Section 31's Place Within Starfleet

Section 31, a secretive sect of Starfleet Intelligence, has been around since the very start of the Federation and Starfleet itself.

Article 14 of Starfleet's charter grants the authority to take extraordinary measures and makes allowances for bending the rules in times of extreme threat.

Speaking to StarTrek.com, the cast and creatives behind Star Trek: Section 31 shares their perspectives on Section 31's role within Starfleet, their relationship with Starfleet itself, and their recruitment of Philippa Georgiou for their mission.

Section 31's Existence

Section 14 of Starfleet's charter has been mentioned previously in series such as and .

"The Federation has a certain charter that they can only operate within Federation space and according to certain rules," confirms Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman. "But sometimes, there are problems that exist outside of that. The real premise of Section 31 is that in order for Starfleet to maintain the integrity of what we know about Starfleet, Section 31 needs to operate in the shadows and do what they do, and they operate outside Federation space."

"We make a real point of saying at the beginning of the movie, the story that you're about to see is not in violation of everything you know and love about Star Trek," adds Kurzman. "It's actually taking place in a different area, but it is taking place so that our Starfleet, as represented by Rachel Garrett, can actually do what it does."

Recruiting Philippa Georgiou

While on the mission to prevent a bioweapons designer from selling his latest weapon, Georgiou recognizes it, as she commissioned its creation in the Terran Empire. Seeing as she knows of and fears the Godsend, Alok Sahar sees the former Terran emperor as vital to neutralizing this threat to the Federation.

"Georgiou is pivotal to the entire thing," explains Kacey Rohl. "I also think particularly Georgiou and Garrett, they have this interesting exchange of perhaps ways of doing things. I bring a more staunch, hard-lined, 'This is right and this is wrong' viewpoint. She brings a little more chaos, through the film, we borrow from each other in different ways."

Georgiou has worked with Section 31 before, as seen on ; however, they lost sight of her when donned a new alias and bunkered down on the edge of Federation space.

"She's already had a lot of experience with Section 31," notes Michelle Yeoh. "She does enjoy Section 31 very much because you have a lot of toys, amazing toys. You have a lot of laws that you can bend. Or rather, the lack of laws in her mind, but still trying to do the right thing. "So when they come knocking at her door, they come in disguise. She's not very happy with that. It's like, 'Why aren't you straightforward like your boss, the Federation?' She meets this whole motley crew with Alok Sahar at the helm. They pretend they don't need her help. And at the end of the day, typical Georgiou, she blasts through their silly plan and tells them, 'This is the right way to do it if you want the job done right and proper.'"

"She's crucial to the Federation," remarks Rob Kazinsky, who plays Zeph, the crew's mech-wearing engineer. "This is the thing that people don't understand. She's a crux to our mission. By the way, Michelle Yeoh is crucial to everything we do. She has been the cornerstone of the present of Discovery universe. She's the cornerstone of the future and Michael Burnham's influence. She's the cornerstone now of the past and how Section 31 goes on to become an important force in the Federation. Philippa Georgiou is probably one of the most integral characters in the Star Trek universe at this point."

"Georgiou's a tool, in the nice way," Kazinsky adds. "Philippa Georgiou is a tool and Section 31 is not afraid to use tools for their benefit. When you bring in somebody, when they sent Alok to get Georgiou and he made the choice not to kill her, but to use her as an operative, it was Section 31 putting pragmatism above morality. That's the remit that we have, that you do what's necessary, not necessarily what's right. You do what's necessary to do the right thing."

Starfleet's Babysitter

Given Section 31's murky nature, it's no wonder Starfleet assigned Lt. Rachel Garrett to watch over the group, especially as their mission involves the infamous Terran Emperor Philippa Georgiou.

While Starfleet and Section 31 may need each other to maintain peace in the Federation, there isn't universal acceptance of each organization's worldview and approach.

"Melle is not very happy with it," reveals Humberly Gonzalez. "She loves to poke the bear because even if she believes Starfleet and believes Garrett, she wants to make sure that [Garrett] also accepts us, that she isn't just here to watch us. Are you going to be a part of our group? How are you going to integrate? And you see this back and forth between Garrett and Melle for that reason. I'm kind of calling her bluff, not because I want her not to be right, but I want her to fight back and not just follow someone else's rules. That goes back to being Section 31. If you're going to be a part of Section 31, you have to be fully you, not because you're following someone else's command. Yes, we have leaders, but all of us have our own uniqueness. The whole Starfleet thing, it's like, 'Listen, we get it. We know that you're here to protect the harmony and everything, but we're purposeful too.' Without us, you also wouldn't have harmony. She's just seeking mutual respect and recognition for the purpose of each division."

For the creative team, Starfleet and Rachel Garrett was critical to the story. "Section 31 goes to places that aren't normal and aren't as familiar in the Star Trek world," states director and executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi. "It's just wonderful to have an individual Starfleet officer be there to help anchor us back and bring us back to what we understand more traditionally to be Star Trek."

The Mole Among Them

When Alok's crew realizes forces are working against them, they begin to point fingers at one another suspecting a mole. Given the nature of Section 31's covert tactics, how much could they really trust each other?

For most of the cast, the only character who they wouldn't suspect as the mole is the team leader himself, Alok Sahar. He has the most personal history and has recruited his team.

Omari Hardwick explains how the betrayal affects him, given his character's experiences and past in the Eugenics War. "It destroys Alok," he states. "What Georgiou and Alok experienced, having been slaves as kids, is how they see eye-to-eye. [The betrayal] hurts Alok so much because he didn't ask anybody from the group to be what he had to be. I'm not cracking a whip. I'm asking them to bring their A-game and the best of what they have to offer."

"And once we find out who the mole is, it really hits Alok in the heart because he has really vouched for these guys," continues Hardwick. "It's a lot once you learn that this guy has completely gone rogue. I imagine that Alok would start to go in his brain as to where he went wrong, 'What did I do wrong? What did I not say? What should I have perhaps imparted on this particular character?'"

"In Section 31, it's very hard to trust people," confirms Kazinsky. "I certainly feel that we play the dynamic in this of 'We trust each other, kind of.' For my character, the only person I trust is Alok. I don't trust anybody else. We're quite used to living in that world. And I don't think it would break the group. In the ideal world, you'd have, 'You tried to screw me. Try again later.' We got to get good at screwing people over because that's what we do. We're Section 31. We sit there and break the rules and play spy games."