Arunjezeb Ameen

Vital Information:
Name: Arunjezeb Ameen
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Executive Officer ("First Officer")
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Place of Birth: Agra, India; Earth

Physical Description: a noticeably attractive man, Arunjezeb reaches a height of five feet, nine inches and weighs approximately one-hundred and eighty-seven pounds. His physique is of a medium build, well-toned and defined. Arunjezeb's skin-tone is an olive complexion. His hair is maintained relatively short, generally reaching mid-neck in length and is black in color. His radiant eyes are a rich hazel in color.

Personality: a veraciously focused and driven individual, Arunjezeb is detail and task oriented. Occasionally prone to sarcasm and cynicism, Arunjezeb is generally an idealist with strong moral convictions about "right" and "wrong," "good" and "evil," and he is courageous about his ideals. Among these are the sanctity of life, galactic peace, universal education, elimination of poverty and the unifying principles of the Federation. His behavior and mannerisms are affable but they can be conservative and heavily influenced by the traditions and culture that have been preserved within his family. He places a high premium on good manners and does his best to avoid confrontations. In private, he is pleasant, articulate, and compassionate but analytical. Arunjezeb has a special attachment to sentimental objects from the past, a trait inherited from his father and his early desire to be an archaeologist. He quietly pursues perfection in his duties and his personal life while actively avoiding the frustration that often leads to the downfall of perfectionists. Surprising to many people, he has a need for recognition of his efforts and to be well-liked among his peers. Arunjezeb's primary strength is his discipline, both in speech and action. He strives to be categorically diplomatic and urbane in dealing with other people but occasionally his quick temper -- the cause of a constant internal battle -- gets the best of him. His weaknesses center around being sometimes stubborn and temperamental. Although he strives to be calm, collected and detached from the outcome of things, he can often be adamant in sticking to his principles. He can have his feelings hurt easily and when he perceives that someone has crossed a line he will hold a grudge for quite some time. He is also driven by curiosity, sometimes leading him into situations where he'd rather not be (despite the fact that his own compulsion brought him there). This habit has caused some difficulties for him in the past. Arunjezeb has an exceptionally focused work ethic that can border on obsession; it can become difficult for him to step away from a project after becoming fully immersed. His skills with computer library and research systems are second to none. Arunjezeb is a very detail oriented individual to the point of over obsessive tendencies.

Background: Arunjezeb Ameen was born to a "Federation family" in the city of Agra in 2356 to Sonli Taj-Chugani and Yamir Ameen. Arunjezeb was exposed to the Federation and Starfleet from a very young age, most notably through his mother's work with the Federation News Service (FNS), first as a reporter and later as an anchorperson. At the age of 10, Arunjezeb and his family moved from Agra to New Delhi where his father assumed the position of Director-General for the Bahá'í House of Worship, making him the steward of some of Earth's oldest religious and culturally historic buildings in the country of India. In his early years, he aspired to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a Starfleet archaeologist and diplomat. His aspirations changed the year before he entered high school. After a lengthy discussion with his parents (and much to his father's disappointment), Arunjezeb entered the Starfleet Academy Preparatory School in Paris in advance of applying to Starfleet Academy, of which he applied for in 2372.

During the Spring of 2372, Arunjezeb started to attend classes at Starfleet Academy full-time; although his father had placed a tremendous amount of pressure on him to enroll in the Science's Division, perhaps in hope of a last ditch effort to have his son follow in his footsteps, Arunjezeb elected, instead, to enroll in the Services Division, specifically that of the engineering field. The first year at the Academy found Arunjezeb completing mostly pre-requisite course work as well as tending to the regimental-type activities the Academy required for all first year Cadets. It was at the start of his second year at the Academy that Arunjezeb was able to select damage control and containment as his primary specialization. As a Damage Control Specialist, Arunjezeb would discover himself to be a highly specialized engineer in high demand on a number of different duty-station assignments. During his time at the Academy, Arunjezeb was able to procure honors status at the conclusion of each semester due to hard work and exceptional dedication to his studies; although his placement did not warrant the status of high honors, as his father would have preferred, Arunjezeb's parents were proud and generally pleased with their son's accolades. Graduating during the early part of May 2377, Arunjezeb, alongside his fellow Cadet Senior Grades, was promoted to the rank of Ensign with the official title of Damage Control Specialist. Additionally, he earned several minor academic achievements that warranted notation in his official service jacket.

Prior to being dispatched to his first assignment, Arunjezeb had the opportunity to participate in a two week shore leave. He spent most of this time at home with his family; however, Arunjezeb recalls it as being a very stressful period. During this two week hiatus, Arunjezeb and his parents often argued and debated his decision in joining Starfleet; furthermore, they questioned the true latitude of his achievements, challenging whether their youngest child had even met the high expectations they had set for him. Although Arunjezeb had not been able to attain high honors, he had done well to ensure he remained on the honors level throughout the entirety of his Academy career. However, such proclamations fell on deaf ears when concerning his parents, especially his father. It seemed to Arunjezeb that even if he had achieved the expectations set forth by his parents, they would still look down upon him simply for choosing a different career path then they. What made the entire ordeal unbearable, was that his parents often cited the honor of the family name and how his actions, past, present and future, would weigh heavily on ensuring the successful continuation of said name in a positive and beneficial light. In truth, Arunjezeb, felt as if his parents had placed an insurmountable weight upon his shoulders; not only was he now accountable for his own actions, but he was terribly worried that said actions would taint the name and reputation of his family, a reputation often considered more important than the interpersonal family dynamics. When Arunjezeb left home after the shore leave had concluded, he wasn't on direct speaking terms with either of his parents.

In the early fall of 2377, Ensign Arunjezeb Ameen was assigned to the Ambassador-class starship, USS Horatio, NCC-10532; he was attached to Damage Control Team Gamma within the Engineering Department, while also serving as an Engineer assigned to the Beta Shift rotation.

Life on board the Horatio was quite peculiar to Arunjezeb, although it reminded him of the Academy. As a Junior Officer, he was provided living quarters shared with two other Officer's; unfortunately, all three had personalities that were polar opposites of one another so, at times, it made the living circumstances quite difficult and a diplomatic endeavor in-of-itself. The three were each from different planets and served within separate divisions on board the Horatio. Although they were never short on interesting conversations, living habits and interspecies customs were often difficult to acclimate to, especially those oriented to the most personal.

Arunjezeb would never have classified himself as remotely xenophobic; however, there was no denying the strong desire to reside with same-species roommates with like-habits, only to help the acclimation process to ship-board life along a bit easier. However, this disconnect translated to his roommates as a subtle form of xenophobic superiority and, as such, Arunjezeb quickly became the outcast of the trio.

Because the difficult relationships now formed with his roommates, Arunjezeb found himself pushing to spend more time away from the confines of his quarters and socializing more with other members of the crew (mostly other Human's) and/or picking up an extra shift in engineering.

In tandem with one another, the extra shifts and rampant socializing held equal parts benefit and detriment for Arunjezeb. When volunteering for extra shifts in engineering, his willingness and eager-attitude often drew the attention of his superiors; it was very rare that Arunjezeb would decline covering for one of his peers or taking on an additional project to help boost efficiency and/or productivity within the department. Because of this, Arunjezeb was often sought after and taken advantage of due to this kindness and “can-do/say-yes” attitude; additionally, he did find himself basically living out of engineering, leaving very rarely and only when absolutely necessary. However, when his shift concluded, Arunjezeb believed in and desired a strong and healthy social life. In his leisure, he was often a fixture socializing and buzzing around the crew's lounge or frequenting the holodecks. All of these activities took their toll and Arunjezeb found himself a little too deprived of sleep.

This downturn was further compounded by the relationship maintained between Arunjezeb and his parents, which continued to remain strenuous at best. In truth, he just couldn't understand his parents perspective and unwillingness to accept forging his own path.

In the end, unfortunately, this affected his work in a negative way. During one particular evaluation, he received poor marks within several different categories that his superiors linked directly to his current behavior and the inevitable burnout. In an attempt to combat this downward spiral, Arunjezeb was placed on notice and restricted to a forty-hour shift rotation (after working mostly eighty-hour shift rotations) only with the condition to keep pace with his social life and a bit of downtime for rest and relaxation. Although he was taken-a-back and quite disappointed in his overall performance, he took his superiors recommendations in hopes of change. Furthermore, this downtime allowed him to develop a more refined understanding with his roommates and establish a functional relationship based on said understanding. Because he was spending the vast majority of his downtime in his quarters, Arunjezeb was better apt to learn more about each of his roommates and compound a much more accepting view.

During the later part of 2379, Arunjezeb received a promotion in rank to that of Lieutenant JG and assigned as Team Leader of Damage Control Team Gamma. Additionally, he was reassigned to Alpha Shift as a Senior Engineer. Over the duration of the previous two years, Arunjezeb had better acclimated to life on board the Horatio and, because of such, was better able to find a balance between his professional, personal and social lives. This balance found him excelling in all three categories in a much more positive manner. Although he still made the occasional mistake, Arunjezeb was considered to be an exceptional engineer.

In the middle part of 2385, Arunjezeb received a promotion in rank to that of full Lieutenant and was assigned as the Assistant Chief Engineering Officer of the Horatio. This promotion came with a mixed array of feelings on the part of Arunjezeb, as he'd only earned it after the previous ACEO had been killed in the line of duty. The Horatio had been surveying a spatial anomaly that emitted a unique gravimetric distortion. Upon further investigation, the Horatio was intercepted by at least three gravitational wave fronts that caused substantial damage to the vessel. The first wave front was successfully warded off as its full force dissipated across the Horatio's shields; however, it had caused enough damage to weaken the shields, structural integrity and deflector control to make the Horatio more susceptible to further damage caused by the two proceeding wave fronts. After the third shockwave hit, the Horatio experienced a ship-wide power overload and subsequent systems failure. When the full extent of the damages were surveyed, the starship limped back to port for extensive repairs to last no less than four months. Along with substantial damage to the ship, the crew experienced a loss in life of thirteen personnel, including the ACEO, a position Arunjezeb would inherit and occupy until the beginning of 2386.

From 2384 to 2386, Arunjezeb successfully completed all course requirements for Starfleet Command's and Starfleet Academy's Distance Learning Division for the Bridge Officer's Training Course and the Command Officer's Training Program. As per the requirements of each course, he attained the passing grade of 97 percent. These two courses qualified Arunjezeb to serve on the bridge or command center of any duty-station as well as serve within a leadership capacity and, further down the road, would qualify him to become a member of any duty-station's command staff.

Towards the beginning of the year 2386, Arunjezeb was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer and transferred to the Akira-class USS Minoru, NCC-64306. He steadfastly retained this position for just under one year where his hard work and dedication exemplified and affirmed his exceptional abilities as an engineer, but also showcased an attuned and inherent trait as a leader. Towards the conclusion of 2386, he was recalled for interview by Starfleet's Department of Personnel and Awards.

Service Record:

• 2372 - Cadet - Starfleet Academy
  
• 2377 - Ensign - Damage Control Specialist, USS Horatio, NCC-10532 (Ambassador-class)
  
• 2379 - Lieutenant (J.G.) - Damage Control Team Leader, USS Horatio
  
• 2385 - Lieutenant - Asst Chief Engineer, USS Horatio
  
• 2386 - Lieutenant - Chief Engineer, USS Minoru, NCC-64306 (Akira-class)
  
• 2386 - Lieutenant - Second Executive Officer/Chief Engineering Officer, USS Minoru, NCC-64306
  
• 2386 - Lieutenant - Executive Officer, USS Perseus, NCC-73084 (Explorer-class)