Past Prologue

## **September 20th, 2388**

The U.S.S. Mithras, commanded by Captain Julius Grady, on routine patrol near the Jenkata Nebula is logged as missing. All attempts at communication go unanswered and the ships' transponder goes dark. The U.S.S. Triton, commanded by Captain Harvey Geisler, is dispatched to investigate.

Vice Admiral Vadosia Adislo, the Task Force 9 Commanding Officer and Admiral Scarlet Cameron, the Task Force 9 Executive Officer meet in secret at Starbase 11. Shortly after this meeting, Admiral Cameron leaves the station aboard the U.S.S. Independence, destination not logged under a communications blackout.

## **September 21st, 2388**

The U.S.S. Hawk answers a distress call from a civilian freighter reporting that it was under attack by pirates. When the Hawk arrived the pirates attempt to flee. After a running battle, the pirate ship self-destructs instead of surrendering.

## **September 23rd, 2388**

Reports of pirate attacks on civilian shipping, as well as reports of civil unrest on several outlying colonies, continue. Task Force 9 moves to deal with these problems, ordering several ships to investigate. Spotty intelligence reports are received identifying a group calling itself the Consortium, which was considered a small, unorganized, dissident group by Task Force Intelligence, as being behind the acts of piracy and civil unrest.

The U.S.S. Triton reports that it is under attack near the Jenkata Nebula, however, the transmission ends abruptly. Soon after the Triton’s transponder goes dark.

## **September 27th, 2388**

Vice Admiral Adislo abruptly replaces the Captains and Executive Officers of the U.S.S. Valhalla and the U.S.S. Beifong, replacing them with officers from his Command Staff. He then gives each Captain sealed orders to be opened only after each ship is underway. Both ships are then ordered to go dark and set courses away from Starbase 11.

## **October 1st, 2388 - day of the ‘Event’**

The phrase “The society of sheep shall fall to the wolves.” is broadcast on all Starfleet frequencies in the Gamma Quadrant. Immediately thereafter all Starfleet frequencies go dead.

Mutinies break out on a large number of ships in the Task Force as well as on Starbase 11.

The U.S.S. Mithras, Triton, and Aramus suddenly arrive at Starbase 11. Captain Grady, aboard the Mithras, orders the surrender of the station and of Vice Admiral Adislo. After attempting to make a stand aboard the station, Vice Admiral Adislo transports to his Flagship, the U.S.S. Alesia. Finding that Consortium agents and traitorous crew members would soon capture the ship, he decided that allowing the Sovereign Class starship to fall into Consortium hands was not an option. He sealed the Bridge and initiated the self-destruct, with no delay.

The USS Princeton, still loyal, tried to fight its way free of Starbase 11 but was quickly overwhelmed and destroyed, having had no quarter offered.

The U.S.S. Independence arrives at an Alexandria class station known only to the top command staff officers of Task Force 9 and located in an as yet unexplored area of space near the Dominion border. Shortly after arriving a mutiny erupts, led by some of the ship's crew who attempt to sabotage its defensive systems. As Admiral Cameron deals with the mutineers aboard her Flagship, the U.S.S. Ottawa, under the command of Commodore Zachery O’Connell, the former Task Force 9 Strategic Operations Officer arrives and immediately attacks the Independence. The Ottawa presses the attack and manages to heavily damage the Independence. Fortunately, just as Admiral Cameron was considering a retreat, the U.S.S. Valhalla and Beifong arrive and during the ensuing battle, the Ottawa is destroyed. The mutiny aboard the Independence is defeated and several Consortium agents are captured.

## **October 3rd, 2388**

With sporadic fighting taking place between Consortium controlled ships and loyal ships, Captain Juliana Terlexa promotes herself to Commodore and assumes command of Deep Space 11 and Task Force 9, Captain Grady becomes her Executive Officer. With many of the Task Force’s Senior officers either killed or captured the day before, Commodore Terlexa quickly moves to justify the takeover of Starbase 11, declaring that disloyal forces, led by Admiral Cameron and Commodore Sasyrr, had attempted a coup but were quickly defeated. Those ships and crews remaining loyal to Admiral Cameron are labeled as traitors. Since some Consortium agents were tasked with leading mutinies which were pre-planned to fail, and who then provided disinformation to their captors, Commodore Terlexa's story was accepted by many ships Captains who thought they were receiving their orders from the legitimate command authority, not traitors working in conjunction with dissidents.

## **October 17th, 2388**

Admiral Cameron establishes her base of operations on the relatively safe Dominion station and names it Starbase Unity. Those ships and their crews who rally to this safe haven are organized into Task Force Unity. She also orders that all Task Force Unity personnel undergo screenings to weed out any sleeper agents or Consortium sympathizers.

With the Consortium consolidating its position and hunting down those ships who had not sworn loyalty to the ‘legitimate’ command authority, ships loyal to Admiral Cameron set out to rally as many non-consortium ships and their crews as possible to Starbase Unity.

## **October 23rd, 2388**

The U.S.S. Hawk, while performing a survey of systems within unexplored space in an attempt to locate suitable bases of operations and, more importantly, natural resources, picks up readings indicating the presence of Omega Particles from an unexplored star system, Sigma Epsilon. The Hawk’s Commander, Captain Morin activates the Omega Protocol and sets course for the system. Long range surveillance of the system indicates that an active research station is located in orbit of a dead planetoid. A ship known to be controlled by Consortium sympathizers is observed stopping briefly at the station prior to leaving at high warp. Captain Morin decides to break communications silence and risk a message to Starbase Unity. It is the conclusion of Admiral Cameron and her staff that the Consortium must be attempting to develop the Omega Particle into a weapon. The U.S.S. Hawk is tasked with destroying the station and the Omega Particle, at all costs.

## October 24th, 2388

The U.S.S. Hawk enters the Sigma Epsilon system and approaches the research station. But before Captain Morin is able to launch the mission to capture the station, the Hawk is ambushed by an unknown ship using stealth technology unknown to the Hawks crew. The battle that followed, if it could be called that, was brief. The Hawk was heavily damaged in the initial passes. Captain Morin was severely injured, making it necessary for Commander Scot Harvath, the ship’s Executive Officer, to take command. With the Hawk’s weapons systems ineffectual against the new Consortium ship and her defensive systems failing, Commander Harvath orders the ships emergency warp core be ejected and then detonates it just as the Hawk jumped to warp, hoping to convince the attackers that the Hawk had suffered a warp core breach, and maybe taking the other ship out as well.

October 25th, 2388

After receiving an automated distress call of unknow origin Commander Harvath decided to take the risk and orders the Hawk to alter course and investigate. What they found was beyond belief, the wreck of a ship which had disappeared without a trace some 200 years earlier, the Othalla, and a lone woman of apparent Scandinavian decent. It took four burly men, who suffered three broken limbs, several cracked ribs, and two concussions to subdue her and bring her aboard the Hawk.

## **October 27th – Three days ago**

The Hawk arrives at Starbase Unity. Those crew members able to perform their duties are reassigned to the station while repairs on the Hawk get underway. The mysterious woman is moved to a holding cell for questioning.

## **Current**

With Deep Space 11 in Consortium hands, access to and travel through the wormhole is tightly controlled, for ‘security reasons’. This effectively cuts off the Gamma Quadrant from the Alpha Quadrant and Starfleet Command. Speculation has started to circulate that Deep Space 9 was also seized or at the least compromised by the Consortium. With the communication relays being the first targets of the Consortium, Starfleet communications have been compromised throughout the Quadrant.  Presently, the number of assets still loyal to Admiral Cameron amount to around 40 percent. In addition to loyal Federation ships and their crews, Task Force Unity has been joined by ships of other races, namely the Klingons and Romulans, who found themselves trapped in the Gamma Quadrant and unable to communicate with their governments. These ‘allied’ ships are comprised of two Klingon vessels and one Romulan.