"Heroes are made in the hour of defeat. Success is, therefore, well described as a series of glorious defeats." -- Mohandas K.Gandhi
Issue 13: Sep 1999 -
/Area51/Hollow/3200/index.html
- captainslog@usa.net
Greetings all! It has certainly been a busy month for everyone! Sims everywhere are flourishing and there is much to do!
I would like to point out that we will NOT be doing player-recruiting through Captains' Log. You may, however, place ads in this publication for technical staff (ie-webmasters, administration assistants, etc.). However, you may not place ads for player-held sim positions. Captains Log Apologizes for any misunderstanding.
Thank you everyone for submitting articles and updates! Indeed, we have a fine publication this month, rich with interesting articles that will help you in your simming, give you a new perspective, or perhaps make you sit back and engage in thoughtful pondering? Perhaps.... Although, authors, please make sure you not only put your real name, but what ships you serve on and you highest rank in whatever sim you are in. It always help to "qualify" your remarks. :-)
But enough talk! Have at you!
index
John Skelton
Warrant Officer, USS Dominator
First and foremost, a sailor must know what kinds of ships and other craft exist. Design classifications fall under a few general categories:
YACHTS
Yachts, the most common small craft in the Federation, are generally
found in one of two types. They are most often encountered as private or
commercial vessels and are classified by any number of designs. The most
common yachts are SLOOPS, YAWLS, KETCHES, SCHOONERS, CUTTERS, and CATBOATS.
They are distinguished by their rig, which refers to the number and placement
of engines and thrusters. While they are more maneuverable than starships,
they don't have the propulsionary power of a larger vessel. A yacht that
is not warp-capable is referred to as a DAYSAILER and is used mainly for
recreational interplanetary activities.
The second type of yacht is a special design used by Starfleet. The
CAPTAIN'S YACHT or CAPTAIN'S GIG is a warp-capable yacht attached directly
to a Starfleet vessel for special use by the Captain.This type
of yacht has much more highly advanced systems than would be found
on most private and commercial yachts. This is especially true in regards
to defensive capabilities where the Captain's Yacht is more like a small
starship.
SHUTTLECRAFT
Smaller vessels which depend upon a larger one (a starship or a starbase)
almost exclusively are termed shuttles. This includes all types currently
in service in Starfleet and in commercial service in the Federation.
Starfleet also uses RUNABOUTS which, like the Captain's Yacht (see
above), are nearly classified as starships in their own right due to their
more advanced capabilities. While most shuttles are designated by
interior layout for the carrying of cargo or personnel, runabouts are
considered general-purpose craft.
TRANSPORT SHIPS
There are three types of transport ships, and they are differentiated
almost exclusively on the basis of what they carry. Commercial transports
which have a manifest of at least 90% passengers are called PASSENGER LINERS
or STARLINERS. Starliner is the preferred term for interstellar vessels
of this type. A personnel carrier in the employ of Starfleet is called
a TROOP SHIP.
A transport ship which has a manifest of at least 90% cargo is termed a FREIGHTER. A freighter carrying fuel or other consumable commodities is called a TANKER. Sometimes, warp-capable ships of these types are called STARFREIGHTERS and STARTANKERS.
STARSHIPS
The most familiar ship type to a Starfleet officer is the starship.
They are independent Starfleet vessels with warp capability and variable
mission parameters. Starships can be designated as ESCORTS, CRUISERS,
EXPLORERS and SURVEYORS. Smaller starships are usually classified as
SCOUTS. Medical ships are generally escorts. Science ships are usually
surveyors. Ships designed with battle in mind (i.e. the Defiant-class)
are either escorts or cruisers. Although rare, private and commercial vessels
of the starship type are usually designated as CLIPPER SHIPS and (for slightly
smaller vessels) BRIGANTINES or BRIGS.
For those with an interest in the history of starship classifications,
the "starship" replaces the original term of LINE SHIP or SHIP-OF-THE-LINE
which includes aircraft carriers, battleships, battle cruisers, pocket
battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, anti-aircraft cruisers, superdestroyers,
destroyers, and destroyer
escorts. Starships also include the non-line ships known as frigates,
corvettes. and gunships.
index
Practically nothing is know about the Breen. They wear full-body refrigerated
suits around everywhere. This is odd since their homeworld is not a cold
climate. It instead ranges from temperate to tropical. The
leading theories on why they still wear the suits are for appearance
and climate change.
The appearance theory is that they are so offensive looking to other
races that they wear the suits to make it easier to relate with other races.
However this is flawed because we know the suits to be refrigerated. The
only thing that can account for this is a biological need.
The second theory is that their homeworld had a major climatic change hundreds of years ago. The Breen homeworld was a very cold planet in which the major part of the Breen's evolutionary process took place. But some occurrence like increased volcanic activity, major atmospheric thing, or orbital shift made the planet much warmer. This happened too rapidly for the evolutionary process to adjust for it, so instead the intelligent Breen civilization built habitats for their population.
Although we have seen the Breen in their own ship wearing the suits, we saw them when they were dealing with non-Breen and therefore had to wear the suits for the same reason they would on an alien ship.
We know nothing about their military, government, or social structures
from on screen footage. However, we can infer a lot about their suits.
We know that the suits can operate for long periods even without recharging,
re-supplying or whatever they due because we know that the Breen in
the internment camp was there for months. The suit allows a great deal
of maneuverability which is necessary for combat. We also know that the
suit can simulate certain biological conditions in order to control consoles
on alien ships.
SPOILERS below for those not in North America--contains
information from the final few episodes of DS9
Their technology is equally as mysterious an unknown. They have only
one primary combat vessel, which they produce in numbers. The ship is multi-leveled,
meaning that there are several different sections of the ship
that exist on different levels from the rest. There is a weapon emplacement
in the very front most section of the ship. This used to hold a energy
weapon which would drain the ship of energy, but after a countermeasure
was developed and the three major opposing powers to the Breen (Romulan
Star Empire, Imperial Klingon Empire, and the United Federation of Planets)
the weapon became useless and has probably been removed from all ships.
The newsgroup rec.arts.startrek.tech has a whole faq dedicated to this topic for the newsgroup. However, it is pretty much ignored. The reason for this is that someone did what I'm about to do: define the term for themselves and tell everyone this is how it should be.
The faq breaks it down to three different categories: canon, semi-canon, and not canon. Canon is anything shown on screen. Simi-canon is books from the production crew like the Star Trek Encyclopedia and the ST: TNG and ST: DS9 Technical Manuals. Not canon is everything else, including novels.
This doesn't quite work for me and several others in the newsgroup.
We instead use canon to mean the best supported AND most likely explanation.
The tech. manuals have mistakes. Several of us have notes that fix the
typos and other mistakes. Quick example: the dimensions for the captain's
yacht is half the real dimensions in the TNG tech manual. Rick Sternbach
corrected this on the group (he also has his own newsgroup:
startrek.expertforum.ricksternbach). In the case of the captain's yacht
it is a canon part of the ship. It has never been mentioned on screen though.
The canon dimensions are double what's in the tech manual, but that isn't
in published print. The information fits the above criteria; it is the
best supported and most likely.
The is also the case where episodes conflict. The date for first contact was stated in a TOS episode and in the movie. They were off by over a decade or two. The generally accepted and canon date is the one that was in the movie. It is reinforced more often in the movie and there is over 100 times more footage dealing with it. The TOS episode had it mentioned in passing whereas the movie had it as the theme.
The final main condition we come across is when an episode conflicts with printed material. Normally the episode wins over, but the case is different for the Voyager episode "Threshold" (which for the record I've never seen). In that episode they achieve Warp 13. In the tech manual max warp is approaching warp 10. Warp 10 is infinite speed and requires infinite energy, the object at that velocity will occupy all points in the universe simultaneously. In simple mathematical terms: warp 10 is a vertical asymptote. Gene Roddenberry made this a condition in preprodution for TNG. What most people have said it that the writers made a major mistake and dismiss the entire episode's canon. Some try to rationalize it by saying that transwarp requires a different scale because of the energy required and stress on the ship. It's analogous to measuring a plane's speed in knots or a mach factor.
NOTE: TNG: "All Good Things..." warp 13 is not considered because the Federation just redid the warp scale so captains didn't have to say, "Ensign, set a course for Bajor warp factor 9.9999997."
In short, canon is a term that will include different things for different people. Some will always claim that warp 13 is canon because it was on screen, while others will use the Warp 10 is unreachable.
I apologize to those who were offended by the graphic descriptions of
violence I posted during the ground battle. My intent was to illustrate
the fact that there truly is no glory in combat, and victory is seldom
total.
There are glory-hounds who seek recognition in combat, and they do
gain glory, but at the cost of their souls. War is ugly, and anyone who
would say otherwise has already forfeited his or her humanity.
Excerpt from 1stLt Rem Naresuan's post, USS Red Wind:
How many of the Breen were Private Walkers - young, recently joined
the military for the honor of serving, wanted to make their parents proud?
How many of them were away from home for the first time, died
far away from home? How many of them didn't want to take part in this
conflict? We don't know. How many had families of their own? Are we better
than the Breen? They are intelligent, sentient beings, like humans. What
would we do if we were defeated, and far behind enemy lines? We are appalled
at the wholesale slaughter of our own, but when was the right given us
to participate in the slaughter of others? We may justify it as necessary,
but can it truly be justified?
In Star Trek, each species seems to represent or mimic human cultures in different periods of time, exaggerating racial differences. The Klingons seem akin to the Mongol Empire, the Cardassians represent Russia and the former Soviet Union, the Romulans mimic ancient Rome, and so on. The question is no longer of crimes against one's own kind, but of the right to life. All of the civilizations are made up of sentient, free-willed beings. When a civilization tries to suppress or violate the will or freedom of another, it should be, MUST be defended and fought for. But what of war for its own sake?
There must be a higher, noble goal, else war becomes self serving, pointless.
The character of Chief Petty Officer Miles O'Brien best illustrates the
point. He dehumanized an enemy that was, by -species-, not
human. However, it could not be ignored that his enemy was sentient
and free-thinking. He began to embrace killing, and the violence that comes
with it. Violence is still violence, regardless of the enemy. When a man
is in an attitude of violence and anger for long, it becomes a part
of that man. Once it's in his heart, there no longer needs to be a target.
War does not come without a cost....
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are solely my own, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the US Marine Corps or any branch
of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, or the government
of the United States of America.
Fleet Admiral T'Keris, CO, AQSG
Growing bored with your human officer? Ready to take on a new challenges in your Role Playing? Consider playing a Betazoid, Vulcan, Klingon, Cardassian or any of the other interesting and exotic Star Trek species. Learning the cultures of the various species in the Star Trek Universe, and then applying it to your non-human character is not as easy as it sounds. Applying cultural quirks, traditions, mannerisms, and language can be overwhelming when your trying to write a simple response or carry out a task. Too often the urge to fall back to human tendencies and behaviors spoils the efforts to "become" alien. The challenging part is balancing the unique cultural behavior with the need to be a productive contributing officer.
You're successful when you create a character that can be easily identified
as your chosen species in each and every one of your posts. Achieving this
is rather simple, if you plan it out in advance and create a reference
guide. Your first step is to make a list of behaviors that apply to
your species. Think about this for a moment. If you were to describe a
Klingon what characteristics would think of? Most people would say honorable,
short tempered, rough, and combative. Just these few descriptions are enough
to base a character on.
Your next step would be to think of how each species displays their
traits when fighting, developing relationships, or carrying out their duties.
This is a bit harder, but the effort on your part will show in the quality
of character that you develop. An example of this task would involve selecting
a specific character from one of the Star Trek shows. If you wanted to
create a perfect Vulcan, you might immediately select Spock as your role
model. Take a moment and ask yourself several questions. How would Spock
behave when he carries out his duties, how does he socialize with his
friends, how does he handle himself in a fight, what does he do when he
is alone. The answers to these questions will give you some insight into
how
your own creation should react and behave. If you've watched any amount
of Star Trek you would be able to name off basic characteristics of most
species so the task isn't too hard.
Third, how do you handle the special abilities that many of the aliens
have. Klingon's are notably stronger but their honor prevents them from
being overly abusive. Vulcans and Betazids have PSI abilities but both
cultures have guidelines that prevent them from forcing that ability on
others. The same could be said for each culture. Whatever ability they
have is likely to be contained by some cultural taboo or religious restraint.
When developing your character you have these abilities to fall back on
when you really need
them, but for the most part you will write about restraining from using
the ability on others.
Lastly, the addition of your character's native language to your posts is another interesting way to set your characters differences and culture apart from the humans around you. If your the sole Alien on board you can still use language as a tool to highlight the characters difference from those around him or her. For the Klingon, and occasional curse in Klingonese is appropriate. For the other alien species occasionally have them speak in their native language while sending a message home or when recording their personal log adds to the exotic appeal.
Overall, a non human character can be a great deal of fun and the challenges of portraying a non human character seem to heighten the adventure of Role Playing like no other.
(This is the basic profile for a character i was going to use but didn't.
i don't need it now but it'd be a waste to not use him. So if there are
any new players that you come across who have a little trouble coming up
with a
character by all means give them this to build off)
Name: Rand Al'Thor
Race: Kobliad
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Height: 6'2
Weight: 93kg
Eye: Pale blue
Hair: Sandy Brown
Skills/Special Abilities:
Good first hand understanding of various different cultures (most notably
the Cairn); Able to communicate with images, however only with the Cairn;
Excellent communicator between not only his own friends/colleagues
but also interracial; enjoys an almost telepathic sense of feeling if something
is
right or wrong.
Pre-Starfleet History:
His childhood was a rough one. Living in a family that was the head
of a powerful crime ring, he saw many things that resulted in nightmares
for years afterwards. Being the youngest of three he was constantly picked
on and beaten by his older brothers. He quickly formed an intense dis-like
for his family's trade and cruelty. Around 12 he started making the point
of looking for younger kids who had received the same kind of treatment
he did. This was frowned upon by his family who's motto was "hit first,
talk later". Because of this his beatings became more savage and on one
occasion was almost killed. Shortly after he recovered he managed to stowaway
aboard a freighter and disowned his family and childhood. He worked on
trading ships
for the next 3 years. During this time he learnt a huge amount about
many other cultures and races, so much so that the ships he served under
came to count him as a very valuable crew member especially when it came
to settling misunderstandings between the ship and trading partners. His
most significant encounter was with the Cairn where he learnt how to communicate
with them using images through the mind. Eventually he made his way to
Earth where he found out about the Academy.
Starfleet History:
So far he has enjoyed his time at the Academy immensely. Although,
he hasn't achieved the best of marks because he has tended to concentrate
on the well being of his friends as much as he does his studies. Also he
knows that there is a strong possibly he will be dead in the next 10 years
so he tries to have as much fun as possible. His core interest line is
counseling with his minor being in the medicine area. He hopes to further
his studies in the science field, specifically cybernetics.
Current Rank: Cadet
Because he can't stand to see people in the same state he spent the
majority of his childhood he makes every effort to make sure people are
well and stay that way, thus he has a caring nature and on more than one
occasion has being taken advantage of because of it.
He doesn't like to talk about his future or what goals he has because
he's I not sure whether he'll be around long enough to make them come true.
This topic he finds distressing to talk about
[people can add their own record history, this is purely an outline]
QUADRANT DELTA: It's been a busy couple of months for Quadrant
Delta. This update will actually cover several big changes from the last
few months. We've fully implemented our new administrative tructure.
The goal of the new administrative structure was to give members a voice
in how their game is run. It is hoped the new system will foster more communication,
democracy and flexibility for change. We've added two new duty stations,
the Endeavour and the Moscow. The Endeavour is an Akira class starship
and the Moscow is a Sentinel class starship. The Sentinel is a fanfic class
found on http://shipyard.scifi-art.com/sentinel.html.
We've had some leadership changes. Mike Cerone aka Rear Admiral Zilbra
Cherroni has filled the open spot of Frontier Fleet Commander. Along with
this change we have brought the Fleet Command web page on line,
USS DOMINATOR: The Dom is back at it again with another
spit-fire mission, this time to investigate a communications blackout that
suddenly turned bad when a renegade Jem'Hadar task group attacks, crippling
the Dominator! Administration-wise, we've had a change of command staff.
Captain Michael Garret, the ship's illustrious and decorative executive
officer, has stepped down from his position. After an application
process within the ship's company, Commander Terra (formerly the Chief
Engineer) has accepted Admiral
ALPHA QUADRANT SIMMING GROUP (FADM T'Keris): The AQSG has
several interesting things happening. Included in the events is the completion
of a massive joint mission, restructuring of the Academy, and opening of
new positions on the AQSG Council.
--TEAM EFFORT--
--ACADEMY NEWS--
--AQSG COUNCIL NEWS--
Travis D. Howard, Author
==[ Chapter Four - Mobilization ]==
0715 hours. Hunter paced the command deck, hands firmly
behind his back. The Odysseus continued to race, for unknown reasons, towards
the looming Dominion ships like a child to its parents. Hunter didn't
know Commodore Taggart, but he did know BF-TF17's CO, Admiral Jarovik.
He was sure that Jarovik wouldn't promote a "loose cannon" to command;
certainly not flag rank. Hunter shuddered. Just like what happened
on the Firehawk, he thought, remembering past experiences. No, not
this time. There was more
"Admiral! The Odysseus just dropped out of warp and is turning
towards Hymmes II at full impulse!" Hunter slowly stood. Perhaps
it was becoming habit.
"What the hell."
"She's going for emergency landing, sir! Systems are shutting
down all over the ship!"
"Shutting down?"
"Yes sir! Looks like system failure, but I can't be certain
at this range."
"Alter course to intercept! Ops, location of the Dominion
force?"
"They are altering as well, sir. Looks like the Odysseus
is what they were after all along."
"Damn it to hell!" Hunter gritted his teeth.
"Time to intercept!"
"At present speed, three minutes, ten seconds to achieve orbit."
"Increate to maximum!"
"Sir," Garret warned, "we'll be at risk of blowing our cover."
Hunter frowned at his XO. "Which would you rather have to do, captain?
Run the risk of being forced to blow these assholes out of space or allowing
SPECWAR equipment fall into the hands of the Dominion?"
"Point taken, admiral." Garret turned to the helm.
"Open the throttle, chief."
"Maximum warp, aye aye sir." The Chief of the Watch made
the necessary orders as the Dominator's advanced M/ARC roared to full blast,
opening her ramscoops to compensate for the enormous warp field they
were generating. Although the change in speed was undistinguishable on
the bridge, an experienced crewman could almost feel the vibration in the
deck plating - a tradition that dated as far back as the old Constitution
class Starships of the late 21st century Starfleet.
"Achieving orbit now," the helm responded.
"Admiral, the Odysseus is going down! Looks like a southern
continent. We are moving into a polar orbit. Stealth systems
still active." The bridge crew watched as the Ulysses class SPECWAR
Starship angled more towards the planet; her shields and hull glowing red
from the intense atmospheric heat. Suddenly, the ship plunged into the
atmosphere, allowing of only the brightly-glowing shields to be seen as
she plummeted towards the surface in a gigantic fireball. Hunter
turned to the Ops station.
"What class is that planet?"
"Major class nine Seismic activity. Gravametric distortions.
High electrical storms. Atmosphere is mostly.nitrogen and chlorine
gas. Definitely not the weather to walk the dog, sir."
"Damn." Hunter pointed to Garret, who looked up from his
chair's console.
"Mobilize a platoon of marines. Get them pressure suits and prepare
them for drop. We've got to get to that ship before the Jem'Hadar
do!"
"Admiral, we only have one platoon," Garret responded quietly, cruelly
reminding Hunter of the skeleton crew they were forced to depart with or
risk being detected by snooping merchant vessels. That was another
problem on the list - finding a crew. "First Lieutenant Marquez has
command."
"Then inform Marquez and mobilize them! If we don't reinforce
the crash site then the Odysseus will be lost! I want it done in
five minutes!"
"Five minutes??? Sir, that's-" Hunter slammed his
fist down on his armrest.
"I gave an order, captain!"
"Aye aye sir," Garret responded quickly, his eyes flickering.
Quickly, he put one hand to his ear and began speaking into his headset.
Hunter touched a control on his armrest keypad.
"Flight control, bridge."
"Bridge, FCC, Captain Brigadier reporting," Captain Knuckles,
the Commander-AirGroup (CAG) bass voice responded. Hunter was lucky
to find a qualified CAG before they emergency-launched. He didn't
have time to review his service record, but it didn't matter now.
He either did his job and earned his keep like everyone else or he didn't
and the admiral would shoot him there and then. Simple matters of
personnel could be solved by use of a phaser, the way Hunter saw it.
Perhaps it was the Kytef in him. Or perhaps he had just gotten fed
up with incompetence. Either way, it made for a damn efficient ship,
if only to avoid the admiral's wrath.
"Prep a wing of our birds for launch, scramble alert one. Get
'em on the flight deck, ready to go. Ground assault weaponry, anti-personnel.
They'll be making strafing and bombing runs. Use your discretion
with ordinance."
"Aye aye sir. We've got our ace in the hole." A pause.
"Alpha's Wing Commander, Lieutenant London, is prepping her pilots and
craft now, sir. We'
"Make it three, captain. Bridge out." Hunter's patience
was waning, as was their time before the Dominion launched.
"Admiral," Garret said,
"if we launch, we'll blow our cover."
The ops officer swiveled his chair to face the two command officers.
"Sounds like fun. Be creative. Execute." The TSO grinned
at the ops officer.
"I have an idea," he sang out.
Aboard the Dominion warship "Star Legion," Gul-Kalor stood with
his arms folded, looking on the planet surface and the fireball-of-a-starship
that was the USS Odysseus finishing its downward plunge. The Odysseus'
shields glowed brightly as she plummeted towards the surface. The
humans would not escape. Not that easily. Gul-Kalor shook his
head and smiled. Futile efforts cannot evade the Dominion, and certainly
not this Cardassian commander. Gul-Kalor considered himself somewhat
of a military genius. Perhaps a bit too arrogant, but he didn't care.
It was his ship, after all. And the Odysseus was his prize.
"Tell our transports," he commanded,
"that they may launch drop pods when ready."
"Commander! Something is approaching from polar orbit!"
Gul-Kalor turned sharply to face his operations officer. "What?!
Identify!"
The specialist went white as he worked at his console, waving
his commander to his station. Angered at this sudden kink in his
operation, he stormed over to the console and peered at the screen.
His eyes went wide.
"Impossible!" he bellowed, slamming his fist upon the console's
table with a sharp crash. "We scanned this system two days ago!
Move us away from here! Tell the transports to launch immediately!"
"Sir, they'll be smashed!" Gul-Kalor grabbed the collar
of his ops spec and pulled him out of his seat, slamming him in the same
place that his fist was just moments before.
"Do it!" Defenses or no, the operation would go forward.
The operations officer slapped his hands together, producing a
thunderous clap.
"Oh yeah! They're buying it, admiral! We're passing off
as a Class One Starfleet Starbase! Ha ha! They think we're
a bloody
"Location of the enemy fleet?"
"Warships pulling from orbit like a bunch of longtail cats in
a room full of rocking chairs! Wait.the transports are moving to
a different orbit! They're launching their birds towards the surface!"
"Damn it! Inform Lieutenant Marquez that he is to deploy
immediately!"
"Aye aye sir! Marine launch bay, bridge! Alert one
scramble, alert one scramble! You are clear to deploy dropship!
Repeat, you are clear to deploy!" From the side of the massive starship,
a hatch slid open and an
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH! KEEP READING!.......
Current Assignment: Academy
Notes:
FLEET UPDATES
The QD has also published its first edition of Hailing Frequencies,
http://qd.solaria.net/newsletter, the revamped newsletter for Quadrant
Delta. Here you'll find news from RPG, NRPG and real life along with a
few other fun items.
http://qd.solaria.net/fleetcom. This page is a "one stop shopping"
location to get profiles of all the QD Duty Stations and their commands.
As well as provide a means of communication for the Admiralty. The goals
of this page are to assist members and CO's looking to interact with other
Duty Stations and give the Admiralty a place to publish their goals and
any lessons learned they have. The Quadrant Delta main page is the place
to go to learn about Quadrant Delta. It has been updated and revamped.
You'll find our game wide time line,
handbooks, available positions and application form.
Hunter's invitation to join him as the new executive officer.
And there was much rejoicing, for she will command with grace and fortitude.
Charge forth, brave souls! For fresh battles await, and the security
of the
Federation must be ever-ready!
The AQSG has just completed a ten ship joint mission, and is now settling
back to normal. The USS San Francisco, USS T'Pau, USS Vega, USS Vichy,
USS Tobias, USS Vigilance, USS Patriot, USS Republic, USS Red Wind, and
the USS Destiny joined forces in an effort to prevent the Breen from leaving
a trail of destruction as they exited the Alpha Quadrant. The mission lasted
only 6 weeks but generated well over 900 mission posts. The rigors of keeping
up with all the posts was a phenomenal task but the dedication and superior
efforts of the ships CO's kept the mission underway up to the point of
climax at the final battle.
The USS San Francisco took out a portion of the Breen Fleet when rammed
the lead Breen War Cruiser as it's warp core breached. The CO and the skeleton
crew of the San Fran were saved at the last instant by the Republic's secret
weapon the Stormbird, a small attack ship that had been kept a secret from
both the Breen and the Federation. In the final moments of the Battle,
the USS Vigilance sustained sever damage and had to evacuate their stardrive
as the warp core went critical. The Vigilance's saucer section was thrown
into a rough ride when the stardrive exploded, and they crash landed on
the surface of a nearby colony world. When the dust from the battle settled,
the remaining 8 ships pulled together in a team effort to retrieve the
survivors of the Vigilance so everyone could go home. The destroyed ships
are being replaced with the USS Phoenix and the USS Vigilance (A).
The AQSG is preparing to launch it's newly restructure training program.
The AQSG Academy is now a self-paced program. Each new player will work
with their Captain, and an appointed Training Mentor as they complete ten
training courses that will provide the knowledge and experiences needed
to participate in the AQSG Role Playing Games. The lessons, tasks and tests
are safely locked behind a password protected gates, and are open only
to registered players. The lessons involve information and skills with
(1) Basic Terminology, (2) Basic Posting Skills, (3) Bio developments (where
the new player actually creates their bio as their test), (4) Away Missions,
(5) Joint Posts, (6) Joint Missions, (7) Department of Starfleet, (8) Cultures
of Federation Members, (9) Cultures of Non-Federation Aliens, and (10)
Star Trek Technobabble. This program was designed so the new players can
immediately join their ship and begin playing as they work through the
lessons at their own pace.
The AQSG Council has several positions open and is advertising to the
vacancies to both the Command list and the general population. The AQSG
is growing, and the additional positions must be filled in order to maintain
the level of personal attention we give to each member of the sim group.
"USS DOMINATOR:
BIRTH OF A LEGEND" CHAPTER IV
Rear Admiral Daniel R. Hunter, USS Dominator
to this than meets-the-eye. Almost on cue to this thoughts, the
ops officer reported a change.
ll be ready in five."
"I recommend using the ECM system to mask our IFF signal. We
might be able to pass ourselves off as bigger than we already are." Hunter
smiled meekly, looking at his exec.
shipyards!"
oversized yet extremely aerodynamic black shuttlecraft catapulted out
of the bay, screaming towards the planet surface. From lower orbit,
several pods ejected from the Dominion transports towards the planet.
The race was on.
index