ISS Agincourt Introduction

[Col. C.E. Harper 0]

I.S.S. Agincourt

Guide to the Future

 

In 2395 the largest remaining independent empire in the Alpha Quadrant -- the Romulan Star Empire -- signed the 2395 Surrender of Versailles, a pledge utterly disarming the Romulan Empire and turning over all of its subject worlds to the dominion of the Terran Empire. The 2395 Surrender of Versailles follows on the heels of the Terran Empire's victory over the Cardassians, and marks the beginning of an era of virtually uncontested dominion over local space.

 

The Ship

 

The Agincourt is the product of a new initiative by the Imperial Starfleet to expand the fleet in order to maintain control of the new territories claimed in the Cardassian and Romulan Wars. Ships with heavy offensive capabilities and massive weapons payloads became a production priority, given the need to maintain terror among the subject races. The Agincourt is the ninth Prometheus-class vessel to be produced by this initiative. Like all Starfleet vessels, the Agincourt also carries a Marine battalion, headed by the Executive Officer.

 

About the Universe

 

The Mirror Universe is in many ways home to a more simplistic morality than ours. Choices tend to be laid out in black and white; ambition versus fear, punishment versus reward. That which benefits a character is good and that which harms him is bad. This does not mean that the characters of the Mirror Universe are "immoral" per se, nor that they lack positive traits such as friendship, loyalty, compassion, and generosity. But such emotions are always subject to cost-benefit analysis, and doled out accordingly.

 

Generally speaking, a 'mirrored' character does not change that much. To draw on the classic example, Mirror Spock is still logical, intelligent, and devoted to the Enterprise and Starfleet. Mirror Kirk is still a strong leader, bold, and quick-thinking. Essential character traits are retained between universes; only their expression changes. Bear this in mind as you consider your character's mirror counterpart. For example, a pacifist is likely to remain a pacifist, but rather than acting out of concern for others, s/he acts from an unwillingness to face combat, or a distaste for, as Kirk said to Mirror Spock, "the illogic of waste."

 

Species

 

Humans and Vulcans are the dominant species. Other races may be accepted, possibly based on how human they seem -- Betazoids, for instance, are likely more accepted than Bolians. Talents possessed by a race may also weigh in their favor -- to use the above example, telepathy could be useful to the Empire. Non-humans or part-humans, consider the implications of your genetics in the social structure.

 

Starfleet

 

Starfleet officers advance though a combination of scheming, disloyalty, temporary loyalties and alliances, assassinations, and bribery in various forms. However, they must also be skilled at their jobs, or they can and will be removed by their superiors -- not their immediate superiors, most likely, because those guys will be scared for their jobs, but the CO and XO will certainly take a hand if operations are compromised.

 

Department Overview

 

Command

 

Senior command officers are generally skilled, competent, and ruthless. More junior officers on the command track may be either in the process of developing such traits or near-incompetents. The latter are generally promoted in order to provide a buffer between the higher levels of command and the lower echelons watching for any opportunity to remove blocks in their upward path (i.e., if your direct subordinate can hardly do his job, he doesn't have time to gun for yours).

 

Security

 

Security officers are tasked with protecting the ships and stations of the Empire. On many subject worlds, they act as a deterrent against rebellion. On starships, their jobs are often more unusual -- despite the size of the Empire, it's still a vast and varied galaxy out there. Security officers also act as bodyguards to key command personnel. They are most feared, however, for their role in maintaining ship's discipline; the Agony Booth falls under their purview, as do the rarer, more archaic punishments. The Imperial Security officer on a ship (analogous to the old Soviet political officers) is most often actually a small-s security officer.

 

Science

 

Scientists are not to be overlooked in the midst of the more rough-and-tumble aspects of the Empire. Science officers are mindful of the adage "knowledge is power" and keep an eye open for discoveries that they can exploit or parlay into promotions. The Empire has exploration vessels, just as the Federation does, though they tend to be more heavily armed. On such ships, the science department is crucial, as they provide analysis of new data and offer recommendations on how best to exploit newly discovered worlds.

 

Medical

 

Woe betide the crewman who offends a medical officer. These men and women literally hold the lives of the crew in their hands. As such, they can be extremely dangerous to cross and are generally placated by everyone with any sense. A doctor can serve his own ambitions by withholding treatment or slipping someone a dose of something unpleasant. Some do a thriving trade in controlled poisons and narcotics, though if caught their medical degrees will not save them from the Booth. In the field doctors are valued -- beyond their life-saving skills -- for their ability to adapt chemical and biological agents as pacification tools.

 

Engineering

 

Engineers are the technical wizards of the Empire. They maintain the myriad of systems necessary to the operation of a station or ship, systems which often represent the difference between life and death. They know their way around the back corridors and hiding places of the ship, physically and virtually. An engineer with the right computer access -- authorized or not -- can destroy a rival or elevate an ally. A careful piece of selective sabotage can bring someone else to grief.

 

Marines

 

The Marines are the elite forces of the Empire, called in to subdue new planets and to quell what few rebellions begin. They are rightly feared by all subject races and most Empire citizens. They are also the only branch of the services where assassination is not an accepted way to move up in rank. The marines are proud of their reputation as the Empire's elite warriors, and do not believe in allowing someone who was once lucky with a knife to lead a unit. This does not mean there are no assassinations among their ranks, nor does it prevent a Marine from killing an officer in the fleet. While assassinating a superior may be considered a mark in one's favor come promotion time, it by no means guarantees a bump in rank. Far better is to challenge one's leader(s) to an open duel and defeat them there.

 

Policy on Logs

 

Given the nature of the mirror universe, it's possible that some of this adventure may press the boundaries of our rating. While the chats must remain unquestionably PG-13, you may wish to explore some more mature themes in your logs, thus entering the fuzzy border of that classification. As a courtesy to your shipmates, please mark any log you feel falls into the grey area between PG13 and R. We suggest using (S) and/or (V), for sexual or violent content, like so: "A Day in the Mirror"(V). You may wish to use others, such as (D) or (M) for dark or mature themes, as you see fit.

 

Further Information

 

Further information on the Mirror Universe can be found at the website:

http://ussagincourt.awardspace.com/mirror/index.html

Just step into the mirror…

[Col. C.E. Harper 0]

Further Information

 

Further information on the Mirror Universe can be found at the website:

http://dhost.info/ussagincourt/index.html

Just step into the mirror…

 

Due to difficulties with the Agincourt site's webhost, further information is temporarily found at:

http://ussagincourt.awardspace.com/mirror/index.html

 

Update 07/16: The normal site is working again.

Update 12/23: Agincourt's site has moved to the awardspace address.