Star Trek Online: Back in the Black

Lieutenant Vindillissia sh'Thlaspi looked out over the lobby of Starbase 1. She could just barely see the U.S.S. Bennett undergoing repairs on the other side of the enormous facility. Her ship. Not just the one she'd been assigned, but now under her command. Her meeting with Admiral Quinn had not gone as she had expected. The debriefing had turned into a confirmation of her field promotion, and Quinn's offering her the chance to sit in the big chair permanently. Despite her outward confidence, Lissia wasn't sure she was ready for the responsibility. Only days ago, she had been just another cadet at Starfleet Academy, preparing for her graduation training cruise. Now, she was responsible not only for herself, but about 200 other souls. She thought of Captain Taggart, her predecessor. His sacrifice had saved the lives of most of the cadets and, indirectly, those colonists they were able to rescue from Vega. Lissia wondered if she would be have been able to do the same in his place. She was determined to live up to his legacy.

Inspired by some podcasts I have listened to recently, and with the recent passing of both Leonard Nimoy and Harve Bennett, I decided to jump back into STO. I started a new character, because I figured, if the game systems are as different as Earth Spacedock, I need to start over. Rowan and Locke (not to mention my other two characters) are still there, waiting for when I am comfortable making character progression choices. Seems like that was a concern the last time I played.

Lissia is an Andorian Tactical Officer, in the vein of Tarah, Rowan's "Spock." Thlaspi is the genus for a collection of herbs known as penny-cress. Other than working out her name, I don't have much backstory for Lissia yet. I may need to read up a little more on Andorians, or maybe binge on some Enterprise episodes. After discovering I couldn't change my first Bridge Officer, Elisa Flores, I jettisoned her and my science officer in favor of some purple ("very rare") Boffs I had waiting in reserve on Locke. I'll come up with some RP reason later, like Elisa was given her own command or something. The rest of my Bridge crew is in place, though I think I need another Science Boff soon, to be a medic. We're a little Tactical heavy right now.

The U.S.S. Bennett (NCC-93037) was named for Admiral Robert Bennett, Starfleet Chief of Staff in the late 23rd Century. In reality, named for Harve Bennett (1930-2015), producer of Star Trek II-V, and who passed away a few days before I decided to return to STO. She's been through a lot, but is—as they say—"a tough little ship." Bennett's plaque dedication quotes Carl Sagan:

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

I find it interesting how some of my ships take an article (e.g., the Bennett); while others, like Rowan's Wayfarer and Sojourner, are simply known to their crew (and me) by proper name, sans article. In any event, the Bennett is a Light Cruiser, ShiKahr Class, with a Miranda Strut and Centaur pylons, and a Blue and White Cygnus paint job. I didn't realize until looking at old screenshots how closely the Bennett resembles Rowan's first ship, with only the strut and the paint scheme being different. There's obviously not much choice of designs at the lowest ship level, with everyone getting a light cruiser.

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