Species: Human
Age: 25
Posting: Operations officer on the Excelsior Advance, on long-term assignment to frontier territories, Orion sector Command.
Jade (she despises her first name, and prefers “Jade”) possesses a formidable memory, especially for starships and astronomical data, two areas she studies as a hobby. She’s a genius at observation and analysis of disparate facts. But despite having an IQ through the roof, her corresponding EQ (emotional quotient) is terribly low. Jade’s not good with other people, and it shows. Her academy scores were excellent in any test that relied solely on individual performance, but horrific in any task involving teamwork or group dynamics.
Her counselor at the academy made several notes in her psych profile expressing concerns that Jade wasn’t Ranger material, that her powerful preference for solitude and standoffishness would put her at odds with her teammates.
But then Jade met Lena Vargas in their second-to-last year of instruction, in a group tactical exercise with several other students. The scenario was problematic: several ‘assailants’ (portrayed by instructors) had seized a local governmental council to force them to turn over the local treasury.
As usually happens in these exercises, a leader emerged among the students. He conceived and executed a plan to rescue the hostages that Jade objected to, saying that it had only a slight chance of success. She stated this in unfortunately blunt terms, and it became an argument who would lead the squad.
Only Cadet Vargas supported Jade’s argument, and the rest of the squad left them behind.
The assault was an unmitigated disaster. The cadet squad was all but annihilated in an ambush set up along their selected approach to the target.
Which was when Cadets Jade and Vargas executed a flanking maneuver and came in behind the ambushers, finishing them and rescuing the remaining cadets, whom they’d effectively used as bait.
When Cadet Vargas graduated the Marshal track and was told to from her team, she made Jade her first selection.
Amongst the odd crew Vargas assembled, Jade has found a home and, oddly enough, friendship. She is best friends with Char despite their being complete opposites in almost every way. Jade believes it’s because she balances Char’s impulsive wildness with her own cool, logical approach to life, and Char pushes her (gently) out of her comfort zone. “A wider frame of reference,” Jade has said on the subject, “can only lead to my betterment as an officer of the law.”