♪ ♪
Previously on Star Trek: Discovery...
These experiences I've had,
and now we're on this quest
to find the thing that created us.
- But Paul...
- Hates the unknown.
And we've always been able
to find answers together.
I don't know how
to talk to him about this.
RAYNER: It's a time bug.
They're designed
to paralyze an enemy ship
by randomly cycling them through time.
The whole point is to keep us stuck.
Adira, the time bug wasn't your fault.
Well, I brought it on board, didn't I?
Two signatures on the bridge,
that's you and me.
Three from sickbay. That's
Moll and L'ak and the clue.
They found it.
[WEAPONS f*ring]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Get away from us.
- RAYNER: Captain?
- System shows
it's a Terran warp pod. Two life signs,
sickbay equipment. It's got to be
- a life-support system.
- It's Moll and L'ak.
We'll find them.
RAYNER: They left a warp signature.
We'll track it.
Paul is prepping to do
a full chemical analysis
of this vial.
And then we'll have our next stop.
STAMETS: You think the scientists
designed these clues
to mock you when you
can't figure them out?
- I think this will work.
- BURNHAM: It better.
This clue's been
stalling us for two days.
- Any other tests we can run?
- STAMETS: That'll tell us
something different than the
hundred other tests we've already run?
I don't think so.
Vial's composition's
generic, and the water
inside remains pure,
inert, distilled, and wet.
Vial's damaged. Maybe
there's a piece missing.
TILLY: Modified spectral
analysis reveals the fluid
in this vial to be...
- still just distilled water.
- STAMETS: Damn.
The other clues had words,
had symbols, they had more.
STAMETS: You know, I
have reviewed scans from
ISS Enterprise multiple times.
There was never anything else there.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
STAMETS: I even tried fabricating
the last two pieces
of the map to see what'd happen
when I put them in, and...
Let me guess, nothing.
There's no shortcuts here.
We have to solve this clue to find
the next and then the next,
and we need all five.
Then somehow you are gonna tell us
where the Progenitors' power is.
So keep at it.
If chemistry isn't the solution,
try history, anthropology.
Try planets where distilled water
had cultural or symbolic
significance 800 years ago.
And include
worlds that had severe droughts
and would have needed
rainwater alternatives.
- On it.
- Thank you.
I still find it disorienting
myself sometimes.
But you get used to it.
Here I was, thinking
you were born in here.
We could be at black alert
within the hour.
What are our coordinates?
Excuse me?
I assume I'm here
because you have a lead
on Moll and L'ak.
Uh, no. Not yet.
The USS Locherer is handling the search.
This is Discovery's mission.
Finding the Progenitors' technology
is Discovery's mission,
and you seem to have your
hands full at the moment.
This particular clue...
We are a bit stalled.
The scientists who hid
the technology's location
each made their own piece
of the clue trail in secret.
Stands to reason they
would have employed
their respective fields of expertise
in the process, don't you think?
And then knowing
the identity of the vial's creator
might prove useful.
BURNHAM: You found the
names of the scientists.
I can be resourceful.
I know it's eccentric of me,
but I-I do love the feel of paper.
And this isn't replicated either.
This is a genuine 21st century
legal pad.
Where did you even find that?
Like I said, I'm resourceful.
And you have a mission to see to.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Zora, pause the program.
Send a message to Dr. Pollard:
"We might be on to something with this
grief-alleviation therapeutic".
"Brain wave patterning is incredible".
"And this holo of my grandmother is..."
"... exactly as I remember her".
"Sending over my data in a few minutes".
Zora, start the program again.
No.
Program, check the database.
She should be able to answer that.
We spoke often
about her spiritual feelings
and practices.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Of course.
[CHUCKLES]
BURNHAM: Okay, we haven't yet found
clues from Dr. Derex or Dr. Kreel.
For the vial,
I'm betting on Kreel.
His specialty was designing
weather modification towers
to generate rain.
So, we're going to Denobula.
Maybe not. Um, Zora,
can you confirm,
Denobulan weather towers seed clouds
- with silver iodide, right?
- ZORA: Yes, Commander.
That is typical of their function
both at present and during
Dr. Kreel's time.
All right, so then the water
would be filled with contaminants,
but it's ultra-distilled.
Well, Kreel's file also mentioned
he did work in weather
technology for other worlds.
If a planet were arid enough...
Then water would have to be
extracted from the air
at the molecular level,
which would mean
no contaminants whatsoever.
Zora, how many M-Class planets
were on Denobulan trade routes
when this vial was created?
15.
And how many of them were dry enough
that water would need to be harvested
in that particular way?
Only one, Captain.
- [LAUGHS]
- Halem'no.
Whew.
BURNHAM: The planet Halem'no.
Long-range scans show
a functioning weather tower
of Denobulan design.
It manufactures rain,
and it emits a low-grade forcefield
that shields the planet's
only habitable region
from dust storms.
We've been able to confirm
that Dr. Kreel
designed the tower, so we believe
the next clue is inside of it.
Why would he make a weather
tower look like a mountain?
That's a good question.
Ensign Tal, any life signs down there?
ADIRA: Uh...
Yes. Uh... [STAMMERS] humanoid. Um...
Uh, d-definitely pre-warp
and pre-industrial.
Uh, there's no functioning
electrical grid,
and geological surveys show
that the storms
on the planet have gotten
increasingly more severe
over time, so...
maybe Dr. Kreel installed the tower
as a humanitarian mission
and hid it so not to violate
the Prime Directive?
Makes sense. It's good to
see you on the bridge, Ensign.
They requested more time up
here. I felt they were ready.
[CHUCKLES]: Didn't
necessarily mean today.
No time like the present.
BURNHAM: Okay, so
the Prime Directive will be
a concern for us, too.
We'll need to get in and out
without revealing
our technological capabilities.
Can scans help us locate
the clue inside of that thing?
No, there is an unusual energy
field surrounding the tower.
Won't let me beam you in either.
- Any idea why?
- ADIRA: Uh, not yet,
- but we are working on it.
- BURNHAM: Okay. Well, while they
get to the bottom of that,
I will head to the surface
with Lieutenant Tilly.
We'll have to get inside
of that tower before Moll
and L'ak make their next move.
Commander Asha, get us
as close to the planet
as you can without the ship being seen.
- Aye, Captain.
- You have the conn, Rayner.
RAYNER: Aye, Captain.
Let's get to it.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
[ORIGINAL STAR TREK THEME PLAYS]
[WHISTLING]
[DOOR CHIMES]
Come.
Look. The whistling.
It's a component of their language.
Zora, can you play what they're
saying in Federation Standard?
[WHISTLING]
VOICE 1: Hello? Is someone there?
VOICE 2: I am, my good
compeer. Are you hurt?
VOICE 1: No, but I am very thirsty.
VOICE 2: There is water for you here.
Why would they speak in whistles?
They don't always.
They have a phonetic language
for day-to-day interactions,
but the whistle-speak
lets them communicate
across great distances.
It's not uncommon to find in cultures
before communication technology evolves.
You can learn so much about a society
by the way the individuals
speak to one another.
Like the Halem'nites.
[WHISTLING]
They don't have any terms
to denote societal status or class.
They recognize three
distinct gender identities,
and they prize connection
with one another
despite the hardships that they face.
And look, look here,
they have multiple words for pain,
injury, hurt, dust.
I feel like I'm back in Dr. T'Prasi's
xenolinguistics seminar on Vulcan.
Wow, you can take the "xeno"
out of the anthropologist,
but you can't take
the anthropologist out...
Huh. No, I lost it.
Uh...
We could really use you
at the Starfleet Academy.
Well, don't tempt me.
How is it going over there, by the way?
RAYNER [OVER COMM]: Captain,
we've loaded subcutaneous comms
into the transport system.
Ensign Tal's also been
playing with Starfleet's
latest retinal tricorder mod.
Should come in handy
if you need to be discreet.
Thank you, Commander.
We're good to go. Take us down.
Let's activate retinal tricorders.
Think Dr. Kreel could have
picked a more gigantic place
to hide the clue?
Guess that's why the Halem'nites
call it the High Summit.
Must have known it'd be well-protected,
since they believe they can
commune with their gods there.
So, do you want to talk about it?
- TILLY: Hmm?
- BURNHAM: The Academy?
TILLY: Oh, yeah.
I just got a message
from my student today.
Cadet Ross, she actually
served us drinks at
- the Millennium Celebration.
- Yeah. Earnest, big smile?
Yes. She's thinking
about leaving the Academy
to take a position on a cargo vessel,
and she wants to know
if I think she should do it.
Mm.
- So what are you gonna say?
- I know.
Stay? Don't go? I don't know, and...
She wants to leave at all,
and she's not the first.
We're not giving the cadets
what they need.
I don't know what the problem is.
[WHISTLING IN DISTANCE]
TILLY: The whistle-speak.
BURNHAM: The universal
translator's got it.
GROUP: We've come here from afar.
LONE VOICE: Let my voice call you home.
[WHISTLING]
GROUP: We traveled from the dust.
LONE VOICE: Come rest, you must.
GROUP: We journeyed from the storms.
LONE VOICE:
In the summit, you'll be warm.
Sounds like they're going
where we're going.
Hey. There you are. Got a minute?
Yeah. Heading to Engineering.
How can I help?
I wondered if you could put me in touch
with the ship's counselor
on the Locherer.
When they find Moll and L'ak,
I want them to have
a full background and
know they can use me
as a resource for anything.
I'm sure they've been briefed.
- It's not the same.
- Book,
you need to accept that there's
nothing for you to do right now.
I can't just sit on my hands, Hugh.
So find something to distract you.
What's occupied your brain in the past?
Focus on that.
Recharge yourself so that you're
ready when you are needed.
You ever get tired of
having all the answers?
I'll check in with you later. [CHUCKLES]
Paul, I need your help with something.
Can I pull you away?
I'm looking to do a full
neural scan on myself,
and I could use an assistant.
A neural scan?
Is everything all right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, everything's fine.
We don't have a lot of data
on the neurological aftereffects
of zhian'tara,
- and this is a chance to gather some.
- Are you
- having aftereffects?
- No, no.
- Maybe.
- Hugh,
- are you sure you're okay?
- Yeah, of course.
We need this data, and, uh,
well, when was the last time
you and I got to work together?
- Might be nice.
- Nothing as romantic
- as a neural scan.
- [LAUGHS]
So, is that a yes?
At your service.
Great. I will, uh, prep everything,
and we can start in the morning.
[WHISTLING]
Hello. Hello.
Greetings, compeers.
We heard your call.
Sounds like you're headed
to the High Summit.
Yes, we've been following the
beacon voice since the moonrise.
We g-got lost. May we join you?
Of course. We are nearly there.
[COUGHING]
[GRUNTS] Apologies.
I was clearing dust from an orchard
and lost my way in the Dry Lands.
The Dry Lands.
Were you out there very long?
I breathed dust for an entire night
before the sun rose and my
compeers could rescue me.
- Sounds frightening.
- [COUGHS]
I suppose it is why
they encourage elders
not to take turns at
the edge of the storms.
[WHEEZING] But i-if
I did not clear the dust,
another would need to take my place.
- Where are you coming from?
- Uh...
we came to worship at the High Summit.
Ah, you wish to pray for rain.
We have been without it for too long.
Do any of the compeers go
inside the summit to pray?
Only the chosen devout
may enter the temple.
- Surely you know that.
- Of course,
but... being from
the east, the distance is far.
Bless you, dear child,
you've never seen
the High Summit before.
No, no, we never have.
But for years we have longed to visit.
[CHUCKLES WEAKLY]
The day is here.
[CHUCKLES]
RAVAH: Compeers, you've arrived.
I'm Ravah.
It's my voice that's been
beckoning you home.
Please come with me. I have
water and food ahead.
[ANORAH WHEEZING]
[COUGHING]
She's having trouble breathing.
The Healing Grove, quickly.
[COUGHING]
Her medicine. I saw her inhaling it
- when we were walking.
- Maybe it's in her pack.
[COUGHING]
[SIGHS] Her lungs are full of dust.
A sonic percussion wave
would easily dislodge this.
She doesn't have to die from this.
We can't break the Prime Directive.
No, I know, I know, I know.
They're not finding her medicine.
Okay. Help me get her on her side.
RAVAH: There they are, Father.
Do not stop, compeer.
You're keeping her alive.
Give these out.
One to each.
OHVAHZ: Quickly.
Form a tight circle around her.
Stay strong, my good compeer.
[BOWLS CLANGING]
[COUGHING CONTINUES]
[BOWLS CONTINUE CLANGING]
[COUGHING]
OHVAHZ: You must forgive me.
I did not have time to warn you
of the intensity of the sound cure.
It's amazing that you
found a cure at all.
Really impressive.
TILLY: Hey, you're awake.
[GRUNTS]
Ravah here's been telling me
all about the High Summit.
RAVAH: I, too, was born far away.
My father brought me here
after my mother d*ed
and he became priest of the summit.
OHVAHZ: Let her regain
her strength, Ravah.
RAVAH: But they were on the front lines.
When my turn comes, I'll clear that dust
twice as fast as anyone else.
OHVAHZ: Ravah,
the most important thing
is to work in harmony
with the rest of your compeers.
Of course you're right, Father.
But it's clear you're very strong.
We're eager to enter the High Summit,
to give thanks to the gods.
The gods do not require you to
enter the temple to give thanks.
RAVAH: But you could
get in if you wanted to.
You just have to complete the
Journey of the Mother Compeer.
- Ravah, please.
- Journey of the Mother Compeer?
It's a race and a test
of devotion because
it's quite grueling. Everyone
says that we're due because
watching the race makes the gods happy,
and we've been without rain for so long.
Only the one who wins is worthy
of entering the temple.
There, they're close to the gods
and they can ask for their blessing.
OHVAHZ: Let's discuss
another time, Ravah.
Our compeers only just arrived.
BURNHAM: But we wish
to show our devotion
in whatever way we can.
RAVAH: And this is perfect.
If you make the request,
we could do it tomorrow morning.
Isn't that right, Father?
One just has to make the
request, that's how it works.
Hmm.
Then I make the request.
Nothing's more important to us
than entering that summit.
♪ ♪
Oh.
Good morning, compeers. [CHUCKLES]
Are there any messages you'd like me
to bring to the gods when I see them?
- You're running today?
- Mm.
You've inspired me, as
you've inspired the others.
The difficulty of the
Journey is legendary.
Most don't even finish.
OHVAHZ: Ravah,
may I have a word?
No, Father, I'm getting ready.
You are too young to take the Journey.
I'm stronger than you think I am.
You're wearing that today?
I wish for Mother to watch over me.
Ravah, I promised her that...
You would keep me a child forever?
OHVAHZ: No. That I would protect you.
RAVAH: I've grown, Father.
I'm devoted. You must see that.
HALEM'NITE: Excuse me, compeer,
tradition demands we begin
the preparations.
As you wish.
You know, I-I have a student, um...
back East.
She reminds me a lot of you.
She just wants to get out there
and do, as fast as she can.
It can be hard to even...
just as a teacher, to step back.
I can only imagine what it
would be like as a parent.
My father is a great man.
And I want to show him
that I can be great, too.
Compeer, uh, may I have a moment?
BURNHAM [OVER COMM]: We're alone,
Discovery. We don't have much time.
RAYNER: We'll talk fast, then.
Ensign Tal chased down a hunch
and found something interesting.
Uh, I did a historical regression
of Halem'no's weather patterns,
and the data indicated that
there might have been other
weather towers in the past.
RAYNER: We sent down a team of DOTs
into the dust storm to check it out.
- They found four more towers.
- Yeah.
Over time, the others failed.
Uh, their energy-distribution
matrices fell out of alignment,
and that's the same thing that's
happening to the High Summit.
That's what's causing the
energy field that's stopping us
from beaming you inside for the clue.
BURNHAM: Okay, what's the solve?
All of the towers have
an auxiliary control panel
hidden nearby.
If you can find the one
near the High Summit,
it should be easy enough
to reset any of the components
that have failed over time.
TILLY: Adira, were there settlements
around any of the other weather towers?
At all of them, in fact.
They were destroyed
when the towers failed.
So, if we don't fix this one,
everyone here will die.
Thank you, Discovery.
One mission just became two.
Well, we've checked
for biological, chemical,
and genetic anomalies, and, um,
turns out you have a perfectly typical,
healthy and rather handsome
human brain.
So, no lasting neurological effects
of zhian'tara whatsoever?
None.
There's something you're not saying.
It's just, I was...
hoping these scans would...
give me an answer.
You know, a physiological cause
for what I'm feeling, and...
then I'd understand,
then I could talk about it.
I don't understand.
Are you feeling sick, or... ?
No. Uh...
the opposite.
Ever since Trill, I've...
felt more connected, more, um...
attuned
to something greater than myself.
Greater than all of us.
But if there's no scientific
reason for it, then...
So it's a... spiritual thing?
Hey, what matters most
is that you're okay.
The scans would have picked up anything
with health implications.
So, in lieu of that, I say
why don't you just enjoy it?
Really?
The human brain, with
its billions of neurons,
each with thousands
of connection points,
is one of the most complex things
in the known universe.
[CHUCKLES]: So...
enjoy it.
Right. [CHUCKLES]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
BURNHAM: The race is about to begin.
Are you not happy, compeer?
Are you not enjoying today?
I was thinking of the last time
there was a Journey.
I ran.
As did my friend Vohrahli.
She was so fast.
Of course she won. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
It was long ago.
I am thinking about Vohrahli
and what we might look like
if we could be wrinkled,
old elders together. [LAUGHS]
- You would look beautiful.
- [CHUCKLES]
You know, you need not
go to the High Summit
to be with the gods.
They are with us when
we do good for one another,
when we love, when we save each other,
as you saved me.
You don't need to run to see them.
I know, I...
It's something that I've
dreamed of my whole life.
I understand then,
and I shall pray for you.
Everything all right?
I think so.
OHVAHZ: My good and blessed compeers,
it is our great fortune to bear witness
to the Journey of the
Mother Compeer today.
Legend tells us that, in ancient times,
all of Halem'no was fertile and gentle,
but even in such a land of
plenty, the Halem'nites warred
against each other and
lost the favor of the gods.
To punish us, they brought
the dust storms.
We would have ended our days
in thirst and dust
if the Great Mother Compeer
hadn't shown the gods our true selves.
She ventured out into
the storms and traveled
far to find water
for her children. As she
journeyed back with it,
her lungs filled with dust.
- [COUGHING]
- OHVAHZ: Her thirst was terrible,
- and yet she didn't drink a single drop.
- [OTHERS COUGHING]
She reached her children and gave them
the life-giving water. She saved them,
then breathed her last.
The gods were so moved by her sacrifice,
they brought back the rains.
Today, as you journey around
the High Summit
bearing a terrible thirst,
you, too, will endure this test.
May you remind the gods
of the Mother Compeer,
of her devotion, our devotion,
and earn their merciful rain.
[GRUNTING]
[GASPS, COUGHS]
A courageous attempt, compeers,
but you are now disqualified.
Begin.
Try not to fall behind.
- [CROWD CHEERING]
- We have to get that clue.
[COUGHING]
[PANTING]
BURNHAM: Just one minute.
I just need a minute.
[GROANS]
[WHISPERING]: Body in
motion remains in motion.
[BURNHAM GROANS]
They've all got to get water
at some point, right?
And we have endurance, we have...
Starfleet training.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
Let's go. We're gonna fall behind.
- [PANTING]
- A body in motion...
will remain in motion.
[BOTH PANTING]
TILLY: Body in motion stays in motion.
Wait, wait, what's that?
Body at rest. [WHIMPERS]
Look at the moss on the trees.
Most of it's blue, but
some of it's yellow.
That's a genetic mutation.
If a control panel were 800 years old,
it would leak radiation, right?
And if it is leaking radiation,
it would be causing mutations.
If I'm right, then this moss
would lead to a control panel.
And if you're wrong?
Then one of us still needs
to win this race
and get that clue.
Go.
- Really?
- Go chase your moss.
I'm the queen of endurance.
- Body in motion...
- Remains in motion.
[GASPING]
I'm out.
[GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
- [SIGHS]
- No.
No, don't give up now, compeer.
It's just the two of us left,
and I want some real competition.
You're a little sh*t, you know that?
I can't hear you, I'm too far ahead.
Don't think I'm not gonna b*at you.
Okay?
Get over here. Come here.
[TRICORDER TRILLING]
Discovery, I've found
the tower control panel.
Scanning it now.
[SIGHS] This tech requires
periodic maintenance.
Without that, it was bound
to fail eventually.
BURNHAM: So how do I fix it?
Uh, you'll need to rebuild
the motherboard,
uh, without shutting
it down by accident.
No pressure. Tell me what to do.
Uh, do you see a small red chip
on the far left-hand side?
BURNHAM: Yes. I see a lot of them.
ADIRA: Sorry, in the top left corner.
We'll start by rerouting that
to the override system.
RAVAH: We're almost there.
OHVAHZ: Stop.
Near the end of the
Mother Compeer's Journey,
the gods tempted her to drink.
So, our final two racers
must now complete the Journey
while carrying temptation.
[MUFFLED CHEERING]
[CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUSE]
RAVAH: No!
[MURMURING]
OHVAHZ: Spilling your water
is a disqualification, Ravah.
Please, child,
come, slake your thirst.
A racer cannot complete the
journey with an empty bowl.
- It was a noble effort, Ravah.
- [CHEERING]
Come, Ravah.
Come.
Ravah.
I thought you were gonna
give me a little competition.
It's over.
TILLY: Come on.
Come on. Up.
Come on.
Up.
Let's go meet the gods together.
[CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUDING]
- [DEVICE CHIRPS]
- BURNHAM: Okay, that wasn't it.
I'm gonna try another isolinear chip.
Sir, maybe we should get
someone with more experience
to help support the captain.
You're the one who wanted
to be on the bridge.
- I know, um, but...
- But nothing.
I wouldn't have agreed if I
thought you couldn't handle it.
You've been second-guessing yourself
since that time bug came on board.
That's not on you.
Understood?
BURNHAM: Got it.
Okay, Ensign, what's next?
Last step, right? Bring it home.
Okay.
Uh, Captain, I need you to bypass
the auxiliary power circuit.
- Bypass?
- Yank it out, Captain.
Come on, come on.
We got lights.
Yes.
Okay, I will have you beaming
into the tower in no time.
Nice work, Ensign.
Tilly, we solved the interference issue.
- Where are you now?
- TILLY: I'm in the temple.
You won the race?
Ravah and I tied. We're both here.
Problem is, I don't see
the clue anywhere.
BURNHAM: Well, we just got
the control panel back on line,
so we'll be able to transport
a team over in just a few minutes.
OHVAHZ: It is time.
Hang on. Ohvahz is speaking.
RAVAH: Don't be sad, Father.
We'll speak to the gods.
We'll bring the rain.
OHVAHZ: And we are
so grateful to you both.
Your sacrifice
will bless Halem'no for
many seasons to come.
Sacrifice?
RAVAH: Take this, Father.
I won't need it to remember
Mother anymore.
Tilly, get out of there now.
Uh, no, uh, Ohvahz.
Wait. Wait. Wait,
wait, wait, wait. Wait.
Ohvahz!
Discovery, can you beam her out?
RAYNER: We can't get a lock, Captain.
Ohvahz!
[RUMBLING, CREAKING]
Discovery, status report.
Have you been able to get
a lock on Lieutenant Tilly?
Nothing's working, Captain.
Something's scrambling my signal.
TILLY: I think I know why.
These walls are solid tritanium.
BURNHAM: Which is too dense
for a transport lock. Damn it.
If it's not one thing, it's
another with this place.
Okay, it looks like you're
in the vacuum chamber.
Chemicals come up that center column
and mix with air and whatnot
from the room above
and get sh*t into the atmosphere
to make it rain.
And seeing that it's a vacuum chamber,
I'm guessing that, in the process,
it sucks all the air out of there.
Makes sense the room's
made of tritanium.
If it weren't, it'd crumple.
Oh, good, at least we won't get smushed.
RAVAH: Who are you speaking to?
Oh, um, just praying to the gods.
That's, that's good. They'll be pleased.
[MECHANICAL CLICKING]
[LOW CLICK]
[QUIETLY]: The air.
No, we need more time. Uh...
The gods are coming.
They'll take our breath and
replace it with their own.
You look frightened, compeer.
- Are you frightened?
- No, I'm not frightened. Um...
I'm sad.
You wouldn't be here
if it weren't for me.
I'm grateful.
I'm going to see the gods.
Come, the serenity wall is here.
We'll pray together, you
won't be frightened anymore.
BURNHAM: Tilly, I'm coming to get you.
Discovery, if you cannot beam her out,
beam me in, as close to
that chamber as possible.
Okay, there's a control
room right next to it.
Sir, I'm picking up
a life sign in there.
BURNHAM: Okay, that has to be Ohvahz.
We have to wait for him to leave.
- No, you beam me in now.
- You'd be revealing yourself
- to a pre-warp civilization.
- I'm aware.
We're gonna have to answer for
the Prime Directive violation.
And we will. We are not
letting them die for no reason.
If the Halem'nites can't
maintain this technology,
they're gonna get wiped
out sooner or later.
Either way, we have to do this.
RAYNER: Aye, Captain. Stand by.
TILLY: These symbols here,
what do they mean?
They're numbers to help us recall
the five serenity prayers.
If we say them, we'll find
peace before we pass.
It's foretold.
I don't see any numbers.
I thought you were a teacher.
I am.
They don't teach Ancient
Halem'nese in the East?
[EXHALES]
One.
Two.
Three.
We're in the third summit.
Four.
- Five.
- TILLY: I've seen this symbol before.
RAVAH: To represent each of
the summits there once were.
The gods destroyed all the others.
But left only ours.
That's why we must sacrifice.
To show them that we are
worthy of their gift.
[CRYING]: I'm sorry, compeer.
Oh.
It's okay to be scared.
I don't want to die.
I only took the Journey to make
my father proud, but now...
Come here.
Yeah, it's okay.
It's okay. Come here.
[SHUSHES]
Maybe the gods will figure out
a way to spare us.
OHVAHZ: I've failed you,
my heart's compeer.
I wanted to forbid our child
from taking the Journey.
But how could I?
How could I be selfish
when all our people suffer
for each other?
What?
You? How did you...
Where did you come from?
I need you to open this door.
You're not really here,
- vision.
- I am here. Listen to me.
You have to open this door.
- Ravah is going to see the gods.
- My friend is in there.
- You feel grief because you are selfish.
- She doesn't want to die
and she doesn't need to die.
- Ravah doesn't need to die.
- [MUTTERS]
- Your people need you to be stronger.
- Ohvahz, Ohvahz,
we are standing inside of a machine.
This is a piece of technology.
Technology?
It was placed here hundreds
of years ago by an alien race.
The sacrifices don't bring the rain.
Okay? Technology does.
No.
No, you imagine what you wish to hear,
but you have a duty.
Please deliver me from...
- Deliver me.
- [THUMPING]
Tilly,
are you hearing all this?
I... I am.
But we're running out of air.
BURNHAM: I'm gonna get you
out of there, okay?
I need you to talk to Ravah
and see if they can
help me reach Ohvahz.
Ravah.
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
TILLY: Do you remember your mother?
- RAVAH: I do.
- What do you remember about her?
There was a song to help me sleep.
They sang it together.
We were once together.
Will you teach it to me?
I'll sing it to you
while you fall asleep.
I don't remember the words.
Only the tune.
Yeah, the tune's enough.
[HUMMING]
[RAVAH HUMMING OVER COMM]
[HUMMING]
[OHVAHZ SHUDDERING]
How do you know that song?
I can hear them from the other room.
My technology lets me do that, too.
I don't understand.
Ravah remembers their mother
singing that song
so many years ago.
They are dying, Ohvahz.
They don't want to die.
[GASPS]
Are you a god?
No, I am not.
I am a person from really far away.
Almost as far away as those
who put the technology here.
And I want to help you.
I am here to help you save your child
and my friend from dying
a needless death.
I-I don't know what to do.
Ohvahz, I am not a god,
but I don't know, maybe
I was sent here by one.
Hear me when I tell you,
the rains will come
whether or not Ravah dies.
Trust me.
Please let them live.
[MECHANICAL CLICKING]
[WIND GUSTING]
[BURNHAM PANTING]
Tilly?
- Tilly?
- Ravah?
[WEAKLY]: They're not breathing.
Please, Ravah. They're not breathing!
[METALLIC TRILLING]
BURNHAM: Here. My team can save them.
My team can save Ravah.
They can save them.
Come on, let them work.
♪ ♪
OHVAHZ: This...
- this is Halem'no?
- BURNHAM: This is what it looks like
from our ship.
It's... more beautiful than
I could have imagined.
You said that an alien race
gave us the High Summit
to save us from the dust storms.
Why?
The Denobulans,
they value one another greatly,
just as you do here.
They come from a world, uh,
much like your own.
Massive storms.
And they built weather towers
to keep them at bay.
I suppose, in their travels,
they felt a connection to you
and wanted to help.
You should know that the tower, the...
the High Summit, is failing.
We fixed it for now,
but it will stop working eventually
if it isn't maintained.
We can show you how.
Thank you, but does all this mean...
Are there no gods?
Are there...
What is there?
There is still what you believe.
Nothing we have shown you
means gods don't exist.
Or that the Journey of the
Mother Compeer didn't happen.
It's just that now you know
that there is also us.
What do I say to my people?
The sacrifices unite us.
They help us see our common purpose.
I fear how my people will react
if we take this away so suddenly.
In the past, attempts
to stop the sacrifices
have been met with
v*olence and upheaval.
You are wise to consider that.
But there are those among you
who seem ready
to move beyond the sacrifices.
The woman you healed. Anorah.
She finds order in your people's
commitment to one another.
She told me the sacrifices
aren't necessary
to bring one closer to the gods.
Maybe others are ready
to understand that, too.
Beliefs can evolve.
Denying that can cause almost as
much chaos as the worst storm.
Ravah will wake soon.
And given the circumstances,
I believe they should see
their father when they do.
- Did we do a good thing?
- Mm...
And you're alive. That's
a really good thing.
You know how much paperwork
I'd have to fill out
for losing a perfectly good
Starfleet officer?
In addition to the paperwork
you're already gonna
have to fill out for breaking
the Prime Directive, so...
Oh, gosh. Okay.
I'm about to make you even
happier that you saved me.
Any of this look familiar?
Perhaps you recognize this
from a certain vial containing
a drop of pure distilled water?
BURNHAM: Yes. The scratches on the side.
What are these?
They're numbers in ancient Halem'nese.
One for each of the five towers.
We are in the third tower.
[GASPS] The vial had the same mark,
so the clue is in tower five.
- [LAUGHS]
- RAVAH: Father?
Are you with the gods as well?
No, my child.
We defied them?
- No.
- The rains won't come.
Listen.
Perhaps devotion means...
being able to hear when the gods
tell us something new.
I'm very proud of you, Ravah.
You're so full of light,
courage and song, just like your mother.
[SIGHS]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
The rains. They've come.
[RAIN FALLING]
[RAVAH CHUCKLING]
♪ ♪
- [SOUND OF WEAPONS f*ring]
- BOOK: Oh, cheeky, aren't we?
Hmm, watch it now.
CULBER: Zora said you were here.
And I see you found a distraction.
BOOK: Next best thing.
Why not the holodeck simulator?
I can always tell it's not a real ship.
- You brought food?
- I thought you'd be hungry.
My grandmother's
mofongo con pollo al ajillo.
Replicator fresh.
- Ah. Thank you.
- Welcome.
BOOK: Smells amazing.
Mmm.
- Mmm.
- CULBER: So, you asked me earlier
if I get tired of having
all the answers.
- I meant it as a joke.
- I know, it's just...
I don't, is the thing.
- What's going on?
- I'm having a, uh...
... spiritual awakening.
Or maybe I'm just seeing a truth
I've always known, but...
Ever since zhian'tara,
nothing else explains it.
It sounds kind of wonderful.
I told Paul.
I don't think he really understood.
I don't know that he ever will.
So?
Well, he's my partner.
It's an odd quirk, really,
this human tendency to consider
something less meaningful
if it's just for yourself.
I remember Michael dealing with it,
even though, deep down,
that feeling of being alone
was the oldest and closest
friend she ever had.
But still, you know, it's
what made me love her.
You miss her.
I see her every day.
But you miss what you had.
You think you can get it back?
One answer at a time, Doc.
BURNHAM: Courtesy of tower number five.
[BURNHAM AND TILLY CHUCKLE]
It had a metal card attached
with some kind of
Betazoid text inscription.
Stamets is analyzing it so
we can see where to go next.
What do you think Dr. Kreel
was trying to tell us,
hiding the clue there?
Well, he couldn't have known
that leaving behind
a weather tower would
lead the Halem'nites
to sacrificing one another.
It is a massive
responsibility, technology.
Maybe that's the real message.
When we find the
Progenitors' creation...
... we need to be so careful.
- [COMM CHIMES]
- CHRISTOPHER: Excuse me, Captain?
Go ahead, Lieutenant Christopher.
We just got a message from Fed HQ.
The USS Locherer
just found Moll and L'ak.
Admiral Vance requests that we jump
to their location immediately.
Okay, lock in coordinates.
- Let's not make them wait.
- TILLY: Mm-mm.
[HALEM'NITES WHISTLING]