We've seen many destroyed Civilizations in the Star Trek universe, so when we’re Introduced to the Vau N’Akat in Star Trek: Prodigy, we’re immediately interested in the story behind them,
and why they’re a central part of the brand new series.
Welcome to Trek Central! I’m your host, _Captain Jack_, and let’s get into it!
With Star Trek Prodigy gracing our screens, some of our screens with yet no international distribution,
we decided we would talk about the Vau N’Akat (Vow Nah-Ah-Kat), and new species created for the show which has definitely piqued our interest, from the fact there only seems to be a few of them left.
As always there will be spoilers for the new show Star Trek Prodigy up to episode 1 Lost and Found, so if you don't want to be spoiled this is your warning.
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Ok, let's engage!
The Vau N’Akat are a nearly extinct species and seem to have resided within the Delta Quadrant.
There are only a couple of survivors with the Diviner, who is actually called “Solum”
Okay, since we recorded this video, there has been some clarification on "The Diviners" actual name...
One of Prodigy's producers, Aaron J Waltke, came out and provided clarification.
He said this...
Since there's some confusion around this line, Gwyn's farther is known as The Diviner, not Solum.
"Progeny of Solum" is more of an honorific title from there former homeworld.
So there you go, some clarification on The Diviner's name.
and his daughter Gwyn.
These two were seen in control of Tars Lemora, a prison colony asteroid which utilised slave labour captured by Kazon slavers in the Delta quadrant.
The prison colony mined Chimerium (Ki-Meer-Ee-Um), a mineral which originated in Star Trek Books, with notable trek author David Mack being a consultant on the show.
This mineral blocked sensors and Transporter signals, but this seemed to be a front, as the actual treasure being mined for was an abandoned Starfleet ship,
the USS protostar.
The fact the Protostar was in a place where it couldn’t be detected, is fascinating and we may do a future video on this!
So the Diviner knew about the USS protostar and that it was hidden here on Tars Lemora.
The Diviner couldn’t have simply detected the ship in the asteroid as Chimerium would block that, and if he knew exactly where it was he probably would have it by now, so this means he would have knowledge about this ever so mysterious starship, and potentially it’s Origins!
It is also interesting that the Diviner specifically knows about the Federation
saying that he does not want the influence of the Federation to corrupt his daughter.
From this we can assume that the Diviner views negatively on the Federation and might help to explain why these two are the last of the Vau N’Akat.
So if we are in the Delta quadrant the only Federation and Starfleet ship that could have affected the Vau N’Akat is the USS Voyager.
Before you leap to the comments to say we are wrong, and that it could also have been the USS Equinox that was also in the Delta Quadrant, we know and will address that later in this video.
But going back to Voyager, how could they have caused a Civilization to be destroyed either indirectly or directly.
well we'll have to look at the series Star Trek Voyager where there are examples of this.
The prime example of the USS Voyager inadvertently destroying a civilization is with species 116.
Species 116 resided close to Borg space and was able to resist the Borg for centuries with their advanced technology from transwarp drives to particle synthesis,
a more advanced form of holograms, which can create artificial environments yet upon scanning will look real whereas holograms would not.
Species 116 however would not continue to resist the Borg successfully,
as after the Borg were successful in defeating Species 8472 with the help of the USS Voyager who made an agreement with the Borg Collective,
the Borg without this distraction set their sight on species 116 and overwhelmed them. Destroying their civilization and leaving only a couple of thousand survivors.
Artorius was one such survivor of species 116, who blames Voyager for having partly assisted the Borg to wipe out his home and his people,
so he stalked Voyager for months and managed to a fake a Starfleet message and leave a trojan horse in their path which looked like an advanced Starfleet ship sent for the USS Voyager crew to take them home.
However this was a trap and the ship was actually Artorius’, using particle synthesis to simply look like a Starfleet ship, with its actual destination Borg space where Artorius would get his revenge by getting the Voyager’s crew assimilated by the Borg.
However this backfired and the Voyager crew were able to escape and Artorius and his ship were sent into the jaws of the Borg where they would presumably have been assimilated.
So could this have been a similar situation with the Vau N’Akat,
where the Borg were the ones who wiped out their civilization, and they blame the USS Voyager for this just like Artorius and species 116.
This would explain why the Diviner believes the Federation to be bad and why he wants the USS Protostar with its advanced technology,
where he would be able to enact a plan of revenge against Starfleet and the Federation.
However, that might not be the only reason why the Vau N’Akat civilisation was destroyed and also not the only thing that Voyager may have done in the Delta quadrant to cause this.
Another possible reason is the Vaadwaur from Voyagers episode “Dragon's Teeth”.
This species used to be a terror on the Delta quadrant possessing subspace corridors, called the “underspace” which they would use to advance their domain, and at one point subjected thousands of worlds.
However they were pushed back by a collective of factions, mostly of species they had subjugated, and forced back to their home planet where they stayed in stasis.
Unknowingly to the crew of the USS Voyager they awoke these sleeping Giants, and brought them back from near Extinction where they could terrorize their region of space again.
With the Vaadwaur back they could have regained their former territory. It is even said at the end of the episode dragons' teeth that they may have changed the Delta Quadrant for the worse, and face these ancient aggressors again.
This could be another reason why the Diviner believes Starfleet to be evil, as the Vau N’Akat could have been destroyed by the resurgence of the Vaadwaur and would help differentiate this situation from species 116 and not be a simple repeat of their destroyed civilization by the Borg.
These seem to be the most likely explanations for how Voyager might be responsible for the destruction of the Vau N’Akat,
but it could be an entirely new premise from an event we did not see, to even the smallest of things.
Voyager might not have been responsible, since we also saw a Probe from Earth having accidentally caused nuclear winter to a planet.
But finally lets just talk about the Vau N’Akat and what we know about them as people so far,
and also some leaked casting for Star Trek: Prodigy which might come true, though don’t worry we will give you a spoiler warning when we get to that point.
So the Diviner has some quite advanced robotics under his employ, with Drednok and his watchers.
Drednok is very impressive, being able to create massive phaser beams from his arm to devastating effect.
So the Vau N’Akat are technologically advanced, with this and also being able to construct a planetary shield around the Tars Lemora Prison colony in order to give it a breathable atmosphere.
The Vau N’Akat themselves also seem to have certain gifts, as we see the Diviner and Gwyns faces light up when they talk to each other,
which could be some form of telepathy between their species or something else, but we also see this when Gwyn’s makes her coral like a sword.
This sword is created from the armlet around Gwyn’s arm so the Vau N’akat could also possess the ability to shape metal, or whatever this might be.
Gwyn herself is very capable at speaking multiple languages.
Whether this is a species trait or simply just goes to show how good Gwyn is at comprehending languages is unknown.
Hoshi Sato from Star Trek Enterprise is also a language prodigy, so it could simply be an individual thing.
Now finally, let's talk about the leaked casting. Spoilers ahead for some leaked casting which might spoil aspects of future episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy. You have been warned so watch at your own risk.
Back in December of 2020, the website Illuminerdi reported on some casting of Starfleet characters for Star Trek: Prodigy.
Some of these recently were confirmed, with the news that Chakotay was returning to the show, alongside some others.
The Article was the first to mention a Doctor Noum, a Tellarite in his 30s, which was recently confirmed with Jason Alexander voicing Doctor Noum, who is a Tellarite.
So the character from this leaked casting which is the most interesting is Vezria.
The description for her states that she’s in her 30s and hunting for the missing ship by pretending to be an Ensign in Starfleet.
She’s very intelligent and is skilled at manipulating people. She’s determined to get revenge for her people and destroy the Federation.
But it is also described that she “disguising her true Vau N’Akat form”.
Obviously casting names change when the show enters production, so I could see this Vezria become Ascenia, who was announced as a Trill ensign being played by Jameela Jamil.
Of course we would then need to get reasoning for how a Vau N’Akat could be hiding in Starfleet,
if they were in the Delta Quadrant but I am sure that, as well as why we have so many Alpha Quadrant species, will be answered as the show goes on.
So she could be another survivor of the Vau N’Akat, and take it in her own hands to get revenge. And with the character description explicitly stating “revenge against the Federation” I think our idea that Voyager inadvertently caused the destruction of the Vau N’Akat holds weight.
But that is all for that video, do you believe Voyager might have inadvertently destroyed the Vau N’Akat, or maybe was it the USS Equinox? Let us know your theories in the comments below.
I think it’s really interesting how The Diviner wants to strike back at The Federation, likely using the USS Protostar.
The ship is very advanced from our first impression of it, and we do know that it has some sort of advanced FTL engine,
which is likely a transwarp drive, meaning it could reach the Alpha Quadrant a lot faster than the USS Voyager would have eventually done.
Looking back, Starfleet ships had the potential to really shift the balance of power in the Delta Quadrant.
This was explored in Star Trek: Voyager’s early seasons with how the Kazon Sects wanted Voyager for it’s advanced technology.
The Kazon Nistrim Sect, with the help of Seska, eventually captured Voyager, but lost it quickly. Well done guys!
What I am saying is if The Diviner aka Solum, is wanting revenge for his people, then using an advanced Starfleet Starship like the USS Protostar,
filled with advanced technology, is one of the best ways to do it. After all, he does seem to have a direct attachment to the vessel, which is made clear via this clip… Roll it Troy!
Let us know your thoughts down below in the comment section! Once again, if you’re talking about Star Trek: Then we want to hear about it!
You can catch Star Trek: Prodigy each week on Thursdays via Paramount+ or CTV Sci-Fi / Crave for Canadian viewers.
If you want to keep up to date on all the latest Star Trek news, lore and more, then make sure to hit that subscribe button to never miss a video from the team here at Trek Central! You can also follow us on social media, or join our Community Discord Server!
For now, I’ve been Captain Jack, thanks for watching and we’ll see you next time! Live Long and prosper my friends!