STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
SEASON 4, EPISODE 12
SEASON 4, EPISODE 12
Species Ten-C
Series: Star Trek: Discovery - (2017 - 2024)Season: 4
Episode #: 12
Original Airdate: March 10th, 2022
Writer(s): Kyle Jarrow
Director(s): Olatunde Osunsanmi
Guest Stars
Tig Notaro as Cmdr. Jett Reno
Shawn Doyle as Dr. Ruon Tarka
Chelah Horsdal as President Laira Rillak
Tara Rosling as President T'Rina
Annabelle Wallis as Zora
Hiro Kanagawa as Dr. Hirai
Phumzile Sitole as General Diatta Ndoye
Co-Stars
Emily Coutts as Lt. Cmdr. Keyla Detmer
Patrick Kwok-Choon as Lt. Cmdr. Gen Rhys
Oyin Oladejo as Lt. Cmdr. Joann Owosekun
Sara Mitich as Lt. Cmdr. Nilsson
Orville Cummings as Lt. Christopher
David Benjamin Tomlinson as Ltjg. Linus
Jahkeil Goldson as a Discovery Science Officer
Fabio Tassone as the Voice of Book's Ship Computer
Uncredited Guest Stars
Jayne Dineo as a Discovery Sciences Crewmember
Andrea Gallo as a Discovery Sciences Crewmember
Pamela Mars as a Discovery Bridge Crewmember
Shelley Owens as a Discovery Medical Crewmember
Leeu as Grudge
Stardate: Unknown
Synopsis
Equipped with knowledge about the emotion-laden hydrocarbons they found on Species 10-C’s decimated home world, the U.S.S. Discovery-A’s crew approaches the Dark Matter Anomaly (DMA) creators’ new refuge, a massive, Dyson Sphere-like hyperfield measuring approximately 1.5 Astronomical Units in size. Less than 15 hours are left before the DMA begins wreaking havoc on United Earth and Ni’Var, and all hails have gone unanswered. Captain Burnham enacts the First Contact team’s contingency plan: dispatching DOTs equipped with the “peaceful” hydrocarbon to apply the chemical compound to the hyperfield’s surface. The barrier reacts and reaches out with a liquified appendage, first absorbing the DOTs and then swallowing Discovery itself.
Now in the hyperfield and trapped within some type of orb, Discovery deals with critical systems failures and detects a solar system consisting of three identical gas giants, information which corroborates Burnham’s theory that the former gas giant they visited earlier used to be the 10-C’s home. Unable to resist the orb’s pull, Discovery is brought to one of the planets and is surrounded by a large number of unseen lifeforms.
Unbeknownst to the Discovery’s crew, Book’s ship remains under cloak and attached to the Federation vessel’s hull. Having recruited General Diatta Ndoye to slip them intel and “accidentally” kidnapping Jett Reno in the process, Cleveland “Book” Booker” and Ruon Tarka plot their strategy to turn off the DMA’s power source. Reno’s love of snacks (particularly black licorice) gives the engineer the strength to notice an inconsistency in Tarka’s calculations.
Despite Book and Tarka’s efforts to conceal themselves, Zora feels that something is “off” with her sensors and consults with Doctor Culber. The ship’s physician pushes aside concerns for his own well-being, opting to talk with Zora as they play a Trill game that Gray had employed to calm the supercomputer’s overwhelming emotions in the past.![]()
[ Screencap Index ]
Back on Book’s ship, Reno chats privately with the courier, who fulfills a promise he made to Michael a year earlier by explaining the origin of his moniker, Cleveland Booker. The name was passed down through generations of trusted couriers, and this Book became the fifth person to bear the name when his mentor retired. Reno cites her experience caring for a wounded patient back on the U.S.S. Hiawatha during the Klingon War. Believing she tried to save the crewman because he reminded her of her deceased wife, Reno recognizes the same desperate devotion emanating from Tarka.
Still attempting to initiate a discussion with the 10-C, the First Contact team offers them a small supply of boronite, the same substance mined by the DMA, as a gift. This effort prompts a member of Species 10-C to emerge from the planet’s gaseous layers near the shuttlebay. The massive lifeform lurks in the clouds, emitting organic molecules composed of hydrocarbons and displaying a pattern of lights. As Doctor Hirai and Zora try to make sense of the correspondence, Ndoye covertly briefs Book and Tarka. The Risan scientist requests Ndoye’s help: he needs her to hack one of Discovery’s nacelles and release a plasma stream that will open a hole in the orb and allow Book’s ship to head for the DMA’s power source. Ndoye reluctantly agrees, demonstrating that her faith in Michael has begun to dim.
With assistance from the bridge crew, the First Contact group compares the hydrocarbon compounds to music, theorizing that each one is a symbol or a word. Since the molecules are composed of the hydrocarbons, they must be entire messages. The team realizes that the 10-C’s light pattern indicates the order in which the hydrocarbons should be read. Cooperating in a manner that would make the Federation’s founders proud, they deduce that the 10-C are trying to teach them a mathematical language to bridge the disconnect between their species.
Meanwhile, Reno reveals her suspicions about Tarka’s calculations to Book. Pulling the power source while the DMA is operating will cause the hyperfield to implode, wiping out the 10-C. Additionally, a subspace rift would form in the DMA’s current location and result in cataclysmic damage to Earth. Book confronts Tarka, who argues that Earth will have time to evacuate. Tarka imprisons Book alongside Reno and admits that other than Oros, the courier is the only real friend he’s ever had.
In the shuttlebay, a rudimentary method of communication prevails. President Rillak, Burnham, Saru, and T’Rina enter a small orb sent over by the 10-C, finding a recreation of Discovery’s bridge inside. They manage to convey that the DMA brings them terror, to which the 10-C express great sadness. Just as mutual empathy is reached, Tarka initiates his plan and speeds off toward the power source in Book’s ship. Utilizing a communicator chip, she had stashed in her sleeve, Reno hails Discovery and informs them of the destruction that Tarka’s efforts would cause for both the 10-C and Earth.
Trailer
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