Bravo Fleet: We Are the Borg

Resistance is Futile

Mission Description

‘The Borg we know have been effectively decimated, functionally hobbled.’ – Doctor Agnes Jurati, January 2401

‘Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer. The real Borg are still out there.’ – Captain Liam Shaw, April 2401

Since the deployment of the neurolytic pathogen by the USS Voyager into the Collective, the Borg have been quiet. Severely damaged, their aggressive expansionism ceased, even in the Delta Quadrant. Encounters such as the Artifact were rare. Starfleet believed that the Collective had been massively, perhaps irreparably damaged, their connection too heavily disrupted by the pathogen to continue existence in a recognisable form.

Even Frontier Day was orchestrated by a hobbled Collective, the Queen on one lone vessel operating through subterfuge and an alliance with Changelings to execute a plan decades in the making that predated the pathogen’s ravages. While horrifying to Starfleet, it was a gambit of cobbled-together plans and resources, methods employed wildly outside of the Borg’s norm, and it failed. This was not the Borg’s adaptation. This was the Borg’s desperation.

Or some of the Borg.

Regeneration

In the months since Frontier Day, reports have reached the highest echelons of Starfleet Command that the Collective is stirring again. Rumoured ship movements in Delta Quadrant territories they were thought to have withdrawn from. Long-distance sensors picking up Borg signatures in the far reaches of the Beta Quadrant. There is no confirmed sign of aggression; no confirmation ships have been lost to the Borg – these are dangerous regions of space, after all, where vessels may have fallen to a myriad of fates.

At the same time, rumours have arisen from the criminal underworld that match reports from cybernetic researchers: Borg devices separated from the Collective are ‘waking up.’ From Starfleet labs to the Borg cybernetic black markets to the graveyards picked over by researchers and profiteers alike, Borg devices believed defunct are activating to transmit a simple homing signal. This has triggered a race as Starfleet and other governments rush to secure these devices ahead of each other and black market racketeers. Some seek to learn more about the Borg. Some seek to understand why this signal is transmitting and how to stop it. Others seek weapons, power, and profit. And in the most distant edges of Starfleet’s sensor ranges, the homing beacons go silent as these far-off Borg signatures reach them.

Nobody in leadership wants to say it, but the truth rings silently in the halls of power across the galaxy, regardless: the Borg are awakening.

The Federation is wary of overreacting. Starfleet was devastated by the Borg mere months ago, physically and psychologically. Mobilising the fleet would be a massive logistical undertaking and risk allowing the mental scars of Frontier Day to cause as much damage as Mars, setting back the Federation’s recovery another generation. This could all be for nothing. As such, the Fourth Fleet has been mobilised to respond – not secretly, but quietly.

The Fourth Fleet’s orders are as follows:

To investigate Borg ship activity, including

– Investigating sightings of Borg;

– Analysing data from Starfleet and other sources;

– Scouting areas of suspected Borg activity.

To respond to Borg technological homing signals, including

– Securing technology ahead of foreign governments;

– Preventing criminal organisations from acquiring Borg technology, confiscating it if necessary;

– Due to the risk of Borg ships responding, active signals must be deactivated or removed from Federation space.

The Campaign

The campaign of We Are the Borg is a series of independent stories contributing to the greater narrative of the second 2023 Fleet Action. Members will write the stories of their ships and crews investigating and responding, and the Intel Office will respond to these and advance the campaign’s events.

Any member is welcome to participate in We Are the Borg. If you have a primary command, you can write the story of your starship and crew investigating the Borg or a signal. You can start a Mission on BFMS under this fleet-wide Mission. If you want to write with another member, you can do so! Your ships or characters can work together on missions. BFMS supports this.

The Story

Unlike past campaigns, members do not have to generate their own plot ideas, though are free to so long as it remains within the framework and guidance provided here and on the wiki by the Intel Office.

We Are the Borg includes Mission Briefings written by the Intel Office. These are unique story prompts focusing on a specific location or plot. While many of them may be concepts akin to what a member could generate themselves – investigate a defunct Borg Cube, stop Borg technology from falling into an enemy’s hands – they have more detail from the Intel Office. These allow members to dive further into the mystery of why the Borg are awakening and what this looks like. Participation in these missions also makes it easier for the Intel Office to monitor individual ships’ stories and gauge the impact on the wider narrative.

These Mission Briefings are a little different from those of The Lost Fleet. They are more likely to provide plot structure you must follow or the answers to the mysteries investigated – though the how is usually up to you. Due to the nature of these mysteries, only the basic briefings of Key Missions are publicly available, with an advisory from the IO on the themes a mission may contain and the level of freedom or guidance it offers. Some are open-ended, giving members a springboard into their own story. Others offer an exciting mystery members can weave in their own way, advancing the fleet canon.

There are three kinds of Mission Briefings:

– Priority Tasks. These are ‘repeatable’ missions any number of members may request. They offer generic situations in locations of the member’s choosing but offer much greater guidance than a simple prompt. They are ideal for members who want a high level of freedom but offer less chance for serious engagement in the overall mystery.

– Special Assignments. These are specifically designed for members who expect to write only 1-6 Stories over the fleet action but still want their plotlines to make a difference.

– Key Missions. These focus on the major fleet canon events of the mysteries of the Borg and their awakening technology.

The list of missions can be found here.

Further guidance on writing the Borg in this campaign can be found here. All writers must read this wiki article.

Associated Missions

About the Mission

Command: Bravo Fleet Command
Status: Complete
Total Stories: 358
Start Date: 27/10/2023

Announcements

Operations Office Report #32 – New TF72CO and TFXOs Needed!

Gaming Policy Update – New Supported Game!