Chigorra

Chigorra was born in 2376 to a branch of House D’Ghor during its period of exile and bloody aggression against the rest of the Galaxy, and before its eventual eradication. Raised among vicious raiders in a culture of violence and anger, the young Klingon girl was destined to grow up, fight and die in combat. Like many children of the Hunters of D’Ghor, Chigorra’s education revolved around battle; she sharpened blades, repaired armor, fixed parts of the ship that were difficult for adults to reach, and served as a kind of squire to the bloodthirsty ‘knights’ of her family. So it was that she was aboard a ship in a D’Ghor raiding party that battled a small fleet of the Talarian Republic in 2382. The Talarians were victorious in this fight, and several Klingon children including six-year-old Chigorra, were stunned and captured alive. Her parents and siblings were either killed, or withdrew after being transported away.

Captured by the Talarian Republic

Cultural values led the Talarians to think carefully about what would be best for the captured Klingon children, each of whom fought and bit and scratched their captors constantly. Was the Republic, whose people were sometimes xenophobic, prepared to rear and care for Klingon children who had been brainwashed in the violent ways of the Hunters, and who saw capture as a terrible thing? The children were too young to make decisions for themselves as far as the Talarians believed, and while the Republic could turn the children over to the Klingon Empire, the Talarians were aware that the House of D’Ghor was discommended and stripped of its honor. Would these children be mistreated if they were turned over to the Empire that had exiled their House?

Adopted in a Federation Family

The decision was made to turn the children over to a different galactic polity, one which the Talarians respected, if sometimes begrudgingly; the Federation. Chigorra and the other children were not the first Klingon youths adopted into the Federation by 2382, so much care was taken to give them some semblance of a new start. Now in a facility on Earth, each child spent a significant amount of time with a team of Federation counselors, and childcare specialists. Chigorra was able to gradually peel back some of the layers of anger and death-cult fervor that had been instilled in her, and after a year she was ready to be adopted into a new family. The Klingon girl was taken in by a pair of Tellarites in 2383. Her adoptive mother was a retired Starfleet counselor, and her father was a restaurateur and chef. Both had raised eight children, two of whom were adoptions, and the parents were excellent candidates to help Chigorra create a new beginning.

Life and Learning on Tellar Prime

Chigorra lived on Tellar Prime, settling in with her new family. Tellarites tended to favor discourse and discussion, often passionately, and little Chigorra took to these tendencies with her own Klingon fervor. She found that she rather liked the spirited debate that tended to happen on Tellar Prime, and even other Federation members valued talk and discussion in a democratic sense. Where the Hunters settled disputes with violence, threats, authority and killing, Chigorra could engage in ‘battle’ bloodlessly, and still feel a kind of victory if she achieved consensus that favored her aims. Between the initial efforts of the Federation team, her adoptive mother’s talents, and regular meetings with a therapist specializing in childhood trauma, Chigorra was well-supported as she struggled with Klingon instincts and troubling memories. Chigorra was swiftly enrolled in a Federation school where, despite initial hesitation given her species and her increasing physical size, she did well academically. Chigorra enjoyed participating in a club for speech and debate as well as a student robotics club, and she also competed in a Tellarite form of wrestling for several years. Outside of school, Chigorra’s studies were supported by her parents and her adoptive siblings who still lived at home. She worked at her father’s restaurant clearing tables and supporting the kitchen work, and she spent a formative summer at a vegetable farm working with other youths where her strength and endurance were appreciated, if a little feared. Chigorra earned three particularly educational student internships in three separate years; each involved working at the Starfleet Auxiliary headquarters on Tellar Prime. These internships further exposed her to the important work of the Federation, and to a promising path for her own future.

Driven to Join Starfleet

A combination of factors led to Chigorra’s desire to join Starfleet. The Talarians, in repelling the raid of the Hunters of D’Ghor and capturing the ship Chigorra was on, had trusted the Federation to give Chigorra a better life. In Chigorra’s estimation, the Federation had done just that, freeing her from what would’ve been a bloody and vicious cycle. A Federation team had spent a frustrating and stressful year working with her as a child, teaching her, listening to her, caring about her. A mother and father, citizens of that Federation, had opened up their home to her, taking in this troubled kid and giving her everything they had. Chigorra also believes that elements of her Klingon nature urge her to honor those who have done right by her, driving her to fight for a greater purpose. Ultimately, Chigorra set herself upon a Starfleet path in her very early teens, enrolling in new and challenging courses that could prepare her for her application. It was brutally difficult, and her family even moved to a different city on Tellar Prime to get Chigorra closer to more preparatory supports and educational opportunities. Her innate tenacity, combined with a learned stubbornness, helped her to push through, but the experience was rarely pleasant, and always tremendously stressful.

Not Selected, Trying Again

When Chigorra took her first preliminary test required to be allowed to take the Starfleet Academy entrance exam, she was not among those selected. During the year’s wait before she could test again, her family moved to Starbase 39-Sierra. The 19-year old Klingon struggled with a bout of despair after not being selected, wondering whether she had what it took to even apply to the Academy, let alone succeed once accepted. An unexpected opportunity to work in the Federation’s diplomatic offices on the Starbase helped Chigorra out of this slump; Federation and Starfleet officers who worked there encouraged her, and she found some new mentors in her quest to give back to the organization that had supported her so much already. She was an odd addition to the diplomatic office as she was tall and muscular, and her appearance sometimes worked against her as she supported the work of the negotiators and diplomats operating there. Guests sometimes misunderstood her to be a security officer, and coworkers doubted her ability to handle bureaucratic office work. Chigorra sturdily worked through these misconceptions, and performed her duties admirably. Re-energized, Chigorra re-took the preliminary test in 2396 and was selected. Her joy was quickly stifled by the intensity of the exam itself, and the grueling process of going through each test and each challenge to her knowledge, spirit and ability. Chigorra came away from the experience a stronger person, and one that Starfleet found ready to send to the Academy.

Starfleet Academy

San Francisco brought new challenges and new exciting opportunities to Cadet Chigorra. She was walking in the footsteps of other Klingons who had joined Starfleet, but she strove to separate herself from stereotypes about her species. She was driven, stubborn and willing to argue, but she avoided the use of violence or intimidation unless absolutely necessary. Her first two years, 2396 and 2397, were much the same as those experienced by other cadets, and were comprised of the core curricula that prepares a Starfleet officer for service. Chigorra’s wore the blue branch color, planning to pursue degrees in social sciences similar to those held by many of the people who had helped her make it into Starfleet in the first place. In her second year, her adoptive mother passed away at Starbase 39-Sierra. Chigorra made the difficult choice to remain at the Academy rather than spend time apart from her studies for any funerary events, and her family supported Chigorra’s decision. Cadet Chigorra was in her third year at Starfleet Academy when the Hunters of D’Ghor began raiding Federation colonies in the Archanis Sector. Strange memories returned to haunt Chigorra as she consumed news reports of the ruthless carnage wrought by her first family against her second. Chigorra’s focus on her courses blurred, but she had the wherewithal to seek help from the Academy’s counseling staff and she got back on track. During this year, Chigorra began to pursue an eventual posting in Starfleet’s Diplomatic Corps, and her course choices reflected this. When her fourth year began, Chigorra practiced starship operations on a training vessel; some of her experiences interning at Starfleet Auxiliary gave her a leg up in this regard. Her fourth year also saw her elected Sergeant-at-Arms of the Academy’s Sociology Club, where she enforced discipline at meetings, managed discussion of topics, and hassled fellow Cadets if their uniforms or behavior were out of place. She wrestled, just like she had back on Tellar Prime, but in competitions she didn’t place highly as she wasn’t able to devote enough time to practicing techniques as often as she might’ve liked.

Graduation and Feelings

Chigorra graduated from Starfleet Academy upon concluding her fifth year there, having earned degrees in Xenosociology and Interstellar Relations. As a youngster still on Tellar Prime, she had been thrilled to learn that rhetoric and argumentation were formal courses at the Academy, given her love for debate and discussion, and she found studies of alien social systems fascinating. By understanding other species and societies, and by preparing them and convincing them, they too could be brought under the wings of the Federation and shown a better way. Cadet Chigorra, now an Ensign, could now rescue other lost people and help them out of danger. Having overcome so much, Chigorra was still troubled when she learned that the Hunters of D’Ghor had finally been wiped out, destroyed by the efforts of Toral son of Duras. She felt sympathy for the children raised among the Hunters just like she had been, and she doubted that Toral showed the mercy the Talarians had once shown her. House D’Ghor had been eradicated. It would no longer raid, kill or traumatize. A kind of justice, ugly and bloody as it may have been, had been done.

Assigned to the USS Valkyrie

Ensign Chigorra was excited to learn of her first assignment, particularly when she learned what a mythological ‘Valkyrie’ was, finding the concept of a ‘guide to dead souls’ compelling. A mission to explore deep space could meant encountering entirely new societies, and Chigorra felt her eight-chambered heart thrumming with anxiety at the idea that she would have a part in such meetings. But she knew she wouldn’t be alone… She would be with a crew. With superiors who would guide her, and colleagues who would work with her. Ensign Chigorra was ready to serve on her first real starship.