In our last instalment, we discussed a variety of events that took place within the Star Trek novel continuity, leading up to the thawing of relations between the powers of the Khitomer Alliance and the Typhon Pact. This time, we’ll pick up where we left off and talk about the machinations of conspiracies and secret cabals which defined the era leading up to the year 2387.
I’ll note here that the novel continuity, while still ongoing, has yet to begin addressing events leading to the Romulan supernova in 2387. I suspect the upcoming Coda trilogy may just do that, among other things about which I’ll speculate in the next instalment.
Without further ado, let’s fly!
Cold Equations
In 2383, Geordi LaForge, by this time captain of engineering aboard the Enterprise, was contacted by Bruce Maddox who informed him that B-4, the Soong-type android recovered by Enterprise in 2379, is on the verge of a cascade failure and that his only salvation is the removal of Data’s memories from his positronic matrix. Unfortunately, before any action can be taken, B-4 and all the other Soong-type androids are stolen from Maddox’s lab. Enterprise takes charge of the investigation and finds a cloaked Breen ship rendezvousing with another smaller vessel that transfers the androids over, then takes off in pursuit.
An away team led by Commander Worf discovered the pilot of the ship in a deserted system: none other than Noonien Soong, who had transferred his consciousness into an android prior to his body’s death. Soong had stumbled upon the Breen while trying to rescue B-4 and the androids himself. He joined the away team while they investigated the planet, finding a factory built by Lore years earlier to build androids for his Borg allies which had been commandeered by the Breen.
Soong then activated the androids and programmed them to attack the Breen, then he transferred Data’s memories from B-4 into his own body, which allowed Data’s personality to overwrite his own. Enterprise arrived soon after, rescuing the team and destroying the factory, but not before the Breen managed to escape with a few androids.
The restored Data is offered to rejoin Starfleet, but he turns it down after learning that the ancient android Flint had reactivated his mother, Juliana Tainer. Data then sets off to track down Flint and learn his secret so he can reactivate his daughter, Lal.
A short time later, the Enterprise investigated an attempted break-in at the Bank of Orion conducted by a Soong-type android, for which Data had been arrested. Orion is under heightened security due to the presence of Federation President Nanietta Bacco, on the planet for secret talks with the Gorn imperator. Bacco’s chief of staff had been murdered and replaced by one of the Breen’s captured androids, which then opened fire on dignitaries during a conference.
LaForge managed to capture the android and discovered it had been fitted with a telepresence system in lieu of a positronic brain, which exonerates Data. Enterprise tracks the telepresence signal to Tirana III where they find a ship extracting a crashed ship from the planet’s surface; the crashed ship had crossed over from the Mirror Universe and was equipped with a propulsion system that created artificial wormholes. Enterprise destroys both ships, robbing the Breen of their prize…
The Fall
In August 2385, Starfleet prepared to dedicate the new Deep Space Nine, designed by Miles O’Brien with construction supervised over the last two years by Lieutenant Commander Nog. A grand ceremony aboard the station was planned with many local dignitaries in attendance, including Federation President Nanietta Bacco, Bajoran First Minister Asarem Wadeen, Klingon Chancellor Martok, Ferengi Grand Nagus Rom, Cardassian Castellan Rakena Garan, and, representing the Typhon Pact, Romulan Praetor Gell Kamemor and Gorn Imperator Sozzerozs.
The Federation starships Aventine and Robinson are also on station with their respective captains, Ezri Dax and Benjamin Sisko, in attendance. Shortly before the ceremony, Castellan Garan is called away to deal with unrest at home caused by the extremist group Cardassia First, leaving her deputy in charge of the Cardassian delegation.
During the dedication ceremony, Nanietta Bacco is assassinated. Enkar Sirsy, an aide to First Minister Asarem, was found unconscious in the booth where the fatal shots originated; she indicated that she has no memory of firing a weapon or even of entering the booth in the first place. All evidence points to Enkar as the assassin, but the First Minister vouches for his aide’s character. Following an attempted poisoning, a subcutaneous device was found on Enkar which suggested she may have been framed by the Tzenkethi.
As the investigation continues, the Bajoran wormhole abruptly opens after two years’ dormancy and deposits two Tears of the Prophets: one discharges a Bajoran man from an alternate universe named Altek Dans, while the other releases Kira Nerys along with Taran’atar, a Jem’Hadar liaison to the previous station long thought dead.
Section 31
During this time, Julian Bashir had resolved to bring down Section 31 and expose their numerous crimes to the galaxy at large. He and Sarina Douglas had worked with the clandestine organization on occasion, but each time they had become more convinced of the righteousness of their cause. Following his efforts to help the Andorians, Bashir was court-martialed for accessing the classified meta-genome data but was pardoned by President zh’Tarash. Unknown to Starfleet and the Federation at large was the fact that Starfleet Intelligence had engineered the court-martial such that Bashir had a clean break from Starfleet making him more attractive to Section 31 so the organization could recruit him, allowing Bashir to potentially bring it down from the inside.
In January 2386 Bashir and Douglas, living on Andoria, were recruited by Section 31 for a unique mission: to stop the Breen from acquiring advanced technology from the Mirror Universe, namely an advanced propulsion system called a wormhole drive which could tip the balance of power in the Typhon Pact’s favour. Even though the wormhole drive ship had successfully crossed over to the Prime Universe under Breen control, Bashir and Douglas were able to sabotage the ship, which crashed on Tirana III three years before they went on their mission and was subsequently destroyed by the Enterprise.
(Side note: A future piece will detail the novel continuity’s continuation of the Mirror Universe storyline from DS9.)
Ozla Graniv, a journalist for the Trill newsmagazine Seeker, contacted Bashir and Douglas with information regarding a 200-year-old surveillance program called Uraei, which has attained sentience and infected all Federation technology as well as that of any other race the Federation had traded technology with, and which is actively carrying out surveillance of all private citizens within its range. Bashir and Douglas quickly deduce that Uraei must be connected with Section 31 in some way and resolve to seek out the only person who might crack its code: Data.
Data and his restored daughter Lal tried to hack into Uraei, but their first attempt alerted Section 31 and forced the organization to target the whole group for assassination. They soon learn that Uraei is not just a tool used by Section 31 for its nefarious purposes but is in fact the force behind the entire organization, operating under the guise of its shadowy leader, Control. Data and Lal come up with a plan to delete the Uraei code without destroying any technology it has infected by using a fake presidential order to force Control to reboot itself. It would use backups stored at Memory Alpha and Memory Prime, so those would have to be destroyed.
Graniv then goes to Earth and gives President zh’Tarash her evidence of Section 31’s crimes. Data and Lal face an android avatar of Control at Memory Prime and destroy it and the backup located there, while Bashir and Douglas assault the backup at Memory Alpha. During that phase of the plan, Bashir is attacked by a brainwashed Douglas but still manages to delete the Uraei backup, although not before Control forces Sarina Douglas to commit suicide. Bashir’s injuries in the fight, coupled with the psychological trauma of seeing Sarina die, rendered him catatonic; Castellan Garak brought him to Cardassia to be cared for in his home for as long as was necessary.
Section 31’s agents and activities were subsequently exposed for the whole galaxy to see. Hundreds of officers, including the admirals who had covered up the Federation’s role in the Tezwa Affair, had been arrested and brought to trial. Retired Admiral William Ross and his legal defence team are murdered by a rogue Federation Security agent whose husband had been killed by Control before Ross can stand trial. Soon after, Jean-Luc Picard departs the Enterprise to return to Earth to answer for his own role in President Zife’s removal. Phillipa Louvois then takes control of the prosecution and turns it into a virtual witch hunt, reasoning that Control’s influence had spread throughout Starfleet and no one was immune from scrutiny.
During Picard’s hearing, Admirals Akaar and Riker arrange for L’Haan, the Vulcan former director of Section 31, to testify with visual evidence. She confirmed that Picard had no part in the executions of Zife, his chief of staff, and military intelligence minister, nor had he had a role in Zife’s removal from office. The charges against Picard are dropped and he resumes command of the Enterprise.
Although Section 31 was disbanded, Control itself was not destroyed. The sentient program had survived the purge of Uraei in some form, and it determined that the Federation would function much better now without Section 31. Control had engineered the entire course of events to this end.
Join me in the next part, as we’ll explore Trouble at Home, Cardassian Intrigue, and The Andorian Crisis, we will catch up with Captain Ro Laren, Dr. Katherine Pulaski and a few more of our beloved characters
Read The Novels That Cover These Events…
- Star Trek: Cold Equations trilogy by David Mack:
- Star Trek: The Fall miniseries:
- Revelation and Dust by David R. George III
- The Crimson Shadow by Una McCormack
- A Ceremony of Losses by David Mack
- The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow
- Peaceable Kingdoms by Dayton Ward
- Star Trek: Section 31:
