The Cadet Lesson

Welcome to Omega Fleet Academy!

My name is Tim Veltkamp - I will be your instructor and mentor for the duration of your Academy training. You are enrolled in the Cadet Academy course so that you can learn more about Omega Fleet, character development, and simming. This is a four-week course which outlines three main objectives:


- Learn how to succeed in Omega Fleet
- Learn how to develop fun, original characters
- Learn how to simm

You will have one week to complete each lesson – with the exception of lesson two, which you will have one week for each part. Each assignment is out of 10 points and is required for your graduation from the Academy. Grades of 7 or below will require a re-submission and you will have one week to re-submit your work. Your CO is a reference to you during this period, although you can find answers to all of your assignments directly from the lessons. These lessons are supposed to be fun – not frustrating. If you need any sort of assistance, please contact me.

Attached you will find Appendix A – to be used in case you are new to Star Trek, as well as your first set of lessons and the lesson one quiz.

Thank you and good luck!

Omega Fleet Cadet Lessons
Appendix A – Treknology

To be an effective simmer is to be able to babble with the best? Well, not quite, but an adequate knowledge of the Trekaverse does bring validity to your character as well as to the simm. Knowing what the basic things are, such as a turbo lift, as well as what each position basically does is important in order to successfully simm. Again, the internet is an absolutely wonderful resource for Trekkies. Googling any topic can get you thousands of different of pieces of information at your fingertips. So, if you want to know about something, research it. Also, it’s important to remember that you should never be afraid to ASK. The only stupid question is one never asked.

Technology
Turbolift: A small pod that carries crewmembers from one point to another on the ship through turboshafts. Capable of traveling horizontally and vertically, the turbolift responds to voice commands. Generally the user requests a deck and a section or a specific location on the ship, i.e. – the bridge.

Phasers: PHASER is an acronym for PHASed Energy Rectification, a directed-energy weapon used by Starfleet. Phasers come in 2 major forms: Sidearms and Ship-based. There are several varieties of phasers used as sidearms - The small type-1, able to be concealed; the most-common type-2 hand phaser, and the various forms of phaser rifles. Ship-based phasers are large phaser units mounted on the outside of a starship for defensive purposes.

Shields: Protects the ship’s hull from enemy attacks or from natural hazards. Unless the shield frequency of a ship is known, this energy barrier is quite effective in thwarting the weapon fire of other ships.

Transporter: The transporter is a matter-energy conversion device used to provide a convenient means of transportation. The transporter briefly converts an object or person into energy, beams that energy to another location, then reassembles the subject into its original form. This act is often referred to as “beaming.”

Shuttlecraft: Small short-range spacecraft, intended primarily for transport from a deep-space vessel to a planet’s surface, or for travel within a solar system. Most shuttles are capable of sublight travel only, and virtually all are capable of planetary landing and takeoff.

Runabouts: Generic term for small Federation starships used for relatively short-range interstellar travel. Runabout resemble enlarged shuttlecrafts, and normally transport up to six people.

Photon Torpedoes: Tactical weapon used by Federation starships. They are self-propelled missiles containing a small quantity of matter and antimatter bound together in a magnetic bottle, launched at wasp speed at a target. Upon impact, the matter and antimatter are allowed to mix, and an explosion occurs.

Quantum Torpedoes: Quantum torpedoes employ a special energy field that tends to be more effective than photon torpedoes in penetrating energy shields. They also produce a larger, more devastating explosion upon detonation.

Cloaking Devices: An energy screen generator to render an object (typically, a starship) invisible to the eye and to most sensor systems. Most cloaking devices require so much bower that a vessel equipped with them cannot use weapons systems without decloaking.

Tricorders: Multi-purpose scientific and technical instrument. Developed for Starfleet, the tricorder incorporates sensors, computers, and recorders in a convenient, portable form. Specialized tricorders are available for specific engineering, scientific, and medical applications.

Replicators: A device that uses transporter technology to dematerialize a quantity of matter, then to rematerialize it in another form, often to produce food.

LCARS: Library Computer Access and Retrieval System. This is the main computer system aboard Federation starships and is operated by sophisticated artificial intelligence routines.

Commbadges: Personal communications device used by Starfleet personnel. Worn on the uniform like a badge, Commbadges are used for communication with other Starfleet personnel, communication with the onboard computer, and ship-to-shore communiqués.

Holodecks: The holodeck permitted the simulation of virtually any environment or person with a degree of fidelity virtually indistinguishable from reality. The holodeck employed three-dimensional holographic projections as well as transporter based replications of actual objects. Holodecks are equipped with a safety feature to prevent injury, though it can be disengaged if one possesses a high enough rank.

PADD: Acronym for Personal Access Display Device. PADDs are small handheld information units uses by Starfleet personnel aboard Federation starships and bases. It typically runs on LCARS software and can be used for anything from reports to system checks.

Tractor Beam: A focused linear graviton force beam used to physically manipulate objects across short distances. Tractor beams are used by Federation starships and other space vehicles as a means of towing other vessels. Tractor beams were also used to provide short-range guidance for approaching or departing shuttlecraft.

Warp Core: The matter/antimatter reaction chamber that allows matter and antimatter to mix in a controlled fashion, resulting in the massive release of energy to power the faster-than-light warp drive. The actual reaction is contained within a magnetic field, as uncontrolled exposure to matter often causes ships to be destroyed. As such, warp cores are capable of being ejected from a ship.

Computer Core: A large cylindrical chamber housing the ship's primary computer hardware. 24th century ships run off isolinear cores, which have non-propulsive subspace fields, making faster-than-light processing possible. Additionally, the advent of bio-neural gel packs has increased the computing power of the new generation of starships.

Hypospray: Medical instrument used by Starfleet medical personnel for subcutaneous and intramuscular administration of medication for many humanoid patients. The hypospray uses an extremely fine, high-pressure aero-suspension delivery system, eliminating the need for a needle to physically penetrate the skin. The typical site for application is at the neck, though a hypospray is capable of injecting liquids even through clothing.

Omega Fleet Cadet Lessons
Lesson One – Omega Fleet General Information
Section 1.1 - Welcome to Omega Fleet!

My name is Tim Veltkamp. You’ve got on your screen (or in your hands) a very important document – it will help you learn how to map out your path in the world of simming. I know, it looks like a lot of material, and it is. The entire handbook was written with fun in mind – and while quizzes and homeworks may not seem like fun, you’d be right, but most of the homeworks have you actually coming up with ideas for your character – considerations for your character, things you can do with your character. It’s all practical – and for the few things that don’t directly involve your character – it will keep you from getting into trouble or making simple mistakes which aren’t any fun at all.

Remember, you have one week to finish each section – excluding section two which has two parts (each part is allotted one week). If you need additional time, make sure to inform your Commanding Officer AND your Instructor. If you are new to Star Trek, please review Appendix A as a guide to any questions you may have, and please check out the “Resources” section in this lesson. Any questions you have should be directed to your instructor, who will serve as a resource and mentor for you during this process. Each instructor is an experienced simmer – usually they are also ship captains or have more than one character in the fleet. Make sure to use them if you have any questions.

It is important to us at Omega Fleet that you feel welcome and comfortable while simming with us. Most of all – it’s important that you have FUN! We hope that you will integrate yourself into our community and continue to call Omega Fleet home.

Thank you for joining Omega Fleet. Your instructor and I hope that you have a successful simming career – who knows, you may someday be a CO, Instructor, or even a member of the Triad yourself!

Good luck!


A Quick Note
By the way, you may notice people will refer to “sims” and “simms” interchangeably – they mean the same thing. “RPG” and “SIM” do not mean the same thing, however – as many Role-Playing Games (RPGs) are played with the aide of dice and record-keeping sheets to track personal progress. SIMM is short for Simulation – which has no such record-keeping. Any questions on acronyms can be asked of your instructor or commanding officer (although, most of them are included here or in appendix A).


Chat Room
One of the easiest ways to get involved in the Omega Fleet community is its hugely active IRC chatroom. Here, members from all ships and all ranks gather to chat about Star Trek or anything else that happens to be on mind that day. Topics range from choice of pie to if a commbadge would work if all the power went out. This is an awesome opportunity to form bonds that will help support your simming career. You can access the chatroom and connect through OF’s own applet by clicking on “Fleet Chat” from the Omega Fleet main page. Click “Run”, “Yes” or “OK” when prompted.

Awards
mega Fleet COs and TFCOs love to credit great players – players who are truly exceptional or go above and beyond their duties. There are many different awards you can win as a player.

Staff Listing
Omega Fleet has a dedicated staff who considers it important to provide simmers with an awesome simming experience (yours truly included). From the Triad – or the executive body of Omega Fleet to the Task Force Personnel Liaisons, they all work intensely hard in order to improve Omega Fleet.

Section 1.2 - Omega Fleet Rules

Original Characters
All characters must be original and have a full biography created by their players. They must not copy canon Star Trek characters (Kirk, Spock, Picard etc.). It is up to the CO to determine the final acceptability of any character information. Characters are the property of the players creating them and may not be used without their consent save for moving the plot forward in a minor and acceptable manner.

Age Requirement
Omega Fleet requires that all of its members be at least 13-years-old. This was instituted due to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). A law in the United States, COPPA was established on April 21, 2000 and prevents website owners from collecting information online from any child under 13.

Under COPPA, a webmaster may have children under 13-years participate in the site’s activities; however, an extensive amount of information is collected and a parental consent is required.

Posting Requirement
In Omega Fleet, a player is usually required to post once every two weeks. It is generally considered good form to post once every week or more, depending on your part to contribute. This may vary, however, as the Commanding Officer of a simm has the final say in what the requirement is. Failure to adhere to this requirement can possibly lead to a removal from that simm or Omega Fleet as a whole. Knowing what the posting requirements on a simm is a part of a player’s duty, and claiming ignorance in the subject is often a poor excuse.

Banned Races
In order to provide a fun environment in which to simm, Omega Fleet has banned certain races from player’s use. This is because often times it has been found that people acquire the fatal Superhero Syndrome (SHS) while playing these races. SHS ruins the environment in that other players aren’t given ample opportunity to exhibit their uniqueness and contribute to the simm. Sims in OF strive to be as realistic as possible, including portraying weaknesses. Superhero syndrome is discussed later in these lessons.

Under no circumstances are these allowed on any ship within Omega Fleet.
Non-humanoid Creatures (such as a Horta or a Tribble)
Q
Breen
Androids
Borg--Freed Borg are allowed (I.e. 7 of 9), Borg still in the collective are not.
Jem Hadar or Vorta
Founders/Changelings/Shapeshifters (this includes Chameloids)
Xindi and all variations thereof
Suliban
Races that are enemys to the Federation (In the Delta Quadrant (Kazon, Hirogen, and so on)
Species 8472 (Humanoid or otherwise)

Cadet Academy Requirement
Omega Fleet’s Cadet Academy is meant to create informed simmers within the Omega Fleet community. A player can be required by his or her CO to enroll and complete the academy, during which time he or she may not hold a rank that exceeds Lieutenant (Junior Grade). This requirement can be placed on anyone despite amount of experience or position held.

Leave of Absence (LOA)
Under no circumstances is a Commanding Officer to deny a crewmember a requested Leave of Absence. Omega Fleet is meant to be a game and is to be treated as such. Therefore, real life obligations always take precedence. It is a polite custom to warn one’s Commanding Officer at least two weeks ahead of the intended LOA. This warning should also entail how long the LOA will be, but not necessarily what it is for.

In special circumstances, an Emergency or Extended Leave of Absence may be awarded (E-LOA). This is provided to a player in times when something unforeseen happens and a notice cannot be given ahead of time.

During Leave of Absences, duties for that particular player are suspended. This includes the posting requirement. Unfortunately, because the system has been abused in the past, it is up to the CO to determine when to remove your character to the simm if you have been gone for too long. In general, if you have to be gone long-term, it is better to resign your spot from the simm and reapply at a later time, or inform the CO of exactly how long you intend to be gone BEFORE you go and update the CO as this changes. It wont guarantee that your spot wont be given away if you’re gone for too long, but it will increase your chances that you will have a spot to come back to.

Language
Language used when communicating with other players, whether it be through posts or private communications, must be at all times polite and respectful of others. Mild swearing is allowed, however good judgment is expected as to what should be permitted. Most often, the allowance for language is based upon what the Star Trek series permits.

Included within this regulation are descriptions of violence. Material must be kept at a PG-13 level unless otherwise authorized by the Commanding Officer of a simm. If a player has doubts about their description meeting the stated requirement, he or she should seek the advice and approval of his or her respective CO before placing it in public viewing (message boards, group lists, forums, etc.). Overtly descriptive sexual material is not allowed.

More on courtesy is to follow, but for now, follow your best judgment, be polite, and BE NICE!

Maximum Allowable Characters
Omega Fleet mandates that a player may only possess five characters at once. One character per ship is allowed.

Only one of these five characters may be a Commanding Officer.

In addition to the five characters permitted, two non-posting characters are allowed. These characters generally serve in Administrative Positions (i.e. Fleet Staff Personnel).

Section 1.3 - Omega Fleet Structure

Lets talk for a moment about the structure of Omega Fleet. So far, in this document, you’ve already been exposed to a LOT of organizations within Omega Fleet. So, where do they all fit, so to speak?

The Admiralty – also known as the Fleet Staff, these people are supporting characters. People like the Fleet Corps Director, R+D director, OPM director, Academy Commandant, and so on.

The Academy - the OF Academy hosts classes for Cadets and Commanding Officers, mostly – in order to become a commanding officer you must first take the Commanding Officer course offered by the academy.

Office of Personnel Management – Routes new characters to open positions on ships, arranges for transfers, and manages the spread of characters across task forces. They’re very helpful if you have questions concerning your characters as they move through and across the fleet.

Research and Development – Develops new technology, handles application for new technology ideas, and provides technical overviews for all of the fleet ships and technology.

Department Corps – Outlines responsibilities and ideas for each of the departments (Operations, Medical, Science, etc). Helps handle specialty simm requests (medical ships, engineering ships, and so on).

Task Forces – Task Forces are the largest grouping of ships in OF. Although not associated directly with a Task Force, in that there is no governance or overriding CO for these simms, Independent Fleet Operations constitutes a task force all its own. They operate independently of all of the other simms in the IFO task force. Other task forces – 24, 38 for example, have both a Task Force Commanding Officer (TFCO) and three separate Task Groups. Each task group has a Task Group CO (TGCO) and a Senior Ship Commanding Officer (SSCO) – which serves as the XO for the Task Group.

The way that the chain of command works, you should first contact your assistant department head (IE – Assistant Chief Engineer), your department head (IE – Chief Engineer), your ship’s XO, then your ship’s CO, then if the issue cannot be resolved at that issue, the task group’s Senior Ship Commanding Officer or if one is not available, the Task Group CO, then, finally, the TFCO – who is a member of the admiralty.

Section 1.4 - External Resources

Simming is all about creating unique and innovative storylines. In order to do this, you have to have the best information you can get – so, surround yourself with knowledge! Get out there and learn everything you can. Here are some links to get you started:

General purpose:
Memory Alpha - http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page
The Official Star Trek Website - http://www.startrek.com
Ex Astris Scientia - http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/
Daystrom Institute Technical Library - http://www.ditl.org/
Star Trek Ships - http://starchive.cs.umanitoba.ca/
Aerospace Terminology - http://roland.lerc.nasa.gov/~dglover/dictionary/menu.html
Race Specific:
Bajoran - http://members.tripod.com/~Copper/
Borg - http://grove.ufl.edu/~locutus/Bit/
Breen - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/6151/breen/
Cardassians - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Station/3139/index.html
Klingon - http://www.klingon.org/menu.html
Romulan - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/4454/index.html
Other sources:
1.Star Trek TV episodes and movies
2.Star Trek knowledgeable friends
3.Star Trek fan websites
4.Star Trek Encyclopedia, 1999, Michael Okuda
5.Star Trek: TNG Technical Manual, 1991
6.Star Trek: TNG Interactive Technical Manual, 1998, Herman Zimmerman
7.Star Trek Omnipedia CDROM

End of Lesson One

Omega Fleet Cadet Lessons
Lesson One Quiz – Omega Fleet General Information
Each question is worth one point except #5 and #7 which are worth two points each.


1.What are four places you can gather information from Omega Fleet and what kind of information can you get?




2.Copy and paste the URL for the Omega Fleet here




3.Which links from the Omega Fleet main page contain links to rules?




4.What does SHS stand for?




5.f you have to go on vacation, what should you do?




6.Who do you contact if you want to transfer your character?




7.What does the chain of command look like? Who do you contact, and in what order?

Omega Fleet Cadet Lessons
Lesson Two, – Character Creation
Each question is worth 5 points.
Using your existing character, expand upon or create a brand new biography based on this lesson's criteria. Use the following template to fill out your bio:

== GENERAL INFORMATION ==
NAME:
POSITION:
SPECIES:
GENDER:
AGE:

== GENERAL OVERVIEW ==


== APPEARANCE PROFILE ==
HEIGHT: . ft
WEIGHT: -- kg.
EYE COLOR:
HAIR COLOR:
DESCRIPTION:
IMAGE:

== PERSONALITY PROFILE ==
PERSONALITY:
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES:
AMBITIONS:
HOBBIES:
LANGUAGES:

== FAMILY ==
FATHER:
MOTHER:
BROTHER(S):
SISTER(S):
SPOUSE:
CHILDREN:
OTHER FAMILY:

== HISTORY ==


== SERVICE RECORD ==


For the position you were accepted in, come up with some story ideas that you could present to the CO of your SIMM for either sub-plots (minor stories that compliment the major story) or missions (the major story). It's okay for these to revolve mostly around your character.

Omega Fleet Cadet Lessons
Lesson Three, – Character Consideration

1. Create a brand new NPC based on this lessons criteria. Use the following template to fill out your NPC's bio:

== GENERAL INFORMATION ==
NAME:
POSITION: (this should be a position comparable to the one you applied for or were accepted to)
SPECIES:
GENDER:
AGE:

== GENERAL OVERVIEW ==
Typea general overview of your NPC here. *Example - Tom Paris is a womanizing, chauvinistic fly-boy who...*

== APPEARANCE PROFILE ==
HEIGHT: . ft
WEIGHT: -- kg.
EYE COLOR:
HAIR COLOR:
DESCRIPTION:
IMAGE: (You dont need to put in an actual image here, but coming up with an actor that yu envision for your NPC is a good idea)

== PERSONALITY PROFILE ==
PERSONALITY:
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES:
AMBITIONS:
HOBBIES:
LANGUAGES:

== HISTORY ==
Type a general history of your NPC here.

-------------------------

2. What does "creating an original character"mean to you?

3. How will you avoid "superhero syndrome"?

Omega Fleet Cadet Lessons
Lesson Four, – Making a Post/Personnal log

Making a Post/Personnal log never forget to use
Quotes or " Spoken Dialoge"
Comm Badge or =/\= computer of subspace dialoge, or comunications throught comm badges =/\=
Stars for *Thoughts or telepathy.*
Remember also to label, He said, she Thought.


*This will take most of your marks*

1. Continue the following
You have just finished your duty shift, in fact it was a double shift you traded with someone to get some more time off. You are tired and at first the sudden red alert makes you angry as you turn around and head back to your duty station to figure out what is going on...(occ: if you wish to develop an original post that will be acceptable also.

*Use your Character from lesson Two & your NPC from lesson Three*

That was the Cadet Lesson, Good luck.

Fleet Admiral Tim veltkamp.

Admiral,

The cadet lesson is incredibly thorough and well done. All too often, command staff from existing ships do not take the time to review this material and mistakes can be made.

Your work here is exceptional.

Dr. Teal Greene
Chief Science Officer
USS / CGV Tanmesad