Cheshire McCaster

Niko

Annual Stonewall Fleet Spring Swing 2018

April 23 2018
Come warriors, my blade thirst for combat!
2 people liked this
Cal

calx

Nobody talking about Discovery?

April 22 2018
It's Trek for the new age
Unknown Person liked this

Unknown Person

Annual Stonewall Fleet Spring Swing 2018

April 22 2018
Events Schedule

Saturday 4/28

8AM PST, 11AM EST, 4pm UTC - Opening Ceremonies- Defera City Ground Zone at the Preserver Ruins.

8:30AM PST, 11:30AM EST, 4:30PM UTC - PVE queues, 20-man Colony Invasion & Starbase Defense - Private queues

10AM PST, 1PM EST, 6pm UTC - Lost Admiral Event - Deep Space Nine (Ops)

12PM PST, 3PM EST, 8pm UTC - Grand Melee Tournament - Private PvP queues

2PM PST, 5pm EST, 10PM UTC - Voleron's Livestream Trek Trivia


Sunday 4/29

9AM PST, 12pm EST, 5PM UTC - PVE Space & Ground Queues

10:30AM PST, 1:30PM EST, 6:30PM UTC - Spring Swing Fashion Show

12pm PST, 3pm EST, 8pm UTC - Closing Ceremonies/Dance Party
2 people liked this
Edited April 23 2018 by Unknown Person

Unknown Person

Annual Stonewall Fleet Spring Swing 2018

April 22 2018
https://www.stonewallgaming.net/photos/125362


LLAP, Jolan'Tru and Qa'pla, Fleetie Darlings!

It's that time of year again. Our annual Spring Swing Event is just around the corner. Join us on Saturday 4/28 and Sunday 4/29 for a weekend of fun events with your fellow Fleeties. Stay tuned to this thread for an a detailed events schedule and descriptions of some of our events! #springswing2018
10 people liked this
Edited April 22 2018 by Unknown Person
Gareth GXV3

GXV3

Writing Contest: Tales out of Time

April 22 2018
The Joining Of Life : Act II - The Time To Strike

One of the disadvantages of being in starfleet, especially being in command is the privilege of debating "what if's" in your mind, when a decision arrives it must be carried out, it would have been the right course of action at the time, there is to be no second guessing when your in command of a vessel full of crew trusting your every word.

Through all the years.. and all his Trill life hosts, Gareth was always content on the choices and orders he gave, no matter what career.
but one choice he had made had been troubling him for many years since a certain order was issued.
sleepless nights, "what if's" and "should I have's" pounded his mind as he tried to drift off to sleep in his dark quarters.
A file on a certain officer he had lost during one mission was always brought up on screen.
"Caleb Llandrax
Status: Deceased

Lost during a Voth war conflict"

a few years had past since the day of the dreaded order, two lives had been lost, sacrificed for the continuation of a fleet wide mission, Gareth went about each day since.. issuing orders of the Captain of a ship, darting about the galaxy on daring missions, but with each day, holding private meetings with himself, drawing out action plans, strategies and mission outlines.
While life continued on for the federation, contacts with new races with unique technologies that gave a new era to starfleet, the most notable of these new eras were missions involving a temporal agent named "Daniels", With these encounters Starfleet gained access to a new breed of Starship and technology.. this was the moment Gareth needed, the piece of the puzzle that was missing from his personal meetings.

The beauty of being at Fleet Admiral rank within starfleet is that you can choose your own ship to command when available, with a new line production of Temporal Science vessels, Gareth submitted a Request to high command... it was not the ship he wanted.. but some of its parts, most notably a casual anchor and Tipler cylinder consoles.. plus a few parts here and there.
It was in fact the newly Recommissioned "Crossfield class" of starship  that Gareth Submitted to be a commanding Admiral of. 
A highly classified starship used in the earlier part of the Federations history when experimenting with various space folding technology, known as "Spore Drives".

A few strings were pulled, favours called upon and Gareth and his crew departed there trustworthy and reliable Nebula class U.S.S. Pendragon, that had protected and seen them through many a scrape, and Boarded what was to be there new home... the Crossfield Class "U.S.S. Cerberus".
The years of regret were finally going to subside, he had the tools for his plan.. he just needed to carry it out. Gareth called a meeting of his senior staff, at the back of his mind he knew how vain this mission was, a personal mission that was unbecoming of a starfleet officer to put his own grief first, not to mention his Trill heritage and the impact it should have if the Trill homeworld find out.  

With the meeting in place aboard the Cerberus, The Fleet Admiral outlined that they are to revisit an old mission, to save the lives of two starfleet officers who had sacrificed themselves during a bloody war, however this will not be a straight forward mission.. the use of the temporal technologies installed on the vessel.. and the spor drive needed precise calculations, as well as a high level of stealth.  
With the crew now involved, with some eyebrows raised, Gareth and his Bridge officers set the task of calculations, vectors and mission simulations, while other officers procured the last remaining element of there mission, a Voth shuttle.

The time to Strike was now, with everything in place, all calculations set, the mission was ready, years of planning fell to this moment.
The Cerberus jumped to black alert, vibrations ran through the hull of the ship, the spore drive bounced into action, the view of dark deep spaced was suddenly changed to the bright huw of the low level atmosphere from within a Dyson sphere.
Tactical detected a federation starship some distance away, it was the U.S.S. Pendragon, it appeared for a brief moment before it warped out of range.
Science scanned for a Bajoran and Trill lifesign from within the Voth held structure below them.. they were down there.. orders were issued to lock onto the there lifesigns.
the Cerberus Shuttle bay doors opened and the Voth shuttle was tractored out and stayed in position floating next to the Cerberus unmanned.

"Science, beam the two life signs aboard the shuttle on my mark" Gareth ordered, timing was everything.. looking over at his console on his captains chair, a radiation build up was detected in the Voth structure "Engage transporter" Gareth commanded.
The science officer confirmed that the Trill male and the Bajoran female were safely aboard the voth shuttle.
With that Gareth got up from his chair, issued black alert and ordered helm to spore drive with the planned calculations immediately, with that the ship vibrated once more, the crew feeling nausious and dizzy as the advanced temporal spore drive slung them back to the present time as if nothing had happened.

With the crew thanked, gareth headed for his ready room, He pulled up the starfleet records of "Lt.Caleb",
It Read:
Caleb Llandrax 
Active officer
Won an medal of distinction for efforts during the Voth war,
promoted to Commander soon after returning back to federation space having gained access to an enemy's shuttle"


Gareth exhaled deeply and sat back in his chair, all years of regret had finally been lifted, he had brought back two officers that he had lost without anyone's knowledge, though he would probably never have done it if it weren't for Caleb being his former hosts son.




This was ACT II of a story from here

#writingcontest #talesoutoftime
5 people liked this
Edited April 22 2018 by GXV3

Unknown Person

Writing Contest: Tales out of Time

April 21 2018
"K'Gan, Red Alert! Give me visuals, Now! I need to see what we are up against" Kai barked as he exited the turbolift.

As the sensor readings started to make sense, K’Gan realised what was happening: “Captain, I’m reading over three hundred ships, on an intercept course for Deep Space Nine. This can’t be right, the ships signatures, they are Hur’q! This can only be an invasion, we must engage!”


“NO!” Kai screamed, “We must warn the High Council, Helm set a course for Qo’nos. Today is not a good day to…”

Before the Dahar Master could even finish, he felt the d'k tahg pierce his heart. Dropping to the floor, crying out in pain, he pressed his hand against the wound and tried to slow the bleeding, but nothing seemed to stop the torrent of blood. He felt his eyes grow heavy and his pulse weaken, as he prepared to enter Sto'Vo'Kor, he was blinded by a sudden flash of light that engulfed everything.

Confused and stunned, Kai was back on Bajor, as he slowly closed the doors to the Orb of Prophecy he realised what needed to be done.

K’Gan must die.

#talesoutoftime  #writingcontest
6 people liked this
Michael

Mstfrancis

Writing Contest: Tales out of Time

April 15 2018
“Stardate 8731-,” the voice paused unsure of himself. It cracked slightly before continuing, “0.6, Second Officers Log. Today is more difficult as the last. I think I’m getting used to saying that. With the reports of more losses and minor victories, getting out of my bed has become a full time job in itself.” 
 
The Catian starred at the ceiling before slowly sitting up. He continued his log entry, “The crew of the Endurance, is beginning to feel the losses as well, each morning there is one less post filled on this ship, one less crewman, one less friend. The Endurance has become a harbor amongst the 5th fleet as the long range science vessel among escorts and cruisers we have been relegated to being battle command and intelligence gathering. We are the linch pin to our operation of ensuring victory against the onslaught of Iconian attacks.”
 
The officer paused, before moving to the sonic shower where his tail twitched in anticipation of a minute to scrub everything off him. He looked in the mirror and sighed, “And as the Chief Science Officer it is my duty to brief the departing crewman, along with our redoubt Chief Engineer, who somehow looks like he truly is on his element.” He paused and peered up up at himself noting the subtle grey hairs forming around his mouth and nose. He thought to himself, I’m too young to get grey. I’m only 35. He continued, “unlike our Human Engineer, I can feel my facade cracking, each briefing becoming more somber, more matter of fact, and less positive.”
 
He stepped into the shower and began the pulsing jets. “I wish I was more human in that regard. Yes, I know as a Catain, I am supposed to have the survival instincts that rival our Aenar first officer, but the last time after a training exercise, he remarked something about begging declawed. I remember, just nodding and making note that I would do better.” He stood waiting for the timer to finish, “truth is, yes I can be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but I joined Starfleet in the hopes that I would be a scientist studying, and researching, learning more about the space around us. Instead I’m researching intel reports, battle plans, and after-action reports. This is now my theater, war. I am just a marionette having my strings pulled.” 
 
The timer pinged on the shower. “You are clean, you will be glad to have reported, your injury is healing, and three shift rotations you should no longer feel pain in the joint. Have a wonderful day Commander.” 
 
He chimed for the recording, “Say what you will about the Corp of Engineers but, having a body scanner put in the sonic showers was actually a great idea. My medical staff have been happy with the results and how they are better able to get consistent reports from the staff.”
 
He made his way to his closet and slipped on his uniform. He started again, “But today is different than those before, we have a new assignment, to rendezvous with the 2nd Armada in route to the Japori system. We are to provide relief efforts to the Delta Expedition. At 09:30 hours we are to intake casualties and send in wave 45. At that time, the Lexington, Howard, Keelhopper, and the Buk’yr are to head through the gateway. We are expecting 240 civilian refugees, and 531 officers to arrive. 65 of the arrivals are in critical condition and require immediate transport to Starbase 234. This is purely a relief and refuel effort to support our comrades in arms in the Delta Quadrant. Seeing that many wounded and dirty faces is not going to be good for morale. Though, I can say that it feels better to actually be helping the cause than playing in the back lines in the dark.”
 
He adjusted the pips in his collar, before the boatswain whistle sounded, “Attention, attention, all officers report to duty stations, we are arriving in the Japori system.” The message repeated, and M’Zaant made his way to the door. “Computer, end recording, and save.” The computer chirped and he made his way to the bridge. Crew members raced through the halls to the duty stations. He passed cargo bay 3 on the way to the turbolift and saw the junior medical team convening to ensure that the beds and the supplies were in order before the casualties arrive. The faces he passed were stoic and calm, it was if he was witnessing his well oiled machine work under the hood. He felt the tension while they moved, he did not need to be telepathic to sense the concern.
 
When he arrived to the bridge, it was bustling with teams racing and making final prechecks before they in took the casualties. A young ensign turned to him and flagged him to his console. M’Zaant made his way to the ensigns station. “Sir,” the crewman stated,” I wanted to let you know that I am picking up an anomaly from 2235 Mark 42. I am unsure if this is different from the gravity well that is produced from the stargate. M’Zaant starred at the image and his eyes widened.
 
“Helm, come about 343 mark 4, move off!” He shouted, “hail the Lexington.”
 
The bridge paused in confusion, before making their way to the stations and engaging his commands. “Sir, the anomaly is growing.” The ensign called.
 
“Red Alert!” As the alarm sounded the stargate to the delta quadrant ripped and then emitted a bright blinding light. The teams shielded their eyes before the light dimmed. Proximity alarms sounded as he saw the Lexington ripped apart through the view screen. Shreds of hulls and cargo sailed through space as the convoy from the Delta quadrant arrived in pieces. The bridge crew sat in silent horror as the realization the refugees and the officer transports were destroyed along with the Lexington.
 
That horror was magnified when what they saw materialize from the gateway. Alarms blared as the bridge crew scrambled. The computer called overhead “Attention, attention, all hands report to battle stations. Iconian warship off the port bow.” The alarm called again as the captain arrived on the bridge. “I need a report now!” He called. As M’zaant turned, “The convoy was destroyed and what we received instead is an Iconian battlecruiser.”
 
“Sir, We are receiving a hail from Mol’Rihan. Iconian ground forces has landed and begun to storm the ruins.” The comms officer called out, the captain nodded to indicate putting the call on the comms. The computer squeaked and then chirped. “This is Sub Lieutenant Vora Moray of Republic Command. We are under attack from Iconian troops! We need emergency aid from all available alliance members. The ground forced have reached the valley region and are marching toward the staging facility. We are unsure how much longer are shields will hold.” The comms cut out.
 
The captain ordered the fleet to fall back as the Iconian warship neared. He motioned to the Comms officer and asked for an open hail to the fleet, “All ships report to Mol’Rihan. Our Romulan friends need our assistance. Engage at warp 9.” The bridge was silent as the comms closed and helm set a course for the new Romulan homeworld and engaged. The captain made his way to his chair and pressed a button on the arm. The boatswain whistled an all hands alert, “My fellow officers,” the message began to broadcast through all the decks, “we are about to face insurmountable odds. The Romulan Homeworld is under full assault from the Iconians. This is a message to the Alliance, a message that says we can arrive to your door without warning and come full force. But we as Starfleet officers know what our reply will be, it will be strong, it will be forceful, and it will be unyielding. We will stand together and we, with our Romulan brothers will stand against this attack. We must make sure our message is clear.” The captain paused, and continued, “That we are strong, and we will not fail.”
 
From below the decks, a collective “yee-haw,” wailed. And with each deck the sound of the crew became louder as they called out in unison. The captain nodded, “I will take that response as an aye-aye”.  The inter-ship communication buzzed as the channel closed. The ship dropped out of warp, and as the planet came into focus so did the swath of Iconian forces surrounding the planet. They glistened in the sunlight of the planet in a haze of blue and orange. A glittering blast of their blue antiproton beams burst like fireworks amongst the distant hulls of the ships.
 
“Sir, I am not sure we can get through the armada without engaging the fleet.” The nervous helmsman confided.
The captain stood resting his hands on his chin, “I need ideas”
“Sir,” M’Zaant spoke up, I think I have an idea and you will not like it”
 
**
 
The ship lurched in the atmosphere as the bridge crew held on to their stations. The view screen showed the mountain ridges of the new Romulus colony, as they warped above the terrain, “Now commander before, our ship is covered in vomit.” The transporters were activated as teams landed in the staging area. The ship warped out, leaving a bubble of space and rushing air as the crews tried to stand their ground in front of the embassy. M’Zaant called to the lieutenant tactical officer and asked her to take point as the troops moved to toward the structure.
 
“I have never seen a ship warp into the atmosphere of a planet before.” A Uhlan stated. “that was something.”
“We were not quite sure that was going to be possible,” An ensign smiled, as he rushed to the monument for Spock. “It was the handy work of our CSO.”
M’Zaant’s comms chirped, “Commander, we have landed in the ruins. Heading toward the underground tunnels.”
“Aye captain,” M’Zaant called out, “we will hold the line here.”
The teams huddled behind the retaining walls, the quartermaster began setting up secondary medical and shield generators as the infantry set up phaser rifles and turrets on the wall. Science officers began working their tricorders to install gravimetric traps afore of the stronghold. The glittering shield reflected off the stone façade of the new republic embassy. M’Zaant thought to himself how beautiful the blue looked as it speckled under the purple sky. A sniper called out, “incoming! 8 columns.”
 
The teams steadied their weapons and eyed the ridge before the chasm. The troops became silent as the threat came closer. On the horizon the sound of footfalls became heavier. Treading one step after another. The beat of the garrison resonated louder with each movement. An ensign from the stronghold blew into his hands and wiped them on his shirt, as they started to sweat, in the humidity and stress. He held his post and readjusted his sights. M’Zaant called to his sentries. “Hold, the line. They have come this far, no further.”
 
The gunners recharged their clips. And held their sights. An explosion ripped through the calm terrain as the first Heralds tripped the gravity traps, causing flashes of swirling light among the dark landscape. The troops neared as the first sights of the Herald came into view an Ulhan called out, “I see a Harbinger.”
 
“Launch plasmonic charges.” M’Zaant called out as the engineers fired the first battery into the charging heralds. The micro missiles whirred off the platform in a sea of green light, as they erupted into the crowd of charging troops a noxious green gas was released among the Heralds lighting plasma fires where they stand. As the gas spread out the Heralds volleyed with wave after wave of Antiproton bursts, causing the shield to glimmer from the eruptions. The officers shot back firing through the shield cutting into the oncoming ranks of the Iconian troops. As the flanks of the Iconian’s split a Harbinger centered its feet. It put its hands together and began shaking. “Down!” yelled a combat medic. As the Herald put its hands forward shooting a hole through the shield erupting a hole into the Embassy.
 
**
 
The crews fell back into the great hall as one after one, the federation troops, began to fall at the hands of the Heralds. The Thralls began storming the building as a supply runner from the Alliance ran from the bar to throw Thoron grenades into the fray. M’Zaant dodged as one of the Heralds beams cut through the columns bringing down the main operations ceiling into the main hall. Glass shattered across the floor glinting amongst the green illuminated screens. Trianium beams fell under the missing support into a flank of Romulan troops cutting them off from the fire of the Heralds. M'Zaant quickly programmed his tricorder and aimed it in the direction of the harbinger. He pressed a flashing red button as an explosion erupted in the target area, setting a blaze the Herald army. The smell of rotting flesh singed the air as the Thralls moved off. The harbinger waived her hand as the fire subsided. She nodded to her troops calling them off.
 
The remaining heralds moved from the main entrance back out to the staging area. The last thing the M’zaant heard from the Harbinger before she disappeared into a gateway, “Burn it all.” The Thralls and Constructs began setting fire to all the buildings in the staging area before they disappeared.
 
M’Zaant stood up and looked around in the silent hall. The only sounds were that of soldiers moaning from under the rubble. He looked out amongst the wounded and maimed and cried.
 
**
Back on the ship the crew of the endeavor moved off from Mol’Rihan the toll of the losses weighed heavy on their hearts. The death toll was rising, the fleet was dwindling, and humanity was beginning to lose hope. The Endeavour alone lost 43 souls. It was beginning to feel like their darkest hour. The computer chirped and resounded from over the bed of M’Zaant. He stared at the ceiling and started his daily log. Wondering when they would have a needed victory.

#talesoutoftime  #writingcontest
7 people liked this
Edited April 15 2018 by Mstfrancis
Kieran Kiki

Kierix

Writing Contest: Tales out of Time

April 14 2018
The following tags have been nested in the wrong order: hr, hr, hr, hr

#WritingContest





Lieutenant Kieran was on the radar of the Na'kuhl temporal rebellion for a little while now, they had intended to remove him from their timeline before his rise to admiralty and leading to the disruption and halt their attack on the temporal treaty signing.
 
This time they did not want Starfleet Intelligence or temporal investigations to get wind of their plan, so they decided to use a proxy to take out the threat.
 
Here steps in Lorax, a Rogue Jem'Hadar bounty hunter who’s Ketracell white got replaced with a thirst for blood, well, and Credits.
 



Star date 177284.70.

21:59

The captain and rest of the bridge crew had gone to bed for the night upon the U.S.S. Tempus Maelstrom and the night crew, led by lieutenant Kieran, were sweeping the area for some new type of radiation call "Trick 162" apparently something very old and very dangerous
 
"This is such a waste of our talents." murmured Ensign Sek, a fellow Breen crewmember who was manning the tactical station on the night shift.

"Agreed, however this is what command wants, so this is what command gets." Kieran sighed as he booped a few pads in a sarcastic fashion.

"Well then, Sector 68 complete. I'm getting caffeine, any other takers?" Kieran Pipped up to the rest of the bridge crew.

"Ooh. Tea for me please." stated Leigha from the engineering station

 
"neat be back in a bit." he quipped and started to walk away.
 
"Raktajino. Extra sweet." shouted Sek which made the Lieutenant stop in his tracks and face him.
 
"uuuh-Sure. wait...How?" 
 
"Emergency induction port." Sek responded with a deathly serious stare.
 
"I don't even-" Kieran muttered under his breath as he walked toward the nearest replicator.
 


 
Then suddenly the lights started to flicker overhead, startling Kieran out of his daydream at the replicator.
 
"Uh oh...Not good."
 
Then suddenly there was a shrilling scream that emanated from the bridge.
 
It sent his blood cold.
 
He left the drinks alone and ran back towards the bridge
 
The doors parted to reveal his fellow crewmates slumped over their consoles and a new figure stood in the middle of the scathed bridge.
 
A tall bulky Jem’Hadar stood tall and menacing on the bridge, cracking a smile when he saw who had just entered.
 
"Must be my lucky day...I didn’t even have to come hunt you down. Which is a shame, I do love it when the cute humans beg."
 
"Are you going to beg for your life little human?" asked the Jem’Hadar
 
Blood cold.
 
Body full of adrenalin.
 
Kieran panicked and was trying to look around for the phasers located on the bridge, spotting one behind the tactical station, he launched himself towards it.
 
Only to be met halfway and a strong large hand wrapped around his neck and pulled upwards off the ground.
 
"Mmm, not so fast Starfleet." The Merc tutted
 
"I respect your spunk, but you are no match for me little one."
 
Lorax gripped tighter around the lieutenants neck.
 
Kieran's vision started to turn black and all he could see was the face of the Jem’Hadar.
 



All of a sudden, the sound of another transporter signal blared behind the two of them.

Kieran could not see behind the bulk of the Jem’Hadar but he could hear the screech of a plasma pistol being fired and then abruptly hitting the floor as his would be assassin dropped him, and then landed on top after being stunned heavily.

The lieutenant was disorientated at the sudden change but could hear a raspy voice.

"I'm sorry Lorax...there can be No trace...Admiral Voleron to the R.V. Destiny...be ready to transport me back when i have set the ships core to overload."




The human suddenly jumped when a heavy pistol was thrust into his hand
 
He first looked down to his hand, which was now holding a modified Polaron pistol that resembled the old Jem'Hadar pistols form the dominion war back in 2375.
Then continuing down, he saw the Mercenary on top of him, but staring back at him with a seriously pissed off expression on his face, but also a second pistol in his hands, though the pistol looked significantly more ergonomic compared to the humans tiny hands.

"On my signal, shoot the backstabbing Na'kuhl scum." he whispered gruff and low.

Kieran barely nodded back, or, he tried to, the lieutenant is still a little purple after the lack of oxygen to his brain.

They waited till his back was turned at a console then shouted.

"NOW!"

*PEW pew scchhhhhh*

and they both watched as the Na’kuhl’s shields dropped, a temporal copy emerged, and they shot again

 
*PEW pew scchhhhhh**PEW pew scchhhhhh**PEW pew scchhhhhh*
 
One final pained scream was let out as the admiral disintegrated into tiny little nano particles of space dust.
 
One equipped with a vengeful smile
 
the other, one of fear and disgust.
 
Silence stood in the air for a few minutes
 
 
"Sooooo, What are you doing tonight?" asked the human, who is starting to regain his normal colour.
 
"What?" gruffly asked the Jem'hadar.
 
"Uh. nothing." Sheepishly replied the lieutennant, red flush on his face, but this time, he cant claim it was the red alert lighting which did it.
 
7 people liked this
Patrick Aka Trick

trick

Countdown to Hell or Something

April 12 2018
Beavis: Hey, Butt-Head. What is a black hole? 
Butt-Head: So like, a black hole is like, this giant bunghole in outer space. It's like, it sucks up the whole universe, and then it's like, it grinds it up and sends it all to Hell or something.

— Beavis and Butt-Head, 20th Century Philosophers

“Warning: The Calixtus will cross the event horizon in 3 minutes.”

The voice of the ship’s computer was eerily calm considering that the Calixtus was being drawn toward the maw of a black hole. That was one of the problems with computers. They were great at calculating how long you had left to live, but they really sucked at getting sufficiently upset about it. The crew was beginning to panic, people were screaming, sobbing, or praying, and the computer just kept droning on emotionlessly at regular intervals about how long it would be until everyone was torn to microscopic shreds and swallowed up by one of the most unforgiving forces in the known universe.

Captain Gwydion Sebastian was not immune to the draw of mindless hysteria, given the current situation, but he knew he had to keep himself together. If he were to surrender to the urge to roll into a fetal position and start rocking back and forth, as he was sorely tempted to do, nobody was getting out of this alive. Of course, their chances of survival were already damned near zero, but Sebastian intended to at least die with a little dignity, not that there would be anyone left to know it had happened.

Sebastian pressed a button on his captain’s chair. Realizing his hands were shaking so badly that he’d just accidentally ordered a replicated mocha latte rather than open communications with engineering as he’d intended, he tapped another. Normally he’d consider it a happy accident, but this was no time for caffeine.

“Status report?” Nice, Sebastian thought. That didn’t sound at all like I’m seconds away from crapping my pants. Score one for Starfleet officer training.

The voice of Lieutenant Adeline Rowman replied over a speaker. “It’s not good, sir. Warp coils are offline. Impulse drives are offline. Shields are offline. Pretty much everything is offline, sir.”

“I’m aware of the situation, Lieutenant,” Sebastian shot back. “I was hoping you might have some good news.”

“Oh, I do,” Rowman replied, and Sebastian felt a small glimmer of hope. “Remember that strange canister we picked up on Regulus V?”

Sebastian remembered. It was a small, metallic object of unknown origin, at least several centuries old, which they had found half-buried in a hillside. The Science team had been poking at it for weeks trying to figure out what it was. Could the alien artifact somehow by the key to their survival? “Yes, I recall. Can you use it to get the drives running again?”

“Sir?” Rowman sounded puzzled.

“The ancient otherworldly technology,” Sebastian explained, trying not to sound exasperated. “Isn’t that just the sort of thing you engineering types combine with incomprehensible technobabble to save ships like ours from certain doom?”

“It’s a beer can, Captain." Sebastian heard a sound that that could be described as gulpy. "Still fizzy, though.”

Sebastian closed to comm channel.

“Warning: The Calixtus will cross the event horizon in 2 minutes.”

Again, the computer was calm and emotionless, without a shred of concern or empathy. Sebastian knew the computer would be watching the last moments of the Calixtus’ crew through the myriad of security cameras positioned throughout the ship, and he was starting to think she might be enjoying it. Something had struck him as not quite right about the computer ever since that time “It’s Raining Men” had started inexplicably playing on the ship’s intercom after that shuttle exploded during atmospheric entry over Icarus IX.

Sebastian turned to his Science Officer, Commander Hovik. With any luck, the Vulcan would be thinking clearly when Sebastian’s human mind could not, and Hovik’s flawless logic would find a way to save the ship and its crew.

“Hovik, is there any way we can escape this black hole?”, Sebastian asked. “Maybe you can reverse gravity somehow with the deflectors? Skirt the edge of the event horizon and slingshot us past the black hole? Surely, that logical Vulcan mind of yours must see some way out of this.”

Hovik scowled. “You’re a complete idiot, aren’t you, Captain? First off, the event horizon is the least of our worries right now. Before we hit that, we’ll run straight into the black hole’s accretion disk. Do you know what that is, Captain? No, wait, of course you don’t. Let me explain it in tiny little words your underdeveloped brain can understand.

“You know how a black hole sucks in all of the matter that comes near it, causing it to spiral toward the center like…” Hovik paused for a moment, trying to come up with an analogy Sebastian would undertstand, “…like a rubber ducky circling around the drain in a bubble bath your mommy filled up for you? Well, that rubber ducky is the accretion disk, except that it’s billions of rubber duckies and they’re spinning around at speeds you’d never comprehend, so they’re crashing into each other and heating up to the temperatures of tiny little suns. Essentially, we’re drifting into a cosmic food processor, and before we get anywhere near the event horizon we’re going to be burnt to a crisp and ground into interstellar pesto.

“Oh, and one other thing, Captain.” Hovik was shouting now, and pointing at his forehead. “See these? These are ridges, you over-promoted imbecile. I’m not a Vulcan. I’m a Romulan. Live short and suffer, you incompetent waste of bridge space!”

So much for calm Vulcan wisdom and rationality. Sebastian made a mental note to raid Hovik’s liquor cabinet if he survived this. Oh, and maybe look for a new Science Officer after getting his hands on the ale stash.

“Warning: The Calixtus will cross the event horizon in 1 minute.”

Silently, Sebastian began to pray. He prayed to God. He prayed to the Prophets. He prayed to Apollo, Q, and a couple of pah-wraiths. Hey, it never hurts to cover all your bases. He prayed to Zeus, Osiris, Andraste and Quetzalcoatl before working his way down the list to Thor, Loki, Iron Man and Captain America.

“Warning: The Calixtus will cross the event horizon in 30 seconds.”

Sebastian thought of all the things he’d never accomplished in his life. He wasn’t sure he’d ever truly been in love. He hadn’t ever managed to work off that winter weight and have a proper six-pack to show off when wearing his silver Speedo on Risa. He’d never slept with an Orion go-go boy. He’d never tasted a Kelpien’s threat ganglia.

“Warning: The Calixtus will cross the event horizon in 10 seconds. 9… 8… 7…“

Sebastian took one last look around the bridge. He would miss his valiant crew. Well, most of them. That Vulcan had turned out to be kind of a dick.

“6… 5… 4…”

Sebastian’s life was flashing before his eyes. He was back on the farm with his uncle and aunt as a young man. The twin suns overhead burned down on him mercilessly as he haggled with some small hooded creatures for a pair of droids to help out on the moisture farm. No, wait, that was someone else’s life flashing before his eyes. Don’t cross the streams, he reminded himself.

“3… 2… 1…”

Suddenly, the image on the viewscreen changed. Gone was the large, menacing black hole which had been growing ever-larger as they approached, and replacing it was a nearly blank screen showing the vast emptiness of space. On closer inspection, Sebastian could still see the black hole -- or, rather, see other things near where it was, since black holes are very hard to see in space, being black and all. It was now far off in the distance ahead of the Calixtus, judging from the swirl of detritus orbiting what appeared (or, rather, didn't appear... they're really quite black) to be a big ball of nothing. It was far enough away, in fact, that the ship seemed to be outside its gravitational pull.

Sebastian wasn't sure what had happened until he'd taken a moment to look around the bridge. Many of the crew seemed to be running in place, and occasionally teleporting forward for small distances as if they'd been transported. Hovik was repeatedly running face-first into a wall. Sebastian hoped it hurt. A lot.

That's when Sebastian finally understood. Just before crossing the event horizon, The Calixtus had clearly travelled into a lag anomaly. He'd experienced the phenomenon thousands of times before in his travels across the galaxy, and the associated effect physicists referred to as "rubber-banding," which could suddenly cause your ship to jump large distances instantaneously, typically in the direction you least wanted to go.

Lag anomalies were invisible and ships could travel into one at any time without warning. Typically, it happened at the most annoying time possible, such as when Sebastian was being attacked by a Klingon fleet or when he really had to pee and it was several light-years to the nearest space station. This time, however, the lag had saved his life.

#talesoutoftime #writingcontest
10 people liked this
Edited April 17 2018 by trick
Dave (Voleron)

Voleron

Writing Contest: Tales out of Time

April 06 2018




SGN members: Spring is upon us and Stonewall Fleet's annual #SpringSwing weekend event is only weeks away!  Leading up to the big event, (more details of which will soon follow), we're excited to announce our FIRST #WritingContest of 2018! 

Running now through May 6th, 2018, we're inviting all members of SGN to submit a story of their in-game character from their favorite game!  The theme of this writing contest is "Tales out of Time", which could be anything from a story about time travel, to an anthology of your character as they age or something entirely unique and creative that incorporates the theme!

We'll share every submission with the entire community for them to enjoy, but we'll also be looking for the top three entries that excel in three criteria that we'll detail below.  This contest is open to all members of the Stonewall community, regardless of which games you play!  We're so very eager for you, Stonewall's amazing writing talents, to once again share your talent and creativity with us and your community!




To participate in Stonewall's "Tales out of Time" writing contest, you must post your entry here, in this thread, before day's end on May 6th, 2018.  Please use the #WritingContest hashtag in your entries.  Your posted entry must comply with these additional rules to be eligible:

1.  Your story must in some way relate to one of your in-game characters, their friends, group or crew
2.  Your story must be written in English (so the judges can understand it)
3.  Your story must be your own original work (plagiarism will result in disqualification)
4.  Don't make your story novel length; we need to be able to read it in a single sitting!
5.  The content of your story must not be edited after the submission deadline

Only one entry per community member, please.  While we encourage you to include graphics to supplement your Tale out of Time, only the written narrative portion of your entry will be judged.

This contest, we'll be looking for the THREE stand-out tales among all of the entries.  As we've done in the past, a panel of three judges will individually rate each of the entries in the categories of creativity, detail and impact.  The average of all three judge's rankings of an entry will produce the final score against which, the other entries will be ranked!  The categories are explained in more detail below:

  • Creativity: To what degree is the content original or unique?
  • Detail: To what degree are elements of the story explained in more intricate detail, rather than simply being stated as fact?
  • Impact: To what degree does the story resonate with the reader for a more lasting impact?




The winning contest entries will be recognized on our Facebook and Twitter social media feeds. We'll also be giving away a participation prize of two Stonewall Credits to all those who enter!  The prize packs are as follows:

First place:

  1. 5 Stonewall Credits, AND, your choice of either:
  2. 2,500 Zen in Star Trek Online, OR
  3. $20.00 Steam Digital Gift card, OR
  4. $20.00 ThinkGeek Digital Gift card

Second place:

  1. 4 Stonewall Credits, AND your choice of either:
  2. 1,000 Zen in Star Trek Online OR
  3. $10.00 Steam Digital Gift card

Third place:

  1. 3 Stonewall Credits!

*Stonewall credits can be saved and/or redeemed for in-game merchandise through the Stonewall Credits Store.

Good luck to all participants!  We can't wait to read your entries!




8 people liked this
Edited April 06 2018 by Voleron
Michael Minks-Bungard

Dax_aussie_boy

Ashes of Creation

April 03 2018
The Creators of Ashes of Creation is offering their followers the chance to be apart of their alpha zero testing group but doing the following things which put you into a raffle system to be picked.

By subscribing to their YouTube channel, Twitch Channel, Twitter Channel and their Facebook group you increases your chance of being picked.
Ted Hembach

TLara

Stonewall at Sea: Community Vacation Cruise!

April 01 2018
Yay! Very cool idea! We will take some time off, let our work do from some of our 200 employers, and will take a trip to you guys with our golden helicopter. Please make sure the landing deck is ready and a Fleet Captain Cabin is reserved for us! Also, make some room in the deep freeze coz we will bring 100 lobsters as a gift for you! Lets celebrate #StonewallAtSea!

This message was sent on April 1st. It took some time to be validated through our crypto-department.
3 people liked this
Edited April 01 2018 by TLara
Nicolas J. Artley

Khazaan

Stonewall at Sea: Community Vacation Cruise!

April 01 2018
Happy April Fools Day / April 1st!

Did someone this morning run into church, shouting "Jesus is alive and outside" and the congregation followed you? (Just so you could say "April, April"?

I know, i can be naughty.

Good Idea with the trip, though. Lets make something real ,)
3 people liked this
Piotr Milewski

Haldacar

World of Warships

April 01 2018
Guys and Girls!

If some1 plays World of Warships (server: WOWS EU) - please join our LGBT+ fleet: DADT (fleet marker) 'Didn't Ask Didnt Tell (Everything) - LGBT'

Or simply find me (dodowars2818) or Brian Wall (Caius_Aurelianus)

Well... is suspect at some point Belorussian game producers will force us to change fleet name (Belarus have same "no homosexual propaganda" as Russia), but until then... :P 

"How The Big Boys Do Battle"
admiral Norbank

Edited April 01 2018 by Haldacar
Dave (Voleron)

Voleron

Stonewall at Sea: Community Vacation Cruise!

April 01 2018





2018 marks Stonewall's 10th anniversary, and we here in the leadership wanted to do something extravagant to commemorate this special occasion!  As many of you already know, a large group of past and present Stonewall members meet annually at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas.  Building on the idea of a large, community get-together and on a pitch set forth by Geo, one of our former Fleet Captains, we're excited to announce that we've worked tirelessly with Atlantys Cruise Lines these last few months, to bring you: #StonewallAtSea!"  Join us and many of your Stonewall friends later this year on our 10th anniversary cruise!  See all of the cost and booking details below.  Hope to see you on the sea!




Departure & Arrival
  • Cruise departs from San Diego, California on October 14th, 2018
  • Cruise returns to port at San Diego, California on October 21st, 2018
  • Total trip duration: 8 days (7 nights)


Ports of Call
  • Mazatlan (Oct 16th)
  • Cabo San Lucas (Oct 17th)
  • Puerto Vallarta (Oct 19th)


Cost of Trip
We've negotiated a low round-trip cruise fare of $450.00 per person, based on a minimum 25 person booking.  This includes room, food, and drink (non-alcoholic) while on-board the vessel.  Please note: this does NOT include travel expenses to and from the point of departure in San Diego.




Since we here in Stonewall leadership are all so very excited to announce that we're finally able to make "Stonewall at Sea" a reality, we've made sure to go above and beyond in planning an entire, week-long Stonewall party experience!  Several of Stonewall's officers have already confirmed their attendance, and have graciously planned to host activities and events during the course of the sail.  Check out a few of the things we have in store for you below:


·············································
Admiral Gareth Hosts:
Opening Ceremonies for Stonewall at Sea & Cabin Party


We've booked the Sea Queen conference room for dinner on the first night of our voyage, as the venue for our Grande Opening Ceremonies.  Admiral Gareth will be the Master of Ceremonies for this formal meal and mixer, where, after piping in the head Officer and Fleet Captain tables on Welsh bagpipes, he'll lead an evening of drinks, dancing and entertainment to follow.  We'll soon provide instructions in this thread on how to reserve your seat for this event.

A cabin party will follow the formal festivities with games including: Cards Against Humanity, Drunken Pin the Tail on the Donk-gay, and Wet Twister.  The theme of the party will be nautical attire, which could be anything from Speedos adorned with an anchor to a full naval outfit.  Come dressed in the best outfit for your chance to win Stonewall Credits!


    


·············································
Admiral Jacien Hosts:
A Half Day of Activities and Events


On the second day of sail, Admiral Jacien will be hosting his typical line-up of unique fleet events.  He's still working out the details, but is expecting to run a real life "Lost Admiral" event.  Fleet Admiral NicholasJohn will have gone missing amidst some sort of suspenseful, murder/mystery-esque back-story and it'll be up to all of you Stonewallers to find him, whether he be in one of the ship's 12 pools, the fitness centre, the buffet, the engine room, or in his quarters, playing Stellaris.  Also in the planning is a real-life Grand Melee Tournament, only this one will utilize pool noodle swords as your armament.  Note: your armor may only be common, Mark IX speedos or thongs and no personal traits such as "extra slippery" or "heightened arousal" may be slotted.  The afternoon will likely conclude with Gareth's pub quiz, if we know our Admiral Jacien's event line-ups at all.


  


·············································
Fleet Admiral NicholasJohn Hosts:
A Community Meeting and Presentation


On the fourth day of the excursion, Fleet Admiral Nick will be inviting all Stonewallers to attend a community meeting, where he'll be fielding common questions from the membership, including: how to post pictures in the forums, whether Stonewall will be expanding into the popular game of the month, and whether he'll add your personally requested channel to Discord, among other pre-screened questions from planted members of the audience.  Nick will also be providing a presentation on the commonly requested features for the fleet website and a timeline for their implementation, spanning the next three years.

After the meeting, Nick has organized an "Open Air Cinema" event, where we'll be gathering to watch one of his favorite scary horror movie flicks from a pool-side VIP section on a giant, inflatable movie screen (weather permitting).  Latch on to your favorite fleet member to keep from screaming during the jumpy parts!


      


·············································
Lord Admiral Zander Hosts:
Code of Conduct Review, Closing Ceremonies & Dance Party


On the final day of sail following breakfast, Admiral Zander will host a brief, morning session on inter-personal communication and informal conflict resolution.  Together, we will move on to explore the lesser known intricacies of the code of conduct, followed by a mock trial, so that members understand exactly how Code of Conduct breaches are handled.  This will undoubtedly be a very informative session for all those who can find the time to attend.

But it won't be all dry material: as we make our way back to port and conclude our first ever "Stonewall at Sea", we'll plug in our laptops and login to Star Trek Online for a virtual dance party at Club 47, to be followed by a closing ceremony and remarks to be broadcast in fleet chat and on our Twitch stream.  Be sure to bring your party poppers and blow-ticklers to help us wrap up this amazing vacation!


These are just some of the amazing events that we're eager to share with you.  If you have any of your own ideas for group activities during the trip or while at any of our ports of call, please reply to this thread with your suggestions using the hashtag #StonewallAtSea and we will do everything we can to make them happen.  While it's unlikely that the cruise will sell out, it's important to book early so that we have a firm grasp of the final numbers well in advance to ensure that we meet our 25 person minimum to qualify for the discounted group rate.  From all of us here at Stonewall, we hope to see you at sea!



6 people liked this

Unknown Person

Holy crossovers, Batman!

March 31 2018
I like to watch campy old TV shows while having dinner, and what two better fit that description than Trek TOS and Batman with Adam West? Having recently finished the Batman series and noticing a few Trek actors, I went digging for any more Bat-Trek crossover talent I could find. Two were on the 60s TV show and two were in animated voice-over form:

  • Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand) played Neila, one of King Tut's gang who was infatuated with Batman.
  • Roger Carmel (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) played Col. Gumm, a villain whose gimmick involved stamps. This episode also featured a bonus guest star: Bruce Lee as Kato, the Green Hornet's sidekick.
  • Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) provided the voice-over for the undead priestess Thoth Khepera in Batman: TAS.
  • William Shatner (Capt. Kirk) provided the voice-over for Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the animated movie Batman vs. Two-Face, along with the voices of Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin and Julie Newmar as Catwoman. Fittingly, this was Adam West's last role.


Check out the pics (I hope this works the way I expect) at this link. Anyone know of any others?
Unknown Person liked this
Edited March 31 2018 by Unknown Person

Unknown Person

New Expansion: Victory is Life

March 25 2018
Quote by TLara
I think we knew already some more DS9 characters, perhaps they are some of the 10:


Worf/Michael Dorn is a pretty obvious add to that list since his toon is already in-game and he was main cast on the show.

I'm hoping for Grand Nagus Rom and the real Leeta (not holo or mirror), and would also love for Weyoun/Jeffrey Combs to be involved in the Jem'hadar faction.
Michael Minks-Bungard

Dax_aussie_boy

New Expansion: Victory is Life

March 23 2018
Quote by Bren
Quote by caijamin
So looking forward to Quark. I wish they'd open up Ferenginar and turn it into a massive ground market zone.


Oh yes please! I'd love that, seriously. 


Oomox for everyone
Unknown Person liked this
Bren Ohmsford

Bren

New Expansion: Victory is Life

March 22 2018
Quote by caijamin
So looking forward to Quark. I wish they'd open up Ferenginar and turn it into a massive ground market zone.


Oh yes please! I'd love that, seriously. 
2 people liked this