Wowies! Clay and Clayton, I just read your joint post and was extremely impressed! It was, to be completely honest, quite an AWESOME and SPECTACULAR read! I'm totally looking forward to writing with each of you ... both of your characters are super interesting and sound as if they'll be a blast to interact with in-character! Okay, well, I just wanted to throw that little accolade in your general direction!

Thank you sir.
Looking forward to working with you as well, will get around to doing a JP soon as our characters will be working together a lot.

Woot woot! I'm looking forward to that! I'm actually trying to poke Clay awake to see if he might be interested in doing a bit of writing. I just played 3 1/2 hours of StarCraft II. I'm ready for a break.

Sorry, I was gone much of the evening and didn't see your poke. I've

For general informational purposes, Minoru is currently at the Antares Fleet Yard, the same place which gave birth to Defiant. Here's a short history from the ship's unofficial magazine (why, yes, I am writing a short starter guide disguised as an in-character publication). I'm toying with different names that go along with the ship's name.
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Minoru is a Akira-class starship. The name comes from the Japanese language from Earth and means, among other things, "truth, reality", "fidelity, faith", and "fruit, nut, seed". (The last gives all of her shuttles and hoppers their names.) She was built at the Antares Fleet Yard in 2371 as part of the Flight II production block. At the time, the Dominion had just appeared on the galactic scene and were viewed as a major threat. Minoru spent her first years performing peacekeeping missions and defensive patrols along the Federation frontier. She then saw minor action during the brief Klingon-Federation conflict, which gave the crew and ship a taste of what was to come.

In 2373, Minoru was assigned a fleet stationed near the Cardassian border and was soon taking part in the Dominion War. She saw action throughout the conflict, serving as a command ship for the 23rd Cruiser Squadron and host to both 298th Fighter Squadron and the 176th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion. Minoru held the line valiantly and saw combat at several important battles, including Rondak VI, Second Betazed, and the final push on Cardassia, along with numerous skirmishes. Casualties were high, especially at Betazed where a direct hit drilled straight through the primary hull, but Minoru kept fighting and proved that the design's heavy emphasis on survivability was well worth the effort.

In 2285, Minoru returned to the Antares Yard for a refit. Much of the ship was stripped down and the latest technology installed, including cutting-edge computing and propulsion systems. Now, Minoru is ready to celebrate her fifteenth year of service by joining Horizon Fleet and once more venturing into the unknown.

I've been thinking about different ways to keep Minerva in on the action, and such, during missions- as we don't have a lot of people yet and she's not quite standard bridge crew. I was thinking that she could have a habit of going to get various personnel (random enlisted NPCs and such) when they don't show up for mandatory evaluations. And that way she could just happen to be in the right place at the right time when disaster/weirdness/AotW strikes?

Also, I'm thinking she probably has slightly above average first aid training- which might help until we get a PC doctor. And Clayton, have you had Marcus keep regular appointments with a counselor, or would he have made a point of knowing who Minerva is, or something like that?

Good ideas, especially the first aid training.
It seems like characters in not so visible roles have said training, some examples being Tom Paris, Gerak (to some extent), etc.

A counselor might also come in handy to some extent when the ship encounters strange new beings, plus I'm sure that your character in particular has some hidden insight that will prove invaluable at times.

That was a great joint post, Griffith and Anderson, I enjoyed it! I have to say I'm wondering what our fearless leader will do in a diplomatic situation, now, though. Should be interesting.