Star Trek: Discovery (2017) s05e04 Episode Script

1
♪
Previously on Star Trek: Discovery
I'm not sure how to be
around you anymore.
Some things are hard to
move past, for both of us.
Yeah, maybe we haven't
wanted to say that out loud.
Are we saying it now?
I think we are.
So, I'll ask for you to do
one-on-ones with the crew.
No need. I've read their files.
I'd like you to connect
with them in person.
I think we can both agree
that connection is not exactly
where my skill set lies.
Connection isn't a skill, it's a choice.
It's good to meet you, Jinaal.
I'm Captain Burnham
of the USS Discovery.
And now you're here for the clue.
BURNHAM: Yes. You have it?
No.
But I can take you to it.
BURNHAM: These are the
coordinates for the next clue.
CULBER: They are.
RAYNER: You find the Progenitors' tech?
BURNHAM: No, but we found a
clue to where it's hidden.
Quest continues.
BOOK: If we run into L'ak
and Moll, it won't be pretty.
Got the latinum?
A bag?
What is this, amateur hour?
You're supposed to stack
it so it's easier to count.
- It's all we could do last-minute.
- Yeah.
This'll cover the original cost,
but, uh, the price of
the item has gone up.
Consider it an expensive
[COUGHING]
Expensive lesson in how to do business.
See, we heard you might
try something like this,
so we came prepared.
We soaked the latinum
in Fop'yano poison.
The kind that you sold
to the Emerald Chain
to use on people like me.
Consider it an expensive lesson
in how not to do business.
L'AK: Moll.
What if that doesn't work?
It will.
And once we're ahead of Discovery,
we can get the next clue and the next.
We've got this.
I just feel like
sometimes the walls are
closing in on us, you know?
[GRUNTING, GASPING]
We are gonna find the Progenitors' tech.
And no more bounty on our heads.
No more looking over our shoulders.
No more running.
We'll be free.
Free sounds good.
We should go.
Discovery won't be at Trill much longer.
GRAY [ON COMMS]: I'm really
happy we can stay friends, Adira.
ADIRA: Me too. I'd miss
you too much otherwise.
So, I'll see you in a few months
when I graduate to the
next level of training?
- Yeah, I wouldn't miss it.
- Great.
- Talk soon. Bye.
- Bye.
STAMETS [ON COMMS]:
Adira, could you re-adjust
the deuterium manifold on Deck Nine?
It shifted again after the jump.
Yes. Uh, on my way.
Well, what do you mean
there's nothing here?
Aren't we at the coordinates
Jinaal gave us on Trill?
Yes, Captain, but every
scan I've run polaron,
- multiphasic, ion trace have
- Have all turned up nothing.
Not as much as a starbase within
two-and-a-half parsecs of here.
Well, let's keep looking.
Lieutenant Linus, send a team of DOTs
to do a more in-depth scan of the area.
Aye, Captain.
And what about L'ak and Moll
any sign of them yet?
Trill's not reporting anything.
Well, contact them again.
They should have been there hours ago
when the captain was down on the planet.
We need to be alert.
It's not like them to
fall behind in a race.
RHYS: Captain, if I may.
There is logic to L'ak and
Moll laying low for now.
If I were them,
I'd let Discovery lead
us to the next clue,
keep us guessing in the meantime.
RAYNER: If they were following us,
we'd have evidence of that
right here, right now,
but we don't.
So, let's stick to the facts, Commander.
What we know, not what we guess.
Commander Rhys, take the conn.
Can I speak to you in
my ready room, please?
Unacceptable.
Not how we do things here.
Trying to get them to focus.
It's important to me that
the crew be engaged
and involved and encouraged
to speak freely.
Okay, then, speaking freely,
I think that's a mistake.
This is a Red Directive
mission, Captain.
There's no time to be collaborative.
There's time to be
decisive and disciplined.
You don't think my crew is disciplined?
I think they're too familiar,
too comfortable with each other
and, frankly, with you.
That familiarity helped us save
the Federation, the galaxy,
and you.
I'm not doubting their resumés or yours,
but none of you had to learn the lessons
that we did during the Burn.
Things changed like that,
and if I listened to every opinion
and cheered on anyone who had an idea,
me and my crew would have been
dead a hundred times over.
You're in a state of flux
right now, Rayner,
- I get that.
- Oh, come on.
Spare me the "I get you" bullshit.
I should have
[SIGHS]
That was over the line.
Captain.
I'm sorry.
I understand change is hard for anyone.
But Rayner [SIGHS]
the Burn is over.
You're on my ship now.
I expect you to do things my way.
And if my way is better?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
I won't debate it with you, Commander.
You clearly have yet to see the value
OWOSEKUN [ON COMMS]:
Captain, I'm picking up
some odd energy fluctuations.
And something just broadcast an
unauthorized signal from the ship.
On our way.
[ALARM BLARING]
What the
What happened?
- Are we under attack?
- Bridge, report.
Transporter's not working.
Bridge?
Turbolift. Come on.
Saru?
Tilly?
What?
BURNHAM: What the
RAYNER: We're in a wormhole.
No, it can't be.
What was that red thing? Where are we?
Not where. When.
What?
That's the Red Angel.
That was me.
♪
♪
♪
[ORIGINAL STAR TREK THEME PLAYS]
This is the day we came
to the 32nd century.
We've gone back in time to when
you went forward to the future?
- That's a little confusing.
- I guess it explains
why our transporter
badges aren't working.
But how the hell did we get here?
I don't know.
- [GROANS SOFTLY]
- BURNHAM: We're not supposed to be here.
They can't see us here.
They can't see us.
Come on, come on. Let's go.
[GRUNTS]
Okay, think, think. What
could have happened?
Maybe we hit a time eddy.
Or maybe Jinaal's coordinates
weren't as empty as we thought?
Computer may be able to
Oh, damn it.
Can't help us.
SARU [ON COMMS]: This is Commander Saru.
All decks prepare for impact.
We should survive.
Detmer's about to
crash-land on a planet.
Oh, good, I won't waste any
time worrying about it then.
The flashing lights.
That happened last time.
Okay, we're back in the ready
room, but it's changed again.
What?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
I thought the inspection
wasn't until tomorrow.
Surprise.
Well, uh [CHUCKLES]
we're ready, of course.
I'll let the foreman know you're here.
Uh, maybe go to Deck Seven last, though.
Tell your foreman that's
where we're headed next.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, son.
Nice one.
I hate that saying.
[CHUCKLES]
We're in drydock,
when Discovery was first being built.
Wow.
So, we haven't just gone back in time.
- We're jumping through it.
- Right.
Saru called himself Commander.
Everyone on the bridge,
that worker just now
they're all living in the moment,
but we're not being affected at all.
What if this isn't temporal?
What if this is some
kind of neural weapon?
Someone messing with our brains?
Yeah, but Zora didn't register
any vessels in the area
before this happened.
What was happening when
this first started?
Commander Owosekun called up,
reported a energy fluctuation.
And then we tried to beam to the bridge.
That's why whatever
this is isn't impacting us.
It hit the ship at the exact
moment we were beaming.
Right.
And here we go again.
[ALARM BLARING]
We keep coming back
to the same position.
This is right where we were
when we first tried to transport.
What? There's a massive
war going on out there.
- When is this?
- Stardate 1051.8.
What is that?
It's the battle with Control.
[CHUCKLES] Yeah, that was a tough one.
Whatever you said about beaming,
whatever hit the ship right then,
could explain why we keep
resetting to these same spots.
Can't be a time eddy.
We would have seen that on scans.
Doesn't feel like a neural attack.
So, it has to be something
with the ship.
What are we missing?
Shit. It's a time bug.
What?
Krenim chronophage.
We call them time bugs.
You can find them in the black market
left over from the Temporal War.
They're designed to
paralyze an enemy ship
by randomly cycling them through time.
- How long do they last?
- Weeks, months,
until the little suckers
run out of juice.
That's why we can't beam anywhere.
The whole point is to keep us stuck.
This has to be Moll and L'ak.
How the hell did they get it on board?
They must have made it to Trill somehow
and crossed paths with one of you.
Owosekun did say there was
an unauthorized broadcast.
Right, that'd be the location beacon.
So, they know exactly where we are
and where the next clue is.
Rhys was right.
We cannot let them get what
the Progenitors left behind.
So, we have to find and
deactivate this bug.
My guess, it's in engineering,
but even if we do find it,
who knows how long we have.
Well, there must be a pattern
to the time cycle lengths.
If we use this to track
them, we figure it out.
Right now, we need to find Stamets.
- What can he do?
- Well, he lives outside of time
because of his tardigrade DNA.
Uh
Nevermind.
He should be within the cycle
lengths like everyone else,
but just as aware of it as we are.
He may have already figured it out.
- Any idea where he'd be?
- MALE: Dr. Pollard, over here!
NURSE: What about the
injured on Deck 12?
We'll get them stable,
- we get them out. You got it?
- [STAMETS GROANING]
On it.
- Paul? What happened?
- A bug, a scary bug.
Listen, please, I need
to get to engineering.
Oh, God!
- I forgot how bad this hurts.
- You've been impaled, Paul.
- You should be in an induced coma.
- No, no, no, no, no.
No, you can't do that. Zora?
Who is Zora?
Oh, no, she doesn't exist yet.
- You're okay. I got you.
- No.
No, no. I-I need to get out of here.
I need to find a way out of this.
You're not going anywhere.
You need to rest.
No, Hugh, I need to help.
I-I might be the only one who can.
- It's okay.
- No, no, no. Please.
RAYNER: Cloak alert.
- What's happening?
- Not sure yet,
but I do know that last
cycle lasted twice as long
as the one before it.
Hope this one's even longer.
Where's Stamets today?
Considering the stardate,
I'm guessing engineering.
Storage Deck 13,
direct via service shaft Upsilon.
Why are we taking a long-cut?
13 can access engineering
and it's usually empty.
- Temporal Prime Directive.
- Right. Any change in our past
- could alter our entire future.
- Exactly.
Then we can't let the ship's computer
know that we're here either.
This is after Discovery's retrofit,
so it'd be able to recognize
our biometric readings.
You got an override code for that?
Good thinking.
Thanks.
[ALARM BLARING]
We just went to black alert.
What was the stardate again?
Why, what happens?
Osyraa attacks Discovery.
REGULATOR: I need backup on 13!
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING CONTINUING]
Get a better helmet.
You're not Discovery
crew. What's your name?
Commander Lock. I'm on
temporary assignment.
Thanks for the save.
- I owe you one.
- Yeah, well, buy me a drink at Red's.
Vesper martini. Ice cold.
Only way to drink them.
Stay safe.
Steer clear of the bucketheads,
and don't worry.
We'll get out of this.
So will your face.
All good with Reno?
Fine. Told her I was a temp.
[SIGHS]
What happened here?
No idea.
RAYNER: Looks like no
one's been here in years.
Can't even get a stardate.
Computer's glitching like
it's on its last legs.
["QUÉ SERÁ, SERÁ" PLAYING
FAINTLY IN DISTANCE]
Can you hear that?
Qué será, será ♪
Whatever will be ♪
Will be ♪
The future's not ours to see ♪
Qué será, será ♪
What will be, will be. ♪
- Hello?
- [MUSIC STOPS]
ZORA: Captain? Is that you?
Or is this another dream?
Hi, Zora.
It's not a dream.
You and the crew died decades ago.
[CHUCKLES] Is this a dream?
No.
No, it's really me. What year is this?
3218.
That's almost 30 years in the future.
What happened here, Zora?
Most of my memory is I'm sorry, I
I can't exactly recall.
But the outcome you feared came to pass.
The Progenitors' technology
fell into the wrong hands.
What's outside the viewscreen?
You died.
You all died.
Zora, show us what's out there.
Federation headquarters.
RAYNER: [SIGHS] What's left of it.
ZORA: By the time
Starfleet found Discovery
and deactivated the Krenim chronophage,
it was too late.
L'ak and Moll were too far ahead.
- Is that ship Breen?
- ZORA: Yes.
Somehow, they got the
Progenitors' technology.
They launched a devastating attack
a few weeks after we were
rescued from the time cycling.
They must have been Moll
and L'ak's highest bidders.
♪
You know, when I first
walked onto this bridge,
it took every ounce of strength I had
not to turn around and run back off.
I respected Starfleet too much
to believe I deserved to be
here after what I had done.
You're talking about the mutiny.
But look where you ended up.
You have to be the only
person in Starfleet
to captain a ship that you
first boarded as a prisoner.
So
how'd you do it?
I never gave up.
Okay.
So, tracking the time
cycles isn't enough.
Sample size is too
small to get a pattern.
Even if we find the bug,
we won't be able to deactivate it.
Zora, any ideas?
ZORA: Perhaps you need
more data, Captain.
What other variables are there?
ZORA: Many, Commander.
The ship's location, distance and speed.
- That's it, the speed.
- Why would that matter?
'Cause we're not just
traveling through time,
we're also traveling through space.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
- We've been too linear.
- Exactly.
Zora, can you factor
in Discovery's speed
into the time cycle lengths
I've already recorded?
ZORA: Yes. Time cycle lengths
may appear to be random at first,
but when mapped to a space-time diagram
and expanded to higher dimensions,
a visual pattern emerges.
BURNHAM: A conical wave.
It tells us how long we'll
have between time jumps.
And this is us right here.
So we'll know this works if the
cycle resets in ten seconds.
Here's hoping we land in an
era where Stamets isn't dead.
ZORA: Good luck, both of you.
You should be leaving
in five, four, three
- Yes.
- two
Please. Set things right again.
I'm waiting, Dr. Truffles.
You mean Right, of course.
You need for the
The reference calculations
for the injector coil?
- Right.
- And I don't need anything.
You suggested
quite dramatically, if I might add
that I double-check the
reference numbers of a fix
that I've done a million times.
Yes! Yes, of course.
For the injector coil that burned out
during the OBD diagnostic.
Way back ten minutes ago.
Right. Well, uh, yeah,
they're-they're right here.
Hey, so, you know, uh,
sin-since I've got you here
and I'm not sure
when I'll get you again,
uh, I thought I might get your take
on, um, a theoretical predicament
I've been mulling
in-in case it ever came up.
Okay.
Say some temporal unpleasantness
were to hit the ship um,
to nullify it, I'd just need to
calibrate a chroniton stabilizer
to partition world lines per
Scaravelli's constant, right?
Theoretically, yes,
so long as you factor
dimensional variations.
Ah.
Are you stuck in a time
loop right now, Stamets?
What?
[CHUCKLING]: No.
What?
Just messing with you.
Don't bury your mind in
the abstract for too long.
You'll turn into a Rothko painting.
[WHISPERING]: Stamets.
Paul. Psst!
Um, there's been a spore breach!
Evacuate now or-or mushrooms
will grow on your lungs.
- Yes, sir.
- Go, go!
Go!
How are you two even here?
We were beaming when
the cycling started.
And we get sent back to the
ready room after each reset.
I am so happy to see you I could cry.
I'm so happy to see you, too.
- Have you had any problems?
- No, no, no, no, no.
I've just been, uh,
repeating my past actions,
some of which have
been deeply unpleasant.
But I did get to see Linus
stuck in the replicator again.
- Always a silver lining.
- Yeah.
Well, listen, we know
what's causing this.
- It's some kind of a time bug.
- Yeah, aptly named,
and I know where it is.
Yeah, it embedded itself in the
power distribution subsystem.
- Okay, so let's wrench it out
- STAMETS: Oh, no, no, no.
Easy now, it's not that simple.
If removed improperly,
incalculable timelines
might converge at once,
ripping every molecule around
us into infinite directions,
over and over again, for eternity.
Sounds bad.
How do we fix it?
Well, uh, we have to nullify its effects
with near-perfect precision.
And to do that, I need
to be able to understand
the pattern of the resets.
But I've been so busy trying
not to change the future
that I haven't been able
to record the timings.
That's okay. Got them right here.
- You do?
- Takes a village.
STAMETS: Oh, wow. This is great, yeah.
I can now build a chroniton stabilizer
and properly calibrate
it to stop this mess.
But I may just need some
help gathering equipment.
But the next cycle is
ending in ten seconds.
Okay, from now on, we meet
on Deck 13 after each reset.
- Got it.
- And Paul, we saw our possible future.
We can't let it happen.
We cannot fail.
Okay, so, the next reset
is in eight minutes.
So let's be quick.
The good news is that this
timeline has everything I need
to make a chroniton stabilizer.
- Great.
- And the bad news?
The main ingredient is
a field-disrupter fluid
that's in 32nd century holodecks.
- And
- At around this time,
the holodeck in my quarters
would have just been installed.
I can go so you don't risk
running into anyone.
The captain's quarters
are biometrically secured.
It has to be me.
Let's do it now.
Don't know when we'll be able to again.
- In that case, be safe.
- And fast.
Meet you in engineering.
[SIGHS]
[DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN]
Hey. I thought you would
have been on the bridge.
I would have grabbed you a raktajino
on my way back from the gym.
Yeah, I had to pop back.
But I should go.
Um, I've got to be somewhere
in four and a half minutes,
- so
- Very precise, Michael.
You know me. Precise.
- You okay?
- Yeah. No, oh, yeah.
Yeah, I'm okay.
It's a lot of new responsibilities,
becoming the captain.
Mm-hmm.
Trust your instinct.
You were made for this.
Change can be hard.
It's also the only way anything
meaningful can happen.
Uh, can we talk about this later?
Um Yeah?
Love you.
I love you.
[DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN]
Nice and quiet.
He cleared it with another spore breach.
STAMETS: Yeah, I'm a little disturbed
that my crew doesn't know
that isn't a real thing.
Not much time. Next reset's 45 seconds.
ALL: Get out!
Okay.
This is ready. You do the honors.
Just put it right on the bug
and we should be back in
our real time in a flash.
Literally.
Oh!
What the hell is that?
STAMETS: Well, it's a defense
mechanism of some kind.
- A temporal shield, I think.
- Let's find out for sure.
Uh, that's bad.
Down to ten seconds.
We got to figure this out.
There's no way out of
this mess, otherwise.
[DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN]
- What have you got?
- Okay,
so, uh, the spanner disintegrated
because time within the temporal shield
is moving at an ultra-accelerated rate.
So anything including
us ages to dust
before it can actually
get to the bug itself.
- Can we turn the shield off?
- No.
But we can mitigate the
effects long enough to get in
and deactivate it.
We just need to allow
relativity to take over.
By taking the ship to maximum warp
and then breaking the warp bubble.
[SHORT CHUCKLE]
- What?
- Because that's what protects us
from the effects of relativity.
We'll drop out of warp so fast
that the time inside the shield
won't be able to keep up.
Essentially, whatever went
into the shield in that moment
would still age, just not instantly.
Well, wouldn't the whiplash kill us
or break the Discovery
into a million pieces?
Well, the inertial dampeners
should prevent that. Hopefully.
It's a big move. It'll definitely
change the future.
No, not if we succeed.
Because changes to
any time that we're in
don't become permanent
until after the bug resets.
So, as long as we break the warp bubble
and turn the bug off within
the same time cycle,
everything will go back
to the way it was before.
So we only have one shot.
It's a risk we have to take.
Let's do it now. This current time cycle
is the longest that we'll have
in a while 14 minutes.
Who's on the bridge?
Okay, so it's, uh,
right now Lorca's ship,
but he's on an away mission
with Saru and Landry.
So the duty roster has Rhys on call.
And we've got Detmer,
Owosekun, Bryce, Tilly,
Chen, Sanchez
and Airiam.
Who's Airiam?
She's an officer that didn't
make it to the future with us.
We can do this. We just
have to do it together.
But you're not their
captain in this time.
You're a mutineer. They're
not gonna listen to you.
I'll have to find a way.
Okay, so, uh, I'll modulate
the inertial dampeners
to keep the vibrations
from destroying the ship
once we've broken the warp bubble.
Guess I'm the lucky one sticking
his hand in the spider's nest.
Here. My communicator.
Just in case you need it.
I'll grab a spare.
We've got 13 minutes.
Let's make 'em count.
[DOOR WHOOSHES OPEN]
Computer, bridge.
[DOOR WHOOSHES CLOSED]
Mm. Mm.
Uh Mm.
Let me just say
Red is definitely your color.
[CHUCKLES]
Mm.
Thank you, Linus.
Hm.
- Computer! Security!
- No!
Computer, belay that order.
Computer, Deck 13.
We can talk down there.
Wow. Hi.
- Who the hell are you?
- Okay, okay.
It's complicated.
Oh, I was really hoping
that this wouldn't happen.
But things rarely go as
planned for us, am I right?
Okay. I'm just gonna
I'm just gonna explain it then.
I am you from the future.
And we are stuck I-I
I'm stuck cycling through time
because of a temporal weapon
that is currently in engineering.
I do have a plan to deactivate it,
but I have very limited time to do it,
so please just let me proceed,
and nothing needs to happen.
I don't know if you're a
shapeshifter or what.
But seeing the uniform,
you must think I'm an idiot
if you expect me to
believe that a mutineer
could ever end up with captain's pips.
No, no, no, no, no. Burnham,
you don't want to do that.
- You don't want to do that.
- Yeah.
I really do.
[GRUNTING]
Oh!
Michael, I don't want to hurt you.
[PANTING]
I know
that it's hard to see a path
to the captain's seat
from where you are.
Even I forgot just how
hopeless this time felt.
It will be a long road.
But just
don't give up.
All right, I am very grumpy!
Just absolutely irate.
And I need to be left alone.
FEMALE: Yes, sir.
That was faster than
your spore breach excuse.
Yeah, I was, uh, a tad more
surly pre-tardigrade DNA.
[CONSOLE BEEPING]
What's wrong?
No, it's just the, uh,
the inertial dampeners.
These 23rd century systems
are muddying up in my head
with the 32nd century
systems we have now.
Yeah? Well, un-muddy them.
We're not exactly made of time.
Okay, I need you to press pause
on the "gruff candor" routine.
You have no idea how
much pressure I'm under.
I thought that was your thing.
Brilliant scientist that
everything's hanging on.
Yeah, well, things change.
And not every problem
is something you can
figure out on your own.
You try being the one to
keep this ship together
so we don't die
and-and erase everything
we've ever done from history.
And even if we make it back,
this Progenitor technology
we're after it's
it's different. It's
it's bigger than anything
I have taken on before.
You're not in any of it alone.
What can I do to help, right now?
Well, I-I do need to finish
calibrating the dampeners,
which is gonna take a little time, so
if you could transfer control of
the plasma-coolant systems
- to that console?
- Got it.
Hey. Paul.
Let's show 'em how a couple of old dogs
still know the best tricks.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Lieutenant Owosekun,
run a multiphasic scan
of the system's
Michael, what are you doing here?
Specialist Burnham. You're not
authorized to be on the bridge.
And why are you out of uniform?
And what did you do to your hair?
Love it.
BURNHAM: This is gonna be
hard to understand at first,
and hard to accept,
but I am from the future.
- Security.
- No, w-wait, please.
Listen, it's not a it's not a trick.
In our future, Discovery is
on a very important mission
to find an immense power,
and we've been stalled
by a temporal weapon.
No need for that, Owo.
I took a right cross from you
in the training room a few months back.
I don't need that experience that again.
AIRIAM: Computer, scan the ship
for Michael Burnham's life signs.
COMPUTER: There are two identical sets
of Michael Burnham life signs aboard.
One is presently unconscious.
It's fine. It's fine. She's fine.
I nerve pinched her.
I just I need you to listen to me.
There's a window on
Deck Six that you sit at
when you're having a bad day.
It's usually quieter than
the observation room.
You joined Starfleet because you
weren't able to save your friend
when you were 15.
And you love comms
because you used to listen
to old radio emissions
in space with your grandmother.
And you're a cadet who's frightened
of rooming with a mutineer.
You think I'm gonna
knife you in your sleep
because of your snoring.
I won't, by the way.
Thank you.
You say you're from the future.
- I am.
- And you're a Starfleet captain?
I'm Discovery's captain.
[SCOFFS]
Okay.
BURNHAM: Listen to me. I have
seen the Federation collapse.
We all die because I don't
complete this mission.
And I am running out of time.
And, what, you just expect
us to believe all of this?
No. But Airiam will believe me.
And I know you all trust her.
Why?
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry
to have to do this.
Speak, Michael.
I've seen how you die.
Oh, no, no, no, don't do that. No.
If you won't get her
off the bridge, I will.
396 days from now
Oh, Airiam, we miss you every day.
- Stop. Michael, st Don't
- Listen, I was there.
An AI program infects your augmentation.
- Enough.
- You sacrifice everything for us.
That's a lie.
Because we would never let her do that.
There was no other way.
She'd fight it off.
Some fights can't be won.
She would never give up like that.
I would.
If it came to that, I would.
Phaser down, Bryce.
What do you need from us?
COMPUTER: Everyone to their stations.
We are going to maximum warp.
She did it. She damn well did it.
She always does.
All right, um, I'm almost done.
Uh, be ready with the
chroniton stabilizer.
Attach it to the bug on my mark.
Yep, all good.
Yeah, okay, uh, we have
three minutes left.
It'll be close, but I
think we can make it.
PAST BURNHAM:
Step away from the console.
Both of you.
We've reached maximum speed, Commander.
Ready to break the warp
bubble on your mark.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
Fascinating technology.
I wish I were going to be around
to learn more about it.
- I'm sorry.
- Don't be.
If things go the way you expect,
I won't remember anyway.
- Are they ready to go?
- They should be.
Rayner. Are we all set?
RAYNER: Actually, we have a problem.
Your past self doesn't
want to screw up again.
PAST BURNHAM: Lieutenant Stamets,
I don't know what that
shapeshifter and her friend
have said to fool you,
but you are going to
shut down the warp core
and stop the ship. Now.
Um,
so, like I said, it's because of
Uh, I think you need to come down here
and have a little talk with yourself.
CURRENT BURNHAM:
I would never make it in time.
We have less than three minute.
Rayner, you have to handle this.
What-what I really need is for you
to let me go back to the console.
We're about to break the warp bubble.
Shut it down.
We won't ask again.
- Last warning.
- RAYNER: Gen.
We know each other.
Anyone could look up my first name.
Yeah, that's right. But I do know you.
Not now. In the future.
Now, you're Lieutenant Rhys.
In my time, you're
Lieutenant Commander Rhys.
You're my tactical officer.
I'm tactical now, it's not a stretch.
Fair point. Okay, something personal.
You love ships. You love the Crossfield.
- Who doesn't?
- 23rd century Constitution class.
That's your favorite. You told me.
You love the curves.
And, Lieutenant, I have to agree.
That is one damn fine vessel.
It's true.
You know, even if he is from
the future, it's too dangerous.
Don't make me shoot you, Lieutenant.
Michael?
They're working on it.
STAMETS: We have 90 seconds left.
PAST BURNHAM: If I let you do this,
Discovery would be destroyed.
And if you don't, the Burn won't end
or maybe the Federation will.
You don't trust us. I get that.
And from what I know about you,
- I wouldn't expect you to.
- You don't know anything about me.
I know that the first day
that you stood on the
bridge of this ship,
you wanted to run.
Not another step.
'Cause you felt you
didn't deserve to be here.
You told me that.
Future you.
And seeing that was
only a few weeks ago,
I'm guessing you still do.
But let me tell you something.
You do deserve to be here.
Doing a damn good job,
and all this shit you're going through
is gonna make you into
one hell of a captain.
30 seconds, Rayner.
For what it's worth,
I lost my family young, too.
And when that happens,
there's only one thing
left you can trust.
And that's the voice in your head.
Yours is gonna take you
to some great places.
Keep trusting it.
Especially now, 'cause I
know what it's telling you.
Crazy as it seems, do the right thing
and stand down.
Let us complete our mission.
- Captain, go!
- Do it now!
- Lieutenant.
- Aye, Commander.
Initiating break.
Exiting warp bubble in five, four,
three, two, one.
AIRIAM: Status report.
OWOSEKUN: Inertial dampers
are holding, Commander.
BURNHAM: Do it now, Rayner!
STAMETS: Hang in there.
Just a few more seconds.
[GROANING]
Ah.
Oh, we are back to the present.
We've only lost six hours.
Felt like six years.
The past hasn't been altered.
Nothing's changed.
We did it.
[EXHALES]
You okay? Looks really painful.
I'm good. I'm good.
You should go see Dr.
Culber, he can fix it.
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
It's not lost on me how
you pulled this off.
How we did.
You with the crew, me with Rhys.
And you knowing them
That's what convinced them.
Familiarity can lead to
complacency as well.
You're right about that.
But we've somehow found a
way to use our connection
to keep us honest, make us better.
- I should have explained that to you.
- Eh.
You show me more
patience than I deserve.
Truth be told, I can be
stubborn.
Like you used to be.
You know, I still am.
Just in a different way.
Seeing her was a really good reminder.
You know?
We are always changing.
With everything that happens to us,
with the choices we make,
what's meaningful to us.
I get that being here and
the way you came here
is a big adjustment.
But I think we made a
pretty good team today.
Yeah.
We got the job done.
Now, how do you want to go
about explaining all this?
I think, with this crew, they'll get it
as soon as we say "time bug."
[CHUCKLING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]
Would have been more satisfying
if I'd been able to squish you.
What is that thing?
Long story.
Uh, would it have anything
to do with why I just blinked
and six hours have somehow gone by?
OWOSEKUN: I'm honestly a little shocked
- my past self believed you, Captain.
- DETMER: Me too.
I can't believe I'd ever consider
breaking the warp bubble.
I'm just glad we didn't shoot you.
[LAUGHS]
There was a time I would
have thought I deserved it.
Really glad we all came together.
Now, let's figure out what's
changed in the last six hours.
Can the DOTs tell us anything?
They did find something,
Captain: a warp signature.
It matches with L'ak and Moll's ship.
Seems like your theory was a
good one, Commander Rhys.
Good work.
Where are Moll and L'ak now?
That's the strange thing
their trail disappears.
Like they came here and
now they're just gone.
Wherever they are, that's
where the next clue is.
And these are the right coordinates,
so it's a mystery indeed.
- Are we ready?
- CREW: Aye, Captain.
Then let's get to solving it.
♪