Star Trek Has A New Guinan & She’s A Starfleet Commander

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5 – “Starbase 80?!”

Star Trek: Lower Decks just introduced a new member of Guinan’s (Whoopi Goldberg) species who serves in Starfleet. Guinan became a fixture on Star Trek: The Next Generation as the bartender of the USS Enterprise-D’s Ten Forward lounge. Guinan was a bit of an enigma upon her introduction, and TNG revealed more about her and her species slowly over time. As an El-Aurian, Guinan came from a race of listeners with extremely long lifespans. She was longtime friends with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and he regularly sought out her advice.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 5, “Starbase 80?!,” the USS Cerritos pays a visit to the infamous Starbase 80 in search of a navigational computer. Upon arriving at the starbase, they are greeted by Commander Kassia Nox (Nicole Byer), who hopes the Cerritos crew will help with some of the station’s repairs. Because of its remote location, Starfleet has neglected Starbase 80 and many of the base’s systems are out of date and malfunctioning. Despite the run-down nature of the starbase, Commander Nox remains friendly and enthusiastic, and Kassia eventually reveals herself to be an El-Aurian, like Guinan.

Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Commander Kassia Nox Is El-Aurian Like Guinan

Kassia Nox Is Voiced By Actress & Comedian Nicole Byer

As Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and her friends accompany Commander Nox to begin repairs, they begin encountering Cerritos crew members who behave like zombies. When Mariner accuses Nox of being involved, the two women engage in a brief scuffle. Mariner is impressed by Nox’s fighting skills, which prompts the commander to reveal: “I’m El-Aurian. I think I know how to fight.” When Mariner questions whether Nox is “like, 400 years old,” she responds that she’s only in her 30s, making her Star Trek’s youngest El-Aurian and the first shown in Starfleet.

Competent, intelligent, and charming, Kassia Nox is a wonderful new addition to the Star Trek universe, beautifully brought to life by comedian Nicole Byer. Byer began her career on MTV and has since appeared in numerous popular television shows, both live-action and animated. She is perhaps best known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series Nailed It!, which has earned her four Emmy nominations. She has hosted several other reality shows, as well, including the current iteration of Wipeout, alongside John Cena, and she hosts four different podcasts.

Star Trek’s El-Aurian Aliens Explained

Commander Nox Is Only The Fourth El-Aurian Seen Onscreen

Star Trek: The Next Generation only provided hints about the El-Aurians through Guinan before Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: Picard revealed more about the mysterious species. Although the exact lifespan of the average El-Aurian remains unknown, they could live for many centuries without appearing to age much at all. As a race of listeners, the El-Aurians were also extremely perceptive and had an enhanced awareness of the flow of time and space. Guinan’s perceptiveness proved incredibly useful while she was aboard the USS Enterprise-D, and she helped save the ship on more than one occasion.

The El-Aurians had previously had dealings with the Q Continuum, and Guinan had a particularly low opinion of Q (John de Lancie). By the time of Star Trek Generations, the Borg had decimated the El-Aurian population and the USS Enterprise-B rescued a group of refugees when their ship got trapped in the Nexus. Guinan was among these refugees, as was Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), who became obsessed with finding a way to return to the Nexus realm. Very few El-Aurians have appeared on screen, and Star Trek: Lower Decks just introduced the franchise’s first El-Aurian Starfleet officer.