Bravo Fleet
Colours whirled and spun. For thirty minutes, verterons wedged the gate open. Most bore Starfleet markings, some civilian. Each paused for a while on the Delta Quadrant side, drinking in the unknown. One by one they departed. Each course laid in would bring many of them further from their homes than ever before fathomed.
The Discovery pivoted, gliding from the Wormhole’s mouth in a wide arc. Two more ships, one Olympic-class, one Nebula, moved to flank her. Simultaneously, their warp engines engaged, and they disappeared with a flash into the same vanishing point.
Not with a bang, but a leap, the Blood Dilithium campaign begins! For the next six weeks, captains of the Fourth Fleet will test their wills, their crews, and their ships against the dangers of the Delta Quadrant and the mysteries of this manifesting, ominous red dilithium. Bravo Fleet campaigns are writing events open to any member with their own command (Ensigns and up!) where we all pull together to tell stories that build into a collective narrative. Our ships may be light-years apart, but there’s all one grand adventure. Blood Dilithium is fun for the whole fleet but comes from the great minds at Task Force 17, and you can read all about it here.
So go forth, writers of Bravo Fleet! See what horrors and delights the Gradin Belt holds for you. But to spice the pudding, so to speak, I have a few contests – competitions if you will – to inspire:
- A good old-fashioned ribbon race for the entirety of the campaign. Write the most, and win!
- Shorter and sweeter, a writing sprint, a ribbon race for just the first week. Kick-off with a bang.
- There’s more to our writing community than just churning out words, however. Read the works of your fellow members in our latest comment challenge – remember to check the guidance!
There is one more competition from the Intelligence Office starting today. That’s because November isn’t just the start of Blood Dilithium, it’s the start of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. Across the world, writers will band together for the highest challenge: finishing a 50,000-word novel in one month. I thought that might be a dash of fun for Bravo Fleet to get involved, and when better than for our latest campaign? Participation in NaNo can be as strict as you like – write only during the month of November, aim for 50,000 words, aim for your story to be complete in that time (the traditionalists’ way) – or you can simply use it to inspire and motivate yourself. Set a goal that works for you, and go about it in whatever way suits you best. We’re not purists about this sort of thing here.
There is, thus, one last competition: Bravo Fleet’s NaNoWriMo. Write as much as you can in one single Mission throughout the month of November – but! It doesn’t have to be in the campaign, so long as you’re earning service ribbons for just one story (in the narrative sense of the word – one Mission in BFMS). Is the Delta Quadrant not your cup of tea? You can still compete!
But I, for one, will be looking to the Gradin Belt, and have my eye on that 50,000-word target. So if you’ll excuse me, my Scrivener file awaits.
To the victor the spoils!