For months, the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were shattered, stars separated by the warp-smothering effects of the Blackout phenomenon. Then came the invasion of the Vaadwaur Supremacy, vast fleets of this ancient interstellar empire reborn traversing Underspace tunnels to seize and hold territory across the Federation and its neighbours. At last, the Blackout has been lifted, the Vaadwaur occupations lifted, their fleets routed.

Now is a time of healing.

Across the Federation, worlds are in recovery. Some have spent weeks or months occupied by Vaadwaur forces, living with enemy ships in their skies and soldiers in their streets. Others bore the brunt of the Supremacy’s violent cruelty, their homes destroyed, their cultural centres devastated as the enemy sought to destroy not just the Federation, but its very will.

But there is reason to hope, and not merely because the Vaadwaur are gone. While some worlds burned, others were untouched, the invasion never reaching their skies. While some Starfleet defenders were broken, vast fleets were isolated by the Blackout, never facing the enemy. Where the Vaadwaur touched, devastation followed, but the rest of the galaxy stands ready to aid in the rebuilding. Earth itself was never attacked, and the Federation’s foundations are strong enough to weather this invasion.

This rebuilding is Starfleet’s first duty, and the Fourth Fleet is no different. Wherever the Vaadwaur struck, there is work to do: medical aid to be rendered, homes and infrastructure to be rebuilt, law and safety to restore. The humanitarian tasks are countless, and every world’s needs different.

With crisis comes change, too. While many major Federation worlds were untouched, others suffered greatly. Much of the frontier was unassailed, however, considered by the Vaadwaur to be strategically insignificant. For long years, the Federation frontier was neglected, under-resourced and disregarded. Now, these border worlds stand at the forefront of the rebuild; now, they are the ones to lend a helping hand.

What might have been a source of frustration or resentment has instead birthed a new spirit of resilience and fraternity in the Federation. Fresh bonds are formed through debts of gratitude and acts of kindness, the people of volatile frontiers and once-safe core worlds united through this mutual aid. The fall of the Blackout has ushered in the fall of more than one boundary.

The Federation were not the only power invaded by the Vaadwaur, however, and the wider political consequences remain unclear. The Romulan Republic escaped relatively unscathed, seemingly considered strategically insignificant. The Free State has shored its borders and turned inward, shrugging off outside help, licking its wounds with paranoia and suspicion.

The Cardassian Union were instrumental in the Vaadwaur’s defeat, sharing their knowledge and technology with the Federation to build the Wall Protocol, locking away Underspace from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants hopefully forever. Time will tell if this is a step towards a new understanding, or a demonstration of Cardassian might the Union will seek to leverage. It may be down to neither government, as the insurgent forces of the True Way and the New Maquis seek to exploit the distraction to pursue their own agendas in the contested former Demilitarized Zone.

No government has been more rocked by the invasion than the Klingon Empire, however. While the Vaadwaur dealt them no worse a blow than any other major power, the effects of the Blackout were potentially catastrophic for the rule of Chancellor Toral. Great Houses were isolated, forced to stand on their own two feet, and many learnt that they could do so most ably. Qo’noS seeks not only to rebuild the empire, but to restore its rule across its territory, and the first task promises to be easier than the second.

It has brought an end to the latest surge of the Klingon Empire’s coordinated invasion of Romulan territories. But it has also made local politics more unstable. An aggressive ruling house, particularly those untouched by the Vaadwaur, may look at a struggling neighbour and see an opportunity to strike, to seize resources or territory. This opportunism is not limited to frontier Federation or Romulan worlds, however, with some houses turning on each other, reopening ancient grudges.

Less aggressive houses have taken a different tack, particularly those who made common cause with neighbours to face the Vaadwaur. The House of Koloth in particular lent significant aid to Federation allies against the invasion, and with the Blackout over, neither they nor those who share their outlook, their desire to uphold the Khitomer Accords, have seemingly much interest in falling in line behind the blunt rule of Chancellor Toral. Only time will tell, but for the moment, the empire seems in dire risk of fracturing, perhaps into civil war.

It will take many months to see the full consequences of the Blackout, and the Vaadwaur invasion…

Writing the Mission

There are many challenges facing the Fourth Fleet in the aftermath of the Vaadwaur invasion. The most obvious undertaking is the humanitarian aid needed across the Federation. This can take many forms, from providing emergency medical relief, to rebuilding homes and infrastructure devastated by the Vaadwaur, to more long-term projects like re-establishing transport links and industry, or restoring local governments.

These stories can take place across the Federation. Members are not limited to depicting member canon locations or their canonical Areas of Responsibility (AORs) assigned during the Nightfall Fleet Action. If you want to write about helping a location canonically struck by the Vaadwaur get back on its feet, you may do so. If a Trek or fleet canon location has not yet been depicted as targeted by the Vaadwaur, assume that it was not invaded. If in doubt, consult the Intelligence Office. ‘Ownership’ of AORs no longer applies to depiction of canonical locations!

Most of the wider geopolitics of the Alpha and Beta Quadrant remains in flux as the dust settles from the Vaadwaur invasion. The Romulan Free State and Cardassian Union are licking their wounds, and the Republic are dusting themselves off. The Klingon Empire, however, stands as a precipice, and members should feel free to depict any borderlands as chaotic and dangerous. Klingon Houses have been forced to stand on their own two feet for months, sometimes against an invading force, rendering the empire deeply decentralised. Houses on the empire’s frontier may see their neighbours as ripe for targeting, or may themselves be the targets of rivals, or even efforts by Qo’noS to bring unruly vassals to heel. Likewise, the insurgent groups of the Demilitarized Zone see the aftermath of the Vaadwaur invasion as an opportunity, and are liable to redouble their efforts, hoping Starfleet is distracted from this border.

Expect updates in the coming months of these political developments.

Stories about these neighbouring governments are welcome, and there will always be new Starfleet missions of exploration. This is, however, a good time for tales about the Federation interior, particularly in contrast to stories about these locations during Nightfall, which may have simply made them a setting for war.

While the Vaadwaur invasion was brutal, it was not absolute. Many places were completely untouched, weathering the invasion and the Blackout. Some of these are effectively ‘next door’ to systems that were hit hard, and now play a key role in their rebuilding. This is important to emphasise, as it is a crucial part of why the Vaadwaur invasion has not fundamentally altered the Federation forever – the Blackout, by its nature, meant its impact was relatively limited. Likewise, it renders rebuilding much, much easier than if the Vaadwaur had invaded by traditional means. Places have suffered – but they will rebuild.

This reflects the mentality of the Federation. There is a strong belief that they will recover, with the isolation of the Blackout ending. While many have suffered, the sense of the Federation reconnecting, of worlds helping one another, offers inspiration and encouragement. It has particularly begun to challenge the notion of division between ‘core worlds’ and ‘fringe worlds,’ with the latter now much better equipped to help the former. Rather than breed resentment or superiority, it is fostering more understanding, and beginning to heal cultural rifts that deepened in the aftermath of Mars.

The Vaadwaur invasion was hard, but the Federation is not hopeless. It is reconnecting.

There may be many stories about the physical aftermath of the invasion, but also the emotional aftermath. Members are welcome, as always, to explore the impacts of fleet canon events on their characters. In Q3 2025, however, will come the next Intelligence Office campaign: Shore Leave. Rather than add new major fleet canon plots, this event will focus on members’ characters, their emotions, their relationships. It can be a great chance to explore the aftermath of Nightfall for a cast of characters, particularly if the idea of writing more immediately after Nightfall feels daunting or tiring.

Before, then, however, most Starfleet crews won’t get downtime, or relief. There’s still work to be done.