(Debbie Ouellette) Born on the planet of Tulgaris, Shaylen's parents are Dr. Jajira Ankarian and a senior officer of Starfleet.  her birthday is the month of Vendrak, twenty-third daylight in 5723 Maku, or September 23, 2343 by the Terran standard calendar.  Ankarian attended private Tulgari schools and became the top student in her class.  She graduated so far above her fellow classmates that she became the first Tulgari female to be honored for her outstanding achievement.

     Her mother, Kajira was one of the foremost authorities in the field of aerodynamic and astronautic propulsion on her world.  Some years before Ankarian's birth, Kajira developed and perfected the first matter/antimatter propulsion system for Tulgari spacecraft.  She met her future husband, Captain Steven Parker of the Federation Constellation class starship Hathaway (NCC-2593) who was attracted to the Tulgaris system when Kajira activated her F.T.L. propulsion system.  In the years following Hathaway's first-contact mission to Tulgaris, Dr. Kajira Ankarian and Captain Parker fell in love, and in 2343, they had a daughter named Shaylen.  By the time of Ankarian's birth, Captain Parker was promoted to the rank of Commodore.

     Over the years, Ankarian became an expert in quantum physics and astrophysics, specializing in light energy propulsion systems.

     Her father, Commodore Parker spent as much time as he could with his young daughter, telling her stories of his childhood on Earth and his early days in Starfleet Academy.  Kajira, her mother, told her tales of the great heroes and the history of the Tulgari people.  In 2363, Ankarian applied for and was accepted into Starfleet Academy.  Her father sponsored for admittance.

Starfleet Academy Career:  While at academy, she majored in warp propulsion theory, getting high marks in virtually every class and lab she attended.  Her natural talents gained her the attention of many starship captains and ship yard commanders throughout the Federation, virtually guaranteeing her almost any posting she wanted.

     Tragedy came into her life in late 2366, during the winter break of her senior year.  Her father, now a retired Starfleet two-star admiral living on her homeworld with her mother, was coming to visit her on Earth over the break.  He booked passage aboard the Federation Mediterranean class starship Lalo (NCC-43837).  During this time, the Borg invaded Federation space, and Starfleet began massing forces at Wolf 359 under the command of Admiral Hanson.  The President of the United Federation of Planets declared a state of emergency for planet Earth, which was the destination of the Borg cube.  She received word that Lalo, which was to port at Sentinel Minor II before returning to Earth, encounted the Borg Cube near Zeta Alpha II, resulting in the destruction of Lalo and all aboard.

     She didn't want to believe it, until Starfleet Academy Superintendent Admiral Hahn showed her the distress signal from Lalo, received by Starbase 157.  The death of Ankarian's father was a terrible blow to her.  She would harbor a deep hatred for the Borg for a long time to come.  With the Borg crisis over, things slowly returned to normal for almost everyone else--but not for her.  Concentrating on her work was difficult at best for Ankarian.  When graduation finally came in 2367, she was given the commission of a Starfleet ensign.  She requested a leave of advanced study on her homeworld of Tulgaris at the Cochrane Institute of Engineering, Tulgaris Branch, to earn a doctorate in quantum physics.  Understanding her loss, and with the consideration that her deceased father was a Starfleet admiral, Starfleet Command granted her leave until her studies were complete.

Career at Cochrane Institute of Engineering, Tulgaris Branch: On Tulgaris, Ankarian lived with her mother, but most of her time was spent on campus.  She emersed herself into her work in an effort to forget her pain over the loss of her father.  Late one night in 2368 at the Cochrane Institute, she was studying a controversial theory for her doctorate paper.  While thinking about this theory, she wondered if there was a way to make a warp drive system which could operate at sustained speeds as great as warp 9.999 without overload or high core breach risk.  Ankarian developed a hypothesis, and began work on plans for a prototype which she dubbed the Imcari Device, an add-on unit to the matter/antimatter reaction chamber, I.D.F. generators, and the S.D.F. generators.  Fearing sabotage or infringement by potentially unethical colleagues, she kept the plans a close secret until she could collaborate with other Federation scientists of reputable ethics and credentials to make her plans from theory into reality.

     The scientific community on Churgon, a planet in Tulgaris's neighboring star system, heard of Ankarian's work and demanded that the plans be shared with them.  Ankarian replied that it was not possible, and that there were others who had first claim to the Imcari Device.  Enraged by her refusal, the Churgonian government launched an attack against Tulgaris.

     Unknown to the Tulgarian people (and to the Federation as well), Churgonian scientists developed a high-yield Berthold radiation weapon capable of destroying any animal life-form it came into contact with, leaving plant life and technology intact.  In all, about two-thirds of the Tulgari population, including Ankarian's mother, were annihilated.

     Fortunately, Ankarian was working late in her laboratory at the time of the attack.  Because of the delicate and sensitive nature of some of the experiments performed at the Cochrane Institute of Engineering, the section of the campus in which her lab was located was considered a high security area, protected by a shield grid capable of deflecting any orbital bombardment.  She, and the few scientists and professors who happened to be working late, survived the Churgonian attack.  In the three days that followed, Ankarian was forced to watch her mother die a slow and angonizing death as the effects of Berthold radiation consumed her.

     Federation Nebula-Class starship Maximillian (NCC-72016) arrived two days after the attack.  Maximillian, under the command of Captain Robert Lyon, was the closest starship to Tulgaris when the Tulgarian government sent the distress signal.  The starship's arrival was too late, as there is no practical antidote for exposure to high concentrations of Berthold radiation.  Captain Lyon and his crew, however, were able to aid the survivors by tending to other medical needs, and dispatching supplies necessary for rebuilding Tulgari civilization in the aftermath of the Churgonian attack.

     At the recommendation of Captain Lyon, heavy sanctions had been placed on the Churgonian people, and their home system was encompassed by a neutral zone, the crossing of which by any Churgonian vessel would be considered an act of war against not only the Tulgaris, but against the Federation as well.  Any non-Starfleet vessel entering the Churgonian system would be boarded, and the crew detained.

     Despite this, the Tulgari have a custom that any wrong commited by an individual, his family, whether related by marriage or blood, can be held accountable for the individual's actions, and that the punishment shall be similar in nature to the crime committed against the victim.  In essence, not only was Ankarian without a family, she no longer had a home.

     Maximillian recovered the sensitive projects at the Cochrane Institute and the personnel working on them (as a safeguard for Federation interests against a possible second Churgonian attack).  Captain Lyon requested Starfleet to dispatch more starships to further aid the Tulgari in their recovery.  While en-route to Starbase 157 (Where Maximillian would disembark the Tulgari survivors), Captain Lyon reviewed Ankarian's profile, and found her name familiar.  As suspected, she was the daughter of the late Admiral Steven Parker, whom Lyon served under aboard Federation Excelsior-Class starship Seattle (NCC-42289).  At that time, Parker was Seattle's commanding officer, and Lyon was a fighter squadron leader--the two officers having become good friends.  In 2337, when Lyon was reassigned to Starbase 74, Captain Parker, too, transferred to the Hathaway--the deep-space exploration command he had always wanted.  Lieutenant Lyon kept in touch with his former commanding officer, and in 2343 he had since returned to the fleet.  Since Lyon's new assignment, the Excelsior-Class starship Hood (NCC-42296) was in the Tulgari sector in September 2343, he was able to be there with Commodore Parker when his only daughter Shaylen was born on Tulgaris.

Starfleet Career:  Captain Lyon called her into his ready room, and offered her the opportunity to return to Starfleet as an engineering officer.  Having nowhere else to go, she gladly accepted his offer, effectively becoming a junior officer aboard Maximillian.  She was given permission by Chief Engineer Brown to continue her preliminary work on her Imcari device.  Upon Maximillian's return to Earth some months later, Lyon was promoted to the rank of two-star admiral, and was reassigned to Starfleet Command.

     Before leaving the ship for the last time, Admiral Lyon briefed his successor, Captain Turock T'Kill on Ensign Ankarian's project.  T'Kill allowed her to continue her projects, so long as it didn't interfere with her regular duties.

     In 2372, Lieutenant Commander Tamak was assigned Maximillian as chief engineer.  Tamak, a Vulcan engineer, became fascinated by her theories, and assisted her on her project.  Ankarian found him to be a good friend as well as a mentor and commanding officer, and she valued his advice.  Between Tamak and her section leader, Lieutenant John Chubb, she felt she was encouraged and supported in her work, and for the first time in a long time, she felt she had a home.

     When Maximillian was destroyed in 2372, Ensign Ankarian was in the beginning phases of building the prototype Imcari Device.  Unfortunately, the destruction of Maximillian occured too quickly for her to save her prototype.  She felt a great deal of loss as well, but at the same time, if the death of her ship saved a world, the sacrifice was well worth it.  She was glad that she followed Tamak's advice in saving her research in the Starfleet high security database (encrypted so that only she could access the file), otherwise years of research would have been lost.

     Like many officers and crew of the now-lost Maximillian, she accepted Admiral T'Kill's offer to sign on with his new command.  To her surprise, T'Kill was assigned to supervise the construction of the new Sovereign class Maximillian (NCC-74997), on May 24, 2373, he would command the starship on her maiden voyage into the Menkare Expanse.

     Ensign Ankarian almost immediately fell in love with the new starship design.  The systems were far more sophisticated to those of the old Nebula-Class vessel--systems which could support a prototype Imcari device more easily than earlier designs.

     By September, 2373, she finally accepted her promotion to lieutenant, junior grade, a promotion which she had refused three times before.  She felt privleged to serve with Fleet Admiral Lyon, Admiral T'Kill, Captain Blobbin, and Commanders Teela and Tamak.  With no family or homeworld to return to, the new Maximillian became more of a home to her than anywhere else in the galaxy.

     After the Maximillian returned from the Menkare Expanse, just before leaving Deep Space 7 to rendevous with an invading vessel of unknown intent, Fleet Admiral Lyon transferred Ankarian to the ongoing Pathfinder project, in the belief that her talents would be better served, and her work safer, assisting with the return of Starship Voyager.  While she left grudgingly, this likely saved her life, as the Maximillian was nearly destroyed in the conflict that followed.  She remained at Pathfinder, finding that she was awarded ample freedom to complete her work, which had taken far longer than she would have ever guessed.  Years later, she would complete the Imcari device, and after great testing was placed in the new prototype assault frigate Luna-Class starship Maximillian, NCC-82016.