I'm Sylvia Ront,
and this is FNN's continuing coverage of the destruction of Pakled Planet.
What we know at this hour:
Starfleet Captain Carol Freeman
stands accused of orchestrating a devastating attack on the Pakled capital.
A place they call, quote, "big, strong city."
The USS Cerritos remains in Spacedock, impounded for further investigation.
Her crew on temporary leave while their captain stands trial.
-[reporter 1] Why would Freeman do this? -No comment.
-[reporter 2] What did you hear? -I said no comment. Please.
-[reporter 3] Did she hate Pakleds? -[yowls] Get the [bleep] out of our way!
And the latest shocking development.
New surveillance footage retrieved from the attack
that appears to place Freeman on the ground at the time of the bombing.
In lighter news,
a swarm of incandescent verugament will be illuminating Earth tomorrow…
[grunts]
Beckett! Screens can just be turned off, you know.
I can't take this anymore!
Everyone's acting like the trial's already over
when there is no way that Mom did anything wrong.
Look. You and I both know that.
And plenty of people in the courtroom know it too.
You just need to be patient and trust in the system.
Oh, you mean the same system that's now putting her on trial?
Oh, yeah! Yeah. I freaking love the system.
Hey, hey, hey. Why don't you go out for a bit?
We don't get home that often. You can maybe go for a walk?
Breathe some non-recycled air.
[scoffs] Home for you. I didn't grow up here.
I just meant Earth. It's rare that you get back here.
Ugh. The longer I'm off a ship the more useless I feel.
Like that. Like that big, dumb red thing.
Beckett, you know that's the Golden Gate Bridge.
Nobody drives anymore! Why do you need a bridge? This planet's wack.
People like the bridge. I like the bridge!
[monitor chimes]
Ah. Admiral Buenamigo.
Alonzo, I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news.
What? Wha-- What's the news? Oh. Hey, Uncle Les.
Beckett, I just received word.
The judge assigned to Carol's case is Mith bin Tong.
What? She's that planets' rights lunatic.
Dad, we gotta get Mom out of this trial.
We gotta have faith in Starfleet. The truth will come out.
If you won't do something, then I will.
-[Admiral Freeman] Wait, wait, wait, wait! -[Mariner groans]
[groaning]
I don't know why you keep breakable objects in the house anymore.
-Neither do I. -[Mariner grunting, shattering]
[sighs, gags]
Oh, God. Vineyard flies. [coughs]
I hate being home.
Dude, are you even listening to what I'm telling you?
The captain's getting railroaded, man!
I have to do something before it's too late.
Well, count me in.
Really? Usually it takes way more convincing.
I'll do anything to get away from these raisins.
It's gonna take me a month to get the smell out of my hair.
Hey, Bradward! Wanna test the sweetness of my bushel?
Ugh. Fine, Genevieve.
Just, uh, give it 43 more sun hours at 21 degrees Brix.
Oh. Okay…
Uh, when you said your family had vineyards, I just assumed it was for wine.
Oh, I wish. No, we Boimlers dry grapes.
Just dry 'em, and dry 'em, and dry 'em
till they're all shriveled and hopeless and stuck on Earth forever.
Bradward, all these varietals are so confusing.
Take me to the privacy of the "pickery" shed
and explain them to me.
Come on, Mandolina.
Red goes in the red bucket. White in the white. You know that.
[whimpers]
-How do they not see this is a setup? -[giggling]
We were nowhere near Pakled Planet when it blew.
I mean, she was saving another ship, for Kirk's sake.
Okay. We know it doesn't track,
but the ship's logs got corrupted by the Lapeerian debris field.
It makes it look like she's covering something up.
Wait. So they just need our logs? I have logs.
No. We need the official senior staff logs.
Not, like, what you had for lunch.
No, no, no. My logs are crazy detailed.
Every night I'd listen to the captain's and rerecord them for reference.
-What? -Yeah. The official stardates,
systems, personnel, it's all in there, still by my bunk.
Oh, my God! Boimler. Wait. That is so nerdy
-and so clutch right now. -[groans]
So, all we have to do is get your PADDs,
and we clear her name with surprise evidence.
Take that, conservative military court!
[sighs] But we're grounded.
Plus, we don't even know where the Cerritos is.
It's in drydock?
Yeah, but which drydock? There's like a bajillion.
And besides, they probably only kept on a small skeleton crew of engineers
to help dock it and that's it.
Engineers? [gasps]
-Rutherford! -Rutherford!
Bradward, I'm soaked in juice and I need help getting naked!
Just spray off with the hose, Lianne.
Hmm.
[jazz music playing]
Say, "Gumbo!"
[laughs] Gumbo!
So after lunch, where should we go next? [gasps]
Should we go back to the Grand Canyon? Is that crazy?
We could take in a London Kings game. Or--
Ooh! Wanna go see historical Bozeman?
[gasps] The site of Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight?
Um, yes, please!
Man, I can't believe you never visited any Earth stuff
when you were at the Academy.
I was so focused on my studies, I never left San Francisco.
-[news theme playing] -I just--
Man. I can't believe this.
Those prosecutors are gonna look so stupid when the captain gets proved innocent.
I wonder how Mariner's taking it.
Oh, I'm taking it. Taking it to the limit!
Did you-- Did you time your entrance to say that?
-What? No! -Oh, yeah. She did.
No! I mean, only like a few seconds.
It was at least a minute. I was like, "Why are we hiding by the door?"
Would you just go get us some chairs?
[slurping]
[Rutherford] Mmm. I don't know.
Sneaking into the impound dock doesn't sound very Starfleet.
Neither does throwing the captain into prison for a crime she didn't commit.
Okay. Well, let's just go tell the court about Boimler's logs.
Why, so they can bury them?
No. Something went down on Pakled Planet.
And they want a Cali-class captain to take the fall.
The bridge crew are under constant attack.
-[Boimler wheezing] -It's up to us to do something.
I know where the Cerritos is!
I got a glance at the orbital coordinates when we were talking. It's only 19 digits.
Yes! Ruthy-Ruth! There we go!
But the only way up to that drydock
is via an encrypted transporter at a secure compound.
-How are we gonna get in? -Geez. Don't cry, man.
-We'll figure something out. -[Boimler groans]
-Nice little kick! -[Boimler whines]
Ugh. So we're gonna have to get past the transporter chief.
I heard he's longtime Starfleet security. He could be intense.
Whoa, whoa. Hold up. We have to face some kind of psycho badass?
Look. We've got the numbers and the element of surprise.
This is for the captain.
[all gasp]
Well, ahoy there! Come in! Come in!
Don't let the door hit ya where the Big Bang split ya. [laughs]
Yep. Let me just get over here.
Chief Carlton Dennis at your service. But you can call me Denny.
So, what brings y'all to my dusty old transporter pad?
You kids from the Academy?
Yeah, that's right. We were just hoping to learn about your transporter.
Say no more. If there's one thing I've got in this joint, it's gout! [laughs]
But also transporters. Come on. Let's give you a tour.
Here we go. [coughs]
We can't tie this guy up. He's like the sweetest old man in the world!
I know! But we have no choice, okay? Just distract him for me.
Whoa. These transporters are classics! Did you restore these?
Yeah, I'm a bit of a buffer buff.
Working on these beauties is what kept me going when my--
When my wife Jane passed.
[sighs] Guys, I can't. You gotta do it.
-No way! He's like my grandpa! -He's everyone's grandpa!
Butterscotch?
[chuckles] Sure. Yeah. Thanks, Denny.
It's so rare that I get visitors here.
You kids are the real treat.
Yeah, usually people only come in looking to knock me out
and use my transporter to beam to a restricted ship.
You wouldn't know anything about that…
-[all gasp] -…would you?
[all chattering, whimpering]
Aw. There, there. Don't cry, okay? I wasn't gonna stun you.
It's all right. You know what? I'll make some soup.
Look. I don't blame you one bit for trying to help your captain.
I've been following her trial. I don't buy those charges for a second.
So, can you transport us up to our ship?
I would but I can't because of the damn verugament.
-Veruga-what? -It's been all over the news.
[Denny] A big swarm of glowing space critters migrating right past Earth.
They create a natural scattering field that interferes with the transporter.
I'm afraid all surface-to-space beaming is down.
What? We can't let some space bugs stop us.
Sorry, kiddo. The only way you're getting to that drydock is in a ship.
So we didn't save the captain
and missed a once-in-a-lifetime trip to historical Bozeman?
Oh, you would've loved Bozeman!
Oh! The reenactors.
Oh, they got this replica Phoenix ride. You know, folks can take it up into orbit.
Wait. You can't transport us to space, but what about Montana?
[Eagle caws]
[announcer] Hello, explorers, and welcome to the 21st century!
We hope you enjoy yourself and make a first contact with fun!
Ooh, ooh! They're dressed like the 21st century!
It's just like post World War III.
Oh, my gosh!
There's the Crash-n-Burn Bar with its famous one-song jukebox.
[Rutherford] Look there's the ship that the Vulcans came down in!
Whoa! Can I try that? Oh, it would be illogical not to!
Sorry, guys. We came for that.
-Oh! -Ooh!
Wow!
Oh. Hi. I'm just finishing up some repairs.
And you should finish up any snacks,
as no food or beverages are allowed inside the Phoenix.
Hey, guys. Are we sure we can even fly this thing?
I mean, you only have to be 100 centimeters to ride.
Look a ship's a ship.
Once we're out of the atmosphere, Rutherford can override the automation.
-Right, Ruthy? -Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep, you got it.
All right! Here we--
Okay! Oh, boy! Here we go, Gavin. You're really doing this, huh?
-[laughs] -Oh, crap.
Hey, buddy. You should really get on a different Phoenix.
Oh no, no. The guy clearly told me, "Single rider, ship number five."
I don't want to get in trouble.
Hey. We don't go past warp 1, right?
[screams] I'm sorry. I'm just nervous 'cause I'm not good with space flight.
[Gavin screams]
All right, buckos. Prepare for your trek amongst the stars!
Oh. Before I forget, let's rock and roll!
♪ I like to dream ♪
-[cheering] -♪ Yes, yes ♪
♪ Right between the sound machine ♪
[whimpering]
♪ On a cloud of sound I drift in the night ♪
♪ To the stars away from here, well ♪
I think we're supposed to stay seated.
First stage separation, complete.
Let's bring what I like to call "the warp core" online.
Sorry, Mr. Cochrane.
-Whoa. -[screams] Wha-- What are you doing?
[warbling] Wow! Would you look at that beautiful blue marble?
[groaning]
[Mariner] It's working! It's kind of working.
[Rutherford] All right. Inputting drydock coordinates.
Prepare to make history. Here we go!
-[Gavin] What are you doing? [screams] -[grunting]
♪ Last night I hold Aladdin's lamp ♪
[Gavin screams]
-[Tendi] Oh, wow. -[Rutherford] Whoa.
[Cochrane] Thanks for riding with me, explorers.
Please exit on the right and take all your belongings with you.
Sorry about that, Gav. Top secret Starfleet business going on here.
Don't worry. I'll reengage the automation and get you back to Earth.
Wait, don't! This is my ship now!
I'm not Gavin the botanist anymore, no!
I am Gavin the pilot! And I am going to explore the galaxy!
-Hell yeah. -Respect, man.
Whoo-hoo! This won't be the last you hear of me!
[Boimler] Okay. All right, it should be right--
Yes! My copies of all the captain's logs going back to Stardate 58018.7!
-This should be more than enough. -Oh, Boims,
I will never make fun of you for this kind of stuff again.
Let me see the one from the day of the bombing.
[Boimler] The Cerritos is en route to the Lapeerian system
to assist the Archimedes in a first contact.
Yes! That is exactly what we need to save Mom.
[Boimler] And I think I heard Ransom say my name today.
He might've said "Boiler," but still. Name recognition! Oh, my God!
What was-- What was that?
Oh, yeah. No, I always add little personal details to 'em. Makes 'em fun.
Got caught sniffing the captain's chair again.
They're-- They're all like this?
No, no, no, that's just one or two. The rest of them are very professional.
Ugh. The alien atmosphere is giving me insane gas.
Gotta be better about hiding my purple hair dye.
Nobody knows my real hair color is-- An alien bird ate my combadg--
Dropped my tricorder in the toilet again!
You can just skip past all that.
I actually woke myself up, the gas pains were so bad. I just wish I could fart!
[groans] We can't use these!
Don't worry! I don't care they're embarrassing.
No, I mean because they are a joke.
It's a frigging blooper reel. No court's gonna accept this.
I wasted this whole day. I can't believe I thought this was the fix.
Well, hold on. They do have the date stamps and locations.
Starfleet could cross-check the information--
Even if they did, it would come down to them believing the word
of some goofy ensign.
When does that ever work out?
They don't even believe the captain because she's California-class.
Hey, come on. They're Starfleet.
If we can't trust them to do the right thing, what can we trust in?
Yeah, Mariner, we have to believe.
[sighs] Yeah, you guys are right.
All right, let's get this PADD to Earth and save the day lower decks style.
[engine whirring]
Hmm. I gotta-- I gotta check the port nacelle real quick.
You think we're dressed okay for court?
My shirt could be a little more asymmetrical--
[both grunt]
Wait, wait-- What's going on? Where's she going?
She set us on auto-navigation! I can't stop it. She locked us out.
[all grunt]
-[console beeping] -[powering up]
Mariner, what are you doing?
I'm not going back until I get hard evidence.
Are you stealing the Cerritos?
They say she got a bomb from Klingons? Bull [bleep].
I'm gonna go find those Klingons and bring them back.
-Do you hear yourself? -What? No, Mariner!
Whatever happens to me, I'm not gonna put you through that, okay?
-[Tendi] Wait, Mariner! -You don't get it!
She's your captain, but she's my mom!
This is insane! She's gonna end up in prison [gasps] or worse!
We have to stop her. Don't care what trouble I get in.
-Same. -I want the trouble. Gimme the trouble.
If we can't override the auto-nav, we're gonna have to lean into it.
But-- But it's taking us back home!
That's why I redefined what the shuttle thinks of as home.
[Boimler] Yes! You got this, auto!
Whoo! We're doing it! We're-- We're coming in a little fast, aren't we?
Shoot! Auto still thinks Earth's atmosphere is here to slow it down.
-Uh… Hold on! -[all screaming]
[Boimler groans]
Whoa. We're alive? Cool!
Wait! What the hell are you doing? I don't want you getting in trouble.
And we're not gonna let you put yourself in danger!
-Rutherford. -Oh, no, you don't.
-You're not thinking straight. -[grunts] I don't wanna hurt you.
[grunts] Got her!
[all grunting]
[Tendi] Hey! Stop it!
[bleep]
[console chirps]
Um, Gary? Do we have the Cerritos leaving orbit today?
-What? No! Cerritos is in drydock. Why? -[rumbling]
[alarm blaring]
-[groans] Stop it! Stop it! -[Mariner] Let go!
Why can't you let me do this?
-[Mariner] Stop! Off! Don't! -Why are you so good at fighting?
[all groaning, grunting]
[beeping]
[engine powers down]
There! Nav controls are locked. We're stopped.
-No, no! -[Tendi groans]
Goddamn it! Gimme back the controls. I need to--
I need-- I need to get-- [groans, sighs]
They put her in handcuffs.
And I-- I couldn't do a damn thing about it.
They could take her away forever and I can't stop it, and I'm just--
I'm just so scared.
Hey, whatever happens down there, we're gonna be right beside you.
Yeah, we're in this together.
[security officer] USS Cerritos, this is an unauthorized launch.
What is the nature of your emergency?
Crap! It's security! What do we say? What do we say?
This is all my fault, okay? I'll-- I'll say I took you hostage--
Wait, look!
It's the verugament!
[Rutherford] Oh, man. I stopped us right in their path!
They're incandescent extremophiles.
They migrate through space and feed on microscopic--
-[Boimler] They're attacking the ship! -No, look at the sensor!
I think they're synthesizing carbon off the hull,
and it's triggering a mass reproductive event.
[Mariner] It's an orgy?
Oh, I guess they were in search of a breeding ground.
And we're it! [gasps] So magical.
[security officer] Cerritos, I repeat, this is an unauthorized launch.
-Please respond. -[gasps] Quick, open a channel.
-What? What are you gonna say? -[Tendi] Just do it!
This is Ensign D'Vana Tendi of the Cerritos,
we are performing a biological survey of these reproducing organisms.
Uh, we're only reading four of you.
That's right. Everyone else is grounded.
This is a rare scientific event. We must not be interrupted.
Interrupt you-- We're coming aboard. Just stay where you are.
Okay, uh, open the bay doors and follow me. Come on!
What the hell is going on in here?
These endangered creatures need help transferring their gametes.
We're facilitating while we [screams] study them.
Uh, doesn't it hurt? Seems like a lot of charged tentacles.
Yeah, no. Yeah, it hurts.
But there's no substitute for first-- [gags] firsthand data.
This is-- Ow!
Just a marvelous-- Ow! Specimen. Ouch!
Okay, I think I've seen just about enough here.
Are we under arrest?
For what? Helping these precious creatures? Of course not.
And let me just say,
I love seeing junior officers committed to the pursuit of science.
Yeah, man. That is us, just pursuing and doing.
Super. We'll just need to know the commander who ordered this mission
and we'll be on our way.
Uh…
Huh. It's not like you just stole a starship all on your own.
That'd be bananas. So, come on. Who ordered this?
-Uh… -I did.
-[all gasp] -Captain Carol Freeman.
-Mom? -Thanks, Captain Freeman.
Glad to have you back.
We're clear.
[Freeman] What the--
What are you doing here? What happened with the trial?
-Are you on the run? -The trial's over, Beckett.
It is? How?
While I was sitting in court,
Starfleet was carrying out a secret investigation into the Pakled bombing.
Led by Captain Morgan Bateson,
this elite team learned of a Pakled connection to a known data fabricator
whom they discovered had faked the incriminating footage of me.
They pursued and captured this forger inside the Romulan Neutral Zone.
Under some rather invasive questioning from Commander Tuvok,
this forger revealed the true identity of the bombers: the Pakleds themselves.
[all ensigns] What?
[Freeman] It was a huge reveal.
Turns out that their plan was to blow up their own capital
and frame me to force the Federation into relocating them
to a more resource-rich planet.
So, it was a classic Pakled-Samaritan snare writ large,
and it would have worked
if not for Starfleet's best believing in one of their own.
Holy [bleep]!
Oh! Can we hear that again, please?
Wow! Wow! Starfleet really came through. Who would've thought?
Me, Beckett.
I told you from the start to trust in the system.
I said it this morning. Bet your friends told you just as much.
Um… They might've said--
I mean, whatever. All that matters is you're free. Right, Mom?
All's well that, you know, turns out fine.
Uh, no, no, no, missy.
Do you realize I was out of court for less than an hour
before I learned that my own daughter has stolen my ship from a military impound?
You three, go start cleaning whatever the hell this is.
Well, they're a type of incandescent extremoph--
Yes, Captain. Right away, Captain.
And you? You're with me.
[sighs] I blame myself.
For wearing out that carpet? Yeah. Agreed.
-Beckett, come on. -You see? You see, 'Zo?
Even now, she thinks she can just say and do whatever she wants
with no repercussions.
'Cause you know what? She could!
This whole time, we have covered for her and excused her,
and now we are reaping what we sowed.
What do you want me to say? I was trying to help.
And I love you for that. I do.
Honey, you have so much potential.
But if you're ever going to amount to anything,
it won't be because you saw me as an authority.
And we know how often you listen to me.
Ugh, here we go. I'm being, what, demoted and transferred again?
Where would you go? The Cerritos is still your last chance.
But I can't be the one to rein you in.
As your mother, I could never kick you out of Starfleet.
However, I know someone who isn't burdened by family ties.
-[door panel chimes] -Come.
No, not him! Not him!
-No, no, no! -Ensign Beckett Mariner,
I'm giving your full and final oversight to Commander Ransom.
If you do in fact want to remain in Starfleet,
it's going to be his call.
Thank you, Captain.
As far as you're concerned, Mariner, I'm your mama now.
[Tendi humming]
Ah, you know, even covered in alien sploof,
there's no place I'd rather be.
Yeah, home sticky home.
Ooh! Hey! Turn on FNN.
Let's see if they're talking about the trial.
We'll talk to the little boy who solved Fermat's Last Theorem.
But first, a daring rescue near the moons of Jupiter
as a malfunctioning theme park ride leaves one young man traumatized.
No! No, let me go! I'm Captain Gavin!
I am on a trek amongst the stars!
Pew pew! Pew, pew, pew! Pew pew!
Chirp.