The Harbinger will pass through a temporal anomality during the first mission and end up in 2583. The twenty-sixth century is a bleak one; the Federation has fallen and the quadrant is ruled by petty tyrranies and loose coalitions. The Klingon and Romulan Empires are broken up into several warring factions, the Bajoran Wormhole is closed, and the Cardassians are expanding. With the fall of empires, knowledge was lost, shipyards broke down, starships abandoned for want of parts. The general technology of the quadrant, with the occasional exception, is fifty years behind the USS Harbinger.

USS Harbinger is a play-by-email game. Players subscribe to a mailing list and post two or more times a week. The game is rated NC-13.