Kate Kono Archives - Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: February 2026

Posted on March 24, 2026 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

Well written tension that harkens back to some great elements of not just TNG, but DS9 as well. Many different threads, characters, and a hidden plot make this an exciting and thrilling post.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. JG Jek’Lar Son of Koss & Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Lt. Jackson Smith & Lt. Devin Hadenbeer & Lt. JG Hotaru Wymund
ACIO / CO / CIO / IS / IO
USS Firebird

For “Invasion: Intelligence Part 2”

Although this award is going to the second part of a two-parter, I highly recommend reading both! The weight on every character, every action, and the consequences of those actions reverberate throughout the story.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Betaras K’ner & Captain Mira Rodale Lance
Chief Medical Officer / Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Meeting”

One of the things that can work well when trying to make comedy out of a serious situation is the absurdity of it all, and this is that to a tee.

Genesis

Captain Malcom Llwyedd
Commanding Officer
USS Firebird

For “A Voyage Home”

A great start to a new story by expanding on the previous mission and dealing with its consequences.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

For the second month in a row, the Washington’s Intel Chief provided a flurry of creative material, both solo and group, and even managed to not only be the W’s top poster for the month, but involved in every single nomination! That’s an MVP!

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 18 posts.

Most Improved

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s CMO had multiple contributions that advanced the plot extremely creatively, and at times, comically as well.

Rookie of the Month

Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale
Chief Medical Officer
USS Sunfire

The Sunfure’s new CMO came in with a bang, immediately posting and integrating into the crew.

Recruitment

Commander Dean House
Second Officer
USS Sunfire

Commander House supercharged the Sunfire’s ranks by recruiting an epic three new players!

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: January 2026

Posted on February 28, 2026 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

In the midst of all the paloozas, here are your January awards!

Best Post (Single Author)

Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

For “Meanwhile, On The Other Side”

A great writer knows how to write for different cultures and perspectives, and this captures it very well, building the tension without being melodramatic.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lieutenant Kestra Ral & Lieutenant Dezkar Veen
Chief Science Officer / Chief Engineering Officer
USS Montana

For “Phaser Fire”

A great post, having two characters interact, help move the plot along while doing a great job setting up tension without it being thrown directly into the reader’s face.

Funniest Post

Cmdr. Jenna Ramthorne & Lt. Cmdr. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell & Cmdr. Dean House
CFCO / CSS / CTO
USS Sunfire

For “The Return of the Mac – and the Dance of Shame”

Starfleet Officers are supposed to be calm, poised, and stoic, and this is the complete opposite of that.

Genesis

Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Commander Rhiana t’Aegis & Ensign Gianna Djokovic
CO / CSTO / TO
USS Firebird

For “Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc”

Well written, and deep with characters and themes. An interesting look at how you can plan for one thing, and maybe take the more difficult path instead.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s Intelligence Officer wrote 10 truly outstanding posts, a good mix of joint and solo posts, that took the story in highly creative directions.

Most Posts

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

For writing 12 posts.

Most Improved

Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

Commander Key came roaring back with a bang taking the mission in a distinctly comedic direction while also involving the whole crew and fleshing out mission specific NPCs.

Rookie of the Month

Ensign Ozai Y’zyr
Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

The new Trill Tactical Officer was chomping at the bit while the mission concluded. Has jumped in with multiple excellent posts and has integrated well with the diverse crew.

Recruitment

None this month.

There is one more piece of business. It turns out that Admiral Star did miss one award in Awardapalooza a few weeks back. While we did announce Ken Gillis’s 2022 Simming Prize via social media, we never included it in a blog post. Well, that is now corrected! Here is his citation in full straight from The Simming Prize:

“With an illustrious career spanning decades in multiple groups and roles, the breadth of his accomplishments is unrivaled. From both his and simming’s early days as founder of Pi Fleet, Administrator of RolePlayerUSA, and the 11th President of the Simming League to more recently as Executive Officer of Independence Fleet, Chair of FallFest, and serving as a board member at multiple organizations, his selfless efforts to positively impact to the broader community are exactly what we need today.”

A gold medal featuring a portrait of a man, framed by a laurel wreath, hanging from a blue ribbon with four gold stars—symbolizing excellence and recognition within a creative or roleplaying community.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Recordapalooza 2025

Posted on February 27, 2026 | by Charles Star | 5 Comments

We recently had one big post on community awards from outside IDF. Why not another big post on awards from within Independence Fleet? That’s what this is! We’ve crunched the numbers for everything from our July 4, 2001 founding through the end of 2025. In that time, IDF has issued 1,248 monthly awards to 599 unique characters, representing 52 different sims. Wow, what a history! Since a table with 599 people would be too big for this article, we decided to narrow it down to the 25. On a separate note, we’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary later this year! Awards were presented Jul 2001-Oct 2005, Oct 2010-Jul 2013, and Mar 2020-present.

Here we go with our monthly awards records…

Active or recently active member
Hall of Famer

Active members of the fleet are now 1-10 on the all-time leaderboard, and include 18 of the top 25 spots. Hall of Famers make up only 6 of the top 25 today. It seems we likely have A LOT of future Hall of Famers in our midst! Also, Jenna Ramthorne has (barely) overtaken Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell for #1, with Jonathan Grayson not too far behind at #3. Long-time sims USS Chuck Norris, USS Sunfire, and USS Washington dominate the list when looking at the primary sim of characters:

USS Washington: 4 of the top 10; 8 of the top 25
USS Sunfire: 3 of the top 10; 7 of the top 25
USS Chuck Norris: 3 of the top 10; 5 of the top 25

Breaking it out by sim:

The Sunfire leads the way with 236.5 total awards, with the Washington not too far back at 220. Active sims claim spots #1-4 (the USS Liberty is at #3 overall with 96.5 awards) and 6 of the top 10–the more recent addition to the fleet USS Firebird lands right in that 10 spot with 42 awards. The USS Wayfarer is #6 with 52 awards, and the USS Albion and USS Montana sit just outside the top 10 at #11 (26 awards) and #12 (23 awards), respectively.

Breaking it down further to awards issued since they were reinstated in 2020 (546 total awards):

The Washington leads the pack this time with 155, and the Sunfire is in second place at 118.5. The Washington also has the longest streak of winning at least one monthly award, dating all the way back to May 2021 for 57 months in a row if you count January 2026. I can’t find another streak that even comes close. If the W can make it through April of this year, that would make it an astounding five full years with at least one award each month!

Speaking of the W (and a few others), here is the list of sims that led the fleet in awards each year since 2020:

In case you happen to want to see each year fully broken out, we have that too:

Since they are mentioned throughout, let’s also not forget about our other two outstanding sims: USS Churchill & USS Eminence.

Finally, I would like to thank Rook Mirtoh and Arthur Winters, each whom has served as our Director of Personnel, which is the role primarily responsible for selecting the award winners (Mirtoh, March 2020-September 2023; Winters, May 2024-today, with Ken Gillis and me filling in a few times here and there). It’s more tedious than you might imagine! Thank you for making one IDF’s enduring legacies possible!

With that, let’s keep these amazing awards coming!

Monthly Awards: November 2025

Posted on December 29, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Just in time for me to start the December awards. Happy new year!

Lieutenant Zub Enel
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

For “Starfleet 1st Day – Snake Belly”

An excellent post that explores the reasons we wear the uniform, as opposed to how we wear it and react to it.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lieutenant Aubrie Fox & Captain Michael Murphy
Chief Security Officer / Commanding Officer
USS Montana

For “Prisoner, thy name is Mudd”

When you bring a Legendary character into the mix, and help write him as grounded with the rest of the crew, it leads to a great realistic story.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Ow…”

A nice ironic look at Klingons and how absurd things can be when you take it to the exact opposite of how a culture should act and be treated leads to the laughs.

Genesis

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis & Cmdr. Jörgen Leed & Lt. Cmdr. Elias Ford & Lt. Hank Solomon & Lt. Jackson Smith & MCPO Harris Zim & Cmdr. Elizabeth “Beth” Boyle
CO / CSTO / CDO / CMO / CSO / CIO / CB / XO
USS Firebird

For “An Unwelcome Visitor”

This is just a great classic beginning to a Star Trek story. The suspense, multiple different views to a problem, and best of all, a problem that needs to be addressed and a high level of urgency.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

The Intel Officer was outstanding from start to finish showing a wide range of emotion in her writing.

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 18 posts.

Most Improved

Ensign Kit Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr
Science Officer
USS Sunfire

The Science Officer returned to the Sunfire after a short break and slid effortlessly back into action with 7 excellent posts.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: March 2025

Posted on April 24, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Lieutenant Commander Rhiana t’Aegis
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Firebird

For “Grounding Herself”

A well written post that really brings forth how memories can help us look inward.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Cmdr. Deanna Celes & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Lt. Cmdr. Shoniara T’ghann-Travis & Lt. Inara Senn & Lt. JG Kate Kono & Lt. JG James Phoenix
ACOO / XO / ACMO / CSO / IO / TO
USS Washington

For “Wonderland”

Bringing in a sleeper ship. Well we all know where this is heading…

Funniest Post

Lieutenant Betaras K’ner
Chief Medical Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Shots fired”

Blending action with a good sense of pace and humour.

Genesis

Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant Commander Elias Ford
Commanding Officer / Chief Medical Officer
USS Firebird

For “Standing on the Edge”

A great start to what will definitely have a healthy dose of some entertainment, while also looking and dealing with much darker and deeper issues.

MVP

Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali
Chief Counselor
USS Sunfire

The Sunfire’s Chief Counselor stepped up beautifully to help run the mission she crafted. She is an invaluable asset to this crew and the fleet.

Most Posts

Commander Jonathan Grayson & Lieutenant Betaras K’ner
Executive Officer / Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington / USS Chuck Norris

For writing 7 posts.

Most Improved

Lt. Cmdr. Shoniara T’ghann-Travis
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

With an all-around great month, she set herself apart with her leadership on the medical side of the cadet mission.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: December 2024

Posted on January 30, 2025 | by Aurther Winters | 1 Comment

With a distinctly medical theme this month:

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For “Going Home pt 2”

Short, but with massively vivid description.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Cadet Senior Grade Abigail Gordon & CPO Zenne Beddite
CO / Nurse / Head Nurse
USS Firebird

For “Arriving in Medical”

Great dialog and flow from Sickbay.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant JG Benjamin “Ben” Dalton & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer / Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

For “Vacation a Go-Go!”

Out of control very fast.

Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire

For “Ramant”

Not a prototypical Genesis post, but I am more than intrigued.

MVP

Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer

Besides frequently patching up the crew, he had some excellent writing.

Most Posts

Lt. Cmdr. Shoniara T’ghann-Travis
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For writing 4 posts.

Most Improved

2nd Lieutenant Connor McQueen
Marine Executive Officer
USS Sunfire

Increased his posting with some great description.

Rookie of the Month

None this month.

Recruitment

None this month.

Welcome to 2025!

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: November 2024

Posted on December 23, 2024 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Best Post (Single Author)

Crewman Thyra Kevensdotter
Security Officer
USS Firebird

For “Coding for a Friend”

Great dialog makes for a great post!

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. Rania Bhatti
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO / CC
USS Wayfarer

For “Delecita Asperelda (Part 2)”

A great ending for a two-parter.

Funniest Post

Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Cmdr. Callie Raven-Grayson & Lt. JG Kate Kono
XO / CMO / CC / SCP
USS Washington

For “The Mirror & The Reflection”

This crew really knows how to write together, playing off each others’ strengths and setting the stage for the next section.

Genesis

Capt. Mira Rodale & Cmdr. Kevin Lance & Lt. Cmdr. Awal Kronnelti & Lt. Tracey Walker Jr & Lt. Betaras K’ner
CO / XO / CSTO / CEO / CM
USS Chuck Norris

For “Guess Whose Coming to Dinner?”

A great start for a mission that can be taken in many different ways.

MVP

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

A sterling example of when quality and quantity meet. Her invaluable postings took the sim to the next level this month.

Most Posts

Commander Jenna Ramthorne
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

For writing 18 posts.

Most Improved

Lieutenant Imik S’Niohun
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Washington

Produced excellent contributions in every post she participated in.

Rookie of the Month

Ensign Eiren Readil
Nurse
USS Sunfire

Brand new to simming, he participated in 2 joint posts.

Recruitment

None this month.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: June 2024

Posted on July 31, 2024 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

From the Desk of Aurther Winters:

Good day to you all, I apologize that this is coming later than expected, both my introduction, if needed and the awards this month. I can say I look forward to reading and seeing where you take your stories, missions and sims for the foreseeable future. If you require any assistance with anything or help, please feel free to reach out to me, I am more than happy to help. A quick introduction if you’ve made it this far, Hello… hola, Aurther Winters here, former Captain of the only known starship with a roundhouse in its arsenal. I also once went by the name of James Sullivan from the USS Dragon, and if that name rings a bell to you, I’m sorry about your back pain. I have been simming on and off now, for probably almost 20 years now. I don’t make too many promises other than when I judge you, it will be done on top of a mighty floating throne, much like a Q, but with far… far less power. Ad Astra Per Aspera

Best Post (Single Author)

Ensign Torog Zakhov
Engineering Officer
USS Washington

For “Argumentative Engineering”

A solid post, filled with just enough backstory, humour and intrigue to keep one wanting more.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Lt. Cmdr. Cynfor Rees & Lt. Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis & Lt. Cmdr. Kataxes & Lt. Cmdr. Jörgen Leed & Lt. Tor Ezzo & Lt. Owen Woodhouse & Lt. Jackson Smith & Lt. JG Randolf Forst & Ens. Lun
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CDO / CFCO / COO / CIO / ACSO / IO
USS Firebird

For “It Takes A Village”

As the title suggests, this is just a fantastic example of what happens when you get the entire crew to contribute in their own ways to make an extremely compelling, well thought out and fantastic story. Well done!

Funniest Post

Lt. Ayana Hillis & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Imik S’Niohun & Lt. Inara Senn & Lt. JG Kate Kono & Lt. JG James Phoenix & Ens. Torog Zakhov
ACSTO / CMO / CSTO / CSO / IO / TO / EO
USS Washington

For “Promotion Party”

Jokes, dancing and even a few songs will help with a promotion, and make for a very entertaining read.

Genesis

Cmdr. Mashiro Munetani “Shiro” & Capt. Akeno Misaki
XO / CO
USS Wayfarer

For “Calling For Backup”

The Dynamic duo are back at it again, and bring some nice callbacks from their own past as well as some past Trek, with just the right splash of awkwardness.

MVP

Lieutenant JG Patra Rommel
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Wayfarer

It can be hard to come back to writing and have either the same spark you once had, or even get back into the swing and cohesion of things when you miss enough time. The praise from one’s CO about their skill on their return is never something to be overlooked.

Most Posts

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

13 posts is again the most to take this award.

Most Improved

Lieutenant Jackson Smith
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Firebird

Being commended on being the most improved on the ship, while also helping elevate your fellow crewmen and their writing is a great combination.

Rookie of the Month

Ensign Torog Zakhov
Engineering Officer
USS Washington

An engineer, new to the sim, having a Best Post award as well as Rookie of the Month–this is the start of a possible star studded career, and a path, I know all so well. I am excited to see where this will lead.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: May 2024

Posted on June 26, 2024 | by Aurther Winters | Leave a Comment

Best Post (Single Author)

Captain James Stewart
Commanding Officer
USS Churchill

For “Help on Its Way”

An excellent amount of back story and intrigue that left me wanting to dive deeper down that rabbit hole on this mission.

Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Lt. Tor Ezzo & Ens. Nusien & Ens. Gianna Djokovic & PO1 Kipp Lak & PO2 Fhiri
CO / CFCO / FCO / TO / Y / CSS
USS Firebird

For “Screaming in the Silence”

Clearly written by some very talented writers who know how to do a good back and forth and flesh out their characters.

Funniest Post

Lieutenant JG James Phoenix & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Tactical Officer / Support Craft Pilot
USS Washington

For “Thunderstruck”

This one tickled in a very nostalgic way, however based on the nickname giving to one of the characters, I hope for a better outcome.

Genesis

Captain Mira Rodale
Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Who let the cat out?”

Typical of a Commander Officer of the Chuck Norris, a great start to a new chapter. No bias here at all……. dismissed!

MVP

Commander Michael Murphy
Executive Officer
USS Montana

Getting high commendations from the CO about how well you can work independently of them is one of the highest praises you can receive and is well deserved in this case.

Most Posts

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

15 posts leads the way with the fleet.

Most Improved

Lieutenant JG Kate Kono
Support Craft Pilot
USS Washington

A good writer is always trying to improve as they go, and being able to be fun and entertaining is a great mix.

Rookie of the Month

2nd Lieutenant Connor McQueen
Marine Executive Officer
USS Sunfire

New to the sim and Discord, and improving with every new post, excited to see where their career continues to grow.

Recruitment

None this month.

Rear Admiral Aurther Winters
Director of Personnel
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: April 2024

Posted on May 31, 2024 | by Charles Star | Leave a Comment

Just in the nick of time…

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Tracey Walker
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “Hunted”

Great action description!

Best Post (Joint Post)

Lt. Cmdr. Deanna Celes & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Ens. Kate Kono & Ens. James Phoenix
ACOO / XO / CMO / SCP / TO
USS Washington

For “The War With the Machines”

A great bit of collaborative writing!