I was just about to start writing, when I noticed this. Thank you, Dave.
Deuterium Refinery. It's amazing to think that the StarFleet is forward-thinking, and they'll harvest starship fuel wherever they can get to it easily. But to rob it from a star factory. How did they determine that they are not affecting the development of the new worlds?
The last time ST visited a nebula, Picard and Titan's crew had a really hard time, especially with lifeforms using the nebula as a birth placing. What they also showed was that it's not an easy place, because it's full of radiation and radio frequencies from newborn stars burning through the gas clouds as they gather mass and form planetary forming disks.
In the other words, it's a very violent place that amazingly produces life at the end when the settings are right. Stealing deuterium has consequences in the long run. But by then, when it's needed, StarFleet and Feds are long gone.
It was interesting that Number One called the Captain as the fleet-captain. That thing usually falls in the premise of an admiral. According to Pike, "Starfleet is behind," in building that thing, especially as "the previous superintendent got shipped back to Earth." So the plan was to send in the XO, er, Number One to do some, "managerial fervor."
Doing the task, Pele approached her and suggested that there are some underlying issues, which XO just swept under the rug. What does an immortal antique dealer know about engineering anyway?
Maybe it's her intuition, but she didn't get to teach in the Academy for just giggles.
The doc assumed that Uhura was hallucinating for hearing the signal nobody else could hear. The thing about those is that it's usually a telepathic connection, where one chooses are receiver person to communicate, according to the contactee tales. Another thing is that telepathic messages don't need a language. It can be images, sounds etc.
For Uhura it would be a very helpful tool, as telepathy is just another language that ultimately she can translate to anything.
In the night, after doc ordered her to rest, she received a vision that had a burning cloud. A life form in the other words.
Kirk's. What could possible go wrong when there's two of them on board the Enterprise? If that ship would have a mouth, it would be twisted in a scream. Especially as their ship tour ended in a bar. One that was totally missing from TOS, but it is a such a pleasent place because it gives so much drama.
Jimmy suggested to Sam to go extravagant in his is xenoarheology business. Maybe he wanted Sam to get a fedora, leather jacket and a bullwhip, instead of understanding that the evidence gathering is a slow business and the great results takes time.
Um, Mr Spock that is unimpressed face. Why would you bonk someone and then worry about the fraternization rules, because if it comes out in the light, the mistake has already been done. So he should have done it before he dipped the sausage in nurse's pie. And that was the nurses opinion as well, before Uhura interrupted the couple and told Spock she wasn't doing acid.
That what she felt was real. The Vulcan didn't even consider the idea, and Chapel was in the same boat. It drove the com officer in the bar, where Jimmy was waiting. I loved that his opening line was mocking Spock's chess game, which makes it more believable as James Kirk is even greater strategic mind than Picard.
Uhura ended smashing his nose, while Jim commented, "You seemed to be so pleasant." And then he revealed to be the one who believed the com officer as he suggested Uhura wasn't hallucinating. Funniest thing that they ended in Uhura's quarters, instead of sickbay because Jimmy didn't want to cause any problems.
He ended up a believer that something was going on and help her to solve the case. He left the girl with her medical records and then coming back when Pele's team found a saboteur on board of the refinery. One that they took in the sickbay, before another telepathic connection formed and the saboteur attacked Pike and the crew.
Uhura joined the hunt with Jimmy and ended up being the one that hunted the guy down before he blew up the port nacelle. Pike didn't want to lock in her quarters and then she walked away to only pass Jimmy waiting Uhuru.
Then La'An walked up to James and told him exactly what he's like on rescuing damsel's in distress. James couldn't, wouldn't even try to deny it. It ended up being the one thing when Uhura confessed to him her biggest fear.
While Jimmy went to get a comfort cookie, Uhura finally figured out the telepathic connection. Well almost. Because instead of captain's ready room, he ended in Sam's lab to confirm her theory. It was the refinery that was killing the interdimensional beings. And the only way they could communicate was through visions.
That the StarFleet was torturing them by pulling in the gasses and using them as fuel. Uhura suggested to Pike that they destroy the station and free the creatures, even if they couldn't detect life signs.
Interesting eh?
Good episode, even if it got 7.5 in IMDB.
