Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 2 - "Ad Astra per Aspera"The persecution of Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) come to an end after her court-martial hearing in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2, "Ad Astra per Aspera". The SNW season 1 finale's cliffhanger ending saw Una being taken off the USS Enterprise in shackles, arrested for lying to Starfleet about her Illyrian heritage. Una's trial finally takes place in "Ad Astra per Aspera" and Star Trek's first courtroom drama in decades sheds new light on the character of Number One, while also putting the career of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) at risk.
"Ad Astra per Aspera" reveals where Captain Pike went in Strange New Worlds season 2's premiere after leaving Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) in command of the USS Enterprise. The opening of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2 reveals that Pike traveled to the Illyrian settlement in the Vaultera Nebula. The reason for Pike's trip is to convince Una's former childhood friend Neera Ketoul (Yetide Badaki), a prominent Illyrian civil rights lawyer, to defend Number One in court. Neera takes the case, ultimately reconciling her differences with Una, and making a strong start for the rights of Illyrians and other Augments banned by the United Federation of Planets.
How Number One Wins Her Trial & Why Starfleet Offers Una Asylum
Neera wins Una her case on what is later described as both a "technicality" and a "start" for changing attitudes toward Illyrians. Deciding to place Una on the stand, she allows Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Number One the platform to detail the persecution that she and her fellow Illyrians faced during her childhood. Una describes the plight of Illyrians in detail, from conducting their traditions in secret to hiding life-threatening injuries from hospitals and seeking out "friendly" doctors to deliver newborn Illyrians. Worse still, she details an incident from her childhood when a local boy was mercilessly bullied by their fellow pupils for being an Augment, after they learned about them in school.
Una's testimony paints a picture of racial persecution and life-threatening abuse at the hands of others. Once this is revealed to the court, the mood noticeably shifts, with Captain Batel (Melanie Scrofano) visibly moved by Una's harrowing tales of her childhood. Neera then cites the Starfleet Charter, which states that anyone who experiences persecution on cultural or religious grounds and is in fear for their life can seek asylum within the Federation. Una's childhood dreams of ing Starfleet, and her harrowing experiences are enough for Neera to convince the court that Una lied about her background to protect herself and then, when ready, applied to Captain Pike for asylum aboard the Enterprise.
The court accepts this, and grants Una asylum in the Federation, in line with the Starfleet Charter, and presumably in recognition of her exemplary service record. The Judge Advocate General observes that while the day may come when the Federation rethinks its ban on genetic enhancements, cases like Una's will continue to be dealt with on an individual basis. Neera hopefully observes that the ruling and the fact that the crew of the USS Enterprise proudly serves under an Illyrian Commander are a good "start" for changing Starfleet's prejudice against Augments.
Why Number One Turned Herself Into Starfleet
Newly reinstated aboard the USS Enterprise, Security Chief Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) is tasked with investigating who turned on Una. La'an is worried that an angry personal log recorded after she discovered Una's Illyrian heritage could have been intercepted, but the truth is much more complex. Neera clearly has her suspicions, and La'an's fruitless investigations finally convince her of the truth - that Una turned herself in to Starfleet. Badgering her own witness on the stand in court, Neera confronts Una about why she would risk her glittering Starfleet career by revealing the truth.
Una responds that she was tired of hiding her heritage, and wanted her crew to see her for who she truly was. It's a powerful moment that really gets across the cruelty of the Federation's blanket ban on Augments. For Una and the Illyrians, genetic enhancement is part of their culture, and it's something that occurs before she's even born, let alone old enough to decide on the augmentations for herself. By turning herself in and telling her story on the witness stand, Una is heroically taking a stand, confronting Starfleet with the ban's lack of nuance when it comes to genetically altered species.
Captain Pike & Enterprise Crew Were Almost Accused Of Conspiracy
Unmoved by the emotional testimony of Una, Vice iral Pasalk (Graeme Somerville) questions her on the stand about how much Captain Pike knew about her Illyrian heritage. Una had previously told Pike about her true background, but he refused to inform Starfleet or have her removed from the Enterprise. Pike and Una are fiercely loyal to one another, and he even risked his own life in the punishing atmosphere of the Illyrian settlement to recruit Neera to the cause. Pike's decision not to disclose Una's Illyrian heritage worked in her favor, as the Starfleet Charter allows a Captain to act with discretion when dealing with such information during Una's application for asylum.
Vice iral Pasalk's badgering of Una is intended to reveal a conspiracy that spreads through the Enterprise's chain of command. It's unclear exactly why the Vulcan wants to completely gut the Federation flagship of its crew. Star Trek: Enterprise's Vulcans established that they have very particular standards for Starfleet officers, implying Pasalk thinks Pike isn't up to the task. It's possible that Pasalk's overreach is driven by his hostility toward Spock, who describes the Vice iral as the only colleague of his father that gets under his skin. Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) even observes that the two Vulcans "hate each other", so it's possible that Pasalk is using the Illyrian scandal to punish Spock and the crew of the Enterprise.
La'an its She Is An Augment Like Khan
As well as defending Una, Neera also has some words of wisdom for La'an, who's struggling with her problematic legacy as a descendant of Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalban). La'an reveals to Neera that she has inherited Khan's augmentations, and is worried that it will make her dangerous like her ancestor. Neera touchingly assures La'an that, rather than being a monster, she's "born with the capacity for actions good, or ill, just like the rest of us."
The ban on genetic enhancements exists because of Khan, so it's only right that La'an's family history be recognized in "Ad Astra per Aspera." She's asked about Khan on the witness stand, and her emotional ission to Neera is proof that the harsh realities of the Federation's prejudice against Augments also affect those who are 100% honest about their backgrounds. It will be interesting to see how far Star Trek: Strange New Worlds explores La'an's links to Khan as the series continues, given that the legendary tyrant won't be awoken for another 8 years.
What Strange New Worlds Revealed About Number One & Neera
Civil rights lawyer Neera was a childhood friend of Una, but a wedge had been driven between them at an undisclosed moment in the past. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reveals that it wasn't one thing that led to Neera and Una's fallout, but an accumulation of events driven by anti-Illyrian prejudice. During Una's testimony, she mentions the fallout from a boy at her school, Ivan, being discovered to be Illyrian. Ivan is Neera's cousin, and his parents were arrested when the child was 10 years old, leading to civil unrest in the colony as the colonists attempted to oust the Illyrians from the planet.
To bring peace to the colony, it was split into two communities, one made up of Illyrians, and the other made up of non-enhanced colonists. Una's family could "" for being non-enhanced, and made the decision to abandon their fellow Illyrians to live a more comfortable life. It's clear that this was the initial incident that divided Una and Neera as children. During Number One's court-martial, Una movingly tells Neera that she regrets leaving behind family and friends "every day", prompting an unspoken acceptance of Una's apology by Neera.
Neera is no fan of Starfleet and dedicated her life to improving the lives of Illyrians while Una served an institution that persecuted them. It's likely that Una's choice of career further exacerbated their estrangement after their families were divided. However, by the end of "Ad Astra per Aspera", Una and Neera are reconciled, as the latter sees the positive impact of having an Illyrian serve in a key role aboard the Federation's flagship.
Why Number One's Trial Didn't (& Couldn't) Solve The Federation's Ban On Augments
Sadly, established Star Trek canon prevented Una and Neera from achieving a more substantial victory for Augments against the Federation. In a classic Doctor Julian Bashir episode of Star Trek: DS9, it was revealed that he, too was genetically enhanced. Like Una, Julian also lied about his genetic enhancements, which had been conducted while he was a child. Star Trek: Prodigy later revealed that the ban against genetic enhancements is still in effect in the late 24th century. This meant that, while Una was always going to win her case, it couldn't be a larger legal victory for the wider Star Trek universe.
The Judge Advocate General's belief that more substantial change could happen in the future is heartening, but it's still not happened in Star Trek canon. Instead, the case-by-case basis that decided Una's victory in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is still in effect. Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) was still allowed to remain in Starfleet, but only if his father went to prison. Dal R'El (Brett Gray) in Star Trek: Prodigy is barred from entering Starfleet Academy, but gets taken under the wing of iral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). For now, the victory of Una is a positive first step in a very long journey for both Augments and the Federation.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.