Cptn Corizon

I will agree with that. Corizon, for all of his surly, abrasiveness has never actually raised claw one to one of his crewmembers. Ethically, he's willing to dip a little more into gray matters, and he is a well trained combatant whose spent the better part of the last ten years doing undercover work, but that's also ignoring the fact that he's spent years training his mind through meditation. Yes he's a warrior, but he's also a poet, musician and artist. He's also a very well educated academic, who's spent more time in the classroom than the war room. And in reality, Tia might find that he and she don't have that many uncommon features. She did the Vulcan Kha'wahn (sp) where she ventured through the Forge to train her mental abilities and purge herself of emotions. Corizon, when he was even younger (14-15) spent nearly a year doing what Dameon's call the "Nagghj-ka" or simply, the Trial. During the Trial, he spent months in the wilderness in the high mountain peaks learning to survive on his own, living in harmony with nature and to find the mental peace and stability that would allow him to become a strong warrior. Is he a diplomat? No, but he'll tell you straight to his face he's not. Is he a warmongering renegade who shots at everything that moves? No. Traditionally do I think Starfleet would have sent someone more like Picard on the mission we're on? Likely. But, given the mission profile (it's classified), not many people know the area, and he's already made contacts within the Dominion, are there many other choices? Not really. And to a great extent, I think Corizon's been rather... measured in his responses and actions during this current mission. Upon contacting the HaVorante, we sent science teams down to learn more about them and how they connected to the history of the Dominion. Heck, when they held our people, instead of storming the castle we sent Lexin with some security to talk them into releasing the prisoners. Instead of going off on some holy crusade of revenge against the Blood Cult, he's content to let that go and attempt to make contact with them at a better time. We spent nearly four whole days doing cultural exchanges with the Satarimi, instead of saying "he give us this" and moving on. When the Boganary issue came up, he made it clear he didn't like what they were doing, but there aren't many choices and he has his orders. Which is a worse officer, the officer who will not follow orders at all, or the one who will respectfully degree and carry out his mission while hoping to minimize the damage done and open the best chances of exploration. It's not as if we can simply hold up a big sign to these people and say "Hey which one of you has the Crownstone and how much will you pay for it?" We know very little about these people, and we've acted in a manner that will provide us a) a chance at exploring b ) possibly offer us a peaceful solution and c ) will hopefully minimize the damage we can do if we are forced to take more forceful measures.

Using the Boganary as example, talking to those people wasn't going to work. They don't value peace, plain and simple and anyone who'd looked over their cultural file we were given from the Satarimi would have seen that. If the duty of starship Captain is the welfare of his crew, then he must act in a manner to protect his crew. Did Corizon act completely in the right? No. The idea is that we're imperfect beings and that we make the wrong choices from time to time. To address the larger issue, I don't think violence has largely shown to resolve our conflicts, in fact it's only shown to complicate the situation. Again there's a level of reality here, is every situation going to be resolved by talking something out? No. Is every conflict going to resolve by shooting someone, hell no. And for the record saying that a warrior shouldn't be a warrior is just as ethnocentric as saying a pacifist shouldn't be a pacifist and strictly against what the Federation is supposed to be. The Federation is, to use a modern term, a big-tent. It has both conservatives and liberals, pacifists and warriors. The idea is not that the entire Federation is in lock-step with one another, but that they can come together to resolve these issues through peace and democracy. The Federation stands for the free flow of information and the harmonious existence of multiple values. Forcing the value of "pacifism" upon a culture, or excluding that culture from the Federation is no more noble, no more free than a culture that simply conquers everything in its path with ships and guns. It's tyranny in a velvet glove, but tyranny all the same. A point I've tried to make is that Federation is largely different from what it was during the height of TNG. The Borg, the Dominion, as Joy noted, have changed it. It's had to be more martial to survive, the officers who lived through that are going to have a different approach to how they do things than say, Picard did. Does that mean there isn't room for someone who feels differently? IMO, No. In fact, I've always felt there wasn't enough of that to balance, for example, Corizon's tendency to be more martial. Personally I feel assumptions are being made about how plots are going to be resolved. As far as I am concerned, the only thing set in stone right now is that we're going to see what we can find about the Crownstone, now how we're going to go about retrieving it, if we decide to... is an open book. The problem often is that those with alternatives aren't willing to speak up in a manner that's frankly apropos. Remember, I am not Corizon and I have different sets of values and ideas, and how I would react to a situation is very different. I think he's a security-minded, trigger-happy ass, but if no one gives him alternatives, in manner that is realistic (e.g. yelling at him on the bridge in the middle of a conflict is not going to make him want to do anything differently, but speaking to him in private might), he's not going to change how he does business. A good example of this was a few plot lines ago when Corizon was prepared to deploy a sub-space weapon to prevent the Scorpiads from entering the Alpha Quadrant. While he was morally, ethically, and legally within his rights to do so, when he was offered a sensible alternative by Sorehl to accomplish his goal of protecting the Alpha Quadrant without using such drastic measures, he took them. Out of character, that was a case of where I went with something I didn't plan. From that perspective, I will tell you I am pretty much open to changing where we go with a plot if you can set it up so that the characters can realize there's a better course of action.

Starfleet is, at it's core, a military organization for the most part, but does have strong mission component of diplomacy and scientific research. I would think that "conscientious objectors," those of a truly pacifist nature, would not be put in situations where combat was going have a high probability of occurring (IE: Patrolling areas where there could be piracy, etc) but instead placed in positions aboard those vessels whose roles are strictly non-combatant, like Medical ships, planetary research bases, science research bases (like Jupiter Station), and strict science vessel like an Oberth or a Nova. The idea that only those races who "reject conflict" could join the Federation is, frankly, very narrow-minded and the anti-thesis of what the Federation is supposed to be. Quite the opposite in fact. In my opinion the only qualifier for conflict should be that force is used as a last option, and only in defense. The Federation has never, in any version, been toothless or unable to defend itself. The reality is that while the peoples of the Federation can come to agreements over stark differences without using force, not every race in the galaxy is going to play nice in the sandbox. Some people are simply going to want to kill you, no matter how good a Picard-esque overture you deliver to them. In those cases, you must aspire to remain true to the ideals that diplomacy will never be off the table; that the Federation stands for individual liberty, freedom and justice, and will fight to protect those values when attacked. As the Excalibur motto says: We bring peace by the sword, but peace only under liberty. Or, if you want to look even further back, Aristotle said that "we make war, so that we may live in peace." One of the things Star Trek did not do well, and it's really a nature of the beast, is seemed to portray that large gaps in philosophical approaches between different cultures could be abridged in only a mater of an hour with a few well delivered speeches or the actions of a valiant crew. The reality is very different. Foreign policy is dictated, among other things, by the perceptions a group has formed about another group. Take for example the Scorpiads. During their conflict with the Dominion and their collateral conflict with the Alpha Quadrant powers, they had perceived the Federation as a non-factor. Almost like an infection that simply needed taken care of. Because they didn't hold the same perception, or values that Federation holds, they were unlikely to seek diplomatic contact with the Federation, despite our best efforts. (I don't think they even responded to a single hail.) Overtime, and through conflict, they have started to see the wisdom of diplomatic relations with the Federation. The same basic principals have been around for a long time. If you want to look at TOS, the Klingons and Federation couldn't even be on the same station without nearly killing each other because they had such fundamentally opposed views of how things should be done. It was only due to the intervention of a third party (the Orgonians) that averted war between them. Kennedy said famously that the unfortunate fact is that to make peace we must prepare for war. Starfleet's mission is two fold, it must simultaneously protect the Federation, and also help advance the Federation. Its a fine balance between the two, and as the Federation is operated by imperfect people, they might not always succeed in finding the right balance. The hope is that, in the end, the better angels of our nature will prevail.

I believe the term is "Vapor wear." The Trek MMO is almost on par with "Duke Nukem Forever"

Insurrection was different from that particular episode Cuda. The Prime Directive does not apply to warp-capable worlds. Also, that episode was about 10-15 years before Insurrection. Time changes things. Perhaps in retrospect he couldn't do that again? And as someone noted, Starfleet had already mucked with the planet in the first place. I thought it was very much Picard to save the Baku.

I swear officers, I haven't been drinking... much.

Because not every Academy GM remembers to do one :)

Awww, Marky doesn't like Vicky's new knecking buddy.

Commander Notez, House of Haradrium, stood atop the bridge of his flagship Black Blood. The streaming stars around the dagger-shaped black-hulled ship slowed to a relative stop. From the viewer, his pale eyes watched as brilliant pink-purple rays filled with anti-gravitons struck their targets, exploding them on impact. On the wings of the Black Blood, the two smaller Hunter-class escorts opened fire on the offending Scorpiad transports. A thin smile crossed the pale lips of the Commander as he watched the explosions of the Scorpiad transports and their attendant escorts. They'd never seen it coming. Then just as quickly as they'd came, bringing death on their wake, the sleek black ships under his command jumped back to warp, leaving a trail of fire behind them. “Another success, Commander,” the tactical officer Lieutenant Jonal said with satisfaction. “The bastards didn't even have time to raise their stingers...” Notez, though pleased, was more muted in his response. “In deed, a great victory for our people. Keep us on course for our next target.” The attack marked the fourth for the raiding group led by Notez. It was part of a much wider campaign the Rebel forces had begun in an effort to cripple the Scorpiad militarily. Though they'd had some successes in direct combat, notably the major victory over a Scorpiad sector fleet at Kahin, the Scorpiads swift, deadly response at Salin had shown them that direct combat needed to be limited. The Scorpiads had kept many of their most deadly toys in reserve during the Dominon War, but now that the Al-Ucard and Eratian threatened the stability of the Empire as a whole, the mostly deadly venom of the Scorpiads was being brought down on the insurgents. That had left them with little choice. They could not win a direct fight, yet, but they also had to find away to slow the Scorpiads down. The answer was obvious—deprive them of the fuel for the war machine. That was the only hope of victory, Notez just hoped it worked or the lives of billions would be lost to sate the lust of the Scorpiads.

This board is designed a location for the special mission, Camelot: Twilight of Empires. What follows are the stories of the brave souls who, despite the odds, fight for peace in the Gamma Quadrant. Camelot: Twilight of Empires, is a special production of the USS Excalibur simulation, and is produced by the players of that game under the Direction of STSF Corizon and STSF JoNs. For more information, contact either of the hosts.

Nearly ten years have passed since the end of the Dominion War. The end of that conflict gave birth to an unprecedented level of cooperation between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrant, with the former adversaries joining together to build Camelot. A "shining beacon" in space, Camelot's mission is creation of a permanent base for the Alpha Quadrant powers in the Gamma Quadrant. As Camelot began to take shape, the dream of peace seemed a far and distant reality. With the Founders in glorious isolation, as Odo attempts to save his people from themselves, the Dominion has fallen into chaos. The Vorta Council rules in proxy, but without the metaphorical ‘white’ of the Founders’ presence, their hold on power is tenuous. Meanwhile, in the dark heart of the Gamma Quadrant an ancient enemy of the Founders rose once more to challenge their old rivals, the Scorpiads. A race of ancient arachnids, the Scorpiads fought an ancient war with the Dominion nearly 10,000 years before that ended in stalemate. Weakened by war, internal dissensions the Scorpiads moved quickly to avenge old grudges. Conflict between the two empires quickly ensued. Initially limited to Dominion territory, the Alpha Quadrant powers were plunged abruptly into the conflict when the Scorpiad and their lieutenants the powerful, insectoid Eratians and the cunning, nightstalking Al-Ucard seized the wormhole. The conflict culminated in the epic Battle of the Wormhole. The battle involved the largest number of vessels ever in a Federation involved battle including forces from the Dominion, separatist Hundred alongside forces from both the Gamma and Alpha Quadrant fleets of the Klingon and Romulan Empires and Starfleet pitted against the combined forces of the Scorpiads, Al-Ucard and Eratian main fleets. The result was a decisive victory for the Federation and her allies, returning access to the Alpha Quadrant and sending the Scorpiads into retreat. In the wake of their defeat, and mounting pressure from within the Empire, the Federation brokered a cease-fire between the sides allowing the creation of an uneasy truce, inviting the Scorpiad to join the Camelot mission. The year’s long war has left both powers weakened and venerable: the Scorpiads face a rebellion from their once loyal lieutenants; while the Vorta Council struggles to keep order as group of changelings known as the Hundred challenge their authority with the intent to remake the Dominion on their own terms. As the sun sets on these ancient Empires and the haze of twilight fills the Quadrant, Camelot and her crew strive to forge a lasting peace in the Quadrant.

Prospective Crew: Thank you for your interest in the Excalibur simulation! The Excalibur is one of the finest, longest-running games on the internet with over 14-years of gaming history. We have a diverse crew with players from all over the United States, Canada and even International simmers. The mission of the Excalibur is simple: we strive to provide a diverse, energetic and fun environment for players of all ages to relax and enjoy themselves. We meet every week for about an hour starting at 10 PM EST on Sundays. The story of the Excalibur, an Akira-class vessel, is as diverse and complex as her crew. Focused primarily in the Gamma Quadrant, the Excalibur is set nearly ten years after the end of the Dominion War. The end of the war has given birth to an unprecedented level of cooperation between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrant, with the former adversaries joining together to build Camelot. The dream of peace, however, has yet to be realized. With the Founders in glorious isolation, as Odo attempts to save his people from themselves, the Dominion has fallen into chaos. The Vorta Council rules in proxy, but without the metaphorical ‘white’ of the Founders’ presence, their hold on power is tenuous. Meanwhile, in the dark heart of the Gamma Quadrant an ancient enemy of the Founders rose once more to challenge their old rivals. A year’s long war has left both powers even weaker. The Scorpiads now face a rebellion from their once loyal lieutenants; while the Vorta Council struggles to keep order a group of changelings known as the Hundred have arisen to challenge their authority. Starfleet has pushed beyond the boundaries of Dominion-controlled space, encountering new species, such as the Al-Ucard and Scorpiads—sometimes with devastating results. The bold crew of the Excalibur set out on a year long mission to locate a mysterious object that the Vorta Council hoped would put them back into contact with the Founders. The mission was a success as the crew, after months of searching, finally located the device but the results weren't what the Vorta hoped for and now they must face the reality that the Founders have left them to forge their own destiny. We hope you will join us as we seek peace by the sword, but a peace only under liberty. Sincerely, Captain Ah-Windu Corizon

The subtle sound of water being moved only by telekinesis registered only barely in Corizon’s thought patterns. And though he smiled and appeared to be attentively watching the display of the Satarimi’s impressive mental prowess, he was lost deep in thought. The meetings with the Satarimi Arch-Prime Council had gone well, better than he’d expected actually. He’d found them helpful, efficient and wise. They brought a depth to conversations he found missing from most that involved career politicians. They’d even managed to mostly neutralize the pompous exasperation of Lexin. However, the information they’d imparted was much less agreeable. First there was the revelation that they did not possess the communicator or the knowledge of the whereabouts of the Founders. Not that he was entirely surprised; still it hadn’t stopped him from being mildly disappointed. Then came what they imparted about the Cult of Iyves, the people who’d exterminated an entire squadron of his fighter pilots just a few weeks prior. From what he extrapolated, they were a group of, surprise, religious fanatics who worshiped the deity Iyves, whom demanded the sacrifice of blood. According the Satarimi, in actuality, the Cult used the blood of aliens for a host of genetic experiments for who knows what purposes. Worse, the Cult operated more heavily in the nearby sectors of space; where there was no single dominate power to keep them in check. The more positive news, though, was that they rarely operated within Satarimi space, and that the Satarimi had located one of their primary operation centers; so if he wanted to go do some inspecting, he could. Another positive note was that the Satarimi believed they might have some records on the period of Dominion history in question. They’d been one of the few worlds that the Founders had willingly negotiated with, perhaps because they weren’t sure they could dominate them as they had just about everyone they encountered. A downside there was that they would have to consult their historical archives, and how long that might take was ambiguous at best. At any rate, it had given him plenty to think about, and even though the rainshaping was spectacular, it wasn’t enough to draw his conscious thoughts from the revelations of the first day of talks. The evening had begun to wind to a close, and members of the Excalibur crew were beginning to disperse. Silently, Corizon had slunk off to the transporter coordinated and headed back to the solace of his quarters. He had several dozen reports to file, and one to compile from his first day of meetings and another day loomed on the horizon.

There are worse things she could do...she could stay out every night...sleep around with all the guys...wink at them and bat her eyes...

[shameless Plug] Every game is a little different. Excalibur is set about 8-years after the end of the Dominion War, and is set primarily in the Gamma Quadrant. Currently we're on a search for the Founders who've gone missing. Excalibur's plots tend to be fairly complex with various layers, and an overreaching general plot that ties all our small ones together. We also have fighters, marines, in addition to several players who add depth to our game but are no necessarily in traditional rostered positions. More information can be found on our boards and on our website. [/shameless Plug]

I also hope to have chatlogs up ASAP

The Excalibur found herself flanked by three Satarimi cruisers, quite the welcoming party if you asked Corizon. At least, though, the so-called reclusive blue-skinned people seemed friendly enough. Actually, as races in the Gamma Quadrant went, they were down right hospitable. Of course, he reminded himself, with ships as well armed as there's you could afford to be a little less trigger happy. Some thanks had to be given to Ambassador Jerella. She'd done a wonderful job of assuring their hosts of their peaceful intentions. Apparently, they were actually happy to meet someone who's only aim was exploration. Kindred spirits, perhaps? The Satarimi had been fairly forthcoming in regards to the blood cult as well, a group they called the Cult of Iyves. That had come as a small relief to Corizon. Ever since that incident, the whole crew had been on edge, chomping at the bit for a measure of closure, perhaps the information contained in the packet they were preparing would yield that measure. As for himself, it had been a stressful assignment. Not only because of the hazards of space travel, the angst of the unknown, the moral dilemma of helping the Dominion, but also the administrative conflicts of running a ship. True, he'd essentially been with most of the crew for over three years on both the B and the C, and they'd been through some hellish times together, but this was his first real mission in command with no one over him. In spite of the command headaches, the crew did seem to be settling in on the new ship a little better. He'd wanted more shake-down time, but Starfleet had other plans. Bureaucrats. Some things were universal constants. “Captain,” Petty Officer Eiago Salazar's lightly accented voice chirped through the communicator on the Dameon's desk. “The Satarimi are sending you the finalized schedule for our visit to their homeworld.” What was that about universal constants? “Oh boy,” Corizon managed. “Send it along when it gets here and CC it to Commander JoNs and Ambassadors Jerella and Lexin.” “Aye, Captain.” A few moments later and the schedule was scrolling by on his desk unit. Jerella and Corizon had both agreed that even with their mission in mind, this was to good of an opportunity to pass up standard first contact procedures. As such, they'd spent the last several hours ironing out the schedule for exploration and cultural exchange between the Federation and the Satarimi Hierarchy. From his brief glance over, it appeared fairly standard; the crew would spend the bulk of their time touring Satarimi facilities both in space and planetside, while another team would tour the Satarimi around the Excalibur and give them a basic overview of Federation history. Meanwhile Corizon, Lexin and Jerella would be busy with higher level talks with the Archprime Council concerning the Dominion and the Cult of Iyves. The schedule was for a three-day engagement; the first two days would be filled with the aforementioned tours with evenings culminating in a cultural event, read: dinner, held respectively by the Satarimi and the Excalibur. The third and final day would be more open, with the Satarimi granting the Excalibur crew passes to experience the planet themselves without a guide. That evening, the Satarimi would be holding a formal gala ball to honor the successful first contact. Corizon was almost certain his crew was going to mutiny when they heard they'd be wearing dress uniforms for the bulk of the mission, and have to wear even more formal uniforms the final night with full regalia. But if they thought he was any happier about it than they were, they were sorely mistaken. Although, if the worst thing that happened to them on this mission was having to wear an uncomfortable uniform, that would be an improvement.

Personally, I resent that remark.

The Excalibur-C Specs: Class: Akira Type: Heavy Cruiser Unit Run: This class remains in production Commissioned: 2363 - present Dimensions: Length : 464.43 m Beam : 316.67 m Height : 87.43 m Decks : 19 Mass: 3,055,000 metric tons Crew: 550 officers/enlisted + Flight Crews; 4,500 Evacuation Limit Armament: 5 x Type XII phaser arrays, total output 35,700 Terawatts 3 x Type X phaser arrays, total output 17,500 TeraWatts 2 x Twin Class II rapid fire phaser pulse cannon 2 x Rapid Fire Quantum Torpedo Launcher + 125 torpedoes 10 x Burst Fire Torpedo Launchers + 300 torpedoes 2 x Single Tube Anti-Torpedo Counter Measure Launchers +50 Measures Defense Systems: Regenerative shield system, total capacity 2,000,300 TeraJoules Standard Duranium/Tritanium Double hull plus 5.4 cm Ablative Armor. High level Structural Integrity Field Propulsion / Power Systems: Warp Propulsion and main power provided by a Type XI M/AM Reactor Impulse power provided by two impulse engines powered by four fusion reactors encased each within engine housing. Maneuverability provided by a series of twelve surface mounted retro-thrusters pods [six retro-thrusters per pod] and a series of fourteen embedded RCS thruster quads Warp Speeds (TNG scale) Normal Cruise : 7 Maximum Cruise : 9.5 for 10 hours Maximum Rated : 9.89 for 8 hours. Diplomatic Capability: Grade III Expected Hull Life 120 years Refit Cycle: Minor : 5 year Standard : 10 years Major : 20 years Design History: The venerable Akira-class has proven itself in major combat situations with the Dominion, Borg and a host of other situations. It has also proven itself to be a capable all-purpose ship. The first of these models have reached their first major-refit cycle, as such all new ships, like the Excalibur-C of this class will be outfitted to these specification. The Excalibur-C is the first of the Akira's to be built with the major refit standards, and as such is classified as an Akira-class of the Excalibur subtype. Most of the major changes from the original Akira-class are beneath the surface and mostly updates to systems such as the EPS grins, LCARS and other support systems. Other adaptations include an enlarged science laboratory section to accommodate a wider range of missions; updates to the sensor palette; a more balanced armament that features fewer photon torpedo launchers in favor of more phaser banks and two quantum torpedo launchers in addition to the still experimental Anti-Torpedo Counter Measure launchers. Other updates include a newer warp core to augment faster warp speeds, updated fighter compliment and the addition of a Marine areas. Fighter/Shuttle Compliment: 24 x Lancelot-class Fighter 12 x Lancelot Advanced-class Heavy Fighter 12 x Guinevere-class Bomber 12 x Type 11 Shuttles 8 x Type 9 Shuttles 6 x Danube-class Runabouts 4 x Normandy-class Armored Transports 2 x Justinian-class Corvettes 2 x Sphinx-class Utility Ships 2 x Adventure-class Long Range Scouts 1 x Ethan Allen-class Raider 1 x Cousteau-class Captain's Yacht Deck Layout: Weapons Pod*: Deck A: Tactical Information Center/Flight Operations, Flight Operations Deck B: TIC Maintenance Support Section, Torpedo Storage Deck C: Sail Torpedo Control Room, Torpedo Launchers(x7) Deck D: Sail Torpedo Magazine Emergency Shield Generators 1-2 *Only Deck D is accessible by Main Lift, All other decks are only accessible by a separate lift system Command Section: Deck 1: Captains Ready Room, Main Bridge, Briefing Room, Observation Lounge Deck 2: Junior and Senior Officers Quarters, VIP/Guest Quarters, Executive Officer's Office Deck 3: Visiting Officers / Noncommissioned Officer's Quarters, Captain's Quarters, Captain's Mess Catamaran Section* Deck 1A: Phaser control, Parts Storage, Secondary Armory Deck 1B: Phaser control, Parts Storage, Tertiary Armory Deck 2A: Storage, Long-term Isolation and Cryo-units, Enlistee Quarters Deck 2B: Storage, Crew Quarters, Barbershop, Holosuites Deck 3A: Secondary Lounge, Crew Quarters, Training and Recreation Facility, Holodecks, Primary Shield Generators Deck 3B: Marine Headquarters, Marine Company Barracks, Marine Officer Quarters, Marine Armory,Primary Shield Generators *Decks 1A-3A and 1A-3B are located on the raised 'catamaran' section of the dorsal hull Primary Hull Deck 4: Primary Machine Shop, Primary Maintenance Support Center, Chief Science Officer's Office, Primary Science Labs, Junior and Senior Officers Quarters Deck 5: Junior Officers and Crew Quarters, Main Lounge, Secondary Science Labs , Cargo Bay 1 & 2 Deck 6: Primary Computer Core Control, Main Galley, Officer's Dining, Mess Hall, Cargo Bay 3 - Primary Cargo Bay Deck 7: Primary Computer Core, Shuttle Maintenance Hangar and Storage, Stellar Cartography Deck 8: Primary Computer Core, Flight Operations Armory, Fighter Maintenance Hangar and Storage Deck 9: Fore and Aft Torpedo Bay Control, Torpedo Magazine and Manufacturing Area, Shuttle and Fighter Hangar Elevator Support Systems, Primary Shield Generators Deck 10: Transporter Rooms 3 and 4, Shuttle and Fighter Preparation Pre-Flight Bay, Emergency Shield Generators 3-4, Phaser Control Systems. Deck 11: Sickbay, Chief Medical Officer's Office, Primary Medical Labs, Counselor's Office Shuttlebay [Fore and Aft access via deck 12] Deck 12: Primary Systems Support Compartments, Shuttlebay [Fore and Aft Access] Deck 13: Flight Personnel Quarters, Secondary Shuttle and Fighter Maintenance Hangar, Flight Deck Operations and Maintenance, Chief of the Air Group's Office, Air Group Briefing Room Deck 14: Upper Engineering Support Area, Fusion Power Generators 1-4, Enlisted Personnel Living Barracks, Aft and Lower Forward Torpedo Bay and Control, Chief Security Officer's Office, Armory, Firing Range, Main Security, Brig Deck 15: Main Engineering - M/ARA Operations Center, Fusion Power Generators 4-6, Flight Operations Barracks, Transporter Rooms 1 and 2, Armory, Chief Engineer's Office/Station Deck 16: Lower Engineering, Deflector Control, Main Tractor Beam Control and Emitter, Environmental Control, Secondary Computer Core, Null-G Gymnasium/Weight Room Deck 17: Tertiary Maintenance Support Center, Secondary Systems Deck 18: Environmental Control, Deuterium Storage, Anti-matter Storage Pods, Gravimetric Polaron Generators, Secondary Shield Generators Deck 19: Waste Management systems, Support Systems, Umbilical Support

With the Dominion busy trying to keep our right rebellion down and the Scorpiads withdrawing from the territory they seized during the war, local patrols in Camelot's space were limited almost exclusively to Alpha Quadrant vessels. That suited Captain Jai Harom-Kell of the Saladin just fine, in his opinion, having forces from either side would only cause problems. The Excelsior-class vessel was in her third tour of the Gamma Quadrant, and in that time she'd seen some strange, miraculous things. She'd also seen the entire quadrant plunged into war over what, nearest her Captain could tell, was a grudge about as old as Earth's written history. Lately things had calmed down. The only problem he seemed to have was the occasional pirate, and they were dispatched pretty easily when a Federation starship showed up on the scene. For the Captain and crew, it had been a welcome change of pace. Today, the Saladin was on the fourth leg of her standard patrol. The whole route took them almost five weeks to complete, and the fourth leg was one of the longer stretches of space on their path. Encompassing seven inhabited systems, four uninhabited systems, two nebulae and a class-VIII protostar there was a lot of ground to cover as the region was fairly well 'spaced.' That meant long downtimes between systems. Which meant general mischief among the crew. Harom-Kell's first officer, Heidi Swanson, had already complained to the Captain about the conduct of the crew. Though he thought she was being a bit uptight, he'd told her to do what she thought appropriate. As such, the crew now found itself plenty busy—cleaning the decks. Sitting on the bridge, while a passel of enlisted and junior officers scrubbed and polished, Harom-Kell leaned back into his chair with a thin smile. At least some good came out of his first officers overeagerness. The Excelsior-class ship suddenly reared, leveled and bucked, tossing the idyll crew in various directions. On the bridge, the once sedate Captain Harom-Kell found himself barking orders. “Report!” He clawed himself back into his seat, bracing as the ship began rolling over violently. “Attempting...” the helmsman was fighting just to stay in his seat as the inertial dampeners struggled to keep up. “Attempting to compensate...” Finally the Saladin leveled out. “What the hell was that?” Behind the command chair, Lt. Gael Berna worked his fingers over the science stations' consoles. “Sensors are still shaky, but it looked... almost like a... well...” Harom-Kell turned in his seat, looking directly at the human science officer. “Looked like what?” “An...earthquake...” Skeptically, “An earthquake.” Nodding his head, Berna looked at the readings once more. “Only in subspace.” At that moment the doors to the turbolift opened and Hedi Swanson along with a half-dozen other senior crew emerged onto the bridge. “Captain...” “Commander I was just about to call for you...” “What the hell was that?” Harom-Kell pointed to Berna, deferring to the scientist. “Like I told the Captain,” Berna said, motioning the commander over to his station. “It almost looks like a earthquake, but in subspace.” Swanson flipped her curly red hair out of her face and pulled a chair next to the science station. “It certainly looks like it.” A geologist by training, she could help but recognize the tail-tail wave signature in the readings she had before her.. but it didn't make any sense for energy waves to travel through subspace like they did through solid rock. “Well if you're correct,” she said finally. “Then there will be an epicenter... let's see if we can trace it... this might be an entirely new phenomena.” Content to let the scientists do their work, Harom-Kell turned his attention to more pressing issues. “Damage report?” The Operations officer was well ahead of him. “Shields down to 50 percent, weapons off-line, structural integrity fields holding, warp and impulse coming back on-line now... we have minor causalities all-over, but medical reports only a few serious injuries...” “Have we gotten any reports from anyone else in the region of the same phenomena?” “Subspace communications arrays still off-line, looks like the subspace-antenna took some damage, no word from engineering on how long it might take to fix...” “Very well,” Harom-Kell said with a slight sigh. “Keep me informed.” “Captain,” Swanson said. “I think we've located the epicenter...” “Okay.” “Looks like it's about a five light years from here...” “Salin-system?” Harom-Kell said, with lifted brows. “Yes, sir.” Salin was not technically on their patrol route, but none the less they'd been keeping tabs on the system. A former Dominion world, it had been claimed by the advance of the Scorpiads and turned into an Al-Ucard base. Under the terms of the Avalon Treaty, the base was kept, but under Al-Ucard control. Near as they could tell, the base was fairly unimportant, and the system itself scientifically insignificant, apparently not. “What are you seeing on long-range scanners?” “That's just it...” “What?” “At first we thought it was our sensors, but they're not damaged...” “Eh?” “Captain... there's nothing there... just some large asteroids...” “Come again?” “It's like... the whole planet... the whole star system... was simply erased from the map.” “Is it safe for us to...” “Already plotting a course, Captain...” “Good... shoot off a message buoy to Camelot Station...”

Fighter Specs Class: Lancelot Type: Attack Fighter Unit Run: Production Run: 2380-PRESENT Dimensions: Length : 12.3 M Beam : 11.8 M Height : 5.2 M Mass: 24 Metric Tons Crew: 1 Pilot Armament: 2 x Dual Class II rapid fire phaser pulse cannon 1 x Type IX Phaser Array 2 x Ventral Plasma Bomb Launchers (10 Bombs) 1 x Micro Photon Torpedo Launcher (5 Rounds) Defense Systems: Light Shield System, total capacity 30,000 TeraJoules Light Duranium/Tritanium hull plus 2 cm Ablative Armor. High level Structural Integrity Field Propulsion / Power Systems Impulse and warp power provided by Type J-III M/AM Warp Reactor Maneuverability provided by a series of six surface mounted retro-thrusters pods [10 retro-thrusters per pod] and a series of four embedded RCS thruster quads Speeds (TNG scale) Warp Cruise 1.69 for 48 hours Warp Max: 5.5 for 7 hours Impulse: .9 x c Atmospheric Cruise (Mach) : 4.26 Atmospheric Max (Mach): 9 Expected Hull Life: 20 Years Refit Cycle Minor : 6 Months Standard : 1.5 Years Major : 4 years The Lancelot-class fighter was designed in the wake of the Dominion war. In the years since the end of the war, the Federation realized that the nearly 40-year-old Peregrine design that had formed the bulk of the Starfleet fighters had reached the end of their life cycle. Starfleet Command commissioned the design of a totally new fighter, the Lancelot-class. Designed to be a light strike fighter that would be more agile than the Peregrines, which had been labeled as “underpowered runabouts,” the Lancelot is a completely new designed based more heavily on a shuttle than a runabout. After intial studies showed a design that was too large, Starfleet Design introduced a radical new concept for the Lancelot. Unlike almost every other ship, it would not contain both fusion reactors and a M/AM driver. Instead it would use state of the art warp field controls to produce sub-light speeds with revolutionary micro-subspace field generators powered by the M/AM driver. This allowed the Lancelot-class to be smaller, more agile, better balanced and equally deadly. Another feature is that the Lancelot is able to maneuver freely in true atmospheric flight. The first of these models rolled out onto Akira-class and Medusa-class vessels early in 2380. ___ Class: Lancelot Advanced Type: Heavy Fighter Unit Run: Production Run: 2383-PRESENT Dimensions: Length : 17.35 M Beam : 12.7 M Height : 6.5 M Mass: 45 Metric Tons Crew: 1 Pilot Armament: 2 x Dual Class II rapid fire phaser pulse cannon 2 x Type IX Phaser Array 2 x Micro Photon Torpedo Launcher (10 Rounds) 4 x Hard Points Defense Systems: Light Shield System, total capacity 70,000 TeraJoules Light Duranium/Tritanium hull plus 2 cm Ablative Armor. High level Structural Integrity Field Propulsion / Power Systems Impulse power provided by two multi-vectored impulse engines powered by two fusion reactors encased within engine housing. Warp power provided by a Type K-VII M/A reactor Maneuverability provided by a series of six surface mounted retro-thrusters pods [10 retro-thrusters per pod] and a series of four embedded RCS thruster quads Speeds (TNG scale) Warp Cruise 6.5 for 72 hours Warp Max: 8.56 for 14 hours Impulse: .9 x c Expected Hull Life: 20 Years Refit Cycle Minor : 6 Months Standard : 1.5 Years Major : 4 years After the introduction of the standard Lancelot, it was clear that another supplemental fighter be added to the range. The solution was the Lancelot Advanced. A larger,longer-range fighter than the standard Lancelot, the Advanced has several key differences from its smaller brother. Larger warp nacelles, which are detachable to allow more maneuverability, true impulse drivers as size was less of an issue and the control software for the micro-subspace field had proved slightly unreliable in the early testing. (The problem has since been resolved) The Advanced also carries a larger navigation array for its higher warp speeds, upgraded subspace antenna, heavier weaponry, including hard point mounts for mission specific ordinance or sensor pods. Another feature not included on the standard Lancelot is the holographic decoy launchers. The decoys produce a fake warp signature as well as full EM spectrum facsimiles of the fighters. Because of the power needed to do this the decoys usually burn out within 10 second of launch. However, the additions come at a price. The Advanced version is heavier and less agile in tight maneuvers, it also loses it's full atmospheric flight abilities. Despite this, many locations have gone solely to the Lancelot Advanced fighter, though carriers like the Akira-class and Medusa-class carry both, with the Advanced typically in smaller numbers. The first block of Advanced Lancelot-class fighters entered service in 2381. ___ Class: Guinevere Type: Heavy Fighter/Bomber Unit Run: Production Run: 2378-PRESENT Dimensions: Length : 24.71 M Beam : 16.258 M Height : 6.75 M Mass: 79 Metric Tons Crew: 1 Pilot, 1 Mission Operative (Optional Mission Specialist) Armament: 2 x Dual Class II rapid fire phaser pulse cannon 1 x Type IX Phaser Array 2 x Micro Photon Torpedo Launcher (10 Rounds) 2 x Gravitic Charge Launcher (10 Charges) 2 x Ventral Plasma Bomb Launchers (30 Bombs) 6 x Hard Points 1 x Internal Ordinance bay (40,000 kg total) Defense Systems: Light Shield System, total capacity 90,000 TeraJoules Light Duranium/Tritanium hull plus 5 cm Ablative Armor. High level Structural Integrity Field Propulsion / Power Systems Impulse power provided by two multi-vectored impulse engines powered by two fusion reactors encased within engine housing. Warp power provided by a Type K-VII M/A reactor Maneuverability provided by a series of six surface mounted retro-thrusters pods [10 retro-thrusters per pod] and a series of four embedded RCS thruster quads Speeds (TNG scale) Warp Cruise 5.9 for 96 hours Warp Max: 8.71 for 24 hours Impulse: .65 x c Expected Hull Life: 20 Years Refit Cycle Minor : 6 Months Standard : 1.5 Years Major : 4 years Originally intended as a replacement for the Danube-class runabout for stations, the Guinevere-class was then modified to a more combat oriented role as the Starfleet opted to leave the venerable Danube-class in service for another 15 years. The “Gwens,” as their often known by their crews, are based heavily on newer fighter frames of the mid-70's. Armed heavily for a fighter, the Gwens fill a dual role of heavy fighter and bomber, carrying an impressive ordinance. However, the added weapons and bomber bay decreases the Gwen's ability to be maneuverable.

Colonel qa'Kjiik hissed angrily as another round of fire pummeled his warship. Using three eyes he monitored the holographic displays, while his other eyes monitored the alcove below his command dias. The Scorpiad hissed again as another round buried into the organic hull of the g'Jak-class warship. “Bring us about, target the lead vessel with primary batteries... fire at will.” Outside, the black-gray vessels that had brought so much terror to the Gamma Quadrant fought feverishly to maintain their hold on the system they orbited. The lead ship, Death Gazer, turned suddenly on axis, an astonishing maneuver for most ships it's size, and opened fire with purple-pink reign of phased gravitons that struck the offending vessel—a black dagger shaped vessel that had once fought along side the Death Gazer. The Al-Ucard ship shuddered under the fire and began breaking, violently, into pieces. Turning their attention to only one ship proved a fatal mistake for the crew of the Death Gazer, as three Hunter-class heavy cruisers locked their primary weapons onto the Death Gazer nearly paralyzing the ship as its organic hull overloaded from the energy being absorbed. Fractures began appearing over the once gooey-surface as it turned hard as rock and began dying. In a mater of moments, the once proud warship was nothing but dust and explosions. In the command center of now-lead ship, Flaming Wrath, Colonel Lejkkijh hissed fiercely as his body cavity went flat. The Leri-Scorpiad clicked his slender, yet deadly claws together angrily. “I told them we should never have given the Al-Ucard or the Eratians modern weaponry from our own ships.” Fuming he turned on the dais, peering down, ominously at the communications officer. “Order the fleet into ka't'ek formation. Form up our wings and fall back to the second pere....” He didn't get a chance to finish. The heavy guns of the Al-Ucard mothership Killing Strike unloaded a brutal barrage, ending the battle for the Colonel. With nearly their entire defense force of the outpost destroyed, the remaining Scorpiad vessels broke their attacks and faded into subspace. For the Empire... and for the Rebellion... it was a turning point. In the past months, the Al-Ucard and Eratian forces had occasionally engaged small Scorpiad fleets or minor garrisons, never a full sector defense force. And even more shocking, they'd wiped the floor the Scorpiads all-conquering Gjak Battlestars. Tonight, fires would burn in celebration. Tonight, was a great victory over tyranny. Tonight, was a night where heads would roll.

I try to keep a rough idea in my head as to what date it is in the Excalibur universe. Roughly It's sometime in February 2383 or ~ SD 60104.1, but thats only an edumicated guess. Generally If I plug a stardate in, though, I use the standard YYMM.DD for the date I am doing it on.

The Excalibur hummed along silently in the openness of the space between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Normally the corridor between Earth and her closest neighbor was filled with trading ships, Starfleet clippers and an assortment of pleasure boats and training vessels. Today the load was light and Excalibur mostly had the roughly four-light year area of space to themselves. Generally the trip between the two took a starship like the Excalibur, a sparkling Sovereign-class barely two years out of dry dock, a few hours at standard cruise. However, with the low traffic and time to spare, Rear Admiral Corizon had ordered Excalibur to a much lower cruising speed of warp 3. The mood on the Excalibur-D was light and airy; even the Admiral, long known for his temperament, had a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. They'd been essentially been ported at Spacedock for over a month, kept from furlough, and spent the better part of it cleaning deck plating or whatever else they could think of to pass time. In his Ready Room, Ah-Windu watched as the stars streamed by in an array of white and blue streaks with rainbows behind them. It had been a long month for the Dameon; he'd spent the better part of it in either San Fransisco, Paris and Geneva selling his Project: Kami to the Admiralty, the President and the Federation Council. Commissioned by the former, Project: Kami was to be Starfleet's response to recent activity that suggested a possible alien invasion could take place. As he was one of the few officers still active who'd been part of Starfleet's responses to the Borg and the Dominion some four decades prior, he was the perfect man, apparently, to prepare Starfleet for another possible invasion of the Alpha Quadrant by a hostile and in some ways technologically superior force. After conceptualizing the initial proposal, he'd spent weeks tweaking the plan to meet the operational and fiscal demands and restraints placed on him by the brass and the diplomats. The final plan, which had been approved only a day before by the Council, wasn't completely what he wanted, but in the end it was still a very sound plan, one he felt would keep the Federation safe. So now he was on his way to begin stage one of the implementation. A brief stop-over at Alpha Centauri to rotate out crewmembers, and he'd be on his way to Antares Fleet Yards to begin overseeing Phase I of the project, the bringing out of mothballs nearly three-hundred ships that would sure up the the core fleet and allow a number of ships from the Steamrunner, Sabre and Norway-classes to be transferred off those duties and into a new fleet of scouts that would more accurately give the Federation and Starfleet eyes and ears on the fringes of known space. Concurrently, Utopia Planetia and the newest fleet yards at Sunatra would step up production of the “capital” classes like the Sovereign, Akira, Galaxy and Prometheus-classes to bolster what was being dubbed the “Starfleet Rapid Response Defense Force.” He'd just popped open a celebratory bottle of sparkling Romulan ale a colleague had procured for him, something from the N'Dak vineyards he was pretty sure, when alarms started sounding all over the stately Sovereign-class. “What the blazes,” Corizon growled as he was commed to the bridge over ship-wide. He stepped out on the bridge to find the mood decidedly sour and frantic. “Report,” he growled as he took his place in the command chair. Toramon Komarzad, the Trill tactical officer looked up from his console to the Dameon commander with a worried look. “We're receiving a distress signal on ship-to-ship wireless frequencies,” the Trill said quickly. As his ears stood up into upright positions, Corizon swiveled in his chair. A distress signal? “From where?” “I am triangulating it now...” “Transponder matches,” the Xindi-Primate operations officer chimed in. “You're not going to believe this sir...” “Try me...” Corizon said as he swiveled in his chair. “It matches the Agincourt.” “That... that's impossible.” Shaking his head, Komarzad glanced back to the his console before announcing. “Confirmed, transponder is an exact match for 'Court. The signal's coming from somewhere around Pluto... we're cleaning up the signal now...” “Let's have it...” “Text only at this range sir...” Corizon nodded for the Trill to read it aloud. “They're warning of a hostile fleet entering the sector...” Letting it soak in for a moment, Corizon took a deep breath. “Alright folks...” he paused for a moment then continued, his resolve unshaken. “Go to Red Alert, all hands to battle stations. Set course for Earth at maximum warp.” “Aye,” came a call from about three different officers as they went to work. “Relay the message onto Alpha Centauri tell them to spread the word,” Corizon's mind was in overdrive and his body on auto-pilot. “And send out the same general message to any ship in range.” So much for Project: Kami keeping the Federation safe. The Excalibur dropped out of warp and made a sharp u-turn and jumped again to high warp. “How long before we can be in range?” “Thirty-five minutes, sir.” “Damn.” Corizon only hoped that'd be enough time.

March 16 -April 20 Chat Logs 031608.txt 032308.txt 033008.txt 040608.txt 041308.txt 042008.txt