Hello STFer's,

I have had a blast over the past few days interviewing Dustin Smith, who is the featured writer for this month's Kate's Coffee Corner. Dustin joined the club on April 14, 2020, and hit the ground running. Part of the Great Cadet Class of 2020. In this short time, Dustin has begun to spread his brand of fun throughout our club. During this year's awards, we got to meet Dustin's adorable daughter who gave out a few awards with her proud papa as the dynamic duo stole the show.

Not one to fall in line, Dustin shows his creativity and depth of expository composition by role-playing a Klingon and Saurian with such detail you can almost see his nictitating eyelids zip open and shut as you read his passages. If you haven't checked out his writing run, don't walk to the next paragraph where you can see writing style shine.

Now let's spend some time getting to know one of the newest members of STF!

Current Characters in STF

Here are a few really fun facts about Dustin's characters that he has shared with me:

Lieutenant Junior Grade Zenzgii

Currently, this character is the chief engineer of the USS Challenger. He chose a Saurian to expand his creative limits as a writer. I for one was hooked on the character when I realized Zengii had nictitating eyelids. I mean who isn't mesmerizing by the vertical click-click blinks. It is the perfect biological way to ensure eye contact with most species.

Lieutenant Junior Grade K'sang Duras

One of my personal favorites posts of Duras showed a rarely seen side of Klingons. While most remember Shakespeare in Original Klingon, only the most creative of Klingon's expand their fine arts training to a song as we shall see in the next post.

In his time aboard DS7, K’sang discovered an art form that felt similar to the wonder of cursing. For the coming battle he would need every bit of it, he thumbed the hilt of his microphone as his pulse quicken. Nearly time… the world seemed to slow down and fall to muted tones as it would in that killing moment. It had been too long since K’sang felt excitement such as this…

When it was his turn to make his way onto the stage he turned to the gathering and bared his teeth as he postured. “Computer, run Project Greatness”......

Care to know more? Click here https://www.star-fleet.com/core/acad/challenger/posts/76035/

AWARDS NOMINATED FOR IN JUNE 2020 STF AWARDS

Best Science JO for his character Cadet K’sang Duras of the USS Challenger
Most Promising Newcomer

Now sit back, get some coffee and get ready to learn about one of our amazing writers!

20 Questions with Kate O'Neill

1. When it is time to go somewhere are you typically five minutes late or five minutes early?

More like Thirty Minutes Early

2. What is your favorite movie genre?

B-Rated Movies, mostly Monster/ Horror flicks.

3. If you were a pizza what toppings would grace your crust and what would the toppings say about your personality?

Hawaiian with Mushroom and Peppers. Cuz I'm Sweet, Salty, Spicy, and full on Funk

4. Some people take Sunday drives to relax. You however are not some people. I have heard at the water cooler you are a biker. I am going to take a stab and say you are not the spandex, helmet-wearing Ten-speed kinda guy. This means you know there are more than just one type of ride. Are you the Sunday chopper Harley Hog rider or the fast, blow by you on the highway sports bike Kawasaki? Have you ever ridden both types?

I actually think I rode a motorcycle before I ever owned a bicycle. Most styles of bikes I've ridden over the years, but I grew fond of the big road bikes, they're fun and therapeutic when you really get going.

5. You play a Chief Engineer on the USS Challenger which means you do appreciate the impossible when the Captain screams "Zenzgii I need more power." While Star Trek gives us a creative outlet there are many engineering wonders in good old 2020. Which of these modern engineering marvels do you find the most fascinating? A. Channel Tunnel between England and France  B.  The Large Hadron Collider underground in Geneva, Switzerland,  C. Palm Islands in Dubai  or D. The Bailong Elevator of Zhangjiajie, China

The Collider is a personal favorite, but I really like simple. Actually the most recent thing I've really been getting into is a Hydrogen Based engine for simple automobiles. You'd fill your car with water and baking soda.

6. Time to relax on the holodeck. Would you rather go hang gliding or whitewater rafting and why?

Rafting, when you get bored you can always take a swim and finish the rafting later.

7. It's time to go back to school. Which field if money and time wasn't an option would you get your PhD in? Aerospace Engineering or Quantum Mechanics? 

I don't really think I'd change much, I'm already on the path to becoming an Auditor in my field of work. Honestly, if all goes well I can actually consider retirement before I'm Sixty.

8. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to and why?

Well, that's easy, WOMEN and why they gotta always make things so complicated.

9. If you could have any of the fictional motorcycles, which would you pick and why?

A) Flying Triumph T 120 Bonneville (Harry Potter)
B) Light Cycle (Tron)
C) Batpod (Dark Knight Rises)
D) Imperial speeder (Star Wars)
E) Hell Cycle (Ghost Rider/Marvel)

Hell Cycle, Let's face it a flaming chopper that literally melts faces is pretty baller.

10. What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?

Hard work, I've never been one for an office job.

11. It is that special time of the day. You have the remote. Your finger is poised to pick your favorite show and boom the pint-sized love of your life jumps into your lap for cuddles and some Daddy-Daughter time. What is on the TV and secretly are you enjoying it or praying for cable to go out?

Sponge Bob, and there's no secret about my enjoyment. The wife hates it when we sing along to the theme song.

12. Which Star Trek engineering marvel do you wish we had now? Transporters, Replicators, Tricorders, Dermal Regenerators.

Regenerators hands down.

13. We all have a song in our head that we hear playing a theme to describe us. What is the song that describes the writer and what is the song that describes the character Lt. (j.g.) K'sang Duras of the USS Manhattan?

Me: I Prevail - Breaking Down

K'sang: Rammstein - Mein Teil

14. Time to paint a picture. It's Sunday, the sports game is on, and your daughter comes to you with some nail polish and a look that could melt the heart of even that miserly old Scrooge. Do you finish your game, call in your spouse for reinforcements, or do you show up to work with the best rainbow nail polish anyone has ever seen praying you are not required in any fashion to remove your shoes that day? 

The wife is getting called in, my toes generally are the canvas.

15. What is special about the place you grew up and what is your best memory from there?

It's really hard to answer this particular question, I have always traveled a lot.

16. What is the most bizarre, yet real, fact about you that you are willing to let the whole site know? Most Bizzare?

Hrm, it'd probably be best not to share THOSE facts as many of them involve others holding my beer before doing something "Allegedly" stupid.

17. If you could serve as an engineer aboard a Star Trek ship, which would you want to serve under? Enterprise-A, Enterprise D, Voyager, Defiant, Enterprise NX-01, Discovery

Discovery, there's really no question for me.

18. How many places have you been to/traveled to in your life?

Outside of 46 of the 50 states, I've been to Japan, China, Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, Dubai, Spain, England, Italy, and Ireland.

19. Who is the perfect someone in your life?

Well, despite being amazingly beautiful you'd think I had a thing for Klingons. She's stubborn, frustratingly so, and will butt heads with me on every turn... I like'em strong-willed I guess.

20. What do you see about STF that draws your attention?

Its the story really, anyone can pick up a book and type that they used a Hydro Spanner and not a Hypo Spray. But its the interactions, the conflicts, and the flaws that really make a story. Who cares about the chosen one destined to always win. I wanna know about that farmer who most of the time has no idea what's going on.

And there you have it.  So if you haven't read Dustin get to it.  He is an amazing writer.  Thank you Dustin for taking the time for me and the club to get to know you.   

~ Kate O'Neill