DIRECTED BY
AIRED ON
May 7, 2003
RUNTIME
42 minutes
STARRING
VIEWS
153
LAST UPDATE
2024-09-12 18:41:12
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Version 1
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SUMMARY
The remnants of an alien ship and two frozen cybernetic bodies are uncovered in the arctic by a research team. These aliens soon thaw out and flee Earth, taking the research team with them. Starfleet orders Enterprise to find them, but the crew aren't prepared for just how dangerous these aliens really are.
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REVIEWS
Superb
Written by
Pike on 2018-04-10
★
★
★
★
Finally, a superb episode of ER. It had been a while, since the two part episode where George Clooney left the show, actually.
KERRY/MARK
The DNR situation was simply brilliant and extremely powerful.
BENTON
The final scene, where Carla tells Peter that Reese may not be his son was simply brilliant. Eriq La Salle provided a really terrific performance there.
SUMMARY
A superb episode. I give it 8 out of 10.
TRANSCRIPT
[Arctic Circle, Earth]
(It is still a cold, snow-covered landscape that the transport lands in, despite the current global warming predictions. Three figures in thermal suits are scanning for something.)
DRAKE: (older man) I think this is the place.
(They stare at the wreckage.)
DRAKE: Take a look around.
(A woman uncovers a corpse in the snow.)
ROONEY: Over here! Definitely humanoid, but I don't recognise the species.
DRAKE: Seems very well preserved.
MONINGER: (younger, taller man) Getting him out of here's going to be a delicate operation.
DRAKE: Drake to Arctic One.
VOICE [OC]: Go ahead.
DRAKE: Set up a base camp. Get Alpha Team started.
VOICE [OC]: Acknowledged.
DRAKE: Contact Starfleet. Tell Commander Williams he owes me a bottle of Scotch.
VOICE [OC]: Sir?
DRAKE: He'll know what it means. Drake out.
ROONEY: I'm picking up EM traces a few dozen metres under the glacier. There's a lot more here than we're seeing. (she heads off following her scanner signals) We've got another one!
[Base camp]
(Two cybernetic looking corpses are laid out, and a mechanical arm gets put on a table.)
DRAKE: I give up. What is it?
MONINGER: An arm. It's his.
DRAKE: You're joking.
MONINGER: From what I can tell, it was integrated into his circulatory and nervous systems. He could probably operate it like it was his own flesh and blood.
DRAKE: I met a Vulcan scientist who wore a prosthesis. He lost his forearm. It's pretty sophisticated, but it doesn't compare to this.
MONINGER: Take a look at the eyepiece. Judging by the optics, I'd say he could see most of the EM spectrum.
DRAKE: Did you run a genetic analysis?
MONINGER: That's even more interesting. They don't have much in common. They belong to two different species.
DRAKE: Transmit your findings to Starfleet. Maybe they'll find a match in their database.
MONINGER: Right away.
ROONEY: Sir, I've run every test in the book. I still can't identify this alloy.
DRAKE: What about this?
ROONEY: I thought it was simple thermal damage until I found signs of antimatter residue.
DRAKE: Maybe their warp drive overloaded.
ROONEY: That could explain why there's not much debris. I did find some carbon traces.
DRAKE: Could you date them?
ROONEY: This debris has been here for about a hundred years.
(They are distracted by a drill fitting on the prosthetic arm starting to whirl, and then stop again. Later -)
ROONEY: (at microscope) Take a look at this. Do you see those devices? They're repairing the cell membranes.
DRAKE: What are they?
MONINGER: I believe you're looking at a form of nanotechnology. I found thousands of these in both aliens. They're not just regenerating the damaged tissue, they're repairing the mechanical components as well. As far as I can tell, this arm's as good as new.
DRAKE: The Denobulans have experimented with nanotechnology, but they have nothing like this.
MONINGER: Maybe we should move the bodies to Module three, put them back in cold storage with the other samples. That way, we can examine them later under controlled conditions.
DRAKE: Couldn't the bodies be damaged if we freeze them again?
MONINGER: I guess it's possible.
DRAKE: Then we should leave them here. Let the regeneration process continue.
MONINGER: What if it revives more of their systems? We don't know anything about this species or what they were doing here a hundred years ago.
DRAKE: There's no reason to assume they're hostile.
MONINGER: They don't exactly look friendly.
DRAKE: Starfleet has asked us to find out everything we can. Keep them here for now, we'll see what happens.
[Arctic crash site]
DRAKE: Anything?
ROONEY: Oh! Plenty.
DRAKE: You seem a little jumpy.
ROONEY: Cybernetic corpses, digging through frozen remains in the middle of the night, why would I be jumpy?
DRAKE: I'd be more worried about the polar bears.
ROONEY: I've identified twenty two fragments of the outer hull. Each one has the same curvature. I think this ship was a perfect sphere.
DRAKE: How big?
ROONEY: About six hundred metres in diameter.
DRAKE: The debris field could be a lot more extensive than we thought. We might want to get another excavation team out here. (her scanner beeps) What is it?
ROONEY: A warp signature.
(It leads them to a cover.)
ROONEY: Help me with this.
(They start to open it)
[Base camp]
(A researcher brings in a flask of hot drink.)
RESEARCHER: Just what the doctor ordered.
MONINGER: Thanks.
RESEARCHER: How are your friends?
MONINGER: A little on the quiet side.
RESEARCHER: There's a broken heating unit in Module Three. They've asked me to take a look. Will you be all right here?
(Moninger gestures with the phase rifle.)
MONINGER: Go ahead. I'll be fine.
(Tis fellow researcher leaves, and Moninger pours himself a cup of something hot, then knocks it over as a sound comes from behind him. He checks the monitors. Still flat lines all round. He speaks to the pale corpse with the prosthetic eye.)
MONINGER: Feeling better?
[Arctic crash site]
ROONEY: Deuterium residue. Might be some kind of warp coil.
DRAKE: Seems too small for a ship this size.
ROONEY: I'd like to bring it back to the lab, take a closer look.
(Back at Base camp, one of the medical monitors bursts into life, and Mister Eyepiece takes a deep breath, then his eye opens. A scream from the camp has Drake and Rooney rushing back.)
[Base camp}
(They burst into the lab to find a corpse is missing and Moninger lying on the floor.)
DRAKE: Here, here. Get me a medical kit.
(Moninger is gasping, and his skin is starting to turn pale and mottled, like the corpse. Rooney turns to face the alien who has come up behind her.)
[Starfleet HQ - Forrest's office]
WILLIAMS: Admiral, there's a problem with the A-6 excavation team. The Science Council hasn't heard from them in three days.
FORREST: Get a shuttle ready.
(The rescue team force their way through drifted snow to get into Research Module C376. There is no one there.)
[Situation room]
(Looking at a sequence of still photos on the table top display.)
ARCHER: The Admiral thinks that they're humanoids enhanced with technology. He believes they abducted the research team.
REED: We're a long way from the Arctic. What can we do?
ARCHER: Earth tracking stations spotted the transport leaving orbit at warp three point nine.
TUCKER: That's impossible. Those transports can't exceed one point four.
ARCHER: I think it's safe to assume these aliens reconfigured the engines using technology from their own ship.
HOSHI: Does Starfleet know where the vessel is now?
ARCHER: Not exactly, but their heading puts them within a half dozen light years of our current position. We've been ordered to find the ship.
T'POL: It shouldn't be difficult to isolate their warp signature.
ARCHER: We'll start searching at these coordinates. Go to tactical alert. Lay in a course.
TRAVIS: Aye, sir.
(Just Archer and Trip are left.)
TUCKER: Buried in the ice for a century.
ARCHER: Hard to believe anything could survive.
TUCKER: Handsome devil.
[Armoury]
(Reed is studying the images of the aliens on a monitor.)
PHLOX: You wanted to see me, Lieutenant?
REED: Yes. The researchers gathered a great deal of biometric data on these aliens, but I'm having trouble making heads or tails of it.
PHLOX: How can I help?
REED: Well, this arm might contain some sort of weapon. If I can determine its yield, we'll have a better idea of what we're facing.
(Phlox operates the computer.)
REED: What sort of people would replace perfectly good body parts with cybernetic implants?
PHLOX: You, of all people, should be open-minded about technology.
REED: I don't have a problem with it, as long as it stays outside of my skin.
PHLOX: If your heart was damaged, would you want me to replace it with a synthetic organ, or would you rather die?
REED: That's different.
PHLOX: There's a species I once encountered in the Beta Magellan system, the Bynars. When they're born, a surgeon removes the child's parietal lobe and replaces it with a synaptic processor. I saw the procedure performed once. It was very impressive.
REED: Yeah, I'm sure it was. Anything?
PHLOX: I don't see any evidence of a weapon.
REED: The research team was heavily armed. How did these aliens manage to overpower them?
[Ready room]
T'POL [OC]: Bridge to Captain Archer.
ARCHER: Go ahead.
T'POL [OC]: We're receiving an automated distress call. It's from a Tarkalean freighter.
[Bridge]
HOSHI: There's a lot of interference. To any ship within range, we're under attack by an unknown species. Request immediate assistance. That's it, sir.
ARCHER: How long to reach them?
TRAVIS: About an hour.
ARCHER: Set a course.
(As they arrive on the scene, a nasty green weapon is being used to try and cut open the freighter.)
ARCHER: Open a channel. This is Captain Archer of the Starfleet vessel Enterprise. Stand down your attack, or we'll open fire.
REED: They're charging weapons.
(Enterprise is hit.)
REED: Some kind of proton burst. Those transports aren't normally armed.
T'POL: Obviously, the engines aren't the only system they've upgraded.
ARCHER: Any human biosigns?
T'POL: Nine on the Arctic transport. The readings are erratic.
(Another hit.)
ARCHER: Can you disable their weapons?
REED: I believe so.
(Two quick precision phase cannon shots.)
REED: Their weapons are down.
TRAVIS: They're going to warp.
ARCHER: Is there anyone alive on the Tarkalean ship?
T'POL: Two biosigns on their upper deck. I'm reading minimal life support.
ARCHER: Hold our position. Get a shuttlepod ready. (to T'Pol) You have the Bridge.
[Sickbay]
(The patients have some pale and mottled patches, but are unconscious.)
PHLOX: The Tarkaleans should live but the nanoprobes have infiltrated their autonomic systems. Their renal glands have been replaced with devices like this. Essentially, these individuals are being transformed into some sort of cybernetic hybrid.
ARCHER: You said the human biosigns were erratic.
T'POL: It's likely the researchers are going through a similar transformation.
ARCHER: Can you remove the nanoprobes?
PHLOX: Not surgically. These devices are multiplying at an extraordinary rate. I could never extract them all. I'm attempting to slow their progress with a modified retrovirus, but so far I haven't been very successful.
T'POL: Perhaps you should isolate them in the Decon chamber.
PHLOX: If you do that, I won't be able to treat them as effectively. I don't believe they're a danger to the crew.
ARCHER: I'm not so sure. I'll have Malcolm post a guard. Keep me updated.
[Ready room]
(Archer is reading what looks like the transcript of a speech on his monitor.)
ARCHER: Come in.
T'POL: I've contacted Tarkalea. I told them we're doing everything we can for their crewmen.
ARCHER: Any sign of the transport?
T'POL: Nothing.
ARCHER: There was something familiar about all this, but I couldn't put my finger on it until I find this speech Zefram Cochrane made eighty nine years ago. When I was a kid, I read everything I could about him. It took me a while, but I finally found it in the database. He was giving a commencement address at Princeton when he started to talk about what really happened during First Contact. He mentioned a group of cybernetic creatures from the future who tried to stop his first warp flight when he was living in Montana. He said they were defeated by a group of humans who were also from the future.
T'POL: As I recall, Cochrane was famous for his imaginative stories. He was also known to be frequently intoxicated.
ARCHER: No one took him seriously, and he recanted the whole thing a few years later. But you have to admit, there are similarities.
T'POL: (reading) He said their ultimate goal was to enslave the human race.
ARCHER: If he was right, they might be heading back to their homeworld so they can try again.
[Sickbay]
(One of the Tarkaleans is starting to regain consciousness.)
TARKALEAN: Who are you?!
PHLOX: My name is Phlox. I'm a physician. You are aboard a starship. We responded to your distress call.
(The Tarkalean sees the mottling on his hand.)
TARKALEAN: What did you do to me?
PHLOX: Your vessel was attacked. I'm doing my very best to treat you. (to guard) I'm going to sedate him.
(But the man pushes Phlox away, then the woman jumps the guard and knocks him out. Two tubes come out of the man's fist and into Phlox's neck. He collapses, and the Tarkaleans leave up an access ladder. Later, as a cacophony of voices is heard.)
ARCHER: Doctor? Phlox.
(Phlox sits up.)
ARCHER: What happened?
PHLOX: We were attacked. (he grabs a scanner and holds it against his neck) I've been infected with the nanoprobes. One of the aliens injected me, some sort of tubules.
REED: Captain.
(Reed goes to the ladder.)
REED: They left through here.
ARCHER: Seal off the maintenance shafts. Post teams at every access point. When you find them, put them in Decon. Maximum security.
REED: Aye, sir.
PHLOX: Use extreme caution, Lieutenant. Their physical strength has been enhanced. It's critical that you don't let them touch you. (checks the guard) You haven't been infected.
GUARD: Thanks, Doctor.
ARCHER: Stay here in case there are any more problems.
GUARD: Understood.
ARCHER: Call the bridge if you need anything.
PHLOX: Actually, it's feeding time for my Edosian slugs. They're quite partial to boiled rootleaf. I usually pick some up from the galley, but under the circumstances.
ARCHER: I'll have it brought down.
(The Tarkaleans quickly make their way through Jefferies tubes and maintenance walkways, looking for something in particular.)
[Engineering]
(Looking at a schematic of the Arctic transport.)
TUCKER: They've modified most of the primary systems. Engines, hull plating. These look like weapons nodes. I don't even want to guess what this thing's for.
ARCHER: Doesn't look like they've enhanced the aft plating yet. If we can punch through here, we should be able to knock out this EPS manifold, take down their main power.
TUCKER: One or two torpedoes ought to do it.
T'POL [OC]: T'Pol to Captain Archer.
ARCHER: Go ahead.
[Bridge]
T'POL: I've located the transport on long-range sensors. They're traveling at warp four point eight.
ARCHER [OC]: How far are they?
T'POL: Less than two light years.
[Engineering]
ARCHER: I need you to coax a little more power out of the engines.
TUCKER: I'll give it a shot.
ARCHER: Travis, lay in a course, warp four point nine.
TRAVIS [OC]: Aye, sir.
TUCKER: They doubled their top speed in less than twelve hours.
ARCHER: Let's hope they didn't have time to upgrade their weapons.
[Maintenance area]
(The Tarkaleans are bust pulling off panels and using their injector tubes to modify things when Reed and his security guards turn up.)
REED: Stop what you're doing! I'll fire if I have to. (he's ignored) I said, step away.
(Reed fires at the woman, but she just recoils and resumes what she's doing. Combined fire just hits a personal forcefield.)
REED: Maximum setting.
(They all fire again, and this time she walks towards them, beams not touching her.)
REED: Fall back.
(The male ambushes them, and tries injects one man before Reed knocks him out with a phaser rifle.)
REED: Reed to the Bridge.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Go ahead.
REED [OC]: They're in maintenance shaft C.
[Maintenance area]
REED: Junction twelve. They appear to be modifying systems.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: What's in that junction?
T'POL: Warp plasma regulators.
ARCHER: Can you stop them?
[Maintenance corridor]
(Retreating rapidly.)
REED: Our weapons were useless. They're equipped with some kind of energy shielding.
[Bridge]
TRAVIS: Sir, our warp field's destabilising.
T'POL: It's them.
ARCHER: Isn't there an outer hatch in that junction?
T'POL: Yes.
ARCHER: Malcolm, get out of that section and seal it off.
[Maintenance corridor]
REED: Understood.
(They reach a bulkhead door and head out.)
REED: Come on, go.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Take us out of warp.
[Jefferies tube]
(The team heads down a ladder as Reed seals another hatch above them.)
REED: We're clear, Captain.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Sub-Commander.
(A hatch on the top of the port side of the saucer opens, and two bodies fly out.)
T'POL: The junction's empty.
(Archer is not happy that he's had to kill two people.)
ARCHER: Close the hatch and re-pressurise. Malcolm, I want you to work with Trip.
[Jefferies tube]
ARCHER [OC]: Find out what they were doing in there.
REED: Aye, sir.
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Resume course and speed.
T'POL: You had no choice.
[Sickbay]
HOSHI: Room service.
(Phlox has some mottling on his neck by the holes left by the tubules.)
PHLOX: What's this?
HOSHI: Rootleaf lettuce for your slugs, Vulcan sandworms for the bat and angel hair pasta for the ship's physician.
PHLOX: It's best if I avoid food for the time being.
HOSHI: You need to keep up your strength.
PHLOX: If I eat, my cellular metabolism will accelerate. The nanoprobes could spread further.
HOSHI: Well, it's right here if you change your mind.
PHLOX: Why are you wearing a phase pistol?
HOSHI: Oh, it's Lieutenant Reed's idea. If you come near me, I'm supposed to shoot you.
PHLOX: I hope you'll use the stun setting.
HOSHI: It's going to be a few hours before we catch up with that transport. I'm sure that Captain Archer wouldn't mind if I stayed for a little while, kept you company.
PHLOX: I appreciate the offer, but it may not be safe to be near me right now.
HOSHI: I'm armed, remember? You've looked after me more times than I can count. I want to return the favour.
PHLOX: The technology could assert itself at any moment. I don't know what will happen if it does. I underestimated these nanoprobes once. I don't intend to make the same mistake twice.
HOSHI: Do you mind if I feed your animals before I go?
[Maintenance area]
(The exposed circuits have a lot of green about them.)
TUCKER: They did a real number on these circuits. It could take days to get all this junk out.
REED: What do you think they were doing here?
TUCKER: I don't know. But they almost overloaded the plasma regulators. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why blow up the ship if you're still on it? Hand me that, will you?
REED: That shielding of theirs was impressive. We might as well have been firing holographic bullets.
TUCKER: Too bad you didn't get a closer look. That kind of technology could come in handy.
REED: There's got to be a way to get through those shields with phase pistols. If I cross-polarise the power cells, it might increase the particle yield. I'll be in the Armoury.
[Mess hall]
ARCHER: Coffee with cream.
(He looks in the plate display for something to eat.)
T'POL: I believe Crewman Cunningham is in the galley if you'd like something else.
ARCHER: This'll be fine.
(Archer just takes his drink.)
ARCHER: Is this seat taken?
T'POL: Please. Lieutenant Reed informed me that you plan to disable the transport when we find it.
ARCHER: He thinks we can knock out the power systems without causing too much damage.
T'POL: So you still intend to rescue the humans?
ARCHER: That's the general idea.
T'POL: If they've already been transformed, that could be difficult.
ARCHER: I want to take these people home, the humans and the Tarkaleans, no matter what state they're in.
T'POL: There are twenty nine lifeforms on that transport. It's logical to assume they've all been infected. We could endanger Enterprise if they're brought aboard. Perhaps you should reconsider.
ARCHER: Are you saying we shouldn't go after that ship?
T'POL: I'm saying, we destroy it.
PHLOX [OC]: Phlox to Captain Archer.
ARCHER: Go ahead.
PHLOX [OC]: Could you please come to Sickbay?
ARCHER: On my way. I'm not ready to declare them a lost cause.
[Sickbay]
(Phlox is a lot more mottles, and his hand is shaking.)
ARCHER: How are you feeling?
PHLOX: Better than I anticipated. The nanoprobes seem to be having trouble with my immune system. But they're persistent little fellows. It won't be long before they adapt.
ARCHER: Any progress finding a treatment?
PHLOX: Possibly. I've been attempting to treat the infection as if it were, well, an infection. Then it suddenly occurred to me, this isn't a biological problem. I need to think like an engineer, not a physician. I extracted several of the devices and subjected them to different forms of radiation. Their intra-molecular processors appear to be vulnerable to omicron particles. But if one of the nanoprobes survives, it will start to multiply again. So I'll need to programme a rather excessive dose. The side effects will not be pleasant, to say the least. You may want to keep this in the event I'm unsuccessful.
(He hands over a hypospray)
ARCHER: What is it?
PHLOX: A cure of sorts. It contains a neural toxin that will terminate my synaptic functions within a matter of seconds.
ARCHER: Aren't you jumping the gun a little?
PHLOX: I have no intention of turning into one of those cybernetic creatures.
[Armoury]
(Reed and Crewman Foster are test firing a phase rifle.)
REED: Increase power another five megajoules. Fire. Keep it going. Increase to seven megajoules. Try eight. Nine. The density's holding. Bring it up to ten.
(It finally blasts a hole in the target.)
REED: That should do it. We'll reach that transport in less than an hour. Let's modify as many of these as we can.
[Bridge]
(The Arctic transport is a lot more angular now, with a green glow at the stern.)
T'POL: The vessel's mass has increased by three percent.
REED: They've improved their defences since we last saw them.
TRAVIS: They're accelerating, warp four point nine six, nine eight
ARCHER: Increase speed.
(Enterprise starts to shake.)
TRAVIS: We're closing.
ARCHER: Target that EPS manifold.
(One phase cannon burst.)
TRAVIS: They're dropping to impulse.
HOSHI: They're sending a transmission, some kind of activation sequence.
ARCHER: Block it!
HOSHI: I can't.
[Maintenance area]
(The Starfleet displays vanish from the monitors and are replaced with alien ones made of roundels.)
TUCKER: Tucker to the Bridge. These cybernetic circuits just lit up like a Christmas tree!
[Bridge]
(The lights flicker.)
T'POL: They're disrupting our plasma network. Main power is failing.
REED: We're losing weapons.
ARCHER: They set us up.
HOSHI: They're hailing us. Audio only.
ARCHER: This is Captain
VOICES [OC]: You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
(The green-tinged transport starts firing at them.)
REED: Hull plating's down eighty one percent.
ARCHER: Trip, we could use weapons.
[Maintenance area]
TUCKER: It's going to be a few minutes.
[Bridge]
REED: Plating's down another twelve percent.
ARCHER: Is the transporter still on line?
REED: For the moment.
ARCHER: Then you're with me.
T'POL: Captain.
ARCHER: I'm counting on you to pull us out of there.
[Sickbay]
(Phlox is hearing voices, and is almost completely pale and mottled.)
GUARD: Doctor?
PHLOX: I've programmed the irradiation sequence, but I'll need you to activate it once the chamber's sealed. All you have to do is press this.
(He crawls onto the trolley which then takes him into the imaging chamber, then the hatch closes. Inside, it looks like the radiation is agony for him.)
[Transporter alcove]
(Ree hands over a phase pistol.)
REED: I've doubled the particle yield. It may take a few seconds to recharge after each shot.
ARCHER: Put us as close as you can to their EPS manifold.
CREWMAN: Aye, sir.
(The pair beam into a place of green lighting and electricity arcing on the Arctic transport, with lots of strange tubing around, and regeneration alcoves.)
[Bridge]
(The attack continues, and a piece of hull gets blown off.)
TRAVIS: Hull plating's at twenty three percent.
[Arctic transport]
(They find a figure standing in one of the alcoves, immobile and oblivious to their presence, then another. Two creatures walk towards them, a male and a smaller female. They shoot them successfully.)
ARCHER: (scanning the female) This was one of the researchers.
(It was Rooney.)
REED: Was?
ARCHER: Look at these biosigns. They're not human anymore.
(Three more come around the corner.)
REED: Sir.
(As they back away, more aliens arrive.)
[Bridge]
HOSHI: We've been boarded. Six biosigns, C deck.
T'POL: Alert Security. Bridge to Commander Tucker.
[Maintenance area]
TUCKER: Go ahead.
[Bridge]
T'POL: How much longer?
TUCKER [OC]: I think I've isolated
[Maintenance area]
TUCKER: One of the power relays. Stand by.
[Arctic transport]
(They shoot some more aliens.)
REED: Another human?
ARCHER: Same as the others.
(In a corridor on Enterprise, three security guards meet and shoot two alien boarders, but the second two adapt their personal forcefields straight away, and are unaffected. The Starfleet men make a strategic withdrawal.)
[Arctic transport]
(Reed is attacked by an alien, and is being choked when Archer manages to pull one of its tubes out of it's headpiece. It writhes around on the floor, helpless. Around the corner they find the device they are looking for.)
ARCHER: That's it.
(Three aliens come out of their alcoves to defend it, but get shot. Reed sees the red dot of an alien eyepiece on Archer's back.)
REED: Captain!
(Archer turns and shoots it, then Reed sets explosives on the device.)
[Bridge]
TRAVIS: We've lost hull plating.
HOSHI: They're cutting into the hull. E deck, starboard forequarter.
T'POL: Evacuate that section.
[Arctic transport]
(Another alien comes round the corner, and Archer shoots with no effect.)
ARCHER: They've adapted. Hurry, Malcolm!
(Two more come.)
ARCHER: Archer to Enterprise. Stand by transporter.
[Bridge]
T'POL: Acknowledged.
[Arctic transport]
ARCHER: Now.
(They are beamed out and the aliens start taking the explosives off the device. Reed activates the explosives from the transporter alcove, and there is a satisfying bang.)
[Maintenance area]
(Tucker takes out a control unit, and the green glow disappears.)
TUCKER: Tucker to the Bridge.
T'POL [OC]: Go ahead.
TUCKER: The alien circuits are losing power.
[Bridge]
T'POL: Do we have weapons?
[Maintenance area]
TUCKER: They're coming online now.
(In a corridor, the four remaining aliens halt, and are beamed away in a swirl effect.)
[Bridge]
ARCHER: Report.
T'POL: Our engines and weapons are back online. The transport's been disabled, so has the alien circuitry. Did you find the research team?
ARCHER: There isn't anyone on that ship we can help anymore.
REED: Sir, something's happening on the transport. Their systems are being restored. They're charging weapons.
ARCHER: Target their warp core. Hit them with everything we've got.
(Five torpedoes and a phase cannon shot blast the transport into pieces.)
ARCHER: Get me Admiral Forrest.
Captain's Starlog, March 1, 2153. Repairs to the ship are underway, and we've resumed our previous heading at low warp. Doctor Phlox is confident he'll make a complete recovery.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: Aren't you supposed to be in bed? (Phlox is nice and pink again.)
PHLOX: I'm merely catching up on some paperwork. Nothing too strenuous, I assure you. It's vital to keep the mind occupied during the healing process.
ARCHER: They say doctors make the worst patients.
PHLOX: Captain, there's something you should know. I had a rather strange experience while I was infected. I believe I was connected with the aliens, possibly through some form of telepathy.
ARCHER: Do you think they were trying to communicate with you?
PHLOX: Not precisely. It felt as though I was part of a group consciousness.
T'POL: You were under extraordinary physical stress. You may have imagined it.
PHLOX: It seemed quite real. I couldn't understand most of what I was hearing, but I got the distinct impression they were trying to send a subspace message. They transmitted a numerical sequence. I heard it over and over again.
(He hands over a PADD.)
[Ready room]
ARCHER: Come in.
(T'Pol enters.)
ARCHER: The computer analysed Phlox's numbers. They're pulsar frequencies with geometric light year measurements.
T'POL: Spatial co-ordinates.
ARCHER: They told their homeworld how to find Earth.
T'POL: Did you learn where the message was sent?
ARCHER: Somewhere deep in the Delta Quadrant.
T'POL: Then I doubt there's any immediate danger. It would take at least two hundred years for a subspace message to reach the Delta Quadrant, assuming it's received at all.
ARCHER: Sounds to me like we've only postponed the invasion until what, the twenty fourth century?
2024-09-12 18:41:12 -
Pike:
Added the transcript.
