In Star Fleet Battles Module R4J - and, technically, in Module C6, there are a number of "Shadow of the Eagle" (and/or "lost empire") timelines in which the Romulans gain access to tactical warp technology prior to the signing of the Treaty of Smarba.

Perhaps the most divergent of these timelines offered is the "Reflection Universe" - in which the untimely death of Surak on Vulcan prevented his philosophy of Kya-yai, or "Logic", from building up a critical mass of followers. As a result, those dedicated to his teachings were the ones to flee to Romulus, where they would found a "Logic-Romulan" Republic; while the "warlike Vulcans" still at home became part of the Federal Imperium - an entity quite different from the "Terran" empire seen on the other side of the Mirror over in the Franchise.

Elsewhere on the BBS, I was recently speculating on what - if anything - this divergent setting might one day offer in Federation and Empire terms.

But here in SFB, there are certain possibilities - and, perhaps, opportunities - which might exist in both the Alpha and Omega octants, beyond those general guidelines outlined in the R4J rulebook itself.

So, I wanted to offer a few thoughts - such as they are - on what such possibilities might be...

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First up would be the fleet of the Federal Imperium itself.

In R4J, it's suggested to use "standard" Federation units and technologies for the most part. However, these "Feds" have no qualms with using Interceptors and fast patrol ships. Thus, they deploy gunboats (and tenders) as soon as they would be "historically" available. However, they never develop the "Third Way", so never gain access to F-111s, SWAC shuttles, or phaser-G-armed fighters.

Further, since they are not allied to the Gorns in this setting, they never import type-F plasma torpedoes. Indeed, even if they managed to capture enough samples of plasma-F technology to make a reverse-engineering project viable, there would be less of an onus to do so - since the Gorns in this setting (who are aligned with the Logic-Romulans) never developed the carronade prior to the onset of first-generation X-technology. So no BCF, no DDL, nor other such variants here.

That still leaves the Federal Imperium with phasers, photons, drones, and ADDs (via type-G drone racks) - and plenty of ways they can deploy some or all of them in battle.

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That said, there was another possibility I was thinking about recently, based on another key difference to be found in this Reflected setting.

When the Orions joined the Federal Imperium, they did so as "regular" members; thus, the sequence of events that led to the creation of the historical Orion Pirate cartels never took place.

Instead, the place of the Orion Pirates was taken up by groups of Paravian exiles, who were able to rescue enough civilians from their doomed home world to establish viable "pirate" nests. In a case of form following function, these "Paravian" pirates use the same SSDs as the Orion Pirates do in other timelines; however, each "Paravian" operating zone retains the use of the phaser-1 and the quantum wave torpedo as "home" technologies, along with whichever local weapons they have access to.

Before I go any further, I should note that, according to the data in R4J, these "Paravians" still hate the Gorns (and, by extension, other "demon" species like the Skoleans or Vudar) - but they have given up their old campaign to destroy them (or perhaps, placed it under indefinite hold). In the "modern" era, they are "merely" pirates.

While what this means for the use of "Paravian" pirates and/or mercenaries is a topic I plan to double back to a bit later. But in the case of the Federal Imperium, there was one possibility I thought might be interesting: the acquisition, through fair means or foul, of the QWT, as an alternative to the use of drones.

Fair means of acquiring QWTs might be a big ask, even before the Federal Imperium makes First Contact with the Skoleans (which, as noted in the planetary survey for Skoleos in Captain's Log #46 and in Away Team Log, happened for the historical Federation in Y153). The Federal Imperium, with a much larger force than the historical Star Fleet and with much more aggresive intent in using it, might not be in a hurry to hire mercenaries. And while the "Paravians" might not necessarily be out to destroy Skoleos they way they might have done back in the pre-pirate days, they would still likely consider any Skolean alignment with the Federal Imperium to be a deal-breaker.

Which leaves foul means to consider. While it's quite difficult to capture an Orion Pirate unit in the historical timeline, it's not impossible either. Although it seems to help if you are on the inside of the WYN Cluster while making the attempt... Still, it might not be completely unreasonable to picture the Federal Imperium capturing enough samples of QWT technology to make reverse-engineering it a serious possibility.

In which case, I would propose outright replacing the "modern" use of drone racks with QWTs - so long as Paramount isn't troubled by the concept of a "Fed" ship using a heavy weapon with the words "quantum" and "torpedo" in the name...

Such mounts would be as limited in their launch arcs as Orion and "lost empire" Paravian ships would be. As in, no better than 120 degrees. So, for example, a Galactic Survey Cruiser swapping drones for QWTs would have 1 LF+L, 1 RF+R, and 1 RA mount - at least, based on the 3D model over on Shapeways.

On the other hand, while QWTs on fighters and gunboats cannot be overloaded, they are nonetheless quite viable as drone alternatives for such units in Federal Imperium service.

Had a "Mapsheet P" Paravian empire emerged in the Reflected version of events, I would not recommend giving the Federal Imperium access to QWTs in this manner. However, since there are no longer any "true" Paravian ships in existence here, I would not consider it a deal-breaker for these "Feds" to make use of it in their stead.

Of course, if others would prefer to stick with drones, fair enough...

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Actually, there is another faction which would be impacted by the presence of the "Paravian" pirates: the WYNs.

The data in R4J suggests that much of the history for the "western" Alpha empires is unchanged, at least prior to the General War - when the Federal Imperium invades both the Kzintis and the Klingons at the same time!

However, this might not be enough to account for the goings-on in the WYN Clluster, for a number of reasons:

Firstly, there's the question of whether or not the Usurper War played out here the way it did historically. With even more pressure on the Marquis fleet from the Federal Imperium than was applied by the Federation historically, there might be less of an opportunity for the Duke and the Patriarch to come to blows in the same way.

Secondly, even if the Usurper flees to the Cluster as "normal", there's the question of what - if any - deal the "Paravian" pirates might make with him. Would they be as accommodating as the Orion Cluster Cartel was historically? Or would they instead seize the opportunity to claim the Cluster for themselves?

Depending on the answer, there might be a recognizable WYN Navy - perhaps complete with "fish" ships - albeit with the potential to make use of quantum wave torpedoes as an added "home" technology. Or, it might see the "Paravians" operate the Cluster as a full-scale pirate enclave - which, at least, would mean no War of Return for the post-war Hegemony to be concerned about.

That said, I would not expect even a "Paravian" enclave to echo the "cluster Carnivons" from Module C6, in terms of building a new war fleet with an eye towards conquest. But, at the very least, it would be quite difficult for the surrounding empires to dislodge them.

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While the Reflected timeline in R4J is marked as "ALT3", I was considering over in the F&E thread linked to above about whether a would-be "Alt3a" timeline, which leaned into the Altered Alliances scenario presented in Captain's Log #38, might make for a "cleaner" series of alliances in that game system.

The CL38 scenario has the Klingons align themselves with the Kzintis, instead of the Lyrans. This means that, in the alternate Four Powers War being offered, a Kzinti-Klingon Coalition confronts a Lyran-Hydran Alliance.

Given the sustained pressure on the Kzintis and Klingons from the Federal Imperium, I would well envision an "ALT3a" contingency in which this also happened. So, by the time of the General War, the Kzintis, Klingons, Logic-Romulans, and Gorns would be on one side; while the Federal Imperium would be allies, or at least co-belligerents, with the Lyrans and Hydrans.

Which leaves to an age-old question: if the Lyrans don't have access to Klingon fighters or K-type pods, what do they use instead?

One option could be to lean into the Hydran alliance, by granting them access to Hydran-type pallets and/or a series of "export" fighters akin to the "Snappers" offered to the LDR in Captain's Log #41.

But, I had another idea: what if the Lyran Far Stars Duke, upon learning of the Borak from his Hydran allies, decides to cut his Peladine subjects a deal: to restore a degree of self-rule to the Ranel and Phelen, in exchange for a steady supply of the drone-armed fighter and bomber designs from Module E4?

Of course, he could simply coerce the Peladine to do this. But I think it would be more interesting to see the Far Stars Duchy try a more nuanced approach here.

I'm not sure I'd be in a hurry to give these Lyrans access to plasma-armed Peladine fighters, however. It might be better to stick with one technology track over another, and to choose the one which is easier to gain viable telemetry from (through fighting the Klingons and Kzintis).

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Thus far, these changes have impacted the Alpha Octant of the Milky Way Galaxy. Yet there is the potential for change in the Omega Octant, also: not least if the Cosmic Nexus were to lead to the creation of a "Federal Viceroyalty of Aurora".

Historically, the Aurorans gained access to short-range cannon technology, after researching a prototype Klingon ADD in the cargo bay of the Orion CR Throne of Ozymondas. Later on, when the Aurorans developed the "wolatile warp" technology that made Omega INTs and PFs possible, they objected to its use on moral grounds.

Now, if the Throne's place is taken up by a "Paravian" pirate cruiser, would it have some other technology aboard to offer - if, indeed, it tried to offer it at all, rather than fleeing Aurora and seeking its fortunes elsewhere?

Perhaps it would be interesting if this cruiser made a limited deal with the Aurorans initially - only to defect to the Paravians of Omega (who also still exist, according to the R4J data) once each learns of the other's existence...

On the one hand, we might see "Auroran" ships develop the SRC as normal. Or, they might deploy QWTs instead. Or they might simply place phaser-3s in those mounts, at least until they start rolling out type-B tachyon missile racks in Y181. That last option might make things awkward for Auroran fighters, however.

In any case, these Aurorans would similarly have no qualms with using gunboats.

It would also be interesting to see what a Reflected equivalent of the Sakharov's "five-year mission" to and from Omega turns out like. Or how the Federal Imperium might react to any data on Omega being brought back to the Alpha Octant, as historically happened in the Federation in Y219.

Any knock-on effect this might all have on the Zosman Marauders might be of interest, also.

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So, be it for the Federal Imperium, the inhabitants of the WYN Cluster (whoever they happen to end up being), the Lyrans, the would-be "Federal Viceroyalty of Aurora", the Zosmans, or anyone else who might be caught up in these changes, I'd consider there to be plenty yet to consider, in terms of the weapons and warships of the Reflection Universe.

Do any of you have your own thoughts on how (or if) one could take advantage of what this Reflected setting has to offer?