Sam Lipstcher. No Platt was seen in STF again, but I'll be darned if a Mike Platt clone didn't join us only days after the Platts disappeared. Sam immediately jumped into the gov't affairs of STF . . . seemingly where the Platts left off. I may very well have been paranoid at that point, but I could have sworn that it was the Second Coming of Platt.
Sam caused great ripples throughout STF. He convinced a number of people that they were being oppressed by the all-powerful Torres. For a time, he tried to have me impeach Torres. When he learned that this wasn't likely, he called for the people to replace the entire High Command. One lasting remnant of Sam is the fact that STF members now vote for their leader.
I got married. Chief Medical Officer Malinda Marshall and I met one day in Midyette's Place, my "chat" bar. She and I became fast friends. Very close friends, in fact. So close, that we began one of those odd little social traditions. She suggested that if one could wage war on the BB, why not marry? She had a very good point.
Franco Torres officiated the ceremony. This became quite the novelty in STF and several people followed our footsteps. Malinda was unable to stay with us and has moved on . . . but her memory remains very vivid in my mind.
During this month, we celebrated the first anniversary of STF with the 2-month-long McParty (2), named in honor of SA Kate McCarthy. A new cybernetic being -- Diskette -- made her formal appearance at this party. (Also of note, Admiral FKG -- who wasn't a real Admiral -- left command of Star Base 93 to Julie Larsen on a permanent basis. He promised to return and has not done so since. Julie still sits on the Ops of SB93 awaiting FKG's return. . . .)
At the end of this month, STF would be forced to face its second tragedy . . . Franco would leave STF. Without the FgA, who would lead? Surely, Jose Monroy -- who after Franco had seniority. But no, I was named Flag Admiral. I was more shocked than anyone else. I had never planned to lead STF -- and certainly not this early. . . ! But here I was, on Sept 11, 1992, taking command of STF.
On Sept 12, I was locked out of my club. *P had decided to move all Roleplaying to the newly-formed Games BB. But, they neglected to tell us until they actually did it. So, over half of the club was locked out . . . It would be the first major decision of my young Presidency. (I changed the title from FgA to Prez.) You see, some of us wanted to defy the order and move to the Teens BB. But, finally, I led us to the SCI-FI GAME CLUBS area, where today we sit.
The time between Sept of '92 and 1/93 was relatively uneventful. STF simply sat in our comfy new home and expanded. For the first time, we truly experienced a degree of peace and tranquility. Our numbers went up and new departments went into effect, streamlining the gov't of STF.
Operation: Restore STF. Immediately after news of the "Midyette Scandal" reached STF, TA Da'Cras "invaded" STF. He, along with his club, was intent on bringing STF back from the "dark days" of the Midyette Presidency. They would rebuild the gov't, recruit quality members, and oversee honest elections. In fact, their goal was to secure for themselves the leadership of this club. Da'Cras was a very jealous person. IKE was a club that never quite got off the ground. It tried several times. It never even came close.
The people were up in arms. Outraged that anyone would make such an aggressive move against STF, everyone was prepared to go to war. I appealed for calm. I agreed not to run for President again . . . If only IKE would leave STF to its own destiny. Eventually, I convinced the members to simply ignore the IKE. Da'Cras and his people left STF . . . but only after I agreed not to run in the next STF election.
When I returned, I began a great revival of STF Foreign Policy. As Veep, I had the authority speak for STF, but the free time to really make some headway. I reestablished ties with old allies . . . made some new friends . . . and set out on a personal quest to cleanse my name. As I write this now, nary anyone on this board even remembers the great "Midyette Scandal." And even fewer would give a damn.
June 1993. Prodigy announces a new series of price hikes (3). STF, without missing a beat, begins to consider alternatives to $P. People are dispatched to NVN, Compuserve, and other on-line services to compare value. NVN is decided on as the newest home of STF (4).
Back in STF, people were melancholy. The July 21st Two-Year Anniversary would be spent reflecting on the past, instead of pondering the future. Friends of months and years would be split apart due to price increases. Julie Larsen decides not to pursue re-election . . . after a good deal of soul-searching, I decided to re-take the STF Presidency. I knew that it might be hard -- STF was in for rough times ahead. But I also knew that under a steady hand, STF would be fine.
In the intervening months, I was elected President with Ryan Lucas as my Veep. Most everyone who wanted to managed to stay on-line with *P. Those who couldn't, for whatever reason, assumed positions on NVN. At the end of August '93, STF was poised to begin a new era of life . . . yes, it was truly the end of the beginning. STF was finally leaving the infancy stage of its development.