Is The New 'Star Trek: Discovery' Promo Hinting At Connection To Previous Series?

08/26/2017 05:16 pm EDT

A new promo for Star Trek: Discovery may be hinting at a connection to past Star Trek series.

The promo feature T'Kuvma (Chris Obi), a Klingon leader intent on Uniting the Klingon house. It is his faction of Klingon that encounter First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and other members of Starfleet in Star Trek: Discovery.

T'Kuvma delivers voice over that sees to be in direct response to the "We come in peace" monologue delivered by Burnham in a previous promo.

"They are coming. Atom by atom they will silence us. Cell by cell our souls will become theirs. We must fight to for one thing above all – to remain Klingon."

The lines "cell by cell our souls will become theirs" and the call for his people to "remain Klingon" are both of particular interest as they could be a reference to the Klingon augment virus.

The Klingon augment virus is a plot element introduced into Star Trek canon in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Affliction" and "Divergence" a means of explaining why the Klingons of Star Trek: The Original Series looked so different from those of Star Trek: The Next Generation and its spinoffs.

The storyline revealed that approximately 100 years before Star Trek: The Original Series a group of Klingon scientists attempted to augment Klingon physiology using the same technology used to create human Augments like Khan Noonian Singh. The experiment failed and augmentation formula went airborne turning into a virus that created a subset of Klingons with distinctly human characteristics, including a smooth forehead. These are the Klingons seen in Star Trek: The Original Series. By the 24th century, the era of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the effects of the augment virus had worn off and been forgotten by non-Klingons.

Could T'Kuvma be referencing the Augment virus in this promo? T'Kuvma is said to be trying to unite the Klingon houses. If this is true, it is possible that he is using the spread of the augment virus in order to stoke fear of humans among the Klingons, which could be part of what sets the Klingon Empire on a path towards war with the Federation.

Star Trek: Discovery premieres Sept. 24 on CBS and CBS All Access.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.