~\\_               
          \\\\_             
          `\\\\\            -----------------------------------------
           |\\\\\           Starfleet Command, Eighth Fleet (OOC)    
            \\\\\|__.-~~\   
         _--~         ~~/   Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"  
       /~         _-~~~'    Embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901   
      ('-//////-//          Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor, Commanding 
       ////// }}-)          -----------------------------------------
     /////~                 Simulation Teaser                        
  _///~                     Stardate 240309.22                      
 `                          
 _______________________________________________________________________ 
/ Simulation Teaser                                                     |
/ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 =/.= U.S.S. Coronado, 0248 ship's time =/.=

 The clock advanced, as it tended to do when it was not being
 interfered with.  Encased under a dome of glass, protected by
 vacuum, it was even ticking.  The dome and the vacuum would probably
 ensure that it would continue ticking for hundreds of years.  A
 little less than a half-meter high, the clock was obviously a
 cherished antique, brass fittings glowing softly in the light of the
 stars above, springs and gears just visible behind the white face. 
 The one allowance to modern technology was a tiny replaceable
 sarium-krellide power cell that could no doubt power the antique for
 decades at a time.

 As a result of the dome, though, the sweep of the minute hand was
 not something that could be disrupted... and it also meant that the
 old-fashioned mechanical clock kept simply awful time.

 The irony of both of these facts was not lost on Rear Admiral Tebrun
 Lora Kor.  He couldn't decide if it was the irony making his
 headache worse than usual... or if his headaches were simply getting
 worse.

 In any case, Lora Kor was almost amused to find an old-fashioned
 time piece, encased in glass, in Colonel Stephen Gregg's quarters
 aboard Coronado.  The Colonel had not been seen since Coronado's
 arrival in the J043 system, and Lora Kor was having a hard time
 convincing himself that the man had ever existed as a real person. 
 Federation colony records were notably inaccurate at times... on
 some colonies, birth records were somewhat vague.  Gregg had been
 born on a colony world originally settled by natives of Central
 America on Earth, and in that culture, it was common practice not to
 note the date of the birth of a child until the child in question
 was registered as a Federation citizen.  And on some colony worlds,
 that might not happen for years.

 As a result, Lora Kor could find no concrete records establishing
 that Gregg had ever existed as anything other than... whatever it
 was Gregg had been.  No dated records, anyway.

 If it were not for the old-fashioned clock and a few other minor
 personal effects, Stephen Gregg might not have ever existed.  Lora
 Kor almost felt like the clock had been put there to mock him.

 Oh my yes, irony was stacking upon irony.

 As befitting a senior Marine, Gregg had been assigned quarters high
 on deck 4, starboard.  The view out the overarching windows was
 spectacular, and Tebrun Lora Kor stood among the effects of a man
 who might never had existed.  In the distance, he could make out the
 blurred point of light that was the complex L036/L037 binary system.
 Out there, a priceless fortune in dilithium orbited the dual stars,
 but it was apparently dilithium that could never be touched, never
 even be approached.

 Tebrun Lora Kor stood in Colonel Stephen Gregg's quarters, among the
 effects of a man who might never had existed, looking at the clock
 and two stars far away... and wondered what it all meant.

\_______________________________________________________________________ 
\ End Simulation Teaser                                                 |
 ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 

 Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone" Staff:
    Commanding, TG 85.3:       RADM Tebrun Lora Kor      (Jester)
    S-1, Group Adjutant:       Cmdr. Sieven Drexler      (Brad)
    S-2, Group Intelligence:   Cmdr. Kariasa Ma'Aru      (Kari)
    S-3, Group Logistics:      Cmdr. Savant              (Savant)
    Commanding, M64 Ground:    Brig. Jeremy Ironside     (Fraser)

 U.S.S. Coronado Crew Roster:
    Commanding Officer:        Capt. William Daren       (Chris)
    Executive Officer:         Cmdr. Velorna Tal         (Aggie)
    Chief Flight Operations:   Lt. Maiko D'Rall          (Farrell)
    Raptors Squadron Leader:   LCol. Thomas Wayne        (Masters)
    Battalion Commander:       Maj. Jacob Prescot        (Prescot)
    Flight Leader:             1Lt. Michael Bishop       (Boyd)
    Chief Tactical Officer:    Lt. Thirishar ch'Thane    (Alffred)
    Watch Tactical Officer:    Lt. Ariana Marist         (Dolin)
    Watch Tactical Officer:    Ens. Derek Canterbury     (Spuzzum)
    Assistant Engineer:        LCdr. Jack C. Farley      (CCC)
    Assistant Engineer:        LCdr. Aramis Skylooker    (LewisSharp)
    Chief Medical Officer:     Cmdr. Alec Reed           (McC)
    Assistant Medical:         LCdr. Lauren Dyson        (Natty)

 On Extended Leave of Absence:
    Chief of Operations:       Cmdr. Olme Tlaloco        (rev)

 Positions Available:
    Chief Enginer:                                       (---)
    Chief Science Officer:                               (---)
    Marine Flight Leader:                                (---)
 
------
Jester

Rear Admiral Tebrun Lora Kor
Commanding, Defenders Task Group 85.3, "Whitestone"
embarked on U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/