[Bondgadget]

As the Ward room of Deep Space Nine filled with delegates, for the signing of the Treaty of Bajor, no one there could imagine the impact that the end of the war would have on the Alpha Quadrant. As pen is put to pad, the shift of attitude in the quadrant is almost instant. The empires that surrounded the table wouldn't be able to comprehend how an act of peace could so drastically change the balance of the quadrant.

The Romulan Empire, which took heavy losses throughout the war, had returned to an isolationist state; where intrigue was rife and paranoia took hold. The Cardassians now occupied by the Federation Alliance, was nothing. Minimal military and years of redevelopment ahead, the power of the Cardassian’s had dwindled into dust, along with many of their cities.

Whilst other empires retreated to their worlds and licked their wounds, the Klingon’s aggressively expanded their territory further under the leadership of an aging Chancellor Martok. The sense of weakness they felt from the events leading up to the war forced them to rebuild and re-arm an aging military, which they now use at their whim.

For the Federation, a sense of renewal and repair swept through the union of planets. The Federation, having spent nearly a decade on preparation for conflict and then war, decided it was time to move back to their main goal; exploration and seeking new life. Towards the end of the war, Admiral Alynna Nechayev commissioned a new variant of the already commissioned Intrepid Class. Acting as an agile deep space science vessel able to accomplish a variety of tasks, this vessel was to act as the fore front of exploration for this new Federation. The USS Columbus, first of its variant, was finished just in time for the end of the war.

Now under the command of Captain Adam Griffith the USS Columbus’ first mission is to explore the Markonian Expanse. Delving into this unknown region of space, there is no information on what is or what was once there. Vulcan history suggests that it teemed with life, but these logical observations came from decades of sensor echoes and whispers. However so far on the edge of known space, no one has gone there before. But now it will all change...

Join us on Elite Force RPG-X every Sunday at 21:00 UFP Time to take part and follow the journey of the USS Columbus and her crew as they charter the Markonian Expanse.