Admiral Thaul stood before the viewport of the Conqueror’s Fist, his weathered hands clasped behind his back as he watched the vast armada of Supremacy vessels prepare for deployment. The Underspace aperture shimmered before them, a fold in reality to carry them thousands of light-years from their staging area to their first target in the Alpha Quadrant.

‘They are weak and divided,’ he said, more to himself than the junior officer stood at attention beside him. ‘Just as we were when the Alliance struck our worlds.’

Commander Nerest shifted uncomfortably. ‘Intelligence gathered through Underspace shows their technology surpasses what we faced in our time, Admiral.’

Our time. The phrase hung between them. Thaul was one of the few hundred survivors of the original Vaadwaur Supremacy, awakened by the USS Voyager a quarter-century ago. Nearest, like the vast majority of their forces, had been born and raised on Morvai, the haven world established by far-seeing ancestors before the fall of the empire.

‘Their technology means nothing when they cannot coordinate,’ Thaul said dismissively. ‘The Blackout will see to that.’

The door to the observation deck slid open, and Thaul turned to see Supreme Commander Kir enter. While they wore the same uniforms of browns and leathers to meet standards of crisp protocol, Thaul’s was battle-worn where Kir’s was crisp, near-untarnished. Born on Morvai, raised with stories of the Supremacy’s glory rather than memories of it, Kir embodied the new generation that had never known true conquest.

‘Admiral.’ Kir gave a brisk nod. ‘The final outpost has been deployed through Underspace. All are in position and awaiting activation.’

‘Excellent.’ Thaul’s thin lips curled in a smile. ‘Have your Morvai tacticians reviewed the target priorities?’

‘They have,’ Kir replied, a slight tension in his voice at the distinction Thaul always made between ‘his’ people and the Morvai-born. ‘Though I maintain my concerns about the allocation of resources for strikes against non-military targets.’

‘Concerns?’ Thaul turned fully towards Kir. ‘Your people have lived in peace for too long, Supreme Commander. You do not understand what it is to wage true war.’

‘Our people,’ said Kir, ‘have spent a millennium preparing for this moment. We have preserved our culture, our technology, our knowledge of Underspace – all while hidden from those who would eradicate us.’

As the two ranking officers, respective leaders of their factions – though Kir’s authority was, indeed, superior – faced off against each other, Commander Nerest stepped back as if she could merge with the bulkhead and disappear.

‘And what did your peaceful enclave know of sacrifice?’ Thaul challenged. ‘While my soldiers and I were frozen in time, finding our worlds burn when we awakened?’

‘With respect, Admiral,’ said Kir, more controlled, ‘Morvai was not a “peaceful enclave.” We were a final holdout, directed by the government to settle beyond our known territories when the alliance formed against us. We were not refugees eking out some peaceful life. You slept for a thousand years. For a thousand years, we kept the flame of the Supremacy alive in secret.’

‘And yet you question our methods now we finally have the chance to restore what was lost.’

Where Thaul had stared through the viewport at the assembled hulks of the Vaadwaur fleet, Kir turned to the tactical display on the vast screen across the bulkhead showing the planned assault targets in the Alpha and Beta quadrants. ‘I question the wisdom of dividing our forces to strike at cultural centres when they could be consolidated for strategic targets. Our technological… developments… give us an advantage, but it is not unlimited.’

‘You speak like a strategist who has never faced defeat,’ Thaul said. ‘Breaking their will is as important as breaking their fleets. The Blackout will not endure in perpetuity. When it falls, I do not only want their strategic holdings ruined. I want them weeping for the loss of their monuments, academies, spiritual centres; weeping and far, far too broken to face us.’ He turned to Nerest. ‘Remind us of those latest numbers from the Morvai Intelligence Centre, Commander.’

Nearest looked like she’d rather be somewhere else, but she was a Vaadwaur soldier, and would stay until she was dismissed. ‘The estimates are that our forces are still outnumbered at least ten to one by the combined fleets of the Alpha and Beta quadrants. The Blackout is our equaliser.’

‘All the more reason,’ said Kir tersely, ‘to prioritise strategic targets.’

Thaul scoffed. ‘You sound like a bureaucrat, seeking to win wars through statistics and probability. This is conquest, won through sweat and blood. Our ancestors – your ancestors – did not build the Supremacy through caution and restraint.’

‘That Supremacy fell, Admiral. I will not see this one meet that same fate.’ Before Thaul could summon a response, Kir turned away with all the dismissive superiority of one keen to establish himself as the undisputed ranking officer. He approached the display, reaching to change the view from the strategic map to the fleet status. Names and details of Vaadwaur starships flooded the screen in a list, and as they watched, one by one, the small dots on each next to ‘status’ changed to green.

‘Generations of Vaadwaur on Morvai have waited a thousand years for this moment,’ Kir continued quietly. ‘What we built there was always meant to be temporary. A haven, a fallback point. This is the true rebirth of the Supremacy.’

Thaul swallowed a fresh jibe. It was not discipline which made him hold his tongue; for all the chain of command bound him, he was sworn to the Supremacy, not shackled by a pup who had never known true war, no matter the rank insignia on his uniform.

‘On this, we agree,’ Thaul said at last. ‘Your people preserved our history, our knowledge, and fill the ranks of our armies. Mine remember our glory, and bring our experience.’ He turned to face Kir directly. ‘We are one. We will succeed.’

Kir watched him for a beat, then inclined his head. ‘I will trust your judgement on our target priorities, Admiral.’

A lick of recognition, Thaul thought wryly, and he crumbles on what matters. His eyes fell on the screen. ‘The fleet is ready to deploy, Supreme Commander. They await your word.’

Another moment passed, then Kir reached to the display to activate the fleet-wide communication system. His voice would reach every Vaadwaur vessel poised to enter Underspace tunnels across their hidden staging areas.

‘This is Supreme Commander Kir to all Supremacy forces.’ He sounded, Thaul thought, young in his inspiration. ‘For a thousand years, our people have awaited this day. Some of us remember the glory of the old empire. Others have kept the flame alive on Morvai, building our strength in secret while our enemies believed us extinct.

‘Today, we united the wisdom of Morvai with the warriors of the old guard. Today, we reclaim our destiny. You have your orders. You know your targets. Let the galaxy tremble anew at the sight of our ships. Execute deployment!’

For a thousand years, the skies above Morvai had been quiet. The last leaders of the Supremacy, fearing the end was near, had entrusted some of their brightest minds and a young, virile group of colonists to seek a quiet corner of the Delta Quadrant far from their enemies, and keep the flame of their people alive. For generations, that had been their goal: survival, of blood and body and culture and belief.

Twenty-five years ago, it had changed with the arrival of the battalion from the homeworld, awoken from their thousand-year-slumber. They had united and advanced with renewed purpose, knowing now was the time to fulfil their destiny and restore the Supremacy. Scant years ago, their technology had made that phenomenal, generational leap so they might rival those powers who had advanced while the Vaadwaur slept.

Today, the vast expanse of space above Morvai was not quiet. Today, it hummed with the ranks upon ranks of warships, each of them crewed by soldiers ready and willing to give their life for the glory of the Supremacy.

Today, the restoration began.

IN PLAY

– This Story builds on information from the Vaadwaur Supremacy Bravo Fleet wiki article, which is limited to information known or easily discovered IC. Information contained within this Story can be discovered by characters over the course of Fleet Action missions, but will likely entail closer engagement with or investigation of the Vaadwaur.

– In short, there are two kinds of Vaadwaur: the battalion awoken by Voyager (as depicted in VOY: Dragon’s Teeth), and a second faction. Just before the fall of the Supremacy a thousand years ago, colony ships were dispatched, in secret, to head to an unknown corner of the Delta Quadrant. There they settled a system, named Morvai, and secluded themselves from the rest of the galaxy, staying hidden while keeping the Vaadwaur people and identity alive. The awoken battalion has, over the last 25 years, found Morvai, seemingly setting into motion the chain of events that has led to this violent attempt to restore the Supremacy. Most of the soldiers aboard Vaadwaur ships will be natives of Morvai, raised and trained for this day. Many of the elite and high-ranking will be veterans of the awoken battalion, who remember the Supremacy a thousand years ago.

– While FA missions may depict the discovery of these facts, the location of Morvai itself will remain unknown (until the Intelligence Office decides otherwise)

– FA missions must begin only at the start of April 2402. However, the nature of the Blackout and the breakdown of communication means it is possible for a region to have been invaded by the Vaadwaur from any point in March 2402, particularly late-March. Your Stories must not directly depict such invasions – but they may depict, for example, your ship arriving in a sector that has been under the Vaadwaur cudgel, or occupation, for some weeks already, depending on what your story requires.