Puzzle time!
Custom wordle: https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=alkul
Cryptogram:
Enjoy!
Two Puzzles
Author: Charles Star
Monthly Awards: January 2024
Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!
Best Post (Single Author)
Ensign James Phoenix
Tactical Officer
USS Washington
A wonderfully written post!
Best Post (Joint Post)
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Ileah & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok & Lt. Vrax tr’Keirianh
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / Y / CFCO / CSO
USS Wayfarer
For “Robbed Blind”
Great interaction among multiple players!
Funniest Post
Lt. Sarah Wilson & SCPO Ronson Mitchell & Ens. Kitiuas Thenis & Remal Kajun
MO / Y / SO / CA
USS Sunfire
To quote Montgomery Scott: “Up your shaft.”
Genesis
Captain Michael Intermeezo
Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For “Heading Out”
A lot of possibilities to explore!
MVP
Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris
Racking up an amazing 26.5 posts this month, Mr Lance has pushed the mission forward and had an impressive impression on the crew. His promotion to Lt Cmdr and second officer is a reflection of his hard work.
Most Posts
Commander Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For writing 45 posts.
Most Improved
Lieutenant Ileah
Yoeman
USS Wayfarer
Lieutenant Ileah has been doing really well these past few weeks. Actively contributing to the posts and really pushing forward with his character developments. He has come a long way since joining the Wayfarer! Also he had a lot of RL problems and its nice to see him overcoming them and finally getting back into his writing.
Rookie of the Month
None this month.
Recruitment
None this month.
What a great start to the year!
Monthly Awards: December 2023
Happy New Year, everybody!
Best Post (Single Author)
Lieutenant JG Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris
This excellent post is certainly not amiss!
Best Post (Joint Post)
Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Remal Kajun & Capt. Rhenora Kaylen & Lt. Cmdr. Thriss Kla’ren & Ens. Aubrie Fox & Lt. Thomas Haldeman & Lt. Alison Haldeman
CSS / CA / CO / CEO / TO / CDO / ACOO
USS Sunfire
For “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
What an inspiring post from one of the ship’s best missions!
Funniest Post
Lieutenant Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For “Tall Fat Man in a Red Suit”
Fat guy in a little coat… not quite!
Genesis
Captain Michael Intermeezo
Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris
A great mission start!
MVP
Lieutenant Inara Senn
Chief Science Officer
USS Washington
Senn continually raises the bar to create amazing posts with her fellow crewmembers. A top-notch role player through and through!
Most Posts
Commander Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For writing 37 posts.
Most Improved
Lieutenant JG Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris
The Chuck Norris’s CMO picked up the pace with both quality and quantity and has quickly developed into one of the ship’s most valuable crewmembers.
Rookie of the Month
None this month.
Recruitment
None this month.
It’s time for 2024, IDF!
Monthly Awards: November 2023
Merry Christmas Eve, everybody! It’s also high time I got last month’s awards announced. Congratulations to all the winners!
Best Post (Single Author)
Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For “The end of Q?”
Not what I was expecting!
Best Post (Joint Post)
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok & Lt. Vrax tr’Keirianh
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO / CSO
USS Wayfarer
Great tension!
Funniest Post
Ensign Kate Kono & Commander Jonathan Grayson
Intelligence Officer / Executive Officer
USS Washington
For “A new friend”
A new friendship leads to a great post!
Genesis
Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington
That’s how you start a mission!
MVP
Lt. Cmdr. Aurora Vali
Chief Counselor
USS Sunfire
What a fantastic month for the Sunfire’s Counselor as she contributed several meaningful plot advancements, got other players involved, and did on absolute outstanding job developing her own character and others within the confines of the mission. Well done!
Most Posts
Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For writing 25 posts.
Most Improved
Lt. Cmdr. Thriss Kla’ren
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Sunfire
The Sunfire’s Chief Engineer was very involved in the ship-side of the last mission and wrote several outstanding posts resolving the conflict at the end of the mission while simultaneously developing multiple characters for the future. Great job!
Rookie of the Month
None this month.
Recruitment
None this month.
Thanks for a great 2023, IDF!
Monthly Awards: October 2023
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
Best Post (Single Author)
Lieutenant Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris
An interesting conversation with an old friend.
Best Post (Joint Post)
Capt. Akeno Misaki & Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Lt. Cmdr. Raelyn Mckenzie & Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson & Lt. Ileah & Lt. Luna Eclipse of the House of Martok & Lt. Vrax tr’Keirianh & Ens. Robert Lee Jr.
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / Y / CFCO / CSO / TO
USS Wayfarer
For “Jailbreak!”
Great dialog and great action make for a great post, all the while continuing to develop the characters.
Funniest Post
Commander Michael Murphy & Lieutenant Katja Becker
Executive Officer / Chief Medical Officer
USS Montana
For “Meet and Greet”
Not laugh out loud, but a humorous introduction that creates endless possibilities.
Genesis
Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire
For “Halloween”
Short and sweet, but everything you want in a Genesis Post–the crew can literally take it anywhere, but with just enough backstory for consistency.
MVP
Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris
Described by her Captain as “a simming machine,” and who are we to argue? With her second consecutive month with at least 30 posts, she continues to display superior leadership in the XO role and engages other crewmembers with joint posts.
Most Posts
Lt. Cmdr. Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris
For writing 34 posts.
Most Improved
Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali
Chief Counselor
USS Sunfire
Vali upped her game, finishing second on the sim in total posts with some outstanding collaboration along the way.
Rookie of the Month
Lieutenant Inara Senn
Chief Science Officer
USS Washington
Senn showed a distinct creative flair, adding a new element to the Washington in her first month.
Recruitment
Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington
Grayson brought in one new recruit, who seamlessly fit in with the crew.
You didn’t realize it was me this time, did you?
USS Chuck Norris Change of Command
As of today, Captain Michael Intermeezo has relieved Captain Aurther Winters as Commanding Officer of the USS Chuck Norris. Captain Winters concludes 36 months in command. However, his history with the Chuck Norris goes back much further. As a Lieutenant, he officially joined the sim on June 26, 2012 as Chief Engineer, and then sent his first post on June 28th. He picked up his first award, an MVP, in November of that year. He later became Executive Officer in 2014, and then Commanding Officer in 2020. Along the way, he snagged 12.5 total awards, including 4 MVPs and 3.5 Genesis awards, good for 8th place all-time. He also chaired the 2021 SciWorld Online Convention, for which he was awarded an Ongoing World Community Honor. If there’s one thing that stands out, it’s been Aurther’s loyalty to both the fleet and his sim! Aurther, best of luck with everything and we hope you don’t wander too far!
Captain Intermeezo, welcome to the command team! We know that you have what it takes to lead this wonderful and historical sim to even greater heights.
22nd Anniversary Webcast: Saturday at 5pm Eastern
It’s almost time for our third annual anniversary webcast. Admiral Ken Gillis returns as host, and yes, it will again include real prizes!
Join us on July 8th at 5:00 PM ET (-4) / 10:00 PM BST (+1) in the fleet watch party channel of our Discord server. We’ll be announcing the newest members of the Hall of Fame (in case you missed it!), drawing names from among our monthly award winners over the last year for some real-world prizes, and there might also be a surprise or two.
See you there!
At the movies… with Independence Fleet!
And yet another year of IDF is in the books with our 22nd Anniversary today. To remind you of how old we really are, here’s a quote from last year’s anniversary post:
“On our 22nd Anniversary, we will be further removed from the premiere of the 2009 Star Trek film (May 8, 2009) than IDF’s launch was from the premiere of The Next Generation (September 28, 1987): 14 years, 1 month, 26 days vs. 13 years, 9 months, 6 days.”
Well, here we are! For this year’s celebration, each of our 12 sims created a movie poster to capture their unique essence and feel. We are also very fortunate to have Amanda Rose from RPG Writing, NX-1701-G from Zodiac Fleet, and Beth from Sim Central to judge the entries in three categories: overall image quality, how much does it look like an actual movie poster, and general creativity/originality. Before we get to the posters themselves, we first have an announcement from a special guest:
- Independence Fleet 22nd Anniversary Message (YouTube)
- Independence Fleet 22nd Anniversary Message (mp4)
Now, the 12 movie posters:
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And your winners are…
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| 1st Place: USS Wayfarer CO: Captain Akeno Misaki Poster by: Akeno Misaki | 2nd Place: USS Sunfire CO: Captain Rhenora Kaylen Poster by: Bonnie Durnell | 3rd Place: USS Eclipse CO: Captain Aven LaCroix Poster by: Aven LaCroix |
| “I’m impressed by the technical skill and originality that went into this poster.” “If you’re familiar with Anime movie posters, this is spot on.” “Having anime Trek characters in the mirror universe with the crack showing the Federation and Terran emblems on different sides was brilliant.” | “Of all the posters shared this was the one that actually made me want to join the game in question.” “Image expertly merged the dinosaur imagery with clear Trek imagery without making them appear distinct.” “This poster screamed movie poster. I would expect to see this on the wall in some theater. A starship with dinosaurs and big lettering. Well done!” | “I’m not typically a fan of the starship and character posters, but this one spoke to me.” “I kept wanting to rate this poster higher in my rankings. There’s a lot to like with the faded facial imagery and ship… …[including] ‘Coming Never,’ which was mildly amusing.” |
Congratulations to all three winners, and a special thanks to our judges! However, to quote Kirk from Star Trek III, we’re not finished yet! Here are superlative awards for our other nine games:
| Best poster for Seinfeld/Trek crossover USS Albion CO: Captain Dick Sprague Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Some bold judges not to pick this one! USS Chuck Norris CO: Captain Aurther Winters Poster by: Bonnie Durnell | Best poster for past meeting the future USS Churchill CO: Captain James Stewart Poster by: Akeno Misaki |
| Best poster if you actually watch Picard USS Eminence CO: Captain Alex Shepard Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Best poster for a random trailing light USS Ganymede CO: Captain Dyllon McMahon Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Best poster for a low Earth orbit view USS Liberty CO: Captain Kaylia Strenvale Poster by: Akeno Misaki |
| Best poster for the IMAX experience USS Montana CO: Captain Jackson Adams Poster by: Bonnie Durnell | Best poster for “Aft torpedoes, fire!!!” USS Washington CO: Captain Shran dh’Klar Poster by: Akeno Misaki | Best poster that could double for Dune Starbase 80 CO: Captain Kathleen O’Shea Poster by: Bonnie Durnell |
While we’re on the topic of movies, we are now further removed from our July 4, 2001 founding than it was from the premiere of the first Star Trek film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (December 6, 1979): 22 years vs. 21 years, 6 months, 28 days. Feel old yet?
Continuing last year’s tradition, we again have a second video message:
- Independence Fleet 22nd Anniversary Message #2 (YouTube)
- Independence Fleet 22nd Anniversary Message #2 (mp4)
Happy IDF anniversary, everyone!
2023 Hall of Fame Inductees
With yet another July, it is again my great privilege to formally announce the newest members of the Independence Fleet Hall of Fame. Induction is the highest honor this club offers–reserved for those with exemplary service or extraordinary contributions to the fleet, according to the Hall of Fame Charter (pdf). Without further ado, your Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is as follows:
Inducted by Election:
Colonel Steven MayTa Death
of the USS Sanctuary
The longtime Commanding Officer of the Sanctuary, Steven MayTa Death was the fleet’s all-time leader in command months with 89 when he and his sim transferred to sister club UCIP in 2020. He also managed 17 posting titles during his IDF career. Finding his niche by leading offbeat missions, his crew enjoyed their Marine-centric and action-packed storylines. There will never be another MayTa!
Lt. Cmdr. Maryam Syed
of the USS Sunfire
A mainstay of the renaissance era Sunfire, Maryam Syed was an integral part of helping lead the fleet back to its earlier glory days. Her outstanding contributions in-story, affable nature, and excellent recruiting also ensured the Sunfire remained great for many years. Showing superb breadth, she won six total awards, including Rookie of the Month, Best Post, MVP, and the Recruitment award.
Lieutenant Spaardra Tamis
of the USS Sunfire
A first-rate team player, Spaardra Tamis was an indispensable member of both the Sunfire and the fleet. As IDF was reestablishing itself during the renaissance era, her superior posting quantity and wide recruiting efforts were exactly what was needed at the time to jumpstart operations. Of her five total awards, two were for Recruitment and three were for Most Posts.
Inducted by the Veterans Committee:
None this year.
Congratulations to our three 2023 inductees! Thank you for providing a timeless example for us still role playing today to emulate. You will hereby forever be remembered for your extraordinary service to Independence Fleet. Well done! There are now 41 total members of this most exclusive club.
That’s two more inductees from the Sunfire, and our first from the Sanctuary.
Spot Special Commendation Medal 2023
It’s been more than a year since the last major awards were presented. Here is our fourth Special Commendation Medal, which is awarded for achievement above and beyond the call of duty at the crewmember level.
Special Commendation Medal
Awarded to Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis (previously known as Shoniara T’ghann Dex before her marriage in-story) of the USS Washington for sustained superior role playing. Using her encyclopedic knowledge of Trek, she effortlessly writes detailed posts and collaborates with others to tell truly immersive stories within the canon. In the nearly two years since her first post on August 19, 2021, she has tallied 9.33 total awards, good for 13th place all-time, which includes one MVP and five Most Posts.