Independence Fleet Newsletter

July 2004

--------------------------------------------------

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

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



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

=/\= Opening =/\=

Greetings and salutations all. This is Rear-Admiral
Joseph "Stealth"
Carroll. Welcome to another fun and exciting monthly
newsletter. The
past month has given us lots to talk about, and this
newsletter is
chalk full of material for both the rookie and veteran
simmer alike.
Lots of information packed into this newsletter, so
try not to
overlook anything. Enjoy the letter all, and as
always, live long
and prosper.

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

=/\= Newsbits =/\=

- IDF Academy. The Academy is coming along and it
looks like it will
be up and running within the next few months with a
little luck and
some hard work. Plenty of openings are sure to be
available and as
always we want you all to know that the Academy will
be a great way
to teach everyone all kinds of awesome tidbits of
various treklore
and other simming information. All questions and
applications can
be directed to either Admiral sh'Harena or Admiral
Hiron.

-Website Update. As you all know, the IDF website got
a major
facelift. Thanks to the very hard work of Admiral
Hiron, the IDF now
has a remarkable looking page, with links to all kinds
of material
that anyone in the fleet can use. Please everyone,
when the
opportunity arises, check out the website and enjoy
the work that
has been done.

-IDF Fantasy Baseball League Standings
1 1421 Houston Heroes 18,995
2 3046 Anaheim 2002 Champs 17,742
3 2552 Texas Werewolfs 17,074
4 3421 Missouri Royals 17,005
5 3739 Hell Boys 16,978
6 2634 New York Diamondbacks 16,856
7 5755 Baghdad Roughriders 15,663
8 6477 Houston Evil Empire 14,035
9 10353 Intermezzo Spears 0

-IDF has released the nominees list for the first ever
Hall of Fame.
Twenty are nominated and only ten will make it. Here
are the
nominees:
Robert Seldon
Charles Star
James "Rook" Mirtoh
Rachael Rager
Shawn Edwards
Entera Danae
Wil Parks
Seth Rain
T'Maekh tr'Lennex
Be'Karlsa, daughter of K'Brot
Ashla Bogan
Sutak
Rebecca Dax
Aellie
Damien Hawkins
Jasson Asuka
Kiara Rodale
K'Lar Rasmehelier
Tavik
John Sunfeather

-Ace Decade has announced that he will be writing a
short auto-
biography entitled: "Ace's are Wild: Ace Decade and
the Politics of
Role Playing". It will take a look behind the scenes
of Ace's IDF
career. We are excited that he will be sharing this.
Look for it in
an upcoming IDF newsletter.

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

=/\= Announcements =/\=

- Message from all of us at Command. Ladies and
gentlemen of the
Independence Fleet, the widely whispered Fleet Wide
Mission is now a
go. The following post is the official opening of it,
and the first
Federation encounter with the race known as the
Phantoms. We in
Command hope that you enjoy the FWM and for the CO's,
if you have
any questions, feel free to ask any one of the
admirals. We are here
for you all.
FWM POST -
ON: {Bridge, Starfleet Advanced Tactical Training
Vessel Repulse}
On the bridge of the USS Repulse, a newly commissioned
Prometheus-
class Cruiser, Lieutenant (jg) Khelasran 197 (formerly
of the USS
Patriot) was bored, having insatiable cravings for
gagh and ice-
cream, and feeling as fat and ugly as a hippo. The
ship was on a
training cruise near the edge of the Milky Way, a
quiet region of
space so that the assortment of officers and non-coms
could better
understand the advanced weaponry and systems.
Somewhere close by lay
their target for the training cruise, three
Sabre-class ships and
two Akira-class, all of which were more than ready for
simulated
battle.
~Why did I decide to go through with this pregnancy?~
s/he
questioned herself, looking at the tired reflection on
a blank
monitor. Khelasran 197 looked at her slim face
startling blue eyes
and full lips, then followed her neck down to the
collar of her new
red uniform with its junior lieutenant pips.
~Man I look good in red,~ s/he told herself just a
second before her
sensor display chirped.
Immediately Sran looked at the incoming sensor data,
great streams
of complex astrometric data that s/he had been trained
at the
Academy to analyze. Whilst looking at the data her
brow creased.
What Sran was seeing made no sense, so s/he ran the
scans again, and
then once more just to be certain.
When all the results came back with the same Sran felt
her stomach
knot, and for once it wasn't because of the baby
growing inside of
her. S/he looked over her shoulder and called, "Sir.
I've got
something you really should see here."
Rear Admiral Marisana Darwin, once the DD of the SOD,
now the head
of Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training Programme
rose from her
seat and approached the science console where Sran
sat--being the
only trainee with a scientific background s/he had
been made the
science officer for this cruise.
"What is it Lieutenant?"
"A fleet of vessels Admiral, on the edge of sensor
range," Sran
brought up the displays and the data s/he had
collected. "It matches
nothing in the databanks and..."
"And?" Darwin prompted.
"It's huge. At least a quarter of a million vessels,
sensors are
having a tough time isolating individual ships the
fleet is that
large."
Darwin's face drained of color. She looked at the
visual pickup on
Sran's console, the astrometric data on the displays
and then at
Sran. After the briefest of pauses she spun on her
heel and headed
back to her command chair, barking orders at all the
bridge
crew. "Red alert. Shields up. Try to raise our task
force in this
sector, tell them the war games will have to wait.
Track the course
of the alien fleet and gather as much data on it as
possible.
Establish a priority one channel with Starfleet
Command and patch it
through to the ready room."
"Admiral!" the young Tellarite yelled from the Ops
console. "I've
got multiple contacts approaching our position at high
warp. Weapons
hot!"
"All hands to battlestations!"
Khelasran 197 turned back to her monitors and began
running detailed
scans both of the approaching vessels and of the
immense alien
fleet. Who in the galaxy could mass a fleet that large
without
Starfleet Intelligence hearing about it?
"Here they come!" stated the tactical officer, a human
man in his
mid-40s.
The Repulse was pounded upon by heavy weaponry, which
sliced through
the shields and into the armored hull. The vessel
shook violently,
throwing everyone to the deck--Sran included. S/he
managed to hit
the deck on her side, but as s/he tried to get back to
her station
the ship buckled again.
Before her, the science console exploded in a shower
of sparks and
s/he hit the deck hard. Her vision was fading, and
pain throbbed
throughout her entire body. The last thing s/he saw
was a pylon
collapsing on Admiral Darwin as the aliens' weapons
tore into deck
one exposing the oxygen filled interior to the harsh
vacuum of
space.
{Bridge, USS Stoker}
Captain Rixx sat in the middle of the silent bridge.
The crew had
been spooked by the hail from the Repulse, ordering
them to muster
to investigate an alien fleet. That hadn't been what
had upset the
crew, the channel hadn't closed as the Repulse was
swarmed by alien
attackers, and the bridge crew of the Stoker had heard
the carnage
and death screams of all those on the Repulse's
bridge.
"Captain, we're approaching the Repulse," the ensign
at the conn
reported.
"Slow to one third impulse. Standby all weapons. Stay
frosty
people," he ordered, feeling his body grow tense as
the Akira-class
cruiser slowed out of warp space.
"Oh...my...God!" gasped First Officer Bennett,
otherwise the bridge
was silent.
Before them, adrift in space was a tangled wreck of
metal. A twisted
and blackened hulk that no one would call a starship.
All around
them debris floated, grazing the shields. Rixx had to
wonder how
many dead were adrift among the wreckage. A shiver ran
down the
length of his spine.
"Life signs?" he whispered.
After a moment his Ops Officer's head jerked towards
him. "Captain I
have three life signs, adrift in an escape pod.
Bearing one-oh-seven-
mark-oh-oh-nine."
"Set a course. Standby to beam them directly to
sickbay. Full sensor
scans, I want to gather as much data in as little time
as possible."
"Aye sir," his officers replied in unison.
After a few moments his Ops Officer nodded at him.
"Transport
complete. The survivors are all in sickbay."
"Rixx to Sickbay. How are they doc?"
=/\=Alive, barely. They are in pretty bad shape,
multiple broken
bones, lacerations, heavy blood loss, plus extensive
internal
injuries. They'll pull through, eventually.=/\=
"Who have we beamed aboard?"
=/\=A forty-something human male, Lieutenant
Commander. A Tellarite
female Lieutenant, early thirties. And a pregnant
Hermat Lieutenant
Junior Grade. Captain can I call you back I really
have to see to
them.=/\=
"Yes of course Doctor. Rixx out."
"Captain! There's an alien vessel on the edge of
sensor range,
unknown configuration!"
Cursing under his breath Rixx leapt to his feet. "Drop
a class one
probe to monitor the situation and rely the data back
to us and then
return to Federation Space. Maximum warp!"
This was not a day to fight. The Stoker had to get the
survivors and
the data they had collected back to Starfleet. Only
four years out
of the Dominion War and they possibly faced yet
another--Starfleet
would need every ship and ally it had in order to
survive.
The Stoker leapt back into warp, leaving behind the
alien ship, the
remains of the Repulse and anyone else who had managed
to escape
from the Prometheus-class ship before it had been
destroyed.
OFF:
Lieutenant (jg) Khelasran 197
Advanced Tactical Trainee

- A new sim has been added to the IDF. Welcome aboard
to the USS
Wayfarer. The Wayfarer is a Dawnstar class vessel. It
is under the
command of Capt. Michael Intermeezo. The Wayfarer is a
proud new
member to the DSE division, something Rear-Admiral
Logan is quite
happy with to be sure. Feel free to check out the
Wayfarer and the
other vessels in the fleet via the links on the IDF
main page. A
grand welcome to the Wayfarer. May your simming in IDF
be a great
experience.

-Also, Commander Olera from the Patriot was offered
the chance to become a CO here in IDF. He went out,
created a website, recruited his crew, and now he's
almost ready to launch. The USS Lacuna, a Steamrunner
Class starship, will make an excellent addition to DRF
when it officially launches later this month.

- QUIZ RESULTS. The quiz from the Anniversary
Newsletter was taken
by several members, but in the end, there could be
only one winner,
and that winner is Ensign Zingela of the USS Patriot,
who scored a
perfect 10 out of 10. The ensign has earned a
promotion to
lieutenant (JG) for winning the quiz, as ordered by
Admiral West.
Congrats to Zingela on doing so well on the quiz. The
answers to the
quiz are below, read and learn all, they may come to
help you this
time next year.
1) What was the first ship in the IDF to have full
schematics of the
various ship sections on its website?
Answer - Minerva
2) Which Admiral was voted most valuable to the fleet
for this past
year?
Answer - Hiron
3) What class of ship is the USS Liberty?
Answer - Sovereign
4) What race is RAdm. Zhaan?
Answer - Andorian
5) Who is the current captain of the George W. Bush?
Answer - Capt. Julie Absecon
6) How many Starbase based Sims are currently in the
Fleet?
Answer - 2
7) How many divisions are there in the fleet?
Answer - 3
8) Who was the first Division Director of the Defense
Response Force?
Answer - Robert Seldon
9) Who is the original creator of the IDF symbol?
Answer - Admiral James West
10) What is the date that the IDF was originally
established?
Answer - July 4, 2001

- The IDF WANTS YOU…to be all you can be. Got a skill
that you think
you can use to help the fleet. Got some free time that
you'd like to
spend doing all things Trek? Then feel free to contact
Admiral Hiron
or Admiral West about you enthusiasm. We are looking
for people
ready and willing to help. Positions currently looking
to be filled
include, but are not limited to are: interviewer,
newsletter editor,
historian. Also, don't forget people, if you want to
jump to that
next step, feel free to put in an application to the
Admiralty to
become a CO or even, dare I say it (dare, dare!) an
Admiral. That's
right, you might be the next one of us. You just need
to send in an
application and then all your dreams might just come
true…

Ship news:

GWB -
Promotions:
Lt. JG Lupas Dermont promoted to full Lieutenant and
CEO

Dragon -
Promotions:
Ensign Dagra'Mor is promoted to Lt. (jg)

Liberty:
Milestones:
The Liberty passed the 1200 post mark this month due
to some
excellent posting by both the Liberty and Starbase 10
crews. Mr.
Bourbon from SB10 did the honors for the Liberty,
beating out Lt.
D'ce by only a mere minute. Well done everyone.
Promotions:
Admiral Carroll would like to congratulate the
following Liberty
crewmembers for promotions. They were all well
deserved. Congrats to
the following: Ensign Kelly is hereby promoted to Lt.
(jg).

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

=/\= Current Missions =/\=

GWB: The George W. Bush has been assigned to map a
section of space
on the outer boarders in order to ensure safe travel
through the
spacial anomalies. There is a local inhabited moon,
Solace, home to
a group of people known as the Dreamers. The crew was
about to make
contact with the inhabitants and explain the dangerous
location of
their home when they came across another race, the
Xephers. These
aliens were able to enter one's body and consume
control.... two
crewmembers were effected slightly but then released;
however, the
leader Xepher was successful in infiltrating the
Captain's body and
has escaped to the moon's surface in order to fulfill
its personal
agenda.

Liberty: The Liberty is still currently in the JM with
SB10. We are
battling the Zaj, and after defeating an armada that
has nearly
destroyed everything in the process, we have learned
of the main Zaj
base here in the Alpha Quadrant. The crews of the
Liberty and SB10
are working diligently to ensure that the Federation
takes an early
upper hand against the Zaj and consequently, the
Phantoms.

Patriot: Commander Olera gets a call from Vice Admiral
Dragonetti
telling him to take the Patriot and investigate the
sudden loss of
contact with a research base. Upon arrival they find
themselves
confronted with a sentient ship who thinks the
Commander is her
father, and the base which has ties to an old nemesis.

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

=/\= Fleet Awards =/\=

Best story:
Liberty - Lt.Cmdr. Justin Thyme, Post 1240.
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Liberty91101A/message/535

Best CD:
GWB - Lt. JG Maganda Bentahr, CS --Post #2251
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeoWBush/message/1365

Funniest:
Liberty - Lt. D'ce, Post 1245.
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Liberty91101A/message/536

Genesis:
Patriot - Cmdr. Olera, Post 2101.
http://lists.topica.com/lists/uss-patriot26782/read/message.html?
sort=d&mid=9101\
77930&start=72

Most Improved:
Liberty - Ensign Kelly. Kelly has been on a LOA due to
the fact that
she had a baby only a few months ago. She has returned
and not lost
a beat with her posting. She shows the true emotion
that some of us
lack at this time of war. Her posts are detailed and
always
heartfelt. She is an excellent crewmember.

Rookie:
Patriot - Lieutenant (j.g) Kayr Nep'thsis

MVP:
Excalibur - Lt. Darrin Sullivan. He again has done
such an excellent
job that I am proud to have him writing on my ship. He
came up with
a great mission that picked up our posts by 30 this
month. Now that
in itself is great but to keep the story moving and
using all the
crew was more then I could ask for. You deserve this
Lt. Congrats.

Most Posts:
Liberty - Lt. D'ce with 29.5

Recruitment:
Dragon - Captain Ryan Dragomire: 2


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

=/\= Interview =/\=

We had the pleasure of sitting down with a long time
IDF member in
Jeremiah Griffith. Griffith talks about how he got
started, the
importance that makes a sim strong and where IDF is
headed.

Ace Decade: Mr. Griffith you have been around in IDF
for quiet a
while now. How were you introduced to simming?

Jeremiah Griffith: I was introduced to IDF by complete
random
fishing basically. Captain Thomas Dupont sent me an
email, after
searching the AOL member directory and noting my
interest in ST,
inviting me to get into IDF. Before that I had served
on one other
ship that was involved in chat based simming.

Ace Decade: What was it like serving under the command
of Thomas
Dupont and the U.S.S. Patriot?

Jeremiah Griffith: Well Thomas Dupont was a great
commander, he
fostered my interest in ST and honed that into a
productive
creativity. Although, I believe at the time he had
some personal
issues happening that eventually led to him stepping
down as CO of
the Pat. The Patriot herself was an excellent simm,
with wonderful
people. Many of which I still communicate with.

Ace Decade: You shortly joined up with the U.S.S.
Avalon as the
second officer correct? What was that like?

Jeremiah Griffith: Yes, I did join up on the Avalon,
but actually I
served as CO. As I remember, which mind you is a
little fuzzy from
that time period, I was asked to assume command of the
Avalon and
then left the Pat to take that on. The Avalon was also
a wonderful
simm. My last month serving on the Avalon we managed
to post 156
posts, with only 8 active crew members. I enjoyed my
stay on the
Avalon very much.

Ace Decade: Is there anyone in mind that you enjoyed
simming with
the most in IDF?

Jeremiah Griffith: Well, I have posted with all of the
greats in
IDF, and have made a great number for friends, hoping
that making
this decision will not make enemies, but out of all of
the
individuals I have posted with I'll have to say I have
enjoyed
posting with Hannah Mock the most. She was an
excellent crewmen, and
is currently an excellent CO. Although a short and
brief session
posting with who is now Admiral Dragonnetti was quite
fun as well.

Ace Decade: Yes, the woman behind Ashla Bogan is
perhaps the best
writer I have ever ran into. Tell me, what happened
once you left
the Avalon?

Jeremiah Griffith: After I left the Avalon because of
family
reasons, but after a couple of months everything
cleared up and my
own life was going good again so I got back into IDF.
I had never
really left, just been on LOA. So I started simming
again. After a
while I was made CO of the Liberty, by yourself, and
things went
very well. I was eventually asked to become the Fleet
Captain for my
division and then later on I was made Director of my
division.

Decade: How did it feel to take over a sim that had
such a
reputation as the Liberty? Was it easy to replace a
man such as Ace
Decade?

Griffith: It felt great to have that honor bestowed on
me. The crew
was wonderful and the missions went great. Although I
took command
of the Liberty on the condition that it was only until
Ace Decade
was ready to come back. After all, the Liberty was HIS
ship. It was
not easy to replace him, he was an excellent captain
and the crew
was a wonderful crew, molded by their captain.

Decade: Compare IDF today to yesterday. How is it
different?

Griffith: The most noticeable difference is our
command structure.
IDF was still a child when I first joined it, as
joined in Dec of
01. At that point I was still such a novice that I
didn't really
know much about the command staff, but over the last
three years we
have had some very interesting changes. I think that
today's IDF is
prospering; we are launching two new simms, and the
simms we have
now are flourishing. Over the last few years we have
lost some
greats, but at the same time we have started some new
greats and
expanded the fleet.

Decade: In you eyes what is IDF's greatest sim in her
short history?

Griffith: The Liberty has been an excellent ship, but
of all the
greats I would have to say that the Conquerer had the
most amazing
results.

Decade: Yes their 400 posts and crappy writing was
amazing huh? To
you, what makes a great sim?

Griffith: I can't vouch for their writing, I spoke
with their CO a
few times and he was a pretty military based CO. But
to answer your
last question. Simply, the Crew. If you have a great
crew your simm
will be great. It isn't the ships name or the
commander that makes
it great, its the people working behind the scenes,
the people who
get the simm moving. When its slow, the people who
spend countless
hours posting a month, making quality contributions.
That makes an
ordinary simm a great simm.

Decade: IDF is currently coming up with a Hall of Fame
list. What
name comes first when you think of the Hall of Fame?

Griffith: Like I said there are a lot of greats in the
history of
IDF. But I would have to say that the all timer would
have to be
either Robert Seldon or Ace Decade. But there are just
so many
others out there that there is no way for one person
to sit down and
decide who deserves that title.

Decade: Robert Seldon is nominated, however Ace Decade
is ineligible
due to the fact that he is still currently serving in
IDF. Describe
to me briefly what you think of Charles Star our
former Admiral?

Griffith: Charles Star... boy what a tough question.
As a CO and
even as a Director I tried my hardest and still do
try, to stay out
of fleet politics. What I will say about Star is that
I spoke with a
few times and he seemed to be a good guy. I personally
think that he
was suffering from "CnC syndrome" to quote Lord Action
in a letter
to Bishop Creighton (Creighton Univ in Omaha is named
after him.) in
1887. "Power tends to corrupt , and absolute power
corrupts
absolutely." I think that the current admiralty is
doing an
excellent job, I just hated to see the fleet so torn
over such
trivial issues. After all, aren't we all just here to
have fun and
hone in on our writing talents.
I guess what I meant is that the fleet lost a lot of
great simmers
because of the political issues surrounding Stars
command. I do
believe that what we have now is the best outcome for
the fleet. We
are flourishing and having fun. But at the time our
fleet suffered a
number of losses because Charles Star didn't know how
to peacefully
step down and the rest of our current admiralty didn't
know exactly
how to force him out.

Decade: Interesting. What do you see for the future of
IDF?

Griffith: Well, right now the fleet academy is opening
up. The fleet
history is being worked on, we are launching two new
simms, and
recruiting others. I think that this fleet is going
only up. Anyone
who doesn't believe me, look at all of the internet
based fleets out
there... Do a Google search for Independence and
fleet. Our website
comes up first, even before Independence Day fights
and such. It is
amazing.

Decade: I am going to wrap this interview up, so I got
a few
questions for you.

Griffith: (Laughs). Sure?

Decade: Transformers or Thundercats. Which is the best
cartoon?

Griffith: Transformers, I never saw Thundercats.

Decade: Who is the better Nascar driver: "The King"
Richard Petty
or "The Intimidator" Dale Earnhardt

Griffith: Petty was good, but Earnhardt will never be
beat.

Decade: Marry Poppins or Poly Anna: Which film was the
best?

Griffith: Mary Poppins. Very few are as talented as
D.V. Dyke.

Decade: Agreed. Which is the better Disney Classic:
Cinderella,
Sleeping Beauty, Snow White or Alice in Wonderland?

Griffith: Alice in Wonderland was one of my favorites
but I think
Beauty and the Beast was the best Disney.

Decade: Well, Beauty and the Beast wasn't in the damn
question was
it? (Laughs). But, since we're on that subject I'll
have to say the
Lion King.

Griffith: No it wasn't, but that's creativity for you.
The entire
basis of simming. ;)

Decade: To you, who is the best writer?

Griffith: Best writer I have ever seen in IDF is
Hannah Mock (Ashla
Bogan). Although there have been some greats.

Decade: Who would win in this tag team match up: Ren
and Stimpy
against Beavis and Butt-head?

Griffith: Well Beavis Butthead are tough but no match
for Ren and
Stimpy.

Decade: Who is the hottest chick on this list: Sharon
Stone,
Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox-Arquette or Admiral
West's
grandmother?

Griffith: Well I am sure that Adm. West's grandmother
is on the top
side of that list, but I would have to say Jennifer
Aniston.

Decade: West's grandmother is the bomb and gives good
lap dances.
Moving on, which is the better show, Friends or
Seinfeld?

Griffith: I won't go anywhere else on that last
comment as I value
my life. But my answer will have to be the same as
what I will need
when this airs, Friends.

Decade: What do you think about SHAQ moving from the
LA Lakers to
the Miami Heat?

Griffith: Well, if that's what he feels his career
needs, then more
power to him.

Decade: And finally, who would win in a boxing match:
Lennox Lewis
or Muhammad Ali?

Griffith: Ali without doubt, never a better boxer or
person.

Decade: Thank you Jeremiah Griffith for your time with
us this
month.

Griffith: And thank you. Good luck and Happy simming!

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

=/\= Special Thanks =/\=

Thanks go out to all of the people that make the
newsletter
possible, specifically Ace Decade, Admiral Hiron and
Admiral West.
Thanks to all the simmers of the IDF as well, for
without you guys,
we don't have a fleet. Until next month, peace and
long life.-Joey

_________________________________
Rear-Admiral Joseph "Stealth" Carroll
Commanding Officer | Division Director
USS Liberty NCC 91101-A
Defense Response Force
Independence Fleet
__________________________________