We know little about the Hierarchy. They are a collection of species under one government like our own Empire, but the number or relative strength of these species is unclear. Only one species is regularly seen, which may mean that they are the leaders of this empire … or that their tales of powerful alliances are deceptions.

And lies are the Hierarchy’s stock in trade.

The Hierarchy are obsessed with two things: profit and intelligence. They are masters of stealth and espionage, using remote surveillance on passing ships to plan for future attacks. The Hierarchy will hide a ship equipped for stealth in a nebula or stellar anomaly and use highly advanced sensors to assess the tactical risk and potential value of passing vessels. Their cloaking devices, while not advanced as our own, allow them to slip up on a potential target and attack. However, they are not skilled warriors. They always use preset attack patterns. Learn these patterns, and you will know how to defeat them.

The Hierarchy are meticulous to a fault. Every planned use of resources or energy must be analyzed and approved before use, and all of their actions are designed to maximize efficiency. Their focus on profit makes them predictable – destroy enough of their ships to make an action unprofitable, and they will flee rather than lose a single credit more.

Voyager’s records on the Hierarchy also indicate that their rigidity in thought extends to their population. Every crew member on a ship will have a single duty, with limited access to the rest of the ship, and almost no social interaction with crew outside of their scope of influence. This is another thing that weakens them – they cannot innovate, because their people cannot speak out of turn or offer new ideas.

I find it odd that the Hierarchy has as much influence in the Delta Quadrant as it does. However, we come from territory that has several large, successful alliances between species. Our Empire is one such, and I must admit that the Federation, despite their flaws, draws strength from diversity. Perhaps in the Delta Quadrant, where such alliances are almost unheard of, even a weak partnership is better than none at all.

You can see the Hierarchy in “The Void,” “Renaissance Man,” and “Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy.”