The Federation Tribune - December 2007
Chief Editor Frontier Fleet
chiefeditor at frontierfleet.com
Sun Dec 16 22:34:26 CET 2007
==== The Federation Tribune ====
==== December 2007====
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Chief Editor's Notes
By Rob Verlinden
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Welcome to another packed issue of the Federation Tribune: the only official FF
newsletter!
In this issue there are promotions and returning players, which are welcomed
back. There are status reports, posting statistics and last month's quiz answers
will be revealed. Don't forget to read the legendary post. Patrick Buidin sent
in "News from the Crossroads Bar at Pandora Station". In that article you can
find recipes for Cardassian Kanar. Try it and you might like it!
In the last issue Sussie Andersson contributed and article on what it is to be
Swedish. A forum-topic was started in which being your own nationality was
discussed. It can be found here:
http://forums.frontierfleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=2478
Ideas, stories, posts and quizzes can still be sent to:
chiefeditor at frontierfleet.com .
In this edition:
Promotions and returning players, November 2007. By Rob Verlinden.
USS Calhoun Status Report, November 2007. By Adrien Rodd.
USS Odyssey Status Report, November 2007. By Rob Versteegt.
USS Valkyrie Status Report, November 2007. By Rick Clogston.
USS Atlantis Status Report, November 2007. By Ben Versteegt.
SF Academy Status Report, November 2007. By Rick Clogston.
Public Relations Status Report. By Rob Verlinden.
Posting Statistics November 2007. By Rob Verlinden.
How well do you know the people behind the game? (part 2) By Rob Verlinden.
Legendary Post. By Rob Verlinden.
Pandora Station - News from the Crossroads Bar. By Patrick Buidin.
Christmas Quiz. By Guido Dorssers & Rob Verlinden.
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Promotions and returning players
November 2007
By Rob Verlinden
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Promotions:
>From Cadet to Ensign:
Jonathan Healey, playing William Stanek => ASTC, USS Calhoun
>From Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade:
Melissa McIntire, playing Katerina Thomas => CSO, USS Valkyrie
Many congratulations to the promoted players!
Returning players:
Merijn Donders, playing Helm officer Ensign Satomi Samuel on the USS Atlantis
Chantal Sellers, playing COUNS Lieutenant Circe Pilkington on the USS Atlantis
Patrick Buidin, playing STC Lieutenant Vladek Rofellian on the USS Atlantis
Martin Miller, playing STC Commander Leon Nerfertii on the USS Odyssey
I'm very happy to see that Merijn, Chantal, Pat and Martin have returned. You
are all four great players in our game and will hopefully stay to write more
FF-history.
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USS Calhoun Status Report
November 2007
By Adrien Rodd
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STARDATE: 2393.08.28
EPISODE: #30, "And a Star to Steer Her By" (2.04)
LOCATION: conducting routine patrols
Still trapped on the holodeck, with no idea what may be going on outside,
crewmembers struggle to play the simulation through to its conclusion. The
eruption of a volcano increases their peril. . .
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USS Odyssey Status Report
November 2007
By Rob Versteegt
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Stardate: 2443.09.03 (50 years in the future)
Location: the USS Odyssey is in orbit of future Earth.
The future doesn't hold much good in store for Humanity, it seems. Or at
least, that's the conclusion the USS Odyssey crew is making at the moment,
while talking to the crew of the USS Telemachos, amongst others. They meet
crewmembers who haven't been born yet in their time, or older versions of
themselves.
It becomes clear that if the Odyssey wants to prevent this devastating war
with the transwarp aliens, they would have to go back to their present and
stop using Transwarp, for it seems to damage the realm of the Transwarp
Aliens. That would cause some fleetwide concerns though. . . but the
question the crew is asking themselves now, is: What is more valuable?
Transwarp and exploration, or billions of lives? The answer of course, is
simple. . .
The Odyssey needs to return to their present to do what is right. But
while things are already being set in motion, several transwarp alien ships
drop out of transwarp and start attacking the Telemachos. . . and the
Odyssey. Will the Odyssey survive?
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USS Valkyrie Status Report
November 2007
By Rick Clogston
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Ops Chief Lt. Alexandra Davis' birthday party continued, and concluded, at
Guido's. It featured much frivolity, drunkenness, and even karaoke. Everyone
made it back to their quarters in one piece. Head Nurse Julia Lang arrived to a
major surprise; her wife, Ensign Brewster, had transferred to the Valkyrie.
This is creating a potential problem, as she is a pilot and was assigned without
prior consultation with the Captain or CONN chief Lt. Schofield.
The exercise session between Captain Denebris and LtCmdr. PaRel did not end so
well. Mr. PaRel was injured, and had to be treated by the EMH and Dr.
MacKenzie. The EMH also discovered that Mr. PaRel may have a potentially
serious
condition.
That night the Captain received a communiqué from Starfleet HQ. He ordered the
ship to make best speed for Pandora Station. The next morning he held a
briefing for the senior staff. The Rakhari, a Gamma-quadrant species that
normally keeps to themselves, apparently lost contact with a top-secret new
ship. They informed Starfleet that the ship and its crew had gone rogue and
were intending to attack Pandora.
They shared some important details about the ship, which the Captain in turn
showed to the staff. It is a very large ship, heavily armored, and also has
stealth capabilities. The Valkyrie is the only warship that will be able to get
to the region in time, so we will be the first line of defense between the
Pandora system and this ship.
At the end of the briefing the Captain announced that the ACSO, Ensign Katrina
Thomas, was hereby promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade and named Chief Science
Officer. (Time for another party at Guido's.) (If we survive.)
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USS Atlantis Status Report
November 2007
By Ben Versteegt
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Stardate: 2393.05.23/24
Locations of the (crew of the) USS Atlantis:
- Inside Lysian space, racing towards the Lysian Central Command.
- On the USS Birnam
- Holding position near the Lysian Central Command.
- 2393.05.23:
With the Atlantis now under control by brainwashed officers, and Jomorr,
Quinto and Sorek in the brig, there seemed no stopping the Satarran who was
posing as Commander Lenox from destroying the Lysian Central Command.
However, the Ullian responsible for the brainwashing, a man called Dobin,
was unable to ignore his conscience any longer. His conversation with
Captain Krella, whose memories had been altered as well, only proved to him
that what he had been doing was wrong.
- 2393.05.24:
A few hours after the 'renegades' were captured, Dobin restored the
memories of Captain Torn and Doctor Oakeshott, and assisted them in
breaking Jomorr, Quinto and Sorek out of jail. On the Bridge, however,
Lenox became aware of this fact and sent Captain Krella and a security team
to stop the renegades. Cornered from all sides, Captain Torn and his team
decided to disrupt the Atlantis' systems as much as they could from within
the brig, hoping to at least delay the inevitable. Unfortunately, time was
running out fast as Lenox ordered the Atlantis to increase to transwarp
speeds.
Ten minutes later, the Atlantis dropped out of transwarp, mere moments
away from obliterating the Lysian Central Command. The USS Birnam,
fortunately, was there also, to protect the Lysian structure from the
Atlantis' attacks. As the two ships geared up for combat, Dobin restored
Captain Krella's memories. With the security team now no longer holding
Torn and the others back, the renegades made their way to the Bridge -- but
with the turbolifts down, would they arrive in time to stop the Atlantis
from completing its objective?
As the Birnam and the Atlantis exchanged phaser and torpedo fire, Jomorr
and Quinto headed to the previously modified consoles in the brig to
disrupt the Atlantis' tactical systems, which confused the Bridge crew.
They were confused even more when Captain Torn and his party took everyone
on the Bridge by surprise and stunned them all. Torn subsequently flooded
the rest of the ship, except the Bridge and the brig, with anesthazine gas.
The Lysians were saved. Now the long, painful process of restoring the
crew's memories could begin.
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Starfleet Academy Status Report
November 2007
By Rick Clogston as RAdm. Charles David Clark
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As I continue in my new job as Academy Commandant, I'm feeling more confident
about how this is actually done. One of the things that has made learning the
job easier is the support, cooperation, and regular assistance of our most
excellent staff of instructors; Adrian Rodd, Ann Montague, and Blayne Welsh.
Each one of these people deserves the thanks of everyone in Frontier Fleet.
They all bring a level of knowledge to their task of instructing cadets and
preparing them for the Fleet. But more, they each bring their own personal
flair and creativity as well. Each of them has shown me that they care about
the cadets they work with. They each take it personally when someone washes
out, or simply stops responding. And, they each celebrate the graduation of a
new Ensign.
I know I get a little thrill every time I read a post by a Fleet member that I
trained. It wouldn't surprise me to find that this was true with Adrian, Ann,
and Blayne as well. I also think fondly of the instructors who trained me back
in the day. In my case that would be Adrian as my personal instructor, and Rob
Versteegt as the Commandant, who took personal oversight of my last few training
posts. (Btw, my legs still ache when I think about that marathon! ;> )
If you have special memories of your days at Starfleet Academy, whether as a
student or an instructor, I would appreciate it if you would share those with me
sometime soon. I'm planning on putting something together; kind of a Starfleet
Academy yearbook, if I might be so bold. The form it takes will depend largely
on what I get for feedback. Thank you in advance, and thank you all out in the
fleet for your continued support. And, finally, thanks most of all to Adrian,
Ann, and Blayne for doing an excellent job.
Here's what we've been up to in the month of November:
We had one graduate; Jonathan Healey, a returning former member. His
character, William Stanek, was promoted from Cadet to Ensign and assigned to the
USS Calhoun, where he now serves as 2nd Assistant STC.
We had five new signups in November, four of which were accepted.
We currently have seven Cadets:
[ Character - played by - instructor ]
Brek - Mark Wh - Blayne
Killian Thanatos Malachi - Robert Bolton - Blayne
Elijah Parker - Vinnie Raposa - Rick
Keiri Rojineko - Allen Jackson - Ann
Aalina Juliette Sumner - Sandi Richardson - Ann
Nathaniel Quinn - Kelly Weldon - Adrian
Skan Kvar - Daniel Junkin - Adrian
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Public Relations Status Report
November 2007
By Rob Verlinden
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A few months ago player numbers were low, but after reading Rick's report I
noticed there is a new influx of players going on. This is good news, but we
still need more players to fill the dutystations!
In this first month that I took up the Public Relations I did the following:
- I reported dead links on the COMM-pages to the webmaster.
- I signed up for many ranking pages, webrings and banner exchanges.
- I updated our descriptions on those sites.
- I will inform the webmaster about new subscriptions so the COMM-pages can be
modified.
- I posted adverts on relevant yahoo-groups and forums.
We had 5 signups this months: 4 found us with Google, 1 is an old member.
Keep voting: www.frontierfleet.com/comm/vote
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Posting Statistics
November 2007
By Rob Verlinden
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Calhoun players (6):
Adrian Rodd 25 (Cal 20, Ody 5)
Kelley MacKinnon 24 (Cal 20, Ody 4)
Laura Elliot 3
Mark O'Bannon 2
Benjamin Ditch 20
Jonathan Healy 0
USS Odyssey players (7):
Rob Versteegt 18 (Ody 9, Cal 3, Atly 5, Panda 1)
Jake Hanlon 0
Martin Miller 3
Daniel Balding 2
James Jackson 5
Rob Verlinden 6
Jonathan Hardy 1
USS Valkyrie players (11):
Dennis Church 8 (Valk 5, Ody 1, Atly 2)
Rick Clogston 16 (Valk 10, Ody 6)
Blayne Welsh 4
Abby Leib 3
Ann Montague 9 (Valk 7, Ody 2)
Nick Bartkowiak 0
Ruben Hilbers 21 (Valk 11, Cal 10)
Kelly Power 5
Melissa McIntire 3
John Gibson 1
Don Draper 2
USS Atlantis players (10):
David Susman 13 (Atly 10, Ody 2, Panda 1)
Ben Versteegt 7 (Atly 6, Ody 1)
Bram Peeters 2 (Atly 1, Panda 1)
Sasa Gerbus 14 (Alty 7, Valk 7)
Dawn Johnson 2
Larry Ostwald 1
Jason Frick 0
Merijn Donders 0
Chantal Sellers 0
Patrick Buidin 0
Pandora Station players (1):
Sussie Andersson 0
Top posters October 2007:
1. Adrian Rodd 25
2. Kelley MacKinnon 24
3. Ruben Hilbers 21
Dutystations:
1. Calhoun 78
2. Valkyrie 58
3. Odyssey 47
4. Atlantis 34
5. Pandora 3
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How well do you know the people behind the game? (part 2)
By Rob Verlinden
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Last week's quiz was al about giving credit to the people behind the game. There
are several players keeping Frontier Fleet a nice place by performing certain
tasks. Let's see who did what for our game:
He/she:
A. gives away free donuts on the Valk: 4. Rick Clogston (He's also the AcadCM)
B. is the Father of the Atlantis: 3. Merijn Donders (He has a character on the
Atlantis again :-)
C. once played the captain of the Calhoun, Odyssey and Valkyrie: 5. Guido
Dorssers (He's always been our Webmaster)
D. used to be CO, FO, Council member, Chief Editor, Academy Commandant and
PR-officer at the same time: 2. Rob Versteegt
E. added the most entries into the LCARS: 1. Clare Bradley (She's no longer
active)
F. designed Pandora's layout and was it's first CO: 6. Bram Peeters
G. is the only instructor who stayed from the beginning: 9. Adrien Rodd
H. has a twin brother, who is no longer in the game: 8. Dennis Church
I. is part of the webteam and making the new member book: 7. Nick Bartkowiak
It's important to acknowledge our founders (Guido Dorssers, Clare Bradley, Jaap
Marsman), the council members (Adrien, Rob, Bram, Dennis) and former Academy
Commandants like Martin Miller (he is in the house again!!!).
I received 2 sets of answers from Rick Clogston and Rob Versteegt. They both had
all answers right! The award for "newspaper reader of the year 2007" might go to
one of them. The winner of that award will be announced in the next issue.
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Legendary Post.
By Rob Verlinden
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This time in the Legendary Post a landmark in Frontier Fleet history. In March
2002 there was no USS Valkyrie in our fleet. Instead there was a Steamrunner
class vessel called the USS Arakov. Clare Bradley was her captain. The following
post describes the loss of the USS Arakov, eventually making place for the
Valkyrie. The post is by Vincent Raposa, an old member who has recently joined
our Academy again. Back in 2002 he played OPS Darv'ot: a robust Klingon.
Subject line: Ensign Dorv'ot
(U.S.S. Arakov; Bridge; Chief of Operations; Lieutenant JG Darv'ot; 2390.06.30;
0903)
Darv'ot held his firm grip on the operations console as the floor vibrated
once more as an explosion occurred deep within the Arakov. The vibration
seemed to touch ever corner and crevice of this ship because at each tiny
disturbance that the operations console displayed was followed shortly by a
vibration.
"Engineering, report!" demanded the captain who had earlier entered the
bridge and lay her sights upon the wreckage.
The sound of a male voice came over the live communications feed from the
bridge down to engineering. The voice sounded worried and disturbed,
-/\- It's not good sir. We're having a massive ship-wide failure and I can't
stop it. I estimate we have twenty minutes before she blows. -/\-
Darv'ots blood ran cold from this report; it wasn't as if he hadn't been in
a situation where the crew members had to evacuate the vessel. Now in
Klingon culture that was frowned upon but not when it was a vessel that had
been sabotaged by a terrorist who disagreed with the T'orloks
transportation of a Federation diplomat.
"Do you what you can," sighed the captain, "then get your people out of
there." Closing the channel the captain and commander huddled together and
began talking, due to a console explosion right beside him; Darv'ot missed
what was being discussed.
But he did hear this, "hail them and ask for their assistance. In addition
send out a distress signal on all channels. All hands abandon ship!"
Darv'ot looked over towards the two executive officers, "Ma'am and sir,
distress signal activated on all channels."
(Reply Tir and Harris)
"Understood." Darv'ot did as he was commanded and abandoned his station,
following several junior officers he loaded into the cramped turbolift.
Compared to Darv'ot the several small Humans dwarfed in size compared to
him.
"Shuttlebay on the double." Darv'ot barked to the computer and the lift
complied with the order. It began its downward descent and in a few moments
the doors parted and displayed utter and devastating carnage and wreckage.
(U.S.S. Arakov; Various Corridors and Shuttlebay; Chief of Operations;
Lieutenant JG Darv'ot; 2390.06.30; 0903)
The corridor leading towards the shuttlebay was an absolute devastating
sight, the overhead lights flickered, many of which were burned out and
hanging in mid air by loose circuits. Wall consoles lay on the floor or
blown out of the walls, charred and still smoking. Several of the overhead
and wall bulkheads were hanging or lay on the soot and greased covered
carpet.
A smell of burnt circuits and smoke filled Darv'ots nostrils but what was
even more unpleasant was the sight of several Starfleet officers laying
motionless sprawled out in the middle of the corridor. From what he could
see Darv'ot counted three of them.
Looking to the comrades he had in the turbolift he turned and spoke, "check
carry them to the shuttlebay, if not leave them. If the ship is still in
one piece we can retrieve the bodies for barrel later."
Several of the officers frowned at the statement but did as told, Darv'ot
included. He walked over to a lifeless woman, bending down and felling her
neck he found her to be not so lifeless. Her what would have been blond
hair was covered in soot and ash. She stirred.
"Uhhh." moaning as she opened her eyes, "where am I, what is going on? My
leg!" She tried to move but couldn't. Darv'ot lifted a small piece of
bulkhead that was currently crushing her leg and looked over the injury.
"Its broken, what's your name and rank?" He asked curtly.
"Ensign Rebecca Webb. I'm the transporter chief, who are you?" She asked
sleepily, Darv'ot didn't give his name nor rank, he simply lifted her up in
the customary wedding position and started to carry her off towards the
other crew members, it was then that she fell into unconsciousness.
He looked over at the other officers who simply shook their heads at the
silent question of if the remaining officers were alive. Letting out a sigh
he led the pack of officers down the corridor and made a hard left. He
quickened the pace when he heard a massive explosion in the corridor that
they were just in.
"Let's hurry up and get off of this Targ!" He screamed as he started to run
down the lengthy corridor. It wasn't long before they all came to a door
marked, "SHUTTLEBAY".
The doors parted and allowed them entrance; he saw already two
shuttlecrafts in mid flight and exiting through the exiting field into
space. Three shuttles left, Darv'ot ran towards the one marked Epson. The
six other officers followed him as he entered the small shuttle.
He placed Rebecca down on the ground and turned towards a man dressed in
blue.
"Are you medical." The man nodded, "good get her as stable as you can, I
need someone to ride navigational if you can." A woman nodded and walked
over to the shuttles navigation and helm console. The sound of engines
starting gave Darv'ot the signal he needed. He closed the hatch and went to
the cockpit and sat in the operations and tactical station.
"Everything set?" He asked.
"Yes sir."
"Take us out, full impulse." The officer complied with the order, the
shuttlecraft lifted from the landing pad and jetted out the force field.
"Take us to a safe distance."
"Aye sir." Darv'ot opened up his communications panel.
"Shuttlecraft Epson to any Arakov shuttlecraft, please respond."
(Reply Any Shuttlecraft)
"This is Lt. Darv'ot, do you know if the Captain and Commander are off of
the Arakov?"
(Reply Any Shuttlecraft)
"Acknowledged, thanks for the information. Where is your current position?"
(Reply Any Shuttlecraft)
"Understood, we are making our way over towards your holding place. Make
sure you are off to a good distance, if the Arakov blows its going to be
enormous."
(Reply Tir, Harris, Any Shuttlecraft, Any)
(Posted by Vinnie)
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Pandora Station - News from the Crossroads Bar
By Patrick Buidin
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Dear Customers,
I know it has been a long time since you've received news from your favourite
establishment. I apologize for this absence but one of mine cousin, who run a
restaurant on Risa, had asked me to have on an eye on his place during his
absence.
Now I'm back and after cleaning up the mess my associate had let in the
paperwork, I've found time to share with you some other famous beverages
recipes.
After the Romulan ale and the Blood wine, here is another great beverage, I'm
speaking about the Cardassian Kanar.
Here is the first one :
Ingredients:
1 oz. Black Sun Vodka (to get the black colour)
1 oz. Gin
1 oz. Tequila
1 oz. Grand Marnier
1 oz. Baccardi Rum
5 oz. Coke
Lemon Juice
Black food colouring (optional)
Pectin, Starch, or Thick-It*
Preparation:
Mix ingredients together, carefully experimenting with the pectin, starch or
Thick-It to get the right consistency
*Thick-It is a product for Dysphasia, and other swallowing disorders, found at
pharmacies, it is supposed to be colourless, odourless, and tasteless.
Another recipe, more complex :
1 litre batch, goal alcohol content 16-24%
1/8-1/4 cup cardamom pods charred black (use blowtorch in metal container).
Soak this in whisky for 1-2 weeks (use glass jar with lid).
12 oz Guinness - let it bubble flat (shake a little and let gas escape)
Add the charred cardamom whisky to taste.
1-2 shots chocolate liquor
1-2 shots coffee liquor
More whisky to taste and strength
I hope you'll enjoy it but remember that as the Cardassians like to say about
Kanar, "If you can drink three bottles in a single setting you won't get a
hangover. Because you'll be dead."
Cheers and don't forget that these beverages has to be drank with moderation.
Stay tuned for next time.
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Christmas Quiz
By Guido Dorssers & Rob Verlinden
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It's the time of the year to hold a quiz about Christmas. Please send your
answers to chiefeditor at ... before 1st of January 2008. The winners will get
points for the "reader of the year" award. Have fun!
1) The Santa Claus is derived from the legend of Saint Nicolas. Where does he
originally come from?
A) Lapland
B) Turkey
C) Spain
D) The North Pole
2) If you see Santa Claus as Saint Nicolas, what age would he have become this
year?
A)74
B)174
C)1764
D) 17647
3) What's the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?
A) Snowflakes
B) Snowballs
C) Carrots
D) Hats
4) Who is the real original Saint?
A) Roger Moore
B) Nicolas of Myra
C) Val Kilmer
D) Santa Claus
5) Which animals stood at Jesus' crib?
A) Turkey & Puss
B) Ox & Sheep
C) Ox & Donkey
D) Puss & Donkey
6) What is symbolised by the star on top of the Christmas tree?
A) The Star of Bethlehem
B) The Stargazer
C) The Star of Myra
D) Jesus Christ Superstar
7) When was Jesus born?
A) December 0 AD
B) October 4 BC
C) February 4 AD
D) June 0 AD
8) In what year did Santa Claus first drink Coca Cola?
A) 1891
B) 1931
C) 1941
D) 1947
9) What does Santa have to say before his sleigh will take off?
Please give the full phrase! (it's not "Engage!" :-)
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