Name: Ahl-Ahn-Vahkana
Age: 31
Weight: N/A
Height: 5'7"
Birthplace: Vahkana root system, Ahtool Habitat, Brakkahl Two.
Marital Status: Single





Personal History:

On separating from his parent vine, Ahn-Akahi-Vahkana, Ahl immediately showed a deep and unusual curiosity for his race, having to investigate anything and everything in implicit detail. His father was one of the Brochaine race's most revered engineers, renowned both on and off world as one of the leading experts on Quantum Field Propulsion, and this strong influence seemed to have a profound effect on Ahl. As soon as he was old enough he began research into engineering and mechanical studies in a class led by another great name in the field, Loek-Onosal-Loan. He quickly proved he had a natural talent for all things technical, and came top of his class in almost all their studies, majoring in propulsion theory.

On graduating from the class (at the age of twenty Human years) he became a design engineer and joined a team creating the latest Brochaine starship. His excellence in the field allowed him to be chosen as a representative of the Brochaine Propulsion Engineering delegation sent to an Interstellar Propulsion Conference on a nearby planet, and it was here that he got his first taste of the many varied races and cultures throughout the universe. The experience of mingling with so many wierd and wonderful races was quite electrifying for his curious mind, particularly an encounter with a bright young Trill Quantum Physicist by the name of Lael Xye.

The woman's former host had been a respected Engineer on her home planet, and with her own experience in Quantum Theroey she had been exploring the possibillity of combining Quantum Field Propulsion and Warp Drive together into an all new, much faster method of propulsion. She had read a number of papers on the subject of Quantum Field Drives by none other than Ahl's father Ahn, and had travelled to the conference with the specific intent to meet the Brochaine dellegation and learn more about their somewhat unique technology. With their mutual interest and fascination for the field, she and Ahl rapidly became friends, and spent many nights at the conference staying awake into the small hours in deep technical discussion.

Unfortunately they were unable to make any major progress before the gathering was over, and due to their buisy schedules both Brochaine and Trill lost touch with each other soon after. Ahl's curiosity about the universe beyond his home planet was piqued even further by the experience, however, and the conference kindled within him a desire to travel the stars and see new cultures and races. He swiftly researched all the possible ways of doing this he could find, and eventually settled on one culture, the United Federation of Planets, that could assist him to achieve that dream, while simultaneously spreading peace throughout the universe and indulging his fascination and talent for engineering in the process! Realizing the massive potential of the assignment, he quickly signed up.

Professional History:

Thanks to his added experience and maturity that came with his age, he breezed through his time at the Academy with little trouble, scoring in the top three of his class in almost every subject. His conduct too was exemplary, and aside from a small missunderstanding involving an Admiral and a spilled drink in the Academy Lounge, his record remained spotless. Finally he graduated with flying colors, and was assigned to the USS Polaris in fleet 2. He quickly settled in to the posting despite his alien nature, making several friends, including the young and excitable Science NE Nicola Shaw, who found his plantoid nature fascinating thanks to her background in botany. A difficult moment occured in his life shortly after the ship's second mission, when he recived the news from home that his father had died of a mystery illness, compounded by the fact that Ahl took ill himself with the same illness at about the same time, and was saved only by the ingenuity of the ship's medical staff, assisted by NE Shaw. He has recovered from the virus, however, and is slowly getting over the emotional scars of his loss too.

Medical History:

The Vahkana family have a slight history of potassium deficiency in their line, and this has affected Ahl too, but it is not a major problem as he has adjusted the water in his quarters (that he absorbs through his roots) to deal with it. Also had a small fracture in his lower right shoulder (now repaired by Ensign Tanik) from many years ago. Even he doesn't know where it came from.

Shortly after his second mission on the Polaris, Ahl also took seriously ill with a mystery virus that was threatening to kill him in a matter of days. Where the virus came from was not clear, however it is possible he caught it on a trip back to his homeworld after reciving the news his father had died, also of a mystery illness. For a long time Medical were baffled, until the CMO Lily Evans, assisted by Botanist NE Nikki Shaw, descovered it was a mutation of his body's own immune system rather than a disease from an outside source. They quickly devised a treatment and saved Ahl's life, giving him immunity from the virus in the future.

About the Brochaine:

The Brochaine are a plantoid race from the jungle world of Brakkahl Two in the Beta-Caladri sector. Physically they are very thin and elegant, with four thin, creeper-like arms and jointed roots that act as legs. The number of legs varies individual to individual, but the average is six, splaying out from the body in all directions like the legs of a spider.

They are an androdgenous race, as suggested by their plantoid biology. For ease of referance other races refare to them by the masculine gender, as their voices are usually quite deep in tone and have a male quality to them, but their smooth skin and slender build does portray a certain grace and lithe quality that one would usually associate with females. Their skin color varies from a dark wooden brown to varing shades of green, and some even bear patches of yellow across their bodies. Their faces are long and thin, with a sharply sloping V-shape brow over narrow, slanted eyes that can be either yellow, green, brown, or in some rare cases, purple. Their nose has no nostrils, appearing as nothing more than a small bump in the middle of their features, and their mouths are thin and lipless, camoflaging completely into their skin when not speaking and making it appear as if they have no mouths at all. Ears are similar to the nose - little more than small bumps on the side of the head, although these do have openings for sounds to enter. Their hair consists of a mass of leaves and creepers growing from their head much like Human hair, and can be cut in the same way when it gets too long.

Clothes are not a part of Brochaine culture except on very special occasions, however most who travel offworld have taken to wearing covering to appease the other races they meet, even though their biology is so different that even when naked nothing is showing which other races might consider rude. They do not eat food - instead, they photosynthasize just as normal plants do, taking in water through their roots and using sunlight absorbed through the skin to create energy. They also have a very close psychological connection to the natural environment around them, and if they are removed from that for a period of time, their psychological condition begins to degenerate. On average, being removed for 24 hours will cause them to become agitated, at roughly three days they will suffer panic attacks, mood swings and severe depression, and after a week the psychological damage will be irreversable. This situation has led the Brochaine to landscape the interior of their starships into parklike gardens, and a similar landscaping is put into effect in their quaters when serving aboard ships of other races, so they have a sanctuary to recover in after the day's shift.

Technologically, Brochaine are on a similar par with the Federation, the most noteable difference being that they use Quantum Field propulsion (creating a fluxing wormhole in space rather than warping space around the ship) instead of Warp Drive - this system is as fast as warp, but not nearly as economic, requiring much more power and longer recharge time. They power their ships through a fusion power source. Despite their technology, however, Brochaine are generally not an inquisitive race, and very few ever feel the need to venture off their homeworld, with those few that do often returning home as soon as they are able. For this reason, actually sighting a Brochaine outside their own system is quite a rarity, and they do not get involved in politics beyond their own area of space. They were very reluctant at first to join the United Federation of Planets, having to be convinced to do so with the offer of trade and scientific collaberation. Science is very important to Brochaine culture, as is social structure and family life, and families are devided up by continent and 'Rootstock', the primary root that all that particular line grew out of. Their names are triple-barrelled, consisting of: 1. The name of the individual, 2. The individual's father, and 3. The Rootstock the individual belongs to. So for example, Ahl's father was named Ahn, and he (and consequently Ahl himself) came from the Vahkana Rootstock.