The Federation Tribune - March 2008

[Chief Editor Frontier Fleet]

                  ==== The Federation Tribune ====
                         ==== March 2008====

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Chief Editor's Notes:
By Rob Verlinden
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Wow, it is time for another issue of the newspaper again! Just like every month 
we have the status reports, crew news and posting statistics. Recommended by 
Sussie, there is a funny legendary post. However, the most exciting to read in 
this issue is the last interview in Rick's series. This time he 'talks' to 
Adrian in person and asks him interesting questions. So, if you want to know 
more about Adrian, the Frenchman in FF, skip the rest and read the last article. 
It's worth it.

You can read this:
USS Calhoun Status Report, February 2008. By Adrien Rodd.
USS Odyssey Status Report, February 2008. By Rob Versteegt.
USS Valkyrie Status Report, February 2008. By Rick Clogston.
USS Atlantis Status Report, February 2008. By David Susman.
SF Academy Status Report, February 2008. By Rick Clogston.
Crew news, February 2008. By Rob Verlinden.
Posting Statistics February 2008. By Rob Verlinden.
Legendary Post. By Sussie Andersson and Rob Verlinden.
Les Interviews, Part Deux. By Rick Clogston.

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USS Calhoun Status Report
February 2008
By Adrien Rodd
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STARDATE: 2394.02.11
EPISODE: #31, "The Relief of Becker IV" (2.05)
LOCATION: near the Becker system, outside Federation space

The joint fleet has assembled, confirmed its strategy to approach the planet
of Becker IV, and is now on its way. What exactly they will find once they
reach their destination remains uncertain. What do the Beckan rebels want?
And why is a ship from the Calhoun's past apparently loitering near the
planet?

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USS Odyssey Status Report
February 2008
By Rob Versteegt
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Mission # 17: "Only Time Will Tell"

Stardate: 2443.09.03 / 2393.09.03
Location: In orbit around the future Earth / Back where they started in
open space.

Summary:
The temporal rift was being opened by the Telemachos, but the Odyssey
wasn't in the clear just yet. The Transwarp Alien fleet had arrived, and
started firing at the Lionanitian ships, and the few Federation ships
present. That included the Odyssey, even though they were protected by the
Telemachos. It was only because of incredible piloting, and the bravery of
the Telemachos' shuttlecrew, that the Odyssey survived.

When the rift was finally opened, the Odyssey made a run for it. . . only
to be blocked by two Transwarp Alien ships. The Telemachos and various
other ships, including the two shuttlecraft, charged in and tried to drive
off the alien ships. The two shuttles locked on a tractorbeam, causing one
of those alien ships to be stuck. The Odyssey managed to get through. . .
but the two shuttles were dragged into the rift as well. They vanished,
never to be heard from again. (Well. . . just read the fanfic on the forum.
:) )

As the Odyssey returned to their own time, Captain Jalando ordered the
Transwarp Generator to be put offline. Reports would be written to
Starfleet. Was this the end of an era? The era of Transwarp? Or would
Starfleet's scientists be able to find a way to make Transwarp possible
again?

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USS Valkyrie Status Report
February 2008
By Rick Clogston
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The xenophobic Rak'hari have built a massive warship with an eye toward
expanding their increasingly claustrophobic realm.  The Captain of this ship,
the X-97 RSF Hidden Warrior, was uncomfortable with his government's new
direction.  Captain Marden took it on himself to defect and turn the ship over
to the Federation.

While negotiating with Captain Denebris of the USS Valkyrie, a fleet of Rak'hari
Inquisitors arrived to take, or destroy, the Hidden Warrior.  While the Alpha
and Gamma sections battle the Inquisitors, an away team from the now-crippled
Beta section - led by LtJG J'n'ala Foster - has taken control of the Hidden
Warrior and moved the fight to a nearby area controlled by a group of pirates
and other independent vessels.  With FO PaRel leading these unaffiliated ships,
the Valkyrie and its allies are turning the tide of battle against the
Inquisitors.

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USS Atlantis Status Report
February 2008
By David Susman
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Episode 10 - Shell Game

Stardate: 2393.12.06
Location: In orbit of Tui Malila / The surface of Tui Malila / A nearby moon.

Summary:
The Atlantis and her crew are in orbit of Tui Malila, an unspoiled
World being colonized by a group of environmentalists as well as a
group of miners.  The miners plan to "drain the swamp" to ease the
mining operation.  Each group is on opposite sides of an immense
wetlands region and blames the other for damage to equipment and
materials.  The Atlantis has been in contact with the miners, but
unable to contact the colonists due to their scattering field.

The Atlantis has sent the Gamma Flyer Borhyas to the surface to
try and make contact with the colonists.  Commander Velden
Councillor Pilkington and pilot Satomi have not been
successful and in their attempt came in contact with the scatter-
ing field which overloaded their ship's systems.  They managed a
semi-controlled descent into the wetlands.

Another Away Team of scientists in the Elbe has gone to a nearby
moon to research a magnetic anomaly they located.  The ship made
another barely controlled descent when a gravimetric field
disrupted their systems.  Initial reading indicate a possible
wreck over 50 metres long of duranium alloy under the moon's
surface.

On Tui Malila, the miners have two of their members lost in
the swamp and have used this as an excuse for an armed foray
through the wetlands to removed the colonists.  One transport
with Chief Surveyor Waltz, David Lynley, and two other miners
has been attacked by what was described as "an angry log".
The creature dented the roof with it's bare hands but was shot
by one of the miners.

A group of three colonists are repairing Generator 3 has
discovered large scratch marks on the damaged equipment.  One
scientist, Hermann Spindler, thinks he saw something large
with yellow eyes in the wetlands.  Boris the mechanic brought
the shell of an amphibious creatures to the generator that he
found nearby.  Dennis has the uncomfortable feeling they are
being watched.

Back on the Atlantis things are not quiet.  Captain Torn's chair
was stolen from his Ready Room, for which he initially blamed
Glitch, but has apologized.  Leo Montgomery's Engine room is not
faring well until the watchful eyes of ACEO Harris and Ensign
Paiyel.  After a generator blew up, Paiyel checked all the
buffer coils and learned that most of their stores were
refurbished.  Power is out in sections of the Atlantis and
there may be more darkness ahead as the Engineers work to
repair the generators.

Without Transwarp, resupply is virtually out of the question
this far in the Gamma Quadrant.

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Starfleet Academy Status Report
February 2008
By Rick Clogston
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Things weren't quite as busy in February as they had been in December '07 and
January '08, and it was almost welcome.  We had three sign-ups, and two of those
were rejected.  We also dropped four cadets from the roster due to inactivity.
On the positive side, there were three graduations, as follows:

Ensign Hidek Dukala'i (Valakian) - played by M. Planck - ACSO, USS Atlantis
Ensign Kathryn Rose (Human) - played by Kate Crockett - COUNS, USS Valkyrie
Ensign Madeleine Setar (Betazoid) - played by Emily Pesicka - Unassigned, USS 
Valkyrie

Congratulations to all these graduates, and assurance that they will be valued
members of their new crews.

There are currently eight cadets on the Academy roster, all in various stages
of their training.

In the spirit of education being a continuing process, this month I would like
to direct your attention to our very own Frontier Fleet website.  It is a
constantly-evolving resource, containing a wealth of information designed to
educate, inform, and inspire as you progress through the game.  I realize that
everyone receiving this is either on the Command or Instructor lists, so I know
I'm sort of preaching to the choir.  Still, if there's someplace on the site
that you haven't been lately, maybe it's time to go back and check it out.

For instance, in my explorations of the Academy links, I found a page off the
campus map that led to the shuttle hangar.  Here, I found a detailed listing of
every shuttlecraft and runabout available to the Academy.  Each FF ship also has
links into the LCARS sections, and most of the back pages for each vessel are a
little different.  Again, most of you probably already know this, but I am
continually amazed at just how much information there is literally at my
fingertips.

I would also like to offer up a link of the month, for Trek-oriented websites
that could be useful, or at least fun.  Again, most of the ones I have are
probably already known to most of you on these lists, so I would like to solicit
suggestions for this feature.  If you've found a new, obscure, or just too plain
cool site, email me the link.  As time goes by, I will probably share them here.
For this month, here's a particular favorite of mine:

  http://home.teleport.com/~vli/vlif.htm

This leads to the Vulcan Language Institute, which has been on the web since
1998 and otherwise in existence since 1980.  Although largely non-canon, it has
a ton of stuff on just about all aspects of Vulcan life, going way beyond the
language.  The principal contributor, Mark Gardner, has contacts at Paramount
and he shares fascinating insights into the series and movies that explain some
of the material.  Seeing that my main PC is half Vulcan, I spend a lot of time
here looking for little things to drop into posts, or inspire a new aspect of my
character.

They used to be located at www.vulcanlanguage.com, but lost the address due to
a clerical error.  They've been trying to get it back, so it might work now.
Their homepage says to contact them at www.vulcanlanguage.org, but I still use
the address up above, at home.teleport.com, and it got me there today.

Again, if you have a link that you'd like to share, or something educational
that you would like to contribute to this space for the edification of your
fellow players, send it along.  All contributions will be cheerfully considered.
And they can't be worse than what I'll put here if you don't.  ;>

Rear Admiral Charles David Clark, Commandant, Starfleet Academy

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Crew news
February 2008
By Rob Verlinden
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>From now on this section is called "Crew news". It has promotions and news about 
arriving or departing players.

I start with welcoming the Cadets who graduated to Ensign:
Ensign Hidek Dukala'i, played by Eric E. ACSO, USS Atlantis
Ensign Kathryn Rose, played by Kate Crockett. COUNS, USS Valkyrie
Ensign Madeleine Setar, played by Emily Pesicka - ACMO, USS Valkyrie

Only Eric and Emily are actually fresh players. Katie was a member before. Two 
other former members rejoined our ranks. A special welcome to Aaron and Gael!
Returning Players:
Gael Imadeddine as ACOUNS Lt. Dailow Safir, USS Calhoun
Aaron Delay as ACEO Harris, USS Atlantis
Kate Crockett as ACOUNS Ensign Kathryn Rose, USS Atlantis (temporary on 
Pandora).

Sadly Kelly Weldon (ASTC on the USS Calhoun) was removed due to inactivity.

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Posting Statistics
February 2008
By Rob Verlinden
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Calhoun players (9, active 9):
      Adrian Rodd 41 (Cal 34, Ody 4, Panda 3)
      Kelley MacKinnon 43 (Cal 27, Ody 5, Atly 3, Panda 8)
      Laura Elliot 1
      Mark O'Bannon 14
      Benjamin Ditch 45
      Maxamillion Orion 5
      Jonathan Healey 2
      William Raymer 5
      Gael Imadeddine 2

USS Odyssey players (7, active 5):
      Rob Versteegt 22 (Ody 14, Cal 1, Valk 1, Atly 3 Panda 3)
      Martin Miller 3
      James Jackson 8
      Rob Verlinden 3
      Jim Yee 5

USS Valkyrie players (10, active 7):
      Dennis Church 3 (Valk 2, Ody 1)
      Rick Clogston 25 (Valk 11, Panda 14)
      Blayne Welsh 1
      Abby Leib 1
      Kelly Power 7
      Melissa McIntire 2
      Don Draper 2

USS Atlantis players (10, active 9):
      David Susman 43 (Atly 39, Ody 4)
      Ben Versteegt 5
      Bram Peeters 8 (Atly 7, Panda 1)
      Patrick Buidin 2
      Dawn Johnson 2
      Merijn Donders 33
      Chantal Sellers 3
      Aaron Delay 5
      Eric E. 3

Pandora Station players (2, active 2)
      Sussie Andersson 1
      Katie Crockett 5

Top posters February 2008:
      1. Benjamin Ditch 45
      2. David Susman 43
      2. Kelley MacKinnon 43

Dutystations:
      1. Calhoun 132
      2. Atlantis 105
      3. Odyssey 45
      4. Pandora 35
      5. Valkyrie 27

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Legendary Post
By Sussie Andersson and Rob Verlinden
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In the above statistics it is remarkable that Pandora has had many posts last 
month. Pandora Station, the Command Centre of Frontier Fleet, is now manned by 
SPCs, but it used to be an active dutystation of its own.
Sussie Andersson is still playing characters on Pandora, where she used to play 
CMO Truesdale. She found a jewel from September 2004, posted by Dennis Church. 
Thanks for recommending this legendary post, Sussie!

Subject line: XGO Karol Underhill

(Pandora Station - Main Sickbay - 2391.05.01, 1026)

Karol absentmindedly scrolled through the readouts on his PADD-with things
on Pandora settling down, he was getting some serious time to work on his
Kottarani research, and he was enjoying it thoroughly.

He was also getting more time, indirectly, because of what was happening
between Threnn and Truesdale.  To be sure, he was the tiniest bit jealous of
the Andorian-although Karol imagined every guy on the station would be at
this point-but he was also happy for both of them, because they were his
friends and colleagues.

But he was no fool-two was company, and three was a crowd, so Karol was
going to avoid the CMO's office until they left it-he had a research
proposal that he wanted to right a paper on, and for a project of the scope
Karol was proposing he'd need the CMO's approval.

Which he knew he'd get.  So all in all, life was looking pretty good, and
easy-there were very few people in sickbay at the moment, and only one minor
injury getting treated.  He flipped an empty hypospray in the air, and
caught it by the pressing end.

Only the hypospray in question wasn't so empty, and he heard the familiar
sound of an injection.  He had no idea what was-or at least had been in-the
hypospray, only that he now had a splitting headache and a huge spout of
dizziness.

He tried to talk, but he couldn't focus enough to make a sound-so he
stumbled around.  ~This feels like the only time I got drunk....except when
I was drunk I knew what I was doing.~  His steps were jerky and unaimed, and
he walked into a wall.

At this point, someone probably had noticed something was amiss, but it was
far too late for poor Karol.  His could barely focus enough to see where he
was going-he was hip-checked by a biobed, which only increased his stumbling
(and caused him to spin), and he crashed into a medical cart head-first,
toppling it over and falling on it.

It was only then Karol noticed he still had the hypospray-his fest clenched
around the top-in his hand, so he dropped it, feeling dizzy, his head
splitting in pain, and trying to focus to see-well, pretty much anything.

(Reply any)
(posted by Dennis Church)

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Les Interviews, Part Trois.
By Rick Clogston.
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The writer who brings us the characters of Commander Sedaq and Captain Djidonou 
is one of the leading lights of Frontier Fleet, Adrian Rodd.  Adrian came to the 
Fleet as an Ensign when the game was still quite new.  Today, he is a member of 
the ruling council, a ship's Captain, and the Academy's chief instructor, along 
with writing several other characters on a variety of duty stations.  Sedaq is 
one of the original instructors at our Starfleet Academy, and as such has 
literally helped "write the book" on how the game functions.  In a nutshell, 
there are few, if any, more highly regarded creative forces in Frontier Fleet 
than Adrian Rodd.

Federation Tribune: First, some basic questions. To be in Frontier Fleet implies 
that you
are a Star Trek fan. What is your favorite series, and could you also tell
us a couple of your favorite characters and episodes?

Adrian Rodd: The Next Generation. It has some very bad episodes, of course, but 
on
the whole it seems to epitomise Star Trek better than the other series.
Probably because it was the only series during which Roddenberry had full
creative control; he was able to shape it into what he intended Star Trek to
be. Particularly good episodes, in my view, include "Darmok" (TNG), "Masks"
(TNG), "Past Tense" (DS9), "Tuvix" (VOY), "Latent Image" (VOY), "Repentence"
(VOY) and "Jetrel" (VOY). Voyager may not be the best series overall, but it
has some of the very best episodes. I also liked "Lower Decks" (TNG) and
"Good Shepherd" (VOY), because I like the idea of background characters
taking centre stage.
As for favourite characters. . . Possibly the Doctor.

FT: You've been with the Fleet quite a long time. What would you say are
the most significant changes you've seen?

AR: When I first arrived, there was only one ship: the Calhoun. The players
who were onboard at that time are now "veterans": Rob (Verlinden), Bram. . .
Other players -such as Guido, Jaap, Claire, Aaron (DeLay) and Derek- have
had a huge impact on FF, and particularly the Calhoun, but have now left.
Most players today have probably never even heard of Derek. It seems so far
away that it feels as if FF back then was a whole different game. I remember
the first split and the creation of the Odyssey. That's when I became 2O.

A big change, of course, was the (re-)creation of the Academy. It helped
give a bit more stability to the game, since players who weren't willing to
make a commitment of time and effort were weeded out at an early stage.
Before that, we occasionally had players who were assigned to the ship and
only posted once or twice before disappearing. Back then, their characters
were simply killed off in more or less creative ways. That's how the Calhoun
became known as the "ship of the doomed". We don't kill the characters of
former players any more.

FT: To those who've been with the game a long time, you are regarded as a
'writer's writer.' Do you write professionally? If so, where might we go
to read you?

AR: No, I don't. I wouldn't have time, for one thing. The only thing I've
written outside Frontier Fleet recently is the beginning of a story set in
the universe of the TV series "Lost". I've written about 200 pages so far. I'd
be happy to send it to anyone who's interested. It's been quite challenging
since I've tried to weave a new story into an existing story, without
contradicting the existing story in any way. I haven't had time to write any
of that since summer, though.

Other than that, my first publication will be a short research article
(written in French), due to be published in a few weeks. It gives a quick
overview of identity and integration issues of Pacific Islander immigrants
in New Zealand today. Oh, and recently I've been editing Wikipedia, creating
several articles in the French version. But that's not fiction writing, of
course.

FT: Where do you live, and what do you do for a living?

AR: I live in the eastern suburbs of Paris (I was born in Paris itself), and
I teach British history and society at a university in Paris, to
undergraduates.

FT: It is in the creative nature to push against limitations. What
boundaries or taboos do you see yourself pushing against in Frontier Fleet?

AR: Interesting question. I try to live up to what I call simply the "spirit
of Star Trek", and Frontier Fleet is a great place to do that. It's
virtually the only Trek online RPG which stays faithful to the atmosphere
and aims of Star Trek, rather than write about war, militaristic missions
and 'Starfleet marines'. We have Guido to thank for that: he's always made
it very clear what FF was to be, and I'm grateful to him for doing so.

Part of the challenge of writing within such a setting is that it forces us
to imagine what human beings will be like in a quasi-utopia, where they have
(to a remarkable extent) cast off greed, selfishness, and most of the flaws
of our own era. While I wouldn't want my characters to be perfect, I do try
to make sure that they behave like 24th century people, people who have been
brought up in an almost utopian setting with certain norms and values. They
shouldn't think, react or behave in the same way as your average early 21st
century person. I don't want them to be heroic. I simply mean that their way
of thinking about themselves, about the world, about society and about
ethical values is not the same as ours.

Regarding taboos. . . My main character is bisexual. I didn't originally
intend her to be that way. Once it happened, though, it enabled me to write
about her feelings and sexuality within the context of a society where
everyone views it as normal. This is an issue which Star Trek has only
touched upon twice (in "The Outcast" (TNG) and "Rejoined" (DS9)). It gave me
an opportunity to show that 24th century society universally regards
same-sex relationships as perfectly normal and acceptable.

Other than that, when I come up with episodes for the Calhoun, I often try
to play on moral dilemmas and "no win" situations. I want to break down the
typical storyline in which there is always a right decision and a wrong one,
where there is clearly differentiated "good" and "evil", and where there is
always a perfect solution to every problem. I want to make things a little
more complex than that. Ideally, I would like to see situations where
characters consciously choose a "lesser evil" which violates their own
ethical standards, because doing anything else would have been worse or just
as bad. Star Trek occasionally brings up such situations, particularly on
Voyager ("Tuvix", "Repentence", "Latent Image". . .). DS9's "In the Pale
Moonlight" was interesting in that sense.

FT: Of the various characters you write, which ones do you feel are closest
to your heart?

AR: My main character, Jennifer Su. I've been playing her for so long that
she's taken on a life of her own, so to speak. When I first created her, I
wrote her bio fairly quickly, and her personality was still mostly
undefined. Over the years, she's been through quite a bit of character
development, and I sometimes joke that I don't really write her: she writes
herself, and I end up surprised at the direction she's taken herself in. If
I were to try and define her personality now, it would be rather difficult.
I don't try to make it fit into pre-specified guidelines; I just go with
what seems "right" for her. At various stages, she's grappled with
personality traits that I didn't originally intend her to have - such as
indecisiveness and proud stubbornness.

One aspect that still presents occasional difficulties is that Jennifer is a
Klingon-Korean woman - three attributes which, of course, I don't share with
her. Projecting myself into her mind isn't always easy. She's become "less
Klingon" over the years, although I put that down to an evolution in her own
personality. The most tricky is the fact that's she's Korean. Until
recently, I'd never been to Korea, and I only speak a few words of the
language. I lack a strong enough cultural understanding of what it "feels
like" to have been raised in a Korean cultural environment - the values and
habits and customs and thought patterns that it may give you. I've always
thought of her as deferential towards her parents (despite the fact that she
outranks her father), and attached to her cultural roots, but that's not
much to go on. And on the other hand, I don't want to risk stereotyping her.

As for my new temporary PC (Kemoko Djidonou), I haven't got as much of a
"feel" for his personality yet. He's a lot more decisive, and very calm. In
part, I model him off certain character traits of Mr. Eko's in "Lost" (who
was my original inspiration for the character), but obviously Djidonou and
Eko are different from each other in many ways.

FT: Are there characters that others write that you feel a particular
affection for?

AR: Heh. That's not an easy question. Going with the obvious answer, I'd
have to say the characters whom my own characters interact most with, and
feel close to. That would include the Summers sisters, for obvious reasons.
Going back further in time, I remember liking Logix and Rovan Bren. They
were interesting characters. But then there are a lot of those.

FT: Here's a dangerous question; If Paramount Pictures were to call you up
to take over the franchise, where would you like to see Star Trek go?

AR: I'm not sure. I think one thing I would do is take an in-depth look at
how the Federation's society works. We're told that it's a utopia where
there's no money, and where everyone has a strong sense of solidarity and
kindness, but we hardly ever get to see people's everyday lives. I would try
and focus on how this utopia works, and how different people are in this
period, compared to ours. The problem would be reconciling that with the
basic premise of Star Trek, which is exploring the unknown.

Or perhaps I would do something radically different, and set the stage on
Earth in the late 21st century, during the period of early transition
towards "utopia".

FT: Finally, is there anything you would like to say to the rest of
Frontier Fleet?

AR: I've enjoyed reading what you've all been writing. Keep it up!

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