Star Trek: Lower Decks brought back Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard), who fought alongside Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: First Contact, and made her an even greater hero. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, "Fissure Quest" introduces the Defiant Class starship Anaximander, which is investigating quantum fissures that lead to different realities throughout the multiverse. The cause of the quantum fissures threatening the galaxy connects to a surprising character from the Star Trek timeline.
In Star Trek: First Contact, Captain Picard led the USS Enterprise-E back in time to combat the Borg. The Borg planned to stop humanity's First Contact with the Vulcans in the 21st century, preventing the formation of the United Federation of Planets. Upon arriving in 2063, Picard and his crew met warp drive creator Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) and his partner, Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard). Trapped aboard the starship from the future, Lily fought alongside Picard to take back the Enterprise-E from the Borg.
In One Reality, Lily Sloane Became Captain Of A New Kind Of Starship
In Star Trek: Lower Decks' penultimate episode, "Fissure Quest," Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) and his crew of alternate universe Star Trek legacy heroes meet the person causing the rifts — Captain Lily Sloane. When Boimler and his crew are captured by Khwopians, they find themselves in a cell with Captain Sloane and her crew. Sloane reveals that, in her universe, she helped Zefram Cochrane, or "Zef," develop a Quantum Reality Drive that allows their ships to travel throughout the multiverse. Now in command of the Beagle, Sloane leads a crew comprised of humans and Vulcans to explore various realities.
Captain Sloane had been completely unaware that her ship's Quantum Reality Drive was ripping additional rifts in the multiverse that were being left open. Lily immediately expressed her apologies and offered to help Boimler and his crew return to their ship. When Boimler expresses his disbelief that Sloane actually enjoys exploring the multiverse, she points out that it allows her and her crew to better understand themselves. She goes on to say that she has seen humans accomplish incredible feats and that the potential of humanity is "limitless." Lily expresses the same wonder toward exploring various realities that the best Starfleet officers have for exploring the galaxy.
Lily Sloane Was Already A Hero, But Lower Decks Makes Her Even Cooler
As revealed in Star Trek: First Contact, Lily Sloane was a survivor of Earth's third World War, and she knew how to handle a weapon. While working with Zefram Cochrane on the Phoenix, Sloane helped fend off an attack from the Borg and later fought alongside Captain Picard. When Picard adamantly refused to sacrifice the Enterprise to save the crew, Sloane eventually convinced him to make the right call. Smart, resourceful, and empathetic, Sloane was pulled into an insane situation in First Contact, and she rose to the occasion, but Star Trek: Lower Decks showed the heroic explorer she could have been.
Captain Sloane did not hesitate to offer her help to Captain Boimler.
The Lily Sloane of Star Trek: First Contact was an action hero who was willing to call out Picard, but she spent most of the movie reacting to the things happening around her. Lower Decks made Sloane the captain of a fascinating new kind of starship and sent her out to explore the multiverse. Captain Sloane did not hesitate to offer her help to Captain Boimler, and she appeared to be a skilled, intelligent, and compassionate captain. Lily Sloane has many of the qualities of Starfleet's greatest captains and Star Trek: Lower Decks made her an even more impressive hero.
