Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in OOC: Greetings from your new (old) Captain!
Hey Leviathaners,

it’s fantastic to be back on the Levi! Some of you might remember me from my previous stint as her CO, while others will have no idea at all who I am. So to give you a very brief potted history, I first joined STF way back in 2008, as an engineering cadet on the now-retired Academy ship, the USS Apollo. I was initially terrified of playing an engineer (it had been my last choice of department) but thanks to some fantastic mentors and DH’s over the years, it has become my favourite role after Captain. I have many wonderful memories of my years RPing here so far and even met my real-life wife through the site (we celebrate our ten-year anniversary this November)!

Almost two years ago now, I had an idea for an alt-RP based around a top-secret Federation vessel whose mission would involve tracking down, capturing and containing dangerous and unexplained phenomena known as ‘anomalies’. These anomalies would take various forms - a creature, a cosmological feature, an inanimate object - the possibilities were almost endless. But what they all had in common would be their danger, not only to anyone who encountered them, but to the Federation as a whole and, in some cases, even the universe itself!
After unsuccessfully floating the idea as part of an application for a mainstream CO spot, I instead decided to create the ship in X-Fleet and, within weeks, it was a huge hit. A couple of months later and we were successfully granted a charter as a main fleet alt-RP…and we’ve been bringing the weird, the creepy and the downright apocalyptic to STF ever since!

The initial inspiration for the Leviathan came from my love for the fictional universe of SCP (Secure, Contain, Protect). For those of you unfamiliar with SCP, it’s an online collaborative writing project (although has now expanded to include artwork, games and independent movies) based around an organisation that captures and studies paranormal, supernatural or otherwise mysterious phenomena. If that sounds a bit like a certain 80’s-set drama where a bunch of nerdy kids fight off supernatural creatures then that’s because SCP also served as inspiration for that show.

But I can’t take all of the credit for the Leviathan’s creation. I’ve been blessed from the start with a crew full of talented and hugely creative writers. It’s the reason why, when we moved into the main fleets, we decided not to have a traditional GM and instead allow everyone onboard the chance to deliver a story of their own via self-simming. It’s a system that has, so far, served the Leviathan well and hopefully will continue to do so. So if any of you have ideas for sims you’d like to run then please just drop me a message and we can sort something out.

Which brings me onto all of you, the current crew. Firstly, I would like to say how much I’ve enjoyed reading the current posts. Like I said, the Levi has always been blessed with amazing writers and you’re all most definitely included in that! Secondly, I’d like to give a huge thank you to the current XO, Nathan, for keeping the Levi ticking over during the search for a new CO and also embarking on a new sim (that I’m hugely looking forward to finding out more about!) Thank you also to Matt Evans for running things from the centre seat and, in particular, for gathering such an impressive collection of players.
However, there are some critical positions on the roster that are currently empty - the most important ones being the RTF Commander/Chief of Security and their team - so my first job is going to be filling those spots. I always like to recruit from in-house where I can, so if there is anyone who fancies a change of role then please let me know asap before I start reaching out to the club as a whole.

My immediate plan is to get a post or two up tomorrow that will allow you all to meet (or try to avoid, for those of you familiar with him, hehe) your IC new Captain. I do like to post with as many people as I can so please all feel free to join in, or make a new thread of your own if you have something in particular to tell Cobb. It will probably take me a week or two to get fully back into the swing of things, so please bear with me while Cobb gets the ship just the way he likes it again (preferably with a well-stocked bar!)

Other than that, all that’s left to say is thank you for choosing the Leviathan to RP on and my inbox is always open if you want to ask me anything at all about the Levi and the ARU, if you have any ideas or things you want to try out with your character, if you want to have a go at running a sim, or absolutely anything else you want to talk about!

Thanks for reading and don’t forget, no feeding the anomalies after midnight!

• Sharon (Levi CO)

Welcome back, Sharon! Can’t wait to see what you get up to ‘round these parts!

Nathan