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Captain Janeway looks out into space from her ready room

"Good Shepherd" was the twentieth episode of the sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager.

Captain Janeway looks out her ready room window into space as her door chirps. Chakotay enters and informs her that Seven of Nine wants to present her ship-wide efficiency report to the senior staff. Janeway says to put her on the schedule. Chakotay also reminds her that they'll be passing through a class-T cluster in the next couple of days, not important enough to alter course, but Janeway thinks it's at least important enough to send out the Delta Flyer and to get a full range of scans. Chakotay nods, and leaves.

On the bridge, Chakotay relays the captain's orders. He tells Tom Paris to prepare the Delta Flyer for the mission, and Harry Kim to do a level 3 analysis of the cluster. Harry Kim contacts Seven, asking her to increase metagenic resolution in the long-range sensors.

In astrometrics, Seven and Crewman Tal Celes, a young Bajoran woman, are working on the sensors. Seven types some data into a PADD and hands it to Celes, telling her to take it to Lieutenant Torres. Celes exits, and walks down the corridors to a turbolift. "Deck 11", Celes tells the computer as the turbolift begins whirring.

Ambassador Picard and Q.

""All Good Things..."" was the 25th episode of the seventh season and series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Following an evening date at the holodeck, Worf and Troi walk back towards Troi's quarters. When Worf is about to kiss her goodnight, Captain Picard, dressed in his bathrobe, walks out of the turbolift, disoriented. Upon asking which date it is, he tells them he is moving back and forth through time.

Discussing the situation with Counselor Troi, Picard suddenly finds himself in the future, at his vineyard. After a short moment of disorientation, he goes on tying the vines. A pleasant surprise, La Forge decided to pay him a visit, coming all the way from Rigel III. He admits Leah told him of Picard's Irumodic Syndrome, and Picard tells him it takes years for the Syndrome to run its course.

Rene Auberjonois

Rene Auberjonois is the actor best known to Star Trek fans for portraying Constable Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He has also directed many episodes of the series. In addition, he appeared as Col. West in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and made a guest appearance as Ezral in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Oasis".

Rene Auberjonois has been performing on the Broadway stage since the late 1960s, receiving a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in 1970. He has also become a highly-recognizable face in films, including several directed by the late Robert Altman and co-starring John Schuck. He also acquired fame on television for his Emmy-nominated role as the snooty Clayton Endicott III on the sitcom Benson, which co-starred Star Trek: Voyager star Ethan Phillips. Currently, Rene is starring opposite William Shatner on the hit ABC series Boston Legal.

Klingon males (late 23rd century)

The Klingons (Klingonese: tlhIngan) are a humanoid warrior species that originates from the planet Qo'noS (pronounced Kronos), an M-class planet. One of the major powers of the galaxy, the Klingons are a proud, tradition-bound people who value honor and combat. The aggressive Klingon culture has made them an interstellar military power to be respected and feared. Klingons believe that they have the instinctive ability to look an opponent in the eye and see the intent to kill.

The Klingon Empire was founded some time in the 9th century by Kahless the Unforgettable, who performed many heroic feats including the unification of the Klingon people when he killed the tyrant Molor. Kahless came to be revered in Klingon society to the point of near-deification, and many aspects of Klingon culture came to revolve around emulation of Kahless' life.

Khan Noonien Singh in 1996

Khan Noonien Singh (or simply, Khan), was a genetically-engineered Human and the most prominent tyrant of the late-20th century Eugenics Wars on Earth. Khan reappeared with a cadre of Augment followers in the 23rd century and became a notorious enemy of James T. Kirk.

Records of the period, including Khan's origins, are vague. He was the product of a secret selective-breeding and genetic engineering program, based on the eugenic philosophy that held improving the capabilities of a man improved the entire Human race. Augments produced by the program possessed physical strength and analytical capabilities superior to ordinary Humans, and were created from a variety of Earth's ethnic groups. Khan's background was suspected to be Sikh, from the northern region of India.

Loskene, a Tholian (2268)

The Tholians were an extremely xenophobic, non-humanoid race with a propensity for precision, native to the Alpha Quadrant.

In 2152 the Tholians made an unusual move and traveled far beyond their territory and actively sought to possess a 31st century time-travel pod discovered by the Earth starship Enterprise. Four Tholian starships intercepted and disabled the Vulcan cruiser Tal'Kir, while it waited to rendezvous with Enterprise. They would, in turn, attack and defeat the Suliban fleet that was in pursuit of the arriving Earth ship. They would then successfully remove the pod from Enterprise's possession, only to have the pod return to its proper timeline moments later.

Guinan in Ten Forward (2366)

Guinan was the mysterious bartender at Ten Forward, the lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-D. She was well known for her wise counsel which had proven invaluable many times. She was an El-Aurian, a race of "listeners" who were scattered by the Borg. Q, however, once suggested that there is far more to her than could be imagined. One can only speculate as to the meaning of this.

Guinan was born some time before Earth's late 19th century on the El-Aurian homeworld. When she was a child, she had a Tarkassian razorbeast as an imaginary friend. When she was troubled she'd talk to it, and she enjoyed just curling up on his warm belly. As she grew older, she found that she talked to it less and less, but the idea always remained.

Kurn in 2366

Kurn was a Klingon warrior, the son of Mogh and younger brother to Worf. His true family name was kept secret until 2366, when Mogh was accused of being a traitor. Kurn later supported Gowron during the Klingon Civil War, and afterwards gained a seat on the Klingon High Council. However, he fell from grace when Worf refused to support the Klingon invasion of Cardassia. To regain his honor, his memory was wiped and he assumed a new identity.

Kurn was not a year old when his father Mogh left Qo'noS for Khitomer with his wife and older son Worf. However, because Kurn was so young, he was left in the care of Lorgh, a family friend. After his family was presumed killed at the Khitomer Massacre, Lorgh accepted Kurn as his own son. Kurn did not know his true family until he reached the Age of Ascension. Kurn eventually joined the Klingon Defense Forces and rose to the rank of commander.

Tuvix in 2372

Tuvix was the result of a transporter accident on the USS Voyager, combining Lieutenant Tuvok and Neelix in 2372.

The accident was the conclusion to an away mission to collect some orchid samples. Only one molecular pattern rematerialized and formed a healthy organism combining everything regarding Tuvok and Neelix, including organs, enzymes, and memories. According to The Doctor, Tuvix also possessed "...Tuvok's sense of intellectual superiority, and Neelix's annoying ebullience." Despite repairs having just been made to the transporter, no fault could be found in the logs at the time of the accident.

The Nazi "sleeve eagle", worn on both the German and Ekosian SS uniforms

SS uniforms and insignia were used by the Nazi SS from the 1930s to 1945 and the resurgence organization of the Ekosian SS three hundred and twenty years later.

The German SS used two main uniforms. The first uniform was adopted in the 1930s and comprised a black jacket and cap. During the 1930s, the SS displayed itself at Nazi rallies in the black uniform; one such rally was seen through the Guardian of Forever in 2267.

The SS used the black uniform until the start of World War II, when the SS adopted a more practical grey field tunic. The rank insignia remained the same from the 1930s black uniform. SS members were granted the same medals of Nazi Germany as the Wehrmacht (German military). The standard form for the display of SS decorations was to pin large medals on the front of the left uniform pocket immediately below award ribbons.

At the end of World War II in 1945, the SS ceased to exist along with its uniforms; however historical data regarding the original SS uniforms was maintained by Earth historians and later maintained in the library computers of Federation starships.

Delta Flyer

The Delta Flyer was a unique Starfleet shuttlecraft constructed by the crew of the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant in 2375. The vessel was designed to handle environments that would be too hazardous for a standard shuttlecraft. The vessel was a blend of Starfleet and Borg technology, designed in collaboration between B'Elanna Torres, Tom Paris, Tuvok, Harry Kim and Seven of Nine. It featured an ultra-aerodynamic tetraburnium alloy hull, retractable warp nacelles, parametallic hull plating, unimatrix shielding, and a Borg-inspired weapon system, including photonic missiles. To Paris' disappointment, the addition of dynametric tailfins was denied by Tuvok.

Quark, a Ferengi male

The Ferengi are a spacefaring humanoid species native to the planet Ferenginar. Ferengi civilization was built on the ideals of pure laissez-faire capitalism, where all other goals were subjugated to the pursuit of profit.

Their governing body known as the Ferengi Alliance was formed over a period of ten thousand years, beginning with the establishment of a system of currency, to their purchase of warp technology, and finally to its current state in the 24th century.

The Ferengi culture has roots similar to that of the many other species, filled with wars, violence and greed. However, Ferengi managed to avoid many of the worst aspects of an evolving culture and their social history is notable for the absence of atrocities such as slavery or genocide, a distinction the Ferengi feel makes them morally superior. Ferengi culture slowly grew out of its early stages by introducing a remarkable economic system that developed from early bartering systems to become one of the leading cultures in interstellar commerce.

Gannet Brooks

Gannet Brooks was a Human news reporter who lived on the planet Earth in the mid-2150s.

In 2155, Brooks provided news coverage of a conference on Earth whose goal was the establishment of a Coalition of Planets. During this period she came aboard the Enterprise, where the crew later discovered that she had reconfigured her universal translator at the conference on Earth to record messages from all the other translators and had been spying on the delegates there. Most of the Starfleet officers suspected that Brooks was a member of the xenophobic organization Terra Prime. However, Ensign Mayweather believed that Brooks may have simply been doing undercover research for a news report.

Brooks later revealed that she was actually working for Starfleet Intelligence, not Terra Prime. In an attempt to explain why she had not revealed her true mission earlier, Brooks said that she was aware that a Terra Prime agent could possibly be operating on board Enterprise. Her own identity would have been compromised if she had attempted to contact the head of her division.

Telek R'Mor

Telek R'Mor was a low-ranking Romulan scientist and minor functionary attached to the Romulan Astrophysical Academy during the 2350s.

While on a three-year mission conducting "secret research" aboard the science vessel Talvath, Doctor R'Mor discovered a microprobe lodged in an eddy of a micro-wormhole located in Sector 1385 of the Alpha Quadrant. R'Mor later discovered that the probe was launched by the USS Voyager, a Starfleet vessel located the Delta Quadrant, from twenty years in the future.

A Galaxy-class transporter pad

The transporter is a device capable of almost instantaneously moving an object from one location to another. The process of transporting an object or individual involves the scanning, dematerialization, transmission and reassembly of an object. The act of transporting is often referred to as "beaming."

Early transporters were not very reliable and most were authorized for non-biological transports only. With the advent of safer transporters, biological transport became increasingly common and transporters became the most reliable form of short-range transport by the 24th century. Most spacefaring civilizations of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants employed transporter technology though transporter types varied among the different species of the galaxy. There were many advantages to utilizing transporters: on a planetary scale, small vehicles and spacecraft were no longer required to travel between locations; traveling by transporter was essentially instantaneous and an individual's sense of time while transporting was effectively non-existent.

Transporter operations, though much improved, continued to face limitations by this time and accidents involving the technology are still not uncommon.

Saucer separation on a Galaxy-class starship

Saucer separation was an emergency maneuver performed on some Federation starships involving the complete disconnection of the primary hull and the secondary hull. During the 23rd century, separation was a one-time only event used only in a catastrophic emergency; the two sections could not reconnect easily following a separation.

In the 24th century, some starship classes were designed to routinely separate into one or more components. The procedure itself became more common and tactical, as well as emergency, uses became standard procedure. By this period, separation technology had advanced sufficiently to be performed at warp speeds. The procedure was extremely risky, with no margin for error; partially due to this, a high-warp separation was never attempted prior to 2364.

Robert Picardo as The Doctor

Robert Picardo is the actor best known to Star Trek fans for playing Starfleet's Emergency Medical Hologram, or simply, The Doctor, on Star Trek: Voyager.

Picardo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 27 October 1953. He attended William Penn Charter School, graduating in 1971, after which he attended Yale University. While attending Yale, he performed in several University productions and graduated with a BA in Drama in 1975.

In 1977, he made his Broadway debut in a production of Gemini, and in 1981, made his feature film debut in the contemporary horror classic, The Howling. His other film credits include Innerspace, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Wagons East!, and more. In addition to his role on Voyager, he is also known for playing Dr. Dick Richard on China Beach, Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years, and for his current role as Agent Richard Woolsey in the Stargate television franchise.

Klaa

Klaa was a young upstart Klingon Bird-of-Prey captain on a personal mission to make a name for himself in the Klingon Empire in 2287.

Tired of shooting space garbage, Klaa thirsted for a target that would fight back.

After receiving a priority message from Qo'noS, Klaa learned of a situation on Nimbus III where the Klingon consul, General Korrd, had been taken hostage; along with the Terran and Romulan consuls. Klaa reasoned that the Federation would be sending a rescue ship of its own, so he set course for Nimbus III seeing this as an opportunity to engage a Federation ship.

Klaa soon discovered that the USS Enterprise-A, the ship commanded by James T. Kirk himself, a man he both respected and despises, was dispatched to Nimbus III. News of this further drove Klaa's thirst for battle, telling his crew that if he could defeat Kirk, he would be the greatest warrior in the galaxy.

USS Enterprise at the outer edges of the V'Ger cloud

V'Ger was an enormously powerful entity and one of the most extraordinary lifeforms ever encountered by the Federation when it briefly threatened the destruction of Earth in 2273.

At first sight, V'Ger appeared to be a massive cloud that was far larger than a planet and generated nearly unheard of energy levels. On its approach to Earth, V'Ger destroyed three Klingon K't'inga-class cruisers that had been dispatched to intercept it. Not long after, the cloud encountered the Epsilon IX monitoring station and destroyed the station in much the same way as it had the Klingon vessels, but not before the crew of the Starfleet station was able to record the first significant data on the threat.

With the cloud just 54 hours away from Earth, Starfleet sent the newly-refitted USS Enterprise to make contact. All linguacode messages were ignored, and it became apparent that the object at the heart of the cloud was unable to comprehend the hailing signals.

IKS Rotarran

The IKS Rotarran was a Klingon Bird-of-Prey in service during the 2370s.

Following the withdrawal of Klingon fleet from Cardassian space in mid-2373, following the Cardassian's successful admittance into the Dominion, the Rotarran suffered half a dozen successive defeats in combat with the Jem'Hadar, mounting heavy casualties over a period of seven months.

Late that year, General Martok was assigned command of the Rotarran by the Klingon High Council and dispatched to locate the missing IKS B'Moth. Joining him as his first officer was Worf and Jadzia Dax as science officer; both serving on detached duty from Starfleet.

Plotting course for the last known position of the B'Moth, the Rotarran was forced to circumnavigate the Tong Beak Nebula in order to avoid the Jem'Hadar. Martok's wish to avoid a fight struck a sour chord with his weary crew.

On the way, Martok reviewed his crew's personnel reports, which included remarks such as: "dishonorable conduct," "lack of respect," "dereliction of duty," "inattention to orders," "unmotivated," and "insufficiently aggressive." This did not go over well with Martok nor Worf. Together they vowed to restore honor to the Rotarran and make it a ship worthy of the Empire.

Enterprise is launched

"Broken Bow": A young Jonathan Archer paints a model of his father's spacecraft in San Francisco and recites a quote from a speech by Zefram Cochrane. Jonathan curiously asks about his father's ship, wondering if it will be bigger than Ambassador Soval's ship. Although Henry Archer does not fully understand the reasons behind the Vulcans' constraint of Human space flight, he believes that there must be an explanation.

Thirty years later, the wreckage of a crashed Klingon K'toch-class scoutship lies in a cornfield in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Klaang, the Klingon pilot of the craft, desperately flees from two pursuing aliens. The commotion attracts the attention of a farmer. Although Klaang eventually manages to kill the aliens, he is shot by Moore's plasma rifle.

Aboard an inspection pod, Jonathan Archer, now a captain in the Starfleet, and Commander Charles Tucker inspect the prototype NX class starship Enterprise in a spacedock orbiting Earth. After being called back to Starfleet Medical, Archer attends a meeting where the fate of Klaang is discussed with several Vulcan dignitaries. It is decided that Enterprise will launch ahead of schedule on a mission to return Klaang to the Klingons' homeworld, Qo'noS.

Elim Garak

Elim Garak was a Cardassian tailor and Promenade shopkeeper of Garak's Clothiers who lived on the space station Deep Space 9. Garak was a former operative in the Cardassian Obsidian Order but was exiled to Terok Nor following a fall from grace with his mentor, and father, Enabran Tain.

During his time as an operative, Garak was instrumental in the arrest and execution of Justice Procal, Gul Dukat's father. He also spent time on Romulus, posing as a gardener at the Cardassian embassy and was rumored to have been involved in several assassinations there. Following his betrayal of Tain, Tain ordered him killed but Garak escaped and was exiled from his homeworld of Cardassia Prime.

Garak kept contacts in the Cardassian Union after his exile, and when Starfleet took control of Deep Space 9, he attempted on occasion to use his experience and his position as the only Cardassian still aboard to regain his usefulness. He was involved in the apprehension of Tahna Los, the escape of several important members Cardassian Underground in 2370, and the return of an abducted Major Kira. Garak also worked with Starfleet during the Dominion War and returned to Cardassia Prime after the Battle of Cardassia.

The USS Enterprise-C emerges from a temporal rift

The original idea for "Yesterday's Enterprise" was made by Trent Christopher Ganino on 15 April 1989, as a spec script submitted through the open submissions policy introduced by Michael Piller in that year. This original version featured the appearance of an Enterprise from the past in the Next Generation time period, and the resultant dilemma of whether to send them back. In this version, however, no alterations were made to the timeline – the central theme was simply the moral dilemma presented.

At the same time, following a conversation with Denise Crosby at a convention, Eric Stillwell developed a story that would allow Tasha Yar to return to the series after a two-year absence. In Stillwell's pitch, drawing from classic Trek episodes "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Mirror, Mirror" – among others – a Vulcan science team would inadvertently cause the death of Surak, the founder of Vulcan philosophy, when a trip through the Guardian of Forever into Vulcan's ancient past goes wrong. As a result, the Vulcan people would never become the logical race that is known in the Trek universe. Instead, a Vulcan race more akin to the Romulan Star Empire would be engaged in war against the other powers of the galaxy, including the remnants of the Federation. As part of this alteration, Tasha Yar would be present amongst the crew of the Enterprise. Ultimately, Ambassador Sarek, who was on board the Enterprise to greet the returning science team, would sacrifice himself by returning to the past and taking the place of Surak, thus restoring the correct timeline.

Gral, a Tellarite male

The Tellarites are a sturdy humanoid species with distinguished snouts from the class M planet Tellar Prime, located not far from the Sol system. In 2161, they became one of the founding races of the United Federation of Planets.

Tellarites are known to be an impatient people with "stubborn pride". They have a propensity toward strong emotion. However, they enjoy a good argument, which is even considered a sport on Tellar. Tellarites often begin an interaction with a series of complaints; this is how they start arguments with someone they have recently met. If they have nothing to complain about, they simply insult the person. Because of their passion for arguing, Tellarites make excellent politicians. Tellarites consider canines to be something of a delicacy. They sometimes take mud baths and find Human room temperature to be cold.

In November of 2154, a Tellarite delegation, lead by Ambassador Gral, was being transported to the planetoid Babel by the Enterprise to resolve a long-standing trade dispute with the Andorians. The original conference agenda covered only trade regulations for the sector. A subsequent Romulan plot to destabilize the region had the opposite effect and created a temporary alliance among the Andorians, Vulcans, Humans, and Tellarites. The proceeding conference later helped bring peace to the strained Tellarite-Andorian relations.

Guy Vardaman

Guy Vardaman is a stand-in performer who often appeared in the role of Darien Wallace on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also served as photo double for Data during the majority of the show's run, from the first season's "The Big Goodbye" through the final episode, as well as for Star Trek Generations. Additionally, he was a Research Consultant for the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry.

Hailing from Glendale, California, Vardaman spent a good part of his life in San Jose. He grew up watching Star Trek: The Original Series, becoming a huge fan of the series. He never dreamed that he would become a part of the Star Trek universe himself.

To support himself while he was in school, Vardaman joined the Screen Extras Guild to acquire a part-time job. Less than two weeks later, while signing up with casting, he was spotted and approached for a job on Star Trek: The Next Generation. As it turns out, the man originally approached for the job was unavailable, prompting the need for a replacement. Despite some initial reluctance from the wardrobe department, Vardaman was fitted with an operations yellow Starfleet uniform and reported for work the following day.

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko was a famous Starfleet officer best remembered for his seven-year assignment commanding station Deep Space 9 in the Bajor sector. After discovering the Bajoran wormhole, he became known to the Bajoran people as the Emissary of the Prophets. He fought the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 and was a key player in the Dominion War.

Sisko was born in 2332 in New Orleans, Earth. His mother had been possessed by a Prophet – a non-linear alien species which lived in the then-undiscovered Bajoran wormhole. The Prophet had used Sarah Sisko to ensure that Benjamin would be born and take his rightful place as Emissary of the Prophets.

Sisko met his future wife, Jennifer, soon after graduating from Starfleet Academy in 2354. The two produced a son, Jake. Tragically, Jennifer was killed at Wolf 359 in 2366. Three years later, Sisko was assigned to command Deep Space 9, with he and his son residing on the Cardassian-built space station. Although he intended to resign from Starfleet at this point, his subsequent encounter with the Prophets allowed him to let go of the past and remain aboard Deep Space 9 to fulfill his duty – and his destiny.

Gul Dukat stands casually in Ops as the self-destruct counts down

The counter-insurgency program was a security measure designed for a hypothetical revolt by Bajoran laborers aboard Terok Nor.

It was installed by its commanding officer, then-Gul Dukat during the Occupation of Bajor because the Bajorans far outnumbered their Cardassian overseers. The program was designed so Dukat and his fellow Cardassian officers could interact with and control it, but if necessary, it could run independently. To ensure smooth operation, the program had several levels of severity to allow it to deal with a variety of scenarios, the focus being a revolt by laborers in ore processing. Naturally, Dukat omitted mention of the program's existence when control of what was now called Deep Space 9 passed to Benjamin Sisko in 2369.

If the workers escaped or the insurgency spread and resulted in an escape from ore processing, the program was set to take control of the station. Force fields would secure sensitive areas of the station's computer circuitry, Ops and the security office, with similar force fields blocking access to virtually every major doorway on the station.

The program was discovered by Miles O'Brien in 2371 while investigating the possibility of turning the ore-processing area into a deuterium refinery. Lack of knowledge about the program caused the crew to activate the program's higher levels once the station-wide program took effect...

Montgomery Scott in 2369

"Relics" is the 129th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the fourth episode of the show's sixth season. It originally aired during the week of 13 October 1992.

The USS Enterprise-D picks up a distress call from the USS Jenolan, a transport vessel that has been missing for 75 years. As the Enterprise drops out of warp to respond to the signal, the starship is rocked violently by a massive gravitational field. They trace the field to its center and discover a massive spherical structure. The sphere's dimensions are consistent with those of the (until then) theoretical structure known as a Dyson Sphere. The sphere's size creates massive gravimetric interference that interferes with sensors, preventing the Enterprise from locating it before the ship had dropped out of warp.

The Enterprise locates the Jenolan, having crashed on the surface of the sphere. Surprisingly, power readings are still emanating from the crashed ship and life support systems are still operating. Commander Riker, Lt. Cmdr. La Forge and Lt. Worf beam aboard the Jenolan and find that, although some of the ship's systems are still functioning, there are no apparent signs of life. However, La Forge discovers that the transporters have been reconfigured in a strange manner – power has been drawn from the auxiliary systems (they were a regenerative power source) while the rematerialization subroutines have been intentionally disabled, with the phase inducers being connected to the emitter array and the pattern buffers locked in a diagnostic cycle. Furthermore, a pattern is still in the buffer and, amazingly, it has suffered almost no degradation. Riker wonders if someone could survive in the transporter buffer for 75 years and La Forge finds out by rematerializing the stored pattern. Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott materializes on the transporter pad.

Detail of an Issued Design Patent

Design patents are a type of patent issued under United States law. (Other locations have similar protections but they are called different things.) The patent is granted based on the unique appearance or concept of an item rather than its "usefulness". Design patents typically are sought for items where the appearance is as - or more - important than the underlying craftsmanship itself. So, things like jewelry, toys, furniture, car parts, etc. are frequently granted design patents.

Design patents have a life in the US of fourteen years from the date of issuance. Their main usefulness is as a supplement to copyright protections. Whereas someone claiming a copyright in a work can prevent actual copies being made, a design patent can more easily be used to prevent the unauthorized creation of similar items which are not actually copies. Neither protection is absolute, but some counsel believe that having both is important where even the hint of similar design is a threat to the value of the original design.

From 1978 through 1987, Paramount Pictures sought and obtained various design patents for Star Trek designs. There seem to have been no other filings after 1987, and Paramount's legal department instead probably feels comfortable with existing copyright protections.

In each instance of a design patent at least one "inventor" has to be listed. The inventor can never be the corporation, it has to be an individual or individuals. It is sometimes interesting to see who gets credit for what on the official documents.

Damar, a Cardassian male

Cardassians are a humanoid species from the Alpha Quadrant. They are native to the planet Cardassia Prime, capital world of the Cardassian Union. Known throughout the Alpha Quadrant for their ruthlessness, the Cardassians became one of the greatest enemies of the Federation and Klingon Empire when they joined the Dominion in 2373. Their xenophobic attitude towards other species was well established throughout the quadrant after the Setlik III massacre during the Cardassian Wars, as well as when their atrocities from the Occupation of Bajor were revealed after their withdrawal in 2369.

In its ancient history, before Cardassia became a military dictatorship, the Cardassian society was known as the Hebitians. It was home to fine art and beautiful architecture. Once the Hebitian civilization fell into decay from lack of natural resources, millions of Cardassians were starving and the planet was subjected to utter anarchy. Though the Hebitian society and way of life eventually became extinct, the remaining Cardassians turned to the military to solve their problems. This began the Cardassian policy of expansion into the galaxy, to provide the much-needed natural resources to sustain its population. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part II"; DS9: "Duet")

Ezri Dax

Ezri Dax, formerly Ezri Tigan, was a joined Trill, the ninth host of the Dax symbiont and served as counselor aboard Deep Space 9, beginning in 2375. After the previous host of the Dax symbiont, Jadzia Dax, had died, the Dax symbiont was rushed to Trill on the starship USS Destiny. On the Destiny the symbiont's status deteriorated and Ezri, as the only unjoined Trill on the ship, had to undergo the procedure of joining.

Following the joining, Ezri returned to Trill with the Destiny, and met with members of the Symbiosis Commission's Evaluation Board, who gave her counseling on how to deal with her new memories, but they were unable to help her further. With her friends and family having difficulty adjusting to her changed personality, and her own confusions about who she really was, Ezri took a leave of absence. She traveled to Earth and met a friend of the two previous hosts, Benjamin Sisko. Together with him, she uncovered the Orb of the Emissary, and restored the Prophets to the Celestial Temple.

She then took a commission on Deep Space 9 as counselor and remained there the rest of the war. (DS9: "Image in the Sand", "Shadows and Symbols", "What You Leave Behind")

Martok (2375)

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