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Looks like Kylah's in a perfect situation for one o' them thar "Will Saving Throw" things I done heard about before.
(Actually I suspect Kylah's been making attempts at a will save for ten years--well, eight months or whatever length it's been on the ship--and has lost every single one.)
Well, a clear majority of them anyway, I'd say....
I'm off to the beaches of the Outer Banks for a week with my family. Post in either thread in the meantime, if you like, and I'll pick things back up on June 24. Thanks!
Hey did y'all have a good time? Stayed sun-protected I hope?
Yes, thanks! Got a little but not too much sun.
Just learned today, while listening to Sousa marches for Independence Day, that he wrote a "Yorktown Centennial" march in 1881. Not his best, but not bad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBfA...atesMarineBand
Ha! You're right, not one of his bangers, or "bops" as the kids say these days, but it puts a little spryness in one's step.
Great exchange between SidonianGal & stolz on the mechanical arm...well done!
Agreed! And I have a feeling he's going to be able to use that arm before too long....
I am pretty sure I wrote somewhere that his arm got mangled in an extreme-sports accident. Had we been there to see it, I am sure we would agree that it looked badass but, ouch, that's got to hurt.
Sorry for my delay in posting. I was out of town for a long weekend, and have been crazy busy otherwise.
stolz, in your character profile (post 6 here: http://www.mellophant.com/forums/sho...acter-profiles), you wrote, "PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Average height; a little sallow, a little thin, tends to get dark circles under the eyes if tired. Has a cybernetic left forearm (not obvious, certainly not in long sleeves), the result of a severe injury a few years ago."
Certainly, I remember writing that. The sports thing may have only been in my personal notes. I have not written, or had the Doctor say, anything inconsistent, though, have I? He might deflect or change the subject if he did not feel talkative but he would not blatantly lie about it.
All I can see is that it was severe and not a pleasant memory, which I think could work for any injury responsible for losing a big hunk of his arm. Seems vague enough, but I don't know the full story.
Hey chief, glad you're back! Quick question that Kylah would probably know (unless she's uncertain of Uwat technological capabilities, in which case I can just have her ask in-thread): Is this video message a one-way recording, or will it be a two-way conversation, if a little delayed?
I don't recall the good doctor having given any more info about how his arm got mangled, stolz. I'd suggest you write what you wish about the incident, and we can always consider it a retcon if anyone unearths an earlier post to the contrary.
choie, the video message will be a one-way recording. Remember Grod telling Kylah and Graham, in post 1815, "At this distance, subspace transmission time will be just under two hours."
OK, I have to apologize for possibly confusing everyone by bringing this up. I am 99.9% sure the doctor has--- so far, anyway--- not mentioned or revealed any details about his accident. I meant that I may have jotted down one such possible backstory on a piece of scrap paper; not trying to imply I have posted anything :)
Clever concealment of a message, choie!
I'll be leaving for a family trip on Thursday, with spotty Internet access while I'm away. I will probably next post on Sept. 28. You may continue posting here, and in the game thread, in the meantime. Thanks, all!
Wow! 10 days is a nice lengthy time to get some serious recreating done. Have a wonderful time, chief!
I mean, I know this is a bizarre time for Nia to strike up a heart-to-heart with Booker at--oh, whoops. Waitasec.
Ahhhh that's better. So, um, I know it's unlikely that Nia would introduce a topic like this to Booker right now, but let's chalk it up to her losing brain cells by the minute. Meta reason: we've got nine days & no NPCs or plot. PC conversations can go on! (Although managing w/o Rangin will be funny! Dang he should've stayed a zombie, heh.)
Back from a family wedding in San Diego and then a week in L.A. (including the Getty art museum, Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, Griffith Park and its observatory, and a tour of Paramount Studios including some Star Trek stuff). Had a great time, but I'm glad to be back.
Welcome back! I'm green w/envy over that trip, it sounds incredible. Also, mazel tov to your family. :) Did you see any exhibits in particular at the Observatory that stand out?
Y'know, I'm in this twelve years and I only just realized I don't know how "Rangin" is pronounced. For some reason I've always thought of it with a hard "g," but when I see "Ginran" I'm mentally pronouncing it "Jin-ran." Go figure. Probably should've asked CIAS at some point!
The Griffith Observatory had interesting exhibits on the Sun (particularly sunspots and solar flares) and early telescopes. We also saw the planetarium show, which was pretty cool, focusing on humanity's evolving view of its place in the universe, from Ptolemy to the present day. I was also reminded that the Observatory appeared in both the Jim Carrey comedy Yes Man and on Star Trek: Voyager.
I've always thought the second syllable of "Rangin" rhymed with "fin," as would the first syllable of "Ginran." But that's just me. Don't regard it as canon.
Very cool, EH. And there's a lot of solar flare activity around now, I hear. That would be incredible to view, if that's a possibility at an observatory. There's one here in NYC but, as with many NY landmarks, I've never been despite living here.
Oh the "in" part of his name seems clear; I was wondering if that second syllable is a hard "g" like "give" or a soft one like, well, "gin." ("Djinn") Despite the spelling I (mentally) hear it as the former.
Fun trivia: We're just about at the 2nd anniversary of crashing on Ollos. Mazel tov, everyone! :bravo: (And ave atque vale, Tesla!)
Yeah we're trying to figure out how to pronounce "Rangin" while we've got "Mäkeläinen" to deal with. Got a pronunciation key for that, stolz? ;)
"Rangin" would rhyme with "Dang bin," while "Ginran" would rhyme with "Fin man," I'd say. But again, not canon.
A reminder from page 29, post 1444:
In time you find yourselves sitting down at a table, in a somewhat quieter section of the Black Sun, with Jol, First Officer of the Uwat transport Doregg Ganiellej vu Felennek duj Legelvekkan na heid Jovel, or The Glorious and Immutable Legacy of the Empress Doregg, which is simply and mercifully known, for short, as the Doregg. Jol, like others of his kind, looks much like a horned lizard of Earth, but is much bigger, being almost Kylah's height, and bipedal. The reptilioid looks at you with dark, featureless eyes and speaks through a small vocoder clipped to his leathery equipment harness (he wears no clothes over his spiked and mottled carapace)....
And: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_horned_lizard
Thank you! I was trying to find a description but must've blipped over that post.
Glad to help!
OMG sorry I (ahem) spaced on the game thread...I was totally wrapped up in the buzz about / release of / starting to play Dragon Age Veilguard
(5/5, recommend for any video gamers in this group or in your life)
Not a video gamer myself, but thanks for the tip, general! I've seen ads for it twice, and it looks good.
Damn, we've lost out on "never split the party!"
Can't complain though - I was on a train with 0 internet the last couple days...
Hey the cabins are connected by a currently open door, aren't they? It's essentially the same suite!Quote:
Originally posted by general_urko
Envying your train ride! Was this Amtrak? Maybe the Empire Builder? I only mention that because it's the longest route I've taken where the internet blinked out for multiple days.
Are they?Quote:
Originally posted by SidonianGal
Aren't they??Quote:
Originally posted by stolzAre they?Quote:
Originally posted by SidonianGal
Oh bloody hell, this says "adjoining" and I saw it as "connecting." Dang it EH you usually catch my stupid mistakes! I blame you!
Stop whining, Kylah's the only one who's been shown dancing in and out of the apparently nonexistent connecting door like some incorporeal being. Nia's only ever been in the one room, generally lying on the bed like a lox. Doesn't affect her.Quote:
Originally posted by SidonianGal
Sigh. That's why I had Kylah sitting on the bed staring into the other cabin. I didn't mean for her to waltz out of the cabin alone like a ditz.
In my defense, I just finished line editing/proofreading a 169,000-word, 565-page book. (Not mine.) So my brain's even more zonked than usual. Still. Sorry!
It was the Amtrak Coast Starlight (LA to Seattle). Really cool way to travel to avoid air over Thanksgiving time - we had a sleeper cabin and a private albeit teeny bathroom!
I love train travel, but haven't done it in awhile.
Your cabins aboard the Uwat starship Doregg are next door to each other, but not connected.
In case we don't post over the next couple of days... happy holidays and New Year's to everyone! My wish is that the poor Yorktown crew find their way home, or at least go to battle with the War-Brotherhood so we can figure out their story, and that we all continue to "engage" (sorry) in 2025!
http://www.falling-sky.com/strpg/Treknorah.jpg
http://www.falling-sky.com/strpg/trek_christmas.jpg
(Dang, I just noticed that the "Scotty" menorah candle holder is really...less than optimal. Who even did they model that on?! The others at least have a passing resemblance to their portrayers. Sorry Mr. Doohan!)
They appear to be some form of space candles.Quote:
Originally posted by choie
(In fact there are various types of "realistic" LED candles available!)
Best holiday wishes to you all! And here's to a safe, happy and healthy New Year.
Amen to that!
I wrote what I could for my gal but I have some logisitics questions from Kylah's perspective re: the action we just witnessed/heard. (I'm going to remove anything she didn't experience herself, at least I don't think she did.):
1. If there was any Uwat language being spoken (from the description it doesn't seem like there is, but just checking), can she catch any words?Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
2. Could she tell if the squeal came from a living creature communicating something, or just a non-biological source?
3. When her cabin door began to open, could she sense if it was someone Uwat or Chalnoth (or anything else) behind it?
4. After those final THUMPs outside her cabin, is the door still sliding open, or did it stop part-way once the body fell? Or did it snap shut again? Just wondering if she or Rawlings can see outside now.
5. This is the big one: Could Kylah sense any strong psi activity before those final THUMPs, and if so, did she recognize the source?
Man I'm trying to imagine what this would've been like with a CIAS-played Rangin--that would've been interesting for a GM/PC to coordinate!
CIAS wasn't a PC, he was a player. Get your lingo right, Miss Communication Expert.
Anyway I should probably get Nia's POV on a couple of those too, and help out my fellows in Cabin Prime:
N1) Does Nia's engineering/mechanical knowledge help her discern whether that squeal is some machine? I guess same for Doc & Book, as long as I'm asking.
N2) Could any of us (possibly Graham since he's closest to the door?) see through the door? Like, was a paw/claw pulling it open or some kind of energy device? Or couldn't any of us see?
N3) As with the other cabin door, once the Chalnoth (presumably it was them) were zapped and thumped outside our cabin, did the door stay open, shut automatically, or is it still trying to open?
That's all I got. I don't have the fancy schmancy yet ephemeral psi powers to deal with, like girlfriend up there.
My answers after each question at the >> marks.
1. If there was any Uwat language being spoken (from the description it doesn't seem like there is, but just checking), can she catch any words?
>> She thinks it might have been the Uwat language, as contrasted with the very different-sounding Chalnoth language, but she cannot be sure. She didn't catch any words.
2. Could she tell if the squeal came from a living creature communicating something, or just a non-biological source?
>> She is almost certain it was from a living creature.
3. When her cabin door began to open, could she sense if it was someone Uwat or Chalnoth (or anything else) behind it?
>> She could tell it was a Chalnoth.
4. After those final THUMPs outside her cabin, is the door still sliding open, or did it stop part-way once the body fell? Or did it snap shut again? Just wondering if she or Rawlings can see outside now.
>> It stopped part-way. They could see very little outside their cabin through the partially-opened door, especially once a Chalnoth tried to barge through.
5. This is the big one: Could Kylah sense any strong psi activity before those final THUMPs, and if so, did she recognize the source?
>> She only got a strong but very confusing, agitated, fast-moving psi impression of both Chalnoth and Uwat presences outside. Nothing more specific than that.
N1) Does Nia's engineering/mechanical knowledge help her discern whether that squeal is some machine? I guess same for Doc & Book, as long as I'm asking.
>> It sounded like no machinery she is familiar with.
N2) Could any of us (possibly Graham since he's closest to the door?) see through the door? Like, was a paw/claw pulling it open or some kind of energy device? Or couldn't any of us see?
>> See 4 above. No paw or claw could actually be seen pulling either door open, nor any energy device.
N3) As with the other cabin door, once the Chalnoth (presumably it was them) were zapped and thumped outside our cabin, did the door stay open, shut automatically, or is it still trying to open?
>> The cabin doors stayed open as far as they had already opened, but then stopped before opening some more. Even now, they are not entirely open.
Likewise, Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year to All!
The Doctor, of course, firmly believes in not hurting people, and imperatively not perverting medical skills to harm.
He did get into the occasional scrap as a youth, however, so the concept of hand-to-hand combat is not foreign to him (and he passed the same relevant Academy courses as everybody else). Of course there were unspoken rules--- those were no desperate fights for survival.
Understood, and thanks. Wonder if he ever swore the Hippocratic Oath, or something similar to it? Not all medical schools require it. It's come up in various versions of Star Trek over the years, but apparently never in the original series.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath
In my mind, he absolutely did (or the equivalent). I do not think that conflicts with any canonical lore.Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
He seems to have his own quirks or interpretation, too, like the fact that in this situation he chose to punch a guy (albeit who did start it and refused to de-escalate) rather than hypo him without consent, even though the latter option would probably be much less risky for everyone involved.
Gotcha. Thanks, stolz.
Bless you for posting, EH. I need distraction from mourning the American experiment.
Questions:
Emphasis mine.Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
1. Did you mean Rawlings and me? We were off in our own cabin; does this mean we've been moved to the other room with the other four?
2. Did those of us who actually fell--Velir being the only one horizontal at the time--wake up on the deck? And if Rawlings & I were moved by someone, did they at least have the courtesy to deposit us onto the bunks?
3. If we're still on the deck, does it still feel icy cold? Although I wouldn't be as vulnerable to it as my lizardy colleague.
To keep things moving I'll try to post w/o knowing the answers above. It ain't like Sidonian Gal's gonna have much to say for herself. :P
All six Yorktown crewmates are now together in the same cabin. I didn't decide who's in a bunk and who isn't - you may each do so as to your character, if you wish. Yes, the deck remains very cold.
Thank you! Intriguing.
What intrigues me is the mystery of whether any of my gallants is gonna grok that, given my reaction after lying on that freezing deck for like 10 minutes this morning, it's probably not super that I've been sprawled out like a lifeless carp for Sid'Os-only-knows how many hours. :o
Feeling a bit like this, I shouldn't wonder.
https://rockoniceblog.com/wp-content...ture.jpg?w=270
Nor should I!
hA! EH you must've enjoyed this remark to Graham here once we were alone in the cabin after boarding:
My instincts yet again on target. Lucky I didn't actually snark at Kylah about that directly. I'm also lucky to be unconscious because I'm not sure my brain could handle knowing that in addition to every other disaster I'm blaming myself for, depositing her crew into the hands of Romulans is probably at the top.Quote:
Originally posted by SidonianGal
Anyway, two things:
1) just a reminder to the rest of the PCs, since I just went to double-check: Singh warned Nia that the trip to Cavinre would take us somewhat near Romulan space, but wasn't too concerned. Nia passed this info on to Booker, since as her Number One (and a security expert) he needed to be aware of this.
The only other person Nia & Booker told about this concern was Rangin, whom they asked for an assessment via his datapad to the nearest planets, the distance between their plotted journey and Romulan territory. The Tesla wasn't yet in any distress but both Nia & Graham wanted to know the lay of the land, so to speak.
Anyway, point is, with both me and Rangin down for the count, general urko, I thought you might wanna know that Graham's the only one who might recall the relative nearness to the edge of the Neutral Zone to the Tesla's original course.
2) Next, a question for EH: Okay so I did some digging through both memory alpha's link and memory beta, since I suspected there's been retconning to the original TOS timeline as far as what we know about the Romulan SS.
I had no idea this began with TNG. According to original canon (before ENT showed up to retcon everything), Starfleet didn't seem to know about them. I know ENT wasn't originally considered game canon, but we know you also have total discretion to pick the most interesting bits of "non-canon" stuff and run with it.
As I understand it, post-TNG era TOS novelizations brought up the Tal Shiyar as playing a role in the Khitomer massacre & the attempt on Spock's life via their time travel abilities (apparently), a plot that in this new canon was foiled by Kirk and Gary frickin' Seven because hey why not.
So via ENT and TOS-expanded-universe canon, we should know about them, unless all this was hushed up despite involving the Enterprise in both eras.
I guess my question is simply: What, if anything, do the Yorktown gang know about them, according to our canon?
Would random Cold-War Era naval officers know much about the inner workings of the various Chinese intelligence agencies? The Romulans were vaguely supposed to be based on Communist China, according to Wikipedia.
Ha true! But that was before the novelization where Kirk went up against them. With the whole of Starfleet praising his every exploit, in this new canon the Tal Shiar might be household names, referenced in song and saga as having fallen to Kirk's heroism.
By this time, not long after the conclusion of Capt. James T. Kirk's famous five-year mission, every Starfleet officer would recognize the name of the Tal Shiar and be aware of both its function and its (unpleasant) reputation. Probably not much more than that, though, just as a typical well-informed US Navy officer during the Cold War would know what the Soviet KGB - and maybe the Chinese MSS - were, but little about their inner workings.
You may have noticed, incidentally, that I didn't identify T'Ves and her party as Vulcans in posts 1590-1598 until you had already done so.
I should've commented earlier, EH, but yes, your having played fair (mostly! :devil:) by not introducing them as Vulcans until we misidentified them is very much appreciated! Suddenly turning into an unreliable narrator would be out of pocket for you. Mysteries that pull that purposeful misdirection always lose points for me.
In one whole season of my online serial, I convinced the readers that one character was having an affair with his business partner's wife, because that's how this mysterious woman had identified herself to him. For a solid year, I never used her name in the narrative. Any reference to her as [partner's wife's name] was by the duped man.
A big challenge was that the actual affair partner was a very well-known character on the canvas already, so I had to obfuscate both women's activities, coordinate their schedules, and make sure every line of dialogue could work for both the real woman and the partner's wife. I left clues in by describing them each accurately, which--while there were similarities--would've made sharp-eyed readers who knew what each gal was supposed to look like suspicious.
Anyway I'd played strictly fair with them, and the whole thing was tremendous fun. And it was a gimmick/twist that could only work in a written format, where readers couldn't see or hear the actual women. I suppose an audio drama might pull it off, but the voices would have to be similar enough to fool the listeners. I think some cheating would've been involved and that ain't how I write mysteries.
Whereas I think your surprise Vulcan/Romulan switch would've been a great twist in any format, due to the similarities in the races, and the costumes and cover story would've been a distraction, plus we're inclined to believe our protagonists/PCs. If the Tesla gang believed them Vulcans, no reason the audience wouldn't assume they were correct. Cruel but fair. :) Lucky for Aval that Nia chose Bizhi vs. T'Var for the mission! Not so much for Bizhi. Oh and speaking of...
Even if he went with "Commander" she'd probably find it more distracting to be called "Kayla." :DQuote:
Originally posted by stolz
Ooh nice twist on the famous saying, heh! Well played. So Dr. M. has both Scots and Latin influences! I'm fascinated by his background and personality. If you told me he was secretly Section 31, I would absolutely not be surprised.Quote:
He tries to be diplomatic, and has been to enough worlds so that si fueris Romuli, Romulo vivito more, but formal titles and terms of address (often a grammatical or social necessity), moreover formality, he does not prize in and of themselves.
Stubbornness and stupidity, with a dash of a need to take some tiny "win" over the woman who deceived them, however incredibly petty. As an aside, this is a known bit of background for her--that is, her irritation of "Mr." was established in one of the first missions, or maybe in a story ex-Rangin/AJay and I wrote in the "Apocrypha" where Kylah first comes aboard the Yorktown. Not that anyone remembers it but me, but hey if you can't pull out random pieces of your PC's trivia Easter Egg backstory after 13 years playing an RPG, what the heck are we even doing here?Quote:
Really, though, why is she attempting to draw Aval's attention? Some incipient distraction?
The first thing to keep in mind, should he ever seem unusual, is that he is literally from Mars :) It is an important, yet behind-the-scenes, industrial centre that people, doubly so from outside the Solar system, may not know that much about.Quote:
Originally posted by choie
About the Latin, I figured that even in the 23rd (?) century doctors and pharmacists would still be required to study it. Even if not, or if it be merely vestigial, it is the sort of thing Bizhi would encounter and pursue on his own initiative.
You know, I can absolutely see him involved in something like that, if it were (or he was convinced it were) to save the world from some weird threat. He is a doctor/medical researcher, though, not an assassin or a spy.Quote:
If you told me he was secretly Section 31, I would absolutely not be surprised.
Just like the good Dr. Bashir, who was also drawn into unwelcome contact with (if not actual membership in) Section 31.
Good stuff, both of you - many thanks!
I loved that Bashir, of all characters, somehow managed to be of interest to the two slipperiest spies on DS9.
In the name of the holiest of Seht'Dar's twin balls, please wake me up, Doc! I've been outta commission for a month!Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
Thanks for the reminder about Romulan space, SidonianGal!
Pleasure to be of service, general!
#2049 was a quality post, stolz!
She did say they were under a vow of silence :-) Got to give them a little credit.Quote:
Originally posted by SidonianGal
Fair enough. Let's say Nia's memory's not quick enough to remember that part. (I have no such excuse.)
Anyone have "Abolitionist Romulans end up saving the day" on your mission bingo card? Not me, that's for sure. Quite a turn-up and no mistake! :D
Merely pretending to be mute would only solve half the problem, but people seem less likely to mess with a bunch of monastic nuns.Quote:
Originally posted by SidonianGal
Cives Romani sunt.Quote:
Anyone have "Abolitionist Romulans end up saving the day" on your mission bingo card? Not me, that's for sure. Quite a turn-up and no mistake! :D
LOL, oh sure, trot out the Cicero. Well, if they wanted to preserve the notion that Romulans are not to be molested by any other races, they probably should've sent bigger guns and made a real spectacle about it. Then again, I'm almost wondering if this was their first undercover assignment. (The "acolytes," anyway--I'm assuming if Aval's really a Major, she didn't just get tossed into a slave-recovery mission to inaugurate her Tal Shiar status.)
As an aside, what are the odds that 75% of us (at least--I don't know about general_urko) are Latin-conversant? What a bunch of geeks. (As if a 14-year ongoing Trek RPG didn't give us enough geek cred.)
As if, indeed!
My favorite Latin was and is, especially now, "E Pluribus Unum."
So for a millennium it was a classical language, an academic lingua franca, and a cornerstone of Western liberal arts, but now Latin is consigned to the realm of geeks? O tempora! O mores!
For more extreme language geekiness, there was someone I anecdotally heard about who taught himself Ugaritic, because why not? Maybe it was an even more obscure language. In the story I was told it was rarely enough studied that he got to the point where he was actually able to make some contributions. No idea about the veracity of that story, but it is absolutely true that it took such "geeks" to decipher Linear B...
I have no talent whatsoever for foreign tongues myself, but enjoy reading about those who do, and learning about linguistic/archeological sleuthing of that sort.
Woohoo, it only took me four years in real time but I finally got Nia on a first-name basis with Bizhi. No more having to scroll up to find a "Mäkeläinen" to copy/paste! :D
Well, you know, of course you can't rush that kind of intimacy....
My take is, he is not ignorant of social customs--- quite the opposite--- but, like the physicist in The Dispossessed who was bemused at being called "Doctor" (but without his naivite), titles are not something he needs to feel respected.
Oh I didn't mean anything against Bizhi--I've just been waiting all this time to find a moment where Nia would be least in "command mode" or even "business mode." Using a first name is more of a friend thing, and while they're not strictly friends, she's been vulnerable enough with him to think of him as a more than a colleague. She's casual by nature, lord knows, but even though she's stepped down as C.O. since this morning, it didn't feel "right" for her to break down the last facade of formality until now. Especially she's getting more and more resigned to things not turning out well.
Just felt like this was the right moment to get to this point. At last!
(Of course Kylah's S.O.L., since she doesn't use first names for anyone except Velir. And T'Var, but that doesn't count. She only called her roommate "Jeremi" once or twice toward the end. Just not that sorta gal.)
Sorry, general_urko, I waited as long as I could before having Kylah yammer on, but I was afraid we'd get time-jumped to the cabin soon without having the chance to talk to the frickin' Romulans by our side. Too ripe a setup to miss! But I tried to stick to things Kylah would be likely to ask, vs. encroaching on any sort of negotiating tactic that Graham would be more likely to initiate. (Maybe contacting the ship... but she's a comms officer, of course she'd think of that.)
I don't get the reference.
Oops sorry, it's from "Mad Men." The character is Pete Campbell, a 24-year-old account executive in 1960 from an old-monied NYC high society family whose education, background and desire to be perceived as a controlled, gentlemanly young man give him a formal, sometimes outdated style of speech that would've been more common at least 10 years earlier.
"A thing like that!" is usually said when he learns of something surprising or disconcerting. I guess it's short for "Dang, who expected a thing like that to happen?!" Hypothetical trigger examples:
- Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon
- Your secretly loathed work rival just got his career and foot cut off after a lawnmower accident
- After years of trying, you learn you're a father
- Medgar Evers is killed (assuming that despite your misogyny, homophobia, bitterness and snobbery, you're impressively egalitarian & forward-looking when it comes to civil rights)
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CrCxx-jsus">Fun compilation of some of Pete's different ways of using it. </a>
It's the "aloha" of reactions to unexpected stuff. The equivalent for a 1940s Jewish deli owner might be, "Oy, such a thing." An MCU character: "Well, that happened." A Sidonian woman: "Seht'dar's holy balls."
Of course, the most important takeaway from all this is... dude, omg... WATCH MAD MEN!!! That's like my not watching Breaking Bad till 2021! Make it happen, Cap'n.
Yeah, yeah, thanks, I know - it's been on my list for quite awhile. Right now I have, I kid you not, almost two freakin' dozen series on my gotta-watch-someday list!
Hey Doc, I happen to know some VERY INTELLIGENT and RATIONAL squirrels!
I have no doubt about it.
Check out the bottom row of these new Revolutionary War battlefield stamps (click for a closeup): https://store.usps.com/store/product...tamps-S_486304
Ha, very cool, boss. Thanks for the link!
The latest (August 2025) issue of Naval History magazine has an interesting article on recent robotic deep-sea exploration of the wreck of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5), lost to Japanese torpedoes in the 1942 Battle of Midway.
If the Chalnoth barfing his guts out right now is the same one who practically bit Kylah's nose off for daring to inquire about his health when he was sick at the beginning of the journey... Good!
You know, he does look oddly familiar to her....
I am pretty sure Three Crows is nowhere near the bridge(...?) Vielar had her helping to break into Engineering, so it would take her a minute to run back. I also presume she cannot read Uwat, or I would have expected her to say something earlier.Quote:
Originally posted by general_urko
Hm, Graham might've meant St. Croix? I know I keep mixing 'em up! In any event Kylah wasn't so much hoping for the Starfleet folks to help with the Uwat translation as pure pattern recognition. Anyway either persistence paid off or some deity stepped in. Maybe Sid'Os finally answered Nia's pleas from the past few days. (Sidonian prayers must be slower than warp drives. They're still a backwater planet.)
Ha! Definitely persistence, but the prayers certainly didn't hurt.
Three Crows is aft with Dr. M., Ens. Rawlings, Lt. Vielar et al., while St. Croix is forward, on the Bridge with Graham and Kylah (the Security officers are an Amerindian and a Frenchwoman, respectively).
Okay, IIRC, the human dude's cabin was back across the Common area (at least that's where he was this morning when he got his breakfast served), right? So it's the Doc, Vielar and Three Crows who are able to see the stranger, yes? Since Graham, Kylah & St. Croix are all the way on the Bridge?
Actually, when he emerged from his cabin, the man would have been visible to no one, since part of the Yorktown boarding party was back in Engineering, and the other, smaller part was on the Bridge, but we'll roll with what's now been written.
I understood not that anyone saw him emerge from his cabin, but that they would have run into him some unspecified time later (maybe still sitting down somewhere, as instructed, but not necessarily). I hope I did not presume anything I should not have.
I could totally be wrong, but I think El Jefe was himself doing a "whoops, my bad" up there -- the exposition describing the guy leaving his cabin does say "You see that he is a dark-skinned man" (I'm paraphrasing), which does imply that at least one of us has set eyes on him. I think your describing Bizhi as coming across Quinn makes a good transition to explain that, though, and it's all pretty smoothly done.
Meanwhile I'm just delighting in that splendid name our new runaway billionaire has. That's positively melodious, EH!
Thanks. There were several names bopping around in my head in recent days, and they all came together nicely, I think.
If Three Crows et al. decide that there is a security problem, the Doctor will not report on the comms that there is not, of course. However, they did not arrest the passenger on sight as a dangerous fugitive, and even made polite conversation, so I wrote it like he is who he claims to be.
That makes sense. Russell certainly seems to recognize the guy. But maybe just as a billionaire, not a fugitive billionaire? He might not keep up with the news the way Bizhi does.
Also sorry for spacing out (pun!) and not having Kylah respond to the doc. I'll rectify that.
Just waking up from my near-comatose state to remark that Nia would certainly be touched that Graham's thinking of her so much that he forgot his wife's name. In such dark times, that might lighten her spirits a bit. :devil:
Okay that's all I had to... (conks out) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
There are many different reasons why someone would want to make themselves scarce. Bizhi is more than a little curious. But the passenger is not in a dissociative fugue state, so unless he wants to talk about it privately, it is not his professional business. As for being a fugitive, it seems (business)people and perhaps mobsters are out looking for the guy, who may or may not be a little shady himself? But that is not Starfleet's concern, and there is nothing preventing people from travelling.Quote:
Originally posted by choie
A fair analysis of the situation, I'd say.
See, now that's the difference between an objective doctor and someone who's spent her life spying in one form or another, sometimes unwillingly. Kylah's been taught--groomed, really--to seek information, and has her own natural curiosity as well. The stranger (she doesn't know his name yet) is still the weirdo who was getting special treatment from the Uwat and wouldn't even open his door or speak to her. That's puzzling.
And, speaking in a meta way, I always assume things told in the narrative are meaningful, so I'm piqued when things appear to have been told to us for a reason. So I'm hella curious about this dude with the provocative backstory!
But I generally try not to meta-game by giving Kylah knowledge or actions she shouldn't have/perform, just because I think some NPC's backstory is intriguingly specific. No one else seems concerned by this weirdo, so she just has to shrug her shoulders unless something else confronts them. Which seems unlikely.
Kylah could certainly make her own inquiries, if she wished.
You don't have to write a full After-Mission Report, obviously, but if you want to write a key paragraph or two, making what you believe is the most important point(s) for the Captain to know, please do so in the game thread. Your characters will not see each other's AMRs, as Starfleet policy prohibits working on them together or sharing drafts before submission, to encourage candid individual outlooks and to avoid groupthink.
A landing party from the USS Tupelo runs into trouble: https://condenaststore.com/featured/...0k9TsMVwjN1fcL
wrt AMRs one of the funny disconnects about Classic Trek's vision of the future and the actual future / present is that by the time of Classic Trek pinned-on TNG style communicators aren't recording absolutely everything all the time...
Top of mind because I saw a video about F1 (racing) and AI and apparently each car generates 1 terrabyte per second of data that's captured.
Wow! That's, what, almost 20 iPhones' worth every second?
Yes, Roddenberry and most other sf visionaries of the Sixties didn't foresee the remarkable expansion of computing power and data collection capabilities that were to come.
choie, your most recent link in the game thread didn't work.
Ah thanks, Chief. One letter off in the URL.
I always enjoy the opportunities to pick a Kylah outfit, bearing in mind the absurdity of Elasian styles as seen in Elaan of Troyius and reflecting what I hope is our girl's better taste and more modest personality. Here I was pleased to find something that works in being both humorously unlikely for a Yorktown officer while also containing more material than typical in Elasian fashion.
It's even less eye-rollingly revealing than the micro-dresses TOS gave its female officers. For Kylah this is practically a nun's habit.
Thanks for fixing the link, choie. Nice dress!
I'd like to move ahead to the mission debriefing (tomorrow, in ship's time). Let's say, three more posts apiece, and we'll fast-forward to that. Thanks.
I had assumed we were fast-forwarding, but now I am not sure(?) I do not mind if the story gets a little non-linear :)
Yes, we're beyond the already-generous three-post deadline. Nia has fallen asleep, so Graham & his wifey can just forget her & enjoy their dinner.
Forward we go, then.
Are the Mellophant pages loading particularly slowly for anyone else tonight?
choie told me there were some problems with the site, but now all seems to be well. My thanks to her.
Sorry for my delay in posting. Crazy busy here this week.
`Happy Thanksgiving, all (who are in the U.S.--I don't know where stolz is from, sorry)! You're very welcome, EH, but all I did was open a ticket. Our hosts did the rest--the problem was that we were swarmed with bots to the extent we were essentially getting DDOSed. We blocked the country IPs of the biggest offenders and that slowed them for now. It's the same ongoing battle, tale as old as time.
Got it, thanks, choie. For all you do to keep Mello up and running, we're grateful!
general, you'd asked about italics. Some months ago, Mellophant stopped doing italics when I clicked on the "I" icon under the Quick Reply bar; likewise bolding with the "B" icon. So I just do them manually. If you Reply with Quote to this line (you need not then actually post it), you'll see how to get bolded or italicized text.
Please post whatever you wish in the game thread by noon EST on Friday, and then I'll bring this mission to a close. Thanks!
Oh geeze, general_urko and EH, I'm sorry I never noticed that format/post button issue! I'm too lazy to interrupt my typing to use my mouse on the style buttons, so I always just type the underline, italics, bold, color, etc. codes on the fly. Now I see the smilie buttons aren't working either. I haven't changed anything in the code, though we did have to change hosts/servers earlier in the year, so maybe there's some conflict blocking that part of the script?
That'll be on the list of Things to Do in the New Year, one of which will hopefully be upgrading the forum itself either to a more current version of the software or--gulp--getting something new altogether. Whatever's more technically and financially viable.
Anyhoo, sorry for the inconvenience and negligence on my part. And more happily, here's to nearing the end of this epic mission, which lasted longer than TOS did! Pretty impressive!
No worries, and many thanks, as ever, for all you do for us, choie! I hope you're still saving the posts in this and the game thread on a regular basis, so we can reconstruct it elsewhere, if necessary.
So ends Mission #7! Hope you liked it. Questions, comments and observations welcomed.
As in past missions, I sprinkled references to a particular sf author's work, via character names, throughout. Did anyone catch 'em?
We'll start Mission #8 in one week, on or about Dec. 19. If you have a friend who might like to join the game then, please have them get in touch with me. We could do with at least two more players, I think; an engineer and a scientist would be particularly useful. Thanks!
Awesome! Five-year missions, indeed.
I seem to have screwed the pooch with the posting deadline, but, @choie, I had written that Doctor Mäkeläinen was going to spend his free time catching up on the latest medical literature, paranoid about having missed something during their absence. I do not know if he heads to Sickbay straight after the briefing or his next watch comes up later, but, whenever it is, you can take it that he tells Kylah she is welcome to come with him and visit Velir (who is in stable condition and may have visitors). Whatever psi stuff happens will come up in the next mission, perhaps.
At the moment I do not know any potential additional players; one person I already asked was not interested.
Hrothgar, Beowulf... I got that bit, but I do not think the author's name is known! ;)
Thanks!
I am not sure how qualified I am to comment on this one - our company was acquired this year, which is generally a good thing, but the whole process had me super distracted, for which I apologize if it made me tardy and less thoughtful in posting.
With that context in mind, I found it a little complex - I'm not sure if we (as players) coulda shoulda pursued more threads which seemed to be there, or managed to get through in fine enough fashion.
At least the Captain didn't think we screwed up too badly... :)
I have a few tech colleagues I'll ask about participating.
In the meantime, happy holidays of whatever sort apply to this crew (and our GM).
Christmas for me, and thanks, general!
Woohoo!
Clarification of Bizhi's intentions noted, stolz, thanks! I figured he'd end up in Sickbay eventually. :) Plus, while of all the characters Kylah could have sussed out his intentions if she'd wanted, she didn't waste her psi abilities on that, and alas she couldn't read your post explaining 'em.
Congrats to us all for surviving the cheekily named "War-Brotherhood of Irkhuit" mission! Especially EH, for keeping his sanity as we flapped around cluelessly and, in one case, went from PC to NPC adding yet more burden on our GM's shoulders. :) I have thoughts and questions, not surprisingly after five years!
- I loved the sheer variety of the plots and subplots, and in particular the unusual number of situations and settiings we encountered. From the Sarafina commandeering to a wedding and murder trial on the Yorktown to shore leave on a planet idyll, to the ominous prison, to the initially sleek but then flailing Tesla (RIP) and a frozen lake with vampire-like creatures, to a hospital and Port Authority and spaceport, the Doregg's nooks and crannies... and of course the seedy, violent, intimidating, loud, mysterious Black Sun. We may have spent years IRL in some places, lol, but there was always so much colorful detail to see and characters to meet.
- OMG all the juicy clues and plot nuggets...that our hapless PCs completely messed up in figuring out, lol! I loves me a good mystery/puzzle, and there seemed to be plenty of trailheads and byways that we could've taken to uncover them. I always had the suspicion there were a one or two mini-missions just beyond our reach or at least beyond our ability to trigger the right set of circumstances. EH, you must've been bashing your head waiting for us to say the magic words or ask the right questions.
I mean there was apparently a whole-ass spy ring going on with the dead guy and the secret message, but I'll be damned if we were able to follow that up. Kylah tried, but damn it, Bizhi and Rawlings refused to examine that bloody paper no matter how often she implied "HELLO IT'S LIKE LEMON JUICE PUT THE MESSAGE OVER SOMETHING WARM, IT'S SPY101 GUYS!" Sadly she also lacked the chops to figure out his communicator, and in the end all the goodies were just left with the local authorities. Poor dead Section 31 guy (not really, but he was something secretive!), left as frozen as the captives down in the Doregg hold.
- Stealth Romulans--and Tal Shiar ones, yet! Now that was a helluva plot twist, as was the reveal of the aforementioned captives. Everything was so deliciously ominous! And I loved the red herring of using the Chalnoth's rococo gang name in the title. Clever clogs!
- I also super appreciate the time and care we were allowed for character interaction and development, which (at least for me) are the meat & potatoes of roleplaying, though our clever, high-stakes adventures and day-in-the-life-of-a-Starfleet-officer elements are vital as well. I suppose the character stuff was responsible for a lot of the mission extended duration, as they always are--along with our slowed-down writing frequency, which is inherent to play-by-post games. Real life's gonna intervene. Regardless, I had fun, especially since Kylah got away w/o disaster for the first time in five missions. Can't say the same for Nia, which was a real switcheroo!
- Speaking of real life and characters: Of course Graham's...Grahamness was missed, general_urko, especially by Nia (if I may speak for SidonialGal*) but no wonder you were distracted!! Huge congrats on your company's success! Well deserved. And even if you were a bit less "present" than usual, I still greatly appreciated the Graham/Kylah moments. His protectiveness and pride are always so lovely to read. I'm looking forward to whatever we see in the future of Graham as a husband to Marala, an increasingly respected ACoS/leader, and a worried...friend...to Nia.
And well done to you, stolz, making Bizhi an integral and valuable member of the crew in your first, albeit lengthy, mission. He's a highly intriguing guy with intelligence, pragmatism and a touch of quirkiness. Truly a lifeline for Nia in particular (if I may speak for SG again**), but almost everyone was helped by the good doctor. I'm so glad you joined! Especially since frickin' Rangin/CIAS (his former SN) went AWOL, which put a damper on things considerably.
That was probably one of the biggest losses for me, playingwise; robbed of my primary scene partner. Not to mention his absence forced Kylah to get to second base with a mere understudy! (No offence to NPC!Rangin. He wasn't half bad. :devil: )
* Yep, go for it - SG
** I said yes! Jeez. - SG
- I think the only real matter of some frustration, other than the aforementioned loss of Rangin/CIAS which couldn't be helped, was a certain lack of...what, agency, I guess I'd call it?...on the part of PCs. There was so much stuff going on and fantastic twists and terrifically realized original characters, all of which were highly entertaining to watch/meet! Yet while playing I felt something was missing, and reading through the thread, it struck me: Once we dropped Hutchinson off, the ensuing events would've happened even if the Tesla crew weren't there! Well, except for the deaths NPC!Rangin caused. (Still not sure about those three Chalnoth he zapped!) But the PCs were far less impactful.
I mean when an episode ends with the Romulans successfully duping us, discovering the location of the slaves, subduing the Uwat and saving the day, the Tesla Six ain't looking too heroic, lol. As players we must've messed up bigtime if we needed the baddies (and various Ollos hospital and port crew) to fix all of the problems and solve the puzzles! I loooove the surprises and shocks, don't get me wrong! I just hope we can be the ones to discover them a little more often sometimes. They'd still be as awesome, while letting us feel clever/industrious too.
...Er, assuming we were capable of discovering them in the first place. It's entirely possible that we were supposed to make these deductions but were taking too dang long to clock 'em!
* * *
Anyway, that was the only hitch in a wild ride that was a masterpiece of diverse races, locations, dramatic elements, speculative science/medicine, and calamities both personal and existential. EH, thank you so much for your focus, intense hard work, flexibility and downright plotting deviltry.
Now, some lingering questions, most of which I already asked EH privately when trying to guess what was in the hold ages back--and I was kinda sorta right! At least about the frozen folks. But I thought they were intended for an entirely different purpose, a la Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies:
1) Was I right that the organic material on those blank pages carried by the frozen dead guy was lemon/citrus juice or the sci-fi equivalent, and that we could have seen whatever the message was if someone, anyone, had listened to Kylah's multiple attempts to get them to warm the damn pages up? Did any of this matter? Did we miss a sidequest by not following up on this? Will this come back to haunt us?
2) What is up with Rangin?! Did he really kill the guy in self-defense? Why does he keep passing out? (My meta reason is that he was too powerful and needed to be taken out of the picture.) Or is this To Be Revealed Later?
3) WTF was with the Uwat kids and their laughing at Nia? A minor question--pun!--but it's nagged at me!
4) Assuming it's not answered in the plot, who is that mystery human passenger?! Okay, we know Quinn now. Were we supposed to figure him out or was he just set dressing? What about the Klingon singer? The stabbed-by-Rangin dude?
5) Okay this is really tiny but: what was up with the game or device the Chalnoth were playing with?
That's it for now, but I reserve the right to bring up more questions when my Swiss-cheese-like mind recalls the ones I had while rereading the thread.
Happy holiday season, everyone. Ave Atque Vale, WARBHOI (as CIAS and I used to call it) -- and the same to the poor Tesla, which was the big shock death of the mission. Bring on whatever comes next!
Many thanks, choie! The mission went on far longer than I ever thought it would (why do I keep saying that!?!?), but I had fun, and I'm glad you did, too.
My responses are at the >> marks below.
1) Was I right that the organic material on those blank pages carried by the frozen dead guy was lemon/citrus juice or the sci-fi equivalent,
>> Yes.
and that we could have seen whatever the message was if someone, anyone, had listened to Kylah's multiple attempts to get them to warm the damn pages up?
>> Yes, although it probably would have been a dead end as to your mission - an aspect of some murderous local feud that had nothing to do with you.
Did any of this matter? Did we miss a sidequest by not following up on this? Will this come back to haunt us?
>> Not really, probably not, and certainly not.
2) What is up with Rangin?! Did he really kill the guy in self-defense?
>> Lots, and yes.
Why does he keep passing out?
>> He is still dealing physiologically with the aftermath of the Sakathian adventure, and its changes to his brain function.
(My meta reason is that he was too powerful and needed to be taken out of the picture.)
>> Hmm. I can see how it might seem that way to you, but no, not really.
Or is this To Be Revealed Later?
>> Yes, in a way. There is certainly more to it than you now know.
3) WTF was with the Uwat kids and their laughing at Nia? A minor question--pun!--but it's nagged at me!
>> Just some local color. I also wanted you all to be thinking subconsciously, "Hey, c'mon, how bad can the Uwat be if they brought their cute kids along?"
4) Assuming it's not answered in the plot, who is that mystery human passenger?! Okay, we know Quinn now. Were we supposed to figure him out or was he just set dressing?
>> Mostly set dressing, and (I hope) an interesting late-mission side story.
What about the Klingon singer? The stabbed-by-Rangin dude?
>> Both local color.
5) Okay this is really tiny but: what was up with the game or device the Chalnoth were playing with?
>> Just a distinctive bit of Chalnoth culture, to give them something to do, and you something to encounter/think about/discuss with them.
Thanks again!
And we're off for Mission #8!
No guesses?Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
stolz up there mentioned Beowulf and Hrothgar, but I don't know enough about it to know if that's right; I can't recall any other names of that style. (Also, I blush to admit, I DNFed Beowulf in high school when I could get away with it.) If that's not it, can you give us a hint? Like, what scene/setting/incident includes a character/ship/locale with a pertinent name?
The mention of Roble's studying an asteroid belt has me lifting one of Nia's arched eyebrows at the mission title. Of course, we've learned not to trust titles anymore! :) For all I know there's a birthday cake, a wishing well or a coin fointain somewhere.
Hey EH, a question: Will we have any off-duty time before the mission proper starts?
Beowulf is too on-the-nose to be the correct answer; there was literally a ship named that. Maybe something Beowulf-inspired?
The names all have an author in common, but not much beyond that. There's no Beowulf connection to 'em.
A hint: the names are from the works of a living American sf author.
And yes, you'll definitely get some off-duty time once the ship takes up orbit.
Oh dear, science fiction? That's me tapping out, then. I'm abysmally ignorant of SciFi novels. I don't think Hitchhikers really counts. Wait, wasn't there some reference to a ship called the Watney? I don't remember if that was the most recent mission or a previous one, and the $%@# board won't let me search. It feels unlikely that you'd quote such a recent author with relatively few books, but I'll pick Andy Weir, of The Martian and Project Hail Mary.
(Hail Mary indeed! A guess made because I vaguely remember a "Watney" reference that a) might've been from a earlier mission and b) might not even mean Weir's Mark Watney. Ah well. Maybe this is all promo for the new Hail Mary film coming out soon, in which case well done to you sir for getting a sponsorship.)
Yay for the off-duty time. Oh wait, I wasn't the one who asked about it. I mean: How nice. (Eyes shift shiftily in a very shifty way.)
Hutchinson is the name of a science-fiction writer (whom I am not that familiar with), so we can rule [i]that[/] out... I do know the Black Sun, though: that is from Stephenson's Snow Crash, and I happen to like that novel. There are other Black Suns, though. I can think of other poor guesses like that. We have to go by more than one single name.
Nah I'm a one-namer then I'm out. Like I said, I'm a dimbulb as far as literary sci-fi is concerned. The only other modern SF writer I know is John Scalzi, and both he and Weir seem too light for the likes of EH.
Wait, Stephenson? Neal Stephenson?
https://imgur.com/a/JrLbnZg
Good guesses, all, but no. I did refer to a USS Watney awhile back, and that was indeed a reference to Andy Weir's excellent The Martian, but this mission I was actually thinking of Joe Haldeman.
Capt. Enoch Potter of the USS Viraat is a reference to the hero of Haldeman's classic military sf novel, The Forever War.
Emily Martin, civilian defense counsel in the court-martial scene, is a name from Haldeman's terrific short story "Summer's Lease" in his collection Infinite Dreams.
The name of Cmdr. Kiichi Norita of the USS Rodgers is taken from another great Haldeman short story, "For White Hill," in A Separate War and Other Stories.
The name of Cmdr. Emmett Baird of the Starfleet JAG Corps is drawn from his weird literary-hoax novel The Hemingway Hoax.
And finally, Lt. Sarah Foley, likewise a JAG Corps officer, is from my favorite sf espionage novel, Haldeman's Tool of the Trade.
A reminder of the authors thus honored in previous missions:
M1 Heinlein
M2 Lovecraft
M3 Asimov
M4 Clarke
M5 Bradbury
M6 Scalzi
Who knows who I'll pick for Mission 8...?
I was not familiar with Haldeman...I learned something today.
New reads for a new year.
Wishing you all the best.
Likewise, general!
I have read only a couple of those books. So Haldeman was on my "list" of American sf authors I had actually heard of, but I guess the names did not ring enough of a bell (or I just failed to recall all of the names from Episode #7...)
Oy, SF authors only, huh? Makes sense for a Trek-based game. But looks like until you swap to a mystery theme, I'm SOL.
Meanwhile, since Nia asked her question over two weeks ago with no luck, I think she should move on and take her lead from her friend Luisa's remark!
So let it be written, so shall it be done.
Right you are, and thanks.
I highly recommend Haldeman. Any of the novels or short stories I mention above would be a good place to start, if you'd like to check out his work.
OK, sorry folks, I totally missed the start of the new thread! Sorry for being awol and to EH for clearing up my confusion!
No worries, and good to have you back!
How does Ens. Delaney start back in?
WHAT? OMG, I can't speak for EH or the rest, but for me, he could start however the heck he wants! What an incredibly welcome return you (and Jim) would be, holy cow!
Yes, I'm pleased to confirm that What Exit? has decided to rejoin us! He will pick up where he left off with his character Ens. Jim Delaney (you can see his character description in post 3 in the Character Profiles thread here: https://www.mellophant.com/forums/sh...acter-profiles).
Please look over the current Mission #8 game thread, WE, and then have Delaney come to the Bridge to relieve Lt. JG Demei Xiang at the Engineering station.
And a warm welcome back aboard!
In the Editor, none of the tools seems to be working. Bold, Font Size, etc.
Do I have to tweak a setting in my control panel because of the upgrade a few years back?
Manual Testing.
<B>Test</B>
Size 1 test
Not even smilies.
I was using the Mello Green, but have switched to the vB4 Default style.
This is in Chrome.
I just switched from Enhanced Interface - Full WYSIWYG Editing to Standard editor - extra formatting controls, giving it a try.
testing
This doesn't seem to help.
************************************************** ******
I explicitly allow Mellophant to use javascript now. Small chance this helps.
It did not.
************************************************** ******
Now trying it in Chrome
Bold
Oh well. Troubleshooting has failed.
Yes, unfortunately we've had to change servers a few times because the version of PHP allowed by vb4 is no longer supported even on some of the oldest legacy machines. The forum as a whole kept getting borked. I found a host that would let us use a fairly old version of PHP, then hired a vBulletin/php guy to mod the software so it could run on this later version--basically, splitting the difference between what vBulletin wants and what our (3rd now) host can provide. It worked, amazingly, but something in the process does seem to have screwed up the javascript functions somewhere. My goal, when I come into some $$$ one glorious day, is to either port the forum to a different app or at least upgrade vB to something within the last 5 years.
Long story short: We gotta use manual code for formatting and smilies are only kosher if you remember/know the bbcode for them. :iiam: Sorry about that! It's been a rough decade or so.
In-Game Stuff: Speaking of... wow, I just realized that you've returned to find Delaney got demoted as an NPC. See what trouble these guys get into when we're not around to control them?! :) But he was pretty much responsible for Graham and Kylah getting zapped unconscious by an apparent murderer, so, he kinda deserved it.
I don't know how much of the 3854392-page mission threads you've read, but starting in, uh, possibly Mission #4/Codex Aelyrr, Delaney's been helping out with a mystery subplot involving what appears to have been a malfunctioning communicator belonging to Ens. Kylah. Rangin was doing the investigating, as it does involve xenobiology as well as technology in a way, but Delaney has consulted on this and is a likely source for snooping. Since Rangin's in a coma and an NPC himself, sigh, maybe that's something you'd want to run with?
If so, and if EH hasn't caught you up on it--it's very ancillary and on the back-burner, so possibly it hasn't--I can hunt up the relevant posts for you, if you like? Just thought I'd mention it!
Huh, for that matter, Nia was nothing but a rando alien name on the character/crew list during Delaney's original appearance as a PC. I think she made her one NPC cameo at the end of the OCIII mission for Graham to admire, after which EH breathed life into her and gave her full PC status. The Yorktown's version of Pygmalion and Galatea! :devil:
Anyway, cool! Nice to serve with you.
When you rent a server, can you not install whatever version of PHP you want? Obviously, some old-ass version is not going to be available out of the box on an up-to-date operating system, but I can see repositories with versions as old as PHP 5.6 available online.Quote:
Originally posted by choie
Yeppers, our cpanel lets us switch and we've got it set to the farthest back it'll go that works with this souped-up version of the forum. The site's so amazingly customized/modded that I'm not sure which cogs and levers affect which widgets and pulleys. When we moved hosts and then servers and tried to work around the software's limitations, something went wrong, and some script seems to be conflicting with something else. My tech dude was able to get it working, which was certainly better than a blank page, but things are still janky, as we can see re: the glitches mentioned above.Quote:
Originally posted by stolz
Anyway, it'll work out and someday we'll be on a less deprecated version of the software, or an entirely new app. The important thing is to be able to keep the forum archives--not just the RPG stuff, but the forum as a whole, because there was a large community here for many years (long before I came here for the ST:RPG in, what, 2012?) and I think it'd be a shame for the old crowd not to be able to look back at their content.
Understood. Thanks for the explanation. I've barely been here for years.Quote:
Originally posted by choie
A cliff-notes version of this might be good. But no hurry (I hope).Quote:
...
If so, and if EH hasn't caught you up on it--it's very ancillary and on the back-burner, so possibly it hasn't--I can hunt up the relevant posts for you, if you like? Just thought I'd mention it!
Welcome back What Exit?
Holy cow - vb4? The last time I coded in anger was vb5...and that was...well, my hair is white :)
Hi all.
I'm reading along right now, but nothing for Delaney to add at the moment.
Most of that technical stuff went over my head, but I'm just glad we're still here and still have a place to play this game. And it's even better now with What Exit back!
The reference to "67" in the Game thread was coincidental, and not a reference to current slang.
Welcome to our newest crewmate, described below. I've posted this in the Character Profile thread, too. I know LadyCorva from the local political scene, and from our shared interest in sf and trivia.
ENS. BAENRE
CHARACTER NAME: Alodia Baenre (pronounced Ah-low-dee-ah Bane-ray)
CURRENT RANK: Ensign
USERNAME: LadyCorva
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: Assistant Science Officer, USS Yorktown, NCC-1717
ATTRIBUTES:
Charisma 9
Dexterity 10
Endurance 8
Intellect 12
Luck 9
Psi 11
Strength 7
SPECIES: Violacean
AGE: 26
SEX: Female
HOMEWORLD: Violacea
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Pale amethyst-hued skin, dark violet hair that hangs just below the shoulders, with lavender eyes. Stands 5'6'' (168cm) tall and of average humanoid build.
PERSONALITY PROFILE: Ens. Baenre is generally calm and reserved. She is generally viewed as warm and friendly by those who know her, but can sometimes appear aloof or suspicious around newcomers. Violaceans are known to be skilled diplomats, though many in her family have ties to her homeworld's intelligence service. She spent a great deal of her childhood traveling with her parents throughout the Federation on their “diplomatic” assignments. As a result of this upbringing and as a scientist, she prefers to gather as much information as possible before readily trusting others. This has its benefits but can sometimes be a hindrance in team efforts. During her time at Starfleet Academy she much preferred solo work to group projects, although she is very open with those who have earned her trust and greatly values friendship. She has a sense of humour that tends towards deadpan or dark. Having spent so much time interacting with different cultures, she loves trying new foods.
FAMILY, SPOUSE, SIGNIFICANT OTHER OR NEXT OF KIN, IF ANY: Nyxira Baenre, mother. Kelzar Baenre, father. Izmyra and Thalyssra Baenre, sisters.
HOBBIES OR INTERESTS: Alodia's primary fields of study are stellar cartography in particular and stellar sciences in general; she also studied astrophysics and geology at the Academy. In her free time she enjoys reading old Earth science fiction and fantasy novels, collects antique maps, and practices a Violacean meditation and exercise technique similar to Earth yoga.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND:
Violacean Royal Diplomatic Academy Class of 2262
Denobulan Science Academy, University Exchange Program 2264
Starfleet Academy Class of 2266
SERVICE RECORD:
2265-2266 - Cadet Fourth Year, USS Diana, NCC-589
2266-2268 – Stellar Cartography Officer, USS Diana, NCC-589
2266-2270 – Astrophysics Officer, USS Pegasus, NCC-612
2270-present – Assistant Science Officer, USS Yorktown, NCC-1717
CAREER GOAL: Alodia would like to someday command an exploration vessel of her own. She dreams of discovering a celestial object and having it named after herself.
WOOHOO! Welcome, LadyCorva, and of course, Ens. Baenre. Very cool character profile and background you've crafted to join the good ship Yorktown, and that's a fabulous image. It'll be very nice to meet and serve with her, and I hope she ends up trusting my gal Lt. Nia Onn. :)
Praise to Blessed Sid'Os and her vessel, Elendil's Heir, for sending us a science officer PC! And getting our engineer Delaney back, for that matter. My personal researching skills have been sorely tested since I foolishly chose a techie area of expertise for Nia that I very much do not possess, yikes.
Welcome, LadyCorva!
Question: are all of our original character bios easily discoverable for new players?
If not it seems like it would be kind and useful for us all to find and surface them.
Hey SidonianGal - thanks for posting the links in post #31 in the latest mission.
Wild to recollect that Bennnet Graham's crush played a role in creating the conditions in which Graham felt obligated to abandon his girlfriend Onn to marry his childhood sweetheart Marala...
Yes, here they are: https://www.mellophant.com/forums/sh...acter-profilesQuote:
Originally posted by general_urko
Is there anything non-standard about Cavinre VII tech that would be of interest to Delaney? I'm looking for a hook for Delaney to speak up about heading/beaming down.
Possibly the beanstalk itself might be the hook. Not sure how common they are in the Federation.
Cavinre is a bit behind the Federation in its tech, all in all, although it is a starfaring culture. Beanstalks are not all that common in the Federation.
Boy Nia thinks Vargas has a grudge against her, but that ain't nothing! Kylah, along with Dr. M., was probably among the more useful members of the crew this time around! She rarely gets such a distinction so attention must be paid. :)
Sorry to make you trot out so much worldbuilding goodies, EH, but I know you've got it ready (assuming it's not too early for us to learn the answers of some of these questions).
Welcome again, LadyCorva! I'm so psyched to learn more about Alodia. What immediately strikes me is her PSI stat of 11, which makes her and Kylah PSI-twins, hee. Although no one except T'Var knows about Kylah's abilities yet, so don't let your PC know.
Will we be learning that Alodia has significant/specific psionic abilities? That'd be neat. If they learn about each other, she and Kylah can effectively pass notes in class while Vargas is none the wiser.
(Hey gang, maybe it's time to revisit those bios? Not only is Kylah's woefully inaccurate since I tweaked her character, but Rangin definitely needs his stats tweaked. He's gotta have a higher psi score than Kylah, especially after the last mission.)
general_urko, re: Graham and his merry band of admiring ladies -- Yeah, he became the ship's Don Draper so quietly we hardly knew it happened!
Jolan tru, everyone! Glad to be here. Sorry for the delay, I've been having some technical issues posting, but it would appear that whatever was preventing me from doing it has resolved. Thanks for the welcome, all. :)
choie, I don't know yet about Alodia's psionic abilities. I just randomly assigned that number. My brain was running on D&D rules and didn't think of it as especially high. Her species, Violaceans, aren't fleshed out at all in canon. Even their name is conjectural. They've only been background characters in TOS and LD. I specifically chose them so I can play in that sandbox and make up my own lore to fill the gaps. I guess we'll find out together!
The sparse info on her species:
https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Violacean
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Volis%27_species
Welcome, LadyCorva! I thought you'd rolled dice, as I suggested, as to her attributes, though?
YAY you got in! Wonderful news. Let's gooooo!
Sorry for my delay in posting. For too long I was having some problems getting Mellophant to load.
Yes, so am I, unfortunately. I think the last time we were having problems like this, it was a flood of bots from a few specific countries attacking the server. I'll check with our host to see if that's the case, and if they can add another country block on whichever malefactors are slowing us down.
Or it could just be that the forum software is just ancient and sucky. I'm sorry about that.
I wonder who would bother DDoSing a random server, and why? I hope all the databases are backed up, in any case....
Ouchies for the Captain's diss of Bizhi's idea. I thought it was a good one, though maybe she's just irked she didn't think of it. You know how supervisors are! :devil:
I just scrolled up to belatedly catch this:
Hang on, don't we carry around our communicators on the regular, clipped to our belts and such? Why is Nguyen doling them out to us--well, to those who are mission-bound, at least? Is this something special for this trip?Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
As I recall, that was left up to the individual. Some of your USS Yorktown shipmates do, but some don't. And there are typically no belts, but a Velcro-like patch on your uniform pants or dress (although some Security personnel in ST:TOS wore either tan or black cummerbund-like "belts" while on landing party duty).
See the top row, middle stamp (available May 23): https://www.stampsforever.com/stamps...olutionary-era
To our great chief EH...
<img src="https://y.yarn.co/1a3fc37e-f618-403b-b723-fa58193a98ed_text.gif"></img>
He knows what he did. :bravo: