Paramount+ has shared a teaser trailer and batch of photos for the upcoming episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Titled "Come, Let's Away," Episode 6 looks like the most action-packed yet, raising the stakes for our young cadets as they come face to face with a deadly new enemy.
"During the cadets’ first training mission on an abandoned ship, they encounter a dangerous new enemy," the episode description teases. "As our cadets fight for survival, Nahla must risk everything to save them by seeking help from an unexpected, untrustworthy, source."
It's revealed in the trailer that this new enemy is "the Furies," a dangerous new enemy we've not yet seen before in Star Trek, at least not in the official canon. The Furies are actually a species featured in Star Trek: Invasion!, a crossover book series from the mid-90s that's considered part of the expanded universe and not canon within the TV and film continuity.
Based on the little we see of them in the trailer, there doesn't appear to be a connection between the two other than name. The Furies in Starfleet Academy are described as ruthless, and having "a nasty habit of killing their hostages." In the Invasion! books, they are more about manipulation and operating through psychological warfare, infiltration, and proxy conflicts. They are more about possessing and influencing other beings, using subversion and chaos tactics rather than a full on assault.
It's possible that the showrunners have taken some creative liberties, but other than the name, I don't think there's any connection. We've been surprised before though, so who knows!
Elsewhere in the trailer, we see the return of Paul Giamatti's Nus Braka. The Klingon-Tellarite hybrid hasn't been seen since the first episode, but it looks like he's back. And despite his antagonistic tendencies, he may be the "unexpected, untrustworthy source" that helps save the cadets.
Until now, most of what our cadets have faced has been fairly low-stakes. After several episodes focused primarily on academy lessons, it’s refreshing to see Starfleet Academy raise the stakes by introducing real conflict and genuinely dangerous threats.
After a heartwarming episode that paid homage to Deep Space Nine and honored the great Benjamin Sisko, it looks like we're in for more of an action-packed episode this week. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode 6, "Come, Let's Away," will premiere on Thursday, February 12 on Paramount+. The episode is written by Kenneth Lin and Kiley Rosseter, and directed by Larry Teng.