Naomi Azalea

Tier-II Ecologist

Naomi Azalea is known for being one of the first ecologists to discover the Candamius salamander, a discovery that ended up killing her.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Naomi Azalea was born as Renza Cousineau to parents Azalea Cousineau and Hunter (no last name).
Naomi’s early childhood was a stressful one. Her father, Hunter, was an alcoholic who did not hold his liquor well. Azalea was in love, however, and tried to make things work. She shielded Naomi from her father as much as she could.
When Naomi was seven sols, her father grabbed her arm hard enough to leave dark finger bruises. A Caretaker saw the marks and notified Child Advocacy. They removed Naomi from the home. She was placed in the barracks at the schoolhouse she was already attending. This is the normal course of action for children who cannot live with their parent or parents.
Naomi lived out the rest of her childhood at the school. When she was old enough, she moved to her Vocation’s schoolhouse barracks. She loved her mother and still saw her regularly.
Azalea left Hunter as soon as Child Advocacy showed up at their house. There was a required separation time. Azalea was required to attend counseling and parenting classes. However, when that time was up, Naomi was attached to the Caretakers and loved living with her friends. So, she stayed at the school.
When she was eleven, Naomi became fascinated with the butterflies that existed on Earth long ago. They looked like some of the winged Talitha Harbor insects. Prodryas were given that name because of their close physical resemblance to butterflies.
Prodryas are larger than most Earth species. Their wings are slightly thicker and always have a greenish hue. The material of the wings better resembles a lightweight plant wall structure instead of chitin. They can also perform a level of photosynthesis, though the prodryas primarily survive on consuming fungi. She loved the fluttering creatures of both planets. The creatures from Earth held a certain mystique since, as far as the Talithans knew, they were extinct.
While researching butterflies, Naomi found articles about a professor named Naomi Pierce. One article called her the world renowned expert on butterflies. The child, Naomi, knew she needed some part of the professor’s name. She didn’t like the last name Pierce, but also didn’t want to keep her mother’s last name. It was too long. There are no definitive cultural rules about name structure, but Naomi was accustomed to having one.
She waited until the next time she saw her mother before announcing her new name. She told Azalea first, then Naomi made the announcement to the school.
When it was time for her Choosing Ceremony, Naomi put Preservation as one of her three choices. The vocation was short on members and they were more than happy to accept her.
Naomi excelled in the Vocation of Preservation and opted for Ecology as her specialization. She wanted to specialize in animal biology like her namesake had. She would have had to wait until she earned her Tier-III for that level of specialization. Unfortunately, Naomi met her end while she was still a Tier-II

Gender Identity

In Talitha Harbor, there is no assigned gender at birth. Naomi knew she would be a woman by the time she hit four. She told her parents, who she was living with at the time, first. They asked if she wanted to make the announcement to the schoolhouse, and she did.

Sexuality

Naomi was androsexual, attracted to people who were masculine leaning. She had a history of short-lived relationships, with her longest lasting only three sols. Her focus was more on her vocation and simply enjoying life.

Employment

At the time of her death, Naomi was a Tier-II Ecologist in the Vocation of Preservation. Ecologists gather data on plants, animals, soil, water, and detritus found in the biome. Any chance she got, Naomi would request duties that let her interact with the flying arthropods. There are no native birds or mammal species.
When Preservation put out a notice looking for volunteers to travel to Candamius, Naomi was one of the first to step up. At that time, the knowledge about Candamius was limited.
Old data from the Founders was available. The first Talithans had drones and other advanced observation technologies. However, it was old data. The technology had died well over nine-hundred sols ago. There had been manned expeditions every ten sols, or so since, to gather some data. But they could only spend so many resources to monitor a piece of land they may not need for a long time.
This trip would be far more expansive. There were plans in the making to use that land. The population of Talitha was outgrowing the three Great Cities. They needed to plan for their fourth city.

Accomplishments & Achievements

The expedition to Candamius was a joint effort between the three cities and multiple vocations. Their purpose was to gather all the data they’d need to properly plan their fourth city. For Talithans, this was the more practical side of knowing where and what they would build. But they would also include the environmental impact of their buildings and the future population.
They predicted the population of the planet would stretch the limits of the current cities within two generations. The time to start building had probably passed. But, the cities knew that as soon as people started migrating, it would cause shortages in their own populace. So they put it off as long as they could.
Preparations were made for the group to stay one month, or thirty-three days. Candamius had a large area of rough sand and rock that was pretty flat. It also had very little vegetation growing on it. It was perfect for their home base.
It was summer; the weather was warm, but not unbearable. They set up tents and sleeping mats. The Talithans already treat and use their waste as a fertilizer. They set outhouses up to support this use. @Pabulum had plans to use this, with the local soil, to start tests and see what they could grow in it.
By this time, the experimental Lacordaire Cruise Runners had been built and put in service. The faster water craft was used to transport people initially. Then they brought their provisions once a week.
On the second week of the survey, Ecologists exploring the northeastern coast of the continent found the Candamius Salamander. It wasn’t just a new species, but an entirely new class of animals. On initial inspection, they seemed akin to the amphibians of the same name that had once lived on Earth. They were not identical. The skin on their back had a layer of tiny soft scales. There was some debate, much later, on if they should label them salamanders or lizards. Salamander won out because of their aquatic nature.
The discovery was massive, and news of it spread quickly. Noami was a part of the first team that found them. After some debate, and an old tried-and-true aggression test using a nearby stick, they decided to collect one and bring it back. Before doing so, they studied them for several days, taking turns keeping watch so they could learn its habits and food source. Once they felt they had sufficient knowledge, they caught one, choosing a smaller adult. It would eventually become a museum sample. The creature fascinated them, however, and they wanted the chance to watch it up close.
Noami and another team member, Deodara, were the two who volunteered to catch the animal. They wore gloves, not wanting to harm the creature with their natural skin oils or themselves. They eased the creature into the glass enclosure that had been brought over from Anunitum. The salamander, which had been basking on a rock, barely seemed to notice.
A couple of ecologists stayed with the captured salamander. Noami and four others stayed with the wild Salamanders. The rest had to continue scouting and collecting data. The creatures couldn’t be their only focus.
Four days into their study, Noami developed a cough. It was a slowly developing cough. But it steadily grew worse and after three days, she ended up going back to the survey group. She was kept isolated in a medical tent. The rest of the team developed the same cough a few days after Naomi and the medical team isolated them as well.
Six days after she started coughing, Noami died. The illness had quickly mutated and spread, overwhelming her body. One other ecologist, Braith Saule, died and the other three recovered. Deodara, who had returned to the camp with the captured creature, never showed signs of illness.
The group was unsure what caused the illness. They had one creature with them, but no one back at the camp was ill. There were five ecologists at the site and they’d all grown ill. However, it was only the ecologists who’d stayed behind for an extended stay. Others had visited the site for a shorter amount of time, and were fine.
For safety reasons, the caught salamander was set free. The entire group, regardless of their vocation or duties, quarantined at the campsite for two weeks.
The Talithans turn their dead into compost. They normally end up in The Grove of Lost Souls . After much debate, they left Naomi Azalea and Braith Saule deep in the forest. The coordinates saved. Ecologists had explored that area prior to this trip. While the biome there didn’t mirror Anunitum, they determined the bodies wouldn’t cause any great harm. There were also no signs of the salamanders there, too far from the water.
Though caution had been practiced, someone in the camp was an asymptomatic carrier, most likely one of the medical personnel. Maybe they hadn’t been as careful with their PPE as they should have been. But, when the teams returned, the illness broke out in Anunitum. Response was quick, to include synthesizing a vaccine, so the body count wasn’t as devastating as some outbreaks in the past had been. There were some casualties, chiefly among the Health Services Vocation.
Pangu saw some signs of it, but the illness didn’t catch hold as well down there. Their infections and loss rate were much lower. Though Simmah had people at Candamius, the outbreak seemed to have missed them. Travel had been stopped between the three cities until they considered the outbreak fully under control.
The vaccine was a resounding success and everyone received it, regardless of where they live. It works well enough that the Talithans eventually resumed their plans to build a city in Candamius, they just avoid the salamanders.
Later studies were able to narrow the virus that caused the illness. It was found in a secretion on the creature’s skin. The theory is that a salamander must have crawled up to Noami Azalea while she was sleeping and brushed up against her, unnoticed by anyone. She was the first to become ill and had the most violent case. Some speculate that curiosity overcame her sense of safety and she touched one while no one was looking.

Date of Birth

19 Dódeka 974

Date of Death

32 Téssera 1007

Circumstances of Death

The Sol Cycle 1007 Outbreak

Birthplace

City of Anunitum

Place of Death

Candamius

Pronouns

she/her/herself

Gender

woman

Eyes

grey-green

Hair

dark brown, often worn in a pony tail

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

warm yellow-toned light brown

Height

152 cm

Weight

64 kg

Aligned Organization

Vocation of Preservation