On the eve of Dr. Bashir's departure for a conference on the Romulan homeworld, he's visited by Sloan, the director of Section 31, a secret and unsanctioned extremist entity within Starfleet Intelligence. Sloan asks a reluctant Bashir to gather information on the Romulan leadership. Bashir reports the request to Sisko, who worries that although Starfleet Command has officially condemned Section Thirty-one, someone in its membership may actually be protecting the group. After consulting with Admiral Ross, Sisko advises Bashir to play along with Sloan in order to determine Sloan's motivations.

William Sadler (Director Luther Sloan)
Andrew J. Robinson (Elim Garak)
Adrienne Barbeau (Senator Cretak)
John Fleck (Koval)
Barry Jenner (Admiral Bill Ross)
Hal Landon, Jr. (Praetor Neral)

• Adrienne Barbeau plays Creatak in this episode; Megan Cole played Cretak in all previous appearances, but was unavailable for this shoot.
  
• The title is Latin and translates to "In time of war, the law falls silent." The actual quote is "Silent enim leges inter arma" from Cicero in "Pro Milone," chapter eleven.
  
• Section 31 was introduced in last year's "Inquisition".
  
• Bashir and Ross are transported to Romulus aboard the Intrepid-class U.S.S. Bellerephon NCC-74705 (conveniently using the Star Trek: Voyager sets — U.S.S. Voyager is also an Intrepid-class starship.) In some of the Bellerephon exterior shots, you can see Voyager's registry number, NCC-74656. Outside of Star Trek: Voyager, this is the only time an Intrepid-class starship has been shown.
  
• This is the first time in any Trek series the planet Romulus is shown from space.
  
• Jake Sisko and Quark do not appear in this episode.