The Mind-Blowing Transformation: Discover the intriguing absence of Seska's Hologram in Star Trek's Latest Voyager Episode!

Summary

Seska's hologram was not included in Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4 because she posed a security risk and had turned the holodeck program into a dangerous one.

Seska's hologram possessed the capability to manipulate the ship's systems, posing a greater threat compared to the other holographic villains.

Had Seska's hologram persisted, she could have effortlessly seized control of Voyager's systems, resulting in a vengeful scheme that would have left the crew powerless against her, ultimately necessitating the deletion of the program as the only means to defeat her.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 premiere of Star Trek: Voyager, titled "Twovix."

In the premiere episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, titled "Twovix," viewers are treated to a lineup of iconic holographic villains from Star Trek: Voyager. However, Seska's hologram, portrayed by Martha Hackett, is noticeably absent. Ensigns Brad Boimler, Beckett Mariner, and Samanthan Rutherford come face to face with three notable holograms from Voyager's past: Captain Proton's Doctor Chaotica (played by Martin Rayner), Fair Haven's Michael Sullivan (portrayed by Fintan McKeown), and The Clown (played by Michael McKean), who Mariner points out was not actually a holodeck program.

Why Voyager's Seska Hologram Wasn't In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4

In Star Trek: Voyager season 3, episode 25, "Worst Case Scenario," there is a notable character named Seska. She is an undercover Cardassian operative who masquerades as a Bajoran to infiltrate the Maquis. Interestingly, there is also a holographic version of Seska featured in a popular holonovel. This holodeck program, created by the security officer Lt. Tuvok (played by Tim Russ), revolves around a Maquis insurgency aboard the starship Voyager. What initially appears to be a genuine threat turns out to be a training program devised by Tuvok following Voyager's initial stranding in the Delta Quadrant. The purpose of this program is to simulate various scenarios and outcomes in the event of a mutiny by the Maquis crew. Within the program, Tuvok incorporates several authentic Voyager crew members as holograms, including Seska herself.

Seska hologram from Star Trek: Voyager was not considered one of Voyager's holographic antagonists in Star Trek: Lower Decks due to being a potential security threat for Starfleet. Despite Tuvok's training program being incomplete, it gained immense popularity among the Voyager crew as a fictional work. As a result, Lieutenant Tom Paris and Tuvok decided to reactivate the program to finish it. However, when they accessed the program to make modifications, the safety measures of the holodeck got disabled. Suddenly, Tuvok and Paris found themselves transported to Voyager's brig, accompanied by a holographic rendition of Seska. It turned out that she had already made alterations to the program prior to her departure.

The real Seska had passed away a year prior, leaving the Kazon with an attempt to forcefully regain control of Voyager. As a surprise for Starfleet officers to stumble upon, she had planted a hologram that transformed the exercise into a truly perilous holodeck program. Her character possessed the ability to disable holodeck safety protocols, communication systems, transporters, and link holodeck controls with traps scattered throughout the ship. She even had the power to control other holograms, including the Doctor (Robert Picardo). Activating her hologram resulted in genuine mortal danger for not only Tuvok and Paris, but for every individual on board Voyager. Anyone who accessed her program would encounter the same hazardous circumstances, thus prompting a security officer as meticulous as Tuvok to reasonably delete it.

Seska Was Worse Than Voyager's 3 Hologram Villains In Lower Decks

The holographic characters of Doctor Chaotica, Michael Sullivan, and the Clown were featured in Beljo Tweekle's museum exhibit on the USS Voyager in Star Trek: Lower Decks. However, none of them posed as much danger as Seska. Although Chaotica would often be melodramatic, he did not present a real threat. Michael, on the other hand, simply yearned for romance. The Clown, arguably the most troublesome, lacked the life-threatening capabilities of a genuine holodeck program since he was not originally designed as one. The combined influence of reactivated Borg nanoprobes and the Tak Takian Macrovirus enabled them to take control of Voyager, but this ability was not inherent to their programming.

If the Seska hologram had remained in Voyager's computer, she could have easily taken control of all the ship's systems, leaving Tweekle and the crew of the Cerritos helpless against her vengeful plot. Tweekle's extra holoemitters would have provided her with unrestricted access, making it impossible to defeat her by simply deleting her from the program, as Tuvok had done. With her programming making her identical in personality to the real Seska, who held genuine ill will towards Voyager and its crew, it's highly likely that Star Trek: Lower Decks would have dealt with her reappearance in their characteristic comedic fashion. However, there is no doubt that Lieutenant Tuvok would have deleted such a dangerous program without hesitation.

Stream season 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+.