DAMMIT MAN I'M GLITTERY, NOT MATTE
CIVILIAN LIFE:
Q1. Name: Jacque
Q2. How did you find out about Elite of the Fleet? Quite a few of you are on my flist, plus I got curious about the twitter convos between rotae & kittehkat.
Q3. When did you first become interested in Star Trek? As a kid my mom loved Next Generation, so I’d watch that with her. In high school, I had a friend that was OBSESSED with Voyager (and subsequently introduced me to the world of fanfiction & the concept of “shipping” lol)… so I’d watch with her sometimes. I didn’t actually watch much of it until I decided to Netflix it a couple of years ago. I went through and watched all of Next Generation and Voyager. Sadly my knowledge of TOS, DS9, and Enterprise (I DUNNO EVEN KNOW WHAT ITS CALLED) are lacking. I’m pretty enamored of the Reboot movie though!!!
Q4. Why have you decided to join Elite of the Fleet? It looks like oodles and oodles of FUN TIMES!
Q5. Who is your favourite Star Trek character? My immediate thought was Captain Janeway, followed closely by Q and now I can’t decide… so I’m gonna talk about both. Janeway was bold, and unafraid to make hard decisions, but also was compassionate. She had a lot on her shoulders. Making the decision that stranded them in the Delta Quadrant (for what she could only assume might be forever) to save a species may have been a decision most would’ve made (at least I hope not many contemplate genocide), it’s what she did after that made me admire her. I love that she was able to keep everyone together, and maintain their Star Fleet integrity… she never stopped exploring, and learning even when it seemed that would never get the information back to Earth. She was a leader in the very best sense of the word, and that’s something I value.
I also really loved Q from Next Generation/Voyager. He was from a race with Absolute Power, but it didn’t stop him from wanting more, continuing to look for meaning in the universe. Sure, most of the things he did were put on as if they were games… and dangerous ones from the human perspective… but he wanted to know, and to not be part of a hive mind. He valued individual freedom, and that’s something I need. He definitely had compassion, and even though his stunts sometimes caused quite a bit of headache, I would argue that his heart was in the correct place. Not to mention, his banter with Picard is some of the best in the series!!
Q6. And the least? Wesley Crusher from Next Gen. SO ANNOYING. It’s one of those knee jerk hatreds that I don’t even really have valid academic arguments for. I just never liked the Traveler story line. I guess I feel like it was wrong? That Wesley was too annoying to have the ability to travel through other planes of existence? I probably just made up some personal canon about how you need to be a certain Alien race to do it, so clearly Wesley shouldn’t (am I the only one who does this? I completely make shit up and them am mad that the show/book doesn’t adhere to THE RULES). Beyond my random ability of MY WAY IS BETTER I do think his character was very Gary Stu. Hello always finding the answer/never really being at fault. UGH.
Q7. Which television (or film) series is your favourite? My life for the Reboot movie is pretty intense. I have to hand it to JJ, because he made a fresh, and interesting take on the franchise, without sacrificing what made the original great. I adore him for taking the risk and making an alternate reality (the fact that's completely canon makes me love him more). My first Star Trek love, however, was Voyager. They truly went where humans had never been, and even alone, accomplished some great things.
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STARFLEET LIFE:
Q8. What do you hope to gain from your service in Starfleet? I think the absolute BEST part of Starfleet would be all that you got to see. The whole of the universe! You’d get to experience things other people only dream about… or can’t even dream about because it’s so far from their reality. I want to experience everything. I love meeting new people, and would love to have the first hand knowledge of new cultures and places!
Q9. Is there any occupation in Starfleet you feel you would be particularly unsuited for? I think Exploratory Sciences wouldn’t be the best fit. I like people better than research. I would get bored stuck in a lab. More of a do-er.
Q10. The four current Academic Tracks at the Academy are Tactics, Operations, Exploratory Sciences and Medical Sciences. Describe how you could be an asset to each of these departments.
Tactical: I absolutely adore PLANNING (in fact I usually like the planning/anticipation more than completing the goal). I’m very good at seeing the “Big Picture”… I can think several steps ahead and know why something won’t work or why we need to take different steps. I can usually find an easier way to get somewhere/ do something different than most people. I have an intuitive understanding on how things work together.
Operations: I definitely have a gift for diplomacy, and tact. I think there is no reason for being tactless, ever. Being rude is for people without wit. I definitely have a way of getting people to understand me and my desires, as well as seeing theirs.
Exploratory Sciences: I can be very logical when I want to be. I like to know how things work, and have a great curiosity that I need to feed with research on occasion.
Medical: There was a time when I considered very seriously becoming a doctor. I like to help, and being a doctor is a very hands on way to make lives better. I‘m not at all squeamish about blood or guts, so I definitely could do it. I have a very compassionate heart, that would have a hard time with the death aspect… but the ability to change peoples lives for the better would be ultimately worth it, I think.
Q11. What are your top five strengths?
01. I’m bold. I don’t have trouble saying what I’m thinking or asking others for what I want… I’m definitely not shy. This doesn’t mean I’m brash (I’m not at all), just that I am unafraid where others aren’t.
02. I’m friendly. I’m easy to talk to, and get along with. I’m at ease in most social situations, and enjoy getting to know new and old friends alike. I find it's a lot easier to accomplish anything when you are sociable, since just about everything involves interacting with others.
03. I’m adaptable. I think this comes from having and living with a disability my whole life (I’m in a wheelchair), but I can make just about any situation work for me. I embrace change. I love it. I have no trouble in new environments, I thrive in them. If I want to do something, I will find a way to make it work.
04. I’m empathetic. I understand and feel for people. I can see what they desire/need, and their motives behind the actions. People often say a lot more with silences than they do with words, and I intuitively sense these things. If you have an understanding of a person, you can guess how they will react, and tailor your plans accordingly.
05. I‘m intelligent. I pick things up easily, and can see patterns not everyone does.
Q12. What are your top five weaknesses?
01. For lack of a better word, I’m apathetic. I like to test boundaries. If I can get away with not doing something, I won’t. I once took a class that I went to 10-15 times the whole semester because I figured out they weren’t going to lecture on anything important, and I just read the book and showed up for tests. I got an A. This of course can go badly, and leads to a lot of procrastination.
02. I call this my “ostrich tendency”. If there is something I can’t, or don’t want to deal with… I pretend it doesn’t exist. Perception is reality, and if I refuse to acknowledge it, it’s not really there… is it? Haha. It helps me compartmentalize in important situations... but it also helps me not deal with emotional baggage that I should.
03. I can be very materialistic. I like nice things. I like the newest and best of everything. This makes my savings account sad. But I look pretty :)
04. I can be perceived as distant. Because I’m an extremely empathetic, I have some walls to protect myself. I can’t go around taking on the world’s ills… it’d crush me. So while I’m friendly, I also take a bit of time to see the emotional me. Crying in movies? Sure. Not ashamed of it… but the honest emotions of sadness, anger, or hurt, very hard to pry out of me. I go to great lengths so that people don’t know they’ve hurt me. The world doesn’t get to see the cracks in my armor.
05.I have ridiculous amounts of pride. I definitely would cut off my nose despite my face. It goes back to the distant thing. I have to be strong, and able at all times. I can‘t show anything else. I can‘t allow myself to perceived any less than my best
Q13. What is your biggest fear? That I’ll die before getting to experience everything I want. There’s so much to see and do… I want to live a full life. I don’t want to settle for something ordinary.
Q14. Do you consider yourself to be a leader, or a follower? I’m a leader. I always have been. I make decisions fairly easily, and have no trouble taking charge. I was in student council from Elementary through High School… I can’t just sit back and let other people make the decisions. I’m not as comfortable being a follower… but I can do both.
Q15. What do you admire the most in your peers? I admire individuals. I love it when people are themselves, completely and without reservation. People who are willing to admit they love contradictory things. People who don’t let themselves be put in one box. People who aren’t limited by what’s cool or what they think people will like them for. People comfortable in their own skin.
Q16. You are stranded on a Class M planet that has not been mapped by The Federation. You are only allowed to choose two of the following items to keep with you: a phaser, a tricorder or a communicator. Which two would you choose to have? I’d take the phaser and a communicator. The phaser for protection, because the natives are not always friendly… and while I think I can talk myself out of a lot of situations, sometimes they don’t take the time to understand. Secondly a communicator because that way I could contact my ship for assistance.
Q17. Please describe your understanding of the Federation’s Prime Directive. The Prime Directive doesn’t allow the Federation to just swoop in and solve all of a world’s problems with technology advances. The thing about most global “issues” is that the majority of them have roots in social problems, and if you don’t address those problems… nothing changes. Matter of fact, it could make things worse… especially on a Universal level. You can’t give a toddler a gun and expect him to understand why he can’t shot everything that makes him angry. Similar concept.
I think also, if you gave technology to everyone… where would the new ideas come from? I think it would fascinating to see how each world developed space travel, and the different ways it would be done. We have so much to learn from each other, it would be sad to take that away. The universe would lose some of its uniqueness.
Q18. The United Federation of Planets includes more than 150 member planets, and the galaxy has many more besides. Which planet do you most want to visit? The first planet that popped into my head was the one where Jean-Luc went on vacation, and was SHIRTLESS... but I can't find the name. Maybe it's my happy place because there's shirtless Jean-Luc (and he got some in the episode *whistles*), but it was also pretty AND had some interesting archeological digs. I like places that have history over just beautiful scenery... so, uh, since I don't know the name of aforementioned planet, I'll say Betazed. I think the history of a people who are telepathic would be very interesting. It makes you wonder if they had as much war. If you could feel the pain and devastation you caused, would you still go through with it?
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KOBAYASHI MARU:
The following questions describe situations you may commonly find yourself in as a member of Starfleet. You will be read the scenario, and then given two options to choose from. You may expand upon the reasons for your choice, but you must indicate one of the two that you feel best describes your likely response to the situation provided.
Q19. Service in the Fleet can be draining at the best of times, and on one particular day everything seems to have gone wrong. You’re exhausted, but your shift is finally over and it’s time to unwind. Your roommate is already on their bed when you get back to your quarters. Do you:
DELETE THE APPROPRIATE ANSWER
a. Settle in for a lengthy chat with them - you’d really like to vent about your day and you’d quite like to hear about theirs too. It’s a bit of a ritual by this point anyway. Maybe you’ll even head out to the Rec Hall together to unwind over a card game with the others.
Venting to someone generally makes me feel better. I don’t always want to chat about it… but generally am social when people are around.
Q20. You’ve intercepted what sounds like a pretty important transmission - you feel like the Captain needs to know. When you report, do you:
b. Give them the facts, but your interpretation and the way it fits into context is more important. The Captain wasn’t there, after all - the way you explain it could make all the difference.
I think it’s kind of impossible to block out your own interpretation of events, since it’s impossible to be completely objective, so might as well say outright what you think. The captain, since she has the facts, can make their own assessment on what your opinion, and that way can have an idea of your “lean” on events.
Q21. There are many decisions to be made in Starfleet, and some are harder than others. Faced with a decision where things could go wrong in any number of ways, do you:
DELETE THE APPROPRIATE ANSWER
a. Stay impersonal and objective. Weigh up the pros and cons, think out all the possibilities, and focus on the basic truths. A careful analysis of the situation will reveal the best possible choice, even though some may not approve of it.
I completely hate vague hypotheticals because I think it entirely depends on the situation. I really could do either. But when comes down to it… the facts and making the best possible solution, not what people think of it are more important (though I think it’s pretty impossible to take the “human” factor out of anything).
Q22. The day-to-day life of Starfleet can be quite arduous at times, and quite exciting at others. Everyone has their own way of approaching everyday work, but would others see your approach as:
a. Planned and orderly. You seem to prefer to have decisions made and matters settled, rather than hanging over your head. You appear comfortable when in control over such matters. You seem to be task-oriented, and plan ahead.
I was ridiculously tempted to pull a Kirk, and reprogram this so I could say both. I definitely am a little bit from column a and little from column b. I looooove to plan, and generally organize things. But it would be a mistake to assume I’m rigid in these plans and not “open to information and experiences”, because I am. I’m very adaptable. I definitely prefer having some sort of plan going into a situation (and am very likely to have one) but if it changes, I can roll with it. I think deadlines make everyone more efficient, even when you are organized.
Q23. You can earn 5 points for your future Track by promoting the community in your Journal. Please link the post here if you wish to do so: I did!! here
Q1. Name: Jacque
Q2. How did you find out about Elite of the Fleet? Quite a few of you are on my flist, plus I got curious about the twitter convos between rotae & kittehkat.
Q3. When did you first become interested in Star Trek? As a kid my mom loved Next Generation, so I’d watch that with her. In high school, I had a friend that was OBSESSED with Voyager (and subsequently introduced me to the world of fanfiction & the concept of “shipping” lol)… so I’d watch with her sometimes. I didn’t actually watch much of it until I decided to Netflix it a couple of years ago. I went through and watched all of Next Generation and Voyager. Sadly my knowledge of TOS, DS9, and Enterprise (I DUNNO EVEN KNOW WHAT ITS CALLED) are lacking. I’m pretty enamored of the Reboot movie though!!!
Q4. Why have you decided to join Elite of the Fleet? It looks like oodles and oodles of FUN TIMES!
Q5. Who is your favourite Star Trek character? My immediate thought was Captain Janeway, followed closely by Q and now I can’t decide… so I’m gonna talk about both. Janeway was bold, and unafraid to make hard decisions, but also was compassionate. She had a lot on her shoulders. Making the decision that stranded them in the Delta Quadrant (for what she could only assume might be forever) to save a species may have been a decision most would’ve made (at least I hope not many contemplate genocide), it’s what she did after that made me admire her. I love that she was able to keep everyone together, and maintain their Star Fleet integrity… she never stopped exploring, and learning even when it seemed that would never get the information back to Earth. She was a leader in the very best sense of the word, and that’s something I value.
I also really loved Q from Next Generation/Voyager. He was from a race with Absolute Power, but it didn’t stop him from wanting more, continuing to look for meaning in the universe. Sure, most of the things he did were put on as if they were games… and dangerous ones from the human perspective… but he wanted to know, and to not be part of a hive mind. He valued individual freedom, and that’s something I need. He definitely had compassion, and even though his stunts sometimes caused quite a bit of headache, I would argue that his heart was in the correct place. Not to mention, his banter with Picard is some of the best in the series!!
Q6. And the least? Wesley Crusher from Next Gen. SO ANNOYING. It’s one of those knee jerk hatreds that I don’t even really have valid academic arguments for. I just never liked the Traveler story line. I guess I feel like it was wrong? That Wesley was too annoying to have the ability to travel through other planes of existence? I probably just made up some personal canon about how you need to be a certain Alien race to do it, so clearly Wesley shouldn’t (am I the only one who does this? I completely make shit up and them am mad that the show/book doesn’t adhere to THE RULES). Beyond my random ability of MY WAY IS BETTER I do think his character was very Gary Stu. Hello always finding the answer/never really being at fault. UGH.
Q7. Which television (or film) series is your favourite? My life for the Reboot movie is pretty intense. I have to hand it to JJ, because he made a fresh, and interesting take on the franchise, without sacrificing what made the original great. I adore him for taking the risk and making an alternate reality (the fact that's completely canon makes me love him more). My first Star Trek love, however, was Voyager. They truly went where humans had never been, and even alone, accomplished some great things.
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STARFLEET LIFE:
Q8. What do you hope to gain from your service in Starfleet? I think the absolute BEST part of Starfleet would be all that you got to see. The whole of the universe! You’d get to experience things other people only dream about… or can’t even dream about because it’s so far from their reality. I want to experience everything. I love meeting new people, and would love to have the first hand knowledge of new cultures and places!
Q9. Is there any occupation in Starfleet you feel you would be particularly unsuited for? I think Exploratory Sciences wouldn’t be the best fit. I like people better than research. I would get bored stuck in a lab. More of a do-er.
Q10. The four current Academic Tracks at the Academy are Tactics, Operations, Exploratory Sciences and Medical Sciences. Describe how you could be an asset to each of these departments.
Tactical: I absolutely adore PLANNING (in fact I usually like the planning/anticipation more than completing the goal). I’m very good at seeing the “Big Picture”… I can think several steps ahead and know why something won’t work or why we need to take different steps. I can usually find an easier way to get somewhere/ do something different than most people. I have an intuitive understanding on how things work together.
Operations: I definitely have a gift for diplomacy, and tact. I think there is no reason for being tactless, ever. Being rude is for people without wit. I definitely have a way of getting people to understand me and my desires, as well as seeing theirs.
Exploratory Sciences: I can be very logical when I want to be. I like to know how things work, and have a great curiosity that I need to feed with research on occasion.
Medical: There was a time when I considered very seriously becoming a doctor. I like to help, and being a doctor is a very hands on way to make lives better. I‘m not at all squeamish about blood or guts, so I definitely could do it. I have a very compassionate heart, that would have a hard time with the death aspect… but the ability to change peoples lives for the better would be ultimately worth it, I think.
Q11. What are your top five strengths?
01. I’m bold. I don’t have trouble saying what I’m thinking or asking others for what I want… I’m definitely not shy. This doesn’t mean I’m brash (I’m not at all), just that I am unafraid where others aren’t.
02. I’m friendly. I’m easy to talk to, and get along with. I’m at ease in most social situations, and enjoy getting to know new and old friends alike. I find it's a lot easier to accomplish anything when you are sociable, since just about everything involves interacting with others.
03. I’m adaptable. I think this comes from having and living with a disability my whole life (I’m in a wheelchair), but I can make just about any situation work for me. I embrace change. I love it. I have no trouble in new environments, I thrive in them. If I want to do something, I will find a way to make it work.
04. I’m empathetic. I understand and feel for people. I can see what they desire/need, and their motives behind the actions. People often say a lot more with silences than they do with words, and I intuitively sense these things. If you have an understanding of a person, you can guess how they will react, and tailor your plans accordingly.
05. I‘m intelligent. I pick things up easily, and can see patterns not everyone does.
Q12. What are your top five weaknesses?
01. For lack of a better word, I’m apathetic. I like to test boundaries. If I can get away with not doing something, I won’t. I once took a class that I went to 10-15 times the whole semester because I figured out they weren’t going to lecture on anything important, and I just read the book and showed up for tests. I got an A. This of course can go badly, and leads to a lot of procrastination.
02. I call this my “ostrich tendency”. If there is something I can’t, or don’t want to deal with… I pretend it doesn’t exist. Perception is reality, and if I refuse to acknowledge it, it’s not really there… is it? Haha. It helps me compartmentalize in important situations... but it also helps me not deal with emotional baggage that I should.
03. I can be very materialistic. I like nice things. I like the newest and best of everything. This makes my savings account sad. But I look pretty :)
04. I can be perceived as distant. Because I’m an extremely empathetic, I have some walls to protect myself. I can’t go around taking on the world’s ills… it’d crush me. So while I’m friendly, I also take a bit of time to see the emotional me. Crying in movies? Sure. Not ashamed of it… but the honest emotions of sadness, anger, or hurt, very hard to pry out of me. I go to great lengths so that people don’t know they’ve hurt me. The world doesn’t get to see the cracks in my armor.
05.I have ridiculous amounts of pride. I definitely would cut off my nose despite my face. It goes back to the distant thing. I have to be strong, and able at all times. I can‘t show anything else. I can‘t allow myself to perceived any less than my best
Q13. What is your biggest fear? That I’ll die before getting to experience everything I want. There’s so much to see and do… I want to live a full life. I don’t want to settle for something ordinary.
Q14. Do you consider yourself to be a leader, or a follower? I’m a leader. I always have been. I make decisions fairly easily, and have no trouble taking charge. I was in student council from Elementary through High School… I can’t just sit back and let other people make the decisions. I’m not as comfortable being a follower… but I can do both.
Q15. What do you admire the most in your peers? I admire individuals. I love it when people are themselves, completely and without reservation. People who are willing to admit they love contradictory things. People who don’t let themselves be put in one box. People who aren’t limited by what’s cool or what they think people will like them for. People comfortable in their own skin.
Q16. You are stranded on a Class M planet that has not been mapped by The Federation. You are only allowed to choose two of the following items to keep with you: a phaser, a tricorder or a communicator. Which two would you choose to have? I’d take the phaser and a communicator. The phaser for protection, because the natives are not always friendly… and while I think I can talk myself out of a lot of situations, sometimes they don’t take the time to understand. Secondly a communicator because that way I could contact my ship for assistance.
Q17. Please describe your understanding of the Federation’s Prime Directive. The Prime Directive doesn’t allow the Federation to just swoop in and solve all of a world’s problems with technology advances. The thing about most global “issues” is that the majority of them have roots in social problems, and if you don’t address those problems… nothing changes. Matter of fact, it could make things worse… especially on a Universal level. You can’t give a toddler a gun and expect him to understand why he can’t shot everything that makes him angry. Similar concept.
I think also, if you gave technology to everyone… where would the new ideas come from? I think it would fascinating to see how each world developed space travel, and the different ways it would be done. We have so much to learn from each other, it would be sad to take that away. The universe would lose some of its uniqueness.
Q18. The United Federation of Planets includes more than 150 member planets, and the galaxy has many more besides. Which planet do you most want to visit? The first planet that popped into my head was the one where Jean-Luc went on vacation, and was SHIRTLESS... but I can't find the name. Maybe it's my happy place because there's shirtless Jean-Luc (and he got some in the episode *whistles*), but it was also pretty AND had some interesting archeological digs. I like places that have history over just beautiful scenery... so, uh, since I don't know the name of aforementioned planet, I'll say Betazed. I think the history of a people who are telepathic would be very interesting. It makes you wonder if they had as much war. If you could feel the pain and devastation you caused, would you still go through with it?
________________________________
KOBAYASHI MARU:
The following questions describe situations you may commonly find yourself in as a member of Starfleet. You will be read the scenario, and then given two options to choose from. You may expand upon the reasons for your choice, but you must indicate one of the two that you feel best describes your likely response to the situation provided.
Q19. Service in the Fleet can be draining at the best of times, and on one particular day everything seems to have gone wrong. You’re exhausted, but your shift is finally over and it’s time to unwind. Your roommate is already on their bed when you get back to your quarters. Do you:
DELETE THE APPROPRIATE ANSWER
a. Settle in for a lengthy chat with them - you’d really like to vent about your day and you’d quite like to hear about theirs too. It’s a bit of a ritual by this point anyway. Maybe you’ll even head out to the Rec Hall together to unwind over a card game with the others.
Venting to someone generally makes me feel better. I don’t always want to chat about it… but generally am social when people are around.
Q20. You’ve intercepted what sounds like a pretty important transmission - you feel like the Captain needs to know. When you report, do you:
b. Give them the facts, but your interpretation and the way it fits into context is more important. The Captain wasn’t there, after all - the way you explain it could make all the difference.
I think it’s kind of impossible to block out your own interpretation of events, since it’s impossible to be completely objective, so might as well say outright what you think. The captain, since she has the facts, can make their own assessment on what your opinion, and that way can have an idea of your “lean” on events.
Q21. There are many decisions to be made in Starfleet, and some are harder than others. Faced with a decision where things could go wrong in any number of ways, do you:
DELETE THE APPROPRIATE ANSWER
a. Stay impersonal and objective. Weigh up the pros and cons, think out all the possibilities, and focus on the basic truths. A careful analysis of the situation will reveal the best possible choice, even though some may not approve of it.
I completely hate vague hypotheticals because I think it entirely depends on the situation. I really could do either. But when comes down to it… the facts and making the best possible solution, not what people think of it are more important (though I think it’s pretty impossible to take the “human” factor out of anything).
Q22. The day-to-day life of Starfleet can be quite arduous at times, and quite exciting at others. Everyone has their own way of approaching everyday work, but would others see your approach as:
a. Planned and orderly. You seem to prefer to have decisions made and matters settled, rather than hanging over your head. You appear comfortable when in control over such matters. You seem to be task-oriented, and plan ahead.
I was ridiculously tempted to pull a Kirk, and reprogram this so I could say both. I definitely am a little bit from column a and little from column b. I looooove to plan, and generally organize things. But it would be a mistake to assume I’m rigid in these plans and not “open to information and experiences”, because I am. I’m very adaptable. I definitely prefer having some sort of plan going into a situation (and am very likely to have one) but if it changes, I can roll with it. I think deadlines make everyone more efficient, even when you are organized.
Q23. You can earn 5 points for your future Track by promoting the community in your Journal. Please link the post here if you wish to do so: I did!! here