As Plagueis plans to go on the offensive with both the Collective sects and Principate mutineers, you have been given the task of seeking out these remnants in the Unknown Regions.

This is an event-long fiction competition, so you have the entire three weeks to complete it. Your entry has the chance to shape the direction of Code: Dread’s storyline. Your task is to choose 1 of 3 separate objectives to write about for your entry. The objective that garners the most entries will be used to steer the Code: Dread storyline into a related course of events.

Objectives

Participants must use one of the following three prompts to craft their entry:

Objective 1: Interrogation

You have been assigned a Collective prisoner to interrogate. This prisoner may already have an existing CS, or you may make them up entirely from whole cloth. Your job is to extract information from them about the gathered Collective forces that may be threatening Aliso space.

Write from either your character/alt’s perspective or from the perspective of the Collective prisoner. You have three choices: Torture, gain trust, or eliminate. The choice you make will determine the information you receive. How you approach the interrogation will affect the likelihood of a successful campaign against the Collective remnants.

Objective 2: Assault

You have decided to work with the Ascendant Fleet to smoke out Collective remnants in the Unknown Regions. As a result, you will be joining Task Force Besh in the fight. Your mission is to eliminate as many Collective and other anti-Brotherhood forces as possible. Write from the perspective of your character/alt or an NPC. Choosing this objective will increase the likelihood of a successful campaign against the Collective remnants.

Objective 3: Prioritization

Tired of the constant fighting with what you deem to be an inferior enemy, you have decided to redirect your efforts elsewhere. Ignoring the orders of the Dread Lord, take time to settle old scores, train or meditate, reunite with old friends, or simply shoot the breeze in Aliso or beyond. Choosing this objective, however, will reduce the likelihood of a successful campaign against the Collective remnants.

Write from the perspective of your character/alt or an NPC.

Rules

Participants must submit entries in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format, or use the submission text field (markdown capable). Entries must be a minimum of 500 words. Any entries that are under 500 words will be Disqualified and ineligible for participation or placement. There is no maximum word cap. Your story should be centered on your Main or Alternative character or on an appropriate Collective or Severian Principate NPC as allowed by the Objective you choose. Slotted NPCs, Wikipedia NPCs, or other characters that you create or invent to tell your story are allowed and encouraged. However, your narrative should focus around either your Main or Alternative character or your selected faction NPC. If writing from the perspective of your main character or alternative character, a snapshot of your Main or Alternative character loadout must be selected and submitted with your entry. Failure to attach a snapshot will prevent you from placing. If writing from an NPC, make that explicitly clear.

The fictions shall be graded using the Fiction Rubric.