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Tarima Sadal was a female Betazoid in the late 32nd century who enrolled in the War College on Earth. She was the firstborn daughter of Betazed President Emerin Sadal, sister to Ocam Sadal, and member of the First House of Betazed.

Sadal wore a neural inhibitor on the left side of her neck, which inhibits spikes in psilosynine, which gives Betazoids their telepathic abilities. Sadal wore it because she exhibited a greater psychic sensitivity compared to other Betazoids, which put her in danger of losing control of her abilities and inadvertently hurting others.

Early life

When Tarima was little, she couldn't control her powers and blew out her father's auditory cortex in a moment of anger. (SA: "Come, Let's Away")

Upon reaching moonflow, as the first daughter of the First House, she was bestowed a gemstone representing the eye of Naxia and became the Guardian of the Holy Mantle of Betazed. (SA: "Beta Test")

During her father's presidency, she and her brother Ocam rose to leadership roles within the Betazed Youth Delegation that advocated to take down the psionic wall and reengage the Federation. In 3192, she and Ocam joined her father to visit Starfleet Academy reopening in San Francisco on Earth, and during her visit decided to join the War College. This disappointed Caleb Mir whom she had grown close to, but Tarima left Caleb her bracelet containing the star charts that he needed to find Goja V. (SA: "Beta Test")

Starfleet career

War College

Tarima joined the War College Calica team and participated in an unauthorized match against the Starfleet Academy team. When the Academy cadets pranked the War College with Vitus reflux, Tarima confronted Caleb who she sensed beneath the mascot costume. The two cleared the air with each other before Tarima sneakily triggered the alarm. However, Caleb was saved from getting caught by Darem Reymi. (SA: "Vitus Reflux")

When the cadets were in danger from the Furies and Venari Ral, Tarima ripped out her neural inhibitor and unleashed the full force of her powers to save her friends. However, this action left Tarima in critical condition and comatose. (SA: "Come, Let's Away")

Tarima was sent to recover on Betazed, causing her to miss the memorial service for those who were lost. Caleb heard that Tarima was recovering well from Ocam, but avoided sending messages to her for over a month until Genesis Lythe changed his mind. (SA: "Ko'Zeine")

Starfleet Academy

After making a full recovery, Tarima returned with a new evolved neural inhibitor that would allow Tarima to control her abilities without the risk of self-harm. However, Tarima was transferred to Starfleet Academy for the remainder of her studies. The Doctor warned her that Tarima would not survive another such use of her powers. Tarima continued to struggle emotionally with what she went through, at one point getting drunk and accusing Caleb of only pursuing her because he was intrigued by the "monster version" of her. Tarima eventually had an emotional meltdown while in Sylvia Tilly's class practicing for the play Our Town, explaining that she felt like her entire life was upended and she was Emily, the ghost girl from the play. Despite the encouragement of Tilly and her friends, Tarima walked off in tears and Ocam believed that she was going to leave for good. To the surprise and relief of the others, Tarima chose to stay and joined them in doing the play together. (SA: "The Life of the Stars")

At the end of the year, Caleb said goodbye to Tarima, hoping that she'd find peace, before setting off on a rescue mission for his mother. Tarima and Jay-Den Kraag later stowed away aboard the Athena to join the unauthorized mission to get their friends. (SA: "300th Night")

When Nus Braka and the Venari Ral walled off Federation space with Omega-47 mines, Tarima tracked the control signal to narrow down which star system Braka was in. At Caleb's suggestion, the two used Tarima's powers and Caleb's connection to his mother to find the exact location, finally admitting their love for each other in the process. After Braka's defeat, the Athena traveled to Betazed for the dedication of the new Federation seat of power. (SA: "Rubincon")

Relationships

As the daughter of Betazed's president, Tarima had deep loyalty to her people as well as her family. (SA: "Beta Test")

Romance

Caleb Mir

When they first met, Tarima was interested in Caleb due to him feeling like a prisoner at Starfleet Academy. However, she and Caleb realized their feelings for each other and kissed outside of The Academy and later had sex. (SA: "Beta Test", "Series Acclimation Mil", "Come, Let's Away")

The connection that the two shared with each other was so strong that Tarima was able to connect with Caleb's mind from a distance. However, Tarima's use of her powers against the Furies frightened Caleb who avoided sending messages to her for over a month as Tarima recovered on Betazed. (SA: "Come, Let's Away", "Ko'Zeine")

Following Tarima's return, she and Caleb had a strained relationship with a drunken and struggling Tarima suggesting that he was only intrigued by the "monster version" of her and was no longer interested after seeing it. This was after Caleb refused to have sex with her again when Tarima was clearly not in the right state of mind and Caleb was thus worried about taking advantage of her. Tarima later hinted at her love for Caleb by looking directly at him while reciting a line from Our Town about her character Emily's love for her husband. (SA: "The Life of the Stars")

Before leaving to go after his mother, Caleb said goodbye to Tarima and hoped that she would find peace. Upon learning of what he did, Tarima stowed away aboard the USS Athena to go after Caleb. The two once again displayed their strong connection to each other by linking their minds to find Anisha Mir. In the process, Caleb and Tarima finally admitted their love for each other and stood next to each other as the Athena arrived at Betazed. (SA: "Rubincon")

Friendships

Genesis Lythe

Following her transfer to Starfleet Academy, Tarima became roommates with Lythe and SAM, and quickly formed a close friendship with Lythe. Tarima also commented that Lythe reminded her of a girl she knew growing up. (SA: "The Life of the Stars")

Appendices

Appearances

Background information

Tarima was played by Zoë Steiner.

"Rubincon" end credits card

"Rubincon" end credits card

The end credits of SA Season 1's finale "Rubincon" included cast photos alongside tongue-in-cheek yearbook facts and quotes as if by their character, with Sadal's listing: