Hravitherav th'Shan

Therav th'Shan (full name Hravitherav ek'Thalev Theel'Zhiin th'Shan) was an Andorian thaan who served in Starfleet during the 24th century. Due to the standard Starfleet difficulties with Andorian names and titles, he has been addressed as any number of variations of his name, including Lieutenant Shan, Lieutenant Therav, and Lieutenant Therav Shan. A graduate of Advanced Tactical Training, Therav was an operative with Special Operations prior to serving in a Rapid Response Team, and as a ranking member of both Security and Tactical divisions aboard various craft of the Eighth Fleet, including the USS Monitor, USS Takeda Shingen and USS Tethys. (Eighth Fleet RPG)

Early life
Therav was born at Shan-Zhess Keep, in the Andorian winter. He spent most of his early life in the shadow of a very overbearing thavan and zhavey, and two other parents who largely made themselves scarce. Therav's determination to join Starfleet began at a young age. He was extremely serious and diligent in his studies, and didn't partake in much of the stuff that other Andorians do in order to blow off steam; he didn't seek casual intimate partners, for example, as many do prior to consummating their bond. Prior to being accepted into the Academy, he held a variety of jobs. As a child, he worked as an apprentice stable-hand, and later, a zabathu trainer. Between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, before acceptance into the Academy, he worked as a mounted courier.

Academy
He took the Starfleet Academy Entrance Exam against the wishes of his family, even his thavan who was a retired Starfleet admiral ("things were different then, my thei; there were simply more of us to go around"). It would be many years before the rupture between himself and Thalev would heal, and his family still has its misgivings about his choice of career. His thavan later revealed (in writings which he willed to Therav) that he was glad Therav had avoided being ensnared by the criminal activity so prevalent in the clan. Therav graduated in 2367.

2360s
Ensign th'Shan's first assignment was as a security officer aboard the USS Ansari (NCC-42990) (NCC-42990), where his disciplined mind and early aptitude for small-unit tactics earned the respect of Captain Johnson. The Ansari encountered the Borg prior to the Battle of Wolf 359 and Therav's quick thinking and boldness saved the life of the Captain and several civilians. Therav was awarded the Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry for this incident.

In 2369, he was sponsored for Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training Program by Captain Johnson, where he specialized in small unit tactics. He was promoted to Lieutenant junior grade after his graduation in 2371.

2370s
In 2371, he entered Starfleet Special Operations and served in many covert and classified assignments over the course of two years, including many missions during the Second Federation-Klingon War. His actions led to him being awarded the Starfleet Medal of Commendation, and a promotion to Lieutenant.

In 2373, he was assigned as the head of the newly-formed Rapid Response Team 59, assigned to the USS Monitor (NCC-63645) (NCC-63645).

In 2374, sometime during the Dominion War, Rapid Response Team 59 was infiltrated by a Founder. The Founder remained with the unit for some time before being detected, resulting in a sabotaged mission and the death of Assistant Chief Tactical Officer Lieutenant Enrique Mendoza by friendly fire. As casualties from the war mounted, tensions between th'Shan and tactical officer Donald Fergus increased over what th'Shan considered to be needless risks. Fergus also made many claims about his inability to assign relief routinely over the course of the war.

In 2375, near the end of the Dominion War, tensions between th'Shan and Fergus escalated and exceeded the breaking point, when a confrontation begun over the costs and flaws of Fergus' command style led to Fergus implying that th'Shan had been actually been responsible for the death of his late lover Zhall, and that she had been th'Shan's "whore". th'Shan had to be stunned by three seperate security officers after pummeling Fergus, then both men were taken into custody. The security officers refused to testify on Fergus' behalf and he was eventually found to be psychologically unfit for duty by the ship's Chief Medical Officer. Therav spent the night in the brig, though the incident was later omitted from the ship's log and from th'Shan's own record. After a brief shakeup in the command structure of the Monitor, following the Fergus' removal from duty, th'Shan was made acting tactical officer by Captain Hayashi. Following the end of the Dominion War, th'Shan elected to grant leave to many tactical personnel, including Ens. Gabrielle Madden, who had mistaken Lt. Mendoza for his Changeling, in 2374. She committed suicide merely three months after the war was over. This proved the final emotional blow for th'Shan, and he refused the offer of a promotion and permanent assignment as the Monitor 's tactical officer and requested reassignment.

In late 2375, th'Shan was assigned to the USS Takeda Shingen (NCC-63646) as Security chief, and assistant to Tactical officer Vasili Tabaichakov.

In 2376, after a brief medical leave that was not revealed to the rest of the crew, he began selecting and forming a Hazard Team. He was also secretly ordered to increase the level of internal surveillance throughout the ship and also given many covert assignments. Both sets of orders were sent covertly by Admiral Johnson.

2380s
In 2381, th'Shan was chosen to replace the retiring Lt. Cmdr Vasili Tabaichakov as Tactical officer, along with a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. In the closing months of the year, he was brought to trial along with twenty other officers in the closing months of 2381. The officers charged included the USS Takeda Shingen (NCC-63646)'s Captain Femke Henriksen and Vice Admiral Zachary Johnson, for participation in a conspiracy - the aforementioned private assignments. It was revealed that he had been manipulated into participation by Admiral Johnson in particular, who preyed upon th'Shan's declining mental state from his experience with the Founders and the events surrounding it. This as well as the fact that he was a completely unwitting accessory to the Section 31 conspiracy headed by Johnson and his willingness to assist the judicial process, resulted in th'Shan being spared full Court martial and probable dismissal. However, he was nevertheless found to be in need of medical leave and a considerable reduction of duties, resulting in a reduction in his rank to lieutenant. It was on record that both Rear Admiral Hayashi and the retired Lt. Cmdr Tabaichakov, both of whom had been th'Shan's superior officers, disagreed with the decision to demote him.

In 2382, following his trial and several months of rehabilitative therapy and leave, he was given an assignment as a Security officer on a station far from the Bajoran sector or anywhere else, aside from an empty frontier of unexplored space. He was left there pending any other assignment, allowing him to work, though not nearly as much or as intensive as he had as a tactical officer. He spent much of this time working as an undercover operative for the station's Security chief. He proved an excellent operative in this role, seperated from his then-wife Noelle and feeling generally idle, bitter and somewhat useless; traits that provided the perfect mask for him to wear. His assistance actually resulted in the downfall of two criminal organizations and in his being added to the Legion of Merit. With his new-found aptitude for genuine detective work, he was tapped by Admiral Hayashi for service aboard the newly-completed USS Tethys (NCC-80121) as assistant Tactical officer, under the recently promoted Captain Hrithrarr.

Family
Therav is an outcast from his clan. He may never again set foot on clan property.

Over the years, Therav had become more and more aware that his clan was a major Volna Vrinia family, a fact which his thavan and zhavey had tried their best to keep from him. This did not become an issue until Therav's cousin, Zlesha zh'Shan, cited an Andorian tradition in order to claim full custody of Therav's thei Shlev th'Zhess from Therav and Thil, Shlev's other remaining parent. Zlesha's grown thei had been killed in a joint Imperial Guard-Starfleet action during which the last remaining True Heirs stronghold was seized. As Thil sh'Zheshri was an Imperial Guardsman and Therav was a Starfleet officer and both were involved in the raid (unaware of the clan Shan's True Heirs involvement), Zlesha and the clan considered them both accomplices in the deaths of all clansmen who had been on the opposing side. Zlesha and her bond considered it only fair that Thil and Therav should give up custody of their thei in order to replace that which she had lost due to their disloyalty to the clan.

As Therav himself had a broken bond (two bondmates were dead, and he was divorced from his remaining bondmate, Thil), and Zlesha had an intact bond, and as such Zlesha's household was considered a better environment for Shlev, this challenge was declared legal by the elders of the Shan clan.

Initially, Zlesha challenged Therav's ex-bondmate Thil, who upped the ante to an Ushaan, claiming that Zlesha could have Shlev over her dead body and that she was demanding that full custody of the boy be granted to her now that she had remarried and had an intact clan. Zlesha's th'se Ushilev stepped in to champion Zlesha (via Right of Substitution), and Therav stepped in to champion Thil (as Thil had recently remarried, but had not yet produced children).

Therav penned a quick note to his lover, Noelle, stating that he had business to take care of on Andor; he expected that he might not survive the conflict. During the conflict, Therav severed one of Ushilev's antennae, disabling him and thus ritually ending the fight. The fight was called. As Therav had his back turned, Ushilev managed to get to his feet then charge Therav with his ushaan-tor. In an act of self-defense, Therav buried his ushaan-tor in Ushilev's chest, killing him.

His own zhavey spit in his face as he left the Keep, telling him "you are not my thei". The Evaste Elders ordered all mention of him struck from the clan's records, and they went on as if he'd never existed. Custody of Shlev was granted to Thil, who handed Shlev into Therav's hands since she felt that Shlev should remain off of Andor, as she was afraid that the Volna Vrinia might still be interested in the boy.

When he returned from Andor with Shlev, he was accompanied by Thil, and met at his duty station Deep Space 17 by his lover Noelle Connor, who embraced him and whispered "thank you, thank you, thank you". She tended to his wounds before having to return to her own duty station. Therav realized that he indeed had a clan (consisting of Thil, Shlev, Noelle, and the crewmates he had grown close to over the years). He married Noelle not long after, now that no clan obligation prevented this, and considers her and her children to be part of the clan he has chosen.

Shlev th'Lenthar
Therav's best and worst moments are in his relationship with his eight-year-old thei, Shlev, who shares his life with him aboard the Tethys. Therav is frustrated with Shlev's inability to tell him when things go wrong. He did not learn that Shlev was the victim of bullying until he came home and witnessed it for himself. The child, formerly of clan Zhess, took the name Lenthar when he was formally adopted by his shreya's bond, who share custody with Therav. Shlev will soon be of age to be matched to a bond of his own, and has recently peppered Therav with questions about the matter.

Bondgroup
Like most Andorians, th'Shan was given to a bondgroup when young, with three other individuals. They had one offspring together, Thravishlev th'Zhess, despite numerous pregnancies and attempts. The bond divorced him in 2374, when he chose to remain in Starfleet and fight in the Dominion War with his squadron (which was tasked with the defense of Andor) rather than return to Andor and attempt to sire another child. The bond saw th'Shan's choice as selfish and did not see him as taking into account the Whole; th'Shan felt he had a duty to an even larger Whole. He is on good terms with Thil, his sole remaining ex-bondmate; the other two are now deceased. Since th'Shan championed Thil in an ushaan and won custody of Shlev for her clan, Thil feels she will never be out of his debt.

Zhall zh'Lenthar
Thirizhalleh zh'Lenthar was a bonded Andorian crewmate with whom Therav had a passionate affair for several months, in the months following the divorce from his bond. She was killed in the line of duty. He grieved her death for several years, and shunned any kind of intimate contact with anyone until finally coming to terms with her loss early in the year of 2381, around the same time that he met Noelle Connor.

Noelle Connor
Therav's wife, Noelle, is a Human engineer serving aboard the USS Takeda Shingen. As she is an accomplished horsewoman and martial artist, he calls her "Little Warrior".

She acts as his cultural interpreter, explaining human interactions that he finds especially confusing.

She also balances his passions with cool-headed rationality and calm. She has managed to introduce him to many human things, such as Chinese food, sushi, 20th century Western films, and horseback riding.

They began seeing each other while Therav was posted to the Takeda Shingen, and resumed their relationship shortly after Therav's transfer to Deep Space Seventeen. They were married one week before he posted to USS Tethys, after nearly a year together. They bought a house in Eagle River, Alaska, shortly after their marriage, but have not yet had time to work on it or spend any time there. They are hoping she'll be able to transfer to an engineering position aboard the Tethys when her tour aboard Shingen comes to an end. He treats his half-Bajoran stepchildren Arianna and Joray as his own, though they don't necessarily agree with this.

Preferences
He prefers Andorian and some Human cuisine, and Klingon cuisine. He is suspicious of food he cannot immediately identify, stemming from an incident involving an enchilada with mole sauce, since he has a severe allergy to chocolate and is completely lactose intolerant. He has a strong dislike for breaded or battered food. He likes very dramatic music, such as the the orchestral style or the Human or Klingon Operatic styles, as well as the distinctive sounds of the kind of music once known as Power Metal. In the line of duty, he has had to wear his hair long, to his lasting annoyance. He also does not particularly like doctors or medical personnel in general.

Hobbies and interests
Therav was an avid outdoorsman. He was an expert zabathu rider and archer, and enjoyed such pursuits as survival, tracking, orienteering, and mountaineering in addition to historical, combat and survival simulations. This later extended to horseback riding, which was introduced by his Terran wife. He liked tinkering with electronics (particularly surveillance systems) and reprogramming holodeck simulations. He enjoyed Earth and Klingon literature. He kept a journal. He also enjoyed debating politics - he could remain quiet and withdrawn in a social setting until a political topic was brought up. As of his transfer to USS Tethys, he was an avid scholar of the writings of Lor'Vela.

Personality
After sixteen years of service, Therav still finds it awkward to relate to many non-Andorians. As a result, he has a reputation for being, at times, gruff and ill mannered. He is one of many of the crew of the Tethys that is having some trouble adjusting from the duties of battleships and carriers in a war, to a mission of peaceful exploration. He has adopted a philosophy, Si vis pacem, para bellum.

Mental health
Therav suffered extremely severe Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and suffered from flashbacks and sometimes severe paranoia, owing to an incident when serving on the USS Monitor (NCC-63645) involving the Founders. He underwent extensive medical leave and psychiatric treatment over the year and a half preceding his assignment to the USS Tethys (NCC-80121), and proved himself capable of resuming his full duties.