Bellwether Station welcomes you
2021 Tournament of Sims
"I absolutely love the characters on this sim. They’re just quirky enough to be fun, but not so quirky as to be unbelievable." - Judge #3
The Battle of Maxia, a tale much taller than the Ferengi who have recorded it, previously footnote in Federation history, is now an encounter taught at Starfleet Academy’s Command, Diplomacy, and Xenopsychology courses. After the Battle of Maxia in 2355, Federation construction vessels traveled towards the northern colonies as far as worlds such as Izar in a hazardous region of space spanning several sectors. These construction ships began building starbases and a network of subspace communication relay stations.
One of these was Federation Subspace Relay Station-97 numerically known as RS-97, and more commonly known as Bellwether Station. Constructed in 2355, several weeks after the battle, the relay station served as the central nerve of a vast communication network over the next few decades. However, as more of the space was charted by Federation starships and technology advanced, dozens of the communication relay stations became unmanned.
Bellwether is one of the last surviving manned subspace relay stations, slated to be decommissioned or turned into a fully autonomous station by the turn of the century, these are likely the final years. There’s more to Bellwether station, however than monitoring subspace communique; the Ionic Nebula Region where the station is nestled in a rough region of space plagued with navigational hazards but is part of a crucial ‘stellar roadway’ of merchants, traders, and even smugglers and bootleggers.
The crew of Bellwether station is responsible for the deployment and maintenance of buoys along the trade routes. Ionic storms and other navigational hazards have laid claim to dozens of starships over the decades, and Bellwether station has earned the nickname of ‘The lighthouse’ offering refuge from the storms and as a stellar marker whilst navigating the hazardous region. It is frequented by traders, merchants, and individuals seeking shelter or assistance.
If you are looking for a small remote posting, then this is the place for you, but beware! This little ‘lighthouse’ among the stars is not the quaint subdue station that the Federation and Starfleet Command paint it to be. Situated near the Ferengi Alliance, Breen Confederacy, and The First Federation, Bellwether Station can be a colorful assignment for those ill-prepared for its frontier experience.
Latest News Items
» Bellwether Merit Badges
Posted on Mon Jan 10th, 2022 @ 5:58am by Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott in General News
Greetings Bellwether Crew,
I wanted to say belated Happy New Year! There is only several of us on Bellwether as writers and in character. The fleet does a fantastic job at keeping up with awards monthly, quarterly, and yearly. So, I opted not to do internal sim-based awards. However, I still wanted to do something. With a sim as small and quirky as the Bellwether is, I opted to go with something as quirky. Therefore, I am unveiling The Bellwether Station Merit Badges!
Similar to scouting organizations, the Bellwether will have its own badges. Though instead of forcing you out into the wild to tie knots or sell cookies, you may earn these through writing posts on Bellwether. Each year, I hope to reveal a fresh batch of merit badges. For 2022, there are eight of them. Each of the eight badges can be earned by meeting the writing criteria for a post (which can be done by a solo post or a joint post).
Cup of Joe – Nothing beats the real deal. Have your character make themselves their own coffee whether that be a French press, drip, siphon, moka pot etc. Replicators just cannot get the job done. Whether you enjoy it alone or with your station crewmates.
Spice of Life – Power consumption is something of concern on a small relay station which means the use of replicators needs to be rationed, but a crew needs to eat. It’s your turn to have kitchen duty, so hop into the galley and get cooking! Whatever you want to make and how it turns out is entirely up to you and/or your co-writers.
A Little off the Top – Feeling like changing up your look? Write a post where you try out a new look. Be that a haircut, beard trim, or dying your hair. You can also but your barber skills to good use and give someone else a little off the top, but don’t go Sweeny Todd on them.
Dream Catcher – Count those sheep or go on a vision quest, whatever takes you to La La land or somewhere in between. Good dream? Nightmare? Whatever you experience is up to you
Goose is Cooked – Things do not always go according to plan, and you sometimes just feel like your goose is cooked or you are on a wild goose chase. Write a post where your character is just having a bad day where nothing is going right.
Edgar Allan Poe – From “The Tell-Tale Heart” to “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe was known for the macabre, mystery, horror, the generally weird. Take a swing at writing a genre piece with your character, or a post that pays homage to Edgar Allan Poe himself.
Night Owl – Bellwether station is slated to become completely autonomous in the future, but we are not quite there yet. This means that someone should be the officer on watch at all times or at least be awake and alert to respond to situations. Write a post where you have ‘Night Watch’ while others are asleep. What happens?
El Chupacabra – Is your character is Cryptozoology? Did they see a Big Foot when they were younger? Write a post that deals with cryptids. Maybe you take the shuttle to a nearby planet and spot something Yeti-like creeping about or you have an encounter with the goat sucker itself!
Latest Mission Posts
» Back to Hell
Mission: Ninety-Nine Bottles of Swill
Posted on Fri Aug 5th, 2022 @ 7:35am by Gypsy Midnight
ON:
Gypsy leaned back in her chair. She was making a run to the Deltan planet. She groaned. The run would be fine if they didn’t have to stop at Betazed or as she called it Hell.
She ran her hands through her short brown hair and her blue eyes…
» Slugs and Thugs (Part I)
Mission: Ninety-Nine Bottles of Swill
Posted on Sat Jul 30th, 2022 @ 7:34am by Warrant Officer Valko Kostova & Lieutenant Skye MacLeod & Lieutenant JG Tilo Riehl
Having arrived on the Ferengi industrial world of Clarus, setting their runabout down after finally receiving clearance without having to pay for it, the crew of Bellwether Station were escorted from the landing pad by shifty looking Ferengi. Fordyce had been left to keep their runabout secured and guarded, on…
» Silence the Solicitations
Mission: Ninety-Nine Bottles of Swill
Posted on Sun Jul 17th, 2022 @ 12:21pm by Warrant Officer Valko Kostova & Lieutenant Skye MacLeod & Lieutenant JG Tilo Riehl
Once the runabout had been secured, the travel arrangements fell nicely into place. The flight plan was not the smoothest one that Valko Kostova had the honor of plotting and piloting, but where Bellwether situated, and where the planet of Clarus sat among the stars, he had little leeway. Cutting…
» Plomeek for the Soul (Part I)
Mission: Ninety-Nine Bottles of Swill
Posted on Fri Jun 24th, 2022 @ 12:41am by Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott & Lieutenant JG Katsumi Tanaka MD & Ensign Andrea Astor
The small little relay station nestled up against Ionite nebulae was operating as smoothly as could be, the Ferengi had since recovered from their illness, and Brott had dispatched a few of his trusted crew out on an away mission to Ferengi space, the industrial world of Clarus. The station…
» Hanging on by Their Lobes
Mission: Ninety-Nine Bottles of Swill
Posted on Sun Feb 27th, 2022 @ 5:02am by Lieutenant Commander Hamish Brott & Warrant Officer Valko Kostova & Lieutenant Skye MacLeod & Lieutenant JG Tilo Riehl & Ensign Andrea Astor & Senior Chief Petty Officer Fordyce Kirschler
Lieutenant Commander Brott had been in office, doors peculiarly closed - something the Bolian rarely did unless he was discussing sensitive matters. He had summoned the crew to Ops save for the Chief Medical Officer who had some unfortunate news of her own that she had shared. With his crew…