star trek enterprise numbers

Federation starship registries

• View history

A list of Federation starship registries

• 1.1 Alternate registries
• 2.1 Background information
• 2.2 Apocrypha

List by registry [ ]

Alternate registries [ ], appendices [ ], background information [ ].

It has never been canonically established what the letters " NCC " or " NX " stand for, but in the 23rd and 24th centuries , "NX" (not to be confused with NX-class ) seemed to be used to designate experimental or prototype starships while "NCC" designated normal production vessels.

The use of "NCC" as a prefix for Starfleet registry numbers, Matt Jefferies said that the registries for American civil aircraft are preceded by "NC," and Soviet craft used a prefix of "CCCC," and as such, he more-or-less combined the two. His philosophy was, " If we do anything in space, we (Americans and Russians) have to do it together. " [1] (X)

Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 231 from Richmond, Virginia claims that the registry for the original USS Enterprise was inspired by the 1935 WACO Model YOC aircraft owned by Matt Jefferies – his airplane had the registry NC-17740 . [2] Jefferies, however, dismissed this notion in various interviews, as he didn't even purchase the airplane until 1968, while acknowledging that he never really put much of an effort into squashing that particular rumor. [3] (X) [4]

Apocrypha [ ]

The novels Best Destiny and Final Frontier , by Diane Carey, also give the meaning of NCC as "Naval Construction Contract".

See also [ ]

• Federation starships
• 3 Erigah (episode)

USS Enterprise Evolution in Photos: The Many Faces of Star Trek's Favorite Starship

The enterprise throughout history.

Starship USS Enterprise, serial number NCC-1701, of the United Federation of Planets, has captivated audiences since the debut of "Star Trek" on television in 1966. That fascination has continued to the present day, as the latest installment of the science-fiction franchise, "Star Trek Into Darkness," opens in the US on May 16, 2013. Here we take a look at ships bearing the name of Enterprise in many different incarnations.

USS Enterprise (Sailing Vessel)

The first of all US ships to bear the name of Enterprise was a Continental Navy sloop-of-war that served in the American Revolutionary War on Lake Champlain. Originally a British sloop named "George," it was captured by a small American force commanded by Colonel Benedict Arnold in 1775 and renamed. Later the US forces had to run the ship aground and destroy it in 1777 to avoid capture.

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in Real Life

A long series of sea vessels were named Enterprise throughout history. The eighth US ship to bear the name was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The US Navy commissioned the giant vessel in 1962, which served until its deactivation in 2012. A new USS Enterprise (CVN-80) is scheduled to become operational in 2025. Regarding Star Trek, the naval warship may have inspired the name of the fictional starship. Also, in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," Uhura and Chekov visit the aircraft carrier Enterprise, though the filmmakers could not shoot aboard the actual ship.

Star Trek Crew Welcomes Real-Life Enterprise

In 1976, NASA's space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities, and was greeted by NASA officials and cast members from the original "Star Trek" television series. They are (L to R): NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei (Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series creator Gene Roddenberry; an unnamed NASA official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov).

Space Shuttle Enterprise

In real life, the prototype space shuttle was named Enterprise (OV-101) following a write-in campaign by Star Trek fans. The orbiter conducts a 1977 test flight in this photo.

The VSS Enterprise of Virgin Galactic

Another real-life craft, one of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo vehicles, bears the name VSS Enterprise. It glided over California's Mojave Air and Space Port during the first drop and glide test on Oct. 10, 2010. Eventually the company plans to take "space tourists" on commercial flights.

USS Enterprise (XCV 330)

The experimental craft represents the first Starship Enterprise, although it only appeared as a illustration in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." It again appeared in a painting during the Star Trek: Enterprise episode, "First Flight," thereby dating it prior to 2143 in the Star Trek timeline.

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Enterprise (NX-01)

The United Earth Starfleet's Enterprise was an experimental prototype ship, commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer. It appeared as the titular vessel of the prequel television series Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005). A mirror version of the ship, ISS Enterprise (NX-01), appeared in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly."

The Original Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701)

This model of the fictional starship Enterprise was used in filming the weekly hourlong “Star Trek” TV series that aired September 1966 to June 1969. The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, now displays the iconic model.

ISS Enterprise in the Mirror Universe

This ship of the Terran Empire appeared in the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror," which involved a treacherous, violent mirror crew. The mirror ship appears almost identical to the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).

USC Enterprise (NCC-1701) Animated

Star Trek: The Animated Series ran from 1973-1974, and featured a Starship Enterprise retaining the original TV show's design, though the producers altered certain interior features, such as a second turbolift accessing the bridge.

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Starship Registries

In the 22nd century Federation Starfleet vessels generally seemed to have 3-digit registry numbers, just like the Daedalus-class vessels USS Archon NCC-189 and USS Horizon NCC-173 ( Star Trek Encyclopedia ). We do not know that for sure though, for visual records of such hull numbers are missing. In the 23rd century registries with 4 digits were common, including the famous USS Enterprise NCC-1701, most likely several other Constitution-class ships and the USS Excelsior NX- (later NCC-) 2000. Finally, another digit has been added in the 24th century, as it can be seen on the hulls of Sisko's USS Saratoga NCC-31911, the USS Voyager NCC-74656 and numerous more Starfleet ships. This is why we can surmise that the registry number of a starship at least roughly correlates with the time when it was commissioned.

In case of chronological registries the increasing number of digits hints at an exponential increase in the number of starships. This would indicate that Starfleet consists of more than 10,000 starships in the mid- and late 24th century if we presuppose an average lifetime of a couple of decades for a single vessel. At the first glance this abundance does not seem to to be in accordance with most of TNG and early DS9 episodes when starships appeared to be scarce and the 39 ships destroyed in the Battle of Wolf 359 (TNG: "The Drumhead") appeared like a heavy loss. On the other hand, as Shelby mentioned in TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds II", it would take about one year to rebuild the fleet, so Starfleet must have sizable ship building capabilities, probably enough to sustain a fleet of thousands of vessels. A number in the thousands is also realistic taking into account how many ships fell victim to the Dominion War. It started with the 98 ships of the Seventh Fleet in DS9: "A Time to Stand", and subsequently several hundred more must have been destroyed in the big battles in DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels", "Tears of the Prophets", "The Changing Face of Evil", "What You Leave Behind" and countless skirmishes that were not even mentioned.

The above chart shows all known registries sorted by ship classes. If registries are chronological, this may provide an impression of the production times of the single classes too. Some classes like the Excelsior, Miranda and especially the Oberth have a very broad range of registries, indicating a very long construction period. The chart below plots the given registries over time. The yellow dots denote mentions of ships which are in active service for an unspecified time, whereas the green dots represent ships which have just been commissioned. Assuming that the new ships always have the highest existing number, one may connect all the green dots and the highest orange dots to a line which indicates the registry limit and perhaps the number of ships ever commissioned. One thing to note is the aforementioned roughly exponential increase over time until about 2360. The other remarkable fact is that the latest registries of the 2360s and 2370s don't rise that rapidly any longer, despite the many new ship classes, advances in technology and the recent Borg confrontations and Dominion War.

Registries as design codes

There are a number of theories that Starfleet's registries could have a significance beyond being a simple chronological number for each individual vessel. It was an early attempt to explain the Enterprise's registry NCC-1701 in that it could stand for the 17th design or class of ships, and that it was the second ship of that class (after the Constitution NCC-1700). Likewise, if not a class, the "17" could denote heavy cruisers or another more general type of vessels in a similar fashion as an "F" plus a number denotes frigates in the NATO registry system. Alas, there are very few occurrences of registries among ships of the same class that are accordingly close together (e.g. USS Monitor NCC-61826 and USS Merrimack NCC-61827, USS Defiant NX-74205 and USS Valiant NCC-74210). Other than that, the closest known registries of most classes span many hundred numbers (like the NCC-26xxx in the Ambassador class or the NCC-60xxx and NCC-61xxx in the Nebula class). Even if for some reason large number ranges were skipped, the known registries would still not be close enough to maintain the realistic idea that there are at most one or two hundred ships of these classes of capital ships. Ultimately the idea that the ship class is encoded in the registry fails considering how the registries of the Galaxy class and the Nebula class intersect in the NCC-71xxx range and the registries of Defiant and Intrepid in the NCC-72xxx region. Almost all recently (2368-2375) commissioned ships have registries in the range from NCC-72000 to NCC-75000, regardless of their class. In other words, the gaps in the registry system are apparently not empty but routinely occupied by ships of other classes and of completely different types.

Shared numbers with civilian vessels

A simple rationale for the high registries in the 24th century could be that not only Starfleet ships but also other Federation vessels are included in the registry system, which is corroborated by the S.S. Vico NAR-18834 and some other civilian science ships or freighters, where NAR seems to denote research vessels not belonging to Starfleet. Yet, an orbital shuttle had the registry NAR-25820 as soon as in 2293 ("Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country"). Perhaps the civilian registry scheme is totally independent of the Starfleet NCC numbers, meaning that every prefix is using the full range of numbers.

Introduction of runabout registries

It is also possible that every runabout has its individual registry in the 24th century, whereas this type of vessel did either not exist or was numbered as belonging to a home starbase or a starship in former times. Assuming there are several thousand of them, this could be another explanation for the high 24th century registries.

Skipped registries

An alternative explanation is that Starfleet simply started skipping hundreds of registry numbers beginning about at NCC-2000. This may explain why there is no known number between NCC-21000 and NCC-26000 or between NCC-46000 and NCC-50000, for instance. The reason for leaving out ranges of hundreds or perhaps thousands of numbers may have been that the true number of Starships should not become obvious to potential enemies at the first glance.

Registries with checksum

It is also possible that, rather than an obvious code for the design or class, the numbers include some kind of checksum which could, for some reason, be the middle digit of the five-digit numbers.

Re-used numbers

Some single registries are not within reasonable limits. For example, the number of the Oberth-class USS Grissom ("Star Trek III: The Search for Spock") is NCC-638. If all starships are successively numbered, this means that the Grissom is much older than the original Enterprise, though she looks rather contemporary to the Excelsior. In the 24th century, moreover, Oberth-class starships are not only still in use, but even new ones seem to have been commissioned, as e.g. the USS Cochrane NCC-59318 ( Star Trek Encyclopedia ). It is hardly believable that starships are constructed based on the same design for more than 150 years, while on the other hand there is a great variety (about 50 to 60 confirmed yet) of different classes with apparently short life spans of only two or three decades. A famous oddity is the lettering of Matt Decker's USS Constellation as "NCC-1017" (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine"). This was obviously done by rearranging the number "NCC-1701" of the AMT Enterprise model kit. The trouble is that the registry number of the class ship USS Constitution is NCC-1700 (so the Enterprise would be the second ship of this class). An explanation for almost all registry numbers that do not match the scheme is that starships were not necessarily chronologically numbered until the end of the 23rd century. It is possible that numbers of decommissioned ships were routinely reissued, perhaps even denoting new ships with the same name. According to such a regulation it would have been no problem to number the second starship Enterprise as NCC-1701 after the first one had been destroyed in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". This points at a change in the registry scheme at about the time when the Excelsior was commissioned.

Registries for vessels under construction

It is possible that a registry is assigned to a vessel as soon as it is ordered by Starfleet or as construction begins at the fleet yards. This could be the reason why the USS Bradbury NX-72307 has a higher number than the USS Sutherland NCC-72015 that was featured in a later episode as a newly commissioned ship. It could even explain the NX-59650 of the USS Prometheus being completely out of range for a brand new ship. With the exception of this vessel, however, the given registries for new ships do increase monotonically, although the time for their development and construction may vary considerably.

Summarizing, as a matter of fact the known registries of Starfleet vessels may only roughly correspond with the ages of the ships. None of the various theories accounts for all of the inconsistencies, so it should be tolerated that ships are sometimes arbitrarily numbered. Real-world numbering systems like on passports or car number plates are not based on a perfectly obvious system either. In my view it is a stretch if fans speculate too much about registry oddities that they would easily accept in the real world.

Starfleet Ship Classes A-K

Starfleet Ship Classes L-Z

Other Starfleet Ship Classes   - uncertain and unknown

Uncertain Ship Names and Registries - a collection of typos and other oddities

Some screen caps from TrekCore . Thanks to Dave Sturm for some suggestions.

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/registries.htm

Last modified: 15 Oct 2023

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Every enterprise number one in star trek.

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Some of the greatest characters in Star Trek have served as the First Officer - AKA the Number One - of the USS Enterprise. The various incarnations of the Enterprise share the most storied legacy in Starfleet, and the Captains of the Enterprise are legendary figures like Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). But the crucial role of Number One is really the lynchpin of any starship, especially the Enterprise. Note that Picard has a dog named Number One in Star Trek: Picard , but he hasn't actually been First Officer of the Enterprise.

The term "Number One" was originated by the mysterious, female First Officer played by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry in the original Star Trek pilot, "The Cage." A woman as second-in-command of a starship was a bridge too far for TV executives in the 1960s, and Number One was replaced as First Officer by Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Spock and Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in Star Trek: The Next Generation are the defining ideals of a First Officer in Star Trek, and every Number One created since has been based upon or compared to Spock and Riker in some fashion. Star Trek has since retconned the Starship Enterprise as the flagship of the United Federation of Planets in the 22nd to the 24th centuries, and here are the Starfleet First Officers who have held the fabled position of Number One.

Related: Picard Season 3 Is The Biggest Star Trek Event In 28 Years

9 Sub-Commander T'Pol - Star Trek: Enterprise

Sub-Commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) was retconned as the original Number One of the Enterprise by virtue of Star Trek: Enterprise being a prequel set in the 22nd century. T'Pol, like Spock a canonical century later, served in the dual role of First Officer and Science Officer on the NX-01 Enterprise led by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). T'Pol was originally on loan from the Vulcan High Command, but she later formally joined the United Earth Starfleet. T'Pol is now the originator of a Vulcan serving as First Officer on the Enterprise, and her experience, intelligence, and wisdom were crucial to Captain Archer's NX-01 surviving their perilous, historic first voyages into deep space.

8 Commander Christopher Pike - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

The series premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds established that Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was Number One to the USS Enterprise's Captain Robert April (Adrian Holmes). April was the first Captain of the Constitution-class NCC-1701 Enterprise, and Pike served as his First Officer during their first five-year mission from 2245-2250. Afterward, April turned the Enterprise over to Pike, who became Captain. No doubt, Pike's experience as First Officer taught him the importance of the position, and thus, he recognizes the excellence of his own choice of Number One, Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn).

7 Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Number One is literally who the First Officer position is named for. The character of Number One was originated by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry in Star Trek 's original pilot, "The Cage," and Rebecca Romijn took over the role of Number One over 50 years later in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Strange New Worlds finally gave Number One a name - Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley - and a compelling backstory that Una is a genetically-engineered Illyrian. The fact that she was concealing this from Starfleet is what motivated Number One to become the finest First Officer in Starfleet, and her fate after being arrested for lying about being an Augment will be resolved in Strange New Worlds season 2.

6 Lt. La'an Noonien Singh - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley was unable to perform her duties as First Officer twice in Strange New Worlds season 1, and both times, she was replaced by Lt. La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong), who served as Acting First Officer. La'an was the Enterprise's Security Chief, and she is also Una's closest friend and protégé. La'an rose to the challenge as Number One admirably, and it's possible she might have replaced Una a third time had she not left the Enterprise at the end of Strange New Worlds episode 9. In an alternate future, La'an is First Officer of the USS Farragut under Captain James T. Krk (Paul Wesley).

Related: Discovery's Saru & Georgiou Set Up Strange New Worlds' La'an & Number One

5 Commander/Captain Spock - Star Trek: The Original Series & Movies

Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) served as First Officer and Science Officer of the USS Enterprise under Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series . While others have now canonically preceded him, the Vulcan is the true standard-bearer as the Enterprise's Number One. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Spock was a Captain, but he gladly resumed his role of Number One under Admiral Kirk, which he essentially maintained throughout the rest of the Star Trek: TOS movies. When Strange New Worlds season 2 begins, the younger Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) is likely taking over the position of Number One following Una Chin-Riley's arrest.

4 Commander William T. Riker - Star Trek: The Next Generation & Movies

Perhaps the best-known Number One in Star Trek is Commander Will Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Captain Picard affectionately referred to Riker as "Number One," which popularized the term since Star Trek: The Original Series never used it after "The Cage." Riker redefined what the First Officer of the Enterprise could be, and he became the prototype for the Star Trek First Officers that followed. As Number One, Riker led Away missions and was generally more friendly and affable to the crew than his Captain was on the Enterprise-D. Riker was Picard's Number One for 15 years before he finally accepted a promotion to Captain, and Jean-Luc named his dog "Number One" after Commander Riker.

3 Lt. Commander Shelby - Star Trek: The Next Generation

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 and 4's classic "The Best of Both Worlds" two-parter, the USS Enterprise-D got a new Number One in Lt. Commander Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy). The ambitious Shelby was an expert on the Borg and openly coveted Riker's role as First Officer on the Enterprise. In spite of their rivalry, Riker made Shelby his Number One when he became Acting Captain after Picard was assimilated and became Locutus of Borg. Shelby left the Enterprise after Picard's humanity was reclaimed, and she never did become the Enterprise's Number One again, but Shelby eventually became Captain of her own starship.

2 Lt. Worf - Star Trek: The Next Generation

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7 two-parter, "Gambit," Captain Picard is believed dead, and Commander Riker is captured by mercenaries. This results in Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) taking command of the USS Enterprise-D, with Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) becoming his First Officer. Worf's stint as Number One was brief, but it's believed that following Data's death in Star Trek: Nemesis , Worf became Picard's First Officer in the waning days of his commanding the USS Enterprise-E.

Related: Picard Season 3 Sadly Reminds Us Of Nemesis' Biggest Mistake

1 Commander Data - Star Trek: Nemesis

Commander Data was Picard's pick to replace Riker as First Officer once Will left the Enterprise-E to become Captain of the USS Titan . However, Data sacrificed himself to save the Enterprise from Shinzon's (Tom Hardy) thalaron weapon in Star Trek: Nemesis . Sadly, Data becoming Captain Picard's Number One never came to be in Star Trek, but there's little doubt Data would have been an excellent First Officer of the Enterprise.

More: All 5 Actors Who Played Jean-Luc Picard In Star Trek

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• The Inventory

All 11 Versions of the U.S.S. Enterprise , Ranked

The Enterprise isn’t just quintessential to the long history of Star Trek , it’s also one of the most iconic starships of all time. It was the star of the classic series, but later and earlier versions of it also sat at the heart of The Next Generation and Enterprise , and beyond that in film. Now that we know the ship is coming to Discovery ’s second season, it’s time to look back and rank the best of them.

Related Content

It’s too early to judge Discovery ’s take on the ship—it was only glimpsed in dark lighting at the very end of the first season’s finale —but we can still look to the many models of the U.S.S. Enterprise and judge them all.

11) Enterprise -J

This far-flung Enterprise of a future 26th century where the evil Sphere-Builders invade the Federation was barely seen during Star Trek: Enterprise ’s Temporal Cold War storyline, and for good reason: It’s an ugly, ugly ship. Our best look at it actually came in a render for an official calendar, which really shows off how spindly and flat-looking the J is. It’s like someone had a perfectly good render of a future-y take on the Enterprise and just squished it down a bit too much. There’s a difference between sleek and “looking like a space pancake with nacelles”—nacelles are the structures that house the warp engines on a ship, by the way, non- Trek fans—and the J is definitely the latter.

10) Enterprise (Kelvin Timeline)

The Trek reboot’s take on the Enterprise is, similar to the rest of the movie, an Apple-ified take on ‘60s retro-futurism. It’s blindingly shiny and has curves like a classic roadster, but as an Enterprise , it’s just a little too curvy for its own good. This is especially let down by the struts attached to the nacelles, which position the two engines far too close together, making the whole ship look off and any angle other than from the side.

9) Enterprise -B

The design, seen in the Star Trek: Generations movie, was ostensibly right in the middle of the evolution between the Enterprise of the original series and the Enterprise-D of TNG . It’s also kind of a mess—the tiny nacelle struts, the weird body around the deflector dish, and unlike the J it just looks too chunky. But the B’s biggest problem is that it’s a rehash of a design we’d already seen at that point: The U.S.S. Excelsior captained by Sulu in The Search for Spock and onwards to The Undiscovered Country . Sure, the Excelsior-class was meant to be one of Starfleet’s finest models at the time, but the Enterprise is an iconic ship and deserves to at least be a little unique.

8) Enterprise -A (Kelvin Timeline)

We don’t get to see much of it in Star Trek Beyond , but the replacement for the Kelvin universe’s Enterprise is a marked improvement on the first, if only because it corrects the mistakes of the first design by having wider-positioned, straighter nacelles (which themselves are a little more like the classic Enterprise ’s). It adds a lot of thickness in the back of the ship to do so, though, but it’s a welcome change... if only we’d actually, you know, get to see it in action in a movie anytime soon.

7) Enterprise NX-01

Okay, so it’s not a traditional version of the Enterprise . But the NX, used by the crew featured in Enterprise the TV series, at least manages to feel familiar to the silhouette of the ship we all know and love, and like one of the earliest prototypes of it, which it literally is meant to be. Not having the bottom section below the saucer gives it a svelte profile many other Enterprise iterations have tried their hand at, but it serves to give the NX it’s own look of its own while still crucially maintaining the elements you know are meant to be picked up by the time of the original Star Trek .

6) Enterprise -D (Alternate Future)

We barely got to see this 30-years-in-an-alternate future version of the Enterprise -D as The Next Generation series finale, “All Good Things.” And yes, while it was cool to see a cloaking-equipped, beefier warship version of TNG ’s iconic flagship... we have to talk about that third nacelle. It’s just too much . The D is not the prettiest looking ship in the Alpha Quadrant at the best of times (more on that in a bit), but giving it more proverbial junk in the space-trunk both ruins the Enterprise ’s shape and just makes it look silly.

5) Enterprise -D

The Next Generation ’s normal Enterprise -D, used for the remaining 99.9999 percent of the series, is a weird-looking starship. In some ways, that’s understandable. It’s noticeably bulky—unlike its predecessors, it’s a ship designed to hold both its crew and their extended families, so it needs a good deal bigger than the classic Enterprise . Plus, it’s got all sorts of cool advanced tech, like swanky holodecks and the very silly but also totally rad saucer separation/battle bridge set-up. But from a looks standpoint, it’s hardly the most graceful-looking thing around. Borrowing the angular struts of the Enterprise -B is a nice carryover, but positioning them so low (and giving the Galaxy-Class   such a ginormous saucer too) makes the whole thing look so gangly and awkward. A less than stellar ship for a totally stellar show.

4) Enterprise -C

The Enterprise of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is only in one episode of TNG , but it’s an important part of the lineage of Star Trek ’s most iconic vessel. In the Trek timeline, it was destroyed defending a Klingon outpost at Narendra-III before the Enterprise-D was built, but thanks to a time-space rift it popped up briefly and encountered a version of its successor thanks to some time-altering shenanigans. The crew of the C must have been pleased to realize their ship looked better because it actually looks a little more like a mash-up between the D and the ships that came before it, canceling out some of the clunkiness of TNG ’s design while making a ship that feels like a natural evolution on what came before it. It’s almost a shame this wasn’t the Enterprise of the show and the D was the one-off design.

3) Enterprise -E

If the Kelvin Enterprise was a Apple-esque take on the original series’ Enterprise , the E—exclusively seen in the Next Generation movies, most of which aren’t great—is a hot rod take in the classic Star Trek aesthetic. The Sovereign-Class slims out the Enterprise ’s form by removing the “neck” piece connecting the deflector dish section to the saucer (itself slimmer, instead of the hilariously wide one on the Enterprise -D) and extending the length of the nacelles, which manages to keep everything still vaguely within the Enterprise shape we all know and love while delivering a sleek sports car feel. More than any other iteration of the Enterprise , this one feels like the slickest, most modern take on the original’s design without actually breaking too much about it to push it into unfamiliarity.

2) Enterprise -A

The Enterprise ’s first refit—which debuted in The Search for Spock movie, even if technically, it borrowed the design of the upgraded original Enterprise that appeared in The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan , and Spock —may not have hung around for that long, and even when it did, it was the butt of a few jokes for most of its main appearance in The Final Frontier for the fact that most of its systems were malfunctioning half the time (it was rushed out of drydock). But even then, it’s still a good-looking ship, keeping everything that made its predecessor great (or rather, the predecessor before its tune-up into what would become the A’s design too). Same great ship, just a little different.

1) Enterprise

The original series’ Enterprise is iconic for a reason. It’s a beautiful design, simple and clean—and sharply angled in all the right places—compared to the busy predecessors and successors that would come in Trek series after the original. It set the legacy of everything that would come after it, not just in terms of future Enterprise refits, but for what a good Federation vessel should evoke to feel like part of the Star Trek universe. Forget the word salad mayhem of the refits that came after it—try as you can to evolve and improve on it, you can’t beat a design that cuts such an iconic appearance the first time round.

Every "Star Trek" USS Enterprise, Ranked

For the 50th anniversary of the original series, let's look back at the ships of Star Trek .

Star Trek is not solely the story of Enterprise . There's "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" and a whole galaxy full of other vessels and settings. But the name ties the icon of the original series back in time to the aircraft carrier and space shuttle of today and forward in time to the other fictional starships Enterprise that would follow. Today, 50 years after the first episode of "Star Trek" aired on TV, let's rank 'em.

9. NCC-1701-B

Of the two Enterprises that fell between the ships of the original series crew and the ships of "The Next Generation" crew, one heroically sacrificed itself to stop a war (we'll get to it in a minute). Then there's the B, which makes a cameo appearance in Generations , a not-great movie, captained by Ferris Bueller's best friend. The Enterprise-B isn't even the definitive ship of its class. It's a clone of the Excelsior , last seen under the command of Captain Sulu in The Undiscovered Country .

The ship of "Star Trek: Enterprise." It's fine.

7. NCC-1701-D ("Next Generation" series finale alternate universe Enterprise)

Bringing in elements from alternate timelines that exist solely within single episodes is a good way to fall down a rabbit hole. However: I reserve the right to talk about this ship and none of the others, because when tween me saw the Enterprise-D transformed into a three-nacelle cloaking-equipped war machine, a barely suppressed "hell yes" sprang from my heart.

6. NCC-1701-A

I always thought the -A was a good-looking ship. It just doesn't have the track record to ascend any higher here. Following its introduction at the end of Star Trek IV , the ship spends Star Trek V the butt of running jokes about how the damn thing doesn't work yet. It's shot up and decommissioned by the conclusion of Star Trek VI . The Enterprise-A has to live down the list because it saved the galaxy only what, twice?

5. NCC-1701-E

Enterprise-E stars in three movies, two of which aren't very good. That scene at the beginning of First Contact , though. Captain Picard defies orders and swoops in with his jagged new Sovereign-Class vessel to kick a little Borg ass and save the fleet. It tells you all you need to know about the swashbuckling version of Star Trek you're about to watch.

4. NCC-1701-C

This ship is a one-shot hero. It appears only in "Yesterday's Enterprise," one of the best episodes of "The Next Generation" and most thoughtful uses of time travel in the series. Accidentally transported to Picard and Riker's era, the ship and her crew must choose to return to certain death in their rightful time, sacrificing themselves to protect a Klingon outpost and ignite the Klingon-Federation alliance that blooms a peace in the 24th century.

3. NCC-1701-D

TNG will forever be my Trek show. I watched it live with my dad and rewatched the collection of episodes he recorded to VHS. I am a Picard man.

The ship, though. For all its neat features like the holodeck and the battle bridge, the Enterprise-D looks like a Mercury Sable station wagon on the outside and a mid-sized American city's convention center on the inside.

2. NCC-1701 (J.J. Abrams universe)

1. NCC-1701

" No bloody A, B, C, or D ."

Andrew's from Nebraska. His work has also appeared in Discover, The Awl, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Playboy, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn with two cats and a snake.

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Star Trek: What Does NCC Stand For?

On "Star Trek," every Federation starship receives a name and a registry number, made up of a prefix and a numeral. The starship Enterprise , the show's most famous Constitution-class heavy cruiser, boldly goes where no man has gone before bearing the registry number NCC-1701. Although "NCC" is by far the most common Federation prefix, there's unfortunately no in-canon explanation for what it signifies.

Production designer Walter M. "Matt" Jefferies has said both that he came up with the prefix by combining the American civil aircraft prefix "NC" with the Soviet aircraft prefix "CCC" and that the second "C" was added for artistic flair. "Since the 1920's [sic], [']N['] has indicated the United States in Navy terms, and [']C['] means 'commercial' vessel. I added an extra [']C['] just for fun," Jefferies is quoted as saying in "Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook."

Meanwhile, "Star Trek" author and illustrator Franz Joseph claims in his 1975 reference book "Star Trek Blueprints" that "NCC" stands for "Naval Construction Contract." Now, Joseph's work isn't considered canonical, but since no creator officially attached to "Star Trek" has ever offered anything better, many Trekkies — and even some associated novelists — tend to accept this explanation.

Jefferies wasn't too bothered by its origin

In 2000, almost 40 years after he slapped those three befuddling letters on the hull of the USS Enterprise, Matt Jefferies spoke with "Star Trek: The Magazine" to clear up a rumor propagated by the Experimental Aircraft Association that the registry number NCC-1701 was inspired by his 1935 WACO Model YOC aircraft, which bears the registry NC-17740. In truth, he didn't buy the plane until 1968, so it couldn't have inspired the Enterprise, although he admitted that he never tried too hard to dispel the myth.

These are not the words, nor the timeliness, of a man who genuinely cared what Trekkies think. If Jefferies wanted to demystify "NCC," then he would have done so. By his own account, at least one of the three letters is present because he thought it was "fun," so it's possible that he never even applied words to them. There are a lot of questionable things we ignore in the "Star Trek" franchise , and maybe this too is okay to let pass by without further thought. Jefferies certainly did.

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Star Trek: Enterprise

A century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the ... Read all A century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation. A century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.

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• Trivia Admiral Forrest is named after DeForest Kelley , the late Star Trek (1966) actor who played Leonard H. McCoy. Similarly, Commander Williams and Admiral Leonard from the pilot Broken Bow, Part 1 (2001) are named after series stars William Shatner (James T. Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock). Big Foot (1982) (#2.5) also had a character with a last name Forrest. That show had numerous references & stars from the Star Trek franchise, the most well known of which was William Shatner from the original TV series.
• Goofs Whenever the video signal is being lost, instead of pixelating, as a digital signal would, the picture shows analog "snow," which would be unheard of by that era.

Commander Tucker : You aren't saying much tonight. Don't tell me you're still upset about me and Amanda.

Subcommander T'Pol : I'm not upset.

Commander Tucker : Sure sounds like it.

Subcommander T'Pol : You're mistaken.

Commander Tucker : Why would a few neuropressure sessions between me and a MACO be such a big deal. Unless...

Subcommander T'Pol : Unless what?

Commander Tucker : Unless you're a little jealous.

Subcommander T'Pol : I don't experience jealousy.

Commander Tucker : You're doing a pretty fair imitation of it.

Subcommander T'Pol : I am not, in any way, jealous of you and Corporal Cole.

Commander Tucker : You know, your voice is tensing up. That's a dead giveaway.

Subcommander T'Pol : I didn't know you were an expert in vocal inflections.

Commander Tucker : I don't need to be an expert to read you. Come on, admit it. You're a little jealous.

Subcommander T'Pol : Are you implying that I'm attracted to you?

Commander Tucker : That kind of goes along with the assumption, doesn't it?

• Crazy credits The opening credits video footage of the Sojourner rover approaching the "Yogi" rock, taken by the Mars Pathfinder lander, make Star Trek: Enterprise the first television show or movie in history to use footage taken on another planet.
• Alternate versions The Region 1 DVD release of Season 3 modifies the opening credits of the first three episodes of the season to say "Star Trek: Enterprise" instead of "Enterprise", in order to be consistent with the rest of the season.
• Connections Featured in How William Shatner Changed the World (2005)

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• September 26, 2001 (United States)
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Star Trek Has Finally Revealed the Evil Enterprise's Weird Fate

Watch out for any goatees.

Today, everyone knows what a multiverse is. But back in 1967, parallel universe stories weren’t nearly as common as they are now, even within the sci-fi genre. A classic Star Trek episode, Jerome Bixby’s “Mirror, Mirror,” helped popularize the alternate universe trope, complete with meaner versions of yourself who may rock an evil little goatee like Mirror Spock.

Star Trek’s Mirror Universe also gave us an alternate version of the USS Enterprise in the ISS Enterprise , a ship that served the Imperial Terran Empire, not the United Federation of Planets. Now, in the Discovery Season 5 episode “Mirrors,” the evil ISS Enterprise is back... as a force for good. Here’s what it all means. Spoilers ahead.

The ISS Enterprise returns

Captain Burnham watches the ISS Enterprise warp to Federation HQ.

While pursuing the thieves Moll and L’ak, Book and Burnham take a shuttlecraft into an unstable wormhole and discover the floating, pseudo-derelict ISS Enterprise . One of the clues to the Progenitor’s tech has been hidden on it, but for Burnham, it’s kind of like a bizzaro universe homecoming. Burnham spent a decent amount of time in the Mirror Universe in Discovery Season 1 , and in Season 2 she found herself on the Enterprise with her brother Spock just before jumping from the 23rd century to the 32nd century.

In “Mirrors,” Burnham notes that “crossing between universes has been impossible for centuries,” which means the ISS Enterprise must have crossed over into the Prime Universe well before the 32nd century. Burnham is referencing the events of Discovery Season 3, when we learned that Philippa Georgiou, a resident of the Mirror Universe, couldn’t go back to her home universe because those dimensions had drifted apart. But the ISS Enterprise , which was previously captained by an evil Kirk, crossed over into the Prime Universe well before that moment, and Discovery has now added details connecting The Original Series, Deep Space Nine , and Discovery Season 3.

How evil Spock became good

Spock talking with Kirk in “Mirror, Mirror.”

In the Deep Space Nine episode “Crossover” we learn that after Kirk talked to Mirror Spock and encouraged him to try making the Terran Empire a peaceful power, Mirror Spock did just that. But as Mirror Kira explained, Mirror Spock’s idealism didn’t work out the way he’d hoped:

“Spock rose to Commander in Chief of the Empire by preaching reforms, disarmament, peace. It was quite a remarkable turnabout for his people. Unfortunately for them, when Spock had completed all these reforms, his empire was no longer in any position to defend itself against us [the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance].”

Discovery appears to be referencing this exact event, even if Spock isn’t named outright. When Book learns the ISS Enterprise became a refugee ship for people who’d turned against the Empire, he says, “The Terran High Chancellor was killed for trying to make reforms.”

This likely references Spock, but adds the twist that he was perhaps betrayed by other people within the Terran Empire, even if Earth adopted his reforms. Now, by the end of “Mirrors,” the 23rd-century ISS Enterprise has been moved to the Prime Universe and the 32nd century. It’s an antique by modern standards, but it’s a contemporary of the USS Discovery, so it’s still serviceable. This means that by the end of Discovery Season 5 there will still be a version of the classic Enterprise floating around Federation headquarters, so when the Starfleet Academy series debuts, 32nd-century Starfleet cadets will have access to the classic version of the most famous Enterprise. It may technically be an evil twin, but its historic adventures aren’t over just yet.

Star Trek: Discovery and The Original Series stream on Paramount+.

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All Roads Lead to Discovery: The Full Star Trek Timeline, Explained

Star Trek: Discovery takes place at the furthest point in the franchise timeline. Here is the stardate for each major entry in the series.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, the final season, is currently underway. The series debuted in 2017 and was used as the launch title for the streaming service CBS All Access, now rebranded Paramount+. It was also the first Star Trek series on television in 12 years following the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise back in 2005. While Paramount has spent nearly a decade trying to get Star Trek 4 out of development hell , the franchise has been going strong on Paramount+ with various series on the streaming service at different times of the year. Now, there is almost always a Star Trek series on the air at any given point.

Star Trek: Discovery is a fascinating case for the franchise, as it was originally conceived as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , but following the conclusion of Season 2 and starting in Season 3, the series jumped far into the future, the farthest point in the franchise history. Star Trek: Discovery now takes place in a universe built on years of stories. Here is a breakdown of the Star Trek timeline across television and film and how it all leads to Star Trek: Discovery .

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star trek: enterprise.

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The last television series on air before Star Trek: Discovery is also the first in the timeline as Star Trek: Enterprise takes place over 100 years before the adventures of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01 which was Earth’s first starship able to reach warp five. Major events in the series are around first contact with alien species like the Klingon and the Xindi. The series also featured the true formation of the United Federation of Planets.

The series also established the Temporal Wars, a conflict that stretched across time and space and resulted in the creation of multiple timelines as agents from various factions in the 32nd century were sent back in time to move history in their favor. This eventually resulted in an all-out war, and while it was resolved, it later had some major ramifications for the franchise. The first was that all-time travel technology became outlawed or destroyed in the 32nd century, so when the crew of Discovery jumped forward in time, they had no way of returning home. The other was a way for the writers to fix continuity errors , like moving up the date of Khan's rise and the Eugenics wars from the 1990s, as established in The Original Series , to the 2010s.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

When Star Trek: Discovery first premiered, it was pitched as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , taking place nine years before the events of the series. It introduced Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, the never-before-mentioned adopted sister of Spock who ended up starting the war between the Federation and the Klingons, one that would have repercussions for the franchise for years. Star Trek: Discovery dealt with a threat from the Mirror Universe , a faction that would come into play in Star Trek: The Original Series , while season two brought on fan-favorite versions of characters from the original Star Trek pilot in the form of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijln), and Spock (Ethan Peck).

Star Trek: Discovery season two ended with the crew of the Enterprise making the decision to jump forward 1000 years in the future to save the galaxy from an artificial intelligence threat. This resulted in Pike, Spock, and Number One telling Starfleet that Discovery was destroyed in the battle and vowing never to speak of it or the crew again to prevent another incident like the rouge AI Control from happening. This was done to explain why nobody in the later series of Star Trek mentioned any of the characters on Discovery or the advanced technology the ship had as the first and only one of its kind to use an experimental spore drive.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star trek: strange new worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is both a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery , following Captain Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise, introduced in that series, as well as a continuation of the original pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series "The Cage." Now that Captain Pike knows the fate that awaits him by the time Star Trek: The Original Series happens, he and the crew of the Enterprise begin exploring strange new worlds. The series is notable for featuring not only Spock but also his first-ever meeting with Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) and the first missions of Uhurua (Celia Rose Gooding). Other members of the original crew, like Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Doctor M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), while Season 2's finale introduces a young Scotty (Martin Quinn).

Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

It also adds a new wrinkle to the lore: La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), who is a descendant of villain Khan Noonien Singh. The series has so far fleshed out the alien race, The Gorn, and features the foundation of the Prime Directive rule, one that forbids a Starship from interfering with the development of an alien planet. It also features time travel in two key episodes. The first was when La'an and another version of Kirk traveled to 2020 Toronto, where La'an has a chance to kill a young Khan when he was just a boy but doesn't due to him not being guilty of any crime yet, and the other involved the crew of Star Trek: Lower Decks traveling back in time and arriving back 100 years before their time.

Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The one that started it all, Star Trek: The Original Series , follows the crew of the USS Enterprise in their five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and go where no one has gone before. Under the guidance of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), his first officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and friend and ship doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelly), the crew of the USS Enterprise are the most important characters in the Star Trek franchise. Decisions and events here have major ripple effects on the entire franchise.

There are far too many to name, but the biggest ones include in 2267 when the crew finds and uncovers the body of Khan Nooniegn-Signh, and after he attempts a mutiny, they leave him on a planet to begin a new life, an action that will have repercussions decades later.

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star trek: the animated series.

Star Trek: The Animated Series was made in 1973, four years after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled. It featured the continuing adventures of the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. It lasted for two seasons and helped round out the stories of Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2271)

Star trek: the motion picture.

While no official stardate is mentioned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and is only identified as the 2270s, supplementary material for the film dates it one year after the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. The film sees the crew of the Enterprise reunite to investigate a mysterious and powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger, which is destroying everything in its path as it approaches Earth. While not stated in the film, subsequent Star Trek material has suggested that V'Ger is the progenitor of the Borg, one of the franchise's most popular recurring enemies.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

The most iconic Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan , picks up 15 years after the events of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed." The time since the planet Khan was marooned on , it became a wasteland after one of the planets near it was destroyed and altered the atmosphere. Khan now seeks revenge on Kirk and does so by going after the planet-terraforming machine called the Genesis device, a machine created by Kirk's ex, Carol Marcus, and his son, David Marcus. Kirk is able to defeat Khan but at a price, as Mr. Spock is forced to give his life to save the crew of the Enterprise. Spock's death will have major repercussions on the franchise that will be felt for years.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star trek iii: the search for spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock picks up just months after The Wrath of Khan , as the crew of the Enterprise discovers that there is a way to revive Spock. They go against Starfleet's orders and steal the Enterprise to return Spock's body and mind to Vulcan so that he can be reborn. The crew must also face off with hostile Klingons, led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is bent on stealing the secrets of the powerful terraforming Genesis.

Here’s How Much Each Star Trek Movie Made at the Box Office Upon Release

The film features some major hallmarks of the franchise. The first is the destruction of the Enterprise, a ship that had been with the franchise for years and would be absent in the following film. The second was establishing the core characters as fugitives from the United Federation of Planets, which would set up clearing their names in the follow-up. It also featured Spock being resurrected but at another cost for Kirk, the death of his son, which would begin to drive Kirk's prejudice against Klingons for many films.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

Star trek iv: the voyage home.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sees the former crew of the USS Enterprise discover that Earth is in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. The crew travels to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe's call. The first and final part of the movie takes place one year after The Search for Spock , but the majority of the movie takes place in 1986, the present day for moviegoing audiences. While Star Trek had done time travel stories before, this one set a template for future entries in the franchise. By the end of the film, Kirk and his crew had been reinstated and cleared of all charges.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star trek v: the final frontier.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier deals with the crew of the new USS Enterprise-A as they confront renegade Vulcan Sybok, who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy. Sybok is Spock's half-brother , and he is from his father's previous relationship with a Vulcan woman. This makes the second chronological secret member of Spock's family and the first introduced in the series in order of release.

Sybok's presence was actually hinted at in the series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds when his lover, Angel, attacks his half-brother's ship. The entry is also the first to allude to a higher power in the Star Trek franchise, and while God would not be revealed in the series, the idea of someone being the creator of life in the galaxy would be picked up years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation and is now the main storyline for the final season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

The final time the entire crew of the USS Enterprise would be together was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The Klingons seek to form an alliance with the Federation after years of fighting due to their planet suffering a major catastrophe, but Kirk is still bitter after the death of his son at the Klingon's hands in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Kirk and Bones are framed for the murder of a high-up Klingon official, which threatens the peace accords, and they, alongside the rest of the crew of the Enterprise, must work to clear their names.

This final entry for most of the original cast marks a turning point in the franchise. It marked the end of the Federation and Klingon conflict, setting up Star Trek: The Next Generation , featuring the character Worf in a prominent role as part of the crew. The film takes place 28 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and through one live-action show, an animated series, and six films, audiences saw a massive epic unfold for these characters, but the story was far from over as a new era began for the franchise and the next generation began.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

Star trek: the next generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Captain Jean Luc-Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as they continue to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations. For many audiences, this was their Star Trek and introduced a whole new host of concepts to the franchise, with the most iconic being the villain, The Borg.

Star Trek: The Next Generation might be one of the most important in terms of how it connects to Star Trek Discovery. The first is the episode "Unification," in which Spock looks to bring peace between the Vulcans and Romulans. Not only is this paid off as Spock's vision of a united Romulus and Vulcan comes true in the form of the planet Ni'Var in Star Trek: Discovery , but his work with the Romulan people will lead to the events that create the alternate Kelvin timeline of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond .

Yet the most important element is in the episode "The Chase," which reveals that the reason various alien life in the galaxy looks so similar is due to sharing a common ancestry from an ancient species that crafted life in their image. This revelation forms the backbone of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season as the crew looks to find the technology of the species that created life, now dubbed the Progenitors. The episode debuted in 1993, and now, 31 years later, the series is finally going to delve into some answers.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star trek: deep space nine.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke from franchise conventions as instead of being focused on a starship, it was set on a space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole connecting Federation territory to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. The series begins one year before the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation come to a conclusion and is firmly connected to the events of that series as Benjamin Sisko, head of Deep Space Nine, is mourning the death of his wife, who was killed by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 seen in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds Part II" from The Next Generation and has a difficult time seeing the face of Jean-Luc Picard as that was the face he saw leading the Borg that lead to the death of his wife.

The biggest event of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is The Dominion Wars, a massive story arc that ran over the course of the series. It involved all major powers of the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants, organized into two opposing military alliances, the Federation Alliance and the Breen-Dominion Alliance, which resulted in the deadliest conflicts in the galaxy. It would begin the drive for the Federation to become a more militarized organization.

Star Trek Generations (2371)

Star trek: generations.

Star Trek: Generations occupies an interesting place within the timeline. It is set one year after the events of The Next Generation and two years into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the year 2371. Yet the film's beginning takes place shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier, which sees Captain Kirk stuck in a pocket dimension, allowing him to meet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of The Next Generation nearly a century later into his future. This film marked the death of Captain Kirk , who died the way he lived, a man of adventure.

Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

Star trek: first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact is another time travel movie, similar to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Set six years after being assimilated by the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Captain Picard and his crew travel through a time portal to pursue the Borg to April 4, 2063. This is the date before the historic warp drive flight that leads to humanity's first encounter with alien life, and the Borg are looking to alter the future so humans never make contact. The film's date of April 5th has now become an unofficial Star Trek holiday known as First Contact Day .

Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star trek: insurrection.

Star Trek: Insurrection is notable as the film is set in 2375, the same year as the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Trying to take the renegade Starfleet team element from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , the crew of the USS Enterprise -E rebels against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with the Son'a species to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet for its rejuvenating properties.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager begins in 2371, the same year as Star Trek: Generations . It follows the adventures of the USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy. This entry is key for introducing two characters to the franchise that will play major roles in future installments. The series introduced Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the first female Captain in the franchise, who will later have a major role in Star Trek: Prodigy .

The second is Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a former Borg drone that was born Annika Hansen before being assimilated by the Borg at age six in 2356, eight years before the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Seven of Nine plays a major role in Star Trek: Picard as the series delves more into the Borg's history and culture.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Star trek: nemesis.

Star Trek: Nemesis takes place fifteen years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and deals with a threat from a clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who has taken control of the planet Romulus and was created by the Romulan Empire originally to create a spy within the Federation but the plans were abandoned likely due to the events of "Unification" and the clone child was left on die as a slave on the Romulan controlled planet Remus. The film marked the final film for the crew of The Next Generation as it marked many landmarks, including the wedding of Commander Will Ryker and Deanna Tori and the death of Data, all elements that lead into Star Trek: Picard .

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star trek: lower decks.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is a comedic spin on the Star Trek franchise . This animated adventure follows the low-ranking support crew of the starship Cerritos and begins one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis . Star Trek: Lower Decks crossed over with Star Trek: Strange New World in that series' second season episode, "Those Old Scientists," which saw Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid get the chance to play their roles of Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler, respectively, in live-action.

The series just announced its fifth and final season, meaning both it and Star Trek: Discovery will come to a close in 2024, and fans are certainly hoping to hear a mention of the characters of Lower Decks in Discovery just to know these lowly crew members did become big names with the Federation history.

Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star trek: prodigy.

Star Trek: Prodigy was an attempt to create a new starting point for young kids to get into the Star Trek franchise. Set in 2383, it follows a group of young aliens from the Delta Quadrant who find the abandoned starship Protostar and learn about Starfleet with the help of the ship's computer, an AI of Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . This young crew of kids makes their way to the Alpha Quadrant while discovering what it means to be a crew and what being part of Starfleet is all about.

The series features plenty of cameos and references to the past Star Trek series but does so in a way that invites the young viewer to learn more about them. The series was canceled at Paramount+ after one season but was then picked up by Netflix, where it will have a second season.

Kelvin Timeline (2387, 2255 - 2263)

This is where things get a bit tricky. In the year 2387, a supernova destroys the planet Romulus. For those in the original timeline, the destruction of Romulus kicks off the events of Star Trek: Picard, but a major event happens that none of the characters are aware of at the time: the creation of a new timeline.

In an attempt to stop the supernova, an elder Spock launches a piece of red matter into the supernova that creates a black hole that sucks both him and the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) through it and back in time. Nero arrives first in the year 2233, which results in the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the death of Geroge Kirk on the birth of his son James T. Kirk's birth, creating a new branching timeline that is the Kelvin timeline, which is where the events of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond take place. This means that while the events of the Kelvin timeline take place earlier, they are doing so in a separate timeline that is built off the events of the prior stories. So 2009's Star Trek is both a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel to the franchise.

Due to the timeline changing, the events of the Kelvin timeline actually take place earlier than in Star Trek: The Original Series . 2009's Star Trek takes place in 2255, while Into Darkness takes place four years later in 2259, and Beyond is set in 2263, roughly four years into the crew's five-year mission. This is notably two years before Star Trek: The Original Series begins. By the 31st century of Star Trek: Discovery season three, the Prime Timeline is aware of the Kelvin timeline. They established a Starfleet officer named Yor, a time soldier who originated from another timeline and referenced the events of 2009's Star Trek .

Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Star trek: picard.

Star Trek: Picard takes place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis in the year 2399. In the years since the series concluded, the Federation has become more isolationist. Following the destruction of Romulus, the Romulan people have become scattered; meanwhile, an attack on a Starfleet operation has led to a ban on synthetics. Season one focuses on Picard discovering more about the syncs with the discovery of Data's daughter Soji while also exploring more into the Borg culture as Romulans have begun mining Borg technology.

Season 2 takes place two years later, in 2401, and sees an old adversary named Q, an extra-dimensional being, traping Picard and his new crew in an alternate reality which forces them to travel back in time to Los Angeles 2024 to save the future while exploring more about Picard's own family origin. Finally, season three takes place one year later, in 2402, as Picard reunites with his old crew from The Next Generation , as well as his long-lost son, for a final showdown with the Borg.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3-5 (3188-TBD)

Now, finally, it's time to loop back to Star Trek: Discovery . Season 3 sees the crew of Discovery travel to the year 3188 to discover the Federation fragmented and investigates the cause of a cataclysmic event known as the "Burn" as they attempt to rebuild Starfleet. Burnham is promoted to captain at the end of the season, and in season four, the crew helps rebuild the Federation while facing a space anomaly created by unknown aliens that causes destruction across the galaxy, similar to the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The fifth and final season sees Discovery faced with its biggest task yet. They embark on a journey to uncover the mystery of The Progenitors, the species that The Next Generation revealed created multiple sentient lifeforms in the universe. The final season of Star Trek: Discovery , the series set furthest in the Star Trek timeline, is now taking the franchise to answer the oldest question in the cosmos: where do we come from, and what is our purpose?

With humans making first contact with aliens on April 5, 2063, to the events of Star Trek: Discovery in 3188, the story of Star Trek is one that spans 1,125 years. It is an epic tale filled with heroes, villains, and worlds filled with imagination and hope. Star Trek continues forward as there are plenty more stories to tell.

Star Trek: Enterprise - What Happened To Jonathan Archer?

Quick links, where was jonathan archer at the end of star trek: enterprise, what happened to jonathan archer, jonathan archers star trek legacy.

• Captain Jonathan Archer was instrumental in the formation of the Federation and had a lasting impact on Star Trek lore.
• His legacy continued beyond his command of the Enterprise NX-01 as he achieved the rank of Admiral and later served as President of the United Federation of Planets.
• Archer was considered the greatest human explorer of the 22nd century, and references in subsequent future iterations of Star Trek demonstrate his enduring influence.

Star Trek fans didn’t meet Captain Jonathan Archer until Star Trek: Enterprise was first broadcast in 2001. The show proved controversial with fans as it set the background for the classic series they loved and suffered the franchise’s customary slow start. But by the end of the show’s four seasons, there was no doubt they’d been watching one of the most important figures in Star Trek history.

The commander of the first NX ship launched by the United Earth Starfleet, Archer could travel further than any human captain thanks to its warp-five engine. He helped create a revolution in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, making first contact with many alien species and helping to found the United Federation of Planets. Not only that, he was also the first captain to bring his pet beagle, Porthos, on away missions. But what happened to him after his time aboard the first ship dubbed the USS Enterprise was over?

Star Trek: Enterprise What Happened To T'Pol?

Enterprise ’s ending after four short years was controversial as it relied on an intervention from The Next Generation for its big send-off. As the first live-action Star Trek series not to earn seven seasons since the Original Series , the show occupies a lower place in the franchise rankings than it should. But over those four years, the show packed in an incredible legacy for Captain Archer and his crew, creating franchise history up to the formation of the Federation.

In Enterprise ’s first season, Archer made a not overly successful first contact with the Klingon Empire, as he was drawn into a confusing temporal war that would last for three years of his command. During his second year, that temporal cold war developed as the Enterprise was unlucky enough to come into contact with species fans knew far better than the crew, like the Romulans and Borg.

Star Trek: What Happened To Dr. Phlox?

Archer’s second year in command ended with disaster, but a renewed direction, as Earth suffered a devastating attack from an alien probe. A season-long arc through the show’s third year saw Archer and crew travel to the Xindi homeworld to destroy a super weapon that could eradicate Earth. Having convinced the Xindi that humanity wouldn’t pose an existential threat to the Xindi homeworld 400 years in the future, the Temporal War was soon, apparently, resolved. That left the fourth year to examine the crew’s influence on Star Trek as the show took a more confident approach to craft and confirm Star Trek lore rather than trying to work around it.

In year four, the Enterprise tackled augmented humans and helped the Klingons overcome the resulting augment virus that radically changed the warrior race’s appearance to the one seen in the Original Series . There was time to subvert the Orion Slave Girl stereotype that had long been a joke at the franchise’s expense, and even introduced fans to how the captain and his crew fared in the Mirror universe with a story that was both a prequel and sequel to Kirk’s adventures.

Perhaps Archer’s most significant on-screen achievement was foiling the machinations of the Romulans to create an alliance with the Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites. That would be cemented when he played a major role in signing the United Federation of Planets Charter.

Star Trek: Ranking Every Iteration Of The USS Enterprise

The last time fans saw Captain Archer was just before making a speech at the signing of the Federation Charter, or an immediate precursor to it, in 2161. Strangely, what happened to the captain is mainly recorded not in expanded or continuing fiction or subsequent series but in Enterprise ’s final two-parter, ‘In A Mirror Darkly.’ The fan-pleasing trip to the Mirror universe was a prequel to ‘Mirror, Mirror,’ and a sequel to ‘The Tholian Web,’ but mostly a great bit of publicity for the Prime universe Archer.

In ‘In A Mirror Darkly,’ fans discovered what happened to the USS Defiant when it phased from the Prime universe during ‘The Tholian Web’ — it arrived in the Mirror universe, almost 100 years in the future. Naturally, when Mirror Archer’s renegade crew hijacks the Defiant to seize control of the Terran Empire, they can’t help but look at the ship’s records.

Star Trek: The Relationship Between Vulcans & Romulans, Explained

A handy screenshot from the ship’s database revealed that Prime Archer commanded the Enterprise for 10 years between 2040 and 2050. We know that after the Federation Charter was signed, he became ambassador to Andoria in 2069 for six years (five years after becoming an honorary member of the Andorian Imperial Guard). Archer then took up a position on the Federation Council until 2183, and between 2184 and 2192, he was the President of the United Federation of Planets.

At retirement, Archer was listed as Chief of Staff at Starfleet Command with the rank of Admiral. ‘In A Mirror Darkly’ teleplay writer Michael Sussman has confirmed further details to the biography seen in the episode. The screen also recorded that Archer lived to about 133 years and died near where he was born in Upstate New York in 2245. Sussman’s neat intention was to confirm that Archer died one day after the christening of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.

Star Trek: 6 Worst Things Done By The Federation, Ranked

As Mirror Sato explains in ‘A Mirror Darkly,’ Jonathan Archer’s name is “among the most recognized in the Federation.” The Mirror version of Archer is enraged by his counterpart's success, arguing that, “Great men are not peacemakers; great men are conquerors.” The successful, lauded, and praised counterpart with two planets named after him in the Prime universe haunts and taunts the Mirror incarnation as his paranoia grows and he heads to a typically unsavory end.

According to his profile, historians called Prime Archer the "greatest explorer of the 22nd century,” and subsequent iterations of Star Trek have enjoyed name-checking him. Perhaps the strangest reference comes from the Kelvin Timeline . During 2009’s Star Trek , Kirk encounters Montgomery Scott on the cold and remote research outpost of Delta Vega in 2258. The engineer blames his predicament on demonstrating his transwarp theories by beaming a longer-lived Admiral Archer's prized beagle to who knows where.

Star Trek: The USS Enterprise's Best Commanding Officers, Ranked

In the Prime universe, Discovery ’s first season listed Archer as one of Starfleet's most decorated captains as of 2256, alongside Matt Decker, Philippa Georgiou, and two other captains of the Enterprise, Robert April and Christopher Pike. In Strange New Worlds , Captain Pike references Archer when encountering star fleet personnel from the future in ‘Those Old Scientists.’

Time may have become a far more serious factor had Enterprise received a fifth season. In 2012, co-creator Brannon Braga confirmed that the mysterious ‘Future Guy’ who had helped and hindered the Enterprise during the series would have been confirmed as Captain Archer himself , attempting to correct history from the future.

While from a fan’s perspective, Archer sits in the lineage of iconic Starfleet captains like Janeway, Sisko, Picard, and Kirk, his placement in the timeline means he has to embody Star Trek at the dawn of Starfleet. Thanks to his time and technology limits, Archer was probably the most morally challenged captain fans have seen. He was prompted to make judgment calls that Star Trek had never imposed on other captains, which is saying something considering the extreme circumstances of captains Janeway and Sisko.

As a linking figure between the viewers and the more enlightened crews of the 23rd and 24th centuries, there’s no doubt he was a success despite the tricky assignment. Despite seeing too few of his years aboard the USS Enterprise, the franchise committed to giving him an impressive legacy, and it's likely fans will hear his name again.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Release Date September 26, 2001

Genres Sci-Fi

Creator Rick Berman, Brannon Braga

Number of Episodes 98

Network UPN

Court is the final frontier for this lost ‘Star Trek’ model

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In April, Heritage Auctions heralded the discovery of the original model of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the iconic starship that whooshed through the stars in the opening credits of the 1960s TV series “Star Trek” but had mysteriously disappeared around 45 years ago.

The auction house, known for its dazzling sales of movie and television props and memorabilia, announced that it was returning the 33-inch model to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr., son of series creator Gene Roddenberry. The model was kept at Heritage’s Beverly Hills office for “safekeeping,” the house proclaimed in a statement, shortly after an individual discovered it and brought it to Heritage for authentication.

“After a long journey, she’s home,” Roddenberry’s son posted on X , (formerly Twitter).

But the journey has been far from smooth. The starship model and its celebrated return is now the subject of a lawsuit alleging fraud, negligence and deceptive trade practice, highlighting the enduring value of memorabilia from the iconic sci-fi TV series.

The case was brought by Dustin Riach and Jason Rivas, longtime friends and self-described storage unit entrepreneurs who discovered the model among a stash of items they bought “sight unseen” from a lien sale at a storage locker in Van Nuys last October.

“It’s an unfortunate misunderstanding. We have a seller on one side and a buyer on the other side and Heritage is in the middle, and we are aligning the parties on both sides to get the transaction complete,” said Armen Vartian, an attorney representing the Dallas-based auction house, adding that the allegations against his client were “unfounded.”

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The pair claimed that once the model was authenticated and given a value of $800,000, they agreed to consign it to an auction sale with Heritage planned for July 2024, according to the lawsuit. However, following their agreement, they allege the auction house falsely questioned their title to the model and then convinced them, instead of taking it to auction, to sell it for a low-ball $500,000 to Roddenberry Entertainment Inc. According to the suit, Eugene Roddenberry, the company’s CEO, had shown great interest in the model and could potentially provide a pipeline of memorabilia to the auction house in the future.

“They think we have a disagreement with Roddenberry,” said Dale Washington, Riach and Rivas’ attorney. “We don’t. We think they violated property law in the discharge of their fiduciary duties.”

The two men allege they have yet to receive the $500,000 payment.

A surprise discovery in a Van Nuys storage unit

For years, Riach and Rivas have made a living buying repossessed storage lockers and selling the contents online, at auction and at flea markets. In fact, Riach has appeared on the reality TV series “Storage Wars.”

“It’s a roll of dice in the dark,” Riach said of his profession bidding on storage lockers. “Sometimes you are buying a picture of a unit. When a unit goes to lien, what you see is what you get and the rest is a surprise. At a live auction you can shine a flashlight, smell and look inside to get a gauge. But online is a gamble, it’s only as good as the photo.”

Last fall, Riach said he saw a picture of a large locker in an online sale. It was 10 feet by 30 feet, and “I saw boxes hiding in the back, it was dirty, dusty, there were cobwebs and what looked like a bunch of broken furniture,” he said.

Something about it, he said, “looked interesting,” and he called Rivas and told him they should bid on it. Riach declined to say how much they paid.

There were tins of old photographs and negatives of nitrate film reels from the 1800s and 1900s. When Rivas unwrapped a trash bag that was sitting on top of furniture, he pulled out a model of a spaceship. The business card of its maker, Richard C. Datin, was affixed to the bottom of the base.

A Google search turned up that Datin had made “Star Trek” models, although the two men didn’t make the connection to the TV series.

“We buy lots of units and see models all of the time,” Riach said. He thought they would find a buyer and decided to list it on eBay with a starting price of $1,000.

At once, they were deluged with inquiries. Among Trekkies, the long-lost first starship model had attained a mythical status.

The original “Star Trek’’ debuted in 1966 and aired for three seasons. Although its original run was brief, the show has generated numerous films and television spinoffs and is one of the most lucrative entertainment franchises, with an enormous fan base.

In 2022, at a Heritage auction of 75 props and items, a Starfleet Communicator from the 1990s series “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” sold for $27,500 while a pair of Spock’s prosthetic Vulcan ear tips from the original series went for $11,875, more than twice the amount they brought when they were sold in 2017 for $5,100.

The starship’s design was crucial to the series’ success. “If you didn’t believe you were in a vehicle traveling through space, a vehicle that made sense, whose layout and design made sense, then you wouldn’t believe in the series,” Gene Roddenberry said in the 1968 book “The Making of Star Trek,” according to the auction house.

For years, the show’s creator had kept the 33-inch model on his desk. It became the prototype for the 11-foot model used in subsequent episodes. That version was later donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. But that first model disappeared around 1978 when the makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” borrowed it.

A missing starship model

In 1979, Roddenberry wrote to then Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg stating that he had “loaned” the model to the studio more than a year earlier.

“My problem is simply that of getting my model back,” Roddenberry wrote, according to a copy provided by Washington. “It is a fairly expensive piece of model making but its real value to me is what it represents.” He added that no one he had spoken with “had the slightest hint as to who got it or what happened to it.”

Roddenberry died in 1991 .

After the massive interest sparked by the eBay listing, Riach and Rivas pulled the sale and began researching the model more intently. They discovered the connection between Datin and the TV series but also learned that the original model was the same size as the one they had found and it had gone missing. “I said wow, do we have something here?” said Riach, and then reached out to Heritage.

Riach admitted that “Star Trek” wasn’t really on his radar. He was a die-hard “Star Wars” fan, having collected vintage memorabilia from the space films since he was 8 years old.

But given the treasure he unearthed, he now says, “I love ‘Star Trek.’

“There are people buying storage units for 20 years and you will never find anything this great,” he said. “It’s like buying a lottery ticket. It was a very great find.”

Things took an unexpected twist, Riach said. In March, he and Rivas signed an agreement to sell the model for $500,000 after it was pulled from the planned auction and they were told Roddenberry Entertainment had a “strong claim” to the model’s title and “would tie them up with its ‘powerful legal team.’” But then they were given a new transfer agreement to sign with a new set of terms. Riach declined and, instead, he and Rivas called Washington.

Heritage “moved the goalposts,” said their attorney. Under the new agreement, Riach and Rivas would be paid a “finder’s fee,” which Washington called a “reward,” converting it from a transactional payment to a potentially voluntary payment.

They claimed that by April, when Heritage announced the model had resurfaced, the pair came to believe the house failed to disclose the item’s value was much greater than they had been told.

Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s executive vice president, made public statements calling it “priceless.” “It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is,” he told the AP . “It is truly a cultural icon.”

They also had not been paid.

On April 28, 10 days after Heritage announced it had returned the model to Roddenberry, Riach and Rivas’ lawyer sent a letter to the auction house’s attorney outlining their claims and asking for the payment promised; they also proposed mediation.

Vartian, the lawyer representing Heritage, said that Riach and Rivas became “impatient” about getting the transaction done, and disputes the house had a fiduciary duty to them.

“This is an arm’s-length business relationship,” Vartian said. “They bring something to the auction house and are trying to get the most possible amount as quickly as possible, that is [Heritage’s] position and what they did.”

Still, Vartian is confident that they will soon conclude the transaction, saying, “Various things including scheduling have taken longer than it would.”

For his part, Riach says this experience is much like that of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise — “a strange new world.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like this. I’ve sold fine art at auction and other places, I got my check and went on. I’ve never had this roller coaster.

“Storage is a hard game. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose,” he added. “We’ve bought a $10,000 unit and everything was complete garbage. But if you play long enough, you can get lucky.”

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‘star trek: discovery’ co-showrunner teases the final episodes and her message for fans.

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Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise with her "Star Trek: Discovery" cast and crew.

For five seasons, Star Trek: Discovery has taken audiences on the ride of a lifetime. With its series finale now in sight, I sat down with executive producer and co-showrunner Michelle Paradise at SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado to discuss the beloved show’s journey and what fans should expect from this ever-expanding television universe on Paramount Plus, before we say a proper farewell to the U.S.S. Discovery.

So for starters, what has Paradise enjoyed most about the evolution of Star Trek: Discovery , since it first premiered in September 2017?

“That’s a really great question,” Paradise said. “I have loved being a part of it. I joined halfway through season two, and it was starting to know what it was and it’s really found its way. I’ve really enjoyed the character arcs and getting to take them all to these different places. It’s also hard for me to separate out the evolution of the show from my evolution on the show and stepping into co-running it with [co-showrunner] Alex [Kurtzman] and starting to take over more of that in later seasons. It’s been the highlight of my career.”

Mary Wiseman as Tilly and Blu del Barrio as Adira in "Star Trek: Discovery" episode 7, season 5 - ... [+] streaming on Paramount+.

Paradise is no stranger to television production. She was previously an executive producer on such television projects as Exes & Ohs and The Originals , but I wondered what it might be about her Star Trek: Discovery cast and crew that perhaps feels special.

“It’s like a big family. First of all, our cast is incredible. They’re all insanely talented actors but they’re lovely human beings. They approach one another and they approach the project from just a place of love and respect for one another and for the material, which is always a wonderful place to start. You can’t say enough of [actor] Sonequa [Martin-Green], our number one and the tone that she sets on the show and on the set. We have a lot of folks on the show and the crew who come back, year-after-year. They all really love the world of Trek and they love one another. We try and go bigger and better and bolder every season, and there’s never a feeling of Oh, we can’t do that . It’s always a feeling of How do we do that? ”

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Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in "Star Trek: Discovery" streaming on Paramount+.

Since the original Star Trek series first premiered on television in 1966, the Star Trek story and fictional sci-fi universe has evolved into several iterations, including Star Trek: The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , Voyager , Enterprise , Strange New Worlds and Picard - not to mention the numerous Star Trek movies over many decades, including the three recent blockbuster films, starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, with another sequel in the works.

Throughout all of these years, Star Trek fans have remained quite loyal and vocal, both when they love a story and even when they don’t. So, how does Paradise and her Star Trek: Discovery creative team try to appease Trek fans, but also not allow the chatter to stop them from taking on some creative risks?

Wilson Cruz as Culber and Anthony Rapp as Stamets in "Star Trek: Discovery" episode 6, season 5 - ... [+] streaming on Paramount+.

Paradise said, “I think the best way to answer that is we always try to honor what Trek is - where it came from, what is the DNA of any Trek series, which of course goes back to the original series, and then also honoring what is this version of Trek and knowing that it’s our job to make the best version of Discovery . Someone who loves Discovery may not love Strange New Worlds or someone who loves Strange New Worlds may not love Discovery. By design, these are all very different shows. To a certain degree, it has to be okay that not everyone is going to love this iteration. We always feel like if we can do justice to the franchise as a whole - what it means, do justice to the characters and do our best version of Discovery , then we will have succeeded.”

Ever since the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes ended late last year, there have been signs of movement and optimism within the entertainment industry, but also a sense of some standstill with television and film productions. So, what is Paradise seeing around the current state of Hollywood?

“I think it depends on who you talk to,” Paradise said. “It feels a bit like a mixed bag to me. There are a lot of people who are still very much struggling - writers, crew members, directors - because things have not picked up in the way that they would normally at this particular time of year. By in large, there’s not really a pilot season, as we used to know it. That’s very difficult for people. Of course, there’s still a lot of wonderful opportunities, but it seems like the compression that happened - it’s the combo platter of the [Covid-19] pandemic and the strikes, just after that. It does feel condensed - there are fewer things but I feel like, to some degree, that had to happen because in the big balloon of streaming, that in retrospect, it doesn’t feel like it was necessarily sustainable. Hopefully it will ease up, sooner than later, and kind of calm down because there’s still a lot of people who are struggling to get back into work right now and I feel for them - it’s hard.”

On more of a positive note, when asked what Paradise is enjoying most about the television landscape today, she says that she feels there is a lot that can be done, applauding the way that every week, Star Trek: Discover y is a “cinematic storytelling into television,” though she admits that the visual design of Discovery is not sustainable for every network and studio.

While our real world faces divisive times with war, political unrest and other conflicts, I wondered if Paradise and her team keep in mind the real-life issues occurring, when crafting its stories for the screen on Star Trek: Discovery .

Mary Wiseman as Tilly, June Laporte as Ravah and Wilson Cruz as Dr. Culber in "Star Trek: Discovery" ... [+] episode 6, season 5 - streaming on Paramount+.

“That comes from just the DNA of the show itself. The original series did not shy away from what was happening societal at that time. It did not shy away from tackling those things in the way that it could. That’s one of the cool things about sci-fi - aliens can stand-in for another culture, different relationships can stand-in for whatever is happening in society at the time. That’s kind of baked into any Trek show, is that reflection of what’s happening in the world at that time via sci-fi and the different ways we could do it.”

Paradise added: “In Discovery , we were very much aware of that and very thoughtful about what are the types of stories we want to tell, how does that reflect certain things that are going on. Trek means so much to so many people and where people are actively looking to Trek to reflect themselves in some way or actively looking to Trek as an answer to what’s happening in society and for hope that, as divisive as things are right now, as challenging around the world and in our country, that there is hope and we can overcome it with our better selves.”

Blu del Barrio as Adira, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno and Mary Wiseman as Tilly in "Star Trek: Discovery" ... [+] episode 7, season 5 - streaming on Paramount+.

When asked about what fans can expect ahead in the remaining episodes of Star Trek: Discovery , which drop every Thursday during this final season, Paradise teases that fans “might see more of our bad guys this season.” She added: “We did not going into the season [knowing] that this would be our last season. We’re so fortunate - CBS Studios and Paramount Plus gave us the opportunity, after the fact, to go shoot some additional material, and I feel like the thing I just want to keep reiterating for fans of the show is it has a proper ending. Our Discovery is not going to end on a cliffhanger of Are they all going to die? and then we never find out. It was worth the investment and I do think when people finish the season/series, they will feel like this season - again, we didn’t know going in - but it does feel like if you didn’t know that, you would think we knew going in because of what we’re doing thematically and where our characters go. So, I think people will feel very satisfied.”

As the conversation with Paradise concluded, she was left with one last question: For Star Trek: Discovery fans, people who have followed these five seasons - as they soon finish these final episodes, what message do you as a co-showrunner want to say these people, after investing their time in the series over the past seven years and falling in love with these characters?

Mary Wiseman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Paradise.

“I just would want to say thank you. There is no Discovery without the fans and they are always so loving and supportive and passionate, even when they don’t like what we’re doing, they’re passionate. As writers and creators and actors and the directors, we love that! We love that passion and their passion means so much to us.”

Paradise added: “It was a gift. Hopefully, we’ll all get to do it again someday.”

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Published May 10, 2024

RECAP | Star Trek: Discovery 507 - 'Erigah'

Never turn your back on a Breen.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery.

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Previously, L'ak reveals that his uncle is the Breen Primarch of the sixth flight . While he chooses to save Moll, he cannot kill his uncle, injuring him with a non-lethal phaser blast, in consideration for the man who raised him.

Book assures Moll that while she can hate him, he will not allow anything to happen to her or Michael Burnham; the fugitive courier is the only family he has left. Whereas Captain Burnham questions L'ak if he even knows what he's after; "power beyond all comprehension" in the Breen's hand will prove catastrophic. L'ak assures her that he and Moll will be long gone by then. There's an erigah on them, and the Federation could not wipe something of that magnitude away. In an ensuing skirmish with Burnham, L'ak is severely wounded. The two fugitive escape off the I.S.S. Enterprise via a Terran war pod with sickbay equipment — a life support system.

While on Halem'no , Tilly learns the symbols within the temple represent numbers in ancient Halem'nese. The clue vial Burnham took from L'ak bears the same marking as the one that represents the fifth tower. There, they find their next clue — a metal card with Betazoid text inscription.

In Episode 7 of Star Trek: Discovery , " Erigah ," with Moll and L’ak finally in custody, the Federation is pulled into a diplomatic and ethical firestorm when the Breen arrive and demand they be handed over. Meanwhile, a frustrated Book looks for ways to help as Tilly, Adira, and Reno work to decipher the latest clue.

• Michael Burnham
• Cleveland "Book" Booker
• Dr. Hugh Culber
• Moll (Malinne Ravel)
• William Christopher
• Charles Vance
• T'Rina
• Paul Stamets
• Sylvia Tilly
• Primarch Ruhn

• U.S.S. Discovery -A
• Federation Headquarters

In deep space, a recording of Moll's voice announcing, " Special offer. Courier services. Limited time only ," is being broadcast from the warp pod she used to escape from the I.S.S. Enterprise . The U.S.S. Locherer has secured the craft in a tractor beam, and the U.S.S. Discovery -A jumps to the scene. In Discovery 's corridors, Commander Nhan briefs Captain Michael Burnham about the message, which was transmitted on subspace frequency Epsilon 19 — a courier channel. "Special offer" is code for SOS, so the captain deduces that Moll hoped a courier would rescue her and save L'ak. Under Admiral Charles Vance's orders, Nhan and her security are to assist Discovery as they transfer Moll and L'ak to Federation Headquarters. The Barzan officer hands Burnham the Romulan diary she confiscated from Moll. Written by Dr. Vellek, it chronicles the Romulan scientist's research into the Progenitors ' tech.

Burnham and Nhan approach the entrance to Sickbay, where two Starfleet guards are preventing Cleveland "Book" Booker from accessing the room and meeting with Moll when she beams over. Palpable tension exists between Nhan and Book, but the Kwejian argues that he might be able to get Moll to start talking. Nhan recalls the last time she saw Book — another "personal situation" in which he fired photon torpedoes at Discovery and set off an isolytic weapon. Book's desire to make things right doesn't ease Nhan's stern expression, but the captain speaks up to vouch for him. The Barzan reluctantly states she will find him if they need help during their debrief, prompting Book to depart in an equally hesitant fashion. Burnham expresses her trust in Book, and the two exchange smiles as Nhan jokingly confides that is why she "went easy" on him.

"Erigah"

Sickbay's doors slide open, revealing Dr. Hugh Culber standing next to a biobed as he awaits Moll and L'ak's arrival. L'ak is in bad shape and will be beamed directly into the biobed, while Moll — dehydrated and half-starved — will also be held within the same containment field. Captain Burnham contacts the Locherer to greenlight the transfer, and Nhan draws her phaser in a precautionary stance. The two couriers are beamed into the room alongside two security officers. L'ak writhes in pain, and Moll becomes combative toward the captain while blaming her for her partner's injury.

Culber scans his patient before taking Burnham aside to deliver his assessment. L'ak is fading — a vital organ must have been hit, but Breen physiology is still largely a mystery. The captain describes the situation as politically charged, believing the death of a Breen fugitive in Federation custody could inflame an already tenuous diplomatic situation. Relying on Dominion War era medical research which indicates the Breen are capable of somatic cell regeneration in extreme cold, Culber proposes placing L'ak in a captured Breen refrigeration unit being stored at Fed HQ. The technology could allow them to turn the biobed into a low-temperature ICU unit. The idea remains a longshot, but Burnham agrees and beams out to brief Headquarters.

The Discovery approaches Federation HQ, where two other Starfleet vessels are also currently stationed. On the Bridge, Lieutenant Christopher shares that Admiral Vance would like to speak to the captain before they dock. The matter is classified, so Burnham retreats to her Ready Room and hands the conn over to Commander Rayner. As the captain enters her office, Vance transports in bearing an unsettled look on his face. Moll and L'ak must remain in Discovery 's custody, and the ship must jump away immediately. The admiral calls up a transmission in which the Breen warn the Federation that they must turn over the two fugitives who have incurred an Erigah . Scans show a Breen dreadnought on a course for Fed HQ at maximum warp, and President Laira Rillak is off at a diplomatic summit on Tellar Prime.

Vance does not consider handing Moll and L'ak over to the Breen to be an option. Although the Breen can not become aware of the Progenitors' technology, Burnham takes issue with the admiral's strategy of simply denying the Federation has the couriers. Vance has a slight issue with the captain's decision to speak so freely, but he concedes that having the prisoners elsewhere will force the Breen to consider how far they're willing to push the Federation in order to fulfill the Erigah . Burnham counters, noting the Breen will eventually figure out the ruse, begin tracking Discovery 's jump signature, and leave carnage in their wake as they track the ship. Permitting Discovery to stay will speed up the inevitable and coerce the Breen into dealing with the Federation. The admiral accepts Burnham's solution and directs a troubled gaze at the holographic that depicts the Breen dreadnought.

Ni'Var’s President T'Rina walks into Federation HQ's Briefing Room, where Vance, Burnham, and Rayner have gathered to analyze the situation. President Rillak has delegated T'Rina to lead negotiations in her stead. T'Rina has reviewed all records of diplomatic relations with the Breen, but there has been no official contact since before the Burn. Although recent intelligence is limited, the Federation knows the Breen Imperium has experienced unrest since the death of its Emperor. Six primarchs are waging a war for the throne, though they do not know which faction is on its way to Fed HQ. Rayner defiantly proclaims that all Breen are the same — the word 'diplomacy' is not in their vocabulary, and he sees teaching it to them to be more of a pipe dream than a tactic. T'Rina insists this faction seeks power, reasoning that there must be something the Federation can offer which will negate the Erigah . Arms crossed, Rayner points to what happened the last time the Breen entered Federation space. Vance remarks that this situation is different, as more Starfleet ships are on their way. His goal is to keep things calm until backup arrives.

Captain Burnham chimes in, observing that the Breen don't need to come into Federation territory to make this demand. The excursion is a risk for them, so there must be another reason the Breen want Moll and L'ak. Since the most powerful weapon in diplomacy is information, T'Rina contemplates a recent report from Captain Saru, who is away on a diplomatic mission near Breen space. The Breen's factional wars stem from a succession dispute involving competing claims from disparate branches of the royal bloodline. Frustrated by the discussion, Rayner interrupts and states that none of this will matter if the Breen believe they can win. The first officer suggests they install thoron emitters on the hull and use duranium shadows to give the impression that they're armed to the gills.  

Burnham attempts to diffuse his anger, but Rayner makes reference to the Romulan saying, "Never turn your back on a Breen." T'Rina is taken aback by the xenophobic statement, yet Rayner insists that the Breen view genocide as a necessity — their version of a Prime Directive. Burnham halts the exchange by asking her first officer to wait for her outside. Upon Rayner's exit, the captain offers to place her limited rapport with Moll and L'ak to the test to see if they'll share what they know. Vance agrees, but requests that she keep her Number One in line. They can't afford any missteps once the Breen reach Fed HQ.

Leaning against a wall in the corridor, Rayner awaits his captain. As soon as he sees Burnham approach, he launches into a spirited declaration that the admiral's defensive position is an invitation to be decimated. Burnham cuts him off, leading her first officer down the hallway and voicing her concern for his ability to handle this situation. She senses this is personal for him, and he apologizes for his tone. Burnham reflects on this for a moment, opting to dismiss Rayner rather than pursue her suspicion any further. The captain contacts Lieutenant Gallo and orders her to place Discovery on Yellow Alert.

In one of Discovery 's own corridors, Commander Paul Stamets hurries to catch up with Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly as she carries her luggage to the Shuttlebay. The Academy instructor is intent on heading to Fed HQ to help defend her cadets from the Breen, but Stamets presents her with a metallic card that was attached to the clue from the fifth tower on Halem'no. Inscribed with a Betazed logo, the item's text translates to " The Labyrinths of the Mind. " If Tilly and Ensign Adira Tal focus on the meaning of that phrase, the astromycologist can figure out the properties of the metal. Considering the Breen destroyed an entire city the last time they paid a visit to the Federation, Tilly is surprised that Paul is focusing on the clue.

Stamets emphasizes the magnitude of their mission. The U.S.S. Mitchell is standing by in case it receives an encrypted message from Discovery . Or, as Tilly puts it, in case Discovery can't complete the mission because they're all dead. Holding up the clue, Stamets declares it to be the most important thing in the Federation at the moment — they must prevent the Breen or another power from obtaining the Progenitors' tech. Paul reminds Tilly that Fed HQ is probably the safest place her cadets can be, finally convincing the lieutenant to stay.

Captain Burnham visits Dr. Culber in Sickbay, where the containment field continues to surround Moll and L'ak. With subzero gasses promoting a strong immune response, the Breen courier's condition has improved. Keeping warm in a cozy Starfleet jacket, the doctor allows the captain to chat with the prisoners. Having intercepted Moll's SOS, the Breen are on the way to Fed HQ. Burnham is curious as to what the couriers' plan had been, but Moll insists that she and L'ak have always been partial to winging it. The captain also wonders what else the Breen might accept as payment to lift the Erigah , though L'ak is adamant there is not another way.

Burnham eyes Moll. The captain doesn’t buy the excuse, citing the presence of a Breen dreadnought — the most powerful warship class in the entire Breen Imperium — as evidence that this Primarch really wants Moll and L'ak. The couriers would prefer to be released so they can take their chances on their own, and L'ak comments that some things are worse than death. Burnham evaluates the remark, realizing that the Primarch doesn't actually plan on killing the prisoners. Recognizing there must be a familial connection, she asks if L'ak is the Primarch's child, sibling, or cousin.

The captain's query is met with silence, so she hypothesizes that — since the Primarch wants the throne — they can somehow get it for him. For people who fought for their freedom, being under the Primarch's thumb would be worse than death. Moll glances at L'ak, unintentionally helping Burnham reach a stunning conclusion. L'ak is the bloodline, not the Primarch. L'ak responds, disdainfully admitting that he is the direct descendant of the Emperor and the Scion of the Breen Imperium. L'ak ends the discourse by imploring that Burnham spit in his uncle's face for him once he gets to Fed HQ.

In the Science Lab, Zora reports to Tilly and Adira, informing them that she has found a match for the metal card's inscription. Labyrinths of the Mind is the title of a Betazoid manuscript written by Dr. Marina Derex in 2371. Derex was one of the scientists who helped hide the Progenitors’ tech, but only a few thousand copies of the work were published in the 24th Century. While no copies are known to have survived, the punctuation of the Betazed symbols point to this being the root text for the original, handwritten manuscript. Zora has no record of where it could be, but Adira asks Zora to scan Starfleet personnel files for anyone with expertise in ancient manuscripts. 

As the artificial intelligence combs through data, Adira notices a look from Tilly. Despite the ensign's fear about being on the Bridge, the lieutenant notes that they did a great job during the Halem'no mission and are continuing to excel in their current assignment. Adira is finding their way, and Tilly recommends they not be afraid to take on more. As Adira appreciates the advice, Zora confirms that she has found someone whose curriculum vitae lists experience as a rare and antiquarian bookseller. The two officers are shocked to learn that the person is Discovery 's very own Commander Jett Reno.

Tilly and Adira locate Reno in a corridor, where she kneels to make repairs to a targeting matrix in preparation for possible hostilities with the Breen. Adira is dismayed by the depressing outlook, and Reno insists her perspective is rooted in the Breen's whole "faceless helmet vibe." Truncheons, jackboots — where’s the nuance? Tilly cuts to the heart of the matter, but the engineer confesses that she may have padded her resume. She used to move hard to find folios for a shady antiquarian archivist — a smuggler, in Adira's words. Reno elaborates, mentioning that she had many odd jobs before committing to Starfleet, such as VIP shuttle pilot, deep mercury welder, bartender at a cozy little dive on Ashalon IV. in fact, she’s supposed to pick up a guest shift tonight at Red's Lounge. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried her "Seven of Limes."

Adira laughs, stating that Reno has "really got around" before they anxiously adds "not like that." Reno turns back from an open panel and affirms, "Oh, yeah. Like that." Tilly sees this as a story for another time, awkwardly shifting back to Labyrinths of the Mind . Reno thinks it over, stating that it could have ended up in a private collection, museum, or landfill. Tilly's need to find the last clue has left her nervous, but the engineer is confident they can figure it out. Reno guides them down the hallway so that she can overhaul the shield emitters, but they listen as a shipwide announcement takes them to Code One Alpha. The corridor is cast into a deep shadow, and Reno curses, "Shit! They’re here." An immense Breen dreadnought takes a position near Federation HQ and dwarfs its adversaries.

Captain Burnham joins Vance and T'Rina in Fed HQ's Command Center, where the station is placed on a Yellow Alert. The dreadnought is the same ship that destroyed Headquarters in the time bug cycle. Scans can't penetrate its shields, but Burnham shares her recent discovery with the admiral and president — without L'ak, this Primarch has no claim to the throne. They just need time to figure out how to use that information to resolve this peacefully.

Primarch Ruhn responds to a hail, and Lieutenant Teemo translates the mechanical Breen vocalizations into Federation Standard. Ruhn demands the fugitives be transferred to his ship, stressing that there will be no negotiation. T'Rina counters that they will need four hours to draft and approve extradition orders, but Ruhn gives them one hour — failure to comply will be considered an act of war. Burnham takes note of the president's "extradition orders" excuse, and T'Rina jokes that it seemed more believable than a tribble infestation. With the one hour deadline in mind, the captain has an idea as to how to proceed.

Meanwhile, Zora presents Stamets with an expansive holographic map of planetary systems in Engineering. The astromycologist asks her to eliminate systems that aren't rich in ionized beryllium or gadolinium-154, then alters his request by imploring her to remove entries that contain alloys, minerals, or compounds that are not detected in the Betazoid card. A handful of systems vanish from the projection. The lack of progress deflates Stamets' hopes, though he is pleasantly surprised when Book enters the room and offers to help. The Kwejian professes that he is "shite at sitting around," so Stamets presents him with the dilemma of narrowing down where the Betazoid card was made — a needle in a hundred million haystacks.

Captain Burnham finds Commander Rayner at Federation HQ, where he stares out a viewport at the green glow of the Breen starship. They're running out of time, so Burnham is direct — What does he know about Breen leadership? Given Rayner's strong reaction to the Breen, the captain did some digging and found that Kellerun had been used as a Breen outpost for a number of years. The first officer wrings his hands, his voice quaking as he reveals it's not a time he likes to talk about. He is not familiar with a Primarch Ruhn, as Primarch Tahal had controlled his homeworld. Without any warning, Breen ships showed up and filled Kellerun’s sky like a swarm of Golor beetles. Intent on using the planet as a munitions resupply hub, Tahal clear-cut Kellerun's forests, poisoned its seas, blackened its skies, and killed many of its inhabitants — including Rayner's entire family. In the commander's estimation, the Breen can not be negotiated with when they want something, yet Burnham believes he just provided her with a way to satisfy Primarch Ruhn's demands without giving him Moll and L'ak.

Aboard Discovery , Commander Reno reminisces about her 800-year-old contacts in the book trade — all of whom are pushing up daisies now — and hones in on the notion that the Betazoid manuscript is one-of-a-kind. Since Dr. Derex would have wanted to protect it, Reno posits that Tilly and Adira should check the Eternal Gallery and Archive, a bank-like neutral facility that welcomes all worlds and safekeeps countless rarities. Unfortunately, the Archive stays secure by remaining on the move. The clue and its inscription might even be the manuscript's library card. Armed with this intel, Tilly and Adira thank Reno — who replies with an informal salute — and speed off to continue their investigation.

In Sickbay, Dr. Culber is pleased to let L'ak know that he is now in stable condition. The Breen courier opines that Captain Burnham is making a mistake by believing his species thinks like humans do. Regardless of the differences between cultures, Culber has faith in common ground. L'ak denies this, arguing that Moll loves him because of their differences — not despite them. Moll fails to conceal a smile as she looks down at her partner in the biobed, then asks the doctor to give L'ak time to rest. Culber steps away so that a Starfleet security officer can raise the containment field. Moll takes a seat, seizing the opportunity to speak quietly with L'ak. They can't let his uncle take custody of them before they have the Progenitors' tech as a bargaining chip. L'ak counters that the Federation will never give them up, and being stuck in a brig is just another kind of stuck.

L'ak urges Moll to make a run for it, but she refuses to leave his side. The wounded courier suggests she steal a shuttle and beam him onboard, but he's certain she won’t like his plan to deal with the containment field. The guards notice the prisoners are discreetly conferring, so they take a few cautious steps toward the biobed. L'ak and Moll undescore their love for one another and prepare to enact their plan.

President T'Rina, Captain Burnham, and Commander Rayner stand by in Fed HQ's Command Center, listening as Admiral Vance orders Lieutenant Teemo to inform the Breen that they are ready to transfer custody of the fugitives. Green flashes spark around the room as Primarch Ruhn, Lieutenant Arisar, and a contingent of Breen guards beam in with their truncheons by their sides. Ruhn dispenses with pleasantries and relies on Arisar to translate his demands into Federation Standard. T'Rina delays, proposing they use their remaining time as a chance for conversation. Arisar relays that Ruhn has no need for conversation, but the President startles the Breen contingent by offering a more accurate translation — Ruhn has no need to speak with "spineless, insignificant achworms."

Vance pounces on the Breen's momentary unbalance, presenting them with an offer of 45 metric tons of raw dilithium in trade for lifting the Erigah on Moll and L'ak. Ruhn speaks in their own tongue to avoid any confusion — the only payment for a blood bounty is blood. Preferring to avoid conflict, T'Rina gives Ruhn a final chance to consider their request. She brushes aside the Primarch's declaration that he is insulted, stating that the Federation has been refused, rebuffed, and now ridiculed. Instead of handing the prisoners over to Ruhn, T'Rina announces that she will accept an offer they’ve received from Primarch Tahal. Captain Burnham says that Tahal is very interested in having L'ak by her side to bolster her claim to the throne — the same as Ruhn. The Breen's demands are not about an Erigah , they are about power.

Primarch Ruhn extends his arm in defiance, his truncheon materializing in his hand. The Breen guards stand ready, and Starfleet security officers raise their weapons in turn. Ruhn accuses T’Rina of lying, claiming Tahal would rather gnaw her own flesh than strike a deal with the Federation. The Primarch deems Burnham's insistence that his rival was "fierce and fair" to be a bluff which wouldn't fool a hatchling, but Commander Rayner takes pleasure in mixing his own intel into the ruse. Rayner knows Tahal well, aware that she named her flagship Tau Ceti after a lethal viper with a slow-acting venom. That's her favorite way to kill her enemies — including Rayner's kinfolk who stood against her at the Twin Gates on Kellerun — when she wants to watch them die by degrees. She only spared Rayner because she liked the way he fought — ferocious and relentless, almost like a Breen. Ruhn threatens to blast the station into atoms if they do not bring L'ak to him, but T’Rina is aware the Primarch can not afford to risk harming his nephew.

In Sickbay, Moll approaches the containment field and tells a guard that she needs to talk to Captain Burnham. L'ak covertly accesses vials on the side of his biobed, injecting himself with an entire day's dose and bursting out in a fit of pain. Culber has the field lowered and rushes over to help, but Moll harnesses the distraction by kicking a tube and venting cold vapors into the room. She freezes her cuffs in the sub zero gasses and breaks them against a guard's face. She incapacitates the two security officers in hand-to-hand combat, wrestling a phaser from one of them and using it to stun Culber. Nhan arrives and blocks the door, engaging Moll in a desperate fight through the chilled haze that had settled upon the room.

Over at Federation Headquarters, Primarch Ruhn falls victim to T'Rina’s gambit and submits that he will exceed whatever terms the Federation had agreed to with Tahal. The President has no desire to engage in a bidding war between factions, but she walks toward him and puts forth a third option — they reject the other Primarch's offer, and keep L'ak imprisoned at Fed HQ. If Ruhn does not accept, Discovery can activate its spore drive and take L'ak to Tahal in seconds. By taking the Scion off the table, the status quo between the factions will be maintained and the Primarchs can settle their dispute in battle. Ruhn seems open to this suggestion, though he notes that any harm done to L'ak in Federation custody will result in war. T'Rina promises that the Scion will be safe, but a call from Nhan interrupts the negotiation.

Captain Burnham beams into Sickbay, finding Nhan and her security officers recovering from the attack. As the Barzan treats a wound to her leg, she states that Moll escaped. Zora can't detect Moll's biometric data, so she may have some form of biometric cloaking technology implanted in her body. Frustrated, Burnham orders a lockdown protocol and sends Nhan in pursuit. Culber tends to L'ak, but he's losing him and needs to know more about Breen physiology. Burnham chooses to seek help from the Primarch and beams out.

Zora's voice emanates from the comm system in Engineering, announcing that all decks have been sealed under lockdown protocol. She informs Book that Moll is on the run, but Stamets is resolute that the Kwejian stay to assist him in narrowing down potential origin points for the Betazoid clue. Book inquires as to whether any terminals have been used to access the ship's schematics, and Zora confirms that someone logged in 30 seconds ago at Terminal C7 on Deck Five. Book gathers his jacket and moves to spring into action, only halting once the astromycologist underlines that the mission has to be the priority. Book relents, switching back into investigative mode.

Although the scientist was Betazoid, there are no trace elements from Betazed in the clue. Stamets latches on to Book's offhand comment that he feels they should be further along. Betazoids are telepaths, so what if Dr. Derex created a transitive link between the card and where it came from. Traces of her thoughts and emotions could have been left behind, and Book's empathic abilities could allow him to read them. Stamets hands Book the clue, and the Kwejian empath closes his eyes to focus on the card. In his mind, Book sees empty space followed by an orange-hued dust storm — a plasma storm rocked by explosive plasma blasts. Book also gets a feeling of "eternity" or "eternal," but that’s all. This narrows the field down a bit, so Book hurries off to locate Moll.

Captain Burnham beams back into Sickbay, where L'ak endures unbearable agony. She convinced Primarch Ruhn to provide a Breen medic, but he would only agree if he could also join them. Ruhn and his helmeted associates transport in, and their medic heads over to examine L'ak. Ruhn wonders where Moll is, so the captain covers by saying the other prisoner is elsewhere on the ship. The medic gets to work, and a diagnostic hologram opens to display L'ak's vitals. Meanwhile, Nhan coordinates with Book in Discovery 's corridors to find a more precise location for Moll. The Barzan is grateful for Book's tip about the terminal and mentions she might have misjudged him. Book says making things right is a process. The pair round a corner and spot Moll holding a phaser at a crew member. The courier takes aim at them, but Nhan calls out to tell her that the escape attempt backfired — L'ak made an error with the dose and may not survive. Moll doesn't believe her — she states that Nhan can sell her a goat farm on Bopak III while she's at it — but Nhan nods to Book to confirm the prognosis.

Book decides to give negotiation a try, stepping out into the open with his hands empty. He knows L'ak is Moll’s world, and he also knows what it's like to lose one. She maintains her defensive stance, but he implores her not to miss her chance to be there with her partner. Moll relents and surrenders her weapon. She is escorted to Sickbay, where she is surrounded by Burnham, Culber, and Ruhn as she makes a tearful approach to L'ak in his biobed. The Breen fights to keep his eyes from closing as he consoles Moll, who doesn't see this as how their story ends. L'ak succumbs to his injuries and lets out his last breath, causing Moll to lower her head and more tears to flow. Primarch Ruhn becomes furious and claims the Federation has killed the Scion. Burnham denies the accusation, and Culber explains that L'ak hacked the biobed and administered a massive dose of tricordrazine. Runh does not care for the intention, only the outcome.

Primarch Runh warns Burnham that she must prepare for battle and sends a message to the Breen soldiers who stayed in Fed HQ's Command Center — L'ak is dead, the troops must return to their ship, and all torpedo systems are to be armed. The Breen vanish, leaving Admiral Vance with no choice but to take Headquarters to Red Alert. Commander Rayner insists that Starfleet make the first move, but T'Rina cautions that what they do will make waves across many worlds. Lieutenant Teemo detects new warp signatures, and the senior officers watch as four Starfleet vessels arrive to reinforce the station.

Back in Sickbay, Captain Burnham continues to try and reason with Ruhn, while Culber points out that L'ak overdosed on a stimulant during an escape attempt. Their words mean nothing to the Primarch, but Moll wipes away tears and confirms their account. Ruhn does not believe the human, and she assesses that Ruhn thinks a war against the Federation will unite the Breen behind him. The Primarch concedes that if he cannot use the Sion in life, he will use him in death. Rolling up her sleeve to reveal a mark which L'ak also bears on his forearm, Moll notifies him that she goes wherever L'ak goes — that is the privilege of their joining. Ruhn calls the marriage an abomination, insisting that she will never be welcome among the Breen. Moll presents another factor in her favor, mentioning the Federation's search for the Progenitors' tech — a power so great that Ruhn wouldn't need L'ak to claim the throne. The Primarch mulls her offer, shifting his gaze to the various Starfleet officers around the room. Finally, he concludes that the Federation must release Moll to him as his price for averting a war, giving them five minutes to choose.

Book and T'Rina gather with the Starfleet team — Burnham, Rayner, Vance, and Nhan — in another meeting room at Fed HQ. Moll is confined to another containment field nearby, and Captain Burnham believes the courier has a plan. The field prevents Moll from discerning what her captors are saying to one another, so she doesn't hear Vance ask if Moll knows anything about the Progenitors' tech that she hasn't already told the Breen. Nhan points to a newly discovered passage from Dr. Vellek's diary which highlights the Romulan's view that the Progenitors' life-creating technology could potentially be used to revive the dead. Burnham deduces Moll wants to utilize it to bring L'ak back. By helping the Breen, she gets L'ak and freedom from the Erigah at the same time.

Rayner adds a strategic consideration, Moll doesn't have the clue from Halem'no. Although the Breen can track Discovery 's jump signature, speed will be on the Federation's side. Upset that this course is even being contemplated, Book desperately suggests that Moll should be tried for what happened on Q'Mau. T'Rina observes that Moll also committed crimes in Breen space, and would be held accountable according to the Imperium's laws. The President concludes that there is little to be lost by letting the Breen take Moll, but much to be lost by keeping her. Vance signals the security officers standing by the containment field, and they lower the barrier. Moll is transported over to the Breen dreadnought. Astounded by the outcome, Book turns to Burnham and avows that this is wrong. The Breen warship begins moving away from Federation Headquarters and engages its warp drive. 

Stamets, Tilly, and Adira meet with Burnham and Rayner in the Ready Room not long after the Breen vessel's departure. They've figured out that the next clue is in a place called the Eternal Gallery and Archive. The facility changes location every 50 years or so, but thanks to Book, they know the Archive is currently in a region with a lot of ionic discharge in close proximity. Stamets brings up a holographic map of possible locations, and Adira has Zora overlay 18 sets of coordinates depicting the Archive's position over the last 900 years. Tracing the path, Tilly determines that the Archive should now be in the Badlands.* Rayner's been there, and he says that it's as fun as it sounds.

The captain thanks her colleagues, but asks her first officer to stay behind as the science team makes their exit. Burnham acknowledges that today must have been difficult for Rayner. After all, she mutinied rather than give an inch back to the Klingons. She is impressed with the way Rayner handled himself, agreeing with Rayner's assessment that what the Breen did to Kellerun must never happen again. They tap their badges and beam to the Bridge, where they request status reports from the senior staff. Lieutenants Christopher, Linus, Gallo, and Naya certify that their stations are ready, and Lieutenant Commander Asha is enthusiastic about the challenge of navigating the Badlands' notorious turbulence. Seated in the captain's chair, Burnham takes Discovery to Black Alert.

* " The Maquis " — The Badlands was first introduced in this Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode as a Demilitarized Zone in the Alpha Quadrant bordering both the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union.

• Written by M. Raven Metzner
• Directed by Jon Dudkowski

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.