Is the USS Discovery controlled by section thirty-one?

I've always felt like Section thirty-one is highly under utilized in the Star Trek Universe, but maybe that's about to change.

This past Sunday was make or break day for me with Star Trek: Discovery, having watched the series premiere I was left feeling a sense of hopelessness and concern with the direction this new series was taking. Last week I blogged that this was not the Star Trek of my youth, and at the time that seemed like a negative, but not so much anymore because context is for kings!

From the Battlestar Galactica reboot to Babylon 5, I've always enjoyed my science fiction a little on the dark side, maybe that's why Star Trek appealed to me because it was a shining light at the end of a very dark tunnel. This would also help to explain my initial reaction to this much darker take on the universe that Gene Roddenberry created.

However with the introduction of the Discovery and Captain Lorca, my outlook began to change, because Jason Issacs is a master at portraying dark and evil characters - and make no mistake about it the character of Lorca screams section thirty-one! 

Michael Burnham was on her way to a Federation penal colony to serve a life sentence for her actions aboard the USS Shenzhau, however her shuttle was intercepted by the Discovery because Lorca had need of her expertise. Burnham was once again assisting with what can only be assumed to be top secret research, and taking part in an away mission to recover critical data to that research.

Once the away mission had concluded Burnham was offered the opportunity to remain on Discovery by Lorca, who then sent the shuttle and its three other passengers on their way to their final destination - or did he?

Could it be that Starfleet is unaware of Michael Burnham's presence on the USS Discovery? At the beginning of the episode when the shuttles pilot was lost to the darkness of space no further mention was made of it. Assuming that Captain Lorca is indeed section thirty-one then he would do whatever he felt necessary to achieve his goals, such as destroying a transport shuttle so that its occupants are perceived deceased.

And with the transport of a hostel life form to the Discovery by her chief of security is it safe to assume that Lorca is not the only section thirty-one operative on board, or could the USS Discovery be a black ops vessel fully maned and controlled by section thirty-one?

I said it before, this is NOT the Star Trek of my youth, and now I'm realizing that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm beginning to enjoy the direction this series seems to be taking and I look forward to seeing just how far down the rabbit hole the shows production team is willing to go.

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