(originally featured in The Starfleet Journal, October 1992)

Black april was perhaps the darkest time in the history of Starfleet. It was mostly cause by the two brothers David and Mike Platt (of course *P didn't help much by allowing us more freedom)! The Platts joined Starfleet as Captains in December. The[y] lived close to Flag Admiral Torres, and therefore manipulated him by calling him everyday with ideas. Although some ideas were quite clever, they gave Torres false information with which to back up the ideas.

One of those ideas was expansion to the Arts Club. Before long, the expansion began to bother other clubs. The Platts acted as if they owned the place! One person who tried to stop them was Christine Killian, who was active in AC clubs as well as Starfleet. Admiral Killian told the Platts to return to The Club, very strongly stating her opinion. The Platts were furious. They even called her a bitch over a secured code that was in use at the time! The Platts called Torres, once again manipulating him with false information, and convinced him to court-martialing Killian. killian was shocked, therefore she left Starfleet.

By this time the Platts had manipulated the FgA to the point where they ascended from Captains to Fleet Admirals in a matter of weeks. The[y] continued with their ideas and power plays. but April would be the last [strthat] straw.

April rolled around and Starfleet dominated The Club. In fact it was the most powerful Trek club on *Prodigy! That same month, *P stepped down its harsh cencsorship rules and allowed for more RPG-type posts. The Platts, of course, used this to their advantage as well. They posted a flood of ideas. Among those were a Constitution which allowed for little or no personal freedom. When many members strongly protested, the Constitution was dropped. The Platts once again were furious. They told Franco that the members were out to get him. They suggested that Franco shoudl change all the current Fleet and Senior Admirals. Then, all hell broke loose.

People were already outraged that the Platts still both held positions on the FAC [Fleet Admiral Council], while Jim Midyette was reduced to SA. They wanted the Platts out of power. When Franco refused, members retaliated. They left in droves. Torres finally started to realize that everything the Platts were telling him was false. (Of course the threats of an Underground movement begun be [by] FAs Bourdaa, Monroy, Takahashi, and Midyette also helped convince him!). By that time, it was late April. 40% of Starfleet's members had left, and new clubs were started. Michael Bourdaa started the Star Trek Club, or STC. Jeremy ormins left Starfleet and began the Imperial Klingon Empire, or IKE.

Elections were then held for the Fleet and Senior Admiral Councils. The Platts lost, and were again furious. They were unable to lie to Torres, so they did the only thing they could do; complain. meanwhile, members were returning. In fact, 50% of the members that left returned. Starfleet was once again on its feet.

Since Mike Platt was responsible for Black April, (even though David played a large part) Torres ordered him to a court-martial. He assigned two prosecutors; FA Jose Monroy and FA Jim Midyette and Laura Bourdaa presided over the hearing. The trial lasted several days and just before the verdict was handed down, the Platts disappearedThe final verdict: Mike Platt was demoted to Fleet Captain. That would finally be the end of the Platts, as we have not heard from them since!