Captain’s Corner – Rivi Vataix, Amity Outpost

Captain’s Corner – Rivi Vataix, Amity Outpost

Each month, we interview a captain or first officer of the fleet to gain more insight on what it takes to command a ship and learn more about how each of these staff members found their way into these roles, and what’s been happening under their command

This month, we’re interviewing the Commanding Officer of Amity Outpost, Ambassador Rivi Vataix, a Betazoid female. 

DeVeau:   In our last interview, you shared a bit about yourself. Would you tell us a bit more about your musical background?

Vataix: I began playing piano when I was seven-years old, focused mostly on learning classical music, but I later branched out into learning jazz, Broadway, and popular standards. I still play today as a freelance musician, and you can hear me in a 118-feature, “Banned from Menthar,” we did back in 2016, with you on vocals among a few others!

You’ve completed a full year (plus some!) as an Ambassador at an outpost.  What were your expectations when you originally launched compared to what you’ve seen play out? 

I wanted to explore a different kind of premise from the usual Star Trek setup of a ship and crew or even a station and crew like Deep Space Nine. Instead of a Starfleet captain leading the group, it would be a civilian Federation ambassador, and there would be more civilian staff supporting her in addition to the Starfleet characters. Now that we’re well into our second year, I can say I’m very happy with the diversity of the cast that my fellow players have created, from reporters and merchants to other Betazed nobles, all of whom have added such a distinctive feel to Amity Outpost as a “series.” We still have traditional Star Trek missions from time to time with the use of our own starship, the Defiant-class USS Independence, but overall, I’m pleased with how much the crew has really embraced telling the kind of stories we haven’t really seen on screen or in sim before.

You mentioned that on a station, consequences remain there, you can’t just fly away.  What consequences has Amity Outpost seen over the last year? 

This second year, we’ve introduced the Hirogen as our primary antagonist faction, who function a bit like the Klingons did in The Original Series or the Romulans in The Next Generation. The Hirogen aren’t one united faction, either, with various tribes having their own views of the Federation. Rivi invited several Hirogen tribes to Amity, and through a joint-exercise with a Starfleet task force, there’s some promise that she might have secured some allies and a tentative peace, but it’s still too soon to say how lasting it will be. Meanwhile, Betazed’s colonization effort in the Delta Quadrant has been its own serialized-storyline around the planet Idrustix. But the biggest consequences have been seen in the crew’s development. Rivi and the crew are more confident of their presence in the Delta Quadrant. After Rivi’s initial outreach effort to the quadrant known as Amity Expo ended in failure, she’s seen how much more work really needs to be done to establish lasting relationships with the native species and factions of the quadrant.

What are some of the biggest OOC and IC challenges running and playing on not only a static location, but one all the way in the Delta Quadrant?

The biggest out-of-character challenge is documenting everything we’re developing about our station, region, and various factions and characters and keeping it both consistent and accessible for new members who join us. For our players, they have to think about what other duties their characters might be performing in such a larger assignment like Amity, which is more like a city in space, than a ship of 220 officers and crew like the USS Veritas was. In-character, the biggest challenge for Rivi is that ultimately she and Amity are so far removed from the rest of the Federation, so it makes the stakes of her decisions higher as she’s not just an ambassador for the Federation but also like a mayor of a city or governor of a small colony, responsible for the lives of everyone on Amity.

What are the goals for the crew for the next year?

There are several specific storylines that players are writing out for their characters, whether it’s Keehani and Wil Ukinix adjusting to their new life as restored Betazed nobles or the new Deputy Chief of Mission Envoy Vaje Kizat, played by Craig (who previously wrote for Jansen Orrey in that post). Scotty Reade, Robin Hopper, and Ikaia Wong are all continuing their development as department heads. As a whole, my goal for the crew is to continue establishing Amity Outpost as a beacon of the Federation in the quadrant and develop it into a bustling center of trade, commerce, and cultural exchange.

What about Rivi?  What are your goals for her? 

I’d like to explore more of Rivi’s family life this year. Her husband, her son, and her cousin’s son whom she is caring for are all living with her on Amity, and I’d like to feature them all in future storylines, much like we saw Jake Sisko in Deep Space Nine. I want to show how she balances her work life and home life and what being out in the Delta Quadrant has meant for them as well.

Thanks for your time, Ambassador Vataix!

You can read more about Rivi Vataix on the wiki.

We are a star trek roleplaying game

We are a free, fun, and friendly community of Star Trek fans who write collaborative fiction together. It’s easy to join – we’ll teach you everything you need to know!

Latest Mission Reports

Latest Interviews

Latest News

OOC Activities

Looking for something fun to do? We have a whole list of fleet activities that are looking for members like yourself! Check out the Fleet Activity List today to see where you’ll fit in.