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Duty Post Award Winner – Chloe Waters, USS Eagle (Pilot’s Sextant)

April 5, 2020by German Galven in Award Winning Interviews tagged

Join us for another in a series of interviews with winners of Duty Post awards from our recent 2019 Awards Ceremony. Our goal is to give you insight into how our fleet’s best simmers write, and imagine their characters.

This month we’re interviewing the writer behind Lieutenant Junior Grade Chloe Waters, playing a Human female assigned to the USS Eagle as the Helm Officer. She won the Pilot’s Sextant which is given to those Helm officers who have proven themselves to be the best of the best. From finding a safe route home to flying an emergency atmospheric landing, pilots who have earned the right to this award know the importance of staying focused, and puts their ability to make spectacular maneuvers at the service of their ship and its mission.

GALVEN: Thank you for agreeing to have an interview with me! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

WATERS: Thanks for the invitation to do this interview.

Well, my name is Jesse. I’m a blind cancer survivor who hails from Canada. In my spare time I enjoy working on audio projects, promoting accessibility and playing choose your own adventure games.

I’ve been a Star Trek fan for almost twelve years, but took my fandom to a whole new level around 2015-2016 when I started listening to various Star Trek podcasts (audio dramas such as Starship Excelsior and Star Trek Outpost and discussion-based podcasts such as Mission Log).

It wasn’t long after that when I started poking around the web and joining up with various Star Trek roleplay groups, before eventually landing here.

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Stuck at home and needing something to do? Check out the new 118 Podcast episode

April 4, 2020by German Galven in Podcast

We know everyone’s looking for new entertainment while at home! Join Lieutenant JG Lazarus Davis as he discusses the mystery of transporters! This episode is hosted, and edited by Lieutenant JG Chloe Waters.

Interested in joining the Podcast Team? Head to the forums and respond to this thread.

Lower Decks Interview: Lieutenant Jona ch’Ranni, USS Gorkon

March 25, 2020by German Galven in Lower Decks

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 Jona ch’Ranni playing an Andorian male Operations Officer assigned to USS Gorkon.

GALVEN: Thank you for allowing me to interview you! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

CH’RANNI: Hello! My name IRL is Josh and I’ve loved everything about Star Trek since I was a child. I work in the education industry in IT support in the midwest US. I’m married and have twin 4 year old boys – one of whom is named Jonah and is the inspiration for my character’s name.

What has been your favorite moment writing aboard the USS Gorkon?

Right now we are recovering from a mind-warping encounter with Q. I found it fun to imagine the feelings that would develop in someone exposed to such a strong personality with near unlimited power. Several crewmates got into a group therapy session with our ship’s counselor and dealt with the emotional and mental fallout. 

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Duty Post Award Winner – Esa Kiax, USS Atlantis (The Voyager Medallion)

March 14, 2020by German Galven in Award Winning Interviews

Join us for another in a series of interviews with winners of Duty Post awards from our recent 2019 Awards Ceremony. Our goal is to give you insight into how our fleet’s best simmers write, and imagine their characters.

This month we’re interviewing the writer behind Lieutenant Esa Kiax playing a Trill female assigned to the USS Atlantis as the Operations/Communications. She won the Voyager Medallion which is presented to those Operations officers who have shown great skill in keeping a starship in working order despite near-impossible circumstances. The officers receiving this award have advanced the field of Operations, making sure duty rosters, provisions, gear, and even recreation time are available… no matter what.

GALVEN: Thank you for agreeing to have an interview with me! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

KIAX: Hey there, always a pleasure! My name is Matt Ide, a 24-year-old part-time music student from London, UK. When I’m not studying, I work as a sound engineer in a local theatre. I’ve been simming for about eight or so years now, and have been a member of our happy little family here at 118 for fifteen months. Besides music, I’m an avid climber and video gamer!

Winning such a unique duty post award such as the Voyager Medallion award must be really exciting! Is there any kind of inspiration from anything in Star Trek or elsewhere when you write a scene?

Exciting? Heck yes. I recall audibly screaming at my computer screen when I read the awards post, to the point where my housemates asked if I was okay! I was genuinely not expecting it. Of course, there is a lot of inspiration from Trek. Where would we be without it? Harry Kim was my favourite character in Voyager, which was the first series I ever watched as a kid. Beyond that, the rest of my inspiration comes from the 2004 Battlestar Galactica Re-Imagining. The way that they portray the day-to-day inner workings of a starship is fascinating to me.

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Lower Decks Interview: Lieutenant Esa Kiax, USS Atlantis

March 10, 2020by German Galven in Lower Decks

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 Esa Kiax playing a joined Trill female Com/Ops Officer assigned to USS Atlantis.

GALVEN: Thank you for allowing me to interview you! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

KIAX: Hey there, I’m Matt, a 24 year old MA Music Performance student and Musical Theatre technician from London, UK. Percussionist, avid gamer and lover of all things sci-fi! I’m also big on mountaineering, climbing and cycling!

What has been your favorite moment writing aboard the USS Atlantis?

So far? There was this one mission where the crew had to venture out into the Jenatris Cloud to investigate several newly discovered Chon outpost stations, it was pretty exciting to be investigating something that’s been floating there for 13,000 years, and seeing what each different away team encountered on their trip. That, and our Captain at the time ended up getting a hybrid Chon/Bolian clone of himself, which was quite interesting to work around. Though, I’m sure there will be plenty more favourites in the future!

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Join us for the fleetwide chat this coming Sunday

March 2, 2020by German Galven in Events

We invite all members of our community to join us in the Discord chat room this coming Sunday, for our regularly scheduled get-together, where we’ll talk about what’s happening around the fleet, learn more about each other, and discuss Star Trek!

The chat starts this Sunday, March 8th at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern, 6pm UTC. Click here to see the start time in your zone, and add this event to your calendar.

This chat is open to all and casual, so feel free to come and go as you please. See you there!

Captain’s Corner: Captain Oddas Aria, USS Eagle

February 26, 2020by German Galven in Captain's Corner

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.

This month we’re interviewing Captain Oddas Aria, a Bajoran female, that’s the commanding officer of the USS Eagle and temporary CO of the USS Juneau, the Capstone Warp XV Project.

GALVEN: Would you please introduce yourself for our readers out there?

Oddas: Sure – I’m Nicholas, a Software Developer / Consultant who works from home in Florida for a firm based in Alaska. I have 4 kids, a wife and a love of all kinds of Science Fiction.

I joined SB118 back in April of 2016 as an Engineer at the Embassy. From there I just sort of found myself in a position to get moved up and around the ranks a bit.

On April 24, 2019 (or 239604.24), Fleet Admiral Tristan Wolf announced your promotion to Captain. How long was the process and what was it like for you?

The actual process to go from Commander to Captain seemed like about five months. It came at a time when the fleet had received a large influx of recruits. My CO at the time Admiral Turner (Ann) was always very supportive and had me take the written portion of the exam early so I’d be ready which also meant I’d been spitballing some ideas about ships and things in my mind.

When the time came I knew I wanted an Intrepid Class ship, I knew the type of missions I’d want to fly and that type of thing. Once those were decided it just became a juggling act of ‘who to invite, who to ask to volunteer’ and then holding your breath. Luckily we’ve ended up with some great people.

It took a couple of missions in those five missions, which had their own ups and downs, to really feel like things were running smoothly. When the final votes and interviews and all were done, it was a huge relief and validation of the things I had been working so hard on.

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Lower Decks Interview: Lieutenant Junior Grade Malko, Starbase 118 Ops

February 23, 2020by German Galven in Lower Decks tagged

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 Malko playing a Denobulan male Counselor assigned to Starbase 118 Ops.

GALVEN: Thank you for allowing me to interview you! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

MALKO: Hello, and cheers to all the readers! I am a graphic designer in Toronto who works on kids’ television, Photoshopping goofy things that appear on Amazon, Hulu, PBS and TVO! On the weekend I’m the drummer in a bar band, perform in community theatre and host a drunken Dungeons and Dragons podcast.

What has been your favorite moment writing aboard Starbase 118 Operations?

Recently, I got to write a sim that started off as a pretty innocuous sim – a routine engineering check – that turned into a ‘Tell-tale Heart’ style mystery that flip-flopped between murder and a dessert related catastrophe! The stakes were very low, comparatively to many of the gripping sims Malko has been a part of, but that’s what afforded me freedom to have fun with it. Of course, I do have to commend Lieutenant Commander Rustyy Hael on being a good sport and running with it!

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Come and join the fun at annual Project Khitomer Discord Conference, Saturday, February 22, 2020!

February 19, 2020by German Galven in Events

The Second Khitomer Conference is coming on Saturday, February 22, 2020 beginning at 3pm GMT (see your timezone and add to your calendar). Mark your calendars now to join us for a fun day of engaging panels, community building, workshops, and so much more!

Some of our own community members – LtCmdr. German Galven, Lt. Ceciri Ariadust, and LtJG Sheila Bailey are panelists already. Check out the schedule to find out when you can support their sessions.

Click here to join the Discord now, or on the day of the event: https://discord.gg/m4XF6Pp

Do you have a topic you want to hear? Or ideas you want to share in one of our panel sessions? Contact one of the hosts in the Discord server!

Duty Post Award Winner – Jarred Thoran, USS Atlantis (The Strange Medallion)

February 12, 2020by German Galven in Award Winning Interviews tagged

Join us for another in a series of interviews with winners of Duty Post awards from our recent 2019 Awards Ceremony. Our goal is to give you insight into how our fleet’s best simmers write, and imagine their characters.

This month we’re interviewing the writer behind Commander Jarred Thoran playing a Human male assigned to the USS Atlantis where he’s now the Commanding Officer. In the 2019 Awards Ceremony, for his work as the First Officer of the Columbia, he won the Strange Medallion the duty post award that recognizes first officers. Named after Commander Sally Strange, widely known as one of the most creative and dedicated First Officers in the fleet’s early years, this award is given to those who perform above the call of duty in the position of First Officer.

GALVEN: Thank you for agreeing to have an interview with me! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

THORAN: It is my pleasure, thank you for having me! I’m Richard, currently a Brit residing in Germany where I am in the process of learning to fly helicopters for a living. I’ve been with the fleet for just over two and a half years, and have loved every minute of it. Outside of simming I am an avid reader, enjoy video games and am just starting to delve back into tabletop roleplaying.

Winning such a unique duty post award such as the Strange Medallion must be really exciting! Is there any kind of inspiration from anything in Star Trek or elsewhere when you write a scene?

It really was an honour to have been chosen to receive the award. The competition was very stiff as we are fortunate to have a great bunch of hard working and talented First Officers across the fleet.

With regards to inspiration, that is an interesting question. I will admit to not being as familiar with Star Trek as many others in the fleet, so I often find myself reading over Memory Alpha or the wiki trying to make sure I get the details correct. Sometimes I’ll stumble across something that will get the old grey matter firing. I’m also quite a visual person, so where possible I like to try and have an image of the surroundings to help me out. For example, I’ll refer to screen captures of Voyager, deck plans as well as search Google for anything similar to what I’m seeing in my head.

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