I Enlisted in Starfleet!

I have been a Star Trek fan (otherwise knows as a Trekkie or Trekker) for most of my life. I remember very vividly when Star Trek The Next Generation premiered in 1987-- I was hooked.   The local Fox affiliate started showing re-runs of the original Star Trek too.  I fell in love with both!   A pretty crafty kid, I was soon converting a flashlight into a phaser, making my own flip top communicator and turning my cassette player into a tricorder.  I even went to great lengths to convert my roll-top desk into a close replica of Lt. Uhura's communications station from the bridge using poster board & construction paper.  My room was the bridge of the enterprise.  The back yard was a wild unexplored planetary surface with danger at every turn.

As time went on and I grew into an adult, that imaginative boy inside me never died.  Today, Star Trek is my main hobby.  I blog about Star Trek, read Star Trek novels, comics, & biographies.  I often attend Star Trek conventions and events.  And, of course, I enjoy watching my DVD & Bluray collection of Trek TV & movies in my spare time. I usually find that re-runs of Star Trek are more entertaining and engaging than the barrage of reality television we have today.

I recently decided to take my Star Trek fandom to the next level, and join STARFLEET - The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc. According to their website "STARFLEET is the oldest continuously operating Star Trek Fan Organization in the world. Founded back in 1974, when there were only 79 original live-action Star Trek episodes and no movies yet, STARFLEET has grown over the years to thousands of members. We’re all about having fun, making friends, and keeping the ideals of Star Trek alive and healthy into the future."  

Here is quick primer-- STARFLEET is organized into geographic regions.  For example, Region 1 consists of Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, &  West Virginia.  Each region has a number of individual chapters.  Region 1 currently has 49 chapters.  Each chapter is comprised of at least 5 STARFLEET members (I think that's the minimum - but I'm not sure).   There is both a "real world" element and a "fictional" side to each chapter.  Fictionally each chapter is designed around a ship (or sometimes a space station).  The leader of the chapter is the ship's Captain.  Each member has a rank and position in the chapter (with both fictional and real duties).  Some chapters are also active in the roleplaying video game world Star Trek Online-- where they can play as their fictional ship and an interactive environment.  Some chapters have monthly meetings where they conduct club business, organize charity work like clothing drives, go on outings-- or they just get together and have fun.  Other chapters (like the one I joined) are called correspondence chapters.  These ships don't actually have real meetings but communicate online via e-mail and forums.  I decided to go with an correspondence chapter because I travel so much for work and am rarely in the same place enough to regularly go to meetings.

Did I say that I am already the member of a chapter?  Well, that's almost true.  I am currently applying to be join the crew of the USS Columbia.  According to their website "The USS Columbia is arguably the most active internet-based chapter of STARFLEET. We are a correspondence chapter which draws members from two continents and a half dozen countries. The chapter was launched on ‘Shakedown cruise’ in January 2010 and is currently working towards full commissioning."  The chapter is based out of Kentucky, so it is in Region 1 (just like my home state of Tennessee).  Fictionaly, the Columbia is "an Excelsior class heavy cruiser launched in the year 2295."  

The web site goes on to describe more about this era in Star Trek chronology.  "Though the Kitomer accords were signed a year before her launch peace with the Klingons is still a fragile one at best. The Romulans have been quiet for a while and noone knows what is happening across the Neutral Zone.  New technology is being developed such as holodecks and replicators but they are still in their early stages.  As one of the newesr vessels in the fleet Columbia will take advantage of some of these new technologies while making extensive use of proven ones. Soon she will set out from space dock on her mission of exploration."  (quoted from www.usscolumbia.net)

That's super exciting, right? On the Columbia, it's the year 2297. That might seem pretty specific to you, but that's how Trekkies role -or roleplay rather.  So ship's story is set during the span of time inbetween the Classic Star Trek Movies and the first episode of  The Next Generation.   That's like a gold mine for a fan fiction writer!

So, what about me?   How do I fit into this fictional world?  Well, some Starfleet fan club members create elaborate character biographies for their fictional counterparts.  Others focus on the real world social activities.  I think the fantasy is fun though, so while I still haven't worked out my complete character bio, I do have some strong ideas about my fictional life.  I know that I want to be stationed in the Communications division of the Operations Department.  Basically, it all goes back to that construction paper communications console I made for my roll top desk when I was a kid. And I've always idolized Uhura-- the communications officer inthe original Star Trek tvseries. I actually got to meet her last summer!  Nichelle Nichols is a fascinating woman.  She used the fame Star Trek gave her to be a spokesperson for NASA and actively recruited for them in colleges all over the country. Astronaut Mae Jemison (the first African American woman in space) credites Nichelle as her inspiration.   There is other reason I've chosen to be a Communications Officer.  It's actually a similar job to what I do in real life.  A Stage Manager is the hub of communication for the entire production. We have to keep all the production departments on the same page and give all official notices about the production to the cast and crew. We make paging announcements backstage and even into the audience if there's any kind of emergency.  I think I'd be well equipped to be a Comm Officer!   In the Star Trek universe, the Communications Officer position is eventually disolved and merged into the Operations Officer position.  The Ops Officer is even more of a Stage Manager though.  They do things like overseeing internal systems control, communications and sensor system usages, coordinate the scheduling of resources, hardware and system usage for the entire starship.  Now doesn't that sound a lot like what a Production Stage Manager does on a large production? I think so!

The way Starfleet works, I have a very low rank as a new member (thus the crewman uniform above).  I earn more rank by be active, participating in my chapter, and doing STARFLEET Academy training!  Soon enough I'll be able to photoshop myself into an officer's uniform (haha).  *pause*  Ok, I've actually already done that.  But I won't post it yet because I haven't earned it!

I'm really looking forward to my STARFLEET membership helping me to connect with other geeks out there, have some fun, share some ideas, and basically relax.  Hey, some people have sports-- I have Star Trek.  I think I'm attracted to the optimism of Gene Roddenberry's creation.  In the Star Trek future all of people on planet Earth are united.  There is no war, no arguments over religion or politics.  As a race, we have evolved and are exploring the vast galaxy in which we live.  It's really a hope for the future that I find refreshing.

For more about what set's Star Trek apart- check out this article.