FINALE - All Good Things...

ELIO
Well, here we are\\u2026 at the end of another year. Despite a concerted effort to try and rush towards a return to some form of pre-pandemic life, the impact of this global catastrophe will ripple for years to come. In one way, shape, or form - all our lives have been changed.

Now, many of us are looking ahead and thinking of what\\u2019s to come in 2022. Cautiously optimistic and hopeful that things will gradually continue to improve and change for the better. On behalf of the entire team at Priority One: We wish you nothing but the best in this New Year and years to come \\u2013 that you live long and prosperous lives.

Narrowing our focus on our little corner, 2021 was a monumental year for Priority One. In March of 2021, our production celebrated its 500th episode and 10 years of weekly podcasting. That is no small endeavor. To celebrate the occasion, we were privileged to host several Trek Stars - new and veteran - and with donations from listeners like you, along with a matching gift by Rod Roddenberry - we raised over $4,000 for The Poor People\\u2019s Campaign. I can think of no better way to celebrate such a milestone than to work towards finding ways of giving back.

Now, here we are - having just wrapped our 535th episode. As I look back over the last 10 years, I find myself in complete awe over all the things we\\u2019ve accomplished. The conversations we\\u2019ve had with each other and special guests. The panels we\\u2019ve participated in. The events we\\u2019ve attended and hosted. The places we\\u2019ve been. The laughs we\\u2019ve shared. The friendships we\\u2019ve forged.

But\\u2026 as the saying goes\\u2026 All good things must come to an end.

You're listening to the final broadcast of Priority One Podcast!

I realize this announcement may come as a surprise to most - if not all - of you. With so much going on in the Star Trek Multiverse, why would we stop covering the latest from our favorite franchise? I wish I could give you a simple and satisfying answer but, there isn\\u2019t. Behind the scenes, we\\u2019ve had long conversations about the future of the show, our goals, our hopes. In the end, we came to the conclusion that now was the best time to jump on our horses and ride off quietly into the sunset \\u2013 leaving behind an incredible legacy of passion and love for an I.P. that has touched so many of our lives.

CAT
It\\u2019s been such a fantastic experience being part of the podcast for the past few years. I\\u2019m truly amazed at the talented group of people that work behind the scenes that edit and assemble the show. Also to Elio and the other co-hosts and guest hosts that we\\u2019ve had - thank you so much for putting up with my dogs and allowing me to join you each week. Getting to discuss Star Trek on these shows has been one of the most enjoyable experiences and during the pandemic - it\\u2019s been a lifesaver.\\xa0

With that said, we want to continue to support our Patrons since they have given so much to support us. We will be pausing all Patreon charges until further notice - but we are considering still continuing our after-hours show for you all. If you are a Patron - please reach out and let us know your thoughts.\\xa0

So, even though the main podcast is ending, we still want to keep in touch via Patreon- or come and play Star Trek Online with the Priority One Armada - you know we are not going anywhere. We\\u2019ll still host our livestream every Saturday - everyone is welcome!\\xa0

ROSCO
I was the most recent addition to the crew. I am one of the many people on this podcast who went from listener to being part of the team.\\xa0 I think I said yes because I felt welcome, and that was just by listening to the podcast.\\xa0\\xa0

What I soon realized was that I had found my people. I had found like-minded people who were passionate about one of the things that has been a huge influence on my life. I got the chance to talk about Star Trek EVERY WEEK!!\\xa0 What a dream job.

And although it\\u2019s coming to an end and we may not be producing any more episodes, you'll still find our entire back catalogue on our website and wherever you get your podcasts.

I want to add my own personal thanks to my co-hosts for making me feel welcome, my respect and admiration to the team that works behind the scenes to put this show together, and to thank you for listening.\\xa0 We\\u2019re an amazing community to be a part of, it has been a privilege to share the news about it.

ELIO
Before we leave you, I need to thank the team that has made this possible. Over the last 10 years, we have had a remarkable group of people volunteering their time and talents to this production. Fans of Star Trek from all over the world who decided to come and play with us each and every week. From as far as Australia, the UK, from Germany, Canada, from Argentina, and the US, Priority One was brought to you by a global team of amazingly talented people.

Whether it be our website and social platforms, our livestreams, the copy written for our weekly shows\\u2026 to the weekly undertaking of editing our ramblings \\u2013 no single person is responsible for this production. I encourage you to visit our website and look over our cast and crew page to learn more about these remarkable individuals\\u2026 because without their incredible dedication over the years, this show would not have been made possible.

I also want to thank some of our most influential collaborators and contributors. To folks like Al Rivera at Cryptic Studios who always supported and believed in the work we did to share in the joy that Star Trek Online has brought over the years. To John Champion and Rod Roddenberry, for recognizing our work and welcoming us into the Roddenberry Podcast Family. I will forever cherish the words John and Rod shared with me when I informed them of our decision. It has been an honor.

But, most importantly, a big thanks to you. Our listeners \\u2013 our friends \\u2014 our extended family. Over these 10 years, you have been our driving force for producing this weekly show. The team and I are forever grateful for your dedicated and loyal support. For joining us and welcoming us into your weekly routine. It has been an honor to produce this show for you and I am grateful to each and every one of you.

As sad as this may be, it\\u2019s important for us to hang on to the best parts of our lives. With that in mind, let\\u2019s remember some of those moments and share some laughs with you\\u2026 Take care.

Listed in: Leisure

535 - A Departure To The New Normal

This week on Episode 535 of Priority One: Content deals continue at ViacomCBS, so you\\u2019ll see what IP Bob can guarantee to be on TV.\\xa0 A touching farewell to Tilly, with the character\\u2019s far future plans on the tip of Mary Wiseman\\u2019s tongue.\\xa0 In gaming news, some fresh and refreshed games to add to your Trek catalog, and Mudd is back with a fresh Intel in a big ship bundle.\\xa0 And before we review the most recent episode of Discovery, Dr. Robert Hurt tells us how we\\u2019re looking for planets not just around distant stars, but in distant galaxies!\\xa0

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Not Every Loss Is Eternal

By Jake Cobb

If you haven\\u2019t watched Star Trek: Discovery\\u2019s season 4 episode 4 \\u201cAll is Possible\\u201d our next story contains spoilers. You\\u2019ve been warned.

Still here? Good! Let\\u2019s get started!

In the aforementioned \\u201cAll is Possible\\u201d, Discovery said goodbye to one of its own: Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly. This week, TVInsider sat down with Tilly actor Mary Wiseman to talk about the episode, her departure, and the future of Tilly.

Before going any further, let\\u2019s get the big question out of the way: will Tilly be back, and in what capacity? Wiseman answered (unsatisfyingly) \\u201dI can say that you\\u2019ll see me later on in the season.\\u201d She continued (also unsatisfyingly) \\u201dI\\u2019ll say that her hair is slightly different and she\\u2019s wearing a different outfit.\\u201d

And she\'ll make new friends along the way! Image: ViacomCBS, via Tor.

Being less vague, Wiseman recalled her on-screen goodbyes, telling TVInsiders Meredith Jacobs \\u201dyou tend to create a found family and that\\u2019s very much the story of our show, both on and offscreen, that we are a found family. So it felt really important to honor those relationships\\u2026[i]t kind of feels like...she\\u2019s going off to do this thing and all of these people show up for her to say, \\u2018we\\u2019ll still be here for you when you come back and we love you and we\\u2019ll miss you\\u2019.\\u201d

It\\u2019s true, we\\u2019ll miss you\\u2013a lot.

ViacomCBS: Deal With It

By Cat Hough

In some not very shocking news, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish confirmed that Paramount+ is moving towards exclusivity for its major IP franchises, by reducing the amount of third-party licenses...just like the recent buy-back deal for Star Trek: Discovery from Netflix.

In a recent media conference, Bakish was asked about the third-party licensing deals and he said that while the company continues to bring in revenue for many deals cut before the launch of Paramount+, its priorities have definitely changed and that they are not likely to renew any prior third-party deals.\\xa0\\xa0

They are altering the deal. Pray they do not alter it further. Image: ViacomCBS/Trekmovie

Bakish elaborated on this, saying, \\u201cas we increasingly transition to leveraging our particular franchises and original production for our owned and operated streaming assets, principally Paramount+\\u2026that, in turn, will create a decline in that third-party business over time as these deals roll off. I would note that as an example of that, we just took back Star Trek: Discovery internationally from Netflix. And so we now have that property globally. That\\u2019s clearly a core franchise for us, and it\\u2019s working.\\u201d

It appears that these efforts are working for Bakish, as he stated that Paramount+ had its best week ever and best month ever in November. However, Discovery has yet to be confirmed for a fifth season. Historically, additional season pickups are announced around the time of the launch of a new season, which they did for Star Trek: Prodigy.

Paramount+ Opens Revenue Channels

By Cat Hough

Speaking of Paramount+, it just announced the launch of 18 linear channels that let subscribers surf through dedicated-themed collections of shows called Live Channels. The content comes from all ViacomCBS properties including CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and the Smithsonian Channel as well as from other sources. The themed \\u201clive\\u201d channels, streaming 24 hours per day, feature the service\\u2019s most-streamed genres or specific franchises like Star Trek. Just think Star Trek Channel: all Trek, all the time.\\xa0\\xa0

Not like this. Not like this....Image: ViacomCBS, via Space.com

Paramount+ Live Channels also will potentially provide a new bucket of advertising inventory for the streaming service to sell. At launch, there won\\u2019t be ads in the channels for either the Paramount+ Premium ($9.99/month) or the ad-supported Essential ($4.99/month) tiers, but eventually ViacomCBS may introduce ads for customers with the Essential package. Through Dec. 31, new subscribers can try Paramount+ for 30 days free by using the promo code \\u201cPEAKSALE.\\u201d

Quick News Roundup

• A Star Trek Adventures-based audio play, Star Trek: Europa, is now available as a podcast with 10 episodes online.\\xa0 The series follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Europa, a Luna-class starship with a new prototype positronic-bioneural computer system and an advanced AI. The ship\\u2019s mission is exploration following the Dominion War. It\\u2019s available on all of your favorite podcast apps.\\xa0\\xa0
• In other audio news comes a cryptic tweet with very few details. Coming soon fresh outta spacedock is a new STO series, \\u201cEx Astris: The Ships of Star Trek Online.\\u201d\\xa0 The tweet comes from Daniel Orrett, writer and creator of the science fiction audio drama Sojourn HQ.\\xa0 Which could imply an audio drama telling the story of STO ships?\\xa0 With no release date, we\\u2019ll have to simply wait and see.\\xa0\\xa0

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Mudd-Slinging Continues Unabated

By Cat Hough

Just in time for the holidays when you have all the extra money, a new bundle hits Mudd\\u2019s Market on December 22nd! Mudd\\u2019s Secret Intel Choice Pack will be available for 29,500 Zen, and you can choose any three of the following options:\\xa0

• Section 31 Intel Science Destroyer
• Son\'a Intel Battlecruiser
• Elachi Sheshar Intel Dreadnought Cruiser
• Na\'Qjej Intel Battlecruiser
• 50x Master Keys
• 1 Epic Phoenix Box Token
• 9x T6x Upgrade Tokens
• 10x Gold Tech Upgrades

Image: Cryptic Studios.

Or you can spend 60,000 Zen and get Mudd\'s MEGA Secret Intel Bundle: a one stop purchase to obtain all eight items in the pack at once! NOTE: Both packs are 50% off in the Zen store from December 22 through January 5.\\xa0

Star Trek Faces A Resurgence

By Ross McQueen

Star Trek: Resurgence is a narrative adventure game featuring dialog choices, relationship building, and exploration. Alongside dialog-driven role playing and rich branching storylines, you will also engage with the Star Trek universe in a variety of other gameplay styles, including shuttle piloting, phaser fights, tricorder scanning, stealth, and micro-gameplay mechanics.

Star Trek: Resurgence follows two principal characters through a single epic story, with gameplay switching between the characters, similar to Telltale\\u2019s Game of Thrones or Tales from the Borderlands. Star Trek: Resurgence is a single player experience without microtransactions, DLC or other additional monetization models.\\xa0

The Armada Is Mobilized, Captains

By Ross McQueen

Grab yourself an energy drink or three, a bowl of your favourite snacks and let\'s LAN party like it\\u2019s 1999!\\xa0 Actually, the correct temporal coordinates are 2000 and 2001, with Star Trek: Armada and Armada II now available on the GOG store.

Anyone else here a Ressikan flute playing? No? Just me? Image: Activision, via GOG.

This comes after GOG and Activision teamed up to celebrate 55 years of Star Trek, rereleasing six games including Voyager Elite Force and\\xa0 Star Trek: Bridge Commander updated to work on modern operating systems. In Star Trek Armada, war is raging in the Alpha Quadrant with four races to command. The story is then expanded in Armada II, with Species 8472 entering the fray in Federation Space. Both games are available to purchase on the GOG store.

A Dual Trilogy In Fleet Command

By Ross McQueen

The latest update has dropped for Star Trek Fleet Command, with Patch 37 bringing with it Part 3 of the Duality Arc, with three notable additions to the game as well as the usual collection of new officers, missions and bug fixes.

Officer presets are now available, meaning you can create, name, and save specific sets of bridge officers which may then be assigned to your preferred ship.\\xa0 Also a third permanent research queue is now unlockable through the in-game store.

Kermit gotta get paid, son. Image: Scopely.

On top of this, the Syndicate has now arrived!\\xa0 The morally green Orions bring with them tiers to unlock, daily goal multipliers and an exclusive officer, Ghrush.\\xa0 You can earn Syndicate XP from select events, a daily claim within the Syndicate menu, or from the Offers tab.

ASTROMETRICS REPORT

For this week\'s Astrometics Report, we go way past the final frontier to hunt for exoplanets--not just around other stars, but in distant galaxies. And we aren\'t just talking the homeworld of the Andromedans from the TOS episode "By Any Other Name." They\'re just from the Andromeda Galaxy, a mere two million light-years away. No, this tantalizing new discovery was found in the Whirlpool Galaxy, or M51, at a whopping distance of 30 million light-years. And this potential planet was found in a particularly wild system. So how do you search for exoplanets in other distant galaxies, when we\'ve only barely started finding them in the nearby reaches of our very own Milky Way galaxy? It\'s a classic example of the scientific method at work: thinking about what we know, coming up with a hypothetical way to do a different kind of search, and being rewarded with an exciting detection.

Now if you\'ve been following exoplanet discoveries, you may already have heard of a search strategy kjnown as the "transit method." In a nutshell, astronomers hunt for planets orbiting other stars by looking for a small tell-tale dip in the star\'s brightness, that would happen when a comparatively tiny planet passes in front of its star--blocking a little bit of its light. This only works with planetary systems that, by the roll of the dice, happen to be aligned perfectly edge-on with our vantage point, allowing us to see the transits. Statistically that\'s a pretty small fraction of al the star systems out there. But it\'s been incredibly productive so far, leading to the discovery of nearly five thousand planets around other stars in the Milky Way. Since planets are small compared to stars, these dips in brightness may be only a fraction of a percent of the star\'s overall brightness. It works best with stars that are nearby and can be measured precisely. So the obvious question is how could you hunt for transiting planets in other galaxies, where the light of the stars gets mushed into an unresolved haze?

X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/R. DiStefano, et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/Grendler

That very question prompted researcher Rosanne Di Stefano and her team to consider looking far past visible light to another part of the spectrum: namely, X-rays. Only the very hottest processes in the universes light up in this high-energy party of the spectrum, including an unusual kind of system called an X-ray binary. These are typically either a compact neutron star, or black hole, in a close orbit around another star. Gas spilling of the star gets swept up into a disc around the super-dense companion. the inner regions of the disc get heated to incredible temperatures. A large galaxy may gave at most a few dozen X-ray binaries that are so bright we can see them millions of light-ears away. but each one is a single compact source. So what if one of those has an orbiting planet that transits in front of the glowing disk? The team reasoned it would produce a transit signature that would briefly dim the X-ray light, so they went looking for one. And that\'s how they found the candidate planet in the Whirlpool Galaxy, using data from NASA\'s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

It turns out x-ray data sets are ideal for this kind of search. These telescopes typically have to sit and stare at a target for days, or even weeks, to collect enough x-ray photons to build up a picture. Those long staring observations are very similar to those used by exoplanet hunters searching in visible or infrared light. The transit they detected indicates a planet in an X-ray binary system called M51-ULS-1, where they saw the X-ray glow vanish for about three hours. They were able to rule out a variety of other factors that can cause X-ray variability, making a Saturn-sized planet the best explanation for what they saw. The signal was so strong because, in this case, the transiting planet would be much larger than the relatively compact part of the disc emitting the X-rays. So in X-ray binary systems, a planet would pretty much block all of the high energy light for a while.

Now I have to emphasize this is only considered to be a potential planet since confirmations require multiple transit detections. Unfortunately this planet likely has an orbital period of around 70 years or so, which means confirmation could take a very long time. However it points us towards a whole new way to search for other distant planets in the universe, and the awesome thing is that a lot of the data we need is already in hand. This research was carried out on archival data taken in other research programs--reminding us that our vast collections of research data in astronomy can be used to make new discoveries over time. You can bet scientists will continue searching data from Chandra and other X-ray telescopes for other possible planet transits.

I should point out any planets in systems like this are not going to be at the top of the list for habitability searches. Such worlds are going to be flooded with deeply-destructive X-rays way past what you\'d get in a doctors office. Our search may be restricted to stars a little closer to home.

Finally I do have to comment on how excited the whole astronomical community is for the upcoming launch of NASA\'s Webb telescope on December 22. if you want to learn more about Webb, or the exogalactic exoplanet, make sure to check out Ask the Astronomers Live on universeunplugged.org. Every month our host Phil Lamar chats with a couple of astronomers about some of the coolest, or hottest, discoveries in the universe. You can even bring your own questions if you watch live on YouTube or Facebook.

Listed in: Leisure

534 - Farewell, Nichelle, and Thank You

This week on Episode 534 of Priority One: Kurtzman talks crossovers and Nichelle Nichols dances the night away; in gaming, two new starships are available to add to your Star Trek Online collection!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Kurtzman\'s Crossover Qualifications

By Rosco McQueen

Considering the amount of new Star Trek series either on screen or in development, you may be thinking it\\u2019s more than likely there will be a crossover event of some kind.\\xa0 Turns out Alex Kurtzman is thinking along the same lines.\\xa0 Kurtzman and Sonequa Martin-Green were guests on the new episode of Deadline\\u2019s Hero Nation podcast speaking about Burham\\u2019s journey into the captain\\u2019s chair.\\xa0

And its many, many detours. Image: ViacomCBS, via Deadline.

But the conversation came around to the idea of crossovers, and if that is a real possibility.\\xa0 Kurtzman says yes, but it\\u2019s got to be good. \\u201cHere\\u2019s the thing about crossovers; I think crossovers can be really, really exciting. But they have to exist for a reason. There has to be a great story reason to do it.\\u201d Kutman said he is yet to come up with the right idea for the crossover, as the volume of productions as well as each program\\u2019s individual identity are distinct, making it a challenge.

\\u201cBecause the flip side to doing a crossover wrong is that people are really disappointed and it impacts both shows. So it\\u2019s just not a gamble that I would want to take randomly. that being said, it\\u2019s certainly exciting to think about certain pairings that you\\u2019re like \\u2018Wow, what would it be like if those two characters were together or those two crews were together?\\u2019 But I want to be careful about it.\\u201d

The same podcast episode asked about the status of the Section 31 series, which has been in development for some time.\\xa0 The only answer Kurtzman would give was brief, saying \\u201cWe\\u2019re in a very exciting place. I can\\u2019t tell you anything yet. But it\\u2019s still very much alive.\\u201d

Go ahead. You tell her the show\'s not happening. Image: ViacomCBS, via Superhero Hype.

Nichelle Concludes Her Mission To Earth

By Cat Hough

If you were watching updates on Twitter from L.A. Comic-Con this past weekend, you undoubtedly saw that Nichelle Nichols made her last-ever public appearance (this was also confirmed on her website).\\xa0 NASA has released a touching Thank You video to Nichols recognizing her impact on the space program through recruiting women and people of color to NASA in the 1970s.

Quick News Roundup

• The story of William Shatner\\u2019s sojourn into space will be told in a one hour documentary special, aptly titled \\u201cShatner in Space\\u201d. The documentary will screen on Amazon Prime as you might expect, seeing as Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon funded Bill\\u2019s flight.\\xa0 It premieres on Wednesday, Dec. 13, in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. According to Prime Video, additional territories will launch in 2022.
• If you haven\\u2019t been keeping up with The Ready Room with Wil Wheaton on StarTrek.com, you really should. Last week featured the new uniform designs for Discovery Season 4 and an in-depth interview with David Ajala, who plays Cleveland Booker.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Great River Provides Us\\u2026with Nog!

By Cat Hough

Finally, the ship we\\u2019ve been waiting for\\u2026mostly because it\\u2019s not coming via lockbox and it\\u2019s free! The Eisenberg Star Cruiser [T6] was\\xa0 announced as the Grand Prize award for this year\\u2019s Q\\u2019s Winter Wonderland Event. All you have to do is complete various activities available and gain enough Daily Progress to fulfill the Event\\u2019s overall quota. You can earn Daily Progress once per day, per account.

This ship features a 4/4 weapons layout and an Ensign Engineering / Command Specialist Bridge Officer Seat, and a Lt. Commander Universal/Miracle Worker Specialist Bridge Officer Seat. It also comes with the Great Material Continuum Universal Console.\\xa0 This console uses a massive network of tight-beam transporter beams to strip away enemy hull at a molecular scale, briefly buffers that matter, then converts it into energy and project into a protective barrier that can be applied to allied starships even at a great distance. This console also provides a passive bonus to Starship Drain Expertise and All Subsystem Energy Levels.

Also leveling up this ship will give you access to the Ingenious Tenacity Starship Trait. Using this trait and activating any Specialist Bridge Officer Ability (Intel, Command, Pilot, Temp Op, Miracle Worker) will briefly grant your starship the ability to redirect incoming damage from Energy Weapons into Shield Restoration. A portion of all Energy Damage received during this time (pre-Resistances) will be translated into Shield Restoration for the shield facing which the enemy weapon impacted.

Just think of all the yamok sauce that thing could pack. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Saturn Rings In The Holiday Season

By Thomas Reynolds

By the Prophets, has it been a full week since we got a new Infinity Lockbox ship? Never fear, Cryptic has us covered with another dip into the 32nd century Fed fleet registry. Now available on PC, the Saturn Intel Science Spearhead [T6] will run rings around\\u2013and through\\u2013your enemies. Assuming RNGsus hears your prayers, that is.

Like most 32nd century vessels, the Saturn\\u2019s aesthetics are\\u2026challenging, to put it mildly. Consisting of just a flat ring-shaped \\u201csaucer\\u201d with trailing nacelles, it looks rather like the souvenir bottle openers in the Federation HQ\\u2019s gift shop. On the other hand, at least everything is attached with no floaty bits to be found. Dr. Hurt ought to be pleased [HA!\\u2013Ed].

Yes. I know what everyone else says it looks like. Image: Cryptic Studios.

As a Science Spearhead with Intel specialization, the Saturn splits its focus between analyzing opponents and blasting the \\u2588\\u2588\\u2588\\u2588\\u2588 out of them. Commander Science/Intel, Ensign Universal/Pilot, and Lt. Commander Universal Boff seats lend great flexibility in approaching challenges. The Enhanced Battle Cloak and Dual Cannon compatibility quickly turns those challenges into past tense\\u2013no temporal shenanigans required.\\xa0

Come in Peace, Leave \\u2018Em in Pieces

The Saturn\\u2019s Chakram Projector universal console leans into the circular theme even further, creating a spinning toroid of plot matter\\u2013excuse me, programmable matter to sandblast enemies in your vicinity. Ships caught within the death doughnut take kinetic damage with an additional kinetic resistance debuff. You, meanwhile, receive a passive buff to hull and shield penetration with all starship weaponry.

Finally, the \\u201cAutomated Triage\\u201d Tier 5 Mastery Trait kicks in a combined instant heal/heal-over-time to you or an ally within 5km whenever the subject dips below 50% hull health. Automated Triage immediately restores 10% of max hull, followed by another 20% of max hull over the next 10 seconds. The trait has a 60-second cooldown, but activating Science Team or an Intel Boff ability shortens it by 10 seconds.

Note that, although it literally says \\u201cScience\\u201d in the name, you really shouldn\\u2019t treat it as a science vessel. Everything about the Saturn may make it a hole-in-one for weapons builds. However only one of the mastery package traits improves your Exotic Damage, and neither the Chakram Projector nor Automatic Triage affect it at all. Expect to go cannons hot and leave the Gravity Wells at home.

Quick Gaming News Roundup

• The United Earth Defense Force Vessel is now available in console Infinity Lockboxes. Now XBox and Playstation captains don\\u2019t have to avoid talking about the Elephant in the room\\u2013or not in the room, as the case may be.

Listed in: Leisure

533 - Hell Is Frozen, And All The Sweaters Are Here

This week on Episode 533 of Priority One: ViacomCBS tries to make amends to the world; First Contact celebrates 25 years; Badgey finally makes it into Star Trek Online; and we continue our S4 review of Star Trek: Discovery!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

How World War III Really Starts

By Elio Lleo

Before we left you for our Thanksgiving break, we reported that ViacomCBS had pulled Star Trek: Discovery from Netflix, leaving our friends outside of the US and Canada without a way to watch the latest season until sometime in 2022. Well, ViacomCBS has performed a massive international course correction.

The fact that DSC was the fourth-most pirated series during Thanksgiving? Completely unrelated. Image: MUSO, via Deadline.

Perhaps it was the international uproar. Perhaps it was because their poor planning was so misguided that it made headlines on news outlets like the BBC. Whatever the case may be, Paramount+ announced that Star Trek: Discovery will now be available internationally via Paramount+ or Pluto TV. You can find a detailed list of which platform in which country Discovery will be made available here.\\xa0

Turbulence On Star Trek\'s Magic Carpet Ride

By Elio Lleo

It\\u2019s been 25 years since Star Trek: First Contact premiered in movie theaters. Widely regarded as one of the best films of the franchise, its production wasn\\u2019t entirely a walk in the park. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, writer Ronald D. Moore shares some behind the scenes stories about the film\\u2013including a clash with Sir Patrick Stewart.\\xa0

According to Moore, Stewart wasn\\u2019t too thrilled about some of the writing so he convinced Rick Berman to replace Moore and his co-writer Brannon Braga with some of his own writers. However, those new writers didn\\u2019t quite work out\\u2026so Braga and Moore were brought back. Awkward.

Even more awkward than this, apparently. Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekNews.

Moore shares the story:

"I remember Patrick at the outset just said something like: \\u2018It\\u2019s good to see you. I hope that we can all move on from the things that have happened, and now let\\u2019s just concentrate on the work.\\u2019 And I took that in the spirit it was given: [He] wants to move on from this, he\\u2019s not going to apologize outright, but he kind of is apologizing. And it was never spoken of again. So we just moved on."

The Moore You Know

Moore also spoke with SyFy about his work on the film. In this interview, there\\u2019s more discussion about the actual development of the script and it\\u2019s production. For instance, did you know that one of the original drafts had Riker as the action star\\u2013facing off against the Borg aboard the Enterprise. But Sir Patrick wanted in on the action\\u2013recalling the episode \\u201cStarship Mine.\\u201d They even toyed with the idea of setting the film in medieval times!

When asked about scenes for stories that he wished hadn\\u2019t been cut, Moore explains:

"There were just expanded sequences. There was just more action in general, more fighting the Borg in the corridors, and going into different places on the ship. And I think there was more humor. A lot of the jokes got cut down. I think we had more fun with Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Cochrane\\u2019s relationship on Earth, where he gets her drunk. We had more to that sequence scripted and that was fun to write, too. Rick might have made us cut it because he was always a little too\\u2013he was always kind of worried that maybe the humor would be too corny or something."

The Other Kind of Star Trek Royalty

One aspect of the film that Trekkies like to debate is the introduction of the Borg Queen. Well, Trekkies aren\\u2019t the only ones that debated her introduction. According to Moore:

"...it was a choice that was also antithetical to the idea of the Borg. The whole concept of these villains was that they were a collection, and that there were no individuals. And that\'s what made them the faceless, implacable \'resistance is futile\' enemy. But it also limited how to deal with them dramatically\\u2026[s]o we really went back and forth about it internally\\u2026[w]e decided that the story would be better if we had some individual to deal with."

Comparing thee to a summer\'s day, you\'re making everyone overly sweaty. Image: ViacomCBS, via American Cinematographer.

"To craft scenes around, to do an intimate kind of dialogue back and forth and help get inside characters\\u2019 heads\\u2013like Data in particular, and Picard. So what we came up with...a Borg Queen that controlled at least this collective of that particular ship, not necessarily that she was the queen of the whole Borg\\u2026"

For more insight about the film and its production process, be sure to Trek Out both interviews.

Whoopi Brings Trek Full Circle

By Cat Hough

Well, while we\\u2019re talking about Picard: the next season is premiering in February, and we\\u2019re getting bits of information about the upcoming season, including Michelle Hurd\\u2019s view on working with Whoopi Goldberg.\\xa0 Michelle Hurd told a fan via Cameo what filming Picard Season 2 was like, saying \\u201cI pinch myself. I am a fan too, I literally pinch myself when on set or get to work with these amazing iconic creatures.\\u201d She was referring to both John de Lancie\\u2019s return as Q and Goldberg\\u2019s return as Guinan. Hurd went on to say that working with Goldberg was, \\u201cthe bomb. She is SO cool. She is just cool, she is just Whoopi. That\\u2019s all you can say.\\u201d

Of course, not everyone\'s working relationship was as cordial. Image: ViacomCBS, via Agony Booth.

Not much is known about how Guinan may fit into Season 2 of Picard. We know that her character has demonstrated a special ability to sense changes in timelines, which could factor into the time travel and alternate timelines featured in the upcoming season.\\xa0

Speaking of Whoopi, she interviewed Sonequa Martin-Green on The View recently, and if you haven\\u2019t had a chance to watch it, you really should. Martin-Green includes a very touching acknowledgement to Goldberg\\u2019s history on Star Trek and how she and Nichelle Nicols paved the way for her to take on the Captain role on Discovery. Martin-Green told Goldberg, \\u201cI am your accomplishment, and I thank you.\\u201d

Quick News Roundup

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.\\xa0

• If you haven\\u2019t signed up for Paramount+ but have been eager to share Star Trek: Prodigy with your kids, then set your set-top-boxes and TiVos to record the Nickelodeon premiere happening Friday, December 17th at 8pm ET/7pm CT.
• Speaking of Prodigy, if you\\u2019re eager to continue the adventure, you\\u2019ll have to wait until January 6, 2022 for episode 6.\\xa0
• IDW Publishing announced it would release Star Trek: Klingons in February 2022. This comic book series will chronicle the legendary life of Kahless, the Unforgettable [wait, who?--Ed.]. This release will be the first installment in a series of extra-long one-shots spotlighting the Star Trek franchise\'s most iconic alien species. It\\u2019s written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and features artist Timothy Green II.
• In an excellent in-depth interview, featured as a part of Rolling Stone\'s Last Word series, LeVar Burton reflects on his Jeopardy! experience, the magic of Star Trek conventions, the lasting importance of Roots, and the advice he got from his friend Fred Rogers\\u2013so make sure to trek out the link in our show notes.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Has Q Found Some Chill At Last? (No.)

By Cat Hough

It\\u2019s that time of year again, again. Time to get those scarves and sweaters and head to Q\\u2019s Winter Wonderland, where you can participate in your choice of Winter Wonderland Activities and get a new Tier 6 Starship\\u2026that had yet to be announced at the time of this recording [It was announced as the cross-faction Eisenberg-class Star Cruiser on Cryptic\'s Ten Forward Weekly stream the following day, December 1st\\u2013Ed.] This means that, just like last year, Daily Progress toward earning your new starship can be obtained by participating in any of the following activities:

• Fastest Game on Ice
• Klingon Ice Fishing
• Tides of Ice
• The Fast and the Flurrious
• Cones of Conduct
• The Kramp\\u2019Ihri\\xa0

That\'s not a mistaken date; 2020 will simply never end. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Once you run one of those events to earn your Daily Progress, you will also get various Holiday Ornaments, used in different combinations to purchase things in the Winter Event store. New this year:

• Glacial Nanopulse Bat\'leth, because revenge is a dish\\u2026well, you get it.
• The Warnog Rescue Targ and the Barrel of Warnog. Exactly what it sounds like: it\'s a barrel, full of warnog.
• Lower Decks-themed sweaters, including ones from the Chu Chu Dance, The Dog, Badgey, and everyone\'s favorite evil Jeffrey Combs computer, Agimus.
• This year\\u2019s epohh variant, the Glacial Epohh, is the same glorious glacial blue as the Bat\'leth.

Mmm. Minty. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Well Someone\'s Going To Have A Blast

A more surprising addition for this year\\u2019s event is a new Breen Ground Set. The set centers on cold damage, specifically a new Polar Blast ability: a cold damage AOE\\xa0 centered on a single target.

• Breen Cryoshaper Armor [HP] [Mob] [ResEn] \\u221e
  • [Active] Ablative Ice Shield generates a shield of ablative ice, providing temporary Health] that grows each time the wielder deals Cold damage, with the extra Health based on Cold damage dealt.
  • [Passive] Massive Control Resist grants very high fire and cold resist, moderate energy resist, and light physical/kinetic resist
• Breen Cryoshaper Personal Shield [Reg]x3 \\u221e
  • When the shield is broken, deals a Polar Blast to whatever broke it.\\xa0
• Breen Cryoshaper Universal Kit Frame
  • +Kit Performance
  • +Cold Damage
  • Using a Cold Kit Module deals a Polar Blast to the primary target.
• Breen Cryoshaper Thermal Depletion Pistol [CrtH] [Dmg]x2 \\u221e
  • Deals Cold Damage
  • Secondary fire: a Polar Blast to three targets in a cone
• Set Bonuses
  • 2 Pieces
    • +50% Temp Health gained from Cryobarrier
    • Polar Blasts slow Foes and gain a 10% chance per Foe hit to spawn another Polar Blast
  • 3 Pieces
    • Dealing Cold Damage to an enemy debuffs its Cold Damage Resistance Rating
  • 4 Pieces
    • Cryoshaper Weapon primary attack gains 100% weapon firing cycle speed

Plot twist: all four of these models are also Jeffrey Combs. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Q\\u2019s Winter Wonderland will be available from December 7th, 2021 to January 6th, 2022. This event will run simultaneously across all platforms (PC and console).\\xa0

STO Looks Into The Crystal Ball Sphere

By Cat Hough

In a recent interview with StarTrek.com, Design Director Al Rivera and Staff Writer Paul Reed discuss what it was like to incorporate Star Trek: Discovery into Star Trek Online. The two discussed their initial reactions to hearing about the new show and how having new content to draw from and how that has helped add more content to the game.\\xa0 Because Captains in the game have gone to all four quadrants, made peace with the Founders, saved time itself, and even won, barely, a war against the ancient Iconians, having new Star Trek shows like Discovery gives the team that extra bit of inspiration.

Reed already has an interesting idea for how to tie the lore into the far future setting of Discovery\\u2019s third and fourth seasons. \\u201cSay for example, are the Iconians still around in that time era? And if so, what are they doing? Have they evolved? Have they changed? Are they still mad? It\'s been a long time, but I\'d like to go into some pockets of our lore in that far future and then tie in with the Discovery team in some way. So, seeing how the Iconians handled the Burn for example would be pretty cool.\\u201d\\xa0

Rivera had some of his own ideas for stories to tap into. \\u201cAnd they got all the Sphere data, what was that about? That\'s a perfect example of a story where we can jump off of and talk about what that was, or what\'s a gormagander? Let\'s talk about that. So there are opportunities there.\\u201d

Well, we\\u2019re excited to play all of these stories in-game. Anytime now.

Cheers to Club 47!

By Elio Lleo

In a recent tweet, Environment Artist Nick Duigid reminisced about the launch of Club 47 on ESD seven years ago! Nick says it doesn\\u2019t get much traffic these days\\u2013but the launch party looked like a really good time.\\xa0

Listed in: Leisure

532 - Why Cant The World Have Nice Things?

This week, on Episode 532 of Priority One: ViacomCBS upsets most of the world; Star Trek Explorer Magazine debuts; Star Trek Online introduces a new 32nd century starship\\u2013plus, we start our S4 review of Star Trek: Discovery.

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Sheer ****ing Hubris, ViacomCBS

By Cat Hough

Well, the news broke early on Tuesday the 16th that international fans of Star Trek: Discovery will have to wait until 2022 to be able to watch Season 4\\u2013and then only watch it on Paramount+. Under the terms of an agreement finalized today between Netflix and ViacomCBS, Netflix will no longer be streaming the show. ViacomCBS was most likely pleased with the agreement since, under the 2017 deal that Les Moonves had set up with Netflix, CBS had agreed to pay the bulk of the show\\u2019s costly budget for the overseas rights.\\xa0

All images: ViacomCBS, via Imgur user SaysThePenguin.

This should not be a huge surprise, though, given ViacomCBS\\u2019s efforts to incentive subscribers to Paramount+. Back at the end of September The Original Series, Voyager, and Enterprise all left Netflix\\u2013Paramount+ is the only platform to watch these series.\\xa0

All images: ViacomCBS, via Imgur user SaysThePenguin.

But now that Netflix is out of the picture, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland will be the first international markets to stream Discovery on Paramount+. ViacomCBS has said that as part of an accelerated expansion they anticipate being in around 45 markets within the next year or so. No news on the release date for our Australian friends, though.\\xa0

Star Trek 4 Hopes For Holiday Magic

By Elio Lleo

While we\\u2019re on the topic of disappointing news, the 4th installment of Star Trek set in the Kelvin Timeline is being delayed again. Now, the new release date is slated for a holiday release on December 22, 2023 (originally, it was scheduled for June 9th, 2022). Perhaps the marketing folks at ViacomCBS listened to our episode where we discussed the uphill battle Star Trek faces when released beside other (more popular) franchises. Or they just read the same industry articles that we do.

Either way Star Trek, along with other tiles like Transformers, are being pushed. Now, this could be a rarely well executed smart move on behalf of the suits in charge of these things. According to Scott Mendelson of Forbes.com, Paramount+ is betting that Star Wars: Rogue Squadron won\\u2019t be able to stick to their holiday 2023 release date\\u2013especially when there\\u2019s been little movement on that Star Wars installment. That leaves Trek to reap the benefits of the season.

Mendelson writes, \\u201cthe optimistic scenario is that Star Trek 4 positions itself as the Christmas event movie of 2023 and proves to be crowd pleasing enough to allow holiday legs to give the struggling franchise a kick in the butt after a disappointing third installment. That\\u2019s what happened with Paramount\\u2019s own Mission: Impossible\\u2013Ghost Protocol in December 2011 after J.J. Abrams\\u2019 underwhelming Mission: Impossible III 5.5 years earlier.\\u201d Either way, it\\u2019s still two years away and a lot can change. However the film still has WandaVision director Matt Shakman at the helm.

Del Barrio And Cronenberg Take Explorer To The Future

By Rosco McQueen

On November 17th, Blu Del Barrio will return in Discovery Season 4 as the human host of a Trill symbiote, Adira Tal.\\xa0 In an interview with new publication Star Trek Explorer, Del Barrio spoke about the positive reactions from fans in being the first nonbinary actor in the franchise, and bringing a non-binary character to the screen. Unfortunately for the actor, it meant they were also subject to some outdated attitudes, but they were few when compared to the overall welcome from the Star Trek community.

\\u201cThere are always people who are going to set out to be hateful, and set out to be transphobic. There\\u2019s not a lot of Star Trek fans who are like that, thank God. It\\u2019s not a universe where that fits. But there is also a lot of love, even from people who maybe don\\u2019t know anyone who is trans. There are people who are asking questions, talking about things online, having actual conversations about it, which is really wonderful.\\u201d

Image: ViacomCBS, via CBR.

Also featured in the first issue of the relaunched Star Trek Explorer is an interview with director David Cronenberg who plays the role of Federation agent Kovich, who is returning for Discovery Season 4.\\xa0 The interview covers his relief as an actor as opposed to a director, growing up watching the Original Series, and the specific role of Kovich in season three as the Terran-interrogator.\\xa0 But Cronenberg was tight lipped on what\\u2019s in store for Season 4: \\u201cI can only tell you I\\u2019ve been invited to be part of Season 4, and I was delighted with that. That\\u2019s about all I can tell you, and it\\u2019s not because I\\u2019m trying to be coy. It\\u2019s because I don\\u2019t know any more.\\u201d

For the full interview, as well as feature interviews from Ian Alexander (Gray Tal from Discovery), be sure to trek out the first issue of Star Trek Explorer.

Quick News Roundup

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.\\xa0

• Start applying for those passports and get your luggage ready, because we\\u2019re going to China! Why? Because an $8 billion theme park resort is being built with a Paramount theme along the shores of Dianchi Lake in the Yunnan capital city of Kunming!\\xa0 The complex will include six themed areas\\u2013one of which is a \\u201cFinal Frontier\\u2013Star Trek\\u201d themed section!
• Fans of \\u2018Levar Burton hosting a quiz show\\u2019 rejoice!\\xa0 The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the actor will host a gameshow based on \\u2018Trivial Pursuit\\u2019, produced by Hasbro and Entertainment One. No network is attached at the time of the announcement, with no information on when the program will debut.\\xa0\\xa0
• Congrats to Star Trek alum Tracee Lee Cocco! She just announced that she\\u2019ll be featured in an upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation book by Ian Spelling, due to release in the fall of 2022.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

That\\u2019s What Phoenixes Do, Generally

By Cat Hough

The free Phoenix Prize Pack returns! From now until November 23rd, you can pick up a free Phoenix Prize Pack from Grym on Drozana Station or Onna on Deep Space Nine, once per day. If you are not aware, the Phoenix Prize Pack is a special pack, you can purchase with Dilithium or during this event you get one for free. Once you open it, you\\u2019re granted a token of one of five rarities, and then you can redeem that token for a list of prizes on that specific rarity tier.

Image: Cryptic Studios

But wait, there\\u2019s more! The Experimental Starship Upgrade tokens are also returning to the Phoenix Prize Pack during this event! If you\\u2019ve been hanging onto some Ultra Rare tokens, now is the time to redeem them for an Experimental Upgrade Token. Also on sale right now until the 22nd\\u2013Keys and Keyring Bundles are 15% off!\\xa0

YOU CAN\\u2019T HANDLE THE TOOTH

By Cat Hough

Hey, surprise! Another new ship is available via the Infinity Lock Box. The United Earth Defense Force Vessel [T6] was designed as a large, sturdy vessel built for planetary defense and doesn\\u2019t at all look like a giant tooth\\u2013or an elephant.

Even the four blind men think it\'s an elephant. Image: Cryptic Studios.

This ship features a Commander Tactical/Command Bridge Officer specialist seat, and a Lt. Commander Engineering / Command Bridge Officer specialist seat. With a 4/4 weapons layout and 5 tactical, 3 engineering and 3 science consoles.\\xa0

It features the Mobile Defense Net Universal Console. With this technology equipped, your ship will be capable of generating a large area of protection for you and your allies, centered a short distance behind your vessel. This area moves with your ship, though you sacrifice maneuverability\\u2013but you are able to deactivate the field if you need to. This console also provides a passive bonus to Max and Current Shield Subsystem Power, and Maximum Shield Capacity.

Image: Cryptic Studios.

And once the ship is leveled up, you gain access to the Interlaced Emitters Starship Trait. While this Trait is slotted, activating any Bridge Officer abilities that restore shields to yourself or an ally will also briefly apply an effect that automatically redistributes the target\'s shields, provides shield hardness, and renders shields immune to drain effects. This effect may not be reapplied to a target until it has worn off.

The \\u201cDuality\\u201d of Terror

By Rosco McQueen

More effective surprise attacks are coming your way in Star Trek Fleet Command, with the second part of the Duality arc coming to the game from Scopely bringing enhanced cloaking effectiveness. \\u201cThe Klingons and Romulans have ramped up their war machines in an effort to resolve their conflict over the mysterious hybrid, Roj. Time is running out, and the outcome rests in your hands. Part Two of the Duality arc expands on Ship Cloaking technology and its impact in battle. The Federation have found a way to acquire the highly controversial device, and are now prepared to run their own stealth operations..[n]ew research opportunities have been developed to further increase the effectiveness of Cloaking, allowing for ever more devious plots and schemes to be hatched.\\u201d

Image: Scopely.

Patch 36 includes a new Second Repair queue, four new Ship Cloaking Refits, twenty new missions, and three new officers, including two Epic ones.

• [Epic] Sela, with the Captain Maneuver: Hit Them Where it Hurts\\u2013Increase critical hit damage by X% when cloaked.
• [Epic] Eleven Of Eleven, with the Captain Maneuver: Efficient Crystal Acquisition\\u2013Increases Crystal mining speed by 60%.
• [Rare] Tomalak, with the Captain Maneuver: Patient Tactician\\u2013which increases all penetration stats by X% while cloaked.

The update also contains a number of bug fixes, as well as improvements to the web store.

Listed in: Leisure

531 - On the Verge of a New Discovery

This week on Episode 531 of Priority One: News is sparse as we gear up for the next season of Star Trek: Discovery, but there\\u2019s plenty to discuss in the world of Star Trek gaming!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Power Seating on Star Trek: Discovery

By Rosco McQueen

Sonequa Martin-Green is on the interview circuit in the lead up Season 4 of Discovery. She spoke with SFXMagazine about the feeling of finally sitting in the captain\\u2019s chair, and the answer isn\\u2019t as simple as \\u201csoft and comfortable, and could they install a cup holder?\\u201d

"It feels very humbling. But it also feels very emboldening. I\\u2019m grateful for it because you feel like you earned this position with Burnham. You feel like you were able to learn and grow and make mistakes and mature from them with her."

It\\u2019s a new direction with a new captain, and the new series is set to premiere next week!

Don\'t everyone cheer at once. Image: ViacomCBS, via GamesRadar.

Time Enough For Mudd

By Rosco McQueen

Harcourt Fenton Mudd only appeared in two live-action episodes of Star Trek, and once in animated form, but he left a lasting impression [and I guess Rainn Wilson didn\\u2019t?\\u2013Ed.]. So much so that a spin-off was in the works, as revealed in an article from Fansided.\\xa0 The article delves into the Starlog Magazine interview archives to discover that the pitch never got past the desk of the Great Bird of the Galaxy.\\xa0 Gene Roddenberry told the actor, Roger C. Carmel, that the artists didn\\u2019t have time to develop the project, which would have seen Mudd take the lead in the series as a space pirate/intergalactic con-man. Carmel was supposed to reprise his role in a first season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the actor died before filming began.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0

[No thank you, I\'ve already seen what Hell is like.\\u2013Ed.] Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekCore.

Quick News Roundup

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.\\xa0

• With only three episodes of its first season having aired, Star Trek: Prodigy has already been greenlit for a second season. Additionally, season one is going to be draaaaaawn out with two breaks. After Nov 18, the season won\\u2019t pick up again until Jan 6 with another 5 episodes. Then, another 10 episodes will air later in 2022.
• Captain Kirk\'s vintage original phaser rifle from The Original Series just sold at auction for $615,000. The phaser rifle was used in the second pilot episode, entitled "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and was created by Reuben Klamer.
• It\\u2019s with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Trek alumnus Dean Stockwell at the age of 85. Known best for his role as \\u201cAl,\\u201d opposite Scott Bakula, in the TV series Quantum Leap, Stockwell guest starred on the Star Trek: Enterprise episode, \\u201cDetained.\\u201d Also Broadway actress Camille Saviola, who played Kai Opaka on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, passed away at the age of 71.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Klingons Clash To Close Out 2021

By Rosco McQueen

The shattered shards of Praxis float above the Klingon homeworld, as disruptor fire scorches the hull of allied ships.\\xa0 The Battle for Qo\\u2019noS has begun...again...and with it comes the opportunity for honor. And new starships! The TFO "Battle for Qo\'nos" returns to PC (and soon to console) as the final event in Event Campaign III: your last chance to progress towards a free Tier 6 Infinity Promotion or Infinity Lock Box ship.\\xa0

Another Klingon civil war, or as the rest of the galaxy calls it, Tuesday. Image: Cryptic Studios.

After playing the event for 14 days, you\\u2019ll receive the Aakaar\\u2019s Vengeance console event reward.\\xa0 If you\\u2019re a fan of electrical damage, then you are in for a treat! The console launches an electrical burst that flies to the target and immediately deals shield-bypassing Electrical Damage. It shuts down non-shield systems one by one.\\xa0

See what happens when you stick a fork in a power coupling? Image: Cryptic Studios.

This is also the last opportunity, if you haven\'t already, to complete the Event Campaign III. Once complete you can redeem a free Tier 6 Infinity Promotion or Infinity Lock Box ship. The starships included are those only released before December 31st, 2020\\u2013but the starship will be bound to account, not bound to a character.\\xa0\\xa0

Doing $200 to Life(time) In Star Trek Online

By Elio Lleo

From now until December 9th lifetime subscriptions are on sale, for PC the sale price is $199.99, and console-specific prices are discounted by 33%. Some of the lifetime rewards include species unlocks like playable Talaxians or Joined Trill plus you get exclusive access to the Captain\\u2019s Table, a membership-required social zone. You also get automatic daily dilithium refining and a Zen monthly stipend.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0

The Token Will Set You(r Stuff) Free

By Cat Hough

In non-STO, but STO-adjacent news, Cryptic\\u2019s Dungeons & Dragons-licensed MMO Neverwinter has announced that certain in-game items can be unbound using an Unbind Token purchasable from the Zen Store. These items that were previously bound to a character can now be readily traded or sold in the Auction House. They are only starting with a limited number of items, but plan to expand the options. Also, some items won\'t be able to be unbound such as equipped mounts and companions due to how those items work.

But we can still hear Cryptic saying that they\'ll never break the chain. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Why bring this up on Priority One [don\\u2019t look at me, you wrote it\\u2013Ed.]? Well, we\\u2019ve discussed this type of item becoming available in STO, but it seems like it wouldn\\u2019t work for ships or possibly bridge officers. However this would be amazing for bind-on-pickup items from the Lobi store.

STO Spinning Another Good Yar-n?

By Rosco McQueen

Denise Crosby has been a delight in Star Trek Online, adding just the right level of cloaked menace to the character of Sela. She also lent her voice to provide a conclusion to Tasha Yar\\u2019s temporal fate in the story mission \\u201cSurvivor\\u201d.\\xa0 But a tweet this week sparked our curiosity, with the prospect of more Yar in our future.

Denise tweeted \\u201c I know one of you will know this. What was the name of the Ep. where I\\u2019m running from the rape gangs on Turkana IV carrying my pet cat? I have a special surprise coming soon and need to rewatch the Ep. but can\\u2019t remember the title! Ah, age!\\u201c

If you\\u2019re playing along at home, the answer is \\u201cWhere No One Has Gone Before\\u201d from TNG [S1E6\\u2013Ed.].\\xa0 But what could this mean?\\xa0 Will we see Tasha turn up in Star Trek Online sometime soon?\\xa0 Perhaps a mirror version to help expand the current \\u201cReflections\\u201d story arc?\\xa0 Only time will tell.\\xa0

Gamemaster\\u2019s Log, Supplemental

By Rosco McQueen

Gamemasters and new players to Star Trek Adventures can now consult new books, when there are trying times at the gaming table. New editions of the Player\\u2019s Guide and the Gamemaster\\u2019s Guide, both now available for print preorder! The guides aren\\u2019t standalone, but complement your rulebook of choice for STA from Modiphius, (Starfleet Core Rulebook, Klingon Core Rulebook, or the Tricorder Collector\\u2019s box set).

"The Prime Directive...is the guiding principle of Starfleet, up until the script says it isn\'t." Image: Modiphius Entertainment.

Strangely enough, the play guide is for players, and the Gamemaster\\u2019s guide is for the gamemaster. In an article from STA Project Manager Jim Johnson, he explains that the guides are there to give tabletop players new and old the tools to play any type of character in the Star Trek universe.\\u201cThe many optional rules provided in the Gamemaster\\u2019s Guide provide gamemasters with more ways to tweak the gameplay, enabling you to scale the rules you use at your table up or down, depending on your group\\u2019s preferred game style and desired level of \\u2018crunch\\u2019. Whether you run a rules-light, fast-paced game or a more detailed, tactical game (or even something in between), there should be enough interesting options in the book to help you create amazing Star Trek adventures with your friends.\\u201d

Listed in: Leisure

530 - Trek's Better Than Wars? That's Debatable

This week on Episode 529 of Priority One: New Jersey settles the age old question\\u2013which is better: Star Trek or Star Wars; Star Trek wins several awards; Star Trek Online gets some quality of life improvements; and we\\u2019re joined by Star Trek: Discovery\\u2019s Noah Averbach-Katz!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Great NJ Debate!

By Elio Lleo, Local Correspondent

As we record this episode of our show, it\\u2019s Election Night in the United States for several important political positions throughout the country. One contest, however, rises above the rest here in my home, the Garden State [my condolences\\u2013Ed.].

Which is better, Star Wars or Star Trek?

A recent poll conducted by Rutgers-Eagleton attempted to give us an answer. Lead by Ashley Koning, assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University\\u2013New Brunswick, the school took to Twitter and Facebook to poll New Jersians on the issue. The results\\u2013well, they\\u2019re disappointing. According to the poll, Star Trek lost by double digits: 41% for Wars vs 16% for Trek among 18-34 year olds. Though the gap did begin to close, as ages started to rise.

But that\\u2019s not where this ends\\u2026New Jersey website nj.com put together a debate featuring Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7) on Team Trek, and Rep. Andy Kim (D-3) and Ashley Koning, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton poll, on Team Wars. The debate is a little over 24 minutes long, but it\'s a delightfully lighthearted discussion about how both franchises can be applicable to current political topics.

Another No Win Scenario for the Kelvin Timeline?

By Elio Lleo

Can Star Trek 4 compete and succeed? That\\u2019s the question that Scott Mendelson of Forbes.com posed in an opinion piece about the franchise. You see, Dune has already been green-lit for its second installment due to release in October of 2023. But, the announcement of a sequel before production has even begun isn\\u2019t a first. Mendelson points to the Kelvin Timeline series of Trek movies as an example.

"Captain, it appears to be the timeloop anomaly known as Production Hell." Image: ViacomCBS, via Forbes.

It\\u2019s been announced time and again that we\\u2019re going to get a fourth installment, but Mendelson argues that 2023 may end up hurting the franchise like it did in 2016. You see, back in 2016 Star Trek Beyond competed against the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Fast and the Furious. Come 2023, it\\u2019s another round of competition with films like Fast & Furious 10, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Mission Impossible, and Shazam.

So, can Star Trek really take a foot-hold in the box office battles?

Robbins Takes Nickelodeon To Warp

By Cat Hough

Speaking about Star Trek films, in a recent interview Alex Kurtzman and CEO of Paramount Brian Robbins spoke about Prodigy and the future of Trek, including the films. Robbins, who continues to serve as president of Nickelodeon, believes Prodigy is a perfect fit with the Paramount+\\u2019s current Nickelodeon content and Kurtzman\\u2019s other Star Trek content. He enjoyed Prodigy so much, he said he had wished they had released it in theaters as a full-length animated film.\\xa0

Whatever you say, Beebop. Image: ViacomCBS/Yahoo.

Robbins and Kurtzman say they are already developing projects that may include Prodigy merchandising and an animated feature film, as well as other live-action features. Robbins said, \\u201cWe don\\u2019t know enough yet. We\\u2019re working on several fronts and obviously Alex is the key for the franchise [on Paramount+]. J.J. has been the keeper of the franchise on the film side. We hope that as a company that we do what\\u2019s right for the franchise altogether.\\u201d

When pressed for more specific details on said live-action film, Robbins said, \\u201cThere\\u2019s a lot going on and I\\u2019m just going to leave it at that.\\u201d But even with all that he and Kurtzman go on to say that they are planning out the next decade of the franchise.\\xa0

Quick News Roundup

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.\\xa0

• According to industry trade paper Production Weekly, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has already been renewed for a second season and will begin production in February of 2022.
• Star Trek: Discovery was shown some love at the 46th annual Saturn Awards- the show won Best Science Fiction Television Series and Doug Jones won for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series.
• And speaking of the merchandising future of Trek...Bandai UK has licensed toys and collectibles, from classic Trek and Prodigy, for Europe and Mexico.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

STO Certified Agile In 2411

By Rosco McQueen

Star Trek Online is continuing to roll out Tier Six updates to starships, going back to refresh and upgrade some of the classics of the game. This week it was announced two starships are coming your way in a new Zen store bundle called the Agile Classics! The bundle contains the new Equinox and Da Vinci classes, which are tier six updates to the Nova and Sabre classes respectively. For 6000 Zen you\\u2019ll receive the two starships, as well as two Fleet Modules and two Experimental Ship Upgrades.

Image: Cryptic Studios

The Equinox Pilot Scout departs from the ship\'s origins, as it\\u2019s a science vessel in name only.\\xa0 It sports 5 science console slots, a 4/2 weapon layout, a Commander Science/Pilot Specialist Bridge Officer seat, and can equip dual cannons. The Universal Console - Nucleogenic Ignition creates a radiation-like energy that is harmful to that ship\'s connected EPS conduits, damaging nearby foes and boosting hull and shields for nearby allies.\\xa0 The Starship Trait\\u2013Synthetic Good Fortune boosts global Critical Hit Chance, along with increases to Starship Control Expertise. This Starship Trait also provides a passive boost to travel speed in Sector Space.

The Da Vinci is a compact starship with a 4/3 weapon layout. Classed as an escort, it\\u2019s also a Miracle Worker starship sporting a Commander Tactical/Miracle Worker Specialist Bridge Officer seat. The experimental weapon on the Da Vinci is a gatling emitter which spins up continuous fire on a targeted enemy ship until it is destroyed or can no longer be targeted.\\xa0 The ship may be one to consider if you\\u2019re a fan of Beam Overload, with the new Starship Trait\\u2013Energy Overdrive. Activating Beam Overload, Fire at Will or Exceed Rated Limits will increase Beam Weapon Damage, Speed and Turn Rate for 10 seconds. At close range, a 50% Beam Weapon Damage bonus can be achieved, but even at long range, this trait still gives a 10% bonus.\\xa0

When the horseshoe crabs come for their revenge, this is what they\'ll roll up in. Image: Cryptic Studios.

The universal console delves deep into beta-canon, drawing inspiration from the Star Trek: Destiny novels. In the novel Lost Souls, the USS Da Vinci, a Sabre-class starship crewed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, saves the planet Troyius from a Borg invasion by making the planet disappear. The Universal Console - Troyius Protocol, causes the starship to shunt additional power to weapons systems before activating a cloak-like effect, with a quick boost of hull and shield regeneration.

Suited To The Purpose

By Cat Hough

Announced earlier today, players are getting a much appreciated quality of life upgrade! Your captains and bridge officers now have a new Environmental Suit slot in their inventory. This will be the only place EV suits can be equipped. So, if your character was wearing an EV suit as their main armor, it has been automatically unequipped and placed in your inventory. Just place the suit in the new spot to have access to it. You\\u2019ll be able to switch between your standard armor and the EV suit at any time, choosing which stats, passives, set bonuses, and other effects you use.\\xa0

For the views that (literally) take your breath away. Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekBBS.

Also, your EV suit automatically equips itself when you enter a hostile environment. If you do not have an EV suit equipped, then a default one will activate. However, this default suit has no stats at all, so you will likely wish to equip a suit in the new slot. While you\\u2019re in a hazardous area, you will be unable to manually deactivate the EV suit. But now you will also be able to activate and deactivate the lights on your suit.

Listed in: Leisure

529 - Prodigy Opens Frequencies To The New Generation

This week on Episode 529 of Priority One: We power up for Star Trek: Prodigy, with the cast and crew promotion peaking as the premiere prepares to play\\u2013plus we get some more details on the explosive new additions to Star Trek Online!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Star Trek: Prodigy Promotion Peaks in Premiere Preparations

By Rosco McQueen

This week the Trek universe welcomes a brand new adventure to our screens, with Star Trek: Prodigy to make its debut on Paramount+ on October 28.\\xa0 A few sneak peeks have been filtering through, with Prodigy teasers tempting new fans during NFL Sunday Football. In the first clip, Dal can be seen making his escape from the mining facility in dramatic fashion. In the second clip, we are treated to the Protostar powering up, with characters Dal and Rok-Tahk finally being able to converse thanks to the universal translator.\\xa0

Both scenes are fun and exciting, with the standout being the effort that has gone into the musical score which helps it feel very much at home in the Star Trek universe. The folks at Gizmodo felt that tiny moment highlighted something special about the Star Trek franchise\\u2014the ability of everyone to communicate freely, as well as not judging a book by its hulky rock-encrusted cover.\\xa0\\xa0

A Seat at the Grown-Up\'s Helm Station

Prodigy executive producers/co-creators Kevin and Dan Hageman, and executive producer/director Ben Hibon, spoke with Trekmovie.com about the challenges around finding that entry point into the Star Trek multiverse, with Dan Hageman saying,\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cWe never really view it as a kid show. We view it as a show for people who don\\u2019t know Star Trek,\\xa0 which could be young or old. And so we always had that perspective of the outsider and that freed us up. We wanted to keep the stakes real for an older audience. We never want to dumb things down for kids. Kids are really smart. They may have a learning curve in the show, but they\\u2019ll get there.\\u201d

Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekMovie.com

The creators go on to talk about how there was never any other option for the training hologram: it was always Captain Janeway from the start. They also mention she may not be the only hologram we see, and hint at real characters (like Captain Chakotay) making an appearance but not as holograms.\\xa0As for Captain Janeway herself, Kate Mulgrew has also been on the interview circuit, explaining to cinemablend.com if the character was going to appear on-screen, then it was always going to be her who would play the role.\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cWell, I certainly needed to come back to this character if threatened with an imitation. I think that only I can voice this character, and only I should, because I\\u2019m the only one who knows who she is. I think that the young people would recognize that very quickly. That might be arrogance on my part, but I don\\u2019t think so. I think they have a very discerning imagination.\\u201d

Voyager: The Next Generation

Mulgrew says she hasn\'t been approached about reprising her role as Kathryn Janeway in a live-action series (outside of Star Trek: Nemesis).\\xa0 According to the actor, hologram Janeway won\\u2019t be as fiery as her living counterpart\\u2013as she\\u2019s helping a ship of children navigate the cosmos.\\xa0 The caring side of Janeway was echoed by the cast and crew at New York Comic Con in an interview with Gizmodo. COVID-19 restrictions meant the cast was unable to record together, so for Brett Gray who plays the role of Dal, finally getting together with Mulgrew was something else.

\\u201cI got to sit next to her today at Comic-Con\\u2014and it is, it\\u2019s palpable.\\xa0 There\\u2019s a majesty that she has, and you can feel it when we announced she was coming out today. Just to walk on stage for the panel was like\\u2014the audience was deafening. She is an icon. And so, I feel very lucky that the first iteration of Star Trek we get to be a part of has someone like that we get to model and watch. People who are incredible fans of Janeway and all of that get to now have a way into our show, too, and see what it\\u2019s like for people who know nothing.\\u201d

For the final word on the series, Kate Mulgrew spoke about now being the perfect time to bring in a brand new audience.\\xa0\\u201cIt is an important time for Voyager, it\\u2019s an important time for Star Trek. I think in terms of pop cultural history, now is the time to target this young demographic and introduce to them the wonderful mysteries of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s splendid philosophy.\\u201d

And sweet ships. Don\'t forget the sweet ships. Image: ViacomCBS, via io9.

Soong Long, Farewell, Altman Will Go Goodbye

By Thomas Reynolds

We knew that Brent Spiner will be returning for Picard Season 2 for some time now. You may have thought it would be as Altan Inigo Sybok\\u2026er, Soong, who was apparently just out of frame in every TNG scene with Data\\u2019s \\u201cparents.\\u201d After all, Data was really, truly, 100%-for-sure dead when the curtain dropped on Season 1. Well that\\u2019s not the case, according to Inverse magazine...Spiner\\u2019s role as Altan, that is. Data\\u2019s still dead.

"Nothing is stranger to man than his own image." [Karel Capek, R.U.R.] Image: ViacomCBS, via Inverse.

According to interviewer Ryan Britt, Spiner \\u201cknow[s] they haven\\u2019t revealed much about me being in the show. I can tell you I\\u2019m a member of the Soong family. And, that I\\u2019m not playing a character I\\u2019ve ever played before.\\u201d Given Season 2\\u2019s central temporal shenanigans, it seems likely that Spiner will play a 21st century Soong ancestor. However, if you consider Data and his siblings to be Soong family members, then Spiner might be a temporally-displaced android instead.

It\\u2019s definitely not Data, at least. He\\u2019s\\u2026yep, still dead.\\xa0

What Goes Around, Khans Around

By Rosco McQueen

The third season of The Movies That Made Us has dropped on Netflix. Its creator, Brian Volk-Weiss from The Nacelle Company, spoke with comicbook.com about the possibility of a superhero-focused future episode, as well as some tasty Trek nuggets.\\xa0 You might be thinking the ideal movies to cover in this documentary style would be 1989\\u2019s Batman or Christopher Reeve\'s first Superman movie. According to Volk-Weiss, he actually would go a little more modern and cover 2008\\u2019s Iron Man:\\xa0

\\u201cIt would be Iron Man, because Iron Man is the most important[. B]ecause if Iron Man had failed, nothing else would have happened. And also, I like that story of not just seeing a movie come together, but a universe come together."

As for those Trek nuggets, surely a film like Wrath of Khan would be on their sensors for a future episode? Volk-Weiss confirms there was discussion, but in the end it came down to covering all four quadrants\\u2013of storytelling.

\\u201cBut usually, we want four-quadrant movies. And what that means is, for anyone who doesn\'t know, it\'s young people, old people, men, women, everybody. And that\'s what we try to do. And also multi-generational. My generation grew up with Home Alone, and the two generations afterward\\u2013including my children\\u2013they like Home Alone as much as I do, if not more. So that\'s what we try to do."

Quick Star Trek News Roundup

Last week, we discussed the History Channel\\u2019s upcoming documentary \\u201cThe Center Seat.\\u201d Unfortunately, we didn\\u2019t yet know the release date. Well, we\\u2019ve got it now, and it\\u2019s slated to premiere on November 5th, 2021.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Guardian of Sometime Later

By Thomas Reynolds

First introduced with 2018\\u2019s Pop Culture Hero Coalition bundle, the Mirror Guardian brought sinister flavor to an otherwise-unremarkable T6 cruiser. Other than replacing the Lieutenant Engineering/Intel with a Lieutenant Engineering/Command bridge chair, the Mirror Guardian looked to be the same as its Prime counterpart. Once the bundle sold out, that was it: the Mirror Guardian was never seen again...until now, that is.

With STO taking a good hard look in the Mirror (Universe), it\\u2019s the perfect time for this one-and-done vessel to stage its comeback. But rather than setting course for the Phoenix Prize Pack or Mudd\'s Market, Cryptic was all set to sell the Mirror Guardian Cruiser for the standard 3000 Zen in the Zen Store instead.

As part of the re-release, the Prime and Mirror Guardian models were remastered to the current level of fidelity, like we\\u2019ve seen for a good number of ships by now. Players who already own the Mirror Guardian will receive these updates for free: just ready your Cruiser, visit the ship Customization Interface, and apply a preset. Both Type 1 and Type 2 hull models will be available, along with the Legendary Federation starship materials.

Now normally we\\u2019d remind you to Trek out the link in our shownotes at this point. But we won\\u2019t. Because you can\\u2019t! On October 25th, Cryptic tweeted that \\u201cthe release of the Mirror Guardian in the Zen Store has been delayed until December on all platforms,\\u201d and they\\u2019re \\u201ctaking down the blog and any past references to it.\\u201d We can only guess what kind of skullduggery and intrigue is behind the delay. Because...I mean, it\\u2019s the Mirror Universe. There\\u2019s gotta be intrigue.

Splosion!

By Elio Lleo

Well, while we\\u2019re on the topic of ships, the 10 year old MMO is always striving to improve! Most recently, Ship Artist and FX Artist Ian Richards decided to make an explosive change. The animations that occur as your ship receives damage in the game has been updated\\u2013including the grand explosion that happens when yer ship just canna take it anymore! It might seem like a small improvement, but boy is it glorious!

Listed in: Leisure

528 - Unpacking Pakleds, and the Cat's Out of The Bag

This week on Episode 528 of Priority One: We delve into the whale-filled washup of the season finale of Lower Decks, Anson Mount discusses literally sitting in the captain\\u2019s chair, and is that a star on top of the Christmas tree or a Borg baby spray-painted gold? In gaming news, we take a closer look at Star Trek Online\\u2019s Halloween event, and roll for shield strength in a new release from Star Trek Adventures!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

What\\u2019s\\xa0the Deal With All These Feels, McMahan?

By Elio Lleo

Mike McMahan, the creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks, isn\\u2019t resting on his laurels! Nope! After a (generally) well-received Season 2 of the Star Trek animated adventure, McMahan is making the rounds talking about the season\\u2013which wrapped last week on October 14th. Sam Stone of Comic Book Resource jumped right in and asked about its unusual villain: the Pakleds. McMahan\\u2019s explanation:

When we were writing the first season, we were in the thick of a pretty dark time across the world\\u2013the re-rise of fascism across multiple countries, obviously a lot of politics happening in this country and, not to put too fine a point to it, things that had seemed like a joke in the first place suddenly becoming much more dangerous because we weren\'t vigilant about it. The Pakleds seemed like a perfect opportunity for that\\u2026

[This sight gag doesn\'t work in a podcast app but I stand by it nonetheless\\u2013Ed.] Image: ViacomCBS, via Comic Book Resource.

Really Be Careful What You Wish For, Mariner

What about that incredible cliffhanger? Well according to McMahan, the goal of Season 2 was meant to show Mariner \\u201cgrappling with themes of betrayal and being left.\\u201d Supposedly, Mariner\\u2019s got some past trauma that we haven\\u2019t been privy to yet. Nevertheless, McMahan explains that Mariner will start Season 3 struggling to deal with having her mother taken from her. [NOT JUST HER, MIKE\\u2013Ed.] When talking with StarTrek.com he explained, \\u201c...in the first season we were really creating a family, and in the second season we kind of tested them. And in the finale of the second season, we\'re dealing with the loss, the family breaking up.\\u201d\\xa0

What about our other characters? Well, there seems to be something deeper going on with Rutherford. Something more than just a faulty cybernetic implant. MacMahan tells CBR.com, \\u201c... it\'s about Rutherford. There\'s stuff about Rutherford that he doesn\'t even realize and this is his second implant.\\u201d They go on to discuss some of the other character dynamics\\u2013like the \\u201cwill they/won\\u2019t they\\u201d tension between Rutherford and Tendi\\u2013along with some takeaways McMahan learned from the first two seasons.

Mainly that anyone you talk to could secretly be Jeffrey Combs. Anyone. Image: ViacomCBS, via Comic Book Resource.

Center Chair, Hot Seat, Call It What You Will

By Cat Hough

If you have not had a chance to see the new trailer for the upcoming History Channel docu-series The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek, you should definitely trek it out. According to the press release, The Center Seat will be \\u201cthe ultimate Star Trek documentary that everyone has always wanted, and now they\\u2019re getting.\\u201d Each episode of the series will focus on a different chapter in Star Trek history, starting with the inception of the original Star Trek series at Desilu. But even the trailer features some pretty saucy quotes from the cast and crew of the various shows and movies.

For example, we hear more from Wil Wheaton, Denise Crosby, Kate Mulgrew and Robert Beltran about their less than ideal working circumstances and for Cirroc Lofton\\u2013we hear about his extreme dislike for having to wear the \\u201conesie\\u201d uniform while also going through puberty. Nicolas Meyer, writer of The Undiscovered Country, speaks about how much William Shatner hated the script for the movie and the effect that had on, well, pretty much everyone else involved [yeah and you thought Final Frontier was a good idea, now sit down\\u2013Ed.]

Mmmm. Taste that grain. Image: ViacomCBS, via Deadline.

The show doesn\\u2019t cover any of the new Trek series, but definitely appears to be a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the Star Trek universe over the first 55 years of the show. Created by the Nacelle Company, who also produced Netflix\\u2019s The Movies That Made Us and The Toys That Made Us, the series is narrated by Dr. Beverly Crusher herself, Gates McFadden, and directed by Nacelle Company founder Brian Volk-Weiss. There\\u2019s not been an official release date given other than it should premiere sometime this fall.

Festivities Will Now Commence

By Rosco McQueen

It\\u2019s the most wonderful time of year; when the nanoprobes gently come to rest on ornaments hanging from the boughs of a tree, and assimilation tubules shine in the festive glow of twinkling lights.\\xa0 Christmas is soon upon us, and you can count down to festive assimilation with the 2021 Borg Cube advent calendar.\\xa0The calendar features 24 Trek gifts behind alcoves (or windows if you prefer) and includes gifts of socks, coasters, and an espresso cup commemorating the first warp speed flight in 2063.

It\\u2019s made by Eaglemoss, the same company who also made a TARDIS-shaped advent calendar for devout Whovians, and is available for purchase now. It could be just the thing to put you in the mood for Picard season 2, with the Borg Queen to feature as part of the time-travelling tale. And speaking of season 2\\u2026

I hope one of those is an apology to Icheb and Hugh. Image: Eaglemoss.

Soji\\u2019s Sojourn

By Rosco McQueen

In an interview with Trekmovie.com, Isa Briones spoke about where we find Soji in Picard season 2: a place where she can finally be herself, now that being an android is no longer outlawed.\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cWe\\u2019re definitely seeing a new kind of level of her evolution as she\\u2019s coming into her own. She\\u2019s finally allowed to be who she is and be accepted by the universe, the galaxy, whatever you want to call it. So yeah, we get to see her in this new, more certain place of who she is. And that\\u2019s very exciting.\\u201d

The more certain place also has a pool? Jealous. Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekMovie.com

The interview covered working under strict COVID conditions, as well as the broader strokes of season two and how it connects to the world we\\u2019re living in. \\u201cThere\\u2019s a big emphasis, I think, on mental health, for sure. We\\u2019re seeing these characters going through some hard moments and really leaning on each other and prioritizing their own mental health in order to save everyone else. And I think that\\u2019s a very relatable storyline and a storyline that we need right now.\\u201d

Your classic Good Cop/Borg Cop dynamic. Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekMovie.com

We\\u2019re All Batty for Strange New Worlds

By Rosco McQueen

The hype train continues heading towards the station for Strange New Worlds\\u2013even Anson Mount starring as Batman in the new DC animated movie Injustice can\\u2019t stop interviewers from asking about the new series.\\xa0\\xa0

Mount will play the role of the Dark Knight in the animated adaptation of the video game Injustice, where a traumatized Superman turns evil.\\xa0 In an interview with SYFY Wire, Mount talks about the recording process, and not being the first Christopher Pike to take a turn at Batman. (If you\\u2019re playing along at home, Bruce Greenwood has voiced Batman a couple of times, and was also the Kelvin Universe\\u2019s version of one of Starfleet\\u2019s greatest captains). But when the discussion turned to Strange New Worlds, Mount reinforced the episodic nature of the show, as well as a moment that would give every Trek fan goosebumps.

\\u201cI was just there as Anson in my own clothes and I sat down in the chair and it was in that moment that I flashed back to playing Star Trek as my make-believe game when I was like eight years old. Something about it was just really strangely emotional for me, and I\'m still doing that. I don\'t even know really how to articulate it, but it\'s surreal and it\'s weird... but it\'s something that I\'m so grateful for.\\u201d

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Fanatical Devotion to the Many

By Cat Hough

Star Trek Online tweeted earlier today that the recent partnership with Fanatical offering in-game bundles to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America raised more than $77,000. Well done, everyone who donated!

Cat\\u2019s Tale of \\u201cCat\\u2019s Tale\\u201d

By Cat Hough

Well, it\\u2019s been a week since the \\u201cCat\\u2019s Tale\\u201d Halloween TFO was released, and while it took players a few days to get to know how to navigate the phases of the TFO, it seems that most people are enjoying the mission. As you and your team are first transported to the castle on Pyris VII (or is it Boreth?) the music and lighting definitely set the mood for battling skeletons, witches, skulls and Devidians. In a creepy surprise, you\\u2019re treated to some Bonnie-Kin voice-over as you make our way downstairs and through the hallways lighting candles\\u2013because it\\u2019s dark in this castle!

In the first phase, you are attacked by skeletons, but you can only kill them when they are standing within the circles of candlelight. Some equipment that we highly recommend is the Universal Kit Module - Gravity Containment Unit Mk XII. You can get this kit module as a Tier IV reward from the Discovery reputation; if you use it while you\\u2019re standing in the circles, then you can just pull those skeletons over to you.\\xa0

Oh don\'t worry. They\'ll find you either way. Image: Cryptic Studios/Bentus.

Chores and Cleaning Up

In the next phase, you enter a room to kill some witches who then transport you or you and a teammate to separate rooms. Now I\\u2019ve only ever been to the library, where you have to shelve books in the right place or you get attacked\\u2013but there\\u2019s also a cauldron room where you have to make potions and also a room with spiders\\u2013which I hope to avoid at all costs [(maniacal cackling)\\u2013Ed.].

Next, you go back and fight some more witches before you enter into the final phase where Devidians attack! While it is handy to have the Synchronic Proton Pack Distortion Prototype Assault Rifle, from the mission \\u201cSpin the Wheel\\u201d when fighting these Devidians any weapon will work. The thing to remember for the final battle is that if you are the one who has been phase-shifted, you need to stop attacking and locate the Devidian devices and deactivate them. You\\u2019re only phased for a short amount of time, so you need to be quick.\\xa0

All in all\\u2013this is a fun TFO to play!

Adventures in Star Trek Year Five

By Rosco McQueen

If tabletop gaming is more your style, then be sure to trek out the latest update from Modiphius.\\xa0 The company behind Star Trek Adventures has worked hard to incorporate work from other Trek properties, like Star Trek Online and Hero Collector/Eaglemoss.\\xa0 Their latest release comes directly from the pages of IDW\\u2019s Star Trek Year Five, the comic series chronicling the final year of the Enterprise under James T. Kirk.

Hey Cat, found your spiders. Image: Modiphius Entertainment.

The 26-page digital release is filled with content pulled directly from the pages of the Year Five series, adapted for use in Star Trek Adventures. There is information on two new factions, three new player character lifepath options (including the Tholians and I\\u2019Qosa), twelve non-player characters (including Harry Mudd and Gary Seven), and five starships to use as allies or adversaries.

Fred Love, STA Contributing Writer said in a blog post the series puts a new spin on some old characters, as well as delving into the world of Federation politics like never before. You don\\u2019t have to read the series to play, and the supplement is available for download now.\\xa0

ASTROMETRICS REPORT

By Dr. Robert Hurt

For this week\'s Astrometrics Report, I wanted to shift the focus from science to science fiction: namely, an incredible presentation of Star Trek memorabilia at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California. The exhibit is called "Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds," and to cut to the chase, this is pretty much a must-see for anyone in the Los Angeles area or planning on traveling through sometime in the next few months. A lot of the artifacts on display come from the Paul G. Allen family collection, and the exhibit itself is very similar to one that was featured at the Pop Culture Museum in Seattle a few years ago. But even if you saw that wonderful collection, it is certainly worth seeing again.

Walking through the doors, you can expect to find pretty much everything a real Star Trek fan would want to see at this kind of exhibition\\u2013starting with a selfie opportunity in a reproduction of Kirk\'s chair from The Original Series. However much of what\'s display goes beyond mere photo opportunities, and really is centered around a collection of screen-used artifacts ranging from costumes, props, and even visual effects models. As a ship person, the highlights for me were probably the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation in the form of the original six-foot filming model that Industrial Light & Magic built for "Encounter At Farpoint." Just having a chance to take in this incredible work of art\\u2013seeing the original pain job, and imagining how it was used in the filming of all of those iconic scenes\\u2013occupied me for at least ten or fifteen minutes.

Also on display was the incredible rework of the K\'t\'inga-class battlecruiser as seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Having just built one of these scale models myself in the past year, it was amazing to see the incredible detailing patterns and paint schemes used in this update from its original appearance in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Other ship highlights include the original filming model for the Romulan warbird (as designed by Andy Probert), and the Borg cube as seen in Star Trek: First Contact. But the ship memorabilia even includes some of The Original Series, with the filming model of the Klingon D-7, and a version of the Enterprise built from the AMT/Ertl model kit that was actually displayed in the window outside the office in "The Trouble With Tribbles" before the digital remastering.

Cosplayers will likely be drawn to the incredible collection of costumes, worn by the leading actors in all of the Star Trek franchises through Discovery. You can also find a delightful array of props from many of the Star Trek productions, with a particular emphasis on incredibly rare surviving Original Series screen-used props for phasers, and communicators, and medical instruments. I think TOS fans might be particularly thrilled to see the helm from the bridge of the original U.S.S. Enterprise. While this set piece was not stored as carefully as one might hope over the years, it was lovingly and painstakingly restored as much as possible while retaining the original wood and equipment.

Image: Robert Wedemeyer/Skirball Center, via The Hollywood Reporter.

You will also find another few photo opps including: a Jeffries tube you can crawl through, a Borg alcove that you can recharge in, and even a transporter (maybe slightly cheesy) that will do beam-in/beam-out effects...at least, on days the electronics are working, which sadly was not true when I was there. At least none of us were subject to a horrible, ugly transporter malfunction. Perhaps the single-most ambitious part of the exhibit is a Star Trek timeline, that attempts to put every single Star Trek series\\u2013from The Original Series through Picard\\u2013on a single string of dates (including multiple instances of time travel, and even a few parallel timeline splits here and there).

The exhibit will be running through February 22nd, so there\'s still time to plan your Star Trek getaway. I should also note the Skirball Center will only grant access to the facilities if you have proof of vaccination, or a recent negative COVID test. Advance reservations are required, and tickets are time-gated. I would note though, that the session I was at was fully sold out, but did not feel especially crowded.

Listed in: Leisure

527 - New York Comic Con 2021

This week on Episode 527 of Priority One: William Shatner returns to earth, NYCC returns and includes some amazing Star Trek announcements, Los Angeles has a new Star Trek destination, and things get spooky in Star Trek Online\\u2013 Plus our review of the season 2 finale of Lower Decks!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Jake Morgan and Thomas Reynolds

Shatner Slips The Surly Bonds Of Earth

By Elio Lleo

Space. The Final Frontier. And our first captain, James T. Kirk went on an incredible journey. Well, it was William Shatner who did the journey. On Wednesday, October 13th, the 90 year old broke records by joining Blue Origin for their second human space trip! At 10:30AM ET, all systems were a go and the Blue Origin rocket took off. Thankfully, the entire adventure went off without a hitch and upon exiting the pod, Shatner was visibly moved by the entire experience.\\xa0

After-Action Report: NYCC 2021

Star Trek: Discovery

New York Comic Con returned to in-person events this year with phenomenal panels, incredible cosplay, and\\u2013of course\\u2013sneak peeks into the future of Star Trek. Our focus this episode is on the Star Trek: Discovery and Prodigy panels that took place over this last weekend. First, Star Trek: Discovery and its upcoming fourth season: this was a riveting panel with a surprising in-depth, yet spoiler-free, look into what we can expect from our intrepid characters.

When asked about the general \\u201ctheme\\u201d of this next season, Wilson Cruz had this to say: \\u201cI feel like the stakes that we were living in reads in that trailer...the stakes in the story were really high, but the stakes in which we were making and telling the story were also high. And the theme of the entire season is about uncertainty, and about how we come together to deal with it and walk through uncertainty, to lean on each other as we find a way through it. And we were doing that in life as well, so I\'m excited for you to see it.\\u201d

Showrunner Michelle Paradise followed up by explaining that in this season, \\u201cThe Federation isn\\u2019t quite back together again\\u2026.it\\u2019s continuing in Season 4.\\u201d

For our first non-binary and trans characters, much was left wanting in Season 3. So, will Grey finally be seen? Wilson Cruz had this to say, \\u201cwe find a way to make sure Grey is seen as promised, and we get to see just how vital he becomes to the story and our mission. And I\\u2019m just excited about the fact that we have\\u2013finally\\u2013an official trans character on the show, in Star Trek, in the universe. And he does an amazing job.\\u201d

Now, things got a little spicy in the auditorium when Sonequa Martin-Green and David Ajala were asked if we\\u2019d ever learn about what happened between their characters during that fateful year. Here\\u2019s what they had to say:

• DA: \\u201cI think it was just...a period of time where they were in the right place at the right time, to help each other, and to bring out the best in each other."
• SMG: "Mmmhmm."
• DA: "And it was...y\'all need to behave yourselves. And...I think there was a lot of growth."
• [Someone saying what we\'re all thinking\\u2013Ed.]: "How much growth was there? And what was Grudge doing when all this \'growing\' was happening?"
• DA: "Grudge was minding their own business. The timing was perfect for Michael Burnham to[...]rejoin Starfleet, but to really find her own identity independent [of] Starfleet. And it was also good for Cleveland Booker to be part of a \'family.\' Again, these two people met each other at the right place at the right time, and I think Cleveland Booker is a better man for it. And Grudge too\\u2013and Grudge says \'wassup,\' by the way."

Speaking of characters, if you\\u2019ve already watched the trailer\\u2013and you should have by now!\\u2013 you can probably assume this is going to be a high-octane, high-stakes kind of season. How will Tilly be affected? Mary Wiseman had this to say,"that in combination with all the events of the third season similar to the way this pandemic experience, really kind of forced her to reinvestigate herself and her motivations. It kind of spirals her off into this personal journey, actually, which was very fun to play with.\\u201d

Sonequa Martin-Green followed with,\\u201cI think a lot of us on the ship...I don\'t think any of us were expecting to have a threat this big soon after jumping to this future. Because that was huge. and then I know for Burnham, it\'s a lot, it\'s like \'man, here we are again with a threat of great, of great magnitude." And so of course, these people in this story, being the honorable people they are, their true character comes out at that moment of greatest pressure. It\'s beautiful stuff that comes out, as hard as it may be.\\u201d

But, filming Season 4 during a pandemic was no small feat. When asked about how COVID impacted production, Michelle Paradise had this to say: \\u201cDiscovery was actually one of the first producitons to go back. WE started back in November, and we were certainly the first show of this size to do it. There aren\'t enough words to talk about the tremendous, tremendous effort that our entire crew, our entire cast did to make the show this season. I cannot overstate how challenging it was, every step of the way, making sure we could make a show like this while keeping people safe. That being our focus, and then also making a show...it was tremendously challenging, and everyone came together, and worked together, and collaborated, and it was really beautiful to see and very difficult at the same time. The fact that we have this, that we can show you guys, it\'s really amazing. Our team is just incredible.\\u201d

Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 premiers November 18th.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Now, moving on to Star Trek Prodigy. Attendees of the panel were given an exclusive early screening of the first episode and an extended clip of HoloJaneway\\u2019s introduction to the crew is already online. But moderator Dawn Lewis\\u2013who plays Captain Freeman on Lower Decks\\u2013opened the panel with an important question: how will Prodigy stay true to the franchise? To which the Brothers Hageman replied, \\u201cthey start way out in the Delta Quadrant...that was our way in: we wanted a bunch of new characters who knew nothing about Star Trek, just like our young audience. And then slowly (as you saw at the end of the pilot) they meet hologram Janeway, and then with every episode we get closer and closer into the Trekverse. We get to have so much fun taking our time, and introducing everything we love about Star Trek. For me, growing up, Trek was just so aspirational and I feel that, for kids today, not only they need that, I need that.\\u201d

Now, what about the style of Prodigy? Why CGI animation? Well, Producer Ben Hibon explained, \\u201cwe wanted the show to have great scope and this feeling of adventure to be immense and fantastical. But at the same time the characters and their stories are very intimate. So we wanted the freedom to shoot these characters as we would cinematic as possible\\u2013to be as engaging with all of us as possible, as we go on this adventure with them.\\u201d

Not only did fans get a sneak peek but, we were also surprised to learn of new characters and actors being welcomed into the production. Daveed Diggs will voice Commander Tysess, an Andorian (Diggs is a Grammy and Tony-award winning member of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton). Jameela Jamil will voice Ensign Asencia, a Trill (Jamil is best known for her role in The Good Place), and Jason Alexander will voice Doctor Noum, a Tellarite (of course, we know George Costanza on Seinfeld, and Kurros in the VOY episode \\u201cThink Tank,\\u201d). And the big reveal\\u2026well, we\\u2019ll let the Hageman Brothers tell you,"oh wait, there\'s one other person. There\'s one small person named \'Captain Chakotay\' [CAPTAIN?\\u2013Ed.] by Robert Beltran is coming on our show.\\u201d

So will we see the Protostar traverse the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, as well as spending time in the Delta? Only time will tell\\u2013the series will premiere on October 28.

I \\U0001f596 LA

By Cat Hough

Well, you may not have been able to attend a Convention this year but, the Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibit opened at Los Angeles\\u2019 Skirball Cultural Center on Oct.\\u202f 7 and runs through Feb.\\u202f 20, 2022. It features rare props and costumes from the past 55 years of Star Trek, including costumes worn by Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols. There\\u2019s also a phaser from the original series, just one of two known to exist; a model of a Borg cube; and the head of the Gorn that Captain Kirk fought in the 1967 episode \\u201cThe Arena.\\u201d The exhibit combines new Trek and old Trek, featuring both the open-chest Khan tunic worn by Ricardo Montalban in The Wrath of Khan as well as the less-revealing costume Benedict Cumberbatch [aka "RetKhan"\\u2013Ed.] wore in Into Darkness.

But the centerpiece of the exhibit is a navigation console operated by Lieutenant Sulu in the original series. The console was badly damaged and missing most of its buttons after 50 years in storage, so the team had the assistance of a group of fans to help restore it.

Visitors at the exhibit will get the chance to act with prop phasers and tricorders in a re-creation of the transporter bay. So if you\\u2019re headed to LA between now and February\\u2013be sure to swing by and trek out this exhibit.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• Lost In Space\\u2019s third and final season airs on Netflix Dec 1, 2021!

• Season 1 of Strange New Worlds has wrapped filming. Anson Mount thanks the fans because, without them [stop me if you\\u2019ve heard this one before\\u2013Ed.], none of this would be possible!

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Jake Morgan and Thomas Reynolds

Kirk, To Boldly STO

By Rosco McQueen

It was a moment of pure joy and wonder in Season three of Star Trek: Discovery. The crew had finally made it to Starfleet Headquarters, and there was a fleet of future starships waiting to blow their 23rd century minds. Among the rainforest ships and speedy escorts was an imposing neo-Constitution style ship, the Kirk class, now making its debut in Star Trek Online.

The T6 Kirk Temporal Heavy Battlecruiser will be available as part of the Research & Development Pack promotion from October 13.\\xa0 When you purchase and open an R&D pack from the C-Store, you will receive either 10 Lobi Crystals or a Special Requisition Choice Pack - Tier 6 Promotional Ship Choice Pack in addition to the R&D Pack contents.\\xa0\\xa0

The Kirk class boasts a 5/3 weapon layout, and features a Commander Engineering/Temporal Operative Specialist Bridge Officer seat and a Lt. Commander Universal/Command Specialist Bridge Officer seat. The \\u201cField-Replicated Buster Pods\\u201d Universal Console fires out large, enemy-seeking missiles that deal massive kinetic damage. The starship trait \\u201cRisk Is Our Business\\u201d grants captains a stacking amount of temporary hit points per foe within 5km. This also works in combination with Threatening Stance, generating a large amount of Threat toward nearby foes when active and further enticing them to attack you.\\xa0

Nova and Rhode Island Get Ravishing Refreshes\\xa0\\xa0

By Rosco McQueen

In other stylish starship news, the remaster project of the Star Trek Online fleet continues, with the Nova family getting a crisp new look.\\xa0 The remaster is a \\u2018from the ground-up rebuild\\u2019 according to Lead Ship and UI Artist Thomas Marrone, who shared the before and after pics in a blog post. The plucky little science ships now have a new screen-accurate ship material, as well as access to all \\u201clegendary\\u201d starship materials.

A Cat\\u2019s-Eye Review of the Mirror Gagarin

By Cat Hough

It\\u2019s been about a week since I\\u2019ve claimed the T6 Mirror Gagarin from the \\u201cEqual and Opposite\\u201d event running in Star Trek Online. I claimed the ship on one of my Tactical Temporal Recruits, who has been most recently flying the Mirror Warship with phaser cannons. But for this ship, because of the 4/4 weapons layout I decided to switch it up and try out the Agony Phaser beams that were also part of the reward from running the event. So far, I\\u2019m really enjoying the ship. It\\u2019s quite maneuverable: the base turn rate is 12, which can obviously be modified with traits and your skill tree. There\\u2019s definitely a tactical lean to this ship with a Commander Tactical station, so I probably would not recommend it for a science build. But the Projected Protomatter console is very interesting. I have noticed that you need to be facing your enemies for this to be very effective. It shoots protomatter at your enemies and causes a good amount of damage.\\xa0\\xa0

I\\u2019m still experimenting with the build, so I may end up swapping out this console for something else - but I wanted to give it a try. I\\u2019ve only just leveled it to Tier 5 last night, so I have not had a chance to try out the Protomatter Precursor trait. But to be honest I tend to stay away from shield-boosting traits, since there are other traits you can slot for increasing damage.\\xa0

All in all, this is a very solid ship\\u2013especially for a ship that they give you for free! We may complain a lot about the ship economy [you don\\u2019t say\\u2013Ed.], but Star Trek Online gives out at least 2 top-tier ships every year to its players and this ship event was a pleasant surprise. Not to mention it\\u2019s a Mirror ship, giving you so many more opportunities for Space Barbie: when you claim this ship it comes with the Gagarin or Shepard skins\\u2013so fun to mix and match!

Listed in: Leisure

526 - Sit Back And Zap Open An Old One

This week on Episode 526 of Priority One:\\xa0 the Next Generation of tours is in full swing at Ticonderoga, set photos from Picard Season 3, Star Trek Online gets spoOoOoOoky in their first Halloween special, and we review the latest episode of Lower Decks: "wej Duj"!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Touring the Next Generation in Ticonderoga

By Elio Lleo

Over the years, we\\u2019ve had the privilege of attending some phenomenal Star Trek themed events and exhibits [or seething with jealousy at it\\u2013Ed.], but few are as spectacular as what you\\u2019ll find in the sleepy town of Ticonderoga, New York. You see, James Cawley\\u2013who grew to fame as an Elvis impersonator\\u2013is also a die-hard Trekkie. His passion was so great that he decided to rebuild the sets for The Original Series where an old retail store used to be. He didn\\u2019t just want to build the Enterprise\\u2026he wanted to recreate the old Desilu Set.

Closest we\'ll probably come to having a religious experience. Image: Star Trek Set Tours.

Now, after 4 years of being open to the public, Cawley is expanding! As they work to acquire an adjacent building, Cawley and his team have begun diligently recreating the sets from The Next Generation. Local news station WCAX got a sneak peak of their progress: when speaking to reporter Cat Viglienzoni, Cawley explains he has all the original blueprints as well as a direct line to Star Trek\\u2019s legendary creators Mike and Denise Okuda.

Star Trek: Picard Producer\\u2019s Sweet Sneak Peek Pics

By Cat Hough

If you\\u2019ve been following Star Trek: Picard executive producer and co-showrunner, Terry Matalas on Twitter, then you\\u2019ve seen the images he\\u2019s been sharing from the set of the show. If you are not following him, then you may want to. Since Season 2 has wrapped filming, the images he posted are likely sneak peaks from season three\\u2013either way, they are definitely interesting.\\xa0

The images are all from what appears to be a Starfleet vessel from the late 24th century: the first image features the helm console for the ship, with Matalas noting the LCARS interface introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Also of particular interest: the replicator display and table setting that includes a 24th-century Starfleet emblem and some new sci-fi cutlery. We still don\\u2019t know what the second season holds, but we have been told that the Q storyline will wrap up in Season 2. It\\u2019s also very likely that Jonathan Frakes will return to direct some episodes of Season 3.\\xa0

Episodic Season Habit (It Becomes Automatic)

By Cat Hough

Anson Mount recently spoke about Strange New Worlds, echoing Akiva Goldsman\\u2019s description of the show: \\u201cwe wanted our show to be more or less a throwback in every way we could... which meant more of an episodic structure. And so every episode is a distinct story...but the star of the show is the ship and the big idea of the week.\\u201d

Bridge to Astrocartography, figure out why we keep getting lost in those eyes. Image: TrekMovie.com

As we\\u2019ve also discussed on prior episodes, filming for Strange New Worlds was done using Augmented Reality and Mount also spoke about that experience, saying, \\u201cIt\\u2019s wild, man. Imagine an entire soundstage where the walls are all high-definition screens and there\\u2019s a ceiling projection...it\\u2019s really interesting to be in these environments because it\\u2019s a whole other level of filmmaking than I\\u2019ve ever seen before.\\u201d\\xa0

A release date for Strange New Worlds has not been announced, yet. A big thanks to TrekMovie for sharing this exclusive interview from their coverage of Star Trek Day.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• In book news, the first novel in the Star Trek: Coda series has been released. This trilogy continues the adventures of characters from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. The three books in the trilogy are Moments Asunder by Dayton Ward, The Ashes of Tomorrow by James Swallow, and Oblivion\'s Gate by David Mack. Moments Asunder is already available, with the two sequels following in October and November. The pre-order pages include synopses for the books, revealing a plot dealing in time travel.

• Plus, we got another glimpse at the upcoming Prodigy animated series. Nickelodeon recently tweeted a new trailer with the announcement that the show premieres on October 28.

• Finally, are you ready to take flight on a midlife crisis of cosmic proportions? Then you should definitely trek out the series idea from the creators of Saturday Night Live. This new show would be titled \\u201cStar Trek: Ego Quest,\\u201d following the voyages of the SS New Shepard and its crew of random weirdos. Its mission: to just...sort of fly around space goofing off in a ship that looks like a penis.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

By the Spiking of My DPS, Something Wicked This Way Leaps

By Rosco McQueen

Replicate yourself a pumpkin spice raktajino and prepare to carve out a new experience in Star Trek Online:\\xa0 the MMO announced this week it will hold its first ever Halloween event!\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cCaptains will find themselves transported to an ancient castle on Pyris VII. The classic aliens from the Original Series episode \\u2018Catspaw\\u2019, the Old Ones, have returned once again to study humanity\\u2013but their plans have been disrupted by the Devidians!\\u201d

The three week event will be a single activity, where playing the event TFO \\u201cCat\'s Tale!\\u201d every 20 hours rewards you with the usual one daily progress token. After 14 days of progress you unlock the event rewards: the Transmuter Wand Universal Kit Module, the Old One Vanity Pet, with the first character receiving 25,000 Dilithium Ore, and 3 Featured Episode Reward Boxes.

The Universal Kit Module - Transmuter Wand will transform your target into a sentient black cat, complete with Bad Luck Aura! The aura disables shields and most powers to nearby allies, who will flee in fear from the frightful feline.\\xa0\\xa0

The event will be available on all platforms on October 13. An interesting note is that this will become a regular annual event, similar to First Contact Day. The article notes it begins with the one TFO, with plans to grow the event year-on-year with more content.

Listed in: Leisure

525 - Star Trek Online's Stunning Steamrunner

This week on Episode 525 of Priority One: Jeffrey Combs speaks in evil robot about his appearance on Lower Decks, Prodigy showrunners drop some details about the series a month out from the premiere, and it\\u2019s confirmed - the TNG cast really are one big happy family.\\xa0 In gaming news, a new T6 remaster of a classic workhorse starship comes to Star Trek Online, and finally we enter the holo-pod and look at the latest episode of Lower Decks \\u201cI, Excretus\\u201d.\\xa0\\xa0

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

\\xa0\\u201cWould you still play Star Trek Online if it wasn\\u2019t Star Trek?\\u201d

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Jake Morgan

Weyooops...Jeffery Combs With i09

By Jake Morgan

A great actor makes you feel. Whether joy, anger, love, hate - a truly gifted thespian makes you ache for their presence - be it revered or reviled. We Star Trek fans are graced with many such actors and characters. Nimoy\\u2019s Spock. Whoopie\\u2019s Guinan. Comb\\u2019s Weyoun. Comb\\u2019s Brunt. Comb\\u2019s Penk. Comb\\u2019s Shran. Comb\\u2019s...well, you get the picture. This week, i09 sat down with the prolific Star Trek trouper Jeffery Combs to talk about our latest favorite Comb\\u2019s role - the devious supercomputer Agimus!

Comb\\u2019s had glowing things to say about the writing staff of Star Trek: Lower Decks, explaining to James Whitbrook of i09 what drew him to the show. \\u201dI liked the script a lot and I\\u2019m really happy with how it turned out. I find it\\u2014the show\\u2014just to be really... witty. Rapid-fire. The joke is past you before you go, \\u201cWh-wh-wha?\\u201d A different tone from any other Star Trek I\\u2019ve ever done. And I kind of like that. It\\u2019s refreshing. It doesn\\u2019t take itself quite so seriously as some of the other iterations.\\u201d

While Combs was complimentary of Lower Decks, he wasn\\u2019t shy about his feelings towards the entertainment industry. When asked whether he\\u2019d return to a LIVE-Action version of the franchise, Comb\\u2019s said \\u201dYou have to be asked to dance. You have to be invited. It\\u2019s really not up to me. But I kind of feel I still have some gas in the tank. But you know, when it comes to commerce and entertainment it\\u2019s just like cereal: \\u201cNew and improved!\\u201d [...]. So, I don\\u2019t really know what goes through decision-makers\\u2019 minds, but there always seems to be some sort of a disconnect between what the fans would enjoy and what they wind up doing. Not always. Not always.\\u201d

To find out how Comb\\u2019s felt about playing an antagonist, his thoughts on Voice Acting, and much more, be sure to follow the link in our show notes at priorityonepodcast.com!

One big happy TNG family

By Rosco McQueen

Some news that as Star Trek fans we\\u2019ve all known for a while, but is heartwarming to see it confirmed.\\xa0 Yes, the cast of The Next Generation really do all like each other.\\xa0 In fact, they\\u2019re all incredibly close.

In an interview with The Express in the UK, Marina Sirtis confirmed that the cast do indeed see themselves as a family.\\xa0 They\\u2019ve been friends since the early days of the series\\u2026 and the producers hated it.

"They hate when the cast like each other because they talk. Producers don\'t want you talking. They want us all hating each other and being competitive with each other, so that they can lie to you."

Sirtis explains how after the death of her husband, it was the crew who were there for her soon after. Lavar Burton, Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn all immediately visited with Sirtis on the day her husband, Michael Lamper, died. She also spoke about the support she received from Gates McFadden.

Akiva gets his Wish

By Cat Hough

Akiva Goldsman has been extremely busy of late, acting as executive producer and co-showrunner for both Star Trek: Picard and the upcoming series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. If those two roles weren\\u2019t busy enough he also wrote and directed the pilot episode of Strange New Worlds. Goldsman told Trekmovie.com that it was really important to him to set the tone and style of the show, saying \\u201cI really wanted to make a show that would have appealed to the 12-year old me that went to that Star Trek convention in 1974. And it felt like the best way to do that would be to kind of help set the tone visually, and really more in storytelling.\\u201d\\xa0

He also notes that the audience will notice some changes in the uniforms and sets from how they appeared in Discovery, since he wanted it to look more in line with the Original Series.

As we have mentioned in previous episodes, Strange New Worlds will be episodic, and Goldsman expounds on that, saying \\u201cOur characters will carry with them what they suffer from, or what they learned, from episode to episode. But the stories are episodic.\\u201d\\xa0

In addition to the show being episodic, Goldsman says that the show is meant to be an ensemble piece - so it won\\u2019t just be \\u2018The Pike Show\\u2019 and while it won\\u2019t go into every character\\u2019s backstory each episode, there will be a \\u201cfocus\\u201d on different characters as the show goes on.\\xa0

Starfleet snippets from Prodigy showrunners

By Rosco McQueen

Star Trek: Prodigy is a month away from its debut, and the showrunners are dropping some tiny trek nuggets in interviews.\\xa0 In a chat with TrekMovie, Prodigy executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman and co-executive producer/director Ben Hibon reinforced the idea that this new series, specifically for kids, is an entry point to the franchise.\\xa0\\xa0

Kevin Hagemen said \\u201cWhile these are kids in our show, they\\u2019re in the adult world of Trek. And they\\u2019re gonna slowly discover it, and have their falls, and their victories and stuff. It really is a show for people who have not experienced Trek before.\\u201d

The journey of the Prodigy crew starts in the Delta Quadrant, with many familiar races that Voyager came across. In the interview the producers mention there are very well thought out reasons why we will see so many Alpha species in the Delta Quadrant, but that no one has really got it yet. They also mention that the USS Protostar was launched after Voyager returned home, but then quickly halt the conversation around the prototype\\u2019s secret origins.\\xa0 The show takes place in 2383, five years after Voyager returned home.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• If you\\u2019ve been on the fence about adding a new streaming subscription plan, perhaps ViacomCBS\\u2019s latest promotion might incentivise you. For $9.99 with commercials or $12.99 without, you can have Paramount+ AND Showtime! This is a permanent price for you so long as you take advantage of it before the October 20th deadline. Also, be sure to use our affiliate links in our shownotes!
• The Orville Returns March 10, 2022

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Jake Morgan

Spoooooky teaser\\u2026

By Cat Hough

Well, it appears something spppoooooky is going to happen in Star Trek Online on October 13\\u2026.we don\\u2019t know what - but there was a cryptic tweet made earlier this week telling us to \\u2018Remember the curse!\\u2019 In the video we see some type of coat rack or a hat stand, a black cat, inserted images of a possible raven with a creepy clock ticking in the background. What does it all mean??\\xa0\\xa0

Steamrunner Bundle...because we must have more bundles\\u2026

By Cat Hough

The next installment of the ships of the line remastering and repackaging adventures: the Blockade Runner Bundle hits the Zen store on Friday, October 1 on PC. The price is 5,000 Zen, but you can get it for 35% off until\\xa0 October 8!

The bundle also includes:

• 1 Ship Upgrade Token (T5-U)
• 2 Experimental Ship Upgrade Tokens
• T1 Blockade Runner Escort
• T5 Blockade Runner Escort Retrofit
• **NEW** T6 Appalachia Blockade Runner Escort

But in what we hope is a new move for Zen store releases, the T6 Appalachia will also be available as a separate purchase in the Zen Store.

This ship features 4/3 weapons layout and a Lt. Commander Tactical / Command Bridge Officer specialist seat, and a Lieutenant Universal / Intel Bridge Officer specialist seat plus it can load dual cannons.\\xa0

And it comes equipped with Universal Console, the Tricobalt Tear Launcher plus an Experimental Weapon Slot, equipped with Hull Spike Battery. The Mastery trait is Piercing Projectiles, so when you activate a Torpedo or Mine firing mode Bridge Officer ability will grant a large Shield Penetration and Hull Penetration bonus for a short time.

Combat Alert! Defense screens up! Arm the lasers!

By Shane Hoover

Prompted by a recent STO Reddit thread, website Massively OP dedicated their \\u201cMassively Overthinking\\u201d column on September 23rd to one question. \\u201cWould you play your favorite MMO without its IP?\\u201d

Many MMO\\u2019s were on the table for discussion, but there were some interesting opinions on Star Trek Online.\\xa0

Writer Andy McAdams pointed out \\u201cI started binging on Star Trek Discovery again and it made me want to play the game, so I downloaded it. But I know I don\\u2019t particularly enjoy the game and I\\u2019m only playing it for the IP. For me, I don\\u2019t think it would stand on its own.\\u201dAnother writer, Tyler Edwards, says \\u201cI don\\u2019t think I\\u2019d ever have spent any significant amount of time on this game without the IP\\u201d.\\xa0 But he hits an important note pointing out that \\u201cWhat makes the game work is the massive amount of love the people behind it clearly have for the Star Trek universe.\\u201d

Listed in: Leisure

524 - Dress Uniforms For The Job You Want

This week on Episode 524 of Priority One: New York Comic Con is ready to Trek Out; the community rallies behind Wilson Cruz; Star Trek Online updates its minimum system requirements; mobile games cross to desktop; and we review Lower Decks\\u2019 \\u201cWhere Pleasant Fountains Lie\\u201d\\u2013but not before we chat with Cryptic Studios\\u2019s Content Creator Ryon and Environment Artist Gianna!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Trekking Out the Big Apple

By Elio Lleo

Convention season is in full swing and New York Comic Con is next. Starting October 7th and ending October 10th, this four day event usually has stuff for everyone! Unique to this year\\u2019s presentation is hybrid participation: not only are organizers reducing the total number of attendees, you can also purchase a virtual ticket that will give you access to some of the panels right from the comfort of your own home.

But what\\u2019s so special about NYCC? As of right now, Paramount+ is slated to present at least two panels: on Saturday, October 9th at 12:45pm the cast and producers of Star Trek: Discovery take the Empire Stage. Then on Sunday, October 10, Star Trek: Prodigy will premiere its first episode along with a panel.

Image: ViacomCBS/Nickelodeon, via TrekCore.

But that\\u2019s not all\\u2013join the Roddenberry Podcast Network as we present a panel titled \\u201cStar Trek\\u2019s Guide to Community.\\u201d I\\u2019ll be there along with Kennedy and Sue from Women at Warp! That\\u2019s happening Saturday, Oct 9th at 2:15pm.

There\\u2019s also a Hallmark presentation with new Trek ornaments, a virtual only panel with the folks behind the new Star Trek Magazine, and even Bill Shatner will be there on Thurs, October 7th.\\xa0

Wilson Cruz Harassed During Star Trek Day

By Elio Lleo

When it comes to communities, even Star Trek\\u2019s can be incredibly divisive. The majority of the time, it\\u2019s about NuTrek vs older Trek, who the better first officer is, or which ship is cooler. However, there are times when things can get dark and people start to show their true colors\\u2013like one fan who was offered the privilege of attending the Star Trek Day celebrations in person. Long story short, at one point during the event, while Wilson Cruz was on stage, someone in the audience yield out a homophobic slur. According to reports, no one did anything about it. The guest was not removed nor have they been identified (yet). With incredible grace and patience, Wilson continued on and later took to Twitter to address the matter.

Although he may not have wanted to draw so much attention to the matter, we want to take a moment to remind you\\u2013our listeners\\u2013that tolerance for the bigoted has its limits. When you see something, say something. Learn ways on how to be the best ally you can be for people who are marginalized on a daily basis. If you\\u2019re on social media and someone goes on a hate-filled rant, step up. It\\u2019s the inaction of those with the means to stand up to injustices that empower those who want to watch the world burn.

IP Theft, the Sincerest Form of Flattery

By Cat Hough

On Monday, we were treated to the big uniform reveal by General Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations for Space Force who tweeted, "Every winning team needs a uniform!.I\\u2019m excited to share the new look with you today."\\xa0And to no one\\u2019s surprise, the Twitterverse immediately noticed some striking similarities to some other uniforms that we are quite familiar with. They were described by one person as "a blend of the Star Trek Enterprise dress uniform, but with the Mirror Universe diagonal."\\xa0

Josh Weinstein, a veteran writer for The Simpsons and Futurama, said the uniform reminded him of the ridiculously tight outfits worn by Zapp Brannigan; Movies in Focus hopped on the satirical bandwagon with the image of an Imperial Star Destroyer officer from the original Star Wars trilogy. "These new Space Force uniforms are looking great," jokes the caption.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• Reuben Klamer, the designer of the original Starfleet phaser rifle for the original series of Star Trek, passed away at the age of 99, according to the Toy Association. Klamer also designed props for other shows, including a gun for the hit 1960s series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.\\xa0

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

PSA: She Canna Take Any More, Cap\\u2019ns!

By Thomas Reynolds

To every thing there is a season\\u2013and in Cryptic\\u2019s opinion, the season for Windows 7 is long past. Starting February 15, 2022, anyone still using the 10-year-old OS (seriously, not even Microsoft supports it anymore) won\\u2019t be able to patch or log into STO and Neverwinter. Only Windows 8 and 10 (with the superior 64-bit intellect) will have a home on the final frontier. DirectX 10 support is also getting ejected like a spent warp core on February 15th, with both games requiring Feature Level 11 or higher. That means your computer needs to have one of the following video card chipsets to play:

• NVidia GeForce GTX 400 or better
• ATI/AMD Radeon HD 5000 or better
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 or better

Given all the fun and excitement of buying graphics cards these days, if your current card isn\\u2019t up to the task...well, godspeed.

[Pictured: my rig next February.\\u2013Ed.] Image: ViacomCBS, via KVNF Public Radio.

Aux2Bat Gets Boimed Out

By Thomas Reynolds

The aqueduct, the magnetic compass, the Aux2Bat. All of these simple technologies have withstood the test of time, but the last may be the most miraculous. Needing only three Technician doffs and one boff ability at minimum, the Aux2Bat ship build is easy to assemble, trivial to fly, and still keeps your bridge officers ready for whatever space wizardry you demand of them. Sure, it hasn\\u2019t been the meta in a sehlat\\u2019s age, but you know what? Aux2Bat does the job, it does it pretty well, and that\\u2019s pretty much all we ask...until now.

Ever drop a Gravity Well, and notice your Tyken\\u2019s Rift is now off-limits for 15 seconds? That\\u2019s the Shared Category Cooldown kicking in, forcing you to pace yourself rather than let everything rip at once. When Cryptic first released the Boimler Effect trait, it provided a 2.5% percent chance of resetting every bridge officer ability to its Shared Category Cooldown, whenever you used a non-specialist boff ability. Great in theory, but one-in-forty odds just aren\\u2019t worth a 200 Lobi investment.

So Cryptic did a little tweaking, like you do, and made it a 17.5% percent proc chance instead. As STO streamer @AugmentedDG declared on Twitter, \\u201cBoimler Effect is now as good as Aux2Bat...for cooldown reduction.\\u201d Bold words, to be sure, but there\\u2019s also a fairly convincing clip of him keeping eight of his escort\\u2019s twelve boff abilities concurrently running like an overambitious plate spinner. Trek out the tweet, scrape together that Lobi, and give your boffs more buffer time than they can handle.

Is there in Screen Accuracy No Beauty?

By Thomas Reynolds

One of Trek cosplay\\u2019s hallmarks is its hair-splitting fidelity to what\\u2019s seen on screen, even when the creators themselves don\\u2019t quite pull it off. Combine that tendency with STO\\u2019s promise of personal immersion, and it\\u2019s no surprise that some players want their captain\\u2019s threads to look \\u201ccorrect.\\u201d To help make that a little easier, Cryptic released official in-game color guides for both the newly-available Lower Decks Starfleet jacket, and their original Khitomer uniform creation. However, rapturous Space Barbie enthusiasts should make sure they\\u2019re using the second released Khitomer guide, as the first one had incorrect pant color codes.

The Sally Ride, the Ross, and You

By Shane Hoover

If you were a fan of the Star Trek Adventures web series \\u201cShield of Tomorrow\\u201d or \\u201cClear Skies\\u201d, you\\u2019re already familiar with the dangers and wonders of the Shackleton Expanse. If you weren\\u2019t, then be prepared for deadly spatial phenomena, ancient alien technologies, first contact with new species and lots of boldly going. It\\u2019s all there in Modiphius Entertainment\\u2019s newest STA sourcebook, the Shackleton Expanse Campaign Guide. The new sourcebook is available for preorder at $60 now and is expected to ship in December 2021. This is your tabletop gaming crew\\u2019s chance to follow in the warp trails of the U.S.S. Sally Ride and the U.S.S. Ross. Adventure into a nearly uncharted region of space beyond Federation, Klingon and Romulan borders.\\xa0

Image: Modiphius Entertainment.

The new material includes five new playable alien species for STA including Orions. It also includes NPCs from Starbase 364 and around the Expanse, as well as stats for \\u201chero\\u201d and NPC vessels. This sourcebook does require a copy of the Star Trek Adventures core rulebook, which is provided in PDF form with your order.

The Ar-mod-a Returns

By Thomas Reynolds

Maybe 2000 feels like a long time ago to you, maybe it doesn\\u2019t. Either way, the Star Trek: Armada and Armada II RTS games that came out then still hold a place in certain PC players\\u2019 hearts. So much, in fact, that the Stellar Parallax modding group has finally released what Activision would not: Star Trek: Armada III. Starting as a one-person passion project back in 2012, Armada III is a full-conversion mod for 2012\\u2019s Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion. Stellar Parallax\\u2019s devoted faithful can now command the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Borg, or Cardassian Union at the beginning of the Dominion War.

See, Kurtzman? You can have more than one kind of ship in a fleet. Image: Stellar Parallax.

But really, how much demand is there for a nine-year-old game mod, following up on a twenty-year-old series? After its September 10th release, Armada III is the 51st most-popular mod on the ModDB site, out of over 46,000 entries across hundreds of games\\u2013so we\\u2019d say \\u201ca lot.\\u201d [Update: #21 as of publication. Damn.\\u2013Ed.]

Quick Star Trek Gaming News Roundup

• A few weeks back we mentioned that the mobile game Star Trek Fleet Command was beta testing a desktop client for Windows. Well, they\\u2019re out of beta and it\\u2019s now available for download, with special perks being offered when you log in via desktop!
• Game maker WizKids announced a new combo-building game titled \\u201cStar Trek Missions\\u201d \\u2013according to their announcement, \\u201cyour goal is to assemble the highest-scoring combos possible by drawing cards from the Galaxy deck, the Mission deck, or the discard area.\\u201d It\\u2019ll be available February 2022, but you can pre-order now.

Listed in: Leisure

523 - Reflections In The Razor's Edge

This week on Episode 523 of Priority One: the Roddenberry Foundation continues to promote a positive future, while Star Trek already wins some Emmys this year; in gaming, Star Trek Online takes us through a mirror darkly with \\u201cReflections\\u201d and On Screen: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 6!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Star Trek Wins at the Emmys

By Elio Lleo

On the heels of the Star Trek Day event, the franchise had cause for more celebration. During the two-day Creative Arts Emmy Event this last week, Star Trek walked away with two wins. First up, an Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single episode for Star Trek: Discovery\\u2019s Season 3, \\u201cSu\\u2019kal.\\u201d Then, Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series for the Discovery episode, \\u201cIf Memory Serves.\\u201d Now, Star Trek has been nominated for a total of 10 Emmys and the 75th Annual Awards show is set to air on Sunday, September 19th on CBS. So, let\\u2019s keep our fingers crossed that Star Trek takes home several more!\\xa0

The 2321 Emmys will use photon torpedoes in place of play-off music. Image: Television Academy.

Praise the Word of Rod

By Elio Lleo

As Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s centennial celebrations continue, his son and CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, Rod Roddenberry, spoke with Forbes\\u2019s Simon Thompson about the last 55 years and the future of Star Trek. With the first four original movies being remastered in 4K UHD, Rod remarks about how great it is to see how there\\u2019s still a hunger for the original incarnations of Trek, saying:

I think it makes Star Trek new again, especially for our new audiences. You\\u2019ve got the TV series now that has brought in a newer, younger demographic, and I think some people are resistant to look at older stuff. When it comes out in 4K, it looks fresh and new. I\\u2019m excited by them being introduced to Star Trek through the original movies.

...oh, UNITY, that\'s what the shirt says. Image: Paramount Pictures, via Forbes.

What about NuTrek? Well, for Rod, it\\u2019s all about ensuring that any of the recent incarnations stay true to the core of what his father\\u2019s vision was all about saying:

He wants people like J.J. Abrams and Alex Kurtzman and others to come along and do that. He also wanted to make sure that it remains Star Trek\\u2026 [a]s long as they are continuing the tradition and the idea of it making you think. Having it entertain is extremely important, absolutely, but let\\u2019s be considering different points of view on this as well.

Rod goes on to discuss his own personal history with the franchise and how it was he grew to be so invested in his father\\u2019s legacy.

What Escapes In Vegas...Stays In...Hmmm\\u2026

By Cat Hough

If you\\u2019re headed to Vegas anytime soon, you should definitely trek out the new Star Trek: Discovery-themed escape room launched by Escapology. The game is set during the third season of Discovery and has opened just in time to coincide with the 4th season premiere on Paramount+.\\xa0

Your role in the game is acting as a civilian engineer tasked with inspecting the U.S.S. Discovery NCC-1031 as it undergoes the refit and upgrade to the 1031-A. However, sci-fi things happen during your inspection and Discovery collides with a quantum filament, causing major hull damage. The filaments\' quantum resonance has also caused a polarity shift in the antimatter containment system, leading to a progressive degeneration in the containment field. If field strength falls below 15%, it will collapse, destroying the vessel and everyone aboard.

Because sci-fi stuff happened, the main computer has closed emergency bulkheads across the ship and the turbolift control system has been disabled, leaving the bulk of the crew trapped and unable to begin repairs. In a convenient turn of events, your turbolift stopped near the Auxiliary Control section, so all you have to do is override its systems. At this point, you\\u2019re the best option for helping Discovery and its crew avoid this disaster.

Another reason to hate this design. Image: ViacomCBS, via CBR.

Then, you, and your team, must escape the turbolift and communicate with a senior officer. You can save everyone if you can just re-establish communications and work together to repair the antimatter containment field before the strength falls below 15% which is projected to be in precisely 60 minutes time. Or that\\u2019s how long you can book the room for: packages can be reserved at the Las Vegas Town Square location via the Escapology website and they currently show the price for 6 people is a little under $250.\\xa0

Festivity Will Now Commence

By Thomas Reynolds and Rosco McQueen

It\\u2019s practically clich\\xe9 at this point: the commercial Christmas season starts earlier every year, with candy canes and carols drowning out the trick-or-treaters and turkey dinners. But...what if December isn\\u2019t merely encroaching on the other months? Isn\\u2019t Christmas adding their celebrational distinctiveness to its own? Are they not being adapted to service Saint Nick? Yes, Christmas is assimilating the calendar\\u2013and your holidays, as they have been, are over.

The Elf on the Shelf was the first to fall to the Collective; the angel tree topper is next. Image: Eaglemoss.

Festivity may be irrelevant, but that hasn\\u2019t stopped Eaglemoss from creating a grim messenger of holiday cheer.\\xa0 Invading Sector 001 on September 30th, the Borg Cube Advent Calendar brings 24 Trek accessories and gifts to all good little Trekkies. Socks, coasters, coffee mugs: each item included in the box also includes a short note with trivia and stories behind it. The Calendar sells for a considerable $149.95, so your bank account might look like New Providence if there\\u2019s more than one Trekkie on your gift list.

However, if you\\u2019re after something a bit less \\u201cSovereign-class\\u201d, then the California line of starships may be more your style.\\xa0 Eaglemoss has revealed the new XL model of the USS Cerritos.\\xa0 The model is 9.75\\u201d long and faithfully reproduces the Cerritos as it appeared in the first season. It\\u2019s due in January 2022, so not quite in time for Christmas, but it will soon be joined by a model of the U.S.S. Titan.

Both models were made using the actual VFX files used in Lower Decks, with both ships looking a little more animated than the usual line of starships\\u2013like they could have leapt from the screen to your living room.

Ejectable warp core not included. Image: StarTrek.com

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• For her efforts to help eradicate sexual harassment from the entertainment industry, Michelle Hurd was awarded the SAG-AFTRA President\\u2019s Award. Hurd (Raffi on Star Trek: Picard) is an actor, activist and National Board member who\\u2019s worked to provide resources to SAG-AFTRA members who experienced sexual harassment and assault. She also assisted in developing updated guidelines and policies to eliminate harassment and assault from the industry.\\xa0
• You can color your favorite Lower Deckers. The Star Trek.com website is still celebrating Star Trek Day and you can download and print pages to a new coloring book from season two of Star Trek: Lower Decks.\\xa0
• We want to remind you that you can participate in the Roddenberry Foundation\\u2019s \\u201cBoldly Go\\u201d campaign by submitting a video, photo, letter, poem, or even a simple selfie. The theme or question to answer, \\u201cdescribe your hopes for the next 100 years!\\u201d Visit BoldlyGo.com to learn more!

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

A Fanatical Devotion to Charity

By Shane Hoover

It\\u2019s policy here at Priority One that we love charity bundles (and if it isn\\u2019t, it should be). The latest effort from STO and Fanatical.com is no exception. Following the familiar format, players can select one of two reward tiers based on their donated amount:

• Tier 1 - $1 ($15 value)
  • 32c Vanity Shield Overlay
  • Rainbow Risian Caracal
  • \\xa0\\u2018Charitable\\u2019 title
• Tier 2 - $7.99 \\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 ($82 value)
  • All items from Tier 1
  • Narendra-class Support Cruiser (T6)
  • Vor\'ral Support Battlecruiser (T6)
  • 1 Fleet Ship Module
  • 1 Gold Tech Upgrade
  • 30 Lobi Crystals

Rarely is it this easy to support the needs of the many. Image: Fanatical.

But the benefits don\\u2019t stay in-game: each purchase of any tier in the bundle earns you a chance to win the Grand Prize! Tier 1 purchases earn a single Grand prize entry, while Tier 2 purchases net you five entries. The winner gets a place on Star Trek: The Cruise V, a ticket worth over $5000. I don\\u2019t know if God needs a cruise ship, but I sure wouldn\\u2019t mind getting on this one. The winner also receives a digital copy of every expansion pack available for Star Trek Online. That\\u2019s Legacy of Romulus, Delta Operations, Temporal Agent, Gamma Vanguard and Discovery Operations. All told, that\\u2019s over $720 worth of STO goodies. You can also get one free entry into the Grand Prize drawing by visiting a link which requires you to sign up for the Fanatical newsletter.

Nearly 90% of the sales price on these charity bundle items will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, providing children with safe and fun places to grow and thrive, and offering mentoring life-enhancing programs.

STO Takes Another Hard Look In the Mirror

By Rosco McQueen

With the conclusion of the Klingon Civil War, you would think Starfleet and members of the Alliance would have time for a little bit of exploration in Star Trek Online. Think again!!\\xa0 As a mirror universe admiral once said, \\u201cYou haven\\u2019t seen the last of me!\\u201d

This newfound peace is short lived, as a new danger emerges from the Mirror Universe. A former enemy, Admiral Leeta (voiced by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Chase Masterson) is being hunted by the Mirror Universe\\u2019s Kuumarke, a Terran Empire special agent. Players will team up with Admiral Leeta to stop Kuumarke and her Terran forces from using stolen information to bring destruction to the Prime Universe.

Captains can investigate this looming threat in a new featured episode, Firewall, as well as participate in a new ground TFO, \\u201cOperation: Wolf.\\u201d Captains can also earn daily progress by playing the \\u201cCounterpoint\\u201d TFO and the episode \\u201cJabberwocky\\u201d to work towards claiming the brand new T6 Mirror Gagarin-class Miracle Worker Battlecruiser.\\xa0 It\\u2019s worth noting the first Captain on your account to claim the ship also receives 8x Terran Empire Agony Phaser Weapon Packs which each contain your choice of starship weapon type, and 3x Ultimate Tech Upgrade - Beam/Cannon/Projectile Tech which may be used to upgrade any starship weaponry

The new Terran ship has a 4 forward, and 4 aft weapon layout, compared to the regular 5/3 layout of the Prime Gagarin. It features a Lieutenant Commander Command Specialist Bridge Officer seat, and a universal console - the Destructive Protomatter Wave Projector.\\xa0 The wave projector targets multiple vessels, ripping apart their hulls. If they are destroyed then they send out a secondary shockwave, which may infect other targets in a chain reaction.\\xa0\\xa0

Carriers With Crossover Appeal

By Thomas Reynolds

For years, STO was a preeminent source for new Trek stories\\u2013and what\\u2019s a new Trek story without a ship? Cryptic\\u2019s designs helped progress the post-Nemesis state of shipbuilding art, establishing distinct aesthetics for a modern 25th century. Now 2021\\u2019s a different scene, with five different television series and other MMOs generating new ships of their own. That said, STO\\u2019s contributions aren\\u2019t going unnoticed.

Yes. It\'s a cat carrier. Good job. Image: Cryptic Studios.

The Continuing Mission blog for Star Trek Adventures recently posted fan-made guidelines for bringing Cryptic\\u2019s Atrox- and Aspero-class carriers into the tabletop world. The unofficial STO-to-STA ship conversion assigns stats and traits based on their online counterparts, so you can drag-and-drop them into your campaign. It\\u2019s an interesting look at RPG mechanic design, if that\\u2019s your thing (and if you\\u2019re listening to this podcast, that\\u2019s a pretty safe guess). But it also reflects Cryptic\\u2019s success in creating ships that become Trek characters in their own right.

Quick Gaming News Roundup

• With Reflections taking us back into the Mirror Universe, STO\\u2019s original ships are getting some fresh new looks--looks that could kill, that is. Ten of Cryptic\\u2019s 25th century Federation designs, including the fan-favorite Pathfinder, have been touched up for the new arc, ranging from new materials to full-blown remasters.
• The Terran Empire is also getting their own versions of four ships\\u2013the Shran, Reliant, Andromeda, and Pathfinder\\u2013dressed to impress and distress. For fans of STO\\u2019s story blog posts, this was all related in a private communique from Vice Admiral Hemphill of Starfleet. Or is it Lord Baron Vice Admiral of Starfleet? The answer: yes.
• If you launch STO through the Epic Games launcher - or if you want to get a free Terran Incursion Pack that includes a Terran Empire Sonic Phaser Stun Pistol, an Elite Services Starter Pack and a Small XP Boost, then you\\u2019d need to download the game and launch through Epic Games. The pack can be claimed once per account, all items are bound to account and you must complete the tutorial in order to claim it.\\xa0

The red tells you they\'re Evil ships, because they can\'t grow goatees. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Listed in: Leisure

522 - All Trailers, No Tribbles: It's Star Trek Day!

This week on Episode 522 of Priority One: Happy Star Trek Day! New trailers for Picard, Prodigy and Lower Decks, and a formal introduction to the Enterprise crew voyaging to Strange New Worlds. In gaming news, the Mirror Universe inspires a new TFO in \\u201cOperation: Wolf,\\u201d new gear on the way inspired by Lower Decks, and some good old Trek games get a PC refresh. \\xa0

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

55 Years Of Trekking Across The Universe

By Cat Hough

This week marks the 55th anniversary of the airing of the first episode of Star Trek and, according to all the memes going around, the world has never been the same. But when you think about it...that\\u2019s a pretty accurate statement. Without the vision of Gene Roddenberry and the production of the original series, we would not even have this podcast. So let\\u2019s just take this opportunity to appreciate the reason we are even here today.\\xa0

Fresh New Faces For Strange New Worlds

By Rosco McQueen

There\\u2019s no trailer yet, but we were treated to an introduction to the crew of the Enterprise under Captain Pike, with some new faces and some familiar ones as well. We are reintroduced to Anson Mount, Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn who reprise their roles as Captain Pike, Mr Spock and Number One.\\xa0 From there we meet the new actors taking on classic characters, with:

• Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura,
• Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel,
• And Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M\\u2019Benga.

New characters then come our way:

• Bruce Horak as Hemmer,\\xa0
• Christina Chong as La\\u2019an Noonien-Singh,
• And Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas

Shadows Of Things That Will Be

By Cat Hough

Let\\u2019s break down the Picard Season Two trailer. We see Q snap his fingers and send everyone into an alternate reality where Earth has descended into a totalitarian state. But only Jean-Luc Picard and his new crew (maybe with Guinan\\u2019s help?) know that time has been altered. Then they decide to travel back to modern day Los Angeles in order to get things sorted. To get there, however, they need the assistance of the Borg Queen, played by Annie Wersching--who, in this alternate reality, appears to be a captive on Earth. What else is in store for Picard? We don\\u2019t know yet, but we do know he\\u2019ll be back in February 2022; it was also confirmed that Picard was renewed for Season 3.

But Will We Learn The Janeway Maneuver?

By Cat Hough

We also got a first real look at Prodigy as the first official trailer was introduced by Kate Mulgrew. This panel also included a pleasant surprise: the show will premiere on October 28 and the first episode is an hour long. The trailer shows us the crew of young aliens who happen to find an experimental Federation starship named the U.S.S. Protostar, but they\\u2019ve never heard of Starfleet or the Federation. So it\\u2019s up to Janeway\\u2019s hologram to teach them how to use the ship to navigate the cosmos, while the Diviner (John Noble) and Drednok (Jimmi Simpson) pursue the crew to get ahold of the ship.

Lower Decks Hits The Halfway Mark

By Cat Hough

After a hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable first half of the season, Lower Decks continues it\\u2019s second season with more adventure, more exploration, and lots more sci-fi stuff. The second-season trailer (that series creator Mike McMahon says he edited to remove spoilers) gives us glimpses of Rutherford vs "fricking radiation," Tendi as a giant bug, and Mariner and Boimler on an away mission that goes sideways [...so like every other away mission, then---Ed.].

Looking Four-ward To Discovery

By Cat Hough

The fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery premieres Thursday, Nov. 18, on Paramount+. The first image from the upcoming season was released during Star Trek Day. We also got to watch a panel featuring season four cast members Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), Blu del Barrio (Adira), Ian Alexander (Gray), and showrunner and executive producer Michelle Paradise. The panel of mutual love and discussion of found family was moderated by Wil Wheaton.

Most advanced ship in the fleet, and they couldn\'t even spring for seat warmers? Image: ViacomCBS.

Taking Trek Back To School

By Thomas Reynolds and Rosco McQueen

With Labor Day on rearview sensors, the American student body is headed back to school\\u2013and so is the Trek franchise, if Kurtzman has his way. Back in Episode 519, we mentioned that a Starfleet Academy-situated series \\u201caimed at younger audiences\\u201d was in the works. Since then, Eric Pesola at Heavy suggested that the new series concept is far older than it appears.

Don\'t worry, it\'s safe for them to wear red shirts because they\'re named characters. Image: IDW Comics, via Heavy.com.

Pesola draws parallels between JJ\\u2019s franchise \\u201crevival\\u201d in 2009, and Harve Bennett turning it around after The Motion Picture almost torpedoed it thirty years prior. Bennett helmed the next three series entries and more-or-less put Trek\\u2019s fortunes on the up-and-up. That said, after his Final Frontier almost finished it for good, Bennett pitched one more idea: a prequel film set at Starfleet Academy, with Ethan Hawke as Kirk and John Cusack as Spock.

The studio went with a thinly-veiled Cold War analogy instead but, twenty years later, class might finally be in session. During the Star Trek Day celebrations, Wil Wheaton asked Kurtzman about the future of Trek on TV, Kurtzman said that with five ongoing series, he\\u2019s \\u201cnot in a hurry\\u201d to launch any more. But he did bring up the fan enthusiasm for a series set at Starfleet Academy.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Legends Of Yesterday

By Rosco McQueen

Fire up the phase inducers, it\\u2019s time to start a new \\u2018toon in Star Trek Online. The Agents of Yesterday recruitment event is active: new characters set in the TOS era playing through the entire Agents of Yesterday mission arc, and becoming Temporal Agents with updated rewards.\\xa0 As we covered previously, if you haven\'t created a Temporal Agent character, it\\u2019s a great opportunity with lots of bonuses for your whole account.

You wish your family portrait looked this good. Image: Cryptic Studios.

But if the idea of leveling up a new character from scratch isn\\u2019t bringing you joy, then the Legendary TOS Federation Captain\'s Bundle has dropped to immediately boost your new character to level 65.\\xa0 The pack comes with equipment, services, and other resources to allow this newly-boosted character to be ready to enter the high-level content of Star Trek Online. Plus, you\\u2019ll get account-wide access to the Legendary Miranda Multi-Mission Cruiser [T6]. It includes all of the consoles, starship traits, and costumes from the entire line of Miranda and Malachowski starship families. The bundle is available for the price of 12,000 Zen, with 50% OFF from September 8th at 8am PT to September 20th at 10am PT!

Parliament Is Now In Session

By Rosco McQueen

The next story arc is fast approaching, if this news item is anything to go by. STO announced this week that Lower Decks themed gear is making its way into the game. \\u201cStarting with the next story update which arrives on PC very soon, a brand new Tier-6 Starship will be added to the existing ship choices, and a series of exciting new Lower Decks-themed items will be added to the Lobi Crystal Store.\\u201d

The items include:\\xa0\\xa0

• Lower Decks uniforms,
• Portable Phaser Cannon\\xa0
• Multibarrel Phaser\\xa0
• Phaser Split-Beam Rifle\\xa0
• Phaser Sniper Rifle\\xa0
• T-88 Diagnostic Tool Kit frame - complete with purple stripe
• Lower Decks Personal Traits, two space and two ground,\\xa0
• And a new starship, the Parliament Miracle Worker Surveyor Cruiser [T6].

Oof. Not looking forward to the environmental impact statement on this one. Image: Cryptic Studios.

The Parliament has a four front and four aft weapon layout, with a Controlled Gravimetric Demolition universal console, which deals \\u201ctremendous\\u201d kinetic damage. The console also provides a passive bonus to Kinetic and Physical Damage Resistance Rating, as well as Exotic Particle Generation and Structural Integrity. The items will be available for purchase upon the release of the next story update (no date confirmed as yet).

Operation: Sheep In Wolf\\u2019s Clothing

by Shane Hoover

A brand new blog from Cryptic has announced a forthcoming Mirror Universe TFO for Star Trek Online. The new bit of fiction finds Admiral Quinn providing feedback to Admiral Leeta on a new Starfleet training simulation to test special operations into the Mirror Universe. It seems despite her cooperation, Quinn finds her bloodlust a bit much even for a simulation. I mean honestly, if a Captain can\\u2019t use Exocomps as cannon fodder anymore what are you supposed to do? And just forget about bumping off your Terran counterpart, I guess! So much for Plan A, am I right?\\xa0

What I\'ve always loved about the Terran Empire: its understated subtlety. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Anyway, while details are obviously thin in this little teaser, it looks like Captains will get to beam their away team into a brand new Mirror Universe version of Earth Space Dock for some covert operations. So beef up those biceps, tone up those abs, and sharpen your daggers. We\\u2019re going Terran on the holodeck for \\u201cOperation: Wolf\\u201d!

They Belong In A Museum!

By Shane Hoover

It\\u2019s also worth noting that in celebration of Star Trek Day, from September 8 to 22, on all platforms, there will be a special Starfleet Museum in orbit above Deep Space Nine and Earth Space Dock. The museum contains the starring ships from Star Trek movies, television, and more. Hailing each ship will give you words from their crew, and both in universe and behind the scenes facts about the ship and show. Hailing all ten of the ships will grant you a special title: Historical Documents Expert.

"Ugh, people really use holodecks for that?" "Oh yeah, it\'s mostly that." Image: ViacomCBS, via TOR.

Fleet Command Finishes TNG

By Thomas Reynolds

If TNG taught us anything, it\\u2019s that all good things must come to an end, and so it is in Star Trek Fleet Command. Patch 34 concludes Fleet Command\\u2019s first [nope, our bad\\u2014Ed.] foray into Prime Timeline storytelling, wrapping the TNG arc begun back in May while adding Tasha Yar to the officer roster. Meanwhile, your existing crew collection will gain Traits that boost the chance of Critical Success for Away Team assignments. And as for those assignments: as of Patch 34, assignments will automatically respawn once they are completed.

Star Trek Through Rose-Tinted GOGgles

By Thomas Reynolds and Rosco McQueen

Remember last week, when we said about a half-dozen vintage Trek games were going to be re-released on GOG Galaxy? Well they\\u2019re on GOG Galaxy now in time for Star Trek Day! In a release the company has confirmed the games have been updated so they run smoothly on Windows 10, with some even offering a working LAN multiplayer option.

I don\'t know what makes me feel older, the box art or the phrase "LAN multiplayer." Image: GOG.

Listed in: Leisure

521 - Mugatos On The Left, Mariner On The Right

This week on Episode 521 of Priority One: Star Trek: Prodigy drops several news items just as Star Trek Day nears, Star Trek Online tries to entice new players and existing players to start a brand new character, and we throw a unicorn horn on a white gorilla suit in On Screen, with Season 2 Episode 4 of Lower Decks!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Prodigy Pulls Some Great Cast Gets

By Elio Lleo

The newest iteration of Star Trek, Nickelodeon\\u2019s animated series Prodigy, is making news this week with a couple of big announcements. First up: casting!\\xa0 Two new actors have been added to the cast announcement with Jimi Simpson and John Noble both playing antagonist characters. According to Deadline\\u2019s Alexandra Del Rosario, Noble (The Lord of the Rings, FRINGE) will voice the character known as The Diviner: \\u201ca ruthless tyrant who controls the asteroids of Tars Lampora\\u2026and will stop at nothing in his hunt for the Protostar ship, no matter the cost.\\u201d Simpson (It\\u2019s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Westworld, Breakout Kings) voices Drednok, \\u201cthe Diviner\\u2019s deadly robotic enforcer\\u2026heartless and cold.\\u201d

...yeah, checks out. Image: CBS, via Deadline.

Now, if talent isn\\u2019t enough, then be sure to watch the main title sequence for the show\\u2013available now on YouTube and other Star Trek social media channels.\\xa0

Lining Up The Milestones

By Rosco McQueen

Panels, panels and more panels are coming your way for the Trek\\xa0franchise\'s 55th anniversary.\\xa0 On September 8, the Star Trek Day celebrations will be hosted by The Next Generation\\u2019s Wil Wheaton and actress and host Mica Burton. It will feature back-to-back in person conversations with cast and crew members, with a focus at looking at what is ahead for the franchise.\\xa0\\xa0

One panel in particular features Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn and Ethan Peck from Strange New Worlds, with the trailer for the event casually showing off the logo of the series. Composer Jeff Russo will lead a live orchestra performance throughout the event, with Paramount+ saying to expect some surprise announcements and reveals throughout the program.\\xa0\\xa0

Another notch in the milestone belt of history comes after the airing of the Lower Decks episode \\u201cWe\\u2019ll Always Have Tom Paris\\u201d, marking the 800th episode of Star Trek television.\\xa0 Now that commemorative plate makes even more sense!

Now do you shorten it to Cer or Tos? Image: Paramount+, via ComicBook.com

All The Star Trek News Fit To Print

By Cat Hough

If watching all the new Trek offerings and playing all the Trek games is still not enough Star Trek content in your life, well you are in luck! This November, Titan Publishing is re-launching the official Star Trek magazine and renaming it Star Trek Explorer. Titan describes this magazine as "the no. #1 destination for everything Star Trek\\u2013filled with in-depth interviews and features taking you behind-the-scenes of all your favorite shows and movies."

The first issue showcases a fresh new design and features two exclusive Star Trek short stories. Plus, they plan on adding a 16-page themed "featurette" in each issue, with the inaugural issue featuring a guide to Captain James. T. Kirk.\\xa0 There are two covers available for the first issue: one features a shot of Michael Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery, while the second uses Tim Anderson\'s Star Trek: The Original Series tribute artwork.

Image: Titan Publishing, via ComicBook.com

Yearly subscriptions cost $29.99 for four issues and, as an added subscription bonus, you get an exclusive digital magazine that includes extra Trek nuggets. You can buy each issue separately for $9.99.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• The documentary Woman In Motion has been uploaded to the International Space Station, commemorating Women\\u2019s Equality Day in the U.S. If you have not seen it already, the film shows how Nichelle Nichols spent 1977 campaigning across America to bring diversity to NASA. Woman in Motion is also available on demand and digital and is streaming on Paramount+.

• Voyager actor Tim Russ recently helped with the detection of Patroclus, an asteroid orbiting Jupiter. An avid amateur astronomer, Russ is part of a network of citizen astronomers who regularly contribute space observations. He says that contributing to NASA\'s mission is important because understanding where we come from, what our origins are and the fact that we are a few intelligent species in this galaxy is special.

He reflec, he protec, but most importantly, he detec. Image: Tim Russ, via USA Today.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Time Is On Our Side

By Cat Hough

Well, the time has come at last [again\\u2013Ed.]! Star Trek Online announced the Temporal Recruitment Event returns on all platforms, just in time to celebrate Star Trek Day on September 8th.

Since we\\u2019re playing through the Original Series-era content for this event, the devs have gone through and made some visual updates and updated cutscenes as well as improving the missions themselves. Plus, Temporal Agent goals have been updated to include some new ones, and removed some goals from missions that are no longer in the game, so you don\\u2019t have to worry about finding Temporal Probes in places that you can no longer reach.

You\\u2019ll be able to earn bonuses for reaching level 60, marks for all of the reputations that have been added to the game, and rewards for engaging in R&D and specializations. Existing Temporal Agents will be able to complete these new goals as well, and if you\\u2019ve already finished them, you can claim the rewards immediately.

Tell me they changed the prefix code, at least. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Remember, to become a Temporal Agent and gain access to the rewards, you must make a new TOS Starfleet character, during the event, then you must play the tutorial until you receive your special Temporal Agent transceiver device. Once you receive the device, your character is a Temporal Agent and you can complete the goals any time and claim the rewards, even after the event ends.

Good Old (Star Trek) Games Coming To Good Old Games (Galaxy)

By Rosco McQueen

Do you pine for the days when Star Trek games weren\\u2019t vast, expansive, massively multiplayer worlds?\\xa0 Maybe you\\u2019re more of a LAN party player (as long as some else brings the snacks)? A number of classic Trek games, including Star Trek Armada 1 & Armada 2, Star Trek Bridge Commander, and Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force and Elite Force 2 could be due for re-release on GOG Galaxy. Gamefront reports the game cards for titles on the platform recently being updated with new CBS copyright watermarks.

Start a Star Trek Game Night for your retirement home today! Image: ViacomCBS/GOG Galaxy, via GameFront.

Dancing Data in Fleet Command

By Rosco McQueen

Star Trek Fleet Command just dropped a new teaser featuring Brent Spiner loosening up for co-star LeVar Burton after playing \\u201can emotionless android for years.\\u201d [same\\u2013Ed.] This continues Fleet Command\\u2019s ongoing efforts to bring in Trek celebrities for their promotions: earlier this year they had Sonequa Martin-Green and Karl Urban. Recent promos have leaned into TNG to showcase the latest updates to the game; in addition to Spiner and Burton, Jonathan Frakes also shows up in the promo.\\xa0

Listed in: Leisure

520 - Wine, Dilithium, And The Great Bird

This week on Episode 520 of Priority One: the week belonged to Gene Roddenberry in celebration of his 100th birthday, the Star Trek Online community gets stirred up by some recent changes, and we look On Screen to Season 2 Episode 3 of Lower Decks!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

One Hundred Years Of Gene

By Elio Lleo

This week, the Star Trek community celebrated what would have been Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s 100th birthday. If you\\u2019ve been following the Roddenberry social channels, you will have seen daily quotes from celebrities, writers, influencers, and more\\u2013each reading a different quote from Gene Roddenberry. We also reported on the development of a full digital archive of his works. This week, it\\u2019s been announced that a biopic is in the works with Adam Mazer penning the script. Also at the helm of the film\\u2019s development are Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth.

Image: Roddenberry Entertainment, via Deadline.

While we\\u2019re on the topic of celebrating Gene\\u2019s centennial, be sure to catch Rod Roddenberry on an interview with Fox11 Los Angeles. During the interview, Rod explains the point of the \\u201cThinkTREK\\u201d initiative that has been going throughout the summer along with some personal anecdotes about his father.

And if that wasn\\u2019t enough, even NASA got in on the celebration by hosting a conversation with scientists, engineers, and special guest George Takei, moderated by Rod Roddenberry. They even sent one of Gene\\u2019s quotes into space by beaming the recording out towards the final frontier via their Deep Space Network. The panel is a little over 40 minutes long and spotlights the importance of infinite diversity in infinite combinations for the betterment of human-kind.

Vintages Of Future Past

By Cat Hough

If there\\u2019s one thing we all enjoy around here, it\\u2019s drinks [drink!\\u2013Ed.]. So when Star Trek Wines announced the addition of Andorian and Cardassian wines to its now six-bottle lineup, we could not be more excited to try them...unless the Cardassian one tastes like hot fish juice.\\xa0

Please drink responsibly. Ushaaning everyone in sight is not "responsibly." Image: Star Trek Wines.

Even if you\\u2019re just a collector of really cool bottles, the Andorian Chardonnay is a lovely shade of blue and comes in a bottom-heavy clear bottle that is also festooned with a United Federation of Planets metal medallion. The Cardassian kanar bottle has a bit more pizazz [certainly one way to put it\\u2013Ed.]. Star Trek Wines states "the team conducted a rigorous multi-year search for an original Cardassian Kanar bottle, a unique, serpent-shaped vessel, originally utilized in the 1950s through the 1970s in Europe.\\u201d They then rendered those bottles in 3D for accuracy, resulting in one of the \\u201cmost fascinating bottles in the Galaxy.\\u201d

Of course Cardassians would make a bottle you feel uncomfortable just looking at. Image: Star Trek Wines

As for the wine itself, the Andorian Chardonnay, priced at $50, is listed as premium Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands "aged 12 months prior to bottling" and has \\u201cdelicious notes of citrus, peach and apricots." The Cardassian Kanar Red Wine Blend, priced at $60, is described as a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Petite Verdot. They say these combine into "a dark, rich wine with notes of ripe blackberries and juicy blueberries, velvety tannins, and a long, delightful finish.\\u201d

Both of these new wines are available for presale at StarTrekWines.com and expect to ship sometime in November. Or, if you want to buy the whole six-bottle collection\\u2013what they call "The Full Armada," it\'s currently available for $299.\\xa0

Logic And Honor: Collect The Whole Set!

By Rosco McQueen

The team from Topps and Mego toys, known for their scale figures have teamed up in the most logical way as part of their ongoing collaboration, with the release of the new Mr Spock 8 inch action figure.\\xa0 Spock is outfitted in his screen accurate Starfleet Command uniform and accessories as seen in 1979\\u2019s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The figure comes complete with phaser pistol, tricorder and an emotionless, logical facial expression (Vulcan nerve pinch not included.)\\xa0\\xa0

The 90-100 day shipping lead time is almost as long as the spacedock scene. Image: TOPPS.

But if your display shelf is looking a little too Federation vanilla, time to spice up the Breget lung with some grapok sauce!\\xa0 The legendary Dahar Master himself, Kor, son of Rynar can now be added to your collection, in 8 inch figure form.\\xa0\\xa0Also in a screen accurate uniform and accessories, the Kor figure is as seen in the 1967 episode of Star Trek, "Errand of Mercy". Both are individually available for $19.99 US.

Lam\\xe9 is a good way to die. Image: TOPPS.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• Via her Twitter account on August 23rd, Michelle Paradise announces that S4 of Discovery has wrapped!\\xa0
• George Takei will lend his vocals to a Star Wars project in Visions. He had previously voiced Separatist General Lok Durd in The Clone Wars. Takei joins an already impressive English-speaking voice cast, which includes David Harbour, Karen Fukuhara\\u2013and Boba Fett himself, Temuera Morrison.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Mars, The Slip\\u2019N Slider Of War

By Cat Hough

The Infinity Lock Box returns and contains an all-new Tier 6 Starship, the Mars Pilot Escort [T6]. This ship features a 5/2 weapon layout and, since it is a Pilot Escort, a Commander Tactical/Pilot Specialist Bridge Officer seat, and a Lieutenant Universal/Intel Specialist Bridge Officer seat.

It also comes equipped with a Universal Subspace Cavitation Matrix Console, which creates a subspace shockwave in normal space that will damage foes out to 5km from the impact point. This console also provides a passive bonus to Current and Maximum Engine Subsystem Power, as well as an increase to all weapon damage to foes within 5km. This ship also introduces a new Experimental Weapon, the Subspace Pocket Projector, capable of forming localized distortions in subspace that are then propelled toward a nearby foe. This distorts hull and shields, and slows their ship\'s ability to maneuver in normal space.

Getting a piece of the action: three pieces, to be precise. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Finally, leveling your Mars Pilot Escort will unlock the Improved Lock Trajectory Space Trait. While this trait is slotted, the recharge time of Lock Trajectory is reduced to zero, allowing the ability to be immediately re-engaged after it is turned off. [If they\'re not attached, does it matter which way it\'s pointing?\\u2013Ed.] Plus, you will be able to gain a reduction to the recharge times on Pilot Abilities, Cannon: Rapid Fire, and Cannon: Scatter Volley, whenever you deal Energy Weapon damage to a foe that is within your forward 90\' firing arc (max once per 5 sec).

Dilithium Sinks Keep (Re)Rolling Along

By Rosco McQueen

In an effort from Cryptic to provide players with options for their stockpiles of dilithium, a new permanent way to spend dilithium has been added to the game. STO Staff Systems Director Jeremy \\u201cBorticusCryptic\\u201d Randall explained that starting on August 24, Personal Endeavor Reroll Tokens and Admiralty Assignment Pass Tokens are purchasable for 2,500 Dilithium apiece. This change will appear on console platforms on September 8.

One simple button couldn\'t be too controversial, right? Image: Cryptic Studios.

Previously players could earn the tokens through the respective systems as random rewards.\\xa0 That method has now been disabled.\\xa0 The hope is to balance the game\\u2019s Zen exchange to a more sustainable level.

Listed in: Leisure

519 - Models, Warbirds, and Guitar Solos | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This episode of Priority One is brought to you by Eaglemoss Hero Collector\\u2019s annual SUMMER OF TREK Sweepstakes. Score the year\\u2019s best deals on the world\\u2019s widest range of Star Trek collectibles and enter for a chance to win one of more than 250 incredible prizes \\u2013\\xa0including the Grand Prize of an Ocean View Voyage for 2 aboard the SOLD OUT Star Trek: The Cruise V.\\xa0 For details and to enter, go to www.GetYourTrekOn.com

This week on Episode 519 of Priority One: Kurtzman and Trek, Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s archive goes into an NFT digital world, and plenty of new Star Trek related products to add to your wishlist. In Gaming: rock out with your targ out when Mary Chieffo goes metal for Star Trek Online, and Modiphius has new goodies to add to your tabletop Star Trek Adventures!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Kurtzman\\u2019s Next 5-Year Mission

By Elio Lleo

Since we\\u2019ve been gone, quite a lot has happened. Although we\\u2019d love to cover it all, we\\u2019ll have to narrow it down to the news that we think matters most\\u2014starting Alex Kurtzman\\u2019s new 5-year/$160 million contract with Paramount+ to develop not only Star Trek, but other projects as well. The New York Times\\u2019s Nicole Sperling published an article on August 1, 2021, featuring interviews with Kurtzman and other major players involved.

The article explores Kurtzman\\u2019s past, present, and future projects for the studio and the hopes he has for the franchise.\\xa0Something particularly interesting though, was the announcement that a \\u201cStarfleet Academy\\u201d series is in the works which \\u201cwill be aimed at a younger audience.\\u201d Also, according to Sperling:

Mr. Kurtzman, who wants to get much weirder with the franchise\\u2026 points to a pitch from Graham Wagner (Portlandia, Silicon Valley), centered on the character Worf, that he calls \\u201cincredibly funny, poignant and touching. If it were up to me only, I would be pushing the boundaries much further than I think most people would want,\\u201d he said. \\u201cI think we might get there. Marvel has actually proven that you can. But you have to build a certain foundation in order to get there and we\\u2019re still building our foundation.\\u201d

Becoming Props of Pure Energy

By Cat Hough

Announced at Las Vegas, Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s personal archives are being comprehensively digitized on an unprecedented scale, with plans to do some fancy sci-fi things with the material. The joint effort between the Roddenberry estate, OTOY, and Light Field Lab, hopes to preserve thousands of photos, documents, and physical assets like starship models in extreme digital detail, preserving it for future study and recreation.

The Roddenberry Archives will use OTOY\\u2019s blockchain-based computer rendering network to extensively digitize the Roddenberry estate\\u2019s collection from the producer\\u2019s work on the Star Trek franchise. Long time Trek writers Denise and Michael Okuda, artist Mike \\u201cBeeple\\u201d Winklemann, and comics legend Alex Ross are also contributing to the project.\\xa0

Beyond the historical importance of maintaining the extensive archives, OTOY intends to leverage the assets for fan experiences. The company will work with display startup Light Field Lab to recreate a 1:1 scale holographic replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise as seen in the original series. It claims to be able to use the original models seen in filming the series to create a projected replica \\u201cindistinguishable from reality\\u201d for \\u201cone of the world\\u2019s first fully immersive holographic installation experiences.\\u201d

What is this, a starship for ants??? Image: OTOY.

Rod Roddenberry had this to say: \\u201cI cannot think of a more capable and innovative company to trust with these materials. OTOY\\u2019s work will allow generations to experience my father\\u2019s contribution to humanity with the greatest historical accuracy possible. This project will protect an optimistic vision of the future that has inspired so many and remains so important today.\\u201d\\xa0

Play(mobil)ing Into The Enemy\'s Hands

By Rosco McQueen

Speaking of bringing Star Trek to life, the classic Enterprise [no bloody A, B, C, or D--Ed.] is warping into your living room. Playmobil\'s newly-announced model starship comes complete with seven crewmembers (Kirk\\u2019s two-handed punch and kung-fu grip not confirmed). The model itself is over a meter long with lights, sound, its own dedicated mounting and augmented reality app.

It\'s impressive in size and, according to the release, there are more technical details yet to be announced.\\xa0 I can\\u2019t wait to hear more about what this toy collector\'s item has hidden away in the shuttle bay. But from the photos there is a lot to like, with light-up Bussard collectors and exceptional attention to detail.\\xa0Plus, in a Playmobil first: Mr. Spock is the first figure in the company\\u2019s history to have (Vulcan) ears!.

But if you\\u2019re more into relaxing with a good book, then Titan Books has just the thing.\\xa0 Their latest release takes an inside look at the franchise\'s bad guys with Star Trek: Villains, the Federation\\u2019s deadliest foes collected in one terrifying volume. The book features interviews with the actors behind the baddies such as Alice Krige (the Borg Queen), Christopher Plummer (General Chang), and Ricardo Montalbahn (KHAAAAAAAAN!) and profiles of alien foes such as the Romulans, the Gorn, the Dominion, and the Klingons. The book is available for pre-order now through Amazon in the US and Canada, and Forbidden Planet in the UK and Europe.\\xa0\\xa0

Boy bands in the future are going to be wild. Image: Titan Books, via Red Shirts Always Die.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• In an interview with Entertainment Weekly about his involvement with the horror series Slasher, David Cronenberg also hinted that we may see his Star Trek: Discovery character in three episodes in Season 4.
• A couple of interesting conversations were had in Las Vegas this year; although we weren\\u2019t there to report on the events ourselves, be sure to visit TrekMovie.com for highlights like Rainn Wilson wanting to bring back Harry Mudd, and Kenneth Mitchell teasing a return to the franchise.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Today Is A Good Day to ROCK

By Elio Lleo

Captains, while we were away, the most epic thing hit the internet. Something so awesome, that we feel as though we should add a faux cautionary disclaimer before talking about it: Priority One is not responsible for side-effects caused by the sheer awesomeness of the following story. The Mother of All Klingons\\u2014Mary Chieffo\\u2014joined forces with Star Trek Online and singer/songwriter Jason Charles Miller to produce a song for the ages: Steel and Flame!!\\xa0

In celebration of this year\\u2019s Klingon story arc in Star Trek Online, Mary Chieffo goes all out in an original heavy metal song\\u2014entirely in Klingon. In an interview with ScreenRant.com Mary spoke about collaborating with The Klingon Language institute to \\u201ccome up with lyrics that fit rhythmically as well as translation-wise.\\u201d This video deserves millions of views\\u2014so go! Watch it and share the targ out of it!!! \\U0001f596\\U0001f918

Charting A New Path(finder) Forward

By Rosco McQueen

Thomas Marrone has been refreshing Star Trek Online starship models for some time now, and he has finally come full circle.\\xa0 On August 13 the lead artist for starship and UI teams shared some images of the refurbished model of the Pathfinder, the 25th century variant of the Intrepid class. It\\u2019s a favourite of many players and\\xa0 the new model looks stunning. It\\u2019s especially fitting for Thomas to bring the refresh to fruition, since the Pathfinder was the first starship he designed for Star Trek Online [Warning: clicking that link will make you feel incredibly old.--Ed.]

The Legendary Legacies of Romulus

By Cat Hough

While we\\u2019re on the topic of ships: released to PC last week, the Legendary Romulan Warbird Bundle is now available in-game with the price of 12,000 Zen (roughly $120 USD). The bundle contains:

• [T6] Legendary Scimitar Intel Dreadnought Warbird
• [T6] Legendary D\'deridex Miracle Worker Warbird Battlecruiser
• 1 Free C-store T6 Ship Coupon
• 2 Experimental Ship Upgrade Tokens\\xa0
• 2 Ship Slots
• 3 Infinity Promo Romulan Survivor Duty Officer Packs
• TOS Era Romulan Uniform
• TNG Era Romulan Uniform
• Reman Uniform
• Reman Species

No one tell Tom Hardy. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Breaking The Boundaries Of Boxed Sets

By Elio Lleo

If you\\u2019re looking to upgrade your tabletop Star Trek Adventures, well, now, you can wear it too!\\xa0 Modiphius\\u2019 Tricorder Collector\\u2019s Edition is a boxed set in the style of those old scientists\' an Original Series tricorder. Inside you\\u2019ll find division-themed dice, gamemaster and player guides, and a complete campaign scenario. So, if you\\u2019d love to cosplay and be ready to game at a moment\\u2019s notice, be sure to visit Modiphius to find out more!

You can also use it as an improvised weapon, but I\'d recommend against that. Image: Modiphius.

Listed in: Leisure

518 - Donny, Courage, and Comic-Con | Priority One, A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 518 of Priority One: Comic-Con@home brings us new trailers for Star Trek: Prodigy and Lower Decks, and Saru and Stamets look ahead to season four of Discovery.\\xa0 In gaming news, we go back and forth on the Courage-class coming to Star Trek Online, and some new shiny textures for your favourite Romulan Captain.

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Comic-Con@home - Lower Decks

By Cat Hough

As we anxiously await the premiere of Season 2 of Lower Decks, we were treated to a brand new trailer last week during Comic-Con@home. Based on the trailer, Season 2 \\xa0has all the things we loved in Season 1 plus so much more. How much more? The best villains! Including Cardassians, Pakleds, Ferengi, Nauciscans, some giant slime monster and the incomparable Jeffrey Combs makes an appearance as an evil computer. We also see a new Tamarian crew member who had this to say when welcomed to the bridge: \\u201cRapungee - when he joined the Seven.\\u201d

Tom Paris also shows up in Season 2...in commemorative plate form, though. Also, an interesting side note in the news: Robert Duncan McNeill was invited to reprise Tom Paris for Season 1 of Picard but, due to scheduling conflicts. he was not able to make it work. So maybe we\\u2019ll see more Tom Paris at some point. Season 2 of Star Trek: Lower Decks starts August 12 on Paramount+.

Comic-Con@home - Prodigy

By Jake Morgan

But Lower Decks wasn\\u2019t the only Star Trek series to get some Comic-Con attention. We were also treated to our first look at Star Trek: Prodigy! In the 52 second trailer for Prodigy\\u2019s inaugural season, we\\u2019re introduced to the main cast: Dal, Gwyn, Zero, Rok-Tahk, Murf, and Jankom Pog, The main cast also features the stunning new-to-crew U.S.S. Protostar (which looks like a cross of the Intrepid- and Rhode Island-class) and the timeless Captain Katherine Janeway\\u2013who reminds us that \\u201dwe\\u2019ve only just begun.\\u201d

During the Comic-con@home panel, the creators, director, and cast\\u2013including Star Trek royalty Kate Mulgrew\\u2013joined the ever-entertaining Jerry O\'Connell to discuss the newest Star Trek series. EP Kevin Hageman pointed out that this would be the first Star Trek series \\u201dthat\\u2019s actually going to be seen through the eyes of characters who are outside of Starfleet.\\u201d

In discussing Prodigy\\u2019s place in Star Trek mythos, the Hageman brothers recognized that this would be the \\u201cLittle Brother or Little Sister\\u201d member of the franchise, but wanted to \\u201cpunch up.\\u201d Kate Mulgrew reiterated the sentiment, saying \\u201cChildren are very astute. You\\u2019ve grasped an essential component of the childlike imagination, which is extraordinary perception. They need to be grounded while taking flight at the same time. And this\\u2013you have achieved.\\u201d The trailer is a must watch, and the panel is super-entertaining and informative.

Stamets And Saru In Season 4

By Rosco McQueen

Everyone\\u2019s favorite Kelpien [the other white meat\\u2013Ed.] has been on the interview circuit in the past couple of weeks, with Doug Jones talking about the release of Discovery Season 3 on DVD.\\xa0 In an interview with SYFY Wire, Jones spoke about Saru\\u2019s heartbreak at the revelation that a fellow Kelpien was responsible for the Burn. He also confirmed that filming on Season 4 continues in Toronto and, even though Saru\\u2019s left the command chair, he still has plenty to do.

"Damn, Starbase 80?!?" Image: Michael Gibson/CBS, via SYFY.

\\u201cAfter we got home to LA during hiatus last year, I called Michelle Paradise myself and said, \'Should I expect to go back for Season 4? Because, they left me on-camera teaching Su\'Kal the ways of the Kelpians.\\u2019 She said, \\u2018Oh, no, you\'re back. You\'re back.\\u2019 But the question will remain that Starfleet does not strip you of your rank, so I am still a captain. Where do they plug me in? That\'s the question.\\u201d

In an interview with Screen Rant, Discovery actor Anthony Rapp spoke about the cast and their Dungeons & Dragons sessions, and rejected claims he\'ll become the series villain. You may suspect that\\u2019s where the relationship is going\\u2013at the end of Season 3 we saw Paul Stamets not being particularly friendly with the newly-minted Captain Michael Burnham.

When you find out you have to be the party healbot. Image: ViacomCBS, via ScreenRant

Rapp was quick to shut down the villain rumors. \\u201cNo, no. He\'s like a consummate professional. He hated [Captain] Lorca but he still did his job. And he doesn\'t hate Michael. He was just hurt. It was a different situation. Ultimately, he\'s a smart person and understands [why Michael became Captain] but it still stung, the way that it happened.\\u201d

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• What is it like to host Jeopardy!? According to LeVar Burton, it\\u2019s scary.\\xa0 But he said once he focused on making the most of his hosting chances and stopped trying to \\u201cbe as smooth as Alex\\u201d that he was able to relax more and be his wonderful self. We hope you all have had a chance to Trek out his episodes.\\xa0
• Marina Sirtis spoke about the on-again off-again idea of a Captain Worf series, throwing her support behind it. She explained she would love to be a small part of it, and the potential of having a series focused on the Klingons.
• And at the recent Comic-Con@home event, the Stargate Atlantis reunion panel had some small Trek nuggets for aspiring sci-fi actors. Robert Picardo spoke about the fan crossover between Star Trek and Stargate, and how his previous acting roles meant he was better prepared for science fiction roles. His advice: get your feet wet in some other acting jobs before delving into the world of sci-fi.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Courage Of Your Promotions

By Cat Hough

Star Trek Online continues to look to the future\\u2013or at least continues to look to Discovery when picking new promo ships. This week, the 32nd century Courage-class Command Science Destroyer joins the list of ships available as a R&D and Duty Officer pack reward choice. This ship switches from Science Mode to Tactical Mode by reversing direction. In Tactical Mode, you get access to a Commander Tactical station, the Coherent Integrity Projector Experimental Weapon is enabled and you get a boost to hull capacity. It\\u2019s a Science ship\\u2013but it\'s also a Destroyer so it\\u2019s equipped with 4 front and 3 aft weapons [or is it 3 front and 4 aft?\\u2013Ed.]. The starship trait, Directional Bias, provides bonus Exotic Damage or Healing when using bridge officer abilities based on where you are attacked. Overall, this ship looks to provide a lot of build options for those lucky enough to win one.

Now does that make it any easier to parallel park, though. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Let Freedom BLAST

By Cat Hough

Starting today through August 2nd, the Freedom-class Exploration Frigate, otherwise known as the U.S.S. Franklin from Star Trek: Beyond will be available in the Lobi Store. Plus! Everything in the Lobi Store is 20% off. The ship\\u2019s unique console is the interesting VHF Disruptive Transmission. When activated, it will blast high frequency radio waves towards nearby foes, dealing significant electrical damage and boosts your turning radius while it\\u2019s active. And it can be equipped in any console slot, on any ship.\\xa0

D\\u2019deridex? Don\\u2019t Mind If I Do

By Cat Hough

Some breaking news for Romulan ship fans [we know you\\u2019re out there\\u2013Ed.]:\\xa0 the D\\u2019deridex and Scimitar classes are freshly remastered starting today. Just when you were getting bored with those ships\\u2019 looks, they go and make them all shiny. Thanks to Donny "Viper" Versiga, a ship artist at Cryptic for posting some excellent before and after images\\u2013it\\u2019s so nice to see those ships get some love.\\xa0

It\\u2019s Canon: Donny Loves Connie

By Rosco McQueen

Speaking of Donny, he recently spoke with the folks at MassivelyOP about ship design. They covered off his favourite captain (Kirk) and his favorite starship (Connie refit) in short order, then went on to talk about the design process for Star Trek Online. Donny explains that fresh designs are from the incredibly talented Hector Ortiz, with as many as 20 designs put together as the team refines the looks of a particular ship. 3-D models are created, then once the final ship design is selected, that model is sent to the Ship Team to build.\\xa0\\xa0

He also spoke about the updates to older Starship models, which has become a large part of the game. Donny explains that as PC/console hardware power has increased over the years, the amount of detail STO can provide per ship has increased, sometimes three times as much detail as was previously seen on starship models.\\xa0 It\\u2019s a great look behind the scenes at the process.

Listed in: Leisure

517 - Pahvo, VR, and More LeVar | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 517 of Priority One: The virtual becomes reality on the set of Discovery Season 4, meanwhile the Disco captains reflect on their past and future in the center seat on the bridge.\\xa0 In gaming news, Pahvo is under attack on the ground and orbit in the third Event Eampaign installment in Star Trek Online, and Dr. Robert Hurt shares the importance of the Hubble Telescope\\u2019s return!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Is This The Real Life? Is this Discovery?

By Elio Lleo

When that other \\u201cStar\\u201d franchise debuted their own serialized, live-action TV series on Disney+, critics not only raved about its story, but also about its cinematography. The Mandalorian, which started streaming in 2019, showcased a new style of filmmaking that was absolutely breathtaking. You see, instead of having to find locations where to shoot, the production used a 360-degree LED wall to project\\u2013in real time\\u2013all the landscapes and effects needed for the scene. The end result: a creative and astonishing backdrop that really helped build that world.

Now, everyone wants in! Not only does this technology save the time and resources it takes to shoot on location but, combined with the Unreal Engine, actors can actually see and react to visual effect environments in real time. Now we can visit Strange New Worlds with much more ease, as Noah Kadner explains in his article for American Cinematographer. According to Kadner, Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 and the first season of Strange New Worlds have been filming with a 270-degree horseshoe-shaped LED wall by a company called Pixomondo\\u2013which can be fed real-time animations using Unreal Engine.

Gul Madred\'s cruelest torture to date: do the virtual lights count? Image: Michael Gibson/Paramount Plus, via American Cinematographer.

Star Trek\\u2019s Lead Visual Effects Supervisor Jason Zimmerman told Kadner \\u201cgetting something in-camera on the day is so much better than greenscreen in many ways. One major difference [in terms of workflow] is that the production-design and art departments are a lot more involved much earlier in the process, because they have to get assets ready to be photographed instead of waiting until after the shoot.\\u201d But the away teams from Strange New Worlds will be beaming down to realistic landscapes\\u2013the New Mexico Film Office announced this week that the television series is using New Mexico landscapes for the show\\u2019s visual effects.\\xa0

Jamming With Captain Burnham

By Rosco McQueen

Michael Burnam meets Bugs Bunny\\u2013is this a crossover episode? No, Sonequa Martin-Green plays Lebron James\' wife in the Space Jam sequel, and right now Martin-Green is on the promo circuit talking about the animated adventure.\\xa0 But the good folks at Collider and Gizmodo couldn\'t help but ask some questions about Discovery Season 4 and what the future holds for Captain Burnham.\\xa0\\xa0

Kamiyah, When LeBron Dunked. Image: Warner Brothers, via Collider.

According to Martin-Green, filming for Season 4 is almost complete with only a little bit left to shoot.\\xa0 She emphasized the importance of cementing her new position as Captain, particularly the importance of having a black woman in the role. But she was tight lipped on what\\u2019s to come, telling Gizmodo it\\u2019s going to be about finding out who she is as Captain Michael Burnham, \\u201c[b]ecause there\\u2019s always been this question of who am I in this moment? Who am I in this role? And now I\\u2019m going to have to answer those questions for myself as Captain because everything is different now. And we\\u2019ve got a huge threat coming our way.\\u201d

The Rubber Meets The Wormhole

By Rosco McQueen

Meanwhile, Doug Jones reflected on Captain Saru and his journey through Season 3 of Discovery.\\xa0 Jones sat in the Captain\\u2019s chair for almost its entirety, something Jones believes was a dream of the character but not necessarily the actor\\u2013it meant a lot more time in the makeup chair. \\xa0 \\u201cI was on more days on Season 3 than ever before. But the honor and the gravity of it was not lost on me that put me in a very small handful of actors who have played Captains in Star Trek. And even a bigger honor that I was the first non-human alien creature to take a Captaincy of a title ship. That was a really a big deal for me, especially as a geeky boy who has played a lot of rubber animals and creatures over these years.\\u201d

Just keep working on that tagline. Image: ViacomCBS, via Decider.

Jones goes on to talk about adding new cast members to the series, particularly his joy at working with Bill Irwin who played Su\\u2019Kal, as each actor has been a fan of the other for a long time.\\xa0 Season 4 of discovery was filmed under COVID restrictions, and thanks to a few stops and starts has taken a few extra months to film than previous seasons. However Jones doesn\\u2019t see the measures as restrictive. \\u201cI think that\\u2019s what Star Trek helps us realize, that the situation can be different if you perceive it differently. So you can look at it as restrictions, or you can look at it as enablement. I\\u2019m going to look at this as it\\u2019s enabling us to get the job done, and to stay employed, and to keep the production running.\\u201d\\xa0

Would You Just Give LeVar The Host Position Already

By Cat Hough

We will finally get to see LeVar Burton take his turn in the guest host role on Jeopardy! next week. And, many of his friends, including Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden have continued lobbying efforts to get him that full-time gig. McFadden told showbizjunkies.com, \\u201cI think he would be superb. I think he is born to do it. He\\u2019s perfect.\\u201d Spiner added, \\u201cI can\\u2019t think of anyone more qualified than he is. LeVar has proven himself as a host, an educator, a personality, and this and that. He\\u2019s a very smart guy with a really great personality, which I think is key for the job. He\\u2019s got all of the qualities.\\u201d\\xa0

You definitely should Trek out the full article because it recaps both of their careers. They tell us their favorite TNG director and give us an update on their latest ventures. As we previously reported on this very podcast, McFadden is currently hosting the podcast Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?, while Spiner, who we will see in the second season of Picard\\u2013has written a novel called Fan-Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events. Don\\u2019t forget to watch Jeopardy! next week!

Kenneth Mitchell: To Boldly Go

By Elio Lleo

Image: StarTrek.com

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 is coming to Blu-Ray with several special features and StarTrek.com showcased one last week. Dedicated to Kenneth Mitchell, the featurette showcases Mitchell\\u2019s various roles on these latest iterations of Trek and of course, addresses his ALS diagnosis. It is an incredibly moving segment with commentary from his fellow actors and crewmates.\\xa0

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Pahvo Pops Off

By Cat Hough

Just earlier today, Star Trek Online released details on the third installment of the Event Campaign, where players can participate in a series of campaigns to earn the grand prize. The Defense of Pahvo Event starts July 27th on PC and will run for 3 weeks before concluding. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players will be able to participate starting in September. Once the Campaign starts, players will be able to earn their Daily Progress once every 20 hours by completing either the ground TFO \\u201cPahvo Dissension,\\u201d or its space-based counterpart, \\u201cPeril Over Pahvo." As with previous Events, players can still use their old Event tokens to apply toward this Event.

Brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous, but snazzy dressers. Image: Cryptic Studios.

A few minor adjustments have been made to each TFO:

• Each completion will reward a Choice of All Marks (replacing the usual Mark rewards)
• Both TFOs have had their Cooldown Timers temporarily disabled
• Both TFOs have been temporarily removed from Random TFO eligibility

For this specific event, once you earn a total of 14 days\\u2019 worth of Daily Progress, you can claim the Crystal Prism Universal Console for your entire account. This unique console features\\xa0 a charge-driven design, allowing for rapid creation of multiple energy-conductive prisms in space. This console emulates the popular Kit Module of the same name, allowing players to build networks of damage-dealing crystal prisms in formations of their own choosing.

Each Prism that is placed in space will automatically attack nearby enemy starships, inflicting Psychic damage upon their crews, and tearing apart their hulls with telekinetic energies. The damage inflicted by each Prism in a connected group is increased based on the number of other networked Prisms, allowing for an incredibly high ceiling on such a cluster\\u2019s overall potential for rending into their foes.

Other rewards include\\xa0 the now-standard 25,000 dilithium ore and three Featured TFO Reward Boxes (choice of 1x Specialization Point or an Enhanced Universal Tech Upgrade) for a single character.

ASTROMETRICS REPORT

By Dr. Robert Hurt

For this week\'s Astrometrics Report, we will stare into the heart of a swirling beam of energy generated by a supermassive hole in the nearby galaxy. But first, I had to mention the good news---that NASA\'s Hubble Space Telescope has been successfully resuscitated, after a system failure back on June 13th. The issues arose due to a connection fault between its power control unit and payload computer. Finding a way to bypass the malfunctioning system was not trivial. While on Star Trek, that usually takes about two strained metaphors and three minutes of typing, for NASA that required over four weeks of painstakingly careful labor (but fortunately no problematic metaphors). Hubble jumped back into its science program on July 17th, and released some of its post-recovery data this week of some beautifully-twisted galaxies. High fives all around!

Deployed in 1990 by Discovery, appropriately enough. Image: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Lockheed Corporation.

Of course, Hubble is only one of a fleet of critical telescopes that operate both in space and on the ground. This week we got to see three different views into the heart of a nearby galaxy: one only possible with a planetary-scale telescope array. I speak of the Event Horizon Telescope (or EHT for short) an international collaboration combines the power of many radio telescopes scattered across the planet. Synchronizing their data collection, they can create some of the highest-resolution images ever made of the universe. You probably have already seen the historic image of the black hole at the heart of the M87 galaxy---or at least the materials swirling around its Solar System-scale event horizon.

This week, the collaboration has released a new radio image of the center of another galaxy: Centaurus A. This time, the focus is not on the black hole, but the incredible jets of high-energy particles that are being flung away at nearly the speed of light from the region around the black hole. We\'ve known about the powerful jets emanating from the hearts of some galaxies for decades. In fact, these jets provided some of the early evidence that supermassive black holes lie at the centers of galaxies. As material collects into a disk around the black hole, it rotates really quickly and gets heated to incredible temperatures. We expect that much of this material flows into the black hole over time, adding to its mass.

But some of these hot electrons and protons get swept up along spiraling magnetic fields, get ejected from the disk before reaching the black hole. Think of these like beads on a string: as you whip the string back and forth, the beads can accelerate and pop off the end, moving at high velocities. The exact mechanisms behind these high-energy, near-light speed jets of accelerated plasma are not well understood. That is, in part, in due to the fact that we have never been able to see these jets up close in enough detail to unravel their structure.

That is, until now. The new EHT image unveils the structure of this jet all the way down to its base, revealing a tube-like shape that lights up brightest along the outer edges. It shows details down to scales of a few light-hours across, essentially resolving features as small as our Solar System---but from a distance of over 10 million light-years away. The black hole at the base of this jet is about 55 million times as massive as our sun, which makes it a bit smaller than the one imaged in M87---which is a few billion times the sun\'s mass---but still much larger than the one at the heart of our Milky Way, which is only a few million solar masses.

Make sure to check out the groundbreaking image of the Centaurus A jet---but even better, I wanted to let you know about a fun chance to try your hand at making your own astronomical image by participating in NASA\'s Astrophoto Challenges. The Summer 2021 event will be running through August 16th, and the subject is the M87 Galaxy. You can pick between real datasets from telescopes in space and on the ground, or even have a robotic observatory take a picture just for you. (Full disclosure: I am part of the team that develops these challenges, so I\'d be thankful if you\'d check it out. Just Google NASA\'s Astrophoto Challenges, or look for our Ask the Astronomers episode about it on YouTube.)

Listed in: Leisure

516 - Mudd, Mount, and Riker | Priority One, A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 516 of Priority One: that\\u2019s a wrap on filming for season one of Strange New Worlds, details on Trek panels for Comic-Con@Home, and Lower Decks beams back onto screens next month!\\xa0 In gaming news, Harcourt Fenton Mudd is at it again, scouring the galaxy to bring you deals and gear from across time itself, and the newest patch to Star Trek Fleet Command brings a commanding presence to the game.\\xa0\\xa0

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

What is the next Star Trek Online event reward you would like to be made available for purchase?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Strange New Worlds Goes To Wrap 1

By Cat Hough

Last week, Anson Mount tweeted that filming for the last episode of Season 1 for Strange New Worlds has started. He also hinted at some surprises in store, saying, \\u201cold school fans are going to [be] VERY excited to see what we\\u2019re trying to pull off with this one. Getting to do many things I\\u2019ve never attempted as an actor. So much fun!"

No release date has been announced for Strange New Worlds, but to recap what we do know about it: first, it is more episodic than Discovery or Picard. Second, it will likely have a more classic Original Series theme and look. Showrunner Akiva Goldsman said it\\u2019s important to keep continuity with The Original Series, while also distinguishing Strange New Worlds as its own show.

Can\'t even tell the difference. Image: ViacomCBS.

Goldsman described it to The Hollywood Reporter saying, \\u201cRemember the Enterprise existed as a little piece of [the show Discovery] but now is its own object. When you close your eyes and think of the key sets and situations that you think of in The Original Series, that\'s what we\'re looking to do." We may possibly get more information during Comic-Con@Home since a Star Trek Universe panel has been announced\\u2013though my best guess will be sometime in early 2022.\\xa0

Star Trek@Comic-Con@Home

By Cat Hough

Speaking of the San Diego Comic-Con\\u2013or the virtual version, Comic-Con@Home\\u2013Paramount+ announced back-to-back Star Trek panels starting Friday, July 23 at 10 a.m. PT. Paramount+\\u2019s Comic-Con panels will feature sessions with the cast and producers from Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Images: ViacomCBS/Comic-Con International, via Deadline.

Prodigy, the first Star Trek animated kids series [TAS doesn\\u2019t count, we\\u2019ve been over this already\\u2013Ed.], will kick off the presentation with Lower Decks set to follow. The Prodigy presentation will be the inaugural panel for the upcoming kids series, following a crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together, while navigating a greater galaxy in search of a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered, but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

Lower Decks voice cast members Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid and Eugene Cordero will then appear with creator Mike McMahan for an exclusive conversation and an extended look at Season 2 with Lower Decks\\u2019 own Jerry O\\u2019Connell moderating the conversations. And speaking of Lower Decks\\u2026

Lower Decks Season 2, Coming Through!

By Rosco McQueen

It\\u2019s officially one month until Lower Decks returns to the screen for season two, with a very short teaser released this week.\\xa0 While the teaser was short, in Lower Decks fashion it was brimming with details.\\xa0 In the opening shot alone we saw the Cerritos alongside some Parliament-class starships, Andorian cruisers, a Maquis Raider and a couple of Daedalus-class ships, all docked at a starbase that seems inspired by the Watchtower-class from Trek-lit novels.

In the teaser Mariner and Boimler crash through a space mall in a space dune buggy, and narrowly avoid some space fish people [they\\u2019re not people!\\u2013Ed.] originally seen in The Next Generation.\\xa0 The lower deckers sport some flashy new dress uniforms, and just to add to the mix, some Commander Data collectable figurines fly out the back of the buggy.\\xa0\\xa0

Did we miss anything?\\xa0 Let us know in the comment section at priorityonepodcast.com.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• The first four Star Trek films are being re-released...this time in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR10. What does that mean? You\\u2019ll be able to make out every follicle of Ricardo Montalban\\u2019s chest hair [what are you on about, dude was smoother than Michael Phelps on a Slip\'n\'Slide\\u2013Ed.]! Packed with extra features (much like Khan\\u2019s chest) this 4-disc set doesn\\u2019t have a release date yet but, we\\u2019ll be sure to keep you updated!
• While we\\u2019re talking about merch, Playmates just announced a new line of Star Trek toys coming in 2022. According to StarTrek.com, there will be a lineup of action figures and accessories from all era\\u2019s of the franchise\\u2013new and old.
• Star Trek also gets to celebrate some recognition with five Emmy nominations this year. Discovery is up for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup, Outstanding Period And/Or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series, and Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode. Lower Decks has been nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Taking Some Time On Mudd\\u2019s Market

By Rosco McQueen

Harcourt Fenton Mudd is at it again, scouring the galaxy to bring you deals and gear from across time itself.\\xa0 This week Star Trek Online announced three previous event rewards are joining Mudd\'s Market. The store is adding the Red Angel Suit, the Dot 7 Drone Kit Module, and the Elachi Walker Combat/Vanity Pet. Hard-earned Zen can be put to use with every item in Mudd\\u2019s Market (except the bundles) discounted by 75% until July 19 at 10am PT. So now is the perfect time to collect the Red Angel Suit if you missed out.

All proceeds will presumably go to posting bail. Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekNews.net

That leads us to our community question this week:\\xa0 \\xa0

What is the next Star Trek Online event reward you would like to be made available for purchase?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Courtesy Codes for Wayward Planeswalkers

By Thomas Reynolds

Magic: Legends may be headed towards shutdown in a few months, but Cryptic apparently hopes you\\u2019ll stick around. There\\u2019s been no official announcement at the time of recording [sort of\\u2013Ed.], but check your email if you played the Legends beta test at any point. You may find free codes for other Cryptic MMO bundles, including a STO Federation Elite Starter Pack and a Fleet Admiral Bundle\\u2013a combined US$70 value\\u2013as a thank-you for participating.

Commanding Time In Star Trek Fleet Command

By Rosco McQueen

It\\u2019s the best of both worlds, only this time it\\u2019s part three!\\xa0 The third section of Star Trek Fleet Command\\u2019s Next Generation arc has just landed, with Commander William T. Riker in the spotlight. Patch 32 brings with it a new officer, a new ship and, for Star Trek Online players, some familiar gameplay elements to the Kelvin Universe.\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cWith the Enterprise-D mysteriously returned to its former glory, the time has come to find and rescue the rest of the crew and get them home to their own universe. You manage to track down Commander William Riker, who finds himself at the forefront of the Bajoran resistance against the rampant Cardassian Empire. And with the Cardassians holding many Enterprise-D crew members captive, the conflict is personal for Riker.\\u201d

Amazing, The Beard actually overpowers the lens flare. Image: Scopely.

Also there are some changes to the Away Team assignments. Introduced in Patch 30, this feature gives you the possibility to send officers on Assignments and receive rewards. Now the assignments are part of your daily goals, giving players the ability to gain more daily goal points and more speed ups. So in STO terms, duty officer assignments have been added to the endeavor system. Available to players in this patch is a new officer: Epic William Riker, a new ship: the Meridian, an isogen mining vessel, fifteen new missions and more.

Listed in: Leisure

515 - Headquarters, Headcanon, and Hallmark | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 515 of Priority One: the Federation Headquarters finds a new home in Ohio, the USS Steve Jobs\\u2013I mean, Kelvin\\u2013might have a reason for why it looks so flashy, and in gaming Star Trek Online\\u2019s new time currency sink might have worked. Later Dr. Michael Chan looks OnScreen with an analysis and review of the Short Trek \\u201cChildren of Mars.\\u201d

This week\\u2019s Community Questions are:

Do interviews with creators ever come across your radar, outside of listening to podcasts? Do they help fill in continuity gaps for you?

And

What service in Star Trek Online do you keep coming back to over and over? Would you like it to be made available for purchase with dilithium?\\xa0

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Federation\\u2019s Housewarming Party

By Elio Lleo

One thing that can be said about Star Trek fans is that they work hard to celebrate their passions for the franchise\\u2013often by donating their time and talents for labors of love. The fan group known as The Federation is one such organization. For over 36 years the group\\u2019s goal has been to:\\xa0

\\u201c...provide, promote, and support education and positive legal activism in the area of human rights, racial and sexual equality, environmental causes, and space exploration. To promote a more positive impression of Star Trek fans as intelligent, socially conscious, active individuals who are aware and concerned about the real world today.\\u201d

Image: The Federation.

Having worked directly with Gene Roddenberry in its early years, the group boasts over 2,000 members with over 30 chapters. Now, the group is settling down at its official headquarters in Huron, Ohio. Joining them to christen the new location will be Nichelle Nichols\\u2013known best as Lt. Uhura in the Original Series. Money raised during this event will go to Nichelle\\u2019s retirement fund. So, if you\\u2019re in Ohio the weekend of September 10th, be sure to grab a ticket to one of Nichols\\u2019s final appearances.\\xa0

It\\u2019s Kot\'baval in July!

By Rosco McQueen

What to get your favourite Trekkie for Christmas? It\\u2019s the question you have six months to ponder, and thankfully we at Priority One are here to help. Unfortunately, for the Captain Picard fanatic, I have terrible news. In the Prop Store\\u2019s most recent auction, the original flute from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode \\u201cThe Inner Light, sold for $190,000.\\xa0 It was sold among other items including the original Statler and Waldorf puppet heads from The Muppets, Harry Potter\\u2019s glasses, and Indiana Jones\\u2019 fedora as worn in The Temple Of Doom, which sold for $375,000.

If those items were a little outside your budget, then Hallmark has previewed its exclusive offerings coming to the home version of San Diego and New York Comic-Cons.\\xa0 They\\u2019ll be offering limited quantities of a few exclusive ornaments, including a Star Trek Klingon Bird of Prey ornament. Released in honour of the 35th anniversary of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Klingon Bird of Prey ship comes complete with the HMS Bounty paint stylings from the movie. It will set you back $35, with only 3,750 available.

Or give them an empty box and tell them it\'s phased. Your call. Image: Hallmark Licensing LLC, via Slashfilm.

Trek Different

By Elio Lleo

Occasionally the creators of Star Trek throw the fans a curveball. Whether it\\u2019s giving Klingons a complete make-over, using a Rod Stewart song as a theme, or...giving Klingons another make-over. But one change that really stirred the pot was the bridge redesign in the Kelvin Timeline. For all intents and purposes, JJ Abrams put an Apple Store on the bridge with lots of additional lens flare. But, one intrepid fan over at DenOfGeek wants to try and help fill in those canonical gaps with some of his own thoughts and observations.

There\'s no way AppleCare\'s covering that much liquid damage. Image: ViacomCBS, via Geek Agent Media.

You see, according to Ryan Britt\\u2019s headcanon, it all makes sense. First, it starts with an explanation from screenwriter Roberto Orci and director JJ Abrams. Orci\\xa0 seems to have explained that Starfleet reverse-engineered the Narada\\u2019s tech from scans taken by the USS Kelvin. Britt goes on to point out that this might be a plausible explanation given that nuTrek on Paramount+ has finally embraced and acknowledged the existence of the Kelvin Timeline. So, there you have it: the USS Steve Jobs explained(?).

That leads us to our first community question this week:\\xa0

Do interviews with creators ever come across your radar, outside of listening to podcasts? Do they help fill in continuity gaps for you?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Dilithium Sink Soars

By Rosco McQueen

The past week in Star Trek Online has seen a changing fashion scene. Summer is definitely in, with short shorts, shorter bikinis and transcendent tribbles adding colour to the beautiful Risa rainbow at sunset. In orbit and in sector space, starships across the galaxy are sporting their shiny new vanity shields, as players take advantage of the commodity now being available for purchase with dilithium. They\\u2019re high-cost premium items, and making them available this way is designed to lower the cost of dilithium on the exchange.

This week Star Trek Online community manager Mike Fatum posted a question to twitter, asking the community for their feedback on other items that players would spend their hard-earned dilithium on over and over, more like a service than a one-off purchase.

That leads us to our next community question this week:\\xa0 \\xa0

What service in Star Trek Online do you keep coming back to over and over? Would you like it to be made available for purchase with dilithium?\\xa0

Star Trek Adventures On The Macro Scale

By Thomas Reynolds

Ah, technobabble: the true universal language of the future. Reversing polarities, phase inducers going out of alignment, better run a level 4 diagnostic\\u2013this plausible nonsense makes us go. Without it we wouldn\\u2019t have Particles of the Week, Engineering would have no miracle workers, and there would never be Some Kind of Anomaly. So if you want your Star Trek Adventures campaign to feel truly Trek, you\\u2019d better be ready to **** like Starfleet\\u2019s finest\\u2013or let the computer handle it for you.

Or not. Image: ViacomCBS, via TrekCore.

On June 25th, Continuing Adventures shared STA fan Mirco\\u2019s instructions for making a Roll20 virtual tabletop technobabble generator. Mirco\\u2019s macro script pulls technobabble terms from random roll tables, according to a [do] the [sciencey] [science] [thing] template. Players and GMs can use the in-game macro to come up with gems like \\u201coscillate the positronic flux membrane\\u201d with a single click. However, figuring out how much buffer time you\\u2019ll have for replicator margaritas still falls to you.

Scopely\\u2019s Game Board

Written by Rosco McQueen

Scopely, the publishers of Star Trek Fleet Command announced this week they have added two people to their board of directors: initial public offering adviser Marcie Vu and former Activision Blizzard president Coddy Johnson. Venturebeat reports that Vu is a former executive at Qatalyst and Morgan Stanley, where she was an adviser on IPOs for companies like Alibaba.com, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Zynga. Johnson was the No. 2 executive at Activision Blizzard, which has a market value of $74 billion.\\xa0

Walter Driver, the co-CEO at Scopely said in an interview \\u201c[a]s we think about building more player-centric views of our player experiences versus platform-centric views, I think that experience is really valuable. (Coddy Johnson) has operated at a tremendous scale. Very few people have had that kind of vantage point of leading such a large organization both in terms of people and revenue.\\u201d

Listed in: Leisure

514 - LeVar, Lawsuits, and Luxury | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 514 of Priority One: LeVar Burton shares some personal insight in a New York Times interview, there\\u2019s a shakeup happening at ViacomCBS, Galaxy Quest might happen as a TV Series; in gaming, Star Trek Online\\u2019s summer event gears up!

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

CQ: What do you think about using promo item sales to moderate Star Trek Online\\u2019s dilithium economy?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

LeVar Burton\\u2019s A Sign Of The Times

By Elio Lleo

Several Star Trek alumni have gone on to lead remarkable careers, but one in particular has been such a cultural icon, he is affectionately known as one of the Four Horsemen of Wholesomeness. Like Bob Ross, Steve Irwin, and Fred Rogers, LeVar Burton is an institution not just to his Star Trek fans but to children. In a recent interview with The New York Times\\u2019s David Marchese, LeVar opens up about his career and his latest adventure as the guest host of Jeopardy!.

To whom it may concern: you\'re welcome. Image: Los Angeles Magazine.

The interview is very personal and Marchese asks thought-provoking questions. When Burton was asked why he wants the Jeopardy! gig, Burton replied:

Look, I have had a career for the [expletive] ages. \\u201cRoots,\\u201d \\u201cStar Trek,\\u201d \\u201cReading Rainbow.\\u201d Won a Grammy. Got a shelf full of Emmys. I\\u2019m a storyteller, and game shows are tremendous stories. There\\u2019s a contest, there\\u2019s comedy, there\\u2019s drama. If you don\\u2019t know your [expletive] on \\u201cJeopardy!\\u201d you\\u2019re sunk in full view of the entire nation. The stakes are high. I love that.

Burton goes on to discuss the balance between his celebrity and private personas and how he best engages with his fans---both in person and online. He also goes on to discuss how he approaches opportunities that might have come, or others that he might have missed.\\xa0

Comcast Joins The Stream Team

By Cat Hough

In case anyone out there was not aware, the Streaming Wars have begun. Now, Comcast is joining the battle. It has been said by \\u201csources\\u201d that Comcast CEO, Brian Roberts, has been wrestling with whether to build or buy to become a streaming powerhouse. He\\u2019s considering a move similar to how ViacomCBS, Disney and Amazon, have struck mergers meant to supercharge their streaming efforts.

Mr. Roberts, known as an aggressive deal maker in his two decades leading Comcast, has told people close to him that he doesn\\u2019t feel a need to seek a merger. But he is scoping out options, and ideas on the table include a potential tie-up with ViacomCBS Inc. or an acquisition of Roku Inc.

Now every network and content provider wants to be a streaming powerhouse, and in an effort to better prioritize streaming, executive teams continue to be reshuffled---including the team at ViacomCBS. Another restructure within the company was announced this week that included several promotions. The new exec team will focus on content groups rather than specific network oversight, with each newly promoted executive having greenlight power in order to keep supplying programming to Paramount+.

The reorg will see ViacomCBS shift from a legacy model where networks had dedicated executives in favor of a structure that puts executives in charge of specific genres across the company. This move is fairly significant for ViacomCBS, since none of the four legacy media companies have similar exec structures.\\xa0

Fair Use, Or Not So Fair?

By Cat Hough

There are some new and interesting limitations in place if you want to claim Fair Use as a defense to copyright infringement claims. This week, the Supreme Court refused to review a 9th Circuit\'s December decision that author David Jerrold and ComicMix LLC\'s were liable for copyright infringement because their mashup of Star Trek elements with Dr. Seuss\'s Oh, the Places You\'ll Go! did not make fair use of Seuss\'s work. The issue in this case came down to whether the new version transformed the original version enough to be considered fair use, and the court says no, it did not.

Now, a brief lesson in copyright law: if you are a holder of a copyrighted work, you are entitled to protect your work from other people from using it. If someone wants to use your work, then they need to ask permission, which is known as getting a license. However there are situations in which someone does not have to get permission to use someone else\\u2019s work, like news reporting or teaching. There are other ways, too - but those are just an example. The thing with fair use is that it is a defense to copyright infringement, so you actually have to get sued first in order to prove that you are not guilty of infringement. If you use fair use as a defense, you are basically saying, \\u201cyes, I used your protected work, but my use is an exception to the normal rules.\\u201d

Image: Brendan McDermid, via Reuters.

Oh, The Cases You\\u2019ll Go (To Court For)

In this case, Mr. Jerrold and the publisher, ComicMix LLC took Dr. Suess\\u2019s book, Oh, the Places You\\u2019ll Go! and published a version based on Star Trek. Now it\\u2019s very clear that the underlying work is Dr. Suess\\u2019s book, but the 9th Circuit went through an entire analysis of each element of a fair use defense - which we won\\u2019t go into here, but eventually they found that the mashup was copyright infringement because the publisher and author did not give any new context to the original work or the work was not transformative enough. If you\\u2019re interested in other case law about fair use, the essential case to read is the \\u201cOh, Pretty Woman\\u201d case brought against 2 Live Crew by the publishers of the Roy Orbison/William Dees song [actual citation: LUTHER R. CAMPBELL aka LUKE SKYYWALKER, et al., PETITIONERS v. ACUFF ROSE MUSIC, INC---Ed.].\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0

But Don\\u2019t Take Our Word For It

Priority One\'s legal analysis, as always, is good for educational and entertainment purposes only---for actual legal advice, consult a practitioner licensed in your jurisdiction, and pay for your own content. And if you are planning on using other people\\u2019s work in your own creative way, it\\u2019s best to err on the side of caution and get a license. Even if some guy on the internet told you it\\u2019s fair use.

Yeah, he seems trustworthy. Image: ViacomCBS, via HeroCollector.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• If you need a chuckle, Facebook user \\u201cSpock Pointy-ears Vulcan\\u201d created a video montage of the famous Picard Maneuver (you know, the one where SirPatStew tugs on his uniform). In this interpretation though, each time he does it, his com-badge pops off. Captain Pew-card, if you will.
• One of Star Trek\\u2019s greatest films might be getting a made-for-television adaptation! Well, OK---it\\u2019s not Star Trek, it\\u2019s one of Trek\\u2019s greatest love letters: Galaxy Quest. In an interview with The Times, Georgia Pritchett let slip that she and Simon Pegg are working on a new Galaxy Quest project. Unfortunately, there are no more details to share.
• Noah Averbach-Katz (Discovery\\u2019s Andorian Ryn and Mary Wiseman\\u2019s husband) is raising funds in support of the non-profit organization T1International, and their mission to make insulin freely available to all who need it. Visit his website to find special #Insulin4All Starfleet combadges and signed photos for sale and help support this important cause.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

A Top-Tier Luxury Cruiser

By Cat Hough

Last week, Star Trek Online announced this year\\u2019s Summer Event ship will be the T6 Risian Luxury Cruiser. We now have more information about this upgraded version of the ship. First, this ship features a Lieutenant Commander Universal/Temporal Operative Bridge Officer Seat, and is also equipped with Solar Sails, which allow its Quantum Slipstream Drive to travel at increased speeds for twice as long as normal.

Also, the Risian Luxury Cruiser can be equipped with a Soliton Wave Generator console.\\xa0 This allows the ship to generate a powerful, but stable, Soliton wave that will draw nearby enemy ships toward the Cruiser and deal minor radiation damage.\\xa0 During this time, the Soliton Wave Generator is building up a powerful charge that is released after a short time and will damage nearby foes---plus briefly knock their engines offline. This console also provides a passive increase to Current and Max Shield Subsystem Power, and Reduced Recharge Times for Temporal Operative Bridge Officer Abilities.

Image: Cryptic Studios.

As befitting a T6 ship, the Luxury Cruiser also has the Leisurely Pace Starship Mastery Trait. While at or below 25% Throttle, Exotic Particle Generators and Control Expertise get a stacking bonus once every 5 seconds (4 stacks max). Once you have at least one stack, activating any Control Bridge Officer Ability will cause up to 5 foes within 5km to suffer a Debuff to their Flight Speed and All Outgoing Damage for 5 seconds. The severity of this debuff is increased by additional stacks of this trait\'s buff, gained by remaining at Low Throttle. This effect may only be triggered once per 5 seconds.

D.R.E.A.M. (Dilithium Rules Everything Around Me)

By Thomas Reynolds

A key part of humanity\\u2019s future in Star Trek is the end of the scarcity-based economy. Money is nothing and chips are free (on Earth, at least). So to be honest, when we start talking about manipulating currency economies in STO, it feels just a bit weird. On June 25th, the official STO Twitter account acknowledged that the Dilithium Exchange was apparently not showing offers anymore. But rather than a display bug, there was simply no offers to show: \\u201cany offer to buy Dilithium is *instantly* filled, leaving nothing to display.\\u201d

Cryptic\\u2019s solution to balance the economy? Sell more stuff, of course! To sink a lot of dilithium out of the game---fast---Cryptic is temporarily adding ten previously promo-only Vanity Shields to the Dilithium Store. That sweet Section 31 aesthetic you\\u2019ve craved for so long? Just drop 280,000 dilithium between now and July 8th, and it can be yours.\\xa0

Cryptic\\u2019s goal is to rebalance the economy without raising the dilithium cap, which it reportedly has no plans to do so. On the one hand, that makes this special shield offer feel somewhat like a stopgap measure. Then again, it also makes promo items accessible to players without sacrificing on the altar of RNGesus: something we strongly support.

That brings us to our community question this week:

CQ: What do you think about using promo item sales to moderate Star Trek Online\'s dilithium economy?

Magic: Legends Exits Play

By Thomas Reynolds

For years the STO community voiced concerns that Magic: Legends was drawing development resources away from our own big-name licensed MMO. That turns out not to be the case. On June 29th, former STO EP Steve Ricossa announced that Magic: Legends will be shutting down on October 31st. This might not be a surprise given Legends\\u2019 troubled development history, rough open beta launch, monetization controversies, and recent lack of player engagement. Still, going from beta launch to shutdown in only seven months is a grim trajectory\\u2013especially for those who put so much effort into it. With Legends headed off into the serene sunset, Cryptic simultaneously laid off about 40 people associated with the project effective immediately. Ricossa promises that Cryptic \\u201clearned several valuable lessons along the way, and...will use them to improve Cryptic\\u2019s future development efforts,\\u201d but it\\u2019ll be with fewer faces around.

Image: Cryptic Studios.

Listed in: Leisure

513 - Lorca, Gamma, and Paradise | Priority One, a Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week, on Episode 513 of Priority One: Noah Hawley speaks out about what happened with his Star Trek project, Michelle Paradise talks about a canon wishlist, Ronald D. Moore shares some history about TNG\\u2019s \\u201cRedemption\\u201d episodes; in Gaming, Star Trek Online is ready to hit the beaches of Risa with this year\\u2019s summer event; lastly, Dr. Robert Hurt helps us solve the mystery of Orion\'s incredible dimming star.

This week\\u2019s Community Questions are:

In the same way fans clamor for the DC Snyder-verse and Batfleck, should we rally behind Hawley to see his Star Trek project created?

What canonical stories or characters do you think Discovery could explore well?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Who Mourns for Hawley?

By Elio Lleo

In a recent interview with Deadline\\u2019s Pete Hammond, Noah Hawley addresses his disappointment that his vision for a Star Trek film didn\\u2019t come to fruition. When asked about the project he had this to say:\\xa0

\\u201cIn retrospect, what surprised me is not that Emma Watts came in and said \\u2018are you people crazy? This is an untested crew, this is an original idea, we don\\u2019t know if this is going to work or not work.\\u2019 It\\u2019s that I got as far as I did...it was a really fun movie, and I think it would\\u2019ve been a great film. But you can\\u2019t control these things, so you move on.\\u201d

Image: FX, via Deadline.

Now you might have heard Hawley name-drop Emma Watts. Watts replaced Wyck Godfrey as President of the Paramount Motion Picture Group back in June 2020. That leads us to our first community question this week:

In the same way fans clamor for the DC Snyder-verse and Batfleck, should we rally behind Hawley to see his Star Trek project created?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Wishing for Season 4

By Elio Lleo

While we\\u2019re on the topic of interviews, The Hollywood Reporter Presents Q&A video series featured Sonequa Martin-Green, Michelle Paradise, and Olatunde Osunsanmi of Star Trek: Discovery. The conversation focused a great deal on Season 3 and repeated a lot of things we\\u2019ve already heard. Perhaps the one question asked that deviated from the norm was, what canonical plots or characters are on the writer\\u2019s room wish list, to which Michelle Paradise replied:

\\u201cat the start of any season...we have these questions about what are the awesome things in canon that we haven\\u2019t touched on yet? Or where are the opportunities, like this season with the Guardian of Forever? Having sixty years of history is so much fun, to be able to bring in some of these things. And then, thanks to the time jump, we\\u2019re actually a bit ahead of many of those things. We aren\\u2019t trying to marry them to our current timeframe, so we can play a little bit more.\\u201d

Only Grudge is better at adhering to an NDA. Image: ViacomCBS, via DenOfGeek.

They went on to praise the cast and crew for their incredible work behind the scenes and in front of the camera. When asked about Season 4, Paradise\\u2019s answer was incredibly vague, though---sticking to an answer that didn\\u2019t give anything away.

That leads us to our next community question this week:

What canonical stories or characters do you think Discovery could explore well?

Re-Lorca-tion Expenses

By Cat Hough

Do you ever find yourself wondering what it would take to get Lorca back into Star Trek? [Nope.-Ed.] Well, wonder no more---the man himself, Jason Isaacs, told comicbook.com the answer. And it\\u2019s simple: have a good script.

Contract negotiations, am I right? Image: ViacomCBS, via The Hollywood Reporter.

But is that answer simple? One would hope so...or at least hope the right script is out there. Because Isaacs won\\u2019t take just any role. He says that he \\u201c[h]ad a fantastic time on Star Trek, I loved all the people, I love being part of that universe, and Prime Lorca, the Prime Universe version of my captain, has yet to be found. But I wouldn\'t go back just to be in it, I\'d go back if you had a great story to tell." Isaacs\\u2019 latest on-screen appearance was in Creation Stories, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16th.

Moore\\u2019s \\u201cRedemption\\u201d

By Rosco McQueen

This week marks 30 years since the cliffhanger episode \\u201cRedemption, Part 1\\u201d originally went to air. It laid a lot of the foundations for Klingon culture, thanks to writer Ronald D. Moore...but it almost didn\\u2019t happen. In an interview this week with The Hollywood Reporter, Moore discusses building the character of Worf over time with episodes like \\u201cThe Bonding\\u201d and \\u201cSins of the Father\\u201d, as well as slowly building up the Klingon culture. So much so, that Moore became known as \\u201cthe Klingon guy.\\u201d

But there was a lot of pushback from Gene Roddenberry, who didn\\u2019t see Worf as a main character. To Gene, \\u201c[TNG] was about Picard. He was the Captain. This was the first time that Next Gen---that Star Trek, really---had ever done a big war story like this. And this was going to be the series\\u2019 100th episode on top of it. So, we had to fight somewhat to get the episode going.\\u201d

Some fought harder than others. Image: ViacomCBS, via DenOfGeek.

Executive Producer Rick Berman and the late TNG showrunner Michael Piller helped run interference with Roddenberry, and thankfully \\u201cRedemption\\u201d made it to air.\\xa0 If it hadn\\u2019t, there would have been no Klingon Civil War, or characters like the Duras sisters and the half-Romulan, half-human Sela---who continues to vex us in Star Trek Online to this day.\\xa0\\xa0

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• Wilson Cruz chatted with Yahoo about the importance of representation\\u2013not just in Star Trek, but in television and film in general. He shared his own story about breaking down barriers and forging his own path in the industry throughout the 90\\u2019s and early 00\\u2019s. The article isn\\u2019t all about Trek, but it\\u2019s an important conversation.

See and be seen. Image: Michael Gibson/ViacomCBS, via Yahoo!

ASTROMETRICS REPORT

By Dr. Robert Hurt

For this week\\u2019s Astrometrics Report, we examine a solution to a dark mystery of astrophysics. Here I\\u2019m talking literally about the darkening of one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Even the most casual backyard astronomer can point out the constellation Orion in the fall and winter skies. The bright red star forming Orion\\u2019s upper left shoulder is known as Betelgeuse (\\u201cBEE-tel juice\\u201d or \\u201cBEH-tel juice\\u201d, if you want an alternate but equally valid pronunciation).

Whatever your phonetic preference, it is the 10th brightest star in the entire sky---so imagine everyone\\u2019s excitement back in late 2019, when this stellar beacon began to get unexpectedly darker. This was not subtle: by early 2020, it had dipped to about a third of its usual brightness, almost fading into the background of the Orion constellation. This was a big deal for a red giant star, which is about 18 times more massive than our Sun and 760 times larger in physical size. That makes it 3.5 times larger than the Earth\\u2019s orbit---which is big enough to gobble up Mars and the entire asteroid belt, falling just short of Jupiter\\u2019s orbit.

So what could make such a huge, massive star go dark? That question prompted a lot of speculation because of another aspect of red giant stars. They are the last evolutionary stop for huge stars, before they explode as supernovae. Stars a bit more massive than our Sun will reach a point where nuclear fusion has produced a much wider variety of elements than our Sun ever will. This ultimately leaves a growing iron core that becomes so dense that gravity will overwhelm it, causing it to collapse to form a vastly-denser neutron star or black hole. In that instant the outer layers of the star will cascade into this sudden void, heat up, and rebound with an incredible release of energy that---for a brief period---match or exceed the energy output of all the other stars in the galaxy combined.

Betelgeuse is on the short list of candidate stars that could make this next big boom in this galaxy. And that would certainly be exciting! At a distance of about 600 ly, such an event would be so bright as to be visible in the daytime sky for weeks. But relax: it is more than distant enough to keep us safe from getting cooked in the process. So, was this rapid dimming the precursor to the astronomical show of a lifetime? As you might guess from the lack of sensational headlines, the star returned to its regular brightness. No boom.

But the question remained: what had happened to our favorite red giant star? In a recent paper, astronomers have announced a resolution to this mystery...and the culprit is dust that came from Betelgeuse itself. The evidence was presented in a series of high-resolution images of the star, showing what seemed to be a smoky veil passing in front of its disc before moving on.

That evidence alone is an incredible telescopic achievement. Because even though Betelgeuse is over a hundred times farther away than our near neighbor Alpha Centauri, its incredible size makes it only one of only a handful of stars of which we\\u2019ve been able to resolve surface features. Those images, along with infrared light measurements that did not show any decrease in brightness, helped seal the deal for dust being the dimming agent. Fundamental changes to the structure of the star (or even Michael Bay-style alien megastructures swarming around it) would affect all wavelengths of light, while dust blocks mainly visible light but becomes largely transparent in the infrared.

In the recent study, astronomers have proposed that the turbulent star had ejected a bubble of gas, cooling slightly in the process. That allowed the gas to condense into particles of dust that, while orbiting around the star, passed in front of it for a few months---causing all of the fuss. While that may not be as dramatic as an explosion to put Hollywood blockbusters to shame, it\\u2019s still a pretty amazing result. This illuminates one of the many ways stars are responsible for forging so many of the elements of the universe that make up planets and people. This dust ejection is one way these elemental building blocks are blown out into the galaxy, to become the source material for new stars, planets, and maybe even lifeforms in the distant future.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Gamma Recruits, Prepare for Battle...Again!

By Rosco McQueen

As of this moment, we are all dead.\\xa0 We go into battle to reclaim our lives. This we do gladly, for we are Jem\\u2019Hadar. Remember, Victory is life!

For the glory of the Founders, Star Trek Online\\u2019s recruitment revamp continues with the Gamma Recruit event, active until July 22.\\xa0 If you create a new Jem\\u2019Hadar character you\\u2019ll gain access to special bonuses awarded through gameplay, which also unlock rewards across your whole account. This is the third time players have been able to create a Gamma Recruit since the unveiling of the Victory is Life expansion in 2018, with Cryptic adding some new goals and altering a few to include all reputation marks.

Summertime and the Livin\\u2019s Easy\\u2026

By Cat Hough

The one time my Gorn can wear his Speedo and not get arrested. Image: Cryptic Studios.

Cryptic announced more details today about the upcoming Lohlunat Festival, running concurrently on all platforms from July 1st to July 31st. The blog post announced that the event ship will be an all new Risian Luxury Cruiser Vessel [T6] with details and ship stats to be released in a separate post. All of the old favorites from previous years will be returning, including powerboard races, the biathlon, horga\\u2019hn hunting, scavenging with Sovak and, of course, the galaxy-famous dance party. Participating in any of the events will grant progress towards the Risian Luxury Cruiser Vessel!

There\\u2019s a new baseball uniform for the Jupiter Station Stem Bolts in the Event Store and two new T-shirts to collect. You can get a DISCO shirt, or the famous Chu Chu dance shirt (woo!). There\\u2019s also a new impulsive floater, powerboard and vanity shield in the Stem Bolts colors.

Also making waves [ugh---Ed.] is the Tsunami Generator. This Universal Kit Module replicates a wave that rolls out from the player, smashing into everything in front of it before crashing apart. The force of the wave knocks down creatures and injures them, and has a chance to temporarily disable electronic devices, such as turrets and drones. And the new kit frame, Risian Vulcanology, provides rebreather functionality to protect you from toxic gas, and its heat sink controls grant complete immunity to fire!

Don\\u2019t forget this year\\u2019s new pets: The pastel-colored Transcendent Caracal (Vanity Pet) and Transcendent Tribble. Petting the tribble will \\u201cgrant a constant, passive small chance to resist and throw off any effect that would control you, as you refuse to be limited or constrained. If you\'re on a team with multiple people petting this tribble, the chances stack based on the number of people involved. This tribble is unafraid of Klingons or other species that have treated Tribbles negatively in the past.\\u201d

Something in the Air Tonight\\u2026

By Cat Hough

Hey, surprise! There\\u2019s a new bundle. The New Genesis Bundle will be available on PC for 7500 Zen starting on June 24th, and is on sale for the first week. This bundle features two new T6 ships: the Malachowski-class, an updated Clarke Multi-Mission Command Cruiser, and the long awaited Oberth-class, otherwise known as the Grissom Light Science Vessel. (Please note: these two ships will also be available as separate purchases outside the New Genesis Bundle.)

The bundle will also include a number of additional account-wide items, such as the Genesis Ground Vanity Device*, Wrath of Khan outfits and a Type II Phaser Compression Pistol (C. 2285). Finally, two Experimental Starship Upgrade Tokens and two Fleet Ship Modules boost your purchasing value further. This ship bundle will also be available to players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at a later date.

*This is a different device than the one given to Foundry authors. It has similar animation and FX, but does not include the Spock-In-The-Box that appears when the Foundry thank you gift is activated.

To GOOOOOOAAAALLLL Where No One Has Gone Before

By Rosco McQueen

In celebration of the European Football Championship, the folks at Scopely shared a guide on how to play soccer/football/whatever in Star Trek Fleet Command. It\\u2019s not a minigame as such, more a suggestion from the developers on how it could be done. Put together teams of ships with your friends and alliances to get an Envoy \\u201cball\\u201d across your imaginary goal lines in space.

It\\u2019s Priority One Armada\\u2019s 8th Anniversary!

All during the month of June, we are giving away various prizes and will have events for Armada members every Saturday with even more prizes! This Saturday, June 26th, is our final event: the Risian Triathlon. Plus, you should definitely trek out the Livestream with yours truly this week as we feature our new intro video produced by Anthony! This is a great time to join Priority One Armada with more than 5 billion in EC in prizes being given away this month.

Listed in: Leisure

512 - Romijn, McMahon, and Mudd | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 512 of Priority One: Paramount+ announces the main cast for Star Trek: Prodigy; Rebecca Romijin shares some news about Strange New Worlds; McMahon teases Lower Decks Season 2; Star Trek Online offered players a new promotional pack to purchase; and Fleet Command continues its Next Generation journey.

This week\\u2019s Community Questions are:

What are the bills you want to see paid in Lower Decks (and Picard) seasons two?

What are your thoughts on the Mudd\\u2019s Market Into Darkness bundle? Did you purchase it---and if so, which options did you decide on?

Are you hoping to see Star Trek characters in Fortnite? Who would you most like to see?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Paramount+, Essentially

By Elio Lleo

ViacomCBS continues to try luring in more subscribers, by offering up new pricing tiers and teasing a slate of new content coming out over the summer. First up: the new \\u201clow-cost\\u201d option for US subscribers, starting at $4.99. This \\u201cEssential Plan\\u201d is ad-supported, including some sports and on-demand options. However, it will no longer include local live television station programming.

I swear every one of those stars is an asterisk. Image: ViacomCBS, via Deadline.

Keep in mind if you already have the limited commercial plan, you won\\u2019t lose any features\\u2026however, that plan will no longer be offered to new subscribers. The \\u201cPremium Plan\\u201d will cost US subscribers $9.99 a month, is commercial-free with on demand entertainment (including 4K titles), more sports, and live streaming of local stations.

Trek\\u2019s Prodigious New Talent

By Elio Lleo

On Monday, June 14, ViacomCBS dropped the cast list for Star Trek: Prodigy\\u2013the first animated show specifically geared towards children [no, TAS wasn\\u2019t written for kids; we\\u2019ve explored that in our Patreon exclusive podcast: After Hours -Ed.]. The six main voices joining Kate Mulgrew have been announced including Jason Mantzoukas\\u2013who you might recognize from shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The League, and as the voice of the foul-mouthed Rex Splode on the Amazon animated series Invincible. Variety also shared the details about the characters including some species names, character backgrounds, and some first-look images.

Aren\'t you a little young for nebula coffee? Image: ViacomCBS, via Variety.

Romijn Charts Out Strange New Worlds

By Cat Hough

In a recent interview with Looper.com, Rebecca Romijn confirms what we have long suspected regarding the format and episodic nature of Strange New Worlds. She said, "it\'s in keeping with the original series \\u2014 they\'re standalone episodes. It\'s a little bit lighter. We are visiting planets. We are visiting colonies, and we are so proud of our work so far." The show will cover ten years of missions on the Enterprise (no bloody A, B, C, or D) with Captain Pike, before Kirk takes the helm. Romijn plays first officer Number One, originally played by Majel Barrett.\\xa0

Whatever you\'ve hiding, Mr. Spock, I hope you brought enough to share. Image: ViacomCBS, via Looper.

No release date has yet been announced for Strange New Worlds, other than it\\u2019s expected some time in 2022. But it appears that filming may be coming to a close. Romijn told Looper she was able to catch a break in filming episode seven of ten for Strange New Worlds in order to promote her new film, the safari thriller Endangered Species.\\xa0

Bills To Pay in Lower Decks Season 2

By Rosko McQueen

It\\u2019s the question that can foster debate, cause rifts in friendships, or spark outrage on social media: what\\u2019s your favorite episode of Star Trek? Mike McMahon, the creator of Lower Decks was asked exactly this by the folks at IGN. Thanks to his breadth of knowledge, he had an answer for each series, while also throwing out some teasers for Lower Decks season 2.\\xa0

"Shades of Gray," Mariner? Really? Image: ViacomCBS, via IGN.

Mike spoke about the structure of Star Trek, and the nature of standalone episodes that add to the depth of the characters\\u2013but not in a way that the audience needs a refresh at the start of each new episode. What that means for Season 2 of Lower Decks is we have the setup of the first 10 episodes. So where to from here?\\xa0

\\u201cThese last three episodes created this crescendo of, \\u2018Look, this is what the show is. Let\'s go. And we keep that up. How does Mariner feel about Boimler taking off? How is Boimler doing on the Titan? So, [we\\u2019re] still doing standalone, still episodes that feel episodic, but the characters don\'t forget. We haven\'t forgotten what we\'ve said [in] Season 1.\\u201d

That leads us to our first community question this week:\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0

What are the bills you want to see paid in Lower Decks (and Picard) seasons two?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• GoldDerby.com\\u2019s Rob Licuria sat down with Star Trek: Discovery\\u2019s Visual Effects Supervisor Jason Zimmerman to discuss the process behind building a new universe in the Star Trek multiverse\\u2013specifically, after jumping into the future in Discovery Season 3. Licuria also chatted with Glenn Hetrick about Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery on June 9th.
• In a recent episode of the official Star Trek Podcast: The Pod Directive, Tawny and Paul chat with Alex Kurtzman to discuss the importance of Trek, the production process, and storytelling in the Star Trek universe\\u2026and how desperate he is to produce a musical story. We\\u2019ll be deconstructing the interview in our Patreon Exclusive show, After Hours, this week.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Mudd\\u2019s Multiversal Market Madness

By Shane Hoover

It looks like Harcourt Fenton Mudd has reared his profiteering head once again in the Star Trek Online C-Store. From June 10 through June 24, players who have about $150 burning a hole in their pockets can purchase the new Into Darkness and Beyond Choice Pack. Like previous Mudd\\u2019s Choice Packs, you can choose three out of eight options including ships, upgrade tokens, C-Store coupons, or master keys.

But if you wanted to buy them all...well, Cryptic has another purchase option, the MEGA Into Darkness and Beyond Bundle. That\\u2019s right: for the eye-watering regular price of $600 you can purchase every one of the eight choices offered! But act fast\\u2013it\\u2019s only $300, or 50% off, until June 24th.\\xa0

That leads us to our next community question this week:\\xa0 \\xa0

What are your thoughts on the Mudd\\u2019s Market Into Darkness bundle? Did you purchase it\\u2013and if so, which options did you decide on?

Fleet Command Searches For The Next Generation

By Elio Lleo

Star Trek Fleet Command has dropped the second part of its Star Trek: The Next Generation arc with Section Patch 31. Featured in the update are new stories and missions to rescue Worf or Picard. Who will you choose to save first?

"Who? Never heard of them." Image: ViacomCBS, via Memory Alpha.

The new update includes new officers, new ship projectiles, fifteen new missions and more. Also, if you\\u2019re eager to learn about the team behind the game, you can trek out their \\u201cMeet the Team\\u201d blog featuring Senior QA Tester Alannah.

It\\u2019s the Armada\\u2019s 8th Anniversary!\\xa0

By Cat Hough

All during the month of June the Priority One Armada is giving away various prizes, and will have events for Armada members every Saturday\\u2013with even more prizes! June 19th is our 80s-themed costume competition. And you should definitely trek out the Livestream this week as we feature our new intro video produced by Anthony! This is a great time to join Priority One Armada with more than 5 billion in EC in prizes being given away this month.

Well, We Had To Cover Fortnite Eventually

By Elio Lleo

June 8th saw the release of a new season for the hugely popular battle royale shooter Fortnite. Why would Priority One Podcast care, you ask? Well this season sees the game\\u2019s island invaded by aliens in flying saucers, and Fortnite has a well earned reputation for pulling in characters from all over popular culture. For example, this season sees Rick Sanchez of Rick & Morty [Drink! -Ed.]\\xa0 making an appearance alongside Superman. But the hot rumor in Trek circles is that Star Trek just might make an appearance on the island this season. Which makes a great Community Question for our listeners this week!

Are you hoping to see Star Trek characters in Fortnite? Who would you most like to see?

Quick Gaming News Roundup

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you. Links, of course, will be in our show notes!

• Time to head to Risa, break out your longboard and get ready for some dance contests! Star Trek Online announced that the Summer Event will start on July 1st this year. Expect some more announcements coming regarding the event ship and other new items that will be available in the event store.\\xa0
• Saxon Props on Twitter shared a Krieger Wave pistol build based on the Star Trek Online model, including using some clay models for the accompanying stand. It\\u2019s always great to see the hard work of STO\\u2019s artists, like designer Hector Ortiz, showcased in the real world.
• Big news for ship artists this week with the announcement of selectable backgrounds on the PC ship builder. You can now green screen your favorite starship for art-based adventures.

Listed in: Leisure

511 - Cameos, McNamara, and The War Ends

This week on Episode 511 of Priority One: John de Lancie continues to drop some Picard Season 2 hints. In Gaming, we continue our review of the missions that brought the Klingon Civil War to an end in Star Trek Online. We also introduce a new contributor to the show: Dr. Michael J. Chan, with his analysis of \\u201cChain of Command.\\u201d

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

Which deep cut character would you like to see in the next season of Lower Decks?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Just Call It Q-meo Already

By Elio Lleo

We told you that you should keep an eye out for Cameo videos recorded by John de Lancie! Once again, he might have spilled the beans and potentially spoiled some character appearances in season 2 of Star Trek: Picard. In one Cameo, he shares what was scheduled to happen on the next day of filming, saying:

"...I\'ve already been shooting, I\'ve had some wonderful scenes with Patrick [Stewart]. It was nice, it was nice working with him again...and tomorrow, I\'m...working with Brent. So, I\'m really looking forward to that."

So, when he says he\\u2019s working with Brent\\u2026does that mean we might see Alton Soong? A past version of Data? Remember, Captains, you can join de Lancie\\u2019s Cameo Fan Club for free and watch the videos he records for fans!

No Small Parts In Lower Decks\' Future

By Cat Hough

Mike McMahan, the creative force behind Star Trek: Lower Decks, has been offering up some interesting tidbits about Seasons 2 and 3 while promoting the recent Season 1 release of Lower Decks on Blu-ray. He told IGN that Season 2 picks up immediately with the fallout after the glorious battle of Riker vs. the Pakleds, Boimler\\u2019s promotion to the Titan---and how Mariner, Rutherford and Tendi are dealing with all that. Speaking about his overall vision for the four main characters, McMahan says, \\u201cI know where I want them to end up. Let\\u2019s watch together how they get there.\\u201d

I see Shaxs and Kirk went to the same tailor. Image: ViacomCBS, via IGN.

McMahan also promises there are more cameo roles coming up, but he also indicated some of these could be deeper cuts from Trek canon, saying \\u201cSo there are some legacy guest roles in the second season and in the third season as well but I think it\\u2019s people you\\u2019re not going to expect when you get them.\\u201d Maybe we will finally get that sweet, sweet Roga Danar cameo?

But we we know who\'s the most important one. Image: ViacomCBS, via IGN.

That leads us to our first community question this week:\\xa0 \\xa0

Which deep cut character would you like to see in the next season of Lower Decks?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram!

McNamara Makes Her Exit

By Rosco McQueen

It could be one of those tapestry-type moments, where you pull at a thread and a whole different world would appear. In terms of enjoying Star Trek on the small screen and with new series in development, one of those threads that had a big impact was Julie McNamara.

Image: ViacomCBS, via Deadline.

For the last 15 years Ms McNamara has worked with CBS and ViacomCBS, her most recent role being head of programming at Paramount+. Deadline reported this week that she is stepping down from the role. In terms of the impact on Star Trek, Ms McNamara has been overseeing the original content strategy for the streaming service. Tom Ryan, ViacomCBS President & CEO, Streaming, announced the exit, saying \\u201cJulie\\u2019s work and strong relationships with creators and talent led the way for the very first originals on CBS All Access, many of which are still top performers for Paramount+, including Star Trek: Discovery.\\u201d

During her tenure at CBS All Access, which she joined as Executive Vice President of Original Content in 2016, she shepherded the new Star Trek universe (Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, and the upcoming Strange New Worlds). We can only hope that her replacement works as hard to bring new seasons and series of Star Trek to the screen in the future.

Quick News Roundup

Here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• If you\\u2019ve ever wanted to see Bill Shatner get punched in the face...well, now you can(?)! In a new commercial for CopperGel, Shanter squares up against the one and only Mike Tyson, begging to learn what it\\u2019s like to be hit by a heavyweight champ: the heavyweight champ.
• If you\\u2019re a fan of Doug Drexler\\u2019s work, you might be interested in reading a short interview featuring the Academy Award Winning special effects arts over on Air&Space Magazine. In it, he talks about his influences, his favorite Trek, and more!
• Some exciting news for our sister show, Women at Warp, who just dropped an interview with Gates McFadden to discuss the launch of her podcast, Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Long Remembered, Soon Repeated?

By Thomas Reynolds

"It was not well to drive men into final corners; at those moments they could all develop teeth and claws."

Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage

The day of judgment dawns, as four would-be leaders face the slings and arrows of their outrageous doings. J\\u2019Ula leads the orbital assault of Qo\\u2019noS in the crosshairs of her own mycelial nightmare. J\\u2019mpok\\u2019s dash for the throne turns his servitor races on each other\\u2013regicide is a booming industry in First City, and the player gets in on the ground floor. L\\u2019Rell races to the Great Hall before the mad Emperor can use \\u201cher\\u201d hydro bomb against \\u201chis\\u201d people. And Aakar probably wishes he got his hands on those personal transporters before the final bat\\u2019leth comes down. Ah well.

\\u201cA Day Long Remembered\\u201d ends the Klingon Civil War arc with the Empire under new management and a new face. Or an old face? Cloning is weird. Anyway, J\\u2019mpok\\u2019s career (and life) ends after J\\u2019Ula and L\\u2019Rell make a disarming argument in favor of new leadership. Having made good on her deal with Fek\\u2019lhr\\u2013two conniving schemers for the price of one!\\u2013J\\u2019Ula hands the Chancellor\\u2019s bat\\u2019leth off to L\\u2019Rell, picking up the Torch for her instead. At the final party, they talk about working closer with the Alliance of 2411\\u2013not a promise we\\u2019d expect from Klingons of 2255. Their mood is optimistic, but we\\u2019ve seen how easily the Empire shatters under the strain of remaining Klingon. And it\\u2019s hard to shake the feeling that we\\u2019ll be back here, knives in hand, all too soon\\u2026

Image: Cryptic Studios.

A Command-ing Market Share

By Shane Hoover

Website PocketGamer.biz has run a short article in an ongoing series that examines market trends in mobile gaming. While the article is a sponsored piece by analytics platform App Annie, it nevertheless shares some interesting metrics that would impress even the Ferengi Commerce Authority.

Image: App Annie, via PocketGamer.

According to the article, the \\u201cCity Battle Strategy\\u201d mobile gaming sector has raked in $2.5 billion in worldwide consumer spending in the first quarter of 2021. That represents a 60 percent growth over last year\\u2019s first quarter. If you\\u2019re talking about the U.S. market alone, the growth was 90 percent over 2020\\u2019s first quarter. Of the top 10 intellectual properties in the City Battle Strategy category, Star Trek Fleet Command is sitting pretty in the top spot. So there\\u2019s no denying that Fleet Command is raking in more gold-pressed latinum than Quark\\u2019s shady schemes ever dreamed.\\xa0

Listed in: Leisure

510 - Finales, Section 31, and Klingons | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 510 of Priority One: Star Trek Voyager could have had a much different endgame; the Section 31 spinoff series is still in the works; and Evil Picard is gunna get you in IDW\\u2019s new Mirror Universe series. In Gaming, Star Trek Online wraps its year-long Klingon Civil War saga.

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

CQ: If you could change one thing about the Voyager finale, what would it be?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Jake Morgan

Abandoned \\u2018Star Trek: Voyager\\u2019 Finale Ideas Could Have Given the Sendoff It Deserved

By Rosco McQueen

It was a night when the question that had plagued fans over the course of seven years would be answered - will Voyager return home in the series finale?

The feature-length final episode \\u201cEndgame\\u201d aired 20 years ago on May 23, 2001, and this week the series milestone was celebrated, commemorated and dissected.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with many of the cast and crew discussing the potential finale ideas that were left mostly in the writers room.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0

Suggestions included killing off Captain Janeway or Seven of Nine, reverse assimilation of the Borg, and the idea that Endgame could have been a mid-season episode to allow for the crew to explore returning home to the Alpha Quadrant.

Star Trek: Discovery\'s Shazad Latif talks Section 31 "rumblings"

By Roscoe McQueen

Everyone\\u2019s favorite Klingon-turned human-turned Section 31 agent, Ash Tyler, has been in the news this week discussing the Section 31 spinoff, and it turns out details are\\u2026 few. To the point of\\u2026 mysterious.

Speaking with Digital Spy this week, actor Shazad Latif talked about the spin-off series currently being up in the air due to actors\\u2019 schedules.

"It\'s just been slight yeses, slight questions, but I\'ve no idea. I think it\'s down to people\'s schedules. I spoke to Ethan Peck briefly the other day. He\'s started the other one [Star Trek: Strange New Worlds], and that\'s about it."

The only other details we have come from Alex Kurtzman, who was more hype-man than detail guy. Kurtzman said the show is well on it\\u2019s way and the writers have put together a great script as well as a Section 31 writers room. All other details are shrouded in a veil of secrecy.

Star Trek: Mirror War Will See Evil Picard Finally Face Justice

By Rosco McQueen

It\\u2019s one aspect of the Star Trek franchise that was never delved into in the The Next Generation tv series.\\xa0 The Mirror Universe.

Thankfully the folks at IDW comics have taken the dagger and stabbed with it. Repeatedly. And explored the world in the 2018 series \\u201cMirror Broken\\u201d.\\xa0 The series saw a frustrated and aggressive Captain Picard in command of the Stargazer. The crew, including Inquisitor Deanna Troi and a Borg-ified version of Data, worked towards destroying and salvaging Cardassian and Klingon ships for profit and maintaining the borders of the weakened Empire. Eventually Picard\\u2019s frustrations and ambitions led the Captain, complete with goatee, to steal command of the Empire\\u2019s newest Galaxy-class warship from Captain Jellicoe.\\xa0\\xa0

Now the repercussions of the not-so-good Captain\\u2019s actions will be explored in \\u201cMirror War\\u201d.\\xa0\\xa0

In the nine-part series, evil Picard will face the wrath of the Emperor for his crimes. Why is the Emperor angry at Picard? We\\u2019ll have to wait and see.\\xa0 The Mirror War will also be complemented by four tie-in one-shots, each of which will follow an evil version of a prominent Next Generation character, beginning with Data.

Quick News Roundup

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you. Links, of course, will be in our show notes!

• In a recent installment of Variety\\u2019s Streaming Room, Alex Kurtzman and Sonequa Martin-Green share their insights on Season 3 of Star Trek Discovery\\u2026 How canon influenced their decision to jump to the future, Burnham\\u2019s Journey, and the importance of representation on screen. No juicy TrekNuggets about Season

• Tig Notaro confirms Engineer Jet Reno\\u2019s return in Season 4 of Star Trek Discovery during an interview with The AV Club. According to Notaro, the writers and producers are incredibly flexible with her time and give her lots of flexibility with her other professional endeavors. She also confirmed that she does not riff and/or ad lib\\u2026 but that her dialogue is completely written for her.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

By Thomas Reynolds

Hero Collector Celebrates STO\\u2019s Jump Into Discovery Season Three

Hero Collector, the maker of everyone\\u2019s favorite Star Trek model collection, is joining with Star Trek Online to celebrate the arrival of STO\\u2019s new \\u201cFar From Home\\u201d lockbox. For starters, Cryptic\\u2019s lead Starship and UI artist Thomas Marrone has written an article for the Hero Collector website. Thomas offers insights into the challenges and intentions as the ship team brought the U.S.S. Discovery refit from screen to game. Be sure to Trek out Thomas\\u2019s article by following the link in our show notes!

But wait, there\\u2019s more! Hero Collector also announced a STO House United launch giveaway. Just by following their official Twitter account and that of Star Trek Online, and by retweeting the giveaway announcement, you can have a chance to win the Star Trek Online 2021 Anniversary Legendary Bundle! That bundle retails at 25,000 Zen, nearly $250. It includes four newly updated T6 Legendary ships: The B\\u2019Rel, the Excelsior, the Vor\\u2019Cha, and the Ambassador. And it includes a pile of other valuable game items and currency. We\\u2019ve certainly debated the cost and value of these bundles on the show, but nobody will debate winning the Anniversary Legendary Bundle for free! You can find a link to the giveaway announcement tweet right in our show notes, too. The contest ends and the winners will be announced on June 1st 2021

STO New Episode Reveal

Captains, before we go any further, we\\u2019ve got a SPOILER WARNING. The following may spoil some of the story regarding the two newest missions to land on the PC version of Star Trek Online.

Now available to play on PC, the end of the Klingon Civil War comes to an end. The Mother of All Klingons, L\\u2019Rell continues to lead J\\u2019ula, Martok, and A\\u2019depta against Emperor J\\u2019mpok! With voice over performances by Mary Chieffo, J.G. Hertzler, & Rekha Sharma, this two-mission end will finally bring this year-long battle to an end.

Additionally, players can participate in a new Task Force Operation called, \\u201cRemain Klingon.\\u201d

Don\\u2019t forget, playing through some of this new content on a daily basis will earn you progress towards an Imperial Assault Ground Set. Just visit your EVENTS tab in your mission journal to learn about all the ways you can complete your daily progress.

Fleet Command Goes to Red Alert

A much requested quality of life improvement has arrived for players of Star Trek: Fleet Command. As expected following a recent announcement, a new Battle View mode has been added to the game. When the phasers start flying, players can click a conveniently displayed Red Alert icon to declutter the game\\u2019s User Interface. With less UI noise while in Battle View, you can more easily focus on handling those combat targets and making sure they discover just how cold space can be. To get a look at Battle View in action, hop on over to Fleet Command\\u2019s Twitter video of the feature via our show notes. Or just hop in the game and try it yourself.

Bad Robot Draws Good Capital

In the long gone days of December of 2020, we last discussed JJ Abram\\u2019s Bad Robot Games studio. Back then they were hiring up important executives. Now they\\u2019ve announced the landing of more than $40 Million in financing. The investment comes from sources like Galaxy Interactive, Horizons Ventures, Iconiq Capital, and Tencent. Bad Robot Games CEO Anna Sweet released a statement saying the VC backing will be good as they look to \\u201cchange the way people interact with and view video games.\\u201d. The company has announced that its first title will be an original Triple-A game developed internally, and with the collaboration of Bad Robot\\u2019s film, TV and animation teams. It\\u2019s not a lot of information, and there\\u2019s no hint yet that Bad Robot Games will be working on a Star Trek title. But the film studio has produced every Star Trek film since 2009, and we can hope for new games! They also produced films for that OTHER \\u201cStar\\u201d universe, but we won\\u2019t speculate about games for them!

Listed in: Leisure

509 - Holograms, Fleet Command, and One Hundred Years

This week on Episode 509 of Priority One: Kate Mulgrew reveals how the Janeway Hologram is introduced in Star Trek: Prodigy; Rod Roddenberry begins celebrating his father\\u2019s centennial with a new social media campaign; and Star Trek Online introduces tech from the 32nd century in its latest Lock Box.\\xa0

This week\\u2019s Community Questions are:

CQ: Got kids? Will you be watching Star Trek: Prodigy with them? What do you hope will be their biggest takeaway from the new series?

CQ: As we reflect on Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s legacy over the next 100 days, tell us\\u2013what does Star Trek mean to you?\\xa0

CQ: Are you looking forward to Fleet Command\\u2019s new Next Gen-era content? Does the Away Teams minigame make you want to spend more time in-game?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Kate Mulgrew\\u2019s Hologrammatic Appearances

By Elio Lleo

With Star Trek: Prodigy set to debut sometime this year on Paramount+ and later on Nickelodeon, Kate Mulgrew continues to sing praises of its development, the story it hopes to tell children, and the overall mythos that is the Star Trek franchise. During a recent episode of Dennis Miller+1 to spotlight her latest project on the streaming service Peacock (Mr. Mercedes) Mulgrew not only spoke about the impact Star Trek has had in popular culture but she also shared some information about how Janeway\\u2019s Hologram will appear in the new series.

"Me and my hoooolo, strolling down the avenue--oh god, it\'s Q? Me and my hooooolo..." Image: ViacomCBS via TrekCore

That leads us to our first community question this week:\\xa0

CQ: Got kids? Will you be watching Star Trek: Prodigy with them? What do you hope will be their biggest takeaway from the new series?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Discovery Season 4 Is Scripted, Picard Season 2 Is Shooting

By Roscoe McQueen

It\\u2019s official. The I\\u2019s have been dotted, the T\\u2019s have been crossed, and the nacelles have been detached.\\xa0 The script for season four of Star Trek: Discovery is complete. The sign-off was confirmed this week by showrunner Michelle Paradise on social media, posting \\u201cA long journey to type these words. But here they are..." Paradise attached a picture of the final words of the season four finale script "End of season four."

It\\u2019s not as catchy as \\u201cLet\\u2019s fly\\u201d but I\\u2019m willing to see how it plays.

In other production news, Star Trek: Picard is filming in the Santa Clarita area this week. \\xa0SCVNews.com reported that the city\\u2019s film office has 9 productions filming in the Santa Clarita Valley beginning the week of Monday, May 17, 2021, including Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Blu-Ray and DVD

By Shane Hoover

What hits shelves on May 18th and packs more Star Trek Easter eggs than Beckett Mariner\'s crate of contraband? The answer, of course, is the Star Trek: Lower Decks Season One DVD and Blu-Ray set. Bonus features include a trailer for Mariner\'s Crisis Point: The Rise of Vindicta movie, U.S.S. Cerritos crew profiles, and a catalogue of the show\'s many many Easter eggs.

The show\'s creator and executive producer Mike McMahan sat down for some promotion interviews, and he had some very interesting thoughts to share. Speaking to Screenrant.Com about his goals for Season 2, McMahan said \\u201cwe have a lot of bills to pay. We\'ve got Rutherford\'s memory issues, we\'ve got Mariner and her mom working together, we\'ve got the Pakleds being a real threat out in the world, we\'ve got Tendi worried about her friends not remembering her from the first season and what does that mean for their friendship. And we\'ve got Boimler on the Titan!\\u201d

Tooting his own...well, I guess it\'s not his own horn, is it. Image: ViacomCBS via CinemaBlend

They also asked McMahan about Mariner\'s backstory, and he answered \\u201cI mean, I know everything about Mariner... but there\'s a backstory to Mariner that we don\'t want to mine so quickly and just have everybody know.\\u201d He also suggested that attentive viewers are probably already piecing together the show\'s hints about Mariner\'s past.

The website CinemaBlend.com asked about a Lower Decks live-action Boimler crossover to Star Trek: Picard. McMahan offered that he \\u201ccan\'t imagine why not. I mean he\'s a capable Ensign as we\'ve seen. He has that promotion to the Titan. You see Riker and Troi in Picard. You\'d have to imagine if he doesn\'t run into too many Crystalline Entities that Boimler would still be bouncing around the quadrant.\\u201d

...does anyone know what that ringing sound is? Image: ViacomCBS via CinemaBlend

But he doesn\'t see much likelihood of Picard crossing over the other way, telling ScreenRant \\u201cLook, would I love to work with Sir Patrick? Obviously! But is there any reason he would ever meet our Lower Deckers aboard the Cerritos? Not really.\\u201d Mike McMahan shared some great thoughts, and we have links to three of his interview stories in the show notes. Trek them out for all of the details!

Peace and quiet was never an option. Image: ViacomCBS via ScreenRant.

#thinkTrek - Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s Centennial

By Elio Lleo

Captains, last week we discussed an interview with Rod Roddenberry on \\u201cThe Credits\\u201d where he spoke about the impact his Father had on popular culture and the vision of the future that was shared with us. Now, as the weeks move on, Roddenberry.com has launched a social media campaign celebrating Gene roddenberry\\u2019s Centennial. Using #thinkTrek and #talkTREK, Rod Roddenberry hopes to spotlight some of the philosophy that his father tried to share with us, a future that gives us a \\u201cchance for us all to be better, to act kinder, to be more inclusive, and to basically Think Trek.\\u201d

Taking part in the celebration, filmmakers, actors, notable fans and more will be recording readings of some of Gene\\u2019s most inspirational quotes. 100 quotes, 100 days, all coming to a close on Gene\\u2019s birthday: August, 19, 2021. Already, we\\u2019ve seen readings from folks like Bill Nye, Kevin Smith, Scott Bakula and more! So be sure to follow Roddenberry on all their social media channels to get your daily dose of Roddenberry wisdom!

But you can also take part in the celebration by sharing images, photos, videos, whatever you might spot in your daily lives that remind you of Star Trek. Just use #thinkTrek and tag @roddenberry when you post!

That leads us to our next community question this week:\\xa0

CQ: As we reflect on Gene Roddenberry\\u2019s legacy over the next 100 days, tell us\\u2013what does Star Trek mean to you?\\xa0

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

By Thomas Reynolds

To Gain The World And Lose The Soul

All good things must come to an end\\u2013and if you\\u2019re a Klingon, war tops your Good Things list. Unless it\\u2019s a civil war between J\\u2019Ulla\\u2019s and J\\u2019mpok\\u2019s partisans for the future of the Empire. Maybe it\\u2019s less good, then. But it cannot last forever. It never could, when politics and honor demand your enemy\\u2019s complete destruction. And as birds of prey come home to raze, as shattered Praxis looks down on a world on fire, this phrase\\u2013this edict\\u2013will be on every warrior\\u2019s breath and heart: remain Klingon.

Image: Cryptic Studios.

On May 14th, Cryptic declared STO\\u2019s next TFO, \\u201cRemain Klingon,\\u201d to be the Klingon Civil War\\u2019s final battle. Captains will lead the fight over Qo\\u2019noS in this space-based TFO as the First City roils with disruptor fire. Cryptic also notes that captains should play \\u201cA Day Long Remembered\\u201d before queuing for \\u201cRemain Klingon\\u201d. But wait, what\\u2019s \\u201cA Day Long Remembered\\u201d? Sure sounds like a mission title, but I guess you\\u2019ll just have to wait to find out. Until then, be ready. Be fearless. And as always, remain Klingon.

Star Trek Online Forecasts Icing Conditions

Announced today and launching Soon\\u2122, the Discovery: Far From Home Lock Box hits high notes from Disco\\u2019s third season. Headlining the potential prizes is the Crossfield Science Spearhead Refit [T6], better known as the U.S.S. Discovery-A. Players who don\\u2019t get one can just chill out with the Parasitic Ice Containment Vessel Universal Console. (Yes, it\\u2019s a Vessel but it\\u2019s a Console. Just work with us here.) Other drops include the Beast Mast\\u2013sorry, Bond With Animals Ground Trait, Personal Transporter kit module, and a randomly transporting Saurian. There\\u2019s a lot of fascinating new items in the box; trek out the full list.

The Trial Never Ends, The Lens Flare Never Stops

September 1987: the Star Trek multiverse returns to TV anew, when the Enterprise-D has its encounter at Farpoint. May 2021: Fleet Command returns to the Prime Timeline, as the Enterprise-D plows into some random Kelvin Timeline planet\\u2019s surface. It\\u2019s a rough introduction this time, no better for the lack of crew\\u2013only the amnesiac android Data is on board. Why is the Federation flagship of 2364 tilling soil more than a hundred years before it was built? Where did its 1,011 other crewmembers go? And can you put it together\\u2013ship, crew, and sinister plot behind it all\\u2013before those responsible come to finish the job?

Welcome to Star Trek Fleet Command Patch 30.

Image: Scopely.

Scopely resumes its continuing mission bringing Prime Timeline content to its Kelvin-only game with TNG storylines, battle passes, and collectibles. Familiar faces from the series are now potential crew picks, particularly a Rare-tier Beverly Crusher and Epic-tier Data and Geordi. But the most significant addition is the new Away Teams game mode. Unlocking your station\\u2019s Shuttle Bay building opens up lists of short-term assignments to complete for resource rewards. Players with STO or Timelines experience will recognize a way to put idle crewmembers to work based on relative strengths. Of course, if you get Q as a crewmember you can just clear all the tasks off at once. Or your entire roster will turn to salamanders. Who knows?

That leads us to our final community question this week:

CQ: Are you looking forward to Fleet Command\\u2019s new Next Gen-era content? Does the Away Teams minigame make you want to spend more time in-game?

Listed in: Leisure

508 - Masterson, McFadden, and Morrone

This week on Episode 508 of Priority One: Anson Mount updates fans on the status of #StrangeNewWorlds; Paramount+ is serious about its streaming; the mobile game Star Trek Fleet Command meets The Next Generation; and Chase Masterson joins us to talk about the Pop Culture Hero Coalition!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

JLP In Effigy

By Elio Lleo

If you\\u2019re looking to add to your existing Star Trek collection, then you might want to #TrekOut EXO-6\\u2019s latest product. Their 1:6 scale articulated figure of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the style and uniform from Star Trek: First Contact is now available for preorder.

AKA "Mother\'s Day 2022." Image: EXO-6.

The figurine has over 30 points of articulation that allow you recreate some of your favorite moments from the film---with a Type II hand phaser, the TR-590 Tricorder X, or a Type 3B Phaser Rifle! So, if you\\u2019re looking to add to your collection, you can pre-order now for $20 US---but the total cost will be $189.95 + $25 US international shipping.

I\'m A Doctor, Not A...Well, Yes, A Podcaster

By Cat Hough

As you might recall from a previous episode, we mentioned that Gates McFadden was getting into podcasting. Well her new podcast, Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are? launches May 12. This is a limited podcast series where Gates invites some of her besties over for a chat. Who\\u2019s on the lineup? Well, to name a few: Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, John\\xa0 de Lancie, Robert Picardo, Michael Westmore, Nana Visitor, Denise Crosby and more. Each show is less interview and more one-on-one intimate conversation. NacelleCast promises that InvestiGates will feature \\u201cnever-before-heard stories\\u201d from the stars and creatives behind Star Trek.

While we are very excited to listen to her new podcast, we do have some unfortunate news. McFadden confirmed this week to TrekMovie.com that she will not be reprising her role as Beverly Crusher in Season Two of Star Trek: Picard, saying \\u201cI\\u2019m not in the second season. I\\u2019m sad that I\\u2019m not. Things have changed a lot on different levels. So I have no idea at this point. I\\u2019m disappointed because it would have been so much fun to just work with those people. But we\\u2019ll see. I have no idea. I wish I could tell you.\\u201d

The Vision of Trek In Gene\\u2019s Centennial Year

By Rosco McQueen

It\\u2019s the core mantra of the Vulcan philosophy, and the overall Star Trek franchise---infinite diversity in infinite combinations.\\xa0 This week Rod Rodenberry reflected on the guiding principle of his father, Gene Rodenberry, who was born a century ago in 1921.\\xa0\\xa0Speaking with The Credits, Rod Roddenberry spoke about his father and the future he pictured for everyone. \\u201cHe took more of a humanistic or a realistic approach.\\xa0 What could it be like one day? How did he see us 200, 300 years in the future? My father took the approach that we\\u2019re sort of a juvenile, child race-species right now, but we grow like any species---any life form does---and we mature. In that future, we realize it\\u2019s the diversity in idea, not just form. The fact that we are fighting over the fact that we look different now is childish. We need to be embracing the uniqueness between us because that\\u2019s how you grow.\\u201d

Rod goes on to speak about diversity being the strength of Star Trek, and how it has always been the goal of the series that \\u201cno matter what your ethnic, gender, socio-economic, religious, political background is, it should all be represented at some level on Star Trek. That\\u2019s what humanity is and needs to be. That\\u2019s what Star Trek is.\\u201d

Paramount+ Piles It On

By Rosco McQueen

In an effort to compete with other streaming services, Paramount+ is leaning into its cinema pedigree. The promise is an additional 1,000 movies added to their library, for 2,500 total titles in June. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it\\u2019s all part of ViacomCBS\\u2019s plan to counter Disney+\\u2019s catalogue of Marvel and Star Wars titles, or HBO MAX and their same-day cinema and streaming releases. CEO Bob Bakish announced the plan, as well as future exclusive titles on ViacomCBS\\u2019s first-quarter earnings conference call.\\xa0 Bakish said that the new Mark Whalberg film Infinite will go straight to the on-demand service, reflecting their plans to release an original movie every week in 2022.\\xa0 Bakish also told shareholders that their subscriber base grew substantially since the rebrand to Paramount+, adding 6 million global streaming subscribers to reach 36 million in its first quarter.

ViacomCBS shareholder meeting (editor\'s interpretation). Image: ViacomCBS.

Now, here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you:

• While promoting his latest film, \\u201cThe Virtuoso,\\u201d Anson Mount spoke with RadioTimes\\u2019 Paul Simpson about getting back into the Captain\\u2019s chair for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. According to Mount, although COVID protocols have required everyone to adapt, \\u201cit\\u2019s been one of the smoothest starts I think I\\u2019ve ever had in television.\\u201d Additionally, it sounds like some of the production staff have crossed over from Star Trek: Discovery, making the transition much easier.

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 will be released on Blu-Ray on July 20. The four-disc collection will also include over 2 hours of special features. Nothing as to whether there will be a 4K release of a new Trek series any time soon.

• Actor Nathan Jung, who appeared in Star Trek: The Original Series has died at the age of 74. Over the years he had roles on TV and film in The A Team, Kung Fu, Big Trouble in Little China, and the Kentucky Fried Movie. But it was Trek that helped launch his career: Jung played Ghengis Khan in the episode \\u201cThe Savage Curtain\\u201d in 1969.\\xa0\\xa0

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

(Say That You Remember) Fusing In September

By Cath Hough

The U.S.S. Enterprise-F, designed by Thomas Marrone will be included in the 2022 Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendar series by Universe Publishing. This is the first time a ship from Star Trek Online has appeared in the calendar series. Ships from TOS, TNG and DS9 are also featured and the calendar includes some ship designs and cutaway diagrams. Maybe we should start calling Thomas Mr. September? [No. - Ed.]

Also this week, our favorite environment artist Nick Duguid streamed his design and build of a 2409 Federation fusion reactor environment. This is a fascinating video: Nick walks us through his process from forming an idea to actually building an asset. It seems like we\\u2019re just watching what a day at work is like for Nick. The video ends with showcasing his final design and it\\u2019s an amazing piece of work.\\xa0

Cryptic\\u2019s Latest Console-ations

By Rosco McQueen

Good news for console captains this week, with the Delta Recruit event coming to consoles from May 13 on Playstation and Xbox.\\xa0 The event will run for 28 days, and includes improvements to the existing recruit rewards to remove out of date missions and introduce some new rewards.\\xa0 It\\u2019s a great way to earn extra perks on your account, so why not take the opportunity to create a new character! Any freshly-made 2409 characters from Starfleet, the Klingon Defense Force, or the Romulan Republic are eligible to become a recruit for the 28 days the event runs!

From May 13^th through 20^th, console captains can claim a free Phoenix prize pack each day. Visit Onna on Deep Space Nine or get gritty with Grym on Drozana Station to claim your pack.\\xa0 And lastly for console, the Jovian Intel Heavy Raider from Season three of Discovery is finally making it to the game.\\xa0 The new Tier 6 ship will be available via the Infinity Lock Box.

The Next Generation of Fleet Command

By Elio Lleo

Turning our attention to mobile gaming, Scopely\\u2019s Star Trek: Fleet Command introduced a new era of characters from the Star Trek Multiverse on May 11th. TNG characters like Geordi, Deanna, Data, Beverly, Will, and Jean-Luc are now available; according to a post on StarTrek.com, \\u201cthe event will continue to evolve over time, with new surprises rolling out in the following months.\\u201d

If the beard unlocks by microtransaction I am going to riot. Image: Scopely via StarTrek.com

Listed in: Leisure

507 - Tholians, Tribble, and Tricorders

This week on Episode 507 of Priority One: "Q" is getting quite an adventure in Picard, Raspberry Pi can make an excellent tricorder, Star Trek Online surprises players with a starship promo in the Lobi store, and Minecraft gets Trekkie!\\xa0

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

CQ: Would live events excite you in Star Trek Online, and how would you like them to be implemented?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Q-ing Up Picard Seasons 2 And 3

By Elio Lleo

We said it. We said it last week. We\\u2019re now in an era where the headlines come from Cameo videos that actors record for fans willing to pony up some dough for personalized messages! Back at it again: John de Lancie admitting to one fan for Mother\\u2019s Day, that he\\u2019ll be on for at least 6 episodes, and that they\\u2019re filming seasons 2 and 3 back to back -- with rigorous COVID testing during filming. If you\\u2019re not already, go ahead and start following some of your favorites on Cameo. Apparently some of them share the videos they record for everyone to see\\u2026so it might just be you who gets the scoop on the latest Star Trek news!

Does this entity look like he fears your mortal NDAs? Image: ViacomCBS.

Chris Kula\'s Committed

By Cat Hough

Since Mike McMahon let us know on First Contact Day that Star Trek: Lower Decks was renewed for a third season, it seems CBS has really taken notice of what a stellar production crew they have over there. Deadline has announced that writer-producer Chris Kula, a co-executive producer on Lower Decks, signed an overall deal with CBS Studios. We don\\u2019t have any specific details about his deal, but it appears that CBS is doing its best to lock down talented people. Kula\\u2019s credits are nothing to sneeze at. He\\u2019s an alum of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and he has written for NBC\\u2019s Community, Fox\\u2019s MADtv, Comedy Central\\u2019s @midnight and was a supervising producer on Wrecked for TBS.

The face of someone not going to Starbase 80. Image: Diane Arbus via Deadline.

A Second Picorder of Magnitude

By Tony Hunter

Everyone wants to try to make Trek tech. The flip phone by Motorola, the universal translator from Google, the Air Force even built a PHASER (in all caps) designed to shoot down drones with microwaves. But all these pretenders are able to do is capture a piece of the magic. Either the form isn\\u2019t quite right like the flip phone, or the function isn\\u2019t there like Google Translate. Well, not so with the Picorder 2. A maker who goes by the YouTube handle directive0 has built a prototype of a working tricorder using a typical TNG case as a model.

At the bottom, where the case folds down, is space for a battery and loudspeaker. In the middle is a Raspberry Pi and capacitive touch screen for control and processing. And at the top is a printed circuit board, ready to mount pretty much any commercially available sensor that will fit. At the moment, he has temperature, pressure and humidity sensors functional and displaying on-screen. He also has connections ready for a simple thermal imager. The whole thing is designed to be modular, so instruments and the internal computer and screens can be updated over time.

Giant Freakin\\u2019 Grain Of Salt

By Elio Lleo

It\\u2019s a slow news week. When that happens, we get a little dirty and rummage around the rumor mills. The latest comes from the ol\' faithful GiantFreakinRobot.com. One of their \\u201ctrusted and proven sources\\u201d tells them there\\u2019s a plan to bring back Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer along with the likes of T\\u2019Pol and Dr. Phlox. Well...like Nostradamus, with enough theories and rumors published, you might get one or two right. This one, though -- keep it in the back of your mind as just a rumor. Doesn\\u2019t mean it isn\\u2019t fun to speculate what that story would look like!

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

The Trouble with Tholians

By Cat Hough

Starting today on PC and running for the next three weeks, Star Trek Online launched the second Featured Event of the current Event Campaign, called Tholian Trouble. This Event allows players the choice of running either the Azure Nebula Rescue or Vault: Ensnared TFOs, while also earning Daily Progress toward the grand prize reward. These two particular TFOs had some recent updates which have dramatically improved the gameplay during the missions.

Completing this Event rewards the Universal Console \\u2013 Tholian Web Array as an account unlock, and a character only (or one time only) reward of 25,000 Dilithium Ore and 3 Featured TFO Reward Boxes. These boxes give a choice of 1 Specialization Point or an Enhanced Universal Tech Upgrade.

The Tholian Web Array Universal Console improves tetryon damage, physical damage, control expertise, and dramatically improves critical hit chance against held enemies. It also has a deadly active ability: hold the target ship in a web and deal physical damage over time, chain to up to 4 additional foes and apply a hold to them, and deal sharply increasing physical damage over time to each new target.

As we have gone over on previous shows, the Grand Prize for the 2021 Event Campaign offers players a choice between the three following options:

• Any Infinity Promo or Infinity Lock Box T6 Ship
  • This ship will be a once per account unlock, for a single ship only.
  • Note: Contents only include premium starships that were released before 12/31/20. Starships released after this date will not be included as options.
• 1,500 Lobi Crystals
• Two 100% off Coupons for Tier 6 Ships in the Zen Store

This choice is only made once per account, upon claiming the prize.

Test Server Tribble-ations

By Elio Lleo

On Monday, May 3rd, you might have seen an out-of-the-blue announcement of a special event happening on Star Trek Online\\u2019s test server called \\u201cTribble.\\u201d For those of you who may not be aware, when you start up Star Trek Online, you have an option to install the game\\u2019s test server to help the developers quality assure some of the new features that are being worked on.\\xa0

Anywho, in a cryptic tweet, players were invited to defend Earth Spacedock from an assault led by J\\u2019mpok. Unfortunately, not all went according to plan. There was lots of confusion about where exactly the event was taking place (space or ground). Then, due to the massive influx of players (probably because many of us are still working from home), no one could get into the game.

So what was it all about? Not much really. A few NPCs spawned inside Earth Spacedock and players fought them off. What this was testing is unknown.

Here\\u2019s our community question for this week:

CQ: Would live events excite you in Star Trek Online, and how would you like them to be implemented?

A Disturbance In The Fourth

By Cat Hough

Friend of the podcast (and our very favorite Klingon Chancellor L\\u2019Rell) Mary Chieffo tweeted earlier today, saying \\u201cNothing says \\u201cMay the 4th Be With You\\u201d like shouting Klingon in a sound booth! So much fun getting back to voicing Chancellor L\\u2019Rell for even more epic & honorable adventures in @trekonlinegame today. Qapla\\u2019!!\\u201d

Chieffo reprised her role as L\\u2019Rell in the continuing Klingon Civil War story arc for Star Trek Online. No updates as of yet regarding when the new episodes will be available to play in-game.

The Mine-al Frontier

By Elio Lleo

Well, this isn\\u2019t specifically another Star Trek game, but it\\u2019s a game you and/or your kids might be really into: Minecraft! Josh Davison of TheGamer.com put together a top-ten list of the best Star Trek-themed mods for Minecraft. Now don\\u2019t get too excited: some of the mods are more \\u201csci-fi inspired\\u201d than they are Star Trek themed. But, there are seven solid options. One mod called \\u201cA Touch of Trek\\u201d includes textures and art assets that really let you build a visually stunning starship environment. Of course, there\\u2019s "MineTrek" that utilizes a bunch of mods to let you create super structures and environments: we\\u2019re talking multi-level starships!

But where\'s Cetacean Ops? Image: MineTrek, via TheGamer.

Listed in: Leisure

506 - Frigates, De Lancie, and Jeopardy!

This week on Episode 506 of Priority One: We #TrekOut the latest news about a new Jeopardy! guest host (we\\u2019ll take \\u201cEnterprise Engineers\\u201d for $200, thanks LeVar).\\xa0 John De Lancie teases more on Picard, and we really do mean teases.\\xa0 And in Star Trek gaming, the \\u201cWorf returns mystery\\u201d is finally solved, plus a screen-perfect pilot ship to power your season three Discovery dreams.\\xa0

This week\\u2019s Community Question is:

CQ: If you were writing for Geordi\\u2019s return in a show like Star Trek: Picard, how would you set it up?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Mounting Anson-tipation

By Rosco McQueen

The warm embrace of Trek fandom is something truly unique.\\xa0 When you finally find it, it turns out it can change your world---one episode at a time. At least, that\\u2019s the case for Anson Mount, who is currently filming the first season of Strange New Worlds.\\xa0In an interview with Collider promoting his new film The Virtuoso, the new Captain Pike was asked about the episodic nature of the new series and explained how a misunderstanding from Akiva Goldsman started it all.

\\u201cAll (Goldsman) had heard about [Discovery] was that it was going to be a pre-Kirk show, so he assumed it was a show about Captain Pike. He gets in the writers\' room and he\'s like, \\u2018Wait, what?! This is a different show. Okay, all right. We can play with this, but we\'ve gotta do another show.\\u2019 So, he was lobbying for it and lobbying for it and lobbying for it. I got lucky enough to be cast in the role for Season 2 of Discovery\\u2026I just thought it was a one season gig and that was it.\\u201d

...does anyone else hear Gilbert & Sullivan? Image: ViacomCBS via Collider.

Mount goes on to talk about the episodic nature of Star Trek, and how he feels there is room for both serialized stories like Discovery and big-idea-of-the-week episodes. It\\u2019s quite the impact the character has had over only one season, as Mount goes on to express his gratitude for the welcome he received from fans.\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cHonestly, I\'ve never felt such embrace from a fan base, on anything I\'ve done. It is really night and day, and I\'m very thankful to everyone with Gene Roddenberry and CBS, and Alex [Kurtzman] and Akiva for putting a huge amount of trust in me to be able to do it.\\u201d

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com, or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Your Anomaly Must Be In The Form Of A Question

By Cat Hough

Remember all the way back to Episode 504 of Priority One? You know, the one where we encouraged you all to support LeVar Burton becoming the host of Jeopardy!. Well, the powers-that-be heard you---and the 246,000 other people who signed the petition. It was announced that Burton has been included in the latest slate of guest hosts for the 37th season of the show.\\xa0

But who\'ll play him in the inevitable SNL sketch? Image: Variety.

According to the producers of the show, their goal for this season was to showcase a wide variety of hosts with \\u201cdifferent skill sets and backgrounds on our path to finding a permanent host.\\u201d As part of each guest host\\u2019s appearance, a charity of their choice will receive a donation. Burton\\u2019s episodes air the week of July 26. The other guest hosts on the list are:

• Good Morning America and This Week With George Stephanopoulos anchor George Stephanopoulos (the week of July 12)
• Fellow GMA anchor Robin Roberts (July 19)
• CNBC Squawk on the Street co-anchor and former Celebrity Jeopardy! champ David Faber (Aug. 2)
• three-time National Sportscaster of the Year award winner sportscaster Joe Buck (Aug. 9), who is known for covering NFL and MLB games on Fox.\\xa0

A View To Star Trek History

By Cat Hough

Celebrating the guest host announcement, Burton appeared on The View earlier this week where he confirmed to Whoopi Goldberg that he will not be appearing in season two of Star Trek: Picard. However,\\xa0 he still leaves fans with some hope that he might appear at some point in future seasons, stating \\u201cI believe it is reasonable---in fact practical---to assume that Picard still knows these people. They\\u2019re his friends. I think we might see more of his friends. At least I hope we do before this is all over.\\u201d

The interview covered a variety of topics, including Burton\\u2019s acting history. The two discussed his role as Kunta Kinte in Roots which aired to more than 100 million people around the world in 1977. They continued with Reading Rainbow, of course Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ending with his current podcast project, \\u201cLeVar Burton Reads.\\u201d\\xa0

If you want to imagine it happening like this, we won\'t stop you. Image: ViacomCBS.

Goldberg and Burton also spoke about inclusivity and the impact of Nichelle Nichols\\u2019 role as Lt. Uhura, saying \\u201cbecause what it said was when the future comes, there\\u2019s a place for us. And that\\u2019s a huge message to send. I believe it\\u2019s difficult if not impossible to grow up with a healthy self-image, unless you can see yourself in popular culture.\\u201d

Ginning Up Support For Geordi

By Cat Hough

Obviously we, and those other 246,000 people who signed the petition, can\\u2019t get enough of LeVar Burton. Even Ryan Reynolds recently sang Burton\\u2019s praises. Well, he didn\\u2019t literally sing, but in a new ad for Aviation Gin, Reynolds says he wants to prove how great a host of Jeopardy! that Burton would be and he announces that Burton is stepping in for him as the spokesperson for the gin. The scene then cuts to Burton sitting by a pool sipping a \\u201cout of this world\\u201d gin and tonic made with Aviation Gin. The two banter back and forth, with Reynolds proclaiming that Burton is a \\u201cgoddamned national treasure.\\u201d The ad ends with Burton telling Reynolds \\u201cthis isn\\u2019t going to work out, Ryan.\\u201d If nothing else, the ad shows that Burton is definitely an excellent host.\\xa0

That leads us to our first community question this week:\\xa0\\xa0

CQ: If you were writing for Geordi\\u2019s return in a show like Star Trek: Picard, how would you set it up?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com or by replying to our community question post on our Social Media channels like FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram!

De Lancie Makes A Q-meo Appearance

By Jake Morgan

We may be grasping at straws with this story, but it features one John De Lancie---talking at us---so it\\u2019s worth a mention (if ONLY to enjoy the thespian\\u2019s charisma). In a post on the r/Television subreddit dated April 20th, user u/whatagirlygirl shared a Cameo video from Q himself. De Lancie seemed to be answering a few questions posed by the Cameo submitter---in particular \\u201cPlease tell us Q gets to harass Picard?\\u201d To which the 73 year old De Lancie replied, with great fervor, \\u201dI do\\u201d.

Had the exchange ended there, it probably wouldn\\u2019t have made the show---though it still would have been well worth a watch. But---and you had to know there was a but---De Lancie continued: \\u201dAnd please tell us if Whoopie comes back you\\u2019re going to harass her as well\\u201d \\u201cI will.\\u201d

De Lancie didn\\u2019t back-pedal, he didn\\u2019t expound. He just left the possibility of a Q/Guinan reunion there, beautifully, in the ether. What does this mean? Well...nothing, really. But it\\u2019s interesting. De Lancie addressed the question---which he could have avoided altogether---and answered it with gusto. Only time will tell.

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Going To Pieces For Book\\u2019s Ship

By Elio Lleo

Captains, if you love barrel-rolling your way through the galaxy in your favorite pilot warship in Star Trek Online, but all of the available options feel a bit too connected, then this is the story for you.

Announced this week via social media, Grudge\\u2019s ship\\u2026 ahem\\u2026 former-courier Cleveland Booker\\u2019s ship, the Kwejian Pilot Frigate will be available in-game for PC players from May 4. It\\u2019s agile! It\\u2019s versatile!\\xa0And its five forward facing weapons will destroy your enemies with style! (Extra cat friend not included. Available only through the Infinity Lockbox. Universal Console limited to this ship.\\xa0 Phaser cannons not upgradable.\\xa0 Consult your Chief Medical Officer to ensure this ship is right for you.)\\xa0\\xa0

This Tier 6 pilot warship also has an innate ability---that being, something you don\\u2019t need a console for---Morph Reversal!! Much like Book\\u2019s ship in season three of Discovery, this starship is highly maneuverable due to the detached\\u2026everything.\\xa0 Using the ability means you can swing your ship into the opposite direction using the morphing mechanisms. But the shuffling of the components will cost you: your weapons and auxiliary subsystems will be briefly disabled.\\xa0\\xa0

So IKEA makes starships now, I guess? Image: Cryptic Studios.

Other highlights include some sweet muti-part animations when performing Pilot Maneuvers, and a suite of 32nd Century Phaser cannons that have a chance to recover recharge time for your bridge officer abilities. The blog post also announced that the contents of the Angels Wake Lockbox have been rolled into the Infinity Lockbox.

...Ohh, That\\u2019s What That Tweet Was About

By Elio Lleo

Last week we reported that Michael Dorn kinda broke the #StarTrek Twitter Community with a cryptic post about some kind of return to Starfleet. Well, not long after, we learned what it was all about!! In a tweet posted to his account on April 23rd, we learned that Mr. Dorn has lent his voice to Tilting Point\\u2019s newest mobile game Star Trek: Legends. In the marketing post, we hear Worf sending out a distress call from within the Nexus.

So, at least we know for certain what that tweet was about now! But, why introduce a new starship to set the stage for the game? Well, during a press event, ComicBook.com reports that Executive Producer and Creative Director Amir Lotan explained \\u201c...we had to kind of set up that the Federation of Planets created this unique starship that\'s the only starship in the fleet that can go into that realm\\u2026we didn\'t want a starship that would be associated specifically with one of those shows or one of those eras.\\u201d

So, if you\\u2019re interested in trying out the game it\\u2019s currently available exclusively via Apple Arcade for US$4.99 per month or US$49.99 annually. No word yet if we\\u2019ll ever see an Android version on Google\\u2019s Play Pass.

Listed in: Leisure

505 - Dorn Tweets, Kurtzman Plans, and We Advise

This week on Episode 505 of Priority One: We #TrekOut the Tweet that broke the Star Trek Community, the fate of the multiverse, and a look into Star Trek Discovery\\u2019s special effects for Season 3. In gaming, grab yourself a Phoenix Prize Pack and check out the update to the Azure Nebula. Later, Dr. Robert Hurt reports on black holes with this week\\u2019s Astrometrics Report.

This week\\u2019s Community Questions are:

CQ: If you were writing for Worf\\u2019s return in a show like Star Trek: Picard, how would you set it up?

CQ: What items from the Phoenix Prize pack do you think players should try to get their hands on?

CQ: What are the key pieces of advice you would give to first-time players of Star Trek Online?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Michael Dorn Breaks Twitter

By Elio Lleo

On Monday, April 19th, Michael Dorn broke Twitter. Well, metaphorically broke the corner of Twitter that most Trekkies hang out in. You see, his tweet read "Just got the news, being summoned back into action. Starfleet calls. #ad".

At the time of this writing, the post has been retweeted almost 3,000 times and liked nearly 40,000 times. Everyone assumed that this was an \\u201cunofficial\\u201d announcement that he would be reprising this role as Worf in an upcoming Star Trek film or television production. Even our own team at Priority One mistakenly believed this was another \\u201cslip-up\\u201d from one of the actors: an announcement that he had been cast to return.

Dishonor On You And Your Podcast

We\\u2019re not journalists, nor have we ever announced ourselves as such. For 500 episodes, we\\u2019ve curated the big headlines from industry sources and do our best to offer our thoughts and reviews on the subject. So, it was definitely our mistake to have retweeted it as if we had official confirmation of his return to the small or big screen [so stop emailing us about it-Ed.].

But the fine folks at TrekMovie and io9\\u2013with their constantly reliable sources--did their due diligence. Michael Dorn\\u2019s tweet \\u201c...whatever this is, it isn\\u2019t related to a Paramount+ Star Trek project.\\u201d So that\\u2019s that. Worf is not returning\\u2013at least not on any Star Trek Paramount+ or film project.

Some of us are taking it harder than others. Image: ViacomCBS, via Memory Alpha.

But let\\u2019s say he did. What would that look like? If you\\u2019ve read the IDW Countdown series that set up the Kelvin Fork, you know that Worf was impaled by Nero. If you\\u2019ve played Star Trek Online, you know he\\u2019s an ambassador. And most recently, if you\\u2019ve read Una McCormack\\u2019s pre-Picard Prime Universe novel, you know he\\u2019s the captain of the Enterprise.

That leads us to our first community question this week:\\xa0\\xa0

CQ: If you were writing for Worf\\u2019s return in a show like Star Trek: Picard, how would you set it up?

Let us know in the comment section for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com, or by replying to our community question post on our social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

He Who Controls The Multiverse Controls the Streams!

By Elio Lleo

Last week, we recapped Akiva Goldsman\'s interview with The Hollywood Reporter, about what viewers can expect from Star Trek: Picard and Strange New Worlds. This week, Variety spoke with Alex Kurtzman (and several other executives) exploring how big intellectual properties are influencing the streaming and film industries.

Image: Giacomo Gambineri, for Variety.

When exploring how the production and distribution of media has shifted\\u2013especially during the COVID19 pandemic when theatres were shut down\\u2013Kurtzman explains that \\u201cI think vertical alignment has made it so that it\\u2019s impossible not to accept the reality that the line between movies and television is gone. It doesn\\u2019t mean that you can\\u2019t have a feature that is separate from television. But if they aren\\u2019t connected in some way, then you\\u2019re basically running two universes parallel as opposed to interconnected, and I think that those messages could potentially cancel each other out.\\u201d

Interestingly, in the wake of the merger the Star Trek team of showrunners are (apparently) meeting monthly. Kurtzman told Variety, \\u201cWe make sure that those showrunners are coordinating so that they\\u2019re not stepping on each other\\u2019s toes." So Star Trek: Discovery aired back in 2017, and Picard in January of 2020. Is it possible we\\u2019ll see more cohesive storytelling and development from collaboration going forward?

A Closer Look At Discovery Season 3 Visual Effects

By Cat Hough

Pixomondo, the Emmy-nominated visual effects house for Star Trek: Discovery,. released a highlight reel of the visual effects seen in Season 3. We hear VFX supervisor Phil Jones explaining some of the complexities involved in designing 32nd century ships. One challenge in particular was Book\'s chameleon ship, which had to be re-configured to fit in the Discovery\'s shuttle bay\\u2013not to mention constantly changing shape when flying.\\xa0

The team also designed most of the planet and ground locations by starting with live-action footage and layering in additional effects. For example, the ice planet was based from footage shot in Iceland. As discussed in previous episodes, Pixomondo also confirmed that Season 4 is being shot on a virtual production stage, Mandalorian-style.\\xa0

In Memoriam: Felix Silla, Cousin Itt On The Addams Family, 84

By Rosco McQueen

The actor Felix Silla, who played Addams Family member Cousin Itt, has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 84. Silla was a trained circus performer who came to the United States from Italy in 1955. He toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Show, which ultimately led him to roles in Hollywood as a stuntman.\\xa0

Felix Silla, 1937-2021. Image: Dave Starbuck/Geisler-Fotopress via Variety.

Silla\\u2019s links to Star Trek go back to the very beginning\\u2013he was a Talosian in the original pilot \\u201cThe Cage\\u201d\\u2013but his list of credits is extensive. Along the way, he worked with the likes of Michael Dorn in 1977\\u2019s Demon Seed, Michael Ansara in 1978\\u2019s The Manitou, and in the 1979 film The Brood by David Cronenberg.

In Memoriam: Robert Fletcher, Star Trek Costume Designer, 98

By Rosco McQueen

Also Robert Fletcher, \'Star Trek\' Costume Designer, has died this week aged 98. Fletcher was the designer behind the feature films\\u2019 Klingon and Vulcan looks, which have since become iconic to the franchise. He was also the designer of the full set of rank pins used in Wrath of Khan and beyond.

Robert Fletcher, 1922-2021. Image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images via The Hollywood Reporter.

Robert Fletcher received three Tony Award nominations for his work on Little Me (1963), High Spirits (1964), and Hadrian VII (1969). In 2005 he was awarded the Career Achievement Award from the Costume Designers Guild and in 2008 he received a Theatre Development Fund / Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for his set design work.

ASTROMETRICS REPORT

By Robert Hurt, PhD.

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

For this week\'s Astrometrics Report, we\'re going to take a journey into darkness: specifically, the vast halo of dark matter astronomers think surrounds our galaxy. Because dark matter is, well, dark, it is notoriously hard to study. It can\'t be observed directly, and indeed there\'s no clear idea of what it is. It is only inferred to exist by its substantial gravitational effect on the normal, luminous matter that we can detect. That effect is not subtle\\u2013scientists think that dark matter outweighs normal matter by a factor of 5 to 1.

That\'s a lot of dark, but there is a tiny bit of light in this dark matter tunnel that astronomers have just leveraged to get a handle on all that stuff surrounding out galaxy. Two teams of astronomers have come together, in a recent Nature paper, to compare theoretical models of how dark matter may flow around the Milky Way. The challenging observational effort: survey the most difficult stars in the outer reaches of our galaxy, in the region known as its halo.

Image: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/Conroy et. al.

Our galaxy has two neighboring galaxies that factor into this study, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. These are a standard fixture in our dark nighttime skies, but only from the Southern Hemisphere. The larger one ("LMC" for short) has about one-quarter the mass of the Milky Way, and is about 160,000 lightyears away. For a sense of scale, the Milky Way itself is only about 100,000 lightyears across. It has long been thought that the LMC and SMC are satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. A recent theoretical study from the University of Arizona, indicates this orbit should create a sort of gravitational wake in the Milky Way\'s dark matter halo.

But how would one ever find the wake if it existed? This is when a group of Harvard astronomers came into the picture. Reasoning that the sparse scattering of stars in the halo would follow the hidden distribution of dark matter, they set out to find the faint population of the most distant stars around the Milky Way. To do this, they combined star catalogues from two complementary missions. The European Space Agency\'s Gaia mission has mapped out billions of stars in visible light, while NASA\'s NEOWISE mission has surveyed the entire sky in infrared light.

Only by comparing the visible and infrared signatures of billions of stars could they identify about 1300 sitting further out than even the LMC itself. This map of our galaxy\'s most distant stars showed a striking irregularity\\u2013one that aligned incredibly well with the dark matter simulation. It\'s a classic case of theory leading to a hypothesis that could be tested with data. This is the scientific method in action!

The study also sheds light on the nature of mysterious dark matter itself. In this case, it lends support for a kind of scenario scientists have dubbed "cold dark matter. " Refining the dark matter simulations to better match the observations may also help establish more precise properties of this elusive stuff. Make sure to check the shownotes for a link to the paper, and the cool animation showing the dark matter halo simulation.

But as a parting thought, I\'d like to take a minute to imagine what it would be like, standing on a world orbiting one of these distant lonely stars in the Milky Way\'s halo. Chances are you would not be able to see easily the nearest star with the naked eye, as they would just be too far apart. Instead, your night sky would be filled with the spectacle of the entire Milky Way itself. Not unlike that closing moment in the Empire Strikes Back, as the rebel fleet regroups in the far reaches of their own galaxy far, far away.

"Star Wars"? Never heard of it. Image: Disney/Lucasfilm

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Edited by Thomas Reynolds

Upgrading Phoenix Box Upgrades

By Rosco McQueen

Captains on PC can claim a free Phoenix Prize pack each day until April 27th. So why not take the time to say hi to Gyrm on Drozana Station, or shoot the breeze with Onna on Deep Space Nine?

For those brand new to STO, your account can claim one prize pack per day, or you can spend dilithium for single or 10-box bundles. Open the pack and receive a token with one of five rarity levels. The top two tiers, Ultra Rare and Epic, will allow you to claim a T5 or T6 starship. For a full list of available prizes, trek out the link in our show notes.

Image: Cryptic Studios.

The most interesting part is the Experimental Upgrade tokens are now available to claim at the Ultra Rare level.\\xa0 It\\u2019s not the first time the token has been a part of the prize pack. However, the blog post announcing the event states \\u201c[t]hese tokens will only be available in this pack during this event.\\u201d

CQ: What items from the Phoenix Prize pack do you think players should try to get their hands on?

STO Remasters Tholian TFOs

By Cat Hough

If you happened to be playing through TFOs over the weekend, you may have noticed the Azure Nebula and Vault Ensnared have been remastered. Updates include different optional requirements, updated timers and more noticeable indicators. The remastering wasn\\u2019t mentioned in patch notes, but announced via tweet instead.

Be Advised: First-Time Players In Star Trek Online

By Rosco McQueen

The independent MMO website Massively OP asked a straightforward question this week. What key advice would you give to first-timers in your MMO?

Star Trek Online has just been through the Klingon Recruitment event, and rolled into a revamped Delta Recruit event.\\xa0 What does this mean for new players?\\xa0 It\\u2019s the perfect time to start a new character and take them on a new adventure, with all-new bonuses available! So if you\\u2019re brand new to the game, first of all, welcome!\\xa0 We thought we would share a couple of pieces of advice that will hopefully set up your captain for success.

Image: Cryptic Studios via SFC3/STOwiki.

• Choose a weapon type at the start\\u2013phasers, disruptors, etc.\\u2013and a style like beams or cannons. Stick with them.
• You can never go wrong with a hot, sour little pick-me-up in a stemmed glass, with a drop of honey.
• STOWiki is your best source of information for missions, equipment, build, and anything else in the game.
• An MMO-style mouse with side-mounted 10-key pad will make the game far easier to play. Also, consider setting up macros to automate your power usage.
• Don\\u2019t rush! Enjoy the game and get through the story missions. You don\\u2019t have to be in a hurry to get to endgame.
• Join a fleet! We happen to know a few.

CQ: What are the key pieces of advice you would give to first-time players of Star Trek Online?

Listed in: Leisure

504 - Akiva Goldsman, Raiders, and Chairs

This week on Episode 504 of Priority One: We #TrekOut what Akiva Goldsman has to say about developing #StarTrek #Picard and Strange New Worlds, a sci-Fi documentary that will give you all the feels, and chairs (because, you know, lumbar support is important in the Multiverse). In gaming, Star Trek Online teases a new ship in their Infinity Lock Box, Modiphius has updates, and Scopley has patch notes for Star Trek Fleet Command.

This week\\u2019s Community Questions are:

CQ: Where is your new Star Trek chair going? At your desk for commanding starships and taking down intergalactic baddies? Or in your living room facing your big screen TV where you can order the rest of your family around like the magnificent crew they are?

CQ: Are you a Star Trek Adventures player? If so, what new product excites you the most? If not, does any of these announcements pique your interest in the game?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

Akiva Goldsman on Star Trek: Picard & Strange New Worlds

By Elio Lleo

Well, it\\u2019s been a little over a week since First Contact Day and the virtual event held by Paramount+ that offered up so many tantalizing teases about the future of Star Trek. Fortunately, James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter had an opportunity to follow-up on some of those announcements with an interview featuring writer-producer Akiva Goldsman, co-showrunner on both Star Trek: Picard and Strange New Worlds.

Up first\\u2013how does Strange New Worlds compare to NuTrek, like Star Trek: Discovery and Picard? According to Goldsman, \\u201cStrange New Worlds is very much adventure-of-the-week but with serialized character arcs.\\u201d But what about the visual style? Well, with respect to visual changes from what we saw on Discovery, Goldsman explained that they want \\u201cStrange New Worlds to be a different show. It\'s not Discovery. There are a few more reach-backs (to The Original Series) and the uniforms have been adjusted slightly, the sets are slightly different.\\u201d

As the interview progresses, Goldsman might have accidentally let his feelings slip when discussing lessons learned after completing Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard saying, \\u201cFigure out the end earlier. If you\'re going to do a serialized show, you have the whole story before you start shooting. It\'s more like a movie in that way \\u2014 you better know the end of your third act before you start filming your first scene.\\u201d

The interview goes on to discuss how Q might impact Picard (but those answers are vague) and his involvement with a Dark Tower series, and a Firestarter movie. But, this was an excellent interview that we encourage you all to read\\u2026 so #TrekItOut!

The Definitive 80s Sci-Fi Documentary

By Rosco McQueen

The 1980\\u2019s were a powerhouse decade for science fiction films. And that\\u2019s judging it on sheer volume alone. In terms of Star Trek, we went from Wrath of Khan to the Final Frontier over the course of the decade. In between were myriad franchises, one-off films, and galactic adventures that captured imaginations of the young and old.\\xa0\\xa0

The team behind In Search of Tomorrow: The Definitive 80s Sci-fi Documentary aims to distill all of the mythos of 80\\u2019s sci-fi into a four hour film. The project began production in 2019, and then launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2020, becoming one of the most successful Kickstarter documentary campaigns of all time.

The project has over 75 names included in the story, most recently adding director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters I & II), producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens), and actor Peter Weller. The news this week is the team is launching another crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to expand production efforts, add more interviews, and allow fans the opportunity to pre-order the film.

Taking A Seat From The Ready Room Table

By Rosco McQueen

Is the style of your table setting missing a final frontier flavour? Are your virtual ward room meetings missing that one essential piece of furniture to really Trek it up? Thanks to the collective efforts of Star Trek fans and artists, now you can finally track down that Trek chair you\\u2019ve always wanted. Yes, even Worf\\u2019s uncomfortable bubble chair.

In an article on design website fastcompany.com, 3D artist Tadeo D\\u2019Oria from Buenos Aires explains how he went from creating purpose-built 3D models of Star Trek sets for role-playing games, to collating a database of props and sets across Trek movies and series.\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cOther fans had already identified several of the chairs used through the series (mostly the original \\u201960s show) and even created replicas.\\xa0 However because of my job doing essentially 3D reproductions of these chairs, having information about them was invaluable to me in order to work faster.\\u201d

D\\u2019Oria has since worked on the TNG virtual set tour video game, Stage 9, which was eventually shut down by CBS. But not wanting to let the database go to waste, he collaborated with Bernd Schneider, who runs the site Ex Astris Scientia, to host the future furniture suite.

CQ: Where is your new Star Trek chair going? At your desk for commanding starships and taking down intergalactic baddies? Or in your living room facing your big screen TV where you can order the rest of your family around like the magnificent crew they are?

I\\u2019ll Take \\u201cFavorite Starship Engineers\\u201d for 1,000

By Cat Hough

The search for the regular host on Jeopardy is still going through its interviewing process, currently featuring a slew of guest hosts, including Aaron Rodgers and Ken Jennings. But the field of candidates may have just gotten smaller, because now there\\u2019s a petition making the rounds on Twitter in support of Levar Burton getting the job.

Earlier this week, the social media hype train started rolling with a tweet from Stephen Colbert showing his support for Burton and Star Trek in general. That was then followed by Dick Van Dyke tweeting his support and sharing the link to the petition. As of this recording, a little more than 231,000 people have signed the petition to have Burton be the next Jeopardy host.\\xa0

Now here are a few headlines that we didn\\u2019t discuss but might interest you.

• First up, The Hollywood Reporter published an article on April 9th reviewing new dates for films planned by Paramount. According to the report, an untitled Star Trek feature film is slated to be released on June 9, 2023. No details about the film have yet to be announced\\u2026 other than they have it on the calendar.

• CBS and the Television Academy Partner to launch a \\u201cStar Trek Command Training\\u201d program. What does that mean? Well, graduate and undergraduate college students nationwide can apply to be a part of an 8-week, paid internship immersing you in the production process of the Star Trek Universe. Direct from StarTrek.com, \\u201cSelected interns will be actively engaged in writers\' rooms, wardrobe design, on-set production, animation and post-production on Los Angeles-based programs and will earn up to $4800.\\u201d Submissions for the Fall Session end April 28th at 5pm.

• While we covered an interview with Akiva Goldsman a few moments ago, John de Lancie also caught up with Variety to talk about returning to the role of Q in Star Trek: Picard. Although he couldn\\u2019t divulge any specifics about his role in Picard\\u2019s life, the interview does explore de Lancie\\u2019s life and times as Q in the Star Trek Universe. Perhaps most fascinating is how focused he is as an actor.

• If you missed Saturday Night Live\\u2019s April 10th show, you might have missed another Star Trek parody! In this latest Trek-themed sketch, Paramount+ is home to the new prequel series, Starcharter Andromeda\\u2013where a few fresh grads are abound with entitlement! Featuring Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan, it\\u2019s a work-place parody.

Remember captains, to learn more about these headlines, be sure to review the show notes for this episode at priorityonepodcast.com

STAR TREK GAMING NEWS

Jovian Raider added to Infinity Lock Boxes

By Rosco McQueen

The Discovery season three additions to Star Trek Online keep coming, with a new ship being added to the game\\u2019s Infinity lock box. Starting April 15, captains will have a chance when opening an Infinity lock box to score a T6 Jovian Intel Heavy Raider. \\u201cAlso referred to as a \\u201cTitan Raider\\u201d when it showed up in Season 3 of Star Trek Discovery, this ship was one of several led by the infamous and mysterious leader known as Wen, as it harassed the United Earth Defense Forces in a tense standoff.\\u201d

The Raider will sport a five fore, one aft, weapon configuration, with five Tactical, three Engineering, and three\\xa0 Science consoles. The Bridge officer loadout looks adaptable to your build, with 1x Commander Tactical / Intelligence, 1x Ensign Universal, 1x Lieutenant Universal / Miracle Worker, and 2x Lieutenant Commander Universal stations.