I was asked to fill medical head and operations, but I'm not sure whether I'd have to wait until the base is constructed and there's room or if the positions are available now.

*laughs*

It's been a long time since you've last seen the Phoenix from the outside, haven't it Mr. Huw?

We no longer carry any insignia that differentiates us from a regular starfleet ship. And even those markings can be removed, due to our special hull painting.

You should go change, Mr. Huw. I'll go as soon as the Director returns.

*Before sending a distress call to the near by ship, Avelesa was monitoring strange activity in a section of the asteroid field.  When her sensors picked up what appeared to be a ship coming out of no where.  Avelsa, following her orders to gather any new information quickly devises a plan, to get the ships attention.  She scanned the area for any other ships, none are detected.  Avelsa leaves her chair and goes to the back of the ship.  Picking up a multifunctional tool, she sabotages the warp core, and propulsion systems.  Even though Avelsa knows that she risks killing herself and destroying the one-person ship.  Satisfied with the deception, she sends a distress call on all channels.  Just when Avelsa thinks her attempt failed, the ship hails her.*

"Starfleet vessel U.S.S. Phoenix, this is Avelsa, Delta Alliance Nigillian Representative Assistant.  Thank you for answering my distress call.  Not long ago I was under attack by a pirate ship.  They came aboard and stole my cargo, after severely damaging my ship.  Then before they left they shamelessly fired upon me, disabling my propulsion systems.  Your readings are correct, I was in the midst of making repairs.  I am unable to shut down the warp core!"

*Although Avelsa planed this, she could not help but to get a little panicked.*

"Is there anything you can do to save both me and my ship?  The ship is actually a loan from my superior, who would be angered by the loss of such a vessel."

Off: good idea...

OFF: To tell you the truth, Sir, I don't remember and I don't know. I was aware of our mission in the beginning and somewhere along the way I lost track of what was going on. I was not paying attention to what we were doing and simply just responded and tried to give people orders. http://expansionfleet.sparks.priorweb.be/ikonboard/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('>

Validium is a substance originally used by the a species called the Gallifreyans, as ultimate defence weapon.  The Rassilon decreed that only the President of Gallifrey could authorize its use, and no one has mentioned the name Validium for centuries.  

It is an ancient and terrible weapon, originally created for planetary defense.  It exists of a living metal, capable of detonating stars into supernova, or changing the flow of electrons in a single atom.  It can be controlled by t wo means:
1. It is isomorphic, so it only obeys one master at any time
2. It needs to be close to whole in order to function, which means it has a criticall mass treshold of 95%.
For Validium to be completely active, it requires two things: a critical mass, and it's rightful operator.  Validium is alive, making it a smart weapon, and even has a conscience.  It is a power in it's own right, and for that reason mainly, the existance of this substace is not publicly known.  One who manages to operate Validium, holds a power stronger than one can even begin to understand.  At large amount, it is even capable of destroying galaxies.

Only Starfleet Intelligence and sister sections are fully aware of the existance, and danger, of Validium.  At one point, the presence of Validium was discovered inside the Van'Gu Cluster, and Starfleet Intelligence departments sent two undercover agents with the U.S.S. Skytoucher to track and destroy the substance.

For reason unknown, the Validium must have escaped the Gallifreyan universe, and ended up in the Van'Gu Cluster, in raw form.  Then it was discovered by a peaceful species called Yzakians, who used this immense energy as power supply for their homeworld, instead of as a weapon.  There may be more raw Validium present in the Van'Gu Cluster, but research has discovered none so far.  That is no reason to assume it is not there, however, as the Van'Gu Cluster is very large in size, and very difficult to scan or penetrate.  The only way to trace Validium, is to scan for the residue of Z.D.Y. particles.

The Black Wave has not stolen its name.  This is, in fact, a substance that is not only invisible to the eye, but also to the sensors.  Even advanced ship's sensor are only able to read it when one is actually looking for it.

This substance freely floats in space and is very rare in origin.  It exists, or sends out, subspace waves of some kind, almost totally undetectable.  It does not harm any living being, or damage planets or ships, and is so light a substance that it travels through any object.  It may float through a person and this person will never know, nor experience any harm.  However, when it comes in contact with computer systems that have an artificial intelligence of any degree at all, it interferes with the computer's normal function patterns.

When the Black Wave comes in contact with such a computer system, there is no way to predict what the computer system will do next.  Its algorythms will be so messed up that anything can happen, that the computer controls.  If the ship's computer system controls the weaponry, it can suddenly target weapons and fire at will, without anyone having given the order.  When this happens, it is very difficult to prove that this was indeed caused by the Black Wave, since when once it has passed through, it leaves practically no residue, leaving little possibilities to scan for it afterwards.

The only way to prevent from the computer system to perform disastrous acts, is to shut down the computer's artificial intelligence.  That way there is little to no danger for interference with the subspace waves.

Basically, a cluster is a group of stars (suns) that are near each other.  Stars are formed in cold, large, massive clouds of gas and dust.  When gas and dust collets, it eventually gets dense enough to collaps and form stars.  But in fact, only a small fraction of this gas actually creates the stars.  The remains of the gas often acts as a binder, keeping the young stars together as they form, into a cluster.

The Van'Gu Cluster is no exception.  It is believed to be a very old cluster in the Delta Quadrant, but scientists can not even begin to guess as to how old this cluster really may be, or how many stars may have been born there.
Scientific study of this cluster is not an easy task.  When a ship travels inside the Van'Gu Cluster, the dust cloud often renders the long-range scanners blind, and more often than not only the short-ragen scanners are operational, IF they are extremely refined.  This forces most ships to navigate blindly, causing more than a few to get lost in there.  It is also known that energy shields of starships are distorted by the dust cloud, operating only partially, if at all.  Even communication signals can barely penetrate, depending on how deep the object would be located within the cluster.

Though such things may not seem unusual for a cluster, the Van'Gu Cluster does have some remarkable details to offer.
There are two known Class-M planets inside the cluster, which is unusual due to the fact that we are not talking about a normal system with a sun and orbiting planets.

One Class-M planet is known to be inhabited by the peaceful humanoid race called Yzakians, and life on this planet, Yzakia, may have been born around the same time the cluster was born, back then possibly still existing of a more standard galaxy system.  This planet does now know a rather complex labyrinth of orbits around various nearby stars, some closer and some further away, as a result of the planet's gravity and that of those stars.
This has a very unusual effect on the planet's atmosphere.  There is no frequent pattern of night and day, nor of steady seasons, as well as extreme temperature shifts and a bright brown sky.

Of the second Class-M planet, virtually nothing is known, as it is hard to locate this with blind sensors inside the Van'Gu Cluster.  Though not officially mapped, it is a planet called Neyo Prime, and is part of a system of four planets, all inside the cluster.  It is not known if humanoid life form has yet developped on this planet.
We hope that future investigation may reveal more about the planet Neyo Prime.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Yzakians are a very peaceful species, living on an M-class planet called simply "Yzakia", hidden in the Van'Gu Cluster.  Since the giant dust cloud of the Van'Gu Cluster blocks ship's sensors of most technology systems, this planet has not been mapped by many other species, and this has kept the Yzakian homeworld safe and unbothered.

The planet Yzakia is not an ordinary Class M planet.  It is, after all, not a planet that is part of an ordinary galaxy, but is located inside a cluster of stars.
The Van'Gu Cluster is reputed to be very old, and exists of a large formation of dust cloud, in where a large number of new stars have been born over the many centuries.  Yzakia being one of the few planets with an atmosphere inside this tight cluster, raises many questions as to how life was able to come into existance under such circumstances.
The planet does not know a standard orbit around a sun, as is the case with most star systems, but it knows a rather complex labyrinth of orbits around various nearby stars, even though some stars are closer or further than others.  This complex orbit system around various stars is the result of the gravity the planet and the stars force upon each other.

This has very unusual consequences to the planet itself.
Yzakia does not know a blue sky, like most Class M planets, but a bright brown one, as a result of the cluster's reflection.  Also, "day" and "night" comes very irregular on Yzakia.  This goes even to the extreme that a bright day can turn into a dark night in a matter of minutes only, depending on the location of the planet opposite the stars, and the local formation of the dust cloud.  This has also tremendous consequences on the weather conditions.  Temperatures can drop and rise in a minimum of time.  A cluster is known to be an extremely cold place, cooling off the planet's atmosphere with it, but as the planet moves closer to some star in its complex orbital system, temperatures may rise to extremes, resulting into many forest fires.  There are no seasons as they are known in the standard way, since they switch much faster, and usually without steady pattern.
To live on Yzakia, means to get used to walk through the snow and to see it melt beneath tropical temperatures in less than an hour.

Scientists believe that this planet is one of the oldest formed objects of the Van'Gu Cluster, theorizing that life and atmosphere on this planet was born when the cluster itself was yet very small, and there were less stars and dust cloud formations.  Only after life had been established on Yzakia, the Van'Gu Cluster would have grown to become the giant it is now, slowly influencing the atmosphere of the planet itself as well.  No proof has yet been found to confirm this theory, however.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/artoftrek/unknown-alien-tng2.jpg" border="0">
Example of a male Yzakian.

THE EMPIRE
Though the Yzakians do call their region of space an "empire", it does not stretch very wide.  In fact, it basically exists of their homeworld only.  Yet, since most of the Van'Gu Cluster is uninhabited, they have always known the freedom to roam through this cluster unnoticed and undisturbed, automatically seeing the whole cluster as their own realm.  They are aware, however, of the existance of other alien species in the universe, and have noticed that some have shown scientific interest in the Van'Gu Cluster.  In most cases, the Yzakians keep to themselves, not seeking contact with alien species, though from time to time they do practice their generous hospitality and invite a stranger to visit their homeworld, if they deem this stranger to be trustworthy.

There are no planets, apart from their homeworld, known to be occupied by Yzakians, showing that they clearly have never been interested in colonisation or power.  It is because of their hidden location in the Van'Gu Cluster, undetectable by scanners and sensors, that they have been able to establish a peaceful community.

Though they do have the whole Van'Gu Cluster for themselves, they do not show much interest in interstellar travel.  They did develop warp speed technology, and have used this to map the Van'Gu Cluster as detailed as possible, but they rarely leave the cluster's borders.  Their ships carry no weapons, and weapon technology does not exist as it was never developped, nor was it ever necessary.
The captain of an Yzakian space ship is known as the "Prime Officer".

YZAKIAN HISTORY

To have a better understanding of their present society, it is important to look into their history, especially their most recent one.

When the Yzakians reached the industrial era, they created technology that heavily polluted their atmosphere.  Knowing of no other options, this polluting industry grew stronger, having to supply for all technology to keep the inhabitants safe from the weather conditions.  Technology had to be able to resist extreme heat, as well as extreme cold temperatures; and even more, the sudden switch from one to the other.

This industrial age must have lasted over at least a century, rapidly polluting the whole planet.  This was combined with the flair of an economic-based society, very much comparable to the Malon, though far more peaceful.  Economists were in charge, and cared more for their own profits than for the welfare of the world and its inhabitants.
This had nearly proven fatal to the Yzakian homeworld, as things had become so bad that the inhabitants were forced to wear oxygen masks when outside, that there was no clean water available in the larger cities, and most part of nature and animals were  extinct.

It was at this point, that the government saw its error, and despaired.  Warp technology, though also based on a polluting system, was recently developped, and the Yzakian community placed its last hope in a crew that set out into the Van'Gu Cluster, with the intention of finding either help, or another source of power supplies that would not pollute their homeworld any further.
Fortunately, they did return with a solution.  Deep inside the Van'Gu Cluster, they found a raw material called Validium, very powerful.  A few small particles were enough to supply almost the whole planet.  Little did they know about the destructive force of this material, but their hidden location in the Van'Gu Cluster has kept it safe from unwanted interest for the many years they have used this power source.
A small space station was built, to orbit the planet, containing the validium storage to supply the whole planet, without creating the least of pollution.  The former industrial and economical community system faltered and a more peaceful reign began, until first contact was made with the U.S.S. Skytoucher, under command of Captain Tomas Göransson.  Much of what truly happened on this encounter is either classified, or unexplainable.  Either way, the Validium supply ended up being destroyed  together with the small space station that held the storage, even though there were no recorded hostilities between the U.S.S. Skytoucher and the Yzakians.  As a compensation, Starfleet has offered anti-matter technology to the Yzakians, to replace their power source for their planet.  Ever since, contact between Starfleet and the Yzakian government has been on good terms.

SOCIETY
Yzakians are, unlike most species of the Delta Quadrant, a very peaceful race.  As explained before, their hidden location in the Van'Gu Cluster, out of sight from possible intruders and enemies, has probably contributed to this peaceful behaviour.
Their main form of respectful greeting appears to be done by putting both hands on your head and bowing, while saying "Live in Harmony".  Meditating is a daily custom that is practiced among the whole Yzakian population.

Though little is known on how society may have been before it reached this level, and little evidence was ever found, Yzakian legends claim that once their homeworld was thrown into chaos by constant destructive wars.  At one point, the population had developped to a higher consciousness, where they understood that war would not solve their problems, and a society not unlike the present one was born.  Weapons of all forms were destroyed and banished forever.  Forgiveness became one of the highest virtues.

The Yzakian idea of peace goes much further, even.  One can safely say that Yzakians are very much pacifists.  The ideal they strive to reach is to create peace in the whole universe, and banish weapons completely.  This project they call the "Universal Peace Plan".  Yzakians believe that violence can only create even more violence.  This vicious circle will endure as long as species all over the universe continue to distrust each other, and keep carrying weapons out of fear that the other may attack them.  "Peace starts in your own heart," is a typical Yzakian quote of some ancient legendary peace leader of many centuries ago, and they believe that only if you lay down your weapons first, you can ask another to do the same.  One cannot discuss peace with the other while having a weapon pointed at each other.

The Yzakian's idea of Universal Peace is that all species lay down their weapons, and begin respecting and trusting each other without the need of violence.  Even just carrying a weapon, may already be enough to create violence around you.  Because when one carries weapons, another will carry stronger weapons, and yet another will create even stronger weapons.  This will bring society only further away from peace, instead of closer.  This is also passed on from generation to generation, when a child grows up in a society where weapons are a normal thing to exist, even if it is for defense.  If, on the other hand, children grow up in an environment of peace, they will not even know what the word "weapon" means, and weapons will be forgotten in the long term, as peace will have a chance to last forever.  As the legendary Yzakian peace leader proclaimed: "Violence, as well as peace, begins in one's mind and heart.  If children can grow up in an environment of peace, not surrounded by weapons, it is peace that will be in their hearts, instead of violence."

YZAKIAN TECHNOLOGY

Yzakian technology is known not to be very advanced, compared to Federation standards.  Most of their technology was strongly polluting, though recent Starfleet intervention has helped them to begin using anti-matter technology, even though it may be considered a breach of the Prime Directive.

They have been able to develop warp drive technology, though not extremely advanced, and they also developped food replicator technology for use on board of their ships.  Their space fleet is not large, however, as there was never need for it.  Their most supreme technology goes to the development of the sensors, having found a way to penetrate the vast dust cloud of the Van'Gu Cluster, where not even Federation technology is able to scan clear readings.
Yzakians are not familiar with any form of transporter technology, nor are their ships equipped with any form of weaponry, since they see weapons as unholy and unacceptable, even if it is for defense.  It is obvious that the Yzakians do not have any form of battle strategy, and it is thanks to their hidden location in the Van'Gu Cluster, that they have never needed it.

Is S31 finally gona get used is it?

Is S31 finally gona get used is it?

Yes Sir. I would request that Mr. Nimitz have access,because i too will be gone during that time, i just found out,i recieved a job opportunity,and i will be gone starting the 5th till the 9th,sorry.

I am sorry to hear he had to leave then.
Unfortunately, the division seems to be going slow so we need to boost up things. Are you willing to help out with this, and become Division CO?

Also, have you registered on the Starfleet HQ board, and with which character? So I can give you access to the Admirals Only forum.