-Doctor Winston Cray, 2366
A.R.T.E.M.I.S
Armed Resolution Towards Enemy Military Incursion Study
Project ARTEMIS was initiated shortly after the Borg incursion of 2366 as a theoretical countermeasure against future aggression by what had just become the United Federation of Planet's most lethal enemy. Supervised by Doctor Winston Cray, one of the leading experts in cybernetics, the instrument for Project ARTEMIS was realized in less than six months after its founding. In this case, it meant revisiting the darker pages in Earth's history by creating a an imitation of natural life.
While Federation Law imposed strict restrictions regarding Genetically Engineered Life Forms, Doctor Cray and his associates convinced the Federation Counsel to authorize further research and development in this matter. Despite the fact that Doctor Cray's vision of Project ARTEMIS faced continued moral skepticism, eventually he announced that preparations for limited production were complete.
And so the first twenty GELF's were born...
By combining their biological structure with nano-cybernetic augmentations, initial data indicated that these clones were up to thirty-six percent more effective in combat than the best of their conventional counterparts. Designed with an accelerated growth rate, it seemed as though Starfleet's best defense against the Borg in close combat was finally available, and yet an unexpected obstacle prevented any full scale production.
Morality...
The same enhancements that molded these super-soldiers forced an unexpected lifespan of less than thirty standard years upon them, and some would face critical symptoms much earlier on. A disease that was dubbed "Gelf Syndrome" formed like an accelerated cancer on the host, rapidly consuming both flesh and organ within a few weeks time of contraction. Too advanced to be cured or filtered out with even the best resources of the 24th century, the Federation chose to mothball Project ARTEMIS in favor of an alternative measure. This decision left the surviving twelve GELF's all but forgotten, and without a purpose.
Kaya Akauki was one of those twelve. Her name was given to her by Doctor Aki Akauki, one of the project members and a compassionate daughter of a Starfleet Flag Officer. The sentimental bond that had formed between clone and creator had provided Kaya with an opportunity that only she of her kind would receive. With special permission to enroll into Starfleet Academy as a cadet, she first considered only her embedded talents, rather than what has made her unique since then. Aki's father helped her to realize other potential paths, and yet not even he could have anticipated her desire to become a scientist. Kaya reasoned that becoming a science officer in Starfleet was perhaps the best way for her to identify a cure to Gelf Syndrome.
Over the course of the next four years, Kaya became an exceptional cadet while still trying to discover a defining purpose for her existence. She graduated near the the top of her class, and was promptly assigned to the USS Galaxy.
Gelf Syndrome is a very sensitive topic for Kaya, and is perhaps the greatest of her insecurities. Watching eight of her brothers and sisters fall to this plague, knowing that it might come for her at any time, and that no cure exists is a lot to cope with. She compensates for this fear by living every moment to its fullest, hoping to have no regrets whether she finds death through Gelf Syndrome, or in the line of duty.
The mixed pattern of her skin serves towards concealment in combat environments, and yet it has brought about a certain physical appeal towards her. Like the rest of her kind, Kaya was genetically engineered to be unable to produce offspring.
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