This is a description of the campaign I wrote on a LUG Trek mailing list in 1998
My campaign schemes began as soon as I heard about the LUG game. I've played Aria by e-mail and adore it (as an aside to the Net reps, will we see an Aria-style society PC overlay for the ST games?)
I've tried running play by e-mail, but things have just not gelled. So, my first axiom was that the role playing would be in person.
The last Star Trek campaign I ran starred three ensigns and did well, so (axiom 2) I wanted to incorporate the low rank characters into my campaign.
I, as opposed to Adam D., prefer small ships for low-rank campaigns because characters will have more influence over their environment. Also, my research ("Command at Sea" (4th ed.), most recently) indicates that Navy officers on small ships tend to be assigned interesting but necessary positions such as Athletics Officer and Training Officer. Such position give good rationale for the characters to interact, which has been a problem in previous campaigns.
Although the Akira class looks really nice in front profile, I think it's side profile leaves something to be desired. So, I watched First Contact's combat scene again and decided upon the Steamrunner class.
I wanted the ship to have a name with a history. For the last campaign, the Oberth class ship I used was the Fresnel, a well-accomplished optician. The crew graduated to an Intrepid class ship, the Ibn-Battuta, a well-renown explorer. For the Steamrunner ship of this campaign, I wanted a similar name, uncommon but someone worthy of naming a ship after. I came up with Pedro Francisco, a War of American Independence soldier who George Washington called a "One Man Army". (Inspiration for the name came from http://www.thehistorynet.com/, by the way.)
Next came the plot. I had noticed as many have that the Federation seems to be hemmed in a bit. So, I decided that the societies of Star Trek are spread horizontally within the spiral, but the upper and lower edges are relatively unexplored. I reasoned that with the recent war with the Dominion, the Federation is looking for additional resources, which would explain renewed interest in the Hinterlands, a relatively sparsely populated nether region under the main mass of the Federation.
In my campaign world, the Vulcans and Centaurans have been making noise about the increasingly violent nature of Starfleet, and as a public relations move, Starfleet has decided to use the light cruiser Steamrunner class for something more than just military missions. In addition, they've posted a promising Starfleet commander and Centauran Home Guard veteran as Captain, Selena Trifon.
The first mission will be a shakedown cruise of the Francisco, not only for the ship but the players as well. Second, they will be assigned to a patrol mission, during which a Yridian trading consortium will lead to the Crew's discovery that there is a new source of dilithium in the Hinterlands. As they follow the trail, they will come in contact with an Enigma race, the Suchaki, ammonia-based lifeforms who have a borderline warp-capable technology. (If there is interest, I'll talk more about the Suchaki.)
