So what's up with the black badges?

[cultcross]

Originally S31 was just rogue element, a secret society. As stupid as that was, it isn't quite a stupid as some sort of Starfleet Gestapo it became in Kelvinverse and apparently in the heads of many fans.

Yeah, I agree. It just makes no sense as a Starfleet Tal Shiar. And I'm not one for banging the Gene's Vision drum at all, but the concept of an overt Section 31 division within the ranks of Starfleet strutting around like the Gestapo combined with the KGB, flies so hard in the face of Star Trek's future that it really has no place in it, in my view.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Wouldn't be the first time, though. In one of the Bantam novels (yeah, I know, stop right there ), the Federation had a "Special Security Division" that basically made Section 31 look like Barney. So glad they dropped that horseshit.

 

[Michael]

Starfleet people who mourn a recent loss possibly?

 

[Longinus]

Going way back to DS9 season 7, I loved how they led us to believe that it could all have been an element of Sloan's twisted mind. To be honest, I always pictured Sloan as some sort of crazy Bond villain (which would thematically fit with Julian being his antagonist) with lots of connections and money, but not neccessarily the head of a secret Federation/Starfleet operation. Maybe he believed to work for the Federation, but in reality it was just a way to justify his actions. Starfleet's upper echelons knew about him, just letting him do his thing. Maybe he was even trained by Starfleet, then went rogue (or kind of rogue, as they seemed to tolerate what he was doing). I simply preferred to think that "Section 31" was just another layer of lies to cover up his true motives and affiliation.
And then Enterprise made it pretty clear that Section 31 was indeed a thing, de-mystifying Sloan and those DS9 episodes. STID just picked up on that, so I cannot even blame them. Everybody went crazy for the idea, 31 popped up everywhere. Yet it would have been so much cooler if, ultimately, we found out that there was no 31 to begin with.

Oh absolutely agreed! I was thinking the exact same thing when I watched those DS9 episodes!

 

[BillJ]

Starfleet does have black ops...

This is the continuity now. If something hasn't been mentioned, its fair game. No matter how bad an idea it is.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Likely Starfleet Black Ops. They're doing a hell of a job considering how easy Burnham broke into the grow room.

Well, Lorca knew about that. Presumably, they let her break into the grow room, probably as a test or just through simply monitoring all her actions, as they should've been doing as a matter of course.

Lorca was trying to get a feel for her, and allowed her more freedom than she realized in order to see if she'd play ball with his scheme.

 

[Kor]

So if Section 31 is an unacknowledged rogue operation, who is Starfleet's "official" black ops?

Kor

 

[cultcross]

So if Section 31 is an unacknowledged rogue operation, who is Starfleet's "official" black ops?

Kor

We've heard of 'Starfleet intelligence' but they seem to use ordinary personnel for 'black ops' - see Chain of Command or Lower Decks.

 

[Mirror Mirror]

Well, no, they've been established as an illegal organization, bordering on terrorism.

Starfleet does have black ops, but that's why they have Starfleet Intelligence. If SI can't do it, it doesn't deserve to get done.

Not from what I recall. Yeah they were "officially" rogue, but starfleet used them and they did Black ops stuff that the Federation needed done, but did not want to be linked to. I think its clear from DS9 the high ups not only knew about them, they willingly used them.

 

[Phily B]

Hope it isn't S31, they don't operate in the open.

 

[saddestmoon]

Spoiler

Black badges = Starfleets ‘BlackFleet’ operatives: a special taskforce created to counter the Klingon undead army, comprising of undead starfleet officers!

Maybe the Discovery is an ancient Federation equivalent of the Klingon ‘Sarcophagus’ starship, with the power to bring back to life deceased starfleet officers - and the big reveal will be they are being led by Captain Georgiou!

Black Alert is when the Discovery powers up its middle ring, engaging spore-powered reanimating networks!

Calling it now!!!

[Wink!]

 

[The Wormhole]

Not from what I recall. Yeah they were "officially" rogue, but starfleet used them and they did Black ops stuff that the Federation needed done, but did not want to be linked to. I think its clear from DS9 the high ups not only knew about them, they willingly used them.

Actually, they "officially" don't exist, and even so, Starfleet doesn't use them, rather they use Starfleet.

 

[Cyrus]

Black badges, black alert, mysterious Captain and ship trying to win a war. Cool stuff.

 

[cooleddie74]

The mid-23rd century security forces and commando officers of Starfleet? A few decades or so later Colonel West has an army-style rank and is in command of Starfleet ground forces preparing to launch a rescue mission into Klingon space and recover Kirk and McCoy.

Perhaps Starfleet in this era has combat and security units similar to United Earth's MACOs? In the Kelvin timeline Scotty says Starfleet isn't a military service and thus had no use for the MACO after the founding of the Federation, but then - this series isn't set in that timeline.

 

[Paul Weaver]

Going way back to DS9 season 7, I loved how they led us to believe that it could all have been an element of Sloan's twisted mind

That didn't really fit with Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges though - Sloan wasn't working alone, at several points.

 

[Kemaiku]

Hope it isn't S31, they don't operate in the open.

No one knows Discovery exists, the 3 convicts that do are going to be at the bottom of a mine being beaten daily and suffer one of those "accidents" they mentioned if they talk. And she's classified 'above top secret' on ultra secure Starfleet channels.

That's not nearly "open". And Lorca will kill people just to get what he wants from the second we meet him.

 

[Longinus]

No one knows Discovery exists, the 3 convicts that do are going to be at the bottom of a mine being beaten daily and suffer one of those "accidents" they mentioned if they talk. And she's classified 'above top secret' on ultra secure Starfleet channels.

That's not nearly "open". And Lorca will kill people just to get what he wants from the second we meet him.

Or everyone knows that Discovery exist (though probably not exactly what they're doing) and those prisoners (and the pilot) are perfectly fine. And of course no one is being beaten and the penal colony is absolutely lovely place with some therapy and light exercise. Lorca has killed no one, except that one tribble, and that was a tragic neutering accident (he feels very guilty about it.)

 

[Kemaiku]

Or everyone knows that Discovery exist (though probably not exactly what they're doing) and those prisoners (and the pilot) are perfectly fine. And of course no one is being beaten and the penal colony is absolutely lovely place with some therapy and light exercise. Lorca has killed no one, except that one tribble, and that was a tragic neutering accident (he feels very guilty about it.)

Oh no, they've gotten to him too! run before they give us all the happy pills.

 

[Arpy]

Starfleet black ops makes sense. There is already a Starfleet Intelligence and a Starfleet Tactical.

The whole point of Section 31 is that no one knows they even exist, which doesn't make sense them having regulation uniforms and hanging out for random crew and visiting prisoners to see.

EDIT: Kamaiku, who says no one knows The Discovery exists? The war only started 6 months earlier, whereas the work to design and build it started much earlier. There's a war going on, so they can't broadcasting their position, and it's away from the front lines doing wartime research, but I didn't get the impression that it's a secret ship. The prisoners were sent back to prison at the end of the episode, not suffered an accident. We know that they were because Saru seemed to think Michael was on the shuttle too, heading back to prison.

 

[USS Triumphant]

The black badges are probably some experimental research department, in this case working on the spores, and there's a direct connection between their department color and "black alert", too.