Ankiel was a male tactical officer aboard the USS Ranger in 2381. During the invasion by the Borg Collective in that year, Ranger commanding officer Captain Peter Pachal was killed, leaving first officer Jennifer Nero in charge, who decided to utilize the vessel's molecular pulse inverter to slip through the Borg cube's shields. Conn officer th'Fairoh was responsible for entering and locking the course to intercept the vessel, but he refused to throw his life away for a hopeless cause and advocated running away from the engagement, not feeling the Klingon planet Khitomer was worth their deaths. Ankiel had to stun the Andorian, and Nero locked the course herself before their detonation. (ST - Destiny novel: Gods of Night)