Star Trek: 10 Classified Starfleet Secrets
While exploring space, Starfleet has made a number of discoveries too dangerous to be made public.
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00:00 In Trek, Starfleet constantly encounters dangerous new technologies, phenomena, and alien societies.
00:06 Despite this, they are actually surprisingly transparent with their knowledge.
00:10 Students at Starfleet Academy, for example, learn about the adventures of Kirk's Enterprise
00:14 and the many Earth-shattering discoveries they made with little censorship.
00:18 However, Starfleet, like pretty much every other organization, has some secrets that
00:22 they wish to keep hidden.
00:24 Tech too potentially dangerous to be shared, crimes that Starfleet committed in the past,
00:28 entire worlds forbidden to visit, and many more classified pieces of information exist,
00:33 known only to the highest-ranking officers in the fleet and the CIA-inspired secret organization,
00:39 Section 31.
00:41 Section 31 itself, since its conception, has retreated further and further into the shadows,
00:46 until they were virtually forgotten by everyone by the 24th century.
00:50 Clearly, Starfleet has a skill of hiding what they don't want to be known.
00:54 And so, with that in mind, then, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here with 10 Classified
00:59 Starfleet Secrets.
01:01 10.
01:02 Yore
01:03 When Discovery's crew traveled to the 32nd century in Star Trek Discovery's third season,
01:07 the mirror universe version of Philippa Georgiou started having flashbacks, losing control
01:12 of her mind, and physically glitching at random intervals, and no one on the ship could figure
01:17 out what was wrong.
01:18 The Discovery crew took this information to Dr. Kovic, who accessed and showed Dr. Koba
01:22 the classified file of the alien known as Yore.
01:26 Yore was a Starfleet officer and time soldier who, in 2379, traveled both to the future
01:31 and to the prime universe from another dimension.
01:33 Kovic revealed that his journey to both a different time and a different universe, just
01:37 as Georgiou had done, caused him to slowly and painfully die as his molecules drifted
01:42 further away from the time and place they were meant to be.
01:45 Interestingly, it's heavily implied that the universe Yore originated from was the rebooted
01:49 timeline from the new Star Trek movies.
01:52 Kovic stated that his reality was created by a Romulan mining ship.
01:56 Fans assumed that he was referring to the Narada, Nero's ship from the 2009 film Star
02:01 Trek.
02:02 9.
02:03 The technology of the Genesis device
02:06 The development of the Genesis device started off with good intentions.
02:09 The device created by Dr. Carol Marcus was the most sophisticated terraforming technology
02:15 in the Federation.
02:16 But after Khan stole it and detonated it aboard the USS Reliant, the technology's destructive
02:21 capability was exposed, which made Project Genesis a huge controversy across the Quadrant.
02:27 All of the science behind the Genesis device was classified by Starfleet.
02:31 This, mixed with the drama surrounding Khan, made many neighbors of the Federation, such
02:34 as the Klingons, very nervous.
02:36 Ultimately, these fears died down because the tech was soon found to be unstable and
02:40 the project was scrapped.
02:42 So although almost everyone in the Quadrant had heard about the Genesis device in the
02:45 23rd century, the actual science behind it was known to only a few individuals.
02:51 It's likely that either Starfleet or Section 31 still keep records of the tech, and many
02:56 other alien species have probably tried to recreate it, but we have so far never seen
03:00 this on screen.
03:02 8.
03:03 Dangerous Borg files
03:04 In the iconic two-part Voyager episode "Scorpion," the crew entered Borg space for the first
03:10 time.
03:11 Prior to this moment, no Federation ship had ever gone so deep inside the Borg's home territory,
03:15 so Janeway tried to prepare by reviewing every file on the Borg she could find, including
03:20 classified information likely only available to captains.
03:24 It's a quick shot that's easy to miss, but near the beginning of the episode, when Janeway
03:28 is doing research on the computer in her ready room, you can see that the Borg files she's
03:33 reading are, in fact, classified.
03:36 This might seem like a minor detail, but it actually tells us a lot.
03:39 Most people in the Federation have heard of the Borg, so it's likely the classified information
03:43 pertains to Borg technology, such as nanoprobes and electronic mind control, which could have
03:48 been studied from salvaged Borg drones and ships.
03:51 It makes sense that Starfleet would know a great deal about the tech simply from examining
03:55 it, but they definitely wouldn't want the Klingons or Romulans to be able to access
03:59 it.
04:00 7.
04:01 The Paxons
04:02 In the Next Generation episode "Clues," the Enterprise-D inadvertently stumbled into the
04:07 home system of the Paxons, but everyone other than Data had the memory of their encounter
04:12 erased.
04:13 The Paxons are a highly xenophobic species.
04:15 They hate outsiders so much that they conceal their homeworld with an energy field that
04:19 stuns the crew of approaching alien ships, rendering them unconscious until they leave
04:23 the system.
04:24 The field also tricks sensors into detecting a fake wormhole so when the crew awakens,
04:29 they assume that the journey through the wormhole was the cause of their unconsciousness and
04:32 spontaneous jumping across light years.
04:35 Unfortunately for the Paxons, Data, as an android, was immune to the effects of the
04:39 energy field.
04:40 At first, Data was able to revive the crew, but in order to escape certain destruction
04:44 and appease the Paxons, Picard had to allow them to erase the crew's memories.
04:49 He ordered Data to never reveal the existence of the Paxons, but clues were left behind
04:53 that led Picard to uncover Data's secret.
04:55 The Paxons agreed to give them a second chance and once again erased their memories, this
04:59 time taking special care to remove any residual clues.
05:03 Data presumably kept the existence of the Paxons secret for the rest of his life.
05:08 6.
05:09 Discovery and the Spore Drive
05:11 After its sister ship, the USS Glenn, was destroyed, Discovery became Starfleet's only
05:15 ship equipped with a displacement-activated Spore Hub Drive.
05:18 This unique technology is the fastest and most advanced method of travel ever seen on
05:23 screen.
05:24 The ship can access a universe-wide network of mycelium to instantaneously move across
05:28 the galaxy.
05:29 The tech was highly classified and was even developed with the involvement of Section
05:33 31.
05:34 Although the Klingons were aware Discovery could appear out of nowhere, they had no idea
05:39 how the Spore Drive functioned.
05:41 After Discovery and its crew were transported to the future following the battle with the
05:45 Artificial Intelligence Control, Spock recommended to Starfleet that Discovery should be reported
05:50 as destroyed and keep classified all information regarding the Spore Drive and Control.
05:55 Clearly, they listened to his advice, as Starfleet never used Spore Drive tech again until Discovery
06:00 returned in the 32nd century.
06:03 When they got to the future, the Spore Drive was instrumental in protecting what remained
06:07 of the Federation and solving the mystery of the Burn.
06:10 5.
06:11 The Morphogenic Virus
06:13 One of the more abhorrent acts ever committed by Section 31 was their creation and deployment
06:18 of the Morphogenic Virus.
06:21 Section 31, realizing that the Federation's hopes of winning the Dominion War were dwindling,
06:26 intentionally infected Odo with the virus during a medical examination.
06:30 The top-secret Morphogenic Virus was specially designed to kill Changelings, the leaders
06:34 of the Dominion.
06:35 They hoped that Odo, when linking with other Changelings, would pass it on to the whole
06:39 population.
06:40 Odo was never meant to develop symptoms, but when he began to, Dr. Bashir did some digging
06:45 and exposed the Section 31 plan.
06:47 Using some fancy tech, Bashir was able to enter the mind of the Section 31 agent, Luthor
06:52 Sloan, to extract the cure, saving the Changelings, including Odo, and improving the relationship
06:58 between the Dominion and the Federation.
07:01 Many in the Federation opposed giving away the cure to save their enemies, but this act
07:04 of mercy was instrumental in ending the Dominion War.
07:08 4.
07:09 The Pegasus
07:10 In Star Trek Discoveries' third season, the ship received a number of tech upgrades from
07:14 the future.
07:15 One of these upgrades was a cloaking device, which surprised audiences because for most
07:19 of Starfleet's history, the organization was banned from developing any sort of cloaking
07:24 technology.
07:25 The ban was one of the requirements of the Treaty of Algeron, which also reinforced and
07:29 redefined the Romulan Neutral Zone, and greatly improved the Federation's relationship with
07:34 the Romulan Empire.
07:36 The treaty brought peace to the Alpha Quadrant, but delayed the advancement of cloaking technology
07:40 for centuries.
07:42 Many in Starfleet were apparently rather displeased with this arrangement, as we learn in the
07:46 Next Generation episode "Pegasus" that the organization illegally developed and tested
07:51 a secret cloaking ship, the USS Pegasus.
07:54 The Pegasus was equipped with a phase cloaking device, a unique type of cloaking tech that
07:58 shifted the vessel out of phase with normal space, rendering it not only invincible but
08:03 also presumably indestructible.
08:05 After an accident, the Pegasus was thought to be destroyed, but it was actually drifting
08:09 through space in its cloaked state, before materializing later inside a solid asteroid.
08:14 In the episode, the Enterprise D crew was ordered to retrieve or destroy the wreckage
08:18 before the Romulans found it, but when Picard learned the truth of the phase cloaking device,
08:23 he made the information public.
08:25 3.
08:26 The Mirror Universe visitors from Discovery
08:29 At the end of the first season of Star Trek Discovery, the ship and its crew were transported
08:33 to the Mirror Universe, the edgy, authoritarian reality first appearing in the original series'
08:38 episode "Mirror, Mirror."
08:40 Eventually, Captain Gabriel Lorca was revealed to be a Mirror Universe imposter trying to
08:44 use Discovery to get revenge on the Empress of the Terran Empire, the Mirror counterpart
08:49 of Michael Burnham's deceased former captain, Philippa Georgiou.
08:52 In the end, Lorca was killed and Georgiou was brought back to the Prime Universe against
08:56 her will, where she assisted Discovery in ending the Klingon War, then later started
09:01 working for Section 31.
09:03 Despite Discovery's first season taking place before the original series, when Kirk's Enterprise
09:07 encountered the Mirror Universe in "Mirror, Mirror," they had never heard about it before.
09:12 This is because Discovery's interactions with the Mirror Universe were classified on a need-to-know
09:16 basis.
09:17 Only high-ranking officers like Captain Pike were briefed on the Mirror Universe, Lorca's
09:22 origins, and the true identity of the new Georgiou.
09:25 When interacting with average people, Georgiou played the role of her Prime counterpart,
09:29 noting that she somehow survived her supposed death.
09:32 2.
09:33 The Secret of Talos IV
09:35 The true nature of Talos IV was a secret so guarded by Starfleet that revealing it was,
09:40 during the original series, the only crime with a death penalty.
09:43 Talos IV was the planet visited by Captain Pike and the old Enterprise crew in the original
09:47 series pilot episode "The Cage."
09:50 The world was home to the Talosians, whose technological illusions were so powerful that
09:54 they could allow extremely injured or dying people to live comfortably again.
09:58 Spock commandeered the Enterprise in the two-parter episode "The Menagerie" in order to free his
10:03 former captain, Pike, from his wheelchair.
10:05 The law forbidding travel to Talos IV was known as General Order 7, and as mentioned
10:10 earlier, had a punishment of death.
10:12 But Spock was able to protect his crew by seizing control of the ship single-handedly,
10:16 risking only his own life.
10:18 In the end, Starfleet made an exception to General Order 7 and allowed Spock to go unpunished,
10:23 but the law likely remained in place afterwards at least for a few decades.
10:28 Starfleet feared what would happen to both the Federation and the Talosians if the public
10:32 were to learn of the incredible powers found on Talos IV.
10:35 1.
10:36 The Omega Directive
10:38 In the late 23rd century, a Federation scientist named Keterat made a very dangerous discovery
10:44 - the Omega Molecule.
10:45 Keterat created an Omega Molecule using boronite ore, but lacking proper containment, the molecule
10:51 became unstable and exploded, killing everyone aboard their secret research base and devastating
10:56 the Lantaru Sector.
10:58 The worst effect of the explosion was the destruction of subspace, which rendered warp
11:01 travel and subspace communications impossible across light-years of space.
11:06 Starfleet determined that Omega was too dangerous to be allowed to exist, as a few mere particles
11:11 were thought to be enough to destroy subspace across an entire quadrant.
11:14 All information regarding them was classified, and only Starfleet captains and flag officers
11:18 were briefed on its existence for the sole purpose of destroying it at any cost should
11:23 any molecules be detected.
11:25 Keterat encountered a large number of Omega Molecules in the episode "The Omega Directive."
11:29 Alone in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway was forced to inform the crew about Omega, and with the
11:33 help of Seven of Nine, successfully destroyed the molecules, damaging only a small area
11:38 of space.
11:39 And that concludes our list.
11:41 If you can think of any that we missed, then do let us know in the comments below.
11:44 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:48 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there @TrekCulture, and I can be found across various
11:52 social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:55 I've been Ellie with Trek Culture, I hope you have a wonderful day, and remember to
11:59 boldly go where no one has gone before.