Star Trek Reveals A TNG Character Became Enterprise Captain After Picard

The new canonical Star Trek: Picard prequel novel has revealed who replaced Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as the Captain of the Enterprise: Worf (Michael Dorn). Star Trek: Picard is set 20 years after the final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, and by the time the new series picks up, Picard has been retired from Starfleet for 15 years. The TV series hasn't answered who took over the captain's chair of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E in Picard's stead but now we know it was Starfleet's most prominent Klingon.

Jean-Luc Picard was Captain of the United Federation of Planets' flagship for nearly 20 years, with Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) as his First Officer for 15 of those years. Worf, meanwhile, served as the Enterprise's Security Chief until he accepted a transfer to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's titular space station. On DS9, Lieutenant Commander Worf assumed the role of Strategic Operations Officer and he played a crucial role during the Dominion War as second-in-command to the Klingons' General Martok (J.G. Hertzler). However, Worf did double-duty and returned to the Enterprise to take part in all four Star Trek: TNG movies, despite also becoming the Ambassador to the Klingon homeworld when DS9 ended. Worf's ambassadorship didn't last long because he rejoined Picard's crew in Star Trek: Nemesis and remained on the Enterprise-E until he took over the Captain's chair from Picard.

The details of Captain Worf's ascension to commanding the Enterprise-E are found in Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack. Set between the years 2381-2385, The Last Best Hope fills in Star Trek: Picard's backstory about the Romulan sun going supernova, how Admiral Picard was tapped to lead the Federation's mission to rescue the Romulans (a plan which was unpopular with many of the Federation's member words), and the construction of the rescue fleet at the Utopia Planitia Fleetyards on Mars - which would be destroyed by an attack by rogue synthetics in 2385. The Last Best Hope also explains Picard's decision to leave the Enterprise to take command of the U.S.S. Verity and handpicking Romulan expert Lt. Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) as his First Officer.

Worf captained DS9's U.S.S. Defiant many times and is an experienced starship commander. Still, Trekkers would understandably be surprised at Worf becoming Captain of the Enterprise: the Klingon earned a black mark on his record when he abandoned a Starfleet Intelligence mission to rescue his wife Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) in the DS9 episode "Change of Heart". Afterward, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) told Worf that he doubted Starfleet would ever give the Klingon his own command. However, The Last Best Hope reveals that Admiral Picard personally recommended Worf for the Captain's chair. Starfleet agreed because the Romulans seeing a Klingon leading the Federation flagship would be "good optics", but the fact that the blight on Worf's record was overlooked showed the sway Picard once had in Starfleet (which he lost after Jean-Luc publicly condemned Starfleet in Star Trek: Picard's premiere episode).

Meanwhile, Worf becoming Captain of the Enterprise after Picard may have also made Will Riker see red. Riker infamously remained the Enterprise's First Officer for 15 years and turned down several promotions in the hopes of taking over the main chair from Picard. At the end of Star Trek: Nemesis, which happened in 2379, Will and his new bride, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), left the Enterprise-E when he became Captain of the U.S.S. Titan. The way events played out, had Riker held firm, turned down the Titan, and remained on the Enterprise-E just a few more years, he could have become captain of the ship he wanted all along. Ironically, Worf also dated Troi in TNG season 7 before he left for DS9, so at least Riker can take solace that he got the woman of his dreams even though his 'rival' Worf became Captain of the Enterprise leading up to Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Picard streams Thursdays on CBS All-Access and Fridays internationally on Amazon Prime Video.

Source: screenrant.com