Commander Jett Reno’s Quirky Warp Command Steals The Show In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

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The series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy featured a new and impressive warp command, though it wasn’t delivered by Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter). While the first season finale of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy aired in March, Paramount+ decided not to continue the young adult series. The recently completed second season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will also be the show’s last.

The command a captain gives to initiate warp speed has become a well-known part of Star Trek. It really took off with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his famous “Engage!” on Star Trek: The Next Generation. More recent Star Trek shows on Paramount+ have highlighted these commands, with Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) saying “Let’s fly!” on Star Trek: Discovery, and Captain Christopher Pike using “Hit it!” on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

The final episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3 left a key moment unanswered: Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) giving the order to warp speed while commanding the USS Enterprise-G. With the planned spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, now unlikely to be made, fans might never hear what that crucial command will be.

Commander Jett Reno Got Star Trek’s Best New Captain Command

The first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy ended with a surprising twist: Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) was given command of the USS Athena and the Academy’s cadets, rather than Captain Ake. Reno then led the mission to both rescue Captain Ake and destroy the Omega-47 mines controlled by Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti).

Commander Reno has a memorable way of ordering the ship to warp speed: she says, “Now show me pretty streaks of light.” This playful command fits Jett’s personality – she’s both witty and straightforward, and her engineering background shines through. The phrase beautifully captures the excitement of warp speed and what it looks like when a starship jumps into it.

Before becoming a temporal mechanics instructor at Starfleet Academy, Jett Reno was the Chief Engineer on the USS Discovery. In the years between Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, she worked with Captains Michael Burnham and Nahla Ake, both highly respected female starship captains from the 32nd century.

Despite Reno repeatedly pointing out she wasn’t a captain, Jett acted like a natural leader, expertly taking command in the season one finale of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. She might not have the official rank, or even desire it, but she performed all the duties of a skilled starship captain.

Holly Hunter’s Nahla Ake Was A Very Different Star Trek Captain By Design

Interestingly, Captain Ake never actually gave a standard warp command in the first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The closest she got was when Nahla said, “Let’s go to San Francisco,” as the USS Athena first went to warp speed in the show’s premiere episode.

Those who worked with Holly Hunter, such as Robert Picardo, say she intentionally played Captain Ake differently than past Star Trek captains. This is clear in several ways – from Ake’s unusual way of sitting in her command chair, to her habit of going barefoot, and the generally quirky behavior stemming from being a 422-year-old half-Lanthanite.

Holly Hunter might have intentionally avoided a standard warp command for Captain Ake to make her character unique. Plus, Star Trek captains haven’t always needed a specific phrase to initiate warp speed. Captain Kirk, famously played by William Shatner, didn’t have a set order, often using playful lines like “Thataway!” or “Second star to the right, and straight on til morning.”

I’m really hoping Captain Ake does something unexpected in season 2 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – maybe even establish a signature warp command! It’ll be interesting to see if whatever she chooses is as memorable as the classic “Now show me pretty streaks of light.” I’m excited to find out!

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2026-04-11 22:08