At the end of the first season of “Prodigy”, Dal and his friends managed to return to Federation space and meet the real Admiral Janeway face to face. This was after a time travel crisis had been averted, a battle had been fought, and the Protostar had been destroyed. Janeway, however, was impressed that a diverse group of teenagers, taught only by a hologram, could not only learn to fly the ship, but also to operate it responsibly. They were offered the chance to join Starfleet Academy, and Janeway was preparing to take command of a brand new ship, Voyager-A.
Voyager-A will serve as the central setting for the second season of “Prodigy.” In fact, even though Janeway is an admiral, she is still allowed to take command and lead the new ship on its first mission. She jokes, “I promised Admiral Picard I wouldn’t lose this one in the Delta Quadrant.”
Voyager-A is a science vessel just like its original namesake, with a cetacean operations department and two fully functioning schools. It is also a much larger ship than the original “Voyager”, with 29 decks (the original only had 15) and a crew of over 800 (Voyager only had 141), and can travel much faster. We also see that there are many Starfleet cadets aboard, including the infamous Nova Squadron, implying that Voyager-A is intended to be an educational vessel.
This is the kind of legacy stuff Trekkies love. We’re not back aboard the old USS Voyager, but the next step in its evolution. As explained in both “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and “Star Trek: Picard,” the original Voyager is mothballed in a museum. The adventures of a new Voyager are exciting to contemplate. This is progress, not (entirely) nostalgia.
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