This post continues an examination of established canon for the purpose of finding Star Trek Adventures story beats, mission ideas, and other game elements. Posts covering 2371 can be found here and here. A look at early 2372 is here and mid 2372 is here. Canon stardates (when available) and episode titles are provided. The main body of each entry is a summary of events and last part - in italics - are comments for the gamemaster.
Ambassador Troi Visits Deep Space Nine
No stardate given ("The Muse" - DS9)
Ambassador Lwaxana Troi, pregnant with her third child, visits Deep Space Nine. The father of the child, a Tavnian named Jeyal, arrives on the station to claim custody of the child. Lwaxana Troi annuls her marriage with Jeyal with the assistance of Constable Odo, who is able to make a convincing declaration of his love for her during a quickly arranged wedding ceremony. Lwaxana Troi dissolves her marriage to Odo before returning to Betazed.
This places Ambassador Troi in the Bajor Sector around this time. No canon information concerning her whereabouts after this episode or about her third child exists at the time of this writing. This is Majel Barrett Roddenberry's final on-screen appearance in a Star Trek production.
The Maquis Escalate Activities in the DMZ, Eddington Defects
No stardate given ("For the Cause" - DS9)
The Maquis have taken advantage of the Klingon invasion of the Cardassian Union to advance their agenda. They are operating with impunity in the DMZ and have constructed several new bases to support expanded operations. There is the real possibility that the Maquis could drive out the Cardassians from the DMZ entirely.
Lieutenant Commander Eddington reveals himself to be a member of the Maquis. He arranges for USS Defiant to be away from Deep Space Nine while he disappears on a Vulcan freighter with twelve class 4 industrial replicators intended for the Cardassian Union. In a related development, Kasidy Yates turns herself in for smuggling supplies to the Maquis. She serves a short prison sentence and is freed in 2373.
At this point, the last thing the Federation wants to see is more instability in the region. Unfortunately, there are few options available. The industrial replicators will likely end up supporting the expansion of Maquis operations in the DMZ. The Cardassians lack the military resources to oppose the Maquis. The Federation is unable to send starships into the DMZ under the terms of the treaty that created it. Starfleet may assign the player characters to infiltrate the DMZ covertly and see what can be done about the Maquis. Recovering or destroying some of the industrial replicators may slow the Maquis down.
Eddington's arc is a handy example of overhauling an element that's not working out. In the specific case of Eddington, DS9 retconned a fairly bland character into a more interesting one. Eddington was introduced as a straight-laced Starfleet professional. He provided a few moments of conflict here and there by not being as willing to bend the rules as the series regulars. He barely had a personality beyond that. After defecting to the Maquis, he became an antagonist that Sisko had a personal stake in capturing. He provided whole episodes of conflict by questioning and rebelling against what the series regulars stood for. If Eddington, Nog, or Rom had continued on the paths they were introduced with, they would all have been minor parts of the story told by DS9. By diverging from those paths, they became more memorable.
First Joint Federation-Dominion Military Operation
Stardate 49904.2 ("To the Death" - DS9)
USS Defiant participates in a joint operation with a small Dominion unit to destroy an Iconian gateway controlled by a group of renegade Jem'Hadar. The mission is a success, despite some friction between the Starfleet crew and Jem'Hadar soldiers.
Starfleet gains more insights on the Jem'Hadar, the Vorta, and the inner workings of the Dominion.
Iconian gateways could be discovered anywhere in the galaxy. Most are likely inoperative, but could be made functional again with the right equipment. A working Iconian gateway is an instant source of conflict. Starfleet is willing to condone destroying an Iconian gateway to keep it out of the control of a hostile group like the Romulan Star Empire or a renegade Jem'Hadar unit. Other interstellar polities are likely to show less restraint in response to an adversary acquiring one.
It might be possible for the discovery of an Iconian gateway to be concealed. Launching an invasion through it would give the game away, but using it to move covert operations teams around could be kept secret for awhile.
Starfleet operating a secret Iconian gateway might be an interesting campaign concept. It could feature teams exploring the worlds accessible beyond the gateway. However, that might end up resembling another sci-fi franchise a little too much.
USS Rio Grande Encounters Dominion Use of Biological Weapon on a Civilian Population in the Gamma Quadrant
No stardate given ("The Quickening" - DS9)
USS Rio Grande receives a distress signal while conducting a bio-survey mission in the Gamma Quadrant. The source of the signal is an automated beacon on a world near Dominion space. The planet - homeworld of the Teplans - was attacked by the Jem'Hadar two centuries prior after the Teplans resisted Dominion rule. Teplan civilization was wiped out and the population was infected with "the blight" - a viral disease. Doctor Bashir remains on the planet to find a cure for the blight after USS Rio Grande moves off to avoid a Jem'Hadar patrol. He learns that the blight is engineered to mutate and accelerate when exposed to the electromagnetic fields generated by modern medical equipment. This causes the deaths of Doctor Bashir's patients. However, he is able to deliver one patient's child prior to her death. In the process, he discovers that an antigen he had administered prevented the unborn child from contracting the blight. The antigen could not cure the existing Teplan population, but would function as a vaccine to eliminate the blight in future generations.
Here we see the Jem'Hadar deploying an engineered biological weapon against a civilian population to deter resistance to Dominion rule. Further Starfleet expeditions to the Gamma Quadrant may encounter similar situations.
In "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" (DS9 7x16), Doctor Bashir gives a lecture on the blight at a joint Federation-Romulan conference on Romulus. Tal Shiar chairman Koval asks about weaponizing the blight further.
USS Defiant Travels to New Founder Homeworld, Klingon Empire Invades the Archanis Sector
Stardate 49962.4 ("Broken Link" - DS9)
The Founders allow USS Defiant to journey to their new homeworld for Constable Odo to join the Great Link. The Great Link passes judgment on Odo for killing another Changeling - he is transformed into a Human. USS Defiant returns to Deep Space Nine without further incident. The coordinates of the new Founder homeworld remains unknown to the Federation - the navigation systems of USS Defiant remained under Dominion control for the duration of the mission.
Chancellor Gowron escalates tensions between the Klingon Empire and Federation by refusing to return captured Cardassian territories and demanding that the Federation withdraw from the Archanis sector. Federation colonies near the Klingon border call for a preemptive strike, but are ignored. A short time later, Gowron announces that a Klingon task force is being deployed to the Archanis sector. Any Federation stations or ships there when the task force arrives will be destroyed. This is effectively a declaration of war.
Starfleet receives intelligence suggesting that Gowron has been replaced by a Founder.
The situation between the Federation and the Klingon Empire escalates to open warfare. Fighting breaks out from the Archanis sector to the Bajor sector. The Klingons have the initiative and the Federation's defenses are only able to slow their advance. However, Klingon forces fail to simply overrun Starfleet and threaten the heart of the Federation as they did in previous conflicts. This may reflect changes in Starfleet tactical doctrine in response to the Battle of Wolf 359.
No stardate given ("The Muse" - DS9)
Ambassador Lwaxana Troi, pregnant with her third child, visits Deep Space Nine. The father of the child, a Tavnian named Jeyal, arrives on the station to claim custody of the child. Lwaxana Troi annuls her marriage with Jeyal with the assistance of Constable Odo, who is able to make a convincing declaration of his love for her during a quickly arranged wedding ceremony. Lwaxana Troi dissolves her marriage to Odo before returning to Betazed.
This places Ambassador Troi in the Bajor Sector around this time. No canon information concerning her whereabouts after this episode or about her third child exists at the time of this writing. This is Majel Barrett Roddenberry's final on-screen appearance in a Star Trek production.
The Maquis Escalate Activities in the DMZ, Eddington Defects
No stardate given ("For the Cause" - DS9)
The Maquis have taken advantage of the Klingon invasion of the Cardassian Union to advance their agenda. They are operating with impunity in the DMZ and have constructed several new bases to support expanded operations. There is the real possibility that the Maquis could drive out the Cardassians from the DMZ entirely.
Lieutenant Commander Eddington reveals himself to be a member of the Maquis. He arranges for USS Defiant to be away from Deep Space Nine while he disappears on a Vulcan freighter with twelve class 4 industrial replicators intended for the Cardassian Union. In a related development, Kasidy Yates turns herself in for smuggling supplies to the Maquis. She serves a short prison sentence and is freed in 2373.
At this point, the last thing the Federation wants to see is more instability in the region. Unfortunately, there are few options available. The industrial replicators will likely end up supporting the expansion of Maquis operations in the DMZ. The Cardassians lack the military resources to oppose the Maquis. The Federation is unable to send starships into the DMZ under the terms of the treaty that created it. Starfleet may assign the player characters to infiltrate the DMZ covertly and see what can be done about the Maquis. Recovering or destroying some of the industrial replicators may slow the Maquis down.
Eddington's arc is a handy example of overhauling an element that's not working out. In the specific case of Eddington, DS9 retconned a fairly bland character into a more interesting one. Eddington was introduced as a straight-laced Starfleet professional. He provided a few moments of conflict here and there by not being as willing to bend the rules as the series regulars. He barely had a personality beyond that. After defecting to the Maquis, he became an antagonist that Sisko had a personal stake in capturing. He provided whole episodes of conflict by questioning and rebelling against what the series regulars stood for. If Eddington, Nog, or Rom had continued on the paths they were introduced with, they would all have been minor parts of the story told by DS9. By diverging from those paths, they became more memorable.
First Joint Federation-Dominion Military Operation
Stardate 49904.2 ("To the Death" - DS9)
USS Defiant participates in a joint operation with a small Dominion unit to destroy an Iconian gateway controlled by a group of renegade Jem'Hadar. The mission is a success, despite some friction between the Starfleet crew and Jem'Hadar soldiers.
Starfleet gains more insights on the Jem'Hadar, the Vorta, and the inner workings of the Dominion.
Iconian gateways could be discovered anywhere in the galaxy. Most are likely inoperative, but could be made functional again with the right equipment. A working Iconian gateway is an instant source of conflict. Starfleet is willing to condone destroying an Iconian gateway to keep it out of the control of a hostile group like the Romulan Star Empire or a renegade Jem'Hadar unit. Other interstellar polities are likely to show less restraint in response to an adversary acquiring one.
It might be possible for the discovery of an Iconian gateway to be concealed. Launching an invasion through it would give the game away, but using it to move covert operations teams around could be kept secret for awhile.
Starfleet operating a secret Iconian gateway might be an interesting campaign concept. It could feature teams exploring the worlds accessible beyond the gateway. However, that might end up resembling another sci-fi franchise a little too much.
USS Rio Grande Encounters Dominion Use of Biological Weapon on a Civilian Population in the Gamma Quadrant
No stardate given ("The Quickening" - DS9)
USS Rio Grande receives a distress signal while conducting a bio-survey mission in the Gamma Quadrant. The source of the signal is an automated beacon on a world near Dominion space. The planet - homeworld of the Teplans - was attacked by the Jem'Hadar two centuries prior after the Teplans resisted Dominion rule. Teplan civilization was wiped out and the population was infected with "the blight" - a viral disease. Doctor Bashir remains on the planet to find a cure for the blight after USS Rio Grande moves off to avoid a Jem'Hadar patrol. He learns that the blight is engineered to mutate and accelerate when exposed to the electromagnetic fields generated by modern medical equipment. This causes the deaths of Doctor Bashir's patients. However, he is able to deliver one patient's child prior to her death. In the process, he discovers that an antigen he had administered prevented the unborn child from contracting the blight. The antigen could not cure the existing Teplan population, but would function as a vaccine to eliminate the blight in future generations.
Here we see the Jem'Hadar deploying an engineered biological weapon against a civilian population to deter resistance to Dominion rule. Further Starfleet expeditions to the Gamma Quadrant may encounter similar situations.
In "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" (DS9 7x16), Doctor Bashir gives a lecture on the blight at a joint Federation-Romulan conference on Romulus. Tal Shiar chairman Koval asks about weaponizing the blight further.
USS Defiant Travels to New Founder Homeworld, Klingon Empire Invades the Archanis Sector
Stardate 49962.4 ("Broken Link" - DS9)
The Founders allow USS Defiant to journey to their new homeworld for Constable Odo to join the Great Link. The Great Link passes judgment on Odo for killing another Changeling - he is transformed into a Human. USS Defiant returns to Deep Space Nine without further incident. The coordinates of the new Founder homeworld remains unknown to the Federation - the navigation systems of USS Defiant remained under Dominion control for the duration of the mission.
Chancellor Gowron escalates tensions between the Klingon Empire and Federation by refusing to return captured Cardassian territories and demanding that the Federation withdraw from the Archanis sector. Federation colonies near the Klingon border call for a preemptive strike, but are ignored. A short time later, Gowron announces that a Klingon task force is being deployed to the Archanis sector. Any Federation stations or ships there when the task force arrives will be destroyed. This is effectively a declaration of war.
Starfleet receives intelligence suggesting that Gowron has been replaced by a Founder.
The situation between the Federation and the Klingon Empire escalates to open warfare. Fighting breaks out from the Archanis sector to the Bajor sector. The Klingons have the initiative and the Federation's defenses are only able to slow their advance. However, Klingon forces fail to simply overrun Starfleet and threaten the heart of the Federation as they did in previous conflicts. This may reflect changes in Starfleet tactical doctrine in response to the Battle of Wolf 359.
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