Commander Isa Gunther

As submitted by Commander Gunther...
             

Commander Isa Gunther:  bio information

Details pending.

                    

Commander Isa Gunther:  alter ego profile

Character Profile: Sophia Delanuay

Not much is known about Sophia Delanuay.  All that is known is that she was born to somewhat reclusive parents in around 2348.  There are rumors that her parents were Betazoid, but nothing has ever been confirmed.  And if Sophia is Betazoid, she is keeping that fact under wraps. 

Sophia was born and grew up on Earth during Starfleet’s heyday of exploration.  Every night, there was a story on the local news about a new cosmic phenomenon discovered, a new species that had made first contact with the Federation.  At that time, everyone in her social circle had a particular person, planet, or starship that they called their own and whose unfolding story they followed religiously.  Sophia found those obsessions rather unflattering, until she found one of her own in 2355, when she heard of the loss of the U.S.S. Stargazer and the salvation of most of the crew by one Jean-Luc Picard.  After that, she watched and came to admire Picard, though he remained out of the public eye until 2363 and the launch of the Enterprise-D.

It was Picard’s adventures that inspired Sophia to enter Starfleet Academy in 2364.  She entered the Command rank, but in her second year, Starfleet was decimated by the Borg at Wolf 359.  Classes at the Academy were cancelled as Starfleet Headquarters and the Academy prepared for an invasion.  The school viewscreens were all on the sector of space where the battle was taking place, and everyone listened as “Locutus of Borg” threatened to assimilate the entire Federation.  This hit Sophia particularly hard, as Locutus had once been Picard.  The battle was won by the guile of the Enterprise crew, though the damage to Starfleet was intense.   As a Betazoid, she felt the anguish of those around her, and watched in awe as the remaining counselors of the Fleet worked almost non-stop to heal the psychological and emotional damage done to the survivors of that battle.

Sophia graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2368, with a degree in Psychology and dreams of becoming one of the Fleet’s best counselors.  She had great faith in the ideals and potential of Starfleet and the Federation, and believed that as long as the admirals were in their offices, everything would turn out fine in the end.  Her illusions were shattered in 2369, just one year after her graduation.  The Cardassians were encroaching on a little Federation colony known as Minos Korva.  It was widely thought that they were planning on trying to take the planet, if not the entire system.  Starfleet sent the Enterprise to the border to protect the colony. 

The Cardassian incursion resulted in a small team being sent to a Cardassian planet to find and destroy a suspected metagenic weapon.  The only thing those in charge of the mission would admit to the rest of the fleet was that there had been a team of three sent in, two of whom had escaped.  The one who had been captured was Picard.  Sophia began to ask why Starfleet wasn’t trying to help him escape.  The only answer she got was “Picard who?”  At that moment, something snapped inside her.  Her faith in the Fleet died, and her belief in the infallibility of the Federation ended.  Her questions elicited the ire of Starfleet Command, and she was taken off her ship and assigned to be an admiral’s aide.  It didn’t take long for her to wiggle her way into his good graces with her unusual ability to judge people’s character (made all the easier by her hidden empathic abilities).

During the Dominion War, the fall of Betazed nearly broke through her calm veneer as she heard tales of what had befallen those who attempted to resist their Dominion and Cardassian occupiers.  Picard’s incarceration by the Cardassians was still fresh in her mind.  She tried to keep her mind off of Betazed by focusing on her duties to the admiral.  Eventually, she became his personal advisor and most trusted aide.

After the war, Sophia was made one of the prime liaisons between Starfleet and the Romulans.  When Shinzon tried to take over the Romulan Star Empire, she reacted very strongly to his attempt to kill Picard, and earned the trust of the remaining Romulan officials as they tried to clean up the remnants of the Empire.  She began to realize that the Romulans were pulling themselves together faster than the Federation was recovering from the Dominion War and its own internal conflicts.  She also began to sense that the Romulans had no intention of staying on their side of the Neutral Zone, and that they were eventually going to invade Federation space.  It was at this time that she began to work with them, hoping to find out more about their plans and deter them from carrying out those plans.

To this day, she remains acting as a double-agent, working for both the admiral she ostensibly serves, as well as the Romulan praetor.  The Romulans know of her dealings with and loyalty to Starfleet, yet Starfleet remains unaware of her dealings with the Romulans.  Her hope is that by working with the Romulans, she can forestall the day when the Romulans destroy the Federation when they become the dominant power in the quadrant, as she is certain they will.

Psychologically, Sophia is torn.  She maintains her loyalty to Starfleet and the Federation, yet is painfully aware that she is betraying them by the very actions she is taking to protect them.  She is an intense person, and tends to speak before she acts.  She is a brilliant psychologist, even if she didn’t have her telepathic abilities, and often unintentionally offends those of higher rank by pointing out character flaws which are obvious to her but that others may not readily see.  Because of this, she gets promoted for her services and demoted for insubordination frequently, and in equal parts.  Currently, her rank stands at Lieutenant, junior grade, though she has been as high as Lieutenant Commander.

 

Timeline for Sophia's life:

 

2345: Born on Betazed, parents move to Earth.

 

2363: Start of Enterprise-D voyage.

 

2364: Enters Starfleet Academy

 

2365: Wolf 359

 

2368: Graduates Starfleet Academy

 

2369: Celtris III

 

2375: Meets Admiral Lizard

 

2376: Dominion War/Fall of Betazed