Starfleet is hypocritical when it comes to augmentation. Some augments are dangerous, like La’an’s ancestor, Khan Noonien-Singh, but not all are destructive. The Illyrians, a species to which Una Chin-Riley belongs, only ever wanted to commune with nature. At the end of Season One, Number One was arrested for being Illyrian, and it was unclear who reported her. In Ad Astra Per Aspera, we finally get the answer.
In the Season premiere, Pike seeks help for Una while the crew is off on another mission. We see what the captain did during Ad Astra Per Aspera while the mission played out. He recruits an old friend of Una’s, Neera Ketoul, to represent her. However, it takes a bit of convincing as Number One and Neera haven’t been in contact for years and had a falling out.
Upon the crew returning from their mission, La’an is approached by Neera to find out who turned Una in. La’an tries to recruit Uhura, but Nyota tells her no because it would be seen as hypocritical of what La’an herself taught the ensign what NOT to do.
La’an then realises that she did a mission log after Una told her about what she was and spilled her guts into the record. She tells Neera, who then realises that Starfleet has to process mission logs, and it takes a while, so it couldn’t have been La’an who exposed Number One.
Backing Up Their Commander
Members of the Enterprise Bridge crew are called up, including La’an, Spock and Dr M’Benga. Admiral April is also called up and questioned. He iterates that if he had known Una was Illyrian, he would not have promoted her when he was the captain of the Enterprise before Pike. He clarifies that it was not a personal statement but one of regulation. Neera accuses him of being xenophobic, which causes upheaval.
After a lot of back and forth, Una is found not guilty after it is revealed she dobbed herself in because she wanted her crew mates to see her as she is and not as something she’s not. Una is then welcomed back to the Enterprise, and she and Neera become friends again.
