Mission Dates (or MDs) are used by the simulations as a way of maintaining continuity within the plotline; in easier terms it helps establish of timeline of events. It allows the players to not only determine what is taking place, but else the when, and with whom.

There are two parts to the Mission Dates -- the day and the time. They are laid out as follows:

• MD DD.hhmm

The DD is simple, that is the day, the ‘hhmm” is the time in the day, using military time (24-hour). Each mission starts on MD 1, or Mission Day 1 and resets at the end of the mission.

So far example, a post taking place at 3:00 pm on the 7th day of the mission would be dated:

• MD 7.1500

Mission Dates can be extremely useful in storylines in which the crew splits into various Away Teams, or there are multiple threads and subplots. They are also helpful in simulations that have a large crew base, or members. The more people you toss into the pot the more confusing the timeline can get.

Only the Commanding Staff should advance the Mission Date to the next day