Let Sleeping Borg Lie (episode)

When the crew encounters a dormant Borg cube, Zero risks everything to save their ship.

Summary[]

Act One[]

With Gwyn's memories returned, the crew reviews the holodeck log from when the Diviner first showed her his mission. This leads the crew to search the ship for the Diviner's weapon. However, when they discover it in a subdeck below the bridge, they can't find a way to disarm it. Not long after, the proximity alert sounds and the crew return to the bridge to see that they've come across a dormant Borg cube. Though Hologram Janeway strongly advises them to leave the area, citing how dangerous the Borg are, the crew decides that, since the Borg have accumulated knowledge from across the galaxy--perhaps they know how to disarm the weapon.

On the USS Dauntless, Admiral Janeway glumly orders black tea from a replicator, which surprises Ensign Asencia as the admiral is not drinking her usual coffee. Janeway explains that she had to switch from coffee to tea on doctor's orders, though quips that she "needs a second opinion". But the ensign didn't see her to talk about beverages.

They arrive in sickbay and Janeway asks Dr. Noum about the comatose alien (the Diviner) that they found in prison. Noum states that he's recovering but has no way of reviving the patient since he has no idea about his biochemistry. Ascensia has the idea to replicate the serum from the Diviner's biosuit to see if it will help revive him. Her idea impresses both the admiral and the doctor.

Act Two[]

While the ship remains dormant, they attempt to get the information directly from vinculum. When that is unsuccessful, Zero, volunteers to be assimilated to get the information since Medusans, like Borg, are of a hive mind.

Act Three[]

Gwyn finds Dal, Jankom and Rok in an assimilation chamber restrained and being prepped for assimilation. Just then, Zero arrives but the crew are shocked to see that Zero has been turned into a Borg drone.

Gwyn saves Zero from becoming fully assimilated by reminding them that the Protostar crew are their collective. Back on the Protostar, Zero reports that the weapon, called the Living Construct, can neither be deactivated or removed. Though the crew realizes this means they can't go to Starfleet, Dal decides that they can still use the ship to do good.

Later, the Dauntless tracks the Protostar's last movement and discovers the destroyed comm relay station. Admiral Janeway suddenly realizes that Chakotay must no longer be in command of the ship.

The Diviner suddenly wakes up.

Log entries[]

• Admiral's log, USS Dauntless

Memorable quotes[]

"Look, Jankom fully understands he needs to be sensitive, but… THERE'S A WEAPON ABOARD OUR SHIP THAT WE GOTTA FIND!!!"

- Jankom Pog

"You aren't actually considering boarding that ship? I'm an advisor. I advise you to run away as fast as you can."

- Hologram Janeway, to the Protostar crew

"Tea… black."
"Admiral, you're not drinking coffee?"
"Doctor's orders. Between you and me, Ensign, I need a second opinion. But I know you didn't come here to talk about beverages."

- Admiral Janeway and Asencia

"I wish I knew how to kiss tail like that, Ensign. Keep it up and we'll be taking orders from you…"

- Dr. Noum, to Asencia

"Resistance is futile."

- Rhino Borg

"You will be assimilated."
"Eh, I'm good."

- Borg drone and Dal

"We may not be ready for Starfleet, but we're ready to take your orders, Captain."
"Then let's do some good. Plot a course."

- Zero and Dal

"You're growing and adapting."
"Eh, what can I say? Resistance is futile."

- Hologram Janeway and Dal

Background information[]

Title[]

• The title was announced by Paramount+ in 25 October 2022. [1] The title was erroneously listed on Crave as "Let Sleeping Borgs Lie".
• It is a reference to the phrase, "Let sleeping dogs lie", meaning to allow something that is currently harmless to remain so by not bothering it. The same phrase was also the basis of the Star Trek: Enterprise episode title "Sleeping Dogs".

Continuity[]

• The Protostar crew replayed the events of "A Moral Star, Part 2" on the ship's holodeck.
• The Protostar encounters a dormant Borg cube that was disabled by a neurolytic pathogen. Future Admiral Janeway introduced such a pathogen to the Borg Collective in the Star Trek: Voyager finale, "Endgame".
• The crew is briefed by Hologram Janeway on the Borg, whom she strongly suggests they should avoid, and advises them to locate the ship's vinculum, first encountered in the Voyager episode "Survival Instinct". Following the encounter, the relieved Janeway confessed, "I've had enough Borg for two lifetimes."
• The Medusans were identified by the Borg designation "Species 802".

Links and references[]

Cast[]

• Rylee Alazraqui as Rok-Tahk
• Dee Bradley Baker as Murf
• Brett Gray as Dal
• Angus Imrie as Zero
• Ella Purnell as
  • Gwyn
  • Gwyn (hologram)
• Jason Mantzoukas as Jankom Pog
• John Noble as
  • The Diviner
  • The Diviner (hologram)

And

• Kate Mulgrew as "Hologram Janeway/Vice Admiral Janeway"
• Jason Alexander as Doctor Noum
• Bonnie Gordon as Ship Computer
• Jameela Jamil as Asencia
• Ben Thomas as
  • The Borg
  • Rhino Borg
  • Borg Drones

Background characters[]

• Zero (hologram)
• Bolian command ensign
• Borg drones
• Human command officer 1
• Human command officer 2
• Human operations lieutenant
• Human operations officer
• Human sciences officer
• Orion sciences ensign
• Vulcan command lieutenant

References[]

admiral; advisor; alliance; alloy; airlock; aperture valve; assimilate; augment; beam; beverage; bioserum; black tea; Bolian; Borg; Borg Collective; Borg cube (unnamed); Borg drone; box; brain; bridge; Brikar; bulkhead; button; captain (rank); captain (title); carbon; cargo hold; central data hub; Chakotay; coffee; cold; console; corpse; CR-721 (aka Relay Station 721); data system; Dauntless, USS; Dauntless-class; distress signal; doctor's orders; dormant state; duranium; engine room; engineer; ensign; Federation; first contact; future; "hack-gic"; haircut; heirloom; hive mind; holodeck; Human; humanoid; humming; hybrid; Jefferies tube; joke; joystick; keyboard; "kiss tail"; living construct; love; Medusan (aka Species 802); Mellanoid slime worm; miracle worker; mitts; monotanium; nanoprobe; neurological system functions; neurolytic pathogen; nerve center; Orion; Orion vessel; panel; phase variance; phaser; playback; proto jump signature; protostar; Protostar, USS; Protostar-class; proximity alert; relay station; replicator; Rhino; second opinion; secret weapon; sick; sleep; Solum; Solum, symbol of; spooky; Starfleet; Starfleet uniform; stasis; status report; sub-deck; switch; Tellarite; theory; thermocoupler; time travel; touché; transparent aluminum; Trill; tritanium; tubing; turbolift; upgrades; Vau N'Akat; Vau N'Akat Civil War; vinculum; volume; warp; wire; "Z"

LCARS references[]

carrier beam; computer readout; log editor; med display; power beam; selector grid; transport controls

External links[]

• "Let Sleeping Borg Lie" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Prodigy "Let Sleeping Borg Lie"" at MissionLogPodcast.com