In this episode we meet the least Gene Roddenberry thing to happen to Starfleet so far, Section 31. There have been dark forces that dominate Starfleet in the past, see TNG Conspiracy, but those were always created by an outside force attempting to control and circumvent all that makes the Federation so good. But in this case the forces of evil are from within and we are even told that they have always been there, but if so why didn't they stop the mind control bug plot a few years earlier? This is also the first entirely Julian-centric episode I recall so far and it works quite well.
We begin in the infirmary where Julian is working on finishing up some final tasks before departing for a few days for a medical conference. O'Brien stops by with a dislocated shoulder he got kayaking in the holosuite. Julian heads up and goes straight to bed but wakes up what seems like only a short time later. He confirms in is morning with the clock and gets ready to go. But before he can head to his shuttle he is called to Ops by the captain. When he arrives all the senior officers are there and Sisko tells them there has been a leak of information and that they are all confined to quarters until further notice. In his quarters Julian finds that the replicator isn't working. After some waiting Julian is called in for questioning but it is pretty light. Mostly it has to do with his time in the Dominion prison and with the genetically enhanced people who tried to sell them all out to the Dominion. He points out that the replicator isn't working but Director Sloan tells him it is on purpose and that he will have breakfast sent up. He heads back to his quarters afterwards and there are signs it has been messed with.
Breakfast arrives but it is a plate of gagh intended for Worf. A minute later he gets a call from Miles, he was questioned for hours and it was all about Bashir. Julian is taken in for questioning again and this time it is much more intense. He is accused of having been turned while in prison and that he is compartmentalizing it in his head. Julian objects and refuses to participate without being charged so he is taken away in handcuffs to a detention cell. Sisko comes to visit and insists on talking to him alone. Sloan objects but doesn't have the authority to stop him. Sisko also gets himself included in future interrogations. The next day they begin another round of questioning and after some pushing Sisko agrees that Bashir should have never lied about being enhanced and that it makes it hard to trust him.
That night Julian is woken up with the news that he is to be taken away to be interrogated on a starbase, but before they can cuff him he is transported onto a Cardassian ship and greeted by Weyoun. Weyoun insists that he is actually a spy and that it is always hard for him to remember at first, but Julian realizes that what he is claiming to too similar to what Sloan was saying. But he doesn't have time to argue, the Defiant arrives and "rescues" him, but the crew seem to all be convinced he is a spy now. He bumps into O'Brien and realizes his shoulder isn't hurt and that this is all an illusion. The holodeck turns off and Sloan, now in an unmarked black jacket tells him he is cleared of the charges and that he has been investigated by Section 31. He also offers Julian a job, which he declines. He meets with the other senior staff who have never heard of Section 31, but they all agree that to find out more he should agree to be recruited.
Review: Finally an episode about the dark side of Starfleet! As is pointed out literally every other civilization other than maybe the Klingons in Trek has some sort of secret police to keep things under control. Previously I would have said other than the Federation, but it turns out they do. A well told episode with enough clues to figure out something is going on, but not quite enough to ruin it.
8 out of 10
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