Christine Vale

Christine Vale was a human female in Starfleet in the late 24th century.

Early Life
She was born on Izar, where her mother was a peace officer. Vale followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming a peace officer in Pibroch City on Izar. In 2366, during an investigation of a double homicide, she was assisted by Lieutenant (j.g.) Domenica Corsi, deputy chief of security of the USS Roosevelt (NCC-2573). Vale was inspired by Corsi's performance during the case to leave Izar and apply to Starfleet Academy. 

Starfleet
During her fourth year at the Academy, she and several of her classmates participating in a weekly poker game. Later, she would regularly participate in Texas Hold'em tournaments on the USS O'Keefe. 

Her first posting as an ensign was aboard the USS Al-Batani (NCC-42995). 

She transferred to the O'Keefe under Captain Tamppari and was promoted to lieutenant junior grade, serving on the ship's security detail under Commander Ma. Ma assigned Vale to do blood screenings on the O'Keefe crew while the ship was in orbit of Utopia Planitia, and was almost killed when she discovered that Lenmar, the lone Aquan member of the ship's crew, had been replaced by a Changeling. ( book 1)

Enterprise
Lieutenant Vale joined the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) in 2375, and was promoted to Chief of security in early 2376, following the end of the Dominion War and the resignation of Lieutenant Padraig Daniels. 

In 2379 she commanded the Delta team mission to infiltrate the nadion-pulse cannon firebase located underwater in the Nokalana Sea on Tezwa, since she had deep-dive training. 

Late that year, she was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and was offered the position of first officer of the USS Titan. She initially accepted, but stepped aside when former ambassador Worf returned to Starfleet. Following the death of Lieutenant Commander Data, however, it was decided Worf would remain aboard the Enterprise, and Vale was again offered the Titan posting, along with a promotion to Commander. 

Titan
Vale was initially opposed to becoming Titan's exec over concerns that Deanna Troi's presence on Riker's senior command staff would impair his judgment. When Riker came to Vale for the third time to ask her to take the position, he pointed out that he was aware of the concern, and wanted her there to provide a voice of reason should his feelings for his wife cloud his decision-making.

Over the course of Titan's mission to Romulus and subsequent stranding in the Small Magellanic Cloud, Vale grew into a strong working relationship with Troi, even being able to banter with the counselor on the bridge. 

During Titan's first mission to Romulus and into the SMC, Vale repeatedly noted the absence of the ship's dedication plaque, and was heavily involved in the search for an appropriate epigram. She was present at the dedication ceremony.

Early on in Titan's voyages, she became attracted to science officer Jaza Najem. The two became romantically involved shortly after Vale's return from the Vanguard colony asteroid upon its successful return to Federation space. However, during a mission to the planet Orisha, Najem sacrificed himself in order to protect the Titan and its crew. After the loss, Vale refused counseling. Several sessions with Dr. Hulian proved useless, since Vale was unwilling to commit to therapy.

Months later, the invasion of the Borg began while the Titan was too far away to be of assistance. Simultaneously, Deanna Troi was in danger of miscarrying her second pregnancy, creating exactly the problems that Vale had been wary of when accepting the first officer position. Vale originally noticed Captain Riker acting unusual, and spoke to him in his ready room. Originally, she was sympathetic and hugged Riker, allowing her own feelings of loss and need to comfort to cloud her judgment and allow herself to consider Riker in a more than platonic way. Vale negotiated for a compromise between Troi and Doctor Ree, both of whom later accompanied Vale on an away mission to the surface of a planet hidden behind a masking material similarly to a Dyson Sphere, which was later revealed to be New Erigol, where they met former Columbia commanding officer Erika Hernandez and the Caeliar. 

Vale found Hernandez's appearance to be remarkable for one who had been missing for so long and became curious in her history, but was initially rebuked when Hernandez was forced to issue a similar ultimatum as had been done to her crew - the away team was now permanent guests of the Caeliar and no contact would be permitted with their ship. Vale reminded Hernandez that the current word was "prisoner", starting a distrust for her. After being shown to their housing, Vale and Tuvok scouted the city of Axion. They were joined by security officers Dennisar and Sortollo, who reported that they were being constantly monitored by one or more Caeliar at any time. Vale spoke with Avelos and learned about their makeup of catoms, allowing them to manipulate their surroundings through thought alone. When the entire away team was reassembled, they spoke in coded references, but Troi spoke out against the prevailing opinion that Erika Hernandez was not to be trusted. The two spoke in private to argue the point, and Vale dismissed Troi's insight as partially delusional and ordered her to have a checkup with Doctor Ree as soon as possible. Vale and Tuvok later designed a possible escape attempt via a Vulcan mind-meld, where Tuvok found her to be driven by powerful internal conflicts. The plan was a failure, and she insisted that they take a day for reflection before speaking of it. 

Appearances

 * The Belly of the Beast by Dean Wesley Smith
 * : Doors Into Chaos by Robert Greenberger
 * "The Other Side" by Robert Greenberger (Gateways: What Lay Beyond)
 * The Final Artifact by Keith R.A. DeCandido (The Brave and the Bold Book 2)
 * The Art of the Deal by Glenn Greenberg
 * Security by Keith R.A. DeCandido
 * Remembrance of Things Past Books 1-2 by Terri Osborne
 * Vulcan's Soul: Epiphany by Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
 * A Time to... (mini-series)
 * Titan (series)
 * Star Trek: Destiny (mini-series)
 * Captain's Glory