Badgerius

I agree with the shuttle bit. In the hands of a good pilot, the shuttle can really hold its own. But... Any craft that could survive direct contact with an exploding RANDOM Nuke even out of the atmosphere is pretty tough, in my books. The GCV Calypso requests whatever is left of that shuttle, for scientific analysis and research into improving hull design. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Welcome to the rustbucket service! My ship, the Diligence, is also a Constellation class. You may be interested in reading about her adventures, to get a perspective of (how I see) the layout of the ship. If you are, run a search on "Eternal Diligence". I look forward to seeing your story here. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

I've got to get me one of those indestructable shuttles. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Well, our Fleet Commander says we're going with 9 ship squadrons, so let's go with that. My vote is to keep the number of squadrons per wing at one until we have at least three wings; one for each station. That means we need 27 active ships to be at full strength. So far, 10 Commanders have reported in, plus the Fleet Commander, and the Supreme Commander. Once each of the Wings has one full squadron, we can assign more squadrons to them as enrollment permits. I agree that the wing commanders should assign certain squadrons as specialist squadrons, but not all of them. Most of our squadrons will probably have the job of patrolling set areas. I think our first priority should be to get Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Wings up to their full one squadron strength of 9 ships each. Let's get this show on the road! Let's... *Ahem* Sorry, got a bit carried away. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Well, our Fleet Commander says we're going with 9 ship squadrons, so let's go with that. My vote is to keep the number of squadrons per wing at one until we have at least three wings; one for each station. That means we need 27 active ships to be at full strength. So far, 10 Commanders have reported in, plus the Fleet Commander, and the Supreme Commander. Once each of the Wings has one full squadron, we can assign more squadrons to them as enrollment permits. I agree that the wing commanders should assign certain squadrons as specialist squadrons, but not all of them. Most of our squadrons will probably have the job of patrolling set areas. I think our first priority should be to get Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Wings up to their full one squadron strength of 9 ships each. Let's get this show on the road! Let's... *Ahem* Sorry, got a bit carried away. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Ummm... OK just one more idea, and then I promise to be quiet and wait to hear if I've been promoted. Each fleet currently has a station, ORION, ISS, WRAITH, and SPECTRE all have a station at their disposal. Prime has three stations. I vote that until we get some info on additional stations, we assign our wings to those stations, perhaps as follows: Alpha and Beta Wings: Galcom HQ Gamma Wing: Genesis Station Delta and Epsilon Wings: Starpath Station With BC:M comes more stations, so we can spread out more once that's been released. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Ummm... OK just one more idea, and then I promise to be quiet and wait to hear if I've been promoted. Each fleet currently has a station, ORION, ISS, WRAITH, and SPECTRE all have a station at their disposal. Prime has three stations. I vote that until we get some info on additional stations, we assign our wings to those stations, perhaps as follows: Alpha and Beta Wings: Galcom HQ Gamma Wing: Genesis Station Delta and Epsilon Wings: Starpath Station With BC:M comes more stations, so we can spread out more once that's been released. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Wow, this is getting complicated. Time to add to it. 1 Getting everyone to adhere to a command structure is going to be very difficult. It is an admirable goal, but I think concentrating on Prime fleet first should be a priority. Once that's organized, we can talk about unifying the rest of the fleets. 2 When making operational units that will generally fly together as a group, time zones need to be taken into consideration. This may make the ideal 9 ship squadrons (I assume that's 8 ships + a commander BTW) not possible in some situations. 3 Once the Wings are organized (ie, assigned commanders) we should conduct a census of active commanders before assigning ships to squadrons. Any ship not responding to the census should be placed in the reserve. 4 The reserve group should not IMHO be subdivided into wings. These will be people who are either not playing or are not interested in the group RP part of the game. Putting them into groups may annoy them into not playing These are, of course, just my opinions ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Wow, this is getting complicated. Time to add to it. 1 Getting everyone to adhere to a command structure is going to be very difficult. It is an admirable goal, but I think concentrating on Prime fleet first should be a priority. Once that's organized, we can talk about unifying the rest of the fleets. 2 When making operational units that will generally fly together as a group, time zones need to be taken into consideration. This may make the ideal 9 ship squadrons (I assume that's 8 ships + a commander BTW) not possible in some situations. 3 Once the Wings are organized (ie, assigned commanders) we should conduct a census of active commanders before assigning ships to squadrons. Any ship not responding to the census should be placed in the reserve. 4 The reserve group should not IMHO be subdivided into wings. These will be people who are either not playing or are not interested in the group RP part of the game. Putting them into groups may annoy them into not playing These are, of course, just my opinions ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

My ideas for breaking a Wing down into squadrons: One Squadron consists of 5 ships: 1 Sqdn Cmdr + 4 ships. A Wing would have a Command Squadron, whose Commander is also the Wing Commander. Members of the Command Squadron make up the command staff for the Wing, plus escort. A Wing would also have 0-5 other squadrons, with squadron Cmdrs who report to the Wing Commander. This gives a Wing 1-6 Squadrons or 5-30 ships. I think 5 is a good number for a squadron. It's not too big to to have too much trouble getting all of the squadron to play or train together, while being big enough to allow for the huge numbers on our roster without having an unwieldly amount of squadrons. I think that 3 ships per squadron would be perfect, but that would produce each wing consisting of only 18 ships, which isn't enough, given the size of the fleet. If, after a roll call, we end up with players numbering in the 60-75 range, then I think that 3 ship squadrons would work better. So: Fleet Cmdr / Wing Cmdr Wing Cmdr / | / | Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Fleet Commander would be independant of the Wings, having a Fleet Command Sqdn with a 4 ship honour guard. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

My ideas for breaking a Wing down into squadrons: One Squadron consists of 5 ships: 1 Sqdn Cmdr + 4 ships. A Wing would have a Command Squadron, whose Commander is also the Wing Commander. Members of the Command Squadron make up the command staff for the Wing, plus escort. A Wing would also have 0-5 other squadrons, with squadron Cmdrs who report to the Wing Commander. This gives a Wing 1-6 Squadrons or 5-30 ships. I think 5 is a good number for a squadron. It's not too big to to have too much trouble getting all of the squadron to play or train together, while being big enough to allow for the huge numbers on our roster without having an unwieldly amount of squadrons. I think that 3 ships per squadron would be perfect, but that would produce each wing consisting of only 18 ships, which isn't enough, given the size of the fleet. If, after a roll call, we end up with players numbering in the 60-75 range, then I think that 3 ship squadrons would work better. So: Fleet Cmdr / Wing Cmdr Wing Cmdr / | / | Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Sqdn Fleet Commander would be independant of the Wings, having a Fleet Command Sqdn with a 4 ship honour guard. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

I have a suggestion for wing names. Since prime fleet is a generalist fleet, it doesn't really make sense to have specialist wings. We don't really need a spec ops wing to start, or a ground assault wing, or an intelligence wing. We'll let the other fleets specialize. (At least until we are organized!) Of course, you may have other plans for us. How about greek letters for wing names? Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, etc? It sounds cool, and doesn't force us into set roles off the bat. I mean, Delta Wing could become a spec ops wing, but it doesn't have to be right from the start. Plus it looks cool as a sig: Cmdr Joe Blow Cmdr: 2nd Sqdn Gamma Wing Prime Fleet That would be the commander of the 2nd squadron of Gamma Wing. Members of 2nd Sqdn would have a sig: Cmdr Jane Doe 2nd Sqdn Gamma Wing Prime Fleet Anyway these are just ideas. Take 'em, change 'em, or leave 'em however you wish. I have ideas for breaking the wings down into squadrons, but I'll wait until I see what you're thinking. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556 [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 01-12-2000).]

I have a suggestion for wing names. Since prime fleet is a generalist fleet, it doesn't really make sense to have specialist wings. We don't really need a spec ops wing to start, or a ground assault wing, or an intelligence wing. We'll let the other fleets specialize. (At least until we are organized!) Of course, you may have other plans for us. How about greek letters for wing names? Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, etc? It sounds cool, and doesn't force us into set roles off the bat. I mean, Delta Wing could become a spec ops wing, but it doesn't have to be right from the start. Plus it looks cool as a sig: Cmdr Joe Blow Cmdr: 2nd Sqdn Gamma Wing Prime Fleet That would be the commander of the 2nd squadron of Gamma Wing. Members of 2nd Sqdn would have a sig: Cmdr Jane Doe 2nd Sqdn Gamma Wing Prime Fleet Anyway these are just ideas. Take 'em, change 'em, or leave 'em however you wish. I have ideas for breaking the wings down into squadrons, but I'll wait until I see what you're thinking. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556 [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 01-12-2000).]

[RP ON] Cmdr Badgerius looked at the communique one more time. He looked over at his Exec, Lt. Commander O'Neil, who was shaking her head. "You know, sir, that this will only lead to more paperwork, less freedom in our duties, and the possibility of suffocating under the mantle of responsibility" she said. Badgerius sighed, and said, "I know." ****** Galcom Communique To: Fleet Cmdr Gudihl From: Cmdr S. Badgerius Re: Wing Commander position I hereby volunteer for the positions of Wing Commander and Fleet Command staff. I'll take a crack at taming this monstrosity of a Fleet. End Communique ****** [RP OFF] I'm working on the roster right now, so I can't help in the web design, but I'll help get this fleet organized. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

[RP ON] Cmdr Badgerius looked at the communique one more time. He looked over at his Exec, Lt. Commander O'Neil, who was shaking her head. "You know, sir, that this will only lead to more paperwork, less freedom in our duties, and the possibility of suffocating under the mantle of responsibility" she said. Badgerius sighed, and said, "I know." ****** Galcom Communique To: Fleet Cmdr Gudihl From: Cmdr S. Badgerius Re: Wing Commander position I hereby volunteer for the positions of Wing Commander and Fleet Command staff. I'll take a crack at taming this monstrosity of a Fleet. End Communique ****** [RP OFF] I'm working on the roster right now, so I can't help in the web design, but I'll help get this fleet organized. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

That puts Eternal Diligence around December 3000, or Jan 3001, then. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

I wrote Eternal Diligence to Occur alongside David Foss's First Command thread, which occured a few months after the Battle of Jupiter. So, when did that happen? ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Commander Sev Badgerius reporting in. The Diligence is in the body shop right now, and the computer needs an upgrade, but both of these problems should be fixed by BCM release. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

I'm currently working on the web page for my new ship, which will be kind of like national Geographic for the bc3k universe. I need to know the current role playing date. The date the procyon mission briefing took place would be a good marker. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Sc, I have a request. Due to demands on my time, energy, and sanity, plus the fact that the Diligence is currently a convertible, I won't be able to play in this campaign. However, I thought, since you are writing us in as AI ships anyway, if you couldn't put my new ship, the GCV Calypso, into the script. Just have her in Earth space, doing nothing. That would be very cool. She's a Solnar class Cruiser, Terran/Scientist. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

[RP ON] Commander Sev Badgerius stood in the Officer's lounge of GalComHq, looking out at the Earth. He'd been doing that a lot lately, as there really wasn't much work to be done. The Calypso was almost ready, and would begin shakedown trials before the end of the month. The Diligence still didn't hold air, but that was slowly being rectified under the close supervision of Lt Leonev, the Diligence's Chief Engineer. A hyperspace exit point opened against the blue-white globe of Earth. Then another opened next to it, and then another, and another. Soon there were a dozen exit points in close formation. And then there were a dozen battlecruisers on approach to GCHQ. "Would you look at that," Sev said, loud enough to attract the attention of those nearby. "Somebody, somewhere, is going to be very sorry to see that fleet coming at them. I'm just glad I'm not him." Another Commander walked up to the window. "Wow, kinda makes you wish you weren't in command of a Science Vessel, doesn't it?" Sev turned to him with a sarcastic smile. "Kinda makes you wish you weren't commanding a desk, I bet, as well." The commander smiled for a moment, and said, "I don't miss those days. No food, no gravity, no air. Everybody trying to kill you. Insurgents, Raiders, Aliens, Traitors. Nope, I don't miss it at all." The silence that followed betrayed the fact that both men knew he was lying. [RP OFF] ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

[RP On] At the conclusion of the briefing, Hans once again snapped to attention, anticipating the rush of Commanders headed back to their ships. His mind, however, was racing. Not about the situation in Procyon, as politics never was particularly important to him. He went where they told him, and so far, they hadn't told him to go to Procyon. What was worrying him though, was what forces the Supreme Commander had said would be participating in the attack. "The 666th," he thought, "they actually exist!" If half the rumours he'd heard about them were true, they were the toughest, meanest, most advanced strike force in existance. Rumour had it that they could travel in time, walk through walls, read the minds of their enemies, had a mental link with their spacecraft, and didn't have to use wormholes or jump points to jump. Officially they didn't exist. But the Supreme Commander had just said they were going to Procyon. As the Commanders streamed out of the briefing room, Hans couldn't quite keep the smile off his face. "Those Vesperon SOBs killed my squad back on the Diligence," he thought to himself, "but now the Hell's Angels are coming for their souls." Some of the Commanders that returned his salute saw the cold gleam in the Marine Sergeant's eye, and shivered. [rp off] ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

Hey I may not have a ship right now, but this is too much fun to miss... [RP] Sergeant Hans Peterson stood at attention outside the Miscon briefing room. The Calypso was still getting her final checkout at GCHQ, so Hans had applied for a temporary position at Orion HQ, to replace a Marine who had broken her leg in a bar brawl. "They're all inside, now," Hans thought. "I wonder what this is all about?" Hans began to lean towards the door in an effort to hear what was being said, and then snapped back to attention as a haggard looking Lt Commander jogged towards him. "How long has it been going on?" asked the officer, passing his ID card to Hans. "Not long sir, the Fleet Commander has just arrived." Hmmm... Soulus wasn't on the list of officer's cleared for this briefing. Hans was about to say something when the commlink beeped. Hans pressed the Acknowledge button to receive a message informing him of Soulus's promotion and clearance. "You're kidding," said the newly promoted Commander. Late for your first briefing, I wouldn't want to be in you're shoes, thought Hans. "No sir, the Supreme Commander and the Fleet Commander are both in there," is what he said, returning the ID card to the now terrified looking Commander. Hans smiled as Command Soulus went in, and then resumed trying to hear what was going on inside. [RP OFF] ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556 [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 11-10-1999).]

I figure Microsoft has enough capital to relocate, buy a small country (legal and reasonably simple, according to the book "How to create your own country") and make monopolies legal there. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence On detached duty, GCV Calypso ICQ 48801556

[RP ON] It would later be called "A close call." While the Galcom forces may have been able to repel the first attack at Mercury, a second or third wave would have obliterated all Earth defenses before sufficient reinforcements could have arrived. Galcom intel was reporting that a coup detat had occurred on the Vesperon homeworld following the destruction of the invasion fleet, and that the new provisional government was seeking renewed membership in Galcom. Still, despite their offers of compensation for the losses they had inflicted, it would be some time before the Vesperons were returned to full membership in Galactic Command. Sev lay on a bed in the guest quarters of Galcom HQ. At least I got a bed out of this war, he thought. The Diligence had been towed back into the drydock she had left only days before. This time the refit would not be rushed. A full eight months had been allocated for the repair and refurbishment of the tired old ship. There had been some talk of decommissioning her, but Sev had been able to persuade the brass that the Diligence had some fight left in her. Unfortunately, that left him with a problem. Without a ship to keep them together, Sev would lose his officers over the course of the next eight months. Theyd get re-assigned while Sev commanded a desk, and when the Diligence was ready, he wouldnt be able to get them back. There was one option, although when he had first heard it, Sev hadnt been thrilled by the idea. "What the hell, itll be a change of pace," he said to himself, and he got up to find ONeil. He found her in the Officers Lounge, staring through the window at a freighter that was on final approach to the docking bay. "A credit for your thoughts?" Sev asked, smiling. ONeil kept staring at the freighter. "I thought it was a penny," she said absently. Sev shrugged. "Inflation touches everything." He sat down across from her. "Any thought as to what youre going to do now?" asked Sev. "I dont know. Ive had my fill of combat for the time being. Im thinking maybe XO of one of those." She gestured in the direction of the freighter. "I havent got the time in service for a promotion to Commander. I dont really want it yet, either. What about you?" Sev shrugged, "Ive got some options. Desk job until the Diligence is refitted. Of course, if I do that, Ill lose you as my XO" he smiled. Alison looked at him, "You will anyway. Im not signing onto a front line unit until after a nice, quiet cruise on a freighter or something. Im tired of Galactic Emergencies, failed rescue missions, covert operations, and hopeless battles. I need some time away from all that." Sev nodded, "Actually, thats my other option. Pending refit of the Diligence, Ive been offered command of a Exploration and Survey ship, the CGV Calypso. Galcom has refitted some old cruiser into a research ship, and well spend our time charting the debris fields in Lunar space, or searching for the rare snow beetle on Cronus. The bridge is pretty small on those old cruisers, but Ill still need an XO" Alison looked pensive. "Can I think about it?" she asked. "I need to know by 0900 tommorrow, Lt. Commander." Sev said, getting up. "Im in guest quarters 23." *****GalcomHQ Mail Service***** From: Lt. Cmdr A. ONeil To: Cmdr S. Badgerius Re: New Assignment Commander, Ill do it. A research ship will be cleaner than a freighter, at least. Besides, Ive always wanted to see the Snow Beetle of Cronus *****End Message***** *****GalcomHQ Mail Service***** From: Sgt. H. Peterson To: Cmdr S. Badgerius Re: New Assignment Commander, Im in. Someone has to protect those EggHeads. *****End Message***** Sev smiled at the messages. Yes, this was going to be interesting. And the Diligence would wait for him. She had been around for a long time, and she would probably outlive him. She was practically eternal. "Eternal Diligence," he said to the empty room, "that has a nice ring to it." And with that he stood and went to find his new ship. [RP OFF] Be on the lookout for the GCV Calypso web site, coming soon! It's been a pleasure working on this. I'd like to thank all those who participated and commented throughout. I think this thread should remain open for about a week, for any questions or comments. After that, if someone would close the thread, I would appreciate it. Oh, SC if the coup d'etat messes up anything in Procyon, it could be faulty intel, or just rumour. [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 11-03-1999).]