Historically, Gold Fleet, headquartered at SB BETA above Andor (the
Andorian homeworld), has been charged with protecting core Federation
Space and with patrolling the borders of and exploring the region of
rimward Beta quadrant space of the Scutum Arm, Orion Spur and
3-Kiloparsec Arm (see SF Sciences page). 

Though closed in 2408, recent developments, including the possibility of
an extended Tholian/Gorn conflict (with the spectre of Romulan involvement
in same despite their recent Entente with the Federation), as well as the
emerging Fardon threat and increased piracy within Gold Fleet's old patrol
zones, made it imperative to re-establish a fleet presence in this
theater.

In January of 2411, Admiral Gordon Crowell assumed command of the newly
re-formed Gold Fleet.  Deployment of The Krima Expeditionary Force, based
out of DS13 (a former listening post along the Gorn/Tholian border), to
monitor and contain the crisis is about to begin. 

Over the longer term, Gold may encounter a species of spacefaring
creatures from a Population II star (in an orbit which intersects the
galactic plane) tentatively called the Ahtapotians.  Moreover, captains
are free to revisit TNG and TOS era canon species within this region of
space, or to create new ones. 

Gold Fleet Command is modelled loosely after the late twentieth century
surface navies of the United States and Great Britain with the
understanding that, in addition to traditional naval fiction which focuses
on the drama of naval service, the mission profiles may also echo that of
historical Ages of Exploration where naval ships did indeed conduct solo
exploration at the behest of their patrons.  A balance of multi-ship
scenarios, solo voyages, and interlocking storylines is to be expected. 

Captains in Gold Fleet can expect considerable autonomy in the rp conduct
of their commands.  The fleet's framework offers a great deal of latitude
for CO's to develop their own mission ideas, or to make use of information
compiled by Gold admin on the themes mentioned above.  This background
material helps to add dimension to multi-unit missions, and to promote
consistency among such threads; the administration is commited to keeping
this information as current as possible.  Supplemental documentation on
Star Fleet structure, billet descriptions, and the like will also be made
available.  Its use is wholly voluntary.

In Gold, the mechanics of shipboard administration are left to the CO's. 
Player concerns and dispute resolution are expected to follow a 'chain of
command' model with the understanding that all Gold Fleet administrators
are more than happy to field questions via email.  CO's are expected to
bring vacancies, requests for specific players, and any concerns they
cannot deal with themselves to the attention of the administration on an
ongoing basis.  That notwithstanding, ASR administration is a volunteer
effort, and has evolved a responsive implicit culture; thus, no formal
reporting system is deemed desirable or necessary.  

Please direct any additional questions or concerns to D'Maris Coffman,
CINCGOLD, (farrago@eskimo.com); Andrea Schalk, Deputy CINCGOLD,
(Andrea.Schalk@cl.cam.ac.uk); or Matt Nicholls, Commander, Krima
Expeditionary Force (COMKRIMAXFOR), (meenie@comcen.com.au).