The Sim

2400: Delta Quadrant

The Sojourner sim is a Star Trek writing community and part of Sim Central. Set in early 2400, the Sojourner is one of a small handful of Federation Starfleet ships stationed in the Delta Quadrant. Using an anchored (not exactly stable, but stabilized) Barzan wormhole, a hawkish and precautionary Starfleet is cooperating with a few Alpha Quadrant powers to trade and explore a region of the Delta Quadrant near the Nekrit Expanse.

RHODE ISLAND CLASS

Sojourner is a year-old ship and is among a revived production of a revamped thirty year old design- the Rhode Island-class starships. A small ship with only 84 souls aboard, it represents the cautious and limited investment that Starfleet is willing to deploy to this venture- for now. The Sojourner is meant to be an explorer-class ship operated on much-downsized resources. Sojourner must be autonomous at least in the medium-term, as it doesn't have a fully functioning base of operations. The ship has powerful engines and sensors but it is not a warship, or even a cruiser. It is a scout.

Fuel as You Go

One of the reasons for the Rhode Island class is that it is a robust but small ship that can scavenge for resources. It can land to affect repairs and refuel. It can take advantage of ambient deuterium when it encounters it in open space. The Expanse is notorious for being resources poor, a sort of space desert. But what can be found, can be utilized to extend the ship's autonomy.

BLEEDING EDGE FRONTIER

The space Sojourner is in is as wild and unknown as the space that Humans first entered when they left Earth. The Federation has no official allies beyond the Barzan Compact. It has only the most basic star charts from Voyager's long range scans and the knowledge purchased from native scouts. This is wild space, untamed, grungy and often hostile. Some of these species have never been seen before, their languages have never been tested by the universal language translator.

OLD ENEMIES WITH NEW FACES

The known belligerents in this area of unclaimed space are old faces with new technology: groups like the Kazon clans, the Haakonian Order, the Vidiian Solidarity, and the elusive Krowtonan Guard. The fates of the scattered Ocampa and Talaxian colonies that Voyager contacted remain unknown. Encounters with much more powerful Kazon sects suggests they have enslaved their former Trabe masters. At least some of the Vidiians seem afflicted with either a resistant strain or adapted version of The Phage but it is uncertain if these are mainstream Vidiians or isolated extremists. But on the frontier of the Nekrit Expanse is the space of the single, most existential threat to anyone, Federation or native. The Borg.

REAL GHOSTS

Prior to their destruction the great boogeymen of the Delta Quadrant had barely touched on this area of the Delta Quadrant. It had deemed some species as unworthy of assimilation and it is far from the old Borg Collective core systems. And the Nekrit Expanse is a civilization desert. But the Borg Collective's apparent annihilation by the destruction of the transwarp hubs and the death of their Queen has been felt here. To date neither the Sojourner nor any other Compact-aligned ship has encountered a Borg derelict- or an active ship. But there were transwarp conduits here and, supposedly, small hubs of a few rare, isolated but assimilated worlds.

The loss of the transwarp hubs didn't just shut down the transwarp conduits. Many collapsed and were effectively cut off, but others are like abandoned highways through space, very much still usable if one knows where they go and accepts the risk that they are unstable. Often they are full of debris or traversing them can cause subspace anomalies. But they are a temptation.

Destruction of these conduits also shattered a more natural phenomenon in the Delta Quadrant- so-called Underspace. Like the transwarp network, Underspace has been badly damaged. It is no longer the web it once was but bits of it can still be used.

In a way, these ruined byways through space have democratized interstellar travel. Compact-aligned ships are not the only outsiders exploring this region. Cells of Vaadwaur seem to be trying to rebuild in isolation. The Malon are looking for new dumping grounds. The Hirogen haunt isolated areas looking for new hunting grounds. They are among dozens of small groups from disparate areas of the Delta Quadrant. And some come with ghost stories.

Tomb Worlds and Tall Tales

Reality check: if the Collective is indeed gone that would mean that almost 20% of the Delta Quadrant is effectively lifeless, sterile. That would be the hollowing out of a vast space, a loss of thousands of species probably amounting to quadrillions of lives! Most denizens of the Delta Quadrant give the Collective's space a wide berth but the few that don't speak of entirely dead worlds full of inert or barely functioning automation- Borg Tombs. Some offer "proof" in the form of scavenged Borg technology. Most of it is junk- and could have come from cube debris- but it represents a potential catastrophe. Could any of it cause an assimilation, and restart the nightmare all over again?

Some tall tales whisper of a "New Collective" and a "New Queen" and hint that a huge paradigm shift is on the horizon.

The Barzan Compact and Pathfinder II

While Starfleet benefits from the anchored Barzan wormhole, it was not their design. That honor goes to the Daystrom Institute, cooperating with the Barzan Subspace Sciences Delegation... and the Tholian Assembly. When Starfleet Intelligence uncovered the original draft proposal to the Federation Science Council, more hawkish elements in Starfleet's admiralty saw a strategic opportunity. They pushed against the factions in the fleet that saw this as too ambitious and too costly. The Barzan Compact would become a reality as an economic agreement- and one that deliberately banned expansion or territorial acquisition by any signatory.

Planet Barzan

The Barzan wormhole is in Barzan territory and they are hoping to gain new resources, allies and diplomatic clout- enough to lift their impoverished world up to a better standard of living. The original architects of the Barzan Compacy, Barzan approached the Daystrom Institute to see if the plan to anchor the wormhole was even feasible.

Tholian Assembly

As alien, enigmatic and isolationist as the Tholians are, their understanding of the structure of subspace is unparalleled. It was surprising that they even agreed to speak to the delegation, let alone assist. The caveat was: they get unrestricted access to the wormhole so long as their intentions are non-hostile.

Ferengi Alliance

The Ferengi and the Federation have enjoyed an amiable though still separated partnership since the Dominion War. The ship of commerce has been steady but has not grown much, and the Delta Quadrant represents an entirely new market.

Cardassian Union

A shadow of its former self and still as hobbled by poor resources as ever, the struggling Cardassian civilian government needs to find new means of gathering resources. It is still trying to rebuild itself from losing almost 20% of its homeworld population in the war, and they still find little sympathy among those victorious over them. The Compact agreed to them as a signatory as long as all ships they sent were civilian in nature.

Nyberrite Alliance

A pacifistic trading alliance on the edge of Federation space, the Nyberrite Alliance is an independent group. They have expressed interest and committed resources and the number of Nyberrite ships in the wormhole's area of space is tenfold what it used to be.

Orion Free Traders

Though still distrusted due to the shadow of the Syndicate, the Orion Free Traders brought resources to the Compact and have pledged their interactions with the Delta Quadrant will be above board. The Free Traders have tried to shake a somewhat unearned reputation for decades. One group they have traded with and assisted was the Barzans, who insisted the Free Traders be allowed as a signatory.

Interstellar Trade Alliance

This venerable trade alliance has existed since before United Earth even left its home system. One might recognize the faces of their member traders- Tygerrians, "Trunkheads", Gallamites and the like. They are peaceful, enterprising, and often in competition with the Ferengi, Free Traders and the Nyberrite Alliance. So they have signed on to the opportunity.

United Federation of Planets

The Federation's trade and diplomatic envoys are seeing a renewed purpose, but one where their usual endgame is off the table. The Federation is not allowed to expand into the DQ. Starfleet is much more divided on this venture- a slim majority see this as wasted resources and a potential opening of the AQ to new threats. Powerful members of the Admiralty, likely backed by Starfleet Intelligence, are keeping Starfleet in the game, but they aren't explaining why.

Pathfinder II

The expected trade hub at the delta Quadrant end of the wormhole is an outpost known as Pathfinder Station. Only partially complete, it is unlikely it will fully open for at least two more years, and elements in Starfleet and the Federation council continue to try and delay it. When (if?) it is completed, it will be the residence of the Barzan Compact diplomats. The station is located in unclaimed space.

Petitioners

Non-aligned and unaffiliated traders and shipping companies can petition for use of the wormhole on an open by opening basis. The Fenris Rangers have been known to request a berth to pursue a wanted criminal who thought the DQ might be a good hiding place. Individual Gorn ships are often rejected as their stated goal is, "To hunt new prey." Groups like the Markalians, Kressari and the Corvallens are judged case by case. The two groups that have thus far not sent anything are the Klingon Empire and the fractured states of the old Romulan Star Empire.

Themes of the Sojourner Sim

Exploring Wild Space: Aside from a thin line of sensor data from Voyager, this space is completely unknown to Starfleet. Exploration is slow and sometimes feels like dipping a toe in an ocean. Sensor probes are adding telemetry to follow up on.
Isolation: Unlike the core of the Federation where help is an automated ship beacon away, the Sojourner and its allied ships are completely alone. Rescue is likely weeks to months away. Space is big. REALLY BIG. And when a ship is literally the only one for thirty light years in any direction, the backup will not come in time. This isolation is akin to the first NX-class ships venturing in to the void.
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