The Federation Tribune - September and October 2006
Rob Versteegt
chiefeditor at frontierfleet.com
Sun Oct 15 15:33:17 CEST 2006
==== The Federation Tribune ====
==== September / October 2006 ====
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Chief Editor's Notes:
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Ah yes, after having missed a deadline (real life can be so demanding from
time to time!) the Tribune is back! Did you miss us? I thought you might!
Anyway, in this edition, we have all the dutystations' status reports sent
to the Command list in September and October. But that's not all! No, Star
Trek's 40th aniversary will be celebrated in this issue as well. A tribute
to Frontier Fleet (because of its 6th birthday) has been included also, as
well as the answers to the latest Trek Trivia.
Enjoy!
Regs,
Rob.
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USS Calhoun status report : August 2006, by Adrien Rodd.
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Stardate : 2392.10.16
Location : holding position near Pandora Station
Having docked at the Station, the crew attempt to tell Captain Denorian
about their condition - but, to their shock and embarassment, discover that
trying to speak about it causes them to blurt out nonsense, or, in some
cases, start dancing or singing. The crew hastily pretext a warp coil
malfunction to undock from Pandora, and Captain Sarin calls a new senior
staff meeting to discuss what the causes might be and how to deal with the
situation.
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USS Odyssey Status Report, August 2006, by Rob Verlinden.
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Stardate: 2392.10.15
Location: On or 'near' Andor
After meeting Bennek's old friend Caltek, the away-team split up into two
parts. Nerfertii, Graves and Palder went to the hospital to determine the
real cause of the death of Radin, the Andorian head of the administration
department. Nerell, Jyll, Bennek and Caltek make their way to the government
building to find details on who is behind the selling of secret information.
However, they were caught inside the secret archives by a security guard and
locked in a holding cell. Will they get out, or do they have to spend the
night there?
The Odyssey was noticed in orbit by the Andorians, who requested them to
catch a pirate vessel. They notified captain Bennek and followed the
pirates. Once they caught up with them, Jalando sent in a boarding party
lead by Lt. Harmondale. The Pirates tricked them and captured the officers
on that team. They fired a strong Breen weapon at the Odyssey, which caused
a lot of damage to Engineering. Will the Pirates get away now?
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USS Valkyrie Status Report, August 2006, by Jon Hardy
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(] STARDATE [)
2392.09.26
(] LOCATION [)
Docked with Pandora Station
(] SUMMARY [)
The USS Valkyrie has docked with Pandora Station, where Captain Denebris has
come aboard and taken up his first captaincy. Also new to the senior crew
are Ensign Foster (ASTC), and Lieutenants Davis and T'Cal (OPS and CONN
respectively). Later that same day, Captain Denebris called a staff
briefing for the senior officers, and outlined the Valkyrie's first mission
under his command.
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USS Atlantis, Status Report, August 2006, by Ben Versteegt.
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Stardates:
- 2392.07.12
- 2392.07.14
Locations of the (crew of the) USS Atlantis:
- In Deasian space, approximately 2,7 light years away from the planet
Helteka in the Andari system, in the Gamma Quadrant, at a position roughly
1000 light years from the wormhole.
Summary:
- 2392.07.12
On board the L'tari 39, the Nilav, First Officer Hadan allowed Jomorr to
experience his memories that would make Jomorr realise the importance and
the meaning of the L'tari. The memory showed the plight of the Heltekans and
the reason why the convoys were absolutely necessary. Touched by the memory,
Jomorr now understood what the L'tari was all about... And why it had to
succeed.
- 2392.07.14:
Still before the attack occurred, Ensign Vil paid a visit to sickbay to have
the EMH give her something against her nausea. After the EMH scanned her, he
was pleased to give Vil the happy news: she was pregnant!
Under attack from a large fleet of pirate fighters, the convoy had trouble
defending itself. The pirates had surrounded the Atlantis, cutting the
larger starship off from the rest of the convoy and thereby making it
impossible for the Atlantis to come to the aid of any convoy ship. This left
the pirates relatively free to execute raids on various L'tari vessel, steel
their cargo, or destroy them altogether.
Most of the senior crew was on board the cargo ships, defending their
vessels from the continuing pirate attacks. The L'tari 25, Remember Edan,
had been damaged by the explosion of the L'tari 39's shuttlecraft, which was
on a mission to carry explosives to the subspace distortion field generator
that kept the L'tari ships from jumping to warp. The pirates had found out
about the shuttle, however, and had destroyed it, resulting in quite some
damage to the Edan. Lieutenant Montgomery lost consciousness, only to wake
up again in the Edan's sickbay, where he learned that the ship had been
boarded by a number of pirates.
On board the L'tari 17, Doctor Kadar decided to take the medical freighter
into battle. Many of the crew did not agree with this decision, and
rebelled. The mutiny was short-lived, for a small group of pirates took
advantage of the situation and took over the ship. Doctor Kadar, refusing to
bow down to the will of the pirates, contacted Captain Torn on the Atlantis.
She apprised Torn of her situation, enabling the Atlantis to get a lock on
the pirates and beam them into the brig of the starship.
Meanwhile, the L'tari 23, the T'Rinna, was also under attack by the pirates.
The pirates came in superior numbers, and it seemed as though the T'Rinna
didn't stand a chance. Commander Velden and Ensign Andrusia, the command
crew of the T'Rinna, managed to keep the inevitable at bay for a little
while longer through excellent piloting and some unorthodox tactics.
However, the T'Rinna's shields were soon gone, and the ship was securely
tethered to pirate ships that kept the L'tari 23 in place.
A larger pirate vessel, a troop carrier, eventually docked with the T'Rinna,
and the pirates started to cut a way through the deck plating of cargo bay
three in order to board the ship. Velden and Andrusia, along with most of
the Deasian crew, gathered just outside the cargo bay, in order to defend
their ship, crew and cargo at all costs. They were pleasantly surprised when
Lieutenant Rofellian beamed in from the shuttle Borhyas, bringing with him
firepower and the tactical knowledge to keep the pirates pinned down in the
cargo bay. It quickly became apparent, though, that the crew of the T'Rinna
could not keep this up for long.
Having witnessed their shuttle being blown to bits and damaging the Edan,
Jomorr and the crew of the Nilav decided to lend the Edan a hand. Deploying
escape pods filled with explosive chemicals as rudimentary mines to defend
the perimeter around the Edan, the Nilav docked with the damaged ship, and
Jomorr boarded the Edan with a security team, knowing that pirates had
boarded the ship as well. On their way to the Bridge, Jomorr and his team
ran into Montgomery, and the two of them are now heading towards the
Bridge... which Andersson, Vox and the Deasian crew just had to leave
because a viewport on the Bridge was in danger of breaching. Such a breach
will decompress the Bridge, and perhaps even the entire deck.
The Atlantis itself, meanwhile, was retaliating against the pirates. Trying
to scare the pirates into retreating, Torn ordered all weapons fired at the
enemy. In a grand display of light and destruction, the weapons of the
Atlantis managed to strike down quite a number of pirates. Finally, Captain
Torn's tactic worked: when one pirate vessel, the Flump, turned around and
fled the battle to escape destruction, many other ships followed the Flump's
example. Only the more idealistic "Freedom Fighters" were left, and their
numbers are not large enough to continue to hold their own against the
Atlantis...
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Pandora Station Status Report, August 2006, by Rob Versteegt.
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Location: On Pandora Station, still orbiting Pandora II.
Stardates:
2392.09.20
2392.09.22
2392.09.23
2392.09.24
2392.09.30
2392.10.16
Summary:
2392.09.20:
Security Officer Moineau and Engineering Officer Ta'agk knew they had to go
outside of the USS Solstice, in order to do maintenance on something related
to the phasers. After replicating an appropriate EV suit with the right
measurements for the Gorn, the duo went for a walk on the Solstice's hull.
When they found out that they had to remove a faulty phaser coil, and that
neither of them had the exact knowledge of how to do that, they made a
wager: if Ta'agk would be able to successfully replace that phaser coil,
Moineau would have to eat the Gorn's favourite food. If Ta'agk failed, the
Gorn would have to eat the Human's favourite meal. . .
Also on 2392.09.20, Nurse Ida Waldau was addressed by Mrs. Megumi Simpson,
who had come to Sickbay with one of her children. The young baby was crying
all the time, and she didn't look all that healthy. Nurse Waldau quickly
fetched Lieutenant Vok, who determined that this was just a small virus,
which could easily be treated.
2392.09.22:
Captain Denebris and Captain Kane continued talking about the pros and cons
of being in command. . . and at the same time, the ex-CO of Pandora informed
the CO of the Valkyrie about a place called the 'Captain's table'.
2392.09.23:
Counsellor Tek Aslam and Reporter Iana Darnena were talking about death. . .
since Darnena had only recently found out that she has an illness which
would ultimately mean the loss of her life, she was very. . . emotional
about this subject.
On the same date, Yalon Marg and Melissa Kinnard went on what Yalon would
call a 'date'. Unfortunately for him, Ms. Kinnard didn't seem to agree with
that assessment. During an awkward moment in a turbolift, Yalon finally said
what was 'bothering' him. . . he loved Melissa. Still, would Ms. Kinnard
return that love?
2392.09.24:
A new STC arrived on Pandora Station: Lieutenant JG Jaal. When she reported
for duty to Captain Denorian, the CO welcomed her, and immediately gave her
task upon task that he'd like her to complete. It seemed that being STC of
Pandora Station would not be an easy job. . . Still, Ms. Jaal first got
permission to unpack and settle in. . . and the woman used that time to go
to Sickbay to get her physical.
2392.09.30:
Lieutenant Dan Marck, the new CMO of Pandora Station, arrived, and
immediately called Captain Denorian to Sickbay, instead of reporting in to
the CO. This didn't go well with the Bajoran CO, who made it a point to let
the CMO know about this. Unfortunately, his 'speech' about rules and
regulations seemed to fall on deaf ears, since once Denorian had gone away,
Marck simply continued what he had been doing before Denorian showed up:
deactivating EMH's and looking over the service records for medical
personnel, to find out who would have the honour of being Marck's personal
slave. . .
2392.10.16 (part of the Calhoun mission):
When the Calhoun docked at Pandora Station, several of the Calhoun crew
beamed over. . . only to act rather strangely in front of Captain Denorian,
Captain Kane, and quite a number of other Pandora crew members. Not only
that, but shortly after this. . . tap dancing, singing, etc, the Calhoun
moved away from Pandora Station, because of a 'damaged warp coil'. Captain
Denorian didn't really trust this. . . and his mistrust in the Calhoun crew
was strengthened by a communiqué from Admiral Baine, saying that a Starfleet
research station had been damaged, while the Calhoun had been in the
neighbourhood. Captain Denorian then decided that it was probably best to
have the Calhoun monitored. . .
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Public Relations Status Report, August 2006, by Rob Versteegt.
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Public Relations Status Report, August 2006.
Hmm, interesting. There were 18 signups in August 2006. That's more than in
previous months. Maybe it's a sign that things are going the right way
again? Of course, there were several signups which just weren't use-able,
and others that were just plain silly, but still, there were a couple of
signups which were rather good! At least one of them has already gone
through the Academy, and has been assigned to one of our dutystations!
Here's where those 18 signups found us:
7: Voting site / Banner exchange.
2: Unknown.
5: Google or another search engine.
1: Via a friend, family.
3: Just browsing the internet
Well, it would seem that voting *does* help! ;-) So here we go, we've
arrived at that part of the status report which you all know: the plea to
vote! So... vote! www.frontierfleet.net/comm/vote
And to you who are already voting for us: Great job, and keep up the good
work! ;-)
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SF Academy Status Report, August 2006, by Martin Miller.
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Active Instructors: (7)
Chief Instructor Sedaq, played by Adrien Rodd.
Instructor Vivienne Creenan, played by Rob Versteegt.
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden.
Instructor Dorvan Lar, played by Rick Clogston.
Instructor Kavar Enal, played by Jovan Gegov.
Instructor Aaron Mackinee, played by Martin Miller.
Instructor Liz Bronson, played by Laura Elliot.
==================
Instructors Gained: (2)
Instructor Kembra Iarin, played by Scott Rick
Instructor Sarah Fisher, played by Matthew Huffman
==================
Cadets lost: (2)
Cadet Tom Athantos, played by Tom Rood
Cadet Jonathan Ditch, played by Benjamin Ditch
==================
New Signups: 18 (5 entered the Academy)
==================
Individual Cadets: (5)
Cadet Ireyon Farelle, played by Ramon Vos (Bobby)(Since 4th of January)
Cadet Jordon Eve Mcknight, played by Tiffany Porter (Laura)(Since 21st of
June)
Cadet Asherael Dawn, played by Matthew Pratter (Rob)(Since 4th of August)
Cadet Frank Ryan, played by Sam Walker (Rick)(Since 7th of August)
Cadet Andrew Wright, played by Keving Padilla (Jovan)(Since 10th of August)
Cadet Lan Tori, played by Ramon Snir (Scott)(Since 31st of August)
==================
Graduates: (1)
Cadet Michael Kurtog Gambit, played by Larry Otswold
==================
AcadCM Comments:
Well as you can see from the Status report we've had a few new cadets to
replace the cadets we've lost, so hopefully by next month we'll have quite a
few graduates.
I'd also like to point out that we have some new Instructors Also being
Matthew Huffman and Scott Rick, to replace those who have left those who
will be leaving once they have finished with there current cadets.
Also good job to Bobby for doing more PR things, as PR means more cadets and
more cadets means more graduations which means more players, so lets hope
for a better month in September.
cheers,
Martin
Admiral Elizabeth Anyanka.
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USS Calhoun status report : September 2006, by Adrien Rodd.
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STARDATE: 2392.10.16
LOCATION : docked at Pandora Station
EPISODE: #27 (2.01), "Change of Mind"
Docked at Pandora Station once more, the crew wonder how to communicate
their condition to Pandora's crew and senior officers. New crewmembers come
aboard, along with captains Kane and Denorian, and are baffled by the
Calhoun crew's inexplicably bizarre behaviour. Meanwhile, each strange new
experience helps the latter move slowly towards understanding and solving
their own predicament. . .
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USS Odyssey Status Report, September 2006, by Martin Miller.
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Stardate: 2392.10.15
Location: On or 'near' Andor
With the Odyssey under repair from the damage caused by the Breen weapon
onboard the Celestial Dagger, the Pirates with there now hostages from the
Odyssey are making a slow bid for freedom, travelling only at impulse as
there ship lacks there power necessary for warp power.
In the middle of all this happening T'Kella gave birth to her unborn child
in the Captain's ready room, with Greystone, Jalando, Chong present.
Needless to say some of the best things in life can happen at the worst of
times and this happened to be one of them, all though it would be celebrated
when the ship was not in the need of repair.
Meanwhile on the Planet surface of Andor Nerell and Jyll have been
discovered by a citizen of Andor, all though a minor problem at first the
female Andorian has offered her services to help them as best as she can.
Also at this same time Nerfertii, Palder and Graves have returned to the
school to divulge there information found when investigating the death of
Caltek's supervisor, Sh'lin Radin.
In the holding cell, Bennek and Caltek are still being held against there
will but they are in discussion with Drelev the only other person than Radin
to have viewed the secret archives making him either a friend or foe?
Stardate: 2392.10.17
Location: Near Wolf System on Andor
With the Odyssey finally repaired they are again travelling at warp
following the two day old warp trail left behind by the Celestial Dagger,
all though they are two days behind with there Transwarp engine back online
they realise it won't take them long to seek out the Pirate vessel.
The Pirates on the Dragon in the mean time have just pulled into orbit above
a planet with a pre-warp civilisation to offload there hostages with food
and a means of contacting a Starfleet vessel, Captain Lewis of the Dagger
does not want to leave them there because of the Federation Prime Directive,
but she is left with no other choice.
In another part of the sector Drelev has been contacted by Yok a Ferengi
trader who was supposed to receive the cargo that the Dagger is carrying,
but Captain Lewis of the Dagger has checked the cargo they are carrying and
learned of its true potential and how dangerous it actually is.
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USS Valkyrie Status Report, September 2006, by Dennis Church.
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(] STARDATE [)
Currently 2392.10.12 (still posting at 2392.10.11 on Valk)
(] LOCATION [)
Valkryie - Te'Har System
PaRel/Schofield - Canok Nor
(] SUMMARY [)
Having recieved their first mission, the Valkyrie arrives at the Te'Har
system, under orders to find the source and cure a mysterious disease that
now plagues the Te'Har race and decimated a Starfleet team observing the
Te'Har at a duckblind installation. A large team lead by Commander Byrne is
sent down to the duck blind to investigate how the disease permeated the
facility and to conduct repairs on the installation, while the Valkyrie has
begun a preliminary investigation into the source of the disease.
Meanwhile, ex-Starfleet officers X'oX PaRel and Emile Schofield have been
given an assignment by Starfleet intelligence - to track down the true
perpetrators of the plague. In true valkyrie fashion, they are not going
about it how Starfleet wants them to....will that prove more effective or
ultimately derail their search for the truth?
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USS Atlantis Status Report, September 2006, by Ben Versteegt.
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Stardates:
- 2392.07.12
- 2392.07.14
Locations of the (crew of the) USS Atlantis:
- In Deasian space, approximately 2,7 light years away from the planet
Helteka in the Andari system, in the Gamma Quadrant, at a position roughly
1000 light years from the wormhole.
Summary:
- 2392.07.12
On board the L'tari 3, the Starseeker, Atlantis officer Bukov and Starseeker
crewman Wup had a conversation.
- 2392.07.14:
The battle between the Atlantis and the L'tari vessels on the one side and
the pirates and Freedom Fighters on the other raged on. With the Atlantis
still being kept busy by a large number of Freedom Fighters, the pirates
were free to ransack the convoy and try to commandeer or destroy as many
L'tari ships as they could.
After the L'tari 25, the Remember Edan, had practically been disabled and
had been boarded by Freedom Fighters, Jomorr on the Nilav (L'tari 39)
decided to lend a hand. Having docked the Nilav with the Edan, Jomorr led a
team onto the Edan to take out the pirates. On board, he ran into Lieutenant
Montgomery, and they made their way towards the Bridge. However, a viewport
on the Bridge was in danger of breaking, which would result in the exposure
of the entire first deck of the Edan to the vacuum of space.
Fortunately, emergency bulkheads had prevented this from happening, and the
crew was safe. But only for the moment... The Freedom Fighters had taken
over the engine room of the Edan. They destroyed the coolant systems and
reactivated the warp core. This would result in an overload and eventually a
warp core breach. The Edan would be completely destroyed, and so would the
Nilav, if it remained docked to the Edan. The Freedom Fighters reasoned that
if they couldn't take control of the ship, no one would -- they desperately
didn't want the ship to reach Helteka.
While Jomorr and a team of Deasians headed to the engine room to see what
they could do about the impending warp core overload, the rest of the Edan's
crew was evacuated to the Nilav. The two Freedom Fighters that wanted to
prevent this by shooting down everyone who tried to leave the Edan, were
quickly incapacitated.
With 45 seconds left to go, Jomorr ordered the Nilav to undock, leaving him
and his team stranded on the Edan. After he was forced to shoot down the
Freedom Fighters, he managed to deactivate the warp core just in time. The
overload was averted.
On board the L'tari 23, the T'Rinna, another countdown started. The pirate
ship which had docked to the T'Rinna's third cargo bay was venting
radiation. That did not only mean that the crew would have to receive
inoculations when this wall over, but it also posed a different risk
entirely: the cargo the T'Rinna was carrying was a substance called
quaratum, which becomes dangerously unstable and explodes at a radiation
level of 350 rads.
While Lieutenant Rofellian and most of the Deasian crew were left behind to
keep the pirates at bay (even though the pirates had greater numbers),
Commander Velden, Ensign Andrusia and a Deasian crewmember called Wana
rushed to the emergency control room to disconnect the entire cargo bay
three module from the T'Rinna. It involved switching gears, turning wheels
and pulling levers, but they eventually succeeded -- again, just in time.
The entire cargo bay three module, together with the pirate ship, exploded
not much later, only scratching the T'Rinna instead of destroying the ship.
On board the Jatmey, Kadar's ship, the Doctor pondered the decisions she had
made during recent events. The attempted mutiny by Doctor Zeiss and the
commandeering of her ship by pirates were hard to forget. On top of that,
she and her crew were far from certain that they were going to survive the
next few minutes...
The Atlantis, meanwhile, was facing problems of her own. After having scared
away the pirate ships, the Freedom Fighters seemed no match for the mighty
Atlantis... But what their ships lacked in strength, their Captains made up
for in determination. Captain Waar, the Freedom Fighter captain of the
'Valour', set a collision course with the Atlantis. Intending to ram the
Federation starship, she believed that would take out the Atlantis and
enable the rest of the Freedom Fighters to go after the convoy.
She hadn't taken into account the Atlantis' tractor beam, however. The beam
kept the Valour at bay, but Waar was pushing her ship's engines to their
limits, putting quite a strain on the tractor beam emitters. What was more,
Waar activated some sort of auto-destruct sequence on her ship. The
anti-matter explosion would damage the Atlantis severely enough on its own,
but the Valour also had shipments of tricobalt in its cargo bays. The
resulting explosion would be enormous... and it might very well take out the
Atlantis.
With only two minutes to go, Captain Torn ordered the Atlantis to push the
Valour into the minefield, away from the L'tari convoy. Slowly but surely,
the Valour and the Atlantis entered the minefield, their movement hampered
by the overloading engines of the Valour, which was trying to push them
back. When the Valour's impulse engines finally shut down, the Atlantis was
able to push the ship further into the nebula, even within range of the
installation which generated the subspace distortion field...
But by that time, there were only seconds left. The Valour's anti-matter
containment field failed (as planned by Waar), and the ship exploded,
igniting the tricobalt and lighting the area in a fiery burst of bright,
destructive flames...
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Pandora Station Status Report, September 2006, by Rob Versteegt.
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Location:
Pandora Station, still orbiting Pandora II
Stardates:
2392.09.20
2392.09.22
2392.09.24
2392.10.16
Summary:
2392.09.20:
Mrs. Simpson had made sure that Cheryll, one of her children, had been cured
in Sickbay, before she went back to Stellar Cartography to get the other
three. After all, if there was even a small chance that those children were
infected too, Mrs. Megumi Simpson had to make sure that all her children
were healthy.
Also, Mr. Ta'agk and Mr. Moineau still worked on repairing one of the phaser
coils. However, due to Moineau being fairly inexperienced with an
environmental suit, the Security Officer got into trouble, and flew away in
the zero-g environment that was Pandora's main docking bay. Ta'agk went to
catch him, with a tether being his only support. Would it hold?
2392.09.22:
Captains Denorian and Kane continued talking about the so-called Captain's
Table, rules and regulations, and the fact that the Valkyrie is called a
ship of misfits...
2392.09.24:
The new STC, Ms. Jaal, arrived on Pandora Station, and immediately found
herself in charge of a totally disorganised Security and Tactical
department. A talk with the ACMO, Mr. Vok, revealed more information about
that department. Eager to learn more, Jaal accompanied Vok to the
establishment called 'the Muffin Man'.
2392.10.16
Captains Kane and Denorian couldn't take it any longer. All those weird
things happening on the Calhoun. . . they decided to pay the Calhoun a
visit. They visited Captain Sarin first, although that didn't work out well:
a man called Lieutenant DeTroyes contacted Sarin, after which Lieutenant
Roberts answered. When Denorian asked Pandora Station's First Officer, Mr.
Claus, to check up on a Mr. DeTroyes, the surprised Human of Alpha V
reported that there was only a *female* Lieutenant DeTroyes present on the
Calhoun. What in the name of the Prophets was going on here?
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Public Relations Status Report, September 2006, by Rob Versteegt.
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12 Signups. Well, we had worse. But we had more as well. Maybe I should just
tell you all to vote, again. But I've done that so many times already. I'm
sure you can dream that link by now. If not, then here it is again:
www.frontierfleet.net/comm/vote. There. That's not so bad, is it? Just vote
every day. Make Frontier Fleet nr 1 again! ;-)
Well, on to the report. Did I already mention that you have to vote? I think
I did. Well, in case I didn't, I'll just say so now. Vote! There, now that
that's out of the way. . .
Vote! I mean, uh. . . well, here's the report: where did those signups vote,
uh, find us. . .
OMG! They all found us via voting sites! How unbelievable is that! Really,
you all must vote more, and. . . you're not buying it, are you? I didn't
think so.
6: Search-engine (google, yahoo, etc)
2: Just surfing the web
1: Via one of the links I put on various sites.
3: Unknown.
I know what you're all saying now. 'There's nobody here who found us via a
voting link! So why do we have to vote?' Well, good question. The answer
is... uhm... because few people vote, FF isn't high enough in those voting
lists, and thus people won't find us that way! Wow, clever answer, isn't it?
Did I already mention that you should. . . yeah, I did, didn't I?
Regs,
Your silly Chief of PR,
Rob.
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SF Academy Status Report, September 2006, by Martin Miller.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Instructors: (8)
Chief Instructor Sedaq, played by Adrian Rodd.
Instructor Kavar Enal, played by Jovan Gegov.
Instructor Liz Bronson, played by Laura Elliot.
Instructor Sarah R. Fisher, played by Matthew Huffman.
Instructor Aaron Mackinee, played by Martin Miller.
Instructor Dorvan Lar, played by Rick Clogston.
Instructor Kembra Iarin, played by Scott Rick.
Instructor Vivienne Creenan, played by Rob Versteegt.
==================
Instructors Lost: (1)
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden.
==================
Cadets lost: (0)
Wow! We haven't lost any cadet's, well not that I have been informed that we
have lost any which is great.
==================
New Signups: 12 (3 entered the Academy)
==================
Individual Cadets: (7)
Cadet Ireyon Farelle, played by Ramon Vos (Bobby)(Since 4th of January)
Cadet Jordon Eve Mcknight, played by Tiffany Porter (Laura)(Since 21st of
June)
Cadet Andrew Wright, played by Keving Padilla (Jovan)(Since 10th of August)
Cadet Lan Tori, played by Ramon Snir (Scott)(Since 31st of August)
Cadet Jett Jackson, Played by Stephen Miller (Adrian)(Since 16th of
September)
Cadet Jase Conners, played by Tim Mottishaw (Rick)(Since 20th of September)
Cadet Anthony Edwards, Junior, played by Chris (Matthew)(24th of September)
==================
Graduates: (2)
Cadet Frank Ryan, played by Sam Walker => ACONN Frank Ryan, USS Atlantis
Cadet Asherael Dawn, played by Matthew Pratter => EO Asherael Dawn, USS
Calhoun
==================
AcadCM Comments:
Well another month and yet another status report, a good month all in all,
three in, two out and no cadets lost. Things are on the up, if you weren't
aware our own resident Fleeter Bobby took over the Academy while I was in
Hospital and I come back to find he did no work whatsoever... not that there
was any work left for him <EG> So he cannot work if there is nothing for him
to do, so I'll be nice and let him off.
However it is with sadness that I announce a former AcadCM a one Rob
Verlinden has stepped away from the Academy as an Instructor leaving an
empty spot where there was once a familiar face, I wish you well and clear
horizons Rob and see you elsewhere in the Fleet :)
On an endnote I look forward to what this month brings us and hope it brings
us good tidings and fun, and that about wraps up this report.
cheers,
Martin
Admiral Elizabeth Anyanka.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Promotions in August and September 2006, by Rob Versteegt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
August 2006:
>From Cadet to Ensign:
Cadet Michael Kurtog Gambit, played by Larry Otswold, sent to the USS
Atlantis.
>From Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade:
ASTC Kayne Leeson, played by Blayne Welsh => Lt.Jg STC Kayne Leeson, USS
Valkyrie.
ACSO Doug Fletcher, played by Rick Clogston => Lt.Jg CSO Doug Fletcher, USS
Valkyrie.
>From Lt.Cmdr to Commander:
FO Simon Byrne, played by Jon Hardy => Commander FO Somon Byrne, USS
Valkyrie.
September 2006:
>From Cadet to Ensign:
Cadet Frank Ryan, played by Sam Walker => ACONN Frank Ryan, USS Atlantis
Cadet Asherael Dawn, played by Matthew Pratter => EO Asherael Dawn, USS
Calhoun
Congratulations, all!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Posting Stats August 2006 and September 2006:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
August 2006:
Calhoun players:
Adrian Rodd: 16 (Cal 9, Ody 2, Atly 2, Panda 3)
Kelley MacKinnon: 9 (Cal 9)
Laura Elliot: 8 (Cal 8)
Mark O'Bannon: 6 (Cal 6)
William Raymer: 1 (Cal 1)
Gael Imaddedine: 1 (Cal 1)
Sussie Andersson: 3 (Cal 2, Panda 1)
Jeremy Beeler: 5 (Cal 5)
Aaron DeLay: 2 (Cal 2)
Kall. Shakespear: 9 (Cal 9)
USS Odyssey players:
Rob Verlinden: 10 (Ody 10)
Rob Versteegt: 56 (Cal 7, Ody 19, Valk 10, Atly 9, Panda 11)
Martin Miller: 14 (Ody 13, Atly 1)
Guido Dorssers: 4 (Ody 4)
Scott Rick: 27 (Cal 18, Ody 9)
Daniel Balding: 10 (Cal 3, Ody 7)
Jovan Gegov: 3 (Ody 3)
Matt Huffman: 7 (Ody 7)
Jeroen Nagtegaal: 15 (Ody 15)
Chantal Whittington: 12 (Ody 12)
USS Valkyrie players:
Dennis Church: 9 (Ody 1, Valk 7, Panda 1)
Jonathan Hardy: 14 (Valk 14)
Richard Clogston: 24 (Valk 20, Panda 4)
Ann Montague: 8 (Valk 8)
Nick Bartkowiak: 6 (Valk 6)
Ruben Hilbers: 12 (Valk 12)
Don Draper: 8 (Valk 8)
Blayne Welsh: 11 (Valk 11)
Abby Leib: 5 (Ody 2, Valk 3)
Kelly Power: 5 (Valk 5)
USS Atlantis players:
David Susman: 16 (Ody 5, Atly 6, Panda 5)
Ben Versteegt: 6 (Atly 6)
Hanna Brunefeldt: 1 (Atly 1)
Bram Peeters: 26 (Cal 10, Ody 5, Atly 8, Panda 3)
Chantal Sellers: 0
Alonzo Soban: 1 (Atly 1)
Patrick Buidin: 5 (Atly 5)
Morgan Kadar: 5 (Atly 5)
Andre Thomas: 0
Mike Sheinin: 0
Larry Ostwald: 0
SPC Only:
Merijn Donders: 1 (Panda 1)
September 2006:
Calhoun players:
Adrian Rodd: 33 (Cal 17, Ody 10, Atly 5, Panda 1)
Kelley MacKinnon: 16 (Cal 16)
Laura Elliot: 7 (Cal 7)
Mark O'Bannon: 11 (Cal 11)
William Raymer: 1 (Cal 1)
Gael Imaddedine: 0
Sussie Andersson: 0
Jeremy Beeler: 2 (Cal 2)
Aaron DeLay: 0
Matthew Pratter: 3 (Cal 3)
Jake Hanlon: 0
USS Odyssey players:
Rob Verlinden: 7 (Ody 7)
Rob Versteegt: 3 (Cal 9, Ody 13, Valk 2, Atly 10, Panda 9)
Martin Miller: 8 (Ody 7, Atly 1)
Guido Dorssers: 1 (Ody 1)
Scott Rick: 11 (Cal 6, Ody 5)
Daniel Balding: 10 (Cal 3, Ody 7)
Jovan Gegov: 3 (Ody 3)
Matt Huffman: 2 (Ody 2)
Jeroen Nagtegaal: 5 (Ody 5)
Chantal Whittington: 0
Jonathan Healey: 1 (Ody 1)
USS Valkyrie players:
Dennis Church: 6 (Ody 1, Valk 3, Panda 2)
Jonathan Hardy: 1 (Valk 1)
Richard Clogston: 21 (Valk 21)
Ann Montague: 7 (Valk 7)
Nick Bartkowiak: 3 (Valk 3)
Ruben Hilbers: 14 (Valk 14)
Don Draper: 3 (Valk 3)
Blayne Welsh: 12 (Valk 12)
Abby Leib: 3 (Ody 1, Valk 2)
Kelly Power: 8 (Valk 8)
USS Atlantis players:
David Susman: 5 (Ody 1, Atly 3, Panda 1)
Ben Versteegt: 14 (Atly 14)
Bram Peeters: 2 (Cal 14, Ody 2, Atly 10, Panda 6)
Chantal Sellers: 0
Alonzo Soban: 1 (Atly 1)
Patrick Buidin: 0
Morgan Kadar: 7 (Atly 7)
Mike Sheinin: 0
Larry Ostwald: 2 (Atly 2)
Sam Walker: 0
SPC Only:
Merijn Donders: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Trek Trivia: #13, Answers. By Martin Miller.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hooray! No mistakes :D But I do apologise for not doing a fourth quiz just
haven't had the time <G> I will do one for the next month, with my operation
and things just never got around to it.
Answers to the Quiz:
Trivia Quiz #13
It's back again for a third time, the theme this week is Star Trek Movies
because so far these have all been better than the idea for XI, even the
dreaded number 5.
As always no looking up the answers, if I find out that anyone cheats, there
answers will be removed and they will be disqualified from the quiz.
Question 1.
In the Motion Picture, what was the name of the Enterprise new Science
Officer?
A. Spock
B. Sonar
C. Sonak
D. Sinatra
Answer: C. Sonak, Sonak was a Vulcan and was to replace Spock on the
refitted Enterprise, but a transporter malfunction ended his life.
Question 2.
In Wrath of Kahn, by how much did Spock exaggerate the repair of the
Enterprise?
A. A day
B. Days
C. Weeks
D. Months
Answer: B. Days, Spock reports back to Kirk that the ship would not be ready
for days, but it only took a few hours because they did not want Kahn to
know of there status who was listening in on the communication at the time.
Question 3.
In Search for Spock, McCoy is in the Bar trying to get back to the Genesis
planet, in one of the shots in the bar what do we see, that hasn't been seen
since TOS?
A. Horta
B. Tribble
C. Gorn
D. Tallerite
Answer: B. Tribble, it's a brief shot but they can be seen on a table in
front of a Starfleet officer and what looks to be a civilian.
Question 4.
In the Voyage home, Kirk was punished for nine violations of the Starfleet
General Orders and Regulations, how many charges were dropped?
A. 9
B. 8
C. 7
D. 6
Answer: B. 8, Kirk was dropped on all charges except for one, disobeying a
superior officer, which was solely directed at Kirk which he was also given
a demotion back to Captain, and given charge of the Enterprise-A.
Questions 5.
In the Final Frontier, whom did the producers want to play Sybok?
A. Laurence Luckinbill
B. George Murdock
C. Sean Connery
D. David Warner
Answer: C, Sean Connery, The producers originally wanted the James Bond
actor to take the role, but Sean was already filming Indiana Jones with
Harrison Ford, so was unable to take on the role.
Question 6.
In the Undiscovered Country, who utters the words, "Guess who's coming to
dinner?"
A. Uhura
B. McCoy
C. Chekov
D. Kirk
Answer: C. Chekov, this line was originally not for Walter Koenig, but in
fact for Nichelle Nichol's but she found the term to be racist, so the
director gave the line to Walter instead.
Question 7.
In Generations, Kirk had two deaths but the first was perceived not to be
heroic enough, how was he killed?
A. Pushed onto a Spike
B. Kicked off a cliff
C. Shot in the Back
D. Falling from a gantry
Answer: C. Shot in the Back, in this deleted scene Kirk was shot in the back
by Soran, but when the Movie was shown at pre-screening the viewers
originally thought it was not heroic enough for Kirk to die so the ending
was re-shot having Kirk fall from the cliff instead.
Question 8.
In First Contact, who appears but is not credited for their minor role?
A. Dwight Schultz
B. Robert Picardo
C. Ethan Phillips
D. Patti Yasutake
Answer: C. Ethan Phillips, portrayed the maitre'd in this film during the
holodeck scene when Picard an Lily initially enter the Holodeck, he
specifically requested to not be credited.
Question 9.
In Insurrection, The little creature that Artim carries with him has how
many legs?
A. 6
B. 8
C. 4
D. 2
Answer: C. 4
Question 10.
In Nemesis, how many vessels are waiting for the arrival of the Enterprise
on the other side of the Bassen Rift?
A. 7
B. 5
C. 9
D. 6
Answer: A. 7, (see Bonus questions for more details.)
Question 11.
What does McCoy give to Kirk on his birthday in Wrath of Kahn?
A. Romulan Ale and a Book
B. Spectacles and a Book
C. Book and a Bottle of Wine
D. Spectacles and Romulan Ale
Answer: D. Spectacles and Romulan Ale
Question 12.
What is the name of the 'Vulcan Heaven' from a Final Frontier?
A. Shaka Kahn
B. Shaka att ack
C. Sha Ka Ree
D. Cher Ca Rea
Answer: C. Sha Ka Ree, was actually named for Sean Connery who was to play
the role of Sybok but couldn't due to a prior engagment.
Question 13.
The Vulcan's arrive on Earth but how many leave the ship?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
Answer: C. 3, this entrance would be seen again in a Mirror Darkly, with
none of the main actors for that scene re-portraying there roles, so instead
doubles were used and filmed from the waste down.
Question 14.
In what year did Kirk and crew arrive in 1980's after travelling back in
time?
A. 1986
B. 1985
C. 1987
D. 1984
Answer: A. 1986
Question 15.
In the scene where the Bridge crew of the Enterprise E are listening in on
the initial attack of the Borg vessel, someone mentions the Defiant and what
other vessel?
A. Boromir
B. Budapest
C. Bonestall
D. Bozeman
Answer: D. Bozeman, it is rumoured but not confirmed that Kelsey Grammar
reprised his role as Morgan Bateson, for just a small voice over. When the
Borg initially make there first strike, the names Defiant and Bozeman are
mentioned followed by two voices, one presumably Dorn. the other
unidentified.
Bonus Questions:
Bonus 1. The Enterprise E, was to meet with a few vessels outside the Bassen
Rift, name one of the vessels?
USS Archer
USS Intrepid
USS Valiant
USS Aires
USS Nova
USS Hood
USS Galaxy
Bonus 2. The Enterprise A, was originally called what before being
recommissioned?
All though not canon, it is rumoured to be the USS Yorktown.
Bonus 3. Who is to produce Star Trek XI?
J.J. Abrams, also known for directing Lost and Alias
Bonus 4. Star Trek currently has ten directed films, how many Directors have
there been and who are they?
Robert Wise - The Motion Picture
Nicholas Meyer - The Wrath of Kahn
Leonard Nimoy - The Search for Spock
Leonard Nimoy - The Voyage Home
William Shatner - Final Frontier
Nicholas Meyer - Undiscovered Country
David Carson - Generations
Jonathan Frakes - First Contact
Jonathan Frakes - Insurrection
Stuart Baird - Nemesis
Bonus 5. Who composed the Main theme title for Nemesis?
Jerry Goldsmith
The Quiz Winners:
Bobby - 18 points
Bram - 18 points
Ben - 17 points
Rob - 11 points
Point System:
1 Quiz:
Guido - 15 Points
Sussie - 8 Points
2 Quizzes:
Ben - 33 Points
Bobby - 34 Points
Clare - 25 Points
3 Quizzes:
Bram - 49 Points
--------------------------------------------------------------------
What if Star Trek never existed??? By Rob Versteegt
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever met a person who hates Star Trek? It's hard to believe, I
know, but they are out there. . . somewhere. Of course you, as a Star Trek
fan, (Trekkie? Trekker? Trekster?) know that anyone who hates Star Trek
doesn't know what they've missed. They don't know the enormous advantages
Star Trek has brought to the universe. In fact, some of them even say that
they wish Star Trek had never existed! How terrible is that! It's up to you
to convince those heretics that Star Trek has had a positive influence on
mankind. And this list can help you with that.
If Star Trek never existed...
- Then the world would have missed lots of quality television, filled with
interesting characters, plots, and a wonderful vision for the future.
- Then nobody would have been able to enjoy all those Star Trek spoofs,
which -usually- can be very entertaining. Take 'where no fan has gone
before' by 'Farscape' for example. The Simpsons have had a number of Star
Trek references. And what about Galaxy Quest?
- Then where would poor William Shatner be now? He'd be just a mediocre
actor without any media attention! Now at least he's a mediocre actor with a
wonderful career to look back upon!
- Then all the Star Trek fans would have become. . . *shudders* Star Wars
fans! We'd have 'warries' or 'warriors', instead of Trekkies!
- Then all those creative -and not so creative- RPGs would never have
existed! There wouldn't be as much Star Wars RPGs, since Lucas has forbidden
those! ("Can we make a profit out of those?" "No Mr. Lucas." "Then get rid
of all those RPGs!")
- Then Shatner wouldn't have been able to film Star Trek V! (Oh wait, that's
actually an argument to wish Star Trek never existed. Forget this one.)
- Then mothers would be so lonely, since they actually like having their
grown-up children move into their basements, watching Star Trek all day!
- Then we wouldn't be able to celebrate Trek's 40th anniversary now, and
thus miss a chance to celebrate something! (Cake, anyone?)
- Then we might not have such devices as a mobile phone, or advanced
computers.
- Then space exploration might not be at the level it is now. (And that's
saying a lot, considering the latest space shuttle launch got delayed
*again*, at the time of writing...)
- Then lots of people might actually have become successful in life, since
in the absence of Trek, they would have worked on their career. In turn,
this would lead to more people wanting jobs, equals more unemployment. In
other words, if Star Trek wouldn't exist, the non-Trekkies might have lost
their job to the Trekkies (even though there wouldn't be non-Trekkies and
Trekkies then, but you get my point.)
But most of all...
The most important reason to convince Trek-haters why it would be wrong to
be in a world without Star Trek:
If Star Trek never existed, then the Star Trek haters would have lost their
purpose in life: there would no longer be a Star Trek to hate!
I hope this list has done you some good in convincing those Trek-haters. And
if not, just think up some more reasons. It's not that difficult... see the
above list for proof. :P
Congratulations on your 40th anniversary, Star Trek! And may you live long
and prosper!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribute. By Ben Versteegt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(USS Atlantis - Velden's quarters - 2392.08.26, 0411)
<> Incoming subspace message for Commander Paul Velden. <>
The voice of the computer was soft and melodious enough for Paul to think
that he was still asleep, but when the computer restated its message, Paul
had no choice but to accept reality and realise that someone was calling
him. At 4 in the morning, no less. Slowly he got out of bed, rubbed the
sleep out of his eyes, nearly fell back into bed again, and finally stood up
with a loud moan. " Computer, lights," he ordered, and squinted against the
bright lights when the computer obeyed him. Again he moaned. Why couldn't he
receive incoming subspace calls at normal hours?
He put on his uniform jacket in order to at least appear ready for duty, and
made his way to the monitor. When he pressed the activation button, a young
human, slightly younger than Paul himself, appeared on the screen. The
caller was obviously not in Starfleet -- there was no uniform, nor did he
wear a commbadge -- and Paul was quite sure that he didn't have anything to
do with his Vulcan foster parents either. Was this, perhaps, a classmate
from the Academy?
But in the state of sleepiness Paul was in at the moment, he didn't feel
like asking the polite and proper questions. "Who are you?" he asked
instead.
The person on the screen smiled, and his smile seemed eerily familiar to
Paul. "Of course," he said after a few moments, as if realising something.
"You wouldn't know me, would you?"
"Wha-" Paul began. "Who are you?" He got the feeling that the caller knew
something that he didn't, and it bothered him. "Did we meet somewhere?"
"Meet?" the caller seemed to take a few moments to consider Paul's words.
"No... No, I don't think you could say we ever met... Although I have known
you all your life."
"All my life?" Paul looked at the caller intently. He seemed familiar
somehow, but Paul was sure he had never seen him before. "But..." He paused
to take in the implications of what this man was saying. "All my life?" he
asked again.
"I know it's hard to believe, Paul, and you'll probably be mad with me for
even suggesting this, but..." He smiled. "I'm your creator."
Paul didn't know whether to laugh out loud or be totally aghast. He was
probably too tired for either. "My... creator," Paul repeated. "You
created... me?" Finally settling for utter surprise, he eyed the person on
the screen with wary eyes. He was far, far too young to be his father, that
was for sure. Last time Paul checked, he was still human and no android, so
that was impossible as well. How, then, could this scrawny little pipsqueak,
barely his own age and a definite reject if he were ever to enter the
Academy, be his creator? It just didn't make any sense.
"I know what you're thinking," the person on the screen told him. "How could
I, this scrawny little pipsqueak, barely your own age and a definite reject
if I were ever to enter the Academy, be your creator?"
Now Paul's jaw dropped. "You... How did you...?"
"I put those words in your mind, Paul," said the caller. "You see, I write
stories. Posts. And in most of those posts, you are the main character. You
exist in my mind and on paper."
"What?" Paul couldn't believe it. "You're saying that I'm not real? That
none of this is real?"
"You, Captain Torn, the Atlantis, even the Federation and the entire future
you're living in. It's all a collection of stories, thought up by dozens, if
not hundreds or thousands of people all around the world. You," he continued
as he pointed at Paul, "are just a part of the story."
Paul rubbed his eyes warily. "I must be dreaming," he mumbled. "This can't
be real."
"Oh, it's real all right," the caller said. "But only on paper. Only in the
story. To the outside world -- *my* outside world -- you, the Atlantis, its
crew and the entire Frontier Fleet, are nothing more than characters in a
story."
"You called me... just to tell me that?"
"There's a purpose to this story, too, Paul. It's... a tribute, so to speak,
to the collection of stories that is Frontier Fleet."
"But if you're in the outside world, and I'm just a character in a book..."
Paul began confusedly. "How... How is it that you can communicate with me?
What are you, then?"
"Words on a page, Paul," said the caller. "Words on a page. Like you, I'm
merely a character in a story. But that's not important right now."
"It's... not?" Paul asked. At this point, he was feeling increasingly
annoyed and insulted. Here was some guy who had called him out of bed in the
middle of the night and was telling him that he was as insignificant as a
character in a story. No, in fact, that he actually was a character in a
story. Preposterous! And the worst of all was that he was discounting it all
as unimportant. "If this is not important... Then why are you calling me?"
"You're just a means to an end, Paul," the caller continued. "Through you, I
can spread my ideas and thoughts to the readers of this story. Very
un-Kantian, I know, and a blatant violation of the categorical imperative,
but since you're not really a person, it doesn't really matter anyway."
Paul shook his head. "What?"
"Never mind. You know what day it is today? In your time, I mean?"
Paul rubbed the bridge of his nose. He just knew he would be suffering from
a headache for the rest of the day. "It's *very* early in the morning," he
replied, "August 26th, 2392. But if you're really the writer of this story,
you should know that."
"I know. It's a rhetorical question. To make the readers aware of the
significance of that date."
"Significance?"
"Yes, Paul," said the caller with a smile on his face. "The formation of
Frontier Fleet was 392 years ago. In your time, that is."
"No," Paul countered, feeling the urge to prove the caller wrong, "it was
exactly one year ago. I should know, I was there. There was a celebration
and everything."
"You know, I'm starting to think I shouldn't have called you," the caller
said. "Maybe I should have called someone whom I've written to be more
accepting of a higher power... Someone like Prylar Nivas. You simply don't
understand."
"If all you do is tell me that I'm insignificant and that I'm not even a
person... How would you react?"
"Probably the same way," admitted the caller. "But, sadly, I don't have time
for long discussions about personhood, or to explain what the world you are
in is really like. We're on page three already, you know, and I would like
this to be brief. You see, my intention was to write a tribute. And, of
course, the word 'tribute' sparks memories of the song with that title."
Paul raised his eyebrows. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking
about."
"Of course you don't," said the caller. He almost seemed proud. "You don't
know a thing about 20th and 21st century culture or music. Unlike some
Frontier Fleet characters, you don't have the slightest clue what TV
programmes are popular in 2006, or what music is being listened to now. You
have never heard of Daleks, Goa'uld, light sabres and the like. You are a
realistic, 24th century character, not simply a 21st century human who just
happens to live in the 24th century."
Paul blinked a couple of times. "Huh?"
The caller smiled. "Exactly. Anyway, back to the tribute. You see, I was
going to tell a story of how a ghostly, fiery image of Admiral Baine
appeared before me and told me to write the best post in the world, or he'd
eat my soul. And then I would go on to say that I did write the best post in
the world, but it was lost, and this post was simply a tribute to it." He
paused for a moment and shook his head with a chuckle. "But then I started
writing this post, and you got involved, and all of a sudden, it didn't seem
so funny anymore. I mean, here we are, writer and character talking to each
other about the fundamental existential possibilities of the world you live
in, and I should talk about a silly incident which didn't even happen?" He
snorted. "I think not! It would radically undermine the seriousness of the
conversation, and it would be altogether bad storytelling. Don't you think
so?"
Paul tiredly ran a hand through his hair and didn't even try to stifle a
yawn. "Right," he said. "Whatever you say." He sighed deeply. "I must be
hallucinating. No one can be as insane as you seem to be. You're nothing but
a figment of my imagination, that's what you are."
The caller smiled broadly. "Actually, Paul, you're the figment."
"That just goes to show that I am right," Paul replied, "and that you are
insane. Only a crazy man would talk to a figment of his imagination."
The caller seemed perplexed. "I... hadn't really thought about that, come to
think of it. Which is odd, considering I just put those words in your
mouth."
"Glad I could help," Paul said sarcastically. "Now if you'd kindly write me
back to sleep... I have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Of course, Paul," the caller said with a nod of his head. "But, really, you
don't have a lot to do tomorrow. I just make you think that you have a lot
to do tomorrow. If I write any other posts for August 26th 2392, I will make
sure you have a lot to do. And if I write a post for a later in-game date, I
will make you think you had a lot to do on the 26th. But in reality, Paul,
in *my* reality... You really don't have a lot to do. If anyone has a lot to
do, it's me: I have to write you."
Paul angrily slammed his fists on the table in response. "Look here, mister!
I don't know who you are or why you're doing this to me, but I don't take
kindly to being told I'm insignificant. If you're deluded enough to think
that you're my writer, then fine. It seems absurd to me, but fine, if you
want to think that you're the writer and I'm nothing but a collection of
words and ideas, then go ahead. But don't bother me with it. If your reality
is so damned superior to mine, then stay in your reality. Get out of mine;
you don't belong here."
"Paul, listen-" began the caller, but Paul cut him off.
"No, you listen to me! I have had enough of your arrogance, your alleged
superiority. If you call me again, I will have Starfleet security on your
tail so fast that you won't know what hit you. Just stay in your reality and
out of mine, all right? I want nothing to do with you!"
The caller just smiled. "That might not be so easy as you think," he said.
"But you're right. Perhaps this was a bad idea. I won't trouble you again,
Paul. I like you, you know that? You're my favourite character. To think
that I've upset you, is... Well, upsetting, in a strange, twisted way."
"Good!" Paul shouted back. Before the caller could say anything else, Paul
quickly closed the channel. He moved to his bed and crashed into it with a
deep sigh. "What a lunatic," he said to himself. "I wouldn't be at all
surprised if this is all just a dream." With those words, the tired
Commander Paul Velden fell asleep, knowing full well that he was much, much
more than simply words on a page. Anyone who claimed otherwise had to be
stark-raving mad.
When he was fast asleep, the door to his quarters opened without a sound,
admitting entrance to... something. It was not a person who entered the
room. A series of large letters floated towards Paul's bedroom and simply
hung there. Paul would have been able to see the letters if he had simply
been awake. If he had seen it, he wouldn't have recognised it, however. The
series of letters, combined to form words, were unfamiliar to him. He would
recognise the words and letters, of course, but their meaning would be lost
to him. To others, centuries back, the words might have held some meaning.
Some might even describe it as a 'posted by... tag' -- a term utterly
unfamiliar to Paul.
As the 'posted by... tag' floated out of the bedroom and into the living
room of Paul's quarters, a voice accompanied it, echoing through the rooms.
"Words on a page, Paul," the voice echoed silently. "Words on a page."
Floating silently amidst the echoes, the 'posted by... tag' drifted into
place. The room suddenly changed, and all space and time vanished, leaving
only a white background. The furniture in Paul's room disappeared, and even
Paul's corporeal form itself vanished, leaving only black and white
markings. The markings took their place on the white background, forming
words, fixed to the piece of paper.
As if happy that it completed its task, the 'posted by... tag' took its own
place at the bottom of the white background... There to remain for all
eternity.
All had been reduced to words on a page.
(Posted by Ben Versteegt)
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