LGBT In Government
Oh do go on.... FIGHT FIGHT - handbags at dawn :0)
nivagni
Gravity
LGBT In Government
Mark i could speak at length on the tory party and their attitudes to LGBT people but honestly i dont fancy arguing here. Suffice to say i honestly think you are really simplifying things alot.
mark2410
LGBT In Government
It's not exactly what you're asking, but, the Chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee in the UK is a Tory MP by the name of Maria Miller. Surprisingly enough (from a Tory), she's leading the campaign to have the UK adopt gender-neutral passports.
Like I said, it's not exactly what we're talking about, but, it's a start (especially for those of us that are intersex).
why Surprisingly enough (from a Tory)? the party that has given the UK its second female prime minister and party that has a lesbian kickboxer as leader of the party in scotland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Davidson
the tory party has always been about ability, gender and who you sleep with has never been a factor in the party, almost every member i know is a gay
Duriansol
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
#TalesofTragedy Contest Submission.
**Warning, it's not a novel, but it might be a novella**
***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***
It was like floating in a gentle bit of space. The water was just the right temperature of warmth that cradled my body. It was calming, and I could feel myself relax into the emptiness of the waters. I took the time to think about our recent mission.
I was just assigned to the USS Conqueror under Captain Durian Sol. I was so nervous when I reported, I was told horror stories about him. Since he was a Trill, he’d lived several lifetimes and had gathered immense tactical knowledge and skills. Some of what I was told included a zero tolerance for insubordination and failure to do your duty. When I arrived, I was directed to his Ready Room and told to wait. At first I stood, and then I felt I’d been standing for quite a while. I lost track of time, but my legs were starting to hurt. I sat down in one of the chairs and continued to wait as patiently as I could.
The next thing I remembered was the swooshing open of the office doors, and I jumped to my feet as quickly as possible to stand at attention. I was groggy and out of sorts, I’d fallen asleep waiting for the Captain. In my haste, I’d overshot my balance and fell head-first into the Captain as he entered his ready room. What happened next might have been comical, as he immediately sidestepped and brought down an arching blow that nearly broke my collar bone. I did mention his lifetimes of combat and tactical training, right? A day or two later, I was ordered back to his ready room and I was sternly welcomed to the ship and given permission to report for duty.
The ship left Deep Space 9 on a diplomatic mission to the recently rediscovered K-13. Part of our mission was to further identify how the station had moved into this area of the galaxy and still survive the temporal stasis. After an uneventful day, I went about my duties as any good ensign should do. I sat in that horribly uncomfortable conn chair and couldn’t help be feel like Captain Sol was staring down my back the whole time. At one point, a trickle of sweat dripped down, and I wiped it away. I furiously focused on the controls in front of me, and nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand grasped my shoulder, “Ensign?”
“I, uh, oh,..” I stuttered with shock, “YES SIR!?” I instantly regretted opening my mouth, the other stations looked over at us. I looked up at the Captain, his dark beard framed a half smile before he started laughing at me. The blood rushed to my ears and the room started to disappear around me, *oh gods, no… don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint…*
“Ensign,” he asked again, “are you alright? Did the doctor really clear you for duty?”
I could barely hear him, his deep voice seemed to be coming from the other room, *oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…* I vaguely remember seeing the Captain wave someone over before tapping his badge. *There goes my career, in the first day of real service after the academy, and I pass out because my captain touched me, how the hell am I going to surrvvvv…*
I felt myself drift aimlessly through the brilliant streaks of light. I focused my eyes on the sunlight that pushed down into the water around me, like a Prophet of Bajor reaching out to me. I lifted my hand toward the light, and the waters around me felt suddenly cooler. I hadn’t really noticed how deep I had drifted.
The waters began to change colors a bit, I remembered it was near the end of the day and the sky above had started shifting into the mixed colors of this planet’s most beautiful sunsets. Pinks and blues mixed and danced as the star’s radiation began to light up the edges of dusk with the most amazing light storms. On earth, they’re called borealis. From under the comfort of the water, the effects were tantalizing. The way the light danced through gave the most beautiful effects of red, like a waltz of violet and crimson on smoke moving through a great palace of Vulcan.
A nurse was standing over me when I came back to my senses on the bridge floor. The tall form of Captain Sol standing behind the nurse with this very dark look on his face. I felt the blood rush to my ears again, *please don’t yell, please don’t yell, please don’t yell. My mother is going to murder me if I get kicked out on my first day.*
“Ensign, can you sit up, slowly?” The male nurse was helping to lift my shoulders and back. “Take it easy. Are you okay?”
I felt the motion in my body before I could feel my body, *must be strong!* “Yes, yes. Thank you. I don’t know what happened.”
“It seems you fainted,” Captain Sol’s deep voice echoed through my head, those intense green eyes staring down at me. His crisp red uniform added an ominous red tint to the already deeply concerning look.
“I’m fine sir!” I began to clamor to my feet. I felt several hands begin to hold me down, I started to thrash, “I’m fine, I swear, this will never happen again!” My left hand found purchase in the shirt of the man on my left, as I yanked myself free of the constraining grips of others. As I pulled downward, I heard a tearing sound. When I found myself upright and on my feet, the same sudden darkening of the room and the imaginary walls closed in on my thoughts and ears.
When I looked up, I realized, much to my continued horror, I had grabbed a handful of the Captain’s shirt. It seems he had also lowered himself to hold me down, and instead I’d ripped his tunic to get to my feet. I didn’t faint this time, but ended up slumping forward into his arms. His body was solid, strong, and unmoving. His warmth was reassuring, as he hugged me close to support me. I’d never felt held like this before. I don’t know if I fainted in that moment again, but I do remember returning in earnest while sitting in the captain’s chair. “Ensign, you’re relieved of duty,” Captain Sol had spoken, and I lost myself again.
The waters were getting cooler and the light was fading faster. I was still very comfortable. A single beam of light drifted across the surface in my general direction. I gave a small laugh at the appearance of the light, it darted about above me like an ignes fatui or Earthling “Will-o-the-wisp.”
I didn’t want the ignes fatui to find me, I tried to will it away. I closed my eyes tight and focused on the memories. I felt that strength again, I felt those powerful arms wrapping around me again…
A few hours later, one of the doctors ordered me to bedrest in my quarters for at least 24 hours. I was escorted to my shared space and left to rest. I recorded a personal log entry detailing the miserable first day of work and sent it to my mother. I remember having tears in my eyes when I closed the recording, I was apologizing through muted sobs for being such a failure to her and the family. I crawled onto my bunk, faced the wall and fell asleep.
The next regular duty shift, I did my normal routine. I knew I was fine, I knew why I fainted, and I knew that my career was over, so why sit around and do nothing? I ate a light breakfast and hit the gym for a workout. I started packing my things. I wasn’t sure if I’d be put off at K-13 and have to wait for a transport, or if I’d be stuck riding the ship until we returned to a ‘modern’ federation station.
=/\= Bridge to Ensign Ildan, =/\= a female voice spoke.
I was startled, I guess this is it. I tapped my combadge, “This is Ildan.”
=/\= The doctor assures me you’re fit for duty, you’re late for your shift. =/\=
I didn’t know what to do, “er. I…, I’m on my way!” I quickly changed into my uniform and all but ran through the ship to the bridge. I was breathing slightly heavy as the doors opened. I did my best to walk down to the conn station. The ensign sitting at the station was a Vulcan woman. She gave me a blank look that I thought meant that I was ‘done.’ She stood up, and quietly said to me with the familiar voice, “don’t let it happen again” before she walked off the bridge.
I sat down at the station and took in the view of the console. We’d left K-13 and were traveling at warp 7 to a relatively unknown planet near the First Federation, in the Eta Serpentis Sector. It was a quiet flight for several days. The captain only visited the bridge a few times, usually only to pass through to his ready room. Near the end of the second day, the captain called my name as he crossed the bridge toward his ready room. I was feeling more confident and responded curtly, “Aye sir.”
He stopped at his office door, “come with me.”
I got up from the station, and another crewman took my seat. I followed Captain Sol into his room. I stopped inside the door and stood at attention in silence.
“Ensign, you’ve been on my ship for only a few days. How are you doing?” He sat down behind his desk and merely glanced up, “at ease, have a seat.”
I took a small breath, and moved forward to sit in the chair I’d fallen asleep in a few days earlier. Captain Sol looked me over one more time with a very different look in his eye. He seemed gentler than I remembered, and much less scary than the stories I’d heard. I didn’t know him enough to see through his poker face, I couldn’t tell what he might be thinking. It made me uneasy. My thoughts started to rapid fire through all the problems I’d been through since arriving.
He continued to simply look at me for a moment, “well, how are you doing?”
*Oh shit,* I thought. “I’m well sir, sorry, sir.”
He chuckled to himself. “I see things haven’t changed. What stories did you hear about me?” He set his elbows on his desk, leaned forward, and intertwined his fingers in front of his mouth.
I took a deep breath, “Stories sir?”
“Oh come now, I’ve been alive for a long time, I’ve heard many of the stories myself. Which ones were you told?”
I reluctantly told him of the time he’d nearly jettisoned a crewman from the bridge airlock because he’d hesitated during an emergency drill. I told him about the time he’d vaporized two gorn that looked at him while on Drozana Station. I told him a few more stories, including the one about how he’d traveled through time to frame a human man for a series of minor crimes just to change the future to avoid where he becomes an insubordinate executive officer. I watched as the captain’s smile grew wider and wider. Eventually, he’s laughing and helping finish the tall tales. He admitted he’d not heard the one about time travel, though, he jested, probably because the timeline had been changed.
We sat and talked for a while longer. He assured me that this was part of his protocol. He enjoyed getting to know his crew and establish clear expectations of what it means to be a member of the bridge crew. He told me that he’d selected my application from the applicant pool, and that he’d hand selected all of the officers serving on the ship. He reviewed my academy records, the recommendations from my instructors, and was pleased to find another aspiring Trill willing to explore the edges of the Federation.
We eventually arrived at the unmapped star system after detouring around the buoys marked as the “First Federation.” The target planet was a beautiful green and turquoise from the viewscreen. Our mission was to do some early reconnaissance of the planet’s surface for resources and potential colonization. With a few initial scans, the planet was simply a very blue and green class M planet.
Captain Sol invited me to join the away team, “there’s no hostiles in the area and you have to get your feet wet at some point, Ensign.” I accompanied the team to the surface.
The ground was covered in a mix of semiprecious stones, lots of blues and green materials, very large beryllium deposits spread throughout the planet’s surface. The plant life was immense with a variety of colors that sparkled with the high levels of metals absorbed into the leaves and flowers. As dusk settled on us, we noticed the borealis for the first time. Vibrant greens and reds danced a very slow dance, like a giant dragon-wurm crawling back and forth across the darkening sky.
We returned to the ship, and sent a new team to the surface in a different part of the planet. When I awoke for my shift, I was again summoned to the transporter room. Captain Sol again, personally greeted me, “Ensign, glad you are awake. We’re heading to an island near the equator of the planet. The average temperature is a bit higher than most humans can handle for long periods.”
We beamed to the island. The sands were made of emerald dust, kilometers and kilometers of emerald dust. The grounds of the cliffside were huge, long meters of exposed oxidizing pyrite with bits and scrapes that shown through in the daylight. The waters below were a deep sapphire blue. We ventured into the jungle of the island with our tricorders scanning for radiation, animal movements, and searching for usable resources.
Near the middle of the island, we found a crater lake. The edges of the crater were very steep, and the lake was some 60 meters below our current ledge. We’d found a rocky path about a quarter mile from where we first discovered the lake. Several of us were able to carefully climb down to the water’s edge. It was warm, as expected in the tropical area of most M-class planets. The vegetation around the crater had a way of capturing more of the heat, and due to the high metallic content, funneled that energy downward. We found some exposed roots of the trees from up above within the walls. Our botanist was ecstatic to discover that the trees had managed to reach so far downward for the lake’s stored water.
=/\= Sol to away team, return to the camp. There’s too much interference from the metal deposits to get a good transporter lock. =/\=
A lieutenant commander I didn’t know very well responded, “Aye sir. On our way.” He yelled out to the few crewmen collecting samples to start heading back. It took us quite a bit longer to travel up the broken path than it did to get down. I suppose gravity is funny like that? We continued to climb as the ever familiar easing of the skies that preceded the green and red light shows.
When we arrived at the transporter site, the rest of the team had gone. The Lt Cmdr tapped his combadge, “Five to beam up.”
*silence*
He tapped his badge again, “Kip to Conqueror, five to beam up.”
*silence*
I tapped my combadge, “Ildan to Conqueror, respond please.”
*silence*
One of the crewmen was watching the forestry, I think I remember him being an expert on animals. “Hey, I, I think there’s something moving out there.” We all turned in the direction he was looking. One thing we’d discovered on this planet was a lack of animals. The entire eco system was vegetation based with carnivorous plants that could shift relatively quickly for plants to take over and consume other plants. There was a motion in the underbrush maybe 40 meters in front of us. As far as we knew, none of the plants could move that quickly. The botanist and the animal expert began to move forward carefully expecting to discover yet another new and exciting animal or plant native to this island.
Suddenly, Captain Sol and two others came running from our right. They’d broken from the underbrush near the cliffs and were diving at us. Two blasts rang out from the movement we’d just spied. The two crewmen fell before us. Captain Sol tackled me to the ground just in time for another green beam to arc over the two of us. At first, I started to wrestle him off of me, but a quick hand covered my mouth, and he told me to be quiet. He kept his body pressed against mine and we both turned our heads toward the jungle. We could neither see nor be seen in our current position. We heard more energy weapon fire before hearing a muffled scream of Lt Cmdr Kip.
Captain Sol looked me in the eyes, a glance that said stay still and silent. He rolled off of me in such a way as to make barely any sound. Of course, with the blood rushing in my ears, I couldn’t hear much of anything. He crawled through the grass toward the direction of Kip. I lay there, silent and breathing with a hand over my mouth. *I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive* I kept repeating it over and over in my head. Images of the captain tackling me flashed through my mind. I started crying. I didn’t know what else to do, I lay there, trying not to make a sound, muffling my own sobs.
More weapon fire, then utter silence. A dark shadow loomed over me, a figure that wasn’t the captain approached. A short humanoid with a large forehead stepped up to me, he was holding a brown device that looked like a spade in his outstretched arm. I raised both my hands toward him to cover my face as I screamed in panic.
A flash of movement, and a shadow ploughed through the Ferengi. Energy weapon blasts arced green overhead. Suddenly, two intertwined bodies rolled through the grass, slamming into me. I tried to get out of the way. I’d rolled over, but struggled to find my footing as Captain Sol and the Ferengi continued to grapple. I’d finally gotten most of the ground beneath me, when a blast of green came out of the jungle 25 meters in front of me.
I staggered backward, caught a larger emerald stone with my right boot, and began to fall backward.
I fell.
Then I realized I was still falling.
It took a moment, but then it hit me, or I hit it. In a jarring and painful slam, I landed in the sapphire waters below the cliff. Just below the surface, I’d connected with some of the rocky outcropping, and ended up rolled into the depths.
I didn’t want the ignes fatui to find me, I tried to will it away. I closed my eyes tight and focused on the memories. I felt his strength again, I felt those powerful arms wrapping around me one more time.
This time the memory faded. I was sitting behind my desk. The comms chirped, =/\= We’ve arrived at Deep Space 9. =/\=
I reached up and tapped my combadge, “On my way.” I stood up from my desk, and entered the bridge. “On screen.” The image of Stonewall Fleet’s senior Admiral appeared. “Good afternoon, Nick. It’s good to see you again.” The look on his face was disappointment. “Nick, please, let me explain.” The face on the screen didn’t object, just simply nodded.
“I assume you read the report. When we arrived at the system, we found that beautiful planet relatively untouched. What we didn’t know is that Ferenginar had claimed it for the deeply buried latinum veins. They didn’t exactly announce themselves, and our away team was ambushed. We lost a few crewmembers and had ceremonies to honor them. In particular, we lost Durian.”
The memories came forward again, Sol was still explaining, but I was trying to understand the mix of emotions and images. I watched Ildan take a plasma blast to the chest and fall backward off the cliff as I fought with the ferengi in my grasp. Another ferengi came running over, and was about to fire. I rolled the pair of us just in time for my immediate attacker to take the brunt of the beam, he almost melted in my hands. With a swift kick, the second ferengi fell, and I grabbed a stone. I half rolled and jumped onto the new assailant, smashing the stone into the wrist holding the phaser. He instantly released it. A party of security team members transported into the area along with medical personnel. The battle was over.
I quickly remembered Ildan and moved to the edge of the cliff. Somewhere down below, Ildan was sinking into the waters. Transporters wouldn’t work down there. I yelled for a transporter transponder, one appeared from the ship in moments. I grabbed it, turned it on, as I dove off the cliff into the waters below. I heard yelling from behind me as I went in head first, strong searchlights began to light up the waters below.
I knew it was a risk, and it was a dangerous risk. I caught the edge of the cliffs under the water, just as Ildan had. I felt my arm snap and my shoulder began to burn. In the murky depths, I could see Ildan sinking slowly. I pushed with what little strength I had. I reached out for him, shoved the transponder into his shirt, and then tried to wrench him toward the surface. It took a moment, and we crested the waters. We both gasped for air, breathing deeply and still choking on the sapphire waters. The borealis shimmered above us. I couldn’t hold Ildan and tap my badge at the same time, I was struggling to stay awake myself. I let him go, we both began to sink again. I quickly slammed my left hand into my badge and watched as he shimmered out of the water back to the ship.
I closed my eyes. I knew what this was going to be like, I knew what was coming. I’d done this before. The water began to push against my body, my lungs burned for air, I recognized the shaking followed by the convulsions. Dark waters stopped having a temperature as Durian stopped living...
Sol recounted the important details of the mission, as well as having stayed on bed rest by the doctor’s orders. With the interference, Durian’s body could not be found in a timely manner, he was cold and the damage to his brain was irreparable even with Sol’s help. The doctor identified that Sol was dying, even as the ship traveled at maximum warp to Trill. Ildan was alive and the only Trill on the ship. An executive decision was made, and Ildan Sol was given new life.
**Warning, it's not a novel, but it might be a novella**
***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***
It was like floating in a gentle bit of space. The water was just the right temperature of warmth that cradled my body. It was calming, and I could feel myself relax into the emptiness of the waters. I took the time to think about our recent mission.
I was just assigned to the USS Conqueror under Captain Durian Sol. I was so nervous when I reported, I was told horror stories about him. Since he was a Trill, he’d lived several lifetimes and had gathered immense tactical knowledge and skills. Some of what I was told included a zero tolerance for insubordination and failure to do your duty. When I arrived, I was directed to his Ready Room and told to wait. At first I stood, and then I felt I’d been standing for quite a while. I lost track of time, but my legs were starting to hurt. I sat down in one of the chairs and continued to wait as patiently as I could.
The next thing I remembered was the swooshing open of the office doors, and I jumped to my feet as quickly as possible to stand at attention. I was groggy and out of sorts, I’d fallen asleep waiting for the Captain. In my haste, I’d overshot my balance and fell head-first into the Captain as he entered his ready room. What happened next might have been comical, as he immediately sidestepped and brought down an arching blow that nearly broke my collar bone. I did mention his lifetimes of combat and tactical training, right? A day or two later, I was ordered back to his ready room and I was sternly welcomed to the ship and given permission to report for duty.
The ship left Deep Space 9 on a diplomatic mission to the recently rediscovered K-13. Part of our mission was to further identify how the station had moved into this area of the galaxy and still survive the temporal stasis. After an uneventful day, I went about my duties as any good ensign should do. I sat in that horribly uncomfortable conn chair and couldn’t help be feel like Captain Sol was staring down my back the whole time. At one point, a trickle of sweat dripped down, and I wiped it away. I furiously focused on the controls in front of me, and nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand grasped my shoulder, “Ensign?”
“I, uh, oh,..” I stuttered with shock, “YES SIR!?” I instantly regretted opening my mouth, the other stations looked over at us. I looked up at the Captain, his dark beard framed a half smile before he started laughing at me. The blood rushed to my ears and the room started to disappear around me, *oh gods, no… don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint, don’t faint…*
“Ensign,” he asked again, “are you alright? Did the doctor really clear you for duty?”
I could barely hear him, his deep voice seemed to be coming from the other room, *oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…* I vaguely remember seeing the Captain wave someone over before tapping his badge. *There goes my career, in the first day of real service after the academy, and I pass out because my captain touched me, how the hell am I going to surrvvvv…*
I felt myself drift aimlessly through the brilliant streaks of light. I focused my eyes on the sunlight that pushed down into the water around me, like a Prophet of Bajor reaching out to me. I lifted my hand toward the light, and the waters around me felt suddenly cooler. I hadn’t really noticed how deep I had drifted.
The waters began to change colors a bit, I remembered it was near the end of the day and the sky above had started shifting into the mixed colors of this planet’s most beautiful sunsets. Pinks and blues mixed and danced as the star’s radiation began to light up the edges of dusk with the most amazing light storms. On earth, they’re called borealis. From under the comfort of the water, the effects were tantalizing. The way the light danced through gave the most beautiful effects of red, like a waltz of violet and crimson on smoke moving through a great palace of Vulcan.
A nurse was standing over me when I came back to my senses on the bridge floor. The tall form of Captain Sol standing behind the nurse with this very dark look on his face. I felt the blood rush to my ears again, *please don’t yell, please don’t yell, please don’t yell. My mother is going to murder me if I get kicked out on my first day.*
“Ensign, can you sit up, slowly?” The male nurse was helping to lift my shoulders and back. “Take it easy. Are you okay?”
I felt the motion in my body before I could feel my body, *must be strong!* “Yes, yes. Thank you. I don’t know what happened.”
“It seems you fainted,” Captain Sol’s deep voice echoed through my head, those intense green eyes staring down at me. His crisp red uniform added an ominous red tint to the already deeply concerning look.
“I’m fine sir!” I began to clamor to my feet. I felt several hands begin to hold me down, I started to thrash, “I’m fine, I swear, this will never happen again!” My left hand found purchase in the shirt of the man on my left, as I yanked myself free of the constraining grips of others. As I pulled downward, I heard a tearing sound. When I found myself upright and on my feet, the same sudden darkening of the room and the imaginary walls closed in on my thoughts and ears.
When I looked up, I realized, much to my continued horror, I had grabbed a handful of the Captain’s shirt. It seems he had also lowered himself to hold me down, and instead I’d ripped his tunic to get to my feet. I didn’t faint this time, but ended up slumping forward into his arms. His body was solid, strong, and unmoving. His warmth was reassuring, as he hugged me close to support me. I’d never felt held like this before. I don’t know if I fainted in that moment again, but I do remember returning in earnest while sitting in the captain’s chair. “Ensign, you’re relieved of duty,” Captain Sol had spoken, and I lost myself again.
The waters were getting cooler and the light was fading faster. I was still very comfortable. A single beam of light drifted across the surface in my general direction. I gave a small laugh at the appearance of the light, it darted about above me like an ignes fatui or Earthling “Will-o-the-wisp.”
I didn’t want the ignes fatui to find me, I tried to will it away. I closed my eyes tight and focused on the memories. I felt that strength again, I felt those powerful arms wrapping around me again…
A few hours later, one of the doctors ordered me to bedrest in my quarters for at least 24 hours. I was escorted to my shared space and left to rest. I recorded a personal log entry detailing the miserable first day of work and sent it to my mother. I remember having tears in my eyes when I closed the recording, I was apologizing through muted sobs for being such a failure to her and the family. I crawled onto my bunk, faced the wall and fell asleep.
The next regular duty shift, I did my normal routine. I knew I was fine, I knew why I fainted, and I knew that my career was over, so why sit around and do nothing? I ate a light breakfast and hit the gym for a workout. I started packing my things. I wasn’t sure if I’d be put off at K-13 and have to wait for a transport, or if I’d be stuck riding the ship until we returned to a ‘modern’ federation station.
=/\= Bridge to Ensign Ildan, =/\= a female voice spoke.
I was startled, I guess this is it. I tapped my combadge, “This is Ildan.”
=/\= The doctor assures me you’re fit for duty, you’re late for your shift. =/\=
I didn’t know what to do, “er. I…, I’m on my way!” I quickly changed into my uniform and all but ran through the ship to the bridge. I was breathing slightly heavy as the doors opened. I did my best to walk down to the conn station. The ensign sitting at the station was a Vulcan woman. She gave me a blank look that I thought meant that I was ‘done.’ She stood up, and quietly said to me with the familiar voice, “don’t let it happen again” before she walked off the bridge.
I sat down at the station and took in the view of the console. We’d left K-13 and were traveling at warp 7 to a relatively unknown planet near the First Federation, in the Eta Serpentis Sector. It was a quiet flight for several days. The captain only visited the bridge a few times, usually only to pass through to his ready room. Near the end of the second day, the captain called my name as he crossed the bridge toward his ready room. I was feeling more confident and responded curtly, “Aye sir.”
He stopped at his office door, “come with me.”
I got up from the station, and another crewman took my seat. I followed Captain Sol into his room. I stopped inside the door and stood at attention in silence.
“Ensign, you’ve been on my ship for only a few days. How are you doing?” He sat down behind his desk and merely glanced up, “at ease, have a seat.”
I took a small breath, and moved forward to sit in the chair I’d fallen asleep in a few days earlier. Captain Sol looked me over one more time with a very different look in his eye. He seemed gentler than I remembered, and much less scary than the stories I’d heard. I didn’t know him enough to see through his poker face, I couldn’t tell what he might be thinking. It made me uneasy. My thoughts started to rapid fire through all the problems I’d been through since arriving.
He continued to simply look at me for a moment, “well, how are you doing?”
*Oh shit,* I thought. “I’m well sir, sorry, sir.”
He chuckled to himself. “I see things haven’t changed. What stories did you hear about me?” He set his elbows on his desk, leaned forward, and intertwined his fingers in front of his mouth.
I took a deep breath, “Stories sir?”
“Oh come now, I’ve been alive for a long time, I’ve heard many of the stories myself. Which ones were you told?”
I reluctantly told him of the time he’d nearly jettisoned a crewman from the bridge airlock because he’d hesitated during an emergency drill. I told him about the time he’d vaporized two gorn that looked at him while on Drozana Station. I told him a few more stories, including the one about how he’d traveled through time to frame a human man for a series of minor crimes just to change the future to avoid where he becomes an insubordinate executive officer. I watched as the captain’s smile grew wider and wider. Eventually, he’s laughing and helping finish the tall tales. He admitted he’d not heard the one about time travel, though, he jested, probably because the timeline had been changed.
We sat and talked for a while longer. He assured me that this was part of his protocol. He enjoyed getting to know his crew and establish clear expectations of what it means to be a member of the bridge crew. He told me that he’d selected my application from the applicant pool, and that he’d hand selected all of the officers serving on the ship. He reviewed my academy records, the recommendations from my instructors, and was pleased to find another aspiring Trill willing to explore the edges of the Federation.
We eventually arrived at the unmapped star system after detouring around the buoys marked as the “First Federation.” The target planet was a beautiful green and turquoise from the viewscreen. Our mission was to do some early reconnaissance of the planet’s surface for resources and potential colonization. With a few initial scans, the planet was simply a very blue and green class M planet.
Captain Sol invited me to join the away team, “there’s no hostiles in the area and you have to get your feet wet at some point, Ensign.” I accompanied the team to the surface.
The ground was covered in a mix of semiprecious stones, lots of blues and green materials, very large beryllium deposits spread throughout the planet’s surface. The plant life was immense with a variety of colors that sparkled with the high levels of metals absorbed into the leaves and flowers. As dusk settled on us, we noticed the borealis for the first time. Vibrant greens and reds danced a very slow dance, like a giant dragon-wurm crawling back and forth across the darkening sky.
We returned to the ship, and sent a new team to the surface in a different part of the planet. When I awoke for my shift, I was again summoned to the transporter room. Captain Sol again, personally greeted me, “Ensign, glad you are awake. We’re heading to an island near the equator of the planet. The average temperature is a bit higher than most humans can handle for long periods.”
We beamed to the island. The sands were made of emerald dust, kilometers and kilometers of emerald dust. The grounds of the cliffside were huge, long meters of exposed oxidizing pyrite with bits and scrapes that shown through in the daylight. The waters below were a deep sapphire blue. We ventured into the jungle of the island with our tricorders scanning for radiation, animal movements, and searching for usable resources.
Near the middle of the island, we found a crater lake. The edges of the crater were very steep, and the lake was some 60 meters below our current ledge. We’d found a rocky path about a quarter mile from where we first discovered the lake. Several of us were able to carefully climb down to the water’s edge. It was warm, as expected in the tropical area of most M-class planets. The vegetation around the crater had a way of capturing more of the heat, and due to the high metallic content, funneled that energy downward. We found some exposed roots of the trees from up above within the walls. Our botanist was ecstatic to discover that the trees had managed to reach so far downward for the lake’s stored water.
=/\= Sol to away team, return to the camp. There’s too much interference from the metal deposits to get a good transporter lock. =/\=
A lieutenant commander I didn’t know very well responded, “Aye sir. On our way.” He yelled out to the few crewmen collecting samples to start heading back. It took us quite a bit longer to travel up the broken path than it did to get down. I suppose gravity is funny like that? We continued to climb as the ever familiar easing of the skies that preceded the green and red light shows.
When we arrived at the transporter site, the rest of the team had gone. The Lt Cmdr tapped his combadge, “Five to beam up.”
*silence*
He tapped his badge again, “Kip to Conqueror, five to beam up.”
*silence*
I tapped my combadge, “Ildan to Conqueror, respond please.”
*silence*
One of the crewmen was watching the forestry, I think I remember him being an expert on animals. “Hey, I, I think there’s something moving out there.” We all turned in the direction he was looking. One thing we’d discovered on this planet was a lack of animals. The entire eco system was vegetation based with carnivorous plants that could shift relatively quickly for plants to take over and consume other plants. There was a motion in the underbrush maybe 40 meters in front of us. As far as we knew, none of the plants could move that quickly. The botanist and the animal expert began to move forward carefully expecting to discover yet another new and exciting animal or plant native to this island.
Suddenly, Captain Sol and two others came running from our right. They’d broken from the underbrush near the cliffs and were diving at us. Two blasts rang out from the movement we’d just spied. The two crewmen fell before us. Captain Sol tackled me to the ground just in time for another green beam to arc over the two of us. At first, I started to wrestle him off of me, but a quick hand covered my mouth, and he told me to be quiet. He kept his body pressed against mine and we both turned our heads toward the jungle. We could neither see nor be seen in our current position. We heard more energy weapon fire before hearing a muffled scream of Lt Cmdr Kip.
Captain Sol looked me in the eyes, a glance that said stay still and silent. He rolled off of me in such a way as to make barely any sound. Of course, with the blood rushing in my ears, I couldn’t hear much of anything. He crawled through the grass toward the direction of Kip. I lay there, silent and breathing with a hand over my mouth. *I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive* I kept repeating it over and over in my head. Images of the captain tackling me flashed through my mind. I started crying. I didn’t know what else to do, I lay there, trying not to make a sound, muffling my own sobs.
More weapon fire, then utter silence. A dark shadow loomed over me, a figure that wasn’t the captain approached. A short humanoid with a large forehead stepped up to me, he was holding a brown device that looked like a spade in his outstretched arm. I raised both my hands toward him to cover my face as I screamed in panic.
A flash of movement, and a shadow ploughed through the Ferengi. Energy weapon blasts arced green overhead. Suddenly, two intertwined bodies rolled through the grass, slamming into me. I tried to get out of the way. I’d rolled over, but struggled to find my footing as Captain Sol and the Ferengi continued to grapple. I’d finally gotten most of the ground beneath me, when a blast of green came out of the jungle 25 meters in front of me.
I staggered backward, caught a larger emerald stone with my right boot, and began to fall backward.
I fell.
Then I realized I was still falling.
It took a moment, but then it hit me, or I hit it. In a jarring and painful slam, I landed in the sapphire waters below the cliff. Just below the surface, I’d connected with some of the rocky outcropping, and ended up rolled into the depths.
I didn’t want the ignes fatui to find me, I tried to will it away. I closed my eyes tight and focused on the memories. I felt his strength again, I felt those powerful arms wrapping around me one more time.
This time the memory faded. I was sitting behind my desk. The comms chirped, =/\= We’ve arrived at Deep Space 9. =/\=
I reached up and tapped my combadge, “On my way.” I stood up from my desk, and entered the bridge. “On screen.” The image of Stonewall Fleet’s senior Admiral appeared. “Good afternoon, Nick. It’s good to see you again.” The look on his face was disappointment. “Nick, please, let me explain.” The face on the screen didn’t object, just simply nodded.
“I assume you read the report. When we arrived at the system, we found that beautiful planet relatively untouched. What we didn’t know is that Ferenginar had claimed it for the deeply buried latinum veins. They didn’t exactly announce themselves, and our away team was ambushed. We lost a few crewmembers and had ceremonies to honor them. In particular, we lost Durian.”
The memories came forward again, Sol was still explaining, but I was trying to understand the mix of emotions and images. I watched Ildan take a plasma blast to the chest and fall backward off the cliff as I fought with the ferengi in my grasp. Another ferengi came running over, and was about to fire. I rolled the pair of us just in time for my immediate attacker to take the brunt of the beam, he almost melted in my hands. With a swift kick, the second ferengi fell, and I grabbed a stone. I half rolled and jumped onto the new assailant, smashing the stone into the wrist holding the phaser. He instantly released it. A party of security team members transported into the area along with medical personnel. The battle was over.
I quickly remembered Ildan and moved to the edge of the cliff. Somewhere down below, Ildan was sinking into the waters. Transporters wouldn’t work down there. I yelled for a transporter transponder, one appeared from the ship in moments. I grabbed it, turned it on, as I dove off the cliff into the waters below. I heard yelling from behind me as I went in head first, strong searchlights began to light up the waters below.
I knew it was a risk, and it was a dangerous risk. I caught the edge of the cliffs under the water, just as Ildan had. I felt my arm snap and my shoulder began to burn. In the murky depths, I could see Ildan sinking slowly. I pushed with what little strength I had. I reached out for him, shoved the transponder into his shirt, and then tried to wrench him toward the surface. It took a moment, and we crested the waters. We both gasped for air, breathing deeply and still choking on the sapphire waters. The borealis shimmered above us. I couldn’t hold Ildan and tap my badge at the same time, I was struggling to stay awake myself. I let him go, we both began to sink again. I quickly slammed my left hand into my badge and watched as he shimmered out of the water back to the ship.
I closed my eyes. I knew what this was going to be like, I knew what was coming. I’d done this before. The water began to push against my body, my lungs burned for air, I recognized the shaking followed by the convulsions. Dark waters stopped having a temperature as Durian stopped living...
Sol recounted the important details of the mission, as well as having stayed on bed rest by the doctor’s orders. With the interference, Durian’s body could not be found in a timely manner, he was cold and the damage to his brain was irreparable even with Sol’s help. The doctor identified that Sol was dying, even as the ship traveled at maximum warp to Trill. Ildan was alive and the only Trill on the ship. An executive decision was made, and Ildan Sol was given new life.
Duriansol
Task Force Academy - Training Events
We hosted our first Academy evening. Just wrapped up a two-hour on-the-clock. Helped get a fleetie into a group, got a request to review a shipbuild (still pending), and helped two fleeties run Tzenkethi Front for the first time.
Follow the TFA to see the next event time!
Follow the TFA to see the next event time!
Duriansol
Task Force Academy - Training Events
The Tactical Department has initiated a training and development program called: Task Force Academy. In a regular period of time, we will be online for a few hours every few weeks. Keep an eye on the TFA group for regular updates.
Voleron
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
A question, can the story use in game events with the focal point of the tale being how the character (our personal toon) reacted, dealt with those events?
Absolutely, @Niko!
Niko
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
A question, can the story use in game events with the focal point of the tale being how the character (our personal toon) reacted, dealt with those events?
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
My entry for the #TalesofTragedy Writing Contest!
Nick stared down at the flashing red console. The ship was under attack. He grasped a nearby safety rail as it started to shake. Many of his colleagues were quick at work; managing the sensor array to keep it from going offline, rerouting coolant so the reactors maintained power, or working on shield modulations to protect them from their unknown enemy. Nick just stood there.
What is a geneticist supposed to do during a battle? He was at his station, but aside from someone suddenly developing a genetic disorder, he didn’t have much of a function. For situations like this, Nick had received medical training to act as an emergency medic, but so had most of the other science department. Sick Bay had all the help they needed. While familiar with the ship’s science systems, his other colleagues were far more experienced in the aforementioned specialties than he.
A ship of this class didn’t usually staff a geneticist. The position had only been made available recently. Up till this point, he’d busied himself by taking on tasks that generally were relegated to a secondary science vessel. After the sector had already been explored and mapped by a more heavily armored and defendable ship, a science team or teams would be dispatched to research anything that was flagged as being of interest to Starfleet or the Federation.
Nick had found some interesting DNA sequences in a Type 3 nebula that had fascinated him greatly. Primordial and similar to DNA found on Earth, they were a mystery that he’d been working on for several months. He also had to sequence the genes and make high resolution scans of plants found on a recent planetary survey. They were to be transferred back to Science Ops for further study. Thus he’d had plenty of interesting work to occupy his time during the mission.
Nick stood there, looking around, trying to find something to do, but his colleagues were already on it. The ship shook. The emergency sirens rang. And seconds later the intercom came on, “Abandon ship.” Nearby screens blinked momentarily, then repeated the order with markings and directional information on how and where to evacuate the ship. The escape pods for this section were just down the corridor; Nick passed them every day on his way in.
Nick and the rest of the crew in his department started heading for the door. As he approached the door he could see Matt and Ginny Beckman talking on the intercom. Their children were up in the crew quarters and were obviously frightened. They were reassuring their children, instructing them to head to the escape pods and telling them they’d be along right behind them. Their children were listening, but Nick could still see the worry in their parent’s faces.
As Nick approached the doorway, he had to make a decision. To the left was the escape pods and to the right was the turbolift. He knew what he had to do; Nick took a right. He grabbed the arm of his Department Head who was standing in the corridor and making sure everyone was well and on their way and pulled him along with him.
“Nick, what are you doing? We have to go!” said Benjamin. Benjamin was a good man. They had worked together on a few different assignments over the years and considered each other friends.
“I’m not leaving without him.” Nick replied as he stepped into the turbolift.
“What? Are you crazy? You can’t even get to the Bridge right now. It’ll be locked to bridge officers only.”
“I know. I need your authorization code” said Nick as he pointed to the turbolift controls.
Benjamin looked up at Nick. His stern expression said it all. If Ben knew anything about his friend it was that when Nick was determined about something there was no changing his mind. Benjamin typed in a quick command into the controls and looked back at Nick.
“Good luck.” and with that, Benjamin headed back down the corridor to check on the rest of the department.
Nick stepped into the turbolift, the doors slid shut and he was rapidly on his way. The ship was still shaking and in the turbolift it was no different. He held on tight to the railing as it thrashed about. He could see from the display that some of the tubes had collapsed, some had been blocked by non-functional lifts, and others were escorting evacuees to the shuttle bay. The trip would not be direct and it would not be quick. Every distant explosion felt like it was at his feet and every moment seemed like an eternity.
Finally, the turbolift came to a stop and expelled its cargo onto the bridge with a sudden stop. The scene on the bridge was anything but reassuring. The Engineering stations had overloaded and were burnt beyond repair. Ducts and wiring had fallen through the cracked ceiling. Unknown gasses were hissing and billowing into the air. Judging by the readouts on the displays that were working, it was obvious the ship was badly damaged.
Most of the bridge crew was missing, most likely already evacuated. On the floor lay Chief Engineer Kopp, she must’ve died when the consoles overloaded. Nick didn’t know her well, but she was a great oboist and performed regularly with the ship band at events. He’d had many good memories with her music filling the air. Nick looked around and found what he was looking for sitting at the Conn.
Jameson was urgently tapping at the console. He had hardly noticed the turbolift, but quickly looked back when he heard Nick approaching. A look of shock and concern crossed his features, but moments later he was looking back at the display again.
“Nick, what are you doing here?”
“I wasn’t going to leave without you.”
“The captain’s the last to leave.”
“What can I do?”
“Head down that corridor and take the first pod you can find. I can’t worry about you too.” He said as firing a salvo of torpedoes back at the enemy.
Nick grabbed Jameson by the shoulder and he looked him squarely in the eye. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Nick sat down and at Ops and started tapping at the controls. “Most of the escape pods have cleared the ship. The shuttle craft are tractoring as many as they can out of the system.” The ship took a direct hit to the saucer section, directly by the Bridge. Nick and Jameson held tightly onto the consoles, but it still tossed them to the ground.
Jameson got back up and quickly returned fire. Nick checked the damage.
“Well, that’s that then. We’re blocked off from the rest of the ship and the transporters are offline.”
They looked up at each other.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Nick stared down at the flashing red console. The ship was under attack. He grasped a nearby safety rail as it started to shake. Many of his colleagues were quick at work; managing the sensor array to keep it from going offline, rerouting coolant so the reactors maintained power, or working on shield modulations to protect them from their unknown enemy. Nick just stood there.
What is a geneticist supposed to do during a battle? He was at his station, but aside from someone suddenly developing a genetic disorder, he didn’t have much of a function. For situations like this, Nick had received medical training to act as an emergency medic, but so had most of the other science department. Sick Bay had all the help they needed. While familiar with the ship’s science systems, his other colleagues were far more experienced in the aforementioned specialties than he.
A ship of this class didn’t usually staff a geneticist. The position had only been made available recently. Up till this point, he’d busied himself by taking on tasks that generally were relegated to a secondary science vessel. After the sector had already been explored and mapped by a more heavily armored and defendable ship, a science team or teams would be dispatched to research anything that was flagged as being of interest to Starfleet or the Federation.
Nick had found some interesting DNA sequences in a Type 3 nebula that had fascinated him greatly. Primordial and similar to DNA found on Earth, they were a mystery that he’d been working on for several months. He also had to sequence the genes and make high resolution scans of plants found on a recent planetary survey. They were to be transferred back to Science Ops for further study. Thus he’d had plenty of interesting work to occupy his time during the mission.
Nick stood there, looking around, trying to find something to do, but his colleagues were already on it. The ship shook. The emergency sirens rang. And seconds later the intercom came on, “Abandon ship.” Nearby screens blinked momentarily, then repeated the order with markings and directional information on how and where to evacuate the ship. The escape pods for this section were just down the corridor; Nick passed them every day on his way in.
Nick and the rest of the crew in his department started heading for the door. As he approached the door he could see Matt and Ginny Beckman talking on the intercom. Their children were up in the crew quarters and were obviously frightened. They were reassuring their children, instructing them to head to the escape pods and telling them they’d be along right behind them. Their children were listening, but Nick could still see the worry in their parent’s faces.
As Nick approached the doorway, he had to make a decision. To the left was the escape pods and to the right was the turbolift. He knew what he had to do; Nick took a right. He grabbed the arm of his Department Head who was standing in the corridor and making sure everyone was well and on their way and pulled him along with him.
“Nick, what are you doing? We have to go!” said Benjamin. Benjamin was a good man. They had worked together on a few different assignments over the years and considered each other friends.
“I’m not leaving without him.” Nick replied as he stepped into the turbolift.
“What? Are you crazy? You can’t even get to the Bridge right now. It’ll be locked to bridge officers only.”
“I know. I need your authorization code” said Nick as he pointed to the turbolift controls.
Benjamin looked up at Nick. His stern expression said it all. If Ben knew anything about his friend it was that when Nick was determined about something there was no changing his mind. Benjamin typed in a quick command into the controls and looked back at Nick.
“Good luck.” and with that, Benjamin headed back down the corridor to check on the rest of the department.
Nick stepped into the turbolift, the doors slid shut and he was rapidly on his way. The ship was still shaking and in the turbolift it was no different. He held on tight to the railing as it thrashed about. He could see from the display that some of the tubes had collapsed, some had been blocked by non-functional lifts, and others were escorting evacuees to the shuttle bay. The trip would not be direct and it would not be quick. Every distant explosion felt like it was at his feet and every moment seemed like an eternity.
Finally, the turbolift came to a stop and expelled its cargo onto the bridge with a sudden stop. The scene on the bridge was anything but reassuring. The Engineering stations had overloaded and were burnt beyond repair. Ducts and wiring had fallen through the cracked ceiling. Unknown gasses were hissing and billowing into the air. Judging by the readouts on the displays that were working, it was obvious the ship was badly damaged.
Most of the bridge crew was missing, most likely already evacuated. On the floor lay Chief Engineer Kopp, she must’ve died when the consoles overloaded. Nick didn’t know her well, but she was a great oboist and performed regularly with the ship band at events. He’d had many good memories with her music filling the air. Nick looked around and found what he was looking for sitting at the Conn.
Jameson was urgently tapping at the console. He had hardly noticed the turbolift, but quickly looked back when he heard Nick approaching. A look of shock and concern crossed his features, but moments later he was looking back at the display again.
“Nick, what are you doing here?”
“I wasn’t going to leave without you.”
“The captain’s the last to leave.”
“What can I do?”
“Head down that corridor and take the first pod you can find. I can’t worry about you too.” He said as firing a salvo of torpedoes back at the enemy.
Nick grabbed Jameson by the shoulder and he looked him squarely in the eye. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Nick sat down and at Ops and started tapping at the controls. “Most of the escape pods have cleared the ship. The shuttle craft are tractoring as many as they can out of the system.” The ship took a direct hit to the saucer section, directly by the Bridge. Nick and Jameson held tightly onto the consoles, but it still tossed them to the ground.
Jameson got back up and quickly returned fire. Nick checked the damage.
“Well, that’s that then. We’re blocked off from the rest of the ship and the transporters are offline.”
They looked up at each other.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Voleron
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
Can I just resubmit my story from the last time cause I can't think of another tragedy?
Sure, @NicholasJohn16. If you want to resubmit a previous submission that meets the criteria, go ahead.
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
Can I just resubmit my story from the last time cause I can't think of another tragedy?
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
How about something in the style of simplicity? #TalesofTragedy
-----
* This postcard was found in the personal effects of Captain Nathanial Hallifax at his home on Earth after his ship, the USS Warwick, was destroyed during the Iconian War. Friends and family close to him say that he carried this card with him on every assignment but his last - after the man he was in love with, Harrison Daniels, was killed in the Battle of Wolf 359 shortly after sending this. Hallifax never married. It gives a perspective that two officers never had a chance to have a life together, and in the end, both died because of war - but in the line of duty.
-----
* This postcard was found in the personal effects of Captain Nathanial Hallifax at his home on Earth after his ship, the USS Warwick, was destroyed during the Iconian War. Friends and family close to him say that he carried this card with him on every assignment but his last - after the man he was in love with, Harrison Daniels, was killed in the Battle of Wolf 359 shortly after sending this. Hallifax never married. It gives a perspective that two officers never had a chance to have a life together, and in the end, both died because of war - but in the line of duty.
Voleron
Tales of Tragedy Writing Contest
We here at Stonewall are thrilled to announce #TalesOfTragedy, our FIRST #WritingContest of the year, running now through April 30th, 2017! We're very excited to announce that we'll be looking for three winning entries, based on a variety of criteria that we'll touch on in more 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!
The theme of this writing contest is "Tales of Tragedy". We want you to include your in-game character or characters as you meticulously weave your tale of woe. As you know, no tragedy can really be considered a success if it leaves even a single dry eye among your readers. We want to be tormented... we want to be heartbroken... we want to know through your story, what exactly it is to feel sorrow.
To participate in Stonewall's Tales of Tragedy writing contest, you must post your entry here, in this thread, before day's end on April 30th, 2017. Please use the #TalesOfTragedy hashtag in your entries. Your posted entry must comply with these additional six 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 of Tragedy, only the written narrative portion of your entry will be judged.
This contest, we'll be looking for the THREE stand-out tragic 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. The winners will also be entitled to choose from one of three different prize packages that we've assembled. Each pack is geared toward one of the three main games played in the Stonewall Gaming Network, namely: a Star Trek Online themed prize pack, a Guild Wars 2 themed prize pack or a Star Wars: The Old Republic themed prize pack. We'll also be giving away a participation prize of two Stonewall Credits to all those who enter! The winners will be able to choose one of the three following prize packs:
Star Trek Online Themed Prize Pack:
1. 5 Stonewall Credits
2. Choice of an EXCLUSIVE WizKids Command Assault Cruiser unlock code OR
3. 1,000 Zen
We only have ONE Command Assault Cruiser code to give away. First choice of prize will go to the winner with the highest score. *Stonewall credits can be saved and/or redeemed for in-game merchandise through the Stonewall Credits Store.
Guild Wars 2 Themed Prize Pack:
1. A Heart of Thorns expansion unlock code
2. A hand-crafted set of exotic armor, weapons and jewels for a level 80 toon (donated by @whiteonmyoji)
Star Wars Themed Prize Pack:
1. 2,400 Cartel Coins!
Good luck to all participants! We can't wait to cry ourselves to sleep each night after reading your entries!
GXV3
Khazaan
Mass Effect Andromeda
I like the song of the Trailer. Anyone knows, if the soundtrack will be available to buy and if its an official part of the OST?
"I'm only human after all ..." :p
EDIT: I could answer me after looking onto the summary below the vid direcly on YouTube ...
“Human”
Rag’n’Bone Man
Written by Graham Rory and Jamie Hartman
Published by Warner Chappell and Reservoir 416 (BMI)
Recording courtesy of SME UK Ltd
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
"I'm only human after all ..." :p
EDIT: I could answer me after looking onto the summary below the vid direcly on YouTube ...
“Human”
Rag’n’Bone Man
Written by Graham Rory and Jamie Hartman
Published by Warner Chappell and Reservoir 416 (BMI)
Recording courtesy of SME UK Ltd
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
Ereiid
GXV3
Mass Effect Andromeda
Official Trailer mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!
The Exploration in this sounds so much fun which helps you progress and wake up the cryo sleepers until you gather enough resources.
Can I politely ask though... as the Game comes out on 21st for Canada and USA... The UK, Europe, Australia etc etc wont be able to play until 23rd (midnight) :( , so try to contain the spoilers in a spoiler box.
The Exploration in this sounds so much fun which helps you progress and wake up the cryo sleepers until you gather enough resources.
Can I politely ask though... as the Game comes out on 21st for Canada and USA... The UK, Europe, Australia etc etc wont be able to play until 23rd (midnight) :( , so try to contain the spoilers in a spoiler box.
Albion Online & other games I am excited about...
I am really looking forward to Albion Online. It reminds me of Ultima Online with the slightly top down view and the click to move interface.
The part that really appeals is the open-ended nature of the advancement and classless system. I currently play Beta and look forward to a fresh start and exploration with the upcoming Galahad update and wipe. Is anyone else playing this game?
Also curious about Pantheon but haven't been willing to commit to anything regarding their "Pledge for Play".
Any other games in the fantasy genre/open-world concept that people are excited about? I know revelation just released but I am a console/mac user and not up for buying a gaming PC without a really appealing game.
The part that really appeals is the open-ended nature of the advancement and classless system. I currently play Beta and look forward to a fresh start and exploration with the upcoming Galahad update and wipe. Is anyone else playing this game?
Also curious about Pantheon but haven't been willing to commit to anything regarding their "Pledge for Play".
Any other games in the fantasy genre/open-world concept that people are excited about? I know revelation just released but I am a console/mac user and not up for buying a gaming PC without a really appealing game.
nivagni
Accolades - Complete Lists
Fluffy has updated his "Complete" accolade spreadsheet - as of 23/02/2017.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15yw9kUbVwxpMKjZrnaJWte2fkdBc6kPYhUr_Xda83js/htmlview#
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15yw9kUbVwxpMKjZrnaJWte2fkdBc6kPYhUr_Xda83js/htmlview#
Bren
SGN Slither.io Challenge
Thanks Gareth! I think you've got a lot of members addicted to playing with their worms now.