Inspection Time

The Type-11 shuttlecraft Resolute did a pirouette as it landed on the Exeter‘s deck so that the passenger ramp faced the group of cadets and enlisted trainees standing at nervous attention could see Admiral Seagraves exit her craft. The formality of a shuttlecraft landing wasn’t strictly necessary given that the training ship was docked with Starbase Bravo. Still, even someone like Aubrey Seagraves wasn’t wholly immune to the charms of a bit of pomp and circumstance. She’d taken her own cadet cruise on the Exeter‘s sister ship, Republic, decades ago, so it was always a treat to be back aboard an original Constitution-class starship.

The Exeter‘s captain received her at the foot of the ramp, along with a highly anxious-looking Andorian cadet who was flushed such a light shade of blue that Seagraves was nearly concerned for her medical state. The young woman wore a provisional commander’s insignia on her chest, under the four cadet pips she wore to show her year at the academy, which marked her as the acting Executive Officer for the voyage.

“Commander,” Seagraves said, nodding at the Andorian, before walking down the line of cadets. Of course, there was nothing to see as Starfleet cadets were drilled to be meticulous in the presentation of their uniforms, but being stared down by a flag officer as a midshipman was one of the rituals one couldn’t dispense with. 

When Seagraves got to the other side of the deck, she turned to the Cadet-Commander and the ship’s Captain. “What do you have to show me first, Number One?”

“If the admiral would like, the cargo bay is adjacent…,” the Cadet started but trailed off when Seagraves frowned. What exactly was she supposed to do there? Make sure proper cargo stowage protocols were being followed? These inspections were often boring, but that really took the cake as the word suggestion she’d ever heard.

“I don’t think I’ll learn about this crew’s preparation to run a starship by inspecting the cargo bay,” Seagraves said, with a sigh. She had a flash of insight at something that would be much more amusing. “You’ve already run a stationary battle drill, haven’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Let’s try something a little more interesting. I’ve always wanted to see one of these old birds fire a real torpedo, not a training charge. Captain, have a photon torpedo transferred from the starbase, and let’s go find something to blow up,” Seagraves said. 

The captain’s mouth open and then shut as if he didn’t know if the order was real or facetious.

“I meant now,” Seagraves said before stalking off in the direction of the bridge.

 

Since the last time I reported to you, there have been a number of developments in the Operations Office, ranging from staff changes to new games, to new open games available for members to take over.

Starbase Bravo & New Member Team

The New Member Team was temporarily disbanded when Angel and DarthCrusader took up roles as a TGCO in TF72 and as the Deputy Gaming Officer, respectively. Both of these individuals received the Medal of Achievement for their service in this role over the last several months, and I’m grateful for the time they were able to spend helping our new members advance!

Speaking of new members, I’m thrilled to be able to announce that as of April 13th, eight new members have reached the rank of Ensign in 2021! For the first time in our history, I was able to nominate a merit award for a cadet, JShep, for his fiction writing, which deserves a special shout-out here.

In terms of Starbase Bravo (SBB) itself, I have been working with LadyBlue to expand the fiction sandboxes available to members (new and more senior both) on Starbase Bravo, by giving more material about what life at the Fourth Fleet Academy is like, what a junior officer transferring into SBB might expect, and how command school works in-character. As a teaser for what will likely be a fuller announcement down the line, we’re happy to announce that the USS Exeter, a Constitution-class heavy cruiser, is now officially the training ship for the Fourth Fleet Academy. It’s a setting that anyone can tell the story of their character as a trainee (cadet, enlisted, or command) and what their cadet cruise was like!

Task Force Staffing Updates

While these have all been individually announced, I wanted to recap the staffing changes we’ve had since my last Operations report:

• David was appointed Task Force 72 Commanding Officer
• Woozamagoo was appointed Task Force 86 Executive Officer.
• BriWhyte was appointed Task Force 93 Executive Officer.
• JShep was appointed Task Group 44 Commanding Officer in Task Force 93.
• Angel was appointed Task Group 21 Commanding Officer in Task Force 72.

There are currently Task Group Commanding Officer positions open in all four task forces. If you would like to join the staff, reach out to me or your TFCO to discuss the position. It’s meant to be a learn-on-the-job role, where you will help mentor members in your TF, develop and run competitions, and help drive the TF plot on the forums, depending on where your interests lie.

Operations Staff Positions

I am currently recruiting for two positions within the Operations Office itself: Staff Officer: RPGs and Staff Officer: Academy.

• SO:RPGs will help me administer the fleet’s RPGs (games/sims), including Nova support, coming up with concepts for premade games, and helping GMs navigate policy. Prior GM experience is required for this position. Multiple positions are available.
• SO:Academy will help me develop content for the Bravo Fleet Academy coursework. This is separate from helping new members navigate BF (which is the New Member team) as it focuses on the modules anyone can take to learn more about the fleet. Our current goal is to add content on character creation, writing, and other aspects of the fleet. Prior experience with a Learning Management System (we currently use Moodle, but Sakai, Blackboard, and others would be very similar) as an instructor is appreciated but not required.

If you’re interested in either of these roles, talk to me on Discord.

New RPGs

I’m pleased to announce that we have two new RPGs since my last report, the USS Altai and the USS Reliant.  For more information on these games, check out Fleet Operations under Activities in the menu bar above!

The Altai, GMed by Woozamagoo, is a Steamrunner-class light cruiser assigned to operations near Breen space.

The Reliant, GMed by Anth, is a Reliant-class light cruiser premade, being mentored by the lovely Emily herself.

Open RPGs

We currently have four RPGs open for folks who would like to lead their own roleplaying group: the USS Sagan, the USS Kennedy, the USS Europa, and the USS Ares. Unlike most fleets, for open games, we provide a basic concept, website support, a Discord server, and one-on-one mentoring, which makes this experience a smooth and positive one for new group leaders (a.k.a game managers/masters) without the need for a formal command academy, which lets you hit the ground running with your group without having to go through a bunch of modules, tests, and that sort of thing, as well as not merely being cast to the wolves to figure out the ropes on your own. Any member with the rank of Lieutenant or higher is welcome to apply to run one of these games. Please contact me on Discord or at ops@bravofleet.com if you’d like to discuss this opportunity. Meanwhile, let these game concepts tempt you:

The USS Sagan is a Nova-class planetary surveyor. What does that mean, you ask? She’s a small, swift science vessel built to explore strange new worlds. When the Enterprise or the Yorktown leave orbit, the Sagan comes in to do detailed scientific analyses to find things that the big ships have missed, which they inevitably have! Based on similar technology as the Intrepid-class, this compact workhorse is capable of landing on planets to let her crews spend months investigating a single world and doing the thing that Starfleet is best at: expanding knowledge. The Sagan herself has a storied history within Bravo Fleet, serving under Captain Jonathan Knox in the late 2380s, where she participated in the stabilization of the Barzan Wormhole and discovered an intact Promelian Battlecruiser while on a survey assignment. In the intervening years, she has cataloged over five-hundred planets and other celestial bodies and has launched the careers of numerous young scientists. Recently overhauled, the Sagan is now ready for her seventh captain to lead her on a mission as the Fourth Fleet’s scientific tip of the spear, as Starfleet turns its eyes back to the wider galaxy.

Next, we have the Ares, an Intrepid-class starship that has nearly as storied a history as Voyager herself. Like her sister ships, she’s meant to journey far past the Federation’s borders to put her finely-tuned sensor arrays and well-equipped defenses to work in seeking out the unknown. In many ways one of the successors to the Galaxy-class project, the Intrepid is swift and smart, carrying out long-range exploratory missions with a crew of just 150. The Ares has been earmarked for strategic reconnaissance missions in areas of space newly opened to Starfleet beyond Klingon and Romulan space, operating far from reinforcements to conduct missions of scientific discovery and of first contact, under a captain who understands the mandate that all Starfleet captains hold: to be an ambassador for the ideals of the Federation while operating far from real-time instructions from command.

Following the destruction of Utopia Planitia and the burning of Mars in 2385, Starfleet’s brief postbellum return to long-distance exploratory missions was put on hold. Instead of reaching outwards to strange new worlds, the Federation pulled in on itself to safeguard its own enormous borders and so Starfleet was put on a largely defensive posture. This all changed in 2399, however, when the Fourth Fleet was given the mandate to spearhead a renewed focus on Starfleet’s core purpose: exploration. The Europa is one of the original twelve Luna-class vessels ordered by Starfleet following the Dominion War. This class was designed to be a 24th century equivalent to the venerated Constitution-class, a heavy cruiser capable of truly independent years-long missions. She was first commissioned in 2380 and had an extremely successful five-year mission in the Gamma Quadrant, but then was reassigned to diplomatic duties in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants along with the bulk of the exploratory fleet in the late 2380s. Now, in 2399 under a new captain, the Europa is ready to set off on her next five-year mission into the unknown!

Tensions are high across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Infighting and factions run rampant within the fractured Cardassian Union. The three Romulan successor states vie for power, resources, and critical strategic systems near Federation space. The Breen have shown a renewed interest in harassing neutral worlds and Federation colonies. Starfleet must use its diplomatic acumen to keep the peace. Enter the Kennedy: an unimposing yet capable Norway-class starship. The Kennedy’s advanced scientific capabilities and enlarged diplomatic suite make her well-suited to the task of gathering intelligence and serving as a hub for dignitaries and the important conciliatory talks that are to come. The Kennedy carries some of the fleet’s top talent in diplomacy, intelligence, and science to serve as a diplomatic vanguard at the Federation’s borders.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me on Discord or at ops@bravofleet.com.