Happy 23rd Anniversary, Independence Fleet

Happy 23rd anniversary, Independence Fleet! For anyone new and not aware or simply not wanting to do the math, this club was founded all the way back on July 4, 2001. Continuing a tradition we began a few years ago, here is a message from a special guest:

What else do we have for this year? You might remember the 20th Anniversary Almanac that we published three years ago. Well, we got the cover page signed by none other than Star Trek legend William Shatner:

pdf | jpg

A closer view of the signature:


In case you were wondering, the cover photo at the top is indeed based on the greatest Star Trek selfie ever taken by LeVar Burton. Thank you to Captain Misaki for creating our header image two years in a row.

I almost forgot, we have a second message this year too:

Happy anniversary, IDF! Here’s to 23 years and much more!

Monthly Awards: March 2024

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

For “Running.”

Spooky!


Best Post (Joint Post)

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

For “Bearding the Lion”

Action packed!


Funniest Post

PO1 Baris Demir & PO2 Thomas Lopt & PO2 Fhiri & Capt. Malcom Llwyedd
Q / CS / CSS / CO
USS Firebird

For “The Dregs”

Those who tick off the quartermaster end up with rusty phasers and itchy undergarments.


Genesis

Captain Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “A Fondness For”

Why is Dick climbing the mountain?


MVP

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris

What can I say, he went from being one of the USS Chuck Norris’ best writers to stepping up and taking the acting XO position to heart both in the story and leading the crew. He has since taken hold of the permanent XO position as if he has been doing it for years!


Most Posts

Commander Mira Rodale
Executive Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For writing 53 posts. Commander Rodale has since been promoted to Captain and assumed command of the USS Chuck Norris.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Inara Senn
Chief Science Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s Science Officer continues to improve with excellent plot details and interesting ideas for all, which allows the whole crew the opportunity to participate in new and exciting ways.


Rookie of the Month

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

The Washington’s new Chief Tactical/Security Officer came in like a breath of fresh air and already the enabled the crew to views at things from new angles.


Recruitment

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

The Washington’s XO wisely directed a player to our ship who has integrated well thus far.


Admiral Ken Gillis
Chief of Technology
Independence Fleet

Monthly Awards: August 2023

Here are your latest monthly award winners:

Best Post (Single Author)

Ensign Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

For “Potential, Simulated”

Nice work! A carefully crafted and meticulously written post resulting in a great read for anyone interested in flight mechanics.


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 & Ens. Robert Lee
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO / TO
USS Wayfarer

For “Warship Located”

I love a good action scene, and this one is great. It’s a frantic scene with a bridge full of officers who know what they’re doing. Fun!


Funniest Post

Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For “The Bolero”

What is funnier than a fat guy in a little coat, I mean, on ice? Try two of them with a bunch of Klingons and Tribbles thrown into the mix!


Genesis

Captain Michael Intermeezo
Commanding Officer
USS Chuck Norris

For “A New Threat”

A classic setup with the Chuck Norris defending DS9, and an action sequence to kick it off. Well crafted!


MVP

Ensign Kate Kono
Intelligence Officer
USS Washington

Following up a stellar rookie performance, Ens. Kono has been writing like crazy this month, showcasing excellent solo and group posting.


Most Posts

Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For writing 10 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Steve Ryan
Chief Communications and Operations Officer
USS Montana

Lt. Ryan has come back with everything he has, not only being one of the most active posters but also defining what this sim is becoming. He went from simply posting here to becoming an outstanding writer.


Rookie of the Month

Ensign Sarik Vaster
Engineering Officer
USS Washington

The new Engineer joined with an immediate impact, working well with the crew and showing superior technical knowledge.


Recruitment

None this month.


As always, well done fleet!

Monthly Awards: June 2023

What a great anniversary celebration! Now it’s time to celebrate our latest monthly awardees.

Best Post (Single Author)

Ensign James Phoenix
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

For “Kobayashi Maru Part One”

Ah yes, the tried and true Kobayashi Maru. What a fun read!


Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Aven LaCroix & Lt. Cmdr. Aria Winters & Lt. Ikuyo Kita & Lt. JG Hank Solomon & Lt. JG Adrianna Baciami & Lt. JG Karri & Ens. Ethan O’Donnaghue & Ens. Bek’a ir Az
CO / CSO / COO / CEO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO / DCS
USS Eclipse

For “Sharpening the Blade”

I love the good old fashioned episodic format. Well done!


Funniest Post

Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For “Snatch and Grab an Intervention”

“Meat bag” reminds me of the HK assassin droid from Knights of the Old Republic. Love it!


Genesis

None this month.


MVP

Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

Cmdr. Key continued his excellent performance from last month with outstanding contributions to the story and creating opening for other players to get involved this month. His mentorship of newer players has also been invaluable.


Most Posts

Cmdr. Savar cha’Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Executive Officer / Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For writing 5 posts.


Most Improved

Commander Samantha Howard
Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

Commander Howard wrote some really impressive posts this month, including her character dealing with the death of an NPC.


Rookie of the Month

None this month.


Recruitment

None this month.


Here’s to year 23, IDF!

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:

Now, the 12 movie posters:

And your winners are…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

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:

Happy IDF anniversary, everyone!

Monthly Awards: May 2023

Late June brings May awards:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For “The Mrs.”

Whoah! Nice post with rich description and a chilling enemy. Very well done!


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
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO
USS Wayfarer

For “Klingon Accusations”

Great action, and an interesting plot twist. Nice work!


Funniest Post

Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For “He’s Dead Jim”

An important plot advancement and funny shenanigans to boot.


Genesis

Captain Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “Albion, on Ice!”

Hilaroius! But more importantly, interesting and with lots of openings for people to explore. Well done!


MVP

Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T’ghann-Travis
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Washington

She put forth outstanding material throughout the month and created excellent openings for other crewmembers to get involved. Great work!


Most Posts

Commander Donald “Don” Key
Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For writing 17 posts.


Most Improved

Ensign J.B. Dersch
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

In only his second month, he tied for the second most posts on the sim and worked diligently to further integrate himself both in game and behind the scenes.


Rookie of the Month

None this month.


Recruitment

None this month.


Thanks again for another great month in IDF!

Monthly Awards: April 2023

On the Ides of May, here are your April awards:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant Commander Mark Johnson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer

For “Day 7: Deena, a pleasant surprise.”

Nice post, not rushed, with very good detail and description. Well done!


Best Post (Joint Post)

Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard
ACSTO / XO / CMO
USS Washington

For “A Pleasant Visit”

A very interesting predicament of a First Contact with a human civilization–and outstanding job among several excellent nominations this month.


Funniest Post

Ensign Alyssa Strong
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For “Shower, Hot Chocolate, SURPRISE!”

Awesome.


Genesis

Captain Rhenora Kaylen
Commanding Officer
USS Sunfire

For “GENESIS”

Great way to start a mission–with the Obsidian Order bashing your door in. Good luck!


MVP

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

Commander Grayson had a great month leading a new mission, working closely with a new player, and keeping the story moving with inputs from everyone. Great job!


Most Posts

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

For writing 10 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Callisi Veera
Chief Operations Officer
USS Churchill

Really stepped up to fill in while the Captain was unwell to keep the sim moving after having zero posts the month prior.


Rookie of the Month

Ensign J.B. Dersch
Tactical Officer
USS Washington

The new Ensign was active right out of the gate with great contributions.


Recruitment

None this month.


As always, great posting!

Monthly Awards: March 2023

With the year nearly 1/3 over, the year’s total awards are hereby 1/4 presented:

Best Post (Single Author)

Lieutenant JG Patra Rommel
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer

For “Coming to grips with true love”

A follow-up to last month’s best post: Sweet nothings.


Best Post (Joint Post)

Capt. Shran dh’Klar & Cmdr. Jonathan Grayson & Cmdr. Samantha Howard & Lt. Cmdr. Shoniara T’ghann-Travis & Lt. Cmdr. Callie Raven-Grayson & Ens. T’Plana-hath & Ens. James Phoenix & Lt. Seth Travis
CO / XO / CMO / ACMO / CC / IO / TO / CDO
USS Washington

For “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Lots going on in this post! Way to keep it all together!


Funniest Post

Marine Captain Emily Janeway
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “Debriefing on the issue of cargo transport failed”

Good one.


Genesis

Captain Shran dh’Klar
Commanding Officer
USS Washington

For “Signal Mystery”

Great way to get things going.


MVP

Lieutenant JG Patra Rommel
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Wayfarer

Excellent writing and teamwork! She stayed engaged and found ways to help the plot even though her character wasn’t with the rest of the crew on Risa. True talent!


Most Posts

Commander Jonathan Grayson
Executive Officer
USS Washington

For writing 10 posts.


Most Improved

Ensign Kitiuas Thenis
Science Officer
USS Sunfire

One of the newer members of the Sunfire, Thenis steps up with month some quality posts and helping others get involved.


Rookie of the Month

None this month.


Recruitment

None this month.


I also want to comment on the retro version of the IDF website earlier this month. While our website no longer looks like this, it’s amazing to think that these awards that we started in month one of July 2001 are still going strong today thanks to all the great writing from YOU!

Monthly Awards: January 2023

We’ve hit the new year running with some great posting:

Best Post (Single Author)

Ensign Alyssa Strong
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Albion

For “The Strong Jerk Manoeuvre”

Great post that pushes the plot forward that also could have won a Funniest 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
CO / XO / CSTO / CMO / CFCO
USS Wayfarer

For “He’s Dead Jim…”

Ah, a classic whodunnit. Love the interplay of the characters and the descriptions around a crome scene. Well done!


Funniest Post

Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Samantha Howard
ACSTO / CMO
USS Washington

For “Moral Dilemma”

Starfleet officers browsing goods at Spencer’s Gifts. Brilliant.


Genesis

Captain Dick Sprague
Commanding Officer
USS Albion

For “The Assessment”

I’ll be curious to see where this ‘mission’ goes. How has Sprague’s career lasted so long!?


MVP

Lieutenant JG Adrianna Baciami
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Eclipse

Contributed some great posts that helped this sim get launched right. Sky’s the limit for the Eclipse.


Most Posts

Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Sunfire

For writing 9 posts.


Most Improved

Lieutenant Commander Mark Johnson
Chief Medical Officer
USS Wayfarer

The Wayfarer’s CMO also wrote some excellent posts this month, which led to his promotion to Lieutenant Commander.


Rookie of the Month

Ensign Syrik
Flight Control Officer
USS Sunfire

Syrik has bounced onto the Sunfire with a bang by seamlessly integrating into the crew and storyline.


Recruitment

None this month.


And don’t forget that it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow!

Our 21st Birthday

It’s going to be near impossible to top last year’s Day of Trivia, Webcast, and special edition Message & Almanac. And that’s for good reason: 20th anniversaries are a big deal in role playing! But 21st birthdays are important too. Indeed, if Independence Fleet (IDF) was a humanoid (living in the United States), the 21st would be even more important. I’m quickly getting off track…

What did we decide to do? For our 21 years together, here are 21 facts about IDF, Star Trek and/or other topics that might change your perception of time. Modeled after two articles from Buzzfeed (here and here), we hope you enjoy the list.

But before we do that, here is a special message for this year’s anniversary:

  1. IDF’s launch (July 4, 2001) was closer to the release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (June 4, 1982) than it is to today: 19 years, 1 month vs. 21 years.
  2. Ditto for the North America release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (October 18, 1985): 15 years, 8 months, 16 days.
  3. And for the release of Windows 1.0 (November 20, 1985): 15 years, 7 months, 14 days.
  4. And also for the release of the world’s very first website (December 20, 1990): 10 years, 6 months, 14 days.
  5. The time from IDF’s launch on Angelfire to the registry of its first URL (July 4, 2001 – February 26, 2005) was longer than the entire run of Star Trek: The Original Series (September 8, 1966 – June 3, 1969): 3 years, 7 months, 22 days vs. 2 years, 8 months, 26 days.
  6. The time from the registry of IDF’s first URL to officially moving to its current URL (February 26, 2005 – February 29, 2020) was longer than the entire run of the TNG/DSN/VOY television series era from the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation to the finale of Star Trek: Voyager (September 8, 1987 – May 23, 2001): 15 years, 3 days vs. 13 years, 7 months, 25 days.
  7. The time from moving to IDF’s current URL to today (2 years, 4 months, 5 days) is shorter than all but three periods between Star Trek movies: The Wrath of Khan to The Search for Spock (1 year, 11 months, 28 days), Generations to First Contact (2 years, 4 days), and First Contact to Insurrection (2 years, 19 days).
  8. However, it’s longer than the time from Utopia Fleet’s founding (April 7, 1999) to IDF’s founding: 2 years, 2 months, 27 days.
  9. Utopia Fleet’s founding was closer to the North America release of the Atari 2600 (September 11, 1977) than it is to today: 21 years, 6 months, 27 days vs. 23 years, 2 months, 27 days.
  10. Ditto for the release of the original Star Wars movie (May 25, 1977): 21 years, 10 months, 13 days.
  11. The time from the launch of the original USS Sunfire NCC-3935 (February 16, 2000) to IDF’s launch was longer than the entire run of Star Trek: The Animated Series (September 8, 1973 – October 12, 1974): 1 year, 4 months, 18 days vs. 1 year, 1 month, 4 days
  12. The launch of the award-winning USS Sunfire NCC-3001-D (October 10, 2010) was closer to IDF’s founding than it is to today: 9 years, 3 months, 6 days vs. 11 years, 8 months, 24 days.
  13. The launch of the USS Chuck Norris NCC-4005 (January 2, 2012) was closer to the first Chuck Norris facts appearing on the Internet (sometime in early 2005) than it is to today: ~7 years vs. 10 years, 6 months, 2 days.
  14. IDF is older than the iPod (October 23, 2001),
  15. Facebook (February 4, 2004),
  16. YouTube (February 14, 2005),
  17. the Microsoft Xbox (November 15, 2001),
  18. commercially available Blu-ray Discs (June 20, 2006),
  19. and NBA All-Star LaMelo Ball (August 22, 2001).
  20. At IDF’s launch, Tom Brady had zero Super Bowl rings. In fact, he had only completed 1 NFL pass.
  21. The time from IDF’s launch to today is longer than the time from The Original Series finale to The Next Generation premiere (June 3, 1969 – September 28, 1987): 21 years vs. 18 years, 3 months, 25 days.

And for a bonus, something to look forward to next year: 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.

Until then, let’s keep role playing!

Oh, I almost forgot: We have another video message for this year:

And in case you missed it, here’s a recap of our 21st Anniversary Webcast that was held on Saturday.