Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Section 31.

Paramount+’s first streaming Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Section 31, hinges on an in-joke from Star Trek: The Original Series about Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the Starship Enterprise. Star Trek: Section 31 stars Michelle Yeoh as Star Trek: Discovery‘s Emperor Philippa Georgiou, who joins a team of Section 31 agents led by Alok Sahar (Omar Hardwick). In Section 31‘s second act, a mole sabotages Section 31’s starship, leaving Sahar’s team stranded in a veritable junkyard, where Lieutenant Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), future USS Enterprise-C Captain, spots a potential replacement ship: a blocky, rusty garbage scow.

Before the Tribbles cause too many troubles in Star Trek: The Original Series’ classic episode, “The Trouble With Tribbles”, Kirk’s USS Enterprise crew shares shore leave with a complement of Klingons on space station K-7. When Klingon officer Korax (Michael Pataki) baits Ensign Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) by insulting Captain Kirk, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) cautions Chekov to maintain a sense of Starfleet decorum. Undaunted, Korax tells Scotty that the USS Enterprise is “designed like a garbage scow.” The final straw that gets Scotty fighting is Korax declaring that the Enterprise should be “hauled away as garbage“.

Section 31 Saves The Federation With A Kirk In-Joke From Star Trek: The Original Series

Garbage Scow To The Rescue!

After Section 31’s Alpha Team loses their starship to sabotage, the vessel that ultimately saves the United Federation of Planets is the garbage scow that Lieutenant Rachel Garrett managed to get running. Even if Korax did have to go a bit further to get Scotty to throw the first punch, it’s still funny that Star Trek: Section 31‘s hero ship is the very same thing that Korax compared the USS Enterprise to as an insult in Star Trek: The Original Series. And no wonder—the garbage scow in Star Trek: Section 31 is a pretty ugly piece of junk.

In the end, Star Trek: Section 31‘s team can’t be too choosy about their choice of transport, since the stakes are high. They have no way to communicate with anyone else, and they’re running out of time before the Quadrant-destroying Godsend falls into the wrong hands. The garbage scow may not have working shields or weapons, and Quasi (Sam Richardson) can’t decipher the controls. But the scow does have a wide-range tractor field to collect trash, and a hull full of garbage that Garrett uses to create a makeshift bomb. It’s not the Enterprise, but the garbage will do.

Why Was Scotty So Offended The Klingons Insulted The Enterprise, Not Captain Kirk

“It Was A Matter Of Pride.”

In “The Trouble With Tribbles”, Montgomery Scott is more offended when the Klingon officer calls the USS Enterprise a garbage scow than when Korax hurls insults at Captain Kirk. Scotty knows full well that the Captain of the Enterprise isn’t the “swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood” that Korax says he is. Kirk’s reputation isn’t really on the line, but the Starship Enterprise is far closer to Scotty’s heart since Mr. Scott has put in countless hours repairing and upgrading the Enterprise as its Chief Engineer. Insulting the USS Enterprise is like insulting Scotty himself; it’s personal.

After seeing that an actual garbage scow is a pretty sorry piece of machinery in Star Trek: Section 31, it’s even easier to see why Scotty was so offended that the Klingons would dare call his beloved Consтιтution-class USS Enterprise a garbage scow. The implication that Starfleet’s flagship is only as good as a barely spaceworthy rust bucket is an attack on Scotty’s engineering skills on top of insulting Starfleet design. The garbage scow in Star Trek: Section 31 is the in-joke that saves the Federation, but that’s the only thing it has in common with the Enterprise.