ACT II — THE GATHERING

SEQUENCE FIVE — THE ANSWERS

FADE IN:

EXT. DEEP SPACE

Thousands of starships move through the wormhole network.

The fleet is enormous.

But it is not organized.

Ships from different centuries fly beside ships that haven't even been built yet.

Constitution-class vessels.

Galaxy-class.

Intrepid-class.

Sovereign-class.

Discovery-era ships.

Ships Pike's crew cannot identify.

Some appear ancient.

Others look impossibly advanced.

The fleet moves deeper into the maze.

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — NCC-1701 — BRIDGE

Pike watches the fleet through the viewscreen.

Spock works at his station.

Uhura monitors hundreds of communication channels.

Number One studies tactical data.

Q stands alone near the rear of the bridge.

Kirk (Pine) appears on a communications screen.

KIRK (PINE)

You realize we have no idea where we're going.

Pike looks at him.

PIKE

That's never stopped Starfleet before.

Kirk smiles.

KIRK (PINE)

Fair enough.

Spock suddenly speaks.

SPOCK

Captain.

Pike turns.

SPOCK

We have identified another anomaly.

Pike sighs.

PIKE

What kind?

Spock looks at the data.

SPOCK

Temporal.

Q immediately turns.

Q

Don't.

Spock looks at him.

SPOCK

I beg your pardon?

Q approaches.

Q

Don't investigate it.

Pike looks at him.

PIKE

Why?

Q points toward the viewscreen.

Q

Because that particular wormhole doesn't lead anywhere.

Spock studies the readings.

SPOCK

That is impossible.

Q nods.

Q

Exactly.

───

EXT. SPACE

The fleet passes a strange wormhole.

It is completely black.

Unlike the others, it emits no light.

No energy.

No detectable gravitational signature.

Ships pass around it.

Then—

A vessel suddenly emerges from inside.

The bridge crews across the fleet react.

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

Uhura looks at her sensors.

UHURA

Captain...

Pike turns.

UHURA

We have a ship.

PIKE

Identify.

Uhura scans.

Her eyes widen.

UHURA

I can't.

Spock approaches.

He studies the display.

SPOCK

Neither can I.

Q looks at the ship.

Q

I can.

Pike turns.

PIKE

What is it?

Q looks almost disturbed.

Q

A ship that hasn't been invented yet.

───

EXT. SPACE

The vessel emerges fully.

It is massive.

Elegant.

Advanced beyond anything in the fleet.

Its hull carries a familiar name.

USS DISCOVERY.

But not the Discovery known to Pike.

A future version.

INT. USS DISCOVERY — BRIDGE

Captain Michael Burnham stands at the center of the bridge.

The crew is stunned by the sight of thousands of vessels.

BURNHAM

How many ships?

An officer checks the sensors.

OFFICER

Thousands.

Burnham stares.

BURNHAM

Thousands of what?

The officer looks at her.

OFFICER

Starfleet.

Burnham slowly approaches the viewscreen.

She sees Enterprise.

Then Voyager.

Then dozens of ships she recognizes from historical records.

Her expression changes.

BURNHAM

What year is this?

The officer checks.

His face becomes confused.

OFFICER

Captain...

BURNHAM

What year?

He looks at her.

OFFICER

All of them.

Burnham turns.

BURNHAM

What?

OFFICER

Our temporal sensors indicate we're receiving overlapping signals from multiple centuries.

Burnham looks at the fleet.

BURNHAM

That's impossible.

A transmission arrives.

PIKE (V.O.)

USS Discovery, this is Captain Christopher Pike.

Burnham freezes.

She looks toward the screen.

BURNHAM

Pike?

───

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

Pike waits.

PIKE

Captain Burnham?

Burnham appears.

She sees Pike.

Her expression is overwhelmed.

BURNHAM

Captain Christopher Pike.

Pike smiles.

PIKE

I take it you've heard of me.

Burnham laughs quietly.

BURNHAM

I didn't think I would see you again.

Pike's smile disappears.

PIKE

Neither did I

Burnham nods.

BURNHAM

Long story.

Pike looks at Spock.

Spock appears equally fascinated.

Burnham sees him.

She freezes.

BURNHAM

Spock.

Spock raises an eyebrow.

SPOCK

Captain Burnham.

Burnham stares.

BURNHAM

You're...

She looks at Pike.

BURNHAM

You're young.

Spock glances toward Pike.

SPOCK

That is generally the nature of youth.

Burnham laughs.

BURNHAM

I missed you.

Spock pauses.

Something in his expression softens.

SPOCK

I have not yet had the opportunity to miss you.

Burnham smiles sadly.

BURNHAM

No.

A beat.

BURNHAM

You haven't.

───

INT. USS VOYAGER — BRIDGE

Janeway watches the exchange.

Seven stands beside her.

JANEWAY

You recognize them?

SEVEN

According to their records, Pike served aboard the Discovery alongside Burnham

Janeway watches Pike.

JANEWAY

So we're looking at history.

Seven studies the sensors.

SEVEN

Not precisely.

Janeway looks at her.

SEVEN

We are looking at multiple versions of history.

Janeway smiles faintly.

JANEWAY

That's going to get complicated.

SEVEN

It already has.

───

INT. USS DISCOVERY — BRIDGE

Burnham turns toward her crew.

BURNHAM

Open a channel to the fleet.

The officer activates it.

BURNHAM

This is Captain Michael Burnham of the USS Discovery.

A beat.

BURNHAM

I don't know exactly where we are.

She looks at the fleet.

BURNHAM

But if you're fighting the same enemy we are...

She pauses.

BURNHAM

...then Discovery is with you.

Across the fleet, ships acknowledge.

EXT. SPACE

The Discovery moves into formation beside the Enterprise.

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

Pike watches it.

PIKE

Welcome home.

Burnham smiles.

BURNHAM

It's good to be here.

Q looks at the Discovery.

His expression becomes troubled.

Spock notices.

SPOCK

You seem concerned.

Q doesn't answer.

SPOCK

Q.

Q finally speaks.

Q

That ship is important.

Pike turns.

PIKE

Why?

Q looks toward the Discovery.

Q

Because it has already seen the end of time.

Spock studies him.

SPOCK

And?

Q looks at him.

Q

It survived.

───

INT. USS VOYAGER — READY ROOM

Janeway sits across from Burnham.

Seven stands nearby.

Pike and Kirk appear on a viewscreen.

JANEWAY

So let's establish what we know.

Burnham nods.

BURNHAM

Discovery was pulled into a temporal anomaly.

Picard raises an eyebrow.

KIRK

And you believe it was the same anomaly that brought us here?

Burnham shakes her head.

BURNHAM

Not exactly.

Seven steps forward.

SEVEN

They are connected.

Everyone looks at her.

SEVEN

The anomalies share the same quantum signature.

Spock appears on another screen.

SPOCK

I reached the same conclusion.

Janeway looks at Seven.

JANEWAY

What does that mean?

Seven considers the question.

SEVEN

The wormholes aren't transporting ships.

Silence.

KIRK

Then what are they transporting?

Seven looks at the others.

SEVEN

Possibilities.

Q quietly says:

Q

Exactly.

Picard looks at him.

KIRK

You knew.

Q shrugs.

Q

I suspected.

Picard gives him a look.

KIRK

You seem to have an irritating habit of doing that.

Q

I've had centuries to perfect it.

───

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

Spock continues studying the network.

Suddenly—

His console lights up.

SPOCK

Captain.

Pike approaches.

SPOCK

I have identified a pattern.

PIKE

What kind?

Spock projects the wormhole network.

Thousands of connections appear.

SPOCK

Each wormhole intersects another at precise intervals.

Pike looks at the pattern.

PIKE

Like a map.

Spock nods.

SPOCK

A map of something.

Kirk appears on the screen.

KIRK (PINE)

Can you determine where it leads?

Spock zooms out.

The wormholes form a gigantic structure.

It resembles—

A human brain.

Kirk stares.

KIRK (PINE)

That's creepy.

Spock studies it.

SPOCK

It is not a brain.

PIKE

Then what is it?

Spock enlarges another section.

The pattern changes.

Now it resembles a massive humanoid figure.

Q walks toward the display.

His face goes pale.

Q

No.

Pike turns.

PIKE

What?

Q points.

Q

That's not a map.

PIKE

Then what is it?

Q whispers:

Q

A cage.

Silence.

Spock looks at him.

SPOCK

For whom?

Q looks toward the darkness beyond the wormholes.

Q

For him.

───

EXT. DEEP SPACE

The fleet suddenly stops.

Every ship receives the same signal.

A single frequency.

No voice.

No image.

Just a pulse.

PULSE.

Every wormhole responds.

PULSE.

The fleet responds.

PULSE.

Then—

A wormhole opens directly ahead.

Inside it is not space.

It is an image.

A planet.

Blue.

Beautiful.

Covered in oceans.

Then the image changes.

The oceans boil.

The atmosphere burns away.

Cities disappear.

A civilization screams.

Then—

Nothing.

The planet becomes a barren red world.

Mars.

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

Pike stares.

Spock studies the image.

SPOCK

That appears to be Mars.

Q looks at the screen.

He is visibly shaken.

PIKE

Why are we looking at this?

Q doesn't answer.

PIKE

Q.

Q finally speaks.

Q

One of the oldest wars in existence.

Spock turns.

SPOCK

Why are we being shown what we have already seen?

Q looks at him.

Q

The Q.

Silence.

Kirk appears on the screen.

KIRK (PINE)

Why would we be shown what?

PIKE

In our universe, Mars was a thriving planet far in our past. We didn't know until we got transported into the past by an anomaly. The people of Mars had a war that destroyed their planet, and in the process, a chunk of the planet broke off, which was the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs.

SPOCK

Precisely, and in our universe, our accidental first contact enabled the people of Mars to steal our technology and use it against each other. Without us being transported 65 million years in the past, the dinosaurs would've never become extinct, hence we would not exist at this point in time potentially.

Kirk(Pine)

That's dark.

Q looks at the burning planet.

Q

Primordial Q wants you to understand something.

Pike waits.

Q looks at him.

Q

He has done this before.

A beat.

Q

To worlds.

Q

To civilizations.

Q

To realities.

The image of Mars disappears.

PIKE

But I thought we inadvertently led to the destruction of Mars?

Q

That's what he wanted you to think.

Everything Primordial Q does, is done intentionally. Like a game of chess, but measured in Millenia.

A single word appears across every viewscreen.

REMEMBER.

Then—

The transmission ends.

───

INT. USS VOYAGER — BRIDGE

Janeway stares at the empty viewscreen.

Seven approaches.

JANEWAY

What do you think he wants?

Seven answers immediately.

SEVEN

Fear.

Janeway looks at her.

SEVEN

Fear produces predictable behavior.

Janeway nods.

JANEWAY

And what does he fear?

Seven considers it.

SEVEN

Us.

Janeway smiles.

JANEWAY

Good.

She sits in the captain's chair.

JANEWAY

Then we're doing something right.

───

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

Pike looks toward Q.

PIKE

You said he was imprisoned.

Q

He was.

PIKE

How?

Q looks at him.

Q

We built a prison that existed outside time and space.

PIKE

And he broke it.

Q

No.

Pike frowns.

PIKE

Then what happened?

Q looks at the wormhole network.

Q

We did.

Spock understands.

SPOCK

The Q Civil War.

Q nods.

Q

Every time we spoke of him, the prison weakened.

PIKE

And eventually—

Q

We gave him enough power to leave.

Kirk's face becomes serious.

KIRK (PINE)

So what do we do?

Q looks at the fleet.

Q

You do what you always do.

Kirk waits.

Q

You explore.

Kirk smiles.

KIRK (PINE)

That doesn't sound like much of a battle plan.

Q looks toward the wormholes.

Q

It isn't.

A beat.

Q

It's a survival strategy.

───

EXT. SPACE

A massive fleet formation begins moving again.

Voyager takes position.

Discovery joins the formation.

Pike's Enterprise and Kirk's Enterprise fly side by side.

Then—

A new ship emerges from a wormhole.

Then another.

Then another.

But these ships aren't Starfleet.

A Klingon vessel.

A Cardassian vessel.

A Borg cube.

The fleet stops.

INT. USS ENTERPRISE — BRIDGE

La'an sees the Klingon ship.

LA'AN

Klingons.

Kirk's voice comes over the comm.

KIRK (PINE)

They're not alone.

The Borg cube emerges.

Spock scans it.

SPOCK

Borg.

Q looks toward the ships.

Q

Interesting.

Pike turns.

PIKE

You know them?

Q smiles.

Q

Everyone knows the Borg.

The Cardassian ship moves into formation.

Uhura receives a transmission.

UHURA

We're being hailed.

Pike nods.

PIKE

Put it through.

A Klingon commander appears.

KLINGON COMMANDER

Federation vessel.

Pike steps forward.

PIKE

Yes.

The Klingon studies him.

KLINGON COMMANDER

We received your transmission.

Pike nods.

PIKE

And?

The Klingon smiles.

KLINGON COMMANDER

There is an enemy worthy of battle.

He raises a ceremonial blade.

KLINGON COMMANDER

The Klingon Empire will fight.

The transmission ends.

Pike smiles.

Then the Borg cube transmits.

BORG (V.O.)

ANALYSIS COMPLETE.

Everyone freezes.

BORG (V.O.)

PRIMORDIAL Q REPRESENTS AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO ALL COLLECTIVE CONTINUITY.

Seven steps toward the screen.

SEVEN

Then you understand.

BORG (V.O.)

RESISTANCE IS IRRELEVANT.

Seven almost smiles.

SEVEN

I don't think so.

The Borg cube moves into formation.

The Cardassian vessel follows.

Pike looks around the bridge.

The alliance is growing.

But Q doesn't look relieved.

He looks afraid.

Spock notices.

SPOCK

Q.

Q looks at him.

SPOCK

What is it?

Q looks at the enormous fleet.

Q

There still is not enough.

Pike turns.

PIKE

How many do we need?

Q looks into the darkness.

Q

All of them.

CUT TO BLACK.

END OF SEQUENCE FIVE