Best described as a quiet but adventurous child, Shiori spent most of her time outside playing with her friends or tinkering around in her dad's workshop. Despite his best efforts, she somehow managed to routinely procure old electronic components that often became some sort of device of varying practicality, including a more accurate and reliable barometer then the weather service was currently using. She enjoyed spending time with her family, even if half of it lived quite a distance away. Shiori ended up being quite ethnically aware being not only having a Japanese mother, but her paternal grandfather was a member of the eastern band of the Chitimacha tribe and her paternal grandmother was a prominent Cajun businesswoman.

Excelling in science and art in high school Shiori was quite popular among her fellow students. A decent athlete, she played small forward for the Morgan City High School girl's basketball team all four years. It was about this time her fascination with tattooing began, leading eventually to an extensive collection she is quite proud of. Initially planning to attend the University of New Orleans to study computer science, Shiori never attended. Deciding essentially on a whim to sign aboard a merchant ship, she simply left a note for her parents and signed aboard the SS Queen of Carrollton at the New Orleans spaceport. It worked the Earth-Luna-Deneva route as an independent carrier. Her goal was to attain an actual ECS Electrician's Ticket before switching over to one of their vessels.

Soon after that, she resumed her studies in a fashion. Not truly happy having no academic diversions, but not really wanting to attend college (after all life aboard a merchant spacer was interesting) Shiori entered into the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s distant learning program. Double majoring in Computer Science and Solid State & Low-Temperature Physics she dedicated most of her off duty time to her studies.

Earning her Technician's certificate after about eight months, she left the ship at the end of its run in Deneva. However, Shiori didn't stay there long. Signed aboard the ECS Bay State the vessel almost immediately set out for Mars. By this time she'd thoroughly adapted to the life of a spacer, the challenge of maintaining the sporadic and ageing systems of the Bay State managed to hold her attention for three years. Eventually Shiori had reestablished contact with her none too happy family. Her mother was the most understanding, having essentially the same thing by attending ULM and it didn’t hurt that she was pursuing a rigorous degree when she could.

In 2157 Shiori finished her degrees and graduated in the top 10% of her class. Upon her graduation, she also completed her Assistant Engineer's ticket and since the Bay State had been running short a watch stander she was bumped up immediately. That was also the year a panel she was working on exploded next to her. Causing severe damage to her head and left eye the only reason she survived was the good fortune to have the ESS Nightingale within responding distance. Taken aboard the Starfleet vessel for transportation the rest of the way to the Martian Colonies Shiori spent most of the time in stasis. Ever after she’s expressed her gratitude for the Nightingale's rescue and to her own crew aboard the Bay State for their quick thinking.

Thanks to the excellent physicians at the Utopia Colony's hospital there was little lasting damage, except for irreparable trauma to her eye and some scarring on her scalp. For a time she considered either returning home to Earth or staying on Mars but Shiori felt the urge to get back into space, not on a slow merchantmen, but aboard one of the incredibly fast Starfleet vessels. Signing up at the Utopia Recruiting office she was shipped back to Earth for training. Everyone back home had hoped to see her return to a normal life back on Earth but they seemed to have begun to accept that Shiori was determined to make her own future.

After completing the usual training, Shiori was assigned to the Master-at-Arms' office of the sprawling Baltimore Naval Stores Depot. Not exactly the assignment she had been hoping for it was decent. At least she'd dodged both OCS and an assignment to one of the technical arms of the service. While a lover of the challenges of science Shiori had developed an even more powerful love of adventure that was much different from her childhood. A standard two year tour later she'd made PO3 (and the office now had several interesting new gadgets). Now en route to her first off world assignment, she can't help but be excited to see her first really alien world and her impending completion of a third degree Ceramic Sciences and Engineering.

Fully self possessed and hard to confuse, Shiori is nonetheless easily bored by many "sciencey" things. You couldn't call her excitable, but perhaps intense would fit better. She attacks a task that interests her with zest. Famial relations could best be described as recovering from the strain of her sudden departure. Fences have been pretty well mended by now, even if her career hasn't really been accepted. Shiori's closest relationship is with her mother with whom she usually corresponds. Occasionally beset with guilt about disappointing her parents, she has considered leaving Starfleet for a teaching position at UIBC. Despite being proud of her tattoos (mostly done by her great aunt or cousin Lilly) Shiori generally prefers long sleeved shirts and pants out of lingering self consciousness. An avid swimmer, on a dare she swam across Baltimore Harbor while assigned to the Naval Depot. Fluent in Cajun, Japanese, and Chitimacha in addition to English Shiori claims it would be impossible to learn anything new in the language department. Serious vocal practice has reduced her accent (which can be confusing and a nigh unintelligible) to an almost unnoticeable level. Electronics and computers are her real passion and she has an impressive grasp of ancient systems. The action potential drew her to the Master-at-Arms rating although she could easily have qualified for a position in engineering or science.