Kirsten Cruzen was a female Human serving in the Federation Starfleet as a security officer and detonations specialist in the 24th century.
Biography[]
During her days at the Academy, Cruzen had always made sure to drop by Syrinx III whenever leave was available and had always wanted to return since. (ST - The Fall novel: Peaceable Kingdoms)
By 2375, Cruzen had been assigned to the USS Enterprise-E. She, Seo and Jeloq took Gul Madred and Glinn Driana into custody after they were rescued. (TNG short story: "Four Lights")
In 2379, she was part of the search and rescue team which beamed aboard the Klingon ship the IKS Taj after it had been severely damaged by the nadion-pulse cannons of Tezwa. (TNG novel: A Time to Kill)
A short time later, Cruzen assisted in the investigation into the downing of the shuttle Heyerdahl, and was ordered to confiscate recording equipment from a Federation News Service reporter. She was also part of the boarding team who secured the freighter Venezia's engineering section and cargo bay after its impounding by the Enterprise. (TNG novel: A Time to Heal)
Cruzen continued to serve through 2381, being aboard the Enterprise during the Borg Invasion of 2381. After the Enterprise and the USS Aventine traversed a subspace tunnel from the Azure Nebula ending up near the Carina Arm near the meridian of the Gamma and Delta Quadrants, they were attacked and boarded by a group of Hirogen. Cruzen was one of the ten security officers assigned to protect the Bridge and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but the Captain refused to leave; second officer Miranda Kadohata ordered Cruzen, Austin Braddock and Robert Mars to surrender their TR-116 rifles and depart the Bridge, an order Cruzen seemed relieved to obey. (ST - Destiny novel: Mere Mortals)
Kruzen and fellow Enterprise security officers Randolph Giudice, Peter Davila, Bryan Regnis, T'Sona, and Jarata Beyn were amongst the forces temporarily transferred to the Aventine when the vessel plotted to attack and capture a Borg scout, hoping to secure its vinculum. T'Sona and Jarata implanted self-sealing anchor bolts so that the other four could grapple across the gap to the central core. While the other three officers took cover, the detonation specialist removed a malleable chemical explosive with a binary chemical detonator and a shaped charge from her backpack and used it to gain entry. The explosion gained the attention of the Borg drones protecting the inner core, and the four fired rounds from their TR-116 until they clicked empty, six drones shy. Giudice denied her request to use grenades as it might damage the vinculum, instead painting the advancing attackers with green splatters, allowing friendly sharp shooters to finish the assault. (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls)
In October of 2385, Cruzen accompanied Beverly Crusher and fellow security officer Rennan Konya to the planet of Jevalan after Crusher had been invited by her friend and fellow Doctor Ilona Daret. Daret had discovered sensitive materiel regarding the actual identity of Ishan Anjar, who was actually Baras Rodirya. Baras was a Bajoran who sympathized with the Cardassians and informed on his fellow Bejorans, therefore receiving the identity of the dead Ishan Anjar who he was captured with. Cruzen, like Konya, was one of the first people to learn of "Ishan"'s real identity. Finding the evidence of this didn't come easy, as not long after finding it, a Special Ops team was revealed to have been hunting Crusher and her team. Before they could formulate a plan, Tom Riker appeared and offered his assistance. Riker, Cruzen, and Konya decided it'd be best to hold up in a nearby temple the earlier Bajorans had built and ambush the Spec Ops Team, Active Six. The plan seemed to work at first, but the team was later forced to surrender, after everyone except Crusher had been stunned. Daret had also been wounded, stabbed by a member of Active Six. Crusher hurried over to help, at which point Tom Riker regained his composure and resumed the attack. Cruzen and Konya follow suit and took most of them down thanks to the element of surprise. Mere minutes later, an away from Enterprise arrived to offer assistance. Having gotten everything under control, the Enterprise took them aboard and set a course for Earth. (ST - The Fall novel: Peaceable Kingdoms)
