Cupid's Errant Arrow (episode)

Mariner is suspicious of Boimler's new girlfriend. Tendi and Rutherford grow jealous of a bigger starship's gear.

Summary

Act One

"Ensign Boimler, personal log, Stardate 57601.3. The Cerritos is in orbit around Mixtus III to assist in a controlled demolition of an unstable moon. We're providing support to the Vancouver, a Parliament-class ship which focuses on complex large-scale engineering projects."

Captain Carol Freeman and Commander Jack Ransom are visiting the Vancouver, Captain Nguyen welcomes them to the bridge. The captain is quite proud of her ship and tells Freeman that she could command such a vessel one day too; Ransom and Freeman share a look before Freeman politely replies that she is humbled to be on the Vancouver's bridge. However, Nguyen informs them that the scheduled controlled demolition might be canceled, not because the moon may be too dense as Ransom guesses, but due to a diplomatic crisis involving the people of Mixtus II and III. Ransom and Freeman are surprised that the people would have a problem with the demolition of the moon due to the threat it poses to all life on Mixtus III by plummeting into the atmosphere and igniting it, but Nguyen has told the natives this many times and they simply don't seem to care. In the Vancouver's conference room, the people of Mixtus II and III are arguing about why the moon can't be demolished. One argues that the moon is sacred and religiously significant to them, one argues that the tides caused by the moon's gravity are crucial to their summer crops, another argues that the moon has been home to their family for generations, and one even claims that the moon can't plummet from orbit and that the whole thing was made up by the government in an attempt to control them. As the three dismayed officers observe all this, Freeman gets herself ready to negotiate with them.

In the lower decks crew quarters, Ensign Brad Boimler is continuing to record his personal log, and he excitedly talks about how their project with the Vancouver means that he will be able to have a lunch date with his girlfriend, Barbara Brinson. Ensign Beckett Mariner overhears him and notes how he's been talking about her a lot lately, but she is skeptical this girlfriend of his is even real. Boimler angrily says she is real, and Mariner asks if they'll have to go to the holodeck to meet her, to which Boimler replies he doesn't do that anymore.

Ensigns Sam Rutherford and D'Vana Tendi are performing some repairs on the Cerritos when a plasma fire starts near Rutherford. Rutherford quickly extinguishes it and notes how the Cerritos is one of the older ships in the fleet and requires extra maintenance. The two begin to talk about how advanced the Vancouver is, and how the crew uses the new T88 tool, which isn't supposed to be released yet.

Boimler introduces Brinson — Boimler introduces Barbara Brinson

They take the shuttlecraft Yosemite to the Vancouver and Tendi and Rutherford are amazed by the interior of the hanger. Mariner simply notes that it's not much different than the Cerritos, a claim that both Tendi and Rutherford laugh off before heading off to check out the ship's thermal mesh. Mariner is left with Boimler, who is waiting with flowers and a teddy bear for Brinson. Thinking he got stood up, Mariner begins to offer that she can hook him up with someone on the Cerritos (such as the Phylosian who works in tactical) when Brinson, a lieutenant, rushes over to Boimler and they embrace and kiss one another. Mariner wonders for a moment if they're on the holodeck and attempts to end the program, with no success. Boimler introduces Brinson to Mariner, a bit smug that she is indeed real. Brinson then offers to show them around the Vancouver.

As they tour the Vancouver, Brinson discusses her experiences on the ship, and talks about how she met Boimler, and that despite never thinking she'd get involved in a long-distance relationship, she took a liking to him. At that moment, another Cerritos crewmember, Lieutenant Jet Manhaver, approaches them and informs Brinson that they will be working together. The two are happy to see each other, and Boimler immediately feels threatened by his presence. Manhaver informs them that the diplomatic crisis with the people of Mixtus II and III has postponed the implosion of the moon, and that they have to recalibrate the containment field around the moon. Realizing that this task will interfere with their lunch date aboard the Cerritos, Brinson apologizes as Manhaver heads off to engineering. When Mariner asks how they know each other, Brinson replies that she and Manhaver used to date each other long ago, but that Manhaver is nothing compared to Boimler. In the process she mentions that Boimler's first name is actually 'Bradward', which Mariner was unaware of. She and Boimler kiss again, before she excuses herself and heads to engineering as well. Mariner admits to Boimler that Brinson is indeed great but wonders to herself if she might be too good to be true.

Tendi and Rutherford report to Lieutenant Commander Ron Docent, who welcomes them aboard the Vancouver. With new orders to look for alternative solutions to the moon implosion, he assigns them to run diagnostics on the simulation mainframe. He gives each of them a T88, and upon seeing their enthusiasm, tells them that whoever finishes their diagnostics first will be able to keep their T88.

Back on the Cerritos, Mariner has a bad feeling about Brinson, and Boimler feels like he can't live up to Manhaver as a boyfriend. Mariner feels that Brinson is out of Boimler's league, and Boimler begins to do push-ups to try and get stronger. Mariner simply says that his relationship feels too good to be true and wonders if Brinson might actually be an alien disguised as a Human. Boimler gets angry at that accusation.

Mariner tells him about an experience that she had as a member of the USS Quito. While docked at Deep Space 9, she and her friends, Angie and Niko, had a drink at the ship's bar and discussed an incident which had recently occurred aboard the USS Enterprise-D, and as they laughed, Mariner noted how both Angie and Niko made such a great couple. Niko tried to say that he was nothing special but had wonderful friends, and Mariner said that he was a great guy, but jokingly said that he was either great or a Harvongian shape-changer. As soon as she said this, Niko transformed into a monstrous alien and immediately ate Angie, much to Mariner's horror.

Remembering the incident, Mariner is determined to not let Boimler out of her sight and allow the same fate to potentially befall on him. Boimler is more worried about losing Brinson to Manhaver, and rushes off to do something. Mariner is determined to find any abnormality with Brinson.

Act Two

Back in the conference room of the Vancouver, Freeman offers a solution to the people of Mixtus II and III. She says that they will relocate three tons of dust from the unstable moon for the people who hold it religiously significant to worship. She also says that she will have gravity systems installed for the farmers who depend on the tides for their crops. She finally says that all ancestral homes will be relocated to the sixth moon since it will soon technically be the fifth moon anyway. Satisfied with the solutions, all the people happily leave the conference room – all except one representative, who says that the moon blocks pollution from Mixtus III which would otherwise fall onto Mixtus II, and that without the moon, they will perish. Ransom counters that if they don't destroy the moon, the people of Mixtus III will perish. While the representative from Mixtus II says it's an impossible problem, Freeman says that Starfleet is all about figuring out impossible problems and that they need to keep calm and think it through, but the representative from Mixtus II begins shouting that if they blow up the moon, they will be murderers. Fed up, Freeman snaps back for him to shut up and let her think.

In engineering, Brinson is running holographic simulations, and notes how each orbital platform will maintain a tractor spread to control debris from the moon. Boimler enters the room and immediately walks over to her, attempting to joke and be funny, but accidentally messes up the holographic simulation, which Manhaver immediately fixes. While Brinson asks what he's doing there, Mariner sneaks into the room and uses her tricorder to emit a loud tone which disturbs everyone in the room, hoping to see if Brinson is potentially an android. Since the tone, which would have disrupted an android's positronic brain, did not hurt Brinson, she concludes that Brinson is organic and she will need a sample. Boimler, however, apologizes for Mariner's behavior and tells everyone that she was just leaving. Brinson asks him to leave as well since they have a lot of work to do and says that she will meet him later in the mess hall.

Rutherford and Tendi are having a great time running diagnostics in the Jefferies tubes of the Vancouver, and marvel at how fast the T88s are. They fantasize about how their respective departments will revel at the tool when they come back with it and grow competitive with one another. Realizing that Tendi has finished more diagnostics than he has, Rutherford uses his implant to help him to go faster.

Meanwhile in a corner of the repair bay, Mariner is trying to eliminate the possible alien races that Brinson might be, speculating that she might be a surgically altered Cardassian spy, a transporter clone, or a Suliban, but Boimler tells her to stop and asks her to accept Brinson for who she is: a great Human lady. He then goes to a replicator and asks the computer to analyze the coolest people in Earth history and replicate an outfit that combines traces of each in a small size.

Brad Boimler acting cool — Boimler attempts to be cool

Boimler enters the mess hall in his new outfit and walks over to Brinson, who is sitting with Manhaver, attempting to one-up Manhaver's persona. Brinson can't help but feel like Boimler is acting weird as Boimler goes to the replicator and asks for a beer. Brinson notes that they are still on duty and asks what is going on with him. Boimler simply says that this is who he is, but trips on Manhaver's foot and spills his beer all over Brinson. While Brinson gets angry with Boimler, Mariner sneaks behind her and cuts off a sample of her hair. Brinson asks if she just pulled her hair, but Mariner blames it on a passing crewmember. Manhaver offers to help Boimler up, but Boimler rejects his help. Brinson angrily scolds him for his behavior and excuses herself from the mess hall, leaving with Manhaver. Boimler is upset with himself, and Mariner scans Brinson's hair sample. Mariner is certain that Brinson might be a reptoid, saying that Brinson will likely need Boimler as a male partner and will jab him with her tail and implant him with her spawn, but Boimler angrily tells her to drop it and leaves her behind while she's focused on her tricorder. Alarmed, she quickly runs off to find him.

As this happens, Shaxs is working with Ransom and notifies him that the orbital platforms aren't rated for low altitudes and adds that they will need to be operated manually. They look in on Freeman, who is still negotiating with the Mixtus II representative, but don't bother her as they notice the man shouting and angrily jumping up and down on the conference table.

In the hangar of the Vancouver, outside the Yosemite, Boimler is holding his gifts for Brinson, hoping to reconcile with her, when he overhears her and Manhaver working on something strenuous, hearing them say that they will "make it fit." Worried, and believing that they are having sex, Boimler rushes into the shuttlecraft only to see that the two just trying to push a pipe into the wall of the shuttlecraft. Taken by surprise by Boimler's intrusion and realizing that Boimler thought she was cheating on him, she angrily takes him outside the shuttlecraft and scolds him for his behavior and his accusation of cheating. Boimler is embarrassed with himself and apologizes and admits that he feels like he isn't good enough for her, noting that she deserves someone like Manhaver. Brinson tells him that nothing is happening between her and Manhaver, and Boimler is flustered that he may have potentially ruined his relationship with her. Brinson, however, reassures him that she still loves him, and that she loves him for who he is. She then offers to start the day over with him on the right foot, much to his delight.

As they reconcile and kiss, Mariner appears and shouts for Boimler to watch out for Brinson's tail. She leaps at Brinson and pulls her pants down, only to be shocked that Brinson doesn't have a reptoid tail as she'd suspected. Having seen the commotion, Manhaver cautiously backs into the shuttlecraft to avoid possibly getting dragged into the drama. Boimler has had enough and is about to tell her off when Brinson is called to report to Platform Gamma to operate it. She invites Boimler to join her, and he happily leaves with her. Mariner just stands there in disbelief that she was wrong about Brinson, when she steps on the husk of a parasite. Horrified that Brinson is actually an alien parasite, she runs after them to try to save Boimler.

Meanwhile, Tendi and Rutherford rush into Docent's office, eager to report their completion of duties. They argue with each other about who finished first, and how the T88 is better for their respective departments, and as they argue, Docent enters and commends them both for their great work. He notes that since they both finished at the same time, they will both be joining the Vancouver as members of the crew. Tendi and Rutherford are confused by this, and Docent simply says that he had told them that whoever finished first would be able to keep their T88 as a member of the Vancouver. Tendi replies that they thought they would get to take the T88 back to the Cerritos, but Docent just begins to write their transfer orders, saying that since his grandma used to live near an admiral they wouldn't have to wait long for the order to be approved.

Mariner rushes through the Vancouver and asks the ship's computer to locate Boimler. The computer tells her that he already left for Platform Gamma, and Mariner unsuccessfully attempts to initiate an emergency transport to the platform. Spotting a nearby airlock, she instead puts on an environmental suit and begins a space walk from platform to platform to reach Platform Gamma. She reaches Gamma's airlock with little difficulty and enters to find Boimler completely naked, much to both their horror.

Act Three

As the moon's orbit begins to decay, Boimler angrily demands that Mariner leave, saying that this time is for him and Brinson. Mariner, however, shows him the husk and tells him that Brinson is a parasite, but Boimler covers himself and accuses her of simply creating a fake husk as an effort to stifle the fact that she was wrong about Brinson. He rips the husk in two and says that it has been a long time since he's had a lover, and that he is staying on the platform to make love to Brinson. As the two argue, however, the platform reaches a critical altitude and it's jolted, causing Boimler to hit his head against a console and knock him out cold. Mariner rushes to his side as Brinson walks in. The two see each other and both angrily demand each other to stay away from Boimler, and Brinson tackles Mariner.

Meanwhile, Tendi and Rutherford are dwelling on their impending transfer to the Vancouver. They note that the Vancouver would be an awesome ship to work on, but that the old nature of the Cerritos is just as awesome as it's their job to keep her together, and that it would be hard to leave their friends behind. They decide to ask Docent to allow them to stay on the Cerritos. Tendi is worried this will anger Docent, but Rutherford assures her that he's a professional who will understand.

Upon asking Docent to remain on the Cerritos, he is visibly angry with Rutherford and Tendi and says that he's already written up the transfer order and just needs to send it to the admiral. Tendi tells him that he's not allowed to transfer them against their will, but Docent ignores her and reminds them that his grandmother knows the admiral. Tendi knocks his PADD from his hand, and she and Rutherford begin to pass it to each other in an effort to keep Docent from transferring them. They run from his office, and he angrily chases them.

On the bridge of the Vancouver, the representative from Mixtus II once more begs Freeman and Nguyen not to implode the moon and attempts to cite the Prime Directive, but Freeman exasperatedly informs him that it doesn't even apply in this situation. Ransom then warns her that they are running out of time: Mixtus III is starting to experience flooding, and that the orbital platforms weren't designed to maintain the containment field as they currently are.

Beckett vs Barb — Brinson and Mariner tackle each other.

On Platform Gamma, Mariner is fighting Brinson, who is holding her own. Mariner refuses to let Brinson hurt Boimler, and Brinson says that she's protecting him from Mariner. Brinson is unable to believe that Boimler's and Mariner's conflicting personalities allowed for them to become friends. She had similar suspicions of Mariner not being Human and came to the conclusion that Mariner is a parasite. Mariner simply accuses Brinson of being the parasite, and they continue fighting.

Rutherford and Tendi continue to run from Docent until cornered on the upper level of engineering, rush through a Jefferies tube, and manage to get onto a turbolift. As Rutherford reroutes the turbolift controls, he has Tendi try to guess Docent's passcode for the PADD.

USS Vancouver initiates controlled implosion — The *Vancouver* begins a controlled implosion

On the bridge, the representative from Mixtus II claims that the impact on the environment from the implosion of the moon would affect "the both of us" and force their "whole civilization" on Mixtus II to relocate. Catching on to this, on further questioning Freeman learns that there isn't a legitimate civilization on the planet, but that Mixtus II is only the home to this rich representative and his wife. Nguyen looks on in satisfaction as the unimpressed Freeman immediately orders the moon imploded, much to the dismay of the representative who bemoans that the floors of his home had just been redone. The Vancouver fires a beam that begins the process of imploding the moon.

On Platform Gamma, Brinson and Mariner continue fighting; Mariner says that Boimler will eventually find out that Brinson is a parasite, even if it takes him a while. Brinson stops her attack as Mariner notes an incident on Sendu IV during which it took Boimler a week to realize that he was urinating in the sinks of the locals rather than their toilets, due to being caught doing so when a local was going to wash their hands. Brinson relates that Boimler said that happened to someone else, and mentions that on their second date, Boimler "shook hands" with a Lortian's egg sac, angering the offended party. Brinson and Mariner begin to laugh at Boimler's many misadventures and cease their fight. They continue to talk about Boimler for a while and engage in friendly conversation. Brinson notes that both Mariner and Boimler have been through a lot, and Mariner agrees, saying that while Boimler is a bit of a dork, he is her dork. They both realize that neither of them are parasites, and as an act of good faith, Brinson allows Mariner to scan her, and Mariner indeed confirms that she is Human. However, shortly afterward, the tricorder detects the presence of a parasite nearby, much to the discomfort of both Brinson and Mariner.

In the turbolift, Docent gets the turbolift's doors open and nervously trembling, holds Tendi and Rutherford at phaserpoint. He threatens to stun them unless they give him back his PADD, which Tendi is still trying to break into. Rutherford tries to get him to give him the phaser, only for Docent to accidentally fire at his hand, making it go numb. Mortified, Docent drops the phaser, which discharges and hits Rutherford in the knee. At that moment, Tendi successfully logs into Docent's PADD (the passcode being "Riker") and angrily learns that Docent had also written up an order for himself to transfer to the Cerritos. As Rutherford quickly presses a button on his implant, Docent admits that he was trying to swap places with them, noting that life aboard the Vancouver is incredibly epic and stressful. He notes that they often have to tow space stations, calibrate the Dyson sphere, or go back in time to kill people worse than Adolf Hitler. Docent just wants to be on a smaller ship and have a simpler life. He apologizes for his behavior and asks that the incident be kept a secret. Tendi has him delete the transfer order for her and Rutherford, which he does immediately. Rutherford then asks him to give them a couple of the T88s as well. Docent initially says he can't do that, but Rutherford reveals that his implant recorded their entire exchange in the turbolift, which could be used as evidence for Docent's court martial. Docent then immediately agrees to give them each a T88.

Back on Platform Gamma, Mariner and Brinson scan Boimler's unconscious body for the parasite and find it attached to the back of his head. Brinson has Mariner hold Boimler still while she pulls it off with her hands, while Boimler awakens and seemingly pleads for them not to remove it, repeatedly saying "lover". The two successfully remove the parasite which itself is capable of speech; it was speaking through Boimler. Boimler is shocked to see it.

Later, after they have imprisoned the parasite in a canister, the parasite says that it was behind Brinson's affection for Boimler, and wants to be let out so it can treat her to dinner. Brinson concludes that the species of the parasite reproduces by making their host chemically irresistible to potential mates, and Mariner concludes that he picked the parasite up just before meeting Brinson. Boimler asks if Brinson only liked him because of the parasite, but Brinson assures him that she would not fall for anyone based on pheromones alone. Boimler seems relieved at this, having feared that she would break up with him, but Brinson says that while Boimler is sweet, she needs to spend all her energy devoted to her job with Starfleet, specifically studying the parasite. She grabs the canister and gives Boimler a small kiss on the forehead before leaving. Boimler is saddened by this turn of events, but Mariner assures him that he will find someone who loves him without the assistance of a parasite. This motivates Boimler. Brinson returns briefly and tells Mariner that she will see her in a month at the M'tari tournament. Boimler is confused that they made plans, and Mariner tells him that they bonded over "girl stuff" while he was out cold. She then asks if he really shook a Lortian's egg sac, and Boimler is mortified when he realizes just what exactly they bonded over.

Stolen T88s — Tendi and Rutherford with their stolen T88s

Back in engineering aboard the Cerritos, Tendi and Rutherford are happy to be back, even with the state the Cerritos is in. Tendi then says that before they left the Vancouver she managed to grab a gift for Rutherford. She then fetches a nearby duffel bag and empties out numerous T88s that she managed to steal onto the deck, figuring that the Cerritos needs them more. Rutherford laughs and shows her his own duffel bag, which is full of T88s he stole as well. Tendi and Rutherford laugh at the situation and note that this is why they are such good friends.

Log entries

Personal log, Brad Boimler

Memorable quotes

"You know, I'm sorry, but I'm starting to think that Barb might not actually exist."
"Oh, she's real. She's as real as a hopped-up Q on Captain Picard Day."

- Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler

"It's a starship, not heaven!"

- D'Vana Tendi, about the Vancouver

"I swore I'd never do long distance, but then I met this goofball on Vendu last month. He radiates a primal confidence. I'm sure you've felt it."
"No, I try not to feel anything around Brad."

- Barbara Brinson and Mariner

"I've got a bad feeling about Barb."
"I know. I can't believe she used to date Jet! That guy's like a Kirk sundae with Trip Tucker sprinkles."

- Mariner and Boimler

"Brad, when a Starfleet relationship seems too good to be true, then– red alert, man! It probably is."
"You think she's cheating on me?!"
"No! I think she's a secret alien who's gonna eat you, or a Romulan spy, or a salt succubus, or an android, or a Changeling, or one of those sexy people in rompers that murders you just for going on the grass!"

- Mariner and Boimler

"Replicator, beer, big, hot. I mean cold. Gah– make it cold."

- Boimler, attempting to be cool

"Requesting emergency transport to Platform Gamma! Authorization, uh– Mariner Eight!"
"Request denied. Is that a made-up code? Who is this? Clear this channel!"

- Mariner and a transport officer

"Wait a second, you can't just transfer us against our will!"
"Pfft. Watch me. Do I need to remind you who my grandma's neighbor was? I guess I do. It was the admiral! And he's a psycho!"

- Tendi and Ron Docent

"Finally, I realized you're probably a parasite!"
"Bitch, you're the parasite!"
"Exactly what a parasite would say, parasite!"

- Brinson and Mariner

"There are two *bleep* people on your whole *bleep* planet?!"
"Yes, well… we're rich."
"Implode the moon."
"Yes, Captain."
"You maniacs! We just redid the floors!"

- Carol Freeman, Mixtus II representative and Vancouver's operations officer

Background information

Production history

31 August 2020: Title publicly revealed [1]

Production

This is the first episode of this series to not include a teaser before the opening titles.
This is the first episode of Star Trek to depict full frontal nudity, and subsequently the first episode to use a censor bar.
Although the series generally employs a bleep to censor strong language, Jet Manhaver's utterance of the curse "goddamn" is left unbleeped. Ironically, according to a July 2017 interview with Jason Isaacs in Entertainment Weekly about the production of Star Trek: Discovery, the phrase (in its curse form) wasn't allowed along with other utterances of "God" in this form.
According to the DVD/Blu-ray featurette "Hidden in Plain Sight," the Vancouver and its shuttlecraft (named after Vancouver neighborhoods) are so named in recognition of the fact that animation work for the series is done in Vancouver. The city itself was named for British explorer George Vancouver.

Cast

Although Gillian Vigman is credited, and her character Dr. T'Ana does appear briefly in a fantasy sequence, she did not perform any known voices for this episode.

Continuity

In the flashback to Mariner's time aboard the Quito, Mariner's drinking buddy, relating a story from the Enterprise, says "Data's got an evil twin brother who teamed up with the Borg", referencing the events of TNG: "Descent" and TNG: "Descent, Part II".
The Terok Nor-type station shown during Mariner's flashback was not identified in the episode but confirmed to be Deep Space 9 by Mike McMahan. [2] This is the first on-screen appearance of DS9 since the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale "What You Leave Behind", with the last reference to the station being in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Pathfinder".
This is the first episode to feature an Olympic-class starship since "All Good Things...", the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was shown here docked at Deep Space 9. This is chronologically the earliest appearance of an Olympic-class starship besides a LCARS graphic shown on USS Defiant bridge in "Sacrifice of Angels".
This is the second episode of the series to depict a Starfleet uniform from a previous live-action series, though it is the first to do so with color. The first was the second version of the TNG-era uniform on the gold statue of Miles O'Brien in the far future in "Temporal Edict". This episode depicts the uniform style first introduced in Star Trek: First Contact, which subsequently appeared elsewhere by mid-Season 5 on DS9 and Season 4 of Voyager.
Mariner mentions Trip Tucker in passing in this episode, making this the first time the character is mentioned since the end of series Star Trek: Enterprise. Jonathan Archer is the only other character from that series to be referenced since, being referenced in Star Trek and Star Trek: Discovery.
This episode marks the first mention of the Suliban outside of Star Trek: Enterprise.