Template:Realworld
- For information on races, cultures, and species, go to species and cultures.
Enterprise finds a fully inhabited Earth-like planet, where some of the inhabitants are suffering from a mysterious disease.
Summary
During a briefing detailing possible phenomena for Enterprise to visit, T'Pol mentions an M-class planet on their course. Excited, Archer takes Enterprise enters into orbit around the planet.
Hoshi Sato disguised as an Akaali, for a covert mission.
Early scans reveal a pre-industrial society, but also, curiously, low-level neutrino emissions. Hoshi remarks that there are numerous languages being spoken on the planet, but that she's found at least one useful word: Akaali, the name of the planet's humanoid species. While T'Pol objects to sending an away team, mentioning the Vulcan protocol of waiting until a species has managed warp flight before making first contact, Archer is determined to investigate firsthand. After using sensors to get a closer look at the planet and its people, Phlox performs cosmetic surgery to disguise an away team consisting of Archer, Trip, T'Pol and Hoshi.
On the planet's surface, Archer and Trip manage to localize the source of the neutrinos; a shop owned by an antique collector. On the streets nearby, they see various people covered in lesions. Breaking in to the shop at night, Archer and Trip are confronted by an Akaali who has been watching the shop for some time. She believes Archer and Trip to be in league with whoever owns the shop and that they have caused a disease amongst the Akaali. T'pol stuns the Akaali woman before she fires a loaded crossbow.
The next morning, the Akaali woman wakes up to see Archer watching over her. They discuss the situation on the planet, and she reveals her name to be Riann. She believes it is not coincidence that the shop owner arrived two months ago and that people have only become sick in that period.
Archer and Trip later return to the shop. Upon scanning the owner, they discover he is not Akaali but a different species. He then asks Archer who he is, as he too must not be native judging by his scanning technology. The owner's name is Garos, a Malurian and he relates the story of being on a survey mission in the area before he decided to settle down on the planet. The source of the neutrinos is Garros's antimatter reactor, but he assures Archer that it is simply to replicate food and materials. Trip and Archer are then asked to leave before they can question him further.
Taking some of Riann's samples of the 'disease' back to Enterprise, Doctor Phlox discovers that the water supply is contaminated due to leaks of tetracyanate 622, an industrial solvent, into the environment. The Malurians were using the antimatter reactor to gather a kind of veridium isotope they most likely used to make weapons.
Garos's ship, a Malurian starship
At night, Archer and Riann spy on the shop. At one point, Archer's translator malfunctions. To prevent Riann from suspecting he is not Akaali, he kisses her. Shortly after, they follow a man who is taking crates from the shop. In a clearing in the woods, a Malurian shuttle tractors the crates aboard. Unfortunately, Archer and Riann are seen and fired upon by a Malurian on the surface. Stunning him, Archer takes a small device off him. They return to the city and using the Malurian device, manage to gain access to the reactor. Archer disables a dampening field which allows Enterprise to get a transporter lock on the reactor before beaming it into space and destroying it, disabling Garros' ship in the process. Archer instructs Garros to leave the planet, which he reluctantly does.
Before leaving, Archer shares a moment with Riann, giving her the required treatment for anyone affected by the toxin, and explaining that it would be best if she kept everything that happened to herself. Before leaving, the two kiss, with Riann teasing if it's because his translator has malfunctioned again.
Log entries
- Captain's starlog, July 31, 2151. We've removed the mining equipment from under the shop. As far as we can tell, none of the Akaali knows what really happened... with one exception.
Memorable quotes
"This must be why aliens are always landing in corn fields."
- - Archer
"Let's try not to shoot anyone else while we're here, okay?"
"I'll try."
- - Archer and T'Pol, after she stuns Riann
"Have you ever seen anything like that?"
"Actually, I have..." (A gun blast hits a tree before he can elaborate)
- - Archer and Riann
"Is there anything else that you'd like to tell me, Jon?"
- - Riann, realizing that Archer and the Malurian were not Akaali
"Even if we get the reactor, how are gonna keep them from getting it back?"
"If they want it so badly, perhaps we should give it to them."
- - Hoshi and T'Pol
"The oil lamp...there should be least a liter of residic oil in the container below it. Residic oil ignites at 398 degrees - you wouldn't happen to have anything that gets that hot?"
- - Riann
Background information
- T'Pol makes reference to a protocol which states that it is wise "...to wait until a society develops warp drive before initiating first contact...". She goes on to say that it would be wise for Starfleet to adopt these "Vulcan protocols." Starfleet would later adopt them as part of the Prime Directive, serving as a benchmark for measuring development of a civilization and admission to the Federation.
- This episode contains the first reference to Tellarites in the series.
- Some shots of Enterprise flying over the Akaali planet were re-used for Earth in the fourth season in "Terra Prime".
- Just as Spock did many times, T'Pol has to hide her Vulcan ears from the indigenous people. She accomplished this by wearing long hair to cover them.
Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.5, 1 July 2002.
- As part of the ENT Season 1 DVD collection.
Links and references
Starring
- Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
- John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox
- Jolene Blalock as Subcommander T'Pol
- Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed
- Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather
- Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato
- Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III
Guest Stars
- Diane DiLascio as Riann
- Wade Andrew Williams as Garos
Co-Star
Uncredited Co-Stars
Stunt double
- Vince Deadrick, Jr. as stunt double for Wade Williams
References
acoustic relay; Akaali; antimatter reactor; apothecary; clipper ship; crossbow; dampening field; Draylan; first contact; J'ral-class; Malurian; Malurian system; Malurian starship; microscope; Minshara-class; neutrino; neutron star; pharmacy; Quartermaster; residic oil; supernova; tea; Tellarites; Tengala Street; tetracyanate 622; universal translator; veridium; warp drive
| Previous episode: "Breaking the Ice" |
Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 |
Next episode: "Fortunate Son" |