![Star Trek: Lower Decks](https://tv-fanatic-res.cloudinary.com/iu/s--dsKPOyu1--/c_fill,h_315,w_851/d_tv-fanatic-placeholder-square.png,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_75/v1596618109/banner/star-trek-lower-decks.jpg)
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Thursdays on Paramount+Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 Episode 1
Grounded
Recap
FNN (Federation News Network) reports on Freeman’s trial. Beckett breaks the screen in rage. Her father admonishes that she could just turn it off as she’s destroyed all his screens at this point.
News Ticker: “Admiral Jellico bans Zebulon Sisters from active duty starships. Buffalo Solar Knights ‘eclipse’ London Kings in game 1 of ELDS. Six year-old Zakdorn youngest to be crowned Stratagema Grandmaster. Country Stampede: dozen teens injured rushing stage at Sonny Osmonds concert.”
The news also reports a swarm of incandescent Verugament will be illuminating Earth as they pass by through the upper atmosphere.
Admiral Mariner cautions Beckett that she needs to be patient and trust in the system.
News comes from Admiral Buenomigo that the judge assigned to Freeman’s trial is a tough one. Beckett is determined to get her mother out of the trial. Her father continues to advocate for trusting the system. Beckett storms out, breaking things on her way.
Beckett finds Boimler in his family’s vineyard, harvesting grapes for raisins. He is eager to get away. He is oblivious to all the young attractive female harvesters who keep throwing themselves at him.
Boiler reveals he has his own set of ship’s logs that might be able to exonerate Freeman. In order to get them, they’ll need to find out which dry dock the Cerritos is being kept at. They realize Rutherford will know.
Rutherford and Tendi are having dinner at Sisko’s Creole Kitchen when Mariner and Boimler find them.
They are planning touristy things to do while grounded. The plan is to visit Historical Bozeman, where Zephram Cochrane’s first warp flight.
Rutherford knows where the Cerritos is but they’ll need an encrypted transporter to get to the dry dock.
They go to the Transporter Facility to use the transporter, intending to subdue and restrain the Transporter Chief who ends up being a elderly gentleman, Chief Carlton Dennis (call me Denny), who pulls a phaser on them but relents when they all start crying.
Unfortunately, the swarm of incandescent Verugament means the transporters won’t work.
Denny mentions that if they’d gone to Historical Bozeman as planned, they could’ve ridden the replica Phoenix right into orbit.
Mariner has Denny beam them to Montana.
On board the Phoenix replica, they are joined by a genuine tourist, Gavin, who is having some anxiety about the flight.
Once they reach the dry dock, Gavin decides he’s going to go joy-riding in the ship. The team leaves him to it.
Boimler finds his logs but Mariner realizes that they’re too casual and inadmissible in court.
Mariner despairs while the others try to convince her to trust Starfleet. Mariner seems to buy it.
She leaves them getting the shuttle ready for launch and sends them off on autopilot so she can steal the Cerritos and find evidence to save her mother. She doesn’t want the others getting in trouble by going with her.
Boimler reprograms the definition of home and has the shuttle take them back to the Cerritos.
They crash into the shuttle bay and head to the bridge where they try to stop Mariner and she fights back. Meanwhile, the Cerritos is leaving dry dock and the security guys trigger the alarm.
Rutherford manages to lock the controls and Mariner breaks down, admitting how scared she is.
Security hails them. While they try to think of a way out, Tendi notices the Verugament are landing on the hull of the ship and using the carbon to start a reproductive event. All over the ship.
When security boards, they find the team transferring gametes while being electrocuted by waving tentacles. They accept the scientific data explanation but require a commanding officer’s name for authorization.
At the last moment, Captain Freeman comes in and authorizes the mission.
She explains that the trial exonerated her as Starfleet had investigated (led by Captain Morgan Bateson and assisted by Commander Tuvok) and found that it was the Pakleds who caused their own planet’s annihilation in hopes they’d be relocated by the Federation to a better planet.
Mariner is surprised by Starfleet’s success in finding out the truth. Her father reminds her that he had told her from the start to trust in the system.
While the other three are ordered to start cleaning up the Verugaments mess, Beckett is taken to her mother’s office. In the office, Freeman and Admiral Mariner discuss Beckett’s issues. Freeman finally decides to put Ransom in charge of Mariner while she serves on board the Cerritos. If she steps out of line, he’ll kick her out of Starfleet for good.
While cleaning the shuttle bay, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford turn on the news and catch a story about Gavin being rescued from his Phoenix replica near the moons of Jupiter.
- Show:
- Star Trek: Lower Decks
- Season:
- Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3
- Episode Number:
- 1