There's an old saying in writing. "Write what you know." In my case, I know about the people I've been in contact with over the past decade. The main character in these stories is, needless to say, me, a little more older and a bit more idealized, but hopefully not too much :). Hopefully, I've faithfully done the same with the other people I've characterized.
The stories begin at the dawn of the Dominion War, as seen at the end of Season 5 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. My current story takes place 2 years after the end of Deep Space Nine