Bravo Fleet
Akagi is a name that has travelled with the history of Bravo Fleet for a very long time now. Even with several different commanding officers and appearances in different Task Forces over that time, the Akagi has finally become a mainstay in Task Force 38 under the command of Captain Aurelia Prendergast. Karen, the commander of this sim, revealed that “this particular version of the Akagi began back in the spring of 2012, originally under the command of Captain Jeff Murdock. When Murdock stepped down in March 2014, the sim was taken over by myself and a new website was created for her.”
Karen was an ideal candidate to step up when Murdock stepped down having been aboard the sim since its early days. “Myself and the XO have been on board the Akagi since the very early days and we’ve seen many people come and go, including the ship’s first Captain,” she reveals. But despite the losses along the way, something must have been going right for the crew. “Several of the players currently on board have also been with the ship for a long time, some of them as far back as 2012. Whilst we’re not the fastest at churning out posts, we’ve stuck together and I feel that we’ve created some fantastic stories along the way. The old Captain has also returned as a regular crewmember.” Whether it’s the writing or the community, a cohesion exists among these players that has encouraged several of the crew to stay together for so long at a time when player turnover elsewhere is extremely high. One thing is sure, this all bodes well for the sims continued participation in TF38’s future.
But what exactly has been going on, in character, that has encouraged these people to remain and dedicate their time to writing their characters’ lives aboard the Akagi? “As I took over the sim in 2014, my character who was then the XO ended up becoming the commanding officer when the Akagi was thrown out of the transwarp network thanks to the dealings of the old Captain’s future self. This left the ship stranded 100 light years from known Federation Occupied space in the Delta Quadrant. The main premise of the current storyline has been to get the ship back to Federation occupied space. Along the way, the ship has encountered a previously unknown species from another dimension known as the Krentarii and taken shore leave on a planet where it turned out that the tourism industry held a sinister secret and used children as slaves. The ship and the crew helped to liberate the slaves and end the terrible situation and also helped to return a lot of the slave children to their rightful homes.” Slaves, transwarp networks, beings from another dimension – it all sounds very exciting in the Delta Quadrant and its clear these enticing stories are part of the reason for the sims success in the past. But what has the CO got in mind for the future? “In the current mission, the Akagi has encountered another of the portals connecting our space time to the Krentarii’s dimension in the mess hall of all places and at the same time, a fleeing ship has happened upon the ship chased by a Borg Sphere.” The dastardly Borg were always bound to make an appearance at some point, weren’t they? It wouldn’t be the Delta Quadrant without them.
For some, enticing and keeping players is a difficult task, but Karen has a solid plan of attack to address this. “I want to provide my crew with a welcoming place to write and to help guide them to write some good solid science fiction stories.” We’re in this for the stories we write, and Karen is clearly focused on achieving quality rather than quantity.
It wouldn’t be Star Trek, though, without time travel and it’s clear that Karen has one aim in mind when she thinks to the future; longevity. “I want to see the Akagi last for a very long time and to be known for its strong science fiction stories that holds the essence of Star Trek at its heart.”
Unlike many, the CO of this fine little ship is humble to the end. “I’m honoured that the Akagi has been chosen for this article and I’d just like to say that every single one of my crew is valued and that it’s been an honour to write with them for the past few years.” But like always, the Akagi is just one cog in the wheel of Bravo Fleet and for that cog to keep turning, new recruits are needed. “Whilst all of the senior officer posts are now taken however, we have junior officer posts available in all of the major departments and are happy to accept both civilians onto the crew as well as consider other roles that a new player might be interested in creating so long as their ideas are sound and consistent with Star Trek canon.”
Congratulations to this month’s Sim Spotlight.