The group was founded in 2269 when Federation Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk of the starship USS Enterprise uncovered the existence of Section 31 following the Lantaru sector disaster. (TOS - Section 31 novel: Cloak) (Much like Section 31, Kirk's own cabal against them was a secret from Starfleet and the Federation at large, and they too used many of the same methods of obfuscation and secrecy as their enemies to avoid their resistance to the activities of Section 31 becoming public, and like Section 31 their numbers increased only by means of invitation.)