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AIRED ON
April 3, 2002
RUNTIME
44 minutes
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155
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2024-09-12 18:56:03
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Version 1
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SUMMARY
While exploring a crashed vessel on a desolate planet, the Enterprise crew is haunted by some ghostly figures, and they encounter an alien race that has survived despite insurmountable odds. Trip helps repair their derelict vessel and is befriended by Liana, an attractive humanoid alien who develops feelings for him.
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Excellent
Written by
Pike on 2018-04-05
★
★
★
★
I liked this episode, in which we see the return of William H. Macy as Dr. Morgenstern.
SUMMARY
I give it 7 out of 10.
TRANSCRIPT
[Captain's mess]
(The food is making Tucker's eyes water.)
TUCKER: I thought Cajun food was hot.
(Archer takes a bite and nearly loses his voice.)
ARCHER: D'Marr, what do you call that spice?
(A white-skinned alien, reptilian with frills around the jaw and large scale plates on the head.)
D'MARR: Hajjlaran. The warlords on Preenos use it to test their courage. (to T'Pol) You sure you won't have some?
T'POL: My courage doesn't need testing.
D'MARR: I have other items to trade. I can get you some Triaxian silk for, say, another protein resequencer?
TUCKER: I bet you'd look good in Triaxian silk.
ARCHER: What we really need are engineering supplies.
TUCKER: Raw duratanium, dilithium ore.
D'MARR: I'm sorry, I prefer to deal in more exotic goods. But, about two days from here there's a small system. You might find what you're looking for there.
T'POL: We haven't detected any inhabited planets on long range scans.
D'MARR: It's not inhabited. Not exactly.
ARCHER: What do you mean?
(D'Marr takes a drink.)
D'MARR: Mmm! This is excellent. What is it again?
ARCHER: Coffee. I can have my Chef wrap up a few kilograms for you if you wouldn't mind telling us where we can find those supplies.
D'MARR: Captain, please. This isn't a matter of negotiation. I'm thinking of your safety.
ARCHER: Ten kilos?
D'MARR: It's pure luck that I even found it.
TUCKER: Found what?
D'MARR: A ship, crashed on one of the inner planets. There were no lifesigns aboard, so I landed to claim my rights of salvage.
TUCKER: What'd you find?
D'MARR: A transport vessel, largely intact. I could have stripped it bare and made a fortune.
T'POL: Why didn't you?
D'MARR: The, er, crew objected.
ARCHER: You said there weren't any lifesigns aboard.
D'MARR: There weren't. There wasn't anything alive.
TUCKER: What are you saying, the ship was haunted?
[Bridge]
(Enterprise is in orbit of a planet.)
T'POL: The atmosphere is thin, but breathable.
ARCHER: Any biosigns?
T'POL: As the trader said, none.
REED: I've located the ship, sir.
ARCHER: Let's see it.
(A grey triangle on a grey ground with a few wispy clouds around.)
T'POL: No power signatures. It appears to be deserted.
TUCKER: But are your sensors calibrated for ghosts? So far D'Marr's batting a thousand. I'm reading duratanium, beryllium and dilithium.
HOSHI: I wonder what caused the crash.
ARCHER: There's no way to tell without a closer look.
TUCKER: Let's get down there.
TRAVIS: Are we sure that's a good idea?
HOSHI: You're not afraid it's really haunted, are you?
TRAVIS: We don't know what happened to the crew. That ship could be a tomb. You really think we should be picking through it for spare parts, sir?
TUCKER: D'Marr didn't say anything about bodies. Captain, we've taken more damage out here than we ever expected to. There's enough duratanium down there to patch a lot of hull fractures.
ARCHER: Let's pay her a visit. If we feel the spirits don't want us there, we'll leave. Malcolm, you have the Bridge.
REED: Aye, sir.
ARCHER: Travis, you're driving.
[Alien ship]
(The shuttlepod lands next to the transport ship, and the group force their way onboard.)
ARCHER: T'Pol?
T'POL: Nothing.
TUCKER: According to D'Marr, Engineering should be that way.
ARCHER: You and T'Pol check it out. Comm. us if you find anything we can use. Or if you see any signs of the crew.
TUCKER: Aye, Captain.
(They leave.)
ARCHER: Everything okay, Travis?
TRAVIS: Yes, sir. I was just wondering. If that trader left in such a hurry, why'd he bother to close the hatch behind him?
[Alien Engineering]
(T'Pol and Tucker examine equipment, then she hears a noise from behind one of the lozenge-shaped doors.)
TUCKER: What is it?
T'POL: I heard something.
TUCKER: Rats, maybe?
T'POL: No.
TUCKER: Well, then you probably imagined it.
T'POL: Vulcans don't imagine things.
TUCKER: It's nothing to be ashamed of. A spooky ship, a missing crew things going bump in the night. It'd give anybody the creeps.
T'POL: The creeps?
TUCKER: Yeah, willies. Heebie-jeebies. What, don't you get frightened every once in a while?
T'POL: No.
TUCKER: Not by anything?
T'POL: No.
TUCKER: That's too bad. Nothing like a good scare.
deleted scene
T'POL: Fear is a primitive emotion.
TUCKER: There's got to be something that scares you. Heights, spiders?
T'POL: When I was recalled from Enterprise by the High Command, I learned the crew was preparing a 'going-away' party. I found the prospect somewhat frightening.
(Archer and Travis are also exploring)
TRAVIS: What do you think that trader really saw down here, sir?
ARCHER: I don't know. Maybe someone else wanted to salvage this wreck and they were trying to scare him off.
TRAVIS: That makes sense, except scavengers would've stripped this ship to the keel.
ARCHER: This isn't turning into one of your famous ghost stories, is it?
TRAVIS: Would make a good one, sir.
(Archer shines a light on a console with two large discs with handles on them.)
ARCHER: What do you think? Computer terminal?
TRAVIS: Yes, sir. There's no power but the data modules look intact.
ARCHER: Let's get them back to the ship see if we can find out what happened here.
[Alien Engineering]
TUCKER: It's dilithium, all right. Huh.
T'POL: Something wrong?
TUCKER: No. The crystals are in perfect shape. Wouldn't be that hard to get this ship flying again.
(T'Pol swings her light behind them.)
TUCKER: What is it?
T'POL: There's someone here.
TUCKER: You said there weren't any biosigns.
T'POL: There aren't.
TUCKER: If you're trying to scare me I appreciate the effort, but
(A shadow runs across the junction.)
TUCKER: Tucker to Captain Archer.
ARCHER [OC]: Go ahead.
TUCKER: We're not alone down here.
ARCHER [OC]: We're on our way.
(Weapons drawn, the two examine an apparent dead end.)
T'POL: There's a space behind this bulkhead.
(Trip uses his phase pistol to cut the door open. They go through to another door which opens to reveal an area filled with lush plants.)
TUCKER: Why didn't any of this show up on sensors?
T'POL: There appears to be a dampening field in this section of the ship.
TUCKER: What's generating it?
T'POL: I'm reading a power source but I can't pinpoint its location.
TUCKER: Then let's do some pinpointing.
(A little further along he meets a blond woman.)
TUCKER: Hi.
(He lowers his weapon.)
TUCKER: Sorry. It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.
(She runs.)
TUCKER: Hey! T'Pol!
(They give chase into a room where there are a whole bunch of armed and suspicious people with a small cluster of bumps on their temples.)
Deleted scene
T'POL: Is this your vessel?
(She gets out her communicator and activates the UT.)
T'POL: Can you understand me?
TUCKER: I can tell you're surprised to see us. You probably think we're scavengers. I'll be honest with you, that was pretty much the plan. But we didn't know there was anyone here. Believe it or not, we thought you were ghosts.
(The group lowers their weapons.)
KUULAN: (grey-haired man in brown) We were on our way back from our colony on Kotara Barath. We came under attack as we passed this system.
ARCHER: Who attacked you?
KUULAN: They didn't introduce themselves, they just opened fire.
EZRAL: (older man wearing blue) We're a supply ship. We don't carry large weapons. We tried to defend ourselves.
MAYA: (woman in pink and grey) The Captain was able to make a crash landing. It's a miracle we all survived.
TRAVIS: Didn't you send out a distress call?
KUULAN: If we had, it would have let the raiders know where we were.
TUCKER: So you set up this dampening field to hide.
MAYA: We were afraid they'd come down and finish what they started.
T'POL: How long have you been here?
EZRAL: Nearly three years.
ARCHER: Three years. You've made quite a home for yourselves here.
KUULAN: We didn't have much choice.
ARCHER: Well, you do now. Our ship is big enough for all of you. We can take you home.
KUULAN: You're very generous, Captain, but our world is over a year away.
TRAVIS: Well, we can't just leave you here.
KUULAN: As you say, we've made a home for ourselves.
ARCHER: What about their engines?
TUCKER: Their dilithium matrix is stable. They've got plenty of antimatter reserves. I think we can get this ship flying.
EZRAL: We've tried, believe me.
ARCHER: We have resources you may not have. It's worth a shot.
EZRAL: Thank you, Captain.
[Alien Engineering]
(Trip is working alone in semi-darkness when he hears a noise. He takes his flashlight to investigate, finds nothing, then turns around to see a blonde girl in a brown cardigan.)
TUCKER: Oh! You startled me. That's twice in one day. You ever say anything? Unless you're unable to say anything, in which case I apologize. (he returns to his work)
LIANA: Don't touch that. The power's been routed to our living area through that relay. It's very dangerous.
TUCKER: I'm glad you finally decided to speak up. Thanks.
LIANA: You're welcome.
TUCKER: You know a lot about your ship's systems?
LIANA: My father's the engineer. He taught me how things work.
TUCKER: Well, stick around then. You can warn me about whatever else I need to keep my hands off.
MAYA: He's busy. Don't bother him, Liana.
TUCKER: It's okay. I could use the company.
MAYA: My daughter has other responsibilities.
(They leave. Later, working in full light.)
T'POL: These relays are cross-circuited.
TUCKER: Liana and her father rerouted power where they needed it. See here? They shunted helm control to airponics.
T'POL: Efficient, but I'll need to reconnect the Bridge systems.
TUCKER: I'll ask Liana to give you a hand.
T'POL: That's not necessary.
TUCKER: It'll go faster.
T'POL: I can take care of it.
TUCKER: She knows the ship's system inside and out. She kept me from getting fried on a live plasma feed.
T'POL: Perhaps she can help you then.
TUCKER: What's that supposed to mean?
T'POL: By the way you keep talking about her you obviously appreciate her technical expertise.
TUCKER: She's very competent.
T'POL: So was the female engineer on the Xyrillian ship.
TUCKER: You're never going to let that go, are you.
T'POL: I'm simply noting that the last time you found someone this competent you wound up carrying her child.
(Liana enters bearing a tray with fruit on it.)
LIANA: Am I interrupting?
T'POL: Not at all. Commander Tucker and I were just discussing his previous repair experience.
LIANA: I thought you might like something to eat.
T'POL: No, thank you. (to Trip) I'm going to remove those power shunts on the Bridge.
(T'Pol leaves.)
LIANA: Are you hungry?
TUCKER: Thanks.
(He takes a spoonful from the middle of the melon-like fruit.)
TUCKER: Mmm. It's delicious. What is it?
LIANA: It's called lorella. We grow it in the airponics bay. Nothing'll take root outside.
TUCKER: I'm not surprised. It's amazing you were able to survive out here. Why do I feel like it's feeding time at the zoo?
LIANA: I didn't mean to be rude.
TUCKER: Please. I wish more women paid that much attention to me.
LIANA: Do you know a lot of women?
TUCKER: Well, nearly a third of the crew is female.
LIANA: What about on, what did you call your planet?
TUCKER: Earth. I've got lady friends back there, but nobody special, if that's what you mean. Not anymore. What about your world? Kantare?
LIANA: What about it?
TUCKER: Well, as soon as we get your engines fixed you'll be going back, seeing your friends. I bet you're looking forward to that. (her expression says otherwise)
KUULAN: Commander? I hear you've been making progress.
TUCKER: We're getting there.
KUULAN: There is something else you might be able to help us with.
[Alien computer core]
(A room with lots of large bolt-heads stuck on the walls and a central console with five conduits coming out of the top of it.)
T'POL: Your computer core?
KUULAN: It controls all the ship's vital functions. Environmental systems, main power. You might say it keeps us alive.
T'POL: These are optronic relays.
KUULAN: Yes, and the system's beginning to degrade. It could fail at any time.
TUCKER: I've worked on something like this. On a Xyrillian ship.
KUULAN: Then you can fix it?
TUCKER: I can try. I'll need some diagnostic gear from Enterprise. Why don't you come along? (to Liana) I could buy you lunch.
KUULAN: Thank you, Commander, but we still have a lot to do here.
TUCKER: You've been marooned for three years. A change of scenery for an hour or two couldn't hurt.
KUULAN: Another time.
TUCKER: Okay. I'll be back before you know it.
(Tucker and T'Pol leave.)
LIANA: Why can't I go?
EZRAL: You know why.
LIANA: What's wrong with seeing their ship, meeting some of their crew?
EZRAL: I think you've met enough of their crew already.
LIANA: These are good people. They want to help us. I promise not to say anything.
[Situation room]
REED: Here.
(Reed points to an area on the table display.)
REED: This is where they say their engines were hit.
ARCHER: There's a lot of damage.
REED: Impact damage, sir. No scorch marks, no melting. No indications of any weapons fire.
ARCHER: Maybe they were hit by some kind of weapon we're not familiar with.
REED: It's possible. They also say they haven't sent out a distress call because it'd give away their position.
ARCHER: You're not buying that, either.
REED: They crashed three years ago, sir. Whoever attacked them has to be gone by now. Why are they still hiding?
ARCHER: Just because they're a little skittish doesn't mean they're up to something.
REED: There's also their airponics bay.
ARCHER: What about it?
TRAVIS: It's not big enough to feed all the people on that ship, sir. Not by a long shot.
REED: How are they surviving down there? It doesn't make any sense.
ARCHER: Do we still have their data module?
TRAVIS: It's in shuttlepod one.
ARCHER: Have Hoshi download it. Let me know as soon as she has anything.
TRAVIS: Aye, sir.
[Engineering]
(Walking along the upper gantry)
LIANA: How many people are on Enterprise?
TUCKER: Eighty three.
LIANA: All humans?
TUCKER: Mostly. You met T'Pol. She's a Vulcan. And Doctor Phlox is from a planet called Denobula.
LIANA: Can I meet him?
TUCKER: Are you kidding? I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't introduce you. And there's Porthos, Captain Archer's dog.
LIANA: Dog?
(They get into a lift. It's a small space for two so they're almost touching and she's beaming.)
TUCKER: Oh, I guess you don't have a word for that. He's a mammal. Four legs, big ears, kind of cute.
LIANA: What does he do?
TUCKER: Not much. He's the Captain's pet.
LIANA: Of course, his pet. I've never seen a dog before. Can we see it?
(They get out of the lift)
TUCKER: Well, I hope you'll have some time left for me.
LIANA: I don't know. It sounds like I'm going to be very busy.
TUCKER: (opens door) So, tell me about Kantare.
[Corridor]
(The conversation continues uninterrupted.)
LIANA: Oh, it's boring. I want to hear about the places you've been.
TUCKER: Our mission's really just getting started. We haven't been to many planets yet.
LIANA: Where are you going next?
TUCKER: No idea. That's the fun part.
LIANA: Which planet was your favourite?
TUCKER: If I had choose right now, I'd say this one.
ARCHER [OC]: Archer to Commander Tucker.
TUCKER: Go ahead.
ARCHER [OC]: Could you come to my ready room?
TUCKER: On my way. (to stocky, shaven-headed man) Billy, could you continue this lady's tour? I still owe you lunch. I'll meet you in the mess hall.
[Ready room]
ARCHER: I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Liana.
TUCKER: Did T'Pol say something? Sir, I swear I've been nothing but a perfect gentleman.
ARCHER: I'm sure you have, Trip. This doesn't have anything to do with that.
TUCKER: Oh.
ARCHER: We were wondering if you'd noticed any strange behaviour from her or any of the others.
TUCKER: Strange behaviour? What's going on?
REED: Hoshi translated the data module we found on their ship, and we were able to reconstruct what happened right before they crashed.
TUCKER: They already told us what happened.
ARCHER: According to this, they weren't attacked. There was an accident on board.
TUCKER: What kind of an accident?
REED: There are some gaps in the data, but it looks like some kind of catastrophic malfunction. There was a massive depressurization when the ship went down.
TUCKER: Maybe that data module was damaged during the crash.
ARCHER: It's not just the data module.
REED: When their story didn't check out the Captain asked me to run some detailed scans of the ship. According to the oxidation rate in the hull plating that ship's been sitting down there a lot longer than three years.
ARCHER: It went down nearly twenty two years ago, Trip.
(Tucker looks at Reed's PADD.)
TUCKER: That doesn't make any sense.
REED: Check the scans yourself.
TUCKER: Why wouldn't Liana have told me?
REED: The data also shows that they launched a number of escape pods just before the crash.
ARCHER: Malcolm found one. It was still in orbit. We're bringing it on board.
[Launch bay]
PHLOX: This is obviously someone's final resting place. What do you expect to accomplish by opening it?
ARCHER: I'm not quite sure.
(They open the front of the small pod, and the mummified remains of a male in a blue overall are inside.)
PHLOX: I don't believe you'll be needing my services.
TUCKER: It's Shilat, Captain. I saw him on their ship an hour ago. Alive.
(Meanwhile, T'Pol is working at a display in the alien computer core, and using her scanner to translate some interesting text. She leaves)
[Mess hall]
(Liana is sitting on her own at a table, eating ice-cream.)
TUCKER: Vanilla, huh?
LIANA: There are different kinds?
TUCKER: Oh, hundreds. I like Rocky Road.
LIANA: That sounds terrible. Why do they call it that?
TUCKER: I never really thought about it. I guess because it's got nuts in it. It's also got marshmallows but I don't think that's got anything to do with the name.
LIANA: Marshmallows?
TUCKER: They're little, er. They're made of sugar, mostly. You know, I'm not sure what they are. Anyway, did you enjoy the tour?
LIANA: Very much. I think Sickbay was my favourite. Doctor Phlox let me feed his bat. He also asked me to lunch. Had I known you were going to be gone so long.
TUCKER: I'm sorry. Something important came up.
LIANA: What's wrong?
TUCKER: Liana, how long have you been on this planet?
LIANA: Captain Kuulan told you.
TUCKER: I want you to tell me.
LIANA: Why?
TUCKER: Because our scans show your ship crashed twenty two years ago.
LIANA: Well, your scans must be wrong.
TUCKER: That's what I told Captain Archer. I said there wasn't any reason for you to lie to us. Is there? (silence) We found one of your escape pods.
LIANA: I think I should go now.
TUCKER: Liana.
LIANA: Take me back.
TUCKER: There was a body in it. Been dead for a long time. It was Shilat. Can you explain that to me?
LIANA: I can't.
TUCKER: Tell me what's going on.
LIANA: I'm sorry, but I can't. Please take me home.
[Alien ship]
(T'Pol is exploring an uninhabited and damaged part of the ship when suddenly she meet a young man in a blue and red top, and very much alive).)
SHILAT: Do you need some help?
T'POL: Not at all.
SHILAT: I thought you were repairing the optronic relays.
T'POL: I've done as much as I can do for now. I need to return to Enterprise to analyse the data. If you'll excuse me.
(She turns around to find more crewmembers behind her.)
KUULAN: Do you need some help?
T'POL: I need to contact my ship.
KUULAN: Because of what you found?
T'POL: I don't understand.
KUULAN: You were looking where you shouldn't have.
[Alien ship]
(The shuttlepod has landed, and Archer, Reed, Liana and Trip have entered the alien ship.)
ARCHER: Find T'Pol. I'm going to go talk to the captain.
REED: I think it would be better if we stay together, sir.
LIANA: You don't have to do this. You're not in any danger here.
ARCHER: That'd be easier to believe if you weren't hiding things from us.
LIANA: Can't you just fix our systems and go?
TUCKER: Is that what you really want? How old were you when your ship crashed. Five, six? Do you even remember what your home looks like?
LIANA: This is my home.
KUULAN: Liana.
LIANA: I didn't tell them anything.
ARCHER: No, she didn't, but if you want any more help from us we're going to need some answers.
SHILAT: We don't owe you answers.
KUULAN: Take their weapons.
LIANA: Please, just let them leave. That's what you wanted in the first place.
KUULAN: When the repairs are completed.
(Trip is marched away at gunpoint.)
LIANA: (to Ezral) Make him stop. He'll listen to you.
KUULAN: Go back to your ship.
ARCHER: Not without my officers.
KUULAN: This isn't a negotiation.
(Archer and Reed leave.)
EZRAL: Liana.
[Alien computer core]
SHILAT: Get to work.
TUCKER: Where's T'Pol?
EZRAL: Don't worry about her.
TUCKER: I'm going to need her help.
EZRAL: You can do it on your own.
TUCKER: I'm not doing a thing until I see her.
EZRAL: Do as I say or you'll never see her.
TUCKER: What's so important about this thing? You'd really kill us to keep it running?
EZRAL: You wouldn't understand.
TUCKER: I don't care what your big secret is. It doesn't matter if you've been here three years or thirty. But you've got to think about Liana. We can help you take her home.
EZRAL: Just fix those relays.
TUCKER: You got a lot to learn about making friends.
EZRAL: I've made all the friends I need.
[Airponics]
LIANA: I'm sick of hearing that he's doing this for me. I don't believe it anymore.
MAYA: I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for your father.
LIANA: He still should have told them the truth.
MAYA: You know he can't do that.
LIANA: He can do whatever he wants. He's not like you.
MAYA: You shouldn't have gone to their ship.
LIANA: You think this is my fault?
MAYA: I saw the way you looked at their engineer. Are you sure you didn't say anything?
LIANA: No, I didn't.
MAYA: They'll be gone soon and everything will be fine again.
[Launch bay]
ARCHER: We'll set the shuttle down in the foothills south of their ship.
TRAVIS: Won't they pick us up on sensors?
ARCHER: Their dampening field should leave them as blind as we are.
REED: Unfortunately, that rules out using the transporter as well.
(The security team board the pod.)
ARCHER: We'll go in through their escape pod ports. That should put us near Engineering and their computer room.
REED: And with a bit of luck, near T'Pol and Commander Tucker.
[Alien computer core]
TUCKER: That's a pretty neat trick. Here you are watching me with a gun in your hand while at the same time your corpse is up on the Enterprise. What do you do for an encore?
LIANA: (to Shilat, as she enters) Would you wait outside?
SHILAT: I'm not supposed to leave him.
LIANA: It's all right.
(Shilat leaves, Liana shuts the door.)
LIANA: They do what I ask them to.
TUCKER: Then why don't you ask them to let me go?
LIANA: I wish I could.
TUCKER: Maybe you could tell me how I'm being guarded by a dead man.
LIANA: Do you think it's possible to tell a lie so many times that you begin to believe it's the truth? You can. I never really understood that until you came. Remember when you said you thought we were ghosts? In a way, you were right.
[Alien ship]
(The rescue team have made it onboard and are moving along by flashlight.)
ARCHER: Work your way down the port side. Comm. us if you find T'Pol, and be careful.
TRAVIS: Aye, sir.
(Archer and Reed turn right. Further on, Reed is shot in the back, Archer drags him behind a container but his return fire goes straight through their attacker. They retreat.)
[Alien computer core]
TUCKER: That's why your father needs to keep this running.
LIANA: Yes.
(They hear weapons fire.)
TUCKER: You can stop this.
[Alien ship]
ARCHER: You all right?
REED: Yeah. Where did he come from?
ARCHER: Good question.
EZRAL: (to Kuulan) You have to get them off the ship.
(Archer and Reed take cover at a dead end, but their shots still pass through their attacker's body)
[Alien computer core]
TUCKER: Liana, please. If you don't, my friends could die. Please.
(Meanwhile, Shilat walks through a wall and tackles Reed, Archer pulls him off. Liana removes two control chips from the console and the aliens disappear, their weapons falling to the floor, except for one man.)
[Alien cargo area]
ARCHER: What happened to your crew?
EZRAL: They're gone, Captain. Isn't it obvious?
ARCHER: Your real crew.
EZRAL: Oh. They didn't seem real to you? I created them. Wasn't easy. Took time. You could touch them. They could make you laugh, surprise you.
TUCKER: They were holograms.
EZRAL: They were our friends, our family for over twenty years.
LIANA: They're the only people I've ever known, besides my father, until you've came.
ARCHER: But the ones you based them on, the crew of this ship, where are they?
EZRAL: I buried them out in the hills, the ones I could find after the crash. I killed them, so I buried them.
LIANA: That isn't true.
EZRAL: You don't remember. You were a child. We were on our way home, just like Kuulan told you, but we weren't attacked. There was an ion storm. It overloaded our plasma conduits. I was the chief engineer. It was my responsibility to start repairs. But it was worse than I thought. Leaking plasma burned through the hull. We were losing atmosphere so Captain Kuulan set a course for this planet.
ARCHER: Sounds like you did everything you could to save the ship.
EZRAL: They're all dead. Apparently, I didn't do enough.
LIANA: They died because of me.
EZRAL: No. It was my decision. She was in our quarters on the lowest deck. I knew she'd never survive a crash landing down there, so I went to get her.
ARCHER: Any father would have done the same thing.
EZRAL: I left my station. The plasma leak grew, there was an explosion. Half the crew died instantly including my wife. A few made it to the escape pods, but.
ARCHER: I can't imagine what making that decision must have been like, but it was a long time ago. You need to consider your daughter now.
EZRAL: Why do you think I did this? To retreat into some fantasy? Pretend it never happened? For two years I tried to repair our ship, and I watched my daughter grow up alone. So I decided to bring them back. Her mother first, then Captain Kuulan and the others. I did everything I could to make it like it was, for her.
TUCKER: She deserves more.
EZRAL: I've given her everything she needs.
TUCKER: And when you're gone?
LIANA: Trip, please.
TUCKER: Are you going to let her bury you out in the hills, and live the rest of her life with these people you created? What if the relays burn out again? Then she'll really be alone.
EZRAL: She's my daughter. It's not your concern.
TUCKER: What if she gets hurt? What do you do then? Programme a holographic doctor?
EZRAL: We've survived here successfully.
TUCKER: Maybe you have. Ask Liana how she feels. Ask her if just surviving is enough.
(Enter Travis and T'Pol.)
ARCHER: (to T'Pol) You all right? We'll finish working on your holographic systems, if that's what you want. But you should be sure that's all the help you need from us. It may be a long time before anyone comes by here again.
[Ready room]
ARCHER: Come in. (Ezral enters) Welcome aboard.
EZRAL: Thank you, Captain. You have a beautiful ship.
ARCHER: Thanks. We're pretty proud of her.
EZRAL: May I sit?
ARCHER: Of course.
EZRAL: I haven't been in space for a long time. It feels strange. Good, just a bit strange.
ARCHER: Can I get you something? Some tea?
EZRAL: I'm fine. No, I'm not. Your engineer is a very plain-spoken man.
ARCHER: That's one way of putting it.
EZRAL: I've never kept secrets from my daughter. She knows there's more to see beyond our little oasis. But she's never talked about leaving. Not once. Now your engineer thinks we should just pack up and go. Twenty two years, Captain. I've lived here for twenty two years, and that ship down there may seem like nothing more than spare parts to you, but to me it's home. I don't want to leave. I am happy here. Comfortable. But Mister Tucker wants me to believe that I'm being selfish. He says that now that I have the opportunity to leave, I should. That Liana deserves more. Maybe it's time I stopped being so afraid of change. Will you help me take my daughter home?
ARCHER: We'll stay as long as it takes to get your ship flying.
EZRAL: Thank you, Captain, but all we need are these components. I've got my own crew to do the work some of them are pretty fair engineers. I saw to that.
[Alien cargo hold]
(The holo-crew are moving stuff around.)
TUCKER: How's it going?
LIANA: Good. We're about to start realigning the antimatter injectors.
TUCKER: That was fast.
LIANA: What's that?
TUCKER: It's a protein resequencer. I figured you must be tired of eating the same food all the time. I programmed it for making ice-cream. Only five flavours, but they're good ones.
LIANA: Rocky Road?
TUCKER: You didn't think I'd send you off without Rocky Road.
LIANA: Thank you.
TUCKER: Are you sure you don't want us to stay for a while, lend a hand?
LIANA: You've got a lot more places to go.
TUCKER: So do you.
(Liana kisses him.)
TUCKER: Maybe I'll see you out there.
LIANA: I'd like that.
2024-09-12 18:56:03 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
