The Consortium

The Consortium
Basic Information
Known Involved Species:	Many
Homeworld:	UNKNOWN
Founded:	UNKNOWN
Political Information
Government Type:	UNKNOWN
Leader:	UNKNOWN
Template:Organization

The Consortium was a terrorist organization that had infiltrated both the Dominion and Starfleet operating in the Gamma Quadrant with the intent to rid the Gamma Quadrant of negative interference and install a way of life freed from dictatorial oversight. In August 2388, the Consortium was removed from Starfleet Operations, but their status with the Dominion is unknown, as is reassurance that they've been purged from Starfleet in their entirety.

Background

For the official OOC Briefing on the Consortium, please read this brief Consortium History. None of this information is available In-Character.

Little concerning the origins of the Consortium is known. Rumors persist that it is either a puppet for the Dominion, an uprising secretly fueled by the Federation, or even a force within the Gamma Quadrant to purge The Dominion and all species that the Bajoran Wormhole permitted travel to.

On August 17, 2388, the Consortium was overthrown and propelled back into the shadows. As it currently stands, the Consortium is no longer a threat.

Conversion Methods

Volunteer

In the early days of the Consortium, most individuals were invited to join the movement, or heard about its formation by word of mouth, typically by someone already involved in the Consortium. Most volunteers already possess a deep-seeded hatred for Starfleet and the Federation or otherwise desire to see their quadrant freed by any influence from the Alpha Quadrant, including the Klingon Empire and the Ferengi.

Telepathic Conversion/Manipulation

The Consortium places a high value on both anonymity and having small numbers. Having small numbers, however, is becoming increasingly difficult due to where some agents need to be. Assassinating a Chief Operations Officer aboard a starship and replacing him with an agent is near-impossible in Starfleet. Exposing such an individual to the Consortium operating structure poses a risk should the agent be discovered.

Therefore, several loyal Starfleet officers were targeted for telepathic conversion. This could involve direct or indirect contact with a telepath, and possibly even some form of drugging or inebriation to weaken the officer in order to establish a telepathic link. Officers are often targeted based on their service records, psychological profile, and notes made by medical and psychological professionals.

Once converted, the new agent is prepared to do he Consortium's bidding once exposed to orders. Orders can be delivered in a variety of ways, hidden in a subspace transmission, response to a code "challenge" phrase (such as "Pity is Treason") or written in code on a crate label. Upon receipt of orders, the Starfleet officer instantly abandons his duty and begins to act out his/her tasks. The agent will not stop until the task is complete or his/her body ceases to function. These are often performed by the Selamat.

Otherwise Forced

For those the Consortium are unable to mentally manipulate, alternate means are used, including threats to an individual, his/her family. Promises of promotion are also considered, though these are rare, but it is entirely up to what motivates the target.

Blindly Following

For most personnel on Starfleet Ships and Bases, they believe they're following orders from Starfleet and are completely unaware that those orders were in fact fabricated or influenced by the Consortium. These should be the easiest to expose to the truth, but whether or not they recognize it will be the true challenge.

Detection Methods

Species with empathic or telepathic gifts, such as Betazoids, can detect lies or motives that are otherwise less than pure. This, however, usually involves an invasive "scan" of a person's mind, one which can rarely be done without detection. Those who are blindly following are the most difficult to detect, as are some who were telepathically manipulated.

The Consortium did engage the services of some Betazoids and other telepathic species in order to mask this as much as possible. Despite their efforts, species like the Betazoid, Vulcan, and Ullian are resistant to these methods and are well suited to detect those who were manipulated.

Timeline

For a comprehensive view of the Star Trek Timeline from the combined perspective of the USS Black Hawk and Task Force 9, see 2388.

Consortium Operatives

Generally, before The Event, the Consortium would keep an average of 2 to 12 operatives aboard a starship. The number would be much higher per colony or base, depending on the importance of the location. These operatives could range in rank from Crewman to Captain, and each one was optimally placed for takeover, or in a worse-case scenario, sabotage and destruction.

After The Event, the true identities of Consortium agents remain unknown, though those the operatives "apprehended" under the guise of treason are in fact the true Starfleet officers. The rest of the crew were led to believe that those arrested were traitors and the "true" Consortium agents.

Starships

For the complete list of Task Force 9 Starships and their affiliation, please read Consortium Starships

Agents

For a complete list of known Consortium Agents, please read Consortium Agents

Who controls The Consortium is still unknown. The senior-most agent operating within Task Force 9 is Commodore Juliana Terlexa.

Loyal to Starfleet

Presently, of all elements in the quadrant, the number of assets still loyal to Starfleet amount to around 40 percent. While the Consortium currently possess the means to eliminate the rest of the loyal forces, Consortium elements are being consolidated in order to make such moves.

Starships

For a complete list of ships loyal to Starfleet, please visit Task Force 9 Starships

Read the Story

To read the story in full, or to see the timeline of events between Task Force 9 and related missions of the USS Black Hawk, please review the Consortium Crisis.

Accreditation and Disclaimers

Use of Bravo Fleet's The Consortium is permitted under the Creative Commons 4.0 License and has been modified to suit the story and purposes of the USS Black Hawk Star Trek Role-Playing Simulation.

The Consortium, created by former TF9COs Aio and Alexander, was the central focus of the canon for Bravo Fleet's Task Force Nine from 2015-2016. While this sim did actively contribute to the development of this storyline, the Black Hawk took certain liberties with the overall TF9 plotline, meaning some of the locations and characters we will use will not be found in the official Bravo Fleet records.