♪ ♪
Previously on Star Trek: Discovery...
- Where are we?
- Not where. When.
RAYNER: It's a time bug...
they're designed
to paralyze an enemy's ship
by randomly cycling them through time.
The whole point is to keep us stuck.
This has to be Moll and L'ak.
So, they know exactly where we are
and where the next clue is.
And once we're ahead of Discovery,
we can get the next clue and the next.
We've got this.
We are gonna find the Progenitors' tech.
No more running and no
more bounty on our heads.
- We'll be free.
- Free sounds good.
ZORA: The outcome you
feared came to pass.
Is that ship Breen?
Yes. Somehow they got
the Progenitors' technology.
They must have been Moll
and L'ak's highest bidders.
That's Moll. She's the
daughter of my mentor
Cleveland Booker IV, which, I suppose,
makes her the closest thing
to family I've got left.
[SIGHS] We are back to the present.
We've only lost six hours.
The past hasn't been altered. We did it.
Let's figure out what's changed
in the last six hours.
Can the DOTs tell us anything?
They did find something,
Captain... a warp signature.
It matches with L'ak and Moll's ship.
Where are Moll and L'ak now?
That's the strange thing.
Their trail disappears.
Like they came here
and now they're just gone.
Wherever they are, that's
where the next clue is,
and these are the right coordinates,
so it's a mystery indeed.
Then let's get to solving it.
BOOK: Personal log, Cleveland Booker.
Stardate 866282.9.
My mentor... the man who gave me
my name, my new life...
he used to say,
"No matter how bad things get,
the one thing you always
have is a choice".
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't
made some questionable ones.
[GRUDGE MEOWS]
But I've made some good ones, too.
Which is how I know
it's not too late for his daughter.
If I can turn things around,
so can she.
Cleveland showed me how things could be,
who I could be.
And I suppose,
just in doing that, he saved me.
I owe it to him to do the same for her.
Today... I may get my chance.
We're at their last known coordinates.
Seems like we're about to find them.
All right, Commander Stamets,
Lieutenant Tilly,
- it's all you.
- Thank you, Captain.
When we arrived here at
the coordinates Jinaal gave us,
it seemed there was nothing
but a disperse nebula
and a warp trail from Moll and L'ak
that disappeared into empty space.
Emphasis on "seemed".
Now we have a pretty good
idea of where they went.
Zora, adjust the viewscreen
to compensate
for the Lorentzian coefficient
and high-energy spectra.
ZORA: Of course, Lieutenant.
What is that?
That is a wormhole... of sorts.
We just couldn't see it until
we recalibrated our scans.
We believe it leads to a pocket
of interdimensional space.
The opening is collapsing and expanding
due to matter-antimatter
chain reactions,
likely caused by the Burn.
That's what we have to pass
through to get to the next clue.
And based on the trajectory
of the warp trail,
Moll and L'ak should be
in there as well.
Nice work, both of you.
Thank you.
Lieutenant Gallo, what
are scans telling us?
GALLO: Not much. That aperture
is scrambling my readings.
We won't know what we're dealing with
- until we're on the other side.
- Discovery is too big
to get through. It'd
have to be a shuttle.
Lieutenant Christopher, will you be able
to maintain comms contact?
I'll do my best, but not knowing
what's inside there,
I can't guarantee it.
Okay, Lieutenant Linus,
prepare a shuttle.
Tell Engineering to boost comms
and fortify shields.
And, Commander Rhys, have
a security team on standby.
I'll go and I'll bring Book with me.
Commander Rayner, you have the conn.
Captain Burnham?
A word?
With respect, it's too risky a mission
for the ship's captain.
Let me take it.
I appreciate the suggestion,
but I need you here on the ship.
Well, at least take a security team.
Our advantage is Book's
personal connection to Moll.
We bring in a security team,
the implied thr*at nullifies
that advantage.
I feel the same responsibility you do.
We both saw a future
where the Breen destroyed everything,
but that's only one possible future.
You can't let that cloud
your tactical judgment.
This decision is tactical.
So... what's this really about for you?
You have permission to be blunt.
As they say in the Ballad of Krul,
"Serve it without a grum of osikod".
That is a... classic work on Kellerun.
I did my research on your culture,
just like you did on mine.
- So, without "osikod..."
- Nothing to report.
I'm just doing my job.
Part of that is to protect you.
When's the last time you took
the conn from another captain?
Couldn't say. Been a while.
Look, we haven't worked
together very long.
We have different styles,
but I wouldn't want
to disadvantage any mission,
especially not one this important.
I know you can lead
this crew, Commander.
I believe in you.
You have your orders.
BOOK: Ship feels good.
Purring like Grudge when
she's k*lled something.
What do you think you'll say
to Moll if we find them?
Don't know.
Maybe we're not so different.
Me and her, us and them.
Former couriers. That sort of thing.
Cleveland, of course.
I think I can reach her.
We'll need to bring them in, either way.
Sounds like that time bug of theirs
was a real pain in the ass.
Come on.
You must have had some fun with it,
knowing exactly what
was going to happen.
There were still some surprises.
Closing in on the aperture.
Need to increase our speed.
We're not gonna make it
through the opening
in time at this rate.
Even if I gunned it, we could
still get caught in that thing.
There's a "but" in there, I hope?
But as soon as I finish charging
the impulse capacitant cells,
I can release them into the drive coils.
That'll give us a boost.
Just don't burn out our engines.
We still have to get back.
There's an old Kwejian saying.
"Never return from a hunt
without enough bait
for the Carrion Reaver".
It's catchy.
[BOOK LAUGHS]
BOOK: Okay, we have
to time this perfectly.
- Got the cycles on lock.
- On your mark.
Discovery, we're heading in.
RAYNER [OVER COMM]:
Aye, Captain. Standing by.
Ready? In three,
two, one.
Go.
[ALARM BLARING]
How are we doing, Book?
BOOK: It'll be close. Hang on.
[GROANS]
Captain, are you okay?
Did you make it in safely?
BURNHAM [CHOPPY]:
We're okay. We made it.
Picking up some interference, though.
RAYNER: Captain?
- Lieutenant Christopher?
- Trying to get her back, sir.
Cycling through all frequencies.
Commander Stamets to the science lab.
I need you to boost comms.
Bring whoever you need.
STAMETS [OVER COMM]: On my way.
Eyes up, everyone.
Captain's counting on us.
Yellow alert.
Visibility's sh*t in here.
It's exotic matter of some kind.
It's wreaking havoc on our sensors.
And our holopadds.
Flying deaf and blind.
[LAUGHS] Good times.
- Book, watch out.
- Hang on.
BURNHAM: Debris is not a good sign.
That's Moll and L'ak's ship.
BURNHAM: Half of it anyway.
The aperture must have caught the stern
when they were passing through.
You think they made it?
Maybe.
If they made it into that...
BOOK: ISS.
That's Mirror Universe.
How did it end up
in interdimensional space?
I don't know.
It's got to be one hell of a story.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
[ORIGINAL STAR TREK THEME PLAYS]
BOOK: Fair amount of damage.
Looks like it got trapped
here during a battle.
BURNHAM: Had to have been ages ago.
Crossing between universes has
been impossible for centuries.
So why hide the clue in here?
Shipwreck in a hidden wormhole?
Sounds pretty secure to me.
You know anything about this ship?
Oh, I only know the USS Enterprise.
I've never encountered
the Terran version.
Internal layout and systems
should be roughly the same.
Over there.
The rest of Moll and L'ak's ship.
BURNHAM: If they're still alive,
they are gonna be desperate.
I'll find us a place to dock.
Hey, uh, sorry.
I need to get into
an EPS panel right there.
Oh. Have at it.
You working on comms?
Yeah. I'm helping Adira and Paul.
We're trying to boost the signal
by pulling power from the EPS grid.
And I've followed this conduit
for three decks, including
the quarters of a new
ensign who's very nice
but keeps a Cardassian vole
as a pet. Anyhow...
I have some work to do in my office.
Um... I'll leave you to it.
Hey, is everything okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Okay. Well, you're always
there for everyone else,
so if you ever need
to talk about anything...
Yeah, well...
STAMETS: Tilly, what's your status?
- Working as fast as I can.
- CULBER: I'm fine.
I'll find you later. I'm fine.
STAMETS: Well, Rayner's
asking for updates, so, uh,
as soon as you have any
good news, let us know.
- We'll be standing by.
- TILLY: Okay. Will do.
What about the, uh, graviton-pulse idea?
Yeah, I'm just rechecking
my calculations.
You've done that twice already.
Just want to be sure.
Adira.
The time bug wasn't your fault.
Yeah, well, I brought it
on board, didn't I?
Fix the problem yet?
Um, Lieutenant Tilly's attempting
to boost the comms signal,
but interference from the
aperture's rapid shuttering...
I don't need to know how the
cake is boiled, Commander.
Kellerun boil their cakes?
Don't knock it till you try it.
Other options, one sentence or less.
Well, um, we need to find a way
to hold the aperture open.
Then do it.
Not that simple, I get it.
Go on, more words.
We could use the shield generator
to disrupt the antimatter reactions,
but the power drain could result
in shorting out of basic
systems, like comms,
which would defeat the purpose.
A graviton pulse would also
do it, but there is a, uh,
meaning that the aperture
would shut forever,
with the captain and Booker
still inside, so we...
We're just... we're trying
to improve those odds, so...
Sir, if I could quote something
you told me recently,
"You're not in this alone".
Sounded better when you said it.
Find another way to get
comms back, and fast.
If they haven't run into
Moll and L'ak already,
they will soon enough.
And who knows what
kind of mess that'll be?
Holopadds are useless in here, too.
Uh, we can use the ship's sensors
to track quantum signatures
from our universe.
That'll help us find the clue
and Moll and L'ak, if they're here.
You remember the access codes
from your Terran counterpart?
Already there. Not working.
She must have been dead by the
time the Enterprise got here.
We'll have to find another way in.
Well, I once hacked
an Andorian transport ship
using a subroutine dodge
through backup logs.
I thought it sounded
rather impressive, myself.
Sorry.
Oh, that was my brother's station
on the USS Enterprise.
Ever meet the Terran version?
No.
But I'm sure he was just as
ruthless as the rest, though.
[CONSOLE BEEPS]
Your hack worked. We're in.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure you meant to say,
"Book, your idea was amazing.
- You are a hero among men".
- A hero among men.
- Huh. That's weird.
- What?
The intermix chamber was ejected
from the warp drive.
Shuttles and escape pods gone, too.
Captain's logs erased.
Crew abandoned ship.
Evacuation is a last resort
in Terran culture.
Enterprise took some damage,
but it wasn't terminal.
Definitely some sort of story there.
- Indeed.
- So what's the verdict?
Were you able to find them?
Two signatures on the bridge. That's us.
Three in sickbay.
That's Moll, L'ak and the clue.
They found it.
Let's get it.
BOOK: Any idea where they found
the clue in the first place?
BURNHAM: I saw a trace signature
in the transporter room.
It had to have been there.
BOOK: Scientists would have
put it there for a reason.
BURNHAM: Let's check it out.
Bedding, blankets, kids' clothes?
Not what I would expect
to see on a warship.
Why would someone want us to see this?
"Light of hope shines
through even the darkest of nights".
It's the crew's story.
Terran High Chancellor
was k*lled for trying
to make reforms, and this crew escaped.
They mutinied.
Brought refugees with them,
who were trying to flee
their universe for ours.
It says...
a Kelpien sl*ve, turned
rebel leader, helped them.
Saru.
Action Saru in any universe.
Well, it's got to be why
the escape pods and shuttles are gone.
They fled the Enterprise
once it got stuck here.
I hope they made it.
Yeah.
Me, too.
Let's keep moving.
BURNHAM: Sickbay's over here.
Ready?
Holo doubles.
Clever. Now we won't
know where to sh**t.
They must've hacked
the room's holo emitter,
but if we can find it...
BURNHAM: Got it. Up there.
But I can't hit it from this angle.
Yeah, two out of the ten
blasts will be real.
I've had worse odds.
Got it.
- Come on.
- Okay.
- [GASPS]
- Go!
[WEAPONS f*ring]
Could have just said "Hello".
You could have just left us
the hell alone.
Lower your phasers. Let's talk.
You were the ones who came in f*ring.
Just at the holo emitter.
Yeah, or your aim's sh*t.
Your ship is in pieces.
Surrender to us now, let us
get you out of here safely.
[QUIETLY]: Hey, cover me.
Hey.
Easy.
Okay?
Easy.
Look, we're here to help.
Moll,
- I knew your father.
- [SCOFFS]
And that's supposed
to make me trust you?
No, but I know the kind of man he was.
Cleveland Booker was garbage.
And we are not going
to rot in a Federation brig.
You'll get a fair trial.
You do not have another play here.
Wrong. You may have a shuttle.
We have the clue.
MOLL: The way I see it, we can
blast away at each other...
probably all end up dead... or
you give us a ride out
of here, let us go,
and we let you replicate that.
Tempting, but that's not the clue.
Remember Lyrek?
Decoy stanzas,
the real clue hidden somewhere else.
They all look different.
Go ahead. Use that tricorder there.
Calibrate it to scan for quantum
signatures from our universe.
It's the real deal.
BOOK: We can you get out of here.
All of us.
Whatever trouble you're in...
- You don't know us.
- I know you wouldn't risk each other's
- lives over latinum...
- Shut up, I said shut the hell up!
Which means you must be in real trouble.
Hey, the Federation can help you!
- Can they erase an Erigah?
- Moll.
No? So stop pretending like
you can do a damn thing!
- Moll!
- What?!
Erigah? You're Breen?
[SIGHS] An Erigah is
a Breen blood bounty.
They're after you, aren't they?
That's why you're here.
You hope you can use whatever's
at the end of that clue trail
to get them to release it.
BOOK: Moll.
What did you do?
MOLL: I know I'm new around here, but
how much longer are you
bucket-heads gonna make me wait?
Got other deliveries to do.
[SPEAKS BREEN]
Am I supposed to be trembling
at this point?
[SPEAKS BREEN]
[SPEAKS BREEN]
[SPEAKING BREEN]
You must be the one
who wanted to talk to me.
Hi. I'm Moll.
I like latinum and long
walks on the beach.
What do you need?
L'AK: Be silent, courier.
We've had reports
your dilithium's been
cut with impurities.
I need to inspect.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Not my deliveries, green eye.
Inspection was not a request.
I've met Bolians with meaner left hooks.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
No. You know,
I've learned a thing or two
about Breen insignia.
This one means royalty.
Rumor has it
the Primarch's nephew doesn't
fit the mold around here,
has been demoted to shuttle bay duty.
That's you, isn't it? L'ak.
[GRUNTS]
Must be so humiliating.
What if I said...
I could help you get payback?
You are cutting the dilithium.
Look, I'm good at what I do.
Great, actually.
Having a partner on the inside
would make it all go a lot smoother.
I should k*ll you for the suggestion.
But you didn't,
which means you're intrigued.
I know
what it's like to be
on the outside, alone.
Makes you hungry.
- Also...
- [CLICK]
... makes you smart.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Like I said...
smart.
You sure you want to make a deal?
You don't know anything about me.
Not much.
Not yet, anyway.
Whatever we did...
... is none of your damn business.
Love is a powerful thing.
Do not let it take you
down the wrong road.
You both still have choices.
You always have choices.
You're right.
We do.
Damn it.
[GRUNTS]
Moll!
COMPUTER: System failure.
Sickbay lockdown engaged.
BOOK: The control panel.
It's fried.
I can't get back in.
There should be security
controls on the bridge.
BOOK: Moll?
I could use an extra pair of hands.
We both want the same thing, don't we?
To get them out.
[SIGHS]
One wrong move, and I will dust you.
Hmm?
Dilithium's clean.
You're free to go.
Sure you don't want
to check my ship again?
Make sure that I didn't smuggle
any tribbles on board?
I wish I could.
My uncle is coming down for inspection,
and I need to shine my boots.
Is that a euphemism?
No. He just really likes
our boots to be shiny.
- Oh, sounds like an assh*le.
- [LAUGHS]
You have no idea.
Oh, green eye, you made me a promise.
I'll show you next week.
Yes, that is what you said last week.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Don't argue with me. We pay what we pay.
You don't like it, we'll
find a courier who does.
Another time, I promise.
Come on. Show me what you look like.
You've seen my face.
Okay, the other face.
L'ak?
It's just...
It...
It's not... me.
Okay.
But it's...
it's a part of you, right?
Both faces are.
You've seen parts of me that I hate.
[L'AK SIGHS]
Hello, L'ak.
Soon as I figure out a way
to bring down the containment
field, this truce is over.
I really do want to help you, okay?
Says the man who took my father's name.
Look, I know he left
you and your mother.
I also know that staying away
was the hardest choice
he ever had to make.
But he did it to protect you.
You know, from a dangerous life.
He didn't want it blowing back.
And you bought that?
[LAUGHS] Let me guess. Daddy issues.
He promised to get us off Callor Five,
take us to some safe-haven
colony in the Gamma Quadrant.
Described it in perfect detail.
Absolute paradise.
Every night I'd go to sleep
thinking about it.
Then one day, he just
stopped coming home.
My mom had to get a job
in the rubindium mines.
You have any idea what that's like?
She d*ed when I was 14, and...
I was left completely alone.
I don't think he knew any of that.
Maybe he did, maybe he didn't.
He's dead now.
And L'ak is the only thing
that matters to me.
Exhausting, huh?
Staring each other down.
What can I say?
I don't trust you.
Do you even know what you're after?
What all these clues lead to?
"Power beyond all comprehension",
is what the diary said.
I don't care, as long as
it can end an Erigah.
If the Breen got ahold of that power,
it would be catastrophic.
- You have to know that.
- We'll be long gone by then.
Not unless they take it from
you and k*ll you anyway.
Do you really trust them
more than you trust us?
L'ak, the Federation is all
about second chances.
Book and I are both
living proof of that.
[INHALES]
If we did come in,
if we served our time... if...
would we serve it together?
I can advocate for that.
Because I would rather die
than be separated from her.
I get that. I do.
[ELECTRONIC CHIRPING]
MOLL: I can't access
the containment field.
You said you wanted to help. Help.
I'm trying.
The security system's firewalled.
Antique piece of sh*t!
[POUNDS CONSOLE]
I loved her, you know.
Michael.
Captain "Put Down Your Phasers"?
Yeah, I really see the appeal.
We were couriers, like you and L'ak.
I understand it...
depending on someone like that,
knowing they're all you've got.
You know, she was my first real
friend after Cleveland d*ed.
Unless you count Grudge.
But she bites when I don't feed her,
so, it's a bit one-sided.
He talked about you a lot... Cleveland.
And the look in his eyes when he did...
For what it's worth, he loved you.
But I'm sorry for what you
went through because of him.
I hated my father, too.
For a long time, so...
[ELECTRONIC CHIRPING]
It's not working.
I need to get back to L'ak.
You better go before
the morning shift gets here.
What?
I've got new contracts
in Emerald Chain territory.
Okay.
So...
I'm going.
For how long?
I don't know.
Why there?
Osyraa's a butcher.
Well, Imperium space
isn't much safer with
all your faction wars.
Plus the contracts are better.
If it's about latinum,
we can change our deal.
I still won't be making enough.
You never even told me
what's so damn important.
What do you need so
much latinum for anyway?
There's a colony
in the Gamma quadrant.
A place where I could just
wake up every day and...
be.
No more courier runs, no
more watching my back.
Peace, freedom.
You know?
No.
I don't.
Why do you stay here?
You hate it.
Where would I go?
Come with me.
Just you and me.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
MOLL: Is that... ?
My uncle.
Breen Primarch
of the sixth flight.
I'm done waiting.
What are you doing?
Creating a power surge.
It'll burn through the security system.
Short out the containment field.
Could do a lot more to a ship this old.
Look, wait, let me just check the...
- MOLL: sh*t!
- BOOK: Look out!
Moll.
No, no, no, no, no! Wait.
- L'ak, wait.
- Get...
out of my way.
[expl*si*n]
[GRUNTING]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
Impulse engines are overloaded.
Nav systems are fried.
We have no control over the ship?
BOOK: Our shuttle.
And that was our only way off.
COMPUTER: Warning,
impact in eight minutes.
BOOK: Okay, we've got eight
minutes to figure a way out.
We need to go get Michael and L'ak.
You're staying here.
I'm getting L'ak.
And we will figure
something out ourselves.
No.
You want to hate me, fine.
I will not let anything
happen to Michael.
Or you.
Why?
Enough with the Cleveland Booker sh*t.
Why me?
Because I'm Kwejian.
Everything I cared about
out there is gone.
And he may have been...
a sh*t dad to you,
but he was a great mentor to me.
And like it or not,
that makes you...
... just about the only
family I've got left.
I could k*ll you right now.
That's a choice.
I hope you'll make a different one.
Let's go.
[GRUNTING]
- Get out of my way!
- [GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
BURNHAM: Please, just stop.
I know how much you love Moll.
This is not how you help her.
You let me go,
or I will cut through you.
[PANTING]
Move!
I cannot do that.
I can't do that.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
You made a decoy.
[EXHALES] Solid bluff.
I didn't think you had it
in you, Starfleet.
[GRUNTING]
This wasn't supposed to happen.
L'ak!
What the hell did you do to him?
It was an accident.
We got to get him to Discovery.
Here.
Get away from us!
COMPUTER: Warning,
five minutes to impact.
- We're on a collision course for the aperture.
- What?
The shuttle's gone.
So the Enterprise is our only way out?
Yeah.
We got to find a way, come on.
Damn it.
I'm here.
You're gonna be okay.
[GRUNTING]
Leave her alone!
Stop! Let me go!
That all you got?
[GRUNTING]
[SPEAKING BREEN]
Speak her language.
She deserves to understand
what you're saying.
You carry the genetic
code of the Yod-Thot.
They who rule.
Yet while we campaign for
the throne of the Imperium,
you consort with lesser beings.
And you do so wearing that face.
An insult to your heritage.
This... is Breen.
Then why can we change?
Both faces are part of us.
If we deny half our nature,
we deny it all.
We have evolved past
the need for that form.
Holding it makes you unfocused,
inflexible and weak.
There is only one path
to redemption.
[w*apon WHIRS]
Was fun while it lasted, green eye.
Erigah.
I know.
Go, now.
Wait. Why didn't you k*ll him?
He raised me.
[ALARM SOUNDING]
Moll, please, go.
Go to Chain territory, find that colony.
It doesn't matter what happens to me
as long I know that you're safe.
I asked you to come with me.
I can't.
Not now.
An Erigah is impossible to lift.
They will never stop hunting me.
Us.
They'll be hunting us.
Nothing's impossible, L'ak.
We can do this.
You and me. [EXHALES]
Come on, babe.
Let's be happy together.
Please?
Okay.
I love you, Moll.
More than anything.
You know that, right?
No, no, no, no, don't.
Okay? I'll figure this out.
We've made it through worse before.
We're trapped.
Oh. Nothing's impossible for us.
Okay? I've got this.
I promise.
There should be enough power
left to activate a tractor beam.
Can't save the day if we can't see.
Nice.
COMPUTER: Warning,
four minutes to impact.
- It's on.
- Here goes nothing.
Lieutenant Christopher,
anything on comms yet?
- Negative, sir. Still trying.
- NAYA: Commander?
There's something happening
at the aperture.
Lieutenant Gallo, enhance it.
Aye, Commander.
Seems to be a... tractor beam?
From the shuttle?
No. Something much larger.
The beam is oscillating,
a repeating pattern.
Three-four-one-four.
Commander Stamets,
Ensign Tal, get in here.
Lieutenant Tilly, you too.
Almost got it, sir, a way
to hold the aperture open.
Tilly rerouted portions of the EPS grid.
Change of plans.
I need you to hold it open
and make it bigger.
Big enough for a starship.
When you say "big enough
for a starship", do you mean
that Discovery is going in?
No.
Our captain's coming out.
How could you possibly know that
- they're coming out?
- Ballad of Krul.
It doesn't matter. Can you do it?
That would require
a massive amount of power,
more power than the entire
ship could safely produce.
Well, there's got to be a way. Come on.
Look, I need ideas, come on!
A cask of Kellerun citrus mash
for whoever lands this, go.
Could we invert the deflector array
and force the aperture open?
Rerouting energy distribution
systems would take too long.
What if we discharge the spore reserve?
Hit them with a tachyon pulse?
LINUS: We should maintain our reserves
in case an emergency jump is required.
Well, can't we just strap in
and pull power
from gravitational systems?
If they don't reset,
eventually we'll just
- end up floating around.
- Wait a minute.
If we change out
the photon-torpedo payloads
and replace them with antimatter...
STAMETS: It would add fuel
to the antimatter reactions
already happening
in the aperture.
And that could generate
the energy we need.
Yes, uh... [STAMMERS] if we hit it
precisely with a sequential,
hexagonal pattern,
uh, it should stay open for
approximately 60 seconds.
But once it collapses,
it's gone for good.
Why hexagonal?
- Um...
- STAMETS: It doesn't matter.
It'll work.
Citrus mash all around then.
Rhys, coordinate
engineering and munitions,
replace the payloads, fire on my mark.
Asha, get us into position.
Gallo, lower our shields
so we can catch that tractor beam.
We're only gonna get one sh*t at this.
I trust you'll all make it count.
- Red alert.
- OTHERS: Aye, Commander.
BOOK: Tractor beam's holding steady.
No sign of a response yet.
COMPUTER: 60 seconds to impact.
Book, in case we don't make it,
I need to say something.
Come on, don't go there.
No.
You were one of the surprises
in the time cycles.
That's all.
It was nice.
And we were happy.
All right, let's get that thing open.
Fire!
The vessel's tractor beam has
just made contact with us.
RAYNER: All right, let's pull them out.
We're locked on.
Route whatever power
isn't keeping us breathing
or held down to that tractor beam.
Hit it?
Uh... feels weird.
Let's just fly.
Is that the ISS Enterprise?
Gallo, how much time do we have
- to get them out?
- 20 seconds.
♪ ♪
RAYNER: Captain?
BURNHAM: Burnham to Discovery.
Thanks for the assist.
Anytime.
Great to hear your voice again.
Likewise, Commander.
- [ALERT BEEPING]
- Michael?
Sir, the ISS Enterprise
is preparing to fire.
- Captain?
- BURNHAM: We see it.
System shows it's a Terran warp pod.
Two life signs, sickbay equipment.
It's got to be a life-support system.
- It's Moll and L'ak.
- Right.
[CONSOLE BUZZES]
- I can't stop them from launching.
- Me, either.
Commander, can you grab them?
RAYNER: I'm on it. Damn it. Too late.
But they left a warp
signature, we'll track it.
Putting out an alert.
We'll find them.
RAYNER: The Ballad of Krul.
Section Four, verse seven.
Krul calls to his w*r brother for rescue
with a repeating drumbeat.
Three taps.
Then four, one, four.
I was impressed.
It was a long sh*t.
No question.
Great work today.
If it hadn't panned out, you'd be riding
your own coffin into the sun right now.
Ah, but I'm not.
I'm right here.
You're telling me to take the win.
Mm-hmm.
I can do that.
How did it feel being back in the chair?
Captain's chair is for the captain.
I'm ordering Commanders
Owosekun and Detmer
to head a team to fly the Enterprise
back to Fed HQ storage.
Hell of an assignment.
They deserve it.
They do.
Get some rest, Commander.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
♪ ♪
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
It's a bit of a day, huh?
I feel like I've been through a
gormagander's digestive tract.
Mm.
I guess I'm not the only one?
Thanks for noticing, Doc.
Are you here to take me up on my offer?
'Cause I'm all ears.
Oh, it's a bit, um...
These experiences I've had.
I mean, I d*ed.
I came back to life.
And then with Jinaal, I was there.
But I wasn't.
It was weird.
That's as close to a scientific
term as I can get for it.
And now we're on this quest...
... to find the thing that...
created us.
I mean, it's all so big.
And impossible to grasp and...
... part of me kind of loves that.
I think.
As terrifying as it is.
But Paul...
Oh, hates the unknown.
And we've always been able
to find answers together.
I don't know how to talk
to him about this.
Change is hard.
But it can also be freeing.
I know, it's just...
I'm not sure what
all this will look like.
It sounds like he's not the only
one who hates the unknown.
You should talk to somebody about that.
[CHUCKLES]
They're not really that far apart.
The intellectual and the spiritual.
Both reach for understanding.
Both bring us to new places.
But I didn't say "spiritual".
Yeah...
Hugh, you kind of did.
- [DOOR CHIMES]
- Come.
Anything on Moll and L'ak yet?
Starfleet has every ship
in the sector on high alert.
But we have this.
Paul is prepping to do
a full chemical analysis...
of this vial.
And then...
... we'll have our next stop.
You ever wonder why
there's always a lesson
with these clues?
Like with the itronok.
Do you value life-forms
different than your own?
And with the necropolis planet.
Importance of cultural context.
See, the scientist who left that
on the Enterprise must've
known the history of that ship.
Ha.
She did.
She was Terran.
The ship's junior
science officer, Dr. Cho.
So I had Zora look up
the crew names on the manifest.
Guess what?
Most of them ended up
in Federation databases.
So they did make it.
Mm-hmm.
Started new lives in our universe.
Yeah.
Dr. Cho even ended up joining Starfleet.
She become a branch admiral.
After that, her records just...
vanish.
Ah, well, Jinaal did say
he erased all evidence of their group.
Mm-hmm, well, nearly all.
They had hope.
And they found freedom.
Despite impossible odds.
Maybe that's why Dr. Cho
went back and left
the clue on that ship.
Maybe that's our lesson here.
That like them...
... maybe we can shape
our own futures, too.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[BURNHAM EXHALES]
What I said earlier,
about how we used to be happy...
Oh, no, no, no, it's fine.
We were, weren't we?
[COMMS CHIME]
STAMETS: Captain, we are ready
for the vial.
On our way.
So...
what do you think happens
when we finally
put this thing together?
I don't know.
But I can't wait to find out.