Ship Closeup – USS Resolution

[StarBase 118 Staff]

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” – Carl Sagan

The USS Resolution was first launched on Stardate 2386.05 (May of 2009) under the command of Commander Toni Turner, then became an NPC ship until its relaunch in 2397.07 (July of 2020) under the command of Fleet Captain Kali Nicholotti.  Under her command, the Resolution was assigned to the Borderlands where the focus will be to explore areas of space that yet remain uncharted.  Today we are joined by Fleet Captain Kali Nicholotti to tell us more about this storied vessel.

DeVeau: Thank you for joining us.  Can you please start by giving us a short overview of the USS Resolution and how it fits into our fleet?

Nicholotti: The Resolution is a small ship, which lends to the need for more creativity in some situations. Where a larger ship might just arm some handy weapons, the tiny Resolution has to do more than just outgun an adversary. At the same time, the small ship allows for a small, tight-knit crew and the kind of feeling where ‘everyone knows everyone’. The Resolution offers variety and gives a unique platform for a variety of different missions from discovery to diplomacy and even the occasional firefight.

Why the Nova class, and why, specifically, did you choose the USS Resolution?

The Resolution was where I got my start. It was a place of fond memories where I met some very close friends and began some stories that continue today. I didn’t choose the Nova specifically but went with the Resolution based on the history Kali had there. I felt there were plenty of other stories yet to be told if the chance was given.

Compared to other ships, the Resolution is smaller with less firepower and warp capabilities.  How does this affect the stories that you write? 

The stories we write are impacted in that we aren’t an armed escort and we aren’t a warship. That means we have to approach everything with the knowledge that weapons won’t save us. I think this allows for more creativity and unique solutions to even simple or common problems. Tactical officers have an interesting time trying to approach something that the typical Galaxy-class could just blow on by without a second thought. At the same time, small manoeuvrability and the ability to land open up a number of other doors for missions and mission aspects.

You’ve been a Commanding Officer since 238902.04, when you took command of Starbase 118 Ops.  How does commanding a ship differ from commanding a base?  

I think one of the most difficult things about commanding a starbase was designing missions that moved around you instead of you moving around them. Everything had to come to the base on 118, where on the Res, we go to the action. Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew, but the crew is amazing and always leaves something behind to remember. 

Commander Addison MacKenzie, you serve as the ship’s first officer, but before that, you were on three other ships as well as the Duronis Embassy.  How does the Resolution differ from those other postings? 

Well, each of them offered incredibly different experiences and the roles I played while in each varied as well. The Veritas was my first posting, where I really got my feet wet and the Diligent was actually part of a sub-plot during one of our missions on the Veritas… it was a skeleton of a ship (my Sickbay didn’t even have a ceiling!), but I actually ended up serving as Acting CMO and First Officer, so I got a small bit of command experience in a controlled environment.

I transferred to the Embassy of Duronis II to serve on the staff as Chief Medical Officer when the installation was struggling. Writing on a ground installation provided some unique challenges, especially given that it had been active for ten years with a lot of history. After one mission, the entire crew was transferred to the Thor where I served as CMO, but I was only there for one mission, too, before being assigned to the Resolution as its First Officer.

Being on a small Nova class ship really gives us the opportunity to explore science-based missions. We don’t have the advantage of being armed to the teeth like the Enterprise(s) or the Defiant, so it’s really been a great way to explore the versatility of Star Trek and the mission of the Federation through that lens. 

Would you each share a favourite scene or mission thus far?  

Nicholotti: I think my favorite mission thus far has been MacKenzie’s practical. The characters that were brought to life to fuel that mission were some of the best I’ve seen in all the years of simming I’ve done. They were beyond characters, making us sad to see them go. Perhaps we will see some of them again in the future.

My favorite scenes were likely those surrounding the Zhian’tara ceremony devised by one of our writers and involving a good number of the crew in the process. It was executed amazingly and was one of the best reads I’ve had in a while. 

MacKenzie: I have to agree – the Zhian’tara ceremony (which I assisted with) was really beautifully written and executed. It was an arc of 12 sims and five writers, each helping to portray one of the previous hosts. We were given background on the prior hosts so we had information to guide us while writing, but we were allowed to put our own spin on the scene. The level of detail and forethought in the preparation really left me blown away, and the execution even more so.

How do you think your missions would have been different had you been simming a larger ship?

Nicholotti: Well, first of all we likely wouldn’t have had the chance to experience landing on multiple planets. I rather enjoy the idea of being able to land and take off as necessary. I also have had the chance to challenge our writers to devise new approaches to things, like how to get out of sticky situations that some big guns would really have assisted in. It makes the writing more in-depth and far more fun to read all around.

MacKenzie: I like that the crew complement is so small that everyone [seemingly] knows everyone else’s business. There are characters who occasionally make unfavorable choices on the Resolution that they think the command staff doesn’t know about, but in reality, the ship is too small for the wind not to make its way up to Deck 1.

Are there some ways that the crew has made the Resolution their own?  Does she have any quirks?

Nicholotti: The crew had embraced the idea that she is a very small ship, so even senior officers are bunking with other senior officers in 2 person quarters. This isn’t something that happened when I served on her originally, and it just kind of came up when the crew moved in this go around. I think it’s been great as it’s led to a number of pretty awesome storylines and PNPC characters. 

What are some goals y’all have for the future of the USS Resolution and her crew?

Nicholotti: One of the goals I have is to help get some of these officers to the levels they want to be at. Through coaching and guiding, it is my first duty to ensure the players are enjoying the game and reaching the goals they set – be it a rank, a storyline, or just the exploration of techniques. 

Secondly, I’d like to revisit one of the worlds where a young Kali first took her steps in Starfleet with Starbase 118 by returning to and following up on one of the missions we ran under Toni Turner.

MacKenzie: One of the things I enjoy most about leadership is the opportunity to present scenarios where writers and their characters really get out of their comfort zone. It’s interesting to see how they develop over time, especially when they’re put in really dire situations. I’m looking forward to creating some of those unique situations in the very near future!

Thank you so much for your insights on the Fleet Captain Nicholotti and Commander MacKenzie!

You can read more about USS Resolution on the wiki.

 

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