Reporter Issue 41

Reporter Issue #41
Issue Number: 41 Issue Date: 237906.04 Editor: FltCapt. Hollis Caley Reporter Archive Index

Contents

• Editorial
• OOC
• Featured Ship
• Interview
• Promotions
• Missions
• New Frontiers
• SIMming Tips
• Final Episode
• Reader's Corner
• End Notes

Editorial Communique

Fleet Captain Hollis Caley

Hello UFOP!

Welcome to the second issue of 2379. It took a bit longer to put together than I planned. It is once again full of information on the ships of the fleet. The next 3 issues are already in the planning stage, and I hope they will frame the summer months. After all if I am going to publish six issues this year, I had better get going. Once again this issue owes it existence to our general membership. As time goes I hope to see more articles written by YOU.

Summer can be a challenging time for Simming. The glories of long summer days calls us forth from our computer. Everything seems to move at a slower pace. Like summer though, Simming can be very relaxing. Nothing is like coming in from mowing and pouring a tall lemonade going into the basement, to plunk out a sim. If the department head just went on vacation, now is the time for the assistant chief to step up and show off. If simming is a bit slow on the ship, indulge in a long character development piece. Last year my CMO went on vacation. Simming sporadically from a Spanish Computer/Coffee House he introduced as a personal sub-plot an attack on the Breen Home World by rouge elements of Star Fleet. Eventually it spun into a major plot line. Summer is a time for big ideas, and grand plans.

I hope you enjoy this Issue.

Fleet Captain Hollis Editor

OOC - From the Admiral's Desk

FltAdml. Tristan Wolf

This section will be sent out at a later date, through e-mail.

Featured Ship

USS Ronin

RONIN: any of the masterless samurai warrior aristocrats of the late Muromachi (1138–1573) and Tokugawa (1603–1867) periods who were often vagrant and disruptive and sometimes actively rebellious.

Type:	Heavy Cruiser Unit Run: NCC 62497 USS Akira NCC 63293 USS Rabin NCC 63549 USS Thunderchild USS Spector, plus 187 others. 57 were lost during the Dominion war; the class remains in production.
Commissioned:	2363 - present Dimensions: Length: 464.43 m Beam: 316.67 m Height: 87.43 m Decks: 15 Mass: 3,055,000 tons
Crew:	500; 4,500 evac limit
Armament	3 x Type X phaser arrays, total output 22,500 TeraWatts 15 x Pulse fire Photon torpedo tubes + 3000 torpedoes
Defense Systems:	Shield system, total capacity 1,876,500 TeraJoules Standard Duranium/Tritanium double hull plus 5.4 cm high density armor Standard level Structural Integrity Field
Warp Speeds:	Normal Cruise: Warp Factor 6 Maximum Cruise: Warp Factor 9.3 Maximum Rated: Warp Factor 9.8 for twelve hours
Strength Indices:	(Galaxy class = 1,000) Beam Firepower: 450 Torpedo Firepower: 3,750 Weapon Range and Accuracy: 900 Shield Strength: 695 Hull Armor: 640 Speed: 1,285 Combat Maneuverability: 5,000 Overall Strength Index: 1,530
Diplomatic Capability:	Grade 3
Expected Hull Life:	80 years
Refit Cycle:	Minor: 1 year Standard: 5 years Major: 20 years

The Ronin has been a part of the UFOP for a number of years now, which has been under the command of former Captain Skyfire, Captain Adler Wong-Aquiss, and now Captain Mike James.

You can find this ship's crew roster here.

The Akira Class: A canon description - Provided by the Daystrom Institute Technical Library. Edited by Ensign Charles Kernot.

Notes : The USS Akira is one of the very few Starfleet vessels which is heavily biased toward the combat role. The ships carry an extremely heavy torpedo armament of no less than 15 photon torpedo tubes. Seven of these are mounted in the large roll bar pod, all facing forwards; the remaining eight are located in the saucer section, two of which face directly out to port and starboard - an unusual feature in a Starfleet vessel.

Another unusual feature of the Akira class is the hangar bay arrangements. There are two large shuttle bays in the saucer section, one at the forward edge of the saucer section and one at the rear. These are linked together through the centre of the ship, allowing large numbers of launch and landing operations to be handled simultaneously. During peacetime this allows the Akira to evacuate large numbers of small survey craft, or ferry evacuees on board at a high rate. During the Dominion war the ships often serve as fighter carriers; in this role they can carry up to one hundred attack fighters, although a load of thirty six fighters and a dozen utility craft is more usual.

The USS Akira entered service in 2363, and a rapid production run put nearly a hundred others into the fleet over the next twelve years. Most were assigned to units on the outer Federation territories, performing patrol and presence missions as well as the normal mapping and exploration duties which any Starfleet vessel is expected to handle.

More recently the escalation of tensions at the Federations core over the last few years has led to almost all of the Akiras being recalled to operate nearer to Earth; thirty five where assigned to the Typhon Sector Fleet in 2370, the remainder being assigned to the areas adjacent to the Cardassian, Klingon and Romulan borders. Akira class vessels featured prominently in the 2372 Borg attack on Earth; the Typhon Fleet, together with several reinforcement squadrons, fought a running battle with the Borg vessel from the Typhon sector to Earth. Many of the ships were destroyed during this battle. A notable participant was the USS Thunderchild, NCC 63549, which participated in the final assault which destroyed the Borg cube.

The Akiras had been due to cease production in 2373, but with the disastrous contact with the Dominion Starfleet decided to continue production at an increased rate. When the Dominion war began, production of the Akira was boosted to eighteen per year as the Federation converted its economy to a war footing. The Akiras have now become a common sight on the front lines, participating in most of the major battles.

Interview

Interview with Captain Mike James

Ensign Nyce from the Reporter walks into the Terran bar and awkwardly looks about. It was one of the new Retro bars serving real alcohol of a strong variety. SB118 strictly governed the use of the substance, but it was still legal. Passing through the room, she spots the dark blonde blue eyed head of her quarry, Captain Mike James of the USS Ronin. Coming up to his booth she smiles broadly, and sits down placing the recorder next to her.

NYCE: “Hello, Captain James. Thank-you for making time for the interview.”

JAMES: “Time is one thing that tends to be in short supply..but it waits for no man. Is that poetic enough?”

Nyce giggles, and waves to a waiter to bring a glass of what the Captain is sipping on. Checking her question list, she glances at the recorder smiling.

NYCE: “Let’s start with a little about yourself. I know your father served on the Bozeman. Did you always want to join in Star Fleet?

JAMES: “I guess so... I'm sure my family had other intentions, but making Captain slightly before my father shows that the right decision was made.”

NYCE: “Your father served on the Boseman, and you were with him when it slipped forward in time. You lost your family . . your friends . . everything. How did you overcome that?”

JAMES: “That was extremely difficult for many of the crew .. myself, not as bad, as I was fairly young at the time .. teenagers never really know what they want. It helped to push me in the right direction. The loss of the rest of my family was not the trade-off I would have accepted however.”

NYCE: “Your friends characterize you as serious. Where you always so somber?”

JAMES: "I try to think I'm not that somber. Dr Wong hopefully could attest to that, but I suppose her departure caused a change in me .. focus more on the future than the past”

NYCE: “Your first assignment was the Oberth. What was that ship like?”

JAMES: “It was lost before her time, but the crew at that time was among the best in the fleet. Skyfire knew how to run things and hopefully I have learned even a little from that Vulcan.”

NYCE: “What is it like being Captain of the Ronin; of an Akira class vessel.”

JAMES: “Well, the ship itself is powerful, like having the proverbial powder keg, but it's small, fast and maneuverable .. something I like. It's not a warship per se, not like the Galaxy classes, but it does the job.”

NYCE: “What kind of mission do you feel the Ronin and you really excel at?”

JAMES: “We are a deep-space vessel, but my crew are quite varied and I like to think we can handle everything, from exploration to diplomacy, even though most of the diplomacy is shotgun style.”

NYCE: “Now that the Dominion war is over, what should the Federation be focusing on?”

JAMES: “Honestly? Defense. We have spent so many years moving forward, we need to focus more on ourselves. The whole Borg thing caused us to finally look inwards and the failure of certain colonies elsewhere shows we need to curb our enthusiasm.”

NYCE: “What is the greatest risk the Federation faces? Borg, Q, Dominion . . .or something else entirely?”

JAMES: “As I say, maybe we need to hold ourselves back sometimes. The proper time will come.”

NYCE: “What would you say to a Lieutenant who is looking toward becoming a Captain someday? What do they need to do to get there?”

JAMES: “Work with your crew ... see things in their boots. The tough decisions have to be made, even if things go wrong.”

NYCE: “One last question. What is it like to be eaten by a giant bug?”

JAMES: “Slimy, I like to think I slipped down like an oyster, but..” he shrugs, “what do I know?”

NYCE: “Yummmy . . .”

Nyce screws up her face at the analogy and shudders. Captain James laughs first and Nyce soon joins in. Reaching for the amber hi-ball glass of potent liquid, the reporter turns the recorder off and all goes dark.

"Why pretend we're going home at all when all we're really going to do is investigating every cubic millimter of this quadrant, aren't we?" -- The Doctor (The Cloud)

Promotions

USS GALILEO

• Lieutenant junior grade Zovyx
• Lieutenant junior grade Bellington
• Lieutenant Vandaly

USS KODIAK

• Lieutenant junior grade Mendi
• Lieutenant junior grade NazReth
• Lieutenant junior grade Sabbage
• Lieutenant Cicero
• Lieutenant De Silvia
• Lieutenant Ssa’Rukk
• Commander Hutton
• Commander Cyrce

USS PHOENIX/CONSTITUTION

• Lieutenant junior grade Marsden
• Lieutenant junior grade Kirov
• Lieutenant Fletcher
• Lieutenant Commander Kare'en

USS RANGER

• Lieutenant junior grade David Bishop
• Lieutenant junior grade Daniel Story
• Commander K'Tar
• Captain James Terra

SB118 OPERATIONS

• Lieutenant junior grade Sirokh
• Lieutenant junior grade Yavanna
• Lieutenant junior grade Dodge
• Lieutenant Daker
• Lieutenant Davis
• Lieutenant Garrett
• Lieutenant Torrence
• Commander Rourke

USS TITAN

• Lieutenant junior grade Fox
• Lieutenant junior grade Montgomery
• Lieutenant junior grade Wildman
• Lieutenant junior grade T’preen
• Commander Kell Perim-Mitchell

"You! What planet is this?" -- McCoy, to a homeless person upon appearing in 1930's Chicago (City on the Edge of Forever)

Mission Reports

USS Ronin

Submitted by: Captain James

The USS Ronin is answering a distress call form the Planet Char.

Captain James – Personal Log:

I've just recently woke up from a coma after having fell on the bridge, and hit my head on the command chair. During that time, Lt. Sheriden, my Chief of Ship Defenses, took command of the con. He reported later to me that it was due to Ensign Phoenix Treja's quick thinking that I was transported to the sickbay so quickly. Mr. Sheriden decided that it was best to have the first-officer Lt. Cmd. Fire-Claw, who was away leading an away missio on the planet Char, to report to the bridge and take the con. After doing so, he took the post of acting XO while he and Lt. Cmd. Fire-Claw braced themselves for whatever news they could receive from the away team lead by Lt. Cmd. Brandon Toullis, the second-officer. After being informed of an energy force above the away team, the two officers debated on who should go on the escape mission. It was at that time that I awoke from my coma. I ordered that both the Lt. Cmd. and the Lt. to go on the mission piloted by Ensign Treja, and assisted by Lt. Jg. Rumnov. I have now sent out a majority of my senior staff. The conditions of both away teams are still un-known. The reasons for my coma are also uncertain. It is not clear how I fell and why I fell, but I do acknowledge that it happened. I do remember hearing voices in coma, referring to themselves as The Old Ones. I wonder what lies ahead in the coming hours of the mission, and what answers we may find on this planet Char that we were sent to aid.

USS Galileo

Submitted by: Captain Keldor

Galileo Site

The USS Galileo is assumed lost at space.

Unknown to Star Fleet Command the Galileo has been thrown into another galaxy. Having gained information on a possible way home, the valiant star ship is preparing to cross through hostile space.

USS Kodiak

Submitted by: Captain Hollis

Kodiak Site

Finishing a 3 month lay over at Kismet Colony on the Breen Boarder, the USS Kodiak departs for the Spider Nebula. A decade before the USS Kodiak Galaxy Class had entered the Nebula on a mission related to the Dominion War. While there, a Dyson Sphere was discovered, but the mission did not allow follow up. 100 years before the USS Glory had also spotted the mysterious sphere while charting the Nebula. The Glory had been destroyed, and its wreckage was found by the original Kodiak crew on Lithron Prime in the Lithron 7 system.

On entering the Nebula an away team departs for the Lithron 7 system on the AeroFlyer Sun Bear, while the Kodiak begins a search for the sphere. In route the Kodiak encounters the Cearean sphere. After a brief but intense first contact, the Kodiak separates into Saucer and Star Drive sections. The Star Drive lays in a course for Lithron 7 to assist the away team already in trouble on Lithron Prime.

All teams encounter powerful telepaths who communicate or attack via illusions. The Saucer Section manages a fly by of the Sphere, but is ordered to leave by the aliens. On the Star Drive section analysis of Data retrieved from an escape pod of the Glory gives the name, Llowy to the aliens. The away team on Lithron 7 has prolonged contact with the species. It seems they hold the essence of the Glory crew prisoner, and are in conflict with those aliens on the sphere. Uniting the Kodiak ship and crew, it is determined to leave the Spider Nebula at maximum warp. Neither side of this civil war desires the presence of the Kodiak, nor not enough information exists on the Llowy to justify risking the Kodiak’s compliment to rescue the ‘essence’ of the Glory Crew.

It is hoped that better prepared team will be dispatched to the Spider Nebula to conduct a planned first contact.

USS Nemesis-B

Submitted by: Captain Alder Wong-Aquiss

Nemesis Site

After a very heavy and emotional First Contact situation, USS Nemesis-B and all her crew was treated to extended shore leave, docked at the Terran home world, Earth.

Cmdr Quinn decided to arrange a little mystery tour taking Frink, Moghan, Ronda, Kernot and Chicago with him. Berry, Latif, Walker, Stirling and Hurathan were all called into Star Fleet HQ, details remain a secret. Kuchesh treated Vels to a trip to Qo'nos while High Priest Herne Nyssa and Dragon explored Betazed leaving Wong-Aquiss and her family to take care of general matters and enjoy the comforts of Earth.

USS Paladin

Submitted by: Commander Daninburg

Paladin Site

The USS Paladin is currently on mission to the edge of the galaxy, having used a stable, temporary wormhole to arrive at our current location. We believe this wormhole was created by an ally of the race we are investigating.

We are investigating signals which are now 800 years old, having been picked up by Federation probes. The civilization is not answering hails, and may now be gone. Those signals were ELF, early radio, which would put the race 400 years "ahead" of the average Federation curve for member races, yet this race has apparently never developed high energy physics or subspace.

We are also carrying an advanced bio-entity engineered by the race and sent in a conventional rocket; he is a messenger, their form of first contact.

We are five days from their home world, at last.

The first ship created in UFOP was the USS Phoenix-B, commanded by FltAdml. Tristan Wolf.

USS Phoenix-C/Constitution-B

Submitted by: Captain Anassasi

Constitution Site

The Pheonix began this mission as a mission of mercy, offering aid to the planet of Cardassia. A previous excursion to Cardassia Prime, led by Lcmd Townson, revealed the presence of the Orion Syndicate. The Syndicate is theorized to be involved with the military factions on Cardassia Prime, diverting supplies and aid from the peoples of Cardassia. Lcmd Townson's mission also revealed in fighting between the military and religious sections of Cardassia. Syndicate, Guls, or Zealots may be the cause of a communications blackout encountered by the Phoenix' on her previous mission.

The Phoenix is currently en-route to Cardassia Prime. While attempting to understand and disable the communications blackout, the shuttle KIWI introduced us to another energy field, one that could be used to shield or 'cloak' a space station. The shuttle reports the field to have energy signatures resembling both Lyran and Cardassian fields. During their away mission, the KIWI also detected a morphing object within the communications dead zone that is indeterminate in origin. It has been suggested that this object could be a changeling, however, it appears too big for a single Founder. Back aboard the Phoenix, we have had our own difficulties coping with Orion saboteurs, and an alien "visitor" in our mess hall.

At present, the crew of the Phoenix is working on removing Orion Syndicate infiltrators, destroying an elusive Orion frigate, and encountering a new species used for slave trading by the Orions. Once free of Syndicate influence, the Phoenix will continue its mission to Cardassia Prime, delivering aid to peoples in need, ferreting out where, how, and why supplies are being diverted, and easing the tensions between the military and religious factions on the planet.

USS Ranger-A

Submitted by: Commander K'Tar

Ranger Site

The Ranger received orders to investigate the Hedra system, a relatively empty area of Federation space after Starfleet was informed of firstly the disappearance of a number of Civilian ships and finally the USS Letise, a science vessel sent to investigate the disappearance of these ships. Immediately upon entering the system, the crew of the Ranger were under a psychic attack, unbeknown to them. The misinformation about the exact location of the System delivered by the ships computer was put down as a fault and corrected with the help of a probe from the missing USS Letise

First Officer K'Tar led an away mission down to the planet to rescue survivors from one of the ships after contact was made by a man called Reuban, a trader according to K'Tar who apparently had met the man before. Almost as soon as the away team were aboard the crashed ship, they began to hallucinate what could be described as their worst fears. Believing they were being attacked by Romulans, Klingons and large Tigers among other things. Back onboard the Ranger, the situation was similar, one officer even shot and killed his own wife, believing she was a Klingon invader.

Captain Terra left the ship after realizing that they were under some sort of attack. He had to rescue the away team and leave the system. Shortly after he had managed to convince a number of the away team that they were hallucinating, and removing by force the others who would not co-operate, they left in a shuttle, while below them the Ship was destroyed by a number of internal explosions. The hallucinations faded and after realizing that Reuban was somehow involved with the creatures, it was presumed he had destroyed them, along with himself, in the explosions.

The Ranger is currently in orbit around Risa, with the crew resting after the ordeal. Starfleet has ordered them to investigate the attack ASAP.

USS StarWind

Out of Contact

USS Titan

Submitted by: Rear Admiral Kelly

Titan Site

USS TITAN just completed a mission to Gorn space.

Although the gorn are secretive race, and although thier borders have been closed since the Treaty of Cestus (2265), there are subject races inside gorn space related in biology but not gorn. One of these, the torga, sent a party who escaped gorn space to reach Cestus and ask for Federation intervention -- they wished to become citizens.

The gorn, of course, made sure to warn the Federation to obey treaty stipulations and not enter the treaty zone. Of course, if the Federation did not, then it would have to show the quadrant we would not stand up for our principles. The decision was made for TITAN to run the gorn border, reach Torga and establish relations in front of witnesses, so that the gorn would not be able to begin hostility. The key was reaching Torga before TITAN was intercepted. If she was intercepted before reaching Torga, then the gorn could treat the incursion as warfare, not diplomatic intervention.

In the end, TITAN was successful in avoiding violence and in reaching Torga, where the gorn were forced to accept the fiat accompli.

StarBase 118 Ops

Submitted by: Captain Hebron

StarBase 118 Ops

StarBase 118 scientists discovered a wormhole an anamoly nearby. The Constitution was sent to investigate. Hebron ordered the launching of the Glory and the Independence to check the anamoly at close hand. The anamoly formed a worm hole and the two shuttles were pulled inside. While inside, they discovered that the other end of the wormhole was stable and fixed. It led to the omega sector of space. They encountered a vessel and its crew was insectoid. Hostilities came from first contact. The Glory escaped back through the wormhole to war the Constitution. The insectoid ship sent a shuttle after the Glory. When it came through, the Constitution seized it and held its crew prisoner. After speaking with the crew of the insectoid pod, it was found out that the crew was peace-loving. The crew of the Independence were brought a board the alien craft and made welcome.

Captain Hebron ordered the entrance to the wormhole in Federation space to be mined. It is now stable as well. Hebron is planning on taking the Constitution into the wormhole to retrieve his officers in an exchange with the alien race.

Note to all UFOP personnel: There are hostiles on the other end of the wormhole which may cause a lethal confrontation.

New Frontiers

This area features the discoveries of the SB118 Fleet. To see your discoveries published write the Reporter.

A brief cultural outline: The Gore

Written by: Captain Mike James

Race: Gore

Home Planet: Gorlan

Physical Attributes: The Race know as the Gore are a race to be feared. Large, physically imposing, they tend to operate on a system of intimidation, similar to the Nausicaan style, only more feral. Bearlike in look and manner, they follow the belief that what they cannot bully, they will take by force.

The average Gore male stands near 7 feet tall, with massive chests and shoulders, all coered by a dense, thick fur, more often than not brown, though as they get older it darkens to a flat black. With claws that grow to be longer than the average terran digit, they are daedly even without technological weapons, as a single slash of the talons or a bite from their molars could render a terran incapacitated or worse. As a result, they tend to focus their energies on stealing technology rather than building it... it's always been easier to take by force for them.

Information: Gore social structure is based on whomever is strongest rules and who dares, wins. Their current High Leader won his challenge many years ago and has faced many other challengers since, often controlling others to do his will by subjugation. The Gore homeworld's sole export consists of a dense grain that is used for medical supplies and, as such, is rare in many parts of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The rarity due to the fact that many races do not get the grain as they lack the power to take it. As mentioned, the Gore do not "give" it away... it must be taken. Negotiations with the High Leader have often failed, as it is inherent to all Gore that taking is better than talking.

Large powerful cruisers with an amalgam of weapons and defensive systems only add to their mystique, as one can never tell what they see or feel from one encounter to another. More recently, the Gore have been experimenting with temporal technology, most likely as a result of a theft from another race. This bear like species has no love lost for others, and while they tended to stick close to their own system, expansion was inevitable. They plan to take by force anything and everything, making them very dangerous.

SIMming Tips

Advance Sim Tips from the Kodiak’s Standard Operating Procedure

Written by: FltCapt. Hollis Caley

1: The best way to improve at simming is to sim often. 2: Involve others when you sim. 3: Remember once an idea is simmed, it can go in many directions. 4: If an error is made, always try to fix it in character. 5: When simming with others be willing to give them time to respond. I always figure 48 hours should be adequate, and after 72 hours continue on. 6: When simming for others, limit responses to 5 words or less. You can also do joint sims by using chat soft ware, or exchanging emails. 7: Do not create and solve a problem in one sim. Nor should one push the plot too far all at once. Doing so is called a Marthon sim, and while useful for administrative reasons, should be avoided. 8: Avoid meta simming; there may be times when the player knows exactly what is going on, but the character remains ignorant. Mysteries, are often spoiled by meta simming. 9: Be gentle with one and other. Everyone can have an off day, or miss something. Ultimately this is a friendly game. 10: Expect consequence for IC actions. If someone phasers an innocent, expect them to be hauled up on charges. 11: Captains hate surprises. If you are planning a sudden plot twist that will re-write the mission contact the command officer to clear the idea. 12: IC can bleed into OOC. Be careful when simming confrontations between characters. Often such sims should be proceeded by an OOC discussion that specifies what will happen, and how to resolve the confrontation.

Final Episode

Features Sims, Commentary, Fiction, and Creativity of the SB118 Fleet. To submit write the Reporter.

Shadow Fire Academy

This month we sample from Character Cafe. The Cafe is part of the UFOP message boards where simmers from the Fleet can post original fiction. Check it out at http://pub55.ezboard.com/fufopsb118frm40

--Chapter 2--

One month at Shadow Fire Academy, and Elanora had learned to stick close to her brother Ren, and stay silent and small as possible. This was a way to survive at Shadow Fire Academy, for the small and weak. Elanora knew she could never be like the twins Black and Red, two girls who had guts and were strong, able to stir up people to their favor. The little Bindarian girl had come to idolize these two and their freinds, if only she could be that strong. ... Most of the teachers were just as sadistic and cruel as the Headmaster was rumored to be, the classes they taught a joke. The sickbay was to be avoided if at all possible, unless you wanted to be turned into a lab rat, experimented on and hurt. There were however, a few gems of goodness left in the place, untouched by the Headmaster's evil.

One was the 'gym' teacher, Blade. Blade was a woman with short, bright red hair that stood out around her head in slender spikes, that seemed to be natural for her people. It was long enough in the back to be pulled into a small pony tail. She was strict about her students learning self defense when they were still young, and then moving on to other weapons. She also seemed to have it out for Elanora, keeping her long past the time the last class stopped, to practice and train.

Another was Red's secret lover, Remirez. He teached history to the students, and kept the library safe at the school. Elanora pegged him as a Father figure, finding the library safe, and some of the older areas in it dark enough to not harm her eyes. Remirez looked like an old man, long black hair greying. Elanora would always remember him like that. ... not that he ever seemed to age.

The light, even the dim light that filtered through the clouds on the planet, hurt her eyes. One of the older students had noticed this, and somehow produced a pair of sunglasses, which seemed to help a great deal. From the sunglasses, Elanora earned the nickname Shade. From then on, that was what most people called her, except for her brother.

There were other people who had goodness still in them at the academy... one doctor, who mostly made 'house calls' to students who were hurt, and smart enough not to go into sickbay. With the help of these people, and the other students, almost the whole first year went without much mishap. Being small and unnoticable seemed to help keeping trouble and unwanted attention away. Unfortinatly, the good luck didn't last forever... and she attracted the attention of the Headmaster, who seemed to target the weaker students. She was called to his office one night after practice with Blade, let in by a scrawny secretary, to find the man waiting for her.

The Headmaster looked... young. His hair was brown, cut short, just above his ears, one of which held a gold earring. His eyes were mossy green, and held a distinct likeness to a snakes, and he was dressed expensivly in a blood red jacket, over tight black pants and a black shirt. as she entered, he set a pen down, standing. "Ah, so you would be Elanora, the little girl who helped steal a space ship." The Headmaster said. Elanora decided that she didn't like his voice. . . and that she didn't like him. Her weak telepathic skills warning her away, making her want to run as she felt danger. She wished that she had her brother there to protect her, or at least her stuffed kitten to hold tight against danger. "Answer me!" His voice cut through her thoughts, and she jumped, moving backwards.

"Y... yes..." Her voice was almost a whisper, one of the few words she understood in his language. her eyes wide and scared under her sunglasses. The Headmaster walked around his desk to her, taking her hand in a crushing grip, and she bit back an urge to cry out.

"I believe that you an I will be spending quite a bit of time together. You will be my... personal... assistant." The Headmaster said in that hateful voice of his. ...

---

The next day, Elanora didn't attend any of her classes, and both Blade and Remirez were gone from their own classes, so that they were both canceled. Ren, flanked by Black and Red found the three in the library, in one of the older sections of books that were usually locked by a door. Red immediatly left to find Washu, the most friendly of the doctors. ...

Reader's Corner

Features Reviews of Science Fiction in any Media. Have a review? Write the Reporter.

We are very lucky to have three reviews this issue of three different mediums.

IN THE NAME OF HONOR

Review by: Ian Peterson

In the Name of Honor by Dayton Ward.

Published by Pocket Books, copyright 2002.

$6.99-US

$9.99-Can.

I had heard many good things about this book when I first looked into it. I think the main thing that caught my attention was that it was said to explain how the Klingon’s went from being ‘human headed’ to having the forehead ridges. So the next time I was in a book store I picked up a copy.

The book was great, to say the least. It is set sometime a little before the events of the Undiscovered Country film in a Khitomer like conference on Starbase 49. There the Federation and the Klingon Empire were holding peace talks. The Federation members are all baffled at the appearance of the Klingons but dismissed it as a fact that maybe these Klingons were from another part of their home world. That is until they meet Koloth the captain that had a run in with Kirk on Deep Space Station K-7. Koloth tells Kirk and Spock that Gorkon, then just a lowly Council member, has found evidence of Starfleet personnel being held in Klingon territory. Kirk and Sulu are surgically altered to look like Klingon’s and go off to rescue the Starfleet prisoners. This left Spock to deal with the crew and conference members who were not informed of the mission.

I don’t want to reveal anymore but the ending was satisfying enough for me. The only problem I had was that it never did explain why the Klingons suddenly had had forehead ridges. You can decide whether or not this is a good book for yourselves.

STAR TREK: BRIDGE COMMANDER

Review by: Lt. Cicero

Publisher: Activision

Made by: Totally Games (company that made X-Wing vs Tie Fighter)

Price: MSRP $49.99 US, I got it on sale for $39.99 at Best Buy.

Likes:

It's Star Trek! You get to sit in the center chair of a Galaxy class starship and a Soverign class starship! Visuals are great, I especially like putting the game into cinematic mode while letting my tactical officer fight for me. Watching phasers lance out from the saucer as the ship glides through space is impressive.

The story line feels like a Star Trek episode, and it should since they advertise D.C. Fontana as a script editor. It's a little heavy on the combat side, but what would you do if you kept running into Cardassians and Romulans with the Federation's top of the line battleship?

The multiplayer mode is also quite fun. Featuring Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and a Defend the Base mode. Logging on to a server and having your choice of ships to play with is nice. Sometimes you just want to scar the pretty white hulls of the federation ships with your disruptors. Note, the bridge mode is disabled here. You steer the ship from a 3D chase view. The different station meuns are still accesible through keyboard keys, you just don't get to see the bridge while you play.

The combat itself is also nice, with the option to wipe out individual subsystems on enemy ships and bases. Being able to target a specific shield and concentrate your fire on one area is the key to quick victory. It also makes rotating your ship a viable defense against attackers, swapping depleted top shields for full port shields can save you from some serious damage.

Dislikes:

The single player plot is entirely linear and very scripted... no replayabilty. If you die or fail you have to repeat the same steps over and over. Also, if you are getting your butt kicked you can't just warp away unless the game wants you too.

Multiplayer doesn't have these problems and since I'm pretty new to it I haven't had anything but fun yet. It is a little strange that I can use a Bird of Prey to wipe the floor with a Sovereign class, but maybe those guys were just bad players.

Recommendation:

Die hard Star Trek fans will like it, dare I say love it. It may not be the longest lasting game, but its a fun ride while it lasts.

TWO STAR TREK TREASURE HOUSES

Submitted by: FltAdml. Tristan Wolf and Captain Rachel Daninburg

There are two wonderful ST websites (there are many, of course, but too many to ever list, let alone look at!) which are a real find for simming as an officer in UFOP ships. They provide, each in thier own way and with distinctive strengths, invaluable information on almost every topic of interest to those of us trying to craft plots in the Paramount ST universe. Admiral Wolf and I thought it might be worth a few minutes of your time to look at both sites and take quick tours. Play with them, and see how easy it is to caculate realistic travel time, figure out relative strengths of starship v. starship scenarios, and tell what weapons do what, and what ships do what.

RACHEL'S PICK: The Daystrom Technical Institute (http://www.ditl.org/)

I love this site. Admiral Kelly turned me on to it, and I visit it constantly. What I thought I'd do is just give you a very quick nickel tour of some of the neater resources.

SHIPS tells you all about the specs (including comparisons of relative strengths using a GALAXY class standard 1000 as the reference point) and capabilities of Federation AND non Federation ships. No longer will you have to wonder how one NEBULA matches up with three Birds of Prey...now you can see for yourself and realistically sim the results of weapon attacks and the like!

FLEETS also gives you design history and philosophy of the various fleet developments, and there is a CLASS LINEAGE chart to show you which hull types led to which others! The CLASS LINEAGE part also gives you the chart of the horrible losses of the period which began in 2365 and which extended to the end of the Dominion War.

WEAPONS and SCI-TECH are wonderful places to tell all about special technologies, Federation and non, such as the Breen CRM weapon which did such awful damage to Federation shield systems during the Dominion War. These sections also explain the recent innovations in ablative armor and more.

There are SPECIES sections which remind us that there are plenty of species right here in our own backyard for new characters, NPC's and near-Earth worlds without having to invent new ones. Old friends are the best!

There are also sections on SHUTTLES, which is self-explanatory, and TEMPORAL (really an episode guide to those ST, DS( and VGR episodes which deal with time travel).

I think my favorite subsite is the POLITICS section which, among other things, has a very clear GALACTIC MAP which shows the layout of the various main powers and where they are relative to one another (it shows clearly why we met the Klingons, Vulcans and Romulans so fast, for one thing), and it also, VERY IMPORTANTLY, shows how much UNEXPLORED space there is CLOSE TO HOME! Really, even after two hundred years, even the exploration happy FEDERATION has only managed to explore very small parts of space. There is also the DENEB highway which shows which two areas of the Alpha Quadrant have 'subspace' highways which allow near transwarp travel.

In short, a small investment of time allows not only captains to craft realistic missions but also simmers to master thier technospeak and to better know the ships on which they serve, as well as appreciate how fast ships can go where.

My pet peave with even the ST movies and shows, and especially ENTERRPISE, has been that even at relatively close distances from earth, even subspace signals begin to experience delays in real time, and this site helps your ship stay out of contact when neccessary! LOL

TRISTAN'S Pick: Star Trek Dimension (http://www.stdimension.net/)

First thing's first, make sure you're in the English version of this website. It was designed in Germany, so there is both an English and a German version. If you're at the German version, just scroll to the bottom of this page to find a link that says "International Version (English)".

Now that you're in the right place, welcome to one of the real powerhouses of Star Trek data on the internet! Here's a run-down of some of the best areas of the site:

- LCARS Database: This is the icon with the PADD. This area holds so much information, it's staggering! Some of the areas in the database are a full chronology, an A-Z encyclopedia, as well as information on Astronomy, Trek species, Trek ships, and much more! Though not as well designed as the Daystrom Institute, it's always a great place to find information you might not be able to get elsewhere.

- Cartography: This is the icon with the astronaut and the picture of the galaxy. This is perhaps the best area of the website for a number of reason. It's very detail oriented, and includes a lot of information on real and Trek astronomy. For example, you can learn more about the milky way, or about how big the Federation is. The most useful part of this area are the warp calculators, though. Using these calculators, you can figure out how long it would take to move from one area of the galaxy to another, at any given warp! Coupled with the data charts that have most of the known distances between Trek locations (ie- Earth and Bajor, Earth and Vulcan, etc.), you can figure out how long your ship would have to travel to reach a destination!

- Investigating Trek: This is the icon with the magnifying glass. This is a collection of EXTREMELY detailed essays with pictures, tables, and statistics on information like Trek biology, astronomy, etc. If nothing else, this is a great place to enhance and broaden your knowledge of Trek data, which will help you SIM better!

- Utopia Planatia: This is the icon with the red planet and the mushroom looking base. This area has some canon, and non canon ships modeled in 3-dimensional pics.

- Season Guides: There are 3 season guides: TOS, DS9, and VOY. They include synopsis of each episode in these shows. Unfortunately, the extended synopsis' are in German, so are of little use. I recommend www.startrek.com Library section if you're looking for information on a specific episode of Trek.

- Media Library: Looking for a good picture or sound effect for your website? This is the place to find it. All the images are high quality, and are often graphics you couldn't find elsewhere (like individual pictures of each of the crew of the Enterprise.)

The website has plenty of other areas which are both entertaining and informational. And BTW: don't forget that Altavista (www.altavista.com) has a translation engine, into which you can input a URL, and have it translate the page from any language you need, INTO any language you need. So if you really need to use a certain page on this site, use the translation engine!

"Human females are so repulsive!" -- Lursa.

End Notes

Interested in Helping?

UFOP is a fairly busy group, with plenty going on behind the surface. If you've been around for a while, and feel like helping out, drop us a note and let us know... if we don't have anything for you at the moment, we'll let you know and keep your name in mind, if we need someone later.

UFOP Message Boards

As mentioned numerous times above, UFOP has a very active message board area. There are forums on Star Trek (The Shows, The Movies, Ships, and Treknology), UFOP (Academy - for recent graduates, Politics - of the RPG kind, Future Plans, and UFOP Ships), In Character Interactions (StarBase 118 Lounge, Ship Logs, and Character Logs), as well as some general chatting areas (Politics - of the real world kind, and "Another Universe" - for topics on Star Wars, Middle Earth, etc.). If you haven't been to the boards lately, you're definitely missing out!

You can find the boards at: http://pub55.ezboard.com/bufopsb118. Be sure to say hello to the friendly moderators: Jim Terra and Kell Perrim!

Fantasy Branch

There's a great deal of variety amongst the ships of UFOP, but the FSS Charybdis is quite different from the rest of them. It stands apart from all the others. How so?

It's made out of wood.

UFOP has had an extended alliance with "Faerin" a fantasy SIM organization. It takes place on a nearly desolate world, with unpredicatable magic and strange creatures. If you enjoy Fantasy as well as StarTrek, sail over to their website at http://www.faerin.com/.

Comments?

Please write and tell us what you like or don't like about the The Reporter. We would also appreciate suggestions regarding what you would like to see in this newsletter -- you can submit ideas on the message board, in the "UFOP Reporter" forum.

Please note that submissions are welcome from all UFOP members of any rank.

Contacts

UFOP Executive Council: ufop-ec@yahoogroups.com

• Fleet Admiral Tristan Wolf: twolf@starbase118.net

Fleet Placement Officer (to transfer ships):

• Captain Jessa Anassasi: JAnassasi@starbase118.net

UFOP Reporter: ufop-reporter@starbase118.net

UFOP Broadcasting Co. (UFOP-TV): ufop-ubc@yahoogroups.com

As always, remember: the UFOP website can be found at: http://www.starbase118.net/.