MARK: Hi, Jamie! It’s kind of cool for me to interview you because it was your article on metagaming that landed me here at Starbase 118. So my character and I thank you!
JAMIE: Awesome, you are most welcome! It’s great to be here, and I’m really glad to hear that!
Congrats on starting your Captaincy Exam. I was hoping we could backtrack a little to explore how you got here. You took a pretty big step as a player
The battle to contain the four Elementals continues to rage throughout Starbase 118. Thanks to the daring flying of Lt Washburn the crew is able to lure Chan the Air Elemental into the main docking bay. The trap is ready to be sprung with Brine the Water Elemental is lying in wait at the bottom of the lake that now occupies the center of the bay.
The majority of the senior officers seek shelter on the shore of the lake amidst the wreckage of equipment and various sunken starships while they witness the battle between Air and Water. The Water Elemental Brine is victorious and as the crew rescues the child used as an Avatar for Chan.
As the child is rushed to medical Lt Richards activates a series of force fields which greatly reduces the remaining Elemental’s power and corrals both the Earth and Fire Elementals down into the docking bay.
A fierce three battle ensues with the Earth Elemental Shale finally emerging as victor. Cmdr Danzia arrives in a runabout and deposits a clam like creature onto the deck. When this is opened it reveals an androgynous child who appears to be a blend of all the four Elemental’s Avatars.
After a brief conversation with the victorious Elemental where it appears that he will depart until the next round of combat the crew are left with the task of healing the wounded, clearing up the significant mess and looking after the child from the clam.
Lieutenant James is the assistant chief engineering officer on Starbase 118. His career started quite differently with him leaving the Academy with a major in engineering and a minor in communications and operations. He was disappointed that he was first posted to the USS Discovery C as a communications and ops officer when engineering is his main passion. During his time there he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. He later transferred to the USS Drake to work as an engineering officer. After working there for a number of months and gaining experience he once again transferred to Starbase 118 to take up the position of assistant chief of engineering.
Outside of work James is interested in reading and Terran history, particularly from the 20th century. He also likes computers and one of his hobbies is using and maintaining old computers. Somewhat of a night owl, James prefers to work on the Beta shift and his daily routine allows for several hours of watching TV shows, reading or conducting research before he goes to sleep, but not before he’s spent a few hours at his own personal workbench. He has a strong love of tea, usually drinking over 10 cups per day!
Lieutenant James’s Bio will be displayed on the wiki’s front page for the month of December. As always, you can find out more about the contest at its wiki page or in its forum. Round 2 is now open, so be sure to drop by and submit your own nominations!
Before the crew have even settled into their new roles on Starbase 118 Ops, a chilling new development threatens the base and the lives of everyone on board and within the vicinity.
It begins with a not so delicate plumbing problem in Flight Control and leads into what seem to be simple temperature fluctuations, leaving some areas with sweltering heat and nearly smiling Vulcans ; while frigid temps in other sections of the base send Captain Rogers, Acting First Officer LCMD Atimen, and the rest of the crew scampering to replicate hot drinks and don winter parkas.
Lieutenant Richards, sb118 Ops new ACSO, reveals the difficulties to be triggered by four ion storms, one from each quadrant of the galaxy. They are traveling at transwarp speed and heading straight for the starbase, targeting four fusion reactors. The storms also affect warp fields, preventing area ships from escaping. With energy from the storms already hitting the base and little more than an hour in which to prepare themselves, the base is set to yellow alert and emergency preparations begin.
Destruction escalates on the station with gale force winds and an earthquake that rips apart parts of the promenade. Residents are evacuated to the interior of the base while the crew puts a plan in motion to rotate the base to absorb the storms’ force via maximum utilization of internal and external shielding. As the crew waits for word from ships closer to the storm front, the wary officers brace for impact.
A Romulan fleet outside, reporters getting into everything, a freighter being repaired then exploding. Unfortunately, someone in the crew thought “At least it can’t get worse”.
Some of the crew, investigating the Astrolabe to help survivors and determine the reason, were exposed to the expired drug. A drug that when expired acts like a recreational hallucinogenic in humans. Combined with multiple secondary explosions, sickbay was busy. At the same time, the Astrolabe’s First Officer and crew met outside the ship to discuss mutiny. Ensign Mandany Rose, one of the station’s counselors, tried to keep things calm. Unfortunately, things escalated when the freighter’s Captain arrived. A fight broke out, ending when the freighter’s captain threatened Ensign MGia to talk to Captain Nicholotti. They met, and MGia was injured as she knocked the freighter captain out.
Returning to the Hub, Captain Nicholotti setup a meeting with one of the reporters on the station, who focused his conversation on Anya. Unwilling and unable to go beyond the statement that she was her sister, the reporter warned that the truth could only be kept away for so long.
Sending the reporter on his way, the briefing began. The astrolabe was looked at as sabotage, potentially Romulan. While the question remains, why has the Romulan fleet remained, uncloaked, and unaggressive for the last several hours? And what do they really want?!?
With all of the stress of the previous missions behind them, the crew of Starbase 118 was able to relax into their normal duties. That lasted for almost an hour, when the corps of reporters fell onto the station like a swarm of locusts. The official statements were not enough for several of the reporters, who began searching areas they weren’t cleared for to find “the truth”. A tooth from one of the dragon-like creatures the crew had encountered a day previously was discovered by Delia Ailed, a reporter who leveraged that to get more information from the Second officer and Chief engineer. Captan Nicholotti, working to keep the rumors from getting too out of hand, is scheduling a meeting with the reporters. Unfortunately, one story about the fang has already gotten out.
At the same time, a freighter “Astrolabe” has docked and requested emergency repairs. They are carrying medicines that need to be delivered before they expire. Unfortunately, the ship itself was held together by luck and baling wire.. and the baling wire just snapped. There has been an explosion on the freighter, something that has raised the interest of engineering, tactical, and security. Also the wandering eye of another reporter. Now the crew scrambles to find the issue, get the medicine out in time, all while providing the right information to the reporters who are already underfoot. Perhaps it is a normal Starbase day after all.
The crew returned to Starbase 118 with a sense of relief. The physical and emotional stresses of the last mission had taken their toll, and the crew gladly accepted the announcement of leave. Commander Orman chose to use this time to leave for a fighting tournament, while the FO and others spent the first night relaxing at the pub. Of course, SB118 is never boring, even on leave. Immediately the following morning, the Captain and FO received orders that a new first officer was arriving within moments. Lt. Commander Matthews arrived to tension amongst command as they tried to work out the intricacies of the new situation. In happier news, Doctor Maclaren was asked “the question” by Marine Captain Dubeau, a proposal happily accepted and announced at the meet and greet for the new FO, along with the promotions of Lt. Silveira and Lt. Livingston. The holodeck made for a great place to talk and enjoy the beach, but the newly repromoted Captain Walker spiced things up by creating a circus tent. And under the big top, the members of the starbase could see themselves taking on the roles of various circus performers! Not to be outdone, Lieutenant Silveira brought real steaks to be grilled, as well as a piano to support the songs to be sung. Through it all, Captain Nicholotti felt strongly the loss of stability in the past days, and that of Commander Cody, still in a coma.
The trip through the gravimetric hole lead the crew to Odyssey station. During the transition through the anomaly, multiple crewmembers experienced images of things that had, or could have been. Coming out on the other side, it was quickly determined that a telepathic wave had flowed out and encompassed the ship for an unknown purpose. Moments later, the ship was pulled onto the station by a powerful tractor beam. As the crew disembarked from the runabout, they were met by a holographic entity called a “Greeter”. They were informed that they had to abide by a code that prevented weapons from working. Further questions didn’t reveal what was most important, where Anya and David Cody could be located. Unwilling to separate, the crew slowly investigated the huge station, areas of which were large enough to accomodate a starship. While there, other “travellers” were met, describing a transportation system that worked by taking the user to the location they subconsciously desired most, something that was proven when Doctor MacLaren’s dog suddenly appeared among the crew! Now under even more of a time crunch before the crew’s subconscious desires might send them anywhere, the Dragon-like creature Puncdor that they’d met, combined with the dog Hope’s nose, were able to find the two lost crewmembers. Commander Cody was found, but locked in a coma after his experience and Anya had lost her memories from the Captain. Tired, the crew returned home to SB118 and shore leave.
Lieutenant Commander Katy Orman is the Chief of Security on Starbase 118. As winner for this month, her bio will be displayed on the wiki’s front page for the month of April.
A Human/Orion hybrid, Orman started her career on the USS Resolution as an engineering officer and later switched to the security role. She also served on the Eagle as Chief of Security, and the Victory in the same role before moving into her current assignment.
Katy has a number of unique and interesting skills. She knows a number of meditative disciplines and claims to have been trained since childhood in an unusual martial art form she calls Shiji Gungfu. She has a small undetectable implant in her body which makes telepathic contact with her impossible.
As always, you can find out more about the contest at its wiki page or in its forum. Round 11 is now open, so be sure to drop by and submit your own nominations!
The attacks on the ship lead to a number of key injuries. Doctor MacLaren and Commander Breeman were hurt, but able to continue. Commander Walker’s injury, however, revealed an additional twist. A sentient shadow-like creature had been “sharing space” in the officer’s head. Realizing the security concerns, he was confined to sickbay as the rest of the crew determined how to proceed. The dragon-creatures had caused enough damage to prevent the ship from transitioning to Odyssey station, so the crew would have to move via runabout and fighter escorts. Fighters that would have their phasers reconfigured to red/orange lasers, making them more effective against the dragon-creatures.
Meanwhile, Doctor MacLaren used a vulcan mind meld to contact the sentient and Commander Walker within his head. Captain Nicholotti, needing her FO, approved the potentially dangerous plan to have the Doctor connect to Walker’s mind and put the sentient to sleep. It wouldn’t be a permanent solution, but enough to complete the mission. Using the nano-tech probes used to restore Commander Breeman’s hand, Commander Walker’s injuries were similarly corrected. As the runabout prepared to leave, the Captain gave out a number of battlefield promotions to the now Lieutenant MacLaren, Lieutenant JG Nevarass, and Marine Captain Dubeau. Turning toward the front of the runabout, she warned everyone to “Hold on!” as she piloted the runabout toward Odyssey station and the people stolen from them.
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