Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 5, episode 2 – ‘Shades of Green’
The Orions in Star Trek: Lower Decks bring back Star Trekof the most historic starships. Former Starfleet lieutenant D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) returned to Orion at the end of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 and resumed her role as Mistress of the Winter Constellations. A conflict with the blue Orions of House Azure instigated a war with House Tendi, and this was resolved with the return of the old Orion sailboats similar to those seen in Star Trek before.
The bending unit is Star Trekdominant form of travel, even going hundreds of years into the future of Star Trek: Discovery32nd century. Every known spacefaring race, from the United Federation of Planets to the Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians, Orions, and even the Borg, uses a variation of the warp drive. However, many alien species began traveling to the stars hundreds or even thousands of years ago, long before the invention of the warp drive. At least three old acquaintances Star Trek races traveled through space using solar sailing ships.
Star Trek: Lower Decks reveals that Orions use sailing ships
House Tendi and House Azure run through the Excellon Nebula
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Episode 2, “Shades of Green,” revealed that Orions used ancient sailing ships hundreds of years before warp travel became the backbone of the Orion Syndicate. To settle the score between House Tendi and House Azure, the Pirate Queen of Orion ordered a sailing ship race through the dangerous Excellon Nebula. The winning House would absorb the wealth of the losing House, which would plunge into poverty.
Although D’Erika Tendi (Ariel Winter) is a trained sailor who took sailing lessons in school, D’Vana Tendi and her crew mutinied gently (a “cute”) out of fear that the pregnant D’Erika would lose the baby. Meanwhile, Casa Tendi faced the glaring issue with solar sailboats: the vessel can be damaged if the sails are damaged. Ingeniously, D’Vana used her Starfleet engineering skills to link to a neighboring comet and capture House Azure’s ship. Unfortunately, D’Vana’s solution of forcing a draw so that both Houses would ‘win’ enraged the Pirate Queen, who stripped House Azure and Tendi of their riches, although the Tendi sisters found a way to replace their fortunes. family. Still, it was a triumphant return for Star Trek’solar sailboat.
Sailing ships were used by the Bajorans of DS9 and the R’ongovians of Strange New Worlds
DS9 introduced solar sailing ships to Star Trek
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 22, ‘Explorers’ introduced solar sailing ships in the form of a Bajoran lightship built by Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). Using the same materials from ancient texts, Sisko built his lightship in three weeks, intending to prove that ancient Bajorans sailed from Bajor to Cardassia using tachyon swirls from the Denorios Belt. Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) joined his father on his successful journey, proving the ancient Bajoran texts correct.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 5, “Spock Amok”, introduced a new species, the R’ongovian Protectorate, who negotiated membership into the United Federation of Planets. After tense conversations that went nowhere, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) realized that the R’ongovians needed empathy and acknowledged their concerns about joining the Federation. Satisfied with Pike’s proposals, the R’ongovians left Starbase One aboard a solar sailboatthe first seen in the 23rd century and the first seen in Star Trek since Deep Space Nine.
Why didn’t Earth use sailing ships in Star Trek?
Humans went to space a different way
Star TrekThe history of the United Kingdom is practically identical to the history of the real world until major divergences occur in the form of the Eugenics Wars and World War III. In terms of space exploration, NASA existed, as did the Apollo missions to the Moon and subsequent events involving space travel. However, humans have never tried to use solar sail ships like the ancient Bajorans, Orions or the R’ongovians to travel to other worlds. Escaping Earth’s gravity required the invention of man-made rockets and spacecraft that relied on different means of propulsion faster than solar sails.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 revealed that a mission to Europe led by Dr. Renee Picard (Penelope Mitchell) brought back a bio-organism that helped Earth solve its climate crisis.
Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell) successfully achieved humanity’s first warp flight in 2063, the Vulcans immediately arrived and made first contact with Earth. This led to the Vulcans becoming the guiding arm of the United Earth as Starfleet was created, humans began to travel the stars, and the invention of the first warp-five capable starship, the NX-01 Enterprise, allowed Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) will lead humanity. first trips to deep space in Star Trek: Enterprise. Humans have stopped inventing their own solar sailing shipswhich are the province of the Bajorans, R’ongovians and the Orions in Star Trek: Lower Decks.