Lower Decks interview: Lieutenant JG. Drex, Denali Station
We’re here with another interview with a newer 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. Drex playing a Denobulan male Science Officer assigned to Denali Station.
Marsh: Tell us a little about the writer behind the character — where in the world do you hail from? Anything you’d like to share!
Drex: Hello! My name is Barbara and I was born in a small town in the Italian Alps, but now I live in Padua, an old city near Venice, Italy. In my life I have had many passions, in particular I like sports, reading, painting miniatures and board games. Since I became a mother, however, my children have taken up all of my time outside of work, and I have put my hobbies on standby. I hope to convey something of what I like to them so that I can resume my activities sooner with them.
What was your introduction to Science Fiction in general and Star Trek specifically?
I remember coming home earlier than usual one afternoon and turning on the television. There was a new TV series called Star Trek The Next Generation. I had nothing to do, so I started watching it. I was 12 years old and I was fascinated by it. I remember setting the VCR to record all the episodes. I would say that TNG started my passion for science fiction.
What is your experience with roleplaying?
I started playing online when I was in college. I had a lot of free time after dinner and while I was searching information on Star Trek on the Internet, I found an Italian play-by-chat game. I played on that site for a few months, then some players decided to open a new site and I moved there with them. It had been a long adventure, lasting over 10 years. I stopped playing when I moved to live with my husband. Real life had become just too chaotic to keep playing on a play-by-chat.
What brought you to SB118?
In 2022 I tried to get back to the play by chat site. I played for a few months, but the place was not the one I had left 10 years before, nor the people nor me. I got tired of everyday discussions and also I did not have so much free time for the game, so I decided to look for another solution. I knew about SB118 because I had used Pholin Duyzer’s profile (https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Pholin_Duyzer) as the base page to learn about Denobulans. It took me a couple of days to decide to try a play-by-email in English, then in November 2023 I asked Drex if it was fine for him to change sites and here we are!
Why did you choose this specific character and duty post?
I’m not very patient and I often get annoyed by stupid things. All of my past characters used to be Engineers with a temper similar to mine, and, as things were going on in the old game, I decided I needed a new patient, calm, and humble character, so I created a Denobulan non-commissioned officer. I liked it a lot and when I sent my application for SB188 I took him with me.
I chose him to be a Science Officer because it was one of the most needed duty posts and his background could fit for a Major. I also thought it could be easier for me to write in English as a Science Officer rather than as an Engineer.
Where do you see your character five years from now?
Drex: This is an interesting question. Five years from now is a very long time. I hope he will be still alive, working on some archeological discovery on Denali.
As I gain experience and improve my English and my playing style, I hope that he will become a point of reference for those on the Station, not so much for the rank (I honestly do not care about promotions), but as a person to turn to in everyday life.
Then of course, he is a Denobulan. In a hundred years he will still be here, so he is in no hurry to get to the top.
Thanks for your time, Lieutenant Drex!
You can read more about Lieutenant JG Drex on the wiki. https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Drex
