The Fleet

The Fleet presents a SF epic of loss and retribution with all of the juicy stuff: alien invasion, military command, starfaring exile in resistance, intergalactic diplomacy and betrayal. With hints of the Uplift and Star Control franchises, this game pits players as members of a "small fry" race in the Galactic pond, being preyed upon by a monstrous older, more aggressive race -- and seeking the assistance of still harder hitters, led by the Calpurnians, in the local parsec to reclaim the homeworld and set a new agenda for interstellar peace.

The delegation to Calpurnia is led by High Councilor Tayu, who believes that an alliance is the only schedule for future prosperity. Dissenting is a key member of the player's bridge crew, Lieutenant Demian, who sees the machinations as sham theatrics exchanging one alien slavemaster for many. In between is the player, who must weigh both perspectives and impose their own slant on the proceedings through strategic selection of the numerous choices presented, through which the game is played.

Players get to make critical decisions across numerous dramatic crossroads of the story -- sketching out their character during the initial invasion, refining their leadership style while retreating with a convoy of civilian vessels, making snap decisions when surprise encounters run up against the last received orders come down from the chain of command, putting it all into practice during the last great push to retake the homeworld with the alliance... and even epilogues to help satisfy curiosity in "the rest of the story". Decisions help to establish (and later, develop, with RPG stats shuffling under the hood) the players' strengths and then are weighed against previous decisions in future challenges -- playing to one's strengths being a more consistently winning strategy.