01x04 - Memento Mori

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds...

LA'AN: Lieutenant La'An Noonien-Singh.

Chief of security. I've been
assigned as acting first officer.

No sedatives.

CHAPEL: Maybe I wasn't clear
about the terrible pain part.

Maybe I wasn't clear when I said no.

The Gorn captured my
family's colony ship.

I was the only one to survive.

Can I help?

- No.
- SPOCK: Hemmer may not be able to see,

but his other senses compensate.

HEMMER: Compensate? They are superior.

What the... How did you...

PIKE: You b*at out how many,

- a thousand applicants?
- Several thousand.

Both my parents were k*lled
in a shuttle accident.

Didn't feel like I fit anywhere.

SPOCK: I understand you
did not come to Starfleet

the way many of us have.

That you are not sure you wish to stay.

Starfleet would be fortunate

to have an officer like you.

LA'AN: Security officer's
log, stardate . .

The Enterprise is currently
en route to deliver

an atmospheric processor
upgrade to Finibus Three.

Without our assistance, the
air on this remote colony

will become unbreathable
in a matter of weeks.

As we prepare for our arrival,

we pause to honor
Starfleet Remembrance Day.

[PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM CHIMES]

PIKE: Attention. This
is the captain speaking.

Many of us have known those

who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

♪

Officers, scientists,

civilians who gave their lives

in the hope for galactic peace.

Today we remember the
friends and comrades we lost.

Exploration can exact a heavy toll.

As captain, there is
no loss more devastating

than that of a crew member.

Remembrance Day is about them.

Those of us left
behind wear the insignia

of past ships on which
we served together.

As we honor the lives
that have been given,

let us also be grateful
to be still on the journey.

Tell me, what is the essential
function of the AP device?

It's an air filter.

Cadets.

Never read the assignment
materials in advance.

Invented by a Zigwel Orgon in .

First deployed on Titan after
the Crestbrock mining collapse.

Unlike its predecessors,
the upgraded model, AP ,

uses charged positron rods
to stabilize the ion matrix,

which... then, well, filters the air.

Fine.

Points granted.

MALE VOICE [OVER P.A.]:
Lieutenant Taft, please report

- to the shuttle bay.
- Most cadets

labor their rotation through engineering

dreaming of command.

I'm enjoying it here, actually.

Engineering is a lot like linguistics.

Is that so?

Sure. Both are dependent on

how seemingly unrelated
systems communicate.

Big ideas.

To impress me,

you're going to need to
do better than theorize.

Challenge accepted.

You're not wearing your pin.

- No big deal.
- Okay.

- You know how I feel about it.
- Yeah, I definitely do.

The past is the past, there's
no point in looking back.

- Closure seems like a reason.
- Una, stop.

- Starfleet has resources...
- I am not going to let some doctor

inside my head to try and fix
me. I'm not broken. I'm fine.

Captain, we've arrived in orbit.

PIKE: So... where's the welcome wagon?

Sir, Finibus Three is still
not responding to any hails.

When was their last transmission?

According to the log, two days ago.

I have been monitoring
radio wave interference

emanating from a large brown
dwarf in close proximity.

That's what's jamming the signal?

Possible. Let me adjust sensors.

The brown dwarf does not appear
to be the problem, Captain.

Finibus Three is not responding because

the colony's communications
satellite has been destroyed.

Accidental?

Impossible to say, Captain.

All right.

Report it to Starfleet.

Protocol now is we investigate,
make contact on the ground.

Go slow. No assumptions
until we gather more intel.

I'll prep a landing party.
Lieutenant Noonien-Singh.

There are supposed to be
hundreds of people here.

TODD: I'm not getting
any human life signs.

UNA: Rushed evacuation?

LA'AN: Rushed under fire.
Those are blast marks...

definitely a skirmish here.

[METAL RATTLING]

[BARKING]

[OTHERS LAUGHING]

That's not funny.

Commander, come take a look.

UNA: Not an evacuation.

A m*ssacre.

LA'AN: Looks like the
bodies were all dragged here.

But where are they now?

Number One, we've got an
unidentified ship up here.

We're beaming you back up.

The away team is on board, Captain.

No Federation badges.
Ship has her shields up.

Scans reveal multiple life
forms. Unable to identify.

Hail them. All channels.

- No response.
- Yellow alert. Shields up.

Captain, they're hailing us.

Belay that order.

On screen.

Thank God. You're Starfleet.

This is Captain Christopher
Pike of the USS Enterprise.

And you are?

Professor Thandie of Finibus Three.

My apologies, but I needed to be sure.

- What's your status?
- Most of us are injured.

This is a cargo vessel.
Life support is overextended.

Prepare for transport to the Enterprise.

Uh, Captain, this ship is used

for hauling radioactive ore.
The hull is transport resistant.

Zuniga, attach a deep
space transport tube.

Can you tell me what happened?

A blast from the sky took
out our main colony structure.

We then all heard a loud ringing sound.

Everything gets blurry after that.

No signs of any other vessels.
No residual warp signatures.

Hang on.

Everything's going to be all right.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[COUGHING]

I can't thank you enough.

All of us owe you our lives.

UNA: We're still trying
to figure out who did this.

Did anyone see anything?

A farmer saw streaks in the sky.

He said it was like... rain on fire.

Most of us were unconscious by then.

LA'AN: We count about
a hundred with you.

What happened to the rest of the colony?

I don't know.

We woke up and they were gone.

No bodies. Just blood.

Ringing... maybe an ultrasonic cannon?

Rain on fire.

Sub-orbital plasma bombardment.

No ships on our sensors,

but my gut is telling
me something's off.

- Fig! Come here, stop! Fig!
- Hey, hey, hey.

The monsters are coming, hide!

Honey, you know monsters aren't real.

What monsters?

The ones who took Daddy.

This has been awful for her.

Did you see something, Fig?

It was dark. I didn't see it.

But it makes noises. Like this.

[CLUCKING TONGUE]

La'An to Bridge.

We need to scan the area
for polarized EM signatures.

Quickly.

What is it?

I'm not sure yet.

Sensors are detecting a
slight optical distortion

near the second moon... a hologram, sir.

Raise shields! Now!

- Raise shields. Red alert.
- ORTEGAS: We can't...

the transport tube.
We can't raise shields.

[ALARM BLARING]

Oh, no.

La'An, move.

It's the Gorn.

PIKE: Space.

The final frontier.

These are the voyages of
the starship Enterprise.

Its five-year mission:

to explore strange new worlds...

... to seek out new life

and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no
one has gone before.

♪

♪

♪

[MUFFLED, INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Okay, you're next. Sit tight.

[BOOMING IN DISTANCE]

Clear that bed!

- [ALARM BLARING]
- [CHATTER CONTINUING]

UNA: She didn't make it.

What about the girl?

- You're bleeding.
- I'll be fine.

Thank you. I-I lo... I
locked up. I just... I...

Forget that. I told the captain.
If you're right, they need you.

Get to the bridge.

Pike to Main Cargo Bay.
Warp is down, Hemmer.

Securing the processor first, Captain.

It's not safe under fire.

PIKE: Do it, but get us warp, fast.

- Shields at %.
- Anything?

ZUNIGA: Switching comm
control to tactical.

Still no response to hails.

How fast can you push impulse?

The starboard nacelle is half-damaged.

I can get us about half speed.

Initiate Pattern Echo Zeta.

That's an offensive pattern,
Captain. Order a retreat.

You have to get shields up and go.

Lieutenant, I understand
how this might...

- You can't fight them.
- Confirmed sightings

are rare, and they have never ventured

- into Federation sp...
- It's the Gorn.

It's the Gorn, sir.

It's them. This was a trap.

The hologram, the colonists as bait...

they waited for us to be vulnerable.

We're too damaged to stand and fight.

It's what they do first...

run you down, use up your resources.

Tire us out. Smart tactic.

And deadly.

We have to find cover, regroup,

level the playing field.

You have to trust me, Captain.

Please.

That brown dwarf that
you mentioned before...

it's, uh, pretty much
a gas giant, right?

Where exactly is it?

million kilometers
away. But Captain,

it is tethered in orbit
around a black hole.

Like, how big of a black hole?

One problem at a time.

Can we maneuver inside the brown dwarf?

While technically possible,

there are a number of dangers involved.

Shields at %.

Bottom-line it for me.

The central mass of the brown dwarf

has a density that will
crush the entire ship.

- Surrounding that is a volatile gas cloud.
- How volatile?

Enterprise will need to
lower its electrical output.

Primary and auxiliary
systems need to go off-line.

We will lose sensors, optics,
long-range communications

and, most importantly, the shields.

We'll be running dark.

- That sounds...
- Perfect.

Anything following us
will have to do the same.

If you're right, it's our best sh*t.

You're the acting Number
One again. Do you concur?

Yes, sir.

Helm, full impulse to Spock's mark.

Aye aye. Full impulse.

Into a giant gas cloud of death.

Why not?

Captain, Sickbay and their cargo
stores just took direct fire.

As did the Main Cargo Bay.

[ALARMS BLARING]

Lieutenant Hemmer? Lieutenant Hemmer?!

[HEMMER GROANS]

Please get this off me.

[GROANING, GRUNTING]

[GRUNTING]

[SHARP EXHALE]

Oh. It's broken.

Well, let's get you to Sickbay.

- The door is blocked, isn't it?
- Yep.

- [MACHINE WHIRRS DOWN]
- [NEW ALARMS BLARING]

How long before it blows?

I have time to stabilize the unit.

An expl*si*n of that magnitude w...

Would consume the Enterprise
in an atomic blast. Yes.

Transporters are off-line. We'll
send in a team to dig you out.

Either way, I'll be here repairing.

Hemmer out.

Is it just me or is it hot in here?

The ionic gas surrounding
the ship is overwhelming

climate controls. Many systems are down.

Including Sickbay.
Everything is off-line.

We're stabilizing patients,
but without medical systems,

no one is getting better. It's triage.

Casualties?

Yes, Captain. Nine confirmed.

The hit we took decimated our
stock of treatment supplies.

And with the matter
synthesizers also off-line,

we can't make more when we run out.

- How's Una?
- She reports that she's fine.

She's on her way in.

I haven't had time to check her yet.

We're still playing catch-up.

I've activated all
backup medical personnel,

but what I really need
down here are supplies.

CHAPEL: Doctor, I could
really use some help over here.

M'Benga out.

- [ALARM BLARING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Doctor!

- You said you were fine.
- I was mistaken.

These are deep.

We can't power up the surgery bays.

If I recall, you have an interest

in archeological medicine.

How good are you at sewing?

Aces.

No weapons systems, no phasers.

What about photon torpedoes?
Those can be self-guided.

The torpedo bay was hit in the
att*ck. We lost all but one.

We only have one photon torpedo?

The amount is inconsequential.

If we fire a torpedo
inside the brown dwarf,

the atmospheric composition
will cause a failure

in the internal systems. It would propel

in a random direction, likely
missing its intended target.

So, no shields and no weapons.

What do we do...

throw luggage at them?

And the Gorn... really?
We're out here fighting the...

the boogeyman? No one has even seen one.

So how are we supposed to take them on?

I've seen them.

They aren't supernatural.

But they are monsters.

The Federation teaches that if
we can find a way to empathize

with an enemy then they can
one day become our friends.

They're wrong.

Some things in this
universe are just plain evil.

Have you ever seen eyes that are both

dead and hungry at the same time?

To them, humans are
just walking feed bags

of flesh and bone and jelly.

The Gorn trigger a
primitive, ancient, terror

in warm-blooded species.

We are prey.

And when they hunt, they're unrelenting.

The truth is plenty of
people have seen the Gorn.

They just don't live long
enough to talk about it.

All right.

Be vigilant.

Get creative.

You're the best of Starfleet.

We survive this by working together.

[DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN]

A moment, Lieutenant.

[DOOR WHOOSHES CLOSED]

How you holding up?

The enemy doesn't care
about my feelings, Captain,

so I don't waste my time having any.

Well, that may be true, but it's not

looking that way to the crew.

With all due respect,

you know me well enough to know that
I don't care what the crew thinks.

I've always been blunt.
That's just who I am.

Direct, looking at
outcomes, not emotion.

- Exactly.
- But right now, your job

isn't just about
orders, it's about hope.

Belief can be the difference
between victory and defeat.

Get a crew to believe in miracles,

they might just give you one.

I will make the adjustment.

But I will not lie to them.

The best miracles are born from truth.

Understood, Captain.

Now, there's not much
on the official record.

Is there anything else you can remember

from your time with the Gorn...

anything that might help?

The memories of what happened are, um,

trauma-inhibited. The... It's all...

it's-it's... it's all fragments.

Bit-bits and pieces.

Well, if anything comes to mind.

[ALARMS BLARING]

An engineer's most important tools

are his mind and his hands.

And I can't move my fingers.

- [GROANS]
- Oh... Okay.

Let's just...

work on relaxing.

[NEW ALARM BEEPING]

Here's what's gonna happen:

you're gonna talk me through what to do.

We're gonna be a team.

It's not that simple.

There's a variety of data
that only I can assess.

And I'm the only one here
with a working set of fingers.

I am not fond of teams.

Get fond.

It would seem I have to.

Start by using the control panel
to shut down the safety override.

You'll have to adjust
the cooling system.

What did I do?

Your other hand operates the
cooling system as you work.

Take the time to get focused.

Don't let the core
get above degrees.

[BOATSWAIN'S WHISTLE BLOWS]

Captain, a moment please?

You have something, Spock?

You challenged us to get creative.

Computer, run program Vinci .

Primary sensors aren't available.

But navigation systems
constantly take in

atmospheric data to maintain stability.

Hey, I still do most of the work.

A ship traveling through
the gas cloud creates

oscillation in the atmosphere.
These are converted into

- rotational motions by...
- ORTEGAS: Coriolis forces.

Which the nav-com detects automatically.

Marking Coriolis force readings
would allow us to triangulate

movement inside the gas
giant. We can track the Gorn.

You just turned a compass into a radar.

Do it.

It's working. We've got a signal.

Analysis?

The size and speed indicate it
is the ship that att*cked us.

They're coming right at us.

ETA is one minute.

Can they see us?

It is impossible to tell, Captain.

Captain, evasive maneuvers?

Negative. Keep her steady.

Captain.

Preparing to engage the enemy

Keep her steady, helm.

Aye.

The enemy has altered its course.

They can't see us.

But they won't stop looking.

Zuniga, arm the last torpedo.

Arming torpedo.

Captain, I must remind you that
if you fire a photon torpedo

inside a brown dwarf the
guidance systems will not work.

I don't plan on f*ring it.

We're gonna drop it on them manually.

Now we're talking.

PIKE: Set a course to
pursue the enemy vessel.

Quick but quiet, Erica.

That is my specialty.

PIKE: Put us right over her,

then tilt axis degrees.

Once the hatch opens,
the higher mass below

should pull the torpedo
straight down. On my mark.

Deploy torpedo.

Bombs away.

The signal is gone.

The enemy ship has been destroyed.

Captain, we have incoming.

Multiple incoming.

They wanted us to fire.

They sacrificed an entire
ship just to get our location.

ORTEGAS: Why is that
blip so much bigger?

Three on one. Not good.

We're outgunned. Time to run, sir.

I concur. But if we leave the
brown dwarf they will see us.

If we go deeper, it
could destroy the ship.

Good thinking, Mr. Spock.

We need to go deeper
into the brown dwarf.

That is not what I suggested.

Ortegas, plot a course.

- As close as you can get us to center mass.
- Sure.

Didn't our science expert just say

that would crush the
ship? Just asking, sir.

SPOCK: I did. The
pressure against the hull

will increase the deeper we
go. If we venture too close,

the density field will obliterate us.

Whatever happens to us will
also happen to the Gorn.

I believe in Enterprise.

We can outlast them.

LA'AN: Captain, the lower decks

will be first to take structural damage.

Immediate evacuation
of all decks below .

I don't like it either,
but Enterprise has to dive.

Helm, take us down.

Aye aye, Skipper. Dive, dive, dive.

[ALARM CONTINUES BLARING]

[UNA HISSES]

[METAL GROANING]

[UNA GROANS]

[WALLS RATTLING]

[SHIP GROANS]

I've never heard a ship make
a sound like that before.

No. Keep your focus.

And maybe pick up the pace.

[EXCLAIMS] This isn't easy. And I...

and, of course,
diagnostics are off-line.

I can't tell which ones are broken.

Hold your hand out to
each. Tell me what you feel.

- [SIZZLE]
- Aah! Hot!

I did not say touch them.

The malfunctioning rods should be cool.

Be sure before you remove them.

All right, I think I've got a cold one.

Perfect. Now lift it out gently.

[LAUGHS] Look at us! Come on!

And the crowd goes wild.

Before replacing it,

we have to reconfigure
the host platform.

Reconfigure the...

Done.

Now we can get started.

Get started?

[SHIP GROANING]

The lower decks are beginning to buckle.

The evacuation isn't complete.
There's still crew down there.

Get them out.

Decks are collapsing.

If we do not seal them
off now, loss of pressure

could spread to the entire ship.

Seal the bulkheads.

Sir.

Uh, hey, hey!

- Hey.
- [GROANS]

I got you. I got you.

[GRUNTS] Go!

No, no, no, no!

[SHOUTS]

Structural collapse on Deck
. We've lost one crew person.

You made the logical choice.

Why doesn't it feel like that?

For the same reason you made
it. Because you value life.

Captain, we're approaching
critical hull failure.

If antimatter chambers
become compromised,

there will be no ship left to save.

LA'AN: Enterprise can't
take much more of this.

We're overextended.

You said they wanted to
take us prisoner, Number One?

Well, if they think they're
gonna board the Enterprise,

they're gonna find one hell
of a fight. Battle stations.

Make ready for close quarters.

Ortegas, full stop.

Aye, sir. Full stop.

[ENGINES POWER DOWN]

Captain. The enemy ship.

It appears the Gorn
vessel could not withstand

the atmospheric
pressure. It has imploded.

You said when the Gorn
hunt they are relentless.

They don't stop.

You exploited that as a weakness.

Get me a damage report.

Mr. Spock, keep scanning
for the other two ships.

Two down, two to go. Doing good.

How's it going?

Think I'm a little like
Frankenstein's monster,

but I'll be all right.

There's one fragment left.

The intrusion on her abdominal aorta.

Okay, what are you not telling me?

We need to sedate you.

The location of the fragment...

You're gonna bleed. A lot.

We have just enough plasma, but...

we're gonna have to
give it to you via IV.

Do I have a choice?

M'BENGA: You can decline.

Wait for the systems to be online.

We can take bets on when
septic shock will begin.

I hear it's like giving
birth out your mouth.

Who says something like that?

Me.

Give me the gas.

Okay.

[GAS HISSES]

Just breathe. You'll
start to feel drowsy.

Nurse. She needs plasma.

There's none left.

Give her mine.

It's the last one.

You're about to lose a
massive amount of blood.

That's an order.

PIKE: Captain's Log, supplemental.
Enterprise is currently

in the center of a gas
giant hiding from an enemy

we've never faced before.

So far, three civilians and seven
of my crew have lost their lives.

The battle is far from over.

But I am determined to
keep everyone else alive.

My newest obstacle is the
presence of a nearby black hole.

Atmospheric density is decreasing.

I believe the singularity is advancing

its accumulation of substellar material.

Do you ever speak in plain English?

The brown dwarf we're hiding inside

- is being sucked into a black hole.
- We stay, we'll go with it.

Precisely.

LA'AN: And we can't pop our heads up

to see if it's clear to
leave. They could see us.

Without long-range communication,

we cannot even send a probe.

How much time before we can't
escape the black hole's gravity?

One hour, minutes and seconds.

What about a shuttle?

Small enough to navigate undetected.

Minimize risk to the rest of the crew.

That sounds like a su1c1de mission.

LA'AN: Captain, a
shuttle is our only sh*t.

You don't have to order anyone to go.

I'll do it.

As will I.

To put it in plain English:
you will need backup.

Take the Galileo.

Get back here in
minutes, no matter what.

Sir.

SPOCK: Fascinating.

Why scan each other?

LA'AN: No. It's not a scan, it's...

... something else.

You've seen this before.

When you were att*cked by the Gorn.

The SS Puget Sound.

That was the name of our colony ship.

I remember some. A lot of it is just...

flashes in the dark.

But I know I've seen those lights.

The mind is complex.

When faced with intense trauma

it can manifest intricate
defenses to aid survival.

I feel like there's something in there.

Something I should know.

Understandable, given the
enemy we are currently facing.

You can help me.

I've heard what Vulcans can do.

The mind meld is not a shortcut
for dealing with mental trauma.

Resurfacing hidden
memories can be painful,

even dangerous.

If somewhere in my head
is the answer to saving

the Enterprise, then that's
a risk I have to take.

I can't just keep running.

SPOCK: My mind to your mind.

My thoughts to your thoughts.

My mind to your thoughts. To your...

[VOICE GROWS DISTORTED, DISTANT]

GIRL: Mom?

- WOMAN: La'An, be brave.
- MALE: Evacuate the ship!

LA'AN: Not believing you're
gonna die is what gets you k*lled.

SPOCK: Your memories
are starting to surface.

This is a Gorn breeding planet.

They brought us here as
food for their hatchlings.

Hunted us day and night.

Your mind is resisting. You are...

Scared.

I don't like this place.

Do you want to stop?

No.

I can do this.

I need to know.

[SHUDDERING BREATHS]

[PANTING]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

- I was trying to be quiet.
- It's okay.

- [GROWLING, CLUCKING]
- I was trying to be quiet.

It's okay, it's okay.

It's okay. Look at me. La'An, it's okay.

Right here. Right here, right here,

right here. Keep looking at me.

They're coming.

Take this.

It'll help you hide.

The lights. I watched them.

It's how they talk to each other.

It's all in there.

What are you doing?

You need to run.

Don't be afraid. Don't look back.

J-just run. Keep
moving, no matter what.

Okay?

- Come with me.
- I can't.

Run, La'An.

Run!

What happened?

Your subconscious is setting a boundary.

The lights... they're a code.

My brother showed me how to read it.

[SPOCK SPEAKING VULCAN]

BURNHAM: I love you too.

You lost someone too, didn't you?

You had a...

a sister.

But Starfleet records don't show any...

They do not.

She sacrificed herself
for you, too, didn't she?

I think we should end
this mind meld now.

Spock, I have an idea.

I've modulated the shuttle's
phasers per your instruction.

Surprised you agreed to this.

I believe it is a good plan.

And our mind meld
reminded me of risks taken

and their value to those that survive.

LA'AN: I just told them humans
boarded and took over the vessel.

At least I hope I did.

Culling the weak makes them stronger.

Survival of the fittest.

[ALARMS BLARING]

[SIGHS] And Uhura for the win.

- [GROANING SOFTLY]
- Oh, stay awake.

Okay? Let's get you talking.

Uh... So, an Aenar in
Starfleet... how's that even work?

Thought you guys were all pacifists.

I actually wanted to be a botanist.

Love flora.

I will not fight for Starfleet.

But I will defend its ideals.

Pacifism is not passivity.

It is the active protection

of all living things
in the natural universe.

A matter of perspective.

Like using touch instead of sight.

I wouldn't know.

[NEW ALARM BLARING]

The matrix exceeded critical limits

before we completed repairs.

Our only option now is to vent

this bay and everything
in it into space.

But...

we're in here, too.

Unfortunately, that is also true.

We have minutes until the
unit explodes. Maybe less.

Acknowledged. Stand by.

Welcome back, Lieutenants. Good job.

Though we're not out of the woods yet.

Report.

It's not the Gorn. It's this guy.

The brown dwarf is dissolving too fast.

We are losing our cover.

We don't get out of here pretty fast,

we're gonna be sitting ducks.

Except that last Gorn
ship will be on top of us

the instant we leave.

Space really wants us dead.

Then why don't we let space win?

Spock, could we use
the black hole's gravity

to slingshot us to safety?

Mathematically, that is possible.

But the Gorn will see us

and have the opportunity to pursue us.

- Maybe.
- Maybe?

Explain gravitational redshift.

Gravitational redshift
is an optical illusion

that occurs as an object
falls into a black hole.

The object falls faster than
the frequency of light it emits.

To any outside observer,
it would appear as though

the object has stopped
just outside the black hole.

Last question. What do

snakes, ducks, and
possums all have in common?

When hunted, they play dead.

Ortegas, plot a course to take
us close to the event horizon.

Hemmer, you and the cadet
have access to EV suits?

HEMMER: We do, sir.
I hesitate to ask why.

You're going to slingshot
off the black hole

and drop the AP as a decoy?

Captain, your plan requires
flying the Enterprise

into one of the most
turbulent phenomenons in space.

Hull integrity is already compromised.

- That kind of force...
- She'll hold.

The Enterprise is going to make it.

She'll hold.

We've got this.

Erica, if anyone can surf a
wave on a black hole, it's you.

Ah, now you almost make it sound fun.

Suit up, strap in.

We're venting the hold on my signal.

I commit you to the cosmos.

I'm giving you high marks
on your assessment today.

You impressed me after all.

Assuming that will still matter...

thank you.

Humans waste so much
life worrying about death.

The Aenar believe the end only comes

once you have fulfilled your purpose.

- It provides meaning.
- I-I like that.

So, what was your purpose?

To fix what is broken.

You can throw in teaching.

Maybe even being inspiring.

A little.

[LAUGHS]

And you?

What do you feel is the
purpose of your life's path?

I really don't know.

Does that mean I'm not gonna die?

There's only one way to find out.

ZUNIGA: Inertial dampers at max.

Brace for heavy gravity.

ORTEGAS: We pull this off,

it's officially The Pike Maneuver.

Open a channel. Ship-wide.

Attention, this is the captain speaking.

Earlier today, we were reminded

of the cost of exploration.

What it means to chart the stars,

to push the boundaries of what is known

and what is possible.

When we seek out the
unknown, we will find things

that challenge us.

That frighten us.

But we do not back down.

We do not give in to fear.

And I believe today will
not be our last mission,

but our finest hour.

All hands make ready for impact.

Gorn ship changing course.

Accretion disc in sight.

Hit it.

[SHIP GROANING, RATTLING]

Vent the hold!

[BOTH EXCLAIMING, GRUNTING]

Ortegas.

[ENGINES WHIRRING UP]

Report.

No sign of the Gorn.

They've gone, sir. We did it.

Show me Main Cargo Bay.

Pike to Main Cargo Bay.

Hemmer.

Hemmer? Uhura?

Report.

La'An. Send a recovery team.

UHURA: We're here,
sir. We're still here.

[SIGHS]

Well, I don't know about you...

... but...

I think that was quite a miracle.

What about next time?

The Gorn have never
come this far before.

They're opening up new hunting grounds.

Next time.

Next time, they...

they won't catch us by surprise.

We'll be ready for 'em.

LA'AN: Personal log, stardate . .

Today, the Enterprise
encountered the Gorn.

Seven of the crew...

gave their lives.

But...

... we survived.