Captain's Log — 2016

December 2016

The away team from Axel encountered Borg on their scout ship. Imgres and Dvir assessed the situation with the hope of a quick rescue. Dvir noticed the Borg were disorganized. Toraith came face-to-face with his father, a drone aboard the scout ship. Rage overcame the Gorn as he tore at his father with claws and berated the unfeeling drone. Pigg thought back to his previous ship and the many people he had worked with as he faced down a Borg scout ship. The belly turrets hammered the scout with every scrap of power the small transport could muster. The scout ship, dormant for a decade, lost it's shields for no more than a second. It was not enough time to establish a lock on the crew aboard the vessel. Vaquero Flight, dispatched from Sentinel Station, approached the scout ship with USS Hunter and a team from the Borg Defence and Offence Program (BDOP) not far behind. Bresa affirmed their dedication to the team on the scout ship with the Marines providing tactical support. Xin worked to isolate the away team from the mess of lifesigns. The Borg managed to hold their own in the fight. Without the luxury of time, the transporter filters were broadened to beam six back directly to Sickbay; an away team of four plus two drones to close to exclude from the transport. Axel was glad to leave the Borg scout ship to the Marines. Captain Pigg was glad to walk away without losing crew. The equipment losses would be costly to replace.

Karbo, Albatross' doctor, transferred to Seiklon Axel. Noluk worked through the doctor's self-doubt in succinct Vulcan fashion. Shenara, Albatross' pilot, dug into Karbo's past. The doctor had trained at DuSa. On reaching Siklon Axel, the doctor was directed to Sickbay. He was informed that one of the drones aboard was biologically related to a member of Axel's crew. The plan was to remove them from Axel to a more secure facility.

In Sickbay, the crew backed away to the edge of the containment field. Toraith told the crew the borg drone choking him was his father. The containment field was tightened around Toraith and the two drones, each isolated from the others. Toraith was outraged that he could not show his father strength through combat. Ernie incapacitated the biological components of the drones. Their electronic components would continue to function and attempt to assimilate the ship.

USS Hunter closed on the Borg sphere with a BDOP team aboard. With all non-Borg civilians safe aboard Axel, the assault had a free hand in eliminating the Borg threat. Doctor Barlow was hoping to capture a Queen. Warwick promised the Marine CO that assimilated marines would be brought back to Hunter. Barlow offered a trade to marines for every incapacitated drone. Marines crossed the void to the Sphere in hardened shuttles that flew as gracefully as a brick. Doctor Wytara welcomed the Caitian CO to the 'Devil's Playground' as they boarded the Borg sphere.

Crossroads Station began operations under the flag of the Setlin Commerce Guild. Exemplar Nova planned to use the station to separate themselves from the Guild. Security officers moved through the station first. They found a stowaway to be dealt with later. Engineering would follow afterwards to restore it's power systems.

In her shop, Husar surveyed broken Builder crystals. She offered slightly used candy to medic Jon Dewitt. He dismissed the first offer of trinkets from this corner of the galaxy.

Commander Theophilus ran her traditional 'Dickens 1843' program.

Lt. Commander Favor cursed the Kharian situation for how it had halted scientific study in the sphere. He had accepted a reassignment to the USS Fairmont.

Ambassador Jebediah Stillwell congratulated his daughter on opening relations between the Gatrubbians and Delta Freedom Alliance. Larissa Stillwell was also tasked as a DFA representative at the Federation-Kharian summit.

Pleg met with Delenka, a Mazarite, as middleman for the purchase of what was described as junk on behalf of Captain Pigg of hte Seiklon Axel. Gral was fascinated with the ship and asked several questions of it's captain. The Bajoran sub-light freighter had proven itself in the Occupation. Gral climbed into the back of a holographic impulse raider as a consolation prize. One flight was not enough for the young Ferengi who reset the simulation for unlimited fuel. Unfortunately, he reached his allotted holosuite time and was left sitting on the hard floor of a deactivated holodeck.

Gral took up a study of the human festival of Christmas. He couldn't square the centuries of stories about it. It was, at it's heart, a festival of acquisition. And surprise gifts were impossible to barter.

Seiklon Axel returned to Sentinel Station. The first order of business was to replace the communications systems infiltrated by the Borg. Imgres reached out to Chief Pety Officer Eiwan to assist in a detailed structural study of the ship. While waiting for a reply, Imgres wandered the docking

Eiwan and Sinclair continued to work on the wall hemming in the Kharians. Their batch of modifications were ready to deploy across the network when Commander Mirel halted the deployment during the summit. The two women, one French-Canadian and the other Himpanwei, chatted about their homelands.

Sipf, a Lacosian High Chorister, hosted a summit between the United Federation of Planets and the Kharian Empire. Emporer Altus Gret'ak opened referencing agreements between the Federation and historical belligerents. He appealed to the Lacosians and Johvan as sibling races. Admiral Leval, representing the Federation, called for a more structured discourse. Chorister Sipf focused the summit on the barrier between the Kharians and, ostensibly, the rest of the quadrant. Commander Mirel laid the Kharian history out as oppressors in their own right. With no leading argument, Sipf decided the field would be reduced with appropriate conditions and controls. Emporer Altus declared an immediate and permanent abolishment of violence against the Johvani people. He also provided a tablet used as authority to oversee the Johvani. Chorister Sipf accepted the declaration and appealed for trust between the two parties. Commander Mirel replied with border controls and the prohibition of military overflights. Leval stepped in to provide a more moderate Federation voice. Seket, the Cardassian representative, broke Leval's hold of the room. The friendship between the Kharians and Cardassians was obvious. The Admiral was willing to deactivate the field completely for an acknowledgement that colonization would continue unabated. The Emporer did not accept the Admiral's offer at face value. He held the Gatrubbians as evidence that the Sphere would become simply another colony world within the Federation Empire. The Admiral was prepared for the argument and rebutted with the Gatrubbians as a case of a people without a home world. They were not colonizing; they were settling. He doubled down with inviting the Kharians to meet with the Gatrubbians directly.

Non-Roleplay

The month started with real life competing with OH1 for attention for several players. December also ended with busy real lives. Our stories progressed reasonably well during the month. We still wrote 20,500 words as a group.

Katy joined OH1 after a recommendation from Anna Maria.

Quote of the Month

"Or perhaps you want something human like whatever passes for food on...um...Dirt? Whatever your planet is." Husar was enjoying the distraction if nothing else.
—Husar, trying to be a good hostess, played by Anna Maria

"Good. Very good. I have one last thing to say to you, marines. Against such a despicable foe, for such a righteous cause, and with such fine Marines, I can scarcely think of a deity, god, or ancestor who would withhold their blessing..... so save your prayers! Remember only your training and your duty, and you will make it back across the void! Now, board your shuttles and ramp up. We ride!"
—Lieutenant Colonel Gravor of the Stoneclaw, Marine CO, played by Tim

Player of the Month

Rich contributed to a lot of stories during the month. He also wrote several solo posts for Favor, Pleg and Gral. I would love to see Gral in an Axel uniform in the future... he seems too much of an adventurer for Starfleet.

November 2016

No Captain's Log

October 2016

Emporer Altus was sharing funny stories with his cronies as his shuttle approached the Cardassian settlement. It is about the fifth time he lost his right to inheritance. It was an unannounced visit. The Emporer requested succor and shelter as weary travellers. The farmers working around the colony were unimpressed and had no fear of the Kharians. Seket identified herself as leader of the colony. Altus and Seket were like two cruel peas in a pod. Altus recounted his spelunking within the Sphere. Seket offered food to the noble Kharian emporer usually set aside for the colony's gul. In private, the emporer showed Seket his heirloom sword. The dull metal blade flared to life when the Rex Gret'ak hummed. It could cut duranium like butter. It was made for the emporer's ancestor and only that ancestor's descendants can activate the blade. The two shared the cultural fatigue of being overloads--indentured wardens of the oppressed--to inferior races: Bajoran and Johvan. The Rex Gret'ak offered know-how on the unearthing of ancient weapons and supply to the Cardassians. In exchange he wanted enough dilithium to supply a revitalized Kharian Imperial Navy. Seket admitted that her role in the farming community was not to weed poorly performing crops. It was to weed poorly performing people. To borrow a human classic, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Lieutenant Bear offered the most disgusting Cardassian candy he could to children and threatened them not to touch him. Veruca assumed he was a Ferengi in a bear costume. Gral dressed as "Mounty Python and the Holy Gral". The lieutenant ushered them onto the next quarters. Ensign Serota appreciated the theoretical physicist costume and mistook the Gorn costume for Godzilla. Veruca dressed as "Wednesday", a morose girl rather than as the day of the week. She handed full-sized Devu chocolate bars. Gral offered to trade his sack of chocolate gold coins for four peanut butter cups. Both sides were too stubborn to settle on a price. Several children conspired to pay back Bear for his foul-tasting candy. Toilet paper, sticky, stinky kanar, and, a reversed waste reclamation pump were posposed as pranks. Jake rung the doorbell and asked to pet the android lieutenant. Dejected by a slammed door in his face, Jake joined the conspiracy.

Reader Gamut and Commodore Eskan discussed the tension over settlement. Reader Kensen promoted their continued wandering of space. Gamut was being asked to embellish the story, to sway the people to settle in the Sphere as their promised homeland.

Commander Mirel threatened Fred Bliss to share what he knew with Lieutenant Commander Theophilus. The unusual man knew full well the worst possible punishment was no more than five days in the brig.

Larissa Stillwell and her father chatted over raktajino. Jebidiah Stillwell was a former ship's captain with connections in the Delta Freedom Alliance. He appointed his daughter as a DFA Ambassador to be situated at Outpost Hope One.

Mr. Rohner attended to the civilian hospital for his regular treatments. Nurse Quinn's treatments were slowing down the progress of his Iverson's Disease. He again recommended counselling. Rohner stopped breathing and the immediate intervention of a medical team brought him back. Artificial organs would be more reliable. Surgery would be scheduled as soon as possible.

A Borg survey vessel was pursued by four DFA cruisers. The twenty drones were entirely focused on dodging their pursuers. There was a near-zero chance of successfully assimilating them and retreat was the only course of action. The scout ship was severely damaged as it jumped to warp. All of the drones were put into suspended animation as the scout ship tumbled through space.

Lieutenant Bear informed Commander Mirel that a Gorn named Toraith was aboard the station and the target of political assassination. The intelligence officer was suspicious also of the captain of Seiklon Axel. There were three deaths in connection with the ship's crew. Axel had clearance from both Starfleet and the Gatrubbian Fleet. Mirel was weary to make a move without firm evidence of wrong-doing. Toraith was a wanted criminal on Gorn. Quidano was a former member of Nal'Gaharay. Captain Pigg had no history. Former Captain Gorgon disappeared without a trace when Pigg came aboard. While the choice of crew was questionable, even combined there was no more than circumstantial evidence. Intrigue and suspicion was the android intelligence officer's job description.

Senator Larking continued his tour of the Cardassian settlement. He wanted to examine the carcass of a zabu. The senator picked one that he had watched fall over in a field. He was surprised at how easily Seket conceded to his request. Zabu were omnivores and, judging by the open troughs of food, carnivores. Sick zabu were disposed rather than added to feed. Larking cut his finger when running his hands through feed grain. The barns were so clean they looked like they'd never been used to house livestock. One the Johvan farmers picked up a ruby-coloured chard of glass and pocketed it without drawind attention. Whatever the Cardassians were doing, it was certainly not farming.

Gral watched several Gatrubbian enter the station. More accurately, he watched their pockets. Ensign Gero Ib interrupted Gral's right of acquirement. Gral was worried his father would find out he'd been caught. Ib traded knowledge of Gral's pickpocketing for speedy transport to the Sphere as well as a future deal on crystals acquired from the Sphere. Pleg met with Gero and was willing to offer transport to the Sphere no questions asked. Gero found his way to the Center for Scientific Research. Vanka was the Gatrubbian's foremost astronomer.

Zhao could offer an open-air bay as sleeping arrangements to the two engineers. Marines were still constructing their base at the Kharian frontier. Eiwan and Sinclair would need several hours to propogate their barrier wall modifications through the network of emitters. Eiwan wanted Sinclair to have some field work under her belt. Faster than either woman could react, Zhao pushed them both down and extended a personal shield. The marine had severe burns and a broken hip. Eiwan's anatomy was more pliable and she suffered no injuries. The shield generators overloaded and Eiwan went about trying to repair them. Sinclair routed the power to defensive systems. Without the shield generators, the quarantine was unenforceable. Marine units were using heavy weapons to maintain a no-mans land. Sinclair had a plan. The encampment still had power. The shield generator could be reconfigured to shield the encampment rather than hold back the Kharians. USS Hunter came in overhead and began surgically bombarding Kharian positions. The two engineers' plans were no longer necessary with a dreadnought overhead. Zhao was looking forward to his evacuation to a medical facility and the food. The Kharians were bottled up but still a threat.

Quidano and McKinner loaded the belly of Seiklon Axel. Quidano outpaced the newcomer in the new movelifts. They shared a joke about telling Toraith they needed eight feet between stacks and him returning with actual feet.

Ariana and Kery met Sipf. The geologist handed the Lacosian a shard of crystal and asked if there was a way for non-Lacosians to learn the song. Kery hummed but the crystal failed to respond. Ariana was a natural. Sipf could faintly hear Ariana's song. They could hear the toneless song of the overseers. The Lacosians did not specifically restrict the Kharians moving through the Sphere's interior. After some persuasion, the Lacosians agreed to disallow their movement when bearing weapons that could harm the Johvan or the Sphere itself. Sipf wanted to fix the broken minds of the Kharians like he would fix machinery.

Axel came upon the Gatrubbian fleet of thousands of ships. They had been promised safe passage within the fleet as it colonised the Sphere apace. The Kharians were justified in their concern about such largescale colonisation.

Chelsea noticed her food replicator was on the fritz. Imgres was already repairing a replicator. He asked Chelsea to check on the mess hall in case it was also non-functional.

Elias strode onto the bridge to see Dvir and Xin giggling like schoolgirls. Dvir sat in Elias' lap to win a bet. He tried to resist. Xin was topless and approaching her captain. The two women accused each other of cheating on their bet. They wondered aloud how lonely Elias was. Both women were forced back by phaser blasts. They were conspiring to take Elias away from Chelsea. Elias came face to face with Peyton; his only true love. The bridge decompressed sucking Elias into space while the women looked on. Then, he shot bolt uprigtht in bed.

Elias had taken few lovers in his life: Chara, Payton. He had met Chara in his early 20s when he still called himself Paul while working as a loader on her father's ship. They married in secret. Elias decided to go into space which created a rift in their marriage. His mistress was deep space. Alton grudgingly gave his captain a shot of something stronger than coffee. He shared some of his dream with the old man. Alton didn't have much advice other than not to linger on regret.

Captain Vivek, Captain Elias and Bresa met aboard the Mukrala. Aboard the Mukrala, Baltama and Ligshuk debated the trustworthiness of Bresa Voci and the crew of Seiklon Axel. It mirrored disagreement on settling the Hope One sphere versus continuing their migratory existence. Seiklon Axel was in line for a significant supply contract. Payment would be in cultural artifacts that could be resold to merchants aboard Sentinel Station. Ligshuk would continue to serve as a liaison and translator. Bresa was never officially discharged from his duties in the Gatrubbian Space Command. Even after 200 years, he held the rank of Lieutenant. Elias was escorted back to Axel while Bresa met with a representative of the GSC.

Roquel and Icmod shared their dislike of Captain Elias. Icmod acknowledged the tough decisions all captains make. Roquel did not necessarily want to avoid the Seiklon Axel but she was certainly not going to sit down to dinner with it's captain. The ship had changed. It had mercenaries aboard. It was running different kinds of missions than it used to.

Mukrala hosted a dinner for the crew of Seiklon Axel. Bresa was dressed in a Gatrubbian dress uniform. Bresa would liaise between the Gatrubbians and the Federation and Axel would be given diplomatic privileges. Elias didn't like the idea of his ship being a ferry for a diplomat. Toraith was enjoying the food until he found out he had been eating lizard. Alton brought in a large stew pot of spicy gumbo that brought tears to eyes across the room. Bresa was enjoying traditional food. Ambassador Stillwell joined Bresa. It was the first day on the job for each of them.

Mukrala was asked to dispatch a shuttle to investigate an unknown ship approaching the fleet. Elias offered to send his own shuttle. Dvir would pilot the shuttle with both Axel and Mukrala crew aboard.

Reader Gamut and Reader Kensen arrived at the banquet. Reader Gamut shared his belief that the Sphere was a world larger than imagination as promised. He told a story of two brothers. One founded a homestead in a clearing that flourished into a city. The other, not satisfied with the clearing, continued down a wooded path and disappeared. Reader Gamut talks about their final home being a crossroads. In his telling of the Story, the second brother founds a mighty kingdom. The Sphere is a guidepost in the Story of the Gatrubbian people. The Klingon people had a similar schism between the traditions of Kahless and Miral shortly after reaching the Delta Quadrant. The Gatrubbian Navy would always keep some presence in space augmenting the Sphere's defences. The Kharians were a looming threat to both the Johvan and Gatrubbians. USS Hunter's bombardment muddied the Federation's message of peaceful settlement.

Imgres was given the job of determining the salvage value of the unknown ship in her new role as engineer. Toraith was armed but still full from the banquet. The Scrib wasn't sure if his reactions were sluggish from a full belly or whether he would unable to eat his kills on a full belly. It was Lieutenant Salan's first away mission with non-Gatrubbians. Toraith took a couple of selfies. As they approached, it was clear the unknown ship was Borg in origin. The lieutenant wondered if they would board it. The Axel crew strongly discouraged their boarding. The Borg ship had zero power output.

One hundred years in the future:

Crossroads Station continued it's slow evacuation. Zeno himself was purging the main computer of all records that could alter the timeline. Commander Voci joined Icmod and Selek shared a 2417-vintage Gatrubbian mead in the Zenophile Cantina. She felt rewarded by her time with the Saints. Selek decided to settle on Bajor with Icmod Smith's descendants. Icmod awoke early to see Selek off. Selek hoped to stay and meet his grandmother again but could not. Gret'ak stressed the necessity of keeping any Mother spores off the station as it returned to the past. A single spore would give Mother a 100-year head start and change the timeline. The Rex Gret'ak reminded the crew of Albatross that they would see many people die. The station was the only thing keeping nearby space safe. Taking the station back in time was their last, best hope.

Intelligence reported ship-forms hatching which aligned with a two-week timeline for Mother's impending attack. Outlier vessels were recalled to Crossroads station to augment the four hundred vessels already in place. The station itself was preparing for evacuation. The defence of Crossroads was being hampered by old animousities between Starfleet and the Delta Freedom Alliance. Starfleet would buy the station one more day to evacuate civilians. Josh equated the situation at Crossroads to the Titanic. The meeting broke up when portals were detected within the station.

Zoss and Zal were lead to a meeting of the Holy Order of Jem'Hadar which began to accept non-Jem'Hadar fighting for peace and justice in the galaxy. Under his humble robes, Zamat was clearly dressed for battle. Zoss was surprised that members of the order still submitted to the addition of White. Zamat explained that it was a reminder of their slavery within the Dominion. As a race bred for war, those freed from the Dominion and their progeny chose how and for whom they would fight.

Theodore asked Zeno for help is sending Karbo back to his own time. Zeno doubted whether he should detain the doctor during the station's evacuation. Theodore did not want to pollute the timeline by meeting the Albatross crew face-to-face. Zeno joined Theodore in evacuating aboard the latter's ship.

A team of Marines and Jem'Hadar moved through the station to clear normalspace of any spores. Several bodies had been animated by Mother and were moving through the corridors. Several marines were overcome by an auditory hypnosis. Chanting by the Jem'Hadar Order brought the marines to their senses as the horde of infected reached their firing lines. A warrior form exited a portal in the middle of the marine-Kharian-Jem'Hadar lines. The combined force had to press further to find the pod calling for Mother. Zamat and Carpenter entered a cargo bay with Ziel. Their small, innocuous group were ignored. The threat calculation had Mother focus on the large armed force cutting down infected by the hundreds. In the center of the room was a table with a body that used to be Gatrubbian. It represented a new form of the Mother entity. Josh wanted to collect as much infromation about as he could even while it began to telepathically burrow into his mind. Zamat killed the post-Gatrubbian organism. It was a lynchpin organism through which the Mother entity controlled the others. One Jem'Hadar and one marine were euthanized as signs of infection began to appear.

Gret'ak linked his consciousness into that of his ship, then his fleet. He let his mind meld into the ship's systems; his eyes perceiving the universe through the ship's sensors. He perceived normalspace as voids within the multi-hued universe as sensor data was converted into his visual spectrum. Captain Gret'ak probed deep space for sign of the Mother biomass. It was the only time in his life he saw something that could fill the void between stars.

The crew of Albatross were secure within Crossroads' command centre. Their perception of reality changed as they transitioned back to their own time.

Carpenter wished Albatross' crew good luck. Crossroads Station was back in time where it should have been.

Non-Roleplay

Another month over 50,000 words. Well done.

Karen joined OH1 with a cadre of characters focused on anti-Borg operations.

The Gatrubbians were added to the list of Sphere races on the website with colonization underway.

Rich's work took him around the Midwest and a face-to-face chat with Kevin. They have been writing together for years.

The nature of love in Cardassian society was discussed. Anna-Maria's opinion is that love of the State counts. I think we'll agree to disagree.

Banter of the Month

"I even like Gorn," she said, turning away to brew herself a fresh cup of hhollaer. "Especially with some wasabi and a pint of ale to wash it down with."

"Maybe we can have a dinner date see which one of us get's on the menu" The Gorn said showing his teeth while salivating.

Dvir smiled, oh so sweetly at him. "Maybe we can," she said. "I'll bring the Wasabi and ale." With that she walked out of the break room, humming to herself.

—Dvir (Randy) and Toraith (Doug) after Axel's coffee machine broke down

Subject Line of the Month

3316.10.06.03 CROSS Zamat "Begin Zombie Level"
—Every game needs a zombie level

Players of the Month

Kevin put a lot of effort into the Gatrubbian culture. They are linked to the Sphere's present and distant future. Readers Gamut and Kensen reflect two opposing beliefs within the Gatrubbian narrative. It is an excellent addition to the three species already present in the Sphere. They will become a staple in our future storytelling.

Tim was the leading voice in the future storyline. This month saw the conclusion of the events of 3316. Crossroads Station was being given to the past in an effort to stave off the invasion of the Mother Entity that was swallowing up the entire galaxy. As said by Captain Gret'ak, it was the only time an enemy was large enough to fill the void between the stars. Absolutely terrifying.

September 2016

Captain Elias Pigg contacted Nort to discuss returning Toraith and Varg to his ship. Toraith and Varg were in custody after they boarded 'Winbals Pride'. They and Nort were blamed for the disappearance of it's captain and the self-destruction of the ship. The interrogation did not uncover any evidence. After un-confusing Rule 59 with 112, all of the suspects stopped answering questions. Nort offered to negotiate their relase for a price. Pigg put the blame on the Ferengi who cut the channel, cut his losses and left Sentinel.

Quidano went to collect Toraith from the Federation Security office. He was on edge given his own past. The station's intelligence officer was immediately suspicious and stated that Toraith would be extradited to Gorn to face tax fraud charges. Quidano briefly considered a prison break but decided to negotiate the release of his crewman. Back aboard ship, Toraith was willing to give up a belt won in hand-to-hand competition. After a pep talk, Toraith exclaimed he would be the stick to Elias' carrot. The Gorn's ban from the station was left to be discussed at a later time.

Elias reviewed his crew turnover after firing his Sheliak engineer, Varg walking away without a word and two bad deals with Ferengi. He was reserving judgement on Chase McKinner, his new deck chief. Imgres was promoted to chief engineer under Bresa's watchful eye. The Scrib had learned the ship's operations under four chief engineers and was glad to take over the reigns. The staff meeting melted away leaving Elias and Bresa discussing business opportunities within the refugee Gatrubbian fleet.

Fred Bliss woke up in an empty science lab aboard Sentinel Station. He examined publicly available files to get his bearings. He had died in one dimension and appeared in this one.

Fred Bliss paid a visit to Andre's shop for a business transaction. Andre kept his phaser pointed at the unannounced guest as a precaution. Fred knew another Andre and was right to assume both had similar business interests. Fred offered a diamond encoded with information. It was to be transmitted through Andre and a second arms-length party to the intended recipient.

Athena Theophilus arrived on the station and went directly to Commander Mirel's office. The CO was understandably confused to see the twin of her Chief of Operations. Athena sensed a shift in perception aboard the station and knew it was the arrival of Fred Bliss. Mirel could only act according to her own memory. Fred was taken aback that any could sense his dimensional shifts. He was running experiments without oversight from Commander Favor.

Kadra called Seket on the variety of non-Cardassian goods in her shop. The latter believed it to be a prank by Husar and offered to dunk Kadra's head in a pot of coffee. The confused background, unintentional and intentioned respectively, of both women reflect the complexity of Cardassian society. Kadra's statement of being Seket's cousin was taken as an accusation. Kadra compared their mitochondrial DNA and verified that they were, in fact, family. Kadra left the shop, crossed path with a local Ferengi whose offer of assistance was immediately followed up with questions. Kadra beamed away without providing any answers. Seket was unable to track down Kadra after a prolonged search.

Pleg and Lirka shared a lovely meal at Sushi Bar. They sat at the Chef's Table. It was a comedy of errors between the slapstick in the kitchen and the distate of Ferengi eating habits.

Ariana flirted with Farmer who was able to squeeze her into a Runabout ride to the sphere. She was willing to fit in anywhere, even the pilot's lap if it would get her a ride back to the lava fields. Ariana and Kery beamed down the sphere to begin their own studies. Kery had been shuttled from place to place to examine the suitability for the Gatrubbian settlement. Ariana was looking to make contact with the Lacosians. On an earlier trip, she had befriended a few members of the High Chorus and was looking for their help again in suppressing the Kharian threat. Kery was excited to meet a real, live Lacosian and tagged along as Ariana moved into the sphere's interior.

Ariana had a shard of yellow crystal which she hoped could summon a Lacosian. Kery watched a blank wall while Ariana whistled into the shard of crystal. Toff came through the wall and spoke to Aer-EE-Anna and repaired her broken yellow crystal. She asked for Sazz by name and after some hesitation, the young Lacosian worker relayed the geologists message to the High Lord of the Lacosian Chorus. She had come across the crystal in her lab while going over rock samples.

Ensign Sinclair made her presence known on the station by inadvertantly releasing a autonomous program into the computer. It was quickly contained. It went better than her meeting Commander Mirel for the first time as she backed out of a Jeffries tube directly in front of the station commander.

Captain Noluk checked in on his new engineers Mike Atlas and Zeno.

Captain Elias decided to formally register Seiklon Axel so that he could be short-listed for Federation shipments in and around Sentinel Station. It would be the first time he would legitimately fly the Federation flag. Commander Theophilus had a shipment ready. Axel departed after loading cargo from Sentinel. Dvir plotted a course that would advertise their services to the Gatrubbian fleet. Bresa provided what information he could about ship configurations.

As the Gatrubbian fleet moved past the station, a few individuals boarded the station. Bresa sat with Ligshuk. Ligshuk explained that after teh Sohourn disappeared, their planet was destroyed by war. The Gatrubbians were eager to settle in one place and begin a new chapter for their people. Later strolling through the Promenade Bresa purchased a souvenir from Pleg for his friend. Bresa disputed the authenticity of the crystals but purchased them nonetheless.

Emporer Altus Gret'ak blew a door off it's hinges to reach the Johvan Senate chambers and address those present. He had a message of solidarity amongst children of the Builders against the Federation and all outsiders.Senators were divided on their reaction; some took Altus at his word while others expeccted to be once again under the Kharian jackboot. The emporer brushed away concerns by reminding those present that the Builders were long gone and the Johvan had clung to their past for too long.

Lieutenant Colonel Gravor reviewed the disposition of the Kharian Imperial Army with OH1's tactical officer. While working on a defence plan, they saw the Kharian Emperor appear on the floor of the Johvan Senate. Kharian ground forces were still in position as far as they could tell. Somehow a small cadre of soldiers slipped through the marine cordon. The treaty with the Johvan limited the colonel's armed response.

Commander Mirel and Lieutenant Colonel Gravor of the Stoneclaw met to discuss the Gatrubbian Decision. The Liberators would receive significant reinforcements to support the 200 million-strong Gatrubbian community given settlement rights within the Hope One Dyson Sphere. In light of the Kharian Emperor's installment, the fleet would take a circuitous route to their settlment point. If the quarantine of the Kharians failed, those assets would be necessary to supress the Imperial Army from sweeping into Johvan territory.

Camp Sierra is the 21st's base of operations at the Kharian shield wall. Command Sergeant Major Zhao welcomed Ensign Sinclair and Chief Petty Officer Eiwan to the camp disguised in Marine uniforms. The two women were to reinforce the shield wall despite the threat by the Kharian Emperor. Failing that, they would convert the shield generators to the camp's defence.

The Kharian Emperor was true to his word and transferred the fund to repair the damage caused to the Johvan Senate building. His previous transfer was held up by security protocols keeping him out of the Imperial Treasury. With bank-to-bank transfers troublesome, Emperor Gret'ak decided to pay in hard currency, a cache of latinum at a set of coordinates outside the quarantine wall.

Senator Larking continued to explore the Cardassian farm. He was no closer to uncovering what the Cardassians were up to after hours of wandering and conversing with Seket. Zabu were dying off. It may be part of the hidden mystery of the farm or incompetence as proved by Seket's complete lack of farming knowledge. The unknwon disease did not seem to affecting the people.

Sergeant Mitchell met with a Gatrubbian representative at the site of the future colony. It was forty square kilometres of borderline arable land. The Gatrubbians would purchase seed and livestock from the Johvan, species native to the sphere, before introducing the crops they'd been growing aboard ship for the previous 300 years.

The first ship of the Gatrubbian migration landed within the sphere. It's crew and passengers breathed fresh, un-recycled air.

A fight between Icmod and Roquel was interrupted by unsual gravitational effects. Albatross reached its destination with Icmod noticing the stars out of position; 900 years of drift. Over planet Carroll was a station clearly based on Federation technology but millions of times the expected power output. A fighter squadron escorted the freighter to the station. When word about the Saints spread, the crew of Albatross had to be escorted to their meeting with the Commission.

Noluk and Icmod met with Ligshuk Voci, the commander of Crossroads Station. Voci was skeptical about Albatross travelling through time. On reaching the station, Noluk would meet with the Emergency Administration.

Noluk listened to the prophecy describing Crossroad Station being sent to the past to save the future. It also indicated the Ending of Endings. Small items had been passed from generation to generation including a uniform patch from T'mur's captain.

Captain Carpenter noticed the rag-tag crew of the Albatross aboard Crossroads Station. The clue was Zeno, 400 years young. Past Zeno received a message from Future Zeno. The latter greeted friends he had known 900 years earlier. Icmod was tickled by the prospect of a drink named after himself. Zoss was shrouded in the corner until Zeno asked him to join them. In the prevailing years, the Jem'Hadar had grown into their own civilization distinct from their Dominion origins. Zeno explained that the Gatrubbians, too, since their settlement in the sphere had expanded into an empire on par with the Federation.

Zeno explained about the Mother entity. Starfleet Intelligence published a report, dated 3309, outlining all knowledge of the Mother entity.

Just before parting, Zeno revealed that their presence was expected to complete the loop of time that was historical record in Future Zeno's time.

A Commission meeting aboard Crossroads brought home the shortage of transport necessary to evacuate the station for it's planned return to 2416. The outlier scouts were pulled back for the stations defence against the Mother entity. It would take three weeks to evacuate the station. One of the stumbling blocks was a 72-hour quarantine to ensure those coming aboard were not infected. Entire ships could be lost during the two-week transit to Signus.

The Council met to discuss sending Crossroads to the past to fulfill history as it's residents knew it.

A round table discussion in 3316 reflected on the history of the war against the Mother entity. It sets the destruction of Starbase Phoenix in 3304. A year later the Takamori-Bashir fields were discovered as a defense against the entity that had, by that point, occupied a quarter of the Delta Quadrant. By 3314, the only haven in the Delta Quadrant is Crossroads Station above the planet Carroll. During the round table, the participants realized that the Mother entity had reached Earth before the transmission cut out.

Carpenter and Gret'ak debated the paradox of sending back the only asset holding back Mother. The ferocity of recent attacks was proof enough that Crossroads was the focus on the entities plans.

Noluk and Icmod ran to the infirmary to see Selek who requested a private conversation with Albatross' XO. Selek had been told stories by his grandmother about them both. Icmod would become Noluk's closest friend. Selek was shot down by Anton Rostov after stepping between him and Ligshuk Voci.

Non-Roleplay

As a group, we wrote 80,000 words. We wrote the equivalent of a novel; which is incredible. It looks like October will be just as busy.

Kait returned to OH1 after some months away. And, we were joined by brand new players Jacklyn and Kas.

Subject Lines of the Month

2416.09.01.01 SENT Stoneclaw "Tom Clancy called. He wants his novel idea back."
—Another exciting story by Tim

Quote of the Month

"Save us! Stop the plague the Writers have sent!"
—Kevin referring to the Gatrubbian deities, I think

Player of the Month

Tim brought the Kharians back into the story dramatically and wrote very lengthy treatise on the Mother entity that dominates a storyline one hundred years in OH1's own future. We love the character of the Kharian Emporer who is ruthless and apologetic. Tim always provides meta-information like a map of the quarantine zone and a round-table discussion of the Mother entity that deepens our immersion in the stories he tells. Tim has been a cornerstone in our writing of an entire novel this month.

Honourable mention to Kevin who has done so much with the Gatrubbian Settlement and future storylines.

August 2016

Mike and Shenara met in a Setlin shopping district. Mike walked away from an overpriced flow distributor. Shenara introduced herself as a Starfleet-trained Human-Klingon pilot. Mike is an engineer and field medic of the Calgary and lived his whole life aboard it. Shenara mentioned a ship named Albatross looking for crew. The two decide to grab a bite to eat. Mike stayed aboard his ship with his father after his mother died. He trained as a medic The DQ seemed exotic to Shenara. She grew up steeped in Klingon culture, taught by her father the diplomat and her mother a translator of ancient texts. Shenara sought honor for her house by facing the unknown. She and Mike could find a pair of postings.

Pleg took his wife, Lirka, out for dinner at Sushi Bar. They were seated at the chef's table. An inexperienced waiter poured a full glass of wine as a taste tester to Pleg's satisfaction and Gaspar's frustration. Gaspar hoped that Lirka wouldn't be chewing the food for her husband. She had escargots a la bourguignonne already in mind for dinner. Pleg wasn't sure he'd enjoy non-Ferengi food.

Lieutenant Favor stumbled into Medical feeling like he weighed 500 kilograms. Doctor Butler scanned both he and his exoskeleton. He second-guessed himself and decided to just go to his quarters. The doctor identified a breakdown in cartilage and bone throughout the scientist's body. The degraded tissues could be replaced with synthetics

Captain Elias regrouped after Klax attacked the Swift. It lost it's environmental systems and primary drive. Quidano's injuries would take weeks to heal. The break in the data stream to Axel prompted Dvir to inform Bresa who lay a course for the shuttle and hailed the captain.

Lieutenant Commander Michaels was joined by Maria and Maureen Reynolds, lawyers in the DFA and Federation, respectively. Ensign Serota recognized Maria from the DFA Cromwell. Ariana assumed the two were aboard the station about the set of murders when she herself first arrived at Sentinel.

Nort, Toraith and Varg continued to stumble around as Winbal's Pride was pushed toward deep space. Toraith offered to shoot both the computer core and the warp core to stop the ship from self destructing.

Senator Larking continued to tour the Cardassian settlement. The group made it's way towards the zabu herds and their barns. Ilko Seket was outside of her expertise as she tried to build rapport with the Johvans. It is clear the zabu are diseased with a yet inexplicable condition.

Doctor Atwal spoke with Veruca, the daughter of the couple now known to be working with the Nal'Gaharay. The girl focused on ice cream while the psychologist prodded her memory. Her father had made her swear to secrecy over a bowl of ice cream.

Ensign Master Pach Pln'a reported to the station CO upon arriving at Sentinel. Their conversation was interrupted by the station's Intelligence Officer who had expected to be assigned to the role.

Patch and Bear went looking for Nort, Toraith and Varg in connection to the open murder-suicide investigation.

Chelsea bumped into Imgres who was stretching it's limbs from long hours of confined engineering spaces. Imgres and Rhyshek Uu, the new Sheliak engineer, had worked to repair damage to the ship. Bresa met with Uu who felt the crew unworthy of his talents.

Xeno was adapting well to the crew. He spent his time in engineering.

Bresa felt homesick at seeing so many Gatrubbians aboard the station. He was asked by a little girl which ship he was from but didn't know the Axel. Icmod wondered aloud how long they'd be aboard. Bresa wasn't sure. They were such a transient people. A pair of Gatrubbians asked where they could find breakfast items.

Rear Admiral Leval notified Commander Mirel that the Sphere would be opened to colonization. Given an appropriate buffer zone around the Sphere's existing inhabitants, many displaced peoples would find refuge. The outpost commander was overruled when raising doubts that had been debated within the Federation Council and the decision final. The Gatrubbian people were already enroute to the Sphere to begin colonization.

Commander Mirel reviewed Lieutenant Colonel Stoneclaw's report on the security situation within the Sphere. The Marine contingent was scheduled for a significant increase. The Gatrubbian people were granted the right to settle within the Sphere bringing and estimated 200 million new inhabitants. The colonel expected an aggressive response by the Kharian Rex.

Non-Roleplay

Rich proposed a merger between Outpost Hope One and Seiklon Axel. Players were given the opportunity to vote on the outcome. A large majority players voted in favour of the merger.

Going forward, "Outpost Hope One" will have two subordinate duty stations: Sentinel Station and Seiklon Axel. Each will retain their current roster and personalities and be administrated by Richard and Rich, respectively. The DS will retain a broad number of settings, Seiklon Axel, Sentinel Station, Albatross, Swift, Setlin, the Lighthouse, Johvan territories, etc. with characters moving between them.

Takeshi left OH1 to focus on his characters aboard Starbase Horizon.

Seiklon Axel Awards

Rich presented awards to players writing for Seiklon Axel:

• Charlotte reached four years of service.
• Doug earned Teamwork, Plot Development and Exploration ribbons.
• Karel was awared a CO ribbon as the founding CO of Seiklon Axel.
• Kevin earned his third Exploration ribbon and reached five years of service.
• Takeshi earned Exploration and Freelancer ribbons.
• Tim earned a ribbon as a former CO and received the rare Borderlands Hall of Fame ribbon.

Subject Line of the Month

2416.08.10.04 SEN Ariana "Nope, not my dead guy, must be one of yours..."
—Our science officer noticing a lot of murders lately

July 2016

Voci and Eiwan met on the Terranium for a climb. It would give the two a chance to chat while they scaled the three-level simulated mountainside. They wore safety equipment that would halt them mid-air if they started to fall. Eiwan asked Voci if there was anyone special in his life and regretted it immediately. The Gatrubbian had outlived his entire planet. Eiwan was past her child-bearing years and shared details of Himpanwei family relationships. The climb was cut short with Seiklon Axel's pending disembarkation. Their climb ended on a promise to meet up again when Axel returned to Sentinel.

Ensign Serota headlined karaoke night at Sushi Bar. She was concerned about a lack of safety on the station. She considered travelling to the Lighthouse. Looking at a star in the vicinity of Starbase Phoenix didn't give her any incentive to go there. She recounted recent events including a possible double murder, marines deployed against an unknown enemy, a ship lost near the wormhole, a Tamarian sociologist arriving on-station, a flurry of junk dealers.

A marine in civilian clothing entered the bar and ordered champagne. He drank while listening to Ariana sing.

The arrival of USS Hunter changed the balance of power to the Marines. The tough-talking Marine Major gave the Sullen no doubt about his intentions. He made it clear the Federation Marine Corps was who put the hurt on the Borg. The Sullen replied with a video feed showing a field of Borg drones stripped of all organic matter. The Sullen warned the Hunter of pursuing their vessel and departed. The Marines checked for damage. Vaquero 1-2 was out of commission. Starfleet's finest secured the damaged fighter and escorted the Rapunzel back to Sentinel Station.

Seiklon Axel prepared to depart Sentinel Station for the Hope One Dyson Sphere. Captain Elias had trouble keeping Chelsea off his mind. Standing close to Xin made it hard for the captain to focus. The immense size of the sphere affected everyone's perception of it. Dvir increased speed and Xin ran diagnostics on Axel's shields. Xin worked on sensor optimization with Maor. Magnetospheres are a tricky fickle bunch and no one on the crew had yet experienced the artificial magnetosphere within Hope One. The sensors proved difficult to properly calibrate curried mixture of stone.

Captain Elias decided on taking the Swift out with Quidano for a low-level pass. Voci voiced his concern for the captain leaving the ship rather than a subordinate. They passed a cache of transparent aluminum that was clearly artificial in origin. Elias accused Quidano of being needy and the two argued until they detected another ship in the vicinity. The Phreza was crewed by mal-adjusted misfits. Their ship had largely failed and was adrift within the sphere. Elias opened a channel to the lumbering ship. Captain Klax knew the Swift was searching for a downed freighter. The truce was too easily obtained for Elias' comfort. He explicitly demanded salvage rights. Quidano and the captain were cautious.

Detective Haarfagre and Lt. Commander Michaels combed through the Mariana Joseph's Starfleet records. Doctor Butler joined them in the male victim's botany lab on-station. It was possible what killed them was something from the lab itself and not a Nal'G poison. Ensign Bear provided the detective with background on the Nal'G. He noted comm traffic for the botanist after his death. There was a link between a botanist, a trader and the Nal'Gaharay.

Dr. Atwal interviewed Veruca, the daughter of the two victims, to both gauge her mental health and determine if any clarity could be gleaned from her responses. Detective Haarfagre, Dr. Butler and Ensign Bear observed a holographic representation of the room. The girl was fixated on ice cream. There was no evidence she had been exposed to the agent that killer her parents. If Mr. Joseph cooked up what killed him, he hadn't brought it home intentionally. Veruca admitted to keeping secret. Her mother had yelled at her father recently about bringing something home. Dr. Butler noted that if his work was brought home, it was safely contained given no evidence of it was found outside the lab.

Noluk, Albatross' captain, was asked some very personal questions by his doctor. Karbo's offer to ease Noluk through his pon'farr were graciously declined. The Klingon doctor recommended more raw, red meat in the Vulcan's diet. Noluk politely disagreed with the recommendation.

Nort entered 'Winbal's Pride' with his two heavies: Toraith and Jurlat Varg. The vessel's captain was adamant that he owed Nort nothing; that a deal was a deal. Winbal didn't wait for a response before triggering internal defences. Varg stepped over a cowering Nort and returned fire with a plasma gatling. They decided to move forward towards the bridge and, they assumed, Winbal. The ship began to power up engines. Toraith and Varg shot out the airlock creating a hull breach. Sentinel Station Traffic Control forced Winbal's Pride back to it's berth as a safety precaution and buying Nort and his colleagues time. The three reached the bridge, shot up the hatch and rolled it away. When they stepped onto the bridge, it was empty; Wibal was gone. Nort attempted to access the ship's computer systems; the only response being 'voice authorization not recognized'. That is, until it announced 'Security protocol omega'. Detecting a potential warp core overload but not the lifesigns aboard, Traffic Control plotted a course for Winbal's Pride safely away from the station and nearby ships. Aboard the ship, Toraith suggested kicking in a few more doors would solve their situation. They decided the engineering deck would be their best bet of providing an escape from the ship.

Husar purchased several items from a Cardassian who had arrived recently from the sphere. The man was ill and the transaction was hurried. There were visible shards of crystal and other assorted odds and ends.

Maor inquired how Axel handled salvage in the past. Quidano admitted it was new and a departure from their previous missions.

Imgres adjusted to her new chief engineer. He was used to hard work and Uu was putting him through his paces. The Scrib was glad the engineer, a Sheliak that looked like sludge, was as odd-looking as he was.

The 21st Liberators assembled in formation. Lt. Colonel Gravor presented the pilots that defended Rapunzel against the Sullen ship with the Star Cross for valor and gallantry. Lt. Thaalnok hobbled to the front of formation. He was personally thanked by Commander Mirel for his service. The lieutenant wondered if the station always demanded such broad marine intervention. The Commander believed that Marines brought trouble with them in case there wasn't enough when they arrived.

The station's newest tactical officer introduced himself to Commander Mirel.

Seket offered to show her Johvan guests any number of Cardassian agricultural innovations. Larking decided on examining their fertilizers. She enlisted Deben to demonstrate spreading what was clearly scooped out of a latrine. The look of disgust on his face did not need a Universal Translator. He steeled himself with the knowledge he was fooling the stupid Johvan. Senator Larking decided to move quickly to the next demonstration. He was convinced the farming settlement was a sham. Larking inquired about the zabu, a ruminant, grass-eating animal. He suspected the grass was replicated rather than grown as he was being lead to believe.

Lt. Commander Favor chatted with Commander Mirel about a weekly newsletter to put OH1's scientific community at the forefront. He thought the Marines were flashy while science was not. Mirel supported the proposal. When she asked for a publication timeline, the Elaysian had the first issue in-hand. It provided a thorough rundown of the science department's recent successes. Once the USS Daystrom was fully operational, it would provide OH1's sciences department with a top notch research platform. Favor noted that despite twenty years of exploring the nearby dyson sphere, the scientists lacked a thorough understanding of it. With two dozen requests for Daystrom's use, the science department liaison officer's job was going to become infinitely more difficult.

Favor stopped by Sickbay for a tune-up of his artificial skeleton.

Roquel lead remembrance service for an El-Aurian woman buried on SG386-9. The crew of Albatross surveyed the surface of the planet. The away team decided to take soil and biological samples on the shore of a lake. Small frog-like creatures hopped through the tall grasses at the water's edge. Zal tried to stun some of the local wildlife and instead incinerated it. Zal ordered weapons hold and gave his son fifteen minutes to capture a frog alive. He had to follow up with an order for noise discipline as his son whooped and shouted as he ran into the woods. A large creature emerged from the water. Zal tossed it his armful of frogs which it quickly began to eat through. The boy kept one for Roquel. The creature considered attempting to eat the young Jem'Hadar but turned and slid back into the water after a satisfying lunch. The surviving frog was named 'Blueberry'.

The Albatross set course for the next planet in their survey. SG386-8 was inhabited with wildlife and abandoned cities. The away team began exploring the surface. They came face-to-face with several large, apparently harmless animals.

GMU 6174 watched the local wildlife when the Albatross AI, ALICE, began to communicate with it. Captain Noluk questioned the android about the clearly sentient beings that had build the cities and the android itself. GMU 6174 was one of over 85,000 operational units. With a simple phrase, "may I come along", Zeno joined the crew.

Non-Roleplay

Doug joined OH1 as it's new Intel Officer. He currently writes for Axel.

Devon took exception to Detective Haarfagre's low opinion of the DFA.

The DFA is more of a confederation with a few member planets, but a large territory with independent planets within the territory. (Think Old Wild West America) It would be easy for Nal'G and others to hide within the territories, especially if they stayed off DFA member Planets. But with the internal warfare, and the attacks the Nal'G have had in the past (Pheonix, Babylon (the DFA Command station), the "Nal'G" planet as well as attacks of civilian targets on DFA Planets, if there were information that helped disrupt cells and the organization, it would be given over to make that happen. More likely than not, it is a matter of not having the information.
—Devon

It sparked a discussion in the Cromwell NRPG group. Tim provided a very good description of the time period in 2401 when a Starfleet ship was stolen and formed the nucleus of the DFA. It has been an uneasy relationship at times. The Cromwell-A was returned to the Federation 2406. Starbase Phoenix was liberated from the Nal'Gaharay with strong DFA support in 2408.

Sam joined OH1/Axel this month. He is a long-time player on USS Discovery and Starbase Phoenix.

Richard and Rich polled players about building stronger ties between OH1 and Axel. Both DSs have been working together since May. Sentinel Station would be Seiklon Axel's regular port of call.

Tim accepted a position as an OH1/Axel player representative. His previous command experience and historical Borderlands knowledge is valued.

Roger joined OH1/Axel. He is a returning OH1 player.

Subject Lines of the Month

2416.07.22.01 SPH Seket "Nothing to See Over There"
—The exact worst thing to say when you want to keep something a secret. (Anna-Maria)

Banter of the Month

"I've seen what they've been doing with the Daystrom. It's beginning to look real pretty." The captain added awkwardly.

"Ugly gets the job done just as thoroughly as pretty."

"I suppose I could put Quidano in YOUR PLACE and see if that's true." The captain jibed.

Xin smiled inwardly. By all species' standards, she was a knockout.

—Captain Elias and Ops Officer Xin

Player of the Month

Rich put in a lot of effort this month. He did a lot of work behind the scenes to bring OH1 and Axel together. He created the Sullen whom I hope to see back at Sentinel in the future as a villain to be reckoned with.

June 2016

A quiet day in Ops was interrupted by a Mayday from the Rapunzel. The civilian starliner was being hounded by an unknown vessel after it emerged from the Geroch Wormhole. Commander Mirel and and Lt. Colonel Gravor decided on deploying a Marine SAR (search-and-rescue) squadron. The pursuing vessel was of unknown origin. It applied non-lethal force to the unarmed civilian transport directing it by a series of soliton waves to an unknown destination.

Vaquero Squadron launched immediately, to be followed by USS Hunter, approaching the unknown vessel attacking Rapunzel in flat lateral formation. As a potential First Contact situation, the squadron was ordered to make contact and escalate only as necessary. The unknown vessel fended off the Banzai-class fighters with repeated soliton waves. Given the opportunity, the Rapunzel set a course 180 degrees from the center of activity at their best possible speed. The Rapunzel left the area after the Sullen turned it's attention to the Banzai fighters sent to rescue it. The rules of engagement dictated limited force to rescue the Rapunzel. With the civilian starliner away, undamaged, under it's own power, things turned into a First Contact scenario. The Marines didn't ratchet down immediately nor willingly. With Vaquero 1-2 out of commission, the squadron initiated staggered attack runs against the Sullen vessel.

The Sullen broke their silence with the phrase 'we must survive'.

The arrival of USS Hunter changed the balance of power to the Marines. The tough-talking Marine Major gave the Sullen no doubt about his intentions. He made it clear the Federation Marine Corps was who put the hurt on the Borg.

Seket learned that the two real scientists left behind with a Johvan farmer had been held by the local constabulary. The Senator did not offer to return the two believing they would be treated more humanely by the Johvan justice system. The Obsidian Order agent was burdened with a Johvan child who took a liking to Seket's tactile physical features. Seket questioned the willingness of the Johvan to adopt technology.

Brunt and Zoss continued their sumo match. Zoss drew first blood against the Cronin fighter.

Upgrades to the tractor system rolled over to over systems as Eiwan moves through the ship. Bresa, Axel's XO, joined her by climbing through tight spaces. Eiwan thought herself the only one to be able to navigate areas of the ship never intended to be navigable. Ad hoc modifications by Axel's previous chief engineer were evident. Voci declined the offer of a six month overhaul.

Quidano introduced Xin to Seiklon Axel and Dvir, one of the few women aboard. He ushered the new bridge officer away from the captain's chair when she lingered. Xin took her station and began running diagnostics to familiarize herself with her new ship.

Nort supervised the transfer of Seiklon Axel's cargo to the rented holds aboard Sentinel. Varg, a Cronin, and Toraith, a Gorn, were more than capable of hauling the heaviest equipment without technical aid. Nort reassured the Gorn that he was still actively working on his legal troubles. Three buyers recommended by Nort were not well received by Captain Elias. Elias agreed to sell part of his haul to Heraussuchen, a Johvan middleman, looking for non-electronic lab equipment. Nort hoped to wear down Elias with poor-quality buyers and pick up the whole lot for a depressed price.

Pleg opened his doors and waited for a fellow Ferengi entrepreneur, Maor the garbage dealer, to arrive. Both saw immense opportunity within the Sphere and hatched a plan. With Maor's personal shuttle tied up with, cough, inspections, Pleg recommends Seiklon Axel knowing that Captain Elias is also on the look out for a salvage specialist to replace Nort.

Nort borrowed a pair of heavies from Captain Elias for a private business venture. Toraith and Varg intimidated the Ferengi. The opportunity to cut loose was appealing to the two. They reached a docked ship named 'Winbal's Pride' and faced a pair of guards. They decided quickly that they'd rather not face off against Nort's pair and allowed the trio to enter the ship. Toraith challenged the guard by flashing his sharp teeth.

Commander Ares returned to the station he left nine months earlier as commanding officer. After some time on Earth with his children, he returned a Chief Engineer. He was met at customs by Detective Haarfagre as an opportunity to catch up. The two talked about some of the changes over the preceding months over a pint. The engineer was glad to be back.

Icmod Smith, Albatross XO, left his ship to find Captain Gorgon. He found Captain Elias instead; the captain explaining the name change. The two found they each had a Cronin aboard; members of a warrior race rarely seen outside their home systems. Icmod and Brunt agreed to join Axel's crew until Captain Noluk of Albatross needed them back.

Elias ran through a his crew roster, immediately fired three and debated firing a few others. Meanwhile, Alton Woodward and Bresa Voci posted an open job posting with applicants directed to the 'Sphere's Edge' bar. A Risan female entered the bar and turned heads. She decided to join Axel's crew and no male had ever said 'no' to her. The job interviews were cut short by Brunt's drinking. A fist fight with a Brikar security officer cleared the bar. Brunt decided he wanted to mate with Axel's newest crew member who wriggled out of his grasp, brandished a phaser. He was taken into custody by the Brikar officer.

Smith collected Brunt from holding. They returned to Axel without incident. Voci expressed his concern with housing a Cronin. A promise to space Brunt if he stepped out of line was grudgingly accepted by Voci.

Captain Elias asked Chelsea on a date. They strolled through the Promenade to an Italian restaurant. They shared a meal and a kiss.

Bresa Voci's inquiries into the location of his home planet lead him to Lt. Gero Ib, a Starfleet astronomer. The two discussed the constellations as seen from Gatrube.

Elias met his new chief engineer, a Sheliak named Ryshek Uu. Uu's form wobbled into what could be described as sitting. He unemotionally described the events leading to the loss of his previous posting.

Quidano escorted Maor, Axel's new salvage specialist to the Sensor Lab. Maor could not believe his new ship was defenceless. It was unconscionable.

Seiklon Axel prepared to depart Sentinel Station for the Hope One Dyson Sphere.

The crew of Albatross surveyed the surface of planet SG-386-9. Zal, a Jem'Hadar child, was overenthusiastic in preparing for his away mission by packing enough firepower to take out an armoured vehicle.

Commander Michaels' time on the family farm was interrupted by a courier carrying a padd locked to the JAG officer's identification. A crewman failed to pick up his daughter from school prompting security to check their quarters. Security found the crewman and his wife dead. Doctor Butler examined the bodies and found bleeding in the brain of both victims and could not discount the Nal'G as the source. The crux of the case was motive: why kill these two people. Detective Amund met with Michaels to examine the victims' sealed service records. The detective had exhausted non-Starfleet records including interviews with police agencies outside Federation jurisdiction.

Non-Roleplay

The policy on post frequency was discussed. A turnaround of two to three days is broadly accepted as reasonable.

Standard fighter formations are now visible on the OH1 website along with manipulable, three-dimensional diagrams.

Kevin put together information on the Gatrubbian language. It is very well done. It's available on the OH1 website.

Anna-Maria described the 'Cardassian Sourcebook' as her definitive source on Cardassian culture. http://www.coldnorth.com/memoryicon/netbook/netbook.htm

Player of the Month

Tim had some great contributions this month. The job posting for Axel was fantastic and we like that it was pulled from Axel's past. The characterization of Zal and a Jem'Hadar child is very well done. There was a good debate some months ago about how Jem'Hadar children even exist and Tim had a good argument. The charisma and confidence of USS Hunter's CO was apparent.

Quote of the Month

"Sensors are my bread and grubs my boy, how else to peer into the darkness and find shiny things!"
—Maor, Collateral Merchant played by Ovy

Subject Lines of the Month

2416.06.05.06 SEN - Roquel "Too Many Posts Today"
—Rich commenting on the busy awesomeness of a combined OH1/Axel group

2416.06.20.01 SPACE Vaquero Flight "Where's the reactor vent??"
—If only it was always that easy, Tim.

May 2016

The civilian ship Seiklon Axel arrived at Sentinel Station with the USS Hyperion in tow. It was also the return of the station's XO, Commander Jeyan, after weeks of pawing through the junk pile of the Omicron Shipyards. Axel's captain and XO met with CPO Eiwan to discuss repairs and upgrades. Elias, Axel's captain, asked Eiwan for recommendations for a new engineer. It was clear the last engineer and the captain had been at odds.

Varg decided to look for a weapons shop aboard Sentinel to augment his arsenal. He didn't find any.

The crew of Killjoy spoke to a Builder who provided no clarity to their situation. It provided terse responses or confirmed that the crew's comments were 'sufficiently accurate for [their] understanding'. When asked a direct question about escaping, the Builder responded with an unequivocal 'No'. The crew decided to fight. Without a grounding in theoretical physics, their best plan was to create a big bang and percolate to the "surface" of normal space.

Ariana and Nort, reluctantly, decided to work together for their dinner. It took a few quoted Rules of Acquisition to convince the Ferengi they were stronger together. She was a most convincing fe·male. Gaspar, the head chef, responded with annoyance to Nort's demand to eat the snails from the bottom of the fish tank in the restaurant. Nort failed to catch the sarcasm when Gaspar offered to chew the snails for his patron. It seemed that every visit to the Sushi Bar ends up with staff in the tank.

The sexual interplay between Ariana and Nort was one-sided. It was all in Nort's head.

Ariana and Nort's peaceful dinner was interrupted by a Gorn moving through the restaurant like a bull in a china shop. Quidano, the Gorn's shipmate, followed right behind him apologetic to the Sushi Bar's patrons. Nort, fearing the Gorn was there to kill him, negotiated what he thought was his last meal. Toraith held Nort off the gronud by the lapels of his tunic as the Gorn explained he needed the Ferengi to help him with an unsubstantiated case of tax fraud. Quidano paused to survey the damage to the restaurant and distanced himself from the hulking Gorn. Nort, seeing opportunity rather than his own funeral, was more than glad to assist.

Nort tried to assess the Gorn's assets to determine his fee... and Toraith's ability to pay his taxes. The criminal accusation came from Toraith's brother, a Duke in the Gorn Hegemony. Nort wasn't going to be the Gorn's accountant, he was going to be a powerbroker. That role was hampered by a complete lack of resources and assets. It looked as if self-exile was the only thing Toraith could offer his brother.

The best option Nort and Toraith could come up with was an all-expenses-paid vacation for members of the Gorn Hegemony to the Delta Quadrant. The goodwill gesture would include gambling, a sauna with warm rocks and companionship. Finding companionship to Gorn sense of beauty would be difficult.

Tension was evident amongst the crew of the Albatross. That was to be expected on a crew with a Klingon, a pair of Jem'Hadar and a Cronin. It was far more muscle than necessary. An exchange of overly personal questions lead to a standoff between a Klingon doctor and a Jem'Hadar father. The ship's pilot didn't appreciate the old girl being turned into a warship. Zoss recommended a sumo match in Cargo Bay 2.

Icmod Smith, Albatross' XO, decided to meet with Captain Elias of Seiklon Axel with Brunt in tow.

Eiwan met with the CO and First Officer of Seiklon Axel to provide engineering assistance while in-dock. Elias dismissed his previous senior engineer for being an asshole. Eiwan reviewed the schematics during the ship's life as SS Costner and quickly found many undocumented modifications. The tractor system was a priority for Captain Elias. Bresa and Eiwan met to work on the tractor control system. Firstly, the existing systems had to be documented so that upgrades could be implemented. An industrial replicator aboard Sentinel provided real-time component replacement with a tractor system that was more sensitive and responsive.

Voci shared his past with the Himpanwei engineer. His planet of origin was lost to time long before he himself was found in stasis by the crew of Seiklon Axel. The location of the planet itself was lost to time. Comparing star charts and linguistics could provide clues to the location of Gatrubbe. Federation databases could contain a form of 'Rosetta Stone'.

Lt. Gero arrived at Ensign Serota's lab with dust samples collected near the wormhole. Immediately, the station's geologist noted tachyon decay.

Pleg returned to his shop, 'Whims and Favors'. His first potential customer was a waterlogged ensign. Ariana passed the shop on her way home from the Sushi Bar with a terse, four-letter comment. Captain Elias was spotted by Gral, the son of the 'Whims and Favors' proprietor, with an offer to fulfill the captain's needs. Elias offered a 5% cut to the Ferengi for a middleman to sell the salvage collected during their recent visit to the Omicron Shipyards. Dvir watched the exchange from a distance. Sentinel Station was a far safer place than the crew of Axel were used to. Elias had two heavies aboard nonetheless.

Elias was met aboard Axel by Nort, a self-proclaimed salvage expert. The Ferengi offered a single, large transaction and was disappointed that the captain wished to sell his salvage piecemeal. Elias had negotiated with Ferengi before judging by his glare and shrewd bargaining. Elias retained the right to vet buyers and maintain a reserve price. He also rented space aboard Sentinel himself rather than use the Ferengi as a middleman.

Alton Woodward, Axel's general hand, was recruited to find replacement crew that Captain Elias was offloading at Sentinel.

Elias interviewed a Sheliak named Ryshek Uu for the function of engineer.

Seket, an Obsidian Order agent undercover as a chemist, waited for a contingent of Johvan farmers. She oversaw the establishment of a real farm with crops and livestock. The zabu had been named for guls Seket knew. She walked from the Cardassian settlement to a Builder ruin to explore. The whole purpose of the settlement was to recover Builder technology. A mischevious Lacosian created buzzing sounds to attract and distract the Cardassian. The chemist had not made any progress into the ruins before the Johvan Senator arrived. He brought many farmers with him to learn from the Cardassians.

Non-Roleplay

The crossover of Sentinel and Axel lead to a lot of new stories. The crew of Seiklon Axel has been prolific and creative in their writing.

May was a tough month for player turnover. Kait and Dianna left OH1 in April and were followed by Michael and Heather this month. Real life impacted several other players who posted sparsely during the month.

AJ joined OH1 once again. He is a long-time Borderlands player and former CO of OH1. He has been writing with Borderlands for nearly twenty years.

Rich and I found the simplest approach to managing posts in our crossover was to have every player post to one group. A daily digest is then forwarded to the second group. In our case, players post to OH1 and each morning I forward a digest to Axel's in-character group. We made the change mid-month from a system of transferring every in-character post in one DS to the other's non-roleplay group. This approach lead to several out-of-sync posts.

The OH1 website underwent several changes during the month including a new menu system and a new player handbook.

Player of the Month

Doug kept me guessing all month. It started with a Gorn disrupting a dinner at the Sushi Bar. It turns out he was accused of tax fraud by a brother, a Duke in the Gorn Hegemony. Trying to mesh Ferengi and Gorn perceptions of the universe was very enjoyable to write and I hope just as enjoyable to read.

Quote of the Month

'A man walks into a Ferengi shop' was the start to way too many jokes for Dvir to feel that this was certain to be a good thing.
—spoken by Dvir as played by Randy

Subject Line of the Month

2416.05.15.01 SEN Ariana "Ferengi's make me wet"
—Devon referred to being drenched in the Sushi Bar

2416.05.29.01 TROSS Roquel "Don't Smother The Ones You Love"
—Rich offering sound advice from Albatross' pilot

April 2016

The 21st Marine Expeditionary Force returned to Sentinel Station under the command of Lt. Colonel Gravor of the Stoneclaw. Deployed as a mobile company aboard USS Hunter in 2414, it will now occupy Deck 44 which has been unofficially named 'Camp Gor'Vosh'. The USS Hunter, a Nebula-class interceptor and troop carrier, is assigned to the 21MEF and will remain at Sentinel Station. Stoneclaw and Zhao were met by Mirel and Eiwan and shown around Deck 44. Command Sergeant Major Zhao read the riot act to his company before their first foray into the civilian spaces aboard station.

The 21MEF deployed Vaquero Squadron in reaction to a distress call. Lieutenant Thaalnok recognized the peculiar situation and acted accordingly. The crew of the Killjoy were glad to see an SAR team as they continued to drift towards the wormhole.

The crew of the Killjoy became easily disoriented and their sensors began to report contradictory information. The ship's gunner reported the ship adrift when she saw the stars moving past a porthole. As the Killjoy fell into the wormhole, a Builder revealed itself to the crew. It spoke in short, ambiguous sentences. Silva resigned himself to his fate as contact with the SAR team was lost. M'Marss thought of her kitts back home. The Builder's terse comments were pieced together by the Killjoy's crew: they were trapped and would never return home. The Builder has proved uncooperative with the crew's desire to return home.

Killjoy's mission was not revealed in the end. Mirel believed it was hired by sh'Zula, the station's Intelligence Officer, but, did not reveal her suspicion to Lt. Colonel Gravor. With the ship lost, it's true mission will never be known.

Ensign Gero received a box of interplanetary dust for analysis.

Senator Larking and Seket continued to discuss close relations between the Johvan and Cardassian colonists within the sphere. The senator does not trust the Cardassians and the Cardassians believe the Johvan too stupid to understand their true intentions. Builder technology has been an area of interest since the Cardassians learned of the Hope One Dyson Sphere. The meeting ended with the senator seeking volunteers as Selectman of hte Plowman's Association and visiting the Cardassian 'farming' colony himself.

Ensign Serota stopped by Namche Bazaar. She was hoping to run into marines which lead to an amusing miscommunication between herself and the shopkeeper. Husar was alarmed to discover what a 'marine' was given her criminal background. The role of a potent military force aboard station was a question for both women. Ariana purchase was a single fresh, non-replicated pineapple. A Ferengi male heard the word 'Risa' from across the Promenade and found the two women chatting. Nort's disappointment with Ferengi culinary items was alleviated when Ariana recommended to two eat at a nearby sushi restaurant. Nort hoped his purchase of a meal would be reciprocated later in the evening.

At the restaurant, Nort was pleased to see live food. He handed the server two snips of latinum to be seated adjacent to the tank. Nort explained that he was a salvage specialist looking for opportunity on the rim of Federation space. Ariana decided on lobster while Nort chose snails. The server was taken aback as the snails are natural filter-feeders and not on the menu. The two decided to work together, one party more reluctant than the other, to negotiate a price on the off-menu snails and premium-priced lobster.

SS Seiklon Axel arrived at Sentinel Station with USS Hyperion in tow. Commander Jeyan has been aboard Axel for weeks to find OH1 a new science vessel. Captain Elias is looking forward to changes of his crew manifest.

Non-Roleplay

Tim returned to OH1. He served as CO in 2010. With a major transition in his personal life, he has the time to come back. I look forward to writing with him.

I tinkered with the insignia originally created by Roman a few years ago for Discovery. Despite rudimentary Photoshop skills, I have expanded the art assets in use.

Dianna stepped back from OH1 in March and will not be returning. I want to thank Dianna for her time back aboard OH1. Taura was an interesting character and only a brave soul would tackle a Tamarian character. OH1s door is always open.

Player of the Month

I would like to recognize Anna-Maria as Player of the Month. Seket is a great character; a mix of intelligent and malevolent. Anna-Maria has also been involved behind the scenes as her characters will have pivotal roles with the upcoming Axel crossover.

March 2016

Ensign Ariana Serota was lauded at another karaoke night in the Sushi Bar. She and the station's economist, Keryneia Hind, chatted with Lieutenant Melinda Michaels, Sentinel Station's JAG Officer. Discussion turned to the still-unsolved murders aboard Sentinel Station.

OH1 received the open communique from the Delta Freedom Alliance Surgeon General regarding the Tarkalian Flu.

Katowal Husar, owner of 'Namche Bazaar', showed her stripes negotiating with a supplier named Hiket. Hiket's shipment was promised same-day delivery with Husar choosing the price.

Ensign's Gero and Hondrick turned their attention to the wormhole. Recent sensor modifications revealed a trail of strange tachyons stretching from the wormhole to the Jarada ship. Gero's attention was once again focused on the derelict. To avoid violating the Federation-Jarada treaty the two launched a probe to collect debris along the tachyon trail.

Silva and M'Marss boarded the derelict Jarada ship with the intention of stripping it for parts. The computer core was the first to be transported back to Killjoy for their Andorian contact. A slight vibration felt in the decking prompted the two mercenaries to explore what should have been a dead ship. The search ended at a lit cylindrical tube covered in vegetation. Silva's clumsy use of gecko gloves was usurped by M'Marss deft, natural Caitian climbing ability. The metal cylinder was a stasis chamber containing a live Jarada. The mercenary crew evacuated immediately without exploring further. The moral debate aboard Killjoy was short-lived with the captain stating that they were not Starfleet and not bound by any ethics except as required to complete their mission. They were stopped by a tractor beam originating from the derelict. Killjoy's engineer detected a transmission that sounded like an SOS. After phasers proved ineffective, Silva fired a small, one kilocochrane tri-cobalt device to punch a hole in the Jarada ship and break them free. The Killjoy's computer reported strange sensor data: stars moving backwards.

A Johvan farmer hosted a trio of Cardassians claiming to be scientists. The abhorrent nature of technology to much of Johvan society lead to misunderstandings including the Cardassian military rank 'gul' being interpreted as the cry of a shorebird. In the end, Ilko Seket was able to find the correct word in Federation Standard. The farmer's son lead her on foot to the nearby home of a Johvan Senator. Seket's colleagues were left behind with near zero ability to communicate with the farmer. On the road, Seket tried to offer the farmer's son an ear-worn universal translator that he believed to be jewelry. Once away from the farmer's son, Senator Burgess Larking revealed that he wore a universal translator and did not have the same aversion to technology as his constituents. The Senator was immediately weary of his guest based on his experience with Starfleet personnel and touring the Cardassian farming colony. Seket told the Senator the two colleagues she travelled with were Obsidian Order despite knowing they were really scientists.

Non-Roleplay

Several players took an extended leave through March with some returning during the month and others looking to return in April.

A couple of cross-posts from Starbase Phoenix and a combined DFA Cromwell/SES S'Task duty station were good examples of pan-Borderlands collaboration.

Player of the Month

Deb has been a very active player this month. She added two characters to OH1, both mercenaries. She, Kevin and I have been active behind-the-scenes batting around ideas for the Killjoy, Jarada and Lighthouse. I thank her for her effort this month.

February 2016

SES S'Task passed the Lighthouse on it's rendezvous to DFA Cromwell. It was escorted by USS Federation through Federation-controlled space.

Commander Mirel discussed the derelict Jarada ship with her Intelligence Officer, Lieutenant Commander sh'Zula, and Federation Liaison Officer, Lieutenant Commander Thev th'Prees. The FLO sensed the mood in the room and withdrew before being implicated in an interstellar incident.

Lieutenant Commander th'Prees discussed the situation with Lieutenant Commander Turik who decided a lack of diplomatic expertise warranted th'Prees step in. Presenting his orders to Commander Mirel was awkward. The Federation Liaison Officer was dispatched to the Lighthouse (a subspace communications relay station) to oversee the situation.

The Jarada ship was approached by a independant contractor named Silva and his ship, Killjoy. The captain and engineer boarded the derelict Jarada ship with a primary mission of extracting the computer data core. The engineer followed the mission parameters while daydreaming of stripping the Jarada ship's engines. The sensation of something moving across the engineer's foot put a damper on the derelict's exploration.

Kamm showed First Lieutenant Avinbruch some of the Hope One Dyson Sphere's defences.

A Cardassian scientist (and member of the Obsidian Order) set out from a Cardassian agricultural colony. The intentions of Ilko Seket are unknown. Travelling by foot, Seket and two companions met a Johvan farmer who welcomed them into his home. A taboo on modern technology forced the Cardassian to converse in Federation Standard without the aid of her universal translator. Sharing a meal proved interesting with the Johvan farmer unable to convey the contents of the meal to his Cardassian guests. None were enthusiastic about the food presented.

It was revealed to Doctor Butler that Rasp is still affecting the Lacosian population. Several years earlier, Federation scientists discovered a cure for the disease that led to premature aging and death of the otherwise long-lived Lacosians.

Ensign Orakix and Lieutenant Gero began construction of a telescope to passively observe the derelict Jarada ship. Treaty binds the hands of Starfleet preventing the regular sensor sweep.

Thev and Taura continued to explore the former's past. It was revealed that his family died during an attack on Starbase 214. He has not worked through all of his grief.

Ikana, a Tamarian anthropologist, entered the Builder ruins near the Johvan capital.

Sazz and Ariana repaired a breach in the nether. A conveyer of planetary material not active in 2,500 years lead to molten lava breaching the interior surface of the sphere.

Ariana didn't get much rest. She was immediately snapped by the stations new ecologist, Dr. Lawson. It didn't take long for Ariana to realize the doctor was transporting a quarter of a million bees to the sphere. It inspired another evening in the station's most popular sushi bar during karaoke night.

Non-Roleplay

Real life interrupted several player's involvement with OH1 this month. More than one player spent part of the month in the hospital either themselves or looking after family.

No new players joined OH1 this month. No players have explicitly left OH1 either.

Kait shared a great kids story about physics about Mo and Al (Mo-mentum and Dimension-Al) entitled "Oh The Places You'll Go, Mo!". Thoroughly enjoyable.

OH1 has it's first self-contained short novel: 'DW 179'. It's 18,000 words compiled from OH1 posts with a prologue introducing the central character from compiled Cromwell posts. It is available on the OH1 website, as a downloadable PDF in paperback size (size A5 paper). This is the first of what I hope will be many novels from the OH1 universe.

Player of the Month

Dianna's character, Taura, shared a traumatic event in her past during a conversation with Thev. Taura still has a very positive, Star Trek-esque, view of the universe. The event didn't cloud her judgement of all Andorians. It is something Roddenberry promoted with his view of the future. Nicely written Dianna.

Honourable mention to Michael. He has given his character, Federation Liaison Officer Karathev th'Prees, a lot of history. It is a great analysis of his character and the history that shaped him.

January 2016

The away team continued to explore the Builder ruins with Johvan Selectman Che'Guan Dondoan in tow. The Selectman didn't hesitate to progress further into the tunnel systems than any Johvan before him. Navigating the maze extending from the interior surface of the sphere to it's superstructure required some old-fashioned chalk.

Suspicion of the Lacosians involvement in the lava pools forming within the sphere was expressed by the station's doctor enroute from the makeshift hospital treating those affected to the Builder ruins to meet up with the away team.

Lacosian maintenance crews worked to locate a malfunctioning control unit, a GAMM, in the vicinity of the away team. Dahl repeatedly gave instructions to his apprentice not fix anything. The apprentice soon came across the away team. With a downward sloping tunnel system of no less than ten kilometres, there was some relief using the portal transport system utilized by the Lacosians. The away team hesitated to walk through seemingly solid walls. The first stop was an observation room suspended over a lava flow. The silo-shaped tunnel was filling with flowing lava drawn from a distant world. Several Lacosians appeared to work individually with each member of the away team. The level of interaction between the Lacosians and the Starfleeters was unprecedented.

Ariana and Sazz took to repairing the Builder device that opened the conveyer to bring molten rock into the sphere. Ariana managed to sing part of the Lacosian language owing to her skills as a singer. As a reward, she received a Lacosian voice box which allowed her to see now only the surficial symbols of the Builder language but the mathematical equations beneath the surface. She had become an apprentice of the High Lord of the Lacosian Chorus.

Avinbruch was treated to a first-hand demonstration of the sphere's anti-personnel defences.

DW 250 and Mahlyk, his would-be assassin, worked together to diffuse a bomb. It was the only solution to the pair sealed into the hangar bay with force fields. Along with diffusing the bomb, the two discussed how to trap the individual behind the assassination plot and the method by which they would cover it up. Mahlyk did not follow through with the contract and beamed off the station a changed man. The photonic engineer had an impact on the assassin's outlook. The tangled web was unwoven as Mahlyk beamed to the location of his employer. His employer, a conjoined pair of Bynars, failed in their attempt to eliminate a photonic being seen as a rival and manipulating the Nal'Gaharay assassin proved fatal to the Alpha Quadrant natives.

Lt. Commander sh'Zula, Sentinel's Intelligence Officer, spoke with the commanding officer of Starbase Phoenix to discuss the recent events there. Each congratulated the other on their promotions and quickly moved onto the topic at hand. The misunderstanding between Phoenix's crew and the photonic contingent had circulated through Intelligence circles. It resolved without further conflict. DW 250 was Sentinel's only photonic crew member and sibling to the photonics that ran amok. The tension amongst UFP and DFA personnel was also a topic of discussion. The conversation ended on a personal note with a promise to talk again soon.

Pleg, proprietor of Whims and Favors, opened his doors in a grand opening. His first customer was looking for aged whiskey with mutual confusion as to how old one would consider it aged.

Katowal Husar opened a business of her own. She organized her store's layout including a barrel of vole bellies front and center.

Orakix and Gero discussed the Bajoran Prophets and the potential for similar beings in the Geroch Wormhole. The possibility of a second group of Prophets or a second Emissary intrigue the Bajoran people. No sooner than the hope was articulated, the wormhole opened and an unscheduled ship emerged. It was a 100-year-old derelict Jarada ship. Immediately the Federation-Jarada treaty shut down all further investigation of the ship. The skeleton crew aboard the Lighthouse discussed how far they could push without breaking the treaty. The resident Krenim officer understood the Jarada's xenophobia. In the end, Orakix and Gero began jury-rigging a broad-spectrum, passive scanner to learn what they could about the Jarada ship.

A meeting amongst Sentinel's senior staff attempted to navigate the same waters. The idea presented by the station's Intelligence Officer was not standard practice.

CWO 2nd Class Fred Bliss returned to the station. He had the same corned beef on rye sandwich in his shirt pocket.

Thev was haunted by his past in a recurring dream. The long-standing guilt he suffered as survivor on an attack on his ship was triggered by finding a deceased crew member. Crewman Chang was left for dead as Mahlyk moved through the station to the hangar bay where his ultimate target lay. Taura, a fellow Andorian, shared her own experiences sailing to a safe haven during conflicts between the Andorians and Aenar. During the discussion, Thev revealed the loss of his family who had followed him on his deployment.

Commander Jeyan departed Sentinel Station for the Omicron Shipyards. With the blessing of Read Admiral Leval, the Commander will rendezvous with Captain Elias of the Seiklon Axel to tow a retired ship back to Sentinel for refit.

Non-Roleplay

A few holiday-themed threads wrapped up early in the month. There were several excellent threads as players got to know each other. The conversation in the Promenade Chapel in front the nativity scene was insightful for the characters.

XO Casey Jeyan is joining Axel in a cross-over story that will see the ship come to OH1 with our new Oberth-class research vessel.

OH1 and Axel have been posting daily digests of each other's in-character posts. Players can follow the action on each other's duty station.

A/C has rejoined OH1 and is working on new characters.

Anna-Maria also came back to OH1 with a pair of Cardassian characters. One is a chemist which lead to a lot of doubting and theorizing in the OOC discussion group.

OH1's membership is strong with 13 players and 29 characters. To be fair, though, 8 of them are Kait's. 8 players (including myself) write with other DSs. The other 5 are players who have written with OH1 in the past and have kindly accepted my invitation to come back.

I was suspicious of Rich placing his Ferengi shop in Section 31 of the Promenade. And a Cardassian shopkeeper who states they are unaffiliated with the Obsidian Order is equally doubtful.

We have a Tamarian joining the crew... those will be interesting conversations

Player and Quote of the Month

Kait has put a lot of time and effort into OH1 this month. She added five Lacosian characters and spawned multiple threads for the away team. Behind the scenes her and I have been discussing the sphere's past. Apparently my idea of finding Nessie alive and well in the sphere has been done. She also gets bonus points for quoting "Fox in Socks".

"It was like opening the doors to a Blast Furnace. It made for quite a colorful show and the material fell from the open portal into the chamber below, splashing and dancing about like a fireworks show on steroids. The rumbling increased as it churned and mixed with the material already in the chamber, setting up a roiling convection current in the "lava" that caused it to churn and dance even more."
—Toff, Lacosian Worker's Apprentice played by Kait

Honourable mention to Devon. He and I wrote quite a bit as DW 179 between the Chetzia conference and my relaunch in November. He's scaling back his involvement with OH1. He's going to let DW 179 fade into the background with the conclusion of the assassination plot. Ariana is still ten kilometres deep in the sphere.

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