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 Fleet Captain Aron Kells, the CO of the USS Thor, one of two support ships from the Embassy of Duronis II. The crew of the Embassy has transitioned permanently to the Thor and embarked on a new mission.

GALVEN: Thank you for agreeing to take a moment and be interviewed! Could you tell us a little about yourself for our readers out there?

KELLS: Sure! My name is Tony, which I use primarily in part because I’ve used half a dozen different characters as PCs since I first joined the fleet back in 2005. Kells is probably the character I’ve simmed for most often, which is one of the reasons I chose him for command this time (but more on that later). A fun fact about me is that I joined 118 when I was still in high school and I’ve just recently finished my PhD, so the group has seen me through my entire higher education journey.

You just recently took command of the USS Thor. With your previous command service record, has it been a smooth transition process? 

Very much so. My first regular command was of the Mercury, almost exactly eight years ago, and that was a more difficult situation. The original CO retired only four months after launching the ship, and his replacement lasted less than a week before he had to take an emergency, long-term LOA. The Mercury’s XO was a real trooper and was a great help to me when I came on as CO, and I knew when I found out what a force Brian (Lt. Cmdr. Teller, the Embassy’s and now the Thor’s XO) had been in helping to keep things together, I knew that the work he and the other great staff members had started put me in a really strong place to come in and help the Embassy crew move to Thor.

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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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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 Commander Mei’konda, the CO of the USS Montreal, one of two new ships launched last month.

WOLF: The last time you were here on the news was June 2017 as part of our First Officer in Focus column – welcome back! How have you been since then?

MEI’KONDA: I’ve been very well. I found the role of first officer a fun one to play, especially under Rich (Captain Roshanara Rahman), who was and still is a great mentor to me.

You’ve just recently launched the USS Montreal as part of a fleet expansion due to an influx of members. How are you settling in to your new role as commanding officer? And what was it like to launch a new ship under these circumstances?

This is the first time I’ve been so involved in the launch of a new vessel, and it was pretty chaotic for the first one or two weeks because it was on short notice. But I welcomed that particular challenge, because I felt that if I could handle such a busy launch, I would be able to handle Captaincy itself. Thus far, I’m enjoying the role of commanding officer. I’ve been lucky enough to have some extremely creative writers on my crew, and I can’t wait to see where they take our stories.

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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 Commander Theo Whittaker, the new CO of the Andaris Task Force.

TRAENOR: If I’m not mistaken, the last time you were interviewed was in August of 2016 – you were FO of SB118 Ops back then. It’s not a stretch to say that there’s been some changes in the intervening year and a half! Can you refresh our audience’s memory and tell us a little bit about yourself including where you hail from and what you like to do when you’re not contributing to our group?

WHITTAKER: My name is Mikey and I’m a (im)mature student from the U.K, studying International Fashion Business and I’m also a part time waiter/restaurant host. I’d like to work in Fashion Forecasting (hence my degree) and when I’m not simming or studying, I enjoy baking, the odd Pokemon battle (or twenty), crafts and watching trashy reality TV shows (Judge Judy is my current favourite). I also collect vinyl records (250 and counting!) mostly consisting of 1980s and 1990s pop music! I’m also a huge fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Michelle Visage is my everything). As several members of the ATF can attest, I am a rabid reader of Star Trek novels and I have been a fan of the franchise for over twenty years. Deep Space Nine is my favourite TV series, Kira is my favourite character and The Undiscovered Country is my favourite movie (with Insurrection as close second…. Yes, really! Ha Ha)

There were some pretty significant changes in regards to personnel in the Andaris Task Force around the time of your transfer and assignment as CO. Can you tell us a little bit about how that has been progressing and with everyone settling into their roles?

I think there is a period of adjustment during any transition, especially more so when you are stepping into the shoes of an officer like Admiral Renos. Saying that, however, I think that the transition has gone very well and certainly we’ve had feedback from players that supports that. All of the staff have been communicative and extraordinarily helpful and I am grateful. Noelle, who serves as my XO, and I came onboard at just the right time – we pretty much dove straight into a wonderful team building mission that was put together by Richard, who plays Lieutenant Jarred Thoran, and  it’s been a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know the players and for the players to get to know us!

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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 Cmdr. Brell, the CO of the newly launched USS Atlantis.

WOLF: Welcome back to the hotseat! Last time we talked to you was September of 2016 for our Training Team, and now you’re a commanding officer! Many congratulations on the promotion – your hard work has really paid off. Can you refresh our audience’s memory and tell us a little about yourself including where you hail from and what you like to do when you’re not simming or training the Academy?

BRELL: Thank you Admiral! Well my name is Lee and I live in the middle of the Arizona desert with my partner, our dog, where we help take care of the family property, along with my dad, and his cat. Been a long time Star Trek, sci-fi and rpg in general fan.

Talk to us about your writing style. What’s your process for putting together a sim?

I write my sims in google docs where I can always start with where I left on on my last sim. Then I add in the new tags and go from there. I try to reference experiences Brell has had over the years into my sims as often as I can. Also his family life (The good times and the bad.) often colors how he sees things happening around him.

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