Reporter Issue 22
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CONTENTS
I Editors note
II StarBase 118 Statistics
III StarBase 118 News Release
IV Promotions
V Starfleet News Service
VI Starfleet Focus
VII Out of Starfleet
VIII Credits
I. EDITORS NOTE
As you will no doubt notice, this month the Reporter has changed in several ways. Primarily the layout has changed and several sections have been added, or renamed, to fit in with the new style, which is intended to be more 'newspaper-like', and more In-Character. Also the release date has changed to the last day of each month. You might also notice that each of the ships summaries have changed in style. So that the Reporter reads more like a newspaper, to make it easier to see which ship each report has come from, the author is indicated at the beginning of each report.
I hope you enjoy the new layout Reporter, please let me know what you think of the new style.
Commander Marlin.
II. STARBASE 118 STATISTICS
The United Federation of Planets is always expanding and this section keeps track of the total number of senior staff, who are associated with StarBase 118. (ooc - in other words the total number of UFOP members)
Number of Duty Stations: 8
Number of Senior Staff: 90
We now have 90 members and are still growing! Tell your friends about us, so that next month we can hit the three-figure mark...
III. STARBASE 118 NEWS RELEASE
Firstly a quick note from Admiral Wolf: Please note that Captain Arvanon has command of StarBase 118. All OOC messages such as character transfers, questions about the base SIM, etc. should be directed to him.
The Admiral is pleased to announce that another ship has been commissioned out of Star Base 118, the USS Indria-A, commanded by Commander Shaun Marlin. I am sure you join us in welcoming our newest member ship to our base.
IV. PROMOTIONS
Congratulations to the following officers on their promotions:
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER:
- Reginald Lecrisp, USS Arizona
- Sasha Ice, USS Arizona
LIEUTENANT:
- Madeleine Prior, USS Arizona
- Xalor, USS Ranger
- Hamlet of Dane, StarBase 118
LIEUTENANT, Junior Grade:
- T'Rau, USS Arizona
- Solitaire, USS Freedom
- Michael Jameson, USS Freedom
- Quack, USS Isannah
- Jon Kozla, USS Isannah
- Lang Vedoc, USS Ranger
- John Mazellan, USS Ranger
- Frederik Sharp, StarBase 118
- Fairaget, StarBase 118
V. STARFLEET NEWS SERVICE
This Section brings us up to date on what has been happening in Starfleet over the last month...
1. THE YEVGOMORON FACTOR
Report Author: Captain Ruach of Kanist Source: USS Arizona
A newly discovered species, who have escaped Borg enslavement, have been discovered attempting to modify Jem Hadar training to make them effective assailants against the Borg. The species was discovered by the crew of the USS Arizona.
The Arizona had originally been ordered to the Chamra Vortex Belt in order to recover four Federation officers who were assimilated at Wolf 359, and then apparently rejected, by the Borg. Upon arrival to the system they had found additional crew members, all who contained homing devices implanted within them. These devices were theorised as having in some way interfered with their complete assimilation, although that is by no means clear.
It was during the recovery of these officers that the crew encountered the Yevgomoron. It was discovered that this race was initially a part of a very advanced people that were assimilated by the Borg. However, their individuality was too strong to be suppressed by the Collective. They escaped and took with them a number of people, including the Federation officers that had been assimilated at Wolf 359. To ensure that the Borg would not come back and try to assimilate the remnants of their civilisation on Chamra III, all their technology was rejected in exchange for a simpler and more primitive way of live.
The modified Jem Hadar were then sent to the Delta Quadrant but the Arizona had to break off further investigation as it was ordered to Deep Space 5 by Starfleet Command, carrying the recovered officers and one Yevgomoron requesting asylum. The involvement of the Federation in this modification is unknown.
Once at Deep Space 5, the ship hosted Admiral Wolf and an entourage of his aides, who all seem curiously intent on studying these recovered officers. The investigation continues...
2. BRUSH WITH ROYALTY - SECRET MISSION BOTCHED!
Report Author: Captain Skyfire Report Source: USS Obertha
The anthropological research station on Kaolin V, built for the study of a culture on Kaolin IV, equivalent to Earth's Middle Age, was visited by the USS Obertha. The visit was veiled in secrecy, and most station personnel were not informed of the purpose of the visit. A Princess Jessamyn (OOC - a guest appearance by another child on SB118), of the royal family on Kaolin IV, and her personal tutor, one Doctor Sylvania of Star Fleet, was taken onboard. Soon after, the Princess' own guardian, Ms Krysim also went missing. An unconfirmed source says that she was seen stealing onboard the Obertha.
Several weeks later, the Princess was returned by the Obertha, accompanied by Commander Ellen Dae (OOC - a guest appearance by the Captain of the Isannah). Although the Commander was very tight-lipped about the entire affair, with a few well timed ice cream and flattering comments, this correspondent has been able to entice Princess Jessamyn into shedding light on this mysterious journey.
Though seeming somewhat far-fetched, the Princess' tale regarding her journey on the Obertha seemed to have involved a Commander Dae impostor who could change her physical form. This impostor, according to the Princess, managed to subdue the real Commander in her quarters, antagonised the entire Obertha crew, and attempted to ferry the Princess onto Cardassia for purposes unknown. Although the Princess did not at all enjoy her stay on the Obertha, for she claimed it placed her in close proximity with so many commoners, she had nothing but kind words for Doctor Shauli, who showed her kindness, and Lieutenant (jg) Telek, who pleased her with his knowledge for addressing royalty with the proper protocol.
The Princess is now at Kaolin V, with Commander Dae helping her learn to cope with her new found extraordinary mental abilities.
3. DISASTER AT 118
Report Author: Captain Curtis Arvanon Report Source: StarBase 118
Kalendra's visit to SB 118 is short, but devastating (see last months Reporter). The StarBase itself is heavily damaged, and the officers are left scrambling to repair its systems. The discovery of thousands of small explosives force Admiral Wolf and Captain Arvanon to evacuate the base and activate the self-destruct.
While Starfleet tows the components of a new base to the area, Starfleet Intelligence learns of a Maqui uprising. The Maqui are supposedly gathering support as they head towards Utopia Planetia. The officers of SB 118 take the USS Xanth, a Defiant-class starship, to intercept.
The officers face another series of shocks as they learn that Lieutenant JG Hamlet is suffering from amnesia, then is killed as a band of Maqui beam aboard the Xanth and take over the sick bay. The crew of the Xanth continues their mission, gathering information via interrogation and a captured Maqui ship, looking for clues that will tell them how the Maqui are going to approach the shipyards at Utopia Planetia.
4. MARQUIS REEMERGENCE BEGINS?
Report Author: Commodore Jeff Pelletier Report Source: USS Freedom-A
The Marquis, in the last month, have begun to reassert themselves. The reports that they had been abolished seem to be a little premature. It is still a mystery why the Marquis are choosing to attack Federation ships, when the Federation are at war with the Marquis sworn enemies the Cardassians, however the fact remains that once again this month, Marquis ships were held responsible for an attack on a Starfleet vessel. Federation experts are unsure of the motives for this new activity, however it has been suggested that the Marquis could be under new leadership.
The latest attack came on the USS Hultgreen and USS Freedom-A, which were conveying one million bars of gold pressed latinum to the Ferengi government as part of an economic aid package. En route to the Ferengi homeworld the two ships were attacked and the Hultgreen was sadly lost during the battle. This attack lead Starfleet to reconsider the method of delivering the latinum, and so the Freedom was recalled. Starfleet is now considering options for carrying the latinum, which pose a lesser risk.
5. SABOTAGE SUSPICIONS
Report Author: Commodore Jeff Pelletier Report Source: USS Freedom-A
99.9% of all Starfleet personnel are among the bravest, talented, most hard-working and loyal people there are, however as with all things there are exceptions to the rule. There are occasionally one or two bad eggs; traitors whose aim is disrupt the Federations way of life. One of the most famous, you might agree, was Captain Robert Davies who was responsible for the destruction at Alpha Seti IV some years back.
It is now suspected that there may be one (or more) such persons hiding aboard the USS Freedom-A. The Freedom, which had just left SB 244 to test some new experimental equipment, was fortunate enough to find a planted bomb. The device was found by two of the ships newest officers, Ensigns Solkar and Falcon. However these events have also resparked investigations into a mystery intruder alert which had occurred some days earlier, and after thorough investigation was attributed to a computer malfunction.
The investigation continues....
6. SENIOR STAFF MISSING
Report Author: Captain Maela Jolon Report Source: USS Isannah
The USS Isannah was escorting Ambassador Beejik Kajemger Kaloob Meekertike to Vulcan where he was to attend a meeting of Federation dignitaries, they arrived in orbit around Vulcan way ahead of schedule.
The transporter technician on duty at that time recalls Captain Jolon and the Ambassador had an argument minutes before the incident. Jolon then agreed that the senior staff would beam down to Vulcan first, to be then followed by the Ambassador.
Transporters were recorded as having been fully functional and well within standard functioning. However, something went very wrong. The entire senior staff, Jolon, Casey, Quinn, Bartok, Valarious, Phar, Kozla and Quack, did not materialise on the transport pad located in one of the Vulcan beamdown sites.
Efforts to retrieve their patterns from the transport buffers have failed. At present transporter specialists are working on solving what went wrong. Doctor Jitzim, who holds a PhD in engineering and specialises in transporters said, "So far we don't know what went wrong. This is not a typical error in transport. We are going to solve this. We have to."
The families of the eight Starfleet officers who have gone missing in transport have been notified. Doctor Jitzim, "We aren't giving up, no one is writing out any death certificates till there is no hope."
7. MYSTERY AT THE BLUE HORIZON
Report Author: Commander Shaun Marlin Report Source: USS Indria-A
Recently there has been growing concern surrounding the Federation Science Station, the Blue Horizon. The Research station based in the lonely Ytocs system, which primarily monitors a local Iron-age race, the Ytarians, was last heard from when it sent a supply list to its closest neighbour DS5. Although slightly unusual in nature the supplies were authorised and dispatched on the science craft the USS Bristol. Since the Bristol departed DS5 24 days ago, nothing has been heard from either the ship or the Blue Horizon. DS5's increasingly frequent hails have been ignored.
After 21 days of radio silence, Starfleet sent the newly commissioned SEAL vessel the USS Indria-A to further investigate the matter. The Indria's investigation to date has only brought up more questions, and contact with the ship has been minimal since its away team became trapped on the station, unable to return to the Indria once a mysterious energy field was activated on the Blue Horizon.
The Indrias most recent logs indicate that there is evidence of a virus on the station, which has affected the station crew by somehow mutating their DNA. Suspicion has been thrown upon the Stations CO Ben Parry, who has been associated with illegal viral research in the past, and is suspected of now continuing this research on the Blue Horizon.
Starfleet awaits a full report from the Indria.
8. DOMINION ASSAULT CRUSHED
Report Author: Commodore Brian Kelly Report Source: USS Ranger-A
The following is a press release from Commodore Kelly. This release is a Reporter exclusive!
"The Ranger was assigned the task of infiltrating the Dominion passive sensor nets across the border via the ion storms in the Ventri sector, where the Dominion coverage was thinnest. The purpose was to attack the monitoring station on the other side of the border, dispatch Dominion patrol craft in the area, jam their distress signals, and set up a cascade failure in the sensor nets for a few hours.
This failure would affect the entire net, and would allow a joint Starfleet/Romulan task force to cross the border undetected in the Dentrius system, where a massive Dominion armada was massing to attack Vulcan via occupied Betazed.
After navigating the ion storms, the Ranger launched two fighter craft and battled the Dominion fighters and Destroyers while the assault team, Starfleet Marines, entered the station with engineering officer Xalor who initiated the sensor net overload.
The Ranger was damaged during the fighting, but casualties were light and the mission was a success...the Starfleet/Romulan armada, code name "Pillar", crossed the border undetected and was able to destroy on the ground most of the Dominion shipyards, the ships in orbit, and Dominion invasion forces."
9. ON THE DEFENSIVE
Report Author: Commodore Jeff Pelletier Report Source: USS Freedom-A
Starfleet has finally given a new directive to the Fleet - we are no longer on the offensive and attempt to hold back the Cardassians and Dominion. New orders have been relayed and it is time to fight back.
A great number of Federation ships have been deployed in this mission. Many of them are open in their requirements - to go in and get the job done. There are, however, a few that are being a little more clandestine in their missions.
The USS Freedom-A is one of those ships. Since the mission is classified, all we can do is wish the Captain and her crew the best of luck in carrying out their orders.
VI. STARFLEET FOCUS
This edition focuses on Ensign Shauli, who is Medical Officer onboard the Obertha.
MARLIN: Greetings Ensign, before we start the interview could you please introduce yourself to our readers.
SHAULI: My name is Dr. Shauli. I am an Ensign, but I'm also the medical officer aboard the USS Obertha. I am a Shimoni, and I know...I know...you've never heard of the Shimoni. That covers you and the bulk of Starfleet. The Shimoni system of planets (11 in all) is on one of the distant edges of what Starfleet considers "known" space. We joined the Federation about 30 years ago, although I am the first Shimoni to join Starfleet.
The Shimoni are humanoid in appearance and physiology. Our distinguishing physical features are small, jewel-like marks on the face and sometimes arms. I have only one of these jewels, garnet in appearance. It is on my right cheekbone, and the single, garnet birthmark (or 'birthstone' as we say) was historically a mark of the Shimoni royal family. Too bad that my father was a trader, and not a prince.
MARLIN: Given your background, why did you choose a career in Starfleet?
SHAULI: Well, I am forced to tell a long story in a short space. As I mentioned before, my father is a trader. I was born in space on a ship between two planets of our system. As I grew older, I realised that we travelled quite a bit outside of our system. I met all kinds of people and realised that there was more to life than being just a traditional Shimoni.
Among our people the career opportunities for women are more limited than in other parts of the Federation. Women are not second-class citizens, but their roles are strictly defined. The only areas where women can fully compete are in the sciences. I grew up with a large family, 8 brothers and 6 sisters. I had quite a bit of impromptu medical training just because I was the oldest daughter. Then I discovered that I liked this area, and I was accepted at the Shimoni medical academy. Our medical sciences are equivalent to any Starfleet technology. After I graduated, I applied to Starfleet. It was a sort of backdoor admission as I was already a doctor, but I was accepted and just last month Starfleet officially ruled that my Shimoni medical degree was just as good as any in the Federation.
I know...I haven't really answered your question. I joined Starfleet because I felt there was more out there than I could see at home. And I felt that I had a contribution to make...that it's my 'destiny' if you will.
MARLIN: You are the first Shimoni in Starfleet, do you find the fleet to be as you expected?
SHAULI: Talk about a loaded question...are you asking me---do I like Starfleet? Or are you asking me---do I plan to write home and encourage others to follow me? ::Crossing my legs underneath me in a yoga-like position:: I have to say that I love being in Starfleet. It has opened opportunities for me that I never dreamed of...and I have already met some of the nicest people...and I get to practice the medical profession on top of all that. Now, of course, I was not that thrilled that I had to spend most of my time at the Academy proving that Shimoni medical skills were the equivalent of Starfleet Medical. But, as a doctor, I understand why we had to go through all of that.
Now, if you're asking me, do I think other Shimoni will follow? I'd have to say, not any time soon... Shimoni life is very structured, and not that many people want to break out of the structure. And besides, my father practically disowned me for joining Starfleet...the only one who keeps in touch is my oldest brother. And...I can see the question in your eyes...no, it doesn't bother me...much. Certainly not enough to go home and try to fix it. Not that my father is that influential in the Shimoni system, but I don't think that sent a very positive message to any potential recruits.
MARLIN: I'm glad to hear you enjoy fleet life. What would you say were your main ambitions within the Fleet, and where do you see yourself being ten years from now?
Well, you have to remember, Commander, that being a doctor is an end unto itself. As long as I am practising medicine, I am content. But as far as goals within Starfleet itself...good question! ::laughs:: Truthfully, I was so excited to finish my time at the Academy and be posted to a ship that I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I know there are medical ships within the Fleet, and I think my ego could handle being a Captain someday. But for the moment, I am very content being CMO on the Obertha and exploring some very far-flung places.
MARLIN: Your role on the Obertha sounds very interesting, what has been your most challenging situation to date?
SHAULI: Since I am not a bridge officer, I can't tell you about any dramatic fights or flights. And as a doctor I am certainly used to being responsible for lives. But I think my most intimidating moment came when I realised that I had the sole responsibility of getting the Captain to the relative safety of the sick bay and reviving him after he had been put into a sort of stasis from an insectoid alien who came aboard the Obertha. An injury...a virus...I can handle that without too much problem. But this was a situation beyond my training or my experience, and I didn't have any choice but to find some way through it. I was ---overwhelmed for a moment. I didn't know -- I didn't know if I could do it. But I put the greater need of my ship above the fact that I personally felt in deep, deep water over my head.
It's not as dramatic as evasive manoeuvres or firing photon torpedoes, but it was a dramatic moment for me as a person and as an officer.
MARLIN: Thank you Ensign, before I conclude, if you could describe your character using only five words, which five would you choose?
SHAULI: Only 5 words, Commander? :: Dr Shauli grimaces:: Okay, I'll give it a try...sir. I'm ...dedicated, competent, stubborn, and ...
<how should I finish this interview??? Should I say 'darn cute', 'sometimes pig-headed', or something professional sounding like 'loyal' and 'caring'? Or should I say something truthful like 'talkative' and ... But the Commander is waiting for an answer...phooey...being concise has never been one of my strong points...>
SHAULI: ::smiles at the Commander:: I'm not sure Commander, I guess 3 words are the best I can do. ::smiles again::
MARLIN: Well three it is then Doctor. ::Marlin smiles:: Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed and taking the time to answer these questions. Please pass on my regards to Captain Skyfire. Safe journeys Ensign
VII. OUT OF STARFLEET
This Section contains Out of Character Information...
1. UFOP WEB SITES
The UFOP web site has won yet ANOTHER award! The UFOP has received the "Star Base 265 Special Award".
Visit the home of the Star Base 265 at http://starbase265.home.pages.de/
Remember to visit the UFOP's home page at http://www.iaw.com/~captjeff/ufop/
Commodore Pelletier appreciates your feedback!
2. WEBSITE ADDRESSES
Many of UFOPs ships also have award-winning pages:
ARIZONA - http://www.mersinet.co.uk/~andyp/arizona/
FREEDOM-A - http://www.iaw.com/~captjeff/
INDRIA-A - http://www.mersinet.co.uk/~andyp/indria/
ISANNAH - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/8458/
STARWIND - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/2746/
Each CO would appreciate any feedback on their site!
3. SITE RANKINGS BY TREKLIST
The UFOP WebSite, along with most of the individual ships sites, has been added to a huge Star Trek Links database, Treklist.
Each Site in this database is given a rank when added, here's how our sites scored:
CAPTAIN
UFOP WebSite
COMMANDER
USS Indria-A WebSite
LT COMMANDER
USS Arizona WebSite
USS Freedom-A WebSite
USS Starwind WebSite
LIEUTENANT
USS Isannah WebSite
Congratulations to all Webmasters for a fine performance!
VIII. CREDITS
- Comments/Submissions for the reporter (all welcomed): Commander Marlin
- Unsubscribe from the reporter: Fleet Captain Elinor
- UFOP WebSite: http://www.iaw.com/~captjeff/ufop/