Think Tank



The "Think Tank", so named by Captain Kathryn Janeway, was a cooperative of technologically-advanced alien intellectuals whose alleged purpose was to solve the problems of others for a price. Together they operated their group out of an advanced vessel.

By their own count, the Think Tank were opportunistic explorers who had solved problems for hundreds of clients, many of whom were at war. According to their representative, Kurros, the group solved medical, tactical, and various other types of problems with only minimal compensation. They were able to eliminate earthquakes on an unknown planet, asking for only a quantity of dilithium in return. They also turned the tide of the war between the Bara Plenum and the Motali Empire, as well as reigniting two red giant stars in the Zai Cluster. The Think Tank also claimed to have cured the Vidiian Phage.

However, Kurros admitted that selfishness was necessary for their crew to attain perfection, and they were not above using manipulation and force to get what they wanted. Sometimes they even created the problem that needed to be solved for a price in the first place. Hence, the group was quite notorious in the Delta Quadrant, having made many enemies, and it appeared that their knowledge had not made them any more enlightened. Still, they had ethical boundaries, refusing to construct a weapon of mass destruction or commit genocide.

Crew
The Think Tank was founded by Bevvox, a member of a bioplasmic species who was over a thousand years old. Its members included a diaphanous creature suspended in liquid (also the only female member of the Think Tank), an artificial intelligence entity (described by Kurros as having "the mind of a mathematician and the soul of an artist"), and Kurros and Fennim, who were the only humanoid members of the Think Tank. Kurros acted as the main intermediary between the Think Tank and other groups or individuals.

Contact
In 2375, the USS Voyager encountered the Think Tank during their time in the Delta Quadrant. At the time of the encounter, Voyager was under constant harassment by a species known as the Hazari. The Think Tank offered to help Voyager elude the Hazari in exchange for selected items, some valuable, some common, from the ship's manifest, that included a quantum slipstream drive. However, the Think Tank also demanded that Seven of Nine be transferred to them and that she become a member of their group. When Seven refused, the Think Tank attempted to take her through subterfuge. It was eventually revealed that Voyager's entire encounter with the group had been arranged, even down to their pursuit by the Hazari. This knowledge came from a Hazari ship Voyager captured, along with its two Hazari crewmembers who reasoned the bounty on the Think Tank was more valuable than Voyager, for they had made many enemies by threatening them. With this knowledge, Captain Janeway severed the tank's telepathic link with one another and resumed Voyager's course home, leaving the Hazari with a surrounded and vulnerable ship with the Think Tank members aboard. 

Think Tank members

 * See: Think Tank members

Denkfabrik Denk Tank