Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 Finale – "Old Friends, New Scientists"
Summary
- Chief Engineer Andy Billups loves the USS Cerritos just as much as Scotty loved the USS Enterprise, and he jumps to the ship's defense when insulted.
- Billups shows his dedication to the Cerritos by being willing to fight on behalf of the ship, similar to how Scotty fought for the Enterprise.
- The USS Cerritos currently has the best engineering team in modern Star Trek, surpassing the USS Enterprise in terms of the size and development of their team.
Star Trek: Lower Decks established the USS Cerritos' Chief Engineer shares the passion for his ship that Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan) felt for the USS Enterprise on Star Trek: The Original Series. From TOS through its subsequent movies to his appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Scotty loved the Enterprise. Over the course of his time as her Chief Engineer, Scotty learned all of the little quirks and idiosyncracies of the Enterprise, and he could repair her engines better than anyone. Because of his quick thinking and creative solutions, Scotty became known as a miracle worker when it came to any engineering-related problems on the ship.
The Star Trek Lower Decks season 4 finale saw the USS Cerritos and its crew confront disgraced Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) and foil his plot to create his own armada, Nova Fleet. As part of their plan to rescue the kidnapped Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and stop Locarno, Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and the Cerritos crew have to visit Orion and ask for a battleship. As Lt. D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) negotiates with the leader of the Orions (who also happens to be her sister), D’Erika (Ariel Winter) insults the Cerritos. Chief Engineer Andy Billups (Paul Scheer) quickly jumps to the Cerritos' defense, establishing that he loves his ship just as much as Scotty loves the Enterprise.
