Certifiably Ingame looks at the Protostar’s unique engine from Star Trek: Prodigy.
The starship Protostar is one of the most unique ships in all of Star Trek lore. The Protostar is the ship of choice for Star Trek: Prodigy and remains one of the most unique types of vessels ever designed by Starfleet.
It’s easily the fastest ship in the galaxy, at least that people are aware of, and we know this because it traveled from the Alpha Quadrant to the Delta Quadrant in under eight years. That’s presuming that the ship was already under construction prior to and during the events of Voyager, and was further outfitted after the Federation contacted Voyager in 2376.
As mentioned in the video the ship is partially designed in a manner similar to the Romulan and Hirogen ships, which also use a different type of engine core power. It’s within the realm of reasonable assumption that Voyager sent back information on the Hirogen and those files were used to help construct the Protostar faster.
Star Trek: Prodigy’s U.S.S. Protostar remains an enigma
The ship somehow arrived in the Delta Quadrant between 2379 and 2383. We can surmise it was between this time frame because Voyager only returned home sometime in 2378. Since her likeness was used in the Emergency Command Hologram, along with information about her time as a captain, we know that the ship was finished and launched until her return.
We know this because Janeway only spent seven years as a captain, taking command of the Voyager in her first official act as a captain and then being promoted to vice-admiral just seven years later. That means the ship somehow found its way to the Delta Quadrant just four years after it presumably launched.
More than that, it’s been abandoned for “years”, meaning the ship more than likely landed in the Delta Quadrant in just two years.
This is all speculation, of course, but the Protostar’s mysteries will be solved eventually, giving fans some resolution to the lingering questions about the ship.