Hov'taj
From FEInfobase
| Hov’taj | |
| Species: | |
| Homeworld: | |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Born: |
2384 |
| Eyes: |
Brown |
| Hair: |
Black |
| Height: |
6’4” |
| Weight: |
205 lbs |
| Affiliation: | |
| Assignment: | |
| Position: |
Chief Engineer |
| Rank: |
Lieutenant |
| Insignia: |
|
| Player: | |
| Status: |
PC |
| [ Source ] | |
Lieutenant Hov'taj is the Chief Engineer of the USS Ticonderoga. A full-blooded Klingon, he was born so soon after the fall of Qo'noS that he spent most of his childhood on Earth. As such, he grew to be more broadly cultured than most of his people, and has viewed the Federation as the best way forward for the galaxy as a whole, including the Klingons. Upon the Empire's reformation and exodus from Sol, Hov'taj refused to join them and stayed behind. Despite scrutiny and suspicion, he continues to serve as one of Starfleet's foremost combat and weapons engineers.
Contents |
Physical Description
Hov’taj might be considered less physically imposing than the average Klingon, but that is a matter of comparison. He’s still tall and well-built, if more wiry than bulky with his strength than is normal for his people. He wears his long black hair tied back in a tight, neat braid, and his facial hair is kept to a trimmed, tidy goatee. Although he wears a Starfleet uniform, he has maintained permission to wear his Ha’quj when on duty.
Service Record
- 2398: IKS Hor’qar; Gunnery Officer
- 2401 - 2404: Starfleet Academy; Officer Candidate
- 2404 - 2406: Tera'tengchaH; Engineer
- 2406 - 2409: USS Spector; Chief Engineer
- 2409 - 2410: Suspended from Active Duty
- 2410 - Present: USS Ticonderoga; Chief Engineer
History
Hov’taj was born on Qo’noS, but spent very little time on the planet before the Klingon Empire evacuated it in the onslaught of the Borg Offensive, and made for Federation space - in particular, Sol. Both of his parents were killed in the fighting retreat, keeping the Borg ships away from the defenceless civilians, and by the time Hov’taj reached Earth it seemed as if not a single member of his House but he had survived.
There was one sole exception - a human former Marine Colonel and diplomat named Finn Casey who had been a comrade of his father’s in the Dominion War and spent much time since in the Empire. Casey and Hov’taj’s father had been such fierce companions that by the end of the conflict, honour had dictated ti was only appropriate to offer Casey a seat in his House. Casey had accepted - and as such, when he learned that his old comrade’s family were all dead or missing save this young Klingon child, he took Hov’taj under his care.
Although Casey took pains to bring up the boy well, he was also intent on him having a strong grounding in his own people’s culture. Casey was intently familiar with the Klingon culture, and had other friends and allies he could turn to in ensuring Hov’taj was brought up as a Klingon as much as was possible on Earth.
When Hov’taj was six years old, a new group of survivors from the Klingon evacuation reached Earth. These survivors included Hov’taj’s uncle and several other more distant relatives, who had all been considered dead. His uncle declared himself the head of the House, and offered to take in the young boy - but it was Hov’taj’s choice to stay with Casey. Nevertheless, the boy would spend a lot of time with the rest of his family, and grow up comfortable in both the strict Klingon way of life, and the more cosmopolitan Federation culture.
Trained, of course, in the arts of combat, Casey made sure that Hov’taj was pushed in other ways. He found early on he was good with his hands, and had a good talent and eye for building and construction. First he began to practice metalwork, considering becoming a weaponsmith, but although he had a talent he found it not as satisfying as he might have liked. On a whim, Casey directed him towards more complicated mechanical and engineering processes.
Here young Hov’taj excelled. He clearly had a good head for science and engineering, and studied the latter with great enthusiasm. Being a Klingon, his interests were primarily in how technology affected warfare and battle, with weaponry and battleships catching his eye.
Casey primed Hov’taj for a career in Starfleet, especially as the Klingon Defence Force was merging with it increasingly, and he believed Starfleet would foster his technical talents more than his own people would. This teaching would backfire on the former Marine, however, come the Battle of Sol. The civilians on Earth knew it was coming, this final fight, and Hov’taj, a boy of fourteen by then, was keen and eager to fight. Casey refused outright to help him in this and Hov’taj, a Klingon by nature, appealed to his uncle.
Sure enough, the boy - a man in Klingon culture, though his foster-father did not see it that way - was granted a place on one of his uncle’s ships, a Bird of Prey. With nothing more than his study of ships and weaponry and a crash course of training, Hov’taj was confronted with the greatest battle the galaxy had ever seen.
He and his ship survived it, barely, for Hov’taj’s uncle was no fool and had not put his young nephew on an assignment in the deepest corners of the battle. But it was with a somewhat shaken air that Hov’taj returned to his foster-father, who, too, had been called up for one last fight. The tensions between the two were forgotten in the aftermath, and life continued.
Hov agreed with Casey, at that point, that his future lay in Starfleet. There were many Klingons integrated with the Federation force by this stage, especially with the decimation of both fleets in the Battle of Sol. But he had witnessed first-hand how cavalier the Klingons were about their tools of warfare, and he had begun to understand how it made the difference between life and death. He applied for, and was granted, a place at Starfleet Academy a few years after the war.
Here Hov’taj studied engineering intensively, particularly excelling at starship weapon and defence systems. He had a strong theoretical grounding, but where he was best was at hands-on work, building and repairing and maintaining a ship. His instructors assured the young Klingon that his instincts would hold him in good stead, for he knew how to read and listen to a ship and keep her spaceworthy through damage and battle.
It was with mixed feelings that Hov received his first assignment - to Tera'tengchaH Station, the centre of the Klingon branch of the Fleet. He assumed no thought had gone into the posting - that he was a Klingon, so he would serve there. He spent several years attempting to bring the lessons he had learned to the base, and though he met mixed results, the time spent fully immersed his his people’s culture did leave him with a better understanding of the Klingon way, and left him less tense or disillusioned with how he could use his talents to better his people.
He still requested an assignment on an active duty ship, and was granted it, made Chief Engineer of the USS Spector. Here he received extensive hands-on experience of managing and running a ship in a dynamic and changing environment, for the Spector spent much time hunting pirates marauding trade routes, and saw her share of battle.
Hov’taj was in deep space when the call came from Chancellor Sovtuj that the Klingon people were leaving the Federation and returning to their home to reforge the Empire. By the time he got back to Sol, most of the exodus had occurred. It was here that he met his uncle on Tera'tengchaH, and the two of them argued bitterly. In Hov’s mind, the Federation was the best way forward for their people, that there was strength in unity. Earth had been more of a home to him than Qo’noS had, a world he could not even remember. And he had sworn his oaths to the Federation, not to Chancellor Sov’tuj.
The two parted on a bitter note, but Hov was determined to stand by his choice. He kept his commission, and immediately volunteered for an assignment on the Bozeman, Admiral Moore’s flagship.
This would prove a mistake. Internal Affairs were already observing Hov’taj closely, for his uncle was an influential advisor of Chancellor Sovtuj and someone of his connections remaining behind at Sol was considered peculiar. That he was so keen to put himself in the way of an assignment as important as the Bozeman was the final straw.
In a fit of paranoia, Hov’tuj was suspended from active duty and brought to Buenos Aires for questioning at the hands of SSI. Originally described as a simple ‘debrief’, what the young Klingon went through was nothing more than an extensive series of questions, tests, and interrogations to ascertain whether he was acting as a spy for the Klingon Empire, or at least if his loyalty was deemed adequate for a Starfleet officer.
This debrief lasted four months, but Hov’taj - rattled and somewhat embittered by the experience - was ultimately deemed a loyal officer of the Federation and released into active service. Shaken but still determined to stand by his decision, he nevertheless jumped at the opportunity when he saw a prospect for an assignment which would get him away from Earth for a while - the deep space exploration mission of the USS Ticonderoga.
Personality
At a glance, and especially amongst non-Klingons, Hov’taj will come across as somewhat stereotypical for his people. He is perhaps not as boisterous, but he is cheerful, forward, and assertive. It takes closer acquaintanceship to see more beneath the surface.
To begin with, although he loves his people dearly, he is somewhat embittered at the decision they have made to leave the Federation, and hopes by staying to be able to set an example that reintegration is not impossible. He has also seen extensive ridicule not just for his pro-Federation attitude, but for his assertive and pro-active career as an engineer, seen to be a ‘lesser’ way of life than that of a warrior. Hov’taj is very calm in declaring that he is both.
Certainly as an engineer, his skills excel when it comes to battle and warfare. His knowledge of weapons systems, both on a starship and personally, are second to none. His capacity to assess a starship in battle and know where to allocate power, resources, and repair to keep her upright through the conflict have been highly praised by instructors and past commanders. And he runs his engineering crew like any warrior leader would - with fierce discipline and fierce trust.
With most of his boisterousness as nothing more than a sign of confidence, there is a calm and thoughtful side to Hov’taj. He has a stronger sense of personal honour than the average Klingon, having been raised not just on Klingon culture but exposed and exploring various warrior creeds of other species in general and Earth cultures in particular. He had a peculiar love for the tales of Arthurian knights, and it is undeniable these interests have shaped how he views the world. As such he is usually courteous, respectful, and trustworthy, but his is a fierce pride and underneath the fairly tolerant and friendly exterior he has a vicious temper when he is provoked.
Although Hov’taj is a sociable officer likely to be found in the mess hall, he does value his solitude, taking time to meditate and study, and he has a particular, personal interest in crafting and collecting weapons of various origins and species.