Fleet "Special" Mission

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fleet,

Normally at this time of the year, we are gearing up and making preparations for a Halloween Special Mission. Some spooky happenings grip the Federation and we're sent to investigate.

However, it seems this year, we're even more unlucky. Instead of a spooky situation, the Federation is in a dangerous situation. Millions of lives are in danger.

We are pleased to announce that instead of a Halloween Mission, Shadow Fleet will be hosting a Fleet-Wide mission. One mission. All three ships. One intense storyline.

A story written up by our own Mike Anderson has been released to the Command Officers of the ships.

However, what I will tell you all, is this; If this mission fails, then the Federation could fall.

The Fleet mission will take place in November, so keep your eyes peeled.

Spread the Word Halfway Point

Laddies and gents, we are now halfway through the month of September, which means we are now halfway through Spread the Word 2013 part 2. Have you made an effort yet? Then don't forget to tell us on the Spread the Word topic in the Fleet News board. If you haven't, don't worry, there's two weeks to go and you can still spread the word when it comes to a close.

Thanks to all the effort, especially on the part of Mr. Harriman, we now have four new members so far this month:

• Tavana (4 September)
• Zog Gozun (11 September)
• Paul Stephenson (12 September)
• Sailktheg (14 September)

Please give them all a warm welcome and continue spreading the word. 

New Command (ADMIN) Position Promotion

Ladies and Gentlemen of Shadow Fleet,

It is our pleasure to announce the promotion of a Long-Term player to the rank of Command Master Chief Petty Officer.

Shelaf Greegy will be given the most senior Enlisted rank in Task Group Alpha.

Shelaf Greegy has been with Shadow Fleet for coming up on 7 years now. He has always been a valuable member of the Fleet even during busy periods of his life. He advanced highly on the Enlisted Ladder before creating a second character, Connor Price. Shelaf was the Chief of the Boat on the USS Discovery for a long time. He is a exemplary member, and is always willing to help with Administration issues when they crop up.

Rear Admiral John Brown has this to say:

"He has been a long serving member of Shadow Fleet and with all the hard work and service to this Fleet, we now decided to give him this postion to help the Fleet."

Shelaf is hereby elevated to the rank of Command Master Chief Petty Officer and removed from his current ship duty.

Announcing "Spread The Word" 2013! PART 2

As one of the biggest events in the Shadow Fleet calendar, our "Spread The Word!" Campaign is back for a second round this year.

"Spread The Word!" is all about us - the members - going out onto the internet and literally "spreading the word" about Shadow Fleet. This could be in the form of a link submission to a website, a Facebook status update, a twitter post, a post on another forum or blog, or even by putting up posters in your local area...the list is endless!

The aim is to increase the fleet's online presence which, in turn, will help us to gain new members. And you know what new members mean? That's right, more members equals more ships, and more ships equals more promotions all round! With over forty players regularly posting on the forums, even a minor contribution from of each of us could help enormously.

This official "Spread The Word!" Campaign will take place from September 1st - 30th and is an excellent opportunity to show your support for the rest of the fleet. And as an added reward, all participants will receive the coveted "Spread The Word!" Campaign ribbon to proudly display in their forum profile!

So get your thinking caps on and tell us, what will you do to "Spread The Word" in 2013?

New Admirality Position

Today we are pleased to announce that Rear Admiral Reece Thompson, currently head of Task Group Alpha is hereby being promoted to Vice Admiral and effectively in charge of Task Force 10 and Fleet Executive Officer. This comes after Admiral Thompson dedication to the simms and forums over the his career on several simms and becoming Task Group Commander several months ago.

The second promotion that will be occurring is the now vacant position of Task Group Alpha Commander. As we currently have a Task Group Executive Officer in place for this situation, as of today, Captain John Brown is being promoted to the rank grade of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) and taking over as Task Group Alpha Commanding Officer.

Admiral Brown has a very long service history with the fleet which stretches back to before the fleet reformation into Shadow Fleet. Please congratulate both Admiral Brown and Thompson's promotion.

With this promotion, comes the official Shadow Fleet Reorganization.

New Players

We are delighted to welcome three new players to the fleet.

James Booth is a human male who will be joining the crew of the DS Magellan as their newest Civilian Crewman.

Jon Park is a human male who will be joining the crew of the DS Magellan as their newest Sec/Tac Crewman.

Gabriel Arthur is a human male who will be joining the crew of the DS Magellan as their newest Engineering Crewman.

Please give them all a warm welcome!

Post of the Month--July 2013

This month, the post of the month goes to CoB Sukal. Please join us in congratulating him.

[Briefing Room]

Sukal's face was one of contemplation as the rest left the room after Commander T'Ra had given her solution to the Chief Engineer's thoughts.  It was still difficult to think of Lance as the CEO instead of the Captain, but his new CO was Captain Price and that was that.  For his first briefing to give, Sukal thought he hadn't done a bad job, but certainly not as good as it should have been.  His former CO had brought up some good points, and then the new helmsman had given his own briefing of the situation.  That he had not covered all his bases in his new role as the CotB made Sukal frown a bit.

'It comes with practice,' he thought to himself with a slight sigh and looked out the observation window that showed Miranda's moon coming in to view.  For just a moment, he thought about his recent discovery about who his Imzadi was:  Anara McKnight, now a nurse on the CHURCHILL.  He closed his eyes, and then for a moment saw her resting in Sickbay after what seemed a long day.

~Anara....beautiful Anara.  I need to find some time to talk to you,~ he thought with a slight smile.

 ~Who are you?~ She called out. There was only that soft whispering.

Still... She had to try.

~Please tell me who you are.~ She called out once again.  Nothing but that whispering this time a little louder.

Jumbled words some which she couldn't grab. Her heart raced and an odd tingling overwhelmed her chest. As if her very soul was trying to rip itself out of her.

*Why iis this happening?* She thought.

Suddenly, the whispering got softer but it wasn't the jumble that caught her attention, it was the voice she heard. The very voice which made her concentrate harder on it.

The very sound of Sukal's voice.

*Oh God.... Sukal...* She thought feeling that ripped feeling once again.

Suddenly, as if out of no where, came an image of his face. She hadn't seen him in a long while, however, upon seeing this image, it felt instantly familiar and comfortable.

"Sukal.... Please.... talk to me...." She cried out. The image was about to speak when Anara jolted awake.

Her voice resonated in his mind...in his very being...far more powerful than anything he had ever experienced to date.  He was just about to speak to her...if indeed it was her and not some figment of his imagination...when the connection was abruptly cut off.  She felt so far away...not just far away as in distance, but Time as well.  Confused, Sukal's eyes opened to narrowed slits with his brow wrinkled in concentration.  Something was wrong on the CHURCHILL, but what...?  With their mission to Miranda rapidly approaching...there was little the GETTYSBURG could do if the CHURCHILL was in trouble, but the compulsion to help was strong.

'Duty must come first for now.  Still, it wouldn't hurt to have someone check on the CHURCHILL's status," he decided, and then glanced at his Ko-kai.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," he stated.  "I certainly could have been better prepared for that."

Starbase Magellan Crew Roster Announced

Following on from our official announcement of the opening of our next SIMM, the SB Magellan, we are pleased to reveal the full crew roster of those who will be serving on her.

The Starbase Magellan will be Shadow Fleet's first CITADEL Class Starbase SIMM. The Magellan will act as the central starbase for all of Shadow Fleet, as well as house a brand new Civilian population, and act as a hub for all major Fleet operations. Commanding the first Starbase will be Fleet Admiral Chris Newberry. He will be assisted by Rear Admiral (LH) Reece Thompson.

The introduction of the Magellan will also bring in several new features to the Fleet, such as Freighters and Shops.

These will be explained in a later post. Take a look at the full crew roster listed below:

Commanding Officer: Ft. Adm. Chris Newberry
First Officer: R. Adm. Reece Thompson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer: Lieutenant Richard Ransom 
Chief Engineering Officer: Lieutenant Commander Archangel T'Koris
Chief Medical Officer: Lieutenant 'Doctor" Rennan Protheus
Truffles Bar and Grill: Civilian Owner Chris Truffles
Drydock Manager: Civilian Owner Kale Bridgson

Full instructions for those transferring to the Magellan will be made available in due course, but if you didn't get a place on our newest starbase, don't worry! There will be plenty of opportunities for transfer later on down the line.

The Magellan is due to open with her first mission entitled "Neues Welt Part 1" this August 1st.

Station Specification Teaser

Newest Player - Dasta Amaryl

We are delighted to welcome a new player to the fleet.

Dasta Amaryl will be joining the USS Discovery as an Medical Crewman.

Please give her a warm welcome.

Newest Player - Kenneth Enor

We are delighted to welcome a new player to the fleet.

Kenneth Enor will be joining the USS Discovery as an Operations Crewman.

Please give him a warm welcome.

New Members

We have recently had the pleasure of welcoming two new characters to our fleet. Akemat th'Zul is joining the USS Gettysburg as an Flight Control Crewman, and Dnarion Jade is joining the USS Churchill as an Operations Crewman. Please give them both a warm welcome.

Resignation of Commander Alyssa Meadows

It is with great sorrow that we must announce the leaving of another amazing member.

Commander Alyssa Meadows has been with the Fleet a long time and has had a very distinguished career. She was a valuable member who was never afraid to speak her mind.

You can say your goodbye in her resignation topic, found here.

Task Group Awards (July 2013) - With Admiral Reece Thompson

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for the mid-year awards ceremony.

It's been an interesting half a year, with a lot of a changes. Every one of you has helped these changes go along smoothly, and I wish I could award you all something. However, I just don't have the patience or creativity to come up with an award that everyone gets. So here are the awards that I can give out now.

I'd like to start with the Shining Record Award.

This is one of the newer awards given out to new members who submit an exceptional application. The first ever winner of this award goes to Kiera N'Valae. It was lengthy and well detailed. An excellent start for a promising character.

Next up, I'd like to the do the ship awards.

I'll start this section off with the Amiable Crew Award.

This is also one of the newer awards. It's for the most friendly and welcoming SIMM. Without a doubt, this had to go to the crew of the USS Gibson. They were the first ones to start up the welcome topic, and it's been active every single time someone joins that ship. Good going Gibson.

Next up is the Crew Efficiency Award.

You all know this one. It's for the best organised SIMM. I had one in mind immediately, but then a different SIMM caught my eye. They have been through a lot of changes, but the SIMM has always been organised and well run thanks to the Command Staff. I'd like to award this to USS Gettysburg.

The final award for this section is the Unit Citation.

This colourful award goes to the most active SIMM. Therefore, it went straight to the USS Churchill. Even though they've wormed their way through a quarter of a dozen Command Officers this half-year, the crew have always been active and have excelled themselves with their posting ability.


Lastly, are the individual awards.

These awards are for those individuals that I believe have outdone themselves.

I'm going to start with the Distinguished Command Award.

This award is for the Commanding Officer that I think has shown the best leadership. Now, I couldn't give this to myself unfortunately, so I went for the next best. It's my pleasure to award this medal to Captain John Brown.

Next up is the Distinguished XO Award.

This is a relatively new award as well. Given to the Executive Officer who I think has performed their duties the best. There were two contenders for this. And I found it extremely difficult to choose between them. However, I could only choose one, so I decided to give it to Commander T'Ra Jones. She managed to keep the Gettysburg running and organised during the CO's absence, and for that, thoroughly deserves this award.

Finally, the last award I would like to give out is the Task Group Commander's Commendation.

 
This award is given to a person who I believe is worthy of special recognition. A lot of people have stepped up to the plate recently, and I would like to give each of them this award, however, I can give it to only one person. As such, I would like to give it to Lieutenant Jon Tulley. He has helped Admiral Newberry and I in a large number of ways and has taken on more responsibilities recently. Thank you Jon.



Those are all the awards that I can give out, however I would also like to give a special thanks to all the Academy Instructors, and everyone who applied to be one. Also, thanks to the Media and Recruitment team and big ol' thank you to the crews of each SIMM. Shadow Fleet couldn't function without all of you, so thank you all very much.

Well done, everyone.

-Admiral Reece Thompson

Newest Player - Nias Remm

We are delighted to welcome a new player to the fleet. Nias Remm will be joining the USS Gettysburg as an Sec/Tac Crewman.

Please give him a warm welcome.

Newest Player - Christian Grix

We are delighted to welcome a new player to the fleet.

Christian Grix will be joining the USS Churchill as an Sec/Tac Crewman.

Please give him a warm welcome.

New Member - Kiera N'valae

We are delighted to welcome a new player to the fleet.

Kiera N'valae will be joining the USS Gibson as an Operations Crewman.

Please give her a warm welcome.

Post of the Month--June 2013

It is once again time to present the Post of the Month! Please join us in congratulating Mr. Klaus Vogel! "This post was well researched and mind blowing in it's level of detail. The scene was effectively and accurately set by Klaus's exhaustive dedication. The incorporation of pictures was well formatted, as well. Klaus Vogel has established himself as a respected writer on the Gibson."
- Luke Stafford

[Astrometrics Lab]

The astrometrics lab was used usually for stellar cartography. It had an overall surveillance and reconnaissance strategic function but also tactically as a support to operations and helm. The database herein was used by the ops on a daily basis and thus was thoroughly controlled by "those ops militia" as Science department called them. Besides a few random stations with diverse functions in maintenance the room had a big touch sensible graphene control desk in the middle.

Klaus found the SED reports that CSO left for him in the lab. Those were stored on Leonard's PADD memory card. He took it then approached the main desk and simply threw it gently on the table. It's special properties allowed to read the data on the cards found on its surface, a technique used as a standard technology since ages ago. The table's material composition around the memory card started to change and soon a confirmation dialog box appeared on the touch sensible material. Klauss made sure no one was watching then tapped the confirmation code and sat satisfied in his superior's chair.

The content appeared briefly as a holographic projection above the table.

                                                                                                                                               

Moab System          
Moab IV, Class B Planet, Terramorphed   
Population 4 000 colonists, 600 children
Mining Activity Mainly, Self sustained
             Main Star
Stable Dwarf Class M1V  
NGC2736
6 planets, 1 habitable

Other
Human colony established 2168. Genetically engineered inbound social establishement. Known
recent history of Neutron Star nearmiss 2368. Main activity mining. High surface temperature
variance and earthquakes. Non-suit travel advised only for terraformed establishements. Recent
sparks in tau-antineutrinos detected few units near the planet. Surveillance mission advised.

                                                                                                                                              

"Ok, so we have a normal terraformed planet revolving around a red dwarf, nothing interesting so far" thought Klaus and kept reading further. At some point the report indicated an increase in neutrino radiation on some coordinates not far from the colony. He paused a minute, opened a separate holographic window and searched through the ship's database. Accordingly, there should be nothing at those coordinates. A mild silence took the room and Vogel's inner self. He needed to find an explanation for his chief but here he was, helpless, without sufficient data to reach a conclusion.

"It could be anything: a black hole, a neutron star, a man-made nuclear facility, a remnant of that star that nearly hit the planet 20 years ago, a crystaline entity for what it's worth. Where should I start? How about human made facilities. I don't think there should be some in the area"

He commanded the computer to check all the available databases for nuclear experiments in the area. While the computer connected to the main data core Klaus went on with other possibilities. He used the composite scan found in the report to separate the infrared component and rule out the case of an accretion disk surrounding a black hole but nothing came out. It could be a remnant of that neutron star, in which case the abnormal gravity levels would be explained but that won't explain the absence of other types of light. And moreover, the radiation source after careful analysis wasn't a single point. It was scattered around those coordinates like a crack or better yet a neural network. The computer chimed. The answer for the human activity in that area came negative.

"No way it's a crystalline entity" thought Klaus. "In this case, we ll need more data. Not much is known about the encounter with those beings other than it's transforming matter into energy and it feeds on almost anything. We need to get in the range of long sensors and see if we can read something although I doubt it". Didn't finish his thought, a voice behind him asked.

"Erm, yes, what?" Klaus almost fell off the chair.

He finally stood up and took the official posture in the presence of a higher rank. Lieutenant Safi Larson from the honorary Militia-Operations department was inspecting carefully the lab as if someone just stole something. They never met before, he was sure about it. In front of him he could see an attractive woman around 25, a light open face. The position of her body, the raised chin and her scrutinizing look seemed to suggest a tough personna although there was something in those sparkling eyes. "Did she cry?" Klaus asked himself after noticed the blush around her eyes.

"A few simulations Lietenant at the request of the Science Officer Leonard" he responded to Safi's question.

Shadow Fleet's Next SIMM!

 We can now officially confirm that Shadow Fleet's next SIMM will be named the Starbase Magellan.
We are delighted to announce that the Magellan will be a Citidel-class station, the first station since the first Deep Space Blaisdell which was destroyed back in 2009. A starbase class station, this new SIMM will primarily focus on scientific exploration on the planet, fleet drydock and resupply station, fleet headquarters and more challenges.

Her commander will be someone with whom many of you are familiar. Admiral Chris Newberry will be stepping up to taking command of this new starbase with a small staff.

The full crew roster and further details surrounding the launch of the Magellan will be announced in the coming days.

New Academy Instructors

We are pleased to announce the newest additions to the Shadow Fleet Academy staff.

• Flight - Kirok
• Science - T'Ra Jones
• Medical/Counselling - Jonathan Sanchez
• Engineering/Operations - Archangel T'Koris
• Security/Tactical - Revek Tre'el

The EPC will continue to be run by Mr Greegy, and the Command Course by either Admiral Reece Thompson or Admiral Chris Newberry.

Please join us in congratulating these people on their new positions.

CORP Graduates

Please join us on congratulating Caelene Tam and Ser Conley on passing their Academy courses!