Star Trek: Picard Has A Secret Tribute To Late Borg Queen Actress Annie Wersching

Longtime "Star Trek" fans got a huge treat in the Easter egg-packed ten-episode final season of "Star Trek: Picard," particularly in the Starfleet History Museum, which, among other things, preserves both Starfleet and non-Starfleet vessels of historical importance.

For eagle-eyed viewers with a desire to look closely at the details housed inside the storied museum, it's a veritable treasure trove of "Star Trek" references and hidden bonuses. Included among them is an Akira-class vessel with the hull number NCC-63328, formally named the USS Wersching — a worthy tribute to the late Annie Wersching, who appeared as the Borg Queen in "Picard" Season 2. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), "Picard" production designer Dave Blass drew attention to the ship, writing, "On Display now on the lower level, replacing the USS Pioneer, we have a special treat. The USS Wersching. A very, very, special ship, that we hope visitors will appreciate.#StarTrekPicard."

Wersching's role as the Borg Queen marked her second appearance in the franchise. Her first Trek role was in the "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode "Oasis," where she played Liana, a Kantare woman who had been marooned on an unknown planet since childhood. In a 2019 X post following René Auberjonois' death, Wersching would reveal that this was also her first time stepping on a soundstage. She concluded her anecdote by praising the late actor, saying, "He could not have been more warm & welcoming." Wersching returned to the franchise in 2022 with the "Picard" episode, "Penance." Heartbreakingly, this also marked the actor's final performance, with Wersching ultimately beginning and ending her career on the series after succumbing to cancer in 2023 at just 45 years old.

To the world of "Star Trek," the Starfleet History Museum is nothing new, with several 24th-century Starfleet officers fondly recalling visits to it in "Star Trek Enterprise," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "Star Trek: Lower Decks." But the "Picard" episode, "The Bounty," actually gives viewers a chance to get a look at the storied museum and its collection of ships. As Dave Blass would note in another X post, the Wersching was on display on the museum's lower level near the a Romulan warbird, the USS Defiant, and the Saber Class USS Argo. "Being repaired at the moment is the USS Pioneer, which eagle eyed viewers might have caught in the end credit sequence," Blass tweeted. The ship would remain on display as a temporary exhibit, with the Pioneer back in its usual place three episodes later in "Vox."

It seems appropriate that a ship named for Wersching, who put so much work into her performance as the Borg Queen, would be an Akira class vessel, one of the more formidable ships to bear the prefix USS in the "Star Trek" universe. A fixture in many 24th-century battles, the powerful Akira class would regularly participate in armadas and on the front line in wartime, as seen in both "Star Trek: First Contact" and many episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

A self-professed sci-fi fan who loved "Quantum Leap" growing up, Wersching adored being a part of the "Star Trek" franchise. As the actor told Star Trek Explorer, "[I]t's trippy, but exciting, super exciting. Even just when the audition came in for Picard, I was like 'Ooh, this could be a cool, iconic show and role to be a part of.'"