Toni

Congratulations, and welcome to our group, Ensign Mitchells.

::Clears throat and Paylar remains silent::

This is an area for members of this training class to keep in touch with each other.DATES: The class began on October 20, 2008, and ended on October 27, 2008.LIST: sb118-academy3COMMANDING OFFICER: Lt.Commander Ethan BriceFIRST OFFICER: Lt. Commander Toni-TurnerCLASS MEMBERS:- Rai Yaren- Ben HunnicuttCongratulations to you all, and welcome to our fleet!

I guess you don't know what you have until it's gone, eh? Ah Admiral. I never give up on anything on SB118... well, most anything.

Wow! Nine entries for this lightening round. Way to go, everyone. Great to see so many taking an interest in the challenges.

((Marine Security - DS24)) ::Hella sat with her feet propped up on her desk, going over the latest security reports, wondering why she hadn't seen more head banging in them:: Hella: oO @#%! do we have a bunch of candies on staff, or what? Maybe, tomorrow I should go show them how it's done. Oo :: The office door chimed. and she yelled:: Hella: It ain't locked, come! ::The door opened and Hella looked up and shrugged, unimpressed by the man standing in it.:: ::Walking in, Thad gave it a good five seconds, the officer had the gall to remain seated. Thad had read the reports on Hella, but he didn't think that she could be defiant.:: Hella: oO I believe I'm fixing to get chewed out.Oo ::Thad closed his eyes as he moved his head back over to face Hella. Opening his eyes he looked at her, with her feet propped up on the desk, looking at him as if he were bothering her.:: Hamilton: I am looking for 1st Lt. Hella, I assume that is you...the purple hair kind of ::moving one hand in a circular motion:: dead give away. Hella: And? Hamilton: I have only met Colonel deMarc this afternoon...::looking away, with a puzzled look:: and I don't know how lax Marine Protocol is on a starship...but do you see this pretty little leaf? ::rubbing one finger over his rank insignia on his shoulder:: ::whispering:: And do you see your cute little bars? In my world, sweetheart...people wearing those, ::slowly raising his voice to a yell as he spoke:: Jump to their @#%! feet when higher ranking officers walk into a room!!!! Hella: ::tossing the padd she was reading onto the desk, she leaned forward, speaking calmly.:: *Sugar,* do you have something against purple hair? Hamilton: ::tilting his head to the side, he couldn't understand why she was so unruly:: I happen to love purple hair, Lieutenant Hella. Hella: Look *Major* Hamilton, frankly I don't give a @#%! that you have a leaf on your collar. It's the man behind the leaf who I'll be working with, not for. Hamilton: I have read your file, and quite frankly I don't understand why deMarc wouldn't have just sent you off somewhere... Hella: Well, then if you've read my file, then you already know that I'm not your conventional Marine. I'm serving time by making my services available to them, and that time is almost up, so instead of you and I butting heads over small infractions, that time would be better spent getting to the point. Or if you prefer, I could spend the next month in the Brig. It's your call, and I don't give a @#%! either way you call it. Hamilton: ::sitting down he put his feet on Hella's desk:: I have a better idea...Conduct Unbecoming is a broad infraction... it could mean something small, like not saluting a superior, or something bigger, like disobedience... each offense carried the penalty of up to six months and discharge... but I don't want your pretty little @#%! going anywhere, so from where I am sitting, I think adding that six months to your time as a Marine would be about ::sarcastically nods:: adequate. Hella: ::leaning back, propping her feet up again, folding her hands behind her head.:: Then that means I don't have to worry about having enough to eat or running out of something to wear for awhile. ::yawns:: Hamilton: ::laughing, as he took his feet off the desk and sat up straight:: Looking for a free ride? That's too bad...the complaint department has been decommissioned, and replaced with the Department of You will follow every order I give...they will be fair, and they will be just..I don't beat around the bush, and I sure as hell don't give a @#%! about feelings...You may not be a spit and polish Marine...but you will at least pass for a well disciplined one...or you will have the rest of your life ::smiles as he stands:: to practice...I will add six months every time you look at me cross-eyed. You want to do your time...I want Marines. Do we have an understanding, Lieutenant? Hella: ::crosses her eyes at him:: Yes, you want the snot-nosed kids you have turned into Marines. I can do that for you. But if you think for one minute I'm going to cow-tail to you, you can forget it. Read my orders *Major,* and you'll see I'm here on a special assignment, the details of which have been omitted. Now if you'll get off your power trip, and end this stand off, I believe we can come to terms that will be advantageous to both of us. Hamilton: I will get over my "power trip" as soon as you get over your pompous attitude...::considering her offer:: but I am all ears. Hella: Let's get down to brass tacks. First of all, I do respect anyone who can hold his own with me. Only one other could do that... Major Heath West. And secondly, I'm not as bad as I pretend to be. It's a coping mechanism I use in doing my job. I don't think I have to tell you what the Shadow platoon did for the Challenger Marines... first in and last out. Thirdly, I just lost the entire platoon, with the exception of Evans, to the Borg. And from the looks of you, I don't think I have to tell you what that's like either. Fourthly... I have a job to do, and you have a job you want done. If you're not so pig-headed that you can't see I can give you what you want, we may could work out some kind of mutually beneficial agreement, otherwise I sit on my @#%! and do nothing. Hamilton: You are right, if I need something done...I will come to you. If you need something, you come to me. I am also a resource, I know the Brass can drag their feet at times, but I will not tolerate one of my officers going AWOL, are we clear? Hella: I'll bear that in mind.::touches her forehead with her bent fingers in a mock salute:: Hamilton: You may turn out to be a good Marine one day...but until that day, keep working on it. ::Thad left her office, pondering if he should have thrown her in the brig and forgotten about her. She did just lose a platoon, and she could always be this bad. It would be interesting to see what she could accomplish.:: Hella: ::smirking:: oO Well, well, well. Finally, one I can trust like I could West. Oo TBC PNPC Maj Thaddeus Hamilton Battalion CO Deep Space 24 As SIMed by: Andrus Jaxx & PNPC 1st Lt. Hella Chief of Marine Security Deep Space 24 As SIMed by: Toni Turner

Oh, your commercial story would be perfect, Jophry. ::gives a tongue-in-cheek wink:: It would be "Peachy." ::grins:: It certainly is great to see some new and returning faces back in Challenge.

Thought we did have one... ::winks:: Glad to see such a great turn out for this quicky.

Vanished By Toni Turner Lt. Perin Anders stared blankly at the view screen. One minute she had been watching the USS Prosperity bringing the Away Team back to the USS Shadow, and in a split second, it had vanished. She was stunned, frozen in her seat, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her . . . but they weren't. The Runabout was gone, and with it, the lives of six of her closest friends and her husband, Jeff. A flurry of commotion filled the Shadow's Bridge, officers at every console confirming the disappearance. It had vaporized, leaving no trace . . . not even a sign that the Prosperity had even existed. She blinked her eyes, hoping it was some kind of cruel mistake, a glitch that would correct itself, but the action only reaffirmed the decimation of the spacecraft. Helpless to do anything else, she kept thinking about the time she and her husband had wasted. Time they could have shared with each other, had duty not kept them apart. Now, duty had taken him away from her, and she couldn't do anything about it. Her heart sank in despair, but even the grief she felt could not stop the fury that had begun to rise from within her nonplused mind. Tears misting in her eyes, she entered a plea, “Captain, the Prosperity couldn't have simply vanished. If we analyze the relevant sensor data for spatial anomalies, and we find anything, it may be possible to retrieve it.” Captain Hyder spoke distinctly, seemingly unruffled, but that was a false facade. He was as bewildered as the rest of the Bridge crew, and would make every effort to either find the Away Team or find out what happened. “Try it, Lieutenant,” he replied, then gave the Science Officer similar orders. “Set up a tachyon detection grid, and check for thermobaric clouds, anything that could have trapped or masked that ship.” With the entire Bridge crew pitching in to help, they worked tirelessly for three nights and days intent on one goal, finding the Prosperity. Finally, after they had exhausted every test and scan known, Captain Hyder, sadly, called for a larger search party, then returned the Shadow to its space station. For weeks Perin went through the motions of living life as if Jeff would be walking into their quarters at any time. She pushed thoughts of the possibility that he might never come back out of her mind. It was too painful for her to think. She realized that sooner or later she may have to face it, but not now, not when she still had hope that he could turn up. Not when the memory of his touch, the sound of his voice, and his smile was so fresh and clear to her. The void he had left in her life was constant, and she had to think of a way to fill it. Insulating herself with work was the only thing she could think of that would do it. Still, there was the loneliness of the night and memories of those moments that they had shared their sweetest secrets only with each other. :: After months of living in limbo, Jeff's belongings still lay dormant, scattered on the night stand as he had left them. Sitting down on the bed, she lifted the pillow, hugging it close. A faint woodsy scent filled her nostrils and tears filled her eyes. Whispering his name, she hugged the pillow closer and lingered in the cold silence wanting desperately to hold him once again. Realizing the futility of her actions, she laid the pillow gently back on the bed and smoothed it lovingly, then packed his things in a box, and stored them away. Years passed into oblivion. She had never allowed herself to love another, and had remained devoted to him. Now, the Captain of the Shadow, she had done well in her Starfleet career, realizing Jeff's goals as her own in tribute to him. But still, the loneliness of being totally cut off from him was immeasurable. Happenstance had taken her to the area where the USS Prosperity had been lost, and although she reasoned that an attempt would prove fruitless, her desire to find closure grew more intense. She wouldn’t endanger the crew by taking them on a personal journey. Instead, she left orders for her First Officer to take charge of the ship, and slipped out of the flight bay alone in her personal shuttle. An hour’s trip put her in the same coordinates the Prosperity had been when it disappeared. The shuttle stopped, hovering in place, while she ran scans, convinced that something . . . anything, from the runabout would still be there . . . but she found nothing. Sighing heavily, she leaned her head back against the seat. She was spent, weary from almost a lifetime of hope. Closing her eyes to rest before returning to the Shadow, she heard a faint sound. Startled, her eyes flew open. She blinked, and the cluster of stars before her opened up. She saw what she wanted to see. In their place, the Prosperity appeared. “Jeff?” Her question was answered by Jeff's loving tones. “Yes, Perin. I’ve come to take you home.” She smiled when she saw him, then in a blink of an eye, she was gone.

This is an area for members of this training class to keep in touch with each other.DATES: The class began on October 6, 2008, and ended on October 12, 2008.LIST: sb118-academy1COMMANDING OFFICER: Lt. Commander Julia HardenFIRST OFFICER: Lieutenant Jack KolkCLASS MEMBERS:- Paul Diamond- Alex SwiftCongratulations to you all, and welcome to our fleet!

*big smile* Congratulations Jack. Didn't I tell you and Elisa I thought you would win. It was a terrfic story. Way to Go!

Not yet. That's why the Admiral is looking for another judge.

Thank you, Admiral.

Current Challenge Beginning Date: Thurs., July 24th Ending Date: Sun., Aug. 23rd Today's Date: Thurs., Oct. 9th I look forward to the Challenges, and hope they will continue too. Maybe we could do a speed writing challenge the Sept/Oct one to put us back on schedule? That hasn't been done has it? Grasping as straws here. It's just a suggestion.

This is an area for members of this training class to keep in touch with each other.DATES: The class began on September 22, 2008, and ended on September 29, 2008.LIST: sb118-academy4COMMANDING OFFICER: Lt. Commander Toni TurnerFIRST OFFICER: Lt. Commander Danzia CLASS MEMBERS:- Kiarna Taiven- Lee Bridgeford Congratulations to you all, and welcome to our fleet!

You are welcome, Jhen. Any word on the judging yet?

I think they are compiled, Jhen. Seems like we have to file an agreement each year to allow it SB118 permission for printing. The Banner is on the way, Jhen. I didn't have the exact fonts but maybe the ones I used will do until they can make you a correct one or let me know what fonts are used.

It is kinda rocking into the end of the usual time limit. Maybe the Judges who are finished could pick a title? Jhen, I could make you a banner, if it is allowed. I only need the date of your last win.

Doesn't matter, Jhen, they are wrong in the poll anyway.

((USS Indria-A - Corrider, deck 8)) Assanti: =/\=Actually, Lt. Banks, I'd be needing you up here on the bridge. However, do check in with Ensign Locke and see how things are coming alone with the probe modifications. Ensign Jo'Kor is up here at the science console, but I think we'll be needing you in another capacity. With Lt. Cmdr Zubowsivich dead and Cmdr Perkins in recovery, I will need my command positions filled. I'm appointing you as Second Officer. Yet, I do wish for you to remain as chief of science for the moment. Check in with Locke and the scientists and the get yourself on the bridge. Assanti out. =/\= Banks: =/\= Yes, ma'am. Will do. =/\= ::Susan did an about-face; toe to heel. Making her way to stellar cartography, she was about to enter when Cmdr. Fanel's voice came over the comm.:: Fanel: =/\= Attention, will Lt. Alexander, Lt. Banks, and Ensign Reven report to the bridge. =/\= oO Sure. Anything you say. I'm a lieutenant commander, *Mister* Fanel! But do I check with Locke first? Wait.... Locke isn't in stellar cartography... So just where do I find him? Engineering? Sheesh! Now I got to go hunt him down. Oo ::The chime of the ship-wide communications opened and the commander's voice started right up talking about the CoS. What a vibrant, young, dedicated officer he was.:: oO From what I heard, she should know. Giving 110 percent of himself.... how can one give more than 100 percent? Don't make sense to me. Oo ::As the commander continued with her eulogy, Susan felt a growing respect for her. She always respected the CO of a ship but now she was starting to respect the woman behind the ship who had lost her lover. Her voice was strong, such as a captain's should be.:: ::Lt.Cmdr. Banks discovered that she had stopped in the middle of the corridor. Looking around, she found that she wasn't the only one. A few tears were seen and quickly wiped away. Susan felt a welling up of emotion then fought it down. She was a department head... she could cry later.:: Assanti: ...Minus as Second Officer and with our FO recovering in Sick Bay, Lt. Cmdr Jacen Fanel is Acting First Officer and Lt. Cmdr. Susan Banks is acting Second Officer. Until replacements for their positions are found, they will be doubling up on their old positions. Keep your hearts strong and your minds focused. It is what Lt. Cmdr Zubowskivich would have insisted on. Carry on, Captain Assanti out =/ \= Assanti: =/\= Lt. Cmdr Banks, I need you to check on the alien shutle craft in shuttle bay one. See if you can decipher its orgins. Belay the order to return tot he bridge. Assanti out. =/\= ::Lt.Cmdr. Banks had been loyal to only two others in her life. Now there was a third. Never again would she call Captain Assanti by her actual rank of commander.:: Banks: =/\= Yes, Captain, heading to the shuttle bay now. =/\= oO By-passing Locke, by-passing the bridge and by-passing life as I know it. Oo Hensley: Did you know that the CoS had a rabbit named Tilly? ::Banks glanced over at the petty officer that was now matching her step for step.:: Banks: Whatcho talkin' `bout, Henny? Hensley: What you gonna do with the rabbit? ::shrugging:: I don't understand why animals are allowed on starships, myself. Banks: Not my call, Hensley. Now I gotta go find out about a rodent. Henny, don't talk to me again until I've forgotten you exist. ::Lisa Hensley stopped walking, letting Susan's pace quicken. Cmdr. Banks needed to be at the shuttle bay when the aliens landed. She shook her head slowly. A rabbit. If someone else didn't take it, she would send it to SB118 from whence it came.:: Lt.Cmdr. Susan Banks Chief Science Officer USS Indria-A

Admiral.. Its "Klingon Herder" by Tanang and "Peaches" by Eskyys, Jophry Calhan & Toni Turner

Welcome back, John.

Note: The Nali, a new species, is suppose a to have limited vocabulary as depicted by General Talogg speech patterns in this sim. ((Keysharr - Generals Office)) ::The General awoke, laying on the new couch in his office. He got up walking into the lavatory, he took time splashing cold water on his face. Chancellor Gorash had been like a father to him. Talogg had served as Supreme Commander of Nali Forces for over two centuries, two thirds of that with Gorash as Chancellor. Talogg stared into the mirror, thinking of the day Gorash's father, Gortan, promoted Talogg...He was a Sub-General in charge of palace security. The Nali were brutal, even viewed as savage...but Talogg surpassed everyone in that sense. His battlefield tactics were not popular with other races. He used their strength, intelligence, and even technology to obliterate opposing races. He built a large fleet of ships to conquer entire systems. Every ship under his command had no brig, there was no need for it. Anyone opposing him was dead...foreign or domestic, he took no prisoners. In his mind he had become a great man...a great man, with no offspring to carry on his legacy. The infertility raged him along with the Chancellor's passive attention on the matter. Talogg couldn't help but compare the old man to his father Gortan...He helped developed Talogg's tactics for the survival of the Nali race, and here was his son...letting it die off. :: ::Standing up he splash another dose of the frigid water on his face. He took his grooming brush and brushed the ape like hair away from his face. He buttoned his uniform, glaring into the mirror he stared into his own eyes. What would Gortan have thought? Talogg did not want to kill Gorash, he loved the man. But he could not let that love condemn the Nali people. He had been ordered to destroy the Geronimo and kill every colonist on Hulti 5. Two decades ago he would have carried out that order swiftly and brutally. But now...if they could tell him what was causing their plight, that could change everything. If there was a cure...the colonist could have Hulti 5, Talogg would be willing to give up the entire system, to save his people.:: ::He walked out of the lavatory and through his office. He checked the time, realizing that it was up, he made his way to the Bridge. Everyone was hustling around tracking the fighters, and the Geronimo. They were anticipating a full invasion. Talogg had other plans, but someone close to him could ruin everything, he had to act...when the time came.:: Talogg: ::nods::Buka... is time... Buka: Yes, My General... ::Buka ordered the fighters to fire, they confirmed the order and launched their attack. As soon as the word was given it took no time for the Geronimo to hail the massive battleship. The General gave it a few moments before answering the female. He never liked the fact that she was in command, but he did respect the fact that she was. Walking to the center of the Bridge he faced the screen and nodded to his comm officer. The less than appealing female image was displayed on the screen.:: Turner: =/\= General Talogg, we are currently running the final tests on a cure for the Nali's infertility problem. Firing on our Away Team, has delayed our progress. It's to the benefit of the survival of your future generations and seems to be a good enough reason to cease your fire. =/\= Talogg: ::the General stood looking at the woman, he knew she was going to have a reason to buy more time, he paused and then looked to her.:: =/\=Tests? Time? =/\= Turner: =/\= Yes, we need to test our results before we can be sure the cure will work, at least a few hours. =/\= Talogg: ::He knew he could not give her the time she requested. The time had come...he had to decide to trust the Federation to help them solve a problem that has plagued his people for centuries. Nali scientists still have not found one clue as to why the females cannot reproduce....He let out a heavy sigh, he was a man at the end of a rope. He looked down and softly spoke:: =/\= Give ten minute...you will either have all time needed, or you are dead. Good luck each way...Captain...=/\= ::He bowed as she disappeared from the screen. He looked at the tiny Akria Class ship in orbit of Hulti 5. A single tear fell from his eye. He realized that there was nothing he could do to stop it now.:: Buka: ::watching a display:: They firing...not hitting colony...::he turned to look at the General questioningly:: ::Talogg looked at Buka. He had been his First Officer for a dozen decades. He was truly a good Nali warrior. The General walked over to whisper in his ear. As he got close he unsheathed his knife from behind his back, he swiftly plunged the knife into Buka's chest, twisting it until the blade snapped.:: Talogg: ::whispers:: You good man. You spy to Gorash...I will miss you, brother. ::Letting go of Buka, he fell to the ground. Talogg turned to the rest of the officers. Everyone looked at him as if he did nothing wrong. It was a few short hours ago he had killed the Chancellor's son for attempting to take control of the fleet. He looked at the body of his dead First Officer, he stared into the dead mans eyes, peering into what he believed was what remained of his soul. With rage in his eyes he looked up to the rest of the officers.:: Talogg: Initiate Protocol One! Send guards to Chancellor Gorash's quarters, he not to move...he does, kill. Seal off Bridge. ::turning to the comm officer:: Send distress call to Chancellor's fleet on Nine. Tell them...mobilize entire fleet...bring here. ::turning to his engineer:: Take power grid down. ::Everyone carried out those orders just like they would had they been against another race. As the blast doors came down sealing the Bridge, Talogg thought of the mines in the asteroid field. Taking down the power grid, left every Nali ship without the power needed for their new shielding technology, leaving every Nali ship defenseless against damage. He thought of all Nali souls serving on the ships in the Chancellor's fleet. They were many young, good officers...who were just doing their duty. He smiled, thinking of what their sacrifice could bring...the sound of small children again. Child's games, teaching and grooming offspring to follow in the footsteps of his father. Those souls could pave the way for generations and generations of descendants. That made him feel that he was doing the right thing.:: TBC PNPC General Talogg Supreme Commander of Nali Forces As SIMed by: Andrus Jaxx

"Peaches" was written by Eskyys, Jophry Calhan & Toni Turner "Can't anyone ever arrive on time?" was by Cara Maria Hope that helps, Admiral

Yeah, we wuz jest kiddin' round 'bout stuff wile we wuz a waitin'.