Amanda Plummer (Vadic) is the daughter of the late actor Christopher Plummer, who played General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Elements of Chang were worked into Vadic's performance, including the order to display her ship's power by a finger wave.
Vadic's ship is equipped with isolytic burst warheads, which are the same subspace weapons used by the Son'a in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), which are said to be outlawed by the Second Khitomer Accords.
One of Jack's multiple aliases is John Carson. Possibly an homage to late night talk show host Johnny Carson. It may also be an allusion to the horror film The Shining (1980), where actor Jack Nicholson, playing Jack Torrance, ad libbed a darkly comical rendition of the line "Here's Johnny!" Nicholson's line was an impression of assistant host Ed McMahon on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).