Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026) s01e01 Episode Script

1
♪
♪
♪
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 ass!
Mr. Braka, stop talking.
[growls]
NAHLA:
Facts are facts.
You brought down
a Federation supply vessel
and murdered 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-ho-ho!
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!
- illegal trading.
- Are you dead or alive?
- CALEB: Huh?
- Age 20-- transport
- of illegal materials.
- Hey!
I'm talking to you.
I said, "Are you dead or alive?"
- Huh? [grunts]
- Answer me.
Yes. Shit. Shit. 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 bastard?
- 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 War 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 shit.
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?
15 hours to Earth
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 asshole
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 ass 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?
Murder, 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 kill
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
100,000 kilometers to port.
12 contacts, incoming.
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 explosion 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 kill 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 kill 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]
15 long years,
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 bitch.
NAHLA: You're committing an act of war
against the Federation.
Withdraw, Braka.
NUS:
Comandante Braka, please.
And I don't recognize
your authority to
- Oh, blow it out your ass.
- 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!
I regret nothing!
That's French, kids.
You son of a bitch.
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 shit 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?
- Shit.
- 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 asshole, 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, bitch.
[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?
45 minutes. Still too far.
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.
Asshole One to Asshole 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 shit together, Darem.
You're Khionian, bitch.
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 kill your instructor
on day one.
Do not kill
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.
90 days.
100 hours.
Second chances.
I'll stay.
For now.
Don't screw it up.
[laughs softly]