Profile
EARLY LIFE
In 2356, Mephis was found by the semi-nomadic Ferengi starship/business named ‘Vultures Inc’, who traded in ‘salvaged’ (they never attacked ships directly, but often instigated or aggravated existing conflict between them and sabotaged both discreetly in order to ensure both sides perished) ship parts, after their actions led to the destruction of two warring ships, one of which was Federation, upon which Mephis was the only survivor.
He was raised by the Vultures (see: put to work as a free able body on their ship and then got attached to). Mephis (who went by a different name back then) was told he was a ‘very ugly Ferengi’, until he grew old enough (six) to question this and they told him that they had found him on an abandoned ship. He pestered them with questions about this until they confessed the full truth when he was twelve.
They’d asked him several times whether he would like to move to Earth, but he repeatedly refused, saying he would feel like an outsider on his own planet.
WHY STARFLEET?
However, in 2374, when he was fifteen, he sought out a sponsor to join Starfleet Academy in an attempt to connect to his roots (and not be called ugly all the time). The opportunity came when they were salvaging another Federation ship and an active one came for cleanup. The crew of Vultures Inc hailed the ship and offered a great many valuable things in return for the sponsorship, much like how one would purchase an apprenticeship on Ferenginar, but the Captain of The Cockney (who was, indeed, English) would not accept any of it. Instead, he allowed Mephis to live on his ship as a civilian so that he could make an accurate judgement of his character. It took Mephis a long time to learn Federation values as well as Ferengi, especially since they are opposed in many ways, but he adapted well over the year he was aboard. The Captain was a surrogate father to him, and taught him much about Earth, including Standard and several other languages, which is how Mephis gained his accent.
LIFE AT THE ACADEMY
In early 2375, when Mephis was 16, just on the cusp of the war ending, the Captain put in word with Starfleet that he would sponsor Mephis - but during Mephis’ first year at the Academy, the ship was attacked, and though much of the ship’s crew survived, the Captain did not. News of the war ending reached Mephis soon afterwards. He could not help but think had the war ended only a few months sooner, the Captain would yet live. Because of this (and because in his opinion Ferengi do not have a fight or flight instinct - they have a ‘make a deal’ instinct that, despite what the Federation may believe, is similar to diplomacy) he developed a strong anti-war philosophy that persisted through his academy training and beyond.
He (ironically) got into several fights with Klingons on the subject of pacifism. He lost plenty, usually due to his lack of strength, but the times he beat the odds, he did it because of his quick thinking, reflexes, and observational skills. He also had an odd presence about him - an intense gaze and a loud and yet rambling voice, like that of a preacher, that made people pay attention to him when he talked, to the point where his friends called him ‘Preacher Mo’ (in a fit of irony, he renamed himself Mephistopheles at this point, after the devil from human folklore who offered a deal to the tragic protagonist Faust). He briefly entertained the idea of using this power for a leadership position in Command, but decided his Engineering skills would be more useful for Starfleet. Mephis graduated in 2377, at 19.
PREVIOUS POSTINGS
Deep Space 9
An Ensign freshly hatched from the Academy, Mephis was assigned to DS9 as a Repairs Technician. He was a background character in any shenanigans that happened. It was uneventful. However, he got along well with Quark (pending a timeline accuracy check). He worked there until 2382, when he applied to the USS Nightingale in the position of Lieutenant Junior General at age 24.
USS Nightingale
The USS Nightingale was a Federation medical ship that assisted disenfranchised worlds, particularly recovering areas of Cardassia Prime and other planets still yet to recover from the war. He also met the Chief Medical Officer, an ex-Bajoran resistance fighter who challenged his ideas about necessary violence.
He was always the first to respond to requests, known as the ‘backbone of the ship’, and worked well with the Chief Engineer, a Cardassian, who had always struggled a little balancing his work life with his kids, and when the previous ACEO retired in 2384, he was the obvious choice for the role.
The recovery efforts only solidified his views. The Chief Engineer recommended him for a promotion to Lieutenant, and at 28 he married the CMO and had a child.
USS Vulture
He applied for a position on the USS Vulture, a faction of Vultures Inc who had redeemed themselves in his absence and become part of/allies of (?) the Federation. They were still salvagers, but ones who sought out inactive Borg vessels (and sometimes live ones, if they were sneaky) for the purpose of tactical research and countermeasure development, as well as research into access and usage of Fluidic Space. He worked on the Vulture as the CEO, getting promoted to Lieutenant Commander when he was 31, not long after which The Incident happened.
The Incident
There was a spacial flux due to meddling with Fluidic Space that displaced the ship into a quadrant far, far away. Stranded on a damaged ship near no habitable planets or harvestable fuel resources, what remained of the crew of the Vulture had no choice but to go into Cryostasis and broadcast a signal until they were found. Memphis was in cryostasis until 2406, approximately 16 years, making him chronologically about 47, but still mentally 31.
In the 16 years between the emergency cryostasis and his rescue, he had become thoroughly divorced, and his daughter had grown up without him (she was about 19 by this point). He spent most of the year in therapy and learning about the events that had passed him by.
Considering his life had been forcibly reset by spacial shenanigans and cryostasis, he decided then was as good a time as any for a career change, and applied for the Command Training Programme at chronological age 49.
USS Vulture (Again)
The Vulture was still a functioning ship, so it was repurposed as a trade ship and with Mephis as the Deputy Commander, a position that had been made thoroughly vacant by the previous deputy’s death. Though he thought at first he could remain on The Vulture, it eventually proved to remind him too much of the temporal accident that had disturbed his life, so in 2409 at around 51 he applied to Starbase 420.
Starbase 420
After spending two years managing Starbase 420 (an agricultural Starbase producing medicinal supplies and plants) learning how to administrate, delegate, manage multiple teams, and otherwise keep a large community running, he applied to 777 in 2412 (the current year) for the very boring motivation of career progression at chronological age of 54. (His daughter is around 23. They don’t talk much.)
ROLEPLAY EXAMPLE
Mephis sat across from the Risian diplomat, visiting from Starbase 69.
"So you're pitchin' this as a right. For your people. In the same vein as food, water and other necessary resources."
"Yes."
Mephis raised a brow in a Vulcan-like fashion. "The space weed."
"Indeed."
"And you 'spect we'll concede to your greed and deliver this weed speedily."
"'Tis not greed, 'tis need."
"And when the deed is done, do you guarantee delivery of the Risan Ganymede Seed for us to breed?"
"Please, we plead."
"Very well," Mephis said, linking his fingers together and smiling in the rare and dangerous way that always preceded the phrase: "It's a deal."
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