INDEPENDENCE FLEET NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2003
I hope everyone had a good and safe holiday season. I was able to spend a couple of weeks with my family and some friends back home in Tennessee. It was definitely a good break from school and all. However, now it’s time to get back to work!
- News and Happenings
- December Award Winners
- Genesis Award
- Mission Features
- Special Guest: Ace Decade
- Final Fantasy Football Standings
- Closing
NEWS AND HAPPENINGS
- The SOD launched its first expansion ship, the USS Conqueror, on January 1st. She is commanded by Captain K'lar Rasmehlier. The SOD also welcome the USS Sunfire back into the fleet. The Sunfire is commanded by Captain Audra Murchadh
- The USS Legend, commanded by Captain Damien Hawkins, has been dropped from Independence Fleet’s listing. This ship is no longer supported and backed by IDF.
- VAdm. Robert Seldon (ret.) has begun work on an exhaustive history of Independence Fleet. He is going through old archives and records and plans to interview as many as 20 people for his research. Seldon’s “The History of Independence Fleet” should be completed sometime within the next couple of months. More info will be published at a later date. If you feel you have information related to the history of the fleet, please email the editor.
- I would like to take this time to personally congratulate Captain Krol, also known as Greg, on behalf of the USS Patriot, the Defense Response Force, and myself. This last weekend Greg auditioned for the Missouri All-State Band, and was admitted as the first chair French Horn player. A feat that is extremely difficult to receive. He was up against all of the best Horn players in the state. I congratulate you on your excellence Greg, keep it up. – RAdm. Felicity Dragonetti
DECEMBER AWARD WINNERS
Best Story Post: Lt. Cmdr. Paula Fredricks, CMO, USS Excalibur, Post #1621. Dr. Paula Fredricks has been one of the most important players on the Excalibur for quite a long time. Her superior writing ability has been commented on by many of her fellow crewmembers. Now, she finally gets the recognition.
Best Character Post: Lt. Cherry Corday, CEO, USS George W. Bush, Post #1011. Miss Corday has always been well known for her whit on the GWB. Her posts always bring a smile to your face. While #1011 was a little bit different the usual Corday posts, it was still very good and one of the best posts of the month.
Funniest Post: Lt. Cmdr. Dusty Redroi, COO, USS Excalibur, Post #1726. This post was funny. It’s hard to put it any other way. Just image... Star Trek and Leave it to Beaver. I never thought I would see those two together in anything, but Redroi found a way to do it and it was quite humorous. Check it out.
Most Posts: Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale, CCO, Starbase 10, 81 posts. 81 posts!?! It is easily a new record. 81 would be a good total for a whole ship, let a long a single player. Anyway, IDF hopes to have a top simmer like Rodale in its ranks for a long time to come.
MVP: Lt. Cmdr. Zingela, XO, USS Washington. Congratulations again to Mr. Zingela. He becomes just the second person in IDF history to win two MVP awards and the first to win them back to back. Zingela is the model simmer. He posts very frequently, while at the same time, allows others to enough time to add their input. And his quality cannot be disputed – he is a great writer. A true first-rate simmer.
Rookie of the Month: Lt. Andrew Clifford, CSO, Starbase 10. Clifford made an immediate impact upon joined SB10. According to basemates, Clifford jumped right into the action without hesitation. He contributed to the storyline and helped further develop both his character and others on the starbase. A great addition to the sim!
Most Improved: Lt. Scott McCoy, MS, USS Excalibur. During December, McCoy doubled his normal posting output. In addition to that, he improved the quality of his posts. His captain commented on how well he added to the missions, bring up new and unexpected twists. A great asset to his ship.
Recruitment: Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale, CCO, Starbase 10. This is Rodale’s second Recruitment award. She was able to bring three quality players onboard the starbase, including December’s Rookie of the Month. Not only does Rodale excel at posting, but she helps her sim out in many other ways. This is just one example.
Note: Through 18 months, IDF has given out 125 different awards!
GENESIS AWARD
Hi all, RAdm. McCloud here. Seems there was a little trouble with getting the Genesis Award this month, so Admiral Star asked Captain Jeremiah Griffith and myself to take over for Lt. Cmdr. Zingela. As the quality of writing has greatly improved over the last couple of months, it was not an easy decision, but here is what we came up with.
There were five posts nominated for this award and the winner of this months Genesis Award was Post #1009, written by Captain Jasson Asuka, CO of USS George W. Bush. Jasson was able to get most all of his crew involved in the post and left it open so that anyone of his crew could take it in any number of different directions. I feel this is the mark of a good mission start and creates the foundation for the best missions. A simple sounding mission to re-chart a dust cloud, near a potentially hostile race, that could turn into a very complicated situation. You can find the post here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeorgeWBush/message/1405
The runner up spot goes to the Excalibur's Post #1619, written by, well, me. Captain Griffith and I both agreed that the runner up should go to either the Excalibur or the post submitted by Captain Sprague of the USS Washington. To quote Captain Griffith, the Excalibur's "just had a little more kick to it than the Washington's." A mission to DS9 to handle a flu outbreak, brought to the station by the diplomatic representative of a planet with highly advanced medical technology. Again, a mission that can be taken in many different directions by any of the crew. You can read it at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uss-excalibur/message/1996
Everyone has done an outstanding job this month. If the quality of the posting gets any better, voting for the awards will become next to impossible and we may just need to expand the number of awards. Keep up the great work.
I would like to thank Captain Griffith for his help and hope that Lt. Cmdr. Zingela is back next month with his team to pick this award.
Rear-Admiral Steven McCloud
CO USS Excalibur NCC-2997
Director of the DSE
In closing... as an addendum to the Rear Admirals notes... I would like to extend my thoughts to each of you. I have been a part of ID fleet for almost a year and a half now... in which time I have read a great many posts and I have watched each of you grow and learn. As I sit here this month reading these posts I realize this... ID Fleet is not just a sim, it is a creative writing workshop – it allows those of us in the fleet who write to better our skills. I have seen this happen through the Genesis award... these posts are equally marvelous.
I look forward to serving along side of each of you, and I wish you and yours the best in all that you do! Keep up the excellent work group!
Captain Jeremiah Griffith
Fleet Captain, DSE
CO USS Liberty NCC 91101
MISSION FEATURES
USS Conqueror, submitted by Capt. K'lar Rasmehlier:
The Conqueror is finally out of Dry Dock, with a new refit and new crew. A shakedown cruise is in order. The new fighter squadron aboard, gets a bit of an unexpected workout, early in the mission, when the ship is attacked by a flight of Reman light attack ships. Also during the shakedown cruise, en route to Starbase 10, An uncharted planet appears, and it is decided to investigate it. The planet has some strange pecularities, including it is in the stage, equivalent to earth's Jurassic period. Trexes, and Brontos and Raptors, oh my. Strange occurrences, leave the away team stranded on planet for a while, until the ship returns to the rescue. Left to their own devices, and a de-powered shuttle, will the away team survive the local inhabitants or not? Even with a Klingon Captain, and a living Rock for a Chief Science Officer, (Horta). Are the modern crewmembers up to living in a prehistoric world? Will they ever make it to SB10?
USS Excalibur, submitted by RAdm. Steve McCloud:
The Excalibur receives a distress call from a ship in trouble near Dreon VII and goes to investigate. McCloud finds an old friend from a group known as The Watchers who has come to warn him that he is in danger. Before he can warn Mac a second distress call comes in from the planet. When the Excalibur enters orbit, Mac is abducted. Commander Tolbin begins a search for her friend and CO, only to have the search halted by Starfleet. The Excalibur is ordered to investigate a possible Borg threat. Will the Excalibur and crew be able to stop the borg and still save their CO? You'll have to read the posts to find out.
USS Goliad, submitted by Capt. Shawn Edwards:
The USS Goliad has been on an urgent mission in order to apprehend three rogue Section 31 agents led my Eric Nordenstum. They tracked them to the Terran System where Nordenstrum created a temporal distortion field with his ship in which he and Goliad were caught in. When they emerged they find out that they have been transported to the 21st Century. Captain Edwards and his stalwart crew must find away to find Nordenstrum and his people, find out what they are doing, and most importantly, how to get back to their own time.
USS Washington, submitted by Capt. Dick Sprague:
The USS Washington has been dispatched to an empty section of space to investigate the disappearance of four freighters. There are no inhabited planets, colonies, starbases, or outposts in the area, only the trade routes. Could it be space pirates, something temporal, another type of anomaly, or just simply foul play? The crew of the W is about to find out!
SPECIAL GUEST: ACE DECADE
My Favorite Episode of Trek...
I don't really now if I have a favorite episode, but if I did I guess it would be "Q Who" from the second season of The Next Generation.
So What's it About?
Q wishes to join the USS Enterprise and of course, Picard denies his request. Thus, Q hurls the Enterprise across the galaxy and into Borg territory. Picard then has to beg Q to help him out for the Enterprise to return on their present course.
So Why's it so Good?
Well the main reason it's so good is because Q is in the episode. I think Lancie is a great actor and most of my favorite episodes involve him. It also was the first tiem in Trek history that the Borg is introduced and no one on the vessel knows what to think about them.
- Real name?
Adam Renfrow
- Where are you from?
Pleasant Ridge, Kentucky
- What do you do (work/school, etc)?
I start college in February and I currently am a manager at Papa John's.
- How'd you get involved with IDF?
Wow, I've told this story maybe a hundred times, lol. It all started back in February of 2000 when I was asked by Commodore Jay Robertson to join the USS Sunfire. I accepted and was confused on what the hell simming was exactly, but I quickly caught on nonetheless.
Lets skip a year later to June of 2001. I IMed Charles Star who asked me to join the USS Avalon. I was fired from the Sunfire a few months before hand due to conflicts with West and Seldon and I was suprised when Star asked me to join. He explained to me that a new fleet was starting up and that three of my old pals, Alan (Star), Jacob (Seldon) and Lee (West) each had there own little divisions. I thought it would be fun and I joined.
From there I was promoted to Captain a month later. I commanded the Liberty for a year and four months before stepping down on January 1, 2003. I won the first MVP award and lead the Liberty to five posting titles.
If I hadn't have IMed Alan that day when I joined, because we never talked much after I was fired from the Sunny, I may have never been in IDF and Ace Decade would have never gotten the second chance that he did and I thank Alan for that.
- Where did you get your character name from?
Ironically, I first heard the name Ace Decade in a Scooby-Doo cartoon. In the episode, Mystery Inc. gang had to solve the mystery of the "Rock and roll" phantom. One of the characters in that episode or suspects rather, was Ace Decade the music producer of the studio. I thought the name was catchy and fun and so I went with it.
- How similar/dissimilar are you to your character?
I don't think that Ace and I are really that similar. We're both good looking and that’s about it, LOL. Ace is more of a womanizer to where, I'm not all that out-going. Ace is a warrior, and a martial artists, to where I've never studied martial arts but I've always wanted to.
- Which Star Trek characters do you most like? And did you model any of your SIM persona's traits on any canon characters?
My favorite Star Trek character has to be Q. There is none better nor smarter. Q is a very interesting character who keeps your eyes open because you never know what he's going to do next.
I didn't really model Ace after any character from Star Trek. Some would argue as Ace is a duplicate of Kirk or Riker, but I don't think so. Riker was a wimp and Ace is much smarter and tougher than Kirk. I actually got Ace's persona from Don West on the movie Lost In Space. I thought Matt Le Blanc did an excellent job in that movie, thus I used his picture for Ace's bio on the Liberty's webpage.
- What has been your favorite mission during your SIMing career?
I have been simming for three years now and as tough as it is, I liked the joint mission with the Sunfire a year ago when we were stranded on this prehistoric planet. It was like Star Trek meets Jurassic Park. It was very fun and original and I think everyone had a great time writing that mission out.
- What types of missions do you enjoy and would you like to see more/less of in the future?
I like missions that are knock down drag out fights. I know it's easy to write about but it is still the most fun.
- What other sorts of hobbies/activities do you enjoy?
I love sports so I enjoy almost any kind of sport. Wrestling is my favorite of course and then comes basketball. I also enjoy reading the Star Wars novels from time to time.
- What do you want to be doing 10 years from now?
I always saw myself as an actor and appearing in at least one of the Star Wars films. There is only one more to go so cross your fingers. LOL. Actually, I see myself married with a family in ten years.
- Who's going to win the Super Bowl this year?
I am going to say the Buccaneers. I like the Titans though.
FINAL FANTASY FOOTBALL STANDINGS
1. Fruitland Firecrackers – 158,819
2. Bleeding CarolinaBlue – 151,921
3. Houston Heroes – 137,533
4. Summerfield Satists – 137,455
5. Bath Tubs – 124,222
6. Salisbury Imperials – 123,661
7. North Carolina Wolverines – 118,420
8. Lucky Stars – 121,438
9. Hagerstown Howitzers – 100,720
10. williamston bulldogs – 93,054
11. Harrisonburg Plungers – 88,991
12. Cheektowaga Flamingoes – 79,915
13. Danzig hohenzoellers – 76,451
14. Baltimore Patriots – 33,787
15. K.L Troopers – 31,429
Congrats to all who participated! 2002 was a fun and wild season. We’d like to have more people next year – keep it in mind.
CLOSING
Thanks for reading! See ya next time!
Admiral Charles Star
Commander in Chief
Independence Fleet
