| “ | Asencia: Our salvation lost in the past. Diviner: We had no way to track where or when it landed. Any chance of saving Solum was gone. But it couldn't be! We wouldn't allow it! Drednok: Which is why we formed The Order. Asencia: Our greatest minds said the odds of finding it were 1% at best. Diviner: So we sent a hundred ships to spite the odds. Asencia: Yes! Each of us took the last of our fleet, one ship, one Drednok. It was desperate, but all we had. We gave up our lives, our futures, our identities to protect Solum. Lone soldiers with singular purpose. You became The Diviner, and I... Diviner: The Vindicator. Asencia: Few survived as the wormhole collapsed. Ah! None of us knew when or where we would end up. Drednok: Yet, we arrived here, in the Alpha Quadrant three years ago. Diviner: And that's why you haven't aged. Asencia: I infiltrated our enemies. Hitched a ride with the only person just as determined to find it as I was. Imagine my surprise when we found you alone on Tars Lamora. Diviner: I spent 20 years searching. I thought I wasn't going to live long enough to see it. Asencia: So you defied The Order and made a progeny. You had to ensure the mission was completed. But tell me, why did she betray us? Diviner: She met a boy... |
„ |
| ~ Asencia |
| “ | Starfleet let my people tear ourselves apart. And now I will watch your Federation do the same. Brothers, sisters... The intrusion will never come to be. Starfleet's destruction is our salvation. | „ |
| ~ Asencia to the Starfleet fleet, proclaiming her revenge. |
| “ | The multiverse holds a bitter truth, girl. My home, my Solum, was destroyed, and it always will be. So, I will conquer this reality until I have the Solum I want that bends to my will. | „ |
| ~ Asencia to Gwyndala. |
Asencia The Vindicator is one of the two main antagonists (alongside The Diviner) of the first season, the main antagonist of the second season of Star Trek: Prodigy, the tenth television series of the Star Trek franchise, and the archnemesis of Gwyndala.
She is a United Federation of Planets-hating Vau N'Akat after Starfleet made first contact with her planet Solum, leading to a civil war between the Vau N'Akat who refused change and those who accepted it. Fifty years later, Asencia joined the surviving Vau N'Akat on a mission to both prevent First Contact by going back in time and using the USS Protostar and the weapon of destruction hidden inside to deliver a fatal blow to the Federation. Only she and her comrade the Diviner managed to reach the twenty-fourth century, Asencia infiltrating the enemy camp to achieve her goal of revenge. Arrived in the past, she tracked down the Protostar that fell into the hands of a group of young heterocyclic outcasts for weeks aboard the USS Dauntless across the galaxy until she boarded and nearly caused Starfleet's extinction simultaneously, only for the Protostar's crew to foil her plans for good.
Asencia later returned, establishing herself as a tyrant on her home planet and seeking to use temporal technology to destroy the Federation in a war. She was finally defeated by Gwyn with the help of their people, including the younger versions of the Diviner and Asencia herself. Seeing what she had wrought and the arrival of the Loom, Asencia expressed horror at what she had caused before being imprisoned for her crimes.
In the second season, a second version of Asencia was introduced, namely her younger self from the present day of an alternate timeline. Having witnessed what her future self had become, the younger Asencia considered her future self a monster and worked with the younger version of the Diviner to stop her.
She is voiced by Jameela Jamil who also portrayed Titania in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law and voiced Gandra Dee in Ducktales.
Personality[]
| “ | Asencia: You dare stand in the way of the Vau N'Akat? Gwyndala: There must be another way. This can't be what our people want. Asencia: You're not one of us. You never were. You're just a mistake. A burden! Shouldn't even exist! |
„ |
| ~ Asencia fighting Gwyn and showing her true nature. |
Under her false identity of Ensign Trill, Asencia is a benevolent, brilliant and empathetic Starfleet officer. She did not, however, approve of orders to destroy the Protostar as a last resort and was willing to secretly defy Admiral Jelico's orders, though this was more influenced by her true goals.
Her true nature is in fact that of a stubborn, despicable, arrogant, cruel, vicious, vengeful, xenophobic and bitterly resentful woman. Unlike the Diviner, Asencia is not able to value outside of Solum. Her resentment towards Starfleet knows no bounds, more than wanting to prevent the ruin of her world, Asencia mostly wants revenge on unspeakable proportions, having no qualms about causing the complete destruction of the Federation and causing the death of billion innocent.
She also openly views Gwyndala as an abomination for being the Diviner's clone and showed similar disgust when the Diviner turned on her due to actually considering Gwyndala his daughter (although it is unconfirmed whether Asencia would have felt the same way about Gwyndala if she had remained loyal to the Order). By showing no hesitation in mortally wounding the Diviner after calling him the weakest of them, Asencia showed that she genuinely did not care for her kind or at least for the Vau N'Akat who did not think like her.
When she finally began her revenge, Asencia took pleasure in taunting Starfleet that they would see the Federation destroyed along with them, absurdly calling their demise the salvation of her species. Even cornered, Asencia remained confident and claimed she would not pay for her crimes anytime soon before escaping.
History[]
| “ | Asencia: If you can believe it, there was once a time we were the same age. You were enticed by Starfleet's lies of bold new worlds, but a great many were wary of their promises Why would we join a primitive allegiance when it was them who stood the most to gain? Years of infighting rotted our decency, replacing it with fear, anger, violence, civil war. The Federation refused to choose a side, abandoned us to face decades of our own self-annihilation. Hope of Solum was dead. Until decades later, the sky tore open and hope returned. Diviner: I remember seeing the "Protostar" arrive through the wormhole with my own eyes. They called it an accident, but we knew it was fate. Asencia: They had no idea how starved we were for retribution. |
„ |
| ~ Ascencia reminding the Diviner of the events that led to the downfall of Solum and their hatred for Starfleet and the Federation they have blamed ever since. |
Towards the end of the 24th century, Starfleet arrived on Solum to make first contact with the Vau N'Akat, something Asencia did not welcome, unlike a friend of hers. The Vau N'akat have always been a people who have always believed that they are the only ones in the universe, quickly divided between those who wanted to maintain their way of life and those who were now on the side of the federation. Subsequently, a terrible civil war broke out, ravaging Solum and causing the near extinction of the Vau N'Akat.
After fifty years of conflict on the now-ruined planet, the Starfleet starship commanded by Captain Chakotay, the Protostar, arrived on Solum through a time anomaly but once ashore the crew was captured by the survivors of the war. Blinded by anger, the Vau N'Akat planned to go back in time to prevent the first contact. To do this, they had to send the Protostar back through the wormhole it came from with their latest living construct, a technological weapon capable of turning computer systems against themselves, on board so that the Protostar would cause the destruction of Starfleet and the Federation when the ship was recovered. On the very day of the Protostar's return trip, Chakotay caused the ship to take off with no one on board towards the anomaly for an unknown time.
The Vau N'Akat subsequently forming the organization "The Order" launched one hundred Rev-12 starships individually piloted by an agent and android Drednok through the temporal anomaly wormhole, each agent having given up their identity and taking a new name such as Asencia and her friend becoming the Vindicator and the Diviner respectively. Unfortunately for them, the anomaly collapsed, destroying all of the starships from which only Asencia and the Diviner managed to survive before being separated. Asencia found herself in 2381 in the Alpha Quadrant, she later infiltrated Starfleet under the guise of a Trill and secretly accompanied by her Drednok, reaching the rank of ensign and assigned to the USS Dauntless under the command of the Vice-Admiral Kathryn Janeway who was also looking for the Protostar.
Season 1[]
In A Moral Star, Part 2, in 2384, Asencia informs Janeway that she has just spotted a third trace of proto-warp on her dashboard, prompting Janeway to conclude that the Protostar is finally back and orders her crew to schedule a cape on the Protostar's last pass.
In Asylum, The Dauntless arrives at the planetoid of Tars Lamora and a team consisting of Janeway, Asencia, Tysess and Dr. Noum explores the seemingly deserted mine, Janeway hoping to find Chakotay. The group comes across an older Diviner floating in a state of stasis and Janeway decides to take him aboard for answers.
In Let Sleeping Borgs Lie, Asencia notices Janeway drinking tea unusually before the Vice Admiral guesses she didn't come to talk about it. in the infirmary, a Diviner partially out of stasis begins to whisper incoherent phrases, so Asencia suggests using the components from the Diviner's biosuit to synthesize what is revive him due to his biology being unknown to Noum. Later, the Dauntless follows another recent track from the Protostar which only leads to the destroyed Relay Station 721.
In All the World's A Stage, Asencia arrives in the infirmary after Janeway fails to get much information from an awakened but still broken Diviner, informing her that the escape pod of Barniss Frex, the only resident Relay Station 721, has been retrieved by an unknown ship for which she is still looking for the warp signature.
In Crossroads, Ascencia assists a still weakened Diviner, helping him with his memory problems until he suddenly remembers that his daughter's name is Gwyndala. Subsequently, the Dauntless escapes to Denaxi Depot where Asencia accompanies the senior officers to find Frex for further answers. Outside, Asencia stands up for a young girl almost robbed by a Klingon. The girl thanks her for her help and introduces herself as Gwyn just before Asencia notices that she is also a Vau N'Akat and therefore Gwyndala. Gwyn panics the moment Asencia mentions that her father is aboard the Starfleet ship and tries to get away, only for Asencia to hold her back pretending to just want to help her but at the same time want her to say where the Protostar is currently hidden. She inadvertently loses sight of Gwyn after the teenager sneaks into a freight transport.
Soon after, Asencia and the other officers set out to track the young fugitives through the depot, but even with the help of Xindi-Reptilian security, they are unable to stop the Protostar's crew from escaping the building. Continuing the hunt on the snowy world, Starfleet officers suddenly see the Protostar emerge from under the snow and fly into space. Teleported to the Dauntless, they pursue the teenagers again, following them in warp drive. Asencia joins the bridge with the Diviner, warning Janeway that her daughter is aboard the Protostar, moments before the Dauntless fires at the fleeing starship's engine as its crew is about to proto-warp jump. The two ships emerge near the Romulan Neutral Zone where the Protostar is able to evade the Dantless whose path is blocked by three Romulans Warbirds due to treaties prohibiting Starfleet from entering the Neutral Zone or triggering an act of war against the Romulan Empire.
In Masquerade, Asencia continues to help the Diviner remember his mission, and then Janeway walks into the room since Asencia wanted to talk to her. As Admiral Edward Jellico refused to allow the Dauntless to continue the hunt in the Neutral Zone and also gave the order to destroy the Protostar remotely should it fall into Romulan hands, Asencia offers herself for an undercover infiltration in the Neutral Zone to retrieve the Protostar. Even if Asencia claims to know what starship means to her, Janeway does not approve of her proposal because it would go against their codes and values. The two realize that if they thought about infiltrating then the Romulans too, prompting Janeway to order Asencia to watch the Romulans sub-channel.
As the Tal Shiar descend on Noble Isle to capture the captain of the Protostar, Asencia tries to convince Janeway that she shouldn't destroy the Protostar, but Janeway remains unmoved due to her fear that the starship will fall into Romulans hands, so the crew has to be ready at that end. As the Romulans descend on Noble Isle to capture the captain of the Protostar, Asencia tries to convince Janeway that she shouldn't destroy the Protostar, but Janeway remains unmoved due to her fear that the starship will fall into Romulan hands, so the crew has to be ready at that end. After a long time without being able to be sure of what is happening, Janeway decides to launch the torpedoes despite Asencia's objection. The instant it is clarified that the Romulans have failed, the torpedoes are deflected away. Asencia bursts into her quarters, claiming that they have no more time much to the Diviner's misunderstanding and at the moment, Asencia orders her Drednok to activate, the latter having taken the form of a table all this time. Asencia then deactivates an implant on her neck and reveals her true Vau N'Akat appearance then she tells the Diviner that he was not the only one sent to find the Protostar.
In Preludes, Tired of the Diviner's inability to remember their mission since the Medusan Zero broke his spirit, Asencia reminds him of when they were the same age but didn't share the same opinion of Starfleet upon first contact because she judged that joining a primitive allegiance, shortly before the Civil War began was worthless. She also says the Federation didn't take sides, leaving them in decades of suffering. Asencia's tale ends up restoring the Diviner's memories, such as the Protostar's arrival on their ruined world and everything that happened up to entering the wormhole where the rest of their kind one perished. Drednok reveals they arrived only three years earlier, explaining why Asencia hasn't aged compared to the Diviner who arrived just over twenty years ago and created a progeny, against the principles of the Order, to ensure that she would continue the mission if he didn't live long enough to find the Protostar, only for Asencia not to understand why Gwyn betrayed her father, to which the Diviner responds that she met a boy. Later, Janeway enters Asencia's quarters and discovers her in her true form and accompanied by Drednok, just so that a Diviner having finally recovered all of his memories knocks Janeway out from behind.
In Mindwalk, After an unconscious Janeway hides in a closet and her combage is moved, Asencia resumes her false appearance as Trill goes to the bridge. While the Dauntless in warp drive pursues the Protostar, the starship having been forced out of the Neutral Zone because of the living construct having infected the controls, she offers Tysess to merge the warp field of the Dauntless with that of the Protostar to bring closer.
Suddenly, a Dal R'El who accidentally swapped bodies with Janeway to try to warn the Dauntless of the danger of the living construct bursts onto the deck and his clumsy behavior worries the crew. Unaware of the mind-swapping, Asencia is summoned by Dal who asks how to contact the Protostar without using a hail and Asencia responds that the only other way is to board, provoking the teen in the body of the Vice-Admiral claiming that it was a test she passed. Soon after, Asencia warns Tysess that the Protostar is approaching Federation space, so the Andorian urges to call in other Starfleet starships as reinforcements, which Asencia viciously hopes. Dal's behavior becomes so concerned that the senior officers and Asencia, hiding a phaser as a last resort, try to take him to the sickbay but Dal attempts to escape, only to be caught by the rest of the crew. However, Dal and Janeway are able to switch minds again, shortly before the Protostar warps out and finds itself surrounded by the Starfleet fleet.
In Supernova, part 1, Asencia easily convinces Admiral Jellico to allow the Protostar to board. Once the gang's escape attempt fails, the female Vau N'Akat drops her cover in the transporter room and then easily knocks out two of the crew with his bare hands while Drednok incapacitates the last. Before teleporting to the Protostar with Drednok and the Diviner, she gives instructions to eliminate anyone in their path, but the Diviner forbids her to harm his daughter because she is one of them.
Dal, Jankom Pog, Zero, Murf and Rok-Tak immediately confront the three intruders in the corridors of the Protostar, only to have Drednok single-handedly hold them off while the two Vau N'Akat arrive at the bridge. After deactivating the Janeway hologram, Asencia contemplates the fruit of her efforts to make Starfleet suffer and then sends the Diviner to check into the basement to see if the living construct is operational, just to lock her inside. Gwyn confronts Asencia and the two agree to fight with their Heirloom, with the older one planning to kill Gwyn. Although Asencia is the more experienced of the two, Gwyn is able to slash her in the left eye. As the fight grows more intense, Gwyn tries to convince Asencia that their people cannot want such an atrocity, only for Asencia to cruelly reject her for never being a Vau N'Akat before disarming and subduing her. Asencia then orders a Diviner back up on the bridge to complete the mission by opening the hail. At the last moment, the Diviner turns on Asencia and throws Gwyn's Heirloom that was once his on her, only for Asencia to grab the weapon, treats him of having always been the weak one, and throws his Heirloom at his stomach, mortally wounding him. Joined by Drednok, Asencia opens all Federation frequency channels and it's too late by the time each ship responds, the living construct infecting them. Asencia tells them that Starfleet left its people torn apart and now they will see the Federation suffer the same fate, seconds before Starfleet ships begin attacking each other. The gang reaches the bridge and Dal demands that Asencia stop all this but she replies that she can't, so Jankom assures her that she will pay. Asencia mockingly replies that it won't be for today and then Drednok takes the form of a pod with Ascensia inside and the despicable duo take off through the ceiling of the Protostar and escape the battle.
In Supernova, part 2, The gang is able to thwart Asencia's actions by causing the Protostar to self-destruct, thus destroying the living construct. A month later, with the gang rejoining Starfleet as warrant officers under Janeway's command, Gwyn decides to go to Solum for change the fate of the Vau N'Akat in her own way.
Season 2[]
In Into the Breach, part 2, Asencia managed to reach Solum following his failed attempt to destroy Starfleet and has slowly begun to influence the Elder Council ever since. When Gwyn arrives on Solum to try to avoid the civil war that could still occur in fifty years, Asencia obstructs her attempt at peace, calling her a traitor and a spy for the Federation, just as she exposed her as not really being Vau N'Akat. With the Elders already on her side, Asencia uses the presence of her younger self to confirm her statue of Vau N'Akat, causing the Elders to order Gwyn's arrest but the young girl manages to escape, to the anger of Asencia.
In Who Saves the Saviors, assisted by the younger version of her father, Ilthuran, Gwyn returns to the Elders to once again try to make them listen to reason, and challenges Asensia to the sacred ritual of Valu'Ra. When the time comes, Asencia and Gwyn are led into the heart of an ancient arena, and separated from their Heirlooms, the test to prove the legitimacy of their status as Vau N'Akat begins. More experienced, Asencia is the first to capture the energy of which all the Heirlooms are composed, immediately creating a melee weapon to attack Gwyn. Once an initially disadvantaged Gwyn finds her feet, she manages to control the energy in turn, beginning the real confrontation between the two rivals. Later, in a standoff, Ascencia taunts Gwyn for believing she could prevent the fate of the Vau N'Akat, to which Gwyn retorts that she is afraid of a future that has not yet arrived. Asencia soon regains the upper hand but Gwyn realizes that she does not need to beat her, only to exit the arena first, using Heilooms blades for support on the walls. Asencia pursues her and as Gwyn almost reaches the top, a time distortion hinders Gwyn who falls back to the bottom of the arena, while Asencia manages to get out. The Elders recognize her as one of their own and describe her as the guide who will lead them into the future, with Asencia also appropriating Gwyn's Heirloom.
In Temporal Mechanics 101, Asencia begins planning a military expansion when she notices a ship escaping from the pit, much to her anger since she knows who may be on board.
In Ascension, part 1, Ilthuran contacts the USS Voyager to warn Starfleet that Ascencia has taken a lot of power over Solum and that it intends to attack the Federation, having also overthrown the Council and acquired temporal technology allowing the formation of an army in a very short time. Ilthuran is subsequently captured and Asencia takes his place in communication, meeting Janeway again and discovering the survival of Gwyn whom she takes pleasure in showing that her Heirloom belongs to her. Using Voyager's location obtained from the broadcast, Asencia sends a new model Rev ship to destroy them. As soon as Voyager ends up severely immobilized, Ascencia gloats when the power of his new weapons confronts his prisoner, Wesley Crusher.
In Ascension, part 2, as Voyager's forces begin to fight back, Asencia uses Wesley to see into the future to discover what her weapon will be able to do, seeing Voyager and Protostar being wiped out. In the end, the Rev ship is destroyed instead, with Wesley actually showing only one possible future among others, but Asencia uses this setback to realize that the two Starfleet ships will not be able to rely on the Starfleet fleet.
In Brink, months earlier, Asencia stubbornly tried to harness the energy of the temporal wormholes to the point of pushing Solum's technology to its limits, only for a weakened Wesley to force the breach closed. Despite Traveler's warnings, Asencia takes him prisoner in order to use his knowledge to her advantage. In the present, the Protostar's crew infiltrates Solum to spy on the advanced technology of the Vau N'Akat, then meets a member of the resistance who is none other than the youngest Asencia, having ended up seeing her counterpart from the future as the monster that she refuses to become. Although one half of the gang managed to escape, Wesley ordered the other to save the rebel prisoners, Asencia and her henchmen captured them. Through the revelations that she secretly listened to before the capture, Asencia now knows that Ilthuran was going to overthrow her, making her decide to execute him on the spot. However, Gwyn succeeds in teleporting Wesley and Ilthuran aboard Voyager.
In Touch of Gray, Asencia uses the tape to propagandize against Starfleet, as well as using them to force Janeway to surrender or they will pay the price. The gang is later led to the ruins of an ancient city converted into an arena where Asencia unleashes an electric collar-controlled Loom on them in order to erase them from existence once and for all. Janeway is then brought to Asencia and the Vice Admiral tries to offer the release of the gang in exchange for secret information about Starfleet which would be conducive to war against the Federation, but Asencia does not see the point since she knows that Voyager is without backup and shoots Janeway down. Suddenly, another Starfleet team outside deactivates the power, freeing the Loom. Asencia discovers too late that Janeway is actually the Doctor, a sentient hologram, before the Loom appears and kills Asencia's guards before leaving. Ilthuran then broadcasts a call for revolution to the Vau N'Akat, urging them to rise up against the tyranny of Asencia.
In Ouroboros, part 1, with the city plunged into chaos and the Vau N'Akat loyal to the Uprising demanding peace with Starfleet, a desperate Asencia opens numerous space-time rifts on Federation bases, indifferent to the consequences this will cause to Solum now that the whole world is no longer on his side.
At the top of her research tower, Asencia ambushes the gang who have come to stop her manipulation of the faults. While Drednok takes care of the rest of the gang, Asencia confronts Gwyn once again, the latter being able to only rely on a metal bar to defend herself against Asencia's Heirloom weapon. On the threshold of their fierce confrontation, the two Vau N'Akat women fall at the foot of the tower. Exhausted and psychotic, Asencia declares that the Solum she knew has been destroyed and will continue to be destroyed until she conquers this reality. As she tries to deal the fatal blow to Gwyn, Asencia does not realize that her army has been destroyed by the efforts of the gang who managed to reconnect the tower's transmitters. The resistance then comes running and each of its members transfers their will into Gwyn, giving her total control over the Heirloom energy. Disarmed but still stubborn, Asencia attempts to regain control of Heirloom, only for her efforts to destroy her mental connection, shattering her spirit and leaving Gwyn as the sole winner.
In Ouroboros, part 2, a defeated and broken Asencia is taken into custody but suddenly she senses thousands of Looms coming out of the vortex created by the merging rifts, making her finally realize the mistakes and horror of her actions.
Quotes[]
| “ | Janeway: Ensign Asencia. I was told you wanted to speak with me. Asencia: Yes, I'd like to offer my services to covertly enter the Neutral Zone. Janeway: You know that would disobey a direct order. Asencia: I also know how much the Protostar means to you. Janeway: If the Federation can't abide by the rule of law, we're no better than the very forces we oppose. But if we're thinking of sneaking in... Asencia: Then the Romulans are too. |
„ |
| ~ Asencia to Janeway. |
| “ | There is no barrier we cannot overcome. You weren't the only one sent back to find the ship. | „ |
| ~ Asencia revealing her true identity to the Diviner. |
| “ | Diviner: Before I had a daughter, this was mine! [Diviner throws his Heirloom at Asencia but she catches it] Asencia: You were always the weak one. |
„ |
| ~ Asencia gets betrayed by the Diviner. |
| “ | Dal: You have to stop this. Asencia: I can't. Jankom: Then you'll pay for it. Asencia: Aw, maybe, but not today. |
„ |
| ~ Asencia before escaping with impunity after infecting the Starfleet fleet with the living construct. |
| “ | Ha, this traitor dares evoke the sacred laws of Solum? | „ |
| ~ Asencia furious that Gwyn summons Valu'Ra. |
| “ | Asencia: You thought you were strong enough to save us from our fate? Ha! Gwyn: You're terrified of a future that hasn't happened, Asencia. Asencia: As long as the outsiders come to Solum, we are destined for civil war, so now I'll ensure that the right side wins. Gwyn: Our people will embrace the greater universe, but not if you poison them with fear. |
„ |
| ~ Asencia and Gwyn confronting each other during Valu'Ra. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Asencia is the second antagonist to infiltrate Starfleet, preceded by the Romulan Sub-Commander Selok in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Data's Day.
- In Supernova, Part 1, Asencia saying "Maybe, but not today" is similar to Gowron, a Klingon antagonist who said the similar phrase "Perhaps, but not today".
- Asencia is the third Vau N'Akat to be introduced in Star Trek, if the Vau N'Akat introduced in flashback do not count.
- As seen in season two, Asencia was not always such an evil person, having been warped by the civil war that destroyed her homeworld. Her younger self, witnessing what she would become, openly called her future self a monster and expressed horror at the future Asencia's actions. Much like the younger version of the Diviner, the younger Asencia acted as a friend and ally to those who her future self was an enemy to.
- As Ascencia was already shown to be an adult in the 2380s, her time travel occurred 50 years later, and arriving in 2381, this makes her easily over 74 years old.
