No Win Scenario (episode)

With time running out, Picard, Riker and crew must confront the sins of their past and heal fresh wounds, while the Titan, dead in the water, drifts helplessly toward certain destruction within a mysterious space anomaly.

Summary

Teaser

Starfleet cadets, 2396 — Starfleet cadets at 10 Forward Avenue in 2396

At 10 Forward Avenue in 2396, Admiral Picard sits alone at a corner table as a plate is put in front of him by a Tellarite waiter. As he prepares to dig into his lunch, a group of cadets from Starfleet Academy approach, asking about an encounter he had had with the Hirogen, peppering him with questions about being hunted by the Alpha. Picard tries to deflect, saying he was not one for telling stories, but the cadets are insistent, asking how he escaped. Picard decides to go ahead, explaining that Lieutenant Commander Worf had constructed a "deadfall trap", turning the hunter into the prey. He goes on to urge them to remember that no matter how bleak or unwinnable a situation may seem, as long as they and their crew remained steadfast in their dedication, one was never without hope.

Five years later, in the present day, Picard stands alone in his quarters on the crippled USS Titan-A as it continues its descent towards the gravity well in the Ryton system nebula, crashing into asteroids on the way. On the bridge, Captain Riker orders more power pulled from other systems to reinforce the shields, but Ensign Kova Esmar reports that they have no systems to pull from. Engines are still down, and they keep hemorrhaging power every time Ensign La Forge tries to engage them. Engineering has sustained damage during the Shrike's attack. Lieutenant Mura reports that main power was down to nine percent, and the more power they used, the faster it depletes; the ship is bleeding to death. Riker suggests pulling power from either the warp core or the impulse reactors, but Esmar warns that it would cause the reactors to melt down. Lieutenant T'Veen concurs; even if they rerouted power temporarily, they would not have enough power to divert it back to prevent a chain reaction that would destroy the ship. Weapon power is zeroed out, and they are sinking faster towards the gravity well. Diverting power to shields would affect life support, and diverting from the engines would mean they could not escape the gravity well when they need to. Riker asks how long they would have if they diverted everything to life support; Esmar's grim estimate is only a few hours. Riker orders all non-essential systems shut down, and the crew to be gathered into common areas to conserve life support power. Just then, a blinding flash heralds a bio-electrical wave striking the ship. Mura reports damage to the shields, warning that they will lose shields altogether if they don't lower them between impacts. Riker orders the shields lowered.

Riker goes to Picard to report the situation: The Titan is dead in the water and would be crushed by the gravity well within four hours, but life support will have failed well before then. He then concedes that Picard had been right earlier. He remembers seeing the burial of his son Thaddeus, thinking that while the hole in the ground was only six feet deep, it felt like infinite emptiness. He and Picard have been across the far reaches of space, but nothing has proved to him that there was anything after death, and he had tried to shake that ever since Thaddeus died. Troi felt everything, but she couldn't live with him feeling nothing, and Riker admits he couldn't live with that either, which was why he left and came with Picard – because he was running from death, only to find it again. "This is the end, my friend," he sums up grimly, and advises his old captain to take what time they have left to get to know his son and put his affairs in order. Picard can only watch sadly as Riker leaves to return to the bridge.

Act One

Seven of Nine, phaser in hand, goes into the quarters of Ensign Foster, the man Jack Crusher had identified as a Changeling. As she opens the closet, the body of the real Foster falls to the deck.

Seven reports to Riker that the Changeling killed Foster days before ambushing Jack in the nacelle control room. To her shock, Riker orders her to keep it quiet. Seven reminds him that there is a saboteur onboard, but Riker points out that if the Changeling's mission was to deliver Jack to Vadic, it had indeed failed, and if Vadic wanted to come after them, she would have done so already. Riker makes it clear he is not suggesting they do nothing, but is emphatic about keeping it quiet for the sake of crew morale, which is already low. He says he could reinstate her, but having her working in an unofficial capacity could work to their advantage. Seven understands completely, and agrees. "Go get the bastard," Riker orders. Seven begins walking through the corridors, eyes alert for any sign of an infiltrator.

In sickbay, as the body of Ensign Foster is put into a body bag, Beverly Crusher is holding a PADD and counts down from seven to one, just as another flash heralds a bio-electrical wave, not an asteroid as they had expected. Picard enters a moment later, and Beverly asks about their situation. A grim look and a shake of the head is all the answer she needs. Picard understands time is precious, but asks for a moment or two alone with Jack.

Captain Shaw is alone in his quarters, sharpening a knife against a whet stone resting on his propped-up and injured leg, when his door chimes insistently. His visitor turns out to be Seven, and he sarcastically congratulates her on the "bang-up job" her "heroes" have done with his ship and mentions how much he loves the current view outside. Seven gets straight to the point: they have a Changeling onboard, and given the state of the corpse in sickbay, it has been aboard since before they picked up the Crushers. And as much as it pains her to admit, they have a major personnel problem, and no one knows the ship better than Shaw. Shaw beckons her in.

Alone in the conference room, Riker begins recording a message for Troi in the event the Titan is ever recovered, but he finds himself unable to find the words he needs. Meanwhile, Picard takes Jack to the holodeck, the program a recreation of 10 Forward Avenue, which he calls a place of great significance to him, and asks if Jack had ever been there, to which he says he had not. Picard invites him to have a drink, offering something from his own backyard, but Jack admits to not being much of a "wine guy", preferring whiskey. Jack is surprised the holodeck is running given the state of the ship, to which Picard explains that the holodecks run on an independent power source to provide a kind of sanctuary for the crew in times of distress. Jack sarcastically comments on the idea of cramming into a "tropical paradise" while the ship implodes around them, but says this "fake place" is as good as any to die in. Jack begins to talk seriously about the "elephant in the room": when Picard lost his hair. Picard notes his age in the early 20s and tells him to "enjoy it while [he] can", earning a laugh. He asks to know more about Jack's life, and Jack admits he doesn't know where to begin. Picard then decides to cut to the chase and ask why Jack never wanted to get to know him. Jack is quiet for a moment, before mentioning that there was something Picard might be interested in. He recalls a supply run to M'talas IV, "a vile place" as he calls it, where he was trapped in a cargo hold with an Andorian with a broken antenna, which he had tried to help reset. Picard listens as he goes on.

Shaw wonders why a Changeling would infiltrate the ship as a transporter operator, but Seven admits she doesn't know, as she had never encountered them before. Shaw explains them as being "walking, talking clay-dough", able to replicate appearances on sight, as well as voices, mannerisms, and speech patterns. Typically, the easiest way to discover an infiltrator is to ask a simple question about something they should know, and if they give a wrong answer, "boom, Changeling," as he puts it. Seven points out that it would require considerable knowledge about the rest of the crew. Shaw suddenly remarks that they had both gotten off on the wrong foot, and he underestimated Seven, believing she would be a great captain someday, before qualifying that this would be something he would say if he were a Changeling ("and not just a dick," as Seven adds). However, he does admit she was right about one thing: there are five hundred people on the ship, making it difficult to find one infiltrator. He suggests baiting the Changeling, making them come to her, by "steal[ing] their pot", agreeing "sadly" that he doesn't mean cannabis. He explains that Changelings cannot hold solid form for too long, and have to regenerate in liquid form. Based on Starfleet's files on Odo, he suspects the Changeling Foster has some kind of receptacle in which to regenerate, and tells her to find it; it would have leftover "residue goo" (which he shortens to "resi-goo") which could be input into the computer, allowing her to scan the ship for their saboteur.

As another wave shakes the ship, Seven tears Foster's quarters apart, searching for the pot. She then notices a shadow in one of the recessed light fixtures and finds the pot, laughing to herself as she finds "resi-goo" at the bottom of it.

On the bridge of the Shrike, outside the nebula, Vadic rises from her chair and walks over to a nearby console. With a knife, she removes her left hand, revealing that she too is a Changeling. The material shapes into a levitating face, which demands a report. She explains that the Titan cannot escape the gravity well. When told to pursue, Vadic says it is not possible with her ship's payload. The face again demands she pursue. Vadic protests that it would be suicide, but her contact counters that it would be suicide to refuse, reminding her that everything is expendable, even Vadic herself, in their effort to obtain and deliver Jack, or "the asset" as it calls him. Vadic finally agrees and after reabsorbing the severed liquid flesh, orders the portal device disengaged from the ship before the Shrike returns to the nebula.

Act Two

At 10 Forward Avenue in 2396, Picard relates the story to the cadets about his encounter decades before with the Children of Tama, whose language was based on metaphor. Having told several stories by then, he tries to get back to his lunch, but one cadet asks about an incident with his friend Jack Crusher, regarding a mishap aboard a shuttle, later calling it a "no-win scenario". Picard recalls he had been about the same age as the cadets, and perhaps even "a little reckless".

In the present, a young ensign from the Titan's crew enters the holodeck, asking if it is private; several other officers are waiting outside the door. Picard beckons them all in. Jack can see what Picard had been trying to get at, that their environment would make things "better" somehow, but he doesn't feel he needed it. Picard, however, thinks that everyone needs some kind of connection, and tells him to look around. The Titan crew are both tired and scared, but are choosing to stick together, some holding onto one another, as if it is the last moment of their lives. Jack finally decides to open up, explaining he grew up on his own. He had his mother, but he was content with being on the outside, and didn't feel he needed a "moment". Picard admits that perhaps he himself does.

Pot in hand, Seven calls ahead to the biochemistry lab to have a substance – the Changeling residue – scanned. Though the biochemistry lab is closed to conserve power, she insists it is an emergency. She passes a pair of security officers walking in the other direction while on her call, the male ensign turning to double-check the pot Seven is carrying; falling behind a step or two from his partner, he pulls his phaser and shoots the female officer in the upper spine, before turning and vaporizing the pot in Seven's hand. Seven pulls her own weapon and blasts off one of the man's arms, seeing the Changeling regenerate its solid form for herself. He charges at Seven, and she fires several more shots, and it goes completely gelatinous before seeping into the wall vents. Checking on the fallen officer, she calls sickbay to inform them an officer has been killed. Beverly, who seems to know what is coming, remarks to herself that it is about to get worse.

Jack asks Picard about the "worst jam", other than their current situation, he has ever been in. Picard remembers it had involved Jack's namesake. Jack always wondered why his mother had named him for her first husband, having tried not to assume that it may have been a slight towards Picard. Picard explains that the elder Jack was his best friend at the Academy, and that if he had had the opportunity, that was the name he would have chosen for his son too. They were on leave on Argelius IV and met two "delightful and enthusiastic" young women there before being called back to the USS Stargazer. Picard decided to "borrow" a shuttle for him and Jack to accept the women's "invitation" for a romantic encounter ("get laid" as the younger Jack puts it). On their way back to the ship, a micrometeoroid shower struck the shuttle at high speed, disabling the engines and life support, and Picard had disabled the comms so no one on the ship could know they had "borrowed" the shuttle. However, they improvised a system diverting power between the docking thrusters and life support, "inching" their way in a grueling ten-hour trip before they made it back to the ship. They had been in sync throughout, Jack navigating, Picard firing the thrusters. Picard can see that Jack has already heard this story and asks if his mother told it.

Just then, Shaw enters, walking with a cane, complimenting the "harrowing tale of survival", and noting that Jack's mother was "liberal" with her pain medication. He asks Jack if Picard ever brought up when they first met; he had been aboard the USS Constance on stardate 44002.3, thirty-four years earlier. Picard remembers all too well what he's referring to: Shaw is a survivor of the Battle of Wolf 359, in which forty Federation starships battled against a single Borg cube. Shaw had been in engineering during the battle, and then the next moment, he said it felt like space was burning. Fifty of the Constance's crew made it to the life deck, but there was only one escape pod, with ten seats. They had all been friends, and they didn't fight over who would live or die; they waited for orders. A lieutenant came down and began picking out the crew to go into the pod, and Shaw, "just some dipshit from Chicago" as he refers to himself, was the last to be chosen. The lieutenant didn't even choose herself, simply ordering the crew to go. Ever since, he has always wondered if the lieutenant made a mistake; eleven thousand people had died in the battle, and yet he had survived. He asks Jack if he knew where his "old man" was during the battle, before telling him: Picard had been on the cube. He had been assimilated by the Borg, who gave him the name Locutus: "the only Borg so deadly, they gave him a goddamn name," he rages. Jack tries to shut him down, but to Shaw's clear surprise, Picard stops him, saying it is alright and he understands, before quietly leaving. Shaw, clearly shaken by his memories, looks around at his crew staring at him, and apologizes, remarking that at some point "asshole became a substitute for charm".

Jack catches up to Picard in the corridor, assuring him he didn't need to explain himself, but Picard is glad to talk to him anyway. Just then, Beverly sees them, explaining that she had been counting the period between the energy waves from the gravity well striking the ship, and found a pattern, a pattern that matched that of contractions leading to childbirth. If the smaller waves were any indication, that "birth" will destroy the ship. They have to escape, but they have no power… until Jack recalls the flares of power the ship experienced when each wave hit, and realizes that the waves' energy could be used to let them "hitch a ride" out.

The three of them take the idea to Riker in the observation lounge, who considers it insane. Both Picard and Jack insist it could work: by diverting all power to thrusters, they could keep up with the wave and sustain contact with it instead of it rolling over them, using the waves and their energy potential to ride their way out, away from the nebula, the gravity well, and the "space babies". Beverly clarifies that it is clear they were swimming in the amniotic fluid of a spaceborne lifeform and that they had encountered similar creatures in the past, such as the Farpoint creature. Familiar with Picard's shuttle story, Riker points out that the Titan is not a two-man shuttle, and can only see trouble: using the thrusters would drain the power, they have no sensors to navigate the asteroid field, and the power array could explode. Starfleet protocol states they need to stay put and wait for rescue, but Picard counters that no one is coming to help them: if they stay put, they will die. Looking down at the recording he was trying to make for Troi, Riker replies that at least they would leave something behind. Seeing this as well, Beverly points out that Deanna would tell them it is about trust. They are all together in this moment, and she thinks they should do what they spent most of their lives learning to be great at. Picard agrees, reminding him that they have been in such situations before, and if it is the end, they will face it together. Riker finally gives in, recalling that the plasma conduits within the nacelles are protected from absorbing too much radiation by the design of the nacelle covers, but if the covers could be opened manually, they could possibly absorb energy from the wave that would go directly into the warp core. All are in agreement. "Then let's get the hell out of here," Riker says, speaking for them all.

Act Three

Riker addresses the entire crew, explaining the plan. He elects to be honest, calling it a "hell of a risk", and that if anything went wrong, they would know quickly. Most of them do not know him, but he knows something about them: He is only as effective as they are, and his experience has taught him that if they work together, they will get through.

Picard and Seven approach Shaw in his quarters. Picard knows he is the last person Shaw wants to see at this moment, but they need his help, despite the fact that Shaw is indeed a "dipshit from Chicago". Shaw is aware of the plan, and knows they realized that despite the refit upgrades, the nacelle covers are two decades old, and none of the engineering crew know how to hot-wire them, so they came to an "old grease monkey". Shaw tells Seven to give him five minutes and meet him in nacelle control.

Beverly counts the period between waves, and warns Riker they would need at least one more for it to work. Meanwhile, Shaw and Seven get to work. Shaw suddenly notes that if the Changeling really wanted to sabotage them, the best place to do it would be right there and then. He comes to a realization, and as much as she hates to admit it, Seven has the same idea, and reports it to Riker. Picard has Jack stay on the bridge with his mother, while Riker has all of the available power diverted to thrusters. All over the ship, power begins to go down as it is diverted, and Esmar warns they have only a few minutes of life support. Riker tells the crew to take a deep breath and hold it if they can. Shaw calls in, needing a few more minutes for the nacelle covering. Beverly's readings show the last wave coming in two minutes, giving Shaw only that much time. Riker then turns the conn over to Picard, as he is the only person there with any experience "flying blind". Taking the center seat, Picard has La Forge bring them about to position them for the wave, and aft thrusters at one-quarter, before giving the order: "Engage."

Act Four

The crew works to divert every available bit of power they can for the thrusters, as they need full power to ride the wave. Shaw is able to get the cover open for the port nacelle. Riker asks if they're sure they can complete it alone, and Seven assures him they can. Right after Shaw sends Seven to check that the manual locks for the starboard cover are off, the door opens to herald La Forge, who says she was sent down to help. She asks if they will still be able to fly with only one cover open, but not go to warp. On his back, alone, and defenseless, Shaw doesn't give away any indication of suspicion and confirms it. Just then, Seven puts her phaser to La Forge's head, having quietly returned and revealing she told Riker not to send anyone. When La Forge refers to Seven as "Commander Hansen" after Seven asks to call her by name, that proves to be her undoing and Seven fires; La Forge was the Changeling. Shaw asks how she knew, and Seven pointedly replies that La Forge always calls her "Commander Seven", out of respect. "Good call," he concedes, and gets back to work.

The real La Forge is at the helm, working with the thrusters. Riker asks for an update on the nacelle covers, just as Shaw disconnects the system. "Open for business," he replies. But they have the asteroid field in front of them, and La Forge has no contact sensors. Picard has Jack call out the contacts, while Picard orders the thrusters, just like he had on the Stargazer shuttle. On one particularly close call, Jack tells Picard to wait a few seconds before giving the order. Picard elects to go with his instinct, and sure enough, it works out. Thrusters are up to 98 percent, but there is no more power to divert. With nothing left but to go all in, Riker orders power diverted from life support. T'Veen counts down to the gravimetric detonation from the gravity well, and a few seconds after "one", the wave goes off. Catching the ship and pulling it along with it, the energy of the wave flows freely past the open covers and directly into the warp core, recharging the ship and bringing systems back online to the visible relief of several crewmembers. Taking advantage of their improvised power source, Picard orders La Forge to gun the engines and stay with the wave, the young bridge crew working together seamlessly to correct any problems. With the warp nacelles able to funnel the massive energy influx to their full potential, La Forge reports that it will bring the warp drive back online in 90 seconds. T'Veen reports the nebula is changing around them.

Suddenly, Mura brings them up short: the Shrike is directly in front of them, and Vadic is clearly eager for a fight. Riker asks if the tractor beam is operating, and when La Forge confirms it is, he picks out coordinates for Mura to latch the beam onto one of the asteroids. When he judges the time is right, he orders keel thrusters and then has the beam cut, hurling the massive asteroid as the ship flies upward, concealed behind the ship and within the bright light of the wave, head-on into the Shrike, which tumbles head-over-heels while the Titan sails right by. The Shrike's overloaded shields save it from destruction, but her crew frantically reports that the warp core had gone into emergency shutdown to stop it from going critical due to hemorrhaging power, and impulse engines are offline. They will need at least an hour for repairs. Vadic can only sit, head in her hands, as she has once again lost her quarry.

Shaw and Seven arrive on the bridge as the nebula begins to break apart, and thousands of jellyfish-like creatures swim around the ship. "To seek out new life," Beverly whispers in wonder. Riker, glad to have survived, thinks they should "boldly get the hell out of here", and orders La Forge to take them to warp. The Titan crew, even Shaw himself, are greatly relieved to have survived the ordeal together and would now be going home.

At 10 Forward Avenue five years earlier, Picard wraps up his story to the cadets, explaining that one was only as good as those around them, and that their crew become a part of them: "They lift you up to accomplish the things you could never do alone." Again, he tries to get back to his lunch, when someone else suddenly speaks up from the bar – Jack, wearing a hat and trying to look inconspicuous. He mentions how Picard went on about his crew and life in Starfleet, but he wonders: what about life outside of Starfleet? What about an actual family? Unaware of who he actually is at this time, Picard says simply that he considered Starfleet to be all the family he ever needed. As the cadets applaud his answer, their shifting bodies obscure Jack momentarily until they part to show an empty bar stool. In the present, Picard suddenly recalls that memory and connects the dots.

William T. Riker in Titan-A observation lounge — "*I–I don't quite have the words yet… but we witnessed a kind of birth here, and it reminded me that there's a whole universe out there.*"

Riker speaks with Troi over the comms, trying to explain his feelings, reaching out after what the Titan had just been through. She assures him she is glad that he is alright, as is the crew. He admits that something is different now, and he doesn't quite have the words for it, but they had witnessed a birth, and it reminded him that there was a whole universe out there and that it could be both beautiful and amazing. She notes he has not said anything so "lovely" in a long time, and Riker concedes this, apologizing for it, and expresses his willingness to fix things with her. She asks if he and Picard are in trouble, and he admits he doesn't know yet.

"Admiral's log, stardate 78183.10. We have managed to escape death at the hands of our unknown enemy. Although we're free temporarily from the terror of the Shrike, too many questions linger. Who is this Vadic? And what exactly does she want with my son?"

In his quarters, Jack throws some water on his face when he sees a red, spreading growth reflected in the mirror. Voices begin echoing in his mind, whispering phrases like "find me" and "together soon", while his mind's eye sees visions of apocalypse and a door opening. After pounding his head and trying to clear the images, Jack is only left to look, haunted, at his own reflection.

Log entries

Admiral's log, USS Titan (NCC-80102-A)

Memorable quotes

"Don't come. Don't come. Fine, open."

- Shaw, as Seven of Nine rings the chime to the door of his quarters

"I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room."
"Yes, of course."
"The hair. When did it go?"
"You're, uh, what? 23? 24? Enjoy it while you can."

- Jack Crusher and Picard

"Look, you and I got off on the wrong foot. I underestimated you. You have great instincts. You're a natural leader, make a great captain one day. Which is something I totally would say..."
"If you were a Changeling and not just a dick."
"Now you're starting to catch on."

- Shaw, explaining how to spot a Changeling to Seven of Nine

"So… so… maybe you get them to come to you."
"How?"
"Bait them. Steal their pot."
"Pot? I'm assuming you're not referring to cannabis."
"Sadly, no."

- Shaw and Seven of Nine

"No sensors. No visuals. Ten fucking grueling hours. He and I in sync though. Him navigating, me firing the thrusters, simply hoping, until, finally, we were home."

- Picard, recalling an adventure with the late Jack Crusher to his namesake

"Why – why me? I'm just some dipshit from Chicago. Now, I'm... lucky number ten."

- Shaw, recalling surviving the Battle of Wolf 359 in an escape pod from the USS Constance

"Eleven thousand dead. And do you know where your old man was on that day? He was on that Borg cube, setting the world on fire! Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer. The real Borg are still out there, and they have a name for you: Locutus of Borg. The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name."
"All right, that's enough!"
"No, no. It's alright. I understand. Computer, arch."

- Shaw, Jack Crusher, and Picard

"Captain Shaw, I realize that I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I need your help despite the fact that you are indeed a dipshit from Chicago."
"Nice."

- Picard and Shaw

"Excuse me, admiral? You went on and on about your crew, your life in Starfleet. Did you have a life outside of that? What about a... a real family?"
"Young man, Starfleet has been the only family I have ever needed."

- Jack Crusher, with Picard unknowingly speaking to his son at 10 Forward Avenue in 2396

"Will, did you just throw an asteroid?"
"Goddamn right I did."

- Beverly Crusher and Riker, on the improvised plan to disable the Shrike

Background information

Title

2 March 2022: Title publicly revealed in TRR: "Seventeen Seconds".
The title, "No Win Scenario", is a generic reference to the Kobayashi Maru scenario, a name that has been previously used as the title of the DIS Season 4 episode "Kobayashi Maru" and the PRO Season 1 episode "Kobayashi".

Cast and characters

Despite being credited as part of the main cast, Michelle Hurd (Raffaela Musiker) does not appear in this episode.

Reception

TRR: "No Win Scenario" discusses the making of, and events in, this episode.

Continuity

Changeling report — Odo's brief appearance

While discussing how to root out a Changeling, Captain Shaw hands Seven a PADD that includes an image of Odo.
Like Argelius II, the system's fourth planet, Argelius IV, was also home to alluring women.
Liam Shaw reveals that he was present at the Battle of Wolf 359, and as was the case with Benjamin Sisko, this was the cause of his deep-rooted dislike for Picard.
- Shaw also reveals that he is from Chicago, Illinois. (The actor who portrays Shaw, Todd Stashwick, is from Chicago as well.)
- He also says, "Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer. The real Borg are still out there", obliquely referencing the ending of PIC Season 2, where a more benign Borg collective, led by Doctor Agnes Jurati, was presented. It serves to clarify that the original Borg collective still exists, also foreshadowing its actual involvement in this season.
Picard recalls Farpoint Station when referencing the Enterprise-D's past encounter with space vessel lifeforms.
- The stardate given in Picard's admiral's log, 78183.10, helps roughly date the episode as taking place 37 years post TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint".
The Changeling posing as Ensign Foster becomes the second Changeling embedded with Humans to die this season. It is further revealed that their pursuer, Vadic, is too a Changeling.
The Changeling bucket discovered hidden behind a lighting fixture is a visual callback to the overloading phaser in Captain Kirk's quarters found behind a red alert indicator during the events of TOS: "The Conscience of the King".
This episode addresses the reason for holodecks containing independent power cells, first referenced during the macrovirus outbreak on the USS Voyager. (VOY: "Macrocosm") Previously, holodecks had been tied into the ship's main power supply and were shut down by the computer during emergencies. (TNG: "Booby Trap")
This was the first episode of the series in which a stardate was given.
Picard recalls his encounter with the Tamarians in TNG: "Darmok".
- Reference is also made to the Hirogen (Star Trek: Voyager) having found their way to the Alpha Quadrant at some point. Presumably, this is at some point while Picard still commanded the USS Enterprise-E, as he describes a trap laid by "Lieutenant Commander" Worf.

Links and references

Starring

Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard / Locutus of Borg (uncredited; archived voice only)
Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
Michelle Hurd as Raffaela Musiker (credit only)
Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher

Special guest stars

Guest starring

Todd Stashwick as Liam Shaw
Amanda Plummer as Vadic
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge / Sidney La Forge (Changeling)

Co-starring

Uncredited co-stars

Rene Auberjonois as Odo (file photo)
An Dang as Titan Orion sciences ensign
Hayden Hiebert as Titan Vulcan ops ensign
Justin Nickels as Tellarite server
Eric Watson as Titan security officer (Changeling)
Unknown performers as Shrike personnel

Stunt doubles

Katelyn Brooke as stunt double for Jeri Ryan

Stand-ins

Margot Muraszkiewicz as stand-in for Jeri Ryan
Thadeus Welch as stand-in for Patrick Stewart

Previous episode:

"Seventeen Seconds"

Star Trek: Picard

Season 3

Next episode:

"Imposters"

No Win Scenario (episode)

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