Michael Burnham's father soothes her fear of the dark with a tale of an African girl who brings light to her people's night.
Young Michael Burnham is afraid of the dark, and her father, Mike Burnham, eases her fear with a story. In it, a girl in an African village lives among people who dread the night because of a predatory Night Beast. Braving the darkness alone, she meets an alien who gives her a source of light, which she uses to fill the sky with stars and free her people from their fear. She grows up to become a warrior queen.
The animated short, written by Brandon Schultz and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, offers a glimpse of Burnham's childhood before the Klingon raid that took her parents from her, and its theme of facing the unknown echoes the adult Burnham's character. Kenric Green voices Mike Burnham and Kyrie McAlpin voices young Michael, and the short was released on the same day as Ephraim and Dot.