- "Interesting, isn't it? The Federation claims to abhor Section 31's tactics, but when they need the dirty work done, they look the other way. It's a tidy little arrangement, wouldn't you say?"
- - Odo (DS9: "The Dogs of War")
Section 31 was the code name of an officially nonexistent and uncondoned rogue agency within the Federation Starfleet that claimed to protect the security interests of the United Federation of Planets. The group's historical precedent derived from the 22nd century, when an ancestral organization acted covertly in the interests of United Earth.
Little information is available about the activities of the organization. One of its operatives claimed that Section 31 dealt with threats to the Federation that others did not even realize existed. Section 31's actions were autonomous and were neither controlled nor acknowledged by Starfleet Command or the Federation government. They have been described as having granted themselves the powers of "judge, jury, and executioner." (DS9: "Inquisition")
Organization
Section 31 had no known physical headquarters or base of operations. A select few were chosen to carry widespread knowledge of their operations. (DS9: "Extreme Measures")
Recruitment of new agents had to be done in secret. One method that Section 31 used to accomplish that involved kidnapping potential agents and putting them on a holodeck without their knowledge. (DS9: "Inquisition") Whether potential agents refuse or accept membership, they are considered to be in Section 31 for life. (ENT: "Divergence")
History
22nd century origins
Section 31 took its name from Article 14, Section 31 of the original United Earth Starfleet Charter, which allowed certain rules of conduct to be "bent" during times of extraordinary threat. (DS9: "Inquisition", ENT: "Affliction".) At some point before 2151, a young Ensign Malcolm Reed was recruited by Section 31 or a predecessor of that organization. By the time Reed was posted to the starship Enterprise, he was no longer actively involved in covert operations.
Agent Harris
However, in late 2154, when Reed was investigating the kidnapping of Dr. Phlox, he was contacted by Harris, the control operator to whom Reed had previously reported. Harris' organization had entered into a secret agreement with Klingon Admiral Krell: the Klingons abducted Phlox and forced him to aid them with a deadly plague, and Starfleet turned a blind eye.
Harris ordered Reed to slow down the Enterprise's investigation until Phlox could develop a cure. Reed complied, but his tampering was discovered by Captain Jonathan Archer and T'Pol, and Reed was thrown in the brig.
T'Pol reconstructed Reed's communication logs and discovered that he had been in contact with Harris. When confronted with this information, Reed confessed that he had been following Harris' orders. Later, Harris contacted Archer (as per Archer's earlier request of Reed). Later, Reed told Harris not to contact him again. Harris suggested that his organization's "recruitment policy" did not permit agents to quit, but Reed retorted that he had only one commanding officer: Jonathan Archer. (ENT: "Affliction", "Divergence")
In 2155, the organization agreed to provide intelligence on the Earth-based Human terrorist group Terra Prime to the NX-01 crew when it was discovered that Terra Prime was attempting to disrupt the creation of the Coalition of Planets and to drive all non-Humans out of Earth's star system. (The circumstances of this gave credence to the idea that, like it or not, agents were in for life - Archer himself, now aware of Reed's involvement with the section, personally asked him to use this connection.) Agent Harris implied to Reed that this information would come at a price to be exacted at a later time. (ENT: "Demons", "Terra Prime").
- It may be presumed that when the United Federation of Planets was founded in 2161 and the Federation Starfleet established, the agency later known as Section 31 either transferred its purported loyalties to the UFP or was founded as an off-shoot of its United Earth Starfleet predecessor – and, possibly, any potential Vulcan, Andorian, and/or Tellarite – counterparts.
23rd century activities
Section 31's activities in the 23rd century are largely unknown. There were however some significant events of the 23rd century with which Section 31 may have been involved.
- The non-canonical novels published by Pocket Books posit that Section 31 was involved in the theft of the Romulan cloaking device by the USS Enterprise (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident"), the development of the Omega molecule and the subsequent destruction of subspace in the Lantaru Sector (VOY: "The Omega Directive"), and spying upon Federation civilian attorney Samuel T. Cogley (TOS: "Court Martial"). Starfleet Admiral Lance Cartwright was established to be a Section 31 agent in the novel Section 31: Cloak, suggesting the possibility that the Khitomer conspiracy was, from the Federation end, a Section 31 operation. Two other possible members of Section 31 would be Colonel West
24th century machinations
In 2358, Captain Erik Pressman of the USS Pegasus was assigned the task of testing an illegal interphase cloaking device which, according to William T. Riker, had been developed by a "secret section of Starfleet Security". (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")
- Although Section 31 was an invention of Deep Space Nine writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle in 1998, and therefore could not possibly have been intended by the writers of "The Pegasus" in 1994, it is likely that Riker's line in 2005's "These Are the Voyages..." was meant to suggest Section 31's involvement.
In 2374, Section 31 attempted to recruit the genetically-engineered chief medical officer of Starbase Deep Space 9, Dr. Julian Bashir, after putting him through psychological testing on the holodeck of a ship to which he had been abducted. The commanding agent of that operation was a man known as Luther Sloan, who described Section 31 as an autonomous agency created as part of the original Starfleet Charter.
Bashir, appalled at the thought of an agency accountable to no one that regularly violated the principles upon which the Federation was founded, rejected Sloan's offer, though Section 31 continued to regard him as a potential asset. The agency then sedated him and returned him to Deep Space 9. Bashir alerted the command staff of Deep Space 9, including his commanding officer, Captain Sisko, and the officers of the Bajoran Militia, Constable Odo and Major Kira Nerys, assigned to DS9, of Section 31's existence and its attempt to recruit him. Odo likened Section 31 to the Federation's equivalent of the Cardassian Union's Obsidian Order or the Romulan Star Empire's Tal Shiar – the Federation secret police. Sisko and Bashir planned to use any future contacts with the organization as opportunity to expose the group and shut it down. (DS9: "Inquisition")
Section 31 operatives
In late 2375, Director Sloan appeared to Bashir again, assigning him to diagnose the health of Koval, Chairman of the Tal Shiar, during an upcoming conference on Romulus. In the course of his efforts to expose Section 31, Bashir discovered that he had actually been manipulated by Sloan into convincing Romulan Senator Kimara Cretak to access Koval's personal database, on suspicions that Section 31 planned to assassinate Koval.
This gave Koval sufficient evidence to have Cretak arrested and charged with treason, which assured his own seat on the powerful Continuing Committee. Bashir learned that Koval was an agent of Section 31 after discovering Starfleet Admiral William Ross' complicity in the scheme.
It seemed Section 31 had been planning for what it regarded as a likely war with the Romulan Star Empire following the Dominion War. The agency projected that the Dominion was likely to end up confined to the Gamma Quadrant, the Cardassian Union occupied and left in shambles, and the Klingon Empire to spend at least ten years rebuilding from the damage left by the Klingon-Cardassian War, the Federation-Klingon War (2372-73), and the Dominion War. Section 31 regarded Cretak as a potential threat to the Federation in the post-war quadrant, as her primary loyalties were to the Star Empire's interests, while Koval could be counted on to influence Romulus in Section 31's favor. (DS9: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges")
Later that year, while researching the disease ravaging the Great Link and Odo, Bashir discovered that Section 31 had engineered the deadly morphogenic virus, infecting Odo during his time on Earth in mid-2372 in a preemptive attempt to neutralize the Dominion by committing genocide. Bashir lured Sloan to Deep Space 9 with false claims of having developed a cure. There, he used a multitronic engrammatic interpreter to link his mind and that of Chief of operations Miles O'Brien to Sloan's, allowing them to discover the real cure. Sloan committed suicide in an attempt to prevent the cure from being discovered, nearly killing Bashir and O'Brien in the process, but he was unable to prevent them from discovering the cure. He tried to lure Bashir with the one thing he couldn't resist: files on all of Section 31's operations, files that could expose it forever. Though it was tempting, O'Brien convinced him Odo needed him more. (DS9: "Extreme Measures")
The Federation Council later voted not to share the cure with the Founders as long as the war continued, even while Odo was fully cured. This appears to have been part of a systematic attempt to cover up Section 31's existence – Bashir's and Sisko's 2374 reports had prompted an inquiry at Starfleet Command that was quietly stonewalled within one year, indicating that someone at Command was protecting Section 31. The cure was later given to the Female Changeling by Odo so that she would surrender her forces. These events had ruined the organization's plan to eradicate the Founders. (DS9: "The Dogs of War", "What You Leave Behind") Template:Branches of Starfleet
Known agents
22nd century
- Harris
- Malcolm Reed (former/potential)
24th century
- Luther Sloan
- Julian Bashir (potential/mole)
- Koval (double agent)
- William Ross (sympathizer)
- Two unnamed human operatives working for Sloan (DS9: "Inquisition")
Appendices
Background
The organization seen in "Affliction" and "Divergence" was never explicitly referred to as "Section 31", although interviews with Enterprise production staff confirm that it is intended to be the same as the organization seen on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Harris wears a leather uniform similar to the one worn by Sloan two hundred years later, and refers Captain Archer to "Article 14, Section 31" of the Starfleet Charter. This is consistent with Sloan's comment that Section 31 was created as part of the "original" Starfleet charter, as well as Bashir's statement that 31 has managed to stay hidden for "over three hundred years" in DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind". At the time, however, writer Ronald D. Moore considered this figure a mistake and stated that it should have been only around two hundred. (AOL chat, 1999) The DVD version of the episode stated two hundred years.
Apocrypha
Although the televised appearances of Section 31 have been limited to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise, a short series of novels, Star Trek: Section 31, has also been published, documenting encounters with Section 31 in the other Star Trek series. These stories were largely designed around, and serve to explain or provide background to, certain canon events. In the novels it is revealed that Section 31:
- had a hand in the disastrous test of the Omega molecule (see VOY: "The Omega Directive")
- had Admiral Cartwright and Cortin Zweller as agents (see Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, TNG: "Tapestry")
- placed an agent aboard the USS Voyager before it was transported to the Delta Quadrant in 2371 (see VOY: "Scientific Method")
- attempted to recruit USS Enterprise-E conn officer Lieutenant Hawk (see Star Trek: First Contact)
- was responsible for Admiral Dougherty's mission to forcibly and illegally relocate the Ba'ku (see Star Trek: Insurrection)
- continues to regard Julian Bashir as an asset
- had a hand in the events of TOS: "The Enterprise Incident"
- attempted to kill the former Borg drone Seven of Nine
Section 31 is also revealed to be responsible for allowing the Dominion to engage in an infamous massacre of Federation civilians during the war as part of an attempt to recruit a potential agent.
In The Good That Men Do, by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin, Section 31 recruited Commander Charles Tucker III to enter Romulan territory.
Section 31 has also appeared in the Star Trek: A Time to... series. In A Time to Kill and A Time to Heal by David Mack, it is revealed that Section 31 has a hand in a coup d'etat organized against the President of the United Federation of Planets, Min Zife, whom they assassinate.
All of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine DVDs feature several "Easter eggs" known as "Section 31 hidden files."
In Star Trek: Starfleet Command III in a mission in the Romulan campaign, the player is inspecting the damage to the Unity One starbase. While listening to the Federation-Klingon Alliance broadcasts one Starfleet officer suggests, "Why don't you ask Section 31?" as to how Starfleet could know if the Unity One scans could detect cloaked Romulan vessels.
After the events of the novel Section 31: Cloak, Captain Kirk briefed Starfleet Captains Phil Waterson and Nick Silver and Commodores Aaron Stone and José Mendez of his discoveries and suspicions about Section 31 and the five men formed the Kirk Cabal, a secret group designed to oppose Section 31 whenever it was involved in any known activity. The Kirk Cabal was still active as of 2376 when Elias Vaughn recruited Julian Bashir into its ranks.
According to The Good That Men Do, the existence and activities of Section 31 were exposed to the general public by the early 25th century and its agents were eventually brought to justice for their crimes. The public release of Section 31's files and records ended over 300 years of the bureau's illegal and unsanctioned black-ops and infiltration programs.
External link
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