Each month we interview a First Officer or Commanding Officer of the fleet as part of our “First Officer in Focus” and “Captain’s Corner” columns to get to know them better, and learn more about what their positions entail.
This month, we’re interviewing the First Officer of the starbase Amity Outpost, Lt Commander Wil Ukinix, a Human/Betazoid male.
DeVeau: Hi Wil! Would you please tell us a little about the writer behind the character — where in the world do you hail from? What hobbies do you enjoy? Anything you’d like to share with the SB118 community?
Ukinix: Hello Alora! I come from a land down under, where women glow and men plunder. My biggest hobbies are exercise activities like cycling and running, and I’m also a big music fan, especially live music. When I wrote my application story for SB118 I originally had a Vulcan in mind, and I had him on a transporter pad being taunted (McCoy style) by a cheeky Aussie. That’s where my PC, Wil Ukinix, was born – on a transporter pad, teasing a Vulcan. Seems appropriate somehow.
Would you please tell us a bit about your experience roleplaying and writing before joining our group?
None! This is the first time I have done anything like this. Although once for a costume party I did dress up as Austin Powers… does that count? Oh, behave.
How long have you been with SB118 and what brought you here?
I joined in November of 2018. I discovered this group by accident – I was on reddit trying to get information about when the next season of DISCO was due, when I saw a post advertising SB118. Before that I had garnered an interest in writing as a creative hobby, so on a whim I decided to sign up.
Since then I’ve realised that I came for the Trek, but I’ve stayed for the pub crawls.
You’ve created an interesting background for Wil with a family history that brings Betazoid politics into the mix. What inspired this particular story arc for Wil?
Wil being part Betazoid is inspired from the fact Australia is a multicultural society, due to the large amount of migration in the second half of last century. My friends all have mixed heritage and I wanted to capture a 24th century version of that with Wil.
The “Ninth House” arc: Wil’s grandfather migrated to live on Earth in his early twenties, but unbeknown to Wil was a former Betazoid noble. When Wil’s Brekkian/Betazoid hybrid crewmate Sky Blake met her own Betazoid relatives for the first time on Betazed, she found out the “Ukinix” name was tarnished in noble circles, and contacted Wil about it. From there he discovered he had extended family on Betazed with a very scandalous past. The arc has grown exponentially(!) from there, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it will finish. Have a look at the “Ninth House” page on the wiki to see the monster I’ve created for myself.
What inspired the arc was reading about Blake having distant relatives (none other than Rivi Vataix, the now Ambassador and CO of Amity Outpost) and I piggy-backed off of that for a bit of fun. I also drew inspiration from meeting my own RL distant family in Britain for the first time a few years earlier – without the scandal though. I promise.
What drew you to aim for a command position?
It was a long term aim, but personnel changes meant I got the gig earlier than I had expected! I just enjoyed this game and as time went on I’ve loved being part of mission planning and contributing to helping our group have fun.
What’s your biggest challenge since taking the First Officer position? What do you like most?
The biggest challenge is my CO, he keeps demanding milkshakes. I love helping out with mission planning, you get to be creative with a storyline and coming up with possibilities that you hope everyone will enjoy. But it’s also pleasing to see those plans being thrown out of the window when people start making their contributions, that’s the great thing about our game – the unexpected turns are fun.
What advice would you give to those who are looking toward a future at command and may find themselves in your shoes one day?
You are surrounded by an enthusiastic group of creative people, and everyone has something great to contribute – ride that wave, and by being attentive to other sims you’ll help everyone on your ship to ride it too. It will help you to learn how to become a mentor and staff member, and from there you’ll really find out and appreciate what it takes to keep a ship running.
Also bribes.
Thanks for your time, Lt Commander Ukinix!