Bravo Fleet
It has been a long two years for the Fourth Fleet. From the violence of the Dominion, the Borg, and the Vaadwaur, to the political turmoil from the Klingon Empire, and the ascendant rivalry of the Cardassian Union, it has been a time for ships and crews to stand firm to protect and uphold the Federation through deed and ideology.
But what comes next is not a clarion call to action, a crisis to defend against, a chaotic storm to be weathered. What shines on the distant horizon of the Beta Quadrant is something… new.
In ten days’ time, Bravo Fleet will launch its latest campaign: New Frontiers. In this eight-week writing event, the Fourth Fleet is dispatched to explore an undiscovered region of the Beta Quadrant beyond the territory of the Klingon Empire and Romulan factions: the Shackleton Expanse.
While the name is drawn from the TTRPG Star Trek: Adventures by Modiphius, and some inspiration has been derived from the concept, Bravo Fleet’s Shackleton Expanse is a new location, fresh for development by the Intelligence Office and members. What awaits writers is a chance for exploration and discovery, and to carve out this bold new frontier through story and worldbuilding.
New Frontiers reintroduces and repurposes the Areas of Responsibility (AOR) system from Nightfall, with the Intelligence Office producing articles for locations across the Shackleton Expanse. At the weekend, a form will go live where members can lay claim to an article for their own New Frontiers story on a first-come, first-served basis!
The briefing for the event, which lays out the storyline and gives writing guidance, can be found here. You can begin to plan and talk as much and as soon as you like, but remember that Stories must not be posted until the event opens on October 25th. While it’s not cheating to pre-write, as there are no competitions or ribbon races involved, the spirit of a campaign focuses on everyone coming together for the event’s duration.
The Shackleton Expanse is a place of mystery, where Starfleet are setting foot for the first time in their history. It is a place of new discoveries, be they fantastical, violent, terrifying, or intriguing. It is also, as laid out in the briefing, a perfect opportunity for stories integrating the new allied commands, with the Romulan Republic and Klingon Empire (and others) also turning their eye on this mysterious new region.
The eight-week campaign length is longer than usual. The duration will bring us right up to the holiday season. It’ll also span the Thanksgiving break, which has usually hit Q4 campaigns hard. Rather than avoid that, an eight-week campaign doesn’t mean writing at an intense pace for even longer – it’s so that you can take your time. Take the opportunity for collaborative writing, or for a gentler story, in a tale with much lower stakes and without an immediate crisis.
After all, while this campaign launches the Shackleton Expanse… this new frontier isn’t going anywhere.
The Intelligence Office has been hard at work in the run-up to the campaign, and has some fresh articles and material to enhance your stories and flesh out the setting. Take a look at:
- The New Frontiers BFMS briefing
- The Shackleton Expanse
- Starfleet’s base of operations at the mouth of the region, Framheim Station
- New Frontiers Areas of Responsibility (including an explanation of the system and a list and summary of all articles – which will be populated over the next day or so)
- Keep a weather eye on the Bravo Fleet map…
- And what… in a region on the far side of the quadrant, shrouded in mystery… is this?
New Frontiers launches on October 25th, 2025.
