Lieutenant JG Jaya Patel
Name Jaya Ravi Patel
Position Chief Helmsman
Rank Lieutenant JG
Stats
- 2 Mission Posts
Last Post
Sun Nov 2nd, 2025 @ 3:31pm
Character Information
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 26 | |
| Date of Birth | July 14, 2130 |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5' 10" | |
| Weight | 163 | |
| Hair | Black, thick, usually tousled | |
| Eye Color | Brown | |
| Physical Description | Lean and wiry, Jaya has the long-limned build common among those raised in partial-gravity environments. His warm brown skin shows faint weathering from Proxima’s harsh suns. A small scar slices through his left eyebrow from a glider accident as a boy. His eyes are a warm, rich mocha brown. They are lively and curious, quick to light with enthusiasm or darken with doubt. He wears his uniform with care, but his hair rarely cooperates, falling forward despite his efforts. At the helm, he leans into the console, body language betraying how instinctively he connects with the ship. |
Personality Profile
| General Overview | MBTI / Type: ENFP-A (The Campaigner) Outgoing, enthusiastic, and curious, Jaya thrives on possibilities and new experiences. Strong intuition — relies on gut feelings in the moment, sometimes faster than he can rationalize. He wants to prove what the colonists bring to the table, but he is not obsessed with it. He is naturally talented and hard working but is still humble about his roots. Needs affirmation but gives it freely; energizes groups with optimism. |
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| Strengths | Instinctive Pilot – Learned to fly utility craft on Proxima by sixteen; excels in tight maneuvers, precise navigation, and planetary landings. Creative Under Pressure – Frontier childhood taught him to improvise fixes and solutions when resources are thin. Empathetic & Approachable – Connects easily with enlisted and civilians, helping bridge officers and crew. Idealistic Explorer – Believes passionately in the Coalition’s purpose of exploration and cooperation. He is a charismatic, warm-hearted young officer, full of optimism and natural flying skills. |
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| Weaknesses | Inexperience – While he has considerable experience as a pilot, he has only limited experience with the Warp-5 ships, except in a simulator. Risk-Taking – Will push helm systems and Challenger’s prototype controls to their limits. |
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| Hobbies & Interests | Music – Plays a battered travel guitar; his younger brother teaches him songs via subspace. Flight Journals – Keeps handwritten logs with sketches of planets and approach vectors. Tinkering – Experiments with helm interfaces and shuttle controls for improved maneuverability. Keepsakes – Carries scuffed flight gloves from his colony days as a personal talisman. |
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| Goals | Jaya has several goals. On a personal level, he wants to prove he belongs, he wants to honor his family, and stay connected with them and his friends on Proxima despite the light-years that will separate him from them. On a professional level, he wants to learn diplomacy on the job. As the helm officer, he sees himself as one of the first faces that is seen. He wants to be able to balance speed and daring with political tact. He thinks he can be a bridge builder between MACO, Starfleet, and the Coalition personnel (especially the alien races he is fascinated by) Long-term goals Like many young officers, he aspires to be a Captain and have his own ship to command. He wants to advocate for the colonies He is by nature an explorer. Beyond the warm he wants to help chart new star systems. |
Languages
| Native Language | Federation Standard | |
| Fluencies | Hindi | |
| Familiarity | Basic Andorian |
Certifications
| Academic Degrees | Starfleet Training Command, Helm/Navigation specialization (Graduated 2155) | |
| Starfleet Certifications | Advanced Astrogation & Orbital Mechanics Atmospheric Entry & Landing Procedures Emergency Shuttle craft Operations |
Family
| Current Partner(s) | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Parent(s) | Ravi Patel – Hydroponics Engineer, Proxima Colony Amrita Desai Patel – Atmospheric Systems Technician |
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| Sibling(s) | Sahana Patel (24) – Medical Resident, Interspecies Medical Exchange Dev Patel (15) – Student & musician, Proxima Colony |
Unrelated Ties
| Friendships | Ensign Marisol Vega Marisol grew up on another fragile colony world, making them fast friends at the academy, bonding over shared interests and personal experience, and being part of the same study group. They helped each other deal with the other's weaknesses. Petty Officer Caleb Williams. Jaya and Caleb were roommates their first year. Caleb was on the Enlisted Track, and Jaya on the officer track. Caleb was born in Chicago and was the first Earth-born cadet who treated Jaya with respect |
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| Mentors | Commander Elias Monroe (ret.) – Starfleet instructor who mentored Jaya through Academy training and recommended him for NX-class assignment. | |
| Enemies | Lt. (jg)Marcus Kane Marcus was born on Earth, and when Jaya came into the program, almost immediately pegged him as both competition and a quota hire. He never missed an opportunity to needle Jaya about it, and Jaya gave it right back to him. They often clashed in the simulator and almost came to blows once or twice. Their rivalry was well known to both instructors and their fellow cadets. When Jaya was selected for the NX program and he was assigned to a different class of starship, he seethed and is still pissed about it. |
Personal History
| Homeworld | Proxima | |
| Pre-Academy Life | Jaya grew up in the dust-choked settlements of Proxima Colony, one of Earth’s earliest extrasolar footholds. Life was precarious — power shortages, atmospheric rationing, and the constant need for communal labor to maintain fragile systems. His father managed hydroponics and his mother worked in atmospheric processing; from an early age Jaya ferried parts and supplies by skiff across canyon lands and into storms. These flights demanded precision and nerve, sparking his passion for piloting. Despite his parents’ hope that he would remain to strengthen the colony, Jaya applied to Starfleet once the Coalition opened the Academy to colonists. At sixteen, he left Proxima for Earth, a leap that marked him as ambitious but also “other.” Among Earth-born cadets, he sometimes felt dismissed as a provincial curiosity. Still, his skills at the helm spoke louder than prejudice. In simulations he consistently scored among the top of his cohort, particularly in planetary landings and evasive maneuvers. |
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| Academy Life | Jaya accelerated through Starfleet’s program, completing helm/astrogation specialization in just three years. Instructors noted his natural instincts, but also cautioned against his tendency to push ships harder than regulations allowed. Graduating at twenty, he was recommended for assignment aboard the NX-03 Challenger, both for his evident skill and as a symbolic inclusion of Earth’s colonies in the Coalition’s most advanced starships. Present Day: As Challenger embarks on her shakedown cruise at the height of the Earth-Romulan War, Jaya shoulders both pride and doubt. He knows some see him as a token choice; he’s determined to prove that he belongs at the helm, not just as a symbol but as a Starfleet officer capable of navigating both the unknown and the dangers of war. |
Service Record
| Cabin Assignment | E Deck | |
| Authorization Code | Patel-Epsilon-Nu-3-6 | |
| Service Number | UES-OFF-2156-3-079 | |
| Service Record | 2149 – 2152 | Civilian Apprentice Pilot | Utility & cargo shuttles, Proxima Colony 2152 – 2155 | Cadet | Helm/Navigation Track, Starfleet Training Command, San Francisco 2155 | Graduated Cadet | Advanced Astrogation & Condition Blue protocols 2156 – Present | Ensign | Chief Helm Officer, NX-03 Challenger |