Summary
- The Badlands in Star Trek are a dangerous area of space plagued by plasma storms.
- The USS Discovery journeyed into the Badlands to find the final Progenitors' clue hidden in the Eternal Gallery and Archive.
- The Badlands' plasma storms and gravitational anomalies make it a volatile yet strategic hiding spot.
In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, the USS Discovery ventured into the Badlands, a dangerously stormy area of space that has popped up in multiple Star Trek stories. First introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, the plasma storms of the Badlands served as the perfect cover for the group of resistance fighters known as the Maquis. After their introduction in connection with the Maquis, the Badlands were not fully revealed onscreen until the premiere of Star Trek: Voyager. The USS Voyager soon became one of the ships to vanish in the Badlands, as it was transported to the Delta Quadrant by the mysterious Caretaker.
In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, "Labyrinths," the USS Discovery entered the Badlands for the fifth and final clue to the Progenitors' ancient technology hidden in the Eternal Gallery and Archive, an intergalactic library located in the heart of the Badlands. Now pursued by Moll (Eve Harlow) and the Breen, Discovery navigated this treacherous region of space so that Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) could acquire the final clue. Discovery now joins the short list of other Star Trek ships that have survived "the largest plasma storm in the quadrant."
What Are The Badlands In Star Trek?
"Been there. It's as fun as it sounds."
The Badlands are a dangerous region of space plagued by massive plasma storms and strange gravitational anomalies. The plasma storms produce plasma blasts and ionic discharges, making the Badlands an extremely volatile and unpredictable area of space. Because of these various dangers, starships generally avoid the Badlands, and several vessels have gone missing in the area. The plasma storms also produce Cherenkov radiation, which prevents ships from cloaking. Sensors are limited and unreliable in the Badlands due to all the interference, making the area a perfect hiding spot for groups like the Maquis Resistance.
During Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion War, the Badlands became even more important as a strategic location.
Because part of the border between Federation and Cardassian space was located in the Badlands, the Maquis used the region during their insurrection against Cardassia. The Bajoran resistance also hid from Cardassian patrols in the Badlands during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. During Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion War, the Badlands became even more important as a strategic location, and ships traveling through the area required escorts to guard against ambushes. There were planets, planetoids, and asteroids located within the Badlands, some of which were used by the Maquis.
What Happened In The Badlands In Star Trek: DS9 & Voyager?
"I've never seen a Federation starship that could maneuver through the plasma storms."
The Badlands and the Maquis both debuted in the same two-part Star Trek: Deep Space Nine story, DS9 season 2, episodes 20 and 21, "The Maquis." When a Cardassian transport is destroyed after leaving DS9, Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) begin an investigation. Dukat is soon kidnapped by a group of Maquis led by Lt. Commander Calvin Hudson (Bernie Casey), and taken to an asteroid in the Badlands. Later in DS9 season 3, episode 9, "Defiant," Thomas Riker (Jonathan Frakes) hijacks the USS Defiant and takes it to the Badlands to meet with other Maquis ships.
The Maquis continued to use the Badlands as a hiding place for their bases, and, after the Dominion had massacred most of the resistance fighters, the few remaining members fled to Athos IV, a barren plant located in the Badlands. In Star Trek: Voyager's feature-length premiere, "Caretaker," Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) leads the USS Voyager into the Badlands in search of the Maquis raider, the Val Jean. Janeway's friend and security officer, Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) was undercover on the Val Jean, and Janeway is determined to find him. While in the Badlands, Voyager is hit by a displacement wave that sends the ship over 70,000 light-years away, into the Delta Quadrant.
What Happened In The Badlands In Star Trek: Discovery?
"It’s kind of beautiful in a twisted sort of way."
In the 32nd century of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, the Badlands are the temporary home of the Eternal Gallery and Archive, a massive interstellar library. The location of the Archive changes every fifty years, and the USS Discovery determines its location to be in a calm area of space within the turbulent Badlands. After encountering Archivist Hy’Rell (Elena Juatco), Discovery makes it to the Archive with minimal damage. Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) then travel to the massive library in search of the Betazoid manuscript, Labyrinths of the Mind. Burnham soon finds herself in a labyrinth of her own mind, with a guide who takes on the appearance of Book.
The fifth and final Progenitor clue was hidden by a Betazoid doctor named Marina Derex, who chose to leave her portion of the puzzle in the original handwritten manuscript of her book, Labyrinths of the Mind.
As Burnham appears unconscious to the rest of her crew, the Breen Dreadnought of Primark Ruhn (Tony Nappo) catches up to Discovery. Using the plasma storms of the Badlands, Discovery is able to remain hidden from the Breen for a while, but their shields can only withstand so much battering from the storms. Burnham finds the clue just in time for Discovery to escape from the Breen by making it look as though their ship has been destroyed. Now that Burnham and her crew have the final clue, all of the pieces are in place for a thrilling conclusion to Star Trek: Discovery's final season.
