UFOP: StarBase 118, a Star Trek PBEM RPG

We are a community of people who love writing and Star Trek. We've been together as a group since June of 1994 and have enjoyed years of simming under a highly trained command staff. Our group offers an extensive and complete training course upon acceptance that will acclimatize you to our rules and ways of simming. We also offer a very active forum, an online database to organize your character's information, and of course, a ship to suit your simming style. If you want to learn more, just head to our website and click on the "Prospective Members" link on our index page. We'd love to have you join our group. See you soon!

Interview with a Star Trek Author

 

David Mack is the national bestselling author of more than twenty novels. He was gracious enough to talk with Tallis Rhul, a member of UFOP: StarBase 118, about his experiences with writing for Star Trek and his advice for aspiring writers. You can read the interview at http://www.starbase118.net/blog/2011/02/24/an-interview-with-david-mack-2/.

Interview with Counselor Askade

By Alleran Tan

 

On every Starfleet vessel and installation a counselor is present to see to the mental well-being of the crew. The role of the counselor is a very important one and they are, in every way, a valuable member of the medical staff of a vessel- many of them hold medical degrees in addition to any other degrees (almost always psychology), although counselors with more esoteric qualifications are permitted to serve.

Today I present an interview with Counselor Askade, one of our new councilors in the fleet.

Counselor Askade serves on the USS Constitution-B. I asked Counselor Askade what she felt about the role of the counselor in the fleet and she said,

“Well, just being assigned to a ship, I can say that the job of a good counselor is to listen and then give thoughts on solutions to the problem.”

Can’t argue with that one. They say the secret to being a great conversationalist is to listen…

I asked her if she, as a writer, had a favourite “session”? Does her character? Are they different? She said,

“I have not had any just yet, so not at this time. All I can say is that I will do my best for my crew, and serve my Captain well.”

An interesting answer; we’ll just have to see how that plans out. Curious about her profession, I asked Counselor Askade what makes a good counciling session. She wrote,

“One thing is comfort. If there is any tension, it will not go well.”

Makes sense to me. She said further,

“I have one idea in mind, for a session, and that is to go on the holodeck, and do a combat session with some of the crew members, so they know that i will stand by them in any situation.”

The idea of a warrior-counselor is certainly an intriguing one! I, personally, would love to see that holographic combat session. I’m sure she’ll let me know if she does decide to write such a thing!

But back to the task at hand. I asked the good Counselor if she had any advice for councilors just starting out in the fleet and she said,

“Read the wiki bio’s, and Listen to them.”

Listening seems to be a continuing theme here, although as discussed earlier it’s a very important part of a Counselor’s job. After all, they are tasked with (amongst other things) the assessment of a crewman’s mental health. Listening is the best way to find out exactly how someone is doing… a life in space can be a distressing and challenging one.

I asked Askade if she had any other duties her character can perform. Her answer was very broad. She wrote,

“If need be I can multi-role, as a tactical officer, security officer, and combat medic.”

A very revealing answer about a very interesting character: a warrior and a healer. As a Klingon, her closing words were very appropriate. She said,

“Just one thing: honor your crew, and captain with everything you have.”

Thank you for your time, Askade; I hope your new post goes well!

 

The Star Trek adventure continues at http://www.starbase118.net/.

An Interview with Michael Okuda

By Miles Unum

 

I can vividly remember my first Star Trek convention in the late 80s where James Doohan was one of the guest stars. Star Trek: The Next Generation was received by fans as a long-awaited return of the beloved world of Gene Roddenberry to television. Long before Amazon.com or any other online retailers, getting your hands on Star Trek memorabilia was a little more challenging than it is today. You could purchase the items at conventions or through catalogs, and for me, the convention I attended was the first time I’d seen a large manual with a beautiful cover and incredible illustrations inside. That book was titled Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual published by Pocket Books. I’d seen Michael Okuda’s name in the credits of The Next Generation episodes, but I’d never learned much about him. When I purchased the technical manual, my eyes were opened to the genius of Mr. Okuda’s vision of the future and to his major contributions to Star Trek.

 

As I read through the manual and saw Mr. Okuda’s name more and more over the years, it became apparent that he was a true pioneer. Along with his wife, Denise, they went on to write numerous Star Trek stories and serve as advisors for the subsequent television series Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. More recently, Mr. Okuda has been involved with the remastering of the original series on DVD to enhance the special effects, as an advisor to the MMORPG Star Trek Online in its initial stages, and designing logos for NASA.

 

His most famous contributions to Star Trek include the graphical user interface for the LCARS computer system used on the Enterprise-D and other Starfleet vessels. In appreciation for his contributions in this area, the visual style of the LCARS was named “okudagrams”.

 

Want to learn more about Mr. Okuda and his memories of working on Star Trek? Read the Michael Okuda interview at UFOP: Starbase 118.