Independence Fleet Newsletter

February 2003

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FEBRUARY FLEET NEWSLETTER

-- Opening
-- News Items
-- Adm Seldon’s Return
-- Capt Britanicus’ Retirement
-- Fleet Awards
-- Genesis Award
-- Mission Summaries
-- Interview with Capt Murchadh
-- Closing


- OPENING

Diligent Fleet Members,

I want to thank everyone that has welcomed me back to
the fleet. I am greatly enjoying being part of IDF
again.

Less happily, I would like to open the newsletter with
a mention of the sad loss of the space shuttle
Columbia and her 7 person crew. I think that the best
state of affairs would be one in which all people died
only of old age after long, productive lives. The
worst state of affairs, however, is not the one that
the Columbia’s loss exemplified – people dying in the
pursuit of a noble and good calling – but one in which
people while they live do nothing bold or great. That
is, anyway, the lesson that I have taken from the
tragedy after my meager contemplation of it.

This issue of the Independence Fleet Newsletter is
dedicated to the 7 men and women of the Columbia’s
crew. As President Bush said, “The crew of the
shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet
we can pray that all are safely home.”

* * *

Commander Rick Husband
Pilot William McCool
Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla
Mission Specialist David Brown
Payload Commander Michael Anderson
Mission Specialist Laurel Clark
Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon

* * *


-- NEWS ITEMS

- After a three month retirement, VAdm Seldon, played
by Jacob, returned to Independence Fleet effective 1
Feb. [See article below].

- Capt. James “Brit” Britanicus resigns as commander
of the USS Horatio Nelson [See article below].

- On West’s suggestion and after a (very) little work
from Seldon, the fleet has launched a message forum.
The forum has boards for discussing Fleet Affairs,
Star Trek, and Politics along with several
ship-specific boards and a general message area. The
fleet previously had a forum but it was discontinued
due to lack of use. The forum is located at:
http://pub31.ezboard.com/bidfleet26531

- The USS Excalibur has passed the 2,000 post mark as
of 26 January. RAdm McCloud had the privilege of
sending the landmark post and becomes the first CO in
fleet history to command so many posts.

- Starbase 10 hit the 1,000 post milestone as of 1
January.

- The USS Patriot reached 1,000 posts on 17 December.
Ens. John Majestic sent the post.

- VAdm Seldon is planning a new publication, “The
Independence Review,” which will be a peer-reviewed
and scholarly exploration of different aspects of
simming. Tentative plans are for a bi-monthly or
quarterly publication. Anyone interested in
participating or in forming the editorial board should
please contact VAdm Seldon at: seldon11988@y...

- A new Award, “Outstanding Simmer” is being given out
this month.


-- VADM SELDON’S RETURN

Through, in part, Adm Star’s encouragement, Vadm
Seldon, played by Jacob, has returned in an official
capacity to Independence Fleet. Seldon had retired at
the beginning of November citing diminished interest
and lack of time.

Seldon’s rejoins the fleet as Chief of Development, a
new position created to help assist the Commander in
Chief and to compliment the Chief of Operations (Adm
West, currently). He will also work to advise and
assist the Defense Response Force Director, RAdm
Dragonetti.

Seldon is not a member of any sim at present but is
currently a guest character on the USS Washington. He
indicates that he will possibly do other guest roles
in the future, should the opportunity come up. He is
continuing to work on his “History of Independence
Fleet” and hopes to launch the “Independence Review”
[see news item in this issue] within the next month.


-- CAPT BRITANICUS RESIGNS

Sadly, Capt James Britanicus, nicknamed “Brit,” the
commanding officer of the USS Horatio Nelson is
resigning due to lack of sufficient time to sim and
command as he would like to.

Brit, played by Chris is real life, first joined
Independence Fleet in December of 2001 when he was
recruited to the USS Washington by her then-CO Seldon.
He simmed on the Washington until April of 2002,
posting a total of 54 times and earning numerous ship
awards for his excellent posting. Britanicus won the
Fleet’s Most Improved award for January 2002. Seldon
reports that Brit was also a strong presence
behing-the-scenes on the Washington, and a very
dependable crewmember.

Brit did not leave the W until April 2002 when he was
promoted to Captain and given command of what would be
the USS Horatio Nelson. He has commanded the Nelson
for 10 months during which it has seen 613 posts.

Chris may, at some future point, be able to return to
captain the Horatio Nelson further but for now the
ship is temporarily under the command of her capable
executive officer, Lt Cmdr Sunfeather. There has been
one unconfirmed report that VAdm Seldon may join the
ship in the near future.

Seldon was unavailable for comment on the last point
but has remarked that he is sad to see Britanicus
leaving the fleet (even if it does turn out to be
temporary). The Horatio Nelson under Brit has had a
very solid record and has done excellently in past
months. Independence Fleet will miss Brit and extends
an invitation for him to return, if he sees fit to do
so.


-- FLEET AWARDS

- Best Story Post: Lt. J'Dem, CRO, USS Horatio Nelson,
Post #576.
J'Dem pulls in the Horatio Nelson's second all-time
fleet award with his excellent writing. J'Dem's
mastery of prose is well known to all on the HN. He
previously shared the fleet award for Best Character
Post a few months back. A top-notch writer -- this
post is just one example of his un-paralleled work.

- Best Character Post: Lt. Cmdr. Zingela, XO, USS
Washington, Post #2171.
Mr. Zingela brings home the gold again with his post.
This is probably the most different post to ever win
the award. We actually get to go inside the head of
Zingela as he thinks. After reading the post, I have
to wonder, does he suffer from multiple personality
disorder?

- Funniest Post: Ens. Ivan A. Testacool, AEO, USS
Washington, Post #2189.
This is one funny Testacool. Testacool joined the W
in early January and immediately made an impact. He
jumped right into the storyline, utilizing other
characters and events masterfully. His off key humor
can be seen in nearly all of his posts. Mr. Testacool
is just one funny guy.

- Most Posts: Lt. Cmdr. Kiara Rodale, CCO, USS
Conqueror, 77 posts.
In the Conqueror's first month in action, Rodale
helped propel her to the be the fleet's most prolific
ship for January. Not only had Rodale been posting a
lot, but she's been a leader on her ship, encouraging
people in their posting and guiding the story with
inventive plot twists. A great team player.

- Rookie of the Month: Lt. J.G. Jason Carter, CTO,
Starbase 10.
Carter joined halfway through the month but still
found enough time to pump out
19 posts! He just goes to show you that you don't
have to have any experience to jump right in and
contribute. It just takes drive, a little creativity,
and desire to have fun. Carter did that and helped
fill a void at the starbase created by some leaving
crewmembers. A great find.

- Most Improved: Lt. Cmdr. Orion Tucker, CRO, USS
Patriot.
Mr. Tucker improved about as much as one could improve
from one month to another.
He was almost fired last month for not posting at all.
He basically did nothing. He went from that to
writing 24 posts during January and being the
Patriot's MVP. When he wants to turn it on, Tucker
certainly can. The Patriot is counting on him to
continue his excellent work.

- Recruitment: Cmdr. Entera Danae, XO, USS Minerva.
Danae was able to recruit two new people to simming
and the Minerva. Her efforts to find new people paid
off. Not only did she recruit them, but she helped
guide them as their simming careers began. Danae
showed them how to post and got them involved in the
story. A truly complete task.

- MVP: Cmdr. Entera Danae, XO, USS Minerva.
If anyone deserved the MVP award this month, it ws
Entera Danae. She did everything from posting a lot,
to getting new people involved in the story, to
recruiting, to solving disputes on her ship. She
literally did it all. A great simmer, definitely
someone you would want on your team. The Minerva's
luck to have her to build on for the future.

- Outstanding Simmer: Lt. John Murdock, WS, USS
Washington.
John Murdock wins the first ever Outstanding Simmer
Award and his first ever fleet
award. John Murdock was one great simmer during
January. He posted 16 times, spread out consistently
over the course of the month. His plot twists got
others involved and he kept the story going even when
things slowed down on the W. Knows how to flow the
simming mojo.

- The Admiralty wishes to thank Capt. Griffith of the
Liberty for assisting with the Awards this month.


-- GENESIS AWARD

So here I sit, waiting for new albums from Linkin
Park, the Backstreet Boys, and Celine Dion (all
supposed to be out in the next couple months), and I'm
really disgusted with radio in general. They skipped
over part of the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 on the local
station (which means that the new Celine Dion song has
been skipped - censorship, I tell you!), and I had a
hard time finding a live stream on-line that would
allow me to listen to a John Tesh radio program I
wanted to listen to. This is why I
throw my support behind mp3s.

I also think that the groundhog stole February 2nd
from Balto, who truly deserves a day dedicated to him.
But I'll save that for another time.

Before I get to this month's Genesis Award, I want to
send out much more thanks than I possibly can to the
two IDFleet crewmen who decided on last month's
Genesis Award.

Thank you, Captain Jeremiah Griffith and Rear-Admiral
Steven McCloud. Thank you multiplied by a million.

And thanks this month go to Commander Henry "Hank"
Logan of the USS Patriot and Lt. (jg) Nniol N'Var of
the USS Horatio Nelson for their help in voting this
month's winners. In fact, this month, I didn't even
have to do anything. Thanks, you two!

The winner, voted pretty unanimously, was Post #1811
on the Excalibur, written by none other than
Rear-Admiral Steven McCloud. Not only did he bail me
out last month, when I was unable to do the Genesis
Award, but he is this month's winner.

The post is like the beginning of a Star Trek: The
Next Generation episode. Those who don't know
anything about the characters will understand it, and
it draws your attention. Of the four posts nominated
this month, it's the only one that makes me want to
read the rest of the mission before I deal with the
award itself!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uss-excalibur/message/2234

The Genesis Award runner-up this month is the USS
Liberty's Post #468, written by Lt. Cmdr. Wil Parks.
The post is long and well written, with more than its
share of unexpected turns. Imagine what the rest of
the mission must be like . . .

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Liberty4003/message/2126

I'm signing off this week to background humming
instead of music. The radio station has now stopped
working at all, and I must find something lying around
the room to listen to. Maybe some Cyndi Lauper or
Enya.... oh, good. The idiots at the radio station
realized they were broadcasting nothing, and put the
Weekly Top 40 back on.

Good luck to everyone over the next month, and happy
simming!

Lt. Cmdr. Zingela (listening to Craig David's latest!)
XO & Science Officer
USS Washington NCC-11988


-- MISSION SUMMARIES

- USS Goliad, submitted by Capt. Edwards

The crew of the USS Goliad has just completed its
current mission in the 21st Century. Three former
Section 31 agents, Eric Nordenstrum, Diana Simmons,
and James Bileau have traveled back in time and
changed Earth's past. Instead of a planet recovering
from the Eugenics War, the crew of the Goliad found a
much different time. (Basically, our real life
present) They learn that they must destroy this
alternative timeline or face conquest by the Klingon
Empire. So, much to the dismay of Captain Edwards, he
and his crew must help bring about two of Earth's
bloodiest wars.

- USS Conqueror, submitted by Capt K’lar, mission idea
from Lt Cmdr Rodale

While at Starbase 10, the USS Conqueror receives a
request from Starfleet to investigate reports of
contraband weapons trading by Ferrengi at Starbase 12.
The Conqueror responds and, during the course of the
investigation, they tick off a Ferengi trader by
costing him considerable profit. Before the Conqueror
can leave, he’s back to make trouble for the crew on
the base and attempts theft from the ship. While daddy
(Daemon Rakt) is out trying to turn his bad luck into
profit and getting back at the Conqueror, Mog is just
running around unsupervised and pulling pranks. In
addition, as Rakt is taking something from the crew to
try and smuggle off the base, he is also adding
something bad to the base, Huge 2 ft spiders from
planet X (whatever) that they have to kill. The last
few are saved, and a remberence of an old trick,
played on the Klingons, by James Kirk, causes the
remaining spiders to find their way back aboard the
Acquistioner.

- USS Excalibur, submitted by RAdm McCloud

The Excalibur is sent to Mudor V to report on a new
power source. The scientists on Mudor V say that if
this source can be adapted to Federation technology,
it may be possible to reach speeds in excess of warp
10. As the Excalibur nears the planet, they encounter
triolic waves and quantum filaments. There is no
response from the planet and for twenty minutes 57
crewmen disappeared from the ship. Now, what started
out as a simple mission to report on some new
technology has turned into a possibly deadly mystery.

- USS Patriot, submitted by RAdm Dragonetti

The Patriot was on its way out of orbit from a
Starbase when Q suddenly appeared and informed the
ship of a wedding taking place on Cardassia that was
in danger of being sabotaged due to an assassination
on Valentine's Day. The Patriot is on its way to
investigate after receiving permission to do so when
they themselves are harmed with an LMD (Life Model
Decoy) and learn some disturbing things about the "Q"
involved, and the supposed wedding.


-- INTERVIEW with Capt. Murchadh

INTERVIEWER: We're here with Captain Audra Murchadh of
the USS Sunfire this evening. Captain, thank you for
sitting down to speak with us tonight, how are you
doing?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: I'm doing great.

INTERVIEWER: That's excellent. Now Captain, I want to
just get to the point here and talk about the Sunfire
itself. The USS Sunfire has had a long and colorful
history dating back nearly 3 years. Although it may
not necessarily be the most postous and active ship,
it very well may be the most famous of all IDF ships,
and has even been referred to as the "mothership" of
IDF. How long have you been with the Sunfire?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Oh, I don't remember exactly off the
top of my head. I think its been nearly two and a
half years. I joined the Sunfire sometime in the
summer of 2000 I think, though I'm not entirely
certain without referencing the older archives.

INTERVIEWER: Wow, that's a pretty long time. I guess
it paid off though, because now the Sunfire is all
yours! How did you first find out about the Sunfire,
and how did you obtain a position on board?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: I found out through Admiral Star,
who was then the CMO at that time, I believe. He just
happened to email me, most likely on a recruiting
spree. I looked at the ship and some months later
finally decided to join by e-mailing Star who was then
the XO. I obtained my position as Chief CONN Officer
through simple application for the job.

INTERVIEWER: Tell me, what kind of changes have taken
place on the Sunfire since you first joined...or
rather, what kind of phases has the Sunfire
experienced in your history with it; good phases, bad
phases?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Hmm, that's a difficult question to
answer. I'm not sure what is intended by the term
"phase." During my previous tour with the Sunfire,
before I became the Commanding Officer, several
"monumental" events took place in the history of not
only the Sunfire but Independence Fleet. I was not
part of the Sunfire's original crew, however, I had
been with the Sunfire nearly a year before IDF was
created. So in a sense I am part of an original crew,
before the creation of Independence Fleet. With the
creation if IDF (a phase I suppose) the "original"
crew of the Sunfire was split up to accommodate other
new ships. I remained on the Sunfire with Admiral
West as first officer. The Sunfire quickly regained
its numbers after the split and lead, what I believe,
was a good RPG career. The crew was loyal, creative,
and active for the most part, and the missions
maintained a good amount of interest. However once
the disagreements between the IDF Admiralty took
place, the Sunfire left IDF and took a slight plunge
in activity and crew numbers. I was part of the
Sunfire up until a month or two after the IDF split
up. I took sometime off from the ship, and a month or
so later, rejoined (as a different character). So, I
suppose I've been through good and bad "phases" as you
call them, as the Sunfire experienced productive times
and those that lacked activities.

INTERVIEWER: Recently the Sunfire made it's triumphant
comeback to the fleet. Are you pleased with the
Sunfire's return to IDF? Do you think it was a good
decision?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: I can't say I'm displeased. However
in all honestly, I'm indifferent to the whole
situation. It hasn't yet hurt the Sunfire, however I
don't think it has improved it either. That power,
I'm afraid, lies in the hands of her crew and their
desired level of participation. Though the Sunfire
has joined IDF, I believe she still faces the same
problem she was faced with on her own. I have yet to
find a solid solution for this mystery. But this
aside, it is nice to be among friends again in an
association like IDF.

INTERVIEWER: I understand that the storyline of the
Sunfire had to change dramatically for the return to
the fleet. Can you explain?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Well, after the Sunfire left IDF,
she experienced several lapses in involvement. Crew
member numbers and post numbers dropped significantly
about four or five months after the fleet split. In
an effort to revamp and "fix" the Sunfire, Captain
West destroyed the Sunfire and created the Sunfire-A,
placing the ship in a new setting with the hope of
attracting interest. The setting for the new Sunfire
was the year 2405, several years beyond IDF. When the
Sunfire returned to IDF not only did they have to
travel backwards in the timeline to 2379, but change
from 3001-A to 3001-B. The explanation for the time
change involved the Sunfire in a temporal accident and
subsequent orders from Admiral Star for the crew to
remain in 2379 to protect the time line from further
contamination.

INTERVIEWER: Were there any negative feelings
expressed by the general crew about the comeback?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: No. Most of the crew members on the
Sunfire at that time had not been associated with IDF
before. I believe their reaction to the return was
similar to mine. Indifferent.

INTERVIEWER: What about the storyline change? Any
negative feelings toward that?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Several characters expressed
anything from anger to disappointment that they would
not be allowed to return to 2405. But out of
character, I have not heard of any complaints with
regard to the change.

INTERVIEWER: Have you added any new and fun features
which may be exclusive to the Sunfire since Admiral
West gave up command of the vessel to you, one of his
most trusted officers and colleagues?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: *blush ... most trusted* Actually,
yes. I made several changes to the posting format
used on the Sunfire. "Story" posts now contain a
header that indicates the timeframe for the post.
I.E., when that scene happens in Sunfire time, year
2379. If that made sense. It helps to give a sense
for the passage of time, how long each "episode" on
the Sunfire takes. I think it adds some depth. Also
we added a yahoogroup solely for the use of logs.
They are considered posts on the Sunfire, but contain
only character duty and personal logs. These logs
also contain dates. Among these changes, a minimum
requirement for posts from each officer has been set
depending on their duties with the Sunfire. Also,
department heads have been given duties within their
own departments, including recruiting and assigning
positions. We also have policies involving LOAs and
court martial, which the IDF does not.

INTERVIEWER: Court martial? Sounds very interesting.
Can you elaborate?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Yes. I wanted to give room for
possible court marshal in our storyline, however I
wanted to ensure that they wouldn't last too long or
become disorganized. Also, the same policies for
military court apply out of character on the Sunfire,
in case some matter arises that would require such
action on an out of character basis. The policies
outline who is eligible for jury and judge in certain
situations, and protects those characters/role players
who are on LOA from possible trial without their
presence. That's a very basic summary, however.

INTERVIEWER: Well, the Sunfire seems to be doing
great. I'd now like to talk a little bit about you.
Would you mind telling us your real name?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Hannah.

INTERVIEWER: That's a very nice name. Where are you
located, and what is a usual day like in your life?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: I'm in San Diego County, California.
A usual day consists of school and police cadet work.
I'm taking roughly 17-18 credit hours in college and
just applied for a dispatching position with my
college police department. I guess you could say I'm
very busy.

INTERVIEWER: Sounds like it. So you want to be a
police officer in the near future?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Definitely. I plan on applying to
several of my local police departments near the end of
spring.

INTERVIEWER: That's very, very cool. Do you have any
other hobbies besides simming?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Well, singing, dancing, acting,
composing music, graphic editing, reading, writing
(outside of sims), driving (I love to drive), HTML
programming, playing the piano, orchestrating music on
my computer ... that's all I can think of at the
moment.

INTERVIEWER: Wow. That's a lot of cool stuff, I bet
you're never bored. Tell me, what kinds of missions
do you enjoying writing about the most?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: LOL Trust me, I can still get bored
... But that aside ... I enjoy a variety of missions
or episodes; anything from a mystery to violent battle
scenes to intricate character development. I'm
actually experimenting with a type of episode that
will give each member of the Sunfire the chance to
shine in the limelight. In a manner of speaking, an
episode that is revolved mostly around the development
of a single character. It's been a little bumpy, but
I think it has potential to be quite interesting.

INTERVIEWER: That idea for the Sunfire sounds like an
excellent one to me, I wouldn't be surprised if a few
other ships pick it up to test it out. Let me ask you
this. Where did you get the character name Audra
Murchadh?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: I've always been interested in
etymology. In simple terms it is the study of
languages and their transformation through time. Part
of etymology as I understand it is the study of names
and their origins and meanings. Every one of my
characters has a name that symbolizes their
personality or a specific trait. Audra is Lithuanian
for "storm." And Murchadh is Gaelic for "sea
warrior." By naming Murchadh that I wanted to signify
that her personality is a storm, or ferocious and
sometimes intimidating--though not angry. And that
she is a warrior of sorts, or determined and brave and
loyal ... only befitting for space that it be a "sea"
warrior. There is more symbolism to it than that, but
I'll not bore you with it.

INTERVIEWER: Awesome. How much different or alike are
you, Hannah, to Murchadh...or any of your other
characters?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: I'm not sure I could truly measure
the similarity or difference between myself and
Murchadh; or even my other characters for that matter.
Sometimes it varies from day to day, and of course, a
writer can never completely disconnect themselves from
their creations as I see it. Every character I have,
possesses some small part of me. If forced to compare
myself to Murchadh I would have to say that she has
more "guts" beyond professional surroundings than
myself. And she has difficulty with the same tension
I commonly feel in similar situations. I tend to be a
shy person out of uniform.

INTERVIEWER: Unfortunately we're getting short on time
so I'll go ahead and finish up with this question.
Where do you see the Sunfire and the fleet in 6
months?

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Well, like any commanding officer, I
hope to see it improve. Not necessarily increase in
the total number of posts, but instead improve in
character development, post quality, and the ability
to create realistic, captivating stories. I hope to
see the Sunfire become a ship of strong interest to
any reader--have the audience (and crew) sitting on
the edge of their seats for the next episode. And
above all, I hope that the Sunfire continues to be
enjoyable.

INTERVIEWER: Thank you, Captain, for sitting down with
us this evening. It was a pleasure speaking with you
and I wish you luck with the Sunfire and your personal
endeavors.

CAPTAIN MURCHADH: Thank you!


-- CLOSING

Well, in closing, let me just say that it is snowing
heavily here in the great state of Maryland (though
not so much here in the provincial portions). Classes
have already been cancelled for tomorrow in
anticipation of more snow through Sunday night so,
hopefully, that’ll give me a chance to catch up on
some readings I need to do.

Until next month... I’ll see you on the fleet forum:
http://pub31.ezboard.com/bidfleet26531


VAdm Robert Seldon
Chief of Fleet Development