Ad Astra Per Aspera

Stardate 2393.8: Venturing into Illyrian space on his own time, Captain Pike demands to see civil rights attorney Neera Ketoul, an Illyrian herself and a childhood friend of Number One. He pushes for her to take his first officer’s case, not just for her, but for all Illyrians trying to overcome Federation prejudice. Neera’s defense begins somewhat inauspiciously by grilling Admiral April on the witness stand, but over time she reminds the judges that at one point, many prejudices now thought of as archaic were, in fact, enshrined in the law. But one troubling question weighs on both Neera and on La’an, who can’t seem to find the answer: who turned Number One in to Starfleet, revealing that she was an Illyrian and not human?

written by Dana Horgan
directed by Valerie Weiss
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo

Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’an Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Yetide Badaki (Neera Ketoul), Adrian Holmes (Admiral Robert April), Melanie Scrofano (Captain Batel), Jim Annan (Una’s Father), Anna Claire Beitel (young Una), Catherine Black (Una’s Mother), Eugene Clark (Vulcan Judge), Nicky Guadagni (Admiral Javas), Beth Hornby (Guard), Alex Kapp (U.S.S. Enterprise Computer), Graeme Somerville (Vice Admiral Pasalk), Iain Stewart (JAG Defender), David Benjamin Tomlinson (Tellarite Judge), Kimberly-Ann Truong (Illyrian Assistant)

Notes: Many visual conventions of classic Star Trek courtroom episodes (The Menagerie Part I and II, Court-Martial) are maintained here, from Starfleet dress uniforms to the hand sensor (presumably some means of detecting truthful or non-truthful answers). Una’s fondness for Gilbert & Sullivan – and Spock’s discovery of this – was revealed in the Short Treks episode Q&A (2019). Pike’s visit to the Vaultera Nebula is concurrent with the events of the previous episode, The Broken Circle.