Interview with Captain Valiant Stardate 20305.01

This month's subject is Capt Joseph Valiant, Commanding Officer, USS Yeager.

How did you come to play Federation Space?

The then Lieutenant Commander Dan Wueste security officer USS Yoritomo invited me to check out this RPG. At first I was hesitant to join, but I thought I'd try it out, and well I joined and got hooked on it, and well the rest is history.

Which Star Trek series is your favorite? Why?

Wow this is a harder choice than I thought. I would honestly say it's a tie between TNG and DS9. Reason why is I grew up on TNG, it's what got me hooked into Star Trek and even helped influence my career choice (Become a Pilot), I really enjoyed the exploration and the unknown and the puzzle solving in a lot of the episodes.

DS9 had great characters, very deep, and real acting, they felt and acted like people not just simple characters. The war was also a nice touch as it showed Star Fleet in its toughest, darkest and most desperate times. DS9 also touched on broad range of topics, ranging from a deep emotional level given in "The Visitor" to moral issues as shown in "In the Pale Moonlight"

Who is your favorite character from each series and why?

TOS: Captain Kirk, simply put he's a Star Trek legend. TNG: Q, very interesting character, he was a pain in the butt and a thorn in everyone's side. And even though he wasn't shown a lot, he ended up being a very interesting and dynamic character. He went from being a bad guy to being a pest, to almost a person who actually cared and really wanted to help out. DS9: Sisko, he was a very deep character, had changed so much since the first season. He went from being this happy type, good guy, to a dark almost villainous character in the end, and its that change in between that helped make him so deep. Voy: Tom Paris, he's your down to Earth "Fly Boy" of the 24th century. Ent: I'd have to say Trip Tucker, very laidback, relaxed and in my opinion the most real character on Enterprise.

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

Honestly there wouldn't be much I would change I really enjoy the site as it is. Though there is one thing I would change. It would be to switch Ops over to an Engineering position, just need to clear out some red shirts from the bridge.

What do you think makes a good post?

As someone once said, "Words"

No actually it all depends I know it's not length because I've seen some short posts that were really good, and some 2 pagers that just weren't worth reading. I think a good post is one that clearly communicates where your characters at, what he/she is doing, thinking, and feeling. Sensory details are the key to a good post but remember there still needs to be some depth, some of your character's personality in it; you can't just have raw facts.

You will be taking command of the USS Yeager, why a Scout Ship, and why the Yeager?

I honestly think it'll be fun. No one else in the history of the site has chosen a scout ship, and I doubt anyone else will, and I wanted to be different from everyone else. I also think it'll lead to some very interesting posting just because of its size, the lack of fire power, and the fact it can also fly places a normal LARGE ships like the Titan and Agincourt can't.

Why Yeager, well I guess it's the pilot in me coming out. I wanted a ship name that somewhat reflected me, and me being a pilot it seemed nothing was more fitting than naming it after a famous pilot, Chuck Yeager, a pilot who went down in history as the first US citizen (if not the world) to break the sound barrier.

What’s it like being a Commanding Officer? What are the biggest challenges you face? Any rewards?

What is it like, well its a lot of fun, but the fun comes with a few more responsibilities, like making sure everyone is happy, doing their jobs, and posting, which can be hard and challenging at times.

The rewards, well I get 50 more points than I used to, lol I get to know a little more about the plot and help direct it a bit, I get to sit in the big chair all the time and I finally get to see what goes on in the ever so secretive Captains Table.

What are in you in charge of as the Division Head for Tactical, and what do you plan for that Division?

Ack! Its not listed in the site constitution so I don't know!!! Lol lol no all jokes aside I'm in charge of coming up with new tactical related content. Right now I'm lobbying to get Ops changed over to an Engineering position.

What’s your most memorable moment on the site, so far?

Well my whole time on the site has been memorable, but if I had to choose it would be during the Enterprise mission, me being the first person (using NPC of course) to do the now joked about "waste extraction duty" and then ending up getting that NPC thrown in the brig for smarting off to Commander Thrawn the Chief Engineer.

What advice would you give our newer members aspiring to gain a command of their own?

Be patient, be VERY patient, it won't come over night. Focus on your character and its development, because in the end its all about the characters and not the positions. When given a position on the chain of command do you job, don't slack off and think that the FO or CO will do it all. Granted you'll get noticed by slacking off, but not in a good way. Try to relieve the work of your FO and CO by coming up with subplots and submitting them and turning in your points on time and by posting frequently, that'll get you noticed in a good why very quickly.

Where did you get the idea for your character?

Well, my character when I first joined was strongly based off of me, and how I would react to each situation, but over time my character has started to change and has started to make a turn towards a more colder and darker side. I guess other than myself the place I get the most idea's for my character would be looking at the character and mentality of Captain Sisko from DS9 and Captain Ransom from Voyager.