Independence Fleet Newsletter

February 2004

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=/\=INDEPENDENCE FLEET NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2004=/\=

-- Opening
-- Newbits
-- Announcements
-- Current Missions
-- Fleet Awards
-- Interview
-- Special Thanks



*******************

=/\= Opening =/\=

Not sure when this small part of the newsletter came
into common use (though I could look it up in the
archives!), but I decided to keep it going. I hope
everyone is haveing a good month, and I ask everyone
to remember to not just keep things to themsleves. If
you have ideas or grivences, your COs and DDs are here
to listen to you and try to help!



*******************

=/\= Newsbits =/\=

- The idea of a Fleet Wide Mission has been brought to
the Admiralty by Rear-Admiral Darwin. It is a very
intriguing idea, and they are currently working out
what the mission's central plot would be, when it
might take place, and how the sims could all be
involved without doing a logistically prohibitive
massive Joint Mission.

- Due to some unforseen events within the fleet, the
Hall of Fame will be put on hold for another month.

- The USS Raptor won the posting title for January
with 168 posts. This sim becomes the eighth sim in
fleet history to win this award and the fourth sim to
win the posting title in it's first month. The other
three were the Avalon, Liberty and Conqueror.

- Ace Decade, our fleet interviewer, has begun his
conquest of guest simming! His first stop is the USS
Liberty. Ace says, "It's going great! What a ship!"
After he is done with this project he will launch the
USS Avalon NCC-3001-C (see announcements below).

- The George W. Bush will soon be undertaking a joint
mission with the USS Dragon and it promises to be one
of the best ones yet. It will also be the stage for
the GWB's coming changes.

- The COs have spoken. A vote was taken on fleet
award procedures. Questions asked were if the
Outstanding Simmer Award should be gotten rid of, as
it is almost a replica of MVP... If we should add a
special award for COs called Best Post by CO... If
COs should be eligible for Most Posts... And if there
should be a Most Valuable CO award. The voting was
concluded last night and here are the results:

=Outstanding Simmer is being retired. The last winner
is in this newsletter. No more will be issued at his
time.

=We're sticking with the Genesis Award, no new award
called Best Post by CO.

=COs should be eligible for most posts.

=We are adding a Most Valuable CO Award. The
nominations will be submitted to the Command Staff by
the Divison Directors nominating one of their COs each
month by recommendation by the XOs and crews.

Any changes are effective immediately and will be used
in next months newsletter.

--- Sim Milestones ---
- The USS Liberty joins the One Thousand club! The
Lib passed the 1000 post mark in the month of January.
The 1000th post was sent in by Ensign Zack Starblast.


- January saw the X get back over the 100 post mark
and over the 3600 post mark. # 3600 was sent in by
Captain Steven McCloud on 1/25.

- On the Dragon Post 100 was posted on the 1st of
January by Steven aka the 3 Gorn, and Post 200 was
posted by Jack aka Dr. Theolin Vadok

- On the USS Raptor Post 100 was posted by Mark
Mnementh. The Raptor hit it's 200 post mark on
February 5th. Lieutenant Dietrich Jones wrote the
milestone post.

- The Goliad hit 700 posts on January 1st 2004. Post
by Lieutenant (jg) Keithan Ceras. On January 25th
2004, she hit 800! Posted by Captain Larakizhaan
sh'Harena.


--- Sim Promotions ---
- Captain Dragomire annnouces the following promotions
on the Dragon: Lt Miller to Lt Cmdr and Second
Officer, Lt Garner to Lt Cmdr, Dr Vadok to Lt Cmdr,
Ens Tourgh to Lt

- Captain Carroll would like to congratulate the
following Liberty crewmembers for promotions. They
were all well deserved. Congrats to the following:
Ensign Saul Kirk is promoted to Lt. (jg), Lt. Justin
Nicholas Thyme is promoted to the rank of Lt. Cmdr.
Both promotions were well met and earned, and I look
forward to many more good things from both of these
outstanding crewmembers.

- Captain N'Var announces the following promotions:
Ens. Tovik - promoted to Lt. (jg) and promoted to
Chief Operations Officer, Ens. "AJ" Cirella - promoted
to Lt. (jg), Chief Tactical Officer, Lt.(jg) Liam
MacGregor - promoted to full LT. and promoted to Chief
of Security

- Captain Gorath would like to announce some
promotions. Liuetenant Mark Mnementh has been promoted
to Commander. Ensign Devon Weer is promoted to full
Liuetenant. Ensign Daniel Kite is promoted to
Liuetenant J.G. Lieutenant J.G. Alexander Wren is
promoted to full Lieutenant. Congratulations on their
hard work and dedication!

- Captain Gorath has informed the Admiralty that
Commander Mark Mnementh will be promoted to Captain on
March 1st and will be taking over the USS Raptor as
commanding officer. Alexander Wren will be promoted
to Commander and will take over the new Executive
Officer job on the Raptor effective on March 1.

- Captain Absecon announced that Lt. Ryan Dunmore, CTO
is promoted to Lt.Commander-- congratulations!

- Lt.(jg) Oliver Thornton of SB10 has been promoted to
Full Lieutenant by order of IDF Command. Lieutenant
Thornton did a very good job posting while two members
of the IDF Admiralty were on board guest simming.

- Captain Zhann stated January saw the loss of CMO
Robert Dragomire, and the promotion of ACMO Nathanial
Archer as his replacement, Strategic Operations/Second
Officer Lt. Commander Natasha Cruix was promoted to
Commander, and Operations Manager Ensign Neo Anderson
was promoted to Lieutenant (jg)



*******************

=/\= Announcements =/\=

--- New Sims, Coming Very Soon! ---

1) The USS Sunfire-C is going to launch in March. The
CO is going to be Lt. Commander Natasha Cruix, 2XO of
the Goliad currently.

2) The USS Avalon NCC-2001 is scheduled to launch on
March 1st. Captain Gorath will be leaving the USS
Raptor to command the legendary vessel. The registry
number represents the year the Avalon was originaly
launched in IDF. Devon Weer will be promoted to
Commander an help out Gorath/Decade as his Executive
Officer.


--- Sims Undergoing Changes ---

1) The USS Goliad NCC-18907-A was destroyed in her
last mission, defending Earth from the advance of Lord
Cryrose and his destructive array of weaponry.
However the old USS Yorktown (from the mission
BIOHAZARD) has been reclassifed as the USS Goliad
NCC-18907-B. Repair and refit work is still in
progress. The USS Goliad-B is getting a new website
soon, look for it!

2) Captain Nara Treniek of SB10 has resigned and
Rear-Admiral Darwin is assuming temporary CO-ship
until a replacement is found.


--- Director of Fleet Relations ---

As has been stated before, I only returned as DFR to
fill in until a permanent replacement could be found.
We are very close to naming who that person is, but
unfortunately my real life has demanded I step down
immediately. We're working as fast as possible to
keep the position of DFR from being vacant for long.
Look for the official announcement of the next DFR in
the Feature of the Week on the website!
-Rachael Rager



*******************

=/\= Current Missions =/\=

USS Dragon:

Name: War of Infinity
Year: 2382
Objective: End the war. Determine the cause of the
war. Keep the Romulans from entering the war.

Briefing: The Gorn Hegemony has contacted the
"Phederation", as they pronounce it, has an ally in a
seemingly never-ending war. Keep in mind the Gorn
hasn't shared any info with us since our alliance. The
war has reached Gorn territory, which both sides
agreed upon when the gorn were contacted. The Gorn and
the two sides involved in this war want this war to
end but can not resolve any key factor thar keeps the
war going. This is our lucky break to prove to the
Gorn that fighting is not always gooooooood and should
be prevented. Captain Ryan Dragomire and the USS
Dragon, if you can not end this pointless "War of
Infinity", I seriously doubt that anyone will.

Written by Steven aka 3 Gorn
Submitted by the USS Dragon and her Crew.


USS Liberty:

The Liberty has been sent to the Briar Patch for some
"light duty". Sadly, as it turns out, the light duty
becomes quite heavy, as the ship finds out that
finding a missing ship in the Briar Patch means
dealing with pirates and a space shark that eats crews
for snacks. Thus far the Liberty has dispatched
several pirate vessels and captured a few dozen
pirates and gone face to face with the shark once,
narrowly surviving. A plan of action has been made to
deal with the shark peacefully, but has not yet been
activated, as the shark in hiding in the Patch.


USS Horatio Nelson:

This month’s first mission, incepted by our MVP
nominee Lt Sheridan, finds the USS Horatio Nelson on a
diplomatic mission to Fluidic Space at the request of
Species 8472 to begin trade negotiations. With the
objective of obtaining a Fluidic Drive, Captain J’Dem
must keep his crew from expressing any sort of
violence or ‘barbaric thoughts’ in order to maintain
diplomatic relations with a telepathic, notoriously
peaceful species.

The second mission for this month finds our senior
crew on the holodeck in a medieval renaissance themed
program designed by Lt Commander Fiona Starling.
Unfortunately the AI has become aware in the form of a
mad wizard, and is keeping our crew as captives!


USS George W. Bush:
After a hectic last mission running around on Earth,
the crew of the USS George. W. Bush are looking
forward to a straight forward mission of keeping the
peace in Sector 001. But nothing is ever that straight
on the Bush and this mission is no exception.

The Bush is swallowed by a mysterious temporal rift
and is deposited in the 33rd Century, where Captain
Absecon is introduced to the mysterious time traveler,
Gary Seven. Seven tells Absecon that she and her
motley crew are the key in stopping a dangerous war
which has ravaged the Federation for the past
millennium. She must rendezvous with the crew of the
USS George. W, Bush-E, meet some odd ancestors of the
crew and stop the Federation's enemy, the Lexicans
from destroying the past. She sends an away team led
by the new Second Officer, Thomas Hallet, back through
time to foil a Lexican plot to halt the formation of
the Federation. But can the Lexicans handle an attack
on two fronts?

It's time for friendships to be forged, old one's to
be tested, a marriage to come under stress and a
relationship to reach breaking point as the Bush faces
it's most difficult mission to date. Can they return
the Federation to....Seventh Heaven?

Respectfully submitted by:
Lieutenant Commander Tom Hallet, CEO/ 2ndO. USS GWB


USS Goliad:

After the loss of the Goliad-A, the entire crew were
reassigned to the Lya System Fleet Yards, where repair
work was under way on the USS Yorktown--a ship they
had previously saved in the Gamma Quadrant from a
virus that turned the crew into zombies. Captain
Larakizhaan sh'Harena was given command of the
Yorktown, which was reclassifed by Rear Admiral
Marisana Darwin as the USS Goliad-B.

Meanwhile the Hazard Team have embarked on a critical
mission into Romulan Space, to find and retrieve a
Starfleet informant, Commander D'Nar who went AWOL a
few days previously.


USS Excalibur:

On Starbase 911 for a little R&R, Captain Steven
McCloud, while at his birthday party, gets a strange
"feeling". He returns to the Excalibur to find that
another member of his crew has the same feeling. A
feeling that someone is in trouble. His Science
Officer and Counselor, who are telepathic, sense
nothing. After a check they find that this "feeling"
is coming from the direction of an uncharted system of
space. Now the Excalibur heads toward the unknown,
guided by just a "feeling", heading "Somewhere Out
There."

Submitted by,
Capt. Steven McCloud
CO USS Excalibur NCC-2997


USS Patriot:

The King and the Patriot

While still orbiting Earth after finishing repairs and
enjoying some shore leave, The whole of Japan is
rocked by unnatural earthquakes. Since the battle with
Cryrose and the departure of the Goliad-B has left the
Patriot the only functioning ship available around the
planet. After investigating the seismic disturbances
and visiting the underwater research station Atlantis,
the Patriot crew has become aware of three giant
monsters all heading for Tokyo for their own reasons.
Now it is up to the Patriot to keep the three monsters
from causing irrepairable damage to Toyko and the rest
of the world.

Have a good day and Drive safely.

Capt Henry "Hank" Logan
Commanding Officer
USS Patriot NCC 26782



*******************

=/\= Fleet Awards =/\=

Best Story Post:
Goliad: Lt. Commander Natasha Cruix (Strategic Ops &
Second Officer)
http://www.topica.com/lists/goliad18907/read/message.html?mid=808239744&sort=d&s\
tart=1211


Best Character Post:
GWB: Lt.Cmdr. Thomas Hallet, CEO --Post#1709
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeorgeWBush/message/2846


Funniest Post:
GWB: Funniest Post: Lt. Ryan Dunmore, CTO --Post#1727
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeorgeWBush/message/2886

Genesis Award:
Horatio Nelson: Captain J'Dem Mission Kickoff:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horationelson/message/2911


MVP:
Excalibur: Dr. Paula Fredricks
Claire, who plays Dr. Fredricks has been with the
Excalibur since we first came into being. She is
currently second on the Excalibur's All Time Posting
list with 516 posts. She posted 15 times this month
and added greatly to our mission. After a slow start
in the beginning, she has turned into one of the best
players on the X. She won the first ever Best Story
Post for the Excalibur in December of 2002. She has
picked up 5 Fleet awards to date.
Most Improved, Outstanding Simmer and Best Story Post
3 times. She has made our missions fun and exciting.
On the last day of this month she stepped down as the
Excalibur's CMO and I wanted to take this last chance
to nominate her as one of the Most Valuable Players on
the Excalibur and in the Independence Fleet. Thanks
Claire. We'll miss you.

Outstanding Simmer:
Goliad: The crew of the USS Goliad NCC-18907-A (I just
can't choose anyone
this month, the whole crew have preformed excellently
and have made this a
very memorable mission).

Most Improved Simmer:
Dragon: Lt Cmdr Garner
Garner. This guy has been with the Dragon since the
beginning. He's never had a whole lot to say as far
as posting goes. That is, until this month. Before,
he would put in a couple posts per month. But for
January he kicked it up 2 notches. Going from just a
few posts up to 11 total. Plus, his quality increased
immensely. So based on those facts I promoted him to
the rank of Lt Cmdr, I felt that he deserved it and
that he would wear the rank with pride.

Rookie of the Month:
GWB: Ens. Tobias James, COO
She is brand new to simming, but that didn't stop her
in the least. She started off strongly, not
hesitating to jump in. Her posts became better and
better throughout the month, and her encouragement and
interaction with other crewmembers/posters is praise
worthy. It is simmers like her, that help make a ship
great-- and I can't wait until I see her future work
with the GWB.

Recruitment:
Raptor: Lt. Commander Jake Kent.
Kent recruited twelve members to get the Raptor
started. Without him there would not have been a
ship.

Most Posts:
Ensign Devon Weer (Raptor), 31 posts


*******************

=/\= Interview =/\=

IDF staff had the pleasure of sitting down with
Admiral Felicity Dragonetti today. Miss Dragonetti
talks about the new simms that will be launching soon,
the Academy and and her career.

Ace Decade: Miss Dragonetti it is a pelasure to sit
down with you after all these years. How crazy is it
that a long time member of the Admirality has never
been interviewed for the newsletter?

Felicity Dragonetti: Well, its been interesting, but
I don't need to take all of the glory ( :

Decade: Oh sure you do, why not? We all do. (Laughs).
Okay Felicity how did this start? Your simming career.
Where did it all begin?

Dragonetti: Well, I had just changed schools in the
middle of high school and this guy I hardly knew came
up to me and asked if I wanted to do an RPG by email.
I said I didnt' know anything about Star Trek, but
sure why not. That guy: none other than Admiral Krol.
This was way back before the fleet formed.

Decade: Awesome! You commanded the USS Patriot your
first time out right? How did that go taking over for
Captain Thomas Dupont who upped and left right after
Steve McCloud was promoted. I am sure the ship
suffered a hard blow at that time.

Dragonetti: Yes, the ship was down to about 13 posts
per month when I took over. After a lot of recruitment
and work I got it to around the 100 posts per month
work, but it was my awesome crew who did most of the
work.

Decade: Yes you had simmers like, Lars Berglund, Matt
Gelfund, Artanis D'erak, Miao Yin, etc. What a line
up! Who was your favorite character out of the ones
you served with on the Patriot?

Dragonetti: Oh, that's a tough question. I'd have to
probably say my favorite person was... well, darn, I
have no idea. I loved everyone.

Decade: That is very sweet of you. Guys like Ace
Decade or Joey Carroll would say that they loved
themselves. What jokers! (Laughs). How long have you
been a part of the Admirality?

Dragonetti: Well, I was a division director since
uh....November of 2002, so about 1.5 years now.

Decade: So you've been there for quite a while. Tell
me, how are things going now that West is in charge?

Dragonetti: I feel things are running very smoothly,
as with any form of leadership there will always be
minor differences but I feel that I have known
everyone long enough and worked with everyone long
enough that we are able to really get in touch and
work things out.

Decade: Thats good to hear. You guys just launched
two new ships in IDF. The USS Dragon and USS Raptor.
How are they holding up so far?

Dragonetti: Wonderful. Both ships are remaining
extremely stable, both are doing great, and both seem
to be very involved in the fleet. I hope to add more
like that in the future.

Decade: Speaking of that. Rumors are flying around in
the IDF offices that their will be a re-launching of
the fleets former flag ship, the USS Sunfire, the ship
that started it all. Also, the re-launching of the USS
Avalon is in the works as well, another IDF original
sim. Can you confirm these rumors?

Dragonetti: Yes, there are plans in the future of
relaunching these legendary ships, among other things.


Decade: Good deal. I definately look forward to that.
Tell me, when will the Academy start? Any date
announced?

Dragoneti: Well, it was suppossed to be released this
month, but due to some very unfortunate personal
problems it has had to be put on hold. I am looking to
launch in Feb. at some time, no date has been set at
this moment.

Decade: Who will be in charge of the Academy? A.C.
Slater still? I am sorry, A.C. MacGyver. (Laughs). I
watch too much Saved By the Bell.

Dragonetti: No, she has had to dedicate a lot of time
to her new XO position, so I will be running it for
quite awhile.

Decade: Any word on who will be the new Divisions
Director?

Dragonetti: Well the first division to be launched
has been decided, and today I just received word of
another division that will be launched in the very
near future as well.

Decade: It sounds like the fleet is growing stronger
than ever. This is some great news! What status do you
think the fleet will be in by the end of the year?

Dragonetti: Hopefully we will be one of the most
prosperous fleets on the web.

Decade: Your character of Felicity Dragonetti has
been selected on for the top 30 elite list. Where do
you think she will fair in all honestly?

Dragonetti: In all honesty, I don't think she should
be on there, but I feel very honored that she is.

Decade: Rachael Rager will be leaving the IDF command
staff shortly. How do you feel about this decision?
And, any word on who will be taking her place?

Dragonetti: We are currently under way with the
search for her replacement are getting along quite
far, I will miss her dearly, she does a great job and
has become a very good friend of mine...

Decade: Will she have anything to do with IDF
afterwards? Or is it goodbye for good?

Dragonetti: I'm not totally sure, I hope she does
stay at least in webmaster capacity, she is the best
person for the job.

Decade: Yes, she has done a great job with that.
Felicity, will you ever command a ship again? Or is
this where your gonna stay forever? Within the ranks
of the Admirality?

Dragonetti: Someday, I'd like to, I miss it, but
right now, the Admiralty needs me.

Decade: Definately! The fleet took a hellacious fall
in 2003. With Star going on a a long LOA, Ace Decade
retiring and not to mention Seldon having nothing to
do with the fleet anymore. We definately hit a low
point last year. But, things are turning around, it's
looking like 2002 all over again. By far, our biggest
year. In your opinion what has been the greatest sim
in our history?

Dragonetti: Tough call, I honestly couldn't make a
good enough decision on that one, but I think the
original three the Sunfire, Avalon, and Washington
will always live in the legacy.

Decade: Yes, I would agree. All three are very
important. The Sunfire mostly, but sadly, the Sunfire
and the Avalon took a fall and were decommisioned last
year, while the W is still going strong. But, we're
about to have them all back again, which is excellent!


Dragonetti: Yes, and they will all prosper as they
did before, on top of the fact that almost all the
ships in the fleet are almost at a very prosperous and
strong stable state.

Decade: Very true. Besides the Avalon and Sunfire
re-launching, anymore ships in the works? I am hearing
of a USS Empire launching in late April. Anything
else?

Dragonetti: I believe there are a couple in the
works, but I can't give any names right now.

Decade: Wow, it seems like the fleet will never stop
growing. Felicity, I am going to wrap up this
interview but before I go, I have a few quick
questions that I would like to ask you.

Dragonetti: Let's have it.

Decade: Which is the better movie franchise? The
Matrix or Star Trek?

Dragonetti: Well seeing as I've only seen one Star
Trek movie (Nemesis) I really can't answer that
honestly... but I love the Matrix...

Dragonetti: Startrix! Yes, Startrix r0x0r!

Decade: In a fight, who would win? Yoda from Star
Wars, or Gallum from Lord of the Rings?

Dragonetti: I'd have to say Yoda, he was pretty
badass, especially in Episode II.

Decade: I would agree. Who would you merry, do or
kill? Robert Seldon, James West or Ace Decade?
(Laughs).

Dragonetti: Can't I just have all three??

Decade: For what?

Dragonetti: To do!

Decade: Sure!

Dragonetti: Nice... what else?

Decade: Out of these four hot bands, which one is
your favorite? Staind, Creed, 3 Doors Down or
Nickelback?

Dragonetti: Staind.

Decade: In your opinion who is the hottest. Johnny
Depp or Ashton Kutcher?

Dragonetti: Johnny Depp he made one fineeeeee pirate.

Decade: (Laughs). Yes, he is from my hometown. Cool
guy. Which is the better Superhero? The Hulk or
Daredevil?

Dragonetti: Daredevil.

Decade: Which is the better dog? Ren or Stimpy?

Dragonetti: Can't say I was ever fond of either...

Decade: Okay, Scooby-Doo or Astro from the Jetsons?

Dragonetti: Scooby-Doo r0x0r my s0x0r.

Decade: (Laughs) Which is the better show? Will and
Grace or Friends?

Dragonetti: I dont' watch TV ( :

Decade: Hmmm. Whom is the better guitarist, Ace
Frehley from Kiss or Eddie Van Halen from Van Halen?

Dragonetti: Must say I'm slightly partial to Van
Halen.

Decade: Eddie does rock. But, Frehley is good too.
Okay the final question. Whom is the better comedian?
Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler?

Dragonetti: Adam Sandler (he's more my age too) ( ;

Decade: Thank you Admiral Felicity Dragonetti for
taking your time and sitting down and chatting with
us. It has been a pleasure.

Dragonetti: No problemo! I love it! Anyone is free to
contact me at anytime.

Decade: Sounds great! Good luck with your Academy!

Dragonetti: Thanks Captain!



*******************

=/\= Special Thanks =/\=

I want to thank very profusely both the applicants for
the position of DFR and those who volenteered to help
the decision be made.

Extra special thanks to Captain Ryan Dragomire of the
USS Dragon, and Captain Henry Hank Logan of the USS
Patriot. These two hard working COs helped Admiral
West select fleet award winners this month. Captain
Logan devoted about 3 hours of his time to help out
with something that was not his responsibility. Now
that is dedication!

Also thanks to Admiral West and Vice-Admiral
Dragonetti for their support in many things.

And finally a Big Special Thanks to all of the crew
members in the fleet. Without you, there are no sims
and there is no fleet. Thank you for your time and
efforts!


Rachael Amanda Rager
Independence Fleet

__________________________________