Detained on an industrial colony, Caleb Mir and his mother Anisha are awaiting trial along with the pirate Nus Braka, after a Starfleet officer has been killed during their attempt to steal food. Braka is sentenced to jail and Anisha to a rehab facility, separating her from Caleb. Judge Nahla Ake promises to look after him, but he escapes at Anisha's urging. Fifteen years later, Ake has resigned from Starfleet out of shame over the trial. She is offered the position of commandant of the newly re
Chancellor Ake welcomes the incoming Starfleet Academy class, contrasting them with the more militarized War College remaining after the Burn. The cadets are assigned roommates, with Caleb and Darem complaining about being placed together. Following Braka's claims that Anisha was once on Goja V, Caleb and Ake find no record of this planet. Ake and Admiral Vance prepare for a delegation from Betazed, which left the Federation after the Burn. Betazed's president dismisses the Federation's requests
The cadets are introduced to Calica, a realistic team combat game. War College cadets use transporters to embarrass Caleb, Darem, Genesis, and Sam. Chancellor Ake advises her cadets to learn how to make war by gardening, and introduces them to the protected vitus reflux plant, which emulates a person's emotions. Caleb learns Tarima has enrolled in the War College and is angry she did not tell him, but later reconciles. War College cadets hack Starfleet Academy's Calica training footage, and emba
Klingon cadet Jay-Den Kraag learns that his family may have been killed in a starship crash on their way to a refugee camp. During the Burn, the Klingon Empire was destroyed, leaving the Klingons an endangered species facing extinction. As the cadets engage in a series of debates on the topic, Admiral Vance enlists Chancellor Ake's help to propose a solution to Klingon General Obel Wochak, an ex-lover of hers: asylum on Faan Alpha, a potential new homeworld in Federation space with conditions vi
Due to her own work as an emissary for the Makers, SAM becomes obsessed with the mystery of Benjamin Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets who vanished at the end of the Dominion War. At the same time, Ake helps War College Chancellor Kelrec prepare for an important meeting with another chancellor with the help of the Doctor and Reno in an effort to make peace between them. Kelrec reveals that he feels that Ake abandoned Starfleet, leading to his animosity towards her. SAM's efforts are unsuccessf
Starfleet Academy and War College cadets participate in a routine training exercise aboard the derelict USS Miyazaki, which contains an experimental singularity drive that disabled the ship a century ago, killing its crew. Aliens called Furies board the Miyazaki and take the cadets hostage. Vance and Ake make a deal for assistance with Nus Braka, who has fought Furies before. Braka recommends sonic weapons and Vance suggests using a weapon carried by the USS Sargasso, which is called away from S
The academy cadets go on a four-day break. As Darem is apparently abducted through a portal, Jay-Den, witnessing this, follows, only to learn that this was a Khionian pre-wedding ritual, and that Darem is scheduled to be co-ruler of Khionia with his fiancée, Kaira, several years after he graduates. Daren then names Jay-Den is his Ko'Zeine, or best man. Caleb remains on campus to relax. Though he worries about Tarima, who is recovering on Betazed following the events aboard the Miyazaki, he has n
With the cadets struggling with their experiences, Ake calls in Sylvia Tilly to help bring them back together through the play Our Town. Tarima finally returns, but is transferred to Starfleet Academy and has trouble dealing with the changes. Tarima has an emotional meltdown and nearly leaves, but chooses to stay in the end as everyone comes closer together than ever. SAM's glitching threatens her life, so the Doctor and Ake take her to her homeworld Kasq in hopes that SAM's Makers can save her,
At the end of the academic year, the cadets perform a Klingon ritual declaring themselves as a chosen family, though Caleb declines. At the same time, Starfleet pulls back after learning that Braka has weaponized the apocalyptic Omega molecule. Finally accessing a message from Anisha, Caleb with Darem, SAM and Genesis, goes after her on a planet in Venari Ral space, followed by Ake, Reno, the Doctor and stowaways Jay-Den and Tarima. Having found his mother, Caleb considers abandoning Starfleet,
Vance and Thok reveal that Braka is organizing a cartel of non-member worlds to pillage the Federation and the Athena is on her own. Braka catches up and captures Ake and Anisha, before seemingly destroying the Athena. The Doctor projects an illusion of a destroyed ship, but is left glitching and unable to communicate clearly. As Braka holds a trial for the Federation, Reno and the cadets work together to repair the ship, track Braka and bring down the wall. Anisha and Ake face their mutual past