We are almost three weeks In Starfleet Academyand the show, with some sometimes rebellious rockinessbegan to find its place in the world of Star Trek. But one thing kept bothering me over the first three episodes.
I have no idea when this show will take place.
Now I know that’s a stupid thing to think about. In the end it doesn’t really matter Starfleet Academy know Or exactly that fits in THE Star Trek chronology. We know we are in the 32nd century; we know the approximate timing – it’s around the early 3190s – and we also know that, in reality, nothing has happened in the series yet and that its rooting in a very specific time and place required an exact on-screen explanation. Especially since the only Hiking to show Starfleet Academy must have a direct connection with the timeline is Discoverya series that is no longer a current concern.
I guess part of it is that I’m a little old, especially when it comes to Starfleet AcademyThe group of children with exuberant charm. THE Hiking I grew up with it, namely New deep space And Traveleropen by rooting themselves in direct moments of the setting they shared at the end of the 24th century, stemming from TNG—the personal fallout from Picard’s assimilation a on Ben Sisko and the outbreak of serious conflict between the Maquis and the Cardassian Union. But while Academy gives us some clues about the passage of time in what we’ve seen so far (Darem’s message to his parents at the top of episode three, “Reflux of life” notes that three weeks have passed since the start of classes for example), he is generally very vague on this subject.
Once again, that didn’t stop a tiny corner of my Hiking the brain to obsess over it relentlessly, even if it doesn’t matter. So let me try to lay out all the facts that we know and try to lay out a working theory.
Star Trek: DiscoveryThe chronology of in comparison with Starfleet Academy
DiscoveryThe third, fourth and fifth seasons of give us a broad timeline for its own events. Michael Burnham successfully jumps from the 23rd century to the 32nd in the season three opener in 3188 – and soon after (for us at least), thanks to time travel, the A.S.S. Discovery and his crew follow him to 3189. At that time, they discover the cataclysmic, galaxy-wide ramifications of the event known as the Burn and resolve its mysterious origins, laying the groundwork for a largely shattered Federation to begin rebuilding itself.
Likewise, the next two seasons are given stardates that place them in the following years: 3190 for season four and 3191 for season five. Which means we can date some important things for the implementation of Starfleet Academyown internal timeline of: Discovery season four opens with the official reopening of Starfleet Academy itself, with Michael giving a speech to mark the occasion in the first episode, “Kobayashi Maru” and the season culminates in “Coming Home” with the revelation that Starfleet and United Earth have begun talks for the latter join the Federation.
Starfleet AcademyThe chronology of in comparison with Star Trek: Discovery
It’s the new series itself that starts to throw a few curveballs in the timeline. The first episode, “Children of today”must follow some time after the events of Discovery season four, because its entire premise is about the A.S.S. Athena heading to Earth to begin classes, the first academic year for the institution to take place on the planet since Starfleet was ousted after the Burn over a century before (these classes are specifically described as the fall semester, so whatever year they take place, it’s later). THE Athena also has no problem with a long journey into the Warp from wherever he was taking his remaining students aboard and Earth itself, thus resolving the dilithium shortages discovered by Discovery by the end of season four, he’s recovered enough that it’s at least not out of place for the Athena to casually use his warp drive.
But when the ship is attacked by Nus Braka and the Venari Ral, we receive our first strange note: the Discovery I can’t come to Athenaas it is currently in the middle of an extensive renovation. In Star TrekThe term “refit” is generally only used to describe a ship undergoing extensive technological overhauls, either complete system updates, or even the replacement of its old vehicle with a new class of ship – transferring the name in the process but noting this refit with an alphabetical letter attached to its NCC registration number (all versions of BusinessTHE Traveler-A In Prodigyand of course, the Discovery himself).
We only see the Discovery undergo two major on-screen overhauls: the three-week process required to update its systems and technology from 23rd century standards to 32nd century standards, becoming the Discovery-A in the process, in the third season episode “Scavengers”, which takes place shortly after the Discovery appeared outside of time in 3189, then again in the season five finale“Life Itself”, in an epilogue set decades after the events of the series.
This can’t be the same refit mentioned in “Kids These Days”, because this all happens before the Burn’s resolution and United Earth joining the Federation. Considering that, even delayed by the attack of Venari Ral, we are told that it will be necessary Athena approximately 15 hours to arrive on Earth, we can safely assume that a good part of Discovery season three after its revamp didn’t happen in less than a day!
Our next real timeline information appears first in episode two of Starfleet Academy“Beta Test”, where it is established that the Federation is still deciding where its new official headquarters will be, having been positioned on the USS. Federation throughout Discovery seasons three to five (he is ultimately decided to settle on Betazed, rather than his pre-Burn home in Paris on Earth).
Then “Vitus Reflux”, three weeks after the events of “Kids These Days”, gives us another: Jett Reno, speaking to Darem about her problems with fellow cadet Genesis, notes that she “left a spaceship on the edge of creation” to stay in touch with the cadet master and first officer of the Academy, Lura Thok, and take a teaching position at the academy. This ship, of course, must be the Discoverybut given that Reno is a regular member of the ship’s crew throughout seasons four and five, with no mention of his departure, this would mean that Starfleet Academy must take place after the conclusion of DiscoveryThe fifth season of, presumably, in the fall of 3191.
Enter Tilly.
This brings us to another important factor that connects Discovery And Starfleet Academy ensemble: Sylvia Tilly. Once the academy is re-established DiscoveryIn the fourth season, Tilly has the opportunity to teach her first new cadets, leaving Discovery as a full-time member of the crew in the season four episode “Everything is possible”which sees her go on a training mission with some of these first cadets. Tilly is seen again in the season four finale, and then more regularly throughout season five, where she mentions her work teaching the academy cadets.
We know that at some point Tilly make an appearance In Starfleet Academy– one that will probably be what really clears up when the show is put together. But if Starfleet Academy This is the first class of students since the Burn around the fall of 3191, and Tilly also trained cadets after the Academy officially reopened at the start of season four the previous year, how do we reconcile that?
Well, by a technicality. Presumably before the construction or modernization of the USS Athena to become the new traveling home of the Academy based in San Francisco, Starfleet taught its academy’s first cadets in this area, based on the USS Federation and Starfleet HQ, since it was reestablished in 3190. Once things calmed down at the conclusion of Discovery If the member worlds of season five and above have joined the Federation, or at least started to do so, Starfleet must have decided to reopen the academy on Earth, and thus Starfleet Academy follows the first class of cadets to be trained on the planet since the Burn, instead of the first academy students.
Is all this really important for Starfleet Academy?
Absolutely not. If anything, it’s better that the show doesn’t make up for it by trying to overexplain things and its connections to others. Star Trek hardware – after all, it serves as a major new integration point for new fans, as does Discovery did it before. But sometimes it’s fun to rant about things that don’t really matter, as long as it doesn’t upset you too much.
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