assigned as <<position>>, <<ship name and registry>>. C. Medals and Commendations
None at this time.
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V. Skills Profile
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- Skilled martial artist - Master marksman - Psychometry - Mind meld - Natural linguist - Eidetic memory - Skilled chef (Vulcan, Human, Andorian, Tellarite) - Trained interrogator - Trained investigator
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VI. Recent Fitness Reports
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"Sohte is in excellent physical shape. Though he has scars from his years abroad, there is nothing that would impair him. His ability to suppress pain and forego sleep put a strain on his body, but he is very adept at handling this. His blood type is very rare, so I have cautioned him to donate regularly on whatever ship he serves on." -- Dr. Isabel Patrick, Starfleet Academy
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VII. Psychological Profile
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Sohte sees himself as an eternal student and as a warrior poet. He was a controversial figure on Vulcan and has survivor's guilt he has not dealt with in regards to his leaving Vulcan. His rejection by Vulcans has left him somewhat cynical, though he is careful to hide it. He is skilled at reading people and skilled at dealing with people. Unlike many Vulcans, he does not shy from social interaction or experience. If any Vulcan could be considered a 'people person,' it would be Sohte. He is still very much a priest at heart, though he is loathe to admit it and often provides an ear, a shoulder and advice to those who need it, and frequently finds himself in the role of advisor and confessor to most of his social group - and many outside it. While he does not seek such a role out, he is eager for it when it is thrust upon him. Sohte is very open-minded and non-judgemental, preferring to draw conclusions through observation and analysis. He is very calm natured, but somewhat restless. I feel he will make an excellent Starfleet officer. --CDR Dr. Devaraja Karan
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VIII. Current Recreational Interests
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- Cooking - Martial arts - linguistics
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