View Award - William Riker XO of the Year

William Riker XO of the Year

This award is given annually each year and is decided upon by nominations from ship COs. One XO is chosen from the nominations received to receive the award.

(Level 3 submission)

Category: Both
Awarded: 1 time

Captain Jonathan Holliday
09 Mar 2014 @ 9:40am

I have come to know Tom ever since he joined Galileo when we first became an operational sim in early 2012, and he has never ceased to amaze me with his outstanding participation and commitment to our game. 2013 was a very busy year for the sim during which we engaged in and completed one shore leave plot and two full missions. From an OOC aspect, Tom was my right-hand man who supported and assisted me at every turn. He has consistently replied to every email and PM which I (and other crew members) have sent him, offered me advice on how to deal with various situations, and stepped in for me when I was bogged down with RL commitments. On our sim, his OOC duties include reviewing all applications, welcoming all new players, JPing with all players, liaising with all DHs, reading all posted JPs and checking for continuity, helping to manage our Yahoo! Groups page, enforcing our sim activity rules, and dealing with the occasional disgruntled simmer. In addition, Tom possesses some of the most overall technical Trek knowledge I have ever seen, and he advises all players on our game about the different technicalities and procedures for various situations. These can range from questions about our torpedo launching systems, to questions about the molecular structure of a new alloy. It truly is incredible the amount of assistance he provides, and I include him in all of our mission planning for him to look over and critique in order to provide us all with the most realism possible. Most recently he served as our Borg expert and was instrumental in assisting all of us by giving tips on how to portray the Borg as accurately as possible.

In-Character, Tom plays excellent characters and is an extremely active writer. His main character, Holliday, is the somewhat-stereotypical hard-nosed tactical type who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later. This has led to some very fun and interesting character development as Holliday learned to adjust to his role aboard a science vessel, where shooting first is generally frowned upon. Holliday, as a character, is very deep and complex, and he has grown significantly as he has developed over the past year. Most recently, Holliday was assimilated by the Borg and forced to serve as their representative, Legatus of Borg. Legatus was the name chosen by Tom as the Latin word for diplomat, and it was extremely chilling to see Holliday as the lead Borg character in the mission. Legatus not only attempted to assimilate Lirha at one point, but also oversaw and participated in the assimilation of several other Galileo crew members. Very disturbing!

Tom also plays our beloved EMH, our sarcastic, witty, and temperamental photonic friend who always seems to be called into action when the going gets tough. Tom's knowledge of the medical field is amazing -- probably because he works with published scientists IRL -- and he plays the good doctor to the hilt each and every time. In addition, Tom plays a great Scottish engineer named Riley Cameron, who is equally as fun to read and demonstrates supreme technical engineering knowledge. Between these three characters, Tom is immersed in our sim and always active and participating, the hallmark signature of a great XO.

IC, Holliday is Lirha's best friend, and OOC, Tom has also turned into my best friend. He is an XO who I know I can depend on and who takes the initiative to get involved, and he also goes above and beyond his duties. He always has a positive attitude, is always friendly and welcoming to our new players, and loves to write with every member of our crew. I could not imagine trying to run the sim without him, and it is so rare to find such a strong XO that I feel blessed every day I log in and write with him.