The Vulcan Hello ( episode ) While patrolling Federation space , the USS " Shenzhou " encounters an object of unknown origin , putting First Officer Michael Burnham to her greatest test yet . ( " Series premiere " ) Summary . Teaser . A Klingon is speaking in a large chamber full of other Klingon s . He says that the Klingons have lost their way , and forgotten the Unforgettable : Kahless , and the traditions of honor and glory he set down for them to follow . He mentions the lighting of a beacon , and the need to reunite the Houses and save themselves from an impending threat : an enemy that says " We come in peace " ( the Federation , as he says this last phrase in English for emphasis ) . Captain Philippa Georgiou and Commander Michael Burnham are on a desert planet attempting to locate a well that has run dry due to radiation from a meteor mining accident . A large storm is brewing overhead . Burnham predicts that an 89 - year drought is imminent , and the ( presumably pre - warp ) non - humanoid species who inhabit the world – the Crepusculan s – are facing extinction if they lose their water supply . Their goal is to repair the well and have the pick them up undetected , thereby avoiding a violation of Starfleet General Order 1 . After walking past a group of egg sac s and eventually locating their objective , Captain Georgiou discharges a type 3 phaser into the well , shifting the water table and allowing water to reemerge from the well in a large geyser . At this point , two natives are visible watching from atop a plateau , and a third is shown crawling along the ground with octopus - like tendrils , seemingly unseen by the two Humans . The pair realize the gathering storm is preventing a transporter lock at their current location , so they begin to walk across the desert , discussing Burnham ' s future career . Soon the " Shenzhou " is shown breaking through the storm clouds , and transports them up to the ship . A bird ' s - eye - view glimpse of the desert reveals that the captain used their footprints to create a Starfleet insignia visible from overhead , allowing them to be located . Act One . The stardate is 1207 . 3 , or May 11 , 2256 in Earth terminology . The " Shenzhou " has responded to a signal from a damaged relay and arrives in order to make repairs . The relay is located in a region of space in close proximity to a binary star system in a state of stellar collision , and the collision has created a large debris field . Science Officer Saru believes that the relay was intentionally damaged . He picks up a signal from an anomaly in the debris field , but the object is somehow creating a scattering field , and deflecting their attempts to scan it . First Officer Burnham convinces Captain Georgiou to allow her to approach the object with a thruster pack , since the debris is too dense for a transporter lock or a shuttlepod . The large quantity of radiation in the area limits her space walk to twenty minutes . The debris field also has the potential to disrupt communications from the ship . Commander Burnham uses the thruster pack to travel the two thousand kilometers to the anomaly without incident , but communication to the " Shenzhou " is disrupted . Burnham floats over to the source of the scattering field , and realizes it is not a normal part of the debris field , but an a intricately - designed , sculpture - like object . As Burnham explores the object , she comes across a platform - like area with ten minutes left on her mission clock . The proximity sensor on her environmental suit is abruptly activated , and she finds herself standing across from a Klingon . As she attempts to make contact , the Klingon swings a " bat ' leth " at her . She manages to activate her thrusters at a crucial moment , driving one side of the " bat ' leth " through the Klingon ' s suit and body , impaling the Klingon and pushing it away from the platform . While this is happening , the " Shenzhou " is still unable to establish contact with Burnham . Act Two . In the Klingons ' chamber , the body of the warrior killed by Burnham lies in a sarcophagus in the center . It is revealed that the anomaly investigated by " Shenzhou " is the " sacred beacon " placed by these Klingons . The body of the dead Klingon floats out of the chamber and into space . It comes to rest at a mausoleum - like area , which is open to space and already populated with many sarcophagi . Unconscious , Burnham recalls her childhood at the Vulcan Learning Center . There , a computer system quizzes her rapidly on various Klingon and Starfleet - related facts . She becomes overwhelmed by video of a particular Klingon attack and pauses the computer program . Her mentor , a Vulcan named Sarek , arrives and lectures her on the importance of logic over emotion . Commander Burnham wakes up in a medical pod covered in wounds . She is told that three hours have elapsed since she was rescued from the object , and she terminates the medical pod ' s anti - radiation procedure prematurely and climbs out . She makes her way to the bridge and notifies her crewmembers about the Klingon she encountered , but they are skeptical . She recounts what happened earlier to Captain Georgiou , and Saru suggests that she is confused due to suffering a concussion and tells her to return to sickbay . Georgiou believes her and locks on to what turns out to be a cloaked Klingon vessel . As soon as the weapons lock is initiated , the Klingon ship appears , seemingly from nowhere . The " Shenzhou " attempts to hail the Klingon vessel , but the Klingons ignore them and discuss a prophecy and reiterate the need to " light the beacon , " now referred to as the " Light of Kahless . " A light - skinned Klingon volunteers to light the beacon , but he is rebuffed by the assumed leader and told that since he doesn ' t belong to a Great House , he is unworthy for such a task . The light - skinned Klingon assures the leader of his faith and places his hand over an open flame and holds it there , causing severe burns yet leaving the Klingon unfazed . This act seems to change the demeanor of the leader , and he hands over his " bat ' leth " to the the light - skinned Klingon and names him Torchbearer . As this is happening , a report comes in showing movement on long range sensor s , which seems to fulfill a prediction made by the leader at an earlier time . Act Three . On the " Shenzhou , " scans of the Klingon flagship show it is covered in the sarcophagus - like coffins . Starfleet orders the ship to hold position and take no action until reinforcements arrive . Captain Georgiou is concerned that " Shenzhou " is currently the only line of defense between the Klingons and an Andorian colony . Act Four . An ear - piercing electromagnetic signal abruptly permeates through the ship and causes the crew extreme discomfort until they manage to filter it out . Commander Burnham opens a subspace channel to the Vulcan Sarek . They discuss the unusual behavior of the Klingons and come to the conclusion that some new leader is causing change within the Klingon Empire . Sarek also alludes to a dark incident in Commander Burnham ' s past . After finishing her conversation with Sarek , Burnham recommends to the captain that the " Shenzhou " attack the Klingon ship . She justifies her opinion by pointing out that the Vulcans have used preemptive strikes in the past to meet threats from the Klingons . The captain and commander descend into argument about the Federation ' s ideals and what would be the moral and right course of action in this situation . After Captain Georgiou orders Commander Burnham to stand down , Burnham disables the captain with a Vulcan nerve pinch . She then takes command of the ship and orders an attack on the Klingon vessel , while lying to the crew about the whereabouts of the Captain . She orders the attack over the objections of Saru and orders the weapons fired but Georgiou re - enters the bridge and orders that Burnham ' s orders be belayed . She trains a phaser on her Number One and orders her to stand down . Burnham desperately tries to plead with Georgiou that she is trying to save the crew ' s lives . Before anyone can react , the beacon from the Klingon vessel diminishes and the sensors pick up a series of warp signatures on an intercept course . Georgiou inquires if it is Starfleet arriving but Burnham quickly realizes it is the Klingons , who take up position against the " Shenzhou " and have them greatly outnumbered . Memorable quotes . " " ( in Klingonese ) They are coming . Atom by atom , they will coil around us and take all that we are . There is one way to confront this threat . By reuniting the twenty - four warring houses of our own empire . We have forgotten the Unforgettable , the last to unify our tribes : Kahless . Together , under one creed , remain Klingon ! That is why we light our beacon this day . To assemble our people . To lock arms against those whose fatal greeting is . . . ( in English ) we come in peace . " " " " We come in peace , that ' s why we ' re here . Isn ' t that the whole idea of Starfleet ? " " " " Hey – I taught you that . " " " " Saru ' s Kelpien . He thinks everything ' s malicious . " " " " Despite the first officer ' s constant need to dismiss my ideas . . . " " " " She apparently agrees with you . " " " " Really ? " " " " Ensign Connor , agreement between my senior officers . Note the date and time . " " " " Noted , captain . " " " " When emotion brings us ghosts from the past , only logic can root us in the present . " " Links and references . References . 13th century ; 2016 ; 2249 ; 2256 ; 2345 ; accretion disk ; acute radiation syndrome ; Advanced Interstellar Combat ; Alkaid ; Alioth ; Andor ia ; Andorian ; antiproton chamber ; atom ; away team ; Battle of the Binary Stars ; Black Fleet ; blood ; blood pressure ; captain ; chain of command ; Chateau Picard ; chief science officer ; cloaking screen ; commander ; communication module ; communicator ; coffin ; concussion ; course ; Crepusculan ; Crepusculan homeworld ; crusade ; crystal ; data collection unit ; debris field ; Department of Foreign Studies ; desert ; DNA ; Doctari Alpha ; drought ; Dubhe ; Eagle - 12 ; egg sac ; ; exoskeleton ; extinction ; eye ; fable ; family blade ; Flight 819 ; food chain ; footprint s ; funeral ; Gamma Hydra ; General Order 1 ; genetic unspooling ; goggles ; H ' atoria ; headlamp ; hologram ; hour ; iconography ; IDIC ; internal sensor ; interstellar relay ; Kahless ; Kelpien ; Kelpien homeworld ; Klingon ; Klingon Empire ; Klingon Houses ; Klingon language ; Laikan Military Academy ; lieutenant ; livestock ; long range sensor scan ; lumen ; map ; Megrez ; meteor ; minute ; Mizar ; mutiny ; nanosecond ; nitrogen ; noodle ; number one ; optical processor ; oxygen ; phase cannon ; plasmatic filters ; president ; privacy ; proximity alert ; Qo ' noS ; quantum efficiency spectrum ; radiation ; San Francisco Fleet Yards ; " Sarcophagus " ; scattering field ; sculpture ; second ; sensor dead zone ; ; Sol III ; species ; species map ; spirituality ; star ; Star Cross ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Command ; stealth mode ; storm ; subspace antenna ; Sunday ; superstructure ; sympathetic vibration ; telescope ; three - dimensional chess ; thruster pack ; thunder ; torchbearer ; tractor beam ; tribe ; tricorder ; type 3 phaser ; United Federation of Planets ; voiceprint ; Vulcan ; ; Vulcan Hello ; Vulcan nerve pinch ; Vulcan starship ; ; warrior caste ; water ; water table ; well ; xenoanthropologist ; year Georgiou ' s bookshelf : " All Our Yesterdays " ; " Amok Time " ; " Balance of Terror " ; " By Any Other Name " ; ' ; ' ; ' ; ' ; ' ; ' ; " Mirror , Mirror " ; ' ; " Patterns of Force " ; " Plato ' s Stepchildren " ; " Return to Tomorrow " ; " That Which Survives " ; ' ; " " ; " Whom Gods Destroy " USS " Shenzhou " dedication plaque :