01x09 - All Those Who Wander

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds...

HEMMER: The Aenar believe
the end only comes

once you have fulfilled your purpose.

- It provides meaning.
- So, what was your purpose?

To fix what is broken.

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

I really don't know.

I apologize

for the incident on the bridge

between Nurse Chapel and I.

I never actually believed
you could have feelings

- for Nurse Chapel.
- LA'AN: The Gorn captured

my family's colony ship.

When they hunt, they're unrelenting.

Plenty of people have seen the Gorn.

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

UHURA: Cadet's personal log,

stardate . .

My assignment to Enterprise is over.

After we complete our current mission

delivering Vidium power cells
to deep space station K- ,

I go back to Earth.

I'm excited to see my grandmother.

Our last call was cut short.

Life on a starship has
a way of taking over.

I've rotated through
almost every department.

So many amazing, talented people.

The top everyone of everything.

They all know
why they belong in Starfleet.

For them, Starfleet

has always been the destination.

For me, it was where I ran to

after the loss of my parents.

Serving aboard Enterprise
is an affirmation

of this entire crew's hopes and dreams.

I envy their surety.

But, me...

I guess I'm still searching.

PIKE: Time to bend some ears.

Welcome to the big send-off,

although they leave us
in a couple of weeks,

today it's official.

Let's hear it for Cadets Chia
and Uhura for completing

their training rotation
on the USS Enterprise.

You have both been
exemplary crew members.

Dedicated. Hardworking.

Collaborative.

We've seen some things together.

- MAN: Yeah, we have.
- [WOMAN LAUGHS]

We've survived some things together.

- [SCATTERED CHUCKLING]
- Hmm.

We are bonded now and forever

by the family that is Starfleet.

And speaking of bonds and oaths...

Ensign Duke, front and center.

Effective immediately,
you are no longer an ensign.

Congratulations, Lieutenant Duke.

[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]

[LAUGHS]

[QUIET CHATTER]

All this time on the ship,

and you still shy away from the crowd.

Permission to speak freely, sir?

Nyota, it's me.

Live it up, it's a party.

It's your party.

Yes, permission granted.

I hate goodbyes.

Still haven't decided to stay?

I-I know better than
to b*at a dead horse,

but you've made an impact here.

There will always be a place
on Enterprise for Nyota Uhura.

- [COMM CHIRPS]
- SPOCK: Spock to Captain Pike.

What is it, Spock?

Incoming priority one mission
from Starfleet Command, sir.

- Spock out.
- [COMM CHIRPS]

Aren't we already
a priority one mission?

Yeah.

Where's La'An?

She couldn't make it. She's...

scheduled personal health time.

She can join us in progress.

Get Science and Medical.

They need to send someone else.

It's not someone else's assignment.

Sorry I'm late.

I was with Dr. Sanchez again.

- Head shrinker.
- It's called Starfleet recovery assistance,

and I'm glad you're making use of it.

You're on time.
We're just kicking around

some intel on a mission brief.

While you clean up?

People are capable of doing
two things at once.

Spock?

Approximately four days ago,

the USS Peregrine activated
a distress beacon

before losing contact.

Can you take over the dishes
for a minute?

Oh. Yes, of course.

Saved you a plate.

No, thanks. I'm not hungry.

You're gonna want to try
the omelet and the bacon.

And the waffle.

PIKE: The Peregrine's deep space relay

took two days to reach Starfleet.

Another two to us,

so we might still have contact,
just delayed.

- Oh, my God, this is delicious.
- Told you.

SPOCK: At the time of transmission,
the Peregrine was making

an unscheduled emergency landing
on a class L planet.

Valeo Beta Five.

Are emergency landings ever scheduled?

The ship made its descent but its beacon

went out mid-transmission.

Destroyed on impact? Where... Uh, do you

have the... Where's the, um...

- Extra cheese?
- Mm.

While possible, it is more likely

the interference on Valeo Beta
Five has disrupted the signal.

The upper atmosphere is littered
with charged nitrate ions.

UNA: Planet's a known dead zone.

Our communications and transporters

don't reach the surface.

A Sombra-class ship, that's unique.

I served on one. Fast.

Built with the same parts
as a Constitution.

PIKE: She'd gone off the grid,

gathering data in uncharted sectors.

The Federation wants us to aid the crew

and, if possible, retrieve the ship.

And our current mission?

The Vidium power cells for K- ...

without them the whole
space station goes dark.

Including life support.

The nearest ship that
could deliver them for us

is a week away.

SPOCK: Vidium cells decay in transport.

A delay of that duration
would render them all useless.

I advise we send a landing party

to make repairs and treat the wounded.

Meanwhile, Enterprise can continue on

to deliver the Vidium.

Like you said, sir.

People are capable
of doing two things at once.

- Let me get you some bacon.
- It's risky.

There's no way the landing party
could contact the ship.

True, it is a communications dead zone,

but I have faith in our crew
to get it done.

The Enterprise can pick us up
on the way back.

- Us?
- PIKE: I'll oversee this one personally.

Get the cadets out
on one last away mission

with senior officers.

You sure you want to split the crew?

It'll be fine, Number One.

You get the supplies to K- .

I'll pile the kids in the station wagon,

take a road trip.

Sir? The station wagon?

Anybody has to go, now's the time.

Do not make me turn this car around.

Okay. You have your orders.

[OVER COMMS]: Number
One, you're good to go.

We're making our descent now.

UNA: We'll monitor your approach.

PIKE: That's a negative. Once we
enter the upper atmosphere,

we're going to be out of
contact either w...

[DISTORTED]: Make haste to K- .

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[WIND WHISTLING]

Man, this is gonna be a hike.

Geothermal anomalies
have forced us to land

several kilometers from the Peregrine.

We should work quickly.
This area is highly volatile.

It is due to be overrun by an ice storm

in approximately six hours.

This wind

reminds me of Andoria.

- [LAUGHS]
- [EXHALES]

Glad someone can enjoy it.

The anomalies... is that
what's k*lling our comms?

Negative, Ensign.

It is the ionic interference

that prevents long-range communication.

Drink. You owe him a drink, Spock.

Duke's a lieutenant now.

Call him an ensign,
you got to buy him a drink.

Starfleet tradition.

Another human drinking game.

Does their number have no limit?

Nope.

Based on these readings,

the Peregrine made landfall
near the ridge of a great chasm.

No life signs, anything?

Still too much interference.

PIKE: We should be getting something.

LA'AN: Captain,

might not be a scanning problem.

PIKE: Space.

The final frontier.

These are the voyages
of the starship Enterprise.

Its five-year mission:

to explore strange new worlds...

... to seek out new life

and new civilizations,

to boldly go where no
one has gone before.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[STATIC]

[WIND WHISTLING]

Blood.

SPOCK: Captain, there's more
blood over here as well.

I want a full diagnostic.
As fast as you can.

Any luck on the internal comms?

No. Still down.

And environmental systems are at %.

Captain, the bridge
is completely offline.

Someone hardwired all the
controls down to Engineering.

Why would they do that?

HEMMER: Plasma in the main circuits.

That's not typical.

They were likely using energy
from the warp core injectors

as emergency power.

But that would imply...

UHURA: No backup batteries.

And the matter-antimatter
reactor's busted.

Clearly, I brought
the right people for the job.

- Hem, can you fix it?
- Perhaps.

I'll have to work in Engineering.

Mr. Spock, can you manage
restoring bridge functions?

I will attempt to make quick work of it.

[CLATTERING]

It's grim.

casualties so far,
one of them the captain.

The Peregrine has a crew of .

There could be more we didn't find.

Most d*ed of hypothermia.

Their suits are shredded
by the elements.

Some of them were picked apart, maybe...

local wildlife.

Maybe something else.

As far as I can tell,

the crew went outside,
got caught in a brutal storm

and couldn't find their way
back to the ship.

Pull up the logs.

I bet it's real creepy here after dark.

It's already pretty damn creepy.

CHIA: Lieutenant Kirk.
We found something.

What the hell did this?

I can only get audio.

GAVIN: Captain's log, stardate...

I'm not even sure.

A week since we've crashed?

Peregrine was mapping
non-Federation space

when we found three castaways
on an M class planet,

a human girl,
a humanoid of unknown origin

and an Orion named Pasko.

We rescued them. Brought them aboard.

But we didn't know what we didn't know.

Pasko was infected with Gorn eggs.

Biofilters didn't detect them.

But the Orion knew.

He set off a plasma grenade
in Engineering,

tried to end it.

The system sent
an a*t*matic distress call

in response to the expl*si*n.

If I could reach Starfleet now,
I would say

stay away.

Don't come to Valeo Beta Five.

A little late for that, isn't it?

M'Benga, Spock, go get the others.

But if you're watching this,

chances are we didn't survive.

La'An.

- What do you want to do?
- I want to k*ll them.

But I'd settle for finding
any crew alive

and getting off of this frozen rock.

Captain, ops are coming online.

I have two life signs on Deck Five.

Human or Gorn?

One human, the other...

... unknown.

Hemmer,

keep powering up whatever you can.

And, La'An, Uhura, you're with me.

This body's been badly m*nled.

[CLATTERING]

[GROWLS]

Kakalaka jarfuk pikarak!

- What's he saying?
- Universal translator isn't processing it.

Uhura, do something.

That's not how linguistics works.

Karfuk. Karfick. Karfarsh.

Wait.

It's two life signs, right?

Shipa. Shipa.

UHURA: He might be protecting someone.

We should lower our weapons.

Stand down.

[GROWLS SOFTLY]

I hope you're right about this.

UHURA: We're friends.

We're here to help you.

And whoever might be with you.

[GROWLS SOFTLY]

♪ ♪

SPOCK: Nurse Chapel,

I need dermal synthesizers
for a burn wound.

Where? You look fine.

Lieutenant Duke.

He did not account
for potential instabilities

in the Jeffries tube.

Duke wasn't paying attention.

Indeed.

Although I do fail to see
the logic in asking me

to come for supplies
instead of seeking treatment.

Mm, well...

Duke made rank, Spock.

He's acting tough.

Pride. A flawed human emotion.

It's called foolish for a reason.

Thankfully, the teachings
of Surak allow me

to purge such things.

One does not take pride in logic.

I understand that, uh,

Vulcans have a strong,
hidden primal nature.

I bet you're a tempest
when you're angry.

It is true that without
proper mindfulness

Vulcan emotion is dangerous.

We use logic to not succumb to anger.

It's good to get mad sometimes.

- UHURA: I'm gonna miss you, Hammer.
- HAMMER: Nonsense.

People tend to find their way
back around in Starfleet.

Mm... not me.

When you asked me about my life path,

I didn't have an answer.

So I had to ask myself...

"Uhura, why don't you have an answer?"

And what was Uhura's response?

I've just been drifting.

It's time for me to stop coasting.

And you feel that serving
with Starfleet is coasting?

[SHORT CHUCKLE] I don't know.

Maybe.

Who knows where I'll end up.

But...

I'm not afraid to face it alone anymore.

Interesting.

I never felt that your
fear was being alone.

I think your problem
is the exact opposite.

Oh, really? Please, enlighten me.

You make friends easily,
when you allow it to happen.

You think I don't like making friends?

No. I think you love it.

And deep down,
that scares you, 'cause...

your real fear is putting down roots.

So, now you're a ship's counselor?

[SCOFFS] I understand.

It is better to leave than
to be the one left behind.

But that's wrong.

You create bonds. It's a gift.

Of course the people
you care about are going

to cause you pain, it will hurt,

but the love it yields will
far outweigh the sorrow.

Now, hand me the electron coupler.

Piti titi camu.

Topa karfarsh. Piki shipa topa.

M'BENGA: Your friend,

what's his name?

I call him Buckley.

I like it.

It's just what I call him.

What's your name?

Oriana.

Are we getting out of here?

Are you checking them thoroughly?

Readings don't show any anomalies.

Are you infected?

Is he?

I told you the readings are clean.

- Where are the Gorn?
- Karfika kafk!

It's okay, Buckley. I got this.

The monsters are gone.

Why didn't you tell the captain
about the Gorn eggs

when they saved you?

Why did you stay quiet?

- Lieutenant.
- You could've saved them.

La'An, stop harassing my daughter.

My patient.

Leave her alone.

Find somewhere else to be useful.

PIKE: Sensors show the ship is clean.

Whatever happened outside
seems to be the end of it.

Reported missing two years ago.

Help me understand.

Where do the Gorn fit in?

The girl and the two aliens
were probably refugees

from a breeding planet.

The adult Gorn only harvest
their young sporadically,

so whatever was born on this ship,

they are most likely alone.

Don't take comfort in that, Captain.

They're equally lethal on the ground.

It only takes one.

Comms are still down, but
we can do a security sweep.

If there are any still
alive down here...

A soprano sings an E minor,

and we associate a feeling.

But it's not really about the melody.

Our own reflections make it emotional.

I'm not being emotional.

I was talking about me.

I called the girl my daughter.

But that girl...

Oriana...

she's in a place few can understand.

Before pain twists her up inside,

she has a chance
to grow beyond it, like you.

There's no magic button
you press. You just...

You just survive.

She just needs someone
to help her see the light.

[r*fle POWERS UP]

[CLATTERING IN DISTANCE]

♪ ♪

Sorry. That for Lieutenant Duke?

Oh, I didn't realize you were so jumpy.

[WHEEZING]

Elevated heart rate.

[GROANS]

Hello. What is this now?

Chia, pass me that light.

Yep.

Chia, can you calibrate for a physical?

Just use the readings
we took on him before.

- Kalaka. Pika. Kalaka.
- Easy.

Just gonna run a quick
simulation on our scans.

♪ ♪

You all right up there?

[SCREAMS]

[GROANING]

Nurse Chapel?

[SCREAMING]

- [CHOKING]
- [SQUEALS]

[SQUEALING]

[SQUEALING]

[GORN CLUCKING]

You were lucky. Those conduits
had a full current.

[CLATTERING NEARBY]

M'BENGA: Be glad.

I could be amputating.

DUKE: Great.

First mission as a lieutenant,

and I almost lose an arm.

Don't b*at yourself up.
These things happen. All right?

Duke, perhaps if you
take comfort in the fact

that you completed the needed repairs.

- That will shape your pride...
- [GROWLING]

[SCREAMING]

PIKE: Sam, grab him. Keep him still.

- [SCREAMING]
- There's two of 'em.

Hold him down. I don't
want to risk hitting him.

[SCREAMING]

We need to alert the rest of the crew.

Right now.

[WHISPERS]: Oriana?

[SIGHS]

[MUTTERS]

♪ ♪

[WHISPERS]: Oriana?

- [LOUD CLATTERING]
- [GASPS] It's you.

Oh, thank God. [SIGHS]

They came out of him.

I-I didn't see where...

The-the girl.

Four Gorn hatchlings.

I count one dead, that leaves three.

They'll mature soon, and
then fight for dominance.

What do we do?

What do we do?

Scan for biosignatures.

Okay.

Still no comms.

I've hits on our people,
but nothing on the Gorn.

Does that mean they're gone?

I doubt it.

Somehow they found
a way to avoid our sensors.

So, they could be anywhere.

Take this.

Watch the ceilings,
sh**t anything that moves.

Yeah.

LA'AN: We need to find that girl.

This is where she was before.

CHAPEL [WHISPERS]: Oriana?

Nothing.

[CLATTERING IN DISTANCE]

Nice hiding spot.

Hey, we're here to keep you safe.

She's already safe.

Gorn hate the cold.

It's why you came back here, isn't it?

Coldest place in the ship?

It's where I'd hide.

People before you tricked
them into going outside.

But now they're back.

We leave here, we die.

[ECHOING]: Run!

My brother d*ed like your friend.

The Gorn got him.

I know what it feels like

to watch them hurt the people you love.

You feel alone.

Nobody understands the pain.

But look at me now.

These people I came with...

my job is to keep them safe.

And this crew, I believe
we can do anything,

even defeat the Gorn.

Oriana, trust me.

There's surviving
and then there is living.

Come on.

Now, once we hit the relay switch,

the systems will begin to cycle,

and then we just have
to reboot navigation.

Team Hemhura strikes again, huh?

You may have the honor.

[ALARM WAILS]

[GROWLING IN DISTANCE]

What is that?

I don't know. [SNIFFS]

But I smell human blood.

Power's on. Means Hemmer's
making progress.

We stay in here, we're lizard chow.

We got to make a run for the shuttles.

By my calculations, the ice
storm outside has just begun.

It is not safe to leave the ship.

It isn't safe inside the ship.

But, hey, at least we'll
all die nice and warm.

Sam, you saw I hurt one.

We can fight them.

[GRUNTS]

[SIGHS]

I could give him a sedative.

No, Sam's tougher than he looks.

And I need everyone alert.

Captain, the internal comms
are back online.

Open a channel, all decks.

[ALERT WAILS, CHIMES]

PIKE: All hands, emergency protocol,

regroup and rendezvous in sickbay.

Repeat, get to sickbay
and watch your six.

[GASPS]

[GROWLING, CLUCKING]

[GROWLS]

We need to make a run for it.

No!

- Aah!
- Hemmer!

M'BENGA: Medical officer's analysis.

Fascinating.

The Gorn's biological makeup
renders them invisible

to all of our sensors.

A genetic chameleon.

That's how I missed them
inside of Buckley.

Was there anything from
his bioscan we can use?

- Something trackable?
- M'BENGA: For starters,

we don't even know what
kind of species he was.

And according to this,

the maturity cycle depends on the host.

In the Orion, it took weeks.

Humans, days.

These ducts in the mouth
likely expel venom.

Yes, and it burns quite tremendously.

No doubt a toxin meant
to blind its victims.

I was not the best target.

Hemmer, I know you have
rules about telepathy.

Any chance they don't apply to an enemy

that's trying to eat us?

If I could, I would.

But it appears they have a
psychic barrier to my abilities.

I cannot sense them.

Impressive, like their genetic coding.

No doubt another evolution
in order to hunt undetected.

Impressive?

You think this is impressive?

It was merely an observation.

It k*lled Duke right
in front of you, Spock.

Doesn't that hit you,
somewhere deep inside?

No, nothing?

We just need to reboot navigation.

Can you feel anything?

Or are you just some heartless,

- pointy-eared computer?
- Hey!

Now that that's out of the way,

if we want get out alive,

we have to stop yelling at each other

and start listening. Hemmer,

what is it you're trying
to tell us about the nav com?

It's the only system left to reboot.

Everything else is online.

That means our mission is complete.

That would be correct.

Okay. Now let's get rid of these Gorn.

La'An, tactical analysis.

The hatchlings have begun molting,

but they aren't fully mature.

At this stage, younglings
have an intense drive

for alpha dominance.

The two left will be the strongest,

the smartest, and extremely
hostile to each other.

That's a weak spot.

We can work together,
that's our advantage.

No matter what,
we have to k*ll them now.

We'd have no chance
even against one adult Gorn.

These younglings move
too fast for us to hunt.

We'll have to create a choke point.

The Gorn are highly intelligent,
even at this stage.

A simple trap won't work.

How are we supposed to hunt them?

We-we can't even track them
with sensors.

We make them come to us.

That is... very logical.

Gorn can't resist aggressive behavior.

They won't back down
from a challenge, so...

we can use that to draw
them out, put them down.

Great. Now we're bait.

We can use the environment controls.

Gorn avoid the cold.

We can force them into
the areas we want them in.

Now, this sounds like
the start of a plan.

All right.

Let's get to work.

Computer,

transfer all functions to comms station.

Captain Pike, command code

two-four-six-eight-ten.

You still haven't changed that?

PIKE: We can quarterback
the operation from here.

COMPUTER: Temperature decreasing.

As the ship cools, this bay will become

a warm oasis for them.

You are okay with what you must do?

If it succeeds, you and I
will be trapped in here

with angry Gorn.

I will not be the one to k*ll it,

but I will do what I must

to protect the lives of this crew.

Hey, are you okay?

Trust me, there's nothing
I'd rather be doing right now

than fighting back against the Gorn.

UHURA: Game on.

[CLATTERING]

[GROWLING, CLUCKING]

It's here.

We got one in the chute!

[SHRIEKING, CLUCKING]

Uhura, I'm blasting
the Transporter Room now.

Go!

Come on, come on.

You really are good at everything.

[CLUCKING]

PIKE: It's going into the vent system.
Spock, get into position.

[w*apon POWERS UP]

It's not responding.

PIKE: You have to draw it out.

LA'AN: Fight it, Spock! Make it angry!

Aah!

The rage that is in my thoughts...

... I let into my heart.

[SHOUTING]

[GORN GROWLING, CLUCKING]

PIKE: Why does my audio sound
like there are two Gorn?

The other one is here.
It's boxing him in.

Spock, watch for the second Gorn.

Hey, hey, easy, easy. It's me. It's me.

[POUNDING]

[GORN SHRIEKING IN DISTANCE]

SAM: They've turned on each other.

[SHRIEKING CONTINUES]

When those two are finished
there'll be one left.

The alpha.

We put that down, we go home.

[w*apon POWERS UP]

Hemmer,

I'm coming your way.

Come on!

I'm unarmed.

It's just you and me.

Fight me! Come on, fight me!

[ROARS]

[GROWLING]

Hemmer, now! Do it now!

[SHRIEKING]

♪ ♪

[SHOUTING]

It's dead, Chris.

Yeah?

[GRUNTING]

We did it. That's the last of them.

Not quite.

I'm going to go outside now.

[GROANING]

Hemmer, what's going on?

I may not be able to sense them,

but I know my own body very well.

The spray. It's more than a venom.

It's how they reproduce.

Captain, open the door.

PIKE: I-I can't.

I do not want anyone to try to stop me.

We can extract them.

We'll neutralize the growth process,

figure something out.

If we had more time, I'm sure you could.

But it's too late to... [GROANS]

We all know what's coming.

Hemmer, you don't have to do this.

But Captain, my sacrifice

will save the lives of
those I care most about.

For me, there is no other choice.

[GROANS]

A logical conclusion.

Live long and prosper,

my friend.

UHURA: No. No! We can help you.

You have to let us try.

[SHORT CHUCKLE] Uhura.

I want to leave you with
one last piece of advice.

Open yourself.

Make a home for yourself amongst others,

and you will find joy
more often than sadness.

Hemmer.

Hemmer, please, please...

HEMMER: Do not weep for me.

I've had a good life.

It's time for me to go.

♪ ♪

[GRUNTING]

Just like Andoria.

♪ ♪

ORTEGAS: This sucks. I hate funerals.

But if Hemmer was here,
he would remind us

that this is a celebration.

"Exalt the fallen

and commit them to the cosmos".

Then he would have scolded me

for pushing the engines too hard.

And I would have called him
a blue meanie.

And we'd laugh.

And it wouldn't have
felt like a funeral.

Best engineer I have ever served with.

UHURA: I never told Hemmer, but

he reminded me a lot of my dad.

Always pushing me to see things
from a new perspective.

Do better, be better.

Losing Hemmer...

hurts.

The people you love the most
can cause you the most pain.

But it's the people you love
that can mend your heart

when you feel broken.

That's what Hemmer's purpose was.

To fix what is broken.

And he did.

[DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN]

Spock.

Do not follow me.

- What's going on?
- I'm warning you, back off!

Tell me what's going on.

I can't control it.

I've let something out.

Rage. Pain.

It's your emotions.

My mind has gotten weak.

No. No.

It doesn't make you weak, Spock.

It makes you human.

♪ ♪

So, I found the lead

on Oriana's family.

Someone out there
might be looking for her.

How strong of a lead?

Not very. It's, uh, weak, actually.

And it's outside Federation space.

But you want to pursue it anyway?

I know what it feels like to be alone.

If there's any chance she still
has people out there...

A mission like this...

it takes time.

I'd like to request
a formal leave of absence.

Decommission me if you have to,
but I need the freedom

to go where the clues take me.

If I said no, would it
make a difference?

I...

I'll square it with Starfleet.

Whatever you need.

But, La'An,

however long it takes,

come back to us, okay?

Aye, sir.

Captain.

Chris.

Thank you.

For everything.

♪ ♪