The Federation Tribune - June 2005

[Rob Versteegt]

                  ==== The Federation Tribune ====
                           ==== June 2005 ====

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Chief Editor's notes
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Welcome again to once again a great edition of the Federation Tribune! The
Frontier Fleet newspaper, which depends on all of your for its articles! As
I've said in the last edition, I'm planning on making a special edition for
Frontier Fleet's fifth birthday. But I need your help with that! Go on and
write something hilarious, scary, breath-taking, whatever... as long as it's
got to do with Frontier Fleet, and/or its fifth Birthday.

Together we can make the special edition a really exciting read! :-)

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USS Calhoun / Delta One status report - May 2005 by Adrian Rodd.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardate: 2391.06.18
Location: Docked at Delta One
Current episode: #23, "Heritage"

Barely have the crew begun to get used to being themselves again, when a new
and sinister threat strikes at the station. Mixed-species crewmembers are
targeted in violent attacks in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, a
mysterious alien named Cax seems to be passing on disturbing messages from
the dead to various members of the crew...

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USS Odyssey status Report, May 2005, by Dennis Church.
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Location: Dinwor V
Stardate: 2391.06.19

The die has been cast, the festival has begun, with no compromises made by
the Jerwasi to let the Odyssey assist in their security preparations. Every
group has played their hearts out, but it is up to the judges discerning
ears to determine who makes it to the next round, as the initial round of
the festival continues long into the night..

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USS Valkyrie Status Report, May 2005, by Brandon Allard.
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Stardate: 2391.05.01

Location: Alpha Quadrant, departing Betreka nebula.

FO's log: Feels like I just did one of these a few hours ago. With the
Ferengi 'negotiations' closed by the captain, we are now en route to
starbase G-6. The nearest to our position I've been told. The Orions will
apparently have to look elsewhere for their merchandise. Strangely though,
the captain has decided not to wait for the Orions to show up, and has
instead opted to escort the entire Ferengi crew along with their vessel to
the starbase, thus staying clear of a confrontation. Something not everyone
on board agrees with. Of course nobody would openly dispute the Captain,
even if we *are* clearly equiped to dispose of the criminals. Perhaps he has
something else in mind. Log ends.

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Pandora Station Status Report May 2005, by Rob Versteegt
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardate: 2391.05.28
Location: In an ever descending orbit around Pandora II.

The situation didn't look good. The station was only an hour, two at the
most, away from entering the atmosphere of Pandora II, thereby burning up.
The crew was being evacuated, but the senior staff didn't give up just yet.
Although they had lost control of the station to Commander Jalando and the
Dholari, they formulated a plan. . . or rather, an entire assault. They
*had* to get control back of Engineering, where the Dholari and Jalando made
their base of Operations.

The assault was a success. The Starfleet crew was successful in retaking
Engineering, and they even had a prisoner. . . one of the Dholari, known as
S'har. Jalando and the rest of the Dholari however, beamed away. . . Captain
Kane quickly decided to beam S'har, who was injured, to Sickbay. There, XGO
Underhill made a starling discovery. The Dholari was actually no Dholari. .
. he was an Andorian, surgically altered to look like a Dholari! And not
just that. . . he turned out to be ACMO Vok, who was presumed dead when
trying to rescue Commander Jalando. . .

Meanwhile, Jalando and the rest of the Dholari had beamed into a cargobay,
to try to take control of the station from there. However, a security team
lead by Lt. Nel found out. . . and after a firefight, they were victorious.
Jalando, the Dholari, and the security team got transported to Sickbay as
well, where CO Kane and 2O/CMO Truesdale had already heard the new about the
Dholari who was Vok. . .

But now the station still had to be saved. The situation seemed grim. . .
but luckily Ensign Morabulu found a way: by reprogramming lots of isoliniar
chips and by isolating a single part of the computer, they got back control
over about 54% of the computer. That was enough to restart the computer.
After this, every system on the Station was back in control of the crew. The
thrusters, first used to send Pandora Station to its doom, were now used to
get the station away from it.

But now the Pandora crew has to deal with the treason of Commander Jalando.
. . and the possibility of their thought-to-be-dead crewmembers being
returned to them. . .

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USS Atlantis Status Report, May 2005, by David Susman.
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USS Atlantis
Gamma Quadrant
2391.05.28
------------
Captain Alfred Torn, Commanding
Commander Paul Velden, First Officer

This morning the Atlantis intercepted an automated distress call and traced
the call to a derelict vessel of unknown type and origin, located near a
mysterious nebula. An Away Team consisting of the First Officer Velden,
Chief Science Officer Jomorr, Nurse Waldau, ACEO Montgomery, STC Sigitar and
other NPCs was dispatched and has been lost.

Two more teams were sent to search for Away Team 1.

AWAY TEAM 2:
Mission: to search for Away Team 1.
- Ensign Nylén.
- Ensign Fletcher
- Three security officers (NPCs)
- ACOUNS Boisseau

AWAY TEAM 3:
Mission: to set up communications equipment and transporter enhancers.
- Lieutenant Singh
- Ensign Perez
- Engineering officer (presumably Xiox)
- Ambassador Von Klinkerhoffen (stowaway)
- ACMO Thomas.

Once on board the derelict the Atlantis looses life sign readings for all
members of the Away Teams. Communications have been lost, and the teams can
only contact their own team members. The derelict is covered with a odd
"goo" on all surfaces, the teams are in darkness, and are beginning to
hallucinate. Most unnerving of all, several security personnel have met
horrible deaths in the dark. The only clues are screams for help and a look
of fear on their faces. Now, those same dead crewmates have been seen
walking the corridors ... and attacking their former team mates.

On board the Atlantis, word of the disappearances is spreading among the
crew while the few remaining officer work to discover a way to locate the
missing personnel. While the EMH and his orderly prepare the sickbay for
either massive trauma or autopsies ... Captain Torn and the bridge officers
(including Bart the Bartender) have come up with a plan to send a command
shuttle and a remote-controlled shuttle to try and get close to the
derelict. Holly the brave EEH will be accompanied by Bart the Bartender to
control the remote shuttle.

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PR Status Report May 2005, by Rob Versteegt
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Well... we certainly got more signups this month than last month: We got 24
Signups! However... amongst those signups was one double one and a quadruple
one! This brings down the number of individual signups to 20. Okay, 20 isn't
that bad, but of those 20 signups, only 5 were good enough to enter the
Academy.

Here is where those 20 signups found us:

6: Unknown.
6: Search-engine
3: Voting site
4: A friend/family
1: Startrek.com

Lots of 'unknown' this time... unfortunately some people don't answer the
question 'where have I found Frontier Fleet'. Or they just answer
'internet'. ;-)

Anyway, time for my monthly call to you all: Go voting for your favourite
game at http://www.frontierfleet.net/comm/vote. (This *is* your favourite
game, right? :-P )

And that was it again for this month. Tune in again next month for yet
another exiting PR Status Report!

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SF Academy Status Report May 2005, by Rob Versteegt
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==================
Instructors: (8)

Chief Instructor Sedaq, played by Adrien Rodd
Instructor Joran Moore, played by David Susman.
Instructor Vivienne Creenan, played by Rob Versteegt
Instructor Miranda Winter, played by Ben Versteegt
Instructor Argl, played by John Hardy
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden
Instructor Liz Bronson, played by Laura Elliot
Instructor Abena Kwanu, played by Jeremy Beeler

==================
Cadets lost: (3)

Cadet Zach'ry Kru'nech, played by Daniel Clamp
Cadet Michael Webster, played by Phil Connor
Cadet Adam Grey, played by James Clarke

==================
New Signups: 24 (19 were useless, which leaves 5 new cadets)

==================
Individual Cadets: (9)

Cadet Lichfield, played by Mike Hutton (Adrian)
Cadet Callum Armour, played by Callum Armour (Laura)
Cadet Dimitri Volkov, played by Dimitar Besovski (Bobby)
Cadet Ariennye Alexis Arie Nokomis, played by Tiffany Porter. (Adrian)
Cadet Trenton A. Forrester, played by Adam Davis (Bobby)
Cadet Jack Dark, played by Peter Solhaug (Rob007)
Cadet Ramon Vos, played by Ramon Vos (Bobby)
Cadet Soa Shilrae, played by Reggy Maldonado (Jeremy)
Cadet T'Valla Gibbs, played by Brittany Kelley (Laura)

==================
List Cadets: (5) (List instructors: Bobby, John)

Cadet Alisa Alexander, played by Tiffany Boggs. (LOA)
Cadet Aleana Netal, played by Selin A.
Cadet Job Lavigne, played by Joseph Wood.
Cadet John Harmondale, played by Jovan Gegov
Cadet Mario Five, played by Marjan Petrovski (LOA)

(]Mission Summary:[)

Stardate 2389.04.29

When the teams come back to the shuttle, they find a new problem: a distress
call is being transmitted. . . by an unknown source. They check to
investigate, but they find metallic creatures blocking their attempts. . .

==================
Graduates: (1)

Cadet Pierce Mitchell, played by Phil Parrot => Ensign ACONN Pierce
Mitchell, USS Odyssey.
==================

Not a very productive month for the Academy... let's see if we can graduate
some more in June. ;-)

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Fleet Wide Status Report May 2005, by Bram Peeters.
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===============
Current Dates
===============

USS Calhoun: 2391.06.18
USS Odyssey: 2391.06.19
USS Valkyrie: 2391.05.01
Pandora Station: 2391.05.28
USS Atlantis: 2391.05.28


===================
Current Locations
===================

USS Calhoun: Deep Space Delta One (Delta Quadrant)
USS Odyssey: Dinwor V (Alpha Quadrant)
USS Valkyrie: Betreka Nebula, en-route to SB G-6 (Alpha Quadrant)
Pandora Station: (Almost) in orbit around Pandora II (Alpha Quadrant)
USS Atlantis: Near a derelict ship/nebula (Gamma Quadrant)


============================
# of Players and Vacancies
============================

USS Calhoun: 9 PC (+1 SPC), 7 vacancies
USS Odyssey: 9 PC (+6 SPC), 8 vacancies
USS Valkyrie: 9 PC (+3 SPC), 7 vacancies
Pandora Station: 7 PC (+7 SPC), 9 vacancies
USS Atlantis: 7 PC (+9 SPC), 5 vacancies


===========================
Notes and Recommendations
===========================

** Most of the notes/recommendations from the previous report still apply,
because there weren't any big changes ;-)
** The Odyssey and Valkyrie's episodes/missions don't have a number. It's
not really important, but I'd just like to know how many missions they've
had <G>


==============
USS Atlantis
==============

Location: Near a derelict ship and a nebula (Gamma Quadrant) Stardate:
2391.05.28

Summary:
Episode 4 - "Ghost Ship"
Two more away teams were sent to the ship to search for the missing first
team but contact was lost with them too and their life signs disappeared.
Not only did some of the away team members start to hallucinate, several
security officers were killed, but apparently not permanently as the dead
crew members have started to attack the remaining members of the away teams.
On the Atlantis plans were being made to find out what happened to the away
teams.

Players: 7 PCs, 9 SPCs
Vacancies: STC, CEO, CMO, COUNS, ACSO


=============
USS Calhoun
=============

Location: Docked at DS Delta One (Delta Quadrant)
Stardate: 2391.06.18

Summary:
Episode 23 - "Heritage"
Mixed-species crewmembers were targeted in violent attacks and a mysterious
alien has been passing on messages from the dead to various members of the
crew.

Players: 9 PCs, 1 SPC
Vacancies: OPS, CMO, COUNS, AOPS, ACMO, ACOUNS, ACEO


=============
USS Odyssey
=============

Location: In orbit of Dinwor V (Alpha Quadrant)
Stardate: 2391.06.19

Summary:
Episode - "Music to My Ears"
The festival began and the Jerwasi did not permit the Odyssey crew to assist
in their security preparations. The groups have played their songs and the
judge have to decide who goes to the next round.

Players: 9 PCs, 6 SPCs
Vacancies: CSO, CEO, COUNS, ACSO, ACOUNS, AOPS, ASTC, ACMO


==============
USS Valkyrie
==============

Location: Leaving the Betreka Nebula, en-route to Starbase G-6 (Alpha
Quadrant)
Stardate: 2391.05.01

Summary:
Episode - "Vanishing Act"
Captain Main decided not to wait for the Orions and the Valkyrie is now
escorting the Ferengi vessel to Starbase G-6.

Players: 9 PCs, 3 SPCs
Vacancies: CONN, CEO, CMO, COUNS, CSO, AOPS, ACOUNS


=================
Pandora Station
=================

Location: Almost back in stable orbit around Pandora II (Alpha Quadrant)
Stardate: 2391.05.28

Summary:
Episode 9 - "How I Wonder Where You Are"
Main Engineering was retaken successfully and one Dholari taken prisoner.
The prisoner turned out to be Dr. Vok, who was presumed dead. Jalando and
the other Dholari were captured not much later. Ensign Morabulu succeeded in
regaining control over the station's computer and thrusters, so the crew
could start to bring the station back to its usual orbit.
The crew now has to find out what happened to Jalando, and to Vok and the
other two crewmembers who were thought to be dead.

Players: 7 PCs, 7 SPCs
Vacancies: CSO, CEO, STC, ACSO, ACMO, ACEO, ACOUNS, AOPS, HN


============================
Academy & Public Relations
============================

Instructors: 8
Cadets: 14 (9 individual, 5 list)
Signups: 5 (+19 useless/duplicates)


And that was it again for this month. Tune in next month!

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Trek Trivia for Dummies: Quiz #8 by Clare Bradley
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This month, I decided to take a break from my more difficult questions and
make a very simple quiz. Here's a chance for everyone to improve his or her
scores. Remember: Don't research those answers!! ;>

1. Who was Captain Kirk's First Officer?
A. Pavel Chekhov
B. Yeoman Rand
C. Christine Chapel
D. Spock

2. What was Dr. McCoy's nickname?
A. Kirk's McCoy-toy
B. Grumpy
C. Bones
D. All of the Above

3. Deep Space Nine was located near what planet?
A. Wrigley's Pleasure Planet
B. Bajor
C. Risa
D. Planet Hell

4. What Vulcan served on the Enterprise NX-01?
A. Spock
B. Sarek
C. T'Pol
D. Saavik

5. Voyager was lost in what quadrant of the galaxy?
A. Lambda Lambda Lambda
B. Pi
C. Delta
D. Alpha

6. Scotty was...?
A. Scottish
B. Dutch
C. Chinese
D. Mexican

7. Voyager's doctor was a...?
A. Bricklayer
B. Hologram
C. Android
D. Malpractice lawsuit waiting to happen.

8. The Enterprise NX-01 became a focal point in what conflict?
A. The Dominion War
B. Q Civil War
C. Federation-Cardassian War
D. The Temporal Cold War

9. What was Seven's full designation?
A. Seven of Two
B. Seven of Arabia
C. Seven of 1,000,000
D. Seven of Nine

10. Who was Locutus of Borg?
A. Deanna Troi
B. Jean-Luc Picard
C. Wesley Crusher
D. Beverly Crusher

11. What was the name of Captain Archer's dog?
A. Spot
B. T'Pol
C. Silik
D. Porthos

12. Who was Jake Sisko's father?
A. Odo
B. Q
C. Morn
D. Benjamin Sisko

13. Who did Jadzia Dax marry?
A. Benjamin Sisko
B. Quark
C. Julian Bashir
D. Worf

14. What was Geordi LaForge's disability?
A. He was blind.
B. He was schizophrenic.
C. He had tourettes syndrome.
D. He had no legs.

15. Deanna Troi was half-Betazoid, and half-what?
A. Klingon
B. Vulcan
C. Human
D. Bolian

Email your answers to grozit at gmail.com no later than 07.10.05, with 'Trivia
8' in the subject line. Remember to check the newspaper forum for bonus
questions throughout the month! Hope you get a few of these correct! :>


Here are the results from last month's quiz:

****Some answers reveal spoilers from Enterprise's final season, so
beware!****

Trivia Quiz #7:

1. Trip was once impregnated by a woman of what race?
A. Axanar
B. Denobulan
C. Xyrillian
D. Kriosian
Answer: C. While visiting a Xyrillian vessel to help with repairs, Trip
became impregnated by the ship's female engineer, Ah'Len. The baby, a girl,
was transferred to another host.

2. What was the name of the freighter vessel on which Travis Mayweather grew
up?
A. Corsair
B. Fortunate
C. Saratoga
D. Horizon
Answer: D. Travis Mayweather and his family lived on the Horizon.

3. What race imprisoned innocent Suliban in detention camps?
A. Torothans
B. Xindi
C. Tandarans
D. Kreetassans
Answer: C. The Tandarans shared their territory with the Suliban for a long
time, but a fear of the Cabal led them to create internment camps for
Suliban living in their territory.

4. A group of Vulcans were stranded on Earth prior to the official first
contact of the two species. When did the two races first meet?
A. 1986
B. 1974
C. 1957
D. 1943
Answer: C. A group of Vulcan scientists, including T'Pol's second
foremother, crash landed on Earth while they were investigating the launch
of Sputnik in 1957. They were stranded on the planet for months while
awaiting rescue.

5. Trip once rescued Kaitaama, a member of the royal dynasty of what planet?
A. Kreetassa
B. Krios Prime
C. Andoria
D. Akaali
Answer: B. Kaitaama was the first monarch of the sovereign dynasty of Krios
Prime.

6. How many people were killed when the Xindi probe attacked Earth?
A. 7 million
B. 5 million
C. 2 million
D. 1 million
Answer: A. Although initial estimates of the death toll were 1 million, the
final figure reached 7 million.

7. Phlox once cloned which crewmember?
A. Reed
B. T'Pol
C. Trip
D. Mayweather
Answer: C. When Trip was in a coma with extensive neural damage, Phlox
cloned him using a Lyssarian desert larvae in order to obtain neural tissue
to cure him.

8. Who sabotaged the Xindi weapon test?
A. Gralik Durr
B. Degra
C. Jonathan Archer
D. Shran
Answer: A. When Captain Archer told Gralik the truth about what his kemocite
was being used for, Gralik sabotaged the project by altering the kemocite.

9. Who was the Xindi scientist that developed their weapon?
A. Jannar
B. Damron
C. Dolim
D. Degra
Answer: D. Degra developed the Xindi weapon.

10. In an alternate timeline, after the Xindi destroyed Earth, to which
planet did the survivors go?
A. Ceti Alpha V
B. Alpha Centauri
C. Vega Colony
D. Cestus III
Answer: A. In an alternate timeline, the surviving six thousand Humans took
refuge on Ceti Alpha V following the destruction of Earth, Mars, Alpha
Centauri, and Vega Colony.

11. What century was Crewman Daniels from?
A. 23rd century
B. 27th century
C. 29th century
D. 30th century
Answer: D. Daniels claimed to be from the 30th century.

12. Who helped the Germans win WWII in an alternate timeline?
A. Silik
B. Tarquin
C. Vosk
D. Degra
Answer: C. Vosk was a member of a Temporal Cold War faction who believed
that time was a tool to cultivate their own faction at the expense of
others.

13. Who did Phlox compare to a Draxxan cloud viper?
A. T'Pol
B. Hoshi
C. Trip
D. Reed
Answer: A. Phlox accused T'Pol of creeping around like a Draxxan cloud viper
when the crew was in stasis. Unknown to Phlox, T'Pol was actually one of
many hallucinations he was experiencing.

14. Who was killed when Earth's Embassy on Vulcan was bombed?
A. Ambassador Soval
B. Admiral Forrest
C. Admiral Gardner
D. Ambassador V'Lar
Answer: B. Admiral Forrest was killed when Earth's Embassy was bombed. He
saved Ambassador Soval's life in the process.

15. Who invented the transporter?
A. Emory Erickson
B. Captain Jefferies
C. Henry Archer
D. Arik Soong
Answer: A. Emory Erickson invented the transporter.

16. How many Enterprise NX-01 crewmen did not survive the mission in the
Expanse?
A. 9
B. 15
C. 27
D. 50
Answer: C. 27 Enterprise NX-01 crewmen died during the attempt to save
Earth.

17. What member of the Enterprise NX-01 crew worked for Section 31?
A. Hoshi
B. Trip
C. Mayweather
D. Reed
Answer: D. Malcolm Reed worked for Section 31.

18. Where did the Syrranites hide from the Vulcan High Council?
A. Fire Plains
B. Mount Seleya
C. Mount Tar'Hana
D. The Forge
Answer: D. The Syrranites hid in the Forge.

19. Who was the mother of Shran's child?
A. Talas
B. Jhamel
C. Tarah
D. T'Pol
Answer: B. Jhamel and Shran had a daughter.

20. Who took over Trip's position on the Enterprise NX-01 after he
transferred to Columbia?
A. Kelby
B. Massaro
C. Jenkins
D. Mayweather
Answer: A. Commander Kelby became Chief Engineer on the Enterprise NX-01
after Trip left.

Bonus Question 1: In an alternate timeline, Jonathan Archer married a woman
of what race?
A. Andorian
B. Vulcan
C. Ikaaran
D. Draylaxian
Answer: C. In an alternate timeline where the Enterprise was thrown 117
years into the past, Jonathan Archer married an Ikaaran named Esilia, after
Enterprise rescued her ship from an anomaly field.

Bonus Question 2: Udar was called Smike by the other Augments raised by Dr.
Arik Soong. Which Charles Dickens novel is the source of this nickname?
A. Great Expectations
B. Nicholas Nickelby
C. A Tale of Two Cities
D. A Christmas Carol
Answer: B. Udar's nickname came from the book Nicholas Nickelby. The
character Smike was Nicholas Nickelby's handicapped friend.

Bonus Question 3: Which of the Xindi species were responsible for the
destruction of the Xindi home world, Xindus?
A. The Aquatics and the Avians
B. The Reptilians and the Insectoids
C. The Primates and the Reptilians
D. The Insectoids and the Aquatics
Answer: B. During the Xindi Civil War, the Insectoids and Reptillians
detonated massive explosions beneath the 8 largest seismic fissures on
Xindus, destroying the planet, and causing the extinction of the Avians.

Scores:
Ben Versteegt: 17 + 1 = 18 points
Rob Versteegt: 15 +2 = 17 points
Rob Verlinden: 12 + 1 = 13 points

Cumulative Rankings:
1. Rob Versteegt: 87 points (7 quizzes)
2. Rob Verlinden: 80 points (6 quizzes)
3. Bram Peeters: 77 points (6 quizzes)
4. Ben Versteegt: 69 points (5 quizzes)
5. Merijn Donders: 62 points (4 quizzes)
6. Pat Buidin: 32 points (2 quizzes)
7. Sussie Anderson: 28 points (3 quizzes)
8. Adrian Rodd: 27 points (3 quizzes)
9. Rickardh Karlsson: 12 points (1 quiz)
10. Martin Miller: 10 points (1 quiz)
11. Brandon Allard: 8 points (1 quiz)
12. David Susman: 5 points (1 quiz)

Rankings based on average:
(only includes people who answered more than one quiz)
1. Pat Buidin: 16 point average
2. Merijn Donders: 15.5 point average
3. Ben Versteegt: 13.8 point average
4. Rob Verlinden: 13.3 point average
5. Bram Peeters: 12.8 point average
6. Rob Versteegt: 12.4 point average
7. Sussie Anderson: 9.3 point average
8. Adrian Rodd: 9 point average

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Promotions in May 2005, by Rob Versteegt
--------------------------------------------------------------------

>From Cadet to Ensign:

Cadet Pierce Mitchell, played by Phil Parrot => Ensign ACONN Pierce
Mitchell, USS Odyssey.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Posting Stats in May 2005, by Rob Versteegt
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Calhoun players:
(229 Posts)

Adrian Rodd: 55 (Cal 36, Panda 9, Atly 10) PC: 13
Kelley MacKinnon: 72 (Cal 72) PC: 15
Laura Elliot: 37 (Cal 37) PC: 9
Mark O'Bannon: 8 (Cal 5, Atly 3) PC: 4
Aaron DeLay: 11 (Cal 11) PC: 7
Jake Hanlon: 28 (Cal 28) PC: 22
Angelic Noble: 6 (Cal 6) PC: 6
Jeremy Beeler: 23 (Cal 23) PC: 12
Patrick Buidin: 3 (Cal 3) PC: 1


USS Odyssey players:
(58 Posts)

Rob Verlinden: 6 (Ody 6) PC: 5
Dennis Church: 12 (Ody 9, Panda 3) PC: 7
Martin Miller: 10 (Ody 5, Atly 5) PC: 5
Dawn Johnson: 16 (Ody 6, Panda 3, Atly 7) PC: 6
Abby Leib: 2 (Ody 2) PC: 2
Matthew Cobble: 1 (Ody 1) PC: 1
Yugoslav Zingovski: 2 (Ody 2) PC: 2
David Church: 2 (Ody 2) PC: 2


USS Valkyrie players:
(84 Posts)

Brandon Allard: 5 (Valk 5) PC: 5
Jonathan Hardy: 8 (Valk 8) PC: 4
Matt Brown: 39 (Ody 6, Valk 12, Panda 21) PC: 10
Richard Clogston: 20 (Ody 5, Valk 15) PC: 8
Ann Montague: 5 (Valk 5) PC: 5
Clare Bradley: 1 (Valk 1) PC: 1
Ruben Hilbers: 16 (Valk 16) PC: 7


Pandora Station players:
(136 Posts)

Bram Peeters: 31 (Ody 1, Panda 22, Atly 8) PC: 6
Rob Versteegt: 86 (Cal 15, Ody 6, Valk 13, Panda 37, Atly 15) PC: 3
Sussie Andersson: 17 (Panda 14, Atly 3) PC: 6
Aaron Langston: 8 (Panda 8) PC: 8
Gael Imaddedine: 5 (Valk 2, Panda 3) PC: 2


USS Atlantis players:
(94 Posts)

David Susman: 44 (Ody 4, Valk 7, Panda 11, Atly 22) PC: 8
Ben Versteegt: 13 (Ody 3, Panda 6, Atly 4) PC: 3
Alonzo Soban: 5 (Atly 5) PC: 5
Rickardh Karlsson: 6 (Atly 6) PC: 6
Hanna Brunefeldt: 3 (Atly 3) PC: 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alpha Centauri Mystery - Part 23 - Questions, by Ben Versteegt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Things rarely ever go as planned. This was certainly the case for
Captain Ayer and his crew: after a Starfleet facility on the planet Alpha
Centauri III was destroyed, Ayer has lost his ship, his crew and his
freedom, all because of mysterious crystals found near the Alpha Centauri
system. A Starfleet Captain by the name of Donovan has captured the crystals
and Ayer, and is torturing him for information, or just simply for revenge.
Meanwhile, Zjavick, Sandra and Zaag, having just escaped death, have been
beamed up from the lifeless wreck of the Aquinas. On the USS Sophocles, they
will now do whatever they can to locate Captain Ayer and the crystals.
However, it is a big galaxy, and Ayer could be anywhere by now.

And now the continuation:

Captain Ayer slumped to the ground. He wanted to fight, to resist the
beating he kept receiving, but he couldn't. The right side of his face was
covered in bruises, and a trickle of red blood flowed from his right
eyebrow. He tasted blood in his mouth; his nose was bleeding, too, and he
couldn't move his left arm -- it was broken when he had desperately tried to
block one of Donovan's swings. He was certain he had a few broken ribs, too,
but he didn't know exactly which ribs had been broken. The pain throughout
his body was too intense to pinpoint a specific location of pain.

Donovan swung the steel pipe victoriously above his head, readying himself
for another violent attack against Ayer. The smile that had been on his face
minutes ago had now disappeared. He seemed somewhere else with his mind -- 
not here, anyway. It was as if, after seeing and inflicting so much pain
onto his enemy, he switched over to auto-pilot. The man had, in his career,
been responsible for many acts of violence. It helped if he could simply
switch off his conscious mind so that he wouldn't have to see what he did.
It wasn't really a matter of a troubled conscience -- he was convinced that
the atrocities he had to perform were for a just cause -- but there was only
so much violence one man could take.

"Stop!" Ayer's voice was so soft Donovan could just barely hear him. "I'll
tell you everything," Ayer said, desperate to escape the beating Donovan was
subjecting him to. Beaten by Donovan, both literally and metaphorically,
Ayer had no choice but to co-operate with the Captain of the Iapetus. If he
wanted to live, he was going to have to talk.

The problem was that there was nothing for Ayer to talk about. Donovan
wanted to know everything about the samples, but all Ayer knew about them
were rumours, and he was sure Donovan knew about them too. Yet, if he didn't
tell Donovan what he wanted to know, The Captain of the Iapetus would start
hitting him again, convinced that Ayer did harbour the needed information.
He realised he would have to make something up.

Slowly, Donovan put down the pole he was holding. His mind seemed to have
switched back into conscious-mode. "Finally. Go ahead, I'm listening."

Now it was time to come up with a convincing lie -- if Donovan found out
that Ayer was simply making things up, he would hit him again. If anything,
thought Ayer, he had postponed any further pain for a few seconds, for which
he was grateful. Luckily, he stumbled upon an idea that he had thought of
not long ago -- it seemed to him a reasonably plausible explanation of where
the samples had originated. It was all speculation, of course, but hopefully
Donovan wouldn't recognise it as such. "It was a planet," he told Donovan
slowly.

Ayer seemed to have Donovan's undivided attention. So far so good. "Go on."

"According to the scientists who told me this information, the crystals are
small fragments of the core of a rogue planet. Apparently," Ayer continued,
periodically pausing to deal with the surges of pain that kept making
themselves known to him, "the core consisted of an unknown material that,
when subjected to intense pressure and heat, forms these crystals you're
after."

"What happened to the planet?" Donovan asked, his voice low.

"I would think..." Ayer began but paused to involuntary cough up some blood,
"...that it'd be obvious." Moaning, he struggled to sit up against the
bulkhead. "The planet exploded."

"And so the core fragments crystallised under the force of the explosion,"
Donovan understood. "But why? What caused the planet to explode?"

Ayer shrugged, but instantly regretted it, for a surge of pain made itself
known to him. "I honestly don't know. Perhaps the Romulans discovered the
planet before we did, and realised its potential. I think they are the ones
responsible for blowing it up."

Donovan rubbed his chin in thought. "That's possible... But highly unlikely.
We would have known about it."

Ayer couldn't resist. "Perhaps you and your organisation aren't as
all-knowing as you originally thought. After all, you did miss an entire
planet."

The Iapetus' Captain's fist clenched around the metallic pole, but he
managed to get a hold of himself. Knocking Ayer unconscious would prove to
be a mistake at this point, at least from a tactical point of view. He
seemed to have information, still. "Planets don't just appear or disappear.
If there was a planet there, it couldn't have been far from Alpha Centauri.
It would be impossible to miss."

"Then let me be the first to congratulate you," Ayer said, grinning despite
the pain. "You succeeded in accomplishing the impossible."

Donovan raised the pole. "Watch it, Ayer," he said menacingly.

"Oh come on, Donovan," replied Ayer, succeeding, much to his surprise, in
temporarily ignoring the pain he was feeling. "Haven't you tortured me
enough? Look at me!" His voice was hoarse and the pain in his arm intense.
"What left is there of me to break?"

"I may have broken your bones," Donovan said as he took a couple of small
steps forward, "but judging from your sarcasm and your continued defiance, I
see I haven't broken your will... Yet. For a man who is broken, you talk too
much. And that..." Donovan actually smiled now. "That leads me to believe
you may be not telling the whole truth."

Realising Donovan was on to him, Ayer desperately sought for ways out of
this discussion. He knew where it was heading, and he didn't like it at all.
"The planet was inhabited," Ayer added quickly. He was proceeding on
assumptions which he thought could explain all unanswered questions, but
which were, to him, beginning to sound increasingly less rational or
believable. "I don't know the name of the species that lived there, but
apparently they were an incredibly advanced civilisation. They managed to
hide their planet from the rest of the galaxy by using some sort of large
cloaking field."

"Interesting," Donovan commented. "That would explain why we couldn't detect
this planet." He lowered the pole again and leaned against it, in very much
the same way as a cane was used. Perhaps, Ayer thought silently to himself,
the Captain of the Iapetus was suffering from a pain of some sort? Maybe he
could use it as an advantage... if only he could find the strength to get
up.

"Hold on." Donovan seemed to have thought of something. "That cloaking field
still wouldn't explain why no scientist, Federation or otherwise, has
discovered the explosion of that planet."

Ayer shrugged slightly. "Perhaps the planet's destruction took place before
the Federation even existed, and it took the pieces of debris this long to
finally float into an inhabited system. Those fragments don't exactly move
at warp speed, you know."

Donovan nodded, deep in thought. At moments like these, he didn't seem to
look upon Ayer as an enemy -- rather, he seemed to view Ayer as an equal and
rational partner in a scientific theoretical discussion. In any other
circumstances, Ayer would have been fascinated by the way Donovan managed to
change personalities, as it were, depending on the situation. Now, however,
Ayer could only watch and try to ignore the pain.

"A reasonable explanation," Donovan agreed. "Hypothetical, but reasonable."
Again, he paused to think. "All right," he said after a moment of thought,
"I'll buy it. Let's say that your statements are true and that what you have
just told me is in fact exactly what the Starfleet scientists have told you.
If all that holds, then why haven't we been able to find more samples? They
can't all have fallen into enemy hands, and that planet's core must have
exploded into more crystals than what we have managed to find. So tell me,
Ayer. Where can I find the rest of the crystals?"

"Scattered around the galaxy, I would say," Ayer replied. "Or, at least,
scattered around this sector and maybe the next few adjoining ones. I don't
know where, exactly. The scientists didn't tell me."

Donovan grinned menacingly again. "I think they did."

With a sigh, Ayer pretended to give in. "All right. They did make some vague
comments about it -- nothing in the sense of co-ordinates, mind you, but I
may be able to get you in the right direction."

"Anything you could say about the whereabouts of the rest of the crystals
would be greatly appreciated," Donovan replied in an overtly polite tone.
"Now, where are they?"

Ayer made a show out of making it clear he was in a lot of pain. "I can't
remember," he told his captor. "The pain... It's too intense. Can't... think
this way." It was true that the pain he was feeling was immense, but despite
a few punches to his head, his brain was working perfectly and trying to
find a way to escape. "Please. Give me something for the pain."

Donovan's raising an eyebrow at Ayer's display was hardly the result he had
hoped for, but his plan did seem to work. Whether Donovan was convinced or
not was hard to tell, but he nodded all the same. "Very well. Since you've
been helpful to us so far, I'm willing to be lenient. Don't get used to it,
though," he added.

Ayer managed to nod. "Very kind of you," he said and rested his head against
the wall. At least he had bought himself some time... Although he didn't
know what he was buying time for. A rescue seemed out of the question, and
escaping on his own would be difficult, to say the least. All Ayer could
really do was wait.


Waiting was also what Zjavick, Sandra and Zaag were doing, and they weren't
happy with it. After having beamed aboard by the USS Sophocles, they had
been escorted to the ship's sickbay, where they were now being given full
examinations by the doctor -- a grumpy old woman with a voice resembling, to
Zjavick at least, a damaged comm unit. Despite their repeated requests to
speak to the Captain, the doctor wouldn't let them go. "If you walk out of
this sickbay and it turns out that there is still something wrong with you,
guess who the Captain will blame?" she told them in that creaky voice of
hers.

Luckily, the Captain himself came to visit them instead. "Commander
Zjavick," said Captain Kellin, a human male, well in his forties. The grey
features in his hair gave him a distinguished look. "I trust you have some
explaining to do."

Zjavick nodded. "I do, sir. But..." He paused for a moment, hesitant to ask
the question he was about to ask. "With all due respect, Captain, what is
the Sophocles doing in this sector?"

Kellin was understandably surprised. "I would think that is obvious,
Commander. We've received your distress call and we're here to bring aboard
the survivors of the Aquinas and to assist in any way we can. I must say I
am surprised at your response, Commander Zjavick. You seem almost...
suspicious of our presence here."

"I meant no disrespect, of course," Zjavick sighed. "It's just that we've
already come across one hostile Federation ship in this area, and seeing as
the Aquinas was supposed to be the only one in the sector, well, I thought
it'd be best to ask."

"A *hostile* Federation vessel?" To Kellin, there could be no such thing,
even though Zjavick had just spoken of it. "Are you sure it was a Federation
ship?"

"I'm positive," replied Zjavick. "We were attacked by a Prometheus class
vessel; the USS Iapetus, commanded by a Captain Donovan. The Iapetus took
out our shields, disabled our ship and beamed away the crystal samples we
had managed to retrieve from the destroyed planetary base in the Alpha
Centauri system. Evidently, those samples were the reason why the base was
attacked."

"We just left Alpha Centauri space, looking for you." Kellin folded his
arms. "I've spoken to a number of scientists there, and they kept asking me
about the samples, which I knew nothing about. Apparently they're some
source of power, and extremely important to various major powers in the
galaxy. After the stunt they pulled back at Alpha Centauri III, I would have
expected the destruction of the Aquinas to be the work of the Romulans...
But you're saying it was a Federation ship? I find that extremely hard to
believe, Commander."

"It was a Starfleet vessel, Captain," Zjavick explained, "but I don't think
they were acting on orders of Starfleet itself. Donovan and the crew of that
ship apparently are a member of some secret organisation within the
Federation and Starfleet -- or at least, so Donovan has claimed."

"Donovan said he stole the samples because he wanted them to be kept safe,"
Sandra cut in. "Apparently, he was convinced that the Romulans would attack
us again if he didn't beat them to it."

"He may have been right, too," Zaag contributed to the conversation. "We
encountered a Romulan warbird not long after we were disabled. With their
help, we tracked down the Iapetus and boarded it, took the samples, and got
back here. But the Iapetus followed us, took back the samples and Captain
Ayer, and left us to die on the Aquinas. We just got life support back on
line when you contacted us," he finished, not without pride.

"Hold on, hold on." Kellin was confused. "Let's go back to the beginning.
You say you were attacked by a Starfleet starship. Could you have..." he
paused, "provoked them in any way?"

Zaag took an angry step forward. "Look, Captain, I know it's difficult to
believe, but believe it. Every surviving crewmember of the Aquinas will tell
you the same thing: we were attacked by a Federation starship. We didn't
provoke them, we didn't taunt them and we didn't do anything to upset them.
We were just happily flying as fast as we could to the Starbase, when the
Iapetus showed up on our tail and started bombarding us with torpedoes!"

"Check your sensors," Sandra told Kellin. "There are Federation weapon
signatures on the hull of the Aquinas. That should tell you all you need to
know."

"You can study the sensors analyses later however," Zjavick cut in. "First
things first: we need to find the Iapetus, and we need to rescue Captain
Ayer and take back the samples. They've sustained damage in their fight with
us and with the Romulans, and their ion trail will therefore be more
difficult to mask. That makes it easier for us to find them."

Kellin sighed. "I can't say I fancy the idea of going after another
Federation ship with the goal of engaging it in battle. Not only is that
action in direct violation of about half a dozen Starfleet regulations, but
it's also a damned foolish thing to do, from a tactical point of view: the
Sophocles is no match for a Prometheus class."

"We have to do *something*!" argued Sandra. "We owe that to Uncle Pete." At
Kellin's surprised look, she added, "and we can't let the samples fall into
the wrong hands, either."

Kellin nodded thoughtfully. "From what I've heard about these crystals, we
can't risk them being used to strengthen our enemies -- against a fleet
powered by those crystals, the Federation wouldn't stand a chance." After a
moment of thought, the Captain continued, "Besides, I want answers, and you
lot are only giving me more questions. Very well, we'll find this Iapetus
and catch up with her. And then... Well, we'll just have to see what
happens, won't we?"

He tapped his communicator. "Kellin to the Bridge. I'm looking for a
Prometheus class vessel in the area. See if you can scan for its ion trial."

=/\= On it, sir, =/\= replied a voice, only to be followed moments later by
another statement. =/\= Actually, sir, I can do much better than giving you
an ion trail. I'm reading the bottom module of a Prometheus class, less than
a light-year away. And there are ion trails running away from this place,
heading towards that bottom module. They're consistent with the engine
emissions of the upper and the centre modules of a Prometheus class. =/\=

Kellin smiled. "Good work. Lay in a course and engage at maximum warp.
Kellin out." He turned to look at Zjavick, Sandra and Zaag. "Looks like we
found what we were looking for," he said to them. "Now let's see if we can
get some answers."


To be continued...
By Ben Versteegt

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