'Star Trek Online' launches new season with familiar faces amid a Klingon civil war

A new season of "Star Trek Online" warped into action this week, bringing with it the conclusion to the game's Klingon civil war.

The new season, called "House United," dropped on PC Tuesday (May 25) and features the voices of several "Star Trek" television veterans as Klingon characters, which allows players to prove their worth before building an army and heading to Qo'noS (pronounced Kronos, the Klingon homeworld) for the final battle. (If you pursue Qapla' on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, however, your turn will have to wait until Aug. 3 when the season drops on those consoles.) 

Here's who appears on this season's edition of the free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG:

  • Mary Chieffo will reprise her "Star Trek: Discovery" Klingon character, L'Rell. 
  • Rekha Sharma, who plays Commander Landry on "Star Trek: Discovery", will portray Adet'Pa. 
  • Robert O'Reilly, who played Klingon Empire leader Chancellor Gowron in two "Star Trek" franchise shows ("The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine"), will portray Aakar. 
  • J.G Hertzler will reprise his role as Klingon general Martok from "Deep Space Nine." (No word yet on whether — like in the 1990s show — he will be promoted to chancellor.) 

Publisher Perfect World Entertainment also dropped a trailer on YouTube showing brief scenes from the new season. Our advice: Come for the Klingon ship fights, stay for the fluorescent pink Bat'leth.

In a statement, Perfect World said players will have two new chapters featuring Klingon content, along with an event called "Only Qo'noS Endures", a task force operation called "Remain Klingon", and three new patrols.

"House United" includes a fluorescent pink Bat'leth to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies. (Image credit: Perfect World Entertainment)

"After travelling to the sacred planet of Boreth and descending into the pits of Gre'thor, J'Ula, matriarch of House Mo'Kai, has resurrected the famed Klingon warrior, L'Rell," Perfect World stated. "L'Rell will be a guiding light for J'Ula on what it truly means to be Klingon."

One of the expected rewards of the new season will be "a ground set inspired by the villainous Aakar", Perfect World added, which players can earn "by exploring new episodes, patrols and TFOs [task force operations] associated with the Klingon Civil War."

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace