Focusing on the IDIC and basic Vulcan philosophy, which celebrates the vast array of variables within the Star Trek universe, join us for a brand new series of interviews to highlight the unique alien species found within our Fleet. Our goal is to give you an insight into the different species within the Starbase 118 community; including the reasons behind choosing a certain species and what challenges, and rewards, playing as a member of that species can bring.
For the maiden voyage of this series, we are hearing from the writer behind Lieutenant Gila Sadar, a female Mizarian who currently serves on board the USS Artemis-A as a Medical Officer.
Matthews: Thank you so much for joining us for this interview. Why don’t you tell us a little about the writer behind the character — where in the world do you hail from and what drew you to SB118?
Sadar: Thanks for having me! 😀 My name is Michelle, and I come from Denmark, the small hat on top of Germany. I’m a school teacher by trade, and a mother hen by nature, to both my pupils and my son, Alexander. Like so many before me, I first stumbled upon SB118 when searching for an online outlet to play Star Trek: Adventures. I’d been on roleplaying forums and discord servers previously, but as those often required a high degree of constant participation, I found it didn’t fit well with my current lifestyle.
Thankfully, fleet staff was very accommodating with my concerns about time commitments, and I signed up for my Cadet Cruise in the middle of June 2023 🙂 The rest, as they say, is history!
So from what we can see, Gila is the sole Mizarian currently in the SB118 Fleet, and the species has only been represented in Star Trek television shows and movies a handful of times. What was it that attracted you to the species?
Well, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to play an alien, as I’ve always found the least appealing part of Star Trek (or any sci-fi property, really) how human-centric they tend to be. The more alien I could get, the better. I had multiple options open, but I knew I wanted an alien species that had had limited exposure in SB118, so I would have more-or-less free reign to worldbuild the Mizarian culture.
Before I got my hands on the Mizarians, all that was really detailed on the wiki was how dull and void of life their society was, and that really tickled my imagination, as that was a very singular portrayal of an entire species, and I got to thinking: why are the Mizarians like that?
Were there any other potential species that Gila Sadar could have been or was she always going to be a Mizarian?
Gila Sadar as a character wasn’t really born until I’d decided on the Mizarian species. Gila’s personality and character arc is intrinsically linked to what it means to be a Mizarian, and what is considered acceptable / unacceptable in her society, and how that is decided and by whom. So while I had a broad possible list of aliens my first character might’ve been, they wouldn’t have been Gila.
Have there been instances where a more limited pool of information, as opposed to what is available for more highlighted species such as the Klingons or Vulcans, has been a hindrance when writing for Lieutenant Sadar?
As someone who loves worldbuilding, have a basically clean slate to work from has been one of the greatest boons of writing a Mizarian. With that said, it also means that I’ll sometimes get stuck on certain Sims or certain situations, because it calls into question some aspects of Mizarian culture or society that I haven’t thought of yet. This is, arguably, only an issue because of my perfectionism, though…
Do you have any advice for anyone who is considering creating an alien character in the future? What are the upsides and downsides that someone should keep in mind?
DO IT. We can never have too many alien aliens around here. It is a very freeing experience have no prior canon to adhere to, and it’s very exciting being able to expand on a species with only your imagination and common sense setting the limitations.
With that said, don’t get too attached to your species. The nature of collaborative writing is that we all hold a small piece of the universe in our hands, and despite how eagerly and passionately you expound upon a species, you can’t expect all others to handle them with the same care and dedication that you do. And that’s okay.
Finally, where do you see yourself going within the Fleet? Both in character and out of character — is there anything you have planned for Gila in the future or would you be interested in joining any of the OOC groups?
This is always my least favorite question… OOC-ly, I just want to keep having fun and being a force for positivity and good in the fleet. This community has given so much to me over the past year, and I want to pay it back in any way I can. I’m already part of WikiOps, nagging all the Captains I can shake a stick at with outdated wiki pages, and that suits me just fine.
Thanks for your time, Lieutenant Sadar!
You can read more about Lieutenant Gila Sadar on the wiki.
