Confederacy-Federation Joint Research Agreement

Subspace Network Reports
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1
Stardate:
101129.9
Filed By:
Perim, N.
Clearance:

BACKGROUND After the dismantling of the Confederacy of Azed by the Terran Empire, the civilization was left largely without the means to communicate or travel faster than light. Only the Viggo retained a small number of vessels with warp capability. The result is that each Confederacy world has independently proceeded with recovery efforts. While Citali, Kacam, and Ralin have (re-)established planetary governments, they have not made any outward claims as to the status of the Confederacy itself.

Conversely, Viggo, with the backing of Ikmore, claims to represent the Confederacy. The Federation has chosen to consider the Viggo/Ikmore a successor of the original Confederacy of Azed, rather than a continuance. This nuance allows the Federation to support the independence of Citali, Kacam, and Ralin. It is, however, a point of contention in negotiations; diplomacy with the ‘new’ Confederacy of Azed is undertaken with the understanding that the Federation and the Confederacy will not come to terms on that issue.

Previous efforts at diplomacy revealed the Confederacy’s interest in acquiring wormhole drive schematics which Starfleet previously acquired. These schematics are 8,000 years old and to date Starfleet has been unable to extract any meaningful technical advances from their study. The engine system detailed in the schematics bears virtually no resemblance to modern wormhole drives. Their desire for this schematic may be born of desperation, but we should not discount the possibility that the Azedi possess some other knowledge that would allow them to develop a functional wormhole device from the schematics.

SUMMARY A formal agreement has been signed and is now in effect. The Federation will provide the Confederacy of Azed with equipment sufficient to enable regular subspace communication between the Confederacy and the Federation, as well as a copy of the wormhole generator schematic. In return, the Confederacy’s working group to redevelop wormhole-based technology will include Federation researchers.

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2
Stardate:
101129.9
Filed By:
Perim, N.
Clearance:

NOTES The Confederacy (Viggo/Ikmore) remains steadfast in their claim that they are the same entity as the original. Their territory claim matches the “Originally Recognized Azedi Territory” selection from the current Federation regional map. Likewise, they count Citali, Kacam, and Ralin as current members of the Confederacy, despite those worlds presently having no representation in Eraton’s government.

In negotiations, Eraton referred to the active governments on Citali, Kacam, and Ralin as “rogue elements.” Though he did not formally protest the Federation’s support of those governments, he did indicate that he would consider future support as meddling in the Confederacy’s internal affairs. As a result of that position conflicting with the Federation’s formal recognition of those governments, we were unable to come to an agreement on territorial borders and agreed to table the discussion.

The practical result is that this treaty does not address the matter of the Confederacy’s continuity, of the independent status of the Confederacy worlds, or the Confederacy’s territorial claims. This “agree to disagree” status quo, while allowing us to complete negotiations, does leave open the possibility of unmediated disputes over territory, especially as Starfleet is regularly operating within the Confederacy’s claimed space.

OPPORTUNITIES Beyond general principle, the Confederacy’s motivation for desiring wormhole travel technology is presumably to enable them to address Viggo’s ecological disaster. Doing so will require a massive undertaking and transfer of resources from either Citali or Kacam (or the Federation), and they likely believe such an endeavor is only possible through the use of wormhole travel.

Faced with extinction, it is possible the Confederacy will genuinely involve Federation scientists in their efforts to develop a working wormhole generator. In that event, the Federation stands to gain an understanding of the technology that we still lack. Such an understanding will enable the development of additional countermeasures, and strengthen the Federation’s overall position in the region.

It is likely, however, that the Confederacy will segregate their true development efforts and simply put on a show for the Federation participants. It is just as likely that development efforts will genuinely fail, with or without Federation assistance. As a result, we should consider actual technical knowledge gained from this program as merely a possible extra benefit, rather than the main objective.

Our true benefit lies in establishing a line of communication between the Federation and the Confederacy that is not filtered through diplomacy. This working group will allow regular scientist-to-scientist communication. Through this channel, if properly leveraged, we stand to gain considerable intelligence about the current status of Viggo and Ikmore. Further, we may be able to lay the groundwork for Federation ecological assistance. Scientists assigned to this project should be ready to hint, leak, or otherwise inform the Azedi scientists that the Federation has the capability of repairing Viggo’s habitability without the need for wormholes - they need only convince their leaders to ask for assistance.

CAUTIONS It is clear that the Confederacy will attempt to (re-) annex Citali, Kacam, and Ralin eventually. The Federation’s involvement in that process is likely to be viewed unfavorably. Likewise, our presence inside the Confederacy’s claimed space is a potential point of conflict. De-escalation may be possible by pointing out that Eraton made no objection to the current agreements and that our presence is to the benefit of Azedi populations. This strategy is unlikely to be effective for operations not directly related to existing treaties (ie. exploration missions). It is also unlikely to be effective in the event that the Confederacy discovers the presence of Talos Junction. Though I believe it unlikely that the Confederacy would start a conflict at this stage, Starfleet should be still prepared to mount a defense in case of an encounter.

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