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Thread: Red Squad

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2000
    Location
    Ft. Worth, TX USA
    Posts
    235

    Post Red Squad

    I'm starting my cadets in Red Squad starting next semester and decided I wanted to use what I like best. The atmosphere in Ender's Game and A Stitch In Time.

    Took a bit of thinking, but so far this is what I've come up with as requirements for establishing that type of feel:

    1. Every initiate must start at the bottom.
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    While in Robinson's book, you could get a little advantage from status, this wouldn't fit in the Federation.

    2. Power must be earned.
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    In the UFP this translates as rank. In Robinson's book, power also came through influence and alliance. Starfleet's high esteem for character is lost in Red Squad's lust for excellence. Perhaps there are these other motivations. It's up to you.

    3. Thru competition comes advancement.
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    This is a great time to use battle sims between dorms. In my game, I'm setting each dorm up with enough crew to man each bridge station.

    4. Make the initiate feel small.
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    Starfleet Academy is not small, so is Red Squad.

    5. Ingenuity is a skill to reward.
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    I'm fitting each dorm with an advanced hologramatic interlink system so that not only will it have streamlined interface between the others for holomatches, but allow for the cadets to make modifications to their holoship.

    With this I created the idea for my team. Dorms will probably have names like Alpha Squad, Sigma Squad, and so on.

    The dorms would be commanded by those in Red Squad who have gone on to Command School after their graduation.

    Ranks: (C- before rank denotes Cadet rank)

    Team CO: Cdt. Cmdr.
    Team XO: Cdt. Lt. Cmdr
    Team Counselor: Cdt. Lt. (can vary)
    Bridge Crew: Cdt. Ens, Lt.jg, Lt

    I created Team Counselor because I had a Centauran psychology student I wanted to use. What better place for psychology students to be sent than to be "Residence Advisor" to a Red Squad team? She would be assigned papers to write while keeping up with everything from team morale to individual psyche reports to be due to the XO regularly.

    My crew so far consists of a CO, XO, RA, Ops, Tac/Sec, Conn, Eng. Each individual is not only concerned for their personal scores in the official holomatches, martial arts tournaments, etc, but for his teams. In this way, Starfleet cultivates the spirit of the team over that of personal friendships that an jeopardize a situation in a crisis.

    As for the class of holoship? I want them to be equal, but what to choose? I'm kind of leaning towards Steamrunner or Akira to try to keep it bigger than a runabout. Any lower deck holocrew can be simulated but the real outcomes are of course dependant on the bridge crew's performance.

    Planetary capture-the-flag and other such simulations are also possible.

    Missions will also be assigned, pitting teams against each other in non-traditioinal tournaments.

    Missions can be based 1-on-1, every Team for themselves, or alliance based. Missions can include defending a base, blockading a spacial corridor, evading capture, escorting defenseless ships, etc.

    Now while you often know your enemies, sometimes it is good to be able to know how to choose your friends. In this manner, there may be tournaments where teams are encouraged to form inter-team alliances not assigned by Red Squad Admin. Still, with this type how would they tolerate turncoats, double-crossers etc. or would scoring be based primarily on the outcome? Just a thought.

    I would think that points would be gained for disabling ships unless absolutely necessary to destroy them.

    Accellerated classes are assigned for half the day and the team trains the other. In mine, the first year was used in choosing initiates from among the freshman class. They start in Year Two.

    For these cadets, they will walk out of SFA with enough experience that Kobiashi Maru would be a walk in the park.

    Anyone done anything close to this? 90% of this was thought up just yesterday so it's all workable. What sounds like it works? What doesn't?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2000
    Location
    Ft. Worth, TX USA
    Posts
    235

    Post

    Well I had thought along those lines too, thinking that they were getting too haughty to be allowed to go on much longer without the failures. However, my adventure at present lies one year after the Changeling hunt so the Valiant fiasco has yet to happen.

    Do you remember if Jake Sisko wrote a paper about what happened on the Valiant? I would think that if he did, that would be the clincher to their disbanding, or at least revamping. Already, I've got the crew "selected" from the freshman class by the watchful eye of the powers that be, perhaps an ex-SFI administrator now working in the Academy, someone who can spot the real talent. After the Valiant incident I plan to have a meeting by the SFA Admin to discuss it. I'm still unclear as to where I want it to go.

    One thing, when Starfleet Command was attacked by the Breen, would the Academy be close enough to be affected?

  3. #3

    Lightbulb

    I have to say it sounds more like a Cardassian or Romulan Academy game than my concept of Starfleet academy...

    ... Not that thats a bad thing...

    However, after red-squads last 2 Major failures, (conned into sabotaging Earths planetary generators and the overconfidence that led to the loss of the Valiant), red squad are on the verge of disbanding in my universe...

    This would translate well into your idea, as the cadets now have a third goal... To rebuild and restore the reputation of red squad, perhaps the academy has created multiple squads, this giving your players future rivals and even sworn enemies as these squads play out for whose the best?

    I think you have pretty much everything covered though...

    ------------------
    Dan.

    "A couple of thoughts froma random mind!"

  4. #4

    Post

    To answer Protius' question, yes the academy would be affected as it is adjacent to the Command grounds in San Francisco

    ------------------
    "Mission? what mission?"
    "Save the galaxy."
    "AGAIN?!?!?!?!"

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