The appearance of Underspace corridors in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants has sent shockwaves throughout known space, shaking paradigms and shifting traditional power structures. As the Klingons and the Romulans stare at each other warily across the border and the Cardassians continue trumpeting their heroics across the quadrant, the Federation has been reminded of the wonders of exploring the cosmos.  The Underspace aperture that opened in orbit of Mellstoxx III unleashed space junk and artefacts all over Starbase Bravo’s home star system.

Despite the collapse of the Underspace corridors into Federation space, uncovering the mysteries is what Starfleet was made for.

The Federation has found itself with a multitude of new artefacts that were ejected from Underspace.  With the return of Starfleet to its primary mission of exploration, there’s a promise for finding even more.  The Fourth Fleet has offered space aboard Starbase Bravo where its advanced equipment and ample facilities can provide a central location for the ongoing storage and examination of these artefacts. As Starfleet continues its next adventure where the maps end, Starbase Bravo opens its bay doors, ready to receive the next curio from these strange new worlds.

Taking inspiration from the Labyrinth mission table system, members are encouraged to utilise the Starbase Bravo Artefact Tables to inspire their writing.  Use the tables to create the thrill of the find in deciding where the artefact was discovered, what the artefact looks like, and a quirky quality of the artefact that will create rising action for your story. Joint posts are also strongly encouraged between members whose characters may have differing expertise and may provide different insights.

Scientific investigation is the aim of this mission and we ask our members to reflect this.  Following a difficult year, this research highlights Starfleet’s return to exploration throughout the Federation (and beyond) to expand the collective knowledge.  Members should write stories that facilitate the discovery of a wide variety of information and we encourage writers to reflect on the nature of the scientific investigation, including the fact that you are far more likely to discover something small or possibly nothing at all. All scientific research is valuable and we encourage members to take the opportunity to undertake their own research as they explore scientific oddities to keep their writing informed.

In the spirit of the project we remind you of Madam Curie’s wise words;

“Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

The divisions are finding themselves tasked with the following work;

Command Division

– There are artefacts arriving from across the Federation and beyond, responsibility for planning and delivering these complicated, quadrant-wide logistics has fallen to a number of  the base’s command staff.

– Returning to Starbase Bravo to make delivery of these artefacts is not always possible for exploring starships, Command division officers including the flight wing are regularly undertaking collection runs to nearby drop-off locations and bases, returning with shuttles heavy with mysterious objects.

– Unfortunately, where exciting artefacts appear, so do people wishing to take advantage of scientific intrigue. With artefacts scattered all over the Mellstoxx system, a number of illicit traders and merchants have appeared forming a grey market for the purchase and sale of artefacts.  Command and intelligence officers are tasked with putting a stop to these illicit transactions.

Operations Division

– The influx of artefacts has necessitated the adaptation of a large part of Sector Hotel to specialist labs, with this comes a variety of problems that the bases’ engineers must solve to make the labs safe and functional.

– Anomalous objects require innovative storage methods and the Starbase Bravo engineering department is working day and night to ensure that the artefacts, the labs and most importantly the station’s residents remain safe.

– Several of the research groups have called upon the expertise of the station’s engineering teams to investigate complicated artefacts, particularly those of a mechanical nature.

Science Division

– Many new scientists are arriving aboard the station, fresh-faced interns, doctoral experts and everyone in between. They all provide support to other projects as well as lead their own research groups. A number of Starfleet science officers have been given projects to undertake where Starfleet Science has deemed the artefact a priority investigation.

– Junior Science officers are getting the opportunity to work alongside some of the most renowned scientists in the Federation (and beyond).  Officers of all levels may find themselves seconded to research projects alongside their normal duties.

– Medical teams are on hand to provide biomedical knowledge whilst also preparing for a slew of injuries brought about while exploring unknown artefacts. Medics are regularly answering calls when experiments go awry.