“Context is for Kings” is episode three of season one of Star Trek: Discovery.
In the previous episode, “Battle at the Binary Stars”, Captain Georgiou was killed by T’Kuvma as she and Burnham attempted to capture him in order to defuse a war before it started. Burnham killed T’Kuvma. War was not defused. Burnham was stripped of rank at her court martial and sentenced to life imprisonment for mutiny.
Six months later and Burnham is on a shuttle with three other prisoners. They are being transported to a mine. One asks who Burnham is and is told she’s the infamous Michael Burnham. Another says she had a cousin on the Europa and she, and 8,000 other people, died because of Burnham. Burnham knows the exact number.
Something appears outside the shuttle, power fluctuates and a proximity alert sounds. The pilot leaves and Burnham states that there’s an organism outside that feeds on electricity and it’s draining the shuttle’s systems. Unless the pilot gets rid of it fast enough, the organism will drain all power and they will drift until their oxygen runs out or they freeze to death.
One of the other prisoners says to relax, the pilot is taking care of it. As there is a warning that the safety tether has malfunctioned and the pilot drifts by outside. They have no pilot now and are still locked up. The others are far more bothered than Burnham is. Then the shuttle is grabbed by a tractor beam and towed into a Starfleet ship. The U.S.S. Discovery. That’s a significant name.
They are escorted off the shuttle into a brand-new ship, one that is a long way from the front lines. Commander Landry, the chief of security, is not really happy to have them onboard. This seems like a science vessel, only it doesn’t feel very scientific and some of the crew have black badges. Whilst their shuttle is being fixed, the prisoners are escorted to the mess hall. One of the crew Burnham recognises. Two of the other prisoners attack Burnham; it doesn’t go well for them. Then Landry tells Burnham the captain wants to see her.
In the command chair on the bridge is someone else Burnham recognises, Saru. Captain Gabriel Lorca (does he have a tribble on his desk?) has read up on Burnham. He says if he puts her in the brig, someone is going to die. So, Burnham is going to help them out. Whether she likes it or not. Lorca will use her to help achieve his mission and win the war.
Burnham is then escorted to quarters, to be joined by someone else, Cadet Sylvia Tilly. Who is rather excitable. She’s also nervous – because she’s trying to decide how to tell Burnham she took Tilly’s bed. Burnham was probably expecting a different reason. Tully has never met another female called Michael, and has only heard of one. Michael Burnham. She isn’t her, is she? That would be a yes. Later, there is a black alert, and weird things happens. Tilly can’t tell Burnham why.
The next day, Burnham is escorted by Saru, now the first officer. The Discovery is capable of a lot of science missions, yet isn’t really a science vessel. Saru avoids saying what it is. Burnham is being taken to engineering. Saru, despite being pleasant to Burnham, still feels she is dangerous. The captain doesn’t fear the things normal people fear. Saru does, and Burnham is some of that fear.
Parts of engineering are classified, which is unusual. The chief engineer, Lt. Stamets, isn’t terribly happy to see Burnham. He assigns her something to do. Which Burnham does, but Stamets won’t explain any more to her about what’s going on. He does seem worried about a conversation he had with someone else by comm.
Lorca receives a transmission and tells the engineering crew that there has been an incident on their sister ship, the Glenn. The entire crew has been lost. One of them is Stamets’s friend, who he was talking to. They need to send a team to recover the equipment; it’s in a shielded room so it can’t just be beamed out. Lorca wants Stamets to take Burnham with him. Saru, when asked, says she is the smartest Starfleet officer he has ever known.
There is definitely something strange going on onboard Discovery, and Burnham does poke around into it. The trip to the Glenn takes a strong technohorror turn. Captain Lorca seems to have ulterior motives. And Burnham is dealing with people who blame her for the war and all the deaths. Truthfully, not exactly her fault, but she blames herself too.