steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Nov 12, 2021 11:05:55 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - DID HACKERS JUST LEAK THE "NEW SPECIES"? - MAYBE, BUT IT'S COMPLICATED...
(AP) - A stick-like, insectoid race. A two-legged, "upright horse" race. A robotic, three-legged humanoid race. An "intelligent octopus" race.
Or, maybe... No race at all?
The UFP has been tight-lipped about why it has called the Emergency Security Council session. Speculation about why the session was called quickly zeroed in on a possible new, space-faring race with technology on par with terrestrial humanoids, such as the UFP, the Klingons & the Romulans.
Now, the question is just what does this so-called "new race" look like? That is... If they even exist.
Winslow Davis, who runs a news media site centered on intergovernmental affairs, isn't even certain if the Emergency Security Council session is about a new race.
"Everyone keeps 'knowing' that it's about a new race but the evidence is very slight," Davis stated, "the reasons for calling the council are under the title of 'previously unknown external elements of a self-controlled nature.' That's popularly interpreted as a new race or culture but it could also mean other situations. There could be a rogue state, such as a Kephan Unity situation or even rogue elements of a military, such as a large-scale active-duty Star Fleet vessel mutiny or perhaps an entire Orion caravan becoming violent."
Davis admits that he is in the minority when it comes to such speculation but he holds firm with his beliefs.
"The UFP has made exactly one official statement so far and everyone has derived their beliefs based upon that one statement and hundreds of unconfirmed 'sources,'" Davis reasons, "And how many of those 'unconfirmed sources' conflict with one another?"
Davis makes a compelling argument, one that media presenter Kevin Forstein increasingly agrees with.
Forstein has a popular show called "Tell Me Again," a conspiratorially-minded show that attempts to have both skeptics and believers of various topics speak with one another. Forstein has already heard of over forty different descriptions of what the 'new race' is supposed to resemble, none of them backed up by any credible evidence.
"One of the first ones was that it was a stick-like, insectoid creature," Forstein begins, "kind of a human-sized Praying Mantis. We also have a robotic, three-legged species that flies around in cone-shaped vessels. There is an 'intelligent octopus' race that can both live in and out of a type of water-like 'gel,' and we have the two-legged part-horse, part human race... A sort of early Greek centaur race."
Forstein shows and displays drawings, depictions, and audio testimony from anonymous sources of dozens of possible races. Winged bird-like creatures. Dark blue humanoids with long arms.
Forstein shows a video sent to him from a Klingon of a strange, orb-like vessel. The video also has what is supposedly the occupants of the vessel, a sort of upright, winged bipedal moth speaking a language of screeches.
"I really like this one," Forstein admits, watching the video, "It has a lot of imagination, almost as much as the one the Romulan sent to me about the intelligent monkey-like species and their brown icicle-like spaceships."
And does Forstein believe in any of the possibilities?
"I always ask those who present these findings... Where's the proof? If our roles were reversed, why should I believe you? What evidence have you gathered?"
Forstein then shows a video of a strange, blue-hued humanoid man with classic 'Martian' antennae sticking up from his head. "That's faked because I produced it," Forstein admits, "but I made the video to demonstrate just how easy it is to make something that is both fake and very convincing."
When Forstein was asked if one of these possibilities turns out to be real, would he apologize for his skepticism, he turns the question around.
"I never say that I don't believe," Forstein states, "I do say, there's not enough evidence to convince and evidence should never be confidential. It should never be anonymous."
Forstein is asked about the latest supposed claim, that a group of hackers compromised an Orion Intelligence Services database to reveal that the new species may be the two-legged horse species. Forstein looks at the materials and laughs.
"Yesterday, it was the robotic spiders," Forstein counters with a chuckle, "Tomorrow, it'll be the intelligent monkeys or octopii."
For now, both Davis & Forstein are on a common mission: Tamping down expectations and easing fervent believers to consider all possibilities. That mission will end with more official statements from the UFP. And when will those statements be made? Davis issued a warning.
"The UFP is under no obligation to tell us anything about a Security Council meeting," Davis stated, "Before, after or ever. It's in the rules."
Davis is correct; No government has any legal obligation to inform the public of the nature or contents of Security Council meetings.
And so, the speculation will continue... At least, for now.
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Post by trynda1701 on Nov 12, 2021 17:56:32 GMT -7
Ok, VERY interesting post, lots of speculation, idle or otherwise, with possible hints of truth based on other threads on the Forum? Plus, I love the 'obvious' fake inside joke...or is it? Looking forward to see what comes from this, steve.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Nov 15, 2021 18:07:16 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - ORION MICRO-CARAVANS... HOW DO THEY WORK?
[Ed. Note - This article has been edited. It has been edited with contemporary audiences in mind. The original references have been replaced with references that a contemporary audience would understand better.]
(AP) - Orion caravans are a massive sight to behold; Thousands of starships of all sizes and shapes moving like a flock of birds performing a seasonal migration or a school of fish moving through the ocean.
Yet a new trend has formed in recent years to upend the traditional views that Orion caravans should be comprised of thousands of starships and millions of people. Called "micro-caravans," these caravans are still large by any other standard. As Zolora Briask of the Orion Outreach Institute explains, the term "micro-caravan" itself is open to interpretation:
"The term 'micro-caravan' isn't a legal definition but a social one. Therefore, there is no rule on what a micro-caravan is or isn't. One standard is the number of vessels in the caravan, usually pegging the number at 150 or less. Another standard is the overall population of the caravan, being 75,000 or less. There are other, more technical definitions but those two definitions are the ones that most people rely upon in determining whether a caravan is a micro-caravan."
Whether it is 150 vessels or 75,000 people or less, a "micro-caravan" seems large by most other standards. But what, exactly, are they? How are they different from a standard, ordinary caravan? Briask goes on to explain:
"A micro-caravan can be defined for Terran audiences as the difference between an ordinary house and so-called 'tiny houses' that are barely the size of a kitchen or even bedroom of an ordinary house. These tiny houses still have all of the appropriate accommodations of an ordinary house but far more compact and probably not as robust."
Umoka Glinn is a former member of a micro-caravan who now also works at the Orion Outreach Institute. She offers this insight:
"Micro-caravans, fundamentally, are a social construct. They are borne out of a desire from the Orion population to move away from a mercantile-based society and back to the exploratory roots of our civilization. Before finding planet-based civilizations such as the Federation and the Klingons, Orion caravans were smaller, more numerous and more diverse. With the discovery of such civilizations as the Federation and the Klingons, the caravans grew both in size and changed to a far more mercantile-based economy. A lot of Orions, especially younger Orions, want to move away from the perception that all Orions are merchants, capitalists or opportunists. This is a stereotype that has become very harmful."
Discrimination against Orions in Federation society is common, Glinn cites, noting that Federation citizens honestly think that every Orion is a merchant of one type or another.
"It would be no different than, say, a Romulan is conniving or a Klingon is aggressive. I have had many people think that, because I am an Orion, I naturally have some kind of natural mercantile skill. However, even in modern-day Orion society, less than 2% of all Orions are what would be considered sales associates. Suppose that a Terran has a tag or garage sale in the front yard of their property. Would that make them permanent merchants? That is the assumption of Terrans when they think of Orions."
Worse still that many Federation citizens thinks that Orion women are commonly sex workers or are otherwise involved in adult entertainment.
"Again, there is this stereotype that all Orion women are green-skinned, scantily-clad and constantly wanting to romance any man that they can find regardless of species. This can't be any further from the truth. There are some caravans where the sex trade has been legitimized and, so therefore, some approximation to Terran prostitution could be conveyed. However, I can tell you from experience that very, very few Orion women engage in such practices. I myself know of no one personally who has done so."
Because of these ingrained stereotypes, micro-caravans have become popular and prosper inside Orion society amongst people who want to move away from such stereotypes. Yet Briask has stated that micro-caravans have always been around:
"There is nothing new about micro-caravans. They existed before the Orions arrived into Federation space. They've existed since and they'll exist in the future. They've recently been getting a lot of attention because of the recent allegations that some of these micro-caravans may have been in the region of space where this so-called 'new species' may exist."
But what exactly do micro-caravans do? Glinn tries to offer a brief primer on them:
"A micro-caravan is like an ordinary caravan: It wants to exist. How a micro-caravan exists, though, differs from an ordinary caravan in that it is moving away from an INTER-mercantile based economy and to an INTRA-mercantile based economy. An ordinary caravan has a very prominent mercantile component in that it sells or trades to the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, etc. A micro-caravan may still have a diminished mercantile component but that component is really for other Orion caravans."
Briask elaborates:
"In a micro-caravan, the economy shifts from 'what can we sell to you' to more of a 'what do we need to survive.' A micro-caravan is concerned about the welfare of it's people and tries to meet those concerns through the resources that it finds rather than the resources that it can acquire through trading or buying."
And how exactly do micro-caravans achieve this goal?
"Resource gathering," Glinn answers, "Is what every species does and micro-caravans are no different. In the case of micro-caravans, that resource gathering is really at a fundamental level, such as asteroid mining or mining on planets with no life on them at all."
But physical resources aren't the only resource that these micro-caravans can gather.
"Suppose I'm the caravan commander of a modest caravan, maybe 20,000 vessels. A million people. I need to constantly take that caravan to places that can sustain the caravan. Any intelligence that I can gather to make those decisions easier is definitely worth my time and money. So a micro-caravan can come along and say, 'Hey, don't go there, it only has these resources' or 'You should go here, it has these resources for you.' And that can be anything from physical resources to market demands to anything," Briask explains.
And what do the conditions inside of a micro-caravan resemble? Glinn answers with a diplomatic smile.
"A lot of work," she replies, "You will be working almost non-stop. Imagine if, instead of a typical 8-hour shift that most people work, you work a 15-hour shift every day. And at breakneck speeds. It's a lot of work. You are not being casual in the slightest."
Glinn isn't exaggerating. A recent survey of Orions in micro-caravans report that they work an average of 11 hours per day and nearly 65 hours per week as compared to the more typical 40 hour work week in normal-sized caravans. And the work that Orions do perform in these micro-caravans is more physically exhausting according to another survey conducted. The report goes on to cite some obvious reasons for the differences, reasons that Glinn knows all too well:
"Less people does not mean less work," Glinn elaborates, "It simply means that more work is placed onto less people. And that work still has the same types of deadlines that have to be met as normal caravans. You still have to repair vessels, you still have to mine and process minerals in order to gather raw materials, you still need to feed people... There's a lot of work involved in maintaining even a micro-caravan and that work is inevitably transferred down to you."
So if being in a micro-caravan is a lot of grueling work, what is the appeal?
"It's essentially a small business," Briask explains, "Who doesn't want to be their own boss? Who doesn't want to prove the large caravans wrong by starting a caravan based upon a set of principles and having it prosper?"
Indeed, there are micro-caravans of all types and ideologies, so much so that Uralo Dissborant, an Orion, has a media site that chronicles all of the different micro-caravans that he can find. Many such caravans are eager to share espouse their views with him.
"Micro-caravans," Dissborant explains, "are sort of like automobile customization. You want a certain paint job. You want certain tire rims. You want a certain front grill. A lot of these micro-caravans are extremely specific to cater to certain types of people. You have very communist MCs. You have very libertarian MCs. MCs that are only into exploration. MCs that cater only to other caravans. Vegetarian MCs. Non-violent MCs. Religious MCs. All types. Every type. If you're young, if you really want to make a statement to others about who you are, what you want to represent in life, joining a MC is a very powerful way to make that statement."
But that youthful appeal has a dark side to it that Dissborant shares.
"Micro-caravans," Dissborant reveals, "Can be death traps."
Dissborant isn't exaggerating. He displays a list of all of the MCs that are presumed lost or missing that the Orion Constellation maintains. Seeing the list is a sobering reminder that space is an unforgiving environment.
"There is strength in numbers," Dissborant explains, "And micro-caravans don't have a lot of ships. Or experience in managing those ships. With youth comes inexperience and there's not a lot of veterans who are willing to 'slum it' to work hard on an MC."
But micro-caravans don't need to fail catastrophically or tragically in order to fail. A lot of times, they just run out of money. Vlina Msolik was in a micro-caravan when it suddenly dissolved itself within hours and without warning.
"We were told that we had two hours to get all of our belongings off of our room ships and were then assigned to a ship that would take us to [the current location of the] Havvna [caravan]," Msolik explained. 'Room ships' are an expression to mean vessels that are specially designed to house the personal, non-medical emergency needs for people, sort of like a dormitory or an apartment building.
And the cause for the sudden dissolution?
"We ran out of money," Msolik revealed, "And we couldn't pay back the loans that we had taken out. The room ships got repossessed about a few hours after we emptied them."
Msolik was lucky; Not only did the Havvna caravan take her in but she's been a citizen of the caravan for the past seven years. Msolik says that she's learned her lesson.
"I make a statement nowadays with what I do, not with what caravan I reside with," Msolik states.
Which begs the question: Can micro-caravans succeed and, if so, how?
Briask explains, "The best way that a micro-caravan can succeed is, ironically, to stop being a micro-caravan and grow into a regular caravan. That would demonstrate to others that they have a winning strategy and for other caravans, big and small, to emulate that strategy."
Of course, Msolik has a more skeptical bit of advice: "The best way that a micro-caravan can succeed is to never start one to begin with."
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Nov 17, 2021 17:56:02 GMT -7
Added more material to the Micro-Caravan news article above.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Nov 18, 2021 17:40:46 GMT -7
Finished the micro-caravan post. Yea!
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Nov 20, 2021 18:42:08 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - TWO MICRO-CARAVANS MAY HAVE DETECTED "MYSTERY SPECIES" YEARS BEFORE FEDERATION - ORION SOURCES
[Ed. Note - This article has been edited. It has been edited with contemporary audiences in mind. The original references have been replaced with references that a contemporary audience would understand better.]
Compiled from various sources
(AP) - According to sources close to an Orion Intelligence investigation into allegations that Orion caravans may have had prior knowledge of a previously-unknown intelligent species, two caravan commanders have admitted to the investigation to having detected "anomalous readings" from an area now widely suspected as being the territory for this unknown species.
Orion caravans are often characterized as having thousands or even tens of thousands of starships per caravan, adding up to a population of millions of people each.
However, the two caravan commanders in question were in charge of what are called "micro-caravans," or caravans that have a relatively few number of starships, sometimes as small as 150 starships or even less.
Uralo Dissborant, who operates a media site that chronicles details about micro-caravans, explains that micro-caravans operate differently than normal caravans.
"A normal Orion caravan is very social, it's very mercantile driven. It needs to interact with the public for it to survive. A micro-caravan is much, much smaller and doesn't need that same level of interaction. Think of it almost as the difference between a large corporation and a small, one-store business. A one-store business can have only five customers in a day and turn a profit while the large corporation probably needs 50,000 customers a day just to break even."
The sources continue to explain that each of the commanders detected the anomalous readings independent from the other, nor did they tell the other about what they had found. Also, the two commanders independently dismissed the readings as not significant and did not investigate further.
Dissborant, reading over the specifics of the supposed findings, was not surprised by the commanders' actions and rationale.
"If what I've been told is true," Dissborant states, "It goes a long way in explaining why the Orions never told anyone about these detections. First and foremost, we are dealing with micro-caravans and micro-caravans are often not beholden to the same types of laws and regulations that normal caravans often abide by. A mass majority of these MCs are still law-abiding and morally upstanding, to be absolutely clear. However, their first obligation is to their own survival and their own needs."
"A very big factor that hasn't been revealed yet to the public are the types of micro-caravans involved. Without revealing the actual names of the caravans themselves in order to avoid any legal issues, I will state that a lot of these MCs are very fundamentalist in nature. They are very polarized, either in their religious beliefs or political beliefs or other types of ideologies. Micro-caravans are usually formed with having very strong, fundamental beliefs. To give a superficial example, you might have an MC formed where everyone eats only vegetarian food. You might have an MC that is very hard-right or hard-left in their politics. You might have an MC that will only perform asteroid mining as their sole resource gathering method. In some ways, it's almost a little similar with what is occurring with the UFP and their breakaway settlements and civilizations."
"In this particular case, you have two micro-caravans involved here that have very isolationist views but from different ideological perspectives. They both eschew interactions with other entities and that philosophy, in my opinion, really factors into why this unknown race wasn't revealed sooner. Suppose you are a hermit. You don't want to interact with others. If you look outside your shack one day and see the mythical animal called 'Bigfoot,' you're not going to be inclined to tell anyone of that sighting because of your nature in that you are a hermit and you don't like interacting with others."
"I also think that there could also be a more pragmatic reason for not investigating these anomalous readings and that is capability. Micro-caravans do not have sophisticated communications and scientific equipment. They certain have enough for them to suffice for their needs but they don't have the same capacity as a normal caravan. It's sort of like saying that a house does not have the same medical capability as a hospital. A house might have a first-aid kit. It might have rubbing alcohol and band-aids but it doesn't have a surgery table or surgical tools or an on-site doctor."
"The same is true with these micro-caravans; They may have detected 'something' but they may not have had the personnel or equipment to determine what that 'something' was. They may have thought that it was encrypted communications. It might be astronomical background noise. It might have been another Orion caravan. It may have been an exploratory Federation group. It may have been a Gorn exploration group. It may have been pirates or smugglers or criminals."
"In the end, if what I'm reading is true, what we have here are just two micro-caravans who weren't inclined to interact with other entities to begin with due to their ideologies, likely having only minimalist communication and analysis capabilities and finding something that, since they couldn't detect it as normal, merely dismissed it and moved on to other goals in their quest for survival. I think that this is no different than someone driving down a road who is late for work, something quickly racing across a street and disappearing forever more and that driver having to make a split-second decision as to whether to pursue what had just crossed the road or continue down the road to get to work. I think that a lot of drivers would just assume that it was an animal and continue driving to work as oppose to thinking that it was Bigfoot or a space alien or whatever."
The Orion Intelligence Services did not return a comment concerning this news story. A spokesperson for the Orion Constellation would only remark that the investigation is ongoing and that they could not confirm nor deny any allegations into active investigations.
Dissborant makes one final observation: "Both of these micro-caravans dissolved years ago and, as a result, I am not surprised at all that they did not reveal these findings. Once a caravan is disbanded, there are a lot of legal obligations that personnel from those caravans are no longer responsible for. If anything, I think it's a bit courageous of these commanders to even make these admissions at all, knowing how such an admission might jeopardize the long-term prospects for their career."
This is an emerging news story.
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Post by trynda1701 on Nov 21, 2021 9:12:55 GMT -7
I'm REALLY enjoying your alternate Orions, and that's coming from an FASA Orion pirate fan! The intricacies of the different types of caravans, plus the ongoing news story of the potentially newly discovered species is, if you'll pardon the phrase, fascinating. Two thoughts on what it might be, which I'm still keeping to myself. Plus, kudos for the mention of brickwall s' Kephan Unity in your universe! Can't wait to hear more.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Nov 21, 2021 10:36:10 GMT -7
I'm REALLY enjoying your alternate Orions, and that's coming from an FASA Orion pirate fan! The intricacies of the different types of caravans, plus the ongoing news story of the potentially newly discovered species is, if you'll pardon the phrase, fascinating. Two thoughts on what it might be, which I'm still keeping to myself. Plus, kudos for the mention of brickwall s' Kephan Unity in your universe! Can't wait to hear more. Hi trynda1701 and thanks for the kind words. Concerning different types of caravans, I've purposely left a lot of details out about the Orions. I will go into greater details about them at some vague point in the distant future. I will say that not all Orions are squeaky clean when it comes to obeying the law and there are criminal elements in all of the civilizations (except, maybe the Gorn and, even then... Well, it's not really "criminal" but just... Different...). I'm doing the "drip drip drip" with the storyline because I've learned that I'm not good at actually writing things down ahead of time; It's all in my mind but writing it all down is a chore that, for whatever reason, I don't like doing. The "news articles" and letters to the editor (and don't think that I haven't forgotten about the Orions... They write letters to their editors, too!) are just me trying to trick myself into writing it all down in an 'easy-to-write' format. I'm also trying to get myself to just write anything down and to heck if I can finish a post, which is why the micro-caravan post took three days to complete. I consider everything that I'm doing free-of-charge, Paramount owns the Star Trek IP and, at the end of the day, we're all playing with wooden nickels here. Therefore, I've got no problem including the Kephan Unity into my alt-universe; The more collaborations, the merrier. That doesn't mean that everything goes into the pot to be stirred but, wherever I can fit other people's stuff in (should they allow it, perfectly fine if they don't), why not? As for the "mystery race"... On the one hand, I've given out what I thought have been some pretty big hints for those who have read through my previous stuff so I don't think it's 'that big' of a mystery. However, HOW the mystery race is portrayed hasn't been revealed in any detail yet. I'm not sure about "Spoiler Texts" here (every message board is different) so I'll just end with that I'm not going to keep people in suspense forever and that when they're revealed, I hope that people will go, "Oh... That actually makes some sense now that I think about it." Until then...
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Post by brickwall on Nov 22, 2021 5:52:19 GMT -7
I'm REALLY enjoying your alternate Orions, and that's coming from an FASA Orion pirate fan! The intricacies of the different types of caravans, plus the ongoing news story of the potentially newly discovered species is, if you'll pardon the phrase, fascinating. Two thoughts on what it might be, which I'm still keeping to myself. Plus, kudos for the mention of brickwall s' Kephan Unity in your universe! Can't wait to hear more. Hi trynda1701 and thanks for the kind words. Concerning different types of caravans, I've purposely left a lot of details out about the Orions. I will go into greater details about them at some vague point in the distant future. I will say that not all Orions are squeaky clean when it comes to obeying the law and there are criminal elements in all of the civilizations (except, maybe the Gorn and, even then... Well, it's not really "criminal" but just... Different...). I'm doing the "drip drip drip" with the storyline because I've learned that I'm not good at actually writing things down ahead of time; It's all in my mind but writing it all down is a chore that, for whatever reason, I don't like doing. The "news articles" and letters to the editor (and don't think that I haven't forgotten about the Orions... They write letters to their editors, too!) are just me trying to trick myself into writing it all down in an 'easy-to-write' format. I'm also trying to get myself to just write anything down and to heck if I can finish a post, which is why the micro-caravan post took three days to complete. I consider everything that I'm doing free-of-charge, Paramount owns the Star Trek IP and, at the end of the day, we're all playing with wooden nickels here. Therefore, I've got no problem including the Kephan Unity into my alt-universe; The more collaborations, the merrier. That doesn't mean that everything goes into the pot to be stirred but, wherever I can fit other people's stuff in (should they allow it, perfectly fine if they don't), why not? As for the "mystery race"... On the one hand, I've given out what I thought have been some pretty big hints for those who have read through my previous stuff so I don't think it's 'that big' of a mystery. However, HOW the mystery race is portrayed hasn't been revealed in any detail yet. I'm not sure about "Spoiler Texts" here (every message board is different) so I'll just end with that I'm not going to keep people in suspense forever and that when they're revealed, I hope that people will go, "Oh... That actually makes some sense now that I think about it." Until then... Steve, please permit me to add my kudos to your shaping this Trek-verse in this fabulous manner. It never popped up in my mind to see your story progress this way. Multiple thumbs-up!
I'd like your permission to do something like this for the thread An Armada On The Cheap. Other than rarcher, no one else has commented -- pro or con -- on anything that needs improvement in it. And it's been 3 1/2 years since the last MAJOR addition to it. Like way too much in my life, the details in this has been "slow cooking" in my imagination. I'm hoping this is, so to speak, finally ready to eat.
Many thanks to you in advance.
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steve
Commander
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Post by steve on Nov 22, 2021 14:47:55 GMT -7
Steve, please permit me to add my kudos to your shaping this Trek-verse in this fabulous manner. It never popped up in my mind to see your story progress this way. Multiple thumbs-up!
I'd like your permission to do something like this for the thread An Armada On The Cheap. Other than rarcher, no one else has commented -- pro or con -- on anything that needs improvement in it. And it's been 3 1/2 years since the last MAJOR addition to it. Like way too much in my life, the details in this has been "slow cooking" in my imagination. I'm hoping this is, so to speak, finally ready to eat.
Many thanks to you in advance.
Thank you for your kind words. I'd like to think that we prop each other up with our creations and being on an active message board (for I have had the misfortune of being a part of many message boards that have died a quiet death) simply enhances that production. Yes, by all means, use "letters to the editors" and "news article"-styled entries to your heart's content on your own creations. I look forward to reading on what is occurring with the Kephan Unity.
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steve
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Post by steve on Nov 27, 2021 14:17:20 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - FEDERATION "GENEROSITY" ON FULL DISPLAY FOR "MYSTERY RACE" Tongue-in-Cheek Offers Abound as "Welcoming Gifts" to the Possible New Civilization
[Ed. Note - This article has been edited. It has been edited with contemporary audiences in mind. The original references have been replaced with references that a contemporary audience would understand better.]
Compiled from Various Reports
(AP) - A six-night, five-day stay at a luxury resort. Premiere box seats at a cricket match. 30% off all baked goods at a bakery. Free admission to a museum dedicated to the history of umbrellas. A recording deal. An acting contract. The right to use a parking space in one of the most congested cities on Earth.
These are all offers to individuals from a new hypothetical "mystery race" that the United Federation of Planets may or may not have recently discovered. The UFP recently called for an Emergency Security Council meeting, the language of which implies to many experts that a possible new space-faring civilization has been discovered.
Dan Thorben, a freelance journalist, has been compiling a list of all of these offers on his comedic media site, "Nose Tone Wondered" (the joke is that the phrase rhymes with "No stone unturned"). What was once a lark pastime has quickly become a serious endeavor, being unable to keep up with all of the new offers.
"I'm overwhelmed," the 37-year old confessed, scrolling through several pages of new offers from businesses, organizations, individuals and religions, "I honestly didn't expect to see this many offers."
The journalist began his list on a lark when he saw three radio stations offer the possible new species free air time. Regular viewers of Thorden's media site began giving Thorben tips on other offers and the Thorben's list quickly went viral. Thorben has since hired two people to simply keep up with all of the new offers pouring in.
"We're up to 126 pages of offers," one of the newly-hired employees reported, "And that's just the ones we've cataloged and verified so far." The employeee shows pages upon pages of of still yet-to-be verified offers.
A local political party is offering members of the new species a seat on their governing body. A store is offering free ice cream to the first one hundred individuals of the new species that arrive at the store. A singer-songwriter and his wife have stated that they will name their first child after the civilization's home planet (unless the name is similar to that of an obscenity, the wife pointed out).
Historian and sociologist Rachel Wolbett says that individuals making such offers is nothing new. Just ask the Orions.
"When the Orions first arrived, there was a lot of anxiety amongst Federation citizens but also of great generosity, even if a lot of it was tongue-in-cheek," Wolbett explained. Wolbett shows print and digital advertisements from that era of similar generous offers to the Orions that would not be out of place today with the new mystery civilization.
The Orions, for their part, were more confused than amused by all of the offers. Orion historian Dwam Ja-Kolo describes the reaction from the Orion perspective.
"Orions had a range of reactions to the offers," Dwan explains, "In pre-Federation Orion culture, being overly generous could be conveyed as an insult. If you were a part of a caravan and someone from another caravan is being profuse with their generosity, that was often taken as an insult. An example would be, suppose that someone offers you a new pair of shoes. You would look down at your own shoes and think to yourself, 'What is so wrong about my pair of shoes that they're willing to offer me, for free, a new pair of shoes? My shoes look pretty good, thank you very much."
Dwam says that not all reactions from the Orions were one of disgust or insult. A lot of Orions saw the humor right away.
"Not all humor is universal but a lot of it is," Dwam explains, "I think that once the Orions overcame the language barrier [between themselves and the Federation], they began to realize that a lot of the offers were done with good-natured humor. They even took a few of those offers up."
Dwam shows examples of Orions eating hot dogs at a hot dog stand and Orions being shown how to drive an antiquated automobile. Dwam also shows pictures of Orions riding a rollercoaster and assisting a group of children jumping rope.
The participation was not all care-free, though. Dwam states that individual Orions found the experiences cathartic based upon their prior history.
"Remember," Dwam said, "You're dealing with a culture that is paranoid about living on a planet. And here is an entire section of a galaxy that is wholly comfortable with living on a planet. There was simply an oddity about Terrans and Klingons and Romulans that Orions could not wrap their minds around. How could you be so at ease living next to a giant ball of gas that could explode at any moment? It'd be like having dinner at your next door neighbor's house and your neighbor has sticks of dynamite, barrels of gasoline and lit flames scattered all throughout the house but they're completely calm about it."
The Federation aren't the only ones with the less-than-sincere offers. Romulans, Klingons, Orions and even those inside the Kephan Unity has gotten in on the act.
For instance, a Romulan comedy group has released a series of videos inviting the species to their civilization by inadvertently explaining how horrible the Romulans are. "As long as you're not the Hunnarians," one of the comedians jests, "We invite you in. And if you are the Hunnarians, may we recommend that you visit the Vulcan Confederation first. We'll be more than glad to provide directions to their 'not-a-real-civilization' civilization."
A prominent Romulan choir is sponsoring a concert where the front row of seats are reserved only for "citizens of civilizations that have not been designated prior to last year" which, tongue-in-cheek, pragmatically means everyone. Although this type of humor could be considered an insult to Romulan authorities (any language excluding such figures may sometimes be construed as a slur on authority), a spokesperson for the Romulan Emperor, equally tongue-in-cheek, sent out a press statement that "The Emperor's schedule is dictated only by the Emperor himself. However, it is our unfortunate duty to inform that organization that he will not be able to attend their activity at the time described. The Emperor is hopeful that the activity is attended in full and as dictated by the organization responsible for the activity." Observers of Romulan politics were quick to note that the language in the statement was a veiled approval of the unconventional offer to the mystery race and for authorities not to prosecute the organization. As one Romulan political observer noted over the situation, "The Emperor is smart enough to know that you never kick a puppy in public, especially playful ones."
The Klingons have also gotten into the fray. One advertisement is from members of a regional militia, inviting members of the supposed new race to join the "only real military organization in the known universe." That boast is not without it's limitations, as finer print states clearly, "The following advertisement has not been endorsed or approved by the Vilkaya Military Organization or any of it's affiliates. The opinions and offers expressed here are fictitious and stated only for morale purposes. For official statements, please contact the Vilkaya Military Organization Public Affairs Department."
Even the Orions, once themselves the "new kids on the block," haven't been immune to making offers. One Orion caravan has put out an advertisement for their inventory at a steep discount "Only to new customers from outside of Sector 2."
When shown the Orion advertisement, Dwam smiles and laughs briefly.
"I hope that they take up the offer," Dwam responds diplomatically, with a broad smile, surpressing more laughter, "Those are some pretty good deals."
Whoever the new mystery race is, one thing is for certain: They better have a good sense of humor. And if they don't?
"They can always pal around with the Vulcans and the Gorn," Thorben retorts with a laugh.
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Post by trynda1701 on Nov 30, 2021 12:08:08 GMT -7
" Whoever the new mystery race is, one thing is for certain: They better have a good sense of humor. And if they don't?
"They can always pal around with the Vulcans and the Gorn," Thorben retorts with a laugh." Satire and humour, alive and well in steve s' alternate universe.
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steve
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Post by steve on Dec 1, 2021 16:08:16 GMT -7
" Whoever the new mystery race is, one thing is for certain: They better have a good sense of humor. And if they don't?
"They can always pal around with the Vulcans and the Gorn," Thorben retorts with a laugh." Satire and humour, alive and well in steve s' alternate universe. Everyone needs a good laugh every now and then. Been too busy to really concentrate on generating more content. Maybe that admission will shame me to produce some more. In the interim, here's a sneak peek of what's coming up (and, yes, eventually the mystery race will be revealed; I'm really not stringing it along on purpose but just because I want to "set the table" with some other things as well): ** More on Orion caravans (I had a nice thought on them not too long ago). ** More on Vulcan Nationalists and just "Shades of Vulcan" (because I want to make sure people understand that, in my alt-u, "Vulcan" doesn't automatically mean "Spock") ** More on a fancy little tidbit of culture that Vulcans & Romulans share (because I may as well cross-promote some of my other stuff as well) ** More on "politics from 30,000 feet" from all of the civilizations (because it's fun to play God when you don't have to clean up after yourself) ** And a bunch of little oddball stuff that my rusty steel-trap of a mind thinks of to distract me from actual work. And I haven't forgotten about the Gorn. If anything, they sort of factor into a lot of stuff that will be happening in the future... To mangle an ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." And what interesting times these are about to become...
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Post by trynda1701 on Dec 1, 2021 16:47:54 GMT -7
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Post by brickwall on Dec 1, 2021 17:35:38 GMT -7
" Whoever the new mystery race is, one thing is for certain: They better have a good sense of humor. And if they don't?
"They can always pal around with the Vulcans and the Gorn," Thorben retorts with a laugh." Satire and humour, alive and well in steve s' alternate universe. Everyone needs a good laugh every now and then. Been too busy to really concentrate on generating more content. Maybe that admission will shame me to produce some more. In the interim, here's a sneak peek of what's coming up (and, yes, eventually the mystery race will be revealed; I'm really not stringing it along on purpose but just because I want to "set the table" with some other things as well): ** More on Orion caravans (I had a nice thought on them not too long ago). ** More on Vulcan Nationalists and just "Shades of Vulcan" (because I want to make sure people understand that, in my alt-u, "Vulcan" doesn't automatically mean "Spock") ** More on a fancy little tidbit of culture that Vulcans & Romulans share (because I may as well cross-promote some of my other stuff as well) ** More on "politics from 30,000 feet" from all of the civilizations (because it's fun to play God when you don't have to clean up after yourself) ** And a bunch of little oddball stuff that my rusty steel-trap of a mind thinks of to distract me from actual work. And I haven't forgotten about the Gorn. If anything, they sort of factor into a lot of stuff that will be happening in the future... To mangle an ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." And what interesting times these are about to become... Steve, permit me to thank you for inspiring me to get going on adding to the An Armada On The Cheap scenario. I admit to having a very bad time with perfectionism in creating things and procrastination in the wake of it. Hence the slowness in getting anything done. I needed the kick-in-the-butt to get me going on it and I thank you for it.
I also await the surprises in store you are making to your storyline! Onward and upward!
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steve
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Post by steve on Dec 8, 2021 14:29:23 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - INSIDE THE "RSN JOLTON", A VINTAGE ROMULAN WARSHIP
[Ed. Note - This article has been edited. It has been edited with contemporary audiences in mind. The original references have been replaced with references that a contemporary audience would understand better.]
(AP) - It's all smiles from the crew, from the lowly ensign to the captain himself. They greet everyone who comes on board their vessel and most of them are Federation citizens, with a smattering of Orions and even a few Klingons.
But this vessel isn't a luxury cruise liner. It's also not a spaceport.
This vessel is none other than a vintage Romulan warship, the "RSN Jolton," a classic 'Bird of Prey' starship. It's shape is so iconic that even non-enthusiasts of the Federation-Klingon War recognize it's outline immediately. Armed with a revolutionary cloaking system that hides it's presence from enemy radar and sensors, a system that Federation and Klingon scientists still have not been able to reverse-engineer to this day, warships such as the Jolton evoked fear and dread amongst Federation and Klingon crews alike.
The RSN Jolton, though, isn't on a mission to invade Federation space or ambush Federation starships. In fact, the RSN Jolton was invited into Federation territory as part of an intricate diplomatic arrangement that allowed the Jolton, a vintage Klingon warship called the "IKV Koskla" and a vintage Federation starship, the USS Galvant, to be in the same area at the same time while an Emergency Session of the Security Council occurs.
The RSN Jolton isn't a replica of a classic Romulan warship but the real thing, meticulously maintained to museum-grade quality. Still classified as an active-duty warship in the Romulan Star Navy, Romulan officials quickly admit that it's designation is a ceremonial one and that it's combat effectiveness against today's warships would be negligible at best. "It would be a 1920's bi-plane versus a 2020 F-35 jet fighter," as one war historian mused.
Visiting the RSN Jolton is a full-on production and a pricey one, too. Tickets are limited to only a few thousand. The prices for those tickets go from 1,000 credits to nearly 15,000 credits. The Romulans say that the money goes to help maintaining the ship's non-offensive infrastructure and visitor outreach. "Offensive and defensive systems," as one Romulan official put it, "Are the sole financial responsibility of the Romulan Star Navy."
And what do you get for your pricey tickets?
On the lower end of the scale is a fly-around of the vessel in a shuttle, with an interactive narration by a Romulan spokesperson, explaining the history of the vessel. Shuttle passengers get to see the ship up close and from all angles, including it's decorated underbelly, drawn in the shape of a bird. So meticulous is the restoration and maintenance of the ship that the decoration uses paint that is formulated using only the exact ingredients from when the decoration was originally painted. As the spokesperson jested, "Painting just your fingernail with that paint would be the most expensive thing many of us could ever do."
And as for the crude, simplistic painting itself on the underbelly? For a museum-quality piece, it's no Leonardo Da Vinci. However, the spokesperson said that starship crews designed and painted the birds themselves, much like ancient bomber crews of B-52 airplanes painted pictures of scantily-clad women on the sides of their airplanes. Eventually, the Romulan Star Navy adopted the practice and standardized the designs, making them look a bit more professionally drawn. However, the RSN Jolton has kept it's more artistic design, in keeping with the history of the warship. And does the current crew maintain the design by touching up the paint? "Yes," the spokesperson gleefully replies, "the current crew takes great pride in keeping that tradition alive of them personally maintaining the design, as all crews of this vessel have done previously before them."
Should your pockets be deep enough, that shuttle eventually docks with the ship itself. Once onboard, you are greeted by the crew and continue on a walking tour of the spaceship. There are monitors and displays set up throughout the tour that explain the history of the vessel. The crew, who are fully-responsible for running the craft, also serve as re-enactors. They re-create scenes such as a mess hall meal, a few moments of downtime in a bunk room, repairing machinery and tending to the sick.
The production is slick and professional as well as interactive. Guests are allowed to handle replica (but fully-functioning) antique equipment, such as medical monitors, engine diagnostic tools and communicators. Depending upon how much you pay, you can even suit up in replica helmets and uniforms, participating in a crash course in Romulan military practices, such as salutes. Non-functioning replicas of disruptor pistols and rifles may also be handled, which fire simulated lasers.
A visit to the mess hall means that guests get a chance to sample typical military cuisine (as soon as you fill out a liability disclaimer form, of course). Because of differing physiology between humans and Romulans, the meals don't taste exactly the same. However, tasting the "human version" and the "Romulan version" of the foods reveal that the Romulan foods genuinely taste far saltier and a bit heftier in texture. A spokesperson reveals that, although the foods slightly differ, the health values are the same.
And as for the refreshments? Well, water tastes like water regardless of where it's from. However, what passes for milk has a slight tinge of solid light green and tastes a bit like a cross between whole milk and soda. A classic soda beverage has a strong mint aftertaste. Romulans have no equivalent of orange juice. And Romulan ale? That's only for officers. There is a stash of ale on board but, no matter the price, the captain isn't giving up his stash. Historically, starship officers drank alcohol. In the modern Romulan Navy, however, drinking alcohol is limited only for formal celebrations and only in limited quantities. The days of the drunken sailor, at least for the Romulan Navy, are over.
The finale is to tour the bridge itself, always staffed by real crewmembers as they actually maintain the integrity of the vessel. Here, the captain greets the guests and explains the current situation with the vessel. While no one can sit in the captain's chair (the captain makes a quip or two that he's earned the right to "sit down on the job"), a select few are able to stand at various stations and get a quick summary of how to operate those stations.
The Romulans, historically notorious for being tight-lipped, are unusually open and friendly when asked about sensitive topics.
It's explained that the ship no longer possesses a cloaking device or any of the supporting systems used to operate it.
Huge sections of the vessel are off-limits for obvious reasons, such as the need for guest safety, the privacy of the crew and the fact that, since the ship is still technically an active-duty vessel, the ship needs to have some systems that are considered sensitive and not available to be viewed by the public.
Another factor in the limited touring area is to quickly get guests back to the shuttle in the event of an emergency.
Private photos are encouraged and several of the crewmembers have no concerns about posing for pictures. One security guard placed his helmet onto a child's head for one photo, the helmet so large as to engulf the child's entire head, much to the laughter of the other guests. The guard took the helmet back, stating that the child would need to join the Star Navy if he wanted his own and, no, that didn't mean that he could travel back to Romulan territory with them because, as the guard stated jovially, "This is a warship, not an orphanage."
Back on the shuttle, we perform one more fly-by before we are arrive back at the spaceport. We are deposited near a souvenir shop, where guests receive a complementary gift bag of goodies based upon how much they've paid. From T-shirts, to replica equipment, a toy version of the Jolton, to a small-sized book about the Jolton and it's history, to even a small sample of the cafeteria food and beverages. The souvenir shop sells even more items, including how to speak Romulan (in only 60 easy lessons), replica uniforms and picture books of Romulan environments.
By the time you leave, exhaustion is the only emotion (and tired feet) that one feels. But as tired as you feel, know that the crew of the RSN Jolton performs these tours ten times a day for every day that they are deployed.
At the end of the day, smiles make way for sleep... From both the crew and the guests.
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Post by trynda1701 on Dec 10, 2021 7:09:05 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - INSIDE THE "RSN JOLTON", A VINTAGE ROMULAN WARSHIP[Ed. Note - This article has been edited. It has been edited with contemporary audiences in mind. The original references have been replaced with references that a contemporary audience would understand better.](AP) - It's all smiles from the crew, from the lowly ensign to the captain himself. They greet everyone who comes on board their vessel and most of them are Federation citizens, with a smattering of Orions and even a few Klingons. But this vessel isn't a luxury cruise liner. It's also not a spaceport. This vessel is none other than a vintage Romulan warship, the "RSN Jolton," a classic 'Bird of Prey' starship. It's shape is so iconic that even non-enthusiasts of the Federation-Klingon War recognize it's outline immediately. Armed with a revolutionary cloaking system that hides it's presence from enemy radar and sensors, a system that Federation and Klingon scientists still have not been able to reverse-engineer to this day, warships such as the Jolton evoked fear and dread amongst Federation and Klingon crews alike. The RSN Jolton, though, isn't on a mission to invade Federation space or ambush Federation starships. In fact, the RSN Jolton was invited into Federation territory as part of an intricate diplomatic arrangement that allowed the Jolton, a vintage Klingon warship called the "IKV Koskla" and a vintage Federation starship, the USS Galvant, to be in the same area at the same time while an Emergency Session of the Security Council occurs. The RSN Jolton isn't a replica of a classic Romulan warship but the real thing, meticulously maintained to museum-grade quality. Still classified as an active-duty warship in the Romulan Star Navy, Romulan officials quickly admit that it's designation is a ceremonial one and that it's combat effectiveness against today's warships would be negligible at best. "It would be a 1920's bi-plane versus a 2020 F-35 jet fighter," as one war historian mused. Visiting the RSN Jolton is a full-on production and a pricey one, too. Tickets are limited to only a few thousand. The prices for those tickets go from 1,000 credits to nearly 15,000 credits. The Romulans say that the money goes to help maintaining the ship's non-offensive infrastructure and visitor outreach. "Offensive and defensive systems," as one Romulan official put it, "Are the sole financial responsibility of the Romulan Star Navy." And what do you get for your pricey tickets? On the lower end of the scale is a fly-around of the vessel in a shuttle, with an interactive narration by a Romulan spokesperson, explaining the history of the vessel. Shuttle passengers get to see the ship up close and from all angles, including it's decorated underbelly, drawn in the shape of a bird. So meticulous is the restoration and maintenance of the ship that the decoration uses paint that is formulated using only the exact ingredients from when the decoration was originally painted. As the spokesperson jested, "Painting just your fingernail with that paint would be the most expensive thing many of us could ever do." And as for the crude, simplistic painting itself on the underbelly? For a museum-quality piece, it's no Leonardo Da Vinci. However, the spokesperson said that starship crews designed and painted the birds themselves, much like ancient bomber crews of B-52 airplanes painted pictures of scantily-clad women on the sides of their airplanes. Eventually, the Romulan Star Navy adopted the practice and standardized the designs, making them look a bit more professionally drawn. However, the RSN Jolton has kept it's more artistic design, in keeping with the history of the warship. And does the current crew maintain the design by touching up the paint? "Yes," the spokesperson gleefully replies, "the current crew takes great pride in keeping that tradition alive of them personally maintaining the design, as all crews of this vessel have done previously before them." Should your pockets be deep enough, that shuttle eventually docks with the ship itself. Once onboard, you are greeted by the crew and continue on a walking tour of the spaceship. There are monitors and displays set up throughout the tour that explain the history of the vessel. The crew, who are fully-responsible for running the craft, also serve as re-enactors. They re-create scenes such as a mess hall meal, a few moments of downtime in a bunk room, repairing machinery and tending to the sick. The production is slick and professional as well as interactive. Guests are allowed to handle replica (but fully-functioning) antique equipment, such as medical monitors, engine diagnostic tools and communicators. Depending upon how much you pay, you can even suit up in replica helmets and uniforms, participating in a crash course in Romulan military practices, such as salutes. Non-functioning replicas of disruptor pistols and rifles may also be handled, which fire simulated lasers. A visit to the mess hall means that guests get a chance to sample typical military cuisine (as soon as you fill out a liability disclaimer form, of course). Because of differing physiology between humans and Romulans, the meals don't taste exactly the same. However, tasting the "human version" and the "Romulan version" of the foods reveal that the Romulan foods genuinely taste far saltier and a bit heftier in texture. A spokesperson reveals that, although the foods slightly differ, the health values are the same. And as for the refreshments? Well, water tastes like water regardless of where it's from. However, what passes for milk has a slight tinge of solid light green and tastes a bit like a cross between whole milk and soda. A classic soda beverage has a strong mint aftertaste. Romulans have no equivalent of orange juice. And Romulan ale? That's only for officers. There is a stash of ale on board but, no matter the price, the captain isn't giving up his stash. Historically, starship officers drank alcohol. In the modern Romulan Navy, however, drinking alcohol is limited only for formal celebrations and only in limited quantities. The days of the drunken sailor, at least for the Romulan Navy, are over. The finale is to tour the bridge itself, always staffed by real crewmembers as they actually maintain the integrity of the vessel. Here, the captain greets the guests and explains the current situation with the vessel. While no one can sit in the captain's chair (the captain makes a quip or two that he's earned the right to "sit down on the job"), a select few are able to stand at various stations and get a quick summary of how to operate those stations. The Romulans, historically notorious for being tight-lipped, are unusually open and friendly when asked about sensitive topics. It's explained that the ship no longer possesses a cloaking device or any of the supporting systems used to operate it. Huge sections of the vessel are off-limits for obvious reasons, such as the need for guest safety, the privacy of the crew and the fact that, since the ship is still technically an active-duty vessel, the ship needs to have some systems that are considered sensitive and not available to be viewed by the public. Another factor in the limited touring area is to quickly get guests back to the shuttle in the event of an emergency. Private photos are encouraged and several of the crewmembers have no concerns about posing for pictures. One security guard placed his helmet onto a child's head for one photo, the helmet so large as to engulf the child's entire head, much to the laughter of the other guests. The guard took the helmet back, stating that the child would need to join the Star Navy if he wanted his own and, no, that didn't mean that he could travel back to Romulan territory with them because, as the guard stated jovially, "This is a warship, not an orphanage." Back on the shuttle, we perform one more fly-by before we are arrive back at the spaceport. We are deposited near a souvenir shop, where guests receive a complementary gift bag of goodies based upon how much they've paid. From T-shirts, to replica equipment, a toy version of the Jolton, to a small-sized book about the Jolton and it's history, to even a small sample of the cafeteria food and beverages. The souvenir shop sells even more items, including how to speak Romulan (in only 60 easy lessons), replica uniforms and picture books of Romulan environments. By the time you leave, exhaustion is the only emotion (and tired feet) that one feels. But as tired as you feel, know that the crew of the RSN Jolton performs these tours ten times a day for every day that they are deployed. At the end of the day, smiles make way for sleep... From both the crew and the guests. Interesting read. So, does your version of the 'classic Bird of Prey' starship look like the TOS screen version from "Balance of Terror" (the V-8 in FASA terms)? The reason I ask, is you mention a Captains' chair, and the screen version implies a cramped control centre/Bridge. Of course, your version can be different, as it's your alternate take on Star Trek. Just curious?
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Dec 10, 2021 15:54:13 GMT -7
Interesting read. So, does your version of the 'classic Bird of Prey' starship look like the TOS screen version from "Balance of Terror" (the V-8 in FASA terms)? The reason I ask, is you mention a Captains' chair, and the screen version implies a cramped control centre/Bridge. Of course, your version can be different, as it's your alternate take on Star Trek. Just curious? Full disclosure - I tried hard to find blueprints of the interior of a V-8 but couldn't (I did find a lot of exteriors, though). Yes, the V-8 looks just like a normal V-8. I already knew that the Romulans stood around in a sort of circle based upon the episode but that looked a little... odd for the sake of being odd. So, I sort of revised it a bit on the fly; Everyone stands except the captain, who sits because he's on the bridge the longest. The other crew members stand at their station and have short shifts (45 minutes). There's a constant rotation of bridge personnel to tie into the alt-Romulan trait of having a lot of cross-training and not really trusting anyone to be anywhere for too long. So, it's a little less weird but still unconventional compared to the Federation (which is unchanged) and the Klingons (mostly unchanged, although I envision that the captain sits significantly higher than everyone else simply because... you know... Klingons). I did find out that the V-8 doesn't have a shuttle bay and so that's why the article says that the shuttle docks onto the V-8 as opposed to enters it. In the end, I didn't want to deviate too much but also wanted to make Romulan operating procedures significantly different than Federation / Klingons.
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Post by trynda1701 on Dec 10, 2021 16:15:56 GMT -7
The Cygnus X-1 blueprint website shows thumbnails of the classic BoP blueprints released in 1977 by Mucheal McMaster... www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/romulan-bird-of-prey.php...which include interior deck layouts, and show that the bridge shows the TOS episode bridge layout. However, there is room that there could be a Captains' chair! These plans also show there are two small dorsal hatches, either side on the dorsal fins, that are barely big enough for small 3-person shuttles, almost more like shuttlepods. But this was of course before FASA published their BoP stats, plus doesn't negate what YOU want in your universe.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Dec 11, 2021 18:02:46 GMT -7
The Cygnus X-1 blueprint website shows thumbnails of the classic BoP blueprints released in 1977 by Mucheal McMaster... www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/romulan-bird-of-prey.php...which include interior deck layouts, and show that the bridge shows the TOS episode bridge layout. However, there is room that there could be a Captains' chair! These plans also show there are two small dorsal hatches, either side on the dorsal fins, that are barely big enough for small 3-person shuttles, almost more like shuttlepods. But this was of course before FASA published their BoP stats, plus doesn't negate what YOU want in your universe. Thanks for the link! If only I had seen that before I began that article. It actually makes perfect sense to have shuttles. Ah well... live and learn. I will admit that the blueprints have an old-timey feel to them. Sort of surprised no one has tried making a 3D representation of these blueprints. I can only imagine you guys are aware of people recreating the Enterprise bridges in Unity and other game engines. I don't know if you guys ever experienced the mod for Star Trek: Elite Force where someone recreated an entire space station. That was fun to experience (although the limits of the engine really constrained the mod in some ways). I kind of miss those days... www.youtube.com/watch?v=f52K7evjySA (link to the YouTube video about the Star Trek Elite Force space station mod).
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Post by trynda1701 on Dec 12, 2021 11:23:50 GMT -7
steve Based on the earlier blueprints, it's odd that the FASA V-8 has no shuttles, nor is it landing capable, but different creators don't necessarily need to follow previous creations. For example, knowing the D-7 blueprints I'd purchased after the classic Constitution class ones and the the BoP ones, which SFB based their D-7 on, with 9 medium range phasers, disruptors as the heavy fire weapons, and drones, the FASA D-7 series came as a surprise to me (disruptors only as beam weapons on earlier models, then added torpedoes for later models), but that probably was more accurate to both TOS and then the movies. If you want to see some cool static CGI 3D art based on Trek, have a look over in the "Fan Art" subboard of the Trek BBS for lots of cool stuff from various creators, and also including the drawing threads from our forum member here atolm that he has posted here and on the Trek BBS. www.trekbbs.com/forums/fan-art.21/
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steve
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Post by steve on Dec 22, 2021 17:19:00 GMT -7
NEWS ARTICLE - COMEDY ANALYSIS CAN YIELD SERIOUS RESULTS ABOUT MAJOR EVENTS
[Ed. Note - This article has been edited. It has been edited with contemporary audiences in mind. The original references have been replaced with references that a contemporary audience would understand better.]
(AP) - The physical delegations for the emergency session have yet to enter Federation territory. The so-called "new species" (if it even exists) hasn't even been named or even described.
Yet comedians throughout the galaxy have already unleashed a torrent of material related to the emergency session, from the diplomatic wrangling to the mystery behind the nature of the meeting, to the delegations themselves.
This comedic material may seem superficial to most individuals but not to people like Jessica G'Nor, a strategic sociologist at Renwald World Security, a company specializing in intergovernmental consultations and analysis. Where most people might see bad puns, tired punchlines and strained guffaws, G'Nor sees valuable intelligence and insight into how civilizations view others and, more importantly, view themselves.
"Comedy is often a way of telling uncomfortable truths in a more comfortable way," G'Nor explains, "We not only laugh hardest at the truth but also at how that truth is conveyed."
G'Nor has already watched hours upon hours of comedy footage surrounding the emergency session and all of the events that have occurred as a result. Her conclusions are that the civilizations have both not changed one bit and, yet, have changed in some fundamental ways.
"The Romulans, for instance," G'Nor begins, "have an inferiority complex. They always feel as though they are being cheated out of their rightful place amongst the other civilizations. You can see clearly in their comedy that they are often the victim of the sketch, they have an undersized value, that their opinions and participation doesn't matter. A lot of their comedy views the Klingons as being very arrogant, very macho, not necessarily bright. The Federation is portrayed as wealthy, dimwitted, inept... someone not deserving of their status and place in life."
"The Klingon's comedy," G'Nor pointed out, "Is very different. Romulans are always trying to undermine everyone else. The Orions do not respect other civilization's borders. The Federation are cheaters, using Vulcan knowledge and Orion influence to always unfairly gain the upper-hand in whatever they want. The Gorn are the servants of the Romulans. In fact, the Klingon word "QIncha'ghaj" is a perjorative towards Romulans which roughly means "Lizard owner" & the Gorn themselves are sometimes called "Qincha."
"The Federation has the most varied comedy as they have the most open society," G'Nor continued, "It's really hard to get a handle on an overall perspective because of it's vast variety. There are a lot of well-worn stereotypes on display, from Klingons being aggressive to Romulans being sneaky to Vulcans being stoic. There's also a lot of derogatory counter-stereotypes involving these races, which is interesting to watch. For instance, some of the comedy has the Klingons being outright pansies, even to the point of flagrant homosexuals. Romulans are seen as paranoid but very dim-witted, embarrassingly so."
G'Nor turns her attention to Orion comedy. "Orions have a pretty open society but it's very fragmented. Each caravan is it's own universe and while not every caravan generates it's own distinct type of comedy, you can get a sense of what comedy they consume. Large caravans tend to be 'above the fray.' Their comedy is very belittling to the other major civilizations. Orions, for all their efforts to avoid the hard-sell merchant stereotype, falls back upon it for comedic purposes. They tend to view themselves as pragmatic because they live in spaceships and every item is important, every bit of space on a spaceship important. Smaller caravans have a much more socialist, sarcastic tone to their comedy. They don't have time for these large events; They have to mine resources, they have to repair their ships. They view everyone else and even the large caravans as being elite and paying attention to things that aren't very important in the grand scheme of things. It's really exciting to see this kind of 'large caravan-small caravan' divide and I don't think it's very well appreciated, even amongst other Orions."
But what about other groups, such as the Gorn, the Vulcans or even the Kephan Unity? G'Nor smiles as a response.
"The Gorn do not do comedy," G'Nor replies, "The best you can hope for is to measure the level of 'strained politeness.' Here, it's really crucial to understand the nuances of their language. The more that they use a sort of 'passive-aggressive' politeness, you know that you are irritating them in some form."
G'Nor shows a variety of samples of Gorn communications. The shifts in tone are undeniable. Some of them are business-like. Others read as though it is being written by a long-suffering butler who must still not draw the ire of their master but must also vent their long-held frustrations.
"Vulcans," G'Nor states, "are very limited in their comedy. There are only a few disciplines of Vulcanism that allows for comedy and those that do usually fall into the realm of satire or even parody." G'Nor shows off a recent comedic effort by a Vulcan satirist concerning the Emergency Session. It involves five Vulcans all debating about what made a noise in an adjacent room. Each of the five Vulcans represent one of the major civilizations. A statue in the room represents the Vulcans themselves, with each civilization reading from the plaque at the base of the statue and interpreting it incorrectly to disasterous results.
And, finally, the Kephan Unity. "The smaller and more ideological the group, the more these events are portrayed as ridiculed parodies," G'Nor cited. "There's a mix of inferiority complex along with a certain bit of smugness. The comedy here is relatively simple: Our ideology protects us from the ridiculousness of the situation. You see this type of comedy a lot with very ideological and fringe groups. Dare I say, some of the smaller Orion caravans and the Kephan Unity have almost the exact same types of humor but, of course, from entirely different perspectives. Is it any wonder that a few of the smaller Orion caravans are, at least financially, allied with the Kephan Unity?"
G'Nor shows a graph about types of humor amongst various Orion caravans and then separates them out to those with formal ties to the Kephan Unity. The results are striking: The caravans that share the same types of humor with the KU are the ones that have the most financial and formal ties with the breakaway region.
Hopefully, the new species that has been found by the Federation will have a sense of humor about all of this as well. And if they do, people like Jessica G'Nor shall study it.
Perhaps the serious study of humor is no laughing matter after all.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Dec 25, 2021 18:26:10 GMT -7
EDITORIAL - CALM DOWN... THIS IS HOW AN "EMERGENCY" SESSION WORKS
[Ed. note - This article has been edited. It has been edited for a contemporary audience. It has been edited with contemporary references that modern-day audiences would more clearly relate to.]
[Karl Stauffenberg is a former diplomat for the UFP. His opinions are solely his own and not of his employers or clients.]
In the world of diplomacy, there are no enemies but only people with different policy positions. Different people require different resources to maintain their standard of living. Even amongst such different people, common standards may prevail. For instance, a common standard for protection. A common standard for the sharing of vital resources in order to prevent armed conflict. A common standard for communicating significant thoughts and ideas.
In layman's terms, these common standards may be considered "treaties." And treaties, believe it or not, really work because the common standard is in such demand that it is imperative for all sides for that standard to work. And when one treaty works, those disparate sides then aspire to establish more treaties. More treaties inevitably increases the quality of life for everyone involved because the various sides understand the mutual benefit of having the treaty.
Recently, the UFP called an "emergency" session of the Security Council based upon what is commonly referred to as the "Mutual Defense" treaty. That treaty, grotesquely simplified, is that whenever one signatory of the treaty finds a group that may be considered a threat to themselves or to another signatory, they notify all of the signatories of this new threat. "Threat," in this case, is a bit reactionary; The language of the treaty is far more neutral. Yet the gist remains the same: If I live in a house with other people and I find someone lurking outside of the house that doesn't live in the house, I am obligated to tell everyone else inside the house, "Hey, there's someone outside of the house that I've never seen before."
This treaty has many layers and many contingencies. We should be thankful that a lot of those contingencies have never been used (at least, as far the public has been told). One of those contingencies is a request by the discoverer of the threat to hold an "emergency" session. "Emergency" is a really alarming term and I've never liked it being used in this context; In reality, we should substitute the word "emergency" with "unannounced." Why? Because this session of the Security Council is going to be structured much like an ANNOUNCED Security Council meeting. An UNANNOUNCED meeting is exactly the same as an ANNOUNCED meeting except no one was expecting it. No one explicitly planned for it.
The first point that I want to make is for everyone to not be alarmed by the events that have occurred since the "unannounced" session was requested. All of the diplomatic wrangling that you have seen and has been made public is perfectly natural and perfectly understandable because this type of diplomatic wrangling happens ALL OF THE TIME when planning for ANNOUNCED Security Council meetings. Because the session was UNANNOUNCED, all of this diplomatic wrangling must now occur quickly and, unfortunately but inevitably, more publicly.
What a lot of people fail to realize is that, for every ANNOUNCED Security Council meeting, all of these details are finalized months before the meeting occurs. There are whole diplomatic teams that go over every exhaustive detail of these meetings: When they occur, who is there, what they wear, the order of the itinerary, how long each issue on that itinerary is discussed... And the details are excruciating. And the details, while considered "petty" by some, are pretty important to others. Even something as simple as the shape and color of a glass filled with nothing but water may require some delicate negotiations.
The second point that I want to make is that the diplomatic issues that have been brought up in public are COMPLETELY BENIGN; If you've ever been on a negotiating team for these council sessions, they are completely common and very resolvable. What you always want out of these sessions is to understand the root causes for these issues because, once you know the root cause, the issues are entirely resolvable. We saw this type of issue with the Kephan Unity & the Vulcan Confederacy. The Federation and the Romulan Empire sees the Vulcan people very differently. The Federation wants to treat the Vulcans one way; The Romulans want to treat them another way. How best do we resolve this situation without harming the Vulcans? The Kephan Unity had nothing to do with the dispute and, once it was known what the root cause of the issue was, the issue was immediately resolved by respecting the Romulans' desire.
Now, let's be clear: There are people right now on all sides who know a lot more than what we know about this current situation. That's normal; That's how the process works. In this case, the Federation initiated the unannounced meeting. People are not going to simply show up without being given just cause. The Federation has likely already given the Romulans, the Klingons, the Gorn & the Orions some amount of information on what they've found. They've given that information so that those parties can then bring forth personnel best suited to gauge the situation. As an example, suppose I call my friend. I tell my friend, "Hey can you come over to my house quickly? It's an emergency!" My friend is already obliged to come over to assist me but asks, "OK, but what for?" I'll tell him a general overview of the situation and say, "There's a large elephant on my front lawn and I need help to push it off of my property!" My friend will reply, "OK, I'll be right there."
In the prior example (which, thankfully, is entirely fictitious), I didn't give my friend complete information. I didn't tell him the size of the elephant or how much it weighed or how it smelled. I didn't tell him when the elephant arrived or how it arrived. I gave him some information but not all of the information. The same situation has happened with the unannounced security council session: The Federation has given the other sides enough information to allow those parties to assemble the appropriate response.
One aspect that I keep hearing is that the Federation is purposely withholding information from the public. That's a good thing! People overreact all of the time to information, regardless of it's completeness and/or sincerity. You want to give people enough information to be able to assess the situation but not so much information that they feel overwhelmed.
For instance, some of the information would be extraneous and unnecessary. Suppose I told my friend, "It's a rare, Asian elephant on my lawn." That piece of information would be superfluous unless you were an expert in elephants.
Also, the Federation does not want to reveal too much information. Suppose I told my friend the entire situation, giving such details like how tall the elephant was and how badly it smelled. A lot of that information has low value and, in an emergency, is unnecessary. All that I want my friend to do is to come over to my property as quickly as possible. If I reveal all of this information, I may even have my friend lose interest in coming over to my house. After all, if I have all of this time to talk to my friend, then my friend might think that the situation is not that critical of an emergency.
Finally, too much information could cause unintentional "confirmation bias." Suppose I gave my friend complete information before he had a chance to arrive at my house. From that information, taken out of context, he might determine that I was lazy and irresponsible in having the elephant be on my property at all, the result being that he is not motivated to help me with my situation. When you give people too much information, they tend to "cherry-pick" from that information to re-inforce their own beliefs rather than have the evidence guide their actions.
In this case, the Federation is telling the public: "Something is occurring. These are the steps that we are taking to ensure your safety at this time. Please follow these procedures." They're not giving complete information on purpose so that you may concentrate on your own affairs. That doesn't mean that you will NEVER know the information, just that they are not telling you that information at this moment.
At this point in time, I have complete faith and confidence that ALL SIDES (yes, that includes the Romulans and the Klingons) are going to be able to assess this situation calmly and carefully once they meet and are able to examine the information that the Federation has assembled for them. Romulans are very intelligent and so are the Klingons. Romulans are very compassionate about their populations and so are the Klingons.
It's perfectly natural to overreact to sudden situations; No one is perfect (that includes me, by the way). When a situation such as this one emerges, it's best to always consult neutral parties who don't have an emotional, financial and/or beneficial interest in the situation. This procedure of impartial reflection occurs in diplomacy all of the time; I was a part of that very process for a long while. I was tasked with making judgments concerning parties that I knew nothing about precisely because I knew nothing about them but only of the situations that involved them. Were they perfect judgments? I may never know. However, on the average, they were likely to be better judgments than if those judgments were made by people who did have those types of interests in the parties.
Instead of concentrating on salacious details and messy missteps, let us instead be thankful that the process thus far has worked as intended. The process shall only work if we allow it to work... So let's give it a chance to work because, so far, it's working... Even if people who aren't familiar with the process don't realize it.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 547
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Post by steve on Jan 27, 2022 17:49:16 GMT -7
[ED NOTE - I've kept meaning to write here but I haven't. That's mostly on me; Without getting into details, life has been hectic. Without further ado...]
Let's talk about The Slinsii: Who are they? Well, let's recap the Orion ecology - They're a spacefaring species that exist solely (mostly, with very few exceptions) in spaceships and hate dwelling on planets. They exist in vast, large caravans of spaceships, with some of the largest caravans having populations of hundreds of millions of inhabitants. Even the "ordinary" caravans are gigantically huge.
We've also discussed "micro-caravans," which is a "get back to nature" kind of response to the repulsively titanic caravans because, before the Orions found the Federation and the rest of the "Known Universe" (the Klingons, Romulans, Gorn, etc.), caravans were much smaller and more hungry (but, still, quite large). Micro-caravans are minscule compared to a normal caravan; 150 ships or less. They are SMALL.
However, Micro-caravans are still... Well... Caravans. They can go out into outer space and survive. They're a caravan; A very small caravan but, still, a caravan.
The Slinsii aren't even a micro-caravan. They aren't a caravan at all. In fact, they can barely survive in outer space.
So, what are they? Here's an analogy:
Suppose that you're a town. A modest town. Not too big, not too small. Big enough, though, to be a "town" without someone snickering behind your back whenever you mention that you're a town.
Along comes a bunch of recreational vans and maybe an old Recreational Vehicle. They're ratty, they're beat up, they're barely rolling down the road. Inside those vans and the RV are day laborers. People who are capable of doing menial work. Washing windows. Mopping floors. Rotating tires. Sweeping sidewalks. Hauling trash to the town dump. You know... Stuff that takes exactly zero college courses in order to perform without looking like a complete fool.
The town is the Orion caravan. The vans and the RV are The Slinsii. And the Slinsii are always looking for work. Always.
Now, to be fair, they shouldn't be called "The Slinsii" because there are A LOT of Slinsii. The proper term is "A Slinsii Swarm" although most people just say "Slinsii."
The Slinsii travel from caravan to caravan looking for jobs to do and, wouldn't you know, the caravans don't mind if they do work because there's always work to be done in a caravan. After all, do you really want people in your caravan bothering themselves to perform the menial "grunt work" tasks or do you want them to do the tasks that actually help build and maintain the caravan? Sure, emptying out wastepaper baskets is meaningful but compared to installing a new water heater or putting solar panels on the roof of a house? You've got better things for your caravan members to do than to knock on doors and say "housekeeping" all day long.
Slinsii Swarms tend to always be families. No one "joins" a swarm, they marry into one. The work is dirty, the pay is poor, the hospitality is almost nil... You're not going to fill these positions with a Help Wanted ad in the local paper. When a Slinsii Swarm comes into town, you know automatically that they're all related to one another in one way or another. Maybe there's a "best friend" thrown in there on rare occasion but it's practically always blood relatives.
Do caravans have multiple Slinsii Swarms working for them at the same time? Sure they do. Sure they can. Are there violence between the swarms? Nope. They're usually too busy working.
Before finding the Federation, you would not want to enter (or live in) a Slinsii swarm vessel. They were not well kept. Wires exposed in hallways. Lighting that works on occasion. Warp drives that... Might work most of the time. Life support systems that are a bit touch-and-go. There's usually one ship (the command ship) that's pretty well maintained but because it has to be; It's the command ship. Everyone else, though? Yeah... You learn quickly where the escape pods or shuttles are and you sleep near them.
Now, living conditions have improved in the Federation era. Slinsii ships aren't the death traps that they once were. As the fortunes of the caravans have improved because of flying around in the Known Universe, so too have the Slinsii.
Life for a Slinsii is still hard, nonetheless. Imagine sweeping sidewalks eight hours a day, seven days a week for 6 weeks straight, then getting two weeks off, and then going back to sweeping sidewalks for another 3 to 4 weeks straight. As you get older, you get transferred to the command ship. You take a senior position. Instead of sweeping sidewalks, you start talking to potential caravans and seeing if they want your services. You negotiate deals. You plan out for how long your swarm stays. Just like when Earth wants to fire off a rocket from Earth to Mars, you have to plan for when caravans fly near each other to jump from one caravan to the next. After all, you can't survive in space like a caravan can.
How do the Slinsii get their ships? Simple; Caravans usually give it to them as part of the price for doing business. How do the Slinsii repair their ships? Usually, someone from the caravan does some rudimentary repairs as part of doing business.
Now, in the "Federation Era," the Slinsii are a tad bit more self-sustaining. They have their own resources and even their own "Home Base" from which to go and take a break. However, improved conditions do not necessarily mean that the conditions are 'good,' merely that they are now better.
A Slinsii swarm never turns into a caravan. Never. The mentality isn't there; The motivation isn't there. How many times do truck drivers decide that what they really want to do is drop everything and dance in a ballet? Same thing.
There's a lot more to write about the Slinsii but, hopefully, that covers a large chunk about them.
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Post by trynda1701 on Jan 27, 2022 18:27:57 GMT -7
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