03x01 - Grounded

[bunniefuu]

[NEWS FANFARE PLAYS]

I'm Sylvia Ront, and this
is FNN's continuing coverage

of the destruction of Pakled Planet.

What we know at this hour:
Starfleet Captain Carol Freeman

stands accused of orchestrating
a devastating att*ck

on the Pakled capital,

a place they call
"Big Strong City."

The USS Cerritos remains in spacedock,

impounded for further investigation;

her crew, on temporary leave

while their captain stands trial.

- Why would Freeman do this?
- No comment.

- What did you hear?
- I said no comment.

- Please, a little respect.
- Did she hate Pakleds?

- [SNARLS] Get the [BLEEP]
- out of our way!

And the latest shocking development,

new surveillance footage
retrieved from the att*ck,

that appears to place Freeman

on the ground at the time
of the bombing.

In "lighter" news, a swarm
of incandescent Verugament

will be illuminating Earth tomorrow...

- [MARINER SCREAMS]
- ADMIRAL FREEMAN: Beckett!

Screens can just be
turned off, you know.

I can't take this anymore.

Everyone's acting like
the trial's already over,

when there is no way that Mom
did anything wrong.

Look, you and I both know that,

and plenty of people
in the courtroom know it, too.

You just need to be patient
and trust in the system.

Oh, you mean the same system
that's now putting her on trial?

Oh, yeah, yeah,
I frickin' love the system. [STRAINS]

Ah, ah, ah. Hey, hey, hey, hey,
why don't you go out for bit?

We don't get home that often.
You can maybe go for a walk,

breathe some non-recycled air.

[SCOFFS] Home for you.
I didn't grow up here.

I just meant Earth.

It's rare that you get back here.

Ugh, the longer I'm off a ship,
the more useless I feel.

Like that. Like that big,
dumb red thing.

Beckett, you know that's
the Golden Gate Bridge.

Nobody drives anymore.
Why do you need a bridge?

This planet's wack.

People like the bridge.
I like the bridge.

[CONSOLE TRILLING]

Ah, Admiral Buenamigo.

Alonzo. I am afraid
I'm the bearer of bad news.

What? What-What's the news?
Oh, hey, Uncle Les.

Beckett. I just received word,

the judge assigned
to Carol's case is, uh...

Mith bin Tong.

What? She's that
"planet's rights" lunatic.

Dad, we got to get Mom
out of this trial.

We got to have faith in Starfleet.

The truth will come out.

If you won't do something,
then I will. [GRUNTS]

ADMIRAL FREEMAN: Wait,
wait, wait, no, ah.

[SCREAMING]

- [POTS SHATTERING]
- I don't know why

you keep breakable objects
in the house anymore.

- Neither do I.
- [CRASHING, SHATTERING]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- [BUZZING]
- [INHALES, SIGHS]

[CHOKES, SPITS, COUGHS]

Oh, God, vineyard flies.
[COUGHS]

Ugh. I hate being home.

Dude, are you even listening
to what I'm telling you?

The captain's getting railroaded, man.

I have to do something
before it's too late.

- Well, count me in.
- Really?

Usually, it takes way more convincing.

I'll do anything to get away
from these raisins.

It's already gonna take me a month

to get the smell out of my hair.

GENEVIEVE:
Hey, Bradward.

Want to test the sweetness
of my bushel?

Ugh, fine, Genevieve.

Just give it more sun hours
at degrees brix.

Oh, okay.

Uh, when you said your family
had vineyards,

I just assumed it was for wine.

Oh, I wish.
No, we Boimlers dry grapes.

Just dry them and dry them and dry them

till they're all shriveled and hopeless

and stuck on Earth forever.

Bradward, all these varietals
are so confusing.

Take me to the privacy
of the pickery shed

and explain them to me.

Come on, Mandolina,
red goes in the red bucket,

white in the white, you know that.

[WHINES]

How do they not see this is a setup?

We were nowhere near
Pakled Planet when it blew.

I mean, she was saving
another ship, for Kirk's sake.

Okay, we know it doesn't track,

but the ship's logs got corrupted

by the Laapeerian debris field.

It makes it look like
she's covering something up.

Wait, so they just need
our logs? I have logs.

No. We need the official
senior staff logs,

not, like, what you had for lunch.

No, no, no. My logs
are crazy detailed.

Every night,
I'd listen to the captain's

and re-record them
for my own reference.

- What?
- Yeah.

The official stardates,

systems, personnel,

it's all in there, stowed by my bunk.

Oh, my God, Boimler, wait,
that is so nerdy

- and so clutch right now.
- [SCREAMS]

So, all we have to do
is get your PADDs,

and we clear her name
with some surprise evidence.

Take that, conservative m*llitary court.

[SIGHS] But we're grounded.

Plus, we don't even know
where the Cerritos is.

It's in dry dock?

Yeah, but which dry dock?

There's, like, a bajillion.

And, besides, they probably only
kept on a small skeleton crew

of engineers to help dock it,
and that's it.

Engineers? [GASPS]

BOTH:
Rutherford!

Bradward, I'm soaked in juice,

and I need help getting naked.

Just spray off with the hose, Lianne.

[WHINES]

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

TENDI:
Say "gumbo."

[LAUGHS] Gumbo!

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

So, after lunch,
where should we go next? [GASPS]

I mean, should we go back to
the Grand Canyon? Is that crazy?

We could take in
a London Kings game, or...

Ooh!
Want to go see historical Bozeman?

[GASPS] The site of Zefram
Cochrane's first warp flight?

Um, yes, please.

Man, I can't believe you never
visited any Earth stuff

when you were at the Academy.

Oh, I was so focused on my studies,

I never left San Francisco.

- I just...
- [NEWS FANFARE PLAYS]

Man, I can't believe this.

Those prosecutors
are gonna look so stupid

when the captain gets proved innocent.

I wonder how Mariner's taking it.

Oh, I'm taking it...

taking it to the limit.

Did you, did you time
your entrance to say that?

- What? No.
- Oh, yeah, she did.

No. I mean, like,
only, like, a few seconds.

It was at least a minute.
I was like,

"Why are we hiding by the door?"

Would you just go get us some chairs?

[SLURPING]

RUTHERFORD: Hmm, I don't know,

sneaking into the impound dock

doesn't sound very Starfleet.

- [GASPS]
- Well, neither does

throwing the captain into prison,
for a crime she didn't commit.

- [PANTING, GROANS]
- Okay, well, let's just go tell

the court about Boimler's logs.

Why, so they can bury them?

No.
Something went down on Pakled Planet,

and they want a Cali-class
captain to take the fall.

The bridge crew
are under constant att*ck.

- [WHEEZING]
- It's up to us to do something.

I know where the Cerritos is.

I got a glance
at the orbital coordinates

when we were docking.

It's only digits.

Yes, Ruthy Ruth! There we go.

But the only way up to that dry dock,

is via an encrypted transporter,
at a secure compound.

[CRYING]:
How are we gonna get in?

Geez, don't cry, man.

- We'll figure something out.
- [GROANS]

- Nice little kick.
- [WHEEZES]

Uh, so we're gonna have to get
past the transporter chief.

I heard he's long-time
Starfleet security.

- He could be intense.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up.

We have to face
some kind of psycho badass?

Look, we've got the numbers
and the element of surprise.

This is for the captain.

[ALL GASP]

Well, ahoy, there.
Come in, come in.

Don't let the door hit you,

where the Big Bang split you.

[LAUGHS]

Yup. [GRUNTS]

Let me just get over here.

Chief Carlton Dennis at your service.

You can call me Denny.

So, what brings y'all to
my dusty old transporter pad?

You kids from the Academy?

Uh, yeah, that's right,
we were just, uh,

hoping to learn...
about your transporter.

Say no more.

If there's one thing
I've got in this joint,

it's gout. [LAUGHS]

But also transporters.

Come on, let's give you
the tour. Here we go.

We can't tie this guy up.

He's, like, the sweetest
old man in the world.

I know, I know,
but we have no choice, okay?

- Just distract him for me.
- Whoa!

These transporters are classics.

Did you restore these?

Yeah.
I'm a bit of a buffer buff.

Working on these beauties
is what kept me going when my...

When my wife Jane passed.

[SIGHS] Guys, I can't.
You got to do it.

No way. He's like my grandpa.

- He's everyone's grandpa.
- DENNY: Butterscotch?

[MARINER CHUCKLES]

Sure, yeah, thanks, Denny.

DENNY: It's so rare that
I get visitors here.

You kids are the real treat.

Yeah, usually people only
come in looking to knock me out,

and use my transporter to
beam to a restricted ship.

You wouldn't know
anything about that...

- [ALL GASP]
- Would you?

[TRILLING]

[ALL CRYING, PLEADING]

Aw, there, there, don't-don't cry.

Okay, I wasn't gonna stun you.

It's all right. You know what?
I'll make some soup.

DENNY: Look, I don't blame you one bit

for trying to help your captain.

I've been following her trial.

I don't buy those charges for a second.

So, can you transport us
up to our ship?

I would, but I can't
'cause of the damned Verugament.

- Veruga-what?
- It's been all over the news.

A big swarm of glowing space critters,

migrating right past Earth.

They create a natural scattering field,

that interferes with the transporter.

I'm afraid all surface-to-space
beaming is down.

What? We can't let
some space bugs stop us.

Sorry, kiddo. The only way
you're getting to that dry dock,

is in a ship.

So, we didn't save the captain,

and, missed a once-in-a-lifetime
trip to historical Bozeman?

Oh, you would've loved Bozeman.

Oh, the reenactors.

Oh, they got this replica Phoenixride.

You know, folks can just
take it up into orbit.

- Ah...
- [GASPS] Wait,

you can't transport us to space,

but what about Montana?

[BIRDS CALLING]

♪ ♪

ZEFRAM COCHRANE [OVER P.A.]:
Hello, explorers,

and welcome to the st century.

We hope you enjoy yourself,

and make a first contact,

with fun.

Ooh, ooh, they're just like
the st century.

It's just like post-World w*r III.

Oh, my gosh,

there's the Crash-n-Burn Bar

with its famous one-song jukebox.

RUTHERFORD:
Look, there's the ship

that the Vulcans came down in.

TENDI: Whoa. C-Can I try that?

I-It would be illogical not to.

Sorry, guys, we came for that.

[RUMBLING]

- Ah. Wow.
- Whoo.

Oh, hi. I'm just
finishing up some repairs,

and you should finish up any snacks,

as no food or beverages
are allowed inside the Phoenix.

Hey, guys, are we sure
we can even fly this thing?

I mean, you only have to be
centimeters to ride.

Look, a ship's a ship.

Once we're out of the atmosphere,
Rutherford

can override the automation.

- Right, Ruthy?
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Yup, you got it.

All right.

- Here we g...
- GAVIN: Okay, oh, boy.

[LAUGHS] Here we go, Gavin.

You're really doing this, huh?

- [LAUGHS]
- Oh, crap.

Hey, buddy, um,

you should really get on
a different Phoenix.

Oh, no, no, no, no,
the guy clearly told me,

"Single rider,
ship number five."

I don't want to get in trouble.

Hey, we don't go past warp one, right?

[SCREAMS]

I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous

'cause, you know, I'm not good
with spaceflight.

[GAVIN SCREAMS]

All right, buckos,

prepare for your trek
amongst the stars.

Oh, before I forget...

Let's rock and roll.

♪ I like to dream, yes...♪

[CHEERING]

♪ Right between the sound machine...♪

[WAILING]

♪ On a cloud of sound ♪
♪ I drift in the night♪

♪ To the stars away from here♪

♪ Well, you don't know...♪

I think we're supposed to stay seated.

First stage separation complete.

Let's bring what I like to call
"the warp core" online.

Sorry, Mr. Cochrane.

♪ You don't know what...♪

[SCREAMS] Wh-What are you doing?

[CRACKLING]:
W-W-Wow,

would you look at that

beautiful blue marble?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

MARINER: It's working.
It's kind of working.

RUTHERFORD: All right.
Inputting dry dock coordinates.

Prepare to make history.

Here we go.

[MUSIC STOPS]

GAVIN: Wh-Wh-What are you doing?
[SCREAMS]

♪ Last night I held Aladdin's lamp...♪

[GAVIN SCREAMS]

- TENDI: Oh, wow.
- BOIMLER: Whoa.

ZEFRAM COCHRANE: Thanks
for riding with me, explorers.

Please exit on the right,

and take all your belongings with you.

- Sorry about that, Gav.
- [PANTING]

Top secret Starfleet business
going on here.

Don't worry, man.
I'll reengage the automation

and get you back down to Earth.

Wait, don't.

This is my ship now.

I'm not Gavin the botanist anymore.

No, I am Gavin the pilot,

and I am going to explore the galaxy!

- Hell yeah.
- Respect, man.

Woo-hoo!

This won't be the last you hear of me.

Okay, all right, it should be right...

Yes! My copies of all
the captain's logs

going back to stardate . .

This should be more than enough.

Oh, Boims, I will never,

make fun of you,
for this kind of stuff again.

Okay, let me see the one
from the day of the bombing.

BOIMLER [OVER PADD]:
The Cerritos is en route

to the Laapeerian system,
to assist the Archimedes

in a first contact.

Yes! That is exactly
what we need to save Mom.

Oh, and I think I heard Ransom
say my name today.

He might've said, "Boiler," but still,

name recognition! Oh, my God!

What? What was, what was that?

Oh, yeah, no, I always add

little personal details to them.
Makes them fun.

Got caught sniffing
the captain's chair again.

They're, they're all like this?

No, no, no, that's just one or two.

The rest of them are very professional.

[GROANS] The alien atmosphere
is giving me insane gas.

Got to be better about hiding
my purple hair dye.

Nobody knows my real hair color is...

An alien bird ate my combadge.

dropped my tricorder
in the toilet again.

Uh, y-you can just skip past all that.

I actually woke myself up,
the gas pains were so bad.

- I just wish I could fart.
- [GROANS]

- We can't use these.
- Don't worry,

I don't care that they're embarrassing.

No, I mean because they are a joke.

It's a friggin' blooper reel.
No court's gonna accept this.

Oh, my God, I wasted this whole day.

I can't believe I thought
this was the fix.

Well, hold on, they do have
the date stamps and locations.

Starfleet could cross-check
the information.

Yeah, even if they did,
it would all come down to them

believing the word
of some goofy ensign.

When does that ever work out?

They don't even believe the captain

because she's California-class.

Hey, come on, they're Starfleet.

If we can't trust them
to do the right thing,

what can we trust in?

Yeah, Mariner, we have to believe.

[SIGHS]

Yeah, you guys are right.

All right, let's get this PADD to Earth,

and save the day, Lower Decks-style.

Hmm.

I got to, I got to check
the port nacelle real quick.

You think we're dressed okay for court?

I mean, my shirt could be a little more

- asymmetrical...
- [BOTH GRUNT]

Wait, wait, what's going on?
Where is she going?

She set us on auto-navigation.

I can't stop it.

- She locked us out.
- [ALL SCREAM]

[BEEPING]

Mariner, what are you doing?

I'm not going back
until I get hard evidence.

Are you stealing the Cerritos?

They say she got a b*mb
from Klingons? Bull[BLEEP].

I'm gonna go find those Klingons
and bring them back.

- What?
- Do you hear yourself right now?

Look, whatever happens to me,

I'm not gonna put you guys through that,
okay?

- Wait, wait, wait!
- Mariner!

[GRUNTS] You don't get it,
she's your captain,

but she's my mom.

♪ ♪

This is insane.

She's gonna end up in prison, or worse.

We have to stop her.

I don't care what trouble I get in.

- Same.
- I want the trouble.

Give me the trouble.

If we can't override the auto-nav,

we're just gonna have to lean into it.

B-But it's taking us back home.

That's why I redefine what
the shuttle thinks of as "home."

BOIMLER:
Yes! You got this, Auto.

Whoo! We're doing it.
We're... [GASPS]

We're-we're coming in a little fast,

- aren't we?
- sh**t.

Auto still thinks Earth's
atmosphere is here to slow it down.

Uh...
Hold on.

[ALL SCREAM]

- [GROANS]
- Whoa.

We're alive?

Cool.

W-Wait, what the hell are you doing?

I don't want you getting in trouble.

And we're not gonna let you put

yourself in danger, Rutherford.

Oh, no, you don't.

- You're not thinking straight.
- [GRUNTS]

I don't want to hurt you.

[SCREAMS] Got her.

[SCREAMS]

- [ALL SCREAMING, GRUNTING]
- TENDI: Hey, stop it!

[BLEEP]

Um, Gary, do we have the
Cerritos leaving orbit today?

What? No.

Cerritos is in dry dock. Why?

[RUMBLING]

[ALARM BLARING]

- [GRUNTS] Stop it, stop it.
- [SCREAMS]

Why can't you let me do this?

Why are you so good at fighting?

Ow, ow, ow.

[SCREAMS, GRUNTS]

RUTHERFORD:
There.

Nav controls are locked.
We're stopped.

- No. No.
- [BOTH GRUNT]

g*dd*mn it, give me back the controls.

I need to... I-I need...

I need to... [GROANS]

They put her in handcuffs,

and I-I couldn't do
a damn thing about it.

They could take her away
forever, and I can't stop it,

and I'm just...

I'm just so scared.

Hey,

whatever happens down there,

we're gonna be right beside you.

Yeah, we're in this together.

SECURITY OFFICER [OVER COMMS]:
USS Cerritos,

this is an unauthorized launch.

What is the nature of your emergency?

Oh, crap, it's security.

What do we say? What do we say?

This is all my fault, okay?

I'll-I'll say I took you hostage and...

[GASP] Wait, look.

It's the Verugament.

RUTHERFORD: Oh, man, I
stopped us right in their path.

They're incandescent extremophiles.

They migrate through space
and feed on microscopic...

[SCREAMS]
They're attacking the ship.

No, look at this sensor.

I-I think they're synthesizing
carbon off the hull,

and it's triggering
a mass reproductive event.

MARINER:
It's an orgy?

Aw, I guess they were in search
of a breeding ground,

and we're it.

[GASPS] So magical.

SECURITY OFFICER:
Cerritos, I repeat,

this is an unauthorized launch.

- Please respond.
- [GASPS]

Quick, open a channel.

- What? What're you gonna say?
- TENDI: Just do it!

This is Ensign D'Vana
Tendi of the Cerritos.

We are performing a biological survey

of these reproducing organisms.

Uh, we're only reading four of you.

That's right.
Everyone else is grounded.

This is a rare scientific event.
We must not be interrupted.

Interrupted? [STAMMERS]
We're coming aboard,

just stay where you are.

Okay, uh,

open the bay doors and follow me.

Come on!

What the hell is going on in here?

Uh, these endangered
creatures need help

transferring their gametes.

We're facilitating while we...

[SCREAMS] Study them.

Uh, doesn't it hurt?

Seems like a lot of charged tentacles.

Ow. Yeah, no, yeah, it hurts.

But there's no substitute for first...

[DRY HEAVES]
Firsthand data.

This is... Ow!

Just a marvelous...

Ow!
Specimen.

- Ouch!
- Okay,

I think I've seen
just about enough here.

Are we under arrest?

For what? Helping
these precious creatures?

Of course not.

And let me just say,

I love seeing junior officers

committed to the pursuit of science.

Yeah, man. [CHUCKLES]

That is us, just pursuing and doing.

Super. We'll just need to know
the commander

who ordered this mission,
and we'll be on our way.

- Uh...
- [SECURITY OFFICER CHUCKLES]

It's not like you just stole
a starship all on your own.

That'd be bananas.

So, come on, who ordered this?

- Uh
- I did.

Captain Carol Freeman.

- Mom?
- Thanks, Captain Freeman.

Glad to have you back.

We're clear.

What the...

What are you doing here?
What happened with the trial?

- Are you on the run?
- The trial's over, Beckett.

It is?
How?

While I was sitting in court,

Starfleet was carrying out
a secret investigation

into the Pakled bombing.

Led by Captain Morgan Bateson,

this elite team learned
of a Pakled connection

to a known data fabricator,

whom they discovered had faked

the incriminating footage of me.

They pursued and captured this forger

inside the Romulan Neutral Zone.

Under some rather invasive questioning

from Commander Tuvok,
this forger revealed

the true identity of the bombers,

the Pakleds themselves.

- OTHERS: What?
- FREEMAN: It was a huge reveal.

Turns out that their plan
was to blow up their own capital

and frame me to force the Federation

into relocating them
to a more resource-rich planet.

So, it was a classic Pakled
Samaritan Snare writ large,

and it would have worked,

if not for Starfleet's best,

believing in one of their own.

Holy... [BLEEP].

[GROANS] Can we hear that
again, please?

Wow. Wow.

Starfleet really came through.

- Who'd have thought?
- Me, Beckett.

I told you from the start
to trust in the system.

I said it this morning.

I bet your friends
told you just as much.

Um...

They might've said...
I mean, whatever,

all that matters is
you're free, right, Mom?

All's well that, you know,
turns out fine.

[CHUCKLES] Oh, no, no, no, no, missy.

Do you realize, I was out of court

for less than an hour,

before I learn that my own

daughter has stolen my ship,
from a m*llitary impound?!

You three, go start cleaning
whatever the hell this is.

Uh, well, they're a type of
incandescent extremoph...

Mm...
Yes, Captain.

Right away, Captain.

And you?

You're with me.

[SIGHS] I blame myself.

For wearing out that carpet?

- Yeah, agreed.
- Beckett, come on.

You see? You see, 'Zo?

Even now,
she thinks she can just say, and do

whatever she wants
with no repercussions.

'Cause you know what?
She could.

This whole time,
we have covered for her

and excused her, and now,
we are reaping what we sowed.

Well, what do you want me
to say? I was trying to help.

And I love you for that, I do.

Honey, you have so much potential,

but if you're ever
going to amount to anything,

it won't be because
you saw me as an authority.

And we know how often you listen to me.

Ugh, here we go, I'm being, what,

demoted and transferred again?

Where would you go?

The Cerritos is still your last chance.

But I can't be the one to rein you in.

As your mother, I could never
kick you out of Starfleet.

However,

I know someone who
isn't burdened by family ties.

- [DOOR CHIMES]
- Come.

No...
Not him, not him.

- No, no, no.
- Ensign Beckett Mariner,

I'm giving your full
and final oversight

to Commander Ransom.

If you do in fact
want to remain in Starfleet,

it's going to be his call.

Thank you, Captain.

As far as you're concerned, Mariner,

I'm your mama now.

[VOCALIZING]

Ah, you know, even covered
in alien sploof,

there's no place I'd rather be.

Yeah.
Home, sticky home.

Oh, hey, turn on FNN.

Let's see if they're talking
about the trial.

We'll talk to the little boy

who solved Fermat's last theorem.

But first, a daring rescue
near the moons of Jupiter,

as a malfunctioning theme park ride

leaves one young man traumatized.

No, no, let me go!
I'm Captain Gavin.

I am on a trek amongst the stars!

[MAN IMITATES WEAPONS f*ring]

Chirp.