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Saavik

While Captain’s Log can point the camera at any type of character in the Star Trek setting, I wanted my first playtest to feature a true Captain in the classic mold - someone who could easily conjure iconic Trek-style beats aboard a starship.

I thought of Saavik. Being a fan of the Movie Era, I had always thought that Saavik’s destiny lay in Command, as hinted-at in the first scene of the Wrath of Khan.

A Splintered Timeline

I’m aware that Saavik has had an extended story in print media, though I’m personally unfamiliar with this lore. My continuum treats only the films and television shows as canon, out of ignorance more than anything else. I don’t wish to take anything away from those novels and comics, which are beloved by the fans I know.

I’m also aware that a subplot surrounding a pregnancy from her relationship with Spock was proposed, but never introduced onscreen. One choice would have been to pick up this thread, but I chose to take her exit from the Enterprise as definitive, liberating her for the rest of her own life story.

In my continuum, Saavik went on to command a starship for many decades, shifting to an academic role by the time the Dominion War begins.

I’ve used Saavik as an NPC in a few of my Star Trek Adventures games. I featured her as an instructor at Starfleet Academy during the Dominion War, running the famous Kobayashi Maru examination that was connected with her character’s introduction. I had also featured her briefly pressed into active service to stop a galaxy-threatening monster. It’s on her return voyage from that mission that my story begins.

“Murder, She Wrote” in Space

I’d been watching Star Trek: Picard and enjoying the reflective mode that so many beloved Trek characters seem to find themselves in as they age. I thought back to Saavik’s debut film, and how the TOS was crew reflecting on aging even as early as Star Trek II.

I thought it would be fun for Saavik to step into Angela Lansbury’s role in Murder: She Wrote: on the sidelines, and older than the younger community around her, but in reality the most savvy and competent person in the situation.

In the DS9 era, how old is Saavik? How old does she feel?

At around 113 years old in 2374, Saavik would be twice as old as Spock had been in Star Trek V, and many decades older than Spock when he questioned if his and his colleagues’ age might “constitute a joke.” Of course, Vulcans have a long lifespan and Spock is half-human, so it’s hard to figure exactly at what life stage she would find herself on the brink of the war. Robin Curtis appeared as a separate TNG character during events a few years prior, very much in her prime. Had she reprised the role of Saavik during the filming of DS9, we might have seen a much younger 113-year-old Vulcan than I have portrayed here.

I’ve aligned Saavik’s characterization with Spock’s at half her age. I’d like to think that if Paramount made a new Dominion War show today or really at any time since DS9 wrapped, Robin Curtis could step back into this role at whatever age she might be and her portrayal would feel right.

Online Resources

Modiphius has published many pre-built Star Trek Adventures characters, including for well-known characters. The Star Trek Adventures fan site Continuing Mission also has fan-made characters for many supporting characters from the movies and TV series, including multiple versions of Saavik.

I used the Continuing Mission Saavik builds as inspiration for my own version.

Creation in Play

There are two ways to create Captain’s Log characters.

The first has you go step by step through a Lifepath system, making choices and rolling dice to determine the background events which shaped your character. It’s a fun mini-game in itself.

However, I prefer the second option: creation in play. This method builds an equivalent character through improvisational additions while telling your story.

Attributes

I assigned her initial Attributes as follows:

Disciplines

I then chose her two primary Disciplines as Command and Science. The rules encourage you to leave the rest blank and fill them in later, but I was pretty sure what I wanted, so I just assigned them.

Focuses

I gave Saavik an initial Focus of “Instruction” to build upon her recent position at Starfleet Academy. I left the rest to be filled-in during the story. She ended-up with the following Focuses by the end, with room for one more:

Values

While you only need create one Value at this stage, I went ahead and created all four. Values help you sway key outcomes, and I wanted to prime myself to play to certain aspects of her character.

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

I felt that with age, Saavik would fully embrace this Vulcan ethos, being ready to encounter any new experience or perspective.

I Am Aware of My Responsibilities

This was a classic phrase Saavik used in Star Trek II, and I liked that Continuing Mission had included it as one of her Values. With age, this Value might take on an even graver meaning than it had as a flippant remark in her youth.

Knowing the Rules Means Knowing When to Break Them

Saavik in the movies was very “by the book,” and had fun character beats where this was pitted against Kirk’s looser style. I felt that an older Saavik would have found her comfort zone here.

Age Need Not be a Hindrance

This was the Value I wanted to explore the most, relating to the mix of vulnerability and fortitude that comes with getting older.

The USS Le Guin

I chose an Excelsior-class vessel for Saavik. It’s iconic, flagship-worthy, and powerful enough to span the Movie and TNG/DS9 eras into the Dominion War. Plus, it’s just one of my faves.

I heard that in extended Trek stories there was a USS Asimov, and I loved the idea that Starfleet would name vessels after science fiction writers. I chose to name Saavik’s vessel after Ursula K. Le Guin, being a fan of hers, knowing that Trek and her Hainish cycle may have informed each other in some way, and recalling her stating that she watched TNG and other modern Trek series at the time.

Scale: 5

Systems

Departments

Traits and Talents

We hadn’t yet worked-out the rules for Traits and Talents, so I did without them.