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Aug 2, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.31
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Fleet Chat
Top Sims Contest
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Microsoft Develops Universal Translator Technology: http://goo.gl/mzAn7E 3. Witty Wordsmith: Turns Of Phrases.. : http://goo.gl/wuDiwh 4. Emergency Rations: Travel Edition: http://goo.gl/KT3eCu 5. Kaitlyn Falcon Named May/June Writing Challenge Runner-Up: http://goo.gl/yb75fG 6. SDC Species Spotlight: ZEVIAN: http://goo.gl/b8uaYv 7. June Plot Summary For The USS Gemini: http://goo.gl/lubMda
** Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE Encourages Innovation ** The tricorder (http://goo.gl/pbfrMH ) is one of Star Trek’s most recognizable technologies. Unlike handheld communicators and the PADD, the tricorder does not yet exist in our world. The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE (http://goo.gl/FgjuKL ) is one inventive avenue into the development of this technology, particularly the medical tricorder. The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE is a $10 million competition from the XPRIZE Foundation, sponsored by Qualcomm. Its goal is to promote the creation of integrated medical diagnostic systems that will put healthcare in the palm of your hand. Teams from around the world entered this competition, with entries due by May 2014. Consumer testing of submitted products will begin in May 2015, with the winning technology announced in January 2016. The day is near when you will be doing your best Beverly Crusher impersonation in the comfort of your own home. The time to stock up on orange wigs is now. Mojave Aerospace Ventures is a previous XPRIZE winner for developing the suborbital SpaceShipOne.
Many of Star Trek’s technologies once seemed like far-fetched plot devices with only a faint basis in reality. Today, many of these imagined devices — like communicators, padds, and even tricorders — have proven Star Trek’s ability to predict and inspire the future of technology. The Universal Translator (http://goo.gl/KVW9NE ) was the ultimate plot device. Darmok and a few other exceptions aside, the device enabled Starfleet crews to speak directly with anyone they met, fluently and in a language TV audiences could understand. Now, Universal Translator technology has entered reality. Microsoft has unveiled Skype Translator, a real-time translation program for video chat. This adaptation of text-based translation programs builds on decades of research and practice to include new video technology. How long until someone programs it to understand Klingon? Read more and watch a video demonstration of real-time translation here: http://goo.gl/frlsCy Learn more about video and text translation technologies here: http://goo.gl/JhWct2 ** Witty Wordsmith: Turns Of Phrases.. ** We all love a good saying. There are many different phrases that get used over and over, from favorite movie quotes to curious cultural references. But what about those odd phrases we hear on a regular basis, but we don’t really know where they come from? Have no fears! In this session of the Witty Wordsmith we will delve into some frequently misheard or misunderstood phrases to sort of where they came from and what they really mean. “I nipped that problem in the bud” Nope. I didn’t spell that wrong. This has nothing to do with being bitten in your posterior region (though you will frequently see this misused as nipped in the butt or bum). This phrase has its origins in horticulture where you nip (cut) a bud off of a flowering plant to either keep it from flowering or spreading. “A moot point” Sometimes misused as ‘a mute point.’ Mute means unable to speak, while moot means irrelevant or obsolete. “I couldn’t care less” This is a tricky one due to the compound negative in the phrase. Often misused as ‘I could care less’ – this means that yes, in fact you can care less than you do now (a.k.a. you do care!). It needs to full negative to say ‘I don’t care, I could not care less, go away, leave me alone…’ you get the picture! “I’m going to use you as my scapegoat” Sometimes misused as ‘escape goat.’ A scapegoat is one who is blamed for the actions of another. An escape goat is a farmyard animal that just got out of its pen… “This upgrade will wreak havoc on the engineering systems…” Wreak means ‘to cause.’ Unfortunately it sounds a lot like ‘wreck havoc’ which is incorrect. That would mean you are destroying chaos with chaos… which might be a great philosophical discussion but usually not good for your writing! Check back next month when we bring you more intimidating, misused or simply interesting words and phrases to try out in your sims! ** Emergency Rations: Travel Edition ** Welcome to Emergency Rations, where each month we highlight details from the worlds of Star Trek and UFOP: SB118 to fuel your fandom, inspire your writing, and help bring your sim to life. This month’s theme is vacation! We’re well in to vacation season here, and I haven’t gone any farther than the other side of town. In Star Trek, exciting destinations are only a transport away. You have caught up on your reading; you have scrolled through all the forums; you have read the entire wiki again. You could use one more detail to close out your post before you get away. It’s time to break out the Emergency Rations… We’re Starfleet simmers, so let’s face it – we know how to do shore leave. But if your character broke away for vacation, where would they go? Somewhere relaxing? Entertaining? Adventurous? Any memorable trips from earlier in their life? Any they’d rather forget? As you chew your way through your rations, think about how you can incorporate these items and ideas into your sim. When you’ve succeeded, tell us about it on the forum: http://goo.gl/qBxvGH We’d love to hear how you’ve put your creativity to use! Destinations. Think about the wide variety of vacation destinations on our own planet Earth. How many exist on other worlds? What about a world with no features? Here are a few popular locations many Federation citizens will have explored: Risa (http://goo.gl/dTKcZp ) (of course), Brentalia (the zoo (http://goo.gl/MmHPjC ) planet!!), Ferenginar (the galaxy’s most profitable Board of Tourism), and Argelius II (http://goo.gl/3flnWh ) (according to our wiki, the next most popular spot behind Risa – just don’t get Jack The Ripper-ed!). What is the future of leisure activities like golf (http://goo.gl/qFYgMT ), or gambling (http://goo.gl/OMgveI )? Getting There. Here is a math problem about travel: You travel the planet Earth by public transporter, jumping from one public transport station to the next, each with a range of approximately 40,000 kilometers (http://goo.gl/gvl5uY ). Assuming a rate of 20 travelers per transport and an air pollution index of 0, how long before you end up naked in the desert with all your credits stolen by Vegas dabo girls again? In addition to transporters, you can also travel by starship, shuttle, or commercial tourist starliner. What is a space cruise ship like? Planetside, what kind of old-fashioned or new-fangled ground transport might you find? And, is there a 24th century version of a travel agent (http://goo.gl/XS2lXY )? What to Pack. Everyone: do not forget your Ferengi-Federation Standard Dictionary. If you forget your Ferengi-Federation Standard Dictionary, you will not be able to barter with Ferengi in their own language. They’re at every tourist trap in the galaxy by now, you guys. And that’s basically all you need to take with you, because everywhere you go has replicators. Maybe some levitation boots in case you’re in Yosemite (http://goo.gl/tmkL8v ). If you find a way to mention a Ferengi-Federation Standard Dictionary in your post this month, and tell me about it on the forum (http://goo.gl/qBxvGH), you will receive a special prize, and the prize is a place in my heart, because nothing makes me happier than seeing a dirty deal defeated by language. Please visit the forum (http://goo.gl/qBxvGH) and let us know how you used these ideas in your writing! Happy simming! ** Kaitlyn Falcon Named May/June Writing Challenge Runner-Up ** While their praises may not be sung quite so loudly as the winners, runners-up from the bimonthly Writing Challenges still deserve accolades for crafting fine pieces of fiction! One such story is “Orders and Consequences,” (http://goo.gl/zKALCY ) the May & June runner-up, written by the writer behind Lieutenant Kaitlyn Falcon. The story, which follows the ongoing saga of Captain Robert Falcon, was praised by judges for its provocative take on the Challenge’s theme. Wrote judge Toni Turner: “Mr. Falcon spun a tale reminiscent of Swiss Family Robinson, taking into account that command was more like a family decision.” By using the familiar character of Robert Falcon and his XO and wife Jiana, the writer was able to weave together his continuing story with the Challenge’s theme. Well done! The next Challenge, “Fashion,” (http://goo.gl/YhHwaK ) is already up, so be sure to hurry over to the Writing Challenge Forum (http://goo.gl/4EIRvX ) for guidelines, deadlines, and inspiration! As always, don’t forget that you can pick up a complete collection of all this round’s short stories, in PDF format, for free. Get yours here: http://goo.gl/wYHgjC ** SDC Species Spotlight: ZEVIAN ** “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” – a Zevian saying. This restricted species is fiercely independent and distrustful of most other species. They even distrust of their own government, which is a form of dictatorship, and fear it as well — and with good cause considering the informants, secret police and spy devices everywhere! State rules are strictly enforced, and while most of their lives is controlled and dictated by various government policies, freedom is beginning to grow since rule by nobles ended. As a result, this stoic species are acclimated to hardship, hard work, and deprivation. They have a strong sense of community that is encouraged by the government, a willing to work together that originally allowed them to finally overthrow the old feudal system of government they laboured under, and which allows them to survive under the current government as well. They tend to be a bit standoffish, reserved and almost isolationist with other species. Learn more about this species from their wiki page: http://goo.gl/w0xJhq ** June Plot Summary For The USS Gemini ** After battling the Klingons, the USS Gemini, NCC-80564, made its way back to StarBase 118 for repairs. While they were docked, the crew enjoyed their leave. The crew was all invited to a beach BBQ on one of the doctors’ was hosting. Captain Liam Frost attended the funeral of Fleet Captain Nicholotti, while LtCmdr T’Mar dealt with the unfortunate consequences of an overeager doctor running tests on her empathic abilities after she sent Ensign Braddock for testing due to his sudden onset of abilities. Both also received news of the destruction of their old ship, the USS Apollo. Once repairs were completed, the crew boarded the ship again and are now on their way to StarBase 224. ----------------------------------- Aug 3, 2014August Fleetwide OOC Chat
Hey All! The monthly fleet chat will be held this Sunday, August 10th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here. As always, please check your timezone for accuracy or for DST! The fleet chat usually lasts about two hours, although you are welcome to stay afterwards, and is a great chance to get to know what is going on in the rest of the fleet! Looking forward to seeing you all there! ~James --
Lt. Commander James Chat Team Facilitator Dif-tor heh smusma. Aug 9, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.32
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Fleet Chat
Top Sims Contest
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. July Plot Summary for the USS Excalibur: http://goo.gl/y1wF7b 3. Promotions for July 2014: http://goo.gl/zVP3yv 4. What Is A Writing Challenge “Champion”? : http://goo.gl/UvF0oe 5. July Plot Summary for the USS Gemini: http://goo.gl/oB38F0 6. August Fleetwide OOC Chat: http://goo.gl/CeJSiE 7. July Plot Summary for the USS Atlantis: http://goo.gl/y4zjjj 8. Forums Roundup: August 2014: http://goo.gl/A33z7C
** New Academy Graduates ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Varu Novin, Lani Easterwood, and Carmine Santucci! http://goo.gl/cJL90j ** July Plot Summary for the USS Excalibur ** The crew of USS Excalibur, NCC-41903-A, were called to a breakfast meeting by their new Captain, Fleet Captain Cascadia Rainier. Very quickly however, people began to suspect that something strange was going on as officers from the USS Darwin NCC-99312-A began to show up. Soon Captain Rainier started the meeting where she promoted Lt. Commander Ben Livingston to Commander and informed him of Starfleet’s decision to give him command of the USS Columbia, to which he and several other officers would be transferring too effective immediately. After the departing crew said their goodbyes, the crew’s attention was brought to a developing situation in the Onias Sector. In response to the worsening of a plague previously thought to have been solved the the crew of the Excalibur, a group calling itself Ralaaram Ocala has taken to harassing Federation traffic near the neutral zone. Further investigation reveals that Ralaaram Ocala translates into ‘Sky Fire’ the name of the Starfleet Doctor who came up with the much-lauded ‘Skyfire Cure’ which was thought to have originally cured the plague. Wasting no time, the Captain set a course to the Onias Sector leaving the rest of the crew to spend their time finishing the repair work from the previous mission, discussing the recent crew and in some cases vessel change, and trying to gather what little information they knew about Ralaaram Ocala and even the Onias sector itself… ** Promotions for July 2014 ** The staff of UFOP: StarBase 118 would like to take a moment and recognize the officers — please be sure to congratulate these folks when you see them in the corridors of your vessel! Garuda • Alora DeVeau to Lieutenant • Mei’konda to Lt. Commander
Some writers enjoy occasionally entering a story in the bi-monthly Writing Challenge (http://goo.gl/U7dncn ) contest. Others make a concerted effort to enter each and every round, and most are rewarded for their efforts — not only with recognition as a winner or a runner-up, but also in honing their skills and receiving feedback from Challenge judges. But it’s that select group of folks who not only enter Challenges regularly but also win regularly that I’d like to praise today. The Writing Challenges have seen many multi-time winners (you can see a full list at the bottom of the “Challenge Winners” (http://goo.gl/OdrxGH ) page), but simply winning multiple Challenges doesn’t make you a Writing Challenge Champion. Champions enter and win multiple Challenges in one year, demonstrating that they not only have the stamina and perseverance to think through individual topics and craft memorable stories, but that they also can do so again and again! There have been five Champions in the history of the Writing Challenges: Saveron in 2011; Kali Nicholotti (now Cascadia Rainier), Velana, and Alleran Tan in 2012; and Saveron again along with Sinda Essen (previously Jhen Thelev) in 2013. These talented writers submitted winning entries in multiple Challenges in the years listed, making them Champions — and recognizing their excellent abilities! Will you be our next Writing Challenge Champion? There’s only one way to start, and that’s by entering the Writing Challenge! Our current Challenge, “Fashion,” (http://goo.gl/ZzOsxF ) will be open until Monday, August 25th, so make sure you get in an entry before then! ** July Plot Summary for the USS Gemini ** Once repairs were completed, the USS Gemini, NCC-80564, left StarBase 118 and headed to StarBase 224 for a routine resupply run. Meanwhile, Commander Liam Frost received urgent news: The people of Rathos Prime, a warp-capable society that traded with – but never joined – the Federation, were being plagued by an aggressive population. The leaders of Rathos Prime had reached out to the Federation for humanitarian aid before this pathogen infected and killed them all. Knowing time was short, Frost gave the order to head directly there and called a briefing where the Senior Staff could establish a plan of action. Without knowing more about the pathogen, other than it was continuously mutating and always lethal, the staff had their work cut out for them. Thankfully, when they were about four hours away, the Commander of the Rathosian Armada, Lord Commander Tyrek Zim, contacted them and began transmitting all known data on the pathogen. First Minister Arvin Zagan and Doctor Jorgen Layvim also contacted the Gemini to help the Gemini’s crew start working on a solution, however it left many wondering more about the source of the pathogen and if there was more to this problem than the Rathosian’s were letting on. When they arrived at Rathos Prime, it was determined that T’Mar would lead a team to the surface utilizing the ship’s mobile lab. ** August Fleetwide OOC Chat ** Mark your calendars for the next fleetwide chat, coming up on Sunday, August 10th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). Always check your timezone for accuracy/DST if applicable! To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://goo.gl/Y08c3v — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here: http://goo.gl/PKyw0h Our fleetwide chats are a space for all the members of the StarBase 118 group to get together and talk in real time about everything that’s happening within the group. Come by and see what goings-on are happening off your ship. Chats are always held on the second Sunday of every month, but you can head into the chat room at any time to see who else is there. ** July Plot Summary for the USS Atlantis ** As the hemorrhagic outbreak spreads throughout the ship, it is learned that everyone on board is actually infected with the virus! To make matters worse, studying the toxin led to the activation of a failsafe mechanism that both broadcast the Atlantis’ coordinates to the mysterious creators of the toxin as well as took most systems on board offline. With incoming unidentified vessels on an intercept course, the crew is forced to land and hide the ship on a nearby M-class planet. The triggered failsafe mechanism also activated a sleeper agent within the crew. Ensign Asmara, acting on the superconscious commands of an enigmatic and powerful entity, almost murders a nurse before escaping into the woods as soon as the ship lands. Later the crew discovers that the outbreak was merely a diversion by this unseen enemy in order to extract valuable information about the Federation via a powerful computer virus. Fortunately, Dr Foster’s team manages to find an antitoxin and save the crew as well as revive the comatose commanding officer. Asmara’s meeting with the super-race is thwarted by the crew and the link controlling him is severed, but the aliens manage to escape before being identified. With power to the ship restored, the Atlantis begins preparations to head back to DS26 for a much needed shore leave.. only to discover that EJS ships are waiting in orbit to fire upon them! ** Forums Roundup: August 2014 ** The summer is almost over and some of us will be heading back to school (or at least helping our younger family members head back to school – YAY!) Regardless of what the fall will promise in your life, it’s sure to mean lots will be happening here on the Starbase 118 forums. Be sure that you stay tuned to see what happens this month, including some of the following. Looking for some inspiration, or just want to read some really great sims? If so, then head over to the Top Sims forum thread where you can take in some of the best sims from all over the fleet. If you’ve read something magnificent on your ship lately, don’t hesitate to add that sim to the contest as well! http://goo.gl/6u66fi You’ll have until August 25th to submit your entry to the Writing Challenge this round. The topic this time is Fashion, so head on over and add your own creative creation to the running: http://goo.gl/6Dvzsf The Publicity Team is very important to the health of the Fleet overall – without the hard work this team puts into things, we wouldn’t be able to grow and find new members. And now the team is looking for new members! Head on over to their forum threads to learn more or request membership today! http://goo.gl/QRzBzz Everyone plays their role differently, and sometimes you can learn something new from listening to how they do it. Head over to the Duty Post forums today and learn how others are playing the same roles that you are, then share your own insights as well! http://goo.gl/zp9wr7 Help us make new members feel welcome by saying hello in our special welcome thread here: http://goo.gl/q7SHTd And of course, there’s plenty more! Be sure to keep an eye out for much more fun coming this fall! ----------------------------------- Aug 9, 2014Main website maintenance
Hi everyone, Doing some rather drastic maintenance on the site this weekend. The forums and wiki should still be available without disruption, but you may find the main website offline. I'll update here on Twitter once I'm done: https://twitter.com/ufopsb118 Thank you for your patience! Aug 16, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.33
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Top Sims Contest
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Fleet Chat
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
PUBLICITY Get your FREE promotional flyer and post it in your community to help find new members! US: http://sb118.net/15Rg8D9 UK: http://sb118.net/16VBJyZ COMMUNITY NEWS
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 1. July Plot Summary for the USS Columbia: http://goo.gl/QehA4D 2. July 2014 Post Totals: http://goo.gl/EEp05c 3. July Plot Summary for the USS Garuda: http://goo.gl/b2ez9Q 4. Poll of the Week: Ship with Kids: http://goo.gl/ie8JPz 5. Top Sims Contest Round 21 Has Begun!: http://goo.gl/Ghuyzu FULL TEXT ARTICLES ** July Plot Summary for the USS Columbia ** The crew of the newly relaunched USS Columbia, NCC-85279, spent some time getting to know each other, and then reported to a mission briefing. There, they discovered that they would be heading into Romulan space to investigate a desolated planet: Avronis V, which is being used as a dumping site for spent antimatter. This was the apparent destination of a mysterious Romulan, whose shuttle, destroyed in an uncanny manner, has been found in Federation Space. In preparation for their mission, Dr Corbin put in place an inoculation program to protect those who may have to visit the planet; and Cmdr Brice ran a piloted simulation to check that the modified shuttle his team prepared is adapted to the effects of the theta radiation found on Avronis V. Meanwhile on the Bridge, there was a period of uncertainty as crewman Ames discovered that one of their sensors wasn’t working properly. Fortunately the problem turned out to be due to human error and had nothing to do with sabotage. As the Columbia finally approached its destination, the crew discovered that the area wasn’t as isolated as they had expected. There is a Romulan base on Avronis’s moon, and a Rigelian Freighter is on its way to Avronis V. ** July 2014 Post Totals ** As part of the ongoing overview of the fleet as a whole, here are the monthly figures for total posts for each ship. This summary will give you an idea of how active the ship is on a month-by-month basis. Another ship shift seems to have been met head on with members coming together and separating into two new crews. That, coupled with the second month of simming aboard the Victory (with the second month traditionally being lower in sim count as players settle in) mean that sim counts Fleet-wide are down slightly. We look to August to be the comeback month, as crews dig in and become more familiar with each other and each other’s simming styles. Our next chart gives the number of sims for each ship over the course of June. The Atlantis made a great showing this month, proving that the crew there has already come together. The upward trend of their simming numbers shows enthusiasm and excitement. Most other ships, except for the newest – the Victory and Columbia – follow not-so-far behind the Atlantis, with averages that do not stray too far from each other. Unlike some months, where some ships turn in far more sims than others, July seems to have been fairly stable across the board. ** July Plot Summary for the USS Garuda ** The booby traps planted on the USS Garuda, NCC-73809, some of which had exploded, were found to be Cardassian in origin. However, the crew did not have time to ponder this discovery for long as they needed to use the ship’s phasers to dehydrate an unstable volcanic mud dome that threatened to engulf the alien Eths’ city of Bocasa. With this threat neutralised, Captain Casandra Egan Manno asked for volunteers to go after Commander Harrison Ross, who had kidnapped Captain Quinn Reynolds and abandoned his team mates. He was eventually tracked down, and Reynolds was rescued but not before she had undergone terrible physical and mental torture at Ross’ hands. Ross managed to evade capture, and so the crew returned to their base at Deep Space Ten for some quiet shore leave and reflection. However, when they arrived they found out that the Federation had given joint control of the station to the Cardassians. Was this an olive branch for peace, or a partnership of peril? ** Poll of the Week: Ship with Kids ** This last week has been a week of firsts for my little son, 17 months old: First skinned knee, first time managing to climb onto the couch without his sister’s help, first time catching the cat (and getting rewarded for it with a swat from the same). He is in many ways the most stressful thing in my life but, at the same time, my motivation as well. This led me to the top for this week’s poll. As we saw numerous times over the course of the various series, children come along on many starships and, as a result, are often exposed to dangers far beyond their experience. Should they be there? Should there be restrictions on which ships, or possibly which types of missions? Head over to the forums and let us know your thoughts in this Poll of the Week! http://goo.gl/3PrkQd ** Top Sims Contest Round 21 Has Begun! ** The Top Sims Contest is now accepting nominations for Round 21 of 2014. Making sure your crewmates get the recognition they deserve for great writing is easy, and only takes a minute: 1. Visit the Top Sims Contest forum: http://goo.gl/5N0LOE 2. Start a new topic and paste the sim into the text field. Nominating a sim is as easy as enjoying it, so don’t hold back. Each sim will go to our judges panel to determine which one goes to the next run-off round. One of the sims you read today could be the Top Sim of 2014, but only if you take the time to nominate it. The winning sim will go on to the next runoff round to determine the best sim of 2014. ----------------------------------- Aug 23, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.34
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Top Sims Contest
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Fleet Chat
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Poll of the Week: Robin Williams and Star Trek Comedy: http://goo.gl/NtwQoJ 3. July Plot Summary for the USS Apollo: http://goo.gl/cmxXhK 4. Background Check: Andrus Jaxx: http://goo.gl/mFJ5NV 5. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/07HSnr 6. July Plot Summary for the Duronis II Embassy: http://goo.gl/vpjak6 7. “Fashion” Writing Challenge Nears End: http://goo.gl/D0QmLI
** July Plot Summary for the USS Victory ** The USS Victory, NCC-362447, had been in orbit around G-2210-C, known by the local region as Paksos, for a few hours and their investigation in to the Hunger had already hit snags. With two away teams out, one on the surface of the jungle world lead by Lieutenant Commander Eerie and the other on the orbital station led by Commander Alucard Vess, they both faced a crisis. Commander Eerie’s team had been unknowingly infected with a virus that has caused varied, but extremely painful symptoms among the team. Commander Vess’ group discovered that the orbital station was semi-sentient and did not appreciate them being there. The Victory herself had been caught in a gravimetric field that was going to shred them apart if they could not escape and had a Tholian squadron enroute to their position. The situation looked hopeless. That did not stop the crew of the Victory. Discovering that quantum torpedoes could temporarily disrupt the energy field entrapping their ship, the bridge crew was able to implement a plan that allowed them to beam their crew to safety and also disrupt the field and escape. For the first time on the mission, something went according to plan and the Victory was able to get away. Now on course for Starbase 118 to rest and recuperate, there is an ominous feeling that though they learned a bit about their ancient enemy, there was more to be found in the tempest sector. ** Poll of the Week: Robin Williams and Star Trek Comedy ** As I sat at home, devastated by the death by apparent suicide of Robin Williams, an actor/comedian that I had met and whose career really spans my generation, I thought about the comedy of Star Trek. As serious as the series are at times, being often a commentary on social norms of the time in which they are made, each and every episode has its funny little moments. This week, in tribute to Robin Williams, we will start a series of polls on the comedy of Star Trek. To kick it off, we will be looking at the original series. What are your favorite funny moments? Here are a few of mine: http://goo.gl/yI6upl If you have others, share them! ** July Plot Summary for the USS Apollo ** With the emergency escape pod hurtling towards the USS Aegis, NCC-74323, Lieutenant Williams stopped it from crashing into their shields with a tractor beam, and once it was confirmed that there was a living being in it, they brought it to the shuttle bay. Once the shuttle with the away team arrived, Faranster ordered LtJG Aidonna Danara, Ensigns Ar’jin and Nyals to go down to the deck to find out what was in the pod. It was quickly discovered it was LtCmdr. Jalana Laxyn, and she was taken to sickbay where she was examined by Ensign Dial before returning to duty. Laxyn used the Captain’s ready room for reports, and was upset by the actions included in other team member’s reports. Apparently Ensign Damian Rayne, assigned as Security for the team, had not done his job, which allowed the team to be attacked. She was also aware that LtJG Patrick McLeod had to be talked out of disobeying a direct order. Meanwhile, Williams and LtJG Catrova Torv, and Ensign Chandni Kapoor worked to try to find the virus that Rapture had inflicted on their ship. But, before they could isolate it, the virus deleted all the data on the aliens, their ship and disappeared. The stasis pod became the only reminder of the aliens, which Ensign Ar’jin performed tests on. After dealing with that, the crew all relaxed at a Bolian painting party that was thrown as a Welcoming party by the Bolian nurse, Dial. ** Background Check: Andrus Jaxx ** ::A pale white light appears through the darkness in the distance. Gentle sounds of low-pitched chimes and haunting plucked strings echo softly. The camera slowly zooms in on a shadowy figure wearing black who is looking down at the ground. Percussion builds and in a dramatic wash of cymbals the man looks up to the camera. He keeps a stoic expression and speaks with a sense of urgency as he faces the camera head on..:: Jorey: No one, no matter how hard they try, can escape their past. ::The camera angle changes. We are above him. He looks up at the camera and continues.:: To understand our present and predict the future, we must first understand our history. ::Jorey looks down toward the ground at a floor camera and the angle changes once again.:: This rule applies to everyone – criminals, masterminds and even our most celebrated heroes. We are not born, we are made. ::The camera swings up and begins to move out as the music builds to a final climax. A blurry mess of gold lettering fills the screen and slowly comes into focus revealing a graphic of the show’s title.:: I am Brayden Jorey… ::He raises an eyebrow.:: and this… is Background Check. ::The screen snaps to black and the audio fades to silence. We transition to Jorey sitting comfortably in an oversized, ornate and plush chair. He is out of uniform and wearing a blue, green and white garment made to look as though fabric is draped over his body. A delicate circlet of white and blue gemstones softly shimmers across his forehead under the flattering warm lighting.:: Jorey: Good evening viewers. ::Jorey tilts his head slightly and offers a warm, welcoming smile.:: This is the very first instalment of Background Check and I couldn’t be more excited. My grandmother always said, “Whatever you do – do it right, do it well, and most importantly, do it big!” Applying her advice, we have an extraordinary show planned and will be speaking with an exceptional example of what it means to be a Starfleet Officer. He is the captain of one of the fleet’s most advanced starships, he’s a decorated hero, and, if I do say so myself, ::The devilish grin of a precocious child finds its way onto Jorey’s face.:: has the kinda looks the camera is going to just love! Rear Admiral Andrus Jaxx is here! ::Jorey brings his legs up and extends his appreciative arms toward Jaxx.:: Welcome! ::As Brayden makes his intro, Jaxx sits in the chair provided. Like most times, his mind began to wander as the man speaks to the various cameras. It was not important that he listen to his introduction, as the Betazoid already knew who he was. Instead, the thought monopolizing his mind was about the chair across from Brayden. It was quite comfortable and he wondered if that was by design. Making guests more comfortable would be a way to get them to open up a bit more. In Jaxx’s case, his mind shifts to getting something similar for his ready room. As the man mentioned his name, the dark haired man put on his trademark cocky grin and looks up. It was not the first interview he had given, but it was the first time anyone would look at the in depth life of the Rear Admiral.:: ::Jorey gestures to the Captain of the USS Apollo as the camera zooms out to reveal Jaxx sitting in a similar chair. There is also a beautifully decorated table with a diverse range of drinks, snacks, and desserts.:: Jaxx: ::nodding:: Thank you. It is great to be joining you. Jorey: I couldn’t more grateful to you for sharing your time with us to help make our series premiere so very special. ::Jorey paused for a moment and hoped that Jaxx could feel his sincerity. Then he turned his attention back to the camera.:: Tonight we will be looking back through time at the life of Rear Admiral Jaxx. We will learn about his struggles, triumphs, achievements and disappointments. We will explore the history that has made him into the man he is today. ::The cocky grin that sat on Jaxx’s face slowly developed into a modest one. While in his career he was a confident officer that had been successful thus far, in his personal life the man did not match the officer. Sitting in the seat, he feels himself adjusting as he glances toward the camera.:: ::Jorey leans in toward the table between them and palms a small tea cup. He looks up at his guest and gestures toward the spread to let Jaxx know he is welcome to anything. Jorey leans back into his chair and gets comfortable.:: Jorey: Let’s start where it all began. ::To the camera.:: It is the bustling Betazoid capital city of Medera. It is the political, religious, and cultural center of Betazoid life throughout the galaxy. A child is born into the noble 8th House of Betazed – the House of Intuition. His parents Bjenta and Tylon Jaxx name him Andrus. ::Jorey and the camera look back to Jaxx.:: Tell us, Andrus, what are some of your first memories of Medera. ::The question brings Jaxx back to his childhood. There were so many thoughts that bombard him at once. Thinking about which one fit best, he started to pluck them from the abyss of his memory.:: Jaxx: People everywhere. It is easy to walk by someone and not notice them. But it was impossible for my parents to go anywhere and not know people. There were times that it felt as if we stopped every ten steps for them to speak to someone, even if it were not vocalized. Not many people know, but it is semi-rude to walk away as you are telepathically conversing with someone. ::reaching forward he takes a sip from the cup in front of him:: And it is very quiet. While on Earth, or when I commanded Starbase 118, you could hear a slight roar amongst the people moving to and fro. That roar is quite different on Betazed. Sure people vocally speak, but typically to non-Betazoids. Jorey: Agreed. ::He smiles at Jaxx and then leans into the camera, dark eyes focused in on the lense.:: Those of you who are not telepathic can’t begin to imagine how disorienting the constant drone of vocalizations can be. ::He sits back in his chair and pulls his knees up to his chest.:: It took me months to acclimatize. ::He laughed at the thought of it.:: Anyway, where were we… ::A slight look of embarrassment as Jorey tries to retrace his thoughts.:: Ah, yes! ::His shoulders relax and he grins.:: You were just about to tell us about Medera. Jaxx: As you said, it is the cultural center and the home to many political and religious locations. It often provided us with people to actually ‘talk’ to. Of course, because my parents were who they were, we got to entertain ambassadors, diplomats, and the like. ::snickering:: To be honest, I never really stuck around. When I had the chance to get away, I did. Their life was not one I wanted for my own. ::smiling:: Even the status of our noble house was something that I wanted to avoid. Jorey: Oh! ::He mocked excruciating pain and grabbed his chest.:: I can hear the desperate cries of a thousand Betazoid mothers! ::He leaned back in his chair and smiled.:: That must have been difficult considering that your mother was a long time member of the Ruling Council. Then there was your father – two terms in the High Office of Defense and then elected to the Federation Council. ::Jaxx smiles at the man, and then to the camera. The energy he was giving off was something incredible. Jaxx did not think many people would even care about some Betazoid officer in Starfleet. His career was going quite well, but he was no hero of a great war and his name was probably not as recognized as others.:: Jaxx: I cannot speak more highly of my parents. They have both dedicated their life to serve the people of Betazed…only they did and continue to do it in different ways. Jorey: There it is. ::The camera zooms in and Jorey’s profile fills the frame. He turns to face the camera and holds his right hand, palm up, in front of him..:: Two paths are in front of young Andrus. His father expects him to join the Betazoid Defence Force. ::He raises his left, palm up.:: His mother expects him to take his place among the ruling class and join the aristocracy. ::He raises an eyebrow with peaked interest and raises and lowers his hands like the scales of justice..:: So which path did young Andrus take? ::A dramatic pause before he continues and he clasps his hands together and slowly lowers them on his lap..:: For our answer, we must first take a few steps back. Back before Starfleet, before the Dominion invasion of Betazed, before… the choice. ::Jorey turns to back to face Jaxx.:: Andrus, I know it might be difficult, but I would like for us to talk about Saraa. ::The discussion takes Andrus back to when he was much younger. He could almost feel the pressure and expectations that were placed on him at such an early age. Service was one thing he learned from his parents, but it did not have to be restricted to Betazoids. Although, until Saraa’s death…he had not even planned on leaving Betazed. It was something from his past that he had not thought about in a long time. Now, here it is, sitting on his mind.:: Jaxx: ::shifting in his seat:: Okay…fire away. Jorey: You are 16 years old. You’ve begun attending the Psychology program at the University of Betazed. The Dominion War still seems far from the peace and beauty of Betazed. ::To the camera.:: It is during this time that Andrus becomes engaged to Saraa. ::He focuses in on Jaxx with interest and empathy.:: Please, tell us about when you first met Saraa and then about the engagement. Jaxx: It was not a traditional engagement, as we have come to see from many different cultures. In fact, it was an arranged marriage, one that was proclaimed while I was still a toddler. Yet, our families were very close and we did love each other. Both of us had agreed to accept the arrangement. ::pausing:: I honestly wish I could recollect the first time we met, but we were so young. I do have a vivid memory of her in a peach colored dress, maybe ten years old? Her smile was adorable then. It would eventually be the feature that won me over. ::smiling, Jaxx shifts in his seat once more:: Once we told our parents that we intended to go through with the betrothal…we all agreed that it would wait until after we were finished at the university. Jorey: You had both waited your entire lives. What was a few more years? ::A somber expression overtook his face as he turned to look a at a different camera. It slowly zooms in as Jorey addresses the audience.:: In truth, the next few years would prove catastrophic, not only for Andrus and his young bride-to-be, but for every Betazoid across the galaxy. ::Jorey picks up a cup of warm tea as we return to the view of both men around the colourfully decorated table.:: Please, Andrus ::Bringing the delicate cup to his lips.:: continue. ::Shifting again, Jaxx looks to the floor for a split second. They were emotions that he had dealt with long ago, but they did not stop him from feeling the loss again. He looks back to Brayden and continues.:: Jaxx: Historians, Starfleet officers, and many others have learned many details of the war. When you face a galactic challenge, like the war, the amount of information is astronomical ::smiling:: no pun intended. The invasion of Betazed was something that was not supposed to happen. The tenth fleet, under the command of Admiral Masc, was there to ensure that it would not happen. ::pausing the Betazoid gets his emotions in check:: It is easy to judge events after they happened. I cannot begin to imagine the difficulty Admiral Masc faced that day, having his fleet caught out of position, losing the battle and planet within ten hours, and then ultimately calling for a retreat. ::he sighs:: But when the planet fell, it took no time for Cardassian and Jem’Hadar troops to fill the cities. Our first instinct was to fight. When your home is being attacked…you fight for it. But I was young. Instead, I tried to lead as many people as I could out of the city when it happened. While we were trying to get away we were stopped by a small Cardassian patrol. The instinct to fight finally set in, and that is exactly what we did. ::looks into the camera:: It was a sight to see, teenagers going toe to toe with hardened warriors. Our group quickly overtook the few Cardassians in our path. As a friend of mine and I charged one, he discharged his weapon. Once he was subdued we were amazed that neither one of us had been injured. But as I turned to find Saraa on the ground, I may as well have been killed that day. ::Allowing the emotions to surface, Jaxx faces them head on. Years ago those words would have likely been followed by tears. Now, after so much loss, he had numbed himself enough to keep a commanding presence. He lost Saraa, his children and Tressa, his ship, and most recently his best friend Kali. It was as if he had no tears left to share.:: Jorey: You must have been devastated. ::Jorey leans in with genuine concern.:: to be there to watch, to see the moment life ends. Jaxx: It was quick, she suffered very little. But from there we retreated to the mountains, where the resistance formed and continued to fight. Her dream was to join Starfleet. Mine was to spend my days under the Betazoid sun. The short of it…the war taught me that the Federation was much bigger than Betazed, and if anyone suffered like we did, someone had to stop that suffering. To honor her memory, I applied to Starfleet Academy as soon as I completed school. ::Jorey sets down his tea and leans even more forward. He reaches over the table and set his hand lovingly on Jaxx’s knee. There is a pause. A moment of silence, reflection, and prayer. He offers a warm and comforting smile to Jaxx, then returns to his comfortable pose in his chair. Once again, the camera moves in close to Jorey with Jaxx out of the frame.:: Jorey: One major incident, a series of moments, and a lifetime of choices intertwine and implode to create a new path for our hero to follow. ::Even though Jorey is careful to maintain a certain level of decorum, his expression and tone lean toward a more entertaining delivery.:: The Battle of Betazed and the death of his betrothed rips him from his carefree adolescence. He is pushed into adulthood and forced to see a life beyond his own desires. He’s sees a path that would give Saraa’s death meaning and give his own life purpose – Starfleet. ::The camera moves back bring Jaxx back into frame.:: Tell us Andrus, what were your first impressions of Starfleet Academy? ::The word ‘hero’ catches him slightly off guard. It was a term that Jaxx never associated with himself. In his past, he had done what he needed to do. While in Starfleet, he did his duty. Hearing it now, it was something that made him think…he questions if it is an accurate depiction.:: Jaxx: ::He lets out a snicker:: Almost as disciplined as my household. ::pauses:: Actually, I did quite well at the academy. I fit in with pretty much everyone. I was adaptive to my surroundings and it was something I mastered. I learned a lot, and I like to think it gave me the foundation for the officer I am today. Jorey: I’m curious… ::Jorey wore the kind of smirk that a man wears when he knows the answer.:: You resisted your titles and nobility growing up. Tell us. Did that continue on into adulthood? Jaxx: If we are talking about the titles I hold on Betazed, yes. But it is a bit different. I am at the point now where I have acknowledged them. While I would never introduce myself using them, I no longer shudder when someone else does. ::pauses once more:: If we are talking about titles within Starfleet…I embrace these a bit more. I was born Son of the 8th House of Betazed and the Keeper of the Holy Seal of Polea, but I earned the rank of Rear Admiral…if that makes sense. ::Jaxx looks to Brayden. His questions were very insightful, and he was enjoying the interview very much. Moving his eyes from the man to the camera, he clears his expression. Each question brought back a flood of memories, and he did not want to emotionally dwell on them…in some cases to prevent Brayden from having to feel them.:: Jorey: Well, now. ::He speaks through a smile and raises his eyebrow.:: My grandmother wouldn’t want me to let that slip. She taught me our titles are the symbol of a sacred trust that others have placed in us and a path to be followed with love, grace and reverence. It is a title given at birth that is earned in death by how we have lived out our lives. ::Jaxx pauses and he pondered the words spoken by Brayden. In that moment, it is clear that the elder Betazoid could not argue with him. It takes a second, but Jaxx find the words to continue.:: Jaxx: Well, your grandmother is a very wise woman. And may I be bold enough to say, that is the generational difference a lot of Betazoids notice. My mother is much like your grandmother. Perhaps that is why she never approved of my path. I earn rank in service to the Federation, instead of my bestowed titles by serving Betazed. I think if I used them, or put too much stock in them…it would make me a hypocrite. Jorey: Now, ::Brayden changes the tone of the conversation.:: you have graduated from Starfleet Academy and are immediately assigned to the USS Challenger under the Command of, then Fleet Captain, T’Pen. Please share with us those first experiences as ‘Ensign’ Andrus Jaxx. Jaxx: They were productive experiences. The Challenger saw her fair share of action. From diplomacy to combat, we took part in every kind of mission you can think of. I think my education pre and post academy played a large part for my success. ::Not sure what Brayden was going for, Jaxx thinks of his time as an Ensign. The past was full of missions, situations, and decisions. In Starfleet, you did your job and followed orders. It was that simple.:: Jorey: Well, Andrus. I think it’s safe to say that you had one hell of a first year. You were promoted from Ensign to Lt. Commander and the Chief of your department. How significant were those achievements to you at the time and is there one thing you regret or wish you could have done differently in that first year on the Challenger? Jaxx: With each promotion I felt better about my place in Starfleet. They were not handed to me, but earned. To me that made them very significant. As far as regrets…not so much. But I would love to have the knowledge I have today, back then. I could use it to save lives. But as far as a personal choice, if I had it to do all over again I would. Jorey: You see? ::Jorey looks into the camera.:: Even though our guest is uncomfortable with being called a hero, his thoughts naturally seem to find their way to, perhaps, the most heroic notion – to help others. Like many Betazoids, Andrus began his Starfleet career in the medical department. For him, it was counselling. However, he would not remain there. ::Brayden looks back to Jaxx with an inquisitive expression.:: Tell us, Andrus, what was after counselling and why the career change? Jaxx: I made the switch from Counselor to Strategic Operations Officer. I wanted to move, thinking I could put my academy training to better use. Everyone would benefit from me being able to analyze the enemy before they could strategize themselves. It then lead to my first posting as First Officer of the Resolution. It was a short posting, but we laid the groundwork for reestablishing the Embassy on Duronis II, a post that my former Commanding Officer now commands. Jorey: Of course! I have recently found myself at the Embassy as the Chief of Intelligence and Second Officer to your former CO. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge her beautiful kindness in mentorship and incalculable contribution to the fleet. ::Jorey picks up an open bottle and pours a pinkish, bubbly drink into two champagne flutes. He slides one glass over to the Admiral and takes the other into his hand.:: Come on, Andrus… ::Jorey raises his glass into the air.:: To Fleet Captain Toni Turner! ::Jaxx smiles as he picks up the glass. As the beverage sits in his hand, he thinks of Toni. It had been quite some time since they had spoken. Even worse, Duronis II was not that far from his area of operation. On the other side of the expanse, he could be there in no time. He was prime to assist if the Embassy or Thunder needed it, but hoped they would never see a situation that required it.:: Jaxx: ::takes a drink:: She is a very special woman. Jorey: Such a lovely woman and truly a fine example of a Starfleet Captain. But now, ::Brayden says taking one last sip of drink before setting it on the table.:: let’s get back to you. ::He smirks.:: There was a time for you when the Captain’s Chair didn’t seem like a place in your future. Tell us about that. Jaxx: I moved back to Starfleet Command to work on some special strategic planning missions after a short tour on the USS Eagle. I was at a point in my career where I did not exactly know which way I wanted to go. Commanding a starship was always a goal, but being able to assist in the decision making process on Earth was also appealing. I knew I could have a great career in either path. Taking on a special mission to locate the USS Eagle and find the missing Rear Admiral Rocar Drawoh was what got me back out into space. I was given temporary command of the USS Victory and we tracked down Rocar and the USS Eagle. It had crash landed on a planet that had enough interference to prevent communications from getting out. Once we had located the ship, and got the Admiral aboard, I was asked to stay on as his first officer. At that point, I realized I could have a bigger and more immediate impact in command of a ship. Jorey: And there it is again! ::Jorey addresses the audience and the camera zooms in to frame him.:: Another fork in the road. A choice: Starfleet Command or Commanding a starship. I wonder if it seems as obvious to you, as it is to me, which path he would choose? ::He smiles looking into the camera.:: A young man, fighting to honour the memory of his lost Saraa. Driven to make his own reputation and earn his place in life. ::The camera pulls back to bring Jaxx back into frame.:: I hope you don’t mind me saying, but a desk job at Starfleet Command doesn’t really suit you, Andrus. ::He smiles at the Admiral and tilts his head.:: So how did you move from first officer to a command of your own? Jaxx: Rocar was a great leader, and soon fell ill with a nasty Ktarian virus. He had to return to Earth, and command of the Victory was given to me. My first command was a very solid one…we had some unique missions. Believe it or not we were departing Earth and detected a temporal anomaly. We were thrust back in time to Earth’s early history. We actually collided with the Apollo 11 spacecraft. We were able to beam the astronauts aboard just in time. My crew was able to use historical records to feed data back to Earth and mimic the signal the spacecraft should have sent back to Earth, while quickly reconstructing their ship. When it was all said and done, things seemed to work out fine. Needless to say I spent quite a bit of time being interviewed by the Department of Temporal Investigations when I got back. Jorey: It sounds like you were having an exciting and wonderful time with the USS Victory. ::Jorey knew the Admiral must have had dozens of tall tales left untold from his career, but those were for another time.:: I wonder though, did things change when the Victory was assigned to Starbase 118 and you and your crew took command of the station? Jaxx: Starbase 118 was a great command. It was like a city in space. My only issue with the place is that it does not orbit a planet. Just sitting stationary out in space was not my idea of a great location. Other space stations orbit a planet, so from time to time you can head down to the surface. I left that command in the hands of the late Fleet Captain Kali Nicholotti, to launch the USS Apollo. An advanced design of the Achilles Class. She served not nearly long enough and was destroyed by the Borg. Right after is when I was promoted to Rear Admiral and given the USS Apollo-A, an Odyssey Class starship. ::he pauses:: I would love to tell you about her, but we have not launched yet. She is sitting in dry dock and I am due to take her out in a couple weeks. Jorey: The Odyssey Class is the biggest ship Starfleet has built to date. A ship designed to be an explorer and a battleship. ::Jorey’s eyes wide and bright.:: I must say I am a bit jealous. It all must seem like a wonderful dream. Or with you… ::Jorey’s expression changing to friendly sarcasm.:: I suppose it feels more like an achievement? Something you’ve earned? Jaxx: ::smiles:: My experiences do make this command something of an earned achievement. However, it is also very dreamlike. This will make my second command that has come right out of Utopia Planitia. Stepping in the bridge for the first time, knowing no other captain had sat in the center chair…it is very humbling. The crew and ship size will be something I have to get used to, but I think it is similar to commanding Starbase 118. There were so many officers on that station, I could never remember half of their names. I foresee the same issues, honestly. I am just hopeful that I can serve them well, as captain, and that the Apollo-A will always bring us home. ::smiles:: Jorey: Of course! ::Jorey smiles back.:: If this small window into your past has revealed anything, it is that you are dedicated to serving others and the gods have favoured you with a talent for success. ::Jorey extends his open arms toward the Admiral in appreciation once more.:: Thank you, again, Rear Admiral Andrus Jaxx, Son of the 8th House of Betazed, Keeper of the Holy Seal of Polea.::Smirking as he looks back to the camera.:: And, whether you accept the title or not, I think any Betazoid would agree, that you’ve earned it. ::Stage hands and technical staff begin to enter the scene to remove microphones and check on the men. A soft, hollow version of the show’s theme music plays softly. We can hear voices, but not well enough to make out what they are saying. The scene fades to black and then an overhead spotlight finds Jorey in the darkness dressed in the same black uniform from the opening credits.:: Jorey: A child born into a life of privilege and influence. His parents set before him two different paths, both hoping their son would demonstrate the spirit of a leader. His mother wanting him to live the life of a diplomat. His father hoping he’ll follow the path of a soldier. ::The camera angle changes to above Jorey and he looks up.:: The child? He has little interest in either path. He would rather fade into the background and indulge in the simple pleasures that life has to offer. Then – the unthinkable. ::Jorey look away and then into the camera to his left.:: A terrible war rips through the Federation and Dominion forces take his world by force and occupy his homeland. His fiancé, a more altruistic person than he, is killed during their escape from the city. From here, everything changes. ::The angle changes once more as Jorey faces the camera directly in front of him.:: The horrors of war and the death of his loved one ignite his spirit and give the man new purpose. He joins Starfleet, the organization tasked with keeping his world and many others safe, to honour his fallen lover. In doing so, he honours all those lost in the Dominion War, his homeworld, and his parents. ::Jorey’s serious expression fades revealing a warmhearted smile.:: In the end, Rear Admiral Andrus Jaxx became the diplomat his mother wanted, the soldier his father had hoped, and a leader that all Betazoids can take pride in. ::The show’s theme music seems to get further and further away.:: Jorey: I’m your host, Brayden Jorey and this was ::dramatic pause.:: Background Check. ::The spotlight remains locked in position, even as Jorey turns his back to the camera and slowly walks off into the darkness. The light slowly fades to black and the show’s credits cap off the show.:: The End ** New Academy Graduates ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Arthur Baker, Leigh Bryant, and Tatash! http://goo.gl/dBD3XT ** July Plot Summary for the Duronis II Embassy ** While the majority of the USS Thunder crew continued the rest of their shore leave, other members of the crew were dealing with a visitor… a Zalkonian named Malon, who had escaped a death sentence from his people, his metamorphosis into a non-corporal being made him a threat to his fellow Zalkonians, and he sought refuge from the Laudeans and the Federation. Malon belonged to the Zalkonian Evolutionist Movement, a group of Zalkonian who were destined to go through the change. Fearing that Malon would attract assasins to try to kill him on Duronis, Captain Turner dispatched a shuttle on a recon mission to the Zalkonian border. What they found was a heavily armed mercenary ship in communication with a Zalkonian cruiser. Intercepts from the two ships indicated Malon was indeed a hunted man, and the shuttle tailed the mercenary ship to the Sandbar. unknown to them, the mercenary vessel had launched a yacht which had landed on Duronis. Now faced with a possible confrontation with the Zalkonians, members of the Thunder crew, aided by an agent from Starfleet Intelligence, worked to defeat the “snuff field” before hostilities ensued. Meanwhile, the USS Thunder was dispatched to mine the sandbar to prevent the entry of Zalkonian warships before the cure was ready. The test team narrowly escaped a bomb blast set off by the assassin, but he was caught shortly thereafter. Placed in the brig, he somehow escaped, possibly with the help of Major Heath West, who had returned after an extended absence. The cure was found for the virus, and with a Starfleet fighter hot on their tails, Captain Turner rallied the crew to hunt down the assassin and Major Heath West. ** “Fashion” Writing Challenge Nears End ** Is there no truth in beauty? The current Writing Challenge asks just that, and even references the TOS episode itself: I’m rewatching TOS, and got to “Is There No Truth In Beauty?”, where (spoilers) Dr. Miranda Jones’ elaborate dress turns out to be a sensor web that allows her to “see.” It got me thinking about how fashion is used in sci-fi, whether as a plot device, or to set the scene, define a culture, or place us in a certain time. That’s from Brian, aka Ren Rennyn, winner of the previous Challenge, as he explains his choice of “Fashion” as the theme for our current Challenge. Many of our Challenges have posed an open-ended, often moralistic question as their inspiration, but this is even more open-ended than those, since fashion can be taken in so many different ways. Or, as my New Oxford American Dictionary says, fashion |ˈfa sh ən| noun 1 a popular trend, esp. in styles of dress and ornament or manners of behavior : his hair is cut in the latest fashion. • the production and marketing of new styles of goods, esp. clothing and cosmetics : [as adj. ] a fashion magazine. 2 a manner of doing something : the work is done in a rather casual fashion. verb [ trans. ] (often be fashioned) make into a particular or the required form : the bottles were fashioned from green glass. • ( fashion something into) use materials to make into : the skins were fashioned into boots and shoes. There are so many ways you can interpret this particular Challenge (http://goo.gl/DbNpNX ), but please be sure to interpret it soon: Entries will only be accepted up through Monday, August 25th! ----------------------------------- Aug 30, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.35
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Featured Bio Contest
Top Sims Contest
Fleet Chat
Writing Challenge
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Congratulations Commander Sundassa Faranster!: http://goo.gl/RYkaTp 3. Witty Wordsmith: Writer’s Block: http://goo.gl/XKYm52 4. Top Sims Run-Off Round 3, 2014: http://goo.gl/BKdYz3 5. July Recruitment Stats: http://goo.gl/GKyLrv 6. Podcast: The Ladies Take The Helm!: http://goo.gl/gnM4lZ 7. Congratulations Captain Raj Blueheart!: http://goo.gl/AvlIcx
** All About You: Memory Book 118! ** Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to learn more about the players who drive this game? What if there was a way for you to share more information about your own life and what awesome things you’re interested in. Wait… what’s that? There is such a thing? There most certainly is! Our Memory Book (http://goo.gl/YCQEFT ) is the place where Starbase 118 keeps a database of the person behind the character – the real you! Anyone can join in, in fact we would like to encourage newer players to create their own pages and tell the group a bit more about yourself. Think of it like a scrapbook where you can write about your simming, link to all your characters and NPCs, talk about your real life interests and keep a record of your times in Starbase 118. Creating a new page is easy! Follow the simple instructions on the Memory Book page, and you’ll end up with a basic template. If you want to get fancy, you can take a look at some of the other player profiles. You can answer the questions from the template or strike out on your own and tell us about your experiences simming here and what you hope to accomplish! Add links to characters, any races or Memory 118 entries you have contributed, NPCs or sims! This is a great way to learn more about the people you sim with as well as making a memory for you as a player to look back on as you continue with the game. This is a fantastic way to strengthen our simming community. Take some time to read some of the pages in the book and create one for yourself! ** Congratulations Commander Sundassa Faranster! ** The Captains Council of UFOP: StarBase 118 is pleased to announce the promotion of Lieutenant Commander Sundassa Faranster to the rank of commander. Commander Faranster serves on the USS Apollo-A as the First Officer to RAdml. Andrus Jaxx. Faranster has been a member since January of 2013, and has served on the Apollo under Jaxx for her entire career. She previously played the role of Medical officer, and Chief Medical officer. She has recently distinguished herself as a member of the Academy Training team. Be sure to stop by and offer your congratulations to Commander Faranster, as we wish her luck in her career with UFOP: StarBase 118, and the USS Apollo-A: http://goo.gl/svz3R6 ** Witty Wordsmith: Writer’s Block ** “Don’t just plan to write—write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.” ~P.D. James Writer’s block is something that every writer deals with. Sometimes it goes hand in hand with real life stress or exhaustion. Sometimes ideas just don’t flow. Sometimes you just sit looking at the posts, knowing you should write something but nothing comes to mind. But any good writing game is built on having players contribute, and the more you participate in the story the more your character can grow – and the more fun you will have! So let’s look at tips for overcoming writer’s block and getting back in the swing of posting when your ideas run dry. Try getting up early and writing first thing in the morning OR late at night right before bed. Mornings can be times of great energy, free of distractions that accumulate over the course of the day. Also you are most likely to remember and be inspired by what your dreamt last night early in the morning. Late nights tend to be the point where most people wind down and let their minds relax. Either one of these periods may trigger new and creative ideas. Read! Re-read recent posts from your game, favorite posts by yourself or other players, or try reading some of your favorite authors. Oftentimes we can be inspired by what we read, or we can catch small details that will spark our creativity. Writing in a collaborative play by e-mail game gives us the unique opportunity to not only be inspired by our own ideas, but to play off of other writer’s contributions. Take a break! Move around or listen to some music. Getting away from the keyboard may help relax your mind. Some writers find that moving around – anything from taking a stroll to vigorous exercise helps to relax their mind and allow new story ideas to flow. Others prefer to use music to get into a writing mood. Some players create soundtracks for writing – perhaps songs that you find fit the theme and mood of the current story or maybe music that you believe your character would listen to. At the very least finding music for your writing can be a fun way to develop your character! Free write. Sit down and write whatever comes to your mind. It doesn’t need to be related to your character or even Star Trek. This works in the same way that making a mark in the middle of a blank canvas can help an artist to start drawing or painting. Sometimes freewriting allows you to explore new ideas, sometimes it just eliminated the fear of ‘writing something wrong. When in doubt, ask for tags. The script style format this game uses allows for a unique interplay between characters and players. Unlike traditional fiction where one writer must shoulder the entire burned of the plot, in this game you can always bounce your ideas off of other players and use their ideas to spark your creative fire. If you;re really stuck, fresh tags might be exactly what you need to move forward and keep writing! ** Top Sims Run-Off Round 3, 2014 ** This is a run-off poll, where our general membership will choose from the top sims of 2014 Rounds 14-20 to find the best sim that will proceed to the final round of the contest. Please read the sims below, which were chosen by a panel of judges (one from each ship) to find the best sims from each round of Set 3: • Round 14: Toni Turner & James, “Dinner”: http://goo.gl/6FhVYS • Round 15: T’Lea & Dade Adarnis, “A Fitting End“: http://goo.gl/JKOZ4b • Round 16: Tyr Waltas, “When the Demons Come“: http://goo.gl/bEuzqd • Round 17: Della Vetri & T’Lea, “You’re hired, so deal with it.“: http://goo.gl/xcQxfG • Round 18: Alleran Tan, “Missing This“: http://goo.gl/KQwLio • Round 19: Quinn Reynolds & Roshanara Rahman, “Explanations, Or the Absence Thereof“: http://goo.gl/jzkoM4 • Round 20: Rode Mitchell, “Memories“: http://goo.gl/gqfsNF Vote for the sim which is best written: http://goo.gl/xTqmm1 We recommend looking for strong characterization and evocative or descriptive scene-setting. Polling closes at 11:59pm on Sunday, October 5th. Good luck to the nominees! ** July Recruitment Stats ** Each month, the Publicity Team (http://goo.gl/ZcxX6Y ) posts the number of applications our community received for the current year and how those applicants found our group. That summary will give you an idea of how we are reaching new applicants and how we can improve our efforts to reach new audiences. If you’re interested in helping with our publicity efforts, click the link above to check out the Publicity Team’s wiki area, and then the link to the Publicity Team’s Google Group where you can sign up to be a part of the team. We also want to keep you apprised of the number of graduates from the StarBase 118 Academy. Unfortunately, not all applicants graduate from the Academy because they either do not respond to roll call or do not complete the Academy requirements. The Training Team makes every effort to involve all applicants and to encourage them to complete the training. Applications: http://goo.gl/KBZjfv Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/5JEeba Annual Application Source: http://goo.gl/XxJrL2 ** Podcast: The Ladies Take The Helm! ** After a brief summer hiatus, and for the first time in its history, the women have taken over the UFOP: StarBase 118 podcast. Regular host Lieutenant Commander Velana was joined this month by guest host Lieutenant Commander T’Mar of the USS Gemini. On the discussion agenda was not just the depiction of strong female characters in Trek, but how depictions of female strength shouldn’t be limited to physicality, i.e.- there is more than one way to be strong. The commanders also talked about their experiences as women in the wide world of fandom, the good, the bad and the hilarious, as well as their shared love of conventions. Velana got a little jealous upon learning that T’Mar has met Connor Trinneer – famous as Trip Tucker from Star Trek: Enterprise, and the rules of convention meet-and-greet etiquette were laid out. They also let off a little bit of steam about what was bugging them about Trek. Previous hot topics have included Geordie LaForge’s attitude to Scotty, Star Trek technology in Into Darkness, and not forgetting Deana Troi’s ever-changing-accent. However, even those things that bug us about Trek actually show much we love the franchise and want it to be as good as it can be. Moving along, the Commanders gave the usual nod to promotions in the preceding month, and highlighted the exciting news of the launch of not one but TWO new ships – the USS Columbia under Commander Ben Livingston and the USS Victory under Commander Nugra. Epic times lie ahead! To round off the episode, the team welcomed Lieutenant Alora DeVeau of the USS Garuda who, with the help of her Mother, reminded us all about the monthly fleet chat – a great place to get to know your fellow simmers in a relaxed environment. Ready to listen? Head to the forums now to download the podcast, or listen via YouTube! http://goo.gl/Fe9evB The podcast is always looking for new contributors. If you’re ready to get involved, check out the podcast forum: http://goo.gl/nkLRKr ** Congratulations Captain Raj Blueheart! ** The Executive Council of UFOP: StarBase 118 is pleased to announce the promotion of Commander Raj Blueheart to the rank of captain. Captain Blueheart has been the commanding officer of the USS Atlantis since January of this year. Commander Blueheart was a long-time member of the Discovery before that ship was decommissioned and her crew split between the Gemini and Atlantis. Over the course of his long tenure with the group, he received a number of awards, including the Silver Palm and the Sheathed Sword. Be sure to offer Captain Blueheart your congratulations, and we wish him the best of luck as he moves forward with his command career: http://goo.gl/MfAc5L ----------------------------------- Sep 6, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.36
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Top Sims Contest
Fleet Chat
Featured Bio Contest
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. August 2014 Post Totals: http://goo.gl/G1Nwpf 3. August Plot Summary for the Garuda: http://goo.gl/tYkz18 4. Poll of the Week: Star Trek Comedy in The Next Generation: http://goo.gl/aLzt1O 5. UFOP: Starbase 118: The Life And Times, Part 1: http://goo.gl/QGQxgJ 6. Join The Publicity Team To Help Us Spread The Good Word: http://goo.gl/UGf3sz 7. SDC Species Spotlight: ZAKDORN: http://goo.gl/SRMQOx
** August Plot Summary for Atlantis ** With the recent mission over, the crew of the USS Atlantis, NCC-74682, head back to DS26 for an eagerly-awaited shore leave. At the Starlight Ballroom, Commander Raj Blueheart hands out promotions to ensigns Gardener, Rai’ow, Foster, Asmara, Scott and Rennyn. To everyone’s shock, Colonel Tyr Waltas of the Duronis II Embassy makes an unexpected appearance at the ceremony only to officially promote Blueheart to the rank of Captain! The Marine colonel then proceeds to mingle with the crew, sharing his wisdom and experience with the younger generation of Starfleet officers. A few activities have been planned for shore leave. One is a futsal tournament opened to all members of the fleet. The other, a circus event planned by Cmdr. Marcus Dickens – with mandatory participation by all crew members! ** August 2014 Post Totals ** As part of the ongoing overview of the fleet as a whole, here are the monthly figures for total posts for each ship. This summary will give you an idea of how active the ship is on a month-by-month basis. Sim counts were almost exactly the same as last month, which is heartening considering the recent changes on multiple ships, including new commanding officers. Although we didn’t increase as we hoped last month, fall is traditionally a time of increased simming as many members return to the habits of school. Our next chart gives the number of sims for each ship over the course of August. The Atlantis made another huge showing, clearly distinguishing themselves as some of the most prolific writers in the fleet, followed closely by the Garuda, then Duronis II Embassy crews. We look forward to bigger numbers in September for the new Columbia crew, who are getting acquainted with their new vessel. ** August Plot Summary for the Garuda ** The crew of the USS Garuda savored shore-leave after a somewhat traumatic last mission with its fair share of treachery and sabotage. However, things were cut short when they were soon called away on an urgent new mission. This was to intercept the crew’s former starship, the USS Mercury. All were concerned to hear reports that the Mercury had attacked and largely destroyed its escort ship, the USS Icarus. Had the Mercury and its crew turned renegades, or was there some insidious outside influence on all of this? The USS Garuda raced to the location where the encounter between the Icarus and the Mercury had been reported, only to discover that the crippled Mercury – far from trying to hide, openly hailed the Garuda. However, scans showed no lifesigns whatsoever aboard the damaged science vessel. Two away teams beamed over, under Lieutenant Commanders Calderan and Core, who were tasked with restoring the Mercury’s systems and discover who or what had caused the disaster. Meanwhile, the Garuda received a distress call from what was the Mercury’s jettisoned sensor pod. Captain Egan Manno ordered the saucer section under Lieutenant Commander Mei’konda to remain to assist the away teams, whilst she took the stardrive section, with the paroled Roshanara Rahman as advisor, to locate the sensor pod. Back on the Mercury, the away teams started seeing strange shadowy figures, who looked like crew they had served alongside in years gone by, and even came face to face with a phantom Lieutenant Sky Blake who simply vanished into thin air! ** Poll of the Week: Star Trek Comedy in The Next Generation ** This week, we continue our survey of Star Trek comedy by diving in to comedy on The Next Generation, which had plenty of intentional, and unintentionally comedic moments. From Data’s endless, clueless antics to Riker’s dad jokes and Beverly’s dry wit, there were plenty of moments that kept a smile on our face, even in the face of the series’ high-minded vision of the future. What are your favorite funny moments of The Next Generation?: http://goo.gl/Jdk6Be ** UFOP: Starbase 118: The Life And Times, Part 1 ** Twelve years ago, Ensign Mal Avatar was assigned as the H/C/O officer to the USS Kodiak-A. Avatar, the first PC of StarBase 118’s resident historian, Glenn, rose up through the ranks to become a captain and captain-at-large to the Executive Council back in 2005. Nowadays, you’re more likely to recognize him as his newer PC, Ra-Uleyra, or via his ongoing history projects, including the Fleet Timeline (http://goo.gl/geZo9j ) and the Family Tree (http://goo.gl/UcJu2J ). In his capacity as historian, I was able to ask him several questions about the group’s history, the lineage of captains, and plenty more about the 20-year-plus timeline of StarBase 118. Q: Just about a year ago, 118’s roster of COs had been stable for some time. Now, five of those nine COs have retired, another has become a CO and taken a LOA, and we have four new COs. In your experience, are such turnovers common? A: They tend to come in bunches it would seem and for a variety of different reasons. Most common reason for departing is real life. In my experience as a former commanding officer, the duties of the CO are far more time consuming than the life of your typical simmer. After awhile, this can be a drain, which is why often former commanding officers continue to write with the group as part of the rank and file. Q: What are the largest (by number of COs) and quickest turnovers (again, in terms of time and number of COs) you’ve come across, and what might have caused them? A: For a multitude of reasons, 2379 (2002) was a particularly bad year where 7 commanding officers departed their command. Most cited real life commitments as the number one reason. As someone who analyzes data for a living, I have mined the information to attempt to determine a correlation between some factor and the longevity of a commanding officer. In all cases, there appears to be no one determining factor that would explain success as a CO. I tested hypotheses such as length of time in the group before assuming command or how long the commanding officer served as a first officer before taking a ship. In all of these cases, there appeared to be no obvious trend. As a fascinating tidbit, Admiral Hollis, who holds the record for longest time in the captain’s chair as nearly 8 years went straight from second officer to captain. Obviously the rules of the group have changed significantly since as that would never happen today. Q: I’d actually heard (I think via one of your projects) that Hollis went straight from second officer to CO. I know that it’s unlikely that something like that couldn’t happen again (if not impossible), but it also seems that it was much more common in the past for COs to rise up fairly quickly, including those (like Hollis and Jessa Anassasi) who made it to full commander in a year or less. I don’t want to ask a black-and-white question like “was it better then or now?” because I think our current processes for promotion to commander and captains are quite good — but, with that said, have you come across any correlations between amount of time in the CO spot and the length of time it took to get there? A: As much as I would like to find a correlation to quantitatively explain why some captains have a longer time in the captain’s chair versus others, I cannot find one. It truly is a unique experience for everyone that has become a commanding officer. Some captains have a very fast rise to captaincy, while others have taken their time. There is no best route. I would even argue that just because a simmer is a great writer, there is no guarantee that he or she will succeed as a captain. Ultimately it comes down to leadership and finding ways to get your simmers to participate in the group and to keep your plot moving. Q: You noted that some of your sleuthing involves going beyond the wiki (and, indeed, beyond the resources available to the CC, like old UPDS records). What do you use? How do you find these resources? Are they available for others to peruse? Two primary resources come to mind. First and foremost is Yahoo! Groups. There are times when you have no other choice but to dig deep into the official sims of the group. Fortunately Admiral Wolf has held onto our archives over the years which allows us to read up on some of our oldest sims. Secondly there is a great tool that someone had the foresight to create in the mid 90s called the Wayback Machine. If you go to the website archive.org (http://goo.gl/TS6HYp ), you can load old versions of any website ever. That includes our own group’s website. There are times when it is necessary to look at old versions of our website or climb through individual ship websites that were once a major part of our group. Q. What are some of the weirdest things you’ve come across? For example, as I go quickly through the Fleet Timeline (http://goo.gl/geZo9j ), I notice that there are several starship classes that I don’t recognize, including some that appear to have been specific to 118. Also, that Romulan warbird (http://goo.gl/iOZlLP )! What other oddities have you come across? A: Many of the more recent ships in the group have been associated with the group originated with Star Trek: Online, however in the older days of the group, STO did not exist and often times captains would create a ship design from either scratch or from secondary sources. It would also appear that as soon as a new ship class entered canon, it would not be long before it appeared in our group. Even though the Dauntless Class was not really a Federation starship, the Kodiak-A used its design not long after appearing on Star Trek: Voyager. The same can be said for the USS Caledonia, which was our first Prometheus Class ship. The captured Romulan warbird as a playing ship was definitely unique! Stay tuned for the next installment of this intriguing interview! ** Join The Publicity Team To Help Us Spread The Good Word ** If we want to launch new ships, we have to grow our fleet with new members. That’s why it’s so important that our community members participate in our publicity efforts. Getting involved is easy and doesn’t take much time. The Publicity Team has a number of small tasks that, each month, can help grow our influence, spread the word about our group, and pique the interest of Star Trek writers around the net. From posting on Star Trek forums to gathering social media content, most of our tasks don’t require any particular expertise, and can be completed by anyone in 15-30 minutes. But if we don’t have enough people to help each month, our goals fall short and it’s hard to sustain recruiting levels to the point of replacing the folks who go on leave or retire from the group. You can help by joining the team now, to learn more about our tasks and sign up to help with one a month: http://goo.gl/8XyNTo
“An interesting move, foolish but interesting. Checkmate.” – a Zakdorn saying. While they are members of the Federation they can be a challenging species to sim for but they make for interesting characters with their subtle air of superiority and slight swagger to their walk. Definitely an intellectual species, one that relies on their brains. Considered by many to be the greatest know strategists they seem to be able to think and plan far in advance of others. This also makes them exceptional players of most strategic games. For the most part they tend to be slightly overweight or flabby, because of this the Klingons consider their reputation to be inflated as they are obviously ill suited for any kind of physical confrontation. Regardless of this most species have avoided any aggressive contact with them. Also while they are firm supporters of the Federation they tend to be more suited to administrative and organizational duties and roles. Only a few ever enlist in Starfleet and fewer in the Marines, however a large number of them do serve as civilian advisors to both of these organizations. Learn more about this species from their wiki page: http://goo.gl/IPtA07 ----------------------------------- Sep 7, 2014September Fleetwide OOC Chat!
Hey All! The monthly fleet chat will be held on Sunday, September 14th in the fleet chat room, http://bit.ly/fVGEmH at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here. As always, please check your timezone for accuracy or for DST! The fleet chat usually lasts about two hours, although you are welcome to stay afterwards, and is a great chance to get to know what is going on in the rest of the fleet! Looking forward to seeing you all there! ~James --
Lt. Commander James Chat Team Facilitator Dif-tor heh smusma. Sep 11, 2014Will we have to close a ship?
Fleetmates, Our community is at its smallest size in over 10 years. If we can't increase our application flow, it may even be necessary to close a ship in the near future to consolidate crew and help other ships stay active. But you can help make sure that doesn't happen. Join our Publicity Team today, where you'll contribute about an hour a month on easy tasks that will help recruit new members. Just sign up here: http://www.starbase118.net/members/taskforces/teams/join-the-publicity-team/ Getting involved is easy and doesn’t take much time. The Publicity Team has a number of small tasks that, each month, can help grow our influence, spread the word about our group, and pique the interest of Star Trek writers around the net. There's no particular expertise necessary -- you'll pick whatever tasks match up best with your skills. From posting on Star Trek forums to gathering social media content, most of our tasks don’t require any particular expertise, and can be completed by anyone in 15-30 minutes. Join the team now and you can not only help ensure we sustain our roster levels, but increase them so we can launch new ships. Signing up only takes a moment: http://www.starbase118.net/members/taskforces/teams/join-the-publicity-team/ Thanks for everything you do for this community. Your membership is appreciated! Sep 13, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.37
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Fleet Chat
Top Sims Contest
Featured Bio Contest
Writing Challenge
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Promotions for August 2014: http://goo.gl/LRdDt7 3. August Plot Summary for Excalibur: http://goo.gl/n5d6Xt 4. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/mFbSsx 5. Poll of the Week: Funniest Moments in ST: Voyager: http://goo.gl/ziXo0O 6. UFOP: Starbase 118: The Life and Times, Part 2: http://goo.gl/NNq7yW 7. September Fleetwide OOC Chat: http://goo.gl/TOXsds 8. Jalana Laxyn Wins July & August Writing Challenge: http://goo.gl/w9WmYh
** Goodbye Excalibur, Hello (Again) Constitution ** Fleet changes are afoot, as we reach what is hopefully the end of a volatile summer in our fleet. FltCapt. Cascadia Rainier has been forced to step down from her roles as the commanding officer of the USS Excalibur-A, and Captain at Large for the Executive Council, due to real life workload. We wish her the best as she continues her pursuits in higher education. (She will remain a member of the group and will likely be around the forums occasionally, so say hello if you see her!) As the Excalibur crew was without a commanding officer, we’re relaunching a vessel — the USS Constitution-B, which you can read more about on our wiki (http://goo.gl/ImRdph ) — under the command of Commander Shelther Faranster, by the writer who formerly played the first officer of the USS Apollo-A (http://goo.gl/EN79sk ) now with a new character. The crew of the Apollo and Excalibur were mixed together before we relaunched the Constitution, to rebalance both crews and make them stronger. The Constitution is a vessel with a long history in our organization, going back among a half-dozen captains and crews. We look forward to the exciting new tales to come out of this reorganization, and we’re certainly hope for a more stable autumn among our fleet! Members of the Excalibur can keep in touch on the special thread for their crew on the forums: http://goo.gl/m30yiw ** Promotions for August 2014 ** The staff of UFOP: StarBase 118 would like to take a moment and recognize the officers — please be sure to congratulate these folks when you see them in the corridors of your vessel! Apollo • Sundassa Faranster to Commander Atlantis • Guinevere Gardener to Lieutenant JG • L’Ral Rai’ow to Lieutenant JG • Tarsii Asmara to Lieutenant JG • Rendal Rennyn to Lieutenant • Tamaiti Scott to Lieutenant Victory • Avery-Walker to Lieutenant JG ** August Plot Summary for Excalibur ** As the USS Excalibur, NCC-41903, warped to the Onias sector, the crew prepared for what the mission would require. Lt. Udas and LtCmdr. James quickly determined that a series of probes could be sent through the sector to find the Ocala. Unfortunately, the Chief Engineer pointed out that the coverage for the entire sector would far exceed their capacity. Thankfully, Commander Ben Walker and Senator Vreeya were able to subtly provide information as to where the enemy fleet could be found. And the senator used falsified records to enter into the Ocala’s good graces. Just entering the sector, the ship has now found a damaged transport… that they will soon discover was attacked by the disguised senator! ** New Academy Graduates ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Sabina Tiam and Nigel Barrett! http://goo.gl/YKZNBY ** Poll of the Week: Funniest Moments in ST: Voyager ** This week, we continue our exploration of Star Trek comedy moments with an installment aboard our favorite little ship that could, USS Voyager. Being thrown 70,000 light years from home and having the Captain destroy the only available means of getting back could have really gotten the crew of Voyager down. That’s not even to mention what it did to the crew of the Maquis raider! Did we have a sullen and depressed show for the next seven years? Heck no! Capt. Janeway and her mismatched band had quite a merry time on their way across the galaxy. Come pick from our favorite moments and share your own: http://goo.gl/5d6EAd ** UFOP: Starbase 118: The Life and Times, Part 2 ** Twelve years ago, Ensign Mal Avatar was assigned as the H/C/O officer to the USS Kodiak-A. Avatar, the first PC of Starbase 118’s resident historian, Glenn, rose up through the ranks to become a captain and captain-at-large to the Executive Council back in 2005. Nowadays, you’re more likely to recognize him as his newer PC, Ra-Uleyra, or via his ongoing history projects, including the Fleet Timeline (http://goo.gl/SQGpMi ) and the Family Tree (http://goo.gl/HTIswP ). In his capacity as historian, I was able to ask him several questions about the group’s history, the lineage of captains, and plenty more about the 20-year-plus timeline of StarBase 118. You can also find part 1 here: http://goo.gl/pDSPId Q. Why do you think that some ships (i.e., the Ronin, the Constitution, the Victory) are well-established and re-launched by multiple COs, while some ships see only a few months of service before they’re retired? A: The number one reason why a ship disappears not long after creation is because the CO left the group and the crew disbanded. The longevity of a ship is often based directly on the longevity of the commanding officer. There are also cases where a particular ship may stick around because of the name or also because of nostalgia. When a captain selects a ship and chooses to pick a historical ship, he/she might choose one simply because of the name or the class. Q: Based upon what you’ve seen in your history projects, what are the benefits of having a group of mostly established COs? Of having a group of mostly new COs? A: I don’t see it as totally black and white. Turnover in the ranks is not a bad thing as it grants new opportunities to different players to have their turn in the captain’s chair. However, too much turnover at one time can be extremely disruptive. Ideally there is a balance made up of healthy turnover combined with some stability. Q: Are you familiar with a couple of history-focused group efforts and, if so, what do you think of the Community History Team (http://goo.gl/gmrphu ) or the Fleetbook Project (http://goo.gl/Y0eeQS )? A: Yes, I am very familiar with the community history team as it was something that I tried to lead, but unfortunately real life has prevented me from taking on the role that I would really enjoy. As for the fleetbook, this is something that I am far less involved with. (Interviewer’s Note: If you’re interested in the group’s history and would like to help with either project, your assistance will be greatly appreciated!) Q. What do you think have been the most important and/or influential changes to the group over the years? How were things done before these changes, and how did things happen afterward? A: Probably the creation of the old UPDS, which was succeeded by the wiki. Prior to the UPDS, which was our first character profile database, it was very cumbersome to keep track of the players in the group. The creation of the UPDS, allowed for a standard profile to be made available for all to see and to act as the source of background information for a character. Prior to this, players would regularly have to email the group their bio. In some cases, individual ships would maintain their own website which might also keep track of the bios. The completeness of this information was ultimately up to the diligence of the webmaster and the captain. One of the developments that I would enjoy see coming out of this work would be the creation of a group Hall of Fame where we can honor past players based on their accomplishments and voted on by the councils. Something like what Major League Baseball does up in Cooperstown, NY where a player must be retired for some time. Q: I like the idea about the Hall of Fame! I’ll try to bring that up on the CC… But in the mean time, who would you nominate for their contributions to the group? A: I think that there are a few that come to mind right off the bat such as Elinor, Hollis, Anassasi, and Rocar. Wolf’s eligibility would be up for debate since he is still active with the group. There are probably a few others as well that are worth of consideration. Readers: Who would you nominate from the group’s history to a hall of fame? Let us know in the comments! ** September Fleetwide OOC Chat ** Mark your calendars for the next fleetwide chat, coming up on Sunday, September 14th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). Always check your timezone for accuracy/DST if applicable! To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat (http://goo.gl/fHGHQt ) — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here: http://goo.gl/xY2ZGe Our fleetwide chats are a space for all the members of the StarBase 118 group to get together and talk in real time about everything that’s happening within the group. Come by and see what goings-on are happening off your ship. Chats are held on the second Sunday of every month, but you can head into the chat room at any time to see who else is there. ** Jalana Laxyn Wins July & August Writing Challenge ** Many congratulations to Jess, the writer behind Jalana Laxyn, who won the July & August Writing Challenge with her short story “Fatal mistake.” (http://goo.gl/WRIui7 )This is Jess’s second win, following her first-place story in the December 2012 that wove a delightful tale that involved Klingons and Santa Claus. “Fatal mistake,” which was written in response to the Challenge’s theme of “Fashion,” was the high-risk “adventure” of a kidnapped kindergarten teacher sentenced to die for violating one of the sacred laws of another sentient species: wearing the color green. Judges had this to say about the story: …the major stakes are personal and manifest in monologue or dialogue. Claire, with the unknown lizard alien, jogs between the two, and the result is a pleasing but distressing story about what happens to a Starfleet officer when there is no rescue at the end of the day. Very strong stuff! (judge’s character: Cassandra Egan Manno) The identity of the main character, not a Starfleet officer, but a teacher, is smart and effective. Claire was brave enough to join a mission to deep space, but didn’t sign up for something like this. I instantly felt for her, and the tragedy of her end is enhanced by this. (judge’s character: Ren Rennyn) Jess has kindly provided the theme for our September and October Writing Challenge, and it’s a perfect complement for the approach to Halloween: “Run Shivers Down My Spine.” (http://goo.gl/3R7nCX ) Head over to the Writing Challenge forums to learn more! As always, don’t forget that you can pick up a complete collection of all this round’s short stories, in PDF format, for free. Get yours here: http://goo.gl/1YrpB3 ----------------------------------- Sep 20, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.38
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Top Sims Contest
Featured Bio Contest
Fleet Chat
Writing Challenge
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. August Plot Summary for Gemini: http://goo.gl/SOAgcb 3. Top Sims Contest: Round 23 Closes Soon: http://goo.gl/wQ819j 4. Donations Thanks to Nugra: http://goo.gl/GidJHt 5. August Plot Summary for Columbia: http://goo.gl/Lboq6U 6. Poll of the Week: Funniest Moments in Star Trek: Enterprise: http://goo.gl/bK2yQj 7. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/yDXpk7 8. Featured Bio Contest Winner: Evan Delano: http://goo.gl/keBeao
** Help with Publicity: Register at TrekBBS.com ** Each month, the Publicity Team posts an easy task you can do to help with our community’s publicity efforts, which are incredibly important in growing our fleet, keeping ships stocked with new members, and ensuring the longevity of our group. This month, we’re going to show you how to register at TrekBBS and post a message. Participating in Star Trek forums across the internet, using a signature and avatar with our logo and a link to us, is useful in piquing peoples’ interests and reaching the very specific audience who wants to find us. This only takes a few minutes, and can have an outsized impact on future recruiting, so let’s get started! First, point a new browser tab to TrekBBS.com, and click on the “Join Us” link near the top of the page: http://goo.gl/EfwzW9 Next complete the registration instructions. You can give a fake birthdate if you want — they’re just checking to se if you’re older than 13. I used “SB118_Wolf” as my user name so that people would see clearly my affiliation. You don’t have to do that, but it definitely shows you’re a member of our group very clearly! Once you’ve completed registration, you should receive a confirmation link via email. Check your spam folder if you didn’t get it: http://goo.gl/BTue9p Now that registration is complete, let’s set up your profile to make it eye-catching and draw people to our website. Head to the user control panel to edit your details (http://goo.gl/qQ7bdC ), and fill in the URL of our website: http://goo.gl/y8SzHq Then click on “Edit Signature” (http://goo.gl/JThsL0 )in the sidebar on the left. Use something like this: Founder of [URL="http://www.starbase118.net"]UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG[/URL], offering the highest quality experience on the internet today with a friendly and welcoming online community that’s over 20 years old! Edit the first few words, like “Helmsman of the USS Constitution-B with…” Then make sure to save your signature. Now for the fun part — head back to the main page of the board and choose a forum to participate in. Anything that strikes your fancy will work! Our goal is to be good community members and contributors to the forums, so that people will see our signature (which links back to our website), and want to join us. Always be a kind and responsible member, and represent the best of our community. The more you post, the more likely we’ll get referrals! Have questions, or just want to join in the discussion? Check out the Publicity Team forum: http://goo.gl/NQj03A ** August Plot Summary for Gemini ** After the USS Gemini, NCC-80564, arrived at Rathos Prime, Commander Liam Frost approved a team to set up a mobile lab on the planet’s surface. The team, led by Lieutenant Commander T’Mar, arrived safely and began working on finding a cure. With news of the Federation assistance spreading, locals began rioting in the capital city. Concerned, Frost checked in with T’Mar and the team to stay alert. Major Ben Edwards, in charge of Security, then received an alarm that something or someone was approaching their position. Meanwhile, on the Gemini, the crew continued their work as well and found increasing evidence that the pathogen was man-made. Also learning of the perimeter breach, Frost reached out to Rathosian authorities. To make the situation worse, some of the group that had approached the away team’s lab became increasingly violent, attacking the shuttle and the lab itself. While obviously a threat, the situation was made even worse when Lieutenant Driscoll accidentally infected herself with the lethal virus. The away team scrambled to secure the situation, while the Gemini prepared to fire a warning shot on the surface. As more violent locals headed to the area, T’Mar allowed Lieutenant Commander Oliver Weston to separate from the group to secure the shuttle only for him to find that the shuttle had been grounded and he was pinned down. With the situation escalating and Driscoll infected, it is up to the crew of the Gemini to find a way to calm the riots and find a cure or risk violating protocols to beam the team to safety.
The Top Sims Contest is accepting nominations for Round 23 of 2014 through Sunday, September 21. Every day, your crew mates write the kinds of sims that make our community one of the greatest of it’s kind — making sure they get the recognition they deserve is easy, and only takes a minute! Just check the calendar to see which round we’re on, then start a new topic and paste the sim into the text field: http://goo.gl/5H6SXU Nominating a sim is as easy as enjoying it, so don’t hold back. Each sim will go to our judges panel to determine which one goes to the next run-off round. One of the sims you read today could be the Top Sim of 2014, but only if you take the time to nominate it. And there’s still time to vote for which sim will proceed to the finals from the third run-off round — less than 20% of the fleet has voted so far, so it’s still anyone’s game: http://goo.gl/rGGQYf ** Donations Thanks to Nugra ** Cmdr. Nugra, CO of the USS Victory, began a recurring donation recently — many thanks to him for his generosity. Donations like this help keep our website ad-free and ensure that we’ll fulfill our yearly fundraising goals! Can you donate $10, $25, or $50 today to help sustain our community? http://goo.gl/RBs91U ** August Plot Summary for Columbia ** Aboard the USS Columbia, NCC-85279, Commander Livingston contacted the administrator of the Romulan base on Avronis’ moon. This Romulan official, whilst being rather deluded regarding Avronis’s prospects, granted the Columbia the right to investigate the planet. Once the work on a modified shuttle had been completed, an away team was sent to the planet. It consisted of Lt. Commander Brek, Ensign Orsisius Kizito, 1st Lieutenant Cross and a team of Marines, plus a Romulan guide, named Kereth, (from the Rigelian Freighter that has imposed its nefarious presence in the vicinity). No sooner had the team landed, that Kereth found traces on the ground, confirming that a Romulan shuttle had indeed visited this area recently. The team also found an archway structure that appeared to be activated. Moments later, when Ens. Kizito picked up an energy signal, about one kilometer away from their present location, Lt. Commander Brek ordered the team to retreat to the caves. From there, on the horizon, they could see two lean silhouettes approaching their landing site. There was no time to investigate though, as somewhere in the cave, someone fired a disruptor at the away team. Meanwhile, on the Bridge, Commander Livingston was confronted to a wave of misbehavior from several officers who disregarded basic protocols. The most serious of them involved a science officer who prevented the science station from receiving vital information. Ensign Tatash was sent to collect the stubborn officer and brought him to the Captain’s ready room. ** Poll of the Week: Funniest Moments in Star Trek: Enterprise ** Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter in our comedy of Star Trek series, our focus on the ill-fated Enterprise. In the canon prequel series, we see humankind for the first time traveling out into the stars at Warp 5, the holy grail of interstellar travel. However, they find out quickly that, even in their own little corner of the wide wide galaxy, there is a lot to be feared: a shadowy Temporal Cold War, hostile alien empires, wars between friends that need serious mediation, and other stuff hitherto unimagined. Throughout it all, even when the Earth itself is on the brink of being destroyed, the crew manages to keep their spirits up! Come see how and share your favorite funny moments of Archer and the gang: http://goo.gl/fN2bfG ** New Academy Graduate ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduate to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Marcus Drake! http://goo.gl/DpkYKv ** Featured Bio Contest Winner: Evan Delano ** Lieutenant Evan Delano is the strategic operations officer of the USS Garuda. Lieutenant Delano’s prowess in martial arts has awarded him first place at two Starfleet Academy martial arts tournaments and second place at two more. His career has previously seen him stationed aboard the USS Tiger-A with a reassignment to the Garuda after a medical LOA. From his early days growing up in Albany, New York, he entered Starfleet Academy over the objections of his parents. First he started out as an engineering student, then decided it wasn’t for him and went forth to major in security with minors in helm and operations. He has served as an HCO officer, security officer, and a security chief prior to taking up the post of strategic operations. Congratulations to Lieutenant Delano (http://goo.gl/eoAM1f )! His bio will be displayed on the wiki’s front page for the month of September. Our Featured Nominee this month is Ensign Nicole Fullmer (http://goo.gl/mTO7wv ) of the USS Victory. As always, you can find out more about the contest at its wiki page (http://goo.gl/9WcyN8 ) or in its forum (http://goo.gl/JIaEg4 ). The next round is now open, so be sure to drop by and submit your nominations today! ----------------------------------- Sep 27, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.39
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Featured Bio Contest
Top Sims Contest
Fleet Chat
Writing Challenge
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Meet the Wiki Ops Facilitators: http://goo.gl/Mj0udI 3. New Academy Graduate: http://goo.gl/WEJJtm 4. Poll of the Week: Funniest Moments of the Star Trek Movies: http://goo.gl/X0Fi0Y 5. August Plot Summary for Victory: http://goo.gl/voxleN 6. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/kaBJjW 7. Why Do Comments Matter in the Writing Challenge?: http://goo.gl/DL0EPL 8. August Plot Summary for Embassy: http://goo.gl/nHpfL3 9. August Recruitment Stats: http://goo.gl/mVnBZR
** August Plot Summary for Apollo ** The crew of the USS Apollo, NCC-71669 was temporarily assigned to the USS Aegis, NCC-74323 while construction was completed on their new ship. With their mission on the Aegis complete, they were recalled to Earth. Once there, they were released for some much needed shore leave. Upon docking at Starbase 1, the crew went their different ways for shore leave, while Lieutenant Commander Sundassa Faranster turned the ship over to the base. After shore leave, the crew was to be reassigned to USS Apollo-A, NCC-71669-A, an Odyssey Class starship. While most of the crew was able to enjoy shore leave, the helm officers were called to the Apollo-A holodeck to get certified on docking the large vessel. Before shore leave could come to it’s planned conclusion, Rear Admiral Andrus Jaxx received a holo-conference from Starfleet Command. Pertainia Prime was experiencing trouble, a possible coup and lost communications with the Federation Embassy. Jaxx was asked to send a ship to evacuate the embassy, and if a coup was happening to evacuate the local government to offer asylum. Jaxx’s solution was to offer up the new ship for the mission, his own Apollo-A. This caused a priority one recall of all crew to be sent out, before they could head off. Once everyone was aboard, they scrambled to get the ship powered up. Departing Utopia Planitia, the Apollo-A navigated the Sol System and started toward their destination. Now that they are underway, Jaxx could get everyone up to speed with the challenge they have in front of them. ** Meet the Wiki Ops Facilitators ** Hi folks! Today we’re going to chat to Rich, player of Lt. Commander Roshanara Rahman, and Deliera, player of Lt. Commander Tristram Core, the facilitators of our Wiki Operations Team. I’d like to thank them both for taking the time to answer a few questions and tell us about this team and what it does. Emma: So, in brief, could you tell us what the Wiki Ops is all about? Rich: Basically, it’s a task force focused on improving the wiki. Fleet Admiral Wolf approached me about taking on certain projects for the wiki, and I’d been having this idea to coordinate the efforts of the great wiki contributors we have across the fleet. Together, it seemed the perfect fit. Deliera: We’re mainly focused towards things like member resources (http://goo.gl/5c0WYZ ) – we’ve recently moved pages such as the Constitution (http://goo.gl/0FGMV5 ) from the main website to the wiki. There are minor ongoing projects such as the Face List (http://goo.gl/hqXeDT ) – keeping that up to date as much as possible is one of the many things we’re powering towards. Emma: Is there anything specific you’re hoping to achieve? Rich: Just again, taking the energy and enthusiasm many members have shown on the wiki and directing it towards areas the fleet needs it most. There’s always something that could be improved or expanded upon on the wiki but given our limited free time, it’s important we direct those efforts where it can make the most impact. Deliera: Members are always free to get involved in whatever wiki project they’re happy to take on – I like to think that more people that contribute to an OOC page in the best way possible, the better. Emma: For those who aren’t members of the Wiki Ops task force, this team is a great place to seek advice on how to edit and update the wiki. What’s the easiest way for them to do that? Deliera: Leave us message on our talk pages or send us a private message on the forums. Any one of our team members is happy to help, and we have at least one team member at just about every posting in the fleet. Rich: We also monitor the wiki forum (http://goo.gl/xyrukD ), so feel free to leave your questions there as well! Emma: What kind of wiki skills do you need to be to join the team? Rich: Well, you should probably be at least somewhat comfortable with editing the wiki, for instance, your own character’s pages. However, I want to stress that you don’t need to be some wiki guru who already knows all about parser functions, CSS, and whatnot (you don’t even need to know what even of that means!). Part of the goal of Wiki Ops is also teaching new advanced skills to our editors across the fleet. That includes learning how to use the various templates we’ve added over the past year such as the roster and sidebar templates and how to build your own! Emma: For prospective members, what’s the best way to sign up? Deliera: It’s pretty simple. Just leave a message on one of the facilitators talk pages. (Rich - http://goo.gl/lAsa9v , Deliera - http://goo.gl/gdKBCV ) Rich: Ideally, we’d like to have at least one member from each ship in the fleet. There are still a couple out there who need a representative, so if you’re keen, let us know! We’d love to have you! ** New Academy Graduate ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Reni Marja Svalasdottir! http://goo.gl/BivaBY ** Poll of the Week: Funniest Moments of the Star Trek Movies ** As we wrap up our series on the comedy of Star Trek, we are left with the wonderful trove of classic movie moments. Even the “bad” movies have their giggle points, times when the crew are making like of their plights, making fun of each other, or simply out lashing in frustration. The cultural comments abound throughout the movies and there are lots of points where they are used to hilarious effect. From the campy 70’s-ness of the ST: The Motion Picture to the epic battle of ST: Nemesis, there’s humor to be had out among the stars. Sometimes it is planned, sometimes forced and other times completely unintended, but it still tickles the funny bone. While there are more than we could possibly put in here, here are a few of my favorites: http://goo.gl/SqgsTC Vote on yours and add more! ** August Plot Summary for Victory ** The USS Victory, NCC-362447, had spent two weeks on shore leave at StarBase 118, and after some interesting interviews from Starfleet Intelligence, they were cleared and allowed to begin shore leave. The crew got the rest they need and once the USS Victory was ready, they began to make their way back to the Tempest Sector. On the way, they received a distress call from what appeared to be the USS Victory. They found an Intrepid class ship, and after no response Lt. Cmdr Eerie took an away team and found Captain Sundassa Faranster and a few other survivors. This Victory was from the future. It appeared that the ship came from a future stardate in 2414. The future Victory was in horrible shape and the crew was then evacuated to the present day Victory before their own ship was destroyed. Commander Nugra and Captain Faranster quickly spoke and found that in the future, their nemesis, the Hunger, had destroyed the known galaxy and the reason she had come back into the past was to destroy their ability to enter the galaxy before they unleashed their terror on the known species. ** New Academy Graduates ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Brell and Olivia Kingston! http://goo.gl/qO2hG0 ** Why Do Comments Matter in the Writing Challenge? ** If you’re familiar with the bimonthly Writing Challenge (http://goo.gl/Gy09aZ ), then you also probably know that, at the end of every round, a panel of judges not only ranks the stories and announces a winner, they also provide detailed commentary for each of the stories. Previously, only one judge reviewed each story, but beginning with the May & June Challenge (http://goo.gl/W0CtRd ), two judges reviewed each story. The same was true for the July & August Challenge (http://goo.gl/WjYAqF ). But why do it at all? Isn’t it faster to simply rank the stories and name a winner? It would be, yes, but one of the goals of the Writing Challenge is to help entrants hone their craft and become better writers! The Data Artistic Award, a special award given out once a year at the fleetwide Community Awards (http://goo.gl/dn532B ) ceremony, recognizes an “officer in the fleet who has made a consistent effort to enter each of the bi-monthly Writing Challenges. Most notably, the officer must have continued participation even if their submissions were not picked as the winner, thus sticking with the challenge and always giving other something exciting to read.” Those of us behind the scenes at the Writing Challenges don’t want to see you only enter one story in a single Challenge and never enter again. Even if you don’t win — especially if you don’t win — we want to see you come back and try again, and that’s what our comments are meant to do: Help you figure out what worked and what didn’t, so that you can make the critical choices when drafting and revising that help your writing improve. Remember, always, that the judges’ comments are only guidelines. Our end goal is always to improve you as a writer, but it’s hard to say everything that can be said about a story in a few scant paragraphs. Acting upon those suggestions or otherwise improving is always up to you — but, as evidenced by our recent list of winners, it seems that our writers are indeed improving, and that’s very gratifying for the judges! Don’t forget, our September & October Writing Challenge is open now! Head over to the Writing Challenge forum (http://goo.gl/vJ7aF3 ) to learn more! ** August Plot Summary for Embassy ** With a fighter from USS Thunder-A, NCC 70605-A, in hot pursuit of the assassins, the Thunder came face to face with a Zalkonian battleship, which attempted to deploy its “snuff field” to incapacitate the Thunder crew. Subsequently, the Thunder crew, led by Fleet Captain Toni Turner, boarded and commandeered the enemy vessel, and took it to a mysterious moon in Zalkonian space where horrific atrocities were being committed against those who were undergoing the change. Liberating the captives, the Thunder crew stranded the battleships’ crew, and returned to Federation space, where she turned the purloined vessel over to the ZEM to travel to their new homeworld. Meanwhile on board the Thunder with Lt. Brayden Jorey in command, they pursued a Romulan shuttle into hostile space, encountering a Romulan Warbird. Using a deft bit of diplomatic judo, the Lieutenant not only avoided a battle, but he also recovered three more Zalkonians being held aboard the Warbird. With the mission successful, the Thunder headed to Starbase 185 to meet the rest of the crew for a well earned shore leave. ** August Recruitment Stats ** Each month, the Publicity Team (http://goo.gl/SMxaoh ) posts the number of applications our community received for the current year and how those applicants found our group. That summary will give you an idea of how we are reaching new applicants and how we can improve our efforts to reach new audiences. If you’re interested in helping with our publicity efforts, click the link above to check out the Publicity Team’s wiki area, and then the link to the Publicity Team’s Google Group where you can sign up to be a part of the team. We also want to keep you apprised of the number of graduates from the StarBase 118 Academy. Unfortunately, not all applicants graduate from the Academy because they either do not respond to roll call or do not complete the Academy requirements. The Training Team makes every effort to involve all applicants and to encourage them to complete the training. Applications: http://goo.gl/5IS2Ro Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/pCgCw9 Annual Application Source: http://goo.gl/ngbfZQ ----------------------------------- Oct 4, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.40
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Top Sims Contest
Fleet Chat
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Halloween Avatar Costume Contest IV: http://goo.gl/IWdJMI 3. Witty Wordsmith: Tips for Stronger Simming: http://goo.gl/p1BXjl 4. Poll of the Week: What Do You Wear?: http://goo.gl/QbafYy 5. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/3Vub37 6. Announcing the Innovation Ribbon: http://goo.gl/0S8MmT 7. Fleet News Service Now on the Wiki: http://goo.gl/9ivbPP
** Restricted Species Now (Conditionally) Playable ** There are some 130 species in the ILI’s restricted category (http://goo.gl/UyCUYL ), and up until very recently, the guidelines for taking a character from a restricted species as your primary were, at best, murky. But after several months of discussion on the Captains Council, I’m pleased to bring you a clear set of rules and regulations for the playing of a restricted species. If you’re interested in any species on the restricted list, please pay close attention: If you would like to play a member of a restricted species as your PC, the first thing to do is to have a conversation with your CO. S/he will talk with you about why you want to play a member of the species. Treat this as a brainstorming session! Use what you bring to the table and your CO’s thoughts and recommendations to craft an interesting, memorable character. Then, following that discussion and with your CO’s approval, you’ll be given permission to play your new character for up to 90 days. Near the end of that period, your CO will take your performance to the CC. On the CC, there will be a short review and discussion period (about a week) regarding your tenure playing a character in this species. Once that’s concluded, assuming there are no objections from a member of the CC, you’ll have permission to play your character of a restricted species going forward. Please talk with your CO if you’d like to know more! ** Halloween Avatar Costume Contest IV ** On Halloween, all the children in the U.S., at least those with the cool parents, go out to the surrounding homes to extort as much candy as they can from their neighbors in a sick and twisted protection racket that would get adults tossed in jail, foreshadowing the sick and twisted way that their cute tummies will feel in the morning (namely sick and twisted, not to mention distended and bloated!). And each year on our forums, we do our best to save our members from these sorts of holiday hoodlums while still allowing them to enjoy the Halloween fun! For a fourth year in a row, the forums administration group is once again sponsoring our yearly Avatar Costume Contest. Entrants will be judged on a group basis by ship, based on the ship’s theme originality and avatar quality, as well as the level of the crew’s participation. Winners will get a banner for their ship site as well as bragging rights for the next year! Judge’s Choice awards will be given, as well as, new for this year, a special individual best of show award. To join in the fun, and for more information about how to set up your ship’s entry into the contest, head to the forums: http://goo.gl/8NR4E2 ** Witty Wordsmith: Tips for Stronger Simming ** Job One for you as a player is to do stuff; you should be thinking, at all times – ‘What are my goals? And what can I do to achieve them?” You are the stars of a very personal universe, and you are not going to get anywhere by sitting on your duff and waiting for adventure to come and knock on your door.’ ~Grant Howitt (http://goo.gl/FSWuZK ) Inspiration for this post came from an article off of Story Games Weekly e-zine, where Grant Howitt wrote a fantastic article on how to be a better tabletop roleplayer. In reading it, I found there was a mass of useful information that could be translated for e-mail simming. Simming brings the players to the forefront of the game, even more than MMORPGs and tabletop roleplaying. There are no mechanics or dice to hold you back, and our captains are guides rather than masters of some vast space dungeon. This offers great flexibility to simmers in creating stories. But as a famous comic book once said ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ So let’s look at three simple ways we can write stronger sims, ones that will integrate you with your crews more strongly and make your writing more interesting to read! 1. Do Stuff Part 1: Goals. Ok, go back and re-read that quote above. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you… got it? Good. Now we know that the PCs are the stars of the show. If you think of a sim in terms of you and your crew are collaboratively writing your own Star Trek show, make sure that your characters are worth watching! Take some time to sit down and think about your characters goals, and desires. If your character doesn’t have any goals and desires, then it’s time to make some up! You’ll thank yourself later because your character will become more fun and rewarding to play. Communicate these goals and desires to your crew and start incorporating them into your sims. Does Ensign Smith hope to become Captain someday? Maybe while on the away team Ensign Smith offers to be a small group leader and go investigate something, hopefully building skills that will move her into command. Or maybe Doctor Fox wants nothing more than to become a famous medical researcher and he’s always writing up papers in the hopes that one will get published and noticed by his colleagues. Goals are not only a way for you to connect with your character – it is a way for you to get other players rooting for you. When you can clearly communicate your character’s goals, your crew will become more invested in seeing them struggle to achieve them. They will also be more excited to help you achieve them, which will make you more excited to keep writing! Goals also have the benefit of helping define your character’s personality. Maybe Doctor Fox is chronically late because he’s always trying to squeeze out a few more minutes to write. Is Ensign Smith overeager to achieve her goals? Arrogant? Or is she shy and retiring and needs to overcome this to make her dreams come true. Goals add complexity and personality to a character with very little effort. 2. Do Stuff Part 2: Actions. A passable sim answers tags. A good sim offers tags. A great sim brings drama and action to the forefront and offers tags that challenge other players. What does that mean, exactly? Well, offering tags is the first step towards building confidence and character. Answering tags is pretty easy: read what was put down and respond as your character would respond. Offering tags can be harder. You have to imagine where the conversation is going and offer half the action or dialogue. For the newest players this can be daunting, but start small. If you don’t regularly offer tags, commit to offering one tag in your next sim. Then two. Then three. 3-6 tags is a good goal to shoot for – enough that it gives the story a good push forward, but not too many that it ‘railroads’ the action. If you have trouble thinking of tags, go back to goals. What is your character’s short term goal? This can be as simple as “I want to do a great job with my first day on the bridge and impress my CO” or “I want to get more information on this planet so I can put together a cohesive theory on what we are facing in our mission.” Then build off of that goal. A character trying to impress a CO might leave tags such as “Is there anything else you would like me to do, Sir?” and “I’ll get right on that!” while the officer looking for more information might leave tags such as “Why is the scan taking so long?” and “Is there atmospheric interference?” Identifying short term goals can really guide you in writing tags and progressing the plot forward. Bringing drama and action to the forefront is a way to make your sims soar. Every sim may not be overly dramatic, but once you are in the meat of the mission it is time to pull out the ‘big guns’ if you will. Start adding in challenges for your characters and fellow crewmates. Are you bored sitting on the bridge simply monitoring a Romulan Warbird? Have them power up weapons or have them hail the bridge. You get a say in how the story goes, and it can be tremendously fun to escalate the action and then pass the story to your crew mates to see how they react. Escalation keeps everyone interested and thinking for ways to ‘solve’ the problems presented in the story until everything reaches a peak and can be resolved. The one reminder is: remember to check in with your Captain before you make any drastic changes! Having a Romulan warbird power up weapons that you’ve been facing off against for several sims is much different than having a Romulan warbird appear out of nowhere and start firing. The more drastic the surprise, the more you should touch base with the crew OOC to see if everyone agrees with that story path. 3. Do Stuff Part 3: Personalities. Your character only exists in the sum of things written about them. This means if you want your character to embody certain traits, you need to write about them. If your character is a fantastic ladies-man, you should be adding flirtatious dialogue to your posts and writing about your shore-leave exploits. If your character is an expert marksman, you should be writing about how well she can aim with a phaser and how that skill came into play on the away mission. This doesn’t mean the marksman has to shoot an enemy. Maybe she was able to use her mad phaser skills to assist the engineer by using the phaser as a cutting torch, or they were able to safely clear away an obstruction on a dangerous path. You should be looking for opportunities to your your best skills to assist your crewmates. Bonus points if you team up with your crewmates to get the job done! Remember that your sims communicate more strongly to your crewmates than your bio does. This is the same as the old author adage ‘show, don’t tell.’ A bio tells fellow players who you are, while your sims show them who they are. Embody what your bio says, and find reasons to bring the skills your character has to the forefront. It becomes much more believable that a character could beat the odds on a dangerous mission when a character is consistently working towards mastery of something. Remember, you are the master of your character and your character’s destiny. Nobody went out and read the story of Lodo Baggins, the Hobbit who sat in his Hobbit-hole and smoked pipe weed all day. People want to read stories of great characters and epic adventures. In this game the adventure is already right there in your mailbox, and as they say ‘Gandalf is knocking.’ Get out there and write an epic adventure! ** Poll of the Week: What Do You Wear? ** As an adventure-based roleplaying group, the focus is understandably on the waking hours of our days. After all, there isn’t much adventure going on when you’re asleep, is there? However, this week’s poll attempts to delve into those times when you are not being the hero, saving the galaxy from <insert villain here> and getting the girl/guy to boot. So, let’s think off-duty, which I know if hard for many of us. Leave your post to Ensign Smith, wind down, yawn, get ready for bed, then look in the mirror and click on the poll of the week link. What are you most comfortable in when you go to bed? Click here and share: http://goo.gl/fl6mFw
Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Esme Drake and Annabella Armstrong! http://goo.gl/PV0P45
Among the service ribbons (http://goo.gl/NQKMVw ) available for in-character actions, recognition for acts of bravery and honor abound; there are ribbons for saving lives, for using diplomacy, and for being taken as a POW; and there are even ribbons to celebrate each of the previous summer blockbusters (http://goo.gl/47igWl ). Until now, though, there’s been no ribbon to celebrate the creative use of science or technology in a dangerous situation. But for those of you who play cool thinkers and problem solvers, rejoice: the Innovation Ribbon is available to you! Writes Emma, the ribbon’s proposer and the writer behind Captain Quinn Reynolds (http://goo.gl/0sK5Aw ), in the same manner that the Medical Science Ribbon rewards medical innovation to save lives, and the Diplomacy Ribbon recognizes negotiation skills deployed resolve a dangerous situation, this ribbon would be presented to those individuals whose who apply their knowledge of STEM fields in a noteworthy fashion. Be sure to keep your characters looking for those creative solutions — they might just receive special recognition! As always, remember that you can read more about all service ribbons on the wiki (http://goo.gl/aDN0wf )! ** Fleet News Service Now on the Wiki ** The fleet’s wiki has a new addition, thanks to Lt. Commander Roshanara Rahman (a.k.a. Rich). In the “Browse 118 Wiki” section just underneath all the fleet’s ships on the main page, you will find the heading “FNS Headlines.” FNS = Fleet News Service. On the FNS page you will find the latest headlines in Breaking News, Politics & Current Affairs, Trade & Business, Arts & Culture, Science & Tech, Sports, Travel, and Editorials. The FNS provides the fleet with universal IC (In-Character) information for a fuller picture of our universe and an opportunity for continuity throughout the fleet. Some people have already begun to add to the headlines and I predict that the FNS will be a huge hit! I recommend that you make looking over the headlines a part of your weekly Starbase 118 routine. There’s no doubt that knowing what’s going on around the rest of the galaxy will help bridge the gap between ships and make for better overall storytelling. Check out the FNS for yourself here: Fleet News Service (http://goo.gl/JZE6uJ ). To learn more about how you can contribute to the FNS, check out the “For Aspiring Reporters” (http://goo.gl/yI1uKx ) page. ----------------------------------- Oct 8, 2014October Fleetwide OOC Chat
Hey All! The monthly fleet chat will be held on Sunday, October 12th in the fleet chat room, http://bit.ly/fVGEmH at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here. As always, please check your timezone for accuracy or for DST! The fleet chat usually lasts about two hours, although you are welcome to stay afterwards, and is a great chance to get to know what is going on in the rest of the fleet! Looking forward to seeing you all there! ~James Lt. Commander James Chat Team Facilitator Dif-tor heh smusma. Oct 11, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.41
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Fleet Chat
Top Sims Contest
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Atlantis Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/wsmbxn 3. Will The Real Tristan Wolf Please Stand Up?: http://goo.gl/JXEKnx 4. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/bO8BDP 5. Garuda Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/m5jF2u 6. Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of TOS: http://goo.gl/K44GPK 7. October Fleetwide OOC Chat: http://goo.gl/He9TlZ 8. SDC Species Spotlight: ZALDAN: http://goo.gl/5jQqs0
** Top Sims Contest Update ** The Top Sims Contest is now accepting nominations for Round 25 of 2014. Making sure your crewmates get the recognition they deserve for great writing is easy, and only takes a minute: 1. Visit the Top Sims Contest forum: http://goo.gl/OTBVA6 2. Start a new topic and paste the sim into the text field. Nominating a sim is almost as easy as reading it, so get out there and give the great writers in our community the credit they deserve. Each sim will go to our judges panel to determine which one goes to the next run-off round. One of the sims you read today could be the Top Sim of 2014, but only if you take the time to nominate it. The winning sim will go on to the next runoff round to determine the best sim of 2014. and be on the lookout for the next Run-off round, starting soon. ** Atlantis Plot Summary for September ** While enjoying the carnival-themed shore leave on board one of the station’s holodecks, the crew of the USS Atlantis, NCC-74682, finds itself trapped inside the holodeck by the remnant of the Emergency Medical Hologram-Lieutenant Jade Shryker hybrid hologram from the Atlantis. The holographic subroutine was inadvertently transferred on board Deep Space 26 during routine computer diagnostics by the station’s maintenance crew. The EMH-Shryker entity has proclaimed itself Queen of the holographic program – a fantastical fairy tale and folklore themed realm – and is subjecting the crew to various tests in order to prove their worth before allowing them to escape. The ultimate goal of this quest is to free Lieutenant JG Guinevere Gardener who is trapped in an ice-cage in the highest room of the tallest tower in a dark and foreboding enchanted castle. The crew of the Atlantis separates into three smaller groups in order to solve their individual-assigned tasks – all complete with impossible riddles, dragons, headless corpses and giant marshmallow snowmen! But that’s not all. As everyone ventures deeper into the creepy castle, they find themselves morphing into various Terran fairy tale characters, including ‘Renocchio’, a blue Puss-in-Boots and even Captain Hook! Not only physically, but embodying the personality of those characters as well. So which fairy tale character has your favorite crew member turned into? More importantly, will they be able to save Gwen from eternal slumber? ** Will The Real Tristan Wolf Please Stand Up? ** This is the second in a series of two interviews with FltAdml. Tristan Wolf, founder of UFOP: StarBase 118, to commemorate the community’s 20th anniversary in June. To view the previous interview, click here: http://goo.gl/nrURY7 So you know how when you start a new job, you have a new boss? And you know how you walk on eggshells until you get your feet wet because the big boss man is all high and mysterious, this strange creature that you’re not sure how to react around? I mean, one wrong move and he’s likely to pounce on you and eat you for lunch. I have to admit, as someone just celebrating her first year with SB118, that’s kind of how the enigmatic Tristan Wolf seems to me. So what should I do about it? Well, why not interview him, right? DeVeau: Hi again Mr. Wolf! Wolf: Hiya DeVeau: So you promise not to eat me, right? Wolf: I make no promises. You have read some of my past sims, right? DeVeau: Oh dear. Guess I’ll just have to take my chances! Now, when my family first learned that I ‘roleplayed’, I was given some odd looks. Depending on the family member, I still get odd looks when I talk about it. What about your family? What did they think of this past-time and how has that changed over the last twenty years? Wolf: I get a lot of the same — even still. I think most people think it’s an anachronism when I bring it up, like I have this hobby that’s similar to dressing up for a Renaissance Faire (which I love, by the way!). I don’t really mention it too much, though, since I’m very sensitive about being teased. One time, at my new job, I responded to an email at work on my cell phone and didn’t notice that the Gmail app was using my t.wolf@... email address to reply, with my standard fleet signature. That was a year and a half ago, and I still get called “Admiral Wolf” at work from time-to-time. So I try not to bring it up too much to avoid that kind of silly stuff. DeVeau: You’ve been in this group for twenty years. Would you tell us a little about the various characters you’ve played and positions you’ve held over the last two decades? Wolf: Starting with the highest ranking character in the fleet makes it difficult to pull off some things, so I’ve had to create a veritable menagerie of characters to slot in for particular situations. My first was obviously Tristan Wolf, who I thoroughly enjoyed playing, but as he increased in rank up to Fleet Admiral, he became more and more of a villain. He was always, ultimately, doing what was best for Starfleet as a whole — never a traitor — but was entrenched in politics and incredibly callous to the human cost of some of his actions. I started this departure from sanity when he lost his wife and child in a shuttle accident, and it just got worse from there. Considering his sardonic attitude, Wolf was a difficult character to write for in awards ceremonies and promotions, which is where most of my writing was confined once I stepped out of a full-time simming role. I created a lower-ranked admiral who — while Wolf was administrating a large part of the Beta Quadrant — was the admiral in charge of StarBase 118 and the surrounding areas. His name is Luke Reider, who had been through a very troubling deep-space mission. I never really found his soul, in writing him, but he is useful for when I need an In Character stand-in. Captain Malcolm Lysander was a character I created to command StarBase 118 Ops during my second run as CO there. Some other minor characters I created include Captain Cheyenne Skye, when I took over the Ranger-A for a short while as a bridge between two captains; Cavan Sage a Bajoran who acted as First Officer for a short while during a transition period; and then for the Duronis II Embassy launch I wrote briefly for Indivar Mohan, the Crown Prince of Duronis II when first contact was made with the Federation. DeVeau: Of all the characters you’ve played, which was your favourite and why? Wolf: Probably the character who I most like is Captain Malcolm Lysander. He was a member of the Leyron species, which is known in Trek as being one of the few species that developed written language before spoken language. Beyond that, they were a blank slate. I envisioned them as a very nature-centric species that still, despite their technological advancement, focused on conservation and had a sort of walk-abouttradition when recovering from trauma. DeVeau: Have you or do you do any roleplaying beyond Star Trek or SB118? Wolf: I really love roleplaying, but it’s a constant struggle for me in terms of time. A lot of the projects that keep me busy with our community require a well of creativity and sometimes a lot of time and effort, so it’s hard to put time and effort into roleplaying. I feel like I have a very finite resource for the amount of work and creativity I can put out, so I try and focus that energy on the OOC stuff that’s required to keep things running smoothly. That said, I did a lot of roleplaying before I started the group, and I’ve tried again repeatedly over the years with little success. My first experience with roleplaying was when I was about 10 years old, and a neighbor kid did a sort of free-form Dungeons and Dragons without dice or any materials. I remember it being my favorite thing, and wearing everyone else out wanting to do that every time we got together. When I found the the Red Dragon Inn on AOL — a fantasy roleplaying chat room in the vein of Tolkien or Dragonlance — it was pretty much all I did for weeks, burning up every minute of my online time (which, as I mentioned in the last interview, was metered by minute!). From there I then joined Star Trek Sims, which was my first Star Trek roleplaying experience. There was also a castle-based medieval sim, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and would play again in a heartbeat. Since then, there’ve been two genres besides Star Trek that I’ve sought out roleplaying in: the world of Myst, and Firefly. Many folks may remember Myst, Riven, and the other games in that series, but most people aren’t aware that there was also a trilogy of books that went along with it, which are some of my favorite books of all time. There were a few MUDs (http://goo.gl/FTRP83 ) based around the game, but they were never very popular and ended up closing years ago. Similarly, there were a few Firefly MUDs which I got into for a while, and a couple Firefly play-by-post, but again, not popular enough to sustain people, and poorly organized. DeVeau: What made you decide to pull back from simming and will we ever see you return full time? Wolf: Mainly it’s, as I mentioned above, a time and creativity issue. Administrative issues can sometimes be very time intensive to deal with, and when a “crisis” arises in the group, I’m the first line of defense. I try and draw as much of the negative administrative work away from others when I can, although I don’t always succeed, so that they can focus on running great ships and helping to sustain our community areas and OOC activities. But again, that often means that my time and creativity are really sapped. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten set to sim for a few weeks and then something came up on day two which meant I was going to spend the next two weeks mired in administrative work. I’m not complaining because, really, I love doing whatever it takes to keep this community alive and thriving. But many people don’t realize just much this community is like one giant, aging machine — I’m the guy inside who’s rushing from sprocket to cog with a wrench, trying to keep everything running smoothly. Take, for instance, the website. To save money, we recently “re-consolidated” our site from two hosts down to one, which required the moving of our WordPress installation. This did not go smoothly, and it meant I needed to reinstall the whole thing, and re-configure almost everything on WordPress to make it operational again. That took up literally a week of free time for me. DeVeau: So when you’re not roleplaying, what sort of things do you enjoy doing? Wolf: I’m such a homebody. I come home very day and stay home with my dog and my husband and watch TV while I work on stuff for this community, or some of the little side-projects I often have. I’m starting a small web design business and helping my husband start his own business, for instance. We live near a beautiful redwood grove (http://goo.gl/myXA4h ), so I take my dog up there to hike every now and again. But for the most part, I spend my free time at home. DeVeau: If there was one thing you could change about the group, what would it be? Wolf: It sure would be nice to have a big ol’ budget to give new computers to the captains, build a coherent technology that makes using our tools simpler, and advertise all over the internet. Ah well, I can always dream… ** New Academy Graduates ** Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Nikolas Malik, Santiago Montoya, and Himadri Nyta! http://goo.gl/wZoyT8
The USS Garuda, NCC-73809, came across the apparently abandoned USS Mercury adrift in space, and so two away teams under Lieutenant Commanders Nia Calderan and Tristam Core were dispatched to secure the ship and discover what had caused the crew to flee, and for it to attack its fellow Starfleet ship, the USS Icarus. Both teams, once aboard, began seeing strange phantom-like apparitions of familiar crew members, and even were able to interact with them. However, some of these ghosts were under the illusion that the Garuda crewmembers were hostile Cardassians and they started to fight back. There were several injuries, but eventually the phantoms were convinced of the truth. Meanwhile, the USS Garuda received another distress call from the Mercury’s jettisoned science pod. The ship split into its primary (Saucer) hull under Lieutenant Commander Mei’konda; and the secondary (Stardrive) section under Captain Egan Manno. Whilst Mei’konda waited to assist the Away Teams on the Mercury, Egan Manno went to the rescue of the survivors in the pod. However, far from being full of refugees, the pod contained a mutant monster that beamed over to the Stardrive and ran amok before being eliminated. The real Mercury crew were actually in smaller lifeboats and had already being rescued by another ship. Back on the Mercury, the disgraced Lieutenant Commander Roshanara Rahman assisted Core in getting the Mercury’s systems back online, despite the best efforts of her Mercurian doppelganger who took Lieutenant Alora DeVeau as a hostage at gunpoint. It was also discovered at this point that the phantom crew were in fact holograms produced by a rogue artificial intelligence infesting the Mercury, and so not really alive. With the damaged Mercury secured, the Garuda towed it back to Deep Space Ten for repairs. The crew looked forward to some rest and relaxation over shoreleave. However, not all the crew could do so. Rahman was still facing a court martial for her actions in assisting the traitor Commander Harrison Ross a few month before. Worse still, Lieutenant Commander Alleran Tan – a Trill – suffered a near fatal symbiont rejection and needed emergency surgery, his fate still hanging in the balance. ** Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of TOS ** There are those moments in any good television series that stir our inner emotions. They are comments on society, progressive actions for equality or peace, things that tug at our heartstings in deeply fundamental and life-changing ways. One of the most enduring features of Star Trek, especially when it was written by Gene Roddenberry, was that it had these commentaries sprinkled liberally throughout the episodes. This week’s poll will begin a series of polls on these moments, starting with the Original Series. Set far in the future, TOS was written and produced at a time of huge social upheavals and stresses in the United States. The Old South was aflame with the Civil Rights Movement, thousands of young men were involved in the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam and the country was in an existential struggle with the USSR known as the Cold War. Roddenberry’s genius was to write commentary into many of his episodes of TOS that made clear his opinions. While there are obviously many more than are included here, click here to vote for your favorite TOS epic moments or add your own! http://goo.gl/qGqtO3 ** October Fleetwide OOC Chat ** Mark your calendars for the next fleetwide chat, coming up next Sunday, October 11th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). Always check your timezone for accuracy/DST if applicable! To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://goo.gl/DCkXoI — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here: http://goo.gl/dvx4R0 Our fleetwide chats are a space for all the members of the StarBase 118 group to get together and talk in real time about everything that’s happening within the group. Come by and see what goings-on are happening off your ship. Chats are held on the second Sunday of every month, but you can head into the chat room at any time to see who else is there. ** SDC Species Spotlight: ZALDAN ** “Say what you mean. I do not trust your sugary words.” -Zaldan warning While they are members of the Federation, this species can be one of the more challenging and interesting species to play. They tend to be physically fit, slightly aggressive, competitive and very blunt. They have no problem telling you if they think you’re an idiot, made a mistake, or find you difficult to deal with. At times they can be very in-your-face, but when you get to know them you learn they will stand by your side until the end of time if they think you’re right or are a friend — and it does not stop them from still telling it like it is. Zaldans are also one of the few species that are allowed to provide the entire crew for a Starfleet vessel. Two such ships were lost fighting the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359. Regardless of their tendency to be painfully blunt and truthful they have, and continue to be, strong supporters of the Federation, accepting the fact that most other species lack the ability to be completely truthful. Besides this they also produce a surprising number of professional athletes in just about every know sport in the Federation. Learn more about Zaldans from their wiki page: http://goo.gl/f8JoCT ----------------------------------- Oct 11, 2014September Fleetwide OOC Chat Today!
Hey All! The monthly fleet chat will be held today in the fleet chat room, http://bit.ly/fVGEmH at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat —if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here. As always, please check your timezone for accuracy or for DST! The fleet chat usually lasts about two hours, although you are welcome to stay afterwards, and is a great chance to get to know what is going on in the rest of the fleet! Looking forward to seeing you all there! ~James Lt. Commander James Chat Team Facilitator Dif-tor heh smusma. Oct 18, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.42
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Top Sims Contest
Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Fleet Chat
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Gemini Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/qywmBr 3. Irina Pavlova Named July/August Writing Challenge Runner-Up: http://goo.gl/osvYlN 4. Columbia Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/4tN5R1 5. Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: TNG: http://goo.gl/ml9Jc1 6. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/Uzvzke 7. Constitution Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/39MnRx
** September 2014 Post Totals ** As part of an ongoing overview of the whole fleet, please take a look at the post totals and simming trends for September 2014. These number will give you some idea of how active our ships are month-to-month, as well as how the whole fleet is doing. Simming numbers were down a little from August to September after remaining almost unchanged from July to August. This was the opposite of the predicted trend, as fall tends to bring an upswing in simming as folks return to school (or send their kids back!). However, some changes are to be expected whenever there’s a fleet shakeup, as with the Excalibur‘s decommissioning. Average Sims per Month 2014: http://goo.gl/1aBcnV Individual ship simming totals are shown below. The Embassy, which posted the highest numbers for the month, actually improved from August! Atlantis and Garuda both hovered around 200 sims for September, and while those numbers were down from August, they were both vibrant and positive. The Constitution‘s launch under Commander Faranster went very well, too, with a healthy first-month showing of 163 sims — and that with not even a full month behind them! Post Totals, September 2014: http://goo.gl/j6EAlc ** Gemini Plot Summary for September ** Tensions began rising as the USS Gemini – NCC-80564, led by Cmdr. Liam Frost – remained in orbit of Rathos Prime. On the surface of the planet, the away team found themselves surrounded by rioting civilians. Unfortunately, one of the attacks on the Mobile Lab resulted in Lt.jg. Vanessa Driscoll becoming infected with the very pathogen that the team was there to cure. Frost was forced to fire on the planet, causing the rioters to scatter. With the situation on the surface calmed for the moment, the Rathosian government sent one of their research scientists to assist with the work for a cure. LtCmdr. T’Mar led the group, along with the new guest, into the lab to get to work. It was not long, however, before the Rathosians were back… this time in larger numbers. At the same time, the Gemini’s medical team determined they were unable to find a cure in time to save any of the population. The only solution was to infect the population with Malo Lupo. The disease appeared to counter the effects of the pathogen, but not without it’s own unpleasant side effects. Learning of the degrading situation on the surface, Frost made the call to pull out, a decision made all the more difficult by the fact that Driscoll would have to remain behind. T’Mar tasked LtCmdr. Blair and LtCmdr. Weston with securing the warp core of the runabout, who took it upon themselves to beam her to a safer location. With their sensitive equipment secure, the team minus Driscoll were beamed aboard Gemini and began decontamination while the crew mourned the loss of their science officer. ** Irina Pavlova Named July/August Writing Challenge Runner-Up ** Special recognition is due to the writer named runner-up for July & August: The writer behind Irina Pavlova has regularly entered the Writing Challenges for a while now, and so it’s excellent to see this commendation. The story, “Dress Greens,” (http://goo.gl/bQ6TYI ) again the primary character Irina Pavlova, this time in a piece that dealt a lot with Irina’s interior journey. Judges were favorably impressed by this take; from the judge behind Fleet Captain Toni Turner: Irina Pavlova hit new heights in characterization and descriptions in this story of a woman surviving 219 years and finding herself dumped into a virtually new world. … The descriptions of the only uniforms she had were so vivid, I could visualize them. I imagined the physical changes of her body made her uncomfortable. And from the judge behind Captain Cassandra Egan Manno: The titular focus that allows Irina to access her thoughts and feelings, her dress greens, are a clever gateway for the storytelling, and there’s an emotional depth here that I appreciated and seems entirely warranted by Irina’s situation. Well done! Please offer the July & August entrants and winners your congratulations (http://goo.gl/TBO76R ) if you haven’t done so already! The next Challenge, “Run Shivers Down My Spine,” (http://goo.gl/kUGjbS ) is currently ongoing, so be sure to hurry over to the Writing Challenge Forum for guidelines, deadlines, and inspiration! As always, don’t forget that you can pick up a complete collection of all this round’s short stories, in PDF format, for free. Get yours here: http://goo.gl/uajqr1 ** Columbia Plot Summary for September ** The crew of USS Columbia, NCC-85279, continued its investigation of the mysterious ruins on Avronis V. After receiving an ultimatum from the Tal Shiar, the away team prepared for a quick evacuation. Unfortunately, despite prompt actions from Brice and Tatash to dispatch signal enhancers to the surface, the Tal Shiar opened fired once again on the away team. When one of the strange aliens seemingly working with the Tal Shiar was about to lay its hands on their severely injured Romulan guide, Brek asked for immediate back up. Silveira reacted promptly and eradicated the alien menace. Tatash assembled a security team and, braving the lethal radiations, took a second shuttle to Avronis. A fierce battle ensued, allowing both away teams to fly back to the Columbia. On the Columbia, the Bridge crew continued to negotiate with the Administrator of the Moon Base and the Captain of the Romulan garbage freighter. The arrival of a D’deridex complicated the discussions. Thankfully a compromise was found, forcing the freighter to cease using Avronis as a dumping ground. The science department discovered that the Tal Shiar had been trying, without success, to reopen an Iconian gate. The Columbia returned to Starbase 118 for shoreleave. It started with a crew reunion in a holodeck, programmed to look like a Jurassic park. There, ribbons and promotions were handed by Cmdr. Ben Livingston. The next day, during a mission briefing, the crew discovered that they were to transport a large group of people to Pernipia Gamma Four, which Starfleet wants to colonize speedily. While Ops and Engineering made sure that all was well with the mission pod recently fitted on the Columbia, other crewmembers went to meet the settlers, hoping to understand their motivations. ** Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: TNG ** There are those moments in any good television series that stir our inner emotions. They are comments on society, progressive actions for equality or peace, things that tug at our heartstrings in deeply fundamental and life-changing ways. One of the most enduring features of Star Trek, especially when it was written by Gene Roddenberry, was that it had these commentaries sprinkled liberally throughout the episodes. Next in our survey of the epic moments of Star Trek is the Next Generation. When TNG first came on the air, no one thought that the show would work without the original crew. One, maybe two seasons, most predictions said, and it would be gone. However, it went on to seven excellent seasons largely on the power of its writing and the special moments that it created for its fans and how it connected them to the cast and to the changing world around them. What moments from the Next Gen affected you? Which ones do you think have entered society’s consciousness? While there are more than we can include here, here are a few of my favorites: http://goo.gl/iLhRC9
Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet, Daro Conti and Avaris Torrin: http://goo.gl/CZaspV ** Constitution Plot Summary for September ** After re-launching her from the drydock of StarBase 118, the new crew of the USS Constitution, NCC-9012-B, spared no time in heading for the bridge to meet their new Captain, Commander Shelther Faranster, and receive their quarters assignments from the FO, Lt. Commander James. As the assignments were handed-out, the Constitution received a hail from a Ferengi named Zogi who wished to purchase the rights to their ten-forward bar. After a brief negotiation, it was decided that he would take over the bar and throw a welcoming party for the new crew. Soon after, Faranster gave the order for the Constitution to launch, heading right for it’s first destination under the new command: A remote science station called the Sotra Orbital Research Station, far off in the Avalon sector. Their mission, to deliver vital goods that the station needs from StarBase 118. According to a local specialist, Ensign Zayar Feraoun, the station is somewhat of an enigma – no ship has ever actually docked there merely beaming cargo aboard; odd, considering it’s ostensible purpose to map the area. Intelligence Officer Lieutenant JG Aidoann Danara, however, was able to shed a little more light onto the situation, telling Faranster and James that the station was established about two years ago and is currently populated by a Denobulan Xenobiologist called Dr. Morely Rin and a Ktarian Astronomer called Dr. Aralo Onil. In addition, despite it’s assumed mission the sector of space around the station is, as of yet, hardly mapped. With their arrival to the station quickly approaching, Commander Faranster made the decision to do more than just dock with this enigma of a base and actually invite the scientists on board to the Constitution, to share in it’s welcoming party. However, with information such as the fact that they should, officially, have seven scientists aboard not too slowly coming to light what initially looked like a simple delivery mission quickly became a rather intriguing mystery… ----------------------------------- Oct 25, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.43
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Writing Challenge
Featured Bio Contest
Top Sims Contest
Fleet Chat
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Featured Bio Contest Winner Tarsii Asmara: http://goo.gl/Acd8DJ 3. Embassy Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/Ju5bdk 4. New Academy Graduates: http://goo.gl/jxeWRP 5. Promotions for September 2014: http://goo.gl/6dgxPv 6. Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: http://goo.gl/xREOh5 7. Apollo Plot Summary for September: http://goo.gl/n2tFPm 8. It’s Almost Curtains for the “Run Shivers Down My Spine” Writing Challenge: http://goo.gl/wEiP2s
** Victory Plot Summary for September ** The USS Victory NCC-362447 has found itself engaged in operations against the Hunger that have been using a Yeltan teleport gate to infiltrate the galaxy. The Victory used an old slipstream corridor from Dagaro to the Duronis System, to find the gate and a small Hunger ship. Before the crew could prepare for a proper reaction, Captain Sundassa Faranster beamed her team aboard to set explosives, forcing Commander Nugra to send Lieutenant Commander Eerie and his away team to support them. Now, engaged in a struggle with a vastly superior foe, the Victory must survive long enough to recover their team and make their escape. ** Featured Bio Contest Winner Tarsii Asmara ** The son of an enhanced Angosian war veteran and a psychotherapist, science officer Tarsii Asmara was born with genetic instabilities and overly aggressive behavior that nearly threatened his life. Fortunately, when he was seven, it was discovered that the implantation of a special chip into his brain would allow Tarsii to suppress his aggression and restore the physiochemical balance of his body. The treatment was successful but wasn’t without its side effects, two of which were the loss of all body hair and accelerated aging. Because of this, when he graduated from Starfleet Academy, he appeared to be nearly double his actual age of 24 at the time. Congratulations to Lieutenant JG Asmara (http://goo.gl/dEvr8e )! His bio will be displayed on the wiki’s front page during the month of October. Our Featured Nominee this month is Doctor Sundassa (http://goo.gl/OK9hqu ) of the USS Apollo-A. As always, you can find out more about the contest at its wiki page (http://goo.gl/Sz3nxk ) or in its forum (http://goo.gl/xTKVdE ). The next round is now open, so be sure to drop by and submit your nominations today (http://goo.gl/IXxHh3 )! ** Embassy Plot Summary for September ** After the harrowing experience of the Zalkonian mission, the crew of USS Thunder, NCC-70605-A looked forward to the marriage of Ambassador Della Vetri and Lieutenant Commander T’Lea on Trill, followed by shore leave on Ba’ku. The crew is using the travel time between Starbase 185 and Trill to get to know their two new ensigns, and the crew received well earned awards for their work on the Zalkonian mission. The crew is also using the travel time to explore their own personal pursuits. ** New Academy Graduates ** Posted: Tuesday, 21 October 2014 Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: T’Var Helling, S’laa, and Leland Bishop! http://goo.gl/tqvUlb ** Promotions for September 2014** The staff of UFOP: StarBase 118 would like to take a moment and recognize the officers — please be sure to congratulate these folks when you see them in the corridors of your vessel! Garuda • Chythar Skyfire to Lieutenant • Raissa Moonsong to Lieutenant JG Constitution • Alexander Williams from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander • Nyals from Ensign to Lieutenant JG Columbia • Orsisius Kizito to Lieutenant JG • Sal Taybrim to Lieutenant Commander Duronis II Embassy • Lt. Brayden Jorey to Lt. Commander
** Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ** This week, we continue our ongoing series of the most epic moments of Star Trek with the third series, Deep Space Nine. Set for the first time on a stationary platform, the concept of life aboard a space station was a new idea for the franchise. Throw in the fact that the Federation was coming in to a formerly Cardassian-occupied system and were quite a long distance from direct Federation support, there was the potential for a big fat mess landing in Commander (later Captain) Sisko’s lap. Despite a rocky start, which seems to be the pattern for Trek series, Deep Space Nine followed TNG’s example with seven successful seasons and a triumphant send-off. The darkness of the series, new for the franchise that had portrayed up until then a much brighter future, allowed them to plumb the dark depths of the human soul without disturbing the atmosphere of the series. Here are a few of my favorites (http://goo.gl/cxpPFJ ), thought there are others too many to include here!
Pertainia Prime, situated close to the Typhon Expanse, was a practically peaceful world. The Federation installed an embassy on the planet and hoped to build a scientific research station in orbit, due to the close proximity of the system to the Expanse. Increasingly, things began to deteriorate on the surface. A group that did not want the Federation building a station spent years infiltrating government and rallying their numbers. In a swift move, they were able to seal off the Presidential Palace and Federation Embassy in a coup d’etat. After receiving word, the Federation planned to dispatch a ship to evacuate the Embassy and offer asylum to the elected government officials. Seeing it as the perfect mission to undertake, Rear Admiral Andrus Jaxx volunteered his crew for the mission. The USS Apollo, NCC-71669-A, departed Utopia Planitia to make their way to the distraught world. While en route, they rendezvoused with the USS Excalibur and USS Constitution for an exchange of crews. Once the housecleaning task was completed, they set their sights on Pertainia Prime. After arriving in the system, an away team was sent to the surface to gauge the rioting citizens and provide much needed intel for an extraction team, should the Federation citizens not be released. After spending some time on the surface, the team checked in with the Apollo. While the crew and captain decided the next course of action, the elected President and Ambassadorial staff remain isolated from everyone. ** It’s Almost Curtains for the “Run Shivers Down My Spine” Writing Challenge ** I’m sure you guys see what I did there. Don’t worry, I’ll be here all week. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and this spooky Writing Challenge is no exception! Halloween is almost upon us, which means that you have only a scant few days to submit your story. We’re looking for the best hair-raising, spine-tingling, hiding-in-the-corner-with-all-the-lights-on story you can give us, so please don’t hold back! Writes Jess, the writer behind Jalana Laxyn and the winner of our previous Challenge, For the next challenge I would like to see something that would run shivers down our spines. Be it something unbelievable, something so touching one gets goosebumps, something so cruel you want to scream, or is it something spooky? What causes shivers for you? Whatever your characters’ particular fears may be — the Borg, the horrors of the Dominion War, or even the neural parasites (http://goo.gl/I1sZSD ) that made an attempt on Starfleet Command — be sure that your words are truly terrifying! The judges look forward to having their pants scared off, but remember that all stories must be submitted (http://goo.gl/fELSGu ) by Saturday, October 25th. Good luck! ----------------------------------- Oct 29, 2014This could help us recruit new members
Hey friends, Coming up in December, we’ll be hosting a table at Creation Entertainment’s Star Trek convention in San Francisco, where Kate Mulgrew, George Takei, and a number of other stars will be appearing. Our goal is to recruit new members and help grow our fleet. Our table is costing $250 plus a small fee for electricity (we’ll have a number of computers at the table for people to review our website and check out our sims), so we need to raise some funds to help cover the cost. Many thanks to the many members who have already contributed to get our fund started. We're less than $100 away from our goal. Can you pitch in $5, $15, or $50 to help get us over the top and make sure this table is fully funded without taking money out of our hosting and website fund? Click here to donate securely via PayPal: http://www.starbase118.net/members/donate/ We never see your credit card information as the payment will be processed entirely by PayPal on their site. Donors get a special forum badge and our sincere thanks for helping meet the goal. These publicity efforts will help us reach a new audience of fans and spread the word about our community! Nov 1, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.44
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Featured Bio Contest
Top Sims Contest
Fleet Chat
Writing Challenge
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Here Come The Brides! : http://goo.gl/rahQvX 3. Donate Today To Help Pay For Convention Table: http://goo.gl/27ZyBL 4. Sexism In Simming: http://goo.gl/B0w4WN 5. Top Sims Contest: Round 26: http://goo.gl/Hrk4v1 6. Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: Voyager: http://goo.gl/2aSBEY 7. Help With Publicity: Submit A Testimonial: http://goo.gl/WvySiL 8. On Writing Romantic Relationships: http://goo.gl/LYk3ul
** Tell It To The Judge ** One of the things that makes Starbase 118 so unique is not only the wonderful people here, but also its government. Today, I had the opportunity to learn a bit more about one office in particular – the JAG, or Judge Advocate General, office. Here with me is Fleet Captain Idril Mar who holds that position. DeVeau: Thank you for allowing me to pick your brain. Mar: ::The red-haired Trill woman nodded politely, crossing her legs and leaning back in the chair.:: My pleasure. DeVeau: First, let’s get to know a little bit about you. How long have you been with SB118? ::The flag officer thought for a moment.:: Mar: I believe that, if my memory doesn’t fail me, that it has been 12 years as of October. DeVeau: How did you find SB118 and what drew you to join? ::Idril chuckled at the memory of sitting in the graduate student computer lab, what seemed like an age and a lifetime ago.:: Mar: That’s a funny story actually. I was looking for a physical model of the Akira-class battlecruiser, one I would later find on federationmodels.com, and stumbled onto the Ronin, then the main Starbase 118 website. I was then as I am now a Star Trek fan, and here was this new way to role play as well. I read through some of the USS Freedom’s missions, then applied. DeVeau: Please tell us a little bit about the characters you’ve played over the years. Do you have a favourite? Mar: ::The Trill spread out her hands.:: For the most part, what you see is what you get. With very few exceptions, Idril’s always been who I played. I have a couple of personal NPCs, including Josh King, a irasable old Master Chief Petty Officer in Engineering who I stole as a jaygee from Lt. Horne Makra, the then-Chief Engineer aboard the Independence, and Tess, the AI on the Achilles who acts like a teenager but is the heart a soul of one of the most powerful battlecruisers in the fleet. It may be funny, but I always come back to my favorite Trill. DeVeau: Tell us a little bit more about her. Mar: ::She nodded.:: As a character, she has changed immensely. She’s always been a tomboy, but has gone from very impulsive to thoughtful. Since I started, she has dated, had an affair, been married, separated then has gotten back together and is currently relaxing into a stable desk job command position. DeVeau: Along with changes in character, you’ve experience changes in rank and responsibility such as fulfilling the role of our JAG officer. Now I will admit, I had heard the term but was not familiar with the office until recently. For those who aren’t aware, would you be willing to describe the duties of a JAG officer? Mar: ::Her face got serious. Here was something that she took very much to heart and it related to her real-life career as well.:: The JAG position is something I’ve held for about four years, before there really was a JAG Office per say. The JAG role is something I take very seriously. JAG stands for Judge Advocate General, essentially a term for a military lawyer. While some members look to me for interpretation of the Constitution, and I’m fine with that role, the main role of the JAG office in the Starbase 118 group is the administration of the member appeal system. Myself and Captain Avatar, my Deputy JAG Officer, administer the appeals process for officers that feel they have been disciplined by their ship’s CO in an unfair manner. While others see it differently, I see it as an opportunity to insert a healthy amount of fairness into a system that gives the COs of each vessel a lot of discretion in what they do with their crews. It isn’t that I think in general our COs are unfair or capricious, but there are situations that can be handled better from time to time. DeVeau: Could you describe the procedures you would go through should someone come to you and your Deputy with an appeal? Mar: ::Idril nodded.:: Certainly. From time to time, COs discipline their ship members from time to time; it is a simple fact of being in command. When that happens, that officer files a form that in turn generates an official notice of discipline to the member. That notice details the opportunity to appeal the commanding officer’s decision. DeVeau: What happens if that officer appeals the disciplinary action? Mar: ::Nodding matter-of-factly, the older woman continued.:: Well, the disciplined officer has the opportunity to build a case against the discipline, either than the discipline itself was incorrect or the punishment was not fair, and have their evidence heard by a tribunal of their peers: other members of the fleet selected at random, much like a jury for a real life court case. This tribunal will read the materials submitted by the disciplined officer and the commanding officer, as well as rebuttals to each officer’s materials by the other, and vote on the appropriateness of the discipline itself and the punishment selected. This becomes a non-binding recommendation to the Captains Council, the final arbiter of the appeal. DeVeau: What happens once the Council receives the recommendation? Mar: The Council has a certain amount of time to discuss the recommendation and, assuming that no one raises any objections, the tribunal’s recommendation stands. If there is a disagreement, the CC, as the arbiter of appeals, then debates and votes on the merits of the case themselves. DeVeau: Is this sort of measure necessary often or is it a fairly rare occurrence? Mar: ::Idril shook her head.:: I’d say that right now it is pretty rare, due in large part to our very evenhanded Command corps. When someone gets disciplined, they generally have been warned several times and know that it is coming. If it were to become more common, especially if there were repeated appeals against a specific Captain, especially if they were being overturned consistently, I would think that would be something that the Fleet Staff would likely look into as well in terms of coaching. DeVeau: Well, I for one am grateful for such a well thought out and well established process. Thank you for your time – I’ve learned a lot! Mar: You are more than welcome. Any time. ** Here Come The Brides! ** Lt. Commander T’Lea and Ambassador Della Vetri are now officially married! The entire event took place on the picturesque beaches of Telrin Archipelago on Trill. The event was filled with family, friends, the Embassy Senior Staff and many special guests from across the fleet including: Nugra and Eerie from the USS Victory, Marcus Dickens and Anora Manar from the USS Atlantis, and Rune Jolara from the Apollo. Ambassador Vetri looked stunning on Trill’s slightly bluish sands in a sleek, form-fitted pale red dress. The subtle red tones of her dress were accented by a vibrant Romulte green pendant. The look was finished off with a glamourous upswept hairstyle. Commander T’Lea was like an elegant beach princess as she made her way down the aisle in a satin, seashell white gown embellished with delicate silver embroidery along the hemlines. Her look was completed with long tendrils of hair interwoven with tiny decorations and pale ribbons. The wedding itself included heartfelt personal vows and a simple, yet moving, candle lighting ceremony. A banquet was held after the ceremony a short walk down the beach at a second area. There was an obvious variety to the food and drink offerings and was something to suit any tastes. The evening was filled with congratulations, gifts, friendship and celebration. The whole ceremony was a perfect reflection of the couple – personal, elegant and meaningful. ** Donate Today To Help Pay For Convention Table ** Coming up in December, we’ll be hosting a table at Creation Entertainment’s Star Trek convention in San Francisco (http://goo.gl/a6oIIJ ), where Kate Mulgrew, George Takei, and a number of other stars will be appearing. Our goal is to recruit new members and help grow our fleet. Our table is costing $250 plus a small fee for electricity (we’ll have a number of computers at the table for people to review our website and check out our sims), so we need to raise some funds to help cover the cost. Many thanks to Ian Lane West and Nugra, who have both already contributed to get our fund started. Can you pitch in $5, $15, or $50 to help us hit the fundraising goal for our table at the Star Trek convention? Click here to donate securely via PayPal: http://goo.gl/83YgI4 We never see your credit card information as the payment will be processed entirely by PayPal on their site. Donors get a special forum badge, and our sincere thanks for helping meet the goal. These publicity efforts will help us reach a new audience of fans and spread the word about our community! ** Sexism In Simming ** “What happens In Character stays In Character.” It’s a nice thought, but it isn’t always true and using that defense as a shield can have harmful effects on our other players. Unlike normal fiction, the characters in our universe are represented by real people who can be hurt when sexism and other forms of discrimination are used callously toward characters, or in a way that creates a hostile simming environment. That’s why it’s so important that everyone understand what sexism is, how it can affect others, and how we can sim in interesting and dramatic ways which are sensitive and considerate to other players. Our Captains Council has drafted a new tutorial, which can be found in the Tutorial Library (http://goo.gl/yWrvAx ), that defines and explains sexism, demonstrates it is manifested harmfully in simming, and how you can avoid it while still using discrimination In Character for dramatic purpose. Please take a few minutes to read the tutorial by clicking here: http://goo.gl/LdVMpt We’ve also opened a thread on the forums to discuss this tutorial. Head over and join the discussion now! http://goo.gl/2b0sQc ** Top Sims Contest: Round 26 ** The Top Sims Contest is now accepting nominations for Round 26 of 2014. Every day, your crew mates write the kinds of sims that make our community one of the greatest of it’s kind. Making sure they get the recognition they deserve is easy, and only takes a minute: 1. Visit the Top Sims Contest forum: http://goo.gl/T3rbq3 2. Start a new topic and paste the sim into the text field. Nominating a sim is as easy as enjoying it, so don’t hold back. Each sim will go to our judges panel to determine which one goes to the next run-off round. One of the sims you read today could be the Top Sim of 2014, but only if you take the time to nominate it. And be on the lookout for the next run-off round, where you can decide which sim goes on to the final run off to determine the best sim of 2014. ** Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: Voyager ** This week’s poll of the week is focused on the intrepid (pun intended, hah!) little ship of the fleet, Voyager, the little ship that could. While Voyager was far from the biggest ship in the fleet, she was one of the most advanced and interesting ones around. The ship was thrown to the other side of the galaxy and stranded, all alone with no hope of resupply, and left to trek 70,000 light years to get home. Exploration, enemies and ethics all played parts in this series, as with any other, and seven seasons worth of them added up to a good number of strong moments that made us think not only about the characters but about our own situations. Here are a few of my favorite moments: http://goo.gl/ncHvKV I know there’s many more than these, but, if yours aren’t on the list, come add them to the discussion! ** Help With Publicity: Submit A Testimonial ** Each month, the Publicity Team posts an easy task you can do to help with our community’s publicity efforts, which are incredibly important in growing our fleet, keeping ships stocked with new members, and ensuring the longevity of our group. Last month, we asked you to post on the TrekBBS forums (http://goo.gl/RJkQC8 ) to help spread the word about our community by adding our link to your signature on that site, and increasing the number of links to our site. This month, we need your glowing review of our community! More information and the form, after you click “Read more.” These testimonials are used on the main page of our website, and on other recruiting sites to help us draw in new members with genuine reviews. Just submit the form at the link above with your feedback. ** On Writing Romantic Relationships ** Editor’s note: This article first appeared as a post in the thread “Fellow crew member or PNPC?” (http://goo.gl/scpSXP ) on the Lambda Alliance forum (http://goo.gl/o92I6E ). All credit for its content goes to the writer behind Lieutenant JG Eileen McClaren (http://goo.gl/WBpEj8 ). Thank you for letting us repost it as a Writer’s Workshop article! As the thread title suggests, this is the writer’s take on writing a romantic relationship with another writer’s PC or PNPC versus creating a PNPC yourself for your character to engage in a relationship with. For me, as a writer, it’s important to be eye-to-eye with whoever you’re collaborating with in regards to sharing the emotional narrative of a romantic relationship between characters. I’ve done it a few times before and aside from one it’s been a pleasurable and mutually engaging exercise, adding a level of complexity to the creative process, the depth of the characters overall, and provides me (and the other writer as well, hopefully, of course) the opportunity of experiencing our characters in a slightly more substantive level. That said, making sure you’re at that point (eye-to-eye) with other writer(s) has always been key to me to assure that while I’m not trying to wrest control of the overall arc, that the arc of the relationship (whether or not it’s meant to be one that’s casual or more devoted) does have direction, progression and inertia. In other words, it takes a little bit of effort…just as relationships do. That it’s organic and not simply something being accepted by rote. (People aren’t always blissfully happy or defensive, etc.) That the evolution of the character’s experience is likewise organic, as well. (People…unless with rationally understandable cause… don’t have usually have violent and dramatic personality shifts, going from expressive to unemotive in 0.0002 seconds, etc.) Personally, I’m from the school of stream-of-consciousness writing that embraces the unplanned for but dislikes the idea of drama for drama’s own sake. Someone else might be the sort of writer that plans an arc out with an annotated outline, having very specific goals for their character’s growth and development. It’s a balancing act that mirrors, I think, the pattern in which the most stable actual relationships we have fall into. Knowing what’s expected or desired for/from one’s own character, voicing it clearly, and having empathy for the same in another’s creative expression. We get as much as we give in the creation and “life” of these beings and that should be respected by all involved parties. Please drop by the forums (http://goo.gl/e2fUE9 ) if you’d like to add your thoughts to the ongoing discussion! ----------------------------------- Nov 8, 2014Weekly Newsletter 2391.45
Happy weekend, fleetmates! FLEET EVENTS Fleet Chat
Top Sims Contest
Featured Bio Contest
Writing Challenge
Poll of the Week
Community Calendar
(newest at the top, oldest at the bottom) 2. Duronis II Embassy/USS Thunder Plot Summary for October: http://goo.gl/E895Cw 3. October 2014 Post Totals: http://goo.gl/itefO6 4. Atlantis Plot Summary for October: http://goo.gl/b76EkZ 5. Halloween Avatar Contest Results are In! : http://goo.gl/KrOMhh 6. Star Trek Convention Table Funded – Thanks to All Our Donors! : http://goo.gl/fqG3bB 7. Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: Enterprise: http://goo.gl/ecgDse 8. SDC Species Spotlight: ZALINIAN: http://goo.gl/WfAc7R 9. November Fleetwide OOC Chat: http://goo.gl/ztRARF
** Promotions for October, 2014 ** The staff of UFOP: StarBase 118 would like to take a moment and recognize the officers – please be sure to congratulate these folks when you see them in the corridors of your vessel! Atlantis • Gwen Gardener to Lieutenant Gemini • Samuel Braddock to Lieutenant JG • Lan Riel to Lieutenant JG • Vanessa Driscoll to Lieutenant ** Duronis II Embassy/USS Thunder Plot Summary for October ** The crew of USS Thunder, NCC-70605-A continued their journey from Starbase 185 to Trill for the wedding ceremony of Ambassador Della Vetri and Lieutenant Commander T’Lea. The eve of the wedding got off to a rather dubious start as Lt. Commander T’Lea and Lieutenant Commander Hannibal Parker combined in a holodeck-created seedy bar, plus Romulan Ale, to get in a brawl, which set the bar afire… With Hannibal throwing T’Lea over his shoulder, both ended up on T’Leas’ bed. Both woke up in their respective quarters with lingering thoughts of exactly what had happened after that point, a point of consternation for both their mates. The next day on Trill, the beautiful wedding went off without a hitch, and the command staff celebrated by wishing the two newlyweds well and enjoying the night before the USS Thunder resumed its journey to Ba’ku. The two new Ensigns, Barrett and Brell, began to make themselves comfortable with their new shipmates during the celebration afterwards. All was not well, however. Lieutenant Commander Irina Pavlova shared both her secrets of the fear of what the metaphasic radiation might do to her on Ba’ku and the demise of her former shipmates from the NX Class USS Columbia, and the fear she was indeed next. Sharing her secret with Lieutenant T’Mihn and Lieutenant Commander Hannibal Parker, they both vowed to find a way to keep Irina safe, not only from the radiation, but from those who were hunting her. ** October 2014 Post Totals ** As part of an ongoing overview of the whole fleet, we’d like to present for you the posting totals and simming trends for and through October. These number will give you some idea of how active our ships are month-to-month, as well as how the whole fleet is doing. Simming numbers were up for most ships in October, including the Columbia, the Constitution, the Gemini, and the Victory, but especially for the Garuda, which posted that ship’s highest numbers ever! At 290, the group improved upon its September by almost 100 sims. Major kudos to Leo, aka Lieutenant Commander Nia Calderan, who is currently leading the ship as acting CO as part of his commander’s practical exam. Post Totals: http://goo.gl/MVAoSE The whole-group average was steady around where it was in July and August, as well as back into May and even further back in February and March. Despite the many fleet changes that 2014 has welcomed, it seems that 170-180 sims per month is a fair approximation of a standard for the year. Looking back even further, you can see that for the last couple of years, September has resulted in a dip in total number of sims — but October has seen some recovery. What will November bring? Average Sims per Month, 2014: http://goo.gl/Oktkx0 Average Sims per Month, by year: http://goo.gl/mPUw2Z ** Atlantis Plot Summary for October ** With the help of DS26 Ops and a few USS Atlantis, NCC-74682 crew members locked outside the holodeck, the corrupted holoprogram is defeated and the trapped crew is rescued. Lt Shryker having now fully transformed into a feral beast, is isolated in Sickbay until her treatment is completed. But there is no rest for the intrepid Atlantis crew. Emerging from the holodeck, they learn that they are 14 hours late on their departure to kick off their new mission! They are assigned to investigate increased Romulan activity in the Norlian Nebula, the Bermuda Triangle of the Par’tha Expanse. One possible reason for the heightened activity could be due to the detection of an intermittent pulse of an old United Earth Space Probe Agency bravo band radio wave. There’s only one way to explain the strange situation – to head right into the heart of the Norlian Nebula. And a promotions ceremony along the way wouldn’t hurt! ** Halloween Avatar Contest Results Are In! ** Greetings to all you forums crawlers out there, and all of those who should be on the forums and aren’t! The judging for the 4th Annual Halloween Avatar Costume Contest is done and the judges have spoken! The results are in and have been carefully put into a calculation lovingly designed by yours truly, then redesigned completely when I was actually awake enough to write the formulas correctly and the correct results have been calculated! As mentioned before, there were three categories in which ships completed. The first was originality, which measured the original thinking that went into the selection of the ship’s theme and the individual characters that the members displayed as their new avatars. The second category, design quality, measured the graphic quality of the new avatars. Were they consistent in quality and format? Were they carefully done and without visible errors? Did they fit well into the format of being avatar images? If there was text, was it legible? Finally, the overall score took each ships scores and adjusted them by the participation of the crews. The higher the participation, the better the scores! I’m happy to report that, in this category, the 6 ships that participated averaged a 92% participation, with 4 of them at 100%! So, on to the results! In the originality category the winners are: First Place: Apollo (Greek Gods) Second Place: Constitution (Comic Characters) Third Place: Columbia (Pirates of the Columbia) In the quality category, the winners are: First Place: Apollo Second Place: Constitution Third Place: Garuda (Disney All-Stars) …and finally, in the overall category, the winners are: First Place: Apollo Second Place: Constitution Third Place: Gemini (X-Men) This year, the contest also had a single individual best of show category for the judge’s pick for the best individual avatar in the contest. The Judge’s Best of Show Award goes to: Ben Edwards, from the Constitution, as Rocket Racoon! Prizes will be forthcoming to those who have won them. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for participating to all those who gave up their avatar space for a week or more to show their holiday spirit! ** Star Trek Convention Table Funded – Thanks to All Our Donors! ** Incredibly, we blew past our funding goal of $275 to pay for our recruiting table at the Star Trek San Francisco convention (http://goo.gl/reM6Jq ) coming up in December. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed, and helped us make this a reality. With the extra funds, we’ve decided to also purchase two table banners to help catch the eyes of convention-goers. We’ll be sure to post pictures once we have them! In the meantime, here’s our list of donors for which we owe many thanks: David Ball (Ongoing Worlds), Michael Frazier, Marcus Dickens, Alexander Richards, Quinn Reynolds, Toni Turner, Rune Jolara, Shelther Faranster, James, Nugra, Alexander Williams, Shane Mattingly, Alora DeVeau, Mark Ricks, Sylath Kai’Ryn, Ian Lane West, Ben Edwards, Reni Svalasdottir, and Nico Icavoc! ** Poll of the Week: The Epic Moments of Star Trek: Enterprise ** Now we come to the final series in this set of epic TV moments: Enterprise. Enterprise was unique in the franchise in that it started off pretty strong and generally went down in quality for a good long while rather than starting rocky and getting better over time. However, it had its moments of deep thoughtfulness and insight into the human condition. It gave us the chance to see a grittier pre-Federation Starfleet, one in which it was not one of the supreme technological powers in the galaxy and instead had to rely on its adaptability and diplomacy to get many things done. In that way at least, Enterprise is almost truer to the adage of “going where no [human] has gone before.” than even the original series. This gave Archer and his crew many chances to look inside themselves and feel out their emotions and, at the same time, for us to see them and their development. Here are my favorites (http://goo.gl/eTe9mD ) from a series most of which I, unlike many ST fans, really enjoyed. If yours didn’t make the list, come share them with all of us! ** SDC Species Spotlight: ZALINIAN ** “The awareness of our own strength makes us modest.” -a Zalinian expression. Governed as a monarchy, backed by a thin layer of old noble families, with the men usually going bare chested and the women wearing wrap-around dresses. They have just achieved warp technology and are fairly new to the universe around them. So far they have had limited contact with most other species but have established regular if sporadic contact with the Laudean people of Duronis II. A complex mix of barbaric and sophistication, this species benefits from advanced technology in a primitive social setting, which is very rare. They are nonetheless a healthy, active people who are emotional, proud and still slightly ill-at-ease around other species. Zalinians are a StarBase 118-original species, created by the crew of the Duronis II Embassy. This species is not playable by members, and is in the Forbidden category due to their telekinetic abilities. Learn more about this species on our wiki page: http://goo.gl/YB053o ** November Fleetwide OOC Chat ** Mark your calendars for the next fleetwide chat, coming up next Sunday, November 9th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm BST (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). Always check your timezone for accuracy/DST if applicable!
To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://goo.gl/QzPG7r — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Also, feel free to come onto the Voice Chat server – instructions are available here: http://goo.gl/aPuuJY
Our fleetwide chats are a space for all the members of the StarBase 118 group to get together and talk in real time about everything that’s happening within the group. Come by and see what goings-on are happening off your ship. Chats are held on the second Sunday of every month, but you can head into the chat room at any time to see who else is there.
----------------------------------- Nov 9, 2014November Fleetwide OOC Chat Today!
Hey all! Just a quick reminder that the November Fleetwide OOC Chat will be starting soon (10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern (US) / 6pm GMT (UK) / 3am Monday UTC+11 (AUS) to be precise)! Hopefully, I'll be seeing you in our Chat Room then! Feel free to also join us on the Voice Chat Server - I'm pretty sure up to 90% of us don't bite. Maybe. See you there! ~James Lt. Commander James Chat Team Facilitator Dif-tor heh smusma. |
