There’s a common response we get every now and again when we talk to people about joining EF. They say they’re not sure if they want to join yet. We ask if they disliked the new movie, they say of course not. They loved it. We ask them if they dislike the writing they see in EF, and they say that what they read so far is top notch. We ask them if they don’t like the people, and they say that EF’s as welcoming a place as you’ll find in Trek simming. So naturally we ask then what’s the problem. And almost unanimously, they say something along the lines of “Well, I plan on joining after the next movie, or maybe if there’s a new TV series. But right now I just don’t think I know enough about the new universe to play in it.” So here we’re going to take some time to address this issue, and why we think it gets to the heart of what Expedition Fleet is all about.

First we’re going to start by using as an example one of the forerunners of EF, a group called Futility’s End, which was created by the same people and with largely similar goals. Futility’s End was created about a decade ago, centering on exploring a possible future of Star Trek where a war with the Borg decimates the Federation, testing the very limits of Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic philosophy of Star Trek, and seeing what happens when the ST universe is taken to its breaking point. By casting off some of the shackles of the Berman and Braga era and setting a new course, people found a dynamic, sophisticated setting where they could tell epic stories beyond the standard “you’re a crewman, this is a ship, you’re on a mission.” variety that has dominated mainstream simming. Those who gave it a chance soon discovered that when liberated from the constraints of canon they realized they were smarter and better writers than they were able to be before. Part of the fun was asking yourself “What would happen to so and so in this environment? What would this race or this civilization do? How would they react if a civil war broke out in Starfleet?” Instead of just imitating, instead of just going through the motions and regurgitating what they saw on tv, they were doing something new.

Now how does this relate to Expedition Fleet? Well, this isn’t too dissimilar from what a writer faces in a post Star Trek 2009 continuity. The first reaction from purists is “OMGZ, everything is different! Everything I know to be true about Star Trek is suddenly cast into doubt. The rule book has been thrown out the window. Anything could happen next!” Now this is disconcerting to a purist at first. But when the dust settles, you realize how freeing this is. You start to ask yourself “What would happen in a Star Trek universe without Vulcan? What would Starfleet be like with the advanced technology reverse engineered from the Narada? Without the cardboard sets, the 40 years of baggage and anachronisms, and eventual franchise fatigue and slouch into apathy and stagnation that we saw over the decades. What if you could start again, from the beginning? What if all of Trek were suddenly yours to remake? What would you do? In short, we started EF because we believe that the lack of prior continuity and “thou shalt nots” isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. The goal isn’t just to relive what we saw in the movie, but to use the movie as a springboard to tell the kind of stories we couldn’t before. For instance, one of our members has been writing a story about the political upheaval that characterized the events between the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the construction of the USS Enterprise. Another has been writing a haunting and personal tale of what life is like for one Vulcan refugee child after their homeworld is taken from them. Still another has begun writing a Philip K. Dickian paranoid psychological thriller set on the outpost of Delta Vega as a planetary snowstorm cuts off a team of scientists, leaving them stranded and increasingly unhinged. It’s this “thought experiment” aspect that characterizes much of what Expedition Fleet has to offer. Even putting aside the new movie for a moment, just ask yourself how you would recreate Star Trek for the 21st century. How would you make it more modern, more exciting, more relevant to the world we live in today?

If you find your mind buzzing with ideas, you might just find a place for yourself with us. Granted, this isn’t going to be for everyone. But at our core is a philosophy that stems from a belief that people can be better, smarter, and more original writers if given the chance. And stepping off from the new movie is as perfect an opportunity as any.

But maybe that’s not a satisfactory enough answer, to just say “anything is possible now.” Some still crave the certainty of an established universe with written manuals spelling out star charts and ship classes and regulations. So here’s a little mini-FAQ for those who want to join, but want that extra specificity:

Q: How do I know what’s what in this new universe? I don’t even know: What the Klingons look like/What ship classes are in service/If something in the old Trek universe is still the case in the new one.

A: Fair enough, so here’s a simple guide: If something isn’t changed in the new movie, assume it’s roughly the same as it was in TOS, although with perhaps a more modern sensibility. Planets are still where they were (Okay, maybe not Vulcan), races are still who they were, there’s a few new classes of ships as we saw in the movie but a lot of the old familar classes are still there (Albeit they’re a bit bigger, have cooler interiors, and pack a lot more punch), and of course all the characters we know and love remain with us. As an example, let’s address the Klingons. People don’t know what the Klingons look like under those helmets, so they ask us whether the Klingons in our universe are “ridgies” like in TNG or “flatheads” like in TOS. Shouldn’t we wait until this is cleared up in future movies before we show any Klingons? Well, according to previous canon, Klingons in the 23rd century should be a mix of the two, as those effected by the augment virus are still around and as far as we know the Narada hasn’t changed that. So here, as in most cases, previous canon is assumed to be unchanged, until we’re specifically told any different by the powers that be. If you’re still not sure about something, check our handy dandy infobase. Some of what you’ll find there is “nu-ified” TOS, some is taken from the new movie or one of the novels/comics/videogame tie-ins, some is even taken from what the creators of the new movie have said in interviews or online, and some is an extrapolation based on all of the above. We’re proud to say that we have built up probably the most exhaustive wiki compendium focused solely on the new ST09 movie universe that you’re likely to find on the net, and it grows bigger every day.

Above all, what remains unchanged from TOS that you’ll find in EF is the flawed characters, the humor, the social relevance, the sense of wonder, the sense of danger, the roughness, the sexiness, the endurance of human frailty, the prevalence of frontier justice and the penchant to settle anything with a good shirt tearing fist fight.

Q: Wait a minute, I didn’t see that character/ship/planet in the new movie.

A: Neither did we. See above.

Q: What if what I write is contradicted by the next movie/novel/tv series?

A: This is also something we hear a lot. And that’s a legitimate concern. But ask yourself this: When there were two Trek TV shows on and Next Gen movies being made, how many people stopped and said that they would wait to tell their story until they could be sure they wouldn’t be contradicted? Every week, what you wrote could be winked out of existence by the gods of canon. Yes, we’re in uncharted territory, but for a Star Trek fan, that shouldn’t be too foreign a concept.

Q: I have an idea for an addition to EF canon. What should I do?

A: Welcome aboard. First you want to submit an application to one of our games. If you don’t know what we mean by that take a look at the Academy.

Don’t wait for it to happen. Imagine it. Write it. See what happens. If you want to take a chance..then the wait is over.