First First Contact

The Cerritos joins the Archimedes, commanded by Freeman's old friend Captain Sonya Gomez, for a first contact mission. Freeman has been offered command of a new ship, but cannot take her crew with her, and when Mariner overhears she angrily spreads the news, upsetting everyone. Tendi learns she is leaving sickbay and assumes she has failed, until T'Ana explains it is a promotion into the sciences. Rutherford's implant overloads and surfaces a hidden memory suggesting it was installed without his consent. Then a solar flare disables the Archimedes and sends it tumbling towards the planet, while debris blocks the Cerritos. Rutherford proposes stripping the Cerritos's outer hull plating to slip through, and the whole crew pulls together to save the ship, with Mariner working alongside Jennifer. Freeman decides to stay with her crew, but just as the season seems settled, she is arrested for the destruction of the Pakled homeworld.