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Star Trek: Mirror Universe

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The novels are based solely on the mirror universe episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Enterprise .

The DS9 novel Fearful Symmetry was originally intended to form part of this series, as well as being the latest edition of the novel series set after " What You Leave Behind ". However, the novel as published does not feature the Mirror Universe title. The Soul Key is also set during the time period.

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• Glass Empires
• Obsidian Alliances
• Shards and Shadows
• The Sorrows of Empire
• Rise Like Lions

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• Fearful Symmetry
• The Soul Key
• LUST: "Freedom Angst"

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Published May 21, 2019

The Evolution of the Mirror Universe

Starfleet has always changed with the times. Its evil twin does, too. 

StarTrek.com

As we evolve, so do the stories we tell ourselves — and so do the monsters that lurk within them. Creatures like the vampires that crept into our imaginations hundreds of years ago may share a common ancestry with the ones we write about today, but they represent different dangers each time they reemerge in the zeitgeist. Heck, sometimes they even sparkle.

By comparison, half a century’s worth of Star Trek mythology hardly registers a blip on the grand timeline of human history. But because those 53 years are so well preserved on film, it’s easy to track how each iteration of the franchise shapes itself into a form that a new decade of viewers will recognize. And while there are no vampires in Trek lore (no, the Remans in Star Trek: Nemesis don’t count), there is an entire realm full of similarly alluring sadists who look like our heroes’ lost loved ones, and who’d love nothing more than to seduce them all to the dark side.

It’s got a pretty ironic name, too, when you think about it: the Mirror Universe.

More so than Klingons or Borg, or any other race that's fought the Federation, the people of the Mirror Universe are the closest thing Trek have to a consistent monster myth — partially because they've been around for so long, but mostly because their “evil” nature is the entire reason for their existence. They might be sympathetic as individuals and they’ve shown that they can adapt to cultural norms, but from their very first appearance, they were designed to scare us.

Star Trek: The Original Series | “Mirror, Mirror” (1967)

As with so many now-iconic Star Trek conceits, the Mirror Universe started with a single one-off episode, in which transporter interference from an ionic storm spits Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, and McCoy out into a “parallel” universe from their own. In place of the United Federation of Planets they find the Terran Empire, where mutinous, evil twins of their fellow crew members use the might of the ISS Enterprise to raze alien civilizations across the universe.

The Terrans are coded as foreign, threatening others from the moment the landing party emerges from the transporter. They wear gilded uniforms that fall somewhere between 19th century Persian military outfits and Pirates of Penzance costumes in appearance. Add to that Spock’s ‘60s counterculture goatee and the censor-baiting bikinis (television was a notoriously anti-belly button medium back then), and it would have been abundantly clear to a typical contemporary audience that the Mirror Universe was not a place for Good and Decent American Values.

Still, the easiest way to demonstrate a fictional society’s cruelty is to treat its women poorly ( Handmaid’s Tale and Game of Thrones do this in spades), and the Mirror Universe delivers on that front, too; Uhura quickly finds herself fending off aggressive sexual advances from her coworkers, and Marlena Moreau, the most important crewwoman on the ship, derives her power from her position as “Captain’s Woman” — in other words, from being Kirk’s concubine. Classic Star Trek certainly had its blind spots when it came to gender, but the patriarchal structure of Terran society is clearly meant to be on a completely different level of overt terribleness in comparison.

Eventually the landing party finds a way home, and for good measure Kirk throws in a starkly logical plea that Mirror Spock peacefully reform the Empire to keep it from crumbling in a century’s time (although his suggestion that the Vulcan use a machine that can literally just make people disappear doesn’t quite match up with that whole peace notion). The crew returns to their Enterprise to learn that their counterparts didn’t have much time to wreak havoc before everyone else figured out the mix-up. “It was far easier for you, as civilized men, to behave like barbarians, than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men,” offers the original Spock as an explanation.

Despite the imperialistic rhetoric Spock uses, the message is clear. These “brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous” people are just as human as we are, and their evil deeds aren’t too far away from our own. Given that the ‘60s are still remembered for the systematic brutality endured by nonviolent Civil Rights protesters (and, later, antiwar protesters — the Dow Chemical riots happened just two weeks after “Mirror, Mirror” aired, in fact), this warning would have felt especially appropriate at the time.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | “Crossover” (1994), “Through the Looking Glass” (1995), “Shattered Mirror” (1996), “Resurrection” (1997), and “The Emperor’s New Cloak” (1998)

Although The Next Generation occasionally paid homage to fan-favorite episodes from The Original Series — “The Naked Now,” for example, was a sequel to “The Naked Time,” in which an infection among the crew causes them to behave hilariously out-of-character — the show never attempted its own version of the Mirror Universe. At a 2017 Star Trek Las Vegas panel, producer Brannon Braga explained, “We were a little frightened at doing it, and doing it badly, and maybe never really figured out what The Next Generation take would have been on it.”

But Deep Space Nine , the red-headed stepchild of the Star Trek franchise (or, perhaps more accurately, the cool childless aunt who shows unexpectedly every six years and who you’ve always suspected might be in a long-term relationship with her “roommate”), was willing to take many more risks. Unlike The Next Generation , DS9 kept itself bound to one location, drawing on themes of war and interventionism that would have felt very familiar to globally minded citizens of the ‘90s. Honestly, if you replace the Cardassians with Russians, Bajor with Ukraine, and Starfleet with the United Nations trying to keep everybody in line, it wouldn’t be that hard to transplant entire episodes of the series into the real world of post-soviet politics.

Although DS9 didn’t let its characters sail away from problems as easily as the crew of the Enterprise could, it did let them pop over to the Mirror Universe basically any time they wanted, returning five different occasions over seven seasons. However, each excursion became progressively less unsettling and more ridiculous; by the last visit in “The Emperor’s New Cloak,” the Mirror Universe was used more for comic relief, in stark contrast to the densely serialized war narrative that encompassed the rest of DS9 ’s final season.

Which isn’t to say that there’s no interesting meat on the bones of this new mirror. For one thing, the Terrans of DS9 are no longer conquerors; having been conquered themselves when Spock’s habilitated empire was defeated by the equally brutal Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. As such, the Terran lack of empathy manifests not just as cruelty, but as complacence; instead of promoting peace, our heroes nudge their parallel counterparts towards rebellion, transforming them into freedom fighters that band together against a powerful regime (If this is all starting to sound familiar, remember that Star Wars came after the original Trek series and changed pop culture pretty significantly in its wake).

There is one notable exception, of course: Intendant Kira Nerys, who rules Terok Nor with an iron fist, a chaotic sexual hedonism, and loads of manipulative, fake empathy for the Terran slaves she considers to be beneath her. Basically, she’s what you’d get if you took recurring series baddie Gul Dukat and stuck him in Major Kira’s body, right down to the uncomfortable obsession with “good” Kira. A solidly obvious example of the Depraved Bisexual trope (1992’s Basic Instinct changed pop culture a lot, too), the Intendent may not have been Trek ’s first queer-coded villain, but she was certainly the most obvious. She was also, it should go without saying, unbelievably fun to watch, which is why she ended up in every single DS9 Mirror episode whether she was integral to the plot or not. Truly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer 's Vampire version of Willow owes a lot to Intendant Kira’s shining example.

Yet despite all the dystopian camp, these stories were just as invested in grief and trauma as the rest of DS9 ’s sprawling narrative, primarily in the form of interactions between its protagonists (the Siskos and Major Kira, more specifically) and mirrorverse doppelgangers of their dead loved ones (Sisko’s wife and Jake’s mother, Jennifer, and Kira’s lover, Vedek Bareil). Much of Deep Space Nine revolves around how difficult and confusing it is to process loss in the midst a violently changing status quo – what better way to represent that than with living ghosts who don’t act like “themselves” anymore?

Star Trek: Enterprise | “In A Mirror, Darkly” Parts 1 and 2 (2005)

If Deep Space Nine smoothed the Mirror Universe into a swashbuckling field trip, Enterprise brought it screaming back to its dark authoritarian roots (literally, in the case of Mirror Archer’s pitch-black crew cut). Although Enterprise is sometimes overlooked as a prequel series, it does a wonderful job of taking the familiar trappings of TOS and contextualizing them more deeply – and often, more interestingly. I could, in fact, spend the rest of this article writing about how deeply devoted I am to Enterprise ’s interpretation of the Andorians and how much I yearn for Discovery to follow in its badass baby-blue footsteps, but that’s not really relevant to the issue at hand.

What is relevant is how Enterprise breaks unexpected ground via a two-part story arc that takes place entirely in the Mirror Universe, without any Federation characters to serve as our audience surrogate. The intro opens on recycled Star Trek: First Contact footage of humanity’s fateful first encounter with Vulcans – and then not only devolves into chaos as the humans open fire, but then launches into a completely reimagined opening title sequence that juxtaposes ominous march music with war footage and Nazi airplanes. “Faith of the Heart,” this isn’t.

In some ways, the pre-Kirk Terran Empire confines itself to many of the parameters that TOS set for the Mirror Universe. There are bare midriffs again, made even more hellish this time around by the mid ‘00s trend of low rise pants (On a related note, you can’t convince me that Mirror T’Pol’s hair, with its center-parted bangs and pin-straight length, wasn’t a deliberate jab at the style choices of several contemporaneous pop stars). Hoshi Sato serves as the Captain’s Woman for two different male authority figures — that is, right up until she kills the last man standing in her way and declares herself Empress. Enterprise was definitely on a “women using sex for power” kick around that time; the previous episode in the season, “Bound,” reinvents the Orion Slave Girls as active partners in a conspiracy to ensnare the men of other species with their pheromones.

Hoshi’s ascension is just the twist ending, though. As is the case of pretty much every show on television during George W. Bush’s presidency, the true villain here is a torture-happy military rising to power on the backs of a marginalized population — this time the Vulcans and other non-Terrans. And Mirror Archer, too, is haunted; not by the dead, but by his own ambition, as an apparition in the form of his newly discovered double (Thanks to some dimension-hopping time shenanigans, post-Federation records from the original U.S.S Defiant end up in the Empire’s possession), egging him on with his far superior personal accomplishments like the Gallant to Mirror Archer’s Jingoistic Goofus.

By this time Enterprise had completely reoriented itself around a post 9/11 narrative, ending its second season with a terrorist attack against Earth and continuing with the Enterprise ’s efforts to reach the far-off civilization responsible for it. “In a Mirror, Darkly,” then, represents a stark examination of America’s more reprehensible actions during that time — and lands much better than previous Mirror Universe episodes as a result.

Star Trek: Discovery |“Despite Yourself,” “The Wolf Inside,” “Vaulting Ambition,” and “What’s Past Is Prologue” (2017-2018)

Since Discovery will return for a third season, there’s no telling how the Mirror Universe might continue to evolve in future episodes. So far, however, it succeeds at combining some of the best tropes of past Terran encounters: elaborate gold medals, super straight haircuts, Starfleet operatives pretending to be their own evil selves, Vulcan rebels with imposing beards, and twice the fun from the new Philippa Georgiou, who’s both an imposing female Emperor (Hoshi walked so she could run, y’all) and a returning dead character whose presence thoroughly freaks out our protagonist.

Best of all, the show hasn’t yet fallen back on over-the-top gender stereotypes or explicitly revealing costuming to get its villainy across — they eat poor defenseless Kelpiens instead. We do eventually learn from Mirror Georgiou that everybody in her world is pansexual, however, herself included (and let’s all admit to ourselves that some of us would have been a little disappointed if she weren’t).

Beyond all the clever nods to continuity, Discovery also returns to an important truth inherent to the Terran Empire: it is the end point to a slippery slope of bad decisions that our contemporary 2019 society could be making at this very moment.That’s why Captain Lorca is such a compelling villain in the first place. His ruthless methods seem understandable, maybe even relatable, in the face of overwhelming threats to the Starfleet way of life — that is, until we realize just how many lines our heroes have crossed along the way. Not to mention that the sight of a fearsome, fascist demagogue attempting to crush a minority resistance feels especially apt in today’s political climate.

“When we were in the Terran universe, I was reminded how much a person is shaped by their environment,” Ensign Tilly says after their escape, to drive the point home. “And I think the only way that we can stop ourselves from becoming them is to understand the darkness within us, and fight it.”

Unless something drastic changes in the timeline after the 24th century,the Mirror Universe is always going to function as an “evil” shadow of the one where Star Trek spends most of its time. But it’s also served as a cautionary tale for the show’s progressively minded fanbase — one that constantly needs to be reexamined in relation to our own surroundings. After all, if we don’t understand our own darkness, how else can we learn to combat it, pushing it down into submission in order to achieve that diverse, equal, post-scarcity future utopia we deserve?

Victoria McNally (she/her) is a writer in Brooklyn and has a lot of opinions about skants. Find her online at victoriamcnally.com or at @vqnerdballs on Twitter and Instagram.

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‘Star Trek’s Mirror Universe, Explained

Through a scanner, darkly.

Star Trek 's Mirror Universe is one of the franchise’s most fascinating and unique elements. Beyond the rich storytelling opportunities, Trek 's forays into the darker alternate universe lets the cast of the various Trek series explore new aspects of their characters in ways they seem to relish. Star Trek: Discovery in particular leaned into this aspect of the Trek multiverse throughout its first three seasons, with that dark alternate reality proving integral to the overarching narrative.

With the upcoming second season of Star Trek: Picard taking place entirely within some kind of dark alternate reality thanks to the returning Q ( John DeLancie ), let's take a look at Star Trek 's Mirror Universe, how the various series in the franchise have explored it, and the ways Discovery has expanded and changed the way the franchise interacts with alternate realities.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Renewed for Season 5 on Paramount+

Hail to the Emperor

Trek ’s Mirror Universe debuted in the original series Season 2 episode “Mirror, Mirror.” One of those pesky transporter anomalies sends Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ), Dr. McCoy ( DeForrest Kelley ), Lt. Uhura ( Nichelle Nichols ), and Mr. Scott ( James Doohan ) onto the “ISS Enterprise ,” which exists in a darker parallel universe. In this world, Kirk won his ship by assassinating his predecessor Captain Pike, and the United Federation of Planets doesn’t exist.

Fans familiar with Discovery ’s deep-dive into what is now called the Terran Empire will already know the traits of this Mirror Universe. Earth is the center of a fascist, xenophobic imperial regime which stands for the opposite of the Federation’s values. The crews of the Terran ships live in a constant state of mutual hostility, as the only way to get ahead is to brutally murder your shipmates.

Technically, the Mirror Universe was not seen again until Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . The chronology of the Trek universe(s) is more complicated, (perhaps unnecessarily so). While neither Star Trek nor The Next Generation ever explores the Mirror Universe again (the TNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” comes close), the original series episode “The Tholian Web” (Season 3, Episode 9) features the disappearance of the USS Defiant , and connects the original series to Star Trek: Enterprise .

In a Mirror, Darkly

Enterprise was a Trek show which seemed like a good idea, but came at the wrong time. Enterprise awkwardly straddled Trek ’s past and future, with its updated television production technology and promising opening seasons undercut by adhering to sexism in its content. In the wake of 9/11, Enterprise introduced a serialized storyline which followed the crew of the Enterprise as they travel across the known galaxy to hunt down a species called the Xindi, who in an unprovoked attack killed millions of people with a prototype weapon. Enterprise never quite captured the hearts and minds of its targeted fan base, and only hit its stride in its final season, with its two-part foray into the Mirror Universe, Season 4’s “In a Mirror, Darkly Parts 1 & 2” standing as perhaps the show’s finest achievement.

“In a Mirror, Darkly” notably does away with the Prime Universe characters entirely, focusing on the Terran Empire’s flagship, led by Captain Forrest ( Vaughn Armstrong , whose counterpart character Admiral Forrest had been killed earlier in the season), and Commander Jonathan Archer ( Scott Bakula ). When the frustrated Archer suggests that the ISS Enterprise should invade Tholian space after hearing rumors of a new technology that they could steal for themselves, Forrest shuts him down. Archer takes command and invades Tholian space. They discover that the USS Defiant , the ship from the original series episode “The Tholian Web,” has somehow appeared in their reality, from over 100 years in the future.

Chronologically speaking, “In a Mirror, Darkly” is the first crossover between universes, with those events preceding Star Trek: Discovery ’s bold immersion into the Mirror Universe in its first season.

The Dark Side of Disco

Discovery ’s first season divided many long-time Trek fans, even as it quickly became the biggest streaming show in the world at that time. Putting Trek back on TV where it (arguably) belongs, Discovery explored the decade preceding the original series, centering on Spock’s adopted sister, a human named Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ). After defying her commanding officer and surrogate mother, Captain Phillipa Georgiou ( Michelle Yeoh ), and ordering a preemptive strike in an attempt to stop a war with the Klingons before it starts, Burnham loses her commission. After a stint in prison, Burnham lands on the USS Discovery , a ship containing an experimental mycelium spore drive, which can theoretically “jump” anywhere in an instant.

Well into Season 1, Discovery surprised everyone and wound up in the Mirror Universe for a 6-episode arc. We learn that the Terran Empire is ruled by Empress Philippa Georgiou, and that the Mirror Burnham has been plotting to take over with the help of her lover, Discovery ’s Captain Gabriel Lorca ( Jason Isaacs ). The person we thought was the Prime Universe Lorca had been the Mirror Universe Lorca for quite some time, having crossed over and killed his doppleganger before Burnham joined the crew.

Discovery spends more time in the Mirror Universe than any other entry in the franchise, establishing the widespread use of the torture device known as the Agonizer, which the Mirror Enterprise ’s Dr. Phlox ( John Billingsly ) and Malcolm Reed ( Dominic Keating ) developed in that show’s “In a Mirror Darkly” episode. Beyond allowing the cast to indulge in their vampy tendencies (and they’re clearly having a ball, no matter which series we’re talking about), Discovery takes these character relationships to new levels.

The mother-daughter dynamic between Burnham and Georgiou plays out in fascinating ways as the Mirror Georgiou ends up in the Prime Universe (where her counterpart is now long dead, having perished at the Battle of the Binary Stars early on). Mirror Georgiou — who still thinks of herself as an Emperor — joins Section 31, the Federation secretive black ops and security intelligence organization.

Deep Space Nine

Within the Prime Universe chronology, the two universes stay separate until Star Trek ’s “Mirror, Mirror,” which ends with Mirror Spock helping the Prime Enterprise crew return to their reality. Kirk's description of the Federation inspires Spock, who vows to try and change things for the better. We learn how that all went over the course of five separate episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

In Season 2, Episode 23, "Crossover," Dr. Bashir ( Alexander Siddig ) and Major Kira ( Nana Visitor ) find themselves in the Mirror Universe after a botched trip through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant. Known here as Terek Nor, DS9 is run by Intendant Kira (Visitor has a high time playing her evil self, as does the rest of the cast), who is fascinated by their appearance but not terribly surprised. One hundred years after Spock inspired an uprising against the Terran Empire, an alliance of Klingons, Cardassians, and Romulans finally overthrew the oppressive regime, and installed a whole new one. "Terrans" are now slaves, and by the end of the episode, Mirror O'Brien ( Colm Meany ) and the roguish pirate Mirror Sisko ( Avery Brooks ) have begun their own rebellion against the Alliance.

The Mirror Universe episodes appear every few seasons on Deep Space Nine , growing steadily campy with each installment. With each new crossover, we learn that the Rebellion has progressed a bit further. The storylines include Mirror O'Brien kidnapping Prime Sisko, who must impersonate the suddenly-killed Mirror Sisko and help save Mirror Jennifer Sisko ( Felecia M. Bell ), who died at Battle of Wolf 359 against the Borg in the Prime Universe. Mirror Jennifer then turns around and kidnaps Sisko's son Jake ( Cirroc Lofton ), to compel him to help complete plans for a Mirror version of DS9's battleship, the Defiant . The final entry sees Quark ( Armin Shimmerman ) and Nog ( Max Grodénchik ) pursue their kidnapped Grand Nagus (the President of Capitalism, as far as the Ferengis are concerned) into the Mirror Universe. The episode ends with the Regent of the Alliance — Mirror Worf ( Michael Dorn ) — surrendering to the Rebellion.

This is as far as Trek has gone into the "present" of the Mirror Universe. Given this final episode's dismal reception, the Deep Space Nine Mirror Universe excursions might remain odd outliers for the foreseeable future.

Parallel Lives

Seven episodes into Season 4, Discovery returned to the parallel dimension trope, with the brash Risan scientist Dr. Ruon Tarka ( Shawn Doyle ) claiming to hail from yet another alternate universe. Season 4 of Discovery revolves around a phenomenon known as the Dark Matter Anomaly (or DMA), which is an enormous field of dark matter floating through the galaxy and annihilating everything in its wake — including Cleveland “Book” Booker’s ( David Ajala ) home planet.

Initially thought to be a naturally-occurring phenomenon, the DMA’s behavior — disappearing and then reappearing at a different place in the galaxy seemingly of its own accord — proves that some unknown intelligence controls it. The Federation names this intelligence Unknown Species 10-C, and their unknown intentions are deemed sufficiently threatening to convene a council and hash out a plan. The delegates are evenly split between deploying Tarka’s device designed to destroy the DMA or find a way to make a peaceful first contact. Burnham narrowly wins a debate with Book, who then joins Tarka in going rogue.

Tarka and Book steal a prototype spore drive, intent on destroying the DMA before Discovery can make first contact. We learn that Tarka formed a special bond with a fellow scientific genius while they were both held prisoner by the Emerald Chain. They developed an inter-dimensional transporter together, but were separated before they could use it to escape. Tarka's goal and hope is to meet him again in what we can only guess is a parallel universe. Is this the J.J. Abrams Kelvin Universe (which was made canon in a previous episode of Discovery )? Is there a rare place in the Mirror Universe with a soft landing? It's anyone's guess, but there could also be yet another universe within the Discovery continuity we have yet to see.

The Guardian of Forever

The two-part "Terra Firma" episode from Discovery 's third season finds Georgiou dying from cellular decay due to how long she's been away from her universe. The key to her recovery lies on a barren, snow swept world, where they find a fella named Carl ( Paul Guilfoyle ) and a free-standing door. Georgiou goes through and finds herself back in the Mirror Universe, on the day Mirror Michael Burnham tried to kill her and take over the Empire. Can Georgiou change her fate, and even heal her broken relationship with her adopted daughter?

The kicker, as any giddy Trekkie can tell you, is that Carl turns out to be the personification of the Guardian of Forever, the mysterious portal to everywhere featured in the original series' (arguably) greatest episode. Carl cannot heal Georgiou, and can't send her back to her universe. What he can do is send her back to a time before the Prime and Mirror Universes were separated.

This presents a whole host of new questions: Wouldn't Georgiou's presence create a whole new timeline (and thus universe)? How were the universes separated, and when did this happen? The creative minds behind Discovery and the other current iterations of Star Trek appear to be playing a long game.

Den of Geek

Star Trek: A Guide to All the Mirror Universe Episodes

What can we learn about Star Trek: Discovery from these previous Mirror Universe-set Star Trek episodes?

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Warning: This article contains Star Trek: Discovery spoilers.

In this week’s episode of Star Trek: Discovery , we got confirmation that the crew of the Discovery has landed in the franchise’s Mirror Universe where, instead of the peace-loving Federation, Earth has its own, tyrannical Terran Empire.

The Star Trek franchise has a history of episodes and arcs that take place in this Mirror Universe. They are often amongst the strongest storytelling of their respective series and build upon the Mirror Universe mythology that has come before.

As we head further into Discovery ‘s incarnation of the Mirror Universe, let’s look back at all of the Mirror Universe episodes in Star Trek ‘s history…

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The Original Series’ Mirror Universe

The one that started it all! The Original Series first ventured into the Mirror Universe in Season 2’s “Mirror, Mirror,” when four members of the Enterprise’s crew are switched with their nefarious counterparts in the Mirror Universe.

Discovery has drawn many of its Mirror Universe elements from this original incarnation, including the Agony Booths and the Terran Empire’s preferred method of job promotion: betrayal and murder.

Discovery also borrows “Mirror, Mirror”‘s logic that one does not simply travel to the Mirror Universe, but must switch places. The Mirror Universe’s Discovery has seemingly ended up in  our  Discovery’s universe, which will no doubt cause all manner of problems for the Federation.

There better be at least one goatee in Discovery ‘s mirror universe or I’m asking for a refund. (Though Tilly’s Terran ‘do is a good start.)

Deep Space Nine’s Mirror Universe

Deep Space Nine did a deep dive into the Mirror Universe with five separate episodes across five different seasons: “Crossover” (Season 2), “Through the Looking Glass” (Season 3), “Shattered Mirror” (Season 4), “Resurrection” (Season 6), and “The Emperor’s New Cloak” (Season 7).

While the Deep Space Nine Mirror Universe story arc doesn’t seem to have much to do with Discovery ‘s take so far, its thematic foundation of the narrative rested on the idea that those who visited the Mirror Universe had a positive effect on the Terran Empire, which began to reform itself for the better. Could the Discovery’s visit to the Mirror Universe have been part of that path to change?

DS9 ‘s visit to the Mirror Universe also introduced the idea that people who died in the “normal” universe might be alive and well in the Mirror Universe, as we found with Sisko’s wife. In “Despite Yourself,” we met Mirror Connor, another version of the Shenzhou’s ensign. It seems inevitable that we will meet more mirror versions of characters who’ve died in our universe. My favorite theory? That Phillipa Georgiou is the Emperor of the Terran Empire.

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Enterprise’s Mirror Universe

Enterprise really hit its narrative stride when it ventured into the Mirror Universe in “In a Mirror, Darkly, Parts 1 & 2,” which saw the show imagining a fate for the USS Defiant, the missing ship the Enterprise is looking for in The Original Series episode “The Tholian Web.” 

What happened to the Defiant, per Enterprise canon? Basically, the crew went crazy, turned on each other, and ended up in the hands of the Tholians. The crew of the ISS Enterprise, captained by a Mirror Universe version of Jonathan Archer, steal the ship from the aliens and attempts to use it to overthrow the Empire. The Defiant has already had a mention in Discovery as a ship that has previously crossed over to the Mirror Universe.

These episodes give us the backstory for the Terran Empire, and how it ended up so different from our universe’s Federation. It imagines the famous first contact between human Zefram Cochrane and the Vulcans going very differently. Instead of a peaceful interaction, Cochrane kills the lead Vulcan and he and other humans loot the ship. Yeah, the Mirror Universe is the worst.

Kayti Burt | @kaytiburt

Kayti is a pop culture writer, editor, and full-time nerd who comes from a working class background. A member of the Television Critics Association, she specializes…

• The Inventory

Everything We Know About the Timeline of Star Trek 's Mirror Universe

Star Trek ’s Mirror Universe is one of—hell, the —most famous parallel universes in science fiction history. In fact, it almost has a timeline of its own as rich as the prime reality of Trek itself. So if you’ve been confused by all the Mirror-verse happenings in Discovery —and why wouldn’t you be?—we’re here to help put it all together.

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The order we’ve explored the Mirror Universe in is, just like Trek as a whole, not exactly chronologically linear. As each Star Trek series has jumped backwards or forwards in time, so has our window into this most famous of alternate realities. Some of the “newest” information on the Mirror Universe is two decades old, while new information about its early years been revealed repeatedly over the course of Star Trek: Discovery ’s ongoing first season, which has spent its back half on a new Mirror adventure. So, for convenience’s sake, we’ll be running through this chronologically in terms of the Mirror Universe’s timeline, not by the chronological order of Star Trek series themselves.

Enterprise Era: Origins of an Empire

Just as Enterprise itself reflects some of the earliest years of Starfleet and the eventual birth of the Federation, much of what we learn of the Mirror Universe in both parts of the season four story “In a Mirror, Darkly” is from some of the earliest days of the rise of the Terran Empire.

Although not explicitly shown, the Terran Empire seemingly rose out of a political faction on Earth before humanity took to the stars. The Mirror version of Captain Archer described the Empire as having been around for hundreds of years, and given Enterprise is set in the 2150s, it’s likely some form of it existed pre-human spaceflight or even before the unification of Earth. Either way, the Terran Empire as we know it really began in 2063, when Zefram Cochrane made contact with the first Vulcans to land on Earth, as he does in Star Trek ’s prime reality. Instead of offering a handshake, Mirror Cochrane simply shot the first Vulcan he met and then pillaged their ship—stealing technology that sends humanity not just beyond Earth, but on a mission of conquest against the other sentient species of the cosmos.

Just under a century after that first meeting, the Terran Empire was fully established, and the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Orions, and Denobulans had all been conquered and subjugated by the human regime. And that’s when a temporal accident sent one of the U.S.S. Defiant —a 23rd-century, Constitution-Class cruiser like Kirk’s Enterprise —to the 22nd-century Mirror Universe during the events of “The Tholian Web.” Although it was briefly captured by the Tholians, the Mirror version of Archer’s Enterprise crew took it by force.

The Defiant was wildly more advanced than any other ship known to the Empire at the time, and Archer planned to use its immense power to overthrow the current, unknown Emperor and rule the Terran Empire. Instead, his former “Captain’s Woman” Hoshi Sato betrayed him, poisoned him, and became Empress herself after threatening to bombard Earth with the Defiant ’s advanced weaponry, if the current ruling order didn’t submit to her will. They did.

Discovery Era: A New Hope

Roughly a century later, in the 2250s, not much has changed for the Empire when Star Trek: Discovery enters the Mirror Universe in its currently-ongoing story line. The Empire was still the dominant force of the Alpha Quadrant, although apparently the title bestowed upon its ruler had become gender-neutral since the days of Empress Sato, and the Mirror version of Phillipa Georgiou was the current “Faceless Emperor” of the regime. Apparently the Emperor no longer rules from Earth itself (presumably to avoid situations like, say, someone rolling up with a big spaceship and threatening to bomb the planet to bits), because Emperor Georgiou appears on a gigantic cityship that also serves as the Imperial Palace, the I.S.S. Charon , which looks like it’s powered by a giant, star-like reactor .

What we do know more about is the Empire’s opponents. The ongoing rebellion against the Terrans by the races they’d conquered survived the arrival of the Defiant the century prior, and is now joined by the Klingons. Unlike their prime counterparts of the same era, these Klingons successfully united the ruling Houses of their homeworld—led by the Mirror version of Voq, who became a prominent rebel figure known as the “Firewolf”—to form a single front pushing back against the Terran Empire alongside the Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, and other species.

Sadly, it seems like much of this fleeting rebellion might have been destroyed, after Emperor Georgiou callously bombed its main base of operations before Voq and his fellow allies could evacuate. Who knows, maybe we’ll learn they survived by the time Discovery ’s first season has come to an end?

Speaking of Discovery , the crew, currently trapped in the Mirror universe, spent this weekend’s episode trying to get ahold of the Defiant ’s records, hoping to figure out how it mysteriously appeared in the Mirror-verse in the previous century in hopes of using that info to return to the Prime universe. You can learn more about how that went in our most recent Star Trek: Discovery recap .

Star Trek : The Original Series   Era: Changing Fortunes

Our first-ever encounter with the Mirror Universe in the original series episode “Mirror, Mirror” is set just a decade after the events of Discovery . But we still get some new information, like the fact that despite the Vulcans had been subjugated centuries ago by the Empire, by the 2260s they could serve aboard Imperial starships—in fact, Spock wasn’t just allowed on-board the I.S.S. Enterprise , but served as its second-in-command. His father Sarek, revealed as a rebel against the Empire in Discovery ’s Mirror Universe adventure , was probably whatever the Vulcan equivalent of “royally pissed” is about it.

Otherwise, everything’s the same. The Terran Empire still ruled the quadrant, gleefully putting down rebellions when they arise with an iron fist. It’s not until the end of “Mirror, Mirror” that the seeds are sown for a major change in the future of the Mirror Univers. Near the end of the prime Kirk and team’s sojourn into the malicious alt-reality, Kirk managed to convince Mirror Spock that it’s illogical to serve an Empire that’s doomed to fall one day, and that no galactic rule could perpetually sustain itself on fear and cruelty. The words stick with Mirror Spock, who went on to overthrow Mirror Kirk and eventually spark a revolution that would fundamentally alter the Mirror Universe forever.

Prime Kirk also gave Spock access to a mysterious secret weapon his Mirror counterpart had, called the Tantalus Field, which Kirk presents like it can kill literally anyone in the universe remotely—which seems like it would be a very convenient bit of gear for anyone planning a violent revolution. Yay?

Deep Space Nine Era: New Foes, New Rebels

By the late 24th-century, the Mirror Universe had undergone the most dramatic changes it had ever seen. Good news: Mirror Spock took Kirk’s message to heart, using his position of power (and aforementioned superweapon) to rise to rule the Terran Empire, enacting a swathe of reforms that brought about disarmament and a more peaceful, less warlike version of itself. Bad news: That less aggressive and demilitarized Empire got overthrown by an alliance between the Klingons and Cardassians, which liberated the worlds ruled by the Empire, and proceeded to enslave the Vulcans and Terrans themselves. The Alliance then became the dominating rulers of the Alpha Quadrant, led by Regent Worf.

Suddenly finding themselves ruled instead of ruling, Terrans formed a rebellion quite like the ones they’d spent the prior centuries ruthlessly putting down. Inspired by an accidental trip into the Mirror Universe by Dr. Bashir and Kira Nerys in Deep Space Nine ’s “Crossover,” the Mirror version of Benjamin Sisko led an organized revolution against the Alliance forces, striking out at the planet Bajor, a key member of the Alliance following its liberation from Terran hands, and the Cardassian station it was ruled from. Mirror Sisko fell in battle, and was replaced by the Mirror version of Miles O’Brien. With a little help from the Prime reality in the form of plans to for a new I.S.S. Defiant , the Terran Resistance eventually captured Mirror Worf, signaling the downfall of the Alliance’s rule.

Though we last saw the “latest” from the Mirror Universe all the way back in 1999 on TV, ancillary Star Trek material has attempted to try and fill in some extra gaps in the alt-reality’s centuries-long timeline. Everything from books, to video games, to even comics have slotted themselves into the spans of decades left untouched by Trek series, but beyond Deep Space Nine , we don’t really have an idea of where the Mirror Universe went after the Alliance’s downfall.

For the foreseeable future, that’s likely to be the case. The only way we’ll see the future of the Mirror Universe is if Star Trek ’s TV adventures travel beyond where past shows have gone before. With Discovery   here to stay , that’s likely not going to happen any time soon.

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The Mirror Universe in Star Trek Television, Explained

A fascinating and twisted reflection of the regular timeline of the Star Trek universe across four shows.

Created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966, the space adventure franchise Star Trek has endured for generations, spawning dozens of series, movies, and video games, with more related projects in the works. It has featured breezy and comedic episodes, but has also explored sensitive topics like fundamentalism, cloning, mental health, addiction, xenophobia, A.I. control, and bioweapons.

As a staple of science-fiction television, Trek shows have naturally tackled time travel , supernatural beings, noncorporeal lifeforms, space anomalies, and alternative or parallel universes . One of the latter was dubbed the Mirror Universe by fans, and here is how it came to be and what it entails. To clarify, when referring to this particular type of universe, the main timeline and its characters are labeled “Prime,” while their counterparts are slapped with the “Mirror” designation.

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The Mirror Premise at a Glance

In the Prime timeline , most humans aim to live in harmony with as many contacted alien species as possible; the main objective is building a universe of peace and tolerance, where medical advances can cure almost every ailment and injury, and special abilities and superpowers are celebrated and harnessed instead of feared and condemned. As Captain Picard explains to a man from the past:

The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and the rest of humanity.

Although populated with the same characters and occupying the same space, the Mirror Universe is set in another dimension, and features twisted or strange doppelgängers. Instead of avoiding mass destruction and preaching acceptance, the ruling Terran Empire is a ruthless, fascist regime that goes to great lengths to oppress and subjugate every species.

It even treats its own people in the same manner, punishing officers who commit “mistakes” with a device called the Agonizer, or putting them in the Agony Booth, and mercilessly eliminating any opponents and obstacles. Sometimes, Prime characters venturing into the Mirror Universe can prove beneficial. In Star Trek: Discovery , for instance, an adventure in the alternate timeline helps put an end to the war with the Klingons .

Related: 21 Ways Star Trek Predicted the Future

Another example is when Prime characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine influence evil doppelgängers into a change of conscience, leading to political reforms. Unfortunately, it is later revealed that the Terran Empire is overthrown, only to be replaced by an alliance of Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans, who enslave both humans and Vulcans.

It's important to note that Mirror characters are not only often polar opposites personality-wise, but they also have subtle biological differences, such as more sensitive eyesight, and they experience faster cellular decay when they stay in the Prime Universe for too long.

Canon Shows with Mirror Universe Episodes

Before diving into the explanation of the Mirror Universe, here is a breakdown of the four canon series of Star Trek that feature this parallel dimension:

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Honorable Mention: The Tholian Web: Technically not set in the Mirror Universe, it features the vanishing of the USS Defiant into Tholian space, and the connection to a parallel dimension is established later on, in Star Trek: Enterprise ’s episode, “In a Mirror, Darkly.”

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Set in the 23d century, The Original Series (TOS) follows Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew, namely First Officer and Science Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Chief Engineer Scott (James Doohan), and Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), as they explore the Milky Way and interact with various lifeforms, some more hostile than others.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Star trek: deep space nine.

Deep Space 9 (DS9) is set in the 24th century, and centers on the titular space station located at the end of the galaxy, next to a wormhole connecting Federation space to the Gamma Quadrant. Main characters include Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), Science Officer Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), Head of Security Odo (René Auberjonois), Chief Medical Officer Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddiq), and First Officer Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor).

Together, they protect the Alpha Quadrant from hostile species like the Cardassians and the ultimate rulers of the Gamma Quadrant, the Changelings, who are fluidic shapeshifters.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Star trek: enterprise.

Enterprise (ENT) serves as a 22nd-century prequel to TOS , centering on Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew in the first-ever exploration of the Alpha and Beta quadrants under the flag of the United Earth, aboard the Enterprise NX-01. They save the Earth from the hostile Xindi aliens, establish the guidelines for interstellar diplomacy, and usher in the formation of the United Federation of Planets. It’s basically a prequel to the entire Prime timeline.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017 –)

Star trek discovery.

Discovery (DIS) follows the crew of the titular starship in the 23rd century, a decade before TOS , and later into the 32nd century, after they time travel. Sonequa Martin-Green stars as Michael Burnham, a science officer who starts a war with the Klingon race and then becomes captain of the Discovery . Another key character is her mentor, Philippa Georgio ( wonderfully played by Michelle Yeoh ), the friendly, honorable, determined, and decorated commanding officer of the USS Shenzhou ; she is killed in hand-to-hand combat with a Klingon leader.

The Episode That Ushered in the Narrative

In TOS ’ episode “Mirror, Mirror,” the transporter malfunctions during an ion storm and swaps Captain Kirk and the rest of his landing party, McCoy, Scott, and Uhura, with their villainous counterparts from a parallel universe that exists in the same space. This alternate dimension sees the Federation’s USS Enterprise , now called the ISS Enterprise , as a flagship for the evil Terran Empire.

Disoriented at first, Prime team members decide to play along until they’re able to recreate the same conditions that would send them back home. Before leaving, Prime Kirk reveals to Mirror Spock the existence of the Tantalus Field, Mirror Kirk’s secret device that can monitor and eliminate people with a single touch, so that he can use it as he sees fit to reform the Empire.

It is revealed that Mirror Kirk used the deadly device to get rid of his predecessor, Mirror Captain Pike, in order to take over the ISS Enterprise ; that alone was shocking to both Prime Kirk and the audience, because it was completely out of character for the Kirk we knew, and cemented the darker aspect of the Mirror Universe as a whole.

Related: 23 Coolest Alien Characters in the Star Trek Franchise

The Tantalus Field makes a comeback in the DIS episode “Terra Firma,” when it is revealed that Mirror Georgiou, the Emperor of the Terran Empire, has been using it to spy on her adopted daughter, Mirror Captain Burnham.

To date, “Mirror, Mirror” is still considered the best Mirror episode in the franchise. It is a well-executed, insightful, and intriguing plot, featuring a particularly ruthless Kirk and an edgier Spock. No wonder it became a defining moment in classic pop culture and inspired fans to come up with the Mirror Universe designation in future related chapters.

Three Fan-Favorite Mirror Characters

TOS ’ Mirror Spock and DS9 ’s Mirror Kira left a particularly memorable impression.

Mirror Spock is a Terran/Vulcan hybrid and First Officer of the ISS Enterprise . Unlike the clean-shaven Prime Spock, who is inclined to self-sacrifice for the greater good, he sports a cool mustache and a goatee and ruthlessly resorts to punishment and torture, even with his subordinates. However, much like his counterpart, he is governed by logic, and thus, Prime Kirk is able to reason with him and influence him for the good of the Empire, and our heroes.

Mirror Spock: Captain, I am pleased that you frustrated Mr. Chekov’s plan. I should regret your death. Prime Kirk: Why? Mirror Spock: I do not desire the captaincy. I much prefer my scientific duties, and I am frankly content to be a lesser target. Prime Kirk: Logical, as always, Mr. Spock.

Fun Fact: Mirror Spock inspired the name for the progressive metal group, Spock’s Beard.

While Prime Kira is a compassionate Bajoran and an honorable Major (and later Colonel) who dresses modestly and fights for injustice, Mirror Kira is the ultimate femme fatale , black leather outfit and whip included. She holds the title of Intendant in the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and is playful, manipulative, and hedonistic, with a twisted sense of humor.

When she comes face to face with Prime Kira, she is so fascinated by her counterpart that Mirror Kira professes her attraction to Prime Kira: a classic case of narcissism.

Mirror Kira: You know, I bet if we put our heads together, we could create a little excitement for ourselves. Terran Guard: You sentenced my wife to death. Mirror Kira: Isn't that a coincidence? I was hoping you weren’t married.

Other noteworthy Mirror characters are Mirror Philippa Georgiou, and Mirror Captain Gabriel Lorca. Georgiou is a complicated villain who starts off as the ruthless tyrannical ruler of the Terran Empire, and ends up in the Prime Universe as a prisoner, working for the Federation, who utilizes her vast skills in war to aid them. Georgiou gets a fascinating redemption arc as a villain through the seasons of Discovery, and her eventual experience of cell degeneration in the Prime Universe leads her to be sent into the past, before the two universes split apart.

And Captain Lorca is the compelling character in the first season of Discovery played incredibly well by Jason Isaacs ( Harry Potter , The Patriot ), who is hiding in the Prime Universe disguised as his Prime counterpart. He seeks to overthrow Georgiou and rule the Mirror Universe with Burnham at his side, though he was also one of the few Mirror Universe characters who showed a surprising amount of warmth and humanity, in rare moments.

Will there be more Mirror episodes in the franchise? The answer may very well lie in the upcoming seasons of DIS and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Perhaps more Prime characters will emerge as their secret Mirror counterparts in disguise, as was the case of DIS ' Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), the power-hungry Captain in the Terran Imperial Starfleet who infiltrated and took command of the USS Discovery in the main timeline.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the much-anticipated movie, Star Trek: Section 31 ; it will be directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, with Michelle Yeoh reprising her role of Philippa Georgiou as a member of the shady titular intelligence organization.

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

Star Trek: Mirror Universe

• View history

Star Trek: Mirror Universe is a prose fiction series set in the mirror universe featuring characters from many Star Trek series. It began with a series of six novels published in two books in 2007 . The books featured one novel for each of the five television series plus the New Frontier series. In 2009 the series continued in an anthology of twelve short stories, Shards and Shadows , which included stories from several prose only Star Trek series. The most recent book in the series is Rise Like Lions , a full length novel by David Mack .

• 1 Book and story list
• 2.1 Background
• 2.2 Connections
• 3.1 External link

Book and story list [ ]

Appendices [ ], background [ ].

Early cover for Fearful Symmetry featuring the Mirror Universe title

The DS9 relaunch novel Fearful Symmetry was also planned to be released as part of the series according to early cover designs, but the final release, while partially taking part in the mirror universe, did not feature the Mirror Universe banner. The Soul Key also ties into Star Trek: Mirror Universe .

According to the former e-book editor Keith R.A. DeCandido and editor at the time for the Star Trek line Marco Palmieri , there were plans for a mirror universe Star Trek: Corps of Engineers ebook to be released at the same time as the anthology Shards and Shadows . Unfortunately the original e-book line was put on hiatus before that time and as such the CoE story was cancelled. The story could not be added into the anthology itself as there was not sufficient budget to add a thirteenth story at that stage, so CoE remains unrepresented in the Mirror Universe series. [1] [2]

The Star Trek: Section 31 novel Disavowed follows up on the events of Rise Like Lions .

Connections [ ]

See also [ ].

• Star Trek: Myriad Universes

External link [ ]

• Star Trek: Mirror Universe article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
• 3 The Chase

• Mirror Universe

The Mirror Universe is a parallel universe that was first recorded as visited by James T. Kirk and several officers from the USS Enterprise in 2267. This parallel universe coexists with our universe on another dimensional plane. The universe was so named because many people and places seemed to be the exact opposites of their "normal" selves in "our" universe, but with numerous "good" aspects now "evil", and vice versa. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")

Although the universe as a whole has, as exhibited by the experiences of Lieutenant Worf, an infinite number of parallels, (TNG: "Parallels") the mirror universe appears to be somehow interconnected with the "standard universe" to the point of almost everyone from the standard universe having a counterpart in the mirror universe. This is despite the wildly divergent histories of the two, which would normally render the probability of the same individuals existing and being born on the same dates to the same parents throughout infinitesimally small. (DS9: "The Emperor's New Cloak")

• 1 Time Line
• 11 2288-2293
• 34 2408 (the Present year)

Time Line [ edit ]

For a detailed listing of major events that took place in the Mirror Universe, please check out the Mirror Universe Timeline below. This timeline was compiled from both canon and non-canon sources and includes work original and unique to the Star Trek: Freedom Universe.

2063 [ edit ]

Following the first warp flight of a Human by Doctor Zephram Cochrane , a Vulcan scout ship lands at Bozeman Montana. Cochrane leads an attack against the vessel, killing it's crew and claiming it's superior technology for themselves. It is this first strike that will eventually lead to the interstellar version of the Terran Empire . (Star Trek: First contact, STE:In a Mirror darkly, Part 1)

2155 [ edit ]

By this time, the Terran Empire is at war with the 'Rebellion'. It is known that the Vulcans , Andorians and Orions were part of that rebellion. Denobulans were not. (STE: In a Mirror Darkly, Part 1 &2)

Commander Johnathan Archer of the ISS Enterprise (an NX Class ship) mutinied against Captain Maximillian Forrest and siezed control of the ship. He then lead the Enterprise into Tholian space where, Archer's spies have informed him that the Tholians have captured an advanced Starship from an alternate reality and from the future.

That ship was the Constitution Class starship USS Defiant . Her crew were killed, and the tholians were dismantling the vessel for it's technology. The defiant had been lured into the mirror universe by the Tholians, who had created an Interphasic Rift between the two dimensions.

While Enterprise is destroyed, by the Tholians, Archer and a small crew manage to escape Tholian space using the Defiant's advanced weapons. Archer's plans to become Emperor are cut short, however, when he is poisoned by Hosi Sato, who seizes the Defiant for herself and uses it to declare herself Empress. (STE: In a Mirror Darkly, part 2)

Sato takes The Andorian Imperial Guard Shran as her consort, consolidating her power as Empress. Shran betrays her, so Sato then makes an alliance with the Vulcans, making them full citizens of the Empire. T'Pol is made Regent of Vulcan . (Novel: Age of the Empress).

Sato later creates a clone of Jonathan Archer, to serve by her side. The Archer clone rejects her and instead joins the rebellion against the Empire. (Novels: Age of the Empress, Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - Nobunaga)

2156 [ edit ]

Commander Charles Tucker, who is dying from prolonged exposure to Delta Radiation is ordeed by Sato to construct another ship like the USS Defiant , which she names the ISS Nobunaga . (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - Nobunaga)

2248 [ edit ]

Commodore Robert April of the ISS Constellation takes over a mission to destroy a new weapon being developed by the Klingon Empire after captain Thorpe of the ISS Indomitable fails that mission. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - Ill Winds)

2264 [ edit ]

Lieutenant Commander James T. Kirk having manipulated events on the ISS Farragut so that the entire command crew would be killed by an energy creature, sets his sites on the ISS Enterprise , befriending the ship's second officer Lieutenant Spock . While traveling to the Tantalus Colony for a psychiatric evaluation following the Farragut incident, Kirk and his consort, Marlena Moreau, discover the Tantalus Device . They use it to eliminate Captain Pike and his First Officer Number One, thus guaranteeing his command of the Enterprise. (TOS: Mirror, Mirror; Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - The Greater Good)

2267 [ edit ]

During a negotiation with the Halkans to acquire trading rights to Dilithium crystals, Captain Kirk and his away team from the Prime Universe are switched iduring transport with their Mirror Universe counterparts.

The prime universe Captain Kirk manages to convince the Mirror Universe Spock that the Empire is doomed to fail and that he should hasten it's decline. he also tells spock of the Tantalus device. (TOS: Mirror, Mirror)

Upon the return of the officers to their normal universes, reports are made to Starfleet Command. All transporters are modified to prevent such a crossing from taking place again. (DS9: Crossover, Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

The Mirror universe Kirk orders the destruction of the Halkans. Spock kills Kirk and those Loyal to him and takes command of the Enterprise. He also convinces his father Ambassador Sarek, of the righteousness of his long-term plan, inspired by the parallel Kirk. (Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

2268 [ edit ]

Spock begins consolidating his power using the Tantalus Device , both by eliminating rivals aboard the Enterprise and by acheiving military victories with a minimum of bloodshed. Among his accomplishments are securing the Dilithium mining rights on the planets Elas and Troyius not for the empire but for himself. (Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

In the prime universe, the USS Defiant investigates an unstable region of space near Tholian territory. It disappears through an Interphasic Rift and ends up a century in the past and in the Mirror Universe . It is later captured by Commander Johnathan Archer and a small crew who plan to use it to usurp the power of the Emperor. (TOS: The Tholian Web, STE: In a Mirror Darkly, Parts 1 & 2)

2277 [ edit ]

Commodore Diego "Red" reyes all but rules the Taurus Reach from Imperial Starbase 47 also known as Vanguard. An Operative loyal to Spock, T'Prynn, enacts a plan to eliminate the Empire's presence in the Reach. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - The Black Flag)

Spock has spent the last decade promoting peace and securing alliances focusing on negotiation over conflict. With the aid of the Tantalus Device , he staves off assassination attempts, and eventually kills Grand Admiral Matt Decker. Spock declares himself Grand Admiral and returns to Earth . Ensign Saavik uses the Tantalus device to assassinate Empress Sato III and her guard. Spock declares himself Emperor. (Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

2284 [ edit ]

Emperor Spock initiates sweeping reforms that converts the empire into a pseudo-republic. he conscripts doctors Carol and David Marcus to form Memory Omega , which will be the storehouse of all Terran Knowledge and accomplishments after it's fall. (Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

2288-2293 [ edit ]

Spock begins laying the groundwork for his long term elements of his plan. He recruits many Vulcans and begins to downgrade the Empire's defenses. (Novels: Sorrows of the Empire; The Mirror-Scaled Serpent)

2293 [ edit ]

Following the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis a summit is held on Khitomer . Regent Gorkon offers an alliance with the Terran Empire, which Spock refuses. He refuses a similar offer from the Romulan Empire. Soon afterward, he declares the Terran Empire defunct and names it's replacement the Terran Republic . Spock remains it's leader as Consul. This singular act is known as "Spock's Folly". (Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

2295 [ edit ]

An alliance is struck between the Klingon Empire and the Cardassian Union . The Klingon-Cardassian Alliance is easily able to overcome the weak Terran Republic . Both Spock and Moreau are assassinated. The former species of the Terran empire are reduced to Slave status. (Novel: Sorrows of the Empire)

Several Vulcans now serve as sleeper agents within the Alliance, among them are Saavik and Tuvok. They maintain Spock's long-term goal of fulfilling Spcok's dream of peace. The nexus of that goal is the secret Memory Omega facility where many key personnel have been placed without the KCA's knowledge. (Novels: Sorrows of the Empire; The Mirror-Scaled Serpent)

2344 [ edit ]

The Lakul, a cargo ship under the command of Guinan with Ben Zoma as her first officer attempts to cultivate the Daa'Vit- A warrior species on good terms with the Klingons as allies in an incipient rebellion against the KCA. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - The Traitor)

2358 [ edit ]

In the mines at Korvat Keiko Ishikawa is a slave in the mine. She prefers to sleep only with Cardassian guards, since she prefers to only sleep with men that can improve her position among the slaves. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - A Terrible Beauty.)

2361 [ edit ]

Keiko informs Gul Zarale of a slave uprising on Korvat which is under his command. This leads to her being made one of the Gul's comfort women. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - A Terrible Beauty.)

2365 [ edit ]

Keiko becomes well enough liked by Zarale to become an overseer. One of the other slaves under her jurisdiction is Tiron.(Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - A Terrible Beauty.)

2370 [ edit ]

A Starfleet runabout from the Prime Universe arrives in the Bajor System after returning from the Gamma Quadrant . Intendant Kira Nerys captures the runabout's occupants, Julian Bashir and Major Kira Nerys. The two manage to escape and return home, but not before convincing the Mirror Universe Benjamin Sisko and Miles "Smiley" O'Brien to start a rebellion against the KCA. (DS9: Crossover; DS9: Through the Looking Glass)

2371 [ edit ]

When the mirror Universe Sisko is destroyed in an attempt to reach Terok Nor. Miles "Smiley" O'Brien kidnaps the Prime Universe Banjamin Sisko. he convinces Sisko that he must stop Doctor Laura Sisko, who is developing a Transpectral Sensor Array that will allow the KCA to detect and destroy Rebellion strongholds in the Badlands . Sisko is successful and returns home after convincing Doctor Sisko to join the rebellion. During his trip to the Prime Universe, O'Brien steals schematics for the Defiant Class USS Defiant.(DS9: Through the Looking Glass; DS9: Shattered Mirror)

Jean Luc Picard joins the rebellion and infiltrates a pleasure palace on Betazed known as the "Sacred Chalice". The facility is operated by Luwaxana and Deanna Troi. Unknown to most, they are among the last of the Betazoids , who have been nearly eradicated. They are attempting to protect the last few betazoids and to prevent the extermination of their species. They are posing as Humans . (Novel: The Sacred Chalice).

When returning from a mission to acquire materials for O'Brien's Defiant, Chakotay and his rebellion cell are chased into the badlands by a Cardassian starship. There they mysteriously encounter two individuals from the prime Universe, Kes and Neelix. Kes is captured by the Cardassian Evek and taken to Monor Base .(Novel: The Mirror-Scaled Serpent)

Chakotay goes to Monor Base on Ardana , where B'Elanna is studying Kes. Chakotay is killed, the base destroyed, but Kes is captured by Tuvok, who sends her to Memory Omega . believing Kes to be dead and with no way to return home, Neelix joins the rebellion. (Novel: The Mirror-Scaled Serpent)

Enough of Kes' DNA was studied at Monor base to allow the scientist Crell Moset to resequence B'Elanna's DNA and make her telepathic. She intends to present herself as a new weapon to return her to the favor of the Regent. She is foiled by Tuvok. (Novel: Bitter Fruit)

2372 [ edit ]

A new slave named Tasha Yar arrives on Korvat and passes on a terrible secret to Keiko. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - A Terrible Beauty.)

The rebels succeed in capturing Terok Nor, and also constructing the Defiant. Jennifer Sisko and O'Brien once again bring Benjamin Sisko over to the Mirror universe to help them defeat the battle fleet commanded by the Klingon Regent Worf. (DS9: Shattered Mirror)

Raids on Alliance supply convoys are believed to be the work of the rebellion, but Gul Macet of the trager thinks otherwise. Along with the Klingon vessels Pagh and Ya'Vang, the trager gaurds the next convoy only to have it attacked. they then attempt to learn the truth behind the attacks.(Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - Family Matters.)

2375 [ edit ]

Grand Nagus Zek travels to the mirror Universe and is captured by the KCA. Kira attempts to regain favor with Regent Worf by suggesting that Zek obtain cloaking technology from the Prime Universe. She dispatches Ezri Tigan to do so. Tigan returns with a cloaking device and also Quark and Rom. After being captured by the Rebellion, Tigon and the two Ferengi reach the alliance and install the cloaking device. Rom jury rigs the cloaking device to cause the regent 's flagship to lose power. The rebellion then captures Regent Worf.(DS9: The Emperor's New Cloak)

Keiko and Tasha lead a group of slaves from Korvat in two transports. Tasha's transport is destroyed but Keiko manages to reach Terok Nor to join the rebellion. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - A terrible Beauty).

Intendanct Kira is stripped of her title and forced to become a slave. Kira manages to uncover a pattern of thefts that leads her to think that the rebellion is constructing several Defiant Class ships at Empok Nor. She manages to convince Captain Kurn to help her stop the rebels. Meanwhile Zek and Bashir have constructed 11 additional Defiant Class ships without consulting with O'Brien at Empok Nor. The resultant ships are flawed and they are destroyed by Kurn. Kurn also destroys Empok Nor and Kira is returned to her previous position as Intendant of Bajor . (Novel: Saturn's Children)

After the attack on Empok Nor, Terok Nor is sabotaged by a bomb. One of the salves accuses Keiko of being an alliance collaborator. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - A terrible Beauty).

2376 [ edit ]

Mac Calhoun of the Excalibur begins a military campaign against alliance targets. When word is received that the Romulans have begun construction of a Thalaron Radiation Bomb for the Alliance, the Excalibur infiltrates Romulan space to stop them. (Novel: Homecoming)

Edward Jellico travels to the Prime Universe to retrieve a timeship named the USS Paradox , which leads to a confrontation with the Prime Universe's Excaliber. (Novel: Turnaround)

Tuvok, now serving on a rebellion ship, Deanna, commanded by Ian Andrew Troi and with First officer William Riker, intercede on the behalf of the Irrol A telepathic species upon whom the Alliance is conducting cruel experiments. (Novel: Empathy)

Two Memory Omega agents, Reginald Barclay and K'Ehleyr go on a mission to retrieve a third agent, general Alynna Nacheyev, who plans to defect to the Alliance with the means to destroy both the Terran rebellion and Memory Omega. (Novel: Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows Anthology - For Want of a Nail).

2377 [ edit ]

The Klingon ninth fleet is destroyed in the Badlands after being sent there by Intendant Kira to destroy rebellion strongholds. (STF)

2382 [ edit ]

Future Imperial Starfleet Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid is born. (STF)

Rodrigo Doenitz begins career as a rebel.(STF)

2397 [ edit ]

Doenitz is captured by Cardassians and sent to the Boronite mines on Bardon Alpha .(STF)

The Rebellion manage to capture earth, The Terran Empire is restored. Salid's Father becomes a ship captain in the Imperial Starfleet . The Empire is a very poor reflection of it's minor glory. The war with the KCA continues.(STF)

2400 [ edit ]

Salid graduates from the Imperial Academy. He is assigned to the ISS Templar .(STF)

2401 [ edit ]

Saleke and Doenitz join a small slave rebellion on Bardon Alpha . The escape attempt is foiled. The ringleaders are executed.(STF)

2402 [ edit ]

Salid's father is charged with treason and executed. Worried that Lieutenant Salid may attempt revenge, the Chief Engineer of the ISS Templar is order executed. Salid escapes his fate, but is captured by Klingons . He is sent to work the Boronite mines on Bardon Alpha.(STF)

Salid meets Rodrigo Doentiz.(STF)

2404 [ edit ]

Saleke, Doenitz and Salid lead a successful Slave revolt against the Klingon and Cardassian Overseers of the Mines. They execute the administrator and use his personal shuttle to head for the Badlands . They join the remnants of the Terran Rebellion that does not agree with the current Emperor. (STF)

2405 [ edit ]

Salid and Devan Sash conduct dozens of missions to capture Imperial Starships from the restored Terran Empire. They turn these vessels over to Rodrigo Doenitz who has become the leader of the Rebellion. (STF)

2406 [ edit ]

Zachary Falthgood manages to crossover to the Prime universe and steal the plans for the USS Rosenante . Doenitz orders Salid to undertake construction at once. With a Federation Civil War raging in the Prime Universe, agents of the rebellion manage to steal starships, schematics and weapons enough to supply their rebellion. Plans are made to overthrown the Restored Terran Empire Government and establish the Imperial Union of Planets . Late in this year, Salid completes the ISS Rosenante using captured Cardassian , Bajoran and Klingon Laborers. Salid orders all the workers executed. (STF)

Salid commands the ISS Rosenante alongside the rest of the fleet led by Rodrigo Deonitz. After a short battle, Doenitz is successful in assuming the title of Regent .(STF)

The Imperial Union of Planets is born and the Imperial Starfleet pledges it's loyalty to Doenitz. (STF)

Saleke becomes Captain of the USS Hades . (STF)

2407 [ edit ]

With the support of the Imperial Daystrom Institute , the ISS Soong attacks and subjugates Bynaus. Ensign Robert Smith is serious injured during that attack. Several cybernetic enhancements are installed in his body, including a Positronic Net .(STF)

A year of conflict follows as Salid, Saleke and other key commanders of the newly reorganized Imperial Starfleet, enforce Doenitz's rule and batle the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance for control of the original territories of the Terran Empire. (STF)

Regent Doenitz declares the Citizenry Act , which makes all subject species of the IUP citizens. They are granted legal status and given a slight degree of autonomy. This has the desired affect of bringing several of the memberworlds of the Terran Empire back into the IUP.(STF)

Saleke meets the Devan Sash of the Prime Universe, who entreats him to become an agent of change to throw off the old ways and revolt against the Restored Terran Empire . After a few weeks of consideration Saleke joins the revolt along with Captain Edward Wolfe and throws his considerable weight and influence in favor of Rodrigo Doenitz . (STF)

Captain Edward Wolfe is assassinated by agents of the old Terran Empire . (STF)

Saleke is almost assassinated by enemy agents but survives to be returned to Starbase Geneva where he convalesces.

2408 (the Present year) [ edit ]

A stalemate in the fighting between the IUP and the KCA is broken when the planet Sunali II is captured by the KCA. The Sunali people defect to the KCA and Doenitz orders their planet destroyed. The ISS Rosenante is ordered to deliver the Omega Device to the system. The planet and several dozen KCA ships are destroyed. The ISS Rosenante is flung through a rift and ends up in the Prime Universe.(STF)

Saleke is assigned to the ISS Furious . Later in Mid-2408 he is ordered to locate the ISS Rosenante when it fails to return from a mission responsible for the destruction of Sunali II .

The Mirror Universe is seen for the first time on Star Trek: Freedom in the USS Rosenante Mission : Into the Darkness, Go I

Credits [ edit ]

All names, events and details are the unique property of the writers who created them. All entries are listed for reference and they are paraphrased here without intent to infringe upon any licenses or copywrites held by their original creators.

Those details that are followed by (STF) are created by Daniel Greene for Star Trek: Freedom. A Fan fiction site dedicated to the Star Trek Vision created by Gene Roddenberry .

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Mirror Universe Spocks Fate In Star Trek: Discovery Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 - "Mirrors"

• Mirror Universe Spock's death led to a revolution in the Terran Empire, but ultimately couldn't prevent its downfall.
• The ISS Enterprise became a symbol of hope in the Mirror Universe, with rebels seeking freedom in the Prime Universe.
• Dr. Cho, a refugee from the Mirror Universe, rose to become a Branch Admiral in Starfleet, shaping her own future.

Star Trek: Discovery confirmed the fate of Mirror Universe Spock (Leonard Nimoy) after the events of the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Mirror, Mirror." Since its first appearance on TOS, several Star Trek series have visited the Mirror Universe, a parallel universe populated by evil versions of Star Trek's heroes. In the Mirror Universe, the xenophobic Terran Empire serves as the antithesis to the United Federation of Planets, and torture and murder are commonplace. Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery are already familiar with the Mirror Universe, as they spent some time there in Discovery season 1.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors," Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) follow couriers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) into interdimensional space in search of the next clue leading to the Progenitors' treasure. Once there, they find the damaged ISS Enterprise, which holds clues about the fate of Mirror Universe Spock and his crew. In Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 4, "Mirror, Mirror," Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) encourages Mirror Spock to initiate change, telling him: "In every revolution, there's one man with a vision." Written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco, and directed by Jen McGowan, Star Trek: Discovery's "Mirrors" offers more insight into what became of that revolution.

What Happened To Mirror Universe Captain Kirk In Star Trek?

What happened to mirror universe spock revealed by star trek: discovery, spock died fighting for change..

After the events of Star Trek: The Original Series' "Mirror, Mirror," Captain Kirk left Mirror Universe Spock with a lot to think about. The goateed Vulcan apparently took Kirk's words to heart and began enacting a series of reforms to change the way things were done in the Terran Empire. Although he was attempting to prevent the collapse of the Empire, Star Trek: Discovery revealed that Spock was killed while working on his reforms. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, Burnham and Book explore the ISS Enterprise and discover a plaque detailing some events from the Mirror Universe.

The light of hope shines through even the darkest of nights" became a "rallying cry" for those who opposed the violence of the Terran Empire.

Reading from the plaque, Book says that the "Terran High Chancellor was killed for trying to make reforms." Although Michael does not know that Spock was the Terran High Chancellor, the audience knows this information in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Mirror Universe episodes. Spock helped turn the Terran Empire into a more peaceful galactic power, and while his reforms were popular with many, some clearly opposed them. Nevertheless, Spock's dedication to logic made him less villainous than his Mirror Universe counterparts, and his words: “The light of hope shines through even the darkest of nights" became a "rallying cry" for those who opposed the violence of the Terran Empire.

Star Trek: DS9 Reveals What Happened To Mirror Universe After Spocks Death

Spock initiated change, but couldn't prevent the fall of the terran empire..

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 23, "Crossover," Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) find themselves in the Mirror Universe. Major Kira's Mirror Universe counterpart, Intendant Kira, runs the equivalent of Deep Space Nine (Terok Nor) as a mining station populated by Terran slaves. The Intendant reveals that Captain Kirk's visit to the Mirror Universe had a "profound influence" on Mirror Universe Spock, which led Spock to reform the Terran Empire. Unfortunately, these reforms rendered the Empire unable to defend itself when the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance decided to attack.

After conquering the Terran Empire, the Alliance proved to be just as brutal and eventually became ruled by Regent Worf (Michael Dorn).

Having been under Terran occupation for years, Bajor petitioned for entry into the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance and went on to become a major player in the Alliance. Much like Kirk's visit to the Mirror Universe affected Spock, Major Kira and Dr. Bashir's visit inspired a rebellion among the Terran slaves, which became a thorn in the side of the Alliance. Although Spock had initially been trying to prevent the fall of the Terran Empire, the Empire fell away, but some people held on to the ideals Spock had tried to spread.

Star Trek 10s Best Mirror Universe Variants

Star trek: discovery reveals what happened to mirror universe spocks iss enterprise, the iss enterprise became a symbol of hope and freedom..

The plaque Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker find on the Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise also reveals some events after Mirror Spock's death. After Spock was killed, those who believed in his reforms sought help from a "Kelpian slave turned rebel leader," aka, the Mirror Universe version of Saru (Doug Jones). Saru told these people about Star Tre k's Prime Universe, describing it as "a near perfect mirror that casts our darkness into light." While Saru stayed behind to help more people in the Mirror Universe, several rebels stole the ISS Enterprise and traveled to the Prime Universe to begin new lives.

Dr. Cho was also one of the six scientists who helped hide clues to the Progenitors' technology.

Upon returning to the USS Discovery, Michael finds proof in Federation databases that many of the refugees on the ISS Enterprise successfully made new lives for themselves in the Prime Universe . One refugee, named the Enterprise's Science Officer, Dr. Cho, joined Starfleet and eventually became a Branch Admiral. Dr. Cho was also one of the six scientists who helped hide clues to the Progenitors' technology, which remains at the center of Star Trek: Discovery season 5's quest. Michael remarks that Cho may have chosen to leave her clue on the Enterprise as a reminder that almost anyone can shape their own future, even when facing impossible odds.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Where To Watch Paramount+

Release Date September 24, 2017

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Star Trek: The Original Series

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

Release Date September 8, 1966

Showrunner Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Cast Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton, Rene Auberjonois, Nicole de Boer, Michael Dorn, Andrew Robinson, Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Colm Meaney, Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig

Release Date January 3, 1993

Showrunner Ira Steven Behr, Michael Piller

Mission: Mirror Universe Incursion/Walkthrough

• VisualEditor
• View history

Defeat the Terran Battle Groups [ | ]

This part is fairly straightforward - the players must work together to defeat all four battle groups (Alpha, Delta, Charlie, and Bravo). Each group consists of numerous cruisers , several frigates , a few fighters , and at least one battleship .

It is strongly advised that each group be engaged and destroyed one at a time. If more than one joins the battle they will be very difficult (though not necessarily impossible) to defeat.

Weaken the Terran Escort Group (optional) [ | ]

Roughly twenty kilometers from each battle group is a navigation beacon. To complete the optional, players must fly over to each one and upload a virus that will halt repair efforts for the Terran ships stuck in drydock. Sometimes, a Battle Group will attempt to recapture the beacon - you must either destroy them or lure then away to avoid failing the optional. This objective can be started and/or completed at any point in the mission.

NOTE : Completing the optional does not yield any additional rewards.

Defeat Terran Flagship [ | ]

The I.S.S. Stadi .

Once all four Battle Groups are destroyed, the I.S.S. Stadi - a Galaxy-class Deadnought Cruiser - will emerge from a trans-dimensional portal above the starbase. At the same time, the Terran ships in drydock (Battle Group Stadi) will reactivate and defend the Stadi . It is advised that players focus on these support ships before attacking the Stadi , as it can be difficult to defeat the Stadi while the other Terran ships are active.

Once the Stadi is destroyed, the mission is completed and a reward drop awaits you above the starbase. If any additional Terran ships are still present, you can fight them if desired.

• 2 Playable starship
• 3 List of canon starships

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery's mirror universe enterprise was cool, but also missed 3 opportunities.

The appearance of the ISS Enterprise was a nice surprise, but Star Trek: Discovery could have done more with the Mirror Universe ship.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 - "Mirrors"

• It was a missed opportunity for Mirror Universe legacy characters like Spock or Kirk to make an appearance in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5.
• Burnham's reflection on the ISS Enterprise could have tied back to her time in the Mirror Universe with Georgiou.
• The story of ISS Enterprise's escape from the Mirror Universe teases a powerful rebellion and hope narrative.

Star Trek: Discovery brought back the ISS Enterprise that was introduced in the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Mirror, Mirror," but the show could've done so much more with the Mirror Universe version of Star Trek's most iconic ship. In its fifth and final season, Star Trek: Discovery has sent its characters on an intergalactic treasure hunt centuries in the making. In their search for the powerful technology of the Progenitors, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her crew have already faced numerous trials, and their most recent clue took them to a relic from the 23rd century.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors," written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan, Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) must enter interdimensional space in search of the next clue on their quest to find the Progenitors' technology. After Burnham and Booker make it into the wormhole, they find the heavily damaged, but still intact ISS Enterprise. As they search the ship, they discover that refugees used the Enterprise to escape from the brutal Mirror Universe in search of a better life. While it was certainly fascinating to learn more about the ISS Enterprise and its journey, the appearance of the centuries-old ship could have had more of an impact.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

The iss enterprise provided the perfect excuse for a strange new worlds cameo, michael could've found a recording from mirror universe spock or kirk..

As Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker explore the bridge of the ISS Enterprise, Michael gets emotional looking at what would have been her brother, Spock's (Ethan Peck), terminal. While this is a nice moment, it would have been a great opportunity to include a recorded message from Mirror Universe Spock or someone else who was on board the ship. Not only would it have been fun to see Ethan Peck with Mirror Spock's goatee, but it could have been a nice moment for Michael to see an alternate version of her brother.

It's a missed opportunity that no Star Trek legacy characters made an appearance in "Mirrors."

Whether due to budget constraints or scheduling conflicts, it's a shame that Star Trek: Discovery did not get Ethan Peck or Paul Wesley, who plays Lt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , to make a quick cameo. Seeing the Mirror Universe Captain Kirk would have been a nice way to shout out Star Trek: The Original Series , while also connecting Discovery to Strange New Worlds . Star Trek: Discovery has shown recordings of legacy characters before, such using old footage of Leonard Nimoy's Spock in the Discovery season 3 episode "Unification III", and it's a missed opportunity that no Star Trek legacy characters made an appearance in "Mirrors."

The ISS Enterprise Should've Reminded Burnham Of Her Time In The Mirror Universe With Georgiou

Didn't all of the mirror universe iconography remind burnham of her experiences there.

While Captain Burnham did have a moment of reflection regarding Spock, she never mentioned the time she spent in the Mirror Universe or her connection with Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) . The Mirror Universe played a major role in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, and Burnham spent a fair amount of time there. Michael also grew close to Georgiou after she traveled back with the USS Discovery to Star Trek 's Prime Universe. It stands to reason that Michael would likely have been reminded of her time in the Mirror Universe as she was exploring the ISS Enterprise.

Two of Star Trek's best modern villains, Emperor Georgiou and Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), came from the Mirror Universe. Michelle Yeoh will reprise the role of Georgiou in the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 , "Face the Strange" revisited several moments from Captain Burnham's past, but didn't touch on the Mirror Universe. Allowing Michael to have a moment of remembrance on the ISS Enterprise would have been a nice connection to season 1 and another way to show how far Burnham has come. Whether or not Burnham has spoken with Book about her experiences in the Mirror Universe, she could have shared a memory of her time with Georgiou. Discovery season 5 already has a lot going on, but they missed out on what could have been a nice moment of reflection for Captain Burnham.

Star Trek 10’s Best Mirror Universe Variants

Star trek should tell the story of the iss enterprise's escape from the mirror universe, discovery teases what could be a powerful story of rebellion and hope..

One of the most interesting aspects of the ISS Enterprise is the story of how the ship ended up in interdimensional space in the first place. After Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) visited the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: The Original Series, he inspired Spock to initiate a series of reforms to prevent the Terran Empire from falling. Unfortunately, the Empire fell anyway, but some people took Spock's ideas to heart and rebelled against the new regime. After "a Kelpian slave turned rebel leader" — aka Mirror Universe Saru (Doug Jones) — told others about the Prime Universe, they began searching for a way to get there.

Star Trek: Discovery could have done more with the ISS Enterprise, but at least they turned the former warship into a symbol of hope.

The ISS Enterprise became a lifeboat, as Saru helped refugees steal the ship and take it to the Prime Universe. Book reads their story from a plaque on the wall, but it sounds like a tale that deserves more than a few sentences of dialogue. The story of a group of rebels who steal the Enterprise, ride it into another universe, and then have to adapt to an entirely different way of life would make a great movie or mini-series. Star Trek: Discovery could have done more with the ISS Enterprise, but at least they turned the former warship into a symbol of hope.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery