Interview with Captain Leeot Stardate 20401.01

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This month's subject is Capt Leeot, Commanding Officer, USS Philadelphia.

How did you first get involved in the site?


Basically Joseph Valiant’s to blame for recruiting me, and Dan Wueste’s to blame for recruiting him. Back in 2001 the three of us used to hang out on a few message boards together. On one of them, Velocity’s board, we played in a small time RPG. Posting started to fade away not long after I joined, but after a few days I found myself chatting to Jos on MSN, and he gave me a link to Federation Space. If I’d known at the time how desperate he was for my recruitment points, I’d have just grabbed a random name from the player roster and put them down as my referrer instead ;-)

Who, other than yourself, would you say has had the biggest influence on your character?


Probably Commodore Thrawn, if only for the amount of support he’s given me during my time on the site. Whenever I’ve been stuck on a post he’s been able to steer me in the right direction. He opens up a lot of interesting situations for role-playing by keeping people off balance, and that’s something I’ve benefited a lot from when our characters have met in game.

How, if at all, has your characters development differed from what you first imagined?


Well even from my first post Lucas came out as a little less angry than I’d pictured him in my head, but every now and then the character I’d written about in my bio slipped through, which actually seemed to work out better as it meant I didn’t have to see a counselor every five minutes for anger management sessions. When I first joined I wasn’t sure whether I actually wanted him to succeed in becoming a host to a symbiont, or if I wanted him to stay unjoined. Both paths would have given the character interesting twists as he developed and attempted to reapply to the Symbiosis Commission, but in the end I opted for him becoming joined.

Could you sum up your character in just a few words?


Calm, quick thinking, loyal, occasionally self-doubting, but can also be stubborn when he needs to be.

Do you really believe there is intelligent life somewhere, out there?


I think there has to be, somewhere. If life can exist here there have to be other places where it can develop. Even after we find a way to travel interstellar distances it could take hundreds of years to find it, but I think we will eventually. Otherwise there’s a whole ton of space just going to waste.

Which of the televised Star Trek series is your favorite and why?


Has to be Deep Space Nine, hands down, because it took Star Trek in a different direction. People weren’t quite as squeaky clean as they were in the previous series, and they actually wrestled with their morals. Whilst it stepped away from Gene Roddenberry’s concept of a utopian future for mankind, it made the characters more realistic and relatable to. In addition the story built very gradually from the opening of the wormhole, to small references to a then mysterious ‘Dominion’, to contact, to all out war. I think it’s this slow and steady plot development that really sets the series out from its siblings.

Which are your favorite characters from each series and why?


TOS: Spock and McCoy, because they played off each other so well despite coming from complete opposite sides of the spectrum. I don’t think Kirk would be quite as celebrated if he didn’t have these two for advice, between them I reckon they made sure he didn’t sway to one extreme or the other.

TNG: Data because he was like Spock in reverse, he was striving to gain emotions, rather than cast them aside. He never felt boring, despite how easy it would have been on both the writers’ and Brent Spiner’s part to let his aspirations of being a human being become clichéd.

DS9: Garak, because despite only being a recurring character he was possibly the best developed character in any trek series, at least in my opinion. You can never quite figure out when he’s telling the truth, or when he’s leading you off in a completely different direction. Any episode featuring Garak is bound to have some great dialogue and more often than not provoke a lot of thought.

VOY: Paris, mostly for the humor he brought into the crew, which I think would have been lacking otherwise.

ENT: Phlox, because of the interesting perspective he brings into the mix, as well as his relentless optimism.

Do you have a favorite moment or scenario your character has been involved in?


I’d have to say some of my favorite posts came from Lucas’ assignment as Chief of Security aboard the Dauntless. Because he had been trained as a marine he was really in unfamiliar territory, and had to rely a lot on what those serving under him felt was the best course of action. I think being in that position also helped prepare him wearing a command uniform, where he’d have to trust department heads’ opinions in areas he had no knowledge of.

In your opinion, what makes a really good post?


I think a good post is one that really creates a strong image in the reader’s mind. In general it doesn’t just settle for explaining what a character is doing, it explains how it’s being done, and the thought processes that led to such an action. When you’ve finished reading it you feel you’ve delved a little deeper into a character’s psych than you had before.

What advice would you give to our newer players who might be hoping for a Command within the site someday?


Just stick with it. Sometimes it feels like you’re trapped in a position, and you’re never going to rise above it. The best way to go about being considered for a promotion like Department Head, First Officer or Commanding Officer, is to demonstrate good posting and interaction skills. Submitting subplot ideas and keep yourself entertained when the plot focus is away from your department is also a good way to get noticed. As long as you keep focused and live up to your responsibilities you won’t go far wrong.

Which characteristics do you feel you have in common with your character?


Well we both get through an awful lot of hot chocolate ;-) I think I tend to be quite loyal to my friends like Lucas is. There was a time when I’d have said he was basically me placed into a Star Trek setting, but I don’t think that’s ever been completely true. He’s a lot more serious than I am, and a lot quieter too, but some of my behavior still creeps in from time to time.

If you were Fleet Admiral for a day, what would you change about Federation Space?


Most likely I’d swap around the names of some of the ships listed on the fleet organization charts. At present every single name there has an origin on Earth, but Star Fleet isn’t a solely human organization. I think it’d be interesting to see ships named after famous Andorian generals, Vulcan explorers, mythological Trill creatures and the like.

What is it like to be a commanding officer? What are the biggest challenges you face? Are there any rewards?


At the end of the day it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work as well. I think the most difficult part is making sure that everyone in your crew is having fun, whether they’re involved in the main plot or not. The rewards are directly related to this, because they come from seeing people enjoying themselves with their posts and improving their writing over time.

Where did you get the idea for your character?


When I started out it I wanted I knew I wanted to play a Trill, but I also wanted something a little different. On most RPG’s I’d seen if there was a Trill character they were almost always joined, so I decided that I was going to play someone who wasn’t found suitable for joining. That formed the basis for my back story, and the rest just seemed to follow from that concept.

What do you like to do when you aren't playing Federation Space?


I spend a lot of time out and about with my friends, at the cinema, at parties, or losing at pool. When I’m at home and awake, two things that rarely coincide, I can generally be found in my room listening to music or watching TV. Computer games also take up far more time than is probably healthy.

What is your favorite movie of all time? Why?


The Blues Brothers. It has great music, a great plot, great cast, and it’s funny from the first scene to the last.

What is your favorite book of all time? Why?


At the minute it’s “The Last Continent” by Terry Pratchett. I really enjoy his writing because it’s so far away from the norm, because of the amount of humor contained within every aspect of the book whilst still telling a story. The other reason is that it’s really different to the stuff on my reading list for university.

What kind of music do you like? Who are your favorites?


I really enjoy loads of different types of music from rock and punk to jazz and swing. It really depends on my mood as to what I listen to, but my favorite bands at the minute are Electric Six, Sum 41, The Pogues and They Might Be Giants.

If you could make your own ST series, what would it be?


I’d like to do a six part mini-series looking at a Nova class ship during the last few months of the Dominion War. With the situation in the war getting increasingly desperate Star Fleet Command would order the vessel to re-establish contact with the remaining Son’a forces to open talks for the trade of Ketracel White, in the hopes they could use it to provoke a Jem’Hadar rebellion. I think it’d be interesting because it would be a look at some of the more desperate plans Star Fleet must have been looking into, and it would give the perspective of another crew on the war.

If you had free reign to command any ship in the fleet, what would it be, and why?


The USS Damascus FF-6076 which might surprise some people as it’s the same class of ship I command presently. I’d like the Damascus because the city it’s named after has such a rich history which could be used as inspiration for promotion ceremonies and traditions aboard the ship. Building ship identity is something I really want to do, and the Damascus would provide an ideal opportunity to take a ship from scratch and create a unique atmosphere.