That finest is of course Kate Mulgrew’s Captain (now Admiral) Kathryn Janeway, the Voyager star who in Prodigy connected its young alien heroes to the wider Star Trek franchise, and acted as their guiding light onto the path of becoming a part of Starfleet themselves. The return of Mulgrew to the Trek franchise was a long time coming, announced as Voyager celebrated its 25th anniversary milestone. There were parallels between the approach to Janeway that echoed everything Star Trek was doing around the return of Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard to prominence, albeit with some notable caveats: Mulgrew was back in voiceover, not live action, her role wasn’t—at first at least—as Janeway in the here and now, but a holographic facsimile of her as she was around the time of Voyager itself. But it was still her moment: a legend of the franchise, brought back for the people who loved her and as a guide for the newcomers Prodigy was meant to onboard. Advertisement
Screenshot: Paramount
That role as teacher to a new generation was one that Mulgrew herself clearly relished in the run up to Prodigy’s release. “It was explained to me in detail and I thought to myself ‘Wow, this will be terrific to bring this to young people who may be watching this with their mothers who watched me as Captain Janeway in live-action,’” Mulgrew told CBR in 2021 about just why she came back for Prodigy, “and it will bring the entire family into the orbit of Star Trek and this is something that I very much want to do.” And it’s one that is perfect for anyone who ever loved Captain Janeway. Advertisement
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While there are many layers to Janeway—a bit of a hardass , a scientifically curious explorer, the occasional stabber of a giant virus bug or six —the view of her as a mentor is something that resonates throughout Voyager’s seven-season run. We see it from almost the very beginning with wayward Maquis rebel turned Chief Engineer B’Elanna, as she and Janeway butted heads over the potential of just who the young Klingon-Human woman will become now that she’s stuck aboard Voyager. We see it even moreso when Janeway takes it upon herself to help Seven of Nine adjust to life after the Borg. And yes, as Prodigy went on to show us, we saw it in her connection to children, from young Naomi Wildman, or with the young Borg children Voyager recovered. That desire to guide people, to help them realize the best version of themselves, was crucial to who Kathryn Janeway was as a Star Trek captain and as a person. Screenshot: Paramount
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And it was there, in the beating heart of Prodigy. Sure, the Janeway we “met” aboard the Protostar wasn’t actually the woman herself, but she was Janeway in all the ways that mattered, especially her need to help Dal and his friends learn the ways of the universe they desperately yearned to see, to show them the ideals that Janeway believed in as part of Starfleet and the Federation were worth them also striving for. Even as the series came to a head over the kids’ desires to return the Protostar to its owners and the messy plans for vengeance enacted by Prodigy’s big bad, the Diviner, the Janeways we got—the hologram captain who just wanted her crew to be safe, the admiral who grew to admire that same crew even as she needed to learn just what happened to her friend Chakotay, the Protostar’s previous commander—always put that need to guide and inspire at the forefront of themselves. Sure, it wasn’t the splashy return that Jean-Luc Picard got—there was no Star Trek: Janeway, no nostalgic, triumphant get-together of the Voyager stars. Hell, Jean-Luc even managed to nab one of them for his own celebratory series instead! But Mulgrew’s role, and Janeway’s return, in Prodigy, was the truest celebration of just what the Voyager star meant to the generation of Trek fans that grew up with her as their captain—and to a new generation that were meeting her and falling in love for the first time through Prodigy. Advertisement
Screenshot: Paramount
“I’m not a sentimental person—and neither is Janeway,” Mulgrew told me a few years ago at New York Comic-Con, ahead of Prodigy’s first episodes making their debut to legions of fans in attendance. “I can’t help but feel stirred up by what was, and what we are now going forward into a new future, and into a new way of telling this story. So, it’s moving, to me.”
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Paramount wouldn’t dare treat what it’s done for Patrick Stewart and Jean-Luc Picard as a tax break. Casting aside everything that Prodigy stood for, and in the process doing the same to Mulgrew and Janeway’s legacy, is a cruel twist on what is already a cruel fate for the show. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who . Start the discussion

Captain Janeway Didn't Deserve This

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Strategic Partnership Between PROTOSTAR and AJW Set to Empower Businesses in Navigating Sustainability Challenges and Accelerating a Decarbonized Economy
PROTOSTAR , a first-of-its-kind strategic consulting company, officially launches with a commitment to synergize and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, equitable, and cleaner energy future. The firm specializes in providing expert guidance and strategic advice to companies, executives, and founders dedicated to developing breakthrough solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, including, in particular, climate change. The AI Advantage
Built on the foundation of a unique AI-enabled approach, PROTOSTAR constructs three fundamental pillars: (1) intelligently connecting the dots to identify innovative solutions, (2) devising actionable plans with strategic foresight, and (3) delivering tangible, measurable results that translate into business growth and success. This artificial intelligence foundation fundamentally distinguishes PROTOSTAR’s comprehensive consulting services suite, including strategic brand and performance marketing, public relations, sales enablement, and government engagement. By harnessing the power of advanced analytical and generative AI, the firm revolutionizes how these services are executed. The analytical AI, with its precise data-driven insights, serves as a powerful tool for comprehensive market and competitive analyses. It sifts through vast amounts of data to identify patterns and trends that may not be immediately apparent to human analysts. PROTOSTAR then translates this complex data and insights into actionable intelligence. The generative AI fosters innovation and agility. It aids in rapid conceptualizing, allowing the firm to generate a multitude of strategies and ideas in a fraction of the time it would take traditionally. This iterative process helps in exploring a broad spectrum of solutions, optimizing the chances of identifying the most effective and efficient ones. Importantly, PROTOSTAR’s AI-enabled capabilities allow the firm to create highly personalized strategies that closely mirror each client’s unique needs, objectives, and business environment. This commitment to understanding and addressing client-specific goals enables the company to deliver insightful, forward-thinking strategies that foster sustainable business growth and success. Leveraging the potency of artificial intelligence, PROTOSTAR delivers tangible, measurable results that drive progress and champion positive change. The Founder
PROTOSTAR was founded and is led by Daniel Alvarez, a renowned connection builder, and marketing and sales leader with extensive experience in senior management roles across technology, renewable energy, and specialty retail sectors. Alvarez has advised some of the world’s most influential founders and consulted for Fortune 500 organizations. “PROTOSTAR is dedicated to accelerating the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy and a more sustainable future,” said Daniel Alvarez , Founder and CEO, PROTOSTAR. “By joining forces with innovators and entrepreneurs – along with local communities and governments – we will catalyze the adoption of transformative solutions to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges.”
Strategic Partnership with AJW
Building upon this foundation of innovation and commitment to sustainable change, PROTOSTAR is proud to announce a new strategic partnership with AJW, Inc., a leading energy transition policy firm, with offices in Washington D.C., Sacramento, CA, and New York City. This collaboration will enable PROTOSTAR to provide expanded government engagement, incentive optimization, and environmental market access to its customers, further enhancing its commitment to driving meaningful change and fostering innovation. By joining forces with AJW, PROTOSTAR will empower its clients to navigate complex policy and regulatory environments, access government funding, create compelling narratives for ESG investors, and, in short, accelerate their potential for success. “We are delighted to partner with PROTOSTAR, a company that shares our commitment to driving innovation and addressing global challenges through strategic collaboration,” said Chris Hessler, Founding Partner, AJW. “Our combined expertise in government engagement, business strategy, and decarbonization solutions will empower PROTOSTAR’s customers to navigate complex policy landscapes and market barriers to promote the adoption of breakthrough technologies. Together, we will accelerate a cleaner, more resilient, and equitable future for all.”
Support from an Industry Innovator and Leader
“Idealab was founded to develop groundbreaking technology solutions that can solve big problems facing the world,” said Bill Gross, Founder and Chairman, Idealab. “In a similar spirit, Daniel has created PROTOSTAR to leverage both technology and his own unique industry expertise to support entrepreneurs who are committed to solving major challenges and, in doing so, help create a sustainable future. Having worked closely with Daniel at various Idealab portfolio companies and seen how he brings together talented teams to execute complex initiatives in a way that generates real, impactful results, I’m convinced that his new endeavor will be a singular success. I’m excited to see what the future holds for PROTOSTAR.”

PROTOSTAR Launches AI-Powered Consulting Services to Drive Sustainable and Equitable Energy Transition

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PROTOSTAR, an AI-powered strategic consulting firm, launches to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and decarbonized energy future.

Published 5 minutes ago
Engineers are the blood, sweat and tears that keep Starfleet vessels moving through space. Here are the best in the Star Trek universe. In Star Trek, engineers are some of the most important members of the crew. Engineers keep the ship or space station running, so the rest of the crew can complete its mission. They are the lifeblood of Starfleet. But not all engineers in Star Trek are created equal. Depending on the series or film, the chief engineer may have had more research available to help with their mission. Some chief engineers, like the crews they served with, had to fly by the seat of their pants. But, in the end, all the engineers rise to the occasion for the betterment of the crew. 8 Jankom Pog (Prodigy)
Jankom Pog is an argumentative teenager who handles the repairs on the Protostar in the Nickelodeon series, Star Trek: Prodigy. He is a Tellarite who was born before the Tellarites joined the Federation. Pog is actually very good at fixing issues on the Protostar, but he often has to be tricked into actually doing his work. He always wants to prove the opposite position of the person he is talking to, so crew members often have to make the work seem impossible to get him to even attempt it. 7 Hemmer (Strange New Worlds)
Lt. Hemmer is an Aenar, a blind albino Andorian subspecies, serving aboard the Enterprise during the days of Captain Pike on Strange New Worlds . Hemmer was a qualified engineer who wound up giving his life for his crew in a unique way. When a Gorn attacks Pike, Hemmer is attacked and essentially impregnated by the reptilian species. Hemmer takes his own life to protect his crew from the Gorn, making him one of the few main characters to die in a Star Trek series. 6 Montgomery Scott (The Original Series)
Scotty is a fan favorite that was featured in The Original Series, as well as seven films. He's also one of the few characters to appear on both The Original Series and The Next Generation. Kirk relied on Scotty to keep the Enterprise going on the original "5-year mission." Whenever something went wrong, Scotty was there to fix it. But Scotty, by his own admission, fudged a lot of his work. He told Geordi La Forge that he often told Kirk a repair would take longer than it did, so he looked like a better engineer than he was when he completed it faster than expected. 5 Geordi La Forge (The Next Generation)
No Star Trek fan can deny that Geordi is an accomplished engineer, despite being blind . He saved the Enterprise crew time and again on The Next Generation. He was a student who had read every book there was to be good at his craft. Plus, his character, like all the others on The Next Generation, was amazingly well-written. 4 Paul Stamets (Discovery)
While Discovery certainly has its flaws, engineer Paul Stamets is one of the better characters on the series . He's a gruff but loyal member of the crew who does more than just lead engineering. He is also an expert in mycology. Stamets' expertise and discipline comes in handy while working on the experimental spore drive. He becomes a key reason for the crew's success in the mirror universe, and found a unique way to correct the problem even with untested tech. 3 Charles "Trip" Tucker III (Enterprise)
In the Star Trek timeline, Trip is the original engineer on the first mission to explore the outer reaches of space. He was in charge of maintaining and repairing the first "Warp 5" engine in the history of Starfleet and the Enterprise. While someone like Geordi read every book to become a better engineer, when Trip Tucker was on the Enterprise , he had to learn everything as he went and was one of the most vital reasons the crew under Captain Archer survived their mission. Like Hemmer, Tucker eventually sacrifices himself to save his crew. 2 B'Elanna Torres (Voyager)
The Starfleet Academy dropout was the obvious choice to take over as Chief Engineer on Voyager as the crew and the Maquis had to work together. She had joined the Maquis because Starfleet regulations clashed with her personality, but she was always adept at engineering. She continued her stellar performance as an engineer on Voyager and helped create a balance between the Starfleet part of the crew and the Maquis part of the crew since she had been a part of both. She was short-tempered, but also intelligent and creative and her modifications helped Voyager return to the Alpha quadrant faster. 1 Miles O'Brien (Deep Space 9)
Ever known someone who seemed like they could fix anything with a stick of gum and some duct tape? That's Miles O'Brien. He wasn't naturally gifted at engineering, but he was the only one with the necessary training to take on the role during the Cardassian War. O'Brien always rose to the occasion to keep his team alive. Miles O'Brien wasn't the child prodigy; rather, he was the hardworking every-man. He saved a lot of lives on the Enterprise, and then kept Deep Space 9 running his entire time on the station. He's an inspiration who proved hard work gets the job done.

Star Trek: Best Engineers, Ranked

An international team of astronomers, which includes three researchers affiliated with the Nicolaus Copernicus University (Torun, Poland), has succeeded in mapping the protostellar disk with the highest precision known today. The discovery provides evidence predicted by the theory of episodic accretion. Credit: Andrzej Romanski/NCU
An international team of astronomers, which includes three researchers affiliated with the Nicolaus Copernicus University (Torun, Poland), has succeeded in mapping the protostellar disk with the highest precision known today. The discovery provides evidence predicted by the theory of episodic accretion. The work was recognized by the journal Nature Astronomy, where an article has just been published “A Keplerian disk with a four-arm spiral birthing an episodically accreting high-mass protostar“. Among the authors – an international group of astronomers specializing in observations of maser emissions – were three researchers affiliated with the Institute of Astronomy at the NCU Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics: dr. habil. Anna Bartkiewicz, NCU Prof., mgr Michal Durjasz, and dr. Mateusz Olech, who defended his doctorate at the Faculty and is now part of the team of the Space Radio Diagnostics Centre at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn). Joint effort
In his scientific work, dr habil. Anna Bartkiewicz, NCU Prof. is concerned with the study of star-forming objects showing the ring structure of the methanol maser. With the help of the European VLBI Network, she precisely determines the natural motions of the maser clouds at the level of a few kilometres per second. She is currently leading the Opus grant of the National Science Centre “Space masers as a tool for identifying accretion explosions of massive protostars”. Michal Durjasz, a PhD student at the Nicolaus Copernicus University Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, has also made a major contribution to the research, working on areas of massive stars with abrupt changes in methanol maser emission. Both researchers belong to the IDUB Centre of Excellence “Astronomy and Astrophysics” Mateusz Olech, on the other hand, is interested in star-forming regions and periodic changes of methanol masers around massive protostars. The article, and especially the research that preceded it, is the result of a successful collaboration between experts from around the world. Observational data acquired from 24 radio telescopes from around the world contributed to our discovery, which was then carefully correlated by teams at three centres on three different continents, explains dr Ross Burns of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, first author of the paper. – Around 150 people were involved, and we would like to express our gratitude to them for their efforts, hoping for further collaboration in the future. Mysteries of the stars
The researchers focused on observations of massive stars, i.e. those with masses greater than eight masses of the Sun. They play a key role in the production of the elements necessary to build life in the Universe and also influence the formation and evolution of galaxies. The most massive stars die and become enigmatic black holes. Despite their importance in the Universe, the process of massive star formation has been shrouded in mystery for many decades. So far, there has been no single theory accepted by the entire scientific community to explain their formation, explains Professor Anna Bartkiewicz. – It has only recently been confirmed that massive stars are born in the centres of rotating disks composed of gas and dust. Protostellar disks, as they are called, have a radius of about one thousand astronomical units, i.e., the average distance between the Earth and the Sun multiplied by one thousand [the astronomical unit, or conventional measure of distance used in astronomy, is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun; i.e., 149597870.7 km, or – editor’s note]. One theory of massive star formation that is becoming increasingly popular among researchers is episodic accretion. Accretion, or the deposition of matter on a star. It involves clouds of dusty gas occasionally ‘breaking off’ and dropping from the disk onto a growing protostar, i.e., a young star located in the centre, explains mgr Michał Durjasz, – During such surges in the rate of matter accretion, the star accumulates more than half of the mass it gains during the formation stage. These accretion rate surges, or episodic accretion, are very rare events: they occur every hundreds or thousands of years and last from a few months to a few years. Until now, astronomers have only witnessed a few such phenomena. The most recent and most thoroughly studied was the rapid accretion of the massive protostar G358-MM1 (the name is related to the object’s coordinates in the sky) in 2019. – The episodic accretion theory suggests that protostellar disks are massive and inhomogeneous. Due to the influence of their own gravity, spiral arms may appear in them, adds dr Mateusz Olech. – The very observation of protostellar disks in the areas of birth of massive stars is a challenge for astronomers – they are formed in dense molecular clouds that are impenetrable to conventional optical astronomy. Observing potential spiral arms is even more challenging. Disk map
In the latest publication in Nature Astronomy, an international team of astronomers specialising in observations of maser emission – which is the naturally-occurring cosmic counterpart of a laser at microwave radio wavelengths – has been able to obtain maps of the protostellar disk with the highest precision known today. Using a network of radio telescopes, so-called very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), the scientists discovered spiral arms in the rotating disk of a high-mass protostar – G358-MM1. This is the same protostar that underwent rapid accretion in 2019. The team used a new technique called ‘heat-wave mapping’, which produces a set of maps of the brightened masers of methanol molecules at different stages of an event. A total of 24 radio telescopes from Oceania, Asia, Europe and America were used. This allowed us to image the G358-MM1 spiral disk with a resolution of one angular millisecond, i.e., 1/3600000th of a degree, explains Prof Bartkiewicz. – G358-MM1 has four spiral arms that wrap around the protostar. These help to carry material from the disk to the centre of the system, where it can reach the protostar. If more spiral systems and this type of brightness are discovered, astronomers will be able to understand better the processes that accompany the birth of high-mass stars, which are the true cradle of life in the Universe. The discovery provides observational evidence for several aspects predicted by episodic accretion theory: a rotating disk, rapid brightening and a spiral structure that helps ‘feed’ a growing high-mass protostar. The team will continue to search for such bursts of maser emission, using a global collaboration of traditional radio telescopes called the Maser Monitoring Organisation (M2O https://www.masermonitoring.com/). So far, only three rapid brightening high-mass protostars have been observed, but the researchers hope to find many more. DOI

Protostar in spiral arms

AJW is a strategic advisory firm. It offers advocacy, strategic planning, market analysis, acquisition guidance, association management, and more. It was founded in 2003 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

Building upon this foundation of innovation and commitment to sustainable change , PROTOSTAR is proud to announce a new strategic partnership with AJW , Inc. , a leading energy transition policy firm , with offices in Washington D.C. , Sacramento , CA , and New York City .

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PSE: TEL), aka PLDT, is a telecommunications service provider in the Philippines. Through its principal business groups – fixed line, wireless, and others – PLDT offers a wide range of telecommunications services across the Philippines' most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line and cellular networks.

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ProtoStar was formed to acquire and operate high-power geostationary satellites optimized for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television and broadband Internet access services in the Asia-Pacific region. ProtoStar's planned footprint will reach over 3 billion people in India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and South East Asia. The company's system will enable in-country partners to offer subscribers a technically advanced, reliable, cost effective satellite television package, providing a robust subscriber experience. A first satellite is planned for launch in mid 2006. In the DTH business there is a direct correlation between a satellite's power and the size of the required receiving dish - the higher the power, the smaller the dish. ProtoStar's contoured footprints are tailored to bring designated power levels to specific regions in Asia. Optimum power is delivered based on the unique Ku band BSS orbital slot and the latest generation of Lockheed-Martin developed satellite technology. This enables the use of small 50 cm. dishes that are easy to install and configure, in addition to being significantly more stable.

Name	Richard C. Davis
Work History	VantagePoint Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, and U.S. Air Force
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