Blackout

The Blackout was a phenomenon of disruptions to subspace leading to the failure of subspace-reliant technology: warp drive, long-range communications, and long-range sensors. It struck the Alpha and Beta Quadrants at the start of March 2402 and lasted until May. Rather than a blanket effect, the Blackout fell in a seemingly random, criss-crossing pattern, as if impenetrable walls light-years thick had fallen to isolate star systems and sectors from the rest of the galaxy.

In April 2402, the cause of the Blackout became apparent when Underspace apertures opened across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, unleashing the invading forces of the Vaadwaur. With the Blackout cutting systems and sectors off from each other, stopping defenders from rallying, the Supremacy enjoyed a massive strategic advantage.

The Blackout ended in May 2402 when the combined defenders of the Alpha and Beta Quadrant destroyed the Vaadwaur-constructed platforms within Underspace that had been generating the effect, restoring interstellar travel and communication across the quadrants.

Overview

While cross-Federation communication was impossible, experts in subspace mechanics across the quadrants identified the core problem: massive and unpredictable fluctuations of subspace harmonics in the affected areas. Many technologies are reliant upon predictable subspace harmonics to interface with the subspace spectrum; warp fields and subspace communication waves must be calibrated to these local subspace harmonics. Their disruption resulted in the collapse of warp fields and the dissipation of communication waves. Long-range sensors reliant on subspace were likewise blinded.

The Blackout fell like a series of boundaries across the quadrants in a seemingly random pattern. Some systems fell within its direct effects, while others were ‘walled off’ by the Blackout, cut off from even the nearest stars. The Blackout’s boundaries were often larger, with whole stellar clusters, sectors, or even the occasional sector block itself unaffected, but cut off from the rest of the galaxy.

Even where the Blackout fell, its effect was not always total. In some regions, ships could sustain a weak warp field at a low warp factor, enabling travel, but only very slowly, taking potentially months or weeks to travel between star systems. Likewise, communication and sensors could sometimes breach the Blackout with careful calibration and, often, enormous power. This meant that massive subspace sensor arrays were able to scan some regions of the galaxy, but this process of ‘remapping’ Federation space was time and resource intensive.

Range of Effect

The Blackout did not instantaneously impacted the entire galaxy, and did not affect the Delta or Gamma Quadrants at all.

Even its effect on the Alpha/Beta Quadrants was not instant. Reports reached Starfleet of peripheral regions going silent, but by the end of the first week of March, the impact of the Blackout was total, with warp travel further than 20 light-years all but impossible almost everywhere. Starfleet confirmed that the Blackout affected the Klingon Empire, Romulan Factions, Cardassian Union, and other powers of the Alpha/Beta Quadrants.

Impact

Some regions were worse affected than others. Many star systems are self-sustaining, particularly in the Federation, and did not experience a collapse of infrastructure, logistics, economy, or food supply. Others were more reliant on the interdependence of the Federation, particularly densely populated star systems who ship in their food. Almost all such locations had reserves which lasted them some weeks.

Resulting tensions across the Alpha/Beta Quadrants were high. Regions were isolated, and while in some places this meant that disparate peoples came together in the face of adversity, in others, the Blackout was a spark put to a powderkeg. In some regions, local antagonists saw the Blackout as an opportunity to strike against their enemies, whomsoever they may be. Starfleet was particularly concerned about criminal elements and Klingon border houses emboldened if Federation targets were cut off from defences.

Starfleet Response

An organised Starfleet response was all but impossible. Standing orders for emergencies such as this do not exist, per se, but most afflicted regions transmitted distress signals, and as such, Starfleet captains were duty-bound to aid whenever they receive them. These ships often operated without support, often out of contact with the wider chain of command, which rendered them both the only people who can extend assistance, and, in many places, the highest local Starfleet authority.

As the Blackout began to fall, and Starfleet suspected it would only get worse, some ships or units were dispatched to locations Command knew would be in particular peril if isolated.

Rather than try to coordinate research until that became impossible, research clusters were quickly assembled and physically gathered in key, scattered locations with access to critical resources, such as major subspace sensor arrays. Likewise, many Starfleet R&D facilities turned their eye to technologies that may allow interstellar travel and communication without reliance on subspace harmonics.

Vaadwaur Invasion

In April 2402, the arrival through Underspace tunnels of the forces of the Vaadwaur Supremacy shone a light on the Blackout's origins. While the Vaadwaur werenot immune to the Blackout's effects, their mastery of Underspace for travel, sensors, and communication gave them a massive strategic advantage.

Initial responses by Starfleet quickly learned the truth: the Vaadwaur were responsible for the Blackout. Prefabricated structures, platforms a kilometre in radius, had been towed into place through Underspace tunnels. Equipped with powerful emitters that affect the tachyon flows of the tunnels, they were the cause of the disruption to the fluctuations in subspace harmonics leading to the Blackout. These platforms were large, powerful in their own right, and well-defended by the Vaadwaur. So long as they were in place, a nearby region experienced the Blackout's effect.

Their presence, influenced by their deployment and where the Underspace tunnels stretch, explained the inconsistent nature of the Blackout: where it affected, where it did not, and why some unafflicted regions were larger or smaller than others. While the Vaadwaur were causing the Blackout to aid their invasion, they were still limited in their deployment by resources and the natural path of Underspace tunnels.

In response to this invasion, and after weeks of studying the Blackout, the Fourth Fleet has gave a new directive: for starships rallying in response to the invasion to use any means necessary to bypass the Blackout. This included the use of any available FTL Technology; the use of emergency reserves of benamite, the construction of graviton catapults, or slipping past Vaadwaur forces into Underspace tunnels.

Resolution

The Vaadwaur invasion stretched across some late weeks of March 2402 and into mid-May. Ultimately, the Vaadwaur were defeated, as many Starfleet ships located and destroyed the Blackout Outposts, collapsing the phenomenon. This had a cascade effect, where bringing down the Blackout allowed more reinforcements to repel Vaadwaur invaders, until ultimately the invasion was abandoned and the Vaadwaur fled back to the Delta Quadrant.

As of late May 2402, the Blackout has ended completely. While there may be occasional subspace disruptions in affected regions, these are isolated and localised incidents. They may be dangerous and impactful to those areas, but are not a cause for serious concern.

In Play

• The Blackout was a phenomenon affecting the Alpha and Beta Quadrants between March 2402 and May 2402. It was a key part of the storyline of the Nightfall Fleet Action. Since the resolution of the FA in May 2025, the Blackout is no longer in effect.
• While members may wish to use the after-effects of the Blackout's impact on subspace for their stories, these tales should be limited to small, localised phenomena. Again: the Blackout is over.