Chaka

Gee, and all this time I thought Starfleet used Lcars.

Well, with those generous royalties and licensing fees, wouldn't Earth's GDP increase again?

Actually, I'd settle for knowing the simmer exists. ^_^

OK, I settled on a title now. "Who named this dumbass after a knife?" By the way, for those who haven't figured it out yet - Yup, I'm Dumbass. ^_^

I loved that scene in The Blues Brothers when he took out a pistol and almost shot that kid. ^_^ He will be missed. :lol:

Let's just say that when I started siming my hair was a dark black. Look at me now.

OK, I've seen the home planet of the Andorians referred to as both Andor and Andoria, sometimes even on the same page of the same site. So which is it? I know I've seen startrek.com refer to it as Andoria.

I honestly don't remember how many sims it took me to graduate (almost 2 years ago), but I know how many I showed up for. Back then STSF was an infant organization just getting set up. There were a lot of schedule mixups, cancellations, and a couple that were pretty much useless as training tools since there were only 2 or 3 Cadets and 1 GM. (Then again there was that one sim where we started out with 1 GM and 3 Cadets in a small shuttlepod and we ended up with 9 or 10 by the time it ended. :P ) Also, other than the 3-sim minimum I don't think the GMs back then had completely ironed out how to tell when a Cadet was ready to graduate, meaning a lot of Cadets probably had the skills needed to graduate a couple sims before they actually did. Things run a lot smoother now. One thing I'm pleased to see is Cadets take an interest in log writing and character development before they graduate. In the early days we didn't do that, so when we got to our Advanced sims we didn't know the first thing about building a bio or posting a log. I look back on some of my first logs and think " :D " - did I really write that? So don't look at what us "old-timers" did and think that's the way it will be for you. Most of the early, early graduates are still around, and in a way the crap we took those early days makes us stronger players, but stronger doesn't equate to being smarter.

Then I guess I'm a bit confused. Are you saying that the play-by-email portion of the sim during construction has nothing to do with who will serve on the ship, the race that character holds, and in what role? Let's say, for example, that as the current plot plays out the Romulans succeed in making the Andorians look like the bad guys in that ship explosion, and Andoria and Earth/Vulcan go to war as the Challenger nears completion as a result. I am a representative of the Andorian government much the same way that T'Pol was a representative of the Vulcan government. But if our governments are at war doesn't that make me inelligible to serve on a Pink Skin ship? You certainly wouldn't give the enemy a Tactical/Intelligence position which is what my character wants. And doesn't that person standing behind me in my avitar kinda look like a Borg Queen?

So is the outter hull (in red on the site) really phasing in and out of existance? That could make flying pretty difficult later on.

Just going from the recent posts this list might already be out of date. Will there be updates posted? Also, just so I know who I *might* be serving with when the ship actually launches, can we get a list of people who are interested in what positions? I'm assuming this ship will have more than Engineers and Ambassadors and Admirals.

OK, eventually I will need to develop my supervisor's character a little more, but for the time being I'm working on *my* character first. I'm guessing that the Andorian's intelligence community is similar to Section 31 or Tal Shiar or our own CIA in that we work closely with the military but are not technically part of it. The young Andorian operative entered his supervisor's office, not in the best mood. "What is going on? My flight to Earth was recalled before we even left spacedock. What is the reason?" "I'm still investigating, but I received this a few days ago. It's above your security clearance level but I think you need to know." The supervisor hands Chaka a copy of SUPREMACY LEVEL 6 TRANSMISSION. A look of bewilderment crosses Chaka's face. "He has got to be kidding. Morval mobolized half the fleet. If we take strikes against Earth then we leave the Vulcans with no option than to escalate the cold war against us. We're at roughly the same strength which means a full war would be long and bloody." "True, true. I don't know the hidden motives behind this, but I can assure you the Intelligence and Diplomatic Corps were both kept out of the loop." "How are the other powers reacting?" "As you might predict. The Klingons and Romulans are responding in kind." Chaka came very close to loosing his professional discipline as his antaene stiffened. "This is madness! The hallmarks of intelligence work are subterfuge, covertness, and stealth. If we go in with guns blazing we loose much of our intelligence-gathering capability." "I don't disagree" said Chaka's supervisor "but you are concentrating on the wrong issue. Earth is not yet capable of recognising our mobilization against them for what it is. As you know, Intelligence doesn't answer to the military. Your mission remains unchanged." "My mission has already changed! We may not answer to the military but our pilots do. They are under orders from an Admiral to mobolize for war, not support intelligence." The supervisor ponders this. "Unfortunately our hands are tied. We have no more control over military operations than they do ours." "I'm not sure where that leaves us." "We will have to work through what channels we can. For the time being at least you can't leave the planet, and our mission is contrary to the Diplomatic Corps' mission to install an Andorian as XO. I'll arrange for you to meet with the Pink Skin's Ambassador Rex. He has no decision-making capacity in his role but it's a start." Chaka lets out a small sigh, which his commander hears. "There is some good news." the commander said. "What is that?" "The Vulcans are in the same bind we are in. Some of them are pushing for XO, some for Chief of Sciences. The Pink Skins seem to want one as Helm or Engineering but not Science, don't ask me why. It's likely neither will get XO but I think the Vulcans will succeed in Science. Many of the Humans won't like that which gives us the advantage. Who knows? They may even *ask* for our help." Chaka replied "I wish I could agree, but if they are frightened of us by this mobilization... well, the Vulcans are the only ones they can turn to for help. The Klingons are too far away, and the Romulans by and large mostly stick to themselves." "It's a difficult situation, I'll grant you that. We'll just have to wait it out and see what happens."

I'll think of a title later. No, seriously. That's what I want. I want "I'll think of a title later."

"Come in, Chaka." The young recent graduate of the Andorian War College entered his superior's office and closed the door, eager for news of his first assignment. "I understand you are looking for a career in the Intelligence Corps." "That is correct sir. Is there any news?" "Nothing tangible at the moment. As you know, intelligence is a very popular field. We have more applicants than positions." The placement officer thumbs through Chaka's file. "Academic marks are good, standard extra-curricular activities, some internships, an Inteligence major with a minor in... Diplomacy?" "That is correct sir. It makes little sense to concentrate on an adversary's military capabilities without knowing their diplomatic capabilities." "Two sides of the same coin then." The senior officer thinks on this a moment. "I might have an assignment for you after all." The commander retrives a file from a hidden drawer in his desk, opens it, and shows the graduate a photograph. "Are you familiar with this ship?" "Sir, that's the NX-05. An Earth ship. But I thought it was still under construction." "That is correct. This is our best projection of what it will look like when completed. It might be your first assignment, but that depends on you." "What explosives should I use?" "Your assignment is not to blow it up. Your assignment will be to join it's crew." Chaka's antaene straighten to resemble exclamation points. "A Pink Skin ship? Why? For that matter, how? Surely the Humans don't want a bunch of Andorians integrated with their military. They weren't too happy about being forced to work with Vulcans on the Enterprise project." "You are correct. Even though our diplomatic corps has petitioned Starfleet to assign the XO post to an Andorian I don't think they will succeed. An XO position is too lofty a goal, but another key officer... an Intelligence Officer perhaps..." "...could be just the right level for an Andorian Intelligence Officer with diplomatic training." "I don't see how diplomacy enters into this." said the senior officer. "Leave diplomacy to the experienced diplomats. We're warriors. Strategists at best. Not negotiators." The confident young officer straigntened. "Earth history. United States, early 1970s by their calendar. Are you familiar with Trialgular Diplomacy?" "I read a paper on it, but it was so esoteric I fell asleep." "Well, sir, the theory is simple. When your negotiations with an adversary are at a stalemate, open negotiations against *their* adversary to bring them back to the table." "I don't follow." "Look, we both know the Humans and Vulcans are fed up with each other. Starfleet wishes they had another option but they don't. That's our angle. We have just as much to offer the Humans as the Vulcans do, and they can use us as leverage. That's the balance of power. That's Triangular Diplomacy. An Andorian presence on the Challenger will serve Starfleet's interests by making sure the Vulcan influence is kept in check." "Are you sure you're not part Vulcan yourself?" Chaka's eyes narrow and he gives his mentor a dirty look. "Very well. Pack your bags, pick your transport. My staff will make the arrangements with Earth's Admiral Forrest, your potential CO, and a couple others while you're en route."

::straightens antenae:: Cool, she's 18 now. :)