I think I’ve figured out when I believe it is ok to swear in Star Trek, and it seems to be when Picard’s name is being knocked around on the news. Ann Magnuson got to do it in “Maps and Legends,” and Carol is doing it, though arguably a little much, here. In his only episode as a writer, Ben M Waller’s “Trusted Sources” thrusts us into the high-pressure situation Carol finds herself in when Admiral Buenamigo assigns the Cerritos to a new California-class program, Swing-by duty. A second contact program with pretensions for its absolute purpose.

The A, B, and C plots almost converge into one immediately this time, making for a fast-paced episode of political busy work. Carol is ready to pull her hair out due to the reporter from FNN coming aboard. Who knows what Mariner might say when Carol is trying so desperately to cover up the flaws of the ship? Someone might even try to send her to Starbase 80, and they are still using a Rolodex to keep contacts in line. Of course, I can’t keep up the charade of not knowing too long, especially after finally getting around to this episode about eight months on from its original airing.

This is the third time we’ve seen Buenamigo since appearing in “Grounded” and “Hear all, Trust Nothing,” commanding the crew to DS9. It is maybe the fourth time we’re hearing him in the series. Under the guise of Project Swing-by, he’s ordered a reporter to cover this historical new project in action as Carol swings by on a planet where Jean-Luc did one of his bald things 17 years ago. Knowing her ship is that but replacing the P with a T, she orders departments to straighten up, cancel the pie eating contest, and keeps Beta shift out of the reporter’s way.

Inconvenient, that’s what I think is what you’d call the former drug-addicted Ornarans being clean, not requiring Starfleet’s help, and having very clear mental health problems. Not that Brekka is much better as that’s got Breen on it. Saying it like that just makes it sound like “Eww, it has some breen on it, disgusting.” After that Dominion War business, I might even agree. The truth is, Ben M Waller’s “Trusted Sources” isn’t even about that, it is hardly about our lower deckers enough to be fully called Lower Decks.

It is the mother-daughter relationship between Carol and Beckett that is the point here. One is stressed to the high heavens and the other is trying to do something that is going to be misunderstood when the reporter takes her findings to Carol. Of course, the kidnapping of Quark got leaked. There’s also that time Ransom tried to eat the ship, or that time chaos broke out among the crew and that other time chaos broke out. The point is, despite Carol trying to keep it under wraps, Nuzé found out about all the madness that goes on aboard the Cerritos.

I can’t tell if I’m supposed to believe that she’s only just finding out about this or if she’s just stupid. We’ve seen and heard multiple times that the entire fleet is talking about the madness that is the Cerritos. After all, it was only in the third episode of this season that we had another ship’s lower deckers scoff at our crew. You’d think at the very least the respected news reporter that seems to have the equivalent of a prime time slot would have her ear to the ground on the thing her network is named after, right? Federation News Network might have heard of a Cali class ship full of chaos.

I enjoy what Waller has here, especially the references to the Trek that most of us actually care about. The story itself is about Carol feeling like Beckett has broken her last straw when it was actually everyone else who told Alison Becker’s Victoria Nuzé. It does what I say Lower Decks is great at doing, especially after watching through those later Chibnall-era episodes of Doctor Who. There isn’t much to pick apart aside from the obvious Cerritos being the talk of the fleet problem. I’m also not complaining that Cara Lroft makes a return to whisk Mariner away from Starbase 80. The joke about Jennifer’s cold hands was fun too.

As an episode that is more of a means to an end (for lack of a better term), “Trusted Sources” does everything it needs to succeed if you don’t think about it too much. There is a hint of misdirection that you should be able to see from a mile away. The twist is that it was Mariner being the sweetest to her mother after nearly 30 episodes of being… not the nicest child, shall we say? Ultimately, it is a fun blast to launch us into the finale of season 3 and the last we’ll get to cover for a while at least. Also, what are we doing with these class names? Who is going to trust a Texas class ship, honestly?

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Star Trek: Lower Decks "Trusted Sources"

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• The mural is a great insight into the planet's mental health.
• Breen.
• A great set-up for what is coming next.
• Petra being Mariner's saviour.

Cons

• Is Nuzé stupid or just bad at her job?
• The break-up with Jennifer is a bit quick.