Star Trek Strange New Worlds Season 4 Reaction: Episode 8

 Star Trek Strange New Worlds
Season 4 Reaction: Episode 8

Orders of Magnitude

James Kirk visits the Enterprise.  He gets a checkup from Dr. M'Benga while Pike and an away team beam down to a planet to investigate a distress signal.  Pike, Uhura, Una, A'sha and Chapel enter some caves and lose contact with the ship.  Meanwhile a shuttle with Admiral Simon Reeger rendezvous with the Enterprise.  As a captain Reeger commanded the USS Constellation during the Klingon war.  Meeting with the senior staff Reeger gives the crew a mission to investigate the attack on a Federation base.  Kirk as the ranking officer aboard is made first officer under Reeger.  Following a gamma ray trail the Enterprise leaves orbit to pursue the attacker.  In the ready room Kirk and Reeger have a tense talk, Kirk's father George was XO under Reeger during the war.  Reeger says that George Kirk was not a combat capable officer and was afraid of command, but that Jim Kirk is not afraid.  Jim is take aback by this.  On the planet the away team finds Federation weapon s and tech-it's a trap.  After a fire-fight they get captured by Andorian mercenaries.  Jim talks to Sam about their dad.  On the bridge Spock reports that they are approaching Argus II.  The admiral orders a torpedo jettisoned to disable the enemy ship.  La'an fires the torpedo, disabling the ship.  Kirk continues to butt heads with the admiral over the direction of the mission.  The orders General Order 24 on Argus II, destroying the entire surface of the planet.  Kirk argues against General Order 24 in a terse exchange with the Admiral.  Kirk goes to sickbay to talk to M'Benga to ask if Reeger could be relieved for implementing General Order 24.  Kirk has decisions to make.  On the planet Pike tries to negotiate with their captors, a group of Andorians.  The leader stabs A'sha with a poisoned crystal shard.  On the Enterprise bridge the crew prepares to fire on the planet.  The admiral orders warp power routed to the phasers.  Kirk talks with Scotty about the damage that the phasers could do.  On the planet A'sha is dying.  Pike continues trying to negotiating with their captors.  Uhura agrees to help in exchange for their medical gear to treat A'sha.  On the bridge the admiral catches Kirk trying to send a message to Starfleet for permission to relieve Reeger.  Kirk calls him out-this mission is about revenge-the Admiral's family was killed by the enemy ship.  Reeger has Kirk arrested. Kirk grabs La'ans phaser in the corridor and stuns her.  On the planet Uhura works on the mercenaries comm system.  Jim meets with Sam, Sam shows him records of their father having been acting captain of the Constitution.  The two Kirks enacts a plan to stop the phasers.  In sickbay Jim accesses the Constitutions medical logs, Reeger has a traumatic brain injury just before a battle during the Klingon war, but was listed as still being in command, despite having surgery at the same time.  Kirk escapes from sickbay as La'an and a security team enter.  On the planet Uhura calls out the mercenary as former Starfleet.  Uhura activates the comm system, a high pitched burst incapacitates the mercenaries.  After being beamed out of the phaser control junction Kirk is taken to the ready room, then to the bridge by the Admiral.   On the planet the away team manage to sneak up and take out the rest of the mercenaries.  Uhura fights the mercenary leader hand to hand before shooting up into the ceiling, crushing him.  On the Enterprise the admiral prepares to fire on the planet.  The admiral orders to fire, Kikr belays the order, if the phasers are fired, the Enterprise will be destroyed.  The admiral demands the codes for the phasers.  Kirk refuses.  The admiral orders Spock to get the codes from Kirk via mind meld.  Spock refuses.  Kirk lays it out: the Admiral wasn't in command during the battle of Zeta Reticuli and responsible for saving the planet, George Kirk was.  Reeger altered the logs.  The admiral refuses to stand down.  M'Benga pulls Starfleet regulations and relieves Reeger of command.  La'an stuns Reeger.  Back at the planet the away team returns to the ship and the mercenaries are placed in the brig.  M'Benga admits to drugging the admiral with cordrazine to get him compromised in order to relieve him.  In sickbay A'sha makes a recovery.  A'sha tells Uhura that she feels that she does not belong in Starfleet.  In sickbay Kirk tells M'Benga that he actually spiked Reeger's coffee.  M'Benga tells Kirk that it was George Kirk who wanted the records altered at Zeta Reticuli.  Chapel is unhappy that M'Benga could be throwing away his career.  Uhura meets with Pike and Una in Pike's quarters to discuss A'sha who is leaving Enterprise.  Pike promotes Uhura to Lieutenant Junior Grade.

A "badmiral" story.  A long standing trek tradition.  A decent episode, although personally I thought the admirals acting was a bit over the top at times, and the senior staff not willing enough to question immoral orders.  General order 24 is a nice callback to TOS "A Taste of Armageddon".  The cordrazine drug and the madness it causes is a direct reference to TOS "City On The Edge Of Forever" and Dr. McCoy's madness.  The aftermath of this one should be interesting, especially as far as M'Benga, although the easiest thing for Starfleet to do would be to cover up the whole affair.