Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) s04e01 Episode Script
Valles Marineris
1
Last season on Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds
BATEL: Do you really still believe
our futures are written in stone?
PIKE: All I know is that I'm
not ready to let you go.
BATEL: Everything that happened to me
was so I could do this.
No, this is Marie
It's my destiny.
You, of all people, can understand that.
UNA: You have to tell me why things
are so weird with you and Spock.
LA'AN: Spock and I made it
very clear with each other
no labels, no complicated expectations,
just fun times.
UNA: Is this a "hit it" situation?
PIKE: It's a new future.
It's whatever kind of
adventure we want it to be.
PIKE: Captain's personal log.
Stardate 2491.5.
We're at the end of a routine
mission on Tulaxar
our 15th in a row
and if I'm being honest,
this may well be my favorite part.
Were you followed?
- LA'AN: No, sir.
- And the meds?
Handed off more than
enough to save the planet.
Any issues being discovered?
LA'AN: Nothing I couldn't handle.
Four of the ones she drank with
might need a day or two to sleep it off.
[scoffs] Lightweights.
- [comms chime]
- [chuckles]
UNA: Captain, we are in position.
- Ready to beam you up on your order.
- Copy that, Number One.
You know what?
We, uh
we might ride a little more.
If you say so, Captain.
You know, just to be safe.
- [horse neighs]
- Hyah.
SPOCK: Welcome back, Captain.
I can take your saddle, if needed.
PIKE: Well, I, uh,
prefer to carry my own gear.
But thanks, Spock.
But you knew that already.
I felt it important to be here
as soon as you returned to the ship.
You wanted to see me in
my outfit, didn't you?
Perhaps.
Follow me to my quarters, Mr. Spock.
These boots are hard to take off alone.
UNA: Six months, Chris, nonstop.
That's a lot of missions in a row.
I'm just worried the crew
is starting to feel the strain,
that's all.
Look, they came to Enterprise
to see things, to
do things.
And the more you see
and do in the moment,
the less you have to think
about the past, right?
We all need weekends once in a while.
Even you.
Understood, Number One.
Not to mention, as much as
I enjoy having the conn,
I wouldn't mind a little time
on-planet once in a while.
Next mission, I promise.
That might be sooner than you think.
Admiral April is on his way to see you.
I told you, Bob,
I'm not looking for a promotion.
Well, regardless of intent,
you're being considered for one.
To commodore.
And that, as we both know,
is a stepping stone.
Look, I felt the same
way when I was captain.
You just need to think about it.
Really think.
You just might surprise yourself.
How long do I have to consider?
We'll need an answer when you
get back from the next mission.
Where are you sending us?
This is a fun one.
Really?
You haven't heard the constant noises?
Scotty acts like every
time I steer the ship,
it makes his job harder,
so he added endless beeping
to literally make my job harder.
Are you listening?
Sorry. I just have to get
prepared for my mentee training.
Right, your new Academy cadet.
When I got to Enterprise,
I didn't know anything about anything,
and all of you helped me.
I just want to pass that
on to the next person.
I've been practicing my Vulcan
with Spock to improve it.
[sighs]
[clears throat]
taz Nyota Uhura dwi-mâsh.
tan-fi bo-shish ner gab-no-vet âs
dwoz nufezh po nen lhi-de-mosh.
Please do not speak Vulcan.
Your accent is improper.
I thought I got that right.
I am fully versed in all human dialects.
That is all that is required
for us to communicate.
Right. Let me start again.
I am Ensign Uhura, but you can
call me Nyota, if you like.
I was at the Academy
just a few years ago,
so I know exactly how you must feel.
You are several years older than I am,
and since you are human,
it is unlikely you know how I feel.
Were you present for
the K'thoniadisaster?
Or the FFakishaconflict?
That all happened after I left.
Your Vulcan is poorly pronounced,
your time at the Academy was
completely different than mine.
It appears we do not have many
shared experiences at all.
[mouths]
PIKE: This is an unusual mission.
We are to face a category
ten interstellar squall,
something we rarely see
in the Alpha Quadrant.
PELIA: I-I've seen one once,
a long time ago,
but not from this close.
I think I was in a
phone box at the time.
SPOCK: Such distortions are
often briefly occurring.
This one has appeared
around the star Ithaxus.
No explanation.
Doesn't look like it's
safe for us to get near it.
LA'AN: Any inhabited planets
nearby we should be worried about?
UNA: None.
Thank goodness.
And that's the key
element of this mission.
No one we have to protect.
We are here to observe an
unusual stellar display.
That is all.
PELIA: Oh, it sounds like
we're going to the theater.
Minus the Playbill.
SPOCK: A theater that would likely tear
our ship into small particles of
subspace should we get too close.
Come on, Mr. Spock.
Where's your sense of adventure?
Perhaps I did not clearly state the part
about being torn into small
particles of subspace.
Interstellar storms are
like space-time gone wild,
the very stuff of the universe.
Don't you think a glimpse
is worth a little risk?
See? Now, that's the spirit.
[Pelia chuckles]
Keep us at arm's length, Erica.
ORTEGAS: Aye, sir.
Very long arms.
LA'AN: I wish we could
get closer, though.
It's absolutely stunning.
UHURA: I understand the feeling.
To actually see something like this.
Digital data is more relevant.
SPOCK: Sensors are active.
- Data is cogent.
- If you had to give up
seeing this kind of thing all the time,
would you miss it?
Every day.
Yeah.
[comms chime]
Sir, I'm getting a comm signal.
- Location, Nyota?
- The signal's erratic,
but it seems to be coming
from inside the storm.
It's a mayday, sir.
A ship is stuck inside the storm?
That's what the signal's saying.
Take us closer, Erica.
But keep your foot on the brakes.
Understood, Captain.
[alert trilling]
Not now, Scotty.
Deeper scans suggest signal origin
is a buoy inside of the storm.
- A buoy?
- UHURA: It's a starship distress buoy,
but I can't get a lock on the signal.
Any sign of the source
of the buoy? Any ships?
Scanning, Captain.
[alarm sounds]
Uh-oh.
The storm is undergoing
exponential expansion.
You think?
- Reverse course, Erica, fast.
- Already on it.
[alert chimes]
We have life support.
Unfortunately, that is the
extent of the good news.
No weapons functionality. Zero.
Long-range comms are down.
SCOTTY: Transporters are offline.
Not sure when they'll be fixed, or if.
PELIA: We have only the barest amount
of impulse power. For now.
- Warp?
- SCOTTY: Out of the question.
Look, our problem is,
we lost all our iridium.
Without it, we can't
ignite the warp engines.
We're basically stuck here.
And do we know where "here" is?
All we've been able to determine is,
the stellar storm
somehow pulled the
ship into a warp field.
The stars aren't lining
up to give us a location,
but we think it's just the main
computer coming back on line.
Okay.
Deploy a locator and send out a mayday.
Let's use a flare.
- On it.
- SPOCK: Short-range scans
suggest we can only
extrapolate our position.
Of the four planets scanned so far,
three are M-class.
Inhabited? Anyone who
might give us a hand?
Impossible to tell,
given our current sensor capabilities.
But we have detected iridium on
the nearest M-class planet
a few hours' journey with
our current impulse engines.
SCOTTY: And one of our
shuttles is still functional
enough to get us to the surface, I think.
[exhales sharply]
Well, Number One, you wanted
a mission on a strange new world.
Looks like you got one.
PIKE: Curie, this is Enterprise.
You are now entering the
planet's upper atmosphere.
LA'AN: Heading towards the
last known iridium location.
The land mass is quite
choppy down there.
We're five-by-five. We might have
to land pretty far from the signal.
There aren't any closer options.
[animals chirping, calling]
The iridium's over there.
ORTEGAS: Near what is
definitely a volcano.
Um
I'm detecting life signs.
What kind of life signs?
Large.
Taller than us?
Much taller.
[creature stomps, growls]
Is there a way around that?
No.
We want the iridium,
we have to get past that.
- [creature roars]
- [creature 2 shrieks]
Great news.
I've got a fix on the creature.
That's not the problem. It's, uh
trying to do something about it.
- Can't you just stun it?
- Well, if I had
phasers, sure. Um
I might be able to
send a bolt of electricity,
but I don't want to kill the laddie.
We should probably determine
what it can withstand first.
What are you doing?
[creature growls]
Why did you just shoot it?
Wha I was on stun.
And you saw. Nothing happened.
[imitating Scotty's accent]:
The laddie may be a wee bit
stronger than we anticipated.
"Laddie"? You think
that's what I talk like?
- That's totally what you talk like.
- Fine.
- [loud crash]
- [grunts]
[alarms sounding]
Something's just grabbed the ship.
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.
[alarms sounding]
[Pelia grunts]
Where did they come from?
SPOCK: Unclear, Captain. Our sensors
are functioning below normal parameters.
PELIA: They seem to have
attached some kind of energy tendrils.
SPOCK: They are similar
to our tractor beams,
but the style is one I
am not familiar with.
Do we have any weapons? Shields?
PELIA: No, the shields are still
not functioning, Captain,
and Scotty cannot
repair the weapons without iridium.
We-we are crippled.
They're literally towing us away.
Do we have impulse? Anything?
PELIA: No, using impulse engines
would be like trying to
free ourselves from a boat
using a pair of flippers.
Small flippers.
Flippers that could be lost at any time.
Comms are still functioning, sir.
As is our universal translator.
Does anyone recognize that ship?
SPOCK: I do not,
and it does not exist in our database.
Hail them, Nyota.
Let's try the friendly approach first.
We don't have much else
- to work with.
- Hailing them, sir.
This is Captain Christopher Pike
of the starship Enterprise.
You seem to have
you seem to have accidentally
taken hold of our ship.
Anything?
They're responding, sir.
[alien language translating]
CASSELL: I am Battle Commander Cassell.
We didn't attach our
tethers by accident.
We seized your damaged ship as salvage.
Your ship and its resources
are now our property.
Still nothing from the ship.
Scotty said he'd come right back.
He didn't. Typical.
I don't like it.
We may be on our own, at least for now.
We need to get a better
idea of what we're facing.
What about the new
vaporization thingy?
You know what it's called.
Scotty's not even here to get annoyed.
Just makes me feel better.
The phasers have been modified
with a contained disintegration function.
We need to get a clear shot
at that copse of trees.
Maybe we can see the "laddie"
that's hiding behind it.
PIKE: Commander Cassell,
we are members of Starfleet.
Any actions against us will be seen
as actions against the
United Federation of Planets.
CASSELL: We aren't familiar
with your Starfleet
or Federation, but if you're
in league with the Dol'drm,
we will destroy you.
[comms chime]
What?
Be careful what you say, Captain.
If they are not familiar with Starfleet,
it is possible that they are pre-warp.
They may be seizing our ship
to learn about our technology,
which is strictly against
our prime directive.
They have the ship, Spock.
Right now talking is our only way out.
Allow me to scan it further.
Perhaps you could stall.
[comms chime]
We are not familiar with the Dol'drm.
We're new to this region of space,
and if you don't know the Federation,
we also don't know you.
We are at war, Captain,
with a terrible and destructive enemy,
and as part of our wartime covenants,
we have seized your ship as
scrap for our war effort.
If you are not aligned with the Dol'drm,
you will be released
when we return home.
You can't just take our
ship without consequences.
And yet you have shown us none.
This discussion is over.
Commander, we do have weapons,
and Starfleet has more a lot more.
Do you really want us to turn all of
them on you just to prove our point?
Why don't you come aboard?
I can show you myself,
and we can discuss ways
that the Federation can help you.
I don't think this will be useful.
But if you have weapons
to show us, personally,
I'll come on board to see them.
That-That's not exactly
what I said. I
End communication.
[comms chime]
Okay, not ideal.
[phaser charges]
You sure this is going to work?
Not in the slightest.
Well, at least we're talking.
SPOCK: I am afraid our
circumstance is
slightly more complicated
than we realized, Captain.
I have determined our current location.
Scans have revealed that
we are in the Sol system.
Sol?
Spock, this doesn't make any sense.
Three M-class worlds?
The stellar storm created an
incredible amount of energy,
far beyond what our ship is capable of.
However, where it sent us
is less relevant than when.
Currently, we are 65
million years in the past.
The planet Commander Cassell
is dragging us toward is Mars.
Mars?
Then that would mean the planet
that Una flew the shuttle to
Is Earth, Captain.
[growls]
[roaring]
ORTEGAS: So, according to
Enterprise, we can't harm
any native life because doing
so could wreck the future.
LA'AN: Unfortunately,
the dinosaurs do not share
our temporal prohibitions
when it comes to eating us.
[dinosaur bellows in distance]
I have an idea.
But I don't think either
of you are gonna like it.
- ORTEGAS: Oh, we are way past that.
- Yeah.
What you got, boss?
[phaser charges]
M'BENGA: They have never heard
of Starfleet or the Federation
because neither will exist
for millions of years.
It may be challenging to form a
shared frame of reference, Captain.
It shouldn't be that different from any
first contact with a pre-warp species.
Except you invited her
on board your starship.
Yeah, there is that.
Look, by the time our
present comes around,
Mars has been lifeless for eons.
I'm going to wager that nothing we
say here is going to change the future,
so long as she doesn't leave the
ship with anything material.
Alternatively,
any single one of our actions
could result in our
future never occurring.
Okay, so out of an abundance of caution,
we'll keep her from
Everything?
It feels like you're not helping.
- [instrument beeping]
- That's odd.
Scanners seem to have detected
something on the hull.
COMPUTER: Possible hull
breach on Deck Seven.
We're on Deck Seven.
No adjustment in air
temperature. Strange.
Where?
Corridor.
[whooshing]
PIKE: Commander Cassell.
I'm Captain Pike.
You are short.
Our-our planet's a little
heavier than yours.
Hence this unpleasant
artificial gravity on your ship?
- Too unpleasant? We can adjust.
- No need.
We're obviously considerably
stronger than you are.
How did you get inside our ship?
We phased through your wall.
Do you not have phasing technology?
Well, no, but we have
transporters which allow us
Which we can gladly discuss
at a later juncture.
PIKE: Allow me to introduce
our science officer Spock,
Dr. M'Benga, and our engineer Mr. Scott.
Forgive me if I don't.
My guards are under standing orders
to kill anyone who comes too close.
Okay.
PIKE: I assure you,
that won't be necessary, Commander.
- You're here as our guests.
- We're here as your captors
to see your weaponry, Captain Pike.
Commander, you are not our enemy.
That assessment is mine to make.
You would do the same in
my position, would you not?
Our transporter typically
sweeps our visitors
for health and safety.
Would you permit me to examine you?
To ensure you haven't
brought any pathogens aboard
and that you can handle any
you might find aboard as well.
Well, I am confident our
biological prophylaxis
will keep all parties safe.
However, given I also
trained in medicine,
I am curious to see what
technology you have.
After that, we will see
your weapons systems.
ORTEGAS: Stun?
Your plan is to get
close and just use stun?
- UNA: That is correct.
- LA'AN: I'll remind you,
we tried it. It didn't faze it one bit.
I mean, we could just disintegrate it,
if it wasn't for, you know,
the whole "destroy the
entire future" part.
UNA: I'm going to get close
enough so it opens its mouth,
shoot in its soft palate,
and hope it works.
And that it doesn't
decide you're maybe
a delicious snack with several
more yummies nearby?
We'll kill it if it gets to that.
UNA: Don't.
We genuinely don't know the future
effects of anything we might do here.
I'll stun, and then we run.
ORTEGAS: Crazy.
Dangerous.
Maybe even insane.
But I'm kind of impressed.
Is that weird?
[pterodactyls squawking]
[growling]
Hey! Dinosaur!
You there!
[phaser charges]
[bellows]
[squawking]
[roars]
[growling]
[grunts]
[phaser charges]
[roars]
[Una grunts]
[groans]
Did it eat her?
It's not chewing.
[snoring]
UNA: It's asleep. Stun worked!
And you didn't kill him.
Nice work.
Let's move. Before shewakes up.
- She?
- Yeah.
It's not a "laddie," it's a "lassie."
CASSELL: There are many different
types of people on this ship.
SPOCK: In this room alone, we have
humans, Vulcans and Tellarites.
As members of Starfleet,
we've encountered countless other species.
We come from different planets,
but we have ways to work together.
And none of these countless
species wish to destroy you?
- Members of the Federation, no.
- Ah,
but I get the feeling others do?
Well, those that don't like us
aren't against just one of us,
they're against all of us.
Our unity is our best deterrent.
Again, because of your weapons?
Federation members do bring
weapons to the table,
but that same unity means we
often do not have to use them.
I must admit,
I have difficulty imagining
such an alliance as this.
Many worlds working together.
CHAPEL: Technically, we
we don't just work together, we
we pick up a lot of
stuff from each other.
CASSELL: None of those others
are concerned that you'll turn
their weapons against them?
Sometimes it's just recipes.
Or
music. Whatever we share,
it tends to add up
to more than the sum of its parts.
I only know my world and the Dol'drm.
"Alien" to me means evil.
PIKE: Humans have a way of saying,
when it comes
to facing an enemy,
the carrot or the stick.
What is a carrot?
Is it a weapon of some sort?
I imagine it is more
persuasive than a stick.
[chuckles] Yeah, it is,
but not in the way that you're thinking.
No, um, you eat a carrot.
It's a reward.
Uh, it helps to form an alliance.
No, the stick is the only weapon.
So you're benevolent until
that no longer works,
and only then are you hostile?
It's a strategy of sorts.
M'BENGA: I'm happy to say
we have no issues of contamination.
You clearly dedicate many resources
to this medical facility.
Frankly, it's something of a wonder
to see so few occupied beds or injuries.
Captain Pike, perhaps I have been
too quick to judge you and your crew.
It appears you are not the enemies
we perceived you to be.
Glad to hear it.
But appearances can be deceiving.
Do you have this saying, too?
Take me to your weapons systems,
and then I may better
understand what this alliance
with its many points of view
and carrots and sticks has to offer.
Of course.
CASSELL: Phasers and photon torpedoes
are your ship's primary weapons?
PIKE: But not the part most used.
I assume you are referring
to defensive systems?
You mentioned the use of shields.
Our shields are damaged.
Given time, our engineering station
or our science station will find
ways of repairing our systems.
What is the main purpose
of your science station?
Is it to assess the vulnerability
of potential enemies?
Science allows us a broad understanding
of every culture we encounter
so we can share strengths
and compensate for each
other's respective weaknesses.
Understanding other
cultures has allowed us
to advance faster than if we were alone.
I am sorry for your loss?
You used the word "alone."
Our people have ten individual
words for such a state,
differentiated by emotional inflection.
I'm sorry, I don't follow.
Your translating machine
used the word "widower."
And so my condolences.
Our captains are not permitted
relationships during war.
They leave us vulnerable,
too hesitant to sacrifice.
And we have always been at war.
Well, isn't love part
of what we fight for?
If not that, then
Have you ever seen my homeworld of Mars?
We are not familiar with the
current condition of Mars.
If the ship's scanners are repaired,
will you pull it up on-screen?
Please.
- It's beautiful.
- Yes.
But there is something more
important for you to see.
Turn the planet view 173 degrees.
Valles Marineris.
That crater was caused when
the Dol'drm crashed a ship
onto the surface and fed on our world.
The only way to stop them was
to tear away the very land around them.
The invaders died.
But that crater and two million
lives is the price we paid.
- That's horrible.
- That's why your discussions
of cultures, of science, although
kind and hopeful, are not relevant.
What we need to do is
destroy the Dol'drm
before they devour the
rest of our planet
and turn it all into a red wasteland.
Well, have you ever tried
communicating with the Dol'drm?
We cannot. They are insects.
They do not speak or reason as we do.
They simply feed and move forward.
You may have other options.
Some on our planet argued this.
They believed there were
other ways to deal with them.
As they talked, we died.
There's only one thing
that's ever worked.
Force.
What if we could offer you something
that would work without weapons?
Something only Starfleet's
resources can provide?
The Federation have met maybe
65 different insectoid species.
Of those, 17 of them don't use
sonic communication, like us.
This is where xenoanthropology helps.
We've been able to design multiple systems
that work for creatures who communicate
using light, touch or,
in one particularly difficult case, smell.
Which stunk. [chuckles]
But it did allow us, eventually,
to speak with them.
Fascinating.
PIKE: You keep insisting it's impossible
to communicate with the Dol'drm.
If we find out we can, maybe we could
find a way to stop them without weapons.
What if we could end your war?
What if we could offer them something?
Isn't it worth a brief consideration?
Brief.
PIKE: You have an update?
As more systems come on line,
the introduction of
variables still generates
a consistent outcome.
Quantum entanglement has Enterprisefirmly
anchored 65 million years in the past.
- You're saying we're stuck here?
- Yes. And also no.
The nature of quantum
entanglement could theoretically
snap us right back
to the moment we left.
Well, that seems good.
However, to do so would require
the power equivalent of a supernova,
the very same amount that sent us here.
Without it, we are trapped in the past.
- Less good.
- Indeed.
[comms chime]
UHURA: Captain, Commander Cassell
and her guard have left the lab.
- Where did they go?
- I don't know.
They just phased through
the floor and were gone.
- Engineering.
- Pike to Engineering.
What's happening down there?
SCOTTY: That tall, scary Martian lady
just came right through
the bulkhead and took it.
- We couldn't stop her.
- Took what?
PELIA: The ship's primary
antimatter fuel cell.
SPOCK: Cassell's location keeps moving.
Deck Ten.
Deck Nine.
Deck Eight. She's headed
for her egress point.
I'm not armed.
I just want to talk.
We were helping you,
and now you're taking
our fuel cell? Why?
Captain
I have been nothing
but honest with you.
And consistent.
You, however, have not
been equally truthful.
What are you talking about?
You spoke to me of Starfleet,
of all that you've achieved.
It was easy to get a sense of
your respect for your values,
your deep feeling for those
you have fought for and loved.
With these things you were frank.
You also spoke to me
of where you are from.
But you failed to explain when.
Your Federation doesn't exist.
- That's not entirely true.
- Yet.
It doesn't exist yet.
You showed me your computer
so I could speak with the Dol'drm.
It was simple to understand from there
how you determine time with it.
Your Federation won't exist
for millions of years.
And by then my
civilization will be gone.
I'm sorry.
Our regulations
they forbid me from telling you that.
But that doesn't mean
that we can't find a way
- out of this for both of us.
- Captain.
I understand you are
trying to save your people.
As I am doing for mine.
But we live now, not in the future.
Your ship's given us exactly
what we need to win our war.
I'm sorry.
Commander
[whooshing]
[thunder cracking]
UNA: This wreckage is apparently
the source of the iridium.
ORTEGAS: And that's, like,
an alien spaceship.
On Earth.
65 million years before us.
I have to say this out
loud to believe it.
Those burns
a weapon did that.
ORTEGAS: It was shot down.
- Our Martian friends?
- Mm-hmm.
The iridium's inside.
No life signs, but there might
be an engine compartment.
Wait here.
[chittering]
LA'AN: All these cryobeds?
I think this was a colony ship.
Must have all died on impact.
[creature screeches]
[exhales]
[scoffs]
Reflexes.
They must all be dead.
If they were settlers,
I'm not sure if I should feel sad or
relieved.
Whatever the reason
they were in cryosleep,
they were shot down and died
on a planet far from home,
headed who knows where.
They may be different from us, but
they wanted to survive, too.
Iridium fuel pod.
The only one that wasn't damaged.
LA'AN: Let's hope Scotty and Pelia
can jury-rig it to the Enterprise.
Can we go now, please?
This place is giving me the creeps.
Yeah.
- [creature screeches]
- [La'An grunts]
[creature whimpers]
[snarls]
[chitters]
[laughs softly]
You just punched it.
Yeah, well, I didn't have time
to shoot it in the mouth, did I?
Well, if you two are finished
just standing here
SCOTTY [over comms]: Hey, I've managed
to hook up the backup antimatter pod.
You gotta hurry up with that iridium.
Yeah, yeah, we're coming. Geez.
CHAPEL: You punched a dinosaur?
[exhales]
M'BENGA: Well,
I'm sure it had it coming.
[laughs]
What is it?
It's just, I broke my hand
and I don't feel any pain.
Well, how is that possible?
It isn't.
The truth is, I've felt
different for a while now.
I-I've always had elevated
strength and reflexes,
but now it's-it's almost like
my whole body feels more attuned.
And your mind?
Confused.
Look, I carry recessive
augmented DNA, right?
Now, is it possible that somehow
all I've been through has
activated those recessive genes?
Are you going to try and
take over the galaxy now?
I don't know.
Hey. You may be carrying
enhanced warrior genes,
but it's not who you are.
I've got to go.
[boatswain's whistle blows] - Iridium
is installed and ready to function,
as long as we don't
want to double-check it.
Do we need to double-check it?
We need to get a fix
on that Martian ship.
Are you concerned or are
you worried, Mr. Scott?
Just worried, sir.
Good man.
UNA: Bridge is coming back on line.
- Long-range sensors?
- SPOCK: Reinitializing.
- PIKE: Time?
- 15 seconds.
PIKE: Every second could
be getting Commander
Cassell closer to
detonating that antimatter.
SCOTTY: Well, I can't get power to
the ship's systems any faster, Captain.
- Screens are working, Chris.
- Great. How about
- long-range comms?
- On and functioning, sir. Orders?
Connect the Martian ship.
Hailing them.
And initializing ship-to-ship visuals.
Commander Cassell, this is Captain Pike
of the USS Enterprise.
I should have told you where
when we're from.
I should have been honest,
because then you
might have believed
me about everything else.
There are other ways
of solving conflict.
I understand how you
CASSELL: Captain,
you have lost crewmates?
- Friends?
- Yes. Many.
Imagine those losses a thousandfold.
Imagine a wound on your
planet that will never heal.
A memorial to millions of
dead etched in rock and blood.
I know you believe that
what you're doing is right.
But I have seen a future
where species can coexist.
And I have seen one on your computers
where my homeworld is a
barren red wasteland.
Can you tell me the Dol'drm
are not responsible for that?
No, I can't.
But I can tell you that
if you use our technology
to change the future,
millions of lives may be lost.
And millions of lives may be saved.
The lives of my people.
Isn't that what a captain does?
Save her people?
Wouldn't you?
Uh, she shut off her comms.
And they're not responding to hails.
- Engines?
- SCOTTY: Half-impulse.
Erica, plot an intercept course.
We're gonna try to stop them from using
- our antimatter.
- UNA: The only question is,
where are they planning to use it?
They don't have warp.
Where is this enemy planet?
SPOCK: Long-range sensors
are fully operational.
Extrapolating their course.
They are headed for the
fifth planet in the system.
- Jupiter?
- No, this planet is much smaller.
Similar to Mars.
At a distance of 480
million kilometers from Sol
and 120 million kilometers from
the Martian solar rotation.
But there's no fifth planet
like that in our solar system.
SPOCK: The planet is populated
by billions of life-forms.
An arachnid species.
That's what we found crashed on Earth,
with the iridium.
The fifth planet of our solar system
is the Dol'drm homeworld.
Captain, the Martian warship is approaching
the fifth planet at high impulse.
On screen.
SPOCK: We will be in firing range of
the Martian ship in less than one minute.
SCOTTY: Phasers aren't working yet.
PIKE: We just need to disable
the Martian ship.
Can we try a tractor beam?
- There's not enough power at this range.
- Photon torpedoes?
We need something.
- Checking.
- SPOCK: Captain,
my calculations indicate
that if the Martians
detonate our antimatter pod
at their current proximity,
they will be unable to
escape the explosion.
It's her only way to
guarantee a kill shot.
She's gonna sacrifice
her ship and her crew
to destroy the planet.
LA'AN: Captain,
I think we have enough power
- to fire one photon torpedo.
- As soon as we're in range.
UNA: The Martian ship just
activated a missile launcher.
[weapon fires]
They have deployed the antimatter.
PIKE: Can we shoot it down
without detonating it?
Yes, but we're still not in range.
PIKE: Spock, how long to impact?
- SPOCK: 30 seconds.
- Erica,
give it everything you've got.
Push it right to the edge.
- We have to get in range.
- Aye, sir.
Come on, baby. You've got this.
- SPOCK: 20 seconds to impact.
- PIKE: Erica?
Pegging the redline, sir.
There's a reason for those lights.
- Shut them off, Scotty.
- LA'AN: Sir, we're in range.
Locking photon torpedo on target.
- SPOCK: 12 seconds to impact.
- Target locked.
We've got it, sir.
Captain.
Fire, sir?
- Do not fire. Repeat, do not fire.
- But, sir
UNA: Captain, that planet's about
to be destroyed by our technology.
Our future's at stake. We must fire.
You heard my order. Hold fire,
stand down photon torpedo.
Chris, our future notwithstanding,
we can't just sit here and let
that entire planet be destroyed.
In our future
there is no fifth planet.
SPOCK: Three seconds.
Two. One.
[softly]: I'm sorry.
ORTEGAS: That blast wave's gonna hit us.
But I think I can outrun it.
No. We should not run.
We need to head into the blast wave.
UNA: Head into that?
You saw what just happened
to the Martian ship.
We may be able to use it to
send us back to our time.
The antimatter explosion,
combined with the explosion
of the planet's core,
has created the necessary energy
to free Enterprise from
this temporal anchor point,
snapping the quantum entanglement
back to the exact point we came from.
Before the blast wave
tears our ship apart?
Unknown.
But it is our only option
if we intend to go home.
Erica, come about.
Take us straight into the blast wave.
Spock, if you have any calculations,
now's the time.
Helm, come to course 1-4-7, mark 2.
Roger that.
Everybody, hang on to something.
Anything.
Everything.
SPOCK: After running
multiple simulations,
I determined that a fragment from the
Dol'drm planet is the Chicxulub asteroid.
LA'AN: Theone that hit
Earth 65 million years ago?
UNA: And led to the
extinction of the dinosaurs.
Does that mean
Yes.
The remaining debris, less than four
percent of the planet's original mass,
eventually became part of the
asteroid belt as we have come to know it.
Furthermore, the absence of the planet
caused a gravimetric shift in the system,
moving Mars further from the sun.
Its atmosphere cooled to
become the Mars we know today.
Earth also cooled,
ushering in the Cenozoic Era,
and eventually
The evolution of humanity.
Even I remember a part of that.
ORTEGAS: So, we only exist
because of what we did?
I think we might exist
because of what we didn't do.
The Martians had to take our weapons.
And we had to let them
destroy the Dol'drm planet.
Because they always have.
We were always there.
So we were never in danger
of changing anything?
O-Or were we?
CHAPEL: What about Commander Cassell?
Did she destroy her own planet?
I think
we could all use a night off.
[Uhura mutters]
ORTEGAS: Yeah, I heard it.
Let's go before he changes his mind.
UHURA: Mm-hmm.
You're all dismissed.
Thank you.
Commander Cassell.
She just wanted to save her own people.
I would have done
exactly the same thing.
And now they're all gone,
without a trace of their
ever having existed.
Not entirely.
I ran Cassell's DNA
through our database.
It appears that Martian DNA is present
in innumerable species
throughout the galaxy.
They escaped?
Some, at least.
The commander may not have survived,
but her people did.
And the Dol'drm?
If their planet had
remained in the system,
entire histories would be erased.
Trillions of lives.
Evolutions undone.
Yeah, but
I didn't know that in the
moment that I made that call.
It was a hunch
it was a good one, but
but I had no data.
You, more than anyone that I know,
have thought about the past
and the future a great deal.
But most of us live in the now.
I guess
never slowing down, never stopping
it's been quieter
than being in my head.
A bit of unsolicited advice.
Find a way to make peace with both.
[door whooshes open]
[door whooshes shut]
A Princess of Mars.
Who knew that book
would be so prophetic?
[laughs softly]
"I have ever been prone
to seek adventure
"and to investigate and experiment,
where wiser men would have
left well enough alone."
Love this book.
My father he-he always
laughed at the idea
of Martians existing before
Federation terraforming.
Ugh, if I could just go back
and tell him now.
[chuckles]
I think one time-travel
adventure a day is enough.
And this one needs to stay a secret.
Thought you'd say that.
Well, if it were up to me,
everyone would know that
the Enterprise was
responsible for humanity's origin.
But the Federation Council
might want us to pause
before we rush in to amend history books.
So, what do we say?
The truth.
We lost contact with your
ship for a few moments.
Then the solar storm collapsed,
exploded and vanished.
By the time the ensuing
gamma-ray burst had dissipated,
communication with the
Enterprisewas reestablished.
And what about
us answering our own Mayday
from a subspace buoy we
deployed 65 million years ago?
One sent here by a storm that we created
after it sent us back in time.
[Pike laughs softly]
Chris, everything happened
as it was meant to.
That much is clear.
So don't overthink it.
What about the promotion?
- Hmm?
- Had any time to consider?
Yeah.
I saw the past, present and future
in a way that I never thought possible.
I want to focus on my now,
and that's here with Enterprise.
I'm not ready for the promotion.
But
I know someone else who is.
[gasps] I That's
Chris.
Eh, you don't have to say anything.
So I'll say it.
To Commander Una Chin-Riley.
Congratulations on your promotion.
You more than deserve it.
One step closer to captain
and your own starship.
[Pike chuckles]
Cadet.
I wanted to see how you're feeling
after your first real
adventure on the Enterprise.
I have learned that Starfleet
is not what I expected.
Oh, it can surprise you.
My family was disappointed that I was
not placed at the Vulcan Science Academy.
I thought this would
be a good alternative.
Well, it very well could be.
It is not.
I now understand why my
parents were disappointed.
This is a chaotic place.
It likely helps that Spock is part human.
I, however, am not.
Thank you for your questions, Ensign,
but any further are not necessary.
[stammers]
[sighs]
ORTEGAS: Honestly?
She might just be very Vulcan.
- That's all.
- [laughs softly]
It's gonna be a long year.
Come on. La'An and Una and I
are gonna talk about dinosaurs.
Way more worth your time.
[both grunt]
Scotty.
Are you gonna
Say sorry?
You wrench jockeys are kind
of sensitive, aren't you?
- [sighs]
- Frickin' engineers.
Bloody pilots.
[indistinct chatter]
So
are you guys gonna tell
us about the dinosaurs?
SCOTTY: Oh, yeah.
[soft laughter]
Come on.
It was something.
We've seen a lot of strange new worlds,
but we'll never see
something like this again.
[low bellowing]
[screeching]
[squawking]
[chittering]
[roars]
Sub extracted from file & improved
Last season on Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds
BATEL: Do you really still believe
our futures are written in stone?
PIKE: All I know is that I'm
not ready to let you go.
BATEL: Everything that happened to me
was so I could do this.
No, this is Marie
It's my destiny.
You, of all people, can understand that.
UNA: You have to tell me why things
are so weird with you and Spock.
LA'AN: Spock and I made it
very clear with each other
no labels, no complicated expectations,
just fun times.
UNA: Is this a "hit it" situation?
PIKE: It's a new future.
It's whatever kind of
adventure we want it to be.
PIKE: Captain's personal log.
Stardate 2491.5.
We're at the end of a routine
mission on Tulaxar
our 15th in a row
and if I'm being honest,
this may well be my favorite part.
Were you followed?
- LA'AN: No, sir.
- And the meds?
Handed off more than
enough to save the planet.
Any issues being discovered?
LA'AN: Nothing I couldn't handle.
Four of the ones she drank with
might need a day or two to sleep it off.
[scoffs] Lightweights.
- [comms chime]
- [chuckles]
UNA: Captain, we are in position.
- Ready to beam you up on your order.
- Copy that, Number One.
You know what?
We, uh
we might ride a little more.
If you say so, Captain.
You know, just to be safe.
- [horse neighs]
- Hyah.
SPOCK: Welcome back, Captain.
I can take your saddle, if needed.
PIKE: Well, I, uh,
prefer to carry my own gear.
But thanks, Spock.
But you knew that already.
I felt it important to be here
as soon as you returned to the ship.
You wanted to see me in
my outfit, didn't you?
Perhaps.
Follow me to my quarters, Mr. Spock.
These boots are hard to take off alone.
UNA: Six months, Chris, nonstop.
That's a lot of missions in a row.
I'm just worried the crew
is starting to feel the strain,
that's all.
Look, they came to Enterprise
to see things, to
do things.
And the more you see
and do in the moment,
the less you have to think
about the past, right?
We all need weekends once in a while.
Even you.
Understood, Number One.
Not to mention, as much as
I enjoy having the conn,
I wouldn't mind a little time
on-planet once in a while.
Next mission, I promise.
That might be sooner than you think.
Admiral April is on his way to see you.
I told you, Bob,
I'm not looking for a promotion.
Well, regardless of intent,
you're being considered for one.
To commodore.
And that, as we both know,
is a stepping stone.
Look, I felt the same
way when I was captain.
You just need to think about it.
Really think.
You just might surprise yourself.
How long do I have to consider?
We'll need an answer when you
get back from the next mission.
Where are you sending us?
This is a fun one.
Really?
You haven't heard the constant noises?
Scotty acts like every
time I steer the ship,
it makes his job harder,
so he added endless beeping
to literally make my job harder.
Are you listening?
Sorry. I just have to get
prepared for my mentee training.
Right, your new Academy cadet.
When I got to Enterprise,
I didn't know anything about anything,
and all of you helped me.
I just want to pass that
on to the next person.
I've been practicing my Vulcan
with Spock to improve it.
[sighs]
[clears throat]
taz Nyota Uhura dwi-mâsh.
tan-fi bo-shish ner gab-no-vet âs
dwoz nufezh po nen lhi-de-mosh.
Please do not speak Vulcan.
Your accent is improper.
I thought I got that right.
I am fully versed in all human dialects.
That is all that is required
for us to communicate.
Right. Let me start again.
I am Ensign Uhura, but you can
call me Nyota, if you like.
I was at the Academy
just a few years ago,
so I know exactly how you must feel.
You are several years older than I am,
and since you are human,
it is unlikely you know how I feel.
Were you present for
the K'thoniadisaster?
Or the FFakishaconflict?
That all happened after I left.
Your Vulcan is poorly pronounced,
your time at the Academy was
completely different than mine.
It appears we do not have many
shared experiences at all.
[mouths]
PIKE: This is an unusual mission.
We are to face a category
ten interstellar squall,
something we rarely see
in the Alpha Quadrant.
PELIA: I-I've seen one once,
a long time ago,
but not from this close.
I think I was in a
phone box at the time.
SPOCK: Such distortions are
often briefly occurring.
This one has appeared
around the star Ithaxus.
No explanation.
Doesn't look like it's
safe for us to get near it.
LA'AN: Any inhabited planets
nearby we should be worried about?
UNA: None.
Thank goodness.
And that's the key
element of this mission.
No one we have to protect.
We are here to observe an
unusual stellar display.
That is all.
PELIA: Oh, it sounds like
we're going to the theater.
Minus the Playbill.
SPOCK: A theater that would likely tear
our ship into small particles of
subspace should we get too close.
Come on, Mr. Spock.
Where's your sense of adventure?
Perhaps I did not clearly state the part
about being torn into small
particles of subspace.
Interstellar storms are
like space-time gone wild,
the very stuff of the universe.
Don't you think a glimpse
is worth a little risk?
See? Now, that's the spirit.
[Pelia chuckles]
Keep us at arm's length, Erica.
ORTEGAS: Aye, sir.
Very long arms.
LA'AN: I wish we could
get closer, though.
It's absolutely stunning.
UHURA: I understand the feeling.
To actually see something like this.
Digital data is more relevant.
SPOCK: Sensors are active.
- Data is cogent.
- If you had to give up
seeing this kind of thing all the time,
would you miss it?
Every day.
Yeah.
[comms chime]
Sir, I'm getting a comm signal.
- Location, Nyota?
- The signal's erratic,
but it seems to be coming
from inside the storm.
It's a mayday, sir.
A ship is stuck inside the storm?
That's what the signal's saying.
Take us closer, Erica.
But keep your foot on the brakes.
Understood, Captain.
[alert trilling]
Not now, Scotty.
Deeper scans suggest signal origin
is a buoy inside of the storm.
- A buoy?
- UHURA: It's a starship distress buoy,
but I can't get a lock on the signal.
Any sign of the source
of the buoy? Any ships?
Scanning, Captain.
[alarm sounds]
Uh-oh.
The storm is undergoing
exponential expansion.
You think?
- Reverse course, Erica, fast.
- Already on it.
[alert chimes]
We have life support.
Unfortunately, that is the
extent of the good news.
No weapons functionality. Zero.
Long-range comms are down.
SCOTTY: Transporters are offline.
Not sure when they'll be fixed, or if.
PELIA: We have only the barest amount
of impulse power. For now.
- Warp?
- SCOTTY: Out of the question.
Look, our problem is,
we lost all our iridium.
Without it, we can't
ignite the warp engines.
We're basically stuck here.
And do we know where "here" is?
All we've been able to determine is,
the stellar storm
somehow pulled the
ship into a warp field.
The stars aren't lining
up to give us a location,
but we think it's just the main
computer coming back on line.
Okay.
Deploy a locator and send out a mayday.
Let's use a flare.
- On it.
- SPOCK: Short-range scans
suggest we can only
extrapolate our position.
Of the four planets scanned so far,
three are M-class.
Inhabited? Anyone who
might give us a hand?
Impossible to tell,
given our current sensor capabilities.
But we have detected iridium on
the nearest M-class planet
a few hours' journey with
our current impulse engines.
SCOTTY: And one of our
shuttles is still functional
enough to get us to the surface, I think.
[exhales sharply]
Well, Number One, you wanted
a mission on a strange new world.
Looks like you got one.
PIKE: Curie, this is Enterprise.
You are now entering the
planet's upper atmosphere.
LA'AN: Heading towards the
last known iridium location.
The land mass is quite
choppy down there.
We're five-by-five. We might have
to land pretty far from the signal.
There aren't any closer options.
[animals chirping, calling]
The iridium's over there.
ORTEGAS: Near what is
definitely a volcano.
Um
I'm detecting life signs.
What kind of life signs?
Large.
Taller than us?
Much taller.
[creature stomps, growls]
Is there a way around that?
No.
We want the iridium,
we have to get past that.
- [creature roars]
- [creature 2 shrieks]
Great news.
I've got a fix on the creature.
That's not the problem. It's, uh
trying to do something about it.
- Can't you just stun it?
- Well, if I had
phasers, sure. Um
I might be able to
send a bolt of electricity,
but I don't want to kill the laddie.
We should probably determine
what it can withstand first.
What are you doing?
[creature growls]
Why did you just shoot it?
Wha I was on stun.
And you saw. Nothing happened.
[imitating Scotty's accent]:
The laddie may be a wee bit
stronger than we anticipated.
"Laddie"? You think
that's what I talk like?
- That's totally what you talk like.
- Fine.
- [loud crash]
- [grunts]
[alarms sounding]
Something's just grabbed the ship.
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.
[alarms sounding]
[Pelia grunts]
Where did they come from?
SPOCK: Unclear, Captain. Our sensors
are functioning below normal parameters.
PELIA: They seem to have
attached some kind of energy tendrils.
SPOCK: They are similar
to our tractor beams,
but the style is one I
am not familiar with.
Do we have any weapons? Shields?
PELIA: No, the shields are still
not functioning, Captain,
and Scotty cannot
repair the weapons without iridium.
We-we are crippled.
They're literally towing us away.
Do we have impulse? Anything?
PELIA: No, using impulse engines
would be like trying to
free ourselves from a boat
using a pair of flippers.
Small flippers.
Flippers that could be lost at any time.
Comms are still functioning, sir.
As is our universal translator.
Does anyone recognize that ship?
SPOCK: I do not,
and it does not exist in our database.
Hail them, Nyota.
Let's try the friendly approach first.
We don't have much else
- to work with.
- Hailing them, sir.
This is Captain Christopher Pike
of the starship Enterprise.
You seem to have
you seem to have accidentally
taken hold of our ship.
Anything?
They're responding, sir.
[alien language translating]
CASSELL: I am Battle Commander Cassell.
We didn't attach our
tethers by accident.
We seized your damaged ship as salvage.
Your ship and its resources
are now our property.
Still nothing from the ship.
Scotty said he'd come right back.
He didn't. Typical.
I don't like it.
We may be on our own, at least for now.
We need to get a better
idea of what we're facing.
What about the new
vaporization thingy?
You know what it's called.
Scotty's not even here to get annoyed.
Just makes me feel better.
The phasers have been modified
with a contained disintegration function.
We need to get a clear shot
at that copse of trees.
Maybe we can see the "laddie"
that's hiding behind it.
PIKE: Commander Cassell,
we are members of Starfleet.
Any actions against us will be seen
as actions against the
United Federation of Planets.
CASSELL: We aren't familiar
with your Starfleet
or Federation, but if you're
in league with the Dol'drm,
we will destroy you.
[comms chime]
What?
Be careful what you say, Captain.
If they are not familiar with Starfleet,
it is possible that they are pre-warp.
They may be seizing our ship
to learn about our technology,
which is strictly against
our prime directive.
They have the ship, Spock.
Right now talking is our only way out.
Allow me to scan it further.
Perhaps you could stall.
[comms chime]
We are not familiar with the Dol'drm.
We're new to this region of space,
and if you don't know the Federation,
we also don't know you.
We are at war, Captain,
with a terrible and destructive enemy,
and as part of our wartime covenants,
we have seized your ship as
scrap for our war effort.
If you are not aligned with the Dol'drm,
you will be released
when we return home.
You can't just take our
ship without consequences.
And yet you have shown us none.
This discussion is over.
Commander, we do have weapons,
and Starfleet has more a lot more.
Do you really want us to turn all of
them on you just to prove our point?
Why don't you come aboard?
I can show you myself,
and we can discuss ways
that the Federation can help you.
I don't think this will be useful.
But if you have weapons
to show us, personally,
I'll come on board to see them.
That-That's not exactly
what I said. I
End communication.
[comms chime]
Okay, not ideal.
[phaser charges]
You sure this is going to work?
Not in the slightest.
Well, at least we're talking.
SPOCK: I am afraid our
circumstance is
slightly more complicated
than we realized, Captain.
I have determined our current location.
Scans have revealed that
we are in the Sol system.
Sol?
Spock, this doesn't make any sense.
Three M-class worlds?
The stellar storm created an
incredible amount of energy,
far beyond what our ship is capable of.
However, where it sent us
is less relevant than when.
Currently, we are 65
million years in the past.
The planet Commander Cassell
is dragging us toward is Mars.
Mars?
Then that would mean the planet
that Una flew the shuttle to
Is Earth, Captain.
[growls]
[roaring]
ORTEGAS: So, according to
Enterprise, we can't harm
any native life because doing
so could wreck the future.
LA'AN: Unfortunately,
the dinosaurs do not share
our temporal prohibitions
when it comes to eating us.
[dinosaur bellows in distance]
I have an idea.
But I don't think either
of you are gonna like it.
- ORTEGAS: Oh, we are way past that.
- Yeah.
What you got, boss?
[phaser charges]
M'BENGA: They have never heard
of Starfleet or the Federation
because neither will exist
for millions of years.
It may be challenging to form a
shared frame of reference, Captain.
It shouldn't be that different from any
first contact with a pre-warp species.
Except you invited her
on board your starship.
Yeah, there is that.
Look, by the time our
present comes around,
Mars has been lifeless for eons.
I'm going to wager that nothing we
say here is going to change the future,
so long as she doesn't leave the
ship with anything material.
Alternatively,
any single one of our actions
could result in our
future never occurring.
Okay, so out of an abundance of caution,
we'll keep her from
Everything?
It feels like you're not helping.
- [instrument beeping]
- That's odd.
Scanners seem to have detected
something on the hull.
COMPUTER: Possible hull
breach on Deck Seven.
We're on Deck Seven.
No adjustment in air
temperature. Strange.
Where?
Corridor.
[whooshing]
PIKE: Commander Cassell.
I'm Captain Pike.
You are short.
Our-our planet's a little
heavier than yours.
Hence this unpleasant
artificial gravity on your ship?
- Too unpleasant? We can adjust.
- No need.
We're obviously considerably
stronger than you are.
How did you get inside our ship?
We phased through your wall.
Do you not have phasing technology?
Well, no, but we have
transporters which allow us
Which we can gladly discuss
at a later juncture.
PIKE: Allow me to introduce
our science officer Spock,
Dr. M'Benga, and our engineer Mr. Scott.
Forgive me if I don't.
My guards are under standing orders
to kill anyone who comes too close.
Okay.
PIKE: I assure you,
that won't be necessary, Commander.
- You're here as our guests.
- We're here as your captors
to see your weaponry, Captain Pike.
Commander, you are not our enemy.
That assessment is mine to make.
You would do the same in
my position, would you not?
Our transporter typically
sweeps our visitors
for health and safety.
Would you permit me to examine you?
To ensure you haven't
brought any pathogens aboard
and that you can handle any
you might find aboard as well.
Well, I am confident our
biological prophylaxis
will keep all parties safe.
However, given I also
trained in medicine,
I am curious to see what
technology you have.
After that, we will see
your weapons systems.
ORTEGAS: Stun?
Your plan is to get
close and just use stun?
- UNA: That is correct.
- LA'AN: I'll remind you,
we tried it. It didn't faze it one bit.
I mean, we could just disintegrate it,
if it wasn't for, you know,
the whole "destroy the
entire future" part.
UNA: I'm going to get close
enough so it opens its mouth,
shoot in its soft palate,
and hope it works.
And that it doesn't
decide you're maybe
a delicious snack with several
more yummies nearby?
We'll kill it if it gets to that.
UNA: Don't.
We genuinely don't know the future
effects of anything we might do here.
I'll stun, and then we run.
ORTEGAS: Crazy.
Dangerous.
Maybe even insane.
But I'm kind of impressed.
Is that weird?
[pterodactyls squawking]
[growling]
Hey! Dinosaur!
You there!
[phaser charges]
[bellows]
[squawking]
[roars]
[growling]
[grunts]
[phaser charges]
[roars]
[Una grunts]
[groans]
Did it eat her?
It's not chewing.
[snoring]
UNA: It's asleep. Stun worked!
And you didn't kill him.
Nice work.
Let's move. Before shewakes up.
- She?
- Yeah.
It's not a "laddie," it's a "lassie."
CASSELL: There are many different
types of people on this ship.
SPOCK: In this room alone, we have
humans, Vulcans and Tellarites.
As members of Starfleet,
we've encountered countless other species.
We come from different planets,
but we have ways to work together.
And none of these countless
species wish to destroy you?
- Members of the Federation, no.
- Ah,
but I get the feeling others do?
Well, those that don't like us
aren't against just one of us,
they're against all of us.
Our unity is our best deterrent.
Again, because of your weapons?
Federation members do bring
weapons to the table,
but that same unity means we
often do not have to use them.
I must admit,
I have difficulty imagining
such an alliance as this.
Many worlds working together.
CHAPEL: Technically, we
we don't just work together, we
we pick up a lot of
stuff from each other.
CASSELL: None of those others
are concerned that you'll turn
their weapons against them?
Sometimes it's just recipes.
Or
music. Whatever we share,
it tends to add up
to more than the sum of its parts.
I only know my world and the Dol'drm.
"Alien" to me means evil.
PIKE: Humans have a way of saying,
when it comes
to facing an enemy,
the carrot or the stick.
What is a carrot?
Is it a weapon of some sort?
I imagine it is more
persuasive than a stick.
[chuckles] Yeah, it is,
but not in the way that you're thinking.
No, um, you eat a carrot.
It's a reward.
Uh, it helps to form an alliance.
No, the stick is the only weapon.
So you're benevolent until
that no longer works,
and only then are you hostile?
It's a strategy of sorts.
M'BENGA: I'm happy to say
we have no issues of contamination.
You clearly dedicate many resources
to this medical facility.
Frankly, it's something of a wonder
to see so few occupied beds or injuries.
Captain Pike, perhaps I have been
too quick to judge you and your crew.
It appears you are not the enemies
we perceived you to be.
Glad to hear it.
But appearances can be deceiving.
Do you have this saying, too?
Take me to your weapons systems,
and then I may better
understand what this alliance
with its many points of view
and carrots and sticks has to offer.
Of course.
CASSELL: Phasers and photon torpedoes
are your ship's primary weapons?
PIKE: But not the part most used.
I assume you are referring
to defensive systems?
You mentioned the use of shields.
Our shields are damaged.
Given time, our engineering station
or our science station will find
ways of repairing our systems.
What is the main purpose
of your science station?
Is it to assess the vulnerability
of potential enemies?
Science allows us a broad understanding
of every culture we encounter
so we can share strengths
and compensate for each
other's respective weaknesses.
Understanding other
cultures has allowed us
to advance faster than if we were alone.
I am sorry for your loss?
You used the word "alone."
Our people have ten individual
words for such a state,
differentiated by emotional inflection.
I'm sorry, I don't follow.
Your translating machine
used the word "widower."
And so my condolences.
Our captains are not permitted
relationships during war.
They leave us vulnerable,
too hesitant to sacrifice.
And we have always been at war.
Well, isn't love part
of what we fight for?
If not that, then
Have you ever seen my homeworld of Mars?
We are not familiar with the
current condition of Mars.
If the ship's scanners are repaired,
will you pull it up on-screen?
Please.
- It's beautiful.
- Yes.
But there is something more
important for you to see.
Turn the planet view 173 degrees.
Valles Marineris.
That crater was caused when
the Dol'drm crashed a ship
onto the surface and fed on our world.
The only way to stop them was
to tear away the very land around them.
The invaders died.
But that crater and two million
lives is the price we paid.
- That's horrible.
- That's why your discussions
of cultures, of science, although
kind and hopeful, are not relevant.
What we need to do is
destroy the Dol'drm
before they devour the
rest of our planet
and turn it all into a red wasteland.
Well, have you ever tried
communicating with the Dol'drm?
We cannot. They are insects.
They do not speak or reason as we do.
They simply feed and move forward.
You may have other options.
Some on our planet argued this.
They believed there were
other ways to deal with them.
As they talked, we died.
There's only one thing
that's ever worked.
Force.
What if we could offer you something
that would work without weapons?
Something only Starfleet's
resources can provide?
The Federation have met maybe
65 different insectoid species.
Of those, 17 of them don't use
sonic communication, like us.
This is where xenoanthropology helps.
We've been able to design multiple systems
that work for creatures who communicate
using light, touch or,
in one particularly difficult case, smell.
Which stunk. [chuckles]
But it did allow us, eventually,
to speak with them.
Fascinating.
PIKE: You keep insisting it's impossible
to communicate with the Dol'drm.
If we find out we can, maybe we could
find a way to stop them without weapons.
What if we could end your war?
What if we could offer them something?
Isn't it worth a brief consideration?
Brief.
PIKE: You have an update?
As more systems come on line,
the introduction of
variables still generates
a consistent outcome.
Quantum entanglement has Enterprisefirmly
anchored 65 million years in the past.
- You're saying we're stuck here?
- Yes. And also no.
The nature of quantum
entanglement could theoretically
snap us right back
to the moment we left.
Well, that seems good.
However, to do so would require
the power equivalent of a supernova,
the very same amount that sent us here.
Without it, we are trapped in the past.
- Less good.
- Indeed.
[comms chime]
UHURA: Captain, Commander Cassell
and her guard have left the lab.
- Where did they go?
- I don't know.
They just phased through
the floor and were gone.
- Engineering.
- Pike to Engineering.
What's happening down there?
SCOTTY: That tall, scary Martian lady
just came right through
the bulkhead and took it.
- We couldn't stop her.
- Took what?
PELIA: The ship's primary
antimatter fuel cell.
SPOCK: Cassell's location keeps moving.
Deck Ten.
Deck Nine.
Deck Eight. She's headed
for her egress point.
I'm not armed.
I just want to talk.
We were helping you,
and now you're taking
our fuel cell? Why?
Captain
I have been nothing
but honest with you.
And consistent.
You, however, have not
been equally truthful.
What are you talking about?
You spoke to me of Starfleet,
of all that you've achieved.
It was easy to get a sense of
your respect for your values,
your deep feeling for those
you have fought for and loved.
With these things you were frank.
You also spoke to me
of where you are from.
But you failed to explain when.
Your Federation doesn't exist.
- That's not entirely true.
- Yet.
It doesn't exist yet.
You showed me your computer
so I could speak with the Dol'drm.
It was simple to understand from there
how you determine time with it.
Your Federation won't exist
for millions of years.
And by then my
civilization will be gone.
I'm sorry.
Our regulations
they forbid me from telling you that.
But that doesn't mean
that we can't find a way
- out of this for both of us.
- Captain.
I understand you are
trying to save your people.
As I am doing for mine.
But we live now, not in the future.
Your ship's given us exactly
what we need to win our war.
I'm sorry.
Commander
[whooshing]
[thunder cracking]
UNA: This wreckage is apparently
the source of the iridium.
ORTEGAS: And that's, like,
an alien spaceship.
On Earth.
65 million years before us.
I have to say this out
loud to believe it.
Those burns
a weapon did that.
ORTEGAS: It was shot down.
- Our Martian friends?
- Mm-hmm.
The iridium's inside.
No life signs, but there might
be an engine compartment.
Wait here.
[chittering]
LA'AN: All these cryobeds?
I think this was a colony ship.
Must have all died on impact.
[creature screeches]
[exhales]
[scoffs]
Reflexes.
They must all be dead.
If they were settlers,
I'm not sure if I should feel sad or
relieved.
Whatever the reason
they were in cryosleep,
they were shot down and died
on a planet far from home,
headed who knows where.
They may be different from us, but
they wanted to survive, too.
Iridium fuel pod.
The only one that wasn't damaged.
LA'AN: Let's hope Scotty and Pelia
can jury-rig it to the Enterprise.
Can we go now, please?
This place is giving me the creeps.
Yeah.
- [creature screeches]
- [La'An grunts]
[creature whimpers]
[snarls]
[chitters]
[laughs softly]
You just punched it.
Yeah, well, I didn't have time
to shoot it in the mouth, did I?
Well, if you two are finished
just standing here
SCOTTY [over comms]: Hey, I've managed
to hook up the backup antimatter pod.
You gotta hurry up with that iridium.
Yeah, yeah, we're coming. Geez.
CHAPEL: You punched a dinosaur?
[exhales]
M'BENGA: Well,
I'm sure it had it coming.
[laughs]
What is it?
It's just, I broke my hand
and I don't feel any pain.
Well, how is that possible?
It isn't.
The truth is, I've felt
different for a while now.
I-I've always had elevated
strength and reflexes,
but now it's-it's almost like
my whole body feels more attuned.
And your mind?
Confused.
Look, I carry recessive
augmented DNA, right?
Now, is it possible that somehow
all I've been through has
activated those recessive genes?
Are you going to try and
take over the galaxy now?
I don't know.
Hey. You may be carrying
enhanced warrior genes,
but it's not who you are.
I've got to go.
[boatswain's whistle blows] - Iridium
is installed and ready to function,
as long as we don't
want to double-check it.
Do we need to double-check it?
We need to get a fix
on that Martian ship.
Are you concerned or are
you worried, Mr. Scott?
Just worried, sir.
Good man.
UNA: Bridge is coming back on line.
- Long-range sensors?
- SPOCK: Reinitializing.
- PIKE: Time?
- 15 seconds.
PIKE: Every second could
be getting Commander
Cassell closer to
detonating that antimatter.
SCOTTY: Well, I can't get power to
the ship's systems any faster, Captain.
- Screens are working, Chris.
- Great. How about
- long-range comms?
- On and functioning, sir. Orders?
Connect the Martian ship.
Hailing them.
And initializing ship-to-ship visuals.
Commander Cassell, this is Captain Pike
of the USS Enterprise.
I should have told you where
when we're from.
I should have been honest,
because then you
might have believed
me about everything else.
There are other ways
of solving conflict.
I understand how you
CASSELL: Captain,
you have lost crewmates?
- Friends?
- Yes. Many.
Imagine those losses a thousandfold.
Imagine a wound on your
planet that will never heal.
A memorial to millions of
dead etched in rock and blood.
I know you believe that
what you're doing is right.
But I have seen a future
where species can coexist.
And I have seen one on your computers
where my homeworld is a
barren red wasteland.
Can you tell me the Dol'drm
are not responsible for that?
No, I can't.
But I can tell you that
if you use our technology
to change the future,
millions of lives may be lost.
And millions of lives may be saved.
The lives of my people.
Isn't that what a captain does?
Save her people?
Wouldn't you?
Uh, she shut off her comms.
And they're not responding to hails.
- Engines?
- SCOTTY: Half-impulse.
Erica, plot an intercept course.
We're gonna try to stop them from using
- our antimatter.
- UNA: The only question is,
where are they planning to use it?
They don't have warp.
Where is this enemy planet?
SPOCK: Long-range sensors
are fully operational.
Extrapolating their course.
They are headed for the
fifth planet in the system.
- Jupiter?
- No, this planet is much smaller.
Similar to Mars.
At a distance of 480
million kilometers from Sol
and 120 million kilometers from
the Martian solar rotation.
But there's no fifth planet
like that in our solar system.
SPOCK: The planet is populated
by billions of life-forms.
An arachnid species.
That's what we found crashed on Earth,
with the iridium.
The fifth planet of our solar system
is the Dol'drm homeworld.
Captain, the Martian warship is approaching
the fifth planet at high impulse.
On screen.
SPOCK: We will be in firing range of
the Martian ship in less than one minute.
SCOTTY: Phasers aren't working yet.
PIKE: We just need to disable
the Martian ship.
Can we try a tractor beam?
- There's not enough power at this range.
- Photon torpedoes?
We need something.
- Checking.
- SPOCK: Captain,
my calculations indicate
that if the Martians
detonate our antimatter pod
at their current proximity,
they will be unable to
escape the explosion.
It's her only way to
guarantee a kill shot.
She's gonna sacrifice
her ship and her crew
to destroy the planet.
LA'AN: Captain,
I think we have enough power
- to fire one photon torpedo.
- As soon as we're in range.
UNA: The Martian ship just
activated a missile launcher.
[weapon fires]
They have deployed the antimatter.
PIKE: Can we shoot it down
without detonating it?
Yes, but we're still not in range.
PIKE: Spock, how long to impact?
- SPOCK: 30 seconds.
- Erica,
give it everything you've got.
Push it right to the edge.
- We have to get in range.
- Aye, sir.
Come on, baby. You've got this.
- SPOCK: 20 seconds to impact.
- PIKE: Erica?
Pegging the redline, sir.
There's a reason for those lights.
- Shut them off, Scotty.
- LA'AN: Sir, we're in range.
Locking photon torpedo on target.
- SPOCK: 12 seconds to impact.
- Target locked.
We've got it, sir.
Captain.
Fire, sir?
- Do not fire. Repeat, do not fire.
- But, sir
UNA: Captain, that planet's about
to be destroyed by our technology.
Our future's at stake. We must fire.
You heard my order. Hold fire,
stand down photon torpedo.
Chris, our future notwithstanding,
we can't just sit here and let
that entire planet be destroyed.
In our future
there is no fifth planet.
SPOCK: Three seconds.
Two. One.
[softly]: I'm sorry.
ORTEGAS: That blast wave's gonna hit us.
But I think I can outrun it.
No. We should not run.
We need to head into the blast wave.
UNA: Head into that?
You saw what just happened
to the Martian ship.
We may be able to use it to
send us back to our time.
The antimatter explosion,
combined with the explosion
of the planet's core,
has created the necessary energy
to free Enterprise from
this temporal anchor point,
snapping the quantum entanglement
back to the exact point we came from.
Before the blast wave
tears our ship apart?
Unknown.
But it is our only option
if we intend to go home.
Erica, come about.
Take us straight into the blast wave.
Spock, if you have any calculations,
now's the time.
Helm, come to course 1-4-7, mark 2.
Roger that.
Everybody, hang on to something.
Anything.
Everything.
SPOCK: After running
multiple simulations,
I determined that a fragment from the
Dol'drm planet is the Chicxulub asteroid.
LA'AN: Theone that hit
Earth 65 million years ago?
UNA: And led to the
extinction of the dinosaurs.
Does that mean
Yes.
The remaining debris, less than four
percent of the planet's original mass,
eventually became part of the
asteroid belt as we have come to know it.
Furthermore, the absence of the planet
caused a gravimetric shift in the system,
moving Mars further from the sun.
Its atmosphere cooled to
become the Mars we know today.
Earth also cooled,
ushering in the Cenozoic Era,
and eventually
The evolution of humanity.
Even I remember a part of that.
ORTEGAS: So, we only exist
because of what we did?
I think we might exist
because of what we didn't do.
The Martians had to take our weapons.
And we had to let them
destroy the Dol'drm planet.
Because they always have.
We were always there.
So we were never in danger
of changing anything?
O-Or were we?
CHAPEL: What about Commander Cassell?
Did she destroy her own planet?
I think
we could all use a night off.
[Uhura mutters]
ORTEGAS: Yeah, I heard it.
Let's go before he changes his mind.
UHURA: Mm-hmm.
You're all dismissed.
Thank you.
Commander Cassell.
She just wanted to save her own people.
I would have done
exactly the same thing.
And now they're all gone,
without a trace of their
ever having existed.
Not entirely.
I ran Cassell's DNA
through our database.
It appears that Martian DNA is present
in innumerable species
throughout the galaxy.
They escaped?
Some, at least.
The commander may not have survived,
but her people did.
And the Dol'drm?
If their planet had
remained in the system,
entire histories would be erased.
Trillions of lives.
Evolutions undone.
Yeah, but
I didn't know that in the
moment that I made that call.
It was a hunch
it was a good one, but
but I had no data.
You, more than anyone that I know,
have thought about the past
and the future a great deal.
But most of us live in the now.
I guess
never slowing down, never stopping
it's been quieter
than being in my head.
A bit of unsolicited advice.
Find a way to make peace with both.
[door whooshes open]
[door whooshes shut]
A Princess of Mars.
Who knew that book
would be so prophetic?
[laughs softly]
"I have ever been prone
to seek adventure
"and to investigate and experiment,
where wiser men would have
left well enough alone."
Love this book.
My father he-he always
laughed at the idea
of Martians existing before
Federation terraforming.
Ugh, if I could just go back
and tell him now.
[chuckles]
I think one time-travel
adventure a day is enough.
And this one needs to stay a secret.
Thought you'd say that.
Well, if it were up to me,
everyone would know that
the Enterprise was
responsible for humanity's origin.
But the Federation Council
might want us to pause
before we rush in to amend history books.
So, what do we say?
The truth.
We lost contact with your
ship for a few moments.
Then the solar storm collapsed,
exploded and vanished.
By the time the ensuing
gamma-ray burst had dissipated,
communication with the
Enterprisewas reestablished.
And what about
us answering our own Mayday
from a subspace buoy we
deployed 65 million years ago?
One sent here by a storm that we created
after it sent us back in time.
[Pike laughs softly]
Chris, everything happened
as it was meant to.
That much is clear.
So don't overthink it.
What about the promotion?
- Hmm?
- Had any time to consider?
Yeah.
I saw the past, present and future
in a way that I never thought possible.
I want to focus on my now,
and that's here with Enterprise.
I'm not ready for the promotion.
But
I know someone else who is.
[gasps] I That's
Chris.
Eh, you don't have to say anything.
So I'll say it.
To Commander Una Chin-Riley.
Congratulations on your promotion.
You more than deserve it.
One step closer to captain
and your own starship.
[Pike chuckles]
Cadet.
I wanted to see how you're feeling
after your first real
adventure on the Enterprise.
I have learned that Starfleet
is not what I expected.
Oh, it can surprise you.
My family was disappointed that I was
not placed at the Vulcan Science Academy.
I thought this would
be a good alternative.
Well, it very well could be.
It is not.
I now understand why my
parents were disappointed.
This is a chaotic place.
It likely helps that Spock is part human.
I, however, am not.
Thank you for your questions, Ensign,
but any further are not necessary.
[stammers]
[sighs]
ORTEGAS: Honestly?
She might just be very Vulcan.
- That's all.
- [laughs softly]
It's gonna be a long year.
Come on. La'An and Una and I
are gonna talk about dinosaurs.
Way more worth your time.
[both grunt]
Scotty.
Are you gonna
Say sorry?
You wrench jockeys are kind
of sensitive, aren't you?
- [sighs]
- Frickin' engineers.
Bloody pilots.
[indistinct chatter]
So
are you guys gonna tell
us about the dinosaurs?
SCOTTY: Oh, yeah.
[soft laughter]
Come on.
It was something.
We've seen a lot of strange new worlds,
but we'll never see
something like this again.
[low bellowing]
[screeching]
[squawking]
[chittering]
[roars]
Sub extracted from file & improved