Characters / Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Characters in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

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Crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Captain Christopher Pike

Captain Christopher Pike

Portrayed By: Anson Mount

"Our mission? We explore. We seek out new life and new civilizations. We boldly go where no one has gone before."

The most heavily decorated fighting Captain in Starfleet in the 2250s, Christopher Pike became the second Captain of the Enterprise in 2250. Pike's first five-year mission in command of the Enterprise culminated in the Battle of Xahea in 2258. After taking some time off to heal, Pike returns to Starfleet to command the Enterprise on another five-year mission.

For tropes relating to his appearances in the Original Series and in Discovery, see here and here.

For tropes relating to his appearances in the Kelvin Timeline, see here.

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: In "Spock Amok", alien dignitaries visit with the intent of joining the Federation, but they keep changing negotiation tactics. After some time, Pike barges into the final conference expressing reasons why they shouldn't join the Federation — and they join. Turns out, Pike figured out the reason they kept changing their tactics was because they wanted to approach things from their partner's perspective, and they were hoping someone would see things from theirs.
• Beard of Sorrow: Grows one during his 10-Minute Retirement from Starfleet. He shaves it off after he returns to the Enterprise.
• Becoming the Mask: Despite being deeply hurt by the revelation of his future, Pike is determined not to let it impact his command style. Except for a handful of close confidants, he is determined to be the man he always was.
• Big Good:
  • As captain of Starfleet's flagship and a highly-idealized officer in the Federation at large, Pike is widely beloved by his crew, and given a lot more leeway by his superiors than most other officers would be.
  • Una mentions that his own personnel file refers to him as a "Boy Scout" due to his heroic streak.
• Body Horror: His future, crippled self is covered in thermal and radiation burns as a result of the training accident.
• Butt-Monkey: In "Charades", he winds up being the unlucky sap caught in the middle of a traditional Vulcan marriage ceremony involving Spock's less-than-pleasant future mother-in-law, Spock having been turned human, and Amanda Grayson giving Pike no say in the matter.
• Chef of Iron: Having already been established as a decorated fighting captain (albeit of the Reluctant Warrior type), he also hosts a home-cooked meal for his officers.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Pike's fundamental decency, idealism and compulsion to help is what makes him great at his job, but if he had been in charge during "Balance of Terror" those qualities would have had disastrous consequences.
• Commitment Issues: According to Una, Pike has a habit of breaking off relationships if they get too serious. He does so with Batel, but when his love for her persists when he temporarily loses his memories and helps him focus on regaining said memories, he apologizes and the two give themselves another chance. He almost blows this again a few episodes later when he lies about not being able to take a vacation to somewhere he personally doesn't want to go, and only gets exposed because the entire crew is being forced to sing about their feelings thanks to a spacial anomaly.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Whereas the franchise loves this trope, Pike is in many ways an aversion. This makes sense in two ways. For one, Pike as a character in The Cage is essentially a first draft of the character that would become James T. Kirk, and as such similarities between the two are intended. Many of Pike's interests and traits call back to previous Trek leads^note His love of cooking mirrors Sisko. He enjoys riding horses like Picard, etc.... Second, this befits the show's Revisiting the Roots status by serving an audience a character that calls back to those other shows the series is purposefully calling back to.
  • This winds up being put front and center in "A Quality of Mercy". When Pike sees a future where he avoids his accident, his actions wind up restarting the war between Earth and Romulus — all because they perceived his diplomatic attempts as a sign of weakness. Contrast this to Kirk, who suggests Pike take a more aggressive action to get them to back off, and whose actions as they actually played out in "Balance of Terror" convince the Romulans to back off precisely because they can and will fight. Pike comes to the conclusion that, though he may disagree with Kirk's philosophies on a personal level, he's a better man for the job precisely because of his more aggressive approach.
  • As of Strange New Worlds' second season^note Aired two months after Picard's final episode, Pike also differs to Captain Liam Shaw from Star Trek: Picard's third season, who are Reasonable Authority Figures to their crew. Shaw is a Jerkass who actually hides it under his Survivor's Guilt due to being the survivor of Wolf 359 for 35 years and (initially) has very low opinions towards the Enterprise-D crew including Picard and Riker. Pike is a Nice Guy who sees the time-displaced Cerritos crew members Boimler and Mariner as equals, but he is a Stepford Smiler (at first) who hides the truth of his vision to the future (the opposite to Shaw's past), being destined to suffer the same fate as seen in TOS. Shaw is risk-averse who doesn't want to get involved in other's risky shenanigans, while Pike is willing to risk himself for his own crew members. While Shaw sacrifices himself during the Borg takeover in Picard's third season episode Vox, Pike has to yet heroically sacrifice himself in the future. And while Shaw was a former engineer of the U.S.S. Constance before becoming the Captain of the Titan-A years later, Pike is already a decorated officer from the start. This also extends to their relationship with their first officers. In Shaw's case, he has a hatred for the Borg including the xB Seven of Nine/Annika Hansen, even insisting her to use her birth name; Pike is neither of those things towards Una, despite her being an Illyrian.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Played for Laughs, but he had a pony named "Sir-Neighs-A-Lot" when he was a child. Said horse broke its leg and had to be put down, resulting in Pike crying for a week. His future self lampshades how he never brings it up because a tragic backstory is undermined by a silly name.
  • Played Straight with his relationship with his father, whom he mentions to Boimler and Mariner as someone whose guts he sometimes hated, constantly getting into arguments with him. The elder Pike died before the two had a chance to patch things up, and Chris admits he misses him despite their fighting.
• Doomed by Canon: Despite Una's insistence that he can fight the fate he witnessed on Boreth, viewers — and perhaps Pike himself — know that he can't do anything to avoid it. No matter what, he will end up being left in that chair, unable to speak, burnt to a horrid crisp. It gets further enforced in "A Quality of Mercy", where a future version of Pike in a TWOK era-uniform warns him that any attempts to change his fate will result in a disastrous timeline— and Spock will be forced to suffer that fate in all of them.
• Facial Dialogue: Despite his usually cheerful demeanor, he's capable of some hilariously dour expressions whenever things go south. "Charades" and "Subspace Rhapsody" are the most notable examples, as he's forced to wince playing host to a very finicky family of traditionalist Vulcans in the former, while in the latter he has to deal with everyone on the ship suddenly bursting into song. Including Klingons! He also looks increasingly exasperated in "Those Old Scientists" while dealing with Boimler and Mariner.
• Fan of the Past: His home is filled with things that for 23rd century humans would be antiques: a flatscreen TV, a rotary phone, and a mortar and pestle. He's also a fan of watching The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). His home in Montana is built out of wood and stone rather than more modern materials. This is a trait he shares with many future Star Trek main characters: Picard is an avid archaeologist, his home mirrors Riker's in Star Trek: Picard, his love of cooking traditionally mirrors Sisko's, and his love of 50s scifi echoes Tom Paris'.
• Fatal Flaw: While Pike's diplomacy is an admirable skill, there are times he learns that mercy and diplomacy is not always the right solution. "A Quality of Mercy" shows that, had he stayed on as Captain of the Enterprise, his more by-the-book tactics compared to the rule-bending "cowboy diplomacy" of James T. Kirk results in a war with the Romulans that kills millions — all because they were unimpressed with his lack of backbone. To make matters worse, Spock winds up suffering the horrific fate Pike himself is destined to face, and peace with the Romulans never comes.
• The Fatalist: Because of his future premonition, he believes that he will avoid death up to that point, and shows it with affirmations that he will get through dangerous situations. One example is that, when warned that the Enterprise could be crushed by a black hole, he simply says "she'll hold" and to keep going forward.
• A Father to His Men:
  • He has a very friendly, easygoing command style, gathers casually with his bridge crew, and is shown to be on First-Name Basis with at least a few of them. He even hosts informal dinners on the ship for everyone to attend.
  • He's clearly affected by the loss of crewmembers. Especially when it stems from his own decisions. Even knowing he made the right call because it saved most of his crew, he's clearly pretty shaken over the casualties.
  • Saving those under him is how he's fated to get exposed to radiation. Part of the show has him make peace with this knowing he'll save several cadets in doing so.
  • In a much stronger sense of this, seeing that changing his fate will result in Spock suffering this instead of him leads him to fully accept that any alterations to the timeline aren't worth losing his science officer. Spock is grateful for the gesture, implying that when the time of "The Menagerie" rolls around, he repays that debt by taking Pike to Talos IV.
  • When Una is arrested by Starfleet, he tries fighting against security to save her, but she convinces him to back down lest he torpedo his own career. Still, Pike promises that "This isn't over", and nearly runs out of oxygen on an Illyrian world just to force the potential defender to hear her case. Unfortunately for him, he's forced to sit out Una's trial because Captain Batel points out that the prosecution will throw him under the bus for not disclosing Una's Illyrian heritage when he found out, and destroy his career along with hers and the entire ship's complement. Still, he makes sure not to miss a single moment of the trial, and personally leads the greeting when she's cleared.
• Future Me Scares Me: Pike's future, crippled self scares the crap out of his present-day self.
• Guile Hero: While he has no problem taking direct action as needed, Pike also shows a sly manipulative streak when direct action isn't advisable. This is prominently displayed in "The Serene Squall" wherein he manipulates the pirate crew into waging a mutiny so he can free himself and his crew. Dialogue indicates this isn't the first time he has used this tactic.
• Heroic Sacrifice: His vision on Boreth didn't just show him his Fate Worse than Death; it also showed him the cadets he's going to save. By doing so, he also spares Spock from suffering that fate in his stead.
• He's Back!: At the end of the first episode, he gets one, after snapping out of his initial depression and stepping back into command of the Enterprise.
  Pike: Let's take her out, Lieutenant Ortegas. Warp Factor 2. (takes his seat in the captain's chair and smiles) Hit it.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: At least according to the Orion pirate that kept him as a captive, our captain has a great jawline.
• The Needs of the Many: When the Enterprise is forced to hide in a brown dwarf thanks to being ambushed by the Gorn, Pike is forced to seal off the lower decks in the middle of an evacuation when the effects of said brown dwarf start breaching the hull. One crew member doesn't make it, which momentarily gives the Captain pause. Though he and Spock agree it was the right call, it doesn't make it any less easy a decision. Later, in "A Quality of Mercy", upon being shown that warning the cadets of the training accident will lead to a war with the Romulans that kills billions and leaves Spock a vegetable, Pike decides to avoid that senseless bloodshed by refusing to divulge to the future cadets the fate that awaits them.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In "A Quality of Mercy", Pike tries to warn the cadets of the fate that awaits them. Doing so spares everyone from the training accident that turns Pike into a vegetable, but the events of "Balance of Terror" play out with Pike's usual attempts at diplomacy restarting the war between Romulus and the Federation, killing billions in the process and condemning Spock to the same fate. A visit from his future self stops that from happening, as Pike accepts that subjecting his science officer to that horror — and billions to death and war — is not worth saving his own life and just two more cadets.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: His crippled future self wordlessly haunts 2250s Pike like a ghost, often framed in shadow to appear more ominous.
• Noodle Incident: Based on Una getting the meaning of Alpha Braga IV as meaning "cause a mutiny on the ship" we can assume Pike's caused at least one mutiny on an enemy vessel in the past.
• Saved by Canon: We know nothing too serious can happen to him until he suffers his disfiguring and debilitating accident several years from now, as depicted in both TOS and (as a Flash Forward) Discovery. Implicitly exploited by Pike in risk-taking, as he knows some calculated risk that would inevitably end in his death if it failed won't fail (such as his risky Black Hole slingshot maneuver while dropping an explosively destabilizing cargo article out the back as a decoy in "Memento Mori")... because he knows he has a date with Fate in that training accident. Sparing himself from it will cause a bloody war with the Romulans.
• Screw Destiny: Averted. Pike could avoid his fate, but any attempts to do so would cause the galaxy to fall apart, and Spock would pay the price no matter what.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Upon realizing that witnessing the Battle of Xahea led the Kiley aliens to develop warp technology to use as a weapon against their own people, Pike's immediate response is to ignore the Prime Directive, since Starfleet's actions were what created the situation the Kileyans are in to begin with. When Una is also revealed to be an Illyrian (a species that genetically modified themselves, which, in Trek's future, is illegal), he sticks by her side and refuses to let her quit or be punished for hiding who she was.
  Pike: Screw General Order One.
• Silver Fox: He's middle-aged with grey hair, and attracts the attention of multiple women over the course of the series.
• Stepford Smiler: He may be affable and easygoing with his crew, but when he's alone with Spock or Una, he admits how much his vision haunts him. He gets over that after the first two episodes.
• Supreme Chef: The best part of being invited to his "Get To Know The Crew" off-duty meetings in his quarters is his cooking.
• Sweet and Sour Grapes: Due to the bargain he made with fate, he is doomed to end up in that chair, unable to speak, burnt to a horrid crisp. His one attempt to fight this fate in "A Quality of Mercy", only reinforces that he has no choice as a future version of Pike in a TWOK era-uniform warns him that any attempts to change his fate will result in a disastrous timeline — and Spock will be forced to suffer that fate in all of them. However, what Pike doesn't realize, but the audience does, is that the story doesn't end there. Because Spock has a not-fully-understood sense of debt for his life after Pike vaguely described why he consigned himself to his fate, Spock will take him back to Talos IV where he will live out the rest of his life with Vina, his mind free of his damaged body, in whatever fantasy he wishes.
• Team Dad: Pike is a more laid-back version of the trope, bordering on a male Team Mom. His easygoing command style, strong rapport with the crew, and habit of cooking for everyone all give him a "Captain Cool Dad" vibe. He leans into the trope in All Those Who Wander when he jokes about "piling the kids into the station wagon" for an away mission, and even clicks his tongs at the rest of the senior staff while telling them not to make him turn the car around.

Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley

Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley

Portrayed By: Rebecca Romijn

"First contact with aliens always lives squarely in the impossible. First contact is just a dream ... until one day, it isn't."

Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley served as Captain Pike's First Officer or "Number One" on the Enterprise for a five-year mission, including the visit to Talos IV depicted in "The Cage" and "The Menagerie". In the aftermath of the Battle of Xahea, she is assigned to the U.S.S. Archer while the Enterprise undergoes a refit. Starfleet loses contact with the Archer during a first-contact mission gone wrong, prompting Captain Pike to resume command of the Enterprise to rescue her. After being successfully rescued, Commander Chin-Riley resumes her role as First Officer of the Enterprise for a second five-year mission with Captain Pike.

For tropes relating to her appearances in the Original Series and Discovery, see here and here.

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• Badass in Distress: The pilot has her and several other crew from the U.S.S. Archer held captive, forcing Pike to come to her aid.
• Canon Immigrant: Complex one that can arguably be seen as Canon Welding. The novel "Vulcan's Glory", by Star Trek: The Original Series writer D.C. Fontana, established that she is an Illyrian, which wouldn't be a problem until Star Trek: Enterprise depicted Illyrians as Rubber-Forehead Aliens. "The Enterprise War" by John Jackson Miller clarified that she is a human raised in Illyrian colonies. ''Strange New Worlds' decided to mix the two together by making her an Illyrian passing for human, justified by the Illyrians being avid practitioners of genetic engineering.
• Connected All Along: She was the one who rescued La'an from the Gorn when she served as an ensign on the U.S.S. Martin Luther King, Jr., inspiring La'an to join Starfleet.
• Consummate Professional: As in her other appearances. However, she does lament that being a senior officer means she can't interact with the rest of the crew on the same level as them.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Seven of Nine/Annika Hansen from Star Trek: Picard, being that they're the non-human first officers to their human captains of the ship (Seven to Shaw and Una to Pike). Seven of Nine (formerly a human) started as a Borg drone before being liberated during Voyager, but she is an xB who doesn't hide her said past, which is a source of friction to Shaw who hates Borgs and xBs a lot. Una is a Human Alien who hides her true nature as an Illyrian, a species known for being the practitioners of genetic engineering, something that Starfleet sees as illegal and had to lie about it to others including Pike, despite her actually wanting to face the consequences of her actions. Seven was initially rejected by Starfleet when she attempted to apply due to being an xB and worked as a member of the vigilante group Fenris Rangers before Picard was able to give her a field commission. Una had to lie about her true nature as a genetically modified human to join Starfleet and was accepted, since Illyrians are legally barred from the organization, being able to join Pike's crew without the hassle until "A Quality of Mercy" where her true species is revealed, leading to Starfleet arresting her. Seven prefers to do things her own way and doesn't follow the rules, while Una follows them by-the-book.
• Custom Uniform: Una in some episodes wears a uniform that's different from the rest of the bridge crew. Hers has black on the sides and under the arms, and a higher collar with a zipper down the front (as seen on her picture above). In other episodes she wears the regular yellow tunic like Pike does. Only Uhura gets a similar black accented uniform.
• Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: Deconstructed. Trek is known for arguing that this trope is problematic in their future society, desperately trying to avoid the mistakes of Adam Soong and Khan Noonien Singh. However, this means that species like Illyrians are legally barred from joining Starfleet, and face discrimination as a result of their numerous modifications. Una reveals she lied about who she was so she could get into service, and it turns out her genetic modifications are actually the key to solving a plague that hits the Enterprise. So yes, while it can be proven as problematic, Una proves that this line of thinking can be harmful. She even notes that she can't be who she really is, and fears that Pike would not have been so supportive of her had she failed in saving the ship. Unfortunately for her, Starfleet finds out like she suspected they would and arrest her in "A Quality of Mercy". Then it turns out she turned herself in because she didn't want to hide the truth from them any longer.
• Healing Factor: A minor one. Una's Illyrian immune system allows her to survive things such as diseases and radiation poisoning, but physical wounds, such as the ones she suffers in "Memento Mori" are unable to be healed on her own.
• Honor Before Reason: After she's arrested by Starfleet for lying about her species, she pleads with Captain Pike not to try and fight on her behalf, wanting to face the consequences for her actions. It gets doubled when it's revealed she leaked out her own deceit despite successfully hiding it for so long.
• Human Alien: "Ghosts of Illyria" reveals that Una is actually an Illyrian, a species from a planet located somewhere in the Delphic Expanse that uses genetic engineering to adapt their bodies to alien environments as an alternative to terraforming. Curiously, they didn't look human back in Star Trek: Enterprise, though it's hardly out of the question that Una could be physically modified to resemble one. It is unknown why she has a human name, though a likely explanation is that it's an alias used to better pass herself off as human so that she could join Starfleet.
  • The episode in question shows various Illyrian children with various genetic modifications, showcasing that depending on the world they called home, Illyrians appearance can vary in a variety of ways.
• Ideal Illness Immunity: As part of her augmentations, her immune system quickly reacts to any hazard and neutralizes it instantly. This not only includes disease, but hazards like radiation.
• Legendary in the Sequel: By the time of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Una is used on Starfleet Recruitment Posters, having inspired Boimler to join the organization and keep a copy of said poster in his bunk. As an Actor Allusion, Commander Ransom (who's actor is married to Una's in real life) finds her hot.
• Loophole Abuse: She's able to stay in Starfleet when it's successfully argued that she technically requested asylum with the group, meeting all three qualifications to do so.
• Named in the Sequel: Or Prequel in this case. In Star Trek: The Original Series, the chronological sequel to Strange New Worlds, Una is only referred to as "Number One" without a surname at all, where her name is a Latin word for "one", which serves as her duties as Pike's First Officer. But she is fully named as Una Chin-Riley here in this show.
• No Transhumanism Allowed: Because of the long-standing stigma the Federation has regarding genetic engineering, Una had to keep the fact she was an Illyrian to herself when she joined Starfleet. When her secret was finally revealed, she expresses her fear in her log that Captain Pike and others who know what she really is are only willing to accept and defend her because she was, in her words, "one of the good ones". She winds up getting arrested for keeping this secret, but she knew it was coming—not least because she turned herself in. However, Pike helps her get cleared of all charges.
• Punny Name: "Una" is the feminine form of the Latin word for "one," unus, and she is referred to as Pike's "Number One". It doubles as a Mythology Gag as the character had only ever been known as "Number One" since TOS. Turns out it is, in a way, her name.
• Super-Strength: In addition to her robust and vigilant immune system, Una's augmentations include this. She is able to heft an unconscious crewmate over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes without much exertion (conspicuously noted by Nurse Chapel), and is able to handily trounce La'an Noonien-Singh, who herself is descended from augments and well-versed in hand-to-hand fighting, through direct opposition of Singh's exertions and simply tossing Singh away without much visible effort.
• Transhuman: As explained in Human Alien, Una is a member of a genetically engineered species, as revealed in "Ghosts of Illyria" when she carried an unconscious Hemmer over her shoulder like he weighed nothing. A cure synthesised from her bioengineered immune system is also what saved the crew from the light-based infection that was making them sick. It doesn't stop the Federation from arresting her, nor them willing to sentence her to twenty years in a penal colony on top of a dishonorable discharge.

Doctor Joseph M'Benga

Doctor Joseph M'Benga

Portrayed By: Babs Olusanmokun

The Chief Medical Officer on the Enterprise, and an old friend of Captain Pike's, M'Benga is a veteran of the Federation-Klingon War.

For tropes relating to him on the Original Series, see here.

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• Adaptational Name Change: Kind of. Several novels use the first name "Jabilo" for the character, but unlike Nyota Uhura or Hikaru Sulu, the name was never approved by the actor or producers, nor did it reach a point where it was used exclusively or universally agreed upon by fans. A script from the TOS-era that was never produced gives Joseph as his name instead. As of "The Elysian Kingdom" the latter name has been canonized.
• Ambiguous Innocence: In "Under The Cloak of War", he kills Dak'Rah in a fight, but though he insists he wasn't responsible for starting things, the framing of the fight makes it hard to tell if he really is telling the truth, or that he and Chapel lied about what really happened because they hated what Dak'Rah had done at J'Gal and wanted to see him punished.
• Ascended Extra: M'Benga was one of Enterprise's doctors on Original Series, but only appeared in two episodes and was often overshadowed by Dr. "Bones" McCoy. Strange New Worlds has him as the Chief Medical Officer, and someone who is apparently close enough with Captain Pike to receive a Man Hug from the latter after not seeing each other for a few months.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's one of the kindest, gentlest members of the Enterprise crew, but he's also a veteran, is not to be trifled with in hand-to-hand combat and he does NOT believe in Thou Shalt Not Kill.
• Broken Bird: Season 2 goes into his time serving in the war between the Federation and the Klingons. He still suffers severe PTSD and has a bit of a cynical streak from his experiences in battle.
• Call-Back: He's able to recognize Spock's body language as annoyed, referencing his time interning on Vulcan mentioned on TOS.
• Call-Forward: It's revealed that he has his daughter stored in the medical transporter's pattern buffer so he can prolong her life until he can find a cure for her condition. His future compatriot, Scotty, would pull off a similar trick on the Jenolan years later, implying he got the trick from M'Benga.
• The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: In "Ghosts of Illyria", it's revealed M'Benga has a young daughter who suffers from cygnokemia, and despite being a dedicated and skilled doctor, he has so far been unable to find a cure.
• Combat Medic:
  • When trapped on a self-constructed Federation Starship as part of a False Flag Operation by The Broken Circle, he and Nurse Chapel take a Super Serum that enhances their combat skills. They go up against a decent-sized compliment of Klingons and win, even when the stimulant is close to wearing off.
  • On a mission where they cannot bring any phasers (and therefore any combat would be hand to hand), M'Benga is one of Pike's two picks for the mission, alongside La'an who is the chief of security, and Pike specifically notes that it's because of combat prowess.
  • While stationed on J'Gal during the Klingon War, he declines to return to active military service, despite being described as holding the record for confirmed hand-to-hand kills. In addition, while assisted by his "Protocol 12" serum, he killed several Klingon Elite Mooks.
• Composite Character: He takes his role (and closeness to Pike) from Dr. Boyce.
• Dark and Troubled Past: It turns out M'Benga was embroiled in the Federation-Klingon War some years prior, and bore witness to a lot of the worst atrocities committed by the Klingons.
• Everyone Has Standards: In spite of being one of Starfleet's most loyal members, M'Benga does not think their anti-augment mentality is okay in any way. In his mind, humans just "traded one prejudice for another".
• Fantastic Racism: M'Benga has no lost love for the Klingons, especially Dak'Rah for ordering the massacre of millions and then running away to the safety of Starfleet.
• Foregone Conclusion: M'Benga will eventually step down as the Chief Medical Officer, making way for Dr. McCoy, or Dr. Piper if they remember the second pilot, as noted in the tropes above — though he will remain on the ship's medical staff in some capacity in the time of the Original Series.
• Good Old Ways: He still uses many traditional (from the Federation's perspective, ancient) medical practices, including the use of ground sea urchin.
• Good Parents: M'Benga goes to great lengths to save his daughter's life from cygnokemia, and he spends much of his time reading bedtime stories to her whenever she's able to pop out of the transporter. "The Elysian Kingdom" shows that, in spite of how much he'll miss her, he's willing to let her go so she can be happy and cured, even if it means he may never see her again.
• Hidden Depths:
  • When the Enterprise takes a brief shore leave, he comes out to the transporter pad well-stocked with fishing gear. Given his hat (which the crew makes fun of), it indicates he's quite an avid angler.
  • It also turns out he's a Shell-Shocked Veteran who's hiding some very deep trauma of having survived the Federation-Klingon War, and had to witness a whole lot of bloodshed on the front lines. He's also the inventor of the Super Serum known as "Protocol 12", and he still uses it when he has to.
• Lost Lenore: His wife died some time ago, but she never comes up much in conversation. Him trying to save his daughter is his way of protecting the last of her legacy.
• Nice Guy: Amongst the Enterprise staff, he's the kindest of them around, greeting Pike with a Man Hug, taking jokes about his silly fishing hat in stride, and being the most compassionate to La'an's traumas when they have another encounter with the Gorn onboard a crashed Federation vessel.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: M’Benga might be a calm man, but when he and the rest of the bridge crew are suffering under the effects of an actual Orion hurricane, he can’t help but shout “What the hell is in these things?!”
• Outliving One's Offspring: He is doing everything to prevent this trope; his daughter has cygnokemia, and part of the reason he serves on the Enterprise is the hope of finding a cure somewhere in space. Ultimately averted as of "The Elysian Kingdom", as the entity that took over the ship not only cured his daughter of her disease but transformed her into an entirely new form of life that will never know death. By the end of the episode, M'Benga sees her again as an adult woman.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: He's a veteran of the Klingon-Federation war and he saw (and did) some pretty dark things. It's made clear that this haunts him still to this day. When he has to engage in violence it's clear doing so is affecting him, something both La'an and Chapel react to and worry about for his mental well-being.

Commander Pelia

Commander Pelia

Portrayed By: Carol Kane

"You want to know the worst thing about living almost forever? [...] It's boredom. And on that ship of yours there seems to be a shortage of that. I like it."

An Engineering professor at Starfleet Academy before transferring to the U.S.S. Enterprise as her new chief engineer, following the loss of Lieutenant Hemmer.

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• Awesomeness by Analysis: Very quickly came to the conclusion that the imminent warp core breach aboard Enterprise was being faked and then concluded that the only reason anyone would do that would be to steal the ship. And she wanted in, partly because she knew that Spock must've had a damn good reason for doing so and partly because she was bored and wanted to have fun.
• Brutal Honesty: Pelia can be very blunt about her opinions. Both in the face of her superiors (which annoys Una), but also in general. She tries to call Hemmer a brilliant student of hers at the Academy to soothe Uhura, before admitting she can't really say that — he was average at the academy and clearly grew his talent afterwards. Similarly when Una brings up a paper Pelia once graded her poorly on, Pelia retorts to Una that the paper was terrible.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: For Hemmer as the chief engineer of the Enterprise. While Hemmer is an obvious looking alien who did his job professionally and who was a grouchy but caring person. Meanwhile Pelia is a much more human looking alien with a much more laid back attitude and a bit more friendlier. She is also seen as a In-Universe Replacement Scrappy by Una since her presence reminds her that Hemmer is truly gone.
• Cool Old Lady: And well Older Than She Looks, but an excellent engineer, Gadgeteer Genius and even Wrench Wench in the course of her job.
• Deadpan Snarker: She is very snarky, a trait she shares with the previous engineer. She is a member of a very old alien race and a former professor who's Seen It All, so it's a given part of her personality.
• Do Wrong, Right: She's not against the crew stealing the Enterprise; she just doesn't want it done in so sloppy a manner.
• The Engineer: She takes over for Hemmer as the Enterprise's chief engineer in Season 2.
• Establishing Character Moment: Her first major entrance into the series is spotting that the crew are trying to steal the Enterprise from Starbase 1 for a crucial mission, and rather than exposing the plot with her engineering know-how, she makes it more convincing so that they can get away.
• For the Lulz: Her reason for helping the Enterprise crew steal the ship and risk both her career and her freedom in the process? Because she was bored, and in her opinion, the worst thing about living as long as she has is having to endure boredom. It's also the same reason why she decides to officially transfer from the Academy to Enterprise, correctly surmising that boredom is something the ship and her crew lack.
• Human Aliens: She is actually a Lanthanite, a near-immortal human-like species similar to the El-Aurians, that has lived on Earth successfully undetected for centuries until their discovery in the 22nd Century.
• Meaningful Name: "Lanthanites", the name of her species, derives from the ancient Greek word for "to escape notice". They lived on Earth among humans for centuries without anyone suspecting there was anything out of the ordinary about them.
• Really 700 Years Old: While it's unknown how old she actually is, Pelia was alive on Earth in the 21st century and did not look significantly younger than she does in the 23rd. She mentions not having studied math "since Pythagoras made the crap up", though that could be her joking. She's been in Starfleet for over a century. She tells Boimler that she's "lived for thousands of years".
• Remember the New Guy?:
  • Downplayed since her connection to Spock is not so much directly with him but rather his mother. Amanda Grayson is the first person that Pelia "came out" to as a Lanthanite.
  • Having been in Starfleet for over a century, she must have also been a contemporary of Jonathan Archer and his crewmates from the NX-01 Enterprise and the early Federation.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Pelia is not fooled for a moment by the crew's plan to steal the Enterprise, but rather is more annoyed that they're doing it in such a sloppy manner and shows them how to really cover their tracks.
• Spotting the Thread: She immediately recognizes Spock's plan to steal the Enterprise as too obvious a tactic, which stems from her teaching courses on Warp Core Breaches at the Academy.
• Stern Teacher: She's been in Starfleet for at least a century, and spent a part of that at Starfleet Academy teaching engineering, a topic she clearly masters. She's been Hemmer, Una, and Scotty's teacher, regarding the former as an average student while Una regards her as this and holds a grudge over Pelia giving her a low grade. Scotty she called "One of her best students....that got some of her worst grades" and he did not look happy to see her again.
• Troll: She has an irreverent teasing nature, and a complete dislike of boredom.
  Spock: Are you actually Lanthanite?
  Pelia: Oh a couple of drinks and you get personal.
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: Uhura identifies Pelia as a Lanthanite by her accent. Carol Kane revealed that she made up the accent to sound non-specifically foreign.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?:
  • Pelia dismisses the idea that the main drawback of her near-immortality is watching her loved ones die; she points out that most people have to deal with that at some point. No, from her point of view, the worst part is the boredom. Hence gallivanting off with the Enterprise crew at the first opportunity.
  • She does however later confides to Una — who resents Pelia because her presence serves as a reminder that Hemmer is gone — that she knows all too well that particular pain, thanks to her naturally outliving anyone she grows close to.

Lieutenant Spock

Lieutenant Spock

Portrayed By: Ethan Peck

"Reconciling my divergent cultures of origin is complex, the journey is challenging."

A "child of two worlds" and one of Starfleet's greatest minds, Spock served as Science Officer of the Enterprise during her previous five-year mission under Captain Pike. In the aftermath of the Battle of Xahea, Spock has returned to Vulcan while the Enterprise is being refit and become engaged to his childhood acquaintance T'Pring. He rejoins the Enterprise for her second five-year mission under Pike's command.

Given his massive presence across the franchise, Spock has his own page here. All tropes should go in the relevant folder on that page.

Lieutenant Hemmer

Lieutenant Hammer

Portrayed By: Bruce Horak

An Aenar^note an Andorian subspecies who are blind, albino, and telepathic who becomes chief engineer of the Enterprise for Captain Pike's second five-year mission.

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• Bizarre Alien Senses: Being an Aenar, he's naturally blind, but his other senses (both Aenar and baseline Andorian antenna-based) more than make up for the difference.
• Blind Seer: Along with being naturally blind, Aenar supposedly have precognitive abilities. When Uhura asks about it, Hemmer says he knew she was going to ask that... because everyone does.
• Call-Back: His people, the Aenar, were introduced in a couple of episodes near the end of Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Deadpan Snarker: Is he ever! More stoic and irritable than our Vulcan first officer too! But at least he’s got a sense of humour about it.
  Una: Hemmer did you find anything?
  Hemmer: Of course. That's why I'm wandering the ship in the middle of the night running diagnostics. For fun.
• The Engineer: His introductory trailer shows him tackling technical problems in his role as chief engineer. Come Episode 3, he demonstrates his skills by bypassing a power issue affecting the transporters during an ion storm to get most of the landing party back up to the ship in less than a minute.
• Heroic Suicide: When he gets implanted with soon-to-be hatchling Gorn, he sacrifices himself to save his crewmates from being attacked by said hatchlings.
• Hidden Depths: He may be a grouch, but he is very attuned to his spirituality and would rather be a botanist than an engineer.
• Insufferable Genius: He's not subtle about how smart he is compared to the other members of the crew.
  Mr. Kyle: What the ... How did you ... ?
  Hemmer: I am a genius. Move quickly.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Very stern, Hemmer mood hovers around grumpy and apathetic. That being said, he's very loyal to the Enterprise and its crew, and does anything in his power to keep them safe.
• Not So Above It All: Due to his Aenar telepathic powers, the entity that alters the minds of the crew in "The Elysian Kingdom" was unable to alter his. Once he's brought up to speed, he really leans into the wizard role he's been given, with a generous side of ham.
• Sacrificial Lion: Ultimately, this is Hemmer's role in the series — to bond with the uncertain Cadet Uhura and convince her that staying in Starfleet and making bonds there is better than drifting from one place to another, scared of being hurt again, then dying to hammer that point home. It also implies that his death is what inspires Spock to do the same when faced with a similar situation. And like Tasha Yar, his absence is felt in the episodes that follow. This is brought up by the second Engineer, Pelia.
• Series Goal: His species feels that they must each fulfill a purpose in life; Hemmer's is to "Fix what is broken". He does so, convincing Uhura to open up and make new bonds, though he dies saving his crew from another Gorn outbreak in the process.
• Technical Pacifist: Discussed. While the Aenar are pacifists, Hemmer joined the Mildly Military Starfleet because he believes being a pacifist includes a willingness to protect the values he holds dear.
• Telepathy: Like all Aenar, Hemmer is a telepath — Aenar are in fact more powerful telepaths than even Vulcans, capable of mind reading and communicating over distances. Hemmer rarely demonstrates these talents, presumably out of respect for his crewmates' privacy, but it does allow him to block the psychic influence of the nebula entity "The Elysian Kingdom", while the similarly-telepathic Spock could not.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: He sadly doesn’t make it to the end of the season, pulling a Heroic Suicide in "All Those Who Wander" to prevent the Gorn eggs inside him from hatching and endangering the rest of the crew.

Lieutenant Erica Ortegas

Lieutenant Erica Ortegas

Portrayed By: Melissa Navia

"I'm Erica Ortegas and I fly the ship."

Helm officer of the Enterprise.

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• Ace Pilot:
  • She boasts about being the best pilot to ever graduate the Academy. The trailer backs her up, showing her successfully pulling the Enterprise away from a Tholian web. "Children of the Comet" has her fly into the tail of the titular comet, basically an asteroid field, while avoiding fire from the Shepards' more advanced weapons in a maneuver she apparently named after herself. Right before this, Pike tells Ortegas that word has gotten around she intends to be the best pilot Starfleet has ever seen...and then tells her it's time to prove it.
  • "Memento Mori" gives her yet another chance to prove her skills, and she does so by successfully navigating the Enterprise through a brown dwarf star and dangerously close to the event horizon of a black hole while keeping the ship and her crew intact.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Except for the time she was brainwashed into a storybook character, she's the least mature of the bridge crew in both appearance and personality, like when she was left out of the landing party to Rigel at the last second.
• Boyish Short Hair: She wears a closely-cropped haircut with shaved sides.
• Fangirl: Of NX-01 helmsman Travis Mayweather, who had a middle school gym she attended named after him.
• Fantastic Racism: In "A Quality of Mercy", a version of her from an alternate timeline where Pike stayed on as Captain of the Enterprise shows she hates the Romulans with a passion (though whether or not she actually shares this sentiment in the Prime Reality hasn't been revealed).
• Genki Girl: She is very excited at the prospect of adventure. Emphasized in "Among the Lotus Eaters", where we see her enthused going on her first away mission. She even dons a hat.
• Grin of Audacity: Is seen frequently with a confident smirk.
• Master Swordswoman: Trailers depict Ortegas as being pretty handy with a sword, similarly to another helm officer who will serve on the Enterprise in later years. As it turns out in "The Elysian Kingdom", this is due to an entity transforming Ortegas into Sir Adya, a character in the children's book M'Benga reads to his daughter.
• Mythology Gag: Her surname comes from Roddenberry's first pitch for the Original Series, in which the character who became José Tyler was named José Ortegas.
• Noodle Incident:
  • When a Kiley scientist comes out of sedation and gets loose, she notes with some annoyance that a "Delta Scorpii VII" always occurs whenever she has the conn. While it's unknown what a Delta Scorpii VII actually is, it is apparently an incident involving a person from a pre-First-Contact culture running loose on the ship.
  • Ortega has scars from fighting with a lirpa (the two handed weapon Vulcans use during mating duels as seen in the TOS episode "Amok Time"), evidently the result of interfering with a Vulcan relationship.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: She has a very jovial relationship with Pike, but most of their dialogue involves who can outsnark the other.
• Troll: She tells Uhura show up in her dress uniform for Pike's dinner with the crew, then shows up wearing midriff-exposing level casual wear. Pike isn't surprised that she hazed the cadet like that.

Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh

Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh

Portrayed By: Christina Chong

"Not believing you're gonna die is what gets you killed."

A descendant of Khan Noonien-Singh, La'an Noonien-Singh was born on December 8, 2228 on the colony world of Alpha I. As a child, she was the sole survivor of a Gorn attack that killed her parents and brother. La'an is assigned as acting First Officer of the Enterprise during a mission to rescue Commander Una Chin-Riley from Kiley 279. Once Una is restored as First Officer of the Enterprise, La'an agrees to stay aboard the Enterprise as Security Chief.

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• The Atoner: She settles on this at the end of episode 9, quitting her command to help a refugee of the Gorn, putting her emnity towards them aside.
• Braids of Action: She typically keeps her hair in a pair of very tight braids that she also frequently ties into a Prim and Proper Bun or Tomboyish Ponytail.
• Break the Haughty: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" puts her through the wringer and then some, placing her in a situation she is finally able to open up to someone in that timeline's Kirk who sees her for who she is without any prejudices built on her name, only to undergo a severe Yank the Dog's Chain and Kirk dies in her arms at the end of the episode. By the end of Season 2 she is still actively mourning for him, exacerbated by the fact Prime!Kirk serves as an unintentional reminder any time he appears and resurfaces her grief.
• Brutal Honesty: She always speaks her mind, and doesn't particularly care if she comes off as rude or insensitive. After one such outburst during a meeting in "Memento Mori", Pike gently takes her aside and reminds her that as an officer, she needs to keep crew morale in mind; she concedes his point but maintains that she will not lie to them.
• The Comically Serious: La'an is in 100% Serious Hardass mode basically all the time, to the point where her presence in comedic moments is an entire joke in itself sometimes because she won't lighten up. When she tries to complete "Enterprise Bingo" with Una, she finds the "fun" aspect of it somewhat suspect until they complete the final square on the board.
  • Completely inverted in "The Elysian Kingdom" when Rukiya and the nebula entity transform her into the comically melodramatic Princess Talia (complete with an adorable dog companion played by Christina Chong's real life dog, Runa).
• The Cynic: She believes that Starfleet's idealism is blinding it to the threat posed by hostile alien races like the Gorn.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • When she was a child, she was relentlessly bullied for her distant connection to Khan.
  • The Gorn attacked and captured the colony ship La'an and her family were aboard, and they were promptly sent to a planetary nursery. Everyone in her family died horribly except for La'an, who was placed in a raft as part of a ritual and left to die before she was found by pure luck by the U.S.S. Martin Luther King Jr., where Una served as an ensign.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Explicitly says she's not good with people, and comes off as cold and officious. Her subplot with Una in "Spock Amok" defrosts her to a degree.
  • In "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", she danged near melts after finding a genuine connection with that timeline's Kirk, genuinely falling in love with him. His death at the end of the episode sets her back significantly.
• Dramatic Irony: La'an is a dedicated Starfleet officer and protective of the Enterprise crew... she's also the descendant of a man who will become, as Spock himself will one day tell his younger self, the greatest threat the ship and its crew has ever faced.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: She's harsh on cadets, terrorizing one of the players of "Enterprise Bingo" by threatening her with a court-martial in a Good Cop/Bad Cop way, and criticizes Uhura relentlessly for the mistakes she makes while doing a rotation in Security. Being head of a division where minor mistakes can frequently get you or your charges killed (they are the original Red Shirts), La'an does not brook any slipshod behavior. When she's satisfied with someone's performance, she says so, and gives them full credit.
• Famous Ancestor: Or rather, infamous ancestor. Much to her chagrin, she is descended from Khan Noonien-Singh — the most vile dictator in Earth history and the man who would later bring great chaos to Starfleet — which got her bullied as a result.
• Fantastic Racism: She was a victim of this as a child, being bullied for being an "Augment" due to her being descended from Khan — despite the fact that, being at least seven or eight generations removed from him, she would have little if any augmented DNA (and Starfleet obviously had no issue with accepting her). Likely owing to her ancestry and the fact she was bullied for it, La'an appears to have a low opinion of those who were genetically modified like Una in Ghosts of Illyria. Granted, she was under the influence of a light-based virus at the time but it's rather telling that one of La'an's first reactions to Una after the secret of her genetic modifications is revealed is to call her an abomination. It's later confirmed that there is a strong element of self-hatred involved — having spent her life hearing about how Augments in general, and her ancestor in particular, are dangerous, she is afraid that there is a monster lurking inside her.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: In "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", La'an is able to stop a stranded Romulan time-traveler from altering the course of history and stopping the creation of the Federation, but the future Department of Temporal Investigations tell her she can't tell anyone.
• Heartbroken Badass: Her time travel adventure with alternate James T. Kirk allowed her to get to know a man who had never heard of her infamous ancestor. But he dies, and she is seen weeping for him.
• Innocently Insensitive: She's rather blunt and can come across as insulting without directly meaning to. For example, she calls Chapel's job "making disguises", which, while accurate for their current mission, downplays the work Chapel does. Chapel retorts that if they oversimplify things, La'an bosses a rocket ship.
• I Owe You My Life: Number One saved her when she was left adrift by the Gorn in space. La'an feels a great debt towards her for this, and it pushes her to take risks during the pilot — as she hasn't told Pike of her relationship to Number One.
• Not So Above It All:
  • Despite having just reduced an ensign to tears over the matter, she's the one who suggests playing Enterprise Bingo when Una complains about being known as "where fun goes to die".
    La'an: I guess we could. Understand it. I mean, if we wanted to, you know...get a better understanding of the crew.
  • In "All Those Who Wander" she's trying to be all business during a breakfast briefing in Pike's quarters while everyone else is telling her to eat. As soon as she has a bite of omelette, she starts tucking in like she hasn't eaten in days and even asks for cheese.
  • Despite the security risk it poses, she admits in the grand finale song of "Subspace Rhapsody" that she's going to miss singing.
• Put on a Bus: She leaves the Enterprise to go help a young survivor of a Gorn attack find her relatives. She returns at the start of Season 2.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Downplayed, since La'an hasn't ever been presented as unattractive, but the events of "The Elysian Kingdom" see her trading her Starfleet uniform and severe braids for a sparkly, strapless Pimped-Out Dress and a veritable waterfall of hair complete with Regal Ringlets piled atop her head.
• Sole Survivor: She was the only survivor of a Gorn attack on the S.S. Puget Sound when she was a child.
• The Stoic: She's all business all the time, probably because of the demands of her job combined with her traumatic past. Ironically, she's the one who suggests that she and Una should try Enterprise Bingo and she gets turned into a girly, giggly, posh princess during the events of "The Elysian Kingdom".
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Thanks to time travel, she has a chance to kill her genocidal ancestor, Khan. But he's still a child, and she can't do it.

Lieutenant George Samuel Kirk

Lieutenant George Samuel Kirk

Portrayed By: Dan Jeannotte

A science officer aboard the Enterprise, and the older brother of a certain future captain.

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• Bait-and-Switch: His introduction includes one; a "Lieutenant Kirk" is mentioned a few times in the episode, and at the end is welcomed onto the bridge, with Spock being told they'll be working closely together. It's not until the doors open and we see he has darker hair and a science division uniform that he's properly introduced as Sam Kirk, rather than Jim, who appeared in the series in Season 2 though Captain Kirk pops up in the Season 1 finale.
• Green-Eyed Monster: He's jealous of Jim Kirk's accomplished record at such a young age, feeling that his younger brother is trying to one-up him in pleasing their father.
• No Hero to His Valet: Sam Kirk freely acknowledges that his younger brother, Jim Kirk, is one of the finest officers in Starfleet. He also freely says that he's a massive pain in the ass. That said the trope is downplayed as when they do meet, the two Kirk siblings share a big hug and Sam's got a mile-wide smile at seeing his brother.
• Porn Stache: As a Mythology Gag to his appearance in TOS (Shatner with a bad fake mustache) Sam sports one of these.
• Saved by Canon: He's fated to die, but not in the timeframe of the show — rather, by Andromedan parasite along with his wife in the Original Series episode "Operation -- Annihilate!". He does have a close brush with death in Episode 2, but given that he's not slated to die yet, he's able to emerge from the incident alive and well.
• Series Continuity Error: According to "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", only Jim Kirk called his brother "Sam". This gets patched with a Handwave in "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow", where La'an is visibly confused when Jim tells her this, revealing that Jim only thinks nobody else calls him Sam.
• Successful Sibling Syndrome: Sam is happy and fulfilled in his career as a xenobiologist, but he does feel competitive with his exceptionally successful, ambitious brother who is rising quickly in Stafleet ranks.
• Took a Level in Badass: George goes with an away mission to study the Gorn — and learn more efficient ways to kill them.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: Notably averted here, as he's played by a separate actor from this series's James Kirk. (The role was originated by William Shatner playing his own brother's corpse courtesy of a dodgy fake mustache).
• The Un-Favorite: He feels like George Sr. favors Jim for being more ambitious and rising higher in the ranks (XO of the Farragut as opposed to junior Science Officer on the Enterprise).

Lieutenant Jenna Mitchell

Lieutenant Jenna Mitchell

Portrayed By: Rong Fu

The Enterprise's navigator, usually working alongside Ortegas.

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• Bridge Bunnies: Probably the closest example as someone on the bridge that runs the ship but otherwise gets very little characterization.
• Mauve Shirt: Lt. Mitchell gets less focus than the rest of the Enterprise' bridge crew especially in season 1, as is common for TOS pre-Chekov Navigators.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted, as she has the same surname as future Enterprise helmsman Gary Mitchell from TOS, but there's no apparent relation.

Nurse Christine Chapel

Nurse Christine Chapel

Portrayed By: Jess Bush

A nurse aboard the Enterprise with extensive skills in epigenetics.

For tropes relating to her appearance in the Original Series, see here.

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• Adaptational Badass: Chapel in TOS is a nurse who never really took part in any action, serving mostly as a Satellite Love Interest to Spock or someone Bones can bounce medical jargon off. Here Chapel has had to dodge phaser fire from an ex, takes part in chase scenes chasing down runaway patients in the Enterprise, and even knocks out several pirates using hyposprays. In season 2, she teams up with M'Benga and with the aid of a serum, proceeds to assault a number of Klingons in hand-to-hand combat .
• Adaptation Personality Change: Played with. In some episodes, TOS Chapel often borders on being a Living Prop, and as befitting a female character in a show of the time, takes a very secondary, subservient role. However, in a case of often overlooked character behaviour, TOS Chapel actually had a fair few moments of making thoughtful observations and quips, and witty, sarcastic one-liners, many of which are in line with her younger self's chipper and cheeky attitude. In Strange New Worlds, the somewhat younger Chapel is portrayed as having far more of an edge to her. She's more quippy, portrayed as more headstrong, assertive, brave, and proactive. Also, while the original Nurse Chapel was portrayed as a competent Nurse, here Chapel comes up with her own treatments and research, such as being behind the disguises the crew uses to infiltrate cultures, or synthesizing the cure to the disease in the second episode from chimeric antibodies La'an gained from proximity to Una.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Chapel and Spock have a much closer relationship in this series than in TOS. In the Original Series, Chapel is more of a Satellite Love Interest who harbors a crush on Spock, who is too emotionally distant and stoic to really do much about it (he resists calling her by her first name despite her prompting him to do so). Here her relationship with Spock is much more mutual and open, to the point where Spock shows clear emotional conflict when she's in danger that he doesn't usually show towards others, and eventually the two kiss passionately of their own accord. Chapel for her part is much more of a confidant to Spock, helping him navigate his mixed heritage and handle his human side.
• Adaptational Sexuality: When Ortegas was offering to act as her wingwoman for Chapel's date in Spock Amok, she mentions a Noodle Incident that involved Chapel and a previous relationship she had with another woman — and also live phaser fire.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Harbours strong feelings of infatuation towards Spock, which are complicated by his betrothal to T'Pring and her admittance that he isn't the type of man to chase after another woman while he is already in a relationship. However, at the ending of the season 2 episode "Charades", Spock goes on a break with T'Pring, and the last shot of the episode is him and Chapel kissing passionately in her quarters.
• Ascended Extra: Downplayed compared to M'Benga, but while Nurse Chapel is present in less than a third of The Original Series's seventy-nine episode run (and even then, she is just a bit part character for the most part), she is upgraded to main character status in Strange New Worlds.
• Combat Medic: When trapped on a fake Federation starship constructed as part of a False Flag Operation by The Broken Circle, she and M'Benga take a stimulant that enhances their combat skills. They go up against a decent-sized compliment of Klingons and win, even when the stimulant is close to wearing off.
• Custom Uniform: As she's a civilian. she wears a white jumpsuit instead of the traditional gold, red or blue tunics worn by Starfleet officers. A future version of her switches to a blue medical tunic in the alternate timeline of Episode Ten.
• Doomed by Canon: She and Spock start up a relationship in "Charades", but it fails to last more than a few episodes before she breaks it off with him to pursue a fellowship under her future husband Dr. Korby. This was already set in stone by the time of TOS, as she's still pining for him despite his lack of interest. The fact she brutally broke it off in song form and left him so hurt that he swore to shut himself off emotionally means she's the one who doomed it.
• Foregone Conclusion: Her Day in the Limelight episode in the Original Series, "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," is about her doomed romance with Dr. Roger Korby; so presumably, at some point they will meet and fall for each other. "Subspace Rhapsody" sets it up with her getting a fellowship under him.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: An Implied case on TOS, given her failed attempts at romanticizing Spock. On Strange New Worlds, she brutally dumps him (in song form!) to take up an internship with Dr. Korby, which hurts him so badly that he decides to close off his emotions. Thus, by the time the two are working together again, he's able to be professional with her, but the fact he won't even consider trying another romance with her again indicates he hasn't forgotten how badly she hurt him. Just like with his sister.
• Mildly Military: She is not a member of Starfleet, at least, not by this point in her life. Chapel was assigned to the Enterprise on a civilian exchange from the Epigenetic project she is a part of. ^note This is consistent with her portrayal in the Original Series episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," which implied she hadn't been in Starfleet for long at that point and was still making up her mind whether she wanted to stay.
• Plucky Girl: She's confident and upbeat about her work, and is shown to be no slouch in a fight either.
• Statuesque Stunner: Besides being remarkably easy on the eyes, Chapel towers over every other female member of the crew other than Number One^note Jess Bush is 5-foot-10-inch (178 cm) tall..

Ensign Nyota Uhura

Ensign Nyota Uhura

Portrayed By: Celia Rose Gooding

A Space Cadet serving aboard the Enterprise as a communications officer. Although she began the series as a Cadet, she has since been promoted to the rank of Ensign as of Season Two.

For tropes relating to her appearance in the Original Series, see here.

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• The Ace: In Starfleet Academy, her performance earned her a very prestigious posting on the Enterprise for her midshipman tour — a feat thousands of other cadets failed to obtain — and demonstrated how well she earned it by using her communication skills to the ship's aid numerous times, most notably in "Children of the Comet", where she's able to pick up a communication pattern of a massive sentient asteroid to prevent it from smashing into a planet.
• The Charmer: Shades of this. In the pilot she captivates a runaway Kileyan in a short turbolift ride by talking to him about her knowledge of his planet's favorite sport, which has him so engrossed in the conversation he fails to spot Chapel waiting to sedate him.
• Custom Uniform: Like Una, Uhura in some episodes wears a unique version of the red tunic with black on the sides, a higher collar, and a zipper down the front. No one else on the ship is seen wearing this style of uniform.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her parents and older brother were killed in a shuttle crash.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: She was planning on attending the University of Nairobi alongside her teacher parents, but when they died, she abandoned her studies as everything was still too raw. Her grandmother, a retired Starfleet officer, talked about Starfleet a lot and she ran away to join it. Even after joining the Enterprise, she feels that she doesn’t fit in… at least for awhile. It is, however, a foregone conclusion (due to the show's prequel nature) that she will stay in Starfleet, and become an inextricable part of the legend of the Enterprise. At least for now, she's doing some extra training in engineering and security to learn where she might fit in. By the end of "All Those Who Wander", it seems she's aiming for her destined role as Communications Officer.
• Fangirl: Of NX-01 communications officer Hoshi Sato, whom she wrote three papers on during her time at the Academy.
• Friendless Background: By the events of "All Those Who Wander", Hemmer susses out that, despite being The Social Expert, Uhura is scared of making bonds due to the trauma of losing her parents and tries to keep people at arm's length, explaining why she's even thinking of bouncing through Starfleet. Before he dies, he convinces Uhura to stick with Starfleet and make the bonds she's scared of making as those will offer her something better than trying to run away.
• Hidden Buxom: You wouldn't tell from how she's usually dressed, but in "Charades", there is a scene where she and Chapel are working out and Uhura's very buxom.
• Legendary in the Sequel: In the 24th century, Uhura's legend as a Starfleet Officer is one that made Ensign Mariner a huge fan, as Uhura will go on to command the U.S.S. Leondegrance (which is preserved at the Fleet Museum) and serve as the first commanding officer that a certain Jean-Luc Picard will serve under.
• Omniglot: She speaks thirty-seven Federation languages, twenty-two of those from her native Kenya.
• Properly Paranoid: Uhura does not like leaving the comms inactive as she's absolutely sure something might come in that requires the Enterprise's help. She's able to pick up La'an's distress call and alerts La'an to Boimler and Mariner's attempt to hijack a shuttlecraft.
• Rank Up: She's officially graduated from the Academy and commissioned as an Ensign in Season 2.
• The Social Expert: She has shades of this, easily engrossing an alien in a conversation. She mentions that part of the reason she knows so many languages is that she learned early that it's easier to bond with people if you address them in their own language. She does however mention that, according to her mom, she tends to get too casual in conversation.
• Workaholic: Played for drama. She buries herself in work rather than confronting her feelings about either the death of her parents or Hemmer. Even Mariner is surprised at what a workaholic she is when they meet.
• The World Is Just Awesome: In the trailer, she expresses delight at standing on an asteroid.

Transporter Chief Kyle

Transporter Chief Kyle

Portrayed By: André Dae Kim

The Enterprise's transporter operator.

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• Custom Uniform: He wears a uniform that is more black than red, and has a lapel, which no one else on board the ship is seen wearing.
• The Dreaded: Apparently Chief Kyle is feared by the ensigns on the ship, as two are horrified when ordered to report to him as punishment.
• Informed Flaw: According to the ensigns, Kyle is "too mean", but what has been shown of him thus far hasn't proven their claims.
• Race Lift: Along with a probable case of Adaptational Nationality. John Winston's Chief Kyle in the original series is a white British man, André Dae Kim is a Korean-Canadian. Assuming, of course, that the two are indeed the same character and it's not just a case of Significant Name Overlap. In original 1964 The Cage, there is a younger East Asian transporter operator who bears a striking resemblance to SNW's Kyle. (This might be part of the reason for the new casting.) With that in mind, there might be two unrelated TOS era transporter chiefs with the same surname, or they might even be step-brothers or similar relatives.
• Scotty Time: In the first episode, he mentions it'd take him hours to manage to beam an eye ointment directly on Spock's eyeball. Una tells him he has only a few minutes to figure out how. He thankfully succeeds.

The U.S.S. Enterprise

The Living Legend

Starfleet's flagship and the original iteration of the iconic vessel NCC-1701^note "Dash... nothing!", a Constitution-class vessel formerly under the command of Robert April, now under Captain Christopher Pike, and later James T. Kirk.

For tropes relating to her appearance in the Original Series and in Discovery, see here and here.

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• Adaptational Backstory Change: There is no indication in TOS that the Enterprise is considered the flagship of the fleet or a particularly elite posting — on the contrary, many plots rely on her being regarded as just one Constitution-class starship among several in her class. (In a strictly literal sense she can't be flagship of the fleet in TOS as a flag officer does not command her, though several of her sisters are commanded by flag officers, but this is par for the course).^note Commodore Decker commands the Constellation, and Commodore Wesley commands the Lexington and is even shown to be in charge of a battle group of four Connies. She merely becomes legendary through her adventures, and during the time Strange New Worlds is set, the Enterprise still has her best years ahead of her.
• Always a Bigger Fish: When the President of Kiley 279 makes it clear that she wants to be holding the biggest stick, Pike calls the Enterprise down from orbit and has her park herself above the capital city, making it clear who holds the biggest stick.
• Art Evolution: Compared to her TOS and Discovery appearances. Outside, she still looks like she did in the latter show, but inside, her color scheme and layout is more evocative of the former, albeit with more modern-looking VFX and set design.
• Badass Crew: One of Starfleet's finest captains, a first-officer with plenty of experience under her belt, a science officer with the intelligence of a super computer, an Ace Pilot for a helmsman, an Action Survivor for her chief of security, two very skilled medical professionals who are at the top of their fields, a chief engineer with far more advanced senses than most other beings, and an Ensign Newbie who's also an Omniglot. Take all those skills and you know why the Enterprise is the finest the Federation has to offer.
• Call-Back: In her ready room are two portraits of famous starships before her — the Phoenix and the NX-01. She even has a piece of the latter in her engineering section.
• Cool Starship: She is the Federation's flagship, after all.
• Cosmetically-Advanced Prequel: Like on Discovery, she looks sleeker and more modern, outside and in, than she would in the decade in which TOS takes place. This version of the Enterprise looks like a proper middle ground between the NX-01 Enterprise and the TMP-era Enterprise refit and Enterprise-A design, compared to the TOS Enterprise.
• Elites Are More Glamorous: As the pride and joy of Starfleet, getting a posting on the Enterprise is immensely prestigious, and consequently, has high requirements of talent and skill in one's profession. Even getting a Midshipman tour on the Enterprise as a cadet involves winning out over thousands of applicants.
• Famed In-Story: She's revered as Starfleet's finest ship, in no small part thanks to her Captain, her crew, and the fact she's carrying the legendary Enterprise name into the mid 23rd century.
• Legendary in the Sequel: By the time of The Original Series and even The Next Generation era, this Enterprise is revered as the standard by which seven other ships who've born her name since then have been held to.
• Not So Above It All: During the Big Finale Crowd Song in "Subspace Rhapsody", the Enterprise herself joins in the dance, spinning in space with three Klingon K't'inga-class battlecruisers as her backup dancers.
• Saved by Canon: At least within the time-scale of the series; she survives to receive a major refit in the 2270s and is later destroyed on a mission to save Spock in the 2280s.

Starfleet

Admiral Robert April

Admiral Robert April

Portrayed By: Adrian Holmes

An Admiral in Starfleet Command who was the first captain of the Enterprise; Pike served under April as his first officer.

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• Age Lift: In TAS, April was 75 years old and reached mandatory retirement age for Starfleet. Strange New Worlds is set about a decade before, but actor Adrian Holmes was in his late forties in the first season. Notably, he is a year younger than Anson Mount.
• Ascended Extra: He had previously appeared in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Counter Clock Incident".
• Beautiful Singing Voice: According to Una in the Musical Episode "Subspace Rhapsody", he has "a surprisingly beautiful baritone" that is only heard off-screen.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: The Star Trek Encyclopedia edited Gene Roddenberry's head into Kirk's body a an image for April.
• Da Chief: The Starfleet flag officer to whom Pike and the Enterprise now answer.
• Decomposite Character: Robert April was an early name for Captain Pike in The Original Series before The Animated Series made him a different captain.
• Hero of Another Story: He previously captained the Enterprise through a five-year mission of his own, with Pike as his then first officer before succeeding him as The Captain.
• Hidden Depths: Due to several Starfleet ships being affected by a subspace experiment that induces musical numbers, Una hears his request to deal with it in a "surprisingly beautiful baritone".
• Mysterious Middle Initial: The Star Trek Encyclopedia calls him "Robert T. April".
• Mythology Gag: Robert April's first appearance in Star Trek was in the unproduced pilot script, where he was captain of the Enterprise. When he did appear in canon, he appeared as an admiral with no apparent connection to the Enterprise. Strange New Worlds takes the middle road, with April being captain of the Enterprise during a five year mission before being promoted to admiral.
• Race Lift: April, a Caucasian man in TAS, is now played by Black actor Adrian Holmes.
• Rank Up: Has become a flag officer since his command of the Enterprise.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He gets Pike out of being court-martialed for violating General Order One on Kiley with some Loophole Abuse. Beforehand, he was also willing to let Pike think about coming back to Enterprise after the Battle of Xahea — at least until Una is kidnapped and he forces him back into the chair anyway.
  • When Spock disobeys orders and nearly sparks a war with the Klingons, but simultaneously uncovers a conspiracy and maintains the peace with the Klingons, April splits the difference and says that Spock's bloodwine hangover is punishment enough.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: During his time as Captain of the Enterprise, he broke the Prime Directive three times to save three different civilizations.
• Tuckerization: Roddenberry took the name from a prison chaplain from Have Gun – Will Travel.
  • Note: Roddenberry wrote both episodes the chaplain appeared in.

Captain Marie Batel

Captain Marie Batel

Portrayed By: Melanie Scrofano

Captain of the U.S.S. Cayuga, who is in an ongoing romantic relationship with Captain Pike.

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• Badass in Distress: Her vessel, the Cayuga, gets destroyed in the second season finale, "Hegemony", and she is marooned with the survivors of her crew and of the colonists on Parnassus Beta. Pike manages to lead a team to get her out, but as of a Cliffhanger at the end of the episode, Batel has already been infected with Gorn eggs with no known medical way out.
• Bedmate Reveal: Initially, it's unclear who exactly is waking up in Pike's bed in the series premiere, until she strolls into the kitchen while Pike makes pancakes for breakfast.
• The Captain: Of the Cayuga. In the series premiere, she is scheduled to ship out the day after Pike and the Enterprise are recalled to active duty. Her ship is first named and seen in the season 1 finale.
• Dare to Be Badass: States that she would be glad to meet up with Pike again on Earth if he doesn't return to active service, but also tells him that she hopes that he's not there and will instead be exploring the galaxy aboard the Enterprise.
• Friends with Benefits: It's never directly stated, but aside from the fact that she and Captain Pike are clearly sleeping together, there doesn't seem to be much romantic about their relationship, nor does Pike seem conflicted about sleeping with Alora in "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach". Gradually, they grow more overtly romantic over the course of the second season.
• Hero of Another Story: Of sorts; she has her own ship and crew to get back to in the series premiere to carry out their own missions in the Federation and beyond.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Tells Pike she would prefer that he be exploring the galaxy on the Enterprise rather than staying home on Earth, even if it means they get less time together.
• Just Following Orders: She doesn't like it when she has to arrest Una, but reluctantly goes along with the law.
• The Main Characters Do Everything: While not a main character, she apparently does double duty as captain of the U.S.S. Cayuga and as a JAG officer.
• Nice Girl: Is unfailingly kind, as well as supportive of Pike living his life in Starfleet to the fullest. The only time this slips is when the JAG office orders her to arrest and prosecute Number One.
• Passed-Over Promotion: Was on the promotion list for commodore, but is denied in favor of another officer. Both Batel and Pike believe it's because Admiral Pasalk is punishing Batel for losing Una's trial.
• Romantic False Lead: Despite her apparently solid relationship with Captain Pike, Original Series viewers will know that Pike instead ends up spending his days with Vina on Talos IV as of "The Menagerie".

Lieutenant James Tiberius Kirk

Lieutenant James Tiberius Kirk

Portrayed By: Paul Wesley

Kirk is Pike's eventual successor as Captain of the Enterprise.

Two alternate versions of him play major roles in episodes: In an alternative future where Pike does not accept his promotion to fleet captain, Kirk is captain of the USS Farragut, coming to the aid of the Enterprise during a Romulan incursion into Federation space. A second alternate version of him appears in a timeline where the Federation was never founded, commanding the Enterprise in the present-day instead of Pike.

The main timeline Lieutenant Kirk finally appears as the recently promoted first officer of the USS Farragut, which was collaborating with the USS Enterprise on a mission.

Given his massive presence across the franchise, Kirk has his own page here. All tropes should go in the relevant folder on that page.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Montgomery Scott

Lieutenant Junior Grade Montgomery Scott

Portrayed By: Martin Quinn (live-action), Matthew Wolf (voice-over)

A former crew member of the science vessel U.S.S. Stardiver and future chief engineer, Montgomery Scott is first encountered by the crew of the Enterprise at the Parnassus Beta colony under attack by the Gorn.

In an alternate timeline where Pike avoided his training accident by refusing his promotion to fleet captain, depicted in "A Quality of Mercy", Scotty appeared (mostly off-screen) as the chief engineer of the Enterprise, a position he was destined to hold in the prime timeline.

For tropes relating to his appearance in the Original Series, see here.

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• Brilliant, but Lazy: If Pelia's comment is anything to go by, he got bad grades in her class, yet she describes him as one of her best students.
• Connected All Along: He was one of Pelia's best students at Starfleet Academy, though he apparently got very poor grades.
• The Engineer: To be expected, given his position.
• Ensign Newbie: Nearly; when first encountered at the end of the second season, he is a lieutenant junior grade, the second lowest rank of Starfleet officer. That said, his Gadgeteer Genius skills are already second-to-none.
• Establishing Character Moment: When we first meet him in the flesh, he's just caught several of the Enterprise crew in a clever trap he quickly whipped up to trick Gorn, after having managed to survive the destruction of his own ship by jury-rigging a shuttle so that it had enough power to out-strip the enemy.
• The Faceless: Only his arm is seen in his debut episode ("A Quality of Mercy"), with his accent giving away his true identity. Averted at last when he appears in person in the second season finale, "Hegemony".
• Foregone Conclusion: It's a not a question of whether he'll replace Hemmer and later Pelia as chief engineer of the Enterprise; it's just a matter of when. With Commander Pelia still in charge as of the end of the second season and he's still a junior officer, there's a few more years left before Scotty takes over the position. Though as the season ends, he's already one step closer to taking care of his beloved baby, as he winds up on the Enterprise with his old teacher.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Resumes this trope in grand style as he managed to jury-rig a shuttle to escape the Stardiver and whipped up a fake Gorn transponder and a makeshift Gorn trap on Parnassus Beta while under constant peril of Gorn attacks basically the entire time. Nerves of Steel indeed.
• I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: He says he's "an engineer, not a miracle worker".
• The Reveal: Even in TOS, there was no indication when he first encountered the crew of the Enterprise and came aboard the ship. He does so in "Hegemony", the SNW second season finale.
• Sole Survivor: He was the only one who made it off the Stardiver thanks to his quick thinking and a bit of creative engineering.
• Uncertain Doom: In the alternate timeline of "A Quality of Mercy", when the Romulans hit the deck where he and Spock were working, his Vulcan coworker takes a nasty bout of burns, loses a limb, and is rendered catatonic as his captain would have been had he been in that training accident. Given that (alternate) Scotty was right under him, it's not clear if he was injured or killed in the process, though Pike undoing that future by accepting his fate entirely prevents it from happening.

The Rear Admiral (Spoilers)

Christopher Pike

Portrayed By: Anson Mount

In an alternate timeline where Christopher Pike avoided his tragic accident, everything went to hell six months after it was supposed to happen. The events of "Balance of Terror" occurred with Pike still in charge, and his actions led the Romulans to start a war with the Federation, convinced it was "weak" for Pike daring to show mercy to them. Years later, Rear Admiral Pike, now dealing with a war that's left billions dead and his friend Spock in the same state he himself was supposed to be in, has gone back in time to convince his younger self not to change his fate.

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• Alternate Self: He comes from a timeline where he warned the cadets of the training accident, resulting in a future where the Romulans have slaughtered billions in their war.
• The Atoner: He visits his younger self to convince him not to warn everyone of the training accident, knowing full well the consequences of what happens.
• Call-Forward: While Pike's actions were shown to have the wrong effect, he isn't wrong the Romulans wanted peace; he was wrong that they'd want it now. Given the next century of stagnation and the influence of Spock, they would lay down arms and rejoin their Vulcan brethren by the 31st century.
• Connected All Along: It was because of this Pike that the present Pike learns of the man who's supposed to succeed him on the Enterprise— one James T. Kirk.
• Continuity Nod: Wears an updated version of the “Monster Maroon” uniforms first seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, with shoulder rank insignia indicating he is now an admiral in Starfleet.
• For Want Of A Nail: Because Pike was aware of his fate, he chose to change it because he couldn't stomach the idea of losing two cadets, triggered by his meeting one of them. As such, he stays on for another five-year mission (around the time of TOS), the accident that cripples him in the Prime Timeline occurs with no one injured or killed, and most everyone from his current crew stays on with him (with the exception of the imprisoned Una, the deceased Hemmer, and La'an, who instead transfers to the Farragut). James T. Kirk becomes Captain of the Farragut instead, and when "Balance of Terror" occurs, Pike's more merciful attitude causes the Romulans to invade, causing damage to the Enterprise that cripples Spock, instead of Kirk's more aggressive approach convincing them to back off and Spock going on to (among many other galaxy-saving/improving deeds) pave the way for peace with Romulus. Pike is still alive by 2285, and has been promoted to Rear Admiral.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the changes Pike made to the timeline, Scotty still joins the Enterprise as her Chief Engineer, the Neutral Zone Incursion incident still involves James T. Kirk (albeit as Captain of the Farragut and not the Enterprise), and Spock is still commander and First Officer.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Having shown his younger self the tragic events that led to his own visit, the older Pike mentions how important Spock is to future events, in reference to Spock being the Breakout Character of the franchise.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His trying to play nice with the Romulans ticks off their Praetor, who thinks mercy is an act of weakness. She then declares war on the "weak and pitiful" Federation, and it's indicated they're on the losing side. Oh, and Spock's a vegetable with horrific burns and a missing limb, unable to fulfill his destiny to reunify the Vulcan and Romulan peoples. All of this because he dodged his fate.
• Older and Wiser: At least 26 years older, as he's wearing a Wrath of Khan-era uniform.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: He wasn't wrong that Romulus wanted peace; he was just wrong when they wanted it. The Commander did mention he tired of war, but his sole purpose was to test whether or not The Federation had a backbone to them — and because of Pike, they failed miserably. It would take another man to convince the Romulans of the logic of peace, and Pike's actions result in that man being burnt to a crisp and rendered comatose.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: His reason for being in 2259 is because he warned the cadets about what fate awaited them, and doing so, his more merciful tactics prompted the Romulans to declare war. With billions dead, he's gone back to warn his younger self to not make the same mistake.
• Something Only They Would Say: He convinces his younger self that he's a future version of Pike by telling the story of Pike's first pony, Sir-Neighs-A-Lot, who broke his leg in a rainstorm, had to be put down, and resulted in Pike crying for a week. It's lampshaded how he never brings it up given the pony had a silly name.

Crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos (NCC-75567)

Ensign Beckett Mariner

Ensign Beckett Mariner

Portrayed By: Tawny Newsome

The Military Maverick daughter of the Cerritos captain Carol Freeman, Mariner has a rebellious streak that she is learning to temper.

For tropes pertaining to the character, see here.

Ensign Bradward "Brad" Boimler

Ensign Bradward "Brad" Boimler

Portrayed By: Jack Quaid

A fellow ensign and Mariner's friend, he seeks to one day be a captain of a ship, no matter how many butts he has to kiss.

For tropes pertaining to the character prior to Season 2, see here.

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• Fanboy: Of Pike and Spock. Apparently he dressed up as the former for Halloween.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Stuck between his fanboying to seeing Captain Pike and co. and his duty not to reveal any information about the future, his inability to properly communicate causes more headaches for the Enterprise crew than needed. For example, he insists that the Orions visiting the system are scientists...and then they steal the Time Machine that was needed to get him back home.

Ensign D'Vana Tendi

Ensign D'Vana Tendi

Portrayed By: Noël Wells

An Orion science officer on the Cerritos, known for her boundless enthusiasm.

For tropes pertaining to the character prior to Season 2, see here.

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• My Species Doth Protest Too Much: She hates the stereotype that all Orions are pirates, and gets pretty peeved that Boimler is insisting that Pike, not her great-grandmother, made the discovery of an ancient Time Machine. She was right; Pike allowed the Orions to take credit for finding it in exchange for giving back the grain they had traded earlier.

Ensign Sam Rutherford

Ensign Sam Rutherford

Portrayed By: Eugene Cordero

An engineering crew member with cybernetic implants, eager to put his skills with mechanics to work no matter how mundane the job seems.

For tropes pertaining to the character prior to Season 2, see here.

Commander Jack Ransom

Commander Jack Ransom

Portrayed By: Jerry O'Connell

The first officer of the Cerritos, a fitness nut, and the one who usually has to tend to the antics of the Lower Deckers.

For tropes pertaining to the character prior to Season 2, see here.

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• Actor Allusion: He finds Commander Una to be hot, and he should be; his actor is married to hers in real life.

Federation Civilians

T'Pring

T'Pring

Portrayed By: Gia Sandhu

"Your time in Starfleet may be causing you to behave in a manner so human we may ultimately find ourselves incompatible".

A childhood friend of Spock who becomes reacquainted with him while the Enterprise undergoes a refit. By 2259 she has become Spock's fiancée. She works rehabilitating Vulcan criminals.

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• Connected All Along: One of her patients is none other than Sybok, Spock's estranged half brother.
• Deadpan Snarker: As befitting a Vulcan, T'Pring has a cutting wit when interacting with Spock, poking at his formalities at dinner to get him to lighten up.
• Not So Above It All: During a "Freaky Friday" Flip incident with Spock, she has to fill in for him in his body during negotiations with another alien race, while he has to meet with a fugitive in her body to discuss said fugitive getting rehabilitated. The Vulcan turns out to have an intense dislike of humans, at which point Spock knocks him out cold. Later, when Spock admits to this, she tells him it was a logical response.
• Romantic False Lead: Despite appearing to be happily engaged to Spock initially, viewers know that their relationship will dissolve by the TOS era, and she will instead end up with Stonn.

Stonn

Stonn

Portrayed By: Roderick McNeil

A colleague of T'Pring at the Ankeshtan K'til Retreat.

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• Office Romance: Not yet, at least, but fans of TOS know that T'Pring will choose him over Spock.

Xaverius (Spoilers)

A prisoner at Ankeshtan K'til. "Xaverius" is his pseudonym; he is actually Spock's half-brother, Sybok.

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• Cultural Rebel: He's a V'tosh ka'tur, a Vulcan who rejects the practice of Emotion Suppression.

Romulan Star Empire

Romulan Commander (Spoilers)

Romulan Commander

Portrayed By: Matthew MacFadzean

In the Prime Reality, this unnamed Romulan Commander was sent on a scouting mission to the Neutral Zone to attack the Federation's outposts, determining if their old enemies were proud warriors or spineless cowards they could easily conquer. Thanks to James T. Kirk during the events of "Balance of Terror", the Romulans learned the Federation was the former. But in another reality where Christopher Pike retained command, this commander winds up playing a role to learn that they think Starfleet is really the latter.

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• Art Evolution: He and his brethren have the head ridges seen in TNG, and are wearing more ceremonial armor (with the helmets lacking the nose guards) rather than the more gaudy and colorful uniforms seen during TOS.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: In "Balance of Terror", he's Driven to Suicide and blows up both his ship and his crew knowing the fate that awaits them back home. In "A Quality of Mercy", his own people blow him up because he and his crew got caught by the Federation.
• Even Evil Has Standards: In spite of the Romulans viewing diplomacy and mercy as a weakness, this commander hates any act of war that leads to senseless loss of life.
• No Name Given: He's just called the "Romulan Commander". The fanon name “Keras” is simply an anagram of Sarek (Spock’s father), as both were played by Mark Lenard in TOS.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: Averted. Though in TOS this commander was played by Mark Lenard, who would go on to play Spock's father (an irony that The Autobiography of James T. Kirk noted), the commander is not played by his Star Trek: Discovery actor James Frain.
• Villain Respect: In his final moments, he admits he has respect for Captain Pike's restraint and willingness to show mercy. A shame the rest of his people would rather wipe them out for those very qualities.
• War Is Hell: He participated in the Reman Campaign, and witnessed the needless loss of life firsthand.

Romulan Agent (Spoilers)

Romulan Agent

Portrayed By: Adelaide Kane

The Romulan agent Sera was sent on a time-travel mission to kill Khan Noonien-Singh as part of a larger project by the Romulans to disrupt the technological advancement of humanity. During her mission, she encountered Khan's descendant La'an and a James T. Kirk from an alternate timeline and used them to locate and gain access to Khan's location.

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• The Conspiracy: When she first meets La'an and Kirk, she claims that there's a global conspiracy to hide the existence of aliens while making advances using fragments of tech recovered from various attacks, while the attacks themselves are part of another conspiracy intended to stunt the progress of humanity. Of course, she is actually part of the latter conspiracy, and is herself from the future attempting to prevent humans from forming the Federation to weaken the Romulans' future adversaries.
• Make Wrong What Once Went Right: Her mission is to travel to the past to kill Khan, preventing the Eugenics Wars and causing humanity to become isolationist, never solving their problems in the same way they did with having witnessed the horrors of World War III thanks to Khan.
• Obfuscating Insanity: She pretends to be a kooky conspiracy theorist convinced of the existence of aliens in order to get La'an and Kirk to lead her to Khan's location.
• Shadow Archetype: For Captain Braxton. Both spent thirty years Trapped in the Past telling random people what they know about the future and being dismissed as crackpots. Captain Braxton was a well-intentioned man trying to prevent a future disaster and suffering from mental illness. Sera is intentionally trying to create a Bad Future.
• Suicide Pill: After being shot by La'an, she triggers a device which vaporizes her in an instant, presumably so humanity won't discover there's aliens running around.
• Trapped in the Past: She's been stuck on Earth trying to kill Khan since 1992.
• Would Hurt a Child: Her plan to change the future is to kill Khan while he's still a child. Initially, she plots to detonate the reactor and wipe out Toronto, taking him with it, but she goes the personal route when Kirk derails the first plan.

Others

Captain Angel (Spoilers)

Captain Angel

Portrayed By: Jesse James Keitel

A pirate captain commanding the Serene Squall. They are also the lover of Sybok and show great interest in their lover's half brother, Spock.

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• Affably Evil: Angel is rather supportive and friendly to Spock, despite wanting to use him as a hostage and to steal the Enterprise, despite this they offer advice and support for him to deal with his half-human nature, even after they drop the pretense of being Dr. Aspen.
• A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Boards the Enterprise as "Dr. Aspen" to convince them to go beyond the border, right into an ambush.
• Connected All Along: Spock figures out their lover "Xaverius" is actually his half-brother Sybok.
• Crazy-Prepared: They have an escape craft prepared ahead of time as well as a pendant allowing them to beam themselves to said craft when things start to go south for them.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: They encourage Spock to reconcile with his human and Vulcan natures, saying that he should reject the boxes placed on him in favor of deciding who he is rather than what he is. In story, this is because of their relationship with Sybok, a Vulcan who embraces emotion, but the fact that Angel is nonbinary brings up a parallel to gender identity.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Their ultimate goal is to rescue their lover Sybok, and their affinity for Spock is implied to be because he's, in a way, their brother-in-law.
• Evil Is Hammy: As Aspen they act normally, even a bit restrained. When they reveal themself as Angel, however, they start acting far more camp and over the top, with smirks, evil laughter, fake flirting with the enemy, and mocking their foes.
• Facial Markings: They have a facial tattoo resembling a spinal column around the left eye.
• Screw You, Elves!: Well, Vulcans. As Sybok's lover who dislikes the Vulcans for imprisoning him, they find the binary of logic and emotion that the Vulcans practice to be a False Dichotomy. As they demonstrate with their deception and their blackmail of T'Pring, even the most logical Vulcan actions are driven by emotion.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: They have a transporter beacon in their pendant which they use to escape the Enterprise to the pirates' boarding craft when Pike commandeers the Serene Squall.

High Lord Zacarias

High Lord Zacarias

Portrayed By: David Huynh

Once Pike's personal yeoman, Zac Nguyen was believed killed in action during a mission on Rigel VII. However, he survived, and when the Enterprise returns to Rigel VII, they discover that Zac has used his superior Starfleet technology to become the planet's ruler.

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• Giving Radio to the Romans: He secured his rule over Rigel VII by equipping the planet's higher caste with phaser rifles.
• Not Quite Dead: Pike believed him killed in action, as it turns out he wasn't, and instead believes he was left behind.
• What You Are in the Dark: While he claims that Rigel VII's memory loss characteristics change people for the worse, considering Pike and M'Benga's core values survive, it appears that deep down Zac was always manipulative and power-hungry.

Ambassador Dak'Rah (Spoilers)

Ambassador Dak'Rah

Portrayed By: Robert Wisdom

A Klingon general whose forces slaughtered countless civilians on J'Gal during the Federation-Klingon War, who then defected to the Federation and became an ambassador promoting peace. He claimed to have killed his own soldiers out of horror at their crimes, an action which earned him the epithet "The Butcher of J'Gal". The Enterprise was ordered to transport him to Starbase 12, which caused conflict with those who served on the other side of the war, particularly M'Benga, who knew from personal experience that his claims didn't add up.

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• Ambadassador: He may be a kindly ambassador now, but he was a general during the war and still practices mok'bara.
• The Atoner: He seeks to atone for his violent warrior past by promoting peace for the Federation. While his motives seem genuine, he's something of a Manipulative Bastard in the way that he tries to befriend the victims of his atrocities, in the hope that their forgiveness will legitimize his efforts.
• The Butcher: Killing his own officers made him known as "The Butcher of J'Gal" for killing his own officers. He didn't, however; M'Benga killed them in an attempt to hunt Dak'Rah down.
• Crocodile Tears: When playing his part as The Atoner. It stands out a fair bit, considering Klingons aren't supposed to have tear ducts.
• Dirty Coward: What he really was at J'Gal. He ordered the execution of anyone who wasn't a Klingon warrior, and then fled and defected instead of fighting to the death like a "true Klingon" when the tide turned against him.
• Engineered Heroics: He had no idea who had killed his officers at the time he fled J'Gal, but he was all too willing to take the credit for it to appear to have taken a moral stand against wanton brutality and ingratiate himself with the Federation, even though it meant he'd be disliked by his fellow Klingons. The alternative was to be despised for being a Dirty Coward who ran from a glorious death in battle, which, for a Klingon, would be a far worse fate.
• Token Heroic Orc: Subverted. He claims to the Federation that he killed his subordinates and then defected because he was disgusted by the war crimes they committed. In fact, he ordered them to commit said war crimes, and when they were killed by M'Benga ran away in cowardice and defected to the Federation, meaning that both the Federation and the Klingons would view him for different reasons as a despicable bastard.
• Trauma Button: He's a living one for Chapel and M'Benga, and for good reason.