Category: Log Entries

Posted on

Captain’s Blog … Stardate 2012.0213 Commissioning the USS Loma Prieta

On December 27th, 2011, it was with great pride that I received orders from Starfleet’s Chief of Operations to assume full command of the USS Loma Prieta. Under her new registry designation of NCC-26848, we brought the Loma Prieta to full readiness as a mainstay vessel of the Fourth Fleet.  It had only been six months prior, with a skeleton crew of officers and crewmen, that we took the aging Ambassador class cruiser out of dry-dock and began the painstaking process of upgrading, recruiting, and taking her through what I believe to have been one of the most exciting and accomplished shakedown cruises that the fleet has ever seen. On January 28th of 2012, all of our hard work came to fruition when we hosted a truly epic celebration in Starfleet Academy’s Presidio district, and opened our doors to a flood of new crew members, visiting dignitaries, and Starfleet flag officers.

Everything on the menu that day was remarkable. From Cmdr. Jon Sung’s stash of Romulan Ale, to the case of Klingon Blood Wine that I bartered for from a shady Ferenghi merchant. From Lt(jg) Nicole Lippmann’s expert bar-tending skills, to LtCmdr Tom Hesser’s home-made Hassperat and Ensign Tria Connel’s tea sandwiches. And last but not at all least; Lt Samantha Dolgoff’s Gagh, Sisko-style Cajun Gumbo, and her special BBQ Targ recipe; the entire menu was truly of galactic proportions.

The events throughout the day were also not to be missed. I’d like to thank Lt(jg) Ben Roodman for seeing to our ‘Zero-G Combat Training’ facilities (ie: the bounce house); LtCmdr Hesser for handling the arduous process of setting up our ARTEMIS consoles for the ‘Kobyashi Maru Beatdown’ tactical exercise; Chief Petty Officer Cody Bratt for his highly skilled photography and portrait taking skills; Ensign Andy Smith for funding our USS Loma Prieta branded shot glasses; Yeoman Cindy Bee for being the best cheerleader (and the worst tactical officer) a crew could ever ask for; Lt Samantha Dolgoff for being the best chef and secret girlfriend (SHHH! Don’t tell Starfleet or they’ll reassign us!) a Captain could have; and most of all I’d like to thank our illustrious First Officer, Cmdr Jon Sung for hosting the entire thing, and for tolerating the giant mess we made.

I would also like to thank Admiral David Nottage, CO of the USS Golden Gate (Region 4, San Francisco), for officiating our ceremony; Captain Joshua Andrews, CO of the USS Sandstorm (Region 4, Las Vegas) and Vice Admiral Jerry Tien, CO of the USS Eagle (Region 4, Fremont) for gracing us with their esteemed presence; and Captain Erik Roberts, XO of the USS Paegan (Region 2, Florida) who has since transferred to the USS Loma Prieta as our new Chief of Security! I’d also like to thank all of the new friends and crew-mates who attend our party. Many of you have already registered for Starfleet and joined us as commissioned officers, and we’re looking forwarded to adding even more of you at our next meeting!

~Capt. Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Posted on

Captain’s Blog … Stardate 2011.1114

Captain’s Blog, Stardate 2011.1114…

The USS Loma Prieta continues to gain momentum as we plow through our shakedown cruise at high warp. It won’t be long until we’re a fully commissioned chapter of STARFLEET!

We wrapped up October when Lt Tom Hesser, Yeoman Cindy Bee, and myself successfully graduated from the San Francisco Fire Department’s NERT training program. After 6 long weeks of training and studying, we completed a dynamic disaster response training course and were awarded our NERT identification and safety gear. The Chief of the SFFD himself was even on hand to award was with our certifications! The crew of the USS Loma Prieta has now taken its first major step toward greater community involvement with 3 members now in good standing as civilian disaster response volunteers.

November kicked-off when Lt Jon Sung took command of a runabout to seek out the mythical fast food planet of Sonic. Accompanied by Lt Tom Hesser and Ensign Andy Smith, the away mission was declared a success when they located the Sonic system deep in the Hayward nebula. Meanwhile, Ensign Micah Jolly and Crewman Natalie Raff beamed down to Comic Con Austin and had a successful rendezvous with Fleet Captain Reed Bates, Regional Coordinator for all of Texas sector and Region 3. Away Mission reports shall be made available soon.

Our greatest achievement this month was the adoption of a brand new, original logo for our chapter (pictured above). The logo was designed and illustrated by Robert Schaefer, a graphic design artist in Berlin, Germany. For his gallant service to the USS Loma Prieta, he is hereby commissioned as an honorary member of the crew. Ensign Robert Schaefer will serve as correspondent member and an officer of the science department.

But there’s still much more to come for November. This coming week, the crew will embark on an away mission at the Academy of Sciences. The Academy’s Night Life event will be right on the money for the USS Loma Prieta. Not only does it feature a full bar and a screening of Star Trek (the 2009 film), but also a new exhibit showcasing 3D navigation and kinetic technology to create a stellar cartography system that could rival anything a Galaxy class ship could muster!

See you Thursday, crew! Perkins out.

~Cmdr. Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Posted on

Captain’s Blog … Stardate 2011.1024

Captain’s Blog, Stardate 2011.1024…

October isn’t over yet and already it’s been an eventful month on the USS Loma Prieta. We’ve added new members, seen many promotions amongst our crew, and conducted yet another successful away mission. We’ve also reached a significant milestone in our progress toward commissioning by voting in our chapter’s emblem. The winning design (above) was chosen after receiving 6 out of a total of 9 votes present at the time of our monthly meeting.

Throughout our shakedown cruise, the USS Loma Prieta has had an impressive record as an active chapter. Word of our activities has even reached the rest of the fleet, with the USS Loma Prieta’s July away mission to the USS Hornet being featured in the Starfleet Region 4 Fall Newsletter. We began the month with a well attended away mission to San Francisco’s Fleet Week 2011 celebrations.

October also held a poignant reminder that spoke directly to our chapter’s secondary mission: to render disaster relief to Federation worlds and our immediate community. On Thursday, October 20th, the Hayward fault produced a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in the East Bay that could be felt as far away as San Francisco. Later that night, a 3.8 magnitude aftershock hit while Lt. Hesser, Yeoman Bee and myself were undergoing a disaster training simulation with SFFD NERT, which reinforced our reasons for being there in the most heavy handed way imaginable. This coming Thursday, select crew members will conduct their final exercises, graduate from NERT training, and be assigned to their neighborhood NERT teams for further disaster preparedness and emergency response training. Any crew members who wish to volunteer as ‘victims’ for the October 27th training simulation, or who wish to enroll in the next series of NERT training classes, should contact the commanding officer.

November is gearing up to be even more active. We’ll be forgoing our standard general chapter meeting in lieu of not one, but four special events and away missions. First, Chief Helm Officer Lt. Jon Sung will be taking command of a Runabout to lead an away mission to investigate the mysterious transmissions we’ve been receiving from the Hayward sector. Rumor has it that these transmissions could lead to the discovery of the planet Sonic, whose fast food value menu was once thought to be a myth. Next, on November 15th, the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers organization will be hosting UCSF Professor of Psychiatry Nick Kanas for a free lecture on Psychological Issues affecting Astronauts in Space. The next day, the USS Loma Prieta will dispatch an away team to the California Academy of Science for the ‘Into Space’ NightLife event, featuring NASA’s GLAST Optical Robotic Telescope and a screening of JJ Abram’s Star Trek (2009) in the theater (Tickets are $12, buy now before they sell out). At the end of November, we are also anticipating a Star Trek Costume and Craft Night event, hosted by Lt(jg) Lippmann and our Quartermaster, Ensign Connell. More info on this event will be available when Ensign Connell returns from Switzerland Prime in the Europa Sector.

Until then, standby for a personnel report… Perkins, out.

~Cmdr. Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Posted on

Captain’s Blog … Stardate 2011.0920

Captain’s Blog, Stardate 2011.0920…

September is shaping up to be an exciting month for the intrepid crew of the USS Loma Prieta.  In addition to expanding our usual monthly meetings to a bigger venue to accommodate our growing numbers, we’re also scheduled to conduct our most large scale Away Mission to date, and will begin our first community involvement project and hands-on training course.

Lately, the bridge of the USS Loma Prieta has felt a little cramped. But lucky for us, Ensign Andy Smith has volunteered his residence at Houseku Station for our next meeting. Equipped with a projector screen for ARTEMIS tactical simulations, a ready-room style table for staff meetings, and even a vintage Next Generation pinball machine, tomorrow’s meeting is going to take things to a whole new level.

Next up is our away mission to the Darkroom on Mission St to see the final performance of Star Trek Live: The Way to Eden. Initial scans conducted by Yeoman Cindy Bee indicate that the performance is as absurd and entertaining as it sounds. Because this away mission involves temporal displacement, the crew is under strict orders to don 23rd century (TOS) style Starfleet uniforms, and to interfere with the timeline AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!

Last week, several senior staff members began training with the San Francisco Fire Department in disaster response skills, with the end-goal of becoming certified NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) volunteer disaster workers. The 2nd class (of 6) is scheduled to convene Thursday (9/22) evening, and it’s not to late to join up for the remainder of the classes.

Let’s also not forget that September 30th is the three month anniversary of the launching of the USS Loma Prieta and marks us one third of the way through shakedown as a full fledged Starfleet chapter. We have a solid core group of senior staff members and some great activities under our belts; now is the time to focus on recruiting new members to Starfleet.

See you tomorrow evening at the staff meeting.  Perkins out.

~Cmdr. Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Posted on

Captain’s Blog … Stardate 2011.0728

Region4_logo

Captain’s Blog, Stardate 2011.0728…  

It is with this entry that I hereby mark the inauguration of the ship’s blog for the Ambassador class cruiser USS Loma Prieta. This blog shall serve as the primary channel through which the senior staff will publish their reports, the contents of which shall be compiled to make up the ship’s newsletter on a bi-monthly basis. This will include posts such as the Captain’s Blog (general updates from the CO), Away Team Debriefings (field trip follow ups), Personnel Reports (promotions and updates to membership), reports from department heads and other special posts.

When our engineering team is ready to launch the Loma Prieta’s full website, this blog will be incorporated into the structure. Given this new information and the subsequent changes in policy towards in-chapter communications, a revised edition of the USS Loma Prieta handbook will be forthcoming.

Until then, standby for a personnel report… Perkins, out.

~Cmdr. Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4