Dunamis

Dunamis is the incumbent commanding officer of the USS Phoenix, holding the rank of Captain.

Early Life
Born on the Galaxy-X class USS Riposte to a pair of enlisted Kelpiens, Dunamis had a somewhat atypical childhood. Kelpien children are tall, even when very young... and the same went for himself, being a relatively tall, skeleton-like lad who had the tendency to stand out from his classmates... quite literally. The other human-sized, human-looking children preferred to maintain their distance from him and remain apprehensive of this extremely alien-looking... well, alien. This cultivated in him a kind of awkwardness and distrust of other people and their intentions, even when they were good.

His parents, however, were loving, very much so, and did their best to give him opportunities to succeed in, enrolling him in courses such as self defense, elementary engineering skills and even sciences. While he found that the latter two things did not interest him, he did eventually find that he did have the aptitude for strategic thinking, which made his foray into the world of chess that much easier. At the tender age of 15 he entered the Riposte's chess tournament and came second place, bested only by the ship's First Officer. His above average strength and speed also made his attempts at martial arts easier as well. When not enrolled in courses, among his hobbies was reading the literary works of great authors from around the Alpha Quadrant and beyond, a habit he carried with him into adulthood.

After the Riposte
A few days after reaching the age of 18, the Riposte was tasked with a diplomatic mission to the Gamma Quadrant. Knowing the dangers that lurked there even after the establishment of the Khitomer Alliance, his parents decided that they would not put their son in unnecessary danger. He was thus sent back to Kaminar in a shuttle upon arrival at Earth Spacedock, just before the beginning of the mission. Unknown to him, some time into their mission, the Riposte and her crew were found by the Borg and assimilated into the Collective. He would not be told of this fact til many, many years later.

Upon arriving at Kaminar, he would spend the next three years of his life at his aunt's home and workplace, a small bistro in a small city on the eastern coast. He would help her out in the kitchen as a junior chef, receiving training from her personally. Here he had little casual interaction with the service staff and his fellow cooks, drawing little attention... except that of one short Bolian male by the name of Enlohn, who could not help but find him interesting - in multiple ways.

Working at the bistro was soon not enough for him, however; he longed to do more than stand in a kitchen taking people's orders. No, he desired to explore the stars... and possibly find his parents. At the age of 21 he obtained his aunt's blessing to leave the planet and follow his heart, and get on a transport ship bound for Earth. From there, it was an easy enough affair to enter and pass Starfleet Academy's entrance examination.

Academy Life
His Academy days were comparatively uneventful. Used to the self-imposed isolation and still with some remnants of that early awkwardness about him, his routine was usually the same: Attend class, find a meal, return to his dorm and study, sleep (usually in the wee hours of the morning, especially if there was a test the next day.). This time, his social situation improved some; though he did manage to make a few study partners and friends, he never managed to get more than that into his life. A highlight of his school life was his final year tactical strategies exam. He was typing on a PADD, answering the fifth question in the set of ten... and a searing pain ripped its way through his skull, accompanied by an intense wave of nausea. Vahar'ai had come for him at last. The pain alone caused him to spear said device through with his fingernail, and he was left screaming in pain as he was carried out of the examination hall on a gravity sled. Due to said circumstances he was allowed to retake the examination the following day, and he passed excellently. He would graduate with a degree in tactical strategies, just a little ways off from an honors qualification. Only his aunt. N'illa, attended the ceremony.

Out of the Academy
He was first assigned to the Pathfinder-class USS Akcha'vel as a tactical officer. His time on board would be spent training or going on away missions... a lot of away missions. His chief tactical officer, believing that he was best suited to combat due to his speed, strength and other inbuilt weapons would constantly send him down to planets, stations, skirmishes... the list goes on. A highlight of his tenure aboard came during his fifth year aboard. A diplomatic mission had gone horribly wrong - the away team leader had angered a race of amphibious humanoid life, and the team was escaping back to their shuttle. While helping his colleagues into the craft, he was shot in the back by a disruptor, which burned off his uniform and a patch of skin underneath. Thankfully the injury was relatively minor, and he was patched up by the Chief Medical Officer. That spot never healed, though, and the scar stayed as a reddish splotch that never fully went away.