Lieutenant Zak Kebron. Tactical Officer and Security Chief aboard the Starship Excalibur under the command of Captain Calhoun.

Background:
Zak was born into the Clan Kebron on the Brikar homeworld in the year 2340. His father was a salesman in motivational programs and his mother was a politician. Zak entered Starfleet Academy in 2357, in the same class as Mark McHenry, Soleta, Worf and Tania Tobias. The five cadets were often called the "dream team" because their various talents and temperaments complemented one another and they were quite effective at the various missions they were sent on together. Kebron specialized in security and had no trouble academically but he did have trouble learning to deal with certain members of other races, especially Klingons who had been sworn enemies of the Brikar for decades. He and Worf had a serious fight on the first day at the Academy. The Dean of Students at the Academy, Admiral Fincher, decided that in order for them to learn to be more tolerant, they should become roommates together. He graduated and received his commission as Ensign in 2361. Over the next several years, Zak served several tours as a security officer aboard different starships then moved up to chief of security. He also had one tour as assistant Tactical Officer. He received his promotion to Lieutenant in 2365.

In 2373, Zak received orders to report aboard the U.S.S. Excalibur as the ship's Tactical Officer and Security Chief. He was to rendezvous with the ship at planet Ivor Prime, but the Borg incursion of Earth required that the Excalibur travel immediately to Sector 001 to join the task force formed by Admiral Hayes. It was not until after the battle and the Excalibur was in spacedock that Kebron reported aboard.

Brikarians:
The Brikar are a technologically sophisticated, roughly humanoid civilization from the low-gravity world of Brikar. They are a proud, warrior race and are members of the Federation. Though not unemotional actually, the Brikar have a renowned stoicism and a chauvinism that is equally famous. The Brikar have traditionally harbored a dislike for Klingons stemming from intense border disputes that occurred before the Klingon Federation Alliance of 2293. In 2357, the Brikar attempted to form an alliance of races hostile to the Federation and made a bid to take over the Federation. The few skirmishes that were fought over a number of weeks were later called the Brikar-Federation War.

Physically Brikarians are bipedal, roughly humanoid beings possessed of very tough hides and dense physiques making them appear like living rock statues. Unlike most other species who come from low-gravity worlds, the Brikar are immensely strong and heavy. Other low-gravity species such as the Elasians are lithe, relatively frail beings who can hardly stand in gravities such as Earth normal. Yet the Brikar are powerfully built and quite dense. This apparent disparity lends credence to the common belief that the Brikar have genetically altered their physical make-up over the centuries, and have in effect bred themselves for physical strength. In the relatively higher Earth gravity, Brikarians appear more flattened vertically than on their homeworld, and they experience some difficulty in moving. However, they retain their incredible strength. The average Brikarian is capable of lifting several tons, even in Earth gravity. Although fairly rigid in physique Brikarians can be capable of unexpected quickness. They have large lung capacities, slow metabolisms and airtight mouths, allowing them to hold their breath for 20 minutes at a stretch. They have the well-deserved reputation for being hard to scare, owing to their size, strength, and tough hides which can withstand phaser blasts that would kill ten humans.

In appearance, Brikarians have chiseled features and the surface of their bodies are covered in facets like rough crystals. They have small all-black eyes, two vertical slits for a nose, a simple slit for a mouth, and have two small circular ear holes on either side of their proportionally small and compact heads. They have three-fingered hands featuring two fingers in a V-shape and an opposable thumb.

Personality:
Zak Kebron is a stubborn, quiet and reserved individual, and owing to his people's having been invaded many times over the decades, Kebron is very suspicious, especially of newcomers. He is very respectful of authority and extremely loyal. He can also be described as diligent, thorough and often judgmental. Kebron finds himself very uncomfortable when dealing with races that he has no familiarity with. In carrying out his duty, Zak Kebron is quite tenacious, especially where the safety of the ship and crew are involved. Personally, he is slow to warm to new people and makes friends very slowly. Those that earn his respect are persons who are honorable and who have proven their merit in the service of Starfleet. He counts among his friends his Starfleet Academy classmates, Soleta, Mark McHenry, Tania Tobias and Worf, although he and the Klingon don't openly admit their mutual respect. Regarding his friends, Kebron is somewhat protective of Soleta and McHenry, as if he were their older brother. Kebron is a man of few words and his expression is usually unreadable except to those that know him well. Rather than explode when angry, Zak will seethe under his tough exterior. One can tell that he is irritated because he will grind his fingers into his palm making a rock-scraping noise. Like other Brikar, he accomplishes a nod by leaning slightly forward. Kebron is extremely strong and his preferred method of fighting is hand to hand. He doesn't like to use hand weapons if he can help it, because he feels that they can too easily malfunction or be taken away. As ship's tactical officer, Kebron knows the ship and its weapons systems better than anyone aboard with the exception of Captain Calhoun and Commander Shelby.

Current Assignment/Duties:
Lieutenant Zak Kebron is the Starship Excalibur's Tactical Officer and her Chief of Security. The Tactical Officer's duties are to maintain battle readiness of the ship and crew. Although battle orders are given by the Captain and Executive Officer, they will often delegate much of the fighting of the ship to the Tactical Officer, just as they will allow the Conn Officer to take the initiative in maneuvering the ship in battle. As such, the Tactical Officer must be expert at the ship's defensive systems and offensive weapons in particular. In addition, he must research and know much about the offensive/defensive capabilities of any and all vessel types that might be encountered in the region of space that the ship is operating in. The Tactical Officer conducts readiness drills, equipment inspections, live fire and simulated exercises. As a department head, the Tactical Officer also coordinates with the Chief Engineer to ensure that all offensive and defensive systems are maintained in peak operating condition. The Conn Officer/Navigator will also coordinate with the Tactical Officer to come up with maneuvers that best complement the ship's offensive and defensive systems.

A starship's Security Chief is charged with keeping order aboard ship as pertaining to the investigation of violations of Starfleet regulations, altercations between crew members, and incarceration of any individual ordered into the brig by senior officers. The Security Chief works closely with the Executive Officer in setting up and conducting any court-martials held aboard ship. The Security Chief also must maintain a security force and drill them and the rest of the crew in such eventualities as intruder alert. The Chief of Security is responsible for the maintenance, distribution and control of personnel weapons, such as hand phasers, and is expected to maintain proficiency in the use of each kind. Because of the multitude of responsibilities involved, the Tactical Officer and Security Chief will always be a full Lieutenant or above.

Recent Events:
The first few weeks after reporting aboard the Excalibur have been very eventful for Lieutenant Kebron. During the ship's mission into Thallonian space, Zak has been shot, put in a dungeon, gassed and has had a ship blown up out from under him twice.

• The characters of Zak Kebron, Soleta and Mark McHenry first appreared in three excellent STAR TREK: The Next Generation Starfleet Academy books written by Peter David and published in 1993 by Minstrel Books, an imprint of Pocket Books.