Lower Decks: Ensign Par Salen

Lower Decks: Ensign Par Salen

Back to the ever growing Lower Decks, where up-and-comers and rising stars alike are brought to the table for a bit of Q&A. In this edition, we’ll be talking with Ensign Par Salen, the counselor of the Duronis II Embassy and her sister ship, the USS Thunder. The writer for Mr. Salen isn’t a stranger to our community, and feels that this time everything’s going to be A OK.
The writer for Mr. Salen, 44 year old Mike from Lafayette, Louisiana, comes to us with a variable background including time served in Desert Storm as a member of the United States Air Force – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! – a psychiatric technician and currently a Registered Sleep Technician, which involves helping people to breathe and sleep uninterrupted throughout the night. With activities in his spare time such as LARP, table-top RPG, hiking, kayaking and certainly anything that involves being outdoors, he tends to keep his life interesting enough. One thing you could add to the list of things that keep him going, is a love of Star Trek and all its wondrous bits and pieces.
The Trek had always been a part of his life. He can recall a time where Star Trek was more than just something to watch: “I grew up watching reruns of of Captain Kirk and crew, wishing they would come pick me up in the enterprise.” Most all of the other franchises followed suit with doses of TNG, DS9 and Voyager also in the mix. Eventually the interest in the genre led to what we’ve all done at some point in our career: aimless searching of all things Trek. This led him here, to UFOP:SB118. I simmed this character years ago,  and he made it to Lt.Jg aboard the Tiger with Flt. Captain Riley, a great Captain and excellent crew. Due to Rl issues I had to leave the group and start over once I was prepared to come back. I never stopped missing the talent and comrades I found here so I am happy to be involved again. Happy to see him back in action, but hopefully this time he’ll stay!
Par is not unfamiliar with the toils of space and war. The Battle of Betazed was a huge factor in the shaping of the Ensign, as Mike comments: “He was involved in that process, watched friends suffer and die and saw his people being tortured and experimented upon. It changed him from naive optimist to being deeply guarded about his personal life yet committed to helping others.” Truly a noble cause of anyone in that profession. But not all is doom and gloom. Par made it through training with the only caveat of having to pay extra attention to the format of the sims being written. “Sometimes I had a hard time remembering that most of the characters were being simmed by the Training Instructors, they did such a great job making it real ! Thanks to you all.” He’s hopeful that in a years time he can be something beyond Ensign, but when it comes to command, he feels he may take his time. Being the best counselor he can be is the name of the game for the time being.
As far as his current post, the Duronis II Embassy, or more specifically the USS Thunder, Par had nothing but kindness to throw in their direction. “I really like the crew he is stationed with at the Embassy and their enormous talent and kindness.  Hopefully Par will have settled in and found some friends and a level of trust with the Crew, especially the marines..oh boy the marines. It’s very bright, please wear sunglasses outside, as well as UV protection. Duronis II is a beautiful place with a rich history and amazing culture. The crew of the Thunder are top notch and have been nothing but helpful to Par,  and out of character are very kind, intelligent and wonderful writers that tell a great story ! It’s an honor to serve with them in StarFleet.”
Ensign Par Salen seems to be fitting in nicely once again with his crew, but getting back in with the community can be equally as challenging, but not in this case. Warm welcomes all around for this returning writer. He was also quick to add, “I would like to say thanks to all the Trainers and Sys Admin people who make all of this possible for the rest of us.  Thank you Admiral Wolf for making the best PBEM in the Universe and to everyone on the message boards that keeps everyone involved, thank you and Great Job!” Well said Ensign, but for now, CARRY ON!

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