Template:Spoiler PIC
Cristóbal "Chris" Rios was a male Human who lived during the late 24th and early 25th century. (PIC: "Absolute Candor")
Starfleet Career
Vandermeer and Rios
Rios, a former Starfleet commander, rose to the post of executive officer on the USS Ibn Majid, a heavy cruiser, where he served under Captain Alonzo Vandermeer. His serial number was SC-850-705. (PIC: "Broken Pieces")
In 2390, while patrolling the Vayt sector, the Ibn Majid encountered a small ship of unknown origin, and brought aboard its two passengers, Beautiful Flower and Jana. The Captain received a "black flag directive" from Starfleet Security to kill the two beings, otherwise his ship would be destroyed with all hands. Rios confronted Vandermeer, after he murdered the two beings with his phaser, and the Captain shot himself in the mouth.
Rios covered everything up, just as Vandermeer was ordered to do in order to protect the crew. He beamed the bodies into space, deleted the transporter logs, and told the fleet that the Captain had committed suicide for no reason. Six months later, Rios was discharged from Starfleet, officially for post-traumatic dysphoria. (PIC: "Broken Pieces")
According to La Sirena's ENH, Emil, Rios had grown cynical and distrusting since his departure from Starfleet. (PIC: "The End is the Beginning")
After Starfleet
By 2399, Rios had become acquainted with Raffi Musiker, and had assumed command of the starship La Sirena, serving with his fully utilized Emergency Hologram basic installation, each of which was programmed in his own image due to his choosing the self-scan option upon his acquirement of the ship. One was an Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH) which was programmed with a light English accent and named Emil. Another was an Emergency Navigational Hologram (ENH) which was programmed with a light Northern Dublin Irish accent and named Enoch. One was an Emergency Hospitality Hologram (EHH) which was programmed with a Midwestern American accent and aptly named Mister Hospitality. Another was an Emergency Tactical Hologram (ETH) which was programmed to speak Spanish and was named Emmet. Lastly, there was the Emergency Engineering Hologram (EEH) which was programmed with a Scottish accent and was named Ian.
That year, he was recruited by retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard to aid him in his search for Bruce Maddox. (PIC: "The End is the Beginning")
Return to Starfleet
Rios returned to Starfleet and was promoted to captain. In 2401, he was given command of the USS Stargazer and undertook a goodwill tour for synthetics at Raritan IV. (PIC: "The Star Gazer")
Personal life
Rios' vinyl records
He was a fluent speaker of the Spanish language.
When Rios was a child, his mother often sang him the lullaby "Arroz con leche". In 2399, he stated that he has no family. He also said that he liked to pretend that Vandermeer was his father. Internally, he called Vandermeer "Pops", and had even nearly did so out loud a couple of times. (PIC: "Broken Pieces")
Although they had only known each other for a few hours, Rios was close to the android Jana, as evidenced by his knowledge that Soji liked to dip her french fries in peppermint ice cream; something Jana also did. He kept a drawing among his possessions from his time in Starfleet that showed him posing with an arm around Jana's shoulder and with a big smile. He also had other drawings of her alone, and confined himself to quarters when the incident aboard the Ibn Majid was brought up. In addition, Rios referred to Soji as "hija" (a Spanish term commonly translated as "daughter") when chastising her after she tried to pilot the ship to her home world on her own. (PIC: "Broken Pieces")
Rios often smoked cigars and had a fondness for pisco brandy. He was a skilled soccer player and practiced the sport in his free time, keeping a soccer ball on board La Sirena.
Some of Rios' books
He was an avid reader and kept a number of printed books in his quarters and lying around the ship. In addition to having read one of Jean-Luc Picard's books, he was fond of existentialist philosophy, having read philosophers such as Miguel de Unamuno, which he described as concerning "the existential pain of living with the consciousness of death and how it defines us as Human beings." (PIC: "The End is the Beginning", "Absolute Candor", "The Impossible Box")
He also had a romantic relationship with Agnes Jurati as the two shared a kiss after the events in the Ghulion system. (PIC: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
Despite his negative feelings towards Starfleet due to the circumstances of his departure, after having spent years in the service Rios kept up certain habits when it came to his ship. Having just boarded for the first time, Picard had quickly noted that La Sirena was kept in impeccable shape, and that her captain had maintained and stowed everything in accordance with Starfleet protocol. (PIC: "The End is the Beginning")
Appendices
Appearances
- PIC:
- "The End is the Beginning" (Season 1)
- "Absolute Candor"
- "Stardust City Rag"
- "The Impossible Box"
- "Nepenthe"
- "Broken Pieces"
- "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
- "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"
- "The Star Gazer" (Season 2)
Background information
Cristóbal Rios was played by Santiago Cabrera.
Michael Chabon noted that Rios is Chilean on his Instagram story responding to fan questions about "Broken Pieces".[1]
External link
- Cristóbal Rios at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works