Enriss Temaga

Enriss Temaga was the captain of the Federation starship Beltane. More recently she has gained notoriety as the last survivor of the Vehrian race and a key belligerent in the Federation's ongoing conflict with the Borg. (Star Trek: Abandoned)

Early life
Nothing is known about Temaga prior to her association with the Vehrian military, though it is assumed she was born on the Motherworld, possibly in L'Vehris itself.

Wartime
An eager and dedicated officer, Temaga proved among the most capable commanders during her people's conflict with the Borg, rising to the rank of Major significantly faster than expected. She was present during the crash of the warship Lantear in the capital, an event that proved to be the turning point of the war.

Weeks after the incident, even she had felt the effects of the Borg's new tactics of "absorbing" their ships and warriors; in one engagement, two warships and five cruisers under her direct command were destroyed or assimilated. Yet still she preferred to fight for her homeworld, and was appalled when her commanding officer informed her of the government's decision to abandon the planet. To that end, she requested that she be allowed to take a fleet and bring the fight to the Borg, buying her people enough time to evacuate. Her plan was approved. However, despite the destruction of at least one Hive ship (possibly more) the battle was lost, and Temaga's fleet destroyed. ("The Calm Before the Storm")

The sole survivor, she fled back to her homeworld - only to find it deserted. After activating the city's automatic defence routines, she too fled ahead of the oncoming Hives. ("Lost and Found")

24th Century
How Temaga came to exist in the 24th century is not known. However, the impact she has had on this time period is undeniable.

Sometime prior to 2384 Temaga joined the Federation, and by that time had risen to the rank of captain. She was placed in command of the USS Beltane on a mission to find the "Motherworld" as described in legend by many species of the deep Beta Quadrant. The crew found nothing but a series of outposts for several months, but on stardate 62084 new evidence was unearthed in the form of a stone tablet, with the location of the Motherworld pictographically represented on a starmap.

On stardate 62193.2, the Beltane arrived in the system. Discovering L'Vehris perfectly intact, Temaga beamed down and supervised the operation to secure the city. When the Beltane was attacked in orbit by a Borg fighter, she transported back up and ordered the ship onto a course to skim the sun. However before the plan could be executed, the ship was dragged into a transwarp conduit, emerging many hundreds of light years away.

Temaga, Commander Vhalnir Cad'en and Lieutenant Will Gates were captured. On the way to the Queen's chamber, Temaga caught a glimpse of the outside and saw that they were within a Hive ship. During their interrogation by the Queen, Cad'en was killed and Temaga assimilated, while Gates was returned to their cell. While she was undergoing cybernetic enhancement, the Queen ordered her to board the Beltane to assimilate the rescue party, sent through the conduit from the city. Beaming aboard with four other drones, she found Doctor Nathan Carson on the bridge, attempting to initiate the auto-destruct. Before the drones could kill him, her true nature won out and she easily dispatched them. She ordered Carson off the ship, who gave her a transport unit before departing. Temaga piloted the ship, all guns blazing, into the internal structure of the Hive, beaming onto a Cube at the last second. She escaped onto a shuttle as the resulting chain reaction destroyed the Hive and many of the surrounding vessels. ("Lost and Found", "Old Friends, New Enemies", Abandoned short story "For the Queen")

The Borg
Temaga then spent over a year in space, the shuttle (modified with her own nanoprobes) barely enough to sustain her. At some point she began transmitting a signal, which was detected by the Inc'Radi warship Olympus, under Dr. Carson's command. Olympus brought the vessel aboard and returned Temaga to the city. ("Guerilla")

By the time they returned, Temaga's condition was critical, and she died shortly thereafter on stardate 63660.09. She was successfully revived using Borg technology by Professor T'Sora, and for a while her recovery seemed assured. However, the remaining Borg elements in her body seized control of her mind, and she escaped the city in a type-6 shuttlecraft. ("Old Friends, New Enemies")

It is unknown how long she spent on the run, though some time later she witnessed a skirmish between a Federation battle group, including a Galaxy-class starship, and a Borg fleet. The Federation were victorious and sent the Borg into a retreat, though Temaga deliberately allowed herself to be captured by the Hive ship leading them. Confronting the Queen of the Hive, Temaga offered her dominion over every Collective in the galaxy - in exchange for help in reclaiming her city. Evidently the Queen agreed, and the Hive subsequently became Temaga's command ship. ("The Calm Before the Storm")

Character
Enriss is "fierce and cunning, brilliant and elusive. A true leader". (Star Trek: Abandoned character bible) These qualities are seen in abundance in her many appearances, along with her willingness to to whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of her people - whoever they may be at the time.

Allegiance
Temaga's loyalties shift a great number of times over the course of the series, leading the readers (and the author) to wonder what her true intentions and motivations might be. She readily undertakes actions that seem antithetical to her goal, only to either switch sides at the last moment or have it revealed as being part of some master plan.

Season One

 * "Lost and Found, part I"
 * "Lost and Found, part II"

Season Two

 * "Declaration" (as Prophet)
 * "Guerilla"
 * "Old Friends, New Enemies"
 * "The Calm Before the Storm"
 * "Freedom of Tyranny"
 * "Deployment"
 * "Second Strike"

Background
Enriss Temaga was initially only meant to appear in the prologue for the series, the teaser for "Lost and Found". However, a mistake on part of the author saw her inclusion in the rest of the episode, and subsequently the rest of the series. Her presence inspired and enabled several episodes in the second, fourth and fifth seasons.