This weekStar Trek boldly goes with the first major movie of its streaming era: Section 31, a long-in-the-works former series turned into a streaming movie vehicle for Michelle Yeoh, returning to the franchise for the first time since she exitedDiscovery in 2020. But aside from the controversial spy organization that gives the film its name, heres what else you need to know coming into the film. What Is Section 31? First introduced in the sixth season ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine, Section 31 is a clandestine intelligence branch of the Federationseparate from the public facing intelligence wing of Starfleetintended to act as a black ops organization with the remit to act against existential threats to the Federation. Named for a clause in Starfleets charter that allowed for extraordinary measures in the face of extreme threats, Section 31 operated without official knowledge or guidance from the Federation or Starfleet at large, performing wetworks, subterfuge, and counterintelligence operations throughout the history of Starfleet. Although introduced inDeep Space Nine at the height of the Dominion War arc, Section 31 would make appearances inEnterprise andDiscovery to establish their roots earlier within Star Treks primary timeline, but ever since its debut, the group has been seen as deeply controversial byStar Trek fans for what the existence of secret police within the franchises utopian setting means for the idealistic nature of that utopia. The Brief, Universe-Hopping History of Philippa Georgiou Discovery first introduced Michelle Yeohs Philippa Georgiou as the captain of the USS Shenzhou, only for her to be killed in action at the outbreak of the Klingon-Federation war portrayed throughout the shows first season. However, Yeoh would return to portray the character later that same season during a plotline set in Star Treks infamous parallel reality, the Mirror Universe. There, Georgiou was not an officer in the Terran Empire, but its Emperorand after surviving a coup attempt, she was brought back with the crew of the Discovery toStar Treks prime universe at the behest of Michael Burnham, who had been a protg of the prime Georgiou and first officer aboard theShenzhou. Mirror Georgiou was recruited into Section 31 after the conclusion of the war, acting as an agent initially tasked with maintaining the stability of the Klingon Empires post-war chancellor, LRell. But she eventually made her way back aboard the Discovery when the ship was forced to send itself thousands of years in to the future to the 32nd Century to destroy a rogue artificial intelligence developed by Section 31, Control. However, temporal distance from both her home reality and her home timeline caused Georgiou to begin destabilizing on a molecular level. After encountering the Guardian of Forever, who tested Georgiou to see if her time in the prime universe had changed her as a person, she was sent back to an undisclosed time period (more on that later) where the Mirror and Prime universes were still aligned, allowing her to stay in the latter universe without the threat of destabilization. Paramount Who Else Is in Section 31? Yeohs Georgiou is the primary returning character inSection 31, but shes not the only familiar character among its cast of mostly new characters. Heres a brief rundown of the main Section 31 agents were set to meet in the movie: Omari Hardwick playsAlok, the leader of a Section 31 cell on a secret mission that recruits Georgiou in an attempt to make her pay for her past crimes as the Terran Emperor. Robert Kazinsky playsZeph, Aloks right hand man who lives inside a mechanical exoskeleton. Sam Richardson playsQuasi, another agent on Aloks team, and a Chameloid, a shapeshifting race first seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Humberly Gonzalez playsMelle, a Deltan agent on Aloks team who, unlike prior Deltans to join Starfleet, did not take an oath of celibacy, allowing her to use her species natural charms to benefit Section 31. Sven Ruygrok plays the most mysterious member of Aloks team, known only asFuzz. Described as a fun-loving character with anger issues, his pointed ears suggest he may either be a surprisingly emotional Vulcan or perhaps one of their sister species, the Romulans. Rounding out the main cast is Kacey Rohl as Rachel Garrett, a young Starfleet officer assigned to Aloks team for oversight purposes, despite official knowledge of the divisions existence being classified. Garrett has previously appeared inStar Trek before in the Next Generation episode Yesterdays Enterprise, where she was played by Tricia ONeil, and was captain of the USS Enterprise-C until its destruction defending a Klingon outpost from Romulan forces in 2344. When Is Section 31 Set? While we dont have an exact setting for the movie just yet beyond the fact that its set inStar Treks prime reality, the existence of Rachel Garrett in the cast suggests that the series has to be set some time in the early 24th century, given that she has not yet ascended to the rank of captain nor taken command of the Enterprise-C. This would setSection 31 in a period largely uncovered byStar Trek on the small screen, commonly known as the Lost Era. The original series was set during the late 2260s, with its successor films taking place from the 2270s through to the 2290s, while The Next Generation began in 2364, shortly after the commissioning of the Enterprise-D almost 20 years after its predecessors destruction.TheEnterprise-C itself operated in a period of time where the Federation and the Klingon Empires relationship after the signing of the Khitomer Accords peace treaty at the end of the 23rd century was still relatively strained. It took the Federation flagships sacrifice safeguarding Klingon forces to strengthen relations between the two factions, eventually leading to the formal Treaty of Alliance established some time between 2344 and the events of The Next Generationwhich could give us some hints as to what the state of the universe is like by the time of Section 31. Section 31 hits Paramount+ starting January 24. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.