Stopped from heading to a quiet medical conference, Doctor Bashir is locked down with the crew of Deep Space Nine when internal investigations officer Sloan arrives. Apparently Deep Space Nine has a security breach. Information’s being leaked to the enemy and all leads point to one person: Julian Bashir.
It’s a nice rarity when this era of Star Trek plays out it’s story of the week without a B-Plot and Inquisition does it all quiet nicely. Especially as everything’s played out from the perspective of Bashir as he’s separated from his colleagues which enhances the tense paranoia of whats happening as Sloan probes through evidence that points to the doctor betraying the Federation.
Thematically it’s a story told many times before, even previously told in Star Trek, but with DS9’s tone becoming a little darker by this stage, it worked perfectly here. Sloan’s investigation points to Bashir being the bad guy, which means either Sloan himself is a plant, arriving to frame Bashir, or perhaps everything we’ve seen before had a secret underneath. After all, Bashir’s already been the plot twist a few times. A year prior Bashir was in a Dominion prison camp for several weeks, indicating that a Founder had been treating the crew unaware. And not long after it turned out he’s been hiding his true genetic identity from Starfleet all this time…
Of course, Deep Space Nine has toyed the this kind of idea in the past and if they didn’t dare have Kira be a Cardassian all this time, there’s no way they were going to have Bashir being a Dominion turncoat. But the idea’s played well, even with Weyounn welcoming Bashir on board a Dominion ship for scones and an explanation on how they used his humanity to turn him against the Federation. Betray the uniform, save lives in the bigger picture. A play theme we saw with Bashir before when he pushed for surrendering to save the future of humanity in Statistical Probabilities.
The background and episodes that came before really do make it all work and cast that doubt that Sloan may not be the bad guy here and how it’s played out with even Bashir doubting his own memories knowing they can be altered so easily gave the right amount of doubt and tension throughout.
There are some great themes that Star Trek rarely touched at the time. The Bashir we knew was played out on the screen, filled with morality and a brooding hopeful outlook. Re-examining his actions with a character looking from the outside combined with what we know about Bashir, there’s a dual concept of us not really knowing the inner workings of anyone around us and for Bashir, not trusting his own mind or memory. We also know the kind of war he’d wage and the spy games he’s loved to play. But the end result and who Sloan really was let the themes simmer to giver us a new wedge of lore to break our minds.
It wasn’t an expose of Bashir. It was a simulation designed to test Bashir ahead of being offered a new job in Section 31: A clandestine rogue intelligence agency who can offer Bashir the chance to take that morality into his own hands and break the rules he’s been shackled by before. It was a tease for new stories down the line, an idea that again played on old elements of the show that highlighted why the Maquis formed or how they maintain Earth as a paradise in a chaotic universe.
But much like Bashir’s experience, it leaves you questioning if any of it’s real. Were Section 31 a real thing? Is there really a secret force behind the Federation who operate in the shadows to keep it safe? If they are legit, what about the Federation itself? Does paradise exist because of the strength of their ideals? Or is that all part of the lie that the existence of Section 31 exposes?
All this time we’ve only ever seen Starfleet intelligence and the odd undercover operation with operatives hired at random as long as they were in the main cast. If Section 31 exists, and acts with the same secrecy and cunning as Romulus’ Tal Shiar or Cardassia’s Obsidian Order, then is the Federation really any better than it’s enemies?
Can we turn a blind eye to them and still claim the moral high ground? Or are they only acting in the interests of Starfleet, and not really a part of it as even the likes of Sisko can’t get confirmation that they exist or not.
We’d have some answers to the questions later when we learn that Section 31 does play a part in the war and have an Admiral or two on their side. Over the years the idea of secrecy would be diluted with them showing up in prequel series Enterprise through to their actions during the Dominion War being a core plot element of Picard’s third season. And of course we see them in action on Discovery, operating with their own stealth ships and command structures answering to the Admiralty.
We’ll likely learn a little more about Section 31 in the upcoming Paramount+ feature launching this month, but the introduction and original intent for the division made for a fascinating reveal decades before we got a peek behind the curtain…
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