First Officer Tiraa Shai

Tiraa is a predictable specimen of her heritage. Her light green skin is contrasted by a mane of long, wavy black hair that passes her waist. Her black eyes — inherited from her mother — are alight with intelligence and ambition, a combination many would consider very dangerous paired with a woman such as she. She carries herself with grace and poise, but when she has her sights set on something, those very traits can become almost predatory in her gait. Tiraa rigidly maintains her appearance through grooming and making sure every piece of clothing is tailored to fit her body for whatever function and situation it must serve.

Looking at her, one would likely assume she is a woman who has lived in luxury and softness for most of her life. She is fit but not hardened. Still, there is something about the way she moves from time to time that might lead some to question if that softness is only skin deep.

On meeting Tiraa, most would be struck by the warmth with which she greets newcomers, but also have the underlying sense they are immediately being studied and judged for weakness. While her body does produce Orion pheromones, they are very mild in strength and only hold enough sway to trigger a general interest toward her; her charm and personable presence is what truly draws people in and makes them stay. A warm and welcoming host, Tiraa is known for her apparent generosity and gregariousness which has made her many, many friends in many different places.

Prince or pauper, everyone has their uses.

Tiraa has never been inclined to hide her intelligence where many women in her position might in order to give appearances of vulnerability to make those around them feel stronger. She is much too proud to diminish herself unless it will directly benefit her in some way, and even then sometimes she will not lower herself to such a thing. Her pride has led to some troublesome situations for her before, but nothing her charm hasn’t been able to smooth over. She holds those that work for her and with her to exceptionally high standards, expecting the same of herself, and is quick to anger if mistakes are made. Tiraa is incredibly vindictive. She makes it a mission to make those who have wronged her suffer, and will hold a grudge until death. Theirs or her own hardly matters.

Behind the smiling face, Tiraa is a master of manipulation and uses the gifts bestowed by her Betazoid heritage to their full advantage. She has no use for the “etiquette” that exists within most telepathic or empathic races. It doesn’t serve her, and if you are a friend to her, you will usually find quickly that those rules don’t serve you either.

+ Empathic/Telepathic
+ Charming
+ Personable
+ Gregarious
+ Intelligent
+ Observant

+/- Manipulative

- Impulsive
- Materialistic
- Stubborn
- Arrogant
- Vindictive
- Perfectionist

Tiraa is a materialistic woman. She enjoys being rich, she wants to be richer. She wants power and influence, and is taking the steps to ensure she gets what she wants.

Depending on who you are, your hobby is Tiraa's hobby, your interests are her interests. Information flows to her like water, and how better to keep it flowing than to have others feeling that she has a vested interest in what makes them tick?

She keeps her personal interests incredibly private, but she does seem to enjoy fine drink and reading.

In 2350, House Zalond was dealt a devastating blow by a rival house of the Syndicate, House Oshal. While they were not wiped out, House Zalond was severely weakened. No’rra, the heir and pride of her house, had been killed during the conflict. She had been the only child of her mother Sesha, the house’s matriarch, and her aunt Jirae had only produced one son who was only six years old at the time. Lacking a suitable young female heir, the fate of the house seemed bleak indeed.

In the early months of 2352, a deal was struck between the Orion Vesir Zalond and the Betazoid Ixania Shai. Ixania desired a return of her family’s mining rights to a small moon that had been taken away by Nausicaan pirates, Vesir desired a child – a daughter of his own blood. An agreement was reached, a child was engineered, and just before the year ended a daughter was born to a surrogate mother, a slave owned by Vesir. Immediately, she was taken by Vesir to his family home which stood but a shadow of its former glory. He had been ostracized by his own sister years before for reaching above his station and engaging directly in the family’s business. Sesha had not taken kindly to it, but Vesir had been working to establish himself quietly for years – when he was pushed out to the outermost fringes of his family, it had been a blessing to continue his work. Even with his success, he was still a man, and a man alone in Orion society had little to no position. With seeming humility, he presented his newborn to his Sesha as an offering. A female child with the blood of House Zalond in her veins, and with her the promise of his own considerable wealth to help restore the family.

Sesha was resistant at first – she held nothing but contempt for her brother – but Jirae was able to soften her resolve and convince her this was likely their only option for their house to have hope of a future. Sesha took her brother’s daughter as her own and named her Tiraa Shai out of respect to the child’s biological mother. The name Zalond would come later if it were earned… and if no other daughters sprung out from the sisters with a more true claim. Sesha took little interest in her new daughter, but Jirae embraced her without hesitation. She doted on Tiraa as she grew. When she was three years old, Jirae called in an owed favor to secure a vorekhan of status for Tiraa in the form of a boy named Rallid.

When she was four years old Tiraa was taken off of Orion by Jirae and naturally accompanied by Rallid. It is nigh impossible to find any records to track the movements or what happened during this time given the Orion penchant for privacy and secrecy. Visits back home were sparse and when they happened, they were quite brief. One such journey home when Tiraa would have been about eight years old coincided with a visit from a small delegation of Betazoids. It was during this visit that Tiraa met her biological mother and the man who would be left behind to mentor her as her psionic abilities began to manifest themselves. Ixania was impossible for Tiraa to read being so new to her own abilities and she did not seem particularly interested in her child. The visit was over before Tiraa could establish even the notion of a connection to Ixania, but the man Leukar who had been left behind to guide her at least gave her a link to half of her heritage.

The pattern of the previous four years resumed. Tiraa was offworld with Jirae, Rallid, and now Leukar much more than she was present on Orion. It was also during this time that House Zalond rebuilt itself into a powerful, influential house within the Syndicate. The avenues through which this was accomplished are a mystery, but intelligent minds could make an educated guess.

At twenty years old, Tiraa returned with her aunt Jirae to a very unexpected surprise: Sesha had delivered a new, healthy daughter she had named Ishana. While it certainly should have been received as a joy, Tiraa could immediately tell that Sesha’s already tenuous relationship with her had more or less evaporated in the wake of a true born daughter. She took some solace in the fact that while Jirae was happy for her sister, she was also concerned about Tiraa who had now become a potential liability to a true blood daughter of the house matriarch. Before any plans could be made, an unexpected route opened to circumnavigate any potential trouble.

For the first time in his daughter’s life, Vesir stepped in and offered to take her from the main house and bring her under his tutelage. Sesha this time agreed without hesitation, seeing it as a much better route than the alternative which could potentially cause more issues in the family. Jirae was heartbroken given she had come to consider Tiraa her own daughter, but knew the importance of keeping her safe. Unbeknownst to Sesha, Jirae granted Tiraa guardianship of a family heirloom knowing it was likely she would have to return it someday, but also wanting her to know through its gifting that the past sixteen years of Tiraa’s life had mattered and she had served the family well.

Tiraa was understandably quite frustrated by the change, but she wisely kept her peace about it. She also saw it as an opportunity to learn from Vesir. During her time with her aunt, she had learned a certain side of business of course, but Vesir had built his own small empire through different means than his sisters. His focus had been on trade – elicit goods, weapons, flesh, but most importantly information. Tiraa was surprised at first to find he was enthusiastic to have her by his side, and his enthusiasm was met with her own. His instruction was absorbed like water to a sponge. Soon, she considered this change of life to be a blessing. Her father’s contacts became her contacts, and within two years she was branching out to make her own using charm and guile in equal measure. Despite the Dominion War breaking out during this time, it didn’t seem to affect their operations – in fact, one could have argued it was a benefit in a way.

Tiraa had accumulated a substantial amount of wealth on her own right by the time she was twenty-four. Her time with Jirae and with Vesir both had given her a deep well from which to pull from. In the wake of the Dominion war, opportunity was ripe in the Gamma Quadrant, and with Vesir’s support, she traveled to the Gamma Quadrant to the paradise planet of Oason, home of the hedonistic Wadi. It was there Tiraa built her own establishment which she called The Prism, a multilevel installation that offered delights for whatever one might be seeking. It became a near overnight sensation nearly as soon as it was opened. The debt she had accrued building the Prism was gone within three months, and with the profits she started to turn over, Tiraa focused her attention on making more business connections within the Gamma Quadrant both above and below the table. The tapestry of relationships she weaved was intricate and elegant. New Ferenginar became one of her primary hubs for gathering information and more elicit interests. As in the Alpha Quadrant, the Ferengi made very easy puppets.

Even with her success, Tiraa knew it would not be enough to fulfill her. She needed to leave Oason and travel out to the worlds she had made contact with not only to foster a more personal relationship with contacts there, but also to spread her influence to the dark underbellies that exist in all places. Of course, making new, useful “friends” along the way certainly wouldn’t hurt. The trouble was, she wanted to do this through a more covert means… one perhaps that the Zalond family wouldn’t exactly be the wiser to.

An unexpected opportunity found her in a man named Zedd Sykes and his newly purchased ship The Dutchman. A few strings pulled, a conversation was had, and she secured herself a position on the ship that would, she hoped, be mutually beneficial to their interests. With Rallid ever present by her side, they departed for a new profitable adventure that was sure to help Tiraa secure further position and power in the slowly rebuilding Gamma Quadrant.

2352 - Born
2356-2372 - Presumed training and service
2372-2374 - Business tutelage under Vesir
2374-2380 - Owner of the Prism
2380 - XO of the Dutchman