/||\ ----------------------------------------------
/ || \ UCIP Starfleet Command, Eighth Fleet
/ || \ U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
.-/ || \-. Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor, Commanding
./ || \. ----------------------------------------------
.-_-. || .-_-. Simulation Teaser
-_ \||/ _-. -[ SD 240112.17 ]-
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/ Simulation Teaser |
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=.\= December 15, 2401 -- Churchill Downs, Reorsa =.\=
Having been born on Earth, the idea of taking some time at the end of the
year to reflect on the year just passed was not at all alien to Tebrun
Lora. The Kor symbiont thought differently of course, but respected
tradition nonetheless. As a result, Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor sat in
a borrowed office in Churchill Downs, filing his reflections on the
turbulent year just past.
The two defining events of the year, of course, were the onset of the
Federation-Klingon-Romulan War in February and the task group's transit to
M64 in April. Now, having spent more than seven months trapped far from
the Milky Way, Lora Kor admitted to himself that the group might never
find a way back. U.S.S. Churchill had arrived in Reorsa orbit just that
morning, and Churchill, of course, had been trapped nineteen million
light-years from home for more than a century.
Still and all, there were worse places to be than M64. Despite the danger
of another Pfhor attack or a sweeping invasion of allied space, there was
also knowledge and adventure to be found here far from home, and friends
and family to share the tales of your adventures with when you returned
from them. Soon, U.S.S. Coronado would be back in action, and Lora Kor
knew that when the time came, he would not flinch if asked to take the
frigate into battle against the Pfhor and their allies. Freedom of will
for all lifeforms was worth fighting for, no matter what the "predators"
of the universe might think.
Lora Kor stood up from the computer terminal on the desk of the office,
and pulled on a loose black leather jacket, then followed it with a scarf
and a light shell. Winter had snuck up on this part of Reorsa, and snow
was expected to fall from the dark gold sky. A number of Coro crew
members had qualified for recognitions of one type or another over the
late part of the year, and the Captain was content to enter the time-in-
service qualification ribbons into each officer's record with nothing more
than a small personal note. Hitting the "transmit" key on the computer,
he sent them on their way. However, there were a number of other
recognitions that should be delivered more personally. For those, Lora
Kor picked up a number of small boxes and tucked them into the pockets of
the jacket.
He then smiled and left the office, headed for the traditional Reorsan
holiday party.
---------------
"The Party" -- nobody on the planet had to ask which one -- was a tradition
in Churchill Downs stretching back 115 years.
Mere weeks after the crew of U.S.S. Churchill had decided that Reorsa was
their best nearby choice for a new home in 2286, winter had set in. Much of
the crew of Churchill, nearly 500 strong, once again found themselves
nineteen million light-years from home. They were reminded every day of
course, but as that winter began, the reminder became particularly harsh.
They were nineteen million light-years from their families, from everything
that they had ever loved... never to see these things again. Unmoving in
her geostationary orbit, U.S.S. Churchill became a bright star hanging
overhead, mocking them. A symbol of powerful technology, she was nearly
useless to them that winter. Churchill could provide food for those below,
but no comfort, and no rescue. They were alone as no other humanoids had
ever been; that first winter, it wasn't even known that there was other
intelligent life on the planet they had settled on.
One by one, the crew of U.S.S. Churchill had begun to despair.
Work on building the new towns and settlements on the island first slowed,
then stopped, as morale sank and people started asking themselves what the
point was. People sought each other out, seeking the comfort they couldn't
find elsewhere. Many people looked around at the alien winter and the
odd-colored sky and began advocating departure -- leaving the planet behind
and taking up a rootless existence, seeking some kind of technology to send
them home. Others felt sure that there must be a better planet nearby, one
where they could merge with an existing population... and disappear. A few
even calmly suggested setting course for home... turning Churchill into a
generational ship for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
Captain William Fisher of U.S.S. Churchill was a bit more practical: he
suggested a week of planning, followed by a party, followed by three days
off.
What Churchill's crew didn't realize was that there was a very good reason
they weren't aboard ship: Churchill wasn't going anywhere. Not for a
thousand years, not for a thousand hours. Whatever force had wrenched them
nineteen million light-years had very nearly destroyed the cruiser in the
process. Fisher and the other senior officers had done a good job of hiding
this from the bulk of the crew, but the truth was that Reorsa had been
selected because it could support 500 people and Churchill simply
couldn't... not without major repairs. The ship's officers had declared
victory, sworn each other to secrecy, and then debarked the crew and
equipment in wave after wave after wave.
Similar secrecy-sworn Chief Petty Officers had then reboarded the ship and
evaulated Churchill's repair and resupply needs... and concluded it would be
years before the cruiser would again be fully operational. There was no
chance the battered ship could support her full crew. Churchill therefore
couldn't explore, and couldn't find another inhabited planet, and certainly
couldn't become a generational ship. The crew could not be allowed to
reboard her.
Captain Fisher was smart enough to realize that if the crew found this out,
they might very well commit suicide en masse. At best, a large percentage
of them would give up hope. A conspiracy of silence was born.
The Captain's efforts in the week of preparation for the party were
superhuman. He individually visited every member of the Churchill
contingent on multiple occasions. He asked after their needs, and did what
he could to see to them. He asked after their work, and did what he could
to see that they got the help they needed. He asked about their feelings
and their fears, and slowly, he got answers. Most important of all, he gave
them permission to relax and have some fun at the Party... to forget about
those nineteen million light-years, if only for a few hours.
During that first Party, which took place on a grassy hillside upon which
one day, U.S.S. Coronado would settle down and end the isolation of some
35,000 Churchill descendants, everyone was momentarily startled to see a
bright flash in the sky overhead. A moment later, that unmoving, mocking
star was gone.
Captain William Fisher then unveiled what would, in the next generation, be
hailed as his masterstroke: he calmly announced that Churchill had begun her
first "Patrol." While the skeleton crew aboard ship searched this galaxy
for a way home, he said, it was only fitting that those on the planet build
them something to come home to. Those aboard Churchill, he explained, were
undergoing hardships even greater than those at the Party. They were
separated not only from their first home, but even their temporary one.
What the rest of the crew were NOT told that night was that that first
Patrol made it only as far as Reor 7 before orbiting that lifeless world for
three months and coming home. Churchill could limp no farther that first
year.
Later Patrols were longer, and ranged farther... but the fact that work
restarted on the settlements with a new sense of pride and determination was
the only reason why. Later Patrols had something to come home to. And each
Reorsan year, on the first day of winter, a party celebrated what those on
Reorsa had left behind... and what they had gained. And at the height of
each Party, Churchill flashed away from Reorsa... to start the Patrol anew.
__________________________________________________________________________
/ Pre-Simulation Report -- Logistics Data |
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Recognitions:
Purple Heart
Commander Olmeoaxaca Tlaloco
Lieutenant (JG) Ananda Wilk
For injuries sustained in the line of duty in combat against
Hunters and Hounds on the surface of Reorsa.
Starfleet Service Medal (with Bronze Comet Cluster)
Major Thomas Wayne aka Masters (OOC)
Lt. Commander Sieven Drexler aka Brad (OOC)
For outstanding long-term service to U.S.S. Coronado, including
attending more than 50 sims aboard a Starfleet vessel and
other services and support to the Coronado sim.
Meritorious Service Medal (OOC)
LewisSharp aka Lieutenant Aramis Skylooker
Kari aka Lieutenant Kariasa Ma'Aru
For 6 or more months of service to U.S.S. Coronado in any
position, while performing all duties in an exemplary manner.
Starfleet Service Medal
Lieutenant (JG) Kathleen Hammond aka Kath (OOC)
Lieutenant (JG) Kyle Marcy aka Marcy (OOC)
For service of 20 or more weeks aboard a Starfleet vessel.
Starfleet Commendation
Lieutenant Kariasa Ma'Aru
Lieutenant (JG) Kathleen Hammond
1st Lieutenant Jacob Prescot
1st Lieutenant Craig Serrold
For well-done character development plots or subplots. :-)
Congratulations to these fine officers!
\__________________________________________________________________________
\ End Logistics Data |
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\______________________________________________________________________________
\ End Simulation Teaser |
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Crew Roster:
Commanding Officer: FCapt. Tebrun Lora Kor (Jester)
Executive Officer: Cmdr. William Daren (Daren)
Marine Commandant: Col. Jeremy Ironside (Fraser)
Command Liaison Interface: Cmdr. Savant (Savant)
Chief of Operations: Cmdr. Olme Tlaloco (Tlaloco)
Chief Tactical Officer: LCdr. Sieven Drexler (Brad)
Assistant Tactical: Lt. JG Kyle Marcy (Marcy)
Chief Flight Operations: Lt. JG Ananda Wilk (Baralu)
Intelligence Officer: Lt. Kariasa Ma'Aru (Kari)
Chief Science Officer: Lt. JG Kathleen Hammond (Kath)
Company Commander: 1Lt. Jacob Prescot (Shadow-FjP)
Squadron Leader: Maj. Thomas Wayne (Masters)
Wing Leader: 1Lt. Craig Serrold (Aggie)
Wing Leader: 2Lt. Andrew Stylus (JadeFalcon)
Chief Engineer: LCdr. Zunite Oswald (Sonya)
Assistant Engineer: Lt. Jack C. Farley (CCC)
Chief Medical Officer: Lt. JG Jason Thompson (Thompson)
Civilian: Alados ha-Soron (McC)
On Extended Leave of Absense:
Assistant Engineer: Lt. Aramis Skylooker (Skylooker)
Positions Available:
None!
----------
Ross Glenn aka Jester
Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor, U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/