Terra Prime (episode)

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"Terra Prime"
ENT, Episode 4x21
Production number: 40358-097
First aired: 13 May 2005
←  96th of 97 produced in ENT  →
←  96th of 97 released in ENT  →
←  725th of 911 released in all  →

For the ENT episode with a similar title, please see "Terra Nova".

A Human isolationist leader threatens to destroy Starfleet Command unless all aliens leave the Sol system immediately. (Part 2 of 2)

Summary

Teaser

On the bridge through Enterprise NX-01's viewscreen, John Frederick Paxton, the self-proclaimed leader of Terra Prime, is continuing to speak of his threat to use the powerful verteron array. Captain Archer orders his communications officer Ensign Sato to block the transmission, but it is going system-wide. Suddenly, an infant with pointed ears appears on the screen. Over the image, Paxton says "The citizen soldiers of Terra Prime will act to protect you against the most dangerous enemy that humanity has ever faced."

Act One

At the meeting hall at Starfleet, Paxton's video of the baby Vulcan plays on a large screen, in front of the gathered alien delegates. Nathan Samuels, through a communicator, orders that the transmission be blocked, but Starfleet cannot break through the transmission. He demands the officer find some way to contact Captain Archer on Enterprise.

On the bridge of Enterprise, Paxton, through the viewscreen, states that Terra Prime is devoted to the protection of life in all its diversity, so, for the next 24 hours, they will allow aliens safe passage through the solar system. They must leave as soon as possible before the deadline is up. Archer asks Lieutenant Reed to scan Paxton's ship for Vulcan life signs, so they can obtain a transporter lock on T'Pol, as well as the infant. Just after this, Paxton warns that if any extraterrestrial individual remains on the surface of the Earth, he will fire the verteron array directly at Starfleet Command, the institution he believes is responsible for putting all Humans at risk. He says Terra Prime does not want war, but he makes a solemn promise to the sons and daughters of Earth – their future will be secure because humanity will prevail.

Just then, Reed notes that Paxton's ship has targeted Enterprise. Archer orders the vessel be taken away from Mars, but the ship is hit by the beam. Half of the vessel's relays are completely fried. The beam that was fired at the ship was only at two percent. Archer considers them fully warned by this action and has the ship put on a course back to Earth. At the conference hall, Ambassador Soval moves to speak with Minister Samuels. Soval notes that spontaneous demonstrations have begun forming around the Vulcan Compound due to Paxton's threat. Samuels believes that this is only an isolated incident, but Andorian Ambassador Thoris walks up and talks of similar demonstrations occurring at the Andorian embassy – they are using words not in the universal translator. Soval finds it troubling that Paxton has the support of so many Humans. Thoris thinks the proposed Coalition of Planets will be unsuccessful, as this proves that Earth is still deeply divided.

In Archer's ready room, Samuels orders the captain to attack the array but Archer cannot, as two of his people are being held hostage. The Council has been made aware of this, but the decision has been made. Without the use of the verteron array, in the next thirty months, fourteen comets will impact on the surface of Mars and could hit anywhere on the planet, including the populated domed cities. Archer proposes that he take a small team into Paxton's facility to stop them. Samuels notes that Paxton can destroy any ship that approaches but Archer has a solution to that.

Meanwhile on Mars, T'Pol and Tucker are held as hostages by Paxton. Paxton finally shows them their Vulcan-Human hybrid baby. He reveals an agent of Terra Prime on Enterprise obtained their bio-samples to create the child. Now that Paxton has fulfilled his part, he asks Tucker to help refine his targeting system for the array. Tucker at once refuses, but Paxton forces him to after he has Josiah aim a EM pistol at point blank range at T'Pol's head.

On a foggy night in San Francisco, Reed meets up once again with Section 31 agent Harris in a dark alleyway. Reed asks Harris for further information on Mars. He reveals that planetary sensor grid on Mars becomes faulty in the terraformed atmosphere, which is more thicker, allowing for false signals, which would allow a small vessel to arrive without being detected. Harris tells Reed that they will still need to reach the surface undetected but the crew of Enterprise has already come up with a solution to that – without Harris' help. Reed tells Harris that if the coalition is formed, Enterprise will be busier than ever and this will likely be the last time they will see each other. Harris wishes the lieutenant good luck and they part ways.

In a briefing with Samuels, Archer, Reed and Mayweather devise a plan to disguise a shuttlepod in the wake of the comet Burke which is currently heading toward Mars' north pole. Samuels doubts this plan will work but Mayweather assures him he has experience with comets. Archer assures Samuels that if the plan is unsuccessful, Enterprise will destroy the facility.

At Orpheus, T'Pol is rocking the baby back and forth when Paxton enters and tells her that what she is doing will not make the child fully Vulcan or Human. She responds that Human and Vulcan genes created the child which proves that both species have more similarities than differences. Paxton nevertheless calls the baby a threat to humankind. During this, T'Pol notices Paxton's hand shaking. As he turns to leave, T'Pol quickly scans him. T'Pol says she will not let Paxton hurt her child but he cryptically says he will not have to before leaving.

On Enterprise, Archer has the ship taken on a course toward the comet Burke and toward Mars.

Act Two

In Enterprise's brig, Mayweather visits Gannet Brooks after she has requested to see him. She tells the ensign she has not spoken to her lawyer to which Mayweather tells her she'll have to speak to Archer but she has been told he's busy. Brooks tells Mayweather that she does not work for Terra Prime – she's an agent for Starfleet Intelligence. After opening the brig's door, he asks why she has not contacted her division head to free her already. She tells him if she had done that, her cover would be blown and the Terra Prime operative would know her true occupation. Mayweather is contacted on his communicator by Reed, informing him they are assembled in the launch bay. Brooks tells Mayweather that she is telling him all of this because he and the assault team are going after Paxton and since there is an operative on board, he could know they are coming. Mayweather sarcastically tells her he's "touched" by her concern and leaves.

In the launch bay, Archer leaves Ensign Sato in command of the ship. He reminds her of when she first came aboard Enterprise and used to jump when the warp engines hiccupped. She says she still does – she is just now better at hiding it.

Tucker is in Orpheus' weapons room, doing what Paxton told him to – fix his targeting array. While Greaves supervises Tucker and his repairs, he goes into a xenophobic rant about Vulcans and how they refused to assist Earth during World War III and sat back while millions of Humans died. When the Terra Prime operative refers to Tucker and T'Pol's daughter as some "half-Human thing", Tucker punches him in the face. While Greaves falls back in pain, Tucker sabotages the targeting system. Greaves kicks Tucker to the ground and calls the engineer "a traitor to humanity."

On Shuttlepod 1, Archer, Reed, Mayweather, and Dr. Phlox are being rocked around inside. The shuttlepod's inertial dampers were taken off-line so it would appear to be a chunk of the comet. Reed becomes nauseous and Phlox hands him a bag to throw up in.

After Tucker has been caught sabotaging the weapons, Paxton arrives. He knows Tucker has been trying all along to sabotage the targeting systems, as Paxton has been monitoring his progress the whole time. Paxton tells Tucker that in only two hours, he will fire the beam at Earth but the way the targeting system currently is, he will take out half of San Francisco, along with Starfleet. When Tucker refuses to work on the system further, Paxton states "If you are so eager for a bloodbath, a bloodbath is what you'll get." Paxton orders that Tucker be put into the detention center, equipped with a news screen, so Tucker will see the numerous deaths resulting from his actions.

T'Pol holds her child up in her quarters. She tells the baby she is her mother and she will need a name. She scans the child and looks concerned.

Meanwhile, on Shuttlepod 1, Archer reports that the sensors have picked up ionization from the Martian atmosphere. However, there is a sudden, violent jolt. The shuttlepod's engine has suddenly shut down without warning. Also, Mayweather's console has locked up and the hull plating is offline. The shuttlepod is spiraling out of control and coming in hot with the comet.

Act Three

Mayweather bypasses from auto flight control and has switched to manual, despite the speed the shuttlepod is traveling. Mayweather has no choice, as they are out of options. The shuttlepod levels off with five seconds to spare before the comet impacts on Mars' ice cap. the comet Burke crashes on the surface... and Shuttlepod 1 emerges from the impact, flying away. "Well, that was fun. Can we do it again?", Reed sarcastically asks. Mayweather pilots the shuttlepod over the Carl Sagan Memorial Station to a ridgeline and lands it there. The four Enterprise crewmen exit the shuttlepod in thermal garments and make their way to Orpheus.

Carl Sagan Memorial Station on Mars

When Tucker is thrown into his cell, he creates a makeshift tool using pieces from around the room and items on his miner's belt. He opens a door panel and notes that it is a mark three interlock and starts to bypass it.

In Paxton's office, T'Pol is brought in by Josiah. Paxton has been told that the Vulcan has something she wants to say to him but she wants to talk in private. "I keep no secrets from my men," he says. "You and I both know that's not true", she states. Paxton tells Josiah to leave. T'Pol tells Paxton that he will arrange for her daughter to have medical care at once at the Utopia colony. Paxton wonders what makes her think that she can dictate terms to him. "This", she says. T'Pol takes his shaking right hand and reveals that she knows he is suffering from Taggart's Syndrome and is using Rigelian gene therapy to treat it, making him not only a terrorist but a hypocrite. When Paxton asks what is wrong with her child, T'Pol tells him she is suffering from an elevated white blood cell count and low grade fever. Paxton tells her that her child's two halves are at war with each other and that conflict was inevitable. He has T'Pol taken away and tells her that both the Coalition and her child were doomed from the beginning.

On Enterprise's bridge, Samuels emerges from a turbolift and tells Sato that Paxton's deadline is up. He believes that Archer and his team have failed in their mission. Sato tells the minister that the array will need two minutes to fully power up. Samuels is incredulous but Sato insists that she will only order to destroy the array if there is no other choice. Samuels gives her an order to destroy the array now. Sato refuses, stating she is following Captain Archer's orders, not his. Samuels asks to be patched in to Admiral Gardner, but Sato belays that, telling Samuels that they need to maintain radio silence. "You're risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people." "I know what I'm doing", Sato tells him.

When Archer, Reed, Phlox, and Mayweather finally infiltrate the Orpheus Mining Complex, they find Tucker in a corridor and they team up together to defeat Paxton. They manage to get into the control room. Archer contacts Enterprise and informs a relieved Sato they have made it. Archer orders Tucker to shut down the array. Greaves tries to prevent Tucker from shutting down the array, shooting him. Greaves is also shot and a firefight ensues between Paxton and Archer. A phase pistol shot from Archer misses and hits the window, causing the viewport to crack and the room begins to depressurize. Reed is hit by Paxton and is taken out the room by Mayweather and Phlox. While Archer puts his mask on Tucker, Paxton speaks about Henry Archer and tells Captain Archer the reason why he turned his back against Humanity. He says Henry embraced the Vulcan aliens only because he wanted the warp five engine so badly. Paxton tells Archer they should go to the stars taking worlds and taming their civilizations. "The galaxy's more crowded than we thought", Archer tells him. After telling Paxton it is over, the window at this point breaks and Paxton is able to arm the weapon, since he used to breathing with low oxygen. The beam fires harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean near the Golden Gate Bridge, and not at San Francisco. This is a result of Tucker's intervention.

Later, Mayweather finds T'Pol and her daughter. "She's dying", T'Pol tells the ensign.

Act Four

"Captain's starlog, January 22nd, 2155. Enterprise is returning to Earth. Paxton is in custody but the consequences of his actions continue to affect us all."

In sickbay, Dr. Phlox is trying to find a cure for the baby, now named Elizabeth (for Tucker's late sister) by T'Pol. Tucker tells her that his sister would have liked that. Phlox informs Elizabeth's parents that she is dying due to defects in the Terra Prime doctors' attempts to reconcile Human and Vulcan DNA. Phlox is trying to stabilize her nucleotides but there has never been a child like her before. "Her name is Elizabeth", T'Pol tells the Denobulan doctor.

In the launch bay, Reed and Mayweather discover that the Shuttlepod 1 was indeed sabotaged, confirming there is a Terra Prime operative on Enterprise. After the two initially suspect Commander Kelby of wrongdoing, he reveals that the shuttlepod underwent maintenance by Ensign Masaro. After discovering this, the crew scrambles to protect Nathan Samuels from harm. With the whole ship searching for him, Archer is confronted by the operative in a corridor, revealed to be Masaro. In a corridor, he apologizes to his captain, then puts a phase pistol to his head and pulls the trigger.

In front of the assembled alien delegates, Samuels tells them that in the last week, they have all seen what Humans can be at their worst. However, he insists they cannot and must not use that as an excuse to end a dream that started here in the room. Instead, he wants to properly honor the people who made the conference possible – the crew of Enterprise. Archer steps forward and begins to speak. "Up until about a hundred years ago, there was one question that burned in every Human, that made us study the stars and dream of traveling to them. Are we alone? Our generation is privileged to know the answer to that question. We are all explorers, driven to know what's over the horizon, what's beyond our own shores." Archer believes, however, that the more he's experienced while exploring in space, that the most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond the next star. They are within everyone, woven into the fabric that binds them all together to each other. "The final frontier begins in this hall. Let's explore it together." Ambassador Soval, who had once opposed Archer's appointment as captain of Enterprise, stands up and begins to applaud. Soon, everyone in the room joins him.

File:Archer-terra prime.jpg

Archer holds a speech at the founding ceremony of the Coalition of Planets

In a corridor on Enterprise, Gannet Brooks, now released, walks with Mayweather. She hears the conference is back on track now, though Mayweather says it will take years to iron out all the details. She tells the ensign that because of him, it will now happen. He tells her he was just doing his job. "So was I", she says. Upon stopping at the transporter alcove, she asks if that is the fast way down to Earth. Mayweather instead offers to take her down the old fashioned way and they head to the launch bay holding hands.

Later, a tearful Tucker arrives in T'Pol's quarters, where she is sitting on her bed holding an IDIC pendant. Tucker informs T'Pol that the delegates want to attend Elizabeth's memorial. Though they are both still mourning their devastating loss, Tucker tells T'Pol that Phlox has determined that Elizabeth's death was caused by the flawed cloning process and that in the future, Humans and Vulcans could indeed have a natural child. In an ironic turn for the woman who refused to shake his hand when they first met, T'Pol takes the sobbing Tucker's hand in hers as they sit together.

Memorable quotes

"There's nothing normal about it."
"She's not an 'it'!"

- Paxton and Tucker, discussing Elizabeth

"If this coalition of Archer's works, then you'll be busier than ever."
"Quite right. So I suspect this is the last time we'll ever meet."
"Always the optimist."

- Harris and Malcolm

"You can't stop it from firing, I locked it."

- John Frederick Paxton

"She's dying."

- T'Pol

"Terra Prime... forever."

- John Frederick Paxton's final words on screen

"There are protesters chanting outside the Andorian embassy... and they're using words that aren't in the universal translator."

- Ambassador Thoris

"Hello. I'm your mother. You're going to need a name. We should discuss that with your father."

- T'Pol, to the as yet unnamed baby Elizabeth

"Well, that was fun. Can we do it again?"

- Malcolm Reed, after the shuttlepod follows the comet into the atmosphere

"'32!"
"Hmm?"
"This is the 32nd planet I've set foot on!"
"248!"

- Malcolm Reed and Phlox, after getting out of the shuttlepod on Mars' surface

"When you invited me to join this crew, I thought it would be an interesting... diversion, for a few months... some time away from the complications of family - which on Denobula can be extremely complicated. I didn't expect to gain another family... it hurts as if she were my child."

- Dr. Phlox, breaking the bad news about Elizabeth to Archer

"Up until about a hundred years ago, there was one question that burned in every Human, that made us study the stars and dream of traveling to them. Are we alone? Our generation is privileged to know the answer to that question. We are all explorers driven to know what's over the horizon, what's beyond our own shores. And yet the more I've experienced, the more I've learned that no matter how far we travel, or how fast we get there, the most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond that next star. They're within us, woven into the threads that bind us, all of us, to each other. A final frontier begins in this hall. Let's explore it together."

- Captain Archer

"If a Vulcan and a Human ever decided to have a child, it'd probably be okay. That's sort of comforting."

- Tucker

Background information

Story and script

• Manny Coto originally pushed to have the short, gold-skinned species from "Journey to Babel" attend the Coalition of Planets conference, but it proved too expensive. He named the species Ithenite which was mentioned in "Azati Prime" before.
• Ambassador Thoris was originally intended to be Shran, but the producers decided they wanted him in "These Are the Voyages..." instead. They consequently wrote him out of this episode's script.
• An original version of the script had T'Pol singing a lullaby in Vulcan to her baby, when she says, "Hello, I am your mother."
• The final draft script of this episode was submitted on 14 February 2005.

Cast and production

• This episode marks the final appearance of Gary Graham, as Ambassador Soval, on the series. He and Harris actor Eric Pierpoint were previously regulars on the television series Alien Nation together. They played Matt Sykes and George Francisco, respectively. Interestingly, here their roles are reversed: Graham plays an alien while Pierpoint plays a Human.
• The Carl Sagan Memorial Station plaque was the final piece of art design Michael Okuda created for the Star Trek franchise. (ENT Season 4 DVD audio commentary)

Music

Jay Chattaway working on this episode's score

A commemorative keepsake made from musical phrases in this episode

• The spotting session for this episode, held to analyze where music would be used, was on 23 March 2005. At the session, the episode's composer, Jay Chattaway, found a rare occurrence in which not everyone agreed on the musical decisions which had to be made. "Interestingly enough, in this show, some people did not want to play Archer's [final] speech with music, nor the last big scene with Trip and T'Pol and the baby," remembered Chattaway. "But I said, 'You know, I hear the music already in my head – I know what it's going to sound like.' That indicates to me that the music belongs there, that it's uniquely inspired by that scene." Chattaway ultimately won those battles. Some of the musical cues he ended up writing for this installment were entitled "Trip Fights Back", "Archer's Speech", and "Grieving". (Star Trek Magazine issue 123, pp. 36 & 32)
• This episode was the final one for which Jay Chattaway, a veteran Star Trek composer, scored the music. More than three-fourths of the musicians who performed on this episode's score were the same as those on Chattaway's first Star Trek score, for TNG: "Tin Man". Regarding the music for this historic installment, Chattaway reflected, "They [the musicians] actually turned down other work so that they could play it, which was very, very meaningful to me. It was very emotional. It was very hard for me to do the last score. I thought, 'Well, gee, I might not ever write a Captain's Log again.' I wouldn't turn the last cue ['Grieving'] in until I had rewritten it three times. I guess I was just hanging on – I didn't want it to end." On his handwritten score for "Grieving", Chattaway wrote, "Fine!" on 21 April 2005. To commemorate his final orchestration for Star Trek, Chattaway drew – on manuscript paper dated 22 April 2005 – a sketch of the Enterprise NX-01, illustrated entirely out of musical phrases from this episode's score. He created copies of this for all the musicians, producers and engineers he had worked with over the years, the sketch turning out to be an extremely popular keepsake. (Star Trek Magazine issue 123, pp. 35 & 30)

Continuity

• This is the only episode where Hoshi Sato is seen in command of Enterprise NX-01 during a mission.
• This is the final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise that is actually set in the 22nd century, as the series' finale, "These Are the Voyages...", is set in the year 2370.

Reception

• This episode originally aired on the same night as the series finale, "These Are the Voyages...".
• The book Star Trek 101, by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block, lists this episode as one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from Star Trek: Enterprise.
• Among the items from this episode which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay is a pair of LCARS style button boards. [1]

Links and references

Starring

• Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
• John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox
• Jolene Blalock as Commander 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

• Harry Groener as Nathan Samuels
• Gary Graham as Vulcan Ambassador Soval
• Eric Pierpoint as Harris
• Adam Clark as Josiah
• Peter Mensah as Daniel Greaves
• Johanna Watts as Gannet Brooks
• Derek Magyar as Commander Kelby
• Joel Swetow as Andorian Ambassador Thoris

Special guest appearance by

• Peter Weller as John Frederick Paxton

Co-stars

• Josh Holt as Ensign Masaro
• Amy Rohren as Tactical Officer

Uncredited co-stars

• Nancy Avila as a Starfleet commodore
• Ron Balicki as an Orpheus miner
• Daphney Dameraux as
  • Alien ambassador
  • Operations division ensign
• Amy Earhart as a Vulcan delegate
• Evan English as an alien ambassador
• Tarik Ergin as a Tellarite delegate
• Nikki Flux as Denobulan ambassador
• Glen Hambly as
  • Operations division ensign
  • Andorian delegate
• Dieter Hornemann as a Vulcan delegate
• Chase Hoyt as a Starfleet lieutenant
• John Jurgens as an operations division crewman
• Mark Major as Rigelian ambassador
• Melissa O'Keeffe as an alien ambassador
• Woody Porter as a Rear admiral
• Pablo Soriano as a Tellarite delegate
• Trey Stokes as a Tellarite delegate
• Ator Tamras as a science division ensign
• David Venafro as Andorian delegate
• James Ward as an alien ambassador
• Unknown performers as
  • Alien ambassador
  • Female Rigelian ambassador
  • Orpheus miner

Stunt double

• Shawn Crowder as stunt double for Connor Trinneer

References

alien; Andorians; Archer, Henry; atmosphere; Berlin; Canberra; Carl Sagan Memorial Station; coffee; colorful metaphor; domed city; drink dispenser; Fleet Operations Center; Gardner, Admiral; gene; Gravity; Green, Phillip; guava; hiccup; hospital; hull plating; inertial damper; inter-species reproduction; ion; Mars; Mars Heritage Site; Mars Historical Preservation Society; medical freezer; Milky Way Galaxy; NASA; news screen; nausea; organic waste bag; oxygen; Pacific Ocean; Rigelian gene therapy; rover; Sagan, Carl; San Francisco Bay; sling; Sojourner; suicide; Taggart's Syndrome; terraforming; Utopia colony; vegetarian; verteron array; Vulcans; World War III; Xindi; Xindi attack

Previous episode: "Demons"

Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4

Next episode: "These Are the Voyages..."