Many of the great captains in Star Trek they crossed space and time, intentionally or accidentally, and met each other. Feature films, series premieres and important franchise anniversaries are peppered with connections between different Star Trek captains, with time travel sometimes coming into play for captains from different parts of the world Star Trek timeline. Star Trek captains from the same era, like the 24th century setting of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager, can easily find each other, but it’s still exciting to see captains from different shows interacting.
With Star Treklongevity, we are not counting each Star Trek character to maintain the rank of captain. It is a given that Star Trek Characters who became captains after being series regulars, such as Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), met their own commanders. Star Trek captains who have not led a show also do not make the list. Instead, we’re looking at the heavy hitters: Star Trek captains who were the main commanders of their programs, whether for a single season or an entire series. That said, let’s take a chronological look at these legendary meetings.
Captain James T. Kirk met Captain Christopher Pike
Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Seen in production order, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Starfleet Captain Christopher Pike (Sean Kenney) are seen together for the first time on screen in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episodes 15 and 16, “The Menagerie”, following Pike’s disfiguring accident. Kirk explains that he met Pike years earlier when Pike was named Starfleet Captain.. Chronologically, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 6, “Lost in Translation”, features the first personal meeting between young Lieutenant James Kirk (Paul Wesley) and Captain Pike (Anson Mount), when Pike is temporarily assigned command of Kirk’s USS Farragut and from Bavali station. refinery.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds challenges the implication of Star Trek: The Original Series that Kirk doesn’t know Pike very well, giving the two Enterprise captains a more shared history while keeping Kirk’s original statement as a technical truth. Why Strange new worlds treats the canon as malleable rather than written in stone, the prequel to Pike’s Enterprise has the freedom to better tell the contemporary Star Trek stories – and feature many more of Paul Wesley’s James Kirk.
Captain Pike met Captain Burnham and Captain Saru
Star Trek: Discovery, Season 2
Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) takes center stage as captain of the USS Discovery in Star Trek: Discovery 2nd season, when future USS Discovery captains Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Saru (Doug Jones) serve under Pike with the rank of commander. After Pike’s departure to lead Star Trek: Strange New WorldsCommander Saru becomes de facto captain of the USS Discovery, a position Saru holds until Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Captain Michael Burnham takes command of the USS Discovery after Captain Saru in Star Trek: Discoverylast two seasons.
Pike’s impact on Burnham and Saru is significant because Captain Pike’s leadership style is very different from Discovery’s previous captain, Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs). Star Trek: DiscoveryCaptain Lorca oppresses the crew of the USS Discovery with selfish distrust, while Pike lifts their spirits with confidence and encouragement. After Pike, Saru and Burnham are able to build stronger relationships with their own teams, and Star Trek: Discovery it’s better this way.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard met Captain Benjamin Sisko
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 1, “Emissary”
Just as DeForest Kelley’s Dr. Leonard McCoy appears in the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart’s captain Jean-Luc Picard appears in Star Trek: Deep Space Ninedebut episode, “Emissary”to pass the torch to DS9 like the next one Star Trek spin off. Picard meets with Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) to discuss the latter’s mission aboard the USS Enterprise, and although Sisko remains professional, it’s a close call.
An important plot point in “Emissary” is that Benjamin Sisko is trapped, spiritually and emotionally, in the Battle of Wolf 359, amid the wreckage of the USS Saratoga while searching for his wife, Jennifer (Felecia M. Bell). This becomes relevant during the Sisko and Picard period Star Trek: Deep Space Nine meeting because Sisko can’t shake the idea that Picard is Borg’s Locutushis wife’s killer and the architect of Sisko’s trauma.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard met Captain James T. Kirk
Star Trek Generations Nexus Reunion
Star Trek: Generations features the long-awaited meeting of Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in a crossover film that serves as a swan song for the Star Trek: The Original Series cast and the first film appearance of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast. The century of time that separates Kirk and Picard is negated in Star Trek Generations by both men being pulled into the Nexusa time-independent, paradise-like anomaly. Outside the Nexus, Picard and Kirk team up to defeat Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), in a fight that also takes Kirk’s life.
The impact of Kirk and Picard’s meeting is best summed up with the advice Kirk gives Picard while in the Nexus: “Don’t let them promote you. Don’t let them transfer you. Don’t let them do anything that takes you off that ship’s bridge, because as long as you’re there, you can make a difference.” Picard keeps Kirk’s words in mind throughout the Star Trek: The Next Generation films, and Star Trek: Picard shows that neither a promotion nor a lack of command of his own will stop Admiral Jean-Luc Picard from doing everything he can to continue making a difference.
Captain Benjamin Sisko met Captain James T. Kirk
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 5, Episode 6, ‘Trials and Tribble-ations’
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 5, Episode 6, “Trials and Tribble-ations” features Captain Benjamin Sisko and several others DS9 crew members went back in time to the events of Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 13, “The Trouble With Tribbles.” Although trapped in the 23rd century, Sisko knows full well that the Prime Temporal Directive is in effect and encourages his officers to comply with the Directive as well. THE DS9 crew does their best but Sisko couldn’t help but take the opportunity to interact with Captain James T. Kirk for a brief moment.
It’s a small interaction that doesn’t do much, if anything, to change the timeline, so Captain Sisko is able to avoid a full-blown scolding from the Department of Temporal Investigations. Kirk is unlikely to actually remember Sisko in returnalthough Sisko and Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) were instrumental in thwarting the Klingon plot to end Kirk’s life.
Admiral Kathryn Janeway met Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Janeway gives Picard a mission in Star Trek: Nemesis
Fresh off a promotion to Admiral following the USS Voyager’s return to the Alpha Quadrant, Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) appears in Star Trek: Nemesis with a mission for Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Admiral Janeway sends Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise-E on a diplomatic mission to Romulus this eventually brings Picard into contact with his own clone, Shinzon (Tom Hardy).
Star Trek: Nemesis remains the only on-screen meeting between Picard and Janeway.
Janeway’s appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis is essentially a cameo, as anyone could be on the other side of Starfleet Command’s message, but the brief scene helps reiterate that Star Trek it is a shared universe that, at this moment, advances in real time. Picard and Janeway meeting and working together makes sensegiven his shared personal history with the Borg, then it is surprising that Star Trek: Nemesis remains the only on-screen meeting between Picard and Janeway.
Why No Other Star Trek Captain Met Enterprise Captain Jonathan Archer
Star Trek: Enterprise Captain Archer Didn’t Meet Future Star Trek Captains
Why Star Trek: Enterprise is a prequel series set 100 years before Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) remains an exception on the list of Star Trek captains who met their counterparts from another Star Trek series. THE TNGera shows were produced before Star Trek: Enterprise, so they can’t mention Archer as a character that hasn’t been invented yet. Most recent Star Trek shows make up for this with references to Captain NX-01, such as Star Trek: Discoveryof the Archer Spacedock, built to modernize Starfleet for exploration in the 32nd century.
The closest Captain Archer comes to knowing a future Star Trek captain is Star Trek: Enterprise season 3, episode 18, “Azati Prime”, when crewman Daniels (Matt Winston) takes Archer to the USS Enterprise-J in the 26th century.
Notably, Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cites Captain Archer as a personal hero. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 7, “Those Old Scientists”, the crew of Pike’s Enterprise anxiously discuss what it would be like to meet their 22nd century counterparts from Archer’s Enterprise in order to imagine how Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) feel. It’s a full circle moment that shows how Star Trek Heroes are inspired by those who came before, and if they’re lucky, they might even get the chance to meet them.