Change of Plans
“I’m sorry, Admiral. Did you say come back?” Hayden asked; a hologram of Vice Admiral Knox’s shoulders and head were floating over the desk in her ready room through the miracle of their half-hour window once every thirty days when the wormhole was in its secondary cycle and their relay station could connect back to Starfleet.
She had just spent a month in orbit of Ocampa conducting a cultural exchange with the three Ocampa factions; it had started off incredibly badly, but they’d eventually come to agree that the Federation wanted to be their friends. She was just about to set a course for Haakonian space.
“We have a more pressing assignment for you, Elizabeth. The Turei have finally given in to allow us to use an underspace tunnel from the Gradin Belt to the Swallow Nebula, and I want you to assess the area and establish diplomatic relationships. Given your success in defusing the situation with the Ocampa, I know you’re up to the task. Frankly, I don’t want to send more than one ship right now and the Arcturus is the only ship in the task force that is suited for the job,” the admiral replied.
Hayden sighed. She’d trained for over a year to get ready for the Nacene Reach. “It’ll be tight. If we leave now at maximum warp, we’ll be able to get to the wormhole. At least we won’t have to send a second ship for the Ocampan envoys.”
“It certainly would have been more convenient if the Turei had been more forthcoming a few months ago,” Knox replied, with a grin. “I’ll beam aboard a case of Macallan 25 when you pass next to the starbase on your way to the Gradin Belt.”
“Is that a bribe?”
Knox grinned. “No, it’s a very necessary item to have to cope with the Turei liaison that you’re going to be hosting. He’s a real gem.”
“Of course he is. I’ll see you in a month, then, Admiral.”
Staffing Updates
I’m very pleased to announce the appointment of Mark to the position of Task Force Executive Officer (as Commodore Matt Cody, Deputy Commander of Task Force 38, in-character) and Christopher to the position of Task Force Second Executive Officer (as Fleet Captain T’vel, Deputy Director of the Delta Exploration Initiative, in-character). They will also be serving as the TGCOs of the Gradin Belt TG and Nacene Reach TG respectively, while I will serve as defacto TGCO for the other two areas of operations for the time being. I’ve been very impressed with both of these gentlemen in the last few months, and they’re both eager to help continue to refine our canon and to help new groups and players integrate into the Delta Quadrant. Say hi when you get a chance!
New Ships
I’m very pleased to report that we’ve been joined by the USS Adelphi as a writing group run by John, aka Captain Harrison. This Ambassador-class ship is a veteran of decades of exploratory missions and has recently been refit for a trip through the wormhole to the Delta Quadrant. We’re stoked to see a classic class like this being used in a new setting.
Mark will be using the USS Elysion as his flagship in the Gradin Belt, and Christopher will be using the USS Stargazer as his in the Nacene Reach. For the time being, these won’t be groups, but they’ll be vehicles for them to help establish canon and to write with the other groups in those areas. Reece has also joined us with the USS Lancelot, which will similarily be a guest ship.
Goals for Quarter 2
- Fully complete the canon resources for all five areas of operations.
- Have at least one writing group (i.e. sim) in all five areas to complement and support the ships that will be assigned there as part of the new model.
- Have at least four staff members in addition to the TFCO to help manage the new model in 38.