STARFLEET ACADEMY’S New Aliens Come From ’90s STAR TREK Books

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The sixth episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, titled “Come, Let’s Away,” introduces a genuinely frightening new alien enemy. During a training exercise in deep space, Captain Ake (Holly Hunter) and her crew on the Athena are attacked by the Furies, a collective alien race. Starfleet describes them as part alien, part human, but they feel more like pure evil than any aliens we’ve encountered in Star Trek before. Dressed in black and making unsettling, insect-like noises, the Furies have faces that seem to vibrate, giving them a demonic appearance. They are violent, cannibalistic, and a galactic threat. Fans of Firefly might find them similar to the Reavers. Interestingly, these Furies are based on aliens originally created for a little-known Star Trek novel series from thirty years ago.

The Furies, a fierce and terrifying alien race, debuted in a four-part Star Trek novel series called Star Trek: Invasion! published in 1996. The novels brought together the crews of Star Trek, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager to face an ancient enemy that almost destroyed the Alpha Quadrant. The Furies weren’t a single species, but a terrifying alliance of 666 different alien races originating from outside our galaxy.

Long ago, this species ruled the Alpha Quadrant, brutally enslaving humans and Vulcans. Starfleet records describe them as incredibly repulsive, almost frighteningly so. Their appearances were so disturbing that some resembled figures from various worlds’ mythologies, even depictions of the devil. It’s believed these beings – the Furies – were the source of many demonic legends across different planets.

The Furies first appeared in the Star Trek: Invasion! novel First Strike, which was set during Captain Kirk’s time commanding the Enterprise. Spock named this mysterious alien group the Furies, drawing inspiration from Earth mythology. They resurfaced in the TNG novel Soldiers of Fear, almost a century later, and also appear in the DS9 novel Time’s Enemy and the Voyager book The Final Fury. Originally published in 1996, these novels were collected into a single volume in 1998. Coincidentally, a separate Star Trek: Invasion – a video game – was also released in 1998, but it wasn’t connected to the novels in any way.

The Furies featured in Starfleet Academy are different from those in the Star Trek: Invasion! novels. The novel versions are a group of alien species from another galaxy, essentially invading ours like a disease. In Starfleet Academy, the Furies are hybrids of humans and aliens, known for being cannibalistic and showing no mercy. They likely appeared around the time of, or immediately after, the Burn. This introduction is reminiscent of the Yuuzhan Vong from Star Wars, who were initially presented as ruthless alien invaders from outside the galaxy and became the primary villains in a series of novels in the 1990s. It’s unclear whether the Furies were inspired by the Yuuzhan Vong, or if the similarities are simply coincidental.

The inclusion of the Furies in Star Trek canon represents a shift in how the franchise handles its supplementary materials – novels, comics, and games. These materials are considered “B-Canon,” distinct from the core “A-Canon” of the TV shows and films. This system is similar to the Star Wars Expanded Universe: officially licensed stories that exist outside the main storyline. However, Star Trek rarely draws upon ideas from its B-Canon for its television series or movies. Star Wars, on the other hand, frequently integrates concepts from its non-canonical Expanded Universe into its films and shows, as seen with characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Night Sisters of Dathomir – both of whom first appeared in books outside the main canon.

The introduction of the Furies in Starfleet Academy raises the question of whether Star Trek is starting to rely too much on previously established, but lesser-known, ideas. For years, comics, novels, and games have introduced countless original concepts, many of which remain untapped. It makes sense to revisit these older stories for inspiration. However, consistently drawing from these sources could also suggest a shortage of strong, new science fiction writers for the current shows. While recent Trek series excel at character development and actor chemistry, there’s a noticeable lack of truly original storytelling. This reliance on older material implies the writers are struggling to create fresh, compelling narratives. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with revisiting past ideas, fans would ultimately prefer to see Star Trek push boundaries with entirely new concepts.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is currently streaming on Paramount+.

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2026-02-12 11:03