Post of the Month - February 2017 (Part 2)

Kirok · February 28, 2017, 07:57:15 PM

Fleeters,

On occasion, we have something special to celebrate.
Last month, it was our 10th year anniversary.

This month it is the fact that our membership numbers are on the rise. Last year we topped out at 72 members online during the span of a month (October 2016). This month we topped out at 88 members online during the month.

So, to commemorate this, we are going to pass out an extra POTM!

This one is going to one of the Commanding Officers: Luke Stafford.

Here is the post:

Quote from: Luke Stafford on January 27, 2017, 01:11:39 PM
Station log, stardate 47634.44.

Crises often reveal the best in an officer, and in a team. I am more than pleased about how the crew of the Columbus handled our latest incident. The temporal portal that threatened to destroy us all has been destroyed, the perpetrators unmasked, if not apprehended. We have found that we cannot resist the temptation to change our pasts. But we've also learned that in moments of disaster we can band together as Starfleet officers for the greater good.

I wish I could say that we are back to business as usual on the Columbus, but it is not meant to be. I have learned that a pair of old friends are arriving on the station. One is for a visit, the other for a hopefully permanent stay: Kirok and newly appointed JAG officer Alexander Wu. Protocol demands that I meet with Admiral Kirok first, but I will make time for both of my old comrades in due time. I have arrived at the station flight deck to greet the man that has been a part of my Starfleet career since my very earliest days.

[Flight Deck]

Captain Stafford was lending a hand to the civilian cargo crew, manually loading up smaller items for a bulk shipment. Some unidentifiable aliens, non-humanoid, who poured their mostly liquid forms into human shaped suits, had not recognized who he was. They did not know and probably would not care if they did that he was the commanding officer.

He'd been waiting by their cargo, leaning on his cane, when their ranking officer brusquely ordered him to stand aside or lend a hand. Amused, Stafford had taken to filing up their hold with the items too small to be picked up by the deck's small cargo tractor beam. They were freely discussing the accommodations on the Columbus, or the lack thereof.

"Call themselves a base, try getting a decent bucket to pour yourself in," groused one of the crew.

"We're only here to pick up a shipment, you don't need a bucket to laze around in. You do that well enough on your own, in your suit." Their officer said. Whatever communication equipment they were using rendered their voices flat, electronic.

The suits in question were quite handsome, an orange and black, sturdy garment that kept them standing upright, and moving and talking and associating with humanoid species. Stafford could admire their shrewdness: a lot of humanoid species out there wouldn't want to deal with a taking bucket of liquid.

It also rendered them anonymous. There was no way to tell who was who beneath their mirrored helmets. Instead, Stafford found himself looking into his own reflection and talking to it. It was a bit unsettling.

"You, deckhand," The officer said to the captain. "This station is too big, and run down. And the red tape is denser than the Puurlak Swath. Don't your people know how to encourage free trade?"

Stafford didn't know what the Puurlak Swath was, but he knew a ribald insult when he heard it.

"You're lucky we let you land here at all," The captain said back in just a challenging a voice. "Your suits are ugly and your ship is a hunk of junk."

The remark was unexpected but it drew a moment of shocked silence and then laughter. No one laughed louder than the ranking officer himself. Or herself. Or itself.

The moment was interrupted by an enlisted Starfleet woman in red. She approached the captain with a bit of trepidation.

"Captain Stafford," She said. "Admiral Kirok's shuttle is making its approach."

"Thank you, crewman," Stafford replied as the laughter died down and the aliens realized who he was.

"You're Captain Sta--" The alien officer said in an electronically shocked tone, then recovered. "Captain, I am Prime Officer Nils of the trader ship Alysium, it is a sincere pleasure--"

"No need to grovel, Prime Officer," Stafford said with amusement, a smile gracing his lined and wizened face. "You and your crew are always welcome here, even if you think my station is a dump."

"Give clearance to the admiral's shuttle to land here." The captain finished, and the flight crewman went to do so.

The nomination came from Hust Kinun, a member of his crew, who had this to say:

'The post in question, while the opening to a thread, is masterfully done and really shows some of the attitudes about Starbase. It also provides a wonderful intro and establishes great visuals in mind about the scene. It's the kind of quality posting we've come to expect from Captain Stafford.'

I completely agree!

Great job, Luke.

Sincerely,

Kirok