2016 Awards Ceremony – Featured Missions

[Rahman and Rivi Vataix]

Welcome to the final day of our 20th annual awards ceremony!

After celebrating individual achievement across the fleet for the past week, we finish the ceremony with a celebration of why we're all here: the stories we tell together. The 20th annual awards ceremony marks the beginning of a new award presentation: the Featured Missions of the Fleet.

Just as the Featured Bio Contest highlights the best character pages from our wiki, the Featured Missions of the Fleet showcases the best missions as chosen by you and your fellow shipmates. Each ship's crew voted among the past missions of 2015 and the first half of 2016 to choose the mission to be featured from their ship. Then, players nominated sims from the mission to be selected as the Featured Sim of those missions, with the sim receiving the most "likes" in the forum presented with an excerpt for the ceremony.

Thank you to all crews who voted and nominated during the process. And now, UFOP: StarBase 118 proudly presents your selections...

StarBase 118 Ops: "Tribbles and Strife"

Stardate 239212.30 - 239301.20

When StarBase 118 Ops is chosen to host the galaxy's largest Tribble Convention, what could possibly go wrong?

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: The Anders Family - Taking the Gorn to the Bedroom

Excerpt:

::Baylen could see Theo darting into a crowd and then became well hidden. How he wished he could go join him in his exile at the moment. Baylen handed his father the port and he took a sip and started looking around at all the lady's and blocked out there conversation all together.::

Alia Anders: I don't understand what the big deal is. Did you two, conduct Jamaharon yet?

Anders: ::Blushing:: No it was our first date.

Alia Anders: I thought you said it went well, and was very romantic.

Anders: It did, but Theo is Human, I am not going to jump into bed with him on the first date. Things just don't work that way.

Alia Anders: Well I just don't understand. You talked about all these feelings you had, I thought he was the one.

Anders: I think he is. ::Smiling::

Alia Anders: Well you got to mount the pony before someone else does... It is the Risian way...

Anders: ::Full Blown Embarrassed.:: The Risian way... The Risian way, don't tell me about the Risian way, you had us all surgical altered to look fully human so we could blend in on earth. None of us no longer have our birth heritage and seal of Risa. You turned you backs on Risa remember???

  

Embassy of Duronis II: "The Zone"

Stardate 239303 - 239305

The crew of the Embassy takes on the Ferengi criminal Deka and The Zone.

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: PNPC Quiana, "Contemplation"

Excerpt:

Quiana: Our three battle cruisers are the key to holding the Luxis system. Before we get into a pitched battle with them, we will try something else..

Tauron: Something...else, Empress?

Quiana: Yes. we will find out who these people are. Find their weaknesses. Exploit them. Discredit them in the eyes of their Laudean lapdogs..::smiling:: then, we take the planet without firing a shot. The most powerful ships ever assembled for the Orion Syndicate will remain just that...intact and ready to take on the Federation, if needed.

Tauron: And..what of our allies?

:: Tauron was referring to those who were outside of the Syndicate..those who also had an axe to grind against the Federation.::

Quiana: They will wait. They will understand, especially those Romulan [...]s...and our ships will still be raiding, and serving our other two bases, and when the time is right...we will be ready. There will not be a repeat of 2389....

:: The rousing defeat of the Orions, who allied with the Klingons in that disastrous first invasion, almost won. In the sand bar they just left , wreckage from that battle still floated in the mist. They destroyed two Federation starships, but that wasn't enough. They invaded with Klingon shock troops and Orion Imperial guards, and had overrun the Embassy...but it still wasn't enough. One battle turned the tide against them, and another battle in the mountains took out their leadership, Tallis Kern and Tallis Meral. Settling back in her chair, Quiana watched as the stars streamed by on the viewscreen. It was time to out think Starfleet, not outfight them.::

 

  

USS Constitution: "1914"
Stardate 239209.21 - 239212.01

During routine patrols in the Talos Sector, the Constitution gets shaken through violently as they are pulled into a surprisingly appearing singularity. Upon scans and research they find out that they landed close to Earth, on June 27th 1914. The temporal rift has closed itself and the ship has been damaged during transfer. Will the crew be able to return to their own time?

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: Lt Commander Foster - Sucker Punch

Excerpt:

::The director leaned his head to one side, one antennae perked forward, the other stayed upright and he stayed there for longer than Wyn felt was comfortable before he spoke again:: 

Jos: Giving up is always the cop out. ::He frowned very slowly:: I had heard you were a medical genius.

::That hurt. And Jos knew it hurt. He was staring the kid down openly and digging for the meaty center.::

Foster: ::He stayed stubbornly put behind the chair, as if it would shield him from the onslaught:: I was removed from my ship by a man I trusted. ::Of course he was avoiding answering the posed question, but in his round-about way of thinking it all made sense.:: I saved his life. ::fast:: Aneurysm, with infectious complications. Four and a half hours of surgery, only person who could have done it. And how am I repaid? Betrayal. ::That last word was spat towards the screen.::

::Director Jos' gaze softened fractionally. Admission meant they were getting somewhere - slowly - but moving. Wyn was, on the whole, easier to reach than his father; though still just as frustrating.::

Jos: Do you regret it? ::Such a simple question. Such a dangerous question.::

Foster: ::A deeply furrowed frown:: I don't know. ::beat:: I think he died that day. There, on the biobed. In fact I know he died - six seconds of clinical death before life support was activated. But the real question is; did the same person wake up? I always felt like I revived a monster rather than saved a person. 

::Wyn shook his head. Such questions came dangerously close to concepts of playing God - something expressly forbidden in the medical trade.::

Jos: Not your call to make. ::plain and simple::

Foster: ::Throwing his hands up in the air:: I know! ::Bad move. His balance flipped him the middle finger and he stumbled ungraciously forward, finally landing in the chair. After a few more seconds of untangling his limbs, he turned back to the viewscreen, navy-flushed, with his entire argument deflated.:: I know... ::replied meekly:: Haven't we all taken oaths?

Jos: ::A light nod:: But an oath isn't a black and white rulebook. It's a promise, made by you, kept by you, and interpreted by you.

::Wyn frowned, squirming under the steady gaze of his superior.::

Foster: And I keep it.

  

USS Darwin: "Silent Night"

Stardate 239212 - 239301

On the edges of the distant Delta Quadrant. The crew is forced to take refuge on a class-p planet and live among the pre-warp society of the the Turisans while waiting for rescue.

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: Captain Renos: "Welcome to Lomorton"

Excerpt:

:: Renos held nir breath as a young couple on the other side of the street looked their way. Would their disguise hold? This was a pre-warp people they were dealing with so it was imperative that every member of the crew blended in. They had brought lightweight foods, ration packs down to help support them but would need to be exceptionally careful not to allow the food or packaging to be seen. Many of the crew had picked up jobs as they would need to earn money to pay their rent, buy food etc. ::

:: The sounds of their gasps made nem turn around quickly. ::

Renos: oO Have they seen through the disguise? Oo

Female voice: What is that up there in the sky? Above Akatosh’s sword. Do you see it.

:: Renos observed the pair looking up at the night sky. It was early evening, but dark already. The streets were illuminated by what looked suspiciously like oil lamps and light reflected by the snow kissed ground. The J’naii imposer looked up to the stars and glared. Ne might have shook nir fist at the Darwin were it not so likely to draw unwanted attention. Instead ne shook nir head almost imperceptibly. ::

Renos: oO I wondered how long it would take the Turisans to spot you. Oo

:: Valdivia and nem had collaborated on a plan to light the Darwin up like a disco ball making one scientist in particular very happy. To think ne had scoffed at the plan having read it some months ago and now they were literally lighting up the Darwin to hide it. From here it looked like like a star. Ne watched the couples reaction most carefully, terrified about whether the response would be positive or kick off doomsday scares. The last thing ne wanted was a terrified population rioting and tearing down their city. Fortunately the couple seemed to think of it as a wondrous sign. They had dodged a bullet this time then. ::

  

USS Doyle: "Chains of Survival"

Stardate 239301.29 - 239303.15

Crash landing on the surface of a world that suppresses technology, will the crew of the Doyle find a way off?

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: PNPC Captain Shelther Faranster - Stop wasting time

Excerpt:

:: Shel walked up to the door and it opened, letting him in the room. As he stepped in, he caught the end of what Ceciri was saying. ::

Hakashri:... Look, we’ve been arguing for 4 minutes 22 seconds. Let’s just tell him together if you *really* don’t want to tell him directly.

Faranster: I'll make it easy for you, here I am. What do you have to tell me?

:: He crossed the room and stood towering over the woman, but even though he was shorter than the Vulcan, at this point he was sure his presence made the officer seem small. ::

James: Ah. Captain. I was… Umm… About to come see you.

:: By the expression on James' face, he realized the man was a bit more than a little nervous. These were his two most trusted officers, and he wanted them to know what was really at risk because of the delay. ::

Faranster: So... you are more afraid of telling me that my sister and her crew are missing, than say... what Selene will do when she finds out that instead of taking action, you were arguing about who was going to tell me?

:: That got their attention. He knew what his sister had done to take care of her crew, and what she was willing to do when they were in danger. But... he didn't know what would happen in this case, and he didn't want to risk their lives to find out what would happen because they delayed a search. ::

Hakashri: Well. ::pauses.:: Accurate, sir.

Faranster: Get a scout ship out there to their last known coordinates, whatever is ready and fast. :: He watched the two for a moment. :: NOW!

  

USS Gorkon: "A Monstrous Murder Mystery"

Stardate 239210.25-239212.21

A celebration turns into a murder investigation when a Cardassian diplomat is found dead during the Gorkon's awards after-party. Trapped inside a sabotaged holodeck, will they be able to find the murderer, while keeping themselves and their guests safe?

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: Commander Walter Brunsig - "A Turn for the Worst"

Excerpt:

::Haase and Chandur managed to reach the top without incident, though not as quickly as he would have liked. He was acutely aware of two things; one, that they were probably being pursued in some fashion; and two, that even dishevelled, Quinn looked lovely and he hated her for it.

::Catching himself looking, he tore his gaze away from his former lover, just in time to spot… something. The waterfall froze, as though someone had paused the program, and a huge section of the cavern in front of him -- including the staircase -- just vanished, exploding the grey metalwork of the holodeck walls.

::Beside him, Quinn had just enough time to breath a soft expletive, and then the program snapped back into life as if nothing had gone wrong.::

BRUNSIG: This just gets better and better.

::She glanced at him, then looked up toward the top of the stairs, calling out to the trio who had completed the climb.::

REYNOLDS: Is everyone alright up there?

::He could see the crewman sat on the ground, catching his breath and peering down at the stairs and cavern below. Intact, if shaken.::

REYNOLDS: We'll be right up.

BRUNSIG: Will we.

REYNOLDS: Well, we can't stay down here.

 

  

USS Invicta: "Manhunt"

Stardate 239211.30 - 239301

When Captain Kells is presumed killed, the crew of the Invicta discover a secret mission underneath the pomp and circumstance of the grand Invicta Expedition.

Mission Wiki Page

Featured Sim: LtCmdr Tristam Core, "Not as clever as initially thought."

Excerpt:

::It was standard for all away team members to carry weapons equipment when travelling into unknown areas. Though Tristam protests this constantly, he was still required to carry some sort of weapon in the event of an emergency. Plus, phasers could come in handy when in a survival situation - boy did he know that from experience. So, instead of viewing it as a cause of bodily harm, it was a form of rescue.

::And today, it was going to make a hole in the cavern ceiling.::

::Before his potential killer could get a shot off (or hopefully even get a chance to aim at them), he took a shot into the rocks in a lower vertex near her, though it unfortunately affected all of them. The rocks that had moved earlier must have been holding back a small river worth of water, because it was now leaking past the airlock door in a small flood. But that was the least of his problems - now, a crack began to appear, the ground beneath their feet crumbling away, until they were now falling.::

Demirjian: ~Jeffers!~

::A name to remember for later, he mused, though by this point, there was nothing but air beneath him.::

::Tristam landed awkwardly on the ground and was promptly covered in the water from above and various rocks from the ceiling, and made the unfortunate mistake of breathing it all in (by accident - he'd never do this intentionally). He twisted, coughing and spluttering.::

Saveron: One suspects we may have our answer.

Vyrenna: Indeed! And no license for most of this equipment.

Saveron: Quite. ::He agreed dryly.::

::Investigation of a stinging sensation on his shoulder. In fact, his entire left side was in pain, some areas worse than others. Awesome.::

Saveron: Does anyone require medical attention?

Core: Probably.

  

Thank you again to each of the crews for sharing your stories with the rest of the fleet! 

Edited July 1, 2016 by Roshanara Rahman

[+ Kamoyo Aleksandrov]

I think I would have loved to have been visiting for the Tribble Mission.

[Sal Taybrim]

You'll just have to stop over and say "hi" sometime!

~*~

It was great reading about everyone's missions - very interesting!