Scott Pearson | Shackleton Expanse

Beyond Narenda III—the site of an infamous Romulan sneak attack on a Klingon colony—past the outer reaches of both those empires as well as the Federation, lies the Shackleton Expanse, a vast, mysterious region of the Beta Quadrant. Rumors have long outnumbered details about the systems and inhabitants of this region, but now exploration has begun, based from the joint Federation-Klingon outpost Narendra Station. What will your ships and crews find out there . . . and, more importantly, will they be ready for it?

Star Trek Adventures project manager Jim Johnson invited me to return to the Shackleton Expanse—created by Dayton Ward, Jim, and myself for the original STA campaign released online simultaneously with the game in 2016—for this new print release. We were joined by additional Star Trek fiction writers Derek Tyler Attico and Kelli Fitzpatrick along with many regular STA writers to both substantially expand previously released material as well as create a wealth of new stuff. I contributed several chapters and mission briefs, including an all-new species living in the Shackleton Expanse, the Qofuari. I also did my customary canon review of the entire manuscript, so this was a mammoth project.

From Chapter 03.10
For many in the United Federation of Planets, the Shackleton Expanse evokes the early days of space travel, when vast regions of the Galaxy were unknown beyond the individual perspectives of the inhabited systems within. The natives of those islands in the void mapped their local space, but, for all they knew, they might have been alone in the universe, the only eyes gazing upward at the stars spilled across the night sky.

As political powers rose (and sometimes fell) and warp speed was discovered (and speeds increased), more of the Galaxy was charted, and once-isolated systems became interconnected civilizations spread across deep space. But the random whims of chance saw to it that the Shackleton Expanse was left relatively untouched....

Now, however, Starfleet is poised to begin a new era of exploration into this largely unknown region of space. The time is right, and the circumstances that have made this possible are outgrowths of, and testimonials to, the ideals and goals of the Federation.

Public Journal Post by Jaffers Bisho, Proprietor, The Jaf’s Trading Post
Although long an opulently flourishing nomadic trader, the Jaf is jubilant to have taken up residence on the splendiferous Narendra Station! Thanks to the Federation, glorious commerce can be had by all, even the Klingons—no offence, heroic warriors of the Empire!

Come to The Jaf’s Trading Post in the majestic Galleria! Sample the wondrous wares of the Shackleton Expanse, lovingly acquired by the Jaf throughout a miraculous lifetime of stupefying travels! By credit or barter the Jaf will make a deal, satisfaction guaranteed!