Rhenora Kaylen Archives - Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: December 2024

Posted on January 30, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | 1 Comment

With a distinctly medical theme this month:

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For “Going Home pt 2”

Short, but with massively vivid description.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Cadet Senior Grade Abigail Gordon & CPO Zenne Beddite
CO / Nurse / Head Nurse
USS Firebird

For “Arriving in Medical”

Great dialog and flow from Sickbay.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant JG Benjamin “Ben” Dalton & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer / Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

For “Vacation a Go-Go!”

Out of control very fast.

Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Ramant”

Not a prototypical Genesis post, but I am more than intrigued.

MVP

Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer

Besides frequently patching up the crew, he had some excellent writing.

Most Posts

Lt. Cmdr. Shoniara T’ghann-Travis
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For writing 4 posts.

Most Improved

2nd Lieutenant Connor McQueen
Marine Executive Officer
USS Sunfire

Increased his posting with some great description.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Welcome to 2025!

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Happy 23rd Anniversary, Independence Fleet

Posted on July 4, 2024 | by Charles Star | 9 Comments

Happy 23rd anniversary, Independence Fleet! For anyone new and not aware or simply not wanting to do the math, this club was founded all the way back on July 4, 2001. Continuing a tradition we began a few years ago, here is a message from a special guest:

What else do we have for this year? You might remember the 20th Anniversary Almanac that we published three years ago. Well, we got the cover page signed by none other than Star Trek legend William Shatner:

pdf | jpg

A closer view of the signature:

In case you were wondering, the cover photo at the top is indeed based on the greatest Star Trek selfie ever taken by LeVar Burton. Thank you to Captain Misaki for creating our header image two years in a row.

I almost forgot, we have a second message this year too:

Happy anniversary, IDF! Here’s to 23 years and much more!

Monthly Awards: April 2024

Posted on May 31, 2024 | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment

Just in the nick of time…

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Tracey Walker
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Hunted”

Great action description!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Cmdr. Deanna Celes & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Ens. Kate Kono & Ens. James Phoenix
ACOO / XO / CMO / SCP / TO
USS Washington

For “The War With the Machines”

A great bit of collaborative writing!

Funniest Post

Ensign Kate Kono
Support Craft Pilot
USS Washington

For “Heinous Frackery”

I was not expecting that type of crossover!

Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Lost in Space”

A great opening with immediate possibilities for the rest of the crew to take the reins.

MVP

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

The Sunfire legend and future Hall of Famer returned with a bang with her patented outstanding posting.

Most Posts

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For writing 20 posts. Lance took over right where his new CO left off–writing the most posts!

Most Improved

Ensign James Phoenix
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

A mainstay of the Washington, Phoenix upped his game with some incredibly well written posts.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

I hope everyone had a great May too!

Monthly Awards: December 2023

Posted on January 15, 2024 | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment

Happy New Year, everybody!

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant JG Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Something is amiss”

This excellent post is certainly not amiss!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Remal Kajun & Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Lt. Cmdr. Thriss Kla’ren & Ens. Aubrie Fox & Lt. Thomas Haldeman & Lt. Alison Haldeman
CSS / CA / CO / CEO / TO / CDO / ACOO
USS Sunfire

For “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

What an inspiring post from one of the ship’s best missions!

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Tall Fat Man in a Red Suit”

Fat guy in a little coat… not quite!

Genesis

Captain Michael Intermeezo
Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Grazerite Extinguished”

A great mission start!

MVP

Lieutenant Inara Senn
Chief Science Officer
USS Washington

Senn continually raises the bar to create amazing posts with her fellow crewmembers. A top-notch role player through and through!

Most Posts

Commander Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For writing 37 posts.

Most Improved

Lieutenant JG Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris

The Chuck Norris’s CMO picked up the pace with both quality and quantity and has quickly developed into one of the ship’s most valuable crewmembers.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

It’s time for 2024, IDF!

Monthly Awards: October 2023

Posted on November 29, 2023 | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Q’s Last Temptation”

An interesting conversation with an old friend.

Best Post (Joint Post)

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

For “Jailbreak!”

Great dialog and great action make for a great post, all the while continuing to develop the characters.

Funniest Post

Commander Michael Murphy & Lieutenant Katja Becker
Executive Officer / Chief Medical Officer
USS Montana

For “Meet and Greet”

Not laugh out loud, but a humorous introduction that creates endless possibilities.

Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Halloween”

Short and sweet, but everything you want in a Genesis Post–the crew can literally take it anywhere, but with just enough backstory for consistency.

MVP

Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

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.

Most Posts

Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For writing 34 posts.

Most Improved

Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali
Chief Counselor
USS Sunfire

Vali upped her game, finishing second on the sim in total posts with some outstanding collaboration along the way.

Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant Inara Senn
Chief Science Officer
USS Washington

Senn showed a distinct creative flair, adding a new element to the Washington in her first month.

Recruitment

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

Grayson brought in one new recruit, who seamlessly fit in with the crew.

You didn’t realize it was me this time, did you?

Promotional image for Independence Fleet, a Star Trek simming organization founded in 2001. A glowing IDF emblem with purple wings and gold trim is at the center, surrounded by labeled images of starships including Albion, Montana, Wayfarer, Ganymede, Chuck Norris, Sunfire, Eminence, Washington, Eclipse, Liberty, Starbase 80, and Churchill, all set against a starry space background.

At the movies… with Independence Fleet!

Posted on July 4, 2023 | by Charles Star | 7 Comments

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:

Now, the 12 movie posters:

And your winners are…
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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:

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:

Happy IDF anniversary, everyone!

Monthly Awards: April 2023

Posted on May 15, 2023 | by Rook Mirtoh | 1 Comment

On the Ides of May, here are your April awards:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Commander Mark Johnson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer

For “Day 7: Deena, a pleasant surprise.”

Nice post, not rushed, with very good detail and description. Well done!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard
ACSTO / XO / CMO
USS Washington

For “A Pleasant Visit”

A very interesting predicament of a First Contact with a human civilization–and outstanding job among several excellent nominations this month.

Funniest Post

Ensign Alyssa Strong
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For “Shower, Hot Chocolate, SURPRISE!”

Awesome.

Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire

For “GENESIS”

Great way to start a mission–with the Obsidian Order bashing your door in. Good luck!

MVP

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

Commander Grayson had a great month leading a new mission, working closely with a new player, and keeping the story moving with inputs from everyone. Great job!

Most Posts

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

For writing 10 posts.

Most Improved

Lieutenant Callisi Veera
Chief Operations Officer
USS Churchill

Really stepped up to fill in while the Captain was unwell to keep the sim moving after having zero posts the month prior.

Rookie of the Month

Ensign J.B. Dersch
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

The new Ensign was active right out of the gate with great contributions.

Recruitment

None this month.

As always, great posting!

The Record Book Has Been Rewritten

Posted on January 12, 2023 | by Charles Star | 3 Comments

With 2022 in the books, it’s high time we checked in with the latest version of the IDF Record Book over on our About page. As it turns out, we have a new all-time leader in monthly awards. Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell of the USS Sunfire now has a grand total of 29.83 awards, passing the previous leader, Jenna Ramthorne (of a prior version of the Sunfire), who has 24.83. What’s even more incredible, is that both characters are played by the same person!

	Best Post	Funniest Post	Genesis	MVP	Most Posts	Most Improved	Recruitment	Total
Durnell	5.05	5.78		4	14	1		29.83
Ramthorne	4		.83	4	15		1	24.83

Prolific across multiple award categories, the two stat lines seem to mirror each other. However, the difference is clearly Durnell’s five plus Funniest Post awards to Ramthorne’s zero. See what adding humor to your game can do! Congratulations to Lieutenant Durnell on this incredible accomplishment!

As it turns out, we have quite a few current or recent members who have moved up leader board since we brought the Awards back for March 2020:

Active Member — received an award within the last year or confirmed to currently be on a sim
Hall of Famer

*All characters with five or more total monthly awards*

In addition to all those who’ve won awards, I also want to thank each of our sim Commanding Officers for submitting nominations month-in and month-out and to Rear Admiral James “Rook” Mirtoh for running the program and selecting winners. Without their tireless efforts, the awards simply wouldn’t be possible.

I’ve long been of the opinion that the monthly awards are one of the absolute best features of this fleet, and they’re a key bonus that really distinguishes us from other groups out there. The numbers speak for themselves: Through the end of 2022, we have 969 total documented awards presented to 506 different individuals through 1,226 different award records. Each one is permanently part of our continuing history, starting all the way back with the five original awards presented for our very first month of July 2001 going up through today and beyond.

Now it’s time to add your legacy to the story…

Monthly Awards: November 2022

Posted on December 27, 2022 | by Rook Mirtoh | Leave a Comment

As 2022 winds down, it’s time to honor the best of last month:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For “Night One.”

Who’d have ever thought one could feel lonely on a Starship?

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Lt. Sarah Wilson & Cmdr. Savar cha’Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Cmdr. Dean House & Lt. JG Blake Leone & Lt. JG Aurora Vali & Lt. Alison Haldeman & CPO Remal Kajun
CO / MO / XO / 2O / C / CC / ACOO / CA
USS Sunfire

For “Camp pt 1”

Star Trek and Dinosaurs! I love it.

Funniest Post

Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Ileah & Lt. Avery Coyle & Lt. Rosaleen O’Donnell & Lt. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Mark Johnson & Lt. JG Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok
CO / XO / Y / CFCO / COO / CSTO / CMO / FCO
USS Wayfarer

For “Day One – Beach Games! (Part 2)”

Starfleet officer knocked out cold by a volleyball. That’s funny.

Genesis

Captain Akeno Misaki
Commanding Officer
USS Wayfarer

For “Dinner Date”

Not the prototypical Genesis post, but it does a great job setting things up.

MVP

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s XO put forth another strong month both in and out of character, which is typical for him. However, this time he purposefully added surprises that continually popped up during the mission, adding another layer to the sim.

Most Posts

Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For writing 16 posts.

Most Improved

Ensign T’Plana-hath
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

The Ensign finished second on the sim with posting, but also advanced the plot quite nicely a couple times while also further developing the character.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

Lieutenant Avery Coyle
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer

For recruiting this newest member of the sim, Lieutenant Sidney Harper.

Thanks for another great year in IDF. Expect to see 2022’s final monthly awards post in early January.

Happy holidays and a happy new year to all!

Monthly Awards: September 2022

Posted on October 18, 2022 | by Rook Mirtoh | Leave a Comment

Here are your latest monthly award winners…

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant JG Patra Rommel
Structural/Environmental Specialist
USS Wayfarer

For “Meeting the Neurosurgeon”

A nice detailed post about a visit to sickbay, along with a little love in the air.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Captain Shran dh’Klar & Lieutenant Commander Callie Raven-Grayson & Ensign T’Plana-hath & Ensign James Phoenix & Lieutenant Seth Travis & Lieutenant JG Tarja zh’Rhun
CO / CC / IO / TO / CDO / MO
USS Washington

For “Moves and Countermoves”

This post is great because of the build up to the action. Well done!

Funniest Post

Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant JG Blake Leone & Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Crewman Patin
CO / 2O / DO / CSS / Guest
USS Sunfire

For “Survival 101 pt 2”

Survival is not for the weak! Hilarious!

Genesis

Captain Akeno Misaki & Commander Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lieutenant Rosaleen O’Donnell & Lieutenant Raelyn Mckenzie & Lieutenant Mark Johnson & Lieutenant JG Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok
CO / XO / COO / CSTO / CMO / FCO
USS Wayfarer

For “The First Morning”

A perfect start to a simming mission!

MVP

Commander Dean House
Second Officer
USS Sunfire

House successfully pushed the mission forward when momentum was lacking by getting others involved into the story, focusing on plot development. He also recruited the Sunfire’s newest member.

Most Posts

Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For writing 14 posts.

Most Improved

Ensign T’Plana-hath
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

Pulling double duty as both herself and an integral NPC, she has has shown both great versatility and target focus.

Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant JG Blake Leone
Diplomatic Officer
USS Sunfire

Leone jumped into the Sunfire’s main plot with a bang, working well with the existing characters and finding her niche in the crew. Splendid!

Recruitment

Commander Dean House
Second Officer
USS Sunfire

For recruiting Lt. Leone, who went on to win Rookie of the Month.

Well done to all. Keep the great post coming!

1st Place: USS Wayfarer CO: Captain Akeno Misaki Poster by: Akeno Misaki	2nd Place: USS Sunfire CO: Captain Rhenora Kaylen Poster by: Bonnie Durnell	3rd Place: USS Eclipse CO: Captain Aven LaCroix Poster by: Aven LaCroix
“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.”

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