Recently, I was informed by the Trek Museum about a ship that was recently built, getting a Landmark to the location, and an invitation to look around. The ship in question, the USS Defiant. For those less familiar with Star Trek, the Defiant was the starship frequently used on missions in the “Deep Space Nine” series. It was smaller than the Enterprise, but was heavily armed. In Second Life, this Defiant will be the location of a Trek Roleplay.
Getting aboard and looking around, I was soon met by one lady in a gold Trek uniform and a silver collar: Donnaj Firehawk. She greeted me, and offered me a tour of the ship, starting with the transporter room, and going to the ready room, and then the room most think of with Trek ships, “This is our main Bridge. It has a changeable screen behind you, and in the front, and also an alert system.” And just after taking a picture, the ship began flashing Red Alert, “Ooops, are cameras considered a security hazard?” I asked in jest. Donnaj giggled, “We are still in the finishing touches. The Captain is anyway.” She explained the ship hadn’t been up for very long.
Donnaj showed me the Captain’s Office. The desk being neat and tidy, there wasn’t much to distinguish it, except for a small fishtank with a half-globe display set in the wall with a lionfish swimming inside. “This is Trigger,” she explained. She then showed me the brig, with a room with not much more than a bunk at one end, “Our holding cell.” With a weak field up, moving into and out was no problem. But after Donnaj strengthened it, “Now try to walk through the force field.” And indeed there was no simply walking in or out.
Going along, I noticed several pictures of avatars on the wall, some in uniform some not. I asked about them, and Donnaj told me those were of the upcoming crew, which was still incomplete. The trip went past the upper cargo room with a few containers, and led to a place familiar to Trekkers, “This is the top view of Engineering,” she pointed to a group of four columns lit up in pulsating blue light, ”with working warpcore.” When she turned it off, the ship announced in the loudspeaker, “Warp Core is offline, Condition Yellow.” Donnja explained, “Also, it’s connected to the alert system.” She turned it back on, the computer then announced, “Warp Core is online, Condition Green.”
The trip then went to the rear Crew Quarters. The ship being smaller than the Enterprise, most of the crew were assigned not individual rooms, but bunks, “There are four bunks here.” The trip then went past the datacore, the heart of the ship’s computer. We then came to the front Crew Quarters, “There are six bunks here.” We then headed to a room with some tables with chairs and control panels with shelves underneath on one side, and a larger than normal door with another panel on the other. “This is the Mess Hall andHolodeck,” Donnaj explained, “Click the replicators. Those meals are copyable; three different meals.” Turning to the other side of the room, “Of theHolodeck , the Captain is currently working on making it workable.” This would probably be the last part of the ship that would be finished.
Heading out of there, we went to Sick Bay, which stood out from it’s several beds with panels with X-rays and graphs behind each one, “This is our Medical Facility. If you’re have a lay on a bed, I’ll activate it.” I did, and an arch went over my avatar, the computer going, “BioBed closing, please stand clear.” After a few seconds, “BioBed opening, please stand clear.” Donnaj remarked, “Scan complete, you’re in good health.” Unlike McCoy with Spock, there were no jokes about the differences between human and non-human physiology.
We then went to another large room, “This is our Main Cargo Bay.” She then pointed to something not normally seen on a Federation ship, “Also Borg Regeneration Chambers.” Asked if there was this kind of character in the RP, “We do have a Borg on board, yes.” The cargo bay door was open, but a force field was up for keeping in the air. We walked on, and came to the last large room, with a two-man ship sitting inside, “This is the Shuttle Bay. The shuttle does fly. If you like, I can take you down.” I agreed, and we both walked inside, “Have a seat.” After we did, the computer announced, “Pilot Donnaj Firehawk. Say ‘start’ to begin flying.” She did, and the ship floated up a few inches, and she slowly backed the ship out of the shuttle bay and the Defiant.
Donnaj took the shuttle towards the ground, telling me that another ship was being worked on, “The Captain is currently working on a Borg Cube.” Which for someone familiar with Trek suggests a few rough and tumble adventures ahead. Getting closer to the buildings of the Trek Museum grounds, Donnaj pointed out a few places, though she was soon having some trouble steering as the ship was closer to more and more prims, “Our shuttle seems to be having a mind of it’s own. It’s not letting me turn the direction I want to go.” She eventually decided to land it a little short of where she wanted, “I will have to have my Captain take a look at it.”
The USS Defiant is at the Saint Clara Island sim, at (72, 201, ***)
Bixyl Shuftan
The RP takes place in 1776. Russia is ruled by Ekaterina II, better known as Catherine the Great, as well as the Russian nobility. In St. Petersburg, court intrigue abounds. In the southern part of the Empire, a rebellion is brewing. Between them and the capital, the army marches to meet them. And everywhere, the peasants somehow manage to eke out a living despite everything against them.
The region was described as having it’s own economy, with it’s own RP currency technically apart from the Linden, players able to buy period clothing and personal weapons at shops. But some effort (and presumably Lindens) are needed to maintain one’s rank in the RP.
There is no official roleplaying going on for now. The region is still under construction. Some places are largely finished, others are still being worked on. Thomas explained among those working on the builds were Second Life residents living in Russian in real life. He went on to say there would be some activity soon.
