Barin Tirad
Name Barin Tirad
Position Engineer/Mechanic
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Bajoran | |
| Age | 42 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5' 11" | |
| Weight | 165 lbs | |
| Hair Color | Light Brown | |
| Eye Color | Blue | |
| Physical Description | Barin is a lean, sinewy figure forged out of years of combat and training. His hair is generally kept short, so as not to require much maintenance, while his face bears the lines and marks of one who has known stress and difficulty for nearly their entire life. Frequently, he can be found with a trace of stubble when he hasn't had the opportunity to shave...or has simply forgotten. Of note are also the marks of a life without access to modern medical capabilities: an eight centimeter long light scar beneath his left ear and another eighteen centimeter long scar extending from his left shoulder blade down the left side of his back. |
Family
| Father | Barin Plinor (Deceased) | |
| Mother | Barin Mecora (Deceased) | |
| Other Family | Barin Trinal (Deceased) |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | After twenty years of war, Tirad has grown extremely tired of constant conflict and struggle. In the view of his counselors, since the war he has significantly matured and managed to find a variety of methods of releasing the anger and turmoil he's been forced to wrestle with since his youth. While not completely past the pain of so many lost friends and loved ones, Tirad's road to recovery is at least progressing to some extent. He has once again taken up his faith in the Prophets, practicing so that he might find guidance in their words once more. Tirad has become something of a pacifist in recent years, preferring to find any diplomatic choice available, rather than taking to violence to solve every problem as he once would have. This stems in no small part from his uncle's influence, as well as his renewed devotion to the teachings of the Prophets. He's also now much more willing to admit to himself the respect and sorrow he feels about Trinal. While it is not impossible to push him into conflict, his counselors have noted after these occasions that it tends to set his road to recovery back somewhat. Tirad remains something of an introvert, preferring to maintain many walls between he and his comrades in case he should be forced to deal with their losses, too. Many find him very difficult to approach or converse with, but those who remain persistent and attempt to break past the barriers eventually can do so. When Tirad does let others in now, they become very dear friends to him, becoming one of the few reasons he'd willingly take up a phaser once more. |
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| Strengths & Weaknesses | After so many years of experience, Barin has developed strong leadership skills and has become highly proficient at both administrative and resource management duties. This, combined with his detailed applied technical knowledge, makes him a veritable master at damage control and crew oversight. Despite this, however, his knowledge of theory and underlying principles remains somewhat behind the average officer of equivalent experience. Given proper time to study such materials, Tirad can work his way through them with full understanding, but it does take him somewhat longer. Tirad also possesses an immense reserve of tactical and combat knowledge, making him a highly proficient war veteran and field leader. However, he does not like to discuss his experiences or apply his knowledge and skills in this way if he can possibly avoid it. He will educate others if called upon to do so, but only in the hopes of passing along knowledge that can save lives. Finally, Tirad lacks refined social skills after his years in the Bajoran Resistance and an enlisted Marine. This ranges from formal dinner etiquette to the fine art of "small talk." He is, for lack of a better term, a straight-forward, blunt officer who has little patience for nuance and subtlety. |
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| Ambitions | Barin accepts whatever twists and turns his career encounters and follows it wherever his course may go. Rather than attempting to achieve some particular definable goal, he instead seeks to find some peace of soul for himself. He now devotes his explorations to shedding himself of his past of violence and anger, building a life based on peace and constructive pursuits. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Barin has enjoyed crafting woodworks since his youth on Bajor. He prefers to use hand tools and has become quite proficient at constructing not only sturdy pieces, but also relatively beautiful works as well. This is an expression of his love of building just about anything with his hands, being given to pursuits that result in a physical proof of the effort rather than intellectual pursuits. For physical recreation, Barin can be found frequently running the corridors of his latest assignment. While he has been encouraged on more than one occasion to make use of the holodeck for his runs, he finds their artificial nature distasteful and prefers real surroundings. He also enjoys rock climbing, when he gets the opportunity. Like his running exploits, he refuses to utilize the holodeck, instead climbing through jefferies tubes. |
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| Languages | Bajoran, Cardassian, Federation Standard |
| Personal History | Barin Tirad was born to Plinor and Mecora in the Nakura Refugee Camp, Kendra Province, in 2343. Raising a son in the extreme poverty of the Cardassian Occupation, Plinor and Mecora scratched out the most meager of livings performing manual labour for their oppressors. Three years following Tirad's birth, a Resistance raid upon the local processing center killed ten Cardassian soldiers and destroyed a shipment of uridium ore. This, in turn, led the local overseer, Glinn Rivor, to make an example of twenty labourers, including Tirad's parents. Following their deaths, family friends were able to transport the young child to his only surviving relative, his uncle Barin Trinal, a prylar in Rakantha Province. Trinal, a man of extreme faith and piety, remained unassociated with the Resistance for all his life. He believed faith in the Prophets and a life of peace would eventually outlast the Cardassian aggression. To this end, Tirad was raised for a time in the local monastery, learning the teachings of the Prophets. However, shortly after he reached his thirteenth year, a Cardassian unit searched the monastery, searching for suspected members of the Resistance. Two of the senior ranjens, including Tirad's master teacher, were executed before the others of the assembly, despite no connections to the Resistance. Several prylars, enraged that the Cardassians would commit such unwarranted savagery in their hallowed halls, chose to denounce their robes and take up arms against the unit that had assaulted them. Against Trinal's wishes, Tirad chose to join them as they began their small Resistance cell. Four days later, five of the eight who left the monastery were killed in a raid that killed all twelve Cardassian soldiers who'd defiled their sanctuary. The remaining three fighters, including Tirad, were accepted into the far more organized Dekuri Resistance Cell. Tirad, intensely curious about all things technical after knowing only the monastery, immediately took up with the technicians within the cell. He quickly demonstrated a natural aptitude for engineering, though his lack of education - like many other Resistance technicians of the time - caused him to learn more practical applications and much less theory. By the time he had reached the age of twenty, like so many other youths raised during the occupation, he'd become a veteran fighter of the Resistance and a respected engineer. During a raid in 2363 on a Cardassian shuttle facility in, he and four others was assigned to sabotage the fuel supply station while others of his cell provided a distraction nearby. Unfortunately, the unscheduled transfer of another platoon through the facility brought about unexpected complications and they were forced to detonate fuel tanks far earlier than expected. Two of Tirad's companions were fatally injured in the blast, while Tirad and his remaining companions were severely injured. Tirad, a piece of shrapnel lodged in his shoulder and having narrowly avoided decapitation, helped carry one of those comrades back to their shelter. While that fighter later died of their wounds, the last two survivors of the raid were praised as local heroes, having destroyed the station and killed not only the administrative and technical staffs, but also the relief platoon. Unfortunately, both Tirad and his remaining companion, lacking advanced medical treatment, spent nearly six months in recovery before they were able to return to fighting their occupiers. Shortly after he joined the Resistance, Tirad had decided that he'd take his revenge on the man who'd robbed him of his parents. In 2365, he received that opportunity when he learned that now Gul Rivor had been appointed magistrate for the Rakantha Province. On the day that Rivor assumed his post, his cell launched an assault on his shuttle just as it arrived at the administrative compound. Eight members of his cell died in the attack, but they were successful in capturing Rivor and spiriting him away to their headquarters. In one of the darkest moments of his life, Tirad executed the man in cold blood. The next day, the Cardassian guards at the administrative compound found Rivor's lifeless body just outside the compound, yet another message from the Resistance. During major festivals and holidays, Tirad always returned to the monastery of his uncle, where Trinal had been raised to ranjen. Trinal had always frowned upon his nephew's path, constantly discouraging him from it and requesting his return the monastery. The considerable friction this raised between the two generally resulted in Tirad leaving the monastery in anger, upset that his uncle could not see that he was fighting for his world, rather than hiding behind robes and prayers. Trinal, on the other hand, believed that Tirad was lashing out at the Cardassians in anger and hatred, which would lead him away from the path of the Prophets. While the truth most likely lay between the two, neither would admit the validity of the other's point of view. Nor would either admit the respect and love they held for the other. On the eve of the Cardassian withdrawal, several parties were sent in search of the remaining Tears of the Prophets. The Cardassians had received reports that one of those remaining unaccounted for was being held in Trinal's monastery. The resulting assault was both decisive and bloody, a minor massacre that left nearly forty monks dead. Amongst them was Trinal. No orb was found in remains of the temple. With the arrival of the Federation relief effort and with no home to return to, a heartbroken Tirad sought to flee the place that held so much pain for him. He immediately enlisted with the Starfleet Marines, leaving Bajor for the first time in his life. His training on Earth proved a very different challenge than any he'd faced before. No longer in constant peril or living the life of a freedom fighter, Tirad had some difficulties in adjusting to the more secure life of the Federation. During his basic training, he clashed several times with those he viewed as "children playing war." Years older than his fellow recruits and having grown up a soldier, his drill sergeants recognized he was already prepared for war, but instead needed to learn discipline and how to adapt to a more regimented life. One drill sergeant in general, Staff Sergeant Joseph Cortez, took a particular interest in Tirad. Like the Bajoran, he'd grown up in a society in chaos - the failed colony Turkana IV. Three weeks into his training, Cortez had already recognized that Tirad was suffering from a similar situation to that which he'd faced when he'd first enlisted. After a brutal, physical, and thoroughly effective demonstration that Tirad wasn't alone, Cortez began guiding Tirad's development for the remainder of his training. Thanks to his efforts, Tirad graduated in the upper quarter of his class, despite his many initial infractions. Subsequently, he earned the initial advancement in rank to Private, First-Class, as well as a sufficiently high priority for advanced training. Given his options, he chose to attend the Starfleet Marine Technical Extension School and train to become a field technician. Like Basic Training, the MTES proved more difficult than he'd expected. While his practical experience was considerable, his lack of formal education and understanding of underlying principles initially hindered him greatly. Two weeks after his assignment to the MTES, Tirad was referred for three months of remedial training in basic sciences and mathematics before being permitted to continue with the regular training program. Determined not to fail, Tirad threw himself into his studies and was able to continue with the MTES course load. Specializing in field communications, Tirad found himself highly capable once the training program progressed beyond the theoretical components and into application. Tirad also used the opportunity to begin studying basic propulsion systems, earning a secondary specialty in impulse systems. Upon graduation, Tirad was awarded the customary advancement to the rank of lance corporal and was posted as an assistant field technician with the USS Raleigh's detachment. Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Staff Sergeant Cortez, Tirad found it much easier to integrate himself into his new unit than he'd previously had. Serving with others who'd had actual combat experience - including several senior enlisted Marines who'd served in the Federation-Cardassian Wars - gave Tirad a community more in touch with his own experiences. His skill with quickly servicing and repairing equipment in the field also made him feel more respected within his department. In recognition of his experience and capabilities, his commanding officer recommended him when a senior field technician position became available on the USS Zhukov in May of 2372. The appointment approved, his commander's final act on his behalf was to advance him to the rank of full corporal. As the Zhukov Marine Detachment's field technician, Tirad was responsible not only for providing technician assistance in combat situations, but also for training his four assistant field technicians in various fields of operations. Realizing he needed more experience with a wide variety of systems to do this, Tirad began assisting the engineering and operations departments aboard ship. There, he began to learn about isolinear and bio-neural computer systems, sensor operations, warp propulsion mechanics, and a variety of other fields. While this made him be no means an expert, he became sufficiently proficient to begin training others in them. When the Zhukov's Marines were thrust into the conflict against the Dominion in April, 2374, the detachment's platoon sergeant was killed in action against the Jem'Hadar. Realizing how Tirad's combat experience could prove valuable to the unit in the war, Major Anderson - the detachment commander - granted him a field promotion to sergeant and appointed him the platoon sergeant. There, Tirad proved himself a capable leader, but began to grow weary as the war dragged on. After several months of combat, Tirad began to withdraw emotionally. His detachment saw heavy combat and the constant stream of casualties and reinforcements began to weigh heavily on his mind. He began to erect barriers between him and those around him, to decrease the pain he'd been forced to live with all his life. After a time, he stopped looking at casualty reports, learning the first names of his subordinates, or socializing with his fellow veterans. Matters only became worse when his commander died at the hands of the Jem'Hadar, leaving Barin with the dubious honor of a field promotion to staff sergeant and temporary command of his platoon. When the Federation's alliance finally achieved victory at the end of 2375, Tirad had seen nearly twenty years of war. For him, it was enough. In December, 2375, Tirad requested a transfer to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, which was quickly approved due to the pressing need for engineers for the reconstruction effort. Granted the fleet-equivalent rank of petty officer, second class, Tirad was immediately assigned to Starfleet Engineering and Operations School on Vulcan. At SEOS, Tirad received far more thorough training in engineering than his ad hoc training aboard the Zhukov. His endeavorus aboard that ship, though, did give him sufficient experience and knowledge to train at the same level as those with a more formal education. His instructors noted that his previous technical experiences gave him a remarkable ability to get equipment functioning under a wide variety of difficult situations, but also left him inclined to "jury rig" systems rather than fully repair them. A note was added in his file that while a master of immediate repairs to bring systems online, "Mr. Barin should never be placed in a permanent maintenance role until he learns every situation does not require swift attention." Tirad graduated from the school a year later and was appointed to the USS Dalian as a damage control specialist. While his engineering career was getting under way, the officers under which Tirad served were growing concerned with his emotional state. He remained very reserved and distant from his crewmates. Many noted that he often seemed to take additional shifts to avoid situations in which he might be required to interact with others on a social basis. The matter continued for nearly ten months, despite the best effort's of the ship's counselor and senior complement. Nearly a year after his assignment to the vessel, the Dalian engaged a raider along the Federation-Tzenkethi border for over eighty hours. The prolonged cat-and-mouse game, punctuated by frequent period of intense combat, took a great toll upon both the psyche of Petty Officer Barin and the Dalian herself. The ship, barely able to limp back to a safe port after breaking off the pursuit, had suffered over forty-percent casualties; Barin's twelve-strong section had lost seven personnel. The battle, largely unnoticed in the annals of history, proved to be the breaking point for the engineer as he left the ship less than two weeks later. After accepting his discharge from Starfleet, Barin began to roam the stars. A capable engineer and steady under pressure, his services proved valuable enough to gain him a billet aboard a series of freighters running the length and breadth of the Federation. After his latest ship, Barin found himself on a Bajoran refugee world, which was slowly being colonized from the homeworld. Slowly, he found himself drawn back into the faith of the Prophets and began to believe he might be able to make a life amongst his own people once more. However, as more colonists have arrived from Bajor and push the colony from it's quiet, simple lifestyle to a more developed and urbanized society, Barin has once more begun to feel out of place and has taken back to the stars to find his place. |
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| Service Record | 2369: Enlists in Starfleet Marine Corps at rank of Private; Graduates from Starfleet Basic Training with advancement to Private First Class; Assigned to Starfleet Marine Technical Extension School. 2370: Graduates from Starfleet MTES with customary advancement to Lance Corporal; Assigned to Marine Detachment, USS Raleigh as Assistant Field Technician. 2372: Advanced to rank of Corporal; Transferred to Marine Detachment, USS Zhukov as Field Technician. 2374: Advanced to rank of Sergeant; Appointed Platoon Sergeant. 2375: Granted transfer to Starfleet Engineering with rank of Petty Officer, Second Class; Assigned to Starfleet Engineering and Operations School on Vulcan for retraining. 2377: Graduates from SEOS; Assigned to USS Dalian as Damage Control Specialist, Second Class. 2378: Receives honourable discharge from Starfleet. Begins service as an engineer aboard a series of civilian freighters. 2383: Arrives on Bajoran colony of Hothar II. Spends next two years working as a technician for the local monastery. 2385: Leaves Hothar II. |