Svetzvani

Ketrinca Svetzvani
File:Svetzvani.jpg
Full Name:	Ketrinca Svetzvani
Nickname:	""
Species:	Terran
Gender:	female
Birthplace:	Gyor, Hungary, Earth
Birthdate:	Mar 15, 2404
Empire:	United Federation of Planets
Organization:	Starfleet
Assignment:	Starfleet Command
Billet:	Chief of Diplomatic Corps
Rank:	Commodore

Ketrinca Svetzvani is a Commodore in Starfleet, serving aboard the Starfleet Command as the Chief of Diplomatic Corps.

Description

Standing on the shorter side of average for her race, this Terran woman seems small but is also clearly very fit. Her glossy hair of a silky red is arranged in an elaborate French braid that nearly reaches her waist. Her bright blue eyes peer intelligently out from under a pair of dark, thinly sculpted eyebrows. She has the high cheek bones and softly squared chin commonly found in those humans whose heritage can be traced back to Earth's central and eastern European region. She doesn't appear to have an abundance of muscular strength, but her body and limbs are well toned as if frequently exercised. She's lean around the waist, with the requisite curves above and below that give her the traditional hourglass shape which is prized by so many from her world. Her long fingernails are painted in a red polish that matches the color of her hair, and her soft tan complexion is that of one who spends a significant amount of time outdoors in the rays of natural sunlight.

Biography

Ketrinca Svetzvani was born on March 15, 2404 in Gyor, Hungary, Earth. Her mother, EllaGrace, was a woman who was remarkably unsuited to parenthood. She had trouble maintaining a steady job, and found it impossible to maintain a meaningful relationship. EllaGrace's life was a constantly flowing line of fleeting occupations, friendships, living situations, and romantic encounters. This made for a rather turbulent childhood for Ketrinca and her younger brother, Vance, who was born exactly one year to the day after Ketrinca.

As the two siblings grew up, they were often ignored by their mother, almost to the point of neglect. Ketrinca, (nicknamed Tink), and Vance had different fathers, but neither of the kids had ever met them. EllaGrace seemed not to even know who the kids' fathers were. The only male adult figures in their lives came from the long line of undedicated men who passed through their mother's life. Sinse EllaGrace was largely absent, the kids had to rely mostly on each other for emotional support. This created a strong bond between them that was easily apparent to any casual observer. Many people assumed they were twins, so close were they, even though they had very few physical features in common. this assumption was often heightened when it was discovered that they share the same birthday.

By the time Tink and Vance were teenagers, their mother had become bitter and angry. This was due to her constant struggles in life, and her apparent inability to make any significant change for the better. EllaGrace began drinking heavily, neglecting the kids more than ever before, and even taking out her frustrations on them in the form of withering verbal and emotional abuse. She blamed them for her repeated failed relationships, claiming that no man worth anything wanted a woman whose children were constantly demanding her attention. Together, the siblings eventually learned to recognize their mother's rage for the self-loathing that it was, and over time, they developed a tough outer emotional skin to it.

Tink figured out that keeping an emotional distance from EllaGrace was also a help in coping with her. This lesson took hold deep within her, and she started detaching herself from all kinds of people and situations every time she encountered high levels of stress. Eventually, this detachment simply became part of her personality. Although this often resulted in people believing her to be a cold or even arrogant person, it soon proved to be a useful tool in dealing with her mother's misplaced aggression.

As Ketrinca began to develop from an awkward teenager into a physically noticeable young woman, EllaGrace began to inflict even more of her rage on her daughter than she had previously done. She sometimes even accused tink of deliberately wrecking her relationships by flirting with EllaGrace's boyfriends. At first, Ketrinca was shocked by the very idea. But with Vance's support, Tink was able to maintain enough of an emotional distance to shield her from her mother's irrational accusations.

In school, Ketrinca had always done pretty well. She had a particular interest in the life sciences, and even won a couple of awards for various entries she made in science fairs. By the time she had reached her secondary education, her interests had settled into a passion for psychology and the social sciences. Her studies in psychology were particularly helpful, as they allowed her to begin to understand the roots of her mother's troubles and mechanisms for dealing with them. She found comfort in the realization that she was not to blame for EllaGrace's situation, and that there was nothing she could have done differently that would have made a difference. What her mother needed was professional counseling.

The idea of joining Starfleet first came to Tink soon after this emotional discovery. She did some research and found that there was a program that would allow her to not only study psychology and get a degree, but to then put into practice what she had learned. And the best part? it would provide a vehicle for getting her away from EllaGrace's continuing and ever intensifying abuse. She spoke with Vance about her idea, of course, and he began asking questions about other programs available in Starfleet. Together they found one that suited Vance's interests and skills, and he quickly began to get excited at the idea of becoming a ship's engineer. They made their decision. they would both join Starfleet and learn about the galaxy offworld.

Ketrinca was accepted into the academy and started her first term in 2421. It was at the academy that she truly began to understand that the walls she had been so used to living behind for protection could also be a hindrance to her. In solo projects where she could perform on her own, she excelled. However, when it came to projects that required group participation, she found that she didn't have the social skills to work smoothly with others. She tried to compensate for this by saying as little as possible,keeping her thoughts and comments to herself, but that only reinforced the perception of her classmates that she was cold and arrogant. As was her conditioned response to stress, she became more and more detached and distant, which compounded the problem further. She decided that maybe it was time for her to receive some counseling of her own.

Tink sought out the counseling services available for Cadets at the academy and eventually found what she believed to be a perfect fit for her. The counselor's name was Charles, and he reminder her in many ways of her brother, Vance. With Charles's help, Ketrinca was able to bring down those protective walls a bit. It wasn't much, but it was enough that her classmates noticed her attempt to decrease her distance from them, and they in turn began to reach out to her. It was difficult, but Tink discovered that people could be warm without necessarily having ulterior motives, and she learned how to connect with those around her a little easier. Her success in this way seemed to be a validation of the motivations she had for entering the counseling field herself.

A year after Tink's own entry into the academy, Vance arrived for his first year. His time at home with their mother after Ketrinca left was hard for him, as EllaGrace's anger at Tink for 'abandoning' the family was focused on her son instead. When Vance told his sister about some of the things that their mother had said and done during that year, Tink discovered a supply of anger of her own toward her mother that she hadn't previously known existed. She brought this to Charles as well, and he helped her work through it. The anger never disappeared, but she was able to find a comfortable place in which to put it while she worked through her studies. Again, the value of counseling to be used as a tool to help people through difficult times, to improve their productivity and relationships with others, and to find ways to help find peace within themselves was proven to her first hand. Her confidence in her career choice grew immensely, as did her drive to achieve her goal of becoming a ship's counselor.

Having Vance at the academy also helped Ketrinca's relationships with other Cadets. They saw how free and warm she was with her brother, and the reputation of cold arrogance finally began to slip. She was accepted instead as a peculiar colleague, but one who wasn't nearly as hard and unapproachable as she appeared to be. Her stress level decreased and her academic marks improved. She helped her brother when she could, and he reciprocated. By the time she graduated, she had achieved honors in her core subjects and was accepted to the graduate program to become a counselor herself. One year later, Vance graduated from the academy and was sent off as a fresh Ensign as an engineer aboard the USS Westover. A year after that, tink received her Masters degree and joined the fleet herself, assigned as a Junior Lieutenant to USS Phoenix as Ship's counselor.