Grounded (episode)
Mariner enlists her friends on a rogue mission to exonerate her mother as Captain Freeman faces a military tribunal for the destruction of Pakled Planet.

Summary

Teaser
"I'm Sylvia Ront, and this is FNN's continuing coverage of the destruction of Pakled Planet. What we know at this hour: Starfleet Captain, Carol Freeman stands accused of orchestrating a devastating attack on the Pakled capital; a place they call, "Big Strong City." The  remains in spacedock impounded for further investigation; her crew on temporary leave while their captain stands trial. And the latest shocking development, new surveillance footage retrieved from the attack that appears to place Freeman on the ground at the time of the bombing. In "lighter" news, a swarm of incandescent verugament will be illuminating Earth tomorrow."

Beckett Mariner throws a potted plant in a rage at a viewscreen in her father's home. Frustrated that people are acting like the trial is over before it's concluded, she remains steadfast in her claims that Freeman is innocent in Pakled Planet's destruction. Her father, Alonzo Freeman, shares her belief, but tells her to remain patient, and to trust in the system that she will be found innocent. Mariner is doubtful the same system that put her on trial in the first place would find her innocent and feels useless while off the Cerritos. Alonzo gets a transmission from Admiral Les Buenamigo who tells them that the judge assigned to Carol's case is Mith bin Tong, a renowned conservative planets' rights activist. No longer convinced that the trial will end favorably, Mariner decides to act on her own accord since no one else will do anything to save Carol and leaves the home breaking more things as she screams.

Act One
Bradward Boimler is working at his family's raisin vineyard as Mariner tells him about how she intends to do something before her mother is found guilty, and Boimler eagerly accepts to help, as he finds daily life in the vineyards to be unbearable. They discuss how they were saving the  at the time of Pakled Planet's destruction, and Mariner notes that they can't prove it, since the ship's logs were corrupted by the Lapeerian debris field, making it seem like Freeman is covering something up. Boimler then gets an idea to use his own logs as evidence, since he personally re-records the captain's official logs for his own reference. Excited that they have a lead, they just need to figure out a way to get aboard the Cerritos, since they don't know where it is, and it likely only has a skeleton crew of engineers aboard, leading them to wonder if Samanthan Rutherford is aboard. 

In New Orleans at Sisko's Creole Kitchen, Rutherford and D'Vana Tendi are enjoying a meal of gumbo and their time on Earth, since Tendi was never able to experience locations on Earth during her time at Starfleet Academy. As they decide between going to a London Kings game or visiting Historical Bozeman, they see a news bulletin providing an update to Freeman's trial, and wonder how Mariner is handling everything, just as Mariner shows up with Boimler. They discuss Mariner's plan to sneak aboard the Cerritos but are unsure of the ethics surrounding it. Tendi suggests just telling the courts about Boimler's logs, but Mariner believes doing so would just allow Starfleet to cover them up, allowing a  captain to be a scapegoat for what really happened. Rutherford tells them he knows where the Cerritos is, but that the only way to the specific spacedock it's at is via a special encrypted transporter.

They make their way to the building where the transporter is, and Rutherford warns them that they'll likely have to take out the transporter chief, who is a long-time veteran of Starfleet Security. While scared of taking on such an elite member, Mariner believes them to have the element of surprise, and superior numbers, and they rush in, only to find a gentle, kind-hearted elderly transporter chief named Carlton "Denny" Dennis. He welcomes them inside, believing them to be students from the Academy, and invites them for a tour of his building, where he's restored numerous transporter units. Trying to put aside their discomfort of taking out such a kind, elderly man, they fail to realize that Dennis has actually seen through their plan and makes it aware that most of his visitors are people who try to knock him out and use his transporter to board ships without authorization. Pointing his phaser at them, they relent and admit their plans, while he offers to make them some soup. 

Dennis admits to them that he's been following Freeman's trial and doesn't believe the charges against her. He also says that he would transport them to the Cerritos, but the verugament migration has created a natural scattering field, blocking any transport attempts off of Earth, making the only way of accessing the Cerritos via another ship. Disheartened that they cannot help Freeman, and likely missed out on a trip to Bozeman because of their attempt here, Dennis talks about how Bozeman has a replica of the Phoenix that can fly into orbit. Mariner then immediately asks if the transporter can at least transport them to Montana. 

Transported to Bozeman, everyone is taken aback as they see numerous historical sights. However, Mariner directs their attention to the replica of the Phoenix as the reason they are there.

Act Two
After waiting in line, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford board the Phoenix replica, planning to override the ship's automation. As they get settled in, a nervous rider named  boards with them, and they're unable to convince him to leave. A hologram of Zefram Cochrane appears in the pilot's seat and tells them to get ready for their "trek amongst the stars, " before putting on the rock and roll song, "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf. The Phoenix replica blasts off and as they enter orbit, Mariner and Rutherford get up, and begin to rewire the ship's systems, adding to Gavin's nervousness. Able to input a new destination, Mariner engages the warp core, and the ship goes into warp. 

They arrive at the spacedock where the Cerritos, still without her external hull, is held, and they dock the replica at her side. They apologize to Gavin for hijacking the ride, and Rutherford offers to re-engage the automation to return him to Earth. Gavin however declines, and says the replica is his ship now, and that he will no longer be a botanist, wanting to explore the galaxy instead. They leave as Gavin takes the Phoenix to warp. 

At Boimler's bunk, they find his logs, and per his word, he has indeed recorded the captain's log verbatim; however, he's also added some personal tidbits into the log, making it sound unprofessional. As they go through his logs, trying to find one's that are not altered by different trivial bits of Boimler's personal life, they only find more and more embarrassing entries, leading Mariner to believe they will be useless in court. Rutherford says that Starfleet could still cross-reference the dates on Boimler's log, but Mariner believes that ultimately, they would not believe the word of a "goofy" ensign. They gather around her and tell her that they are Starfleet, and that they should trust them that they will make the right decision, and Mariner relents, agreeing to take the log to the trial. 

They board the shuttlecraft Joshua Tree and Mariner tells them she needs to check the port nacelle. As she leaves, the door closes and the shuttlecraft starts up, much to the shock of Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford. They quickly realize that Mariner has actually set up the shuttlecraft's auto-navigation, and locked them out, as the ship leaves the hangar. 

Mariner rushes to the bridge and begins to start up the ship's systems. The shuttlecraft hails Mariner, and she tells them that she won't leave until she has hard evidence of Freeman's innocence. As it is claimed that Freeman was aided by Klingons in the attack, she intends to go find the very Klingons who seemingly collaborated with her, unwilling to listen to the protests of the others.

Act Three
On the Joshua Tree, the three ensigns are all anxious about what Mariner has just done, fearing she could be incarcerated. No longer caring about any kind of trouble they may face, they all agree to stop Mariner, and her plans. Thinking fast and knowing they won't be able to override the navigation system, Boimler decides to reprogram the "home" of the Joshua Tree from Earth, back to the Cerritos, making the shuttlecraft once again travel towards the ship's hangar. While this works, the landing is rough, as the ship believes an atmosphere would slow them down, and it crashes into the hangar. The ensigns rush up to the bridge, taking Mariner by surprise. They tell her she's not thinking clearly, and they begin to struggle with each other as Rutherford attempts to lock her out of the navigation systems. 

Meanwhile, security aboard the nearby spacedock detects the unauthorized departure of the Cerritos and raises the alarm. 

On the bridge, Rutherford manages to lock Mariner out of the navigation systems of the Cerritos, much to her dismay. After frantically trying to get control back, she admits that she's very scared that she may lose her mother to this whole ordeal. The others gather around her, and reassure her that no matter what happens, they will be there to support her through it all. At that moment, security hails the Cerritos, asking what the situation is. As they struggle to come up with an answer, they notice the verugament migration closing in on them. While initially, they're nervous what might happen, Tendi notes that they're incandescent extremophiles, and that they're synthesizing carbon off the hull of the ship, triggering a "mass reproductive event," realizing that the verugament were only in search of a breeding ground. 

The security team repeats their message to the Cerritos, and Tendi has them open a channel. Tendi answers the hail and replies that they're in the middle of a biological survey of the verugament. She notes that due to the rare nature of the event, and grounding of the crew, they could not be interrupted. Unconvinced, the security guards say that they're coming aboard, and Tendi has them open the hangar bay doors and follow her. 

The security team enters the hangar to find Tendi, Mariner, Boimler, and Rutherford taking care of numerous gametes of the verugament with some difficulty, due to the stinging tentacles of the creatures. While the work is hard, the team is convinced that the four are indeed, just helping the verugament, and admire their dedication to the pursuit of science. They then ask for the officer who ordered the mission before leaving, and the four ensigns tense up. As they struggle to think of an answer, Captain Freeman enters with Admiral Freeman, Shaxs, and T'Ana. Freeman says that she authorized the mission, and the security team leaves, satisfied. 

When they leave, Mariner embraces Freeman and she asks what happened with the trial, and if Freeman is potentially on the run. Alonzo tells her that the trial is actually over. Carol explains that while the trial was going on, Starfleet was carrying a secret investigation into the bombing itself, which was led by Captain Morgan Bateson. A connection was found between the Pakleds and a known data fabricator who was responsible for producing the footage of Freeman planting the bomb. They captured the fabricator in the Romulan Neutral Zone and had him interrogated by Commander Tuvok. The forger then revealed that the true identity of the bomber to be the Pakleds themselves, who were hoping to frame Freeman for the attack to force the Federation to help them relocate to a new planet that was richer in resources. The plan nearly worked, but Starfleet's interest in clearing Freeman's name ultimately prevailed. 

Mariner is astounded that Starfleet actually came through for Carol, but Alonzo scolds her that she should have listened to him from the beginning and trusted the system. Carol revealed that she wasn't out of court an hour before she was informed of the Cerritos being stolen from the impound. She orders Tendi, Boimler, and Rutherford to clean up the hangar, and takes Mariner to her ready room. 

In her ready room, Mariner sits with Alonzo as Carol paces. Carol realizes that Mariner believes she can do and say whatever she wants without consequence, largely because she's been so tolerant and lenient with her. She says that while she knows Mariner was trying to help, and that she loves her, Carol also knows that her daughter is not going to reach her full potential with herself as an authority figure. While the Cerritos remains her last chance, Carol knows that as her mother, she'd never be able to kick Mariner out of Starfleet but knows someone who can. At that moment, Commander Jack Ransom enters, much to Mariner's horror. Freeman tells Mariner that she's giving her full and final oversight to Ransom, who will have the final say if Mariner is allowed to remain in Starfleet. 

Back in the hangar, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford are happy to be back on the Cerritos as they continue to clean up after the verugament. As they clean, they pull up a FNN update to see if they have anything new on the trial. They catch a news story about the malfunctioning Phoenix replica being rescued near the moons of Jupiter, traumatizing the lone rider in the process. 

Gavin is seen being dragged away from the ship, as he screams to be let go.

Memorable quotes
"The longer I'm off a ship, the more useless I feel! Like that. Like that big dumb red thing."
"Beckett, you know that's the Golden Gate Bridge."
"Nobody drives anymore! Why do you need a bridge? This planet's whack."
"People like the bridge. I like the bridge."
- Mariner and Alonzo Freeman

"Hey, Bradward! Wanna test the sweetness of my bushel?"
"Ugh, fine, Genevieve." (eats a raisin from her bushel) "Just give it 43 more sun hours at 21 degrees breaks."
"Oh. Okay…"
- Genevieve and Boimler

"Uh, when you said your family had vineyards, I just assumed it was for wine."
"Oh, I wish. No, we Boimlers dry grapes. Just dry them, and dry them, and dry them until they're all shriveled, and hopeless, and stuck on Earth forever!"
- Mariner and Boimler

"Bradward! All these varietals are so confusing. Take me to the privacy of the pickery shed and explain them to me."
"Come on, Mandolina. Red goes in the red bucket, white in the white. You know that."
- Mandolina and Boimler

"Bradward! I'm soaked in juice, and I need help getting naked!"
"Just spray off with the hose, Leanne!"
- Leanne and Boimler

"So, what brings you all to my dusty old transporter pad? You kids from the Academy?"
"Uh, yeah that's right. We were just hoping to… learn about your transporter."
"Say no more! If there's one thing I've got in this joint, it's gout! Ha ha, but also transporters."
- Carlton Dennis and Boimler

"Hey guys, are we sure we can even fly this thing? I mean, you only have to be a hundred centimeters to ride." 
- Boimler, about the Phoenix ride

"Alright, buckos, prepare for your trek amongst the stars! Oh! Before I forget… let's rock and roll!"
- Zefram Cochrane hologram

"I actually woke myself up, the gas pains were so bad, I just wish I could FART!"
- Boimler's personal log

"We have to stop her. I don't care what trouble I get in."
"Same."
"I want the trouble! Give me the trouble!"
- Boimler, Rutherford, and Tendi 

"Ensign Beckett Mariner, I'm giving your full and final oversight to Commander Ransom. If you do in fact want to remain in Starfleet, it's going to be his call."
"Thank you, Captain. As far as you're concerned, Mariner, I'm your mama now."
- Carol Freeman and Ransom

"Ahh, you know, even covered in alien sploof, there's no place I'd rather be."
"Yeah. Home, sticky, home."
- Boimler and Tendi

"NO! NO, LET ME GO! I'M CAPTAIN GAVIN! I AM ON A TREK AMONGST THE STARS...!!!"
- Gavin

Background information

Title
 The title was announced on  by Paramount+.

Production
 "Grounded" marks the first time five Star Trek series have aired in one calendar year, breaking the record of four series set earlier in 2022 with the premiere of .

Continuity
 Publicity is given to a solution to Fermat's Last Theorem by a small Human boy. Jean-Luc Picard had worked on a solution in his off-time, as had Tobin Dax. (; )
Mariner's father is given the full name Alonzo Freeman, with the abbreviation "Zo" as a nickname. It is also the first time the two are seen together.
 Sisko's Creole Kitchen, as well as its alligator and dinner menu display, makes a return in animated form. Its last appearance was in .
 Rutherford wears a sweater identical to one worn by Jake Sisko. Boimler also wore a vest design also worn by Jake when he entered Sisko's.
 Ketracel White-Hot hot sauce is a reference to ketracel-white, the drug which the Dominion used to provide the Jem'Hadar with all the necessary nutrients they needed and to ensure their loyalty to the Founders.
 This episode included several crossover characters referenced in various forms, including:
 A hologram of Zefram Cochrane, voiced by James Cromwell, appears in this episode, in which he recreates many of the scenes and elements from his appearance in . 
 Two non-speaking appearances are also made by Tuvok, from , and Morgan Bateson, from the  episode . 
 Additionally, the FNN news ticker also referenced the now-Admiral Edward Jellico, previously seen in the two-part episode  and , and Sonny Clemonds, who previously appeared in . Boimler also makes an offhand reference to James T. Kirk, when he uses the exclamation, "for Kirk's sake."
 Zefram Cochrane's statue described by Geordi La Forge in  is shown on screen, as well as a number of other visual tributes to the film, including the Crash-n-Burn Bar, a playground replica of the , the , and the inclusion of the song "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf.
 Carlton Dennis wears the late 2360s-early 2370s Starfleet uniform worn for the first 4½ seasons of ,  and throughout .
 Boimler's hair is confirmed to be dyed purple, rather than simply appearing to be purple due to the show's color palette.
 The Type 6A shuttlecraft Yosemite, previously destroyed in , is replaced by the Yosemite II.
 Captain Freeman called the Pakleds' plan "a classic Pakled Samaritan Snare" referencing  which first introduced the Pakleds.
 Although there is no official stardate within the episode itself, a log by Boimler on the "Star Trek Logs" Instagram account dated the episode to Stardate 58168.6.

Links and references

Starring
 Tawny Newsome as Beckett Mariner
 Jack Quaid as Brad Boimler
 Noël Wells as D'Vana Tendi
 Eugene Cordero as Sam Rutherford
 Dawnn Lewis as Carol Freeman
 Jerry O'Connell as Jack Ransom
 Fred Tatasciore as Shaxs
 Gillian Vigman as T'Ana

Special guest star 
 James Cromwell as "Dr. "

Guest cast 
 Carlos Alazraqui as Les Buenamigo
 Phil LaMarr as Alonzo Freeman
 Bobby Moynihan as
 Carlton Dennis
 
 Kari Wahlgren as Sylvia Ront

Characters with unidentified voices
 Gary
 Genevieve
 Lianne
 Mandolina
 Gary's co-worker
 Starfleet Security officer

Background characters 
 Morgan Bateson 
 Grubdin
  
 Rumdar
 Tuvok 
 Human boy who solved Fermat's last theorem
 Pakleds
 Emperor of the Pakleds
 King Pakled
 Queen Pakled
 Starfleet Security ens 1, 2, and 3  
 Starfleet Security officer's co-worker
 Starfleet Security officers subduing Gavin
 Zakdorn fabricator

References
21st century; 2376; active duty; admiral; Aladdin's lamp; Alamo; alien bird; alligator; Andorian; artichoke balls; atmosphere; automation; auto-navigation; Bajoran; bananas; Big Bang; "Big Strong City"; ; biological survey; blooper reel; boiler; Boimler family; "Boims"; : books; botanist; Bozeman; breeding ground; bucket; "bucko"; Buffalo Solar Knights; buffer buff; bullshit; bushel; butterscotch; ""; cane; captain; ; captain's chair; captain's logs; carbon; centimeter; chief; churro; Churro!; ; ; combadge; concert; ; cover-up; Crash-n-Burn Bar; cry; degree brix; ; "Denny"; ; dipping sauce; dry; Earth; eclipse; ELDS; Emory Erickson: A Memoir; endangered creatures; engineer; ensign; explorer; extremophile; fart (aka "gas"); Fermat's last theorem; fighting; first contact; First Contact Fun Zone; flag of California; fleur-de-lis; fly; FNN; forger; gamete; gas pain; ""; Golden Gate Bridge; gout; grapes (aka grape juice, red grape, white grape); Grand Canyon; grandpa; green onion; green onion dip; grounded; gumbo; hair dye; handcuffs; Historical Bozeman; Home of Zefram Cochrane; hose; hot sauce; impounded; incandescent; jazz; Jellico; judge; jukebox; junior officer; Jupiter; Ketracel White-Hot; ; Klingon; Laapeerian system; Laapeerian debris field; legal system; London Kings; Lower Decks-style; Luna; lunatic; "Magic Carpet Ride"; microscopic lifeforms; migration; minute; Montana; moons of Jupiter; nacelle; naked; nav controls; New Orleans; orbital coordinates; Orion; oyster; PADD; Pakled; Pakled Planet; Pakled Planet's moon personal log, Brad Boimler; pilot; "planet's rights"; port; post-World War III; prison; prosecutor; purple; raisin; red alert; reenactor; mass reproductive event (aka orgy); "Ride the Phoenix" (aka Phoenix Experience); "Rings!"; rock and roll; Romulan Neutral Zone; "Ruthy Ruth"; Samaritan Snare; San Francisco; scattering field; senior staff; ship's log; shrimp remoulade; SHU; shuttlebay door; Sisko's Creole Kitchen; skeleton crew; sniff; Sol; sound machine; soup; "space critter" (aka "space bug"); spaceflight; sploof; stampede; Starfleet; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet Security; Steppenwolf; Strategema Grandmaster; stuffing; stun; sun hour; surface-to-space beaming; swarm; sweetness; synthesis; Tee Trek; Tellarite; tentacle; theme park; Thirst Contact; three-dimensional chess; toilet; Toys!; transporter; transporter chief; Transporter Facility; transporter pad; trial; tricorder; truth; Tuvok; type 2 phaser; typewriter; "uncle"; varietal; VCD; verugament; vice admiral; vineyard; Vulcan; warp 1; Warp 1 Coffee and Tea; warp core; wind turbine; writ large; Zakdorn; Zakdorn youth; Zebulon Sisters

Spacecraft references 
 (unnamed); ;  (unnamed); ;  (balloon); Contra Costa;  (unnamed); ;  (balloon); Federation attack fighter (unnamed); Joshua Tree;  Kings Canyon;  (unnamed); Pakled Clumpship (unnamed); Phoenix;  (ship number five); Pinnacles; Redwood;  (unnamed); spacedock (aka dry dock); ; ; Type 6 shuttlecraft; Type 6A shuttlecraft; Yosemite II

Meta references 
bleep;

External link
 

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