Ofelia Hayes

Ofelia Hayes is a former medic in the Systems Alliance Navy, and a close friend of Commander Emmanuelle Sharon from their days at the Alliance Naval Academy.

Early Life
Born aboard the SSV Bogota in 2156 CE, Ofelia was the only daughter of two Alliance Navy doctors. Her early years were spent aboard a number of different cruisers. Like many children in her situation, she had difficulty making friends, but she was able to cope with this.

When she reached puberty, her life seemed to take a downward momentum. Her parents had been given a long-term re-assignment to a veterans' hospital on Terra Nova, finally granting Ofelia some permanence. But after years in the relatively low-gravity environment of the Alliance cruisers, her body's weight distribution and center of gravity had been altered. This, combined with the usual effects of puberty, caused Ofelia to grow larger than most of her classmates. She spent her high school years in misery, taunted by her classmates, and was relieved when she finally graduated. She decided to follow in her parent's footsteps and become a medic in the Alliance Navy.

Loved and Lost
At the naval academy, her life improved dramatically. She was still a big girl, but with years of weight training, she had converted the extra pounds into muscle, and those who might have previously made fun of her were now more inclined to reconsider. More importantly, Ofelia gained a roommate - a tough and beautiful colony kid named Emmanuelle Sharon.

The attraction between the two girls was almost immediate and mutual. They were both outsiders who had joined the Alliance Navy to try and help people, and they both harbored psychological baggage. In Emmanuelle's case, this baggage came in the form of night terrors, and Ofelia helped to keep them a secret.

They both soon realized that their friendship was becoming something more, but for most of their years in the academy, neither one dared to broach the issue. This changed one night, when they returned to their dorm after attending a post-exam party at a local bar. They had both gotten slightly drunk, and as they sat down on the couch in their room, Emmanuelle kissed Ofelia. Ofelia reciprocated, and soon they were both fumbling to remove each other's clothes, but as Emmanuelle began to touch Ofelia's bare thighs and stomach, Ofelia panicked and clocked Emmanuelle.

They remained friends after that night, but Emmanuelle never attempted to make another pass at Ofelia. Not long after, they graduated, and were given their assignments. Emmanuelle was assigned to the SSV Ypres, but Ofelia was assigned to the SSV Hegra. The last week before deployment, Emmanuelle tried her best to keep her friend's spirits up, but by the end of the week, Ofelia had grown so despondent that on the last night, she would not sleep until Emmanuelle climbed into her bed and held her. The next morning, they kissed goodbye, and did not see each other again for several years.

Service
Ofelia's time aboard the Hegra was one of the worst years of her life. Under the command of Captain Charlotte Beauclaire, the freighter had gained notoriety as a place where unhappy CO's on other ships could send their problem recruits. Though Beauclaire regarded her as a good doctor, most of the crew treated her disrespectfully, and more than a few made crude propositions towards her. After she refused the advances of one of the servicemen, Zachary Gogarn, he became angry and tried to rape her; she escaped after jabbing him in the eye with a syringe. When Beauclaire learned about the incident, she readily approved Hayes' request for a transfer to a naval hospital on Terra Nova.