Bravo Fleet
‘Your concern is touching, Captain.’ Gul Iset could not have sounded more insincere if she wanted to, and Hargreaves knew he had entered into a rather pathetic theatre. There they were, deep in the furthest reaches of former Star Empire territory, aware of the dangers surrounding them – but her ship was considerably more impressive than his. The USS Caliburn was a damaged, battered vessel, and even at its best it was an explorer, not a warship.
The Damar, on the other hand, was perhaps the finest military vessel made by Cardassian hands. If there was anything out here to threaten it, then the Caliburn would be nothing more than a gnat in comparison.
‘You have your orders, I’m sure,’ Gul Iset continued, her voice wafting across the bridge of the Caliburn. Although the viewscreen set her and Hargreaves on level footing, standing as equals, it somehow felt she was looking down at him. ‘And I have mine. The Klingon Empire may have designs on this fallen territory. Let them. They are of no concern to me. You should look to yourself, first.’
They might be bloodthirsty expansionists, but they don’t want to start a war with the Cardassian Union. They want to fight the Romulans. Or the Federation. Iset’s unspoken implication hung between them, as sharp as her humourless smile.
‘I have my orders, too,’ said Captain Hargreaves, hands on his hips as he watched the Cardassian woman. ‘We’re not to leave.’
‘No, instead you’re to stay here, at the mouth of an aperture hundreds of light-years from civilisation, and watch… me. I understand perfectly, Captain. Enjoy the view. Damar out.’
As Iset’s image died on the viewscreen, Hargreaves turned to his science officer. ‘You’re sure? You’re sure about that platform you’re building?’
‘I checked and triple-checked,’ the lieutenant said, by which he meant, I wouldn’t have said anything if I weren’t sure. ‘I thought they were building something to help them navigate Underspace. But it manipulates tetryon particle waves, it doesn’t monitor them. And I’ve only seen this technology in one place before: Turei ships.’
‘It doesn’t confirm anything,’ Hargreaves said sharply. ‘Keep studying, and let me stall for time. We have to be sure before we report this. Before we do anything.’
I have to be sure, thought Captain Hargreaves of the USS Caliburn, before I accuse the Cardassian Empire of trying to destroy Underspace.
We’ve hit the halfway mark on Labyrinth – and have the words to prove it, with the count surpassing a whopping 300,000. That’s several novels’ worth of writing already penned, and the end is barely in sight yet!
But we can catch a glimpse of it, because the start of next week brings us Phase 3, the third and final phase of the Labyrinth story. The snippet of fiction above gives some insight of the developments coming and how the stakes are raising. The galaxy is not sitting idly by as Underspace turns everything upside-down. The great powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants are moving to use Underspace as they see fit. Whose vision will prevail?
The main Labyrinth briefing has been updated with the events of Phase 3. The Campaign Table has also been updated – though as we look to plan the endgame, the offerings are now not about beginning whole new narratives, crafting storylines from scratch. For Phase 3, the Campaign Table offers a simple additional table: Phase 3 Developments. Here, you can roll or choose a way to incorporate these heightening political tensions into your pre-existing storyline, and prepare for the end.
We’re truly in the thick of it now.