Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

DVD, DS9 S7 (Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges)

Section 31 was a delicate organisation, open to as much misuse as its position as part of Starfleet was considered by those straight Starfleet officers which recognised the evil inherent, but at the time of this episode, only the second in a trilogy of Section 31 stories on 'DS9,' the organisation had yet to be sullied by bad or lazy writing. It's not that 'Enterprise' messed it all up when they used them in their final season, it's just that they didn't have a character of the quality of Luther Sloan at its heart, so the whole setup assumed the approach of a typical and uninspiring shadow operation behind the scenes, with everyone wearing black and having clandestine meetings, people were vetted and recruited by shady types, but missing something which made 'Inquisition' stand out. Then they were brought back with even less thought for 'Star Trek Into Darkness' to be used as a mere callback to something we remember fondly from 'DS9,' and now, reportedly they're playing a part in 'Discovery,' so the long and storied career of this piece of Trek lore is shown to be appealing to writers who must see it as a backdoor into the inner workings of the good and noble Federation Starfleet. But it wasn't just the whisper of dark arts surrounding this antithetical secret service, as mind-boggling as it was to learn in its first appearance that it dated back to before the founding of the Federation: it always comes back to Sloan, because he's as devious and manipulative a person as, say, Garak for example, and as full of personality and guile.

From that, you'd expect Bashir to be truly attracted to what he has to offer, since, just like plain, simple Garak, he holds a wealth of secrets, but the good Doctor is just that: good. He's always found the idea of this organisation to be appalling, yet Sloan has an innate charm, an easy attitude that is far from the stereotype of intelligence men who work in the shadows and never connect with real people. There's something about him that makes you wonder if anything he says is truth, and if he has a real personality, or is so compartmentalised that there's nothing within except the roles he plays - this would be explored in the final part of the trilogy later in the season, but what always struck me was how uncertain anything about him is. We know from Starfleet records, and from Admiral Ross' participation in this episode, that Section 31 does exist, but I always had at the back of my mind, no matter that we saw other operatives working with Sloan, or that he had a ship, or whatever the resources he seemed to be marshalling, that 31 could just be a figment of his own creative imagination, and he was waging a one-man crusade against all the enemies of Starfleet, both within and without, was practically insane, but a genius at the same time. It's a ridiculous idea, especially as we later see 31 is part of other avenues of Trek lore, but could it be that it was once a real organisation that died out, and Sloan unearthed ancient records and plans and took it upon himself to resurrect it because of all the threats from the Borg or the Dominion, and so many other encroaching species?

It makes Section 31 almost romantic, a lost secret rediscovered by a madman who somehow organises all the resources his ingenuity can amass to play games with power. It doesn't make sense even from this episode because we know, for example, that Koval, high up in the Romulan circle, is an agent for 31, but even then I can't help but wonder if everything Sloan said and did was an elaborate ruse that had brought others into his make-believe world of espionage. Of course, if the results are the same it doesn't matter whether he really is just a part of some vast underground, or is acting alone except for a few that he's pulled into his net, as he tried to do with Bashir. Or did he? Once again, just as the time he tested the young Doctor to see if he was fit for service in the rigorous world of real spies, here he so expertly manoeuvres him by playing on his nature, and badda-bing, badda-bang, Bashir doesn't even know what his real task is, so goes along with the charade. It's really a beautiful level of mastery that demonstrates what a game Sloan plays. It's also the perfect idea for a sequel, because if their first encounter was a test run, the sequel had to be the real thing, and it doesn't get more real than a visit to Romulus and those at the top (though for the first time I realised the Continuing Committee wasn't the same thing as the Senate)! It's a place so rarely seen, effectively behind the iron curtain, as it were, and though the Klingons and Federation were traditionally playing off Cold War themes of the 20th Century, the Romulans very possibly fit that bill even better.

It's astounding how little the Romulans have been used across all of Trek when compared with the people's favourite, the Klingons. But even the Borg, the Vulcans and the Ferengi seem to get more coverage than the wily ones, yet they're such a rich and fascinating culture. Is it because they were only an offshoot of the Vulcans, and we know there are other such offshoots (like the Rigelians which score yet another mention in this episode, Bashir pronouncing it 'Ry-jellyans' - they seem to be on a run of mentions this season, just as other races like Dopterians or Breen had their period of being referenced a lot), so we don't care about them so much? Is it because now half of all Trek series' are set in a time when Romulans are either in isolation in canon history, or only recently breaking forth from it ('Enterprise,' 'DSC,' 'TOS')? I really don't know, but if they ever do a series that isn't a prequel, and actually get to the future of the future, I'd love them to do a series in which the Romulans are the main villain, with their political and sociological claws buried deep into the structure of it - I've thought ever since 'Star Trek XI' they should do a series set in or around the Romulan Neutral Zone coming up to the events of that film in which we hear that Romulus would be destroyed. It'd make a great end of season cliffhanger and provide ample dramatic material, both in the exploration of a largely unknown region, the addition of much more espionage as a core of the drama, and the ramifications of the Romulan homeworld's destruction, and what it means for the stability, or otherwise, of the Alpha Quadrant.

When 'DS9' chose to use one of Trek's Grandfather races (one of the big three first created in 'TOS' Season 1, over fifty years ago!), just as with 'TNG' and 'Voyager' (and even, cunningly, 'Enterprise'), their appearances were largely standout and memorable, so it's with no surprise that they do it again in this one. It helps that it's a Bashir story and one in which he finds himself working for the ominous 31, but even without that, who wouldn't want to see Romulus again? Not that we see much of its attractive environs beyond the beautiful matte painting of the circular senate building that probably dates back to 'TNG,' though they may have spruced it up a bit. There wasn't much time to go sightseeing, so the drama takes place in dark rooms, and as Garak points out, the predominate colour of Romulus, against what you'd expect from their green ships, green Disruptors and green Transporter beams, is grey. This only makes their green-tinged skin contrast greater with their surroundings, and with the addition of the shocking white dress uniforms introduced in 'Star Trek: Insurrection,' the contrast is even stronger, though Garak was maybe generalising a bit. How I wish we could've had Garak along - he's been one of the short-changed this season, not really having anything substantial to do except for rattling Ezri's cage, but I appreciated the throwback to old times when he meets Bashir meeting at the Replimat for a chat over a meal or drink. His inclusion could've been so much more, but if he'd been around to advise Bashir at the critical moment, Sloan's plan would have been botched, so his presence had to be cut short.

The old Garak/Bashir dinners aren't the only connection to both the series' history and Trek lore in general, there's a smorgasbord of Trekkishness bringing together the whole franchise in glorious fashion. The dress uniforms from the recent 'TNG' film were one aspect and work spectacularly well, but the biggest connection has to be an Intrepid-class ship, the USS Bellerophon (which they pleasingly bothered to show the name and serial number of), so they could use the 'Voyager' standing sets rather than create a new ship or use the Defiant again (in no way designed for diplomatic functions or entertaining). Given later events between that series and Writer Ron Moore you have to suck through your teeth to think of 'DS9' using 'Voyager' sets! But this was months before Moore's ignoble and brief period post-'DS9' working on 'Voyager' where he was effectively stymied (and has admitted he came in with the wrong attitude of wanting to show them how to write a good Trek series), but it is very interesting that he personally asked for 'Voyager' sets from the makers of it. I only wish we could have had more cross-promotion or crossovers like this - although it's not a big deal being denied main characters from other series' or films, it is special to see the 'DS9' cast on the same type of ship as Voyager. We're only granted access to the Mess Hall and Conference Room (the Bridge can be glimpsed as Bashir comes through the door), but it's still terrific and makes Bashir a rare character to appear on the sets of all three 24th Century series', something I can only think of Riker matching, as though Quark is in 'TNG' and 'Voyager' he was never aboard the ships!

The connections don't end there, because we also have a character from 'TNG,' then Proconsul, now Praetor Neral (sadly played by a different actor, though a good one), without fanfare or any mention of his past interaction with the Federation, but it really adds to the cohesiveness of the Trek world, especially as he was created before this series, way back in the Earth year 2368, while this is a further six years down the line, 2374. I also like that further productions give us even more data points on the state of the Romulan government both into the future (with 'Star Trek Nemesis' where we see another Praetor filling the spot, murdered by Shinzon, the Picard clone, and that was 2379, five years later), and very much the past ('Enterprise' in the 22nd Century showing what was going on before humans had ever set eyes on Romulans). The prequel series is even included in the great drawing together of all Romulan lore by the statement about putting aside three centuries of distrust (in the heat of the moment Bashir must have forgotten it was only two hundred years), between the races, which is exactly the time 'Enterprise' was set, so before it was even made, it's part of the continuing legacy. Sort of. It makes me happy to think of such things. The infamous Romulan ale is now legal as a result of the treaty with the Federation, and we see old Ross can't take it, a nice little bonding moment between he and Bashir giving them something to lose later in the episode, as well as showing how much Ross is a straight arrow that he hadn't touched the stuff before, yet even someone like him can be demoralised enough into assisting such an 'unsanctioned' organisation as Section 31.

Another apparent returnee, though it's not confirmed onscreen, is the holo-communicator. It's not, strictly speaking the Communicator part, but in Bashir's Quarters on the Bellerophon Sloan shows him holographic images of the important people he's going to be dealing with, Koval and Neral. We don't see the square on the floor that denoted the holo-communicator, but it must be the same kind of technology since they aren't in a Holodeck, and if this ship is like Voyager it doesn't have the capability of displaying holograms anywhere so I'm making assumptions (though this is a few years after Voyager launched so it's possible the ship has holoemitters even in Crew Quarters). I love the way it isn't a flat, still 3D image, but a lifelike facsimile of the real people you can see breathing and blinking, because it makes them so much more real. It was probably much easier to do that than freeze frame an image of them, especially as they're being walked around, but I saw it as a boon. A technology question arises regarding the actual Communicator badges they use, and whether they're designed to record everything that's said. It doesn't seem reasonable for an organisation as open and free-thinking as Starfleet to have such intrusiveness as part of its standard equipment, but why else does Ross take off his badge (and Bashir follow suit), chirping as if deactivated, unless there was something to be gained from it. It could have been a symbolic gesture, like Picard taking off his rank pins in 'Insurrection,' or perhaps just a precaution for the extremely delicate nature of the discussion.

That discussion and the last few minutes of the episode are some of the best stuff in Trek as we realise that Bashir was played, his good nature used to further the plans of those who don't share that nature and have given it up to protect those that do. It's a complex and disturbing few minutes as we learn that even Ross has played his part, knowingly, to elevate a spy higher in the ranks of the Romulan Senate, Koval actually working for them. It's chilling and in the same vein as Sisko admitting all the lies and cheating he had accepted in order to bring the Romulans into the war, the 'ends justifying the means speech,' as Sloan so glibly puts it. He doesn't like it, but goes along with what he feels necessary. I'm not always enamoured of what they're saying when they do these descents into 'reality' rather than following the optimistic outlook Trek has always been famous for and giving us heroes that manage to maintain their righteousness, while also defeating the foes. But it does make for some good drama, Bashir practically insubordinate to his Commander, which stops as soon as the badge is back on and the order to dismiss, uttered. At least Bashir wasn't compromised as Sisko Ross were. I was wondering why the Captain didn't attend the monthly meeting between Romulan, Klingon, Bajoran and Federation interests on the station (or Martok, for that matter), but I can see that, like Garak, his association with Ross and his connection to Bashir would have meant the more inclusion he had, the less Bashir would have been drawn into the plot, so a reduced Sisko presence makes sense.

The Romulan Mind Scanner that's used on Bashir when he's held by Koval and his Tal Shiar, I at first thought to be a 'mind sifter,' before realising that was something the Klingons from 'TOS' used. Mind you, the two races did have a period of sharing technology so perhaps the Romulan device was part of the same technology tree of history between the peoples, that came out of that brief period of alliance. It would also become integral to the next, and final, appearance for Sloan later in the season. When Bashir protests after having been subjected to the scanner that they haven't even asked him any questions yet, it sounded a bit like Han Solo in 'The Empire Strikes Back' when he's tortured! Sloan justifies his use of Bashir because of his genetically enhanced abilities, referring back to the savants in 'Statistical Probabilities' who could extrapolate from Damar's speech that he'd killed a woman, and wanting the Doctor to diagnose a possible illness in Koval from just his senses, without referring to a Tricorder or any other device that wouldn't be permitted there. Again, good continuity coming into play, adding to Sloan's plausibility. Something else that comes under that heading are the events of Season 4's 'The Quickening' in which Bashir was successful in creating a vaccine to prevent the evil blight being passed on to any more of the Teplan children, a biological weapon courtesy of the Dominion, the interest in its capabilities adding further veracity to the story Koval is playing out, while also disgusting Bashir, but giving him reason to address the man again.

The final scene where Sloan returns from the 'dead' in Bashir's Quarters on DS9, thanks him and lets him know how much he respects him, leaves a big question. I don't mean the mechanics of how Sloan could be seen to be vaporised by Disruptor (green!), yet still survive (maybe that hologram technology was used in some form - it was Koval's home territory after all, and he was the magician's glamourous assistant in the trick). I mean the moment when Bashir calls up Security to stop Sloan escaping, then changes his mind and says, "My mistake," (Odo probably thought he'd woken from a nightmare and called him without thinking). Does that signify that he sees the logic in Sloan's argument and can't do anything about it now, or that he knows someone as resourceful as this wouldn't have left anything to chance, so an attempt to capture him would be fruitless. Or is this the moment when his genetically enhanced brain first alights on an idea to do just that at a later date? I love the fact that Sloan is an excellent people person, he reads people's natures, because he was really taking a big risk with Bashir. Maybe there were contingency plans if Bashir hadn't followed the prescribed actions and consorted with Cretak, but he isn't relying on clever tech or split second action timing to succeed, he's reading people, and that rings very true, far less like the 'Mission: Impossible' films which became all about the gadgetry, and far more like the John Le Carre stories that seem realistic because of their character studies.

That's why Sloan and this incarnation of Section 31 worked so well, far from the generic black-suited cutouts that are too easy to conjure up when thinking of intelligence agents: intelligence and charm, that's what it's all about. Few can do that like William Sadler who made one of the most memorable recurring characters in Trek, so I'm glad they were able to get him back, because as I pointed out with Neral, they didn't get Norman Large back, and the same was true of Cretak actress Megan Cole. Now I actually prefer Adrienne Barbeau's version (not just because she has such a cool name!), who seems much sharper and icier than the more bubbly and atypical Romulan Cole portrayed. It's a shame they couldn't have been consistent with the character because they are quite different (I almost wish they'd brought Martha Hackett back as T'Rul, just for the continuity), because both sides of the character were interesting, but Barbeau fitted the mould for this episode better (and they couldn't get Cole, though it would have been good to see how she'd have handled this situation). John Fleck plays one the best of his many characters here, even though he's not in it that much - his biggest role would be Silik the Suliban on 'Enterprise,' but he'd played various aliens on all the Berman-era series' and was always reliable for a slimy villain (his first being another Romulan on 'TNG'). Both he and Sadler could have been great main cast members on a Trek series.

Finally, Sloan gives a summary of how he sees life after the war, including the Klingons taking years to recover, the Cardassians occupied, the Dominion returning to the Gamma Quadrant leaving only the Federation and the Romulans to vie for power as the top dog of the Alpha Quadrant. It brings to mind the attitude of the Founders in their belief that taking care of the Klingons would mean only the Romulans and Federation stood in their way, as well as Bashir and the other genetically enhanced savants, who thought they were able to predict the probability of the war ending with the Federation's certain destruction, but if they surrendered, one day their descendants would rise up and overthrow the oppressors. In other words, it was all very arrogant to be assuming the future, though whether Sloan actually believed it, or it was all part of the ruse to manipulate Bashir, none can tell. In any event we were sadly denied a chance to see the result, as 'Voyager' would be the only series to continue after the Dominion War, and it never delved into Alpha Quadrant politics in any meaningful way, and then 'Nemesis' showed the future of the Romulans, but didn't feature them nearly enough. So to all intents and purposes the end of the 24th Century is a story yet to be written (aside from the novels and games that have used it as a rich source of pickings, but they don't count for canon), and I'm still waiting to know the aftermath of the war on a complex and fascinating universe that has preferred to keep going backward because it's the easy option. At least 'DS9' kept going forward to the end, and this marked the final standalone episode of the season before the final nine-episode arc that would finish the war, the season, and the series.

*****