| Name: | Alia Elspeth Drakely-Grogan |
| Rank: | civilian |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 32 |
| Gender: | Female |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
| Weight: | 57 kg |
| Eyes: | Black eyes with a sheen of dark blue |
| Hair: | Long, near black |
| Birthplace: | Oxfordshire, England, Earth |
| Birthdate: | 14th April, 2353 |
education:
Service Record
| DATES | SHIP | RANK | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2374-2378 | Starfleet Academy | cadet | security |
| 2378-2378 | USS Galaxy A | Ensign | Security |
| 2378-2379 | USS Galaxy A | Lieutenant jg | Security |
| 2379-2379 | USS Galaxy A | Lieutenant | Security |
| 2379-2380 | USS Miranda | Lieutenant Commander | Chief Security Officer |
| 2380-2381 | USS Miranda | Ensign | Security |
| 2381-2381 | USS Miranda | Ensign | diplomatic officer |
| 2381-2381 | Starfleet Academy | Lieutenant Commander | Chief Security Officer |
| 2385-PRES | Starbase medical | civilian | Federation Legal Representative |
Decorations:
Background:
Alia came from an eminent and affluent English family whose roots can be traced back over many eras. Being brought up in the large Drakely Manor that had served as her family's home for centuries with her sister and 3 brothers made her feel very restricted. She was privately tutored from the ages of 4 to 18, only allowed to mix with family friend's children and was expected to learn her family's history, ready for when she would have to take over the household.
The tutoring she received was extremely proficient, but only in certain subject matters. Whilst the sciences and mathematics were of an average standard, the subjects of history, philosophy, literature and music were taught with great importance and detail. She learned to love those accented subjects, always greeting them with enthusiasm and it was soon noticed that she had a natural ability with them. It was during this time that she got her love for both ancient history and music, most of her spare time being divided between them.
She was constantly reading and studying the ancient civilizations of the Greeks and Romans as well as familiarizing herself with their literature, epics, heroes, myths and legends, so prompting her to request tuition in Latin, which she picked up with speed and ease.
With music, she went straight for the guitar, which later was traded for an electric. With the electric guitar she could explore her love for rock music, but as her taste in music was frowned upon by her parents, whose feelings were that classical music was more appropriate, Alia also chose to take-up the oboe and piano, which later developed to the pipe organ, the sheer volume of it appealing to her dramatic side. After countless hours of demanding practice, she finally became accomplished in all three instruments, as well as singing, classical for the sake of her parents and education, but also rock for her own enjoyment.
At the age of 13, she became friends with an older boy, Jonathan. He told her about his own hobbies, including martial arts and fencing. Not having any experience with either, she became intrigued, and after a great deal of persuasion was allowed an instructor for both. Fencing became her new passion and she became very skilled in the art. She didn't become quite as connected with martial arts, finding it a lot harder work, but as the challenge grew, so did her determination and ability.
Life seemed good at her eighteenth birthday party. A marriage had been arranged later that year for her to marry her best friend, Lord Jonathan Harper, a perfect match for both of their families to gain from. She had progressed well in all her lessons, and as she was the eldest daughter of an Earl, she herself was Lady Alia Drakely, and indeed, she was the perfectly turned out Lady both in manner and wit, ready to one day inherit her father’s title to become Countess of Helington, and the family’s fortune and estates when he died. Her natural leanings in her academic skills promised a bright political career if she decided to work. It was at the birthday party that she met Patrick, a young man that her sister had hired as an escort for the evening. She talked to him with interest and quickly found out about the book he had written about his life as a rent boy on the streets of London. She immediately brought the book from him, offering him a large sum of money for it and the promise of a percentage of any money made when she could get the book published.
However, a few days later, a serious incident, undocumented for the sake of the family's privacy, befell the family, but it is believed that Alia was heavily involved, as she was disowned by her parents, and asked to immediately leave the area. Having no choice, she complied, unhappy at having to leave a family she loved very much, despite the restrictions the life had brought her. Used to a privileged and upper class life, she found it hard to be cut off from not only her family but also her position. The harshness of the realities of everyday life hit her hard after having so far led such a sheltered life, and the thought of being completely disowned and cut off by her family, denied as both an heir to the Drakely family and her father’s title as she had been raised to be and denied even as being his daughter was heartbreaking.
She took her new life as an opportunity to travel. She worked herself from place to place, taking whatever work was available and aptly paid. However word soon got round about her and she was offered work from various dealers using her stealth and combat skills. Although this new life offered an excitement that was missing from her predicament back on Earth, she became increasingly unhappy from being rejected by her family, spending more and more of her spare time in bars. Before long she had become a very heavy drinker.
It was after having worked a couple of months for pathetic pay in a musical production for theatre that a man called Jarl contacted her. He started a slow spinning of his web, connected to her aristocratic roots and having found everything out about her. His knowledge of her despite having never met her before intrigued her and she accepted his offer of work on his privately owned trading vessel...which she would soon realise was in fact a raiding vessel to steal the illegal trading goods from others...in other words, a pirate ship. At first she had no problem with it, expecting to be the pilot and help patching things up, as well as being one of his raiders with her combat skills...however his true intentions soon became clear. It started off as simply entertaining for him and a few important guests at dinner parties, sitting pretty in a dress, however, when he wanted to take things into the bedroom and she refused, his violent side showed itself. Before she knew what was happening to her, she had been forced into a position of ships whore for him, the crew, and as a part of deals with friends of his who might have taken a liking to her. She was trapped on the ship, physically unable to leave, and when alone with the opportunity, too emotionally fearful that he would find her and that his punishment would be severe. As with her problems before, she retreated into the bottle, shutting down emotionally and finding refuge in drink and drugs.
However, one day, after settling down into the corner of a gloomy bar with the crew after they had returned from another successful mission, she watched as a familiar man came and sat opposite her. Recognizing him as Jonathan, and the by then Lord Jonathan Harper, the Marquess of Malford having inherited the title after his father’s death, she warmly welcomed him. Their friendship quickly re-established itself and it and he insisted that he take her away from Jarl. With confidence in his ability to protect her, she returned to England with him, and he suggested that she try out for Starfleet to try and sort out a career to support herself and get her life back on track. Surprised when she was offered a place after passing both examination and interview, she settled into life at the academy. She loved it, she had the opportunity to follow academic passions as well as create a new social life for herself. Sciences being greeted with little importance by her tutors as a child, Alia had to work harder in those areas, that along with a few run-ins and clashes she had with various instructors at the academy made her training difficult, which in turn made her work harder. She was finally rewarded by graduating at the top of her class, to the surprise of both herself and her instructors. She was offered a commission that surpassed her expectations, a post aboard the USS Galaxy.
Channelling her energy with her new posting into her work, Alia quickly earned her first promotion to Lieutenant junior grade while serving on board the Galaxy. Alia was again promoted to full Lieutenant, and it was at that time that she met Lancelot Grogan. She was immediately captivated by the beautiful young man, and the look in his eyes. It was the same as that in her own. She instinctively knew that he had suffered a troubled past, but it only drew her closer to him. They began to see each other, and she thought they were happy...until she found out that he was having an affair with her male friend. She promised herself she wouldn’t be treated that way by anyone and was determined to leave him, but in the end she couldn’t. She realised she had fallen for him. She stayed with him, and they gave things another go, and it was only then that she realised that Lancelot was the same Lancelot that was talked of by Patrick in the book she had bought off the young man all those years ago, and she realised just what kind of life he had led. They only became closer though.
Their relationship was almost broken apart again when Lancelot was forced into counselling. The counsellor pushed Alia further and further away from Lancelot, blocking her out of his life until she felt as if the relationship was in fact between the counsellor and Lancelot and she was the outsider. When Alia was made a scapegoat for an incident onboard Miranda and was stripped of her rank and Chief position, she wasn’t sad or upset, just angry, yet she didn’t have enough fight left in her to dispute it and instead concentrated on Lancelot. Things became worse when Lancelot was attacked by an old customer.
Whilst the counsellor was tearful at how horrible it was and shocked, Alia did what she had been taught all those years ago in her training as a Lady...to put a smile on despite what she felt inside and act as if she had everything under control. She moved past the immobile counsellor and picked him up off the floor herself, offering gentle smiles and words of reassurance that everything was going to be fine. However, as Lancelot recovered, the counsellor condemned Alia’s actions and manner with him. Alia couldn’t believe what she was hearing, knowing from personal experience that after such a thing a person didn’t need to hear someone crying how awful it was, but instead hear someone tell them that everything was going to be fine soon, and she maintained it would do Lancelot more harm than good to take the case to a legal proceeding where his past would be dragged up. Yet, the counsellor insisted that she was wrong and shouldn’t have done what she had, and should have left Lancelot for her to deal with.
It was the last straw for Alia. She hit the bottle again, and as soon as she stayed for Lancelot to start feeling better again, she left the ship for some leave on Earth, away from both him and the counsellor. She could no longer live with another woman in their relationship that constantly condemned her every word and action to Lancelot as if she didn’t know him at all. It was her old friend Jonathan, who she stayed with, that stepped in, reminding her that Lancelot was worth it all and urging her to go back to him. She did so, but was nothing like her normal self. She had started to shut down emotionally, switching off from what was going on between him and the counsellor as if to persuade herself she didn’t care.
After a spell of Alia working as both a normal security officer again and then a diplomatic officer, Lancelot was offered a position in the Royal Canterbury Hospital in England. By then married to Lancelot and pregnant with his child, she grabbed the chance to get away from the counselling and counsellor who still caused a rift between them, and they moved to England where Alia gave birth to their son, Patrick. She received news that the earlier ruling that she was to blame for the Toral incident on the Miranda had been over ruled, and she was immediately promoted back to Lieutenant Commander and offered a position as Chief Security Officer at the Starfleet Academy.
She only held the position for a few months though before deciding she wanted to spend more time with Patrick. She gave up Starfleet and instead started to a degree course in law and international and intergalactic politics. She achieved a first after four years, and in which time her marriage was back on track. Lancelot, Patrick and herself were finally happy as a family. When he received the offer of being the Chief over the burns section of the medical starbase, she agreed easily to move there with him. She got in contact with Starfleet to see if there was a position she could take up there to stop her from getting bored, and due to her previous record and her new qualifications they offered her the civilian post of the Federation’s Legal Representative, to deal with any legal proceedings or charges against any of the patients at the base in order to recommend whether they should be prosecuted or if they were too ill to take responsibility for their actions.
Personality Profile:
Alia has what many consider an upper class, aristocratic, English accent and tone. She is nearly always seen walking with perfect posture, almost a military style stance, hands clasped confidently behind her back as she moves with purpose and authority. These tendencies coupled with the accent have often led to her being pre-judged as somewhat of a snob, but once the time has been taken to get to know her, that judgment is usually quashed as people get to know her.
She is always keen to engage in conversation or debate with anyone willing, not only does she enjoy the mental stimulation, but she also enjoys hearing other peoples views, beliefs and opinions, especially on history and religion as she had been brought up in a religious household and believes that there is in fact a God. Flirting can come as a natural part of her communication with others, but she is actually rather selective when it comes to picking the people she will let close to her to befriend.
To her true friends, which are few and far between, she will display an almost fierce loyalty. However, any enemies would be warned of her dark, sarcastic streak, short fuse and the fact that she has no qualms about dealing with any confrontation; and it's not likely to be just her acid-tongue that is allowed to lash out, as her past is littered with physical disputes. It's this side of her personality that has sometimes brought her very close to disputes with senior officers.
She deals with her aggression and frustration through music, usually playing or composing, as well as playing for the sheer enjoyment of it. She finds the strident grandeur of the old pipe organ deeply satisfying, especially when angry or uptight, and when using the holodeck, unless it's one of many training programs, it's usually a recreation of an ancient English cathedral, fitted with the finest of pipe organs. However, it's the excitement, versatility and energy that draws her to the electric guitar, as well as the opportunity to indulge her passion for rock, rather than the satisfying symmetry and appropriately ornamented classical music that accompanies such instrument choices as the pipe organ and oboe.
She loves Lancelot and her son, Patrick, more than anything, and is finally in a place where she is truly happy in her marriage. She has secret insecurities and fears that she keeps to herself and still follows the rule of a Lady that you keep emotion and personal problems to yourself rather than letting other people see your weaknesses.
Special Notes:
Alia's near black hair reaches just past her shoulder blades, but she only usually wears it loose like that when at home, and it is usually pinned up at all other times. Her practically black eyes are sometimes commented on, as when they catch the light correctly, a very subtle dark blue sheen can be detected, an unusual family trait passed down through her father's side of the family, known as the Drakely Eyes that are said to only be gifted to true Drakely spirited souls, along with her elegant, aristocratic bone structure. Upon her right hand is a tattoo of the centuries old emblem of her family, which she still wears proudly despite the conflict of the past that led to her eviction and disownment from the family. Although she has mostly worked through her drinking problems, she is still a recreational drinker and prone to hit the alcohol when stressed.