This year’s Star Trek Annual is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, drawn by Rachael Stott, colored by Charlie Kirchoff and lettered by Clayton Cowles. Thanks to a glitch in the USS Theseus’ holographic systems, the holograms gain sentience. These newly-sentient holograms attempt to communicate with the crew of the Theseus, taking on the forms of past and present Starfleet officers. Data and T’Lir find themselves in a replica of the USS Discovery’s engine room, along with a replica of Paul Stamets, the ship’s engineer. He is puzzled by his surroundings; he searches through his memories, but can find no mention of Discovery, the spore drive or Stamets. The holographic Stamets tells Data not to bother searching, as it is “above his pay grade.”
Is The Discovery A Starfleet Secret?
Stamets is alluding to the disappearance of the ship at the end of Discovery’s second season. Premiering in 2017, Star Trek: Discovery helped usher the franchise into the era of “Peak TV.” Discovery was vastly different from other Starfleet vessels: it used a unique propulsion method called the “spore drive.” Created by Paul Stamets, the spore drive tapped into the universe’s mycelium network, which allowed for almost instantaneous transport anywhere in the cosmos. It was top-secret even in the 23rd century, and Discovery was the only vessel equipped with it. The ship was sent forward in time in the season two finale, to the 32nd century–where it remains as of season four. Clearly the ship was declared missing–and now readers see its tragic legacy.
