A/N –Welcome to my new story, a retelling of the events aboard Discovery from Commander Saru's point of view. The storylines will follow the series exactly, but with additional scenes and characters. I'm quite the Saru fan, so please know in advance that he will have a love interest later on the story.

I've been a Star Trek fan for more years than I care to reveal, and have seen every episode of every series, most of them multiple times, and own a couple hundred of the novels. While I will endeavor to get all of the references and details correct, please feel free to correct me where I am in error. I appreciate feedback, comments, and questions.

So now…onward.

Episode 3 Context is for Kings

Original series script by Bryan Fuller, Gretchen J. Berg, and Aaron Harberts

Chapter 1-An Old Acquaintance

Original characters, scenes, and background by Riene

Six months later.

Commander Saru sat in the captain's chair, watching the screen, listening to the conversations and familiar equipment chirps around him, and thinking.

He'd done a lot of that in the last six months.

There had been a few pleasant moments. Receiving his rank advancement had been one, and the commendation for taking command of the Shenzhou. He hadn't done it out of heroics, more so a sense of duty and command structure. The grim task of somehow getting the crew rescued from the crippled ship and as much as possible salvaged had given them all a focus, a way to keep from remembering that day and its aftermath, and it was what his captain would have expected from him.

There had been endless rounds of debriefings and a tribunal where he had been expected to testify, as senior surviving ranking officer. There had been a medical exam and psychological evaluation to see if he was fit to return to duty, though he suspected the psychologist wasn't quite sure how to gauge his responses. Among his most painful memories had been the memorial for Captain Georgiou. He'd given a speech, but knew in his heart he had failed to do her justice. There had been an enforced week of leave, but he had been at such loose ends that he had asked for them to please speed up his reassignment.

And that had led to his present situation.

Saru received orders that he was being promoted to full Commander and First Officer of a new ship, one of the Federation's special project ships. The Crossfield-class vessel was called Discovery, a good sign, he thought, and the contents of the sealed, classified orders were enough to make his eyes widen. A new technology that enabled the ship to make "jumps" without warp drive, a mission of exploration, but with the responsibility of protecting the quadrant they were in, not unlike Shenzhou. The Discovery was also tasked with a wide variety of extended research, with its labs capable of accommodating more than three hundred separate projects simultaneously. The Captain, a Human male named Gabriel Lorca, had requested him by name.

Lorca had proven to be a compact, athletic man in his mid-forties, with short dark hair, an abrupt manner, and a dry, though seldom seen, sense of humor. He was not a man who accepted excuses or explanations, nor did he reveal much, preferring to set matters in motion then watching and evaluating.

"Welcome to Discovery. I'm Gabriel Lorca," he'd said, holding out his hand. Saru had little time to form an opinion of his new surroundings, for Lorca had given him barely long enough to deposit his duffle in his new quarters before he found himself standing in the captain's ready room receiving a highly unusual briefing on the ship, its mission, and crew.

Discovery now felt like home. He found he enjoyed and even excelled in the position of XO, and still felt a faint flush when Lorca referred to him with the honorific of Number One. The man had smiled the first time he'd used the term, a sign of the respect he felt for his alien First Officer.

Saru would not let him down.

The ship ran smoothly, there were no personnel issues or inter-departmental conflicts. His position on the bridge was secure, his authority unquestioned. Captain Lorca valued his input. Though he suspected he would never feel the same warmth toward Lorca as he had toward Philippa Georgiou, the Kelpien liked and respected his captain.

Something was amiss today, though. He could feel it in his ganglia. The captain had ordered an abrupt course change and retired to his ready room without explanation. Thoughtfully, Saru ordered the long-range sensors to scan the projected path in front of them, but for what he did not know, then sat back and waited.

"Commander?"

Saru looked down at the conn officer. "Yes?"

"Sir, long range sensors are picking up a ship ahead of us. We will intercept it if we continue on this course," Detmer frowned.

Indeed. "Have you any more information."

"It's one of ours, Starfleet transport shuttle. Course suggests it is heading to the mining colony on Tellinar."

Are we meeting this vessel? If so, why was I not informed? But Tellinar? "Have we any other information about the shuttle?"

"No, sir."

Steady on, Lieutenant," he said calmly. "Maintain present course and speed."

"Aye, sir."

"Commander Saru?" He swung the chair around, tilting his head expectantly, as Lt Rhys stared frowning at the scanner monitor. "Sir, the sensors are giving us some anomalous readings on that shuttle. The structure appears to be…sir, it has a bug infestation...species GS 54."

Lightning bugs. Saru felt a tingle of alarm himself and at the conn, Lt. Owosekun shuddered. Saru leaned forward. "Lt. Detmer, increase speed to intercept. They may need a hand. Shields at twenty percent; we don't want any of them ourselves."

Behind him the ready room doors snapped open. "Status, Mr. Saru?" Lorca's voice was unruffled.

Saru stood, moving away from the captain's chair and back to his own station. "Sir, we are in process of intercepting a transport shuttle with an infestation of species GS 54."

"Sir, the shuttle is overwhelmed…and the pilot's tether has come loose!" Rhys said urgently.

"Get a tractor beam on that shuttle and decontaminate it. Transport, can you get a lock on that pilot?"

"Aye sir."

"Bring it on board as soon as it's clean, or isolate it if you can't. Commander Landry, send a security team to the shuttle bay and go meet our new guests."

Landry raised an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with Saru.

"Captain," the First Officer said carefully, "exactly who is on this shuttle?"

Lorca smiled faintly to himself, turning to look up at his Chief of Security and XO. "Michael Burnham."

Saru strode the corridors, his booted feet making a heavy cadence on the metal floor. Back home, on Kelpia, such noise might have been fatal. Here, he was merely going to face a problem of another kind.

He'd been at breakfast when the summons came to escort Burnham from her quarters to Engineering. He had, of course, left immediately but carried a bowl of blueberries with him. Escort duties were beneath his status, but he rather suspected the captain was allowing him a few minutes to speak with their new guest alone, to handle any personal issues during that time. Lorca was not a man who tolerated disputes.

The escort may have been as much for her own protection, he mused. Other than the one brief, unsettling look when she'd been brought to the bridge, he'd not seen his former shipmate since her arrival. Keyla Detmer had returned to the bridge the day before, white-faced and somewhat shaken after having encountered Burnham in the mess hall, her shock turning to anger, he'd overheard her confess to Joann Owosekun. The lieutenant had been badly injured during the Battle of the Binary Stars, requiring ocular and cranial implants to regain her sight and function. Detmer had been offered a medical discharge and refused, something Saru admired.

And now as he approached Burnham's cabin doors, Saru too could feel only a cold anger.

Somehow she was smaller than he remembered, a deceptively slight, dark-skinned Human with a now haunted expression. Had there been just the slightest hint of relief in her eyes at the sight of him? She'd blinked, a line appearing between her brows, and lowered her head respectfully. "Saru."

"First Officer Saru," he corrected gravely. Now it was his turn to be the superior officer. He stepped aside, motioning Burnham to come into the corridor. "With me…please."

She followed, and hey walked in silence for some seconds. "You're famous," he said, giving a steely look at the passing, gawking crew. "They all want a peek."

"Congratulations on your promotion," Michael said quietly.

He simply nodded. "Thank you. The powers that be were impressed by my actions at the Battle of the Binary Stars. But," he shook his head, "upon my own reflection of that day, my only wish is that I could have done more."

"I understand," she sighed, glancing at him then staring impassively ahead.

He glanced down at her tight expression. "Blueberries?" He offered the glass bowl, and surprised, she took a handful, chewing slowly.

"The ones in prison don't taste the same."

"I suppose that is a function of the environment you're eating them in, instead of a food synthesizer issue."

Was he making a joke? "I suppose so."

"So many people with so many places to go," she observed, watching the crew striding quickly down the corridors.

"On Discovery, our facilities can accommodate 300 discreet scientific missions, a Starfleet record."

"So this is a science vessel?" she asked, surprised, as they paused outside a sealed set of doors.

"Ah…" Saru paused, avoiding the question. He turned to face her, and indicated the doors. "You've been assigned to engineering. Lt. Stamets will task you with specific duties." He nodded formally and stepped aside, preparing to return to his station, when she spoke again.

"Saru…" she hesitated. "First…Officer Saru. I saw a recording of the speech you gave at the Captain's funeral. It was beautiful. I never thought I'd get a chance to say this to you. I think about what happened every day. All the time. I owe you. I'm trying to say…" she struggled for the words and he took pity on the unhappiness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes."

"I believe you feel regret, but" he sighed "…in my mind, you are dangerous. C Lorca is a man who does not fear the things normal people fear. But I do. And you are someone to fear, Michael Burnham."

"I just want to get back on that shuttle, Commander. I won't make any trouble for you here."

He bit back a flash of anger. "Well that is certain. But if you try, know that I intend to do a better job protecting my captain than you did yours." She flinched, and Saru indicated the engineering doors, and walked away.

"She's accessed the spore bay," Saru said sourly. "Just as you predicted."

Lorca nodded. "Creative." They were standing in the ready room, watching Michael Burnham on the ship's internal monitors. He'd received Lt. Stamets' report on Burnham's tasking and results from the day, and sent it to his XO, along with a request to meet him later that night.

"I'll re-enable the secondary security protocols after she leaves," the First Officer continued, folding his arms.

"Lt. Stamets won't appreciate that," Lorca chuckled.

"He will simply have to accept it."

Saru glanced disapprovingly at the monitor again. He'd voiced his objections only once, and Lorca had given him that icy blue stare.

"Georgiou wrote highly of you both, in her logs. It's not the way I would have preferred to add either of you to my crew, Commander, but I will not pass up this opportunity. Any further comments?"

"No, sir."

"Incoming message for the Captain," announced Lt. Richter. "Classified and highest priority."

"Patch it back to his ready room," Saru ordered. Only two hours into the shift and already a high-priority message from Starfleet. He felt a tingle as the base of his skull. Not good. A few minutes later the ready room doors parted and Lorca, looking as grim as the First Officer had ever seen him, emerged.

"Lt. Airiam, you have the conn. Number One, you're with me."

He followed the captain in to the turbolift, where Lorca turned to him the moment the doors sealed. "The Glenn went down with all hands a few hours back, following a failed jump. Command wants us to get in there and retrieve all of the spore drive equipment, computers, and the like. The Glenn was near the Klingon border. I'm sure I don't have to say anything more."

"No, sir."

He followed the captain toward Engineering. "Sir, if I may…I would highly recommend Michael Burnham be included on the away team."

Lorca raised both eyebrows and made a continue gesture. Saru felt carefully for words. "She was…is…a highly-trained officer, adept at tactical situations, intelligent and due to her Vulcan training, calm and logical in emergencies. We do not know what we will be facing over on the Glenn, and I am certain she could be useful."

Lorca nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

They emerged from the lift and headed to engineering. The duty crew spun around, surprised at the sight of their command staff standing on the entry bridge. Lorca swept them with his stern gaze, certain he had their attention, and as was his way, launched into an explanation with no preliminaries.

"During the last hour, while performing Black Alert maneuvers, there was an…incident...on our sister ship, the USS Glenn." He looked directly at Lt. Stamets. "The entire crew was lost."

Tilly and Burnham exchanged startled glanced, and Paul Stamets glanced at Commander Saru, who looked at the ground in sympathy. "What happened? Was it a…bloom failure?" He struggled to find words, his voice shaking.

"Sending a boarding party to find out. Lt. Stamets, you will accompany Commander Landry and ensure that everything related to the project returns to this ship."

"Why not just transport what we need from the Glenn over to us?" he asked, frowning.

"The room holding the equipment is shielded," Saru explained.

"Shielded? That's curious," Stamets said slowly. Tilly shot a shot at their own equipment, and Burnham frowned.

"Indeed," Saru replied.

"Let's not indulge that curiosity," Lorca said, cutting him off. "It went down by Klingon territory. Let's get in and get out."

"Really? We're running drills near Klingon space?" Stamets snapped.

"We are at war, Lieutenant. I'd appreciate a day going by without me having to remind you of that!" Lorca snapped.

Stamets struggled to control his temper. "Well Captain, I will need to take a team with me, you know, for the cumbersome, annoying science part?"

"Take a team; do it quickly." He glanced at Saru and made a decision. "Take Burnham with you." Lorca headed back out the door, and behind him, Stamets nearly began stuttering in his objections.

"Sir! It's one thing to make her a data cruncher in the lab! But to integrate her into this project at such a deep level?"

Captain Lorca took a deep breath, turned around and said flatly. "I understand that you lost a friend today. This…is not a democracy. You understand?"

"Yes sir."

Lorca shot him a glance and turned to Saru. "Number One, you sailed with Burnham on the Shezhou. What is your assessment of her abilities?"

Saru turned, locking eyes with Burnham, and dipped his head slightly. He took a deep breath. "Her mutiny aside, she is…the smartest Star Fleet officer I have ever known."

Lorca smirked, looked down at Stamets, and cocked his head. "And he knows you."

Hours later, Saru stood on the bridge, supervising the evening shift, one hand on the back of the captain's chair. Behind him the turbolift doors snapped open and he turned. Michael Burnham stood here, dressed again in her ochre-yellow prison jumpsuit. She looked around the bridge, resignation and longing in her eyes. "Permission to enter the bridge, Commander Saru? The captain requested my presence."

The tall Kelpien nodded. "Permission granted. Commander Airiam, you have the conn." She nodded.

He moved toward Burnham and lowered his voice. "The other prisoners are being transferred to the shuttle now. It's scheduled to leave within the hour."

She nodded. I'll be on it, sir."

They walked slowly toward the ready room, Saru's voice pitched only for her ears. "It has not gone unnoticed that during your time on this ship you conducted yourself in a respectable manner. And from what I understand, you were invaluable to the boarding party, which I was pleased to hear, since I was the one who recommended your involvement."

She felt the faint prickle of tears. "I appreciate your faith in me."

Saru made an abrupt gesture, cut off. "Oh, you were always a good officer…until you weren't. If…only you hadn't…" He took a deep breath, a formal goodbye.

"You are a valuable asset. It is lost for Star Fleet," he said sadly.

"Thank you." She gave one last glance around the room, at his retreating, tall figure, and entered the ready room.

Saru sat alone in the officer's mess hall later that evening, adding salt to his brewing herbal tea. The away team mission had been successful, retrieving valuable equipment and the group was now busily extracting information from the corrupted logs. He had overseen the arrangements for the destruction of the Glenn earlier, not an assignment to be proud of, but he understood the necessity. The sister ship drifted to their port, awaiting her final honors. It had been a long day.

Through the lounge windows he watched as the shuttle prison transport crept around the side of the ship on thrusters, clearing the hull and moving slightly away before engaging its warp drive. "Shuttle for prison colony, cleared for warp," announced the all-call, and a strong prickling crept down his neck, his threat ganglia emerging, flickering in the quiet of the lounge. The shuttle turned, its engines glowing blue, and disappeared. Saru smoothed his ganglia, unsettled. What had changed?

I hope you liked it! Please give me some feedback on this chapter. Chp 2 / Episode 4 will be up soon.