WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2.Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon war continues to cast a long shadow over Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, as many veterans are now serving aboard the USS Enterprise. Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) triggered the Federation-Klingon War in Discovery season 1, and it caused the deaths of a hundred million Federation citizens between 2256 and 2257. The threat of a second war with the Klingons would hang over the Federation until 2293, when the First Khitomer Accords were signed.

The fallout from Discovery's Klingon war hampered the efforts of Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and the crew of the USS Enterprise to rescue La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) from Cajitar IV. As the planet was located on the fringes of Klingon space, it was a hotly contested location for the mining of the Dilithium needed to facilitate warp travel. The rescue mission to Cajitar IV opened old wounds for of the Enterprise crew who had served in the war, revealing further details of who endured the brutal realities of the conflict and which Enterprise officers were barred from entering the Federation-Klingon war.

Which Strange New Worlds Crew Fought In Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War

Chapel M'Benga Klingon War

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 has already revealed that three of the USS Enterprise crew served during the Klingon war. A trailer for SNW season 2 revealed that Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) was a pilot during the war, where she seemingly pulled off a number of crazy maneuvers with a shuttle craft. The episode in which she makes this ission is yet to air, so there's not much information about where she served. A potential clue is during the SNW episode "Memento Mori", in which she wears the emblem of the USS Palenque during Starfleet Remembrance Day, which memorializes those officers lost in the line of duty.

In the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere, "The Broken Circle", it was revealed that Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) also served during the Federation-Klingon War. M'Benga is clearly still experiencing some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as he recounted the horrors he saw during the war. It was Nurse Chapel who had to calm him down and remind him that the war was over. Interestingly, it was the combat skills shown during the Federation-Klingon war, and not his medical skills that led to Pike selecting M'Benga for the Rigel VII mission in Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 4, "Among the Lotus Eaters".

Which Strange New Worlds Crew Missed Discovery's Klingon War & Why

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Pike, Spock, and Number 1

In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) took temporary command of the titular ship. He revealed that, as the USS Enterprise was in the middle of its five-year mission, Starfleet had decided not to recall the ship to engage in the conflict. Pike believed that it was because he and his crew wouldn't approve of some of the more morally questionable decisions made by the Federation during the war with the Klingons. iral Katrina Cornwell (Jayne Brook) denied this allegation, stating that the Enterprise missed the war because Starfleet wanted to ensure that their best officers survived.

Pike, his Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Spock therefore all missed the Klingon War, instead following Starfleet's principle mission of exploration and discovery rather than warfare. Missing the Federation-Klingon war took a psychological toll on Pike and his crew, as they were helpless to intervene and save the lives of so many Federation citizens and Starfleet colleagues. As Star Trek: Strange New Worlds teases a potential war with the Gorn Hegemony in season 2, it's hoped for everyone's sakes that the lessons of the Federation-Klingon war have been learned.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.