Nugra Takes the Center Chair

StarBase 118 Staff · June 22, 2014

When I first joined UFOP:SB118 back in 2005, the fleet was a very different place. However, at least one thing connects that time and this: A Gorn character named Nugra was in play on the USS Victory. Back then, when I was only an ensign with my first PC, Nugra was a lieutenant commander and chief of security and tactical, and later the first officer. Now, he’s a commander and new to the Victory‘s center chair, so I was very interested to know more about Nugra, his writer, and their winding path to command.

I remember well when you became a command officer, the Victory’s XO, many years ago. How do you think Starbase 118 has changed between now and then? How have you changed?

What is very interesting is how much has changed, but yet has not changed. The first thing that struck me when I rejoined back in 2012 was that there was a lot more emphasis on writing than had been present back in the early days. Not only have many of the processes that were still new when I first took a LOA in 2006 are now tried and true, but many of the beginner writers are staff! One of the ways I changed is I’m “older and wiser”. After joining the U.S. Air Force, I “grew up” a lot and find that a lot of my original thoughts and ways were childish and it helped me form my moral code to the way I feel that I am a much more rounded person.

I’ve assumed that you chose the Victory as your command practical ship because you’re respecting and carrying on the legacies of Captains Phoenix and Hurne and the other officers and writers who served there. Is that true? If it is, can you tell me a bit more about it and about some of your memories of those old officers and writers?

You are correct. I did toss around the idea of creating my own ship, but when Starbase 118 was temporarily retired, I realized my old ship was now available. New ships are cool and a lot of fun, but there has to be something said about ships of old with long crew history and such amazing adventures. I could not allow the old girl to sit in mothballs! Being able to command the USS Victory brings a sense of accomplishment not only to Nugra, but also myself in OOC.

I have a fond memories of the Victory in the early 2380s, the one that stands out to me is the battle against the Lycanthropes, an IC classified mission that brought us in contact with a subservient race of the Tholians AND the Tholians themselves. I remember it distinctly because it was my first chance to play a MSNPC and for some reason, the creativity and simming speed just skyrocketed. I don’t think the crew of the USS Victory ever fought something so hard and it brought out the core parts of everybody’s character!

What are your plans for Nugra? What sort of CO will he be? Do you have any character arcs or developments planned for him?

Nugra has always been a very “follow the rules” CO, with a tendency to think they don’t apply to him in certain cases when he feels his disobedience is for the better of the crew, even if he gets in trouble for it (and he does!). He will probably bring that with him and at first, the crew will probably see him as very strict. I hope to bring across the effects of his return to command since he lost his own ship in the Gorn Confederation in a conflict that spanned 200 years. Being trapped in a singularity for that long changed him. His fear of losing his crew and dedication to his duty will also force him to move forward from that horrible time.

What about the Victory’s first mission — what can you tell me about that? Assuming that your practical is successful — as I’m sure it will be! — will you keep the Victory as your ship? What sorts of missions will you be most interested in running?

I have always had a philosophy that as beautiful the universe is, there are horrors of equal magnitude; there are secrets that should never be found. The Embassy had gotten a first taste at something lurking in the darkest shadows and now the USS Victory is tasked to find this ancient menace before it finds us. I am wholeheartedly planning to keep the USS Victory even past the practical. I love the old girl and I now can not imagine not having Nugra on the bridge.

I plan to run “exploration” missions and try to bring the “strange new worlds” to the USS Victory. It is what I love most about Star Trek, what strange thing will we find around the next star? To me, that is what Star Trek is, species VS environment and the search for knowledge.

If you could write again with one person from the group’s history, who would that person be, and why?

Oh, that’s a hard one. My first would be to say the old crew of the USS Victory. Mal Avatar, Stevok, Hurne, Parker, the whole lot, but if I had to chose one, it would be Captain Jordan Hurne. The man was my mentor both IC and OOC so when he retired, it did take a bit of the fun from the game. He fostered a creativity that I have always looked for and hope to bring to my own ship now that I her.

You can learn more about the Victory and her new series of missions under Commander Nugra on the wiki!