Adia Shaar

Adia Shaar was an El-Aurian female who served in Starfleet as a science officer and linguistics specialist. In the 2380s she worked on board the UFS Arcadia; as of 2386 she held a rank of Lieutenant junior grade.

Despite her El-Aurian identity, Shaar lacked the El-Aurian "listening" gene, depriving her of the "higher" sensitivity common to El-Aurians, and resented the stipulation by Federation laws prohibiting genetic enhancement which might have rectified this. Shaar expressed personal curiosity in wondering how different her life might have been had she shared her people's perceptions.

Nevertheless, Shaar turned her disadvantage into an advantage, capitalizing on an innate talent for language and music, thus making a name for herself as something of a self-made genius in communication involving exotic tongues. In her early teens Shaar deciphered a first contact message from the Epachan, leading to Epachan membership in the Federation, making her a "celebrity" among that race. Meeting the Epachan had a great impact upon her life. Upon learning that an Epachan had joined Starfleet, she followed suit, bringing her linguistic skills to the organization.

Shaar had a deep love of music, which made her an accomplished singing vocalist as well. She learned to play several musical instruments and became a specialist on various cultures' musical forms. Shaar often used music in her work to foster greater understanding and communication between different races and forms of life.

While her exact age is unknown (El-Aurians have lifespans significantly longer than humans'), in the 2380s she was considered still quite young by El-Aurian standards.

Background

 * On Star Trek: Arcadia, images of real-life people are used to represent characters. In this sense Adia Shaar was visualized as musician Sarah McLachlan, who served as direct inspiration for the character.
 * The character's name also owes its basis to McLachlan: "Shaar" is an anagram of Sarah, while "Adia" is the name of a song by this performer.