The Accobi Conspiracy [Saga Lore Recap]

[Grizz]

The Accobi Conspiracy is the label given to a 50-year clandestine project to facilitate the galactic return of an ancient superpower - The Accobi.

1. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a powerful omnipotent entity roamed the galaxy. It was captured by the Accobi - a spacefaring humanoid race native to Accobar III in what became known the Tyrella Sector. The two races formed a parasitic link. The Accobi tortured and used the entity's power to revolutionise and exponentially advance their civilization. Following the collapse of the Iconian civilization, the Accobi expanded and became a dominant and oppresive force in the galaxy, collecting a vast empire of servitor races. Their closest rivals were the Halkonians, who relied on their intellect and guile to subert and resist the Accobi during a drawn-out war. The Halkonians' most powerful weapon was a highly potent and adaptive nanovirus which drained the Accobi of their power. This weapon would exist in some form in the galaxy up until the present day and both hinder and aide those forced to resist the Accobi once more in the late 24th century.

At the end of the war, on the cusp of their final victory, the Accobi simply vanished from the galaxy. The Halkonians occupied Accobar and vowed to keep watch to ensure they would not return. Unbeknownst to them, the Accobi had encountered a Human scientist - David Rush - who had been accidentally thrown back in time following a shuttle accident. His memories and knowledge of the state of the galaxy in the 24th century led the Accobi to plot their dominance of the future. They exploited Iconian technology to create a back-door in to the future galaxy - referred to as The Gateway - and set out using their invasive and corrupting abilities to set the stage for their return. During this period, the Accobi were led by a figurehead later referred to as 'The Architect.'

2. The first major target of their corruption was Charles Kort, Captain of the Starship Ares in 2343. The Ares responded to a signal of unknown origin emanating from the Accobar System - the legacy of which was unknown to the Federation. Kort encountered David Rush drifting in a shuttlecraft which hadn't yet been designed, who warned him of an impending galactic invasion. The Accobi staged a terrifying attack on the Ares, demonstrating their power, and invaded the mind of Kort - setting him on a path to prepare the Federation for future submission. Through Kort, they gained a foothold within the Federation. Advancing through seniority, Kort founded the Starfleet Office of Special Projects, designed to operate with an unprecedented level of impunity. In public, the OSP was vital in Starfleet's response to numerous crisis - including the Dominion War. In private, it was an ever-growing web of corruption designed to manipulate galactic events - big and small - to clear the way for the Accobi's resurgence in return for humanity's survival.

3-4. Kort spent two decades seeking the the location of the Accobi's Gateway, eventually narrowing the search to the Telosian Expanse. The Telosians are an advanced warp-capable humanoid species whose empire bridges the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, skirting the edge of the Tyrella sector, with a powerful military force and ruled by a Monarchy. At the time of Kort's discovery, the Telosians were official allies of the Federation, with envoys frequenting the capital system - Telos. In a bid to secure The Gateway, Kort delivered the Accobi's warning to senior Telosian military officials. Promising that they too would be spared following the invasion, Kort had set in motion a military coup on Telos. The ruling House was overthrown and the Federation's ambassador to Telos was sent back to Earth. All ties between the Federation and the Telosians were severed.

The Federation Ambasador, Leona Mason, returned to Earth and retook her place within Starfleet. However, she also returned with her young daughter, Sophia (4), who was admitted in to Starfleet Academy. Since her appointment to Telos, Leona had embarked upon a romantic relationship with the head of the Telosian royal household. Their child had been raised in great secrecy for her own protection. By inadvertently setting Sophia on course for a career in Starfleet, Kort had unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that would lead to his future exposure and that of the Gateway he had intended to keep one of the galaxy's greatest secrets.

5. To truly keep the Federation and Starfleet in check, Kort needed to consolidate his power. He did so by enlisting an extremely intelligent and ambitious politician. Governor G'rath. Kort used the increasing power and resources of the OSP to further G'rath's political career. Charismatic and outspoken, G'rath became a popular figure amongst the outer colonies. A figure large enough that couldn't be ignored. He accepted the offer to be placed on a Presidential ticket and the electoral result was favourable. As Vice President, G'rath surrounded himself with allies. In a break from tradition, his personal protection was handled by the coming Chief of Starfleet Intelligence - the Vulcan Admiral Venn (10). Assisting them was the future Chief of Starfleet Operations - Mark Bonchune (11). Together, Venn and Bonchune shielded G'rath's affiliation with Kort and slowly and quietly maneuvered Starfleet resources in order to secure another vital location - the Accobar System.

6. Kort reached out to a noteworthy splinter group within the Romulan Navy. This group was led by Subcommander Sel'tar. A private meeting was arranged, in which he promised her the downfall of the Federation and Romulus' survival during the invasion to come. With the Accobi's corrupting influence still as potent as ever, Sel'tar agreed to use her personal forces to quietly breach the Neutral Zone and secure the Accobar System. They succeded - and Sel'tar's forces remained undetected in Accobar for many years. It was there that they discovered and occupied what appeared to be an old and abandoned listening post disguised as one of many asteroids lining the wide orbit of Accobar III. Over time, however, as Kort's corruption of Sel'tar faded given time and distance, her distrust and hatred of the Federation outpaced those around her. She used her forces to strike out at Federation expansion - exposing her position in the Accobar System. By now she was well enshrined and begun converting numerous objects of the asteroid field in to potential weapons of mass destruction with the help of her Chief Scientist Tek'lor (8). She was disavowed by the Romulan Star Empire and her forces became known as a terrorist organisation. The Federation and the Star Empire agreed to work together on ousting Sel'tar from Accobar with minimal casualties.

Kort could not prevent the Federation going after Sel'tar - she had after all become a liability even to him - but he could influence the means in which they did so. Kort and Venn concocted an elaborate and risky intelligence operation. As part of an operation left in the unwitting supervision of her own father, a young Starfleet graduate was groomed to undertake an undercover reconnaissance mission in Accobar. Amber Munro (9) was installed in to Tek'lor's scientific community with help from the Star Empire. She was absorbed in to his project and was stationed on the Accobar asteroid base. As the scale of Sel'tar's plans were reported back to Starfleet, Munro was eventually pulled out. But by then, the physical and mental effects of the mission had taken their toll. She had been forced to bear a son who was left behind when she was suddenly extracted. Her relationship with her father was irreparably damaged. The next stages of her Starfleet career were clouded by distrust but she kept her silence. She recieved a double-promotion and a new science posting far away from the Tyrella Sector - only to eventually return to spearhead the operation to oust Sel'tar many years later with the personal intention of being reunited with her child.

Star Trek: Asteroid Base - Season One

When Starfleet finally moved in to Accobar in 2383, Sel'tar was forced out. The listening post recieved the provisional designation Asteroid Base: Alpha and now Captain Munro was installed to oversee the facility alongside her crew. Within the year, they worked to locate Sel'tar's new base of operations and cripple it. However, Munro's son - identified and deemed a traitor - was executed by Sel'tar before they could arrive. Despite their orders to capture Sel'tar, she was killed by Munro in her Operations Centre. Her crew - who had witnessed the execution of Munro's son - did not stop her, having recently endured a blistering attack by Tek'lor and taken on casualties of their own. Privately, far away, Kort had succeeded in eliminating Sel'tar and removing any threat she came to post to his plans. Accobar was now under Starfleet control.

As Starfleet began excavating the ruins of Accobar III, Kort began to worry. The early discovery of the Accobi civilization was not intended. His concern grew further still as plans were drawn up to construct a Starbase in the Accobar System as part of a collaboration project with the Romulans to mark they recent collaboration. Pioneer Station would be a scientific and diplomatic hub given its proximity to the boundaries of both the Romulan and Klingon empires. This would put backwater Accobar on the map for good - and significantly increase traffic in the region. Kort had one ace card to play - Munro's First Officer, Walter Peirce. Not long after Sel'tar's demise, Peirce attempted to assassinate Munro. She was critically wounded, but survived, and Peirce made his escape. The botched plan further enraged Kort and only confirmed Munro's fears that Starfleet was compromised.

Star Trek: Asteroid Base - Season Two

As fragments of the Accobi civilization were uncovered and first contact was made with the previously dormant Halkonian nanovirus, Kort feared everything was about to unravel. Munro was tipped off that she was to be replaced and, fearing the worst, abandoned Accobar and carried out a private investigation of her own with the help of her partner and father of her daughter. Sure enough, Munro's replacement - Ian Campbell - arrived on Asteroid Base: Alpha and made numerous operational changes to limit their access to Accobar III. When Munro's partner, Commander Matthew West, provides evidence that Campbell is attempting to track down Munro and had been communicating with an unknown third party, the crew stages a mutiny against West. Unable to contact his "superiors," and in a desperate bid to flee the station, West suffers an airlock accident. Despite the crew's efforts, West is killed. The senior staff are immediately summoned back to Earth pending an investigation. But one would not be forthcoming.

Upon arriving on Earth, Munro reunites with her crew and exposes Admiral Venn as Campbell's superior - with linking evidence to Walter Peirce. Before the evidence can be presented, Kort makes a bold play for further control of the situation. Walter Peirce attacks the Office of the President before appearing to take his own life. The President barely survived the attack but was left unable to carry out his duties. G'rath - one of Kort's most trusted lieutenants - was sworn in as President of the United Federation of Planets. In the chaos, Munro's crew fled Earth to return to their ship while Bonchine and Venn conspired with Kort's asset within Section 31 - Maria Vega (7)- to seize control of the black flag organisation and used the assasination attempt as reason enough to begin redeployment of several fleets. In order to seize Accobar for good, evidence was provided linking Munro to the attack on the President.

Munro's crew evaded capture for long enough to build their case linking senior Starfleet officials to the attempt on her life. This included a recorded communication between Peirce and G'rath. James Wright, Head of Starfleet Operations in the Tyrella Sector, allied with Munro and presented the evidence against the President to those that would recieve it. Munro and Wright together returned to Earth with a fleet of supporters to oust G'rath from office. His loyal followers threatened a civil war - which sparked a battle over Earth. But with the undisputable evidence of G'rath's corruption broadcast to the Federation, the President was removed from office and the situation was calmed.

Star Trek: Asteroid Field - Season One & Two

Development of the Accobar System has pushed ahead in the wake of G'rath's removal from office. Newly elected President Olivia Taylor sends her Deputy Chief of Staff - Renee Hampton (12) - to head up Pioneer Station in the Accobar System with the intention of sealing the final details of a new peace agreement with the Romulan and Klingon Empires. Many of Asteroid Base: Alpha's senior staff make the transfer to Pioneer and resume their research in to the Accobi and Halkonian civilizations. The fragile peace is shattered when forces seemingly still loyal to G'rath break ranks and strike out at Accobar. Desperate to quash all remaining allies of the conspirators, Taylor and Hampton enact a dangerous plan to make a deal with G'rath himself in return for information he has thus far been unwilling to share. G'rath is transported to Pioneer Station, which is the opportunity Kort had been waiting for to tie up another loose end.

Pioneer is attacked and G'rath is spirited away to the sanctuary of his homeworld - with Hampton in tow. A rescue team tracks both down, but unbeknownst to them, Amber Munro arrived ahead of the fleet - having been tipped off over G'rath's location. She confronted him, blaming him for the attempt on her life, the threats to her daughter and the loss of her son. G'rath taunts Munro before moving to strike her with the very blade Peirce had used against her. But Munro reacts quickly, disarming G'rath and instinctively using the weapon against him. G'rath staggers back and tumbles over the edge of a precipice and down in to the lava-filled canyon below. Munro disappears from the scene before the Starfleet forces make it to rescue Hampton.

Believing the conspirital faction within Starfleet and the Executive Branch to have been neutralised, Pioneer's diplomatic mission is a success and research on the Accobi civilization begins anew. However, in doing so, they attract the attention of the Halkonians who begin to emerge from the shadows amid their nanovirus being accidentally reactivated and spreading to numerous worlds throughout the sector. With Tyrella quarantined, Doctor Timothy Rogan battled to reverse the effects of and neutralise the virus. He succeeded, but not before disaster struck aboard Pioneer which claimed the life of its first officer Mark Chaplain. In the aftermath, Hampton left Pioneer to return to work for the President on Earth and the current Head of Starfleet Operations in the Tyrella Sector - Leona Mason - temporarily appointed her newly promoted daughter Sophia to fill the vacancy.

Anniversary Special - 'Scattered Reflections'

It was revealed that a rift in spacetime has fractured the Accobar System. Previously lying dormant, it was inadvertantly activated. The resulting events provided the Accobi with an unexpected inroad. The crew of Pioneer got their first glimpse of an Accobi vessel attempting to pierce the rift and come through to our time. During the opening of the rift, David Rush was caught in a shuttlecraft accident and presumed dead. Multiple scattered versions of the station and ship crew banded together to seal the rift - but Asteroid Base: Alpha was destroyed in the process. Thankfully, the station was evacuated in time. With that, it was speculated that Munro would take command of Pioneer - but instead, she stated her intention to leave Starfleet. Sophia Mason's appointment was made permanent

Star Trek: Asteroid Field - Season Three

Sophia Mason's tenure in the Accobar System began amid the growing threat of a hostile Klingon faction working to undermine the peace treaty with the Romulans. Moreover, it was revealed that Walter Peirce was alive and well and shortly prior to Mason's arrival had turned himself in aboard the station. However, it was a trap. Peirce was aiding the Klingon sect known as 'Red Dawn.' The attack on Pioneer by Red Dawn was quashed by the arrival of Klingon Ambassador Ka'teth (13) but not before Peirce escaped with them - taking vital information on the Accobar research project from Pioneer's computer core with him. Before Starfleet could set about tracking Peirce down, their investigation was sidelined by the collapse of the Hobus Star and the destruction of Romulus.

Pioneer and Accobar became a staging post for the Romulan aid effort. The crisis offered Kort a chance to regroup - his allies dwindling and time to secure both Accobar and The Gateway running out. He reached out to Maria Vega to construct a means to take Accobar by force quickly, but her plans would take time to come to fruition. He instead bought her time by allowing Peirce to roam freely with Red Dawn and strike again at Accobar by kidnapping Chief of Security Alicia Costello for her alleged role in taking down a prolific Red Dawn official in her past. Thankfully, Pioneer located Costello in time and Mason herself arrested Walter Peirce - hoping that he could finally shed more light on the events surrounding Accobar since 2383.

Star Trek: Asteroid Field - Season Four

Before Peirce could be properly interrogated, the Federation was thrown in to turmoil when the Halkonians returned in force to retake Accobar - believing that the Federation was aiding the Accobi to return to the galaxy. It was a relatively short conflict, but one which produced a siege on Pioneer and notable casualties. The final conflict revolved around an important piece of Accobi technology - a control bracelet that could easily be mistaken for elaborate jewelry. With it, the ancient technology buried on Accobar III and scattered throughout the system could be reactivated. During the attack on Pioneer - a leading figure of the Halkonians, Denara, stole the bracelet that had been in their posession since it was excavated by the crew of Asteroid Base: Alpha years prior. In activating Accobi defences, Pioneer had unwittingly activated a spatial regulator buried underneath the planet's surface - and it was reopening the spatial rift that tore through the system.

Denara and the Halkonians finally joined forces with Mason's crew to locate and destroy the regulator before the rift could be opened. On the surface of Accobar III, however, a legion of Accobi 'Guardians' woke from their slumber and set about trying to stop the away team. A firey battle ensued on the surface. Were it not for the sacrifice of Daniel Thrace, Lexi Etis would have perished. Were it not for the intervention of Denara, Mason would have fallen to her death. The Accobi Architect revealed himself to the crew for the first time. But before he could strike, the regulator was destroyed and the rift was sealed for good. The Accobi Guardians were defeated and the Architect fled. Denara and the Halkonians left Tyrella believing their work to be completed. They took the control bracelet with them.

Star Trek: Asteroid Field - Season Five

As Walter Peirce was transported in custody, he was executed by Maria Vega on Kort's instructions. Klingon Ambassador Ka'teth was also found dead following the exposure of his connections to Kort's Cabal. With Pioneer distracted by a host of issues throughout the year, Vega put her plans to seize Accobar in to motion. She abducted Captain Mason and placed her in Section 31 custody before moving to take her place aboard Pioneer alongside a large security contingent said to protect the rest of the crew. In truth, these security officers were the result of years of experimentation. They were disguised Borg drones operating within their own collective at Vega's command. Undetectable when disguised, they could be sent to any corner of the Federation and go unnoticed prior to activation. In one fell swoop, Vega had taken control of Pioneer and Accobar. Vega had the crew removed from the station - giving them the supposed coordinates of Mason in the process.

The crew did indeed reach Mason aboard a Section 31 facility. It too was a trap, ready to self destruct. The team escaped in the nick of time and Starfleet acted quickly to assemble a task force to take back Accobar. But Vega was more than prepared - with a refit Borg Sphere at her disposal. The Starfleet task force was crippled and the USS Hera was destroyed. The crew abandoned Accobar, with Mason promising that they would one day return victorious to stop Vega's plan - whatever it may be.

Star Trek: Asteroid Field - Season Six

For a time, Kort believed everything was in place. Vega had secured Accobar - with Starfleet fallen back to Starbase 215. The time to activate The Gateway was fast approaching. What he didn't count on was one of his lieutenants betraying him. Having seemingly broken free of Kort's corruption and seeing his and Vega's strategy to contain Accobar as disasterous, a whistleblower within the Office of Special Projects (codenamed 'The Truth') reached out to Mason to support her attempt to retake Accobar and allow Doctor Rogan to counteract the modified Halkonian nanovirus which had been integrated in to a Borg assimilation virus to spread rapidly and add to Vega's drone army at will. It took months, but with a little help from the Halkonians themselves, they finally broke through and reclaimed Accobar - driving Vega out aboard her sphere to a fallback position.

Tracking Vega down to her Section 31 lab, they found it partially assimilated. Vega herself had become a defact Borg Queen. But she was faced down by Lieutenant Commander McClintock and destroyed - along with the Sphere. However, before her death, Vega exposed the existence of the Office of Special Projects and its purpose. She claimed that she too had moved against Kort and intended to use her army to protect the Federation from the Accobi - following Section 31's mandate. Mason vowed to expose what was left of the Cabal and locate whoever had been pulling the strings for decades.

Star Trek: Asteroid Field - Season Seven

Now knowing what they were looking for, Mason and her crew dedicated everything to exposing the Office of Special Projects and preventing the alleged and imminent Accobi invasion. In a desperate move to delay Mason - and with all but one of his lieutenants now dead - Kort took the unusual step of intervening personally by contacting Doctor Rogan and threatening the life of a former colleague if his research in to the Halkonian nanovirus was not stopped. Ultimately, that colleague was former Asteroid Base: Alpha ACMO Nicole Williams. Rogan was unable to protect her and she perished in an explosion on Pioneer's Promenade.

The attack on their home and their family failed to delay Mason, only motivate her further to strike back. Having traced the origin of Kort's contact with Rogan, an away team undertook a stealth mission to infiltate the Office of Special Projects only to find it recently abandoned. Whatever attempt there was to wipe the databanks had almost been successful, however the work was rushed and sloppy and numerous records were recovered by Costello and McClintock. Mason pieced together what pieces she could to link Sel'tar, Peirce, Venn, Campbell, G'rath and Vega to the same Cabal. Moreover, the team discovered a stasis pod revealed to have been occupied by David Rush since Kort discovered him drifting decades in the past. Through Rush, Pioneer was able to put the final pieces of the puzzle in place and set about locating The Gateway to stop Kort and the return of the Accobi.

On Earth, coerced in to action by 'The Truth,' Amber Munro returned to the fray to expose Mark Bonchune as the last Starfleet Chief connected to Kort. With that, the Office of Special Projects was shut down and all known to be connected to it were identified and ordered to cease operations. But Kort was nowhere to be found.

Back on Pioneer, David Rush was picking up the work he started on Asteroid Base: Alpha years ago. Pioneer had set about creating a new interface for Accobi technology to replace the control bracelet taken by Denara and the Halkonians. They believed it would be necessary to access and disable The Gateway. When news of this reached Kort, he had no choice but to set a course for Accobar himself with the Sixth Tactical Wing - the last ships under his command. Kort and Mason finally faced off as he provided a full explanation for his actions - believing that by aiding the Accobi, the Federation would be spared. He explained how others beneath him had betrayed him or had spun off on paths of their own. He implored Mason to travel with him to The Gateway - inadvertantly revealing its location in Telosian space in the process. Mason refused, but she could not prevent Kort from leaving, with Pioneer at the mercy of the fleet.

Kort was spirited away to The Gateway and Pioneer was attacked by the Accobi entity known as The Architect. Once repelled, however, the Hera gave chace to Kort - assembling allies both Klingon and Romulan along the way - alongside Amber Munro - to make a collective final stand against the Accobi if it came down to it. They made the perilous journey sneaking in to Telosian space and taking a treacherous shortcut through a region of instability known as The Maelstrom. Though some ships were disabled en-route, Mason and her crew finally made it to the monolithic, circular Accobi construct known as The Gateway.

An away team infiltrated the facility just as it began to power up. A massive spacetime vortex erupted in to life, with multiple Accobi vessels beginning to emerge in to the 24th century. A hoarde of Accobi Guardians swarmed The Gateway. The away team used every trick they had learned over the last decade to delay, defeat and bypass them in order to reach the control room. There, they found the most unexpected sight.

The powerful entity that had been captured by the Accobi long ago was contained in the heart of the facility. Rush and Rogan were able to identify the parasitic link between it and the Accobi Guardians that had attacked them. Rush theorised that destroying the entity would cut off the source of the Accobi's power. Mason - echoing the many warnings and lessons she had learned on the path here - opted to try and free the entity. The team set about disabling its confines as a new hoarde of Guardians attacked. Kort and The Architect arrived just in time for the entity to escape to places unknown. The Guardians turned to dust and the Architect was clearly weakened.

Kort, seemingly freed from the Accobi's corruption, struck down the vulnerable Architect before he could take Mason's life. Despite pressure from Mason, Kort opted to remain behind on the facility prior to its destruction. She allowed him to make his choice before the away team returned to their ship, under a conventional attack from the Accobi ships that had broken through The Gateway. Despite the Accobi themselves being weakened, their ships and The Gateway still proved an overwhelming force. That was until Denara and the Halkonians arrived to help. At Denara's request, the Hera unloaded the last of Rogan's formulated nanovirus on to the Halkonian flagship. Overrun with the very weapon Denara devised to stop the Accobi centuries ago, she collided with The Gateway, taking much of the structure with her and crippling the rest. Infected with the virus, The Gateway fell apart and the vortex imploded in on itself, forming a powerful singularity pulling the Accobi vessles back in to the void from where they had been waiting.

For now, the threat of the Accobi had been vanquished and both Starfleet and the Federation at large was freed from the machinations of the Cabal and the Office of Special Projects. Sophia Mason and her mother sought to re-establish contact with the Telosians. Amber Munro was promoted to Commodore and took up the mantle of Head of Starfleet Operations in the Tyrella Sector - vowing to release a comprehensive report in to the events of the last decade. In the meantime, much of what happened in Tyrella has become known to its citizens as "The Phantom War."

Star Trek: Tyrella - Season One

In the years before Starfleet moved in to the Tyrella Sector, the ragtag crew of the unregistered cargo hauler Falcon banded together with the cunning outcast Clara Rousseau to pull off a heist of an off-the-books Starfleet storage facility masqurading as an abandoned Klingon listening post. Amongst the items they were able to get away with was a container registered to 'C. Kort' and the Office of Special Projects. Inside was a golden bracelet which Clara laid claim to.

Years later, when Clara met her untimely demise, a squad of Starfleet marines removed the bracelet from her body and reported the find to an unknown third party...