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01x01 - Kids These Days

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy". Aired: January 15, 2026 – present.*
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Starfleet Academy follows the first new class of Starfleet cadets in over a century as they come of age and train to be officers.

01x01 - Kids These Days

Post by bunniefuu »

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NAHLA:
Long ago, Starfleet Academy


took the finest minds,
hearts and spirits


of every generation
and taught them


to be lifelong explorers
of space...


our final frontier.

Then, one day,

fate handed us
an unimaginable loss.


The Burn.

And it all went away.

[wind whistling]

ANISHA:
Okay, Caleb.
I need to make sure you know it.

- Again.
- Nah-ru,

Xela, Bhak, Cali

and Squill.

That's ours.

Our secret code.

Yours and mine. Forever.

- You promise?
- Promise.

Okay, let's do moons now.

What's that one right there?
Right there.

It's your name all mixed up.

You're Anisha.
That moon is called Ishaani.

That's right.
Isn't she beautiful?

Of course.

ANISHA:
One day,

when we have our own ship,

we are going to go visit

Sol III, which is also called...

- Earth.
- Earth.

That's right.

We'll find a home one day.

You, me and Scrap.

Right, Scrap?

SCRAP:
Yes, Ms. Anisha.


Mama, why are we here?
Who's that man?

[sighs]
Um,

sweetheart, that man
that we came here with,

that man is named Nus Braka,

and he was very good

at helping me find food

when food was hard to find.

But he wasn't good

at telling me
how he was gonna do it.

He's a pirate.

Mama, if you stole it,
it's okay.

You know...

we'll always be together.

Always.

Please stand
and show us your hands.

ANISHA:
Come on.

[grunts]

It's okay.

It's okay.

FEMALE VOICE [over P.A.]:
All personnel,


prepare for level three sandstorm.

All personnel, prepare for
level three sandstorm.


NUS:
Hey! Hey! [laughs]

[electricity crackling]

[grunting]

[shouts]

- It's okay.
- Oh, hello, darling.

Oh, malnutrition really
brings out your cheekbones.

[laughs]
Hey,

- hello, Little Fish.
- ANISHA: He can't hurt you.

- [electricity crackles]
- [shouts]

- Here, look at me... look at me.
- You got innocent people like me

on the end of a tether,
while the Federation

sits on its bloated a*s!

Mr. Braka, stop talking.

[growls]

NAHLA:
Facts are facts.

You brought down
a Federation supply vessel

and m*rder*d the shuttle pilot

to steal food rations.

No, the facts are:

a woman was starving,
and I had a solution.

Not an idea,
not good intentions,

a solution.

NAHLA:
Braka, shut up.
You turned a woman

desperate to feed her child
into your accomplice,

and now an officer's dead.

The 12th this year

at the hands of the Venari Ral.

As ranking officer on-site,
it is my duty and pleasure

to tell you
that you will be spending

the rest of your life
in a Federation penal colony.

[spits, clears throat]

Anisha Mir,

what would have been
a charge of theft...

...became felony theft

with the death of that pilot.

I'm sorry.

You will be placed

- in a rehabilitation camp.
- What?

[laughs]

You said you'd help me.

I have. It's not prison.
You'll have visitation rights.

That's as far
as I could get them.

NUS [laughing]:
Whoa-h*-h*!

A Federation officer died,
Ms. Mir.

[laughing]

NUS:
Oh, man, unbelievable...

What's gonna happen to my son?

He'll become a ward
of the Federation.

[Braka cackling]

ANISHA:
Oh, God, oh, no.

I'm so sorry.

[screaming]

No! Caleb, listen to me!

Don't trust them!

Don't trust them! Just trust me!

- Trust our moon!
- NUS: Bye, bye, Mommy.

I love you!

Mama?

ANISHA:
Caleb, I love you!

NUS:
Bye, bye.

NUS:
You hold on to how much

- you hate me right now, kid.
- Get him out.

It'll keep you warm at night.

- Get him out now.
- While you sleep with

their boot on your neck!

- [electricity crackling]
- This is a sham!

You call this justice?!

This is not justice!

[Braka shouts in distance]

Thank you.

[indistinct announcement
over P.A. in distance]

Caleb,

my name is Nahla.

I...

I can only imagine
that you're scared.

Have you ever been away
from your mom before?

I know this school

with this big, big field.

It's called Little Blooms,
and it's on Bajor.

Have you ever been
to school before?

Mm-mm.

Well, this is a good one.

Plenty to eat...

lot of other kids.

Kind people.

I'm going to make sure
you and your mom

see each other again
really soon, okay?

You'll be safe.

You won't be alone.

I promise.

Caleb?

I promise, okay?

I left my bear.

I'll be right back.

SCRAP:
Please take me to Caleb.


Please take me to Caleb.

No, no, no.

Please take me to Caleb.

COMPUTER:
Captain Nahla Ake confirmed.


- [alarm blaring]
- COMPUTER: Portal breached,
Holding Room Two.


[wind howling]

Portal breached,
Holding Room Two.


Closing portal.

Facility lockdown.

- Find him!
- Facility lockdown.

Facility lockdown.

Facility lockdown.

Facility lockdown.

COMMS OFFICER: Shuttle Teracaq,
we are tracking your descent


into the V'Rilik Penal Colony.

Copy. Scanning prisoner 1174
for processing now.

DRONE:
Prisoner name Caleb Mir, age 21.


Juvenile offenses:
age eight-- petty theft,


age 12, destruction of property,

age 14--

- vandalism, age 18...
- Hey!

- ill*gal trading.
- Are you dead or alive?

- CALEB: Huh?
- Age 20-- transport

- of ill*gal materials.
- Hey!

I'm talking to you.

I said, "Are you dead or alive?"

- Huh? [grunts]
- Answer me.

Yes. sh*t. sh*t. Yes, alive.

You've been busy.

Hell of a résumé.

I got an early start.

- [shock stick whirs, crackles]
- [Caleb grunting]

Any other thoughts, huh,
you thieving b*stard?

- Yeah, I got one.
- [laughs]

[mumbles]

Huh? What's that?

[shock stick whirs]

- [yells]
- [screams]

Huh? Security breach.
Prisoner's unsecured.

Repeat, we have a breach.
Our prisoner's not secure.

The prisoner's not secure.

[grunting]

[screams]

Computer, locate nearest
Federation subspace relay.

Search rehabilitation centers,
prisoner Anisha Mir.

COMPUTER:
Subspace relay located.


Beginning search.

- [alert beeping]
- Warning, unstable flight path.

[groaning]

Warning, unstable flight path.

Warning, unstable flight path.

Warning, unstable flight path.

Impact imminent.

[alert beeping]

Engine offline.

Restarting.

- Restarting.
- [shouts]

Restart...

Engine on line.

Woo-hoo!

COMPUTER:
Search complete.


Anisha Mir has not been found

in any known database.

No, no, no! Try again!

Try again!

Tractor beam locked.

MALE VOICE:
Prisoner Caleb Mir,


you are being
tracked and targeted.


- No, no, no, no!
- Disengage weapons

and flight controls,
or you will be destroyed.


So destroy me!

Prepare to be remanded
to a detention facility


for work rehabilitation,
Prisoner Mir.


I am not your prisoner!

I am not
your prisoner!

♪ ♪

NAHLA: You are messing with
the most sacred of institutions.


No, sir. No, ma'am.
Not on my watch.

Okay, let's hear it:

"I'm sorry for purloining
your ice cream

on ice cream day."

"Purloining" means "stealing."

Jax, if you did the thing,
you fess up.

That way, you can negotiate
your terms.

Wait, wait, wait, no, no,
tiny people, come back here.

Fess up. Fess.

- I fess.
- Really?

- I fess.
- Oh, you both fess?

That is so good.

Ice cream, ice cream!

[speaks indistinctly]

[laughter]



VANCE:
Well, you may have
left Starfleet,

but that was
some serious diplomacy.

Yeah, well,

in my 422 years,

I've learned a thing or... five.

[chuckles]
It's been such a long time.

[both chuckle]

Hiya, Charlie.

- Nahla.
- Look at you.

Want some ice cream?

[chuckles]
Of course.

And whatever
you're here for, Admiral,

- the answer is no.
- Mm-hmm.

Well, we're recommissioning
Starfleet Academy

in San Francisco.

NAHLA:
Wow, I thought

the Federation put all its chips
on the w*r College.

VANCE:
Ah, it's been a hundred years.

Now that the Burn
is finally behind us,

it's time to rebuild.

I want you to be chancellor.

With a full reinstatement
of your commission.

Anyone here a captain
who resigned in disgrace?

Oh, wait. That's me.

A captain who resigned

because we separated
a mother and child.

I separated them.

You didn't have a choice.

No, here's the thing.

I did.

I could have refused, pulled
some kind of bait and switch

with the prosecution,
taken the heat later.

It wouldn't
have changed anything.

We were in triage. Starfleet
wasn't making any exceptions.

Separating children from their
parents isn't exceptional,

it's reprehensible.

So you resigned

because you still remember how
the Federation used to be

and felt we weren't living up
to our principles.

Don't... make me pure of heart.

- A lot of people
agreed with you.
- Well, you didn't.

I was dead wrong, Nahla.

Now, these kids
are inheriting a broken world

they did not create
but have to clean up.

There's no one more suited
to help them.

You're part Lanthanite,
you were there centuries ago

when Starfleet was at its best.

You can show them
what that really means.

I give you my word,
building a future for these kids

is the mission now.
The only mission.

- That's why...
- Don't say it.

- ...you became a teacher.
- [groans]

You said it.

I can't.

[laughing]:
I can't.

[sighs]

I won't make promises
to more kids I can't keep.

Sorry, Charlie.

We found Caleb Mir alive.

Maybe it's not too late
for you to keep your promise.

Where?

VANCE:
They're holding him
in a Torothan prison.


The kid's been on the run
this whole time.


[screaming in distance]

GUARD:
On your feet.

[muffled grunting]

Take that thing off him now.

GUARD:
Careful, he's a biter.

And his cuffs.

GUARD:
Your funeral, Starfleet.

So,

they said you hacked
the imperial security system.

I'm thinking you used
programmable matter--

I know my sh*t.

What do you want?

You have a one-of-a-kind mind,

yet here you are, wasting away.

Like you had nothing
to do with it.

You know what
the Torothans do to thieves?

Cut off your fingers
one at a time, then your hands,

then they'll make you
dig tunnels with your wrists

for the rest of your
very brief, sad life.

I won't be here that long.

Oh, yeah?

Gonna make another break for it?

Not so sure
you'll get as far this time,

but you're a smart kid.

Let's see, oh,
the coast is clear.

Okay, hop to it, pal.

Oh, how about this? I turn away

and close my eyes.

What do you want?

When you and your mother
were separated--

Separated?
Is that what you tell yourself?

That isn't what I tell myself.

I tell myself

we made a horrible...

...catastrophic decision

that robbed you
and your mother of a future.

So I quit,

and I've been looking for you
every single day

for the last 15 years.

Toroth signed a, a treaty...

with the Federation

that allows low-level offenders

to commute rehabilitation
sentences into service.

Define "service."

Starfleet Academy.

They asked me to be chancellor.

Come with me.

This conversation
feels so familiar.

You know the last thing
my mother said to me?

"Don't trust them."

Yeah.

Your mother broke out
of prison a year ago.

What?

No, no, no.

No, no, she would have...

Reached out?

If she's alive,

I'll help you find her.

But this is the only way.

We go.

Together.

[sighs]

[indistinct comms transmissions]

You'll need
a regulation haircut.

Never happening.

Cool.

I'm not a sheep.

- Yeah, yeah.
- PILOT: This is Starfleet Six

requesting permission to dock.

FEMALE VOICE [over comms]:
Starfleet Shuttle Six,
this is
Athena Command.

We are locking you
for rendezvous


and docking you
at Shuttle Bay Seven.


Acknowledged, Athena Command.

Releasing manual.
You have the conn.

That... thing is

taking us to the school?

That is the school.

♪ ♪

DOT:
Greetings, Chancellor.


DIGITAL DEAN OF STUDENTS
[over P.A.]: Welcome, cadets,


to the USS Athena.

This is where your Starfleet
Academy journey begins.


Classes will be held
here on board


and at the campus
located on Earth


in beautiful San Francisco.

Class registration is now open.

We're happy to have you.

DOT:
Fixing complete. All better.


DIGITAL DEAN OF STUDENTS:
Attention, all personnel,


the mess hall is now open.

Make sure to visit

because sometimes hanger is
the greatest enemy of all.


♪ ♪

Commander Lura Thok, Chancellor.

Welcome to the Athena.

Pleasure
to meet you, Number One.

- Would you care
to see the bridge?
- Please.

- This way.
- Thank you.

Everyone accounted for?

The final group of cadets
is being processed.

Ready to set course
for San Francisco

- on your order.
- NAHLA: Excellent.

Your quarters were rebuilt

to your specifications,

and your library was
transferred from Bajor.

Actual books.
Impressive collection.

Thank you.

Mm-mm.

Nope.

I'm not wearing a uniform.

LURA:
First Year,

were you instructed
to jettison your gear?

Uh... no.

Who do you think
you are speaking with, boy?

You are in the presence
of Lura Thok,

daughter of Asmaret from
the Klingon House of Dak'Hatas

and the Jem'Hadar
lineage of Kah-Baj.

Your only reply is

"No, Cadet Master."

Sorry, Cadet what?

Lower deck latrine duty!

Six months as intraspecies
vomit monitor

and 200 push-ups.

Now! I said now!

Right now!
On the floor!

Up, down, up.

You.

Here. Over here now. Let's go.

Cadet Kraag, drop your gear
on this idiot's back.

- Hmm?
- Yes,

idiot, bag, back.

- Uh, apologies.
- No apologies.

I see you declared early.

Molecular biology
and regenerative therapies.

"Do no harm" is not a phrase
you hear a whole lot in Klingon.

LURA:
And why do you not yearn

for the honor of
a valiant death in battle

like the rest
of our kind, Cadet Kraag?

Be... because I yearn

for a valiant life,
Cadet Master.

CALEB:
How many more?

[strains]

[groans]
Stand, Cadet Mir.

Both of you, upstairs

to the Regulation
Appearance Arches,

and then to Medical
for your physical.

Move!

Have a great
first day at school.

NAHLA:
I must say, Commander,

you're an inspiring educator.

LURA:
Thank you, Chancellor.

I am Jay-Den Kraag.

Caleb Mir.

Hey, so, uh,

is vomit monitor
a real thing here?

DOT:
Oh, pardon me.


JAY-DEN:
You may be the first.

Division?

Uh, Sciences.

Step through.

Division?

Uh... I'm...

Hmm, undeclared. Step through.

[sighs]

Hmm.

Motherf...

Next.

That would be you, pouty.

Yeah, no, no, no, no,
I don't need a-a...

- [beeping]
- Holy parasite.

Where did you come in contact
with Orillian lung maggots,

and what are they doing
in your lower bowel?

- Do you bathe in a bog?
- What?

- Ah!
- Sorry to say,

I've healed you.

Now, no more bogs,
and keep a close eye

on your bowel movements
for the next three days.

Call me if anything moves.

Actually, don't. Next.

Um, I think
I swallowed my combadge.

- Already?
- Yeah.

Tricorder.

Medical tricorder.

Ow!

Oh, don't be a baby. Next.

- Captain on the bridge.
- [boatswain's whistle blows]

All ship's primary systems
operating within nominal ranges.

Impulse engines on line.

Warp drive
preclearance check complete.

All Alpha-shift crew
and personnel in position.

The ship is yours, Captain Ake.

- Thank you, Number One.
- Mm-hmm.

Lieutenants Dandrid...

Thriss...

Atlee.

Haile.

Ya.

And Ensign Weldu.
I read your files

and look forward
to getting to know you all.

Lieutenant Rork

will be our academic liaison.

She'll make sure we don't miss
any teachable moments

along the way.

What's our ETA?


at maximum warp, Captain.

Good. Everybody, back to work.

Have a seat.

BRIDGE CREW:
Aye, Captain.

COMPUTER:
Bioscans confirmed.
Welcome, Captain Ake.


Please enter
your comfort settings.


[Nahla humming tune]

Command station settings
confirmed.


[sighs]
Thank you, computer.

Anytime, Captain.

Lieutenant Atlee, open ship-wide
and on-screen, please.

Channel open, Captain.

Morning. I'm Captain Nahla Ake,

Chancellor of Starfleet Academy.

If you'd told me 24 hours ago

I'd be saying
those words, well...

...the truth is, I'm surprised.

And so...

...we begin.

Ad astra per aspera.

"Through struggle, the stars."

Your generation,
more than any other,

knows how true that is.

Some of you
are here for your families,

some for yourselves.

Some of you are
the first of your species.


Some, the last.

But you are all
the first Academy class

to return
to our campus in San Francisco

after more than 120 years.

I know many of you
have never been to Earth.


This will be a beginning,
one of many.


There, you will learn
the skills that shaped


our greatest officers.

Officers who began their
journeys at Starfleet Academy


and went on to become legendary.

Like them, you will learn
to dream without limitations.


But you'll also
be getting an education


of a different kind
aboard this vessel,


the Athena, named for
the goddess of wisdom.


Our ship,
where you will live and train,


will become a vital part
of our campus in San Francisco,


and, when called, she will
carry us out into the stars


so that all the galaxy
can become our classroom.


We will ask you
to give more of yourselves

than you knew you had.

But one thing is for sure.

Whatever challenges
came before today


led you to this moment.

And now you decide
if they define you.


It's time to build the future.

Ah, my chief medical officer.

How we doing, Doctor?

I'm pleased to report
all cadets' physicals

and vaccinations
are complete, Captain.

They're springy little zygotes.

We're ready to go on your order.

Lieutenant Dandrid,
unclamp moorings

and initiate
dock clearance maneuvers.

Aye, Captain.

NAHLA:
All right, people.

Let's go to San Francisco.

Retracting transways
and initiating induction.

Activating enhanced
internal sensors.


In five...

...four...

...three...

...two...

...one.

DIGITAL DEAN OF STUDENTS:
The Philosophy Society
invites you to join them


for deep thoughts
in the
Athena observation room.

Hi.

Hello.

- CADET: Hi.
- CADET 2: Hey.

- I like your...
- DOT: Excuse me, excuse me,

- excuse me, excuse me.
- Bonjour.

Hello.

Buongiorno.

Buong...

Uh-- oh.

You speak Tamza?

One of my favorite
dead languages.

Mine, too.

I'm Genesis.

Nice to meet you.

I'm Sam. Are we friends now?

[inhales sharply]
That depends.

What's it gonna cost me?

You know, I assume
there's yearly membership fees,

basic dues,
tithes and offerings.

Oh, you're giving
your friendship away for free?

What a mark. I'll take it.

[grunts]

Like this. Mm-hmm.

You were messing with me?

[laughs]:
Indeed, I was.

So, do you have
a favorite Earth restaurant

or landmass or volcano?

I've never actually been
to Earth before.

Or any planet.

Ever?

I'm Dar-Sha on my dad's side.

So I grew up moving with him
from starbase to starbase.

Well, I've never been
to Earth either.

- Oh.
- A relatable life experience
for us both

which can lay the groundworks
to a bond of mutual affection.

Oh, no, I am sorry.

- No apology needed.
- You okay? Sorry.
- Yeah.

Wow, I-I'm sorry.

So... who are we spying on?

Please return them.

- Nah, don't think so.
- GENESIS: Hey.

Really, you want to pick a fight
with a Klingon on day one?

- DAREM: Depends.
- GENESIS: Can we knock it off?

Yeah.

Ah-ah.

[groans]

JAY-DEN:
Your challenge holds no value

for me.

- Yeah?
- Does for me.

The as*h*le
always pops up early.

Maybe I just tag your ear
to warn everyone.

And what are you, huh,
his attack dog?

- MAN: Oh...
- Bow wow.

You pissed you had to leave

the servants
at home or something?

They wipe your a*s for you
like your friends here do?

Oh, I'm the first Khionian
to make it to Starfleet.

- Mm.
- Gonna be a captain.

Ah.

You ever mattered enough
to be first at anything?

I'm about to be
the first person in Starfleet

to make a Khionian cry.

- Do it, then.
- Do. Not.

[growls]

Why am I receiving reports

that everyone's catecholamine
levels are spiking?

You're all suddenly in
a stress hormone bouncy house.

Whatever you're doing, stop it.

All cadets are requested

to report immediately
to Sato Atrium

for club activities
registration.

Shoo.

Oh, and don't forget to stop
by the Opera Club booth.

Singing makes you breathe.

Breathing is stress management.

They resist at their own peril.

[the Doctor singing]

Do you know who that was?

[laughs]
Come on.

[sighs]

- SAM: Where are we going?
- GENESIS: Exploring.

SAM:
Oh, okay.

They're cool.

I watch birds.

M-My mother-- she taught me

to see the beauty in things.

Nice.

[speaking Klingon]

It means: "A warrior does not

"let a friend

face danger alone."

DIGITAL DEAN OF STUDENTS:
All cadets, you are officially
out on your own.


It's time to experiment--

with electives, that is.

You must select at least two

in your first semester,
at least one


- in your second semester...
- THE DOCTOR: You, sir...

why not consider
the Opera Society?

m*rder, betrayal,

suicide?

Just give it a try.

Anyone? No one?

Heathens.

[huffs, grunts]

No takers?

Ah.
[chuckles]

Soprano, mezzo-soprano or alto?

You're the Emergency Medical
Hologram Mark One.

"Doctor" will suffice.

W-W-Wait-wait! I prepared
a speech. [clears throat]

- Greetings.
- Oh.

- Oh, dear.
- I am Series Acclimation Mil.

But in the interest of not being
mocked relentlessly

by my fellow cadets,
I'm going with Sam.

Ah, yes.

[clears throat] You're
our first holographic student.

The first of our kind
created with the sole purpose

of reintegrating
with organic life-forms.

I enjoy, um,
normal teenage things

like hanging
with friend groups, studying,

and reasonable acts
of rebellion.

- [chuckles politely]
- Well, you know,
occasional acts of rebellion.

Okay, there probably won't be
any rebellion.

May I ask,
how long have you existed?

You may, thank you.

I was programmed to feel 17,

but I've only existed a little
over four months on Kasq.

And Kasq is
a colony of holograms?

- We prefer "photonics."
- Hmm.

Doctor, I can't help noticing

you seem more mature
than excepted.

I prefer "distinguished,
professorial,

- ruggedly sophisticated."
- Hmm.

About 500 years ago,
I added an aging program

to my matrix to put organics
at ease.

- Of course. As my new mentor...
- No, no.

...please tell me
how you exist around all this,

like, flesh and blood?

Sometimes I feel invisible.

But mostly awkward.

I don't think I was programmed
to be awkward.

That's not because
you're photonic, Sam.

It's because you're 17.

You're just beginning
a new phase of your life.

Tragically, the only way out

is through,
then your adolescent memories

will wake you screaming
for the rest of your adult life.

As you see, I'm no one's mentor.

But you were.

To Voyager's crew, to
the children of the Protostar,

to Dal and Murph
and Captain Gwyndala and...

- Uh...
- Your sensitivity calibrations
are spiking.

Have I said something

inappropriate
or, uh, frightening?

My interactive subroutines
are functioning perfectly.

And I fear nothing.

I do, however, encourage you
to join the Opera Club.

We're starting with
Il Trovatore, "Di Quella Pira."

It's miraculous.

I bid you adieu.

[stammers]

Bye.

[indistinct announcements
over P.A.]


COMPUTER:
Communication subsystem
override.


Access granted.

ANISHA [echoes]:
Again.


YOUNG CALEB:
Nah-ru,


Xela, Bhak, Cali, Squill.

ANISHA:
That's ours.

Our secret code.

Yours and mine.

Encryption key: Nah-ru, Xela,

Bhak, Cali, Squill.

COMPUTER:
Frequency secured.


Messages?

No messages received.

[exhales]

Mom, are you getting these?

I've looked for you
in so many places,

left so many messages.

I'm going to Earth.

We were gonna see it together.

Remember?

Mom, I'm afraid

for you. They...

They said you'd gotten free.

They're probably
just saying that

- to mess with my head.
- GENESIS: Hi.

I'm pretty sure hacking
an instructor's console

is a code violation.

You gonna rat me out
or shake me down?

[laughs softly]

Hmm.

I want to learn how to k*ll
a man with a toothbrush.

You were in prison, right?

That's the rumor, anyway.

Teach me

in exchange for my silence.

I'm also gonna need someone
to cover all of my shifts

on the duty roster,

probably someone to dress me
in the morning. Oh.

And I want all of my food
pre-chewed

and spit into my mouth
like a baby bird.

- Please.
- Can't do it.

Don't have a toothbrush.

Hmm. You should.

Don't have anything.
Don't plan on staying.

Then what are you worried about?

You are wound very tight.

I don't want anything.

At the moment.

But I'll let you know.

You're not gonna rat me out?

[scoffs]
For being gullible?

[whispers]:
Definitely.

See you.

Oh, by the way,

that was really nice,
what you did for your friend.

He's not my...

Thanks.

♪ ♪

COMPUTER:
Warp bubble is stable.


Unusual readings detected

approximately three minutes
from our current position.


WELDU:
Are, are you getting
these weird readings?

YA:
Aye. They're not making
a lot of sense.

Captain, we're detecting
an anomaly ahead.

It could be an ion storm.

Gravimetric shear
is off the charts.

- Your charts, maybe.
- Don't try me, boy.

LURA:
I believe I may be able
to provide some context.

Talk to me, Number One.

We're not far
from the badlands, Captain.

Subspace instability
may be creeping in,

and we're the first to chart it.

These would make an excellent
practical study module

for the spatial harmonics lab,
Captain.

All right. Well, let's not total
the ship on our first run.

[Lura chuckles]

Helm, drop us out of warp,
make your speed maximum impulse.

Give it a wide berth, train
every sensor we've got on it.

Aye, Captain.

[thunder rumbling]

NAHLA:
Shouldn't we be experiencing

some of that
off-the-chart shear,

even at this distance?

Captain, I'm picking up
sources of tachyon interference





They tricked our sensors.

Red alert, raise shields,

target those contacts
and take them out.

Get to the kids.

DIGITAL DEAN OF STUDENTS:
All hands to stations.


All cadets, you must return
to your quarters.


- This is not a drill.
- THE DOCTOR: Keep moving.

Don't panic. Breathe.

Breathing is your friend.

- LURA: Go!
- THE DOCTOR: Go on.

LURA:
Go! This is not a drill.

Get to your dorms. Go! Move it!

Why are you jogging?

Get up those stairs!

What is that?

Programmable matter's
engulfing the entire ship.

It's a variant
we've never seen before.

Activate backup
holo-comms interface.

- Aye, Captain.
- Helm,

- get us out of here.
- MAN [over comms]:
We've lost helm response.


Manual override initiated.

Helm not responding.

It's draining our power,
Captain.

Captain, it's the Venari Ral.

Fire full spread.

We can't. The programmable
matter disabled our turrets.

Target locked on us

at 320 degrees, mark 2.

[shouting]

NAHLA:
Emergency evasive.

Multiple systems overload,
Captain.

Primary power at 86%
and falling.

All remaining power
to forward shields.

- Open a channel
to Starfleet Command.
- Shields at 11%

- and falling.
- This is Captain Ake
of the USS Athena

calling Starfleet Command.
Repeat...

- Ten percent.
- USS Athena under attack
by the Venari Ral.

- We're at nine. Eight percent.
- Damage to multiple decks,
Captain,

including crew quarters.

- Bridge to the Doctor.
- YA: Seven.

- Doctor, report.
- Six.

A little busy here, Captain.

The expl*si*n damaged
our emergency holo-emitters.

Medical staff
is in short supply right now.

From what I can see,
there are multiple injuries,


both cadet and officers,
but no casualties.

Let me know if that changes.

If we can avoid

another direct hit,

that would be super helpful.

[alarm sounding]

- [gasps]
- [high-pitched ringing]

[groans]

[grunts softly]

[grunting]

Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

We got to get
this plating off her.

- [Lura screams]
- Hey, careful, careful.

- Careful.
- PICKFORD: Red alert!

Red alert! Red alert,

- red alert, red alert!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey,

hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

You don't have to say it.

Okay? That's what
the warning's for.

- I've had a day.
- You're doing great.

PICKFORD:
Thank you, goodbye.

[Lura screaming]

- DAREM: Got it? You got it?
- [rubble clatters]

[Lura groaning]

GENESIS:
No, no, no,
we can't pull it out.

The internal damage
will k*ll her.

We need a medical tricorder.

Emergency transport to sickbay.

COMPUTER:
Transporters are offline.


GENESIS:
Computer, show me
the closest medical.

There's a bio training classroom
on this deck.

We got to get her there
to stabilize her.

I will stand.

[groans]

GENESIS:
You okay? I got you, I got you.

- DAREM: Slowly, slowly...
- [screaming]

- Are you dizzy?
- [grunting]

GENESIS:
Okay, we're gonna get you
to a medical bay,

and you're gonna be fine.

[high-pitched chittering]

I know that sound.

I know it.

LURA:
Cadet.

What are you doing?

Their programmable matter's
resonating

on a specific frequency.

I can k*ll it,
but I need a link to the bridge.

Uh, computer, emergency lights.

COMPUTER [distorted]:
Failure. Emergency lights not...


Does anyone have a flashlight?

♪ ♪

Hi.

Hi.

[grunting]

Yeah, come on.

One step, just one step.

It's in lab mode.
I can't access the controls.

Override authorization
Thok-gamma-6-1-6-pi.

Cadet Sam, code a hypospray

with a broad-spectrum
vaso-suppressant.

Cadet Kraag, find the tricorder

and scan the wound,

tell me if there's
any major arteries involved.

If there's not,
prepare to pull hard.

Cadet Reymi,
get me something to bite.

Power supplies
fluctuating ship-wide.

YA:
Cadets and instructors
in lockdown.

ATLEE:
Incoming holo-transmission.

Patch it through.

[Nus chuckles]



but you look radiant as ever,
Captain Ake.

Nus Braka.

So many things I didn't get
to say when last we met.

For instance:

time, with its infinite
sense of humor,

will always fold upon itself
like an origami chicken.

[laughs]
Yeah, and this moment,

Captain Ake,
this moment is that chicken.

In other words,

payback's a b*tch.

NAHLA:
You're committing an act of w*r
against the Federation.


Withdraw, Braka.

NUS:
Comandante Braka, please.


And I don't recognize
your authority to...

- Oh, blow it out your a*s.
- Oh! Charming.

I'm not a big believer
in coincidences.

Yeah? Me neither.

Hi there.

Nus Braka.

No, one of your passengers

sent a message
on an old Venari frequency,

and it's a heartbreaker, oh.

CALEB [over recording]:
Mom... are you getting these?


I've looked for you
in so many places,


left so many messages.

I'm going to Earth.

We were gonna see it together.

Tearing this kid away
from the only family he has

and then putting him
in one of your uniforms

reaches a level of sadism
not even I have.

Mm-hmm.

Well, actually,
there was that one time.

Oh, well.
[blows raspberry, laughs]

Je ne regrette rien!

That's French, kids.

You son of a b*tch.

LURA:
Cadets!

Stop that right now!

- I said knock it off!
- Hey, hey! Not now.

Idiots, get the bite stick.

- I'm sorry.
- Later.

NAHLA:
Did you come for the cadet?


'Cause you can't have him.

Absolutely not.
I'm a businessman.

I came for your warp drive.

Then you're a sh*t businessman,
'cause it's too big

- for your ship.
- Mm, very true,

but sold off piece by piece,
it's worth my time.

So I'm gonna need you
to clear all personnel,

including security,
from Engineering.

And then,
since our transporter's

working just fine...
[laughs]

I'll pop over with a team
and break down your drive,

uh, then we'll beam it off the
ship and, poof, flutter away.

I need ten minutes to clear
my people out of Engineering

and override
the biometric locks.

[laughs softly]

Oh, when you lie to me, Captain,
I'll admit, it's hot.

Otherwise, the minute
your team touches our controls,

anti-tampering protocols
will activate...

- Hmm.
- ...your guys will have to
take it apart bolt by stem-seal.

You could just...
rip it out, of course,

but your buyers
aren't gonna pay top dollar

for broken components, are they?

I want you the hell off my ship.

The sooner the better.

Just to state the obvious,

that posse you called
is too far out.

So quit dicking around...

[chuckles wryly]

...or your little ship
becomes a tomb.

Did Starfleet get
our distress call?

Yes, Captain,
but Braka's correct.

Discovery's undergoing
a retrofit,

and the rest of the fleet
won't arrive in time.

- Options?
- THRISS: We can't run,

we have no operational weapons.

The matter on our hull
is a proprietary design

and is now indistinguishable
from the ship,

at least
from a sensor point of view.

Could it be removed manually?

No, it would take days,
and that assumes our systems

went operational again
and everyone wasn't in lockdown.

CALEB:
Nahla.


This is Caleb, can you hear me?

Cadet Mir, you're to clear
this channel immediately.

No, no, no, no.

- Mir, go ahead.
- Their programmable matter's

integrating with our systems

to override
our ship's functions.

Our sensors can't tell
the difference


between that stuff on the hull
and the
Athena,

- but I can fix it.
- How?

- Fast, Mir.
- Same way I hacked
the Torothans.

All programmable matter has its
own atomic coefficient, right?

- Like a serial number.
- If I can get that number

from one of the disseminators
on the hull, I can set up

- a mirror primary key.
- No, Captain, uh,

corrupted programmable matter
is volatile.

It's worth five seconds'
consideration.

- Mir, keep going.
- Then all I have to do

is neutralize
the integration actuators.

Nobody survives here
by playing it safe.

I'm not being compulsive.

It's a strategy.

Mir...

you're gonna get
one shot at this.

Let me know the second
you're ready to run the program.


On it.

Lieutenant Ya,

take us to Academy Mode.

That ought to buy us
a little time.

Any particular course?

Ramcon Six.

That's the fun one.

[grunts]

The vaso-suppressant will
temporarily reduce blood flow.

So, not so much blood,
which is great news.

It is working. Now or never.

- I prefer now.
- DAREM: Found it.

- On three?
- On three.

Gently. Very gently.

BOTH:
One, two, three.

[screaming]

- Oh.
- That's a lot of blood, actually.

We need to repair
the internal damage.

You need a trained physician.

Cadet Kraag, I am dead.

I go into battle
to reclaim my life.

Your triage training
begins today.

I cannot...

LURA:
Listen, boy, whatever shame

that you're trying to escape,

running now
will only compound it.

You said you burn for life.

I said "yearn."

No matter.
Now you will save my life.

Use your hands

like the Klingon you are.

Tell fear you refuse.

You've got it. You're good.

- Personal space.
- How are you planning

to break the frequency isolation
coefficient?

- sh*t.
- I can scan all frequencies

to find the one we can use
to send the hack.

No, I always do
this stuff alone.

Don't be an as*h*le, Mir.
She's faster.

If you want faster,
climb out on the hull

and scan me a sample
of active matter

so I can build it
into the sequence

instead of running
a randomizing algorithm. Damn.

Copy that. I'll get an EV suit.

Wait, I was kidding.

LURA:
You cannot take a suit.

Cadets cannot
activate them alone.

A supervising officer must be
present and paired to the suit.

I can go.

I can go outside without a suit.

I've survived pressure
differentials up to 7,000 pounds

and temperatures as low
as -271 degrees Celsius.

For how long?

Eight minutes.

You got a death wish?

How you gonna survive in space
without a damn suit?

Like I said,
I'm Khionian, b*tch.

[scoffs]

Mir, can you hear me?

MIR:
Yeah, I hear you.


Just keep the channel open.

[Nus whistling]

GENESIS:
Are we good?

- Good.
- Good.

Good.
Okay, put this on your neck.

It'll pick up vibrations
off your vocal cords

and I'll follow you from here.

Would you mind turning around?

- [laughs] Why?
- I just, uh...

I just don't want you
falling in love with me, girl.

I think we're safe.

Can you just turn around, please?

I'm picking up pockets
of heavy hydrogen gas outside.

It'll be like walking
through soup out there.

Are you sure you can do this
without a helmet?

Okay, you can turn around now.

Wow.

Um...

...I like it.

Hey, good luck.

♪ ♪

COMPUTER:
Airlock release
in three, two, one.


DAREM:
I'm, uh, heading towards
the port side of the saucer now.


GENESIS:
Okay, Darem,
there's a disseminator

250 meters to port
near the shield emitter.


DAREM:
You talk like
you've already had training.

GENESIS:
Since I was two.


My father's a Starfleet admiral.

Okay, glad you told me

before I asked you out.

Don't push it.

Main engineering's
been cleared, Captain.

Venari are entering now.

I don't suppose there's any way

we could just eject them
into space?

THRISS:
I'd love nothing more, Captain,

but our transporters
remain offline.

I can't beam them out.

[Nus cackles]

Time to incoming
Starfleet ships?



Okay.

- Got the frequency.
- You did?

- Yep.
- That's great.

- Yep.
- I mean, I would've
gotten there...

But there's another problem.

Once you have the coefficients,
you still need to send

the modification to every piece
of programmable matter

across the hull
at the exact same time,

and the only way to do that
is through the main deflector.

as*h*le One to as*h*le Two:

how we doing?

DAREM [stammering]:
Almost there.


COMPUTER:
Warning: subject's body
temperature dropping rapidly.


[gasps] He's not gonna make it
back to the airlock in time.

Computer, lock onto Cadet Reymi.

Get ready to transport him
to my location.

COMPUTERS:
Transporters are offline.


COMPUTER:
Scanning programmable matter.


[Darem panting softly]

Can I have access
to primary tactical systems?

COMPUTER:
Access denied.


Command authorization required.

Command code override:
Thok-gamma-6-1-6-pi.

Commander Lura Thok,
voice authentication failed.


[groans]

Come on, please, come on.

- Please.
- GENESIS: Hello.

Is anyone listening to me?
This is an emergency.

Please state the nature
of the medical emergency.

I... I need command level access
to the primary tactical systems.

- That's not a medical emergency.
- It's about to be.

I am trying to save
Cadet Reymi's life.

You should have said that first.

Command code override:
Doctor-delta-10-sigma-3-1.

Access primary tactical systems.

COMPUTER:
Primary relays severely
damaged at this station.


Where's the nearest
functional station?

Athena atrium, level two.

Go get him.

Thank you.

Okay, Darem, talk to me.

DAREM [shuddering]:
Almost done.


Scanning.

[stammers]

The atomic coefficient is...

The atomic coefficient
is...

- [stammers]
- Darem, you're breaking up.

Pull your sh*t together, Darem.
You're Khionian, b*tch.

Z035T7H21390RA16!

COMPUTER:
Algorithm encoded.


Hurts me to say this, man,
but great job.

DAREM:
Bite me.


Caleb to ship. Central Command.

Bridge. Location. Hello?

- Mir, go ahead.
- I finished the hack,

but I need deflector control
to transmit it.

Auxiliary deflector controls

are near the airlock
outside Engineering,

which is currently crawling
with Venari Ral.

They'll stop you
before you even get close.

You'll need to follow
my instructions.


The timing has to be perfect.

Okay, Darem, listen up.
New plan.

Move away from the airlock
towards the center

of the saucer.

DAREM:
I'm...

not g...
I'm not gonna make it.

Uh-uh, Darem, guys who die
heroically are a big turnoff

for me, so keep moving.

CALEB:
I can get past them


- if you just...
- NAHLA: Cadet Mir,
this is not up for debate.


You have your orders. Are you
capable of following them?

Yes, Chancellor.

I'm trusting you,
but you have to trust me, too.

Now move.

In high-pressure situations,
positive reinforcement

is crucial to one's success,
so, Jay-Den,

I need you to know
you're doing a great job.

A-And also
that a Jem'Hadar's heart

is inches
from where your suture is

and you're about to pierce it.

Okay, you want to approach

- through the left ventricle.
- JAY-DEN: Right.

Uh, ready to close.

Just flagging that you need
to keep left.

One more left.

Another left.
Yeah, that's the one.

Four lefts puts me back
where I started.

Yeah, this really
has been a journey.

If I am going to bleed to death,

I require significantly less
cheerfulness

in my final moments.

[whispers]:
I hear you.

COMPUTER:
Attempting signature lock--
Cadet Reymi.


[heart beating]

♪ ♪

[panting]:
I got you... I got you.

JAY-DEN:
Do not k*ll your instructor
on day one.

Do not k*ll
your instructor on day one.

- Get on with it.
- Ooh.

[Lura grunting]

[screaming]

[monitor beeping steadily]

[flatlining]

Cadet Master?

Cadet Master?

[monitor beeping steadily]

[chuckles]

Dying really gets
the blood pumping, eh?

- Ha!
- [Jay-Den grunts]

[clatters]

- Ow.
- You don't have to thank me.

COMPUTER:
Warning: warp core


detonation imminent.

All hands abandon ship.

NUS:
What in deviled egg hell?


Your idiots just
triggered a breach.

- I'm initiating core shutdown.
- No.

You're bluffing.

Get all crew
to evacuation shuttles.

Get all crew to evacuation
shuttles.

My scanner shows
your core is cold.


Much as I love a good game
of origami chicken,

I'd get the hell out of there
if I were you, Braka.

COMPUTER:
Warp core detonation
in ten, nine,


eight, seven,

- six, five...
- Abort!

- Go now!
- ...four, three,

two, one.

Ramcon Six Simulation Program
deactivated.


Have an excellent day.

Mir, you're on.

COMPUTER:
Loading protocol.


[tongue clicking]

You know,
I can always smell a lie.

Hi, Little Fish.

My, my, my, how we've grown.

- You weren't wrong, you know?
- Huh?

Hating you did
keep me warm at night.

Hate makes you a man, right?

However, I do sniff
just a hair of resentment

against our lovely Captain Ake.

Not enough to stab her
in her sleep, unfortunately.

Oh, your mother would be so
disappointed in you, lazybones.

You know, it's a damn shame
what happened to her

on Goja V
after we broke out of prison.

COMPUTER:
Protocol initialized. Execute.


[cackles]

[both grunting]

NUS:
Never pick a fight
with a Klingarite, kid.

Protocol initialized. Execute.

[both grunting]

What... did... you... do...

to my... mother?

[gasps]

[grunting]

- COMPUTER: Protocol complete.
- Oh, nice.

[yells]

He did it, Captain.

Nice, kid.

Shields and weapons restored.

Blow that ship to hell.

With pleasure, Captain.

A teachable moment.
[chuckles]

No! No!

[grunts]

- [laughing]
- CALEB: No!

[grunting]

- [yells]
- No!

No! No!

[snarling]

["San Francisco [Be Sure to Wear
Flowers in Your Hair]" playing]

We're home.

♪ If you're going ♪

♪ To San Francisco ♪

♪ Be sure to wear ♪

♪ Flowers in your hair ♪

♪ If you're going ♪

♪ To San Francisco ♪

♪ You're gonna meet ♪

♪ Some gentle people ♪

♪ There ♪

♪ All across the nation ♪

♪ Such a strong vibration ♪

♪ People in motion ♪

♪ People
in motion ♪


♪ There's a whole generation ♪

♪ With a new explanation ♪

♪ People in motion ♪

♪ People
in motion ♪


♪ If you're going ♪

♪ To San Francisco ♪

♪ Be sure to wear some flowers ♪

♪ In your hair ♪

♪ If you're going ♪

♪ To San Francisco ♪

♪ If you're going... ♪

[singer sustaining note]

ANISHA [whispering]:
We'll always be together.


Always.

NAHLA:
The hearing committee believes

that Nus found us
because you hacked

the ship's comms array

and endangered the lives
of everyone on board.

All of those things
are grounds for expulsion,

and they're all true.

What is also true
is that you took initiative

during a crisis,

put the lives of others
before your own,

and demonstrated
command potential.

So what?

So I cut you a deal.

Stay,

you'll be restricted to campus
for 90 days

with 100 hours
of menial labor...

...or go.

Just go out there...

...without your best chance
of finding your mother.

I had a son.

He was a cadet here.

His class was on a ship
when the Burn hit.

Snap.

I've had over 120 years
to think about

what I could have done
differently as a mother.

And every day I come back...

...to the same answer.

I would have listened.

Not advised.

Not judged, not...

maneuvered.

You do a lot of that stuff
to protect your child, you know?

I would have listened.

No matter how hard
things were between us.

I'm not him.

I'm aware.

Second chances.

I'll stay.

For now.

Don't screw it up.

[laughs softly]