The Star Trek Conspiracy Iceberg Explained

United Earth Embassy Bombing

In the 22nd century, Human-Vulcan relations were considerably different. Many humans of the era, including Captain Archer, blamed the Vulcans for deliberately holding back the Warp Five program, and reproached them for their unwillingness to share technology. Vulcan 'oversight' of the NX-01's first mission was far from welcomed. The 'Andorian Incident' at P'Jem certainly didn't mend any bridges. Later, the Vulcans refused to provide any material assistance during the Xindi crisis.

In 2154, Admiral Forrest arrived at the United Earth Embassy on Vulcan, hopeful that the Vulcan High Command was finally willing to engage in joint missions with Starfleet. A massive explosion occurred inside the embassy, killing Forest and 42 others. Administrator V'Las, head of the High Command, blamed the bombing on the Syrrannites, a reportedly dangerous Vulcan dissident group, led by 'zealot' Syrran and T'Pau.

In fact, the embassy attack was the work of V'Las himself. His acolyte, Security Directorate Chief Investigator Stel, had planted the bomb along with manufactured evidence implicating T'Pau. This was all part of a vast conspiracy to eliminate the Syrrannites, in reality a pacifist group who opposed the High Command's militarism and believed that Vulcan had strayed from the true teachings of Surak.

V'Las needed the Syrranites out of the way because he was planning an invasion of Andoria, a pre-emptive strike founded on the false accusation that the Andorians were developing a weapon based on Xindi technology. His plans were foiled by Commander Tucker and Ambassador Soval, who went to warn the Andorians aboard Enterprise.

Meanwhile, Captain Archer, who had taken on Surak's katra, along with T'Pau and T'Pol, took the Kir'Shara — the holographic record of Surak's writings — to the Vulcan capital. V'Las was subsequently deposed, the High Command (temporarily) dissolved. Earth would no longer have Vulcan peering over its shoulder.

As if that weren't enough of a conspiracy, what no one knew then was that V'Las had been in league with a Romulan agent reportedly seeking Vulcan-Romulan reunification.

The Doctor Doctored

In the fifth year of Voyager's journey home, the Doctor stumbled upon quite the medical mystery. The results of his holo-images were in, and they were conclusive. He had clearly performed neurosurgery on Ensign Kim a year and a half prior, but had no memory of doing so. Harry supposedly had no memory of being the patient either.

The mystery deepened as the Doctor began to investigate with the help of Seven of Nine. In the photonic remnants of the holo-buffer, they discovered an unknown crewmember — Ensign Jetal — and an unknown alien race. Earlier, the EMH had been shut down, his memories of the last 24 hours erased. The Doctor and Seven theorised that an alien intruder might be on board.

In reality, there was a conspiracy, but it wasn't alien in origin. The crew of Voyager, starting with Captain Janeway, had colluded to prevent the Doctor from finding out the truth, to deny him access to his memories, to stop him from returning to a feedback loop that had nearly destroyed his program. Faced with an impossible choice all those months ago, he had saved Harry Kim — his friend — at the cost of Ensign Jetal.

Like any other sentient being, the Doctor had evolved to a point where his own guilt could conspire against him. This time, with a little more care and attention from his friends, he'd have to learn to live with it.

Sins Of The Father

In 2346, the Romulans attacked the Klingon outpost on Khitomer, killing 4,000 including Worf's parents. The young Worf was one of the only survivors, rescued from the rubble by chief petty officer Sergey Rozhenko of the USS Intrepid. With no known living relatives, Worf was raised by Sergey and wife Helena Rozhenko as their own.

Twenty years after the Khitomer Massacre, Worf found out that he did, in fact, have a biological younger brother called Kurn. The good news ended there, however. The Klingon High Council, then led by Chancellor K'mpec, had accused their father Mogh of treason against the Empire at Khitomer. Kurn had come aboard the Enterprise-D — somewhat under false pretences by the by — to ask Worf to challenge the Council's ruling.

More precisely, Mogh was accused of transmitting defence access codes to the Romulans, allowing them to lower the Khitomer outpost's shields during the attack. The basis for that charge came from new information the Klingons had obtained from the logs of a recently captured Romulan ship. By comparing those records with the sensor logs of the Intrepid, it didn't take Data and Geordi La Forge long to discover that the evidence implicating Mogh had been faked.

The real traitor, the one who sold out Khitomer to the Romulans, was Ja'rod, father of Duras. His access code had been found in the logs. Duras' family was powerful, however. K'mpec realised that if the truth of Ja'rod's treachery were known, it would "shatter the council," and most likely lead the Empire into civil war.

And so, Mogh was chosen to take the blame instead. K'mpec and the Council believed that Worf wouldn't contest the judgement because he was in Starfleet. They also had no idea about Kurn. Worf then chose to accept discommendation 'for the Empire'.

Ultimately, K'mpec's machinations to prevent a civil war were merely a stay of execution. And, the Vendorians still had nothing to do with it!

The Klingon Civil War

By 2367, Chancellor K'mpec was dying. Over the course of several months, he had been poisoned with "small doses of Veridium Six" placed in his bloodwine. The only suspects in the assassination — Duras and Gowron — were also the two contenders to be the next leader of the Empire.

During the investigation, there was an explosion. Its cause implicated Duras by use of a 'molecular-decay detonator' — Romulan technology. In other words, like father like son. That evidence didn't preclude Gowron's involvement in K'mpec's poisoning, however. That's a story seemingly pushed aside.

Even longer story shorter, Worf then killed Duras as revenge for the murder of (former-)lover K'Ehleyr, mother of his son Alexander. Duras' death meant Gowron stood unopposed to become chancellor. Well, at least for a little while. When the time came for Gowron's 'installation ceremony,' sisters Lursa and B'Etor had already mounted a considerable military challenge in order to try to ensure their nephew, Toral, the top spot. In doing so, they threw the Empire into that much feared civil war.

Like brother, like father, the Duras sisters also had a lot of help from the Romulans. Not just any Romulans, but one half-human, half-Romulan in particular — the daughter of an alternate Natasha Yar. Ultimately, Romulan involvement in the Klingon Civil War posed a threat to the Federation, too.

A Starfleet blockade by tachyon detection grid at the Romulan-Klingon border, along with Data's decisive actions aboard the USS Sutherland, soon put an end to the whole thing. The Romulan ships were detected. Sela had no choice but to retreat. The Duras were on their own, leaving victory for Gowron.

Zhat Vash Attack on Mars

First Contact Day was typically a time of celebration, filled with salmon, cheese pierogies, and jukeboxes — a day off school (for some). First Contact Day, 2385, was different. That day, a devastating attack on Mars changed the face of Starfleet, the Federation, and the galaxy for decades to come.

By 2385, there was a veritable army of A500 androids — also known as 'synths' — at Utopia Planitia Ship Yards, there to assist in building the "10,000 warp capable ferries" needed for the Romulan evacuation efforts. On April 5th, the synths went rogue, turning their weapons on the Red Planet, setting the atmosphere alight. 92,143 died. The rescue fleet and Martian colonies were destroyed. Synthetic lifeforms were banned across the Federation.

For 14 years, no one knew why the synths had done what they did. Some had their theories, like Lieutenant Commander Raffaela 'Raffi' Musiker. No one would listen to her ideas about the 'Zhat Vash' and the 'Conclave of Eight,' however. Struggling with addiction, and after several court martial offences, Raffi was ordered to undertake psychotherapy on Betazed, but eventually chose dishonourable discharge from Starfleet.

It turned out Raffi was right all along. The Zhat Vash — an even more clandestine sect of the Tal Shiar — was the guilty party. Extremists, the Zhat Vash believed that 'Ganmadan,' or the Romulan apocalypse, would be brought about by synthetic lifeforms. They'd seen it all in the 'Admonition' on Planet Aia of the Eightfold Stars. They made it their goal to eliminate any and all forms of artificial intelligence.

To that end, the Zhat Vash placed one of their own inside Starfleet. The half-Vulcan, half-Romulan Oh worked her way up to commodore and director of Starfleet Security. From within, she masterminded the First Contact Day attack, dooming Romulus and splintering the timeline in the process.