Potential spoilers follow.

The timeline of the new TV movie "Star Trek: Section 31" is a little difficult to place in the chronology of "Star Trek," as it involves interdimensional shifts and a passage through the living time portal the Guardian of Forever. There is, however, one common character between "Section 31" and the extant "Star Trek" universe at large that can give us a vital clue. The one character in question, as far as we know, has no access to time travel equipment and doesn't often go skipping between parallel universe, so we can happily use her as a bedrock. 

To offer a brief recap before we get into the nitty-gritty: Section 31 is the black-ops arm of Starfleet, an organization first introduced in the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "Inquisition". While Starfleet was typically devoted to missions of exploration, research, and diplomacy, there was a super-secret arm of the...