Section 31

[hammerofglass]

The really weird part about Section 31 in the movie is that there's no reason for them to be involved. The mission is "go to a neutral space station and arrest a wanted criminal before he can sell a weapon to terrorists"; there are a dozen episodes of not even Intelligence but just regular Starfleet doing ops like that.

[Nobody700]

Reminded of an idea I have. If you have a suicide squad story but can replace them with a hero team and it mostly stays the same... it's a terrible SS story. Hence, terrible Section 31 film.

[McAvoy]

The basic idea of a Section 31 movie or series could work. But at the same couldn't.

What I mean by this, a top secret organization hunting and countering threats to the Federation sounds great. Go to planets, see aliens and all of the Star Trek stuff. Then covertly counter whatever evil plan that alien of the week has.

But at the same time, it's anti-Star Trek due Section 31 doing things that Star Trek shows wouldn't do. Imagine every episode being like In the Pale Moonlight. It's a powerful episode on its own due to the many episodes, seasons that led up to it. But every single episode being like that?

[clearspira]

The basic idea of a Section 31 movie or series could work. But at the same couldn't.

What I mean by this, a top secret organization hunting and countering threats to the Federation sounds great. Go to planets, see aliens and all of the Star Trek stuff. Then covertly counter whatever evil plan that alien of the week has.

But at the same time, it's anti-Star Trek due Section 31 doing things that Star Trek shows wouldn't do. Imagine every episode being like In the Pale Moonlight. It's a powerful episode on its own due to the many episodes, seasons that led up to it. But every single episode being like that?

In the original (read: actual) continuity of Section 31, i do not think that it is a coincidence that they revealed themselves during war time. They were facing exactly the desperate threat that they were founded to fight. This idea that they are constantly out there doing shady stuff everywhere I do not think computes because the more you do that, the more likely you are to be discovered. And they remained a secret for two hundred years even from captain-level Starfleet officers - maybe even admiral-level officers given what we know of Kirk. He is just as much of a flag-waving member of Starfleet's ideal as Picard, Sisko and Bashir are.

Big fleets, bases, badges. This cannot and does not work. The true Section 31 requires a level of advanced storytelling that Kurtzman simply is not capable of. He is from the Abrams school of unresolved mystery boxes and flashy explosions. Ron Moore in his prime possibly could have done it.

Here's an example of an S31 story that could work: the neck worms of TNG season 1. The whole upper levels of Starfleet being taken over by the Goa'uld seems right up their alley. The fact that they apparently were sleeping during TNG season 1 either backs up what I am saying about how limited in scope they actually are, or they already were trying to stop it. I'm thinking ''mysterious disappearances and warp core breeches in the middle of the night.''

[hammerofglass]

The race never being seen or mentioned again after the episode as though they were quietly hunted down and xenocided also seems right up Section 31s alley. They know the approximate location of the homeworld from the message the leader was caught sending at the end of the episode, and it only takes one ship to devastate a planet...

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

The race never being seen or mentioned again after the episode as though they were quietly hunted down and xenocided also seems right up Section 31s alley. They know the approximate location of the homeworld from the message the leader was caught sending at the end of the episode, and it only takes one ship to devastate a planet...

I think that when your race more resembles a parasite rather than a humanoid species with legs and ships then you probably don't end up with much of an opportunity after your snake-head decapitation doesn't go as planned.

At the end of season 3 of Picard they explain that, while they still get the occasional attempt at infiltration by the changelings, they simply updated their transporter filters to weed out such physical discrepancies. This might be not very different.

[Nealithi]

Section 31 can work in Trek and even have ships and bases. The way you do it is they are a section of Starfleet Intelligence. During war time they have budget and man power and do the quiet things for the department. During peace time they are almost vestigial because the need wanes.
Look at Picard with Worf. His disdain for even raising shields or Worf needing to ask permission to let his guards out of their kennel. Section 31 is invisible because the 'more evolved' Starfleet does not want to look at them. Certain admirals peripherally work with the section to say make cloaking devices behind people's backs. But done in peace time they had to use a regular ship to do it upon instead of one that was wholly their own as they might have during war time.

[clearspira]

The race never being seen or mentioned again after the episode as though they were quietly hunted down and xenocided also seems right up Section 31s alley. They know the approximate location of the homeworld from the message the leader was caught sending at the end of the episode, and it only takes one ship to devastate a planet...

I think that when your race more resembles a parasite rather than a humanoid species with legs and ships then you probably don't end up with much of an opportunity after your snake-head decapitation doesn't go as planned.

At the end of season 3 of Picard they explain that, while they still get the occasional attempt at infiltration by the changelings, they simply updated their transporter filters to weed out such physical discrepancies. This might be not very different.

I don't have a problem with that explanation on paper, finding a ''tech, tech'' answer to something using the transporter is very Star Trek. I just find it rather hard to believe that Dax and O'Brian couldn't have worked that out back when it mattered. Kind of looks bad on them tbh.

The other explanation of course, is that like the blood screenings actually being completely ineffectual, that is what the Changelings want you to think. Odo's skills are obviously pretty immature and even the Female Changeling wasn't actually that much better even though she could ''do faces'' and apparently did not need to regenerate every eighteen hours. But someone like Lars who could turn into a gas or a space faring creature? I dunno, seems like he could get around a transporter sensor if he wanted to.

[CharlesPhipps]

The basic idea of a Section 31 movie or series could work. But at the same couldn't.

What I mean by this, a top secret organization hunting and countering threats to the Federation sounds great. Go to planets, see aliens and all of the Star Trek stuff. Then covertly counter whatever evil plan that alien of the week has.

But at the same time, it's anti-Star Trek due Section 31 doing things that Star Trek shows wouldn't do. Imagine every episode being like In the Pale Moonlight. It's a powerful episode on its own due to the many episodes, seasons that led up to it. But every single episode being like that?

I'm now envisioning LA FEMME NIKITA as Section 31.

"Rachel Garrett is a young idealistic Starfleet officer who is framed for a crime she didn't commit. She ends up recruited by Section 31 and must constant trying to do her missions for them with the highest ideals of justice and humanity while they seek to grind her down to their level. S31 is evil but up against forces just as dark in a time of chaos and misrule."

Basically, "What if Season 1 of DISCO wasn't shit?"

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

The race never being seen or mentioned again after the episode as though they were quietly hunted down and xenocided also seems right up Section 31s alley. They know the approximate location of the homeworld from the message the leader was caught sending at the end of the episode, and it only takes one ship to devastate a planet...

I think that when your race more resembles a parasite rather than a humanoid species with legs and ships then you probably don't end up with much of an opportunity after your snake-head decapitation doesn't go as planned.

At the end of season 3 of Picard they explain that, while they still get the occasional attempt at infiltration by the changelings, they simply updated their transporter filters to weed out such physical discrepancies. This might be not very different.

I don't have a problem with that explanation on paper, finding a ''tech, tech'' answer to something using the transporter is very Star Trek. I just find it rather hard to believe that Dax and O'Brian couldn't have worked that out back when it mattered. Kind of looks bad on them tbh.

The other explanation of course, is that like the blood screenings actually being completely ineffectual, that is what the Changelings want you to think. Odo's skills are obviously pretty immature and even the Female Changeling wasn't actually that much better even though she could ''do faces'' and apparently did not need to regenerate every eighteen hours. But someone like Lars who could turn into a gas or a space faring creature? I dunno, seems like he could get around a transporter sensor if he wanted to.

Yeah but it's more a day by day thing. Posing as an officer to sleep as an agent is now not an option.