It’s been more than a year since we last launched a new sim or welcomed an existing one into the fleet. However, that changes now: I am very proud to announce that the USS Firebird joined us earlier this month with their first official post as a member of IDF coming on February 1, 2024. The Firebird is set in the year 2396, but does not include the Picard television series timeline as the sim began before that tv show. Captain Malcom Llwyedd is the Commanding Officer.
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Ileah & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok & Lt. Vrax tr’Keirianh CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / Y / CFCO / CSO USS Wayfarer
Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance Chief Flight Control Officer USS Chuck Norris
Racking up an amazing 26.5 posts this month, Mr Lance has pushed the mission forward and had an impressive impression on the crew. His promotion to Lt Cmdr and second officer is a reflection of his hard work.
Lieutenant Ileah has been doing really well these past few weeks. Actively contributing to the posts and really pushing forward with his character developments. He has come a long way since joining the Wayfarer! Also he had a lot of RL problems and its nice to see him overcoming them and finally getting back into his writing.
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok & Lt. Vrax tr’Keirianh CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO / CSO USS Wayfarer
What a fantastic month for the Sunfire’s Counselor as she contributed several meaningful plot advancements, got other players involved, and did on absolute outstanding job developing her own character and others within the confines of the mission. Well done!
Lt. Cmdr. Thriss Kla’ren Chief Engineering Officer USS Sunfire
The Sunfire’s Chief Engineer was very involved in the ship-side of the last mission and wrote several outstanding posts resolving the conflict at the end of the mission while simultaneously developing multiple characters for the future. Great job!
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Ileah & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok & Lt. Vrax tr’Keirianh & Ens. Robert Lee Jr. CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / Y / CFCO / CSO / TO USS Wayfarer
Described by her Captain as “a simming machine,” and who are we to argue? With her second consecutive month with at least 30 posts, she continues to display superior leadership in the XO role and engages other crewmembers with joint posts.
As of today, Captain Michael Intermeezo has relieved Captain Aurther Winters as Commanding Officer of the USS Chuck Norris. Captain Winters concludes 36 months in command. However, his history with the Chuck Norris goes back much further. As a Lieutenant, he officially joined the sim on June 26, 2012 as Chief Engineer, and then sent his first post on June 28th. He picked up his first award, an MVP, in November of that year. He later became Executive Officer in 2014, and then Commanding Officer in 2020. Along the way, he snagged 12.5 total awards, including 4 MVPs and 3.5 Genesis awards, good for 8th place all-time. He also chaired the 2021 SciWorld Online Convention, for which he was awarded an Ongoing World Community Honor. If there’s one thing that stands out, it’s been Aurther’s loyalty to both the fleet and his sim! Aurther, best of luck with everything and we hope you don’t wander too far!
Captain Intermeezo, welcome to the command team! We know that you have what it takes to lead this wonderful and historical sim to even greater heights.
It’s almost time for our third annual anniversary webcast. Admiral Ken Gillis returns as host, and yes, it will again include real prizes!
Join us on July 8th at 5:00 PM ET (-4) / 10:00 PM BST (+1) in the fleet watch party channel of our Discord server. We’ll be announcing the newest members of the Hall of Fame (in case you missed it!), drawing names from among our monthly award winners over the last year for some real-world prizes, and there might also be a surprise or two.
And yet another year of IDF is in the books with our 22nd Anniversary today. To remind you of how old we really are, here’s a quote from last year’s anniversary post:
“On our 22nd Anniversary, we will be further removed from the premiere of the 2009 Star Trek film (May 8, 2009) than IDF’s launch was from the premiere of The Next Generation (September 28, 1987): 14 years, 1 month, 26 days vs. 13 years, 9 months, 6 days.”
Well, here we are! For this year’s celebration, each of our 12 sims created a movie poster to capture their unique essence and feel. We are also very fortunate to have Amanda Rose from RPG Writing, NX-1701-G from Zodiac Fleet, and Beth from Sim Central to judge the entries in three categories: overall image quality, how much does it look like an actual movie poster, and general creativity/originality. Before we get to the posters themselves, we first have an announcement from a special guest:
“I’m impressed by the technical skill and originality that went into this poster.”
“If you’re familiar with Anime movie posters, this is spot on.”
“Having anime Trek characters in the mirror universe with the crack showing the Federation and Terran emblems on different sides was brilliant.”
“Of all the posters shared this was the one that actually made me want to join the game in question.”
“Image expertly merged the dinosaur imagery with clear Trek imagery without making them appear distinct.”
“This poster screamed movie poster. I would expect to see this on the wall in some theater. A starship with dinosaurs and big lettering. Well done!”
“I’m not typically a fan of the starship and character posters, but this one spoke to me.”
“I kept wanting to rate this poster higher in my rankings. There’s a lot to like with the faded facial imagery and ship…
…[including] ‘Coming Never,’ which was mildly amusing.”
Congratulations to all three winners, and a special thanks to our judges! However, to quote Kirk from Star Trek III, we’re not finished yet! Here are superlative awards for our other nine games:
Best poster for Seinfeld/Trek crossover USS Albion CO: Captain Dick Sprague Poster by: Akeno Misaki
Some bold judges not to pick this one! USS Chuck Norris CO: Captain Aurther Winters Poster by: Bonnie Durnell
Best poster for past meeting the future USS Churchill CO: Captain James Stewart Poster by: Akeno Misaki
Best poster if you actually watch Picard USS Eminence CO: Captain Alex Shepard Poster by: Akeno Misaki
Best poster for a random trailing light USS Ganymede CO: Captain Dyllon McMahon Poster by: Akeno Misaki
Best poster for a low Earth orbit view USS Liberty CO: Captain Kaylia Strenvale Poster by: Akeno Misaki
Best poster for the IMAX experience USS Montana CO: Captain Jackson Adams Poster by: Bonnie Durnell
Best poster for “Aft torpedoes, fire!!!” USS Washington CO: Captain Shran dh’Klar Poster by: Akeno Misaki
Best poster that could double for Dune Starbase 80 CO: Captain Kathleen O’Shea Poster by: Bonnie Durnell
While we’re on the topic of movies, we are now further removed from our July 4, 2001 founding than it was from the premiere of the first Star Trek film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (December 6, 1979): 22 years vs. 21 years, 6 months, 28 days. Feel old yet?
Continuing last year’s tradition, we again have a second video message:
With yet another July, it is again my great privilege to formally announce the newest members of the Independence Fleet Hall of Fame. Induction is the highest honor this club offers–reserved for those with exemplary service or extraordinary contributions to the fleet, according to the Hall of Fame Charter (pdf). Without further ado, your Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is as follows:
Inducted by Election:
Colonel Steven MayTa Death
of the USS Sanctuary
The longtime Commanding Officer of the Sanctuary, Steven MayTa Death was the fleet’s all-time leader in command months with 89 when he and his sim transferred to sister club UCIP in 2020. He also managed 17 posting titles during his IDF career. Finding his niche by leading offbeat missions, his crew enjoyed their Marine-centric and action-packed storylines. There will never be another MayTa!
Lt. Cmdr. Maryam Syed
of the USS Sunfire
A mainstay of the renaissance era Sunfire, Maryam Syed was an integral part of helping lead the fleet back to its earlier glory days. Her outstanding contributions in-story, affable nature, and excellent recruiting also ensured the Sunfire remained great for many years. Showing superb breadth, she won six total awards, including Rookie of the Month, Best Post, MVP, and the Recruitment award.
Lieutenant Spaardra Tamis
of the USS Sunfire
A first-rate team player, Spaardra Tamis was an indispensable member of both the Sunfire and the fleet. As IDF was reestablishing itself during the renaissance era, her superior posting quantity and wide recruiting efforts were exactly what was needed at the time to jumpstart operations. Of her five total awards, two were for Recruitment and three were for Most Posts.
Inducted by the Veterans Committee:
None this year.
Congratulations to our three 2023 inductees! Thank you for providing a timeless example for us still role playing today to emulate. You will hereby forever be remembered for your extraordinary service to Independence Fleet. Well done! There are now 41 total members of this most exclusive club.
That’s two more inductees from the Sunfire, and our first from the Sanctuary.
