Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" is an episode from the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
. The episode's title is a paraphrase from Cicero
's Pro Milone
, Latin for "In times of war, the law falls silent
."
prepares to go to a conference on Romulus, Luther Sloan shows up in his quarters with a Section 31
assignment.
Bashir boards the USS Bellerophon, where Sloan explains that the assignment is to confirm the rumor that Koval, the anti-Federation head of the secretive Tal Shiar Romulan intelligence agency, and a candidate for a seat on a powerful Senate committee, suffers from Tuvan syndrome, a condition that primarily affects Vulcans and Romulans. Bashir discusses the issue with Admiral William Ross. Ross says it would be better if Federation
-friendly Senator Cretak gained the empty seat on the continuing committee as she publicly supported the alliance against the Dominion.
Koval seeks out Bashir at the conference and asks about a disease called "The Quickening", which the Dominion introduced to a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, and how that could be induced into a planetary population. Bashir chairs a symposium
on the subject and later tells Sloan that he believes Koval does have Tuvan syndrome, although he does express concern that the head of the Tal Shiar is asking so many pertinent questions about "The Quickening". Sloan says he doesn't care about that question but instead asks how the disease could be accelerated. Naturally, Bashir suspects that Sloan wants Koval killed in a way that makes it look like the Romulan's illness took a turn for the worse. Bashir decides to inform Admiral Ross, who plans to have Sloan arrested. Ross muses that Sloan could have an accomplice on Romulus to carry out the plan as they are both watching Sloan, and orders Bashir into silence.
The next morning Bashir overhears that Ross has suffered from an aneurysm
and spies Sloan looking smug at the next table. With nowhere else to turn, Bashir approaches Senator Cretak and tells her of his suspicions about Sloan. Cretak views the information as appalling at first, but believes Bashir's good intentions enough to help him by giving him classified Tal Shiar information. Bashir tries to delay Sloan's timetable by telling him he needs a tissue sample for confirmation of the diagnosis as said the visual symptoms could be any number of diseases. Sloan has Bashir's hand treated with a micro-adhesive
that will serve as a skin sample collector during a handshake
.
Bashir is able to shake Koval's hand but is then immediately taken into Romulan custody and torture
d. He and Cretak are brought before the committee where Koval elaborates on the plot and brings in a tortured Sloan. Koval discloses that the plot as Bashir has described is actually the work of a renegade Starfleet
Intelligence operative obsessed with getting revenge for his mentor's (Vice Admiral Fujisaki) death. Koval says he doesn't know whether Bashir was in on the plot or was a tool of Sloan. The Committee decides that by assisting Bashir, Senator Cretak has committed an act of treason and will be sentenced later. Bashir gets returned to the Bellerophon, and Sloan is handed over to the Tal Shiar for further interrogation. Enraged by this, Sloan grabs a guard's disruptor but Koval fires his weapon vaporizing him.
Back in his quarters on the Bellerophon, Bashir lies in bed and suddenly realises that he has been had. He marches off to meet with Admiral Ross and asks the whereabouts of Sloan, concluding that the man who was described by Koval was not the same man who tried to recruit Bashir into Section 31. They agree to have an off the record conversation and make a point of removing their communication badges.
Ross elaborates that the real mission was to get Koval into the committee where he would advocate continuing the alliance with the Federation as opposed to his previous opposition to it. He also admits that Senator Cretak was not the supporter of the alliance the way Bashir thought; Cretak is a "patriot" and if she thought it in the best interest of the Romulans to abrogate the alliance then she would pursue that avenue. Cretak will definitely be dismissed from the Senate and imprisoned, and probably be executed for her role in the affair. This angers Bashir which causes Ross to utter the quote from Cicero: "Inter arma enim silent leges." Bashir retorts that perhaps the Federation has become "a 24th-century Rome, guided solely by the principle that Caesar can do no wrong!" Ross picks up his communicator and pins it back onto his chest saying that their conversation never happened. Bashir picks up his communicator and briefly looks as if he is willing to throw it back onto the table in disgust before exiting the room.
Back aboard Deep Space Nine, Sloan shows up in Bashir's quarters, explaining that he needed a man of conscience for the operation, that the Federation needs men of conscience. He adds that the Federation also needs men like Sloan to defend men like Bashir before he turns to leave. Bashir initially calls Odo, but decides not to report Sloan's visit, instead reflecting on the words of Section 31's agent.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
. The episode's title is a paraphrase from Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's Pro Milone
Pro Milone
The Pro Tito Annio Milone ad iudicem oratio is a speech made by Marcus Tullius Cicero on behalf of his friend Titus Annius Milo. Milo was accused of murdering his political enemy Publius Clodius Pulcher on the Via Appia...
, Latin for "In times of war, the law falls silent
Inter arma enim silent leges
Inter arma enim silent leges is a Latin phrase meaning "For among [times of] arms, the laws fall mute," although it is more popularly rendered as "In times of war, the law falls silent." This maxim was likely first written in these words by Cicero in his published oration Pro Milone, although...
."
Plot
As Julian BashirJulian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
prepares to go to a conference on Romulus, Luther Sloan shows up in his quarters with a Section 31
Section 31
In the Star Trek fictional universe, Section 31 is an autonomous intelligence and defense organization. It is presented as a special security operation, manned by Federation citizens, that is not subject to the normal constraints of Starfleet ethical protocols...
assignment.
Bashir boards the USS Bellerophon, where Sloan explains that the assignment is to confirm the rumor that Koval, the anti-Federation head of the secretive Tal Shiar Romulan intelligence agency, and a candidate for a seat on a powerful Senate committee, suffers from Tuvan syndrome, a condition that primarily affects Vulcans and Romulans. Bashir discusses the issue with Admiral William Ross. Ross says it would be better if Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
-friendly Senator Cretak gained the empty seat on the continuing committee as she publicly supported the alliance against the Dominion.
Koval seeks out Bashir at the conference and asks about a disease called "The Quickening", which the Dominion introduced to a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, and how that could be induced into a planetary population. Bashir chairs a symposium
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
on the subject and later tells Sloan that he believes Koval does have Tuvan syndrome, although he does express concern that the head of the Tal Shiar is asking so many pertinent questions about "The Quickening". Sloan says he doesn't care about that question but instead asks how the disease could be accelerated. Naturally, Bashir suspects that Sloan wants Koval killed in a way that makes it look like the Romulan's illness took a turn for the worse. Bashir decides to inform Admiral Ross, who plans to have Sloan arrested. Ross muses that Sloan could have an accomplice on Romulus to carry out the plan as they are both watching Sloan, and orders Bashir into silence.
The next morning Bashir overhears that Ross has suffered from an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
and spies Sloan looking smug at the next table. With nowhere else to turn, Bashir approaches Senator Cretak and tells her of his suspicions about Sloan. Cretak views the information as appalling at first, but believes Bashir's good intentions enough to help him by giving him classified Tal Shiar information. Bashir tries to delay Sloan's timetable by telling him he needs a tissue sample for confirmation of the diagnosis as said the visual symptoms could be any number of diseases. Sloan has Bashir's hand treated with a micro-adhesive
Adhesive
An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...
that will serve as a skin sample collector during a handshake
Handshake
A handshake is a short ritual in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up and down movement of the grasped hands.-History:...
.
Bashir is able to shake Koval's hand but is then immediately taken into Romulan custody and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d. He and Cretak are brought before the committee where Koval elaborates on the plot and brings in a tortured Sloan. Koval discloses that the plot as Bashir has described is actually the work of a renegade Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
Intelligence operative obsessed with getting revenge for his mentor's (Vice Admiral Fujisaki) death. Koval says he doesn't know whether Bashir was in on the plot or was a tool of Sloan. The Committee decides that by assisting Bashir, Senator Cretak has committed an act of treason and will be sentenced later. Bashir gets returned to the Bellerophon, and Sloan is handed over to the Tal Shiar for further interrogation. Enraged by this, Sloan grabs a guard's disruptor but Koval fires his weapon vaporizing him.
Back in his quarters on the Bellerophon, Bashir lies in bed and suddenly realises that he has been had. He marches off to meet with Admiral Ross and asks the whereabouts of Sloan, concluding that the man who was described by Koval was not the same man who tried to recruit Bashir into Section 31. They agree to have an off the record conversation and make a point of removing their communication badges.
Ross elaborates that the real mission was to get Koval into the committee where he would advocate continuing the alliance with the Federation as opposed to his previous opposition to it. He also admits that Senator Cretak was not the supporter of the alliance the way Bashir thought; Cretak is a "patriot" and if she thought it in the best interest of the Romulans to abrogate the alliance then she would pursue that avenue. Cretak will definitely be dismissed from the Senate and imprisoned, and probably be executed for her role in the affair. This angers Bashir which causes Ross to utter the quote from Cicero: "Inter arma enim silent leges." Bashir retorts that perhaps the Federation has become "a 24th-century Rome, guided solely by the principle that Caesar can do no wrong!" Ross picks up his communicator and pins it back onto his chest saying that their conversation never happened. Bashir picks up his communicator and briefly looks as if he is willing to throw it back onto the table in disgust before exiting the room.
Back aboard Deep Space Nine, Sloan shows up in Bashir's quarters, explaining that he needed a man of conscience for the operation, that the Federation needs men of conscience. He adds that the Federation also needs men like Sloan to defend men like Bashir before he turns to leave. Bashir initially calls Odo, but decides not to report Sloan's visit, instead reflecting on the words of Section 31's agent.
Production
- Since the Bellerophon is an Intrepid-class ship like Voyager, some Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
sets were used for this episode.