Gabriela Preston

General Gabriela Preston (born 2351) is the current Director of the Strategic Services Agency and Commander of Task Force Echelon. She previously served as Chief Intelligence Officer aboard the USS Lexington and in an undercover capacity for the Department of Starfleet Intelligence. She has directed the Strategic Services Agency since shortly after the agency's inception in 2401.

Civilian Life
Born in Tijuana, Mexico, to Jorge and Paloma Torres, Gabriela was an only child. Unlike many young people in Tijuana, she avoided the drug cartels and gangs still present in the city, keeping herself out of trouble. Smart and inquisitive, she began exploring her options for a career in Starfleet in her early teens, but she did not settle on Intelligence until her early twenties.

Starfleet Academy
In 2372, Gabriela took the Starfleet Language Aptitude Battery, a test that determines a prospective student's ability to learn new languages. Her score of 134 (out of a possible 140) earned her a place at the Starfleet Language Institute, where she learned a number of languages, including Caitian and Cardassian. Upon graduating from SLI, she entered Starfleet Academy at the unlikely age of 25, majoring in Intelligence Operations.

USS Lexington, NCC-1707- E
Gabriela came aboard her first starship, the USS Lexington, in 2380 at the rank of lieutenant, having been pushed up two grades upon her graduation from the academy. As an untried officer, she was given the Chief Intelligence Officer position, with a mentor masquerading as a lower ranked officer assigned as her assistant. She soon developed a reputation as the officer not to emulate, despite becoming an accomplished and well-respected Intelligence operative in her own right.

Coup d'état
In 2401, when it became apparent that Starfleet Command was becoming increasingly corrupt, Gabriela was selected as part of an elite team with one goal in mind, remove the corruption from the ranks of the Starfleet brass. The mission was a success and remained classified for many years, until the rumors of an elite squad destroying the Command struction at Talamora were confirmed

Misunderstanding
Later in 2401, a classified memo revealing that William Robbins (who was running for a Federation Council seat) had attempted to enlist Gabriela's assistance, was leaked to the Federation News Network. Gabriela was implicated in its release and questioned, but she was quickly released and absolved of any wrong-doing when the actual saboteur was discovered.

Director of the Strategic Services Agency
Only a few months after the controversy surrounding the released memo, Gabriela was selected to replace Suilana Lren'kata as Director of the Strategic Services Agency. Though initially annoyed at her new job, she soon settled into her role as Director. Within weeks, she began repurposing the SSA to function the way it was originally intended, and the agency replaced Starfleet Intelligence altogether.