Vaulting Ambition ( episode ) Burnham heads to the ISS " Charon " with a special " gift " for Emperor Georgiou . Back on - board the " Discovery " , Stamets gains clarity while trapped inside the mycelial network with his Terran counterpart and Saru asks for L ' Rell ' s help to deal with Tyler . Summary . Teaser . Heading for the twenty - seven million kilometers away , Michael Burnham and Captain depart on " Shenzhou 03 " from the . The shuttlecraft travels at warp 1 after Burnham engages the autopilot shortly after departure to attend to Lorca , who is sitting restrained at the back of the craft . Before Burnham and Lorca departed the " Discovery " , Commander Saru managed to decrypt the data on the and the data was transferred to a PADD Burnham has carried on board the shuttle . However , much of the data is redacted . The decrypted data reveals that the " Defiant " crossed over to the parallel universe through interphasic space , but the location of the spatial anomaly was removed . Lorca suggests that Burnham should look for the information in the original file , which is likely to be found in the imperial palace on board the " Charon " . Burnham appears to be hesitant about the idea , but decides to remain silent . She takes out a hypospray containing a custom analgesic she prepared following Lorca ' s request . Burnham administers the analgesic on Lorca to numb his nervous system so that he feels less pain if he is punished by agonizer s . Sensing Burnham ' s hesitation about finding the missing information about the " Defiant " on the " Charon " , Lorca assures Burnham of her ability . Unconvinced , Burnham returns to her pilot seat . She reveals her fear of confronting , who she is unable to distinguish from the former captain she betrayed . Lorca reminds her that Philippa Georgiou of her universe has died and describes Georgiou as a mere ghost . Burnham counters Lorca by asking whether he has ever been afraid of ghosts . The conversation is interrupted as the shuttlecraft computer informs Burnham that it has reached the " Charon " ' s security perimeter . The shuttlecraft disengages the warp drive and approaches the imperial palace , revealing the hull of the much - larger " Charon " . Act One . While still paralyzed , Lieutenant Paul Stamets ' condition has vastly improved after Cadet Sylvia Tilly began treating him with sporal therapy . In engineering , Tilly informs Saru excitedly about Stamets ' improvement across all biological metrics , but Saru does not share her optimism : it is remains unknown where the " Defiant " had entered the parallel universe and Stamets ' condition is not improving quickly enough to assist the " Discovery " crew in returning to their universe using the spore drive . Saru is then asked to report to the sickbay . Before leaving , Saru asks Tilly to take charge of curing Stamets . Inside the mycelial network , Stamets encounters his native to the other universe . Not recognizing that he is inside the network , Stamets asks his counterpart if he is experiencing an afterlife . The other Stamets jokes about Stamets being wrong about the existence of a god and for that reason she is very angry . After being amused by Stamets ' initial confusion , the other Stamets reveals their true location . The pair introduce themselves and shake hands . Then in a white flash , they find themselves inside the , an illusory starship that the mycelial network created to resemble the " Discovery " to make Stamets feel more at home . While walking through the network - constructed corridor s , the other Stamets explains that he is an astromycologist working on board the " Charon " . An accident with his research has trapped his neural energy inside the network , while his physical body is in a catatonic state . It is revealed that the images Stamets has been seeing while traveling on the mycelial network were attempts by the other Stamets to make contact , so that he could escape the network himself . While trying to locate the network ' s exit , the pair encounter a network corruption . Before the corruption could reach them , they escape to engineering , where they believe the exit to be located . Meanwhile in the imperial palace , Emperor Georgiou receives Burnham and Lorca . Georgiou tells Burnham that she did not expect to see her alive . She invites Burnham to choose a Kelpien standing on the side of the court . The three Kelpiens turn and look at Burnham blankly while Burnham looks back at them with puzzled eyes . Georgiou senses Burnham ' s confusion and tells Burnham that she should know what to look for in a Kelpien . One of the Kelpiens tilts his head and makes a clicking sound . Burnham decides to choose him . The Kelpien is then escorted away . After the confusing affair , Burnham collects herself and presents Georgiou with the " gift " of Lorca . Lorca refuses to bow to Georgiou and is beaten with a scepter , following which he collapses on the floor . Georgiou orders Lorca to be placed in agonizers for the rest of his life . Lorca was carried away to brig C as per the orders of Captain . After the Kelpians and Lorca are dismissed , Georgiou finally welcomes Burnham and expresses that she is happy Burnham has not died hunting for Lorca . She invites Burnham to dinner as she caresses Burnham ' s face and calls her " dear daughter " . Memorable quotes . " " Lord Eling , can you keep a secret ? " " " " Yes , Emperor . " " " " Good . Clean this up . Never speak a word of it to anyone , and I ' ll make you governor of Andor . " " " " Yes , Emperor . " " " " The food is delicious , as always . " " " " No one prepares Kelpien like the Imperial chef . Here , have my ganglia . " "