In this review of Star Trek: Lower Decks #14, the Laapeerians have disappeared so the U.S.S. Cerritos crew try to enlist the help of their reclusive neighbors. Meanwhile, jealousy and tomfoolery fester among the Lower Decks team, leading to chaos on an away mission.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #14
Written by: Tim Sheridan
Art and Main Cover by: Vernon Smith
Variant Cover: Chris Fenoglio
Page Count: 28 pages
Release Date: December 10, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Star Trek: Lower Decks #14 begins with a mission recap, (including some fake Laapeerian words made up by Doctor T’Ana just for fun). A staff meeting confirms that Laapeeria’s neighbors, the Laapoonians (don’t ask) are the best option for discovering what happened. Meanwhile Tendi grows increasingly defensive of T’Lyn and Boimler asks Commander Ransom for permission to lead the away team. That’s a big no.
Beaming down, the away team discover that while the Laapeerians are wild and uninhibited, the repressive Laapoonians worship Vulcans (in this case, T’Lyn). In contrast, back onboard the U.S.S. Cerritos, Laapoonian Ambassador Jaal brushes off Captain Freeman in favor of a wild time in the Cetacean Ops’ pool (to the horror of the Beluga Starfleet officers).
Planet side, T’Lyn engages in a spirited (for a Vulcan) debate with the Laapoonian Comptroller over the necessary role that humanity has played in intergalactic affairs over the centuries, as Tendi interrupts the proceedings doing her best Vulcan impersonation. Soon after, the Laapoonians help the away team conduct research on the missing Laapeerians using their most advanced technology: telescopes.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #14 ends with an apology to Captain Freeman from Ambassador Jaal that is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large, ominous vessel that targets the Cerritos.
Analysis
Star Trek: Lower Decks #14 continues the Laapeerian story (which will last for two more issues at least, breaking the trend of typical one or two-part story arcs). The mystery behind the Laapeerians’ disappearance deepens with the introduction of their mirror opposite counterparts, the Laapoonians (seriously). The Laapeerians are long established as a “party” culture, constantly celebrating and lacking inhibitions.
Despite the Laapoonians’ name appearing quite similar to “lampoon”, theirs is a repressive culture leading a monk-like existence that admires and worships…Vulcans, (specifically T’Lyn). The Laapoonians also eschew most forms of advanced technology in favor of telescopes and other archaic devices, while their youth are offered the opportunity to experience the modern world for a short time, which adds to the hilarity and Captain Freeman’s frustration aboard the Cerritos.
Meanwhile, sibling rivalry runs amuck aboard the Cerritos and trickles down into the away mission on Laapoonia. Is Brad Boimler really that unlikely a candidate to fill second-in-command on an away mission? He’s quite knowledgeable (if a bit twitchy) and did get himself accidentally cloned. (Also, that callback to Star Trek IV in the opening recap is beyond absurd).
Writer Tim Sheridan’s dialogue is spot-on, capturing the voices of each Lower Decks character, and peppering the script with hilarious one-liners and several running gags (Comptroller Voss’, Doctor T’Ana’s made up Laapeerian language, and Ransom’s random pick for a Number One). Poor Tendi’s simmering sibling issues boil over into a full-on rivalry with the unflappable T’Lyn after she becomes an object of worship, although T’Lyn uses her logic to score points for humanity’s usefulness.
Artist Vernon Smith runs the gamut with facial expressions in Star Trek: Lower Decks #14: Tendi versus T’Lyn, Ransom’s smugness, Freeman’s exasperation and Boimler’s giddiness. Also, Tendi’s attempt to appear more Vulcan is a clever sight gag, as is the Laapoonians’ turning Cetacean Ops into an indoor waterpark.
Smith’s cool design for the mysterious vessel that previously appeared in Laap space only to return and attack the Cerritos appears to bear a sinister smile on that final page cliffhanger.
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Lower Decks #14 charms and disarms with multiple sequences of hilarity and minor mayhem as the mystery of the missing Laapeerians intensifies with the appearance of an unexpected threat.
