<div class="floatright">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/42/dd/b1/42ddb15531065ca5bfaaaa3b0ba98878.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_u"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: French Script MT;"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Character Basics</span></strong></span></span><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Arik Soong<br/><strong>Gender:</strong>Male<br/><strong>Race:</strong>Soong-Type Android<br/><br/><hr/><span class="bbc_u"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: French Script MT;"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Star Fleet Service Record</span></strong></span></span><br/><strong>Position:</strong>Captain<br/><strong>Rank:</strong>Captain<br/><strong>Branch of Service:</strong>Command<br/><strong>Major:</strong>Command School (including post-graduate), minors in Helm/Nav and Tactical<br/><br/><hr/><span class="bbc_u"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: French Script MT;"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Character Appearance</span></strong></span></span><br/><strong>Height:</strong>185cm (6'1")<br/><strong>Weight:</strong>160kg (350lbs) though he appears to weigh the same as a fit human<br/><strong>Age:</strong>18 (appears early-20s)<br/><strong>Hair Color:</strong>Dark brown<br/><strong>Eye Color:</strong>Blue<br/><strong>Build:</strong>Athletic<br/><strong>Distinguishing marks:</strong>None, zero blemishes, scars or other imperfections - though perhaps that is distinguishing enough.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Character Description:</strong></span><br/>Arik looks, if anything, like one might expect a poster child for the Federation to look. His appearance was carefully chosen to look friendly yet tough, to appear confident but not intimidating, and to appeal to as broad a range of people as possible. Unlike previous Soong-type Androids he looks fully human in terms of general features like his eyes and skintone. It is also extremely rare to see him wearing anything other than official Starfleet uniforms or clothing.<br/><br/><br/><hr/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Personality:</strong></span><br/>Arik tends to be curious about almost anything new, but also cautious of his image in front of others. Unlike others of his kind who came before, Arik has a strong sense of self awareness and tends to attempt to avoid embarrassment whenever possible. He is well mannered though somewhat aloof, his previous attempts at being 'one of the guys' having had mixed reactions.<br/><br/>At times he is perhaps overconfident, which can be off-putting to some. Overconfident may be the wrong word, really, as it is more than he tends to know his exact capabilities, and humility is not an easily mastered human emotion.<br/><br/><hr/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Background:</strong></span><br/>Arik was named for the grandfather of the original creator of the Soong androids, a man whose actions made it possible for Noonian Soong to complete his creations. 25 years ago the remains of Noonian Soong's first creation, B-4, were found. Over the next decade a tiny team of Starfleet scientists used this information in addition to Data's Starlogs on himself, Lal and Lore, to reconstruct his work and improve upon it. The result, in the end, was Starfleet's latest Android - Arik.<br/><br/>Arik underwent rigorous study for the first couple years of his life, learning about himself and humans in an emotionally detached state. Eventually he chose an appearance for himself, and was enrolled in Starfleet Academy as a full time student. At times his schooling proved difficult - he had decided to go the Command route, which was a challenge for an android. Knowledge was easy, knowing the proper decision was generally easy, but inspiring others and the various other emotional aspects were, for obvious reasons, not as easy. Not only that, but for all that people were curious about him (usually quite friendly even), it was difficult for others to see an android giving orders in training scenarios and the like. But Arik still stuck through it and in the end graduated with honors.<br/><br/>Upon graduation he was assigned to his first ship where he excelled at his roles, quickly earning promotions in his early years. Eventually he found himself as the First Officer onboard the USS Thomas Paine, a New Orleans class starship. During their travels the ship encountered a Romulan D'deridex near the Neutral Zone. It was a ship several times their own size, and after a series of misunderstandings and posturing a battle broke out with both ships ending up badly damaged. The captain of the ship was killed early on in the fight due to a near direct hit with the bridge and Arik assumed control.<br/><br/>Things looked bleak for them, badly outmatched by the Romulans, and Arik opened communications in an attempt to buy time for people to escape. His negotiation attempts, at first, were largely unsuccessful at first, the android unable to make inroads with the emotional race. Finally, in a last ditch attempt, Arik finally activated his emotion chip for the first time, something he had been putting off for years. They had said it was there when he was ready, but he'd always had some excuse.<br/><br/>The impassioned pleas that came next, from someone who had moments before been as cold as a Vulcan, combined with the facts of the matter at hand, finally convinced the Romulans that it would be in the best interests to let them live and not start another war over a misunderstanding.<br/><br/>Arik received multiple commendations for his effort, much to his embarrassment (yet another new emotion to deal with). He's spent the last year back at Starfleet Academy, teaching classes and learning about his emotions while awaiting a new assignment. However when it came time to head back to space new orders came in, along with an official promotion...<br/><br/><hr/><strong>Other Info:</strong>Arik was named for his 'grandfather', the original creator of Soong androids whose work was continued by Noonian Soong. He does have an Emotion Chip similar to theone Data used to have, though it is often willingly kept dialed down for fear of it consuming him or making him unstable. His promotion to his current position happened during combat with the loss of his commanding officer.