Sal Taybrim

Hmm. To be honest I think Kira or Worf. Both showed strong leadership skills and were often in command. Though who would I want to watch the most no matter how unusual it might be? Garak. heck, I'd watch any trek that featured Garak. He's the metaphorical bomb.

Many thanks to Captain Egan Manno. I will miss the challenges. I enjoyed plotting stories for them, and I think I enjoyed reading and judging even better. I hope everyone continues to take up challenges to write better in posts, for separate fiction and in any challenges that crop up again. It helps everyone in the game when we work to improve. I will be sad to see the Writing Challenges go silent and hope they return someday!

Had to go for the (perhaps obvious) choice of Sulu. I think he's the most well rounded of the crew, the most capable over multiple areas. It's no wonder we see him as a captain in the later movies!

I always played WoD on a chat based setting and Star Trek on an e-mail based one. I think it's the rank structure that allows Trek e-mail sims to shine. WoD really needs a diceroller mechanic. After 12 years running Changeling on chats, I finally burned out. Burned out, hard. Which is why I came back to Trek sims.

I suppose, though, if all Trek was erased from my brain, I'd turn to Red Dwarf.

Do exactly what I'm doing now: keep writing the good version of Star Trek while waiting for someone who actually loves the franchise to make a really good movie about it...

re: Vulcan imploding The sight of Vulcan imploding was an amazing special effect. A masterpiece of computer generated artistry. As a feat of visual technology, yes it could be defined as 'epic' Problematically in the case of Star Trek, I look for definitive story moments and memorable scenes as my definitions of 'epic' and this... wasn't. I haven't watched the movie in over a year and all I can remember about the destruction of Vulcan was: 1. it was a good special effect and 2. I thought it was a bad plot move. Why did I think it was a bad plot move? Because the story didn't support it well. Nero's justifications for his course of action are as flimsy as a cardboard house in a typhoon, the pseudoscience behind it is barely believable even by Star Trek standards, and worst the best characterization we get of Vulcan in the movie is a hot dry place full of jerks who pick on Spock. So the importance of Vulcan becomes one of two things depending on what kind of viewer you are: 1. A planet you really care about because you have a knowledge and connection to it from canonical trek (aka, you were already a Trek fan) 2. A planet used to show the madness and power of the bad guy (aka you are new to the show, and Vulcan functionally becomes Alderaan, a planet destroyed just to prove a point) So the pivotal 'epicness' of this moment hinges on your connection to old Trek. If you have no connection to Trek and just came to the new movie you think "whoah, that Nero dude's crazy. Spock's planet died. That's sad." If you had a connection to Trek - that's when you started to feel angry/sad/ect about Vulcan's destruction. I know some people felt this was an epic pivotal moment for the canon. I did not. I felt it was a lazy, cheap way of riling up the audience and the fanbase. I felt it was JJ Abrams way of whipping out his junk and marking the franchise like a dog marks his favorite fence. 'See that? I can kill Vulcan. I don't need to justify it with a great storyline or a big fight to get there. I can do this because this franchise is mine now.' At base I felt the destruction of Vulcan was disrespectful - not in the fact that it was destroyed, but in how it was destroyed. How it was poorly developed and crudely cast aside. And the sad thing is? I like 2k9 better than I liked Into Darkness...

^ More than a few industry professionals have pointed out that turning a franchise over to (professionally selected) fan based writers has made mega millions for the Marvel franchises, why not Star trek, too?

Pretty much I'm with Leland and Rich. The reboot movies have a few good 'moments' mostly from great acting or a nice little scene... but overall the plots were horrible, full of holes and made me sad. So I guess I'll say the actors are pretty epic for taking such a terrible script and making something watchable from it.

Hey there and welcome!

I voted Ahab moment, though I think the most epic moment from First Contact is either Zefram Cochrane blasting off to the tune of Magic Carpet Ride or our very first view of the Vulcans, therefore bringing Trek history full circle. To be painfully opinionated, while I watched and enjoyed the rest of the TNG movies to some degree, the rest really weren't epic. They went downhill after First Contact.

I like undiscovered country! I liked the way the actors portrayed the characters in New Trek. I just hated the overall script >.<

Which was not my choice. *chuckle* Actually I'm not a picture-in-signature sort, but it's ship solidarity, yanno? That said, I'm the poster child of the vanguard against New Trek.

Leeeeeland... That's not funny, boy...

I gotta vote WoK. Though being the WoK fangirl that I am, I think the most epic part of the whole darn flick is the part where the Reliant is damaged in the Mutara nebula, and Khan is looking for the Enterprise, only to have it rise like a phoenix from behind the reliant and deal the decisive ending blow. I could watch that over and over.

Thanks I drink mine out of the red shirt cozy. Because my beverage's days are numbered...

Do not underestimate the geeky crafters...

Hello and welcome!

((USS Atlantis - Rennyn’s Quarters)) ::Ren Rennyn fell gracefully through the air, high above the village of Arnmere. He could see all the places he loved from here - the old farmhouse he grew up in, the school, the forest, that bend in the creek behind old Uncle Wavern’s fallow field, where an ancient tree bent lovingly to the brook below, where little white paloue blossoms littered the sloping banks. He drew nearer that spot, remembering youthful romps there. Now he was naked, and falling faster. Wind rushed toward him mercilessly. The parachute he was sure he’d been wearing seemed to have disappeared. The field was alarmingly close. A few more moments to impact. Ren breathed his last breath, and he screamed.:: ::The scream was real, though the field was not. Instead, his body jerked against the bed where he lay face down, arms and legs spread carelessly at odd, unnatural angles. The dream clung to him, and he was as shocked to find his body unbroken as he was to find himself awake.:: ::He was wearing a full-body black spandex suit that may or may not have been a Parrises Squares uniform. His head was throbbing.:: ::Rudely, the comm rang out through his quarters, and Ren was sure someone had turned up the volume.:: FOSTER: =/\= Doctor Foster to Lieutenant Rennyn =/\= RENNYN: =/\= Uhnnn… Doc…. what fresh he--? =/\= FOSTER: =/\= I didn’t wake you did I? =/\= RENNYN: =/\= Wyn… =/\= ::He wondered if they’d entered some kind of reality-bending vortex. The pain behind his eyes was unreal. His tongue was dry.:: =/\= …I have no entire clue… =/\= FOSTER: =/\= Well, just as long as you’re not in some sordid naked tangle with a lover or three. =/\= ::smirk:: =/\= Not that there is anything wrong with sordid naked tangles whatsoever. I just would hate to interrupt one! =/\= ::Entering the world of the living, Ren was becoming aware of his surroundings again. The spandex suit was a size too small, and it really didn’t breathe well. There was half a box of jelly doughnuts in the bed with him. His right arm curled tenderly around a trombone.:: ::He sat up a little, and shook his head, trying to make his voice sound less groggy. The shake was a mistake. He looked around, trying to piece together the night before. The last thing he remembered was talking with Mattingly at the reception. All that bathtub gin…:: RENNYN: =/\= Well, I’m not naked. =/\= ::For a strange moment, he peered into the shadows in the corner, looking for spooks. He refrained from looking under the bed.:: RENNYN: =/\= Wyn, you don’t want to know. I also don’t want to know. How about we get down to business? =/\= FOSTER: =/\= Ah yes, business. I received a curious side mission from Commander West yesterday before the briefing and dinner… he wanted me to look into the scans Sovak and Valis took of the area outside the holodeck, in specific regarding Emerson Ravenscroft’s disappearance.=/\= RENNYN: =/\= That’s a lot of things. =/\= ::He picked up a doughnut. It couldn’t hurt. He talked with his mouth full of jelly and powder.:: =/\= Are you sure he meant me? Sounds like a mistake. =/\= FOSTER: =/\= No, he specifically mentioned to work with you. =/\= ::He paused:: =/\= I admit on the medical things I’m ace, but I’m no security junkie. =/\= RENNYN: =/\= Me neither. But Emerson’s a friend. I mean, we were going to get tattoos together, and that means something. So I’d be glad to help. But I thought the captain declared it a closed case? Emerson left of his own will? =/\= FOSTER: =/\= Evidence suggests otherwise. Strongly otherwise. Emerson may have left a note threatening to leave, but come on, Ren… we know exactly how likely that is. =/\= RENNYN: =/\= Maybe we’d better talk about it in person. Hey, Wyn. As a medical professional, how many jelly doughnuts would you say is too many? Because if the facts in this case bear out, I ate nine of them so far. =/\= FOSTER: =/\= Nine? Well… that’s… pushing it. =/\= RENNYN: =/\= And what’s the limit on bathtub gin? And should Okoryx be shut down for health code violations? I mean… I don’t even play the trombone! =/\= FOSTER: =/\= Trombone… please tell me you didn’t eat a trombone… =/\= RENNYN: =/\= I have a lot of questions. Give me a few minutes. Get me a hangover cure. I’ll see you in your office. =/\= FOSTER: =/\= Hangover cure. Right. Those seem to be popular lately. I’ll see you soon. =/\= ::The comm closed and Ren forced himself out of bed, delicately climbing over the mysterious trombone. He noticed a piece of material stuffed in its bell, and pulled it out. It was a hot pink ski mask.:: RENNYN: What the h was in that gin?! What kind of promotion ceremony was that?! ::He took the rest of the doughnuts with him and ate them in the shower. Nine had not been enough.:: Lt. Rendal Rennyn Helm Officer USS Atlantis NCC-74682

I would second the above scene from In the Pale Moonlight and add: The part where Garak explains how his plan worked to Sisko is intensely bada-- This quote especially:

I believe this is actually for round 25, but the prefix wouldn't let me select round 25.

((Sickbay, USS Columbia)) ::A sonic shower was an abomination of nature, some genetic anomaly that had taken the shower and transformed it into some medical, hygienic necessity. On the Starbase, Chelsea had been able to get a real water shower on occasion and while it did take longer and make much more of a mess, it was a therapy that she rather looked forward to after a long, hard week. The warmth, the pitter-patter of small droplets against her skin and the floor, they were wonderful.:: ::In this moment, a real shower was a medical necessity, although nobody with actual medical expertise had seemed to agree with her. Instead, she had been run through some decontamination procedure that left her feeling more like a science experiment than a victim of post-traumatic stress. "Making the best of it" was the order of the day, and while she was - still - only half-way through the procedure, at least now all of that residue had been cleaned off of her. She caught an occasional whiff of manure from time to time, despite the medical staff's assurance that it was all in her mind.:: ::She was just placing her commbadge back onto her newly replicated uniform when it chirped.:: Connory: =/\= Connory to Ames =/\= Ames: =/\= You startled me, sir. I'm here. =/\= ::She smiled as she said it. How was it that this officer, she actually felt she could talk to? She'd felt that way once before, back when she worked with Livingston on that ...:: ::The thought floated away, willed away by the same mind that had brought it unbidden to her conscious thought. She sighed as Ian continued. Maybe someday she'd remember that differently. Or not remember it at all.:: Connory: =/\= How are you doing with the Health-less Holstein and the cattle cadaver? =/\= ::A shiver pulsed through her as he spoke, rattling her. After a hot shower, she'd be still in that afterglow of warmth when nothing could go now. Sonic showers offered no such lingering protection from the world; she was thrust back into its harshness. That stink returned.:: Ames: =/\= I'd like not to think about it, Ensign Connory. Anyway, after I beamed it to sickbay's isolation unit, I figured I would never need to see the thing again. =/\= oO Good riddance. Oo Connory: =/\= Good thinking, Wait. You beamed them where? =/\= ::She slipped her shoes back on as she spoke, and headed back out to main sickbay where she'd been instructed to wait.:: Ames: =/\= Well I couldn't move it on my own - sickbay is set up perfectly for this, after all. Let the science department worry about it. It's not our oO job Oo area of expertise. =/\= Connory: =/\= No don't worry I'm sure that'll be fine. oOI hope. Oo Commander Brek is trying to see if there is a vet among the colonists. 'Til then hold tight and make sure the containment fields hold. =/\= Ames: =/\= They'll hold. I will personally reroute power from whatever systems are necessary to ensure that that thing stays in there, where we're safe from it. =/\= ::From her perch up on a biobed, she watched as nurses passed back and forth. One stopped to take her vitals, and as she breathed deeply in and out upon request, Connory continued. She wondered, was he always this chatty? Or was he keeping her occupied for some other reason? It occurred to her that he was probably trying to do her a service, keeping her mind off of the incident. Although it did seem to be what he kept talking about; the theory seemed not to hold water after all.:: Connory: =/\=Oh and Ames good work. First round is definitely on me. After you clean up that is.=/\= Ames: =/\= Thank you. I'll need a drink after this. I'm only half-way through their battery of tests, and I'd much rather just get to take a little nap. =/\= Connory: response ::She gave a small smile, and the nurse left her to compile some more data. What was in all those charts?:: Ames: =/\= I need a bacon cheeseburger. =/\= ::She imagined biting into that big, juicy sandwich. The bacon smelled as it always did, that wonderful aroma of perfect happiness, and she could feel her teeth sinking into a big, puffy bun and into -- :: Bacon Cheeseburger: Moo. ::With a start, Chelsea snapped out of the daydream she'd fallen into. Hands spread for support on the biobed behind her, she shivered from the cold sweat that had broken out on her brow. Burgers hadn't been made from actual cows in a century - at least not on Starfleet vessels. But there it had been. She'd seen it, heard it. It could not be unseen. The cold sweat returned as she realized the inevitable.:: Ames: =/\= Oh. Oh, no. I may never have a burger again. I think I may become a ... a vegetarian. I need to lie down.=/\= Connory: response ::Their conversation ended cordially, and Chelsea laid down. What would it take to undo this damage? What was the point of going to the Galactic Halo now? She'd just be conversing and eating a vegetable platter. Was there no mercy in this world?:: ----- Crewman Chelsea Ames Operations USS Columbia NCC-85279 As simmed by Commander Ben Livingston Commanding Officer USS Columbia NCC-85279

Sal: full pajamas Wyn: As little as he can get away with while knowing there is ALWAYS a medical emergency right around the corner...

What sort of costume are you looking for? I used to go to conventions as a Cardassian frequently, but I had to make all my own costumes. I work in theatre so I know quite a few trick/tips in all budget ranges - but there's a big difference between the black military armor and the more civilian clothing. Can you provide some pics of what you're looking for? I can provide plenty of tips and tricks for all skill levels, including no-sew.

Congrats to all! I think all three of you were really close together and I agree, it was very difficult to judge! Hope to read more from everyone in the future!