khaosworks

The seeming misspelling in the title is deliberate and the why will be apparent later in the episode.

The opening flashes back to SFA: “Kids These Days”, when Anisha Mir was sent to prison in 3176 by Nahla. Jett’s “wall of death” is the series of Omega-47 mines encircling Federation space seen in the last moments of SFA: “300th Night”.

“niteb Qob had jup ‘e’ chaw’ve SuvwI’” translates to, “A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone.” It was first heard from Worf to Riker in English in TNG: “The Outcast”. Jay-Den said it in “Kids These Days” when Caleb stopped Darem from bullying him.

Lazarus refers to Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11), and not Lazarus from TOS: “The Alternative Factor”. It is not certain which Pledge of Allegiance Braka is referring to.

Braca discussed trauma loops with Nahla in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. Nahla tricked him a simulated warp core breach with in “Kids These Days”, explaining his current reaction.

Nahla paraphrases the legendary Hermes Trismegistus’ Corpus Hermeticum: “Leap clear of all that is corporeal, and make yourself grown to a like expanse with that greatness which is beyond all measure; rise above all time and become eternal; then you will apprehend God.” Basically, if you can’t transcend yourself, you will never understand the transcendent. It is a coded message to run training program Hermes 19.

The Doctor hands Reno his mobile emitter, appropriated from the 29th century Federation timeship Aeon (VOY: “Future’s End”) in 2373, so he's had it nearly 820 years.

Reno talks about a “Level-10” diagnostic. In the TNG era, diagnostic levels ranged from 5 to 1, with 1 being the most intensive (TNG Tech Manual). The levels have seemingly been revised for the 32nd century.

Caleb talks about Starfleet not leaving any man behind, a oft-quoted military slogan dating to Greek and Roman times. In DIS: “Saints of Imperfection”, Pike says, “Starfleet is a promise. I give my life for you, you give your life for me. And nobody gets left behind.”

If 1/8th impulse is less than 1000 km/s, then full impulse is only less than 8000 km/s, which can’t be right, considering that full impulse in the TNG era is 0.25c, which is nearly 75,000 km/s. 1/8th impulse in those terms would be more like 9,300 km/s. Darem should have said, “That’s less than 10,000 km/s,” but then it wouldn’t sound as slow. Scale is hard.

Reno says she’s not a captain. Technically, the person in command of a vessel should be correctly addressed as “captain”, regardless of rank (DS9: “Behind the Lines”).

Braka says, “Today the revolution will be televised!” The origin of that is a 1971 spoken-word jazz poem by Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. It was recently used in the movie One Battle After Another as a code for the revolutionary group French 75. Between 2012 and 2015 there was also a satirical BBC series titled, “The Revolution Will Be Televised”.

Graffiti’d on the wall in the Atrium are the words “Break. Burn. Build.” Other visible graffiti include “Liberation”, “Take Change”, “Never Again” and "Veni, Vidi, Vinci, Venari", the last being Latin for "I came, I saw, I conquered, I hunted."

The VNN chyron says: “Breaking News. The Federation is compromised. Leaders and civilians are trying to flee Federation space, signalling Federation weakness. Federation oppressors mass their fleet near our border at Betazed - will they seal their own cage?”

As Braka continues, the chyron changes: “Vernari Rai Leader Nus Braka hailed as “hero” as he hold the Federation on trial for crimes against the galaxy. Terrorist or freedom fighter? Learn the true Nus Braka story - more at 2100”.

The moving chyron now says, “New Qo’noS signals willingness to discuss non-aggression pact with Venari Ral Free State.”

It next changes to “The Federation is on trial! Nus Braka hosts the trial of the century aboard the Athena, a gaudy treasure of the pompous Federation. ‘I know him well - he’s pure evil’ claims former Vance aide in shocking exposé”.

Next is “Federation Oppression has been cut off from the rest of the Quadrant as Venari Ral heroes block Starfleet Occupation". It reverts to “Nus Braka hailed as ‘hero’” while the moving chyron says, “Tyrant-in-chief Vance threatens military junta if Federation President Rillak fails to approve his naval aggression”. Laira Rillak was Federation President in DIS Seasons 4 and 5, who had Human, Cardassian and Bajoran ancestry.

Gravitational eddies are found with wormholes (VOY: “Eye of the Needle”, “False Profits”) or singularities (VOY: “Hunters”). Turning into a shockwave was Sulu’s manoeuvre with Excelsior at the beginning of ST VI when Praxis exploded.

Tarima was given a newer, less invasive neuroinhibitor when she came out of her coma (SFA: “The Life of the Stars”). The original was implanted into her neck - this one can be removed without surgery.

Reno knows first hand about being lost on a broken ship. She was on the USS Hiawatha, damaged and crashed during the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-57. The survivors were trapped on an asteroid for 10 months (DIS: “Brother”) before Discovery found and rescued them.

“One emergency at a time,” is akin to an aphorism that Raffi Musiker is fond of in the PIC novel The Last Best Hope: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

The moving chyron says “Aldebaran and Halka join Vernari Ral Free State as dozens of former Federation worlds rally around leadership of visionary Nus Braka”. Aldebaran has been mentioned several times though never seen in lore. Aldebaran whiskey is green (TOS: “By Any Other Name”, TNG: “Relics”). Halka first appeared in TOS: “Mirror, Mirror”.

Nahla says they were trying to create a new power source with Omega-47. That is not as reassuring as it sounds, since the previous disasters with Omega were usually due to trying to synthesise it for use as a power source (VOY: “The Omega Directive”).

Strontium is an element usually used in fireworks and to treat osteoporosis, mined from celestite and strontianite, burning with a crimson flame. Its isotope, Strontium-90, a byproduct of nuclear fission, can cause leukaemia and bone cancer.

“Come on down!” is a catchphrase from the game show The Price is Right.

The main chyron: “Federation oppression has been cut off from the rest of the quadrant as Venari Ral heroes block Starfleet occupation.”

As per “Kids These Days”, Nahla is 422.

Tamza is a dead language both Sam and Lythe know. Sam greeted people in Tamza on her first day at the Academy (“Kids These Days”) and Genesis responded, beginning their friendship.

The Rubicon is a river in northwest Italy, associated with Julius Caesar’s crossing in 49 BC which set off a civil war. The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” now means to commit to an irrevocable course of action - the point of no return Genesis mentions. The Doctor is actually saying “Rubin-con”, setting off the solution to disarming the mines. One wonders if the Doctor remembered Seven managing to stabilise Omega for 3.2 seconds in VOY: "The Omega Directive".

“Science is the captain, and practice the soldiers,” is from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, XIX: Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.

Tamira narrows Braca’s location to star system Alpha-20-56341255238693-0131.

The fact that Nahla says that Akamu Lee stayed with the Federation “after Earth left” provides an interesting chronological puzzle which I may nerd out about later.

Nahla says there is no Starfleet Anthem. There is, however, an Anthem of the United Federation of Planets (DS9: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).

Cadet Krebs’ Talaxian furfly ends the season by leaving the replicator and mating with itself. There was a theory floating around about maybe the saga would pay off by having the furfly replicate, tribble-like, to gum up Braca’s plans, but guess not.

Anisha told the young Caleb that they would visit Earth someday in “Kids These Days”. Caleb notes it’s almost summer, which brings us to June of 3192 as the academic year ends.

The Dean refers to Betazed weddings and not forgetting sunscreen, a subtle reference to the fact that traditional Betazoid weddings are held in the nude. Wearing sunscreen may also refer to a hypothetical commencement speech by Mary Schmirch, often misattributed to author Kurt Vonnegut.

We see in the background a Lurian (Morn’s race from DS9) talking to someone in an operations-coloured hijab. We saw a hijab-wearing crewmember on the USS Cerritos in LD: “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”. We get a glimpse of Discovery through a window.

Caleb gives the stardate as 869631.7, which actually places it in August 3192, but I’ve kind of given up trying to calibrate the later digits of stardates anyway. Best guess still places this in June, unless Caleb is recording it later.

The episode closes with “Beautiful Child” by Rufus Wainright. The closing credits say the cadets are from the graduating class of 3196. If the 1st academic year is 3191-92, then that means Starfleet Academy now has a 5-year course - which is actually consistent with TOS: “Bread and Circuses”, where Merik was said to have been dropped in his fifth year after failing a psych test.

While real-world military academies have a 4-year term, there is scattered evidence in production art that suggests the Academy has a 4-year course (notably in PIC: “The Star Gazer”). The old FASA Star Trek RPG split the difference by making it 4-years with a 5th year “cadet cruise”. But then again, the credits also put Lura, Nahla, Vance (nickname “Vancypants”), Athena’s computer and Braka in the class of 3196, so I’m not sure how literally we’re supposed to take this. Adding to the confusion is Caleb saying he’s a “Cadet Second Class”, which actually refers in real life to a cadet’s third year, rather than second.

The seeming misspelling in the title is deliberate and the why will be apparent later in the episode.

The opening flashes back to SFA: “Kids These Days”, when Anisha Mir was sent to prison in 3176 by Nahla. Jett’s “wall of death” is the series of Omega-47 mines encircling Federation space seen in the last moments of SFA: “300th Night”.

“niteb Qob had jup ‘e’ chaw’ve SuvwI’” translates to, “A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone.” It was first heard from Worf to Riker in English in TNG: “The Outcast”. Jay-Den said it in “Kids These Days” when Caleb stopped Darem from bullying him.

Lazarus refers to Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11), and not Lazarus from TOS: “The Alternative Factor”. It is not certain which Pledge of Allegiance Braka is referring to.

Braca discussed trauma loops with Nahla in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. Nahla tricked him a simulated warp core breach with in “Kids These Days”, explaining his current reaction.

Nahla paraphrases the legendary Hermes Trismegistus’ Corpus Hermeticum: “Leap clear of all that is corporeal, and make yourself grown to a like expanse with that greatness which is beyond all measure; rise above all time and become eternal; then you will apprehend God.” Basically, if you can’t transcend yourself, you will never understand the transcendent. It is a coded message to run training program Hermes 19.

The Doctor hands Reno his mobile emitter, appropriated from the 29th century Federation timeship Aeon (VOY: “Future’s End”) in 2373, so he's had it nearly 820 years.

Reno talks about a “Level-10” diagnostic. In the TNG era, diagnostic levels ranged from 5 to 1, with 1 being the most intensive (TNG Tech Manual). The levels have seemingly been revised for the 32nd century.

Caleb talks about Starfleet not leaving any man behind, a oft-quoted military slogan dating to Greek and Roman times. In DIS: “Saints of Imperfection”, Pike says, “Starfleet is a promise. I give my life for you, you give your life for me. And nobody gets left behind.”

If 1/8th impulse is less than 1000 km/s, then full impulse is only less than 8000 km/s, which can’t be right, considering that full impulse in the TNG era is 0.25c, which is nearly 75,000 km/s. 1/8th impulse in those terms would be more like 9,300 km/s. Darem should have said, “That’s less than 10,000 km/s,” but then it wouldn’t sound as slow. Scale is hard.

Reno says she’s not a captain. Technically, the person in command of a vessel should be correctly addressed as “captain”, regardless of rank (DS9: “Behind the Lines”).

Braka says, “Today the revolution will be televised!” The origin of that is a 1971 spoken-word jazz poem by Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. It was recently used in the movie One Battle After Another as a code for the revolutionary group French 75. Between 2012 and 2015 there was also a satirical BBC series titled, “The Revolution Will Be Televised”.

Graffiti’d on the wall in the Atrium are the words “Break. Burn. Build.” Other visible graffiti include “Liberation”, “Take Change”, “Never Again” and "Veni, Vidi, Vinci, Venari", the last being Latin for "I came, I saw, I conquered, I hunted."

The VNN chyron says: “Breaking News. The Federation is compromised. Leaders and civilians are trying to flee Federation space, signalling Federation weakness. Federation oppressors mass their fleet near our border at Betazed - will they seal their own cage?”

As Braka continues, the chyron changes: “Vernari Rai Leader Nus Braka hailed as “hero” as he hold the Federation on trial for crimes against the galaxy. Terrorist or freedom fighter? Learn the true Nus Braka story - more at 2100”.

The moving chyron now says, “New Qo’noS signals willingness to discuss non-aggression pact with Venari Ral Free State.”

It next changes to “The Federation is on trial! Nus Braka hosts the trial of the century aboard the Athena, a gaudy treasure of the pompous Federation. ‘I know him well - he’s pure evil’ claims former Vance aide in shocking exposé”.

Next is “Federation Oppression has been cut off from the rest of the Quadrant as Venari Ral heroes block Starfleet Occupation". It reverts to “Nus Braka hailed as ‘hero’” while the moving chyron says, “Tyrant-in-chief Vance threatens military junta if Federation President Rillak fails to approve his naval aggression”. Laira Rillak was Federation President in DIS Seasons 4 and 5, who had Human, Cardassian and Bajoran ancestry.

Gravitational eddies are found with wormholes (VOY: “Eye of the Needle”, “False Profits”) or singularities (VOY: “Hunters”). Turning into a shockwave was Sulu’s manoeuvre with Excelsior at the beginning of ST VI when Praxis exploded.

Tarima was given a newer, less invasive neuroinhibitor when she came out of her coma (SFA: “The Life of the Stars”). The original was implanted into her neck - this one can be removed without surgery.

Reno knows first hand about being lost on a broken ship. She was on the USS Hiawatha, damaged and crashed during the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-57. The survivors were trapped on an asteroid for 10 months (DIS: “Brother”) before Discovery found and rescued them.

“One emergency at a time,” is akin to an aphorism that Raffi Musiker is fond of in the PIC novel The Last Best Hope: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

The moving chyron says “Aldebaran and Halka join Vernari Ral Free State as dozens of former Federation worlds rally around leadership of visionary Nus Braka”. Aldebaran has been mentioned several times though never seen in lore. Aldebaran whiskey is green (TOS: “By Any Other Name”, TNG: “Relics”). Halka first appeared in TOS: “Mirror, Mirror”.

Nahla says they were trying to create a new power source with Omega-47. That is not as reassuring as it sounds, since the previous disasters with Omega were usually due to trying to synthesise it for use as a power source (VOY: “The Omega Directive”).

Strontium is an element usually used in fireworks and to treat osteoporosis, mined from celestite and strontianite, burning with a crimson flame. Its isotope, Strontium-90, a byproduct of nuclear fission, can cause leukaemia and bone cancer.

“Come on down!” is a catchphrase from the game show The Price is Right.

The main chyron: “Federation oppression has been cut off from the rest of the quadrant as Venari Ral heroes block Starfleet occupation.”

As per “Kids These Days”, Nahla is 422.

Tamza is a dead language both Sam and Lythe know. Sam greeted people in Tamza on her first day at the Academy (“Kids These Days”) and Genesis responded, beginning their friendship.

The Rubicon is a river in northwest Italy, associated with Julius Caesar’s crossing in 49 BC which set off a civil war. The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” now means to commit to an irrevocable course of action - the point of no return Genesis mentions. The Doctor is actually saying “Rubin-con”, setting off the solution to disarming the mines. One wonders if the Doctor remembered Seven managing to stabilise Omega for 3.2 seconds in VOY: "The Omega Directive".

“Science is the captain, and practice the soldiers,” is from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, XIX: Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.

Tamira narrows Braca’s location to star system Alpha-20-56341255238693-0131.

The fact that Nahla says that Akamu Lee stayed with the Federation “after Earth left” provides an interesting chronological puzzle which I may nerd out about later.

Nahla says there is no Starfleet Anthem. There is, however, an Anthem of the United Federation of Planets (DS9: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).

Cadet Krebs’ Talaxian furfly ends the season by leaving the replicator and mating with itself. There was a theory floating around about maybe the saga would pay off by having the furfly replicate, tribble-like, to gum up Braca’s plans, but guess not.

Anisha told the young Caleb that they would visit Earth someday in “Kids These Days”. Caleb notes it’s almost summer, which brings us to June of 3192 as the academic year ends.

The Dean refers to Betazed weddings and not forgetting sunscreen, a subtle reference to the fact that traditional Betazoid weddings are held in the nude. Wearing sunscreen may also refer to a hypothetical commencement speech by Mary Schmirch, often misattributed to author Kurt Vonnegut.

We see in the background a Lurian (Morn’s race from DS9) talking to someone in an operations-coloured hijab. We saw a hijab-wearing crewmember on the USS Cerritos in LD: “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”. We get a glimpse of Discovery through a window.

Caleb gives the stardate as 869631.7, which actually places it in August 3192, but I’ve kind of given up trying to calibrate the later digits of stardates anyway. Best guess still places this in June, unless Caleb is recording it later.

The episode closes with “Beautiful Child” by Rufus Wainright. The closing credits say the cadets are from the graduating class of 3196. If the 1st academic year is 3191-92, then that means Starfleet Academy now has a 5-year course - which is actually consistent with TOS: “Bread and Circuses”, where Merik was said to have been dropped in his fifth year after failing a psych test.

While real-world military academies have a 4-year term, there is scattered evidence in production art that suggests the Academy has a 4-year course (notably in PIC: “The Star Gazer”). The old FASA Star Trek RPG split the difference by making it 4-years with a 5th year “cadet cruise”. But then again, the credits also put Lura, Nahla, Vance (nickname “Vancypants”), Athena’s computer and Braka in the class of 3196, so I’m not sure how literally we’re supposed to take this. Adding to the confusion is Caleb saying he’s a “Cadet Second Class”, which actually refers in real life to a cadet’s third year, rather than second.

The title reflects the 300th day since the start of Fall Semester and as the first caption states, the end of the cadets’ first academic year. That places it around mid- or late June 3192, which is when the academic year in the US usually ends. This also places it approximately 87 days, or just under 3 months, after the previous episode.

The r’uustai is a Klingon ritual where two people bond as brothers and enter each other’s Houses (TNG: “The Bonding”). Chech’tluth is a strong Klingon alcoholic drink that usually looks like it’s smoking (TNG: “Up the Long Ladder”). The word chech in Klingon means to be drunk or intoxicated.

“SoS jiH batlh SoH” translates as “Mother, I honour you.” In the context of TNG: “The Bonding” that made sense as Worf was bonding with Jeremy Aster, who had just lost his mother, so using “SoS” was to honour both their mothers as Jeremy became part of Worf’s House. A more generic word - and probably more appropriate for this r’uustai’s immediate context - for “family” would be qorDu’.

Nus Braka’s theft from J-19 Alpha took place in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. Omega molecules (VOY: “The Omega Directive”), when detonated, can destroy surrounding subspace and make warp travel impossible. “47” is an in-joke in Star Trek, dating back to TNG writer Joe Menosky, who went to Pomona College, which had a club called the 47 Society.

Krebs’ Talaxian furfly is now missing and has entered a replicator. This does not bode well.

Sam’s “old me” refers to her memories of attending the Academy prior to her program being reset and this time growing up from childhood on Kasq in SFA: “The Life of the Stars”.

Caleb’s not kidding when he talks about “old classics” like ECC, RSA and 10DES. These are all encryption standards developed in the 20th century, so well over a thousand years old.

Sam says Caleb is 20 years old, but I assume she’s not being precise, since he was separated from his mother nearly 16 years prior, which would make him nearly 22.

Most of the worlds Anisha mentions - Modavi, Elworth V, Ukeck, are first appearances, but the Typhon sector was mentioned as a staging area to confront the Borg cube at the beginning of the TNG movie First Contact. The Typhon Expanse, which may or may not be related, was the area where Enterprise-D was caught in a time loop (TNG: “Cause and Effect”). According to the file, Ukeck is a Class-M planet in the Alpha Quadrant.

40 Eridani A has long been supposed to be Vulcan’s (now Ni’Var) system in fandom. The choice was endorsed by Gene Roddenberry in a 1991 letter published in Sky & Telescope.

Sam’s technobabble somewhat makes sense if you imagine that the shuttle will not be capable of sustaining the same degree of speed as Athena. When the shuttle first exits the bay, even if it’s moving at warp Caleb will have to match its speed with Athena’s by synchronising the two warp bubbles. But once he exits Athena’s warp bubble, there will be a sudden deceleration since the shuttle will be traveling slower. It’s kind of like jumping off a speeding train.

Khionians lacking the enzyme (polyphenol oxidase to be exact) to break down bananas was established in SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil”.

Transwarp tunnels or conduits were used by the Borg, first appearing in TNG: “Descent”, allowing for speeds much faster than conventional warp drive. Abandoned conduits have been used before (PIC: “Broken Pieces”).

Sam’s dad is the Doctor, who on Kasq raised her for 17 years, relative time, in “The Life of the Stars”.

Darem says he thought ships had two nacelles so they don’t fly in circles. According to the TNG Tech Manual, nacelles, firing together or asymmetrically, shape the warp bubble, distorting space to steer the ship in various directions. After research, Starfleet determined that two nacelles were optimal for this. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t have more than two or even one nacelle to generate a warp field, but we don’t have time to nerd out about that now (LD: “The New Next Generation”). Khionian glitter vomit was also established in “Series Acclimation Mil”.

The starchart Ake examines shows the location of the mine near what would be in the 24th century the Tzenkethi Coalition. In fact, Tzenketh is still marked in grey (whatever that means) a little to the left and down from it. This is very much also consistent with Geoffrey Mandel’s Star Trek: Star Charts which have been used ever since DIS, but with some additions. From what I can estimate, the first detonation took place at least 50-60 light years away from the current mine. I’m hoping someone manages to release a high-res version I can get my nerdy little hands on.

This is the first time I’ve heard “maggs” as a unit of measurement. Someone has suggested it could be named after series writer/producer Jane Maggs.

Q’mau is another planet outside Fmaggstion space, first appearing in DIS: “Red Directive”. A desert environment, it had a settlement that couriers would go to trade and sell goods, stolen or otherwise. “Pulling a Q’mau” refers to what Discovery and Antares did in that episode, when the starships descended into the atmosphere, beaming up two civilians before combining their shields to block an avalanche. Enterprise-D pulls a similar rescue in PIC: “The Last Generation”.

Isolytic weapons (Insurrection) were banned weapons that could, like Omega, permanently damage subspace. The So’na used isolytic bursts to create subspace tears, and in the 32nd century, Ruon Tarka used an isolytic-type weapon against the 10-C (DIS: “Rubicon”). Given its effects on subspace, it makes sense that it could potentially tear a ship out of warp.

We saw Athena’s saucer separation ability in SFA: “Vox in Excelso”, in the staged battle against the Klingons.

We get a better look at the galactic map as we zoom out to see Nus’ mines surrounding Federation space. Of note is that Klingon space is where it’s supposed to be, the Ferengi Trading Zone is what used to be the Ferengi Alliance, and Cardassian space is labelled where the Cardassian Empire was.

Also, on the Beta Quadrant side of the Federation in what used to be Romulan space is Serrotheyn space. The Serrotheyns first appeared in DIS, with one serving in the United Earth Defense Force (DIS: “People of Earth”) and some working with the Emerald Chain (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 1”). They had delegates at the Assembly to deal with Species 10-C in DIS: “…But to Connect”. Serrotheyn space was first labeled on a starchart in SFA: “Ko’Zeine”.

The title reflects the 300th day since the start of Fall Semester and as the first caption states, the end of the cadets’ first academic year. That places it around mid- or late June 3192, which is when the academic year in the US usually ends. This also places it approximately 87 days, or just under 3 months, after the previous episode.

The r’uustai is a Klingon ritual where two people bond as brothers and enter each other’s Houses (TNG: “The Bonding”). Chech’tluth is a strong Klingon alcoholic drink that usually looks like it’s smoking (TNG: “Up the Long Ladder”). The word chech in Klingon means to be drunk or intoxicated.

“SoS jiH batlh SoH” translates as “Mother, I honour you.” In the context of TNG: “The Bonding” that made sense as Worf was bonding with Jeremy Aster, who had just lost his mother, so using “SoS” was to honour both their mothers as Jeremy became part of Worf’s House. A more generic word - and probably more appropriate for this r’uustai’s immediate context - for “family” would be qorDu’.

Nus Braka’s theft from J-19 Alpha took place in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. Omega molecules (VOY: “The Omega Directive”), when detonated, can destroy surrounding subspace and make warp travel impossible. “47” is an in-joke in Star Trek, dating back to TNG writer Joe Menosky, who went to Pomona College, which had a club called the 47 Society.

Krebs’ Talaxian furfly is now missing and has entered a replicator. This does not bode well.

Sam’s “old me” refers to her memories of attending the Academy prior to her program being reset and this time growing up from childhood on Kasq in SFA: “The Life of the Stars”.

Caleb’s not kidding when he talks about “old classics” like ECC, RSA and 10DES. These are all encryption standards developed in the 20th century, so well over a thousand years old.

Sam says Caleb is 20 years old, but I assume she’s not being precise, since he was separated from his mother nearly 16 years prior, which would make him nearly 22.

Most of the worlds Anisha mentions - Modavi, Elworth V, Ukeck, are first appearances, but the Typhon sector was mentioned as a staging area to confront the Borg cube at the beginning of the TNG movie First Contact. The Typhon Expanse, which may or may not be related, was the area where Enterprise-D was caught in a time loop (TNG: “Cause and Effect”). According to the file, Ukeck is a Class-M planet in the Alpha Quadrant.

40 Eridani A has long been supposed to be Vulcan’s (now Ni’Var) system in fandom. The choice was endorsed by Gene Roddenberry in a 1991 letter published in Sky & Telescope.

Sam’s technobabble somewhat makes sense if you imagine that the shuttle will not be capable of sustaining the same degree of speed as Athena. When the shuttle first exits the bay, even if it’s moving at warp Caleb will have to match its speed with Athena’s by synchronising the two warp bubbles. But once he exits Athena’s warp bubble, there will be a sudden deceleration since the shuttle will be traveling slower. It’s kind of like jumping off a speeding train.

Khionians lacking the enzyme (polyphenol oxidase to be exact) to break down bananas was established in SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil”.

Transwarp tunnels or conduits were used by the Borg, first appearing in TNG: “Descent”, allowing for speeds much faster than conventional warp drive. Abandoned conduits have been used before (PIC: “Broken Pieces”).

Sam’s dad is the Doctor, who on Kasq raised her for 17 years, relative time, in “The Life of the Stars”.

Darem says he thought ships had two nacelles so they don’t fly in circles. According to the TNG Tech Manual, nacelles, firing together or asymmetrically, shape the warp bubble, distorting space to steer the ship in various directions. After research, Starfleet determined that two nacelles were optimal for this. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t have more than two or even one nacelle to generate a warp field, but we don’t have time to nerd out about that now (LD: “The New Next Generation”). Khionian glitter vomit was also established in “Series Acclimation Mil”.

The starchart Ake examines shows the location of the mine near what would be in the 24th century the Tzenkethi Coalition. In fact, Tzenketh is still marked in grey (whatever that means) a little to the left and down from it. This is very much also consistent with Geoffrey Mandel’s Star Trek: Star Charts which have been used ever since DIS, but with some additions. From what I can estimate, the first detonation took place at least 50-60 light years away from the current mine. I’m hoping someone manages to release a high-res version I can get my nerdy little hands on.

This is the first time I’ve heard “maggs” as a unit of measurement. Someone has suggested it could be named after series writer/producer Jane Maggs.

Q’mau is another planet outside Fmaggstion space, first appearing in DIS: “Red Directive”. A desert environment, it had a settlement that couriers would go to trade and sell goods, stolen or otherwise. “Pulling a Q’mau” refers to what Discovery and Antares did in that episode, when the starships descended into the atmosphere, beaming up two civilians before combining their shields to block an avalanche. Enterprise-D pulls a similar rescue in PIC: “The Last Generation”.

Isolytic weapons (Insurrection) were banned weapons that could, like Omega, permanently damage subspace. The So’na used isolytic bursts to create subspace tears, and in the 32nd century, Ruon Tarka used an isolytic-type weapon against the 10-C (DIS: “Rubicon”). Given its effects on subspace, it makes sense that it could potentially tear a ship out of warp.

We saw Athena’s saucer separation ability in SFA: “Vox in Excelso”, in the staged battle against the Klingons.

We get a better look at the galactic map as we zoom out to see Nus’ mines surrounding Federation space. Of note is that Klingon space is where it’s supposed to be, the Ferengi Trading Zone is what used to be the Ferengi Alliance, and Cardassian space is labelled where the Cardassian Empire was.

Also, on the Beta Quadrant side of the Federation in what used to be Romulan space is Serrotheyn space. The Serrotheyns first appeared in DIS, with one serving in the United Earth Defense Force (DIS: “People of Earth”) and some working with the Emerald Chain (DIS: “That Hope is You, Part 1”). They had delegates at the Assembly to deal with Species 10-C in DIS: “…But to Connect”. Serrotheyn space was first labeled on a starchart in SFA: “Ko’Zeine”.

This episode sees the return of LTJG Sylvia Tilly, last seen in DIS: “Life, Itself”.

It’s Stardate 869372.1, which technically makes it May 3192, but it has progressed from the last known stardate from SFA: “Vox in Excelso”, which was 868943.8 (late 3191), the obvious mistake in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away” aside. So far, it’s consistent with moving the calendar from 3191 to 3192.

The Doctor recites a line from the opening of Thornton Wilder’s classic American play, Our Town: “The sky is beginning to show some streaks of light over in the East there, behind our mount'in.” Wilder described the theme mount'inlay - which Tilly quotes later - as “the life of the village against the life of the stars,” from which we get the title of the episode.

Kelrec is referred to by Nahla as “Chancellor” now, as opposed to the title of Commander used in his first appearance in SFA: “Beta Test” (he’s wearing four pips like Nahla, which is a captain’s rank, in any case).

Pyroxene is not a mineral by itself, but the name of a group of minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Tilly says she’s been on rotation in the Beta Quadrant with the “third years”. The Academy was officially reopened in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”, the first episode of DIS’s 4th Season, and Tilly was instructing that batch in DIS: “All is Possible”. Since DIS 5 takes place in 3191, Season 4 would reasonably take place in 3190, which leaves us with a bit of a conundrum since a third year class would then make the current academic year 3192-3193, and in my view the evidence points towards Fall 3191 as the start of this batch.

However, if we squint a bit and say that the Academy opening at the start of DIS Season 4 took place in Fall of 3189 (which is still possible, since most of Season 3 takes place in 3189, with only a five month gap to account for between Seasons 3 and 4 as per “Kobayashi Maru”), then the timings work out for the first batch (Year One as 3189-3190, Year Two as 3190-3191 and Year Three - the current year - being 3191-3192). For the avoidance of doubt, we are now in 3192 as of SFA: “Ko’Zeine”.

But to be fair to the 3195 (or later than 3191) proponents, Tilly could of course be instructing another set of cadets than those in “All is Possible”. The dates work out either way if you just focus on this and ignore the stardates we’ve seen so far in SFA.

(But I digress. Sorry, chronologist’s mind at work.)

Tilly’s course is “Introduction to Theatre” - one of the screens shows “Frame of Mind”, a play where the protagonist, who may or may not be insane, is being tormented in a mental institution. Beverly Crusher staged the play with Riker as the lead in the TNG episode of the same name.

I am very, very intrigued by the idea of Klingon musical theatre and how it might differ from Klingon opera. We see later that Sam selects Our Town for the theatre class.

Despite her stay at the holographic “spa” in Denver in “Ko’Zeine”, Sam still seems to be glitching due to injuries inflicted by the Furies in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”.

Léo Delibes’ “Dôme épais le jasmin”, or “The Flower Duet”, from the opera Lakme plays on Nahla’s phonograph as we come back from the titles.

Reno and Tilly are, of course, fellow time travellers from the 23rd century and were crewmates on Discovery. They have seen more than their fair share of trauma, not least of which is the sense of loss having had to jump 931 years into the future. Reno also lost nearly all her cremates when her ship Hiawatha crashed during the Klingon-Federation war.

Tilly received her commission in 2257. From her perspective, it’s only been about three years since she officially graduated from the Academy.

Jay-Den first made reference to warrior stew (suvwI’ tlhIq) in “Vox in Excelso”. The plot of the opera he describes bears some resemblance to the climax of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, where Titus grinds the bones of Demetrius and Chiron into powder and then bakes their heads into pies which he serves to their mother Tamora. Jay-Den also talks about “quadri-testicles”, implying that Klingons have four testicles instead of two. This is consistent with the idea that Klingons have redundant organs (TNG: “Ethics”), and a Klingon in DIS: “Despite Yourself” that showed him urinating with two distinct streams.

Jay-Den is “embattled” with jaqh-voD, which Caleb says is a cold. This is a new word as far as I can tell - jaqh in Klingon means “deep” and voD means "drill", so the word parts don’t really jibe with the definition.

Although its action takes place between 1901 and 1913, Our Town was written in 1938, when the world was on the brink of World War II.

The Doctor says the patch the holoengineers made to Sam has been failing for weeks, which shows that some time has elapsed between this episode and “Ko’Zeine”.

Darem’s analysis of George and Emily’s wedding is reflected through his own marital complications from “Ko’Zeine”, as is Caleb’s to do with the expectations that he should want to be in Starfleet.

5 years on Kasq equal 3 days on Earth. The Doctor refers to the planet from VOY: “Blink of an Eye”, a planet with a tachyon core where 58 days passed for every minute on Voyager. The Doctor also exaggerates slightly - he spent about 3 years on “Gotana” in those 18 minutes, not exactly a lifetime as we define it. The planet was actually not named in the episode, although a native astronaut was named “Gotana-Retz” and so it was named as “Gotana’s Planet” in The Star Trek Encyclopedia.

Another time dilated planet is Dilmer III from LD: “Fully Dilated”, where a week passed for every second on Cerritos. In The Orville episode, “Mad Idolatry”, 700 years passed on Kandar 1 for every 11-day period in our universe.

The Doctor claims he looked at Our Town, implying it is because Sam selected it that prompted him to do so. But he quotes its opening line at the start of the episode, which means at that point he knows it. The only way to make it make sense is if the opening of the episode takes place after the events of the episode, chronologically speaking.

Sam asks if the Doctor has ever been in love. He had a brief romance with Danara Pel (VOY: “Lifesigns”), a Viidian doctor for whom he created a holographic body. He also harboured romantic feelings towards his crewmate Seven of Nine (VOY: “Someone to Watch Over Me”) and created a holographic family, including a wife and children (VOY: “Real Life”).

The Kressari are an Alpha Quadrant species, who aided the Cardassians in supplying the Bajoran separatist faction known as the Circle with weapons (DS9: “The Circle”).

Wood actually does quite well in space, not decaying because space lacks water and oxygen. In 2024, Japan launched LignoSat 1, a 10 cm^3 satellite made from magnolia wood. A second LignoSat is planned to launch in 2026.

Excitotoxicity is when neurons are damaged or killed due to high levels of neurotransmitters. It is linked to various neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and ALS.

The scene at the beginning where the Doctor quotes Our Town take place after the events of the episode, since he only picks up the play because Sam selects it.

The aria “E lucevan le stelle” (And the starts were shining), from Act III of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, is sung by the character Caravadossi, reflecting on his love for the titular Tosca as he awaits execution.

“It’s the mundane things… that mean everything,” reminds me of another Doctor. The Fifth Doctor retorts to the Cyberleader in Doctor Who: “Earthshock” that, “small, beautiful events are what life is all about.”

“What took us two centuries to build you killed in 209 days,” which is equivalent to almost 7 months - which assuming the Fall Semester started in early September 3191, brings us to the later part of March 3192, which tracks with “weeks” after “Ko’Zeine”, which took place at the start of 3192.

From another angle, it’s 112 days after SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil”, which takes place 97 days - 3 months - into the academic year, during midterm season. 97 days from the start of the Fall Semester (usually early September or late August) takes us into late November. The Miyazaki Incident takes place in early December, and one month later “Ko’Zeine” takes place in January 3192. 112 days from late November is about 3.5 months, which takes us into mid-March, probably before or after when Spring Break usually takes place. So both sets of calculations take us to about the same time, give or take a couple of weeks.

Belle was the Doctor’s holographic daughter from “Real Life”, who died in a more realistic simulation B’Elanna Torres set up from an injury sustained during a Parrises square match.

The Doctor asks to spend 17 years on Kasq, which will be about 10 days for Earth. Nahla says later it was 2 weeks.

The dialogue from Our Town recited by the cadets is out of sequence, but makes for better dramatic effect. Tarima adds, “loving that boy and a stupid, ugly pillow from the sweetest girl we ever knew,” which is not in the original play.

The episode ends with Nahla’s log stardated 869408.67.

This episode sees the return of LTJG Sylvia Tilly, last seen in DIS: “Life, Itself”.

It’s Stardate 869372.1, which technically makes it May 3192, but it has progressed from the last known stardate from SFA: “Vox in Excelso”, which was 868943.8 (late 3191), the obvious mistake in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away” aside. So far, it’s consistent with moving the calendar from 3191 to 3192.

The Doctor recites a line from the opening of Thornton Wilder’s classic American play, Our Town: “The sky is beginning to show some streaks of light over in the East there, behind our mount'in.” Wilder described the theme of the play - which Tilly quotes later - as “the life of the village against the life of the stars,” from which we get the title of the episode.

Kelrec is referred to by Nahla as “Chancellor” now, as opposed to the title of Commander used in his first appearance in SFA: “Beta Test” (he’s wearing four pips like Nahla, which is a captain’s rank, in any case).

Pyroxene is not a mineral by itself, but the name of a group of minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Tilly says she’s been on rotation in the Beta Quadrant with the “third years”. The Academy was officially reopened in DIS: “Kobayashi Maru”, the first episode of DIS’s 4th Season, and Tilly was instructing that batch in DIS: “All is Possible”. Since DIS 5 takes place in 3191, Season 4 would reasonably take place in 3190, which leaves us with a bit of a conundrum since a third year class would then make the current academic year 3192-3193, and in my view the evidence points towards Fall 3191 as the start of this batch.

However, if we squint a bit and say that the Academy opening at the start of DIS Season 4 took place in Fall of 3189 (which is still possible, since most of Season 3 takes place in 3189, with only a five month gap to account for between Seasons 3 and 4 as per “Kobayashi Maru”), then the timings work out for the first batch (Year One as 3189-3190, Year Two as 3190-3191 and Year Three - the current year - being 3191-3192). For the avoidance of doubt, we are now in 3192 as of SFA: “Ko’Zeine”.

But to be fair to the 3195 (or later than 3191) proponents, Tilly could of course be instructing another set of cadets than those in “All is Possible”. The dates work out either way if you just focus on this and ignore the stardates we’ve seen so far in SFA.

(But I digress. Sorry, chronologist’s mind at work.)

Tilly’s course is “Introduction to Theatre” - one of the screens shows “Frame of Mind”, a play where the protagonist, who may or may not be insane, is being tormented in a mental institution. Beverly Crusher staged the play with Riker as the lead in the TNG episode of the same name.

I am very, very intrigued by the idea of Klingon musical theatre and how it might differ from Klingon opera. We see later that Sam selects Our Town for the theatre class.

Despite her stay at the holographic “spa” in Denver in “Ko’Zeine”, Sam still seems to be glitching due to injuries inflicted by the Furies in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”.

Léo Delibes’ “Dôme épais le jasmin”, or “The Flower Duet”, from the opera Lakme plays on Nahla’s phonograph as we come back from the titles.

Reno and Tilly are, of course, fellow time travellers from the 23rd century and were crewmates on Discovery. They have seen more than their fair share of trauma, not least of which is the sense of loss having had to jump 931 years into the future. Reno also lost nearly all her cremates when her ship Hiawatha crashed during the Klingon-Federation war.

Tilly received her commission in 2257. From her perspective, it’s only been about three years since she officially graduated from the Academy.

Jay-Den first made reference to warrior stew (suvwI’ tlhIq) in “Vox in Excelso”. The plot of the opera he describes bears some resemblance to the climax of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, where Titus grinds the bones of Demetrius and Chiron into powder and then bakes their heads into pies which he serves to their mother Tamora. Jay-Den also talks about “quadri-testicles”, implying that Klingons have four testicles instead of two. This is consistent with the idea that Klingons have redundant organs (TNG: “Ethics”), and a Klingon in DIS: “Despite Yourself” that showed him urinating with two distinct streams.

Jay-Den is “embattled” with jaqh-voD, which Caleb says is a cold. This is a new word as far as I can tell - jaqh in Klingon means “deep” and voD means "drill", so the word parts don’t really jibe with the definition.

Although its action takes place between 1901 and 1913, Our Town was written in 1938, when the world was on the brink of World War II.

The Doctor says the patch the holoengineers made to Sam has been failing for weeks, which shows that some time has elapsed between this episode and “Ko’Zeine”.

Darem’s analysis of George and Emily’s wedding is reflected through his own marital complications from “Ko’Zeine”, as is Caleb’s to do with the expectations that he should want to be in Starfleet.

5 years on Kasq equal 3 days on Earth. The Doctor refers to the planet from VOY: “Blink of an Eye”, a planet with a tachyon core where 58 days passed for every minute on Voyager. The Doctor also exaggerates slightly - he spent about 3 years on “Gotana” in those 18 minutes, not exactly a lifetime as we define it. The planet was actually not named in the episode, although a native astronaut was named “Gotana-Retz” and so it was named as “Gotana’s Planet” in The Star Trek Encyclopedia.

Another time dilated planet is Dilmer III from LD: “Fully Dilated”, where a week passed for every second on Cerritos. In The Orville episode, “Mad Idolatry”, 700 years passed on Kandar 1 for every 11-day period in our universe.

The Doctor claims he looked at Our Town, implying it is because Sam selected it that prompted him to do so. But he quotes its opening line at the start of the episode, which means at that point he knows it. The only way to make it make sense is if the opening of the episode takes place after the events of the episode, chronologically speaking.

Sam asks if the Doctor has ever been in love. He had a brief romance with Danara Pel (VOY: “Lifesigns”), a Viidian doctor for whom he created a holographic body. He also harboured romantic feelings towards his crewmate Seven of Nine (VOY: “Someone to Watch Over Me”) and created a holographic family, including a wife and children (VOY: “Real Life”).

The Kressari are an Alpha Quadrant species, who aided the Cardassians in supplying the Bajoran separatist faction known as the Circle with weapons (DS9: “The Circle”).

Wood actually does quite well in space, not decaying because space lacks water and oxygen. In 2024, Japan launched LignoSat 1, a 10 cm^3 satellite made from magnolia wood. A second LignoSat is planned to launch in 2026.

Excitotoxicity is when neurons are damaged or killed due to high levels of neurotransmitters. It is linked to various neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and ALS.

The scene at the beginning where the Doctor quotes Our Town take place after the events of the episode, since he only picks up the play because Sam selects it.

The aria “E lucevan le stelle” (And the starts were shining), from Act III of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, is sung by the character Caravadossi, reflecting on his love for the titular Tosca as he awaits execution.

“It’s the mundane things… that mean everything,” reminds me of another Doctor. The Fifth Doctor retorts to the Cyberleader in Doctor Who: “Earthshock” that, “small, beautiful events are what life is all about.”

“What took us two centuries to build you killed in 209 days,” which is equivalent to almost 7 months - which assuming the Fall Semester started in early September 3191, brings us to the later part of March 3192, which tracks with “weeks” after “Ko’Zeine”, which took place at the start of 3192.

From another angle, it’s 112 days after SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil”, which takes place 97 days - 3 months - into the academic year, during midterm season. 97 days from the start of the Fall Semester (usually early September or late August) takes us into late November. The Miyazaki Incident takes place in early December, and one month later “Ko’Zeine” takes place in January 3192. 112 days from late November is about 3.5 months, which takes us into mid-March, probably before or after when Spring Break usually takes place. So both sets of calculations take us to about the same time, give or take a couple of weeks.

Belle was the Doctor’s holographic daughter from “Real Life”, who died in a more realistic simulation B’Elanna Torres set up from an injury sustained during a Parrises square match.

The Doctor asks to spend 17 years on Kasq, which will be about 10 days for Earth. Nahla says later it was 2 weeks.

The dialogue from Our Town recited by the cadets is out of sequence, but makes for better dramatic effect. Tarima adds, “loving that boy and a stupid, ugly pillow from the sweetest girl we ever knew,” which is not in the original play.

The episode ends with Nahla’s log stardated 869408.67.

We open with the Spring Semester, which brings us to the first week of January 3192. By the announcement of the Academy closure for the All-Worlds Day Break, this episode might take place just before or after the official opening of the semester. For what it’s worth, January 7 is the first Monday of January 3192.

As noted before, the Sato Atrium is likely named after Hoshi Sato, communications officer and xenolinguist of the NX-01 Enterprise. Tarima is recovering on Betazed after the events of the previous episode which saw her unleash her emphatic powers against the Furies, which put her in a coma at the end of it. The memorial service was likely for LTCDR Tomov of the Academy and Cadet B’Avi of the War College, who were killed by the Furies also last episode.

Caleb says it’s been a month and two days since he and Tarima last talked in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil” took place during midterm season (late October to early November), then the Furies ambush likely a few weeks later (since it seems a few weeks separate each of the previous episodes), making that in early December, just before the end-of-year break mid-December. One month and two days brings us to early January, so that kind of tracks, regardless of whether you’re a 3192 or 3195 proponent or some other year.

Kenda II was the homeworld of Dalen Quaice, Beverly Crusher’s mentor. Enterprise-D transported him back there from Starbase 133 following his retirement (TNG: “Remember Me”). Sam was wounded by the Furies, hence her glitching.

The Pre-Command Track could be what the Academy calls the Command Training Program in the 32nd century as both are designed to prepare a Starfleet officer for commanding a ship and crew. The CTP was first mentioned in DIS: “Lethe”, and then-Cadet Sylvia Tilly was accepted into it.

The saga of Krebs’ Talaxian furfly continues, now attacking a lab technician. Coach Ohtani may be an inside reference to pro baseball player Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, considered one of the best players of his generation.

The closed captioning calls the item rolled towards Darem a “Khionian pebble.”

Interstellar transport portals, in lore, have been associated with the Iconians (TNG: “Contagion”), who used them to control a vast empire more than 200,000 years prior. We have also seen them associated with Progenitor technology (DIS: “Life, Itself”).

For the record, there is no actual system named “Ursa Nowhere”. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, of course, are well-known constellations in the night sky.

In Germany, there is a tradition known as Brautentführung, literally “bride kidnapping”, where the bride is “kidnapped” during the reception and brought to a bar where she has drinks with her captors until the groom comes and rescues her. In Lombok, Indonesia, the practice of meratiq is when a groom ritually “kidnaps” his bride (but with the parents’ consent) to his house as part of the wedding rite. Bridal kidnapping, in its more sinister guise of actually abducting a woman and forcing her into marriage, has been practiced throughout the world, although in the modern era it is mostly illegal.

Darem explains that “Ko’zeine” is analogous to a best man at a wedding. Darem was betrothed to Kaira when they were children, much like Vulcan children were betrothed to each other to eventually marry when they reached adulthood (TOS: “Amok Time”). Another wedding-themed plot which a character could have left the show was Deanna Troi in TNG: “Haven”.

Takka berries are a fruit native to Drayan II in the Delta Quadrant. They are sometimes eaten with cherel sauce (VOY: “Innocence”).

Jay-Den’s protestation about the Ko’zeine toast is because he has a fear of public speaking (SFA: “Vox in Excelso”).

The meteor shower referred to is likely the Quadrantids, a shower that peaks in early January, appearing to originate from the constellation Boötes.

As Jay-Den waves back to Kyle, the sign behind him and Darem says, “There is no easy way from the Earth to the stars” (non est ad astra mollis e terris via), a quote not from Star Trek but the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger, echoing the Starfleet motto, “Ad Astra Per Aspera”.

The closing song is “We Watch the Stars” by Fink from his 2019 album “Bloom Innocent”.

We open with the Spring Semester, which brings us to the first week of January 3192. By the announcement of the Academy closure for the All-Worlds Day Break, this episode might take place just before or after the official opening of the semester. For what it’s worth, January 7 is the first Monday of January 3192.

As noted before, the Sato Atrium is likely named after Hoshi Sato, communications officer and xenolinguist of the NX-01 Enterprise. Tarima is recovering on Betazed after the events of the previous episode which saw her unleash her emphatic powers against the Furies, which put her in a coma at the end of it. The memorial service was likely for LTCDR Tomov of the Academy and Cadet B’Avi of the War College, who were killed by the Furies also last episode.

Caleb says it’s been a month and two days since he and Tarima last talked in SFA: “Come, Let’s Away”. SFA: “Series Acclimation Mil” took place during midterm season (late October to early November), then the Furies ambush likely a few weeks later (since it seems a few weeks separate each of the previous episodes), making that in early December, just before the end-of-year break mid-December. One month and two days brings us to early January, so that kind of tracks, regardless of whether you’re a 3192 or 3195 proponent or some other year.

Kenda II was the homeworld of Dalen Quaice, Beverly Crusher’s mentor. Enterprise-D transported him back there from Starbase 133 following his retirement (TNG: “Remember Me”). Sam was wounded by the Furies, hence her glitching.

The Pre-Command Track could be what the Academy calls the Command Training Program in the 32nd century as both are designed to prepare a Starfleet officer for commanding a ship and crew. The CTP was first mentioned in DIS: “Lethe”, and then-Cadet Sylvia Tilly was accepted into it.

The saga of Krebs’ Talaxian furfly continues, now attacking a lab technician. Coach Ohtani may be an inside reference to pro baseball player Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, considered one of the best players of his generation.

The closed captioning calls the item rolled towards Darem a “Khionian pebble.”

Interstellar transport portals, in lore, have been associated with the Iconians (TNG: “Contagion”), who used them to control a vast empire more than 200,000 years prior. We have also seen them associated with Progenitor technology (DIS: “Life, Itself”).

For the record, there is no actual system named “Ursa Nowhere”. Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, of course, are well-known constellations in the night sky.

In Germany, there is a tradition known as Brautentführung, literally “bride kidnapping”, where the bride is “kidnapped” during the reception and brought to a bar where she has drinks with her captors until the groom comes and rescues her. In Lombok, Indonesia, the practice of meratiq is when a groom ritually “kidnaps” his bride (but with the parents’ consent) to his house as part of the wedding rite. Bridal kidnapping, in its more sinister guise of actually abducting a woman and forcing her into marriage, has been practiced throughout the world, although in the modern era it is mostly illegal.

Darem explains that “Ko’zeine” is analogous to a best man at a wedding. Darem was betrothed to Kaira when they were children, much like Vulcan children were betrothed to each other to eventually marry when they reached adulthood (TOS: “Amok Time”). Another wedding-themed plot which a character could have left the show was Deanna Troi in TNG: “Haven”.

Takka berries are a fruit native to Drayan II in the Delta Quadrant. They are sometimes eaten with cherel sauce (VOY: “Innocence”).

Jay-Den’s protestation about the Ko’zeine toast is because he has a fear of public speaking (SFA: “Vox in Excelso”).

The meteor shower referred to is likely the Quadrantids, a shower that peaks in early January, appearing to originate from the constellation Boötes.

As Jay-Den waves back to Kyle, the sign behind him and Darem says, “There is no easy way from the Earth to the stars” (non est ad astra mollis e terris via), a quote not from Star Trek but the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger, echoing the Starfleet motto, “Ad Astra Per Aspera”.

The closing song is “We Watch the Stars” by Fink from his 2019 album “Bloom Innocent”.

The title is from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act I sc v: "Come, let's away, the strangers all are gone." It also appears in King Lear, Act V sc iii: "Come, let's away to prison; We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage”.

The opening song is “UFO”, a 2023 song by Olivia Dean, which talks about the feeling of not being in control when one is newly in love - appropriate to describe what’s happening between Caleb and Tamira.

The Deltan race was first seen in TMP with Ilia. Deltans are a very sensual and sexually open people, and to prevent issues with non-Deltans obsessing over them, those who join Starfleet have to take oaths of celibacy so as not to take advantage of sexually immature species.

Tamira’s neuroinhibitors start to flash; she wears them because she claims she feels emotions more intensely than other Betazoids (SFA: “Beta Test”) and that it can harm people if she loses control.

Betazoids are telepathic with others of their own species. However, they can teach this to people they are intimate with or close to, as Deanna Troi did with William Riker (TNG: “Encounter at Farpoint”).

The toy bear is Caleb’s toy Scrap, which he used as a diversion 15 years prior to escape from Pikaru (SFA: “Kids These Days”). He experiences flashbacks to those events.

Ship graveyards can be either actual graveyards where the wreckage of ships is left as a memorial to those who died there like the location of the Battle of Wolf 359 (TNG: “The Best of Both Worlds”, Star Trek Online), or junkyards/depots where old ships are abandoned (TNG: “Unification”).

The USS Miyazaki (NCC-316606) is presumably named after famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki (or his namesake city in Japan). This is the first we’ve heard of the “Singularity Drive”, although the Romulans famously used a quantum singularity to power their warp engines in the 24th century.

Kelrec was previously referred to as Commander, but now Nahla calls him “Chancellor”, so it may be that commander really is his rank after all. The mission, to repower Miyazaki and reboot the computer, bears some resemblance to reactivating the USS Hathaway in TNG: “Peak Performance”, although that was in preparation for war games.

The new “plasma-based” life support system is reminiscent of the force-field-based life-support belts used by Kirk & Co. during the animated series, starting from TAS: “Beyond the Farthest Star”.

This is the first time we’ve heard of ghan’aq, presumably a Klingon drink.

This is the first appearance of the Furies, although an ancient collective of races named the Furies or the Host were the antagonists in the Invasion! series of Star Trek novels.

Latinum (or gold-pressed latinum) is a currency most often used by Ferengi. The latinum itself is liquid and then encased in relatively worthless gold. Its value comes from the fact that latinum apparently cannot be replicated.

We last saw Nus Braka escaping Athena in a lifepod at the end of “Kids These Days”. Sector 119 is first mentioned here on-screen, but a planet in Sector 119-D was the setting of the Gold Key Star Trek comic story “Dwarf Planet” in issue #25 (1974).

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…” was an aphorism quoted by Spock in ST II to Kirk, who finished it with, “… or the one.” Of course, Kirk risked everything to save Spock in ST III “because the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many.”

“The hills are alive with the sound of murder,” is an obvious take-off on “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical The Sound of Music, but I first read it as "the streets are alive with the sound of murder," in the book Sing along with Mad (1970), as part of a parody of the musical set in the world of organised crime, written by the great Frank Jacobs and drawn by the equally legendary Al Jaffee.

Añejo means “aged” in Spanish and is used to refer to (in this case) aged tequila or aged rum.

Vance here uses “T-Tauri System” as if it’s a proper name. Although TNG: “Clues” uses “the T-tauri system” several times, the dialogue makes it clear that it’s a type of star rather than the name of a star system and the crew are using “the” just to identify the relevant system that contains that kind of star. In fact, Data notes that unstable wormholes have been mapped near 39 T-Tauri systems.

Nus is apparently short for “Nustopher”. Taygeta is a trinary star system in the constellation of Taurus, with Taygeta V featured in the TOS novel Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass.

A hengra, also known as a hengrauggi, was a creature from the ice planet Delta Vega (not to be confused with the planetoid Delta Vega from TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), seen in the Star Trek (2009) movie.

Stardate 898898.3 translates to 3221, which is about 30 years in the future from SFA, so that can’t be right, especially when it’s said that Miyazaki hasn’t been operational for a century. The stardate should be in the 768000s.

Nus plays with a golden version of the NX-01 Enterprise.

A trauma loop is when an individual becomes stuck and re-experiences or re-enacts traumatic events over and over again. It is usually self-perpetuating, like a person who has been abused might unconsciously seek out situations where they will experience the same kind of abuse again. Nahla mentioned previously that she lost her son because of the Burn, but here we get some more detail.

Psilosynine is a neurotransmitter linked to Betazoid telepathy (TNG: “Dark Page”). As we saw in “Beta Test”, Tarima’s father, President Emrin Sadal of Betazed, is deaf. We find out why here.

The Furies are part-Lynar, which makes their inner ears sensitive to high sonic frequencies. Lynars were mentioned in TNG: "Chain of Command" by Picard as "a kind of Celtrine bat" (native to Celtris III).

The Intrepid-part-Lynar, which makes their inner ears sensitive to high sonic frequencies. The Lynars were mentioned in TNG: "Chain of Command" by Picard as "a kind of Celtrineie Trying”.

We see a trail of green blood at B’Avi’s mouth. Vulcan blood is copper-based, hence the colour.

We get a mention of Discovery, so she must have finished her retrofit (“Kids These Days”).

Nus’ final message to Nahla, where he rages about the self-righteousness of the Federation, is similar to Eddington’s speech to Sisko in DS9: “For the Cause”, accusing the Federation of being more insidious than the Borg in assimilating cultures.

The sound of the Furies screeching plays over the end credits.

The title is from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act I sc v: "Come, let's away, the strangers all are gone." It also appears in King Lear, Act V sc iii: "Come, let's away to prison; We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage”.

The opening song is “UFO”, a 2023 song by Olivia Dean, which talks about the feeling of not being in control when one is newly in love - appropriate to describe what’s happening between Caleb and Tamira.

The Deltan race was first seen in TMP with Ilia. Deltans are a very sensual and sexually open people, and to prevent issues with non-Deltans obsessing over them, those who join Starfleet have to take oaths of celibacy so as not to take advantage of sexually immature species.

Tamira’s neuroinhibitors start to flash; she wears them because she claims she feels emotions more intensely than other Betazoids (SFA: “Beta Test”) and that it can harm people if she loses control.

Betazoids are telepathic with others of their own species. However, they can teach this to people they are intimate with or close to, as Deanna Troi did with William Riker (TNG: “Encounter at Farpoint”).

The toy bear is Caleb’s toy Scrap, which he used as a diversion 15 years prior to escape from Pikaru (SFA: “Kids These Days”). He experiences flashbacks to those events.

Ship graveyards can be either actual graveyards where the wreckage of ships is left as a memorial to those who died there like the location of the Battle of Wolf 359 (TNG: “The Best of Both Worlds”, Star Trek Online), or junkyards/depots where old ships are abandoned (TNG: “Unification”).

The USS Miyazaki (NCC-316606) is presumably named after famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki (or his namesake city in Japan). This is the first we’ve heard of the “Singularity Drive”, although the Romulans famously used a quantum singularity to power their warp engines in the 24th century.

Kelrec was previously referred to as Commander, but now Nahla calls him “Chancellor”, so it may be that commander really is his rank after all. The mission, to repower Miyazaki and reboot the computer, bears some resemblance to reactivating the USS Hathaway in TNG: “Peak Performance”, although that was in preparation for war games.

The new “plasma-based” life support system is reminiscent of the force-field-based life-support belts used by Kirk & Co. during the animated series, starting from TAS: “Beyond the Farthest Star”.

This is the first time we’ve heard of ghan’aq, presumably a Klingon drink.

This is the first appearance of the Furies, although an ancient collective of races named the Furies or the Host were the antagonists in the Invasion! series of Star Trek novels.

Latinum (or gold-pressed latinum) is a currency most often used by Ferengi. The latinum itself is liquid and then encased in relatively worthless gold. Its value comes from the fact that latinum apparently cannot be replicated.

We last saw Nus Braka escaping Athena in a lifepod at the end of “Kids These Days”. Sector 119 is first mentioned here on-screen, but a planet in Sector 119-D was the setting of the Gold Key Star Trek comic story “Dwarf Planet” in issue #25 (1974).

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…” was an aphorism quoted by Spock in ST II to Kirk, who finished it with, “… or the one.” Of course, Kirk risked everything to save Spock in ST III “because the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many.”

“The hills are alive with the sound of murder,” is an obvious take-off on “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical The Sound of Music, but I first read it as "the streets are alive with the sound of murder," in the book Sing along with Mad (1970), as part of a parody of the musical set in the world of organised crime, written by the great Frank Jacobs and drawn by the equally legendary Al Jaffee.

Añejo means “aged” in Spanish and is used to refer to (in this case) aged tequila or aged rum.

Vance here uses “T-Tauri System” as if it’s a proper name. Although TNG: “Clues” uses “the T-tauri system” several times, the dialogue makes it clear that it’s a type of star rather than the name of a star system and the crew are using “the” just to identify the relevant system that contains that kind of star. In fact, Data notes that unstable wormholes have been mapped near 39 T-Tauri systems.

Nus is apparently short for “Nustopher”. Taygeta is a trinary star system in the constellation of Taurus, with Taygeta V featured in the TOS novel Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass.

A hengra, also known as a hengrauggi, was a creature from the ice planet Delta Vega (not to be confused with the planetoid Delta Vega from TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), seen in the Star Trek (2009) movie.

Stardate 898898.3 translates to 3221, which is about 30 years in the future from SFA, so that can’t be right, especially when it’s said that Miyazaki hasn’t been operational for a century. The stardate should be in the 768000s.

Nus plays with a golden version of the NX-01 Enterprise.

A trauma loop is when an individual becomes stuck and re-experiences or re-enacts traumatic events over and over again. It is usually self-perpetuating, like a person who has been abused might unconsciously seek out situations where they will experience the same kind of abuse again. Nahla mentioned previously that she lost her son because of the Burn, but here we get some more detail.

Psilosynine is a neurotransmitter linked to Betazoid telepathy (TNG: “Dark Page”). As we saw in “Beta Test”, Tarima’s father, President Emrin Sadal of Betazed, is deaf. We find out why here.

The Furies are part-Lynar, which makes their inner ears sensitive to high sonic frequencies. Lynars were mentioned in TNG: "Chain of Command" by Picard as "a kind of Celtrine bat" (native to Celtris III).

The Intrepid-class USS Sargasso referred to here is not the 24th century class that the USS Voyager belonged to, but that of the 32nd century Voyager-J, first seen in DIS: “Die Trying”.

We see a trail of green blood at B’Avi’s mouth. Vulcan blood is copper-based, hence the colour.

We get a mention of Discovery, so she must have finished her retrofit (“Kids These Days”).

Nus’ final message to Nahla, where he rages about the self-righteousness of the Federation, is similar to Eddington’s speech to Sisko in DS9: “For the Cause”, accusing the Federation of being more insidious than the Borg in assimilating cultures.

The sound of the Furies screeching plays over the end credits.

The title comes from Sam’s full name, the first photonic cadet from Kasq. Sam is only 217 days old at this point, having been created as the first hologram to reintegrate with organics, but programmed to act like a 17-year-old.

Sam states that in the last millennium (i.e. since 2191, close enough to the founding of the Federation in 2161 that we can just take it as a rounding error), the Federation has encountered 4633 sentient species, over 27 trillion individuals.

We see a Cheronian cadet. The race first appeared in TOS: “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”, where the ruling half-white class (white on the left side) oppressed the half-black (black on the left side). They are extremely long-lived - Bele had been chasing Lokai for 5000 years - but assumed to be extinct since 2268, casualties of a civil war that wiped out Cheron’s population. However, Virgil, a half-white Cheronian appeared in the Section 31 movie, which takes place c.2324. The cadet here is half-white.

It’s been 97 days, or a little over 3 months, after Sam began the Fall Semester of Starfleet Academy (SFA: “Kids These Days”), placing this episode at the end of 3191 (Sam says later that the semester is nearly over).

Of the list of homeworlds displayed in Sam’s database, the names that are not known Federation worlds in the 24th Century are Denobula, Bajor, Ferengar, Hirogen Prime and Kazon Prime. Whether this means that these worlds are now, in the 32nd century, Federation members is not clear.

The Priority One Mission Darem is given consists of chicken, banana (which he hates) and yeel pudding. The yeel tree exists within the mycelial network (DIS: “Saints of Imperfection”), but its bark is deadly to the jahSepp who also live there.

Darem’s personnel file says his major is Sciences and he’s 17 years old, born on Stardate 851095.82, and he graduated from Khionian Royal High on Stardate 868490.0 (consistent with the stardate in SFA: “Vitus Reflux”). By TNG stardate reckoning, that still makes the current year 3191, and he was born in 3174. The file also notes his captaincy of the Khionian All-Planet Under-18 Calico Team and being part of the Premiere Team Khionian Parrises Squares, among other achievements.

Polyphenol oxidase is the enzyme that causes browning and damage to fruits and vegetables. Also, Khionians vomit glitter.

Sam is playing a theremin, an instrument that creates different tones as you interact with its magnetic field. Patented by Leon Theremin in 1928, its unique sound has been used to evoke an otherworldly atmosphere in SF media. Contrary to popular belief, the TOS Star Trek theme did not use a theremin, but was performed by soprano Loulie Jean Norman.

The original Emergency Medical Hologram Mark 1s (of which the Doctor is one) were repurposed by the Federation to become menial labourers in the 24th century (VOY: “Author, Author”), primarily because they were not viewed as sentient. Photonic lifeforms do naturally exist, as in seen in various VOY episodes (“Heroes and Demons”, “Bride of Chaotica!”, “The Voyager Conspiracy”) as well as in LD: “Of Gods and Angles”.

Sam speaking to her Makers reminds me of how the Orkian alien Mork used to report to his supervisor Orson on the strange habits of humans in the 1978-1982 sitcom Mork and Mindy.

The “stupid talking plants” refers to the events of “Vitus Reflux”.

While watching Tamira, Caleb is chewing on a jumja stick, a Bajoran confection made from the sap of the jumja tree (DS9: “In the Hands of the Prophets”).

Appropriately enough, the cadet sniffing Caleb’s pheromones is Orion. Orion women secrete a powerful pheromone which can intoxicate and dominate the males. Underground “scentuaries” on Orion exist, akin to sex and BDSM clubs (LD: “Something Borrowed, Something Green”).

The screens in the “Confronting the Unexplainable” course show “Origins of the Omega Molecule” (VOY: “The Omega Directive”), “Psionic Effects of the Galactic Barrier” (TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), “Déjà Vu - Alternate Universe Theories” (TNG: “Cause and Effect”), “Katra Stones” (DIS: “Light and Shadows”), “Immortal/Non-Corporeal Entities” (the Guardian of Forever, TOS: “The City on the Edge of Forever”), “Subspace Divergence Fields” (VOY: “Deadlock”), “Alternate Continuums” (like the Q Continuum, VOY: “Death Wish”) and “Multi-Species Accelerated Evolution” (VOY: “Threshold”, perhaps).

Sam stops in front of “The Fate of Benjamin Sisko - Emissary of the Prophets”. It poses two questions: whether he died in the Fire Caves of Bajor or lived on in the Celestial Temple at the end of DS9: “What You Leave Behind”. As viewers, we know that the latter is true, but also that he promised to return (“Maybe a year, maybe yesterday.”). As the screen implies, this has not happened by the 32nd century, although he did return for a time in the IDW Star Trek comic taking place just before Nemesis. Part of the reason, speaking in a Doylist sense, is because Avery Brooks has retired from acting.

Professor Illa (played by LD’s Tawny Newsome) is of Cardassian descent, with the distinctive loop on her forehead (which led to the racial slur “spoonheads” being applied to Cardassians by veterans of the 2340s wars). She says it is midterm season, which usually happens between mid-October and early November. The scene ends with the DS9 theme song swelling.

Darem refers to the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox, a thought experiment where a cat in a box with a poison that has a 50-50 chance of triggering is, accordingly to quantum theory, neither alive nor dead until the box is opened.

The Bajoran custom of grabbing the earlobe to feel a person’s “pagh” (spirit) was first seen in DS9: “Emissary”.

The Sisko Museum is in New Orleans because Sisko is a native of that city. His father ran a restaurant there (DS9: "Homefront") which was still open as of 2381 (LD: “Grounded”).

This is the first mention of the planet Alpherat in lore. There is a star named Alpheratz (Alpha Andromedae or Delta Pegasi), mentioned in the Franz Joseph Star Fleet Technical Manual and the Star Trek Adventures RPG, but this may be a different place. There are fire eels on Earth, but Alpherati ones are presumably not the same.

The uniform on display is the version Sisko wore from DS9: “Rapture” onwards, having been introduced in the movie First Contact.

On display is a Deep Space Niners cap (the station baseball team, DS9: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”), Sisko’s Niner baseball card, and the ball signed by the team in that episode. We also see a box used to contain an Orb of the Prophets and Benny Russell’s typewriter (DS9: “Far Beyond the Stars”).

There are signs for Sisko’s Creole Kitchen, the Dominion War, Jake Sisko with an article he wrote for the Federation News Service on the arrival of a Dominion Founder, and a video titled Jada Ava Sisko. Jada does not appear on the family tree, nor does Sisko’s daughter with Kasidy Yates, as yet unborn in the DS9 finale. While this may be ominous, in the Litverse novels the daughter was born and named Rebecca Jae Sisko.

Cirroc Lofton reprises his role as Jake Sisko. He mentions Sisko punching out Q (DS9: “Q-Less”), how he supported Jake’s writing, and his ability as a chef.

Krebbs’ Talaxian furfly is now eating its own fur.

Jay-Den claims Klingons invented raktajino, which isn’t really true. Raktajino is a hybrid beverage, with human and Klingon elements involved in its creation. This could simply be like Chekov claiming everything was of Russian origin.

Jake began writing his novel Anslem in DS9: “The Muse”, but we find out he never published it. In the alternate timeline of DS9: “The Visitor”, it was published in 2381. We also find out “Anslem” means “father” in Bajoran - the semi-autobiographical novel features the father of the protagonist.

The story of a Vulcan punching out Sisko refers to Solok defeating Sisko in a wrestling match when they were cadets at The Launching Pad (“Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).

The Kometa fish looks similar to an Earth blobfish, which although it looks like jello on land, has a relatively normal appearance deep underwater where it lives.

Behind the 32nd century San Francisco Ferry Building is a neon sign saying “King Mei”. This same sign appeared in an underground city on Turkana IV (TNG: “Legacy”).

Nahla left Starfleet 15 years prior because of how they treated Caleb and his mother (“Kids These Days”), but returned when Vance offered her the chancellorship of Starfleet Academy.

Sam drunkenly refers to Sisko building sailboats (a Bajoran lightship, DS9: “Explorers”) and starting riots (fulfilling history in 2024, DS9: “Past Tense”).

Muir Woods is part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, north of San Francisco and near the Academy campus. It’s best known for its grove of coast redwoods, which are the tallest living things on Earth.

The cover of Anslem has a Bajoran crest on it. Sisko bought a plot of land in Kendra Valley on Bajor in DS9: “Penumbra”, the same episode the Prophets warned him that if he married Kasidy - if he did not walk his path alone - he would know nothing but sorrow.

Illa is Illa Dax, the latest host for the Dax symbiont, a Cardassian-Trill hybrid. As Sam speaks to her Makers, we hear the TOS theme played on a theremin.

According to Tawny Newsome, Sam's line, "I can live with that," alludes to Sisko's famous line from DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight".

That last voice-over is Avery Brooks, not from Star Trek but from Here… a spoken word and jazz album he released in 2006. In the sky over San Francisco, there seems to be an image of Sisko's face formed by the clouds.

The dedication is "For Avery". The DS9 theme plays over the closing credits.

The title comes from Sam’s full name, the first photonic cadet from Kasq. Sam is only 217 days old at this point, having been created as the first hologram to reintegrate with organics, but programmed to act like a 17-year-old.

Sam states that in the last millennium (i.e. since 2191, close enough to the founding of the Federation in 2161 that we can just take it as a rounding error), the Federation has encountered 4633 sentient species, over 37 trillion individuals.

We see a Cheronian cadet. The race first appeared in TOS: “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”, where the ruling half-white class (white on the left side) oppressed the half-black (black on the left side). They are extremely long-lived - Bele had been chasing Lokai for 5000 years - but assumed to be extinct since 2268, casualties of a civil war that wiped out Cheron’s population. However, Virgil, a half-white Cheronian appeared in the Section 31 movie, which takes place c.2324. The cadet here is half-white.

It’s been 97 days, or a little over 3 months, after Sam began the Fall Semester of Starfleet Academy (SFA: “Kids These Days”), placing this episode at the end of 3191 (Sam says later that the semester is nearly over).

Of the list of homeworlds displayed in Sam’s database, the names that are not known Federation worlds in the 24th Century are Denobula, Bajor, Ferengar, Hirogen Prime and Kazon Prime. Whether this means that these worlds are now, in the 32nd century, Federation members is not clear.

The Priority One Mission Darem is given consists of chicken, banana (which he hates) and yeel pudding. The yeel tree exists within the mycelial network (DIS: “Saints of Imperfection”), but its bark is deadly to the jahSepp who also live there.

Darem’s personnel file says his major is Sciences and he’s 17 years old, born on Stardate 851095.82, and he graduated from Khionian Royal High on Stardate 868490.0 (consistent with the stardate in SFA: “Vitus Reflux”). By TNG stardate reckoning, that still makes the current year 3191, and he was born in 3174. The file also notes his captaincy of the Khionian All-Planet Under-18 Calico Team and being part of the Premiere Team Khionian Parrises Squares, among other achievements.

Polyphenol oxidase is the enzyme that causes browning and damage to fruits and vegetables. Also, Khionians vomit glitter.

Sam is playing a theremin, an instrument that creates different tones as you interact with its magnetic field. Patented by Leon Theremin in 1928, its unique sound has been used to evoke an otherworldly atmosphere in SF media. Contrary to popular belief, the TOS Star Trek theme did not use a theremin, but was performed by soprano Loulie Jean Norman.

The original Emergency Medical Hologram Mark 1s (of which the Doctor is one) were repurposed by the Federation to become menial labourers in the 24th century (VOY: “Author, Author”), primarily because they were not viewed as sentient. Photonic lifeforms do naturally exist, as in seen in various VOY episodes (“Heroes and Demons”, “Bride of Chaotica!”, “The Voyager Conspiracy”) as well as in LD: “Of Gods and Angles”.

Sam speaking to her Makers reminds me of how the Orkian alien Mork used to report to his supervisor Orson on the strange habits of humans in the 1978-1982 sitcom Mork and Mindy.

The “stupid talking plants” refers to the events of “Vitus Reflux”.

While watching Tamira, Caleb is chewing on a jumja stick, a Bajoran confection made from the sap of the jumja tree (DS9: “In the Hands of the Prophets”).

Appropriately enough, the cadet sniffing Caleb’s pheromones is Orion. Orion women secrete a powerful pheromone which can intoxicate and dominate the males. Underground “scentuaries” on Orion exist, akin to sex and BDSM clubs (LD: “Something Borrowed, Something Green”).

The screens in the “Confronting the Unexplainable” course show “Origins of the Omega Molecule” (VOY: “The Omega Directive”), “Psionic Effects of the Galactic Barrier” (TOS: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), “Déjà Vu - Alternate Universe Theories” (TNG: “Cause and Effect”), “Katra Stones” (DIS: “Light and Shadows”), “Immortal/Non-Corporeal Entities” (the Guardian of Forever, TOS: “The City on the Edge of Forever”), “Subspace Divergence Fields” (VOY: “Deadlock”), “Alternate Continuums” (like the Q Continuum, VOY: “Death Wish”) and “Multi-Species Accelerated Evolution” (VOY: “Threshold”, perhaps).

Sam stops in front of “The Fate of Benjamin Sisko - Emissary of the Prophets”. It poses two questions: whether he died in the Fire Caves of Bajor or lived on in the Celestial Temple at the end of DS9: “What You Leave Behind”. As viewers, we know that the latter is true, but also that he promised to return (“Maybe a year, maybe yesterday.”). As the screen implies, this has not happened by the 32nd century, although he did return for a time in the IDW Star Trek comic taking place just before Nemesis. Part of the reason, speaking in a Doylist sense, is because Avery Brooks has retired from acting.

Professor Illa (played by LD’s Tawny Newsome) is of Cardassian descent, with the distinctive loop on her forehead (which led to the racial slur “spoonheads” being applied to Cardassians by veterans of the 2340s wars). She says it is midterm season, which usually happens between mid-October and early November. The scene ends with the DS9 theme song swelling.

Darem refers to the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox, a thought experiment where a cat in a box with a poison that has a 50-50 chance of triggering is, accordingly to quantum theory, neither alive nor dead until the box is opened.

The Bajoran custom of grabbing the earlobe to feel a person’s “pagh” (spirit) was first seen in DS9: “Emissary”.

The Sisko Museum is in New Orleans because Sisko is a native of that city. His father ran a restaurant there (DS9: "Homefront") which was still open as of 2381 (LD: “Grounded”).

This is the first mention of the planet Alpherat in lore. There is a star named Alpheratz (Alpha Andromedae or Delta Pegasi), mentioned in the Franz Joseph Star Fleet Technical Manual and the Star Trek Adventures RPG, but this may be a different place. There are fire eels on Earth, but Alpherati ones are presumably not the same.

The uniform on display is the version Sisko wore from DS9: “Rapture” onwards, having been introduced in the movie First Contact.

On display is a Deep Space Niners cap (the station baseball team, DS9: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”), Sisko’s Niner baseball card, and the ball signed by the team in that episode. We also see a box used to contain an Orb of the Prophets and Benny Russell’s typewriter (DS9: “Far Beyond the Stars”).

There are signs for Sisko’s Creole Kitchen, the Dominion War, Jake Sisko with an article he wrote for the Federation News Service on the arrival of a Dominion Founder, and a video titled Jada Ava Sisko. Jada does not appear on the family tree, nor does Sisko’s daughter with Kasidy Yates, as yet unborn in the DS9 finale. While this may be ominous, in the Litverse novels the daughter was born and named Rebecca Jae Sisko.

Cirroc Lofton reprises his role as Jake Sisko. He mentions Sisko punching out Q (DS9: “Q-Less”), how he supported Jake’s writing, and his ability as a chef.

Krebbs’ Talaxian furfly is now eating its own fur.

Jay-Den claims Klingons invented raktajino, which isn’t really true. Raktajino is a hybrid beverage, with human and Klingon elements involved in its creation. This could simply be like Chekov claiming everything was of Russian origin.

Jake began writing his novel Anslem in DS9: “The Muse”, but we find out he never published it. In the alternate timeline of DS9: “The Visitor”, it was published in 2381. We also find out “Anslem” means “father” in Bajoran - the semi-autobiographical novel features the father of the protagonist.

The story of a Vulcan punching out Sisko refers to Solok defeating Sisko in a wrestling match when they were cadets at The Launching Pad (“Take Me Out to the Holosuite”).

The Kometa fish looks similar to an Earth blobfish, which although it looks like jello on land, has a relatively normal appearance deep underwater where it lives.

Behind the 32nd century San Francisco Ferry Building is a neon sign saying “King Mei”. This same sign appeared in an underground city on Turkana IV (TNG: “Legacy”).

Nahla left Starfleet 15 years prior because of how they treated Caleb and his mother (“Kids These Days”), but returned when Vance offered her the chancellorship of Starfleet Academy.

Sam drunkenly refers to Sisko building sailboats (a Bajoran lightship, DS9: “Explorers”) and starting riots (fulfilling history in 2024, DS9: “Past Tense”).

Muir Woods is part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, north of San Francisco and near the Academy campus. It’s best known for its grove of coast redwoods, which are the tallest living things on Earth.

The cover of Anslem has a Bajoran crest on it. Sisko bought a plot of land in Kendra Valley on Bajor in DS9: “Penumbra”, the same episode the Prophets warned him that if he married Kasidy - if he did not walk his path alone - he would know nothing but sorrow.

Illa is Illa Dax, the latest host for the Dax symbiont, a Cardassian-Trill hybrid. As Sam speaks to her Makers, we hear the TOS theme played on a theremin.

According to Tawny Newsome, Sam's line, "I can live with that," alludes to Sisko's famous line from DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight".

That last voice-over is Avery Brooks, not from Star Trek but from Here… a spoken word and jazz album he released in 2006. In the sky over San Francisco, there seems to be an image of Sisko's face formed by the clouds.

The dedication is "For Avery". The DS9 theme plays over the closing credits.