Choose Your Pain ( episode ) While on a mission , Lorca unexpectedly finds himself in the company of prisoner of war Starfleet Lieutenant Ash Tyler and notorious intergalactic criminal Harry Mudd . Burnham voices her concerns about the repercussions of the spore drive jumps on " Ripper " . Summary . Teaser . Aboard the , some blurry images of the vessel ' s bridge , mess hall , sickbay , and corridor s are seen , until Michael Burnham is shown in engineering , looking at herself standing in Ripper ' s chamber . She then activates the ship ' s spore drive . When the drive initiates , Burnham cries out in extreme pain and Burnham outside the chamber screams as well . Burnham wakes up from this nightmare and looks over at her roommate , Cadet Sylvia Tilly , who is asleep and snoring . Later , in the " Discovery " s laboratory , Burnham consults with Dr . Hugh Culber about the tardigrade ' s seeming pain whenever the ship activates the spore drive . Culber responds that Human s don ' t know if the creature experiences stress or pain like they do and Burnham believes that the doctor thinks she is anthropomorphizing it . Culber notes that Burnham discovered that the creature can navigate the spore drive ; a victory that may not be a victory now that the alien ' s condition is deteriorating . Culber nevertheless promises he will run some tests . Elsewhere , Captain is speaking during a briefing of Starfleet admiral s at a space station . He touts the " Discovery " s successes during the last three week s of the , including the ship ' s prevention of the destruction of the dilithium mines at Corvan II , their breaking of the Klingon ' s supply line at Benzar , and the routing of an attack through the Ophiucus system . One of the admirals , Katrina Cornwell , notes that the reason Lorca has been brought to the briefing is to get the " Discovery " s experimental spore drive technology installed in as many Starfleet vessels as possible . Lorca remarks that he has asked Lieutenant Paul Stamets to release schematic s of the ship ' s propulsion system immediately after their first successful jump . Cornwell tells the captain that Starfleet ' s newest classified facility in Jefferson , Iowa has received them and is building more units . However , Starfleet needs more s to ensure safe navigation . Over Lorca ' s objections , Cornwell informs him that Starfleet wants the " Discovery " to scale back on its missions , as they do not want to tax their prime asset during war time . Concerns from the highest leadership in Starfleet , Cornwell notes , is that the Klingons may have uncovered the " Discovery " as Starfleet ' s secret weapon . She thereby orders Lorca to reduce the use of the spore drive unless authorized to do so by Starfleet Command . Cornwell announces that the rest of the fleet will pick up the slack caused by the " Discovery " s absence . " " That ' s a lot of slack , " " Lorca notes . Back aboard the " Discovery " , Cadet Tilly walks up to Burnham in the mess hall , who is sitting down eating . She tells her roommate that she looks awful , and Burnham sarcastically thanks her . Tilly says they will have lunch together and she will tell her what is going on . " " There ' s nothing to tell , " " Burnham replies . Tilly frets over this , noting there are many more interesting people than her on the " Discovery " and that she must have made many new friends by now . Burnham assures Tilly that she is not at fault , it is her . She has been preoccupied by Ripper ' s condition from the use of the spore drive and that she has no job to do aboard the ship . Tilly notes that this will give Burnham the time to reflect upon herself , which she doesn ' t like . " " Really ? I love feeling feelings , " " the cadet replies . Back aboard the station , Lorca is treating his damaged eye s in the darkened briefing room when Cornwell enters and turns up the lights . Lorca , in pain , loudly demands that they be turned down . Cornwell wonders why he has not yet gotten treatment for his eyes and Lorca tells her he does not trust doctors , which she sees as a personal slight , given the fact that she " is " a doctor . Lorca replies that it is punishment for blindsiding him during the strategy session . Cornwell then brings up when Lorca brought mutineer Michael Burnham aboard the " Discovery " , and Lorca quotes Starfleet regulation 13982 , which allows him to conscript virtually anyone in a time of war . Cornwell notes that many see Burnham as the cause of Starfleet ' s current conflict with the Klingons and seeing her avoiding justice for her actions during the Battle of the Binary Stars does nothing to help morale . Lorca reminds her that it is his ship and his way . Later on , Lorca is aboard a shuttlecraft " en route " back to the " Discovery " when it gets ambushed by a Klingon D7 class battle cruiser . Lorca and the shuttle pilot arm themselves with phaser rifle s and stand ready near the aft airlock . The Klingons enter and the pilot is killed after getting stabbed . " " Captain Lorca , " " L ' Rell says as she and her fellow Klingons take him away . On the floor of the shuttle , Lorca ' s medical device for his eyes is left behind . Act One . On the bridge of the " Discovery " , Admiral Cornwell , via holo - communicator , informs the vessel ' s first officer , Commander Saru , that Captain Lorca has been taken prisoner by the Klingons . They do not know where he has been taken to , as the Klingon ' s warp trail has since dissipated . She notes that this was a targeted abduction and the Klingons have possibly taken Lorca to learn more about the " Discovery " s unique propulsion system . Saru confidently informs the admiral that they will find the captain . After ceasing communication , Saru orders helmsman Keyla Detmer to plot a course that will take them to the shuttle ' s last known coordinates at maximum warp . He also orders operations officer Owosekun to establish search parameters sector by sector in relation to escape vectors correlating to all known Klingon bases , colonies or planets . After issuing the orders , Saru ' s threat ganglia engages just as Burnham enters the bridge . She wants to speak to the captain , but , as Saru says , that will not be possible now . He orders Airiam to inform Stamets that they will likely make multiple jumps throughout Klingon space with the spore drive to rescue the captain . Burnham takes issue with the commander ' s plan , telling him she does not know how feasible it will be . In Lorca ' s ready room , Saru and Burnham discuss the situation further . She says that she has become concerned that they are negatively impacting Ripper with every jump they make with the spore drive . Saru reminds her that he was told the creature was virtually indestructible , but Burnham disagrees . However , she cannot provide Saru with the proof to back up this assumption . He does not find this helpful and reminds her that they must rescue their captain . She tells him she does not know how many more of these jumps the tardigrade can sustain . " " The more you hurt someone , the less helpful they become , " " she states . Saru demands she focus on the task at hand and to not bring up the tardigrade again until Captain Lorca is safely back aboard the " Discovery " . Dismissing Burnham , Saru asks the " Discovery " s computer to list Starfleet ' s most decorated commanding officer s , both living and deceased . Listing notable captains such as April , Archer , Decker , Georgiou , and Pike , Saru wants the computer to analyze all data related to his performance as acting captain of the " Discovery " and to cross reference with success parameters and also to note where deviations occur . The computer asks the Kelpien to state his purpose for this new protocol . He tells it that there is an element aboard the " Discovery " that causes him to second - guess himself and it cannot continue , referring to Burnham . The computer suggests an alternative – he eliminate the destructive element . " " Not an option , " " he says . Aboard a Klingon vessel , there are faint screams in the distance . Lorca is unconscious and lying on the floor . Someone is carefully looking through his Starfleet jacket when Lorca grabs the man by his throat . Lorca demands the individual identify himself . The man tells Lorca that he is " " Mudd , Harcourt Fenton Mudd , Harry for short . " " He remarks that Lorca ' s grip on his throat hurts and the captain lets him go . When asked where they are , Mudd tells Lorca sarcastically that they are on a resort off Antares Minor and he should try the spa . Lorca asks again where they are . " " Typical Starfleet . No fun at all , " " Mudd sneers . He tells the captain they are on a Klingon prison vessel , a particularly nasty one . Lorca wonders why Mudd , a civilian , is aboard one and he tells Lorca that the only crime he is guilty of is loving too much . He tells the captain of his " " sweet Stella , " " a woman whose family did not approve of Mudd , so to win her father ' s respect , he borrowed a large sum from " " non - traditional lenders , " " and he bought her a moon . It worked like a charm – until he fell behind in his payments . Mudd was chased by creditors all the way into the Klingon ' s hands when the war broke out and they deposited him on the prison ship where he awaits his fate . Near Lorca and Mudd , a wounded Starfleet officer is moaning in pain . Just then , two Klingons enter and ask the prisoners to " " choose your pain . " " Mudd points towards the weakened Starfleet officer . The Klingon officer punches the man and throws him around the cell , until he is kicked in the head and dies . The Klingons drag his dead body out and Mudd explains that the Klingons regularly ask their prisoners to choose their pain – they can choose themselves for a beating or choose one of their cellmates . This is done to prevent the inmates from bonding . Lorca notices that Mudd seems to be free from any bruises or injuries . Mudd tells the captain that he has learned to choose wisely . " " Don ' t judge , " " Mudd says . " " You ' re going to want to stick with me . I ' m a survivor – just . . . like . . . you . " " Act Two . In the " Discovery " s engineering , Burnham enters with Dr . Culber . Culber warns her that Stamets never listens to him but she thinks she can handle him . " " Please , show me how , " " the doctor says . After some posturing to Stamets on how his spore drive is revolutionary and beyond genius , the lieutenant shoots back that he " knows " he is brilliant and wonders why Culber is with her . Explaining that he is concerned about the physical effect the frequent jumps are taking on Ripper , Culber explains that medical scans on its frontal lobes show cumulative deterioration . Burnham believes they must find a workaround that does not involve Ripper being a critical component for the spore drive . If they do not find one , they could lose them both as well as Captain Lorca . Stamets asks Culber if there is someone on " Discovery " who requires his attention and the doctor states that he is due to help the ship ' s chief medical officer with an Andorian tonsillectomy . After Culber leaves , Stamets and Burnham argue further , until Stamets asks her if she wants to be right or if she wants to fix it . Aboard the Klingon prison ship , Mudd is sleep ing when Lorca comes across a male Starfleet officer lying on the floor . Arising , the Starfleet officer tells Lorca he was " pulled out of rotation . " The man explains that sometimes the Klingons let them heal up so they last longer . " " Shit , you ' re a captain ? " " he asks . Lorca and the officer sit together on the floor and he offers the captain his scrap of food . Lorca refuses but the officer insists , telling him he needs to keep up his strength . He has already lost one captain and he will not lose another . Identifying himself as Lieutenant Ash Tyler , he tells Lorca his former commanding officer was Steven Maranville of the . Tyler was captured at the Battle of the Binary Stars and has been in the prison for seven months . Lorca suggests Tyler may be a liar , as no one survives torture at the hands of the Klingons for seven months and asks the lieutenant if they have a reason to keep him alive . Tyler explains that the female Klingon captain of the ship has taken a liking to him . Lorca wants to get his hands on an active comm relay to signal the " Discovery " for extraction . Tyler is dubious of this , as they are deep within Klingon territory but Lorca assures him that the " Discovery " can rescue them . Just then , an insect crawls between them . " " Mudd , if I see that pet of yours again . . . , " " Tyler says as the insect crawls up to Mudd ' s shoulder with Tyler ' s scrap of food . " " Apologies , lieutenant . Stuart has boundary issues , " " Mudd says while eating . Lorca questions why Mudd would take food from the only two men standing between him and death and Mudd explains that he had a good life and a respectable business until it got blown up by Starfleet and their war . Mudd tells the Starfleet officers that he and others like him are tired of getting caught in their crossfire . Then , two Klingons enter the cell , grab Lorca by his throat and take him away . Aboard " Discovery " , Stamets is explaining the problem of how the spore drive is killing Ripper . Explaining how the mycelial network acts as a matrix that serves as an intergalactic freeway system , the tardigrade ' s unique genetic makeup allows it to navigate the network because of its symbiotic relationship with the mycelial spores . When Ripper borrows DNA from the mycelium , it is granted an all access travel pass around the galaxy . Tilly suggests building a virtual Ripper , thereby tricking the mycelium into thinking it is communicating with the real thing . Stamets replies that he already tried that ; it only allowed for small jumps . He knows why now – the spores and the drive were functioning at only a fraction of their capacity until they introduced a living co - pilot . Stamets announces that all they have to do to relieve Ripper is introduce the same sequence into a compatible host , one that understands its role in the process and does so willingly . " " You guys , this is so fucking cool ! " " , Tilly blurts out . Stamets stares at her and she apologizes to the lieutenant for her outburst . " " No , cadet . It " is " fucking cool , " " he responds back at her . Meanwhile , Lorca is strapped into a chair while L ' Rell speaks to him in English and asks if he has ever been tortured . He notes her English is good and she tells him she descended from spies – languages are useful to learn . Particularly of those , she notes , who seek to destroy the Klingon Empire . L ' Rell tells the captain that he has been busy the last three weeks , referencing " Discovery " s rescue of the Corvan system and their disappearance without a trace . Demanding to know his vessel ' s secret , Lorca feigns ignorance . Continuing on , L ' Rell reveals her knowledge of Lorca ' s sensitivity to bright light . " " Well , we all got something honey . You ' re seeking solace in the arms of a Human male . We don ' t even have the right number of organs for you . Why so hard up ? " " At this , L ' Rell growls and strikes Lorca in the face . Going behind the captain , she pulls out a device to forcibly keep his eyes open and turns on three glowing lights . Lorca yells out in pain . Act Three . Saru emerges from the ready room and asks Lieutenant Rhys when his analysis of " Discovery " s long - range sensor data will be complete . Rhys responds that they have narrowed it down to three potential courses , which pass through the Mempa system . Saru asks that Stamets be made aware that they will be proceeding on their rescue mission . However , Owosekun reports that Stamets has taken the spore drive off - line . To find out why , Saru heads down to engineering . Tilly , Stamets , and Burnham are looking for compatible DNA sequences when Saru arrives and demands to know why the drive was taken off - line . Stamets informs the first officer that they were working on trying to find a substitute for Ripper . Recalling their earlier conversation , Saru informs Tilly and Stamets that Burnham was told to stand down from this until the captain was rescued . Bunrham shows Saru a hypospray containing tardigrade DNA and replication catalysts to initiate rapid gene transfer in a host . Burnham suggests a Human host but Saru dismisses this , reminding her that eugenics experiments are expressly forbidden . She knows this and tells him they need more time . Saru angrily tells her he gave her an order . She responds that she knows his Kelpien culture is supposed to be on the heightened lookout for enemies , but she assures him she is not one of them . Saru becomes even more angry at this and says she is not an enemy – she is a proven predator . He tells her that saving Ripper will not bring back nor change the fact that her current behavior is exactly the kind that led to the death of Captain Georgiou . Then , Rhys hails Saru and tells him they have located the battle cruiser Lorca has been captured on . Saru orders that Stamets bring the spore drive on - line and that Burnham confine herself to quarters immediately . On the prison ship , Lorca is placed back into his cell . Pushing Mudd , Lorca grabs his pet Stuart and finds a transmitter attached to it . He crushes the transmitter with his foot and tells his two fellow inmates that earlier he dropped a little conversational nugget about ghost s to see if Mudd or Tyler could be trusted . He tells them both that he just had his words parroted back to him from L ' Rell . At this , Lorca throws Stuart into the wall and Mudd shouts that he almost killed his pet . Tyler then shoves Mudd into the wall and tells him he is finished . When the time comes to " choose their pain " , Lorca and Tyler will both choose Mudd . After their confrontation , Mudd walks over to Lorca and asks if he is going to let an idealistic young man like Tyler humiliate himself by siding with the likes of him . Going into further detail , Mudd reveals that Lorca was previously the commanding officer of the , a vessel that was ambushed by the Klingons a month into the war . Only one crewman was able to escape – Lorca , the captain . Lorca explains to Tyler that Mudd is only half right . The Klingons attacked and he did escape , but he did not let his crew die . He blew them up . Knowing what awaited them on Qo ' noS , the Klingon homeworld , namely degradation , torture , and a slow public death , he did what he did . On " Discovery " , Saru has Stamets engage the spore drive and has the ship put on black alert . Stamets beams Ripper into the chamber and the ship ' s spore drive activates . However , Ripper collapses in the chamber and goes into a state of extreme cryptobiosis , reducing the water content of its body to less than one percent , according to Dr . Culber . Its life signs have dropped so low , they cannot even detect them . Saru simply orders that they rehydrate the creature and bring it back . Culber argues with Saru that it is not like waking someone from a nap – the tardigrade is now in survival mode . Saru replies that so are they – Ripper is their only chance to escape Klingon space . He tells a nearby Stamets to be ready to force the creature to comply and he follows orders . In the prison cell , the Klingons return and again ask the prisoners to choose their pain . Preparing to choose Mudd , Tyler asks Lorca to instead pick him . Lorca reluctantly agrees . The Klingons begin brutally attacking Tyler until he suddenly moves out of the way on the floor , distracting the guards and allowing Lorca to subdue the Klingon watching him . Lorca and Tyler eventually kill both the guards by snapping their neck s and take their Klingon disruptor s . " " Where the hell did that come from ? " " , Mudd asks . Tyler replies that escaping was always a two man job – he just waited until the right man came along . Mudd realizes that Tyler had played him . Starting to walk out of their cell with the two Starfleet officers , Mudd is stopped by Lorca , who tells him he sold them out and he will stay in prison . Lorca hits Mudd in the mouth with his weapon and they walk out . Mudd , with blood in his mouth , desperately tells Lorca that he cannot take it in prison any more and promised Stella that he would come back to her . Lorca and Tyler don ' t listen and lock Mudd in his cell . Mudd shouts out , " " You can ' t walk away from me , Lorca ! I ' m coming for you , you hear ? ! You haven ' t seen the last of Harcourt Fenton Mudd ! " " Lorca and Tyler fend off Klingon warriors in the corridors using hand - to - hand combat and their disruptors . Tyler eventually collapses and encourages Lorca to leave him behind . Lorca says to Tyler that he will come back for him , tells him to hide and leaves to find a way out . Just then , L ' Rell comes over to Tyler and asks if he can really leave her after all they have been through together . Tyler slowly gets up and begins fighting her . Eventually , she falls to the floor , where Tyler begins punching L ' Rell repeatedly in the face . Lorca returns at that moment , vaporizes an oncoming Klingon and fires a shot that hits L ' Rell in the face . She screams in agony and the two men head for the ship ' s docking bay . Act Four . Aboard a Klingon raider , Lorca and Tyler are flying away and redirecting all auxiliary power to shields . They are being pursued by five raiders , closing fast . Lorca manages to destroy one . Tyler asks the captain if his eye condition happened when he destroyed the " Buran " . " " We choose our own pain . Mine helps me remember , " " he replies . On the bridge of the " Discovery " , the raiders have been detected . Saru orders a red alert and quickly deduces that Lorca is on board the raider being chased . Gaining communication with the " Discovery " , Lorca identifies himself and orders for two to beam out . Materializing in the transporter room of the " Discovery " , Tyler collapses . Lorca hail s the bridge to let them know they have them and to initiate the spore drive . Saru calls engineering and asks Stamets if they have been able to revive the tardigrade . Stamets simply replies that they are ready to jump . Rhys reports that the " Discovery " will soon be in weapons range of the raiders . Saru orders black alert and the ship disappears . In safety , Tyler thanks Lorca for rescuing him . Lorca wonders why , since he dragged the lieutenant back into the war onto a ship with a target on its back . " " There ' s no place I ' d rather be , " " he says . Saru calls engineering to congratulate Stamets but receives no answer . Owosekun reports that Stamets is in engineering but his life signs are in distress . Heading down , Saru , Tilly , and other crew members find Stamets in the chamber unconscious , having injected himself with the tardigrade DNA . Tilly asks if he is dead and Saru cannot answer . Just then , Stamets awakens and asks if they made it . Saru tells him they did and the lieutenant begins laughing hysterically . Saru heads to Burnham ' s quarters to fill her in on what happened , but she responds that Tilly has already brought her up to speed on the situation with Ripper . Burnham then asks Saru one question : is he afraid of her ? Saru says he is not – he is angry at her . He is very jealous that he never got the chance that she had to be a first officer under Captain Georgiou on the and learn everything she had to teach . He anticipated that Burnham would get her own command and he would move up , but he never got that chance . He believes that if he had , he would have been more prepared for the events of today . Burnham assures Saru that he did very well and that Captain Georgiou would have thought so , as well . Burnham then goes under her bed to get Captain Georgiou ' s telescope and tells Saru that it is his now . Before leaving , Saru tells Burnham that Captain Lorca has yet to be cleared for command and he has much to attend to . He does order Burnham to do one thing : go save Ripper ' s life . Elsewhere , Tilly is with Burnham and says " " May the sun and moon watch your comings and goings in the endless nights and days that are before you , " " before Ripper . Turning , Tilly asks Burnham if she is sure this is going to work . Burnham says no , but adds that if this is Ripper ' s response to an adverse environment , what does it consider to be hospitable ? She notes that this creature has been to the far ends of the universe and she hopes that what makes this creature most happy – is to be free . Burnham fills Ripper ' s chamber with spores and the creature is released into open space , where it opens up again and disappears to parts unknown . Burnham looks up and smiles . In Lorca ' s ready room , the computer is about to begin a performance review of Saru when he cancels the protocol , saying aloud , " " I know what I did . " " In Culber and Stamets ' quarters , Culber is scanning Stamets with his medical tricorder when the astromycologist asks him to stop worrying and stop doctoring him . Culber replies that one tends to worry when they are doomed to love a brilliant but reckless maniac who is willing to risk his life for glory . Stamets tells his partner that the captain ' s life was in danger but Culber reminds him that captains are in danger every day . The two begin brushing their teeth and Stamets says that for his whole career , he has been trying to understand the essence of mycelium and now , for the very first time , he does . During his connection to the spore drive , he saw the vast network – an entire universe of possibility he never dreamed existed . Also , he knew Culber would leave him if he let anything else endanger the creature . " " Don ' t do anything that stupid ever again , " " Culber tells Stamets . " " You may not care about you , " " he adds , " " but I do . " " Before going to bed , Culber asks Stamets if he feels OK . Stamets says that he does . Stamets then leaves and his reflection is looking back in the mirror with an odd expression . Memorable quotes . " " Ouch ! " " " " Who are you ? " " " " The name is Mudd . Harcourt Fenton Mudd , Harry for short . I reiterate – ouch . " " " " You guys , this is so fucking cool ! . . . I ' m so sorry . " " " " No , cadet . It " is " fucking cool . " " Links and references . References . Acamar ; Adelphous ; Andorian ; animal kingdom ; Antares Minor ; ; ; Azure Nebula ; Barron Grimes ; Battle of the Binaries ; Benzar ; Benzite system ; Beta Lankal ; black alert ; ; Buran casualties ; Carraya ; confession ; Corvan II ; Corvan system ; creditor ; cryptobiosis ; Daystrom Institute ; Deep Space Station K - 7 ; distress beacon ; DNA ; docking bay ; DSC 01 ; ; ; Earth ; English language ; eugenics ; eye ; Federation database ; floor show ; fuck ; freeway ; frontal lobe ; genome ; ; horizontal gene transfer ; hot stone massage ; Hromi Cluster ; Human s ; hypospray ; Iconian s ; induction coil ; instinct ; Iowa ; Jefferson ; ; Klach D ' kel Brakt ; Klingon Bird - of - Prey ; Klingon raider ; L ' Rell ' s battle cruiser ; ; Mempa sector ; Mempa system ; moon ; Morska system ; ; murder ; mycelial network ; mycelium ; nervous system ; Ophiucus system ; pain ; photosensitivity ; ; portabella ; portobello ; predator ; prey ; " Prototaxites stellaviatori " ; Qo ' noS ; red alert ; replication catalyst ; Ripper ; Rura Penthe ; snoring ; soul ; Starbase 157 ; Starbase 343 ; Starfleet General Orders and Regulations ; stress ; Stuart ; subspace domain ; symbiosis ; tardigrade ; tardigrade ( alien ) ; tonsillectomy ; toothbrush ; torture ; tractor beam ; unnamed planet ; unnamed starbase ; unnamed Starfleet ships ; Vulcan ; warp trail ; xenoanthropology ; ; Zaldan ; Zan Periculi