TREK MODS FOR OLD GAMES

EXTRA LIFE 2011
SOPA PIPA ACTA & WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
GYGAX TECH MANUAL
MARCH 2012
FEATURE
TREK
MODS FOR OLD GAMES
LOOK OUT, „CAUSE HERE WE COME!
R4
PLUS
REGIONAL
COORDINATOR
NEW
TREK FANFIC STORY
WITH “THE DOCTOR”
MAD
ANDROID
PUZZLES
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1
USSGYGAX.com
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE U.S.S. GYGAX
TOC
ON THE COVER: USS Gygax makes ready to depart Earth following their
successful shakedown. Akira-class mesh by Star Trek Australia. Gygax
lettering and bitmap by Michael D. Garcia. Earth and Moon image by NASA
(Public Domain).
IN THIS ISSUE:
7
13
7
9
13
23
35
AFTER-ACTION REPORT: EXTRA LIFE 2011
Twenty-four hours of gaming... for charity!
HOW TO SURVIVE: EXTRA LIFE
Anecdotal evidence to surviving the longest day of gaming.
OLD GAMES, NEW MODS
Dust off those old Trek games...
“STAR TREK: THE NEW THREAT”
Time and Relative Dimensions in Trek!
USS GYGAX TECHNICAL MANUAL INTRODUCTION
Prepare for a crash course in the Akira-class specifications.
COLUMNS & REPORTS
3
4
5
6
21
33
34
FROM THE R4 REGIONAL COORDINATOR
CO: ROLLING FOR INITIATIVE
XO: XO’S CORNER
OPS: MODUS OPERANDI
THE MAD ANDROID’S PUZZLE PAGE
TRAINNG OFFICE
BUREAU OF PERSONNEL
36
37
ENG: ENGINEERING TRUTH
SCI: SCIENCE REPORT
23
35
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2
R4RC
REGIONAL
COORDINATOR
I
remember being
on
the
IRC
(internet
relay
chat) one night back
last summer when a
new name popped
into the #starfleet
channel asking about
Region 4. I told him
that I happened to be
the
Regional
Coordinator for Region
4. He introduced himself as Michael Garcia
and I recognized the name from an email I had
received the day before.
That was the start of the relationship
between the USS Gygax and the USS
PeaceKeeper.
The PeaceKeeper agreed to
become the support chapter for the USS Gygax
a few days later.
One of the most pleasurable things that
a Regional Coordinator gets to do is
commission chapters. I only wished I could
3
AU 201203
have remained Regional Coordinator just long
enough to have commissioned the USS Gygax
as a full chapter of STARFLEET. It‟s always
been fun for me to commission a chapter that I
have been the RC and supporting chapter
commanding officer.
The crew of the USS PeaceKeeper
wishes to congratulate the USS Gygax on her
commissioning. The PeaceKeeper has been
the support chapter for many chapters but not
many have been as active with charity work
from the beginning as the USS Gygax has
been. This is a great thing to see.
Once again, from myself and the crew of
the PeaceKeeper, congratulations to the USS
Gygax on your commissioning.
May the wind always be at your back,
Vice Admiral Chrissy Killian
Region 4 Regional Coordinator
CO, USS PeaceKeeper NCC-72300
ROLLING FOR INITI TIVE
ON
August 25, 2011, a group of
thirteen people signed up to
start a correspondence chapter
within Region Four of STARFLEET International.
We received approval to proceed as a shakedown
chapter called USS Gygax on August 31. Since
then, this chapter has been slowly approaching our
date of commissioning, which is this month on the
twelfth.
March also marks a transition for the
government in our region due to the recent election
of VADM Jerry Tien (CO, USS Eagle) to the position
of regional coordinator. We want to wish outgoing
RC, VADM Chrissy Killian our heartfelt thanks for
her support not only as regional coordinator, but as
the commanding officer of our sponsoring chapter,
USS PeaceKeeper. We also wish her well in her
new role as Awards Director for Region Four.
Gygax will be participating in a more active role with
regards to the website in the coming weeks and
months, as two-three of our members will be
maintaining and designing the Region 4 web
presence. Also, look to see some changes coming
to our own website in the near future, as Josh will be
moving to take on the chief engineer position for our
ship.
The following personnel are being formally
recognized by the CO for February:




CO
artwork and essentially being an honorary
member of Gygax with her numerous
contributions, suggestions, and input to
improving the chapter and this very newsletter.
We're hoping she will see the light soon and join
our chapter full time!
By the time the April newsletter arrives, we
will have traded in our NX prefix for an NCC. Tia
and I will be promoted one grade in rank to
Commander and Captain, respectively. But, even
though we will have reached this goal, the work
doesn‟t stop there. Let‟s not rest on our laurels and
continue to perform as one of the most active
chapters in our region. Our website will see a lot
more traffic in the coming days of the month. Let's
put our best foot forward and show all of
STARFLEET what we're made of!
Ahead Full Speed,
Commander Michael D. Garcia,
Commanding Officer, NX-63545 (USS Gygax)
Lieutenant Melissa Hadley, for her tireless Michael Garcia is the Commanding Officer of USS
Gygax. He is the founder and head administrator of
efforts in promoting the chapter and converting a
WNOHGB. He can be reached at co@ussgygax.com.
few of our associate members to full members
within SFI. As of this writing, we will have added
seven new members to Gygax.
Ensign Joshua Benner, for undertaking the role
of Chief Engineer. I have promoted him to
Provisional Lieutenant pending his completion of
the Officer's Command College course.
Lieutenant Benner shall be working on a new
design for our web presence for 2012. If you
wish to contribute time or suggestions, please
contact him on the forums via PM.
Ensign Duane Watts for undertaking the
massive project of writing and collecting
information for Gygax' technical manual.
Lieutenant Commander Lauri McConaughy
(USS Indomitable, Region 5), for donating
AU 201203
4
XO
XO’S CORNER
By LCDR Tia Marie
Executive Officer
IN
protect internet users." What
PIPA does as well is it gives
the federal government to
have huge amounts of
(unconstitutional power) over
censoring Americans' access
to the internet, makes all
websites liable for the
content of it's users, open
those websites up for prosecution over the
content of their users, and forces ISPs to block
those same websites from the internet. Lastly,
there is ACTA which is an international treaty
geared towards giving countries the ability to
stop copyright infringement a standard way to
prosecute digital piracy. It would establish a legal
body that governs itself outside of already
established international organisations (like the
World Trade Organisation, World Intellectual
Property Organisation, or the United Nations).
The EFF already warns us against ACTA and
want to educate us about the problems it will
cause.
SOPA and PIPA has already been tabled,
but the victory won by all of us on the internet is
a shallow one indeed. There is still ACTA on the
table and many countries are taking a stand
against it already. We still need to be vigilant! I
encourage you reading this article to educate
yourselves through the links in this article.
Until next time!
a previous column, I talked about
one of my favourite non-profit
organisations called the Electronic
Frontier Foundation who is a digital rights
advocacy group. As you might've read in the
history lesson, they've had a pivotal role in many
of the court roles that have shaped how our
digital rights are handled. Recently they have
joined the fight against internet censorship an
issue that is of great importance to us all.
In the past few months, two pieces of
legislation and a trade agreement have gotten a
great deal of talk around the internet. Websites
went dark, many organised in protest, and a goat
got to make love to a koala on CNN. What were
these topics that brought so much ire? You may
know them by Stop Online Privacy Act
(SOPA), Protect IP Act (PIPA), and AntiCounterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Just what would these acronyms do to the
internet? SOPA is an anti-piracy bill that gives
content makers (like Hollywood) a great deal of
power against the entire internet. It gives the
movie studios and record labels the ability to
shut down foreign sites they have copyright
claims against and even worse make the site's
ISP keep people from going to those sites and
pull finances away, without any court
appearance and just with a letter asking for it to
be done. PIPA is a very similar bill to SOPA
which are presented to us by congress as bills Tia Marie is Executive Officer of USS Gygax.
intended to "help combat online privacy and She can be reached at xo@ussgygax.com.
5
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OPS
MODUS OPERANDI
By LT Melissa Hadley
Chief Operations Officer
N
ovember, we overstuffed ourselves
with overstuffed turkeys, and suffered
the in-laws and the mess at the little
kids' table. December, we celebrated light, good
will, the Christ child, the Solstice, and rampant
commercialism ushered in by a jolly ol' fat man
who stalks our children every year. And January,
we scrambled to return to work, clean up the past
couple months of chaos, and in turn create more
chaos. That leads us into February, when we
can finally spend time with a loved one again.
Now that the winter crazies are over... for
most of us... we're back to trying to get out of that
slump and rejoin the activities we enjoy during
the remaining three seasons.
Gygax got a little quiet, and that was to be
somewhat expected. Life steals us all away at
one point or another, as responsibilities during
the holidays leaves very little time to breathe, let
alone contribute to a fan organization. However,
as the world wakes up from its snow-covered
nap, many people are returning to the USS
Gygax during February, Recruitment Month for
the chapter and Retention Month for
STARFLEET. Activity is picking up again with a
greater interest than ever before.
We're presently looking for people for
some key positions on the USS Gygax. If you
have a fascination with the Academy and the
courses they offer, take a look at our Training
Officer position.
If you have a way with
networking and finding new recruits, our
Recruiting Manager position is
also open and available.
If
you're interested, drop the
appropriate Command Staff
officer a line, and request your
Officer Command Course from
the STARFLEET Academy.
We'd love any help we can get!
Maybe you're not ready
for a position yet, but you're interested in lending
a hand with specific elements of Gygax, take a
look at the forums. We're still working on our
Bylaws and Constitution and would love some
input. Check out what other ships have put
together for theirs, and share your ideas,
thoughts, concerns with what we have listed so
far. We're also looking for future fundraising
ideas and activities our chapter can join together
for.
Come! Shake off the snow, ice, and bring
out that beautiful Region 4 sunshine, and share
some of it with your fellow crewmates. Things
are heating up and you don't want to miss out!
Melissa Hadley is the Second Officer and Chief
Operations Officer of USS Gygax. She presently
works for Zynga in Austin, Texas. She can be
reached at ops@ussgygax.com.
AU 201203
6
AAR
After-action reporT:
EXTRA LIFE 2011
F
By CDR Michael D. Garcia with locally, others had to go it alone.
LT Melissa Hadley
In Silicon Valley, California,
or twenty-four hours on October 15,
2011, members of USS Gygax
participated in a gaming marathon
called "Extra Life." The goal was to raise
funds for the Children's Miracle Network by
soliciting pledges from friends, family, and co
-workers for each hour that they gamed. As
Gygax is a correspondence chapter, the crew
were spread around different states, and so
while some managed to group together
the
commanding officer of Gygax hosted a group
of crewmembers, both full and associate.
The group consisted of LCDR Tia Marie
(XO), MID4 Jared Ethan, PO3 Shon Elliott,
and associate members (now-MID4) Michael
Haynes and Daniel Newsome. From Austin,
Texas, LT Melissa Hadley and ENS Arnold
Comeau III grouped up to game throughout
the day and night. And in Pennsylvania, ENS
Josh Benner flew solo to rack up the hours
for charity.
Here's
the
report
from
Lieutenant Hadley's group:
The crowd in our apartment in
Austin for Extra Life was small,
consisting of only myself (LT Melissa
Hadley), and my support, my
boyfriend, ENS Arnold Comeau, and
a friend, Shana, who came in from
out of town to offer her support. My
support team, in addition to keeping
me company during this trek, kept me
awake and provided food so I didn't
have to step away longer than a
stretch or restroom break. Although I
was teamed up with my fellow USS
Gygax members for Extra Life, I was
personally playing for my local
From Austin, Texas: LT Melissa Hadley, with WNOHGB on Children's Miracle Network hospital,
Dell Children's Hospital of Central
the laptop and her gaming rig running Dragon Age:
Texas, as I live in Region 3.
Origins.
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AAR
For many years, I've not
really been able to stay up past
1am-2am, so I knew going in that
the marathon was going to be
rough. I played the same game,
Star Wars: The Old Republic, for
most of the day, from 8am up until
nearly 2am. The game was in
Beta at the time, so pictures were
limited during those hours. But
needing a pick-me-up, I switched
gears, going to a fresh game of
Dragon Age: Origins. And the
change of gears from an MMO to
a single-player game helped a lot
in waking me up. However, as the
hours went on, I was starting to
feel the wear and tear.
In California, the crew test-drove Artemis the Starship Bridge
By 6am, I switched to
Simulator. They completed six missions and deemed the
Facebook
games,
needing
another boost.
The smaller,
experiment a great success.
quicker games woke me up a bit
more, as they needed constant attention and "officers" on the bridge. As each mission was
constant restarting. I focused primarily on completed, the team grew more confident in
Bejeweled Blitz since the games were only their ability to perform in combat situations.
one minute long each.
My scores, Therefore, lengthier and more difficult mission
unfortunately, were abysmal.
types were selected until the group broke up
But eventually I made it; 24 hours, and with play solo games and then return a few
we raised a lot of money to support the kids. I hours later when the bug bit them once more.
definitely look forward to doing it again in
Star Trek Online and Halo: Reach were
2012.
the other popular games.
The younger
participants tended to gravitate toward the
The California crew of six persevered console games whilst the adults opted for PC
for the full twenty-four hours, playing a wide or Mac-based gaming.
range of games. Some of the games played
Between
the
various
Gygax
included: Star Trek Online, Grand Theft Auto participants, the team raised over $800 for the
IV, Baseball Superstars 2011, Star Wars: The Children‟s Miracle Network.
Old Republic, Halo 3, Halo: Reach, Mass
At this time, plans are being made for
Effect 2, Words With Friends, Rock Band 3, Extra Life 2012, which will take place on
and Artemis.
October 22nd. Members of the chapter local
Artemis turned out to be the biggest hit to Silicon Valley can expect to return to the
of the night, as it was the most requested commanding officer‟s residence for another
group activity of the night. With the number of twenty-four hour session of gaming for charity.
people participating, there was only a couple
You can sign up now at the Extra Life
of overlapping stations between the various website.
AU 201203
8
GUIDE
How to survivE
EXTRA LIFE
Staff Report, USS Gygax
T
he first tip to surviving
Extra Life is your
choice
in
fuel.
Everyone knows that in order
to stay up all day and all night
for twenty-four hours straight
requires a bit of indulging in
certain types of foods and
drinks.
The
crew
at
the
California marathon for Gygax
enjoyed fresh-baked pizza
Fuel is required to keep your energy levels up while gaming.
(right from the oven in our
(From left to right: Monster, Jolt, Thomas Kemper, Cheerwine).
kitchen), take-out Chinese
food, and assorted snacks
that would make any all-nighter
college party very happy. We did have some favor of the unhealthy options.
healthy snacks in the way of carrots and
Most people like to bring over their
celery, but they tended to be passed over in favorite caffeinated beverages, such as Coke,
Pepsi, etc. The real experience lies in
the drinks that are loaded with
caffeine, such as Monster Energy,
Red Bull, Jolt Cola, Cheerwine,
and a whole line of other similar
drinks
that
are
absolutely
guaranteed not only to keep you
up, but give you the worst sugar
crash in the history of man when
you come down from that big lift.
What‟s
also
interesting
about utilizing the sugar and
caffeine-heavy drinks is that if you
have any younger participants
around and you‟re not watching
Daniel Newsome (left) and MID Michael Haynes work together them too closely, they will
to evade the police in GTAIV.
basically knock back around four
or five of these bottles with ease.
9
AU 201203
GUIDE
Before you know it, you will
have a kid-sized Tasmanian
Devil on your hands.
Shortly after they‟ve
ingested this rocket fuel for the
heart, they will have no qualms
of invading almost every room
in the house as they play a
game called, “Scream out loud
with your hands raised, while
running through the house in a
sort-of kind-of chasing fashion.”
To this day, it‟s unclear how
one wins this game, however,
You also need to have a group gaming activity.
the game lasts for nearly an
Rock Band 3 fits this need quite nicely.
hour. Unbearably so when
you‟re attempting to game.
Once they‟ve completed
their running, they will find the nearest
I had to check in on them for multiple
console and make a mess of your entire reasons: 1) they were being really quiet,
library by opening every case and playing which always makes me nervous, and 2) they
every game until they find the one they like were actually sitting still.
best. Finally, I think the sugar-high settled
You have to also have a group activity
down a bit, because they managed to sit that will help burn off a lot of the sugar. It also
down and play Grand Theft Auto IV for helps if it keeps them active and doesn‟t get
roughly ninety minutes.
boring. Once of the better methods of doing
this is Rock Band.
In California, PO3 Shon
Elliott brought over his complete
instrument set and we finally got
all the youngsters strapped in
and enjoying themselves while
also letting them belt out some of
the songs. It got a bit silly after a
while, but everyone had fun.
Rock Band often tends to let
people play for hours on end, so
this was an excellent option for
whiling away those hours that
seem to drag on in the middle of
the night.
PO2 Shon Elliott (standing) and MID Michael Haynes (seated)
Without question, the
discuss song selection for Rock Band.
worst parts of the marathon are
when you‟ve run out of steam to
AU 201203
10
GUIDE
How to survivE
EXTRA LIFE
play games. Especially when your eyes are
about to fall out of your skull if you look at
another screen. This is when you switch to
board games to give yourself a little bit of a
break from watching colorful pixels dance in
front of you. I‟ve found the best board game
to engage people to be Monopoly.
Players of all ages love Monopoly and
it‟s rare to find a group willing to play with
you. A single Monopoly game can burn up
at least ninety minutes to two hours with all
the wheeling and dealing. Not only does it
allow you to sit down and play and have fun,
but if you‟re also hungry, it‟s a good time to
break out with the planned meals like pizza or
sandwiches. You‟re already sitting down, you
have the game in front of you. All you need
now is a good drink and a hearty meal to get
you through.
If you can use all these tips
successfully, one can survive any gaming
marathon with ease.
CDR Michael Garcia, LT Melissa Hadley, PO2 Shon Elliott,
and MID Michael Haynes contributed to this report.
Ultimately, you will find yourself wanting to do a little gaming on your own,
so it’s important to bring your own computer or laptop with you.
(PO2 Shon Elliott engages in solo play at his gaming rig.)
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PROFILE
Crewmember profilE:
SCC-68924 SARAH RANDLE
Ensign Sarah Randle joined USS Gygax during the February
Recruitment Drive; she was one of eight new crewmembers to
join our chapter during that time. We asked Chief Operations
Officer Lieutenant Melissa Hadley to interview her for this
month’s edition of Achievement Unlocked so we could get to
know one of our newest shipmates.
Please be sure to welcome Sarah in the forums!
NAME:
RANK:
ASSIGNMENT:
AGE:
LOCATION:
CAREER ASPIRATIONS:
HOBBIES:
Sarah Randle
ANIMAL COMPANIONS:
A rabbit named “Gonzo,” and a
golden retriever named, “Maximus.”
FAVORITE TREK ERA:
FAVORITE TREK CHARACTER:
FAVORITE GAME:
TNG & DS9
FAVORITE NON-TREK TV
SHOW:
CURRENTLY READING
LAST MOVIE WATCHED:
Ensign
Services Department
28
Cupertino, California
Recent Masters in Sociology
Cross-stitching, Hiking, Camping,
Gaming, Being Nerdy.
Garak. He‟s mysterious and funny.
World of Warcraft. Recently downloaded Star Trek Online. Loves anything Zelda or Portal.
Tie between Doctor Who, Firefly,
and Battlestar Galactica.
Mirror Dance by
Lois McMaster Bujold
“Sherlock Holmes”
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12
FEATURE
Old games
new mods
by CDR Michael D. Garcia
13
AU 201203
FEATURE
A PAIR OF DEFIANT - CLASS CORVETTES LEAD A FLOTILLA OF
NOVA - CLASS FRIGATES AND PURSUIT FIGHTERS IN COMBAT
AGAINST A KLINGON ATTACK GROUP, IN SIERRA GAMES’
HOMEWORLD 2 WITH THE STAR TREK: CONTINUUM MOD
ENABLED.
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF SKULLFOUR OF MODDB.COM
AU 201203
14
FEATURE
By CDR Michael D. Garcia modification) one could use to enhance or
even redefine the game-playing experience.
fter recently joining up with a fleet
We kick off our tour of Trek mods with
on Star Trek Online called the the now-defunct Sierra's trilogy of real-time
United Federation of Planets {UFP} strategy game under the banner of
to support this writer's gaming habits, Homeworld (1999). The first of the three was
discussion about older Trek games and other not exactly mod-friendly but that didn't stop a
games was found to be thriving and plethora of gamers from trying. A real-time
commonplace. While the focus these days strategy game, Homeworld followed the
appears to be on the massively multiplayer struggle of two factions: the heroic but
online game (MMOG), {UFP} has been homeless Kushan versus the cruel and
around since the days of Activision's Star ruthless Taiidan Empire. Homeworld and its
Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, Star Trek: Bridge sequels, Homeworld: Cataclysm (2000) and
Commander, and Star Trek: Armada. What Homeworld 2 (2003), featured a full array of
was fascinating about the discussion was the Trek mods from Star Trek: Sacrifice of Angels
talk of different Trek mods (short for to Star Trek: Continuum, all boasting some
A
A Federation fleet doesn’t hold back against the enemy.
(Sierra’s Homeworld with the Sacrifice of Angels mod enabled)
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AU 201203
FEATURE
Once the mod is active, you get a new menu in Sins.
(Ironclad Games’ Sins of a Solar Empire with the Sacrifice of Angels 2 mod).
rather impressive graphics, meshes, audio,
and storylines that would make any owner
want to play this game again. Sacrifice of
Angels (Homeworld) was a total conversion
mod, meaning that none of the original
factions are available for play. True to its
name, it was a mod-version of the Dominion
War from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,
leaving only the Federation and Dominion
allied forces as available factions to lead into
battle. Star Trek: Continuum (for Homeworld
2) added another faction as it featured
Federation, Klingon, and Romulan fleets.
Continuum has a more dynamic system to it,
from research options to the many many
different types of ships one could build,
especially for the Federation side.
Ironclad Games' Sins of a Solar Empire
(2008) is another real-time strategy game, not
unlike Armada or Armada II, but on a much
larger scale and of course having the benefit
of recent graphics advancements. The mod
we used for this feature was called Star Trek:
Sacrifice of Angels 2 (a sequel mod to the
Homeworld version). Sacrifice of Angels II is
a major upgrade from its predecessor and is a
total conversion mod boasting nearly every
Federation starship used in one function or
another, from the Peregrine fighter all the way
to the Sovereign-class battleship. Although
there were some minor installation problems
at the beginning, a trip to the forums housing
the modding team resolved all of them to a
point where it is as solid as the original Sins of
a Solar Empire game. Though it's pretty much
assured that most players play the side of the
Federation, one could play the Klingon,
Romulan, Dominion or even Borg factions
against the computer or against other players
with the same game and mod available.
Imagine running hundreds or even thousands
(if your computer can support it) of ships in a
fleet to take down a Borg cube. Don't like the
name of your new Galaxy-class cruiser?
AU 201203
16
FEATURE
An Ambassador-class heavy cruiser supports its assigned battle group of Miranda-class
light cruisers, while defending a Federation-held sector of space against the Romulans.
(Sins of a Solar Empire / Sacrifice of Angels 2)
Change it to whatever you like. So far, SoA2
is a gem for a game long since thrown in the
been-there-done-that pile. At the time of
release, this mod was designed specifically
for the expansion pack Diplomacy.
Activision's Elite Force is best
remembered for the frenetic action-packed
firepower and dynamic environments of
running through the starship Voyager as a
member of the Hazard Team that dealt with
some of the more dangerous elements of the
17
AU 201203
Delta Quadrant. Elite Force was originally
released in September 2000 and yet today, it
still serves as a flourishing first-person
shooter across the Internet. The mod RPG-X
turns Elite Force on its ear. Rather than
traipsing around the various ship interiors with
a phaser, tricorder, and I-MOD, this mod
actually removes the weapons and replaces it
with a PADD, a cup of coffee, and of course,
your trusty tricorder. With your role-play
group, you can literally use the environment to
FEATURE
Two Excelsiors and an Oberth defend an outpost against pirate raiders.
(Matrix Games’ Distant Worlds with the Star Trek mod enabled)
suit whatever scenario you wish to present in order to use races, planets, stars, factions,
and let your players do the rest. Many of the ships, stations, and even dialogue from the
user-created
environments
have
fully series and the movies for a Trek-like
interactive panels on multiple decks, with a experience at empire-building. In short, this is
working turbolift and in some cases, even an closer to Microprose's Star Trek: The Next
intricate Jefferies tube
system to traverse the
decks. All in all, RPGX ferments an entirely
new
method
of
enjoying Elite Force.
Finally, though
not technically an old
game, Matrix Games'
Distant Worlds (2010)
is a recent release, but
as with most scifibased games on the
market that have modfriendly controls, there
is
a
Trek
mod
available. The used
A Federation/Klingon fleet is about to unleash hell on the Dominion.
here is simply called
(Sierra Games’ Homeworld with the Sacrifice of Angels mod)
Star Trek, and allows
the player to install it
AU 201203
18
FEATURE
You can send a ship into warp from the bridge, beam people from the transporter room, grab a cup
of coffee, handle a tricorder or hypospray, or use your PADD.
(Activision’s Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force with the RPG-X mod enabled.)
Generation: Birth of the Federation (a turnbased strategy game from 1999) in feel, but
the execution far exceeds Birth of the
Federation players' wildest expectations with
the level and depth of control provided to
those running each faction. Also unlike Birth
of the Federation, Distant Worlds is real-time
and
unfortunately
does
not
support
multiplayer games.
Due to the twodimensional use of ships (much like the
Master of Orion series, also from Microprose),
modding this game appears to be much
easier than the sometimes overwhelming
complexity of Sins of a Solar Empire. In fact,
if you have a simple top-down graphic of any
19
AU 201203
ship in the Federation, one could simple
substitute the original graphic out. Instead of
having the original game-designed ships
flittering around your galaxy, you could have
an Oberth-class scout frigate running
exploration missions, and Defiants running
escorts for your cargo ships as they transport
much needed supplies between Federation
member worlds.
Mods like these hit the reset button on
time-honored classics. Dig through that pile,
blow off the dust from that disc and pop it in
for renewed interest in a game you already
know and love. And the best part is... you
don't have to buy it (again).
THE MAD ANDROID’S PUZZLE PAGE
PUZZLES
CRAZY CROSSWORD #1
Across
1. "___ does it!"
5. Abounds (with)
10. SQL Server Analysis Services,
Abbrev.
14. Halo, e.g.
15. Hoisted, nautically
16. Alternative to nude
17. Son of Telamon
18. TOS communications officer
19. Give up
20. Spock's first choice for research
23. Capital of ancient Abilene
24. Genus in the Laridae family
25. Klingon general and Chancellor
28. "Pumping ___"
30. Adjutant
31. ___ian Slime Devil
33. Amazement
36. Plays an essential role body
flexibility
40. Discomfort
41. A crawling Silicone-based
lifeform
42. ___ of Sandwich
43. DS9 Actor Auberjonois
44. Short, stocky, bearded metalworkers from Pratchett's Discworld
46. Computer character encoding
scheme
49. Alternate spelling of tuyere
51. Four-lobed grain of wheat and
rye; Tribbles dig it
57. Army National Guard, Abbrev.
58. Fad
59. Stepped
60. Nota ___
61. Busy places
62. About, on a memo
63. Derived from an aromatic ring
(eg: phenyl)
64. All tuckered out
65. The station that steers the ship
Down
1. A lake and volcano in the Philippines
2. Islamic fundamentalist organization
3. Spirited horse
4. Economic burden ratio
5. Vulcan engineering ensign from
Star Trek: The Next Generation.
6. Gas additive
7. Genus of plants in the Family
Brassicaceae
8. Dali contemporary
9. Junk E-mail
10. Disc-shaped beads used as
decoration on clothing
11. Short, erect tail (plural)
12. Astrological ram
13. Hindu or Buddhist aphorism
21. Blood-typing system
22. Loaded with sensors
25. Feline NPC from .hack//SIGN
26. Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute, Abbrev.
27. Rear admiral, lower half
(Abbrev.)
28. Actress Swenson
29. No longer working: Abbr.
31. Desperate
32. Star Trek: Enterprise, Abbr.
33. Jewish month
34. Klingon security chief on TNG
35. Emergency Neurologic Life Support, Abbr.
37. Churchill's "___ Finest Hour"
38. TNG & DS9 Writer Moore
39. North American ecozone
43. Young male horse under the
age of four
44. Can't stand (someone/thing)
45. Windows Experience Index,
Abbr.
46. Jordan's only port
47. More likely
48. Shrewd
49. German river, flows to the Baltic
Sea
50. To become lean or wrinkled
from age or illness
52. Jazz saxophonist Larry or Football Quarterback Craig
53. Stumble
54. Florence's river
55. Forsaken
56. Home for Adam and Eve
SOLUTION IN NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE!
AU 201203
20
THE MAD ANDROID’S PUZZLE PAGE
PUZZLES
WORD SEARCH: STARSHIP CLASSES
AKIRA
AMBASSADOR
ANTARES
APOLLO
BRADBURY
CENTAUR
CHALLENGER
CHEYENNE
CONSTALLATION
21
CONSTITUTION
DAEDALUS
DANUBE
DEFIANT
EXCELSIOR
GALAXY
INTREPID
KOROLEV
MIRANDA
NEBULA
NIAGARA
NORWAY
NOVA
OBERTH
OLYMPIC
PROMETHEUS
SABER
SOVEREIGN
SOLUTION IN NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE!
AU 201203
SOYUZ
SPRINGFIELD
STEAMRUNNER
SYDNEY
WELLS
YELLOWSTONE
FANFIC
In this issue of ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED, we
are pleased to bring you the first two chapters
of a crossover fanfic featuring Star Trek and
Doctor Who.
Chapter One
Visual Range
NCC-74705 (USS Bellerophon)
Cestus Sector, Warp 9.975
Main Bridge
Stardate 65539.4
Lieutenant Commander Martha Jones
cast furtive glances at her commanding officer
from her seated position on the bridge. The
Intrepid-class starship Bellerophon hurtled toward the source of the distress call at maximum warp, and the already-tense atmosphere
emanating from the captain's chair notched
upward a tick once the distress call ceased.
"Let's hear it again, Mister Blake," ordered the captain.
Lieutenant Commander Ursula Blake,
the ship's chief operations officer and third-incommand, replied with a quick affirmative before replaying the last distress call for the fifth
time.
The overhead speakers crackled to life
with the sound of communications interference. "This is... -nant Silok, acting commander of Outpost Zeta-Thirtee- ... -any Starfleet
vessel within the sound of my voice: we have
sustain- ... -vy casualties. We are attempting
to evac- ... -able to engage escape pods or
shuttle- ... -quire immediate assistance. I repeat- ..." The message dissolved into static
once more, but for the final time.
On the heels of the final bit of static in
the message, the captain rose from her seat
and strode toward her ready room. "Number
One," she said in the same accented English
as Martha, "you have the bridge. I need to
consult with Starfleet Command." Without
waiting for a response, the captain disappeared behind the sliding doors.
Martha turned her attention back to the
streaking stars of the viewscreen and announced, "I have the bridge, aye, sir."
Lieutenant (jg) Ethan Pope turned
around from the helm console to face Martha.
"Sir, forgive me for saying so, but it seems
more than a little odd that Starfleet should be
so secretive about the details of this outpost
no one heard of before today."
Jones did not meet the helmsman's blue
eyes. Instead, she chose to occupy herself
with the center console she shared with the
captain. "You're forgiven, but let's concentrate
on our duty. What is our ETA to the outpost?"
Pope answered quickly, "Five minutes,
sir."
"Right." Jones keyed open a commlink.
AU 201203
22
FANFIC
"Bridge to Engineering."
A baritone voice replied, "Engineering.
This is Taurik."
"Commander Taurik, we will be arriving
at the outpost in under five minutes. Prepare
your engineering teams for immediate boarding."
"Acknowledged, sir. Engineering, out."
"Mister Cooper," Jones called out.
The ship's chief tactical officer, Lieutenant Gwen Cooper, replied from her duty station. "Sir!"
"Security alert two, all teams," ordered
Jones. "I don't know what the hell we're flying
into, but I intend to be prepared."
Gwen grinned. "I couldn't agree more,
sir. Security alert two." The console began to
beep wildly. "Incoming transmission, Commander. Starfleet Security. Eyes only, commanding officer."
Martha did not reply, instead she
opened a link to the captain. "Sir, you have a
call holding from Starfleet Security."
The captain's contralto tone floated
down from the bridge speakers. "Pipe it
through."
She nodded to Gwen, who in turn routed the call as ordered. "Patching it through,
now, Captain."
The communication was open for a
mere fifteen minutes, and included a series
of data packets on an encoded frequency.
After the call was completed, the captain returned to the bridge.
"Number One, I want a meeting of the
senior staff in ten minutes."
Martha shared a look with Gwen as she responded, "Aye, sir. Ten minutes."
eration. The Zeta outposts are scientific in
nature, each one dealing in theoretical experimentation," Magambo said to her senior staff
within the bridge's conference lounge. She
stood before the large screen as they listened. "Thirteen was charged with controlling
recovered Borg technology to discover the
feasibility of constructing a transwarp network.
"According to their last report, they had
progressed to the third phase of research,
which involved the activation of a repaired
Borg conduit generator. This phase also included a series of experiments to determine
how such a network is generated and sustained. The first experiment was completed
three weeks ago. The eighth experiment was
to have been completed today.
"Starfleet believes that this experimentation may have been the cause of this accident. At this time, Bellerophon is the only
ship assigned to investigate. Two additional
starships are being dispatched, however,
Cestus' position prevents a speedy arrival. It
will take one week for the closest ship to arrive.
"Our orders are to initiate a full investigation while also preventing any other starships from entering a buffer zone of onequarter parsecs. Mister Cooper and Mister
Pope, you will utilize the ship's shuttles to run
a picket line to prevent any trespassing."
Lieutenants Cooper and Pope replied
their understanding of the order.
The captain continued, "Number One,
Commander Taurik, Doctor Thann. You will
take a series of away teams to the outpost,
catalogue the dead as well as all data retrievable from the outpost computer."
After all of the senior staff acknowledged their assignments, the captain dismissed them all. Commander Jones remained behind.
"Outpost Zeta-Thirteen was one of
"Yes, Number One?" asked the captain.
twenty-five outposts littered across the FedMartha frowned. "Begging your pardon,
23
AU 201203
FANFIC
sir, but was there something else that Starfleet mentioned? Something not quite right
about their experimentation?"
The captain grinned inwardly. She turned
away from Martha to face the viewport. "Four
years we've served together. At times, I forget
how perceptive you are."
Martha angled her view to the deck, repentant. "I meant no disrespect, sir."
"And none was perceived, Number One,
I assure you." The captain folded her arms.
"No, Starfleet held me enraptured by tails of
dimensional transport they felt should be classified at the highest levels. What I withheld
from the wardroom, I will share with you with
the condition that you do not repeat it."
"Of course, sir. I give you my word."
The captain returned to hold her executive officer in warm regard. "Your word has always
been without reproach."
Within the confines of main engineering, Commander Taurik and Lieutenant
Cooper lifted each of the data nodes and settled them in a row. Every other one showed
signed of damage to the exterior.
"You think you can sort any of this out?"
asked Gwen as she set one of the nodes into
the data port cradle.
Taurik ran a series of commands from
his station as he answered, "I shall endeavor
to do so, Lieutenant." He peered at the results. "This node's data has degraded to seventy-three percent. It may be possible to recover the remainder." His eyes looked over
the engineering personnel working in the
compartment.
Gwen touched the console interface and
tapped it to zoom to the degradation report.
"Mister Sato!" called Taurik. "A moment
of your time, please."
Systems Specialist First Class Toshiko
Sato handed off her current work to a fellow
petty officer and approached the console in
use by the chief engineering officer. "Yes,
sir?" she replied.
Taurik turned to face the lieutenant.
"Lieutenant Cooper, I'm not sure if you have
met Specialist Sato?"
"Gwen Cooper," she nodded.
"A pleasure, sir," replied Toshiko with a
small smile and a quick nod.
"She is one of our most experienced
computer specialists. I'm confident she will recover the data easily."
Gwen raised her eyebrows. "That's high
praise, coming from him."
Toshiko grinned. "I believe that's the first
time he's paid me a compliment."
If Taurik was discomfited, he hid it well.
"The data in these nodes, Mister Sato, is of
the upmost importance to the captain and apparently, Starfleet Command. Any information
you should happen to be privy to in the course
of your assignment, is of the highest classification. Obviously, I will be unable to provide
you with any assistance from your peers."
"I've never really needed it, where this
kind of work was concerned, Commander,"
Toshiko said with pride.
Taurik continued, "If you require any assistance, contact me directly. Do not accept
any projects from any other officers, until further notice."
"Aye, sir."
"Lieutenant," said Taurik, before he
turned away to approach ladder up to the second level.
Gwen followed the Vulcan and when
they stood before his private station, she
turned to peer down at Toshiko working on
her new assignment. "She must be your
best."
"She is of great usefulness to my department," Taurik admitted as he logged into the
computer station and activated the primary
display.
She changed the subject. "What do you
AU 201203
24
FANFIC
think of the latest report to come from Doctor
Thann?"
"I'm calling up the data, now."
Now, he had her attention. Gwen read
the report as filed by the doctor only minutes
prior.
"Fascinating."
"That's one word for it." She read out
loud, "'Deceased showed signs of complete
cellular disruption at the subatomic level.'
What do you make of that?"
Taurik blitzed through the data as only a
Vulcan could. "It could be a possible side effect of their experiment. The captain did say
they were attempting to create a transwarp
tunnel through space, using borrowed technology. If the event horizon was unable or
perhaps too powerful, an uncontrolled burst of
radiation from the tunnel could have this effect."
"I'm not quite certain of that, sir." Gwen
extended her left index finger to trace around
the lines of the scans. "I'm neither an engineer nor a doctor, but to me, this looks like
the damage pattern of an energy weapon.
Look at the rings."
"That is one way of interpreting the data," he said unconvinced. "I'm certain each
one of us will have a unique perspective on
the matter."
"Commander!" called Toshiko from below.
Both officers snapped their heads toward
the voice. Taurik grabbed the rail with one
hand and gestured with the other, beckoning
her to approach his station.
Gwen stifled her amusement at seeing
his brief irritation with the sudden interruption.
Toshiko climbed up, wearing a somber
expression on her face. The data node in her
hand was shaking. "I'm sorry for my outburst,
sir, but I think if you will allow me...?"
Taurik inclined his head toward her,
moving back to give her clearance to operate
his station.
The display shifted to the output from the
25
AU 201203
node. Toshiko explained, "I started with the
standard algorithms, and moved through a
custom series of data recovery protocols. I
was able to recover some of the data on the
first two nodes. They were logs and reports
about something called 'Project Excelsior.' I
got to the third node and started to go through
some of the audio files to ensure the integrity
when the file began to play." On the last
words of her sentence, her voice trembled.
Gwen reached out instinctively to steady
the non-commissioned officer. "Are you all
right?"
"I'll be all right," promised Toshiko, her
tone demonstrating her appreciation for the
officer's concern. She shook it off and said,
"I'm sorry, sir. Sirs. But you need to hear this."
She touched the playback command. "The
video was beyond recovery, but the audio
was easier."
A male voice reported, “I‟ve successfully
opened the gateway to a new dimension of
space. Project Excelsior is a success! We are
keeping the event horizon stable to the minimum requirement under the project guidelines." There was a pause. "Lieutenant, increase the stability matrix to full and let's send
the test article in sixty seconds."
Another voice, further away from the audio pickup replied, "Yes, Doctor."
The first voice returned, "The test article
is a modified torpedo casing with the standard
mark ten probe sensor package aboard. It is
programmed to enter the bridge and return in
five minutes."
A new voice, female, called out, "Doctor,
the bridge is showing signs of instability. I
think... I think there's something coming
through!"
"Shut it down!" ordered the doctor's
voice sternly. "Power down the matrices!"
"It's too late! I'm reading an object in the
tunnel, approaching the bridge. It's coming
through, now!"
"I-I'm Doctor Thomas Macready of the
Federation Sci-"
FANFIC
A loud voice, shrill and distorted,
screamed over the speakers, "ALERT!
LIFEFORMS DETECTED! ADVANCE AND
ATTACK! ADVANCE AND ATTACK! EXTERM-I-NATE! EX-TERM-I-NATE! EX-TERM
-I-NATE!" With each word, additional voices
added to the cacophony.
The sounds of weapons fire never before
heard filled the speakers, along with the cries
of the voices that spoke earlier. Until nothing
but silence remained. The audio file reached
its end and the display returned to a stand-by
mode.
No one said a word. Anywhere within the
compartment.
Taurik noticed that all of his staff were now
looking up at the second level in horror.
"Return to your duty, at once!" he ordered in a
raised tone. He pulled the node from the connection and held it. "Mister Sato, Lieutenant
Cooper, with me. We're going to see the captain."
Chapter Two
Intruder Alert
NCC-74705 (USS Bellerophon)
Stationary position relative to the remains of
Outpost Zeta-Thirteen
Cargo Bay Two
Stardate 65539.9
Ensign Coralie Picard hated her name.
Not her first name nor her middle name, but
her surname. All of the Picards serving in
Starfleet often felt as though the most famous
Picard in history ruined it for the rest of them.
Throughout her childhood, she sought her inspiration for joining Starfleet from Jean-Luc
Picard; a fellow countryman who not only held
back the Borg with his guile and intellect, but
managed to broker peace treaties with several races as a Federation Ambassador.
When Coralie obtained her appointment
to Starfleet Academy, it seemed as though
everyone assumed she was related to Jean-
Luc Picard. It got to be something of a novelty
at first. She even tried to find a relation
through some obscure fifth cousin, thriceremoved, but it turned out to be a dead end.
No, her family of Picards shared only the
name, but no common ancestry. In fact, her
family adopted the name to hide their true ethnicity in France during one of the world wars.
Every time she introduced herself, she
saw that flash of recognition at the mention of
her name. And every time, she would have to
disappoint them. No, she was his daughter or
niece or cousin or related by marriage. She
was just Coralie Picard, a disappointment
from the start. With every meeting, she felt the
expectation of a storied and vaunted career
slip further away from her, until she lost a majority of her drive and determination. She traded in the red uniform of command for a gold
uniform of support services, and was reassigned from helm duty to cargo inspection.
On a ship in flight, her daily duties included the inventory of the cargo bays. They remained unchanged until consumption or
transfer. Each day, she completed her inventory in boredom. She memorized every code
and number of each container housed within
that bay; in every bay aboard, actually.
She completed her inspection of the third
row of containers, and moved to the fourth
and final row. She heard a scraping noise behind her and a felt a breeze coming from the
ship's environmental systems. Her light brown
hair fluttered about her face, obscuring her vision as she closed her eyes to prevent damage from the whipping strands. When the
breeze died down, she turned around. It was
when she noticed a new container sitting in
the corner of the cargo bay.
Coralie had passed that corner of the
bay hundreds of times before since they departed from Starbase 36 months ago. It was
always vacant. No one would store anything
there without her notice. But now, standing
before her plainly was a tall and narrow dark
blue box with a small light on top.
AU 201203
26
FANFIC
The box appeared to be constructed of
wood, and had lighted words at the top;
"POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX." She put away
her PADD and retrieved her tricorder. It
scanned as it appeared to be: A wooden police call box, circa 1963 on the old Earth calendar.
"What the hell is it doing here?" she
asked herself. Coralie reached for her
commbadge to contact her superior officer,
but one of the sides opened inward and a
head popped out from within.
It was a man with spiky dark brown hair
and an inviting smile. He wore an old-style
business suit of brown with grey pinstripes
with a long tie and a vest, all covered in a light
brown trenchcoat. "Hello, there," he greeted,
using an Estuary English accent. "I seem to
have taken a wrong turn and I'm in need of
some assistance. Can you tell me what year
this is?"
Coralie stood, unblinking at the man. "W-
27
AU 201203
What?" she sputtered incredulously.
He moved out of the box completely. The
man was tall and thin, with his hands shoved
into the pockets of his trousers. "Can you tell
me what year this is?" he asked again.
"W-What?" she repeated, still not comprehending what was going on. "Who are you
and what are you doing here?"
"Hold on a tick," he said. His smile widened more, and he pointed at her. "Are you
French?"
"I'm Parisian," she said with pride. "And
who are you?"
"Oh, this is brilliant. I love the French."
He stepped forward and introduced himself,
"I'm The Doctor. And you are...?"
She took a step back, unsure of his intent. There was something about his smile,
though, that set her at ease. "Ensign Coralie
Picard, of the Federation starship Bellerophon."
"Federation? The Galactic Federation?"
FANFIC
he asked, scratching at his left ear.
Coralie blinked a few times. "No, the
United Federation of Planets. You‟ve not
heard of it?"
"Afraid not. What year is it? Thirty-three
seventy-something?"
"It's twenty-three eighty-seven. And what
sort of doctor are you? What's your name?"
"Just 'The Doctor.'" He paused at the
new information. "And it's twenty-three eightyseven? Are you sure about that?"
She nodded. "Positive. I'm in the middle
of the cargo inventory right now, and my list is
stamped with the present time. It's Stardate
65540, which is the last month on the old
Earth calendar of twenty-three eighty-seven."
"'Stardate?' Now you're not making any
sense," the Doctor told her with a soured expression. "Humans shouldn't be this far outside their solar system, yet, let alone traveling
at this many times the speed of light."
Coralie replied, deadpan, "Should we
apologize?"
The Doctor sighed as his eyes scanned
the interior of the cargo bay. "I always seem
to end up in closets and storage areas." He
returned his gaze to Coralie. "I wager we're
aboard a ship of some kind and you might tag
me as an intruder."
An intruder! Coralie inwardly groaned. In
the course of conversing with the strange
man, she forgot that she had a duty to perform. "I apologize, but you will need to come
with me, sir."
"That's fine. I'm not going anywhere for
at least twenty-four hours," replied the Doctor.
"I'm curious about why you're out here and
what all this is about, anyway."
Coralie slapped her commbadge. "Picard
to security. Intruder alert, Cargo Bay Two.
The intruder doesn't appear to be armed, and
has submitted to my authority. Please send a
team to my location."
A feminine voice with a Welsh accent replied, "Understood, Ensign. A team will arrive
presently."
"Thank you, sir."
"'Sir?'" said the Doctor in surprise. "But
that was a woman's voice, yeah?"
"Starfleet protocol requires us to respond
to all superiors as 'sir.'"
The Doctor's nose wrinkled. "'Starfleet?'
Is that like UNIT?"
"To what unit are you referring to, sir?"
"UNIT, you know? The Unified Intelligence Taskforce in the twenty-first century?"
Coralie shook her head. "I'm sorry, I
don't."
The Doctor muttered to himself, "I must
be in a completely different timestream, then.
Nothing seems right, here."
Before she could respond to him, a security team consisting of a small, but stocky man
and a tall and muscular woman entered with
their type-two phasers drawn. "Sir, if you
could come with us, please?" the woman said.
"I'm unarmed, gentleman and lady. Please put
your weapons away," the Doctor replied, raising both arms up in surrender. "And don't call
me 'sir.'"
Within the ship's medical bay, Commander Jones held the Doctor's sonic screw-
driver in her hands, eyeing it carefully. It had a
blue light at one end and a black tip at the
other. "And this was all he had on his person?"
The ship's chief tactical officer, Lieutenant Gwen Cooper, shook her head. "No, sir.
He had a small piece of paper in a folded
case," she said, handing it to the executive officer. "The strange thing is, when my man
over there handed it to me, it held his vital statistics upon it until I touched it. I'd like for
Commander Taurik to analyze it."
"Agreed," Jones said, now looking over
the blank paper. "And this other device, too.
Make sure it isn't a weapon."
The Doctor replied before Gwen could.
AU 201203
28
FANFIC
"It's not. It's my sonic screwdriver. It's a tool,
not a weapon."
Martha turned around and cast a stern
glare at the Doctor. "Every tool is a weapon, if
you hold it right." She stepped forward to introduce herself, "I'm Lieutenant Commander"Martha Jones!" said the Doctor at the
same moment. "As I live and breathe!"
Confused, Jones continued, "I'm the
ship's executive officer."
As soon as she came into view, the Doctor's eyebrows rose and a wide smile appeared upon his face. "And Gwen Cooper!
But, this is fantastic!"
Jones' expression changed to one of
completely confusion. "Have we met before?"
His grin widened perceptibly. "In another
time, another parallel universe. Though, I find
it odd that you would appear further down the
timestream than in my universe. Very
strange," the Doctor began talking to himself.
29
AU 201203
"I wonder who else is here instead of back in
the twenty-first century?"
Gwen looked at Martha. "What the hell is
going on about, now, sir?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," admitted
Jones, perplexed. She raised her voice to address the Doctor, once more, "Sir, I'm afraid
that I'll need to hold you here in sickbay until
the captain has had a chance to go over our
report."
The Doctor grinned uncontrollably, "And
who's your captain? No, wait, let me guess. Is
it Donna Noble?" He turned his head and muttered again, "No, military service isn't really
her style." He snapped his fingers, "Ah! I'll bet
it's Captain Jack Harkness!"
"Actually," said a new voice from the entrance into sickbay. "My name is Erisa
Magambo. I'm the commanding officer of Bellerophon."
His eyebrows flew up again. "Yes, of
course. Captain Magambo. Well, I'm in good
hands, then."
Martha turned to face her
captain. "Obviously, he
seems to know us fairly
well, sir. He knew me, as
well. And Lieutenant
Cooper. Just said our
names like he'd known
us all our lives."
"And apparently, me," replied Magambo with her
arms folded. "I'm told you
refer to yourself as 'The
Doctor.' Well, listen up,
Doctor. I don't take kindly
to people suddenly appearing aboard my ship
while we're dealing with a
crisis situation."
The Doctor tilted his
head. "What crisis, specifically?"
Martha answered, "We're
FANFIC
responding to a distress call from one of our
outposts on the edge of Federation territory.
An experiment gone wrong, and may have released a new threat from an unknown part of
the galaxy."
Magambo shot an angry glance toward
Jones. "Thank you, Number One."
"Apologies, sir," mumbled Martha.
"Doctor Thann?" asked Magambo.
"Have you made a full evaluation of our...
guest?"
Thann, a tall and thin Andorian male
wearing the rank insignia of a full lieutenant,
activated a viewscreen to demonstrate his
findings. "Interesting physiology, sir. I could
publish several papers on the findings and
have an outside shot at this year's Carrington."
Captain Magambo rolled her eyes.
"Delusions of avarice aside, Doctor, is he human?"
"No, Captain," said the ship's chief medical officer. "Dual myogenic muscular organs,
he also appears to have conscious manipulation at the cellular level, and his central nervous system is reinforced by a-"
Magambo raised her hand as Thann
continued. "Thank you. 'No' was sufficient."
She turned her attention to the Doctor. "To
echo a question posed by Ensign Picard, who
are you, and what are you doing here?"
"Who I am has already been answered,
Captain. What I'm doing here remains to be
seen, however," replied the Doctor. "But I give
you my word. I'm here to help." His eyes wandered between all three of the officers standing before him. "If you'll allow me to."
The captain frowned and considered his
words carefully. After a long pause, she admitted, "I'm not certain if it is part of your racial
characteristics or not, Doctor, but I find myself
believing what you're saying."
The Doctor rose from his seated position
on the biobed and tucked his hands in his
trousers. "All I can say with absolute certainty,
ladies, is that with the three of you standing
here before me... I've never been more confident in my life that I'm in the best care possible."
Magambo sputtered for the first time
since she took command. "How could you
possibly be so confident? You don't even
know us!"
"I don't know you here and now, Captain
Erisa Magambo, but in my timestream, you
are a UNIT commander. One of the finest.
"Hold on a tick," he said.
His smile widened more,
and he pointed at her.
"Are you French?"
You and a brilliant young scientist named Malcolm Taylor managed to save my life and the
lives of several civilians, whilst also preventing an invasion that would have surely-"
"Doctor!" shouted Magambo. "I'm clearly
not certain how you do things, but in Starfleet,
we obey the Temporal Prime Directive. That
means that we do not divulge any information
that might affect the future!"
The Doctor was taken aback. "I... don't
know what to say."
Magambo allowed herself a small smile
in triumph. "It's quite all right, Doctor. I apologize for shouting."
The Doctor, on the other hand, was not
listening to her. "That a human organization is
fully cognizant of the ramifications of subverting their own timestream is... most refreshing.
Usually, you jump at the opportunity to learn
all you can. This level of restraint is surprising
and dare I say... insightful?"
Martha smirked. "He's beside himself
with admiration."
Magambo interrupted the conversation,
"The Temporal Prime Directive is one of our
general orders, Doctor. I do not take kindly to
it being broken in my presence."
"That's fine by me, Captain. However,
AU 201203
30
FANFIC
since this is a completely different timestream,
and the events I'm describing took place over
four hundred years ago, technically it's the
past," the Doctor replied with a cheerful smile
and rocked back and forth on his feet. "Isn't
it?"
Clearly, the captain did not appreciate
being contradicted. "I see your point."
"Good. Now, the TARDIS wouldn't just
drop me into a different timestream without
some kind of reason," the Doctor noted as he
paced around the trio of officers. "Given recent events, I gave up on believing in coincidences. What's the trouble, and how can I
help?"
Magambo pressed her lips together tight
enough to turn them white. She regarded the
Doctor with a measured gaze before turning
to Jones. "Number One, secure this man in a
holding cell until further notice. I shall consult
with Starfleet Command."
Martha did not hesitate. "Aye, sir. Mister
Cooper."
Gwen's phaser was in her hand. "Sir, if
you will accompany me...?"
The Doctor's hands came out of his pockets
and extended up with his palms outward. He
sighed resignedly. "Blimey! Not this again."
"What's a 'TARDIS?'" wondered Martha,
after she followed Captain Magambo into the
corridor outside sickbay.
"I presume the blue box sitting in my cargo bay. Have it secured," ordered the captain.
"No one goes near it. Especially not our
guest."
"Aye, sir," said Martha. She quickly issued the orders to the security officer on the
bridge. "What if he's telling the truth, sir?"
"And what if he's aligned with these...
creatures?" snapped Magambo, as soon as
they entered the confines of the turbolift. "No,
31
AU 201203
I won't take that risk until I know more. Much
more." She looked up and said, "Bridge."
The lift traveled the five decks up to the
command center within moments. Captain
and executive officer passed through the
bridge and into the ready room. "Captain to
Mister Blake. I want to talk to Starfleet Command, code forty-seven."
Ursula's voice replied over the speakers.
"Aye, sir. One moment, please." It took ten.
"Piping it through, now, sir."
The small screen upon Magambo's desk
blinked to show the insignia of Starfleet Command, and then the words, "AUDIO ONLY." A
woman's voice asked, "Yes, Captain?"
"Sir, we have taken into custody a man
who calls himself 'The Doctor,'" informed
Magambo, without preamble. "He claims to be
here to help."
"Understood. You will release the Doctor, immediately."
The captain could not help her confusion. "Admiral, I-"
"That was not a suggestion, Captain
Magambo!" the woman's voice hardened.
"Release the Doctor. He carries X-Ray clearance within Starfleet, on my authority. Is that
clear?"
Martha's jaw fell at the news. X-Ray was
above Alpha on the Starfleet Security food
chain. She nearly said something, but
Magambo raised her hand to stop her.
"I understand, sir," the captain said evenly. "If I may be permitted to ask a question,
Admiral?"
"One question, Captain."
Magambo paused to consider her words.
"If the Doctor holds such a high clearance, am
I to presume then, that he carries a rank within Starfleet?"
The woman's voice softened noticeably.
"He carries no rank, Captain. Do not even address him as 'sir.' He dislikes that a great
deal. But you will treat him with the same level
of respect as you would me."
Both Martha's and Magambo's eyes wid-
FANFIC
ened. The captain nodded to the voice that
could not see her. "Aye, sir. Thank you for indulging me."
"You will keep me apprised of your progress as frequently as possible. Starfleet,
out." The screen blinked again, and the insignia returned before it cleared and powered
down.
"That raised more questions than it answered," Martha said with a sigh. "Shall I-?"
"You shall," Magambo pointed to the exit. "Quickly, please. And brief him on what we
know so far. Take him to Commander Taurik,
immediately."
Doctor Who's Who
Erisa Magambo was a UNIT (UNited
Intelligence Taskforce [United Nations]) Captain, she appeared in Series 4 (or Season 30,
depending) episode "Turn Left," and the 2009
special, "The Planet of the Dead."
Martha Jones was the Doctor's companion during Series 3 (or Season 29). She
recurred in Series 4's "The Sontaran
Strategem," "The Poison Sky," "The Doctor's
Daughter," "The Stolen Earth," and "Journey's
End," as a member of UNIT.
Ursula Blake and Ethan Pope were
both a part of LINDA (London Investigation 'N
Detective Agency) from the Series 2 (Season
29) episode "Love & Monsters."
Gwen Cooper first appeared as a Cardiff police constable in the series Torchwood
(a Doctor Who spin-off), where she is one of
the lead characters.
Toshiko Sato first appeared in the Series 1 (Season 28) episode, "Aliens in London." She went on to be a supporting character in the spin-off, Torchwood.
Historian's Note
Star Trek: This takes place roughly
eight years after Star Trek: Voyager's series
finale, "Endgame."
Doctor Who: This takes place sometime after the 2009 Special, "The Planet of the
Dead," and immediately before "The Waters
of Mars."
Chapter Three: “Apologies and Ramifications,” shall be published in next month’s issue of Achievement Unlocked.
But before we leave it here, there are
some story notes you should read for more information about the setting and the characters.
If you enjoyed this fanfic and wish to read
more like it, we highly recommend the Ad Astra Star Trek Fanfiction Archive, located at
http://www.adastrafanfic.com.
AU 201203
32
TRAINING
ri s
Tri
g
we
ll
TRAINING OFFICE
Ar
tb
yK
The following is a list of all courses completed by
Gygax personnel in the month of February 2012.
For more information on how you sign up for
courses online and add your name to next
months‟ list, visit the Starfleet Academy website.
CDR MICHAEL D GARCIA
COC 201: DISTINCTION
SIM 105: PASS
ENS MARTY MONTGOMERY
OTS: HONORS
COS 101: DISTINCTION
COS 102: DISTINCTION
COS 103: DISTINCTION
COS 104: DISTINCTION
COS 105: HONORS
SORS 101: HONORS
SORS 201: PASS
SORS 202: HONORS
SORS 203: PASS
SORS 204: HONORS
SORS 205: HONORS
SORS 206: DISTINCTION
SORS 301: HONORS
SORS 302: PASS
33
AU 201203
ENS TED POOL
OTS: PASS
COS 101: HONORS
COS 102: DISTINCTION
COS 103: HONORS
COS 104: HONORS
COS 105: HONORS
COS 202: DISTINCTION
COS 301: PASS
OW 114.1: PASS
SORS 101: PASS
SORS 102: HONORS
SORS 103: HONORS
SORS 201: PASS
ENS SARAH RANDLE
OTS: HONORS
COS 101: DISTINCTION
COS 102: DISTINCTION
COS 103: DISTINCTION
COS 104: DISTINCTION
COS 105: DISTINCTION
ENS DUANE WATTS
COS 104: DISTINCTION
ENS JAMES E HOWARD
OTS: PASS
COURSES COMPLETED:
ACADEMY STUDENTS:
38
6
BUPERS
BUREAU OF PERSONNEL
This report consists of all changes to personnel status
within the month of February 2012. This will include those
persons who have come aboard to join, departed the ship,
received a promotion or appointment into a staff position.
ENS JOSHUA BENNER
PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT (JG)
PROMOTED TO (PROV) LIEUTENANT
APPOINTED AS CHIEF ENGINEERING OFFICER
PO3 SHON A ELLIOTT
PROMOTED TO PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS
SARAH RANDLE
MARTY MONTGOMERY
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT
PROMOTED TO ENSIGN
MICHAEL M M HAYNES
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT
ASSIGNED TO STARFLEET ACADEMY
APPOINTED AS MIDSHIPMAN 4TH CLASS
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT TED POOL
PROMOTED TO ENSIGN
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT
ERNESTO VILLAREAL
PROMOTED TO ENSIGN
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT MATT GILLETTE
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT
JAMES E HOWARD
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT CHRIS M MACLIR
PROMOTED TO ENSIGN
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT
JOSHUA M FOSTER
REPORTED ABOARD AS CREWMAN RECRUIT FULL MEMBERS:
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS:
TOTAL MEMBERS:
25
4
29
AU 201203
34
TECH
U.S.S. Gygax NCC-63545
Technical Specifications
INTRODUCTION: LET’S LEARN ABOUT OUR SHIP!
By ENS Duane Watts through the ship enable everyone to live in
Engineering Officer comfort.
A lounge provides quiet
contemplation of the space outside the ship.
elcome to your new ship, the Holodecks, a shooting range, and gymnasium
USS Gygax NCC-63545! This round out the amenities, giving a wide range
Akira-class heavy cruiser is of activities to help stave off boredom on long
home to the 20th Marine Strike Group, “The deployments.
Natural 20s,” as well. For those of you who
In an emergency, this class of starship
aren‟t familiar with the Akira-class, these has a well-staffed Sickbay and plenty of
ships are a combination of torpedo boat and escape pods. This class also has the ability
fighter carrier.
to take on 4,500 evacuees by converting
Fifteen torpedo tubes provide the areas of the ship for temporary habitation.
W
ability to lay down heavy amount of firepower
while the Marine pilots can perform launches
and landing simultaneously with our modified
through-deck hangar.
Additional phaser
armaments provide the Akira-class with the
capability to do precision strikes on any
opposing craft that closes in to prevent
warhead or projectile combat.
Like all Starfleet ships, the Akira-class
provides all of the amenities of home. Ample
quarters and staterooms for officers and crew
35
AU 201203
The through-deck hangar also gives the Akira
-class unprecedented turnaround times in
performing evacuation missions for other
starships, starbases, or even planets, utilizing
the full compliment of auxiliary craft aboard.
In later issues, we‟ll go through the
ship, deck by deck, to help every
crewmembers become familiar with our ship,
the people who work here, and the more
interesting points that can be found aboard.
ENG
engineering truth
By (prov) LT Joshua Benner
Before considering other options, we
Chief Engineering Officer must first identify what our needs are. I've
compiled this (probably incomplete) list of
SS Gygax is just about to needs I see for our chapter in a website:
commission
into
STARFLEET
International
as
a
full  Topic-based
discussion
(post
with
correspondence
chapter.
As
a
comments, or threads, etc.)
correspondence chapter, we are naturally  Email notifications
very different than the traditional SFI regional  Event calendar
chapter. While we aren't restricted by  Customizable (ranks, awards)
geography, neither do we benefit from
proximity. As such, our means of gathering
Strictly speaking, the forum meets all of
and communication in the age of the Internet these requirements. One small exception I'd
is: our website.
grant is that the forum's email notifications are
At the launch of our chapter we quickly not always the best -- but once they are
deployed a forum web site for discussions configured, they're not terrible.
and tracking chapter information. Members
I would love to hear from the chapter
are strongly encouraged to register for an members about what they'd be looking for in a
account and participate in the forum. To date website. Do you think the forum is doing a
the forum has done fairly well; however, we good job? If not, where do you feel it lacks?
have begun to consider if the forum is our
ideal platform for communication and
coordination, or if we should consider other Joshua Benner is the Chief Engineering Officer of USS
Gygax and the webmaster of USSGygax.com. You can
options.
U
reach him at eng@ussgygax.com.
AU 201203
36
SCI
SCIENCE REPORT
By (prov) LTJG Monica Ayhens
Chief Science Officer
A
d astra, per aspera. The lovely Latin
motto of Starfleet, which translates to
“to the stars, through difficulty.”
Even though the fictional enrollees and
graduates of Starfleet Academy may have an
easier time traveling to the stars physically than
us denizens of the twentieth century, the fact
that the stars, and all the promise and wonder
that they hold, remain the focus of Starfleet‟s
motto, mantra, and mission all speak powerfully
not merely to the place of science in the
fictional future, but in the present imagination.
Maybe it‟s the historian in me, who sees
introductions as a necessary evil, but I want to
make this first column for Gygax’ science
department a proper set-up for what is to come
in future columns. Historians may be more
artists than scientists, trained to interpret more
than we are to explain in hard and fast rules,
but we should be always ready to tell a good
story. And part of that is realizing where we
intersect our work, where our past and our bias
and our experiences come into play. A little
subjectivity has yet to kill anyone, and it
certainly won‟t in a Starfleet fan club newsletter.
Like many Trek fans, I think it was the
science that hooked me, pulled me into the
world of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the
late eighties. I drank in the technobabble and
the strange new worlds as much as I may have
shipped Picard and Crusher (at least she was a
blue shirt?) my favorite hook-up for Picard was
37
the
piano-playing
geologist,
Lieutenant
Commander Nella
Daren. And when
Deep Space Nine
came along, I fell
hopelessly in love
with the beautiful
and brainy Jadzia
Dax, thus cementing
my perpetual crush
on blue shirts. And
even when the science was wrong – and oh
kids, when Trek got it wrong, they did so big
time – the fact that science was so important,
that discovery and learning and exploration
clearly mattered a lot to this fictional future,
helped make up for things like “Threshold.”
And so, future installments will be a
blending, like any historical work, of past,
present, and this shared vision of the future
that‟s brought us all together in some way. It
will hopefully be insightful. It may often seem
irrelevant. It will often touch on Trek, though
there may be diversions to the role of
exploration in the eighteenth-century British
navy, or the tasty science that is baking. It will
look at science in the public, from education to
how to be a „citizen scientist,‟ and how it has
forever altered our private everyday lives. And
on days I am cramming for my doctoral comps,
it may try to explain the question of textual
authority in Enlightenment medical science. I
apologize in advance for those days.
Used with permission.
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



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Enterprise
The Original Series
The Next Generation
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Voyager
Mirror Universe
Alternate Universe
Expanded Universe
Crossovers
and Essays and Reference Files!
We offer the above plus forums,
blogs, and image hosting to our
community of authors.
FREE to Read! FREE to Join!
WHAT’S
NEXT
MARCH 2012 Chapter Events:
March 1: March Newsletter published.
March 3: “Facility 4028” feature episode release (STO).
March 5: Chapter Monthly Status Report (MSR) due.
March 10: “Boldly They Rode” feature episode release (STO).
March 12: USS Gygax commissions!
March 13: CDR Tia Marie‟s Birthday!
March 20: Artwork submissions due for April newsletter.
March 25: Written submissions due for April newsletter.
In the APRIL 2012 issue of ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED:
FEATURE
STORY:
An in-depth
interview with the developers of the
highly-anticipated
iOS
game
(pictured), Star Command!
ENS Duane Watts will take us
further into the inner workings of
USS Gygax with part one of his
Technical Specifications.
ENS Ted Pool will give us his
opinion on the latest featured
episodes from Star Trek Online.
And there‟s more fanfic ahead with
Chapter Three of Star Trek: The
New Threat.
SEND ALL NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS TO COMMS@USSGYGAX.COM!
AU 201203
40
MASTHEAD
CREDITS
PUBLISHER
CDR Michael D. Garcia, CO
(co@ussgygax.com)
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LTJG Larry L. Balsley, ChiComm
(comms@ussgygax.com)
CONTRIBUTORS
VADM Chrissy Killian
LCDR Tia Marie
LT Melissa Hadley
(prov) LT Joshua Benner
(prov) LTJG Monica Ayhens
ENS Duane Watts
PO2 Shon Elliott
MID Michael Haynes
ARTISTS
CDR Michael D. Garcia
LCDR Lauri McConaughey
(USS Indomitable, R5)
APPLICATIONS
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X3
Autodesk 3DS MAX 2010 x64
Notepad++
Microsoft Publisher 2010
Crossword Compiler 8
Issuu.com
SPECIAL THANKS
VADM Chrissy Killian
CAPT Zach Perkins
USS PeaceKeeper (sponsoring chapter)
USS Angeles
USS Navras, R3
USS Zavala, R3
41
AU 201203
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED is a publication of the
Communications Department of USS Gygax. USS
Gygax is a correspondence chapter of STARFLEET,
The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. It is
intended for the private use of our members. USS
Gygax and STARFLEET hold no claims to any
trademarks, copyrights, or properties held by CBS
Corporation. All content from STAR TREK including
still images and character names and other
trademarks is the property of CBS Corporation and
used without intention of infringement. STARFLEET,
The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc.
operates as a non-profit fan club and is committed to
promoting STAR TREK.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED BY USS
GYGAX is licensed under the
Creative Commons AttributionNonCommericial-NoDerivs
3.0
License. Some rights reserved.
United
States
The rank insignias in this
publication were created
by Kuro-chan of KuroRPG.net. If you wish to obtain them and an up-todate copy, access kuro-rpg.net.
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