Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek #3!The gods of the Star Trek universe have been redefined, thanks to one fact about Q’s biology. As the god war rages across the galaxy, Q, Star Trek’s omnipotent trickster god, arrives for one last prank on humanity–namely Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the USS Theseus. As the crew works to outwit Q, T’Lir, themself apparently a god-like being, makes a revelation about the biology of the franchise’s gods.

The issue is written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, illustrated by Ramon Rosanas and Joe Eisma, colored by Lee Loughridge and lettered by Clayton Cowles. While the rest of his people flee the god-killer, Q cannot resist one more prank on humanity; he picks the Theseus and unleashes chaos, subjecting the crew to wild and outlandish scenarios. Sisko and his crew look for solutions; Scotty says they would need something to contain Q, and T’Lir suggests a device using “extradimensional tachyons” which appear in only the most advanced of civilizations–namely ones like the Q. Scotty is surprised by this suggestion, asking T’Lir if they learned that at “the Academy.” T’Lir rigs a device that uses these extradimensional tachyons to outmaneuver Q. Q, impressed with how Sisko, T’Lir and the crew of the Theseus work together, sets them free to continue their mission.

Related: Why Star Trek's God War Has to Kill Wesley Crusher

Q's Biology Is Star Trek Technobabble At Its Best.

Star Trek Extra Dimensional Tachyons

This mission, to discover who or what is behind the slaughter of the franchise’s god-like beings, has been the driving force behind IDW’s new flagship title, simply titled Star Trek. Billed as a sequel to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the book follows Captain Benjamin Sisko, recently returned from a sojourn with the Bajoran Prophets, as he and a ragtag crew made up of some of the franchise’s best officers try to identify and stop the god-killer. So far, Sisko and company have witnessed the massacre of the Crystalline Entities and traveled deep into Klingon space to meet the enigmatic Shapers of Sardekesh. Now, as the god war heats up, a stunning revelation about the biology of these beings completely redefines them.

God-like beings such as Q, Trelane and Gary Mitchell, have been staples of the Star Trek franchise since its inception and this is the first attempt in its history there has been an attempt to “explain” these beings, at least in scientific terms; the Star Trek franchise is notorious for its “technobabble,” and this is the perfect example. Races such as the Organians and the Metrons were simply referred to as “gods” and assumed to be beyond description, yet T’Lir knew about these special types of tachyons which are integral to the biology of these god-like beings. This same issue makes it clear that T’Lir has god-like powers themselves, perhaps shedding light on how they knew of the existence of these particles in the first place.

This attempt to “quantify” Star Trek’s god-like beings finds its equivalent in the introduction of “midichlorians” in The Phantom Menace. George Lucas created the midichlorians as a scientific way to explain how The Force works and that same logic has now been applied to Star Trek’s god-like beings. Thanks to a revelation about Q, the basic understanding of their biology has been fundamentally altered.

More: Star Trek Reveals Sisko's New Powers Make Him Q's Equal

Star Trek #3 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!