The following pages and notes will lead you from the genesis of the club we know as STF through the present. As with any historical account, the accuracy of this document is severely hindered by the scope of human flaws: pride, hatred, etc. One man will look at this and cry "fabrication!"; Another will believe it as the Gospel itself. I ask that you only read it -- and take anything herein with a grain of salt. No doubt, I will report events as I saw them happen. I am not omniscient... I know only what I experienced and felt. And now, with no further ado, I present to you "NO REGRETS: THE JIM MIDYETTE STORY."
In all actuality, Jose Monroy truly called ST (the first name/abbreviation for STF) into being with the following note:
"We Star Trek fans can't let the 90210 fans take over this board. Everybody take a ship and head into the 90210 subjects and trash them. This is war.This served as a rallying cry to all Trek fans throughout Prodigy. There was a cultural war to be won and the Trek fans meant to win it. Now, history generally records that Mike Bertsch created ST. Well, he was the first leader, if that's worth anything.Captain Jose Monroy U.S.S. Hornet"
The first couple months of ST's existence was rather bleak. Twenty or so regular members came and went during that stretch -- among those were Bertsch, Monroy, Adam Israel, Joe Bergstrom, Joyce Lee, Ivy West, Bobby Hatcher, and Franco Torres. Their only motivation to hang around in the old TV, FILM, AND VIDEO topic of THE CLUB (1) was to harass and attack the 90210 fans. There was no real organization (other than a couple of these people calling themselves Captains and Admirals and such). Now, aside from simply attacking 90210, a few of these people began to actually discuss such things as the latest episode of TNG... Or the upcoming Star Trek Six. I like to think that it was these individuals who truly laid the groundwork for the STF we see today. These two months passed without much incident. Then, toward the beginning of September '91, Mike Bertsch had to leave for whatever reason. He left Franco Torres in command as the new Fleet Admiral. There was some animosity between Torres and Hatcher. Bobby was very jealous of Franco in that he was not made FA. Eventually, Bobby walked away from ST only to make sporadic appearances once in a while throughout ST's early history.
The end of September brought on a radical new era to ST. In a few words, I joined. I entered ST when it was near collapse. The 90210 war, which had been dragging on for months was getting very old for many people on both sides. I joined as Captain Jimmy Midyette of the USS Constellation -- assigned to do what else? Invade 90210 subjects and make a general nuisance of myself. After about two hours of that nonsense, I decided that a new direction was needed.
I met him halfway. I would not be the cause of ripping ST apart, but I would also not continue the idiocy of the war. I resigned my commission and accepted a position as Ambassador of ST. Immediately I began secretly negotiating with the "leaders" of the 90210 group. Within the week, a peace was signed and ST began to experience its first bout of real growth.
Mid-October. We were joined by Scott Mills. Scott became my friend almost immediately. I decided then and there that if I ever became anything in this club that he would too. Others who joined during this time were Dave Morris and Curtis Splan. Toward the end of October, somewhere in the neighborhood of Halloween, David Platt wrote a note in the ST section asking if he and his brother Michael could join. At that time, we were hard up for members. They were welcomed and given Captaincies.
Around this time, ST had its first try at foreign affairs (other than the war with 90210). We were contacted by the Tiny Toon Empire (TTE). Their Ambassador, Montana Max (Genesun Han) met with us to hammer out the famous Non-Treaty Treaty. This basically outlined that we would not make a Treaty with each other. In fact, we would shun any relations. This was our way of insuring peace... No contact equals no friction. It worked. With the exception of one incident, ST and TTE continued to have good relations. In fact, that Ambassador I mentioned... He went on to become one of, in my opinion, the real Greats of this club. He joined us as Larimda ME, Captain of the USS Illusion.
This second 90210 war led to two major occurrences in STF: it finally showed us how pointless war on *P could be. And it also taught us that some people would do virtually anything to be promoted.
Our people entered their section and wrote nasty notes trashing 90210 and its characters. We began to refer to the show and its fans as The Fad. Eventually, each side took to personal attacks. Nothing was accomplished. We each continued to watch our shows and write in our subjects. It was all an exercise in pointlessness.
Then, of course, there were the Platts. They fought most fiercely in the war. Everytime I came close to a resolution, they would do something -- anything -- to bring us back to the brink. They were rewarded incessantly. These two were like blessings to Torres. He wanted nothing more than to win the war.
Eventually, I succeed. A real, workable peace was signed and the violence ended. But not before a serious toll was taken. The Platts had advanced over four ranks in one month's time. They were respected by those who enjoyed the war. Because of my position of peace, I was scorned by most in ST as a coward and traitor. The Platts orchestrated the war and the aftermath. In this, they won.
But, I was bestowed with quite an honor. I was "promoted" by Joe Bergstrom to the role of Vice-President of the UFP, which now was looked down upon by the main branch of ST. At this point Joe began to show himself less and less. The burden was placed on me to show that the UFP was a reputable part of ST.