We’re here with another interview with another member of our community. The title of this column is “Lower Decks,” hearkening back to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled “Lower Decks,” in which junior officers aboard the Enterprise-D speculate on the reasons for recent unusual actions taken by the command crew near the Cardassian border.
This month’s interview is with the writer behind Lieutenant JG Talos Dakora playing a Betazoid male Intelligence Officer assigned to the USS Excalibur-A.
DeVeau: Tell us a little about the writer behind the character — where in the world do you hail from? Anything you’d like to share!
Dakora: Hello! Thanks for having me! I’m a guy in my 30s from Texas and I live with my wife and a small army of kids (Okay, maybe just three.) There’s never a dull moment around here, that’s for sure. When I’m not writing with this group, I like to dabble in 3D art, game development and music.
What was your introduction to Science Fiction in general and Star Trek specifically?
I’m pretty sure my love for all things Sci-fi started practically before I could talk. I was massively into Star Wars as a kid (still am) but Star Trek was always the show my Dad and Uncles were into. Then one day I decided to watch the 2009 Star Trek movie and it was like it all just clicked in my head. I immediately devoured all of TOS and was halfway through TNG when I first joined this group.
What is your experience with roleplaying?
Before this group I had little-to-no role-playing experience. I’d always kind of wanted to try a table-top RPG, but never really had the right group of friends to pull it all together.
What brought you to SB118?
That’s kind of a long story! I’m actually a returning member who played a few different characters from 2011-2018 or so. I think I initially joined because of my (then) recently discovered love of Star Trek and desire to immerse myself in the universe. I’m back here after a few years off for some of those same reasons, but also because I haven’t been able to find anything else that satisfies my itch to write and create quite like this game! Not to mention the great friends I’ve made along the way, some of whom are still playing to this day!
Why did you choose this specific character and duty post?
Coming in with some experience this time around, I made a few character choices that I thought were interesting. First, I gave Talos a long career as an enlisted Marine before he entered the Academy. I figured it would be easier for a writer who had been around the block a time or two to write for a character who had as well. The other interesting choice I made was to make him a Betazoid (My previous characters were Terrans) who was a child during the Dominion Occupation of Betazed. The idea of grounding Talos’ story with an established touchstone from the Trek canon was too intriguing for me to pass up when I realized his age and the timeline lined up just right.
I played a few different duty posts in the past, mostly Security, but I thought the Intel role would allow me to leverage some of what I’d learned as Security Officer while also exploring the exciting world of Starfleet Intelligence. So far I’ve really enjoyed the position!
Where do you see your character five years from now?
That’s a good question! I was recently made Acting Chief of Intelligence on the Excalibur, so I’m already taking my first steps up the ladder, so who knows!? That said, if I’m still writing on the Excal 5 years from now as Chief Intel Officer, I bet I’ll still be having a blast.
Thanks for your time, Lieutenant JG Dakora!
You can read more about Lieutenant JG Talos Dakora on the wiki.
