Independence Fleet Newsletter

March 2004

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

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



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

=/\= Opening =/\=

Welcome everyone to the monthly newsletter. I am your
host, Rob, but you may call me Admiral Hiron. ;-)
This month we have alot of announcements. Some good,
some bad. But you gotta take all the hits sometimes.
So since we have quite a bit to cover, I will shut up
and let you all read on.

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

=/\= Newsbits =/\=

-Felicity Dragonetti is promoted to the rank of
Admiral and is taking over the position of Director of
Fleet Operations (DFO).

-Krol is promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral and is
taking over the position of Director of Fleet
Relations (DFR).

-Ryan Dragomire has created a new character by the
name of Richter Hiron who is promoted to the rank of
Vice-Admiral and is taking over the position of
Director of Fleet Development (DFD).

-A new position has been created, titled Director of
Fleet Intelligence and is being assumed by Admiral
West (DFI).

-Henry Logan has been promoted to the rank of
Rear-Admiral and is taking over as Division Director
of the DSE. The Patriot has moved there and become the
new flagship.

-Admiral Britanicus has stepped down as DD of DRF and
left the fleet.

-AJ (Captain of the W) has taken her crew out of the
fleet to simm elsewhere.

-Russ (Captain of the HN) has also removed the HN from
the fleet.

-After much contemplation the decision was made to
refit the George W. Bush to a new class starship. The
decision was made to change the once Excelsior to a
new Pathfinder class starship. The original GWB went
down in a blaze of glory and sacrifice in it's recent
mission with the USS Dragon, and has now been
configured to start out on a new and exciting journey.
The crew debated whether to re-christen this new ship,
and it has been decided to start it on the track of
the alphabet, George W. Bush NCC-2004 A

-The GWB-A and Excalibur will be moving to DRF to fill
the empty gap left in the wake of the W and HN
leaving.

-Captain McCloud has stepped down as Captain of the X.
The new CO has yet to be named officially. McCloud
requested that his XO, Alayne Tolbin, take over in his
place.

-The Raptor also saw the resignation of Captain
Gorath. The newly promoted Captain Detrich Jones will
take over in his place.

-SB10 has a new CO. Please welcome Captain Shanti
Harold to the group of elite IDF CO's.

-A new awards system will go into effect next month.
This project is headed by Admiral Dragonetti, and she
will send a fleet wide email soon in order to explain
the process.


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

=/\= Announcements =/\=

The Dragon saw the loss of two crew members this
month:
Ensign Zix who had actually posted a few times with
his stay on the Dragon.

And Lt Cmdr Martin Miller. Our Second Officer. Martin
was a great assest to the Dragon. During his stay he
touched all of our hearts, with his excellent post
quality and massive posting numbers. Within 2 months
he posted almost 50 times. The Dragon and her crew
will miss him.

In Cmdr Miller's wake. Lt Cmdr Theolin Vadok has been
named the new second officer.

The Liberty would like to send heart felt
congratulations to
Lt. Lee and Ensign Kelly who in real life are
celebrating the birth
of their first child. Congrats to the both of them.
The Liberty is also sad to announce that we have lost
Lt. Aryell
Temoi. She was a good crewman and will be missed.

The Raptor is suffering the loss of Mnementh, Kite,
Yellowstone, Be'Karlsa, Brewster, and Weer.

Promotions:
Drag:
Ensign Sullivan (CEO) to Full Lieutenant
Ensign Jackson (COO) is taking command of our new
Starfighter Detachment and going to it’s respective
Grade 3 rank. (Pilot 1st Class)

GWB-A:
Lt. J.G Katagh, CMO to Full Lieutenant
Lt. J.G Maganda Bentahr, CS to Full Lieutenant
Ensign Tobias James, COO to Full Lieutenant
Ensign Michael Gamlink, CRO to Lieutenant Junior Grade

Lib:
Captain Carroll would like to congratulate the
following
Liberty crewmembers for promotions. They were all well
deserved.
Congrats to the following: Lt. Cmdr. Jackson is
promoted to
Commander and made XO of Liberty.

Milestones:
Drag:
Post 300 was sent in by Marine Captain Lionheart.

Post 400 was sent in by Ensign Sullivan.

X:
# 3700 sent in by Captain McCloud

Pat:
1900 sent by Lt jg Sran

GWB-A:
Post #1800, by Ensign Tobias James, COO on 02/10/04

Rap:
200 sent in by Wren

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

=/\= Current Missions =/\=

Drag and GWB-A:
This month the Dragon undertook a Joint Mission with
the infamous GWB. The USS Dragon was stationed to
Starbase Terran 1 to oversee a small science fleet
that was studying a nebula. With the GWB returning to
our current time after their time travel adventure,
they needed some supplies so they stopped there. As it
turns out the captains knew eachother from their
academy days. Infact they were quite fond of each
other. But that's a whole other story. Pretty soon,
the fleet stopped sending messages to the base, and
they dissappeared off of scanners. Needless to say
Starfleet was very concerned, they ordered the Bush
and Dragon to go investigate. They even sent the
Alexis, a new Defiant class, to the Starbase. Lt Cmdr
Miller was given a field promotion to Captain and
would take the chair as soon as it arrived. But by
then, the Bush and Dragon had been sucked through the
nebula, to what would appear to be an alternate
universe. Inside they found all kinds fo ships. And it
was a shoot first ask questions later kind of deal.
Soon after, The group appeared to be making some
friends when the Bush crew was invited onto a
makeshift spacestation.

On there, they met Ramok, who was the leader of the
station. They chatted and things started to get weird.
After an attack by a Ferengi Vessel the crew was
seperated. And unknown to some of them, they were
cloned.

Once the clones were defeated (including the Ramok
they met, he was a clone) They left the spacestation
only to be attacked. Unfortunatly, after being
tortured and beaten, Cmdr Denorian revealed the Shielf
Modulations of the ships. Dragon and ALexis were able
to able to reset but the GWB wasn't as lucky. It was
heavily damaged, so with a heavy heart captain absecon
ordered the evacuation. Leaving only her and Captain
Dragomire on the bridge. After another fierce attack
the Bush crumbled a bit. The plaque that was proudly
displayed on the bridge had fallen and impaled Julies
arm. She was ok and Dragomire helped her out. But
before they did. They set the autopilot and the self
destrcut sequence. The GWB rammed the station and in a
brilliant flash of light took out half of it. The GWB
was gone.....

Shortly after, Dragomire got back to his ship with
Julie. He had met the real Ramok and had been given
command of a fleet of vessels to battle the Terrens.
After a fierce battle and some assistance from the
Enterprise-E, the Dragon and Alexis were able to
excape the nebula in one piece. After the Enterprise
and ALexis left. The Dragon headed to a starbase. They
will be leaving in a couple days to return to earth to
get a new ship for the GWB crew and to get the Dragon
in for it's 1 year refit.

Minnie:
The Minerva is currently going to the planet Mhasec in
order to clean up an accidental Prime Directive
violation: the U.S.S.
Respighi, a Talon-class starship had to make an
emergency landing on the
planet, which is home to a pre-warp civilization.
Captain Ryan, Lieutenant
Commander Christof, Lieutenant (j.g.) Harper, and
Ensign Sanik beamed down
to the planet disguised as Mhasecans, but have now
been captured by local
authorities when they were drawn into a mob claiming
to have seen an alien
ship in a quasi-Roswellian story. Will they be able to
clean this mess up?
How will the Mhasecans react to the presence of
Starfleet technology on
their persons? We’ll just have to find out…

Lib:
The Liberty is currently on layover at DS9 before
going on perhaps its most dangerous mission ever…

Goli:
The USS Goliad-B is in the Gamma Quadrant on her
maiden voyage. When they
were
contacted by a prewarp civilization. Commander Voronov
was eager to meet
this
new culture. However before they could, a distress
call was received from a
Tiorian transport, and the Goliad has run to assist.
The attack was over by
the
time the Goliad could arrive and she has since been
investigating the
apparently
unprovoked attack.

All mission briefs were sent in by their respective
CO's and/or crews.

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

=/\= Fleet Awards =/\=


Best Story Post -
GWBA: Cmdr. Marko, XO -- Post #1786
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeoWBush/message/129


Best Character Post:
Pat: Post 1933 by Lt Alexander Jameson
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USS-Patriot/message/2625

Funniest Post:
GWBA: Ens. Lupas Dermont, AEO --Post#1883
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeoWBush/message/514

Genesis:
Pat: Post 1838 by Capt Henry "Hank" Logan The King and
the Patriot
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USS-Patriot/message/2507

MVP -
Rap: This month MVP award goes to Dietrich Jones.
Jones showed his commitment and >leadership by
sticking beside the Raptor crew in it's tough times
earlier in >Febraury. While over half the crew left,
Jones remained on the Raptor backing >his CO and
immediately stepped up at crucial times to help out
and get the ship >back in order. With all the bs we
went through, he managed to lead us to 100 >posts, a
great month I might add, and he also recruited 3 new
players to our >roster. He will be a strong leader for
the months to come on the Raptor. And, >were glad to
have him.

Rookie -
Dragon: Ensign James Sullivan
Now what can I say about this guy. He tells me he has
no life, and he maybe right. But I'll tell you, he was
one of the easiest persons to train that I've ever
had. Not only that but he's new to IDF. He joined in
the beginning of the month and has been an unstoppble
force ever since. I seriously don't think this guy
runs out of ideas. He's always moving the story and
trying to keep everyone else interested. Not only that
but he posted 48 times in one month (the shortest
month even) that's almost 2 per day! I personally
think that is overly awesome, and I see many awesome
things in his future.

MIP -
GWBA: Ens. Michael Gamlink
He improved in his posting numbers, which seems to be
one of the main factors for this type of nomination.
However, his combination with both ships *mainly cause
he SIMs on both ;-) was extremely valuable in the JM,
and helped join the two crews together. I challenge
him and everyone else to keep up the good writing.

Most Posts:
Dragon: Ensign James Sullivan 48 posts
Recruitment:
Rap: Jones with 3.

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

=/\= Interview =/\=

Today we had the chance to talk with Captain Dietrich
Jones of the USS Raptor. Jones talks about his short
and fast paced career, his family tree and who is a
better actor between Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford and
Sean Penn.

Ace Decade First off, lets start out by asking if
your in any relation to Tommy Lee Jones?

Dietrich Jones: He's my retarded third cousing, twice
removed (by amputation).

Decade: (Laughs). What about James Earl?

Jones: Like a father to me.

Decade: Casey?

Jones: Never met the man. Heard he's good at
baseball, though.

Decade: Well, I am glad that is all cleared up. Now,
tell me how your simming career began. Who introduced
you to this crazy game?

Jones: I was searching for ship designs for a story I
was writing. Star Trek, in my opinion, has the best
fleets. I keyed in Star Trek ships on yahoo and
scrolled through some pages. The Patriot's website
caught my eye and it went on from there. Lt. Jason
Carver was born, and shortly thereafter, Dietrich
Jones followed on the Washington, in early december.

Decade: The Washington huh? That is a legendary ship,
where you aware of it's legacy when you joined?

Jones: As a matter of fact, it was all by chance that
I found myself within that infamous ship. It was
during the Shumar uprising (so to speak). After being
suspected as a spy (due to understandable
circumstances) I was transferred to the Raptor, where
I got my feet wet right off the bat with command.

Decade: Yes! I heard you guys really rock and rolled
all night over there. How was that ship different from
the Washington?
Jones: The ship was a little more personable, to me.
Since it was considerably smaller, I got to know the
crew rather quickly.

Decade: Can you compare Captain Gorath and Captain
N'Var? How were they different?

Jones Well, let's see. Gorath was a klingon and N'var
was something different. I don't recall. Aside from
that, they both had their strengths and weaknesses, as
we all do.

Decade: Can you share them with us?

Jones: Well, they both made time to talk to me and
walk me through my jobs. (As a character) N'var made
sure I got the treatment I needed after the severe
torture I went through with the Anti-Federation
forces. I think I would have gotten to know her better
had I spent more time on the W. At times, I felt she
was leaning towards the already instated crew, which
was understandable. She did know them more. Gorath, on
the other hand, immediately embraced me as one of the
crew. For a good chunk of my first mission aboard the
Raptor, I got to command the bridge. He completely
accepted my decisions. In a way, he was a great mentor
for me.
I think it all has to do with how much time I had to
talk to the two captains. It did make a difference. I
have a profound respect for both COs.

Decade: Thats always good to hear. Jones, you have
been promoted three times in just two short months. It
looks like your on your way to the top. Can you
elaborate on how you've done this in such short time?

Jones: Well, dumbluck had a lot to do with it, I
think - being at the right place at the right time. It
helps to have fellow officers you can work in tandem
with such as Commander Michael Intermeezo and others.
The ability to make decisions with the lives of those
under you, especially under extreme pressures, is
always an important thing to have as well. Again, as I
said, it isn't really a one man accomplishment. When
you have great people to work with, great works can be
done. I always keep this little verse with me as well:
"Be as shrewd as a serpent, and innocent as a
dove." It sums up what i strive for.

Decade: (Laughs). Thats awesome. You have just
recently been promoted to Command. Thats almost insane
if you think about it! In just three short months of
service, your on top with your own vessel. With very
little experience, no awards won and your just
starting to rub all that green off you, it's time to
roll up your sleeves son. How does that feel?

Jones: It's a great feeling. I'm sure that others
concur. As a student of the martial arts, I've become
acustomed to rising to new challenges. In Tae Kwan Do,
the level of green belt is when things get chaotic -
chaos is definately how you could describe my brief
career. I have all faith in my abilities, but more
importantly, the abilities of my crew. We have stuck
together through the loss of seventy percent of the
crew, and we separated the mice from the men, so to
speak. That really speaks to the commradory and
tenacity of the remaining officers. Expect great
things from the Raptor in the near future.

Decade: I am sure you do. It will be interesting to
see how it all turns out. Tell me, what exactly
happened when over half the crew got up and left?

Jones: There was mass controversey over the awards
given out, and some people had legitimate complaints.
Myself, Capt. Gorath, and several other officers tried
to convince the dissenters to reconcile their
differences in vain. They left to join another fleet,
and we were left severely undermanned on the Raptor.
We still are, as a matter of fact. There are no hard
feeling, though. They did what they felt was best, and
I can't give them hell over that.

Decade: Your representing your ship, the USS Raptor
for MVP this month. How do you think you will fair?

Jones: I'm hopeful. Not to sound cocky or anything,
but I feel comfortable about the win.

Decade: After reviewing your statistics, you look
good this month and could possibly take home a win for
the Raptor. In say about four months, where do you
want to see the Raptor in IDF? How good do your crew
will be?

Jones: Hopefully, I can push to get the Rap
recommisioned into a larger ship. We have a talented
bunch of folks and I think we could achieve some
eye-raising accomplishments with a larger ship. If
not, we can run circles around any other crew...Not
that I'm biased, or anything...

Decade: You guys have certainly proven that over your
first two months in commision. You guys hit 100 posts
even this month, and if not for the uprising in the
fleet most notably on the Raptor, you could have won
the posting title for a second straight month. After
being under the wing of Captain Gorath, who is now
officially retired, what things did you learn from him
that you can use in the Rap's future?

Jones: He definately gave me plenty of tips, and you
may very well see his influence rather strongly in my
persona as a CO. Toughing it out through thick,
tulmoltous times is definately something he taught me.
Also, and maybe most importantly, from watching
Gorath, I learned how to draw the line between CO and
friend to the crewmen.

Decade: What would you do differently? Any changes?

Jones: I'm going to try and initiate a council, a
roundtable of sorts, to help with awards. This, I
believe, can possibly knock out the possibility of
someone feeling shanked over the things. That's about
it. I see no real reason to upset an equilibrium that
is just now getting back to its prime. That doesn't
mean that if a time for change arises, I'm not open to
options, mind you. Most definately, if someone sees a
need for change, we will work together with the
command ranks to get it fixed.

Decade: Sounds like a plan! Tell me, who is your
favorite simmer here in IDF thus far? Which character
do you like the most or perhaps who do you like
simming with more?

Jones: I must admit, due to the work we've done over
our terms of service, I get along best with Cmdr. Mike
Intermeezo. We work well together. It's almost as if
he knows what I have in mind and visa versa. I'm proud
to have him as my XO.

Decade: Intermeezo is another up and comer here in
IDF. Mr. Jones, I am going to wrap this interview up.
But, first things first! Ihave a few quick questions
here that I want you to awnser, okay?

Jones: Okay.

Decade: Who is the better Nascar driver? Dale
Earnhardt JR or Jeff Gordon?

Jones: Definately Dale. Gordon is a pussy...and he
enunciates. NASCAR drivers shouldn't enunciate.

Decade: (Laughs). What is the better movie franchise.
Harry Potter or The Matrix?

Jones: Matrix. But Potter comes in close.

Decade: Matrix over Potter? Oh boy. I think the
Matrix is terrible. Who is the better actor of the
three. Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson or Sean Penn?

Jones: Ford! C'mon, no brainer. When your resume
includes Han Solo and Jack Ryan, you are top notch.

Decade: What about Indiana Jones?

Jones: That too, of course. I knew I left one out.
How embarassing...

Decade: Since were on the movie topic. What is the
all time best in these franchises. The Lord of the
Rings or Star Wars?

Jones: That's a tough one. I've been a Star Wars fan
longer, though. Gotta stick to my colors. The Rings
tril is amazing, though. Two different genres. Apples
and oranges, you know?

Decade Exactly. While Wars never was nominated for
Oscars, simply because critics hate the whole series,
it's still is a fan favorite over any franchise that
has ever been released. I would have to agree here.
What is the better show? Fullhouse or the Brady Bunch?


Jones: Brady Brunch

Decade: Fritos or Doritos. Which do you prefer?

Jones: Froditos....haha....probably Fritos. If you
have chilly-n-cheese dip.

Decade: Who is the better quarterback? Joe Montana or
Dan Marino?

Jones: Montana. I'm a Redskin Fan and he used to be
one.

Decade: Breifly. What is your favorite trek show?

Jones: Generations.

Decade: Which is the better cartoon character? Fred
Flinstone or George Jetson?

Jones: George.

Decade: And finally in a fight who would win? Martin
Luther King JR or Malcolm X?

Jones: Malcom. He was a little more edgy than King.
Then again, King could win by doing nothing.

Decade: (Laughs). Well thats all the time we have for
today. Thank you Dietrich Jones for your time and good
luck with the Raptor.

Jones: Thank you, Captain Decade.

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

=/\= Special Thanks =/\=

I'd like to send a special thanks out to some peeps
this month. Thanks to Captain Jones sitting in with
Ace who conducted a great interview as usual. I'd also
like to thank Admiral West and Admiral Dragonetti for
giving me the job of not only becoming DFD but of
handling the newsletter this month.

Another big thanks go out to Captain Carroll of the
Liberty and Admiral James West who helped with the
awards for this month.

And most importantly, a special thanks to all of you,
THE CREW OF IDF. Without you, there wouldn't be a
fleet. Peace to you all and Live long and prosper.

-Rob
___________________________
Vice Admiral Richter Hiron
Director of Fleet Development
___________________________