And there are even more references to be found. One of the macrovirus monsters can be seen flying through the air with a clarinet stabbed through its body. That clarinet is, of course, the instrument played by Harry Kim throughout the series. The macrovirus also knocks over one of the Borg alcoves used by Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the Voyager’s cyborg crew member. It seems there are still some Borg nanobots residing inside the alcove, as the macrovirus is assimilated and immediately became a Borg/virus/clarinet monster.
Also assimilated by the borg is a robotic salamander that one might glimpse in a miniature diorama in one of the Voyager’s hallways. The salamander exhibit is clearly paying homage to the episode “Threshold” (January 29, 1996) wherein Tom Paris and Captain Janeway break the Warp-10 barrier, forcing them to evolve into salamander creatures. They mate and have salamander babies before being rescued and restored to their human shape. Perhaps embarrassingly for Paris and Janeway, the event will be forever commemorated in a robotic diorama.
And yes, because there were so many Borg characters on “Voyager,” a “Lower Decks” character must comment that the ship smells like Borg. I imagine the Borg have the same odor as an overheated office printer.
It’s telling that, apart from Michael Sullivan, the “Voyager” references all come from the early seasons of the series. It may be that the makers of “Lower Decks” — along with many Trekkies, if we’re being honest — tuned out of “Voyager” after the first three years or so. As such, the first three seasons stand out in the memory more sharply than the later ones; characters know more about Neelix cheese than they do about, say, Unimatrix Zero.