Starfleet Intelligence Division
Office of the Director of Fourth Fleet Intelligence
Starbase Bravo, Mellstoxx System
TOP SECRET – Eyes Only
From: Cmdr. Elizabeth Lockhart, Senior Intelligence Advisor
To: Adm. Alexander Beckett, Director of Fourth Fleet Intelligence
Stardate: 78927.39 (December 5, 2401)

Subject: Orion Syndicate Expansion and Black Market Threat Assessment

Situation Report:

As of Stardate 78927.39, Fourth Fleet Intelligence has confirmed a significant escalation of criminal activity led by the Orion Syndicate across multiple sectors. Recent intelligence intercepts and operational reports from several starships and installations reveal a coordinated effort by the Syndicate to infiltrate the black market with stolen Starfleet and Borg-origin technologies. These technologies include advanced malware, experimental weaponry, and sensitive assets of strategic value to both the Federation and its allies. Syndicate cells are exploiting supply chain vulnerabilities and political unrest in Federation colonies, with sabotage efforts detected in the Archanis Sector and elsewhere. Notable operations include the infiltration of border colonies, sophisticated sabotage of key infrastructure, and raids using stolen Klingon warships.

Of particular concern is the potential collaboration between the Syndicate and rogue elements within the Romulan Free State and Klingon Empire, as well as reports of changeling involvement. The presence of Borg-origin malware at Duraxis Colony and a Borg signal detected near the Etrada Nebula indicate that these factions may be leveraging long-dormant threats to further destabilize the region. Intelligence from Montana Station and other border outposts confirms the Syndicate’s use of complex smuggling routes to move illicit technology and personnel beyond Federation jurisdiction, with the intent of arming hostile entities.

Threat Assessment and Recommendations:

The Orion Syndicate’s growing influence over black market operations and its increasing reliance on stolen advanced technology present an immediate and severe threat to Federation security. Their strategic efforts to integrate Borg technology into their operations, combined with active partnerships with hostile factions, indicate a high probability of further escalation. The Syndicate’s foothold in Federation territories is solidifying, as evidenced by the unrest at Hecate Station and reports of civilian and Starfleet casualties. The threat posed by changeling infiltration only heightens the urgency of this situation, as it suggests broader destabilization efforts.

Immediate deployment of counterintelligence teams and enhanced monitoring of supply lines in key sectors is recommended to mitigate the spread of illicit technology and prevent further Syndicate consolidation. It is imperative that Starfleet Intelligence initiate direct action to disrupt these networks, including targeted strikes against known Orion strongholds and heightened surveillance of the Romulan-Klingon border.

Cmdr. Elizabeth Lockhart
Senior Intelligence Advisor
Starbase Bravo

And we’re off to the races with the first week of the second campaign of 2024, The Devil to Pay. Already, things are shaping up for this to be a doozy, with a myriad of stories squaring up to face down the Orion Syndicate. As the Fourth Fleet Intelligence report above makes clear, we’ve got it all: dangerous technology, black market trade, renegade factions. Don’t just take my word for it, though; the stats speak for themselves. In this first week, Bravo Fleet writers have penned 132,805 words across 93 stories by 24 members. That’s a stupendous swing for the first week.

It’s important to keep this up – campaigns are a marathon, not a sprint. Supporting each other is essential, and it’s clear you’re all doing that. How do I know? Comments. We have a Comment Challenge competition for this campaign, and it looks like participation is going to be outstanding, with 224 comments written by 22 users across 77 stories in this first week alone. I’d like to thank all 22 users for their work in buoying up their fellow writers. I hope you’re also seeing the benefit: nothing gets someone more likely to comment on your work than commenting on theirs. Remember that even one short comment on a story can make someone’s day – but also remember that if you want to really make someone’s day and for your comment to be eligible for the competition, it has to be a little substantive, as per the competition criteria.

I am absolutely delighted with our progress so far, and keen to see what comes next. But before that, let’s take a little look at the story so far…

Week 1

Bravo Fleet Command

Arcturus Squadron

Enacting a plan to stifle Orion activity on the far edge of the Alpha Quadrant, a significant group of Arcturus Squadron starships apprehended a known Federation smuggler working for the Orions in the hope of uncovering their base of operations. Meanwhile, the starship Arondight prepared to respond to a distress call from a Federation freighter in an area of space left under-patrolled due to the seizure operation.

USS Blackbird

The Starfleet special operations team of the USS Blackbird, codenamed the Rooks, has been charged with the recovery of technology stolen from Daystrom Station and released on the black market: the Kairos Regulator, believed capable of manipulating localised pockets of space-time. Reports indicate that Aestri, a dangerous Orion Syndicate arms dealer, seeks to acquire the Regulator and sell it to hostile Klingon warlords. With the device set to be sold at auction on the opulent, Ferengi-held moon of Ilior, the Rooks are in need of assistance to infiltrate the event, and join forces with a Syndicate faction that opposes Aestri and her bid for power… or so they claim.

Constellation Squadron

While the USS Constellation undergoes resupply and crew rotations, many of her science officers are hitching a ride aboard the USS Almagest to the site of their greatest victory… or their greatest mistake. Almost two years ago, the Constellation crew brought hydroponic gardens and algae farms to the barren Reman colony of Kunhri III.  In the time since, a growing population of Remans have begun experiencing digestive dysfunction. While the Almagest investigates the food source, many Reman patients are sent to Caelum Station for treatment, and several of them are kidnapped by an unidentified Romulan vessel that has apparent ties to the civilian Romulan scientists assigned to Constellation.

Deep Space 19

When the possibility of a piece of advanced technology from Daystrom Station has been rumoured to be making its way through the hands of the black market, Starfleet Intelligence reactivates a former agent to track it down. Unbeknownst to some on Deep Space 19, Lieutenant Hawkins is a former spy, and when his former partner (both professionally and romantically) is involved – he is seen as the best person for the job. Sent to an independent world along the Federation-Romulan Free State border, Hawkins must deal with his former partner and the Orion Syndicate faction leader, who could use this technology to ignite a war between the two powers. His arrival stirs up old feelings between him and his old flame, and after rekindling their passions, Hawkins uses this moment to find his way into the Orion lair. 

Polaris Squadron

The USS Pacific Palisades delivers the Corps of Engineers to Duraxis, a backwater colony in the Archanis Sector, on a mission to rebuild infrastructure and strengthen colonial ties. Almost immediately, things begin to go wrong as equipment goes missing, systems malfunction, and then a newly built fusion reactor almost goes critical. These failures prompt a wave of anti-Starfleet populism as colonists take to the street to protest, and while the team of the USS Pacific Palisades struggles to maintain order, the Corps makes a shocking discovery: the near catastrophe at the power plant was caused by malware of Borg origin. In response to the proliferation of illicit Borg technology, Fleet Admiral Reyes, a JAG prosecutor, and a cyberintelligence team from the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity deploy to Duraxis aboard the USS Diligent, but on the eve of their arrival, the protests on Duraxis turn violent, threatening to unravel their mission before it even begins.

Back on Archanis Station, something strange is happening. A mysterious figure arrives, and then people begin showing up at the station’s clinics and infirmaries with a strange disease, one that causes an inexplicable autoimmune storm and forces the medical staff to take drastic action to keep them alive. As the station’s medical services division tries to cope with the swiftly rising case count, the labs come back, revealing a virological vector of insidious origins. The station’s command staff now face a difficult decision as to how they will combat the spread of this deadly contagion, while the race against the clock begins for the biological research team aboard the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity to find a cure.

USS Republic

At the request of Starfleet Intelligence, Republic has arrived at Kyban in the Archanis Sector to lend a hand in investigating the potential return of a presumed dealt with criminal threat, The Last Pirate King, brought down in another life by Commander Sadovu. Upon their arrival, however, they are confronted with the most peculiar of sights – a Hysperian starcastle! While Captain MacIntyre and Commander Sadovu attend a briefing planetside about their reasons for being here, the Hysperians contact Republic, seeking assistance with engine problems, which is granted by Commander Lake, much to the annoyance of Commander Malcolm.

Saratoga Squadron

The USS Triumph, USS Argo, and USS Argus receive orders that freighters are being targeted by Orion Syndicate raiders using some sort of experimental weapon. The three ships depart Tranquility Station and head towards Ichus IV to investigate the reports. Things seemed to be quiet as they traveled, but they soon receive a frantic distress call from a freighter that is currently under attack. The Triumph and the other two ships pick up speed to assist with the distress call.

Task Force 17

Canterbury Division

As Murphy settles into the Canterbury Division centre seat, the division is assigned to check on rumours from the Federation Outpost Corps regarding stolen experimental technology being auctioned off on the black market. To do so, select members of the crew must go undercover and work with others whose goals may or may not align with their own…

Hecate Station

Hecate Station, a neglected outpost on the edge of the Klingon Empire, faces a complex struggle as Starfleet attempts to regain control and restore order amid deep-seated corruption and chaos. The Orion Syndicate has a firm grip on the lower decks, turning them into hubs for black-market dealings, while essential areas like the Engineering and Medical Hubs are in severe disrepair. Civilians and Starfleet personnel alike suffer from scarce resources, outdated equipment, and a growing divide as Starfleet prioritizes its own needs. Tensions rise as the crew uncovers signs of worsening conditions, including a potential plague among civilians in the lower decks. With both internal dysfunction and external threats mounting, Hecate Station teeters on the brink, facing a battle not only for survival but for the soul of the station itself.

Lakota Squadron

Whilst conducting relief operations on the planet Zaran IV, Proteus detected a signal believed to be Borg in origin. After reporting her findings to Command, the rest of the Squadron is ordered to reinforce them on the outskirts of the Etrada Nebula. Meanwhile, Proteus herself begins the perilous journey through the nebula in search of the Borg signal’s origin.

USS Yamato

The U.S.S. Yamato is recalled from its position in the Typhon Frontier with intelligence that the Orion Syndicate is selling a dangerous Starfleet prototype weapon. Contacted with no plan and a plethora of unanalyzed information, the ship returns to Deep Space 17 to prepare before setting out for Badlands.

Task Force 21

Montana Station

A mystery unravels in the rimward area of Federation Space.  The Orion Syndicate is on the hunt for stolen equipment, and possibly more. Hasara and his group worked to infiltrate an arm of the Syndicate while the Starfleet group attempted to investigate with a soft touch. A Reman scientist is discovered as a high value target and the unknown leader of the Rimward Syndicate began to take shape.

Task Force 47

Eos Division

After the unexpected death of the Division Commander, the Eos Division opens an investigation into the underworld of Freecloud. Following the tense prisoner exchange, the crew uncovers a connection to a network of smugglers, spies, and mercenaries operating just beyond the Federation’s reach. The Division must race to uncover the truth while confronting an enemy who killed one of their own.

USS Helios

Pursuing leads regarding a rising number of missing xBs, a team from Helios has set out into the unpredictable and unaligned Cestus triangle. On Pamack, a Syndicate operated mining base, they have met their contact and come to realise there are more interested parties than they previously thought. With Helios far off and finding themselves in a nest of vipers, our team must tread carefully or be swallowed by the Syndicate’s hungry maw.

Task Force 86

USS da Vinci

The first mission out for the USS da Vinci, with Commander Anacostia-Bolling in charge, sees them in the hunt for a stolen Federation vessel, the USS Stavanger, and those responsible for taking it. Delving into her former captain’s shadowy past leads the commander and her crew to the planet Royce III and the sprawling slum known as Reliance City. There, under the guise of giving medical aid, they track down a mysterious and possible unique individual. Does this former covert operative hold the key to tracking down the Orion Navaar Orci and the missing ship?

Selene Division

Two “stolen” Klingon Mat’Ha-class destroyers have been raiding border colonies. The USS Falcon responds as a protective measure while the USS Selene is trying to track down where the ships have come from, finding that they were procured from a Klingon shipyard where they were meant to be transfered from the KDF to a Klingon House but ended up stolen by changelings. The Falcon must now stop the Klingon destroyers despite being outgunned.The Selene will be needing to investigate where the stolen colonial supplies have gone.

Task Force 93

USS Paramount

The crew of the Paramount investigate the SS Calgary. A ship often associated with the Iron and Orion Syndicates. When another ship arrives in the system, it sends alarm bells around the ship.

USS Shepard

The USS Illustrious has been deployed to deliver supplies to a colony in the former Romulan Neutral Zone with assistance from the USS Shepard. The two captains have discussed the assignment, the crews have prepared, and both vessels are underway – but the Shepard has to make a pit stop to pick up a returning crewmember, and some personnel on the Illustrious can’t shake the feeling of something ominous on the horizon.