Interview with Commodore (Cdr) Wueste Stardate 20201.01
This month's subject is Cdr Daniel Wueste, Commanding Officer, USS Valley Forge.
How did you first get involved in the site?
In true ‘Wueste’ fashion, I can’t just answer that question (lol), at least not without first giving some background. In Early September of 2000 I joined a Star Trek Forum created by a ‘Company’, Unimatrix Productions, that had plans to create a DS9 ‘Movie’ Continuation of the Series (I’ve since become the Vice President of that Company, Production on the DS9 Project, “How You Live” continues, and that’s all the shameless self promotion I’ll indulge in for today!). On that Forum I met a poster, who went by the nick of Velocity, we became friends and eventually, when he made his own forum, I joined it as well... on it he set up a Star Trek RPG, which I’ve since learned was somewhat modeled after Fed Space, I was the ship’s Security Chief (lol), as that progressed, Shane (Velocity) and I spoke more and more about the RPG, as I was one of a small group of people who actually posted on it regularly... in short, as that continued, Shane kind of realized his RPG couldn’t end up going anywhere without him devoting more time then he had, to keep it up... so he invited me, and a few others he thought were good players, to come and play his Favorite online RPG, Federation Space... if I’m not mistaken I was the only one to take him up on his offer and in October of that same year I joined. That was when Midshipman Dan Wueste was Born. For anyone interested, Shane played Lt. Commander John Johnson who was an Engineer on the Yoritomo for a long time, he’s since left due to time constraints (namely not having any), now, nearly a year and a half later, it’s kind of interesting to try and figure out where all the time has gone (lol)...
How did you come up with your character?
Answer: Well, I happen to be terrible at making up names for myself, so the name came easily, I just used my own, the rest got filled in as I was writing the Bio. I wanted him to be a more reserved version of myself (if that was possible lol), for a time that was what he was... but time, making friends on the site, and playing my character more and more frequently changed him into what he is today, a Star Trek extension of myself. When I joined, I choice the Security Division because that was something I had played before, I knew I could pull if off, and my opinion of my skills was limited, to the point where I didn’t think I could do anything else. It took a long time, but I’m very excited by the Command Track my character now leads, I think it will open up new doors to development even I may not be able to imagine at this point.
Who, other than yourself, would you say has had the biggest influence on your character?
Captain Longbow and Captain Dax, no question about it. When I joined, they put up with my weird idea’s, as I became more experienced they literally mentored me. When I first came to the site, I was so unsure of myself, and what I was doing, I feel really lucky that I ended up on the Yoritomo to start. The help, support, and direction Longbow and Dax gave me then was invaluable, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Finally, I don’t want to forget Commander Samantha Aster, she’s given my character a purpose and helped to focus him, the relationship between her character and mine is one I really hope to develop further and is something I think will act to define my character as we continue forward.
How, if at all, has your characters development differed from what you first imagined?
He’s actually changed quite a bit, when I first started he was going to be a by-the-book style officer, unbending, friendly, but kind of dull... the idea was that he would be the kind of career officer you might find in Star Fleet at this point in time, someone who was raised with the expectation of joining Star Fleet, now that he had, his ambitions didn’t go much beyond that. Obviously, that’s changed, quite a bit, he’s become far more laid back than I ever would have imagined, more likely to tell a joke then quote regulations... he’s become an Officer with Dreams, and an unyielding devotion to his friends I can see leading to problems in the future...
Could you sum up your character in just a few words?
Caring, Passionate about his Duty and His Friends, Dedicated... And Loyal, almost to a fault.
Which characteristics do you feel you have in common with your character?
Other then the fact I have little creativity where new names for myself are involved, hence the fact I used my own name for the character... My Character started out as an idea, I created him with the thought that he would just be a character I’d play, nothing more... as time has passed though, the character has become more and more me. By this point, after being with the Site for Well over a Year, my character has really become me, he’s what I’d be like if placed in the situations he is, about the only difference is that he’s a little more sure of himself then I tend to be (lol).
Do you have a favorite moment or scenario your character has been involved in?
When the Yoritomo Crew was marooned on the ‘Living’ Planet, Captain Longbow decided to return to the Yoritomo, via a makeshift Emergency Transporter unit, in the hopes of saving the Ship by pushing it out of Orbit. During that time my character went through a near death experience with Longbow, one which I think strengthened their friendship... while this hasn’t had a chance to really manifest itself, I did try to show it during the time when Longbow was arrested, in my characters attempts to try and speak with her... that mission, to save the Yoritomo, is perhaps the most involving moment I’ve ever been involved in, no one quite knew what was going to happen next and it was a intense few days of posting.
How do you see your character developing in the future?
I plan to expand upon the loyalty and sense of dedication he feels for his Friends, maybe even use it against him... I would also like to further his relationship with Aster, see where that might go, I have idea’s, but they all need to be worked out. If nothing else, as he becomes more comfortable with Command, I see him looking back on his past for guidance, to the Teachers he had in his early career, as he had the best...
What other characters do you regularly post for? (NPCs, etc.)
Commander Patrick Atkinson (Instructor on the U.S.S. Educator), Master Sergeant John Singer (Ranking NonCom Marine on the Forge), Ensign Richard Pierce (A Medical Officer on the Forge), Lieutenant T’Lathka (CTO on the Forge), Ensign Jack Pliskin (Transporter Chief on the Forge), Lieutenant Jonathan Blair (Engineer on Starbase 1), and Paul Vice (Civilian, typically found on Starbase 1, who holds a grudge against my character for reasons known, thus far, only to him). There are a few other NPCs I post for, or have that I plan to post for, but the above are those I either post with most often, or have plans to do a good deal with soon.
When did you first 'get into' Star Trek?
I grew up on Star Trek, My Parents had watched TOS from it’s start in the 60’s, so by the time I was born they had almost every episode recorded on tape from its Syndication Run. So, from my earliest memories, I watched the Adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the Crew of the Original Enterprise. I’ve since watched TNG, DS9, Voyager, and now Enterprise from their Premiere Episodes on. I’ve also seen every Star Trek Movie, in fact Star Trek V was the first Movie I ever saw in the Theaters (hey, the first 40 Minutes of that movie is good fun! where else can you hear McCoy say “I Liked him better before he died?” to Spock? lol)...
Which of the televised Star Trek series is your favorite and why?
Well, I like them all, I really do... but Deep Space Nine is my Favorite. DS9 Continued Gene Roddenberry’s Legacy in a new and fascinating way, it showed us a group of people who were dedicated, hard working, incredibly caring, but flawed, put simply, they weren’t perfect. For once we saw that Star Fleet as a whole wasn’t perfect either, instead it’s an organization consisting of flawed and imperfect people, I think that was a defining moment for Star Trek, to admit that nobody’s perfect, even in the 24th Century. No other series has had so many defining moments, from the First Season’s “Duet” to the Seventh Season’s “The Changing Face of Evil”, DS9 was never afraid to change our perceptions of a character, to show them as truly Three Dimensional, that’s why DS9 is not only my favorite Trek Series, but one of my favorite TV shows of all time.
Which are your favorite characters from each series and why?
TOS: The Original Star Trek Cast, Despite all that they may have felt about each other behind the scenes, was truly an ensemble Group of Characters, they’re all good, and I can’t pick just a few... if I had to pick favorites, it would be Kirk, Spock, and McCoy... but in all honesty the cast just worked so well together, pulled off their relationships so well, that they are all literally my favorite.
TNG: Picard, because he is the consummate leader and diplomat. Riker because he presents the perfect foil for Picard, as someone who understands diplomacy but also appreciates the virtues of going in, Phasers firing. Geordi LaForge, because he presented, in my opinion, the only character in that show the writers were ever willing to show as not being perfect, he fit into the mold for what the TNG Cast was, yet he didn’t always get it right, no one else could have been Data’s Best Friend, because no one else on the Ship represented Humanity as well as Geordi did.
DS9: Deep Space Nine presents me with the same problem the Original Series did, I like all these characters so much, it’s difficult to pick just a few. As Sisko said to Q in the First Season Episode, “Q-Less”, He isn’t Picard, and nothing could be more true, Sisko was virtually a renaissance man, he was the Diplomat, but he was also the Warrior, he knew the value of each, and most of all he understood the Value of Family, a Theme Star Trek had never previously, and has never since, exploited so well. Kira had so much depth to her, at times, it was easy to forget you were watching a show and not actually looking in on the lives of these people... Kira Nerys was a prime example of this, she still had the scars of the Cardassian Occupation, but even as early as “Duet” she came to realize that you cannot judge an entire species by the actions of only some of them... Odo, Jadzia, Ezri, Worf (who didn’t truly become, in my opinion, a real character with depth and personality until he joined DS9), Jake, Miles O’Brien, Quark, Julian Bashir, all grew throughout the series, they seemed more like real people then they did scripted characters, even Supporting Cast Members like Nog, Martok, Rom, and others were the same way. This Cast, this group of people never ceased to amaze, that’s why, if I had to pick a Favorite Character I’d have to answer all of them.
VGR: Tom Paris, B’Elanna Torres, and The Doctor are my Favorites from Voyager, mostly because they were the most developed characters in the cast, also Robert Duncan McNeil, Roxann Dawson, and Robert Picardo all seemed to have a good time acting the parts and that brought something to the characters that was always a joy to watch.
In your opinion, what makes a really good post?
As those who put up with me know, I tend to write a lot (like in this interview lol), I just like to put a good deal down, I’m of the feeling that more is more, if you can pull something off with less, that’s great, I commend you for it, but I don’t feel able to fully express thoughts and feelings without at least a paragraph or two (or three or four, or why not a dozen? lol)... however, long, short, in between, length becomes almost a moot point in terms of what makes a good post, some of the best thoughts, best quotes, are only a line long. A Good Post is something that comes from the heart, it comes from you, it isn’t what you think others what to hear, it’s what you feel sounds right, what you feel is in character. A Good post doesn't even have to progress the plot, or even a Subplot, it does, however have to expand your character, add depth, even if its on something you’ve already established, show how your character handles something, show the thoughts that go through his/her mind, make the character come alive for you, and for the reader, and you’ve just written a really good post.
Do you use any reference books, CD-ROMs or other information sources to help you post?
I Commonly refer to my CD-ROM Copies of the Star Trek Encyclopedia, TNG and DS9 Companions, StarTrek.com, and the Book Version of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, they’ve been invaluable in allowing me to make many references to Trek ‘History’ that I can’t always remember off hand, more often then not, I’ll have a great idea of something to mention, but I can’t remember exactly what it is I’m thinking of, that’s when I pull out reference material and double check, to make sure I get it right the first time.
What advice would you give to our newer players who might be hoping for a Command within the site someday?
It’s all really a matter of dedication, work hard, give time to the site, post as much as you can, and be ready and willing to take that extra step, to help out even when you don’t have to... the casual RPG Player, someone who just wants to post a few times every once in awhile, and doesn’t want to do much else, in my opinion probably won’t end up getting a Command, at least not quickly... but, if you make good posts, participate actively and add something to make the site better, you can expect to be recognized for it eventually... this isn’t an overnight process, even if you work really hard, you may not get what you want quickly, patience is an important part of this, be patient, work hard, and great things may be in your future.
You were kind of thrust into the center chair a little earlier than expected. How are things working out for you? What has your experience been like?
You can say that again, for better or worse though, due to certain mitigating circumstances, I never had a chance to worry about it, or sit back and doubt my abilities... when Kang left, it became a matter of I was either ready for this, or I wasn’t, and I couldn’t take an unsure stance in that. Everything has worked out very well though, the experience has been 100% Positive, as far as I’m concerned I have the best crew in the Fleet, and the experience, encouragement, and support imparted to me by so many on the site has really helped. At first, I wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation; I spent the first month or so of Command winging it... Since then though, I think I’ve developed my own Style, Tim has been a great deal of help in this, as a First Officer he’s second to none. The dedication of the entire crew has helped me to realize I don’t always have to get it right the first time through, perfection isn’t the goal here, instead I’ve found that happy medium, I try my best everyday, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that goofing up is something to be learned from, a way to understand our mistakes and improve, even when I don’t get it right at first, I know it’s recoverable from. So, to sum up my overly long comments, all is going well, very well, and I couldn’t be happier with how my first Command Experience is progressing thus far...
Could you tell us a bit about your plans for command of the Valley Forge?
Since taking her over I’ve tried very hard to make the Forge ‘my own’... the Forge was the Second Ship created for the Site, so she has a long history, a lot of people have served on her, and most of those served under Captain K’ang. That leaves me with rather large shoes to fill, my efforts thus far have been to make the Forge into a Ship people enjoy being on, I think Tim and I have made good progress in that direction. For the future I hope to bring the crew together, in a way that will form a bond between everyone... The Forge’s Crew is an incredible group of people; I want to challenge them creatively as much as possible so this continues to be a fun, enjoyable, and exciting experience for all of them. I’ve also made, and continue to make great efforts so that the Command Team (Department Heads, the First Officer, Commander Otlan, and myself) is easily accessible, I want the crew to know that if they have any problems, we’re always here to help, your Department Head is there to solve any isolated situations, and Tim and I are ALWAYS Available to Help or even just to talk.
