Guide to the Universe

[STSF Corizon 0]

Guide to the Universe

 

The year is 2383, the Romulan Empire encompasses large sections of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, only one threat to their power remains—the Terran Empire. Xenophobic to the extreme, the Terran Empire is controlled by a strict, near-fascist government and is in the process of integrating their new territories gained in the Cardassian War.

 

The Romulan Senate, while secure in their superiority over the Humans, has not yet decided the time is right for open warfare between the two races, as such, they have commissioned a number of distractions for the Terrans that will keep them busy expending resources, while the Romulans prepare for all out war.

 

One such of those distractions has been an increase in piracy, supported secretly by the Tal'Shiar. One particularly infamous of these pirate crews is the Excalibur—a former Federation starship captured by the Dameon pirate, Ah-Windu Corizon.

About the Universe

The universe that Buccaneers of the Blade takes place in is in many ways home to a more simplistic morality than ours, and in principle similar to the traditional Mirror Universe. 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 this 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 pacifi st, 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

Within the Terran Empire, humans are the only species of consequence. The Bajorans are loosely tolerated, while other alien races are considered to be inferior. The dominate species, however, remain the Romulans, and to a lesser degree the Vulcans. Within the Romulan Empire, all other aliens are considered second class citizens, but are granted marginal freedoms, so long as they behave.

 

Pirate Crew

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.

Policy on Logs

Given the nature of this 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 classifi cation. 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.