Ensign Mikeja Lan

Character Information

Gender		Male
Character Quote		"Let's get to work."
Species		Trill (Joined)
Age		30

Physical Appearance

Height		5’ 11” (1.8034 meters)
Weight		175 lbs (79.3787 kg)
Hair Color		Blonde
Eye Color		Blue
Physical Description		Mikeja has a swimmer's build: Slim and Defined. He wears his hair slicked to the side most of the time.

Family

Spouse		N/A
Children		N/A
Father		Telin Norven
Mother		Arja Norven (Deceased)
Brother(s)		Riim Norven (older brother)
Sister(s)		Amun Norven (sister in-law)
Other Family		Nephews: Valu and Eril Norven (6 year-old twins)

Personality & Traits

General Overview		After joining with the Lan symbiont, Mikeja has become a polite, confident, and fun-loving person. He works hard to improve himself as much as possible and likes to live by the old Human creed: Carpe Diem (Sieze the Day)
Strengths & Weaknesses		Strengths: Even before he was joined, Mikeja was a curious individual. He especially liked space travel and learning how things worked. He is also a hard worker. Before joining, his motivation for working hard was to try and impress his father. After joining, he realized that working hard was a reward unto itself. This helps him focus on learning new things and trying to be the best he can be. Mikeja has learned to be an outgoing and fun-loving person who seems to get along well with everyone. He exudes a wisdom for the world well beyond his apparent age. Weaknesses: Mikeja still has some trouble with anxiety. Not as much as before he was joined, but it still manifests at times. He has a phobia of explosions, specifically those that he cannot predict, as it was an explosion that led to his having to become a joined Trill. Mikeja also struggles with the alcoholism of his former host. As such, he has been sober for over five years.
Ambitions		Mikeja has always wanted to be an Engineer aboard a Starship since he was a boy. He was able to get a degree in Engineering at the Trill Science Ministry before joining Starfleet. His specialties are in propulsion, both sub-light and FTL. However, he is still coming to terms with his joining and prefers to live in the moment rather than make long-term goals. He does enjoy leadership roles and would like to be a Chief Engineer someday.
Hobbies & Interests		Swimming: Mikeja loves the water. His family lived on a waterfront and he and his brother would go swimming quite often. He was on the Academy swim team and was Co-Captain of the team in his third year. It is his preferred method of exercise. Running: This was picked up after Mikeja joined. His previous host preferred to run distance and he continued the practice. Mikeja ran two Academy Marathons in his upper class years and finished 9th in his 4th year. Reading Technical Journals and papers: While most people consider these manuals to be dry reading, Mikeja is fascinated with learning about new engineering concepts and technology. Flying: This was another hobby Mikeja took up after joining. His previous host had always wanted to learn how to fly and pilot spacecraft. Her position in society didn't give her the chance it was a regret. Mikeja resolved to learn in her place and found he enjoyed it. He double-majored in HELM/NAV at the Academy and was a member of the Academy's Falcon Squadron in years 3 and 4. Orbital Skydiving: While Mikeja will try almost anything once, he found that Orbital Skydiving was a wonderful way to feel like flying without piloting a craft. So far, it's the one "extreme" activity he continues to do as often as he can. He prefers the real thing over a holodeck.

Character Background

Personal History		Mikeja Norven was born on Trill in the capital city of Leran Manev. His mother, Arja, died due to unexpected complications from Mikeja’s birth. He has an older brother, Riim, who is an exo-botanist. As a boy, Mikeja became fascinated with two things: the way things worked and the symbiosis. His father was an office administrator who didn’t care about the symbionts or joining. Mikeja always wanted to make his father proud, so he decided to try to become an initiate so he could hopefully join and show his father how great he truly was. At age 18, and after years of intense training and hard work, Mikeja was ultimately rejected by the initiate program. He spent weeks lobbying the Symbiosis Commission to give him a second chance, but his pleas fell mostly on deaf ears. Dr. Vessa Lan, the Initiate Program’s Chief Physician and a Commission Advisor, offered to take Mikeja on as her personal assistant as she saw a great determination in him. Mikeja assumed this was his chance to become an initiate and one day become joined. After four years of being the Doctor’s assistant, while still going to school full-time and earning an Engineering degree, Mikeja was never formally given the title of initiate. Vessa was very demanding of her protege and would push the young Trill with her own unique brand of mentorship. She was almost Vulcan in her demeanor; overconfident and fairly dispassionate, but very intelligent. Mikeja considered her to be a “ self-righteous know-it-all.” Even though the two would clash at times due to differing opinions, they considered each other as friends. Eventually, Mikeja decided his time was running out to do something meaningful with his life. At age 23, he applied for and was accepted to Starfleet Academy. Dr. Lan offered to accompany Mikeja to Earth as she was to attend a medical conference there. During the flight to Earth, while Mikeja and Dr. Lan were taking part in a tour of the starship’s engineering section, a faulty plasma conduit ruptured. Dr. Lan was mortally wounded and the symbiont she carried was in danger of dying if it wasn’t joined with a new host. Mikeja was the only unjoined Trill on board the ship. As a result, just before Vessa died, the symbiont was joined with Mikeja and he became known as Mikeja Lan, the second host of the Lan symbiont. Mikeja immediately returned to Trill and went through intense counselling and extra training with the Symbiosis Commission to try and come to grips with being a joined Trill. After over a year, and feeling more confident in himself and his new identity, Mikeja re-applied to Starfleet Academy and was accepted at age 25, where he double majored in Engineering and Helm/Nav.
Service Record		Starfleet Academy: 2392-2396 Extracurricular Activities: *Academy Swim Team (Years 1-3) -Team Co-Captain - Year 3 *Academy Marathon (Years 3-4) -Year 3: 22nd Place -Year 4: 9th Place *Falcon Squadron (Years 3-4) -Flight Proficiency Award - Year 3 -Squadron Second Officer - Year 4 *Academy Debate Team - Years 1-2
Languages		Trill, Federation Standard: Fluent Klingon: Basic
Academy Graduation Year		2396

Medical and Psychological Information

Medical Review		Mikeja Norven was joined with the Lan Symbiont in 2290 after Vessa Lan, the first host, was mortally wounded in an Engineering accident while en route to Earth. Mikeja Lan did not suffer any undue physical issues as a result of the joining. Other medical highlights: -Fractured Right Radius - Age 10: Result of fall from a tree. Treated without incident. -Chronic childhood otitis externa (swimmer's ear): Result of swimming in lake waters near home. Treated as necessary.
Allergies/Health Issues		Insect Bites: Like all Trill, Mikeja is prone to allergic reactions to insect bites. The most common symptom is itching sensation in his spots. Treatable depending on the insect bite. Alcoholism: This is a holdover from the previous host of the Lan symbiont. (See counselling review)
Counseling Review		Before he was joined, Mikeja could have been described as an "Anxious Over-Achieving Self-Doubter." After joining with the Lan symbiont, Mikeja has had to integrate his own personality traits with those of the first host and his mentor, Vessa Lan. She could be described as an "Overconfident Dispassionate Know-it-all." Before joining, Mikeja was always trying to impress his father, who seemed to resent Mikeja due to the death of Mikeja's mother in giving birth to the boy. Mikeja's older brother was the one who really raised him. The overwhelming nature of the joining for Mikeja was a hindrance at first. He had not recieved any formal training, just the clandestine lessons Vessa had tried to teach him during their relationship. It helped that Vessa was the first host of the symbiont with her knowledge as a part of the Symbiosis Commission along with her even-keeled temperament. The downside was that the joining also heightened Mikeja’s inherent anxiety and self-doubts. He had learned to cope with those feelings while working with Vessa which allowed him to apply to Starfleet, but his joining left him feeling more unsure of himself. It took almost a year of counseling and post-joining training for Mikeja to become comfortable in his new identity. Starfleet re-accepted his application due to extenuating circumstances and he attended shortly thereafter. After over a year of counselling on his homeworld, and with ongoing therapy sessions, he has found that the joining has allowed the two personalities to become more tempered; the more negative aspects of each individual’s personality is lessened, while the positive portions are more pronounced. Mikeja now has real confidence in his abilities, since he knows that Vessa saw potential in him. He also seeks to improve himself not because he wants to impress his father, or anyone else, but because he enjoys the challenge of trying to better himself. Though he still doubts himself at times when he doesn’t know the answer to something, he will attempt to find the answer and continue improving himself. Otherwise, he is a very polite individual who works well with others and likes to be part of a team and, once comfortable, take on a leadership role. Mikeja also struggles with the issues of this former host as she “bottled up” a lot of her issues with her cold outside demeanor, and she self-medicated with alcohol. Mikeja considers himself an alcoholic and has not had any liquor since soon after he was joined.