STF's Engineering Department

Making The Universe Safe For Technology

One Ship At A Time

[Preface]------[What Is The New Fleet]------[Why Have A New Fleet?]------[ED Links]

The STF Department of Engineering
STF is a Star Trek-based Role Playing club and as such uses much of the terminology and technology seen in the Star Trek TV shows. However, our gadgetry occasionally deviates from TV Trek-Tech, especially with regards to ship classes. This page is dedicated to helping people understand STF's ships and technology; It is, however, non-official, even though we don't have an "official" ED (Engineering Department) page yet.

The biggest item on the ED's table right now is the ratification of the 8 ships of the "New Fleet." By STF law, all ships used in STF RPGs must be of designs authored by STF members (the rationalization of this law is offered below).

The Designs of The New Fleet
The original mandate of the Engineering Department was for 4 "New Fleet" ships, but as more ships were commissioned for the WeBB in late 1997, EDir Owen Townes authorized a doubling of that number. The following, listed, are the ships of the New Fleet as of early 1998:

Aurora -- Commodore Aaron Holland
One of STF's oldest classes, the Aurora is an Explorer/Heavy Cruiser upgrade on the Galaxy class. Aaron Holland's design includes bio-neural computer cells, emergency medical holograms, and other new technologies designed to bring the Galaxy into the 2370s. The official page for the Aurora is maintained at FrameWeb; an additional ZMP-formatted page also exists.

Columbus -- Commodore Jeff Field
Jeff Field's Explorer/Heavy Cruiser Columbus is a brand-new ship which concentrates more on scientific missions than any other ship in the fleet. Its official page is here at the ED; the ZMP-formatted page is forthcoming.

Darwin -- Commodore Mike Bourdaa
Another one of the latter four of the New Fleet, Mike Bourdaa's Explorer/Light Cruiser Darwin design features a small, modular design. The official page is here; the ZMP-formatted page is also up.

Independence -- Captain Colin Wyers
Colin Wyers' Scout-type Independence is truly a unique vessel. Designed for stealth and speed, it comes equipped with a cloaking device and advanced sensor equipment. The official page is here at the ED; the ZMP-formatted page is forthcoming.

Nimitz -- Captain Randy McCullick
Possibly the oldest ship in STF history, the Nimitz was designed by R.E. McCullick to be the most powerful Warship/Dreadnought ever, and it does come close. The official page is maintained at Randy's website, but a ZMP-formatted page is also available.

Olympic -- Commodore Mike Bourdaa
Another of the four more-recent New Fleet designs is the Olympic, an Explorer/Superheavy Cruiser designed by Mike Bourdaa. The Olympic is easily the largest ship ever proposed to STF, larger than anything ever seen on TV Trek and able to function like a starbase at times. The official page is maintained here at the ED; the ZMP-formatted page is forthcoming.

Trafalgar -- Commodore Mike Ballway & Captain Larry Garfield
The youngest of the original 4 New Fleet designs is the Trafalgar, designed by Mike Ballway (with some help from Larry Garfield), a Warship/Tactical Destroyer concentrated on maneuverability, speed, and advanced weaponry -- intended for use on border patrol, escort duties, and assistance in military operations. The official page is at the ED; a ZMP-formatted page also exists.

Trinitron -- Captain Nick Oven
The third-oldest concept in STF history, the Trinitron has gone through many incarnations since first being introduced in 1994. The current revision is called the "Trinitron-Mark III," has yet to be classified, and was introduced by Nick Oven in early 1998. The official page is here; the ZMP-formatted page is forthcoming.

Why Have a New Fleet?
The original purpose of the Engineering Department was to upgrade all STF ships from the Galaxy- and Ambassador-Classes to new designs authored by STF members. The rationale behind this plan -- which had Presidential blessing as well as popular support -- was threefold:

Doing so allowed COs (Commanding Officers) and GMs (RPG GameMasters) to intimately know each ship -- at the time, there were no Enterprise-D blueprints, and there are still no Ambassador-class specs.
Doing so allowed STF members to be creative and place, on their ships, the features they desired, and
Doing so protected ships from obsolescence due to dialogue in future Star Trek episodes (example: Suppose, in the next Trek movie, Picard were to say that no more Galaxy-class ships existed -- that would really screw up our ship list as it existed at the time!)

History of the ED
Origins
In August of 1994, as Jim Midyette was elected president for the fourth time (our first nonconsecutive multiple-term president), he created a new cabinet-level position: Engineering Director (EDir).

As early as late 1993 then-Commander Mike Ballway had campaigned for an STF Department of Engineering, to be modeled after the STNG Technology Department (STNG was a nearby club, almost a "sister club" to STF). Plans for such a department, however, were turned down by Jim Midyette (then in his second and third terms) and later by Jerry "~Z~" Phelps.

When Jim took back the Presidency in late 1994, however, he pronounced the idea good and assigned by then-Captain Ballway to the job of Engineering Director.

Early History: "Three Mikes"
When the ED started out, Captain Mike Ballway was the logical choice for EDir and was chosen. Soon after, Mike was also appointed Fleet Commander of Fleet Two -- the Great White Fleet -- and was promoted to Commodore (Jim had wanted to promote him to Admiral, but Ballway -- once known as the "Will Riker of STF2" for refusing to take promotions out of his Main Engineering on the Constellation-- refused, citing "Admiraphobia" and demanding a lesser rank. He was STF's first Commodore since the Platts).

The first few months were tedious. Nobody had ever tried to codify or even catalogue STF's technology before. Today there are only three ships in the Fleet; At that time, we were a much grander club, with more than that in Fleet Two alone. After learning the registry and class of each ship, Mike set to the task of finding other Engineers to help design the new classes.

Three Mikes dominated the early ED: Vice-President and later President Mike Cathcart, Trinitron Captain and later Fleet 2 Commander Mike Barclay, and Engineering Director Mike Ballway (strangely, these three were the only Mikes in STF -- and they all led the ED at some point). Barclay and Ballway both had claims as the "final authority on the Trinitron class" and in the end, nothing much got done other than numerous postings of an "upgrade schedule" and the preliminary sketches of what would become the ships of the New Fleet.

Randy & Velos Join The Team
By mid-1995 Barclay and Cathcart had left STF and Barclay's successor as Trinitron CO, Ken Marklan ("Velos") had taken his place in the ED as well. Mid-1995 also saw the arrival of Randy McCullick, the original designer of the Nimitz-Class, and together they injected some much-needed energy into the department. With nearly-full Nimitz specs and overview explanations of the Nautilus and Trafalgar projects on the table, work was getting done. In March 1996, however, Marklan went AWOL on the eve of a Presidential Election. When Randy was elected President, the ED's "Third Triumvirate" became official: Mike stayed on as EDir, Holland became Assistant EDir, and Randy, denied a Command position because of his Presidency, took the semiofficial job of Dockmaster. During this time Aaron Holland resubmitted his Aurora specs and Vice-President Nick Oven was assigned to the Trinitron project. As the end of Randy's 8-month term approached, he went AWOL also, leaving the office of DockMaster open. Near the end of this "Second Triumvirate," the Nimitz-Class Dreadnought design was approved as-is for official RPG use. Finally, a definite victory in the ED!

1997-98: New Leadership, New Progress
The dawn of 1997 saw the election of a new STF president, Greg Hertzsch. Greg's Vice-President, Owen Townes, was appointed EDir and Nick Oven became AEDir; With Randy McCullick absent due to phone trouble, Mike Ballway was shifted over to Dockmaster with Aaron Holland unofficially staying on as a constant contributor (the 5-member Engineering Council was disbanded at this time). The Aurora-Class specs were hastily approved; Debate soon began on the Trafalgar-Class Tactical Destroyer.

In late 1997, after Hertzsch won a second term as STF President, Vice-Fleet Admiral Townes directed the ED to new heights as 4 new ship designs were proposed (the Columbus, Independence, Olympic, and Darwin) and finalized specifications for the Trinitron were offered. In early 1998, the focus of the ED expanded to include shuttlecraft and starbase designs, as well as the proposed Phoenix. Also around that time, Townes eliminated the position of DockMaster, shifting Mike Ballway to AEDir and appointing three "Engineering Advisors" to simulate the old Engineering Council. After some shuffling, the appointees included Captain Larry Garfield, Captain Seamus Hughes, and Commodore Mike Bourdaa.

ED Pages of Interest

A must-see for any STF crewmember: The list of abbreviations, ranks, and positions used in STF today (as well as a few from our history); and

From the Office of the Dockmaster... a noncomplete, but nonetheless useful page about STF's ships, with information on former COs, history, current crew, and class information.