Jo Marshall

Serious congratulations, everyone! They're some cracking awards and well-deserved!

Today we are proud to present the Length of Service and Special Awards! Length of Service Awards Length of Service Awards are presented to members who have been continuously active for at least a year, there are also tiers for three, five, 10, 15, 20 and even 25 years of continuous service. This year, thirty players have reached a length of service milestone. Of those, eleven are celebrating their first milestone, having picked up the award for one year of active membership. Another six have achieved three years of active membership and ten more have been here for five years. Two players have reached the incredible ten-year milestone, and one has reached fifteen years! We also have two players celebrating their five-year command milestones as Commodores of our fleet! 5-year Commanding Officer For those who have served as commanding officers for their ships and stations continuously for five years. Officers in this category are also appointed to the rank of Commodore to recognize their experience and leadership. Commodore Sal Taybrim, who took command of StarBase 118 Ops on December 12th, 2015. Commodore Roshanara Rahman, who took command of the USS Invicta (NCC-81407) on April 5th, 2016. 1-Year Member For those who have been members continuously for one year. Haley Caden, graduated from training on June 1, 2020 R'Ariel, graduated from training on June 1, 2020 Artinus Serinus, graduated from training on July 1, 2019 Lephi, graduated from training on June 1, 2020 Stefan Mattheiu, graduated from training on May 5, 2020 Noa T'Nessa Levinson, graduated from training on January 6, 2020 Airik Tierney, graduated from training on May 25, 2020 Drevas Matthel, graduated from training on June 1, 2020 Alieth, graduated from training on February 10, 2020 Sirok, graduated from training on February 10, 2020 Wes Greaves, graduated from training on February 9, 2020 3-Year Member For those who have been members continuously for three years. Serala, graduated from training on December 4, 2017 Toryn Raga, graduated from training on October 4, 2017 Jacob Horne, graduated from training on August 23, 2017 Kiran Han, graduated from training on October 1, 2017 Genkos Adea, graduated from training on February 6, 2018 Tatash, graduated from training on August 1, 2014 5-Year Member For those who have been members continuously for five years. Amuro McKnight, graduated from training on February 15, 2016 Jocelyn Marshall, graduated from training on April 10, 2016 Ayiana Sevo, graduated from training on September 1, 2014 Serren Tan, graduated from training on April 1, 2010 Oddas Aria, graduated from training on May 5, 2016 R'Kala, graduated from training on August 1, 2011 Etan Iljor, graduated from training on March 23, 2015 Yogan Yalu, graduated from training on November 13, 2011 Alora DeVeau, graduated from training on August 6, 2013 Anthony Meeks, graduated from training on January 17, 2011 10-Year Member For those who have been members continuously for ten years. Shedet, graduated from training on August 4, 2003 Sky Blake, graduated from training on March 1, 2011 15-Year Member For those who have been members continuously for fifteen years. Lilith Thorne, graduated from training on August 1, 2000 Special Awards The Rising Star Award For members who show great promise in many facets of their participation in the group, and to whom we look to as a future leader. Jo Marshall, USS Gorkon Presented by Quinn Reynolds: We're so fortunate this year to see many people nominated for the Rising Star award, showing what a fantastic community we've built and how many people love to invest the time and energy into making it even better. Those who nominated Jo Marshall talked at length about her leadership qualities; her dedication, her willingness to go the extra mile, and her ability to balance good humour with teaching moments. Over the past twelve months, her contributions to the fleet have bordered on the incredible, showing how much she cares for and champions our community. Not only does she help lead her ship with the above qualities, but she also steers and supports many of our OOC efforts; helping to organise the State of the Federation Address, as a stalwart member of the training team, showing her creative flair in the Image Collective, facilitating the Federation News Service and Poll of the Week. On top of that, she helped champion the return of the Writing Challenge to phenomenal success, and of course, facilitated this very ceremony! Her guiding hand already makes this fleet a more fun, vibrant and exciting place to be, and we're fortunate to count her among the leadership of the group as a staff member. We look forward to seeing her continue to cheerlead, support and innovate, and thank her for everything she does now and in the future. Congratulations and well done! Luminary Award Given to members holding the rank of ensign, lieutenant junior grade, or lieutenant. For those who show great promise in their future endeavours in UFOP: Starbase 118 RPG. Wes Greaves, USS Thor Presented by Aron Kells: I’m especially honoured to present this year’s Luminary Award to Jacob, aka the marine detachment commander for the Thor, Wes Greaves. Jacob also received the Thor’s TOSMA this year, and one of his nominations for that award included the observation that Jacob “has been a driving force on the Thor since he was a second lieutenant.” I’m borrowing it for this citation and to recognise that Jacob started out running and has only been building momentum since. He’s now a member of the Thor’s staff group, where I rely on his strong senses of leadership and equability, and he’s someone you’ve probably encountered around the fleet as well, whether on Discord, as a new member of the Training Team, or — if you’ve been a member of the Captain's Council over the past year — for his keen insights on marines in the Star Trek universe and for Starbase 118 RPG specifically. Jacob pulls from his own marine background to bring a grounded, experienced perspective to marine structure and function on the Thor, and to say that he’s revolutionized how his fellow simmers and I think about marines is actually an understatement. He’s the well-deserved winner of last year’s Semper Fidelis Award (the marine duty post award), and what he’s done with his time with the 118 fleet has not only changed my sense of marines in Star Trek, he’s done a lot to educate me about marine ethos and ethics in the real world, too. But this citation isn’t for the Semper Fidelis, it’s for the Luminary, and I mention his marine work to introduce everyone to the idea that Jacob’s been a natural leader from the very beginning when he generously allowed me to bring his thoughts on marines to the Captain's Council. He’s a natural leader who seeks challenges both IC and OOC — he recently, for example, came to me with an idea for a series of JPs in which Greaves receives additional command training from Kells. One of his nominators said it best, and so I’ll leave you with some of that high praise: “This is a man with a solid head on his shoulders, who cares about others, has fantastic writing talents, and I cannot wait to not only sim more with him, but to watch where he goes in our wonderful community.” The Sarpeidon Award Awarded to members who have made outstanding contributions to the 118Wiki. Sarpeidon was the world in TOS's "All Our Yesterdays," in which the planet's population created a library containing their entire world's history. This is, in essence, what our wiki strives to become: a collection of our group's history and a simming database. Noa T’Nessa Levinson, USS Chin’toka Presented by Roshanara Rahman: Watching the wiki grow over the years is one of the highlights of being a part of this community and every year, new members bring fresh ideas on how to present information about their characters, the stories of our ships, and the greater universe we’ve all built. Since first diving into the wiki, Noa T’Nessa Levinson has shown remarkable originality and creativity in figuring out new ways to bring style and a polished presentation to the wiki. He similarly continues the long tradition of wiki gnomes before him in diligently maintaining not just his own ship’s pages but that of the wider fleet and its lore to help ensure everything is as up to date as possible. Above all else, Levinson’s passion for the wiki and helping other members learn its power and potential is obvious, endearing, and inspiring. Learning to edit the wiki is often perceived as one of the most intimidating skills for new members to master, but Levinson’s joy in his work and commitment to supporting others by answering their questions and troubleshooting problems helps make the unfamiliar task of wiki editing not just friendlier but an exciting world of possibilities waiting to be discovered. Congratulations, Noa T’Nessa Levinson, on being recognized with this year’s Sarpeidon Award, and thank you for your hard work and dedication! The Boothby Award For trainers who go above and beyond their Academy training requirements. These trainers display an outstanding example of dedication to bringing new cadets to our community. Addison MacKenzie, USS Resolution Presented by Quinn Reynolds: It is always a pleasure to present the Boothby Award and recognise someone who has gone above and beyond in supporting the Training Team. Addison MacKenzie is a name that stands out in the Academy, volunteering regularly and long past his obligations to do so. He supports the team with positivity, respect and good humour, shining in whatever role he takes on—be it mock cadet, First Officer or Commanding Officer. Several of his nominators spoke of how fantastic his mentoring is, offering cadets feedback which not only corrects problems with the basics but gives them things to think about as they move forward into the fleet. But he doesn't just teach cadets! The nominations also spoke of how his enthusiasm and skills inspired them to be better trainers, learning from the example he sets. Besides taking part in classes, he supports the work of the Academy as one of our Statisticians, a role that requires an organised, keen and detail-oriented eye to ensure that we track the cadets passing through, and ensure we properly credit our trainers for their hard work. His presence makes the Training Team a fun, dynamic and streamlined experience, and cadets and upcoming trainers alike benefit from his experience and professionalism. Commander Addison MacKenzie, thank you so much for everything you've brought to the team and many congratulations on winning this year's Boothby Award! Quark's Bar Quark's Bar is a special award and is awarded to members who are regularly active on the forums and have been supportive and involved in conversations enhancing the overall forum experience. Lephi, USS Chin’toka Presented by Mei’konda: One of the fleet’s newest members, Lieutenant Lephi, played by Daphne, has proven herself to be a rising star amongst the Chin’toka’s crew. One of the things we can always count on her for is to be a welcoming, positive presence in Discord, one of the newest and most important avenues of communication with our members. Lephi reliably greets newcomers to the server with genuine and enthusiastic positivity and has been referred to as our unofficial ambassador by members of our crew. She answers questions in the Academy channel when she knows she has the right answer and is a constant source of humour and an occasional participant in our impromptu gaming sessions, such as in games of Bridge Crew. For these reasons, I’m delighted to present the Quark’s Bar to Lieutenant Lephi! The Xalor Clan Xifilis Award Given to any simmer who overcomes any sort of disadvantage while simming. This award was originally called the "Rachel Garett Pendant," but was renamed for the 2000 ceremony to honor a respected simmer in UFOP: StarBase 118 who passed away in that year. This is the only Special Award that is given more than once per ceremony. Alieth and Sirok, USS Thor Presented by Aron Kells: “There are many types of disadvantages one might have in a community like SB118,” writes the nominator for both Andrea (Alieth) and Miguel (Sirok) for the Xalor Clan Xifilis Award this year, and praises the two simmers’ abilities in a language that isn’t their first tongue. “Despite the difficulty that this must surely present,” the nomination goes on, “they have become a wonderful asset and add a depth and colour to any scene in which they write.” Andrea and Miguel are to be commended not only for their skilled writing but also for their perseverance in a community like Starbase 118, which is so strongly text-based and when so much of what we do revolves around writing our stories. Congratulations to Andrea and Miguel, and thank you for making Starbase 118 a part of your story! Corliss Fortune, USS Gorkon Presented by Quinn Reynolds: One of the bright lights of the fleet and tireless champion of its members, it's a delight to have Corliss as a member of the Gorkon's crew. In the past, she's won the Order of the Valiant Heart for the realism and fidelity she brings to the role of counsellor, the Silver Palm for lifting hearts and keeping morale high, and this year we've awarded her the B-Plot for the windows she creates into her character's personal life. When you realise she lives with ADHD, and the challenges with executive function and writing that often walk hand-in-hand with it, it makes her dedication to simming even more impressive. She's an inspiration and I am very pleased to recognise her with the Xalor Clan Xifilis Award. Drevas Matthel, StarBase 118 Ops Presented by Sal Taybrim: Not everyone has the same access to support and healthcare and knowing that a bright and shining young writer not only struggles with mental health issues but also struggles to get the support he needs is a concerning reality of the 21st century. But over the past year, we are so incredibly proud of Ensign Drevas Matthel for speaking openly about his issues, actively seeking positive solutions and resolutions and seeking support for the right places. His ongoing endurance is a testament to an amazing inner strength that is both admirable and commendable. Many of us know how difficult it can be to push forward at times, especially with everything that has occurred over the last year, and yet Ensign Drevas never failed to persevere. Furthermore, with his continued positive growth in out of character communication, he has impressively improved in his simming, bringing his character to life, creating a meaningful pNPC that his crew enjoys reading about and forming bonds with fellow players and characters alike. Ensign Drevas, your hard work over these past months has been noticed and appreciated and you have done an awesome job in improving your writing and your communication. I am so pleased to present you with the Xalor Clan Xifilis award! Nugra, USS Constitution-B Presented by Jalana Rajel: I have had the pleasure to write with John on and off for years during his guest visits to the Apollo, the Constitution and other ships across the fleet and it finally got to sim with him on a more permanent basis when he was placed on the Conny. John is passionate about writing, listening to his ideas is pure joy and the excitement is contagious. He thinks out of the box, inside the box, around the box and is not afraid to try new things, is happy to help other players and has quickly become a pillar of the ship. As long as I have known him, despite challenges in Real Life, be it his own mental or physical health, difficult circumstances or overwhelming events, he still did his best to not let it show in his writing or in the way he interacted with the players. Through all his difficulties, he wanted to make sure that everyone has fun. During this last year, Jonathan had not dealt only with his own challenges, but has only taken care of his hardships but also took care of his lovely wife who struggled with her health as well and took care of his job, his writing business, their lovely children on top of staying the spark bug we know him as on the Conny. He never lost that light, his humour, creativity or willingness to give his writing his all, reached out to players to plan plots, help them, welcome them and assist despite not being a member of staff at this point. I am in awe that he managed all that despite his RL situation. Thank you for being you, Jonathan, and congratulations on the Xalor Clan Xifilis Award! The Community Champion Award For members who participate in – or help facilitate – simming community events, representing the best of UFOP: SB118 to other organizations by hosting events, acting as contest judges, or otherwise contributing their expertise in a way that benefits the wider community. Zhanyt Lafizatar, USS Veritas Presented by Roshanara Rahman: In the wider world of Star Trek simming and roleplay, one member has consistently shown up to represent StarBase 118 not just as a guest but as an event host. Zhanyt Lafizatar (known to some by his previous characters of Ceciri Ariadust and Tiria Hamasaki) has consistently served as an event host in each year of the Khitomer Conference since 2019. Last year, Lafizatar hosted the informative panel, “Writing with Canon,” showcasing to the wider audience of non-118 attendees how we frequently play and expand on canon in our stories here in the fleet. Lafizatar has also been an active and regular presence at other non-118 simming events such as FallFest. Through his participation in the panel discussions, Lafizatar helps bring awareness to other Trek role players of our organisation’s existence, how we do things, and what makes us special. For his persistence in carrying the 118 banners beyond our borders, I’m pleased to present this year’s Community Champion Award to Zhanyt Lafizatar, one of our fleet’s most dedicated ambassadors. Locutus Award For members of the Publicity Team who go above and beyond their monthly requirements for regular participation. These team members show enthusiasm and flair for spreading the word about our role-playing community and take an active interest in finding new ways to invite people to join our ranks. Alieth, USS Thor Presented by Kalianna Nicholotti: Publicity, or in a more modern term Marketing, is what brings people to the fleet. Without it, we would never meet our newest friends or reconnect with some of our old ones. This year saw the split of the official Publicity Team into one that handled publicity and one that focused on social media. With these changes came novel approaches and a learning curve for everyone involved. Thankfully, we have some incredibly talented and dedicated officers involved, including Andrea, aka Alieth, who is the recipient of this year’s Locutus Award. The Locutus Award is given to recognize someone who exceeds the requirements and participates regularly in activities that bring new members to the fleet. In this, Andrea is a force of nature. She is visual, present, and accounted for in various faucets, even helping to get an Instagram plan in place for the newly developed social media part of this team. She’s always looking out for the fleet, and she is a powerful voice for us when the opportunity presents. It is such a pleasure to present this award, and I offer a hearty congratulations to her - and to say that I can’t wait to see what trail she will blaze next year! Northern Star Award Given to members holding the rank of Lieutenant or Lt. Commander who show constant commitment to the fleet as members of taskforces and through our other fleet endeavours. These officers are vital to the success of our fleet, showing their support and enthusiasm for their crews and our community through their tireless efforts. Alora DeVeau, StarBase 118 Ops Presented by Sal Taybrim: If you have played on StarBase 118 for any length of time, you have almost certainly come into contact with the name Alora Deveau. Maybe it was through an interview for the Community News where Lt. Commander DeVeau is an absolute powerhouse writer, showcasing members of our fleet from every ship and every rank and reaching out to dozens of fleetwide members to help get them in the press. Maybe you heard her on the StarBase 118 PaddCAST where she helps both behind the scenes and in front of the microphone, bringing you special features and special segments that help light up your airwaves. Maybe it was on the training team where she serves as one of the diligent academy officers mentoring new members on their first steps into our community. Maybe it was in the forums where she is a tireless supporter of the Appreciations area across multiple ships. Maybe it was on the wiki where she works hard to make sure ship and fleetwide articles are edited for continuity and accuracy. Or maybe it was on Discord where she’s a bright and shining star, always ready with a positive word for others. And through all this, she also maintains more than full time simming on two ships, with excellent writing skills and a willingness to reach out and create joint posts with any player on any ship in the fleet. She is a generous player who is always willing to bring new people into a scene, facilitate positive storylines for characters and be supportive of her ships in so many ways. She is a mentor, team leader, staff member and an incredible player. Amanda, the player behind Alora DeVeau is truly a positive force for Fleetwide unity and an amazing role model for junior simmers. Her fleetwide mentality helps make the taskforces she works with shine and brings all of our ships and players in the fleet into the limelight so we can grow closer together. I am so incredibly proud of Amanda and pleased to present her with the inaugural Northern Star award! Jake Sisko Prize Awarded to members of the Federation News Service Team who regularly go above and beyond in their contributions and participation. These team members show dedication and creativity in editing and writing news reports, helping to maintain our IC news service, build the 118 universe and provide inspiration for our members. Jo Marshall, USS Gorkon Presented by Roshanara Rahman: There is no one more dedicated to the successful operation of the Federation News Service than Jo Marshall. Em, the player for Marshall is passionate about the unique lens the FNS offers to the world of Star Trek and how it can serve as a great vehicle for storytelling, either complementing and expanding stories from our sims or presenting wholly original and exclusive stories just told through the medium of FNS articles. Like the best editors-in-chief in newsrooms around the globe, Em rallies her bullpen of roving reporters and editors every month with the organisation of a field marshal. No pun intended! She brainstorms headlines to inspire others to flesh out full stories and contributes her own regular articles. She adeptly manages a team of co-facilitators and news editors to ensure that every ship report is revised and proofread in time for publication, her charm and efficiency belying just how much work she does behind the scenes to make sure they meet deadlines. And unlike, say, J. Jonah Jameson of the Daily Bugle, Em is always cheerleading and championing her team, encouraging their ideas and giving helpful feedback on their drafts. For her tireless devotion and work to make certain that the FNS meets its publication schedule month after month, year after year, I can think of no one better to be awarded the first Jake Sisko Prize. Congratulations, Em! Okuda Award Awarded to members of the Image Collective who regularly go above and beyond in their contributions to this team's efforts, creating images and graphics for the fleet. These team members display their artistry and dedication with a visual feast for members new and old, bringing our creations to life and stoking imaginations. Alieth, USS Thor Presented by Jalana Rajel: In a roleplay that draws pictures with words and in which we have to imagine our surroundings, the characters and species, one of the most helpful tools we can provide are graphics to kick-start or expand that imagination. Knowing the faces of our characters, the wallpaper in our hallways or the view out of our windows breathes life into the writing. Ever since I started working with Andrea I have been in awe of her carefully honed art, her skill and her knowledge. She has jumped right into new ideas and projects from the first moment, eagerly spearheading the makeover of Ship and Task Force Logos, updating graphics across the board, streamlining processes and sharing her knowledge and tips with the image team. It is no surprise that before long she became part of the Facilitator team and eventually was promoted to the main facilitator. In the shortest time, she had made a name for her and has left her mark on Starbase 118 from the first day on. By now it is almost impossible to look at the website and wiki without finding something Andrea made. And when you ask the members of our community, you'll hear the same reaction: We love it! This brand new award found a worthy first winner! Congratulations, Andrea. Very well deserved! Please join us in congratulating these talented players!

Well done, everyone!

Greetings and Welcome to the 2021 (or 2398) Fleetwide Awards Ceremony! Every year, this annual ceremony is an opportunity for us all to come together to recognise the accomplishments of this incredible organisation of people. For many of us, this community has become a part of our lives that we couldn’t foresee happening when we first graduated from the Academy, but the more time we spend here, the more time we realise what a truly unique community this is. So, we’re using this 25th Award Ceremony as the opportunity to come together to not only celebrate the group’s 27th anniversary (and what a bloody milestone that is!) but to acknowledge and congratulate the writers who have fuelled our imaginations by creating strange, new worlds, and worked tirelessly to keep the lights on, is worthy of celebration, indeed. There are five categories of awards: General Awards (which some ships have presented to their crews already!), Duty Post, Special and Staff Awards distinguishing players across the rank spectrum for many achievements. The member Length of Service Awards continues to grow as we award membership lengths of one, three, five, ten, fifteen, and even twenty-five years! A remarkable number of simmers have been around for such extended periods, and they count among our numbers. We’d like to extend tremendous gratitude to everyone who took the time to submit nominations this year. It has been absolutely incredible to us to read how you all celebrate one another, the writing that takes place, and the community despite everything currently happening in the world. Every nomination submitted was full of deep respect, recognition, and appreciation for our fellow writers, and it should serve as a reminder that we value everyone’s presence and contributions. As our group continues to cultivate and mature, we’d like to throw a special thanks to our fearless leader, Fleet Admiral Tristan Wolf, who always makes time to lend advice for any problem, no matter how big or small. To the members of the Executive Council, Captain’s Council, and those who lead and serve on our various taskforces — no amount of thanks could effectively communicate this community’s appreciation for your boundless energy and leadership to ensure we ALL have a safe, creative and imaginative experience. Happy 27th anniversary everybody! — Em (Jo Marshall) and Matt (Addison MacKenzie)

Welcome to the fleet, @Kivik! Been a great pleasure reading your introduction to the group!

I had issues with Culber and Stamets in the first season of DSC, which got resolved when S2 winged back around. It's good to see the first portrayal of a gay relationship being part of the normal everyday was just that - a genuine look to the future, without the stereotypical drama writers seem to saddle the gays with. Similar issues with Adira in DSC. Raffi and Seven just... happened? Zero build up, did not see it coming. Hoping to see more in S2 and it's not just a case of stray jigsaw pieces. Mirror Kira played into the Depraved Bisexual trope, highlighting just how evil they are (not just Star Trek that did this, there're ample examples where this trope crops up for MirrorUniverse characters), so not taking it so much as representation. Crusher was another kettle of fish. I can't see it as a failing on her part, or the part of anyone whose partner goes through a physical change. LGBT folk have argued for a long time that sexuality is what we're born with and can sometimes be fluid in some, so I really don't expect anyone to change their sexuality because the person they love is suddenly in another body they're not attracted to. That's just the nature of attraction.

Does it count as formal if he takes the flip flops off?

Awards Ceremony season is upon us, and it's time to get all dressed up for the big event! As we launch our ceremony, we encourage everyone to change their forum avatar to their character wearing glamorous attire like the kind you'd see on the red carpet. There's no need to get things perfect – lots of players just find a picture of their character's actor somewhere on the web and use that, like so: But if you're looking for something more spiffy, you can also head to the Graphics Requests forum and open a new thread asking for some help. Make sure you leave plenty of time for the team there to help get something that works – best to start earlier than later! Once you have an image you like, you can change your forum avatar by following these instructions. Let's see what everyone is wearing this year! Halcyon Apparel from Deep Space 224? Elan Vital, the principal fashion designer for the Bolian Ballroom? Nova Collection from Betazed? You can purse-shoe all your dreams and you don't have toupee! Find your fashion sole mate and let us see if you're a triple thread! Hose before bows!

Nominations for the 2021 Awards Ceremony will close on Thursday June 10th at 11:45pm Pacific Time. If this is your awards ceremony with us, welcome! This is a tradition that dates back to 1996, wherein we honor the people of the fleet who are simming really well, or contributing OOC. Back in the "old days," we would gather the entire fleet onto one email list (we were a lot smaller then...) and sim together an award presentation; now we do things a bit differently. Here's how it works today: Everyone in the fleet submits nominations for consideration. The group staff (ship COs, EC members, etc.) review the nominations. Each ship has their own awards presentation on their OOC email list for awards in the General Awards category. Award in this category can be given to one person on each ship. Then, we have a fleetwide presentation of awards here on the forums. Awards in the Duty Post, Special, Staff, and Length of Service categories are presented over the course of three days. One person in the fleet can receive each of the Duty Post, Special, and Staff categories. We rely on each and every member of the fleet to submit nominations so we can recognize the best members of our community who are putting in the time and effort to make this a fun place to be. So we need your help! If you don't nominate your peers and mentors for awards, they won't get recognized. We want to encourage everyone to be really free with their nominations – there's no penalty in putting in a nomination that doesn't ultimately get the award. But ships that have fewer nominations tend to end up having fewer award winners – so don't be shy! Multiple nominations from members of a ship for any given award can help send a signal to reviewers that a certain person is really deserving, but also one really great nomination can be the deciding factor for someone to win an award. So how to nominate someone? It's pretty simple: Check out the wiki Hall of Honor to see the list of awards and learn more: https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Award Consider who you want to nominate. Then do a quick check on the list of past award winners to make sure they haven't won the award before: https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=List_of_Award_Recipients (You can sort the table by clicking on the column headers, or you can use your browser's "Find" feature to quickly find a character anywhere on the page – on PC, use CTRL+F, on Mac use ⌘+F.) If the person hasn't won the award before, head to the nomination form: https://www.starbase118.net/members/personnel/forms/award-nomination-panel/ Enter your information and select the award. Then write a nomination reason. For some awards, we'll ask you for a link to a sim if you have one readily available that helps justify your nomination. Don't stress out about finding a sim, but if you have one, it could help! If you feel really confident about your award nomination, chat with others on your ship who might also feel the same way and recommend they make a similar nomination!

Well done, guys! Welcome to the fleet! 🥳

Resounding congratulations to Jacob, the writer behind Wes Greaves, for smashing the Writing Challenge 2021 with a superb win! Carving out a beautifully written and presented entry, "Insidious Whispers" shows the delve into the inner self following a traumatic experience, and is definitely worth a read for anyone looking for some top-class inspiration in how to convey deep and meaningful characterisation. Well done to Jacob! Brian, the writer behind Geoffrey Teller, and our 2020 winner gave us these kind words: Our runner-up is Hutch, the writer behind Loxley, a long-time member of the group and winner of several Writing Challenges through the years preceding this one. He scoops up this badge for his story "Cries on the Wind", elegantly and heart-breakingly showing the plight of a Maquis during the Dominion War. Wonderfully done, Hutch! For this year, we've also got a special mention for Ikaia Wong's entry, Klingon Space Shanty, delivering a sea shanty while keeping to the premise of the theme! Well done, Ikaia! It was beloved by all! All entries submitted to the challenge are excellent, thoughtfully put together, and beautifully written! It's been a privilege to read every one of them, and each deserves a slice of the praise. Thank you for submitting your entries, letting us into the worlds of your characters brought into the spotlight, and for giving us a glimpse of what goes on behind the characters we see. The winner, runner-up and judges, are in receipt of one of the following badges! Thank you again for making this year's challenge wildly successful and so much fun! We look forward to more amazing entries next spring! Please drop by the forums to offer these writers, and all our entrants, your congratulations!

You can do that if you want, dude!

Yep, that's fine! Nope! Have it in the story or out of the story. It's up to you.

DS9 with Kira in charge. Raise the roof!

Post your questions, comments, and other discussion here!

As our winner of last year’s challenge, Commander @Geoffrey Teller has come up with the prompt for our community this time around. A throwback to flashbacks for everyone, this calls to mind themes of the little things which can affect characters in those huge ways. Maybe your character will venture on a voyage on discovery about themselves, or explore themes of finality and endings, retribution and redemption, even a bit of mortality thrown in? Star Trek has consistently shown us these small, focused moments can be at the very heart of the human (and alien!) experience. You could go anywhere with this one! "I always loved the wind… ...until that mission on Telstrus 3." How would your character react to this situation? What's going through their mind? What scene immediately pops into your head? Is there a word-fire kindling? Does it transport you somewhere? If so, bust out the virtual pen and paper, brew that Earl Grey and get cracking! One judge will be chosen from each ship to help select the winner. Rules & Guidelines: Word count should be a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 3000. Members are welcome to submit solo stories, or team up with a buddy to submit a collaborative epic, but only one story per person, please! Your submission should be in the format of a short story. Prose, not sim formatting. (See here for examples.) All members are welcome to submit entries for the community to read, but only those from active simmers will be reviewed by the judging panel for the final winner selection. Submissions are, by default, non-canon – if you find a way to shoehorn this into your own backstory, you're free to use it if you wish, but certainly not a requirement. You can create whatever characters make sense for the story. You don't have to use or reference any of your current characters. Rank is not an issue here – write as an Ensign or a Captain, civilian, whatever makes sense for your story! And you're free to use characters you've already written for in sim, but please don't include anyone else's. Submit your story directly into the first post of a new thread. Use the following format for the thread title: [Primary Character Name(s) of author(s)]: "My Story's Interesting Title" Tristan Wolf: "Five Ways to End Your Starfleet Career" If you want to submit a story but don't want to enter it into the challenge, prefix the forum post with "showcase" and let us read your good stuff! All stories must be submitted by Sunday, May 23 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. Good luck!

Well done, dude! Welcome to the 'Fleet! 🥳

I usually do a roundup of Skarbek good stuff at the end, and post it up here. While that's in progress for our most recent Skarbek adventure (Skarbek III: What Do Boys Dream), the narrative description in this sim really hit home with a golden emotional moment for me. Well done, @Jona ch'Ranni! Keep it up, man!

Welcome to the fleet, dude!

Over the many years of Star Trek, we've seen multiple Red Shirt deaths to the point it's one of the most popular memes — if not the most popular — in the fandom. Nothing says "you're about to kick it" like being summoned on an Away Team with all the major characters, and you turn up wearing red. Like a flag to a bull, no matter the direction someone fires their phaser in, somehow it's going to end up slap bang in the middle of the Red Shirt. Synonyms for the redshirt include sacrificial lamb and spear-carrier, so you know what conotations are a given. HOWEVER! Someone did the science! In a recent Star Trek: The Math of Khan talk at the Museum of Mathematics, one determined trekkie, James Grime, discovered out of three seasons of our beloved Original Series, only 25 died out of 239, a stunning 10 percent of deaths. However, out of 55 gold shirts, 10 of them died, resulting in 18 percent. In true defiance of everything we hold dear, if you wanted to cheat death, science came out alive with a staggering 6 percent dead. Perhaps the Scientists and Doctors have it right all along. Wear the blue, avoid the chop. Regardless, in honour of this humble trope, we're asking you this week to choose your favourite red shirt death from the Original Series. You've got a few good ones to choose from, so let us know which plucked at your heart strings the most!

As much as it pains me, I would take the decision of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".

Congratulations, dudes! 🥳 Great writing with you! Welcome to the 'Fleet!

As soon as I posted it, I knew I'd missed one 😂 Beautiful!

Love is in the air since Valentine's Day, every where we look around, and over the vast years since it first aired, this space opera in our hearts has given us plenty of on-screen love to wrap our hearts around. Everyone has their favourite relationship from the series, whether it was Jean-Luc and Beverly who stole your breath away, or you're a niche fan of Archer and Riaan rooting for them, somewhere along the line Star Trek has pulled on your heart strings and warmed you up with the smouldering passions displayed. In First Contact, we're given a glimpse into Data's longing for a relationship with someone who truly understood him, and his capabilities of physically reciprocating love — with the Borg Queen, of all people, so maybe it shouldn't count. She kisses him, he kisses back, disrupting his monologue about the last time he used his advanced bedroom techniques, for the good of all humankind. In Deep Space Nine, a kiss shared between Ben and Jennifer Sisko is a prompt for the Prophets to inquire about corporeal entities, and why Humans seek out physical contact with one another, thus making the Prophets incredibly jealous for the rest of their days... until they kidnap Sisko for smooches, of course. Star Trek has also flirted and courted with controversy over the years, showing on-screen love taboo for the times it aired, and taken their laurel wreaths as pushing those societal boundaries. First aired in 1968, the Original Series episode Plato's Stepchildren included the very first interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura, amidst a turbulent political backdrop in the United States of America. Over fifty years later, this is remembered as a pinnacle moment of television, winging it's way into the books. Years later, in 1995, Deep Space Nine would flirt with the same, introducing the former lover of Curzon Dax into the episode Rejoined, once again clanging that bell with a same-sex kiss, paving the groundwork for the later Trek relationship of Stamets and Culber in Discovery. So, in this month of love, it's good to remember the relationships — and the smooches — which have made Trek what it is today. Science Fiction has long relied on the relationships built between the characters to demonstrate the futility or hope in the world of tomorrow, and Trek has made history doing so. This week, we want to know which of these Star Trek kisses made your heart flutter?