Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – USS Discovery’s Whereabouts Revealed

by

Okay, so I just finished the first episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and it finally tells us what happened to the Discovery! It was so cool to see that. The episode, directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by Gaia Violo, kicks things off with a major crisis: Captain Ake, played by Holly Hunter, on the USS Athena, gets attacked by Nus Braka, who Paul Giamatti plays. It was a really exciting start!

Captain Ake, recently appointed Chancellor of Starfleet Academy, is transporting her ship full of cadets to Earth when the USS Athena is ambushed by Nus Braka and the Venari Ral, who trap them using advanced, shape-shifting technology. Braka then appears on the Athena’s bridge as a hologram, ready to face off against his long-time rival, Ake.

Cadets at Starfleet Academy proved their skills by successfully rescuing the USS Athena and stopping Nus Braka from stealing its warp drive. They had to rely on their own abilities, as help from Starfleet—including Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery-A—was unavailable.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Reveals Captain Burnham & USS Discovery’s Whereabouts

When Captain Ake destroys Nus Braka’s holographic display on the bridge, she asks her crew for an update on the distress signal they sent to Starfleet. Nahla soon discovers why she won’t be meeting Captain Michael Burnham in the premiere episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy when she receives the news:

“Discovery’s undergoing a retrofit, and the rest of the fleet won’t arrive in time.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a continuation of the story from Star Trek: Discovery, taking place in the same future timeframe – sometime after the events of Discovery concluded. The show explains Captain Burnham’s absence by saying the Discovery is undergoing repairs, a convenient way to avoid having her intervene.

Over seasons 3 through 5 of Star Trek: Discovery, Captain Burnham’s ship, the USS Discovery, became the United Federation of Planets’ main team for handling galactic emergencies. Whenever a major threat arose – whether it was the Dark Matter Anomaly or the Breen’s search for ancient technology – Burnham and her crew were the ones who saved the Federation.

The USS Discovery has a unique drive system that would have allowed Captain Burnham to immediately reach and save Captain Ake and the Starfleet Academy cadets. The fact that Discovery couldn’t activate its emergency system to help the USS Athena makes sense, considering it recently underwent a major upgrade – a ‘retrofit’.

It wouldn’t have made sense for the USS Discovery to rescue Starfleet Academy in the first episode of its own show. Since Captain Burnham and the Discovery are still operating during the events of the new Starfleet Academy series, the show needed to quickly explain where the Discovery was and why it wasn’t involved in the rescue.

What Happens To Star Trek: Discovery After Captain Burnham’s Show Ends

It was so lovely to see Captain Burnham and the crew at Ambassador Saru and President T’Rina’s wedding in the Star Trek: Discovery finale! It felt like a perfect, hopeful moment. But of course, adventure called, and watching the Discovery jump to a new mission with Burnham and Booker aboard just left me excited for what comes next!

It seems Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will start shortly after the planned sixth season of Star Trek: Discovery, likely in 3191 or 3192. The events of Discovery apparently left Captain Burnham’s ship in need of significant repairs and upgrades.

The series finale of Star Trek: Discovery concludes with Admiral Michael Burnham, now older, sending the USS Discovery on one last voyage. This mission is shown centuries later in the Star Trek: Short Trek episode, “Calypso.” This final scene with Admiral Burnham takes place 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Read More

2026-01-15 23:38