Burnham, now a prisoner, is transferred to the USS Discovery.
Burnham, now a convicted prisoner, is aboard a transport when it is diverted to the USS Discovery, a science vessel commanded by Captain Gabriel Lorca. She soon learns that Discovery is working on a secret experimental propulsion system. Together with the crew she investigates the USS Glenn, a ship whose crew was killed by something monstrous.
This is where the series introduces most of its main cast: Lorca, Saru, Paul Stamets, and Sylvia Tilly, Burnham's new cadet roommate. The spore drive and its link to the mycelial network are the show's central technological idea, and Lorca's willingness to use dangerous methods hints at the darker character beneath his confident exterior.