Lieutenant Commander Sadya Ikande
Sadya grew up in a home where her father was a leader in the local Zen-like commune-style community, near Johannesburg, So Africa, Earth. Her mother died when she was three, and her father never remarried. The community mandated a rejection of the ego in favor of a universal god-consciousness. To her father, this was the aim of personal consciousness and indeed of existence. The co-operative, pseudo-religious commune environment resulted in her learning to meditate and be still, and to be part of a tightly knit community. As part of her self-discipline and concentration training, at age 5 she began serious training in mixed martial arts, and by 16, Sadya was extremely accomplished.
While she excelled at the discipline and skills of martial arts, she was not well suited for the ascetic and esoteric teachings of the community as a whole. She found her joy as a child outdoors in nature with the plants and trees and animals. Her father’s spiritual teachings required her to forego that earthly physical pleasure for inner realms.
Eventually, by the age 16, she and her father became estranged. She had become independent enough that she left South Africa and moved around the world to San Francisco, to live with an aunt on her mother’s side, and she and her father rarely spoke after that. She joined Starfleet at 17.
Academy was a breeze and she was an obvious leader, frequently allowed to complete extra, specialized trainings. She was selected repeatedly to be a part of the student lead “command staff” for exercises and simulations. She perfected her skills as a martial artist in numerous disciplines.
She was directed by her mentors into the field of Security and Tactical. Immediately after Academy and being commissioned as an Ensign, she was assigned to the USS Calliope as the Assistant Tactical Officer.
Shortly thereafter, the Calliope was called to join a contingent of ships engaging the Ke’elzzoid. During one such engagement, the forward shields failed and the bridge was hit with a torpedo. Everyone on the bridge was killed, except for Comms Officer Lt Millan Ascencio, who was thrown into the lift as the bridge lost hull integrity, the lift doors slammed shut & sealed, amputating Ascencio’s left arm. Sadya and Millan had been soul sisters all through Academy and lucky enough to be stationed together aboard Calliope.
Once the Calliope was escorted back to space dock, Sadya would not leave Millan’s side until she came out of the coma. Immediately, Millan came to the conclusion that Sadya was responsible for the failure to protect the Captain and bridge crew. In a state of mental instability and rage, Millan attacked Sadya, both physically and verbally, shredding their friendship and completely alienating herself from Sadya. While Sadya understood rationally she was not responsible for the failure of the shields, leaving the opening for the “lucky shot” at the Bridge, she fell into a severe bought of guilt and remorse, convincing herself that she should have been able to thwart the attack.
Calliope was decommissioned for repairs and the crew reassigned. Sadya was sent to a specialized field operations security training provided in the outback of the planet of Oonah Lotmah, home of New Darwin Colony. She spent 2 years in that position, recovering greatly from the trauma of Calliope. When USS Venture arrived at New Darwin in need of a Chief Security Officer, Ikande was assigned to fill that position.
Personality & Traits
Sadya Ikande is a likable individual, outwardly very friendly and personable. She is very good at switching from her likable self to a hard, serious and formidable persona when necessary for her profession. She is mentally hypervigilant about her decisions. She realizes this could slow her reaction times, and to counter that, she practices following her gut and instincts rather than her fickle head.
Goals
· To be an excellent Chief Tactical Officer
· Ultimately to serve as the Executive Officer of a ship
· Captaining a ship is not on her personal radar.