Karalina de Silva

Command Master Chief "COB" Karalina de Silva is the senior enlisted person on the Constitution NX-04 in Boldly, We Go.... Besides the traditional 'heads and beds' duties of the COB, Karalina also uses her experience as a member of the Enterprise crew on the initial mission to act as an advisor and confidant to everyone who comes to her door.

Personal

Karalina de Silva was born in Bogota, Columbia, daughter of Gonzalo, a librarian and Maria, a milliner. She was the 5th of 5 children, all 4 of her older brothers entering government services. Karalina showed a knack for piloting and technical work from a young age, and enlisted in the space services after graduating high school.

Career

Karalina served aboard many of the earliest warp capable ships built on earth. She was a member of the first (and only) delegation of space services personnel that went to Vulcan to learn from Vulcan crews before the souring of the relationship between the two governments. This experience made her invaluable, and subsequently led to her being posted on all of the most cutting edge ships and with the best crews. When the first warp 5 ship was commissioned, she naturally assumed she would be posted on the Enterprise.

Relationship with Jonathan Archer

She was not on the initial list of crew chosen by Captain Archer, and this was a shock to many. She contacted him and he gave her a cool reception, and indicated that she was a finalist but others were more suitable to the mission. She was very upset, but he was unmoved. Because this was what she had waited her whole career for, she appealed to Admiral Forrest.

After meeting with Admiral Forrest she learned that Captain Archer felt that she and the other members of the delegation who went to Vulcan were somehow untrustworthy because of their collaboration with the Vulcans. Admiral Forrest met privately with Captain Archer, and she was told she was chosen for the mission.

Karalina was a senior chief at the beginning of the mission, but eligible for promotion to master. During the first years of the mission her relationship with Captain Archer changed very little. But slowly, he warmed up to her and learned that her devotion to the mission was complete. During the last year of the initial mission she earned her promotion, and was one of 24 active master chiefs at the formation of the Federation, and one of very few with deep space experience.