In 2018 I wrote and published "Baptism of Fire", a short story for my old Federation's Peace blog, to coincide with STO's Victory Is Life expansion. It tripled as a prologue for Victory Is Life, a follow-up story for Irla (the Changeling rescued from Delta Quadrant in my Foundry mission "The Hundredth"), and an origin story for Aran'tikar (my Jem'Hadar character in STO).
I saved that story (and the others I had written) when I shut down that blog following the Foundry sunset. I had originally planned to republish it sometime in Season 2 of STO Peacemakers, when Aran'tikar (who has not even been bred yet in Season 1) is set to join the team. However, a few weeks ago STO ran a Gamma Recruit event to encourage new Jem'Hadar characters, so in order to coincide with that, I decided to re-publish "Baptism of Fire" a season ahead of schedule, as a Special Issue on my Google Drive. I posted the story link on Twitter at the time, but never got around to "officially" announcing it here... until now.
"Baptism of Fire" documents Irla's first mission for the Dominion since her homecoming, as her ship is sent by the Founders to investigate strange long-range sensor readings - only to witness, a little too up-close-and-personal, the terrible emergence of the Hur'q from their centuries-long hibernation. It is also Aran'tikar's first mission, and he must see to Irla's safety even as his brothers in arms fall, one by one, to the relentless Hur'q onslaught.
For now, the story is being published as a Special Issue of STO Peacemakers. Once the series storyline catches up, "Baptism of Fire" will be given a proper season/issue number and take its proper place in the continuity.
I saved that story (and the others I had written) when I shut down that blog following the Foundry sunset. I had originally planned to republish it sometime in Season 2 of STO Peacemakers, when Aran'tikar (who has not even been bred yet in Season 1) is set to join the team. However, a few weeks ago STO ran a Gamma Recruit event to encourage new Jem'Hadar characters, so in order to coincide with that, I decided to re-publish "Baptism of Fire" a season ahead of schedule, as a Special Issue on my Google Drive. I posted the story link on Twitter at the time, but never got around to "officially" announcing it here... until now.
"Baptism of Fire" documents Irla's first mission for the Dominion since her homecoming, as her ship is sent by the Founders to investigate strange long-range sensor readings - only to witness, a little too up-close-and-personal, the terrible emergence of the Hur'q from their centuries-long hibernation. It is also Aran'tikar's first mission, and he must see to Irla's safety even as his brothers in arms fall, one by one, to the relentless Hur'q onslaught.
For now, the story is being published as a Special Issue of STO Peacemakers. Once the series storyline catches up, "Baptism of Fire" will be given a proper season/issue number and take its proper place in the continuity.
