Monthly Awards: February 2022

With month two of 2022 in the books, let’s present our February awards:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Aiko Kato
Flight Control Officer
USS Washington

For “Alpha Shift”

I love this post! It’s simple, just a crewmember getting ready for her shift, but the detail about sharing a bunk and all that goes into getting ready for a shift on the bridge is compelling. Well done!


Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Shran dh’Klar & Lt. Deanna Celes & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Shoniara T’ghann Dex & Lt. Callie Raven-Grayson & Lt. Seth Travis & Petty Officer 1st Class Amethyst Reece
CO / OO / CMO / ACMO / CC / CDO / CA
USS Washington

For “The Stuff of Dreams”

This was a really tough choice as there were three absolutely outstanding nominations. However, this one rose to the top due to its unique writing style of switching back and forth between Dex’s dream and the happenings in Sickbay. The incredible descriptive detail of Dex’s visions made me feel like I was actually there.


Funniest Post

Lieutenant Aurora Vali & Lieutenant Niali Korial
Chief Counselor / Chief Medical Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Apologies”

Awkward, right down to the OOC argument at the end!


Genesis

Captain Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “The Good Ole’ Boys”

This one could have been nominated for funniest post! However, it lays out the mission parameters just fine and really gets the crew going. Well done!


MVP

Lieutenant Rania Bhatti
Chief Counselor
USS Wayfarer

Since coming aboard Lt Bhatti has consistent produced top notch quality writing in all of her posts. Her creativity has been a boon of inspiration for the rest of the crew as well.


Most Posts

Lieutenant Shoniara T’ghann Dex
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For writing 11 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Callie Raven-Grayson
Chief Counselor
USS Washington

The Washington’s Counselor has done remarkable work for her own character development as well as creating opportunities for her crewmates.


Rookie of the Month

2nd Lieutenant Emily Janeway
Marine
USS Albion

The Albion’s newest Marine hit the ground running in her first ever month of simming with 3 posts, each one better than the one before, she’s really getting the swing of things.


Recruitment

None this month.


Thanks again for the great simming last month!

Monthly Awards: January 2022

I apologize for the delay on getting the January awards out. I promise it was Admiral Star’s fault! Regardless, here are your January winners.

Admiral Star edit: Unfortunately, that’s true.

Best Post (Single Author)

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

For “Can you see me daddy?”

Wow! A fantastic piece of writing! It kept me super engaged and was emotionally fulfilling to boot. Well done!


Best Post (Joint Post)

Captain Akeno Misaki & Lieutenant Ileah & Lieutenant Raelyn Mckenzie & Lieutenant JG Torvin Anor
CO / Yeoman / CSTO / CEO
USS Wayfarer

For “Junior Emerges”

A very nice post with tense writing with a pleasing cliffhanger. Well done again!


Funniest Post

Ensign Laurel Zatara
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For “Get out of there! Get out!”

Not a laugh out loud post, but funny given the context.


Genesis

Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “A Needed Rest”

You don’t see a lot of detailed posts like this kicking off shore leave. I like it!


MVP

Ensign Laurel Zatara
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

Ens. Zatara joined during January and immediately finished second on the ship in posting. Even better than that, her posts were always excellent, driving the plot forward while giving other players a chance to get in on the action, and best of all, they were usually pretty funny–which is par for the course on the Albion.


Most Posts

Lieutenant Shoniara T’ghann Dex
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For writing 25 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant JG Torvin Anor
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Wayfarer

Lt. jg. Torvin joined the Wayfarer as an engineering officer and was initially mainly in the background. However, after the recent mission he really stepped up and into place of a CEO both in and out of character. He is a pleasure to write with.


Rookie of the Month

None this month.


Recruitment

None this month.


Thanks for a great start to 2022. Keep the excellent posting coming!

Monthly Awards: November 2021

On this Christmas Eve, in addition to presenting our November awards, we wish everyone a festivus holiday season and a happy new year!

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Aiko Kato
Flight Control Officer
USS Washington

For “Unintended Consequences Part 3”

Lt. Kato wins for the second month in a row with a cool post about what it’s like to have extra sensory perceptions. Well done!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Cmdr. Finchley Kerr & Cmdr. Savar cha’Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lt. Thriss Kla’ren & Lt. Dean House & Lt. Aurora Vali & Lt. JG Avarak & Harper McGinnis
CSS / CO / CSOO / XO / CEO / CTO / CC / CSO / Chef
USS Sunfire

For “Moving Out”

I’m a sucker for a well written bridge scene. This post does it right.


Funniest Post

Lieutenant Dean House
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Not Everything is Black and White”

Fun and heartwarming, with a little humor thrown in.


Genesis

 Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “Righting Wrongs”

Gets the story going and leaves many openings for other players to take the story in different directions, everything a Genesis post should be.


MVP

Lieutenant Callie Raven-Grayson
Chief Counselor
USS Washington

The Washington’s Counselor has really came into her own, crafting in-depth posts that moved the story, included much of the crew, and created lots of personal development for both herself and others.


Most Posts

Lieutenant Shoniara T’ghann Dex
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For writing 13 posts.


Most Improved

Commander Finchley Kerr
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
USS Sunfire

Finchley stepped up big by driving the plot forward, offering many valuable suggestions, and creating opportunities to engage the rest of the crew.


Rookie of the Month

None this month.


Recruitment

None this month.


Congratulations to our award winners. I’ll see you again in 2022!

Monthly Awards: July 2021

Last month may have been the earliest we’ve ever gotten the monthly awards out. This month, well, may be the latest. My apologies!

Speaking of last month, I want to offer my sincere thanks to Admirals Charles Star and Ken Gillis for all the hard work they put into our epic 20th anniversary. They hosted two really excellent events: the Science Fiction Trivia Day & Special Webcast, both which had real prizes… unlike these awards!

We also released two incredible products, a 20-page anniversary almanac & a congratulatory video message from Jonathan Frakes. What other fleet does that for its members?? That’s right, none! If you haven’t checked them out yet, do yourself a favor and do so now.

As we embark this month on our second 20 years, I think back to my earliest days in IDF. I wasn’t there for the fleet’s launch, but I joined soon after in October 2001 on the USS Washington. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” I had no idea back then what I was getting myself into, but golly has it been fun! Enough on me, time for the awards:

Best Post (Single Author)

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

For “Except for Monday”

Nice recap of events and a good bit of character development to boot!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Shran dh’Klar & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Ens. James Phoenix
CO / XO / CMO / TO
USS Washington

For “Boom Town”

Lots of action, lots of emotion, and some all around great Trek. Very good integration between contributions makes this seem like seamless writing as opposed to lots of different people tacking on to each other’s posts.


Funniest Post

Lt. Dean House & Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Lt. JG Avarak
CTO / CO / CSS / CSO
USS Sunfire

For “Weapons Go Boom! Pt 2”

Tactical map that looks like it was drawn by a three year old? Awesome.


Genesis

None this month.


MVP

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

Another great month for the Sunfire, in no small part the work of Lt. Durnell, who took an idea and wrapped it into a myriad of stories that encompass every other member of the crew. The result: extremely well written collaborative stories.


Most Posts

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

For writing 31 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Aurora Vali
Chief Counselor
USS Sunfire

A great month for Lt. Vali. She doubled her posts from the previous month and added some absolutely stellar additions to some joint posts.


Rookie of the Month

Master Chief Petty Officer Alake Van Der Luan
Master-at-Arms
USS Eminence

The Eminence’s new Master at Arms introduced himself to the rest of the crew and set himself up well for his upcoming first full month on the ship.


Recruitment

None this month.


… and the Adventure continues…

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!

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.

20th Anniversary Trivia Day: May 8th

In honor of our club’s 20th anniversary later this summer, we’re hosting a day of trivia in our fleet Discord’s general discussion chat room on May 8th. All are invited to partake: current members, former members, and non-members.

Join the Discord server here

We have six one-hour sessions on a variety of Star Trek and science fiction topics planned. Feel free to pop in and out for the ones that most interest you.

Schedule of Events

EDT (-4)BST (+1)TopicHost
10:00 am3:00 pmStar Trek: TOS Season 1Charles Star
11:00 am4:00 pmStar Trek: Deep Space NineShran dh’Klar
12:00 pm5:00 pmStar Trek Round-RobinYou!
1:00 pm6:00 pmDoctor WhoTrident
2:00 pm7:00 pmSupernaturalAngelus
3:00 pm8:00 pmStar Wars Original TrilogyMarcus

Prizes!

Yes, prizes! We have six fantastic prizes to distribute to the six trivia winners. Here’s how it’ll work: The winner of the first event will get to pick one of the six prizes below. The next winner can then choose to take one of the remaining five prizes or to steal the first prize selected. Same thing for the next winner, all the way down to the final winner, who will have their pick of the entire lot. Anytime someone has their prize stolen, they have to take one of the unselected prizes–no back-to-back steals. You might recognize these rules as similar to a white elephant gift routine. And you’re right!

ImagePrizeRetail Value
Independence Fleet mug$15
Micro Machines Star Trek Generations set$16
A Happy Birthday message from John de Lancie to you or a friend
Must be used within 1 year
$150
Star Trek TOS S1E17: The Squire of Gothos VHS tape
signed by IDF co-founder James D. West
Not guaranteed to work
$0.99
Star Trek TNG Badge & Lapel set$17
Spock Vehicle Decal$25

Watch Party!

Finally, please also join us after trivia at 8 pm Eastern in Discord for a watch party of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Until then, good luck and enjoy!

Monthly Awards: October 2020

It’s awards time again! Congratulations to all of our October winners below:

Best Post

Lt. Cmdr. Shylow Vitari
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Liberty

For “Like a Glove”
With strangely compelling imagery, this is a nicely written post describing things and spaces on a starship I’ve never seen before. Well done!


Funniest Post

Cmdr. Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For “The War”
A blood curdling scream and an undignified string of something. This one has funny written all over it.


Genesis

Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “Appearances are Deceiving”
A nice way to get the ship and crew into action.


MVP

Lt. Cmdr. Ech’am G’ginloss
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Chuck Norris

Leading his ship in total posts, G’ginloss continued to keep things interesting with some excellent ones about trying to keep the USS Chuck Norris together while in the heat of battle. Great writing, a nice amount of joint posts, and star for the crew.


Most Posts

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

For writing 13 posts.


Most Improved

Lt. T’Strella Drake
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Liberty

T’Strella increased her post count from 3 to 8, played a major role in the current storyline, and threw an interesting curve ball to boot. All in all, a massive leap in overall participation.


Rookie of the Month

Lt. J’goss Yass G’odoss
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris

G’odoss took the initiative to create new plot lines, joint posts, and multiple interesting takes in addition to tying for the sim lead in totals posts. His performance continues to increase.


Recruitment

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

The Commander recruited to the sim one new player, who has already begun making solid contributions to the game.


In other news, our fleet XO Admiral Ken Gillis was awarded the Ongoing Worlds Community Honor for his efforts with FallFest. Congratulations, Admiral, and thank you to everyone who had a role in putting on an outstanding FallFest.

This is why we sim! Keep it coming!

Monthly Awards: July 2020

Another month, more stories! Congratulations to all who won July awards below.

Best Post

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

For “Inner Strength”
Romance and really really good character development. Best post material all the way.


Funniest Post

Sunak
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Ganymede

For “The Illusion of Diplomacy”
Junior officers reacting to a hologram of a Vulcan diplomatic officer – hilariarious and well deserving of funniest post this month!


Genesis

Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “The Dark Unknown”
Quick and to the point: mission begin.


MVP

Lt. Mackenzie Graham
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ganymede

Mackenzie has been one of the ship’s most prolific writers, and has driven multiple large joint posts to get the crew involved.


Most Posts

Lt. Andew Archer & Lt. Cmdr. T’Brei Sheridan
Chief Science Officer/Chief Medical Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 12 posts each.


Most Improved

Lt. Cmdr. Estella Stratton
Chief Counselor
USS Washington

The Counselor continues to improve with excellent work in her posts that are always top notch.


Rookie of the Month

Lt. Michael Stonebridge
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

The new Intel Officer has come in with guns blazing and really pushing everyone to be better. 


Recruitment

Ens. Joshua “Josh” Anderson
Assistance Chief Operations Officer
USS Chuck Norris

Anderson recruited multiple new members to the fleet to various sims over the month.


Happy simming!

Monthly Awards: June 2020

When it comes to awards, it’s certainly tough to follow the Hall of Fame. However, we’re still going to try. The show must go on! Here are your June 2020 award winners:

Best Post

Ensign Balen Pibb
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Tantrums about”
A funny little interaction that moves the plot forward more than meets the eye.


Funniest Post

Lt. Mackenzie Graham & Lt. Donovan Steele
Chief Medical Officer/Chief Operations Officer
USS Ganymede

For “Steele a moment”
Crewmembers meeting each other for the first time. Sometimes it’s big, sometimes it’s not.


Genesis

Capt. Shran dh’Klar & Lt. L’Rissa & Lt. Deanna Celes
Commanding Officer/Flight Control Officer/Operations Officer
USS Washington

For “Curiosity Has Risks”
It may be simple, but I’m sure of one thing: This is going to be a great mission.


MVP

Lt. Cmdr. Aliss Springs
Head Nurse
USS Eminence

Springs kept the story going and single-handedly saved this sim after both the CO and XO quit. She also recruited new players and now the game is humming along.


Most Posts

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For writing 7 posts.


Most Improved

Lt. Cmdr. Estella Stratton
Chief Counselor
USS Washington

Stratton took it upon herself to push hard into the mission, showcased leadership skills, and did some excellent writing.


Recruitment

Lt. Cmdr. Aliss Springs
Head Nurse
USS Eminence

As mentioned earlier, Arliss recruited several members to the Eminence and this game is doing some great things now.


Maybe we have a few future Hall of Famers in our list above. Only time will tell. I take that back, I think we do have some Hall of Famers here! Keep writing and keep having fun.