USS Firebird Archives - Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: February 2026

Posted on March 24, 2026 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

Well written tension that harkens back to some great elements of not just TNG, but DS9 as well. Many different threads, characters, and a hidden plot make this an exciting and thrilling post.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. JG Jek’Lar Son of Koss & Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Lt. Jackson Smith & Lt. Devin Hadenbeer & Lt. JG Hotaru Wymund
ACIO / CO / CIO / IS / IO
USS Firebird

For “Invasion: Intelligence Part 2”

Although this award is going to the second part of a two-parter, I highly recommend reading both! The weight on every character, every action, and the consequences of those actions reverberate throughout the story.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Betaras K’ner & Captain Mira Rodale Lance
Chief Medical Officer / Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Meeting”

One of the things that can work well when trying to make comedy out of a serious situation is the absurdity of it all, and this is that to a tee.

Genesis

Captain Malcom Llwyedd
Commanding Officer
USS Firebird

For “A Voyage Home”

A great start to a new story by expanding on the previous mission and dealing with its consequences.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

For the second month in a row, the Washington’s Intel Chief provided a flurry of creative material, both solo and group, and even managed to not only be the W’s top poster for the month, but involved in every single nomination! That’s an MVP!

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 18 posts.

Most Improved

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s CMO had multiple contributions that advanced the plot extremely creatively, and at times, comically as well.

Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale
Chief Medical Officer
USS Sunfire

The Sunfure’s new CMO came in with a bang, immediately posting and integrating into the crew.

Recruitment

Commander Dean House
Second Officer
USS Sunfire

Commander House supercharged the Sunfire’s ranks by recruiting an epic three new players!

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: January 2026

Posted on February 28, 2026 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

In the midst of all the paloozas, here are your January awards!

Best Post (Single Author)

Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

For “Meanwhile, On The Other Side”

A great writer knows how to write for different cultures and perspectives, and this captures it very well, building the tension without being melodramatic.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lieutenant Kestra Ral & Lieutenant Dezkar Veen
Chief Science Officer / Chief Engineering Officer
USS Montana

For “Phaser Fire”

A great post, having two characters interact, help move the plot along while doing a great job setting up tension without it being thrown directly into the reader’s face.

Funniest Post

Cmdr. Jenna Ramthorne & Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Cmdr. Dean House
CFCO / CSS / CTO
USS Sunfire

For “The Return of the Mac – and the Dance of Shame”

Starfleet Officers are supposed to be calm, poised, and stoic, and this is the complete opposite of that.

Genesis

Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Commander Rhiana t’Aegis & Ensign Gianna Djokovic
CO / CSTO / TO
USS Firebird

For “Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc”

Well written, and deep with characters and themes. An interesting look at how you can plan for one thing, and maybe take the more difficult path instead.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s Intelligence Officer wrote 10 truly outstanding posts, a good mix of joint and solo posts, that took the story in highly creative directions.

Most Posts

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

For writing 12 posts.

Most Improved

Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

Commander Key came roaring back with a bang taking the mission in a distinctly comedic direction while also involving the whole crew and fleshing out mission specific NPCs.

Rookie of the Month

Ensign Ozai Y’zyr
Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

The new Trill Tactical Officer was chomping at the bit while the mission concluded. Has jumped in with multiple excellent posts and has integrated well with the diverse crew.

Recruitment

None this month.

There is one more piece of business. It turns out that Admiral Star did miss one award in Awardapalooza a few weeks back. While we did announce Ken Gillis’s 2022 Simming Prize via social media, we never included it in a blog post. Well, that is now corrected! Here is his citation in full straight from The Simming Prize:

“With an illustrious career spanning decades in multiple groups and roles, the breadth of his accomplishments is unrivaled. From both his and simming’s early days as founder of Pi Fleet, Administrator of RolePlayerUSA, and the 11th President of the Simming League to more recently as Executive Officer of Independence Fleet, Chair of FallFest, and serving as a board member at multiple organizations, his selfless efforts to positively impact to the broader community are exactly what we need today.”

A gold medal featuring a portrait of a man, framed by a laurel wreath, hanging from a blue ribbon with four gold stars—symbolizing excellence and recognition within a creative or roleplaying community.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Recordapalooza 2025

Posted on February 27, 2026 | by Charles Star | 5 Comments

We recently had one big post on community awards from outside IDF. Why not another big post on awards from within Independence Fleet? That’s what this is! We’ve crunched the numbers for everything from our July 4, 2001 founding through the end of 2025. In that time, IDF has issued 1,248 monthly awards to 599 unique characters, representing 52 different sims. Wow, what a history! Since a table with 599 people would be too big for this article, we decided to narrow it down to the 25. On a separate note, we’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary later this year! Awards were presented Jul 2001-Oct 2005, Oct 2010-Jul 2013, and Mar 2020-present.

Here we go with our monthly awards records…

Active or recently active member
Hall of Famer

Active members of the fleet are now 1-10 on the all-time leaderboard, and include 18 of the top 25 spots. Hall of Famers make up only 6 of the top 25 today. It seems we likely have A LOT of future Hall of Famers in our midst! Also, Jenna Ramthorne has (barely) overtaken Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell for #1, with Jonathan Grayson not too far behind at #3. Long-time sims USS Chuck Norris, USS Sunfire, and USS Washington dominate the list when looking at the primary sim of characters:

USS Washington: 4 of the top 10; 8 of the top 25
USS Sunfire: 3 of the top 10; 7 of the top 25
USS Chuck Norris: 3 of the top 10; 5 of the top 25

Breaking it out by sim:

The Sunfire leads the way with 236.5 total awards, with the Washington not too far back at 220. Active sims claim spots #1-4 (the USS Liberty is at #3 overall with 96.5 awards) and 6 of the top 10–the more recent addition to the fleet USS Firebird lands right in that 10 spot with 42 awards. The USS Wayfarer is #6 with 52 awards, and the USS Albion and USS Montana sit just outside the top 10 at #11 (26 awards) and #12 (23 awards), respectively.

Breaking it down further to awards issued since they were reinstated in 2020 (546 total awards):

The Washington leads the pack this time with 155, and the Sunfire is in second place at 118.5. The Washington also has the longest streak of winning at least one monthly award, dating all the way back to May 2021 for 57 months in a row if you count January 2026. I can’t find another streak that even comes close. If the W can make it through April of this year, that would make it an astounding five full years with at least one award each month!

Speaking of the W (and a few others), here is the list of sims that led the fleet in awards each year since 2020:

In case you happen to want to see each year fully broken out, we have that too:

Since they are mentioned throughout, let’s also not forget about our other two outstanding sims: USS Churchill & USS Eminence.

Finally, I would like to thank Rook Mirtoh and Arthur Winters, each whom has served as our Director of Personnel, which is the role primarily responsible for selecting the award winners (Mirtoh, March 2020-September 2023; Winters, May 2024-today, with Ken Gillis and me filling in a few times here and there). It’s more tedious than you might imagine! Thank you for making one IDF’s enduring legacies possible!

With that, let’s keep these amazing awards coming!

A purple-tinted space scene featuring a futuristic starbase and a Starfleet-style starship approaching it, with the text "IDFLEET.COM" in the bottom right corner.

Awardapalooza 2025

Posted on February 2, 2026 | by Charles Star | 4 Comments

The 2024 Tournament of Simulations (aka ToS) were finally announced last month, and continuing our long tradition of excellence, IDF took home four more awards! Congratulations to the Captains and crews of the USS Wayfarer, USS Firebird, USS Washington, and USS Sunfire. In fact, the USS Wayfarer was the #2 overall sim for the entire tournament! Well done!

Outstanding Star Trek:

Excellent Star Trek:

Banner image of the USS Firebird, registry NCC-88298, featuring a detailed Starfleet starship flying through space. The ship is shown from above at an angle, with glowing blue and red elements and a sleek, futuristic design.

Banner for the USS Washington NCC-81533-E, featuring a sleek futuristic starship with a glowing deflector dish flying through space with a purple nebula in the background.

In addition to the ToS awards themselves, Ken Gillis and Shran dh’Klar were awarded Ongoing World Community Honor (OWCH) medals for judging at three different Tournaments. We also completely missed that Kevin Riker won an OWCH after last year’s Tournament. Thank you very much to all three of you for your continued selfless service to the community. Without you and others like you, ToS simply wouldn’t be possible.

A gold medal featuring the Ongoing Worlds alien mascot holding a globe, hanging from a green and silver ribbon, representing the Ongoing Worlds Community Honor award.

It turns out that we actually have even more awards to announce from last year as the USS Wayfarer and USS Montana shared the 2025 Q2 Outstanding Post Award from the Khitomer Peace Awards, which are sponsored by the Khitomer Conference. Congratulations to both games!

But wait, there’s more! The Simming League announced just yesterday that the USS Firebird was one of five winners of the most prestigious 2025 Simming Prize! Congratulations and well done to the entire team over there on the Firebird–your excellence and commitment to our craft is apparent to us all! Here is their citation in full:

“With an amazing cast of characters and top-notch host to match, the Firebird has blazed a trail of simming excellence for multiple years in a row, including winning the top overall prize at the most recent Tournament of Simulations, in addition to receiving extensive awards from their home fleet. The players complement each other perfectly, building on their existing culture and lore with new and inventive ideas in seemingly every joint post, which are a joy to read.”

If I haven’t missed anything else, we’re now fully up-to-date on community awards. But please do, keep the awards coming and make me write more blog posts about them!

Monthly Awards: December 2025

Posted on January 31, 2026 | by Aurther Winters | 1 Comment

Welcome to Snowmageddon 2026!

Best Post (Single Author)

Commander Rosa Coy
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For “DS9 and Back Again – The Silencing of Jexa”

A great post that fits right in with Trek and Sunfire lore.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis & Lt. Zub Enel & Staff WO Firax & PO3 Thyra Kevensdotter & CWO B’Rala Of House Seeth
CO / CSTO / ACSTO / MA / RO / RO
USS Firebird

For “Circle the Wagons”

What an ensemble post with great writing!

Funniest Post

Captain Mira Rodale Lance & Commander Kevin Lance & Lieutenant Betaras K’ner
CO / XO / CMO
USS Chuck Norris

For “Dinner and Thanksgiving”

The holiday may be a little late (like this announcement), but the post still hits all the right notes.

Genesis

Captain Mira Rodale Lance & Commander Kevin Lance & Lieutenant Betaras K’ner
CO / XO / CMO
USS Chuck Norris

For “Why”

That’s how you start a mission! I can’t wait to see where it goes.

MVP

Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

She does it month in and month out: writing outstanding posts, collaborating on the mission, planning for the future, recruiting, and managing the Discord channel. Well done!

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 13 posts.

Most Improved

Lieutenant Imik S’Niohun
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Washington

Returning from an LOA, she jumped back in with the crew with some great writing that she’s already well known for.

Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant Devin Hadenbeer
Infiltration Specialist
USS Firebird

The new Infiltration Specialist wrote an amazing character, has been a joy for the crew to sim with, and has already positively influenced the ship’s culture.

Recruitment

Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

Due to her work and diligence, the Firebird has welcomed two new players to the sim.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: November 2025

Posted on December 29, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Just in time for me to start the December awards. Happy new year!

Lieutenant Zub Enel
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

For “Starfleet 1st Day – Snake Belly”

An excellent post that explores the reasons we wear the uniform, as opposed to how we wear it and react to it.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lieutenant Aubrie Fox & Captain Michael Murphy
Chief Security Officer / Commanding Officer
USS Montana

For “Prisoner, thy name is Mudd”

When you bring a Legendary character into the mix, and help write him as grounded with the rest of the crew, it leads to a great realistic story.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Ow…”

A nice ironic look at Klingons and how absurd things can be when you take it to the exact opposite of how a culture should act and be treated leads to the laughs.

Genesis

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis & Cmdr. Jörgen Leed & Lt. Cmdr. Elias Ford & Lt. Hank Solomon & Lt. Jackson Smith & MCPO Harris Zim & Cmdr. Elizabeth “Beth” Boyle
CO / CSTO / CDO / CMO / CSO / CIO / CB / XO
USS Firebird

For “An Unwelcome Visitor”

This is just a great classic beginning to a Star Trek story. The suspense, multiple different views to a problem, and best of all, a problem that needs to be addressed and a high level of urgency.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

The Intel Officer was outstanding from start to finish showing a wide range of emotion in her writing.

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 18 posts.

Most Improved

Ensign Kit Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr
Science Officer
USS Sunfire

The Science Officer returned to the Sunfire after a short break and slid effortlessly back into action with 7 excellent posts.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: October 2025

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

Ensign Gianna Djokovic
Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

For “The Hinge Still Squeaks”

An excellent narrative that feeds into the mission.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Mira Rodale Lance & Cmdr. Kevin Lance & Lt. Betaras K’ner
CO / XO / CMO
USS Chuck Norris

For “Aftermath”

One of those great posts where each character shines through.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Aubrie Fox & Lieutenant Dezkar Veen
Chief Security Officer / Chief Engineering Officer
USS Montana

For “Friend or Foe”

Star Fleet isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

Genesis

Chief Petty Officer Lu’vrenn Zhuraal
Boatswain
USS Firebird

For “Anomaly: Human Rituals”

A great start to the mission!

MVP

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

The posting machine continues to power the Sunfire.

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 30 posts.

Most Improved

Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger
Engineering Officer
USS Washington

The Engineer built off his Rookie of the Month win with continued superior performance in both quality and quantity.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: September 2025

Posted on October 29, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Petty Officer 3rd Class Thyra Kevensdotter
Security Officer
USS Firebird

For “Anomaly: Daddy Issues”

A fantastic post about family, and how ones’s words can be better than a weapon.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Cmdr. Jennifer Baldric & Cmdr. Dean House & Ens. Kitiuas Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr & Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
MA / CTO / SO / CSS
USS Sunfire

For “Team DS9 pt4”

Action, suspense, and putting main characters in jeopardy, with explosions of course.

Funniest Post

Ens. Kasm & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Imik S’Niohun
RO / CMO / CSTO
USS Washington

For “Standing Guard”

A somewhat absurd situation where taking your orders a little too literally can lead to ridiculous yet understanding situations.

Genesis

Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “Two Mysteries”

Distress call, unknown planet, let the games begin.

MVP

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

A posting machine, both solo and joint posts. I am in awe.

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 39 posts.

Most Improved

Ensign Kitiuas Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr
Science Officer
USS Sunfire

Kit returned from leave with a bang, jumping straight into the mission and getting elbows deep in it.

Rookie of the Month

Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger
Engineering Officer
USS Washington

A new player who chose an enlisted rank, and barely had a full week yet had multiple posts and is fitting in well with the rest of the crew.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: August 2025

Posted on September 30, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | 2 Comments

Ensign Helle Leed
Biologist
USS Firebird

For “Anomaly: The Flame Remembers”

Written so well it’s like you’re there.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & SCPO Ronson Mitchell & Cmdr. Jenna Ramthorne & Cmdr. Savar cha’Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lt. Cmdr. Aurora Vali & Lt. JG Ngaza & Ens. Kitiuas Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr & Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
CO / Y / CFCO / XO / CC / CSOO / SO / CSS
USS Sunfire

For “Looking Deeper”

It’s a symphony of collaboration.

Funniest Post

PO3 Thyra Kevensdotter & Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Ens. Emilynn Dove & MCPO Harris Zim
RO / CO / OO / CB
USS Firebird

For “Fool Me Once”

I definitely wanted to read this one more than once.

Genesis

Capt. Mira Rodale Lance & Cmdr. Kevin Lance & Lt. Cmdr. Awal Kronnelti & Lt. Betaras K’ner
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO
USS Chuck Norris

For “And then there was”

A great way to start the next chapter.

MVP

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

She has been an absolute powerhouse this month with a great mix of solo and joint posts while simultaneously wrapping up one mission and setting up the next.

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 11 posts.

Most Improved

Lieutenant JG James Phoenix
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

Coming off a non-stop action month, he somehow still found a way to step it up with some truly outstanding posting.

Rookie of the Month

Ensign Fiona Flores
Communications and Operations Officer
USS Montana

She jumped right into joint posts with multiple crew members, improving both the quality and quantity of the ship’s posts. She has just the right recommendations to improve the story–a welcomed addition!

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

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: Malcom Llwyedd

Posted on September 17, 2025 | by Rook Mirtoh | 3 Comments

Character Name: Malcom Llwyedd

Rank: Captain

Sim: USS Firebird

Position: Commanding Officer

Plus…
Petty Officer First Class Kipp Lak, Petty Officer Second Class Keith Potter, Petty Officer First Class Fhiri, and Ensign Gazo Daw

Which one is your favorite?
Malcom has been my favorite, and not just because he’s the Captain. He is a veteran of the Dominion War and has a lot of challenges. However, he always tries to do the best for the crew, and that balance between flaws and compassion is always compelling.

Favorite Star Trek episode?
“In the Pale Moonlight” (Deep Space Nine: Season 6, Episode 19)

Why?
It strips away all of the shiny parts and shows how, in war, people make hard choices that haunt them forever.

Favorite Star Trek series?
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Why?
I loved the format, the non-traditional setting, and the variety of characters, including non-Federation ones. It was the first series I watched all the way through from beginning to end.

Favorite Star Trek film?
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Why?
It was my first Trek I saw in the theater and it was such a powerhouse. It really ignited my love for Star Trek.

Favorite Star Trek Captain?
Captain Sisko: He was the anti-Picard in a lot of ways. He was stern, physical, funny but in a sly way, and cerebral. But a big part of it was that his role as a father was at the forefront of so much of the show. That was really important to me and made him more of a person.

What year did you start simming?
2017

What sim was it?
USS Fearless

What keeps you simming today?
I love telling stories in the Star Trek setting. I approach sim writing as collaborative novel/episode writing. My goal is to put together the best “show” of the highest quality. I also just love writing with my crew. They are so talented and creative. It never gets old when you write a post and sit back and go, wow, that is so good.

Favorite non-simming hobby?
I run multiple role playing games. Been a GM for 25 years (mostly Forgotten Realms D&D but also Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, Twilight 2000, and many more).

Favorite non-Trek series?
Ted Lasso

Favorite non-Trek film?
The Princess Bride

Favorite author?
Bernard Cornwell

Favorite book (fiction or non)?
The Lord of the Rings

Favorite video game?
Baldur’s Gate 3

Favorite musician or band?
Pearl Jam

Favorite superhero?
Iron Man

Favorite sport?
English Football

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

Coke or Pepsi?
Coke

Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Trek

Rank the Trek TV shows from best to worst.
Deep Space Nine
The Next Generation
Strange New Worlds
TOS
Voyager
Picard
Enterprise
Discovery

Rank the Trek movies from best to worst.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek First Contact
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek Insurrection
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek (Abrams)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek: Beyond

Favorite IDF swag?
Mouse pad! I use it every day.

Rear Admiral James “Rook” Mirtoh
Director of Media
Independence Fleet