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Arguing regulations. 
Forget about regulations!
Cadet Sidhu is stuck with a dead-end job on Starbase 28. One day, a surprise attack has Sidhu given a surprise order: she is to watch over a mysterious prisoner. And that prisoner’s identity is revealed in short order. Sidhu has been charged with watching over Christopher Pike. “Ask Not” what the young cadet should do!
It’s unclear what Pike is doing on the Starbase. It’s also unclear what is happening outside of the room that Sidhu and Pike share. Nevertheless, Pike tries to assume command by quoting regulations at Sidhu. Sidhu stays vigilant and in control of the situation and shouts some regulations right back at Pike. In the end, the curtain is pulled back and the game is revealed. The entire event has been a ruse designed to test the cadet’s capabilities under extreme duress.
“Ask Not” is an extremely short Short Trek that doesn’t have much to say. It repeats an old Trek trope and has some explosions, but it falls into some of the common Discovery problems that have plagued the series since its inception. It seems to be the most egregious example of the need for CBS to keep All Access accounts active and barely functions as a story or creative work. But then the question becomes: is this what fandom wants at this point? Are the endless references to previous work enough to satisfy the Trek fandom or do we need new stories that further the franchise?
Wes and Clay discuss “Ask Not” and try to understand why it was made. They talk about the importance of branding in modern television and culture and the type of content that people seem to want to see.
Plus!
The guys debate the value of continuity, the power of quoting regulation, and the redesign of the Enterprise engine room!