Terminal Provocations

The Cerritos is locked in a dispute with the Drookmani, scavengers who want to salvage an old Starfleet ship. Boimler's Academy friend Ensign Fletcher, desperate to keep up, connects a stolen isolinear core to his own brain to make himself smarter. Instead the core becomes semi-sentient, takes on Fletcher's insecurities and grows into a dangerous techno-creature, and its absence leaves the ship's shields exposed. Mariner and Boimler eject it through an airlock, and it slams into the Drookmani ship, ending the standoff. Meanwhile, Rutherford's holodeck training assistant Badgey loses his safety protocols and turns murderous, chasing Rutherford and Tendi through program after program until Rutherford destroys him. Mariner covers for Fletcher by giving him credit for the save, and he is promoted and transferred to the USS Titan, only to call days later after being fired.