DIRECTED BY
AIRED ON
October 3, 2001
RUNTIME
44 minutes
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172
LAST UPDATE
2024-09-12 19:01:53
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SUMMARY
Captain Archer wants to convert curiosity into deeds and decides to enter a ship floating in space. Hoshi has trouble adjusting to life on Enterprise.
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REVIEWS
An excellent slow paced season finale
Written by
Pike on 2018-04-02
★
★
★
★
The pace of this season finale is quite slow, compared to the last episodes, which is a good thing. The opening of the episode is exactly what we should have had in the last episode. We see Mark Greene at home feeling obviously bad. The writers should have explored this traumatic event much more. They just touched on its surface, which I still do not understand.
For instance, when Mark trashes the ER lounge, with a touch of jazz music, it was marvellous. It directly sent me to Citizen Kane, with Charles Foster Kane getting angry and trashing his wife's room. But in Citizen Kane, this is beautifully built. The camera is staying and do not cut. Here, the sequence is way too short and there are cuts. What a wasted opportunity. This is the difference between good and great. ER has usually great potential but is rarely able to fully go at it starting the second half of the third season.
But still, I also liked the scene where Mark freaks out in the L and takes out his gun!
CARTER v ANSPAUGH
I *loved* the short scene in which Carter is screaming at Anspaugh. And most importantly, the way he acts just after screaming. That was really fun!
OLD COUPLE
We get to see an old couple where one of them dies. This is at least the third time we get to see it in the series. Therefore, I ask, what's the point? What is the point of seeing the same cases over and over again?
SEASON REVIEW
Season 3 marks already the beginning of the end of the series. The moment Sherry Stringfield left the show, the series was never the same. After having rewatched the season, I truly believe that the main characters were Mark and Susan. And while Mark is still there, he feels desperately alone and I think that we feel the same as an audience.
SUMMARY
A slow pace and excellent season finale. I give it 7 out of 10. Excellent.
Oh, and Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway finally kiss. Well, there's that.
TRANSCRIPT
[Sickbay]
(Hoshi is clucking at a slug in a plastic box)
PHLOX: I didn't realise you spoke slug.
HOSHI: Wish I did. She doesn't look any better, does she.
PHLOX: She? We haven't been able to determine its gender yet, if it has one.
HOSHI: I should have left her where I found her.
PHLOX: Nonsense. You're on a mission of exploration. There's something to be learned from every lifeform.
HOSHI: She wasn't meant to be in this environment.
PHLOX: I promise to do my best to keep it alive.
HOSHI: He's going to make you all better.
PHLOX: Actually I was thinking more about my pyrithian bat. He won't eat anything once it's dead.
TUCKER: We've routed some more power to Sickbay. Let me know if it's enough.
PHLOX: This should do fine.
TUCKER: How's sluggo?
HOSHI: Doctor Phlox thinks this argon lamp should help. She's barely moved all day.
TUCKER: We've been out here for two weeks and the only first contact we've made is with a dying worm.
[Ready room]
(Archer reacts to a strange squeak.)
ARCHER: Come in.
T'POL: Scans of the sectors ahead.
ARCHER: Shush. Hear that?
T'POL: Hear what?
ARCHER: A squeak. Something's squeaking. I think it's coming from under the deck plating, but every time I get close to it, it stops. If I can't isolate it I'm going to have to tear the whole flooring up.
T'POL: That would be unfortunate. The scans of the sectors ahead indicate little chance of finding inhabited planets.
ARCHER: How about the Vulcan star charts?
T'POL: We have limited data on the course Starfleet has assigned you.
ARCHER: There are thousands of star systems along this path. There must have been something that piqued your people's interest. A sentient species, a trinary star cluster.
T'POL: We don't select our destinations by what piques our interest.
ARCHER: Vulcans always need a logical and pragmatic reason.
T'POL: My people don't share your enthusiasm for exploration. (squeak) Space is vast, Captain.
(Archer puts his ear to the floor to listen.)
T'POL: I'm sure you're aware that only one out of every forty three thousand planets supports intelligent life.
ARCHER: I took exobiology, I know the statistics, but we're travelling at warp five. There's got to be someone out here. Come in. (squeak)
HOSHI: I'm sorry.
T'POL: I'll leave you to your exploring.
(T'Pol leaves.)
ARCHER: Trip tells me that sluggo's not faring too well.
HOSHI: No, sir, but the Doctor's doing the best he can. Sir, my quarters are on E deck, starboard section five.
ARCHER: Yes.
HOSHI: The stars are going the wrong way, sir.
ARCHER: Wrong way?
HOSHI: On both my training tours, I had port side quarters. I'm having trouble sleeping.
ARCHER: Because you're on the
HOSHI: The wrong side of the ship, yes, sir. I spoke with Ensign Porter. He said he's be willing to switch, with your permission.
ARCHER: You got it. Can't have my comm. officer falling asleep on the Bridge.
HOSHI: I appreciate it, Captain.
ARCHER: Is there something else, Hoshi?
HOSHI: No, sir. Thank you.
(Hoshi leaves. Squeak.)
[Armoury]
REED: Ready.
TRAVIS: Fore and aft target scanners are aligned.
REED: Activating simulation J6. Target acquired.
TRAVIS: Simulated launch.
REED: Five seconds to impact. Three, two, one.
(It misses.)
REED: Wonderful.
TRAVIS: We're only off by three metres.
REED: Only three metres. Three metres could mean the difference between hitting a weapons port and a warp core. Instead of disabling a vessel we'd end up destroying it, and probably ourselves in the process.
TRAVIS: We'll get it right.
REED: All this should have been dealt with before we left Earth. Have they detected any inhabited planets or vessels?
TRAVIS: Not yet.
REED: Good.
TRAVIS: I hope you don't expect everyone we run into out here to be hostile. In twenty three years I don't think my folks ran into a problem more than a half dozen times.
REED: I don't believe you were ever out quite this far.
TRAVIS: Do you think that makes a difference?
REED: All I do know is until we get these targeting scanners working properly, the further we are from everyone else, the better.
TRAVIS: Seems like everybody else on board is itching for a first contact.
ARCHER: How's it going?
REED: Not well, sir. We've corrected the problem but we're still off by point oh two percent. It's unacceptable.
ARCHER: Are you sure it's not the simulations that are off?
REED: There's only one way to find out.
ARCHER: How long would it take to arm a few torpedoes?
REED: Moments, sir.
ARCHER: Archer to T'Pol.
T'POL [OC]: Yes, sir.
ARCHER: Prepare to drop out of warp. It's time for a little target practice.
T'POL [OC]: Acknowledged.
REED: Thank you, Captain.
ARCHER: Come on, Travis. We've got to find Mister Reed something to blow up.
[Deleted scene - Corridor]
ARCHER: Try to locate an asteroid field, a comet. Just do it quickly, I want to get back to warp.
TRAVIS: Yes, sir. We made a trip once from Livinius to Belarn Prime. Two and a half light years. Nearly nine months without running into a soul. There were five kids on board. We were at each others throats within a matter of weeks. First officer and my mother came up with the idea to teach us how to play geography. You know, you say Amazon River, which ends in an R. I say Rhode Island.
ARCHER: Which ends in a D. Dralax.
TRAVIS: X, X.
ARCHER: Now there's always
TRAVIS: Don't tell me, I know an X. Xanadu.
ARCHER: That's not a real place.
TRAVIS: Doesn't matter.
ARCHER: Of course it matters.
TRAVIS: Well, you used an alien planet, Dralax.
ARCHER: (as they get into the turbolift) I thought you said this game kept you from arguing.
[Bridge]
(A torpedo sails serenely past an asteroid.)
ARCHER: Load another one. Let's try again.
REED: Rotate the targeting axis by point five microns.
TRAVIS: Point five microns.
(This torpedo grazes the asteroid and bounces off, then heads back towards Enterprise.)
ARCHER: Mister Reed.
(Reed gets it to self-destruct in time.)
REED: If I refocus the infrared scanner, I might be able to compensate.
ARCHER: How long will that take?
REED: The better part of a day.
ARCHER: Resume course, Ensign.
REED: Sir.
ARCHER: We're not going to sit on our butt for twenty four hours. Make your modifications. We'll run another test first chance we get.
[Mess hall]
TUCKER: Anyone sitting here?
PHLOX: No. Please, sit down, sit down.
TUCKER: Sluggo any better?
PHLOX: I'm afraid not. Try the potatoes, they're delicious.
TUCKER: Resequenced protein.
PHLOX: Yes. The flavour's remarkable. On my homeworld, people would never think of speaking during a meal. Considered a waste of time. It's taken me a while, but I've grown quite attached to it.
TUCKER: Wasting time seems to be all we've been doing. Starting to get a little antsy.
PHLOX: Antsy?
TUCKER: Restless. We've been on the move for two weeks and haven't seen a damn thing.
PHLOX: Every moment's been an adventure for me. Humans are so unpredictable. Have you seen the quantities of food Crewman Namod consumes?
TUCKER: Not really.
PHLOX: Have you smelled Ensign Socorro after she exercises? She gives off a fragrance not unlike the adrenal gland of a Nausicaan. And Crewmen Bennett and Haynem over there. Do you see them?
(A man and a woman sitting at the same table.)
PHLOX: If I'm not mistaken, they are preparing to mate. Do you think they might let me watch?
TUCKER: It's good to see you're enjoying yourself.
[Bridge]
T'POL: Bridge to Captain Archer.
[Situation room]
TUCKER: How big is it?
T'POL: Approximately ninety two metres in length.
ARCHER: Doesn't seem to be moving very fast.
T'POL: It's not moving at all.
ARCHER: That's odd. Where's the nearest star system?
T'POL: Almost three light years away.
TUCKER: They could be running some kind of a deep space experiment. Maybe we should go have a look.
T'POL: If you insist on allowing your curiosity to dictate your actions.
ARCHER: We insist.
[Bridge]
(A long vessel is on the viewscreen.)
TRAVIS: Range, five thousand kilometres.
T'POL: The vessel's hull is comprised of tritanium and disilicon polymers.
TUCKER: I'm not getting anything on their propulsion system, but it may be offline. Something, isn't it.
REED: If they have weapons, they're not charged.
ARCHER: Any comm. activity?
HOSHI: No, sir.
ARCHER: Run this through the translation matrix. My name is Jonathan Archer. I'm Captain of the Starship Enterprise. We're on a mission of peaceful exploration. Oh, we come from the planet Earth. We're sending you a pulsar grid that should help you locate our star system. Did you rotate the frequencies?
HOSHI: I'll try it again. No response, sir.
TUCKER: Captain, mind if I push in on the venting ports around that hatch?
ARCHER: Go ahead.
(He zooms the viewscreen image.)
TRAVIS: Are those venting ports or hull breaches?
ARCHER: Bring us in a little closer, Travis. Let's get a look at the other side. Those look like scorch marks.
T'POL: The residue indicates oxidation and thermal shock effects. It could be the result of a high yield particle impact.
ARCHER: You mean weapons.
T'POL: Possibly.
ARCHER: Are we close enough to scan for biosigns?
T'POL: Yes, but scanning their ship's interior might be seen as a violation of privacy.
ARCHER: Anything?
(Hoshi shakes her head.)
TUCKER: If there is anyone home, you can bet they know we're out here.
REED: Then why haven't they responded.
T'POL: Not everyone chooses to answer the door when they hear a knock. It would be best to resume our previous course.
ARCHER: See if you can find another hatch. Diameter?
TUCKER: Point nine metres.
ARCHER: Scan for biosigns.
T'POL: There are a number of lifeforms aboard.
ARCHER: Humanoid?
T'POL: Their cellular activity is below the threshold of your sensors.
TRAVIS: Maybe they're in trouble. Sick or something.
T'POL: Maybe they're not interested in visitors.
ARCHER: Mister Reed, how long to prep a shuttle?
REED: Half an hour.
T'POL: There are a number of protocols we haven't tried.
ARCHER: Get started.
HOSHI: She may have a point, Captain. I could try hailing them on theta-band frequencies.
ARCHER: Suit up, Ensign.
HOSHI: Me, sir?
ARCHER: (to T'Pol) The ship is yours.
[Corridor]
ARCHER: Is there a problem, Commander?
TUCKER: I want to go with you.
ARCHER: I'm bringing a translator and a security officer. Why would I need an engineer?
TUCKER: What makes you think you can open the hatch, or turn the light on for that matter.
ARCHER: We've got beacons, Trip.
TUCKER: That ship could have a lot of decks. You might need someone to help you figure out the turbolifts. Okay, I've got a better reason why you need an engineer. Because your engineer signed onto this mission of exploration so he could do a little exploring. He didn't sign on to sit in Engineering while you three get to break into that ship.
ARCHER: We're not breaking in. We're just going to see if everything's okay.
TUCKER: You're chomping at the bit to find out what's in there. Why should I be any different?
ARCHER: We just got out here, Trip. There's going to be plenty of time to go exploring. Right now I need you on Enterprise, down with your engine. This ship's a little young to be without her Chief Engineer.
[Archer's quarters]
ARCHER: (dictating and eating) When I used to dream about this mission, the last thing I envisioned was having a Vulcan on board who continuously sucked the air out of the room. Well, she's right. Whoever's on that ship might no want us nosing around. But I can't assume that's the case, can I? Maybe they could use our help. Computer, pause. (to Porthos) Hey, you know that you and cheddar don't get along. (gives him a piece anyway) Resume personal log. Before we left, Admiral Forrest said we'd be making history with every light year, but we're not going to do that sitting on our hands. Computer pause. Come in. Ensign.
HOSHI: Sorry to bother you, sir.
ARCHER: It's not a problem. Cheese?
HOSHI: No, thank you.
ARCHER: Everything work out all right?
HOSHI: Sir?
ARCHER: With the swapping quarters.
HOSHI: Yes, that's fine, thank you. I was thinking, Captain, I might be a lot more helpful to you if I stay here and keep an open comm. link. That way I'll have immediate access to the linguistic database.
ARCHER: Can't you tie your universal translator into the database through the comm?
HOSHI: It's not the same. The lag time is tripled.
ARCHER: Well, I'd rather wait a few seconds if it means having you on site. For all we know, the UT won't work. You'll be our only back-up. Anyway, it should be exciting. Half the crew would give their eye teeth to be going over there. What's wrong?
HOSHI: The environmental suits. They make me a little claustrophobic.
ARCHER: Claustrophobic. And you took a job on a spaceship?
HOSHI: You talked me into it, remember.
ARCHER: I don't recall reading about any problems during your zero-g training.
HOSHI: Well, I just, I bit my lip and got through it.
ARCHER: Well you're just going to have to bite your lip again. I need you over there.
HOSHI: Yes, sir.
ARCHER: What is it, Hoshi? Is something else wrong?
HOSHI: No, I'd better get back to the Launch Bay.
ARCHER: Hang on, I'll come with you. That's the last time, Porthos.
(He throws the dog some cheese.)
[Launch bay - suit locker]
ARCHER: Going to war, Lieutenant?
REED: Can't be too careful, sir.
ARCHER: You've seen too many science fiction movies. We just need the three phase pistols. Put the rifles back. (to Hoshi) What are you rated for?
HOSHI: I've been cleared on EM sidearms and class three pulse rifles. I've never seen one of those.
ARCHER: Malcolm will check you out on it first chance he gets. Don't worry, it handles pretty much like an EM-33.
HOSHI: Is this necessary?
ARCHER: Just a precaution.
[Shuttlepod hatchway]
(The pod has docked with the ship and they are trying to get inside.)
REED: Just our luck, no release. Shouldn't be a problem though. I can place micro-charges here and here.
ARCHER: Hold on a second, Malcolm.
(He pulls at a couple of protruding rods, finds one that opens out and opens the hatch.)
ARCHER: Sorry.
HOSHI: Enterprise, we've got access. We're boarding the vessel.
[Alien ship's corridor]
HOSHI: Well, at least we know they're bipeds.
REED: What gives you that idea?
HOSHI: The ladder.
ARCHER: Come on. Nitrogen-methane atmosphere, and it's cold. Minus twenty degrees.
HOSHI: There's power going through here, but not much of it.
REED: Captain.
ARCHER: Molecules look like amino acids.
HOSHI: Blood?
(Green dribbles are visible on the bulkheads.)
[Deleted scene]
(They force open a door. There is still power to the displays)
HOSHI: These icons look like they represent frequency bands.
REED: Communications.
HOSHI: If it is, it's offline. Maybe that's why they didn't answer our hails.
REED: (sees blood on bulkhead) They may have been in no condition to answer our hails.
ARCHER: (at a schematic of the ship) Guys, does any of this make sense to you? Anything?
REED: Could these be power couplings?
ARCHER: And these could be transfer conduits. Could be a schematic to their power layout.
REED: Yeah, one diagram for each deck.
HOSHI: And what's this?
REED: That's midship. One deck below. If we're right, something down there is drawing a lot of power.
ARCHER: Let's go see if we're right.
(They go on down to the source of a rhythmic noise.)
REED: Some sort of hydraulics.
ARCHER: Whatever it is, it hasn't been here very long.
(Hoshi screams, and we see figures hanging upside down with tubes coming from them to the device.)
ARCHER: Hoshi, where are you going?
HOSHI: I don't think you need a translator.
ARCHER: Stay here.
REED: Their bodies are being flushed out with some kind of fluid.
ARCHER: Are they all?
REED: All dead, sir. I'm afraid so.
[Decon chamber]
(Phlox and T'Pol at the observation window.)
PHLOX: They're clean.
(The trio are let out and go down a corridor.)
T'POL: How many?
ARCHER: I don't know. About a dozen.
REED: Fifteen.
[Launch bay - suit locker]
ARCHER: They're being drained of something. Whoever did it went to a lot of trouble. My guess is they're coming back.
T'POL: We should leave.
ARCHER: There are fifteen dead people over there. We can't leave.
T'POL: Your reason for boarding that vessel was to provide assistance, if assistance was required. Clearly, it no longer is.
ARCHER: You're telling me that we should just leave them there?
T'POL: What's the alternative? Your intentions were admirable, Captain, but nothing can be done for that crew now and if we remain here your crew could be put in jeopardy.
ARCHER: Archer to the Bridge.
TRAVIS: Mayweather here, sir.
ARCHER: Go to warp three. Resume course.
TRAVIS: Aye, sir.
[Sickbay]
PHLOX: Not long after I became a physician, there was an explosion on a cargo ship orbiting my homeworld. I was part of the first medical team to arrive. There were seventeen bodies on the Bridge alone. I'd never seen that many dead people in one place before. Very disturbing. You have nothing to be ashamed of.
HOSHI: I screamed like a twelve year old.
PHLOX: We're all frightened by unfamiliar things. You should be grateful that your body of experience doesn't include rooms full of corpses.
HOSHI: Nobody else screamed. (re sluggo) Has she been eating?
PHLOX: Not so far. She has been under a great deal of stress, but I'm hoping this protein concentrate whets her appetite.
HOSHI: I'm a translator. I didn't come out here to see corpses hanging on hooks.
PHLOX: It goes without saying that you're going to encounter the unexpected.
HOSHI: Not corpses on hooks.
PHLOX: Have you ever considered that you might be happier back at the university, teaching? I did it for years. It was quite rewarding.
HOSHI: I'm an exo-linguist. I graduated second in my class. I spent three years in Starfleet training. I was Jonathan Archer's first choice for this mission. Every inhabited world we come to is going to be filled with language. Some will have hundreds of them. He needs me here.
PHLOX: If she doesn't take these nutrients I'm afraid she won't survive.
HOSHI: Are you sure that's what she eats?
PHLOX: It's close enough.
HOSHI: I shouldn't have brought her on board. Maybe I could ask the Captain to try to find a planet with an argon rich atmosphere.
PHLOX: It might be easier just to feed her to my bat.
HOSHI: She needs to get back to an environment that is more suited to her.
PHLOX: Perhaps some place where she could teach.
[Captain's mess]
TUCKER: What kind of pasta is this? It's great.
(Archer's mind is elsewhere.)
ARCHER: Chef told me. I don't remember.
TUCKER: Not too spicy for you?
T'POL: It's fine.
TUCKER: Malcolm's anxious to run another weapons test, especially after what happened. Tea?
T'POL: No, thank you.
TUCKER: Captain?
ARCHER: Sure, thanks.
TUCKER: (pours iced tea) I heard they were humanoid. Is that right?
ARCHER: Humanoid.
TUCKER: Did they look anything like us?
ARCHER: They were in uniform.
TUCKER: But you didn't recognise the species.
ARCHER: They were crewmen, murdered on their own ship. Fifteen dead crewmen.
T'POL: I detected a stellar nursery along our present course.
TUCKER: I saw one once through the big lens outside Anchorage.
T'POL: A closer view might alleviate some of the crew's tension.
ARCHER: What's the matter, the tension bothering you?
T'POL: Not in the least.
ARCHER: Must be great not to let things bother you. No remorse, no guilt. What if they were Vulcans? Think you would have reacted the same way?
T'POL: They weren't Vulcans.
ARCHER: I said, what if they were Vulcans. Would you have just left them there, hanging like slaughtered animals? Don't you think maybe you would have taken them down, tried to figure out who they were, made some effort to contact their families?
T'POL: We don't know where they came from. It would be very difficult to locate their families.
ARCHER: We didn't even try. (to Tucker) What about you, what if they were humans? Would you just stick your tail between your legs and run, leave them there to rot? Am I the only one who's having a problem with this?
TUCKER: You said it yourself, sir. Whoever killed those people are probably coming back.
ARCHER: So we should avoid confrontation cost, is that what you're saying? Is that what you Vulcans do? Bury your heads in the sand and then just fly on by?
T'POL: We Vulcans would have never gone on board that ship in the first place.
ARCHER: You got an answer for everything, don't you.
T'POL: We have a code of behaviour, and we try to obey it.
ARCHER: You may not believe this, but humans have a code of behaviour too. It took a few thousand years, but I think we're starting to get it right. I can't believe I almost ignored it.
[Situation room]
TRAVIS: We've reversed course, sir. We should be back at the coordinates in five hours.
ARCHER: You don't have a problem with the environmental suit?
PHLOX: Not at all.
ARCHER: Good. We're going to need you to examine the bodies, try to identify their species. While you're at it, it wouldn't hurt if you can figure out what's being done to them.
PHLOX: I'll see what I can do, Captain.
ARCHER: (to Tucker) You wanted to see what's going on over there. Now's your chance. I can't think of a better way to find their people than through their own comm. system. You're going to need to get it up and running.
TUCKER: Aye, sir.
ARCHER: Hoshi will decipher their language and compose a message. Hopefully it'll make sense.
HOSHI: Captain.
ARCHER: I'm sorry, Ensign.
REED: I'll bring a security detail.
ARCHER: There's no one over there who can hurt us. Stay here and work on those targeting scanners. Prepare to suit up at fourteen hundred hours. Dismissed.
[Alien ship - where the bodies are]
ARCHER: How were they killed?
PHLOX: Different ways. This one was given a lethal dose of chloraxine. The first three back there were shot. Particle weapons, I believe. This fellow hasn't suffered as much cellular decay. He's our best candidate for a post-mortem. Care to assist?
[Alien ship - the room with power]
(Tucker gets a voice playing back.)
TUCKER: Yeah.
HOSHI: Maybe it's a log. What do you think?
TUCKER: Beats me. Could be a laundry list or instructions on how to conquer the universe.
HOSHI: The grammar sounds bimodal.
TUCKER: Their transceiver's intact. Let's hope the next time we make first contact it isn't with a room full of corpses.
HOSHI: Let's hope. (to universal translator) Ship. Ship.
[Alien ship - where the bodies are]
(The post-mortem is underway.)
PHLOX: Just what I thought.
ARCHER: What?
PHLOX: A zymuth gland. It releases triglobulin into the blood. That's what all these tubes and pumps are about. Whoever did this is trying to collect triglobulin.
ARCHER: What for?
PHLOX: Oh, for any number of reasons. To create medicines, vaccines, some species have even been known to use it as an aphrodisiac.
ARCHER: Aphrodisiac?
PHLOX: It's quite a common practice. I'm surprised you're not familiar with it.
ARCHER: Humans used to collect the bile of black bears, grind down rhino horns, things like that, but not people.
PHLOX: It's worth noting that triglobulin is very similar to human lymphatic fluid.
[Alien ship - the room with power]
HOSHI: How long before the transceiver's online?
TUCKER: A minute or two. I can't get enough of this. An alien spaceship sending off a message to who knows where.
HOSHI: The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can get back to the ship.
TUCKER: It's your second away mission in two days.
HOSHI: Yeah, great.
TUCKER: I wish I had an ear for languages. The Captain's going to need a translator with him a lot more often than an engineer.
HOSHI: Distress. Two other teachers and I once took a hydro-skimmer out onto a small tributary in the Amazon. You know, to see the wildlife. Sloths, pink dolphins, all kinds of snakes.
TUCKER: Wow.
HOSHI: It gave me the creeps. If I didn't like being around anacondas, you can imagine how I feel about Suliban or whoever butchered the crew of this ship. I'm going to ask the Captain to take me home.
TUCKER: You serious?
HOSHI: I should have never left the university. I'm not suited for this.
TUCKER: Give it a try. You'll be fine.
HOSHI: You weren't here yesterday. I saw those bodies and fell apart. The Captain needs a translator he can count on. Someone who shows a little grace under pressure. That isn't me.
TUCKER: You can't be sure of that.
HOSHI: Oh yes I can. Distress. Distress.
UT: Kunatsila.
HOSHI: I think I've got it. Ship in distress.
UT: Dukdum dor kunatsila.
(Tucker transmits the message)
[Alien ship - where the bodies are]
T'POL [OC]: T'Pol to Archer.
ARCHER: Go ahead.
T'POL [OC]: There's a vessel approaching, Captain. It's power signatures match the scans you took of those bio-pumps.
[Bridge]
T'POL: It appears that whoever killed that crew has returned.
[Alien ship - where the bodies are]
ARCHER: Time to go, Doc.
(Archer fires his phase pistol at the pump.)
ARCHER: Trip, Hoshi, docking hatch, now.
(A nasty crab-like ship drops out of warp.)
[Bridge]
TRAVIS: Distance, sixty thousand kilometres.
T'POL: Bridge to Armoury.
REED [OC]: Armoury.
T'POL: We have a potentially hostile vessel approaching. Are you prepared to defend the ship?
[Armoury]
REED: That depends. How long till it gets here?
TRAVIS [OC]: Ten minutes, maybe less.
REED: Then the answer is most likely no. The scanners are still out of alignment. Look, if you wanted me to hit a stationary dairy barn, then I could accommodate you, but not a moving
[Bridge]
REED [OC]: Vessel.
T'POL: Do the best you can, but I need you on the Bridge in five minutes.
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER: Archer to T'Pol. Deploy the docking arm.
[Bridge]
T'POL: Arm extended.
ARCHER [OC]: How close are they?
T'POL: Eight thousand kilometres.
ARCHER [OC]: What kind of weapons?
T'POL: Our sensors can't penetrate their shielding.
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER: Have you tried hailing them?
T'POL [OC]: Yes.
[Bridge]
T'POL: There's been no response.
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER: Try again.
(The pod docks.)
[Bridge]
TRAVIS: The pod's on the arm.
T'POL: T'Pol to Archer. They're still not responding.
REED: They're charging weapons.
(Green fire is seen on the viewscreen.)
REED: They're targeting our engines.
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER: We're almost in. Stand by to jump to warp.
(Lots of weapons fire. The pod is jolted off the arm. Hoshi closes the porthole shutter as they try again. Success.)
ARCHER: Doors.
[Launch bay]
(They climb out of the top of the shuttlepod onto a drop-down metal stairway.)
ARCHER: Archer to the Bridge. It doesn't feel like we've gone to warp.
T'POL [OC]: Our port nacelle has been damaged.
(More weapons fire jolts Enterprise.)
ARCHER: Have Malcolm arm the torpedoes.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Report.
TRAVIS: We're dead in the water, sir.
T'POL: They seem to have stopped firing. They're closing on our position.
ARCHER: Malcolm?
REED: Both forward tubes loaded and ready, sir.
ARCHER: Stand by starboard tube.
REED: Yes, sir.
ARCHER: Fire.
(The torpedo bounces off the enemy ship.)
ARCHER: Stand by port tube.
REED: Ready.
ARCHER: Fire.
(The other ship shoots it down.)
ARCHER: Trip, warp status?
[Engineering]
TUCKER: The nacelle's been completely depolarised. I'm afraid we're stuck here for a while.
[Bridge]
(A vertical beam goes around the Bridge.)
TRAVIS: What was that?
PHLOX: A sub-molecular bio-scan. You've been probed, Ensign. We've all been probed. They have no doubt discovered that your lymphatic systems contain some useful compounds.
ARCHER: Get to the Armoury. Start distributing hand weapons. (Reed gets up to leave) Post security teams at level
TRAVIS: Sir, another vessel just dropped out of warp.
(Reed returns to his station.)
TRAVIS: They're on an intercept course.
ARCHER: Let's see it.
HOSHI: They're hailing us.
ARCHER: Put it up.
(The viewscreen shows a living member of the alien species.)
T'POL: Captain?
ARCHER: He's from the same species as the murdered crew. (to Hoshi) They must have picked up your distress call. Tell him the ship above us killed the crew of the cargo vessel. They're about to do the same to us.
HOSHI: I told him what you said, sir, but I doubt it made any sense.
ARCHER: What do you mean?
HOSHI: This isn't exactly Spanish we're dealing with here. I'd be lucky if I'm getting half the vocabulary right.
(The nasty crab ship puts a beam on them.)
REED: They've locked onto us with some kind of stabilising beam.
ARCHER: Use the impulse engines. Get us the hell out of here.
TRAVIS: I can't, sir. Their beam's disrupting all our propulsion systems.
(The alien on the viewscreen talks to them.)
HOSHI: It seems he got the part about killing the cargo ship crew but he believes we did it, sir. At least I think he does.
T'POL: Tell him we sent the distress call. Why would we kill his people and then do that?
HOSHI: I think I understood this one. He says the distress call came from his ship, not ours.
ARCHER: We needed their frequencies. Going there was the only way to find them.
HOSHI: Something about DNA scans. He wants to know why we were there two years ago.
ARCHER: Two years ago?
HOSHI: He probably means two days, sir. The phonetic processor's still having trouble locking on. I'm not certain, but I don't think he's going to help us.
REED: They're fifty metres above us. Forty nine.
ARCHER: The pumps. Tell them to run scans on the bio-pumps that are hooked up to the corpses. They'll see they're not our technology. Have them compare the power signatures to the ship that's about to land on our roof. Where are they, Malcolm?
REED: They've stopped at about ten metres.
(The nasty ship prepares to drill a hole in the hull.)
HOSHI: I'm having trouble with the word pump, sir. I've got the processor searching for synonyms. The translator's not making a whole lot of sense to him, sir. He's getting frustrated. I think he's running out of patience, Captain.
ARCHER: Then forget the translator. Do it yourself.
HOSHI: Do what myself?
ARCHER: Talk to him.
HOSHI: That's impossible, sir. I haven't even learned their basic conjugations.
T'POL: Talk to him, Hoshi. It doesn't have to be perfect.
HOSHI: You don't understand. I don't even know how to say pump. I'll get it all wrong, it'll just make things worse.
ARCHER: Things can't get much worse.
HOSHI: Sir.
REED: Captain, they've started drilling into the hull.
ARCHER: Hoshi, Hoshi, I need you to do this. We all do. That's why you're here.
(Hoshi stands in front of the viewscreen, very nervous.)
HOSHI: Uta doi ura.
(The alien replies.)
ARCHER: Again.
HOSHI: Uta lora ista. Urasta mistavor.
(They go into a conversation.)
ARCHER: What'd he say? Ensign.
(The iewscreen changes to an image of the small ship firing on the nasty one.)
REED: They're targeting the vessel above us.
(The beam is shut off and the drill withdrawn.)
TRAVIS: We've got impulse back.
ARCHER: Move us away.
REED: Captain, I may be wrong, but I think I've got the scanners aligned. Permission to launch a torpedo.
ARCHER: Granted.
(One satisfying explosion on the enemy ship then the good guys finish off the job - KaBOOM!)
ARCHER: Nice of them to wait until we got clear. All stop. (to Hoshi) I think we may have just made a friend, thanks to you.
Captain's starlog, May 6th, 2151. After helping them recover their dead crewmen, we had a chance to spend some time with the Axanar. Turns out they're androgynous and live over four hundred years. I look forward to meeting them again under better circumstances. Before we resume our course, I've agreed to make a brief detour.
[Planet surface]
(Hoshi takes sluggo out of the carry-case, under Phlox's watchful gaze.)
HOSHI: This isn't exactly like the place you came from, but it's close enough. It's not that hard to adapt. You're going to do just fine here.
(She puts it down on a rock in a container, and leaves.)
2024-09-12 19:01:53 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
