Murf

Warning! This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Prodigy, and thus may contain spoilers.

Murf was a Mellanoid slime worm who lived during the late 24th century.

Biography[]

It inhabited the Tars Lamora prison colony until 2383, when it was found by Rok-Tahk. Rok-Tahk gave it the name "Murf" and took it to the USS Protostar. Murf was fond of ingesting random pieces of mechanical equipment. Murf helped in the escape by accidentally triggering the ship's weapons system, allowing the Protostar to blast its way out through falling debris. (PRO: "Lost and Found")

At one point, Murf attempted to eat a photon grenade which later detonated inside of it, causing Murf to briefly expand in size before returning to normal, prompting Rok-Tahk to conclude that Murf was indestructible. (PRO: "Kobayashi").

Later still, while the Protostar crew were experimenting with the ship's transporter, Rok-Tahk suggested Murf be the first lifeform to try using the transporter, as its indestructible nature would reduce the risk of an accident. Murf was accidentally beamed out onto the outer hull of the ship, proving it could also survive in the vacuum of space. (PRO: "First Con-tact")

The most impressive feat Murf's biology achieved was to safely act as a living containment vessel for the protostar that powered the Protostar's proto-drive. (PRO: "A Moral Star, Part 1")

In 2384, Murf seemingly became ill for a short time, and refused to eat. Rok tried to ascertain the cause of Murf's illness only to find that Murf had transformed into a cocoon. (PRO: "All the World's a Stage") Recognizing that this must be a new stage of development for Mellanoid slime worms, Rok eagerly waited to see what would hatch within the cocoon. A short time later, Murf emerged from his cocoon, sprouting a humanoid-shaped body, with a pair of arms and legs, and a small protrusion hovering over his head. (PRO: "Crossroads") Later, the Protostar crew found themselves under attack at Noble Isle by a Romulan Tal Shiar squad. Housed in a containment pod for his protection, Murf desperately tried to get out. As soon as Rok let him out, Murf sprang into action and easily overwhelmed the Romulans, leading Gwyn to declare that the crew had a new security officer. (PRO: "Masquerade")

Eventually, thanks to the living construct weapon, which was onboard the Protostar with the intention of destroying Starfleet from within, the Protostar crew no longer had control of the ship and was headed for the heart of Federation space, where it was met by an armada of Starfleet vessels. Ultimately, Dal decided that the only way to save Starfleet was to destroy the Protostar.

Escaping on a bare-bones shuttle created by Rok using the vehicle replicator, the crew arrived at Starfleet Headquarters on Earth, within a month, where they found themselves in front of a Starfleet tribunal facing various criminal charges, such as stealing a Federation starship. Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway argued on their behalf that the kids had done everything in their power to warn Starfleet. Thanks to the admiral's impassioned speech, all criminal charges were dropped and, although they weren't allowed immediate entrance into Starfleet Academy as they hoped, Murf and the rest of the crew, with the exception of Gwyn who'd decided to go to Solum to try to unite her people, were permitted to serve under the admiral as warrant officers-in-training. (PRO: "Supernova, Part 2")

The former Protostar crew attended a Starfleet Academy prep school where Murf quickly proved himself. His instructor commented at one point that she might not understand what Murf was saying, but he was a shoo-in for the security track at Starfleet Academy. (PRO: "Into the Breach, Part I")

Wesley Crusher showed a familiarity with Murf and appeared to understand him, commenting that Murf was using bad language. (PRO: "The Devourer of All Things, Part I")

Upon first meeting Murf, Chakotay was a bit dubious about the slime worm being a security officer, but was quickly impressed with Murf's skills. When the crew sailed the ship across Ysida's vapor ocean, Murf acted as the ship's lookout. While in the mirror universe, Murf helped Chakotay to overpower his mirror counterpart. (PRO: "Last Flight of the Protostar, Part I", "Last Flight of the Protostar, Part II", "Cracked Mirror")

During the Battle of Solum, Murf destroyed Drednok and stopped Dal from falling to his death, helping to buy time to send the Protostar through a wormhole back to Tars Lamora to fix the broken timeline. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part I", "Ouroboros, Part II")

In 2385, following the Attack on Mars, Murf, the rest of the Protostar crew, and Maj'el were given field commissions as ensigns and assigned to the new Protostar-class ship, the USS Prodigy. (PRO: "Ouroboros, Part II")

Personal interests[]

Murf enjoyed playing the persona known as "Mr. Murfy No Shoes", a jazz singer at The Key Club in a black and white holodeck program set in 1920s Earth. Despite the fact that he could not speak, Murf appeared to be incredibly good at dancing and singing, or at least lip syncing. (PRO: "Ghost in the Machine")

Appendices[]

Appearances[]

Background information[]

Murf's vocal effects were provided by Dee Bradley Baker.

According to his official Nickelodeon description:

Murf is a jelly-like, indestructible blob of unknown age and origin. No one understands Murf or knows what he’s planning to do next. He’s something like a mascot for the U.S.S. Protostar, faithful to the crew, and somehow always in the right place at the right time. He's also pretty hungry for ship parts and very talkative (even if you can’t figure out what he’s saying). It all leaves the crew confused: is Murf a mischievous space pet, or the smartest creature on the ship? [1]

External link[]

• Murf at StarTrek.com