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When did Picard meet the Hirogen?

Star Trek Picard season 3 has had plenty of references to previous seasons of the franchise, and this week we learn that Picard met the Hirogen.

When did Picard meet the Hirogen? Hirogen in Voyager

When did Picard meet the Hirogen? In the latest episode of Star Trek Picard season 3, it’s revealed that Jean-Luc Picard had come into contact with the Hirogen.

This reveal comes during a flashback sequence in Star Trek Picard season 3 episode 4, in which Picard is enjoying a meal at Ten Forward on Earth when some Starfleet cadets recognise him and begin questioning him about his illustrious career. Among all the questions, the cadets quiz him about his encounter with the Hirogen.

The Hirogen are a species introduced in the Star Trek series Voyager, where they’re native to the Delta Quadrant. They’re vicious and dedicated hunters who collide with the Star Trek characters in Voyager multiple times. But when and how did Picard meet the Hirogen?

When did Picard meet the Hirogen?

Picard’s encounter with the Hirogen must have taken place between the events of the Star Trek movie Nemesis and the start of Star Trek Picard season 1. Picard will have met the species while he was still active in Starfleet and when he had plenty of adventures that we never see.

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How did Picard meet the Hirogen?

The bigger question is how Picard met the Hirogen, given the vast distance between the Alpha Quadrant (where the Federation is) and the Delta Quadrant (where the Hirogen are).

One potential answer is that the Hirogen tracked Voyager through the Quadrants while hunting their prey, leading them to the Alpha Quadrant and putting them on a collision course with Picard. However, without special technology, we know that this would have taken the Hirogen around 70 years, so that doesn’t make total sense.

Another option is that some Hirogen travelled through a hidden wormhole connecting the two Quadrants, allowing them access to the Alpha Quadrant. This might make more sense, as we know that the unstable Barzan wormhole connected various Quadrants to each other and may have reappeared.

When did Picard meet the Hirogen? Ferengi in Barzan wormhole in The Price

We see this in the TNG episode The Price, where two Ferengi enter the wormhole from the Alpha Quadrant and end up in the Delta Quadrant. We also see this from the other side in the Voyager episode False Profits, where Voyager attempts to use the same wormhole from the other side to return to the Alpha Quadrant.

For more on Star Trek Picard, read our Star Trek Picard season 3 review, as well as our explainers on the USS Titan, Captain Shaw, the Shrike, Vadic, Rachel Garrett, Moriarty, and the Red Lady. Or find out what we know about the Strange New Worlds season 2 release date.