Star Trek Expanded Universe
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S31ops

Section 31 agents, including Luther Sloan (right)

Section 31 is the code name of an officially nonexistent and uncondoned rogue agency within Starfleet Intelligence that claimed to operate toward the security of the United Federation of Planets.

Little information is available about the activities of the organization; one of its operatives has claimed that Section 31 deals with threats to the Federation that others do not even realize exist. The group's historical precedent derives from the 22nd century, when an ancestral organization within the Earth Starfleet acted covertly in the interests of United Earth. (DS9: "Inquisition"; ENT: "Divergence")

Section 31's actions are autonomous and neither controlled nor acknowledged by Starfleet Command or the Federation government. (DS9: "Inquisition")

History

Adventures of STAG

As of 2502 Section 31 was absorbed into a sub-agency of STAG called Galactic Special Ops which included the Tal Shiar, Obsidian Order and Klingon Military Intelligence.

Dimensional Prophecy of Zohar

A precursor organization of Section 31 was responsible for the public release of the MJ-12 Papers. They did it to weaken Majestic 12. Section 31 had many secret facilities in Kyoto.

Orion Press

Admiral Yves Gervais, of Starfleet Security then Starfleet Intelligence, rose to become a senior member of Section 31. If his biases were typical of members of Section 31, then most (if not all) Section 31 members were xenophobes. (Orion Press: Chekov's Enterprise)

Star Trek: Hidden Frontier

Starfleet Intelligence operative Lal Singh denied being a member of Section 31 while aboard the USS Cole in 2385. (Henglaar, M.D.: "Profit Without Honor")

Star Trek: Phoenix-X

In the early 23rd century, Section 31 discovered and manipulated to conceal Daniel's true nature of being a Changeling, in favour of gaining Daniel as an ally. They ensured Daniel was recognized, and registered as a human/Vulcan hybrid. ("The Links' Traitor, "Spider Agencies, Part II")

In 2286, when Earth was threatened by the Whale probe, Section 31 took a cloaked ship near it and acquired several components from the probe. They then anonymously sent information on what they knew of the components to Starfleet Intelligence, in hopes that Starfleet Intelligence could adapt it to engine technology. When Starfleet Intelligence was successful, Section 31 intercepted them and stole all their work. ("Forbidden Crossing, Part I")

Not long after, Section 31 pushed the transwarp project onto the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, using what they learned from Starfleet Intelligence. ("The Links' Traitor", "Forbidden Crossing, Parts I & II") 80 years later, the project would come into fruition and Section 31 would secretly oversee a transwarp test-phase where several Phoenix-ships where destroyed one after the other, finalizing with the USS Phoenix-X, using Whale probe parts stolen years ago. When the ship went into service, the crew was sworn to secrecy on the transwarp drive aboard their ship. ("The Tiloniam System", "The Tilonian System", "Secret Occurrences")

During the Phoenix-X's run, Section 31 warranted the inclusion of several illegal and advanced technologies aboard the ship - including Berlinghoff Rasmussen's Temporal drive, Voyager's Transphasic torpedoes, and the Pegasus' Interphase cloaking device. ("Temporal Doom! Part I", "Transphasic Meltdown", "These Aren't the Voyages...")

In 2384, additional technical components became available to the Phoenix-X's transwarp drive. These additional components, from the Whale probe itself, allowed a faster kind of transwarp for the Phoenix-X. Thus, Section 31 put plans into motion where the Phoenix-X would visit the Andromeda Galaxy and make first contact with native species there. Admiral Theseus, a Section 31 operative, took part in the mission due to the true nature of Section 31's intentions - which were to gain the Kelvans as personal allies. Unfortunately, this was not successful, and instead of returning home with allies, Theseus acquired Omega molecules, safely suspended within a chamber, inside of an Andromedan android body. ("Forbidden Crossing, Parts I, II, III")

In an alternate timeline, in 2400, Section 31 had taken over Starfleet and the Federation as the major power behind the scenes, causing several factions and rebellions to rise against them. ("Secret Shuttles, Part IV")

Star Trek: Pioneer

Tolleson

Agent Tolleson

In 2383, Agent Tolleson told Rodney Brickenhouser that President Korvin Mot should be replaced by vice president Kaenar Korban to ensure a Federation victory in the Coalition War. After Brickenhouser questioned whether or not Section 31 had that reach, Tolleson asserted that the agency had manipulated Jonathan Archer into ensuring the agency's placement within the Federation Charter. Tolleson then went on to suggest that the 2380 election of Korvin Mot had also been ensured by the agency, and the long range sensor readings from Minark that prompted Starfleet into sending an expedition force were also part of the agency's recent activities. ("The Forgotten Planet")

Commander Bradley Smith of Internal Affairs, who was working for Section 31, went to Deep Space 5 to make Captain Benjamin Kelsoe look like a traitor. He failed, and was found out. ("Internal")

In mid-2383, Agent Tolleson told Rodney Brickenhouser to leave Paris, telling him that their plan to remove Mot from power was rapidly approaching. He later contacted So'jan Admiral Da'note to give him the codes to Earth's automated defenses. Section 31 had been continually leaking information to the Coalition to help weaken Mot's Administration, allowing them to dispose of the president in favor (as they saw it) a "stronger" leader. ("Obsession")

Star Trek: Pegasus

Shortly after the launch of the USS Pegasus (NX-88954) the ships CO Captain Malcolm McCloud was visited by a Section 31 agent who informed him that the Pegasus has been "hired" by the organization.

Into The Field

In a slightly parallel universe, Section 31 has formed a secret ad hoc alliance with the Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar for the purpose of evaluating any threats from the Gamma Quadrant. Prior to the joint Romulan-Cardassian fleet that was sent to the Omarion Nebula, an initial Galor-class ship named the Vetara was modified as an unmanned exploratory ship and was tasked to explore the Gamma Quadrant. Prior to reaching the Bajoran wormhole, this ship disappeared and was presumed lost. It is later discovered that the ship was whisked away to the Delta Quadrant in a similar manner to the USS Voyager.

Star Trek: Excelsior

Starfleet Intelligence launched a classified mission to a dark matter nebula, investigating a distress call from the SS Anbar, but also to determine whether an incursion by Bluegill parasites had taken place. TNG: "Conspiracy". Though survivors were located and rescued, the mission was compromised when a bluegill operative, Phillipe Ermez, blew open a boarding pod that had penetrated the Anbar. Both the Anbar, along with the ship that had come to rescue them, The Excelsior, were inundated by the parasites. The Excelsior successfully escaped, and got rid of the bluegill intruders, but it fell to Section 31 to determine the bluegill objectives, and uncover why they hadn't begun their invasion of the Federation. The reason became known as "The Sword of Damocles". The Bluegills had encountered the Borg, and begun an all or nothing battle for the control of the Milky Way. So far, the war had been fought to a standstill, with neither side gaining an advantage. But, the day that one side triumphed over the other, the sword would fall, and the survivors would be killed or enslaved.

The task of monitoring the sword fell to Section 31 senior operative General Isaac Brahms. An extremely dedicated individual, Brahms was obsessed with preserving the sword as long as possible, no matter the cost. In his quest to prevent the sword from falling, he has gone so far as destroying a Galaxy-class starship, the USS Yorktown, and ordering the slaughter of the New Victoria colony, nearly 10,000 civilians. Brahms has also utilized genetic controls, as well as assasination squads.

The true name of Section 31 is unknown. The Obsidian Order is under the impression that the humans simply call it "The Bureau." It may be shorthand for Bureau of Interstellar Security, or Bureau of Interstellar Stability. The Bureau was created pursuant to Article 14, Section 31 of the Starfleet Charter. (Into The Field)

Bait and Switch

Lieutenant Rachel Connor, a human augment immune to Borg assimilation, was created as a result of Section 31 experimentation on a captured Borg drone that had been a Starfleet MACO officer. Connor later escaped from the organization. (Bait and Switch: "Brother on Brother, Daughter on Mother")

Section 31 Director Franklin Drake was captured and arrested by Captain Kanril Eleya after he attempted to manipulate her into eliminating a rogue Romulan officer who Section 31 had manipulated into killing a Cardassian ambassador. (Bait and Switch: "Didn't Expect That")

After a series of increasingly bold illegal actions by Section 31 judged potentially devastating to Federation policy, including the torture of MACO officer Rachel Connor, involvement in the assassination of a Cardassian ambassador, and an attempted assassination of several senior dignitaries from the Federation and multiple neighboring powers, Starfleet Intelligence--the legitimate and accountable black-ops division of Starfleet--moved to dismantle Section 31, proscribing it as domestic terrorist group. After the capture of Director Jin Buhui, cyborg assassin Ellen Shaw, and the arrests of Section 31 operatives embedded in Federation arms contractor Yoyodyne Division, the organization's power and influence was likely greatly reduced. (Bait and Switch: Rachel)

Known agents

Karne died in 2377.

Background information

  • In Star Trek: Phoenix-X, Section 31 was never originally part of the beginning concept. The organization wasn't incorporated into the story and backstory until the second season. They were first mentioned by Theseus in "Jumpers, Part I". Mission-givers Elena and Nelkast started out as Theseus' assistants in the season three episode "Possible Regret" and didn't start giving missions as admitted Section 31 agents until the episode "Departments".

External links

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