Star Trek Discovery
Season 5 – Episode 10
Episode title: Life, Itself
Release date: May 30, 2024
Plot: Trapped inside a mysterious alien portal that defies familiar rules of time, space, and gravity, Captain Burnham must fight Moll – and the environment itself – in order to locate the Progenitors’ technology and secure it for the Federation. Meanwhile, Book puts himself in harm’s way to help Burnham survive and Rayner leads the U.S.S. Discovery in an epic winner-takes-all battle against Breen forces.
* * *
MOLL: I have to go in there.
ARSINAR: Wait. You do not know what is inside.
MOLL: bring L’ak back… if I can’t bring L’ak back, I might as well be dead.
BURNHAM: Come with me.
[pants]
BOOK: Michael!
Discovery, do you read?
Do you read?
If you can hear me, I made it through the portal.
And I cannot explain what I’m looking at right now.
[exhales]
Readings don’t make sense, either.
But I am picking up an energy signature.
There’s this bright light.
That has to be where the Progenitors’ technology is.
Okay.
I’m on my way to secure it now.
I haven’t seen any of the Breen that came in here.
Or Moll.
Computer, any life signs?
SUIT COMPUTER: Inconclusive readings.
Huh.
Discovery, if you’re listening, there’s a series of…
I don’t know what to call them, windows?
And they seem to be gateways to other worlds.
Maybe they use this place as a lab to test lifeforms in different environments.
Or maybe that’s how the Progenitors seeded life throughout the galaxy.
[wind whooshing]
Let’s try this way.
[buzz]
[gasps]
[exhales]
[buzzing]
[shouts, grunts]
[yells]
[wind whistling]
[thunder rumbling]
[grunts]
[groans]
[panting]
[thunder cracks]
[groaning]
Burnham to Discovery, can you hear me?
[electronic garble]
Wait, we can help each other!
[grunts]
Ah!
[grunting]
[grunting]
[alarm ringing] SUIT COMPUTER: Warning. Hurricane windspeeds detected.
[Burnham yells]
[wind howling]
Stop it!
[grunting]
[grunts]
Stop!
[gasping]
Computer, how much more of this?
SUIT COMPUTER: Windspeed dropping now.
[groans]
[wind subsides]
Computer, tell me when the next gust is coming.
[thunder rumbling]
[alarm beeping] SUIT COMPUTER: Warning. Hurricane windspeeds detected.
[Burnham grunts]
[grunts]
[grunting]
[groans]
[gasps]
[panting]
Oh, hello, gravity.
[panting]
[deep exhale]
[electronic garble]
BURNHAM: Come on.
[gasps]
MOLL: Don’t move.
Someone nicked your femoral vein.
Yeah, well, I bashed his helmet in, so fair trade, I guess.
I’m gonna toss you my dermal regenerator.
Close that up or you’ll bleed out within the hour.
I assume you know how to get through this place.
What makes you think that?
You did the entire clue trail.
Must’ve learned something.
Maybe.
But I won’t do it as your prisoner.
You’re in no position to negotiate.
Neither are you,
if you want a chance to bring L’ak back.
Drop your weapon.
Or shoot me and spend the rest of your life trying to get out of here.
Your choice.
It’s as good a deal as you’re gonna get.
Fine.
For now.
Let’s go get what we came for.
♪
♪
[original Star Trek theme plays]
RAYNER: Status report.
TILLY: Still no sign of Captain Burnham from inside the portal.
RAYNER: Keep trying.
Commander Jemison, can you get a transport lock on the portal?
Negative, sir, still too much interference.
It’s the gravitational fields.
Tractor beam is the only way, and for that we have to be in range.
That’ll take time. A lot of debris to navigate.
Anybody have any good news?
The dreadnaught’s damaged from our trip through the shuttle bay.
We still have some time before they’re back in the game.
I’m guessing not much. Where’s Tahal?
Her fleet will be here in 60 minutes.
That’s our clock.
We need to get to the portal and be gone by then.
Commander, the dreadnaught’s sending out fighters, at least 40 of them.
All auxiliary power to shields. Asha, stay on the portal.
Our mission does not change.
They’re coming in now, weapons hot.
Discovery is running out of time.
Tahal will reach them in 60 minutes.
She cannot learn of the Progenitors’ power.
I believe my strategy will convince her to turn her fleet around.
A strategy based on disabling your shuttle’s photon torpedoes.
Diplomacy cannot succeed if both parties threaten violence.
You’ll be defenseless.
I cannot in good conscience order my officer to take you on this mission.
Doesn’t have to be an order, sir.
I volunteer.
The crew of Discovery is family to us both, Admiral.
We must try,
and we have no other options.
NHAN: The pathway drive is calibrated. We’re good to go.
The Federation is counting on you, Ambassador.
On both of you.
MOLL: No matter how far we walk,
we’re no closer to the end of the tunnel.
How’s that possible?
It’s not.
Nothing in nature is truly infinite.
So, what happens after we find the tech? You shoot me?
Not if you let me have it.
If there’s a way to bring L’ak back, the Federation will make it happen.
After we learn how to safely use it.
I don’t trust the Federation, or the Breen for that matter.
But at least they have a vested interest in getting me what I want.
I’ve seen the future that’s ahead for all of us if we don’t protect that power.
Only so much you or the Federation can control.
Maybe.
But there’s no way I’m letting the Breen anywhere near it.
We’ll see about that.
[grunting]
[phaser blasting]
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Your choice, not mine.
[grunts]
[both grunting]
[grunting]
[shouts]
[yelling]
[grunts]
[grunting]
♪
JEMISON: Commander, I’ve lost visual on the portal.
RAYNER: Find a way to get it back. Stay on target.
RHYS: The Breen fighters are gaining on us.
RAYNER: Asha, evasive action.
I can’t lose them without going to warp.
If you go to warp, we lose Michael.
RHYS: Torpedo impact incoming.
[explosion]
Shields down to 60%.
Asha, I’m registering a large region of high-energy plasma orbiting around one of the black holes.
We’re heading right for it.
Meaning what?
TILLY: If we create one spark too many, the whole thing will blow.
Not a good idea to fly through there.
You don’t have to tell me twice. Hang on.
RHYS: Fighters are following us.
Damage report.
Moderate structural damage.
Minimal injuries. We can’t take much more of this, sir.
This is like the avalanche all over again.
Sir?
Q’Mau. Mission changed, Burnham saw it.
If we keep going, we’ll never make it.
The Breen will get her and the tech.
Change of plans.
We take out the fighters first, come back for the portal.
Give me a shuttle.
I’ll get the portal, you handle the Breen.
You wouldn’t survive all of five seconds out there.
With Discovery distracting them, I can slip past.
Hey. Let me do this.
Linus, prepare a shuttle.
Aye, Commander.
Sir, our shuttles are not designed to withstand the level of radiation that’s out there.
He’ll need help.
Engineering, find a way for Booker not to get irradiated to death.
Good luck.
Okay, so, uh, you attach this to the deflector array and it’ll boost the shuttle’s built-in radiation protection.
But the thing is, a-at a certain point, you just won’t survive.
Thanks for the tip.
I mean, it-it will increase the absorption capacity of shields against high-velocity subatomic particles for at least an hour, so there’s that.
CULBER: Hypospray coming in.
Book, you’ll need this to counteract any radiation sickness.
All right.
And I’m coming with you.
What? No, come on, it’s too dangerous.
A pilot can always use an extra pair of hands.
Hugh, what are you talking about?
Paul, this isn’t a debate.
Book is going to need me.
I don’t know how I know it, but I do.
[explosion]
There are black holes out there, Hugh.
I have to do this.
Hey. Ever since Jinaal, I’ve been trying to figure out what it means, this change inside of me, or whatever it is.
I’m not sure if this will give me the answers, but it might.
At the very least, I can help him.
I know I can.
Okay.
I’m coming.
I’ll be okay, I promise.
Okay, let’s do this.
[grunting]
[panting]
If we keep fighting like this, we’re both gonna end up dying in here.
You got a better idea?
Stand down.
I’ll get us out.
I know what it’s like to lose somebody who means everything to you.
I do.
But thankfully I got him back.
So I promise you I will do everything in my power to help you and L’ak.
But I need you to trust me.
And the Federation.
No.
Me.
I give you my word.
All right.
All right.
How do we get through?
Weapons first.
Right boot.
You’ve been trying to get to it.
[clatters]
And your pattern buffer.
If there were weapons in there, I’d have used them already.
Then why do you have it?
L’ak.
You have L’ak in there.
I needed to know he’d be safe.
Okay.
[sighs]
Follow me.
Mr. Booker’s shuttle is on its way.
Good.
Commander Asha, is Book in the clear?
The Breen fighters are still on us. He’s good.
All right, then. Time to switch from defense to offense.
Sir, I-I have a kind of crazy idea.
No need to qualify it, spit it out.
Uh, there’s way too many fighters for us to pick them off one by one, but I’ve been reviewing the data from that plasma region.
I think there’s a way for us to use it against them.
Yes, it’s genius.
If the fighters were to follow us in, we could ignite the plasma and take them all out at once.
We’d have to get out of there before we lit it up.
The timing would need to be perfect.
[shudders]
RAYNER: It’s us or them.
Set a course for the plasma.
Aye, Commander.
So, on every step of the trail, finding the clue required thinking like the individual who hid it.
We have to do the same here and think like the Progenitors.
They went extinct four billion years ago.
But if you look around, gravity and space function differently in here.
It suggests that they may have existed beyond the dimensions that we do, so we have to look beyond three dimensions… and find what’s beyond what we can see.
The negative space here at the edge of this light.
It’s a shadow with nothing to create it.
I thought it was an optical illusion at first, but…
[gasps softly]
Holy shit.
♪
NHAN: I have Tahal’s fleet on scans, Mr. Saru.
Disengaging pathway drive. Ready to intercept.
SARU: On your mark, Commander.
NHAN: Hang on.
Coming into position now.
[alarm ringing]
They’re arming weapons.
Primarch Tahal, this is Ambassador Saru
of the United Federation of Planets.
As you can see, our own weapons are not armed.
We pose no threat. I request an audience.
[comm buzzes]
Sir?
She will respond.
[comm chirps]
Okay, then.
Here we go.
Ambassador Saru, are you insane?
Not to the best of my knowledge, but I do require your attention.
And this was necessary as you failed to respond to President Rillak’s efforts at diplomacy.
The Federation has no role to play in a conflict between Primarchs.
That would be true, were a Starfleet vessel not presently engaged with a Breen dreadnaught.
Your arrival risks escalating that conflict into war with the Federation, which will not serve your interests.
The most prudent choice would be to return your attention to the Imperium throne.
I am curious, why would you engage with dreadnaughts that are so vastly superior?
For that matter, why would a Starfleet ship do the same in the vicinity of black holes, no less?
Something there must be of great interest to the Federation.
It might be of interest to me as well.
You speak of maybes and mights.
I offer certainty.
If you reverse course, the Federation will formally establish a trade route from your border through the L’Tar Nebula.
Your sole access to this route would bolster your claim to the throne.
Your offer is of no interest.
You may depart.
This audience is over.
Sir, is that… is that it?
Not at all. She gave me the information we need, now I must determine how we use it.
Where are we now?
Is the technology here?
We’re standing on it.
The technology, it’s this entire place.
Strange place for a pile of rocks.
BURNHAM: It’s a monument.
One of the scientists was killed here.
Trying to use the power.
That center disc up there, that’s where we need to go.
It must sense our presence.
It’s an interface.
Wait.
They move.
No, stop, stop, stop, stop.
When I found the last clue, I was given a phrase: “Build the shape of the one between the many.”
I think these triangles are the many.
Nine. That’s the number you need to make a larger triangle.
The many building the one.
No, the message was “between the many,” not-not “with.”
Could it be a translation error?
No.
The scientists… they left messages with every clue.
They had cultural context.
They were honoring difference and self-reflection.
It was all about meaning. Deeper meaning.
Looking beneath the surface. I…
It’s definitely not an error.
We need to get this back to the Federation before we try to use it.
BOOK: Michael, do you read?
Book? Do you read?
I can hear you! Book? I’m in a shuttle with Hugh, almost at the portal.
We’re coming to get you.
Book? Do you read?
I’m in a shuttle with Hugh.
Book?
Damn it.
I’ll try to amplify the signal.
[transmission continues indistinctly]
[gasps]
Sorry.
But I can’t wait any longer.
I don’t know how this thing works.
But I will figure it out.
And I will bring you back.
I promise.
♪
[whirring]
[groaning]
[screaming]
The Breen are still in pursuit!
Entering the plasma region now.
Are all the fighters behind us yet?
Negative, Commander, not yet.
[explosion]
BOOK: Discovery, we’ve almost made it to the portal, but something is happening to it.
Incredible. It appears to be using the black hole as some kind of power source.
[explosion]
If one black hole loses mass, it’ll throw the entire area into gravitational chaos.
Booker, you have a gravity problem.
Try to secure the portal, we’ll be there as soon as we can.
[grunting] BOOK: Understood.
Last of the fighters entering the plasma behind us.
Rhys, you’re up.
Launching photon torpedoes.
Did we get them?
[console chirping]
We got ’em.
Every single one.
Tilly, get a team on repairs.
Asha, get us to the portal now.
Aye, Commander.
RHYS: Wait.
Sir, the dreadnaught’s back in commission.
It’s heading directly for Book and the portal.
They’re gonna beat us there.
Can we jump ahead of them?
Negative, there’s still too much debris for us to land safely.
Asha, set a course to intercept the dreadnaught.
Aye, Commander.
RAYNER: Book, Culber, we handled the fighters, but we have a dreadnaught problem.
They’re headed your way. We’re going to intercept.
Grab on to the portal, we’ll get to you as soon as we can.
Whatever process just started, it’s pulling the portal towards the black hole.
If we don’t get to it before it crosses the event horizon…
Gone for good, I know.
We’re in range. Engaging the tractor beam now.
SHUTTLE COMPUTER: Tractor beam lock failure.
Tractor beam lock failure.
The portal’s repelling the beam.
I don’t understand.
SHUTTLE COMPUTER: Tractor beam lock failure.
Tractor beam lock failure.
Synchronize to the portal’s subspace resonance frequency.
What?
5.1732.
There are tens of thousands of frequencies.
How could you possibly know that?
I know, I’m a doctor, not a physicist, but… this will work.
I can’t explain it, I just feel it.
Trust me, please.
Okay, Doc.
Synchronizing now.
Come on.
SHUTTLE COMPUTER: Tractor beam lock successful.
Whoo! [laughs]
How the heck did you know that?
SHUTTLE COMPUTER: Warning, proximity alert.
[crashing]
Well, we won’t survive much more of that.
Can you get us out of here?
Uh… um, it’s taking all the power we need to keep the portal steady.
So, what, we just… hold on?
Michael’s in there, we can’t let go.
NHAN: Sir, we have a new transmission from Tahal.
We have 30 seconds to leave or they’ll destroy us.
Primarch Tahal, I came here because I believed you would have the courage to take a step toward a future with the Federation, but you are just as cowardly as our admirals believed you to be.
We will leave now knowing that truth.
No, Ambassador, you will not leave.
You have sealed your fate.
If you take my life and continue this expedition, you will never claim the throne of the Imperium.
I may have arrived as an emissary of the Federation, but I am Kelpien first and foremost.
My species are predators, and I’ve studied you like prey.
Your bases in the L’Tar Nebula were rumored in Federation intelligence.
Now I know they exist, or you would have welcomed our help to secure a trade route.
Clever, yet I fail to see why that should intrigue me.
Because, Primarch, I have the ear of numerous planets in that region.
Even now, many are preparing to attack your bases without mercy unless I order them to stand down.
They would lose thousands of lives.
And you will be weakened, allowing the other Primarchs to strike.
That will cost you the throne.
The only way to avoid such an outcome is to turn your fleet around.
You are bluffing.
You do not have this kind of power.
Don’t I?
Look into my eyes and tell me if you see even the slightest glimmer of doubt.
You are insane.
[sighs]
They’re changing course.
Remind me to never play you in Ferengi rummy.
[sighs]
Do you really think that’s it?
She would like us to believe as much.
Take us out of warp.
We should cloak and watch carefully.
Discovery may yet need our assistance.
BOOK: Michael, we’re all in danger.
Something happened.
Something the portal started doing
is causing gravitational chaos.
We’ve taken some damage,
but we are not letting go.
Moll.
Moll!
[crackling]
[Moll gasping]
Book, if you can hear me, Moll is hurt.
Okay, I’m gonna get you out.
Gonna try to help all of you.
I just got to stop whatever this portal is doing.
All right, okay.
“The shape of the one between the many.”
[sighs]
The scientists figured this out on their own,
and all they knew is what they saw.
Here, in this place.
Every clue has prepared us for this.
[sighs] One last test.
“The one between the many.”
“The one between the many.”
The shadow.
It’s the negative space.
One between many.
In the negative space between them.
[laughs]
[gasps]
[gasping]
[exhales softly]
[sighs]
♪
You’re one of the Progenitors.
I’ve been waiting for you.
[soft exhale]
BURNHAM: How is this possible?
Aren’t you…
Dead? Yes.
My species went extinct billions of years ago.
But our minds… yours and mine… are here,
in this liminal space-time adjacent to my own.
Why did you bring me here?
It is my duty to share instructions
on how to operate this technology.
It’s going to take you some time to learn.
We should begin.
Wait.
I’m sorry, uh…
We’ll definitely get to that, but…
whatever’s happening,
whatever this place is doing to my space-time,
can it be stopped?
Stopped?
Yes, Moll, the person that I came here with,
she used the interface,
she activated something, it’s altering gravity
in my space-time.
My crew, my friends, they’re all in danger.
You engaged the safety protocol,
but your friend Moll did not.
But she’ll likely survive.
They all have time.
Wait, I…
I don’t know if you understand.
Time functions differently in here.
In your present moment,
the technology is merely gathering the power
it requires to perform its function:
designing and creating life.
Can it be used to restore life?
A new being can replace a lost one.
But though the new replacement would be genetically identical,
it would share none of its memories,
none of its fundamental essence.
Still, the speed of creation is adjustable,
as is scale, if you wish to try.
Wait, if speed and scale can be controlled,
somebody can use this to engineer an army.
A brick is just a brick.
It can create a home
or destroy a body.
That’s why we chose only to seed life.
You may have seen evidence of it
in the tunnel that brought you here.
Those were all worlds you created?
No.
We found them here.
You found them?
You didn’t build this?
We theorize that whoever created this
created us.
But perhaps it goes even further back.
A cycle of creators and creations,
countless times over,
this place predates them all.
Come.
I have something to show you.
SHUTTLE COMPUTER: Warning. Shields at five percent.
Radiation levels now…
I’m holding on until Discovery gets here.
Or this shuttle comes apart.
You should let me beam you out.
Book…
You have a family, Hugh.
I’ll go if I have to.
But I’m staying as long as I can.
How’d you know how to grab it? The portal?
A memory of Jinaal’s.
The scientists ran into the same problem
when they started to build the Structure around it.
I thought you didn’t have access to his memories.
I don’t.
This is the first time it’s ever happened, and I’m…
I’m sitting here, wondering: Why that one?
Why now?
BOOK: Right.
How did I know that I had to come with you?
I was hoping for an answer, but…
[laughs]
there isn’t one.
Not long ago that would’ve driven me crazy.
[chuckles] Yeah.
I remember.
It’s still a process, but…
maybe there’s something…
kind of beautiful about the mystery.
Right.
I don’t know. I just…
I’m glad I could help.
♪
ETA to intercept is five minutes.
Commander, I have a call incoming.
It’s Mr. Saru.
Put him through.
Aye, Commander.
Ambassador Saru, tell me
I don’t have more to worry about right now.
Primarch Tahal and her fleet have reversed course, Commander.
However, she did leave a scout vessel to continue on.
It is cloaked, presumably intent on learning
what the Federation is so determined to keep from them.
We are following its course.
Sir,
if that scout catches wind of the Progenitors’ tech,
Tahal’s coming back here with an army.
I know.
SARU: If you must jump to safety,
we will pursue the portal as best we can.
Hang tight. We’ll get back to you.
Can’t destroy the dreadnaught.
Can’t let the scout report back either.
Only move… take ’em both off the field of battle.
But how?
Like Saru said, we jump.
Say we disable all the safeguards,
all of ’em, on the spore drive,
could we jump something that’s not Discovery?
Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Absolutely, absolutely not.
Um…
Maybe.
Uh, no.
No way. It’s impossible.
Unless…
Well, in theory,
if we quantum-entangled the spores…
And they were separated by distance…
a-a-any distance, really…
and Discovery were to jump,
then the spores would behave as they always do…
By jumping whatever was between them.
Yeah.
Is that a yes?
We’d need, uh, two poles
to extend the entanglement field between.
Yes, yes, yes. We can separate the saucer
from the secondary hull
and place them on either side of the dreadnaught.
Then do it. We’ve got three minutes.
Two and a half, sir.
But who’s counting? Get a move on.
Um, sir, uh, where do we jump them to?
The-the Breen, that is.
[exhales sharply]
Galactic barrier.
Take ’em a couple decades to get back, but they’ll live.
That’s more than they gave my family.
Attention.
This is Commander Rayner.
We’re gonna take a hell of a risk.
If it doesn’t work, well…
Good crew.
I appreciate the trust.
We ready?
OTHERS: Aye, sir.
CHRISTOPHER: Comm channel’s open.
Ambassador Saru,
you got two minutes to get Tahal’s scout
in the vicinity of the dreadnaught.
Understood, Commander.
Black alert.
Sounds like it’s time to decloak and open fire.
Invite the Breen scout to pursue.
Decloaking now.
BURNHAM: It’s incredible.
PROGENITOR: I’m so honored to share this with you.
You’re only the second being to make it to me.
The other was Dr. Derex.
A Betazoid, I believe.
Yes.
She believed that civilization wasn’t ready
for this technology yet.
I agreed to wait if she would build a path
to better prepare the next visitor for the responsibility.
And that visitor is you.
You will become its steward.
[sighs]
No single being should control this kind of power.
Dr. Derex and I discussed the path.
And you have traveled it.
You’ve learned its lessons,
and you’ve faced your darkest sides.
Yes, and I’m far from perfect.
I’m afraid.
Lost sometimes.
Every sentient being,
myself included,
is all of those things.
Yet some strive to be the best of themselves.
I see that in you.
It’s not just about me.
Right now
a battle is waging out there.
My crew is risking their lives to protect this portal.
To protect us, to protect this technology.
How can I…
how can any one of us
know the right way to use it?
To bring peace and not more conflict?
That’s a question only a steward can answer.
You must ask yourself what is most meaningful to you.
There are, of course, many possible answers.
Some find meaning in the advancement of science.
Some in devotion to duty.
Some through connection
and love.
Others in the beauty of the unknowable.
Some in family
and community.
Or in their capacity for change.
[distorted]: Now!
♪
Their strength in the face of great challenges.
I found my meaning in embracing difference.
You see,
we were alone in the cosmos,
a single sentient culture.
Our wish was to create a diversity of beings
in the galaxy,
a richness of variation.
Now it is your turn to consider
what is most meaningful to you.
I have been struggling with that.
I trust that the answer will become clear to you.
I need time…
to think about this.
I, uh…
[sighs]
I can’t do that while my friends are in danger.
Then I shall return you to your present moment.
You may stop the technology
by removing your hands from the interface.
It’s that simple?
Important things often are.
We will finish your training when,
or if, you next join me.
So it’s truly my choice to decide
whatever I think is right with this?
I have faith that you will choose wisely.
[gasps]
♪
Oh! [gasps]
[inhales deeply]
[exhales]
[sucks air through teeth]
[laughs]
[breathing heavily]
Moll?
Can you hear me? I need to get you out of here.
[panting] What happened? Can we save him?
[shuddering]
Noth-Nothing here…
can bring him back.
I’m so sorry.
[shuddering]
We need to go.
Come on.
Okay. Come on. Come on.
RAYNER: Booker.
Are you okay?
Yeah. Look,
what-whatever was happening, it stopped.
And we’re picking up two life signs inside the portal.
Locking on now.
[console chirping]
[gasps] We got them!
She needs medical. [panting]
Is Discovery okay?
BOOK: Beaten up but okay.
BURNHAM: [sighs] Good.
[sighs]
And you?
You okay?
Yeah.
I heard you in there.
Thank you for holding on.
Always.
RAYNER: Captain, we’re coming to get you.
Commander Stamets is ready to receive the portal
in the shuttle bay.
Okay.
Have him meet me in my ready room.
You, too.
There’s something I need to share with all of you.
I found this guy wandering around.
Hello, Captain.
BURNHAM: Hello, Saru.
Oh.
Look at you.
[chuckles]
Why do I get the feeling Action Saru came out today?
He may have.
STAMETS: Captain,
I’ve reviewed the data from your tricorder, and…
it is not hyperbole to say that this is…
the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime.
Yeah.
I met one of the Progenitors.
I saw the last four billion years.
And all the incredibly complex events
that had to happen for me to be alive.
For any one of us, each one of us
to be alive
right here, right now.
It was…
powerful.
And I realized…
we already have infinite diversity
and infinite combinations.
There’s no need for this technology anymore.
Wait a minute, y-you…
you’re not saying…
we should leave it here?
Oh, no.
It’s too powerful for one person
or one culture to access or control.
I think
we need to let it go.
Captain, we have orders.
We need to study it.
W-We need to understand it. I-It…
This is not about your legacy, Commander.
I didn’t say mine.
I’d give anything to see the look on Vance’s face
when you tell him that.
We have a duty…
I understand.
Stop.
The Progenitor trusted me to make this decision.
I’ll talk to the admiral and the president.
I know they’ll agree.
It’s the right thing to do.
I get it… mostly.
BURNHAM: I’ll keep you all posted.
Hey, um…
so this mission
has been really amazing,
and…
I mean, you learned a lot, right?
Maybe that’s enough.
I mean, that’s really all you can control,
anyway, right?
When did you get so wise?
[chuckles]
BURNHAM: This is Captain Burnham.
I want to commend you all on a job well done.
In safeguarding this technology,
placing it beyond the event horizon,
we trust that what the Progenitors created for us
is enough, and we trust
that those who came before, who developed this power,
must have the ability to recreate it
should they still exist
and should they wish to do so.
Hey.
May I?
Sure.
Not in the mood for a speech.
I just came to see how you were doing.
Well, I hear my brig has a window.
What’s there not to be excited about?
You know, after I lost everything…
I didn’t know how I’d find my way again.
But I did.
I hope you will, too.
Still not in the mood.
If ever you need me, I’ll be here.
And who knows?
You know, maybe someday you might even stop hating
the name Cleveland Booker.
Don’t count on it.
How long will she be locked up?
Not sure,
but I have standing orders to bring her
to Dr. Kovich after.
Apparently, he has plans for her.
Dr. Kovich, you asked to see me?
KOVICH: I did.
I thought you should know, the Red Directive
has been officially closed.
All records will be classified.
No one will know the technology existed.
I’m familiar with how those things work now.
I heard you’re gonna be seeing Moll one of these days.
She’s a capable individual.
I-I think she could prove useful.
She’ll be given the choice, of course.
To take one of these, you mean?
I figured you’d want mine back, so…
I’ve lived many years, Captain, and many lives.
I’ve met few who have impressed me
but also aggravated me as much as you.
Keep it, just in case.
[chuckles]
If I may, sir.
Kovich is a code name, isn’t it?
Who are you, really?
My real name is a bit of a Red Directive
in and of itself.
Well, I’m familiar with those now, too.
Captain Michael Burnham,
USS Discovery.
[sighs]
Agent Daniels,
USS Enterprise
and other places.
Nice to meet you.
♪
[indistinct chatter]
May I present: the newlyweds.
[cheering and applause]
Thank you all so very much.
Please enjoy.
[sighs]
I’m so happy for you both.
It was a beautiful, beautiful ceremony.
Thank you, Captain.
Now, I see all who are here,
and I cannot help but think of the Progenitors,
our shared ancestor.
A reminder that we are all, in the most fundamental ways,
connected.
We are. That we are.
Admiral, Madam President, congratulations.
T’RINA: Thank you.
RAYNER: Captain, Lieutenant Tilly was just saying
we’ve inspired her.
Huh.
Well, he’s grown so much since he’s been on board,
and I was just saying that your relationship
reminds me of me and Adira but, well, with ages reversed
and, um, more crabbiness.
But the dynamics themselves, that one-on-one connection,
it made me realize, that is what we’re missing
at Starfleet Academy: a mentorship program.
So I’m gonna start one.
That’s a wonderful idea.
RAYNER: I think so, too.
But…
Did you just call me crabby?
[chuckles] No.
Excuse me.
[chuckles quietly]
RAYNER: Cheers. To crabby.
BOOK: Hey.
You are late.
I know. Had a run-in with some Talaxian pirates
on my way back.
Yeah.
I’m glad you’re all right.
Me, too.
[both laugh]
I think this is the most dressed up I have ever seen you.
You like it?
Oh, very dapper.
Why, thank you.
Mm-hmm.
Hey, that World Root from the Archive,
did you find somewhere to plant it?
Sanctuary Four. Same place we took Molly. Remember?
Yeah, she almost ate me, so, hard to forget.
She had a baby, by the way.
[laughing]: What? Really?
Yeah.
Well, that’s great.
Yeah.
Shall we?
Actually, I’d like to talk with you first.
Alone, if you don’t mind.
Sure.
[waves lapping]
Well, um,
I just want to say thank you.
This mission helped me find my way.
I feel hope again.
And, as of yesterday,
my sentence is commuted.
I heard.
What’s next?
You know, Grudge and I are still figuring it out.
“Future” is still a bit of a scary word.
“Future” is a scary word for me, too.
But you’re here.
You’re alive.
That’s more than a lot of people have.
I’m lucky… and I’m grateful.
I was going to wait until after the reception,
but we’re here now,
and you should know…
I never stopped.
You love me.
I love you.
I love you, too.
Possibly since the moment we met.
You were annoying as hell back then.
And you still loved me.
[laughs]
I did.
Can we just do this?
[laughs]
You and me, no matter what?
And Grudge?
Unless you want your leg clawed to bits in your sleep.
[both laugh]
You and me and Grudge it is.
[device beeping]
Kovich?
Impeccable timing.
Guess he’s got another mission.
Would you want to?
Could be fun.
It might.
I’m sure Saru would understand.
Yeah, you got all dressed up, though.
So did you.
But, never hurts to look good wherever you go.
What are we waiting for?
Let’s see what the future holds.
[birds singing]
♪
♪
♪
Good morning.
Good morning.
Oh, smells good.
And foam.
Mm-hmm.
Huh.
Oh.
Ta-da.
First ever from our very own Gexara bees.
Wow.
I wanted to surprise you.
Okay.
[chuckles]
Hang on.
BURNHAM: Oh.
Are you sad?
Now you have wax in your coffee.
And honey.
Could be tasty.
Could be.
Mmm, it’s not, but thank you.
[laughs]
[laughs]
[sighs]
BOOK: Big day.
I can always come with you.
That’s okay.
Kind of feels like I should go alone.
It’s because I put wax in your coffee.
Yeah, you’re not allowed to go anywhere with me
ever again.
[laughter]
[birds singing]
[device chimes] COMPUTER: Sorry to interrupt, Admiral.
Your shuttle is arriving momentarily.
Thank you.
[animal yelps, chitters]
Hills for days, and all you want is what you can’t have.
It’s fenced for a reason, Alice.
[grunts]
[chitters]
[sighs]
[bleats]
[bleats]
I tried to tell you.
[Burnham chuckles]
I thought you’d be on your way to Crepuscula by now.
Pushed a day so I could be the one to come get you.
You didn’t have to do that.
Yes, you did. Come here.
[both laugh]
I missed you, Mom.
[sighs]
I missed you, too.
BOOK: Hold up.
No hugging without me.
Hey.
[Burnham sighs]
BURNHAM: Oh, Captain.
BOOK: Mm.
Really does suit you.
I’m trying to up my swagger a bit.
[laughs]
How am I doing?
Mm-hmm.
Let me just say, you are your father’s son.
Yes, you are.
I’ll take it.
Go get that swagger on in outer space, young man.
[Book chuckles]
All right, I’ll see you in a couple of days.
Aye, aye, Admiral.
BOTH: One “aye.”
Yes, ma’am.
♪
♪
LETO: Tilly says hi, by the way.
BURNHAM: Oh!
LETO: Yeah, ran into her at Fed HQ when I was meeting
with Admiral Vance.
Did she tell you that, as of last week,
she is officially the longest tenured Academy instructor ever?
Yeah, time flies.
Feels like I was a cadet myself just yesterday.
It’s okay to feel nervous.
Getting your own command.
I’ve been thinking about what I’m gonna say.
That-that first speech to my crew.
BURNHAM: Mm.
I want them to be inspired, you know?
Hmm.
A long time ago, someone asked me
what was most meaningful to me.
I had always looked for it in whatever mission I was on.
Of course you have no idea what I’m talking about.
None whatsoever.
Those pips can bring pressure.
But they’re supposed to.
And at the end of the day, every member of your crew
has to find their own sense of meaning.
So, do you know how you’d answer that question now?
Yeah, just being here.
You know…
Sometimes life, itself, is meaning enough.
How we choose to spend the time that we have.
Who we spend it with.
You.
Book.
And the family I found in Starfleet.
On Discovery.
In time,
you and your crew will become family, too.
So you’re saying I got this?
You do, Leto.
You do.
COMPUTER: Approaching Starfleet Headquarters.
♪
[Burnham exhales]
There she is.
[chuckles]
♪
Last dance.
Hmm?
Nothing.
I’m just glad I’m the one leading her final mission.
And that I’ll have a chance to say goodbye.
[soft footsteps]
ZORA: Welcome back, Admiral Burnham.
It’s been a while.
It’s been too long, Zora.
[chuckles]
Wow.
So happy to hear your voice.
I’m happy to hear yours, too.
If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly is our mission?
I’m gonna bring you to a set of coordinates in deep space.
Then me and your crew will leave.
After that, you wait.
For what?
This is a Red Directive.
We both know how transparent those are.
I did hear a word in passing.
“Craft.”
I’m not sure if that’s a person or a vessel or…
Well, I’ll find out eventually.
Mm-hmm.
Really gonna miss you, Zora.
I won’t see you again after this,
will I?
I’m guessing your wait will be longer than my lifetime.
I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Everything ends someday.
But there will be a new beginning when you come back.
You can find our descendants.
Meet the next generation of your family.
I would love that.
[chuckles]
It has been a hell of a journey.
Indeed it has.
The Federation has so many wonderful possibilities ahead because of you and your crew.
Because of all of us.
I’m told we’re nearly ready for departure.
Perhaps you’d like to sit.
[sighs]
[chuckles softly]
Feels like home.
[indistinct, echoing voices]
TILLY: Captain on the bridge.
SARU [muffled]: Captain.
Captain?
♪
[laughing]
[sighs]
[indistinct chatter]
[laughter]
♪
[laughing]
♪
♪
So many memories.
For us both.
[chuckles]
All right.
Are you ready, Zora?
I am.
Last time, then.
♪
Let’s fly.
♪
[original Star Trek theme plays]
