A close-up view of a futuristic starship's bridge seats, featuring a central command chair with an elaborate design. The seat has angular, dark purple and beige components, with additional seats on either side, all positioned in front of a curved control panel. The overall design is modern with sleek, minimalistic features and geometric shapes.

My Favorite Trek: Michael Murphy

Character Name: Michael Murphy

Rank: Captain

Sim: USS Montana

Position: Commanding Officer 

Plus…
Lt. Aaron Mitchell, USS Montana, Assistant Chief Engineering Officer (NCP)
Lt. Nerex, USS Eminence, Flight Control Chief

How many times have you posted for one character while intending on posting for another?
I try to make each character unique enough to make it easier to keep up with. It helps that one is a Romulan.

Favorite Star Trek episode? 
“Those Old Scientists” (Strange New Worlds, season 2, episode 7)

Why? 
It’s a crossover between two of my favorite Star Trek series. Plus I’m a sucker for time travel episodes.

Favorite Star Trek series? 
Lower Decks, then Strange New Worlds, then Discovery.

Why?
Lower Decks is a lot of fun, and it’s nice to see things from a different perspective. Strange New Worlds captures the essence of The Original Series for me, updating it for modern audiences. And Discovery had me hooked since the amazing story they told in season 1.

Favorite Star Trek film?
My #1 pick would be The Undiscovered Country, #2 would be First Contact, and #3 would be Star Trek 2009.

Why? 
Undiscovered Country’s story is great, the secret plot, the spy onboard the Enterprise, the race to save the day, and ultimately the treaty that changes the power dynamic in the universe for the future. First Contact because I loved that particular Borg storyline. And Star Trek 2009 is just a lot of fun.

Favorite Star Trek Captain? 
Christopher Pike, both in Strange New Worlds and in Star Trek 2009.

What year did you start simming? 
Somewhere between 2003 and 2006.

What sim was it? 
RSS or DFA Cromwell in Borderlands.

What keeps you simming today? 
I enjoy roleplaying with others. I enjoy telling stories together.

Favorite non-simming hobby? 
Video games, board games, and card games.

Favorite non-Trek series? 
Of all time, it would probably be between Friends and One Tree Hill.

Favorite non-Trek film? 
It’s very hard to narrow down one favorite, I have always enjoyed films very much. A Few Good Men, A Goofy Movie, and 1776 have been some of my favorites.

Favorite book (fiction or non)? 
Imzadi by Peter David will always be one of my favorite books, if not my favorite book. The Harry Potter series also comes to mind.

Favorite video game? 
Right now, it’s Sea of Thieves.

Favorite musician or band? 
It was Rascal Flatts. Lately it’s The Holderness Family.

Favorite superhero? 
Spiderman or Hawkeye. Hawkeye’s great because he’s a normal guy fighting alongside superheroes. Spiderman’s just great. I’m loving the new Spiderverse series of films.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? 
First choice, immortality. Second choice, mind-reading.

Favorite sport? 
To play, Dodgeball. To watch, none. I do like watching sports movies, though.

Favorite team? 
I’ve always been a Dallas Cowboy fan.

Favorite food? 
Made at home, spaghetti. At a restaurant, steak.

Coke or Pepsi? 
Pepsi, so I can get that Mountain Dew.

Lennon or McCartney? 
Lennon

Favorite Bond actor? 
Sean Connery

Star Trek or Star Wars? 
Star Trek, although I love both.

Rank the Trek TV shows from best to worst.
Lower Decks
Strange New Worlds
Discovery
Picard
Deep Space Nine
Voyager
Enterprise
The Next Generation
Prodigy
The Original Series
I haven’t seen The Animated Series yet.

Rank the Trek movies from best to worst.
The Undiscovered Country
First Contact
Star Trek 2009
The Voyage Home
Nemesis
Into Darkness
Wrath of Khan
Generations
Beyond
Insurrection
The Final Frontier
The Search For Spock
The Motion Picture

Rear Admiral James “Rook” Mirtoh
Director of Media
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: June 2022

Congratulations to those who won some real prizes at our annual gift drawing earlier this month. Here’s the first group to place their names on the big wheel for next year…

Best Post (Single Author)

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For “Progress”

Writing for doctors can be difficult, without constantly employing a deus ex machina to solve a problem. Spending time writing about the thinking process and coming up with a creative solution is sometimes the best kind of medical post. Love this one!


Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Lt. Cmdr. Dean House & Lt. Ashlesha 4827/A & Ens. Kitiuas Thenis
CO / 2O / COO / SO
USS Sunfire

For “Bridge Crew”

This is a very interesting subject, not seen often in Trek posts, which kept me engaged. Well written, seamless even though multiple folks contributed, and just the right mix of personal interactions with technical jargon. Well done!


Funniest Post

Lieutenant Nerex
Flight Control Chief
USS Eminence

For “Fun During Downtime”

Ok, intentionally flying a shuttle into a black hole and dying over and over again is inherently funny!


Genesis

Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “Unexpected Adventure”

Unexpected, yes, and a perfect way to get the crew going.


MVP

Lieutenant JG Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok
Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer

Lt. jg. Luna has really developed her character in a short amount of time. She expertly writes the clash of the Human/Klingon slides while easily incorporating it into the mission with the rest of the crew. A great teammate!


Most Posts

Lieutenant Anna Thesia
Chief Medical Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 10 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Ashlesha 4827/A
Chief Operations Officer
USS Sunfire

Still relatively new to the Sunfire, Lt. Ashlesha continues to involve herself in all matters of the mission and consistently offers great ideas and well written posts. She is also super easy to work with, which is always a plus.


Rookie of the Month

None this month


Recruitment

None this month


It’s hard to believe this crazy group we call IDF has now been around for 21 whole years. Here’s to 21 more!

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: October 2021

Awards time, October style!

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Aiko Kato
Flight Control Officer
USS Washington

For “Through the Looking Glass of Time”

Very well written bit of backstory, with a great perspective established in the “Previously On” section.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Cmdr. Trevor Andrews & Capt. John Wells & Cmdr. Yadira Tristan House Kilrah & Lt. Cmdr. Timber Wolf & Lt. Nerex & Lt. JG Hank Solomon & MCPO Alake Van Der Luan
ACEO / CO / CEO / XO / FCC / CSO / MaA
USS Eminence

For “The Lionheart (Part One)”

It’s been a while since I’ve read a good old fashioned time travel post, and this one didn’t disappoint. Great character interactions, and the authors didn’t skip over the gravity of someone discovering they’re out of tine. Kudos also for the transporter room scene. Well done!


Funniest Post

Lt. Sheeraashaa Genno
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Albion

For “Steady as She Goes”

LOL. I can almost hear the funny light music in the background on this one. Very Orville-esque. Love it!


Genesis

Captain Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “Consult the Anomaly”

As is typical for the Albion, the odd title is indicative of the goofy mission to follow, with plenty of opportunities to be taken in many directions.


MVP

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

What more can I say about this powerhouse simmer? A rock-solid team-first player and sounding bound for the Captain, there’s nothing Durnell can’t and doesn’t do.


Most Posts

Lieutenant Callie Raven-Grayson
Chief Counselor
USS Washington

For writing 8 posts.


Most Improved

Harper McGinnis
Chef
USS Sunfire

The Sunfire’s new Chef joined in October, showed exceptional improvement over the course of the month, and blended in nicely with the experienced crew.


Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant Callie Raven-Grayson
Chief Counselor
USS Washington

The Washington’s new Counselor immediately brought excitement and creativity to the sim, and has been a joy to the rest of the crew.


Recruitment

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

For recruiting a new player who turned out to be a game changer.


Congratulations to everyone who took home hardware this month. I’ll see you in November!