Previously on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds...
You saw the future?
I know exactly how and when
- my life ends. - And I didn't just see it,
I felt it, every agonizing second.
Don't throw your life away, Chris.
I made a choice.
I accepted my fate.
What if you're wrong?
What if your fate is what you make it?
- I hear you speak 12 languages. - 37.
I found early that, if I wanted to be understood,
it's best to communicate in someone's own tongue.
So, I learned them.
Doctor, I need to check
your emergency medical transporter
for systems integration and excess power usage.
Please stop messing around in here!
Hemmer's diagnostic
shows you're keeping something
in the pattern buffer.
- Rukiya, my daughter. - Hi, Dad.
You can't imagine what it's like
to watch your child wither away.
And somewhere
is a planet that has the discovery I need.
Captain's log, stardate 1943.7.
We have arrived at the Majalan system,
a minor star cluster at the edge of Federation space.
I was last here ten years ago,
on a rescue mission.
When a pulsar nearly kills you,
you tend not to forget.
Our mission today is a routine cartographic survey.
I expect it will be a lot quieter.
- Captain. - Cadet Uhura.
You all right?
Oh, it's... nothing.
Just a little sore after combat training.
Ah, right. You're on rotation
with Lieutenant Noonien-Singh this week.
Lesson one of security?
"A Rigelian tiger
pounces with no warning."
Yeah. I learned that one, all right.
Well, I've come to understand La'An has a lot to teach.
Although...
keep your eye out for lesson seven.
What's lesson seven?
Nice of you to join us, Cadet.
Did you find your break restful?
Super restful, thanks for asking.
Lesson two of security...
"There are no breaks in security
because threats never take breaks."
Captain, we're receiving a distress call
from a non-Federation shuttle.
They say they're under attack.
From who?
Scans indicate a small combat cruiser.
Light armaments. Non-Federation ID.
Shields up and take us closer, Erica.
Ensign Shankar, hail that cruiser.
No response, sir.
Then get me an open channel.
This is Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise.
You are committing an act of aggression.
As the other vessel has appealed to us for help,
I am obliged by both Federation law
and my own conscience to intervene.
I order you to stand down.
Damage?
Negligible. Shield integrity is only down .02%.
Red alert and evasive maneuvers.
Aye, Captain.
Captain, they... appear to be making
an attack run at us.
It's the little dog with the most to prove.
Sir?
It's an expression.
You think you can take out their weapons
without blowing them to smithereens?
Charge phasers.
- Minimum capacity. - Charging.
- They're locking phasers again, Captain. - Fire.
Apologies.
Captain, I was trying to graze them,
but they fired and changed course right into our weapons.
I think they got the hint.
Firing three times on a Starfleet ship.
If it wasn't our business before, it is now.
Sir, shuttle is hailing us, requesting immediate evacuation.
Their life support systems are failing.
Prepare to beam them aboard.
Let's go meet our guests.
Deck Six.
Lieutenant Pike?
Alora?
You know her, Captain?
Or should I call you Lieutenant?
Space.
The final frontier.
These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.
to explore strange new worlds...
...to seek out new life
and new civilizations,
to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Alora and I met years ago.
He rescued me from another shuttle.
Seems like you have bad luck with shuttles.
Or good,
depending on how you look at it.
Well, allow me to welcome you all to Enterprise.
Your, uh,
new uniform is...
...very yellow.
Oh, it's gold, technically,
because I'm, um...
I'm a captain. So...
Well, on behalf of Majalis, we thank you for your help...
...Captain Pike.
Uh, this is my Number One.
Una... Uh, Lieu-Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley.
Allow me to take you to the ready room to debrief.
But first, I must insist
you take us to your medical facility.
Of course, right away.
Uh, Chief Kyle will escort you down.
Uh, sorry, are you the boy's father?
Strictly in a biological sense.
"When King Ridley turned,
"the Wizard Pollux pushed him
right over the cliff!" Daddy.
You just read me the same exact chapter twice in a row.
I did?
Darling...
...you know how I've been keeping your pattern
in the transporter buffer,
so you don't keep getting sicker?
- Yes. - Well...
I can't keep you out of there for very long,
and sometimes it's hard to keep track of the details.
Sometimes, you put me back in when I don't notice?
So, how long have you really been reading to me?
A while.
I've put the transport system on a timer,
so as to not be disruptive.
When will it...
Come.
Doctor.
We've got people coming in with possible injuries.
First Servant is a very special child.
A holy figure.
Chosen at birth by lottery
to embody our maxim:
science, service, sacrifice.
He's forsworn his own family
because everyone on Majalis is his family.
Okay.
Um, what were you doing on that moon?
On that moon is an ancient retreat
for the First Servant's studies.
Elder Gamal and I were returning him to Majalis
when the ship attacked us
and demanded we surrender the child.
And you have no idea who they were?
The closest inhabitable planet is occupied by
descendants of a long-abandoned alien colony.
Still, our two worlds have coexisted
peacefully for centuries.
I believe it is possible they were after a ransom.
In two days, I will be overseeing
the First Servant's ascension
to the throne.
It's a sacred ceremony.
If outsiders knew about that,
they would also know Majalis would pay anything
for the child's safe return.
We should send a landing party
to investigate the crashed ship.
There is a chance, however slight, your attackers survived.
An investigation won't be necessary.
All I ask is you return us peacefully to Majalis.
An investigation is not only necessary, it is required.
Captain Pike.
My people didn't join the Federation.
We've always handled things for ourselves.
Please, let us handle this.
Starfleet regulations requires us to investigate
any vessel that attacks us,
with or without your cooperation, I'm afraid.
I'm sorry.
If you insist,
I'm coming, too.
With or without your cooperation.
It's showing a slight reduction in cerebral blood flow.
Consistent with head trauma.
Next time the hull falls on you,
try not to block it with your head.
Deal.
Do you have anything to eat?
Does this look like a mess hall?
Ah. Please keep that butcher's knife
away from the First Servant.
- It's a subdermal scalpel. - I know what it is.
All I needed was for you to scan him, that's all.
May I?
It's okay, Nurse.
Have at it.
There. Just wanted to check that
his quantum-bio implants are functioning.
Thank you.
He has quantum-bio implants?
They didn't show up on my scan.
That's not surprising, considering
the state of this abattoir.
This is a state-of-the-art
medical facility.
Maybe to you.
In my clinic, healing begins
at a subatomic level.
It's true. My implants rebuild
biological functions using quantum mechanics.
What is that?
Back up. You're a doctor.
I was,
until I became the father of the First Servant.
- Now he's my only patient. - This scanner is
rudimentary,
but still pretty interesting.
He's improving. I'd still like
to keep him here for observation.
So, in theory,
your implants might re-align peptide bonds
within any degraded protein?
At the bare minimum.
If this is true, disease
and suffering would be things of the past.
On Majalis, we have a saying.
"Let the tree that grows from the roots of sacrifice
lift us where suffering cannot reach."
We have no disease of any kind.
Life signs?
No readings.
Nothing's in here.
Let's sweep the area.
Be alert for any surprises they left behind.
Congratulations. You just flunked
lesson three of security.
"Let your tricorder do the investigating."
Some Klingon ships are equipped
with a scuttle system, even the lightest touch
could trigger an auto-destruct sequence.
I don't think we're in any danger of blowing up.
They wiped their data banks.
Luck runs out fast, Cadet.
Next time, be more careful.
Crash site is secure, Lieutenant Spock.
Looks like they beamed out.
The technology here is consistent
with the colony I told you about.
This does not appear to be a part of the ship's functions.
Do you recognize it?
No.
But I recognize this.
What am I looking at?
An oath coin.
Linnarean Guards are given one when they swear
to protect the life of the First Servant.
It's the highest of our military honors.
Look.
To deface a sacred symbol,
it's forbidden.
I have to entertain the possibility
that one of our guards has betrayed his oath
and joined forces with the alien
colonists in trying to kidnap the First Servant.
The boy is in great danger.
Frankly, so am I.
You can all stay on the Enterprise
for as long as you need.
I have duties on Majalis.
Peaceful transition of power,
it's the cornerstone of our society.
Any disruption now would create widespread panic.
Then I'll send you with armed escorts.
We're a private people.
Foreign representatives aren't welcome.
What about a friend?
You can have friends, right?
After your speech at the opening ceremony,
you have the tree-planting at the sky garden,
and then you have the Festival of Gratitude
all evening.
That's quite a schedule.
See why I couldn't stay away?
I need to add something to the agenda.
Please bring in the guards.
Ready to shake the tree and see what falls out?
Am I.
Here we go.
Elder Gamal,
a word in private?
Do you recognize this?
No.
My analysis indicates it is a kind of neural dampener,
designed to reduce the brain's electrical activity.
We found it in the wreckage of the ship.
As I said, I've never seen this.
Based on its size,
logic suggests your attackers may have intended
to use it on the boy.
Can I see it?
I'd rather you didn't.
You must be the science officer.
- I am. - Do you know the speed of propagation of subspace
radio signals in long-range communications?
I believe it is roughly 52,000 times
- the speed of light. - Really?
Wow, that's... super slow.
No wonder you have to use subspace relays.
At those distances, the signals would degrade
long before they were received,
even when radially polarized.
I do not know many your age who grasp radial polarization.
I'm interested in it because
I thought it would be fun to have a friend across the galaxy.
I once worked on my own subspace frequency.
I bet I could generate one by rewiring this biobed.
That would be an impressive feat,
though Dr. M'Benga might object.
Pardon me, Mr. Spock.
The boy needs his rest.
He has a big day tomorrow.
If you don't mind.
It is the eve of the First Servant's
ascension to the throne.
In our most sacred time,
it is important to remind ourselves
of the sanctity of our calling,
so I ask that you renew your vows.
Present your coins.
Will you uphold your covenant to Majalis
and faithfully defend the life
of the First Servant?
You hold your oath,
your bond,
in your hand.
Kier, the case is damaged.
Your coin-- what happened?
It's nothing. An accident.
May I take a closer look?
No.
This way.
Spread out!
It's not on stun.
Kier,
we just want to talk.
Good.
Now, tell me,
why were you on that ship?
To fulfill my oath,
and to renounce everything this floating hell stands for.
Long live the First Servant.
Careful, Cadet. Remember to chew.
Oh, right, you're on rotation with Lieutenant Noonien-Singh.
Word gets around.
Tell her from me, you deserve a full hour.
You can tell me yourself, Lieutenant.
I would, but
I'm, uh, conflict-averse.
Take a look at these data chips.
Are these from the crash site?
I may have liberated them.
But isn't taking them without permission against protocol?
Lesson six of security:
"Know when to bend the rules."
You're right.
Starfleet wouldn't approve of how I acquired these,
so I can't put them through the ship's translator.
Fortunately for me, I don't have to.
Following proper procedure would take weeks.
You want me to translate all of these?
Well, you're a linguist, aren't you?
I see no signs there was ever any head trauma.
To reconstitute the molecular structure of damaged tissue...
It's revolutionary.
May I ask a hypothetical,
doctor to doctor?
No one's stopping you.
Say I had a patient with mast cell cygnokemia.
11-year-old female.
Could quantum-bio implants
reverse cellular degranulation, even in late stages?
On Majalis, it could be reversed.
And if I ever had such a patient,
could I send them your way?
I'm afraid not.
It is illegal to share our technologies
with unaffiliated races.
The Federation has similar policies.
Not when it comes to medical interventions.
Perhaps, one day,
an alliance between our worlds could serve us all.
Sure you don't want to get checked out by a doctor?
I'm okay, Chris, really.
I just...
I knew him. Kier.
- For years. - He would've killed you.
- He almost did. - That's exactly it.
I mean, what if there are others
who feel the same way he did?
That I thought I knew.
I feel like there's no one I can trust.
I'm gonna put a guard out here,
just to be safe.
You don't have to do that.
I didn't save you from a pulsar just to let you get killed.
You called, Cadet?
You asked for a needle in a haystack, and I found it.
I translated their dialect
and cross-checked it the old-fashioned way,
and I know where they're from.
- So, you did the bare minimum I asked for. - No.
I also parsed their dialects
and isolated the roots of their language.
I found more than what you asked for.
A lot more.
I think we should take this to the Captain.
- Okay. Well, let me know what he says. - Cadet.
It's your work. You should present it.
If you're sure of your findings, that is.
I am, sir.
Right.
Rukiya?
Dad, look what he made.
Sorry, I hope you're not mad.
The grid was just made of noble gasses
I took from the atmospheric processor.
They're non-reactive, so I figured they'd be safe.
Darling.
You shouldn't be up.
Please sit.
I was having fun.
How did you know about her?
You and the Elder talk loud,
and when I couldn't find anyone with cygnokemia in sickbay,
I checked the places I'd try to hide in.
Do I have to go back in?
Yes.
But maybe not for much longer.
Goodbye, Rukiya.
I didn't mean to get you in trouble.
You can't tell anyone about her.
Why not?
I heard some noises. What's going on?
I was just looking for a midnight snack.
Seems more like you were showing off.
Come on. We're going.
I beamed up. Someone want to explain to me
why I had to hear this extremely urgent report in person?
Some information has come to light
that we thought you might want to discuss
without the risk of Minister Alora overhearing.
And what could that possibly be?
Cadet Uhura?
We matched the language spoken by the kidnappers
to a non-Federation colony. Prospect 7.
That's an L-Class planet a couple light years away.
Very barren, harsh climate.
The colony is barely above a subsistence level.
Yes. Alora told us about them.
I suppose it makes sense.
Desperate people do desperate things.
Here's the surprising part.
This language has common roots
with the dialect spoken on Majalis.
Linguistically speaking, it's impossible.
This colony isn't alien, Captain.
It has to be an offshoot off Majalis.
At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves:
why would anyone leave paradise for Prospect 7?
- There has to be a reason. - And if the colony is connected to Majalis,
why would Elder Gamal and Minister Alora
tell us otherwise?
Majalans aren't trusting of outsiders.
That's how Alora and I met. Her shuttle failed.
It led to an invitation to join the Federation.
If that accident had never happened,
I'm not sure our two peoples would have ever met.
There must be a reasonable explanation for this.
M'Benga to Bridge.
Elder Gamal just walked out with the First Servant.
- I couldn't stop them. - They said they were
going back to the planet.
Captain, good. Tell your Transporter Chief
that we need to return to the surface now.
We agreed that the First Servant was safer here.
If I could ask you to step down.
With due respect, I don't believe you're truly
capable of keeping him safe here.
Who told you you could beam them down?
No, it wasn't me, Captain.
Someone else must have locked onto their signals
- while our shields were down. - What the hell is going on?
See if you can get them back.
Pike to Bridge. Number One, I need you to scan
for nearby ships.
Reading one, Captain.
A combat cruiser attempting to flee.
Where is the First Servant?
Red alert.
Status.
Sensors pick up the First Servant's life signs
on the combat cruiser.
Their deflector shields prevent us from beaming him back.
- Have we tried hailing them? - Several times.
- They're ignoring us. - I'll remind them we're bigger.
Mitchell, deploy a tractor beam.
We can't let them go to warp.
Targeting and deploying now, sir.
Sir, they're going to warp anyway.
They really want to play tug-of-war with us?
The stress is creating a catastrophic strain imbalance.
I have to increase our structural integrity field.
If they still try to go to warp,
it could destroy the cruiser.
We can't risk harming them. Disengage.
Now, Mitchell.
How could this happen, Chris?
- You said he was safe. - It's an unimaginable loss.
If the Federation can be of any assistance
guiding your people through it...
There's nothing to guide us through.
It means our world is over.
Alora, it's a tragedy,
and I understand the symbolic significance, but...
You don't understand.
If the First Servant doesn't ascend,
Majalis will fall out of the sky.
The surface of our planet is nothing but rivers of lava
- and lakes of acid. - We'll be destroyed.
How can any of that rest on the fate of one child?
Damn it.
Can someone tell me how the hell
that combat cruiser managed to beam someone off my ship?
I think I can,
Captain.
The girl is deluded.
I'm not.
She is just summarizing facts
and drawing the logical conclusion.
Isn't that right, Uhura?
Yes, sir. Thank you.
Walk me through it, Cadet.
To beam someone off the Enterprise
without us knowing about it, you'd have to lock on
to that signal really fast.
Which means you'd need full biopatterns
like the ones we keep on file in sickbay.
So, I checked our records, and it turns out
Elder Gamal accessed them right before he took
the First Servant to the transporter room. I'm his doctor.
I'm entitled to his medical records.
You didn't just access his biopattern,
you did a full scan on yourself
and uploaded that, too.
I think my promising young cadet just demonstrated
Lesson Seven of security on you.
Leave no stone unturned.
I usually require cadets to look under
Mugatan breathing stones for that one.
Oh... That won't be necessary.
What aren't you telling us, Gamal?
Now's the time.
Captain, can you join me on Deck 17?
I have discovered something I think you need to see.
Okay. Escort the Elder to the brig.
The First Servant was a rather ingenious child, Captain.
He devised a method of generating
his own subspace channel on an unused frequency.
I thought there might be some utility in monitoring it.
And I assume that's why you dragged me down here.
This is a distress signal from him.
How?
No one on that combat cruiser could have survived.
Perhaps he was never on that combat cruiser.
I believe his kidnappers transported him
to where the signal originates:
here, on Enterprise.
To be precise...
...right here, Captain.
It's all right. You're safe now.
Okay? Come with me.
Let's get him to sickbay.
I need to get to the ascension.
There will be plenty of time for all that.
No, it's starting now. Majalis needs me.
Okay.
Captain to Bridge.
Open a channel to Majalis and tell Minister Alora
I've got some news she'll want to hear.
As the First Servant dedicates himself to Majalis,
all of Majalis dedicates itself to him.
It's, uh, it's beautiful.
It wouldn't have happened without you, Chris.
You saved us.
You-you still haven't explained how the fate of your planet
could rest on the head of this child.
It's complicated. Sacrosanct.
Or why Elder Gamal would kidnap his own son
and put the fate of his planet at risk.
I can't speak to the motives
- of one... - Or why you
failed to mention that the kidnapping plot
started on a colony of your people:
Prospect 7.
We begin the procession.
Rejoice.
I shouldn't be in here. I'm not a Federation citizen.
I've done nothing wrong.
You tampered with the Enterprise's transporter,
using it to illegally transport a minor,
whom you then hid on our ship.
A violation of multiple Federation laws.
I took my own child for his safety.
Is that why your associates had a neural dampening device?
- For his safety? - Yes.
Its purpose
is to make him unable to fulfil his duties
as the First Servant.
I want to talk to Captain Pike.
Captain Pike is on Majalis with the First Servant,
so I'm afraid you're stuck with me.
You returned him?
Mm.
- So the ceremony has begun? - By now,
- presumably, yes. - I was wrong.
I deserve to be in here, Commander, I know that.
I didn't just...
violate the law of my planet,
I violated my own principles.
My most deeply held beliefs.
Why?
For him.
For my son.
It was unthinkable,
and I-I just needed to save him.
From what?
Thank you!
Where are they taking him?
The Sacred Chamber.
We've never let an outsider in before,
but the Ruling Council agreed to let you
be a part of this because you saved his life.
And also...
because I want you to be a part of this.
A part of what?
Captain.
Come with us.
I want you to be there when I ascend.
I've-I've tried everything.
The planet's put up some kind of electromagnetic pulse
that's blocking our communications.
Mr. Spock, prepare a landing party
to beam down to the surface.
Negative, Commander. There is interference
in the planetary atmosphere.
The same energy signature as the pulse.
You're saying there's no way to contact the captain
exactly when I need to talk to him?
Do you freely offer this gift of self
to the people of Majalis?
With joy and gratitude, I do.
Do you freely choose your fate?
With joy and gratitude...
I...
Oh, my God.
It's okay.
He can see.
It's a child.
Stop it.
Alora, Alora...
Alora, you have to stop this.
He chooses it freely.
And we honor his sacrifice.
What?
Long live the First Servant.
Alora.
Alora, you can't do this to him. Stop!
You can't.
What did you do to that boy?
That last thing I want to do is hurt you.
So I'm your prisoner now?
Of course not.
The ascension is complete.
You may go.
You can go, too.
But I hope you won't.
You're damn right I'm going.
Getting that child the hell away from that thing.
Even if you could get into the chamber...
...severing the connection would only kill him.
Why?
Serving Majalis is his destiny.
His reason for being.
Without him, Majalis could not be.
You plugged a kid into a machine.
What's it gonna do to him?
We don't know.
The machine needs the neural network of a child to function.
Our founders designed it that way. We don't know why.
We've hunted for centuries for alternatives
and found nothing.
It was the purpose of my research when we met.
Will he suffer?
Yes.
We don'’t pretend otherwise.
We live in gratitude for him.
And when a new First Servant ascends, we will live for her.
Your whole civilization...
All your... This.
It's all founded
on the suffering of a child.
Can you honestly say that no child suffers
for the benefit of your Federation?
That no child lives in poverty
or squalor,
while those who enjoy abundance look away?
The only difference is we don't look away.
And because of that, the suffering is borne
on the back of only one.
That's what makes it a sacred honor.
That's why I choose our way.
No.
The first chance I get...
...I'm reporting this to Starfleet.
And what?
We're not a Federation world. You have no jurisdiction.
Maybe, in the future,
you'll feel differently.
Now, Number One.
Doctor, a word.
Sorry for the interruption.
It's fine.
I'm told you've requested transit to Prospect 7.
I used to think they were a planet of traitors
committed to destroying our way of life.
And now?
They tried to help me save my child,
and I failed.
But maybe I could...
...help them save the next one.
I wish you luck.
And I you, Doctor.
Which is why I'm here.
That hypothetical patient with cygnokemia--
her case stuck with me.
I thought perhaps if I could take a look at the file,
I could walk you through the theory behind the treatment.
It's not a cure, but...
But it could be the first step to one.