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A futuristic, three-tiered podium with black and red bases, each displaying the Independence Fleet logo in large white letters. The top tier features the fleet's logo, a stylized star with a purple hue, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The podiums sit on a checkerboard floor, giving the scene a modern, sleek look.

Awards… For Monthly Awards!

Posted on | by Charles Star | 2 Comments on Awards… For Monthly Awards!

Wow, what a 20th Anniversary Webcast! It was so awesome that I think we have a new tradition here in this fleet. Our very own Admiral Ken Gillis hosted the event, where he introduced the Hall of Fame class of 2021 and awarded prizes to three people from among our monthly award winners. If you missed it, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the Hall of Fame inductees. However, I can give a quick recap of the prize drawing.

First, here are the prizes:

Next, the names of the monthly award winners were added to the big wheel. Players received a spot on the wheel for each award they won dating back to March 2020 (award fractions were rounded up):

The three winners were…

Captain Aurther Winters of the USS Chuck Norris

Lieutenant J’goss Yass G’odoss, also of the USS Chuck Norris

and Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun of the USS Sunfire

Congratulations to all three! And thank you again to Ken for hosting and putting this on. Bravo!

Please stay tuned for more anniversary news tomorrow…

EDIT: Due to our current embargo on shipping goods to Canada, Aurther Winters will instead be getting a Tim Hortons gift card as a consolation. Also, Remal Kajun has offered to donate his prize. As such, we drew two more winners: Lieutenant Dean House of the USS Sunfire & Lt. Cmdr. T’Ponga Shemara of the USS Montana. Enjoy the prizes!

A futuristic, three-tiered podium with black and red bases, each displaying the Independence Fleet logo in large white letters. The top tier features the fleet's logo, a stylized star with a purple hue, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The podiums sit on a checkerboard floor, giving the scene a modern, sleek look.

Monthly Awards: June 2021

Posted on | by Rook Mirtoh | Leave a Comment on Monthly Awards: June 2021

I believe this is the earliest we’ve ever gotten the monthly awards out. Enjoy, but don’t expect it to ever happen again!

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Chester “Duo” Maxwell
Chief Security Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Old Wounds Pt.1”

An emotional and provocative post with great use of language to convey inner turmoil.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Cmdr. Savar cha’Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lt. Cmdr. Sandra “Phantom” Risa & Lt. Dean House & Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Lt. Chester “Duo” Maxwell & Lt. Thriss Kla’ren & Lt. Aurora Vali & Lt. JG Avarak
CO / XO / CFCO / CTO / CSS / CRO / CEO / CC / CSO
USS Sunfire

For “Into the Wormhole”

An exciting pass through the Bajoran wormhole. Nice use of the entire bridge crew: This is what writing Trek is supposed to look like!

Funniest Post

Ensign James Phoenix
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

For “Shattered Past”

Not your typical Funniest Post winner, but it gets the job done very well.

Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Captain Sandy “Ghost” Shannon
Commanding Officer / Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire / USS Liberty

For “Genesis — Joint Mission” / “Genesis — Joint Mission”

An instant classic in IDF history, the Sunfire/Liberty crew swap begins.

MVP

Commander Jackson Andrews
Executive Officer
USS Albion

A prototypical XO, Andrews led his ship in posting and showed great leadership by nimbly playing off of the leads from other characters while simultaneously creating openings for others.

Most Posts

Lt. Chester “Duo” Maxwell
Chief Security Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 13 posts.

Most Improved

Lt. Chester “Duo” Maxwell
Chief Security Officer
USS Sunfire

Returning to simming after a lengthy break, Maxwell rejoined the Sunfire and was a powerhouse all month. Initiating posts, working well with the existing crew, and being a general pleasure to role play with.

Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant JG Avarak
Chief Science Officer
USS Sunfire

Despite joining after the joint mission began, Avarak jumped straight into the fray, initiating several posts and participating in the ship-wide joints posts. A great first month!

Recruitment

No award this month. Get recruiting!

Another great month for our ships and the entire fleet. In other news, our 20th anniversary is just three days away! Also don’t forget to attend our special webcast on July 3rd. See you there!

A futuristic campus scene featuring people conversing on a balcony overlooking a lush courtyard with trees, pathways, and landscaped gardens. In the distance, domed buildings and a flag bearing the emblem of the United Federation of Planets are visible near the waterfront. The Golden Gate Bridge spans the background under a partly cloudy sky.

20th Anniversary Webcast

Posted on | by Ken Gillis | 1 Comment on 20th Anniversary Webcast

On July 4th, 2021, Independence Fleet celebrates its 20th anniversary, having been founded on July 4th, 2001. In honor of this event, we will be holding a webcast in the fleet watch party voice channel of the fleet’s Discord server at 12:00 PM ET (-4) / 5:00 PM BST (+1) on July 3rd (in order to allow members to enjoy the holiday with their families).

We will honor our past by announcing the new members to be inducted into the IDF Hall of Fame, and there will also be prizes! Make sure to mark your calendars to tune in to our Discord server on July 3rd!

Admiral Ken Gillis
Chief of Technology
Independence Fleet

A futuristic, three-tiered podium with black and red bases, each displaying the Independence Fleet logo in large white letters. The top tier features the fleet's logo, a stylized star with a purple hue, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The podiums sit on a checkerboard floor, giving the scene a modern, sleek look.

Monthly Awards: May 2021

Posted on | by Rook Mirtoh | Leave a Comment on Monthly Awards: May 2021

I hope everyone enjoyed SciWorld yesterday. It was an instant classic! Thank you to all who played a part in putting it on, including Aurther Winters, who was just awarded the Ongoing Worlds Community Honor for his efforts as Chair. Congratulations!

And now, on with the May monthly awards:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lt. Cmdr. Grexx
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Albion

For “Stop blowing holes in my ship!”

A great character introduction, and the character’s introduction to his new ship… along with its problems.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Cmdr. Estella Stratton & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson
Chief Counselor / Executive Officer
USS Washington

For “Quiet Time”

A fantastic character development piece between the two Washington crewmembers. Well done!

Funniest Post

Capt. Shran dh’Klar & Lt. Deanna Celes & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Cmdr. Estella Stratton & Ens. Connor Carrick 
CO / OO / XO / CMO / CC / CSO
USS Washington

For “Dealing with Duplicates”

A classic ensemble post that reads like a great sitcom episode! Hilarious!

Genesis

None this month.

MVP

Lt. Cmdr. Grexx
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Albion

The Chief Engineer joined the Albion after many years away from simming. He immediately integrated himself into the story, drove the plot forward, and worked well with the crew. It’s as if he never left!

Most Posts

Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Liberty

For writing 12 posts.

Most Improved

Ensign James Phoenix
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

Ensign Phoenix dove into the current mission and showed an eager willingness to advance the story, both for his own character and the greater storyline.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Keep up the great work, everyone, but let’s make sure we have winners in all categories for June!

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SciWorld 2021

Posted on | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment on SciWorld 2021

Join us this Saturday, June 12th, at 11:30 AM EDT (-4) / 4:30 pm BST (+1) for the 2021 SciWorld Online Convention. Chair Aurther Winters, Fleet XO Ken Gillis, and many others have put in a lot of hours to make this an extra special event this year. After the 11:30 opening ceremony, we have seven hours of provocative discussions, interactive trivia games, and live role playing planned.

Since we’re this year’s host, you get a sneak peak at the official opening ceremony video:

This will be the 19th SciWorld, and the third hosted by IDF. The first SciWorld was held all the way back in 1999. And just to see how far we’ve come over the years, here’s the opening video from the first modern SciWorld, which we hosted in 2011:

See you this Saturday at SciWorld XIX!

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USS Sunfire & USS Liberty Sim Swap

Posted on | by Charles Star | 2 Comments on USS Sunfire & USS Liberty Sim Swap

We know this is crazy, but basically the crews are trading ships: USS Sunfire CO Captain Sandy “Ghost” Shannon & crew and USS Liberty CO Captain Rhenora Kaylen & crew are permanently swapping ships.

Wait, what?

Over the last week, each crewmember added their character to the other sim. Then today, the two Captains published joint genesis posts on each sim: Here’s the Sunfire’s & here’s the Liberty’s. Crewmembers are free to participate on both sims for the remainder of the missions, which will be wrapped up before the end of the month. At that time, legacy Liberty members will have their characters deactivated as they continue on the Sunfire, and legacy Sunfire members will have their characters deactivated as they continue on the Liberty.

Why do this?

Both sims have tremendous histories here at IDF. In fact, IDF was born out of the original Sunfire, and it was one of our three launch sims back in July 2001. Shortly thereafter, the Liberty was our first expansion sim on August 1, 2001. The current registry numbers hark back to those early days. When we relaunched both sims last year, circumstances led to the Liberty crew largely consisting of players from the last incarnation of the Sunfire. They’re simply going home now. And fortunately, the crew of the Sunfire are good enough sports to play along.

How will these joint missions turn out?

I have no idea, but they’re sure to be wild as we’ve never attempted anything like this before!

With that said, as of today, Captain Rhenora Kaylen is now the Commanding Officer of the USS Sunfire, and Captain Sandy “Ghost” Shannon is now the Commanding Officer of the USS Liberty. Congratulations, Captains! May you continue to lead your sims to new heights!

A sleek, futuristic conference room table with grey surfaces and blue glowing lights on the sides. The chairs surrounding the table have a modern design with dark grey fabric and geometric shapes. The walls of the room are simple, with soft purple accents. The environment has a clean, minimalist, and high-tech aesthetic.

May News Updates

Posted on | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment on May News Updates

All, here are three command news items to keep everyone up to date:

  • An audit of our blog revealed that we never announced both of these October 1, 2020 changes of command in this forum: Captain Akeno Misaki of the USS Wayfarer and Captain T’Brei Sheridan of the USS Sunfire.
  • Captain Sandy “Ghost” Shannon assumed command of the USS Sunfire on May 1, 2021. A special thanks to Captain Sheridan for leading the Sunfire for seven months.
  • Captain John Wells will assume command of the USS Eminence on June 1, 2021. A special thanks to Captain Polto for leading the Eminence over the last 11 months.

Congratulations, Captains!

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The Captain’s Chair: Emmalyn Marcus

Posted on | by Bolak | Leave a Comment on The Captain’s Chair: Emmalyn Marcus

Welcome to the Captain’s Chair, Captain Marcus. Please input your details into the data pad before we begin...

Name: Emmalyn Marcus

Rank: Captain

Position: Commanding Officer

Fleet Sim: USS Montana

Thank you, Captain. So let’s get started with your favorite Captain. Whose chair are you sitting in today?

Obviously James T. Kirk’s. I think that Kirk is the very embodiment of human nature.  He is compassionate towards others, something few humans have mastered.  Second, he’s reckless, but again that’s a human thing.

Very interesting. Does that make The Original Series your favourite or is there another?

Yes, that it is my all-time favorite.  However, I also love Star Trek Discovery as well. 

Do you have a favourite episode?

As of right now it’s Miri, s1e8, believe.

How about the movies, which is the best one?

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  

And the worst?

Generations… Kirk falling off a rock, come on!

How’s your Captain’s chair by the way? Comfortable?

It’s great.  Very Comfy.

Good, good. How about the ship? Are we on the Montana or would you prefer another? You can have anything you like, we have a huge imaginary budget.

I enjoy it, lol.  Honestly I like the style of the ships from the 60’s. 

Absolutely! When did you start simming?

A little over a year ago. 

And what was your first sim?

USS Chuck Norris

What keeps you interested?

Complex plots.

What about real life? What else do you enjoy doing?

Being lazy, writing, video games. Oh, and being lazy.

I take it you’re a Montana fan given the ship we’re on. What else are you into besides that and Star Trek?

I love Sci-Fi. I also love U.S. history, specifically WW II. 

And at the Movies?

Back to the Future, Tron, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, anything with Tim Allen, James Bond movies, and the Mission Impossible series. 

Time for the quick fire round now before go to warp. Are you ready?

Always.

Favorite book? The Giver

Favorite video game? Super Mario Bros. 3

Favorite musician or band? David Bowie

Favorite superhero? Doctor Strange 

If you could have any super power, what would it be? Duh Magic.

Favorite sport? Basketball 

Favorite team? Utah Jazz

Favorite food? Sushi

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Lennon or McCartney? Lennon

Star Trek or Star Wars? Trek, obviously.

Jordan or Lebron? Jordan

Excellent! Thank you for sitting in the Captain’s Chair. It’s been a pleasure to get to know a little more about you today. Emmalyn Marcus (aka John Wyatt of the USS Chuck Norris & Spivick of the USS Albion), everyone!

A futuristic, three-tiered podium with black and red bases, each displaying the Independence Fleet logo in large white letters. The top tier features the fleet's logo, a stylized star with a purple hue, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The podiums sit on a checkerboard floor, giving the scene a modern, sleek look.

Monthly Awards: April 2021

Posted on | by Rook Mirtoh | 1 Comment on Monthly Awards: April 2021

After our 20th Anniversary Trivia Day on Saturday with prizes, here are your April 2021 Monthly Awards, but unfortunately without prizes:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Liberty

For “Time is 07 Hundred”

I love it! No one thinks about the mundane routine of a Starfleet officer and this one does that, with a lot of humor thrown in, along with a good plot hook. Well done!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & CPO Remal Kajun
CO / C
USS Liberty

For “Journey into Madness”

Very nice dialog & easy to read. The two of you write well together!

Funniest Post

 Lt. j.g. Travis Ryson
Chief Science Officer
USS Montana

For “Breaking the Fourth Wall”

Unusual use of camera looks and dream sequences. I like it!

Genesis

Capt. Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “The Undiscovered Starbase”

Just what a genesis post should be: Short, with lots of open ended things happening. This is what gets the creative writing juices flowing.

MVP

Cmdr. Savar cha’Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen
Executive Officer
USS Liberty

The XO came up big again: developed our new mission, helped write the Genesis post, and continued to guide and steer the rest of the crew toward our desired outcomes. He is a continued credit to the ship & fleet.

Most Posts

Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Liberty

For writing 27 posts.

Most Improved

Lt. Dean House
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Liberty

Lt. House moved the storyline along quite well and also started a joint post to bring the crew together for some well needed off duty action–nicely done!

Rookie of the Month

Maj. Kaden Ross
Marine CO
USS Liberty

Major Ross jumped straight into the fray, getting involved with the current mission and establishing connections with the existing characters. He has already made a great impact on the Liberty in less than a month.

Recruitment

Lt. Aurora Vali
Chief Counselor
USS Liberty

For recruiting the Liberty’s new Marine Chief.

Keep up the great work as we head toward our actual 20th Anniversary this summer on July 4th.

A futuristic, three-tiered podium with black and red bases, each displaying the Independence Fleet logo in large white letters. The top tier features the fleet's logo, a stylized star with a purple hue, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The podiums sit on a checkerboard floor, giving the scene a modern, sleek look.

Trivia Day Results

Posted on | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment on Trivia Day Results

We’re less than two months away from our 20th Anniversary this summer on July 4th. As part of the ongoing celebrations this year, we held a 20th Anniversary Trivia Day this past Saturday. In addition to giving away six “fantastic” prizes to our winners, we were able to cap the evening off with a Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan watch party. For those who were unable to attend, here’s the summary:

Prizes

  • Description (estimated retail value)
  • Independence Fleet mug ($15)
  • Micro Machines Star Trek Generations set ($16)
  • A Happy Birthday message from John de Lancie ($150)
  • Star Trek TOS VHS signed by IDF co-founder James D. West ($0.99)
  • Star Trek TNG Badge & Lapel set ($17)
  • Spock Vehicle Decal ($25)

Results

  1. Aurther Winters won Star Trek: TOS Season 1 and selected the IDF mug
  2. Galaxis won Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and selected the John de Lancie birthday message
  3. Aurther Winters won Star Trek Round Robin and selected the Badge & Lapel set
  4. LuckyFan won Doctor Who and stole the Badge & Lapel set; Aurther Winters selected the signed VHS tape
  5. NisaMage won Supernatural and selected the Spock Vehicle decal
  6. NisaMage won Star Wars Original Trilogy and selected the Micro Machines set

Beyond the prizes above, we will also be sending a small token to each person who correctly answered at least one question at any point during the day. Finally, we thank our event hosts for helping make it a truly special occasion: Shran dh’Klar, Trident, Angelus, Emmalyn Marcus, and yours truly.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic experience. Thank you again to all who were able to take part.

9/9/2022 CORRECTION: Aurther Winters actually stole the mug from himself, and then selected the Badge & Lapel set.