Where Pleasant Fountains Lie (episode)
Mariner and Boimler are stranded on an uninhabited planet with a sentient computer. On the Cerritos, Lt. Commander Billups must prove his engineering abilities to an old adversary.

Summary

Teaser
Captain Carol Freeman and Commander Jack Ransom are securing an evil computer, named AGIMUS, which is responsible for manipulating a society to fight a war that lasted for a century. AGIMUS tries to claim that everything was a huge mistake and get them to plug him into a mainframe so he can "explain everything," but Freeman has Ransom pack him away to be given to the roboticists at the Daystrom Institute. AGIMUS compliments Ransom's strength and bets he couldn't throw him into a nearby control console with a network port, but Ransom catches on in time and places him inside a sound-proof cargo crate. AGIMUS takes another shot by saying he underestimated Ransom's intelligence and that he should be captain, but Ransom ignores him and shutting the lid, asks around if anyone is hungry.

After returning to the , Freeman's stomach is feeling out of sorts and she wonders why she keeps giving alien street food a chance when "it's always such a gamble." They receive a hail from the starship Monaveen, and Paolana, queen of the Hysperians, appears onscreen. Clearly familiar with each other, Freeman asks what they can do for her, and she says that the Monaveen is having engine trouble that their engineers are unable to solve and requests the help of their chief engineer, since the Cerritos is the closest Starfleet vessel in range. Freeman is unsurprised. As  enters the bridge, Paolana excitedly greets him with a barrage of questions, including if he's been eating properly. Billups sighs in annoyance, and replies, "Hello, Mother."

Act One
In the lower decks crew bunks, Ensign Beckett Mariner notices Brad Boimler cleaning a phaser rifle, as he will be going on a mission to wrangle giant centipedes on Dansk. Boimler claims she's just jealous of his mission, since she will be taking some cargo to the Daystrom Institute, and he's happy that Ransom is seemingly taking his experience aboard the , during which they did this kind of wet work all the time, more seriously. However, as he says this, he gets a message on his PADD to report for reassignment and he will be joining Mariner instead, much to his disappointment. Mariner apologizes that he won't have the chance to be eaten by an arthropod that day, but she can spray down the crates they'll be handling so he'll still get his 'wet work' in.

The Cerritos rendezvous with the Monaveen, and Billups addresses Engineering that his mother will be aboard and reminds them of her usual deceptions. Ensign Sam Rutherford is confused by what he means, and Billups tells him that his mother is the queen of Hysperia, his homeworld. Upon joining Starfleet, he abdicated his birthright as prince. However, his mother never approved of him joining Starfleet, and is actively trying to trick him to engage in sexual intercourse, since by Hysperian law, if he were to lose his virginity, he would be forced to resign from Starfleet and take his place as king. Paolana enters engineering, and Billups tells her that he will not be tricked into having sex, but she reassures him that she is not here to do that. While she still sees his career as insignificant, she realizes that trying to coerce him into sex was only pushing him away. She tells him that her ship's engines have been breaking down, and they cannot find the problem. Worried that Hysperia will be defenseless without them, she asks for Billups to help her, not as a prince, but as an engineer. Billups accepts this request and assigns Rutherford to assist him.

Rutherford is nervous about assisting Billups, as he feels he will be out of his element on the Monaveen, but Ensign D'Vana Tendi assures him that he belongs there as much as anyone else, telling him to get out of his comfort zone. She asks him if he can truly turn down working on a new engine he's never seen before, and Rutherford admits that it would be interesting to see how the engine works. Tendi gives him further encouragement, before bombarding him with advice on how to behave around the crew of this ship, making him more nervous.

Mariner and Boimler are heading to Earth using the shuttlecraft Yosemite, and Mariner tries to cheer up Boimler, who is still disappointed that he got reassigned to this mission. She suggests that once they drop off the cargo container, which she's using as a convenient footrest, they can grab some local Okinawa ramen, but as she says this, the shuttlecraft lurches violently and begins to spiral out of control. They quickly learn from the sensors that they've hit gravimetric shear and are caught in a gravity well. With the autopilot down, Boimler has Mariner try the manual controls, but they won't respond. They find themselves careening into the atmosphere of a desert planet as Mariner warns to brace for impact, and Yosemite plows into the surface.

Act Two
Mariner and Boimler regain consciousness after their crash in the ruined Yosemite. Mariner has suffered a fracture of her arm that has dislocated her shoulder, but pops it back into place, before taking a reading on her tricorder. She determines the atmosphere to be breathable, and looks outside, noting a large amount of wreckage around them. Boimler reports that most of the shuttlecraft's systems are down, and that they're unable to send a distress call. Since they were outside communication range, it will be at least a week before anyone notices they are missing. Mariner notes that at least the replicator has survived, and orders some iced tea, but the replicator instead replicates black licorice, much to her dismay. At that moment, they hear a call for help and Boimler moves some wreckage aside, discovering AGIMUS inside the damaged cargo container. As they are prohibited from interacting with him, Boimler tries to close the container, but the lid is too badly damaged. AGIMUS tries to reason with them, saying he is able to contact help, and asks to let him help them.

Rutherford and Billups board the Monaveen, and Billups tells Rutherford that Hysperian culture can be quite distracting, and to be ready for it. They walk past numerous family portraits of the Billups and enter a majestic room that is based heavily on designs mirroring the Renaissance. Rutherford is astounded by the environment, though Billups is not enthused, and tries to politely tone down the crew of the Monaveen when they enthusiastically welcome him back. They make their way to the engine room, where Paolana briefs them about the problem using terminology that confuses Rutherford, as Hysperians rename their equipment to make everything sound more magic. They begin to inspect the levels of the primary fusion reactor (called the "dragonsblood flame"), and Rutherford notes how the subspace field matrix should be online. Billups notes that with the matrix offline, the plasma levels would be unregulated, and Paolana asks if this problem is too much for him to handle, much to his annoyance. He says they will need to run a full diagnostic, and Paolana leaves with her guards as Billups and Rutherford begin their work.

Back on the planet, with Mariner's arm now in a , she and Boimler are eating some emergency rations outside the shuttlecraft beneath a shade canopy they've rigged up. Having brought AGIMUS outside with them to keep an eye on him and away from the shuttle's systems, he voices concern about Boimler's health, and Mariner warns him that responding to AGIMUS will result in him letting his guard down, as evil computers tend to talk a lot. AGIMUS offers to create a sonic shower for them if they connect him to an engineering conduit, but just then, a creature roars in the distance and leaps down into view. Mariner and Boimler freeze to try and not draw its attention, but this is ruined when Mariner turns to rebuke AGIMUS as he won't stop needling them. They fire their phasers at the large predator when it charges them, but this doesn't even slow it down. Boimler grabs AGIMUS as they retreat back into the shuttlecraft, then realize that the creature is eating the rest of their rations, which they had brought outside with them. While they keep the creature from getting through the shuttlecraft door, AGIMUS connects one of his cables with Mariner's PADD, and initiates a data transfer, before Mariner cuts him off. AGIMUS apologizes after Mariner threatens him and says he won't cause any trouble as he quietly completes the transfer.

The next morning, Mariner tries to replicate some water, only for the replicator to replicate more licorice, and AGIMUS offers to fix it. Boimler notes that they will need to find water soon and that since there is life on this planet, it's safe to assume that there is water present. AGIMUS offers to guard the computer while they go look for water, but Boimler tears Mariner's uniform top to make a harness to carry AGIMUS with. Mariner wonders why they don't just bury him, like Data's head was once, but Boimler reminds her that Data's head had been in a cave and as Starfleet officers, they have to respect sentient life. They ignore AGIMUS' protest of not leaving him behind.

They journey through the desert, and eventually come upon a lone tree that scans say bears edible fruit. Mariner offers to climb up and get it, but Boimler decides to climb up instead due to her fractured arm, and the fact that he took up rock climbing on the Titan. Mariner expresses frustration that she is getting tired of him constantly talking about his time on the Titan, but Boimler just believes that she's jealous that he's picking up more of her skills. Boimler ends up grabbing a branch that breaks off causing him to fall from the tree, and when Mariner teases him, he kicks the tree in frustration, causing some of the fruit to fall and split open revealing they are filled with a dark green liquid. They eagerly grab the fruit and quench their thirst, only to find to their disgust that the liquid tastes exactly like black licorice. On Boimler reiterating that they have no other choice, they continue to shudder it down reluctantly, while AGIMUS says that he could have fixed their replicator and tempts them even when Mariner warns him to not continue, saying they could have been enjoying a cheeseburger, blueberry muffins, or guacamole. Fed up with him, Boimler and Mariner happily bury him in the sand as he protests.

Later that night as the ensigns sleep near the tree, AGIMUS is unearthed by some crabs that start carrying him away as he calls for help. Boimler chases the crabs away, and as thanks, he tells Boimler that he accessed the memory banks of their shuttle, and shows him an exchange between Mariner and Ransom, in which Mariner asked Ransom to take Boimler off the mission to Dansk, and Ransom expressing disappointment in that he thought Boimler was ready for such a mission. Angry, Boimler wakes Mariner and berates her for pulling him from the mission. Mariner realizes that AGIMUS revealed this to him and tells him that AGIMUS is deliberately trying to get them to fight, but Boimler isn't convinced. He's angry that this will make Ransom believe that he's not ready for harder tasks, and Mariner says that the fact that he's being so easily manipulated by AGIMUS only proves that. She picks AGIMUS up and refuses to let Boimler get close to it until he stops listening to the evil computer.

On the Monaveen, Rutherford is impressed with the speed at which Billups is able to recalibrate the plasma injectors, Billups finds some faulty resonators that are degrading from the resonance. Billups finds it odd that they didn't come up in the initial scan. Paolana declares the royal navy saved, and the crew cheers for Billups and Rutherford. She admits that she is impressed but will only be proud when he takes her place on the Hysperian throne. At that moment, Freeman calls Billups to report to her ready room. Billups instructs Rutherford to finish up, and that he will be back.

Billups reports to Freeman, and Freeman admits that she only called him over because she assumed that his mother would be up to her usual antics. Billups admits that it has been different this time, and believes she finally respects him. Freeman understands Paolana's position as a mother, and that she only wants what's best for Billups, and at that moment, a massive explosion rips a hole in the side of the Monaveen, much to their horror.

Freeman and Billups rush back to the Monaveen, where the crew is in disarray, confused as to what has happened. Billups is at a loss for what happened, as the readings he took were nominal. At that moment, one of Paolana's royal guards approaches him and kneels, holding Paolana's scarf, and laments, "Long live the queen. The queen is dead."

In the Cerritos sickbay, Dr. T'Ana approaches Tendi reluctantly and tells her that there was an accident on the Monaveen. Tendi says she can prepare for triage, but before she can say anything else, T'Ana hands her a PADD, which lists Rutherford as killed in the accident. She rushes to the nearest viewport facing the Monaveen; seeing the massive hull breach, she begins to cry.

Act Three
By the time daylight rolls around on the desert planet, Mariner and Boimler come upon a ship. AGIMUS tells them that the engines are intact, but Mariner finds that the outer hatches are sealed shut. AGIMUS offers to open the doors, but Mariner says they will check another ship. Boimler objects, saying that AGIMUS can get them into this ship. Mariner says that since they've crashed, AGIMUS has done nothing but try to connect to a computer. Boimler tells her that he thought she would be willing to do anything to get them out of here, and she says that asking AGIMUS to help would be a stupid idea. Boimler demands Mariner to give AGIMUS to him, but she claims that he is too naïve. Boimler charges Mariner and tackles her to the ground, sick of her bossing him around. The two get involved in a fistfight, much to the delight of AGIMUS. Mariner approaches AGIMUS, and Boimler pulls out his phaser, threatening to stun her. Mariner doubts he would have the guts to shoot her, but as she says this, Boimler does so. AGIMUS assures Boimler that he had no choice and urges Boimler to get to the ship. Boimler takes AGIMUS to the door, and the computer easily opens it.

Back on the Cerritos, Freeman is going over the casualty list, and Billups enters the room followed by two Hysperian royal guards. She expresses her deepest condolences, and Billups regretfully says he must resign from Starfleet. Billups says that he was trying to prove something to his mother, and all it resulted in was getting people killed. While Freeman tries to convince him otherwise, Billups says that as the throne is vacant, the Hysperians need him to step up as king, and he must perform the Royal Copulation, as he no longer has the luxury of being her chief engineer. She asks if he is sure he wants to do this, and Billups replies that he needs to do this. Freeman bows, and wishes him luck, and Billups is escorted out of the ready room by the royal guards. As they leave, Billups asks if it will hurt.

Tendi is still in shock of what has happened but refuses to believe that Rutherford is dead. She goes to a computer interface and asks it to locate Rutherford. The computer detects Rutherford's cybernetic implant in section eight on the Monaveen. As the implant is still transmitting, Tendi realizes that at least a small piece Rutherford could still be alive, and rushes to get to the ship.

Back on the planet, Mariner regains consciousness while Boimler and AGIMUS make their way to the bridge of the downed spacecraft. Boimler asks if AGIMUS is sure the ship can still fly, and AGIMUS eagerly assures Boimler that he can bring the ship online when he has access to the ship's computers. Boimler looks to give him access so AGIMUS can act as a substitute for the navigation controls, but realizes said access port is locked behind a panel, and that they need an auxiliary power source to open it. AGIMUS offers the use of his own battery, and Boimler connects him to the console. Immediately, the ship's power comes online, much to AGIMUS' delight.

On the Monaveen, Tendi is regretting convincing Rutherford to take up this mission, and she comes upon a fancy dining room, where the crew of the Monaveen are merry and eating a grand feast of mutton. Tendi spots Rutherford, who is alive, and unharmed, and tackles him in joy. She asks how he survived the explosion, and Rutherford is confused about what she's talking about, as he was transported here by Paolana for doing a good job with the engines. At that moment, Paolana, who is also very much alive, raises a glass in a toast for her son, who will soon be king since he is in the process of losing his virginity. Realizing that Billups has been tricked into giving up his career, Rutherford scolds Paolana that he doesn't want to be the king, and Paolana only replies that she doesn't care, and that he shouldn't be wasting his time on the Cerritos. Rutherford tries to contact Billups, but a lute player plays a melody that blocks the signal of his combadge. Rutherford rushes out of the dining hall, eager to stop Billups from losing his virginity, but Paolana mocks him, saying he is too late.

Rutherford rushes as fast as he can, as Billups gets ready to give himself to two Hysperian Royal Guards, and Rutherford barges into Billups' quarters, worried he wasn't in time to stop the act. However, Billups is in his bathroom, having trouble getting aroused, and Rutherford rushes to him saying that everything was just a trick by his mother, much to Billups' joy.

As Boimler connects AGIMUS to the ship, Mariner rushes into the bridge to try and stop Boimler, but AGIMUS gloats that she's too late, and with the materials of the ship, he will be able to produce a fleet of murder drones and control the whole system, before mocking Boimler for trusting him. Boimler then casually reveals that he tricked AGIMUS into using his battery to transmitt a distress signal, and that AGIMUS was too busy scheming to notice: the computer has been "Boim'ed". AGIMUS is flustered, and protests that he was plugged into the navigation console, but Boimler clarifies with a laugh that he was actually plugged into the dimmer for the ship's lights and was too distracted to notice that he was placed nowhere near the navigation console. Mariner is impressed with Boimler, saying that she thought he really was siding with AGIMUS. Boimler apologizes for lying, and stunning her, saying that he just needed to get AGIMUS to trust him so that he could access the battery. The ensigns fist bump. AGIMUS is enraged at this revelation and tries to blind them by impotently flicking the lights on and off.

Back on the Cerritos as the engineers around them are having slices of celebratory cake in Engineering, Billups confronts Paolana over trying to trick him once again by faking her own death, and declares that he loves his life in Starfleet, and doesn't want to live on Hysperia, even if it means he will be a virgin for the rest of his life. Paolana is unconvinced, but leaves, while the engineering crew cheer for Billups. Tendi apologizes to Rutherford for pushing him to work on the Monaveen, but Rutherford says he loved doing so. Rutherford says that there will likely be times where his job will put him in danger, but that they can handle it, though Tendi is seemingly nervous about this aspect.

Meanwhile, Mariner and Boimler are rescued by a Starfleet runabout, along with AGIMUS. While en route to Earth, AGIMUS tells the silently skeptical Mariner and Boimler that they've shown him that trust and friendship are better than manipulation, and that he's ready to be good for a change. He claims to have deleted his manipulative subroutines, and as they arrive at the Daystrom Institute in Okinawa, asks to be taken to Starfleet Academy so that he can apply to be a Starfleet officer and become the next Seven of Nine, "AGIMUS of One."

AGIMUS quickly returns to form as he is locked up in the "Self-Aware Megalomaniacal Computer Storage" section alongside numerous other sentient computers. He vows that he will conquer the lab, take over the Federation, and kill everyone. As AGIMUS proclaims this, another computer activates and says that he will annihilate the Federation before AGIMUS, causing another computer to activate and declare his own evil plans. As they continue to argue, more and more computer "inmates" activate and overlap each other as they all berate one another with their plans for conquering the Federation.

Memorable quotes
"Ugh. I don't know why I keep giving alien street food a chance. It's always such a gamble."
- Freeman

"Mother, if you're planning on tricking me into intercourse, think again. The only lady I love is two decks tall and pumped full of dilithium."
- Billups

"You need to get outside your comfort zone."
"But I love my zone. It's so comfortable."
- Tendi and Rutherford

"Great. The least nutritious food that tastes the most like poison."
- Mariner, about black licorice

"We will just have to run a full diagnostic from the bottom up."
"You can run your full diagnostic along my bottom up, my liege."
"Nope, thank you."
- Billups and a Hysperian Royal Guard

"Ugh! It tastes like black licorice too?! Are you *bleep* kidding me?!"
- Mariner, as she and Boimler drink a fruit's juices

"You can't even handle mind games from a hundred-year-old router!"
"Rude!"
- Mariner and AGIMUS

"I've gotta stop Billups from doing the do!"
"You're too late! My royal guards are trained from birth to skip foreplay."
- Rutherford and Paolana

"Where's Billups?! Did his kingdom come?"
- Rutherford

"Faking your death? Blowing up your own ship? This is a new low, Mother."
"A meager price to pay to get you on the throne."
"I love Starfleet. Okay, and I don't want to live in a castle with pet dragons and all the mutton I can eat. You need to accept the fact that I'll be a virgin for the rest of my life."
"Well, we'll see about that."
- Billups and Paolana

Background information

Title
 The title was announced on StarTrek.com via their ongoing LD Season 2 photogallery on . 
 The title is a quote from William Shakespeare's erotic poem "".

Production

 One of the evil computers that is seen at the Daystrom Institute at the end of the episode bears the CBS logo.

Continuity
 This episode introduces Andy Billups' mother and explores more of Billups' backstory. It further explains Ensign Barnes' characterization of Billups having weak interactions with women in : "Knowing how to talk to women is kind of that guy's final frontier."
 Boimler mentioned that sand gave him a rash in "Second Contact", but despite being stranded on a desert planet, this does not come up.
 This is the first episode of Lower Decks to feature scenes on or near Earth.
 The Daystrom Institute was previously seen in .
 Mariner saying that they should just bury AGIMUS like Data's head was once, and Boimler reminds her that Data's head had been in a cave is a reference to the two-part  episode  and  where Data's severed head was found in a cave underneath San Francisco among the ruins of 19th century artifacts.
 Although there is no official stardate within the episode itself, a log by Rutherford on the "Star Trek Logs" Instagram account dated the episode to Stardate 58109.3.

Links and references

Starring
Tawny Newsome as Beckett Mariner
Jack Quaid as Brad Boimler
Noël Wells as D'Vana Tendi
Eugene Cordero as Sam Rutherford
Dawnn Lewis as Carol Freeman
Jerry O'Connell as Jack Ransom
Fred Tatasciore as Computer 1
Gillian Vigman as T'Ana

Special guest star
Jeffrey Combs as "AGIMUS"

Guest cast
Phil LaMarr as
Molmol
L. Playa
Computer 2
Hysperian royal guard 2
Jessica McKenna as
Barnes
Cerritos computer
Yosemite replicator
June Diane Raphael as Paolana
Paul Scheer as 
Kari Wahlgren as
Hysperian dancer
Hysperian royal guard 1

Background characters
Billups 

Migleemo
Pon Darra
Horned alien skeleton
Daystrom Institute worker
Evil computers
Haliian tactical ofc
Hysperian royal's dog 
Hysperian royals 
Members of Molmol's species
Monaveen passengers and crew
Napean cmd ofc
Runabout pilot

References
2281; abdicate; access port; accident; acumen; adventure; AGIMUS of One; alien; anomaly; antics; antimatter; armor; arthropod; automatic controls; auxiliary power source; basking; bathroom; battery (aka power cell); birth; birthright; black; black licorice; blinding; blueberry muffins; Boim'ed; "Boims"; "Boimy"; "brace for impact"; Caitian; cake; calloused; captain; cargo; castle; cave; centipedes (Dansk giant centipedes); ; chandelier; cheeseburger; chief blacksmith; chief engineer; class M; colonization; combadge; comfort zone; commander; comms; communication range; computer; control console; cord; crabs (gravity well planet crab); crash landing; crate; cruiser; crying; culture; curtsy; cybernetic implant; Dansk;  (unnamed); Data; Daystrom Institute; deceptions; decks; deletion; destroying; dilithium; dimmer switch; distress call (aka distress signal); doctor; dog; dragonbreath engines; dragons (Hysperian dragon, Billups' pet dragons); drinking; dry; Earth; eating; eggs; enemy; engine; engine trouble; engineer;  (applied science); engineering (location); engineering conduit; ensign; epaulet; escort mission; ethics; evacuation corridor; evil computer; experience; explosion; feast (celebration feast); Federation; fire; fleet; food; fool; foreplay; fracture; friend; ; full diagnostic; gamble; gargoyle; gowns; gravimetric shear; gravity well; gravity well planet; gravity well planet crashed ships; gravity well planet black licorice-tasting fruit tree; gravity well planet predator; guacamole; hair; Haliian; hands; head; ; helmet; hiccup; homeworld; horse; hungry; Hysperia; Hysperian; Hysperian royal navy; Hysperian ship; iced tea; idiot; impulse engine; kicking; king; kingdom; knight; lady; law; leader; lemonade; liege; lieutenant; lieutenant commander; life; lime; liquid; lord; lute; luxury; magic; mainframe; majesty; mandibles; manipulative subroutines; manual control; master systems display; maverick; memory bank; Migleemo's species; mind games; mission; mister; Molmol's homeworld; Molmol's species; monarch; Monaveen; ; Monaveen-type decks (Section 8); mother (aka mom); "Mr. Falls-Out-of-His-Bunk"; murder drone; ; mustache (aka "'stache"); mutton; mythical; Napean; navigation console (aka nav console); navigation control; necklace; network; network port; Okinawa; Okinawa ramen; option; Orion; PADD; panel; partner; people; pet; phaser rifle; pieces; pincers; planet; planetary exploration skills; planetary review log; plasma; plasma injector; poison; Pon Darra's species; pounds; primary fusion reactor (aka "dragonsblood flame"); prince; programming; quadrant; queen; rations; ready room; reassignment; recalibration; regular phaser; regulation; Ren faire types; replicator; resignation; resonance; resonator; respect; roboticists; rock climbing; rock wall; router; Royal Copulation; royal engineer; royal guard; royal stud; royalty; scam; scepter; sconce; Self-Aware Megalomaniacal Computer Storage; self-destructing; sentient life; Seven of Nine;  (aka intercourse); shield; ship (aka spaceship); shuttlecraft computer; sir; skin; son; sonic shower; splash; squire; Starfleet; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet insignia; Starfleet officer; Starfleet uniform (2370s-early 2380s); Starfleet uniform (early 2380s); street food; stretching; study abroad; subspace field matrix (aka "elf matrix"); supercomputer; supernatural; sword; system; tap water; thing; throne; time-out; ; transporting; triage; tricking; tricks; tricorder; Trill; trust; truth; Type 6A shuttlecraft; virgin; virginity; vitamins; war; warp core; water; week; "wet work"; year; Yosemite; zone

Meta references
bleep; fanfare

External links
 
 
 

de:Wo Die Lust’Gen Quellen Liegen