- A mysterious sphere threatens the U.S.S. Discovery even as May, in her original form, implements a plan that puts Tilly's life in danger. Saru and Burnham's bond grows when Saru is forced to acknowledge a deeply unsettling Kelpien truth. Pike receives new intel on Spock from a loyal friend.
- Number One (Rebecca Romijn) is Pike's first officer from the Enterprise. She joins Pike at the Discovery. She says that Spock's case has been assigned Priority One by Starfleet, which is rare for a Starfleet officer. Number One says that something about Spock's case is not adding up. Number One got access to some classified information, which included the warp signature of Spock's shuttle when he escaped from star base 5. Pike puts the Discovery on an intercept course.
Stamets has captured the parasite in the spore drive containment chamber. Stamets says that Mycelial network just doesn't connect life, it contains life like an incubator.
On its way to Spock's last known position, a living, intelligent, Planetoid-sized Sphere pulls Discovery out of warp and immobilizes it. The sphere is 565 Kilometres in diameter and a mass of 6.39 X 10 to the power 20 Kgs. It melds organic and inorganic matter. Its 100,000 years old. The sphere is also vibrating. Suddenly a computer virus infects the ship's computers, and all the stations are encoded in an alien language and the universal translator goes haywire.
Only the spore drive section is not impacted. Jett Reno is not impressed by the spore drive, but Stamets argues that Spores are renewable and that Dilithium mining ruined many planets, and many wars were fought to corner its supply. Saru is brought down by what he thinks is a flu. And suddenly the Discovery is hit by an energy surge. Only quick action by Jett Reno and Stamets helps dissipate the power surge by using the doors of the ship as a grounding device. During this operation, the parasite manages to escape the spore drive chamber. The parasite attaches itself to Tilly again, once again accessing her memories to communicate as a hallucination of May.
The Sphere's hold on Discovery triggers the Vahar'Ai in Commander Saru, a fatal condition to his species, the Kelpiens.
Saru and Burnham determine that the sphere is infecting the ship with a digital virus and taking away control of their systems such as life support. They device a digital anti-body to slow down the spread of the virus. Saru prepares for his eventual death and tells Burnham how his life began he was granted refugee status by the Federation. He says that he has kept detailed logs of his life and asks Burnham to catalog them and share them with Starfleet after his death. These logs could release the General Order One on Kelpiens and eventually pave their way to join the Fedeation. Meanwhile, every minute lost means that Discovery's probability of catching up with Spock reduces.
Burnham speculates that the sphere is trying to communicate with the ship, using the virus as a first contact protocol. Saru figures the language out and says that it is not first contact, but last contact. The Sphere came to the Discovery to die. The crew surmises that the Sphere is well-Intentioned and has gathered huge amounts of data from all over the galaxy that it does not want to be lost before it dies. Saru says that Kelpiens have empathy as a biological trait. The sphere's dying condition triggered the Vahar'Ai in him. Saru convinces Pike to lower the shields and let the Sphere access the ship completely. The Sphere transmits its information to the crew and dies, releasing Discovery so that it will not be caught in the ensuing explosion.
Saru asks Burnham to help him prepare for his death by removing his threat ganglia, which sense danger. However, they fall out on their own and leave Saru healthy and living without the overwhelming fear his species is known for.
Stamets figures out a way to communicate with the parasite attached to Tilly. The parasite says that they are from the species JahSepp. The parasite claims Discovery has nearly destroyed its ecosystem by using its species' Mycelial network to jump through space with the spore drive. It then consumes Tilly, leaving no trace of her.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content