View source for Lt Cmdr T'Pau

{{Infobox person
| name             = T'Pau (birth name: unknown)
| honorific_suffix = Chief Science Officer, USS Guanyin
| image            = File:She-hulk.jpg
| caption          = T'Pau preparing for a meeting with the science commission
| birth_date       = 2332
| birth_place      = Orion Freighter Sigga - somewhere in transit
| known_for        = 
| spouse           = None
| children         = Unknown
| parents          = Unknown
| years_active     = 
| ethnicity        = Orion
| religion         = Buddhist
}}

'''Chief Science Officer T'Pau''' (Born 2332) is a Starfleet Officer currently serving as the Chief Science Officer of the [[USS Guanyin]], under the authority of Captain [[Ramita Nakarmi]].

== Early Life ==

Very little is known of T'Pau's early life, including her birth name, as she has been reticent to share much information. What is known is that she was born on the Orion Freighter Sigga, while on a trade run in the year 2332. Her parents were supposedly wealthy traders, with possible connections in the Orion Syndicate, though not actually members. Her mothers expected her to take over the family business as the oldest born female, but T'Pau hated her family, hated the business and hated how her mothers exerted control over the men, treating them as little more than slaves. She did however love science and enjoyed piloting the freighter and here picked up her early interest in astro-navigation and astrophysics. She refuses to talk about anything else involving her childhood including how she escaped that life and joined Starfleet.

== Career ==

T'Pau showed up on Earth with little more than her chosen name and the clothes on her back. She admires the Vulcans and chose her name in honor of one of their greatest leaders and reformers and hopes to one day show her people that they can be more than criminals and hedonists. T'Pau was determined to join Starfleet no matter how difficult her situation as she saw a great opportunity there to make something of herself. She was one of the first Orions to apply and showed up to exam day, homeless, hungry, still wearing her one pair of ragged traveling clothes and fighting hard to keep her pheromones in check. Despite these difficulties she aced the exam and quickly jumped into her studies, eventually graduating at the top of her class.

Her first assignment was aboard the USS Copernicus charting star systems in the Alpha Quadrant and doing a scientific study of a unique nebula. A probe was launched into the nebula and sent back some strange readings. The Captain wanted to fly the ship in to get a closer look when the probe disappeared, but T'Pau spoke out against this idea even though she was just fresh out of Starfleet. Her supposition was that the nebula was a living thing that fed off of the energy in the probe, thus explaining the readings. The Captain went ahead with the order to move into the nebula, but T'Pau went behind the Captain's and Sr. Officers backs and devised a reverse quantum polarization plan that required her to access some critical systems in order to implement. When things went wrong, as she was expecting, she was ready and implemented her technique causing a temporary hole in the creature that the ship was able to use in order to escape. She was still written up for disobeying orders, but at the same time was decorated for her quick thinking that saved the ship and her crew.

In 2365 she was assigned to the USS Sun Tzu. They were set to patrol some of the outermost colonies in the Federation and do surveys of the nearby systems. In 2366 they were the closest ship to New Providence when a distress call went out regarding an attack by an unknown species. They arrived just as the Borg had finished destroying the colony and made a desperate attack against the borg cube. T'Pau advised caution, but when the Captain ignored her advice she briefly left her station to talk to another officer. In that brief moment the Borg attacked and nearly finished off the ship. Captain An Bao died in the first attack and most of the senior staff were killed or injured from the aftermath. This left T'Pau in charge and she ordered an immediate retreat. The ship barely managed to make it to warp, heading back out into some unexplored territories and the Borg lost interest and continued on their way to Earth. The ship didn't make it too far before the warp drive failed, communications were down, weapons systems non-operable and the impulse drive just working. T'Pau ordered immediate repairs and they were eventually able to limp back to the nearest Starfleet base. By then Wolf 359 had already occurred and the Borg cube had been destroyed above Earth. T'Pau still feels guilty about leaving her station, wondering if there's something she could have done to prevent the death of the Captain and the senior officers. She doesn't feel she deserves the commendation she was awarded for saving much of the ship and crew. The Sun Tzu went in for a major overhaul and T'Pau ended up being reassigned to the Guanyin.