This will be the Q&A thread for the moderated freeform game, Star Trek: the Edge of Duty.

We'll start with posting guidelines.



Posts in a Trek game need to be structured, else things quickly devolve into chaos. Therefore, I ask that you follow some guidelines.

First, start every post off with the date, location, and the time (in 24 hour, or military, format). We will be using "actual" dates insted of true stardates, as stardates are much more difficult for the casual player to keep up with. You will hear Captain Drake reference these in character, however. If anyone cares, our trek tools page include a stardate calculator.

Your post header should look something like this:

Stardate: 2365.02.12
USS Peregrine, Main Engineering - 1615

Your text starts here...


The very nature of a Trek game - with everyone working independently - means that there will always be several storylines going at once. If we wait for one another, the game will almost immediately become so mired down that we won't be able to continue. By giving our posts headers, we're able to back post, change scenes, etc, without too much confusion.

Please stay on the same mission day, except when backposting. In other words, if the rest of the ship is on day three, the CSO doesn't need to be sharing the discoveries he makes on day five. It's okay to go back and post a conversation you might have missed, but don't go ahead. As captain, my main function is to keep the story as organized as possible - I'll do this by regulating mission dates.

Be creative. Improvise. Add wrinkles to the plot. It's perfectly acceptable for the chief engineer to suddenly report a problem with the transporters just as we're about to visit a planet's surface. Maybe he'll need to fix it, or maybe the need for us to go is so pressing that we're forced to take shuttles.

If there's a problem on the table, don't be afraid to come up with solutions. If you have any doubts or questions, post here in the Q&A thread, PM me directly, or email me.

Please, by all means, create NPCs as needed. If you're the chief of security, you'll obviously need security personnel to flesh out your duty roster. We won't be having twenty people playing those roles, so you'll need to create them.

There's no need to go so far as to create a bio for most of them, but if you plan to use them in a recurring role, it wouldn't be a bad idea.


Now, then... don't be that creative! Don't "God mode" - i.e., don't play your character in such a way that he solves every problem without help, knows the answer to every question, never has any trouble, etc. Share the spotlight - everyone deserves a chance to contribute on the missions. Don't control someone else's NPC without conferring with them first.

Never, ever control another person's main character. It's okay to make reasonable assumptions, but post them as such. This is bad:


Captain Drake nodded to Commander BillyBob. "So commander, what is your plan?" he asked. The commander paused for a moment, then spoke, "Captain, we should fire up the xyz in order to make the abc work correctly."


In this case, I'm posting the commander's intentions and speech for him. No, no no.

Better:


Captain Drake nodded to Commander BillyBob. "So, commander, what is your plan?" he asked.

OOC: assuming BillyBob shares the plan...

Drake nodded again. "Carry on," he stated.



I'm reacting to what I anticipate the answer to be, but giving myself edit room if it happens differently than I expect. I am not controlling the commander.


Format your posts.

This is a writing intensive game, and we all have different styles of posting. That's fine, but I want some standards, so that no one is confused.

Speech should always be included in quotes.


"How are you doing today, ensign?" Drake asked.


No bold, no other colors. Just quotes.

Internal throughts should be italicized.


Why does he keep blathering on? his players wondered.


Italics is done by adding the <I> tag before the italicized text, and adding the </I> tag after the italicized text.


Communictions via a communicator or other device is set aside with a special symbol.


Captain Drake keyed the intercom. "Drake to engineering."

=/\= Engineering, Thompson here. =/\=

"Thompson?" Silas asked. "Where is Commander Kennedy?"

There was a moment's hesitation before the reply.

=/\= Commander Kennedy is a little... preoccupied right now, sir. =/\=



Computer speech uses this same notation. It might seem cumbersome at first, but this makes the posts so much easier to read!

Some links you may find useful!

Memory Alpha: the biggest Star Trek wiki on the internet. If you need to know canon trek info, check here.

RDI Trek Tools: our own in-house trek tools include the ship's roster and logbook, among other items. Use these to help keep things straight in our game.

Saber Class Specs: complete details of the Saber class vessel. Use this to figure out what deck a given department is located on, what types of probes the ship carries, what a given security rating is, and on and on. Special thanks to the "Star Trek: a Call to Duty" community for this superb resource!

Saber (-P Variant) Class Crew Compliment: a full breakdown of all officers and enlisted crew on the ship, by department (Word Doc format).

Bridge layout: The current standard Saber Class bridge layout is as follows. The Captain's Chair, Tactical, Operations, and Engineering are on a raised area of the bridge.

The Tactical/Security control station (comprised of two consoles, one for tactical, and one for security functions) is to the left of the Captain's Chair.

To the Captain's right is the Operations manager's console. Identical in size and design to the Tactical/Security station, the Operations manager is located closer to the bridge engineering station rather than close to the front of the bridge.

Also located on the platform, against the aft wall of the bridge, is a large master systems display monitor, similar to the one in main engineering. All relative ship information (such as damage, power distribution, etc.) is displayed on the cutaway image of the ship. Below the MSD is a large engineering console encompassing Eng I and Eng II. These consoles are usually unattended, but can be activated if an Engineering presence is requested on the bridge.

Directly fore of the command area is the Flight Control Officer, who faces the main viewer. At the very front of the bridge chamber is a large viewscreen.

Against the port walls of the main bridge, forward of the raised command section, are the consoles for Science and others that are programmable for a multitude of functions. There are two Science consoles.

Against the starboard wall of the main bridge, forward of the Captain's chair, is the Executive officer's console. It is typically configured as a backup to any of the other stations, as the XO is most often a department head currently in one of the other stations.



Pretend that second chair by the Captain isn't there, and you have a nigh-perfect image.

As you all know, I am the GM of this game. I am playing the role of Commander Drake, but understand that he is as much a plot device as a player character.

Chain of command does matter. The command staff of the vessel acts in something of a "helper GM" role to me, and their orders carry full authority and weight. I doubt that will ever be an issue, but I wanted that to be clear.

Note that my version of Trek is slightly more military than that often portrayed on the various TV shows. Unless a superior officer has given you leave to act more informally, assume that you should salute, make formal reports, etc. Pay attention to the standard forms of address (which basically mimic those of Her Majesty's Navy):

Superior officers are always referred to as "sir" (unless you are using the proper rank address below). This is regardless of gender. Likewise, the term "mister" is pretty universal, regardless of gender.

All flag officers are always called "Admiral", regardless of grade. A commodore is called "Commodore".

The captain (or commanding officer) of a ship is always called "Captain", regardless of grade (such as when a commander is in charge of a smaller vessel, as is the case in this game).

A full commander is always called "Commander" - unless, as above, said Commander is in charge of a vessel. When under weigh, said officer would be referred to as "Captain".

A lieutenant commander is called "Commander", unless a captain (or higher) elects to refer to him as "Mister". However, doing so is giving offense, as it indicates that the lieutenant commander is a junior officer.

Junior officers (ensign up to lieutenant) are referred to by their ranks or by "Mister" Lastname.

Cadets or warrant officers are referred to as "Mister" Lastname.

NCOs are addressed solely by their rate (the term rate is proffered over "rank" for enlisteds). It is appropriate to address a petty officer (of any grade) as "Petty Officer". A chief petty officer is referred to as "chief", a senior chief petty officer is referred to as "senior chief", and a master chief petty officer is referred to as "master chief".

In addition, note that chief petty officers are expected to assist in the training of junior commissioned officers, so while the lowliest ensign may technically outrank a chief, the ensign would be wise to pay proper respect!

Enlisteds are typically referred to as "crewman" or "yeoman", without the last name attached.

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Chain of Command

There are no ties; the higher on the list that a character is, the higher they are in the chain of command. Note that in all but the most catastrophic of situations, only line officers are eligible for command. This means that, even though the Chief Engineer and Ship's Doctor are higher in rank and have more experience, Ensign Thomason (on his first assignment from the Academy) would theoretically command the ship first. That said, if he values his large skin, he would do well to show proper respect for the ranks of superior officers regardless if they are line officers or not.

Line Officers
Cmdr. Drake
Lt. Zai (XO)
Lt. Lasad (2O)
Lt. Berk
Ltjg. Reid
Ltjg. Moriden
Ens. P'Tammah
Ens. Blackmon
Ens. Thomason

Other Officers
Lt. McTavish
Lt. Moore
Ltjg. Sh'iraolnas
Ltjg. Sa'eridon
Ltjg. Morgan
Ens. Maize
Ens. Jenneric

This game will begin in early 2365, which roughly coincides with season two of Star Trek: the Next Generation. The Borg attack and the Battle of Wolf 359 is two plus years in the future.

To avoid a long, drawn out process where we spend weeks on posts dedicated to each main character meeting the other main characters, please assume that - unless you clear it with me first - all characters will have been on board the Peregrine for a minimum of a couple of months. If you would prefer that your character has been here longer, that would be fine.

Commander Drake has been the CO of the Peregrine for about six months now, and by and large, the tour has been uneventful.

I've updated the crew compliment document. Since I've decided that we're going to be using the Saber -P variant (patrol), we'll have reduced science and diplomatic capabilities, which are offset by increased combat capabilities and security personnel. As such, I've added one tactical office and four enlisteds to our compliment.

*****************************************

Edit: I have hijacked this spot to post the standing duty roster, by character. Shifts are divided into alpha, beta, and gamma - roughly corresponding to day shift, evening shift, and night shift.

Please understand that there can certainly be variations on this - a couple of people swap shifts, somebody gets a rare bridge shift, somebody gets an extra off day, etc. However, it should be really useful to help people figure out where they should be on a given day. Obviously, seniority grants a more stable, favorable schedule - fewer late night shifts, fewer rotating shifts (i.e. alpha one day, gamma another). I have tried to keep people on ROUGHLY the same shift wherever possible, and when that isn't possible, I try to keep shifts one step off (i.e. alpha to beta, but not to gamma).

NOTE: the first day of our game (2365.02.07) is a Sunday!
If you have issues or want to adjust this, just let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

Standard shifts are eight hours long, and flow as follows:
Alpha: 0700-1500
Beta: 1500-2300
Gamma: 2300-0700

A responsible officer should expect to be at their duty station a good fifteen minutes before the shift starts, so as to get report and be up to speed.

Medical shifts are twelve hours long, and instead take the following schedule:
Alpha: 0700-1900
Beta: 1900-0700

Typically medical shifts are referred to as "Sickbay Alpha, Sickbay Beta" so as to avoid confusion.

Character	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Command and Flight Control
Commander Drake	off	Command (alpha)	Command (alpha)	Command (alpha)	Command (alpha)	Command (alpha)	Command (alpha)
Lieutenant Zai	Command (alpha)	Helm (alpha)	Command (beta)	Helm (alpha)	Command (beta)	Helm (alpha)	off
Ensign P'Tammah (NPC)	Helm (alpha)	off	Helm (alpha)	Helm (beta)	Helm (alpha)	off	Command (beta)
Ensign Thomason (NPC)	Helm (beta)	Helm (beta)	off	Helm (gamma)	Helm (gamma)	off	Command (gamma)
Sr. Chief Kukkonen (NPC)	Shuttlebay* (alpha)	Helm (gamma)	Helm (gamma)	off	Shuttlebay* (beta)	Helm (beta)	off
PO2 Owen (NPC)	Shuttlebay* (beta)	off	Helm (beta)	Shuttlebay* (beta)	Helm (beta)	off	Helm (alpha)
Tactical and Security
Lieutenant Berk	Command (gamma)	Tactical (beta)	Tactical (alpha)	Command (beta)	Tactical (alpha)	off	off
Lieutenant (jg) Reid	Tactical (beta)	Command (gamma)	Command (gamma)	off	off	Tactical (alpha)	Tactical (alpha)
Ensign Blackmon (NPC)	Tactical (alpha)	Tactical (alpha)	Tactical (beta)	Tactical (alpha)	off	Command (gamma)	off
Ensign Mathews (NPC)	Tactical (gamma)	off	Tactical (gamma)	Tactical (gamma)	Tactical (gamma)	Security/Brig* (gamma)	off
Operations
Lieutenant Lasad	Command (beta)	Command (beta)	Operations (alpha)	Operations (alpha)	Operations (alpha)	Command (beta)	off
Lieutenant (jg) Moriden (NPC)	Operations (alpha)	Operations (alpha)	off	Command (gamma)	Command (gamma)	off	Operations (alpha)
PO1 Amai (NPC)	Operations (beta)	Operations (beta)	Operations (beta)	off	off	Operations (beta)	Helm (beta)
Engineering
Lieutenant McTavish	Engineering (alpha)	Engineering (alpha)	Engineering (alpha)	Engineering (alpha)	Engineering (alpha)	off	off
Lieutenant (jg) Sa'eridon (NPC)	off	Engineering (beta)	Engineering (beta)	off	Engineering (beta)	off	Engineering (alpha)
Lieutenant (jg) Morgan (NPC)	Engineering (beta)	Engineering (gamma)	Engineering (gamma)	Engineering(beta)	off	Engineering (beta)	off
Ensign Jenneric (NPC)	Engineering (alpha)	off	off	Engineering (gamma)	Engineering (gamma)	Engineering (gamma)	Engineering (beta)
Science
Lieutenant (jg) Sh'iraolnas	off	Science Conn 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	off
Ensign Maize (NPC)	Science Conn 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 1 (alpha)	off	off
Chief Petty Officer Crane (NPC)	off	off	Science Conn 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 2 (alpha)	Science Lab 2 (alpha)	Science Lab 2 (alpha)	Science Lab 2 (alpha)
Petty Officer 1st Class Gaultier (NPC)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)	off	off	Science Conn 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)
Petty Officer 2nd Class Prudnikov (NPC)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)	off	off	Science Conn 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)	Science Lab 3 (alpha)
Petty Officer 3rd Class Rogers (NPC)	Science Lab 4 (alpha)	Science Lab 4 (alpha)	off	off	Science Lab 4 (alpha)	Science Conn 1 (alpha)	Science Lab 4 (alpha)
Rotation through each science officer	Science Lab * (alpha)	Science Lab * (alpha)	Science Lab * (alpha)	Science Lab * (alpha)	Science Lab * (alpha)	Science Lab * (alpha)	Science Conn 1 (alpha)

...I believe I will have the first official game post up today.

....SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

If not, he should have!

Okay, ladies and gentlemen... we're a go!

I have properly linked the game thread to the Trek Tools, and have authorized players - you should now be able to add to the roster, throw NPCs up there, edit your entries, etc.

Feel free to post to the main game thread. Woot!

From here on out, please post questions about the game here, or direct them to myself, Eol Fefalas, or Tann Talas.

Only recruitment stuff goes in the recruitment thread.

Awesome to see a post from you, Dox! Good start. I can imagine that being the science guy on a patrol mission would get terribly boring.

I sent you a PM to address your issues.

Hey folks - just remember to try to keep questions about the game in this thread; we want the in-game posts to basically read like a story. I'm not complaining, Dox; just setting some basic expectations. I know that half of our crew has never played Trek before, or never in a play by post medium.

When posting, please include a time at the header of your post. That way, we can keep the timeline straight. As the game develops, you'll see subplots played out in posts - the timeline is crucial for organization.

Speaking of which, if you have not done so, you might want to check out the logbook feature in the Trek Tools. You'll see summaries of the various posts laid out here in chronological order - if you get confused, this is a great way to get the Cliff notes as to what is going on.

Logbook entries are made manually; feel free to add them yourself after you post, but I and the command staff will try to make sure that none get missed.

Dox, I didn't make a logbook entry for your post yet, as yours is missing a time.

We're off to a good start, folks! Keep 'em coming! Applauds all around!

Ok I'll have a post up sometime this weekend, promise

However Eol if you want to face lick me to remind me feel free

Consider yourself reminded, bubba!

Check out our new mission badge, courtesy of Eol Fefalas (first page of the game thread, also fist page of Trek Tools for our mission).

have Lana's first post up either tomorrow afternoon or Saturday at the latest. Need to remind myself of how I actually played Lana and to re immerse myself into the Trek world a bit.