I Can’t Stop Staring at the Hilariously Horrifying Moopsy Death Animation From ‘Star Trek Online’

Star Trek: Lower Decks may be gone, and so may well be the Halloween season (although not for lack of trying to hold on). But Star Trek Online‘s latest event is keeping the spirit of both alive to absurd effect.

This week, the long-running Star Trek MMO launched its seasonal event, “The Feast,â€Â in which players can complete tasks and instances to earn a special new reward: the adorable Moopsy from Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ season four episode “I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee.†A combat pet, the Moopsy lets players summon the small, fluffy creature, complete with its little “uwu†face, and have it follow them around in ground combat.

Which, of course, means Moopsy helps you fight. By slowly but surely hopping towards your foes, leaping onto their necks, and doing the thing Moopsy is most famous for from Lower Decks: drinking their bones. Seriously, just watch this:

The Moopsy pet has a chance to instantly kill any combatant below Commander rank it latches on to, a chance that changes with higher ranks to when that target is below 25% health. But even beyond the slow but sure chance to completely delete a target from the game, the way you’re deleting them also just looks spectacularly goofy and existentially nightmarish. Once Moopsy bites a target, their arms painfully contort, almost looking like their model’s wireframe is glitching out, as first their arms sink into their torso, and then their legs similarly give way underneath them. All that’s left is a bizarro pile of skin on the floor as the Moopsy merrily scampers off to its next target.

Is it particularly efficient? Not really. Is it downright hilarious? Absolutely. Star Trek Online does a fantastic job of fanservice when it comes to the big things, like bringing back legacy characters or reviving iconic starship designs from across Trek history. For it to go so hard for a limited-time event reward pet is downright delightful.

If you play Star Trek Online, you have the next three weeks on PC (the event will arrive on consoles January 14, 2026) to try and earn a Moopsy of your own. Just try and live long and prosper long enough for Moopsy to make sure your enemies are doing neither.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.