| “ | Being an engineer is more than being able to answer a few technical questions. You have to apply your knowledge to reality. | „ |
| — Jhael Onika 2409 ("Hide and Seek") |
Jhael Zhyron Onika was a Saurian Starfleet officer who served as chief engineer on the USS Leviathan. He possessed a very keen intellect which made his engine room an efficient one.
His life was cut tragically short in 2409 by an explosion in the Leviathan's engineering section during a battle with several Nausicaan vessels. He saved the ship in the process, however, by successfully erecting a force field to protect the Leviathan's warp core.
Biography
Early life
Jhael Onika was born on 20 June 2386 on Sauria.[a]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Starfleet career
Shortly upon graduating in 2408, he was assigned to the USS Leviathan, along with fellow cadets Jason Fredricks, Ernie Hauser, Hannah Freeman and Vance L'eher. He served as an engineer's assistant until 2409, when the Leviathan's current chief engineer was killed by a Klingon boarding party from the IKS Chot. After fighting off the boarders, he told Fredricks that the engine room was "well looked after."Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content[b]
Leviathan's chief engineer
With the Leviathan under the command of newly-promoted Lieutenant Fredricks, Onika was placed in the position of chief engineer. Having responded to a distress call from the freighter SS Azura, Fredricks led an away team over to assist, with Onika joining them at the last minute, insisting that they may need an engineer on the team. He sealed several plasma leaks on the Azura, but was unable to prevent their warp core from breaching, causing the Azura's captain, Danna Brott, to stay behind so Fredricks' team and Brott's crew could escape. While the away team was still on the Azura, an EPS conduit overloaded on the Leviathan, leaving the ship dead in the water, and without a chief engineer. Luckily, Operations Officer Charlie Morgan was successful in repairing the damage in Onika's absence, and transported them back just before the Azura's core breached.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Later in 2409, Communications Officer Hannah Freeman began to show interest in joining the engineering crew. Onika was initially puzzled by her idea to join, and perhaps even slightly opposed to it, but soon he came to accept her as a valuable member of the team. After asking her several technical questions and being moderately impressed by her proficiency, he put her to work doing various tasks in engineering, including having her assist him with integrating decalithium into the Leviathan's impulse engines. The decalithium was successfully integrated into the engines, and the Leviathan used the speed boost given by the decalithium to help them enter the Paulson Nebula.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
During a diplomatic mission to Regulus IV, it came to Onika's attention that several malfunctions had occurred across the ship, mostly minor. He assigned Freeman, along with fellow engineers Leo Anderson and Phil Schrader to solve the issue. Freeman, Anderson and Schrader were able to determine that the ship's bio-neural gel packs had been sabotaged, to which Onika promptly informed Ernie Hauser, who had been left in command while Lieutenant Fredricks and his away team were down on Regulus IV. Main power soon failed, confirming Freeman and her team's conclusion that a saboteur was infecting the gel packs. Sensing a growing danger, Hauser ordered Onika to lockout the ship's command functions, in case the saboteur attempted to gain control of the ship. Onika then locked the computer so only he could access it from engineering, using his personal access code.[c]
Onika and his engineering staff began troubleshooting a way to disinfect the gel packs, initially to no avail. Freeman then suggested heating the gel packs, essentially giving them a fever. Onika felt the idea was sound, and commended Freeman for thinking of it. The "treatment" worked, and soon, the gel packs returned to normal. Schrader then successfully restored main power, and Onika informed the transporter room that they could begin beaming up Fredricks' away team. After it was revealed that Thom Lædon was the saboteur, the senior staff had a private meeting in the observation lounge. Freeman wondered how, as a security officer, Lædon had known enough about biological systems to infect the gel packs. Onika told her that he didn't, and that was why Lædon hadn't been able to take control of the main computer by the time they discovered the sabotage. He then told all present that "War changes people... and not for the better."Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Legacy and death
On stardate 83245.3, while the Leviathan was under the command of Template:R, following Jason Fredricks' unofficial resignation, the Leviathan tracked the Ferengi vessel SS Nandi into a nebula in the Celes system. The Nandi's captain had stolen a shipment of kemocite from Starbase 114, and was intending on selling it to Nausicaan pirates. The Nausicaans had several vessels stationed in the nebula, likely to protect their investment. Davis then ordered the Leviathan to open fire, without hailing the Nausicaans first. The Leviathan took severe damage during the ensuing conflict, causing hull breaches on Decks 5 and 6, and killing six people in engineering, including Onika, who had stayed at his post to erect an emergency force field around the warp core, saving the ship.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Phil Schrader was quickly chosen as Onika's replacement by Commander Davis, as Schrader had the most experience with the ship's systems.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content The stress of his new-found position quickly led him to be indecisive and blame himself for Onika's death. Schrader's condition quickly worsened, and he began to have nightmares about the moments leading up to Onika's death. He blamed himself for not being quicker to save Onika, who had stayed in engineering to erect a force field to protect the warp core, while everyone else evacuated. Schrader would have stayed as well, but Will Darrow dragged him out of the room. As soon as the force field was activated, Onika fled the room, but an explosion from one of the walls sent debris flying at him, killing him almost instantly. Schrader, not realizing this, climbed back into the room, attempting to save Onika. He reached him and managed to pull him out, breaking his ankle in the process. Onika had already been lost, however.
The Levaithan's bartender, Crusoe, tried to convince Schrader that it was not his fault that Onika was lost, and told him he could honor Onika's sacrifice by taking up his fallen comrade's position. Schrader, however, continued to blame himself, recording his guilt in his final personal log, and eventually committing suicide in his own quarters.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have contentCite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Personal life and skills
Jhael had a very adept mind, allowing him to easily recite various stats for the USS Leviathan entirely from memory, while on the shuttlecraft Zeus, which was in-bound for the Leviathan.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content[d]
Traits
Appendices
Background and trivia
- Jhael Onika did not originally appear in the first two chapters of [unknown story], making his debut appearance in "Stranded in Space". He was later added to the first chapter's rewrite, "The Price of Liberty".
- No information has been revealed about Jhael's early life or family. His birthdate was given by CaptFredricks, though it has never been mentioned in the story.
- Jhael is the only character so far to have a trait rated at 11/10 (intelligence).
- His name is pronounced as jh-HELL ZHI-ron oh-NEE-kah.
Appearances
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "The Price of Liberty"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Stranded in Space" (First appearance)
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Hide and Seek"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "The Kuvah'Magh"
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "War Is Good for Business" (Mentioned only)
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Treasure Trading Station" (Mentioned only)
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Secret Orders" (dream)
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Task Force Hippocrates" (Mentioned only)
Unofficial appearances
- Star Trek: Federation Legacy – "Khitomer Crisis" (First appearance)
Notes and references
- ↑ No information has been given regarding Jhael's life before entering Starfleet. It is likely that he grew up on Sauria and then attended Starfleet Academy in 2404, when he turned 18.
- ↑ Jhael's name was not called during the Academy graduation ceremony, but the fact that he was at the Academy's shuttlebay following the ceremony means he may have been there, and simply was mentioned behind Jason Fredricks and Lucas Wells' dialog.
- ↑ Despite being an ensign, as the ship's chief engineer, Jhael was considered part of the senior staff, even attending staff meetings in the observation lounge. This position in turn gave him the authority to lockout the computer if the situation demanded it. The access code he used to lockout the computer was Onika-237-Baker.
- ↑ The stats cited by Jhael while on the Zeus were USS Leviathan, Miranda-class cruiser, registry number NCC-93151, 12 decks, crew complement of 400, maximum speed Warp Factor 5.2.
Template:Leviathan personnel
| v - e - ? | Starfleet Academy, Class of 2408 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Summa cum laude | Tala Jones | ||
| Magna cum laude | Dylyp Azeli • Jason Fredricks (valedictorian) • Lucas Wells | ||
| Cum laude | Ernie Hauser | ||
| Others | Leo Anderson • Elisa Flores • Hannah Freeman • Daniel Harvey • Vance L'eher • Lenerea Mendel • Norrg'k • Jhael Onika† • Jeff Philips • Serov • T'Vrell • Raltha Trebor • Sofia Wenner • Zarva | ||