Stardate 22210.14
Stardate: 22214.10
Attention on Deck! The UBS Abandon is pleased to announce that we will be hosting parties at Windycon 2022, both Friday & Saturday nights. We will be open to convention attendees from about 9:30pm until midnight. That's the fun part.
The less fun part. Covid continues to be an unwelcome part of life. As such, we will be requiring that convention attendees wear a mask when not actively drinking. This includes cloth masks, KF94s, KN95s & N95s. Gaiters, buffs and face shields are not acceptable alternatives at our party.
We encourage everyone to get a bivalent booster as soon as they are eligible. A good many of our crew already have & we expect more will before the convention. We also encourage the use of rapid tests on site.
Please join us as we celebrate Breaking the Glass Ceiling & the Women of SF/F.
Sláinte!
Captain Anita Drynke
Stardate 22201.11
Bardate 22201.11
Captain Anita Drynke, Commanding Officer UBS Abandon
Well, I've settled in & I sincerely hope I've found the last of the confetti. Q really put the hard sell on Capt. DuBois. Office smelled like tacos for a month!
The EMH is still hovering at me every time I lift something heavier than the aforementioned confetti. He's absolutely convinced I'll undo his expert surgical repair on my shoulder, which is why I was sporting that terribly fashionable sling at Windycon, for those of you who saw me.
Sadly, we are not going to be able to host an in person party at Capricon 42 either. The current state of the Covid-19 pandemic makes a crowded, in person party unsafe & we try very hard to throw a safe party. We're in the process of looking at what virtual options we can provide. It's frustrating to stay away, but the needs of the many...
Until we can raise a glass together again, Sláinte!
Stardate 22110.31
Bardate 22110.31
The Q have thrown a wonderful curve ball at me in the past few months. A full taco and nacho bar, mariachis following me around… and well, with that kind of fanfare and dedication – they made an offer I couldn’t refuse.
This will be my last journal entry as the Captain of the U.B.S. Abandon, but it will not be the last you will see of me. I will be travelling the galaxy as an ambassador and doing exhausting inebrium research to report back. It is hard work, but honest. Someone has to bring new inebrium to Barfleet.
Cmdr Anita Drynke will be taking the helm of the Abandon and her crew and I could not be happier that someone with the drive and experience will be taking the Abandon on her new chapter. I look forward to rendezvousing with the Abandon on the regular to keep tabs on her crew.
Now, I must find myself a Mr. Homn and speak to a Betazoid tailor about getting my kaftan collection in order.
Stardate 22110.27
Greetings crew members!
As Halloween approaches I hope everyone has embraced the season of pumpkin carving, candy stashing and getting your inner ghoul on. It's been a long strange time as we all enjoyed the break from staying home to stay safe, (Yay Science and Vaccines!) The turn-out for our Picnic in August was fantastic and I anticipate at least one more outdoor event before the Chicago winter slams into us. Who knows, maybe the weather during WindyCon will be kind to us. It would be great to gather with our lunches, or even an outdoor grill, to share our adventures, troubles, awful jokes and terrible puns. Plus I saw Dune and would love a good in person conversation!
Be safe, be smart and watch out for wild tribbles.
Chief Recreation Officer
Liz D'Lush
Stardate 22101.24
Greetings fellow crewmates!
Happy New Year! Hopefully all of you are well and safe during this unprecedented time.
For amusement purposes, we've been hosting almost weekly virtual events via Zoom, Twitch, but mainly on Barfleet Discord. We have had Jackbox Games, watch parties, breadmaking, and hoping to incorporate more events such as crafting, cooking, and more!
If you haven't joined any of our past events, we'd love to see you! We primarily run them in the 10 Forward lounge on Barfleet Discord, but definitely keep an eye out for those emails, our Facebook page and Discord for event announcements. Please join us in the future! We also welcome ideas for events! Just let us know!
Speaking of Virtual events, Capricon is coming up in less than 2 weeks! If you haven't seen the announcements already, check your emails, our Facebook page, and the event channel on Barfleet Discord regarding Capricon. We will have our DJs spin their sets Friday night, and then we will run Jackbox gaming Saturday night with Insane Ian first followed by SnuSnu, then the following Sunday we will have Coffee with the Captain. If any of you have other ideas on activities you'd like for the Abandon to do, please reach out to your department heads, but don't take too long! We have less than 2 weeks left!
Thanks everyone and hope to see you all at Virtual Capricon in under 2 weeks!
LCDR Shiho, out...with booze...and lesson planning...and more booze...with blackjack…and...
Stardate 22011.13
Stardate 22011.13
CDR Liz D'Lush
Chief Recreation Officer, UBS Abandon
Greetings from the Reba Kitty Cluster!
I’m still quarantined here, but have been promoted to making sure Queen Chonkybutt is satisfied. Much better than Litter Detail, that was an icky job. Currently Queen Chonkybutt demands that her green blankie be arranged ‘just so’, the cooler temperatures mean more napping. And of course, food bowl filling. Captain Chewy came through for me at the last minute, so we won’t starve! (whew)
This weekend I’m going to virtually visit the BreezyCon system, they were kind enough to build out a website for everyone!
The website is http://breezycon.isfic.org/
And I found that Barfleet warranted their OWN TAB! How special! You can see the events we are sharing with the humanoids of BreezyCon. http://breezycon.isfic.org/Home/Barfleet
And on their Discord, which you can join from their front page, we have our own channel! They must like us.
See you for MASH trivia, or Jackbox Saturday night, or if you want to hang out with me and make stuff, I’ll be doing that Saturday at 4pm central. Zooooooom!
Be safe! Don’t forget to wear your space helmet (aka Mask)
Stardate 22010.31
Stardate 22010.31
CDR Anita R. Drynke, Chief Communications Officer, UBS Abandon
In a normal world, today would be full of costumes & children & candy & warm cider, There would be jack-o-lanterns & parties & rituals tonight when the veil is thinnest. This is not a normal world.
I've written & deleted this log many times. It's so hard to decide what to say,
When we were designing the pandemic protocol for the EMH, I figured if it was ever triggered it would be by an alien life form brought back from exploring a new planet. I was wrong. There are over a million new portraits on ofrenda worldwide due to a virus evolved right here on Earth, a virus we continue to battle. We remain separate from our ship, our fleet, visiting on Zoom & Discord, but rarely in person. Of our regular ports of call, both Windycon for 2020 & Capricon for 2021 are cancelled. Both are planning virtual events, as have many conventions throughout the year.
Still we persevere. Many of us are cooking more & sharing our recipes & pictures of the foods we'd share if we could gather in person. Our inebrium research continues as well. Our crafters are doing beautiful work as they look forward to a day they can show it to us all in person.
And life goes on. I went to a wedding this morning & the bride was no less beautiful because there were only 5 of us in the room, including the judge. She wore a pretty mask with her dress, but you could see the smile in her eyes & the love on both of their faces. It gave me hope.
We will get to the other side of this. Until we do, please take care of yourselves & of each other. Wear your mask. The surest thing we can do when we have to go out is to properly mask, to protect each other from a disease that we don't always know we have, that is contagious before symptoms appear. We want to see each of you on the other side of this pandemic. Masking will help that happen.
Until then, Sláinte!
Stardate 22005.30
Lieutenant Commander Shiho, Chief Medical Officer, U.B.S. Abandon
The school year has ended. I got to see my kiddos graduate through our virtual graduation ceremony, yet couldn't hug them. It was hard. I'm proud of their achievements, and I can't wait to see where they will be next. Summer break officially started Thursday, and I've been doing what I can to relax and decompress from this most difficult end to a school year.
I feel I need to talk about Barfleet Summer Games. Holy wow was it a success! We had an amazing subcommittee that worked tirelessly to put the event together, and it was amazing! A special shout out to Nat Rum’nstuff for helping run the Virtual Scavenger Hunt and Hoptavia for running the Virtual Talent Show. To my amazement, I ended up winning 2 events: 1st place in the Virtual Scavenger Hunt, and the Super Sekrit Club award for my talent show submission. Another special shoutout to Morgan and SnuSnu for putting together an epic virtual beer croquet game. Hopefully they'll share this with all you lovely folks of the Abandon at this year's Virtual Relaxia event for those of you who missed Summer Games. Also a shout out to D'zzy L'zzy for her amazing Summer Games shirt design! I will gladly order a second round of shirts! I also want to give a shoutout to the amazing DJs during the weekend, especially our very own Rhet Sark. Y'all killed it! I also may have gone overboard and created a video of me making kalbi (korean short ribs) and showcase at the Foodies event. I also may have made a bad decision and participated in the Car Club, had 2 back to back rounds of car bombs, and then pretty much died shortly after. Still, I had fun. It was so great to see everyone again from all ships, as well as meet folks I have never met before.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank our lovely Captain Bryn for hosting Thirsty Thursdays through Zoom. It's so cool to learn about the preparation of cocktails from so many of our talented crew. For those of you who missed any of these sessions, please be on the lookout for Facebook event invites on the U.B.S. Abandon Facebook page. They really are a lot of fun! So far we've had presentations from myself, Shepherd and Leash, and next week will be Chane J. Able. Y'all are more than welcome to share out with us what you'd like to do for Thirsty Thursdays!
And now finally, I end this log with VIRTUAL RELAXIA!! We are a go for the event on Saturday, June 13th at 1500 hours. Please check the Facebook event frequently for details. Also, please check in with your department heads on any ideas you have for the event, but don’t take too long! We only have 2 weeks until the event!
As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and drink em up you sexy motherfuckers.
LCDR Shiho, out...for now...
Stardate 22004.11
Greetings to the Abandon.
I am currently at Day #29 of my quarantine on the planet Reba-6 located in the Kitty Cluster of the Evanston System. The natives won't tell me when my quaratine ends, and keep insisting I use the power of my opposable thumbs to continuily open cans of what they call GooshyNoms.
It smells disgusting.
But the natives are adorable and vibrate when pleased with my actions. I find this soothing. I suspect they are brainwashing me. I am ok with this.
I dream of the day when we can see each other again. Perhaps at the upcoming frivolity of the SpongeBob-NoPants Festival on the planet Relaxia. There were also several Temporal Distortion missions planned for the Bristol Sector, swashbuckling is always fun.....Those will be good days.
Till that day!
HAIL HYDRATE,
Liz D'Lush
Chief Recreation Officer
Stardate 22002.19
Lieutenant Commander Shiho, Chief Medical Officer, U.B.S. Abandon
This year's mission to Capricon 2020, The Redshirt Survival Afterparty, was a huge success. All Command staff unanimously thought it would be appropriate to go back to the basics and revisit the very reason why we are Barfleet. Oddly enough, my medical staff all came in wearing the appropriate colored Starfleet uniforms. I swear none of us preplanned it! It just happened! I believe a holoimage was taken by LCDR JOG, and no doubt our Chief Recreation Officer will add that holoimage to our next deployment at Windycon.
Medical came up with 4 incredibly tasty premix drinks for this mission: Command, Engineering, Medical/Science, and Security (N/A). All four premixes were happily consumed by our wonderful guests and served by our amazing medical staff. It was nice to hear from several patrons and crew how much they enjoyed our drinks.
The Party Gods saw fit to bestow upon us the Best Party Award. We are incredibly proud of this honor, and look forward to our next deployment at Windycon.
We were honored to be in the presence of one of the Guest of Honors, Indycent's Captain Lucy. We were also thrilled to see so much of the Indycent crew, and truly appreciate their enthusiasm and willingness to fill in holes for us. We were also more than fortunate to be in the presence of various crew from the Delirium and Barbase Columbus. We look forward to seeing all of you again at our next departure at Windycon!
All in all, it was an excellent mission, one I am incredibly proud of and hope to repeat in the future. Again, a special shout out to my medical staff, the command staff, the crew of the Abandon, and all other crew members from visiting ships and barbase.
LCDR Shiho, out...with bourbon on hand.
Stardate 22001.06
Commander Ceiling Hawke, Executive Officer U.B.S. Abandon
I have set up quite the nice little arrangement as I return from multiple extra-regional diplomatic missions. Being the Chief Ginny Whisperer means her and I can come to an understanding: I provide her with slightly more access to the Abandon's key systems and let her make some I'm-sure-they're-very-minor-and-unimportant changes to the warp core and ordnance arrays, and in return she provides me with a steady supply of Bourbon.
Meanwhile, I've allowed Captain Bryn DuBois to set up a few more firewalls to keep Ginny from messing with the Life Support systems (again) and to stop randomly shocking the ODTs when they get too sober, and in return she provides me with a steady supply of Scotch.
This'll do nicely. As long as I have enough of the good stuff set aside to keep the rest of Command from asking too many questions, I can keep my slack field going for as long as possible.
... at least until we dock in mid-February for the upcoming Capricon conference. I have a sneaking suspicion that'll be the last rest I get for quite a while. Not to mention I keep seeing Yo! Lotta K'leavage in that sector with increasing frequency...
Feck. Where's the Glenfiddich?
Stardate 21911.22
Captain Bryn DuBois, Commanding Officer U.B.S. Abandon
Another successful mission to WindyCon - we took home the award for “Best Non-Alcoholic Drink” for our tribute to some of our favorite space oddities! We are gearing up for a few more fun events to keep the slack field running through the end of the year on the Abandon.
Our Second Breakfast Club will be kicking off… second breakfast… or elevensies… on December 7th in a newly unexplored sector of Palatine. The crew has informed me that they will mutiny if I do not provide enough coffee for them at this event.
On Friday the 13th, we are taking our chances with the Germans at Chicago’s very own Chriskindlemart. I, for one, and very much looking forward to quaffing large amounts of gluhwine and eating my weight in chocolates.
The Tropics of Capricon are nearing closer and closer. Captain Lucy Libidinous Long of the U.B.S. Indycent will be joining us as the Fan Guest of Honor and will likely be depleting our stores of Whaler’s that we have carefully stockpiled over the years. We have time to search out more supplies in advance of her visit and ready ourselves for an influx of visitors from our sister ship.
The Command staff is still mulling over some ideas for our visit to the Wheeling Sector and how best to celebrate the Tropics of Capricon.
Ginny, end log.
Stardate 21908.23
Captain Bryn DuBois, Commanding Officer U.B.S. Abandon
As the newly minted captain, I am still getting my sea legs – but with the help of an excellent command staff and a stellar crew – I am getting settled in nicely. One of the things that I need to get the hang of is sweet talking our dear Ginny into doing what needs to be done around the ship. In speaking with her previous captains, there is an art to it… and I just need to master it.
We have our second… or first temporal incursion in a few days’ time, and it will give the crew some much needed shore leave before we embark on the journey to the Lombard sector. WindyCon is one of our staple missions, and we are glad to be back in November. This time, I have been told, there will be a lot more glitter involved.
Now, where is my raktajino?
Stardate 21211.11
Captain Ron P. Añejo, Commanding Officer U.B.S. Abandon
It's been a good year for the Abandon. The mission to Capricon was its usual success, we rocked DucKon again, winning best party.
Then all of Barfleet descended ("rendezvous" was the word the Commodore used) on the Chicago Cluster for the "mission to Chicon 7". There, we confirmed the fleet's reputation as the most slack-inducing ships in the galaxy. The locals were so grateful they named ours the best party of the gathering.
But after the mission I wasn't feeling quite myself. Seems I became a zombie, more literally than figuratively. But we set down for shore leave at WindyCon where we helped them cure their own zombie outbreak and found a cure for me in the process. Yet again, they seemed to think we threw the best party. All in a day's slack.
So as we are completing our first five year mission, we are looking ahead to more fun and frivolity in the coming year — Ginny, end log. And pour me a gorram drink.
Stardate 21106.19
Captain Ron P. Añejo, Commanding Officer U.B.S. Abandon
Since our successful mission at DucKon, the ship's computer has been insisting that I do one of these log entries. Now it's resorted to extortion — it's locked out the replicator, refusing to produce coffee or booze until I give in.
So, I suppose I'll start with how I first came aboard.
During the Unification War, I joined the Independents and served as a Combat Medic with the 57th Overlanders. To these folk, "Balls and Bayonets" was more than just a nickname. Then the war ended at Serenity Valley.
One day, some odd folks came into the bar I was looking to forget the war in. They were searching for something called "Inebrium" to fuel something called an Inebrium breach so they could get back to their part of the 'Verse. Well, I'd worked plenty with booze, sugar, and caffeine during the war — and after. Since that's what they were trying to combine, I went aboard their ship to lend a hand.
That's when I learned that "Earth-That-Was" still "is". It seems our little system of a dozen planets was a lost little lamb — far out of the way in a corner of the 'Verse. And if these folks hadn't slipped into their breach no one else would have ever found our little corner of the galaxy.
It seems this fella Bacardi and his crew had just "found" this fine ship not too long ago. They renamed it the Abandon, which was fitting since they did everything with abandon.
I started mixing alongside their Medical staff. And sure enough, we eventually struck Inebrium. They loaded it into their system, and we all decided to celebrate with the extra.
When I woke up, three weeks has passed. They had gone back through the breach, and "forgot" to leave me behind. We were in space they called the Chicago Cluster.
Since then, I've moved up the ranks doing what needs doing. When Captain Bacardi stepped aside to take special assignment to help the Party Marines rediscover their mojo, I was the last one to step back and ended up Captain.
So there, I've entered a log.
Computer, end log. And give me a gorram drink!
Stardate 20801.08
*tap* *tap* *tap*... Is this thing on.... Stardate, um.... 20801.08 Captain Ron "Eagle Eye" Bacardi, Commanding Officer UBS Abandon.
I can't believe it.... How stupid could they be to actually all beam over to the station and leave no one on board. Of course I'm not complaining. Maybe when I sober up, I'll remember to complain... but not now. Then again, it's been 7 months already... and we show no signs of sobering up. Of course that's making system upgrades and reprogramming go a bit slower than hoped. But hey... what can you do.
We're currently in a distant parking orbit around Barbase Columbus, while we bring our tactical systems into line with the rest of the fleet, and wipe out all references to the former USS Cerberus. Looks like we hit the jackpot when Cerberus came in for a visit. They came in understaffed, running mostly on automation, and desperately in need of the unique recreational facilities offered by the station. Who knew a Prometheus class ship would come in and everyone would beam over to the station at the same time, and not go back? The built in automation and extra EMH emitters are making our work just that much easier. If things continue at their current pace, we should be good to officially commission the ship.... well... soon.
Myself and my new crew beamed aboard the Cerberus about four months after the crew was last seen aboard and quickly managed to take over all the systems and move the ship out where prying eyes wouldn't see anything. The first order of business was a quick paint job and systems reprogramming to hide any obvious signs about the ship's past life. Of course, once that was done... we had to hold a little celebration, which has put all other work on hold.
With Commodore Erickson's permission we have renamed her UBS Abandon, since clearly she was just sitting there Abandoned and we just exercised salvage rights. I believe we've found a niche in the fleet, besides bringing casual behavior to the Chicago Cluster, looks like we're destined to become the fleet's Heavy Ordinance Vehicle. It's a dangerous job... but thank god we're too drunk to care.
