The Force Awakens/Star Trek Online crossover- You are the Federation President.

[The Romulan Republic]

Inspired by this thread: https://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic ... 2&t=164486

And possibly this one: https://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic ... 2&t=164490

And of course by Star Wars, particularly The Force Awakens, and Star Trek, particularly Star Trek Online.

Scenario: You are elected President of the United Federation of Planets one year before the start of the game Star Trek Online, in a surprise victory.

Shortly after your election, a Federation starship operating near the border at the point closest to the now destroyed Romulan home system stumbles upon a wormhole. They send a probe through and discover something extraordinary. Not only is the wormhole stable, but it leads to another galaxy altogether, and specifically the edge of the system of Takodana, home of one Maz Kanata, a week before the events of The Force Awakens begin.

You retain all your real world knowledge, courtesy of Q.

How do you proceed?

Edit: Also, if you want to post your thoughts on how you would handle this scenario as a leader of the Republic, Resistance, or First Order, or any non-Federation Star Trek faction, feel free.

[Lord Revan]

I'd probably start first contact carefully sending a trustworthy veteran crew who have first contact experience, while informing the Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic (Sela can go f*ck herself and there's no other major powers nearby). Only once first contact has been firmly established will I commit to anything.

I assume by "real world knowledge" you meant the info on plot of TFA, however I'd be careful to draw too many conclutions based on that since as Yoda said "always in motion the future is" and the presence of visitors from another galaxy is a huge X-factor in any plans the First Order, Republic or Resistance has.

as for the SW side I'd do more or less the same, until the capabilities of the visitors are know there's no point in being rash.

If I was the First Order leader I'd keep Kylo Ren as far away from the wormhole as possible so he wouldn't cause a diplomatic incident because he didn't get his (metaphorical) candy and threw tantrum, instead I'd send in diplomats (or what ever is the First Order equilevant to that). With the Republic/resistance I'd also send in diplomats first to see what we're dealing with. Yes I know technically I'd know what Federation is capable of but there's no way a First Order/Galactic Republic/Resistance leader would know that so best play it safe.

As for the Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic I'd go about more or less the same as the Federation. After all there no Honor in killing civilians and there's more value in a strong ally then an undefeatble enemy and the Romulan Republic is in need of allies anyway but must be careful to not end up a puppet of stronger power.Spoiler

Like the Romulan Star Empire ended up thanks to the Tal Shiar becoming puppets of the Iconians

[The Romulan Republic]

I'd probably start first contact carefully sending a trustworthy veteran crew who have first contact experience, while informing the Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic (Sela can go f*ck herself and there's no other major powers nearby). Only once first contact has been firmly established will I commit to anything.

All that seems reasonable.

I assume by "real world knowledge" you meant the info on plot of TFA, however I'd be careful to draw too many conclutions based on that since as Yoda said "always in motion the future is" and the presence of visitors from another galaxy is a huge X-factor in any plans the First Order, Republic or Resistance has.

And any knowledge you'd have of Star Trek, etc.

Otherwise, agreed.

as for the SW side I'd do more or less the same, until the capabilities of the visitors are know there's no point in being rash.

If I was the First Order leader I'd keep Kylo Ren as far away from the wormhole as possible so he wouldn't cause a diplomatic incident because he didn't get his (metaphorical) candy and threw tantrum, instead I'd send in diplomats (or what ever is the First Order equilevant to that). With the Republic/resistance I'd also send in diplomats first to see what we're dealing with. Yes I know technically I'd know what Federation is capable of but there's no way a First Order/Galactic Republic/Resistance leader would know that so best play it safe.

Truthfully, the smartest choice might be to send Phasma, I think, out of all the major First Order characters.

Ren is a conflicted, unstable loon and Hux is a frothing at the mouth fanatic. Neither makes good material for a diplomat. Phasma clearly has limits to her loyalty (dropping the shield for Finn, Han, and Chewie), but that also means that she's not a die-hard fanatic and knows when to cut her losses, and she generally seemed fairly level-headed.

More cynically, sending the female member of the otherwise white human male leadership (the shadowy Snoke aside) is a way to play up diversity, which will appeal to Federation values.

As for the Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic I'd go about more or less the same as the Federation. After all there no Honor in killing civilians and there's more value in a strong ally then an undefeatble enemy and the Romulan Republic is in need of allies anyway but must be careful to not end up a puppet of stronger power.Spoiler

Like the Romulan Star Empire ended up thanks to the Tal Shiar becoming puppets of the Iconians

The Romulan Republic would do very well to maintain friendly relations with the Republic but would be wise not to openly take sides, as they're in a tenuous enough position without getting into a war with the First Order on behalf of the clearly inept Republic government.

The Klingons will probably be leery of getting cozy with any human-dominated faction, given their emnity with the Federation in this time frame. I could see them allying with the more diverse Republic/Resistance. But as those are natural friends for the Federation, they may go to the First Order instead, at least if the First Order is open to an alliance with non-humans.

The Spoiler

Iconians

and Snoke meanwhile, will doubtless be scheming against each other.

[The Romulan Republic]

Edit: Also, regarding sending Phasma, as a front-line warrior (as opposed to Hux, who seems to be a behind-the-lines general), she might be more likely to gain respect from the Klingons.

[NecronLord]

Edit: Also, if you want to post your thoughts on how you would handle this scenario as a leader of the Republic, Resistance, or First Order, or any non-Federation Star Trek faction, feel free.

As leader of the New Republic, I send my Mighty Fleet, let's say a hundred Star Destroyers, which I choose to imagine as looking like Fractal's gorgeous New Republic destroyers, to Jakku, during the film's events, crush the Finalizer and rescue Finn, then debrief him on the Starkiller Base, whereupon, naturally, I send my fleet to go capture the bloody thing for the Republic, and use the menace of the damn thing to browbeat the senate into taking action against the First Order, whereupon I can reasonably expect to crush them, given that we now have a Starkiller (if it can be used on ships or limited to military targets) and conventional superiority.

After beating the crap out of the First Order, I go help the Federation with the Klingons - aiming for a negotiated peace, naturally - and the Romulan Republic with the Elachi (fuckers) and ultimately Iconians.

Great success.

...what? It's very easy if you're in charge of the supposedly mighty Republic.

[Lord Revan]

I dunno Phasma being much better choice then Hux, sure she's not as obviously poor choice but what little we see of Phasma she seems mostly by-the-book commander with all warmth of a canister of liquid helium. I'd prefer to send a purposefully trained ambassador then a military commander.

[FaxModem1]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the start of Star Trek Online when things basically go to hell in the Star Trek galaxy? The Federation is already at war with the Klingons, the Klingons have invaded the Gorn, and the Borg are on the cusp of invading, with all this being puppet stringed by the Undine/S8472 and the Iconians are about to invade.

And to pile on top of that, we now have fascist fanatics emerging out of the woodworks with the First Order. My presidency is going to be doing all I can to prevent the UFP from collapsing from all the invasions going on, just like in the real timeline.

[The Romulan Republic]

Granted. But as I don't know any First Order ambassadors, or even if they have any (though one would think they would), she came to mind.

Edit: Also, if you want to post your thoughts on how you would handle this scenario as a leader of the Republic, Resistance, or First Order, or any non-Federation Star Trek faction, feel free.

As leader of the New Republic, I send my Mighty Fleet, let's say a hundred Star Destroyers, which I choose to imagine as looking like Fractal's gorgeous New Republic destroyers, to Jakku, during the film's events, crush the Finalizer and rescue Finn, then debrief him on the Starkiller Base, whereupon, naturally, I send my fleet to go capture the bloody thing for the Republic, and use the menace of the damn thing to browbeat the senate into taking action against the First Order, whereupon I can reasonably expect to crush them, given that we now have a Starkiller (if it can be used on ships or limited to military targets) and conventional superiority.

After beating the crap out of the First Order, I go help the Federation with the Klingons - aiming for a negotiated peace, naturally - and the Romulan Republic with the Elachi (fuckers) and ultimately Iconians.

Great success.

...what? It's very easy if you're in charge of the supposedly mighty Republic.

That's what the Republic ought to do, more or less, if it has the capacity.

However, can it do so? Their must be some reason, besides pure stupidity, why the NR wasn't kicking the First Order's metaphorical teeth in during Force Awakens.

Either it doesn't have the military/resources to do it (it very clearly lacks control of the whole galaxy, after all, and its strength is not well-established in the film beyond the facts that it was backing the Resistance and that the First Order was able to successfully sucker punch it), or it lacks the political will to do it.

[NecronLord]

I guess it depends if you think the situation is more 'cold war' or 'Hitler annexes the Rhineland' I got the latter impression, but I can see why there might be doubt over the Republic's ability to win a war.

[Simon_Jester]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the start of Star Trek Online when things basically go to hell in the Star Trek galaxy? The Federation is already at war with the Klingons, the Klingons have invaded the Gorn, and the Borg are on the cusp of invading, with all this being puppet stringed by the Undine/S8472 and the Iconians are about to invade.

And to pile on top of that, we now have fascist fanatics emerging out of the woodworks with the First Order. My presidency is going to be doing all I can to prevent the UFP from collapsing from all the invasions going on, just like in the real timeline.

Sounds about right. One year before the start of the game, I'm pretty sure the Federation is at war with the Klingons already, the Klingons have already annexed the Gorn, and yes, Species 8472 is playing us both like musical instruments.

The Romulan Republic doesn't really exist at this time, it's a scattered fleet of refugees looking for a homeworld. I really can't imagine any credible scenario in which they're a major player in upcoming events; they just don't have the numbers of heavy ships no matter how many PCs you see tooling around in their stuff. The only reason they became involved in events of major strategic import is that they are in direct rivalry with the Tal Shiar and other Iconian minions, anyway. And, okay, because they just happened to settle on a world formerly occupied by a major Iconian vassal race with major relics left behind from the days of the Iconian empire. Whoops.
____________________

Knowing what I know (i.e. pretty much the entire plot of Star Trek Online), my biggest concern would be trying to stabilize the situation on the Klingon Front and essentially concede that the Klingons were right all along about the Undine infiltration threat. Use of technology to detect Undine shapeshifters is going to be challenging but we absolutely have to try. That war is a complication we simply do not need. Once that is sorted out we can start thinking about how to handle some of the major powers; one thing I'd push for is to NOT do any major archaeological investigations of the Dewan ruins on New Romulus once that becomes an issue. We have reason to think the Iconians are not really gone, and monkeying with their technology makes it far more likely that we will trigger their active aggression in the immediate future.

I'm not sure what to do to deal with the Star Wars powers; a lot depends on what they choose to do. An aggressive invasion raises very different issues than a trade agreement.

[Lord Revan]

it seemed to me that by 2409 (aka when the game starts) both Starfleet and KDF had settled into a kind of western front style stalemate where neither side was willing to commit to a major offensive (though obviously skirmishes and raids did happen).

And yes in 2408 the Romulan Republic was still a non-factor (I missread the timeframe), though so is the Romulan Star Empire as they're really a shadow of their former self due to most Romulan colonies having left the Star Empire (being mostly independent and neutral)

[Simon_Jester]

it seemed to me that by 2409 (aka when the game starts) both Starfleet and KDF had settled into a kind of western front style stalemate where neither side was willing to commit to a major offensive (though obviously skirmishes and raids did happen).

Yes- but the analogy to the Western Front is apt, because the Western Front was hugely demanding of manpower and materiel. Even raiding and skirmishing add up to a steady stream of casualties and grinding losses, after a while.

Plus, if the PvP content from the early game is any guide, there were supposed to be a fair number of major battles going on over territory in between the two sides' core space.

[Elheru Aran]

Given what little we know of the military situation of the SW galaxy in TFA, it might have been a slightly easier VS if we used the old-style post-ROTJ EU SW galaxy... Anyway. IMO, a lot depends on the actual military strength that SW has to offer (on either side, First Order or Republic). I'm not sure we really know enough about what's available there.

[The Romulan Republic]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the start of Star Trek Online when things basically go to hell in the Star Trek galaxy? The Federation is already at war with the Klingons, the Klingons have invaded the Gorn, and the Borg are on the cusp of invading, with all this being puppet stringed by the Undine/S8472 and the Iconians are about to invade.

And to pile on top of that, we now have fascist fanatics emerging out of the woodworks with the First Order. My presidency is going to be doing all I can to prevent the UFP from collapsing from all the invasions going on, just like in the real timeline.

Sounds about right. One year before the start of the game, I'm pretty sure the Federation is at war with the Klingons already, the Klingons have already annexed the Gorn, and yes, Species 8472 is playing us both like musical instruments.

Yeah, its a crappy time to be UFP President.

The Romulan Republic doesn't really exist at this time, it's a scattered fleet of refugees looking for a homeworld. I really can't imagine any credible scenario in which they're a major player in upcoming events; they just don't have the numbers of heavy ships no matter how many PCs you see tooling around in their stuff. The only reason they became involved in events of major strategic import is that they are in direct rivalry with the Tal Shiar and other Iconian minions, anyway. And, okay, because they just happened to settle on a world formerly occupied by a major Iconian vassal race with major relics left behind from the days of the Iconian empire. Whoops.
____________________

This all raises the question of weather the RR will even come to exist in this timeline, though I'd like to actively encourage its formation.

Knowing what I know (i.e. pretty much the entire plot of Star Trek Online), my biggest concern would be trying to stabilize the situation on the Klingon Front and essentially concede that the Klingons were right all along about the Undine infiltration threat. Use of technology to detect Undine shapeshifters is going to be challenging but we absolutely have to try. That war is a complication we simply do not need. Once that is sorted out we can start thinking about how to handle some of the major powers; one thing I'd push for is to NOT do any major archaeological investigations of the Dewan ruins on New Romulus once that becomes an issue. We have reason to think the Iconians are not really gone, and monkeying with their technology makes it far more likely that we will trigger their active aggression in the immediate future.

This is reasonable. However, I do have at least a couple of concerns:

1. You have to weigh the risk of provoking an earlier clash with the Iconians against the cost of not having the data that can be gained from the ruins.

2. You are proposing policies (siding with the Klingons, halting research in the name of security) that go very much against aspects of the UFP political mainstream. You will get internal political pushback.

I'm not sure what to do to deal with the Star Wars powers; a lot depends on what they choose to do. An aggressive invasion raises very different issues than a trade agreement.

Of course.

I think the best course of action is to tread lightly and avoid provoking a clash, while build up our own capabilities as fast as possible. At least until the home front situation is sorted out.

[Simon_Jester]

The big problem is, the STO powers didn't learn very much from the ruins. At least, not much of anything directly useful to fighting the Iconians, as far as I can tell.

At the very least, activating an Iconian gateway was a big mistake, because it was clearly the proximate cause of some major Iconian shifts in strategy and appears to have been a proximate cause of their decision to invade the Beta Quadrant.

...

As to "siding with the Klingons," I propose no such thing. However, peace is in the highest traditions of the Federation, and the Klingons are factually correct about the threat posed by Undine infiltration, even if their leadership is using it in part as a pretext for territorial expansion.

There's no reason we can't resist Klingon expansion on the Federation frontier AND concede, publicly, that there is an objective Undine threat while doing everything in our power to stop the Undine infiltrating our high command.

[The Romulan Republic]

That seems reasonable.

I imagine you'll still get a bit of political pushback, but it probably won't be too bad if you put the right spin on things.

[Solauren]

I'm going to be evil for this:

Send a crew through, park it over the planet, and when the Falcon shows up, monitor them/track them. When they leave the bar, beam them up, and hand them to the First Order in exchange for a few warships and some tech specs for Star Wars tech.

Then blow up the Wormhole.

[The Romulan Republic]

Would the First Order trade, though? Or just demand you hand them over or straight-up try to take them by force?

Seems like you might just end up pissing off both sides of a major galactic war.

[Purple]

Immediately approach the FO with an offer to make the feds their puppet in exchange of me being placed as the puppeteer king. Than work on converting the federation in a DPRK style vassal state of the Sith.

[The Romulan Republic]

While ethically I obviously can't approve, practically speaking that might ensure the Federation a fair degree of security (until the Republic/Resistance topples them, anyway), if it succeeds. But I must point out that people have tried internal authoritarian coups of the Federation before, and they've always ended up getting shut down by Starfleet. What it comes down to is that Starfleet has officers who are genuinely committed to Federation principles, even to the point of disobeying orders. So in all probability, you'd have to fight a civil war to pull that off.

And the Federation rebels would probably be backed by the Resistance/Republic. So what you'd end up with is a Federation Civil War that's also a First Order/vs. Republic proxy war.