Original subtitles

♪

[birds chirping, animals chittering]

♪

SARU: Since I was a boy,

whenever I looked up, I saw hope.

But this is not how I was raised.

When my people look up at the stars...

[deep bellowing]

...they see only death.

And they welcome it.

They do not question it.

[others speaking indistinctly]

Sister.

[bellowing continues]

Because when they are called,

when it is time for the harvest,

they march willingly toward it.

They say that when they take you,

the pain of Vahar'ai stops.

The priests teach us that this preserves the Great Balance

of Kaminar.

[bellowing continues]

[shuddering]

[loud whirring]

[gasping, grunting]

[rumbling, crackling]

[rumbling, whirring stop]

[takes deep breath]

This is the life of a Kelpien.

Impatience will not bring him back any faster.

♪

[animals chirping, chittering]

[exhales]

Father, what is that?

It fell off the Ba'ul ship,

as pieces sometimes do.

[sighs]

ARADAR: We thank the Great Balance

for replenishing the gift of light...replenishing the gift...

and warmth,

and for this food.

...and for this food.

♪

You will dispose of the Ba'ul fragment tonight.

Oh, of course, Father.

As soon as my work is done.

To keep it is forbidden.

Father...

what is out there, beyond the skies?

The Watchful Eye rules the skies.

You know this.

But what if wehad the means to reach the skies?

What if there are others,

besides the Ba'ul?

If the Great Balance had meant for us to fly,

we would have been given wings.

But does the Watchful Eye have wings?

We sacrifice our own kind to the Ba'ul instead of asking

if we could be like them.[pounds table]

The Balance must not be upset.

Those who offer their lives do so

so that the Ba'ul can be sustained!

So that the rest of us may live in peace and comfort.

The time will come for each of us.

That is the Balance.

That is how it has always been.

And you will question it no more.

Yes, Father.

All of us have our place in this world, Saru.

One day you will understand...

as I do.

[animal hoots in distance]

I didnot understand.

♪

[animal hoots in distance]

Why was it forbidden to keep their technology?

Why did "Balance" mean that we could not ask questions?

[whirs gently]

I needed answers.

So I sent out a message,

hoping there was someone out there to hear it.

[distorted voice speaks][blip]

SARU: Hello?

[device chimes]

[chirping]

Oh.

[laughter, indistinct chatter]

SARU: I waited,

not knowing if I would wait forever.

Not knowing if any answer would come

too late for me.

[device activating]

Ah...[chiming]

[gasps]

Father...

what if I were to reach Vahar'ai for the next harvest?

Then it will be your time.

And you shall be honored that the Watchful Eye chose you

to maintain the Balance.

SARU: How could this life be enough for them?

To simply wait to be taken?

♪

♪

Father would not approve of us

wandering so far from the pack.

My senses would agree with him.

I have the unsettling urge to run back to safety.

Yes. Safety.

You should head back while the night is still young.

You are not coming?

No, I...

I want to watch the stars for a while.

For night-blooming flowers.

Look down every now and then.

There's beauty there as well.

Stay safe, Siranna.

You, too, brother.

Hmm.

♪

[pops twice]

It's a pleasure to finally put a face to the name, Mr. Saru.[device translating]

An entirely new face, at that.

[speaking Kelpien]

SARU [over translator]: I was not certain you would come.

You contacted us with technology

that doesn't belong to your species.

It was stolen from the Ba'ul, wasn't it?

Yes.

And you turned it into a beacon.

The first and only Kelpien with the ingenuity

to manipulate technology that advanced.

You are extraordinary.

Thank you, Lieutenant Georgiou.

Don't thank me just yet.

If you come with me,

everything you know will change.

Will I be able to return one day to help my people?

It was difficult enough for me to convince Starfleet

to make an exception for you.

You caused quite a stir.

It's not every day we get a hello

from a member of a pre-warp society.

There are many complicated rules

that prevent me from doing more.

I'm afraid that means

you will never be able to come back home.

Are you prepared for that, Mr. Saru?

♪

My place is no longer here.

[exhales]

Huh.

I saw hope in the stars.

It was stronger than fear,

and I went toward it.