Post by magicmuggle01 on Oct 22, 2018 9:13:40 GMT
Enterprise investigates the mystery of a lost Earth colony whose inhabitants disappeared decades before. But that doesn't mean they left.
Summary
Terra Nova colony, surface profile
A profile of the colony on Terra Nova
The crew of Enterprise is heading towards Terra Nova to investigate what happened to the long lost colony. Helmsman Ensign Travis Mayweather is the most excited to visit, as he has been fascinated by the colony since his childhood.
Act One
At dinner, Archer informs T'Pol about the colony. Terra Nova was the first extra-solar Earth colony, after New Berlin on Luna, Utopia Planitia on Mars and a few asteroids were colonized by Humans just in the Sol system. The colony was referred to as "The Great Experiment" and Earth had lost all contact after a couple of unfriendly transmissions. It turns out that the Novans were opposed to a second convoy of Humans going to live in the home they struggled to build.
When Enterprise arrives at the colony, the crew finds no one, only a ghost town, built from disassembled components from the SS Conestoga, the vessel that transported the colonists for nine years to the colony. The site also has a low level of radiation that would be harmful to Humans in the long term. An away team composed of Ensign Mayweather, Sub-Commander T'Pol, Captain Jonathan Archer, and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed is dispatched, going down to the planet in Shuttlepod 1. After Reed notices some rustling in the woods, the crew converge at a cave opening. Archer and Reed head into the cave to investigate. The two make an unfriendly first contact with strange humanoid figures, resulting in Reed being shot with an MK-34 machine gun and being taken hostage. Archer is forced to exit the cave, and Mayweather, T'Pol and Archer scramble back to the shuttlepod, where T'Pol reveals that the inhabitants in the cave are actually Human beings.
Act Two
After returning to Enterprise, Archer calls a meeting in the ship's situation room. Tucker reports they know where Reed is, but he is too deep for the transporter. Also, the geology is unstable, with the Humans forced to live underground and hunt for food. They start to tactically assess the positions of the Humans and Reed, but Archer is insistent at finding a way to communicate with them, especially since they are Human. He orders T'Pol and Tucker to continue investigating the geology and Hoshi Sato and Mayweather to get information from their communications. He asks chief medical officer Dr. Phlox to accompany him back to the colony. They return alone, unarmed, to try to build trust with the residents. Speaking out into the forest, two of them approach and take them underground.
There, they are taken to Reed, who is alive but with lost blood. One of the Humans who seems to be a leader approaches, and reveals they speak a certain kind of English. They accuse Archer and crew of wanting to finish the job they believe earlier Humans did to them, including the "poison rain" and "gutting" the adults. Archer explains it wasn't Humans, but, rather, the radiation. It appears they also don't know they descended from Humans. Archer asks them to prove their friendliness. The doctor offers to take Nadet, an elderly Novan, to Enterprise to treat her lung cancer. The leader agrees, but insists he comes with them and Reed stay there. Reed consents, so Archer agrees.
Act Three
In the sickbay, Phlox starts a deep scan of Nadet and explains calmly what he's doing and finding out. While Phlox works, Archer tries to show them pictures of the colony before the radiation. The man, Jamin, calls them lies and demands he turn off the pictures. Archer reluctantly agrees and leaves. He joins T'Pol and Tucker on the bridge to learn that a large asteroid is what caused a radioactive cloud which lasted for a year.
Meanwhile, Reed tries to talk to his guard by admiring his weapon and armor and asking for a lavatory. The guard refuses to answer and simply starts eating. Seeing Reed looking at his food, he asks if his "belly is hollow" and slowly gives him some digger meat. With Reed's comment that the meat is undercooked, the guard reveals that he believes Humans are weak. Soon, however, the mood turns calm as the sound of flutes fills the cavern. The people there obviously have an artistic side.
In Archer's ready room, Sato and Mayweather play back the last transmission from Captain Mitchell of the Conestoga. It was intended for Earth, but due to the atmosphere it wasn't received. It turns out that, when the asteroid hit the planet, the colonists erroneously concluded that Earth was taking the colony back by force, prompted by the treats made by Mark Logan, opposition leader to more colonists. The ensuing radiation from the impact left only the children surviving, which led to three generations of hatred for off-worlders. With this insight, it becomes clear why the Novans are still suspicious, even when Phlox offers his help.
Phlox later discovers that, though the cancer is eliminated, the water supplies of the underside have recently been poisoned by radiation and that could lead to the colonists' descendants' extinction. Phlox cannot treat this, and the surface will continue to be irradiated for years. Archer then decides to convince Jamin and Nadet to leave, knowing it will be difficult. Indeed, Jamin doesn't believe anything. Archer tries to get through to Nadet by showing her a photo taken of a young girl named Bernadette Fuller and her mother Vera before the asteroid hit Terra Nova. Archer seems to be getting through to her with the photo. However, Jamin believes Archer has simply found a plan to take their home from them, accuses him of lying and demands the captain return him and his mother back to their home.
Taking T'Pol aside, he expresses his frustration. She suggests that the Novans be relocated, by force using stun grenades, in caverns in the southern hemisphere where there is no radiation. She points out that there is a culture the Novans developed for years, and Archer should not destroy it by encouraging them to come back to Earth and live like them. Archer finally agrees and, back in Shuttlepod 1, explains the new location and asks Nadet and Jamin to at least talk about it with the others. They appear to finally agree to talk to their people about the idea.
When they return to the planet, Shuttlepod 1 is engulfed in a sinkhole and plunges eight meters below the surface.
Act Four
Still able to contact Enterprise, Archer reports what happened. Jamin demands Archer open the door, and Tucker suggests it's safe, based on their location. Once out, Jamin requests Archer's phase-pistol to break through rock, and Archer reluctantly hands it over after he threatens Reed's life. On the way, Archer, Jamin, and Nadet hear the screams of a Novan named Akary. Archer and Jamin scale a large sinkhole to get to him, during which Archer nearly falls, but is pulled back up by Jamin. The two finally make it to Akary, but he is trapped by a large tree trunk. After both being unable to lift it off Akary's broken leg, Archer demands his pistol back from Jamin and is able to slice the trunk in half with the beam. The rescue of Akary helps build trust between Nadet's son and the captain. When they finally reach the other Novans, Nadet insists on telling them what awaits them and they finally accept the relocation plan, avoiding extinction.
Afterwards, in the captain's mess, Archer, Tucker, T'Pol, and Mayweather eat dinner together and discuss the recent events with the colony. Archer suggests that Mayweather write the official report for Starfleet, as he was the most eager crewman on Enterprise to visit Terra Nova.
Log entries
"Captain's starlog, supplemental. Sub-Commander T'Pol has discovered the remnants of an impact crater that could explain the radiation."
Memorable quotes Edit
"I'm not familiar with the early years of Human space exploration."
"Really? Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions."
"Name one."
(after long pause) "History was never my best subject."
- Tucker and T'Pol
"Asking favors of the Vulcans usually ends up carrying too high a price."
- Tucker, to T'Pol
"My experience with Humans is limited, but I've come to learn that they are quite resourceful."
- T'Pol, to Captain Archer
"I promised my dad I'd see this place someday."
- Mayweather seeing Terra Nova on Enterprise's viewscreen
"If those aliens killed the colonists they could kill Malcolm, too."
"Those weren't aliens. They're Human."
- Mayweather and T'Pol
"I'm leg broke!"
- Akary
"If these are the descendants of the original colonists, they've never seen other Humans before. Maybe, we look as strange to them as they did to us."
- Archer, after realizing who the Novans really were
"How are you holding up?"
"Not badly, all things considered. But I really wouldn't mind getting this bullet out of my leg."
- Archer and Reed
"You Humans tried to gut our go-befores when they lived on the overside. Now you're trying to gut us!"
- Nadet
"Ever heard of Judge Crater?"
"Crater?"
"Disappeared in the early 20th century. How about Amelia Earhart?"
"No."
"1937. Never found a trace of her. A lot of people spent years – decades – trying to figure out what happened to them. But neither of those mysteries holds a candle to Terra Nova. And we solved it!"
- Mayweather and T'Pol
"Giant rocks falling from the sky, shale! It's all shale! Take us back!"
- Jamin
"He speaks in shale."
- Athan, saying "He lies"
"What the hell do you think this is, a slave ship?"
- Archer to T'Pol
Summary
Terra Nova colony, surface profile
A profile of the colony on Terra Nova
The crew of Enterprise is heading towards Terra Nova to investigate what happened to the long lost colony. Helmsman Ensign Travis Mayweather is the most excited to visit, as he has been fascinated by the colony since his childhood.
Act One
At dinner, Archer informs T'Pol about the colony. Terra Nova was the first extra-solar Earth colony, after New Berlin on Luna, Utopia Planitia on Mars and a few asteroids were colonized by Humans just in the Sol system. The colony was referred to as "The Great Experiment" and Earth had lost all contact after a couple of unfriendly transmissions. It turns out that the Novans were opposed to a second convoy of Humans going to live in the home they struggled to build.
When Enterprise arrives at the colony, the crew finds no one, only a ghost town, built from disassembled components from the SS Conestoga, the vessel that transported the colonists for nine years to the colony. The site also has a low level of radiation that would be harmful to Humans in the long term. An away team composed of Ensign Mayweather, Sub-Commander T'Pol, Captain Jonathan Archer, and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed is dispatched, going down to the planet in Shuttlepod 1. After Reed notices some rustling in the woods, the crew converge at a cave opening. Archer and Reed head into the cave to investigate. The two make an unfriendly first contact with strange humanoid figures, resulting in Reed being shot with an MK-34 machine gun and being taken hostage. Archer is forced to exit the cave, and Mayweather, T'Pol and Archer scramble back to the shuttlepod, where T'Pol reveals that the inhabitants in the cave are actually Human beings.
Act Two
After returning to Enterprise, Archer calls a meeting in the ship's situation room. Tucker reports they know where Reed is, but he is too deep for the transporter. Also, the geology is unstable, with the Humans forced to live underground and hunt for food. They start to tactically assess the positions of the Humans and Reed, but Archer is insistent at finding a way to communicate with them, especially since they are Human. He orders T'Pol and Tucker to continue investigating the geology and Hoshi Sato and Mayweather to get information from their communications. He asks chief medical officer Dr. Phlox to accompany him back to the colony. They return alone, unarmed, to try to build trust with the residents. Speaking out into the forest, two of them approach and take them underground.
There, they are taken to Reed, who is alive but with lost blood. One of the Humans who seems to be a leader approaches, and reveals they speak a certain kind of English. They accuse Archer and crew of wanting to finish the job they believe earlier Humans did to them, including the "poison rain" and "gutting" the adults. Archer explains it wasn't Humans, but, rather, the radiation. It appears they also don't know they descended from Humans. Archer asks them to prove their friendliness. The doctor offers to take Nadet, an elderly Novan, to Enterprise to treat her lung cancer. The leader agrees, but insists he comes with them and Reed stay there. Reed consents, so Archer agrees.
Act Three
In the sickbay, Phlox starts a deep scan of Nadet and explains calmly what he's doing and finding out. While Phlox works, Archer tries to show them pictures of the colony before the radiation. The man, Jamin, calls them lies and demands he turn off the pictures. Archer reluctantly agrees and leaves. He joins T'Pol and Tucker on the bridge to learn that a large asteroid is what caused a radioactive cloud which lasted for a year.
Meanwhile, Reed tries to talk to his guard by admiring his weapon and armor and asking for a lavatory. The guard refuses to answer and simply starts eating. Seeing Reed looking at his food, he asks if his "belly is hollow" and slowly gives him some digger meat. With Reed's comment that the meat is undercooked, the guard reveals that he believes Humans are weak. Soon, however, the mood turns calm as the sound of flutes fills the cavern. The people there obviously have an artistic side.
In Archer's ready room, Sato and Mayweather play back the last transmission from Captain Mitchell of the Conestoga. It was intended for Earth, but due to the atmosphere it wasn't received. It turns out that, when the asteroid hit the planet, the colonists erroneously concluded that Earth was taking the colony back by force, prompted by the treats made by Mark Logan, opposition leader to more colonists. The ensuing radiation from the impact left only the children surviving, which led to three generations of hatred for off-worlders. With this insight, it becomes clear why the Novans are still suspicious, even when Phlox offers his help.
Phlox later discovers that, though the cancer is eliminated, the water supplies of the underside have recently been poisoned by radiation and that could lead to the colonists' descendants' extinction. Phlox cannot treat this, and the surface will continue to be irradiated for years. Archer then decides to convince Jamin and Nadet to leave, knowing it will be difficult. Indeed, Jamin doesn't believe anything. Archer tries to get through to Nadet by showing her a photo taken of a young girl named Bernadette Fuller and her mother Vera before the asteroid hit Terra Nova. Archer seems to be getting through to her with the photo. However, Jamin believes Archer has simply found a plan to take their home from them, accuses him of lying and demands the captain return him and his mother back to their home.
Taking T'Pol aside, he expresses his frustration. She suggests that the Novans be relocated, by force using stun grenades, in caverns in the southern hemisphere where there is no radiation. She points out that there is a culture the Novans developed for years, and Archer should not destroy it by encouraging them to come back to Earth and live like them. Archer finally agrees and, back in Shuttlepod 1, explains the new location and asks Nadet and Jamin to at least talk about it with the others. They appear to finally agree to talk to their people about the idea.
When they return to the planet, Shuttlepod 1 is engulfed in a sinkhole and plunges eight meters below the surface.
Act Four
Still able to contact Enterprise, Archer reports what happened. Jamin demands Archer open the door, and Tucker suggests it's safe, based on their location. Once out, Jamin requests Archer's phase-pistol to break through rock, and Archer reluctantly hands it over after he threatens Reed's life. On the way, Archer, Jamin, and Nadet hear the screams of a Novan named Akary. Archer and Jamin scale a large sinkhole to get to him, during which Archer nearly falls, but is pulled back up by Jamin. The two finally make it to Akary, but he is trapped by a large tree trunk. After both being unable to lift it off Akary's broken leg, Archer demands his pistol back from Jamin and is able to slice the trunk in half with the beam. The rescue of Akary helps build trust between Nadet's son and the captain. When they finally reach the other Novans, Nadet insists on telling them what awaits them and they finally accept the relocation plan, avoiding extinction.
Afterwards, in the captain's mess, Archer, Tucker, T'Pol, and Mayweather eat dinner together and discuss the recent events with the colony. Archer suggests that Mayweather write the official report for Starfleet, as he was the most eager crewman on Enterprise to visit Terra Nova.
Log entries
"Captain's starlog, supplemental. Sub-Commander T'Pol has discovered the remnants of an impact crater that could explain the radiation."
Memorable quotes Edit
"I'm not familiar with the early years of Human space exploration."
"Really? Every school kid on Earth had to learn about the famous Vulcan expeditions."
"Name one."
(after long pause) "History was never my best subject."
- Tucker and T'Pol
"Asking favors of the Vulcans usually ends up carrying too high a price."
- Tucker, to T'Pol
"My experience with Humans is limited, but I've come to learn that they are quite resourceful."
- T'Pol, to Captain Archer
"I promised my dad I'd see this place someday."
- Mayweather seeing Terra Nova on Enterprise's viewscreen
"If those aliens killed the colonists they could kill Malcolm, too."
"Those weren't aliens. They're Human."
- Mayweather and T'Pol
"I'm leg broke!"
- Akary
"If these are the descendants of the original colonists, they've never seen other Humans before. Maybe, we look as strange to them as they did to us."
- Archer, after realizing who the Novans really were
"How are you holding up?"
"Not badly, all things considered. But I really wouldn't mind getting this bullet out of my leg."
- Archer and Reed
"You Humans tried to gut our go-befores when they lived on the overside. Now you're trying to gut us!"
- Nadet
"Ever heard of Judge Crater?"
"Crater?"
"Disappeared in the early 20th century. How about Amelia Earhart?"
"No."
"1937. Never found a trace of her. A lot of people spent years – decades – trying to figure out what happened to them. But neither of those mysteries holds a candle to Terra Nova. And we solved it!"
- Mayweather and T'Pol
"Giant rocks falling from the sky, shale! It's all shale! Take us back!"
- Jamin
"He speaks in shale."
- Athan, saying "He lies"
"What the hell do you think this is, a slave ship?"
- Archer to T'Pol
