Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Characters Also Can't Remember A Key Planet Name

Spoilers for "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" episode 9 follow.

On "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) looks human, but she's actually an alien Lanthanite. Introduced in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," Lanthanites are near-immortal aliens who can live for centuries without aging. Captain Ake shows her long memory in a brief but memorable bit of the latest episode, "300th Night."

For most of "Star Trek," humanity's first alien friends and their greatest enemies were, technically, the same people. Humanity made first contact in 2063 AD with the logical, pointy-eared Vulcans. But not all ancient Vulcans had followed the teachings of logical philosopher Surak. "Those Who March Beneath The Raptor's Wings" left their homeworld (also named Vulcan) and settled on the planet Romulus. Centuries later, the Romulans had become an empire.

The Romulans' history in "Star Trek" is storied, but it came to a low point when Romulus was destroyed in the late 24th century. That strengthened the cause for reunification; as of the 32nd century, when "Starfleet Academy" takes place, the Romulans and Vulcans live together on their native world. It's been renamed "Ni'Var" (meaning "Two form" in the Vulcan language), but good luck getting anyone but the most obstinate Trekkies to remember that.

Neither, too, can Nahla. Remember, as a centuries-old Lanthanite, she remembers when the planet was called "Vulcan." In "300th Night," Captain Ake and Chancellor Kelrec (Raoul Bhaneja) of the Federation War College discuss starship deployment logistics. Kelrec says he forgot that Ni'Var has rejoined the Federation (they left after the Burn), while Ake jokes she can't believe the planet isn't still called "Vulcan."

Vulcan first appeared in "Star Trek: The Original Series," specifically the season 2 episode "The Amok Time." The Enterprise had to visit Vulcan to account for Spock's pon farr (the Vulcan mating season). Vulcan was shown as an arid desert world, and has continued to be depicted that way across later "Star Trek" stories.

Spock had originally been conceived by "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry as a Martian, so that might be why Vulcan resembles the red planet (albeit with a breathable-by-humans atmosphere). Canonically, Vulcan orbits the real life star 40 Eridani A, which is about 16 light years away from Earth. However, evidence there could be a "real" planet Vulcan orbiting that star turned out to be an astronomical illusion.

Some ancillary "Star Trek" material has suggested that Vulcan wasn't always a desert; rather, it was once more like Earth, but thousands of years ago the pre-Surak Vulcans engaged in a nuclear war that altered the planet's environment. This has not been explicitly confirmed by any canon "Star Trek" stories, though.

"Starfleet Academy" has demonstrated how much Romulan-Vulcan relations have changed; the Romulan War College cadet Dzolo (Cecilia Lee) and the Vulcan cadet B'Avi (Alexander Eling) were shown to be close friends. But some things never change, and the name "Vulcan" is too synonymous with the planet's people to ever be forgotten.

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is streaming on Paramount+ and the season 1 finale will premiere on Thursday, March 12.