Odd question: The Treaty of Smarba resulted in a bunch of old Klingon hulls being sold to the Romulans, but how did they get through Tholian space?

One at a time, with cloak pre-installed? If so, were any caught by the Tholians? Did some skirt Tholian space either through Fed space or outside the rim?

Or did they totally disassemble them and send them piece by piece via freighter and privateer courier? I imagine this is how payment for them was sent to the Klingons, but it seems untenable for DN-sized starships.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - 01:55 pm: Edit

Skirted the NZ between Federation and Tholian space. The Tholians don't care as long as you don't enter their space. The Feds may have been held back by the Orginians.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - 02:08 pm: Edit

It worked both ways as well.

The Romulans sent one or two D6s back that they had converted to D6Ms along with the technology and plans for the Klingons to build it themselves.

Note their are differences between the D6M and the KRM.

The Feds may have tried to interdict them but they aren't going to heavily engage the ships since they don't/can't start a war with the Klingons and Romulans.

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - 02:27 pm: Edit

Presumably you could actually fly in the neutral zone most of the time.

Enforcement of neutral zones isn't by regular patrol, since patrol ships aren't supposed to enter the zone from either side. (Presumably exceptions are by special arrangement or in response to actually spotting a violation in progress.)

If one side spots you, likely it's safe enough on average when you only need one trip per ship.

Are the Feds going to risk war with the Roms, the Klingons, and the Tholians all at once by entering the neutral zone in force to stop this?

By Charles E. Leiserson, Jr. (Locutus) on Thursday, February 02, 2017 - 09:35 pm: Edit

Good point. The Fed/Tholian neutral zone was probably established by the Federation alone, giving up their own space.

Thanks!

By Mike Bennett (Mike) on Friday, May 05, 2017 - 06:56 am: Edit

I wasn't quite sure where to ask this question. Which Captain's Log has the article with Merrin Hunter, captain of the Yorktown? Maybe there are 2 articles with her in them.

By Ryan Opel (Ryan) on Friday, May 05, 2017 - 10:46 am: Edit

According to, the yet to be published Star Fleet Universe Index, Captain Hunter appears in the CL7.

By Mike Bennett (Mike) on Friday, May 05, 2017 - 05:28 pm: Edit

Thanks!

By Xander Fulton (Dderidex) on Monday, April 02, 2018 - 02:20 pm: Edit

Question on license usage - the Star Fleet division symbols used in TOS; IE., 'command' or 'engineering' or 'science' or 'medical' - are these still valid for use in SFU fiction/art? I notice they are in TFG's original "Prime Directive" RPG (pg 19-20, which adds a 'psionic' and 'marine' division to the above 4), but I don't see them called out widely in newer material. Character art does seem to keep using them, but just wanted to double-check...

By Mike Bennett (Mike) on Monday, June 03, 2019 - 10:38 am: Edit

Is there a list of the dates when various space monsters were first encountered?

Annex #12 in G3 does not give dates.

Perhaps even generalized eras when monsters were first encountered?

The reason I'm asking is for a fiction piece I'm working on. At a particular point in the timeline someone says something about known space monsters. I'd like to give more substance to the statement by including specific examples of monsters that had been encountered by that time.

By Randy O. Green (Hollywood750) on Monday, June 03, 2019 - 10:45 pm: Edit

The one I am kind of sure on, is the Space Manta. I know the first encounter with it was with a Federation GSCX. Which puts it in the X-ship era. A sunsnake destroyed the Paravian home system in Y94, so they were known in the Early Years time period. There is a timeline at Starfleetgames.com, under the Master Index link, but not sure if it will list more than the Sunsnake. Other than that, you'd probably have to look through all the scenarios.

By A. David Merritt (Adm) on Monday, June 03, 2019 - 11:27 pm: Edit

Space Boars are also early years.

By Russ Simkins (Madcowak) on Tuesday, June 04, 2019 - 10:54 pm: Edit

Don't know of much data on when each critter was encountered but a few points since I have a binder of compiled monster scenarios for ongoing projects nearby:
Banshee's came in as a wave of encounters in the General War timeframe.
The ISC was said to have encountered space dragons but didn't realize they were all young ones until exchanging info with other empires sometime in the Y160s. So from that I would infer that the ISC and others had encountered space dragons sometime before that.
Space Boars lists circa Y100 and were pretty much wiped out in the Y120s.
Did notice the Mulakee specifically list Y163 as the first encounter but unclear if that was just for the Gorns.
Y169 for space sheep


other recollections: There was fiction and a scenario for Iggy that might list a date but not something I have at hand. This was not a first encounter as they knew what it was as soon as it appeared.


Not quite SFU canon but there were a couple first encounters for the Feds depicted in TOS.

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Wednesday, June 05, 2019 - 01:36 pm: Edit

Banshees
Space Sheep

By Mike Bennett (Mike) on Wednesday, June 05, 2019 - 09:31 pm: Edit

This is great info! I appreciate it.

Michael Grafton: do you know dates (exact or general) for the Banshees and Space Sheep?

By Mike Bennett (Mike) on Friday, August 16, 2019 - 10:12 pm: Edit

Not quite sure where to put this question, so here goes...

I know "stardates" are internally inconsistent by any measure, but is there any formula used by SFU writers when the occasional stardate is thrown in a story?

By Jeffrey George Anderson (Jeff) on Saturday, August 17, 2019 - 07:02 pm: Edit

I'm NOT the one to give any formal declaration, but there is a formula I use; TODAY is "Stardate one-nine, zero-eight, point one-six..."

A reverse (of sorts) for the military date format of 16 AUG 19(2019).

Good question, actually; if anything, I'm the idjit for just making a (potentially) stupid assumption...

By Andrew Harding (Warlock) on Saturday, October 26, 2019 - 03:59 pm: Edit

Not really a history question, more of a seed I'm inviting someone to pick up and turn into a story:

Early Y177, first public display of the Federation's latest and greatest, the Bismarck. Cameras are rolling for it's weapons demonstration, with a full drone salvo in the script.
In the lower hull a junior ensign and her team are panicking because they've just unlocked the crates of ordinance and found a clerical error means they've been given the crates intended for the Kirov. Not a single drone, and no time to get them from the saucer, but there are a couple of Gorn-made PPT that could be shoehorned into the launcher with most of the electronics disabled...
Watching the demonstration, Admiral Cat-who-eats-Canapes asks his Gorn equivalent how long they've been making warp 3.2 small engines just as the broadcast cuts out.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, October 26, 2019 - 04:15 pm: Edit

Andrew Harding:

And if PPTs could be reloaded that quickly it would be common in plasma battles. Not to mention the concept that a PPT can operate from a drone launcher at all. It could not be historical, but then not everything by Olivette Roche is historically accurate.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, October 26, 2019 - 05:19 pm: Edit

I would not publish such a story.

By Andrew Harding (Warlock) on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 - 02:58 pm: Edit

OK. Was intended as a humour piece only (similar to the Aegis origin story a few CL ago).

Been away for too long. Nice to see ADB and the SFU going strong.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Thursday, October 31, 2019 - 01:46 am: Edit

Andrew Harding:

I think that you were mixing technology that cannot be mixed even for humor. I do not think even in humor that we want to suggest those technologies can work together. The joke about full aegis and a nominal tri-video device has no other implications.

By Joseph Jackson (Bonneville) on Monday, July 11, 2022 - 11:23 pm: Edit

Who handles the scanners and sensors on a starship?
Communications? Weapons?
If you're flying thru space and 'detect' another starship, who did the detecting? Communications? Navigation?
Inquiring minds want to know.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Monday, July 11, 2022 - 11:34 pm: Edit

TOS had a designated Communications Officer (Uhura), so I think that's pretty Canon established.

As far as handling the scanners and sensors, I believe that, at least on Federation Starships, it would be handled by the Science Officer; the blueprints I have for the Bridge refer to the Science Station as both the Science Station AND as the CIC.

I can't vouch for the validity of the `Prints, but my gut tells me that they were popular enough that they may well have been part of the series of blueprints that may have been part of what ispired SVC to do SFB the way he did.

My 0.02 Quatloos worth; please don't take it for anything more than that.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Monday, July 11, 2022 - 11:41 pm: Edit

In terms of the various stations found on the bridge of a Star Fleet ship, and who is tasked with operating them, I might advise poring over the deck plans for the Burke-class frigate in Prime Directive Federation.