U.S.S. ALARIC Departments

Starfleet's chapters are patterned after starships and shuttles in the Star Trek series. Members can choose one of two levels of activity: associate membership, or active membership. Active members can, if they choose, earn fictional 'ranks' and hold fictional 'positions' aboard the 'ship'.

To further this goal, the Alaric  starship is organized into a series of ship's departments which serve as the foci of our Star Trek  and other science-fiction/real science interests. Below is a summary of our current active departments, complete with a description of their projects and accomplishments:

Ian "Krell" Johnsson is the editor our bi-monthly club newsletter, the Carolina Communicator.  Our Communications Department is responsible for the publication of all of our other materials such as flyers, brochures, hand-outs, etc.

Our Computer Operations Department keeps up with all of our computer related projects. Probably their biggest responsibility is the up-keep of this web site that you're viewing right now. But in addition they also contribute regular articles to our club newsletter, the Carolina Communicator, they organize computer gaming events and computer training seminars, and act as a clearing house for computer shareware, graphics, and web site addresses.

Where would any of us be without the dedicated staff of engineering? They're the ones who make sure all our vital ship's systems are always at peak operating efficiency: the computer core, ship's weapons, shields, communications, life support, shuttlecraft...everything depends on them.

We are particularly proud of our engineering staff, because they designed and helped construct the U.S.S. Alaric "heavy destroyer" which you see at the top of this page. We upgraded from our original Saladin-class design to this new ship on Stardate 9304.17.

This department's purpose is the objective presentation of various fields of unexplained phenomena along the lines of scientific inquiry. This approach includes general background summaries and literature review covering the history and description of the phenomena, as well as scientific analyses. The scientific inquiry approach involves investigation of the many diverse views and theories from a skeptical perspective. Presentations and discussions are well-balanced, reasoned, and unbiased; propositions are examined in light of the facts/evidence; unsubstantiated views are put in perspective. The line of scientific inquiry is necessary to stay on a reasoned and logical path, to avoid the traps and pitfalls of sensationalism.

Some of the topics examined by the Fortean Research Department include (but are not limited to): Unexplained phenomena (including UFO's, phyto-communication, and prophecy); lost cities and civilizations; Oop-Arts (Out-Of-Place Artifacts); legendary monsters; physical anomalies; and psi abilities.

Ship's Quartermaster helps us keep track of all our current stuff, plus tells us where we can find more stuff. The Quartermaster has all the "inside information" on where to find the best deals, whether you're looking for Star Trek merchandise, sewing supplies, exotic foods, you name it.

All work and no play makes for a dull club. So not surprisingly a large amount of our energy is spent on "having fun". The Recreation Department serves to focus those interests. It is broken down into three sub-departments: Entertainment, Gaming, and Sports. Each of these sub-categories are listed in detail below...

"Down Under" (located on the underside of the main saucer section of the ship) is the official bar/lounge/entertainment hot spot on-board the USS Alaric. Our resident Ferengi, Krell, tends bar here as well as at our various club parties and functions. And if you're looking for any other sort of "recreational supplies" you can be sure he can procure it for you...for the right price!

As for live entertainment, there's plenty of that as well Down Under. And from time to time even the Rear Admiral herself has been known to lead the crew in a few rounds of favorite filk songs!

No matter what your game, you'll find it here in the Gaming Department: chess, Scrabble, poker, role-playing games, computer games, live-action laser tag, puzzles...you name it we've got it. And if we don't have it, we're probably interested in trying it!

Don't let the Gaming Department fool you into thinking we're just a bunch of couch tribbles playing board games. We also regularly take part in actual physical activity as well: hiking expeditions, field trips, comet watching parties, camping trips...and if you don't believe us, just ask Captain Vaughn about the time she drug us all out five miles into the woods just to look at a puddle of water!

Our current Chief Science Officer Richard Heim makes sure we all stay up-to-date on just about every subject under the sun, but Science incorporates more than any one person can handle. That's why we've broken it down into the sub-departments of Astrophysics, Planetary Sciences, and Social Sciences. Each of these areas are outlined below in detail.  CSO Heim also maintains an Alaric Sciences page.

In addition to being our Chief Science Officer, Commodore Heim is the Region One Science RDC and the Starfleet Science FDC.

The Astrophysics Department is involved with keeping us all up to date on the latest in astronomical information, be it from NASA or from other sources.

In addition, Astrophysics was responsible for organizing our past stargazing parties. We usually met once a month to stargaze.

PLANETARY SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

The U.S.S. Alaric's Planetary Sciences department focuses on the study of the planets and their various aspects: Archeology, aquatics, biology, climatology, ecology/environment, geology, physics, planetary exploration, and zoology.

Department activities include field expeditions, presentations and discussions at club meetings/events, and articles submitted to club publications, with an educational focus.

Part of the whole IDIC philosophy is learning about other people and other cultures, and that's what the Social Sciences Department is all about. By learning about others we learn about ourselves. And with a multi-cultural crew like ours there's always opportunities to learn more. To date we have Humans, Klingons, Ferengi, Striinizarians and even a few we're not sure about.

The new Tactical Department was created from the merger of the old Weapons and Security departments. The Tactical Department focuses on weapons ranging from hand-held to ship-board, to deflector shields, and tactical situations.