Welcome to a new month of Tuesdays at Quark’s. For April we’re taking a look at characters from species found in the Beta Quadrant Sourcebook, starting with one of the two Rigellian species from the book: the industrious Jelna.
The Rigellians described in Star Trek are, in a word, confusing. Several different versions have been mentioned and so it is rationalized in the Star Trek novels (and the Beta Quadrant Sourcebook) as different species that share the system. Lieutenant Shemar Vahron is from one of those: the Jelna who appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise and are a major playable species on Star Trek Online. They are a focused and industrious species, a quality which Shemar uses to excel at computer systems projects.
Lt. Vahron is an excellent supporting character, with Disciplines and Focuses that can assist the player characters in a number of different settings. Anything involving the ship’s computers will give Vahron an advantage and he can push them over the edge to success. Of course, he can also be a detriment if he is working at cross-purposes to the player characters. He’s a loyal Starfleet officer but there’s always the possibility of secret projects, rogue assignments, or divided loyalties.
From that and the description you can get some good ideas, but here are a few plot hooks to get you started.
- Lt. Vahron is assigned to the Player Character’s ship in the next duty rotation and takes on a few ensigns to help him with his special project. Soon after the ship starts to experience computer issues and database errors that they slowly begin to trace back to Vahron’s lab. Just what is his special project about and why does he have sealed orders from the admiralty?
- The Player Characters respond to a distress signal from the U.S.S. Ojibwe, but when they arrive they find that nearly all the crew is unconscious. The six remaining crew are keeping all the systems going thanks to a complex program set up by Lt. Vahron, the current senior officer. Communications are spotty and when an away team boards the Ojibwe‘s shields activate. Vahron needs to shut down his program to allow transporters and shuttles through, but he’s refusing to do so until the injured in sick bay are stabilized.
- The Jelna are a focused species but also a tough one. Lt. Vahron joins the crew for an away mission to explore a datavault in alien ruins on a planet with a physically demanding planet. As they reach the center where they are out of communication with the ship, though, Vahron begins to suffer effects of a dormant retrovirus targeting his Z Chromosome.
Click on the image below for the PDF.
