October brought Epsilon Fleet through the aftermath of sabotage, a rescue with a devastating cost, and discoveries that challenged fifty years of accepted history.
The USS Arawyn closed The Doldrums and returned to Starbase 369 to begin Changing Tides, while Fleet Operations followed Seren Val Tareth’s claim beyond the station and into the records beneath his ancestral homeworld.
USS Arawyn: bringing the ship home
October’s The Doldrums posts followed the crew through the difficult work of recovery. Damage Control Team Three fought to seal Shuttle Bay Two, Engineering uncovered an unpatched vulnerability exploited during the attack, and Commander Batenburg reconstructed events from independent records that had survived the disruption.
The investigation also brought new complications. Medical discovered that an officer presenting as Bajoran was Romulan, while recovered telemetry established that Lieutenant Sovek had departed aboard the stolen shuttle with Aev Flammia. Whether Sovek was an accomplice or another victim remained unresolved. The shuttle was recovered, but neither missing officer was aboard, and Admiral MacLaren recalled the Arawyn to Starbase 369.
The personal consequences received just as much attention. Corbin wrote to the families of Thalen zh’Reveth and Nira Velan, Claire Dunross cared for the dead before finding comfort with Grayson McKinney, and a missed report strained the trust between Corbin and Elias Merrick.
By month’s end, Changing Tides had begun. The Arawyn docked at home, shore leave opened, and maintenance preparations brought fresh headaches for the quartermaster. On Delta Platform, Merrick provisionally accepted his brother Jonathan’s offer to join Merrick & Merrick as Chief Operating Officer, subject to final terms and a proper transition from Starfleet.
Read The Doldrums or begin Changing Tides.
Beyond the Raptor’s Veil: the cost of escape
Aev’s story reached a painful turning point inside Kaohht Dhael’Reth. Fighting alongside the Remans, he helped defeat the laboratory’s defenders and intervened to prevent the execution of surrendered prisoners.
But finding Saetare did not mean he could bring her home. A neural explosive tied to the station’s security network made escape impossible for his mother. With Free State ships approaching, she killed Jhun t’Annhwi, ensured the facility would be destroyed, and gave Aev memories of the life and love captivity had kept from him.
Aev escaped with Skath and the Remans. Saetare remained behind as the station collapsed, leaving him to grieve the mother he had only just found. Rhal’s attempt to reach his nephew ended at the same destruction, carrying Saetare’s final appeal that he protect her son.
Follow Beyond the Raptor’s Veil.
Fleet Operations: an heir chooses his own purpose
In The Heir of a Buried World, Seren began asserting control over more than his historical claim. An argument over authenticated communications forced Sidra to reconsider the boundary between protecting him and deciding for him. A quieter lunch on the Promenade gave them room to meet as people beyond the case.
The historical investigation then uncovered a crucial distinction: Aren Val Tareth had temporarily suspended the exercise of Custodial authority. The surviving original records did not support the later claim that he had surrendered succession standing.
Inside Tareth-Kal’s Vaults of Continuance, Sidra and Seren also found evidence that the constitutional question had remained unresolved and that a promised review had never taken place. The discoveries challenged the accepted record without proving every accusation made against the Protectorate or Starfleet.
Seren refused the Restorationists’ invitation to claim power. Instead, he formally invoked Appendix Twelve and requested a neutral review. October ended with Sidra and Federation Envoy Stephen MacCaffery establishing their responsibilities for what followed: protect Seren, preserve the evidence, and keep regional stability from becoming another reason to postpone the question.
Follow The Heir of a Buried World.
October on YouTube
Five recaps bring October’s stories together, including two published on November 1 covering the month’s closing developments:
- USS Arawyn — The Doldrums, Stardates 242609.20–242610.10
- USS Arawyn — The Doldrums, Stardates 242610.11–242610.31
- USS Arawyn — Beyond the Raptor’s Veil, Stardates 242609.23–242610.10
- Epsilon Fleet Ops — The Heir of a Buried World, Stardates 242609.29–242610.08
- Epsilon Fleet Ops — The Heir of a Buried World, Stardates 242610.24–242610.31
From the Arawyn’s recovery and Aev’s dangerous rescue mission to the discoveries beneath Tareth-Kal, our podcast-style summaries offer another way to follow the fleet, revisit a storyline, or catch up before reading the next chapter.
Visit the Epsilon Fleet Sims YouTube channel.
Looking ahead
The Arawyn is home, but its investigation continues. Merrick has a new future to prepare for, Aev carries losses his shipmates do not yet know about, and Seren’s invocation has placed an unanswered question before the Federation.
Thank you to everyone who wrote, plotted, collaborated, watched, or followed along during October. Every contribution helps give these stories their life.
Onward to November.