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 Ensign Leenaya Edrei playing a female Betazoid Medical Officer assigned to the USS Chin’toka.
Harford: Tell us a little about the writer behind the character — where in the world do you hail from? Anything you’d like to share!
Edrei: Hi there! I go by Alie and have been moving around France a lot these last few years for university and work. I recently moved back to the region where I grew up in the northeast part of the country to work as an energy engineer for my city’s teaching hospitals. I live with my best friend, our two cats and her dog.
When I’m not at work, I’m into sports, especially rock climbing and hiking. At least I am when I don’t badly sprain my ankle… no comment. Otherwise you can usually find me snuggled on the couch with one of Brandon Sanderson’s books, or any fantasy book, really. I’m also a big advocate for women’s rights and environmental sustainability (among others) in my personal life.
What was your introduction to Science Fiction in general and Star Trek specifically?
My dad’s a big science fiction fan, and so was my uncle. My mom, though, not so much. So it was my dad who first introduced me to Star Wars when I was a kid, and then to Star Trek a few years later with the 2009 movie. And I was hooked. After that, my uncle lent me his TOS DVDs but well, that was not the place to start for pre-teen me and I quickly moved on to TNG. I kind of “forgot” about Star Trek when I was in uni because I was so busy, but got hooked again with the newest shows (especially LD) after I graduated.
What is your experience with roleplaying?
I was really into theatre when I was a kid, until my highschool years when our group unfortunately disbanded. So I love the aspect of impersonating a character and giving life to them to start with. I first joined a French Star Trek PBeM a while ago, but had to retire after 1 1⁄2 years or so. I also have a friend whose favourite hobby is roleplaying, and he recruited me for a few TTRPG(Table Top Role Playing Game) campaigns over the years.
What brought you to SB118?
I had more free time in my life and initially wanted to re-join the fleet I’d been with in the past as I’d enjoyed my time there. But it didn’t exist anymore, so I had to change my plans. As I now speak English, more or less, I thought it’d be a good idea to join an international group. A quick google search got me to the wiki. I spent a few days thinking about it before applying, and here I am. I have no regrets!
Why did you choose this specific character and duty post?
In the past, I’ve played a helm and a tactical officer, so I wanted to do something different. My friends often joke that I’m a “shoot first, ask questions later” person in RPGs (they’re right), so I thought it’d be interesting to write a character that’s completely the opposite. And for me, being in medical seemed to be the best way to achieve that. Moreover, I was already interested in the duty post, so it was an easy choice.
As for Lee, she’s still a work in progress. I kind of just laid the foundations and rolled with it. At this point, she’s more or less writing herself, and I really like how she’s coming to life. She had her first patient die under her care very recently, and she’s (obviously) not taking it well. As terrible as it sounds, it was a delight to write and I’m having a blast with this.
Where do you see your character five years from now?
Oof, that’s a difficult question. Leenaya doesn’t have any wish for command, and neither do I at the moment! I think Lee becoming CMO would be the most realistic thing that could happen. I have a lot of plans for her, though. I’m currently focusing on writing a part of her Academy days and the relationships she developed then, which is lots of fun.
Thanks for your time, Dr. Edrei!
You can read more about Ensign Leenaya Edrei on the wiki.
