klingon star trek voyager

8 Alpha Quadrant Things Star Trek: Voyager Found In Delta Quadrant

• Star Trek: Voyager finds familiar things from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant, sparking important questions and connections.
• Encounter with Ferengi negotiators leads Voyager crew to stop their interference in a pre-warp civilization for profits.
• Janeway and crew discover humans abducted by aliens in the 1930s living in the Delta Quadrant, including Amelia Earhart.

For a show with the conceit of being so far from home, Star Trek: Voyager found a surprising number of things in the Delta Quadrant that originated in the Alpha Quadrant, including several from Earth itself. The USS Voyager, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), and Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) Maquis raider Val Jean were both brought to the Delta Quadrant in 2371 by the Caretaker (Basil Langton). After Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array to save the Ocampa , Voyager and the Val Jean were left without a ticket back to the Alpha Quadrant, and banded together to make the long journey.

Finding something familiar in an otherwise totally alien corner of the galaxy brought a sense of familiarity to the USS Voyager crew and viewers at home alike, but the presence of something from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant inevitably raised important questions , like how familiar people and objects traveled 70,000 light years from home in the first place, and whether the find could lead Captain Kathryn Janeway towards a quicker path home to Earth.

Star Trek: Voyagers 20 Best Episodes Ranked

A pair of ferengi negotiators, arridor and kol, star trek: voyager season 3, episode 5 "false profits".

The USS Voyager encounters a pair of Ferengi negotiators, Arridor (Dan Shor) and Kol (Leslie Jordan), who claim to be the prophesied Great Sages of the Takarians, a society with Bronze Age level technology. The Ferengi have no Prime Directive to deter them from interfering with the Takarians' development , so they're performing "miracles" with a standard replicator to reap the monetary benefits of the Takarians' worship. Voyager's crew know the Ferengi reputation well enough to know they're no Sages, so they must figure out how to put a stop to Arridor and Kol's grift.

"False Profits" serves as a Star Trek sequel episode to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 8 "The Price", as Voyager catches up with Arridor and Kol (formerly played by J. R. Quinonez) seven years after their Delta Quadrant arrival. The Ferengi took a test flight through the supposedly stable wormhole near Barzan II, which was supposed to emerge in the Gamma Quadrant, but instead stranded the Ferengi in the Delta Quadrant, where they made the best of their situation as only Ferengi can.

Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 23 "Distant Origin"

"Distant Origin" opens on Forra Gegen (Henry Woronicz), a scientist who discovers that his people, the Voth, share certain genetic similarities with the humans aboard the USS Voyager. While this confirms Gegen's theory that the Voth are the descendants of a species brought to their homeworld millions of years ago , religious leader Minister Odala (Concetta Tomei) refuses to accept the truth. Even with Commander Chakotay present as a living specimen of humanity, Odala pushes Gegen to recant, because Gegen's theory goes against the Voth Doctrine that keeps Odala in power.

After meeting Gegen's assistant, Tova Veer (Christopher Liam Moore), Janeway and the Doctor use the holodeck as a research guide to extrapolate how hadrosaurs might look in the 24th century if they'd been able to evolve into a humanoid form with comparable intelligence. The result resembles Veer, so Janeway and the Doctor conclude, like Gegen, that the Voth evolved from hadrosaurs into a highly advanced species on Earth , then fled to the Delta Quadrant in spacefaring vessels instead of being wiped out with the other dinosaurs.

The Friendship One Probe

Star trek: voyager season 7, episode 21 "friendship one".

By Star Trek: Voyager season 7 , the USS Voyager is in regular contact with Starfleet Command, and Starfleet gives Voyager a mission to retrieve a 21st-century Earth probe, Friendship One . The probe proves difficult to find, but once discovered on an alien planet suffering devastating climate collapse, the implications of Friendship One's launch become clear. Besides the irreversible damage to the planet's climate, the inhabitants are all suffering from radiation sickness, and bear understandable hostility towards Earth, because the aliens believe humans orchestrated their destruction with the Friendship One probe.

The United Earth Space Probe Agency was one of the early names for the organization the USS Enterprise belongs to in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Charlie X".

Friendship One was launched in 2067 by the United Earth Space Probe Agency with the intention of making friends with whomever found it, as the name implies. Although Friendship One, the 400-year-old Earth probe, traveled for centuries carrying messages of peace, musical recordings, and ways to translate languages, the people who discovered Friendship One in the Delta Quadrant took a greater interest in the antimatter it used to travel across space. Without the proper knowledge of its use, antimatter proved devastating to the planet and its people, resulting in death and disease for generations.

Dreadnought, a Cardassian Missile

Star trek: voyager season 2, episode 17 "dreadnought".

The USS Voyager discovers a dangerously powerful, self-guided Cardassian missile in the Delta Quadrant, which Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) recognizes as one nicknamed "Dreadnought" . When B'Elanna was with the Maquis, Torres had actually reprogrammed the missile herself, with the intention of turning the Cardassians' own weapon against them. Without a Cardassian target in sight, the artificially intelligent Cardassian Dreadnought targets a heavily-populated Class-M planet , Rakosa V. B'Elanna determines she must be the one to keep Dreadnought from hurting anyone else, and boards the missile to convince it to stand down.

While no concrete reason is given for exactly how the Dreadnought wound up in the Delta Quadrant, its last known location in the Alpha Quadrant was the Badlands, the same rough patch of space where Voyager and the Val Jean, Chakotay's Maquis raider, fatefully met. Because of this, Torres theorizes that Dreadnought arrived in the Delta Quadrant the same way that Voyager and the Val Jean did , courtesy of the Caretaker.

Star Trek: Voyagers BElanna Is More Klingon Than TNGs Worf Ever Was

A klingon d-7 class cruiser, complete with klingons, star trek: voyager, season 7, episode 14 "prophecy".

The USS Voyager certainly never expected to find a Klingon ship in the Delta Quadrant, but more surprising is the fact that the crew of the Klingon D-7 Class Cruiser believes their savior, the prophesied kuvah'magh, is aboard Voyager . Janeway assures the Klingon captain, Kohlar (Wren T. Brown), that the Federation and Klingon Empire have been allies for the past 80 years, and offers Voyager's own half-Klingon, Lt. B'Elanna Torres, as proof their societies are working together now. The kuvah'magh is Torres' unborn daughter, who does save the Klingons, but not the way they expected.

Centuries ago, Kohlar's great-grandfather set off on a quest to find the kuvah'magh, and the Klingon D-7 Cruiser became a generation ship that is now crewed by the descendants of its original crew . The quest begun by Kohlar's great-grandfather brought Kohlar and his crew to the Delta Quadrant after four generations of searching. Whether B'Elanna's child is actually the kuvah'magh or not, Kohlar desperately wants the baby to be their savior, so that his people may finally rest.

Amelia Earhart

Star trek: voyager season 2, episode 1 "the 37s".

The discovery of a 1936 Ford truck, seemingly disconnected from any parent vehicle, leads the USS Voyager to a nearby Class-L planet, where they find eight humans who have been in cryo-stasis since they were abducted by aliens in the 1930s. Among them are one of Janeway's personal heroes, legendary American aviator Amelia Earhart (Sharon Lawrence) , who disappeared without a trace while attempting to fly around the world, and Earhart's navigator, Fred Noonan (David Graf). Earhart and the other preserved humans are known by the planet's inhabitants as "The 37s", and revered as sacred.

Originally thought to be aliens, the natives of the unnamed planet are the descendants of humans. A species called the Briori abducted the natives' ancestors, along with Earhart and the other 37s, from Earth centuries earlier , and took them to the Delta Quadrant. Once held as slaves, the humans who weren't in stasis revolted to free themselves from the Briori, and developed a thriving, Earth-like civilization in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager's crew consider staying with the humans in their little slice of home, while Janeway also offers a ride back to Earth to anyone who wants it, including Amelia Earhart.

The USS Equinox

Star trek: voyager season 5, episode 26 & season 6, episode 1 "equinox".

The crew of the USS Voyager believe they're the only Starfleet vessel in the Delta Quadrant until they find the USS Equinox, five years into their journey home. Captain Rudolph Ransom (John Savage) and the Equinox crew have had a harder time in the Delta Quadrant than Voyager, with more damage, fewer starting resources, and fewer opportunities to make friends along the way. Ransom's survival tactics include sacrificing innocent nucleogenic life forms for a more efficient form of fuel, which Janeway finds hard to stomach, and decides that Ransom needs to be held accountable for defying Federation ideals, regardless of how badly the Equinox is damaged.

Although Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) suggests that the Equinox might be in the Delta Quadrant on a rescue mission to find Voyager, the USS Equinox's specs don't fit the profile of a starship that would be assigned to a long-range mission. The explanation of how the Equinox arrived in the Delta Quadrant in the first place seems fairly simple, because Captain Ransom tells Janeway that the Equinox was also abducted by the Caretaker , just like Voyager, but the Equinox has only been in the Delta Quadrant for 2 years, and Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array 5 years earlier.

Seven of Nine

Debuts in star trek: voyager season 4, episode 1 "scorpion, part 2".

When Captain Kathryn Janeway allies with the Borg in order to secure safe passage across Borg space, Janeway refuses the cursory assimilation that the Borg want to use to communicate with Janeway and Voyager's crew, and instead requests a speaker for the Borg, citing the existence of Locutus (Patrick Stewart) as precedent. Seven of Nine , Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, is selected as the Borg drone to act as liaison between the Collective and Voyager, likely because Seven of Nine had once been a member of Species 5168, like most of Voyager's crew -- in other words, human.

Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier" provides even more detail of the Hansens' fateful journey.

After Seven's link with the Collective is severed, more information about Seven's human origin comes to light. In Voyager season 4, episode 6 "The Raven", when Voyager nears the Hansens' ship, the USS Raven, memories of Seven's early life surface, revealing that Seven had been six-year-old human Annika Hansen , the daughter of Magnus Hansen (Kirk Baily) and Erin Hansen (Laura Stepp), Federation scientists who were studying the Borg when they were assimilated. Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier" provides even more detail of the Hansens' fateful journey, showing the Raven arriving in the Delta Quadrant by following a Borg Cube through a transwarp conduit.

10 Ways USS Voyager Changed In Star Treks Delta Quadrant

Star Trek: Voyager links back to the greater Star Trek universe with people and starships from the Alpha Quadrant. Connections to the familiar were especially important early on, because Voyager 's place in the Star Trek franchise was established and aided by the legitimacy these finds offered. Later, when the USS Voyager used the Hirogen communications array to communicate with Starfleet Command, links back to the Alpha Quadrant were plentiful again, not only to prove that the USS Voyager was closer to home, but to help Star Trek: Voyager maintain connections to Star Trek and carry the franchise in its final years.

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

Cast Jennifer Lien, Garrett Wang, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeill, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo

Release Date May 23, 1995

Genres Sci-Fi, Adventure

Network UPN

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Michael Piller, Rick Berman

Showrunner Kenneth Biller, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Brannon Braga

Rating TV-PG

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Barge of the Dead

• Episode aired Oct 6, 1999

A brutal experience aboard a shuttle puts B'Elanna in touch with the Klingon afterlife, where the Barge of the Dead steers her towards Klingon hell along with her mother. A brutal experience aboard a shuttle puts B'Elanna in touch with the Klingon afterlife, where the Barge of the Dead steers her towards Klingon hell along with her mother. A brutal experience aboard a shuttle puts B'Elanna in touch with the Klingon afterlife, where the Barge of the Dead steers her towards Klingon hell along with her mother.

• Michael Vejar
• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robert Beltran
• Roxann Dawson
• 16 User reviews
• 4 Critic reviews

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres

• Ensign Tom Paris

• Seven of Nine

• Ensign Harry Kim

• Hij'Qa

• Brok'Tan
• Klingon guard
• (uncredited)

• Starfleet Scientist
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia The song that the Doctor and Seven sing in the mess hall is the same song that Worf sang in The Way of the Warrior (1995) .
• Goofs When the Barge of the Dead reached Gre'Thor, only B'Elanna is seen getting out of the boat. There should be many other Klingons getting off the boat as well because there were no less than 10 other Klingon souls on the Barge.

B'Elanna Torres : Do you believe in an afterlife?

Chakotay : I accept there are things in the universe that can't be scanned with a tricorder.

• Connections Referenced in Star Trek Online (2010)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title (uncredited) Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 16

• Sep 9, 2018
• October 6, 1999 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 44 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Her Klingon Soul (Star Trek Voyager: Day of Honor, Book 3) Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 1997

• Part of series Star Trek: Day of Honor S.
• Print length 275 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Pocket Books/Star Trek
• Publication date October 1, 1997
• Dimensions 4.19 x 0.85 x 6.75 inches
• ISBN-10 0671002406
• ISBN-13 978-0671002404
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books/Star Trek (October 1, 1997)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 275 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671002406
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671002404
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.3 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 0.85 x 6.75 inches
• #7,022 in Genetic Engineering Science Fiction (Books)
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• #11,230 in First Contact Science Fiction (Books)

About the author

Michael jan friedman.

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Published Apr 15, 2024

Michael Ansara Broke Barriers in Hollywood and Star Trek

For Arab-American History Month and Ansara's birthday, we're looking back at the life of the Commander Kang actor and those who followed in the Star Trek universe.

StarTrek.com

A series as representative of the present as it is of the future, Star Trek has been a trailblazer in showcasing the diversity in our own world without capitalizing on its stereotypes.

Actors such as Nichelle Nichols and George Takei, to Sonequa Martin-Green and Shazad Latif, have proven that Star Trek started and will always include multiracial communities while giving them their own distinct narratives. As we celebrate Arab-American Heritage Month, I am able to reflect on my own background as a Lebanese-American woman and recognize representation from this exact community within Star Trek . With a history of promoting diversity, it is no surprise that a significant Klingon Commander — in three separate series no less — is a notable member of the Arab-American community.

Michael Ansara, a voice and screen actor from the mid '40s to the late '90s, played the Klingon Commander Kang in The Original Series , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Voyager . He can be seen in full Klingon garb in The Original Series' " Day of the Dove ," DS9's " Blood Oath ," and finally Voyager ’s " Flashback ."

"Day of the Dove"

The Lebanese and Syrian Ansara is originally from a small village within the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, and eventually immigrated with his family to America to pursue a new life. His father George Ansara was born in the states while his mother Cyria Sarah was born in Syria.

In America, Michael began to pursue an acting career that would lead to many pivotal roles in film and television. He's largely known for playing some of our favorite villains, stepping out of Klingon prosthetics to play roles like Killer Kane in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Mr. Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series . Eventually, he earned himself a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, paving a new road for this community of actors and their ability to book roles beyond aggressive and politically-charged stereotypes.

Although Ansara's success and popularity within both the Hollywood and Star Trek communities brought notoriety to Arabs (though not all American) in a creative space, there are several other instances throughout the Star Trek franchises that also lend a hand.

"Dr. Bashir, I Presume"

In Deep Space Nine , actor Alexander Siddig plays Dr. Julian Bashir, the Chief Medical Officer of space station Deep Space 9 and the U.S.S. Defiant .

Alexander Siddig, whose original stage name was Siddig El Fadil — a shortened version of his birth given name — was born in Sudan. Siddig spent most of his life in England and made his first television debut in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia . It was from there that he was cast onto Deep Space Nine, and through that role, joined Ansara on the list of Arab actors from Trek who broke out of racial type-casting.

"Investigations"

In a less focal but equally interesting role played by an Arab, Star Trek: Voyager cast the actual King of Jordan, King Abdullah II, as a science officer in the episode " Investigations ."

While the role was uncredited, it can be seen listed in King Abdullah II’s IMDB page. While a seemingly random casting, it is common knowledge that King Abdullah II is a well known fan of the franchise. So much so that since 2011, he has been the primary investor in a Star Trek theme park that is to be built along the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan. While the project is currently on hold, they have not announced official plans for a cancellation.

Star Trek Shows Muslim Fans an Inclusive Future

Star Trek has also, on multiple occasions, given an in-universe nod to the Arab culture and community through both filming locale and starship epithet.

In 2016's Star Trek Beyond , the massive, spherical "snowglobe" of Yorktown, as Bones called it, was filmed in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Filming in Dubai allowed this beautiful sequence to be canonically characterized with images from a modern Arab society, normalizing the culture and environment rather than encouraging a stereotypical portrayal of its land.

In another modern example of influence from Arabian culture, Star Trek: Picard 's Cristóbal Rios, a former Starfleet officer, is mentioned to have served on a starship called the U.S.S. Ibn Majid . While easy to overlook, Ibn Majid is a reference to the name of a historically significant Arab navigator and cartographer. He was often titled the "Lion of the Sea," and some scholars claim that he is the navigator who aided in the journey of Vasco da Gama — the first European to sail to India.

Star Trek exists in a world where the Federation is a collaboration of all races, species and walks of life. It's significant to recognize that their namesake ships hail not after just Westernized fleets, but of important figures from around the world. U.S.S. Ibn Majid ’s existence amongst the Federation's history brings light to the accomplishments of Arab culture.

While, of course, there is a long road to traverse to achieve complete representation without misrepresentation when regarding both Arab-Americans and Arabs portrayed in American society, Star Trek has undeniably laid their own stone in that path. As the franchises continue, so will the notion that in Star Trek , the future looks like us.

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This article was originally published on April 21, 2020.

Alexa Carlucci (she/her) is the daughter of a Trekkie, an assistant at CBS, and is in no way connected to Amazon.

What Is Star Trek: Discovery's Spore Drive and How Does It Work?

The spore drive on Star Trek: Discovery is the universe's most fantastical technology that works in the show but should never replace warp engines.

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How does the spore drive work in star trek, why the uss discovery is the only starfleet ship with a spore drive, is the spore drive faster than warp speed, why star trek should probably stop using the spore drive.

With Season 5, Star Trek: Discovery embarks on the final mission for its dynamic crew and one-of-a-kind starship. There are many things about this series that diverged from past series or films in the universe created by Gene Roddenberry six decades ago. How the spore drive that powers the USS Discovery works is perhaps the most fanciful concept in Star Trek . When piloted by Ripper the "space tardigrade," Lieutenant Paul Stamets or Kewijan empath Cleveland Booker, this organic propulsion system is one of the most powerful technologies in all science fiction and fantasy.Despite the universe's reputation for somewhat grounded science-fiction, the displacement-activated spore hub drive is squarely in the realm of fantasy. This is not new territory for Star Trek , however.

Vulcan mind-melds, the concept of "subspace" and Star Trek's ubiquitous transporters are all, to varying degrees, magical nonsense. What helps sell these far-out technologies to skeptical audiences is the (lovingly named) technobabble that accompanies them. Vulcans use innate psychic abilities to connect to another consciousness like file-sharing over wifi. Transporters break people down into atoms and beam them to another physical location, where they are reassembled just as they were. Subspace allows communications to travel faster than speed of light, as well as any number of anomalies that create workarounds to the immutable laws of physics. USS Discovery's spore drive is equally able to break the laws of physics and travel on a "mycelial network" that exists outside of regular spacetime .

'Bittersweet and Shocking': Star Trek: Discovery Star Addresses the Series Getting Canceled

Former Star Trek: Voyager producer Bryan Fuller was tapped to bring the universe back to television, and he co-created the series with Alex Kurtzman. He left early in pre-production, but many of the concepts he introduced remained, such as the controversial Klingon redesign . The spore drive was one such concept, which drew from the research and philosophy of real-world mycologist Paul Stamets. This is why Anthony Rapp's character has that name, after all.

Next to engineering, the USS Discovery has a room where Lieutenant Stamets grows the spores needed to power the drive. He created it with his friend Straal, and Starfleet "co-opted" the technology once the Klingon-Federation War broke out. It was Straal who figured out the spore drive needed a pilot with compatible DNA to pilot the ship. He used a creature which Michael Burnham called a "tardigrade." Eventually, Stamets injected himself with tardigrade DNA which made him the only person capable of successfully using the spore drive. Later, Cleveland Booker was also able to serve as a navigator because of his natural empathic abilities.

Through their connection to the spores, the navigator is able to pilot the ship using invisible connections on a galactic mycelial network. In Star Trek: Discovery this network is represented much like the Quantum Realm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Like the Avengers, the ship is able to travel through this lower dimension and emerge in real space anywhere. However, the network the ship can travel on is limited to the Milky Way galaxy. Put another way, the spore drive allows the USS Discovery to teleport anywhere in the galaxy in an instant.

Star Trek: Discovery's Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz and Blu del Barrio Hype Finale

Despite existing a decade before the time of Star Trek: The Original Series , the USS Discovery was a bleeding-edge scientific vessel before the war. Once the USS Glenn and Straal were killed in their accident, Lieutenant Stamets became the only person in the universe to understand how the spore drive worked. While he sent his designs to Starfleet, none of their scientists could get it to work. Once the ship time-traveled to the 32nd Century, Starfleet was able to build a working prototype, but it was destroyed when it was stolen by Booker in Season 4 .

Even if Starfleet's scientists and engineers were able to replicate the machinery that made the spore drive function, they still lacked a crucial element: a navigator. Without the tardigrade or a compatible human, the spore drive could only safely travel a few hundred kilometers. Stamets can only serve as the navigator because of the tardigrade DNA he injected into himself. Since the creatures are sentient, difficult to catch and the Federation is against genetic modification, no one else can use his method. Booker's natural empathic abilities allowed him to serve as navigator, but his gifts are unique to Kwejian, which was destroyed in Season 4 .

In the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 , Stamets is depressed because Starfleet has abandoned its efforts to recreate his technology. He wanted the spore drive to be his legacy. Instead, Starfleet and the Federation committed to a technology called the "pathway drive," an unknown method of faster-than-light travel that doesn't require dilithium crystals like warp engines. This means that the USS Discovery will be the only serviceable Starfleet vessel capable of traveling via the mycelial network, at least so long as Stamets or Booker are willing to serve as navigator.

How Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Connects to TNG's Biggest Open Mystery

While it's natural to compare the spore drive to Star Trek 's famous warp drive, the USS Discovery isn't traveling at speed when it jumps. In fact, it's closer to Star Wars ' hyperspace , a dimension that exists underneath spacetime. Yet, unlike the Millennium Falcon, the USS Discovery is able to enter and exist the mycelial network in mere seconds. Ships traveling through hyperspace still take time to get from one point to another. The USS Discovery's spore drive flies through the network far faster than warp drive, but it's a completely different method of travel .

Of all the sci-fi Star Trek inventions, warp drive is one of the more plausible ones. Einstein's Theory of General Relativity established that the speed of light is as fast as anything can go through space, but not how fast spacetime itself can go. Thus, while Starfleet vessels travel faster than light, they do it by slipping through a loophole in the laws of physics. Warp engines create a bubble that bends spacetime itself. The ships ride it like a wave and are able to go faster than Einstein's universal speed limit. However, with the spore drive, the USS Discovery is able to just pop out of reality and emerge at a different physical location in the galaxy.

While there are some actual scientific concepts behind both the spore and warp drives, the latter is far more sound . Physical travel via the mycelial network is as plausible as trying to use tree roots as a subway. Still, even though the math works for warp drive, there are countless other effects that would make traveling at those speeds unsurvivable. This is why bridge and engineering officers in Star Trek are always talking about "inertial dampers." Similarly, travel via the mycelial network is not without risk, specifically from "Hawking radiation." This theoretical energy somehow turned the crew of the USS Glenn inside out after a test jump in Season 1, Episode 3, "Context is for Kings."

Star Trek: Discovery Wasn't Originally Going to End With Season 5, Reveals EP

All science fiction requires some level of suspension of disbelief, and there are many technologies in Star Trek that are just as magical as the spore drive. Still, the concept was met with a lot of criticism from fans that goes beyond the typical reluctance to embrace new iterations of this universe. "Although physically implausible, warp drive isn't laughably ridiculous. The [spore] drive is, " scientist Steven Sazlberg wrote for Forbes . Of course, Star Trek is full of ridiculous concepts like Thomas Riker, Will Riker's "transporter clone. " The fantastical nature of the spore drive isn't why it should stay on the USS Discovery.

The USS Voyager-J was revealed to be the first ship set to test the new pathway drive, whatever it is. However, if the spore drive existed and worked in the 24th Century, the original USS Voyager could've used it to get back from the Delta Quadrant before Captain Janeway's coffee got cold . Everything about the USS Discovery was classified at the end of the show's second season, which explains why the spore drive was never even considered as a means to rescue the USS Voyager. They also lacked a compatible navigator. But more importantly, the spore drive would have made the seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager unnecessary.

The spore drive is a fun conceit for Star Trek: Discovery , but in truth it is simply too powerful a technology. The purpose of Starfleet is, after all, to explore the unknown. If every vessel in every Star Trek universe had a spore drive, at least 500 of its 900 total episodes wouldn't have happened. That Stamets is the only person truly able to crack this technology also speaks to the unique nature of humanity. Even with all of Starfleet's brilliance, there is an irreplaceable human contribution to make its most magical technology work.

Star Trek: Discovery debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Kang was among the most influential leaders and feared diplomats in the Klingon Empire during the late 23rd and early 24th centuries . He was known in Federation history for his long friendships with Kor , Koloth , and Curzon Dax , and as an adversary of Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk .

As a product of 22nd century genetic engineering , Kang was descended from Klingons affected with the Klingon augment virus created in 2154 . ( ENT : " Divergence ") By the 2290s , Kang was outwardly cured of this affliction. ( VOY : " Flashback ")

Throughout his illustrious career , Kang played key roles in many legendary battles against the Federation , both on the battlefield and at the negotiation table . As a result of his prowess, Kang's status within the Empire was revered to the extent that he achieved the status of a Klingon Dahar Master . His glory further succeeded him, after his death in 2370 , when he earned his own statue among the Hall of Heroes on Qo'noS . ( DS9 : " Blood Oath ", " The Sword of Kahless ")

Kang wed his wife , Mara , prior to 2268 ; she later served as Kang's science officer aboard his battle cruiser during the late 2260s . By 2290 , Kang had his first son , whom he named Dax , in honor of his friend, the Federation ambassador to Qo'noS, Curzon Dax . ( TOS : " Day of the Dove "; DS9 : " Blood Oath ")

• 1.1 Conflicts with the Federation
• 1.2 Later career
• 2 The blood oath
• 3.1 Appearances
• 3.2.1 Pronunciation
• 3.2.2 Conception
• 3.2.3 Portrayals
• 3.2.4 Reception
• 3.2.5 Trivia
• 3.3 Apocrypha
• 3.4 External links

Military career [ ]

Much of Kang's early career is unknown. However, by the 2260s, he had achieved the rank of commander , and was assigned the command of his own D7-class battle cruiser. ( TOS : " Day of the Dove ")

Conflicts with the Federation [ ]

While responding to a distress call at Beta XII-A in 2268, Kang's battle cruiser sustained massive internal damage after the ship became disabled, resulting in the deaths of four hundred of his crew. As the ship drifted towards Beta XII-A, Kang beamed down to the planet to discover Captain Kirk on the surface. Kang accused Kirk of attacking his ship and took Kirk prisoner , while claiming the orbiting USS Enterprise for the Klingon Empire.

Kang convinced Kirk to beam the group up to the Enterprise , where he and the remaining thirty-seven survivors were transported aboard as prisoners. Kang's wrecked ship was destroyed by the Enterprise , because of the danger it posed by emitting a massive amount of hazardous radiation .

Aboard the Enterprise , intense fighting broke out between the two groups, as the ship mysteriously hurtled toward the galactic rim . The emergency bulkheads of the Enterprise , soon after, sealed themselves, trapping three hundred ninety-two members of the Enterprise crew below decks.

The entire situation – including the phantom Beta XII-A colony , imaginary distress calls, and transmutation of the weapons aboard the Enterprise – were discovered to have been engineered by an unknown energy being that thrived on the belligerent emotions precipitated from the ingrained hatred between the Klingon Empire and Federation. Through the cooperation of Mara, Kirk was able to cooperate with Kang to drive the lifeform away by generating positive emotions. ( TOS : " Day of the Dove ")

Relations with the Federation continued to periodically flare up, throughout the latter half of the 23rd century. On one such occasion, Captain Kang, together with Captain Kor, led two divisions of warships in an ancient Earth cavalry-style attack on a Federation outpost at Caleb IV . During the attack, Kang and Kor successfully tricked their opponents by first launching a small initial attack, and then striking with the bulk of the forces when the Federation began repair efforts. ( DS9 : " Once More Unto the Breach ")

In 2289 , Kang represented the Klingon Empire in negotiations with the Federation, represented by Curzon Dax, on the Korvat colony . ( DS9 : " Blood Oath ")

Later career [ ]

Captain Kang (2293)

Kang, Koloth, and Kor, who originally set out with forty legions, together held the Korma Pass against T'nag's army in a glorious battle in a trinary star system . The three warriors forced the enemy to fight with the blinding light of three suns in their eyes. The battle ended with the mountainside covered with so many dead that there was not a square meter of ground to be seen. They together feasted on T'nag's heart , in celebration of their victory. ( DS9 : " The Sword of Kahless ", " Once More Unto the Breach ")

Face-off with the USS Excelsior

In 2293 , after having met at Beta XII-A, Kang once again encountered Captain Sulu , now in command of the USS Excelsior , in the Azure Nebula , as Sulu attempted a foray into Klingon space . After congratulating Sulu for his well-deserved captaincy, he threatened him to "not let it end prematurely". Sulu claimed to have gotten lost; Kang insisted he escort Excelsior to Federation space, but Sulu was determined to continue his unauthorized mission to rescue Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy from Rura Penthe . To evade Kang, Sulu ignited the volatile sirillium gas inside the nebula , which his ship had exited first, disabling Kang's battle cruiser and ensuring the Excelsior 's escape. ( VOY : " Flashback ")

Kang commanded many ships in his career. In 2372 , Kang's friend Kor had a dream about discovering the Sword of Kahless . In the dream, the statues of Kang and Koloth in the Hall of Heroes would turn to flesh and blood , as the trio presented the Sword to Emperor Kahless . Kang's ship then decloaked above, a swirl of song transported the trio into its embrace, and the ship streaked away into the golden light to the gates of Sto-vo-kor . ( DS9 : " The Sword of Kahless ")

During the late 2280s , a band of depredators, led by the Albino , began raiding Klingon colonies. Three Klingon warships , commanded by Kang, Koloth, and Kor, were sent out to stop him. Their mission was successful in capturing most of the depredators. However, the Albino was able to escape. In the Albino's last message to the Klingons, he promised to take his revenge on the firstborn of each of the three captains. Within a few years, the Albino kept his word and managed to infect the warriors' three innocent children with a genetic virus that eventually killed them. ( DS9 : " Blood Oath ")

The blood oath [ ]

In 2290 , Kor, Kang, Koloth, and Curzon Dax pledged a blood oath to avenge the deaths of their sons, the offense committed by the Albino. They nearly caught the Albino at Galdonterre , but one of their subspace messages was intercepted and he, once again, was able to escape.

In 2363 , after decades of searching, Kang discovered one of the Albino's discarded wives on Dayos IV . Kang fed and clothed her. He later told her the story of his murdered son and his quest for the Albino. Although she said nothing of the Albino's location, Kang suspected that she knew where he was.

In early 2370, Kang received an amulet , sent to him through the recently deceased former wife of the Albino. The amulet revealed to Kang the whereabouts of the Albino, who had a compound located on Secarus IV . Kang traveled to the Secarus system to confirm the revelation, only to be immediately contacted by the Albino, who, unexpectedly, invited the trio to a "fair fight" and one last glorious battle – forty of the Albino's best warriors against his four pursuers. Not expecting victory but willing to settle for an honorable death in battle, Kang accepted.

Three months later, the Klingons assembled at Deep Space 9 , where Dax 's then-current host, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax , was assigned. Kang informed the others of the Albino's location but not of what happened when he had gone there. Kang objected to Jadzia's inclusion, believing she was not bound by Curzon's blood oath. Though she convinced Kor and Koloth to support her, Kang continued to resist until he reluctantly relented. En route to Secarus, Dax pressed Kang on the matter until he finally admitted the truth to her and, eventually, the others. It was later discovered that the Albino had never had any intention of honoring his word and had laid a trap by planting a gravitic mine at the threshold of his compound. Dax suggested using the Albino's expectations to their advantage and plan a new strategy.

Using the element of surprise, they bombarded the compound with tetryon particles, rendering any energy-based weapons useless, and forcing the Albino and his sentries into face-to-face, hand-to-hand combat. Koloth was fatally wounded fighting the Albino's personal guard. Kang's bat'leth was shattered during a fierce battle with the Albino and Kang was mortally wounded. However, Kang managed to kill the Albino (held at bay by Dax), by stabbing him in the heart with a d'k tahg , before Kang died as well. Having fulfilled their blood oath, both Kang and Koloth died glorious and honorable deaths. ( DS9 : " Blood Oath ")

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• TOS : " Day of the Dove "
• DS9 : " Blood Oath "
• VOY : " Flashback "

Background information [ ]

Pronunciation [ ].

According to the script for "Blood Oath", his name was pronounced as "KANG". [1]

Conception [ ]

The role of Kang, as written for " Day of the Dove ", was actually first intended to be a reappearance of Kor. Once it was determined that Kor actor John Colicos couldn't play the part (much to his frustration), the character's name was changed and a suitable actor was sought. ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 147; Starlog #164 [ page number? • edit ] )

Portrayals [ ]

Joseph Campanella was nearly accepted for the part of Kang but was rejected out of fears that he wouldn't be able to draw "enough fire." ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 147; Starlog #164 [ page number? • edit ] ) Next, Michael Ansara was considered to play Kang. Ansara was attracted by the nobility embodied in the role, finding Kang "a magnificent character to play!" He later said, " Immediately, just from reading the script, I knew how special the role was and how rare it was to find a character like this in either television or film. " Ansara was also interested in playing Kang because the character reminded him of several of his previous roles, two of which had many of the same qualities as Kang. Ansara was finally cast as Kang and found that appearing as the Klingon in "Day of the Dove" was "a pleasure to do." ( Starlog #138, p. 32) The actor tried to avoid turning Kang into a villainous caricature by not thinking of him as evil, just a misunderstood, passionate leader. " When I did that first Star Trek episode, " Ansara reflected, " I played Kang as a dynamic character [....] I never thought of Kang as a bad guy – he was doing what he thought was right. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 116 , pp. 39 & 40)

Michael Ansara portrayed Kang in all of his appearances. Though Ansara would have been willing to return as Kang on Star Trek: The Original Series , that opportunity never presented itself, as the series was canceled shortly after "Day of the Dove" was first broadcast. The performer was disappointed not to be asked back for the subsequent Star Trek films featuring the TOS cast, commenting, " I must admit, I missed seeing myself up there on the big screen as Kang. " ( Starlog #138, p. 32)

Kang was originally intended to be commemorated, by Robert Hewitt Wolfe , in the naming of a poem called " The Fall of Kang " from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Second Sight ". In retrospect, Wolfe recalled, " I thought, 'It's been eighty years and he was a real cool guy; he probably went out in a blaze of glory.' " The fact Kang reappeared in DS9 : " Blood Oath " later caused the DS9 writing staff to suggest several alternatives to explain how the Kang referenced in the poem was a different person to Michael Ansara's Kang. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 104))

Peter Allan Fields , writer of "Blood Oath", based Kang's persona in that episode on Yul Brynner 's character of Chris Adams from The Magnificent Seven . When required to reprise the role of Kang in "Blood Oath", Michael Ansara turned out to be an easy find for Deep Space Nine 's casting personnel, though he was surprised to be asked back to Star Trek . ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (pp. 131 & 132)) He was once again thrilled to portray the Klingon, thinking it "still was a good role." ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 104 , p. 18) On the other hand, Ansara discovered that reviving the role for DS9 "was strange, really strange." Despite the fact that Kang had clearly undergone some physical changes, Ansara still played him as the same character. " I gave him the same kind of voice and personality, " the performer explained. " I felt the same way about the character – Kang is a very powerful outer space being. " Additionally, owing to the amount of makeup involved, Ansara thought that playing the Klingon again was challenging. " It was a long, hard day every day, " the actor critiqued. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 116 , p. 40) Director Winrich Kolbe decided that Kang's death was to take place at the top of a flight of stairs, but Fields was disappointed that a close-up shot of Kang dying was not used. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (pp. 131 & 132))

Even though Kang had appeared in both "Day of the Dove" and "Blood Oath" by the time his involvement in "Flashback" was devised, that episode's script mentioned only his appearance in "Blood Oath". The scripted scene description for when Kang first appears in "Flashback" stipulated that Kang was to look younger than he had in the DS9 episode.

Reception [ ]

Some production staffers very much enjoyed Michael Ansara's performances as Kang. Jerome Bixby , who initially conceived Kang, was highly pleased with Ansara's first portrayal of the character in "Day of the Dove", exclaiming, " Ansara's great in it! " and further remarking, " [He] just ate up the part. " ( Starlog #164; The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 147) Bixby was also interested in being paid a royalty for the reuse of Kang in DS9, commenting, " In the long run that may be more damaging to them because they used the same character. Kang will probably mean some bucks for me. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74) Fellow Klingon-playing actor Mark Lenard , who featured as a Klingon captain in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , characterized Ansara as "a great Klingon." ( Starlog #138, p. 35) Ansara himself considered Kang to be "one of the best characters I've ever played." ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 131))

Fan response to Kang was extreme. In a 1989 interview, Michael Ansara mused, " What's amazing is that even today, I still get recognized for that part. It is pleasurable and always positive, but surprising. I played that character almost 20 years ago, but people still remember. " ( Starlog #138, p. 32) The actor once speculated that people responded to Kang because he was a natural leader and because Ansara played him not as a simple bad guy but as an individual who believed in what he was doing. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 116 , pp. 39 & 41)

In Marc Okrand 's tlhIngan Hol language, Kang's name is properly rendered as qeng . ( The Klingon Dictionary 2nd ed., p. 58)

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons , named his recurring alien characters Kang and Kodos , after Kang the Klingon and Kodos , a character in TOS : " The Conscience of the King ".

"Rage of the Red Lanterns", a 2017 episode of the animated series Justice League Action , contains an homage to Kang. The character of Atrocitus, voiced by Michael Dorn , echoes Kang when he utters the line, " But for today, only a fool fights in a burning house. " That animated episode also featured Armin Shimerman .

Apocrypha [ ]

• Kang is a major character in the novel Pawns and Symbols , in which it is implied that he is not only a prominent starship commander, but also of noble lineage and the heir apparent to the Imperial throne.
• Kang appears in the My Brother's Keeper series, where he is called Kang, son of K'naiah.
• Kang's mirror universe counterpart ( β ) appeared in the novel The Sorrows of Empire and the novella " The Worst of Both Worlds ".

External links [ ]

• Kang at StarTrek.com
• Kang, son of K'naiah at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Kang at Wikipedia
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein
• 3 John Paul Lona

Screen Rant

Voyager is why star trek is replacing discovery’s spore drive.

Starfleet is abandoning the spore drive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, having found a better form of warp travel thanks to the USS Voyager.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive"

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 bids farewell to the spore drive, as USS Voyager's pathway drive takes over in the 32nd century.
• Commander Stamets reveals Starfleet's decision to halt spore drive development, making Discovery unique in the Star Trek franchise.
• The USS Voyager-J's pathway drive paves the way for safer and sustainable warp travel in Star Trek's future.

The 32nd century's version of the USS Voyager is the reason that Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is abandoning Starfleet's revolutionary spore drive technology. Since they arrived in the 32nd century in season 3, the USS Discovery crew's one-of-a-kind spore drive has represented a potential replacement for dilithium-reliant warp travel in Star Trek 's future . However, various obstacles, most notably rogue Risan scientist Dr. Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) and his theft of the only working prototype have prevented the spore drive from being rolled out.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1 , "Red Directive", Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) reveals that Starfleet has shuttered further development on the spore drive . Starfleet's decision means that the USS Discovery will remain one-of-a-kind, making season 5 the last outing for Starfleet's spore drive. Instead of taking Discovery's spore drive further, Starfleet are instead forging ahead with the new pathway drive, first trialed by the USS Voyager-J in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 .

Star Trek Is Ditching Discovery's Spore Drive - And That's Good!

Uss voyager is why star trek is quitting discovery’s spore drive, voyager has a history of scientific advancement in starfleet..

In Star Trek: Discovery 's season 4 premiere, "Kobayashi Maru", it was revealed that the USS Voyager-J had been newly fitted with a protoype pathway drive . Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) was looking for the right captain to command the ship and test out this new technology. Now, Discovery 's season 5 premiere, "Red Directive" reveals that those tests were successful, leading to the pathway drive being the new standard for future Starfleet ships. The rollout is still in the early stages, however, as Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) states that his ship, the USS Antares, doesn't have a pathway drive fitted.

Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) was under consideration to command the USS Voyager-J, but President Rillak didn't believe that she was ready.

It feels appropriate that the USS Voyager is responsible for replacing Star Trek: Discovery 's spore drive, given its namesake's impact on warp travel centuries earlier . Star Trek: Prodigy revealed that, after returning to the Alpha Quadrant, much of the technology the USS Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant was adapted by Starfleet. For example, the USS Dauntless, commanded by Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) had a quantum slipstream drive fitted, first encountered in Star Trek: Voyager 's season 4 finale, "Hope and Fear".

10 Ways USS Voyager Changed In Star Trek’s Delta Quadrant

When will we see star trek: discovery's pathway drive in action.

As the USS Discovery is in the middle of a vitally important mission to find the Progenitors' technology to create life, it doesn't seem like there will be much time for a refit. Therefore, it's unlikely that Discovery will be using the pathway drive at any point in Star Trek: Discovery season 5. It's certainly possible that Captain Burnham could receive assistance from a starship like the USS Voyager-J at some later point in Discovery season 5, but it's also possible that the pathway drive was just a tease of things to come in the now- canceled Star Trek: Discovery season 6 .

As it will focus on a batch of new recruits, the Starfleet Academy show feels like an ideal way to reveal more about the pathway drive.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will pick up the baton in the 32nd century, however, making it the most likely candidate for a pathway drive demonstration . As it will focus on a batch of new recruits, the Starfleet Academy show feels like an ideal way to reveal more about the pathway drive. As the cadets learn how a pathway drive works, and how it differs from a more traditional warp drive, so too will Star Trek fans who tune into the YA-oriented show. Starfleet Academy leading the way with a new warp drive replacement would be a fitting way to continue the legacy of Star Trek: Discovery and its spore drive.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is looking to begin production in late summer 2024.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

After being closed for over a hundred years, Starfleet Academy is reopening its doors to those who wish to pursue a career as Starfleet Officers. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will follow a new group of cadets as they come of age, and build friendships, rivalries, and romantic relationships while being threatened by a new adversary that could destroy the Academy and the Federation itself.

Why Star Trek Keeping Standard Warp Travel Is Best

The specifics of how the pathway drive works are still a mystery in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, but it's presumably rooted in traditional warp travel. The spore drive was an incredibly complicated method of travel that required specific calculations and a willing host to navigate the mycelial network . In "Red Directive", Stamets states that, with more time, he could have worked out the issues with navigation, but never got the chance. The grisly fate of the USS Glenn in Discovery season 1 revealed that the slightest miscalculation in spore drive navigation could have devastating consequences for the crew.

Presumably, the pathway drive is a means to achieve warp travel while using less dilithium, to reduce the Federation's reliance on it following the scarcity caused by the Burn. This is therefore a less risky proposition, which will be why Starfleet are now rolling it out following the USS Voyager-J's successful trial. While it may be disappointing for Stamets in Star Trek: Discovery , the pathway drive's potential to make warp travel safer and more sustainable should be something to celebrate.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 is streaming on Netflix.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.