Yes, among several elements that drive the plot of my story under pressure of a deadline, is the Kessler effect.

Reminds me of how stupid The Last Jedi was. Further, the physics of the impact make no sense either. She takes off at warp speed or whatever, some of the debris will be out of sight - and in the vacuum of space certainly won't be slowing down as it spreads out in a dramatic fashion, like it's underwater, beautifully shot as it is.

I don't know Blood On The Stars but they would be much wiser to simply launch a field of small debris like ye olde grapeshot. Everything in space is traveling at vast relative speeds. Rarely are things aligned and matching velocity. I could throw a roll of pennies at you and it would hurt or I would miss. If I unroll 50 pennies and throw them at you they might sting in many places. If I unroll 50 (or 50,000) pennies and release them in orbit at thousands of miles an hour - critical damage. No need for bombs or complete annihilation, just enough to ruin things with no supply or emergency ship able to rescue them in time. Pros: a critically damaged ship is much better than an exploded ship with thousands or millions of random pieces of junk. Cons: there are now 50,000 pennies in orbit to track too - plus all the debris from the minor critical hits.

Among my fave episodes:
/s/StarTrek/comments/adk/star_trek_the_next_generation_the_high_ground/

For my story, people are being phased out of working in space, meanwhile space tourism is just beginning. Too many strict requirements to keep humans alive. A.I. and robotics and remote controls will suffice. IMO humans will never go past the moon or lunar Lagrange points.