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While Enterprise diverts to observe an unusual planetary event, Travis Mayweather takes time off to visit his family on the cargo ship where he was born and raised, the Horizon.

Summary

Enterprise makes a detour to gather scientific data on a planet that recently shifted orbit to relocate between two gas giants and where there is a lot of volcanic activity to be expected due to the new gravitational environment. Since they will be passing near the Horizon, the ship that Ensign Travis Mayweather was both born and grew up on, the helm officer asks for a leave.

Mayweather has a surprise when he first contacts the Horizon: his father died six weeks previously and, since the ensign left on bad terms when he departed for Starfleet, it is even more shocking. Captain Jonathan Archer tells Mayweather what his father said to him when he was doing a background check on him, a pretty good comment suggesting that Travis' father didn't quite disapprove his choice even if he wouldn't admit it.

On the Horizon, everyone is happy to see Travis again except for his brother, Paul, now captain, who greets him coldly. When Travis tries to make some upgrades to the ship's navigational sensors and port stabilizers, the coldness changes into sarcasm. Even though it appears that Paul still likes Travis, he apparently feels a little insecure with his new responsibilities and is under a lot of pressure. At some point, the Horizon is attacked by unknown aliens in a ship using Mazarite engines who leave a beacon/mine on the freighter.

When Travis decides to make upgrades to the ship's weaponry against his brother's wishes, Paul becomes openly hostile, throwing irrational accusations at his brother. Fortunately, after a conversation with his mother, Travis understands that only time will help his brother, that Paul is now in a worse situation than his father was in when he first took command of the ship, and that no upgrades or extended leave (for Travis) will make it faster or easier.

On Enterprise, Archer finally gets T'Pol to go to a movie night by using arguments about crew fraternization. However, the captain and his chief engineer are both surprised by the conclusions the Vulcan pulls out of the movie, Frankenstein. She makes an analogy between the villagers' reactions to the creature and the reaction Humans had when the Vulcans first arrived on Earth. She says that she will suggest to Ambassador Soval that he show the movie to every Vulcan newly arrived on Earth.

File:Alien vessel fought off by the command module of the Horizon.jpg

The tractor unit fights off the alien vessel

When the aliens return for the Horizon, they want every crewmen to get out of the freighter, and Paul decides to make use of the new weapon system – to protect not only his ship, but the whole freighter fleet in general. With Travis at the helm, the mooring clamps disengage from the cargo section and the light J class tug section outmaneuvers the aliens' ship and using the enhanced plasma weapons disables the alien ship's weapons. Paul allows them to leave so that they can warn their fellow pirates that ECS freighters were the wrong ships to attack. Paul is much more friendly at the end as he finally understood that Travis was not trying to undermine his authority and he leaves his brother with his best wishes.


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Memorable quotes

"Well, they'd better post a psychologist on board because I'd need one if my parents were roaming the corridors."

- Reed, on Mayweather's idea of putting families on starships


"We're going to be showing the three greatest horror movies ever made: Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and Son of Frankenstein. We might even throw in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein."

- Tucker, to T'Pol on his selections for movie night


"I promise you'll like it. Reanimated life forms, science run amok. They're right up your alley."

- Tucker, to T'Pol on the film's subject matter


"You come here a lot?"
"Every now and then."

- Archer finds a distraught Mayweather in the "sweet spot" of Enterprise after he learns of his father's death


"He wrote the shortest recommendation. Just one sentence. He said he'd never met a more natural stick and rudder man in his life and I'd be a fool if I didn't choose you."

- Archer, explaining the letter he got from Mayweather's father strongly recommending his son for the helmsman position on Enterprise


"It might be a good idea for you to go, too. It might be fun, and a little fraternizing couldn't hurt."
"I don't understand how sitting silently in a darkened room constitutes fraternizing"

- Captain Archer and T'Pol, regarding Tucker's invitation to movie night


"This Dr. Frankenstein, his technique is not dissimilar to a practice on B'Saari II."

- Phlox, to Commander Tucker


"We can stop the film if it's disturbing your conversation."

- T'Pol to Phlox


"Captain, I'm reading bio-signs on the planet. To quote Dr. Frankenstein, "It's alive.""

- T'Pol to Captain Archer

Background information

Links and references

Starring

Guest stars

Co-stars

Uncredited co-stars

Archive footage

References

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein; babysitter; book club; B'Saari; B'Saari II; Bride of Frankenstein; cargo container; catwalk; Chef; Chicago Gangs; Columbus, Christopher; Cochrane, Zefram; Constellation, ECS; Demerians; Deneva Station; deuterium; dicobalt; Earth; Earth Cargo Authority; electrode; family reunion; forklift; Forrest, Maxwell; Frankenstein; gas giant; grav-plating; harmonica; holometric camera; Horizon, ECS; hull plating; imaging relay; J class; kilometer; kiloton; larva; Magellan, Ferdinand; Mazarite; Mazarite ship; movies; movie night; navigation sensor; neutronic storm; nutri-pak; Orion freighter; phase cannon; pitchfork; plasma injector; plasma turret; pon farr; popcorn; prophecy; protagonist; Reed, Mary; standard astrometric chart; Reed, Stuart; reserve power; Romulan; San Francisco; Sea Witch; Shelley, Mary; Son of Frankenstein; Soval; spatial discriminator; Starfleet database; Starfleet (Earth); strawberry shortcake; stromatopod; subspace postcard; Takrets; tarul-etek; Trelkis III; thermal scanner; torch; Vega colony; Vulcan; Vulcan

Previous episode:
"Judgment"
Star Trek: Enterprise
Season 2
Next episode:
"The Breach"
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