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October 10, 2001
RUNTIME
44 minutes
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2024-09-12 19:01:28
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SUMMARY
Archer sends an away team to a habitable, luscious planet for observation. But when a storm occurs, the team begins to experience paranoid delusions.
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REVIEWS
LIVE!
Written by
Pike on 2018-04-03
★
★
★
★
★
LIVE THEATER
As you probably know, this episode was shot live - twice. Once for the East coast and once for the West coast.
That ambition alone can be only highly respected. But it is not such a coincidence, as ER is actually almost theater performance on its own. Indeed, many scenes in the series are shot without interruptions.
So, here, the episode goes full scale. While the beginning feels definitely odd, after twenty minutes or so, the episode grows and becomes insane! It is to me the most exciting episode since Love's Labor Lost (S01E19).
A TRUE SEASON PREMIERE
Not only that, but the episode is also important, as Morgenstern is having a stroke and most importantly, we get the introduction of a new major character, live! The new character of Elizabeth Corday is having her first appearance in that episode. Imagine the actress (Alex Kingston) learning that she got the part, only to learn later on that she would actually have to start live.
RESOURCEFUL
Because of this new format, this episode actually finds countless original ways to tell the story.
SUMMARY
The season 4 starts with a LIVE BANG! I give it 9 out of 10. One of the top five episodes.
(I based my review on the East coast version.)
TRANSCRIPT
[Mess hall]
ETHAN: How can you eat that stuff?
(She is eating soup and reading about termites.)
CUTLER: It's healthier than that.
ETHAN: At least this tastes like something.
CUTLER: I guess it just takes a more discriminating palate to appreciate Vulcan cuisine. Do you know there are over five thousand subspecies of termites on Loracus Prime?
(A glow comes in through the window, every one gets up and looks at a beautiful blue planet.)
ETHAN: I thought we were headed for a nebula.
CUTLER: Anybody hear about this?
CREWMAN: Not a word.
CUTLER: I wonder if somebody lives there?
ETHAN: There's a lot of plant life. It might be an oxygen atmosphere.
CUTLER: What do you think, first contact?
CREWMAN: I don't see any cities or agriculture.
ETHAN: Maybe they live underground or in the water.
CUTLER: Is that snow on those mountains?
ETHAN: You'd think the Captain would make an announcement or something.
CUTLER: Well, call him.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: T'Pol.
T'POL: Seventeen percent oxygen, eighty one percent nitrogen.
TUCKER: Sounds like home.
ARCHER: Any people?
T'POL: The planet supports a diverse ecology, but there are no signs of humanoid life.
ARCHER: Still, someone may have a claim on it. We don't want to go waltzing into their back yard. Scan for marker buoys, beacons, man-made satellites.
REED: None in range, sir. Looks like no one's planted a flag just yet.
ARCHER: Prep a shuttlepod, Mister Tucker. (Tucker starts to leave) I like the looks of the northern continent. See if you can find a good place to set down.
TRAVIS: Yes, sir.
T'POL: Captain. There are a number of protocols you may want to consider.
ARCHER: Protocols.
T'POL: Vulcan ships would begin by sending automated probes down to collect more detailed scans. If the planet proved to be Minshara-class, we would then conduct a geophysical survey from orbit.
TRAVIS: Minshara-class?
HOSHI: Suitable for humanoid life.
ARCHER: How long would all that take?
T'POL: Six or seven days.
TUCKER: (still at the door) You expect us to sit up here for a week while probes have all the fun?
T'POL: This planet has been here a long time. It will still be here in seven days.
ARCHER: I understand that you have a more cautious approach, but we didn't come out here to tip-toe around. (to Tucker) Get the pod ready.
(Tucker leaves.)
ARCHER: I'd like you to put together the survey team. I assume that's not a violation of protocol?
[Launch bay]
CREWMAN: Thanks.
CUTLER: I tried some plomeek broth this morning. It was very good. Vulcan food is interesting.
T'POL: Did you sterilise the sample containers?
CUTLER: Yes. Thanks for choosing me for this mission.
T'POL: You were selected because your specialty is entomology. This planet has a diverse insect population.
(She turns away.)
CUTLER: (sotto) Great.
TUCKER: You'd have better luck making friends with a housefly.
CUTLER: I know.
[Shuttlepod]
(En route to the planet surface.)
TUCKER: Wow.
CUTLER: Worth every light year.
ARCHER: Set us down just east of those hills.
TRAVIS: Aye sir.
[Planet surface]
(The pod lands in a meadow, and Porthos is first out to sniff at a tree.)
TUCKER: Where no dog has gone before.
ARCHER: I almost forgot what fresh air smells like.
T'POL: The atmosphere contains trace elements of nitrogen dioxide, chloromethane.
ARCHER: Put that thing away. Take a minute to enjoy yourself. The sky ever get this blue on Vulcan?
T'POL: Occasionally.
ARCHER: We're walking on an alien world light years from Earth or Vulcan. Doesn't that impress you?
T'POL: I've been to thirty six Minshara class planets. This experience is only marginally different.
TUCKER: Perfect. Hold it right there.
(Tucker gets out his camera to record the group. Archer nearly puts his arm around T'Pol.)
ARCHER: Smile. Be sure to get a copy of that to the Vulcan High Command.
T'POL: You have your assignments. We'll rendezvous here at nineteen hundred hours, unless the Captain wants us to pose for more pictures.
(Cutler examines eel-like fish in a lake. There are two crescent moons in the sky. Ethan picks a yellow flower in an alpine meadow.)
ARCHER: I'm afraid my log entry isn't going to do this justice.
TUCKER: A cabin in these woods would be nice.
ARCHER: Three weeks in deep space, you're ready to jump ship?
TUCKER: Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You guys would be lost without me.
TRAVIS: It's beautiful all right, but I couldn't call a place home unless it came with a pair of warp nacelles.
TUCKER: Boomers.
(They stop by a stream as Tucker takes yet another photograph, and the communicator chirps.)
ARCHER: Archer.
T'POL [OC]: Is there a problem, Captain?
ARCHER: No, no problem.
[Landing site]
ARCHER [OC]: Why?
T'POL: We were scheduled to rendezvous fifteen minutes ago.
[By the stream]
ARCHER: Sorry, we lost track of time. We'll be right there.
[Landing site]
T'POL: We've identified several nocturnal marsupials. I'd like to keep crewmen Cutler and Novakovich with me overnight to study them.
ARCHER: I'm glad to see you're getting into the spirit of things. Pick you up in the morning.
TUCKER: Captain, if it's all right with you, Travis and I'd like to stay as well.
TRAVIS: We would?
TUCKER: When was the last time you slept under the stars? There's plenty of camping gear in the pod.
T'POL: This isn't shore leave, this is a research mission.
ARCHER: Why can't it be a little bit of both? Research isn't the only reason we're out here. Pitch your tent, Commander.
TUCKER: Thanks, Captain. (to T'Pol) Don't worry, we'll keep out of your hair.
[Night time - campfire]
TRAVIS: Keep in mind those cargo vessels weren't equipped for rescue operations, so the Captain wasn't sure what to do when he picked up the distress call. But it wasn't a ship that sent the signal. It was a life-pod from one of the old Y-500-class freighters.
TUCKER: Those were retired decades ago.
TRAVIS: Exactly. The pod had been drifting in space for sixty three years. Bioscans showed one lifesign inside the pod. Human. The assistant engineer, George Webb, a friend of my uncle's, was assigned to open it. Took him over an hour to cut through the hull. He said the metal felt strange, cold to the touch.
TUCKER: Of course it was cold. It was floating in space for sixty years.
TRAVIS: He could hear a tapping noise coming from inside, but when he finally got it open the pod was empty. No body, nothing. A few days later, Webb started acting strange, getting into fights with the crew, muttering to himself in some sort of alien language. Then one day he locked himself in Engineering and overloaded the impulse reactors. He almost destroyed the ship. Then he sealed himself in a life pod and ejected it.
CUTLER: I assume the Captain went after him.
TRAVIS: The reactors were too badly damaged. Some people say it was an alien life form that got into him, others think it was the ghost of a dead crewman. I never knew what to believe, but Webb is still out there, drifting. When the subspace noise is real low, some comm. officers say they can still hear the echo of his distress call. Beep, Beep.
(All laugh.)
T'POL: It's highly doubtful that a distress beacon could function continuously for sixty three years.
TUCKER: Let me guess. No ghost stories on Vulcan.
CUTLER: (pointing up) That's it, to the left of that trinary cluster.
TUCKER: What?
CUTLER: Our sun.
TRAVIS: Are you sure?
CUTLER: Yeah, positive. Just another speck of light no different than any other.
TUCKER: When I was a kid I'd go camping with my buddies. We'd spend half the night looking up at the stars wondering what our own sun would look like from this far away.
TRAVIS: Now you know.
CUTLER: Are you okay?
ETHAN: Headache. If it's all right with you, I'd like to lie down for a while before we get back to work.
T'POL: Certainly.
(Ethan goes into a tent.)
TUCKER: Has anyone heard the one about the haunted comet?
CUTLER: Wait a minute. You notice something? Fireflies are gone.
TUCKER: Nice going, Travis, you scared off the bugs.
CUTLER: Maybe it's the ghost of George Webb.
(A gust of wind suddenly blows through the camp.)
TUCKER: Looks like we might have ourselves a little weather.
T'POL: A front is approaching from the south west.
[Tent one]
TRAVIS: It must be gusting at eighty kph.
TUCKER: This is nothing compared to a hurricane coming up through the Florida Keys.
TRAVIS: Try flying through an ion storm at warp two.
[Tent two]
ETHAN: Did you hear that?
CUTLER: What?
ETHAN: Someone's out there.
CUTLER: It's the wind.
[Tent one]
TUCKER: (leaping up) Ow! Son of a bitch!
TRAVIS: What is it?
TUCKER: There's something in my bag.
(What looks like a Ceti eel from Wrath of Khan scuttles around.)
TUCKER: Give me your boot.
TRAVIS: What for?
TUCKER: So I can squash it.
TRAVIS: Are we allowed to squash alien life forms?
TUCKER: If they're inside your sleeping bag.
(T'Pol is watching from her tent.)
TUCKER: There it is, wait a minute. Where'd you put the phase pistols?
TRAVIS: You wanna shoot a bug?
TUCKER: I'm just going to stun it.
[T'Pol's tent]
T'POL: (using communicator) T'Pol to Tucker.
TUCKER [OC]: Go ahead.
T'POL: Is there a problem, Commander?
[Tent one]
TUCKER: Oh no, just an eight inch scorpion thing inside our tent.
[T'Pol's tent]
T'POL: Do you require assistance?
TUCKER [OC]: I think I've got it under control.
[Tent one]
TUCKER: No not there, it's over there.
(The guy ropes start to come loose.)
TUCKER: T'Pol, you said you found a cave this afternoon.
[T'Pol's tent]
T'POL: Less than half a kilometre from here.
[Tent one]
TUCKER: I think we're going to need it.
[Archer's quarters]
ARCHER: Come in.
(He throws a ball at Reed.)
ARCHER: Nice catch. You'd make a good two metre man. Too bad we don't have a pool on board.
REED: A shame. A wind storm's moving across the northern continent. It looks like a nasty one.
ARCHER: Survey team?
REED: They've taken shelter, but I'd recommend pulling them out. I've got a shuttlepod on standby.
ARCHER: Archer to T'Pol.
T'POL [OC]: Yes, Captain.
ARCHER: What's your status?
[Cavern]
T'POL: We've relocated into a cavern.
ARCHER [OC]: Mister Reed thinks we should come down and get you.
T'POL: A landing under these circumstances might be difficult. We'll be protected until the winds diminish.
[Archer's quarters]
ARCHER: We'll keep an eye on the storm. Let us know if you need anything.
T'POL [OC]: Understood.
ARCHER: Keep the pod on standby, just in case.
REED: Aye, sir.
[Cavern]
TUCKER: (opening case) Who's got the food packs?
CUTLER: Nope.
TUCKER: Travis?
TRAVIS: Not me, sir.
T'POL: We must have left them at the campsite.
TRAVIS: I'll go.
TUCKER: Be careful.
(Ethan peers suspiciously at shadows further into the cavern.)
[Outside]
(Travis pounces on a food pack blowing in the wind, then sees a figure walking in the trees.)
TRAVIS: Trip? Hello?
[Cavern]
TRAVIS: Was anybody outside just now?
TUCKER: Just you, why?
TRAVIS: There's someone else out there. (hands over sole food pack)
CUTLER: What?
TRAVIS: Near the campsite.
TUCKER: I think we've had enough ghost stories for one night.
TRAVIS: It's no story.
T'POL: We've scanned the planet, it's uninhabited.
TRAVIS: I'm telling you, I saw three people.
CUTLER: Three? What did they look like?
TRAVIS: It was too dark.
TUCKER: Sub-commander?
(She shines her torch on her scanner.)
T'POL: Other than ourselves, there are no humanoid life forms here.
TRAVIS: There could be something wrong with your scanner.
T'POL: It's functioning perfectly. Perhaps you imagined seeing them.
TRAVIS: They looked pretty real to me.
CUTLER: Ethan?
(Ethan is very tense and swinging his torch around.)
ETHAN: There's someone back there. I heard voices. Are you going to tell me I'm imagining things too? It's not safe here.
TUCKER: We don't know that. They could be friendly.
ETHAN: Then why are they hiding? Why don't they come out and say hello? We should leave.
T'POL: Where do you propose we go, back out into the storm?
ETHAN: It's better than being trapped in here.
TUCKER: Slow down, crewman. That's an order.
(Ethan breaks free and dashes ou.t)
TRAVIS: Ethan!
TUCKER: Stay here.
(He opens case and takes out two phase pistols, hands one to Travis.)
TUCKER: Travis.
(The pair head out after Ethan. T'Pol takes the third phase pistol.)
T'POL: I'll be back shortly.
CUTLER: Where are you going?
T'POL: If there's someone back there, I intend to find them.
(She heads deeper into the cavern. Cutler takes the final phase pistol.)
[Outside]
TRAVIS: (using scanner) Ethan!
(A figure emerges from a rock.)
TUCKER: Travis! I saw one.
(But the rock is as it was.)
TUCKER: It came right out of that rock like it was a part of it.
TRAVIS: That could explain why they're not showing up on our scanners.
(In the cavern, Cutler hears voices and goes deeper into the tunnels to investigate.
Outside, the men nearly step off a cliff in the dark.)
TUCKER: It's too dangerous. We should go back.
[Cavern]
(Cutler follows the voices and sees T'Pol talking to two aliens who then merge into the rocks.)
CUTLER: Who were they?
T'POL: Excuse me?
CUTLER: Well, who were you talking to?
T'POL: Talking to? There's no one here.
(She heads back to main cavern.)
[Bridge]
TUCKER [OC]: We've lost Novakovich and we're apparently not alone. There's some kind of lifeform down here.
ARCHER: Can you make it back to the cavern?
TUCKER: We're heading there now, sir.
[Cavern]
TRAVIS: The Captain's on his way. We're getting out of here.
TUCKER: Not a moment too soon. From what I saw, these things live inside the rock.
T'POL: I performed a geological analysis. The rocks are composed of limestone and cormalite, nothing more.
CUTLER: She's lying, Commander. I saw her talking to them.
TUCKER: Crewman?
CUTLER: In there. There were two of them.
T'POL: She's mistaken.
CUTLER: No, I'm not. Why won't you tell us what's going on? What do they want?
[Shuttlepod]
REED: I've got a fix. Twenty kilometres north east.
ARCHER: Archer to Novakovich. Ethan, respond.
[Planet surface]
ETHAN: Who's there? Who is that?
ARCHER [OC]: This is Captain Archer. We're attempting to land. I want you to get back to the cavern.
ETHAN: Go to hell!
[Cavern]
T'POL: I have no reason to deceive you.
TUCKER: Neither does she. You keep claiming these creatures don't exist, but the rest of us have all seen them. That's a little strange, don't you think?
T'POL: I can't explain what you've seen, but I assure you I didn't speak to anyone.
TUCKER: I'd like to believe you, but you Vulcans don't exactly have a spotless track record when it comes to being honest with us.
T'POL: Your point?
TUCKER: You've held things back before. You might be doing it again. (comm. chirps) Tucker here.
ARCHER [OC]: We're closing in on your position, Trip. There's a clearing a hundred metres from the cave entrance. Get to it.
[Shuttlepod]
REED: I'm reading them. Two kilometres due west.
ARCHER: I'm taking us down. There's a lot of wind shear near the surface. Activate the auxiliary landing thrusters. Altitude seventy metres, forty metres.
(The pod is rocking and rolling.)
ARCHER: I'll have to try a different vector.
REED: Starboard.
ARCHER: I see it.
(The wing tip grazes a rocky outcrop.)
REED: Thruster four's down. We're leaking plasma coolant.
ARCHER: Almost there.
REED: Sir, we can't safely land in this wind with a thruster out.
[Clearing]
(As the pod heads back up into the night sky.)
ARCHER [OC]: Archer to Tucker.
TUCKER: Captain, aren't you forgetting something?
ARCHER [OC]: We're going to have to wait
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER: Until the wind dies down. Try to manage till then.
[Clearing]
TUCKER: We'll do our best, sir.
ARCHER [OC]: If you run across
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER: Any more of these aliens, try to make contact.
[Clearing]
ARCHER [OC]: See what you can find out about them.
TUCKER: Understood.
[Cavern]
(Sitting against the wall.)
TRAVIS: You okay?
CUTLER: Never better.
TUCKER: You heard the Captain. He wants to know about your friends. What are you going to tell him? What are you going to tell him?
T'POL: This is pointless.
TUCKER: Is it? We're stuck down here for God knows how long with a bunch of rock people who, for all we know, are staring at us from these walls right now. Not to mention a crewman out there who probably won't last the night. Now if we're going to get through this, I need to know what the hell's going on. You beginning to see my point?
T'POL: I share your concern for crewman Novakovich, but as I told you
TUCKER: You couldn't care less about him or any of the rest of us. That would require some of those useless human emotions.
T'POL: Your emotions are beginning to affect your judgment. You're becoming irrational.
TUCKER: You've never seen me irrational.
TRAVIS: Sir. I hate to add to our problems, but we're running low on water.
TUCKER: Great. We'll have to conserve what's left.
T'POL: That won't be necessary.
(She points further into the cavern.)
T'POL: I detected water about sixty metres in that direction.
TUCKER: How do we know you're not going in there to talk to your friends?
T'POL: Join me if you'd like.
CUTLER: It could be a trap, Commander.
T'POL: I can survive without water for several days. Can you?
(Tucker pulls his phase pistol on her.)
TUCKER: Sit down.
(He takes her pistol.)
TUCKER: You heard me.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: How's he doing?
HOSHI: Not good. His biosigns are very erratic.
ARCHER: Try him again.
HOSHI: Enterprise to Novakovich.
[Planet surface]
HOSHI [OC]: Can you hear me? Ethan.
(Ethan is curled up in a ball, terrified.)
[Bridge]
(Ethan's screams come over the comm.)
ARCHER: Mister Reed, can you get a lock on him?
[Transporter alcove]
REED: Yes, sir.
ARCHER [OC]: Looks like our only choice.
REED: Understood. Stand by.
(He begins beaming Ethan up.)
REED: There's a problem, sir. There are contaminants in the matter stream. The phase discriminator can't seem to isolate the debris.
(Ethan finally materialises with twigs and leaves stuck on him.)
REED: Reed to Sickbay. Medical emergency.
[Cavern]
TUCKER: (pacing) What are you doing?
T'POL: Working.
TUCKER: On what.
T'POL: Scans I took this afternoon.
TUCKER: Find anything you want to tell me about?
T'POL: There's nothing of scientific interest on this planet. Our mission here was a waste of time.
TUCKER: That's what you'd like us to think. Let me see that thing. (takes scanner off her)
T'POL: The readings are in Vulcan. You won't understand them.
TUCKER: No, but Hoshi would. This could be evidence.
T'POL: Of what?
TUCKER: Your little conspiracy.
T'POL: I was wrong. There is something of interest here. I've learned a great deal about human behaviour.
TUCKER: Oh?
T'POL: Under stress, you become volatile. You're a far more dangerous species than I previously believed.
TUCKER: Your people have been telling us that kind of crap for a hundred years. Looks like you finally found a way to put us back in our cage.
TRAVIS: Sir?
TUCKER: Imagine the news back home, Travis. Enterprise crew found dead. Six weeks into their historic voyage, the bodies of all eighty two crewmembers were located on an uninhabited world. A Vulcan ship made the unfortunate discovery. Cause of death remains a mystery. But what the Vulcans won't say is they know exactly who attacked us. In fact, they arranged the whole thing. They lured us down here so they could sabotage our mission.
TRAVIS: You were the one who found these caves, and it was your idea to stay overnight.
T'POL: I didn't ask you or Mister Tucker to join us.
TUCKER: We know you're here. Why don't you show yourselves? You're not afraid of us, are you?
T'POL: There's no one there, Commander.
TUCKER: Maybe you're waiting for the others to come down so you can kill us all at once. Did you see that?
T'POL: All I see is a delusional engineer.
TUCKER: Sounds like you're getting a little volatile yourself, Sub-Commander. I thought you had your emotions all locked up. Having a little problem, are you?
(Travis sees something slither across the rock roof.)
TRAVIS: Commander! There!
(Tucker fires his phase pistol.)
TUCKER: You think I'm going to wait around here for you to slaughter us? I'll blow this whole cave apart if I have to. I know you hear me!
[Sickbay]
PHLOX: Human skin is a resilient organ. These wounds should heal nicely.
ARCHER: Can I talk to him?
PHLOX: Yes, but I doubt he'll make much sense. Have you ever heard of tropolisine.
ARCHER: No.
PHLOX: It's a psychotropic compound known for its hallucinogenic effects. This crewman's bloodstream is filled with it.
ARCHER: If it was down on the planet, why didn't our sensors pick it up?
PHLOX: Normally, it's found in certain flowering plants. Perhaps your sensors weren't calibrated to detect it.
REED: Or perhaps it wasn't there until that damn wind started.
ARCHER: How long will the effects last?
PHLOX: Now that he's back on Enterprise, he should be alright in three or four hours.
ARCHER: Will this tro-
PHLOX: Tropolisine.
ARCHER: Will it affect T'Pol as well?
PHLOX: There's no way to know. It might affect her to a lesser degree, or a greater degree.
ARCHER: Archer to T'Pol.
[Cavern]
T'POL: Yes, Captain.
ARCHER [OC]: We have Novakovich.
T'POL: And I have a phase pistol pointed at my head.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: What?
TUCKER [OC]: My suspicions were
[Cavern]
TUCKER: Right on the nose, Captain. Our little Vulcan here is
[Sickbay]
TUCKER [OC]: Not what she appears to be. Never was.
ARCHER: What are you talking about?
TUCKER [OC]: There's some kind of
[Cavern]
TUCKER: Creatures down here. They hide inside solid rock. Travis and I have both seen them. Cutler saw two of them talking to T'Pol. They're up to something but of course, she denies it.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: Listen to me. You've all been exposed to a psychotropic compound. It causes heightened anxiety
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: Hallucinations.
TUCKER: Are you telling me those creatures aren't real?
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: The compound comes from the pollen of a flower. We think it was blown down from the mountains when the wind started. The doctor's run tests on Novakovich. He thinks he's going to be okay in a few hours. So if you can get
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: As deep as you can into the caves, your symptoms should dissipate around the same times.
TUCKER: We didn't imagine this, Captain.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: You dealt with simulations very close to this in Starfleet training. You're familiar with mind-altering agents. We'll be down to get you as soon as the winds let up.
TUCKER [OC]: You're not down here, Captain.
[Cavern]
TUCKER: You don't understand what's going on.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: Put your weapon down, Trip. That's an order.
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: T'Pol?
T'POL: He's lowered his phase pistol, sir.
ARCHER [OC]: Have you been affected?
T'POL: Yes, but only slightly.
ARCHER [OC]: Try to hold on. Archer out.
(Tucker sits down.)
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: Get to the Bridge. I want a weather report.
(Reed leaves)
[Cavern]
TUCKER: Travis. (wakes him) You still with me? I need you on your feet. Those things could come back at any time. Listen to me. I'm giving you an order.
(But Travis is seeing and hearing him as distorted and weird.)
TUCKER: What's wrong? Ensign? (to the ceiling) What'd you do to him? I can see why you get along so well with them, sneaking around in the shadows. That's second nature to you Vulcans, isn't it.
T'POL: (in Vulcan)
TUCKER: I have no idea what you just said, but it didn't sound very nice. You're making a mistake working with her. She'll stab you in the back first chance she gets. Tell you what. Come out and we'll settle this peacefully. Whatever she told you about humans, it's not true. You can see for yourself. Say something!
(He fires his phase pistol at the wall just past T'Pol. She doesn't flinch.)
TUCKER: What are you doing her? Yes, sir.
(He starts to wander off down tunnel.)
TUCKER: I know, I know, but they're not giving me much choice. I've got to protect my crew. I understand, Mister Velik, but I can't do that.
(T'Pol goes for the other phase pistol.)
TUCKER: They're trying to kill us.
(Tucker sees her with the pistol, and they face off.)
TUCKER: Nice try.
T'POL: (in Vulcan)
[Situation room]
REED: The centre of the storm's already passed over them, but the system spans some five hundred kilometres. We won't be able to land a shuttlepod before dawn.
ARCHER: When's that?
REED: Nine hours.
PHLOX [OC]: Phlox to Captain Archer.
ARCHER: Go ahead.
PHLOX [OC]: Please report to Sickbay immediately. It's urgent.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: I thought you said he was going to be fine.
PHLOX: I did, but each tropolisine atom contains a stray neutron. When it started to break down in his bloodstream it released an undetectable toxin. I've injected him with inoprovalene but I think it may be too late. If I'd run a submolecular scan I might have anticipated the complication, but there was no reason to. At least, there didn't seem to be. I can't tell you how sorry I am, Captain.
ARCHER: What about the others?
PHLOX: They spent less time exposed.
ARCHER: I've got four people down on the surface, Doctor. I need to know if they're going to be dead when we get there in the morning.
[Cavern]
(The stand-off between T'Pol and Tucker continues.)
TUCKER: Stay awake, Travis. I can't afford to have you going out on me.
TRAVIS: I'm trying, sir.
TUCKER: Cutler, you okay? (to T'Pol) If you're waiting for me to pass out, you're wasting your time. You might as well have your friends come out now, do whatever they're going to do. (comm. chirps)
T'POL: T'Pol.
ARCHER [OC]: How are you doing?
TUCKER: Who's that?
ARCHER [OC]: It's the Captain, Trip. Are you all right?
T'POL: He's irrational, sir. Mayweather and Cutler are nearly unconscious.
ARCHER [OC]: Both of you listen to me very carefully. Novakovich may be dying.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Turns out the pollen contains some kind of toxin our sensors hadn't detected. He's responding to medication, but his odds of recovery would be a hell of a lot better if we'd treated him sooner. The Doctor and Malcolm are synthesizing ampoules of inoprovalene. We're going to have to use the transporter to get it to you, but it's imperative that you inoculate yourselves as soon as possible. Do you understand what I'm saying?
[Cavern]
TUCKER: Taking an injection isn't going to change a damn thing, don't you see that? They're planning something, Captain. First us, then all of you.
T'POL: (in Vulcan)
[Bridge]
T'POL [OC]: (in Vulcan)
HOSHI: (in Vulcan)
T'POL [OC]: (in Vulcan)
ARCHER: What's going on, Hoshi?
HOSHI: She says Trip's going to kill her, and I don't think she's imagining it.
[Cavern]
TUCKER: Say one more word of that gibberish and I'm going to split you in two.
ARCHER [OC]: Trip, listen to me.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: The pollen's affecting her too. Think about it. You've heard of people suffering from dementia who revert to their native language.
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: She can't help it.
TUCKER: The only thing that's affecting her are those rock people. If I can stop her now, I can save Enterprise.
ARCHER [OC]: Trip, how long have we known each other?
TUCKER: What's that got to do with anything?
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Remember when your EV pack froze up on Titan during the Omega training mission? You got nitrogen narcosis. You started to try to take off your helmet. You remember what I'm talking about?
[Cavern]
TUCKER: What's your point!
ARCHER [OC]: I ordered you to keep your helmet on.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: You were delirious, thought you were going to die, but you obeyed that order because you trusted me.
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: I'm asking you to trust me now.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Take the injection, then we'll deal with these rock people.
[Cavern]
(Tucker sees two rock people stand up behind T'Pol.)
TUCKER: Too late, Captain. I'm not going to die with a hypospray in my hand.
ARCHER [OC]: Trip!
TUCKER: No! It's not going to happen.
ARCHER [OC]: All right.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Forget the medicine. I think it's time I explain what's really going on, but just stand by for a minute. I need Malcolm to target your position.
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: Then I'll give you your orders.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Archer to Phlox. The sooner
[Transporter alcove]
ARCHER [OC]: The better.
PHLOX: Understood.
(Phlox puts the case of hyposprays on the platform.)
PHLOX: How close can you get it?
REED: I think I can safely place it two metres inside the mouth of the cave.
PHLOX: Good.
[Cavern]
TUCKER: Captain? Hello? I'm waiting for that order
[Bridge]
TUCKER [OC]: But I can't wait much longer.
ARCHER: All right, Trip. This is a major breach of security, but I'm going to have to trust you.
TUCKER [OC]: Go ahead.
ARCHER: Starfleet sent us here to make contact with a silicon-based life form. T'Pol was the only person granted clearance
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: To speak with them. Seems they've met Vulcans before.
TUCKER: Why couldn't you tell me that?
[Bridge]
ARCHER: When a mission's classified top secret, I don't ask why.
TUCKER: If it was so top secret, then why'd you let us all come down to the surface? Let us spend the night?
HOSHI: (whispers) The winds.
ARCHER: We never thought the storm would drive you into the caves. That's where these rock people live. They didn't want anybody in there except for T'Pol, so they're not too happy right now. I'm sure you can understand that.
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: They've even threatened to destroy Enterprise. Now, T'Pol needs to explain to them why you're all there, but she's not going to have much credibility with you pointing a phase pistol at her.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: If they agree to listen to her, you'll need to lower your weapon. If they don't, I'm going to have Malcolm destroy the cavern. Sacrificing four more crewmen is a small price to pay to save Enterprise.
TUCKER [OC]: I understand.
ARCHER: Now, I'm going to ask Hoshi to tell T'Pol everything I just told you in Vulcan.
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: You got a problem with that?
TUCKER: (sweating and shaking) Go ahead.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Ensign.
HOSHI: (in Vulcan)
T'Pol replies in Vulcan, whilst beginning to sweat herself.)
HOSHI: She says play-acting isn't exactly a Vulcan tradition, but she'll do her best.
(T'Pol calls out in Vulcan to the surrounding rock walls, then reports to Enterprise.)
ARCHER: Hope she knows the difference between stun and kill.
(He opens a comm. channel.)
ARCHER: They've agreed to talk to her, Trip, so lower your weapon
[Cavern]
ARCHER [OC]: And act real friendly.
(Tucker begins to lower the phase pistol, and looks around, then T'Pol fires at him and he falls. She goes to the mouth of the cave to collect the hyposprays and injects Tucker and Cutler. Travis resists)
TRAVIS: No.
(So she neck-pinches him and injects him anyway, before finally injecting herself. The sun has risen by the time Tucker wakes up and accepts a drink of water from her.)
TUCKER: You didn't shoot me last night, did you?
T'POL: I'm afraid I did.
TRAVIS: I was hoping it was all just a bad dream.
TUCKER: Are they gone?
T'POL: They were never here.
CUTLER: What?
T'POL: There were no rock people. You were all hallucinating.
TUCKER: The pollen?
T'POL: Yes.
TUCKER: Then what about that speech you gave to the wall?
T'POL: The Captain felt that if I played along, it might help to persuade you to lower your weapon. You'd grown increasingly illogical and violent. Something about splitting me in two.
TUCKER: A pretty good performance. Look, I know I kind of shot my mouth off last night.
T'POL: You were under the influence of the pollen. We all were.
TUCKER: Challenge you preconceptions or they'll challenge you.
T'POL: Commander?
TUCKER: That's something Mister Velik used to say. Tenth grade biology class. He was a Vulcan scientist (who came to teach us about life on other worlds. I'd never seen a Vulcan before, not up close. He scared the hell out of me.
T'POL: Perhaps it's not too late to follow his advice.
TRAVIS: Ow, I must have twisted up my neck. How's Novakovich? Do we know?
T'POL: The Captain says he's going to be fine.
(Cutler goes to the cave mouth to see a pod coming in to land.)
2024-09-12 19:01:28 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
