Counselor Japhy Whitman

Japhy was born on Risa, the son of two sex therapists who migrated from Earth to study alternative healing techniques. Mammy and Pappy Whitman become quite famous as the galaxy’s preeminent sex surrogates. Despondent and ignored Japhy turned to the sea, where he became Risa’s youngest surfing champion. Years went by and Japhy wore many hats, from surf instructor, to head masseuse and then Head of Guest Relations at the Crystal Ranch. Feeling adrift, Japhy decided to take on Risa’s biggest wave “The Tragic-End-of-a-Mutually-Beneficial-Sexual-Encounter Maker” and wiped out. As he laid on the beach waiting to die a Bajoran woman named Leeta took pity on him and invited him to Deep Space Nine where he sold hemp jewelry in the hallways (much to Odo’s dismay.) Eventually Japhy hitched a ride to Earth so he could see his ancestral homeland and go native. There he studied ecopsychology at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. One day while on a peyote trip Japhy was visited by space whales who warned him of a terrible lack of nature in space. So, he hopped aboard a Federation star ship to help any way he could. It’s unclear if he is actually a member of Starfleet but he never really cared for labels anyway.

After some creative paperwork credited him with a successful strike against an Orion Syndicate facility, Japhy Whitman was promoted to Captain of the USS Garcia.