Luther Sloan was a 24th century Human operative of the clandestine intelligence agency Section 31. Although he and the rest of Section 31 claimed to operate independently of both the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet, performing actions most Federation citizens would abhor and otherwise consider morally questionable, he saw himself as doing what was necessary to protect their interests. In his eyes, to protect what the Federation had worked hard to build, the ends justified the means. So great was his dedication to protecting and preserving the Federation that he was willing to do almost anything, even cutting ties to his family and friends and violating the Prime Directive.