The Cerritos en route to the Kontaran system for a routine survey mission. With half a day to spare, Captain Freeman is free to grant some additional personal time to the crew. In the mess hall, Boimler is trying to make some plans with his fellow Ensigns, but all of them already have plans with various senior officers. Boimler is jealous he is the only one lacking a relationship with the bridge crew outside of work and the advancement opportunities it deprives him of.
Meanwhile, aboard the bird of prey IKS Che'Ta', a group of Klingon lower deckers are starting their day with a round of banter. One of them, Ma'ah, is looking forward to his upcoming shift at the ship's helm. There is gossip that Commander Togg, the XO, has been at odds with Captain Dorg. Should he be killed for his insubordination, Ma'ah will be in the perfect position to compete as his replacement. His friends mock him lightheartedly over his Vulcan-like calculations to get ahead.
As it happens, there is also a Vulcan cruiser in the vicinity, the Sh'vhal. As three of its lower deckers are discussing plans for their off-hours, a fourth, T'Lyn, observes anomalous metreon particle readings in a nearby system, thanks to an improvement to the ship's sensor range that she has created. Her crewmates chide her for indulging in her personal projects instead of performing her assigned duties, but T'Lyn is unperturbed by their criticism. She departs to present her findings to Captain Sokel, her fellows noting that "she has lost all control".
Back aboard the Che'Ta', Ma'ah walks onto the bridge just in time to see a knife sink into the bulkhead next to him. Captain Dorg and Commander Togg, as predicted, are locked in a duel, Togg shouting that the captain has been acting dishonorably. Before he can say any more, Dorg drives his d'k tahg into Togg's chest, killing him. He says whoever impresses him most will get to take Togg's place and orders the body removed. Ma'ah eagerly volunteers, earning him a respectful nod.
On the Cerritos, Boimler is busy looking to buddy up with a senior officer. He tries Kayshon first, striking up a conversation with him in the mess. Things go south quickly after Boimler bungles an attempt at speaking Tamarian and accidentally insults Kayshon's waistline. Neither does he have any success with Shaxs, finding him at a pottery class and accidentally sending him into a post-traumatic rage by failing to realize that asking about his past on Bajor, which was under brutal Cardassian occupation at the time, is probably not the best way to break the ice with a Shell-Shocked Veteran.
T'Lyn has brought her metreon readings to Sokel, advising that they change course to investigate. Though he sees the logic in her request, the captain notes with displeasure that the motivations by which T'Lyn made her discovery were decidedly illogical. To make his disapproval clear, he tempers his accedence by also ordering two days of meditation for T'Lyn to get her impulsivity under control.
Boimler's next attempt to find a bridge buddy is with Dr. T'Ana, who is mountain climbing with Tendi in the holodeck. He zooms up to meet them with a pair of suspiciously familiar hover boots. Seeing that he has no actual climbing gear, T'Ana voices her disdain just in time for Boimler's boots to sputter and send him crashing painfully down into the trees. He then goes to Captain Freeman's holodeck, only to find her and Mariner on a shooting range, having a heated argument about lady problems. Boimler bolts before they even notice he's there. He finds himself in a turbolift with Commander Ransom talking animatedly with two other officers about the joys of living in Hawaii. This being the last senior officer to court, Boimler desperately lies about also being from Hawaii to get an invitation to join them on the holodeck.
T'Lyn doesn't take well to her spiritual punishment, taking the time to instead work on her next personal project. When she is joined by her crewmates, and they again notice her neglecting her orders, they warn her that further punishments are sure to follow if she does not renounce her iconoclastic ways. T'Lyn remains firmly and unabashedly recalcitrant, insisting that she has nothing to apologize for.
Boimler tells his friends about his run-in with Ransom and the others. He feels guilty about deceiving them, but neither does he want to give up the opportunity it has given him. Rutherford asks him what's more important: brown-nosing for a promotion, or being true to his principles? Cue Boimler showing up at the holodeck dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and lei.
Ma'ah returns from walking Captain Dorg's pet targ. He finds his CO brooding angrily over a galactic map, raving about how the Empire has become too weak and comfortable with peace. But he likes Ma'ah's warrior spirit (if not his physical prowess) and promotes him to second-in-command. Ma'ah also learns that Dorg has been supplying the Pakleds with advanced weapons in an effort to destabilize the quadrant. He finds Dorg's hypocracy in complaining about Klingon dishonor while at the same time manipulating others into fighting his battles disquieting.
Dorg meets with the Pakled captain Rebner aboard his clumpship. To his frustration, they complain that the varuvian bomb he gave them "stopped working" after they tested it, not realizing that bombs, by their nature, only work once. Ma'ah cautions that a varuvian explosion would release metreon particles that might attract attention, and sure enough, the Cerritos warps in a moment later.
Dorg knows he can't let them leave. Both ships open fire on the Cerritos as the crew scrambles to battle stations. Damage traps the Hawaiians (and Boimler) in the middle of a corridor. Boimler, not wanting to die a liar, uses this opportunity to confess that he's actually from California. But the other officers shamefully admit that they were lying as well. Even Ransom, who it turns out started the lie about his family origins back when he was a junior officer for exactly the same reason as Boimler.
The Cerritos is badly outgunned, but just as their shields are about to fail, the Sh'vhal arrives to assist them. But with their shields taking the full force of the enemy barrage, they won't last long, either. T'Lyn arrives to present Sokel with the side project she has been working on: a regenerative shield amplifier. Sokel is concerned about using an untested modification in the middle of battle, but T'Lyn points out that they have no other options. They run the program, and it works!
By now, Ma'ah has lost all respect for his captain, who makes it clear he doesn't care that he is defying the High Council by attacking their allies, convinced as he is that they will welcome war with the Federation as much as he does. Ma'ah challenges Dorg, just as his predecessor did, in an effort to put an end to the attack. Dorg eagerly throws himself into combat with Ma'ah, where his superior size and experience allows him to get the upper hand. But just as Dorg is about to land a killing blow, his own targ attacks him, giving Ma'ah a chance to recover while Dorg angrily repels his pet. The fight continues, and Dorg once again downs Ma'ah. Believing him defeated, Dorg moves in for the kill, but Ma'ah suddenly leaps to his feet and charges, sinking his blade deep into the captain's chest. With a breathless laugh, Dorg dies. The crew look to their new captain and request orders. Ma'ah takes the chair and sets a course back to Qo'noS to report to the Council and let them decide what to do with the dead biHnuch.
Without the aid of the Che'Ta', the Pakleds are soon overwhelmed by the combined firepower of both Starfleet and the Vulcans. They disengage and escape to warp. Captain Freeman is eager to give her thanks to the Sh'vhal for their timely assistance, but Sokel, in true Vulcan fashion, ends the conversation as soon as he confirms that they do not require any further assistance. Though they still don't know what happened on the Klingon ship or why they withdrew, it's clear that Freeman will have a lot to report to Starfleet Command.
After the battle, T'Lyn is summoned to speak privately with Sokel. He acknowledges that her innovative shield program gave them the winning edge against the Pakleds... and that its success will only embolden her rebellious streak further. Rather than return her to Vulcan, as she assumes is his plan, he announces that she is being reassigned to a Starfleet vessel, which he says will be a better fit for her. T'Lyn argues against this "punishment", which Sokel takes as a validation of his decision. T'Lyn departs with the traditional Vulcan salute, but in a tone that makes her true meaning clear.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Whoever's d'k tahg got thrown during the duel between Dorg and Togg, it must have been insanely sharp to have lodged in whatever starship-grade metal the Klingons build with.
- Affectionate Nickname: Rutherford calls Shaxs "Papa Bear", probably playing off of Shaxs calling him "Baby Bear". (A continuation of his brief time as part of the security "bear pack" in "Envoys".)
- Alien Blood: Klingons bleed bright pink. This is lampshaded when Ma'ah assures Dorg that Klingon blood runs "as reddish-pink as ever".
- All There in the Script: The name of the Sh'vhal's captain, Sokel, was only stated on Star Trek.com
- Answer Cut: After Boimler's impulsive lie about being from Hawaii to earn favor with Ransom, he talks to his friends about his indecision about whether to follow through or come clean. Rutherford asks him what's more important to him: his career or his integrity? Then we cut to Boimler meeting Ransom and his friends wearing a Hawaiian shirt, a lei, and a guilty smile.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: During the targ's The Dog Bites Back moment, it assists Ma'ah against its owner, partly because Ma'ah was the one who took care of it earlier that day.
- Bland-Name Product: Freeman and Mariner play a starship version of "Clue".Mariner: I think it was the chef, in the biolab, with the sniper rifle that can shoot through walls.
Freeman: You always pick the chef.
Mariner: Yeah, 'cause we have replicators. Why is there a chef? That's just shady. - Blatant Lies: A Benzite claims that he's from Hawaii. While certainly not impossible, his species has trouble breathing in an Earth-based environment. Then again, all of that group had been lying about being from Hawaii.
- Book Ends: The Klingon story begins with an unsuccessful attempt to kill the captain by their Number Two, which incites Ma'ah hoping to take his place as he is tasked with dragging the body away. The story ends when Ma'ah successfully kills the captain and orders the body taken away as he takes command.
- Chekhov's Gun: The project that T'Lyn has been working on throughout the episode is revealed to be an enhancement for the Deflector Shields, helping the Sh'vhal during the battle.
- Chew-Out Fake-Out: Inverted — Sokel admits that T'Lyn's shield enhancements helped the Sh'vhal survive the battle, but then scolds her for her impulsiveness and lack of self-control before sending her off to Starfleet where her behavior will be tolerated.
- The Comically Serious: As with many characters and species in Lower Decks, the Vulcans on the Sh'vhal are exaggerated to a silly extreme, being presented as even more rigidly stoic and logical than usual. This is Played for Laughs in the way T'Lyn and her fellow crew verbally spar in near-monotone over minutiae that really don't deserve the attention they receive.Sokel: You will spend the next two days in meditation.
T'Lyn: No, I do not have time for that. I have another project which is nearing culmination.
Sokel: T'Lyn, get a hold of yourself. These outbursts will not be tolerated. - Continuity Nod:
- Tendi and T'Ana climb El Capitan in the holodeck, albeit with safety equipment unlike Kirk. Boimler then joins them with his jet boots like Spock did with Kirk. Boimler also wears a T-shirt that says “Go climb a rock.” like Kirk wears in that movie.
- Mariner and Freeman play Velocity, a game that Janeway and Seven enjoyed. And when they later play a starship version of Clue, Mariner mentions the 'sniper rifle that shoots through walls'.
- Captain Freeman wears a T-shirt with RITOS written on it, much like Discovery crewmembers wear T-shirts with DISCO on them.
- T'Lyn gives a sarcastic and insulting "Live long and prosper" much like Spock did in Star Trek (2009). She also quotes Spock from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: "Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end."
- The Klingons are shown to have pinkish-purple blood, as they did in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Despite how, almost every other time that Klingons have been shown bleeding in the TV series — before or since — it's been red.note
- Ma'ah brings up the fact that other Klingons have tried to destroy the peace treaty before, most likely referencing the House of Duras, as well as General Chang.
- In a blink and miss it moment, as the Cerritos crew responds to the Red Alert, two crew members can be seen wearing the leotards that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi wore in "The Price".
- Creative Closing Credits: Instead of the usual starry background, the credits play over a shot of the Borg lower decks, which is just four drones plugged into their terminals, with only the panels above them moving at all. This is the first time in franchise history that a scene plays out under the closing credits.
- Cultural Rebel: T'Lyn is one by Vulcan standards — she works on projects outside of her assigned duties because they interest her, and trusts her instincts rather than relying solely on logic. The other Vulcans consider her an irresponsible, emotional hothead — and they still see her this way even after she saves the day, resulting in her being transferred to Starfleet.
- Cutaway Gag: In the middle of the climactic battle the scene cuts to the lower decks of the Pakled Clumpship, where one crew member says he is hungry and another suggests he eats, which earns praise for being smart. Then we return to the battle.
- Deconstructed Trope: In 5 minutes each, the species tropes of both Vulcans and Klingons are completely deconstructed. The Vulcan Captain is aware they are only saved by a crew member acting completely out of Vulcan standards, yet instead of acknowledging it, he decides the best thing to do is exile his crew member instead of undermining their species tropes. Likewise, the Klingon crew member is capable of acknowledging the difference between their species tropes and how they are commonly applied within the show, and instead chooses to lean into their tropes in a realistic manner.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Dorg describes Ma'ah as "smaller, weaker, slower, and smaller" than his other officers.
- Description Cut:
- Boimler assumes that Klingon lower deckers have it better than they do. Cut to said Klingons behaving largely the same. One of the Klingons then mocks Ma'ah for thinking like a Vulcan. Cut to the Vulcan lower deckers.
- At the end of the episode, Boimler is telling someone how “the real action begins on the lower decks.” We cut to a Borg Cube, where we see their lower deckers quietly plugged in, doing absolutely nothing.
- The Dog Bites Back: Dorg's pet targ, which he previously punted across the bridge while revealing his evil plan to use the Pakleds to start a war, turns on him during his Duel to the Death, helping Ma'ah defeat and kill him.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: T'Lyn is shown to be an intelligent Vulcan who even comes up with a means of enhancing the Sh'vhal's shields. However, her crewmates and captain treat her poorly because they consider her actions against protocol, and Sokel ultimately tosses her off onto a Federation starship (possibly the Cerritos) rather than tolerate her (by Vulcan standards) disruptive attitude. While Boimler and Klingon officer Ma'ah suffer equally, Boimler gets a Throw the Dog a Bone moment at the end while Ma'ah becomes captain.
- Easily Condemned: When Ma'ah speaks with his fellow Klingon lower deckers, he asks them if they have noticed how Commander Togg has been questioning Captain Dorg lately. The others immediately remark that if that is true, then Togg should be killed, apparently not bothering to find out why Togg would question the captain.
- Enraged by Idiocy: The Klingon captain Dorg is shown to be frustrated by the Pakleds foolishly wasting the bomb that he gave them by "testing" it on an asteroid.Dorg: It was a bomb! You can only use it once!
- Everyone Has Standards: Ma'ah calls out his captain for dishonorably engineering a war between the Pakleds and the Federation just so that the Federation will be weakened by the conflict, giving the Klingons the chance to rise in the aftermath. This leads to a Duel to the Death between them, ending in Ma'ah's victory. It's implied that the rest of the crew might have found it distasteful, too, but Ma'ah was the only one bold enough to say it. The rest of the crew's inaction, however, makes sense because only a direct subordinate can challenge their superior on the grounds of acting dishonorably, and Ma'ah had just been made the captain's new XO. Furthermore, given that Ma'ah was the second person to attempt Klingon Promotion on Dorg over the course of the episode, it's likely that Togg tried and failed to kill him for the exact same reason that Ma'ah did.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Dorg's pet targ turns against him after he reveals his dishonorable ways, and after Ma'ah kills Dorg and becomes captain, the targ is seen to now be his loyal pet.
- Fantastic Racism: The Klingons aboard the Che'Ta' think that Vulcans are cowards, restating the "Live long and prosper" Catchphrase as "Avoid death and cower."
- Fascinating Eyebrow: How Sokel reacts to T'Lyn's parting "salute" at their last meeting.
- Fee Fi Faux Pas: Boimler's attempts to socialize and gain a "Bridge Buddy" throughout the episode tend to go wrong because he says or does the wrong thing. He accidentally triggers Shaxs' PTSD about fighting for the Bajoran Resistance, insults Kayshon's weight trying to speak Tamarian, and gets stuck in a lie that he's from Hawaii to impress Ransom.
- Foreign Language Title: "wej Duj" is Klingon for "Three Ships," and is displayed in Klingon script during the episode's title card.
- Foreshadowing: Commander Togg's attempt at a Klingon Promotion is based on him calling out Captain Dorg's "dishonorable" conduct and "hiding behind" something. At first it seems to be normal fare on a Klingon ship, but when Ma'ah finds out about Dorg supplying the Pakleds with weapons, Togg's words suddenly make much more sense.
- Gilligan Cut: Boimler expresses guilt over lying to Ransom about being from Hawaii. Rutherford asks him whether it's more important to have a Bridge Buddy, or to be honest. While it's implied that he should be honest, he continues the deception.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: Shaxs smashes a pair of vases in this fashion to threaten Boimler, forcing Rutherford to calm him down as Boimler flees. One of the Klingons tosses a bottle as well.
- Gunship Rescue: The Vulcan ship Sh'vhal arrives to help the Cerritos fight the Pakleds.
- Hidden Depths: For a lowly rank-and-file crewman serving aboard a bird of prey, Ma'ah is remarkably capable. He's smart and quick-thinking, as evidenced when he warns about the after-effects of a varuvian explosion without missing a beat, and despite his diminutive size, he manages to outfight his larger and far more experienced Captain in a Duel to the Death (though with some assistance from Dorg's targ).
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Two with Dorg:
- It is revealed that he has been supplying the Pakleds with weapons and technology to use them as unwitting pawns and destabilize the system. But when he meets with them, he finds out they wasted the bomb that he gave them by "testing" it, and the resulting radiation lured the Cerritos and Sh'vhal to their location.
- He is impressed by Ma'ah's knowledge of Klingon history and strong sense of honor despite his young age, and decides to officially make him his new second-in-command. When Ma'ah learns of his dishonorable ways, though, including using the Pakleds to fight his battles for him and trying to start a war without the approval of the High Council, he turns on him and kills him.
- Hyperlink Story: What begins with three disparate stories on three different ships ends up fully connecting together by the end of the episode.
- Hypocritical Humor: After revealing that none of them are from Hawaii, Ransom and the other officers reveal that they're actually from moon colonies and are happy that they can connect with one another. When Boimler tries to join them by saying that Modesto is the "moon" of San Francisco, they tell him that that's deeply insulting to people who are from the moon, but Boimler calls them out that they were all pretending to be from Hawaii which is more culturally insensitive.
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue: Ma'ah warns his captain that metreon radiation from the Pakleds exploding a Varuvian bomb could attract unwanted attention from other starships in the area. Cue the Pakled ship's "Red Alarm" and the Cerritos dropping out of warp to investigate exactly that.
- Kick the Dog: Almost literally. Dorg, after revealing his plan of using the Pakleds to destabilize a system, punts his pet targ across the bridge. Shortly thereafter, The Dog Bites Back (literally) and helps Ma'ah with his Klingon Promotion.
- Klingon Promotion: Obviously as part of the episode takes place on a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, someone gets killed over who gets to be in command. Twice. The first attempt to usurp the captain by Commander Togg fails, but Ma'ah succeeds later on.
- Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: T'Lyn is frequently chastised by her crewmates and commanders for ignoring protocol, deviating outside of her specialty and relying on hunches. The most polite disagreement is referred to as an emotional outburst. This being a Vulcan science vessel, the cultural difference is intentional.
- Knife Fight: Both of the Klingon Challenging the Chief battles are close-in knife fights, as is usual for them. In the first fight, Dorg vs. Togg, careful observation reveals no less than than four d'k tahgs between them.note
- Leave No Witnesses: The radiation from the Pakleds "testing" their bomb gets the attention of the Cerritos and the Sh'vhal. Not wanting word getting out that he's responsible for arming the Pakleds, Dorg orders his crew to attack the two ships and make it look like the Pakleds are responsible for their destruction. But since Ma'ah kills him and becomes the new captain, he has his ship retreat, and the Cerritos survives with Freeman realizing that the Klingons are responsible for the Pakleds' boost in strength.
- Licked by the Dog: Because Ma'ah is a lower officer tasked with handling the captain's pet Targ, during the Duel to the Death the Targ comes to his defense, giving him an opening to kill Dorg.
- Lower-Deck Episode: This may already be a "Lower Decks" series (hell, that's even the title), but this takes the concept further by showing the lower decks on multiple ships. Even the Creative Closing Credits show the lower decks of a Borg cube.
- Mirror Character: The focus characters on the other ships mirror Boimler and Mariner respectively, similarities highlighted by the contrast of their cultures from Starfleet. Ma'ah is like Boimler in being ambitious in his career and an adherent to the rules, occasionally mocked by his peers for being so rigid. Because he is a Klingon, he's also more confrontational than Boimler ever would be, and has his ambition rewarded by winning an honor duel for the position of captain. T'Lyn regularly violates regulations to do the right thing, getting punished because of it but continuing to do so regardless. Unlike Mariner, her violations are minor with a more direct benefit to the ship, but committing them at all eventually gets her transferred to another ship, just like Mariner.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Boimler tries to speak Tamarian with Kayshon, but ends up implying that he's overweight.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- The Pakleds decided to "test" their bomb on an asteroid, not knowing that bombs can't be reused. The radiation produced by the bomb alerts both the Cerritos and the Sh'vhal, exposing the Klingon/Pakled plot.
- When the Cerritos arrives, Freeman first assumes that the Pakleds are attacking the Klingon ship for more technology and attempts to hail the Klingons to offer assistance. However, Dorg had ordered communications jammed and powers up weapons against the Cerritos, which raises Freeman's suspicions instead.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: T'Lyn is berated by her peers for exceeding her duties and experimenting with ways to improve the systems on the Sh'vhal, because they're otherwise operational. Even though in both cases her innovations were functional and improved systems, she's still transferred to a Starfleet vessel by Sokel because she's considered too headstrong for doing so in the first place.
- "Not So Different" Remark: After the battle, Shaxs finds it strange how the Kilngons retreated, since Klingons normally want to die in battle. He follows this up by noting "Honestly, I get it."
- Not So Episodic: Almost exaggerated. We start out with what seems to be random jumping around between the three ships: Boimler trying to find a "bridge buddy," Ma'ah brown-nosing Captain Dorg to become his Second, and T'Lyn doing research outside her assigned field, which the other Vulcans call impulsive. But then T'Lyn's sensor modifications pick up metreon radiation, which is unusual for that region of space, and the Sh'vhal changes course to investigate; and Ma'ah learns that Dorg is The Man Behind the Man, the puppet master that Riker inferred at the beginning of the season who is using the Pakleds as a proxy. He (Dorg) gave them a bomb, which they tested on an asteroid, which released the metreon radiation, which the Cerritos also picks up, catching the Klingons and Pakleds in the act. What seems to be merely a Lower-Deck Episode turns out to be the moment that the season's entire Story Arc comes together.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The reason why Dorg has been getting away with manipulating the Pakleds under the Federation's radar is that the Federation knows that Klingons do not allow anyone to fight their battles for them, and Dorg exploits that fact. After Ma'ah takes over as captain and has his ship retreat from the battle, Shaxs finds it strange that they would retreat, since Klingons want to die in battle.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Because it's staffed entirely by Vulcans, this is the height of conflict on the Sh'vhal.
- Pet the Dog: At the end of the episode, Ransom sends a junior cadet to talk with Boimler, calling him the most organized member of the crew.
- Phlebotinum Bomb: The varuvium bomb makes its second appearance.
- Playing Possum: During their duel, Ma'ah is thrown to the ground by Dorg after being on the losing end of their fight, and it seems as if Dorg is going to strike a death blow against his exhausted opponent. Ma'ah then springs up and stabs him in the chest, having landed by the blade that Dorg disarmed him of earlier.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Zigzagged with Captain Sokel. While he listens to T'Lyn and implements her suggestions (including the shield booster that saves both the Sh'vhal and the Cerritos,), he only does so because T'Lyn's logic was sound in the situation. He otherwise only tolerates her radical behavior, and in the end transfers her to Starfleet because her thoughts and actions are too unorthodox for a Vulcan ship.
- The Reveal: A rogue group of Klingons are behind the Pakleds' recent militarization, as seen when Ma'ah questions if the Klingon High Council are aware of his captain's actions, with said captain mocking them for being too scared for this type of deception.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Ma'ah kills his captain and assumes command, he decides to ditch the Pakleds and has the Che'Ta' warp out of the area. Shortly thereafter, the damaged Pakled ship pulls its own Hyperspeed Escape.
- Sequel Hook: T'Lyn is reassigned to a Starfleet ship, where — for good or ill — her comparatively volatile personality will fit in better. Likewise, former (Klingon equivalent of) Ensign Ma'ah has secured a Klingon Promotion and is planning to report the Pakled situation to the Klingon High Council (and presumably Chancellor Martok, who understands the value of the Klingon-Federation alliance).
- Shaped Like Itself: The Pakled ship type is officially named a clumpship and its name is simply "Pakled".
- Silent Credits: The end credits don't play the Lower Decks theme; instead, they roll over a look at the "lower decks" on a Borg cube where several drones are quietly regenerating, with only a few ambient sound effects.
- Stealth Insult: As T'Lyn is leaving to gather her personal items, the Vulcan captain, who is reassigning her due to her "hot-headedness" tells her to "Live Long and Prosper." T'Lyn returns the saying, but with a certain emphasis on, "Live Long and Prosper, sir." (Read as "asshole")
- Straw Vulcan: Exaggerated — the crew of the Sh'vhal are very rigid, even by Vulcan standards, treating any perceived deviation by T'Lyn as an emotional outburst and showing her little if any gratitude after her shield enhancements save the ship. Equally, they quickly abandon the Cerritos to their devices once they confirm that they need no immediate help, something that ruffles Freeman's feathers a bit before she focuses on the revelation about the Klingons and the Pakleds.
- Three Lines, Some Waiting: The episode bounces around dealing with lower deckers onboard three starships (Federation, Klingon, and Vulcan) until near the end when the three collide in a fight with the Pakleds. (The episode title is Klingon for "Three Ships".)
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Although Boimler failed to make Ransom or any other Bridge officers his "Bridge Buddy", Ransom sends over a young cadet to learn from Boimler and his experiences, and even told the cadet that Boimler's the most organized person on the ship.
- Took a Level in Badass: It's not stated outright, but the Cerritos fares much better than the last time that she battled the Pakleds. Back then, she was quickly disabled in seconds by one Pakled ship. This time, she holds her own against both the Pakleds and the Che'Ta' long enough for the Sh'vhal to show up; the Cerritos and the Sh'vhal then team up and drive away their attackers. Presumably, last season's refit came with tactical upgrades.
- Too Much Information: Boimler decides to drop by the shooting range to see how things are going with Freeman and Mariner. He stumbles upon a conversation about their feminine hygiene and desperately tries to leave the room as they argue, oblivious to his presence.
- Trauma Button: Boimler asking Shaxs about Bajor gets him very riled up, as it brings back memories of being in La Résistance."You think I had time for anything other than resisting?! Fighting fascism is a full-time job!"
- Unishment: Subverted. It seems like this is the case when T'Lyn is transferred to Starfleet, but both she and Sokel regard it as a punishment, or at least a way to get rid of her in the latter's case.
- Verbal Backspace: When faced with criticism for prioritizing her sensor experiments over her assignment to monitor tertiary impulse systems, T'Lyn catches herself about to express personal preference, before rephrasing it in more Vulcan-friendly terms.T'Lyn: That is a redundant system. I wanted to... (Beat) It is logical to improve our scanning capabilities instead of observing non-essential systems.
- With All Due Respect: T'Lyn manages to utter one of the most passive-aggressive versions of "live long and prosper" to her captain, if mostly because she adds a sarcastic "sir" at the end. He, in return, responds with the classic Fascinating Eyebrow.
