Bravo Fleet
Difference between pages "Romulan Free State" and "Avalon Research & Design Group"

Difference between pages "Romulan Free State" and "Avalon Research & Design Group"

From Bravo Fleet
(Difference between pages)
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:''You may also be looking for the [[Romulan Republic]] or the [[Star Empire of Rator]].''
{{Icons|bfc|sf|fed}}
{{icons|rom|bfc}}{{Government
{{Organisation
|name=Romulan Free State
| name = Avalon Group
|image=[[image:Romulanfreestate.png|275px]]
| image = [[File:AvalonRDGroupSeal.png]]
|species= [[ma:Romulan|Romulan]]
| founded =
|homeworld=
| affiliation = *[[United Federation of Planets]]
*T'Met (current)
*[[Starfleet]]
*Romulus (former)
*[[Fourth Fleet]]
*Remus (former)
*[[Fourth Fleet Advanced Research & Design Bureau]]
|founded=2387 (Earth Year)
| headquarters = [[Avalon Fleet Yards]]
|warp=320 (Earth Year)
| primary mission = Research & Development
|language=Romulan
| location = [[Avalon System]]
|currency=Takhse
| leadership =  
|government=Republic
| flagship =  
|leader=
| motto = ''macte virtute sic itur ad astra''
*Praetor
| status = Active
*Imperial Senate
}}The '''Avalon Group''' of the [[Fourth Fleet Advanced Research & Design Bureau]] encompasses dozens of different Institutes and hundreds of different projects taking place at [[Avalon Fleet Yards]] and across the [[Avalon System]]. Meant to be the tip of the spear in scientific, engineering, and medical research for the Fourth Fleet, this group’s interdisciplinary and highly collaborative nature brings the best and the brightest minds together to solve problems and develop innovations.
|military=
*Tal Shiar Navy
}}


The '''Romulan Free State''' was formed in the aftermath of the [[ma:Romulan sun|Romulan supernova]] that destroyed Romulus and Remus. Of the many successor states that arose with the collapse of the [[Old Romulan Star Empire]], the Free State is the largest and most powerful, and presents itself as the most viable leadership for the future of the Romulan people.
== Leadership ==
The Avalon Group is led formally by the Commander of Avalon Fleet Yards, though their day-to-day oversight of the group is minimal. Day-to-day decisions are made by individual institute, project, and team leaders. The leaders of institutes and independent projects meet regularly as the Avalon Group Board to share status updates and make collective decisions about allocating space and resources to each of their projects. The Avalon Group Board is chaired by either the Commander or Deputy Commander of Avalon Fleet Yards. In turn the Avalon Group reports to the [[Fourth Fleet Advanced Research and Design Bureau]], with individual institutes and projects also reporting to the appropriate Starfleet Science, Starfleet Engineering, and/or Starfleet Medical Bureaus.


With the backing of the Tal Shiar and occupation of some of the old empire’s most resource-rich territories, the Free State has established its own interstellar relations, entering into treaties and agreements with other [[:Alpha Quadrant|Alpha]] and [[:Beta Quadrant|Beta]] Quadrant governments to become legitimised as a major power. Since the fall of the [[Star Empire of Rator]] in 2400, the Free State gained vast stretches of new territory, and is now undisputed as the most significant Romulan government.
== Organization ==
The Avalon Group is divided into institutes, projects, and teams, all of which are interdisciplinary research and development units. Institutes are multi-project teams that occupy a dedicated shore facility or several full levels aboard a station or research module. Projects are either sub-units of institutes or smaller independent research teams, which have several interconnected lab facilities. Teams are either sub-units of projects or institutes or are new initiatives in their early stages of formation under the Avalon Group, typically having just one lab or similar facility. The leaders of institutes, projects, and teams must regularly meet with one another to share ideas and resources, as well as status updates.


==History==
===Institutes===
===Establishment (2387-2393)===
Institutes are large, multi-project teams that encompass either their own planetary facilities or a major research module on one of Avalon’s many space stations. Institutes are led by fleet captains and above and often consist of a half-dozen or more projects with hundreds of scientists, engineers, and/or doctors.
Following the destruction of Romulus and Remus in 2387, the Empire split into multiple factions of various sizes and volumes of power. The Romulan Star Empire relocated to Rator III, led by the Praetor and largely supported by the Romulan Star Navy.


Many leaders of the reformed Star Empire were senators or officials of the old government, and viewed by many as having failed to respond to the crisis quickly enough. Their continued leadership was opposed by a series of regional rulers in what were once the core systems of the old Empire, the most resource-rich and politically powerful beyond Romulus itself. With the fallen empire’s territories in chaos, they anticipated their riches and wealth would be redirected to shore up weaker regions in whose safety they had no interest.
====Institute for Experimental Rehabilitative Medicine (IERM)====
The Institute for Experimental Rehabilitative Medicine (IERM) is a medical research agency. Led by Rear Admiral Linda Knox-Stanton, this institute was founded to explore new therapies to help patients recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually from traumatic injuries. Occupying a complex within [[Sato City]] on [[Avalon System#Avalon III|Avalon III]], the Institute has in-patient facilities for forty patients who are participating in about a dozen different research projects.


This discontented and powerful faction was soon supported by the Tal Shiar, which for reasons of its own chose to not back the reforming Star Empire. The Free State was thus empowered to establish its own centre of government on T’Met, one of the earliest Romulan colonies beyond the Romulus system, with their own Senate and Praetor. Laying claim to many of these formerly core sectors, they presented themselves as a true future for the Romulan people, not one led by those they deemed responsible for the catastrophes of the supernova.
=====Genetronic Nanocybernetics Project=====
The Genetronic Nanocybernetics Project (Codename: Hephaestus) is a project operating under the auspices of the Institute for Experimental Rehabilitative Medicine to study the combination of genetronic replication and nano-scale cybernetics to treat patients with severe spinal cord injuries. Started after his success with a procedure conducted on the Risian Lieutenant Zaos Sarcaryn, this project is being led by Captain Alenis Anjar.


Over the previous decade, the Tal Shiar navy had managed to rebuild to its pre-Dominion War levels, giving the Free State a fighting force unparalleled by any except the Star Navy itself. With the Star Empire scrabbling to bring more disparate factions to heel, it could not afford a direct confrontation with the Free State’s military, despite refusing to recognise the legitimacy of its government. This gave the Free State several years to establish governance and border protection, while it continued to expand into territories the Star Empire claimed as theirs. The acquisition of the [[ma:The Artifact|Artifact]], a decommissioned [[Borg Collective|Borg]] Cube lost in Romulan space, was a particularly impressive coup. It gave the Free State new technological opportunities and also a diplomatic bargaining chip, forcing other powers such as the Federation to acknowledge their legitimacy if they wished to negotiate access for research and security.  
======Nanocybernetics Team======
The Nanocybernetics Team is one of the teams under Project Hephaestus, developing nano-scale cybernetics that can help regenerate or replace the connections between nerves. Primarily an engineering team rather than a medical team, this team has experts in cybernetics, nanotechnology, and microphysics.


===Legitimacy (2393-2399)===
====Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design====
In 2393, the government of the Achernar System formally swore allegiance to the Free State, enraging the Star Empire. A task group of Star Navy ships was dispatched to bring Achernar to the fold, only to be met by the Free State’s forces. What followed was the largest battle between Romulan forces to date, in which the Star Navy was routed at the cost of significant Free State military losses.
The Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design (IAIED) is an engineering research agency studying advancements in sublight propulsion technologies. While the basic design of Federation impulse engines has remained fundamentally the same since the twenty-second century, this institute is focusing on small scale improvements to their general functioning. This institute occupies the entirety of Research Module A on [[Tucker Station]].


The Free State recognised their authority stemmed from stability and the perception they could provide a safer and more secure way of life than other, more chaotic factions. Further weakening of their forces was untenable. A treaty was thus offered to the Star Empire, in which the Free State agreed to fix their borders - which now included Achernar - within the old imperial territories, and expand no further. In true Romulan fashion, this was a double-edged sword of an agreement, where the Free State’s abandonment of further claims stymied them as an ongoing threat to the Star Empire for the price of formal acknowledgement by their rivals.
=====Phase 7 Impulse Manifold Project=====
One of the projects under the Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design, the Phase 7 Impulse Manifold Project is studying enhancements to the current standard of Starfleet impulse manifolds (so-called Phase 6), which are the component of an impulse engine assembly that direct energized drive plasma from multiple fusion reactors through to the subspace driver coils and ultimately the engine exhaust. This team includes engineers and physicists hoping to make this system more efficient. This project works out of the IAEID space on [[Tucker Station]].


The Romulan Star Empire was struggling on multiple borders, including that of the [[Romulan Republic]], leaving them eager to turn away from the Free State. Starfleet Intelligence further suspects meddling at Rator by the Tal Shiar. The Romulan Star Empire’s acceptance of the treaty was carefully-worded, suggesting they viewed the Free State as a satellite to their own rulership, but in practice accepting their rule of these territories and no longer condemning them as upstart rebels.
======Fusion Reactor Enhancement Team======
[[File:Artifact1.jpg|left|thumb|The Artifact, a Borg Cube disconnected from the Collective]]
Working under the Phase 7 Impulse Manifold Project, the Fusion Reactor Enhancement Team is a team of engineers and physicists looking to improve the efficiency and power generation potential of Starfleet's fusion reactors. In particular, this team's focus is on the type of reactor currently in use on the fleet's [[Reliant Class|''Reliant''-class frigates]], many of which are built at Avalon Fleet Yards. This team works out of the IAEID space on [[Tucker Station]].
Now the legitimate rulers of some of the most powerful regions of the old empire, the Free State continued to establish itself as a major power. Negotiations with the Federation over access and sharing research on the Artifact accelerated. While cooperation had continued these past years, the Federation had been apprehensive of overly favouring the Free State, but its possession of the Artifact was now complete.


The following six years were a time of growth and prosperity for the Free State. Large and powerful, it drew interstellar legitimacy by entering agreements such as the renegotiated Treaty of Algeron and became recognised as a major Beta Quadrant power on a par with the Star Empire. Unlike the Star Empire, it kept its borders fixed and did not weaken itself trying to regain control of former imperial territories or expand into the chaotic Neutral Zone, restricting its activities in the region to neutralising threats of criminals, warlords, or unstable systems.
====Institute for Observational Cosmology====
The Institute for Observational Cosmology (IOC) is a scientific research agency studying the nature of the universe through observable means. In particular, they are developing new deep space scanning protocols to be used across Fourth Fleet ships. This project has obvious intelligence and tactical implications, but it is being led exclusively by scientists and engineers. This institute occupies the entirety of Research Module B on [[Tucker Station]].


===Coppelius (2399)===
=====New Deep Space Telescope Project=====
[[File:Coppelius2.jpg|thumb|The Free State's confrontation with Starfleet at Coppelius was a major political setback]]
The New Deep Space Telescope Project is a design group under the Institute for Observational Cosmology focused on developing the next generation of subspace telescopes for the direct observation of the universe. One telescope being developed and built by this project is the [[Overwatch Station#Daren Subspace Radio Telescope Array|Darren Array]] at [[Overwatch Station]] in the Alpha Quadrant, and another is slated for construction closer to Avalon Fleet Yards. This project works out of the IOC space on [[Tucker Station]].
In mid-2399, the Romulan Free State deployed a fleet to Coppelius in the Ghulion system, home to a colony of synthetic life-forms. Dispatched to eliminate the synths, the Free State forces were soon confronted by a Starfleet Task Force that arrived in response to a request for aid and protection by Coppelius. Official reports state that the Free State peacefully withdrew once informed of Coppelius’s status as a protectorate under the Treaty of Algeron, but this near-conflict remains a point of tension between both governments. At the same time, the Free State lost control of the Borg cube, which departed its location in their territory and ultimately crashed on Coppelius itself. The loss of the research agreements surrounding the Artifact has been a major blow to Free State interstellar prestige. Worst of all, soon after came the emergence of the Tal Shiar’s involvement in the Attack on Mars. For the past twelve years, the Free State has cited its Tal Shiar support as a point of its legitimacy, and thus their insistence that it cannot be held responsible for actions undertaken before its government’s establishment has fallen on deaf ears within the Federation. Relations thus cooled greatly.


=== The Fall of Rator (2400) ===
======Deep Space Scanning Team======
Much to the good fortune of the Free State, 2400 heralded the end of their biggest rival, the Star Empire of Rator. A military coup on Rator led to the secession of many worlds under the Star Empire's authority, and the Free State was quick to exploit it. While significant stretches of territory ran to the Free State for protection and governance, the Tal Shiar was quick to influence others to either follow suit or, at the least, abandon Rator.
The Deep Space Scanning Team is part of the New Deep Space Telescope project and is working on enhancing computer algorithms for processing deep space sensor sweeps. This team is composed of engineers and scientists and works out of the IOC space on [[Tucker Station]].


Through barely lifting a finger, the Free State has found itself the foremost Romulan government. It gained more than territory from Rator's fall, but also legitimacy. The Federation now has little choice but to acknowledge and work with the Free State to maintain security in a chaotic region, and can no longer support its rivals to keep it in-check, with the distant Republic successful but little threat to the Free State's dominance. After a false start at the dawn of the 25th century, the Free State is set to become the true successor to the old Star Empire.
==== Institute for the History of Starfleet Warfare ====
The Institute for the History of Starfleet Warfare (IHSW) is a historical research agency led by Commodore Magnus Blackwood. This institute was founded to further research and analysis of the history of Starfleet conflicts, dating back to the period immediately before the Federation’s founding. The IHSW occupies a complex north of Sato City, where it conducts and manages archival and archaeological research, historical analysis, and museology. Its projects each take an interdisciplinary approach to assigned eras of history, with teams providing expertise in their respective disciplines. The IHSW studies historical Starfleet conflicts to understand how to avoid potential future ones, considering strategy, tactics, and technology, but also the role of Starfleet's organisational policy, psychology, and culture.


==Government==
===== Cardassian Wars Project =====
Replicating the [[Old Romulan Star Empire]] structure of a republic senate, the Free State has largely the same working and government arrangements of its predecessor, choosing to improve old failings while keeping a familiar structure. The Free State has set T’Met as its homeworld, which is overseen by a Praetor whom the Senate selects. Both Praetor and Senators serve until retirement or death. Much smaller than the old Empire, the Free State was able to establish itself quickly, as many of its senators and leaders were part of the regional governments of powerful core systems who remained intact after the supernova.
The Cardassian Wars Project is a historical research project operating under the Institute of the History for Starfleet Warfare to gather and maintain records and conduct analysis of the Federation-Cardassian conflicts of the mid-24th century. Officially, they are responsible for analysing any engagements and conflicts dating back to first contact with the Cardassian Union until the signing of the 2370 armistice, with its aftermath considered formally part of the events leading up to the Dominion War. As much of this conflict occurred within living memory, the project’s work includes gathering records from multiple governments and organisations and recording survivors' lived experiences. The project is led by Commander Edmund Locke and works out of the IHSW complex.


The Senate has direct control of all navy vessels, however these are Tal Shiar assets and the Senate control is more ceremonial than operational, with the Tal Shiar having a large controlling influence on the Senate.
====== Archival Collections and Research Team ======
The Archival Collections and Research Team is part of the Cardassian Wars Project. It is responsible for all archival research undertaken by the project, including acquisitions for the IHSW's libraries, establishing access to archives beyond Avalon, and the study of records in these collections. It is headed by Lieutenant Commander T'Falith.


Within the Star Empire, the Senate operated with a Continuing Committee. The Free State has elected to not implement this into their government, seeing it as an unnecessary and lengthy process to governing, with some within the Free State seeing the Continuing Committee as one of the reasons so many were lost during the evacuation of Romulus. Instead, the Free State has invited the heads of the major departments within the State to sit in Senate meetings with no voting rights. The only two departments to actually take up the offer of a seat is the Free Science Initiative and the Tal Shiar.
===Independent Research Projects===
There are many research projects under the Avalon Group that do not report to an institute, often because the project is still at an early stage and it will later mature into an institute once initial research has been completed. These independent projects may also have affiliations with more than one institute, thus making them better suited to remain independent. Projects are led by commanders and captains and can consist of several dozen scientists, engineers, and/or doctors.


===Tal Shiar===
==== We Are Starfleet Project ====
[[File:Talshiar1.jpg|thumb|The Tal Shiar has unprecedented power in the Free State]]
At the dawn of the 25th century, the We Are Starfleet project applies the frameworks of practical philosophy to ask moral, legal and political questions about the suitability of Starfleet's role in the Federation.  Following the research team's critical evaluation of the prime directive, the scope of the project was expanded to consider Starfleet's overarching missions, general orders, and day-to-day culture.  The project has taken up laboratories in the social sciences wing of Brahms Station. In the wake of Starfleet's recent isolationist period and Frontier Day, the project has begun to ask new questions.  Is Starfleet serving the purpose it intends?  Where will Starfleet's vision need to evolve so that it can persevere into the next century?
The Tal Shiar, coequally referenced as the '''Tal'Shiar''' and '''Tal Shi'ar''', is closely intertwined with the Free State government, though it is in certain ways a governing body unto itself. It is led by the Tal Shiar High Command, which operates with a freedom enjoyed by no other body of the Free State. It selects its own members without outside input, with the sole exception of the Vice Chairman’s position, filled by a Romulan Senator. In practice, this grants the Tal Shiar both a voting representative in the Senate and an additional voice with the organisation’s personal seat, buoying up their formal power.


The two main divisions of the Tal Shiar are those of Intelligence and Internal Security, which formally answer to the High Command - though, in practice, the High Command monitors bureaucracy and budgetary concerns to ensure their efficiency. The Intelligence Division is the Empire's primary agency for espionage and counterintelligence and covert influence abroad, a task at which it is extremely effective. Internal Security controls the secret police, who have made the Tal Shiar infamous with the Romulan populace. They ensure the loyalty of the populace to the Free State, as they once did for the Empire, though under the new government have adopted a more discreet network of informants among the populace to identify dissident individuals or political and cultural thought. Unlike in the Empire of old, a select faction of dissidents and opponents of the Free State are permitted to act and speak openly, curated as progressive voices which are not too extremist and thus give the Free State a veneer of respectability and even democratisation while any true threats are eliminated.
===Independent Research Teams===
As with independent research projects, some research teams under the Avalon Group are not part of any one project or institute, either because their work is still in its early stages or because their work is affiliated with more than one project. They may later mature into projects of their own. Teams are led by lieutenants and lieutenant commanders.


The oldest and most powerful division is the Tal Shiar Court, which is the Free State’s supreme judicial authority. Previously serving the role within the old Star Empire, its presence in the Free State provides the new government with some of its greatest claims to legitimacy, allowing it to present itself as the judicial heir to the old empire. The Court's members are recommended by the Praetor, and must be confirmed by the Senate and the Court itself. All matters of constitutional law and final legal appeals depend on the decisions of the Court. The Tal Shiar Court operates independently from - and is often at odds with - the more infamous Tal Shiar divisions of Intelligence and Internal Security.
== The Avalon Group In-Play ==


===Tal Shiar Navy===
* The Avalon Group was created as a way of allowing members to write higher ranking characters with important research assignments that might not fit into either [[Starbase Bravo]] or into their personal commands. Indeed, it's not particularly logical for characters higher than fleet captain to be regularly assigned to field operations, so these characters need a home for when those members are no longer on staff. The purpose of this component of Avalon Fleet Yards is thus to allow you to write content that deals with politics, bureaucracy, and higher-level concepts, rather than the slice-of-life theme on Starbase Bravo.
The naval forces of the Free State are the military wing of the Tal Shiar that gave the government their support upon its founding. Where once this organisation acted in close cooperation with the old Star Navy, its ships serving alongside theirs to provide a Tal Shiar presence, the Tal Shiar Navy is now its own, independent military. Many aspects of its structure and operational policies have been incorporated from the Star Navy, which better suit a force answering the strategic needs of a state.
* An example of this work in canon is Vice Admiral and then [[ma:Owen Paris|Admiral Owen Paris's]] leadership of the Pathfinder Project and Operation Watson, during which he was also presumably the leader of the [[ma:Communications Research Center|Starfleet Communications Research Center]], which is akin to the institutes here.
[[File:Freestateship1.jpg|thumb|The Tal Shiar Navy can still field an impressive rapid-response force despite its numbers]]
* As explained in the [[Guide:Avalon Fleet Yards|Avalon Fleet Yards Guide]], you are allowed to write up to your fleet rank in the Avalon Group, with larger teams becoming available to you at the ranks of lieutenant, commander, and fleet captain. For instance, as a fleet captain you can have your own "Institute" while at lieutenant you can have your own "team."
Considering the Free State’s size, the Tal Shiar Navy is one of the smallest armed services of the quadrant, prioritising advanced technology on modern ships over numbers. With the force historically overseeing the Star Navy and conducting intelligence operations, the Tal Shiar Navy was not expected to be deployed in direct confrontations. This assumption was corrected in the Achernar Campaign of 2393, where the Tal Shiar Navy defeated the Star Navy as they contested rulership of the system. Despite heavy losses suffered by the Tal Shiar Navy, its efficient chain of command and sophisticated technology allowed it to dominate its erstwhile rival.
* Teams fit into projects which fit into Institutes, but Teams and Institutes can also be independent. You can grow your team into a project and then into an institute as you increase in rank. You can also speak to the members who have institutes to see if it would be OK with them to add your team or project to their institute. Many folks would be happy to have you!
 
* The Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design and the Institute for Observable Cosmology are available for you to add projects, teams, or team members onto, as they are not run by any one member.
With border protection largely conducted by outposts, surveillance facilities, and light border patrol craft, the Tal Shiar Navy is more likely to act as a rapid response force to any crises in the Free State than hold major garrison points across the territories. However, as befits the armed wing of the greatest intelligence organisation in the galaxy, the mystery surrounding naval operations and movements makes them extremely hard to predict, and opportunists test the Free State’s defences at their peril.
* Most of the research facilities are located either on Avalon III or one of the Avalon Fleet Yards stations in orbit. Generally speaking, researchers will live either on Brahms Station or on Sato City and commute via shuttle or transporter, so members of the Avalon Group will have plenty of opportunities to socialize even if their workplaces are spread out.
 
* There are always reasons to work with researchers in other teams, projects, and institutes, as science is inherently collaborative. Maybe you have a friendly rivalry with someone else in a similar discipline and you're competing for resources. Maybe they have a piece of equipment that's hard for you to acquire and you need to convince them to share. Maybe they have expertise that you lack. The possibilities are many.
==Life in the Free State==
The Free State tries to present itself as the future of the Romulan people. While it has no interest in liberal reform or further democratisation, and is in many respects a deeply traditional institution, it has endeavoured to distance itself from the mistakes of the old Romulan Star Empire it claims allowed the deaths of so many millions of Romulans in the supernova.
 
The Free State territories are largely former core worlds which historically enjoyed a high standard of living and a respectable place within imperial society. These have only grown in prestige with the loss of Romulus itself, allowing these worlds to depict themselves as the new heart of Romulan culture. Thus there exists some eagerness among the Romulans of the Free State to develop new art, new philosophies, and forge a forward-looking society. All of this is underpinned by attitudes which remain traditional, the rich and powerful of the old trying to create something new that still upholds extant systems of power.
 
There are almost no Remans within the Free State. Loyalists largely remained with the Star Empire of Rator, while others departed the core worlds with the Romulan Republic. Small pockets or military units with personal loyalties may live and serve in the Free State, but they are an even more diminished faction under this government than ever before.
 
Life in the Free State is thus not all that different to how life was on these worlds under the Empire. The Tal Shiar’s influence is supreme, with dissident thought permitted only so far as it allows the government to test ideas it then repackages and reincorporates to let it present itself as a force for modernisation. Doing away with old forms of the Senate’s bureaucracy has, in many ways, removed old checks and balances that, while imperfect, distributed power across the empire.
 
At worst, the Free State is a traditionalist Romulan culture with delusions of modernity and reform that only reinforce conservative values. At best, citizens of the Free State view the Romulan attitude of secrecy and information as necessary for their safety, but also as a responsibility, where they must safeguard each other’s secrets and act in the interests of a Romulan future, rather than an individual’s personal benefit.
 
==In Play==
* The Free State is a leaner, meaner version of the Romulan government of old. Supported by the Tal Shiar, it holds the richest worlds of the empire and boasts the most advanced ships, without struggling to retain its hold over expansive territories. At its best, it is all of the cut-throat ruthlessness of the Romulans, with none of the decadent inefficiency.
* Almost everything in the Free State is under the Tal Shiar’s influence, from the government to the military. While they pretend to be more forward-thinking than before, this is largely shadowplay to disguise their presence. The Free State is more of a surveillance state than even the Star Empire. Little happens without the Tal Shiar’s knowledge.
* It has a vested interest in maintaining stability in the Neutral Zone and the wild region of disparate factions of the old Star Empire on its border. As such, it will sometimes dispatch agents or forces to eliminate warlords, criminals, or other groups they do not wish to become too powerful on their front door. These are the most common circumstances for Starfleet encounters with the Free State: military or Tal Shiar assets beyond the borders of both parties, open to events being denied or disavowed. Use this as a chance for some small, tense encounters which are not politically destabilising if they go badly.
* Starfleet ships encountering or assigned to work with the Free State will find them cooperative and professional on the surface. The Free State desires legitimacy and knows the Federation is the key to achieving it. They are, however, also keen to prove themselves on the galactic stage, and so are not above orchestrating a diplomatic humiliation of Starfleet. The Free State are thus not reliable friends, and they may be rivals or problems - but they are never ''hostile''.
 
[[Category:Beta Quadrant]]

Latest revision as of 16:32, 9 March 2024

This article is official Bravo Fleet canon.

Starfleet Federation Faction








AvalonRDGroupSeal.png
Avalon Group
Affiliation
Headquarters

Avalon Fleet Yards

Primary Mission

Research & Development

Location

Avalon System

Motto

macte virtute sic itur ad astra

Status

Active

Template:Organisation

The Avalon Group of the Fourth Fleet Advanced Research & Design Bureau encompasses dozens of different Institutes and hundreds of different projects taking place at Avalon Fleet Yards and across the Avalon System. Meant to be the tip of the spear in scientific, engineering, and medical research for the Fourth Fleet, this group’s interdisciplinary and highly collaborative nature brings the best and the brightest minds together to solve problems and develop innovations.

Leadership

The Avalon Group is led formally by the Commander of Avalon Fleet Yards, though their day-to-day oversight of the group is minimal. Day-to-day decisions are made by individual institute, project, and team leaders. The leaders of institutes and independent projects meet regularly as the Avalon Group Board to share status updates and make collective decisions about allocating space and resources to each of their projects. The Avalon Group Board is chaired by either the Commander or Deputy Commander of Avalon Fleet Yards. In turn the Avalon Group reports to the Fourth Fleet Advanced Research and Design Bureau, with individual institutes and projects also reporting to the appropriate Starfleet Science, Starfleet Engineering, and/or Starfleet Medical Bureaus.

Organization

The Avalon Group is divided into institutes, projects, and teams, all of which are interdisciplinary research and development units. Institutes are multi-project teams that occupy a dedicated shore facility or several full levels aboard a station or research module. Projects are either sub-units of institutes or smaller independent research teams, which have several interconnected lab facilities. Teams are either sub-units of projects or institutes or are new initiatives in their early stages of formation under the Avalon Group, typically having just one lab or similar facility. The leaders of institutes, projects, and teams must regularly meet with one another to share ideas and resources, as well as status updates.

Institutes

Institutes are large, multi-project teams that encompass either their own planetary facilities or a major research module on one of Avalon’s many space stations. Institutes are led by fleet captains and above and often consist of a half-dozen or more projects with hundreds of scientists, engineers, and/or doctors.

Institute for Experimental Rehabilitative Medicine (IERM)

The Institute for Experimental Rehabilitative Medicine (IERM) is a medical research agency. Led by Rear Admiral Linda Knox-Stanton, this institute was founded to explore new therapies to help patients recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually from traumatic injuries. Occupying a complex within Sato City on Avalon III, the Institute has in-patient facilities for forty patients who are participating in about a dozen different research projects.

Genetronic Nanocybernetics Project

The Genetronic Nanocybernetics Project (Codename: Hephaestus) is a project operating under the auspices of the Institute for Experimental Rehabilitative Medicine to study the combination of genetronic replication and nano-scale cybernetics to treat patients with severe spinal cord injuries. Started after his success with a procedure conducted on the Risian Lieutenant Zaos Sarcaryn, this project is being led by Captain Alenis Anjar.

Nanocybernetics Team

The Nanocybernetics Team is one of the teams under Project Hephaestus, developing nano-scale cybernetics that can help regenerate or replace the connections between nerves. Primarily an engineering team rather than a medical team, this team has experts in cybernetics, nanotechnology, and microphysics.

Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design

The Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design (IAIED) is an engineering research agency studying advancements in sublight propulsion technologies. While the basic design of Federation impulse engines has remained fundamentally the same since the twenty-second century, this institute is focusing on small scale improvements to their general functioning. This institute occupies the entirety of Research Module A on Tucker Station.

Phase 7 Impulse Manifold Project

One of the projects under the Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design, the Phase 7 Impulse Manifold Project is studying enhancements to the current standard of Starfleet impulse manifolds (so-called Phase 6), which are the component of an impulse engine assembly that direct energized drive plasma from multiple fusion reactors through to the subspace driver coils and ultimately the engine exhaust. This team includes engineers and physicists hoping to make this system more efficient. This project works out of the IAEID space on Tucker Station.

Fusion Reactor Enhancement Team

Working under the Phase 7 Impulse Manifold Project, the Fusion Reactor Enhancement Team is a team of engineers and physicists looking to improve the efficiency and power generation potential of Starfleet's fusion reactors. In particular, this team's focus is on the type of reactor currently in use on the fleet's Reliant-class frigates, many of which are built at Avalon Fleet Yards. This team works out of the IAEID space on Tucker Station.

Institute for Observational Cosmology

The Institute for Observational Cosmology (IOC) is a scientific research agency studying the nature of the universe through observable means. In particular, they are developing new deep space scanning protocols to be used across Fourth Fleet ships. This project has obvious intelligence and tactical implications, but it is being led exclusively by scientists and engineers. This institute occupies the entirety of Research Module B on Tucker Station.

New Deep Space Telescope Project

The New Deep Space Telescope Project is a design group under the Institute for Observational Cosmology focused on developing the next generation of subspace telescopes for the direct observation of the universe. One telescope being developed and built by this project is the Darren Array at Overwatch Station in the Alpha Quadrant, and another is slated for construction closer to Avalon Fleet Yards. This project works out of the IOC space on Tucker Station.

Deep Space Scanning Team

The Deep Space Scanning Team is part of the New Deep Space Telescope project and is working on enhancing computer algorithms for processing deep space sensor sweeps. This team is composed of engineers and scientists and works out of the IOC space on Tucker Station.

Institute for the History of Starfleet Warfare

The Institute for the History of Starfleet Warfare (IHSW) is a historical research agency led by Commodore Magnus Blackwood. This institute was founded to further research and analysis of the history of Starfleet conflicts, dating back to the period immediately before the Federation’s founding. The IHSW occupies a complex north of Sato City, where it conducts and manages archival and archaeological research, historical analysis, and museology. Its projects each take an interdisciplinary approach to assigned eras of history, with teams providing expertise in their respective disciplines. The IHSW studies historical Starfleet conflicts to understand how to avoid potential future ones, considering strategy, tactics, and technology, but also the role of Starfleet's organisational policy, psychology, and culture.

Cardassian Wars Project

The Cardassian Wars Project is a historical research project operating under the Institute of the History for Starfleet Warfare to gather and maintain records and conduct analysis of the Federation-Cardassian conflicts of the mid-24th century. Officially, they are responsible for analysing any engagements and conflicts dating back to first contact with the Cardassian Union until the signing of the 2370 armistice, with its aftermath considered formally part of the events leading up to the Dominion War. As much of this conflict occurred within living memory, the project’s work includes gathering records from multiple governments and organisations and recording survivors' lived experiences. The project is led by Commander Edmund Locke and works out of the IHSW complex.

Archival Collections and Research Team

The Archival Collections and Research Team is part of the Cardassian Wars Project. It is responsible for all archival research undertaken by the project, including acquisitions for the IHSW's libraries, establishing access to archives beyond Avalon, and the study of records in these collections. It is headed by Lieutenant Commander T'Falith.

Independent Research Projects

There are many research projects under the Avalon Group that do not report to an institute, often because the project is still at an early stage and it will later mature into an institute once initial research has been completed. These independent projects may also have affiliations with more than one institute, thus making them better suited to remain independent. Projects are led by commanders and captains and can consist of several dozen scientists, engineers, and/or doctors.

We Are Starfleet Project

At the dawn of the 25th century, the We Are Starfleet project applies the frameworks of practical philosophy to ask moral, legal and political questions about the suitability of Starfleet's role in the Federation.  Following the research team's critical evaluation of the prime directive, the scope of the project was expanded to consider Starfleet's overarching missions, general orders, and day-to-day culture.  The project has taken up laboratories in the social sciences wing of Brahms Station. In the wake of Starfleet's recent isolationist period and Frontier Day, the project has begun to ask new questions.  Is Starfleet serving the purpose it intends?  Where will Starfleet's vision need to evolve so that it can persevere into the next century?

Independent Research Teams

As with independent research projects, some research teams under the Avalon Group are not part of any one project or institute, either because their work is still in its early stages or because their work is affiliated with more than one project. They may later mature into projects of their own. Teams are led by lieutenants and lieutenant commanders.

The Avalon Group In-Play

  • The Avalon Group was created as a way of allowing members to write higher ranking characters with important research assignments that might not fit into either Starbase Bravo or into their personal commands. Indeed, it's not particularly logical for characters higher than fleet captain to be regularly assigned to field operations, so these characters need a home for when those members are no longer on staff. The purpose of this component of Avalon Fleet Yards is thus to allow you to write content that deals with politics, bureaucracy, and higher-level concepts, rather than the slice-of-life theme on Starbase Bravo.
  • An example of this work in canon is Vice Admiral and then Admiral Owen Paris's leadership of the Pathfinder Project and Operation Watson, during which he was also presumably the leader of the Starfleet Communications Research Center, which is akin to the institutes here.
  • As explained in the Avalon Fleet Yards Guide, you are allowed to write up to your fleet rank in the Avalon Group, with larger teams becoming available to you at the ranks of lieutenant, commander, and fleet captain. For instance, as a fleet captain you can have your own "Institute" while at lieutenant you can have your own "team."
  • Teams fit into projects which fit into Institutes, but Teams and Institutes can also be independent. You can grow your team into a project and then into an institute as you increase in rank. You can also speak to the members who have institutes to see if it would be OK with them to add your team or project to their institute. Many folks would be happy to have you!
  • The Institute for Advanced Impulse Engine Design and the Institute for Observable Cosmology are available for you to add projects, teams, or team members onto, as they are not run by any one member.
  • Most of the research facilities are located either on Avalon III or one of the Avalon Fleet Yards stations in orbit. Generally speaking, researchers will live either on Brahms Station or on Sato City and commute via shuttle or transporter, so members of the Avalon Group will have plenty of opportunities to socialize even if their workplaces are spread out.
  • There are always reasons to work with researchers in other teams, projects, and institutes, as science is inherently collaborative. Maybe you have a friendly rivalry with someone else in a similar discipline and you're competing for resources. Maybe they have a piece of equipment that's hard for you to acquire and you need to convince them to share. Maybe they have expertise that you lack. The possibilities are many.
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