Star Trek has a new Guinan and she’s a Starfleet commander

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 5, episode 5 – “Starbase 80?!”

Star Trek: Lower Decks has just introduced a new member of the species Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) who serves in Starfleet. Guinan became a constant presence Star Trek: The Next Generation as a bartender at the Ten Forward lounge on the USS Enterprise-D. Guinan was somewhat enigmatic when introduced, and TNG revealed more about her and her species slowly over time. Like El-Aurian, Guinan came from a race of listeners with extremely long lifespans.. She was a longtime friend of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and he regularly sought her advice.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5, “Starbase 80?!,” the USS Cerritos pays a visit to the infamous Starbase 80 in search of a navigation computer. Upon arriving at the starbase, they are greeted by Commander Kassia Nox (Nicole Byer), who expects the Cerritos crew to help with some repairs to the station. Due to its remote location, Starfleet has neglected Starbase 80 and many of the base’s systems are outdated and malfunctioning. Despite the run-down nature of the starbase, Commander Nox remains friendly and enthusiastic, and Kassia eventually reveals herself to be an El-Aurian, like Guinan.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Commander Kassia Nox Is El-Aurian as Guinan

Kassia Nox is voiced by actress and comedian Nicole Byer

As Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and her friends accompany Commander Nox to begin repairs, they begin to encounter members of the Cerritos crew who behave like zombies. When Mariner accuses Nox of being involved, the two women get into a brief fight. Mariner is impressed by Nox’s fighting skills, which leads the commander to reveal: “I’m El-Aurian. I think I know how to fight.” When Mariner questions whether Nox is “like, 400 years,” She responds that she is only 30 years old, which makes her Star Trek the youngest El-Aurian and the first shown in Starfleet.

Competent, intelligent and charming, Kassia Nox is a wonderful new addition to the Star Trek universe, beautifully brought to life by comedian Nicole Byer. Byer began his career on MTV and has since appeared in several popular television shows, both live-action and animated. She is perhaps best known as the host of Netflix’s comedic reality television series Nailed it!, which earned him four Emmy nominations. She has also hosted several other reality shows, including the current iteration of Destroyalongside John Cena, and she hosts four different podcasts.

Star Trek’s El-Aurian Aliens Explained

Commander Nox is only the fourth El-Aurian seen on screen

Star Trek: The Next Generation only provided hints about the El-Aurians through Guinan before Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: Picard revealed more about the mysterious species. Although the exact lifespan of the average El-Aurian remains unknown, they could live for many centuries without appearing to age much. As a hearing race, the El-Aurians were also extremely perceptive and had an enhanced awareness of the flow of time and space. Guinan’s acumen proved incredibly useful while she was aboard the USS Enterprise-D, and she helped save the ship on more than one occasion.

The El-Aurians had previously negotiated with the Q Continuum, and Guinan had a particularly low opinion of Q (John de Lancie). At the time of Star Trek Generations, the Borg decimated the El-Aurian population and the USS Enterprise-B rescued a group of refugees when their ship became trapped in the Nexus. Guinan was among these refugees, as was Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), who became obsessed with finding a way to return to the Nexus realm. Very few El-Aurians appeared on screen, and Star Trek: Lower Decks has just introduced the franchise’s first El-Aurian Starfleet officer.