Independence Fleet Newsletter
April 2003
--------------------------------------------------
- John Cage
- Earl Jones
- News, Announcements, and Requests
- Awards
- “Super Space Command 3000”
- Mission Write-ups
- USS George W. Bush
- Fleet Organization
- Interview w/ Adm. Star
- Resignation Announcement
-- JOHN CAGE
The creator of one of Independence Fleet’s upstanding
characters has passed away. John Cage’s father
contacted several members of the fleet with the news
that John had been killed in a car accident. This
occurred in early March as John was driving home from
work.
In his e-mail, Mr. Cage wrote that “[as] we were going
through his stuff, we found boxes upon boxes of posts
that he had written. He genuinely loved this thing
that he did [that is, simming].”
In IDF, John played the characters of T'Maekh
tr'Lennex, who served on both the USS Sunfire and on
Star Base 10; Jonathan Webb, who served on Star Base
31; and Ralph Stembridge, who served on the USS
Griffin. He also was active in simming outside of
Independence Fleet.
Zach, who plays Comm. Vrona and a friend of John’s,
has created a memorial for John with help from
Jennifer, who plays Cmdr. Concord. Vrona also
announced plans to induct the character of Lennex into
the SB10 Hall of Fame. The memorial can be found
here:
https://www.angelfire.com/trek/starbase10/memorial.html
The memorial, when complete, will have information on
all of John’s characters as well as his real life
persona, along with things written by those that knew
him best. It is a far better tribute than could be
written by this newsletter’s editor and is recommended
for anyone who knew or is curious about John.
-- EARL JONES
Earl Jones, who plays Capt. K’lar of the USS
Conqueror, suffered a gunshot wound in late March
while protecting the Cincinnati apartment complex
where he lives. Most of the residents of the complex
are elderly or disabled and previously suffered a high
crime rate. Earl, a former Army soldier, organized a
group of concerned citizens (all former members of the
military with combat experience) to patrol the area
and provide security for the vulnerable residents.
During the gunfight which ensued, the criminals
responsible for initiating the conflict were
successfully stopped and are unlikely to repeat the
offense.
Earl’s wound, which was sustained to his left
shoulder, was not terribly serious, as gunshot wounds
go, and he is making a good recovery. He underwent
two surgeries in connection with the wound. The
Conqueror’s Captain was only away from his simming
duties for several days while he was hospitalized and
Jennifer, who plays Cmdr. Concord of Deep Space 15,
took over some of Earl’s CO obligations while he was
away.
From all accounts, Earl and the group he has organized
are making a big difference in the community. They
job they have volunteer for is very dangerous and the
term hero could accurately be applied to those men
without hyperbole.
The news of Earl’s wound was announced on 1 April and
was initially taken as an April Fools Day joke.
-- NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND REQUESTS
- Independence Fleet would like to recognize our High
School and College graduates again. Fleet Command
asks that anyone who will be graduating this spring
e-mail VAdm Seldon (Seldon11988@y...)
with (1)
your real name (first name is fine) along with your
character name and ship, (2) type of school (college,
high school, other) you are graduating from and school
name, if you wish to include it, (3) class rank and/or
any honors or awards you are graduating with, if you
wish to include this, and (4) your future plans, even
if “undecided.” This information will be included in
the May fleet newsletter to honor all graduates.
- Efforts to update IDF’s website continue and
Commander-in-Chief Star has placed VAdm. Seldon in
charge of this effort. Two members have been asked to
put together sample pages for fleet leadership to
examine. If you would like to offer assistance,
please
- Correction: Independence Fleet’s newest sim, Deep
Space 15, was incorrectly referred to as “Starbase 15”
in the March Newsletter. The mistake was purely on
the part of the newsletter editor. Our apologies for
the mistake and any confusion or inconvenience it has
caused.
AWARDS
- Most Posts: Lt. Cmdr. Kiara Rodale (Communications),
USS Conqueror -- 61 Posts
- Best Story Post: Lt. Scott McCoy (Asst. Engineer),
USS Excalibur -- Post #2144
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uss-excalibur/message/2623
- Best Character Post: Cmdr. Entera Danae (Executive
Officer), USS Minerva -- Post #596
http://www.topica.com/lists/minerva36181/read/message.html?mid=806003635&sort=d&\
start=827
- Funniest Post: Lt. Cmdr. Trazmara Dmik (Chief
Medical Officer), USS Conqueror -- Post #674
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSConquerorIDF/message/974
- Rookie of the Month: Ens. Kolrun Baum (Chief Science
Officer), USS Minerva
- Most Improved: Lt. (jg) Fiona Starling (Chief of
Security), USS Horatio Nelson
- Most Valuable Player: Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
(Executive Officer), Deep Space 15
- Recruitment: NONE
- Outstanding Simmer: Lt. Cmdr. Paula Fredericks,
M.D. (Chief Medical Officer), USS Excalibur
-- “SUPER SPACE COMMAND 2000”
Early this month it was announced that a Federal
Appeals Court Judge, Lance Stiffler, had ruled that,
due to copyright law, IDF could no longer be a “Star
Trek” sim. Fortunately, the announcement stated, a
new setting had been devised for our fleet: “Super
Space Command 3000” (or, SSC3K, to those in the know).
Of course, the announcement was just an April Fools
Day joke (complete with _really_ goofy graphics on the
website) but many people completely bought it. Here
are just a few comical (but anonymous!) reactions that
fleet leadership got:
* * *
I just read the announcement, and I'm sure that you've
been getting email all day about this, but here's my
question, are we still going to keep going, and just
have it hidden behind a screen, i.e. super space
command. That new web design is ridiculously funny,
anyway, just curious.
* * *
CrewMember: i didn't think the April Fools joke was
funny did you
CO: Not at all
CrewMember: what is the matter with them
CO: Not a clue
* * *
It's very well done, except that there's no Federal
Circuit Judge named Lance Stiffler, and a real
reporter would have identified which circuit he was a
judge for. ;)
* * *
I will be a good boy and do nothing, but rest assured,
the second this becomes common knowledge in the world
community, I intend on speaking the the highest
possible powers I can about this, which in my case
happens to include the current Texas Governor Rick
Perry, Attorney General of Texas Greg Abbott, and even
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
* * *
I hope that everyone enjoyed the prank. If you were
fooled, don’t worry, you weren’t the only one.
-- MISSION WRITE-UPS
- Submitted by Capt. Julie Absecon, USS George W.
Bush:
The George W. Bush ventured out to Rydia, out of
curiosity on a local superstition of a 'Starfall
Relic,' some type of utopia bringing starship/aliens.
Upon their arrival in system they are greeted warmly,
and are a little uncomfortable with all the rituals
involved in assuring good luck. Everything seems to
be going well until the Bush intercepts a mysterious
transmission, which then thickens the mystery even
more. A fleet of cloaked Been ships arrived at Rydia,
supposedly the "Starfall Relic." After defending
against the ships, the Bush was ordered to leave.
However, the order didn't come from Delia herself, but
from a changeling in disguise, who captured Delia and
plans to take over the system. The Bush is now drawn
between two sides and is attempting an attack on the
invaders.
- Submitted by RAdm. Steven McCloud, USS Excalibur:
While on route to Starbase 234, the Excalibur picks up
a distress signal. Faint and in a language unknown to
them, they change course to investigate. Once they
reach the area of the source of the signal, they
incounter a wormhole. It opens and what looks like a
communications satelite comes thru. It drifts towards
the Excalibur and when it gets close to the ship, a
red ball of light emerges. This light enters the ship,
scans the members of the bridge crew and settles in
front of Commander Tolbin. It enters her and later
abandens her for Ens. Airika Calhoun. McCloud finds
out that his two crewmen have been taken over by a
race called the Aura, that the communications satelite
is infact a computer prison and that it contains
thousands of Aurans. Now McCloud and company are faced
with finding the opening of the wormhole to return
these people to where they came from and find out how
they came to be there in the first place.
- Submitted by Capt. Audra Murchadh, USS Sunfire and
Cmdr. Victoria Concord, Deep Space 15 (DS15/Sunfire
Joint Mission: "Fate or Choice?"):
For the last few weeks the Sunfire had been running
all over responding to prank distress calls, all of
them the same message and signed by the same person.
Because of their distracting, and potentially
dangerous nature, the Sunfire has been assigned to
find out who's responsible and stop them. There being
currently no leads, the Sunfire was ordered to DS-15,
to use the outpost as a staging area for search
operations in this remote sector of space.
DS15 is seemingly returning to normal - it's staff and
civilians finally coming out from the hold of the
aliens from it's last mission - when the Sunfire
arrives. The CO is the last to be revived of the
affected crew, and immediately calls the CEO to deck
39, one of the base's heavily shielded and classified
decks. There they find what the CO most fears: the
station's most dangerous "non-existent" experiment is
rapidly destabilizing due to lack of care during the
last week while the CO had been in sickbay and the
staff had been trying to find and stop the aliens.
Before either officer can do anything, the device
experiences a sudden and massive expulsion of energy.
At the same moment, a ship appears from out of
nowhere. Scans reveal the ship is twisted and broken,
completely devoid of power and even it's engine, and
without any life signs. Many it's former crew have
somehow been fused into parts of the ship itself,
others seem to simply and cleanly be missing parts of
themselves, still others are preserved perfectly, yet
still dead for unknown reasons. Further inspection
reveals the ship's identity: NCC 3001-B USS Sunfire.
The same as the ship currently docked, and alive and
well.
As the DS15 crew begins piecing the disaster together,
the Sunfire crew becomes increasingly distrustful of
the lack of information being shared and the clearly
evident cover-up that is beginning. One bold move to
defend themselves from what appears to be sabotage on
the part of the DS15 crew ends up causing the exact
event trying to be prevented by both crews...
But! Just when all seems to be lost, including the
future of the station, the Sunfire's CEO manages to
not be thrown back in time with the ship, instead
ending up on DS15 through some technological wizardry
of that crew. Once he revives, and the Sunfire's
engine core is recovered, which also stayed in the
present time, he quickly discovers a way to save the
station. Putting the drive back in the ruined version
of ship that is still in the station's custody, should
reverse the interaction that is threatening to rip the
station apart just as the ship was.
Not only does that solution work, but strangely enough
the Sunfire begins to reform! And with it, it's crew
begins to be brought back to life!
- Submitted by Lt. Cmdr. Rager, Starbase 10 (“The Five
Ws”):
After getting all the cadets shipped back to the
Academy, Starbase 10 finds a few days of recovery are
in order. Thankfully the surprise waits until things
are all settled to show up. But sure enough, one
morning two ships of unknown design emerge from a
strange funnel-type vortex thing. It's clear the
first is running from the second. However, the
language the two ships use is also unknown and the
universal translator can't seem to translate it.
One shot from the pursuing ship sends the first into a
spin that would cause it to impact the station.
Seconds before the collision occurs, the station
manages to stop the ship with tractor beams. As the
pursuing ship back off to be outside the station's
weapons range and waits for a reply communication, the
first ship makes a desperate attempt at communication
with the station through the telepathic and empathic
people on the station, but it doesn't quite work and
they all end up being affected in strange ways.
The station's crew is beginning to react as best they
can, but everything's all questions at the moment.
Who? How? Why? From where? With what intention?
-- GEORGE W. BUSH
Capt. Jasson Asuka has resigned as captain of the USS
George W. Bush, a position he has held since Charles
Star left in December 2002 to pursue fleet leadership
full-time. He cited “lack of time and recently a lack
of interest” in his announcement. Members of the
George W. Bush along with Asuka’s fellow COs expressed
sorrow is seeing him go. He departs with everyone’s
best wishes.
RAdm. McCloud efficiently moved to appoint a
replacement for Asuka. The DSE Director decided to
promote the GWB’s executive officer, Cmdr. Julie
Absecon, to the command ranks. Asuka had recommended
her for the position in his resignation announcement.
Jasson Asuka expressed an interest in returning to
simming in the future, if his real life activities
permit him to do so.
Adm. Star would like Captains to give a notice of one
month before resigning, when possible.
FLEET REORGANIZATION
In the spirit of clarifying the present command
structure of the fleet, Adm. Star has put together the
following e-mail (initially sent to the CO mailing
list, reprinted here with permission).
* * * * *
Hello All!
This email is just to clarify a few things about the
command structure in IDF. It's kinda hard to put this
into words, so I "drew" out a diagram for it and then
made a "chart" showing the superior officers to each
position. The diagram and chart both show the same
thing, but take a look at both of them to get a
clearer understanding of our command structure. A key
to the position abbreviations is before the diagram
and chart. Everything is exactly like it was, but
we've added the positions of Chief of Operations
(West) and Chief of Development (Seldon). If you have
any questions, email me back.
Adm. Star
***
Abbreviations
CinC Commander in Chief
CoO Chief of Operations
CoD Chief of Development
DoSOD Director of SOD
DoDSE Director of DSE
DoDRF Director of DRF
DDoSOD Deputy Director of SOD
DDoDSE Deputy Director of DSE
DDoDRF Deputy Director of DRF
CO Commanding Officer (any ship)
XO Executive Officer (any ship)
Crew Crew (any ship)
***
----------CinC-----------
| | |
CoO | CoD
| | |
----------------------------------
| | |
DoSOD DoDSE DoDRF
| | | | | |
| DDoSOD | DDoDSE | DDoDRF
| | | | | |
------ ------ ------
| | |
SOD CO DSE CO DRF CO
| | |
---- ---- ----
| | | | | |
| XO | XO | XO
| | | | | |
---- ---- ----
| | |
Crew Crew Crew
***
Position (Superior Officers)
CinC (none)
CoO (CinC)
CoD (CinC)
DoSOD (CinC, CoO, CoD)
DoDSE (CinC, CoO, CoD)
DoDRF (CinC, CoO, CoD)
DDoSOD (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoSOD)
DDoDSE (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDSE)
DDoDRF (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDRF)
SOD CO (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoSOD, DDoSOD)
DSE CO (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDSE, DDoDSE)
DRF CO (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDRF, DDoDRF)
SOD XO (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoSOD, DDoSOD, his/her CO)
DSE XO (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDSE, DDoDSE, his/her CO)
DRF XO (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDRF, DDoDRF, his/her CO)
SOD Crew (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoSOD, DDoSOD, his/her CO
and XO)
DSE Crew (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDSE, DDoDSE, his/her CO
and XO)
DRF Crew (CinC, CoO, CoD, DoDRF, DDoDRF, his/her CO
and XO)
***
INTEVIEW WITH ADM. STAR
After our interviewer consented to download a 34,267
KB file containing information on professional
wrestling, Adm. Star agreed to an interview.
* * *
Interviewer: Today we are joined by IDF
Commander-in-Chief Charles Star. Thank you for taking
time from your busy schedule to speak with us today,
Admiral.
Adm. Star: Thank you. At last Admiral Star has
returned to the newsletter!
Interviewer: Lol. Yes, how many times have you been
interviewed so far? You do hold the record, I
believe.
Adm. Star: Yes, I am now the 4-time, 4-time, 4-time,
4-time interviewee for the
newsletter!
Interviewer: Congratulations on the accomplishment.
Some members may have questions on the recently
clarified command structure of the fleet. Could you
explain it for us?
Adm. Star: I'd be happy to, brother!
Interviewer: Well, please do. Explain things, that
is.
Adm. Star: I'm the top dog around here because I am
the Game and I am that [expletive deleted] good!
Interviewer: Has the fleet always been constituted in
this manner?
Adm. Star: Can I be serious for a minute?
Interviewer: Please.
Adm. Star: No, the fleet has not always been
constituted in this manner. However, it has been this
way since November 2002 when Admiral Seldon first
retired. Oh, it's true, it's true.
Interviewer: Had you made requests for VAdm Seldon to
return to the fleet?
Adm. Star: Yes, I did. And he accepted the position
of Chief of Development. His primary duty is, of
course, to further develop and expland the fleet. And
that's the bottom line.
Interviewer: When did you draw up the plans for the
fleet's present command structure?
Adm. Star: I didn't "draw them up." It just kinda
happened when Seldon resigned. I was the last of
IDF's founders and was left with no one else in a
fleet command position. It was then that I promted
McCloud and Dragonetti, and later Vrona, to their
current positions. I have enjoyed working with them
ever since. But I'm not telling you anything you
don't already know.
Interviewer: Do you believe having one person in
ultimate responsibility for the fleet is superior to
having a group administer the fleet?
Adm. Star: Yes. It's about intensity, intelligence,
and integrity. It has proved to be much more
efficient and less controversial. Everyone knows
their role and works towards the betterment of IDF.
We all want to see the fleet succeed and we know what
our individual responsibilities are.
Interviewer: Do you see any drawbacks to this form of
organization?
Adm. Star: No. Big Poppa Star is your hook up and the
current IDF Commander in Chief!
Interviewer: In your comment about the new
organization having "intensity, intelligence, and
integrity" do you mean to imply that the triumvirate
(that is, government by three people, West, Star, and
Seldon) lacked any or all of these qualities?
Adm. Star: I would say that the leadership of the
first 7 months of IDF's history had more problems. It
was very difficult for us to reach agreements
sometimes and in several cases caused us to be rather
ineffective. But now IDF is Star!
Interviewer: VAdm. Seldon, who has recently taken up
the job of Academy Commandant, has just announced that
he will be stepping down as Chief of Development in
the coming few weeks. Will this modify your fleet
organization at all?
Adm. Star: Yes, it's unfortunate that he's going to
walk out on his duties again -- this time after
specifically requesting that position and only being
back for three months. So I have to ask... What's up
with that?!? I do hope he'll reconsider though. His
creative force and effort in that post will be missed.
Adm. Star: Yes, it's unfortunate that he's going to
walk out on his duties again -- this time after (1)
specifically requesting that position; and (2) only
being back for three months. So I have to ask...
What's up with that?!? I do hope he'll reconsider
though. His creative force and effort in that post
will be missed.
Interviewer: Well, this appears to be all the time
allotted for our interview. Thanks again for speaking
with us for a record fourth time, Commander in Chief.
Adm. Star: No problem. Thanks for inviting me. And
it wouldn't be an interview if I didn't say it... IDF
is Star!!!
Interviewer: You yourself have said it.
Adm. Star: Whooooo!
SELDON’S RESIGNATION ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear members of Independence Fleet,
As I announce my upcoming resignation of the “Chief of
Development” post, it seems fitting to offer an
explanation of my action to the fleet which has been
the object of my service for so many months. I hope
that this short message will make clear my decision,
the reasons for it, and, if you will allow it, I wish
to take this opportunity to articulate a few
additional words on my view of Independence Fleet and
her destiny.
Firstly, my promised clarification: I am not wholly
leaving the Fleet, only declining official service
within the formal fleet-level regime. I intend, for
now, to proceed with launching the academy and with
attempting to craft it into a useful institution for
interested simmers. Additionally, no longer being
within the bureaucracy of the fleet apparatus, I will
have more time to pursue other projects worthy of the
Fleet, in my estimation (I believe that the impetus
for many of the Fleet’s innovations have come from
those holding no official position and there are many
with no official position who work as diligently and
faithfully as those of high rank). My resignation of
the Chief of Development post will become effective on
or about 4 May, depending on when a replacement is
found.
Having offered this clarification, I will address the
reasons for my decision, to satisfy any curiosity
which my choice may provoke. As with most decisions,
whether they are large or, like this one, small, the
reasons for this choice are several:
To begin, the constraints of time which I initially
cited in my November 2002 retirement announcement are
largely still effectual. I have not been able to
contribute at the level which I feel the fleet
deserves and which I presume Commander in Chief Star
expected of me as he invited me to return to the
fleet. His request for me to return was predicated, I
must think, upon expectations of a high level of
output that I am not able to give under present
motivations.
Secondly, my resignation of the post will allow for
new leaders in the Fleet to advance further and make
greater contributions to the Fleet. Unfortunately,
this did not occur when I left active service last
November but I am hopeful that significant
opportunities will be given to some of the highly
talented and excellent people who already exist in the
Fleet.
I am not sad for having taken this opportunity to
provide some last service to Independence Fleet. I
think that this brief period has seen many good things
begun and I am glad for my small chance to participate
in them. The forever talked about academy is
launching in two weeks; the long-needed website
renovation is well begun; and a useful and
invigorating fleet re-alignment is being considers and
will likely be enacted. These are good things for the
Fleet and I hope that they are all carried into
execution with little delay.
Some may charge me with abandoning my
responsibilities. The compliment in that sentiment
(that no one else is able to do the job as well) I
will neither refute nor encourage on this occasion.
However, any who would accuse me of creating a talent
vacuum (and thus hurting the Fleet) by resigning
should not turn their annoyance to me for leaving but
should instead focus on anything which prevents the
development and advancement of the talent that the
Fleet has. Additionally, I do not claim any unique
gift or any unnatural ability that cannot be replaced
by another.
Finally, I have an observation and a humble suggestion
for the fleet. The observation would be that the same
debates keep occurring in the fleet. Are multies good
or bad and what should be done about them? What is
expected of captains? Is posting quality or quantity
more important? What are the tasks of the fleet?
What type of leadership structure is best? Et cetera,
et cetera. These discussions are important and many
profound things have come out of them. But these
things are quickly forgotten and a new group of
captains is left to discuss the same things anew.
The suggestion would be for people to more fully
develop their ideas on such things and, through
discourse with others, develop them into proposals
that are useful to the fleet. This will heighten the
debate, involve more people in fleet decisions, and
will preserve work that’s already been done so the
same issues are not debated anew with every dawn.
In closing, I believe and hope that I have had a
positive impact upon the Fleet, so far as it matters,
and that the members of the Fleet will continue to
develop the institution to fit their needs and
wholesome desires.
VAdm. Robert J. Seldon
Commandant of IDF Academy
