- Opening
- 5,000th Post
- Awards
- May Posting
- Mission Features
- Interview
- Riddle of the Month
- News Briefs
- Closing

OPENING

As usual, we've managed to put together some real news about the fleet. Hopefully you'll be both entertained _and_ informed. But we'll be satisfied if we accomplish either.

Hopefully, this issue will give you some reasons to be proud of your fleet -- certainly the approaching one year anniversary which you've all made possible (no matter how recently you've joined the fleet) is reason to be excited about IndFleet and where we're going.

... Seldon

THE FLEET'S 5,000TH POST

As the fleet nears it's one year anniversary on July 4th, we have another milestone to celebrate. On June 6th, the fleet's 5,000th post was sent. Knowing from fleet records that the event was coming, the admiralty took to tracking down the very post which got the honor.

It was determined that exactly 4,999 posts were sent between the start of July 4th, 2001 and the time when Lars Berglund sent the Patriot's Post #430. Berglund, of course, had no idea of this until informed several days later of what he'd, inadvertantly, done.

Here is a brief excerpt from that, the fleet's 5,000th, post that takes place as Admiral Star confronts the Patriot's XO about the unsatisfactory results of his surprise inspection:

* * *

[Patriot, Gelfand's Quarters...]

Admiral Star: "So please tell, Commander - is this standard procedure on this ship or are you all just have a 'bad day' as the Captain put it?"

Gelfand: "Certainly not, Sir, I guess you just caught us on... ahem, that is, 'off-guard'..."

Admiral Star: "Ah, I suspected as much. And is that what I should put in my _official_ report to Starfleet Comm... What is that?" :: A pleasing sound is heard from the corner ::

Gelfand: :: Tries to smile :: "What?"

Admiral Star: "That sound! What is it?"

Gelfand: (Oh heck, I might as well admit it) :: Takes something out from under a pillow :: "It's my pet tribble, Sir..."

Admiral Star: "You have a Tribble on the ship!?! Marvellous! I suppose I can expect D'erak to admit to being a Romulan spy if I ask him then... Or that Berglund will admit to being the new head of the resurrected Maquis..."

Gelfand: :: Slightly annoyed :: "Sir, I do have permission to have that aboard. Besides, I inject it on a regular basis to keep it from muliplying!"

Admiral Star: :: Obviously not convinced :: "Hmmm. Well, let me see it" :: He takes the tribble :: "Well, I suppose it is rather cute, I'll give you that..." :: He cuddles it as they continue ::

Tribble: "Purrrr"

Admiral Star: "So why are you here when you should be on duty?"

Gelfand: "Well... I'm working on something important..." :: He tries to avoid looking at the device he left on the table as the Admiral enters but fails. The Admiral notes his look ::

Admiral Star: "Oh, and what is this?" :: Picks up the device ::

Gelfand: "Sir! Please don't touch that!!" :: He reaches for the device, thereby activating it. A flash shoots through the room... ::

Gelfand: "Oh Damn. What happened. Admiral? Are you okay?"

Admiral Star: "Purrr..."

Gelfand: "Oh crap!!!!"

* * *

Our congratulations go out not only to Lt. Berglund, but to everyone who had a part in the other 4,999 preceeding posts. Tentative predictions put the fleet's 10,000th post, which we'll be there to cover, occuring sometime around January 2003.

AWARDS

- Best Post

May's best post was written by the Patriot's new Security Officer, Lars Berglund. His Post #342, one of the longest to ever win this distinction, really moved the mission's plot forward with its thoughtful dialog and clever story events. It significantly involved several characters who were depicted as working very well together, in the best Star Trek traditin.

- Funniest Post

Dick Phelps won his 4th Funniest Post award (and his first since January) for his Post #362 on the George W. Bush. The post comically shows Dick and the GWB's XO trying to track down a rare species of palm tree to replace a similar plant owned by Adm Star that Dick severly injured in a prior post.

- Most Posts

Cmdr. Jasson Asuka, the George W. Bush's XO, was May's most postous member of IDF. He posted 24 times, earning the first Most Posts award in the GWB's history.

- Most Improved

The player that made the largest improvement between April and May was Julie Absecon, the CMO on the USS George W. Bush. She increased from 9 posts in April to 19 for May and they were longer and better developed than before as well. Adm Star, the Bush's CO reports that Absecon turned in an MVP-worthy performance during the past month. "She also encouraged others and was a big part of the GWB leading the fleet in posting this month," says Star.

- RotM

May's Rookie of the Month, Lars Berglund of the USS Patriot, is quite possibly the most qualified candidate to ever win the award. In addition to winning the fleet's Best Post award and being nominated for Funniest Post, Berglund sent 19 total posts, contributing heavily to the Patriot's great success. Capt. Dragonetti writes that "all of his posts were long and well developed, but they didn't drag on.They were something we all looked forward to reading."

- MVP

The Fleet's May MVP is Lt. Ingoldo of the Excalibur. "He continues," writes Capt. McCloud, "to keep things moving, uses all the crew, and his posting style changes with [the] characters he posts about." Ingoldo writes funny posts as well as serious ones. From story-driven to action-oriented posts, this MVP's writing ability is evident.

- Recruitment

The fleet's best recruiter last month was the Avalon's XO, Taylor Dorian. She recruited three new members to the Avalon via e-mail during May. She also sent out many more requests to other persons for recruitement purposes, and has contributed to ship recruitment consistentally and continually.

Congratulations to all the hard award winners for May!

MAY POSTING

May saw the fleet's second best posting month ever with 609 total posts. The only better month, January 2002, with 758 posts, was accomplished with a fleet of eleven ships.

The George W. Bush was the fleet's most postous ship, seeing 121 posts. That was more than enough to capture that ship's first posting title.

The Washington finished second with 110 posts. The 97 posts that the Excalibur sent was the best ever total for a 3rd place finishing ship. And the Patriot's 93 posts was the best ever total for a 4th place ship.

The fleet is becoming much more active and healthy as it grows. Each of IndFleet's 9 ships saw an average of 67.66 posts last month. That's the third highest average in the fleet's history, behind only Aug '01 (78.8) and Jan '02 (68.91).

The fleet shows every indication of continuing strong performance during this, her 12th month, and even after the organization's first anniversary.

MISSION FEATURES

- USS Patriot, submited by Capt. Dragonetti

The Patriot is currently on shore leave on Nestous 10. It is a well deserved shoreleave after what happened. Some crew members got ahold of a tool called the LifeSwitch. Yes, it is exactly what is sounds, it switches people around, different people got thrown into different bodies, and what do you know, the entire Patriot is in upheaval. It is just Captain Dragonetti's luck, Admiral Star decides to come and throw Captain Dragonetti a suprise visit to check up on her after her first month. Well the crew does horribly trying to impersonate who they are turned into, and Star is not impressed. But wait!! Star gets turned into Commander Gelfands tribble, and a giant mess explodes. Once it is all resolved, shore leave is definitely on the doctors order.

- USS Excalibur, submitted by Capt. McCloud

The USS Excalibur is called to Qo'nos, the Klingon homeworld, by Ambassador Worf, to investigate the assassination attempt of Chancellor Martok. Upon beaming three teams down to the planet, all three teams are attacked and the Excalibur's Chief Engineer is killed. In a bold move Captain McCloud replaces the Engineer, not with someone from his own crew , but a Lieutenant with a brilliant engineering mindset, who has a problem with Command. Now the crew of the Excalibur find themselves in a race to find answers and just survive.

- USS Avalon, from Capt. Griffith

The USS Avalon had been on shore leave for about one week when she assigned new orders. She was instructed to head for a M-class planet in the Bejorian region where there was a 3 man crewman doing a classified survey and covert operation. But there has been no contact with them in 3 weeks. The USS Avalon is to locate them, collect any data they have found, and aide them in any way they.

- USS Washington, submitted by VAdm Seldon

The USS Washington is on its way to Gab-Tuth, a Klingon outpost planet, where they'll rendevous with another Federation ship, the USS Milvian Bridge, and participate in joint military exercises with Klingon forces. There is plenty to do on the way to Gab-Tuth though. Numerous on-ship drills (simulated warp core breaches, mock plague out-breaks, etc) are scheduled for along the way to keep the crew on their toes. Excellent performance is a must, moreso than on most drills, a news team is aboard the ship to observe and report on the drills. The performance of the crew will be reported back to the citizens of the Federation and will help determine the reputation of not only the Washington but the whole fleet.

- USS Goliad, submitted by Capt. Edwards

After the destruction of the USS Goliad and the demotion of Fleet Admiral Edwards to the rank of Captain. The crew of the USS Goliad NCC-18907-A sets out on its shake down cruise. What will happen to this new Sovereign Class Starship and her crew? We will have to wait and see.

- USS Horatio Nelson, submitted by Capt. Britanicus

A feud is heating up between a one world Kingdom called To'Tal 1 and the Federation. About 20 years ago this group achieved Warp status and first contact was made by Captain Marie Sullivan. The To'Talitarians agreed to a stepped membership with the Federation. However about a year ago a splinter group took control of the government and have been pressing for the removal of the Federation from their sector.

This is not possible as a major route from Star Base 9 passes within 2 light-years of their planet. According to the 2350 Convention of Saturn regular (non-military) travel must follow predestinated routes and speeds to avoid further deterioration to the fabric of space. These routes are closely monitored by the Scientific community. It is imperative that this issue concludes in a satisfactory manner. The intelligence reports that the To'Talitarians are days from declaring war on the Federation.

The Nelson also has the great honor of having Captain Rook Mirtoh of the USS Washington on board. He is acting as the Federation Diplomat in this matter and is the Mission Commander for the Horatio Nelson.

FLEET INTERVIEW

-- Lt (jg) Lars Berglund, USS Patriot

Interviewer: Today we're joined by Lt. (jg) Lars Berglund of the USS Patriot. First of all, thank you for taking time out to speak with us today, Lt. Berglund.

Berglund: My pleasure

Interviewer: I am informed that you have not yet been told this, but you won the fleet's Rookie of the Month award for May. Can you tell us a little bit about how you came to join the Patriot and how you've enjoyed it so far?

Berglund: Wow! I didn't know that. Thank you. What an honor. Well, I've played role-playing stuff for years. One day somebody mentioned the fleet on the fan-fiction board of Trekweb.com where I frequently 'hang out', so I thought about it and then signed up... Nothing more to it than that.

Berglund: As for how I've been received, well, I can only say nice things about people on the Patriot. Several people have left since I joined, which is a shame, but I've had a lot of fun with the people who stayed already, so I guess I have to give credit there. Thanks guys.

Berglund: And gals!

Interviewer: What other sorts of role playing organizations are you or have you been involved with?

Berglund: I'm extremely involved with keeping alive the dead D&D world of Mystara. The Mystara net community has been my home on the net for years and continues to be so.

Berglund: And then I write fan-fiction for Star Trek which a kind person from Trekweb puts on his site.

Interviewer: Ah, that must have helped hone your good writing skills. Can you tell us a little bit about that fan fiction? Which period of Star Trek is it set in?

Berglund: The story begins right after the end of the DS9 show. It's really mostly campaign logs of a Trek rpg game I play a character in, but I add lots of details when I write and the plots my GM comes up with are interesting.

Interviewer: What sorts of plots do you most enjoy writing about?

Berglund: Hmmm... Mostly political stuff, I guess... We've played a lot of Section 31 related plots because I was interested in it. Next to that I'd say the odd battle or the exploration of something really weird is the most fun, but it's difficult to think up 'something really weird' given all that has already been done in Trek...

Interviewer: Well, in addition to earning the fleet's RotM award last month, I hear that you have had the honor of hitting a posting milestone for the fleet in the beginning of this month. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Berglund: Yes, I understand one of my posts was no. 5000, which is quite an honor. I got that and RotM shortly after I joined. Pretty nice for me. Particularly after what I did to Admiral Star in that post...

Interviewer: Yes, your post #430 (on the Patriot) was the 5,000th post sent since the beginning of the fleet. In that post, I understand that Adm. Star, IDF's CinC, was turned into a tribble. How did that come about?

Berglund: It was handed to me, basically. Our XO, Commander Gelfand, has this pet tribble and in the mission we all switched bodies with each other, and naturally the Admiral had to come on an inspection at that very moment... So as we were trying to sort it all out, I just couldn't help having the Admiral come to Gelfand's quarters, find the tribble, then play around with the device that switched bodies. It was pretty silly... to say the least!

Berglund: I won't get demoted for this, will I?

Interviewer: You'll have to talk to your CO about that.

Berglund: Uh-oh... She wasn't too happy with me after that mission either...

Berglund: You see, in another post I was in her body and while meeting the Admiral I drank some beer. Only the Captain's palate wasn't my own, so there as pretty strong reaction to the beer... all over the Admiral...

Interviewer: Golly, it sounds like the ship had a crazy mission! Can you tell us a little bit about your experience so far on the Patriot? How do you feel she differs from other ships in the fleet or, if you're not familiar with many of our other SIMs, what do you most enjoy about serving on the Pat?

Berglund: I couldn't tell, really. I read up on the old Patriot missions when I joined, but I haven't checked out the other ships, so I guess I'll just have to say that I'm [not] qualified to answer.

Interviewer: Outside of science fiction and writing, what other sorts of hobbies do you enjoy?

Berglund: Well, I play several tabletop RPGs obviously, some of which I GM. I'm also quite a movie buff, I guess.

Interviewer: What do you think most attracts you to role playing?

Berglund: Those things are bloody addictive! Stay clear if you don't want to get hooked, because once you start that's it... And role-players are a little respected minority, sadly.

Interviewer: Well, those sentiments indicate happily to me that you're likely to remain with IndFleet for a while, much to our benefit. Sadly, it seems that our alloted time for the interview has expired. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to speak with us.

Berglund: Like I said - it was my pleasure. Incidentally, if somebody wants to check out my fanfiction, look at:

http://www.cyberstorm.ca/astrobar/literature/lit_trek.html

RIDDLE OF THE MONTH

- Last month:

You had beamed down to the vault of the First Bank of Mars along with your ship's chief of security. The bank had 10 crates of latinum strips but one of them is filled with fakes, Johnny Johnson, the bank's manager, tells you. The real latinum weighs 10 grams per strip, the fakes only 9 grams. However, the banks scale can only be used to take one measurement before it would bust. Fortunately, your ship's security officer has figured out a way to determine which of the 10 containers has the fakes through using the bank's nearly-broken scale only once...

"How can we determine which of the 10 crates has the fakes if we only use the scale one time?" you ask in disbeleif.

"Simple," replies your security officer. "We put one strip from the first crate on the scale, two strips from the second, three from the third container and so on (there will be 10 strips on the scale from the 10th container) and then take the measurement."

Johnson shakes his head. "I don't see how that will help us find the fakes."

"There will be 55 total strips on the scale. At 10 grams each, the total weight should be 550 grams," begins your ship's security officer.

"Ah!" Finally understanding, you continue, "Yes! But, we're garanteed of having at least one fake latinum strip on the scale. If the actual weight differs from 550 grams by 1 gram, there is one fake strip on the scale, meaning that the first crate has the fakes."

"Exactly," replies your security companion. "If the real weight differs from 550 by 2 grams, the second crate has the fakes. If by three grams the third container and so on."

"Oh," answered Johnny Johnson as he stared at the scale. "Well, this is bound to take some time, then. We'd better get to work."

"Not so fast, Johnson," says the security officer as they hold up a padd. "You're under arrest for insurance fraud."

"Wha?" exclaims the bank manager.

"Our ship intercepted this illegal communication from you to Nok, the Ferengi criminal. You set this whole thing up to both keep the latinum and collect the insurance money."

Upon hearing this, Johnson tries to make a break for it. However, you react quickly and stick out your foot, tripping up the white collar criminal. "Gotcha."

"Oh, man," said the busted Johnson. "I wanna speak to my lawyer!"

- New Riddle:

"This mission is really important," your CO tells you as you prepare to beam down. "The Gordians are very critical of outsiders and usually subject them to some test before they'll conduct official meetings."

"Right, so we'd better be on our toes," says the XO of your ship. "We'd should be prepared to meet any challange they have -- this planet is very important to Federation interests."

Upon beaming down, you meet the Gordian Prime Minister who greets your party coldly. "You know of our custom to require a feat of intellect from any would-be allies. Here now is your task." He motions and an aide brings out two long ropes. "These are isked lines," the PM explains. "They will take exactly one hour each to burn."

"Okay, so, what's our job?" you ask impatiently (and get a stern look from your CO in the process).

"You must use them to measure out exactly 45 minutes of time -- however, these lines do not burn at a constant rate."

"You mean, they could burn 99% of their length in 1 minute and then take 59 minutes to burn the other 1% of their length?" says your CO who starts seeing the diplomatic mission ending in failure.

"That is correct," says the Prime Minister. Cutting them or measuring the rate at which they burn will do you no good."

Your ship's first officer takes a book of matches from the Gordian aide. "Looks like this mission won't even get started..."

It's up to you to figure out how to use the two lines to measure 45 minutes of time!

NEWS BRIEFS

- With the GWB's win of May's posting title, Adm. Star is now the first CO in IndFleet history to lead two ships to a posting title. The other was the USS Avalon, NCC-3002 (DSE) which won the title in July of 2001 with 108 posts.

- The Horatio Nelson on May 7th conducted the fleet's first known "live post" via AIM. At 11:15 Eastern time, several of the ship's crewmembers met via AIM to plan out and write the opening post to the ship's mission. Capt. Britanicus along with crewmembers Sacket and MacGyver were in attendance. The resulting Post, #85, circled around a bowling tournament on the Nelson.

- July 4th, 2002 will be the fleet's one year anniversary. A special issue of the Fleet Newsletter and several other events are planned to commemorate the occassion.

- The fleet also wishes to recognize two of its members who are graduating either this month of last.

Sheila Stading (a.k.a. Ronnie Eckel on the USS Washington and Randi O'Leary on the USS Goliad) will be graduating from Cleveland Hill High School on June 26th. She will be going to Rochester Institute of Technology in September. She claims to be "da bomb!!" As of press time, she was unavailable to clarify if she was nuclear or conventional.

Also, Alan, who plays our Fleet CinC, Charles Star, graduated from Roanoke Bible College with a 2 year degree in May. He intends to continue his education at the University of North Carolina in the fall. He has not yet decided on a major.

Congratulations to them and all the rest of the graduates and scholars in our fleet!

CLOSING

Well, look for a special, anniversary, addition of the Fleet newsletter to come out on July 4th to commemorate the great event.

The admiralty will also be releasing a fleet quiz so you can all test your knowledge of IndFleet and an updated History of the Fleet, both about a week before the anniversary.

VAdm Robert Seldon
CO: USS Washington, NCC-11988
Dir: Defense Response Force
Chief of Fleet Operations