Star Trek Easter Eggs You May Have Missed In Star Trek: Prodigy

In one of the premiere episode's darker moments — for a kids' show at least — we meet Drednok, one of the lead villains, and Gwyn, the daughter of the series' big bad The Diviner. They are meeting with a slave trader and freighter captain revealed to be the man who provides labor to the colony. Unfortunately, the captain has run out of escaped convicts and criminals, and is now selling orphaned children to The Diviner. But it's the captain himself that nets us our first Easter egg, as he's a Kazon, the race of gangster aliens that tormented the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager in the Delta Quadrant for its first three seasons.

Despite their many appearances on "Voyager" — a total of 15 across its first three years, as they acted as the primary antagonists on the series early on — this is also the first time we hear the Kazon language, as the captain speaks in his native tongue, with no universal translator present. It's also worth noting that the little orphaned child the Kazon provides for labor is a member of the species called the Caitian, the same feline race as Doctor T'Ana from "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

After both Gwyn and Dal are captured by the villainous Drednok, Gwyn is throw in detention and Dal is sent back to perform labor in the mines. While lamenting their situation, Gwyn asks Dal to retell her the story of a unique star cluster he'd once seen called The Window Of Dreams. He does so, and describes a site so incredible he failed to find the words for it, asking, "How do you describe the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" This one is a pretty deep cut, going all the way back to an off-hand remark made by an alien starship captain in the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Body And Soul."

In that episode, the alien captain Ranek is courting Seven of Nine (who happens to be taken over by the Doctor's programming and personality, but that's a story for another time) and he briefly looks out the starship's viewport and points out the same star cluster to her. While flirting with Seven, he says of the cluster, "You could travel from one end of the quadrant to the other and not see anything like it," calling it "the most beautiful sight in the sector."

When Gwyn finds herself unable to access an escape pod in her attempt to leave the U.S.S. Protostar, the computer asks if she'd like to use the services of the "vehicle replicator." Up to this point in "Star Trek" lore, no such device has ever been referenced, and its inclusion here seems to be a response to common fan criticism of Janeway's U.S.S. Voyager, which inexplicably seemed to have an endless supply of shuttlecraft. Fans have long argued over the apparent inconsistency, such as in this Reddit post, which argues that the ship was constantly losing her shuttlecraft, either having them repeatedly destroyed, abandoned, or broken down for parts... and yet she always had more. 

Though we've heard of "industrial replicators" that could produce large equipment, this new vehicle replicator (which acts more like a futuristic 3D printer than a simple matter materializer) could retroactively explain how Voyager was able to have a steady stream of long range shuttles. Either that, or it was the writer's way of taking a friendly jab at long-running fan theories and inconsistencies. Whatever the case, we no longer have to worry about Federation starships ever running low on shuttles.

"Terror Firma" picks up right where "Dreamcatcher" left off, with the ragtag crew trapped on a violent alien world using their own dreams and nightmares against them. Stuck alone aboard the Protostar, the holographic program of Captain Janeway does what she can to help, but first she's got to get the ship back in working condition. Entangled in nasty vines, she orders "photonic scrubbers" to clean up the ship. At her command, a series of pod-like droids scurry out of the ship and begin using energy beams to clean off the vines. You might think this sequence has a bit more of a "Star Wars" look to it, but the droids themselves have some precedent, as they appear to be modified versions of the exocomps seen in the "Next Generation" episode "The Quality of Life."

In that original episode, an alien scientist has created the exocomps to be advanced, artificially intelligent drones that can perform dangerous work that might endanger humanoid workers. Data of course discovers that the exocomps might be sentient, and sets about to prove it, in the hopes of ending their forced servitude. If these are indeed exocomps in "Terror Firma," the noticeable differences could suggest they've been stripped of their sentience, allowing them to be the original AI tools they were invented to be.

When Dal and Jankom Pog discover the Protostar's holodecks, holo-Janeway runs them through some of the possible programs the room can create for them. Several of the holodeck programs mentioned by holo-Janeway have been seen before, and are clear references to previous "Star Trek" episodes and movies from its long history. The program focused on skydiving on Ceti-Alpha V is a clear nod to the planet that Khan was exiled to in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" — and possibly a reference to the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Extreme Risk," which involved B'Elanna going orbital skydiving. 

After Jankom and Dal fall through the clouds, she conjures a kal-if-fee match on Vulcan — the gladiatorial combat between Spock and Kirk in the classic "TOS" episode "Amok Time" — complete with the original series' iconic fight music. She suggests a Jane Eyre holo-novel, similar to the program the real Janeway enjoyed on "Voyager," and notes it as a personal favorite. Before Dal settles on trying out the Kobayashi Maru scenario, he scrolls through a menu that also mentions an adventure in Deadwood (a reference to the "TNG" episode "A Fistful of Datas") and Paxau Resort (one of Neelix's favorites).

After a hilarious opening gag where the young crew discovers, and experiments with, the ship's transporters — having never seen any device like it before — they answer a distress call from a mysterious woman who needs their help. Her face hidden under a cloak, she holds what appears to be an alien baby in her arms as she cries out for help, insisting she needs immediate transport because she has sick orphans that need assistance. But Dal isn't fooled by the obvious ruse and seems to know what's going on. Approaching the viewscreen, Dal asks, "Let me guess, your sick orphans have a bad case of the Phage?"

As it turns out, this is no woman in distress, but Dal's old mentor, Nandi, who also happens to be a Ferengi. "The Phage" may jog the memory of longtime "Trek" fans, particularly those who've watched "Star Trek: Voyager." In the early years of the series, one of their primary foes was a race called the Vidiians, who would steal organs from healthy living humanoids to help them battle a life-threatening disease called the Phage that destroyed their bodies. Though it was cured by a group called "The Think Tank," it's clearly now used by con artists to lure in their marks.

After Nandi's plan to fleece an alien race of precious crystals is foiled by a clever Dal, she returns to her ship understandably angry. Sitting in her ship's cargo bay, Nandi shows her annoyance by tossing an item across the room in a fit of rage. Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed something familiar about the unfortunate relic that Nandi uses to take out her frustration, as it flies across the cargo bay, bangs into a shipping container, and falls to the floor. A quick pause will reveal the item is none other than a hor'gahn, a fertility idol from the pleasure planet Risa, possession of which indicates that one is seeking "jamaharon." 

Though we're never told quite what jamaharon is, it's implied that it's an adult activity decidedly not for children, making the inclusion of the hor'gahn a bit suspect in a kids' cartoon. Nevertheless, the idol — first seen in the "TNG" episode "Captain's Holiday," which is by no coincidence a Ferengi-centric episode — is clearly visible to fans in the know. Diehards may also have recognized some other bits from "Star Trek" lore in this episode, including Nandi's love of the tube grubs, her Klingon disrupter pistol, and her mention of losing her money on the popular casino game called Dabo.

To solve the temporal problem in "Time Amok," each member of the Protostar's upstart crew must help build a new warp matrix. Holo-Janeway helps, but it's up to the kids to actually build it and install it. Unfortunately, none have the expertise or know-how to do it on their own, but together — working across time — they may have a chance. It's a great lesson in teamwork, but in the final moments, the last member of the crew, Rok-Tahk, can't do it.

Thankfully, Rok-Tahk exists in the slowest time period, and spends years there learning how to accomplish the task. She claims to have spent the time learning quantum science and computer engineering, and teaches herself the skills she needs to do the job. Janeway and Gwyn privately discuss the great amount of time that Rok-Tahk spent alone, clearly concerned for her well-being. Whether this is an Easter egg or a reference, it clearly recalls the "Deep Space Nine" episode "Hard Time" in which Chief O'Brien spends decades in isolation in a virtual prison, and emerges a traumatized man. It remains to be seen if Rok-Tahk will suffer any long-term effects — though given that it's a kids cartoon, it's unlikely– but it's a new and clever use of the same idea.

In the first part of "A Moral Star," The Diviner tells the crew that if they return to Tars Lamora and give him the Protostar, he'll free the laborers he has enslaved in his mining colony. Conflicted over whether they should help the enslaved people while empowering their enemy, they ultimately decide to engage in a risky plan that will both save the miners and keep the ship. Holo-Janeway says that taking on an impossible mission to save others and bring hope to a hopeless cause is the most Starfleet thing they could ever do. Little do we know it's the last time we'll see our normal Holo-Janeway in the episode.

When they arrive at The Diviner's world, the villain changes the terms of their deal and takes Gwyn aboard the Protostar. Once there, he reprograms Holo-Janeway into an "evil" version of her former self (noted in the credits as "Corrupted Janeway"). Her new all-black uniform and cold personality feel like a reference to the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Living Witness," where a future society envisions Voyager as a sinister warship and Janeway as a calculating, black-clad captain. Reprogramming the holo-assistant to turn them evil has been done before, too, in the "Voyager" episode "Equinox," when the Doctor has his ethical subroutines gutted to turn him into a vicious surgeon. Whether these are intentional references or mere coincidence, it's nice to see "Prodigy" playing with classic "Star Trek" tropes like evil alternate versions of its main cast.

In "A Moral Star, Part 2" the Diviner finally reveals the secrets he's been keeping all season: his past with Gwyn, his vengeful hatred for the Federation, and his reason for wanting the Protostar so badly. When the episode opens, he's now in command of the U.S.S. Protostar. However, Gwyn's failsafe meant that Holo-Janeway wasn't corrupted after all and easily overpowers The Diviner. He then pleads with his progeny to let him complete their mission to save their homeworld.

The Diviner claims that he's actually from a future where their homeworld has been ravaged by a war sparked by first contact with Starfleet and has come back in time to stop it. After first contact, their people fight over whether to join the Federation or remain isolationists, and it sparks a devastating civil war that destroys their world. 

The possibility of a newly discovered world being brought to the brink of war over first contact has been mentioned before, specifically in the appropriately titled "The Next Generation" episode, "First Contact." In that episode, the Enterprise arrives on the planet Malcor III just as they develop warp drive technology. The crew meets a government bureaucrat who represents the world's more hard-line conservative elements and fears that if they have relations with Starfleet, it will spark just such a civil war. Now, on "Star Trek: Prodigy," we see just how devastating a first contact can be and the effects it can have on a fractured people.

The second half of "Star Trek: Prodigy" Season 1 begins with "Asylum." The kid crew of the U.S.S. Protostar has finally reached the edges of Federation space, but the fact that they've technically stolen the vessel makes them nervous as they approach a Federation relay station. However, the man they find there is a Denobulan named Barniss Frex, and when he arrives on screen we get a couple of immediate callbacks. For starters, he's the first member of his race we've seen since Dr. Phlox, the ship's doctor on "Star Trek: Enterprise." Additionally, his uniform appears to include rank insignia that matches the Maquis crew member's provisional rank insignias from "Star Trek: Voyager."

Still, the best Easter egg comes when he briefly believes that the Protostar has arrived to transfer him to a new location. He fears he'll be sent to Nimbus III, the only place he could imagine worse than his current assignment. He's not wrong, as the world was located in the Neutral Zone. Seen in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," it was nicknamed the Planet of Galactic Peace owed to the fact that members from several rival races — including Klingons, Humans, and Romulans — all lived there in relative harmony. 

At the end of the mid-season finale, "A Moral Star, Part 2," viewers are teased with the appearance of the real Janeway, who is now an admiral. She is on the hunt for the Protostar, which was revealed to be captained by her former first officer, Commander Chakotay. In "Asylum" we see a flashback to the launch of that mission, where Chakotay is put in command, and the Protostar is christened. In keeping with an old naval tradition, first shown in the 1994 film "Star Trek Generations," a bottle of wine is hurled into the side of the Protostar's hull, smashing to pieces, in a clear callback. 

In addition, in a blink-and-miss-it moment, we see that the bottle thrown at the Protostar is none other than Chateau Picard from the winery of one Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. In "Star Trek: Picard," we've seen the former Enterprise captain overseeing the production of that wine at his home in La Barre, France, and it seems Starfleet could be a major buyer — especially if they are using it to launch their newest starships.

In "Let Sleeping Borg's Lie," the crew of the Protostar happens upon what appears to be a dead or dormant Borg cube. Hologram Janeway warns them against exploring the vessel, telling them of the horrific nature of the Borg, and imploring them to leave immediately. However, Dal and Gwyn wonder if the Borg technology could hold the key to disabling the strange device they recently discovered aboard the ship that sabotaged the relay station an episode earlier. 

Once they enter the dormant cube, they find the Borg have all been deactivated, in a state that Holo-Janeway attributes to a neurolytic pathogen that disabled the nanoprobes in their system. This is not a mysterious act of sabotage, however, as it directly ties into the "Star Trek: Voyager" finale "Endgame." In that episode, future Admiral Janeway traveled back in time and used that pathogen to disable the Borg as part of her gambit to get Voyager home 20 years earlier. It seems the ship in this episode of "Prodigy" could be one of the cubes affected by future Janeway's weapon, making the episode a loose sequel of sorts.

"All the World's a Stage" sees the Protostar visit a far-off world where an alien colony has patterned itself after the adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Uhura, and the crew of the Enterprise. This classic "Star Trek" trope plays homage to several previous installments, not the least of which is "A Piece of the Action," where Kirk visits a world based on 1930s Chicago. It is also reminiscent of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Royale," where an alien species has crafted a world based on an old Earth novel to help make a human explorer stranded there more comfortable.

Likewise, we learn that the people of this colony were visited by a member of Kirk's Enterprise more than a century ago, and he was marooned there until his death. This ensign inadvertently brought a deadly disease with them in the form of a broken shuttlecraft leaking radiation, infecting the colony. This brings to mind the episode of "The Next Generation" titled "Thine Own Self," where an amnesiac Commander Data accidentally brings radioactive material that causes a sickness when he crashes into a pre-warp civilization.

The people in this episode have taken to performing stage plays based on the stories of the starship Enterprise. This, too, harkens back to an old "Star Trek: Voyager" episode, "Muse," that sees B'Elanna crash land on a pre-warp planet, where a playwright borrows her tales of adventure on Voyager as fodder for his own stage performances.

At the center of the episode "All the World's a Stage" is a connection that few Trekkies saw coming when the story started. As is revealed at the climax of the episode, the reason for the sickness afflicting the Enderprizians — a disease they claim is caused by something known as the Gallows — is actually a Federation shuttlecraft. However, this is no ordinary shuttlecraft, but the well-known Galileo, as seen in several "Star Trek: The Original Series" episodes, with its final appearance coming in "The Immunity Syndrome." It seems that at some point, the craft was piloted on a solo mission by Ensign Garrovick, a character seen before on "The Original Series," a journey that left him stranded on this alien world.

What makes this connection all the more interesting is that it actually ties up a 54-year-old mystery. In "The Original Series," the Galileo was replaced in the final season by the "Galileo II" and it was never explained what had happened to the first one — which itself had replaced another shuttlecraft called the Galileo destroyed in an earlier episode, but that's neither here nor there. Likewise, we now know that Garrovick, the main character in the episode "Obsession," lost his life while trying to protect an alien colony from a kind of radiation sickness that he had unwittingly caused.

Episode 14, "Crossroads," sees Dal, Gwyn, Rok-Tahk, and the rest of the crew of the USS Protostar stopping at Denaxi Depot looking for some new transportation. With a deadly weapon aboard their ship that they can't disable, they cannot risk taking the Protostar to the Federation, and they figure that they might find a new ship at this remote outpost on the edge of the Neutral Zone. What they actually find is a dangerous station where the worst the galaxy has to offer gather, and it's guarded by the Xindi-Reptilians.

A prominent adversary from "Star Trek: Enterprise," the Xindi-Reptilians unsuccessfully tried to destroy the Federation before it was founded, fearing that it would one day wipe out their homeworld. Oddly enough, this plot mirrors that of The Diviner, who has come back in time to do practically the same thing. In "Enterprise," a visitor from the far future told Captain Archer that one day the Xindi would become part of the Federation, and would even serve aboard the USS Enterprise-J. But, in 2389, more than 200 years after the Xindi War, it seems that the days of Xindi and Starfleet being allies still hasn't arrived.

The episode "Crossroads" concludes with Dal and his crew escaping from Denaxi Depot with the USS Dauntless in hot pursuit. He takes the Protostar into the Romulan Neutral Zone in a risky gambit to elude Admiral Janeway and the Dauntless, but Janeway is undeterred. Aboard the Dauntless, her first officer Commander Tysess warns her that entering the Neutral Zone is against the treaty with the Romulans. As all "Star Trek" fans know, it is well established that entry into the zone by either side is considered an act of war.

Tysess claims that entry will endanger "the negotiations." At first glance, this seems like a reference to the conclusion of the 2002 film "Star Trek: Nemesis," which takes place just a few years before this episode. At the end of that film, it's implied that the Federation and the Romulans would enter into peace negotiations. However, promotion on Instagram in the form of a Vice Admiral's Log confirms that it's about more than just the "fragile truce" they have with the Romulans. When Tysess mentions negotiations, he's actually talking about the backstory mentioned in "Star Trek: Picard," which oddly enough ties directly into the events of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" film from 2009.

According to "Picard," Starfleet and the Romulans negotiated an agreement to help evacuate the Romulan homeworld after the supernova from the opening of the '09 "Star Trek" film threatened it. It seems that, at the time in which "Prodigy" takes place, Starfleet is still deep in talks over this deal.

The second half of the first season of "Star Trek: Prodigy" reveals a bit more about the kids aboard the USS Protostar. It also reveals more than we expected about the real Kathryn Janeway, now a Starfleet Vice Admiral. We knew going in that a holographic version of the former "Star Trek: Voyager" captain would be a series regular, but in the back half of the season, the real Janeway has as big a role to play as anyone. With a bigger part, we get to see quite a bit of her new home aboard her own starship, the USS Dauntless, including a little artifact she keeps in her ready room — a model of her former starship.

Glimpsed briefly in the episode "Masquerade," we can see a model recreation of the starship Voyager on display beyond her work desk while Admiral Jellico is on a viewscreen. More than just a nod to the former "Star Trek" spin-off, it continues a tradition started decades ago: Captain Picard had a model of the USS Stargazer in his ready room aboard the USS Enterprise-D. This indicates that many Starfleet captains have a custom of keeping a model of their first command in eyesight of their command chair in their ship's ready room.

While strolling through the streets of Noble Isle, the kids are entertained by Okona with a story from his past. He describes a time when he was caught in a war between two angry fathers, both of whom thought he had stolen something called the Jewel of Thesia. This is no mere tall tale from the mouth of an exaggerating swashbuckler. This is, in fact, the plot synopsis for the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Outrageous Okona," the character's only live-action appearance at the time of this writing.

In that episode, Okona is tasked by a young man named Benzan with transporting the Jewel of Thesia to his lover, a woman named Yanar. Picard's Enterprise came to Okona's aid when his ship broke down. Before long, Benzan's father arrived, accusing Okona of stealing the jewel and demanding that the fugitive pirate be handed over to him. Soon after, Yanar's father also turned up, claiming that Okona belonged to him because the space rogue had impregnated Yanar. All of this happened because the two young lovebirds had kept their affair a secret from their parents.

It's not just the secret backstories of the kids on the Protostar that we see play out in the episode "Preludes," we also get to see the origins of the villainous Diviner. With the arrival of another one of his people, we learn the truth behind the Diviner's mission and the Protostar itself. It seems that at some point in the future, a Federation starship will make first contact with his homeworld and inspire millions. However, after civil war breaks out, the Federation leaves them to destroy themselves. A glimpse of this future past is shown, and the ship that visits his world is the same one seen in the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Message in a Bottle."

While this might not be the exact same ship, it's definitely one of the same class. It was introduced as an experimental long-range tactical starship in an episode that saw Romulans commandeer it. It has the ability to split into three separate vessels, a function known as multi-vector assault mode. The fact that it was a Prometheus-class starship that made contact with the Diviner's world makes sense, as it was the only Starfleet vessel able to reach the edge of the Delta Quadrant during the run of "Voyager," specifically designed for extended deep space missions.

Admittedly, this one isn't so much an Easter egg for "Star Trek" fans, but it's far too conspicuous and fun not to at least get a mention. In "Ghost in the Machine," the crew find themselves in an age-old "Star Trek" episode premise where they're trapped inside a malfunctioning holodeck. In an effort to get themselves out of a game that won't end, Dal hands over his command code to holo-Janeway, which he says is "G-B-6-4-N-3-2-X." But while this string of letters and numbers may seem rather arbitrary at first, closer examination reveals a recognizable pattern of sorts.

Possibly, it seems the command code "GB64N32X" is a listing of several '90s video gaming systems. The initials can be found for the Game Boy (GB), Nintendo 64 (64N) and the Sega Genesis 32X CD-Rom add-on. Seeing as the people behind "Star Trek: Prodigy" are primarily older millennials, this would make sense, as they'd likely have been just the right age when those systems were popular. This theory fits with the episode's storyline about the crew being stuck inside a game, and it sounds like the writers were pretty avid gamers, too.

Another Easter egg comes during Gwyn's chat with her father the holodeck bartender, and it' a deep cut. 

With a teenaged character, the writers are unlikely to depict her knocking back a glass of Aldebaran Whiskey or Romulan Ale. But there are a few non-alcoholic Trekkie drinks to choose from — including Raktajino (Klingon coffee) and Sluggo cola (the slimiest cola in the galaxy), or even Worf's drink of choice prune juice. Instead, Gwyn asks for a cup of Jumja tea — a drink "Trek" fans have heard about just once before.

Jumja is known primarily for Jumja sticks, a confection seen numerous times throughout "Deep Space Nine," making their debut in "In the Hands of the Prophets." They come in different colors and flavors and are a favorite of both the teenaged Ferengi Nog and Chief O'Brien, who says their flavor comes from the "natural sweetness of the Jumja tree... filled with Vitamin C." To his wife Keiko, and even Major Kira, they're a bit too sweet. But while Jumja sticks are so ubiquitous that they're sold at a kiosk on the station's promenade, Jumja tea is mentioned only once.

Oddly enough, the mention comes in the Mirror Universe via the "DS9" episode "Crossover." There it's ordered by Intendant Kira, an indication of how she varies from her Prime Universe variant, who disliked Jumja. Clearly, based on this episode of "Prodigy," Gwyn prefers her tea on the sweet side.

In "Mindwalk," Janeway — in Dal's body — finally gets a chance to meet and get to know the rest of the crew of the Protostar. She also learns, however, that Dal himself is genetically engineered. She and others refer to Dal as an "Augment," a term first used in "Star Trek: Enterprise." But when she departs the Protostar, Gwyn tells her how excited they — and Dal — are about one day joining Starfleet. Janeway pauses and mentions that an Augment like Dal will never be permitted into Starfleet, a policy first noted in the "DS9" installment "Doctor Bashir, I Presume."

In that episode, it's established that Dr. Bashir was genetically altered as a child to correct certain birth defects. It's also revealed that Starfleet first prohibited the entry of augmented people into the service due to the events of the Eugenics Wars. Here, Janeway mentions the Eugenics Wars, which were said to have been led by Khan, the villain known primarily from "Star Trek II." The Eugenics Wars have been getting a lot of name drops across the franchise of late, also heavily referenced in Season 2 of "Star Trek: Picard." The debut episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," meanwhile, retconned the Eugenics Wars to be part of World War III, the global conflict that decimated Earth just before the discovery of warp technology.

Late in the battle, the Protostar crew sends out a distress message, calling on any ships friendly to the Federation to assist in saving the fleet. The ships who answer are all vessels fans have seen before, some of which not in quite some time. 

In addition to some Klingon Bird-of-Preys, we also see a Ferengi D'Kora-class Maurader, which made its debut all the way back in 1987, and a Petarian freighter similar to the SS Xhosa, the ship piloted by Sisko's girlfriend Cassidy Yates on "DS9" in the episode "For the Cause." Curiously, we also get a glimpse of a Surak-class Vulcan starship — because that style of starship was first seen in "Broken Bow," the premiere episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise," set more than 230 years prior.

Rok-Tahk also calls out a Talarian freighter, a ship seen in a pair of episodes of "The Next Generation," which belong to a race of people seen in the episode "Suddenly Human." But the most interesting call-out might be the Gorn trading ship, which is new to the franchise, at least by designation. It does, however, resemble other Gorn ships seen in remastered episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series." What makes it most intriguing is that its presence as a "friendly" ship suggests that by the late 24th century, the Gorn — a bloodthirsty reptilian race seen on "TOS" and "Strange New Worlds" — may now be Federation allies.

Who saw this one coming? Face it, no Trekkie was expecting an appearance from the USS Enterprise in "Star Trek: Prodigy." 

Sure, it doesn't feature prominently in the episode, and is not really called out (one has to pause to check the registry number), yet the appearance of the Sovereign-class starship warrants closer examination to see if the "Enterprise" name can be spotted. It cannot, however, the unmistakable "NCC 1701-E" can be seen prominently on the ship's nacelles, an unlikely mistake by the animators (even if they did mistakenly botch a shot, mixing it up with the USS Sovereign at one point).

For those wondering, at this point in continuity, the Enterprise-E is no longer under the command of Jean-Luc Picard, who is said to have been promoted to admiral a few years prior, mentioned in "Star Trek: Picard." Officially, it's never said who took the captain's chair after his departure; it could have been Worf, as it was in the expanded universe of novels, comic books, and video games. Perhaps with the return of the Son of Mogh in Season 3 of "Picard," fans will finally get an answer.

As for the fate of the ship itself, it's seen taking heavy damage in the battle, but could still be salvageable. Then again, it could be damaged beyond repair, which could explain the introduction of the Enterprise-F, as glimpsed in the trailer for the next season of "Star Trek: Picard."

There are a handful of "Star Trek" characters that have their own catchphrases, from Captain Picard's "make it so" to Dr. McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a [insert other occupation here]." In "Prodigy," Dal's catchy command is "Go fast," but in the series finale "Supernova, Part 2," Tellarite engineer Jankom Pog gets into the spirit, and in doing so harkens back to a line that fans will remember from classic Enterprise engineer Scotty. 

While in the heat of battle, Dal order Jankom to get things running again, asking for a progress report. Jankom replies that everything is just about ready, calling himself a "miracle worker." As fans know, Scotty was the franchise's most famous miracle worker, often referred to as such — even by himself — in regards to his ability to get just about any broken-down system back online. As fans would later learn in an episode of "The Next Generation," his reputation as a miracle worker was derived from overstating the required repair times when giving reports to the captain.

Arguably the best Eager egg in the entire first season of "Star Trek: Prodigy" is a big one, and it ties together multiple "Trek" projects. 

Not only does the moment re-introduce fans to "Star Trek: Voyager" star Kathryn Janeway, but it also slyly introduces the next USS Voyager. In a blink-and-miss-it moment in "Supernova, Part II," a pair of next generation Starfleet shuttles are seen in San Francisco Bay, and the registry is visible as NCC-74656-A. 

As fans will recognize, this numbering is familiar as that of Janeway's old ship, USS Voyager, which boasted the registry NCC-74656. The addition of the "A" suggests that the original starship was either destroyed or decommissioned, and a new vessel, the Voyager-A, has supplanted it in the fleet. We also know from Season 3 of "Star Trek: Discovery" that in the far future there is a USS Voyager-J, so it would seem that the first in the lettered line of successors to Janeway's great ship is already in service. In fact, viewers may see it sooner than later, as Admiral Janeway teases that Dal and his crew won't be serving on another Protostar-type starship next season, saying she has "a much bigger plan" for them.

So, what happened to Janeway's original Voyager? It very well could have been retired after returning to the Alpha Quadrant following the finale of "Star Trek: Voyager." Considering all the Delta Quadrant technology it had added during the show's run — from slipstream drive to Borg nanotech — Starfleet may very well have wanted to strip it for parts.