Mei’konda, USS Astraeus – Sarek Star Award

Join us for another in a series of interviews with winners of awards from our 2023 Awards Ceremony. Our goal is to give you insight into how our fleet’s best simmers write, and imagine their characters as well as their out of character contributions and achievements.

This month we’re interviewing the writer behind Captain Mei’konda, playing the Caitian Male Commanding Officer assigned to the USS Astraeus. He won the Sarek Star Award: Awarded to Commanding Officers who show great diplomatic ability in working with members and staff, related to conduct Out of Character. Organization, collaboration, mentorship, and ultimately making our game tick can be challenges in every respect, but those Staff Members awarded with this have a clear ability to walk those lines.

Marsh: For those who don’t know you, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself? 

Mei’konda: Hello there! In the real world, my name is Aaron. I’m a 44 year old Massage Therapist living and working in the Denver, Colorado area with my wonderful spouse and my German Shepherd, Kepler. I’ve been a fan of Star Trek all of my life, and with TNG having come out when I was 7 and ended when I was 14, I consider it to have been extremely formative for me. The positive message of Star Trek in those days, the idea that Humanity will eventually get past our petty differences and unite, is one that I cling to.

I’ve just hit my ten year anniversary with Starbase 118. For the whole time, I’ve played Mei’konda as my primary character, a somewhat reserved and introspective Caitian officer who began his career as a helmsman, spent several years as an Operations manager aboard various assignments, and was granted his first command, the USS Montreal, several years ago. Now commanding the USS Astraeus, one of the first six Galaxy class starships commissioned, he has found his calling in commanding deep space assignments in a ship which is approaching 40 years old.

You serve as the Commanding Officer of the USS Astraeus. Who is your favorite Starfleet Captain? Why?

Mei’konda: As I mentioned above, The Next Generation was the most formative series for me, and when asked who my favorite Captain is, I always think of Jean-Luc Picard. A brilliant diplomat and explorer, a tactician when necessary, a man whose intelligence always shone through and who always seemed to put his crew first – despite his flaws, such as his hard edges, his discomfort with personal relationships, and his dislike of children. 

In more recent years, I’ve also become quite fond of Anson Mount’s portrayal of Captain Pike. While still intelligent and courageous, he has softer edges than Picard and an obvious affection for his crew, he’s one of the best portrayals of positive masculinity that I’ve seen in media. 

One of the qualifications for the Sarek Star Staff Award is displaying effective  mentorship. What does it take to be a great mentor in the fleet?

Mei’konda: I believe the most important pieces of mentoring for me are compassion, attention, and a careful evaluation of each mentee’s strengths and weaknesses.

Compassion is important because constructive criticism is an essential component of mentoring. Communication between a mentor and their mentee should never feel only like a cold dictation or a reading off of a list of checkboxes of things they must accomplish. Instead, a mentee should be shown warmth, and be encouraged to ask questions with every communication from their mentor.

When I say attention, I mean that contact should be regular with a newer simmer, particularly in the Ensign and Lieutenant JG ranks. They should know that we encourage and welcome a new simmer taking the initiative to contact us, rather than just waiting for us to contact them with feedback.

And finally, paying very close attention to a new simmer’s strengths and struggles will help mentors custom tailor their mentoring process for that particular member. Some members gain confidence and feel ready to take the reigns and push the story sooner than others, others require more coaxing to do so without worrying about derailing the plot.

What are the areas that you work with members and staff? 

Mei’konda: I would say that I’m involved with all areas of the ship, though my First Officer leads the mentoring program. I do my best to delegate responsibilities, not because I’m afraid to do them, but because part of my job as the ship’s Captain is to help all of the members of my ship to advance over time and feel comfortable with all aspects of 118, both on our own ship and in the wider fleet.

What strategies do you employ to ensure that you remain diplomatic when working with others in the fleet?  

Mei’konda: I believe that in part, my career in Massage Therapy has helped with this. A big part of my job is ensuring that anyone who lays on my table for treatment feels comfortable and cared for. In 118, I try to bring that same positive paternal energy to my crew. I always assume positive intent on the part of our fleet members rather than worrying that someone may be acting maliciously, and making that assumption has generally made it easy for me to get along with anyone.

What challenges do you face when you’re making the effort to make our game tick? 

Mei’konda: I suppose that organizing my time working in the fleet is the most complex aspect of it. For those familiar with tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, Captaincy is similar to running a long term campaign for a large group of players. The main differences being, you have no particular end date in sight, you can be running the game for anywhere between 8 to 15 players, there is a consistent amount of work in interacting with other parts of the fleet, for example, task forces. It requires that one set aside time for it and to treat it as a major hobby, one of the primary time sinks of your life.

Amidst all that, it can occasionally be difficult to prioritize writing for my own character, and ensuring that Mei’konda’s story is not stagnant. Thanks to advice from other players and commanding officers, I’ve gotten better at that over time, and I very much value the relationships I’ve formed over the years with the players in this fleet.

Thanks for your time, Captain Mei’konda!

You can read more about Captain Mei’konda on the wiki.