Characters / Star Trek: Lower Decks - USS Cerritos

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U.S.S. Cerritos (Main Characters, Beckett Mariner, Other Crewmates) | Other Starfleet Crews | Independent Characters

Crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos (NCC-75567)

General Crew Tropes

The Cerritos crew is always ready for action, even on their day off!

• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While the ship's crew tend to be rather eccentric, dysfunctional, and sometimes downright insubordinate, they are capable of transforming into a highly efficient and capable team whenever things really get serious.
• Commitment Issues: According to Ransom in season 4 the Cerritos crew has simultaneously the statistically horniest and most-commitment averse crew in Starfleet. The only one with a fully stable long-term relationship is the captain.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
  • The crew members of Cerritos are an established motley crew who are dysfunctional and sometimes insubordinate, suffering from discipline issues and other cocktail of problems like command issues, unlike the crew members of previous Trek shows who tend to be orderly and professional in their duties.
  • To reflect the contrast furthermore, the Cerritos is a vessel clearly not equipped on hostile situations like combat with its ass getting kicked by its more powerful enemies for most of the time, unlike the ships in the previous series that are capable of sustaining amounts of punishment.
• Dysfunction Junction: The crew seem to have a lot of problems, from command issues to interpersonal issues to basic discipline issues. This might be because the Cerritos is a less prestigious posting than most other "main character" ships in Star Trek series and less "cream of the crop" officers get posted there, or because of the nature of the series those issues are just brought to the foreground more often, or a combination of both.
  • It's possible the Cerritos is tied with the USS Excalibur in terms of sheer lunacy, both among the crew and the ship's exploits.
• Loads and Loads of Races: Thanks to the freedom of animation, many Federation races (and a few non-Federation ones like the Kzinti) are represented on the Cerritos.
• Mauve Shirt: There are a lot of recurring minor characters, most of whom get A Day in the Limelight at some point.
• Misfit Mobilization Moment: When they really have to work together to save the day, such as in "No Small Parts" and "First First Contact", the crew of the Cerritos prove to be as much a Badass Crew as that of any of the starships Enterprise.
• One-Steve Limit: The Cerritos has three crew members of the same species named Merp. The roster gets around this by adding descriptives to their given names, such as Big Merp and Sleepy Merp.
• Seen It All: Most of the Cerritos' crew members (sometimes with the exception of Rutherford or Tendi) fall into this territory. Repeatedly, during Season 2, we see them having complete non-reactions to Ransom's giant head eating the ship, Captain Freeman steering the ship towards a black hole, Shaxs' Unexplained Recovery, and the sheer bizarreness of the drills based on previous (infamous) Star Trek episodes.
• World of Jerkass: To a point. They're still Federation, so decidedly good guys, but it's made repeatedly and abundantly clear that few on the Cerritos are happy to be there. This is, however, gradually subverted over the course of the series as the crew start to bond and learn to take pride in their ship.

U.S.S. Cerritos

U.S.S. Cerritos (NCC-75567)

Voiced by: Jessica McKenna (computer voice)

A California-class starship named for a city southeast of Los Angeles.

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• Always Someone Better: Given her status as a "lower decks" ship among Starfleet's armada in general, this is always in play when the Cerritos encounters other Starfleet ships, both in and outside of her own class. This is readily in effect when the Cerritos rendezvous with the Parliament-class U.S.S. Vancouver (NCC-70492) in "Cupid's Errant Arrow". The Parliament-class appears to be a similar-looking yet much more advanced version of the California-class, and a few members of the Cerritos crew experience various levels of starship envy while in her presence. It's even more apparent in "No Small Parts" when the Cerritos ends up crippled by one Pakled ship while the Titan single-handedly sends three Pakled ships running.
  • Zigzagged as apparently the Cerritos is this to other California-class Starships with other crews expressing awe and envy on encountering then. They might not impress the Fleet at large but the Cerritos is lower deck famous.
  • Outright defied as of the Season 3 finale. The Cerritos takes out two Texas-class starships and damages a third, all while overspeeding to buy it distance from the insane ships and crashing out of warp because the crew resorted to weaponizing their warp core, and still survives a pair of attacks by those ships whereas a Sovereign-class starship (and a Federation Starbase) goes against them... and both are nearly destroyed outright by the Aledo and her sister-ships. Yes, the Cerritos has to go into Spacedock for repairs afterwards, but that is one badass little support ship that can take a beating while others are left in pieces.
• Boring, but Practical:
  • The Cerritos does the unglamorous yet necessary jobs, many of which involve following up on civilizations that the Federation has met before. Their "second contact" missions are the ones that lay the actual groundwork for other races to maintain relations with the Federation.
    Ensign Boimler: We get all the paperwork signed, make sure we're spelling the name of the planet right, get to know all the good places to eat...
  • This also applies to her fellow California-class ships. They may not look flashy, but they're easily customizable for specific missions.
  • Boimler actually addresses this to the Titan crew. The Titan is a much more action-oriented ship, with the crew going into battles every five minutes. However, the Cerritos is a much more subdued ship, full of explorers, and harkens back to old TNG. The Titan crew finds TNG exploring and political episodes boring, but both Boimler and Riker find them soothing. Riker even says that Boimler shouldn't take the Cerritos for granted.
• Butt-Monkey: Being the 2380's equivalent of the Oberth-class (a science vessel not equipped for front-line combat), she tends to get her butt kicked by more powerful warships. (In the back half of Season 3, it happens three times in four episodes.)
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Part of the show's premise is that the Cerritos is one of Starfleet's least important ships. In-Universe, her captain feels that Starfleet considers the Cerritos to be a joke. However, to the community of crews aboard California-class ships at large, the Cerritos might as well be the Enterprise.
• Famed In-Story: Despite being a California-class and not too amazing in the whole workings of Starfleet, the Cerritos is actually beloved by other California-class crew in the fleet, being considered the Enterprise of the California-class. This is due to their adventures, including surviving two encounters with the Pakleds. Following its battle with the rogue Texas-class drone ships, during which time it survived overspeeding and then crashing out of warp after using its warp core as a bomb, it seems Starfleet has begun to treat the Cerritos and the Cali-class in general with a smidge more respect as well.
• Non-Standard Character Design:
  • A downplayed example; while the Cerritos is unusually designed and lacking the sleek lines of other "main character" ships, her saucer section and warp nacelles clearly identify her as a Federation vessel. Her odd placement of the secondary hull is not without precedent either, as other "background" designs such as the Oberth- and Steamrunner- class vessels have unconventional secondary hulls as well.
  • California-class ships have their name and registry number on the back of the saucer rather than on the front as with most Starfleet designs. According to invokedWord of God, this is for the benefit of ships that the Cali is towing.
• Stylistic Suck: With a "flat" saucer section, oddly placed warp nacelles, lack of a connecting "neck", and awkwardly-connected secondary hull, the California-class is designed to look like one of the throwaway ship models kitbashed from other models to be seen in distant group shots in some other Star Trek series. The disconnect between the saucer and the engineering section also symbolizes the disconnect between the senior officers and the lower deckers.
• Tractor Beam: Perhaps the one feature of the California-class that isn't substandard is their tractor beams. The Cerritos (joined by the Merced) is able to tow a massive generation ship, easily arrest the momentum of the Obena-class Archimedes as its falling out of orbit, and tow an Orion battlecruiser easily three times its size at a significant velocity.
• What a Piece of Junk: As a "second contact" ship, she is considered one of the less prestigious duty postings in the fleet. In "Cupid's Errant Arrow", the Cerritos is shown to need constant maintenance, and is prone to random plasma fires. She's approximately a decade and a half old, as her registry number would place her as a contemporary with the U.S.S. Voyager (NCC-74656). On the other hand, the Cerritos shows surprising robustness at times (not unlike Voyager, in fact), as in "Moist Vessel", when the effects of the terraforming goo are completely reversed and leave no permanent damage. Even more impressive considering that the same goo renders her sister ship the Merced unsalvageable, with barely a Hand Wave (the ship was allegedly "more exposed" to the effects of the goo). Riker also compliments her hardiness in the Season 1 finale, considering how long she lasted against scavengers with superior firepower. Overall, while the Cerritos is not a particularly prestigious ship, she's still much more capable than dedicated support ships like the Miranda- and Oberth-classes, which are notorious for their loss rates in TNG and DS9.

Senior Staff

Captain Carol Freeman

Captain Carol Freeman

"Warp me!"

Voiced by: Dawnn Lewis

The captain of the U.S.S. Cerritos and a veteran Starfleet officer. She also happens to be Ensign Mariner's mother.

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• Abusive Parents: Ultimately subverted. In the series premiere, she orders Boimler to follow Mariner and nail her on the first sign of trouble so that Freeman has a valid reason to send her back to the U.S.S. Quito. While Freeman argues with her husband over subspace, she suggests throwing Mariner in the brig, but he points out that it's useless because their daughter apparently likes it there. Mariner reciprocates by openly defying and mocking her, which justifies some, but not all of this, as she represents a discipline problem on a starship. It's subverted because she does all of this to keep Mariner in Starfleet. If she does not discipline Mariner at all then Starfleet will inflict far harsher punishments and might even kick Mariner out.
  Holo-Mariner: She's the Captain! And I'm a pain in the ass!
• Ambiguously Bi: Happily Married to a man, but when Cathiw, another woman, keeps flirting with her, she becomes flustered and has to keep reminding herself of her marriage.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: In "Moist Vessel", she and Mariner briefly put aside their long-standing animosity and hug each other after they save the crews of the Cerritos and the Merced. When they realize that they're in an embrace, they quickly let go and pretend like nothing happened.
• Badass Creed: Cerritos Strong!
• Black Boss Lady: As The Captain of the vessel.
• Blunt "No": When Peanut Hamper tries to worm her way back onto the Cerritos after leaving Freeman, Tendi, and Shaxs to die alongside a whole village, Freeman tells her in no uncertain terms that it's not happening.
  Freeman: There is no way in hell you're coming back on my ship, missy!
• The Captain: As per her rank and position.
• Catchphrase: "Warp me!"
• Character Development: Her glory hound tendencies get downplayed over time, reaching their peak at the end of Season 3 when she almost ruins her ship's reputation, re-assigns Mariner over something she didn't even do, and almost gets the entire California-class decommissioned. Season 4 has her acting way more competent, and she learns to value the lower decks of her ship by finally promoting them to Lieutenant J.G. (including Mariner).
• Character Focus: In the first season, Freeman was a distant, aloof figure even when she directly interacted with the Lower Deckers (except in scenes with her daughter). As the show has continued, Freeman has gotten more attention as a viewpoint character in her own right, with her own storylines independent of the Lower Deckers.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
  • "Cupid's Errant Arrow" shows she can be a very effective diplomat given the chance. When the inhabitants of Mixtus III are too busy dealing with their petty grievances to recognize the threat of a moon about to destroy their world, Freeman sorts them out in no more than a few hours. When dealing with Grand Nagus Rom and his First Clerk Leeta in "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place", she instantly recognizes that the pair are playing Admiral Vassery and gets one over on them by tricking them into an Impossible Task, which impresses the duo.
  • Despite her quirks and flaws as a commander, Freeman recognizes how dangerous it is for Starfleet to warp in, change a society, and then warp out without ever following up, even if they're usually getting rid of something objectively terrible. She manages to convince Starfleet that they need to actually go back and help such planets not fall into old habits (or develop worse new ones). Unfortunately, her obsession with making the first attempt look good doesn't end well.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: She has this view about Starfleet. She believes they have no respect for her or the Cerritos. This is ultimately deconstructed in "Trusted Sources" where, given the chance to actually prove her worth, she goes to extreme lengths to make herself and the ship look good, blames and punishes Mariner when she thinks she made things worse and learns she was completely wrong too late to fix things.
• Fantastic Racism: She must detest the Anabaj because Mariner had dated one just to infuriate her mother. Then again, they do lay eggs in people's throats...
• A Father to His Men: Initially averted, even when it's her own daughter who's one of her officers. Freeman was usually dismissive of her lower-ranking crew. Even when crediting Boimler for helping her in "Temporal Edict", she condescendingly called it "the wisdom of a child". By the end of Season 2, however, she tells her assembled subordinates that they're "the best crew in Starfleet" and declares her intention to turn down a transfer to another ship in order to stay with them. She's also more willing to fraternise with the lower deckers as equals off-the-clock in the second season, most notably in "An Embarrassment of Dooplers" where she, Boimler and Mariner joke and banter together in the dive bar where they all end up at the end of the episode. By the time of Season 3's "Reflections", she is shown attending to the bedside of Rutherford, obviously concerned for the well-being of one of her junior-most officers.
• First-Episode Spoiler: It's revealed at the end of the pilot that Ensign Mariner is her daughter.
• Glad I Thought of It: In "Moist Vessel", Ransom suggests giving Mariner the worst jobs on the ship to get her to transfer. Seconds later, Freeman repeats it as though it's her own brilliant plan. Ransom's reaction suggests this is par for the course.
• Glory Seeker: She seems to want fame and respect from Starfleet and frequently complains that they don't respect her. Her daughter implies this is her primary motivation as well.
• Hidden Depths:
  • She's a big fan of vocal jazz and loves scat singing.
  • If she has one genuine talent as a captain, it's negotiating. She's able to get the different factions of Mixtus III to come to terms in an hour or so, only failing to sway the most unreasonable and least credible faction, and successfully negotiated to get the Ferengi to join the Federation.
  • She's also quite cunning, having impressed the Ferengi Grand Nagus and his wife/counsellor by scamming them, and gotten vital intel from a Wretched Hive by playing up the "clueless, rulebound, and entitled" angle the criminals there expected to get them to sell said intel out of spite to a big scary bounty hunter... who was actually Commander Billups, sent in specifically to take advantage of her Batman Gambit.
  • Her minor in Ancient Technology pays off when updating Vexilon, even if she had to spend hours trouble-shooting (and had to call in Billups for assistance). But Vexilon hadn't been updated in six million years, so there's no way she could've known it'd go wrong.
• Hypocrite:
  • She lectures Mariner about her immaturity, but Mariner points out that trying to trick a crew member into requesting a transfer isn't the height of maturity, either.
  • In general, she believes that Starfleet has no respect for her "Lower Deck" ship's duties, yet she has no respect for her own "Lower Deck" crew.
• I Minored in Tropology: Freeman minored in ancient technology according to “In the Cradle of Vexilon”, but it’s not enough to fix its problems and she has to call in Billups.
• It's All About Me: Her own daughter thinks this is true about her, and the first four episodes seem to support that Freeman is self-centered. "Cupid's Errant Arrow" shows a different side of her, as she quickly brings a dangerous standoff from dissenting parties to a decisive and satisfactory conclusion without physically harming any of them. This comes back to bite her in the ass in "Trusted Sources" when she manipulates things to make herself and her new "Project Swing By" look good, punishes Mariner when she thinks she ruined things and learns too late that it wasn't her.
• Kick the Dog: In "Second Contact", she assigns Boimler to spy on her own daughter to give her cause to kick Mariner off the ship.
• My Beloved Smother: "Moist Vessel" shows that some of the strain with Mariner is from Freeman's habit of constantly second-guessing and micromanaging her rather than treating her like an adult who can make her own decisions.
• Not So Above It All: Her conversation with the ship's therapist doesn't go any better than Mariner's did because she can't stand his condescension and constant food metaphors either.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Knowing that the criminal inhabitants of a non-Federation world are not going to cooperate with Starfleet officers, Freeman beams down with Shaxs and Rutherford and makes every blunder imaginable in trying to find out where Nick Locarno is, while a guy in an evil-looking full body armor suit swoops in to steal their objective every time. It's only after he "steals" the information that she reveals it was Billups and she was deliberately antagonizing the crooks so that they would give him anything just to piss off the straight-laced Starfleets.
• Passed-Over Promotion: Freeman is not happy that her career has stalled out at Captain of what, in her mind, can just barely be called a starship, and constantly connives to get a transfer to a better posting. Subverted in that she finally gets it in the second season finale, only to turn it down because she's finally bonded with the ship and crew. And then she gets arrested.
• Pointy-Haired Boss: Throughout the series, we see that Freeman is this to a T. Suffering from Dude, Where's My Respect?, she can't stand the fact that Starfleet at large and Mariner in particular don't give her the respect she feels she deserves. When given a chance to prove herself, she goes into panic mode, becoming a massive ass-kisser to suck up to people and can be completely vindictive if it goes wrong. A Glory Seeker, she will happily take credit for various things others have done or implement ideas while suffering from Didn't Think This Through. She's probably one of the worst recurring captains in the franchise.
• Slave to PR: Deconstructed and something she has passed down to her daughter, though in the more traditional way. Capt. Carol Freeman is fundamentally a good person, but she is ambitious and a glory hound with a strong desire to advance her career. Something very much expected in a quasi-military organization like Starfleet. The problem is that Capt Freeman has shown on many occasions to be fully willing to not only endanger her ship, her crew, and even her own life just for the chance of increasing her standing in Starfleet, only to be snubbed each and every time.
• Stealing the Credit: According to her captain's log in the pilot, the senior staff saved the day, with no mention of the contributions from other crew members. All of this is done while Boimler, the crewman who brought back the key to the cure, is in the room. She gets better about this in future episodes.
• Suicidal Pacifism: In "Terminal Provocations", she's so insistent on being diplomatic with the Drookmani, even in the face of their obvious intransigence, that she lets them completely deplete the shields before finally letting Shaxs retaliate. Unfortunately, the Drookmani have unintentionally disabled the Cerritos' weapons with the repeated strikes, nearly forcing Freeman to order everyone to Abandon Ship before Mariner and Boimler accidentally solve the problem for her.
• Team Mom: Carol Freeman's "stern, overbearing mother" qualities merge with her captaining style, to the point Mariner says "The line between Captain stuff and Mom stuff has gotten too hazy!"
• Too Much Alike: The main source of conflict with her daughter, the problem child of Starfleet. These are two headstrong women that have a strong drive to help people but are terrible at doing things on their own. The problem is that these two NEED to be in charge of any group they're in and micromanage everyone in it. When they're put together, they constantly butt heads until Capt. Freeman is forced to pull rank. This comes to a head in "Strange Energies" where the two are forced to admit that they just can't work together on a regular basis.
• Too Much Information: As Mariner's mother and Captain, Carol Freeman has intimate knowledge of her daughter's service record, medical history, and childhood activities. She also has no problem announcing the most embarrassing details to the entire ship, much to Beckett's chagrin.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Reconstructed! With her own daughter no less, Beckett Mariner. These two have so much in common it's downright scary sometimes, for both of them. They've been forced to admit that they can't work together personally on a regular basis because they constantly end up fighting inevitably each time. While they avoid each other when they can, the few times they share their off time together isn't much different. The reconstruction part comes in that is these two actually do enjoy spending time with someone who shares their interests, history, and on equal footing when off the clock. Something exceptionally rare for the both of them.

Commander Jack Ransom

Commander Jack Ransom

"Setting my fists to 'stun' and my kicks to 'kill!'"

Voiced by: Jerry O'Connell

The first officer of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

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• Ace Pilot: In the Season 2 finale, Jack manages to manually pilot the Cerritos through a huge debris field without sensors and only Beckett and Jennifer calling out larger chunks to him.
• Anything but That!: Ransom is horrified when Mariner suggests he become her mentor and Freeman signs off on it, mostly because this time he's dealing with a confident and serious Mariner, not one on the verge of getting kicked off the ship.
• Back from the Dead: It's implied that, like most bridge crew (as Boimler and Mariner point out) he's died before and come back. That, or like much of the Cerritos, he's Seen It All.
  Ransom: "Well done, Mr. Boimler! You never forget your first death."
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Mariner in "Temporal Edict". She throws an object at him in Sickbay and threatens to kill him, and he admits that it was kind of hot. Amusingly, both him and Mariner are visibly disturbed by this development, though he at least has made peace with it judging by the comments he made in his personal log for "The Least Dangerous Game."
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Throughout Season 3, he claims that Freeman is "too soft" on Mariner and constantly encourages her to "put her foot down" regarding her daughter's antics. When she finally does so in the penultimate episode, not only does she go way overboard in a way that even he considered too far, but it ultimately turns out to have been over something that wasn't even Mariner's fault this time.
• Benevolent Boss: Despite his quirks, lecherousness, and desperation to get promoted, Ransom has repeatedly been shown to be a capable and understanding First Officer.
  • Played for Laughs in "Envoys". His response to Rutherford failing a basic command simulation in a uniquely terrible way is to be impressed by getting such a unique result and try for more.
  • More seriously, he'd also rather die than let anyone on his away mission team get put in danger.
  • He is consistently the bridge officer who's most likely to give Boimler the praise he craves.
  • He's also pretty horrified in "Trusted Sources" when Captain Freeman is in the process of exiling and effectively disowning her own daughter, despite being just as pissed as everyone else on the Cerritos over what they think Mariner pulled.
  • Ransom succeeds where at least a dozen officers before him (including her own mother) have failed in figuring out Mariner's strategy to avoid getting a promotion, and is even able to convince her to stick to accepting it with him as her superior.
• Big Brother Mentor: What he evolves into after Character Development kicks in. Ransom takes a distinct interest in helping the Warp Core Four meet their full potential, with a specific interest in Mariner and Boimler.
• Boring, but Practical: When in a scrap, he tends to rely solely on a two-handed fist strike against his opponents. But, credit where it's due, he tends to win every scrap he fights in.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a Testosterone Poisoned ass-kisser, but he's also A Father to His Men who takes responsibility for leading his subordinates, is always willing to put himself in danger before others, and is persistent in his efforts to make Mariner to be the best officer she can be.
• Calling Your Attacks: When we've seen him fight hand-to-hand, he's always yelling out his attacks moments before doing it.
• Casanova Wannabe: Tries to flirt like Kirk and Riker did. The reactions have ranged from disinterest to getting thrown into a table (which he takes pretty cheerfully). Deanna Troi calls him out as this immediately, saying it stems from his own insecurity. Ransom thinks he could use that on other Betazoid women as a pity move. Oh, and the few times his conquests have been successful, it only seems to be due to his dates wanting to eat him (i.e., one of his dates being a salt vampire).
• Casting Gag: Jerry O'Connell is married to Rebecca Romijn, who plays Una Chin-Riley aka Number One on Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, making them the only husband and wife first officers in Trek history. This was later referenced in the crossover episode "Those Old Scientists" where Ransom mentions that he thinks Una is the hottest First Officer in Starfleet history. Also, his acting debut was in the movie Stand by Me, which co-starred Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• Companion Cube: At some point he was turned into a caveman and made a "wife" for himself out of churros. Rumor abounds on the lower decks that he "refreshes" it every few months with the replicator. This might be true.
• Domed Hometown: He's from Tycho City, a domed city on Luna (the Moon).
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Season One Ransom was largely a boistrous, self centered jerk. When he learned about Mariner being Captain Freeman's daughter, he was curious about how he could use her to suck up to the Captain. Come later seasons, while Ransom hasn't lost his most boistrous personality, he is far more invested in helping others fulfill their potential rather than using them to enhance his own career.
• Everyone Has Standards: He threatened to transfer Mariner to Starbase 80 if she screwed up, but later told Boimler that he would never send anyone to that hellhole. When Freeman reassigns Mariner to Starbase 80 for real, he is completely shocked.
• Expy: invoked His manly style of command and personality invoke previous commanding officers like Kirk and Riker. This includes assuming the Captain Morgan Pose whenever he wants to appear commanding. Word of God even described him as "Riker, but on speed and with less shame."
• A God Am I: Gets zapped with strange energies in the Season 2 premiere and promptly goes berserk, remaking the planet into his own image as a Fitness Nut. Mariner snaps him out of it by kicking him in the balls a few times.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: He doesn't use weapons in combat, as he prefers to fight anyone bare-handed, and usually wins.
  "Looks like we'll have to repel them the old-fashioned way. Setting my fists to stun and my kicks to kill!"
• Hidden Depths:
  • In "Temporal Edict", the often shallow and careerist Ransom is clearly aware that stabbing Mariner in the foot (so he can take her place in a Trial by Combat) could get him court martialed. He does it anyway because he genuinely accepts responsibility for the crew under his command, including Mariner herself, and considers the duel to be his duty as the ranking officer present.
  • Related to the first point, up until the actual fight it seems that Ransom is all hat and no cattle, as he was unceremoniously stunned, spent most of the first part of the episode preening, and was mostly notable for being patient zero in a zombie plague in the first episode. Come the actual fight with Vindor, he rips off his shirt to reveal his amazing physique, tosses the sword aside, faces the giant bare-handed and wins.
  • He also makes it clear that, even though he's fighting the Gelrakians to save his team, he still respects their culture and sovereignty.
  • During "Crisis Point", while it was a holo-Ransom based on the real one's personal logs, he correctly identified Vindicta's quotes as coming from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which, one must recall, is even more ancient literature by the time of Lower Decks.
  • More subtly, he never tries to kill anyone directly while an "omniscient murder-god" in "Strange Energies". Given that he can do stuff like make a moon disappear with a snap, it makes him look like a fundamentally decent Starfleet officer.
  • In seasons 2 and 3, he often gives small but suitable praise towards Boimler when the Ensign steps up or performs well, giving him his due.
• Hunk: He has broad shoulders and a very muscular build which he maintains by exercising with a lot of free weights. Mariner thinks he's hot despite hating him, and the mere sight of him shirtless defuses a diplomatic disaster on a planet with a "wellness-based society."
• Hypocrite: Has little patience for bootlicking ensigns despite himself being a major suck-up toward Captain Freeman.
• It's Probably Nothing: In "Second Contact", he gets a bug bite on the Galardonian homeworld, but declines to have it checked in sickbay. Naturally, it soon gives him a horrible zombie-Hate Plague that he then spreads to much of the crew.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A goofy, arrogant, and sleazy womanizer who nonetheless is firmly loyal to Starfleet and is willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of his crew.
• Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Hates non-Starfleet scientists as he hates that they graduate from college on degrees on something ridiculous like spores, decide to fly off into the galaxy and end up getting eaten by some alien flower (resulting in Starfleet officers having to clean up their messes). After Boimler's rampage against the non-Starfleet scientists and others, he looks forward to getting a drink with Boimler (after he had to put Boimler in the brig for a night) and listening to how he gave those stupid outpost scientists what they deserved.
• Mirror Character: Although the character is an obvious parody of Kirk and Riker, he is also surprisingly similar to Boimler in several ways, and this may be why he has intermittently taken the Ensign under his wing. Like Boimler he is a capable but quirky officer, desperate for promotion and prone to some unseemly sucking up to his superiors.
• Mr. Fanservice:
  • He gets a Shirtless Scene in "Temporal Edict" which shows off his muscular physique. During the combat, some of the scenes look like he's been oiled up, with a slight glow to his skin.
  • In First First Contact he appears in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it flashback, posing nude for a life drawing class that Rutherford and Tendi were attending.
  • In "The Least Dangerous Game", he manages to defuse a diplomatic crisis by popping his top off on a planet whose hat is physical fitness.
• Number Two: As the first officer to Captain Freeman.
• Out of Focus: Ransom was never a main character but starting Season 2, he's mostly been in the background with maybe a line an episode as the other members of the bridge crew took over to show the POV of the Cerritos's inner circle. This was reversed in season 4 as the result of his ongoing mentorship of Mariner, and he got probably the most screentime of anyone in the senior staff.
• Passed-Over Promotion: He's the first officer aboard what might generously be called a fifth-rate ship and it appears he's reached the high point of his career (a contrast to Riker, whom Starfleet brass continually wanted to promote to Captain, despite his repeated refusals). Notably, when Freeman is to be transferred to a new posting, Ransom (though dejected that she won't be taking him with her) fully expects to be made the ship's new commanding officer, only for her to shoot him down and inform him the new Captain is going to be an outside transfer.
• Patrick Stewart Speech: He keeps trying this on the Gelrakians in "Temporal Edict", but he doesn't really have the chops for it. He also gives one to Mariner in the prison cell about what it means to be a good Starfleet officer right before stabbing her in the foot.
• Perma-Stubble: Drawn with this.
• Pet the Dog: Despite treating Boimler about as well as the rest of the officers, he does acknowledge that he's a very capable crew member in the season finale when the latter requests a transfer and promotion to the Sacramento: He admits his record is impeccable and the only reason he's torn between him and Mariner over the promotion is because he wants to suck up to Freeman after learning Mariner is her daughter. He later makes up for his indecisiveness by personally recommending him to Riker for a transfer and promotion to the Titan. After Boimler's failed attempt to have Ransom be his "bridge buddy", he also turns other Starfleet personnel Boimler's way to help him make new friends.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: He'll do anything to suck up to Captain Freeman, including being nice to Mariner once he finds out they're mother and daughter. Neither one is impressed.
• Punny Name: His name is Jack, and he's also jacked, not to mention totally obsessed with working out!
• The Resenter: By the start of Season 2, Ransom is highly upset over the fact that Freeman is treating Mariner like an acting first officer while ignoring her real first officer, himself. For their part, they decide to tone that down.
• Signature Move: Has two. One is standing in a Captain Morgan Pose (like Riker). The other is a two-handed fist strike when in combat (like Kirk).
• Testosterone Poisoning:
  • He lifts weights a lot, even during meetings with other crew members. His room is basically a gym. One of the first things he does after being turned into a Physical God by some strange energy is to telekinetically bicep curl some trees.
    Ransom: It's easy to become a god. The trick is staying a god.
  • He also ends up turning random objects into gym equipment; Dr. T'Ana realizes he's "creating his own jacked utopia!"
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In “I Have No Bones And I Must Flee”, he realizes Mariner sabotages herself with promotions and refuses to play that game any more. At the end, he convinces her that she’s a better officer than she sees herself for, convincing her to go further.

Doctor T'Ana

Doctor (Commander) T'Ana

"Oh COME ON, I just [bleep]in' revived him! EVERYBODY OUT! ...Gimme 30 ccs of whatever just worked a [bleep]in' minute ago!"

Voiced by: Gillian Vigman

The Caitian Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

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• Action Girl: In "Temporal Edict", she performs a flying kick that knocks out three Gelrakians armed with spears.
• Afraid of Doctors: Despite being the Chief Medical Officer on a Starfleet vessel, T'Ana herself has never reported for and in fact appears to vehemently fear getting an annual (and mandated) physical. It takes Tendi chasing her through the Jeffries tubes and risking life and limb to scan her to get her to come around on the concept. A core part of it seem that she hates the idea of getting a checkup from someone else, seeing it as insulting as she's a doctor herself.
• Benevolent Boss: She praises Rutherford's surgical skill while also calmly telling him that his lack of bedside manner makes him ill-suited to be a doctor. She's also generally even-tempered and considerate with Tendi, and takes notice when Tendi proves to be overqualified to be working in sickbay.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Sports a pair to go with her cranky personality.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: In "Second Contact", after figuring out a cure to the outbreak on the ship, Captain Freeman tells T'Ana that she has another paper to publish. T'Ana just grumbles about more paperwork.
• Cat Folk: As a Caitian, this comes with the territory. However, she seems to be as far from the stereotypical Cat Girl as possible. While she is a humanoid feline of female gender, she has a personality more in line with an acerbic senior office worker than a bubbly Genki Girl.
• Cats Are Mean: Downplayed. She's said to be an excellent doctor, but an unpleasant person to deal with. That said, she's not needlessly cruel, just irritable. Fletcher describes her as "just a cat in a coat," which sounds about right.
• Cats Are Snarkers: She's a sapient felinoid with an appropriate snark streak.
  (re Mariner's collection of scars) "Congratulations, you look like a [bleep]ing scratching post."
• Combat Medic: In "Second Contact", she keeps her cool in what could be best described as a Zombie Apocalypse and gives strict orders to make sure people survive.
  T'Ana: Don't pass out! Nobody's authorized to pass out!
  • That said, she typically stays out of combat situations and in Sick Bay. When she does have to break the Hippocratic Oath, though...
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: The only previous Caitian character, M'Ress, was a sexy Cat Girl in a TOS miniskirt. T'Ana is a scruffy, bad-tempered alley cat in a lab coat.
• Cute Little Fangs: T'Ana naturally has a full set of canines, but the way one of the bottom ones (typically the right-hand side) sticks out when her mouth is closed evokes this effect.
• Dr. Jerk: She has a grouchy disposition in the tradition of Bones and The EMH Doctor. That said, she recognizes the importance of an effective bedside manner and keeping patients calm (in part because a patient having an anxiety attack is going to make whatever medical issue they have worse).
• Ear Notch: She's missing a piece of her right ear, which suggests that she survived a very dangerous mission as a Combat Medic sometime in the past. This makes her a bit of a hypocrite, as she criticizes Ensign Mariner for hanging onto her collection of scars.
• Exotic Equipment: Once mentions she'd like to get her "coital hooks" around Shaxs, though this is probably metaphorical. Probably.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Her sclerae are yellow. For obvious reasons.
• Furry Reminder: She occasionally exhibits cat-like behavior.
  • In "Temporal Edict", she hisses like a cat while defending sickbay from the Gelrakians.
  • Later on, in "We'll Always Have Tom Paris", she acts like she's in heat for the entire episode and tasks Tendi with bringing her a Caitian libido post. When she finally gets the post, it turns out she just wanted a box to play in. "If I fits, I sits."
  • In "Mugato, Gumato", she hisses, scratches and flees when Tendi tries to give her her physical, not unlike real cats resisting going to the vet. At one point she's hiding under a shuttlecraft.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Caitians used to hunt Betazoids for food at some point in their history. In "Empathological Fallacies", when T'Lyn's Bendii syndrome causes the crew to lose control of their emotions while a trio of Betazoid women are on board, T'Ana has to be physically restrained from trying to eat them. And even then, she admits to eating synthetic betazoid.
• Interplay of Sex and Violence: T'Ana's idea of foreplay is a holodeck bank robbery where she and Shax kill several cops before getting it on.
• Interspecies Romance: With Lieutenant Shaxs, a Bajoran, as of "Mugato, Gumato".
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A crotchety Caitian with a caustic tongue... Who nevertheless becomes a genuinely supportive mentor figure for Tendi once she realises just how capable the young Orion is.
• Lady Swears-a-Lot: T'Ana gets more Sound-Effect Bleeps than any other character in the show.
• The Medic: She's the Chief Medical Officer of the vessel. She's also Ensign Tendi's superior officer.
• The Mentor: Starts to take more of a personal interest in Tendi during Season 2, even inviting her to go rock-climbing on the Holodeck. She eventually concludes that Tendi is too hard-working to be a mere nurse, and suggests she apply to be Science Officer on the bridge.
• My Instincts Are Showing: Like many Caitians, she toys with her animal side, speaking in a bestial growl and dreaming about getting her coital hooks into Shaxs. But get her in heat, or force her to get a medical exam, and she suddenly becomes full-on cat.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The last time a Caitian got a speaking role on-screen was also the last time Trek was animated.^note Excluding the "Caitian" twins bedded by Kirk in Star Trek Into Darkness, which are neither furry, nor catlike, nor named as Caitians onscreen, only by Damon Lindelof.
  • She tends to wear a light-blue lab coat, much like Doctor Crusher from TNG, while her attitude evokes Dr. Pulaski from the same series.
  • While she's called a Caitian she bears a striking resemblance to an Eeiouian, a feline species from the Star Trek novel Uhura's Song that was beset by The Plague.
• Noodle Incident: How she lost her tail. All we know is that it happened while she was serving on the Algonquin.
• Out of Focus: In Season 3, with Tendi no longer serving under her, she is seen far less frequently than before. In Season 4, it's reduced even further. In the Season Finale, she has all of two lines.
• Punctuation Shaker: Her name contains an apostrophe. It's not cosmetic, though, but a glottal stop.
• Seen It All: She has had to fix a lot of weird medical problems during her time in Starfleet. Even someone being turned into a hand puppet is something she's seen before and isn't particularly concerned about. A Pakled waking up on his own from extended vacuum exposure surprises her, though.

Lieutenant Commander Andy Billups

Lieutenant Commander Andarithio "Andy" Billups

"The only lady I love is two decks tall and pumped full of dilithium."

Voiced by: Paul Scheer

The chief engineer of the U.S.S. Cerritos, and Ensign Rutherford's superior officer.

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• Abdicate the Throne: He is the crown prince of the planet Hysperia, but he renounced his claim to pursue a career in Starfleet. Doesn't stop his mother from periodically trying to get him back.
• A Day in the Limelight: He doesn't get a focus episode until Season 2's "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie", but it goes over his whole backstory...
  • He's not originally from Earth, but in fact from the planet Hysperia, which based itself off of Ren Faires.
  • He's in line for the throne, but is much more interested in being a part of Starfleet.
  • He'll be obligated to take up the throne if he ever loses his virginity, so he's purposefully remained celibate long into adulthood. His mother, Queen Paolana, keeps trying to trick or manipulate him into having sex with someone, but thus far hasn't succeeded.
• Benevolent Boss: He gladly allows Rutherford to transfer to another department, congratulating him for being willing to expand his horizons and saying any department would be lucky to have him. When Rutherford talks to a holodeck version of him, to tell him something he could never say to the real Billups... it's embarassingly gushing praise about Billups.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Generally a really great guy to work for, but when an ensign innocently asks how Shax came back from the dead Billups snaps at him and immediately orders him reassigned.
• Celibate Hero: Done very purposefully. If he loses his virginity, he'll be obligated to take the throne back on his home planet and thus resign from Starfleet, which he doesn't want. He's heavily implied to be asexual on top of this.
  • This even extends to holographic re-creations of Billups. When Mariner goes through the Naked Time scenario during "I, Excretus", Billups is just sitting in the back (completely nude) surfing his PADD rather than participating in the orgy.
• The Engineer: He's the head of the engineering department aboard the Cerritos.
• A Father to His Men: Of all the senior staff, he gets the most obvious love from his subordinates.
• Informed Attribute: Done as an in-universe gag when Rutherford calls him a stone-cold badass who doesn't need someone like Rutherford gushing to him openly. Cut to Billups quietly eating lunch alone, looking neither particularly badass nor likely to reject anyone asking to sit with him.
• King Incognito: To an extent. He's the crown prince of his homeworld, but it doesn't come up until season 2. While presumably it's public record that he's crown prince, it doesn't matter to him whatsoever and he gladly takes orders from Captain Freeman.
• Married to the Job: He tells his mother that the only lady he will ever love is the warp core.
• Mauve Shirt: He is this to the bridge crew/senior staff. Not a main character like Freeman, Ransom, Shaxs, or T'Ana, but still an instantly recognizable authority figure on the Cerritos.
• Mr. Fixit: As the ship's chief engineer.
• My Beloved Smother: His mother is the queen of his home planet, Hysperia. She's dead set on getting him to succeed her, and is willing to do so by any means necessary, including damaging her own ship and faking her death.
• Nervous Wreck: According to an argument Mariner and her mom have, he's very easily unsettled by stuff (especially when it comes to human reproduction), but Carol seems convinced this applies to near-everything.
• Not So Above It All: Like Scotty or La Forge, the quickest way to tick off Billups is to insult the Cerritos. When D'Erika calls it a worthless support ship, he rolls up his sleeves angrily, clearly intending to teach her some manners before the other crew reel him in.
• Odd Name, Normal Nickname: As discovered in "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie", the unusual long form of Billups's name comes from his origins as the prince of a superficially renaissance-style monarchy. His disinterest in ruling or even participating in his culture of origin is the likely reason he chooses to go by a more ordinary nickname.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Despite normally being rather soft-spoken, he unleashes a torrent of angry curses that puts even T'Ana to shame when he finds out Captain Freeman kept her potential promotion to another Starfleet ship a secret from the senior staff.
• Out of Focus: The only senior staff member we've been introduced to who isn't listed in the credits.
• Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: Billups is heavily implied to be a sex-adverse asexual, as he gets uncomfortable any time the subject of sexuality or romance comes up. Not to mention that whole Can't Have Sex, Ever thing...
• Stronger Than They Look: Looks like a normal dude standing next to Shaxs and Ransom, but...
  • He's able to volleyball bump a Gelrakian for Shaxs to spike into the floor, in "Temporal Edict".
  • When "Bionic Five" fist-bumps him in "Crisis Point", it's with his apparently metal hand. Billups reacts like it's flesh.
  • In "No Small Parts", he can be seen holding the line in front of the sick bay with Ransom - mostly by brute-force pushing against the halbreds the Pakleds are using.
  • "I, Excretus" and "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie" both show Billups either shirtless or in the nude, and dude is jacked.
• Token Good Teammate: While the other senior officers on the Cerritos have mild Jerkass tendencies, Billups is by all indications a Nice Guy through and through.
• Unexpected Virgin: Well, not to most of the crew since they are well aware of his history and his mother's attempts to trick him into sex, but for the audience this is true. He may be socially awkward, but the fact that he's a 40 something virgin comes as a bit of a surprise.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: In line with "Bradward" and "Samanthan", Andy's full name is revealed to be Andarithio. Presumably his mother thought it would be a good medieval-esque name, even though Andrew is a medieval name.

Lieutenant Shaxs

Lieutenant Shaxs

"Not if I have something to scream about it!"

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore

A Bajoran lieutenant aboard the U.S.S. Cerritos, serving as the tactical officer and chief of security.

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• Back from the Dead: He somehow comes back from being dead, lampshading the tendency for major characters in the series to return to life for whatever reason. This was apparently an extremely traumatic experience which is why lower deckers generally aren't told the details.
• Bear Hug: Fittingly for a guy who loves using bear metaphors, he's huge enough to lift people clean off their feet in an embrace, in particular Doctor T'ana.
• Benevolent Boss: He's perfectly fine with Rutherford transferring back to Engineering after proving himself a surprisingly competent fighter because Shaxs respects Rutherford for being true to himself. Even long after Rutherford has transferred back, Shaxs still refers to him as "Baby Bear" out of respect for his performance.
• Berserk Button: Making any light-hearted comments about his past on Bajor. It's clear he fought in the resistance, so anyone making light of his time fighting the Cardassians is understandably a sore spot for him.
  "You think I had time for anything other than resisting?! Fighting fascism is a full time job!"
• The Big Guy: It goes with his large stature; he's heavily involved in combat and can carry Boimler or Rutherford over his shoulder with ease.
• Blood Knight:
  • He loves a good fight and hates it when the captain won't let him resort to violence. He sees a potential Suicide Mission with incredibly poor odds as the best day of his life.
    "Phasers locked onto their warp core, Captain. Please, please let me shoot their warp core! I have been very good this month!"
  • Getting to eject and detonate the warp core (effectively a gigantic improvised matter/antimatter bomb) is practically euphoric for him, with the whole crew cheering him on for finally getting to realize his dream.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Leaps into combat with jovial glee, emphasised by him having No Indoor Voice.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's huge, got a rock-hard body, grizzled mug, loves violence and has to suppress the urge to kill things when triggered. He's also a fan of pottery, runs a Bajoran dirge choir, and cries easily when troubled about his past. When they're doing a violent bank robbery sim together, he is the one who tells T'ana that he wants to stop everything and talk about their feelings.
• Came Back Wrong: Downplayed, but the ordeal of coming back from the dead haunts him every day.
• Cultured Warrior: A Blood Knight ass-kicker who spends his off-duty hours making pottery and singing in a Bajoran dirge choir.
• Connected All Along: It turns out that he worked with none other than Kira Nerys in the Bajoran Resistance.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: He saves Rutherford from the Pakleds and goes down fighting, laughing the whole time.
• Face Death with Dignity: The last moments of his Heroic Sacrifice have him manhandling two guards while laughing maniacally.
• Foe-Tossing Charge: In the first and last episodes of the first season, he responds to an Escort Mission by doing an Over-the-Shoulder Carry on the escort and charging through every enemy in his path.
• Hair-Trigger Temper:
  • He says he's killed better men for less during an argument over new chairs for the conference room, though he amends it to "wanted to kill them for about the same" when pressed.
  • Boimler's simulation of him shouts, "Don't talk to me, I'm pissed off!" when Rutherford says hello. Rutherford is amazed because the real Shaxs said the same thing to him an hour earlier.
• Heroic Build: He's incredibly tall and incredibly broad; Mariner jokes that he keeps spilling his coffee because he can't raise it past his enormous pecs.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices himself to save Rutherford during the Season 1 finale. He gets better.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Sociopathy aside, Shaxs is religious and a practitioner of the Bajoran faith. As of Season 2 he's also taken up pottery to channel his rage and trauma into something more constructive.
    Rutherford: Put it in the clay, Papa Bear, put it in the clay.
    Shaxs: I'm going to fight! I'm going to get revenge! I'm... (working the clay) going to make a cute little ashtray for my incense. It's going to look like a puppy.
    Rutherford: Ooh, a puppy!
  • "Empathalogical Fallacies" demonstrates that he genuinely cares about the emotional well-being of his Baby Bears.
• Interspecies Romance: With Doctor T'Ana, a Caitian, as of "Mugato, Gumato".
• Mythology Gag: In "Second Contact", the shirt of his uniform is torn while he fends off infected crewmembers, exposing much of his chest. This is a nod to Kirk's frequent Clothing Damage after a fistfight in TOS.
• No Indoor Voice: Downplayed. Shaxs speaks normally most of the time, but anything that gets him riled up raises the volume to match, and it doesn't take much to get him there. Shaxs himself even lampshades it in the Season 1 finale.
  Shaxs: Not if I have something to scream about it!
• Odd Friendship: Resident ass-kicking Blood Knight Shaxs is very close to socially awkward nerd Rutherford, and seems to view him as a surrogate son, calling him "Baby Bear" in reference to his dubbing the ship's Security division the "Bear Pack"
  • He also seems to take a shine to Boimler after he helps Shaxs fulfill his dream of ejecting the warp core at something in the Season 3 finale. In Season 4, he even invites Boimler to hang out with the Security team for a day and teach him how to be an effective supervisor.
• One Name Only: The series has stuck him with this, but a comic he cameo's in refers to him as Shaxs Drazon. Whether this will change in the fourth season is unknown.
• Over-the-Shoulder Carry: If something needs to be brought somewhere else, Shaxs won't hesitate to toss it over his shoulder and charge through whatever he needs to to get it there, even if he doesn't need to.
  Rutherford: You know, I can run on my own...
• Papa Wolf: Papa Bear, thank you very much. Everyone in his "Bear Pack" (what he calls the Cerritos security department staff) is family to him, even temporary members like Rutherford.
  • This was almost literal since one early concept art shows that he started out as Xax, who was a purple furred alien with an operations uniform.
• Religious Bruiser:
  • It's not given nearly as much attention as other Bajoran characters, but he is still Bajoran, and can clearly be seen wearing the traditional Bajoran earring that is a symbol of their faith to the Prophets. During his training of Rutherford on the holodeck, after the young Ensign kicks all kinds of ass, we do get this gem:
    Shaxs: In the name of the Prophets!
  • And again during the "movie", though technically, that was only a holographic simulation based on him.
    Shaxs: INTRUDER! When you get to Hell, tell the Pah-wraiths that Shax sent ya, special delivery, STRAIGHT FROM BAJOR! [opens fire with a BFG]
  • The crew of the Cerritos gives him a funeral service where the Captain says "He's with the Prophets now", suggesting he was a known adherent of the Bajoran faith.
• Running Gag: Shaxs has a reputation for wanting to eject or otherwise weaponize the warp core. According to his entry on the Trek Logs Instagram, it's because of the sheer, unabashed awesomeness of using a two-story matter-antimatter bomb. The fact it was tactically prudent to do so in the Season 3 finale came as much of a surprise to him as everyone else on the Cerritos bridge (minus Boimler).
• Rugged Scar: He has a scar across his right eyebrow and cheek, which generally serves to make him look more badass.
• Scars Are Forever: Shaxs has a scar over one eye and appears to be blind in that eye, despite Starfleet medical technology presumably being able to fix it.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: As evidenced by his reaction to Boimler's casual question about his life on Bajor, not all of Shaxs' scars are on the outside.
• Top-Heavy Guy: His upper body really is huge.
• Trauma Button: He has two: The circumstances behind his resurrection and being asked about his homeworld. Anyone who's seen TNG or Deep Space Nine can tell you that the homeworld thing being traumatic is a very Justified Trope, and that he's far from the only Bajoran to carry scars (emotional and physical) from the occupation.
• Unexplained Recovery: He's suddenly back alive without explanation in "We'll Always Have Tom Paris". Rutherford eventually works up the courage to ask him how he came back, but the circumstances are so horrific that thinking about it drives Shax to tears and the audience is spared from hearing it, (Rutherford was going to ask earlier in the episode but backed off when a different crewmember did and got disciplined for poking into a very sensitive topic). Apparently this happens a lot to the bridge crew.

"The Redshirts"

In general

A club of command-division ensigns on the Cerritos, who work together to get themselves promoted as quickly as possible.

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• Dramatic Irony: They call themselves the "Red Shirts" because they think it makes them sound invincible. Red shirts started off as a fan term for the extras killed on away missions, since back in the TOS era, Red was the color that security personnel would wear.
• Early-Bird Cameo: They each make a few minor appearances prior to appearing more prominently in "The Spy Humongous".
• Professional Butt-Kisser: They make a point of trying to emulate other captains in an attempt to look "promotable" and advance their career as fast as possible. To be fair though, almost all of them decided to tone it down after Boimler called them out on it.
• Rousing Speech: Their reaction to a crisis in the mess hall in "The Spy Humongous" is to give one of these. As in, one speech per member, simultaneously.
• Shadow Archetype: They represent Boimler's Professional Butt-Kisser tendencies, desire to Rank Up, and willingness to take after other captains. However, the ultimate difference between them is that Boimler is - despite his own willingness to suck up to rank - willing to succeed on his own merits and be himself.

Ensign Casey

Ensign Casey

"Nice speech. I'm sure it'll play well on the lower decks."

Voiced By: Neil Casey

A male Human ensign serving aboard the Cerritos as a conn officer, and the head of the Redshirts club.

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• Alpha Bitch: A male example of this trope, acting as the unofficial leader of the Redshirt clique aboard the Cerritos.
• invokedThe Danza: He shares his surname with the actor voicing him.
• A Day in the Limelight: He's a minor antagonist in "The Spy Humongous", which is where most of his characterization happens.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments.
  • In "Strange Energies", he reports that there is "a giant head approaching the ship" in a tone that implies he's Seen It All.
  • In "The Spy Humongous", when Boimler practices giving a Rousing Speech (and fails miserably), Casey is silent for a few seconds before deadpanning, "We should mutiny."
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: More selfish than evil, but unlike the other Red Shirts, Casey doesn't see any value in Boimler's slapsticks in "The Spy Humongous". All he can see is that Boimler humiliated himself to make a "bug" laugh, ignoring that the bug was a fellow officer suffering from the effects of an alien artifact and that Boimler saved her and everyone else in the bar at the low price of some temporary indignity.
• Interservice Rivalry: Casey looks down on the other lower-deckers, regarding them as working for Starfleet rather than being worthy members of the agency like himself.
• Meaningless Villain Victory: Casey gets a stint as acting captain, but only because Ransom, Freeman, and the rest of the bridge crew decide to duck out early for drinks. Shaxs relieves him almost immediately, having come in with the next shift. He's then ordered to clean up the airlock the Pakled used as a toilet.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: His response to Boimler calling him out:
  Boimler: Alright, you know what's shameful? Trying to build a persona by copying other captains. You think Riker did that? You guys are wasting your time on this Redshirt stuff. Be your own captains!
  Casey: Cute speech. I'm sure it'll play great on the lower decks.
• Smug Snake: He considers himself above the other lower-deckers, but Ransom and Shaxs give him a nice reality check when he finally gets that position as acting captain.
• Unexplained Recovery: He's seemingly killed by an exploding console in "No Small Parts", and his blood-soaked body is abandoned when the Pakleds invade the bridge. Come Season 2, though, and he's alive and kicking again with no explanation.

Ensign Jennifer Sh'reyan

Ensign Jennifer Sh'reyan

"Right now, this uniform is wearing you."

Voiced By: Lauren Lapkus

A female Andorian ensign serving aboard the Cerritos. She appears to have a rivalry with Mariner.

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• Ambiguously Gay: Of the Belligerent Sexual Tension kind between herself and Mariner in First First Contact, where the latter claims the former dreams about her every night. Also, in I, Excretus, a holographic representation of her can be seen making out with Ensign Barnes. Not so ambiguous by Season 3, however, as it's revealed that she and Mariner have been "babe-ing" since the finale of Season 2.
• Ascended Extra: While originally a One-Scene Wonder, her name alone increased her screen time come Season 2, and by Season 3 she and Mariner are dating. However, after breaking up with Mariner at the end of Season 3, she ends up reverting back to being the minor background character she was in Season 1.
• Demoted to Extra: She fades back into being a random extra following her breakup with Mariner in "Trusted Sources".
• Green-Skinned Space Babe: An attractive blue-skinned Andorian.
• In Love with Your Carnage: She's downright giddy when watching Mariner phaser all her friends to conserve oxygen following a power outage, even admitting that she had introduced them to each other in the hope that she'd make a scene.
• Ms. Fanservice: A memory projection of her appears in "Mining the Mind's Mines" parading around in a bikini trying to seduce Mariner. Even before they started dating, Mariner mutters to herself that she had been dreaming about Jennifer's "stupid little butt."
• Name From Another Species: Despite being Andorian, she has a human sounding first name. The name "Jennifer" comes from Tawny Newsome invokedimprovising, unaware the character was Andorian.
• Official Couple: She and Mariner get together at some point between "First First Contact" and "Mining the Mind's Mines", but they break up in the penultimate episode of season 3. Season 4 hasn't addressed their relationship since Mariner's return to the Cerritos.
• Rescue Romance: She and Mariner get much closer after Jennifer stops Mariner from floating off into space.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Boimler criticizes the Redshirts for building personas based on other captains, Jennifer is convinced by his actions and words to leave the club along with Ensign Castro and Ensign Taylor.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Seems to be this for Mariner, who admits to hating Jennifer despite knowing Starfleet officers are "not supposed to have interpersonal conflict". Mariner eventually admits in a later episode after Jennifer saves her life that she has a tendency to put distance between herself and the people she likes.

Ensign Castro

Ensign Castro

"It was then that I realized that the real Enterprise was inside me all along!"

Voiced By: Gabrielle Ruiz

A female Human ensign serving aboard the Cerritos.

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• Incredibly Lame Fun: She and her pretentious friends love parties —which she calls "salons"— where they make candles, tell ghost stories and do interpretive dance.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Implied — she served on the Enterprise-E, the most prestigious ship in Starfleet, "for like one minute" before being transferred to the Cerritos, which certainly sounds like a punishment for something...
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Boimler criticizes the Redshirts for building personas based on other captains, Castro is convinced by his actions and words to leave the club along with Ensign Taylor and Ensign Sh'reyan.
• Ship Tease: With Boimler. She hits on him once during his stint in the Redshirts, and later invites him to a Winger Bingston performance.
• Skewed Priorities: When she and her friends are trapped in her quarters due to an EMP, Mariner realizes that the candles they made are burning up the oxygen in the room and attempts to blow them out to conserve air. Castro stops her though, complaining about their "intentions" and she and the others continue to panic. Then when Mariner takes charge and tells everyone to shut up, Castro stubbornly says she can't tell them what to do since it's her "salon".

Ensign Taylor

Ensign Taylor

Voiced By: Fred Tatasciore

A Kzinti ensign serving aboard the Cerritos.

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• All There in the Manual: Was thought to be nameless; a Reddit post from the show's dialogue editor confirmed his name to be Taylor.
• The Bus Came Back: For the Kzinti species as a whole, being the first time we've seen one on-screen in anything Trek since their first appearance back in TAS; they were prohibited from appearing until recently thanks to legal snarls.
• Mythology Gag:
  • When he demonstrates poor posture to Boimler, his pose is identical to that of the Kzinti telepath in "The Slaver Weapon" (which introduced the Kzinti to the Star Trek universe).
  • Being a Kzin ensign, it's perhaps not unsurprising that he'd be chosen to go on an assignment on a Ring World Planet; after all, both sci-fi concepts originated from Larry Niven.
• No Name Given: He wasn't named on-screen until Season 4. This may be on purpose, as Kzinti seen in "The Slaver Weapon" (and by extension the other Larry Niven books) don't get names unless they earn them.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Boimler criticizes the Redshirts for building personas based on other captains, he is convinced by his actions and words to leave the club along with Ensigns Castro and Sh'reyan.

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