Warning: SPOILERS For Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 9 – "Vox" The Changelings' plan for Frontier Day, and the return of a beloved starship in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 9 has revealed a major flaw with Starfleet's 25th-century starships. As Starfleet gathered the armada to celebrate 250 years of going boldly, Admiral Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) introduced the new Fleet Formation, a way to automate every starship. From Dr. Richard Daystrom (William Marshall) to the First Contact Day attacks on Mars, Starfleet doesn't have the best history with automation, and their new Fleet Formation is their latest disaster, thanks to the Borg and Changelings' unholy alliance.
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew fled Frontier Day to seek a way out of the pending catastrophe. The answer to their prayers came in the form of a restored and refurbished USS Enterprise-D hidden inside Hangar Bay 12 at the Fleet Museum orbiting Athan Prime. It's an emotional moment for TNG crew and viewers alike, and it's essentially a homecoming by stepping aboard the bridge of the Enterprise for one final mission. The sentimentality displayed by everyone – including Data (Brent Spiner) – demonstrates what modern Star Trek ships are missing.
