Intelligence Office Policy

Last Update: 14 March 2023

1 - Fleet Canon

1.1 - Defining Fleet Canon

1. Bravo Fleet Canon comes from two sources: on-screen Star Trek (defined as official Star Trek films and television programs) storytelling and original canon developed within Bravo Fleet.
2. Everything in Star Trek on-screen canon is considered canon to Bravo Fleet. If on-screen sources directly contradict each other, the more recent source, measured by air date, takes precedence.
3. Original Bravo Fleet Canon consists of material created specifically for Bravo Fleet. This content has been explicitly created or ratified by the Intelligence Office. Bravo Fleet Canon will be recorded on the wiki in articles containing the Bravo Fleet Canon icon (usually in the top-right of the page). Articles that do not contain that icon are Member Canon (see Section 1.3) and should be used accordingly. The icon is a miniaturised version of the Bravo Fleet logo, as below (other icons refer solely to categorisation, and have no bearing on an article's status in Fleet Canon):
   
4. Sources other than on-screen canon and original Bravo Fleet Canon are not considered canon within Bravo Fleet, though they can be used as inspiration. Novels, production notes, published technical manuals, video games, and all other non-screen Star Trek content are not canon to Bravo Fleet.
5. If new on-screen canon contradicts established Bravo Fleet Canon, the Bravo Fleet Canon will be re-written or retconned to comply.
6. Individual games and fictions are required to follow Bravo Fleet Canon; their stories may involve new additions but must not contradict or deviate from Bravo Fleet Canon. Bravo Fleet is a cooperative writing group, and its strength comes from bringing people together to tell stories.
7. The canon and Canon Policy apply to historical games and fictions. They are part of the shared universe of the Bravo Fleet Canon, set in different eras.
8. Games and fictions set in alternate realities or non-Trek settings have no relation to the Bravo Fleet Canon, and each exists within a unique setting in adherence to their original game or fiction proposal.

1.2 - Creating Fleet Canon

1. All additions to Fleet Canon must be ratified by the Intelligence Office. Until that point, content should be considered Member Canon (see Section 1.3).
2. Significant changes to Task Force stories must be approved by the Bravo Fleet Intelligence Officer.
3. New non-canon Federation member species must be approved by the Intelligence Officer.
4. New minor foreign powers with regional influence must be approved by the Intelligence Officer.
5. Significant development to on-screen species or cultures (ie, facts which anyone writing them would likely need to know) must be approved by the Intelligence Officer.
6. New Starfleet starship, space station, and small craft classes and specifications must be approved by the Intelligence Officer. Likewise new Klingon, Romulan, or Cardassian starships.
7. No addition to Bravo Fleet canon is considered official until it has completed all approval requirements and been added to the Bravo Fleet wiki in a format that provides complete, usable information that others may build on. These articles will be clearly identified as Bravo Fleet canon as per Section 1.1.

1.3 - Member Canon

1. Content that has not been explicitly ratified by the Intelligence Office is considered Member Canon. This includes character biographies and the events of fiction plots and game missions unless they meet the above criteria.
2. Member Canon is binding only to the stories and games in which it appears. Storytellers, Game Masters, and writers of other fictions and games are not obligated to adhere to these details, worldbuilding, or plot developments.
3. The status of Member Canon is not a value judgement or reflection of quality. With so many stories and games over many years, it is not realistic for all their details to be known to all members, or to have been reviewed by the Intelligence Office. Likewise, with many distinct personal tastes and creative preferences, the existence of Member Canon allows writers with diverging interests to co-exist within the Fleet.
4. Member Canon may be added to the wiki, particularly on a starship’s article or, for example, adding worlds or locations to a region other creators may choose to draw on for their own writing. Such articles will not include the Bravo Fleet Canon icon and should be treated as optional content to draw on.
5. The nature of Member Canon necessitates limitations to its scope. Section 1.2 provides guidelines on the level at which the Intelligence Office’s ratification is needed, and Member Canon should not meet or exceed that level. Member Canon should be considered equivalent to the details of a standalone episode of The Next Generation, while Fleet Canon is comparable to a major story arc episode of Deep Space Nine with galactic ramifications. Some examples of the acceptable scale of Member Canon include:
   1. A colony world of a canonical Federation member, such as humans or Andorians.
   2. A starship captain of another major power, be they ally or enemy.
   3. A stellar phenomenon with local effect.
   4. If you are unsure of the scope of your story detail, please contact the Intelligence Office for advice. A rule of thumb is, ‘Is this essential knowledge for any Bravo Fleet creator writing in this topic/location?’ and remember that the galaxy is a big place.
6. Member Canon should not include characters or ships from Star Trek Canon, such as the USS Enterprise or Admiral Kathryn Janeway. References to them should use recent Star Trek Canon (such as Star Trek: Picard) or, where extant, Fleet Canon. For example:
   1. We do not know the present status of Benjamin Sisko. Avoid mentioning his current circumstances at all.
   2. We do not know the specific status of Deep Space Nine; its design, its crew, its captain. It is reasonable to mention the existence of DS9, with its key position at the mouth of the wormhole, but do not go into details.
   3. Characters should not be an old friend, protégé, relative, etc, of any character in Star Trek Canon.
   4. Characters should not share a full name (or name they are known by) with canonical characters (for example: ‘John Reed’ would be an acceptable character name, but ‘Willard “Will” Riker’ would not be).
7. Contradictions in Member Canon are expected, and tolerance is encouraged, especially if they occur within separate stories. If this is impossible, such as within a collaborative fiction, it is best to justify the co-existence of such details or reach a compromise. Should such again be impossible, contact the Intelligence Office for a judgement.
8. Strong and interesting ideas that flesh out the setting may be adopted by the Intelligence Office into Fleet Canon. This will occur at the Intelligence Office’s discretion.

1.4 - Character Ranks and Assignments

1. Any character may hold any rank up to captain or your fleet rank, whichever is higher.
   1. For ranks above captain, you will need to contact the Intelligence Officer to request the assignment of the appropriate fleet captain or flag rank.
2. By default, all characters on the BFMS use the Starfleet rank set appropriate to our in-character Fourth Fleet in the year 2401.
   1. To use historical or alien ranks, you will need to contact the Intelligence Officer to request the assignment of the appropriate rank.
3. If you hold a BFC-level staff position, your primary character should be the character holding that position in the Fourth Fleet and should be set as a story character assigned to Fourth Fleet Command.

2 - Timeline

1. Bravo Fleet canon is currently set in the year 2401.
2. The Bravo Fleet timeline advances 1 year IC for every 2 years OOC. The in-character year will advance on January 1 of every other year. The timeline may be advanced immediately by the Bravo Fleet Intelligence Officer.

3 - Bravo Fleet Wiki

1. The wiki will be maintained by the Intelligence Office.
2. All members may contribute to the Bravo Fleet Wiki, making additions in adherence to the definitions of Fleet canon in Section 1.
3. Articles that are part of Bravo Fleet Canon will be clearly labeled confirming their content has been approved by the Intelligence Office.
4. Articles not labeled should refer to a game or fiction’s personal canon and must remain small-scale story elements in adherence to Section 1. Bravo Fleet members may choose but are not bound to adhere to this content.
5. Content on the wiki is In Character unless specified otherwise.

4 - Fiction

4.1 - Defining Fictions

1. Fictions are stories written by individual members that take place within Fleet canon. Stories with multiple writers count as role-playing games, which fall under the purview of the Operations Department.
2. Fiction is written on BFMS or linked to from a Command’s page on BFMS.
   1. Each Task Force’s Headquarters is a Command on BFMS. While any Task Force member may write a Story there, its major purpose is for members under the rank of Lieutenant Commander to write in accordance with the guidelines on the Command page. This writing is free-form and offers members a venue to express themselves and participate in fleet canon before they have their own ship.
   2. A member who has reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander with a Primary Command of their own (as per Section 5.2 below) may write fiction set within fleet canon based around this starship.
   3. Other fiction may be written after a submitted proposal is accepted by the Intelligence Office.

4.2 - Fiction Proposals

1. A member who has reached the rank of Commander may submit a fiction proposal to the Intelligence Office. This is not necessary for fiction based on their Primary Command.
2. The proposal should explain the premise of the story, a loose estimation of expected length, and what it contributes to Bravo Fleet canon, present or historic. It should include a broad activity commitment, such as '1 Story posted per month.' This is not a binding agreement, but helps the Intelligence Office identify inactive fictions.
3. Proposals for fictions set on Starfleet ships in 2401 must be sufficiently original or distinctive to justify why the story cannot be written on a member's Primary Command which, as above, do not require a proposal submission.
4. Fictions do not draw from ships in the Bravo Fleet Registry, and so should discuss their ship, station, or concept needs with the Intelligence Office so an appropriate entry can be created.
5. Fictions not set in 2401 should not draw from ships in the Bravo Fleet Registry. Members are subject to the same rank-based restrictions of classes (for example, a Lieutenant Commander writing a fiction set in 2375 still cannot request a Sovereign-class), but of course can request era-appropriate ship classes not listed in the registry.
6. A new fiction will have its own Command on BFMS, assigned to the member. This Command is for use solely within the bounds of the accepted fiction proposal, and must not be used as a Primary Command (see 5.2 below).
7. Bravo Fleet fiction supports and enriches Bravo Fleet Canon, present and historic. Proposals from non-Trek settings will be rejected. Proposals from alternate universes of Star Trek will need to demonstrate their relevance to Bravo Fleet Canon content, themes, or characters to be accepted.

5 - Task Force Storytelling

1. The Intelligence Office assigns each task force a headquarters, consisting of a starbase or deep space station.
   1. Task Force Staff may develop the lore for the surrounding region of space in concert with the Intelligence Office.
   2. Task Force Headquarters areas are open for all members to use in their storytelling.
   3. The Commanding Officer (and relevant senior staff) of each base should be recurring NPCs, with biographies written on the wiki. This allows members to use these characters in their own fiction.
2. The Intelligence Office assigns each task force a flagship.
   1. Task Force Staff may use the flagship in official task force fiction releases to inspire other members’ stories and/or in a cameo capacity in members’ stories.
   2. Task Force Staff may not use the flagship in place of their own primary command for personal storytelling.
3. Task Force staff are expected to produce fiction updates on a regular basis, which help members get a sense of their task force’s theme and the area of its headquarters.
   1. Fiction updates should be approved by the Intelligence Office before release.
   2. Fiction updates should be posted on Bravo Fleet Command in the mission indicated by the Intelligence Office for that purpose.
   3. Fiction updates should be excerpted (up to 250 words) in the Task Force Report, which is scheduled by the Operations Office.
   4. Additional releases not tied to a report may be posted, but are still subject to Intelligence Office approval.