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  1. Are you an aspiring reporter? The Federation News Service (FNS) is always looking for journalists and contributors to help keep the public informed about the latest developments across the quadrants! About the Federation News Sevice The Federation News Service is an independent news agency dedicating to providing citizens of the United Federation of Planets the latest news and stories from across the galaxy. With a rich history that dates back to the founding of the Federation, FNS reporters have covered every major development over the centuries, from the era of the first colonies to the award-winning coverage of the Dominion War. Where to Find Us Access the latest headlines from the FNS through our main portal. For those on the go, subscribe to our data feedto have news updates sent to your personal access display device. You can also add us to your home screen . Contributing to the FNS The Federation News Service welcomes both one-time and regular headline submissions for inclusion in the headlines newsfeed. Objectives of FNS HeadlinesProvide "bite-sized" IC news developments that can be shared across ships and referenced in sims to promote greater fleet IC continuity.Give a fun, non-Starfleet creative avenue for simmers to develop the larger prime Trek universe. What's going on in the sports world of the Federation? What's the newest holonovel to hit the suites? You can help shape life in the 24th century!Incorporate IC sim developments into the headlines to provide yet another way of telling our stories.Submitting a StorySimply edit the headlines page under the appropriate section (politics, sports, etc.) to add your new headline. Headlines should be listed in reverse chronological order with the newest headlines of a section listed first. Want to become a regular contributor (as an OOC activity)?Leave a message with one of our editors. As a regular contributor, aim to update the headlines page with at least two new headlines a week. As the headlines page fills up, clean up old headlines by moving them to the news archive page. Look over one-time submissions for spelling, grammar, etc. What if I want to write an actual IC news article?You are very much welcome to do so! Check out the FNS archive for some examples of previous IC news articles and see below for our manual of style. However, writing out an actual article is purely optional for regular contributors. New weekly headlines are all that's required. FNS Manual of StyleReady to write your first IC news article? Follow these simple tips to give it that extra polish: 1) Add a headline.Make it a very brief, attention-grabbing summary (something you'd see on a Twitter announcement that'd make you want to click to read more). Examples:USS Apollo-A investigates coup on Pertania Marriage of Federation Ambassador Starfleet officer presumed KIA as USS Gemini responded to Rathos Prime pathogen 2) Add a location marker and a single introductory sentence in the following format:MAIN LOCATION OF EVENTS — One introductory sentence that summarizes the entire article. Examples:PERTANIA PRIME — After a sudden coup d'etat on Pertainia Prime, Starfleet has dispatched the USS Apollo-A to evacuate the Federation Embassy. TRILL — Ambassador Della Vetri and Lt. Commander T’Lea were wed on the ambassador's homeworld. RATHOS PRIME — Lt. JG Vanessa Driscoll is missing and presumed KIA after becoming infected with the deadly pathogen her ship USS Gemini was attempting to cure. 3) Put a quote from someone somewhere in the rest of your article.Whether it's from someone on your crew directly, an MSPNPC, or even someone who doesn't actually appear in your sims but would make sense as someone making a statement to the press. Examples:"We will not tolerate such an assault on the legitimate Pertainian government, but our first priority is the safety of our own people," said Secretary Douglas of the Federation Security Council. "With everything happening around the quadrants these days, it's nice to be able to come together for friends and family and just celebrate, and I couldn't be happier for the Ambassador," said Anora Manar, a guest from the USS Atlantis. "Every Starfleet officer knows the risks that come with the uniform. Lieutenant Driscoll died trying to help others in the best traditions of Starfleet and the Federation, and we join her crew in their mourning," said Doctor Rajani of Starfleet Medical. Full Example Articles: USS Apollo-A investigates coup on Pertania Marriage of Federation Ambassador Starfleet officer presumed KIA as USS Gemini responded to Rathos Prime pathogen Essays, Editorials, and Special Reports You can also feel free to write special reports, essays, and editorials that you might find in a news magazine such as Time, the Economist, or the New Yorker. In doing so, the "rules" are a little more relaxed. Example: Special Report: The Face of Treason If you have any questions, feel free to reply below!
  2. In his latest column, Lixa Dansha examines whether the Federation Security is fit for purpose in the light of growing threats to the Sol System. On 239807.16, a pirate ship penetrated the Sol System and reached Jupiter. They were able to avoid disaster thanks to the operations of the USS Endeavour when pirates attempted to plunder the colonies of Europa. The courageous crew of the Endeavour stopped them, but it is still disturbing that any ship could travel that deep into Federation Core Territory without injury. Have we not learned from the synth massacre on Mars, which is still raging today? Wouldn’t someone be able to find a ship for hours by using Starfleet Command’s defence arrays? Despite this, it took a week for a “routine communications blackout” in the Federation’s home system to be examined. This is an unforgivable lapse, and while Starfleet Command, the Earth Government, and the Federation are all conducting separate investigations, it is yet another evidence of a deteriorating Federation, one that is less able and willing to defend its people from harm, even in core space. I, for one, am outraged by this, and I believe you should write to your local Assemblymember and demand genuine action and reform. Stop sending ships across the border if we can’t even guard our own. And, while I believe we should pursue our lofty aims of exploration and discovery, they must not come at the expense of our own citizens’ security and prosperity. If we wish to achieve both, we will need to strengthen Starfleet’s defence capabilities, as recommended by Assembly Member Allen Faymouth of Auriga Prime. With the ongoing influx in new ships, many of which are designed to replace older ships, we need adequate nodal assistance to avoid this intrusion from reoccurring someplace else, with much worse consequences. We need to act immediately before a tragedy occurs. The post Act Now: The Federation’s Failing Security appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  3. FNS reporter Dresdon P. Mitchell revisits his experience at the New Horizons Holo-Conference last year, and how this year, many of the questions and ideas posed will once again be explored. What started as a murmur across the nebula became true as scientists around the fleet materialized from separate ships to discuss their plans for the scientific community. People came from far and wide, pitching their ideas and hypothetical energizing conversations, intending to immerse in shared knowledge and provide intellectually sound, like-minded individuals to help further efforts for the future of all known species. One year later, we look into the events there. Science officers included in the conference were Lieutenant German Galven; USS Montreal’s Chief Science Officer, Commander Saveron; USS Constitution-B’s Counselor, Lieutenant Commander Ayiana Sevo; USS Gorkon’s Research Coordinator, Lieutenant Kayla Drex; USS Eagle’s Chief Scientist, Lieutenant Pholin Duyzer; USS Columbia’s Assistant Chief Science Officer, Dr Tim Alentonis; civilian Archaeologist, Lieutenant Commander Alora DeVaeu; USS Veritas’ scientist and Ensign Sotak, the USS Montreal’s scientist. Many officers have moved on in their careers since the seminar. “I wanted to know what other scientists around the fleet were doing and listen to their achievements,” explained Galven. “When I heard about the goal of New Horizons, I sent out a subspace message to every starship who had a science officer, hoping to get this off the ground.” Argelians demanded stronger attention from our Federation government, and for a week, we received no answer. Narala’s office had been “inundated with calls” and she was unavailable to take them. As each officer introduced themselves, they all marvelled at the technology that could hold such an event, bringing bright minds from across the galactic community to one place virtually, setting up timed responses and inquiries to make sure they did not forgo their duties onboard their starships in the excitement. “The entire experience was novel to me.” A stoic young Vulcan named Sotak described. “From attending a gathering from the holodeck, to speaking too much of the science community in the Federation. I am intrigued how the conclusion plays out.” One officer, Drex of the Eagle, was very excited to get things started as she approached the podium, but before she got the chance to speak, the whole area around them transformed into the libraries of Memory Alpha — an inhabited planetoid the Federation built a central library on with cultural relevance and scientific knowledge of all planetary Federation members. Drex discussed a theory regarding Quantum Sail Drives, describing space like a lake and time being a breeze. Scientists can theorise a way to create a sail that will carry people over this lake more efficiently than our crude oars (warp and trans-warp drives). Ideas presented in the conference included botany, xenobiology and warp thesis. Since the conference, these ideas have further expanded, and we hope to hear of their progress this year. “I propose that through visualization of this “breeze” in space, we will gain an understanding of the trade winds of our universe. From there, we can develop applications to sail at far greater speeds, and using far less energy than has been even fathomable in the history of any civilization we’ve yet to encounter.” Drex went on even further to say, “I believe I have a way to harness the very energy of space-time to achieve speeds that are so far beyond warp capabilities, we can barely measure it in our current terminology.” After each candidate spoke, there were questions from the other scientists and fresh ideas on how to help one another in their shared goal of pooled research. Towards the end of the conference, Galven finally offered his presentation on creating an antivirus that with enough tachyokinetic energy harvested as a byproduct to reverse harmful bacteria and even gases from taking place. He then demonstrated by using a sentient plant in a controlled environment that the process could be done, but there were still questions left unanswered if it was safer to do within a larger area. On the anniversary of the previous conference, New Horizons is once again opening its doors on Deluvia IV, and extends a call to scientific and technological minds across the Federation. Invitations to follow. The post Starfleet Scientists Hold Holo-Conference at New Horizons appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  4. As the Argelius system suffers from devastating infernos, a local resident argues Federation President Narala’s response and leadership is severely lacking. The Argelius system is burning. All six planets of the Argelius system are experiencing rampant solar flares from our deteriorating star. As a result, each planet appears to be experiencing a dry and intermittent climate change. A single fire sparking can mean thousands of hectares up in a blaze. A collective 10.2 billion hectares have already been lost since September 2396. Argelius I has been evacuated entirely. The system has declared a state of disaster. My planetary system calls this disaster the “Argelius Billions Blaze” for the amount of land charred across all planets. The danger zone for the fires only continues to increase, and located on Argelius II, I will soon join my fellow Argelians in facing the flames. This is not the first time our planetary system has experienced fires because of “sudden climate change”. Some might argue that this disaster isn’t the worst in our history. But in 2397, “it’s not as bad as last century!” is hardly a reasonable response to the loss of 23 lives across six worlds in one disaster — 12 were losses fighting the fires, 11 were people trying to escape them. Argelians demanded stronger attention from our Federation government, and for a week, we received no answer. Narala’s office had been “inundated with calls” and she was unavailable to take them. Why? President Narala had been away on an unannounced holiday to Risa. After the fires had started. It was only when four lives were lost on Argelius II that Narala’s office suddenly announced she’d arrive in Argelius for a briefing. But it took her 48 hours to get to a communications console and organise transport to Argelius. President Narala won her 2392 election campaign with the slogan, “We are many, but we can be one.” It was a time where planets on the outskirts of the Federation claimed to face discrimination due to their outlier locations. Many felt “unheard”, or “unrepresented”, and demanded action from the presidential office. Following her election, Narala has supported far-reaching powers of the Federation to “resolve the divide between the so-called ‘core’ Federation member planets and those nearer to the border”. Resources, energy, and inner trade sanctions were committed to places like the Shoals or the Briar Patch, and star stations such as Deep Space 3, Deep Space 5, and Astrofori One became the focus of fleet support and Starfleet task forces. 2393 was a good year to live on the border of the Federation, and all of these commitments from the presidential office resulted in salivating photo opportunities that made Narala look good. It allows her to shake hands with the important figures of the Federation and pretend to be the leader she should be. In her press conference here on stardate 239612.30, Narala asked us to “be kind to each other” and reject division — seemingly her one and only angle in most of her political stunts. She acknowledged that her absence resulted in our significant anxiety — and even apologised. But she ended her conference with this: “Our community’s support of the Argelius system has not changed, and we will continue to work with Argelius in these trying times.” She then took the time to get a photo opportunity with an off duty Starfleet officer, two kids, and four members of her office. Federation President Narala with two Argelian citizens, Starfleet medical officer Dr. Sophie Wakefield, and four members of Narala’s presidential staff pictured after her disaster conference on Argelius II. Narala’s major contribution to my planetary system’s disaster at present has been that press conference, but she is adamant that she’s mobilizing the Federation’s best. Except, they’re on the other side of the Beta Quadrant and don’t have access to slipstream drives. Starfleet are slated to arrive next week to “assess the situation”. Admiral Kinsley Brunce claims the delay is because the fleet is stretched thin because of the Federation’s ongoing commitment to outer region worlds. Who would have thought President Narala’s biggest selling point in the early 2390s would prove problematic in the face of serious crises as we inch closer to the turn of the century? Taking stock of the heavily reported Starfleet vessels often featured in the FNS, there are: six ships deployed in the Tyrellian sector, four ships deployed in the Par’tha Expanse, two ships near-permanently docked at Starbase 118. Not even one crew can be spared to assist? A task force stationed nearby Astrofori One was destroyed last year alongside the station during a Tholian incursion into the Menthar Corridor. Reports claim the attack was to drive us away from the Tholian border, and they succeeded. Two starships were lost outside of Federation space. In the Luxis system, a Starfleet embassy (also outside of Federation space), is rumoured to have burned through not one but three starships in the span of a decade. If the Federation President controls Starfleet, is this a gross mismanagement of resources on Narala’s part? Strangely enough, executive governor of Axanar Adellia Vor, also a candidate in the 2392 Presidental Election, has ordered significant resources from Axanar to Argelius. Romulan Republic Chief of State Galura Mobek has also sent able bodies to assist with the fires. Both instances of support prove far more superior then Narala’s bold but weak claim of ongoing Federation support for a Federation system approaching 175 years of membership. Meanwhile, Nimbus III’s finest is touring the least-affected areas of the Argelius system with a camera crew and a smile. This is a blatant lack of leadership from our Federation president. Narala’s “we are many, but we can be one” rhetoric is only for her own political gain. All this, while my home planet is burning. Narala: do better. Readers, please support the Argelius system by donating resources or volunteering to support displaced families. Freya is a physical therapist and resident of Argelius II. The post President Narala complacent while Argelius system burns appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  5. In his latest column, Lixa Dansha examines whether the Federation is ready for conflict in light of new tensions from the Tholians and other threats. The recent drumbeats of war emanating from the Shoals along with the resurgent Klingon Empire and chaos of the Romulan Empire has convinced this journalist to return from sabbatical so that I might ask the question, as many of you must be, “Is the Federation able to withstand this tempest?” The cornerstone of the Federation is the idealism at the core of its charter: through peaceful coexistence, the whole will become greater than the sum of its parts. High minded and inspiring as these concepts are, they have regularly lead to the wholesale slaughter of our fellow citizens as logic, compassion, and benevolent rhetoric were met with hostility and arms which our fleet and officers were simply unprepared to match. And as a Bajoran, I can say that my people have experienced 50 years of the consequences of compassion without preparation. It was thought by many that the Dominion War was a wake-up call for the Federation, a conflict so vast that even a core world like Betazed fell to the Jem’Hadar, and Earth itself was scarred by a suicidal but determined enemy. That said, 21 years out from the end of the Dominion War, the fleet has been downsized, politicians running for the highest levels of Federation government are calling for less military preparedness, and calls for refits and updates to existing ships are being summarily dismissed. We must ask, what has this gotten us, and where will it lead? The Tholians Assembly is aggressively expanding in the Shoals, challenging long-held Federation claims and threatening numerous colony worlds. The Klingon Great Houses are shouting ominous calls for a renewed military campaign to bolster their flagging society. Lastly, piracy, once though virtually eliminated within our borders, has become a resurgent menace in many outlying sectors of the Federation. Efforts to rearm and upgrade ships, as well as creating new ship designs, have been laughed down and characterized as warmongering. Even the efforts of individual member worlds to fortify their self-defense forces have received alarmist coverage, but when you think about it, why shouldn’t they be allowed to protect themselves if the Federation as a whole is not in a position to properly defend its members? I can tell you from experience that not being prepared can lead to pain. I do not want it suggested that I am ungrateful to the Federation or that I resent our proud moral center. That idealism has lead to prosperity among hundreds of worlds, and the principle of the rule of law prevails. But even peace needs its guardians, and I call upon my readers to contact your representatives and let them know how important it is to make our forces strong enough to protect our prosperity and to protect our peace before we once again suffer the consequences of our shortsightedness. The post Preparing for the Worst: Perspectives from a Prison Camp Survivor appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  6. J’mai Osen questions the aversion to genetic engineering in the Federation scientific community. Last week, I met an intelligent young Teplan scientist, recently emigrated from the Gamma Quadrant and on her way to the New Horizons Conference on Deluvia IV. As a child, she had been profoundly inspired by a Starfleet doctor who created a vaccine which eradicated a bio-weapon afflicting her planet. Her passion for furthering medical research and zeal to help others was matched only by her disbelief in the long-held, human-driven view of genetic engineering which dominates Federation science. Why, she asked, has this fundamentally vital area of research been all but suppressed by the Federation Science Council? In trying to formulate an answer that would satisfy her, I found myself asking why, indeed? Dark Page in History For those with little knowledge of Federation history, and you could be forgiven for that as there is quite a lot of it, the de facto ban on genetic research as a field and genetic engineering as a practice can trace its origins back to one of the Federation’s founding planets, Earth, during that world’s last great cataclysm, locally known as the Eugenics Wars. To summarize, during Earth’s early nuclear period, a group of scientists working independently of the period’s governing authorities believed their world to be on a path to imminent destruction from which the only salvation was the field of “eugenics.” Their belief system, such as it was, lead them to reason that through the judicious application of genetic engineering to human DNA, they could artificially create a superior human specimen. That species, Homo superior, would unify their planet with benevolent and enlightened leadership, among other lofty aims. Much like the man who wishes upon the monkey’s paw, they got their wish, but the cost was a holocaust beyond their wildest nightmares. The genetically engineered subjects did attempt to unify the planet, but they did so with the iron grip of tyrants. Their enhanced cognitive abilities allowed them to inflame a global conflict that ultimately set the stage for a large scale thermonuclear exchange, resulting in countless deaths and an Earth on the precipice of extinction. In the aftermath of this conflict, the remaining nation states of Earth banded together to form the first nascent planetary government, and one of their very first edicts was a prohibition on the hateful technology which had nearly brought them all to ruin. Thankfully, Earth survived this dark chapter and much like the literary phoenix, rose from its own ashes to become the widely acknowledged utopia we know it as today. That said, a look past the idyllic trappings will show a world that still bears deep scars which even enlightened locals are somewhat loathe to acknowledge. Those scars, now almost three centuries old, are still a source of profound fear and inhibition. That inhibition has been spread, much like human culture itself, from one side of the Federation to the other and, with rare exceptions, has remained unchallenged ever since. Forbidden Fruit The very idea of a scientific field of pursuit being too inherently dangerous in and of itself is almost laughable when you consider some of the other technologies regularly exploited at the moment. We travel from star to star in ships driven by titanic energies. Citizens routinely have their bodies dismantled to their constituent atoms, digitized, energized, and then reassembled at some distant point for no purpose other than to save themselves a long walk. Even now, you’re reading this article after it has been transmitted through, not what we’d consider “normal” space, but a layer of the universe known as subspace. When did these technological breakthroughs become routine, when they themselves have regularly been used as horrific weapons? How have we as a culture become so blasé to their use but remained so ardent in our opposition to genetic engineering? Does that not smack of hypocrisy, something our Federation insists it has grown beyond? As I struggled to explain this inconsistency, the Telpan scientist merely smiled, as one does when explaining complicated subjects to a child. As we said our goodbyes, she politely asked if she could share something. It was a copy of the personnel file of the doctor who had saved her people from an unending torment. Contrary to Federation law, his parents had his genes re-sequenced as a child so that he might become something greater than what he was. He didn’t become a tyrant or a dictator, nor did he raze cities and enslave the weak. He became a healer whose name is spoken with reverence on a distant world, and a brief look at his career shows that it is just one of the many places his talent has touched for the better. I cannot and will not suggest that each and every example of genetic re-sequencing would produce such noble, or ignoble, ends. That said, given the multitude of challenges faced by the Federation from within and without, can we continue to stubbornly hang on to prejudices of the ancient past? Can we continue to call our reticence anything other than cowardice? It is far past time to reflect and reassess. The post Genetic engineering in the Federation: a time for reflection appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  7. J’mai Osen pushes back against the notion that the spirit of the Federation has anything in common with the Borg hive mind. It has recently been suggested that the Federation and the Borg Collective are, at their most basic, far more alike then they would appear on the surface. One columnist has gone so far as to argue that Starfleet’s mission of exploration is comparable to the Borg act of physical and psychological sequestration known as “assimilation.” These claims are deeply odious, inflammatory and wildly offbase, so much so that this columnist feels the original article should be mounted on a plaque on the original columnist’s stasis pod shortly before it’s launched in the direction of the Delta Quadrant. Let us discuss these matters point by point until reason can once again prevail. Explorers versus Predators The first malformed concept we must discuss is the article’s comparison of Starfleet’s exploratory and first contact protocols to that of the wholesale usurpation employed by the Borg. Somehow, it is suggested that Starfleet vessels, who are “not knowing what they’re getting themselves into,” deploy landing parties to examine and catalog new worlds and peoples, and that this behavior can paint them with the same brush as the Collective. While I agree that our contacts with other cultures have not always been entirely without calamity, I would suggest that the differences of intent, and that of our stated non-interference directive, place us in abjectly different moral territory. The Federation, as a people, do not take by force, nor do we consume without consent. We do not suborn cultures to our will and turn them against their fellows, or to whomever our most recent target for conquest may be. We have a long and well-documented history of collaboration and peaceful coexistence with our fellow sentients which speaks plainly of our values. The Borg also have a long and well-documented history, and it is one that will, eons after their scourge has been removed from the galaxy, mark them as one of the most heinous predators to have ever climbed the long ladder up to the stars. Diplomacy versus Domination The second pile of journalistic excrement, that our diplomatic efforts are alike to the Borg’s “philosophy” of forced assimilation, would be laughable were it not so dangerously uninformed. The brave men and women of the diplomatic corp spend years studying the fine arts of cultural sociology and anthropology, along with countless hours spent perfecting a negotiation style that has carried the Federation from its nascent days, through its darkest periods, to the titanic power it is now. These people have, repeatedly, risked and lost their own lives in the pursuit of the dream of mutual coexistence, and to have their efforts slandered in such a way should be an affront to every sensible Federation citizen who lives within our borders. To suggest the Borg, who have slaughtered countless billions in the pursuit of their version of “perfection,” conduct anything resembling this type of diplomacy is sickeningly farcical. The Borg have no such compulsion and similarly, no concept of self-sacrifice, as the very nature of the Collective doesn’t allow for it. Their external “diplomatic” efforts, when they haven’t simply deployed their fleet in overwhelming numbers, have been uniformly self-serving and of convenience to them only. In the incredibly rare cases we’re aware of where dissension occurred within the Collective, their tactics were more akin to a surgeon removing diseased tissue. They quite simply have no belief in the vision of collaboration that the Federation stands for, and it is that very weakness and shortsightedness that has hindered their progress as a people and corrupted them into the foul abomination we know today. The Self-Imposed Limits of the Prime Directive versus the Collective’s Insatiable Hunger The final point, that if the Borg were to institute a Prime Directive of their own, contrary to their entire history, stated aims and cultural drive, suggests the author himself neither understands the Borg or the Prime Directive itself. Time and time again, we have seen with our own eyes, or through records found on dead worlds, what the Borg thinks about “non-interference.” To quote their typical refrain, “Non-interference is irrelevant.” The Collective functions more like a virus than it does as a culture, as it is one explicitly designed to consume and expand itself at any cost. We even have evidence that their aims are so vast, our galaxy itself could not sate their hunger and they have looked into other shards of reality for new resources, to their great and lasting folly. The Federation, in comparison, has gradually grown, through fits and starts, because of how delicately we seek to strike a balance between our aims, and that of our neighbors among the stars. It has limited our expansion in a way the Borg would simply see as inefficient. To them, morality is a net loss logistical issue and nothing more. The Federation Charter is an astonishing document because it codifies a philosophical worldview that, unlike so many similar documents before it, allows for the peaceful and benevolent collaboration of all peoples, of all worlds, to whatever end they, and not the document’s signers, see fit. It is a living document which has been revised, amended, debated, expanded and refined through the work of centuries. The Collective does have this one similarity to us, in that it refines itself over time to be greater than it once was. A greater menace. A greater engine of pain and loss. A greater monster to all those who would not willingly give of themselves. A greater plague. In this writers opinion, the Federation and the Borg are more alien to one another than any other species or lifeform we’ve ever attempted to interact with. They are the very antithesis to what we are as a people and the anathema to what we consider most precious in life. For any rational adult to think otherwise is the most literal definition of insanity, and we should pity, and seek to educate, any soul that profoundly confused. The post The Hive Mind: A Rebuttal for the Rational appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  8. When people think of the Borg, they imagine the worst possible way someone can be thrown into a system against their will. Acting in a manner as if it’s the only way for others to join them. The Collective’s techniques are questionable at best and the way people are turned into mindless drones is unnerving, but doesn’t Starfleet act in a similar manner? One would typically argue that the United Federation of Planets has better morals and ethics than the Borg. Yet do we really not know what we’re getting ourselves into as our starships approach undocumented planets? Instead of documenting what we see from orbit, we feel compelled to go down to the surface and explore the unknown, not fully grasping how an indigenous species would treat us as if we were the hive mind ourselves. The Prime Directive has a set of rules that help Starfleet Officers be more mindful of species who think we are just as alien as they are to us. But what if the Borg had the same structure? Obviously, we have a better understanding through communicating first contact through our diplomats than the hive mind does. But isn’t that the same thing as assimilating someone? We give them provocative ideas and things for unknown species to consider — but through the lens of our own opinion. Just the same goes with the Borg. They have their own opinion, however harmful it is, that they don’t have the mindset to reconsider themselves. The post The “hive mind” of the Federation and the Borg: Are they similar to one another? appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  9. FNS foreign affairs reporter Flynn Dupond concludes his two-part editorial series about the Klingon Empire, bringing attention now to its social and civil problems. Last time, I touched upon the Klingon Empire’s thirst for violence and the threat it poses, even to those who were once its allies. Today, we’ll see that the Klingon Empire also suffers from injustice within its own borders and ranks. Civil War It is clear that while the Empire consistently fights against outsiders and seems to seek enemies where none exist, civil war is an almost constant fact of life within its ruling body, the High Council. In a society where family honor and glory are sought above all else, power is held by the strongest and most aggressive. Individual houses can form alliances and wage war with other houses, separate from the Empire’s other affairs. While the chancellor and the High Council maintain control over the military, individual leaders are granted control over large swaths of the Klingon Defense Forces. Worse yet, houses can claim ships and other lethal weapons to fight internal wars. This is generally kept out of sight of the rest of the quadrant as such fighting can appear to weaken the Empire on the whole. Nevertheless, it is rare to find a moment in Klingon history where one faction of the Klingon people was not battling another. Read the rest of the editorial The Trouble with the Klingon Empire, Part 2 on the Federation News Service. This editorial was written by Lt. Randal Shayne of the USS Darwin.
  10. In this two-part editorial series, FNS foreign affairs reporter Flynn Dupond questions the Federation’s alliance with an empire built on conquest, subjugation, and conflict. I recently found myself wandering the main promenade of Starbase 118 along with my daughter. It is usually a bustling hive of ordered chaos, but with the (then) upcoming Khitomer Accords anniversary approaching, everyone was moving about—buying gifts, hanging decorations, etc. My daughter, a precocious youngster of five, was aware that something special was impending, and asked me what was going on. I attempted to explain that, many years ago, the Federation began to work with the Klingon Empire toward peace. I managed to give a cursory overview without delving into the rich and convoluted history the Empire and the Federation had shared together. Remember, this is a five-year-old I’m trying to communicate with. Even with this ultra-condensed version, my daughter looked thoroughly bored by my ramblings, and with an, “Oh,” she darted off to join her friends and munch on jumja sticks. As I continued to window shop and keep an eye on her, my eyes were drawn upwards, toward the ceiling, where a Federation banner and a Klingon Empire banner hung side by side. I’d seen such imagery before, and it had often stirred the patriotic portions of my heart for days after. But as I observed that harsh, emblazoned trefoil, my thoughts returned to the abridged lecture I’d just given. In that moment, the alliance between the two previously feuding governments seemed so improbable, so impractical, that I simply couldn’t believe it had held. Later that night, I began to study the Klingon Empire in detail. I poured over any confirmed and unclassified information I could dredge up, and my findings shocked me. I decided my next piece for the FNS would not be on the Khitomer celebrations. Virtually all of my esteemed colleagues would be following that particular story. Instead, I would delve deeper into one the of the best-kept secrets of the Federation: its abusive, abrasive comrade, the Klingon Empire. Read the rest of the editorial at The Klingon Empire: Accepted Ally or Tolerated Blot? on the Federation News Service. This editorial was written by Lt. Randal Shayne of the USS Darwin.
  11. With the new year around the corner, here are the top stories that dominated the headlines this past year. 1. Federation Transport Union goes on strike Just hours before the crystal ball dropped at the International Market Square in Minneapolis, ringing in the start of 2392, the Federation Transport Union voted to go on strike, a culmination of failed negotiations and frustrations with the Federation and Starfleets inability to protect transport crews from increasing piracy, especially along the Borderlands near the Klingon Empire and from Nausicaan raids. All shipping and transit runs were immediately suspended, including those of 812 major shipping carriers. The strike ultimately lasted nearly eight months, finally ending when Federation President Bacco secured a deal with Transport Union officials that called for private contractors to supplement existing Starfleet efforts that provide protection along trade routes. Read more: Federation Transport Union strike coverage 2. Election season ends with Narala as President-elect The 2392 presidential election season kicked off with the unexpected announcement of Federation Ambassador Lily Ventus candidacy. She was soon followed by Nimbus III Chief Administrator, both of whom beat Terra Novan Federation Councilor Kevin Steiners own announcement. Steiner, a long-time critic of President Bacco who was long rumored to run against her, ended up running against several other outsider candidates such as Axanar Governor Adellia Vor when Bacco herself declined to seek re-election. When the field whittled down to five, with Trill Chief of Staff Kthria joining late in the race, the candidates debated a host of issues that were on the minds of citizens, ranging from the Maquis Reborn to the future direction of the Federation. When the votes were tallied, Narala emerged victorious, swaying voters with her focus on promoting greater unity and equal attention to all Federation worlds. Read more: Election 2392 coverage 3. Inox government collapses After a prominent government official was cleared of corruption charges in February, Inox descended into chaos as demonstrations broke out across the non-aligned planet. With their economy crippled by the Federation Transport Union strike, Inoxans were frustrated with rampant unemployment and an ineffectual government. Led by Beja Nyuanin, a former professor at Grand Karra University, what began as a series of large but mostly peaceful protests fell to outbreaks of violence as demonstrators clashed with government security forces. Civil unrest continued on the planet for the next few months and when Mashana, the fourth largest city on Inox, fell to anti-government forces in May, Inoxan Chancellor Koaw Tassin declared a state of emergency. Tassin and his government was ultimately deposed, with the revolutionaries declaring victory and a new dawn for Inox. However, the rebellion has since fractured with no faction being able to regain control of the entire planet, and the Federation Diplomatic Corps continues to advise all Federation citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Inox. Read more: Inox coverage 4. FNS experiences shake-up after controversial Maquis Reborn publication Former FNS editor-in-chief Reza Kardgar After the FNS published a letter from Nikael Kalre, leader of the terrorist group known as the Maquis Reborn, on the fourth anniversary of the attack on Ohmallera, Betazed, by a hijacked Starfleet vessel, thousands of angry readers called for the resignation of FNS editor-in-chief Reza Kardgar and a formal apology from the news organization. A greater number of FNS readers, though, voted in a poll that they supported Kardgar and his decision to publish the letter. While they may disagree with Kalre and his acts, Federation citizens agreed that the principles of free speech and a free press were paramount. The right of free speech and an independent press means from time to time that the FNS will post unsettling things, but that is never a reason to censor speech, said one reader. Still, Kardgar stepped down after he felt he had become a distraction to the FNSs mission to report the news and not become it. He returned to a staff editor position, and Lara Senekal was named as the FNSs interim editor-in-chief. Read more: Kalre controversy coverage 5. Romulan Star Empire invites President Bacco for state visit The new Imperial Senate of the Romulan Star Empire extended an invitation to Federation President Bacco to visit the new capital of Rator III and address the legislative body in a move widely seen by foreign affairs analysts as an attempt by the new Senate to secure its legitimacy as the rightful successor to the original Imperial Senate that was destroyed on Romulus by the Hobus supernova in 2387. President Bacco accepted the invitation earlier this year, and months of planning has resulted in this months historic visit. While some are opposed to the visit, given the Empires conflict with the Romulan Republic, others view Baccos trip as a chance to foster greater diplomatic ties and possibly even trade between the Empire and the Federation. Read more: Romulan coverage The post A look back at 2392 appeared first on Federation News Service. View the full article
  12. Pirates: A Persistent Threat Editorial by Lixa Dansha Stardate 239205.13 I hope I've caught your attention with that title. While piracy has been a small trend throughout the Federation, recently it's become a plague, especially on the outlying colonies. (You've probably heard of the Federation Transport Union strike and the letter written by the Colonial Coalition). Its time to examine this more closely, and see what might really be going on. A (Brief) History of Piracy from the Launch of the NX-01 The history of pirates is a long one, with Nausicaan pirates being the first known threat, until Starfleet began to deploy more ships to patrol the space routes during the nascent days of United Earth. Later, Orion pirates began to supplant Nausicaans as a major threat - establishing the Orion Syndicate. During the Earth-Romulan war, the Romulans would often fund pirates to force Starfleet to divert resources to protect its cargo shipping and merchants. After the Earth-Romulan war settled, the Romulans still remained active as sponsors of piracy - they funded the Elasi, a species native to the planet Menalvagor, so that they could continue acting against the Federation. While Starfleet settled this by making peace with the then ruling faction who joined the Federation, drying up the Elasi threat took several years, and during this, the Orion Syndicate continued on. "The Orion Syndicate is a menace against all of us, and collectively, we must take steps to provide for the safety of our shipping," declared Fleet Admiral Morrow in 2284, shortly before increasing patrol activity along the edges of Federation space. Soon, with the discovery of the Ferengi, Ferengi pirates also joined the fun, causing Starfleet to have to divert resources from exploration to patrols within the Federation. And finally, we cant forget privateers and on that subject: State-Sponsored Piracy I've alluded above to the Elasi (which occurred in the late 23rd century.), but it happened shortly before and after the Dominion War, with Breen privateers spotted in 2372. There has always been a certain amount of tension, but starting in 2390, the incidents of piracy on the outer edge of the Federation began to rise sharply. While there has always been rogue Klingon pirates, the High Council and the Great Houses formally disavow any such dishonorable activity. "Sure, they disavow any activity, but there's nothing saying they turn a blind eye. I mean, the Klingons are a race of warriors, and this is a form of war," said Dr. Katoh Erasi of the Federation Border Defense Think Tank, located in Terra Nova. "However, each time we've turned someone over, they have executed them. If they are allowing this, it's with a blind eye to any activity." When the FNS approached the High Command for a quote, they said simply that any Klingon who would pirate such would be punished as soon as they are caught. The Nausicaans have always been privateers, but Starfleet does dedicate a certain amount of resources to that sector to stop them from getting out of control (with mixed results - after all, Operation Safe Harbor is going as well as Starfleet wants it to.) Personally, I suspect the Cardassians, based on rising tensions throughout the Menthar Corridor and the push they have made to nonaligned powers to bring them in to the Cardassian Union or as satellite powers. That said, though, it is only 15 years since the end of the Dominion War, and they are still rebuilding, as well as establishing deeper ties with the Federation. While sanctioning piracy would enable them to 'war on the cheap', it is unlikely they would wish to provoke the Federation - at least right now. (They also have a persistent piracy problem, although not on the scale as the outlying colonies of the Federation.) That leaves the fractured Romulan Empire as a major sponsor. While that might be possible, the new government of the Empire has been focused up to now with suppressing the internal factions of the government, and it's unlikely they are funding piracy on a grand scale. There are, of course, the Breen, Tholians and Vaadwaur. Maybe even the Maquis Reborn, for that matter. The Current Threat There are a number of reasons why pirates are a current threat now. First off, the Dominion War caused a huge diversion of funds into fleets and rebuilding. Shortly after the war ended, many of the ships were scrapped, but a great deal of ships that weren't as new were sold to planetary governments (mostly core worlds, although the program itself is still ongoing). The conflicts after that have ensured that Starfleet's resources are still stretched a little thin, causing patrols to be understrength. Secondly, the growth of the Federation has meant that bases are now more widely spread out rather than to a set distance as before. (It's of note that often, planetary governments over this distance often get ships more often, presumably due to the distance from the nearest Starbase) But the reason why I went over state sponsored piracy was that the pirate ships often can exceed speed of the ships assigned to Operation Safe Harbor. This has raised many suspicions as to what exactly is going on. The ability to burst over Warp 9.2 or maintain a speed over Warp 7 indicates advanced engines and ships are being used. The fact that they can evade Starfleet patrols indicates some organization and the ability to gather intel on where Starfleet is going. Convoys But that said, while I'm sure Starfleet Intelligence is investigating, that doesn't solve the problem now with cargo activity shut down. What we need, is convoys. Rather than have the ships patrol and respond at incidents, have them escort convoys in transit, allowing Starfleet to conserve resources and be far more efficient about chasing them down. The need for secrecy might stretch resources, but it'd save the ships, and therefore the cargo, and therefore the Federation. Also, Starfleet should start upgrading the fleet in general - the Romulans and Cardassians largely have, and the Ronin class could easily replace many of the Nebula class ships, as well as assigning more Dakota class ships. But at this point, we should ask: what do our new prospective leaders want to do? Of course, Kevin Steiner has called for this as part of his agenda of expanding Starfleet. Lily Ventu, on the other hand, has put out a statement: "I urge any Federation citizen concerned with the notion of piracy to frame those concerns with caution and compassion. 'Piracy' is now and always has been a loaded term, one applied most often, historically, by the individuals who hold personal success to those who do not. Piracy is, by its most basic definition, a form of lawlessness, but I would remind all citizens that one generation's lawlessness is the next's revolution and the following's order. Far be it from this candidate for the great Office of the President to suggest that piracy is excusable, of course, but where some may advocate harsher punishments or stricter controls, I will always advocate for the ways of peace and understanding. Let us know these pirates, let us understand why they have turned to piracy -- and in doing so, let us see what parts of our own cultural practice may require reevaluation." I am sure that the families of the freighters hit appreciate her high minded views, although as many are not even Federation races, I'm not sure how evaluating our cultural practices helps. One can take it though, that she would not be in favor of enhanced patrols. So I will end this differently for me: I'm interested in hearing *your* views, dear reader. FNS Home • FNS Data Feed• FNS on FB • FNS Team
  13. The Pen and The Sword: Maronida Shiir on Nikael Kalre Editorial by Maronida Shiir Stardate 239202.22 It would seem, that in the battle for free speech, my editors have found it prudent (against my strong objections) to publish an open letter by a known terrorist who has assassinated both foreign nationals and good Starfleet officers. In recognition of their sacrifices, the Federation News Service published an article by the madman who claimed their lives, giving him an open forum and aiding and abetting his crimes by trying to rationalize them. Since this is all about ‘free speech’ I found it prudent to exercise my own rights and pen a letter of my own. Nikael Kalre is a murderer, a butcher, a terrorist. He is not some misunderstood, melancholic anti-hero fighting against an impossible cause in remembrance for those lost in a tragic incident. The 1.2 million people of Ohmallera are dead, and in some sick orgy of violence and hate, Mr. Kalre seeks to add to the body count. Kill more people. Destroy more families. Forge more people like him. I would hate to be him when the families of his victims hunt him down like the mad dog he is, committing murders and acts of treason, all in the name of some great cause, when all it is just the insanity of misplaced grief. I covered Setlik III, one of the many incidents that defined the brutality of the Cardassian Wars, and no doubt led to the eventual development of the Maquis. I cannot tell you how many letters I received; now many outpourings of grief and anger I had to read from hundreds, if not thousands of people. Some of them weren’t even related or connected to the colony, and others had nothing to say to me specifically, or about the reporting I had done. They were angry, they were enraged that such acts could still occur in an age, in a nation, defined as ‘paradise’. At the end of the Wars, a group of people still had a bitter taste in their mouths about it all. Years later, they still hadn’t let go, and were willing to drag everyone else down with them. The Humans say an eye for an eye makes the world blind, and that’s what the Maquis ‘struggle’ really was. Unable to conceive of a world where people make sacrifices for the greater good, they decided to resist the Cardassians. No one knows how many Cardassian soldiers they killed, how many ‘Cardies’ they collected neck bones from. And no one knows how many Starfleet Officers died in the intervention to stop their madness from endangering the entire Alpha Quadrant. It didn’t matter to the members of the original Maquis though. Blinded by hate, consumed by rage they lashed out again and again, using trite and clichéd rationalizations for their behavior and constructing a grand cause to make the deaths around them seem justified and logical, in contrast to the senseless takings of their loved ones. Everyone who has lost somebody wants revenge on someone, and will go to any lengths to get it. That’s who Nikael Kalre really is. He’s a man who has lost his family to a heartbreaking, inconceivable tragedy, and as he struggles to make sense of what he cannot change, the anger has built within him. As a mother, as a decent woman, my compassion ends there. Just because one’s motives can be contrived, or understood, it does not excuse the conscious decision to take lives. Nikael Kalre is a terrorist, a madman, who will go on killing with his merry band of thugs regardless of our own sympathies for him, regardless of how eloquent we find his letters of grief. What should have been a foot note in history at best, is now an article to be laid bare for the entire Federation to see. He has tricked us, manipulated us, into false sympathy so that we may second guess our resolve. No matter how bittersweet his words for his wife and dead children are, they are spewed with the venom of an enemy of the Federation and its citizens. He wants to see our way of life burn, never forget that. He talks of reform, but is unwilling to do in an arena of ideas or an open forum. To him, actions speak louder than words, the bloodier the better. He claims that he wants to preserve the soul of the Federation against those who are corrupt and in power, and yet he fails to tell us who they are in specific terms, or how they might be dealt with. No, his calls for reform are flimsy attempts to distract us and rationalize his violent methods. As a woman who has exposed corruption of the highest order with just words I tell you Nikael Kalre is wrong, misguided and the bane of all decent and civilized worlds. He is not a man to be admired, he is not a man to be sympathized with and he is not a man who deserves to be published in the premier news service of the greatest society this galaxy has yet known, which is always, always reaching for greater epochs of rights, freedoms and civilization. In the wake of this gross miscarriage of justice and common decency, I was prepared to tender my resignation after my concerns and protests were blatantly ignored. But that would be giving up. That would be giving in to intimidation. Citizens of the Federation, as I have done for decades I will continue to write my opinions on the events of the day. I will continue to sit at my desk, writing my opinion pieces. And I will not rest until my pen and my paper have convinced those that must be convinced, we do not negotiate with terrorists, and we do not print their transparent and flimsy attempts to weaken our resolve. We must never give in, and we must never doubt. “The gunfire around us makes it hard to hear. But the human voice is different from other sounds. It can be heard over noises that bury everything else. Even when it's not shouting. Even when it's just a whisper. Even the lowest whisper can be heard - -over armies... when it's telling the truth.” FNS Home • FNS Data Feed• FNS on FB
  14. To My Beloved: Heart Of Ohmallera By Nikael Kalre Stardate 239202.22 The Federation News Service received the following letter from Nikael Kalre, leader of the Maquis Reborn, who asked that it be published on the anniversary of the attack on Ohmallera (stardate 238802.22). After much debate among our staff, the FNS has decided to publish the letter in its entirety. Imzadi, Four years have passed since you were taken from me. Four years since I last saw our children smile or heard their laughter mingling with yours. Although those years have passed, I remember you all as clearly as if I had just left you. Annella stood beside you, clinging to your skirt with one hand while the other lifted to bid me goodbye. As you waved, Rennan perched in your arm, clapped his hands slowly together as he practised his new skill. I promised I wouldnt be long. I promised I would return quickly. I promised I would be back in time for Nellas birthday the following week. It was a promise I was unable to keep. Four years. That time should have been spent watching the children grow, learn, travel down the path that would lead them to their future selves. I wonder what they would have been like. Would Annellas curls tame into the gentle waves like her mother, or remain wild like the spirit she possessed? Would Rennan still retain that quiet, wide eyed way he observed the world around him? We should have been able to watch them grow, to guide them as they navigated through their lives. We should have grown old together, laugh, cry, fight, watch our children blossom, bear their own children. We should have died together. Instead, we are ever torn apart. For that I weep. I weep for the years lost, the children borne to us, for the love we have wiped away. There is a Terran saying you once told me when I asked you if you would be unhappy to leave your home to be with me. Home is where the heart is. My heart was on Betazed. My heart was in Ohmallera. My heart was with you and our children. Now my heart is broken. No one should ever have to suffer such a fate. No one should ever have to see all they love destroyed because of the apathy of those whose duty it was to protect their citizens. I can not stand by and watch others suffer the same fate. Aurora, my darling, to you I make my vow. Starfleet has lost its noble purpose and has turned its back on its people. The Federation Council, sworn to protect its citizens, has instead betrayed us all and left us in the hands of those who would see us wiped out. They, who are entrusted with the lives of the men and women like me who joined the service with a naive notion of duty and an honest desire to protect those most vulnerable, sent us to war to preserve the Federation. Yet now, after the sacrifice of millions of lives, they serve nothing more than their own selfish interests. They desecrate the graves of my lost brothers and sisters in arms just as they desecrate yours. Things must change. Starfleet and the Federation must change. We can not continue to be beholden to an organisation that cares nothing about what happens to its people. Your deaths will not be senseless. They have given and continue to give me direction. A purpose. I wish to open the eyes of those who can not see, to show them that the power of the Federation has become corrupt. We must confront our enemies, wherever they may hide. We must not falter or waver from our course. We must persevere, work for change, and remember those who were lost. We must liberate. One day, the people will come together, to protect one another as brother and sister. All will stand together as one, a body that looks after each other without selfish justification. When that day comes, my job will be done. Until that day, Imzadi, we will fight. Please understand, I dont do this out of revenge, but out of the desire to keep others from suffering your fate - and having to suffer mine. On that harrowing day four years ago and every day since, I have never forgotten the agony and despair. I will always remember you. I will always love you. Someday, we will be together again. Wait for me. See Also: The Pen and The Sword: Maronida Shiir on Nikael Kalre FNS Home FNS Data Feed FNS on FB
  15. A retrospective on the Maquis By Lixa Dansha Stardate 239202.08 With the recent events occupying the news, I recently was thinking of the past. With the 20th anniversary of the Dominion War rapidly approaching, I feel that now would be a good time to revisit the original Maquis. A Brief History The roots of the Maquis began with the treaty negotiations in 2366. From the start, the Federation chose a policy of appeasement. For interesting reading, I advise you to find and read Ka'zhchi Afrnia's The Phoenix Incident: Roots of Appeasement and Betrayal, published in 2381 that reveals that even as far back as 2367 the Federation was aware the Cardassians were bargaining in bad faith. And the Cardassians being Cardassians, took advantage of the Federation's weak posture. In 2370, when they signed the treaty establishing the Demilitarized Zone aka the "DMZ," the Cardassians took the chance to start a reign of terror through intimidation. The Federation Council stood idly by, betraying its core principles as it so often does when they prove inconvenient. The Council chose appeasement over truth, and appeasement over doing what is right. The Maquis were born from a policy of appeasement by the Federation towards the Cardassians. Now, to be fair, I've had the pleasure to meet and converse with many Starfleet officers, and I honestly think that many of them were also outraged at this cowardly action. And in some fairness, I suppose, to that body, they had to worry about the entire Federation and not just those colonies. While I find the Vulcan philosophy rather devoid of life, there is merit to the typically Vulcan phrase "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." But as the Dominion War ultimately showed, it is sometimes necessary to fight for those Federation ideals rather than preserve a tenuous peace with a devious people. Had it ended there, I think the Maquis movement might have been more muted. The issue with the treaty is that it didn't care about where people were living, and when Starfleet tried to forcibly relocate colonists to other planets, they ended up having to leave them there. While at the time the Cardassian Central Command acquiesced, it didn't take a Daystrom scholar to see that they didn't want Federation citizens on their property. A campaign of oppression and harassment soon began, with the Central Command smuggling in weapons. The Rise of the Maquis At this point, the first Starfleet officers defected, and several more continued until they began what is widely considered their first open attack: the bombing of the Cardassian freighter Bok'Nor at Deep Space Nine, which killed all 78 crew members aboard. The attack rapidly spiraled into a shooting war between the two sides as both opened fire on each other, on Cardassian assets, and on Starfleet. They believed, and with good reason, that they had been abandoned by the Federation and started to fend for themselves. I will take a moment here to paraphrase the Emissary - it is easy to be perfect in an idealized paradise. But in the DMZ, there are just people. Angry, scared and determined people who will take any action they need, regardless of what the Federation dictates. With some attempts by the Cardassian government to smear the Federation, the war began to rumble on. In many cases, Federation officers who saw their true higher duty joined them, causing a constant stream of qualified officers to join, which gave them an edge over the Cardassian and Federation military forces. With the collapse of the Cardassian Central Command and the start of the Klingon Invasion, the Maquis rapidly became a power in its own right in the areas they controlled with the added support from the Klingons. (For those interested who can read Klingon, you may be able to find a copy of The Klingon-Maquis Connection by K'krih.) Bolstered by their successes, the Maquis launched an aggressive campaign employing the use of biogenic weapons to drive Cardassians out, which was only halted after Starfleet and the Emissary used biogenic weapons themselves in order to catch Maquis leader Michael Eddington. Do as I say, not as I do? ...And the Fall It seemed as if the Maquis were on a roll and were posed to declare themselves an independent nation. And then the Dominion hit. The story from this point is fairly well-known to everyone. There is a bit of an interesting coda to the story though. In 2378, the USS Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant via a Borg transwarp conduit. The Maquis on board were all pardoned. Starfleet, perhaps quite reasonably, may have decided that seven years stranded on the other side of the galaxy was punishment enough. The remaining Maquis prisoners in various Federation prisoners were not. Indeed, to this day they are still there in a move that is frankly baffling given the Dominion War. See, one thing about the Federation is that no one leaves the Federation. No one. Among many in the Federation, there was a sense of betrayal, and this perceived most heinous of acts has kept the former Maquis locked in their cells. From the Ashes Now, the Maquis Reborn have risen from the ashes like a phoenix. With the attacks on Deep Space 10 and Starbase 285, the Maquis are back in the news again. The original had a cause, a reason, whereas the reborn group appears to mainly be the gripes of people who just generally dislike Starfleet. But is this phoenix one the Federation needs for its rebirth as it debates its course at the turn of the century? Now, the Federation continues to walk the path between a military force and an armada of explorers, and it's signs like this that show that the Federation has many temptations to fall off the path. Lixa Dansha is an editor and foreign policy analyst for the Federation News Service based in the Bajor Sector. FNS Home • FNS Data Feed• FNS on FB
  16. Who are your heroes? Editorial by Lyndsey Fisher Stardate 239202.03 When we were children, the concept of heroes and role models flowed quickly into our minds. On Earth, 400 years ago, little children looked into the sky, saw the stars and the brave men and women who rode dangerous, prototype, chemically propelled rockets into space—and we called them heroes. These brave few individuals made literal careers out of exploration, and challenged life's big questions, venturing into the great unknown. Now, onboard the USS Apollo-A, I will be giving an ongoing expose piece on the brave men and women of this grand starship. Under the gentle, guiding hand of Rear Admiral Andrus Jaxx, I hope to provide you with gripping revelations into the lives, both professional and personal, of our stalwart crew. Who are they? Where do they come from? What are their personal goals in a life devoted to Starfleet and the Federation? How will their choices affect the life of the everyday Federation citizen? Indeed, will their choices even affect you at all? I put the question to you, the reader: what are the things you'd like to know? What do you want to hear about? How deeply do you wish to learn about your heroes; how human are they in your minds? Or do you prefer them as iconic untouchables, statues in a grand pantheon of unreachable demi-gods? In my opinion, Starfleet officers are no different than any other kind of being. They put their tunics on, one leg at a time. They have the same problems as you and I; they live, they love, they worry about friends, loved ones, they have lives and stories all their own. I'd like to share those stories with you. While I do so, please ask yourself the question: who are my heroes? And why? Next month, I'll present the junior officers of the bridge crew, their promotions, their goals, their brotherhood. We see them every day. But do we know them? We will very soon! Lyndsey Fisher is an honorary ensign assigned to the USS Apollo-A for the FNS and Starfleet Bureau of Information. FNS Home • FNS Data Feed• FNS on FB
  17. J'accuse! Maronida Shiir takes on the Colonial Coalition and the Federation Transport Union Editorial by Maronida Shiir Stardate 239201.16 You know it's all anyone's been talking about these past few weeks. Transport Union this, Colonial Coalition that. Honestly it's enough to make this hardened reporter consider cancelling her weekly dinner parties. But why should we be talking not only about those malcontents on the frontier, but giving these lazy Transport Union workers the attention they crave? Well the short answer is, we shouldn't. If you ask me, we, good Federation citizens, should encourage our leaders, civic and economic, to cancel all contracts with the Federation Transport Union and form a new cargo and supply service in opposition. We should use their own tactics against them and hit them equally hard where they hurt. They would leave those worlds on the outer rim to starve while they protest the natural hazards of interstellar shipping. But the Colonial Coalition is no darling angel either. They have written an open letter criticizing the type of aid they too receive, but complain that it is directed towards such groups as refugees, war orphans and those on otherwise underdeveloped planets. The Federation Transport Union would let the Coalition starve, while the Coalition would let poor Cardassian and Romulan children die in the streets, simply because they are not Federation citizens. Might I remind you that not long ago, two of the seven members of the Colonial Coalition were independent colonies. We should write strongly worded letters of our own to the Colonial Coalition to let them know that their racism and indifference to the plight of others in our interstellar community will not be tolerated in the Federation. We of the Federation stand for virtues of peace and the betterment of the entire galaxy, while the Coalition would be content to see it shrivel and die so long as their own bellies are full and their coffers overflowing with latinum. A Long Time Coming But where has all of this malice towards President Bacco come from? She's one of the most popular Presidents in history, ask anyone in the civilized galaxy. She's weathered the Hobus crisis, the Klingon Invasion and countless other interstellar flare ups over the years, and has come out on top with the Federation standing strong. I am sure you are all aware of the planet Esperance, the "Gateway to the Federation." Everybody knows they don't exactly appreciate the tariffs levied against them by President Bacco's administration. And of course everyone knows that two certain Federation Councilors from very old Federation worlds don't exactly like the way President Bacco has dealt with the Cardassians, among other things. They shall remain nameless of course, this reporter wouldn't want to spread idle chatter, but one has to wonder just how deep their hatred of President Bacco goes? Would they be willing to cause immeasurable suffering in the Federation just to see that President Bacco is brought down? It's an election year, ladies and gentlemen, so don't say it could never happen. I've been in this city for decades and trust me, some people will do anything to win, even pair up and make a series of bargains to orchestrate events to bring down the darling of the Federation. We should all examine the roots of this crisis very carefully, and I will not rest until the rabble rousers in the shadows have been brought to light. They will not bring down the Federation, just to spite one woman. FNS Home • FNS Data Feed• FNS on FB
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