Empire and Rebellion

[Alex]

Please don't make this a Trek vs Wars thing. That is not my intention.

Not looking at any technological or Jedi factors, I was wondering about a Star Wars in Star Trek kind of encounter. Distill Star Wars (Rebellion Era) and you get a few big features that fit into Star Trek pretty interestingly. You have a large, oppressive Empire and you have a Rebellion fighting it for democracy and freedom. In respect to Star Trek, what would be interesting ways to introduce this region? How would Star Fleet (TNG era hands-off) react under each scenario?

Some scenario ideas...

1. The Star Fleet vessel encounters the Empire first. They are large, powerful, and might be good allies against the classic enemies of the Federation and would definitely be good to trade and exchange with. Only later do they find out that the Empire is racist against non-humans and is crushing freedom and free thought. How would this play out with Capt Picard? Star Fleet in general?

2. The Star Fleet vessel encounters the Rebellion first. They are being pursued by an Imperial battle fleet and request the help of the Star Fleet vessel. They are clearly outmatched without help. Again, what would the Picard-like captain do? How would this impact relations with the two new factions they've met?

3. The Star Fleet vessel encounters the Rebellion first. These people are not actively fighting and don't mention the fight against the Empire, but instead talk optimistically about their great Republic that's fallen on hard times. The Federation establishes friendly relations and sends non-military aid. Only then does the Empire find their little enclave at the edge of their space and attack in force. How does the Federation react? Send non-military aid to a friendly nation? Send military aid to an ally? Attempt to pull both parties into peaceful arbitration? Withdraw from the region and cease relations with both parties after discovering the illegal nature of the Rebellion? Secretly support the Rebellion against the Empire and provide non-tracable assistance behind closed doors but denounce them in public?

4. Star Fleet meets the Empire first. Relations are initially good but then the Empire tells the Federation about a pesky Rebellion trying to overthrow the established government. How would the Federation handle this?

5. Star Fleet meets the Empire first. Relations are initially good but then a Rebel fleet attacks the Empire while a Star Fleet ship or other Federation representative is present. The Empire has no trouble proving they are the official government of the region and mentions the Rebellion wants to overthrow them but has been little more than a nuisance so far. Despite this, the carnage from the Rebel attack is great. How would the Federation react?

I think the large scale interaction of such a non-Trek set of political forces with traditional Trek political forces would provide for some interesting and unexpected changes to the normal game. There may have been small scale versions of this in various episodes (the Ansatia separatists/rebels for example) but this really hasn't been done in large scale as a full arc in exactly this way (the Ansatia rebels took innocent hostages and destroyed non-Imperial property to get attention while the Rebellion of Star Wars was shown very differently, only intent on striking directly against the Empire).

Please feel free to expand my sample scenarios and discuss them to your hearts' content within the political theater. Stay out of technology and Jedi-in-Trek discussion. For my part, I'm thinking only of the Federation, Star Fleet, and Captain Picard of the first three seasons of TNG. During the life of Star Trek, the official vision of Federation and Star Fleet policy and politics changed a lot, and the other captains don't fit my view of this era of Trek philosophically. If you are assuming any differently in your discussion, first try not to but if you must then make sure you explain which Trek style you are using as a basis and explain how the differences between my Trek and yours would play a part, if you can. Thanks.

Editted: more scenarios

[First of Two]

Why wouldn't Star Fleet figure out that the Empire was hostile right away? If we're talking TNG, all you need is for a Betazoid to come within 20 light-years of Darth Vader, and... "hate... such hate... the pain... my head asplode!"

[Dan Gurden]

Why wouldn't Star Fleet figure out that the Empire was hostile right away? If we're talking TNG, all you need is for a Betazoid to come within 20 light-years of Darth Vader, and... "hate... such hate... the pain... my head asplode!"

That is of course if they dont notice the massive oppression of Aliens in the culture, destrruction of populated planets, armed military presence on every street corner, and sensors failing to spot the massive battlecruisers with OTT weaponry and massive attack fleets...

If they miss all that, the Betazoids are likely to pick up stuff...

As for what would happen. The Prime Directive would say "hands off", but we all know our heroic crew would manage to find themselves neck deep in the rebellion somehow. Either blatently helping out, or simple engineering of an 'accidental' breech of the peace by the Empire.

That said. Chances are that unless there was some devious shenanigans on the part of the Empire, with an overal plan to annex and take over the federation, they are more than likely to start hostilities anyway, after all, a heavily armed Starfleet ship comes into view, lots of talking about coming in peace, "but their shields remain operational... And look at all those Aliens integrated into their crew, what kind of depraved society, I bet they even inter-breed. lock Turbo-lasers...."

[Alex]

It's not like Starfleet is equipping all their ships with Betazoids. "Hey Will, run down to Fry's and pick me up two more Betazoids. We're launching a pair of Intrepid class ships this weekend." Plus it is probably a severe violation of regs to have a telepath reading alien minds without their consent. TNG had Deanna, not Lwaxana. I don't think Lwaxana would ever make it in SF with her inability to follow the rules.

And this isn't Star Trek meets Star Wars. I said nothing about specific characters being present. I'm talking only about the grand plots and elements of the movie universe fitting into the Star Trek galaxy. A great big dark empire and a splinter group of freedom fighters who are heavily armed and part of a large underground movement to return to the old style of government. Nobody named Vader or Palpatine or Skywalker.

Edit: Wouldn't the Federation see all the military might in the Empire? Sure. But at the start of TNG, the Federation called the Klingon Empire allies. By some versions there was actually an alliance between the two. The Klingons were certainly cruel, oppressive, heavily armed, and very war-like. But that didn't stop Gene from putting in handful of episodes in Seasons 1-3 that suggested a cordial or even friendly relationship between these very different societies. Why couldn't such a relationship be forged between the Federation and the Empire (of SW)? If the alternative is war, the Federation might be inclined to be friends. They might also become friends for cultural, technological, or other exchanges. Doing business can be a big motivator. What if the Empire was full of some material, say dilithium, that the Federation values?

[Dan Gurden]

They might also become friends for cultural, technological, or other exchanges. Doing business can be a big motivator. What if the Empire was full of some material, say dilithium, that the Federation values?

Ah, in that case you have your answer... Go visit the movie Star Trek Insurrection. Needless to say Picard stands up for the little guy (and actually becomes the small well-armed resistance), against the S'ona who are exactly as you describe albeit on a far smaller scale.

Failing that the DS9 back-story where the Federation offered refugee support to the Bajorans during the Cardassian occupation, but no military support.

Then again in DS9 with the Maquis (where the renegade element was made up of former Starfleet types and were declared criminals/terrorists).

These are all similar-but-not-quite fits.

I still stand by the Prime Directive answer already given, where they are instructed to remain neutral (and this would likely affect relations with the Empire-a-like), while an individual heroic captain and crew is likely to change the rules to do good.

I also stand by the idea that the not-Empire is as likely to open hostilities on the Federation in an effort to conquer based on the established perametres of action, or try to infiltrate and take-over that way... The path of course depends entirely on your plotline (and can even be used to get your players off the hook when they break the Prime Directive, if it turns out that spies had infiltrated and influenced the Federation council at high levels...)

[Tricky]

So far, I'm agreeing that the average Trek crew would be bound to stay out of the Empire's affairs due to the prime directive.

The situation becomes a little stickier if they encounter the 'not-rebels' first, then some Imperial forces later. They would most likely offer assistance in the form of medical aid, and possibly mediation over the dispute, but they wouldn't get involved directly. Unless some Moff fired a full battery of Turbo-lasers at them.

Then it's on!!

[Eric R.]

You know it has always intertested me that everybody but federation types into the star wars universe and not the other way around. Small band of jedi fleeing pesecuation enter the Star Wars universe for exmaple.