Star Trek: Section 31

Star Trek: Section 31 is a made-for-TV film released on Paramount+ on . It stars Michelle Yeoh, playing the role of the mirror as a member of Section 31. The film takes place in the 24th century. 
Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she must also face the sins of her past.
== Summary ==
=== Prologue ===
:"Fate who makes the sword… does the forging in advance" – Aeschylus
In the Terran Empire of the mirror universe, a young returns to her family home after two years away. She explains to them over dinner how eighteen children were culled from the corners of the Empire to be pitted against each other in a contest of slaughter on Terra until only two remained, herself and San. Even when so much as the word "friend" was forbidden, Georgiou and San formed a pact against the proctor and other contestants, often reciting their secret love with the vow: "We are two, but one. Forever." As only one can rule, Georgiou explains that one task still remains for them, with the first to complete it being granted rule of the Empire while the other will be fated to a life of servitude to the new emperor. Just as her mother asks what she has to do, Georgiou's begins coughing and retching, followed by both parents. As the three realize they have been poisoned, Georgiou explains that no ties to one's old life are permitted for the one who would become emperor. All three die. Georgiou weeps over the bodies of her family, then steels herself before walking out of her former home, leaving a trail of their blood in her path.
An Imperial ship descends to the surface. An entire army of soldiers beams down, followed by the contest proctor. The proctor has San beamed to their location and informs Georgiou that she has succeeded where he failed. Not having the strength to murder his family, San's village now burns for his cowardice. Georgiou claims her victory, two soldiers step forward and place a cape around her shoulders as a symbol of her new status as Emperor. San is made to kneel before her in servitude. Georgiou removes a red-hot sword from her father's forge and whispers to San the beginning of their vow: "We are two…" San completes it with "…but one," only to be rejected by Georgiou, who replies, "not anymore," and burns the side of San's face with the sword. San collapses in pain and all present hail to the new Emperor.
=== Coded Transmission 1: One Night at the Baraam ===
:"This is With a priority message for Leader. Your subject is Emperor Philippa Georgiou, former ruler of the Terran Empire. It's in a parallel universe with the most criminal population in recorded history. Even there, Georgiou had the market cornered on atrocities. In 2257, she was brought to our universe and joined Section 31, but after a few years, we lost contact. Recently, Georgiou was spotted using an alias in the border territory outside Federation space, where we're tracking a new threat on the black market. This is where your team comes in. Federation treaty forbids us from crossing over that border, which means Starfleet cannot get its hands dirty. You and your 31 team will go in, make contact with Georgiou to help identify and neutralize the threat. But make no mistake... this dog bites, so watch your backs. You have twenty four hours to complete the mission. Get to work."
On stardate 1294.2, Georgiou, under the alias Madame Veronique du Franc, operates a lounge bar aboard the Baraam space station far outside of Federation space. Her concierge, , informs her of a "molting incident" in the honeymoon suite that he has sent a biohazard team and her condolences to. Furthermore, a customer, Alok Sahar, would like a word with her. Virgil introduces the two, but Georgiou claims a meeting is impossible when Sahar tries to make an appointment. Nevertheless, she bids Virgil au revoir while chewing on an eyeball, and allows the meeting when Sahar speaks French. Sahar puts a small box on the table and says that it is both illegal and makes money. When "Madame du Franc" objects that her establishment is reputable, Sahar disputes it as counter to what he heard and wants to continue the conversation in her office as a "hands on" experience.
In the office, Sahar reveals the box contains Dulcet thistle, which Georgiou thought extinct. Sahar claims to have a dozen keys of it, and entices Georgiou to try some with the promise of a profitable venture and a novel new first for Georgiou in the form of the "happy punch" the drug gives. Georgiou mixes the thistle into some elixirs and the two drink a toast to money. When they sit, Georgiou suddenly asks Sahar to "cut the shit" and asks what Section 31 is doing on her station.
She has recognized his team all over the bar – A Chameloid trying to seduce a Deltan, despite the fact that Chameloids are the only species immune to the Deltan powers of sexual attraction. A Human with a mech suit, she surmises is high in artillery but low in intelligence. A Vulcan who laughs at stage banter, which either makes him an idiot or someone who had gone insane during pon farr. And an overly-serious Human female. Sahar identifies the last one as Lieutenant Garrett. Georgiou bemoans Starfleet's involvement, calling it "where fun goes to die." Sahar reveals that Section 31 has known Georgiou was on the Baraam and allowed her to continue operating because it would be valuable for them. When Georgiou questions her motivation for being valuable to anyone other than herself, the two start negotiating. Section 31 has known Georgiou was at the Baraam since the previous owner's demise; Sahar implies Georgiou's involvement, but she denies it. He then tells her that he has been authorized to arrest her and wipe her memories from her mind, though part of him wants to see Georgiou live with the genocidal ones. Georgiou doubts he or Section 31 would be able to arrest her. At an impasse, Sahar gets Georgiou to admit she'd find it boring being continually pursued by Section 31. "The past always catches up with you," he tells her. More than that, his offer of one last mission gives her the chance to be something greater again, on a galactic scale. He implores her to stop running from her fate, and Georgiou agrees, saying, "Let's get on with it."
Aboard his ship, Sahar formally introduces his team to Georgiou. Starting with Melle, the Deltan and , who had the mech suit. Zeph clarifies that he views his suit as himself when Georgiou mentions it looks like a Swiss Army knife, the Chameloid Quasi explaining that Zeph suffers from mecha dysmorphia, a term Zeph takes offense to despite not knowing what it means. Georgiou then asks someone to explain the Vulcan, who then reveals he is actually a Nanokin named Fuzz. The "Vulcan" is simply a machine he pilots from an auxiliary vehicle inside the head of his anthropomorphic conveyance. Quasi explains Section 31 made first contact with Nanokins when they found a group of them scavenging a derelict ship, though Fuzz is extremely insulted when Quasi refers to them as an "infestation." After Sahar fails to calm Fuzz down, Melle does so with her Deltan empathic powers. Sahar then introduces Lieutenant Rachel Garrett of Starfleet, assigned to Section 31 for this mission only. Georgiou wonders who Garrett pissed off to get assigned to black ops. Garrett clarifies Starfleet's presence is to defend the Federation, keep the peace and prevent murder during the mission. Georgiou then turns her attention to Quasi, who Sahar explains he recruited when he proved the existence of glioclusters. Quasi explains life as existing in branching possibilities, and analogizes he could feel intimidated by Georgiou right now or instead choose to lock that feeling away. Quasi begins to continue listing possibilities but is interrupted by his teammates who choose to get to work.
Quasi displays the information on their target, bioweapons designer Dada Noe, on a console. Noe will be arriving on the Baraam to sell a new creation to the Minosian High Council, which could lead to formal hostilities between the Federation and the Minosian Sway. Garrett explains what their plan to prevent Noe's sale was before Georgiou spotted them – Sahar would have neutralized Georgiou while Quasi would have taken on her appearance to greet Noe. Fuzz was to exit his Vulcan disguise to infiltrate and sabotage Dada Noe's body modifications, with Garrett overseeing to ensure Noe's life would not be placed in jeopardy. Sahar would then be able to take control of Noe's body and incapacitate him with Zeph's assistance, taking Noe and whatever pathogen he had into Section 31's custody before the buyers arrived. Georgiou responds to this plan with a "meh," enigmatically stating she has a simpler idea…
A short time later, the real Georgiou greets Noe in the Baraam's bar and escorts him to his suite, where she places a phase pod on the case he is carrying and another on herself. She activates both devices and both her and the case begin vibrating at a wavelength out of phase with the rest of the universe, allowing Georgiou to pick up and handle the case once it falls through Noe's hand. Noe fires on Georgiou with a disruptor, but the bolts merely pass through her. Georgiou begins to leave with the case and Noe attempts to tackle her, only to pass through her himself as Sahar and Zeph enter. Sahar sends Noe flying across the room with one punch, causing Georgiou to question if he's Human. Zeph handcuffs the unconscious Noe.
The three operatives then turn their attention to one of the suite's walls when it begins to rumble. A masked individual phases through it, equipped with his own phase pod. The masked assailant demands the case and is able to make physical contact with Georgiou, who drops the case as the two begin fighting. Sahar and Zeph are unable to intervene. Georgiou is kicked into the next room, interrupting an intimate moment between an Andorian and Antedian. The assailant takes the case and Georgiou gives chase, the naked Andorian firing on them to no effect. Zeph readies his suit and breaks through the wall with Sahar following, shocking the naked aliens, whose suite is now on fire. The chase continues towards the bar, with Georgiou taking the case then deactivating her phase pod to avoid a knife the masked assailant pulls. He then deactivates his to be able to make contact as the two fight. Both go flying through glass into the lounge, Georgiou dropping the case. Melle is on the scene and hops over the bar to engage the assailant. She attempts to fire a disruptor, but he overpowers and quickly disintegrates her.
Georgiou briefly regains the case, but the fight continues onto the main stage, both reactivating their phase pods. The crowd cheers and gasps as each of them gains the upper hand at times, but ultimately the masked assailant attempts to flee the bar with the case. Georgiou catches him, and he kicks the case through a wall into an adjacent hall. When Georgiou gains the upper hand, she runs through the wall after the case, but her phase pod malfunctions, causing her ankle to get stuck in the wall.
The assailant comes through, able to freely walk up to the case, which is just out of Georgiou's reach. He opens it to reveal a device that Georgiou, to her horror, immediately recognizes. Georgiou is shocked the device could exist, exclaiming she had it destroyed. The masked assailant removes it from the case and beams away with it. Georgiou frees herself and Sahar arrives in the hall. With a weapon drawn on Georgiou, he demands to know what the weapon she recognized was. Georgiou remains silent and attempts to rush Sahar, who stuns her.
=== Coded Transmission 2: The Godsend ===
Georgiou dreams of her massacred family, betrayal of San and her rise to Emperor in the Terran Empire a lifetime ago – She recalls when San served her as the Eternal Supplicant and came to her with the completed weapon. San informed her that the weapon's engineers took their own lives upon its completion. She notices a tear, which a trembling San says is for her. As San begins weeping, Georgiou asks again why he cries for her, and if he remembers who they used to be. San claims to only remember his failure. Georgiou reminds him they were a team and understood each other, reciting their vow. San takes her hand and admits that he would have agreed to run away with her and flee the competition when asked, but only then. Now, the innocent girl he once knew is gone. San falls over, coughing up blood. Georgiou, realizing he took the same poison she had used on her family, screams that she forbids San to die. He protests that no one wants to live in the world she has made, and dies calling her a "monster."
In a safehouse deep underground, Georgiou awakens, finding herself handcuffed with Sahar watching over. She asks why Sahar, as a Section 31 operative, is not torturing information out of her, but he knows that would be ineffective on a tyrant such as herself. Georgiou surmises that Sahar has learned about tyranny first-hand and wants to hear his story if they are to be partners; besides, the mission is worse than Section 31 thought, with billions of lives at stake. She wins his trust by offering to share her own answers and arguing the only way they can succeed is to know each other. Sahar takes a seat and reveals he is from the 20th century, a roughly 350-year-old exile from the Eugenics Wars. The Augments took Sahar's planet and he was among the few to fight back, and the last after all others "…either took a bullet or blade." The Augment Giri the Marked, who slaughtered Sahar's family, took notice of him and enlisted him, augmenting him to be stronger than any Human should be. Sahar did terrible things for someone he considers a monster much like Georgiou, because "…for tyrants, there is only one choice: murder." Georgiou notes he hasn't killed her, but Sahar emphasizes, "Yet." Now it's her turn. Georgiou admits she recognized the weapon because she was the one who ordered it built, then instructs Sahar to assemble his team…
Alpha Team emerges from the underground base as Georgiou explains the weapon is called the Godsend. Built to end all threats, it triggers a chain reaction, passing between planets like a virus and incinerating everything in its path. It would be capable of destroying an entire quadrant, leaving nothing left to rule if her enemies managed to kill her. Zeph has a quick question about whether the weapon is called the "Godsend" or "God's end," and banters a bit about the difference with Quasi. Garrett questions how the weapon is here despite being from another universe. Georgiou is unsure, except for the fact that must have brought it here, making him from the Terran Empire. She offers to interrogate Noe, but neither Garrett nor Quasi trust Georgiou. Sahar, however, agrees, and takes Georgiou back to the ship to talk with Noe.
Back on the ship, Georgiou presents herself to Noe, to his confusion. Sahar introduces her as Philippa Georgiou, Her Most Imperial Majesty and a litany of other regal titles. Noe, unimpressed, sarcastically asks if that comes with fries. Georgiou strikes him, Sahar explaining she will do so every time he is untruthful. Noe tries to pass himself off as the Dada Noe of the Prime Universe, claiming he ran a pathology lab in the Watt colonies. Sahar punches him for lying, making them both liars since it was not Georgiou as he had promised. Sahar and Georgiou reveal they know he is the Mirror Noe and brought the Godsend here, but Noe feigns ignorance. Georgiou recalls when her war council attempted to depose her and asks if Noe knows how she got the field marshal to talk. After whispering her methods in his ear, Noe admits he was an administrator at an Imperial weapons facility on Terra where the Godsend was stored. He entered the Prime Universe via a passageway that periodically opens in the Crescent Nebula when two ion storms converge, and planned to sell the Godsend in order to live quietly off the proceeds. The passageway will open again in four hours, when Noe planned to meet his buyer. He warns that the Empire, having burned through its resources, is in need of new places to conquer. When they realize the Godsend is gone, they will find the passageway, enter the Prime Universe, burn everything and enslave the rest. Chuckling, he tells Georgiou, "They learned well from you." Sahar pulls on Noe's nose with his pinky finger, demanding to know who the buyer is. Noe only knew about the money, not the buyer's identity, but says whoever stole the Godsend learned their methods from either Sahar or Georgiou.
An explosion launches all three to the floor. Sahar orders emergency transport for himself an Georgiou back to the surface. The ship, beset by explosions, crashes into a sand dune, spreading burning debris all over the ground. Noe emerges from the wreckage burning alive, then collapses. Meeting with the rest of the team, Sahar and Georgiou conclude the ship was sabotaged by a member of the team, one of them is a mole. Distrust runs rampant and everyone begins speculating who the mole is. Quasi is particularly defensive, accusing either Fuzz, Zeph and Fuzz together, or maybe Garrett. Fuzz argues he would never risk war considering his wife is about to lay 190,000 eggs. Garrett is incredulous at the accusation, reminding everyone she is Starfleet. She then informs the team of a nearby abandoned garbage scow she believes they can get operational to pursue whoever took the Godsend. Georgiou reminds everyone of the stakes – they have a mole, are stranded on a dead planet, have no communication with the outside and have less than four hours before the Terrans get their hands on the Godsend. Sahar orders Quasi to get the base's out-of-date antenna array working so as to warn Section 31. He tells everyone to work together and stay in sight.
Inside the safehouse, the team finds the array sabotaged by the mole. Georgiou orders two teams, one she'll lead into the woods to salvage the scow, and one for Sahar to keep at the base and repair the antenna array. Sahar backs up Georgiou's orders when questioned because he is "pretty certain" she is not the mole, and orders Quasi and Fuzz to go with her. Quasi is apprehensive about going into the woods with a potential mole that wants to kill him, but Sahar repeats the order to "Just stay in sight of each other and don't get dead."
Georgiou's team finds the abandoned garbage scow in a shallow river. Quasi notes the internal circuitry is still intact and should work. He asks Georgiou if the Godsend has a failsafe or remote shut-off, and she confirms it does not as she wouldn't allow it. When next asked if she thought it was "a little much" to create the Godsend to end quadrillions of lives, Georgiou averts, only saying she ordered it destroyed. Quasi is unsatisfied, but the conversation has to wait. Georgiou finds that the ship's asymtote coil is missing, likely scavenged. Another will be needed to get the ship to fly. Quasi agrees to look with Georgiou in the ship's cargo hold so as to keep everyone together and in-sight. Fuzz robotically answers that he couldn't be more excited when asked to come along.
Back at base, Garrett makes scans while Zeph practices "radical self-acceptance" by contributing nothing. Garrett informs Sahar the antenna's torn wiring looks more dramatic than it is because of the system's built-in redundancy, but they will need a theta junction to get it working. Sahar speculates the mole may have the missing part, then both notice Zeph has disappeared.
The two search the base for Zeph, who fails to answer comms. They hear a noise Garrett confirms is the antenna array, activated by someone. Garrett then fails to respond over comms when Sahar asks for a sitrep. He searches for her, joined by Georgiou, Quasi and Zeph, all with phasers drawn. All four arrive at the antenna array's control room, finding nothing. Garrett enters, explaining she heard someone running. She speculates Zeph must have replaced the theta junction, used the array, then shot it out. Georgiou and Sahar believe Zeph sabotaged and stranded them, sent a message to his conspirators and now plans to hide until they can arrive and extricate him. So, they determine to find him first.
Garrett and Quasi scan the woods, the former's tricorder showing Zeph's biosignature was recently in the area. While searching their own section of the woods, Georgiou asks Sahar what happened to Giri. He only says that she died as she lived. Georgiou considers her lucky not to have been "infected" with a conscience, saying, "A monster can only be a monster. A monster with regrets is useless." Sahar thinks Georgiou's own regrets explain why she was hiding out in a bar. Georgiou retorts it may be the same reason Sahar works with Section 31. He reminds her there is always a price to pay for people like them. Georgiou thinks Sahar recruited her because he sees her as a monster who feels guilty enough to be controlled while still being able to do the dirty work, but Sahar actually thinks she is motivated to retrieve the Godsend for a chance at redemption for all she's done. A defiant Georgiou insists she only wants it back because it is hers. Georgiou's tricorder alerts her to fluid from Zeph's exoskeleton she finds on a tree. The two follow the trail and find Zeph's body – dead.
The remaining team stands around Zeph's corpse. Fuzz begins reciting the names of his hatchlings to honor them since he expects to be murdered by the mole soon, to Quasi's disbelief that he will actually sob out 190,000 names. Sahar wants to connect a tricorder to Zeph's suit for whatever data remains from his murder. Quasi comments he, Garrett and Fuzz were in the scow when Zeph went missing, all watching each other with no one leaving, ruling the three of them out as suspects. Georgiou then finds a 25-centimeter, brunette hair on Zeph's body, implicating Garrett. 
The group returns to base, Georgiou performing scans on Garrett. Garrett explains she had been in close quarters with Zeph for weeks, which Georgiou interprets as a sexual relationship. The scans reveal blood under Garrett's fingernails, something she finds impossible. Georgiou confirms it as a match for Zeph's. Handcuffed to a chair, Garrett protests her innocence and accuses Georgiou of being terrified of anyone with a moral compass. Georgiou calls her a "chaos goblin" deep down, speculating that as the reason Starfleet placed her with Section 31, an ideal place for amoral officers. Georgiou removes her necklace and transforms it into a knife to torture a confession out of Garrett, but Sahar objects. Their attention is diverted from Garrett when the tricorder attached to Zeph's suit finishes recovering footage. The team watches a recording of Zeph seemingly struggling with control over his own suit, hitting himself, and protesting to some unseen party "We were your friends," before ultimately pressing a drill through his own eye. While Garrett is vindicated, Quasi and Zeph are perplexed as to why Zeph would take his own life.
With nothing making sense, Georgiou puts the pieces together – Fuzz set his Vulcan machine on autopilot, explaining his strange responses on the scow. Exiting it and entering Zeph's exoskeleton, he took control and used it to take the theta junction, send the messages, destroy the evidence, murder Zeph with his own suit and plant evidence on Garrett.
Sahar holds Fuzz at gunpoint. At first feigning innocence, Fuzz reveals he is still hacked into Zeph's exoskeleton and uses it to disarm Sahar. Fuzz and the exoskeleton, still suited to Zeph's corpse, make their escape on a transport platform. Sahar, Georgiou and Quasi take the next one to give chase, leaving behind a still-handcuffed Garrett, who promptly frees herself. On the transport platform, the three exchange fire with Zeph's hacked suit on the platform ahead while Fuzz stays at the controls. Georgiou activates a tractor beam to bring the two platforms close enough to connect, all while the platforms speed through a massive tunnel. An all-out brawl ensues, with the mech suit eventually throwing Sahar from the fast-moving platform, only to be saved by Quasi, who transforms into a large, multi-legged creature to catch him. Georgiou takes the controls and turns the platform sharply, sending Zeph's suit flying off. Only Georgiou and Fuzz remain as the transport enters a large, vertical shaft. Shooting upwards into the sky, the acceleration sends Georgiou and Fuzz to the floor. When they come to a rest, Fuzz seemingly manages to throw Georgiou over the side. But she climbs around and sneaks up behind him, slashing his Vulcan android and stabbing it several times in the back.
Georgiou guesses Fuzz heard about the Godsend on the black market and wants to know where it is and who he's working for. Fuzz questions what she cares about a few billion more lives for compared to what she's done, killing her family and condemning her only friend to slavery. She questions how he could know that about her, and Fuzz reveals that San is alive, having faked his death by slowly building up an immunity to the poison he took. Shocked, Georgiou demands to know where San is. Fuzz instead blames her for the "show" San is about to put on, saying she made him into a monster, and laughs as he is beamed away.
Far above in orbit, a ship warps away. On board, San retracts his mask and removes Georgiou's knife from Fuzz's damaged body. He has paid Fuzz enough to afford a hundred such bodies. Fuzz notices the Godsend aboard and quips that the Emperor might have named it something less confusing. San ignores him and checks on the timing for the next convergence of the ion storms – just under two hours to go.
At their safehouse, the remaining team realizes San will contact the Terrans once the passageway opens. They will invade once he detonates the Godsend in the Prime Universe and sends the Federation into chaos, making them an easy conquest and San the darling of the Empire. Garrett asks Georgiou how they can stop the device, considering she is responsible for its creation. Georgiou, defeated, argues they can do nothing trapped and unable to pursue or warn anyone. The Godsend is the one thing she could never beat, considering it is her and she could never defeat herself. "The past always catches up with you," she repeats to Sahar, who adds "Doesn't mean it always wins." Sahar opens a drawer to reveal the asymtote coil needed to get the garbage scow flyable, he was the one who removed it while the mole was still at large.
Georgiou inserts the coil into the scow, and Garrett and Quasi man the helm. Quasi powers up the ship, but it only briefly sputters one pulse until Georgiou kicks it and everything powers on. With less than thirty minutes, Sahar orders Quasi to set a course for the Crescent Nebula. Both the ride and the mission will be "bumpy and bad." San's Terran ship will be heavily armed with photon cannons and torpedoes, while Alpha Team only has a garbage barge. Quasi laughs as he cannot imagine things getting worse. And the scow takes off.
=== Coded Transmission 3: The Passageway ===
As Alpha Team's garbage scow leaves the atmosphere, Quasi explains the ship flies in the middle of a tractor field that picks up garbage in space until the field is full, and dumps it to burn in the radiation of the Crescent Nebula. Though no one is thrilled that their best weapon is a beam for collecting garbage, Georgiou heads to engineering to redirect power to it because, "being judgy never helped anything." The scow arrives at the nebula, where San's ship awaits.
While San waits, Fuzz tells him that he hopes to get a big space for his hatchlings when this is over. San only wants Georgiou to marinate in her own defeat. The Terran ship detects the scow on a collision course. San is unsurprised Georgiou got it there. He fires a torpedo at Fuzz's suggestion, a direct hit on the scow's shields. San questions why the scow doesn't change course. Alpha Team plans to drag San with the scow's tractor beam but is not close enough yet. Another torpedo is inbound, which the scow's shield cannot take. Evasive action allows them to dodge it, and the scow gets close enough to tractor San's ship. Dragging them into the nebula's radiation will wear down their shields, but will affect the scow also. San's ship experiences a target lock malfunction, causing cannons to go offline. Seeing a wave of radiation they are about to be dragged into outside, Fuzz flees the bridge screaming in fear. Radiation levels are critical and shields down on Alpha Team's scow, while San's are down to 12% and still dropping. To make matters worse, the scow is barreling towards plasma bursts that could finish them off. Georgiou tells Garrett that this is the chaos that she knows she loves, and she should let it in and "make out with it." Garrett has an epiphany that chaos is her "friends with benefits," and prepares to "get messy." Georgiou and Sahar beam over to San's ship the moment his shields are down.
On San's ship, Georgiou spots the Godsend. San approaches, with weapon in hand. Georgiou is stunned to see her friend-turned-lover's scarred face again after so many years. Fuzz stabs Sahar and Georgiou shoots him in retaliation. She then turns her attention back to San, slides him her gun and raises her hands in surrender. "This contest only ends when one of us is dead!" he exclaims in response. San rushes towards Georgiou to fire and she easily knocks the gun from his hand. The two begin fighting and San is pushed into the Godsend, knocking it over and activating its detonation sequence. Meanwhile, Fuzz climbs atop the injured Sahar, pressing a knife into his chest whilst gloating that Nanokins ruled before the Federation and will rule again after it's gone, especially as small things survive large explosions. Fuzz intends to cut the scow loose, facetiously apologizing if Sahar's friends die. He exits his Vulcan body through its eye and leaves it to continue stabbing Sahar on autopilot.
On the scow, Garrett and Quasi notice a small craft leaving San's ship, with what sensors indicate is one, tiny life-form aboard. Garrett orders missile lock, only for Quasi to remind her they just have trash. Fuzz uses his shuttle to disable the scow's tractor beams by ramming it into the emitters on the hull. As explosions continue to hit both ships, Garrett and Quasi struggle to keep up with Fuzz as his shuttle returns to San's ship.
In a reprieve from their fight, San begins ranting to Georgiou. He believes he was nothing but soft and weak as a boy, but his years serving Georgiou have made him who he is now. He plans to make the Empire his when it comes through the portal and reign over the Prime Universe with righteous mercy. Georgiou argues that there is no such thing as a benevolent dictator. Embracing him, she reminds him that was a fact that he had taught her. She offers him reconciliation. San, while tempted, rejects Georgiou, slamming her into a bulkhead. At the same time, Sahar begins to overpower Fuzz's automated Vulcan body.
In the payload bay of the garbage scow, Garrett sings about how she loves chaos while wading through refuse. Quasi inquires what she's doing over comms and she tells him to trust her. She then stumbles upon a discarded toy from a Droom planet. Opening it, she finds the unstable power source Terrenium inside. Quasi realizes she plans to blow them up. Garrett begins wiring the toy, telling Quasi to hope the ship's hull is reinforced with Tomohite. After pouring a solution onto the exposed Terreniumm, Garrett runs out of the payload bay.
Meanwhile, the fights aboard San's ship continue. Sahar gains the upper hand on Fuzz's Vulcan robot, but Fuzz, observing remotely from his shuttle, manages to get the robot back up and continue slashing at Sahar. San begins pummeling Georgiou in a rage, only for her to catch him off guard by hugging him. He rejects her yet again and arms himself with a sword.
With an explosion imminent in the payload bay, Garret plans to keep the scow ahead of Fuzz and open it on him. The problem is, the console Quasi has been operating is in a language unfamiliar to him. Either of two buttons could open the bay, or either could begin a self-destruct protocol. Garrett tells Quasi to make the call. He closes his eyes and nervously presses a button. The payload bay doors open, sending the rigged toy and all trash flying out.
Sahar manages Georgiou's knife back from Fuzz's robot, and stabs it in the head. It then reveals to Sahar that it is on autopilot before going offline. Almost simultaneously, Sahar collapses from his wounds. The real Fuzz finds himself perplexed at the garbage in space now raining down on him. An explosion ensues, destroying Fuzz's shuttle.
San continues taking swings at Georgiou with his sword, eventually pinning her down and drawing its tip into her cheek as she resists. Believing her death is at hand, San mocks Georgiou's supposed redemption, telling her to go tell her family how much she's changed. Georgiou kicks the blade away, sending it slashing into San's neck. Remorseful, Georgiou takes San's hand as he dies, apologizing and telling him that this isn't what she wanted. San tells her that she was right that he always needed her, even now, to show him who he really is. San confesses his love with his dying words. Tearfully, Georgiou completes the vow, "We are one. Forever." 
The computer reports the ion storm convergence is imminent. The ship arrives at the portal, and Georgiou places her hand on the Godsend, activating it with her biosignature. She orders the computer to lock on to the passageway. Sahar regains consciousness and she asks him if he would have been willing to kill Giri at the cost of his own life if it would end suffering. He would. Georgiou says she is glad to know him, and Sahar activates the ship's impulse engines to send it through the portal. Quasi detects this on the scow but has trouble transporting them back with the storm's interference. Sahar and Georgiou hold hands as they fly into the portal prepared to die and hopefully take a large swath of the Mirror Universe with them. The ship enters the portal and the Godsend detonates. Quasi and Garrett are blinded by the all-encompassing, white light that results.
When she comes to, Garrett finds Georgiou over her, alongside Sahar. Quasi having beamed them safely aboard. Celebrating their victory, she hugs Georgiou. Not too changed from her experiences, Georgiou recoils, saying "Perkiness is disgusting." Georgiou then sees the fruits of her efforts, the whole team watches as the passageway collapses outside.
=== Final Transmission ===
Three weeks later, Georgiou has resumed running the bar at the Baraam. She is greeted by Sahar, who asks about her debriefing. Section 31 made Georgiou an offer, one she is sitting on. She then asks "Sahar" how long he thought his visage could fool her. He shapeshifts, confirming himself to actually be Quasi, having given himself away showing his nervousness whenever Georgiou looked at him. The real Sahar arrives and Georgiou orders a round of elixirs from Virgil. Garrett arrives, correcting her rank when addressed to Lieutenant commander, revealing she has been promoted. Garrett says she will be needed for oversight if their unit is to be a permanent detail. Georgiou reminds all of them that she might slaughter them at a moment's notice, but none of them find that to be an issue. Garrett compliments Georgiou as a "bad bitch," which Sahar continues, "…with a stare of death." Quasi concludes, calling her, "…a terrifying, soulless murderer, who we can never truly trust," something Garrett loves for their team. Georgiou says someone has to keep things lively, and the four drink a toast to themselves. Quasi questions if his elixir is poison, causing Garret to spit her drink out. Georgiou asks Sahar what's next and he directs their attention to an individual approaching their table identical to Fuzz. The newest team member introducers herself as , Fuzz's wife, explaining that Section 31 purchased two of the same model of Fuzz's Vulcan conveyance on the black market. She plans to help the team catch Fuzz, and has many questions for him over his betrayal. Quasi assures her they destroyed Fuzz's ship, but she believes him to have survived as little things sometimes do when there are big explosions.
Sahar lets the team know that Control has a mission for them and activates a holographic com-link with her. Control tells the team her better judgement has been screaming they will cost her her job, but she dismissed it because they have work to do. She asks if any of them have been to Turkana IV, to Georgiou's enticement. All the attendant ships in orbit around the Baraam warp off. The station itself then unfolds its spirals to engage its own warp drive, flying off to the next mission.
== Main cast ==
* Michelle Yeoh as 
* Omari Hardwick as Alok Sahar
* Sam Richardson as Quasi
* Robert Kazinsky as 
* Kacey Rohl as Rachel Garrett
* Sven Ruygrok as
** Fuzz
** 
* James Hiroyuki Liao as San
* Humberly González as Melle
== Supporting cast ==
* Joe Pingue as 
* Miku Martineau as Young Philippa Georgiou
* James Huang as Young San
* Nikita Kim as 
* Cindy Goh as Georgiou's mother
* Houston Wong as Georgiou's father
* Sonja Smits as Terran Proctor
* Emily Mei as Torch singer
* Adam Kenneth Wilson as Businessman
* Augusto Bitter as Virgil
* Jimmy Chimarios as Baraam security guard
* Shani Scherenzel as Baraam security guard
* Raymond Chan as Baraam security guard
* Nikki Grant as Antedian
* David Benjamin Tomlinson as
** Andorian
** Patron
* Avaah Blackwell as Patron
* Kirk Salesman as Patron
* Nicole Dickinson as Patron
* Rif Hutton as Godsend timer (voice)
* Alisha Seaton as San's ship computer (voice)
* Jody Lambert as Garbage scow ship computer (voice)
* Melanie Minichino as Droom doll (voice)
* Jamie Lee Curtis as 
== Uncredited ==
== Crew ==
* Aaron Baiers – executive producer
* Akiva Goldsman – executive producer
* Erika Lippoldt – executive producer
* Heather Kadin – executive producer
* Bo Yeon Kim – executive producer
* Alex Kurtzman – executive producer
* Rod Roddenberry – executive producer
* Trevor Roth – executive producer
== Background information ==
=== Development ===
The film was produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth as executive producers.
Originally conceived as a television series, the show was announced on . Aaron Baiers, Bo Yeon Kim, and Erika Lippoldt were slated to be the series' co-executive producers. According to Kurtzman, Kim and Lippoldt would have been the showrunners. They were also the writers of the series' pilot episode. 
Kurtzman said that the series "occupies an area of the Trek universe that's never really been explored geographically," and that it "has a new mythology to it." Speaking of Michelle Yeoh, Kurtzman said that the series would "put to the test in a way that Discovery can't," and compared it to the 1992 Western film . 
The series entered pre-production in , under the working title "Wind Cleaver". It was due to start filming in , and was to have continued for seven months, concluding the first season's filming in . 
However, production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In , producer Alex Kurtzman said that writing for the Section 31 series had continued during the pandemic, with its writers' room meeting over Zoom. 
While discussions continued about the show in , Kurtzman said it is likely no new shows will be released until at least one of the existing shows has run its course. As of , the show remained in development. 
In , it was announced that the project would instead take the form of a special event movie rather than a TV series. 
The San Diego Comic-Con trailer was dropped . It featured the song Formation by Beyoncé.
=== Production ===
On , it was announced that production on the movie was scheduled to begin on and run through 13 March. The cast of the film was revealed on 30 January as it entered production. 
=== Cast and characters ===
* Kacey Rohl becomes the second actress to portray the role of Rachel Garrett. Tricia O'Neil originated the role in . 
=== Continuity ===
* This is the first movie to be primarily set in the 24th century since , and the first to have any scenes set in it since , via Spock Prime's mind meld with alternate reality .
* Star Trek: Section 31 establishes that its main story takes place on stardate 1292.4, in the early 24th century. Following the stardate format used in would place the movie in 2324. 
* Its prologue, conversely, is the first return to the mirror universe of the 23rd century.
** Giorgiou previously referred to killing her mother in .
** San's death was previously hinted at (via flashback) during Giorgiou's Time sickness. ()
* No explanation is given for how San traversed the apparent six decades between the flashback faking his death in the Mirror universe and his 24th century Prime universe return, nor his seeming lack of aging across that time.
=== Promotion ===
On , Yeoh and Kazinsky attended a screening of the film in London. On , the film was screened in New York. 
=== Products ===
In , Eaglemoss/Hero Collector's project manager Ben Robinson indicated that the company would manufacture starship miniatures from the series. . They later went out of business in .
==Critical reception==
Critical and fan reception on Section 31 has been overwhelmingly negative. Writing for Slate, J. Bryan Lowder called this film a "disaster" and "a debris field of a film" with derivative plot and "the most boring ending imaginable". 
=== Official publicity imagery ===
File:Section 31 announcement poster.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Georgiou.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Alok.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Quasi.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Garrett.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Melle.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Fuzz.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork Zeph.jpg
File:Star Trek S31 artwork 2.jpg
=== References ===
20th century; 24th century; 2257; 2258; 2314; 3189; A. Williams, alias; alcohol; Alpha Team; Andorian; Antedian; antenna array; Argo; asymtote coil; Augment; autopilot; Baraam; Battle near Xahea; biosignature; black market; ; blood; body modification; burn; Burnham, Michael; Cardassian; Chameloid; Cheron native; chewing gum; Ckaptir; Clip; conscience; Control; Cowpox; Crescent Nebula; Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever; cut; cybernetics; Dannus V; Deakohn; death; Deltan; Dominus of Qo'noS; driving; Droom; Dulcet thistle; Erselrope; Eternal Supplicant; Eugenics Wars; Facian; Federal Court; field marshal; fingernail; first contact; friend; Fuzz; garbage scow; Garrett, Rachel; Georgiou, Philippa; ; gliocluster; Godsend; ; Guardian of Forever; hair; hammer; hologram; Hornish; Human; Imperial Majesty; impulse engine; infestation; Influensina; invasion; ion storm; Kelpien; laughter; love; mech; mecha dysmorphia; Melle; microdosing; Milky Way Galaxy; Minosian; Minosian High Council; Minosian Sway; mirror universe; Mizar; Mother of the Fatherland; murder; Nanokin; Natalia's species; National Council; National Convention; nebula; Noe, Dada; Noe, Dada; Overlord of Vulcan; parallel universe; phase pod; phaser; photon cannon; photon torpedo; plasma burst; poison; Polio; Pon Farr; Prime Directive; proctor; quadrant; Quasi; radiation; Regina Andor; robot; Sahar, Alok; San ; Saru; scar; Section 31; self-destruct; sitrep; Stamets, Paul; Starfleet; Starfleet uniform (late 2230s-2250s); Starfleet uniform (late 2270s-2350s) – covert ops attire; Starfleet uniform (mirror); ; Supreme Chancellor of the High Council; sword; time travel; telepathy; terbium; Terra; Terran; Terran Empire; Terran emperor; Terrenium; terrorist; theta junction; Tomohite; transporter; Virgil; trash; tractor beam; tractor field; tricorder; Trill; ; Trip 2; Tonsilyitis; Turkana IV; Type 2 phaser; United Federation of Planets; Vulcan; Watt colonies; Wisp; ; Xindi-Insectoid
==== Star chart references ====
81 Cancri; ; Acamar; Adelphous; Ajilon; Akaali; Alcor; Aldebaran; Algeron; Algol; Alpha Centauri; Alpha Majoris; Altair; Andoria; Aneto; Angel; Antos; Archanis sector; Arcturus; Ardana; Argus; Argus Array; Azati Prime; B'Moth; Babel; Badlands; Balduk; Barolia; Barradas; Benecia; Benzar; Berengaria; Beta Lankal; Beta Leonis Minoris; Beta Niobe; Beta Rigel; Beta Tauri; Beta Thoridar; Beta Zeta; Betazed; Bolarus; Boreth; Brestant; Cait; Cajitar; Calder; Caldos; Camus; Capella; Cardassia Prime; Carraya; Celes; Cestus; Chantico Nebula; Chin'toka; Cor Caroli; Coridan; Corvan; Crepuscula; Cygnet; Chin'toka; D'Ryb J; Davlos; Deep Space Station K-7; Deep Space 2; Deep Space 3; Deep Space 5; Deep Space 6; Delta; Delta Outpost 3; Delta Outpost 4; Delta Outpost 5; Delta Outpost 6; Delta Outpost 7; Delta Outpost 8; Delta Outpost 9; Delta Outpost 10; Delta Outpost 11; Delphi Ardu; ; Deneb Kaitos; Deneva; Denobula; Dessica; Dinasia; Doctari Alpha; Donatu; Dorala; Draken; Draylax; Dreon; 'etnap Nebula; Elas; Elora; Eminiar; Epsilon Ceti B; Epsilon Hydrae; Epsilon Outpost 1; Epsilon Outpost 2; Epsilon Outpost 3; Epsilon Outpost 4; Epsilon Outpost 6; Epsilon Outpost 7; Epsilon Outpost 8; Epsilon Outpost 9; Epsilon Outpost 11; Epsilon Outpost 12; Epsilon Outpost 15; Eridani; Evora; Fellebia; ; FGC-321; FGC-347601; Forcas; Free Haven; Galdonterre; Galen; Galorndon Core; Gamma Eridon; Gamma Hydra; Gamma Tauri; Gamma Trianguli; Ganalda; Gariman sector; Gideon; Gorath; Gorn Hegemony; Grazer; H'atoria; Halee; Halka; Harlak; Hetemit; Hromi Cluster; Hupyria V; Hyralan; Icarus IV; Iconia; Iccobar; Illyria; Inferna Prime; Ionite Nebula; Iridin; Ivor; J'Gal; Janus; Japori; Jouret; Kaferia; Kaleb; Kantare; Kazar; Kelfour; Khitomer; Kiley; Klaestron; Klingon Empire; Kobliad; Korinar; Korvat; Kressari; Krulmuth; Lorillia; Lya Station Alpha; Mab-Bu; Majalis; Maluria; Madena; Manzar; Maxia; Megara; Mempa sector; Memory Alpha; Mempa; Merak; Minos Korva; ; Miridian; Mizar; Morska; Nausicaa; O'Ryan's Planet; Narendra; Nequencia; Nivalla; No'Mat; Ogat; Omega; Omega Leonis; Ophiucus; Orellius; Organia; ; Outpost 1; Outpost 2; Outpost 3; Outpost 4; Outpost 5; Outpost 6; Outpost 7; Outpost 15; Outpost MZ-5; Pahvo; Paulson Nebula; Peliar Zel; Persephone; Pheben; Pi³ Orionis; Planet Q; Porathia; Platonius; Preenos; Priors World; Prospero; Proxima; Pyrithia; Qo'noS; Qo'noS sector; Qualor; Quam; R'ongovian; R'ongovian Protectorate; Ramatis; Regulus; Remus; Renavi; Rhaandar; Risa; Romii; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulan Star Empire; Romulus system; Romulus; Rura Penthe; Sarpedion; Sauria; Scalos; Science Station D-5; Septimus; Septra; Setlik; Sigma Draconis; Sol; Sorna Prime; Starbase G-6; Starbase 1; Starbase 2; Starbase 4; Starbase 9; Starbase 10; Starbase 11; Starbase 12; Starbase 13; Starbase 17; Starbase 18; Starbase 19; Starbase 123; Starbase 157; Starbase 21; Starbase 22; Starbase 23; Starbase 24; Starbase 25; Starbase 28; Starbase 234; Starbase 39-Sierra; Starbase 343; Starbase 46; ; Tagra; Tagus; Talar; Talarian Republic; Talos; Talvath; Tarod; Tau Ceti; Tellar; Tellun; Thalos; Thasus; Tholia; Tholian Assembly; Tiburon; Tika; Tomed; Tonnata; Toroth; Tribble Prime; Trill; Troyius; Turkana; Tzenketh; Unefra; Valakis; Veda; Vega; Ventax; Vulcan; Wolf 359; Wurna Minor; Xahea; ; ; Y'tem; Ya'Vang; Yadalla; Yridia; Zakdorn; Zaran; Zibal
==== Meta references ====
"I'm a doctor, not a..."
== External links ==
* 
* 
* 
de:Star Trek: Sektion 31
pl:Star Trek: Section 31