As Star Trek: Discovery's fourth season builds up to its endgame, it has been revealed that the Federation is at risk of being hit by a mysterious, extra-galactic threat. The threat that could have major ramifications for the Star Trek universe has been revealed as a result of the anomalies.
In the past few weeks since Discovery returned from its mid-season hiatus, we and the crew of the vessel have come to learn more and more about what the Dark Matter Anomaly actually is. We discovered early in the season that the anomaly is actually a manufactured tool being used by a mysterious species from beyond the galactic barrier, currently only known to the Federation. It is a highly advanced mining tool that is being used to harvest an incredibly rare element with a name familiar to Trek fans: Boronite.
Boronite was first introduced in the 1998 season-four Star Trek: Voyager episode, "The Omega Directive." An element that only naturally formed in incredibly small quantities across the known universe, Borite was a key component in an incredibly powerful molecule. The Federation believed a single molecule contained the equivalent energy of a fully powered starship warp core, and even small chains.
Omega's biggest problem was that it was almost impossible to keep in a stable state for long periods of time. Experiments with Omega in secret by Federation scientists in the 23rd century were able to create a single molecule that did so violently. The real threat of Omega was revealed to have lasting implications after the explosion destroyed the research station and killed hundreds of people. The fabric of subspace was torn in the wake of Omega's destruction, even from the aftermath of a single molecule's destabilization. The creation of a stable bubble to allow for safe FTL travel was not possible because of the subspace rupture.
In the wake of its research on the molecule, the Federation immediately enacted a cover-up, classifying the subspace rupture as a natural phenomenon, and made the very existence of Omega molecule a classified secret. The Omega Directive is a general order of the Starfleet that gave captains the authority to destroy Omega molecule if necessary. Omega, as rare as it was, was the greatest threat to the Federation because it was the only molecule that could cause long-range communication and warp travel to be impossible.
If Species 10-C is mining what rare natural instances of boronite are available in the known galaxy, there is a good chance they will create a sustainable energy source from properly. Even in the advanced future of the 31st century that Discovery has found itself set in since the climax of season two, such a revelation would reflect one of the greatest leaps in technological capability Star Trek has seen. Even beyond all the other technological advances we've seen in Discovery's recent seasons, it would be one of the few reveals to really hit long time fans with a show of just how far things have come.
The inherent power of Omega molecule could be implemented just as destructively if 10-C were to use mined boronite for that. If the Federation's first contact with the species goes bad, it could cause a lot of damage to the Federation and the galaxy. The effects of Omega's energy release could plunge the Federation into a dark age even worse than the effects of the Burn, which was a non-permanent barrier to most warp travel. The Federation could be brought to an end by widespread detonation of Omega molecule because it would cut off the civilizations of the galaxy from each other forever.
Discovery's fourth season is drawing on a 24 year old plot thread from Voyager and extrapolating the potential horror of its worst outcome is one hell of a thing to hang a season on. With Seven of Nine on Picard, Kate Mulgrew's Janeway returned in animated form, and now this, it feels like Voyager is getting a moment in the spotlight.
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