Commander Eliana Masters

Name Eliana Grace Masters

Position Second Officer

Second Position Director of Flight Operations

Rank Commander

Basic Info
Personality
History

Misc

Permission Level

Command Team

Character Information

Gender		Female
Species		El Aurian
Age		314

Physical Appearance

Height		170 cm
Weight		57 kg
Hair Color		Varies
Eye Color		Blue
Physical Description		Whoever coined the idiom about never judging books by their covers may have had Eliana Masters in mind at the moment of inception. With the appearance of a Terran vicenarian, most just assume that she rode on the coattails of her predecessors to her rank without merit of her own, but such a conclusion misses the truth by a wide margin. Decades of experience in Starfleet and almost a century in the private sector before that did little to physically age Masters, but they made her who she is today. Standing at average height, Masters attempts to make for her lack in height by keeping herself in better than average shape. Her propensity to give in every now and then to the urge for delicious foods in large quantity prevent her from gracing the covers of any fitness circulars, but make no mistake - years as a self-sufficient pilot and mechanic have given her great strength and dexterity. Her reflexes are sharp, honed by several tens of thousands of hours at the helm. Brown hair and blue eyes are the immediately noticeable features of a wonderfully expressive face. If the mood strikes her, Ellie has been known to dye her hair different colors. El Aurians pride themselves on their ability to listen and empathize, and Eliana is no different. She changes her posture, body language, mannerisms, and even her method of speaking if she believes it will put others at ease. However, in her default state, Masters carries herself with confidence that comes from her belief in her own ability.

Family

Spouse		None
Children		None
Father		Theodur Masters
Mother		Angelina Loray
Brother(s)		Jason \| Age 435 \| Active Duty \| USS Washington \| Operations Department Marcus \| Age 390 \| Civilian \| University of New Berlin \| Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Sister(s)		Natalia \| Age 314 \| Active Duty \| USS Johnson City \| Infiltration Specialist Miranda \| Age 375 \| Civilian
Other Family		Information available upon request.

Personality & Traits

General Overview		By default, Masters has an expressive and rather transparent personality, especially compared to other El Aurians. One is never left guessing what sort of mood she is in. However, through the years she has learned when and where to tone things down and she prides herself on her level of emotional discretion and control she had developed. Masters changes things in her personality very subtly in order to communicate more effectively with those around her. She transitions effortlessly between speaking and listening, though she prefers the latter. These traits are most likely shaped by the large number of cultures she has immersed herself in through the centuries. That being said, human culture is by far her favorite. When it became clear that being a sole-proprietor on the frontier was becoming too dangerous, she had no qualms about joining Starfleet, even though she had bumped heads with them before. Claiming ownership of anything on the frontier was a foreign idea to her, but Starfleet and this Federation seemed to have no problems doing so. Masters argued her side as best she could, but she was ultimately going to lose no matter how effective an orator she was. To Eliana, the result is incidental. She gets tremendous satisfaction in life from the process and the journey to the destination. Perhaps this is a microcosm of her own life - always travelling, always smiling. Eliana prefers to give new people she meets the benefit of the doubt, accentuating the positives without dwelling on the negatives. The masses have bestowed countless nicknames upon her, all of which she responds to. When it comes to relationships, she commits fully and trusts completely which she herself admits may not be the best policy. However, this is simply her way of doing things. Masters must put forth her best effort in everything she does because in her eyes, everything is worth doing.
Strengths & Weaknesses		Eliana operates at a high level and seems to have an exhaustless supply of energy to keep herself going and going. Her mind is a well-oiled machine that takes in all relevant information available to her, combines it with her basic instincts, and formulates a credible plan of action that she can act upon. Her leadership style is far from authoritarian as she prefers to cultivate a feeling of community and teamwork wherever she goes. As an empathetic individual, she crosses the borders between cultures and social cliques with relative ease, a fact that helps her keep her people happy and her department running at full potential. As far as piloting goes, Masters is an excellent stick with a background in both civilian and military piloting. A master of navigation and computer systems, if a machine has at least one operative engine and some control authority, Eliana stands a good chance in getting it to go where she wants. To this day, contracts come across her desk every now and again, asking her to come fly this or that for someone, but she has politely refused them all. Masters prides herself on her ability as a teacher, and countless pilots have learned their trade with her sitting in the other seat. Her skills as a line officer have been honed over decades of experience within Starfleet itself. Through the years, she found it necessary to gain at least a working knowledge of many of the systems and components on the ships she worked on, something afforded to her by her lifespan and ability to absorb knowledge. Eliana walks the line on being overly self-confident and arrogant in her skills. She constantly battles the urge to help correct mistakes she sees, whether they be on the flight deck or elsewhere, but she is slowly learning that mistakes can often be the best instructor. Masters herself always strives for the best and as a precisionist, she often obsesses over details that most others glance over or ignore completely. With mixed results, she occasionally oversteps her bounds and holds others to her own standard in order to bring out more of their potential. Like many others, Masters has a mildly addictive personality. If anything or anyone manages to capture her attention and hold it, Eliana gladly goes through the rigmarole of learning everything about whatever it may be. The latest example is the culinary art which she currently spends much of her free time practicing. Thankfully, she has managed to avoid truly bad habits (who doesn't sneak a piece of pie here or there?) but the potential is there like it is for any curious creature.
Ambitions		Life is a long journey, especially for El Aurians. Ambition is almost a foreign idea to Eliana. Given enough time and resources, accomplishing a defined goal becomes almost a guarantee. With this in mind, Masters focuses more on making the most out of the situation and circumstance she finds herself in. For her, the elongated lifespan has not cheapened the value of time. In fact, Eliana values every moment that others choose to spend with and around her, so when asked, she would likely say that her greatest ambition is to help others achieve their own.
Hobbies & Interests		Three centuries of life creates a great many number of hobbies. Some come and go, but the constants in Eliana's life have always numbered three. Quite simply, her favorite pastimes are flying, music, and sport. It is no great surprise then that Masters does not consider her job to be any actual work as she is one of the fortunate few who have turned work into something that they are truly passionate about. Eliana is constantly singing or humming a tune, a skill that she has tremendous talent for. A naturally curious and outgoing creature, it is not out of character to find Masters planted in the middle of conversations at various restaurants, lounges, and bars. Hitting the gym is a bore to her, so she keeps fit by staying involved in whatever sport the crew deems to be popular at the time. Otherwise, much of her time is spent sharing her passion and teaching others to fly. A conversation with Eliana is guaranteed as long as the subject matter includes one of her hobbies or interests.

Personal History

Early Years

Born in 2077, Eliana Masters is the youngest of five children born to Theodur and Angelina Masters. Two older brothers and one older sister were in attendance as twin daughters were born, the younger of the two being Eliana. Both daughters ended up with the signature blue eyes and brown hair of the Masters genealogy. The Masters had planned to have another child, but identical twins were a bit of a surprise, albeit a welcome one.

The Masters were a travelling family, never staying in one location for more than a few years at a time. They had been fortunate enough to acquire a small trading vessel through a shrewd business deal completed by Angelina several decades before Eliana was born. However, it was starting to becoming apparent that the maintenance and upkeep on their vessel was reaching a point where it would soon be time to look for something newer and with more space. This was all happening as Eliana was beginning her formal education, but the sacrifices that the family made for one another had already begun to develop her personality into who she would become in the future.

Hard work over several decades paid off and the Masters stumbled into a bit of luck, acquiring a warp three capable ship with much more space for their family. By this point, Angelina had established herself as one of the leading business minds on the Federation colony at Cairo IV. Nary a contract or negotiation went down on the colony without the Masters name being involved in it somehow. The family became well connected both socially and politically, and though they remained close, Theodur would often be gallivanting through the stars with Jason, the firstborn son, while his wife stayed planet side with the younger children.

As the other children grew older, the Masters allowed them greater freedom to make decisions related to their future. Jason, for instance, had known for several years that he wanted to pursue a career in Starfleet. Finally, in 2194, he left for San Francisco, Earth, and whatever future he had in store for him. By now, Ellie was completing her twelfth decade of life, still little more than a child to her people, but she was insistent on joining her father aboard the family freighter. Theodur relented first, but Angelina did not approve. This was Eliana's first exposure to piloting a ship. Under her father's watchful gaze, Ellie would navigate through asteroid fields and fly some basic maneuvers, all while learning how to maintain and take care of the ship.

Decades continued to pass, and Cairo IV had flourished into one of the leading colonies in the area. Naturally, when Starfleet came looking in the surrounding sectors for a location to place a new starbase, the Cairo system drew their attention. In 2234, Starbase 193 was completed, and in the years to follow, it would become a hub of activity for merchants, traders, and tourists alike.

Now 164 years of age, the time had come for Eliana to begin making her way in the world. She knew what it was she wanted to do. With her mother's connections, she was able to open a small business as a fixed base operator on Starbase 193. It was tough going at first, and it was unclear whether or not she would be successful at first, but eventually, positive word of mouth and friendly service had attracted a loyal list of clients. When Eliana completed her flight instructor ratings and opened a flight school, her business began to expand to the point where Starfleet inquired about acquiring her assets. Ultimately, Eliana accepted the deal in exchange for a ship of her own. She and her twin sister Natalia took the Masters name into deep space once again.

Cairo Charters

The year was 2255, and the demand for ships willing to take the raw resources and materials that were produced from the colony worlds back to the trading hubs was high. A typical run would involve taking food, medicine, and supplies from a starbase out to a trading post above some remote colony, trading for the colony's export, and returning back to the starbase to offload. In order to survive, a trader really needed to turn a profit at one end of the exchange.

However, years of operating near Cairo IV had honed the Masters sisters into keen negotiators and as a result of this, they hardly ever found themselves on the short end of a deal. Word soon began to spread about them, so their two woman crew began to grow as additional personnel for security, operations, and inventory were required. Eliana herself handled most of the flying while Natalia handled the business, but their clients were none the wiser. They operated under the Cairo Charters name and instructed their employees to only ever refer to them as "Masters".

By the 2290s, Cairo Charters sported a fleet of over two dozen spacecraft, along with an operating trading post and maintenance station located near one of the main trading hubs in the area. However, the Federation was aggressively seeking to annex territory in the area, driving away much of the residual business. This left only the most loyal supporters of Cairo Charters behind, which forced the Masters into operating as a sub-contractor for the Federation.

The Masters sisters were becoming less and less involved in the day-to-day operations at the company. In 2291, Natalia left her sister to join Starfleet as an operative in the intelligence field. Without her sister around, Eliana sold the company and spent the next two decades largely off the grid, working the odd job and flying for hire every now and again. The Federation was the way of the future, or so it seemed at the time.

Starfleet Academy

In 2310, Eliana enlisted in Starfleet Academy. Knowing that her prowess was in flight control, she opted to concentrate her studies there. However, to make it a challenge, she also took on a sizable course load from the Operations curriculum, hoping to learn the other half of the business world that she had never quite mastered when working with her sister.

Graduation day came six years later and with it came numerous opportunities. Several professors needed research assistants and a few were keen on keeping her around as an instructor at the Academy. Of course, deep space is where Eliana wanted to go, so she accepted a position on the USS Wrangler for a five year, exploratory, deep-space mission. Thus began her career in Starfleet.

Active Duty

TBC

Service Record

Preprofessional Experience

2241-2255

Signature Flight Services

Position:

Owner, Operator

Description:

Services provided included sale of fuel, line services, scheduled and unscheduled charter services, spacecraft storage, repair, and maintenance.

Signature Flight Training

Position:

Flight Instructor - FI, FII, MEI, AGI

Description:

Responsible for teaching students how to fly in a variety of settings using methods that include textbook education, simulators and live flight training.

2255-2291