Star Trek: Discovery

Last season on Star Trek: Discovery...

700 years after we left,

dilithium supplies dried up.

The Federation tried alternative warp drive designs,

but none proved reliable. Then came the Burn.

No one knows how or why it happened,

but in an instant, all dilithium went inert.

Any ship with an active warp core detonated.

The Federation as we know it disappeared overnight.

This is where the Burn started.

I'm reading that there is dilithium dispersed throughout

this entire planet.

Federation could use that kind of news right about now.

There's a signal coming from the center of the nebula.

The message is over 100 years old.

This is Dr. Issa of the KSFKh'ieth.

Those spots on Dr. Issa's head. She was pregnant.

We have come to rescue the child.

Su'kal. That is his name.

I think we may have just found the source of the Burn.

You are no longer alone.

Saru has asked for time

to consider his next steps.

He'll return to Kaminar

to help Su'kal build a new life.

This is home now.

No, Kwejian is home.

I really liked seeing Kwejian.

I really liked being there with you.

Have you spoken with Saru?

Yes, sir, I have, but...

He wants you to captain Discovery. I do, too.

So many worlds have been struggling since the Burn.

You found a way to mine that dilithium on that planet.

You and your crew can bring it to them.

You can bring them hope, Commander Burnham.

They have waited long enough, and I think so have you.

Everybody ready?

Yes, Captain.

Let's fly.

It is an honor to be the first visitors

your planet has received since the Burn.

On behalf of the United Federation of Planets,

we thank you.

We've been sent to convey their desire

to reconnect with your great civilization,

and to raise the possibility of sharing resources

and technology in the future.

It's tradition to give a gift as a means of establishing trust,

so, as gesture of goodwill,

we've brought dilithium on our ship,

and we'd be pleased to offer it to you,

as we've done with many other worlds.

No strings attached.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Uh, that's an idiom, a non-literal ex...

We're familiar.

Perhaps we should speak plainly,

forego the niceties of politics.

Oh, I believe there's been a misunderstanding.

No misunderstanding.

You brought something you think we need,

along with the tantalizing offer to help yourselves

to our technological bounty,

all for the low, low price of...

no strings attached.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure she said the words "possibility"

and "share," but other than that...

Book.

I am aware that in the decades leading up to the Burn,

your relationship with the Federation was strained.

But you've changed,

things are different now, we can trust you.

We scanned your ship.

You brought a third life-form to our planet.

- Yeah, that's Grudge. - Grudge?

Felis cat us, a domestic species

of small carnivorous mammal.

You claim to understand our culture,

yet you bring a carnivore to our world?

Domestic. I said domestic.

She's... my pet. She lives on my ship.

I feed her, love her, give her cat treats.

Is she grateful?

No. No.

- In no way. - It's bad attitude.

Yet you expect us to be.

- No. Oh, no, no, no. -

- Have you come to make pets of us? We haven't come

- to make you anything. - You've got the wrong idea.

- D... - Let me explain.

- Uh, she's a queen. - She's a queen.

You hold a Monarch captive?

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

- Oh, Emperor Lee'U... - No, it is not like that.

- We have the utmost respect. - I don't...

We have the utmost respect

- for-for you, for... - Absolutely. For sure.

This is bad. This is really bad.

Okay, so do your empathy thing.

- My what? - Your...

your empathy thing, right-right now.

I brought you here to connect with them.

I don't think they want to connect.

You will take us to your ship.

We will free the queen.

- Oh... - Yup. Time to go.

They're not gonna be happy when they see

- a massive starship. They're not going to.

- What? - It wouldn't fit through the trees.

I'm sending the little guy.

- And it'll be here in time? - We're about to find out.

Oh, why is there always a cliff?

Why did you say "carnivore" to the butterfly people?

They are not butterfly people.

Why do you even have a pet?

Why don't you just have a hologram goldfish?

I had one. Grudge ate it.

Who eats a hologram?

The butterflies are shooting at us. Bring up weapons system.

No. No, do not fire back. This is a diplomatic mission.

Then I'm beaming us out of here.

No, we have to give them dilithium.

They don't want it!

If we leave now, they will never trust the Federation again.

Or we'll come back when they're in a better mood.

- Why haven't they hit us? - What?

The Alshain. At this range, they should have hit us by now.

- And that's a problem? Captain,

sensors have you moving erratically. Everything okay?

- Yup. Just negotiating. - Uh, about to hit a tree.

- Hang on! -

- "Don't fire back," she says. -

They're having trouble navigating.

Still able to shoot at us.

Here. - Yeah.

Great. Maybe we'll live long enough

for me to pet my hostage again.

That's it.

- It's their satellites. - You're not explaining, are you?

Rhys, we could use some help.

Want me to send a team down?

No. It's a science problem.

Is this a chase? Are you in the middle of a chase?

The Alshain can't stay on course in flight.

I think we need to get their satellites working again.

Aye, Captain. We'll figure it out.

- Uh, Commander Stamets? Unless the Alshain

have been hitting the Romulan whiskey, which I doubt,

- the problem has to be... - Oh, the planet's magnetic poles.

They started shifting 300 years ago.

They're now 14 degrees west of where they'd been

for hundreds of thousands of years.

Alshain use the magnetic fields to navigate during flight.

- Like birds? - Oh, did you know birds are born

determine the magnetic field so they can find true north?

They'd have developed technology

to help compensate for the shift.

- Captain was right. - The dead satellites. They're...

Geomagnetic compensators.

Nice work, both of you.

Jovar Tal loved birds. So...

All right, team, what's up with the compensators?

Why aren't they working?

They use dilithium to stabilize the power supply.

And I'm not getting dilithium signatures from any of them.

- They're out of juice. Captain Burnham?

Got it. Send DOTs with enough dilithium

to restart the array.

That is a monumentally shitty idea.

You want to make it easier for them to catch us?

- We have to earn their trust. More Alshain coming.

If we give you some covering fire...

Do not fire! We've got this!

No, Michael, we do not.

- We're done. I'm beaming us out. - We can't.

Not every moment is a victory.

Compensator re-initialized, Captain.

- You were saying? - Congratulations.

Now they can shoot right at us. Can we go now?

You tell me.

Yes.

Yeah. Yeah.

You're welcome.

Captain, the emperor is hailing us.

Hmm. Thank you, Lieutenant Christopher.

Put him through.

You did not experience a pleasant visit, Captain Burnham.

- That's one way of putting it. - Then may I inquire,

Why still give us your dilithium?

Because we're the Federation.

It's what we do.

And if you need anything else, we're here.

No strings attached.

Well, that was a hell of a thing.

Thanks, everyone.

All right.

Let's fly.