StarBase 118 Staff

Each month, the Academy staff compiles the statistics about our recruiting and training for the fleet’s informational purposes. Let’s take a look at how we did in March. This first graph shows the number of applications we received each month this year. As you can see, the fleet received nine new applications in the month of March which is an increase from the previous month. Unfortunately this number is still down quite a bit from January. The following chart shows how members found us, according to their application: This final graph shows how many people graduated from the Academy during the month of March. It is worth noting that we had several cadets who applied in February who graduated in March and a few cadets who applied in March who will be graduating in the beginning of April: New recruits are the lifeblood of our community. When our application rate slows, it makes it hard to keep our ships fully crewed, not to mention impossible to grow. So if you’d like to help us recruit more members and grow our fleet, you can join the Publicity Team using this form. The post Applications and Academy Graduates for March 2016 appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

POUIYEOG REGION — Borg activity has been detected near the new Starfleet installation in the Delta Quadrant. An extended celebratory period aboard the USS Darwin-A, which culminated in the promotion of Captain Renos to Fleet Captain, was cut short when Renos received a disturbing message from Outpost Unity: evidence of the Borg at the extreme edges of the outpost’s long-range sensors. Ne delivered the news at a gathering of the senior officers, which unfortunately cast a somber shadow on the promotions of Lieutenant Varaan to Lieutenant Commander, and of Lieutenant junior grade Merrick R’Ven to Lieutenant, which were announced at the same time. Undaunted, Darwin’s crew leapt into action to prepare the ship for departure and a possible encounter with the Borg. Underway, it was discovered that the Borg energy signatures emanated from an uncharted sector in the Pouiyeog Region, which lies between Outpost Unity and the Delta–Beta quadrant border, perilously close to the lifeline supply route back to Federation space. After six hours at high warp, Darwin arrived at a single-planet system with so sign of Borg ships, and sensors indicating the Borg activity was coming from the planet’s surface. “Our biggest asset is our intelligence, so let’s keep our wits about us and remain calm. We’re going to be fine,” said Captain Renos as the crew planned its next move. As the ship neared to investigate, a strange cloud burst forth into orbit on a direct course for Darwin, closely followed by Borg weapons fire from the surface. The cloud was quickly discovered to be composed of Borg nanites, which used the ship as a shield to avoid the weapons fire. When the nanite swarm showed signs of possible intelligence by flashing a strobing light in the pattern of the mathematical constant pi, Renos ordered Darwin to collect it within her containment sphere, and to move out of range of the surface weapons. Three away teams were formed to descend to the surface, each with a specific goal to neutralize a Borg threat to the region: destroy the crashed Borg ship’s vinculum and central plexus, disable or destroy the ground-based weapons platform, and determine if the Borg survivors are sufficiently separated from the Collective to treat them as individuals. A fourth team remained on Darwin to determine if a dialogue could be formed with the nanites. On the surface, each away team independently discovered that most, if not all of the surviving Borg drones were devoid of their nanoprobes, leaving them in various stages of biological and mechanical degradation. Each away team surmised that the swarm of nanites in orbit might be composed of or derived from the drones’ nanoprobes. Back on Darwin, the team started a rudimentary conversation with the swarm once they introduced it to an isolated copy of the Federation’s cultural database. Using snippets from popular culture, the nanites requested help and advised that they do not consider themselves to be Borg. With the mission ongoing, however, only time will tell what these nanites and the stranded Borg portend for the newly created Federation presence in the Pouiyeog Region. The post USS Darwin-A tasked to investigate strange Borg readings appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Moving into April, past the joking of the first, we can reflect back on March with some good memories. The seven ships currently in the fleet have maintained strong simming habits. Every ship in the fleet maintained a stronger sim count than the fleet’s average a year ago of 164. Only three times since 2009 has our March average hit above 200, with those times being 2009, 2012 and this year! Way to go fleet! Looking back on March, in comparison to February, we can see some ships have gotten off their mission highs and heading into shore leave, while others have walked right into them. It’s the way of the flow of the fleet. During shore leave, we expect to see more joint posts being submitted to the counts, which seems to impact the totals a bit. The strongest of the ships for this month is the Doyle-A, which seems to have picked up past it’s winter slump, rocking the charts for this month with 244 sims. After looking back on our strength in March, and the fleet’s history through the years in April, we will be looking at another good month. Have fun and keep those sims coming! The post March post counts appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Have you come across a great character biography on the wiki? Been working on your own bio for a while now and want to show it off to the fleet? Looking for pointers on how to improve your own bio? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then head on over to the Featured Bio Contest’s forum and check out what we have to offer! While you are there, why not submit a nomination? All that’s required is that the bio be of an active player character, such as Antero Flynn of Starbase 118 Ops, who is this round’s Featured Bio Winner. You can see a list of previous winners and featured nominees at the contest’s wiki site as well as an overview of the judging criteria the Featured Bio Contest Team uses to vote for a winner. The nomination round closes Friday, July 1 – so submit your nomination today! The post The Featured Bio Contest is now quarterly. Nominate a bio today! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Connect with old friends or make new friends! See what’s going on across the fleet, or share some good humor. The fleetwide OOC chat is the place to settle in and learn new things about your fellow players, have a laugh and get to know someone better. Come on down to the chat room, everyone in the fleet is encouraged to attend. Come join us today: Sunday, April 10 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm London / 3am Sydney (AUS). See your timezone here. To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. The post Join us today for the fleetwide OOC chat! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: Jocelyn Marshall and Aartemus Vadan! The post New Academy Graduates appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

MENTHAR CORRIDOR — The starliner Charles Lindbergh, hijacked with its passengers held hostage, has been recovered by Starfleet with all passengers accounted. The USS Tiger-A was ordered into radio silence to chase after the wayward transport vessel and sent security and rescue teams aboard the Lindbergh in an effort to capture colonial extremist and hijacking ringleader Gabriela Cariño and her associates before being alerted to the presence of explosives. The passengers of the Lindbergh were safely evacuated to Deep Space 10. Despite the heavy operation, the hijackers successfully escaped and remain at large. “The hijackers have not made their intentions clear to us as of yet, but with their escape from capture, we are warning the general public that they may be armed and are highly dangerous,” said Starfleet Public Affairs officer Commander A.J. Ciaravolo in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the USS Garuda and the USS Invicta were attacked by unidentified cloaked vessels. After working how to discover these vessels through their cloaks, Commander Roshanara Rahman sent a team to disable the ship from the inside. Though a small firefight ensued, the craft was captured without further incident. Charges are still to be laid with its crew facing interrogation. After a successful mission, the crews of the Invicta Expedition have traveled to DSX for a well-deserved shore leave. The post Starfleet rescues passengers from hijacked starliner appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Please welcome our newest Academy graduates to the UFOP: StarBase 118 fleet: T’Leira! The post New Academy Graduates appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

The staff of UFOP: StarBase 118 would like to take a moment and recognize the officers – please be sure to congratulate these folks when you see them around the fleet! DARWIN Varaan to Lieutenant Commander Merrick R’Ven to Lieutenant DOYLE Cassandra Ezi to Lieutenant JG Saavei to Lieutenant JG Michelle Tonston to Lieutenant JG Brandon Craig to Lieutenant Alexander Bishop to Lieutenant Commander STARBASE 118 OPS Mirra Ezo to Lieutenant Antero Flynn to Lieutenant The post Promotions for March appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. View the full article

STARBASE 118 — The crew of Starbase 118 Operations returned home this week after putting an end to one of the most dangerous drug cartels on Tilanna V. Links between the cartel and a criminal group known as the Jenatris Confederation appear to have been severed in the wake of the destruction of a strategically important nightclub, believed to be the organization’s hub. Governor Al’Akir announced plans to bring Tilanna under the control of the Klingon Empire shortly after. Upon returning to the station, those involved in the mission engaged in some well deserved shore leave. Commanding Officer Sal Taybrim handed out numerous awards and promotions after a delicious three course meal provided by several catering companies aboard the station. Taybrim also announced plans to celebrate the birthday of the station’s Mission Specialist and Second Officer, Baylen Anders, by arranging a recreation of the 23rd century starship USS Armstrong on the holodeck. “The senior staff of this Starbase work exceptionally hard eight days a week,” said station press secretary AJ Craig. “Their mission to Tilanna V was difficult on multiple fronts and I cannot blame Commanders Taybrim and Whittaker for allowing their crew to decompress and let their hair down.” Almost all of the crew participated in the recreation, which saw the holographic vessel flying headfirst into Klingon space and facing down the disruptor cannons of two Klingon birds-of-prey. Rather uncharacteristically, several crewmembers began singing; the reason for this musical turn of events is as-yet unknown. The post Starbase 118 Ops shuts down crime syndicate; battles holographic Klingons appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Have you ever thought that Star Trek would go really well with another of your favourite shows? Now you can show us your ideas for the best Star Trek crossover ever – no matter if you are a beginner or experienced graphics enthusiast, everyone is welcome. Endless possibilities in our Spring Graphics Contest are waiting for you! Join our Graphics Contest until April 23rd and take the chance to win with your imagination. For more information check here in our announcement post and if you have more questions check into our discussion post! The post Graphics Contest: Join the Spring Crossover appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

If we want to launch new ships and provide up and coming officers with the opportunities they seek, we have to grow our fleet with new members. That’s why it’s so important that our community members participate in our publicity efforts. The Publicity Team is one of the fleet’s most important teams and we need your help! Getting involved is easy only takes a few moments. The Publicity Team has a number of small, simple tasks that, each month, can help grow our influence, spread the word about our group, and pique the interest of Star Trek writers around the net. From posting on Star Trek forums to gathering social media content, most of our tasks don’t require any particular expertise, and can be completed by anyone in 15-30 minutes. If we don’t have enough people to help each month, our goals fall short and it’s hard to sustain recruiting levels to the point of replacing the folks who go on leave or retire from the group. Click here to learn more about the Publicity Team and sign up to help. The post The Publicity Team needs you! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

During fleetwide chats, we talk about fleet events, learn more about each other, joke about Star Trek, and strengthen our community bonds! Everyone in the fleet is encouraged to attend. The next chat is scheduled for Sunday, April 10 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm London / 3am Sydney (AUS). See your timezone here. To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. Please tell your fellow crew members and invite a friend using the share buttons on this post. Member referrals are one of strongest ways to draw in new members, and chats are a great way to break the ice. The post Join us next Sunday for our monthly fleetwide chat appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

2016 marks an important milestone in science fiction history, as you no doubt are already aware. One man had a dream about a universe filled with colorful characters, creatures from other worlds, and fantastic starships that could travel the galaxy. That man was George Lucas, and the year was 1973. Four years later, Star Wars: A New Hope was released and the world was never the same. To celebrate this monumental 39th anniversary, UFOP: StarBase 118 is moving to Phase 3 of its maturation and will be converting to a Star Wars-based RPG. Since 1994, UFOP: StarBase 118 has been a pioneer in the online RPG world, helping develop the art of simming. Founder Fleet Admiral Tristan Wolf decided to trial the 118 simming model on a little known campy TV show from the 60s. Based on a coin toss, Star Trek was chosen over Lost in Space. But with the release of The Force Awakens last year, interest in Star Wars is at an all-time high. Meanwhile, Star Trek‘s next installment will feature Captain Kirk jumping from a motorcycle. …yep. SO! The time is ripe for a change! Starting today, UFOP: StarBase 118 will be known as Empire: Starkiller Base 118! Check out the wiki for more details! The fleet’s current vessels will be transitioning to those of the Imperial Navy: Meanwhile, check out the Imperial Roster to see if your duty post assignment has changed and feel free to leave a comment on our forums with a new Star Wars species and name for your character if you so desire. We’re launching right now with an Imperial slant, but for those wishing to play a Rebel Alliance character, let us know as well below so we can crush the rebellion see if there’s interest! May the Force be with you! Image from Star Wars Battlefront. The post Empire: Starkiller Base 118 launches today! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

We’re heading into the final month of Runoff Round 1 of the 2016 Top Sims Contest. In the runoff rounds, members (like you!) decide which sims head to the final round of the Top Sims Contest in December. These sims below were chosen by a panel of judges (one from each ship) from the sims submitted in Rounds 1-6 of the contest. TO START, please read these sims: Round 1: Alora DeVeau & Lobo, “Unlikely Fellows“ Round 2: Renos & Traenor, “Point of View/Pain of View.“ Round 3: Didrik Stennes, “A different calling” Round 4: Akeelah D’Sena & Tabitha Gard, “Sleepover“ Round 5: Merrick R’Ven, “Past Goodbyes“ Round 6: Safine Tan, “The Room Where I Died“ NEXT, using the poll above, vote for the sim you like the most. It should be the sim that’s the best written, with strong characterization, and evocative or descriptive scene-setting. DON’T vote for a sim just because you serve on the same crew as the person who wrote it. Any crew that “stuffs the ballot” (by having everyone on the crew vote for the same sim to ensure that it wins this poll) will be eliminated from the contest and shamed by the rest of the community as terrible, terrible cheaters. That would be awful. Good luck to the nominees! The post Help decide which Top Sim goes to the final round appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Thanks to another contributor for our 2017 hosting costs: Antero Flynn! Can you join this, and other members, and donate $5, $15, or more today to help sustain our community and keep our website online? It only takes a few minutes and your donation is processed entirely by PayPal. The post Donation thanks to Antero Flynn appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

You’ve got a fantastic idea for a new character or background. It’s so brilliant, and so obvious now that you think about it, that you wonder why someone hasn’t thought of the idea before. Or maybe you’ve got a fantastic new direction for your ship’s plot that you’re just dying to try out. You’re all set to create a bio or write that development. But take a moment first to think if that’s the best move. We all want to write brilliant, engaging stories that make both readers and writers want to become even more engaged. Characters are what drive stories, and stories and what allow characters to grow, change and develop. The two work in tandem to create good fiction. But no matter how seasoned a writer you are — whether you’re writing your first sim or short story or you’ve spent decades perfecting your craft and have countless published novels — there are some important tips to remember for creating that good content. Thankfully, the good folks over at OngoingWorlds provide 12 useful tips. But these tips, while specific for sci-fi worlds and Star Trek, can be adapted for other genres. They recommend writing characters with goals. We all want something, both in real life and in a story. Maybe you the writer want a promotion at your real job. Well, so does your character. In other settings, the goal could be just as simple or complex. Writing horror? Maybe the characters want to survive the night in the haunted house? Fantasy? Maybe your hero needs to defeat some terrible monster. Whatever a character does, there should be a reason. In addition to their tips, they provide links to further articles about good writing. Check out their examples and see if you can incorporate them into your writing. The post Sci-Fi Writing Tips appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Every year we convene a Community Awards ceremony that honors players of all ranks and levels on their achievements. In the past, these awards have been handed out at the end of the year, in December. But starting this year the annual fleet Awards Ceremony is being moved to June! We decided to move them in part to coincide with our founding and to free-up more time during everyone’s busy holiday months and end of year. It was decided to move it to June this year, rather than next, so that there would not be an 18-month gap between ceremonies. So while some of you may remember our ceremony back in December, there will now be a short period between ceremonies before commencing annually in June. Started in 1996, community awards remains one of the oldest standing traditions of this group. These awards allow command staff to reward hard working players for all that they have done to make this sim great. So start saving your favorite sims from 2016 to be ready for nominate the individual writers! For those new to the process, Community Awards start with a nomination. Every participating member is encouraged to nominate their fellow crew members for various awards based on game participation during the 2016 year so far. Once nominations open, look to the news announcements as well as your own ship announcements for specific instructions on how to nominate players for awards! You can find out more about the community awards process on our wiki. The awards are divided into four categories: General Awards, Special Awards, Duty Post Awards, and Staff Awards. These awards are considered OOC awards, and can be displayed on both primary and secondary characters of the player who earned them, as well as on any PCs that player may change to in the future. Each player may only win each general award once, and there will be a list to double-check which players have earned which awards when nominations open. General awards are awarded ship-by-ship and are given out to reward the contributions players have made to their ship throughout the year. Any member of the game can receive a general award, and each general award can be given out up to one time per ship per year. When nominating players from your ship, try to think of the one that best embodies that award. Special awards are game-wide awards that are given out to recognize exemplary contributions to the game OOC. Any member of the game can receive a special, but only one special award is given out across the fleet per year. Duty Post awards recognizes the best of each department across the fleet. Only players who sim a character in the department role recognized by the award are eligible for nomination (this includes specialty roles within a department such as a botanist would fall under science). Only one duty post award is given out per year, per department. Staff awards recognize those members that provide leadership to the game as a whole. Only players of the rank of Commander and above can be nominated for these awards, and only one of each award is given out per year. Check out all the past winners in the Hall of Honor. Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements as we progress into June! The post Annual Awards Ceremony Moving to June! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Do you remember what it was like as a ‘cadet’ in the SB118 academy? I know I do, and the positive experience I had in my training class really helped set me up for a positive experience in the fleet as a whole. Often, members may not realise exactly how much power the training team really has. You see, first impressions matter, and a bad first impression will most likely result in a prospective member to abandon the attempt to join, where as a positive experience can help set up a new member for great success in our group. That is why this particular team is so important. The training team is made up of a number of individuals who all spend extra time and energy to help acclimate newcomers to SB118’s simming style, or sometimes simming in general! One of those members is none other than Alex Blair. DeVeau: Hello Alex, and thank you for joining us! Blair: Hello Alora, thanks for having me! How long have you been a part of SB118 and how did you find it? I’ve been a member of SB118 for almost four years now, and have loved every minute of it! I found the group in a roundabout way. I was involved in several PBEMs in the past and never really stuck with them. After a month or two, I would get bored and leave. One day, I was looking for something to occupy some free time and did a Google Search for PBEM. I found SB118 and on a whim decided to join. Now I don’t think the fleet will ever get rid of me! In what out of character ways have you gotten involved in the group? I’m involved in several of our Out of Character groups. I’m the facilitator of the Featured Bio Contest, an Academy Statistician, and a Training Team Member. What drew you to the training team in particular and what do you like about it? That’s a good question. I’d have to say it was my fondness for the fleet really. In a short span of time I realized how great the people involved in SB118 are and wanted to share that with others. There is really no better place to share my enthusiasm for this group than helping train the new members. You get to help newbies learn the ins and outs of simming with us. Being a part of training really let’s you be a welcome mat for newcomers. That week is their first impression of us as a whole and can be the deciding factor for whether or not they stick around. How has the training team changed since you joined it? Another good question. Aside from new faces on the team, and a few new facilitators, the biggest change is more accountability. As training team members we are being held to a higher standard now. As trainers we are expected to teach our newcomers how to write sims in the fleet’s style and we can not do that properly if we don’t follow the style guide ourselves. We are being held to a higher standard while working with the training team, and in my opinion that’s a good thing. What’s your favourite memory of your time on the training team? Like all members of the fleet, the Academy was my first exposure to being a command officer. One thing I will never forget was that first time that I was the commanding officer of a class. I had only been a Lieutenant Commander for six months and was suddenly in charge of a class containing five cadets! It was a challenge but a fun one! Through some strange twist of fate, all the cadets that week ended up graduating! What’s one thing you wish you had done differently? There’s always that one cadet you wish you would have pushed differently, or that one extra thing you wish you would have mentioned to maybe help someone along, but really I have no regrets during my time with the training team. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned? Be open minded. Remember that you are simming with seven people who you likely have never simmed with before and who all have different thoughts on how thing should go. Be ready for anything to happen, because it can and will! What advice would you give to someone who might consider joining the training team? My advice: DO IT!! Joining the training team was one of the best, most rewarding, experiences I have had since joining SB118. I highly recommend that anyone who is thinking about joining, do it. You won’t regret it. The training team is an integral part of SB118, but it doesn’t exist without patient and dedicated team members like Alex Blair. If you’re interested in learning more about the training team, please visit the Training Team Page over on the SB118 wiki. The post Trained By The Best: Commander Alex Blair appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

There is a lot to love about our community and we have a number of truly stunning images that showcase some pretty awesome features of our group. Features such as the strength of our community and the lifelong friendships formed here, or the fact we get to play such exciting, amazing characters that rival the likes of Captain Kirk himself. The images feature well known and much loved characters such as Captain Kirk, Spock or Janeway and are highly shareable thus presenting an amazing opportunity to showcase our fantastic community and attract new members! The more people who share these images, the bigger the impact. Joining in is super easy and only takes a few moments! You can help by visiting this forum thread to find the relevant images and sharing the appropriate image on any social media site you use and/or twitter: http://forums.starbase118.net/index.php?/topic/13323-share-these-today/ Remember to check in on the thread once you have done it and if you provide a link to your post then other members of the fleet can like/share/comment creating even bigger ripples. You can see some of the images available by clicking them below: The post Publicity Project: Share the love today! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

THE ZONE — The USS Thunder-A and her escorts continued to chase down wanted criminals in an asteroid field. After the party that the Embassy staff and crew had thrown for Rear Admiral Toni Turner had finished, the crews from the USS Darwin-A, the USS Doyle, and the USS Invicta returned to their ships. Turner gave the crew of the Embassy a few more days R&R before they got back to business. She ordered Major Ben Edwards to prep the USS Thunder-A for departure, Captain Samuel Frazier and Major Irina Pavlova to prep the USS Bronwyn, and Major Hannibal Parker to ready the USS Shadow. After the ships where ready, each ship’s command teams started to recall their crews. As the crews prepared for departure, new equipment was sent up to the ships. Admiral Toni then gave the order to head out to the USS Shadow, while the other two ships hung back. After an hour head start, Admiral Toni moved the USS Thunder out, followed by the USS Bronwyn. After they’d cleared the system, Doctor Boris Hendon transferred to the USS Bronwyn. Once the USS Shadow arrived at the location, they started their way into the asteroid field to infiltrate the facility that held the wanted fugitives. As the crew of the USS Shadow made their way into the facility, they sent a coded transmission out to the other teams. It was received by the USS Thunder and USS Bronwyn and informed them that the team from the USS Shadow had made their way inside. The thunder then launched its fighters to clear out the smaller targets while the bigger ships took on the heavy cruisers. After a few moments of entering the field, all the fighters and ships came under fire. The USS Thunder and Bronwyn took care of the bigger ships while the new Valkyrie Mark II fighters went to work on the smaller craft. The new fighters’ speed and maneuverability gave them a good advantage in the field. The post Wanted criminals sought in asteroid field appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

MARK: Hi, Jamie! It’s kind of cool for me to interview you because it was your article on metagaming that landed me here at Starbase 118. So my character and I thank you! JAMIE: Awesome, you are most welcome! It’s great to be here, and I’m really glad to hear that! Congrats on starting your Captaincy Exam. I was hoping we could backtrack a little to explore how you got here. You took a pretty big step as a player back around November 2015 when your character was promoted to Commander. Commanders, OOC, are the first level of “staff” here. What has that been like for you, these past four months? I have really enjoyed taking command of StarBase 118 Ops! I have a wonderful crew and a great staff. Everyone was so supportive of the change and we gained some fantastic writers along the way in the past few months. I could not be happier with the team we have on Ops! If you’ll let me go back a little further still, I’m curious about your transition from writing for a starship to writing for a starbase. What was the transition like for you? I started simming on StarBase 118 Ops back in December of 2014, when I was offered the Executive officer position under then-Commander Leo Handley Page. I love writing on a starbase! Deep Space Nine is my favorite Trek series, so when I first graduated from the Academy, I had requested placement on a starbase and was sad that I was placed on a ship. I was extremely excited to be transitioned to the base when it reopened! It gives me a chance to really focus on long term character driven storylines and developing serial plots. So you’re simming on the starbase for about a year as First Officer, when StarBase 118 Ops is handed over to you. You’re in command and in your Captaincy Exam. That’s big! Tell me about that. I’m the sort of player who loves a challenge, so the road to captaincy has been thrilling. I absolutely love being the ‘storyteller’ and I was extremely excited when I was first offered the ExO position on Ops. Being able to move to command with a great crew and a year of story building was a privilege and I’m really happy where I am both in and out of character in the game. It seems to me like this is primarily an OOC experience, for you as a player, but it really parallels an IC experience for your character—no? Like the Academy exam for new players, it’s interesting to me how logistics outside of the fictional narrative are answered with IC parallels. It is an interesting process! I have to say that Jamie-the-player is far more experienced with simming and staffing RPGs than Sal-the-character is with command. I started simming in 1997, and carried on Storytelling on several RPG chats for nearly 15 years. There are still some surprises for me because this is the first time I have gotten a command rank in this game, but it’s been more fun writing Sal’s journey from an authorial point of view. He’s the more tender-and-seeking soul, out in a big crazy galaxy, while I get to be the somewhat evil puppetmaster constantly throwing things in his path for him and his crew to overcome! Normally a captain-to-be is given a ship to command. Do you feel like your Captaincy Exam will be different, having an entire starbase as your “training ground”? Instead of a possibly more intimate ship? It is certainly different because there is a stability to a starbase that a ship does not have, while there is a mobility to a ship which a starbase does not have. In planning starbase missions you really have to consider ‘what things go on with a space station?’ More things will ‘come to you’ and you can host more impressive events because the starbase has all the resources right there. On the other hand it’s much more difficult to just ‘go out and explore’ and find something interesting. It takes some mental gymnastics to ‘shift gears’ and think about staying put and what sorts of things will come to you. You have to scale the action to manageable chunks, and decide what to focus upon and what to just narrate as part of the plot that goes on behind the scenes. I find I have been rewatching more and more episodes of Deep Space Nine to get inspiration for new plotlines as we move forward. Tell me more about your character, Sal Taybrim. Taybrim began as a counselor. A Betazoid counselor, actually. Surely you had the shadow of TNG’s Deanna Troi to contend with, how your character might be similar or different. One distinction is Sal originally trained in Science. I did take inspiration from Deanna Troi when I originally created the character! I had the idea of a very personable, warm character who was very friendly and liked to talk a lot. But I also wanted to play a character who was much older than the usual academy graduate, so I started to work up a backstory that took into account a former civilian career that bridged to a Starfleet career. Funny enough, Sal landed quickly back into science because at the time the fleet had too many counselors and not enough science officers. Though my favorite department for Sal (beyond command) was the few short months he was a chief diplomatic officer. It was the perfect blend of politics and counseling that I really enjoy writing about. Notably, as a female player, you decided to make your Betazoid counselor male. And I also notice your resigned secondary character, Shar’wyn Foster, the “Tribble Whisperer”, was also male. Quite true! I do a lot of tabletop roleplaying where I play female characters almost all of the time. I find that when I’m playing with other players face-to-face, most tend to see my character as they see me. Because they see and hear a female player, they always assume a female character is behind that portrayal, so I find it much easier to fulfill those expectations in tabletop roleplaying. But as a writer, I love telling stories about both female and male characters; and on the internet people can’t see your face when you’re writing, they just take you by the words you put down on the page. So I get to play all my male characters online, and my female characters in real life! Sal won the November Featured Bio contest in 2014 so your writing enthusiasm paid off. You’ve also contributed quite a number of News and Forum articles. I’m guessing a love of writing must be fueling your interest and stamina? And a love of Star Trek, of course. Like so many other writers on StarBase 118, I want to write a novel someday, and so I continually write to sharpen and hone my skills. For me, that day will probably be when I retire from my current job—so I have a lot of years to keep practicing! Writing is one of my primary pastimes in ‘real life’ along with running, cooking, reading and knitting—I guess I really like quiet pastimes! If we can gossip about Sal a little, reading his bio, the mystery that stays with me is the entry you have for family: “Curiously enough Sal has never had a romantic relationship, despite constantly seeking social interaction. Hmm…” What does that “hmm” mean? Are you wondering, as much as me, why this is the case for Sal? A few months ago in a character development thread in the forums, you wrote: “I think Sal wants a partner / soulmate – but Sal’s not even sure who or what that wants to be.” Playing Sal for two years, I kind of imagine you as the writer feeling as frustrated as Sal must! Actually, no! I am the sort of person who loves the chase as much if not more than the final romantic pairing. I like the interplay of tension and the slow, realistic build of of two people getting to know one another before they take the plunge into a committed relationship. I also adore writing deep friendships, so romance is sort of a side benefit for me in a story! That, and I find that romantic relationships can turn sour if players develop them too fast—jumping in before you really know the other character and writer can lead to disaster! Sal’s bio describes his friendship with Chythar Skyfire as close and brotherly. And Sal is listed as “chosen family” on Chythar’s bio. The relationship looks deeply intimate—the two met with Sal as Chythar’s counselor, and became closer when Chythar telepathically connected to Sal’s damaged Betazoid psyche. But again, no romance. We had bantered a few ideas back and forth, but the real reason nothing blossomed was the simple mechanics of ship movement! Sal went to the Darwin for a short time, and then Skyfire transferred to the Invicta (then the Garuda). It’s really hard to write a deep relationship across ships so the development of what was going on stalled a bit. It did give me a lot of time to think about Sal’s background and how he feels about family and romance—something that I keep working on and developing my ideas for what I would like to see eventually happen. But overall I like to keep my options flexible because you never know what changes the storyline will bring. You started writing for Starbase 118 in October 2013, you’re coming up on three years. You’ve played a number of duty posts, on a number of ships, and you’ve taken on increasing challenges and responsibilities both IC and OOC. We all wish you godspeed on your Captaincy Exam, and to close, how about you tell me what stands out to you looking back over these 3 years. I think, after all the ups and downs, bad stories and good ones what stands out the most is that the progress to a great tale is a journey in and of itself. My memories are built on little snapshots of the high points. A quote here and a scene there stick out in my mind and sometimes I chuckle that my character who is a warm, genteel commander was once a snappish, argumentative little ensign. It’s the changes that are most intriguing, and overall the most fun after all the years! The post On Course to Captaincy: Sal Taybrim appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

MENTHAR CORRIDOR — The fate of the USS Gorkon remains a mystery with no clues found by search parties. After the USS Gorkon’s abrupt disappearance last month, there has been no further news on fate of the Sovereign-class vessel. No wreckage or beacons have been discovered, and there is currently no evidence as to the ship’s current location or fate. The search is ongoing. “Just look at the crazy that happens out in the Corridor: time travel, alternate universes, Q… If it’s something as simple as the ship being destroyed, I’ll eat my very fine hat,” said Nathan Malcolm, author of The Menthar Corridor. Captain’s personal log, stardate 239302.29 The ship suffered moderate damage after being snared by the quantum fissure, unfortunately including the warp drive. To make matters worse, our passage destabilised the fissure, preventing us from even considering an immediate return to our home universe. Almost immediately after our arrival, we encountered a vessel from this reality — the Defiant-class USS Triumphant. Captained by an alternate version of Walter Brunsig, and crewed by some very familiar faces, it was a peculiar experience, to say the least. Their ship and crew have obviously seen better days, and we decided to offer them assistance while we figure out how to stabilise the fissure for our return home. While I and a small away team paid the captain of the Triumphant a visit, Lieutenant Sevo took the bridge and continued to investigate the fissure for a possible route home. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Stoyer and his team put together what supplies we could spare for the Triumphant. Commander Vess arranged the transfer of their most critical patients to our sickbay, in order provide surgery and care that the Triumphant currently cannot. I’ve been informed that all the patients are recovering well and will be able to return to their own ship relatively soon. It was all remarkably orderly and peaceful, but given the history of the universe we now find ourselves in, it was perhaps inevitable that it wouldn’t last. Sensors detected a Jem’Hadar patrol ship at the extremities of our sensor range, and it wasn’t long before a fleet of Dominion and Cardassian ships began to converge on us. We have the Triumphant to assist us, but quite frankly, I have no idea how we’re going to pull this off. One of their battleships would be the equal of the Gorkon, and the fleet consists of a battleship, three Jem’Hadar cruisers, two Cardassian cruisers and a handful of fighter craft. It’s going to be our wits that get us through this, not our firepower. The post No sign of missing Starfleet vessel appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Character biographies, we all have them, and we have all read them. They bring our characters to life and help others come to see who our characters truly are. Have you come across a biography that was really great? Have you been working on your own biography lately and are now ready to show it off for everyone to see? Or maybe you would like some pointers on how to improve your own biography? If any of this sounds intriguing to you then head on over to the Featured Bio Contest’s forum and check out what we have to offer! While you are there, why not submit a nomination? All that’s required is that the bio be of an active player character, such as Antero Flynn of Starbase 118 Ops, who is this round’s Featured Bio Winner. You can see a list of previous winners and featured nominees at the contest’s wiki site as well as an overview of the judging criteria the Featured Bio Contest Team uses to vote for a winner. The nomination round closes Friday, April 1 – so submit your nomination today! The post Featured Bio Contest is now quarterly, nominate a bio today! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Come join us today as we kick back, relax and chat while watching two lighthearted episodes of Star Trek at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern (US) / 6pm GMC UTC (UK) / 5am Monday UTC+11 (AUS). How does a watch-along work? Simple! Grab yourself a copy of the episode in any format you like and log onto the chat. Get there a little early if you can to say hi and get all your stuff ready. Then, when the hour rolls around everyone present presses play and we watch a great episode of Trek while chatting about everything we love and remember about it. Or joking about it! The episodes we will be viewing are: Star Trek:TOS – The Trouble With Tribbles and Star Trek:DS9 – Trials and Tribble-ations. Trouble With Tribbles starts at the time listed above, and we’ll start Trials and Tribble-ations one hour later. The first episode is 50 minutes long, so that gives everyone some time for a bathroom break in between. You can show up for one episode or both. And if you can’t find a copy of the episode, you’re still welcome to hang out with us! The episodes are available on Netflix or Hulu if you have a subscription or Amazon on pay-per-view. To participate, simply head to our online chat room, at: http://www.starbase118.net/chat — if you have problems connecting, use the instructions listed below the chat box. The post Join us today for the Tribbles watch-along! appeared first on UFOP: StarBase 118 Star Trek RPG. [url={url}]View the full article[/url]