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Cadet Junior Grade Yoshiko Tsushima

Name Yoshiko Tsushima 'Yohane'

Position Acting Chief Engineer

Rank Cadet Junior Grade


Character Information

Gender Female
Species Human
Age 19

Physical Appearance

Height 5'2"
Weight 107 LBS
Hair Color Naturally black, but prefers to die it navy blue.
Eye Color Hazel
Physical Description Yoshiko Tsushima is a littler shorter than most people her age. She keeps her shoulder-length hair fastened in a side bun that frames the right side of her face, and has a pentagram-shaped tattoo on her right thigh.

Family

Boyfriend/Girlfriend None
Father Hiroto Tsushima
Mother Kiyoko Tsushima
Brother(s) None
Sister(s) None
Other Family Lieutenant Botan Tsushima [Paternal uncle; currently serving as Chief of Engineering aboard the USS Asgard (NCC-87522)]

Personality & Traits

General Overview Yoshiko’s a bit of an odd duck. While she used to be bright, self-assured, and a little tomboyish when she was younger, a traumatic brain injury that she sustained from a hockey accident has left her with greatly reduced physical, cognitive, and emotional functionalities. Though she has been making gradual improvements in regards to reaction times, hand-to-eye coordination and memory, the occasional bouts of irritability, slurred (and sometimes disjointed) speech, and delayed reaction times are still prone to manifest whenever she’s under considerable stress, requiring her to carry a PADD on her person for reference. Unfortunately, the already-taxing nature of her job, coupled with her condition manifesting itself at inopportune times, has left her with low self-esteem, and she sometimes feels as though she’s nothing but dead weight in the eyes of her cadets.

That’s not to say, however, that Yoshiko’s all doom-and-gloom; when others are willing to see through her disability, she greatly appreciates their encouragement, and subsequently treasures the bonds she forges with them. And while she may never be as resourceful as that of Starfleet’s greatest Engineers, she’s proven herself more than capable with the cards that have been dealt to her.
Strengths & Weaknesses + Deeply treasures the bond she shares with her fellow cadets.

+ Naturally curious and likes to step out of her comfort zone every now and then to try new things.

+ Takes her work in engineering seriously.

-Irritable

-Occasionally prone to delayed reaction times and slurred speech when she’s under considerable stress.

-Lacks self-esteem as an indirect result of her disability.
Ambitions At this point, Yoshiko is just trying to prove her overall worth, both to herself and in the eyes of her superiors. She knows that she’ll be fighting an uphill battle, given the circumstances of her disability, but it only strengthens her resolve to overcome the odds.
Hobbies & Interests -Video Games; Originally her mechanism for coping with her head injury, gaming eventually evolved into a full-blown hobby for Yoshiko, and she began amassing a collection of games for an old-world console retroactively known as the “Sony Playstation 1.” While she does have an impressive physical library back home in Numazu (She has her Uncle Botan to thank for that), Security protocols have necessitated her to rely on emulator software in order to get her gaming fix. Some of her favorite games include “Abalaburn,” “ZeiramZone,” “Panzer Bandit,” “Rakugaki Showtime,” “Tekken 3,” “King Of Fighters 98,” “Capcom Vs SNK Pro,” “Side By Side Special,” “Option Tuning Car Battle Spec-R,” “Straight Victory: “Hoshino Kazuyoshi E No Chousen,” “Ridge Racer Type 4,” “Rage Racer,” “Gran Turismo,” “Echo Night,” “Resident Evil,” and “Parasite Eve.”

-Speedrunning; After hearing of her Uncle’s exploits, Yoshiko aspires to one day set a world record. Some of the games she’s gotten particularly good at are “Ridge Racer Type 4,” “Side By Side Special,” and most notably “Rage Racer.”

-Ice Hockey; While she’ll never be as good at hockey as she was when she was younger, she does like to unwind on the holodeck every now and then watching a procedurally-generated match.

-Spicy food; She’s been known to gorge on spicy ramen when stressed out; to quote her, “the heat takes the edge off of things.”

-Chocolate
Languages Japanese, Bajoran, English (Universal), and a little bit of Cardassian (though she’s not particularly fluent with the latter)

Personal History Yoshiko Tsushima was born on July 13, 2372, in the urban sect of Numazu, Shizuoka. When she was in Kindergarten, she met her first non-humanoid—a Bajoran named Hanamaru Kunikida, who was stationed in Numazu with her mother while her father was serving in Starfleet. Curious to learn why Hanamaru looked, spoke, and behaved differently than the other Kindergarteners, Yoshiko began to take interest in Bajoran culture and elected to learn more about it so that she could be a better friend. Considering that Bajorans were relatively new members of the Federation at the time, there weren’t a lot of books readily available on their culture, so a vast majority of what Yoshiko learned about Bajorans came through her interactions with Hanamaru and her mother. A lot of the learning process was trial and error; what may have seemed innocuous to a human may come off as offensive to a Bajoran, and vice versa. But Hanamaru’s mother was deeply impressed by Yoshiko’s eagerness to learn new things at such an early age, and commented that her curiosity about the greater universe at hand would get her far in life.

When she began elementary school, Yoshiko exhibited a penchant for high intelligence, above-average grades, and proactivity in local sports— but she showed a particular proclivity in ice hockey. As soon as she was old enough, she applied for her school’s hockey team; it took her a few attempts, but she eventually made the team after one of the players had to retire because he was moving across the country. While her stint lasted, Yoshiko was an exceptional defender, and even got her team as far as the top four in the 2380 regionals. However, during a practice session as their team geared up for the following season, Yoshiko was accidentally struck in the head with a hockey stick and received a moderate brain injury. When she was ultimately discharged from the hospital, Yoshiko exhibited a noticeable shift in personality—most noticeably a drop in her grade point averages, reduced physical and cognitive abilities, agitation, and an insistence on being referred to as “Yohane.” Concerned, her parents elected to take her to a neurosurgeon, who observed that her brain had practically re-routed itself in the wake of her head injury and significantly altered how she processed information. Though he didn’t have an immediate cure for her affliction, he instead referred her to various therapeutic measures, such as prescribing her with anti-depressants and suggesting that she begin playing video games to help her recover her physical and cognitive abilities faster. Her parents were a little skeptical at first, but were willing to give it a shot if it meant getting their daughter back to normal.

For Christmas that year, Yoshiko was gifted a replica of an old-world gaming console known as the “Sony Playstation 1” from her uncle, Botan Tsushima. Botan, who was currently serving as an engineer aboard the USS Asgard (NCC-87522), had been a professional speedrunner before joining Starfleet, and even held a world record speedrun for “Resident Evil” for several years. Inspired by his exploits, Yoshiko was keen to become a speedrunner like her uncle, but her parents advised her to try and master the game before attempting something of that caliber. She spent the next couple of years amassing a collection of games (usually gifts from her uncle) and perfecting her skills on the games she took interest in. After dramatically recounting how she managed to set a Top 100 time on “Rage Racer” to Hanamaru, her longtime friend suggested that she begin streaming some of her sessions—either for speedruns or just casual playthroughs. After attending a few conventions, receiving some tips from professional gamers, and consulting on the matter with her parents, Yoshiko decided that this was something that interested her and decided to give it a shot. She mainly started out with racing games, showing off a few of her best times for “Rage Racer” and other games that she was steadily improving with. With feedback from friends, family, and a growing number of followers, she began to branch out into other genres, even dabbling in some fighting and horror games that were listed as above her CERO age demographic (with supervision from her parents, of course).

Shortly after Yoshiko began high school, Botan visited one summer while the Asgard was laid up at Utopia Planetia to undergo a refit. While he was on leave, he shared with Yoshiko some of the more interesting aspects of his job. The intricacies that went into taking something apart and putting it back together—or, perhaps better yet, modifying it in a certain way to make it better than it was before—fascinated Yoshiko, and by the time Botan left for re-deployment, Yoshiko had made up her mind as to what she wanted to do with her life—she was going to join her uncle in Starfleet Engineering. After sharing this newfound revelation with Hanamaru, she was surprised to discover that Hanamaru had also been considering joining, following in the footsteps of her own father, and was more than happy to go into the field with someone she considered a lifetime friend.

Following graduation, Both Yoshiko and Hanamaru enrolled at Starfleet Academy’s Tokyo Campus in the spring of 2389, with Yoshiko looking to major in general Engineering and Hanamaru (not being as adept with technology as her friend) aiming for the more specialized field of Communications. Their tenure at the academy was relatively uneventful, save for one minor incident where Yoshiko may-or-may-not have started a small fire in one of the Engineering holodecks.

In 2391, Yoshiko and Hanamaru were shipped out on their first Cadet Cruise aboard the USS Cavalier (NCC-TBD) under the supervision of Lieutenant TBD. While on assignment, the Cavalier fell into a wormhole that transported them to a far-flung corner of the Gamma Quadrant, where they were unceremoniously attacked and boarded by hostile invaders. When the dust settled, Lieutenant TBD was dead, and Yoshiko (much to her horror) found that she was now the highest-ranking Engineer of the group—therefore rendering her as acting Chief of Engineering until the Cavalier could return to Federation Space.
Medical Records -2381: Sustained a moderate brain injury while playing ice hockey. Diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and prescribed anti-depressants.
Year in Academy Junior
Majors and/or Minors Is currently majoring in General Engineering.