[Nightfall Phase 3]: Crescendo

Description

Music often accompanies us in whatever we do. As we face the end of this terrifying invasion, what do we hear?

Create a playlist for this Fleet Action. While this can be inspired by a mission you’re writing in the FA, it doesn’t have to be. You can craft a playlist for a story or character, but you can also theme it more generally around the invasion, Intelligence Office fictions already released, or even competitions.

The playlist can use songs or instrumental pieces – movie scores (Star Trek or otherwise!) or ballads – and be of any genre. It could be the soundtrack that plays in your head during action sequences, the songs that make you think of your characters, or what you listen to if you want to be hyped up or focused while competing. Playlists must still tell some sort of emotional story with ebbs and flows, and should not just be a mash of completely disparate tracks.

Whatever you select, you must explain! A good example of character playlists and their explanations can be found here (https://critrole.com/tag/character-playlists/), written by the players in the Critical Role D&D Live Stream for their characters. As you see, some track choices are very short – they just like the songs and think they’re a good vibe! – while others are deeper and more reflective.

Criteria

  • Submissions must include a link to your playlist and an explanation of your track choice in the competition text box.
  • Playlists must be 5 to 8 tracks in length. They must be created on Spotify, YouTube, or any free-to-access, no login-required music platform.
  • The track explanation is a reflective piece of writing. It should explain each track, why it was chosen, and what it is trying to convey (to you, about your story, experience, or a character).
  • Submissions will be judged on the explanation, not the music itself. Any choice is appropriate if justified. Submissions will be judged on your playlist's (as-explained) Originality, Suitability, Narrative Cohesion, and the Clarity of your Explanation. There is no minimum or maximum word count, but too short and unclear or too long and rambling may suffer in 'Clarity.'

Winners

Submissions

User Content Date Entry
Nacien Rixx (#2998)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5YwUlfglDuqLZ0qCjfBibZ

A soundtrack for "The Launch"
A character driven drama launching a California Class starship to gain a desperate alliance to attempt to stem the tide against an overwhelming enemy.

This soundtrack is a bit quirky, a bit strange and leaning more towards real emotions than epic sweeping songs. Why? The Calistoga is one tiny California class ship, it can't hold a candle to the epic deeds of established Sovereign class ships. The only thing the narrative tries to accomplish is to display characters with meaningful flaws attempting to overcome the odds and contribute to the fleet effort in a meaningful way.

Inspired by Telltale Games where the chapters are highlighted by cut scenes backed by pop or alternative music, this tells a similar tale, on a smaller scale. with the same quirky but mood background music.

I Just Wanna Shine - Opening credits song.
Hopeful, wishful. The characters hope to overcome. They have a duty to do, and have clever plans to accomplish this.
This song is upbeat but not overly happy. The lyrics reflect real struggles and the driving hope that things will get better.
The opening credits display the four focus characters. Offering glimpses of each of their strengths and their main character flaw. Setting the stage for what is to come, the audience is introduced to the characters and invited to root for them.

Sinners - The break between the first quartet and the second quartet.
The characters have been introduced and the Calistoga's mission has been introduced - that they need to travel to an independent space station and seek an alliance. Some members of the main four focus characters consider this treating with pirates. There is concern about the need to ally with pirates and talk of whether or not it is moral to ally with criminals against a bigger enemy. The focus turns to the four focus characters as the story has introduced the idea that each has a flaw they must overcome. In the end we are all sinners who must overcome and work together to become something greater than the base flesh we started as.

Worthy - The break between the second quartet and the third quartet
The second quartet introduces the concept that each main focus character has a flaw that had impeded them in the past and had set up conflict in this story. It also kicks the action into gear. The ship arrives at the independent spaceport, introduces mysteries to be solved, and introduces the threat of the Vaadwaur. This song reflects the struggle of the four focus characters as each deals with messy emotions, flaws that may hamper their success and struggles with the concept of whether they are worthy to be in the position they have. It is a tense and pleading song, that builds in speed and dissonance until it finally calms at the end giving a bit of hope that they will overcome.

Peace Somehow - The break between the third quartet and fourth quartet.
The Calistoga is badly damaged, the independent stations is badly damaged, there are power failures and darkness. The characters are forced to work together, while they struggle with the constant threat of a quick ignoble death in the vast cold of space if the Vaadwaur find them. This song is slow and strange and haunting while remaining hopeful. It looks for the light in the darkness, while the heavy bass line emphasizes the oppressive darkness that surrounds them. The characters have to find the light - this song has to have some hope, because if it had no hope, the story ends and the reader is dissatisfied. In the end this story is about hope and the belief that people can grow and overcome.

Survivor - The end of the fourth quartet.
The fourth quartet challenges the characters in the deadliest and direst situations. They have to put aside their differences and face their fears to survive. This song is dark and yet relentlessly positive. It pushes forward and demands success despite the pain. The characters must keep going no matter how bad things get because failure means that thousands of innocents will die in the immediate vicinity, and if they are unable to assist their greater taskforce the repercussions could be greater than then can comprehend. They must survive. They must push forward. This is the point of the story where each character breaks through their boundaries and reaches for the goal.

A Tear in Space - Closing credits song.
Cue the flashbacks of the character driven drama, the recap of all that we have experienced. This weird synth-driven song sounds a bit like a alien melody from a 1970's sci fi drive-in film, which is perfect for this small scale drama with a small ship that no one would care about were it not for the characters onboard and their stories. Then the pop song lyrics kick in. It is a release, a catharsis. The characters can take a breath and relax. The reader can reflect and celebrate the characters' victories. It offers closure and yet reminds the reader of the sacrifices made to get to this point.

 2025-05-18 17:04:00
Zarroc Thakrass (#2652)

I figure rather than my own fiction, I'd focus a playlist around the themes of Nightfall and the Vaadwaur attack in general, since that could cover a broad range of focuses and vibes across our Fleet Action. The playlist link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkDA566Zsz0m1XGMjygSClIAVQdBw05Xf&si=9pXCk8weciQ_I-XZ

01 - Eluveitie - Aidus: I feel that this track covers the chaos and shock of the initial surprise assaults of the Vaadwaur as they conduct their surprise attacks on unsuspecting and often unprotected and unprepared worlds. The lyrics support total conquest, and the ambiance of the instrumentals is war-like. The chaotic nature of the Viking Death Metal genre in general just invokes the feel of violence and warfare with me.

02 - Cover of World of Warcraft - Daughter of the Sea: Honestly, there's an element to choosing this one simply because a few days ago it was noticed that my username is a WoW-inspired one and it was commented to me "Oh, please tell me you used a WoW track in the music comp!" to which I cryptically replied that I could have... And quite honestly, I did love this song when its related expansion dropped in that game. How does that apply to our Fleet Action, though? This song is dedicated to the events of a war. It highlights a rift between father and daughter in the ideals of how to approach their enemy. Jaina sought peace and understanding, and eventually formed a strong friendship with Thrall. Her father was more militant, with a strong prejudice against the orcish Horde. And this song focuses on the perspective of Daelin Proudmoore feeling betrayed by his daughter for their disagreement in this ideal and approach, ultimately blaming her for his defeat. It's a theme that we've seen in Star Trek time and time again. The Federation favors peaceful resolutions through diplomacy and understanding above all else. And yet, we've had elements of folks in Starfleet who have trouble setting aside the transgressions and atrocities committed by the other side enough to be able do so. We've seen it since the days of TOS, with Kirk admonishing crewman Stiles to leave his prejudice in his quarters. Or how he (or Ortega in the SNW variation of the events of that episode) pushed for a more aggressive response. We saw resistance to making peace with the Klingons in Undiscovered Country, and a whole plot to sabotage those efforts of making peace involving folks ranging from high ranking admiralty down to the lowly officers who beamed aboard the Klingon ship to assassinate the Chancellor. I'll refrain from listing every single on screen example we've seen, but I feel like even if my own story did not explore it, there is certainly some opportunity in this Fleet Action for writers to have their characters butt heads and disagree with one another over whether or not they should be trying to explore any potential peaceful avenues with the Vaadwaur. I do not feel you're going to have much success at peacefully resolving anything with the Vaadwaur, they are committed to their cause and motivations for their attack and expansion. But, the Federation knows next to nothing about this enemy except for what they discover about them during this conflict. So, it's quite feasible, especially early in, that there could be a clash between folks who want to try to come to an understanding vs. the folks who want to strike back and beat the Vaadwaur into a bloody pulp. Could an officer veer off from whichever sentiment their commanding officer feels and try to take matters into their own hands? We've seen it happen before.

03 - Wrath of Khan - Battle in the Mutara Nebula: I'm sure tons of entries would include scores from TWoK but I feel like it would be a crime not to add this music to a song playlist of a Star Trek fiction event with such a focus of pew pews, destruction, and exploding ships. Wrath of Khan exemplifies this, as I feel it featured one of the most impacting ship battles of the earlier years of Trek. Tell me while we read along or write about such battles in our own fiction that none of us hears the soaring, upbeat trumpet notes that played whenever it featured the Enterprise offering a rebuttal against Khan in the Reliant. Every one of us put our ships in the line of fire and concocted up some Kirk-like innovation to pit against the Vaadwaur.

04 - Battle Beast - Eden: The lyrics speak of a vague situation of defeat. Heartbreak, crushed souls, and tears. Yet, the tone of the instruments have more of an upbeat lilt to them. And the lyrics also sing about holding on to something inside that motivates one to power through and persevere. Every character featured in Nightfall will have this inner struggle of continuing on despite everything going to hell around them, losing friends or loved ones, and experiencing what at the time would surely feel as a rock bottom.

05 - The Main Squeeze - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Beatles cover): I feel this song encapsulates the feeling of being in a world full of turbulent times and feeling helpless towards doing anything about it. How those turbulent times are affecting and shaping the ones you know and love in ways that could be despairing, and being equally helpless at making it right for them. The Starfleet folks in our stories will at least have the resources at hand to mount some sort of response, and feel like they're at least trying to make a difference. But there are going to be a lot of civilians on a lot of worlds who will only be able to stand and watch as their lives get turned upside down because of the actions of the Vaadwaur and any decisions made by either commanding officers in Starfleet, or the leaders of their communities or worlds. There will be many in the Alpha and Beta quadrants who have absolutely no control over what happens to them.

06 - David Rawlings - Cumberland Gap: The song sings about Cumberland Gap, a pass through the Appalachian Mountains that was a rigorous path to tread by frontiersmen in early United States history. This deadly trail was one of many through those mountains that helped connect areas that otherwise would have been quite isolated from one another. Much in the same way that the Blackout isolated systems from one another. Until the close of this event, if one wishes to travel from one isolated system to another then they would be forced to find their own 'Cumberland Gap'. Be it through braving the warp-suppressed void for who knows how long, forcing their way into the Underspace to fend off Vaadwaur while attempting to travel, or by whatever other likely just as dangerous means that they can find.

07 - Nathaniel Rateliff - Still Trying: This song just feels very introspective to me, like reflecting on a horrible experience after the fact. The tones are soft and gentle, like calm waves lapping against the hull after a harrowing storm out at sea. Lyrics like "I was standing looking backwards in the outs." "This wound is gonna cancel me out." The repeating chorus that frequently asserts "I don't know a goddamn thing." It's like the song is dedicated to some harrying and traumatic event right in the moments that it all finally ended. I feel like when our characters just emerge from the final moments of Nightfall, this is going to sum up how many of them might be feeling. They're going to be processing it all, just caught up in the aftermath of it. Not having any specific conclusions, or to be able to articulate the whole ordeal. Just a cocktail of shell shocked exhaustion mixed with the quiet hum of relief at surviving a nightmare that didn't quite feel real. When terror was a constant, familiar companion that has suddenly abandoned you, and now the peaceful ambiance it leaves behind feels off and alien to you. You might feel you don't know a goddamn thing at all.

08 - Faun - Walpurgisnacht: This is added purely for reasons outside of the story. This Fleet Action is proving to be a flurry of words from everyone. And the times that I do sit down to commit words to the screen, I like having some good ambient music playing in the background to help me focus. The question has been posed in our channels more than once what do we listen to while we write. Things like Two Steps From Hell is a pretty popular answer between many of us. This one here I feel is a fresh one that some might not know about, and it's a song that frequents my playlist while I do write. I usually tend to avoid songs with lyrics and favor purely instrumentals. But, there's a lot of pagan folk music like this that I rotate into when it's sung in a language that I do not speak because then, for me even though I've often looked up the lyrics to see what they say, as I hear them sung without reading along then the voice truly is another instrument and my subconscious can regard it as such while I listen. This song has certainly been among those played while I've written what I have.

 2025-05-18 15:03:17
Zachary Murphy (#2080)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4o44AQ1tHGV78bK9lyIsmV?si=yHlPKvIbSCaXxIPr6MsXsA

1 - Airbourne - Black Dog Barking - Always reminds me of the Resolute, specifically the line ‘it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog’… because the Resolute is a SMOL ship.
2 - Airbourne - Back in the Game - This is Mason when he hits combat. It’s his natural environment and where he feels the most comfortable.
3 - Vikings TV series soundtrack - If I had a Heart - Another track for the Resolute. This feels like a patrol song for her, about how she would feel if she could talk.
4 - Johnny Cash - Hurt - Mason in his downtime. He’s done so much in his life, that he doesn’t feel he deserves anything (plus a shedload of survivors guilt)
5 - The Heavy - Short Change Hero - RJ, down to a tee, and especially his relationship with Mason.

 2025-05-18 13:18:51
Kirok Skyrunner (#2986)
Private Submission
 2025-05-16 23:26:46
Jaya Thorne (#2970)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4pyPrTS7zYfNM6U6fyiyoy?si=bot_MHrJQcehNQzl_8VRxA&pi=yvzdK0_OQBSzK

Tracklist:
1. Invaders - Iron Maiden. This song seems quite on the nose in both tone and title. The lyrics talk about Viking invaders on the shores of England, much like what Vail wakes up to in the first chapter.

2. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett. This song feels like Dathasa's theme song. Her style and methods fly in the face of Starfleet rules and sensibilities. She is a spirit that won't be broken.

3. Flirtin' With Disaster - Molly Hatchet. This songs feels right for the escape from the planet, and the rescue of the captives. The Leif Erikson is always a step away from disaster, but her crew keeps her on the road.

4. Like Someone in Love - Coleman Hawkins. This song just felt right for the chapter A Sleepless Night. It's warm and comfortable, like a hug and a shot of bourbon.

5. Overhaul - Hollow Ground. Not only does this mirror in its lyrics the budding relationships on board the Leif Erikson, it also mirrors the build up to the final confrontation. Adding the alien pieces the the Leif Erikson and refitting the USS Battle.

6. Sabotage - Beastie Boys. 😏 This song feels right for the initial attack on the outpost. The ships hit hard and fast, and the Vaadwaur don't expect it.

7. My Sacrifice - Creed. Giving one's life to save the sector is the greatest sacrifice. As cheesy as it is, I feel like this song carries the weight of that decision along with the scale of destruction the decision causes.

2025-05-14 02:08:06
Edwin Wagner (#2468)

https://youtu.be/3drY-NoiCJQ?si=qFxyX_7QfEB6vJHa

Van Helsing Complete Score CD1 10 - Journey to Transylvania
This song would be the opening kick-off to the campaign - the slightly haunting opening then kicks off with the race against time as the enemy flies out of apertures threatening all of the life in the galaxy. There are some heroics in the early scenes, such as starship captains rushing into whatever situation is around them, thinking they can stop this or at least slow it down. As the music continues to rumble through, the truth starts to set in as the percussion sounds out the last bit of this track, and the weight of what is truly coming down around them appears. The Vaadwaur are here.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Official Soundtrack | Main Title - Bear McCreary | WaterTower
The nightmare is revealed, and the fight begins - unrelenting and without remorse. I picked this song because I love the original Godzilla theme and was thrilled when they brought it back in their style for this movie. The pounding of the music as it increases in scope parallels the pure terror that the sight of the Vaadwaur would inspire during the blackout. Nothing can stand in the way of this attack, and the Vaadwaur are Godzilla while the rest of the galaxy is whatever city he’s decided to level and annihilate.

Pearl Harbor Soundtrack: December 7th Choir only
The initial attack has come to a close. Everyone is either in full retreat or watching the invasion of the Vaadwaur landing on their planet as the murder and destruction begin anew. I also imagine this playing over scenes across sickbays, hospital ships, and more as the true toll of this sudden and bloody attack begins to take hold. Scenes of captains sitting broken in their chairs as they flee, still hearing the calls for help from civilians, fellow ships, and anyone being crushed under the weight of the Vaadwaur.

Dogfight
This song comes from the movie Midway and is what I imagine the beginning soundtrack for the Federation and other forces as they ready themselves for the first real response, throwing their fighters and starships back into the fight. It’s not an easy fight, full of small wins and plenty of losses. Yet I’d imagine the scene of jaws set and teeth gritted as they work to find ways to push back against the Vaadwaur that still comes up empty. I imagine scenes of frustration and anger at hitting yet another wall, but the other side of it being the need to do something…anything to try and turn the tide.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
This is the true battle scene towards the end of the Fleet Action. I imagine this is multiple scenes - the attack on the devices keeping the blackout going, the Vaadwaur forces in and around them, and the assorted Vaadwaur forces at different points. The battle would rage throughout this piece with good wins, bad losses, and ugly fights that are unavoidable and necessary. It would play over decisive scenes where success is celebrated, but sacrifice has to happen…those parts of the song where this haunting sound plays in and around the escalating tension. As the battles play on and the scores start to be settled across sectors and systems, the music begins to crescendo into its final moments. Scenes of death, sacrifice, and victory bring us towards the song's conclusion as we understand there wouldn’t be a happy ending in this mission. That death would come on the heels of victory - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

For A Few Dollars More // The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
This is nearly the end of the mission. I would imagine this plays across the scenes of the crews coming home and returning together. I imagine this mission with a very Western feel of the good guys against the bad guys. This track is less haunting than the previous one, and it has more of a celebrational motif that lends itself to the concept of returning heroes who are broken and bloodied from the battle.

Hymn To The Fallen (From "Saving Private Ryan" Soundtrack)
This would be the music that would play over the final scenes of my fleet action and then over the credits. It is a choral piece that speaks to the deaths that have drenched this mission, while it also speaks to the physical and emotional sacrifices the characters have been through. They will need time to heal and put themselves back together after so much loss in battle. It is a quiet decrescendo to communicate the end of the mission, but that time will be needed before any of these characters are ready to face a galaxy-level peril again.

 2025-05-11 21:57:48
James MacLeod (#653)
Private Submission
 2025-05-11 17:33:59
Thov th'Zeles (#1644)

Green Sky, Red Hearts
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zT1ycN6590f0QRajvhKfV?si=sW7mhXJeRMu8-DBXJeL4gw&pi=CcjxiiBOSZy8S

1. Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden
Just like the mission, this song starts off with a slow romantic melody. The Brawley's first mission 'Unexpected Guests' started with a wedding that was interrupted just as the quickening pace disrupts the song's early calm. The intro hints about how something is always there and watching, just as the Vaadwaur were before the attack. Fear of the Dark equates to fear of unseen, unknown aliens like the Vaadwaur. The way the beast in the song is hunting can also relate to the hunting the Vaadwaur unleash onto the pre-warp civilization of Vaabanth III, as well as the Brawley's convoy before them.

2. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
The toil endured by the crew is reflected by a theme of posts involving Ensign Kian Harol. We see in 'At the Edge of Torn Decks' how he seems to be making things work by using synthohol. He isn't mentioned as going to counseling. Part of this song is about driving oneself off the rail by making bad choices. It's also about a general numbness and frustration similar to this Ops officer. Kian Harol is trying to focus on his work as his thoughts are spiraling out of control. The song says, "Heirs of a Cold War, that's what we've become. Inheriting troubles, I'm mentally numb". He may be disillusioned with the Entire Federation and it's history of conflicts. He realizes his friend died and wonders what it was all for. These thoughts subconsciously compose his sense of numbness.

3. Doctor Doctor - UFO
The post 'A Counselor's Care' introduces the XO as reluctant to intimacy. The Betazoid counselor sensed something within him and wants to help him open up. She's only getting to the surface of how he runs from love in the way the lyrics in this song suggest. More literally, the lyrics can represent the Brawley needing to be patched up. This can relate to the previous post where Kian Harol was fixing the Brawley, as well as a post centered around Dr. Dowa's medical response. A lyric in the hook, after begging the doctor, mentions "the mess I'm in." That represents the Vaadwaur situation, as well as the situation the XO is entangled in with the Counselor.

4. I'm Broken - Pantera
This represents the Brawley's damaged state. She can't do warp, can barely sense beyond a few light years and has structural damage. It can also reflect the crew, including Kian Harol and others, and their vulnerable mental state. The lyric about "inherit my life" can relate to a moment in the post "Lost in Space." A Vor'cha class had an impulse manifold replicated piece by piece and installed by use of the Brawley's massive industrial replicators. Energy from the Brawley was this "life" that restored movement for the IKS Votaragh.

5. In Control - Vinnie Moore
This song sets the tone nicely with the senior staff briefing seen in 'Where We Stand'. The guitar tone is pensive, just like the officers. The exotic, moody scale reflects the weight of depth in the officer's emotions. Yet the song is sill upbeat. They are still in control, despite the frenzy of the shred metal. It could be good music for the scene in a montage.

6. Aces High - Iron Maiden
This song could represent the actions of the Klingon fighters in the post 'Reconnaissance'. This is especially true because of the zealous point of view of the pilots in the song. The song also represents combat tactics of the Brawley's convoy as it made multiple passes on the Astika cruiser. The hook ends with "Doing it again!" The aggression of the song represents the emotions of the crew as they fought back in both missions.

7. Primo Victoria - Sabaton
This song represents the first victory of the Brawley, which is what primo victoria translates into. The Brawley was also likely one of the first ships to take out an Underspace terminal in the post 'A Clumsy Voyage'. It may have been one of the first victories "through the Vaadwaur lines" in the greater campaign. Equating the Vaadwaur to the WWII villains reflects the scale of their war crimes seen on Vaabanth III and their treachery throughout the fleet's other stories. Like many of the songs on this list, the song has a somber, but upbeat tone. That reflects the mostly upbeat tone of my writing in this story, alongside plenty of ups and downs.

 2025-05-11 17:25:06
Olivia Carrillo (#2199)

Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqywUwtXH69MF1OffeGoeyBnc_tMc6amf&si=GaifdtMh_erIcqy8

1. Jeff Russo - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Main Title Theme) - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The main theme is Star Trek, it’s an important touchstone, since this is a Star Trek adventure. On previous playlists I’ve used JJ-verse themes and DS9 so I’m going with something more recent and yet still classic Trek.

2. Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke - Back in the Game (Official Video)

Thom Yorke of Radiohead works with Mark Pritchard, whom I know basically nothing about, to craft a tense and atmospheric tune. The feeling is claustrophobic, and builds off the themes of ships being isolated and unable to move, that the event began with.

3. Garbage - There's No Future In Optimism (Official Music Video)

Speaking as a child of the ‘90s, the 1990s, Garbage was a band that was never my favourite but I always enjoyed. Their music is muscular and bleak, angry and yet kinetic. The song is dark, and at points things have looked dark during the FA, as it seemed that Starfleet did not have what they needed to defeat the invasion.

4. The Tragically Hip - Courage (For Hugh MacLennan) (Live From A National Celebration)

Sometimes the real life stories behind songs are more interesting than anything we could write. A song against the death penalty sung for the last time by a man dying of brain cancer, the song is about courage from the day of its writing to the day that its creators last performed it over twenty years later. Courage remains a theme, and a much needed virtue for Starfleet officers. Their lives are on the line, and their actions could save (or doom) many more.

5. The Beatles Helter Skelter (2018 Mix)

The battle is chaotic, and so it’s appropriate to add the most chaotic song of the Beatles career into the mix. High energy, and frantic it feels as if everything is slipping away.

6. U2 - A Sort Of Homecoming (Wide Awake In America Version)

Warp restored. The ship damaged. It’s time to go home. Gather up your dead and your lost, and take stock of all that you can’t leave behind. There remains times for goodbyes, and a denouement as we wrap things up. The climax is over, but not all the fireworks.

 2025-05-10 06:01:13
Meila Tris (#2914)

This playlist is solemn, calming and relaxing, I use it a lot, but the songs by Ariana Grande was running through my head while writing the last post.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/24DEZc2YnWuwKUBJJ2nnnB?si=6eea6f5c4eb843f3

 2025-05-09 15:08:28
Alexandria Mitchell (#2266)
Private Submission
 2025-05-09 03:24:15
Cressida Brennan (#2765)

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYV41RBwgoBr_BTsrLJNkxAbGvZSs6NWS&si=k1mafMEcEWnEx05S

My playlist is a small excerpt of what I use for the “Enemy” mission on Caireann Station.

To start, Brendan had this “Love During Wartime” competition, I chose “Intimata - Futatabi” by Haru Kitamura for that scene. It’s a gentle, emotionally nuanced piece built on the softest piano touches that represent the longing of the two characters I’ve chosen for this. It comes across as intimate rather than passionate. Tender, fragile, private. The style is minimalistic, as is the scene itself, with ample breathing space that allows the characters (and the reader/listener) to slow down.

For Gant - a Vaadwuar defector - there is no better representation than Woodkid’s “Guns for Hire”. The singer’s voice is deep, textured, and vulnerable. You can hear this restrained intensity that holds back rage and tears, and the slow delivery add beautifully to the text itself. The minor tonality adds a persisting sense of resignation as the orchestra underneath gathers like a storm, but never bursts. It's what leaves the tension unresolved, and that works so nicely with the character concept of someone who betrayed his own species and lost any social connections and standing, only to deliver himself into the hands of their enemy.

For the main part, we're starting off the battle scene with “Warcraft” by Ramin Djawadi, symbolizing the approach of the Vaadwuar fleet. The score leans heavily into minor keys with a particularly low pitch, which creates this very heavy, very dark sense of foreboding. Djawadi uses slow, pounding rhythms and repeating patterns that come across as almost militaristic, and evoke the mental image of a marching army. 
This, and the sense of grandeur of the symphonic orchestration made it my go-to pick to get back into the mood and setting of this part of the story.

Following up, “What Makes Us Strong” by Neal Acree / Jason Hayes wasn’t the perfect fit to an idea I already had for the story, but the actual inspiration behind it. It starts with the same militaristic rhythm as the last piece of music I chose, and the colliding factions within the score can easily be distinguished. But more than that - Acree and Haynes weaves the leitmotifs (melody and dominant instruments) of different races within those factions into the music, which was the main inspiration for me have the refugee ships join the battle. The score itself is a fantastic representation of battle dynamics, with small wins and huge losses, hope and despair. You can hear when reinforcements are arriving, or when our heroes are in trouble.
The end is probably my favorite part - after a moment of silence, we get a repetition of that decisively heroic theme, and know that not all is lost.

As the last piece of music, I’ve chosen to introduce you to Mahler’s Symphony No 8 in E-Flat Minor, second act, part XV. It’s very choir-heavy, and alternates between sections of dominant alto/soprano, tenor/bass, and the full choir. Neither of these are vying for attention, and fade into a supporting role for the parts they don’t dominate. The orchestra here is, in comparison to the previous score, largely supportive undercurrent that brings it all together, adding depth, resonance, and emotional weight to the climax without overpowering the vocal lines.
The end for my story I am hoping for - my characters tend to do their own thing and I have little say in it - is a scene where the different species of refugees remain distinct individuals, but join Starfleet in the effort to repair the station, and honor their dead. With the different choir elements, this piece is serving as my inspiration for really focussing on bringing people together without having them lose their identity.

2025-05-08 21:57:29
Sazra Kobahl (#2545)

The songs I used to write https://bravofleet.com/story/154085 with https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yBx6anB61IUQJxHh6Gcv7?si=374ce77f036f4f0b

An End, Once and for all, Clint Mansell, Sam Hulick
- It provides the sense of finality and emotional collapse that is happening in the triage zone. It mirrors clearly how the away team is aware that their mission, even with small wins, has serious outcomes. Silina's guilt and her internal failure is carried welll in the slow music parts.
Sunshine, John Murphy
- The desperation swells well into fierce resolve. It helps to provide Ko and the Gemini crew that they are preparing to act, alone and surrounded by the fleet that can kill them at any second.
Ashes in the Snow, MONO
- It helps to sketch the emotional charge that Viamame's emotional shutdown, where she realizes the price that is being paid for her compassion and how unbearable it feels for her. It carriers the reader through the trauma of the moment.
Face Off, John Murphy
- I think this shows the charge of Vekiron's psychological warfare, the tension, the manipulation, and an atmosphere of dreading calm before the storm hits them. It helped quite a bit to set the mood in the square where Vekiron talks to Silina.
The earth Prelude, Ludovico Einaudi.
- Finally the quiet, hopeful yet loaded epilogue. The moment that Gemini and Drava crews are getting ready to face their enemy. It is not meant to bring triumph, but a feeling of endurance in this post.

2025-05-08 11:39:23
Rynar Jast (#2796)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4HpOnxJX0rERzhW95n7p5V?si=9c5699da7767418c

1. “Heart Attack American” – The Bronx
The story kicks off dark in the Epilogue, like something buried woke up angry. This track sets that chaos and aggression as the first warning signs as the Vaadwaur attack and the entity is released.

2. “The Obituaries” – The Menzingers
This one's for Captain Day. The ship is whole again, but no one aboard really is. A moody, punky song about grief and memory that fits her headspace perfectly. Seventeen dead crew…

3. “Deathbeds” – Bring Me The Horizon
As the entity begins to stir, so does the anxiety. Slow, eerie, and intimate… this is the tension just before everything cracks open.

4. “This Could Be Anywhere in the World” (Live) – Alexisonfire
The away teams are being hunted. The live version makes it feel even more desperate… half-controlled chaos, just like the canyon sprint.

5. “The Silent Life” – Rivers of Nihil
This one’s all horror. Bjornsen’s breakdown, the laughing in their heads, the realization that they’re not dealing with anything natural. It’s big, weird, and terrifying. Then the Scout ship team escapes to the surface, only to have the entity target Commander Mehta's team. Then the desperate battle with Ryan and their escape…

6. “Saints and Sinners” – Godsmack
Things turn tactical. This is the gear-up moment, Day, Kellan, Vex, Dar, Valis, and Jorath laying out the plan, even if it might kill them. Still tense, but with purpose now. Save as many as possible.

*** Spoiler Alert*** Haven’t written these parts yet

7. “Ready to Fall” – Rise Against
Jorath’s track. Full of energy and conviction. He walks into the dark knowing it might mean the end… and he does it anyway. Willing to sacrifice himself for the crew, carrying the trauma of all of them.

8. “Sleepwalk Capsules” – At the Drive-In
The entity is buried, the crew escapes, but no one’s okay. This song’s messy, twitchy energy is a perfect fit for that final moment of survival without peace.

 2025-05-07 21:09:29
Varen Wyll (#2419)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5bPO5q7yVfL9jsbRAtFMhc?si=rUmQCNrlSrOyTCg9rOW_tA
https://bravofleet.com/mission/149212 - USS Daedalus - The Devil’s Coat Tails

Delta Rae - Is there anyone out there?
Daedalus began the fleet action seeking a way home from the distant system they were stranded in following the blackout. There is a mixture of hope and confidence in the hearts of the crew as they power through but tinged with a sense of melancholic worry that perhaps something terrible has befallen the Federation, but they keep asking, ‘Is there anyone out there?’

The Rider - Paris Paloma
In the silence of the battlefield we witness the story of the young boy and his mother, fleeing the blitz attack of the vaadwaur. Here, Paris Paloma channels a call for help that is reflected across the galaxy as more voices join the cacophony that cannot be heard. It is a call to arms that rings across subspace. One that Daedalus finds itself drawn to answer as they emerge from the underspace corridor, regardless of the cost they may face.

Emeli Sande - Hurts
As the ship emerges from the underspace corridor to witness the heavily damaged K-74 and the crew’s collective anger boils over with a focused fury. This song’s growth of energy and rhythm drives forward with a sense of vengeance spurned by such a close loss. The repeated motif of ‘It hurts’ drives home the feeling of a furious chase around the broken skeleton of the base.

Let me feel alone - Crowe Boys
As the crew continues the fight against the Vaadwaaur, the Captain makes the choice to undertake a risky manoeuvre, one that may cost lives. Despite the protestations of their first officer and sometimes lover she decides to proceed. The cost weighs heavily on Sehgali’s heart as she waits aboard the Icarus shuttle and tries to justify the end of their relationship, both personal and possibly professional.

Wisdom, Justice & Love - Linkin Park
There is no explanation, no justification for what the team witnessed aboard the damaged K-74.

Bite Marks - League of Legends/TEYA
It is not in a Starfleet Officer’s nature to seek vengeance, but when there are no witnesses left, who will judge you for the lengths you go to achieve your goals? The team find themselves at odds with their own consciousness as they take the final fight to the Vaadwaaur aboard K-74. This piece reflects the moment the team must choose to pull back from the brink or give in to a dark voice that says only one word: revenge.

2025-05-06 21:55:24

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