Name: Rashidi M'Benga, M.D.
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Chief Medical Officer
Assignment: Between assignments, formerly U.S.S. Melbourne, NCC-62043

Species: Human

Attributes
Fitness 2
    Vitality +1
Coordination 3
Intellect 4
    Perception +1
Presence 2
    Willpower +1
Psi 0

Skills
Athletics (Climbing) 2 (3)
    (Soccer) (3)
Computer (Research) 1 (2)
Culture (Capellan) 2 (3)
    (Human) (3)
Dodge 1
Energy Weapon (Phaser) 1 (2)
First Aid (Human) 4 (5)
    (Vulcan) (3)
History (Federation) 1 (2)
    (Human) (2)
Language, Capellan 1
    Federation Standard 3
    Swahili 3
    Vulcan 1
Law (Starfleet Regulations) 1 (2)
Life Sciences (Biology) 1 (2)
    (Exobiology) (2)
Medical Sciences (Pathology) 4 (5)
    (Surgery) (5)
Personal Equipment (Medical Tricorder) 1 (4)
    (Universal Translator) (4)
Physical Sciences (Chemistry) 1 (2)
Planetside Survival (Desert) 1 (2)
Primitive Weaponry (Capellan kligat) 1 (3)
Shipboard Systems (Medical Systems) 2 (4)
Unarmed Combat (Starfleet Martial Arts) 1 (2)
Vehicle Operation (Shuttlecraft) 1 (2)
World Knowledge (Capella IV/Kohath) 1 (2)
    (Earth) (2)

Advantages/Disadvantages
Code of Honor (Hippocratic Oath) -2, Department Head (Chief Medical Officer, Nebula-class vessel) +3, Famous Incident (paper on Vulcan surgical techniques) +1, Language Ability +2, Mathematical Ability +3, Pacifism (only fights in self-defense) -3, Promotion (Lieutenant) +2, Zero-G Intolerance -2

Courage: 5
Resistance: 3
Renown: 3
    Skill: 3

Background
Rashidi was born to Aboud and Mariam M’Benga in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in the United States of Africa. His father Aboud is a distinguished professor in the Muhimbili College of Health Science at the University of Dar es Salaam, and came from a long line of physicians dating back to Rashidi's great-great-grandfather. His mother is a security officer currently serving on board the U.S.S. Xerxes. He has two brothers, Hassan and Rahman, and two sisters, Leila and Fatima. Hassan is six years older than Rashidi, and is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, while Rahman, two years Rashidi’s senior, joined the Merchant Marine. Leila is a year older than Rashidi, and works as a researcher in the Muhimbili College of Health Science; Fatima is two years younger than Rashidi, and is an up-and-coming public servant in Tanzania.

The children were all intelligent and curious, but Rashidi also shared his father’s mathematical talents. He had few close friends in his early years, spending most of his time immersed in his studies, and determined to follow in his parents’ footsteps. As he matured, Rashidi learned to reach out to people more, primarily due to his grandfather’s influence. After failing to gain entrance to Starfleet Academy in his first attempt, he spent a year studying at Oxford. The following year he gained entrance to the Academy, and predictably, studied medicine. There he met and fell in love with T’Fonn, a Vulcan woman two years his senior. As expected, nothing came from his infatuation, though the two did gain a healthy respect for the other’s medical skills.

With completion of his cadet cruise on board the U.S.S. Oberth, he was assigned to a four-year stint as a medical officer on Starbase 375. While at the starbase, Rashidi wrote a seminal journal article in the Journal of the Federation Medical Association entitled "The Effects of Masiform D as Compared to Masiform E in Vulcan Surgical Patients, with a Summary of Thoracic Invasive Procedures." Based in large part on this accomplishment, Rashidi was accepted to the Health Education Exchange Program, and spent two years on Capella IV with a team of Federation physicians and scientists, educating the populace and researching Capellan physiology.

Anxious to return to space exploration, he sought and received a transfer to the U.S.S. Melbourne, where he served as Assistant Chief Medical Officer. While on board the Melbourne, Rashidi made a couple of very close friends, both of which died when the Melbourne was destroyed at Wolf 359. Rashidi had left the Melbourne just a week before the battle, returning home on shore leave. The news of the loss hit him that much harder with the thought that he should have suffered the same fate as his friends did. For the next couple of months, Rashidi waited for his next assignment and was left to pick up the pieces.

Personality & Appearance
Rashidi is somewhat quiet and shy around new people, except where his expert opinion is needed; this he always gives confidently and without hesitation. Around those people he knows, he is somewhat more relaxed, smiling more frequently and generally more at ease. He is a dedicated and caring physician, often becoming closely attached to patients under his care. He places great value on family and tradition, as evinced by the family history. Rashidi likewise considers his friends of primary importance, both because of his affection for them and also because he does not make friends as easily as others.

Tall, lean and wiry, Rashidi is an attractive if not overly handsome man, with a rare but warm smile. His brown eyes betray a sharp mind and Rashidi often stares intently at objects which hold his interest. His skin is a chocolate brown, and his dark, curly hair is worn short in a functional style.

Submitted by Patrick Murphy

Editor's Note
Well, you've got two choices for the M'Benga family, as great minds think alike, but not too alike. I like them both so much I wish Jeffrey and I had gotten together to combine our ideas into one M'Benga family!

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