Qalataqa Ahote

Qalataqa Ahote

Description

"Qaletaqa" means "guardian of the people." He was given this name by his grandfather, who taught him the ways of the Hopi. "Ahote" is his family name and means "restless one." His friends know him as "Qal."

Qal learned dreaming and meditation practice from his grandfather, a Hopi shaman and tribal leader. He studied martial arts, criminology and intelligence analysis at Starfleet Academy.

Biography

Qalataqa Ahote was born November 23, 2208 at Gabriel Bell Memorial Hospital on Martian Colony 3. His father Jason Ahote was a well-known but controversial scientist and authority on Martian geology. His mother Moira Kelly Ahote was a highly respected Star Fleet engineer. Both were hard-working and highly ambitious in their careers. In 2213, 5-year old Qal was sent to Earth to live with his grandfather, Cheveyo. His parents visited frequently, often taking the young boy on family camping trips into the New Mexico desert.

Cheveyo Ahote was a respected scholar of Vulcan philosophy, one of the few humans to have studied at the Vulcan Academy. In 2220 Cheveyo was invited by the Vulcan Government to participate in a 2-year sabbatical on Vulcan that included meditation training and instruction in esoteric Vulcan philosophy. Ahote took Qal, then age 12, to Vulcan. Qal attended studies each morning with Vulcan children, and in the afternoons studied meditation with his grandfather and a Vulcan instructor.

During their stay on Vulcan, Ahote administered the tradition Hopi rights of manhood to his grandson. This ceremony was performed as part of a cultural exchange with Vulcan. During the ceremony young Qal received his spirit animal and name, which he rarely shares with anyone.

In 2226 Ahote entered the University of New Mexico, majoring in philosophy with a minor in Vulcan Studies. Cheveyo Ahote was then teaching his final year at the university.

In 2232 Ahote received Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of New Mexico.

In 2232 Ahote entered Star Fleet Academy.

In 2236 Ahote graduated Star Fleet Academy. His first assignment was aboard the U.S.S. Valley Forge.

Upon completion of his first five-year mission aboard Valley Forge in 2241, Ahote requested extended personal leave and returned to Earth to spend time with his family.

Ahote returned to Starfleet service in 2242. He was promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned to USS Achilles (NCC-551), where he served as of Chief Tactical Officer for two years.

In 2244 Ahote was promoted to commander and served as executive officer to Captain Zora Flannigan aboard USS Excalibur (NCC-1705). The Excalibur was assigned to extreme deep space exploration along the distant border of Romulan space. There were several encounters with Romulan vessels (all classified by Starfleet Intelligence) and the prolonged mission accumulated a massive trove of new data concerning unknown species and civilizations. Excalibur returned to Federation space in 2251.

USS Shanghai

Due to his years of excellent service, Ahote was offered his own command. He opted to take a year of personal leave to again spend time with his family on Earth and Vulcan. When he returned to service in 2252, Ahote assumed command of the USS Shanghai, a Miranda-class light cruiser posted to the northwestern border of Federation space.

Six months into its mission, on 12 February 2253, Shanghai was lost in the vicinity of the Zaran system. No sign of the ship was ever recovered. The ship is assumed destroyed and all personnel were declared legally dead in 2266.

Personal life

On 12 June 2236, Ahote married Hil’ta, daughter of S’kel of Vulcan, in a traditional ceremony on the bride's home planet. The two had met during the Rebecca incident, Hil'ta and her father being two of the kidnaping victims. When Hil’ta was later falsely implicated in a security matter, Ahote was integral to her being cleared of suspicion. Hil’ta graduated from Starfleet Science Academy in 2240. That same year their first and only child, Sovek Ahote, was born.