The Anvil U.S.S. Hephaestus: NCC-2004
ALWAYS ONWARD A MEMBER OF STARFLEET INTERNATIONAL
August 2015
The Anvil
NCC-2004
Inside This Issue
HEPHAESTUS is the Greek name for the Roman god of the forge, Vulcan. Birmingham has the world’s largest iron statue, that of the Roman god, Vulcan. We named our Starfleet chapter the Hephaestus to give us ties to our city and to Star Trek, which has had its own Vulcan since 1966. Hephaestus forged armor and weapons for the gods. We create our own “armor and weapons” here, in our newsletter, so it is called The Anvil.}
From the Ready Room
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Ship’s Log
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R2-Zone 5 Coordinator Briefing
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Starfleet Marine Corps
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Starfleet Renewal Reminders
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Treasury Report
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Away Team and Activity Schedule
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Theme Article
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Quotable Quotes
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Web Links
Captain’s Top 10
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Hunt for the Icon
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Starfleet www.sfi.org
Star Trek News & More
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Anvil Focus Schedule
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Star Trek Fiction
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Name the Episode
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Reviews (Books, Movies, Conventions)
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Theme Poster
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Name the “Scotty” Episode Answers
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While on an Away Mission
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Area Conventions & Exhibits
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Starfleet Academy Recruitment
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Command Structure
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Editor
MarkAdam Miller
Layout, Graphics and Publishing
Brenda A. Miller
Marine Reporting
Neil Yawn
Treasury Reporting
MarkAdam Miller
Cover: The Cast of Start Trek: Voyager
Region 2 www.region2.org USS Hephaestus www.facebook.com/groups/Hephaestus2004/
Twitter www.twitter.com/Hephaestus2004
Anvil Back Issues www.issuu.com/ncc2004
The Anvil, Issue 288 is the monthly newsletter of the USS Hephaestus, NCC-2004, of Starfleet, The International Star Trek Fan Association. All terms and phrases from Star Trek are owned by Paramount Pictures Corporation, a division of Paramount Communications and all rights are reserved.
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From the Ready Room Greeting from your Captain, This months Anvil is on Star Trek Voyager, the fourth series of Star Trek. I hope my article on the series gives you new incite to the series you might not thought of before Next month we will be giving tribute to Star Trek: (classic).This will also be a tribute to the creator of the series Gene Roddenberry. If you have any thoughts or musings please send them cohephaestus@bellsouth.net. I have sketched out a tentative schedule for next year. Please look at it on page 10 and give me your thoughts. If you are interested in Starfleet Academy courses take a look at Ensign Donald Arnold’s article on Starfleet Academy on page 20. Furthermore, the CO of the Dejah Thoris who is also the R2-Zone 5 Coordinator is looking to put together a friendly competition to help people get their Boothby Awards. His briefing on the subject is on the next page. Look for more information to come online and in future issues of the Anvil. Capt. MarkAdam Miller cohephaestus@bellsouth.net https://www.facebook.com/groups/Hephaestus2004/
Ship’s Log July 11, 2015 Captain’s Cookout – The Captain's Cookout went well. We had a new guest – Dave Bise. Welcome Dave. We played several games: Dice Farmer which Tara won, a melee game that was a simple version of Dungeon and Dragons which Michael Burtyk won, Movie Quotes which was hard fought between Katrina Leigh Mohney and Donald Arnold which Donald pulled out in the end, and Dalmuti which your Captain took the lead from the beginning and kept near the top to win. We also had hamburgers, hot dogs, several different pastas, chips, pop and Andorian Cake (it’s blue). A good time was had by all. We also watched Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Trek into Darkness. Attendance: 22 People July 17, 2015 Movie Night- Ant-Man Several people attended a showing of the newly released Marvel Movie Ant-Man. You can read a review by Admiral Pete Mohney in the review section of the anvil, (pg 14) Attendance: 5 People Personnel Updates: There is nothing to report at this time. (If you have any news or accomplishments you would like to share with the group please email them to me at: cohephaestus@bellsouth.net. Also your personal updates can give your Captain added info to help get you recognition and awards at Summit for your accomplishments). USS Hephaestus
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R2 - Zone 5 Coordinator Briefing Greetings from Your Region Two, Zone Five Coordinator! Did you realize that each of us is always only fifty Starfleet Academy/SFMCA courses, or less, away from our next Boothby Award? The Academies offer various programs of study to follow for different purposes; multiple Bridge Office Certifications, various Special Operations specializations, a catalog full of Marine MOS (Marine Occupational Specialty), and more. All of your course work towards any of the above programs of study will be applied to your next Boothby Award. In-fact, all course work applies to your next Boothby Award. These awards are based on the number of courses completed, and a new one is awarded for each fifty classes completed. }With each Boothby, you will be awarded the appropriate certificate, suitable for framing. Personally, I have one frame hanging on the wall at home and I just insert my next Boothby on top of the previous one. After you have a few Boothby’s under your belt, you may realize that you are well on your way to fulfilling the requirements for the Academy Degree program. You can get an Associates, Bachelors, Masters, and even Doctorate from the Academy; and as you complete the few required courses to achieve a degree, you’ll still be adding to your Boothby count.
Liam Boothby In case you are not familiar with Boothby, he was the groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy. He offered sage advice to many Starfleet officers, including some celebrated Captains. He was played by none other than Ray Walston, of “My Favorite Martian” fame.
Many of you may have noticed that there are fun courses at the academies, and there are truly grueling ones. For that reason a new “Boothby Challenge” Facebook page has been created to help us challenge and encourage each other in Uncle Martin reaching these fun milestones together; it can be a forum to offer friendly advice on which Academy coursework was easy, or fun, and which courses you can expect to be a challenge. If any of you are not on Facebook, the same advice can be sent to you via email. The table gives you a quick glance of the Boothby’s you can receive and is by no means the complete list. If you look in your Communique you’ll see some members are being awarded Boothby’s which require nearly 5000 completed courses to achieve.
Courses Completed
Boothby Awarded
Courses Completed
Boothby Awarded
50
Bronze
550
Amber
100
Silver
600
Garnet
150
Gold
650
Topaz
I look forward to seeing interaction on the Boothby Challenge page. This is a closed group, so to be added, kindly send your request to
200
Latinum
700
Amethyst
250
Diamond
750
Pearl
300
Dilithium
800
Opal
richard@ncc1649ussdejahthoris.com. If you are not on Facebook but would still like to participate, just let your CO or myself know by sending your latest count to the same address.
350
Titanium
850
Sapphire
400
Zirconium
900
Ruby
450
Platinum
950
Emerald
Best Regards,
500
Trilithium
1000
Omega
Fleet Captain Richard Childers, CO USS Dejah Thoris and Zone 5 Coordinator USS Hephaestus 2
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Starfleet Marine Corps Greetings,ď€ The 654th MSG is looking for members. There is a completely different set of Academy schools for those trying to get the Boothby awards. There is no pressure in joining. There are two categories: Active which means all ranks will be Marine ranks, and Reserve which means you stay primarily Fleet and only use Marine ranks when doing marine stuff. Contact Lt. General Neil Yawn (the654msg@aol.com), if you are interested or have questions. Looking to boost your Boothby Awards? The Starfleet Marines Academy may be your answer. Check out what SFMC Academy has for you. Lt. General Neil Yawn, OIC 1 BN, 2BDE, OIC 654 MSG the654msg@aol.com
STARFLEET RENEWAL REMINDERS Miller Family Robinson Arnold Youngblood-Yawn Potts Family Mohney Family
08/26/15 09/17/15 11/30/15 11/30/15 03/05/16 03/15/16
Bentley Holsey Mangina Green Hicks family Lindsay
04/07/15 05/30/16 05/15/16 06/04/16 06/17/16 07/07/16
Treasury Report August Description
Payments
Deposits
Beginning Balance Summit Gift Card Prize
$10.00
Ending Balance
USS Hephaestus
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Balance $
34.00
$
24.00
$
24.00
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Away Team and Activity Schedule Date Aug 1, 2015 Aug 1, 2015 Aug 7, 2015 Aug 8, 2015 Sept 5, 2015 Sept 11, 2015 Sept 122015 Oct. 1, 2015 Oct. 9, 2015 Oct. 10, 2015 Nov. 7, 2015 Nov. 13, 2015 Nov. 14, 2015
Event/Time Anvil Deadline Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Festival Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm Anvil Deadline Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm Anvil Deadline Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm Anvil Deadline } Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm
Location/Activity cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Hoover Library – 10:00AM Paul Mohney’s House Mohney’s House cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Miller’s House Mohney’s House cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Pott’s House Mohney’s House cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Mohney’s House Mohney’s House
LL EVENTS AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE, PLEASE REFER TO THIS SECTION FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION
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Theme Article: Star Trek Voyager By: Captain MarkAdam Miller Star Trek Voyager is the fourth TV sereis that Paramount has produced using Gene Roddenberry’s frame work. This time the ship is Voyager and not Enterprise and she has a female Captian. This is interesting because at the time when Star Trek was started the writers thought that there would never be a female captain. Even in the classic episode “Turnabout Intruder” it was stated that females were to emotional to be captains. The producers had several male actor’s read for the Janeway part in case Paramount had cold feet about a female lead. They did get to cast a female in the lead – Geneviève Bujold, who after two days of film abruptly quit and left the producers scrambling for a new captain. They found Kate Mulgrew. When they hired Ms. Mulgrew they decide changed the character’s first name from Elizabeth to Kathryn. Rick Berman had not intended to do another series after Next Generation wrapped but Paramount want another series. They were launching their own network and want this series to be its Flag ship. Rick chose a ship format since they were still doing Deep Space Nine. To set it apart from the other Star Trek series they decide to name the ship something different than Enterprise. Also by stranding Voyager (a Network show) in the Delta quadrant there would not be much interaction with Deep Space Nine (syndicated show) that could conflict with the shows’ affiliates. There were some detractors to the show. Some arguments were legit like the science of the show was not well founded because Berman did not rely on scientists to make sure the science was correct as he felt it got in the way of a good story. Less legit arguments, like the show didn’t have Enterprise in the series, can be a point but I feel Star Trek was more about people then the ship. I was not a fan of the show at first. I really did not like Kes, Neelix and Ensign Kim. These characters were a nuisance and I felt if I was captain, Neelix at least would have been put out the nearest airlock the first chance I had. I didn’t get to like Neelix until after a convention when Ethan Phillips, the actor who played Neelix, gave insight in to the character as someone who has been on his own for a long time and finally found a family to replace the one he lost. By looking at him in this light he takes on a new form and comes to me very likable. Neelix is an irritation still in the first couple of episodes but once you get past those episodes you can enjoy him. Interesting side notes. Tom Paris’ character was originally supposed to be Nicholas Locarno from TNG episode “The First Duty”. So as not to have to pay the writer for the character they changed the name and back story a little. The Doctor was supposed to be named Zimmerman which in German means man of the room which the EMH was as he could only be in sickbay (the room) until he received his mobile emitter. It would later be used as the name of his creator. Robert Picardo received the role in part for an ad-libbed in his screen test when he added to the line "Somebody forgot to turn off my program" the line "I'm a doctor, not a light bulb." Ensign Samantha Wildman is name for a little girl who tragically died and whose organs saved the wife of show writer Jimmy Diggs. Ensign Wildman was also made a Xenobiologist because of the real Samantha’s love of animals. The show was also starting to use CGI (Computer Generated Images) particularly to do the title sequence. They still used a 6 foot model for a lot of scenes until the last few seasons when they went totally to CGI. As with any show there were some good shows as well as some bad ones. When taken as a whole I feel the show had a good run on average and doesn’t deserve the disdain that some people give it. The crew of the Hephaestus gave the following as there favorites: The Year of Hell, Parts 1&2, Omega Directive, Equinox, Parts 1&2, Message in a Bottle, Past Tense, Think Tank, Death Wish and False Profits. I will give my favorite in Captain’s Top Ten (pg 8). http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001150/ http://www.neatorama.com/2012/05/23/10-facts-you-might-not-know-about-star-trek-voyager/ USS Hephaestus
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Quotable Quotes Captain Janeway: There are three things to remember about being a starship captain: Keep your shirt tucked in, go down with the ship, and never abandon a member of your crew. – Season 5, Dark Frontier Commander Chakotay: Every culture has its demons. They embody the darkest emotions of its people. Giving them physical form in heroic literature is a way of exploring those feelings. The Vok'sha of Rakella Prime believe that hate is a beast which lives inside the stomach. Their greatest mythical hero is a man who ate stones for 23 days to kill the beast, and became a saint. – Season 1, Heroes and Demons
Tom Paris: The only Klingon I'm afraid of is my wife after she's worked a double shift. – Season 7, Prophecy
B’Lanna Torres: The Borg wouldn't know fun if they assimilated an amusement park – Season 6, Tsunkatse
Neelix: Whatever you need is what I have to offer. You need a guide - I'm your guide. You need supplies - I know where to procure them. I have friends among races you don't even know exist. You need a cook? Oh, you haven't lived until you've tasted my Angla'bosque! It will be my job to anticipate your needs before you know you have them. And I anticipate your first need… will be me! – Season 1, Caretaker
} Kes-Tieran: I'm really not a monster. – Season 3, Warlord
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[Kim is having an unauthorized affair with Tal, an alien female] Harry Kim: I'm violating about half a dozen regulations by just being in this room. And what we did earlier… I don't know if Starfleet even has a regulation for that. – Season 5, The Disease
The Doctor: You should know I'm a hologram and can't be bent, spindled, or mutilated, so don't bother trying. – Season 4, Prey
Chakotay (talking to Tuvok): You were working for her; Seska was working for them. Was anyone on that ship working for me? – Season 1, State of Flux
The Doctor: I've checked Starfleet regulations. The chief medical officer outranks the captain in health matters. Now, I realize this may be the first time a hologram has given an order to a captain, but… I'm ordering you to report to the holodeck - now! – Season 2. Persistence of Vision Seven of Nine: Your appeal to my humanity is pointless. – Season 3, Scorpion, Part 1 I understand the concept of humor. It may not be apparent, but I am often amused by human behavior. – Season 4, Revulsion Voyager is my Collective – Season 5, Drone [In reference to the Qomar] Tuvok: They are interfering with normal ship business. Captain Janeway: Since when has business on this ship ever been normal? – Season 6, Virtuoso
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The Captain’s Top 10 My favorite episodes from Star Trek: Voyager 1. Living Witness – Season 4, Episode 23 2. The Thaw – Season 2, Episode 23 3. Blink of an Eye - Season6, Episode 12 4. The Chute – Season 3, Episode 3 5. Critical Care – Season 7, Episode 5 6. In the Flesh – Season 5, Episode 4 7. Latent Image – Season 5, Episode 11 8. Scientific Method - Season 4, Episode7 9. Life Line – Season 6, Episode 24 10. Shattered – Season 7, Episode 11 And just for Fun: Fair Haven - Season 6, Episode 11 This is not all my favorites. I found 29 out of 168 episodes when I was looking to create The Captain’s Top Ten. Season one is not represented because the two that I liked were not as good as these 10. Do you agree, disagree or think your Captain is off his command chair. Email (cohephaestus@bellsouth.net) or Facebook (facebook.com/groups/Hephaestus2004) me with your thoughts and I will print them in next months Anvil.
Hunt for the Icon Did you find the five Icons last month? Last month’s Icon was {. If you did not find them all they were: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Pg.2 – Ship’s Log after Personal Updates Pg.4 – Theme Article after 5th paragraph Pg. 7 – Captain’s Top Ten after No.7 Pg.9 Star Trek News after the end of the article Pg.15 While on an Away mission after the 2nd Paragraph
I hope you found them all. This Month five } (ships)are hidden in the Anvil. The five doesn’t include the example above...
You can use logic to justify almost anything. That's its power – and its flaw. – Captain Janeway, Season 1, Prime Factors
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Star Trek News & More Nichelle Nichols Helps found Starpowers Have you ever wanted to get closer to the stars that you like on your favorite shows? A new company is making it easier to get to know your favorite stars while contributing to the Stars favorite charities. Starpowers does this through hosting events, offering giveaways, signings, competitions and more through the stars Starpower account. Nichelle Nichols herself is offering tickets to events, original Trek memorabilia, one-on-one meetings and more time online with her. This also will benefit her favorite charities including The Technology Access Foundation which “works to aid and equip minority students for success in college and life,” and the Planetary Society, which “sponsors projects that will seed innovative space technologies, [and nurture] creative young minds.” (www.starpower.co/star/nichellenichols, www.trektoday.com)
Nichelle Nichols off on NASA mission Nichelle Nichols (82) is not going to let a stroke keep her down. She is going to fly on a NASA SOFIA (Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) space telescope mission in September. The telescope is housed in a converted 747 that will fly up to 50,000 feet. This is just 3 months after the stroke she had in June. She did a similar flight on the first airborne observatory back in 1977. Ms. Nichols is quoted as saying, “It’s an amazing experience; you get a totally different perspective than from earth. I do hope someone gets some great pictures." Ms. Nichols gave this information in an “Ask me Anything” session on the social forum website Reddit. (www.mirror.co.uk)
Back Breaking Work Making movies can be figuratively back breaking work, but for J.J. Abrams it became literal. On the set of the new Star Wars film, a hydraulic door malfunctions pinning Harrison Ford’s Ankle. J.J. Abrams revealed on The Daily Show with John Stewart that he too was injured at that time. Mr. Abrams went to help get the door off of Mr. Ford and in the process of doing that he broke his back. (newsarama.com)
Connor Trinneer in a Horror Western If you are fan of Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) on Enterprise then you might want to get his new DVD, A Good Day to Die. The story is about a wealthy baron who uses his money to go hunting. He doesn’t hunt animals but hunts people. His next prey is a gunslinger named Chamberlin (Mr. Trinneer) who is set to be hanged. The Baron makes a deal to free Chamberlin so that he can hunt him. So if you like westerns, horror and Connor Trinneer then this movie is for you. (www.TrekToday.com)
Dimming Running Lights Theodore Bikel – 1924- 2015 – Sergey Rozhenko, Worf’s adopted father in TNG: S4E2, Family George Coe – 1929-2015 - Chancellor Avel Durken, the Malcorian diplomat in TNG: S4E15, First Contact Olaf Pooley – 1914-2015 – Cleric in Voy: S6E12 Blink of an Eye (www.startrek.com)
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Anvil Focus Schedule Month
Theme
August
Star Trek: Voyager
September
Star Trek (Classic)
October
Scary Episodes: Catspaw (ST); Devil’s Due (TNG); Genesis (TNG); Frame of Mind (TNG)
November
Enterprise
December
Majel Barrette (Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana Troi & Ship’s Computer)
Anvil Focus Schedule 2016 (Projected) Month
Theme
January
The Captain’s (Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer)
February
Comedy Episodes
March
1st Officers (No. 1, Spock, Riker, Kira, Chakotay, T’Pol)-
April
Time Travel Episodes
May
The Doctors (Bones, Crusher, Basher, EMH, Phlox)
June
Earth like Episodes
July
Engineers (Scotty, LaForge, O’Brien, Torres, Trip)
August
Prime Directive
September
Security (Red Shirts, Yar/Worf, Odo, Tuvok, Reed)
October
Social Issue Episodes
November
Science Officers (Spock, Data, Dax, Kim, T’Pol)
December
Helm/Navigation (Sulu/Chekov, Laforge/Crusher, Dax, Paris, Mayweather)
This is a tentative schedule for next year’s Anvils. Please send me your thought and ideas. If a subject looks like something you would write about please also send me which ones you would like to work on and I will let you know when that article will be due. Contact me at cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Thank you.
Between impulse and action, there is a world of good taste begging for your acquaintance. – The Doctor, Season 4, One USS Hephaestus
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Star Trek Fiction Star Trek: The New Adventures: M.I.A. By: Ensign 3rd Class Donald Arnold Things were semi-normal after all that had happened. Bill had been experimenting with the ranges of his power. As far as ship’s business went, things were great. Shore leave came around, prompting Bill to suggest he and Stephanie take a trip to Vulcan for an archaeological dig. He was interested in the dig as components of his staff were from Vulcan. He presumed that he could find other artifacts from the same era as his staff. Most of the items that were found at the Vulcan dig were documents. They were mostly historical accounts but a few were Surak’s philosophical writings. The Vulcan High Command secured these for historical purposes. Bill wasn’t much interested in the documents. He could go back and read them later if he so desired.
Bill finally came out of the shock that had overtaken him. He was… somewhere. He wasn’t quite sure where. He couldn’t get a feel for where or when he was. He only knew one thing: he knew he felt power. It was as if he was simultaneously in no universe and every universe. It was as if he had ripped a whole in all realities and was existing in each one. Was this how The Doctor felt: constantly changing, a different version of himself always popping up? No. Bill wasn’t regenerating, despite thinking he may have been. No, Bill looked at the gem again now that he was… wherever he was. It was a small yellow stone. It glowed now in his hand. He looked and saw many things before him. He saw what he knew to be the Mirror Universe. There was a version of himself instilling fear into the hearts of his enemies. In another image, he saw himself as a groundbreaking scientist. In a third, he was a singer who was known for hits of the 20th Century. In a fourth, he didn’t see himself at all. He reasoned this was the universe where he didn’t receive the transfusion from the Doctor when he was shot by the Dalek. Bill was with the Doctor just after Bill got his staff, but, before his Starfleet career. The most interesting one he saw was a universe where he ruled without the staff. This ‘non-staff’ Bill wielded only the yellow gem and he ruled all realities. For now, Bill (Prime), was stuck wherever he was. An asteroid floated through the reaches of the Gamma Quadrant. On that asteroid was a being, one of many, who knew Bill had something he wanted. His gold armor gleamed as he gripped his throne with a large purple hand. Anger burned in his eyes. He mumbled, “One of six…” TO BE CONTINUED…
He wanted to unearth artifacts. His interests lay in seeing if he could find anything else of great power. Maybe a staff for Stephanie or gems that held Katras of Vulcan’s great minds. The couple went to Vulcan and joined the archeologists currently there. Bill was somewhat known in the scientific field for his studies of warp propulsion. His work in Archaeology was little known. He kept that a secret for the moment given that he owned a Vulcan artifact. Of those who knew, Khan and Nicks were dead, Sela was serving time on Rura Penthe and the rest were fellow crewmen who knew to keep it to themselves. Again, we’re off track. Bill and Stephanie slowly picked through the sands of an unoccupied spot. Stephanie had little luck, save for some pottery here and there. Bill, however, was a bit luckier. He found some pottery, a necklace, and a manuscript. The manuscript would be taken to the Vulcan High Command and Bill kept the rest. He was almost finished for the day when he saw a faint glow beneath the sand. He dug down and found a bright crystal. It was similar to the light of the orb on his staff. He picked it up… and disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Stephanie was in hysterics. She had seen Bill taken by the gem. She feared the worst…
USS Hephaestus
Donald Arnold is a member of the Hephaestus and has written many Star Trek fan fiction. If you have any fan fiction you would like to submit then send me your stories at cohephaestus@bellsouth.net
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Name the Episode
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Reviews Books Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller; Published by: Del Rey, Copyright: 2014 Reviewed by: Captain MarkAdam Miller (Spoiler Alert – May be spoilers in the article)
If you are a fan of the Disney Star Wars Rebels show then this book would be a good one to read. The book, as the cover depicts, features two of the main characters from the Disney Star Wars Rebels Show, Kannan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla. The book takes place eight years after the events in Revenge of the Sith, six years before Star Wars Rebels and eleven years before A New Hope. This is the story of how Kannan and Hera met and how they teamed up together. Most of the story is from the view of Kannan but it shifts from time to time to show what the Empire is up to so you know what Kannan is up against. Kannan had been training to become a Jedi but because of Order 66 the Jedi have gone in to hiding. Kannan does his best to not draw attention to his Jedi training. He moves from place to place so that people don’t get to know him very well because he thinks they will know he is Jedi trained. On his last job as a cargo huller he comes across problems that the empire is causing because of their need to build ships to keep control over the Empire. While he is trying to protect the people he works with he runs in to Herra who is looking for information that the Empire is destroying people to get control over places where the Empire has lost control. The information Hera is looking for and the people Kannan is trying to protect leads them to helping each other out. The book is a good read from beginning to end. It answers a lot of question about who Kannan really is and why he and Hera teamed up on the Ghost (The ship Hera flies). It also gives a good look at the decay of the Empire and why the rebellion is taking shape: the cruel arm of the Empire is repressing everyone to gain the power they seek. It also shows that those who work for the empire are either out to make themselves powerful at the expense of everyone else or are people who are keeping a low profile so as not to get on someone’s radar as a threat to that persons power. The book is the first in the new creation from the Lucasfilm Story Group. The Lucasfilm Story group is making stories that go along with the films that are coming out later this year. They also are going to try to tie up loose ends/questions that were left from the previous films that have not been addressed. This is John Jackson Miller’s fourth Star Wars novel. He also has written for several graphic novels (Conan and Ironman) as well as the Next generation Novel Takedown. This is the first book of his that I have read but I am looking forward to reading other works by him. (www.starwars.com, www.delreybooks.com, Facebook.com/StarWarsBooks)
Rating: AAAAA
We're Starfleet officers. Weird is part of the job. – Captain Janeway, Season 2, Deadlock USS Hephaestus
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Movies Ant-Man Reviewed by Admiral Pete Mohney Ant-Man, the movie, shares a lot of traits with Ant-Man the character, in that it has been around a long time in some form or another, really longer than most if not all of the current Marvel hero films. The planning began almost ten years ago, and went through numerous versions of the script and at least one major change in writers. If you watch the movie with a critic’s eye, you can see where things don’t quite ‘fit’ – Scott Lang is either some sort of brilliant master thief, or just a guy who performed one Robin Hood type act and got caught. This doesn’t really detract much, and the overall fun of the story and the actors more than makes up for some rough edges. Most superheroes are either born to it (Thor), trained into it (Captain America, Black Widow), or it’s an accident (Hulk). The Ant-Man is sort of… conned into it. Scott Lang thinks he’s going to perform one last theft, to get the money he needs to be able to so he’ll never have to break into a place and steal stuff again…but he’s been set up from the beginning by scientist Hank Pym, who needs him to wear the Ant-Man suit and break into a place and steal some stuff. He also has to learn how to use the Ant-Man suit and to learn to communicate with, and command, all of the ants around him (and there are a LOT of ants around him). The movie was very well cast, with Paul Rudd as the smart but ignorant ex-con; Evangeline Lilly as Pym’s daughter, Hope; and Michael Douglas as Pym. It’s a clever move to cast bigger names than the person playing the lead as supporting actors, as it keeps them from fading into the background. The rest of the cast, while they do well at their jobs as minions, comic relief and mustache twirling villains, don’t really stand out nearly so much I won’t spoil the story, but it’s a fairly typical Marvel hero’s journey, as Lang sinks deep into despair (divorced, can’t get a job, tempted by crime, misses his daughter), gets an opportunity to redeem himself, comes out of his shell to more than succeed, performs an act of suicidal bravery to save the day, and then not only are all his problems solved at the end, he seems to have achieved Nerdvana by meeting, fighting (and beating) an Avenger, and now that they know who and what he is, perhaps more. I wasn’t blown away by this film like I was by Thor or The Avengers, but my whole group really enjoyed it, and we caught a handful of the usual Easter eggs in the movie – but apparently there are quite a few of them, as usual. This movie is fun on many levels, as a simple slam-bam action film, as another piece of the Marvel movie franchise machine, or as a separate story of a man’s journey. Rating: AAAAa Did I miss something? You have an interesting movie or TV show you would like to review or be reviewed? Then send me your suggestions and articles to cohephaestus@bellsouth.net.
Dismissed… That's a Starfleet expression for "get out" – Captain Janeway, Season 1, The Cloud
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Conventions Space City 2015 Houston, TX Reviewed by Ensign 3rd Class Donald Arnold The con—Space City 2015. The place—Houston, Texas. With a host of guests, adventures, and vendors, this con did not disappoint at all. With stops it took my mother and I about 16 hours to reach our destination. If you ever have the desire to travel to Texas, I recommend this Con. I could tell of the many interesting adventures but I will specify one or two and let photos tell the rest. I participated in an interactive LARP that went along with the con. Without giving too many details of story in case you should participate someday, I can say I had a hand in solving a mysterious time-disturbed assassination attempt on James T. Kirk. Between Starfleet, The Doctor, and an Assassin’s Guild, this was a very interesting tale to unravel. There were quite a few interesting features at the Con, built by some talented prop makers. These were such things as the Borg Alcove and the Supernatural Impala and many more. Cosplay was also an interesting feature at Space City 2015. I sported my STARFLEET uniform, the 11th Doctor, and the Green Arrow (Seasons 2-3 Suit). However, I spotted everything from Groot to The Witch King of Angmar. I suppose the best adjective, to quote a logical friend of ours is: Fascinating.
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The Voyager Cast
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Name the “Scotty” Episode The Savage Curtain – S3E22
By Any Other Name – S2E21
Wolf in the Fold – S2E7
The Trouble with Tribbles – S2E13
Relics – TNG:S6E4
The Enemy Within– S1E4
Balance of Terror – S1E8
The Lights of Zetar – S3E18
Elaan of Troyius – S3E2
The Deadly Years – S2E11
How hard was it? Did you get them all? If you have a suggestion or a question then sends them to cohephaestus@bellsouth.net
While on an Away Mission By Captain MarkAdam Miller We docked at the starbase and I headed to the zone coordinator’s office. Normally I would go see the regional coordinator but I saw the t zone coordinators ship, Dejah Thoris, docked two berths over so I followed chain of command and went to se him first. As I was leaving, I ran into Chief Red Shirt Phillip Mangina. He was checking with me to see if there was anything else he needed to pick up as he was restocking the ship. I looked at the PADD he handed me and added a couple of items; some for the ship and some I needed. I told him, “Your target is one hour because I want to get going as soon as I finish filing my reports.” Phillip gave me a quirky salute and said, “Aye, Aye, Captain.” He took off at a dead run. I knew he would be done in 30 minutes but I like to keep him on his toes. Fleet Captain Childers was in the office looking like he was heading out but he pulled a stack of PADD’s off a chair and told me to take a seat. I handed him the reports on our survey of the Gorn inhabited planet and the report on the Milk & Honey planet. He took a cursory look at them and tossed them on the stack of PADDs he just took off the chair. “Cap, if there is nothing pressing I would like to look for the Milk & Honey planet. I think it would help Starfleet with some of the resources that we are in need of.” I started out saying. F.Captain Childers stopped me saying, ‘That will need to take a back burner for now. Actually you need to go see the regional coordinator. The Klingons are asking for you. Not sure what’s up but you might want to brush up on your Klingon protocol.” } “Thanks, I have an eager ensign that will surely keep me up to date but I am surprised they are asking for me because of the Tribble incident.” “I know,” Richard responded, “F. Captain Case didn’t give me any details but said to make sure you come see him about it.” I thank F. Captain Childers for his time and head to the regional coordinators office. When I got there, a yeoman handed me two PADDs and said one was for me and the other was for Ambassador Mike Burtyk. She said, “Good luck.” This was not good. The ambassador and Chancellor Martok were not on speaking terms the last time they met, so, either Martok was really in trouble or he was out for Mike’s Blood. I left for the ship. I knew Mike would love this since he is a brilliant negotiator especially when it comes to Klingons. My problem is that my neck is on the line if Mike gets himself killed in one of his more aggressive negotiations (i.e. Bat’leth battle). (To be continued) While on an Away Mission is a fictional account of things that the Hephaestus might run into on her Voyages. Have a suggestion of a planet to visit, a creature to encounter… then send me your Ideas and I will write it up. USS Hephaestus
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Area Conventions & Exhibits For additional Cons please go to http://www.southernfan.com/calendar.htm
August February 1- December 31, 2015 – 101 Rocket City Inventions, U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL http://www.rocketcenter.com Inspired by the featured exhibit, "101 Inventions that Changed the World," the Center has developed a Huntsville component that showcases the creative spirit of the community that sent man to the moon. "101 Rocket City Inventions" includes local patents that track the history of a cotton town turned Rocket City. The exhibition is designed to reflect Huntsville’s robust culture of invention and innovation for products, services and technologies. August 1, 2015 – Summer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Festival, The Hoover Public Library, Hoover, AL, 35216 http://www.hooverlibrary.org/ Celebrating Science Fiction and Fantasy in Literature. Different activities all day. August 8-9, 2015 – Pensacola Comic Con, Pensacola Fl 32504 USA http://www.pensacolacomiccon.com Fans of Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Gaming, Anime, Costuming, Fandom, Indie Films, Artists, Celebrity Guests, Comic Books, Video Gaming, Pop Culture, Voice Actors, Renaissance, Cosplay, Steampunk, Theater, Performing, Writers, Literature, Publishing, Arts, Mystery, Crafts, Collecting, Model Construction, Film Making, Paranormal, Vendors, Reality TV, and more! We will offer celebrity meet and greets, discussion panels, workshops, screenings, demonstrations, events, gaming, costume contests, tournaments, and competitions. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Arc Gateway, EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless, Inc., Making Stride with Breast Cancer, The Ronald McDonald House, and various local charities. Discount for Law Enforcement, EMS, Firefighters, and Military. Tickets start at $10. Children 7 and under are free. Guest: Jim Tavare, Larry D. Wilcox, Lori Petty, Rick Worthy and more. August 16, 2015 – Atlanta Comic Con, Atlanta, GA 30345 http://www.atlantacomicconvention.com/ Four times a year we proudly feature a mix of comic book and collectible dealers from around the region, plus a selection of special guests from the world of television, movies, and independent comics. Guests: Drew Geraci, Mike Nicolosi, Craig Gilmore
Borg do not sit – Seven of Nine, Season 4, The Raven
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September September 4-7, 2015 – DragonCon, Atlanta GA 30303 http://www.dragoncon.org/ DragonCon is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe. Guests: Stephen Arnell, John Barrowman, Jim Butcher, Terry Ferrell, Jonathan Frakes, Teryl Rothery and more
October October 10-11, 2015 – Rocket City Lit Fest, Von Braun Center. South Hall. Huntsville, AL http://www.rocketcitylitfest.com/ Come join us to celebrate storytelling in all forms! We are a family-oriented literary festival and our program will be packed with activities for all age. Guest :Homer Hickam, Roger Reid,Staphanie Osborn, Les Johnson and The Hillywood Show October 16-18, 2015 – Con*Stellation XXXIII, Four Points by Sheraton Huntsville Airport, Huntsville, AL http://www.con-stellation.org/ An annual general interest Science Fiction & Fantasy convention in Huntsville Alabama. Con†Stellation (or Con*Stellation) is an annual, fan-run, general-interest science fiction & fantasy convention sponsored by NASFA—the North Alabama Science Fiction Association. Guest Orspn Scott Card and Sam Flegal,
October 23-25, 2015 – Rocket City NerdCon, Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, Huntsville, AL http://hmcpl.org/rocketcitynerdcon/ The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library is hosting the second annual Rocket City NerdCon (RCNC) fan convention in Huntsville on Oct. 23-25, 2015 at the Downtown Branch Library. The idea behind this event is to create a local convention similar to other fan and industry conventions around the country. Rather than limit ourselves to a particular group or genre, we are seeking to include as many different representations of fan communities as possible. Basically, if people can geek out about it, we want to celebrate it. This section lists Cons that might be if interest to our group. It is not intended to be a complete list. If I’ve missed one, please let me know so I can list it in the next issue. Also please post any Con that your fellow crewmen might find of interest on our Facebook group.
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By Ensign 3r class Donald Arnold
Greetings again, fellow crewmen. Much like last month, my goal is to get you interested in getting more involved with Starfleet Academy. This month, I want to discuss the College of Starship Operations in the Institute of Military Studies. A prerequisite for a Commanding Officer position, the College of Starship Operations is insightful and overwhelmingly fascinating. The courses offer information on the internal operations of starships, as the course titles pretty specifically state.
This is the current curriculum: CSO-101 - Flight Operations CSO-102 - Medical Operations CSO-103 - Rescue and Evacuation Operations CSO-104 - Guidance and Navigation Operations CSO-105 - Communications Operations CSO-106 - Extreme Measures CSO-107 - Bridge Operations
Now, given that I feel each of these is fairly self-explanatory, I will simply state that whether you’re eyeing a Command or not, I recommend these courses. -– Live Long and Prosper.
Service Annoucement
A reminder not to leave the flap open on your Tricorder. This will drain the power and make it useless on away missions.
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USS HEPHAESTUS COMMAND STRUCTURE Command Staff
Executive Committee
MarkAdam Miller, Captain – Commanding Officer Pat Hicks, Fleet Captain – 1st Officer Brenda Miller, Lt Cmdr – Second Officer
SueEllen Mohney, Captain Denby Potts, Rear Admiral Danny Potts, Rear Admiral
Sciences
Navigation
Roy Green, Brigadier, SFMC – Archaeology and Anthropology
Pete Mohney, Admiral
Computer Sciences
Engineering
Danny Potts, Rear Admiral
Flo Hurst, Commander
Communications
Security
Brenda A. Miller, Lt Cmdr Pat Simmons, Lt Cmdr Donald Arnold, Ensign(3C)
Roy Green, Brigadier, SFMC – Security Intelligence, Chief
Operations
Marines
SueEllen Mohney, Captain – Chief of Operations and Counselor Shelia Benton, Lt Col – Stampede Coordinator, SFMC Brenda A. Miller, Lt Cmdr – Ships Administrative Assistant Lynnette Yawn, Lt. – Ships Galley Officer
Neil Yawn, Lt. General, SFMC Roy Green, Brigadier ,SFMC Shelia Benton, Lt Col
Medical
Ambassadors
Shelia Benton, Lt Commander – Chief Medical Officer, SFMD
Mike Burtyk Shirley Burton Dennis Evans, Fleet Captain(ret.)
Cadet Training
Unassigned Crew and Civilians
Katrina Mohney, Cadet Crewman Tara Mohney, Cadet Athena Youngblood, Cadet
Renee Gainer, Lt JG Diedra Robinson, Ensign Haley Youngblood, Crewmen Phillip Mangina, CPO Red Shirt Dennis Evans, Fleet Captain(ret.) Sandra Holsey, Ensign Nicole Breanne Bentley, Ensign Matthew Potts, Crewmen
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For More Information Contact: Captain MarkAdam Miller 1204 Southwind Dr. Helena, Al 35080 cohephaestus@bellsouth.net
Fleet Captain Pat Hicks 2729 Windcrest Circle Gardendale, AL 35071 Booklady44@charter.net