Vox in Excelso
A transport carrying members of the eight Klingon houses crashes while on the way to a refugee camp, and it’s unclear if Jay-Den Kraag’s family was among them. Meanwhile, the Doctor teaches the cadets about debate. And the cadets work on a solution to help the Klingon find a new home.
Warning: Spoilers below
Public Speaking Anxiety
The cadets are on a space flight and are taking part in a debate class taught by the Doctor when Jay-Den is visibly uncomfortable due to his fear of public speaking. Caleb calls him the only shy Klingon in history and the pair discuss Klingon culture. Daram jumps in to give them his perspective when they are interrupted by the Doctor. He explains the importance of debate, how it gave him his very existence (remember he’s a hologram), and tells them he can debate them out of existence, then orders debate practice.
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Daram and Caleb start the debate practice and Caleb quickly dispatches his opponent. Caleb mows through the entire class with Jay-Den being his final opponent. Before he can debate, Jay-Den passes out from his anxiety. After class, Caleb tries to help Jay-Den eat through his anxiety, but Jay-Den refuses a traditional Klingon dish for warriors and asks why Caleb hoards Earth food. Just then, Jay-Den is called to the captain’s quarters.
Family Issues
Chancellor Ake tells Jay-Den about the Klingon transport crash and that his family may have been among them. She offers him some time away from class but he refuses and asks to return to class. While this is going on, he has flashbacks to his life on the run with his parents and brother. He remembers how much his parents wanted him to be a warrior like his brother, but his brother understood the mythology around Klingon history and encouraged him to follow his own path.
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Jay-Den returns to class where they had been watching the news of the Klingon transport crash until he returned. The Doctor requested a topic for them to debate in front of the rest of the Academy. The Doctor is pushing back against using the recent Klingon tragedy as a debate topic, but Jay-Den pushes for them to use it especially since Starfleet has been pushing to help the Klingons in their recovery following the destruction of their planet. The class agrees to debate the Klingon diaspora.
Helping Friends
Caleb and Genesis approach Jay-Den with a plan to team up and help him with his debate. Jay-Den pushes back for two reasons. Despite his public speaking struggles, he wants to complete the debate himself. Also, he plans to take the negative position on the issue and argue the Klingons should decide their fate for themselves rather than the positive of Starfleet assisting them like Caleb and Genesis plan to argue. Jay-Den also has more flashbacks to the day his brother died and the encouragement his brother gave him after being killed for getting Starfleet artifacts for him in a time when the Klingons were pushing back against Starfleet.
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Meanwhile, Admiral Vance has discovered a planet that will be suitable for Klingons. The issue is the Klingons won’t just accept the new home world as a gesture of goodwill. This must be won in battle. Ake meets with Klingon leader Obal Wolchak to discuss the planet and encourage Starfleet granting asylum. He refuses because of Klingon culture. This frustrates everyone in Starfleet because the refusal could very easily lead to Klingon extinction.
Debate
The cadets show off for the rest of the Academy by debating the Klingon diaspora. Jay-Den must face Caleb who has proven to be the best debater. The pair start out respectfully by pointing out their differing viewpoints. However, it gets to a point where they let their personal feelings get in the way. After many warnings from the Doctor, both are sent to their rooms.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Cadet Master Thok goes to Jay-Den’s room to discuss the situation. He relays a memory of his father getting mad at him for not shooting a bird and missing it when he fired. Jay-Den thinks his father was disappointed but Thok, being half-Klingon, points out that Klingons usually become more focused when they are angry. If he missed that shot, it’s more likely he missed on purpose. She suggests Jay-Den’s father was letting him go in the only way to protect both of their prides. This gives Jay-Den an idea to get the Klingons to accept the new home world.
Battle
The Starfleet Academy cadets, along with other Starfleet ships, head to the area where the planet that can hold Klingons is. They draw the Klingon refugee ships into the region and say they have violated Starfleet space and they must prepare for battle. This pleases the warrior race and the two sides start firing at each other. The Starfleet ships would easily outgun the Klingon ships but they purposely miss. Starfleet surrenders when their shields are down to 95% strength. They say the Klingons have won the planet in battle and it now belongs to them. This pleases the Klingons, and it’s also clear the leader understood what was happening and just accepted the victory.
Brooke Palmer/Paramount+
Later, Jay-Den returns to his room to find the Starfleet artifact that his brother got him, and was shown destroyed by his father in the flashbacks after his brother’s death, has been repaired. Daram tells Jay-Den that he and Caleb put it together to help their friend. Wolchak also tells Jay-Den that his family was not killed in the transport crash and will now live safely on the new planet.
What’s Next?
This is one of the most powerful episodes of the very short season, so far. It shows the differences in cultures without trying to paint the Klingons in a negative light. They are proud, not savages. And they can be persuaded. It’s also nice that the Klingon representative understands their plight and accepts help in a way that honors their culture. It can be viewed negatively, but there’s a broad appeal that can be of assistance later on.
If I have one complaint, it’s Star Trek’s reliance on planetary destruction. In the Kelvin-verse films, both Romulus and Vulcan were destroyed. In this timeline, Qo’noS has been destroyed. Of course, this ties into “The Burn” introduced in Star Trek: Discovery and dilithium is a clear allegory for oil, but it’s still a well they’ve approached often. Hopefully, it’s not too heavy as they continue. Still, this is an awesome episode.
Check out Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming exclusively on Paramount Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
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