Planning for First Contact
The USS Cerritos has rendezvoused with the Archimedes at Space Dock. Captain Freeman is meeting with fellow Captain Sonja Gomez (Lycia Naff – See STTNG Second Season Episode “Q Who”) to discuss and assist with her first contact mission with the Liperians. The plan is for the Cerritos to position itself just outside the system. That way, the Liperians will not mistake the Archimedes first contact mission as an invasion. Once preliminary first contact is made, the Cerritos can install sub-space transponders and join in the celebration with the locals. Before Captain Freeman can take her leave, the Admiral stops her and tells her that he understood that congratulations were in order, handing her a glass of champagne.
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Back on the Cerritos, Mariner is carrying a case of what she refers to as contraband. Most likely alcoholic in nature. Perhaps Antarean Brandy or Romulan Ale (since they are both blue). She accidentally bumps into Jennifer, an Andorian crewman. Mariner asks Jennifer not to rat her out to Commander Ransom this time. Jennifer assures her she could care less. Mariner isn’t too sure. She believes that Jennifer dreams about her. Hmmmm. After she picks up her bottles, Captain Freeman and Sonja entered the corridor so Mariner ducks behind a corner. From there, she overheard Freeman and Gomez talking about her moving to a new ship. Freeman had thought she might get to take some of her command crew with her. But Gomez explained that Starfleet liked to keep the Senior Staff of the California Class Ships like the Cerritos together. So she might prepare herself to make some sad goodbyes.
Sharing the News
Mariner was floored and more than a little upset. She didn’t want another Captain. So, she quickly went to tell her fellow “Lower Deckers” what she had heard. She found them in the Shuttle Bay where Boimler was working on banners for the upcoming “Captain Freeman Day.” Rutherford was working on a panel, but his eye implant kept flashing an error, blocking his vision. He asked Boimler if he wouldn’t mind taking his duty station on the bridge so he could get it looked at. Boimler said that he couldn’t because he needed to finish his banner. He wanted his to be the best. Rutherford thought that was a project that they had created for the Preschoolers.
Mariner bursts in and let them know what she had heard. Captain Freeman was getting promoted. Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford thought that was great. Good for her. Mariner said it might be good for HER but it probably would be bad for THEM. Their next Captain might be some weirdo who carries around a riding crop (see Captain Styles of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). But Boimler (being Boimler) only could see the upside. This would be huge for her Mom. She would get to dive into the unknown in another ship. Boimler laments he NEVER gets to dive into the unknown lately. Besides, Tendi looked forward to having a big celebratory dinner, maybe even with Fajitas. Boimler then explained they would all line up and applaud Captain Freeman as she leaves the Cerritos for the last time. Tendi thought that all sounded great.
Boimler Gives Mariner an Idea
But Mariner thought it was more like “Betrayal…with clapping.” Boimler, however, was more concerned about “Captain Freeman Day” being disrupted. Great banner work wasted! Maybe he could get Commander Ransom to move it up. Mariner could care less about that. It was just a vanity holiday to trick kids into respecting authority. Apparently Mariner never got that message. However, it did give her an idea. Ransom probably didn’t know about the Captain’s promotion. He will probably be pissed about not being told. So she will go tell him, thanking Boimler for the idea. He never told her to do that. So he tried to head her off.
Meanwhile, Tendi received a message from Dr. T’Ana to come see her. Tendi worried that T’Ana was mad at her for some reason. Tendi ALWAYS thinks T’Ana is mad at her. Rutherford tried to defuse the situation. There were two known things in the Cerritos Universe. Dr. “T” was grouchy and Tendi was great. She should have nothing to worry about. Tendi thanked him and left. Not that Rutherford realized it. His error warnings were filling his vision so much that he never saw Tendi leave.
Telling the Senior Staff
Meanwhile, in the Ship’s Lounge, Commander Billups was explaining to Ransom and Shax that he thought that their waitress had an interest in him. She was nice to him. Lt. Shax tried to counter that as a waitress, she was nice to all her customers. But before Billups go explain further, Mariner slid into the booth next to them. Ransom tried to tell her that the booth was full but she plowed on ahead. She understood that Ransom wanted to maintain the “whole illusion of command thing.” Ransom assured her it was no illusion, he WAS her commanding officer. Regardless, before she took her leave, she wanted to let them know what she had overheard.
Soon both the Archimedes and the Cerritos were ready to leave Space Dock, with the Archimedes taking the lead. When it was the Cerritos turn, Captain Freeman asks Commander Ransom to take the ship out. But Ransom is upset that apparently Freeman didn’t trust him enough to tell him about her promotion. He is sarcastic and more than a little terse with Freeman. She tries to let it go and then asks Lt. Shax about the ship’s ongoing phaser repair. He also answers more than a little snippily, saying that if he HAD that information, he would tell her. He wouldn’t keep it to himself like OTHER people have. By now Freeman wonders if someone might have bought a mood altering plant that had somehow infected her bridge crew. Billups reports the ship is ready for warp…you know…the Cerritos…HER ship…sniff, sniff. Captain Freeman orders the ship into warp and then commands the Senior Staff to meet her in the ready room.
Tendi Feeling Dismissed
Elsewhere, as Tendi walks toward Sick Bay, she over hears Dr. T’Ana tell one of her assistants that it was pretty clear that Tendi was not cut out for Medical. She then watched in shock as T’Ana deleted her name from the Medical Roster. Not bothering to ask what was going on, she ran back to see Rutherford. She explained that she believed that she was going to be transferred off the Cerritos. She had overheard Dr. T’Ana and saw her delete her file. Rutherford couldn’t believe it. Tendi was the nicest person in Sickbay. That would be so unfair.
He looked over the Roster to confirm and sure enough, Tendi was no longer amongst the medical team. She was devastated by this. She would miss the Cerritos so much. Rutherford told her that if she WAS leaving, she should have one last tour of the ship. That way, she could visit all her favorite places on the Cerritos and give it a proper goodbye. He started to lead her but ran into a bulkhead. His implant still blocking his vision. Tendi said that SHE would lead the tour.
Discussing the Elephant in the Room
In the Captain’s Ready Room, Freeman wanted some explanation of what was going on. Mariner said she had heard Gomez and her talking. When Freeman asked Mariner what she had THOUGHT she had heard, Ransom offered that Freeman had been offered a promotion to another ship. And while he was sure he would be accompanying her, the rest of the Bridge crew was pretty upset. Carol asked Ransom why he thought that HE was coming along with her? Ransom appeared stricken. “I’m not?!!” Shax interjected, asking why the Captain hadn’t told any of them about this. She told them she didn’t tell them because it was not official as of yet. But, Ransom couldn’t get over the possibility of being left behind.
Freeman told them if she had her way, she would take all of them with her. But Starfleet Command didn’t want to disturb a California Class ship’s crew. Billups was incensed. He didn’t see what being a California Class ship should have anything to do with it. He would put the Cerritos up against any ship in the Fleet. The normally subdued Billups filling the room with obscenities’ that would have made Dr. T’Ana proud. Mariner then asked who would replace Freeman if she left? Ransom was confident if he wouldn’t be going with the Captain, then HE would take the Cerritos. But Freeman told them Starfleet would bring on someone new. Much to the shock of Ransom and everyone else.
The Laap System
Meanwhile, the Archimedes had arrived at the Laap System. Home of the Planet Liperia. Captain Gomez asked the helm to bring them in nice and slow. She wanted the Liperians to have plenty of time to scan the ship. She didn’t want for there to be any surprises. As she turned in her chair, one of her crew tripped and fell. She jumped up, mildly embarrassed. Captain Gomez told her not to worry. She had done far worse things in her time and in front of far more intimidating Captains (Captain Picard’s ears are burning). The crewperson appreciated her telling her that.
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The Tendi Farewell Tour
Tendi and Rutherford walked around the ship, visiting the places that brought good memories to her. Like Maintenance Hatch 788, which was always warm to the touch…if scalding hot is considered warm. The Engine room, and it’s warp core. “Little Ship, but a big warp core.” Enjoying the “Thrum” sound it made. Soon, they were in a Jefferies Tube, where Rutherford and her had watched the Trafoly Pulsar. It broke her heart to think of leaving. They tell you not to get too attached to your ship, but she loved the Cerritos. Rutherford told her that he also loved the Cerritos and no one could tell him otherwise. They hugged, basking in their appreciation of the ship and each other. Rutherford then told her he knew where they should go next. Somewhere off-limits. “The Rubber Ducky Room,” Tendi inquired? Even better, Rutherford told her.
No Feelings
Back in the Captain’s Ready Room, the Staff was still griping about being left out of the loop and the possibility of having an outsider as Captain. Finally, Freeman had heard enough. She told them that their concerns were on record, now get back to their stations. All except Mariner. Freeman wanted to know what Mariner was thinking sharing that information to her staff. She was going to tell them when the time was right. She had wanted to avoid conflict. Mariner told her that was so messed up. Those people were her friends. Freeman countered that a Captain could not worry about feelings when making a decision like that. Still angry, Mariner told her Mother she didn’t have to worry about that. Apparently Freeman HAD no feelings. But before the Captain could retort, the ship went into Red Alert.
First Contact (Impact)
The Liperian Sun had flared up and sent a pulse toward an unstable planetoid. The resulting explosive shock wave caught the Archimedes full on. By the time the damage was done, it was if the vessel had been hit with a massive EMP. All systems were down and the ship was being drawn toward Liperia. Unless they found a way to resolve the situation, the Federation’s first contact with Liperia was going to be the crater that is left when the Archimedes crashed onto the planet.
Regardless of the conflict that Freeman’s possible promotion had caused, the Cerritos crew was all business evaluating the situation. The Archimedes was caught in a gravity well, pulling it toward Liperia. Estimated time until impact was 20 hours and the results would be catastrophic for the planet, not to mention the Archimedes. When the Senior staff couldn’t come up with a solution, Freeman headed to her personal shuttle, the “Captain’s Yacht.” Mariner had followed her. When they entered the shuttle, Rutherford and Tendi ducked aside. Apparently the “Yacht” was where Rutherford had taken her. Tendi listened to Mother and Daughter bicker back and forth about who should pilot the shuttle and wondered if the pair ALWAYS came to the shuttle to fight. Maybe THAT’s why it was off-limits.
Dropping Their Guard
As they listened to the argument going inside the Shuttle, Rutherford used his tablet to assess the Archimedes situation. It was indeed bad, but listening to Mariner’s argument with her Mother gave him an idea. The Captain told Mariner that at some point, she needed to drop her guard and make some allies. He burst into the shuttle. He told the Captain to navigate through the debris and reach the Archimedes, they needed to drop their guard, just like Mariner. In this case, it meant removing the Cerritos outer hull. By removing the magnetic outer hull, it wouldn’t attract the debris. True they would be vulnerable if hit, but if they navigated the debris properly, they could reach the Archimedes and use their tractor beam on it.
Getting to Work
It was a crazy idea, but it might work. They would need everyone on deck to remove the hull and make the maneuver in time. Freeman passed the idea by Commander Billups and he said that it would work. Freeman got on the ship’s com and made an impassioned Captain’s speech. The Red Shirt’s would have been proud. Everyone stopped what they were doing and got to work. (Including the Ballroom Dancing Competition). Soon, there was a plethora of the ships panels floating in space as they separated the outer hull.
Rutherford was working on one when his error message once again flashed. Billups was there and scanned his implant and told him his storage was maxed out. Rutherford said that would make sense. When he had lost his memories of Tendi last year, he started making multiple backups of the time he spends with her. So he wouldn’t forget her again. Billups told him that to fix the problem, he would need to flush the old storage. Besides, if he didn’t keep making new memories, did it matter? Billups is a wise celibate ex-prince.
The Old-Fashioned Way
As the crew continued the work on the outside, Shax was making sure any volatile components were being stored in the center of the ship. Nothing would blow up on the Cerritos unless he was the one doing it. On the Bridge, the crew were in their spacesuits, since they didn’t have the outer hulls protection in case of a collision and they lost life-support. Ransom was preparing to jettison the front view screen. Since it was powered down, it wouldn’t do them any good anyway. He was going to have to navigate the Cerritos the old fashioned way: Line of sight.
Seven Hours
Meanwhile on the Archimedes, Captain Gomez is trying to get one of her shuttles to power up. That way, either she can use its engines to help push the Archimedes, or if nothing else, save at least some of her crew. Unfortunately, her attempts fail. Her first officer tells her she should try to get some rest. She tells him she’ll get some rest in 7 hours, one way or the other. At first, he doesn’t comprehend what she was saying. In 7 hours, they would crash into the planet…ohh.
Back on the now slimmer Cerritos, Freeman and Mariner are securing a hatch but Mariner is still upset about her Mother leaving. But instead of admitting that, she claims that she is upset that her Mother is always trying to change her. In a fit of misdirected anger, Mariner claims she is glad her Mother is moving on. She doesn’t want to work with her ever again! She storms off, knowing that she didn’t really mean it. But she had said it, much to Freeman’s dismay. No time to dwell on it, the Captain still had a job to do.
One Remaining Job
Freeman went back to the Bridge and asked Commander Billups if the Cerritos was ready. Billups was still trying to release the final remaining hull plate. But its controls were fused. It would need to be released manually and it was a large section of the hull. They had to get it to release, but time was running out. They would just have to hope they could release it on route. Freeman ordered the ship to begin its course with Ransom controlling it manually. Billups gathered the rest of the repair crews from the surface of the ship. They had done all they could do from the outside.
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Along with the rest of the crew, Tendi and Rutherford hurried into the Cerritos. However, Rutherford kept running into things due to his Error messages. Reluctantly, he purged all of his redundant memories of Tendi. But as he did, he saw one memory that wasn’t about her. He was in a surgical room and they were installing his implant. One of the medical people asked what would happen if someone asked why “it” was there? The reply was that Rutherford would think he elected to have it installed. Whatever “IT” was. No time for that now. He could see again and they needed to release that hull piece. They gathered Mariner and Boimler and the Lower Deck’s team was on the job.
Diving into the Unknown
To accomplish this, someone would need to dive down into the pool of water that the dolphin Starfleet members Matt and Kimolu stayed in. The manual release was down an underwater corridor. They needed to follow the corridor and release the magna locks. Mariner immediately volunteered, complaining that somehow her MOTHER would get the credit. Boimler had heard enough. She was just mad because she didn’t want her Mother to leave. Mariner admitted to this. They had never gotten along as well as they have on the Cerritos and now she was leaving. That was so messed up. Besides, she had kind of told her Mother that she never wanted to work with her again.
Now Tendi had had enough. She told Mariner that THEY would take care of the panel. She needed to go back to her Mother and apologize. If things went horribly wrong, that is not how Mariner wanted to leave things with her Mom. She knew they were right. She asked Boimler if he had this, he assured her he did. Now GO!! She left to talk to her Mother while Rutherford explained to Boimler what he would need to do. Seeing how far the swim was, Boimler was unsure. But Rutherford reminded him that he said he wanted to dive into the unknown…so dive already! Boimler did his Michael Phelps arm flapping to prepare and jumped in. Matt and Kimolu carried him part of the way until he reached the more narrow corridor. He squeezed through and reached the controls but they were stuck.
Apologies all Around
Meanwhile, the Cerritos was approaching the debris field. Mariner shot into the Bridge apologizing to her Mother for being a jerk. Her Mother told her there was no time now, but she apologized for being a jerk as well and that she loved her. Now get to her station. Commander Billups reminded the Captain that the panel had still not been released. Mariner assured them that Boimler would come through, he just need some more time. Ransom stated that they HAD no time.
Boimler and Tendi Saves the Day…and Boimler
Underwater, Boimler was still struggling to get the clamps to release. He pulled harder and it finally released and the panel flew free. However, in doing so he had ruptured his suit and the water was seeping in. He removed his helmet and swam as fast as he could back to the surface but he got wedged in the tight opening. Just as the water entered his lungs. Fortunately for Boimler, Matt and Kimolu brought him to the surface. But he wasn’t breathing. Tendi immediately started CPR. In a few minutes, he sputtered water and came to. Tendi asked him if he was okay and Boimler asked if he missed Captain Freeman day…and that he saw a Koala. She told him that he might want to keep that part to himself. (I’m thinking if a Squirrel can live underwater, why not a Koala?)
Cerritos Strong Heroics
While this was going on, with the panel released, Ransom was maneuvering the Cerritos as best as he could with main power shut down and steering with navigational jets. Mariner and the Andorian Crewman Elizabeth were acting as lookouts, reporting course corrections for Ransom. Eventually however, they run into a section where the debris was too dense to navigate about. They hit some of the debris which jettisoned Mariner out the front opening and into space. But just as she thought she would tumble free of the ship, Elizabeth had went onto the saucer section and grabbed her arm. Just in time.
And speaking of just in time, the Archimedes had just entered the planets atmosphere and all looked lost until the Cerritos was able to capture the Archimedes with its tractor beam. They had done what seemed like the impossible and saved the ship. Once the situation settled down, the Cerritos Bridge Crew beamed down to Liperia as official Federation representatives. Taking the place of Captain Gomez with her blessing. Freeman asked Mariner if she looked presentable. Her proud daughter told her she looked like a bad ass Captain who knew what was up.
Science Officer in Training, Tendi
Back on the Cerritos, Tendi was helping to treat those crewmen who had been injured in their excursion through the debris field. Dr. T’Ana called her over. Tendi immediately apologized for whatever she had done wrong. She obviously didn’t belong in Sickbay. Dr. T’Ana agreed. Tendi accomplished everything she set her mind to. So Dr. T’Ana was having her transferred to Senior Science Officer Training. Like Jadzia Dax? Tendi asked. Dr. T’Ana didn’t know who the “bleep” that was. It was more like Spock. Either way, Tendi’s new station would be the Bridge.
Needless to say Tendi was relieved and thrilled. She gave Dr. T’Ana a hug. Reluctantly, she accepted it. It was ok. Tendi’s next stop was to tell Rutherford. He was more shocked that T’Ana allowed Tendi to hug her than anything else.
Mariner and Elizabeth
In the Ship’s lounge, the crew was celebrating a job well done. Mariner thanked Elizabeth for saving her life. She also apologized for being mean to her. When she likes people, apparently, she tries to push them away. So what Elizabeth took from that was Mariner liked her. Rather than admit to it, she lead Elizabeth to meet Boimler. She congratulated him for opening that lock and saving the ship. He dismissed it as nothing. Even IF it meant swimming in Dolphin urine.
Promotion Postponement
The Captain was back from Planet side and was welcomed by Ransom, congratulating her for a job well done. Ransom offered a toast to the Captain but she insisted it be for the Cerritos. They had done an impeccable job. At that time, a communication was received that a team from Starfleet Command was asking for permission to come aboard. Assuming it was for her possible promotion, Freeman gave the permission, asking that they be escorted to the Senior Conference Room. Ransom told her that if Starfleet wasn’t impressed before, they HAD to be now. They would be proud knowing she was going on to bigger and better things. While she appreciated that, she told Ransom she would be turning down the promotion. She already had the best ship and crew she could possible have.
They entered the lounge expecting to be told about her Promotion, but that wasn’t it at all. Instead, she was being put under arrest for the destruction of Pakled Planet. (Really? That’s against the law?) She is accused of colluding with Klingon extremists to plant a Peruvian Bomb (also known by the Pakleds as a “boomer”) in the Pakled Capital City. Her crew was incensed. Shax said something about killing someone….but I’m sure he didn’t mean it. Captain Freeman told her crew to stand down and to let the men do their job. She had the truth on her side. As she was lead out, the remainder of the crew had gathered to applaud her, thinking it was about the promotion. Until they saw the handcuffs. Everyone was shocked as she was lead by them. Ransom, Mariner and the crew watched as the ship that carried the Captain warped away. Needless to say: To be Continued.
Thoughts
As per usual, nice call back with now Captain Sonja Gomez. Have I mentioned how much I love when they do that? There were some comical moments in this episode as well. The cancellation of the ballroom dance competition, the interaction with the Dolphins and Boimler’s insistence of winning the pre-school art project. But this was basically a classic Star Trek Adventure episode. Complete with Cliff Hanger. We got to see Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) at her very best, leading her crew and inspiring them to do the impossible. Not to mention seeing the crew work as a well oiled machine with Rutherford coming up with a solution and the crew making it happen. We also got to delve deeper into the Freeman and Mariner’s Mother/Daughter relationship and Mariner’s reluctance to open up to people. Mainly because she believes she is a “Kirk-Style Free Spirit who kicks butt and it super intimidates people!”
Next Season Theories
So where do we go from here? Is it me, or does this seem like the perfect opportunity for Captain Freeman to be involved in some Starfleet espionage? Like in The Next Generation’s “Chain of Command?” Where they send in another Captain (perhaps with a Riding Crop) to take the Cerritos. Whoever it is could clash with Ransom (not to mention Mariner) while Captain Freeman is in actuality investigating the Klingon/Pakled collaboration? Just a thought. There’s definitely more going on than it appears.
We also have the mystery of what was implanted in Rutherford during his flashback. It sounded nefarious. Is Season 3 ready yet? The last three episodes of season 2 were outstanding. In fact, the entire Season was very strong. Consistency ruled the day with the final three episodes bringing it home. Like the previous two, I give this one a 5 out of 5. You can watch Seasons 1 and Season 2 of Star Trek: Lower Decks streaming on Paramount+.
Did you enjoy season 2 of Lower Decks? What are your theories about what will happen? Feel free to share them, here at Geek Vibes Nation.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.