In 2256 the Shenzhou investigates a damaged relay near a binary star system and finds itself facing Klingons for the first time in about a century.
In 2256 the USS Shenzhou, commanded by Captain Philippa Georgiou, is sent to check a damaged relay near a binary star system at the edge of Federation space. First Officer Michael Burnham, a human raised on Vulcan by Sarek, flies out in a thruster suit to examine a hidden object, is attacked by a Klingon warrior and kills him by accident.
The object belongs to T'Kuvma, who wants to bring the 24 great houses of the Klingon Empire together against the Federation. Citing the Vulcan experience of earning Klingon respect by striking first, Burnham urges Georgiou to open fire. When the captain refuses, Burnham knocks her out with a nerve pinch and tries to give the order herself, but Georgiou recovers and arrests her for mutiny as more Klingon ships arrive. David Semel directed the series premiere.